Priestess of the Eggstone (14 page)

“Who’s Tayvis?” she asked. “You were shouting his name in your sleep.”

“Just someone I met. Once. Nobody important.” It was a bald lie. Even I could hear the longing in my voice.

“Someone special, I think.”

“Yes, I think. He wanted me to meet him in three years when his enlistment is up.”

“He’s Patrol?”

“With the Enforcers.”

“The way you’re going, you’re going to meet him a lot sooner than that.” She laughed. “Just mention him if Jerimon gets out of hand. The competition would do him good.”

“I thought you were suggesting we just be friends.”

“I was.”

The room grew silent, except for the howling wind outside. The window rattled briefly.

“How do you know if you’re in love?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you in the morning,” Jasyn answered, muffling another yawn.

I listened to the wind howl until it lulled me to sleep.

When I woke, it was to find bright sunlight streaming through the window and silence in the apartment. Jerimon and Jasyn should be making some kind of noise, shouldn’t they? Had they left me behind? I scrambled out of the bed in a panic. They couldn’t have left me behind. They wouldn’t have, I insisted to myself. They needed me. I tried to squelch the little voice in my head that told me that no, they really didn’t need me for anything.

I jerked the bedroom door open. Jerimon looked up, startled, from a book. I leaned on the doorframe as my heartrate slowed and the panic drained away. Jerimon lowered his book, his gaze traveling slowly over my body. His look made me blush. I wore one of Jasyn’s nightgowns, a short slinky one that showed off a lot more of me than I wanted it to.

“Is there something you wanted, Dace?” Jerimon finally asked.

“No.” I retreated into the bedroom. My face burned with embarrassment. Why should I care what Jerimon thought? I angrily pulled off the gown and found my own shapeless shipsuit. He was annoying, egotistical; he meant absolutely nothing to me. So why did he make me feel so flustered?

I jammed my feet through the legs of the suit. I’d made the mistake of falling in love once before. I was not going to repeat it, especially not with Jerimon. He was good looking, honestly he was gorgeous, but what difference did that make? He had gotten me attacked by eight-foot lizards. They were still chasing us. Why should I be embarrassed by the way he looked at me? Why did he make my heart speed up? I could deny it all I wanted to, but it wasn’t going to change the attraction I felt.

I shoved my arms in the sleeves and zipped the suit. I was vain enough to run my fingers through the mess of hair on my head, not that it did much good, but at least it didn’t stick up quite as badly when I finished. I took a moment to compose myself before I opened the door again. I would be calm, collected, absolutely untouchable. Except I wasn’t.

Jerimon watched the door, still grinning, when I opened it. “The other outfit was much more flattering.”

I ignored him and my red face as I crossed the room to fetch my boots from the kitchen. I shoved my feet into them, balancing precariously on one foot at a time.

“Jasyn left early,” Jerimon said right behind me, causing me to jump and almost fall. He caught my arm and steadied me. I jerked my arm away. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are not much of a morning person?”

“Go away, Jerimon.” I turned my back, hunching my shoulders.

“Breakfast is on the counter. I’ll be waiting when you’re through grouching.” He sauntered out of the kitchen.

I had an urge to throw something at him. How dare he act so cool and nonchalant? I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I didn’t like him. It was the truth. He was worse than the rat Leon. What kind of an idiot did he think I was? Did he think that all he had to do was give me that big-eyed look and his grin and I would melt all over the floor? It was almost true. How dare he make me feel this way? I slammed dishes onto the table and helped myself to the food waiting on the counter.

There was a piece of paper, folded neatly in half, with my name on it under a bowl of preserved fruit. The writing was elegant.

Got a call this morning, need to check some things out. Can you get the ship ready to fly? Don’t let Jerimon get under your skin.

I ate and wondered what kind of call would send us flying off planet. It couldn’t be about the Sessimoniss or Jerimon would be the one in a panic. It couldn’t have been about Belliff or both of us would be scrambling to leave. Was Jasyn going to drag me into some mess of her own? She didn’t seem to be the type. Jerimon would know. I could ask him or ignore him and head straight for the ship. My curiosity would kill me first.

“What did Jasyn tell you?”

“She was gone when I woke up. She wants to leave as soon as we can. She left me a list of things to pack.”

“I’ll head to the ship and make sure it still flies.” I brushed past him.

“Dace,” he said.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. “What?” I asked without looking at him.

“You really did look better in the nightgown.”

I muttered bad words under my breath as I yanked the door open and stomped into the snow. Jerimon’s laugh followed.

Sunlight sparkled off ice and snow on every surface. The air was crisp, clean, and very cold. My nose tried to freeze shut with every breath. I shivered, debating about borrowing a coat. My pride kept me out. I spotted the curve of ships rising over the roofline, the port was only a few blocks away. I walked towards them, my boots crunching through the ice. Vehicles crawled past, wheels churning white snow into gray slush.

My nose was numb and my fingers were threatening to fall off when I reached the ship. I shivered so hard I almost didn’t notice the man standing by the hatch. He wore a huge, furry coat and looked a lot warmer than I felt. I reached for the hatch controls.

“Are you part of the crew for this ship?” His voice snapped with impatience.

“Last time I checked,” I said as the door slid open, letting out a breath of warm air. I took one step into the airlock.

The man grabbed my arm. “I’m here to repossess it for payment of debts. Any asset of Belliff, Inc. is subject to instant seizure. Where’s the captain?”

I pasted on my dumbest look, hoping the captain’s bars on my collar were not too obvious. “I’m just crew. Can I get my personal stuff?”

He hesitated, looking over his shoulder across the field. He frowned, tapping his clipboard on his leg. “Be quick about it.”

“I’ll hurry.” I locked him out before he realized what I’d done.

I waited for the inner door to open, relishing the warmth and wondering how we were going to wiggle out of this one. If we took the ship, the Patrol would be on us for piracy. We’d gotten away with it so far because Belliff wasn’t in a position to complain. With someone else claiming the ship for payment, we wouldn’t get off planet.

The inside of the ship seemed even smaller. I opened my locker, then jumbled everything into a bag. We needed to leave fast, before someone decided to file charges against us personally, not just Belliff.

Chapter Eleven

The summer sun of Tebros burned in a burnished sky. Waves of heat shimmered over the cracked and pitted surface of the landing field. Sweat dripped down Tayvis’ back, tickling under his collar. He ignored it as he stalked towards the Patrol offices.

The air inside the building was marginally cooler. Tayvis stopped in the foyer, a half dozen troops in full Enforcer uniform ranged behind him. The secretary, a very young woman in a plain silver uniform, jumped from her chair, saluting with a shaking hand. Tayvis stood in the center of the room, watching her, waiting. She visibly wilted under his forbidding stare, shrinking into herself while still trying to stay at attention. Tayvis took pity on her after a moment. It wasn’t her fault he was in such a foul mood.

“Where is he?” He kept his voice mild.

“Who, sir?” the secretary stammered. He waved her to her seat. She sank into it gratefully.

“Commander Grant Lowell,” Tayvis said, biting off each syllable. The secretary automatically reached for her computer, then stopped, her hand frozen in the act. She stared at Tayvis, dark eyes wide. “Commander Tayvis?”

He nodded, once.

“He’s waiting for you. He said you would be here. How did he know?” She wrinkled her nose in confusion. “I had no notice of anything official. You aren’t on the manifests.” Her fingers clicked over keys. Tayvis sighed, suddenly tired.

“Just tell me where he is.”

The secretary’s fingers paused, hovering over the keys. She looked lost and nervous again. “He’s in his office. I’ll tell him.” She reached for a communicator pad.

“Just tell me which room.”

She waved her hands, flustered. “Down the hall, there. He’s in the last room on the left.” Tayvis stepped around her desk into the hall behind it. His men fanned out into guard positions in the foyer; one trailed him down the hall. The last door stood open, spilling sunlight into the hall. Tayvis stopped in the doorway.

Commander Grant Lowell stood with his back to the door, his hands clasped behind him as he stared into the afternoon glare. He turned, smiling at Tayvis. “Come in. Close the door behind you.”

Tayvis stepped into the room, pulling the door shut. His guard stayed in the hall. Lowell dropped into the chair behind the desk, waving Tayvis to the only other chair in the room, a battered wooden thing that had seen better days. Tayvis sat, the chair protesting with a loud squeal. He waited in stony silence, his face a mask that hid his anger.

“This room needs something,” Lowell said after a long moment. “Artwork, maybe. Something in blue?” He raised one eyebrow.

“I’m not in the mood, Lowell.”

“Why the goons?”

“Don’t play games with me. You sent me to Viya, you know.”

“Know what? I think the heat may be affecting your brain.” He eyed Tayvis shrewdly. “Dace left Viya not long before you arrived. She landed here eight days ago.” Lowell leaned back in his chair, hands clasped in his lap.

“And I was supposed to guess she’d run back here, to Tebros? That’s the dumbest move in the book. She isn’t stupid.” He stopped himself. Flying right back to Tebros was something Dace would have pulled.

“Think it through, Tayvis. I gave you access to everything. Did you forget to do your homework?” The chair thumped as Lowell turned his handcomp so Tayvis could read the screen. “Dace is a pilot and a passable engineer. The man with her, Jerimon Pai, is a pilot. Neither of them know enough to program a nav computer. She had whatever course tapes Belliff gave her, half-a-dozen destinations at most. She was in a hurry to leave. It isn’t hard to reverse a course tape. With the equipment on her ship, it takes three buttons and a switch. You should have figured it out and made it here before she did.”

“So where is she? Did you lock her up?”

“She’s long gone.” Lowell’s voice was still mild, slightly disapproving. “I talked to her.”

“You let her go. You had your pick of several dozen charges against her and you just let her go. I thought you needed her.”

“I need her, yes, but I need her to come willingly. She wasn’t even listening to me.” Lowell smiled blandly, eyes bright, unreadable. “Why did it take you so long? And why the full escort?”

“You, the most knowledgeable man in the Empire, don’t know? I spent four days on Viya trying to avert a war, doing my best until a delegation from the Empire arrived. The escort was necessary. I had no idea what situation I’d find here. The Sessimoniss are on the warpath. They actually fired on a full battle group. Viya was not equipped to deal with an incident like that. I had no choice but to take command until someone higher ranking showed up.”

Lowell leaned back, a small smile on his face. He looked almost asleep. Tayvis wasn’t fooled. Lowell’s mind was faster than any computer at putting puzzle pieces together. The smile on his face spread slowly.

“Just when I thought I had it figured out,” Lowell said. “Take your goons and find her before she hurts herself or the Sessimoniss catch her.”

“And where should I look?” The heat made him feel sluggish.

“She downloaded a nav course to Nevira, an old one. It should take her a while to arrive.”

“If she arrives. How bad was her ship?” Tayvis scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I saw the tapes, she took at least one direct hit.”

“She made it here, barely. She got the parts to fix her ship. I made sure of that.”

“What else have you made sure of?” Tayvis wanted nothing more than to just sleep somewhere cool. No, he wanted to know that Dace was safe first.

“She isn’t being chased by Patrol, other than you. Belliff is effectively shut down, I doubt they will worry about one courier pilot enough to follow her. The Sessimoniss add a new wrinkle, though. I’ll see what I can do with them.”

“They want something called the Eggstone. They say she stole it, although their language is weird enough I’m not sure who they were referring to.”

“The Eggstone.” Lowell tipped his chair back and eyed the ceiling as if it held answers. “Any idea what that might be?”

Tayvis shook his head.

“It would help if we knew more about the Sessimoniss.” Lowell thumped the chair to the floor and typed rapidly on his handcomp. “Go to Nevira, Tayvis. Find her for me.”

“So you can send her to Tivor.”

“So you can convince her to go.”

“I’ll resign first.”

“You can’t. The Empire owns you for two-and-a-half more years.” Lowell stopped typing. His silver eyes met Tayvis’s brown ones. “I need her, Tayvis.”

“How can you live with yourself?”

“You asked me that before. I do what has to be done. I won’t force her to Tivor. But, if she won’t go, we may lose the whole sector. Tivor is key to the travel routes. One life for millions, Tayvis.”

“And what if she won’t go?”

Lowell shrugged. “Then I do what I have to. I give her a choice.”

“It isn’t much of a choice.”

“She’s safer working for me, Tayvis. I can protect her. Look what she does when I leave her alone.” He grinned. “One mission, Tayvis. Three months on Tivor and I make sure she never gets involved again.”