Carnelians (51 page)

Jaibriol gave her a formal nod. “We are fine, Your Highness. We hope that you have not suffered from this violence.” His thought came as well:
I deeply regret if the attack against my life led to similar against yours.

The Triad is linked,
Kelric thought.
What happens to one, happens to all.

I cannot do it.
Jaibriol’s mind ached with his struggle.
To operate as a member of the Triad—I have no way to do this, no understanding, nothing. It’s killing me.

Then he dropped his barriers.

His mind opened like rays of light slanting through a storm, and the parting of those clouds revealed a vulnerability as deep as an ocean. Kelric felt it all, Jaibriol’s fight to hide the truth every second, every hour, every day, for years on end, until it left him ravaged with mental scar tissue. Yet through it all shone a mind beyond any other Kelric knew. Jaibriol had inherited the best from all of them: his mother’s strength of character, his father’s purity, Dehya’s brilliance, Kelric’s strength, Roca’s luminosity, Del’s creativity, all that made each of them unique. Within his tortured mind, he was a miracle beyond imagining.

Ah gods,
Roca thought. She was no longer the Assembly Councilor meeting her enemy; she had become the mother Kelric had known all his life, the nurturer who loved her children with nothing held back. Jaibriol’s face showed no hint of his emotions; outwardly, in every detail, he was the ideal remote Highton. But in his mind, he reached for her golden warmth like a man freezing to death.

In real time, barely seconds had passed. Dehya was speaking quietly. “Let us not allow these acts of violence to stop the summit.”

“We are agreed,” Jaibriol said, his voice so distant and cool, he barely seemed human.

Come with us,
Roca thought to Jaibriol.
This is Delos, the world of sanctuary, the place where Skolians, Eubians, and Allieds may walk together. Step across the line. Ask us for asylum. We will take you in.

I cannot,
Jaibriol answered.
I have sworn to find the peace my parents dreamed of. If I stop now, all will have been in vain. They would have died for nothing.

Your parents?
Roca asked. She showed him an image of Soz, her daughter, a woman in a Jagernaut’s uniform, standing with her booted feet planted, a laser carbine in her hands, her chin lifted, the wind blowing her hair around her head, black hair that shaded into wine-red and then into metallic gold at the tips.

Yes. My mother.
Jaibriol showed them a man, the living image of previous Qox emperors, except that instead of a chilly Aristo in black diamond, this man wore patched trousers and a faded shirt with frayed hems. He was standing on a boulder in an alien forest, laughing, his eyes filled with kindness and love.

My father,
Jaibriol thought.

A song swirled in their minds, a Lyshrioli tune Roca had often sung to her children. An image of Soz crooning to her babies formed in Jaibriol’s mind. She sang slightly off tune in an untrained voice, yet somehow that only made it more beautiful.

The gauntlets worn by Jaibriol’s bodyguards began to flash. At the same time, the pager on Kelric’s gauntlet hummed with a high-priority signal. As Kelric lifted his arm, Jaibriol glanced at the Razer to his right, the twin of Hidaka.

“What is it?” Jaibriol asked the Razer.

A message scrolled across the comm in Kelric’s gauntlet:
We fixed the cyberlock keys. We’re turning off the locks.

At the same time, the Razer said, “Sire, they’ve released the cyberlocks. We’re free to go.”

Jaibriol, listen!
Kelric had no more time and so much more to say. He accelerated his thoughts.
That dice game Quis is more than you know. On the world where I learned it, everyone plays it all their lives. They tell stories, mold lives, change their culture. The best players rule the planet. It’s more than a predictive device, more than a means to protect your mind. It may be the most powerful social means of change ever invented.

Kelric, no,
Dehya said.
Stop.

We have to give it to him,
Kelric thought.

For what?
she asked.
The downfall of humanity under Aristo dominance?

No. The peace we all seek. The end of Aristo inhumanity.

Every Aristo will learn the game,
Dehya said.
Scholars, advisors, commanders, everyone. They will see its potential.

And we will outplay them,
Kelric answered.

Tell me,
Jaibriol thought.
We have only an instant left.

Everyone seemed to move in slow motion. As Kelric’s finger descended to reactivate his gauntlet, he thought,
We must teach Quis to everyone. Let it spread across Skolia, Eube, the Allied Worlds. We will put our dream of peace into the dice on an interstellar scale. Use it, Jaibriol! Use it wisely and we can change empires.

I will try,
Jaibriol said.
If you make me a promise.

Kelric’s finger hovered over his comm.
What do you ask?

The empress carries my son. The Highton Heir. If ever in his life he needs sanctuary, swear that you will take him in, as I have given you the girl, Aliana.

We swear,
Dehya said.

And if ever it is of use, there is this,
Jaibriol said.
The Razer you recognize—he is from the same clone group as Hidaka, my bodyguard whose loyalty went beyond all conditioning.
With difficulty, he added,
Hidaka died for that loyalty.

I remember.
Kelric also understood; Hidaka had known the emperor was a member of the Ruby Dynasty and yet remained loyal.

This version of Hidaka is also my bodyguard,
Jaibriol said.
But he did not pattern on me
.
He is in love with Aliana. It is for her that he would give that boundless, unlimited loyalty.
Without pause, he thought.
I must go now.
More softly, he added,
Thank you. For one moment, I have known family.

The link dissolved.

So it was that the first summit of the new Skolian Triad—perhaps the only one that would ever occur—was completed.

XXX: Kinship

XXX
Kinship

Chaos and people crowded the hotel suite. Aliana held onto Red’s hand as if he were a lifeline in the confusion. The Skolians strode through the rooms while people talked, doctors hovered, Jagernauts guarded, and aides aided, so many people jabbing consoles, gauntlets, and other devices. She couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying. She stayed close to Kelric, her only anchor here, mainly because he reminded her of Tide. She didn’t know what had just happened with the emperor and the pharaoh; even though they had only stood there, speaking like robots, something else had gone on, something big, something beyond her hearing or sight.

The gold woman came with them. She was so beautiful, even covered in dust, with her hair and clothes disarrayed, that it hurt to look at her. Had she been a provider, to have the gold skin? But then why was she with the royal party of the pharaoh?

She look like you,
Red thought.

She can’t. 
Aliana felt as if she were going to burst.
I don’t have a family.

Skolian family, maybe.

It can’t be! 
Too much was happening, too fast, too many people, too much tumult.

Too much death.

The explosion had killed people. The cyberlock field had killed people. She had witnessed ESComm’s commander give his life to save his emperor. She had
felt
them die, their minds going from life to blackness in one crushing instant.

Kelric put his large hand against her back, his touch like a calming balm as he guided her through an archway. A doctor went with them, but they were shedding the other people. Aliana’s thoughts began to slow down. She took a deep breath, then let it out again.

Zina,
Red thought.

Yes?

You crush my fingers.

Oh! 
Embarrassed, she released his hand.
I’m sorry.

A sense of amusement came from him as he gently took her hand again.
Is all right.

They entered a quiet room. A Jagernaut closed the door, a wooden portal that swung shut under his push. The doctor, a small woman with yellow hair, was passing a gadget back and forth over Kelric’s body. She said something to him and he growled his response. The doctor waved her small hand, dismissing whatever protest he had given. Aliana would have thought Kelric would intimidate her, but it seemed the opposite.

With no warning, the doctor turned to Aliana and said something indecipherable.

Aliana squinted at her. “What was that?”

Kelric spoke to her in Highton. “She asked for your name.”

“Oh.” She spoke awkwardly in Eubic. “I’m Aliana Miller Azina.”

The woman answered in heavily accented Highton. “My greetings, Aliana. I am Doctor Sashia, Imperator Skolia’s physician. Do you mind if I take a look at you?”

“Imperator Skolia?” Aliana’s pulse leapt as she looked around. She saw no one who resembled an Imperator, but then, she had no idea what one looked like. “Where?”

“Here.” Kelric’s voice rumbled.

She turned back to him. “Are you his bodyguard, too?”

Sashia’s mouth opened. Aliana flushed, wondering what she had said wrong.

“I’m not a bodyguard,” Kelric said.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Aliana’s face heated more. “I thought you were a Jagernaut.”

“I am, actually,” he said. “Or I was when I was on active duty. Now I command ISC.”

“But I thought the Imperator did that,” Aliana said.

“That’s right,” he answered, his voice gentle.

Aliana couldn’t absorb his meaning. Her mind was too saturated with shocks. But it gradually soaked in. Gods, she had followed him, hung on him. Miserable at her foolish behavior, she dropped to one knee, aware of Red doing it as well.

“Aliana, Red, no,” the golden woman said, her voice warm like a sun. “You never need to kneel again.”

Aliana stood, her gaze downcast. She wasn’t sure why she would never have to kneel again, unless they planned to put her some place with no one to kneel to. That did make sense, but the idea disappointed her more than it should have. She had no right to expect more.

A different woman spoke, a soft voice she recognized. “Aliana,” the Ruby Pharaoh said. “Look at me.”

Aliana raised her gaze. The pharaoh was standing in front of her, next to Kelric and the golden woman. The pharaoh took her hands.
Can you hear me, child?

Yes. I can,
Aliana thought.
I’m sorry if I’ve caused offense.

Never.
Her smile softened her face.
Do you recognize any of us?

Aliana glanced at the golden woman.
You look like me, only pretty instead of ugly. I mean, you look the way I do when my hair and skin and eyes are normal.

Normal how?
the golden woman asked.

Aliana hesitated, afraid they would assume she was a provider.
Gold. Like metal.

Yes, she does look like you,
the pharaoh said.
And you are beautiful.

Aliana felt the betraying moisture gathering in her eyes. All her life, she had been alone and unwanted. She had never expected any different.
Am I . . . is she part of my family?

Yes.
That came from Kelric. He was holding a smart-cloth someone had given him during their harried, hurried journey to this room. As he wiped his face and hair, the cloth cleaned him up, whisking away the dust and grime. Gradually his skin and hair became clear.

Gold skin. Gold hair. Gold eyes.

With a kindness as great in his mind as his physical presence, Kelric thought,
You are my brother’s daughter, Aliana. Your father was a prince of the Ruby Dynasty.

The golden woman thought.
My name is Roca Skolia. You are my granddaughter.

And I am your aunt,
the Ruby Pharaoh thought.

It was too much. Aliana couldn’t take any more. She looked around, shutting out everyone until she could see only what she needed, a chair against the wall, three steps away, an endless distance. Somehow she walked over and sat down. She felt as if she were going to break into a million pieces.

Someone sat next to her and pulled her into his arms.
Don’t cry, Zina.

Ai, Red, I’ve gone insane. 
She laid her head against his, and the forbidden tears poured down her face. All her life she had never acknowledged they were inside of her, but now she couldn’t stop them. Red held her, rocking her, murmuring nonsense words while she wept.

No one disturbed them. People moved around the room and spoke to one another, but she retreated from it all. They left her with Red and he held her. For so long, she had been his protector, but here in this strange place, he was protecting her heart.

Gradually Aliana became aware of the room again. Kelric, the pharaoh, and the woman named Roca were a few paces away, talking to a man with grey-streaked hair. Although they weren’t overtly watching her or otherwise intruding, she felt their awareness of her in their minds.

Aliana spoke in a ragged voice. “If you’re my family, why did you leave me in that
scum hole
with no one but a half-Aristo bastard to take care of me?”

They turned to her then, the pharaoh, imperator, and golden queen. Aliana felt as if she would burn up with the fierce anger that swept across her. “You aren’t my family.” She got up and went over to them, these great people of Skolia. “My family would never have left me stranded in that garbage heap. My family would never have let my stepfather beat the crap out of me every time he felt like it. My family would never have let my mother take her own life because it had become such
hell.
”