The Shadow Matrix (88 page)

"Thank you, Javanne," Lew snapped. "She is, indeed, and I am damned proud of her."

"You told me once that the man who had Marguerida for a wife would have a wise

counselor, Mikhail, and you were right." Regis gave a sigh and looked tenderly at Lady

Linnea. "Thank you, Marguerida. You have stated my problem all too clearly. You have

a real gift for cutting through the clutter and going to the heart of the matter."

"You are welcome. Please believe me when I say that I have only the best interests of

Darkover in mind, Regis. If my father is right, and I think he is, the Federation is going

to become a larger problem than it ever has been before, and we have to be united to

face it. Your policies have been wise. But the future will demand a strong leader, and if

Mikhail is not the right man for the job, then who is?"

"Who indeed," Regis answered. He looked at his son. "You have been very brave to

think of this, Dani, but why did you not come to me with your idea?" He sounded a

little hurt.

"I... couldn't! You are too busy with important things!"

"Too busy?" Regis was stricken. He looked at his paxman again. "Let that be a lesson

to you, Mikhail, not to let running a planet get in the way of talking to your children. I

am glad you could confide in Danilo, my son."

"Oh, I can always talk to him," Dani answered, looking very young now. "He has time

for me, you see, and you do not. I have always known that."

"I see. In the future, I shall try to do better. I promise you that, Dani." There was so

much regret in Regis' voice that Mikhail had to hold back a shiver.

"I take it then that you intend to name Mikhail your successor, and allow your son to

become the Elhalyn king," Javanne snarled.

"That is what you have always wished for, isn't it?" Brother and sister gazed at one

another, and Javanne dropped her eyes first.

"Yes," the older woman whispered. Then her indomita-

ble spirit asserted itself. "And I will live to see you regret this day! I will urge the other

Domains to ..."

"You will do nothing of the sort!"
Dom
Gabriel snapped. "You will keep quiet,

Javanne. Control yourself for once."

Lady Javanne Hastur rose to her feet, swept the gathering with a venomous look, and

left the room, slamming the door behind her. After a moment,
Dom
Gabriel went after

her, his face red with anger, and his shoulders hunched.

"She is going to make trouble, you know," Lew commented.

Regis chuckled. "My dear sister was born to trouble, I think. Now, we must decide

how to proceed from here. I am open to suggestions."

No one spoke immediately. The room grew very still again, but the tension that had

existed before was gone. Several minutes passed in silence, and young Dani squirmed

a little in his chair.

Finally, Mikhail looked at his wife, and realized that everyone had been so busy trying

to determine his future, they had not given any thought to hers, as if she had ceased to

matter now. This irked him, and gave him an idea as well. "I think that when the

weather is better, Marguerida and I should return to Neskaya and work with Istvana

Ridenow." He saw the light in her eyes and knew this idea appealed to her.

Regis shook his head. "Neskaya is too far, and Marguerida is not going to dash about

while she is pregnant. My son was right—if you are my heir, you must remain in

Thendara, or go no further away than Arilinn. You will be a prisoner of a sort, as I have

been. But I think that you are right that Istvana is the right
leronis
to guide you. I will

ask her to come here. There was a Tower here, once, and there might be again." He

smiled at Marguerida. "Yes, I know you have no happy memories of that, but we can

make a new beginning—this is a new beginning for all of us, even me!"

"Yes, it can be, if we have the strength to dare it." Her voice rose slightly, as if she

were challenging Regis Hastur in some way Mikhail could not grasp. It was only a

moment, but he saw how his uncle's eyes met Marguerida's, and knew that some

unspoken agreement had passed between them. "Now, what of the Alton Domain?"

She

glanced at her father, then at Regis. "I think it would be best if I resigned my claim in

favor of either my Uncle Gabriel, or one of his other sons. If you do not mind terribly,

Father."

"That is a very sensible choice, since I do not want it, and
Dom
Gabriel does," Lew

answered. "But I want a seat on the Comyn Council. I will
not
be a power behind the

throne, either to Regis or my son-in-law! I want everyone to be able to see me, and

know what I am up to. Anything else would be suspect."

"Very well—that settles it.
Dom
Gabriel will continue to hold the Alton Domain,"

Regis said as the door opened and the man himself stepped back into the study. The

look on
Dom
Gabriel's face made Mikhail want to shout with pleasure when he heard

what was being said. His weathered features looked ten years younger. "And his sons

will succeed him."

"That will teach me to leave the room and run after my poor wife,"
Dom
Gabriel

growled, his voice rough with emotions. "Javanne is frantic. I have never seen her like

this, and I fear for her mind. I tried . . . but there was nothing I could do, except order a

sleeping draught administered." He looked sad and worried, but pleased at the same

time. "Lew, do you agree to this?"

"Completely, cousin. You have been master of the Domain for decades, and it would be

silly to change that. If it is not broken, why fix it?"

Gabriel sighed and smiled, entirely transforming his face. "There will always be a

welcome for you at Armida, Lew."

"That is all I would ask for."

Dom
Gabriel gazed at his son. He cleared his throat a few times, looking very

uncomfortable, and finally managed to speak. "I have never understood you. You are a

mystery to me, Mikhail, and I do not like mysteries. But I see that I have long

misjudged you, and I confess it. Because you are unlike me, I mistrusted you."

"Father!"

"Don't interrupt! This is hard enough to say. I could not see your qualities because I

was too mule-headed! You are a loyal man, and a loyal son—it has taken your mother's

folly to let me realize this. I can only hope you can forgive an old man for being a

fool."

Mikhail stood up and embraced his father as he had not done in years. "There is

nothing to forgive." He felt
Dom
Gabriel's ragged breath against his cheeks, and knew

the older man was holding back tears with difficulty. "I did not understand you either!"

"We shall just have to try harder in the future, then!" Gabriel gave a shuddering sigh

and released his hold on his son. He moved to Marguerida and extended his hand.

"And you, daughter, whom 1 have never welcomed into the family—can you forgive

me, too?"

Marguerida ignored the hand and stood up quickly. She hugged her uncle fiercely, tears

sparkling in her eyes. Then she planted a kiss on the weathered cheek. "You are the

kindest man in the world! Thank you!"

"After what I did last summer, I hardly . . ."

"Oh, no! That is the past, Uncle. Let it go! I already have!"

Mikhail felt his heart swell. He had feared that he would never be on easy terms with

his father, and that the man would never accept Marguerida as his daughter-in-law.

Now he realized that much of
Dom
Gabriel's opposition had been because of Javanne,

and that, perhaps, with an effort on both sides, he could be a real son to the older man.

"If only all our problems were so easily remedied," Regis commented, clearly moved

but holding his feelings in check. "Like the Aldarans." Everyone in the room groaned,

except for young Dani. "But, for today, I think we have done enough. I, for one, would

like some peace and quiet. And some time to get to know my amazing child," he

added, gazing fondly at his son.

Danilo Hastur's face lit up. His eyes brightened with unshed tears and he blinked them

away quickly. Then he grinned at his father and mother, his usually serious expression

vanishing.

"Peace and quiet, Regis?" Gabriel shook his head. "You will have to move to another

world, for I do not think you will find it on Darkover."

While everyone laughed at this, Mikhail felt himself uncoil, the tension he had endured

fading away. His heart was full as he took Marguerida's bare hand in his. He had the

position he had stopped wanting months before, and

he would, he knew, spend the rest of his life learning to use his matrix, and helping

Regis keep Darkover safe. But he was reconciled with his father, at least until the next

meeting of the Comyn Council, where they were probably going to butt heads. That

little was more than he had ever hoped for. And he had Marguerida beside him, and

soon they would have a son to rear. At that moment, life seemed as close to perfection

as anyone could desire.

EPILOGUE

Lew Alton watched his daughter walk into the chamber where Diotima Ridenow lay

surrounded by a stasis field. She moved gracefully, despite the just visible prominence

of her belly. There was an assurance about her that seemed' to increase each day. The

unhappy young woman whom he had taken away from Arilinn months before was

gone, forever he suspected. If the presence of the screens overhead disturbed her, she

did not show it. Mikhail Hastur was beside her, looking serious. He could sense their

charged emotions, the intensity and the harmony as well.

He was so grateful to have her back. He had never told her how terrified he had been at

Midwinter. That she was not only returned to him but married and with child as well

seemed nothing short of a miracle. And now she proposed to perform another, to

restore his dear Diotima to a semblance of health. How could any man be so fortunate?

Lew was almost afraid to think about it, for fear that something might go amiss.

Marguerida had assured him that she was in no danger doing the healing she planned,

but he was not sure he believed her. She had only said that she knew what she was

doing, and that she could give Dio more time. How was a mystery and would remain

so. He wanted Dio back so much!

His little Marja was going to make him a grandfather before he had really gotten

comfortable with being a father. What manner of child would this Domenic Alton-

Hastur be? Well, if he followed the family tradition, he would probably be a real

scamp, and turn Marguerida's fine hair gray. It was a happy prospect.

Lew walked into the chamber behind his only child, and watched her. She bent over

the coffinlike apparatus for a

few seconds, as the song from her recorder rose to a climax. He recognized it—a

Thetan love ballad that broke his heart every time he heard it. Then she reached over to

turn off the machine, and silence filled the room.

The sudden silence was eerie, and he could see that the others, Liriel and Jeff Kerwin,

were also disturbed by the cessation of the music, so many months had the chamber

rung with Marguerida's voice. The very stones of Arilinn had probably absorbed all

those melodies—a fancy that pleased him more than a little.

Marguerida nodded at Jeff. The old Keeper hesitated for a long moment, then released

the field, and the flickering light that had surrounded Dio for months vanished.

Marguerida moved her hand across the body that rested there, seeming to be only

asleep. Diotima looked worn and thin and older than her years. Her pale hair, once so

lustrous; looked brittle and dry, and her fair, delicate skin lacked the suppleness Lew

knew so well. He let his heart clench, let his fear consume him for a moment. How

could he bear it if Marguerida failed and Dio died?

For several minutes nothing happened. Marguerida continued to examine Dio's form

with her matrixed hand, occasionally looking to Mikhail in universalized consultation.

He glanced at Liriel, who was monitoring his daughter, and Dio as well, and told

himself that no harm could come to either of them. That was the theory, in any case.

The only problem, Lew thought, was that he had never been much on theory.

If only he could do something! Lew's impatience was like a furious itching, as if his

skin were on fire. What was taking so long? What was Marguerida
doing?
Why had he

ever agreed to let her attempt this?

He watched his daughter hold her hand over Dio's chest, and saw the faint lines on her

hand begin to brighten and then glow. Lew could see the shape of the shadow matrix

clearly now. Then light began to pulse around her, until she was a shimmering figure in

the dim light of the room. What? Then he saw that Mikhail was using his own powers

to protect and support her. The two of them were working as one, and from the glimpse

he had of Liriel's face, something quite remarkable was happening.

The illumination diminished as Marguerida stood up-

right, her face calm. She smiled at him reassuringly. Then Dio's eyelids fluttered, and

he forgot everything else. He darted to the receptacle, his boots ringing a sharp tattoo