Bringing Stella Home (29 page)

Here it goes,
she thought to herself as she took a sip. The
tartness of the grapes and alcohol filled her mouth, washing the
pill towards her throat. All she had to do was swallow—swallow, and
remain Qasar’s concubine. Swallow, and—

Her throat seized up, and she started
choking. Before she could stop herself, she spewed her drink all
over the bedsheets, staining them red.

“
What’s the matter?” Qasar
asked. “Too strong for you?”

The pill!
Stella cried out to herself. She looked about
frantically until she saw it under one of the hover-trays. In one
quick motion, she snatched it up.

“
I’m so sorry,” she
stammered. “I shouldn’t have—”

“
Don’t worry about the
sheets,” said Qasar, chuckling to himself. “They can be
cleaned.”

She nodded and closed her fist tightly
around the pill. It was pasty now, and warm from her saliva. She
watched Qasar, waiting for another opportunity to—

No,
she told herself, taking a sharp breath.
I can’t do this. I—I won’t.
In that
moment, she knew she would never choose to be Qasar’s concubine,
not even to save her life. If she had no choice in the matter,
perhaps she could eventually stop hating herself—but not if she
made the choice of her own accord. It would destroy her no less
than Borta’s needle.

“
Qasar,” she said, keeping
her hand tightly closed around the pill.

“
Yes, shy one?”

“
I—I would be honored to be
your wife.”

Qasar smiled and set his goblet on the
nearest tray. “I thought you might come around,” he said. “Here,
let me give you a gift.”

From his little finger, he pulled off
a smooth gold band, with an enormous milky white gemstone set in
the center. Stella’s eyes widened as he held it out to
her.

“
Well, don’t just stare at
it,” Qasar said. “Hold out your hand and let me slip it
on.”

For a moment, Stella thought that he
meant the hand with the pill, and her muscles seized up in sudden
fright. A glance and a nod, however, told her he meant her right.
With a quiet sigh of relief, she held it out, trying very hard not
to tremble.

He slipped it onto her middle finger
without any trouble. It was a perfect fit. He laughed.

“
Truly, a sign that the
gods ordained our marriage,” He paused for a moment, letting her
admire the carefully cut stone. “Would you like to know where the
jewel comes from?”

“
Yes,” said Stella. What
else could she say?

“
In the Tenguri system,
there is a great temple on the primary moon of the first planet.
Tenguri-kan, they call it—The Abode. As the moon passes between
Tenguri and his star, the flames of eternity melt the surface into
glass.”

What a hellish
place,
Stella thought.

“
The gemstone you wear on
your finger was taken from deep beneath the surface,” Qasar
continued, “where heat and pressure and the will of the god combine
to make the finest jewels known to man. So you see, my dear, it is
truly a fitting gift for the namesake of a goddess.”

He lifted her hand and kissed it
softly. The moisture of his lips felt cool on her skin. Her arm
grew limp, and she let it fall after he released her
hand.

“
I hope it pleases you,
Sholpan,” he said.

“
I—I don’t know what to
say.”

There’s no way Borta will
let me live now,
she bemoaned
herself.
Not with this.

He poured them both a second goblet of
wine. “Then let us drink to it. To our union, and a bounteous
future!”

She took the goblet and smiled. While
he drank, she opened her hand and stared at the pill. It had lost
its solid consistency, but was still mostly there. Perhaps she
could—but no, that was no longer an option. Instead, she dropped it
over the edge of the bed, wiping her hand in the folds of her
dress.

That decides it,
she thought to herself.
I’m not going to sleep with him.
S
trangely, she felt a calming peace
come over her. Now that the anticipation was over, it was as if a
great burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

Burden or not, however, that didn’t
change the fact that tomorrow morning, she was going to
die.

* * * * *

That night, Stella dreamed
that she was home again, walking the tree-lined streets of the
Colony. She searched for her parents, but she couldn’t find them
anywhere. All the familiar shops and avenues were closed, and the
streets were empty, as if the entire station were deserted. She
started running, but the faster she tried to go, the more her
progress slowed. As she ran, the corridors became narrower and
narrower, until she was in the spartanly decorated corridors of
the
Lion of Tenguri.
She ran for her life, even though she knew that she would
never escape.

She woke from the dream in a heavy
sweat, sprawled face-down across the bed. Her clothes were wet, and
her waist felt sore where her belt clasp had rubbed against her
stomach in the night. Her body felt so stiff that she could have
been asleep for days. She moaned and stretched, turning over onto
her back.

“
What a dream,” she
mumbled. “Tamu, are you awake? Tamu?”

In an instant, she realized that she
was in Qasar’s bedchamber, not the concubines’ quarters. Her eyes
flew open and she sat bolt upright, glancing frantically about the
room.

Qasar was gone. She was
alone.

Borta shares this room
with Qasar
, Stella thought nervously to
herself.
She probably even shares this bed
with him
.

She wasn’t safe here.

In a frenzied burst of energy, she
threw off the bedsheets and slid onto the floor. She was halfway
out the room when she remembered the ring, lying on the bedside
table. Turning around, she slipped it into her skirt pocket and ran
to the door.

Someplace public,
she thought to herself, trying to remain
calm.
I have to go where there will be
witnesses.

The door hissed open. Stella crouched
against the wall and peeked around the corner. The corridor was
empty, but it was better lit than the bedroom, with fewer places to
hide.

Keeping her back to the wall, she
slipped out and made her way forward, stepping as quietly as she
could on her bare feet. The corridor was straight and smooth, but
it was long—much too long—and empty. Except for the distant hum of
the ship’s ventilators, all was silent. Stella wondered if anyone
would hear her if she screamed—probably not.

The elevator door lay less than fifty
yards away now—but the guards were no longer there. Her heart
skipped a beat, and her stomach dropped out from underneath her.
Where had they gone? Had Borta paid them off? Was this a
trap?

Calm down,
Stella told herself.
Think.

If this was one of Borta’s traps, it
was certainly a good one. The only way Stella knew to get to the
concubines’ quarters was through that elevator. Perhaps she could
find an alternate route on a lower level, but she would probably
get lost along the way, becoming an even easier target. On the
other hand, the elevator wasn’t far—she could probably reach it in
a few seconds. If it was a trap, Borta would certainly kill her—but
it was her only way to safety. She decided to risk it.

Her bare feet pounded the hard metal
floor as she sprinted for the elevator. Seconds later, she slammed
up against it, legs and lungs burning from exertion. She pounded
the access panel over and over again until the door hissed open. It
was empty. She slipped in and held her breath; only when the doors
closed did she allow herself to relax.

Thank God,
she thought to herself, leaning heavily against
the opposite wall. Once she made it to the concubines’ quarters,
there would be enough witnesses to keep Borta from taking direct
action to kill her. For once, Stella was grateful for the total
lack of privacy.

As the door opened again, the pungent,
familiar smell of the concubines’ quarters washed over her. She
peered out into the lavishly decorated corridor and
gasped.

No one was in sight. The place was as
empty as the corridor outside Qasar’s bedchamber.

What’s going on?
she asked herself in desperation.
Did Borta clear the concubines’ quarters, just to
show that she could?
Stella wouldn’t put it
past the woman. Still, where else could she go? If Borta could kill
her in her own room, nowhere on the ship was safe.

Stella took a tentative step out of
the elevator door, her feet dragging on the shaggy carpet. The
elevator door hissed shut behind her, making her jump.

Memories of her family came
to her mind—of her mother, always so kind and cheerful, and her
brothers, who genuinely loved each other, if only in a rough and
tumble kind of way. She pictured her father, stern and austere, yet
always concerned for her well-being. She hadn’t always been able to
see it, but he had only wanted the best for her.
I didn’t give in,
she
wanted to tell him, tears flooding her eyes.
I kept my virtue—I didn’t die a whore.

Down the hallway, she saw movement.
She froze where she stood, rooted to the spot with nowhere to
hide.

This is it.

The black-clad soldiers stepped into
view, charging straight at her. At the sight of their guns, Stella
screamed and panicked. She turned to run, but stumbled and fell to
her knees. All too soon, they reached her.

“
Don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt
me!” she screamed, reverting to her native Kardunasian in her
panic. They ignored her cries and lifted her to her feet, marching
her towards the dormitories.

They aren’t killing
me,
she gradually realized.
Borta must not have sent them.

Then why are they
here?

After a few moments, they let go and
let her lead them. With the two armed escorts, she made straight
for her quarters. They assumed guard positions at the door, whether
to protect her or to keep her inside, she didn’t know.

The beads clattered as she slipped
inside. Tamu glanced up from the bed.

“
Oh, it’s you, sweetie,”
she said, jumping to the floor. “My, but you had a long night.” She
winked and came forward, arms outstretched.

“
Tamu!” said Stella, giving
her roommate a long hug. “Where are the others? What’s with the
soldiers?”

“
Hush, dear,” said Tamu.
“Don’t worry—you’re safe.”

“
But what’s going
on?”

“
The whole ship’s been put
into lockdown.”

“
Lockdown?”

“
Yes, dear. Haven’t you
heard?”

Stella gave her roommate a funny
look.

“
Oh, silly me,” said Tamu.
“Of course you haven’t.”

“
Heard what?”

“
The news.” She glanced
through the bead curtain at the guards, then turned back to
Stella.

“
Borta is dead.”

Chapter 14

Danica stared at the telescopic image
of Kardunash IV on her main screen. The world lay some eight
hundred thousand kilometers off their bow, shrouded in
grayish-brown clouds and debris. Dead.

Just like Tajjur
V
, she thought to herself. Then again, the
Imperials had occupied her homeworld long before the Hameji had
razed it. Her family had been dead for years, and she in a
self-imposed exile for nearly half her lifetime. Not that it had
amounted to much—but still, it was enough to ground her. For James,
however, it was a completely different story.

“
How far out are we?” James
asked from behind her, his tone betraying his
impatience.

“
We’re about eight hundred
k-clicks out,” said Danica. “The port authority will be expecting
us to hail them soon.” She turned to Ilya. “Lieutenant Ayvazyan,
are we within range?”

“
Yeah,” said Ilya. “Five
light-seconds should be enough. I’m ready when you are.”

“
Good. Sikorsky, Ayvazyan,
prepare for transmission.”

“
Yes, Captain,” said Anya.
She nodded to Ilya, who slipped on a headset and began typing on
the myriad keyboards spread out in front of his chair.

“
What’s that?” James asked,
pointing to the main screen.

The main orbital station stood out
against the dead gray backdrop of Kardunash IV. Its docking arms
jutted out from the central hub like spider legs, noticeably devoid
of the usual flurry of ships and cargo. That wasn’t what James was
pointing at, however. Two Hameji warships orbited in tandem with
the station, dwarfing it with their enormous bulk.

Those ships could blow them out of the
sky at any minute, even from five light-seconds away. All it would
take was one bomb, jumped to their location—or worse, a boarding
party. No one knew what the Hameji did with their prisoners, and
Danica didn’t want to find out if she could help it.