Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [53]
Once in range, Kotto scanned the landscape and found only a gaping crater where the base had been. His crew, his workers! An explosion had occurred with such force that it had vaporized all signs of human habitation. Everyone was gone, completely wiped out.
Kotto stared in complete disbelief. First he'd found Osquivel abandoned, and now this. What could have caused such a disaster? All those people--he hoped there had been time to evacuate. Most of the Jonah 12 workers were survivors of his crazy scheme on near-molten Isperos, who had followed him to this icy planetoid. They had trusted him!
He gazed down at the huge ugly scar where the base should have been. "By the Guiding Star, what is going on?"
The two compies looked at him as if considering whether he expected them to answer. KR and GU both decided to remain silent.
29
MAGE-IMPERATOR JORA'H
After sending Osira'h away, Jora'h walked a curving path high in the skysphere dome, searching for a moment of tranquillity. Colored light shone through the faceted panes, and misters kept the air moist. Servant kithmen had polished the walkway, and agricultural kithmen tended the skysphere's flora and fauna. Hanging vines and sweet flowers filled the huge terrarium; flying insects and feathered creatures darted about in flashes of vibrant red, green, blue.
The Mage-Imperator absorbed the soothing ambiance, but it could not counteract the ominous knowledge of the impending war. All around him, he felt the thrumming presence of his people. The PrismPalace was like a magnification lens, concentrating all of their faith and confidence in him. Jora'h could barely stand under the weight of it.
He recalled a stanza from the Saga of Seven Suns, words he had always found disturbing: "There will come a time of fire and night, when enemies rise and empires fall, when the stars themselves begin to die."
That time is already here. And I have helped bring it about.
His people did not understand the potential cost of his agreement with the hydrogues, but because he was their Mage-Imperator, they would not question it. They would do anything he asked, blindly follow their leader's instructions--and somehow that made the situation even worse. How could he explain and justify his actions?
Here inside the lush gardens he found the chunks of worldtree wood he had purchased from Roamer traders months ago. He had placed the fragments here to remind him of Nira. At least Osira'h will soon be with her mother . . .
Yazra'h trotted toward him along the pathway from the opposite side of the skysphere. Her mane of coppery hair flowed behind her as she ran, eyes intent on her father. Even before she came to a stop, she had touched her right fist to the center of her chest, giving him a formal salute. "Liege, the Roamer trader Denn Peroni has just landed on Ildira." Yazra'h gave a wolfish grin. "He says he wishes to sell us a full cargo of ekti."
Jora'h was surprised. With the Hyrillka insurrection, the dying sun of Durris-B, and the hydrogue ultimatum, he'd forgotten the Roamers' request to reopen trade with the Ildiran Empire. "We certainly need it." He frowned. "But be careful. Make sure he learns nothing about our dealings with the hydrogues." If Denn Peroni suspected a secret alliance, then Jora'h would be forced to capture the man's ship and hold him prisoner, just like the other humans being held in the PrismPalace. "Keep Sullivan Gold and his skyminers out of sight, as well as your friend Anton Colicos. I don't want this Roamer to catch a glimpse of them. Their presence would raise far too many questions."
Jora'h resented that he had to imprison the humans. Sullivan Gold and his crew were heroes who had rescued Ildiran skyminers from a hydrogue attack; and the scholar Anton Colicos had survived a Klikiss robot massacre and saved Rememberer Vao'sh. By the rules of honor, those men and women should have been rewarded. Instead, since they had seen the warglobes, Jora'h