Stardust Dreams (33 page)

"I suppose I could
have let you fall on your face, which is what you were about to do. I only
wanted to give you a chance to rest without embarrassing either one of
us."

"Oh. But I would have
liked to have heard more of Josep's explanations."

"I know, and I meant
to repeat every fascinating detail when I crawled in here last night."

She couldn't help but
wonder if he honestly meant
every
detail or just those bits of
information he wanted her to know about. "Then tell me now. The last thing
I heard was how the poor, abused Illusians hid away the lovely Princess
Honorbound in this ivory tower for safekeeping."

Gallant chuckled and moved
up to massage her left arm. "I did learn how that was accomplished. The
people that were working on weapons also found a vulnerable spot in the barrier
and discovered a way to poke a small hole through it. The special team that
kept the Consociation believing things had changed on Illusia also became
responsible for keeping the hole disguised."

"Why didn't they blast
the whole barrier away and be done with it?"

"Remember what Josep
said. They knew they couldn't win a head-on war against Norona, and that's what
they would have gotten if they had blown away the barrier all at once. The plan
to use Inner-world as a bargaining tool was much more practical, even though it
was also more complicated and would take a lot longer to set up.

"At any rate, they've
had this opening for some time, but in order to assure secrecy, they have only
used it a few times to send ships out. No ship has ever returned in case they
might be followed."

"That explains why
there are ships parked outside of the tunnel."

"Yes, but I figure
that also means no one on Illusia has proof that Honorbound or I are still
alive and continuing with this part of the plan. Since our fathers' deaths last
year, there has been no further communication from Illusia. I can't help but
wonder if Honorbound really has the backup power she's expecting. Either way,
though, now that we know what they're up to, we've got to put a stop to
it."

"And I'm dying to hear
how
we're
going to do that, but first, where do
you
fit into
that royal plan of theirs? And how does Josep get away with everyone thinking
he's a Con rep? And—"

"Give me a chance,
woman. Why don't you roll over so I can get your back? I assume your robotic
arm doesn't need a massage."

"Funny you should
mention that. Do me a favor and hold that hand." He looked at her
curiously, but did as she requested. "How odd. It's doing it again."

"What?"

"Whenever I touch you
with that hand, it tingles, and if I hold on to you long enough, the whole arm
gets warm. It never did that before and I was beginning to think there was
something wrong with it."

"I don't suppose I
should just take that as a compliment."

Cherry laughed. "It's
not that kind of tingling. Anyway, it happened again when I touched Vella's
skin. But after the workout I gave it last night, I'm positive there's nothing
wrong with the mechanical parts."

"Since it's stronger
than a human arm, couldn't it also be more sensitive?"

"What do you
mean?"

"I told you the doctor
who examined me when I was a child noted certain differences that helped him
evaluate my genetic background. One of the differences was in my body's
chemistry. Could it be possible that the robotic nerves are oversensitive to
that chemistry?"

"I suppose. But I'd
have to touch a few more Illusians to test out that theory and drawing their
attention isn't very high on my list of priorities at the moment." She
rolled over onto her stomach. "Now get back to the explanations."

He dotted her shoulders
with salve and kneaded the muscles there as he spoke. "Did you realize
your whole back is scraped up?"

"Gee, Doctor, thanks
for the news flash. I wonder if being dragged across a rock floor had anything
to do with that. Go on."

"All right. Josep said
I'm fifteen years younger than Honorbound. From what I understand, being born
with the second stripe in my hair was a royal big deal. It changed everything. Because
I was the sovereign's nephew instead of his direct descendant, it was decided
that, in order for me to take precedence over Honorbound, I would have to
overcome a trial to prove myself worthy.

"Josep and my father
came up with a test that everyone agreed with. To tell you the truth, it
sounded so convoluted that I don't think anyone really wanted me to pass. But,
for whatever reason, Josep practically led me through the maze by the
nose."

"Didn't he say your
father made him responsible for you?"

"Correct. The first
step was to plant me as an infant on Norona, where I would be brought up among
the Illusians' worst enemies. The logic was that I would gain a true insight
into the Noronian mind and culture. A trained spy could never ascertain the same
type of knowledge because he would never be able to completely let go of his
own background. Apparently, I was given the name Gallant Voyager as both an
honor and a sort of tag to help someone find me later.

"In the meantime,
Josep infiltrated the peace-loving population on Gilliad. I think I told you he
was from there. It was the only place where some of the inhabitants had been
alive during the Great War, and part of his job was to prevent their memories
from negatively influencing other members of the Consociation. He worked his
way up politically until he became a representative."

Gallant went on to explain
how Josep guided him into his present career and became his sole contact.

"Ouch!" Cherry
complained as Gallant touched a sore rib. "Then he was the one who put you
on to the Weebort."

"Right. According to
the trial I was to undergo, Josep couldn't simply come out and tell me who and
what I was, then send me to Lore. Not only would that have been too easy, they
weren't sure they could trust me. After all, I'd been raised by the Noronian
devils. I might have developed a loyalty to them stronger than my ties to
Illusia."

"So," Cherry
concluded, "they set you up on a wild-goose chase to get you here without
your questioning it. Then if you proved yourself unsuitable as their new
sovereign, they could just toss you in the slush outside and be done with
you."

He pinched her waist. "Don't
sound so pleased about it. If they decide to do away with me, you'll be chained
to my wrist. Anyway, it wasn't a fabricated mission. A copy of the hundred-year
plan really was smuggled off Illusia and passed to the Consociation through the
Weebort. But it was Josep's decision to take advantage of the emergency to lure
me here. He used Frezlo as bait."

"And didn't care who
got killed along the way," Cherry added.

"You've got the idea. Unfortunately,
it gets more complicated."

"You're kidding. I
already feel like I'm in a house of mirrors."

"A what?" He
pressed the heels of his palms into her buttock muscles and rubbed the stiffness
out.

"Ooh, that's good. A
house of mirrors is like a maze, only trickier. Just when you think you see the
exit, you walk into a wall of glass, keeping you in."

"Well then, here's the
tricky part," he murmured in a sarcastic tone as his fingers eased down
the back of her left thigh. "When Honorbound was introducing me to my
council, she mentioned that Bessima, my first in command, was on a mission
elsewhere. Do you want to guess where?"

Cherry pieced the facts
together and came up with the most logical answer. "Holy stars. She's on
Earth, isn't she?"

"I believe your
expression would be
bingo.
I wasn't given the details yet, but
apparently, she's preparing the Terran population for a peaceful
takeover."

"But that's not
possible. Romulus's people keep tabs on everything that goes on in Outerworld. They'd
put a stop to anything that would place the planet at risk."

"True. If they see it
coming." He moved to her other leg. "I purposely let Honorbound know
you're a Terran, in hopes that she would consider you worth keeping intact for
a while. There's no question I'll have to let her interrogate you. But whatever
she asks you, keep your answers general and make it sound like your people are
passive and defenseless. If she learns the truth, she could decide to change
the plan to a full-scale military attack. And under no circumstances reveal
that you know anything about Innerworld."

"Okay, but there's a
big hole in this plot, and Josep's in the center of it as far as I can
tell."

Gallant finished the
massage and stretched out beside her. "I'm afraid my head is so full right
now, you're going to have to spell it out for me."

She shifted to her side and
propped her head up. "Josep is the only one who has had the freedom to
come and go from here, right?"

"Right. And I was told
his visits have been very rare to keep suspicion at bay."

"But he
has
visited. And as a representative to the

Consociation living on
Norona, wouldn't he know as much about Earth as you do? Or even me, for that
matter?" Gallant nodded slowly. "Wouldn't he know how Innerworld
monitors Outerworld? And wouldn't he have access to information about the
strength of Terran defenses and their affinity to war rather than submission? What
would lead Honorbound to believe that they could pull off a peaceful takeover
of Earth?"

"As I said, they
didn't give me any details yet, but I think you've got a good point about
Josep. Someone at that table was feeding me advice that gave me a chance to be
accepted quickly. It would make some sense if it was Josep. Maybe he's not as
supportive of the princess and her plan as he seems to be. Considering how
difficult it's going to be to get out of here in one piece, we could really use
someone on our side."

"Then again, maybe
it's another trick to test your worthiness. You know, let you believe you have
a friend to whom you can confide your true feelings about everything you're
being told."

Gallant smirked at her. "I
knew I could count on you to add to my confusion. Have I mentioned how I love
the way your mind works?" He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her
lips.

That
word
kept her
from kissing him back.

"What's wrong? Still
uncomfortable?"

She could have lied, but
that would have made her as bad as he was. Raising herself up to a sitting
position, she looked around the niche, then started sifting through the furs. "Did
you see my jumpsuit anywhere?"

"I had the servant
take it away. She's going to bring you one of those diaper things to wear in
honor of your fighting ability."

She stopped her search and
glowered at him. "You'd better be kidding."