Laura Jo Phillips (14 page)

“Now that you feel safe, will you consent to having your injury corrected?” Olaf asked. 

“Yes,” Aisling replied.  “I want to finish the translations first, though.  Just in case something goes wrong.”  She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned widely.  “Excuse me.”

“I think you need to go to bed now,” Rand said, taking her empty mug from her hands. 

“I agree,” Aisling said.

“I would ask one more question, if you do not mind,” Olaf said

“Sure.”

“What about Urwin?  Do you know where he is?”

“Not at the moment, no,” she replied.  “I’ve sent a message to my friend, Jessi, back on Earth.  The only person in the universe that I actually trust.  I got a reply from her today saying that she hasn’t heard a thing in months.  I’ve set up a substantial reward for information on his whereabouts, no questions asked.  I’ve gotten a few good leads on him over the years, but he always manages to slip away from me.  So far.  One day I will catch him, and when I do, I will get my father’s data back.  I have no doubt of that.”

“Nor do I,” Olaf agreed.

Chapter
13

High Prince Garen Dracon finished reading his latest incoming message and leaned back in his chair.  He wasn’t sure what was more shocking.  That Mara Winicke had been abducted from her home by the Brethren leader, Stalnek.  That she had deliberately faked an injury to escape from them.  Or that she had contacted him, of all people, with a request for help, and a promise of new information on the Narrasti and the Brethren’s location.  If he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought it was all some kind of joke.

 “You are not going to believe this,” he said to Trey who was sitting across from him.

“What?” Trey asked, looking up from his cattle marketing report.  Even with the heightened military presence on the ranch, the increased number of families now living there, and the increase in their responsibilities as Princes to their people, they were still running a cattle ranch.  They just had less time to do it in.

“We just received a message from Mara Winicke,” Garen replied.

“You’re correct,” Trey replied.  “I don’t believe it.”

Garen glanced up as the door opened and Val stepped in. 

“Just in time,” he said, waving his youngest brother toward a seat.  He turned the monitor on his desk so that they could see it, then replayed the message from Mara.  When the message was finished he stopped it, then waited for their reaction.

“Damn,” Trey said softly.  “The Brethren have the ability to transport people off of Jasan without our knowledge?  I thought it was the Xanti.  That’s bad.”

“Yes, it is,” Garen agreed.  “However, I believe that such a thing is no longer possible.”

“Why is that?” Val asked.

“Now that we are able to see through Blind Sight, no one can get close enough to Jasan to effect transportation,” Garen replied.

“Obvious answer, but I didn’t even think of it,” Val said. 

“What I don’t get is, why would Mara Winicke call us for help?” Trey asked.

“I think she wants to come back to Jasan to collect on the deal we made with her, but she does not have the funds, though she didn’t say that directly,” Garen said.

“I wonder if the new information she says she has on the Brethren is worth the price of return passage,” Trey said.

 “Where is she?” Val asked.

“Lapu 12, adeep space refueling station in the Regulus Sector,” Garen replied.

Trey did some rapid mental calculations.  “The timing is right if the Brethren were using a yacht and avoided all jump points,” he said.  “From what Arima Bearen and Miss Berta have told us, that is likely.”

“If she knows where the Brethren have gone with the Narrasti, then she is correct,” Garen said.  “That information is most definitely worth the price of passage for her to return to Jasan.  I don’t particularly want that woman on Jasan again, but I do want that information.”

“Absolutely,” Trey agreed. 

“I don’t think we should bring her back to Jasan,” Val said, surprising Garen and Trey.

“Why not?” Trey asked.  “This information could be vital to us.”

“I agree, but bringing her back to Jasan might be an unnecessary risk,” Val said.  “What she has is information, and she does not need to be here, on Jasan, to give us that information.  I suggest that we send her the new identity we set up for her, and the access codes for the money in return for what she has to tell us.”

“What if she lies to us?” Trey asked.  “Then we have given her the new identity and the money for nothing.”

“Not exactly,” Garen said.  “She has already earned those things by the agreement we made before she was abducted.  By rights, she could ask us for more money for this new information.” 

Trey shook his head and sighed.  “You are correct, of course.  I should have remembered that.”

“The more I think on it, the more I believe Val is right,” Garen said.  “It would be safer for Mara, and easier for us.  We don’t need to bring her all the way back to Jasan.  We only need the information she may have.”

“True,” Trey said, still considering Val’s idea.  He liked to look at things from all angles before making a decision, and there were a lot of angles to this matter.

“I agree,” he said at last.  “This idea is the most efficient for all concerned.  We should send her what we promised, and hopefully, she will give us the information she has on the location of the Brethren and the Narrasti.”

“Do not forget that we will know her new identity,” Garen pointed out.  “Nor do I think we should let her walk off without knowing which direction she is headed.” 

Trey smiled.  “Neither do I.”

“Let’s do this,” Garen said.  “I’d like to get her information before she gets her pay-off, and we want someone to keep an eye on where she goes when she leaves Lapu 12.”

“I’m on it,” Trey said, tapping his vox. 

Garen turned back to the terminal screen and read Mara’s message again.  They had been actively searching for the Narrasti ever since the attack on Lariah.  He did not trust Mara Winicke a single bit.  But he knew her story, and knew that she had good reason to hate the Brethren.  He could only hope that she hated them more than she hated the Jasani.

Garen turned off the terminal and waited for Trey to finish with his call to the council.  It didn’t take long.

“Everything’s in motion,” Trey said after a few minutes.  “We’ll get an all clear when its time to reply to Mara with our offer.”

Garen nodded and turned to Val.  “How’s Lariah doing?” he asked. 

Lariah had been so despondent since Ellicia’s passing.  Her normally sweet, sunny personality had been hidden beneath a dark cloud for so long now that they were afraid they might never see it again.

 “Hope and Berta brought the boys over to visit a little while ago.  That usually cheers her up.”

“That’s a lot of extra work and trouble for Hope, bringing the boys over to visit so often,” Garen said.  “I want to tell her it is not necessary to do so often, but at the same time, it is so helpful for Lariah that I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“I know,” Trey said.  “I did tell her this morning how much we appreciate it.  She was gracious, as always, and said that she didn’t mind in the least.  She is a good woman.  The Bearens are lucky men.”

“Yes, as are we,” Val said.  “I wish there were a way for us to bring Lariah out of her grief and make her smile again.”

“She needs more time,” Garen said, hoping his words were true. 

“I hope so,” Val said.  “I wonder sometimes if she will ever be truly happy again.”

“Only time will tell,” Garen replied softly. 

Chapter
14

“We have a surprise for you, Aisling,” Rand said after dinner. 

“What sort of surprise?” Aisling asked warily.

She’d spent most of the day trying to decide whether or not she’d made a mistake in telling the Gryphons so much the night before.  She’d gone back and forth so many times she’d made herself dizzy.  She barely remembered anything that she’d translated that day, and Karma had asked her several times if she was all right.  To complicate matters, she was confused by her own indecision, which wasn’t normal for her.  But then, the feelings she had for the Gryphons weren’t normal either.

“I thought women enjoyed surprises,” Rudy said. 

“Women enjoy good surprises,” Karma said.  “Smart women know enough to determine whether the surprise is good or bad before reacting to it.”

“I see,” Rand said.  “Allow me to clarify then.  We have a surprise for you, Aisling, that we think you will enjoy.”

“Much better,” Karma approved.

Aisling tossed her napkin across the table but Karma caught it just before it landed on her head.  “I think I would like to see this surprise before Karma convinces you not to give it to me.”

“As you wish,” Olaf said with a smile.  “Follow me.”

They all got up and left the dining room, following Olaf as he led them across the living room, through the foyer, and down another curving hall.  To their right were the rooms that overlooked the garden.  To their left were rooms that did not have a garden view, such as the kitchen, the laundry room, and more guest rooms.  The house was so large that even though the Gryphons had given them a tour when they’d first arrived, they hadn’t seen all of it.  Now, Olaf opened an over sized door on the left and stood aside for Aisling to enter first.  She stepped into the room, looked around and grinned.

“This is fantastic!” she exclaimed.  “You guys didn’t do this just for me, did you?”

“No,” Olaf said.  “This has always been a training room.  What’s new is the matted area in the back corner for your
tiketa
, and a target range.”

“Target range?” Karma asked as they crossed the training room to the new target range along one wall.  “Ash, why do you need a target range?”

“So that I can practice throwing knives,” Aisling replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh,” Karma said with surprise.  “And um, just exactly how much practice do you need?”

“Not much,” Rand said with a grin.

“We had a selection of throwing knives brought in for you to try,” Rudy said gesturing to several sets laid out on a long countertop. 

“We were also able to get three sets of
sai
in different styles and sizes,” Rand added.  “That’s what we are most anxious to see used.  They are very interesting weapons.”

Aisling stepped up to the counter and smiled at the display of weapons.  The
sai
were beautiful with their combination of straight and curved lines and bright, silver finishes.  She selected the most traditional set with the curved cross bar and picked them up, one in each hand.  They were a little heavier than she was used to, but it felt good to have them in her hands.  She rocked them back and forth across her fingers, testing their weight and balance, then began spinning them around, slowly at first, then more quickly as she became accustomed to their weight.  Within moments they were spinning so quickly they were a blur of silver.  In one smooth motion, she flipped them into the air, caught them, turned toward the target at the opposite end of the room and threw them without pausing to aim.  Both
sai
flew toward the target at equal speed, flipping end over end in tandem before hitting the center of the target side by side with a single thunk .

“They’ll do,” she said. 

“Apparently,” Olaf said, impressed with her dexterity and aim.  If she was able to handle an unfamiliar weapon with such ease after months without practice, he could only imagine her skill with one designed specifically for her small hands.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” Karma said softly. 

Aisling turned to Karma.  “I’m sorry Karma,” she said.  “I meant to tell you first.  These guys caught me throwing steak knives in the garden last night.”

“Is that why you were so tense all day?” Karma asked.

Aisling nodded.  She liked Karma, and thought of her as a friend.  But if Karma didn’t accept her apology, there really wasn’t much she could do about it.

“You still plan to share with me?” Karma asked.

“Of course,” Aisling replied.  “Now that I don’t have to worry about being overheard, I’ll tell you everything tonight.”

“In that case you are completely forgiven,” Karma said with a smile.

Aisling returned Karma’s smile and gave her a quick hug.  Then she turned back to Olaf.

“What was it that you wanted to see?” she asked.

“We would like to see how you use the sai,” Olaf said.  “We have never seen it before and are curious.”

Aisling crossed the room to the target to retrieve the
sai
as she considered Olaf’s request.  “Mostly I use the weapon in combination with
tiketa,
” she said as she pulled the
sai
from the target and walked back.  “I also use them as throwing weapons.  They can be quite versatile once you become accustomed to them.  Do you have practice covers for these?”