Of Fire and Night - Kevin J. Anderson [73]
Wrapped in her own misery, Nira wasn't fooled when the Ildiran noble attempted to show concern. Once more she noted that his features reminded her of Jora'h. "I am Designate-in-waiting Daro'h," he finally said. "I will soon assume the administration duties of Dobro and replace the current Designate."
Nira's eyes flashed. Udru'h was going to step down!
Daro'h pressed. "I still do not understand why you fled. We are taking you back to the splinter colony, back to your home."
"It is not my home! It was never my home. And it's not the home of those human descendants you keep caged there, either."
Clearly discomfited, Daro'h fell silent. They rode the rest of the way without speaking another word.
When the guards dragged her out of the hatch, Nira felt a discordant wash of joy, a flood of giddy relief, a foreign outburst that sang through her thoughts. It was a symphony of love, relief, and longing. Confusingly, the nonverbal images seemed to be reflections of her own memories.
She stumbled, and her eyes focused on a young girl, older than she remembered, but still more familiar than any other person: a part of her and a part of Jora'h. Her daughter, her princess! Osira'h ran forward to embrace her.
As soon as she made contact with her daughter's skin, Nira expected a wash of new memories, an exchange. She remembered the sudden bursting of gates within their minds during the last--and only--time mother and daughter had been in contact. She had been so desperate then, crying out with her thoughts.
Now, however, Nira was afraid to push too much. This time, the contact was not the same as she had previously shared with her daughter. Only silence rang inside her head.
Osira'h, too, seemed to be holding back. "You don't need to know everything yet, Mother. You can't know everything."
Nira just held her more tightly. "I don't need it all at once. I just need to know that I'm back here with you."
She felt a sudden chill and looked up. Hard-faced Designate Udru'h walked forward, flanked by two guard kithmen just like the ones that had beaten her nearly to death. Cool and aloof, he said, "The Mage-Imperator asked me to find you. By trying to escape, you made it more difficult for all of us, including yourself." When he looked at Nira, she recalled again the pain this man had caused her, all the hatred she still felt for him. Nira held her daughter protectively; Osira'h hugged back, offering her mother strength and confidence.
Dismissively, Udru'h turned toward the Designate-in-waiting. "Good work, Daro'h. I will soon be ready to relinquish my duties to you."
43
ANTON COLICOS
Anton looked up from his scrutiny of dusty diamondfilm sheets in the vaults beneath the Prism Palace. "These stories are so vague! I wouldn't put much credence in old folktales."
Vao'sh would not be swayed. "The Mage-Imperator gave me an assignment to find any information about the ancient war with the hydrogues, especially tales of a supposed alliance between Ildirans and faeros. This is where we must look." The expressive lobes on his face flushed with color. "There will be more in the stockpile of ancient records on Hyrillka. I hope they were not damaged in the recent revolt--I wish you could go with me."
"Me too, but nobody will let me out of Mijistra." He still didn't have any explanations.
Flanked by her Isix cats, Yazra'h approached the two storytellers deep in the subterranean tunnels. Recently, she'd been childishly entertained by Anton's traditional Earth stories, though she often asked odd questions. "If Little Red Riding Hood was going through dark and dangerous woods, why did she not carry a weapon in her basket?" Or, "If Goldilocks knew she was trespassing in the home of the three bears, should she not have remained more alert when she chose to sleep in their beds? Should she not have set a guard to watch over her?" When Yazra'h complained about so many weak female children, Anton finally delighted her with stories of Amazon warrior women, Queen