The Spacetime Pool (9 page)

Then she saw
Dominick—with the
outlaws.
He sat on his huge dark biaquine at the front
of the formation, his gaze intent on the ten men from the palace. The defenders
slowed as they came closer, near enough for her to see who led them.

Dominick?

Janelle blinked,
looking from Dominick with the raiders to Dominick with the defenders. The
Dominick in the small party rode Starlight, the big silver biaquine from
yesterday. He wore only trousers and a shirt, with a sword on his back as if he
had grabbed it when he was too rushed to don his armor.

His party stopped a
short distance from the outlaws. Everyone remained silent, watching while
Dominick on the dark biaquine cantered out to meet Dominick on the silver
biaquine. Janelle understood then. Dominick and his brother were identical
twins.

“It’s Emperor
Maximillian,” she said.

“You’d best be
silent,” her captor answered.

She couldn’t fathom
how Maximillian could do this to his brother. No wonder the guards had opened
the gate. They wouldn’t leave the emperor’s party milling about outside. They
had probably welcomed him, never knowing they were inviting raiders into their
midst.

Had Maximillian come
to stop the wedding? Supposedly he didn’t know. That could mean he also didn’t
know his men had caught her. Dominick was probably too far away to see her
among several hundred riders, particularly since she wasn’t the only woman they
had taken. But even from here, she could see the fury on his face.

The brothers met in
the stretch of dirt between their groups. Their voices carried to Janelle.

“To what purpose?”
Dominick was demanding. “Do you take joy in killing? Hurting innocent people?
Destroying beauty?”

Maximillian lifted
his hand, and one of his men rode forward with a rough leather bag that bulged.
At the emperor’s signal, the man opened the bag and dumped its contents.
Something large fell to the ground and rolled toward Dominick.

A bloody head.

“No,” Janelle
whispered.

Frozen silence
followed the gruesome offering. Then Maximillian said, “Think on this, brother.
Next time you send a spy to my army, my response won’t be so gentle.” His voice
hardened. “You were lucky today. We could have killed your servants and burnt
your home to the ground.”

Dominick bit out his
words. “You’ve spied on me for years.”

Maximillian lifted
the reins. “If I ordered an attack now, who would stop me? The major portion of
your army has been practicing maneuvers. Even riding hard, they won’t be here
for fifteen minutes. Be wise, Dominick. Fight me and I will retaliate. Is that
what you want? No! Leave this land. Go across the sea. Anywhere.” He regarded
his brother steadily. “Because if you stay, someday I will have to take your
life.”

Then the emperor
turned and cantered toward his men.

Dominick reached over
his shoulder for his sword. Janelle felt her captor go for his own weapon, and
all around her, other raiders were doing the same. When Maximillian saw his men
drawing steel, he reined in his biaquine. But he didn’t turn to Dominick. He
sat in his saddle as if daring his brother to charge and kill him from behind.

Dominick let go of
his sword and lowered his arm.

“No!” A woman cried
out from within the raiding party. “Prince Dom—” Her voice cut off.

Dominick scanned the
riders, his strained expression clear even at this distance. Janelle doubted he
could tell who shouted; even from within the group, Janelle couldn’t locate
her. The raiders had taken at least fifteen women, probably more. If she called
to warn him that his bride was among the captives, she would also be warning
his brother.

Then she thought of a
way to let him know without revealing herself. She was apparently one of the
few people he let use his single name. “Dominick!” she shouted. “Here—”

The raider clamped
his hand over her mouth. “
Quiet.
”

Janelle clawed at his
hand, and he pinned her arms to her sides. Although Dominick looked in their
direction, she didn’t think he saw her. She struggled to free herself.

“If you make trouble,”
her captor said, “it will anger the emperor. If he becomes angry, he will
retaliate against his brother. And you. He knows this palace. He gave it to
Prince Dominick-Michael. He could destroy everyone here. Is that what you want?”

She went still, then
shook her head.

Dominick was watching
his brother. “Max.”

The emperor brought
his biaquine around to face him. “We will let the women go when we finish with
them.”

“This isn’t done,”
Dominick said. “You went too far.”

“You have my warning,”
Maximillian told him. “I give it for our mother’s sake, in her memory. But it
is the last I will give you.”

With that, the
emperor wheeled around and set off at a gallop. His men went with him, stirring
up a great cloud of dust, pounding out the great gate and away from the palace
of shattered arches.

* * * *

V

Maximillian

The raiders followed
a trail that switch-backed across the face of a cliff. They rode on the edge of
the world, a sheer wall of stone to their left and an abyss of astonishingly
clear air to the right, with endless, verdant mountains far below. The line of
biaquines clung to the cliff like a fragile string that could snap any time.

Janelle saw why
Dominick had avoided this route. The path was barely wide enough for one
biaquine, with nothing to catch anyone who stepped off the trail. It was also
obvious why Maximillian used it; the trail offered a faster path to the
flatlands, insurance against Dominick’s pursuit when his army arrived to defend
their liege.

She shivered as her
reaction to the raid set in. She had never witnessed anyone die before, let
alone in such violence. Even with so little knowledge of Othman, she could tell
Dominick wasn’t ready to take on Maximillian. The ramifications went much
further than a violent argument between brothers. Would the people here
tolerate a challenge to their emperor? She didn’t doubt Dominick would come for
the women of his household, but she had no idea how far he would go to rescue
them or what he would do when he discovered she was gone.

They kept a grueling
pace, and around noon they reached a meadow at the foot of the mountain. The
grasses and wildflowers had been trampled earlier, probably by the passage of
this same party. Cliffs rose starkly behind them, and hilly fields stretched to
the south, swirled by yellow and blue blossoms.

The emperor finally
called a halt. With a sigh, Janelle’s captor reined in his mount. He slid his
arms around her waist and leaned against her. “Maybe we can get to know each
other better now, little bride. You were wanting a man tonight, eh?”

She pulled away from
him. “Don’t touch me.”

He yanked back her
head and pressed his lips and teeth against her neck. But when she twisted
away, he didn’t wrestle her back. Instead he froze—and released her as if she
had a plague. No one paid them any heed; the other men were dismounting,
checking biaquines, taking out trail rations. An older man with a gray beard
rode through the group, stopping to confer with various people.

Still behind her on the
biaquine, Janelle’s captor spoke sharply. “What is your name?”

“Salima.” She even
managed to keep the tremor out of her voice.

“You’re lying.”

She had no chance to
answer, for the bearded man had reached them. “How goes it, Aker?” he asked her
captor.

“Fair enough,” Aker
said, his voice cautious.

The other man
indicated Janelle. “You can have a few minutes with her. But be ready to ride
when the call comes. Maximillian wants to leave the women here, so they don’t
slow us down.”

Aker answered in an
oddly subdued voice. “I think His Highness will want to take this one.”

Ah, hell.
Janelle spoke fast, grabbing her thought from before,
doing her best to use their dialect. “I’m sick. I’ll give a killing fever to
anyone who touches me.”

The bearded man
cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t look sick to me.” His gaze traveled slowly over
her. “Far from it.”

“I’m in the early
stages. The most contagious time.”

He snorted. “Which is
why you were married today, eh?”

“She’s fine,” Aker
said with a laugh. “You should have seen her in the palace. She can scream like
a banshee.”

Screw you,
Janelle thought.

“I will tell the
emperor of your offer,” the bearded man told him. Then he continued on to a
cluster of other riders.

Aker dismounted and
helped Janelle down, but he otherwise went out of his way to avoid touching
her. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more afraid.

The bearded man soon
reappeared on foot—accompanied by Maximillian. Janelle’s pulse lurched. The
emperor could have been Dominick; he had the same eyes, the same strong
features, the same height. But unlike Dominick, who warmed with his gaze,
Maximillian’s stare was ice. He appraised her as if she were an object for
sale.

The emperor glanced
at the bearded man. “You didn’t exaggerate. She’s lovely. Exotic, with that
yellow hair. Yes, we will keep the bride.” He nodded to Aker. “I will remember
your generosity.”

“Your Highness.” Aker
sounded strained. “Look at her jewels.”

Puzzlement creased
Maximillian’s face. He pushed Janelle’s hair over her shoulder to see her
necklace better. For a long moment he stared at it. When he spoke, his voice
was too quiet, like the calm in the center of a storm. “Are you my brother’s
wife?”

Janelle met his gaze.
“Yes.” She prayed he didn’t find out they had never finished the ceremony.

“It
cannot
be.
Dominick would never risk his own death to marry some pretty tidbit.” He took
her chin and turned her face to the side. “My God, you do look like her. But
you’re too young.” His voice hardened. “From where do you come?”

“Cambridge.” She had
no idea if it existed here. “Near Boston.”

“Boston? Where is
that?”

“Dominick called it ‘another
sheet.’”

His posture went
rigid. “And your name is Salima?”

She didn’t see any
point in lying now. “No. It’s Janelle.”

“Hai,” Aker murmured.

Maximillian swore. “That’s
impossible.”

The bearded man
spoke. “If she is the one, Your Highness, you have her now instead of your
brother.”

Maximillian answered
with barely controlled fury. “One day earlier.
One day,
and I would have
been in time.” He reached toward Janelle. When she backed away, Aker stepped
behind her and grasped her upper arms, holding her in place.

The emperor grabbed
strands of Janelle’s hair and yanked them out, making her gasp at the stab of
pain. He thrust the tendrils at the bearded man. “Ride to the palace.
Fast.
Have her signature checked. And tell Major Artos to prepare the army. Dominick
will soon realize she is gone, if he hasn’t already.”

Maximillian turned
back to Janelle. “You,” he said grimly, “will come with me.”