Hellhole Inferno (32 page)

Enva Tazaar opened the channel to the flagship. “General Adolphus, we are preparing to depart, along with a thousand Candela refugees. Thank you for the good word, Administrator Hu. When I told them I intended to reestablish a settlement on Theser, they couldn't jump to accept fast enough. They just needed someone to point them in the right direction.”

“A thousand of them?” Adolphus said. “You don't think small, Lady Tazaar—and I'm impressed by how quickly you moved.”

On the screen, Enva smiled. “You did grant me permission, General. What would be the point in waiting? I wanted to demonstrate my dedication along with my leadership abilities.”

“You're doing well, so far. I suggest you keep doing so.”

Tanja somehow managed to look pleased and troubled at the same time. “My Candela refugees will be scattered, and they'll form their own communities and identities on new planets. I'm not their planetary administrator anymore.” She paused. “I suppose I'll just enjoy being footloose for the time being.”

Walfor nudged her with his elbow. “Buktu is empty and waiting to be resettled. If we can resolve this mess with the Constellation, maybe we'll free Erik Anderlos and my people. Do you think they'll go for a prisoner exchange, General?”

“It's a possibility,” Adolphus said. “Once we recapture Tehila, maybe they'll be a little less intractable.”

While the
Jacob
locked into a primary spot on the lead stringline hauler, the General monitored the loading and positioning of the remaining ships. He kept watch on the chronometer, pleased with the progress he was seeing. They might even be able to launch an hour ahead of schedule.

As he watched the last military vessels and civilian ships lining up in the loading pattern, Sophie Vence contacted him from Slickwater Springs. He immediately feared that something had gone wrong, that the Diadem or Ishop Heer had caused trouble—but she was smiling on the screen. “Tiber, I've got great news for you—a hundred and fifty shadow-Xayan volunteers have agreed to help, as you requested. I pressed them, and they're heading to Ankor at this moment.”

Adolphus was surprised, but pleased. He needed to take advantage of every weapon, and every surprise, in his arsenal. “I'll take them aboard my flagship. They may prove useful—I have the military force, but telemancy will be my secret weapon. Is Keana among them?”

Sophie shook her head. “No, she's coming here to see her mother. Lodo will lead the group heading with you out to Tehila.”

Adolphus felt a warm flush of increased confidence. “Commodore Hallholme won't know what hit him.”

Sophie had a sparkle in her eyes that made her look ten years younger and even more beautiful than usual. “That is the idea, Tiber. They're on their way.”

Before long, the shuttle from Ankor docked aboard the
Jacob
just as the last ships locked into place aboard the stringline haulers. Adolphus had already directed Clayton Sendell to find quarters for the shadow-Xayans.

Three converts accompanied Lodo as they arrived on the bridge. Though the rest of the
Jacob
's crew were familiar with the Xayans, the looming creature drew many strange glances. Lodo's voice vibrated through the membrane across his smooth face. “Shall we begin our military adventure, General?”

Adolphus confirmed with the hauler pilot that both framework vessels were fully loaded, aligned on the iperion path, and ready to speed into space.

“Yes, Lodo, we shall.” He made a fleet-wide announcement to rally them, and heard a resounding cheer over the intercom. The haulers launched.

 

41

Through her connection to Uroa, Keana understood that the real threat to the planet was not a fleet of Constellation ships. The alien presence within her was convinced the Ro-Xayans would try to exterminate the rival Xayan faction.

As the Diadem's daughter, Keana had been brought up in the glitter of Sonjeera, obsessed with her own troubles and minor ambitions. She had resented her mother and court politics, and resented being forced to marry for political reasons. She had dismissed Bolton Crais as not being interesting enough, without bothering to think that she had not made herself worthy of him either. She took Louis de Carre as her lover, and now she wondered if the affair was merely a way of lashing out against her domineering mother. Oh, Keana had loved Louis, she was sure of that; under normal circumstances theirs might have been a romance for the ages. Louis's utter disgrace and suicide was the most devastating thing Keana had endured up until that point in her life. But she had also been blithely cruel to Bolton, and he didn't deserve that.

Now, she realized how utterly trivial her concerns had been. She'd been a spoiled child, self-centered and weak, a creation of her environment. In a sense, she wasn't much different from her mother, although the Diadem wielded much more power.

But Keana had advanced far beyond that, becoming one of the most powerful of the shadow-Xayans. Joined with Uroa, she was helping propel the future of an entire race, guiding them toward their evolutionary destiny—a far more important obligation than any responsibility her mother had.

Keana was an entirely different person from the woman who had naïvely run away from the Crown Jewels. When she faced Michella, she did not expect her mother to understand or forgive what she had done.

As she left the burgeoning shadow-Xayan settlement, she and Uroa used telemancy to levitate her body. They flew across the landscape, heading directly for the compound where the captive Diadem was being held.

The Uroa part of her wanted to remain with the converts, working to increase the race's mental powers to achieve
ala'ru
. If only more volunteers would immerse themselves in the slickwater, they might even be ready to ascend when Lodo and his group of shadow-Xayans returned with the General from Tehila.

But Keana needed to do this, and Uroa allowed her, promising to assist in the conversation—or confrontation—with Michella, as necessary.

Ishop Heer was being held prisoner, too. Back in her previous shallow life, Ishop had convinced Keana to go haring off to Hellhole looking for the son of her lover Louis de Carre. She realized now that it might have been a trick, a fool's errand to get rid of her. Had her mother put him up to it? She wouldn't have been surprised.

Regardless, it had resulted in her becoming who she was now.

When she arrived, the three slickwater pools were crowded. For weeks now, Encix had been using the threat of the Ro-Xayans as a goad to encourage more converts, and Keana could sense the Original was growing more and more dissatisfied with the promise not to coerce volunteers.

Keana walked to the main lodge house with its reinforced walls and windows that could stand proof against whatever natural threats the planet threw at them. When she met Peter-Arnex, she pushed her human personality to the fore. “You have my mother here. She won't want to see me, but I need to do it.”

“She and Ishop Heer are under guard in the outer bungalows,” said Herald. “Follow me.” Unconcerned, he led her around the main lodge and along the boardwalk toward a cluster of small dwellings.

Most of the small buildings were empty in the bright afternoon. The Spartan interior had only a few articles of furniture, including a chair, a small bed, a table with a light source, and a shelf. Those who came to Slickwater Springs did not stay here for long, and once they became shadow-Xayans, the converts cared little for physical comforts. The Diadem must be miserable without her usual amenities, Keana thought.

She stopped in front of the bungalow door, and the guards recognized her. “I'll talk to my mother first. Bring Ishop Heer to join us in a few minutes.”

Herald went to the other bungalow, while the guards opened the door to let Keana enter.

Keana was shocked by her mother's appearance. Michella looked considerably older, her eyes sunken as if constant fury and displeasure had burned the life out of her. She wore drab garments—definitely not the attire her mother normally favored.

Upon seeing her daughter, Michella rose in indignation. The old woman's lips curled downward, but she forced away the expression with a visible effort. “So you survived in this awful place, Daughter. I didn't believe you had it in you. We were so worried we dispatched an entire fleet to recapture this world and rescue you.”

Keana stood straight and strong. “No, you didn't, Mother. We know your orders—I've talked with Bolton. Rescuing me was nowhere on the list of priorities that Redcom Hallholme received.”

Michella scowled, like a child annoyed that a birthday party hadn't gone as planned. “My priority was to save the Constellation from this dangerous rebellion.”

“But you didn't even try to understand the Xayans, Mother.” Keana took a step closer. “You murdered the peaceful emissaries who came to Sonjeera to ask for your help. You don't understand the Xayan race, the slickwater, and the memories … or all the wonders and powers that I now have, which were denied me before.”

The old Diadem recoiled as her daughter approached. “You're brainwashed. Contaminated! Don't touch me.”

Keana stopped a few feet away. “How familiar, the warmth and love you've always shown me. This planet has concerns that far outweigh yours. The petty struggles of the Constellation are like the concerns of ants while a civilization tries to build a great city. And there are more terrible threats coming. The Ro-Xayans hammered this planet once, and they will come back again.”

“You must release me from this horrid place! You are all barbarians.”

Keana smiled. “Barbarians? The Xayan civilization is far superior to the Constellation. Maybe we should take you to the slickwater pools and throw you in, so you can see and know for yourself.” She extended a hand toward her mother, but Michella backed away in horror, as expected.

“I am not the daughter you remember. I know who I used to be—weak, preoccupied, and flighty. The way you wanted me to be. You wanted to strip away my ambitions, keep me docile. But I have another life inside me now, a whole universe.” She extended her fingers again, trying to touch Michella's face.

But the old woman retreated until she pressed against the wall. “Get away from me!”

Keana made a mental link with Uroa, felt the telemancy build within their shared consciousness. She wanted to demonstrate how much she had changed—not in a vengeful way, but just to convince her mother, to get through the irrational barriers Michella had erected.

Just then the bungalow door opened, and the guards allowed Ishop Heer inside. Though he looked edgy and trapped, he still moved with a prowling grace.

As he saw Michella cowering before Keana, an impish grin crossed his lips. “Ah, a mother-and-daughter reunion. But I advise against hugging her, Eminence. She's not the daughter you remember anymore.”

Keana turned to him, feeling more confident than ever. “I believe you tricked me into coming here, Ishop. You hoped that Hellhole would destroy me, didn't you? Just as my mother exiled General Adolphus here, thinking he would not survive. Instead this place made both of us stronger. Sorry to disappoint you.”

He chuckled. “Tricked you? I merely told you what you wished to know. The son of your poor dead lover had gone into exile, and you begged for information. Are you angry with me for telling you exactly what you asked?”

“No, Ishop. And you may have been right that I wouldn't have fared well here, but I did survive with the help of the slickwater. Thanks to the Xayans, and Uroa inside me, I'm now more than you ever imagined I would be.” She turned her gaze back to Michella. “In fact, I would make a strong ruler, a perfect Diadem with the right breadth of experience, wisdom, and personal power. From what I understand, you've left the Constellation a shambles.”

“You should have died on this planet and saved us all the trouble,” Michella muttered.

Keana was impatient with the old woman's pettiness. She had always allowed her mother to hurt her before, but those days were long gone. Uroa was inside her as a bastion of strength, but she didn't need his help now. “I came to Hellhole out of love, Mother. I'm sure that's a concept as foreign to you as these alien presences are. I wanted to make amends to Cristoph for what happened to his father. I wanted to share my grief with him, help him to survive. I did love his father very much. Poor Louis … I know you caused his disgrace and brought about his downfall. I should have been with him in prison to strengthen him, but you kept us apart. He didn't have me to comfort him, and in despair he killed himself. I blame
you
, Mother—you drove him to suicide.”

Ishop made a rude snort. “You can certainly blame her, but you think it was suicide? Comfort yourself with that, girl. Louis de Carre
should
have taken care of matters himself, but I had to make all the arrangements.” He shook his shaved head. “That man was a disappointment to the end. He might have salvaged something of his noble house if he had fought for his honor as much as he struggled in the last few moments when I killed him.”

Keana looked at Ishop with widening eyes as horror swelled within her. Uroa surged to greater power. She felt a tingling crackle inside her bloodstream.

If Ishop noticed, he didn't seem concerned. He made an oblivious gesture toward Michella. “I was just a tool, though. I acted under your mother's explicit orders. She commanded me to remove that man because she was impatient with your defiance. That's all it was to her, a mother slapping the hand of an unruly child.” His chuckle was like broken glass.

Keana directed her fury toward Michella now, whose lips were curled back in disgust and indignation. “You have only yourself to blame, Daughter! If you had paid attention to your own responsibilities, if you hadn't been so damned stupid, none of this would have happened.”