Prince of Luster (23 page)

Prometheus grunted. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll find them. If I have to alter plans, there’ll be little lost but a few days at the most. I’m quite used to changing conditions. Experience during the war years stands me in good stead, in that regard.” He leaned forward and glared into the vid-screen. “I always have a plan for
any
contingency.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Prometheus. You’ll get no trouble from me.”

“Until tomorrow then.”

• • •

Marcos slept until early dawn. Nova was in his embrace, and he wanted the peace between them to last forever. Grateful she’d so readily forgiven him, all his thoughts now were on when and how he could get a hold of Darius. His brother was near. He could feel it as he always had when they’d played hiding games deep in the woods on Luster. Despite the on-and-off bickering sometimes shared between siblings, their bond went very deep. Years of fighting Warlords and their savage hordes had intensified their sibling instincts. One corner of his mouth lifted as he held Nova closer. Soon, she’d be free, and he’d see his foes pay for the suffering they’d caused.

He slept a little longer but awakened quickly when something tapped into his slumber and shot a warning through his brain.

When he opened his eyes, Una was facing the entrance of the cave. Her stillness, unusual for her when they awakened from slumber, alerted them as nothing else would have.

He pushed himself into a standing position just as Nova did. They quickly dressed, without a making a sound.

Una’s stance never varied. Her antennae stood straight up. Her black little nose pointed toward the cave entrance. She didn’t growl or make a sound. But the stiffness in her body was ominous. She’d never behaved that way before. She was acting on instinct, which propelled Marcos to do the same. Unlike most sentient creatures who believed themselves above wildlife, there was one thing animals never, ever did. They never lied.

He gently squeezed Nova’s right hand, then found and gripped the hilt of the sword the elderly merchant in the marketplace had covertly provided. It was the only weapon they had. And as Nova had already seen him use it, he wasn’t averse to taking a head if some enemy stupidly popped one through the opening of their hiding place.

For a very long time, nothing happened. When Una didn’t move, neither did they.

Then, in the distance, the sound of an engine broke the stillness.

“Get behind me,” he softly ordered.

Without arguing, Nova grabbed up Una and did as he’d commanded. The only weapon she had, save him, was a small paring knife she grabbed up and hid within the folds of the cloak she’d donned.

Voices sounded.

He glanced at her and whispered, “No matter what happens, we stay together.”

She swallowed hard, nodded, and held Una against her chest.

The sound of talking filtered toward the cave entrance.

Marcos stepped directly in front of Nova, wondering at the foolhardiness of anyone on a search making such noise.

“They’ll have to come through the small crawlspace one at a time,” he whispered. “I’ll take them out as they do.”

He put his full attention on the cave entrance and took a stance, ready to wield the sword as his trainer had taught him to many years ago. That was the good part about ancient martial artistry. He could drop someone with one silent blow. The sword’s edge was quite sharp enough to do so, and he was strong enough. If an intruder were searching alone, separated from his comrades, they might still have a chance to avoid detection.

The sound of voices grew closer; then, there was complete quiet.

“Marcos Starlaw? If you’re in there you may as well surrender. You’ve no place left to run, and I’m your only chance of getting away from the slugs.”

Marcos gripped the sword hilt tighter and kept his mouth closed. Whoever called out, though they were idiot enough to make so much noise during a search, they weren’t quite so inane as to poke their head through the cave entrance without knowing what waited inside.

He sensed Nova’s nearness.

“I could send my man in to get you, sir, but that would result in a fight. Neither of us has time for such foolishness. I could deploy tranquilizing, gaseous agents into your cave and take you when you’re unconscious. But, again, such things take time, and we have little to spare. So come out and stop this nonsense before Prometheus’s minions find I’m missing from my residence and trace me here. They’ll have no qualms about taking your life in ways that will make the plasma seem gentle. Spare the girl further anxiety, if she’s with you. Come out and let’s speak like men who are both in dire circumstances.”

Nova put her hand on his shoulder. “That’s Adaman Forrell. I recognize his voice,” she softly warned. “Don’t trust him, Marcos.”

“Please hurry,” Forrell called out. “If I’d wanted you dead, you would be.”

Marcos used one hand to push Nova further backward and behind him. “There’s no one here but me,” he responded.

“Marcos Starlaw … your brother’s ship is in orbit. He will be at my residence later tonight. I’ll hand you over to him. Whoever pulled you from the pit will likely die in your stead if you do not save them. Come out and let me see you safely to your brother. I wish to bargain for conditions.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marcos lied yet again.

“You are wasting time we do not have, sir. There’s only me and one guard. We’ve been searching for you for a very long time. It was only by accident that our ambient heat sensors picked up a trace of fire coming from this cave. We had to be right on top of you to do so, but Prometheus has many more minions and much more equipment at his disposal. If I found you, his brawlers will. You’re in no position to bargain, and I won’t be either if any slugs catch us here.”

Marcos recognized desperation in the man’s voice that, rang true. If those outside the cave had wanted him dead, they could have blasted the side of the hill and killed him and Nova instantly. They had at least that much fire power at their disposal.

“I’ll come out,” he agreed. “But the girl who helped me is dead. She died from an infection over a month ago.” Better to lie about that than try to deny someone’s obvious assistance in getting his body out of the trash pit.

“By your pleasure, sir … please be quick, or I can’t guarantee our safety.”

Marcos turned to Nova. There was a shocked look on her face.

“Stay put. Make no sound,” he whispered. If I can get him out of here, you’ll have to hide elsewhere. You can survive. I know you can.”

He kissed her hard, gazed into her shocked eyes one more time, and turned toward the cave entrance. After maneuvering through the crawlspace, he emerged outside to see Governor Adaman Forrell and one guard at the cave’s entrance. The man had actually told the truth. The two of them were standing on large, silver hovercraft undoubtedly causing the noise that had alerted little Una from a distance.

As soon as Marcos was outside the cave and stood to his full height, the guard quickly leaped from the transport’s surface and faced him. The burly man aimed a laser at his head, but Marcos gripped the hilt of the sword he’d hidden beneath his hastily donned cloak.

“I know the girl is in there,” Forrell severely addressed him. “You’d better tell her to come out, Highness, or she’ll surely be found by the slugs. You know what they’ll do to her.”

“I wasn’t lying. She’s dead. She was a healer but I wasn’t. I couldn’t help her.”

Forrell rolled his eyes. “Come out, Wiccan healer. You’ve no choice. The prince is a bad liar, and you know what will happen if Prometheus gets his hands on you. I’m your only chance now. I’ll say it again though time is against us … if I’d wanted you dead, you would be! It’s clear you mean something to Prince Marcos. Your presence will assist me in bargaining for Darius Starlaw’s protection.”

• • •

Nova swallowed hard, briefly closed her eyes, and slowly nodded. There was nothing else for her to do. And something in the way Forrell’s voice shook made her think he might, for once in his greedy miserable life, be telling the truth.

Then she stopped.

Una was still in her arms. Tears filled her eyes as she considered what to do next.

It was best to take her pet’s life humanely so the pup wouldn’t starve in the cave or be horribly tortured over an open flame and then eaten by slugs. She slowly lifted her paring knife, but Una gazed up at her with all the trust in the universe in her soft black eyes.

She sniffed back tears, raised her hand, and gripped the knife harder.

Una tilted her little head and softly whimpered.

Goddess, Creator of all things, help me.

She simply couldn’t. She hadn’t the strength.

Even as she considered a second try, Una barreled into the cloth of her cloak and almost disappeared within the folds.

Nova wiped her tears away with her left sleeve, tucked Una securely within a pocket in the folds of her cloak, and stuck the little paring knife in the top of her right boot.

Una’s body was completely hidden. There might still be a chance to set the pup free someplace safer, though doing so wouldn’t be charitable with the cold months ahead. But some kind soul
might
find her. Maybe a burned and scarred child would locate the dog and might know comfort in the little pup’s happy antics.

That was the only part of hope left to her now. Nova took a deep breath, held her head up, and walked out of the cave.

Marcos hung his head, his eyes briefly closed in apparent defeat.

The guard quickly assisted her onto the transport even as Forrell leapt from it and onto the ground.

“If you have a weapon, you’d better hand it over,” Forrell advised. “Though I know you don’t think so at this moment, I
am
trying to save your life, young Starlaw. I don’t wish to die for my efforts.”

Marcos glared at the man, then slowly brought his sword from beneath his cloak. He angrily threw it to the ground and put his face only inches from the governor’s.

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

Nova couldn’t look at her beloved. Her heart actually felt like it’d just broken into a thousand pieces. She’d never again know the warmth of his arms, or his soft voice in the night. But she’d had to come out of the cave. It made no sense to have the guard come in after her, engendering further anger and possible torture right then and there. Best to put that off until later. It would surely come. And maybe, just maybe, she and Marcos could die together. The Goddess might see them into the afterlife as one.

“We’ll all be dead if we don’t leave here right now.” Forrell took a deep, shaking breath. “Luck still holds,” he said as he turned toward his guard. “Put the prince in restraints so he won’t try something idiotic. Release him only after we’re at my residence,” Forrell ordered, then gave a few more commands as he remounted the transport. “Pick up the sword, take the same exact route back. Cover as much of our engine’s trail as possible.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard said.

Nova knelt to keep from falling as the transport moved swiftly away from the cave entrance. She looked back, believing she’d never see her home again.

She could get no closer to Marcos, as Forrell’s body blocked her way. She couldn’t even see her princely lover due to Forrell’s robes blowing in the breeze as they sped away, closer to his residence and the city proper.

“I’ve had to disable half a dozen of Prometheus’s contraptions in my own home just to make one room safe from spying,” Forrell complained. “His minions would have likely found us were it not for the fact that they are occupied elsewhere. Their slug leader is on his ship, planning to ambush your brother when he lands with a small part of his crew tonight.”

“What’s your game?” Marcos asked. “I won’t ask how you eventually figured out who I was; it no longer matters. Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”

“I tell you, your brother
is
here. He’s come looking for you though he’s made every conceivable attempt to make it appear otherwise. But we can discuss all this when we get to my residence. We’ll have to fly fast and sneak into my domicile through underground tunnels as it is,” Forrell warned. “When we get to the city limits, sit down and pull the hoods of your cloaks up. If we’re lucky, we might just get to my home without being seen. We’re already fortunate enough that the slugs, inclusive of all their craft, have been told to hide. This was done so your brother and his crew will not locate them using an enforcer ship’s close-range sensors, or by sight upon landing. If the slugs fail to keep hidden, I can easily see your sibling raining hell down on Delta Seven’s uninhabited mining areas, since he’d assume you are dead and would be looking to make a very harsh point!”

“Sucks to be you,” Marcos muttered with a disdainful snort.

Forrell’s guard slowed their transport’s pace when they eventually got behind the governor’s official dwelling.

“Take this vehicle and resume patrol duties as if nothing has happened,” Forrell said to the guard. “You know what to do.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard responded, then sped away after his passengers exited.

“If you want to live, give me no grief and follow me … quickly,” the governor commanded as he swiftly moved to an old cellar door behind the large, granite building in which he lived.

“Why should we trust you?” Marcos asked.

“Because I’m as deep in this as you are. The slug leader will have me killed as soon as he’s sure I’m of no use. Indeed, everything I did was to try to contain his violence,” Forrell gushed. “We’ll talk further when we’re upstairs, in quarters more suited to such a discussion, and away from prying ears and eyes.”

Some minutes later, the governor motioned them into an old cargo lift alongside him. The man pushed a lever that raised them upward.

The lift soon stopped, and they got out. The room they exited into was resplendent. Nova frowned thinking of how many of the colony’s citizens went without many kinds of necessities while Forrell lived like some greasy potentate.

Nova gazed at a large space where candles glowed, food was laid out, and luxurious round sofas with cushions dotted the area. Tapestries hung everywhere. Forrell’s quarters were a great deal warmer than the cave she and Marcos shared. And far more sumptuous than the man deserved. Everything there belied his effusive claims of victimization.