Wandering Star: A Zodiac Novel (17 page)

“Hello, lovers!”

Deke and Nishi are in the lobby, both pink-cheeked and breathless, the
way they used to look whenever one of them got away with breaking a rule on Elara.

“You didn’t think we came all the way to Starry City just for a good party?” says Nishi, though it’s no surprise a Sagittarian would travel even farther than this for the promise of a great time. “There’s something I wanted to share with you. It might be a clue about Ophiuchus. We’ll come right back—we’re not going far.”

I look at Hysan. “Up for another adventure?”

He offers me his arm. “Naturally.”

Back outside, we skate down a narrow, icy pathway, away from the Aleph, toward the homes of Starry City. “As soon as we got back to the Capital,” says Nishi, leading the way while I hold on to Hysan and try to keep up, “I started researching Ophiuchus again. I figured, being in the land of Curiosity, there were bound to be a bunch of questions about him over the ages. But when I looked, I could only find vague references. I think whoever’s been erasing any trace of the Thirteenth House from history has been more meticulous than we thought.

“So instead, I started looking into Guardian Sagittarius—after all, he would have been a peer of Ophiuchus’s. And it turns out, like most elder Sagittarians do, he became obsessed with a singular curiosity. The question he most wanted answered was:
What is time?
”

Time . . . the time-worm, Moira and Origene’s experiments. I feel Hysan’s muscles tense in sync with mine, and I can tell he’s just as intrigued as I am by Nishi’s discovery.

We come to a stop before a massive memorial carved from crystal. It’s a statue of the original Sagittarian Guardian. He looks like a combination of all his people, and in his features I see Nishi, Brynda, Gyzer, Ezra, and all the others. Across his chest is the Archer symbol, as large as his
head. “See?” asks Nishi, pointing to the bow and arrow. “Time.”

She runs her finger along the arrow and says, “It’s either linear”—then she circles the arch of the bow—“or circular.”

Hysan moves closer, clearly entranced by Nishi’s theory. “Here’s where it gets hazy,” she goes on, while Hysan traces the symbol just as she did. “Since there are no direct references to Ophiuchus, there’s not much in the way of facts. But there’s a legend that started in the earliest days of our House, about a magical object that possesses the truth about time, located somewhere in the Zodiac.”

My head hurts from the effort of not looking at Hysan. Though she doesn’t know it, Nishi is referring to the Guardians’ Talismans.

“What if Sagittarius suspected Ophiuchus had it?” she asks eagerly, having reached her main point. “What if Ophiuchus truly was wronged?”

“So what, though?” asks Deke, and Nishi glares at him. “I’m just saying, whatever happened to him doesn’t justify all he’s done—”

“Of
course
it doesn’t justify it; that’s not my point—”

My Ring finger buzzes as Hysan’s voice whispers in my head.
What if another Guardian
did
steal Ophiuchus’s Talisman?

I touch my Ring, my eyes tracing the lines and curves of the Archer symbol.
It could have been anyone . . . doesn’t even have to be a Guardian.

And if they stole his secrets
, adds Hysan,
they could be immortal, like him. They could be anyone, anywhere.

I gasp out loud.
The
master
.

Hysan nods.
We should share our suspicions with Ferez.

“What is it?” asks Nishi, obviously aware that Hysan and I are communicating through our Rings. She and Deke immediately quit quibbling.

“I just got chills,” I say, which is at least part of the truth. “Nish . . . you’re a genius.”

Hysan stares at Nishi with an expression of deep admiration. “You are truly brilliant.”

“
Genius
,
brilliant
, really now,” says Deke, trying to bite back his own
smile. “You fill her head with these grandiose words, and then who has to deal with her massive ego when you both go back home?”

Deke skates away playfully before Nishi can grab him, and suddenly a woman’s voice speaks inside my head.

We need to talk. I’ll be in touch in an hour. Make sure you’re near a transmitter.

I touch the Ring on my buzzing finger.
Sirna? What is it?

Ochus.

AN HOUR LATER, I’M BACK
in my room with Hysan, Nishi, and Deke, awaiting Sirna’s call. I feel all the magic from earlier in the night disappear as we tensely stand around in a circle, not meeting each other’s eyes.

We’ve watched the feeds but haven’t heard anything new. Whatever Sirna knows, it’s not public knowledge yet.

Suddenly, the wall transmitter sings out a musical jingle and begins to glow red. The four of us inhale together as Nishi uses her Tracker to accept the transmission. The hologram of a dark-skinned woman in a long, flowing skirt with a coat that bears the four sacred moons beams into the center of the room.

“Rho,” says Ambassador Sirna as soon as her sea-blue eyes meet mine.

Despite the circumstances, my mood lightens on seeing her—but, though her gaze softens a little, her expression doesn’t match the feeling. She looks worried. “I wanted to wait for more concrete information before reaching out, but when I received the details of your plan, I knew I had to speak with you now.”

I nod. “What is it?”

“I’m at the Plenum, where the ambassadors are reconsidering your account of the Thirteenth Guardian.”

The air in the room goes from tense to stunned. This sounds like it should be good news, but I can tell by Sirna’s expression it isn’t. “Initial analysis of Verity shows the destruction might have been triggered through the Psy . . . and Ophiuchus is the only being we’ve heard of who can do that. The Plenum now believes he may be the master.”

My friends turn to me, their faces a mix of surprise and concern, but I stay focused on Sirna. “Thank you for telling me. We will reconsider our plan and let you know if there are any changes.”

When her hologram winks out, I turn from the screen and face my friends. “Let’s find out as much about this rumor as we can and regroup at dawn with the other Houses. If the plan stays in place, we’ll set out immediately after the meeting. For now, I’m going to consult the stars.”

I’ve been in my room for hours, reading Vecily’s Ephemeris, desperate for a sign of Ophiuchus, when I hear a knock on my door.

“Come in.”

It’s Hysan, who’s changed back into his gray coveralls. I wave him in.

“Hi,” I say, switching off the star map. Dawn is a couple of hours away, and still no sign of Ophiuchus.

“Anything?” he asks.

I shake my head. “But I’m not buying it.”

The words are a revelation even to myself, and I feel better after expelling them. “I know Ophiuchus is still playing games with me, but I don’t get the sense he’s lying about the master. I think there’s someone else out there, someone much more powerful than him.”

“I agree,” says Hysan, sitting down on the bed beside me. “The master has been far too careful about hiding Ophiuchus’s existence to slip up now. If anything, I believe this news proves Ophiuchus has truly switched sides. I think the master has discovered this fact and is now feeding him to the masses, the way he did you.”

Hysan’s reasoning mirrors mine, and I smile with relief at the lightness and rightness of conviction. I’ve missed this feeling—the certainty I can trust myself.

“What do you want to do?” he asks.

“I want to talk to him again. If the master is lying, Ophiuchus will be desperate to prove it.”

Hysan nods. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

I yank him back by the pocket of his coveralls and bring his mouth to mine. “Thanks,” I say. “I needed that.”

“Any time, my lady.”

I keep staring into the Ephemeris as the sun’s first rays peek out, willing Ochus to appear. I let my vision unfocus, my eyes aimed at the place where the Thirteenth House once existed, until the area seems to be growing larger, or I’m getting sucked into its darkness. Then, suddenly, I begin to see the Snake constellation through the writhing Dark Matter, as if a black curtain were lifting and the starry serpent starts undulating forward.

When the full, heavenly form of the Thirteenth House is floating before me, it speaks in Ochus’s bitter voice.

I’ve disguised myself to hide from the master. Remember, if I were your enemy, would I not do away with you now instead of waiting?

I believe you, Ophiuchus
, I tell him, meaning it.

Even though he no longer has a human face for me to read, I can feel in the Psynergy connecting us that I’ve stumped him. He expected me to fall for the master’s ploy. I guess I haven’t given him reason to have more faith.

We’re setting off for the asteroid belt today
, I continue when he doesn’t answer.
I only came to tell you the plan is still on.

Then there is nothing left to say.
There’s a change in his tone that reminds me of a performer who’s gone blank and is now making up the lines.
Watch yourself, little crab.

“No change in plans,” I tell the room once we’ve gathered. “We’re leaving in five.”

A door bangs open, and Hysan bursts in, his hair pointing every direction. “I apologize for the interruption—my lady, I must speak with you urgently.” He’s coming from his bedroom, where he was consulting with Neith before our departure.

I’m immediately terrified by what could rattle Hysan this much that he would break his courteous customs. “Excuse us,” I tell everyone as I dart over and follow him into a White Room, shutting the door behind me.

“I can’t accompany you,” he says.

“
What?
” I blurt, steadying myself against the wall.

“It’s Neith. Someone’s taken over his controls. They must have found out the truth about who he is . . . and who I am. It has to be the master.” Hysan paces the floor, pale and absolutely petrified. “Rho, I might have put my whole House in danger. If they break through my protections, they could do anything—know everything. I
have
to go before they get the chance.”

I can see the horror in his face, and I know he’s right: His House needs him.

“I’m leaving you
Equinox
and taking a smaller ship to Libra. I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve located Neith and made sure my people aren’t compromised. You’ll only be a seven-hour flight from Kythera, so that’s two hours on one of my engine-enhanced Dragonflys.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” I say, knowing the concern on his face isn’t all about Libra. “Focus on Neith, don’t come after us unless—”

“Rho, I’m not Rubi or Brynda or the others. I won’t wait until you’re in danger to come after you. I’m joining you as soon as I see to Neith—and I’ll be stealthy. But you’ll have to take Twain. He’s a good pilot. He’ll get ’
Nox
through the asteroids.”

I nod, still in too much shock that Hysan isn’t coming to be able to do much else.

“You are the first and only person I have ever loved, Rhoma Grace,” he says, holding my face in his hands. He kisses me and takes off without saying goodbye to the others.

I recover enough of my own breath to leave the White Room and join the group. “Hysan is needed by Lord Neith,” I announce. “Twain, you’re replacing him.”

Nishi and Deke look alarmed, but Twain beams with silent pride.

“Five minutes then,” I say, quickly ducking into the nearest kitchen to steady my nerves in private.

“I’m scheduled to go to the Plenum on Taurus,” says Rubi, who has followed me in and is pouring herself a cup of tea. “You sure you don’t want me with you?”

I shake my head. “You’re the only one stubborn enough to keep this up if I fail.”

“Can’t argue with you there.”

“Rho, I need to go back and meet with my Advisors,” says Brynda, striding into the kitchen and setting an empty teacup down on the counter. “I’m sending a group of Stargazers and students to Tierre to help Ferez. I will be
tracking your progress and will have a ship outfitted and ready to go the moment there’s any danger.”

“What if we send one stealthy ship alongside you?” asks Rubi for the thirteenth time. “So someone’s close by, just in case?”

“Thank you, Rubi, but the master is just too smart and too powerful. If he suspects a trap, he won’t show. He needs to think we’re alone.”

“You
are
alone,” says Brynda, and I don’t say anything.

When my crew is gathered, I trade the hand touch with every single person we’re leaving behind—except Ezra, who refuses to let me get close—and then Aryll, Nishi, Deke, Twain, and I venture into Space.