The Ruby Dice (46 page)

After a while, Kelric said, "Are their bodies destroyed?"

"That's a horrible question." Jaibriol's voice broke on the last word, and he decided to say no more.

"No, listen," Kelric said. "If their internal systems are even partially intact, it may be possible to revive them in new bodies."

Jaibriol stared at him dully until the words sank in. Then he said, "Not enough survived. It was bad."

"Oh." Kelric sounded subdued.

Jaibriol wondered if somewhere, some demon was laughing at them. He had so little, and now even that was gone. "Hidaka saw." He knew he should stop, but the words wrenched out of him. "He saw the whole thing. Yet still he supported me. He never wavered, never once."

"What did he see?" Kelric asked. The fires had died down, and his face was lost in shadows.

"Colonel Vatrix Muze caught me crawling out of the Lock," Jaibriol said. "So Hidaka shot him."

Kelric's voice went very quiet. "Why were you in the Lock?"

"The implosions." He took a ragged breath. "They were headed for the SSRB. I thought it might connect to the Lock. So I went to check."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. It didn't work." He couldn't believe how calm he sounded. Inside he felt as if he were screaming.

"It was dead for ten years," Kelric said. "When I turned it back on, it was active for
one minute.
How could you know to be there for that one minute?"

"I don't know." Jaibriol wasn't even certain what Kelric meant. "I just sat there and the singularity appeared."

Kelric stared at him. "When the Lock reactivated, you were
sitting in it?
"

"Yes." He didn't know what else to say. "I will regret that moment for the rest of my godforsaken life."

"And you survived."

"If you call this survival."

"You had no preparation? No training? Nothing?"

"How would I?"

"Saints above," Kelric said softly. "What happened to you would have killed almost anyone else."

Jaibriol just shook his head. Although he was shielding his mind, Kelric's power was too great. It soaked into him, a great golden glow of warmth. These few minutes with his uncle had done more to ease the agony in his mind than anything else since he had become a Key.

"You need a medical facility with neurological experts," Kelric told him.

Jaibriol knew he would never get such treatment. Dully he said, "We both need help."

"Tell me that you betrayed our agreement," Kelric said. "Tell me that you let someone know you were coming here."

Jaibriol would have laughed if their situation hadn't been so bad. "No. I kept my word. Perhaps you told someone?"

"Not a soul. I secured the entire area."

"Enough to hide four explosions and a fire?"

Kelric exhaled. "I'm afraid so."

"The commandos were thorough. The cabin is gone. So are our vehicles."

"I picked this place because it was so remote."

"This is absurd," Jaibriol said, incredulous. "We're two of the most powerful people alive. We can't be without recourse."

Kelric didn't answer. His pain swamped out everything. After a while, though, Jaibriol felt it ease, and he suspected Kelric had let his meds dispense painkillers after all.

Eventually Kelric said, "We both have biomech enhancements."

Jaibriol nodded. "Even with your broken leg, we could probably walk out of here in a day or two."

"And then what?"

Jaibriol considered the question. "The moment we find help, we lose our secrecy. It will look strange for us to be together."

Kelric's laugh had a frayed edge. "You've a gift for understatement. Can the Emperor of Eube be executed for treason?"

Jaibriol jerked, startled. "I haven't committed treason."

Kelric spoke tiredly. "I have."

Good Lord. No wonder he seemed so subdued. "They can't execute the Imperator. ISC will stand behind you." The loyalty of his military to their commander was legendary.

"How do they know you and I aren't plotting here in secret? Why would they support me for committing the worst violation of ISC security in the history of the Imperialate?"

Jaibriol sat for a time absorbing the ramifications. He had come with such hopes, for a dream that never died no matter how much he lost. He took a breath and plunged ahead. "Then bring them a peace treaty."

"We don't have a treaty." Even in the dark, the lines on Kelric's face showed his strain. "Our generals and admirals and ministers and assemblies couldn't agree on one."

"Then let us agree, you and I." He tapped his temple. "I have the one we worked out years ago stored in my node. If you're willing to take a download into yours, we'll both have a copy. We can sign it with our neural and DNA imprints."

"Have you forgotten?" Kelric asked. "We never finished it. We couldn't come to terms on the most basic aspect of all."

It seemed to Jaibriol as if his whole life had narrowed to this moment. He knew the magnitude of what he suggested. But if they never tried, they would surely fail. He had nothing to lose by asking for the impossible.

He took a breath. "My joint commanders refused to sign because yours wanted to grant every escaped slave freedom. Yours refused to sign because mine demanded the slaves be returned."

"That hasn't changed," Kelric said. "My people will never agree to slavery. Not today. Not in a thousand years. My last wife was a taskmaker. I was a provider. I'll never subject another human being to what we lived through." Softly he added, "To what you must suffer every day of your life."

"No." Jaibriol doggedly evaded the words. "Give me three months. Any Eubian slave found within your territory must be sent back if they have been free less than that. After three months, they are free." He willed Kelric to consider the compromise. "The Ruby Pharaoh almost agreed to that during our talks, before ESComm balked."

Kelric made an incredulous noise. "ESComm will never agree to that. Nor will your Trade Minister."

"They've already agreed to trade negotiations. That was why my office contacted the pharaoh's office. To start this dance we always do when we want to communicate with each other."

"Trade?" Kelric's voice sharpened. "Of what?
People?
"

"No! Gourmet delicacies. Curios. That sort of thing."

Kelric squinted at him. "Your people want to export food and souvenirs to mine?"

"Well, it's a start."

"Selling us those tentacled monstrosities you call gourmet food hardly seems a step to better relations."

Jaibriol smiled. "Ah, well." He agreed about the Taimarsian squid. "It isn't the goods, but the motivation."

"Whose motivation?"

"General Barthol Iquar for one. He wants the Iquar title."

"Tarquine already has it," Kelric said flatly.

Just hearing him speak her personal name cut Jaibriol. He steeled himself and went on as if he didn't care, though it felt as if broken glass were grinding him inside. "She'll give it to him."

"Give up control of the strongest Aristo Line after Qox?" Kelric didn't look convinced. "She would never do it."

"She's the empress," Jaibriol said. "Her child will sit on the throne. She can afford to give up her Iquar title."

"It doesn't matter how much power Tarquine has. She always wants more."

"Nevertheless, it seems she is going to do it."

"For you." Kelric sounded tired, as if Jaibriol's words made him feel old.

"I don't know for what."

"You think the title would assure Barthol's agreement?"

"It's possible."

"That's only one of the signatures you need."

Jaibriol made himself speak, though he hated to go on. "Admiral Erix Muze will sign because he wants to live."

Kelric snorted. "You can't execute your joint commander for refusing to sign. ESComm would revolt against you."

Jaibriol spoke quietly. "No one except Colonel Vatrix Muze and Hidaka saw me crawl out of the Lock. Hidaka shot Vatrix."

"I'm not sure how this connects to Erix Muze."

"Hidaka told everyone Vatrix tried to kill me," Jaibriol said. "A Razer cannot lie about such a thing."

"Did he know what he was seeing in the Lock? About you."

"Yes. He knew."

"And he didn't reveal you?"

"No."

Kelric's voice gentled. "No wonder you mourn him so."

It hurt even to think on, like a blade turning. "As far as anyone knows, Vatrix Muze tried to murder me. By Aristo custom, it is my right to have his kin executed in retaliation."

Kelric was watching him closely. "Did Erix Muze have anything to do with what happened?"

"Nothing."

"So you're telling me that with no trial or evidence, you can have one of your joint commanders executed for a murder attempt he knew nothing about. And no one would condemn you for it."

Jaibriol forced out the answer. "Yes."

"A murder attempt that didn't actually exist because your Razer killed the colonel and lied about it."

"Razers can't lie."

"Like hell."

"Assassination is a serious matter."

"Gods," Kelric muttered.

"No, the world of the Aristos isn't pretty," Jaibriol said. "But it is mine. I deal with it as I can."

"Would you actually put Erix Muze to death?" Kelric asked.

Jaibriol didn't know the answer to that himself. "What matters is that he believes I will do it."

"What about the Trade Minister, Parizian Sakaar? You need his support as well."

"He won't object."

"Why not?" Kelric demanded. "The trade of people is the life's blood of your economy. He'll set himself against any treaty that dilutes his control of that godforsaken industry."

"Let's just say he has other interests to protect."

"In other words, you have something on him."

"It would seem so." It was Tarquine who had something, but Jaibriol had no intention of discussing her further with Kelric.

"Is it enough to make him sign?"

"I think so."

"Corbal Xir is next in line for your throne," Kelric said. "He won't support a treaty that weakens his power."

"Corbal won't fight it." Jaibriol also doubted Corbal would ever forgive him.

"Why not?"

"Because I know many truths about him." Corbal also had truths about Jaibriol, but if he revealed those secrets, Jaibriol could drag down not only him, but also his son Azile, his granddaughter, and the entire Xir Line. And Sunrise. It killed him to threaten Corbal after his cousin had protected him, but his personal life meant nothing compared to what their peoples could gain. No matter how much the Aristos reviled him for seeking peace, he needed only four signatures on that treaty: himself, Corbal, Barthol, and Erix.

"If you and I sign this document," Jaibriol said, "I'll get the other signatures." He couldn't guarantee it, but he had a chance.

Kelric considered him. "For my people, the Ruby Pharaoh, First Councilor, and I must sign. And the Assembly has to ratify it."

"Will they?"

"The pharaoh, I think so. The First Councilor, I don't know." With a grimace, he added, "If I'm convicted of treason, my signature won't matter. In that case, our joint commanders must sign." Wryly he said, "You only have to deal with two of them. I have four." He thought for a moment. "Chad Barzun would probably sign. Maybe Dayamar Stone of the Advance Services Corps. Brant Tapperhaven of the J- Force? He's a wild card. But Naaj Majda, the General of the Pharaoh's Army, will never sign. She wants Eube broken. Period."

"They won't convict you." Jaibriol didn't know if he said it to convince himself or Kelric.

"Don't be so sure." Kelric sounded as if he felt heavy. "Many people abhor the split of hereditary and democratic rule in our government. If I'm accused of conspiring with you, it will weaken ISC support for the sovereignty of the Ruby Dynasty. The Assembly might well jump at the chance to remove me from my seat." He rubbed his eyes, his fatigue obvious. "As you may have noticed tonight, I am not universally liked."

"Nor I," Jaibriol said. To put it mildly. "But if we can complete this document tonight, would you sign it?"

For a long moment Kelric looked at him. Then he said, simply, "Yes."

Jaibriol couldn't believe he had heard the word. Fast on the heels of exultation came the sobering knowledge that even if he and Kelric signed, they had no guarantee their governments would support their agreement.

But they could try.

That night, beneath the stars of the planet that had birthed their race, two leaders sat together, a young man who was forever scarred and an aging man who had lost more in his life than he could measure. They had no lofty hall, no pomp, no protocols. They didn't go to work in a great amphitheater. No broadcasts covered their efforts. They sat on a rocky hill in the dark and went over the document step by step, sentence by sentence, word by word, until they agreed.

Then they signed together the first peace treaty ever established between their empires.

Kelric awoke as the sky began to lighten but before the sun lifted it orb above the mountains. The air smelled of smoke, ashes, and pines. Birds called in the distance. For a while he lay on his back, staring at the sky. Blue. On his home world, the sky had a violet tinge. As strange as Earth's looked to him, the color felt right in a way he couldn't define.

The events of last night soaked into his waking thoughts. Najo, Strava, and Axer were gone. He felt hollow without them.

Even with his nanomeds distributing painkillers, his leg ached. At least the hydraulics in his limb had kept it from snapping off. It would heal, he supposed, though his limp was going to be even worse. Of course, that wouldn't matter if he were dead. As much as he wanted to believe ISC wouldn't execute him, the realist in him knew otherwise. Too many people had too much to gain from his dishonor and death. Given who else had nearly died in this attack, he doubted the commandos had a link to ESComm. It wasn't that he didn't believe they might be involved in a murder attempt against their emperor; he wasn't that naïve. But Jaibriol claimed they hadn't known about him. With his mind so sensitized, he would have picked up an intent to kill him, and Kelric would have known if he lied about it.