Beneath the Eye of God (The Commodore Ardcasl Space Adventures Book 1) (22 page)

The door at the end of the room burst open. A very large shape filled the opening. There was a lantern behind it. "Where's Ohan?" The shout filled the silent room. "Where's the boy who says he's been tending my horse?"

His fingers flew over the machine. It had to do more than hum. They came to rest on the power switch slide. It was locked in the off position. He had never seen the machine's beam. It had always been standing on a mound aimed downward before the twins turned it on. He knew which end it came out of however. He fumbled with the safety, then shoved the switch forward. The big man was stomping down the aisle shouting something, Ohan couldn't tell what. The lantern behind the menacing figure flashed from one frightened boy's face to another. A pencil-thin beam of light shot out. It danced crazily on the man's chest, went through all the colors of the rainbow, then the man exploded and the shouting was gone.

The lantern stopped moving. The beam of light wandered toward the man holding it while, at the same time, cutting the guard with the bad teeth and the door in half. It found the man with the lantern. He looked very surprised when he died. As the beam began to cut through the corner of the barracks, Ohan pulled the slide back and clicked it into the off position.

The lantern had fallen to the floor and gone out. In the silent darkness, Ohan could feel a roomful of frightened faces turned to him. "You can try to get back to the depot," he said. "But the riders will probably be after you. If someone will show me the way, I have to go to Blackman Nol's house."

Chapter 14

The ropes cut into Leahn's wrists. Hossen Em pulled them tighter. Then he led her to a chair in the living room and pushed her into it.

He returned her glare with a smile. "You've grown up prettier than ever, girl. But you don't seem to have gotten any smarter these past few years. Still beating your head against stone walls. You should have stayed away, Leahn. Your return won't do anybody any good, least of all you."

"Still the loyal lieutenant, Em?" she snarled. "Whatever dirty job Nol needs done, you're there to do it. I hope he's paid you well."

"Nobody's going to be able to get you out of this, Leahn, even if they wanted to. You'd best tell him what he wants to know and get it over with." One of his men appeared in the doorway. "Go tell my wife," Em ordered. "Tell her we have guests and Nol wants a dinner party tonight." He turned back to Leahn. "Tell my wife that her sister has come for a short visit."

Leahn stared at him in disbelief. "Your wife? One of my sisters? Blackman Nol has paid you well, far better than scum like you could ever hope for. If you've harmed any of them, I'll . . ."

Em glared at her. "You'll do nothing. And Nol had nothing to do with our marriage."

A woman appeared in the doorway. Large but not heavy, she stopped when she saw Leahn. A cry caught in her throat. Her hair was beginning to go gray but the resemblance was clear. She ran to Leahn's side.

"Keep away from her, Silane," Hossen Em warned. "No one's to come near."

The woman knelt beside Leahn, tears welling up in her eyes. She embraced the girl, burying Leahn's face against her shoulder. Both were crying. Em shook his head but made no move to separate them.

"Darling, darling," the woman whispered after a while. "If only you had stayed away. If only you had left it alone. Just knowing you were somewhere else, free and somewhere else, was a comfort to me sometimes." She held Leahn at arm's length. "I prayed that you were well and happy. Oh, darling, why did you come back?"

Leahn had already collected herself. "I came to kill my father's murderer." She shot a glance at Em. "Apparently there are no men here or it would have been done long ago."

"Let him be, darling." The woman took Leahn's face in her hands, kissed it and rose to her feet. "He didn't know. He believed what Nol told him. Then it was too late. We've been married these last three years. I've been luckier than the others." She looked at the glowering man. "Hossen Em has been good to me. I am his wife."

The Commodore entered the room, his guard close behind. "There's nothing like soap and water to freshen one up. I feel ever so much better. There you are, Mr. Em. Your associate here behind me is a charming fellow but not much of a conversationalist."

He approached the two women. "And who is this lovely lady? Mr. Em, you must introduce us." He took Silane's hand. "I, my dear, am Commodore Ardcasl. Please call me Commodore. All my friends do. I'm a poor scientist travelling through your beautiful land, though I must declare that the loveliness of its women outshines even the marvelous landscape. But wait." He looked closely at the two women. "Is this a family resemblance I detect?"

"I am Silane Em," the woman said. "Leahn is my sister."

"Then you must be our hostess. My dear, I do apologize for myself and my associates. It was not our intention to barge in on you uninvited but your husband here . . . I am correct in that, am I not? Yes? Ah, Mr. Em, you are indeed a fortunate fellow . . . well, he did rather insist that we all come along with him, and now Mr. Nol is talking about a dinner party. I do hope it's not too great an inconvenience . . . Sisters, you say? Well, that explains it. We were all quite dumfounded when your clever husband discovered that the Cirian bodyguard sent to me by the governor was, in fact, a lovely young woman. Confidentially I must admit that I feared we had gotten ourselves into the middle of some unsavory goings on, but if the young woman is, in fact, your sister . . . well, my silly fears of sinister plots are proved groundless. I am relieved that it is only a family tiff. I myself come from a large and contentious family. I know full well the . . . "

"Leahn has vowed to kill Blackman Nol," Silane said softly. "That is why she has come back."

"Oh dear." The Commodore seemed truly shocked, but then said cheerfully, "But look on the bright side. Your husband's vigilance has forestalled her dark design. Mr. Nol is safe and now your unfortunate sister can receive professional counseling. I'm sure that with tender care and a little time, she can be made right as rain. I recall a similar case several years ago. It was . . ."

"I'm afraid Blackman Nol intends to kill my sister."

"Silane!" Em said. "That's enough."

The Commodore was stunned. "Surely not, madam." He turned to Hossen Em. "Surely you would not allow such a thing to happen, sir. Your wife's own sister. You have her securely tied. She can no longer be a threat to anyone. With treatment she . . ."

"Keep quiet," Em shouted. "This is none of your affair."

"You are correct, sir," the Commodore said softly. "But it is very much your affair and I fear you are handling it badly."

He turned to leave but found the doorway blocked by two more young women, both near Leahn's age, with the same family resemblance. One hung back timidly but the other came boldly into he room. "So it's true," she snarled. "You wouldn't leave things as they were. You had to come back."

"I'm sorry, Laral," Leahn said. "I thought I could kill him. Hello Caran." The girl in the doorway edged into the room, smiled nervously and gave a little wave. "Where are the others?" Leahn asked.

"Upstairs in their rooms crying," Laral replied acidly. "That's how overjoyed they were to hear of your return."

She sat on the couch opposite her bound sister, Em watchfully between them. Her manner softened. "It hasn't been as bad this past year or so. Nol is so busy building his empire, he hasn't time for us. But now that he has you, he'll start all over again." She sat for a moment as if collecting herself for whatever lay ahead. "Why did you do it, Leahn? Why did you come back?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Leahn said meekly.

Laral stood up. "A joke? That's good, Leahn. I'll have them carve it on your tombstone if Nol leaves enough of you to bury." She saw the Commodore. "Who's your fat friend?"

The Commodore bowed. "Ardcasl's the name, my dear. All my friends call me Commodore. I hope you'll . . ."

"We're not really acquainted," Leahn said. "He was handy when I needed a lift. He says he knew our father and came here to look at all that old junk he collected." She gave the Commodore a long look. "I'd keep away from him if I were you. He looks kind of slippery."

"Your sister's right, Miss Laral," Em said. "I don't like his looks."

Laral turned on him. "Hasn't he murdered and raped enough for you, Em? He must be terrible indeed if he doesn't measure up to your high standards."

"You know that's not true," Em protested. "I've never . . . "

"Never murdered? Only when Nol tells you to. Seldom raped? And then only my sister, the one Nol gave you and said it was OK. Do forgive me, dear brother-in-law, for blackening your sterling reputation. I didn't realize it was possible."

"Laral," Silane protested. "You know that's not fair. You don't want our guest to think we . . ."

"Fair? Yes, I'm sorry. Degrees of evil are very important in this household. And I certainly wouldn't want tubby here, to think badly of us. He was kind enough to bring Leahn back for our uncle to murder."

She turned to Leahn. "Perhaps you haven't heard. Our generous uncle gave Silane to Em, rather like throwing a bone to a faithful dog. We're all to be nice to our dear brother-in-law, even if he did help murder our parents. And as for that 'old junk' our father collected, it just happens to be the most comprehensive collection of historical artifacts in the highlands. If you hadn't been so busy playing with swords and falling out of trees, you might have known how proud he was of it. If you'd spent a tenth as much time with him as you did with the horses . . ."

She buried her face in her hands but quickly recovered. "Come on, chub. You came to see my father's old junk? I'll show it to you."

"Do call me Commodore. All my friends . . ."

"Laral," Em shouted. "You know your uncle doesn't like you in his study." He started after them but remembered Leahn. He turned to the Commodore's guard who was watching him nervously. "Stay with him, you fool. Don't let him touch anything."

***

Laral and the Commodore were halfway down the hall when the guard came running after them. "Ah, my taciturn companion. I was afraid you had gotten lost."

"Em doesn't seem to trust you very much," Laral commented.

"Actually it's your uncle who is a trifle apprehensive. My associates and myself were the unwitting agents who delivered your sister into his household. He still suspects our motives though I assure you, our only purpose in coming here was to view your father's collection of artifacts."

"You knew my father?"

"Alas, we met only once in the capital but as you know, he was exceedingly proud of his collection. We had a lovely chat and he invited me to stop by if I was ever in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, other affairs intervened and I waited much too long before accepting his kind offer. He was a charming fellow."

Laral paused. "He was the nicest kindest man I've ever known," she said quietly. "That's why I feel so bad when I try to hate him for what he allowed to happen here."

She turned and shouted at the guard. "Don't just stand there you stupid oaf. Open the door."

The guard, taken by surprise, fumbled with the latch and finally let them in. The room was large, with dark wood paneling and a great stone fireplace covering half of one wall. The other walls were mostly shelves and cabinets filled with books and artifacts.

"Em says don't touch anything," the guard mumbled.

"And quite right he is, too," the Commodore agreed. "Look but don't touch, that's the story of my life, and of yours as well perhaps, dear chap. From the way he's been watching you, Miss Laral, I believe I detect a certain interest . . ."

"Him?" Laral spat. "I could stand naked before him and he'd be too terrified to blink an eye. He knows who I belong to." She picked up a bluestone figurine and handed it to the Commodore. The guard's eyes flickered with suppressed anger but he did not speak. "You say you met my father at the capital? When exactly was that? He was only there a few times."

"It was several years ago. I have a terrible memory for dates. I remember his saying that very thing, how infrequently he came to the city."

"I don't recall him ever mentioning you."

The Commodore was examining another figurine. "Now here's a fine piece. You and he were close, were you?"

"Yes, we were. I was the youngest until Leahn came along. I used to love this room. I'd bring my dolls in here to play while he was working. He would tell me all about his pieces even though I was too young to understand half of what he was saying. Later I helped him catalog the collection."

"You have a catalog?"

"It's right here." She took a large notebook from a shelf and handed it to him. "Didn't he mention this? He was very proud of it."

"Of course. I'm sure he did, though I can't recall whether he was planning it or had actually begun work on it."

Laral surveyed the big man critically. "It's odd that I don't remember him mentioning you. He met so few who shared his interest and a fellow collector as . . . as colorful as you would have been a topic of conversation."

"I sometimes have that effect on people." He spread his hands in mock resignation. "Large but forgettable. Perhaps he spoke of me while you were absorbed in your doll play, one of the parts of the conversation to which you paid little heed."

"Perhaps. Did you two correspond?"

"Helped file his letters, did you?" the Commodore laughed. "No, my dear. I'm afraid I'm not much of a letter writer." He was thumbing through the catalog. "That's an unusual skin over the fireplace but I don't see it listed here. What sort of beast is it?"

"Daddy said it was the skin of a man. I'm not sure I believed him. He said the colonists had to fight some terrible bloodthirsty savages who skinned each other alive. He said the colonists defeated them in a great battle and took this trophy. It was the savages' most prized possession. Daddy never listed it because he wasn't sure whether it was a true story or just a legend."

The Commodore had turned to another page in the catalog. "I see here that you have some hand weapons dating back to the early colonial era. May I see them?"

"Daddy called those his rarest items. When the colonists machines stopped working they took most of them apart to try to fix the rest and finally threw them away in disgust. These are the only ones he ever found." She brought out two small boxes.