Blood of the Cosmos (12 page)

When he finally emerged through the last of the airlocks and stood before her in a fresh jumpsuit, Zoe rose to her feet from behind her desk. Though he remained several meters away, this was as close as Zoe came to personal contact. With anyone. She basked in his proximity.

Tom Rom smiled at her and finally said, “I have high-resolution scans of the parasite samples I acquired. You'll find them interesting.”

On her main desk screen, she called up enlarged images of the cysts he had extracted from the victim's cerebral tissue. Coiled whiplike worms devoured the remnants of the brain cells, but they seemed sluggish, dying.

“These killed everyone at the Dhougal colony?”

“They would have. The incineration blast took care of anyone else who was still alive.”

“I'm glad I have this for my collection,” she said. “Thank you.”

He gave a crisp nod. “What new assignment do you have for me?”

“Nothing important enough to send you away.”

“I thought you'd found another mission.”

“We'll always find another mission. Are you so anxious to leave me? You took six hours just to get through decontamination. Stay for lunch.”

“I would be honored to have lunch with you.” His expression softened. “Just like when you were a little girl on Vaconda.”

She remembered the days they had spent together in the lichentree forests, high up in the watchtower where her father had conducted his research. After the death of Adam Alakis, she and Tom Rom had survived, moving from place to place, forming a strong bond. “You kept me alive back then.”

“Always. And I helped you build this facility and all that it contains.”

The dispenser delivered a sterilized grain mash with added nutrients, a bland but safe fare that Zoe ate every day so she could monitor her vital signs and her blood chemistry.

He ate the grain mash without complaining, then leaned closer, so close, in fact, that she could have reached out to touch him. She could have … if she dared. “You must not worry about me, Zoe. I've confronted my own mortality, and I understand it—and learned from it. What we do is
important
. Who you are is important … and I take risks so that you don't have to.”

 

CHAPTER

15

PRINCE REYN

Prince Reyn didn't want to think about dying, despite the genetic scourge that worked its way through him; he wanted to think about the exotic, beautiful young woman who sat next to him on the lush worldforest canopy. The light deepened toward the rich colors of sunset—a
normal
sunset without the threat of Shana Rei hex ships or their smothering eclipse plate that had nearly killed the Theron forest.

Osira'h leaned closer, touching her shoulder against his arm; it seemed to be a casual gesture, but Reyn felt an electric connection, and he was sure she felt the same. He was so glad she had come here with him. Osira'h, the halfbreed daughter of Nira and Mage-Imperator Jora'h, was the oldest of Nira's five halfbreed children, all of whom had different abilities and characteristics. Osira'h had large opalescent eyes, an alien vestige from her father's genes. Her hair was feathery, her chin small and pointed.

She had known about Reyn's secret illness long before he even told his parents, and she had thrown all her energy and imagination into finding him a cure. She was sure someone on Ildira would be able to solve the problem. When Osira'h had solicited help from all medical kithmen, her words bore the weight of the Mage-Imperator himself. She stood by Reyn's side, waiting and hoping.

But no results, so far.

“I wish I could sense you through the
thism
, like I sense other Ildirans,” Osira'h said with a sigh as she leaned closer against him. “Then I could know what you're feeling.”

“Right now, I'm feeling glad to be with you.” He enjoyed just being next to her. “I'm feeling safe.”

She sat up straighter, more determined. “And I feel that we need to find a way to cure you.”

Reynald had already seen numerous medical researchers and had undergone intensive testing, all to no avail. For a long time, he had hidden the fact that he, the only son of the King and Queen, suffered from a debilitating microfungus that had attached to his DNA, which led to ever-increasing neurological breakdowns—he had no doubt that it was ultimately fatal. Reyn hadn't wanted to become a laboratory specimen, a poster child begging for sympathy, so he had covered up his pain and his flagging health for a long time until it could be hidden no longer. Now the secret was out, all across the Confederation.

He changed the subject. “I want to talk about the faeros and how you summoned them to help us here. They'll be very important if the Shana Rei attack again.”

“Not more important than you.” Osira'h wasn't teasing.

“Much more important.”

She frowned. “They are capricious, self-absorbed … and incomprehensible. And they suffered great losses when they battled the Shana Rei for us. I have no idea if they will listen to me again.”

“But you have a telepathic link with them. That's why you were bred. That's why you're so special.” Reyn stopped himself. He could think of many reasons why Osira'h was special—to the Ildiran race, and to him.

As a child, she had been a pawn and a savior, the most powerful of her half-siblings. She had fulfilled her destiny and helped win the Elemental War when she was only eight years old, and the rest of her people applauded her, revered her, and now remained in awe of her. Osira'h had felt different from them, an outsider. Maybe that was why Reyn felt so close to her.

When the Shana Rei nightshade plunged Theroc into a constant eclipse, smothering the sentient trees, Osira'h had dug back into that long-dormant connection she had with the fiery elementals and she begged the faeros to join the fight against the shadows. But the fireballs were not enslaved to her. Not anymore.

“I doubt they'll come again. They have no reason to listen to me.”

As the two sat in the deepening twilight, bright lamplike insects rose from the leaves and flitted about. With a rustle among the dense fronds, green priests climbed up to the canopy to talk among themselves, discussing some important news they had received through the telink network. Seeing their intent discussions, Reyn was alarmed. “What is it? What happened?”

He was accustomed to watching the green priests spread news. Each one of them could touch a tree, tap into the verdani mind, and communicate news and experiences instantaneously across the Spiral Arm. Now, one of the priests sprang over to them, deftly placing his feet on the interwoven fronds. “Bad news from Shorehaven. The wyvern struck again, and a heavily armed hunting party was trapped and killed, including two CDF soldiers.”

Reyn shook his head, which sparked a throbbing ache in his head. “With all of the great crises facing the Spiral Arm, we still have monsters here at home.”

The green priest also bowed toward Osira'h. “And your mother sent a telink message informing us that she and Mage-Imperator Jora'h are en route to Theroc. They will meet with Mother Estarra and Father Peter, after which they will escort you home to Ildira.”

Reyn's heart fell to hear the news. He could see a flash of delight followed by a flicker of disappointment on Osira'h's face. “I suppose Theroc is just as dangerous a place for me as Mijistra,” she said. “The shadows are everywhere.”

“I'm glad you stayed with me as long as you did,” Reyn said. “I won't deny that I'll be disappointed to see you go. I'll miss you—you've been such a help, and such a close friend.”

She gave him a smile, then leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “I will be looking for a reason to bring you back to Ildira—but not until we can guarantee it's safe. Our medical kithmen have not stopped researching your illness—they could find a treatment any day.”

Thinking he was part of the conversation, the green priest added, “Confederation medical researchers have the same quest. Green priests have spread the call far and wide, hoping that someone will find an effective cure. The reward offered is large enough to tempt many teams.”

Much to Reynald's consternation, his parents had made sweeping announcements about his illness, offering full details on every aspect of his condition in hopes that someone might find a cure. Reyn knew that his parents did it out of love, but he had never wanted that. He was normally a quiet, private person.…

As Reyn digested the news, his sister Arita found them at the top of the canopy in the deepening dusk. “You two have had enough private time. I'm joining you.” She swung over, making her way across the fronds, as comfortable in the trees as any green priest. “Don't give up hope, Reyn. We all want you cured.” She looked at Osira'h; the two young women seemed to have joined forces.

Reyn felt embarrassed and overwhelmed. He knew how many people felt sympathy toward him, how many people wanted to help. He drew several breaths, calmed himself. “There's no need to go overboard.” There was so much he wanted to express, but somehow the air seemed suddenly too thin, his head lighter. When he inhaled, he saw encroaching black static around his vision that had nothing to do with nightfall.

“I'm fine,” he gasped. “Don't … worry.”

Then the darkness made his head swim, and he lost his balance. Lightning bolts of pain skittered through his nerve endings. He winced, fighting it, but he was falling back into unconsciousness, dropping from the high tree branches.

He felt hands grasping him, a firm grip, loud shouts. Arita and Osira'h clutched him, hauled him back upright.

Not
 …
now!

Someone was scolding him, but he couldn't tell if it was Arita or Osira'h. Probably both. “You are not all right, and we are not going to give up on getting you help!”

Although he was on the verge of passing out, the strong arms held him, and he leaned back into the embrace. As he faded, it was the greatest strength he could find.

 

CHAPTER

16

SHAREEN FITZKELLUM

As they boarded yet another transfer ship on their way to the Fireheart nebula, Shareen masked her excitement with impatience. She glanced at her grandfather. “It sure is a roundabout way to get there. We've been traveling for days.”

“Where we come from isn't exactly on the beaten path, my sweet,” said the bearded and barrel-chested Del Kellum. “And neither is where we're going. This is the last leg of our trip. No more transfer stations.”

Rather than admitting that she was anxious to be leaving home, as well as her parents and her two younger brothers, Shareen settled into her padded seat. She counted down the minutes, waiting for the cargo ship's acceleration to drop off so she could unfasten the safety restraints. “I'm eager to start working with Kotto Okiah. If he's half as impressive as his track record, we're going to learn a lot.”

In the adjacent seat aboard the transfer ship, her friend Howard Rohandas sat quietly, without complaint. He was seventeen, the same age as Shareen, and just as smart, though a lot more shy about it. Keeping himself busy during the voyage, he worked practice calculations on his pad. He looked up at her grandfather. “Thank you, sir, for bringing me along. This is a tremendous opportunity for both of us.”

Del laughed. “Always the polite boy. We promised your parents we'd take you where you can learn.”

“I can learn wherever I am, sir, but I am glad to study with Shareen. We work well together. I hope we will impress Mr. Okiah.”

“And I'm glad you're keeping my granddaughter focused, young man. Shareen sometimes needs a little nudge and incentive.”

“I won't need any incentive at Fireheart,” she said. “How many others get to do what we're about to do?” Though embarrassed by the comment, Shareen couldn't deny that Howard brought out the best in her. They exchanged ideas, built upon each other's progress, came up with better work than either could do individually. It was the best kind of synergy. Shareen excelled at developing bold broad-strokes concepts, but she wasn't patient enough to work out the fine details. Howard, though, was a detail person. Great discoveries required both sets of skills—Shareen thought they were a great team.

And Fireheart Station, a Roamer complex in a whirlpool of cosmic gases, was a place rich with possibilities, a place where the well-known Roamer genius Kotto Okiah was building what he claimed would be his masterpiece, the greatest physics experiment of his career. Kotto had supposedly retired, but he continued to dabble with ideas, inventions, theories … so many that he couldn't even finish them. After all he had accomplished for them, the Roamer clans let their scientific hero do whatever he liked. And the Big Ring experiment sounded fascinating. Shareen wanted to be part of what Kotto was doing. And so did Howard.

Three days earlier, they had left the Kellum distillery complex, the big industrial platforms that rose from the tidal flats of Kuivahr's shallow oceans. Del Kellum's distillery—now managed by Shareen's parents—processed the aromatic kelp into various types of ales and liquors, the most popular of which, due more to its gimmicky name than to its taste, was Primordial Ooze. The distillery also made a tongue-stripping substance called kirae, which the Ildirans loved. Shareen had tasted kirae—once—and Howard had been wise enough to decline. Her parents and grandfather insisted that Shareen was destined for much more important things than running a distillery. They kept pushing her, and she had to admit that she liked to be pushed.

As a former Speaker of the Roamer clans, Del Kellum could pull plenty of strings, and he had arranged for Shareen and Howard to head out to Fireheart Station, where they would apprentice under Kotto. No matter what the scientist assigned them, Shareen was sure she would learn something from it.