Defender of the Empire: Cadet #1 (41 page)

             
HE IS THE EMPEROR. Scrae said simply.

             
The admirals were quiet for a moment before Admiral Knight asked hesitantly “forgive me, your Imperial Highness, but are you suggesting that they be given a commission?”

             
The emperor smiled at him. “Exactly, my dear admiral. I believe the
Hail Mary
is in need of additional crew?”

             
“But sire! They don’t know all that they need to in order to function…” Admiral Knight’s protest was stalled by the emperor’s raised hand.

             
“That didn’t stop them from taking out a Zar’daken warship.”

             
“That was luck.” Admiral Knight snapped.

             
“Perhaps, but I know for a certainty that Captain Wingstar and his crew are excellent teachers and are qualified to fill in the holes of their schooling. Besides, they will have to wait a little longer before their departure since the
Hail Mary
still has to undergo major repairs.” The emperor added. Admiral Knight gaped at him like a fish and the other admirals were glancing at each other with wide eyes. I was suffering from the same kind of shock. Only Admiral L’Seral was grinning.

             
The emperor raised his brows. “They get punished by you removing them from the Challenge but are rewarded for their courage and service to the Crown by continuing their education on an actual starship.” He summed up. “Both sides win.” The emperor smiled. “Now I do believe that the cadets should return to the Academy to prepare for their future ventures and you lot need to get back to your commands.”

             
No one missed the obvious dismissal. I started to file out with my friends when the emperor’s voice stopped me. “I would, however, like to speak with Sinclair and Strausman. If you two would stay for a moment?” he asked, but I knew it to be an order. I pulled out of the line and returned to my previous position. Westley and Jason gave Marius and I puzzled looks and I just shrugged. Eventually everyone left except for the Emperor, Marius, and I. Oh, and the man I hadn’t been able to see before.

             
The other man was tall with thick golden hair. I had got the feeling that the man could choose when he wanted to be seen or when he wanted to fade into the background. The man stopped before the emperor and placed his clenched right fist over his heart and bowed his head before he looked up with a smile. “Well met, Your Imperial Highness.” He said.

             
The emperor nodded. “Commander Blackmore.  I see what you meant when you told me about the girl. It is very hard to miss.” My eyes widened.

             
“It’s okay, Rylynn.” Marius said putting his hand on my shoulder.

             
I glanced at him. “Why are they talking about me?” I asked softly, but the two powerful men heard me.

             
“Because you are a very special Shade.” Commander Blackmore said.  I blinked owlishly at him and he and Marius laughed. The emperor smiled. “You never thought about it before, did you lass?” The commander observed.

             
“I’m a Shade?” And yeah I can be very,
very
slow apparently.

             
“A Shade isn’t a mystic, Rylynn.” Marius said seeming to understand my dilemma in trying to understand how they could possible put such a title on my head. “You are half bound to a spectral. That is all it takes to make you a Shade.”

             
“A special Shade.” The emperor reminded us.

             
Commander Blackmore nodded in agreement. “It takes a special corporeal to survive the many Spectrals you have draped around you.”

             
“How do you know about them?” I asked.

             
“Because we are Shades.” The emperor replied. “Though it would be best for it not to leave this room. There is power in people not knowing.” He told me with a faint smile.

             
“Marius has told me how you ended up with the extra Spectrals, but I would like you to tell the emperor in your own words.”

             
I glanced between them before asking. “Can either of you release them? They are kind of stuck with me.”

             
“I can.” The emperor replied. “My spectral is a mythic, just like the one who draped the others on you.”

             
“I thought you didn’t know how I got them.”

             
“I don’t.” he assured me. “But I can recognize a mythic Spectral’s handiwork.”

             
I nodded since it made a kind of sense. And so I told him how I had ended up with the Spectrals. I once again traversed that dark corridor on the Imperial Space Station and heard Kylesst’s pleas and threats. I witnessed afresh Mara Dane’s death by the man in shadow with the stone blade whose name I later learned. I told how Kylesst had told me later that the man was Admiral Knight. I recounted how the admiral had threatened me to remain silent and how I had met Marius. Marius who was the only person I
could
tell. I had no longer been alone in my quest to find some way to bring the murdering admiral to justice.
But we still don’t have concrete evidence against him
I thought sadly.

             
The emperor’s eyes darkened as I spoke.

             
“She is forgetting to mention that it was Kylesst who knew that the prince was going to be kidnapped.” Marius reminded me and I wanted to kick myself.

             
“Just before the third challenge Kylesst did tell me that, in his annoyingly cryptic way. But he did warn me. And after the challenge he gave me the coordinates where to find Jason. He had heard them from Admiral Knight discussing plans with his allies.” I caught the near feral expressions of the commander and the emperor.

             
“It wouldn’t take much to find the records of that conversation.” The commander said. “We have proof against the bastard now.”

             
The emperor nodded and I felt elated. Myra Dane and all the other Shades who had been murdered would be avenged. And Admiral Knight would cease to be a danger.

Epilogue – Loose Ends

             
And so I survived my first month at the Academy. At the award ceremony for the Admiral’s Challenge, my team and I were not even on the podium. A point that Admiral L’Seral had seethed about, but the other admirals would not change their minds. They figured and I guess it makes sense, that we had been given a far greater reward. At first, though, our classmates had thought it strange that we were not on the podium. Some thought it was unfair since we had won the first two challenges
and
our third challenge had been interrupted by a mercenary attack. Admiral L’Seral had told us that we should have won. Others, like my roommate, thought it was not a bad thing that we were removed from the challenge. First, at least in Lassie’s point of view, as a colonist I shouldn’t have been allowed to participate in the first place. Others pointed out that we had an unfair advantage with Westley. And those who had lost to us were pretty much dancing about in glee. Especially the team that hadn’t quite made the cut to participate in the third challenge as they now had third place.

Imagine how many of them choked when they found out that we had all been
given a commission. A few had turned an interesting shade of puce when they heard that I had been risen not one, but
five
ranks and had a place as a crewman on the
Hail Mary.

I will have it kn
own that I hadn’t told anybody this. I don’t know how it leaked out, but it had. I don’t think people knew how to react to it. Some were snide as expected but I didn’t care. I was the one who had a placement on a ship already. Better, it was a ship I already knew and her captain would now have plenty of time to tell me what he knew of my parents.

What wasn’t known, except by the emperor, Marius, and Commander Blackmore, was that I was officially now a Shade: one of the myster
ious eyes and ears of the emperor. Marius, as a senior member of the Order, became my teacher. Which worked well in more ways than one. First, we already knew each other. Second was our strange, yet, complimenting abilities. The commander had told me that I was, based on my ability to absorb energy in greater quantities than normal people, a Spectral Sync. Syncs were very rare. It explained why I could survive contact with more than one spectral at a time. I didn’t feel rare, but I was apparently the first Sync to be born in seven hundred years. Marius was another rarity in that he was what was called a Spectral Vampire. Such people were unable to absorb energy from his surroundings. Most people could, but only in small quantities. What made Marius a vampire was that he could link with a Spectral, but over time he would drain it of its energy. Eventually the Spectral would die.

Our abilities complimented each other in that I could ‘feed’ him the extra energy in my system. We had done so before since that was the only reason I was still alive. So we would continue as we have been. Although, I didn’t have as much energy as I used to.

After telling the emperor the story of how I had received the Spectrals he had done something that allowed them to be free. So now Luna and Scrae and the others are off wherever Spectrals go. I figured they were out looking for someone they could bond with since that seems to be what Spectrals do. I missed them. Even their constant chatter. Because now my head feels awful quiet. At least I have M. Kit to keep me company. Now that there is not as much energy in my system she finds that she can work a whole hell of a lot better. Her hardware doesn’t fry anymore.

The only really depressing thing about my life now is that Admiral Knight has disappeared without a trace.
Marius had told me at dinner that the guards had arrived to take him into custody but found his place empty. We’re not sure what gave him warning, but he was gone. Luckily, though, he had not been able to erase the evidence of his involvement in an anarchy movement. It proved to the courts that he was a traitor. Even if there wasn’t anything linking him to the murders of Shades a traitor was still a high crime. He had been stripped of his rank and title publicly. He was now a hunted man.

As I walked back to my room from dinner I felt a
pang of worry for Kylesst. The Spectral I was half-bonded to was still imprisoned in the
Lous-eci’dalb.
And that cursed weapon was still in Knight’s hands somewhere… out there.
I’m so sorry
a thought whispered in my mind so softly I wasn’t sure if it was me to Kylesst or him to me. I didn’t have much time to think about it since pain hit me so hard that I blacked out.

***

Kylesst writhed as his essence was stolen by the foul Soul Shadow. She took delight in hurting him. She took joy in draining him to dangerous levels. There were times when he wished she would just
end
it. But that would be too merciful of her. He could just hear her malicious laughter and in that part of him that was too deep for her to touch, yet, he wondered how much more joy she would experience if she knew she also hurt Rylynn. He could feel the girl suffer as he did and he begged her forgiveness for not being able to protect her.

PLEASE! He begged aloud at some point. He was amazed that he could still make some kind of sense. Though who he was begging he wasn’t sure. And what he was begging for was beyond him.

His torturer hissed in amusement. POOR LITTLE SPECTRAL. She crooned. YOU TASTE SO GOOD, BUT DON’T WORRY, I WON’T KILL YOU. YOU ARE NEEDED TO GIVE YOUR LIFE FORCE TO FREE THE REST OF MY KIND.

NO. Kylesst denied.

IT IS YOUR DESTINY. LOOK FORWORD TO IT. And she left him alone in the dark. Well, mostly alone. The other trapped Spectrals still screamed about him, but he was so far gone that he could barely hear them.

OH LORD IN HEAVEN, DON’T LET ME BE THE CATALYST THAT
FREES THOSE MONSTERS. PLEASE. And if a spectral could sob, he did.

The end

Rylynn’s adventures continue in The Defender of the Empire
: Facades Book 2

Here is a preview

              Once he had a name. Once it had been a proud and glorious thing. But that had been so many ages ago… He no longer remembered it.  Now he was known as the Betrayer. He had earned that name. Everyone he ever knew he had betrayed. His own kind, the people he mixed with… His enemies, his friends… he snorted as he walked the hall of shadows. Friends. Now that was inappropriate. Betrayer didn’t have friends. He had tools. All to get what he wanted.

             
What did he want?

             
Ah, now there was a universe of possibilities...

             
He reached the room with his pets. “Greetings of the day to you, Lady Sylvia Foréss Sinclair.” He said spotting the frail woman with light chestnut hair. She didn’t meet Betrayer’s gaze. Shame, she had such beautiful moss green eyes. “I’m surprised that you kept that name, since it tied you to me.” He continued.