Between Darkness and Light (115 page)

Zaimiss rose to his feet. “What point in exposing our interest further? Is wild element in potentialities now—has been for some time but you close eyes to it! No guarantee if we repair this that it not happen again.”

“Repair is surely easy—we send unmanned ship as usual and have new components plus many spares for Giyarishis,” said Aizshuss, obviously agitated, getting up as the Isolationist sat down. “Hunter must live, nothing else matters!”

“Is argument perhaps one agent not enough,” said Kuvaa, sitting up on her haunches. “Send another with components.”

“Is plain to all but you Hunter
is
wild element,” said Hkairass contemptuously. “Is flawed despite changes you made to him!” He folded himself back down on his cushion, mandibles clicking in disapproval.

“I Speak for sending supplies and agent,” said Shvosi, sitting up. “All must we do to ensure Hunter's survival. Nothing can Giyarishis do without the Unity net—even disruptor not work.”

Azwokkuss rose. “All has been done to Hunter to ensure his survival. Send supplies, but no other agent necessary. Faith I have in work done by Annuur and Kzizysus. If Camarilla decide agent must be sent, I Speak to send Hkairass—be good for him to experience closeness to nexus of potentialities. Send now, by our portal, no time for delay.”

Hkairass leaped to his feet. “I protest!” he began, but a look and gesture from the elderly female TeLaxaudin silenced him and he sank, humming disgruntledly, to his cushion.

Khassiss stared fixedly at him then at Azwokkuss before emitting a scent of faint amusement. “Very well, we have two options now to vote on.”

“How is he?” Zayshul asked, hovering in the doorway of Security on the Officers level.

M'zynal glanced up at the clock. It was 08:00. “The same as he was an hour ago, Doctor,” he said gently, leaning forward to change the view on one of his main screens to show the interior of Kusac's cell. “And the hours before that when you called my night officer. Apart from throwing off his covers, he hasn't moved since he was fed midafternoon yesterday.”

Venturing into the room, she went closer to the wall mounted screens. “He's very still,” she said. “Are you sure he's all right? Why's he naked?”

“His clothing had to be searched,” said M'zynal. “Given the state of his leg, I thought it kinder not to try and put his tunic back on him.” He looked at her. “They don't consider themselves naked, Doctor.”

The image increased in size until she could see him clearly. He lay sprawled partly on his side, the weight of his injured leg supported by the good one folded underneath its knee. The visible part of his dressing glistened slightly.

“He's breathing very slowly,” said M'zynal, “but he's breathing.”

She moved closer still, peering at the screen. “Dear Goddess!” she exclaimed, rounding on him. “The blanket under him is saturated and his leg is more than twice its normal size! If there's an infection set in, M'zynal, he'll die unless I treat him! All the secondary wounds he suffered in that fight, none of them will be able to clot! You must let me in to treat him!”

“I'm sorry, Doctor,” he said. “I've been told no one's to treat him, especially you.”

“This is insane! I demand you let me in at once!” she insisted, advancing on him.

He came out from behind his desk and took hold of her by the arm. When she struggled, he tightened his grip.

“Doctor Zayshul, if you want to help the Sholan, take my advice,” he said quietly. “Don't push to have him treated. Someone will be going in shortly to feed him and give him water. If you anger the General, he may prevent us doing even that.”

She stared at him disbelievingly. “Why?” she asked. “Why are you helping him?”

M'zynal looked away, unwilling to tell her that he and many others thought the General was wrong. “M'kou asked us to,” was all he'd say as he escorted her to the door.

“We had a new arrival last night. Another TeLaxaudin and some supplies—components and the like, nothing exciting. He went up to join Giyarishis. They had night maintenance hauling ladders about examining the bulkheads. Something about faulty electrics in the bulkheads.”

“I'm not interested,” she began.

“Be interested, and let us do what we can down here,” said M'zynal, squeezing her arm gently.

She stared at him again and he nodded. “Go and eat, then visit the new TeLaxaudin. He's not like Giyarishis, he's got a temper on him.”

She nodded slowly as he drew her out into the corridor.

“You'll call me if ...”

“We'll call you,” he said.

When she'd gone, he went through to the brig, gesturing to one of the males on duty to take his place in Security.

“Zhalmo, you need to rest,” he said, going up to where his sister sat at the brig's control desk. “He's fine, I don't know what you and the Doctor are so concerned about. He's responding exactly as one would expect him to do without medical treatment.”

Zhalmo looked up at him through bleary eyes. “He's not one of us, M'zynal, that's the point. This isn't normal for his kind. As for the Doctor!” She hissed a few choice swear words. “If she hadn't marked him in the first place ...”

“Enough of that!” he said sharply. “I'm ordering you to go and eat then sleep for at least eight hours!”

She glanced at her wrist. “It's breakfast time already?” she said, getting up. “I'll fetch him fresh food and water from the mess. Then I'll eat,” she added, seeing her brother's look. “I promise.”

“And sleep. Take your meal to your room,” he said.

Deep though he was in his trance, he sensed her presence and was surfacing even as she put the tray down beside him. With consciousness came a sharper awareness of the constant agony from his leg. When she tried to help him to sit up, he couldn't move—all the aches caused by his earlier fight with Kezule had stiffened up and as for his injured leg ...

She fetched a pillow off his bed, and the one from the other bed and tried to prop him up enough so that she could help him drink. It wasn't easy because the blanket he'd been lying on was now stuck firmly to his body from his shoulder to below his groin. In the end, he was whimpering in such agony that she gave up trying to separate it from him and just placed the pillows under it.

He was so thirsty, he almost snatched the cup from her. When he'd finished the second bowl, M'zynal called her from the door.

“That's enough, Zhalmo. He can help himself now.”

“I have to go,” she whispered, filling the bowl a third time, making sure it and the food were in easy reach. “Force yourself to eat, Kusac.”

Too weak to speak, he grasped her hand in thanks, startling her as she was getting to her feet.

The temptation to drink all the water was intense but he forced himself to only sip it as he ate all the food. Finished, he turned his attention to his leg.

He'd been trying to ignore it despite the constant awareness of the fluid slowly oozing down his thigh. Pushing himself slightly nearer a sitting position, he leaned over to look at it again. His leg felt as if it didn't belong to him, like a huge, swollen and rigid appendage. When he touched it, the skin was tight and hot with the fever. The fluid oozing out from under the loose dressing had changed color and was now tinged with a musty brownish-grayness. A sudden dizzy spell claimed him and he slumped back on the pillows.

His vision was shrinking again as unconsciousness claimed him, but he knew he had to fight it and try instead to go back to the trance he'd been in. Every instinct told him that he was actually beginning to heal despite appearances.

“Alex has translated the first message,” said Rhyaz, entering Lijou's office with a comp pad in his hand. “I've just come from crypto. It's bad news, Lijou.”

“I may have an idea of what it is,” said Lijou, getting up from his desk and going over to the sideboard. “Tell me your news first,” he said, taking out a couple of glasses and a bottle of strong spirits.

“Then the coup on the Prime world has succeeded, hasn't it?” he said, walking toward the chairs set round the fire.

“You know? Yes. The Prime Ambassador was called back last night. He and his staff have already left Shola. The new Emperor is demanding we hand Prince Zsurtul over to him or he'll kill our Ambassador and our two surviving agents. Everyone at our Palace is in a blind panic right now.”

Rhyaz sat down and watched as his colleague came over and handed a glass to him.

“Thank you. The message was to tell the M'zullian Emperor that they were attacking yesterday,” said Rhyaz, taking a welcome sip of the drink. “Seems this Emperor K'hedduk is the brother of the M'zullian one.”

“Worse still, he's the one who headed the Directorate,” said Lijou. “Ambassador M'szudoe told the Governor that much before he left in the middle of the night.”

“We've a powerful enemy on the Prime throne, in that case,” said Rhyaz, ears flicking back in distress. “But why is he on the Prime throne if the plan was to take it for his brother?”

“Excuse me?”

Rhyaz handed him the comp pad. “The message clearly says he's taking the Throne of Light for his brother.”

“Looks like K'hedduk has greater ambitions. I wonder how much support he has at home?” said Lijou thoughtfully as he read the message.

“I want to know how he hid his paranoia of Sholans from the Primes when he was on the
Kz'adul
!”

“We know K'hedduk passed as a Prime, which means he isn't the darker green of the M'zullians,” said Lijou, taking a sip from his glass. “Likely their royal family, like Zsurtul's, had to breed where they could to survive. Maybe that gave him the same response to us as Kezule and the Primes have rather than the paranoia of the ordinary M'zullian warriors.”

Rhyaz nodded. “Makes sense. Obviously it didn't affect his ambition, though, if he's taken the Throne of Light for himself. Talking of Prince Zsurtul, he's still on Kusac's estate, isn't he?”

“Apparently not,” said Lijou. “He was, but he can't be found.”

“Would they lie about that?”

“No,” said Lijou firmly. “You know as well as I that if he was there, they'd admit it and refuse to hand him over. Governor Nesul's position is we don't negotiate with K'hedduk, the Prime Prince stays with us. He asks if we've any news on Kezule's whereabouts. The Council wants to approach him with an offer of help to overthrow K'hedduk as quickly as possible. We may even be able to save our Ambassador and the two Brothers.”