Slave Empire - Prophecy (18 page)

"She doesn't
know anything," Rayne denied, but he crossed the room towards a
blank wall. As he approached, a panel slid aside and a space line
screen emerged.

"Okay, I'll
tell you," she blurted, desperate to stop him, and he turned to
her. "We're the last humans. They wanted to save our genetic data
for future generations, a sort of legacy. They created us, after
all."

"You're
brother and sister."

"Yes, but our
genes can still be used with others, and we were the only ones not
mutated or diseased."

"Not very
plausible, I'm afraid. Your genetic data would have been stored in
a lab by now, and even if it wasn't, it's not that important. If
the Atlanteans are so desperate to find you, they must have a
better reason than that." He faced the screen and activated it,
waiting until a link was established and a grey Draycon face filled
it.

"Get me
Drevina," he ordered.

Rayne chewed
her lip, searching her mind for another lie that would satisfy him,
but sensed he would go ahead with his call anyway. She was amazed
at how quickly the Draycon woman appeared, wearing a false
smile.

"Shrike, how
nice to hear from you."

"Cut the crap,
Drevina. Why did the Atlanteans rescue this girl I bought from you
today?"

She looked
smug. "You should have found that out before you bought her. Like
so many others, you couldn't resist a pretty face, could you?

"I had my
reasons for buying her, now tell me why."

"Kill her, and
you won't have to worry about it."

He shook his
head. "I paid a lot for her. I'm not about to do that."

"You will when
I tell you what she is."

"So tell
me."

Drevina said,
"She's the Golden Child of Atlantean prophecy, destined to save the
Atlantean Empire from ruin. They'll search every corner of this
galaxy for her, and when they find her they'll kill you. Kill her
or sell her, if you value your life. Why do you think I got rid of
her so quickly?"

He broke the
connection, banishing her smug visage, and the space line screen
slid back into the wall as he turned to Rayne. "Wonderful. Why did
you try to keep it a secret? It's the one thing guaranteed to make
me want to get rid of you."

"Or kill
me."

"No, I'd be
more likely to ransom you back to them."

"Then why
don't you? They'll pay it."

"I'm sure they
would, but I have other plans for you. The Atlanteans won't find
you that quickly. It's a big galaxy." He went over to a chair and
sank into it. "Who else knows about this, apart from the
Atlanteans?"

"No one, as
far as I know, why?"

"It would be
inconvenient."

"So what are
you going to do now?"

He shrugged.
"It doesn't change my plans. Things are already in motion, so it's
a bit late now. We'll see what happens."

His
evasiveness and mystery angered and frustrated Rayne. Although she
could sense little from him in the way of moods, she did not think
he was lying. He did not have to, he just told her nothing. An idea
struck her, and she stretched forth her fledging telepathy in a
clumsy attempt to read his mind. She sensed his thoughts under the
surface of his consciousness, a seething cauldron of psychic
activity normal for any mind. They were unintelligible to her
inexperienced intellect, and she strived to unravel them.

A flash of red
pain hit her behind her eyes, as if someone had thrust a hot poker
into her brain. She staggered back with a yelp, clutching her
temples. Her knees buckled, but the Shrike caught her before she
hit the floor, gripping her arms. The pain vanished, leaving her
dazed.

"You fool!
Don't ever try that again." He lifted her and pushed her onto the
couch. "I didn't know you were a damned telepath. I could have
fried your brains, you idiot. Are you all right?"

Rayne nodded,
her head pounding with an unbelievable migraine. He sat beside her,
and she closed her eyes, concentrating on soothing the ache in her
skull.

He said, "I
though humans were incapable of telepathy. Whoever opened your mind
to its powers did a very bad job of teaching you how to use them.
They should have told you never to attempt such an obvious
intrusion into a fellow telepath. I could have sworn you had no
ability at all. You can't even hide your thoughts, although they
are pretty clear. I should have realised."

The pain
eased, and she opened her eyes, startled to find him so close, and
even more surprised that his proximity did not disturb her.
Instead, she found it exciting, and looked away as a wave of
shyness washed over her.

He seemed to
study her. "Is there anything else I should know about? I don't
like surprises."

She rubbed her
brow, frowning. "No, not really. Only that I'm a psy-healer."

"That's a rare
talent."

"But I'm sure
it doesn't change your plans, which, if you don't intend to make a
huge profit by ransoming me back to the Atlanteans, can only mean
you'll sell me to someone who will make me disappear forever, even
if they don't kill me."

"Why would I
do that?"

"Because, like
Drevina, you stand to gain if Atlan falls. They've condemned you to
death, and they hunt you. With them gone, you'd be free to do as
you please."

"True," he
agreed, "but I'm not Drevina. In fact, I have no liking for her at
all, and a galaxy ruled by the Draycons is not a place I'd like to
live in. The Atlanteans are a fair bunch, and their efforts to
capture me have never caused me a problem. If Atlan fell, I'd more
likely find myself at war with the Draycons, which wouldn't make me
very happy."

"At war?" She
snorted. "You mean wiped out! You're just a slaver. The Draycons
have the second largest empire."

"They'd have a
job wiping me out. My empire rivals theirs in size and is perhaps a
little stronger in firepower."

She frowned.
"That's impossible. I've been studying at the Atlantean library for
years, and there's no mention of you in it at all."

"That doesn't
surprise me. I'm sure there is, if you looked for it, but it's
probably well hidden or classified. They don't like to admit that I
exist. That's why they don't come looking for me. They know it
would end up in a very bloody battle, and it's not worth it to
capture one man. They'd rather wait for an opportunity to grab me
when I'm away from my fleet and out of my territory, but that
doesn't happen much."

"But you're an
outlaw. How can you rule an empire?"

He shook his
head. "I don't rule it exactly. I'm not a king or an emperor. It's
an empire of wealth and ships and planets I've accumulated over the
years. I have more ships than planets, and most of my people are
fighters; outlaws, like me. Atlan and Draycon have massive civilian
populations spread over many planets; a lot to protect with their
fleets. The war between them was messy. Whole planets were wiped
out before the Atlantean ships could reach them. I have a few more
planets like this one; well hidden, where my crews are able to have
families and holidays, but they spend most of their lives in
space."

He paused, and
Rayne urged, "Go on."

"That's about
it. What else do you want to know?"

"How did you
become the leader of your empire?"

"I built it.
People flocked to my banner, you could say. It's taken fifty years
to get this big, but it's still growing, because I keep building
ships. I'm far less vulnerable than Atlan or Draycon. My planets
are all well-guarded, since I have only a few of them."

"If you've had
an empire for fifty years, you must be pretty old," she said.

"Not really.
I'm a hundred and twenty-eight, which isn't old, considering I
should live to see five hundred if Tallyn doesn't find me."

"Do you ever
take that mask off?"

"Only in
private,” he said. “It has filters to purify the air, and can
protect me from some noxious gasses."

"Are you
Atlantean?"

"No. My race
is extinct, like yours."

"What happened
to them?"

He looked
away. "It's not something I like to talk about."

The Shrike
rose to his feet, forestalling further questions, and wandered
around the room, rearranging the things she had untidied in her
search. She turned to watch him as he moved with cat-like grace. He
righted a couple of ornaments, then went over to a wall and
straightened a picture before facing her again.

"I have things
to do. Food will be brought to you at the appropriate time."

After he left,
she stared at the door for a while, startled by his abrupt
exit.

The Shrike sat
before a space line screen in his private sanctum, a gloved finger
tracing the edge of his mask. The room’s tranquil ambience stemmed
from its subdued décor of grey-blue walls and cream and glass
furniture, recessed lighting and grey moss carpet. The plump,
jovial face that filled the screen looked worried, and Vidan’s tone
was unhappy.

"I agree, it
all seems legitimate, but it's awfully risky. Is it really worth it
to get Jamdar? You'll be out of your territory, with only one ship.
You can't bring more without them being spotted, and if Urquat
decides to rat you out Jamdar will have you."

"I want
Jamdar," the Shrike said. "He's taken the bait. This is the closest
I've ever come to cornering that slimy bastard. No one will suspect
anything, it's a legitimate takeover. The only risk is in the kill
itself."

"Because you
insist on doing it yourself."

"It's my
decision. I don't have the right to risk someone else’s life."

Vidan
grimaced. "What if you’re killed? You're the most important person
around here, you know. Others would give their lives for you. I'd
do it myself!"

"I know you
would. When is the meeting set for? We might have to rush this;
certain other factors have come to light."

"Two days from
now. Why? What other factors?"

The Shrike
shook his head. "Nothing to be concerned about."

"When you say
things like that, it only makes me more suspicious. I need to know
all the circumstances surrounding this deal, or I'll pull the plug,
I swear. If it's more dangerous than it seems, I need to know about
it."

"You can't
pull the plug."

"I could warn
Jamdar."

"You'd do
that?"

Vidan puffed
out his cheeks. "If I thought it would save your life, yes."

"I should fire
you." The Shrike sighed. "All right, it's the bait. It seems she's
important to Atlan. They're looking for her, so I need to do this
tomorrow, then they can have her back."

"Are you
nuts?" Vidan's brown eyes widened in an almost comical expression
of horror. "You're going to meet Jamdar with the damned Atlanteans
on your tail?"

"They're not
on my tail. It'll take them a few more days to find out I've got
her, even if they grab Drevina. Then they have to try to find out
which of my bases she's on. I just want this over and her off my
hands before they start making a nuisance of themselves. Set up the
meeting for tomorrow. Tell Jamdar it's a one-day deal."

"You are nuts.
All right, I'll do it, but personally, I hope Jamdar tells you to
go stick it."

"Thanks. Get
back to me as soon as it's set."

Vidan snorted,
and the space line went blank. The Shrike stared at it for a few
minutes, then rose and left the sealed room in which he conducted
his most secret communications.

Rayne looked
up as the door opened to admit the Shrike, who moved with his usual
unhurried grace. After a good supper, she had slept well and woken
refreshed. Since her nights were not in sync with the planet's,
dawn had not yet broken, and she had filled the time watching an
entertainment vidfilm, nibbling on snacks. If anything, her prison
was more comfortable than Tallyn's house. The Shrike glanced at the
large, millimetre-thick crystal screen on which the vidfilm played,
and it went black. The screen slid back into its socket, and Rayne
shot him a frown.

"Come." He
gestured towards the door, indicating that she should precede him
through it. She put down her packet of snack bits, the alien
equivalent of crisps, and rose to approach him. As she stepped into
the corridor, the crazy urge to run took hold, but the sensation
was short lived, for such an action was foolhardy and doomed from
the outset. The prospect of discovering her fate cheered her
somewhat as she strode ahead of him.

"Where are we
going?"

"Just for a
walk. I thought you'd like to see the base, get some fresh air, and
stretch your legs."

A tart retort
leapt onto her tongue, but she bit it back. It would be foolish and
prideful to scorn his effort to make her comfortable, to say
nothing of churlish and ungrateful. Instead, she gazed around at
the scenery. People, whom she assumed were slaves, since they all
wore collars, bowed to him as he passed, smiling. Most were
Atlantean, but some had alien features and a few were truly
unusual. They left the building, and he led her to a sleek gravcar.
Dawn tinged the dome with delicate pink as the sun neared the
horizon, brightening the sky outside. She found the car's confines
uncomfortable, acutely aware of the man beside her.

The Shrike
guided the car along a smooth black street towards the growing
light, passing uniform, square buildings where people were just
starting the day's work. They approached the edge of the dome, and
he steered the vehicle onto a grassy area bordered by flowering
trees. He parked it and climbed out, waiting for her to join him.
Standing beside him, she gazed out through the clear barrier,
enthralled by the desert's beauty.

After a few
minutes, the sun touched the horizon with a line of liquid gold,
then rose in a blaze of glory as the dust that flew in the bitter
wind turned the sky into a medley of red, yellow, magenta and pink.
The scant clouds were painted with the wonderful reflections of
these colours, a paler counterpoint to the masterpiece. The huge
orb of the magnified sun blazed at the centre, a great gold coin
rising over the horizon.