A Forest of Stars - Kevin J. Anderson [101]
“Yes, Father. I escaped the hydrogue attack intact, as did Thor’h. My brother Rusa’h, though, remains in grave condition. I fear for his life.”
The Mage-Imperator frowned, his heavy cheeks sagging. “I have the best medical kithmen attending him. The Hyrillka Designate will suffer from no lack of treatment, but his recovery will be contingent upon his own inner strength. Your brother has led a soft and unchallenging life. He may not have the stamina to pull himself out of danger.”
Jora’h was surprised at the cold analysis and utter lack of sympathy. “Father, he is still in a sub-thism sleep.”
The Mage-Imperator scowled, and a wince flickered across his normally placid face. “A sub-thism state is the equivalent of hiding, Jora’h. I have no patience for it, especially now. We must consider what happened and discuss the consequences. Rusa’h can follow the soul-threads and go to the plane of the Lightsource whenever he chooses.”
Cyroc’h held up a pudgy finger that shook slightly as he continued. “Perhaps in a way, this attack has been a good thing.”
Jora’h‘s loose hair waved around his head like a nimbus of tiny static flickers. He tried to control his anger. “Hundreds of thousands of people died on Hyrillka! How can you say this is a good thing?”
The Mage-Imperator halted his son’s words abruptly. “I mean that witnessing such a massive disaster might have been a good lesson for you. On Hyrillka, you glimpsed how difficult it truly is to be a ruler. Soon I will meet with Adar Kori’nh to discuss the next desperate measures our Empire must take.”
Restless and upset, Jora’h stood in silence. He promised himself that when he became Mage-Imperator—soon now—he would be a more compassionate leader. He would think of people rather than politics.
“How can we fight an enemy we do not understand? The hydrogues came out of nowhere. We have done nothing to encourage their aggression.”
Cyroc’h looked at him with cold eyes. “We know more than you think, my son.” Then the Mage-Imperator was seized by another hammering spasm of pain inside his head and sagged backward, looking alarmingly weak. “Go and contemplate what I have told you.” He dismissed Jora’h and sent his bodyguard Bron’n to call the Adar so they could continue their strategy discussions.
Jora’h left, feeling unsettled and confused. Rather than spending time in silent meditation, he went to see his brother Rusa’h.
The Hyrillka Designate lay on a comfortable bed in a warm, bright room. Attenders and medical kithmen surrounded him like parasites, checking readings, adding medications, applying soothing ointments. Two lens kithmen stood looking solemn, as if they could help the unconscious Rusa’h chase the thism threads back to his own body.
The chubby face of the Hyrillkan leader now looked drawn and pale. His eyes were closed. His hair hung limp, not even stirring—either because of various drugs or because the Designate was so deeply catatonic that few of his systems still functioned. Jora’h stared at him.
Rusa’h‘s head was bandaged. His brow and cheeks, despite their pallor, showed purplish blotches of bruises, vivid indicators of damage deeper inside his body. Internal bleeding continued, though the high-ranking medical kithmen had already performed surgical miracles just to keep him alive.
The head injury and possible brain damage were far more serious than contusions or broken bones. If his brother’s mind had been dealt a mortal blow, what good would it do to heal his body?
Haggard and gaunt, Thor’h clung to his uncle’s bedside. Jora’h looked at his son, who now appeared very young and frightened. His eyes were red-rimmed.
“Why won’t he wake up?” He looked at Jora’h as if he believed his father could, with a wave of his hands, cure all of the hurt. “I have commanded these doctors to give him stimulants and bring him back to consciousness, but they pay no attention to me.” He glared at the attenders and surgeons and drug specialists. “Tell them who I am, that they must obey my wishes.”
“They can do nothing, Thor’h, any more than I could simply order the hydrogues