The Moon's Shadow (19 page)

“They say so.”

Although Jail would need more verification, it sounded far more promising than their other leads. “How is she?”

A pause. “She will be all right.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

Vitar audibly exhaled. “She has had a difficult time, Your Highness. But she will recover.”

“I hope so.” Jai turned to Robert. “What do we know about Halizon Two?”

Robert had already brought up the information. He studied his screen. “It’s the second planet in the Halizon system of Emerald Sector. Lord Jaibriol Raziquon owns it.”

Pah. Jai hadn’t liked Raziquon when they had met in Kaliga’s home, and he liked him even less now. On the comm, he said, “Major Bartholson, have Sunrise brought to the palace.” Grimly he added, “And arrest Jaibriol Raziquon.” It would enrage the Hightons, especially Raziquon’s kin, given the lack of evidence, but Jai couldn’t delay. The longer Raziquon had to prepare himself, the less chance they had of bringing him to justice.

Jai had no intention of letting him escape.

T
he palace media people spent most of the three months after Jai became emperor building up his wedding. By the time the day came, estimates placed the number of news services that would carry the broadcast in the billions. Jai tried not to think about it. He was in a daze, moving by rote, going where his aides sent him, wearing what his valets put on his body, and saying what protocol wrote.

They outfitted him in startling clothes. The black cloth felt soft but glittered like gems, an effect enhanced by holographic fibers. Elegantly cut trousers accented the length of his legs. A tunic set off the breadth of his shoulders and tapered to his hips, tailored to display his physique. They said the cloth alone cost thousands. Jai would have taken it all off right then if his valets hadn’t stopped him. They added a black belt inset with carnelian stones. Red gems encrusted his shirt cuffs, and a clasp of carnelians set in a gold claw closed the high neck of his tunic. Black shoes and gloves completed the picture. When Jai looked in the mirror, a stranger in immaculate formal attire gazed back, his eyes like rubies. Vertigo swept him; he had lost Jai and found Jaibriol III.

The suite where his valets dressed him was furnished in ivory, with gold accents. In his dark clothes, he felt like a shadow on the decor. At least he wasn’t the only one; his bodyguards also wore black. Omnipresent and unavoidable, they had become so much a part of his life that he felt odd when they left the room, as if he had misplaced something he had no wish to find.

His refusal to let his bodyguards approach him too closely had added to his reputation for eccentricity. He was slowly replacing them with Razers who had too little Aristo heritage to exert pressure on his mind. He couldn’t do it all at once, lest he draw attention to himself, but each replacement helped.

Now he stood restlessly while his valets straightened his tunic. He wished they would stop fussing. Surely the Eubian Concord would survive if a hair on its emperor’s head was out of place. He sometimes thought his ministers just wanted him to stand around looking hologenic, to benefit their propaganda machine, while they ran his empire.

The door across the room opened, and a tall man strode into the room. The valets stopped their ministrations so they could bow to the newcomer. Jai didn’t feel up to facing Corbal now, but here was his cousin, resplendent in elegant clothes, dark blue with gold holoribbing on the cuffs and high neck.

Too agitated for any more preparations, Jai dismissed his valets, standing his ground when they resisted. Finally they departed, leaving him to Corbal’s nuanced arrogance.

It was hard to believe nearly three months had passed since Corbal’s release. About the same time that Sunrise had escaped, Corbal’s security people had proved the records of her supposed crime were false. The case against Corbal had already been weak; the new evidence left ESComm no choice but to release him. He hadn’t exactly been the worse for wear, given the luxury of the mansion where he had lived, the many taskmakers who had waited on his every whim, and the providers ESComm had lavished on him in the hopes of spying on his mind. He returned looking as if he had been to a resort. Only Jai had felt the anger underlying his facade of nonchalance; the high lord of the Xir Line would not soon forget what had happened.

Corbal gave him an appraising look. “Your bride will be pleased.”

Pleased indeed. More likely, she would feed him to venomeels. Jai had seen nothing of Tarquine since their betrothal. She had gone off-planet soon after, to attend to her various estates in preparation for her upcoming change in status. Today, when he stood in the Hall of Octagons to wed his bride, he would speak vows with a stranger.

“If she recognizes me,” Jai said.

Corbal spoke dryly. “She recognizes your title.”

Jai wished Corbal would quit harping about Tarquine wanting his power rather than him. Knowing it was true didn’t make it any easier to hear.

“ESComm seems busy these days,” Jai said.

“So does the Ministry of Finance.”

Damn. Corbal wouldn’t let it go even now. Well, tough. He could express his disapproval from today until forever; Jai had no intention of changing his mind. He knew why Corbal hated the idea of his marriage; it would increase the influence held by the Line of Iquar, rivaling the Line of Xir. That was just fine with Jai; Tarquine and Corbal could wear themselves out sparring with each other for power and leave him alone.

A knock came at a small door behind Jai. Relieved to escape Corbal’s scrutiny, Jai turned to one of his Razers. The guard bowed, acknowledging the unspoken command. He opened the door to reveal Robert.

The aide hurried inside, beaming, dressed in his elegant best, dark blue trousers and tunic with the Qox insignia on the chest. When he knelt to Jai, his body seemed to vibrate with energy.

“Please rise,” Jai said.

Robert almost jumped to his feet. He grinned. “You will dazzle your bride, Your Highness.”

Jai couldn’t help but smile. At least Robert, who loved pomp and circumstance, was enjoying this wedding, more even than he had taken pleasure in the recent celebrations for Jai’s eighteenth birthday. It hadn’t really been Jai’s birthday, but Corbal had insisted on that date and Jai hadn’t argued. For Jai’s story about his Highton mother to be convincing, he needed a birth date from
before
his father disappeared rather than after.

Jai rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the kinks. He wished he could relax, but nothing helped. For all he knew, Tarquine wouldn’t even show up. “Has Minister Iquar arrived yet?” he asked, for the fifth time.

“Ah, yes, Your Highness.” Robert gave him a reassuring look. “She and her retinue are secluded in the Obsidian Wing of the palace.”

“I hope she survives her valets better than I have mine.”

Corbal was watching him with amusement. “Don’t women call their helpers something other than valets?”

It startled Jai now when Corbal used a more direct style of speech with him. Although Hightons spoke more openly among their nearest kin, Corbal didn’t really qualify as a close relative. But it was the best Jai would ever do, given that he could barely endure the presence of his other Highton kin.

“I don’t have much experience with what words women use,” Jai admitted.

Corbal’s lips quirked up. “One’s level of experience often increases.”

Jai reddened, picking up what he meant by “experience.” There were times when he could have done without telepathy. The speculations of his kin and staff about his upcoming wedding night were more than he wanted to deal with right now.

Apparently oblivious, Robert pulled his palmtop off his belt, all efficiency. Jai could tell, from Robert’s mind, that the aide knew exactly what Corbal had implied, but he took mercy on the frazzled groom and pretended otherwise.

Robert waved his finger through a blinking holo above his palmtop. Then he looked at Jai, composed, but with underlying excitement. “They are ready, Your Highness.”

Jai was glad at least one of them was enjoying this. “Very well.” He fortified his resolve. “Lead on.”

So they headed for the wedding chamber. They followed a secluded route through the palace that few people knew and even fewer had clearance to use. The floors were laid with hexagonal tiles in snow-marble and black diamond. Tessellated mosaics tiled the walls and sparkled in the groined ceilings far overhead.

Jai heard the pounding of booted feet just before a formation of Razers burst out of a side corridor. No one spoke, but he could tell the newcomers were communicating with his guards using wireless implants in their brains, a sort of crude, technology induced telepathy. Jai’s guards responded fast; two took his arms, one on either side, and two more grasped Corbal. They set off running, pulling Jai and Corbal with them.

“What’s going on?” Jai asked, forced into a run. His Razers suddenly felt more like kidnappers than bodyguards.

The captain on his left answered. “Palace security has been violated, Your Highness. We are taking you and Lord Xir to safety.”

Ah, hell.
“Safety where?”

Corbal raked his gaze over the new guards running with them. “You’re part of the Special Operations Cordite Team.”

One of the new Razers said, “That is correct, Lord Xir.”

Jai didn’t know which irked him more, that Corbal had interrupted him or that Jai had no idea what “Cordite Team” meant. They all raced down the hall: Jai, Corbal, both teams of Razers, and Robert, who was guarded by two Cordites.

A boom thundered deeper within the palace. The floor shook and Jai stumbled, lurching into the captain of his Razers.

“My apologies.” The captain steadied Jai as they ran, helping him regain his balance. Corbal and his guards were ahead now. Despite his age, Corbal was barely out of breath, his body obviously bio-enhanced for speed and strength.

As Jai pulled up alongside the Xir lord, Corbal glanced at him. “That blast came from the Hall of Octagons.”

Jai felt ill. His wedding was supposed to be in the Hall of Octagons. He spoke to the captain, spacing his words between breaths. “Any contact—with Minister Iquar?”

“The last we knew,” the captain said, “her retinue was headed for the Hall. We can no longer contact them.”

“Why the hell not?” Corbal was starting to sound winded. “This place is packed with security.”

“Whoever infiltrated the palace has sophisticated enough jammers to block our systems,” the captain said.

Jai felt the blood drain from his face. Security here was the best ESComm had to offer. Either someone had developed better, which meant his safety was severely compromised, or else this attack came from within ESComm, which would be even worse. Speaking sharply to the captain, he repeated his earlier question. “Where are you taking us?”

“To a safe room, Your Highness.” He sounded more like a machine than a man, with no trouble breathing despite their grueling pace. Jai didn’t think he wanted to know how much augmentation the captain had in his body. He preferred to believe his bodyguards were human.

The floor suddenly bucked under Jai’s feet, throwing him forward. As he hit the ground, Razers dropped all around him, covering him with their armored bodies, bracing themselves on their arms so they didn’t crush him. For interminable seconds, the ground heaved and debris showered over them.

Then they were scrambling to their feet, with dust and powder swirling in the air. As the two Razers grabbed Jai’s arms again, a medic ran a scanner over his body. “Bruises, scrapes, and a broken rib. He can run.”

Jai didn’t even feel the injured rib. His adrenaline drove him forward as they scrambled over debris that seconds ago had been a corridor. Corbal had been farther from the blast and wasn’t hurt, but Jai didn’t see Robert. Looking around, he caught sight of his aide following them, bracketed by two Razers. So he took off, running hard with his guards.

Within moments they cleared the worst of the wreckage. The Razers pulled them into a corridor that sloped downward. Jai was gasping now, choked by all the dust. He could hear Corbal’s breath rattling as well.

They rounded a corner—into a dead end. Jai swore and started to turn back, but his guards stopped him. Several Razers were crouching on the floor, pushing tiles in quick succession, like bankers entering a code into a vault. The pressure of their minds combined with the swirling dust made Jai feel suffocated. He struggled to breathe, holding one hand over his ribs, which had begun to ache.

One of the Razers looked around, his forehead furrowed. The captain grunted, then shook his head as if to clear it. Dismayed, Jai realized he wasn’t damping his empathic responses enough. His discomfort was causing the Razers to transcend, probably at too low a level for them to realize it, but enough to distract them.

Jai’s fear surged, and this time it had nothing to do with explosions or dead ends. His fear of discovery outweighed it all. He intensified his mental barriers, buttressing his mind until he felt walled into a mental vault. The world became muffled, distant, not fully perceived. His mind was sluggish. Heavy.

“That’s it!” As the Razer spoke, a circular section of the floor began to descend.

Jai’s guards pulled him forward, fast and efficient. The circular plug was big enough for nearly everyone to fit onto it, though they had to leave two Razers behind. As they all crowded together, the plug sank into a chute of diamond-steel composite. Watching the walls slide past, Jai battled his shortness of breath. Razers hulked around him, shielding his body. Even through his deadened thoughts, their minds pressed on him, relentless.

The light faded. With growing apprehension, Jai looked up and saw a cover closing over the chute. Claustrophobia hit him like a jolt. When the chute became completely dark, he wanted to scream and pound the walls. He could almost feel the palace exploding above them, collapsing this chute, burying them in tons of rubble.

He didn’t scream. It took every shred of his control, but he kept his voice calm. “How far down does this go?”

“It isn’t far, Your Highness.” That came from a Razer, the captain maybe, though Jai couldn’t see in the dark.

So they descended.

The chute suddenly ended, and the plug continued to descend, lowering into a cavern lit in the center by harsh lights. Machines hulked in the shadows beyond, rank upon rank of robots, from small cleaning droids to military strikers that stood at twice the height of a man on their segmented legs.

Rails had risen around the circumference of the plug while it descended, protecting them from falling off as it came down to the cavern floor. When it reached the ground, Jai closed his eyes in gratitude. He opened them immediately, as Razers guided him off the plug. When he tried to pull away, they wouldn’t let go. He looked around for Robert; his aide was behind him, between two Razers.

Jai didn’t know what Robert saw in his face, but as soon as their gazes met, the aide strode forward. With deft confidence, he insinuated himself between Jai and the Razers and maneuvered Jai away from his guards. Robert even evaded Corbal, who had been closing in on Jai from the left.