Moonbeams and magic (31 page)

"Great Gehenna, you're on a secret assignment! Aren't you?" Reality returned to her opponent and the grim truth settled in on him. He didn't give her time to answer before he shouted into the rocky corridor behind him, "Tochar, come quick! We have a spy!"

Starla leapt aside as Acharius drew his laser weapon and fired at her, the beam zinging off the wall behind her and scattering debris as it did so. Cypher sent a vibratory warning signal via her wrist device that more danger was approaching. At the same time, she heard Tochar and Auken racing toward them and yelling questions.

As Acharius steadied his weapon to fire again, Starla knew decision time was running out.

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Due to the past mysterious incidents, team members had been told to wear their weapons at all times. That was advantageous for Starla, unfortunate for her crazed assailant. She was given no choice except to draw her weapon and fire in self-defense, as Acharius never entreated or demanded her surrender. She lacked time to reason with him, to try to persuade him not to unmask her. It was clear to her that the reality-impaired man was trying to eliminate the only witness who could bind him to Tochar. Her dexterous fingers worked the weapon's settings in resolved haste, and she fired a lethal and accurate beam into his evil heart which sent his jolted body tumbling backward to the ground. She signaled Cypher to delay any attempt to transport her out of jeopardy, as she hoped she could salvage the situation with the threat of exposure removed.

Tochar and Auken reached the astonishing scene. Auken went down on one knee to check the man for signs of life and found none; he looked at Tochar and shook his head, then eyed Starla in confusion.

Tochar stared at her and demanded, "Why did you kill Acharius?"

Starla lowered the laser weapon to her side instead of bolstering it, and left a finger on the trigger. She remained where she was, keeping a safe distance between them and feigning an expression of dismay. "Before I came here, I robbed him during a stop at Caguas in Maffei. He recog-

nized me and attacked like he was zoned out. Look at the wall behind me; he fired at me twice, and his weapon wasn't set on stun. The damage and sound of his blasts revealed his intent to kill me. I was only trying to defend myself. I must have pressed the wrong button w^hen I panicked and drew my weapon. Things happened fast and wild. I hope he wasn't a close friend. If so, I'm sorry about his loss." She noticed how cold and piercing Tochar's gaze and tone were when he replied to her desperate fabrications.

"Somehow I think there is a good reason why Acharius tried to kill you, Starla, and it had nothing to do with a simple theft. Acharius would have found that coincidence amusing, even sexually arousing. You are much too highly skilled and in control of your prowess to slay anyone by error or to panic in any situation. If he was a threat, you would have stunned him and allowed me to handle the matter. I heard what he shouted, so I think you silenced him for a good reason, one you should tell me."

Starla feigned dismay at his accusation. "I can't believe you would call me a liar and threaten me. Haven't I proven my fealty to you countless times and in countless ways? Perhaps he mistook me for someone else. I gave him no reason to react as he did. When I'm on a raid, Tochar, I'm on full alert; my guard was lowered during this unfortunate accident since I felt safe in here. Have you forgotten the troubles we've had, those so-called 'mysterious' incidents? The way he suddenly appeared and attacked me, he could have been an enemy, a saboteur. Your suspicions trouble and hurt me deeply. I can tell you intend to punish me or perhaps even terminate me without just cause, based on the rantings of a reality-impaired man. I have done nothing to deserve such wicked treatment and disloyalty, and I will not endure them. I shall leave your settlement and hire this very deega. I will be a great loss to you, my previous leader, for no one has been a better or truer raider for you than I have, including your best friends. I shall return to work for

myself, since you think I can't be trusted." Let's see if you apologize and beg me to stay. . . .

"What if she's telling the truth, Tochar?" Auken reasoned. "She's never given me a reason to mistrust her. She's been an excellent teammate."

"We both heard what Acharius shouted about having a spy in here," Tochar insisted. "That is something I have suspected for many wegs since those incidents."

"It may not be Starla, and maybe Acharius did zone out for a preon."

Tochar kept his dark and chilly gaze on the woman before him. "Perhaps you are right, Auken, but I am skeptical. She will have to find a way to convince me I should take her word over that of Acharius. I shall have a long and serious talk with Starla in private. Take her to my—"

Starla glared at him and shouted, "You are not worthy of my fealty and you will not torture me for an absurd reason!" She darted into the nearest corridor, ignored shouts for her to halt, and vanished into engulfing darkness. She knew she didn't have much time before Tochar summoned Enforcers and they used lanterns to search for her. She didn't dare to imagine what the vicious fiendal would do to her if she was caught. Not even Dagan with all his elite prowess or claims of love could save her from such an enormous and powerful force. Dagan, my love . . .

Stop it, Bree, and focus on saving your skin! He's lost to you. She prayed no Skalds were lurking nearby, since the cannibalistic mutants were compelled to avoid the sun and favored caves. Her hands found the wall and guided her deeper into the location until she felt it was safe to stop and be rescued. "Cypher, lock on to my coordinates and get me out of here!" she commanded her loyal android. "Be ready to cloak the ship as soon as I'm aboard, then change her location fast."

Starla paced the bridge deck of her cloaked spacecraft, still tense from a close call with death and the gloomy destruction of her mission. Before she contacted her superior with the bad news, she had to settle down and clear her wits. "I don't understand how a man with his bloodline and status could have turned out so wicked," she mumbled. "Many times he tried to be my companion for private evenings. Many times we've been at the same special functions, even sat together at a few of them. I know his parents; he knows mine; our parents are friends. I'm certain Acharius would have pursued me as a legal mate if I had allowed or coaxed him to do so, but he did not appeal to me in that way."

She halted her aimless movements and asked Cypher, "How could he attempt to slay me like that when he has vowed love for me? My rejection of him was never done in a cold or cruel manner, and he seemed to understand and accept the fact my feelings did not match his."

"My data on human behavior and emotions—in particular, those of villites —suggests Acharius panicked and reacted from fear, humiliation, a survival instinct. I deduce his love was not pure, strong, self-sacrificing."

Starla did not want to discuss that emotion, since she had misused and betrayed the one man she claimed to love. She worried about Dagan's safety and survival in light of their intimate relationi^ip, a fact of which Tochar was aware. Would Dagan, she fretted, be imperiled by her actions? If Tochar used Thorin on him again, at least the fiendal would learn Dagan had no idea about her having another identity or committing treachery. She dared not warn her beloved on the Adika, as there was no way he could escape the craft, and contacting him would make him appear to be her accomplice in whatever Tochar suspected her of doing. She would find a way to check on Dagan tomorrow after things settled down on the surface, and, if his life was in jeopardy, she would find a way to rescue him.

Before she changed the subject, she said to Cypher, "Your logic is accurate, as always. When Tochar challenged me after I eliminated Acharius, I reasoned it was reckless for me to stay and attempt to convince him of my false story. Since Acharius was from Maffei, Tochar might have thought to send out my image to someone there who would recognize me, so I couldn't permit myself to be the Jiendal's captive if he made that discovery. As long as he enters my image and voice into the network files, only data about Starla Vedris will be accessed and he'll remain ignorant of who I am. With that override command Thaine inserted in all databases, any information about Bree-Kayah Saar will be prevented from being retrieved. I'm vulnerable to exposure only if he shows or sends my image to someone who knows me. I can't return to the surface as Starla, but I don't want Tochar getting too nervous and taking precautions which could hinder the work of the next agent they send to defeat him. With luck, I will have convinced Tochar of my fealty and will prevent him from running another check on me. Auken believed me, so maybe he can convince Tochar I escaped out of anger and a fear of being unable to prove my innocence. It isn't my fault our mission was annihilated; I couldn't have foreseen Acharius's intrusion." In frustration, she slapped her thigh with her palm. "Blast him, Cypher! He's ruined everything we've worked for; v/e're useless now."

"Have you forgotten about your transmutation identity?" the android asked. "There are things Yana can do and facts she can gather. We can follow the pirates, observe their raids, and record them for evidence."

Starla grasped his metallic hand covered in realistic synthetic flesh. "You're right. Cypher. Our goal is too important for us to give up without first trying other tactics. We must not fail ourselves, our ranks, and our superior." She didn't tell him she also hated to leave Dagan, whose life might be imperiled and who might vanish forever if he left

Tochar's hire to avoid being slain by the fiendal, but she suspected the android guessed her additional motive. "I have an ample supply of phials from Yakir, so I can return to the surface as Yana and spy on them. Since Tochar should assume Starla is long gone, and the colony is crowded and busy, and Yana is already known there, no one should pay much attention to her."

She smiled at Cypher and said, "Thanks, my friend, for clearing my head and giving me com.fort. After I refresh myself, I will contact Thaine."

Back in her quarters, Starla wondered again if there was a chance she could persuade Dagan Latu to join her side and cause; she pondered if she could trust him if he agreed, and what to do if he attempted to capture her. If she confessed to being both Starla or Yana, would bruised pride and ego cause him to feel as if she had made a fool of him and provoke him to react badly? Did Dagan possess that unpredictable and perilous code of honor and loyalty toward an employer like most of his kind did? By returning to him, even as Yana, she could obtain information about Tochar's actions. In her heart, she knew he was trustworthy, but she would confide in him only if she was given proof she was right.

On the planet's surface, Dagan entered Tochar's dwelling and asked why he had been summoned—almost by force— from his work on Auken's ship. "Sach acted strange when he brought me here. Is there a problem?" He took the seata Tochar gestured to and observed the man's odd behavior. He hoped he had not fallen under suspicion for an unknown reason. That dilemma seemed unlikely to him, yet, his gut instinct and keen perceptions warned him that a solar storm was brewing. He feigned an expression of curiosity and calm, but was on alert.

"My response to your question is yes, if—as I do—you consider the treachery of Starla Vedris a problem."

Dagan was taken by surprise and did not conceal his reaction. He stared at Tochar for a few moments and realized the man was serious. His love was being called . . . His heart pounded and his insides twisted in dread. "What are you talking about? There must be some grave misunderstanding. Starla is as loyal to you as the rest of us are."

"I hope that is only a figure of speech, Dagan, since she has revealed herself to be my enemy."

"Your . . . enemy? How can that be? What happened this morning to evoke such an astonishing accusation?"

Tochar related in detail the incident that took place in the cave two horas ago. "Despite an intensified quest for her which is still in progress, Starla has managed to elude my men and vanish completely."

Dagan was stunned and alarmed by all Tochar told him of Acharius's accusation of Starla and the shocking incidents that had ensued subsequently. Tochar did reveal how Auken had argued briefly in her favor, until she "proved to him she was guilty."

"Are you positive she's done something wrong?" Dagan asked. "If so, what treacheries did she commit?"

"She looked and behaved culpable before she fled my investigation."

"What if she was telling you the truth like Auken said? If she was convinced you doubted her and intended to harm her, maybe she got scared and panicked. She's only a female, a very young one at that, and alone. I can't imagine her being daring or foolish enough to spy on you. She never acted like she was observing us or stealing information. It sounds incredible that she could have fooled all of us and for so long."

"She did, Dagan, I am certain of it."

The Kalfan knew that an unknown factor was working against Tochar, but his beloved Starla? "How? Why? For

whom? What could she have learned and how could she pass on your secrets to anybody?"

"I do not know, but I will after she is captured. You know Starla's skills. Do you think she could make such a blatant mistake as to slay a man by error or in panic? Neither do I," Tochar replied for him. "I know you two became close, so it is time for you to choose between us. Do you know who she was working for or where she would seek a hiding place, on Noy or on another planet?"

"This is a total mystery to me, Tochar; I have no ideas about her guilt or her whereabouts. She never gave me any reason to doubt or suspect her of being anything other than the woman I . . . believed her to be." Dagan made an intentional pause and implied the words he had omitted: loved and trusted, feelings known to the fiendal and cognizant a denial of them would cast doubts on him. "My mind's in a daze. It's incredible," he murmured again. He wondered who and what Starla could be: an agent for an alien galactic force who feared the man's increasing power, a hireling for a rival who wanted to seize the man's possessions or one for a disloyal partner, or an innocent ensnared by Tochar's suspicions. How could she have duped a lover and a skilled I-GAFqt with such ease, if guilty? If not, why had she fled and to what location? Had Tochar harmed her and this was only a cunning ruse to cover his dark deed? If so, Dagan vowed he would punish the flendal. As if he had been analyzing her and the matter, he said, "If what you say is right, we all misjudged her and she's one of the cleverest people alive."