Hathor Legacy: Burn (23 page)

Jen stared down at her, her expression unreadable. Her eyes were blue ice, like a mix of lapis and sea glass.  "Then he is an important person…an executive?"

"Yes, and he's part of the Montaigne family."

Jen's face twisted into a frown. "It's a very large family, Nadira. There are people in it who are not related by blood or DNA. They only share a name."

"I understand. But that name is important on Hathor." Nadira stood up so that she was face-to-face with Jen. "There were Guar
dian trainees and Deshtu among the victims of the latest fire. If he's not punished, it'll mean the company condones his behavior."

"I assure you, this investigation must be resolved or the entire fabric of society will be ripped apart," Jen said. "Right now half the populace thinks the Guardians have become criminals.  They wonder why you haven't been able to find the arsonists, and that Deshtu's accusations have only made things worse." Jen walked over to the window.

"She's helping us."

"By lying about Guardians?"

"I don't think she's lying."

"Do you know what you're saying?" Jen demanded. "That can't be true. I won't accept it. Have you told my brother?"

"I haven't been able to see him." As far as Nadira was concerned, Dakar didn't need to be told because he already knew.

"I can't trust any Deshtu." She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. "If it wasn't for them my mother and sister wouldn't have burned to death in our house."

"What about the trafficking?'

"Of Guardians? That will be dealt with, I can assure you. The company will not protect anyone involved in that. No matter how connected or wealthy they are." Jen folded her arms across her chest. "When will this person be apprehended?"

"We'll need at least two weeks. I've been told he'll be meeting with his partners and they should be receiving a shipment, as they call it."

Jen's eyes narrowed. "People? What kind? Deshtu?"

"I don't know yet."

Jen tapped her foot. "Nadira, the company will deal with an
yone who's breaking corporate laws. The problem here is that they are not prepared to deal with people who break laws who also have PSI abilities. If they can prove that a Guardian is involved, it will change everything."

"They'll bring in troops," Nadira said.

"That's only part of it. It hasn't been used here on Hathor very often, but they have ways to chemically subdue people who become disruptive. If Novacorp believes that the Guardians are going rogue, troops will be least of your worries."

Sgt. Tragg had mentioned something like this, the
Burn Order. "But why? Because we haven't caught the arsonists?"

"It's obviously more than that. Why do you think my father set it up to train people as soon as their abilities are detected? To a
ssure the company you'd all be controlled and non-threatening. If he helped them to win the Corporate Wars, then he and his people could also defeat Novacorp. That's what the executives believed and what some of them still fear."

"If that's true, why hasn't Elder Dakar made a public statement? Or had more people investigating the fires?" Nadira asked.

"My brother is ill. I'm sure that's all it is." Jen turned back to the window. "You have seven days to resolve this issue and apprehend this person."

Seven days? "I won't be ready in that time. We have to catch him in the act."

"Seven days, Nadira. Do what you have to do. He must be stopped and his guilt must be firmly established so that everyone can see it," Jen said. "I'll arrange for various Montaigne family members to give statements denouncing him and his immediate relations. We'll protect the family name as much as we can and contain the damage to the rest of us."

Now what would she do? Seven days. But there was something else. "What about the Deshtu who were brought here and forced to work in the unregistered houses? Why aren't they protected like the Guardians are?"

"Why?" Jen turned to the window, but kept half her face hidden. "Think about how it feels to be engulfed by the emotions of others. To not have enough power to maintain an identity outside of what someone else is experiencing."

Nadira did know what that felt like. It was why she worked to maintain her emotional shields. "And that's why they need training. Sending them to Houses isn't helping them."

"They're not strong enough to control themselves. They can only be receptacles for other people's emotions."

"Then train them!" Nadira insisted. "Help them. Isn't that what your father did when he organized the Guardians?"

Jen stiffened. "Every citizen of Hathor must be productive and do what they can to make the company profitable. By serving others, they are being productive." Jen swept past Nadira and headed towards the door. "You won't disrupt the order of society to help Deshtu trash. The Guardians are on the verge of being destroyed by Novacorp. That is your priority right now. You have seven days."

Jen touched the wall next to the door. It slid open with a soft
whisp
. She walked out into the corridor and the door closed behind her.

Instead of leaving right away, Nadira went over to the window. All she could see through the frosted glass were the shapes of the spires and towers that filled the skyline. Here above it all, in this glittering room she'd been given a status above most of the people in those buildings.

But if they thought she was going to accept the rules they'd created for her, they were mistaken.

One thing her mother's rebellion had taught her, she didn't have to follow their plan. First she'd go to Astarte and get Jonathan. With him by her side she'd have the strength for what was to come. He was her ashira, her love. He'd stand with her as she fought to keep the alliance between the moyen and the Guardians from bur
ning to ashes, and taking Hathor with it.

29
Home

Jonathan dropped his bag on one of the couches in the main living area. Everything looked the same as it had when he'd left, the a
rrangement of the furnishings, the view of the gardens through the glass walls that lined the bottom floor of the house, everything.

A large, flat, glass panel hung on the wall opposite the front door. He walked over to it. "Com on," he said.

The panel glowed blue around the edges, then a woman's face appeared in the lower right corner. She had short blue hair that matched her sparkling eyes. "Good afternoon, Jonathan. How may I help you?"

"Hi, Cinda, I need to contact someone on Hathor," he said. He hadn't lived in this house in years, and yet the attendant still reco
gnized his voice. Obviously, his parents hadn't erased him from the system after he'd moved to the city.

"Communications between Astarte and Hathor have been su
bject to interference due to solar storms."

"I know. But give it a try."

"Certainly. Who are you contacting?"

"Nadira."

"Is there a family name? Or an ID code?"

"Um…she's a Guardian."

"I'll check the company directory." She closed her eyes. As the seconds passed, Jonathan wondered if maybe the system had crashed or something. But after about a minute, she opened her eyes again. "Guardian Sentry Leader Nadira is not available. You can leave a message for her."

"Sentry Leader!" So, she'd accepted the position. His pride in her accomplishment mixed with wistfulness that he couldn't talk to her. But if she was Sentry Leader she had to have recovered her powers by now. That was something.

"Is there any way to reach her?"

"Guardian exact locations are not accessible in the system. However, if you desire more information, you will be directed to the NGAO."

"What is the NGAO?"

"Novacorp Guardian Affairs Office. It's in the Board of Dire
ctors division, which is under the Hathor COO--"

"Okay. No need to explain it. Don't bother." It figured. No way to avoid the company bureaucracy.

"Would you like some lunch, Jonathan? I can recommend a light soup starter, with a roasted vegetable and wild fowl salad."

No doubt his mother was still designing the menus. "Not yet. But coffee would be good."

"Coffee? Jonathan, you never have coffee this late in the day."

He'd forgotten how much of a pain Cinda could be. "I know. But I just got off the shuttle. I'm feeling tired. Just a large cup, okay?"

She smiled. "Yes, Jonathan. It'll be ready in a few moments."

Rubbing his face, he went over the nearest couch and dropped down onto the cushions. Damn. Would this headache ever go away?

He leaned back and closed his eyes. It was great to be home and see his family again. Too bad he couldn't relax and enjoy it.

"Jon, what's wrong?" Estrella reached down and wiped sweat off his forehead.  "You don't look well."

"I was interrogated by one of the Guardians." That was a nice way to put it. "Their Elder doesn't want me around Nadira."

"What?" Estrella dropped down next to him. "How could they do that?"

He wasn't sure how to tell her the rest of it. "Matt was released from detention and he asked me to visit. Well, that night his apartment blew up. I was seen on the security monitor going into his place. Security dragged me in for questioning."

If he thought his mother was upset, he hadn't seen just how u
pset she could get. "Matt? You went to see Matt and--where is he? Did he set you up?"

"Mother, I don't know what happened. They were looking for his remains when I left." Not that he expected his mother to have sympathy for Matt. "He was in love with you."

"He almost got your father killed. Don't talk to me about his feelings," Estrella spat. "Security thought you tried to kill him?"

"That's what they said. But when I got there, some Guardian went after me and tried to get me to confess." Jon rubbed his for
ehead. "I've still got a damned headache."

"Because of your relationship with Nadira?"

Jon nodded. "We're connected and the Elder doesn't like that."

"Connected? You mean, she used her abilities to join with you?"

"Yes. Remember, I told you." At least he thought he did.

Estrella sighed. "I was never trained, Jon, so I don't completely understand it. But I know enough to know what you've done is dangerous. What if you develop abilities? You don't know what might happen."

"Mother, it'll be okay." Why was he still sweating so much? It was cooler in here.

"Jonathan, did Nadira show you how to use your shields? If you don't, your emotions will be pulled all over the place."

"No. She's the one with the powers, not me."

She folded her arms across her chest. "That's why I didn't want you to be born on Hathor. I wanted you to be free of anything to do with having abilities."

Jon wiped away a drop of sweat that trailed down the side of his face. "Don't worry about it, Mother. It'll be okay."

"No, Jonathan. It'll never be okay. Not now and not ever."

*****

"Brandon. I don't care what you have to do, file a complaint against Hathor security. They tortured Jon and deported him and he's done nothing," Estrella snapped.

She stood in front of the monitor staring at her husband's exasperated face on the large com screen. Jonathan had never heard his mother so agitated. And he'd never heard her raise her voice when talking to his father.

"I know that," Brandon replied, emphasizing each word. "I was connected to security on Hathor and the communication went out. They're working on the com grid or something. I'll try again in an hour or so."

Estrella glanced back at Jonathan. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm okay." Jonathan was lying on the couch trying to find a comfortable position. At least he wasn't sweating anymore.

"I'll get an answer as soon as I can," Brandon said. "There's nothing we can do until I get through. Now, I've got to go."

"All right. But contact me as soon as you hear something," Estrella replied. As the screen went dark, her shoulders slumped.

"Mami, what's wrong?" Jon's younger sister, Brisa rushed across the room. "What did Daddy say?" Though she was seventeen years old, she resembled a little girl as she ran over to Estrella. Tall like her mother, she looked more like Brandon with light brown hair and his dark brown eyes.

"He's working on it," Estrella replied. "I thought you were d
oing your school work. It's going to be all right."

"I'm almost finished." Brisa grasped her mother's hands. "We're going to do some research at the museum tomorrow. But I can stay here to help you."

"No, go do what you have to do. I don't want you missing that. You won't get your certification if you don't finish on time."

"You decided to go for it?" Jon asked. When he'd left Astarte, his sister was thinking of studying archeology. She'd wanted to follow in Estrella's footsteps and become a researcher and arch
ivist. It was almost amusing for Jon to realize that his mother had chosen to spend her time researching and recording Astarte's history. When she'd left Hathor, she'd been forced to break all ties to her family, and become, as far as the company was concerned, non-existent.

"So, what did Dad say?" Verda walked into the area, giving Jon a glance as she went over to her mother. "Can he do anything?"

"Not yet," Estrella replied. "Why don't you girls get some dinner?"

"I had mine." Verda glanced at Jon again.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"You're away for months and you come home and disrupt ev
erything. You see how worried Mami is?" Verda faced him, her dark eyes flashing. "I don't know how Nadira puts up with you."

"Look, I don't need this right now, okay? Come back later, we'll fight then." The pounding in his head was getting harder to take. He leaned back against the cushions and propped his fist against his forehead.

"Why are you acting like a spoiled infant? There's nothing wrong with you!"

He and Verda had fought their way through their childhood--or rather, through her childhood. She'd been born when he was eleven, and it seemed as soon as she'd learned to walk and talk, they'd been at each other.

"Haven't you two grown out of this yet?" Estrella asked. "Verda, I want you and Brisa to stay in your part of the house."

"Why?" Verda asked. "Is he contagious?" She shot him another glance.

"Out, both of you." Estrella waved them back towards the wing where the bedrooms were.

At least it was quiet again. It would've been good to see his si
sters under better circumstances, though. This wasn't the way he wanted this trip to go. It was supposed to have been him and Nadira visiting his family. Not him being tortured and kicked off Hathor.

"Your sister thinks you're my favorite." Estrella walked over. "That's probably why you two don't get along. You'll be fine soon. You said a medic checked you out?"

"Before I left detention." He held out his hand to his mother. "Is it true?"

Grasping his hand, she sat down next to him, perching herself on the edge of the cushions.

'Is what true?"

"About me being your favorite. You've never treated me any different, have you?"

"You're the most like me. I was pregnant with you when I left Hathor. That's why I knew I had to leave before they made me become a Guardian. I didn't know what they'd do to you."

"Nadira still doesn't know what happened to her mother," Jon
athan said. "She might have been sent to detention for trying to get away, or to one of the penal colonies."

"I don't blame her for trying. Do you think it's normal to be able to read people's thoughts, or touch an object and feel the i
mpressions of everyone who's handled it? That awareness can drive you insane." She slid her hand away from his. "Nadira is able to endure it, but it's not easy."

"I know that," he said. "Sometimes I can feel it through our connection too."

"That's why you have to get back. She can show you how to manage that. Unfortunately, I can't."

"You and Dad weren't joined?"

"No. I wasn't trained. It's not like I would've known how to connect to someone's consciousness." She folded her hands in her lap. "Jon, when you go back there, are you sure you want stay permanently? After what the Guardians did to you, it doesn't seem like the best place to make a life."

"Nadira's home is there. And I'm working on some things of my own. Right now, I want to be there. They can't get rid of me."

Estrella looked down at her hands.  "Then we have to make sure that you return as soon as possible."

The problem was that getting back wouldn't be easy.  Security would stop him before he could get on a shuttle. And if he didn't succeed, then Dakar would get what he wanted. And Nadira would be lost to him forever.