The Moon's Shadow (30 page)

Kelric considered the thought. “Yes, I do think she would like that.”

“Well, there, you have an answer.”

It seemed an odd answer to Kelric, to build his wife a VR arcade, but perhaps she would like it. “Very well.” He glanced at Roca and Dehya, who were standing by a window, bathed in light. They looked serene, but he doubted their argument was anywhere near as peaceful. Their tension emanated through the room.

Eldrin followed his gaze. “Perhaps we should find out what they’re talking about before they do something drastic, like declaring war on someone.”

Kelric smiled. “Only I can do that.”

Eldrin gave him a dour look. “Don’t be so sure.” Then he headed across the room.

As Kelric and Eldrin drew nearer, Roca turned to them and motioned irately at Dehya. “Perhaps you can talk sense into her.”

“About what?” Eldrin asked.

“I think we should go ahead with the peace talks,” Dehya said.

Kelric spoke. “No.”

“We must,” Dehya said.

“Not while they hold Ardoise prisoner.”

Dehya frowned at him. “That is exactly what ESComm wants, for us to pull out.”

“Jaibriol Qox controls ESComm,” Kelric said.

Eldrin spoke dryly. “He is eighteen. He’s probably lucky if he can control himself, let alone ESComm.”

“His advisers will be the ones with power,” Roca said. Grimly, she added, “And Corbal Xir.”

Dehya looked around at them. “I can’t give you proof Jaibriol Qox is sincere. It’s more my sense of what I found in the web. But I think he wants peace. If we let ESComm destroy the talks, we play right into their hands.”

“That may be,” Kelric said. “But if we go to those talks now, we’re telling them they can brutalize our citizens and we’ll still negotiate. We can’t undermine our position that way, especially not with Aristos.”

Dehya turned away and stared at the window. “We need those talks.”

Kelric wanted them, too. But he knew the Hightons. “We can’t give in on this.”

“Has Qox responded to our protest over the Ardoise incident?” Eldrin asked.

Roca answered. “Nothing.” She glanced at Dehya, who was still staring out the window. “Not a word.”

“What should he do?” Dehya said, more to herself than to them. “If he sends Ardoise back, ESComm will shred him.”

“If he can’t handle ESComm,” Kelric said, “then any agreements he makes with us mean nothing.”

“I know.” Dehya turned to them. “I had just hoped this time might be different.”

Kelric understood. For centuries, their people had hoped that someday, somehow, it might be different with the Traders. But it had never happened in the past, and it looked like it wouldn’t happen now either.

The silence in the house seemed to echo, though logically Kelric knew that made no sense. He walked through the spacious rooms searching for Jeejon. When he found only empty space and polished stone, he grew concerned. Surely she wouldn’t leave. Not Jeejon.

Sensing what he wanted, his gauntlet activated its comm and paged his aide. A voice came out of the mesh. “Lieutenant Qahot here, sir.”

“Qahot—” Kelric paused, self-conscious. He pushed the words out all at once, before he could back out. “I need you to find out what it would require to install a VR arcade in my house.”

“Yes, sir. Certainly.” Qahot sounded amused.

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Out.”

“Out, sir.”

Kelric winced. Saints only knew what his officers would think if the rumor spread that he wanted an arcade. Well, never mind. An Imperator and his wife had a right to relax once in a while.

He touched another panel on his gauntlet, and the house EI said, “Attending.”

“Comp, can you locate my wife?”

“She is outside, behind the house.”

Kelric went out the back of the house and crossed a slope covered by green grass. As he came over a swell of the land, he saw Jeejon seated on the hill, facing away from him, staring out over the ravine and the silver ribbon of a stream that wound along it far below. A breeze stirred her hair, fluffing the silvery curls.

As he reached her, she turned with a start. “Kelric.”

He smiled, warmed by her presence. Maybe no one else approved of his telling her that they had a good neural resonance, but it was true. Her mind affected his, making him feel good whenever he came near her.

Sitting next to her, he took her hand in his. The hill was steep enough that they didn’t need to lean back much to have its support. The slope rolled away more gently at their feet, almost flat, then plunged down to the river.

Kelric thought of his brother’s advice to express his emotions. “You look beautiful today.”

She snorted. “Have you been drinking?”

Laughing, he said, “No.”

Jeejon made a
hmmmph
noise, but she settled against him, her mood pleased even if she pretended otherwise. She said no more, in keeping with the terse dialect used by taskmakers where she had lived, a minimalist speech style that rationed words. It was one reason he liked her; she could be as taciturn as him.

Kelric put his arm around her shoulder and they sat enjoying the view. It took a while to decide how to phrase his question. Finally he said, “The peace talks may fall through.”

Jeejon sighed. “I am sorry. I know you had hopes.”

“Yes.” When she said nothing more, he tried again. “But we haven’t lost hope.”

“Good.”

“If they do proceed, we will meet on Earth. As VR simulacra, not in person.”

“Smart idea.”

“Jeejon?”

“Eh?”

“The talks won’t just be discussions. There will also be diplomatic-type events.”

“‘Diplomatic-type’?” She laughed. “What does that mean?”

“You know. Dinners. Receptions.”

“People need to eat in VR?”

Kelric smiled. “No. But the social aspect is part of the process.”

“It seems a waste of time.”

“I suppose.” He paused. “As my consort, you will be expected to attend.”

She went very still. “With you?”

“Yes. With me.”

“Wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Who wouldn’t? You or me?”

“Ha. Funny.” She didn’t sound amused.

“We have people who can help you adapt.”

“I feel like I would need a new brain.”

He brushed his lips over her hair. “The one you have is perfect.”

“Heh.” She started to speak, then stopped.

“Yes?” Kelric asked.

“What Aristos would come to the talks?”

“Emperor Qox. One of ESComm’s Joint Commanders. Qox’s advisers.”

“Ministers?”

“Some of them.”

“Like Finance.”

Kelric tensed. “Yes, Finance.”

She pulled her hand out of his. “The emperor needs financial advice to make peace?”

He took her hand again. “Jeejon, she is the empress. She has to be there.”

His wife didn’t answer.

“It makes no difference to me,” he said.

“You still love her?”

He let out an explosive breath. “Gods above, where did you get the idea I loved that barracuda?”

“You think about her all the time.”

“Yes, I do. Every day I thank the saints I’m free.”

She said nothing, but he felt her disbelief.

“How do I make you believe me?” he asked.

“With the truth.”

Kelric knew she would see through any platitudes he tried. So he said, “Yes, I slept with her. I didn’t have much choice in the matter. They gave me drugs.”

“Drugs, pah.”

“I didn’t love her, Jeejon. I hated her.”

“You liked the sex.” She didn’t make it a question.

“It meant nothing.”

She turned in his arms, facing him, her face flushed with uncharacteristic anger. “She’s a
Highton.
I can’t compete with that.”

Kelric took hold of her shoulders. “She’s no one. And you don’t have to compete with her.”

She put her palms against his shoulders. “I’m afraid.”

“Don’t be.” He pulled her close. “I need you.”

“I don’t know how to help you.”

“Just be yourself.” He searched for the words to explain. “You settle me.”

She rested her head against his shoulder. “Maybe.”

“Jeejon—”

No answer.

Kelric laid his head on hers, knowing she would say no more. But he had felt a slight shift in her mood, less uncertainty and more optimism. He would continue this way, each day, until she believed him.

So they sat, two players in the twilight of a truce between Skolia and Eube that was dimming despite the best efforts of many people to make it work.

A
gonizing.

It was the only way Jai could describe the visit of his Joint Commanders to the palace. Being in the same room with Admiral Kaliga and General Taratus was agonizing, but he could show no sign of it, lest they perceive weakness in him.

The Grand Ballroom—ceiling, floor, walls, and columns—was made from glittering white stone veined with black. Jai stood with Tarquine while Highton after Highton filed into the reception. Everything glittered: their black clothes, their black hair, and their diamond finger cymbals, one on the thumb and one on the index finger. The only color in the room came from their red eyes.

Each Highton walked along a line of Razers to the emperor and empress. The Razers never moved. Jai wasn’t even sure they were breathing. Were they more machine than human? They never gave their names. He didn’t even know if they went home at night or just turned themselves off. They could stand this way for hours, always vigilant.

When the Hightons reached the end of the Razers, they bowed to Jai, then to Tarquine. They tapped their cymbals twice, sending chimes through the hall. Then they walked along another line of Razers away from the emperor and empress. No one spoke. The process made Jai’s head hurt. This reception was meant to be a party, but as far as he could see, no one was having fun. The Hightons didn’t dance; they didn’t eat; they didn’t drink. After they went through the line, they stood in groups and watched Jai greet other Hightons.

Finally the procession ended, and the Razers dispersed throughout the ballroom. Scanning the room, Jai saw Corbal standing by a column. When the Xir lord nodded, Jai raised his arm and, for the first time that night, tapped his finger cymbals. A melodic note vibrated in the air.

Providers filed into the hall, carrying trays with crystal goblets and decanters of a clear liquid. Jai froze. Although he knew his staff had arranged refreshment, he hadn’t realized providers would serve it. They flustered him. They wore no colors. In fact, they wore almost nothing at all, neither the women nor the men. Their G-strings were chains of diamonds, and diamonds studded their slave restraints. The women had diamond chains slung low on their hips and diamond rings in their nipples. All of them had the same pale platinum hair. The only color came from their eyes, a vivid blue.

He didn’t know which appalled him more, the display of providers or that he enjoyed watching the women so much. He tore his gaze away from one girl, praying Tarquine hadn’t noticed him looking. As the providers circulated, Jai and Tarquine split up and moved among their guests. The Hightons finally began to converse, though their discussions were more like duels than small talk. Jai took refuge in silence. It worked surprisingly well; Aristos used silence as a form of manipulation, so his lack of response made him seem in control rather than at a loss for words.

Corbal maneuvered people around the room like chess pieces, gradually bringing together Jai, Admiral Kaliga, and General Taratus. A pleasure girl served them drinks. As Kaliga stared at her, she flushed, her mood a hazy blend of fear and unwilling desire. Her gaze had a glossy sheen. With a start, Jai realized she was drugged with aphrodisiacs. Looking around the hall, he realized the other providers had the same look. Well, surprise. Apparently the emperor’s hospitality extended beyond food and drink, regardless of whether or not the emperor knew.

As Kaliga took a goblet from the tray, he brushed his thumb across the girl’s nipple. She averted her gaze, her face turning red.

Kaliga nodded to Jai. “You are a most gracious host, Your Highness.”

Jai gritted his teeth. He knew why Corbal had sent over the prettiest pleasure girl; it was an apology, supposedly from Jai, for having taken Kaliga’s favored provider that night in Kaliga’s home. Although Jai understood better now how he had offended the admiral, he couldn’t regret his actions, not when he knew what Kaliga would have done to Silver that night.

Taratus surveyed the hall, less circumspect than Kaliga about leering at the servers. He raised his goblet, his florid face ruddy from the liqueur. “The Line of Qox entertains well.”

Jai inclined his head. It both mortified and aroused him to realize why the ballroom had so many alcoves hidden behind those stately columns; tonight, the providers would also be dessert. If Jai really intended to win back the support of ESComm, he had made a good start, judging from Taratus’s and Kaliga’s moods, but plying his Joint Commanders with expensive liqueur and beautiful pleasure slaves had hardly been his intent. As much as he knew he had to concentrate on their minds and discover their secrets, he couldn’t make himself do it. Even with his defenses fortified, he could barely keep from leaving the hall.

“A serene gathering,” Kaliga commented.

Jai blinked.
Serene?
Hardly. He tried to focus on Kaliga, easing his mental defenses, but his headache and anxiety increased immediately. As soon as he picked up what Kaliga meant by “serene”—the peace talks—he snapped on his barriers. If any Hightons felt the effects of his discomfort, Jai hoped they would attribute it to the presence of so many providers.

“Serenity has its time and place,” Corbal said, neutral.

“And its limitations,” Taratus muttered.

“So it does,” Jai said. He hadn’t intended any hidden meaning with the remark, but he sensed wary approval from Kaliga. Damn. The admiral thought Jai was exploring the idea of limiting the peace talks. If he wasn’t careful, he might end up promising to give up the negotiations.

Unfortunately, Jai couldn’t discern much else from Kaliga. To find the answers he sought, he would have to lower his defenses again, even more than before, and for longer. He couldn’t do it here; he would go catatonic from the pressure of so many Highton minds.

Corbal sipped his drink. “Limitations can become opportunities.”

“Opportunities are always appreciated,” Kaliga said.

Jai could have throttled Corbal. His cousin was encouraging them to think Jai might cancel the talks. That Corbal put out the idea without consulting Jai didn’t bode well for the rest of the night. Jai drained his goblet and set it back on the tray. His hand shook slightly, but he managed to cover the motion. His urge to escape increased.

Corbal lifted his goblet. “A long and successful evening, Your Highness.”

Jai dreaded finding out what his “success” had been. Emotions swirled around him; Taratus and Kaliga remained guarded, but the visit was easing their enmity. Taratus in particular enjoyed Jai’s “hospitality.”

“Long indeed,” General Taratus said. He thunked his empty goblet on the tray. If it hadn’t been for his Highton appearance, Jai thought he would have looked more at home in a holo-bar on Earth, swigging beer. The general considered the provider with undisguised hunger. “It will be good to rest.”

Corbal gave him a cool Highton smile. “I have heard it said the wicked never rest.”

Jai almost choked on his wine. What was Corbal doing, insulting Taratus? But rather than taking offense, the general guffawed. “Then surely we deserve a long rest, eh?”

“Surely,” Kaliga murmured, with a ghost of a smile.

Corbal motioned toward an arch behind several columns. “Perhaps you would enjoy a tour of the palace?”

“A tour, eh.” Taratus took a full goblet off the tray. Then he tugged on the ring in the provider’s nipple. “Bring our nectar, doll.”

Kaliga slid his arm around the girl’s waist. “Such a fine vintage.” As Kaliga pulled the girl along, her fear diffused through the drugged haze of her mind.

Jai wanted to sock both Kaliga and Taratus. He barely held back the urge as he walked stiffly with their group toward the archway. If they didn’t stop pawing the girl, he might be tempted to do it anyway, Joint Commanders or no.

When they reached the arch, another group joined them, four Razers escorting a Highton.

Tarquine.

Ah, hell.
Jai was excruciatingly aware of the almost naked girl in their midst. Tarquine inclined her head to him, but her manner was chillier than ice, and sweat broke out on his forehead. Neither Kaliga nor Taratus seemed surprised to see her. Corbal hid his annoyance, but Jai felt it in his mind.

They all left the hall together.

Kaliga relaxed among the many cushions, lying on his side, his weight supported on his elbow. This circular chamber had no furniture, nothing except the pillows and a blue carpet so thick it felt like a cloud. The walls and ceiling were tiled in shades of blue, making Jai feel as if he were inside a jewel box.

They made a rough circle, with Taratus reclining next to Kaliga, and Jai sitting by Taratus. Corbal had left, Jai wasn’t sure why, but the others didn’t seem to mind. Tarquine was sitting cross-legged between Kaliga and Jai. She glanced at Jai, her face neutral, but he understood her unspoken question: Had he found out anything? Even if he could have answered, he had nothing to say. He couldn’t relax his barriers enough to spy on either Kaliga or Taratus.

The provider was kneeling between Kaliga and Tarquine, her hair spilling over her lovely body. As she offered the admiral a drink, she averted her gaze. Jai didn’t blame her. He didn’t want to look at those icy red eyes, either. The girl also wouldn’t look at him, though, an unwelcome reminder that his eyes were just as disturbing. At least she didn’t seem to have picked up his differences. She wasn’t a strong telepath, and with aphrodisiacs muddling her mind, she would have trouble distinguishing individual minds. She probably couldn’t tell he and Tarquine didn’t affect her in the same way as other Hightons.

Intent on the girl, Kaliga took her tray and set it on the rug behind him. She continued to kneel, staring at the floor.

“Platinum,” Kaliga said in a low voice. “Such a pretty metal.” He twirled a strand of her hair around his fingers.

“Pretty,” Taratus mumbled. He finished off his fourth drink, then tossed the goblet behind them. When it hit the wall and shattered, he didn’t even look. Jai had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from swearing. That one goblet was worth more than what some people in the Appalachians, where he had lived on Earth, earned in a month.

As Taratus put his arm around the girl and kissed her, he played with her breast. Kaliga closed his eyes and stretched out his legs so he and Taratus were penning the girl inside the circle of Hightons. Taratus kept at her, pulling on her nipple rings. Every time the girl twitched, Kaliga breathed out as if he were the one caressing her.

Jai clenched the carpet, almost pulling out the pile. He knew he was a prude by Highton standards, but gods, all five of them
together
? This was too much. He tried not to stare as Taratus fondled the girl.

When Tarquine sighed, Jai almost jumped. She was lying on her side now, watching him from half-closed eyes, her red irises dramatic through the black fringe of her lashes. But behind her sensuous look, Jai recognized the warning in her gaze. She might be pretending to the languorous, hazy mood, but her mind remained as sharp as a trap.

Taratus lifted his head and looked down at the provider. “Pretty,” he mumbled. Then he splayed his palm against her chest and pushed. She fell backward, landing on her back, the top of her head brushing Tarquine’s stomach, her silky hair flying across Jai’s lap.

Tarquine laughed softly. “How kind of you, General.” With her head propped up on one hand, she stroked the girl’s hair. General Taratus grunted at Tarquine, kneeling over the pleasure girl now, his weight braced on his palms. Kaliga continued to lie on his side, his eyes closed.

Jai wanted to leave. No matter how hard he tried to act blasé, their casual approach to intimacy shocked him. For all his dismay, though, he couldn’t help but notice the provider. Here she was, naked and nubile, ready for them. Filling his hands with her silky hair, he lifted it to his face and inhaled. It smelled like perfume. From the way his desire surged, he suspected it was also producing an aphrodisiac. He was beginning not to care. Straitlaced or not, he was growing dazed with pleasure.

Taratus ran his finger along the chain of diamonds around the girl’s waist. She sighed, moving under him, pressing her hips against his pelvis. When Tarquine began to fondle the girl’s breasts, Jai flushed, unable to believe this was happening. His wife and the provider? He couldn’t do that. Really. All the time he kept telling himself he couldn’t make love to a pleasure girl and his wife at the same time, he kept caressing the girl’s hair. She was murmuring now, her eyes closed, her body undulating from their attentions. Then Tarquine gave Jai the full force of her sultry stare, and he thought he was going to perish right then and there.

“Tarquine—” His voice came out in a husky whisper.

As the empress leaned in and kissed him, his hand slid across the pleasure girl’s breast and he groaned. Vaguely, in his side vision, Jai saw Kaliga take something sharp from his belt, a syringe of some kind. The admiral reached for the provider. Jai wanted Kaliga and Taratus to go away, leaving the girl and Tarquine here for him—

Then the provider screamed—and her agony blasted through Jai.