Demon Lost (2 page)

"Therefore," and I heard the expected words from my commander as if I were listening through cotton wool, "we will be sending you to work in the kitchen that serves the Governor of the Realm." His last four words made my head jerk upward. A commander or lesser general I might have expected. Not the Governor of the Realm. What did they expect from me? Even Father had pulled me into Edan's office before he left, warning me not to give away family recipes. He didn't think I knew any, but he wanted to be sure. His threats were nothing compared to those Edan handed out. Edan's promise to end my life if anything got out—including his abuse—was heartfelt and heeded.

"I thank you for the position," I stammered. Saluting the commander after he dismissed me, I walked out of his office and down the hall, feeling numb.

Two days later, my duffle of meager belongings slung over a shoulder, I shuffled aboard a transport bound for the capital city. Desh's number one was there, and Targis teemed with people. More than ten millions lived in the city and surrounding areas. Only dim memories of the city itself remained with me, however. I hadn't seen it in person since I was eight and shoved onto ground transportation, traveling to the nearby city of Shirves and my brother Edan. The trip from the training base to the capital city wasn't very long; even so, I was tired when I arrived and found the hoverbus scheduled to deliver me to the Governor's complex. Ushered into the Governor's kitchen by an Alliance officer who'd met me at the gate, I was introduced to the master cook and his two assistants.

"Master cook Vyn, this is Reah Desh," the officer gave my full name, causing me to blush to the roots of my hair. Any hope of remaining anonymous was lost with that introduction. The two kitchen assistants, Leetha and Morane, saved their glares until the officer left us. Of course, master cook Vyn didn't hold back, either.

"If you expect to come here and flaunt your name in front of us, then you are sadly mistaken," Vyn snapped immediately. "You will do as I tell you and nothing more. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master Vyn." My head was down, just as it had been for Edan all those years. Any aspirations I might have held regarding experimentation and designing new recipes flew away. I was foolish to hope. It had never brought me anything but pain. I would likely be set to peeling root vegetables or cleaning the kitchen. My hands were clasped tightly together to stop their trembling. I hoped that Master Vyn didn't hand out slaps or blows with his instructions.

Peeling and slicing vegetables was exactly what I did for Master Vyn. Leetha and Morane provided nasty little digs the entire time while they sat at a small table against a wall and drank tea while watching me work. I was exhausted by the time I finished cleaning the kitchen late that first evening.

If verbal barbs had been all that Leetha and Morane were capable of handing out, then my life might have been manageable. The fifth day I worked in the Governor's kitchen, I cleaned it after all the dishes and cooking utensils had been washed and put away. Master cook Vyn was waiting for me and shouting the moment I walked into the kitchen the following morning.

Flour, sugar and salt had been scattered over every surface of the kitchen. I stood in the doorway, my shock and dismay evident as I surveyed the sabotage. There was no doubt in my mind as to who'd actually done this. I was going to take the blame, however, if Master Vyn had anything to say about it. Truly, I wanted to ask him to send me elsewhere. Almost anywhere would do. He and his two assistants were almost as unbearable as Edan.

Wordlessly, I went to the pantry to find the mopvac. Why would he think that I would do this, when it only made more work for me? Perhaps he was a part of it—how was I to know? I cleaned while Master Vyn shouted. Breakfast for the Governor would be late if Master Vyn didn't stop soon. When he didn't, I went to get the eggs out of the keeper myself and set about putting something together for the Governor and his family.

Master Vyn continued to shout the entire time I shaved ham and carefully laid it over the roundbread I'd made. Gently cooked eggs and my own sauce recipe followed, with sides of sliced, fresh fruit. By that time, the servant had come for the tray, which I gladly handed to him. He wanted to get out of hearing distance just as much as I did. Then I set about cleaning up what I'd used to prepare breakfast, hoping that Master Vyn would run down soon. Eventually, he did.

Leetha and Morane had come in by that time—Vyn never said anything to them when they showed up late. Vyn also didn't suspect that I knew they were all sleeping together. I would have treated it as no concern of mine if it hadn't meant worse treatment for me. I supposed that after their late night of destroying my clean kitchen, they needed the extra rest.

Vyn stood with his arms folded, glaring at me while I prepared the midday meal and then fish for dinner. The streamfish was crusted with herbs and spices, then delicately fried before the drizzle of browned butter sauce was applied. Sautéed snap beans and other vegetables, accompanied by fresh, crusty butter rolls, were sent to the Governor's table. I cleaned up the kitchen afterward while Leetha and Morane sat at their usual table drinking tea and gossiping. Vyn had left the kitchen the moment the trays were sent out.

"I hope you don't have to clean up another mess tomorrow," Leetha's voice was as falsely sweet as artificial sugar as she and Morane walked out of the kitchen while I mopped the floor.

"I won't, tomorrow is my off-day," I retorted before thinking. I recognized the look she gave me before she disappeared through the door. It held the promise of future revenge for imaginary slights.

* * *

I didn't go inside Desh's number one as I walked the streets of Targis on off-day. Instead, I walked past the restaurant—twice. I held no expectations of a father happy to see his only daughter, or of an offered meal to a member of the family. It was an end-day and reservations would be required. I wouldn't even get a corner of the kitchen and a meal.

Sad, I know, that I had a family such as this. A bookstore stood across the street, with flashing images of the latest in both fiction and nonfiction. Settling in one of the free news kiosks inside the store, I did a search on all the news-vids concerning the family restaurants since I'd left for the military three months before. Since then, the annual reviews had come out so I settled in to read them.

"Surprisingly, Desh's restaurant in Shirves did not achieve its usual excellent rating," the food critic wrote. "Desh's Capital City restaurant has regained the crown for the finest eatery on Tulgalan. Edan Desh was not available for comment but Addah Desh was quite happy with the results.
My second son has had the honors for the past
three years; it is time that he gave his father a break, yes
? Addah told me." I ended the reading with a sigh, wondering if Edan missed his whipping girl as much as he missed my cooking.

The streets of Targis had changed so much in eleven years. Of course, things would appear differently to an eight-year-old child. I wandered through parts of it that seemed familiar to me before catching the pub-trans back to the Governor's complex. As expected, I entered through the rear entrance so as not to disturb or embarrass the Governor or his family. Master Vyn waited impatiently outside the door of my tiny room as I made my way down the narrow, dimly lit hallway to my quarters.

"I expect you to prepare meals and I expect you to hand the credit to me, Leetha and Morane or I will make your life unlivable," he began. Setting my single purchase of a book on comp-vid down carefully on my bed I turned to face Vyn.

"Whatever you say, Master Vyn," I said tiredly. Briefly, I entertained thoughts of Master Vyn being beaten by Edan, but quickly squashed that idea. No sense or satisfaction might come from seeking revenge—even the imaginary kind.

At first, Vyn expected me to clean up after I'd cooked all day, but soon realized that it was exhausting me. Of course, it took the second time of my fainting after extremely long days to convince him. Leetha and Morane didn't take kindly to having to clean after that and they complained and moaned the entire time. I still chopped and prepared all the vegetables when they should have had to pitch in. Vyn didn't push it with either—he was afraid sex would be withheld.

I was almost enjoying myself—even with the long hours and exhausting work. New recipes came of my efforts and the Governor's favorite was an ox-roast carefully folded around a paste of mushrooms and herbs, with more of the paste laid across a pastry that wrapped the folded roast. The pastry would bake to a flaky crispness with the mushroom concoction inside, which blended perfectly with the meat juices, creating a wonderful meal when served with fresh greens sprinkled with a light dressing. Even Vyn would hope that some of the ox-roast would come back from the Governor's table—he enjoyed it, too. He never said that he liked it or offered any compliments; he merely ate as much as he could with a glass of good, red wine.

* * *

"There is an escape pod drill tomorrow afternoon," Vyn informed me haughtily before leaving the kitchen after the trays went out one evening. "Be sure you know which pod is designated for you and go directly there. The exercise will be timed and the Governor will not be pleased if we do not all perform to expectations." I stared up at Vyn—he wasn't particularly tall but still he was taller than I.

"Yes, Master Vyn," I lowered my head. He'd been basking in the Governor's praise over the meals that were produced in his kitchen. I didn't point out the obvious to Vyn—that many of these dishes hadn't come from his kitchen before I'd joined the staff. Surely, the Governor of the Realm hadn't obtained his position by being so stupid.

Before going to bed that evening, I made my way down the long hall to the chamber where the escape pods were stored. Each pod had a separate navigation system, preprogrammed to deliver anyone inside to a safe place on a nearby moon. Enough oxygen was stored inside to keep an occupant alive for days if necessary. I found the pod assigned to me—it bore my name on the outside tag. All seemed in order, so I turned away. My bed was calling and I yawned as I made my way toward it.

* * *

Purposely not preparing anything important that I might be pulled away from the following day, I was putting a vegetable dish together for the evening meal when the warning bells went off. Leetha and Morane, both giggling merrily, ran out the door ahead of me. I trotted more sedately behind them.

Vyn hadn't bothered to show up all day, making me wonder what was going on. Perhaps Leetha and Morane had given him all he could take in bed the night before and he was resting afterward. Doors were already being slammed on pods when I entered the hall so I made my way to the designated pod, closed the door, strapped myself in as was required, waited for the exercise to end and the all clear to sound.

As I waited, my pod began to shake. I heard the couplings holding it in place snap away outside. Perhaps I screamed, I don't remember, when my pod detached completely and shot through the opening slot in the roof as if fired from a blast cannon.

Ripping the communication device off the pod wall while I still had gravity, I pushed the button to call technicians on the other end. The device was completely dead—someone had disabled it. As practical jokes went, this one was perhaps the worst I'd ever experienced. Still, I expected the pod to be recalled—all of them were programmed for that in case of a misfire. Nothing happened—no recall came, the pod picked up speed and I knew the moment I traveled past the atmosphere of Tulgalan; the communicator floated out of my hand and bounced into one of the rounded walls. I know I screamed then—even I knew the moon was on the other side of Tulgalan and I was headed toward the emptiness of space with nothing left to stop me.

Chapter 3
 

Hardel Zim, Governor of the Realm of Tulgalan, stared across his desk at the kitchen staff. What remained of the kitchen staff, anyway. One of his employees was floating aimlessly in space at the moment. A ship had been dispatched to pick up the wandering orb, but the three in front of him were guilty of conspiracy.

"I have the vids—did you think we wouldn't bother to check them?" The Governor slapped the comp-vid on his desk, making Vyn and his two assistants jump. "The images are there, Master Vyn. Now, I'm sure you think you knew what you were doing, reprogramming the pod, but you succeeded in disabling the tracking device and the communicator, too. The ship searching for her has failed to determine the pod's location so far. If any harm comes to that girl, you will be charged with murder. And what was this over, I ask you? Jealousy? Is that it? Knowledge that she was better than you? She could have come to me at any time and let me know what was happening, yet she did not. Can you explain that to me?"

"I have no excuse, sir." It was Vyn's turn to hang his head. Leetha and Morane had been afraid to look at the Governor from the beginning.

"Do you want to be the one to explain to Addah Desh that his daughter is floating in space because you sabotaged her escape pod? Do you?" The Governor flung out a hand in a helpless gesture. "Because I can assure you that I don't want to be the one to tell him."

"We never knew he had a daughter," Vyn muttered. "I thought she was a niece or cousin."

"That is clearly not the case," the Governor said in disbelief. "Do you have anything to say for yourselves before I send you to the holding cells?"

"We made a mistake, sir." Vyn still wasn't looking at the Governor.

* * *