Harbinger (7 page)

“I’m sure they have to be careful who they trust. Surely you can understand that.” She wasn’t sure why she was defending them, but Ulrik’s attitude was particularly annoying at the moment. “We’re technically fugitives too. Quinton just isn’t as determined to find us as he is to find the Nox brothers.”

“You heard about the bounty?” He glanced down at her and smirked. “Tandori Tribe could accomplish a lot with that sort of capital.”

Unable to hide her shock, she felt her jaw drop then snapped it close. “Tell me that was a joke.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her. “Are you planning to turn them in?”

He shrugged. “It didn’t start out that way, but the thought has crossed my mind.”

She shook her head, disgusted by the possibility. “Thoughts like that are beneath you. If you’re not serious about creating an alliance, at least be honest with them. Tandori Tribe has always faced conflicts head-on. We don’t smile at our enemies and then stab them in the back.”

“General Nox isn’t even battle born,” he snapped. “Did you know that?”

“I did, but what does that have to do with your possible betrayal?”

He continued along the walk path as he explained. “It’s suspicious, if you ask me. He must have an ulterior motive.”

“Or he could simply love his brothers and feel that the cause is just.”

“No one is that noble.”

Haven just shook her head. Ulrik had always been a bit of a pessimist, but this cynicism was new. Was his attitude the result of Vinton’s unexpected death or had other events compounded his gloomy outlook. “I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve met the man. All I know right now is his reputation.”

“Which is?” Ulrik grumbled.

“The people in our star system love him. To the masses he’s part hero, part god, a liberator determined to right all wrongs.”

“And the battle born will follow him through hells outer rings.” Somehow he made that sound like a bad thing. “If General Nox is for real, I feel sorry for Quinton and we both know that bastard deserves everything that’s coming to him.”

He’d neatly sidestepped the real issue, whether or not he intended to betray the Nox brothers. She’d just arrived, so she let the subject drop. If she couldn’t talk him out of it, she’d probably need to warn the battle born, which would doubtlessly infuriate her brother. She rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh. Why did everything in her life have to be so complicated?

A facial scan opened the main entrance to the building and they stepped into a small, neat lobby. The apartments they’d been assigned were on the second floor near the elevators. Haven made sure her image opened her door, but after a quick look around, she followed Ulrik to Berlynn’s apartment.

“Berlynn’s in a snit. I better let you go in alone.”

Berlynn was the most even-tempered person Haven knew. What had put her “in a snit”? Rather than depending on Ulrik’s accounting, she decided to find out for herself. “Give us a few minutes alone, then I’ll come to your place once we’ve had a chance to catch up.”

Clearly relieved by the offer, Ulrik went one step farther. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. I’ll just see you both in the morning.”

A certain gleam in his eyes warned that he wasn’t headed for his apartment. When Ulrik was angry there was no holding back the storm. Doubtlessly, he was on his way to confront General Nox and Raylon about the outcome of their mysterious mission. Haven could only deal with one crisis at a time and Berlynn needed her more than two battletested warriors.

Berlynn accepted the visitor request, but didn’t bother greeting her at the door. Haven stepped inside the compact apartment and let the door close behind her. Berlynn sat at one end of the sofa, staring at the nearest wall, which she’d transformed into a tranquil beach scene.

With common furniture and neutral decorating, the room itself was nothing special, so Haven focused on her niece. “Hey, kiddo. Don’t you even have a hug for your long-lost aunt?”

Berlynn’s head whipped around and she smiled in response to Haven’s greeting. Her face looked unusually pale and purple circles shadowed her golden eyes, but she jumped up from the sofa and ran to Haven. “I am so glad to see you!”

They hugged, then Haven eased her back and looked at her again. “You look terrible. Haven’t you been sleeping?”

Berlynn shook her head, avoiding Haven’s gaze. “Everything happened so fast. I just went numb. Now it’s starting to hit me and I…”

Haven wrapped Berlynn in a maternal embrace, glad she finally felt safe enough to let go. Berlynn’s sobs were mostly silent, yet hard enough to shake her delicate frame. “Cry it out, baby. Holding it in just makes it worse.” She’d need to take her own advice eventually. Like Berlynn, Haven had been numbed by the suddenness of Vinton’s passing, but she had no doubt grief, and guilt, would eventually burst through the protective detachment and demand some form of release. But her mourning would have to wait. Right now she needed to be strong for Berlynn.

Long moments later, Berlynn raised her tearstained face. Her lips trembled and misery swam in her eyes. “I can’t get that image out of my mind.”

Haven gasped, horrified by the implication. “You saw it happen?” Berlynn only nodded, so Haven gave her another hug. “I’m so sorry, Berlynn. Danvier said you were there, but I had no idea you watched…” Guilt compressed Haven’s chest, making it hard to breathe. If she’d taken time to think through possible ramifications before trusting one of Javin’s agents with her message—she pinched off the thought. Analyzing what should or shouldn’t have happened was a waste of time. In a moment of weakness, she’d made a horrible decision and her brother had paid the ultimate price. The truth would come out eventually, it always did. Still, she wasn’t in a hurry to compound everyone’s grief with anger and disappointment.

Berlynn stepped back and motioned toward the sofa. “Let’s sit down and talk about something else. I’m tired of crying.”

Haven was happy to oblige her. Thoughts of Vinton were still too painful and she wanted to lighten Berlynn’s mood not reveal her own misery. They walked around to the front of the sofa and Berlynn returned to her place in the far corner. Haven sat more or less facing her then prompted, “Ulrik said you were in a snit. What was he talking about?”

“Uncle Ulrik has lost his mind.” She emphasized the claim with an agitated hand gesture. “Not that his personality was ever very stable.”

Managing Ulrik’s fits of temper had always been a challenge, but Haven had been doing so all her life. “Did something specific trigger his break from reality?”

“He wants to turn in the Nox brothers and collect the bounty.” Berlynn shook her head, clearly disagreeing with the concept. “I told him the idea was ridiculous. If the battle born don’t kill him, the crown stirate will. We’re fugitives, for creation’s sake. But he won’t listen to reason. He’s convinced the reward would be worth the risk.”

“I’ll talk to him, help him see the error of his thinking.”

Berlynn scoffed, a surprisingly bitter sound. Apparently, her patience had been stretched to its limits by Ulrik’s ill-conceived plan. “Good luck with that. I don’t know how you do it. After arguing off and on all day, I finally just had to walk away.”

“That’s always a good strategy with him. He’s completely irrational when he’s riled.” Berlynn muttered something under her breath, but Haven didn’t quite catch it. “So tell me about the negotiations. Did the battle born approach Tandori Tribe or was it the other way around?”

“Dad made first contact, but he wasn’t there to form an alliance.” Sadness thickened Berlynn’s tone, though she managed to hold back her tears.

“How did your dad make contact and what did he want if not an alliance?”

Berlynn wiped her wet cheeks with her sleeve and released a shuddering breath. “How much do you know about the battle born’s mission to Earth?”

“There have been all sorts of rumors, but according to Letos—who tends to be an accurate source—the ongoing quest to release their latent magic is what brought them to Earth.”

“Score one for Letos.” Berlynn drew her legs up in front of her and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Except the battle born are no longer
trying
to release their latent magic, they’ve done it. The first couple successfully completed the transformation protocol and Vox has been helping the male access his power.”

Haven nodded. “I wondered what a Bilarrian mage was doing with battle born rebels.”

“When did you meet Vox?”

“He’s the one who teleported me out of Harbinger Academy.”

It was Berlynn’s turn to nod. “That makes sense. General Nox told Uncle Ulrik he’d dispatched a rescue team, but that was all he said.”

“So what brought Vox to Earth in the first place? Or was he summoned specifically to train the newly transformed males?”

“He’s been here for a couple of weeks helping with Chandar’s recovery.” Berlynn paused and looked at Haven. “Did Danvier tell you about Chandar’s rescue and the restoration of her powers?”

Haven shook her head, a secretive smile bowing her lips. She didn’t know the female harbinger personally, but meeting Danvier made her feel more connected to the situation than she’d been before. “Danvier mentioned her, but Letos has been sending me regular updates that have kept me wonderfully well-informed.”

Berlynn stilled and the emotions twisting through her expressive eyes became too convoluted to untangle. “Letos has been sending you updates or he’s been sending them to Javin?”

“Javin,” Haven admitted. She’d hoped to avoid all that at least for a day or two. Apparently, there was no escaping Berlynn’s curiosity.

“How long did you think you could fool everyone?”

“Not nearly as long as I did.” Berlynn didn’t seem amused by the comment, so Haven tried again. “When I started the deception, I only intended to maintain it for a few days. Everything just sort of snowballed until the deception was controlling me, not the other way around.”

“I don’t understand why you did it in the first place. What did you gain by pretending your mate was still alive?”

The circumstances surrounding Javin’s death and the reason for the deception were nearly as troubling as the fact that she’d sent Milanni to Vinton. Haven couldn’t decide which admission would upset Berlynn more, so she avoided them both. “It’s a long, involved story. I’ll tell you everything, but not tonight. All right?” After a tense pause, Berlynn nodded, so Haven added, “We got sidetracked from my original question anyway. Why is Tandori Tribe negotiating with the battle born?” Or was their interest always a sham? The possibility bothered Haven. If Ulrik planned to betray the battle born, it would put Haven in a seriously awkward situation. How could she choose between loyalty to family and her sympathy for a worthy cause? She’d told Ulrik that Garin Nox had become a sort of folk hero on Rodymia. What she hadn’t made clear was she counted herself among his fans.

“Only two females have survived the transformation that releases battle born magic,” Berlynn told her. “They were both human/Rodyte hybrids.”

Letos had already reported this and a whole lot more, but Haven couldn’t admit how much she knew about the situation on Earth without getting into the specifics of her interaction with Javin’s spies. It was easier just to pretend this was the first she’d heard about it than risk questions she wasn’t ready to answer. “Which makes Tandori females perfect for the program.” Berlynn responded with a distracted nod, so Haven hurried on. “That explains what the battle born want from us. What does Tandori Tribe gain by allying with them?”

“Things have changed a lot in the two years you’ve been gone. The political unrest back home has made many restless and discontent.”

“‘Back home’?” The phrase made Haven shake her head. “There are only a handful of our people who have even been to Rodymia. All of us were born on Earth. Most of our parents were born there too.”

“That doesn’t make us human.”

“No, but we’re not really Rodyte either. We’re Tandori Tribe,” Haven insisted. “That should be enough.”

“It is for me,” Berlynn assured her. “But Rodyte roots run deep. If given the choice between remaining on Earth and returning to Rodymia—after Quinton has been overthrown—many in our tribe will choose to go home.”

“How can
home
be a planet they’ve never even seen? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Berlynn shrugged. “I can’t explain something I don’t feel. I’m just relaying information.”

“Sorry. The past few days have been sort of stressful.”

“‘Sort of’?” Berlynn finally smiled. “You were kidnapped twice in the same day. I think that qualifies as totally stressful.” She lowered her feet to the floor and scooted closer to Haven. “I’ve been really selfish, haven’t I? Are you okay? I can’t believe it took me this long to ask.”

After giving her a quick hug, Haven assured her, “I’m fine, just exhausted and confused.” She pushed to her feet and stretched, arms overhead. “I suspect nine thirty is going to be here before I’m ready. I really do need to get some sleep.”

“Of course. The utility kiosks and nutri-gens are both on line, so you should be able to print anything you need for tonight. The patterns available for female clothing are extremely limited, but there’s a couple of shops open on the commerce tiers that sell cloths. We can go shopping in the morning.”