Prince of Luster (24 page)

“Now I know what you used the gems for,” she accused. “To buy yourself the comfort our people have been denied.”

“You have me wrong, dear lady. I’ve only been trying to survive the slugs’s siege as everyone else has.”

She rounded on him. “You lying, murdering savage!”

When she charged the man, Marcos pulled her back. He heard Una whimper within Nova’s robe. The little pup had only been able to keep her hidden spot due to the depth of the pocket in which she was situated. “He’s got a laser in his robes,” he warned. “He wasn’t stupid enough to let that guard go and stay here unarmed … with you and me to hold him accountable.”

Nova took a deep breath and stalked away, but not far enough that she couldn’t hear what Marcos said to Forrell.

“You want to talk about my brother now?” Marcos angrily asked. “You didn’t bring us all this way, risking your own neck for nothing. What do you want?”

“The
Titan
is in orbit,” Forrell told him. “In a few hours, your brother and a small cadre of enforcers will land. I’ve offered the prince and his men hospitality at my residence. I’m supposed to hold them hostage here and await Prometheus’s arrival.”

Marcos lurched toward the man but stopped when Forrell aimed a small sidearm at Nova.

“Listen to me, you fool. I don’t have time to repeat myself,” Forrell said.

“If you’re lying … ”

“I’m
not
, Prince Marcos. While Commander Starlaw is being held here, Prometheus will order his warships to attack the
Titan
and kill the crew. Then the slug leader is supposed to land again and kill all the rest of the enforcers. The slimy bastard is singularly obsessed with the notion that he be the one allowed to take out the next ruler of Luster.”

“And why should I believe you’d bring me here for any other reason than to have me killed along with Darius?” Marcos accused. “With him dead, I become ruler.”

Forrell sighed. “Do I have your word, on your father’s honor and yours, that you won’t have me killed if I help you and Prince Darius?”

“I can’t speak on my father’s behalf. And certainly not on my brother’s when he finds out what’s happened to me.”

Forrell looked over the hideous scars on Marcos’s face and audibly gulped. “The confrontation i-in the marketplace was P-Prometheus’s doing, not m-mine. I had no idea that incident h-happened until after it was over. You must believe me, Highness.”

“We can talk about this later. What about warning my brother?”

“Y-You must let me explain, first,” Forrell begged.

“There is no explanation you can give,” Nova uttered.

Marcos clenched his hands. “I have to make contact with my brother. He suspects you and won’t believe anything you say is the truth.”

“O-of course. I understand. But it must be at the last possible moment. I’ve heard of Darius Starlaw’s tactics and his capabilities. The
Titan
is one of the best ships in the enforcer fleet,” Forrell affirmed. “I think it’ll have a chance with the slug warships. But, if you warn your brother now, Prometheus will overhear your transmission, and he’ll kill us all. He’ll incinerate everyone on this planet, and your brother would likely die as well. We must wait until tonight and find a way to transmit from my private communication center. At the last possible second.”

“And you want protection for your …
help
?” Marcos sarcastically asked.

“I know you’ll keep your word if you give it. It isn’t just my life we’re talking about. It’s everyone’s in the colony. The entire planet will be burned to oblivion if the slugs find us out.”

“He’s lying,” Nova growled. “Every word he utters is a lie.”

Marcos stared at Forrell, took a deep breath, and nodded. “I can promise the slugs won’t lay their hands on you while I live. I’m in no position to give my word on anything else.”

Nova turned away. She knew exactly what Marcos meant. He wasn’t saying he’d protect Forrell from the slugs. He was using semantics to promise
he’d
kill the governor himself, before the Limaxians could do it. The governor kept pleading his cause, not even guessing Marcos’s intent.

“I-I know having possession of fire
plasma is a violation invoking the death penalty. But you must believe me, Highness. I never had use of that chemical. The slugs found someone with the formula, forced him to hand it over, and then killed the man. I had to deal with them or they would have killed everyone here.”

Nova lunged for him yet again. Once more Una whimpered as she huddled in her deep pocket hiding spot.

Marcos quickly pulled her back and held her against his body.

“You had him kill my father because he stood against you. You left us to suffer without incubation chambers or any way to heal our wounded,” she accused.

“What’s your answer to that?” Marcos demanded.

“It was Prometheus who wanted control of the planet and the miners … for the gems. He was the one who gave orders concerning whom to kill and when. He’s trying to build a fleet to destroy the enforcers. He needed the gems to do it.” Forrell put out one hand in supplication while still holding his weapon in the other. “Several times, I left the civilian communication center unguarded and hoped someone might be able to get a message through. I couldn’t because my every move was being watched. But someone
did
do it, or you wouldn’t be here, Marcos Starlaw. And, as far as interplanetary law goes, you could be put to death for being a spy on a planet within the Constellation League’s jurisdiction. Your father doesn’t own this world or any other. The Constellation League he administers simply dispenses justice when and as allied rulers and dignities ask for it. That’s the nature of our agreement. You are not here with legal documentation, and have taken on an alias. I could have had you killed at the cave with complete impunity. Yet, here you stand. And I’m giving you such protection and hospitality as is mine to give until your brother can save us all from this horrifying nightmare.”

“You killed my mother and father,” Nova said as she swiped at tears falling down her cheeks. Marcos held her tighter.

“I’ve told you I’ll keep you safe from the slugs,” Marcos promised once more. “That’s only provided I stay alive to do it, that you send a warning to my brother, and as long as Nova isn’t hurt.”

“I give you my word, Prince Marcos. And to seal the bargain, I give you my weapon.” He turned the laser over to Marcos and stared at him. “I’m in your protection now. I trust you to keep
your
word.”

“Why should Marcos do that? You never did,” Nova cried.

“Your father might have been my rival, my dear. I do know who you are, and I remember Bellos Drayton and your mother, Risa, as pitting themselves against me on numerous occasions. But I can assure you … Prometheus wanted them dead and would have killed them no matter what. It was Prometheus who used the plasma during the insurrections. Not me.”

“Then why didn’t the slugs just kill you, too, if you’re so noble? Why didn’t he just take the gems and leave?” Nova asked.

Forrell shook his head and ran shaking his hands over his face. “
Because
, my girl. Slugs won’t do manual labor. They needed humans to enslave. You should know this by now. And Prometheus needed someone on our planet’s surface to answer calls from deep space. Someone human who could appear on a vid-screen as an elected official and not raise suspicions. He was trying to keep his presence here as secret as possible. All so he could gain the wealth needed to attack Luster. He believes the king, queen, and the entire Constellation League will never recover from such a horrible, decimating blow to their morale if Darius dies later tonight. He wants to take Marcos back to Luster, kill him there, and make an example of him. Without any other heirs old enough to take the throne, the king will be forced to man a warship himself and fight for his planet’s safety. In that event, King Dar will likely be killed. Prometheus knows how reduced the league fleet is. Any losses now will almost crush their chances for a galactic defense. He hopes to win himself the empire. Even if his own losses are substantial.”

“He means to kill my entire family,” Marcos uttered more to himself than anyone else.

“You see how it is, sir. It’s to my benefit to keep you and your brother alive. Prometheus won’t have use for any human once he can attack and destroy your planet’s defenses. He’ll find other races to enslave. And with our gems, even if he doesn’t have a ready fleet of warships now, he has an almost unlimited supply of wealth to buy off those of the criminal element to help him; criminals who’d glory in killing any enforcer they could get their hands on. And there are many such lawbreakers since the wars have been over.”

For a long moment, Marcos stared into the distance, then back at Forrell. “My brother can take any cadre of ships if he’s warned in time. The
Titan
is fully equipped.” He grabbed the governor by the front of his long robe and pulled him roughly forward. “If you’ve lied to me, I’ll see you dead. And in such a way you’ll have prayed the slugs had taken you. Do you understand?”

Adaman threw up his hands in defense. “I swear, Highness. This place will keep you safe so long as Prometheus doesn’t have time to notice I’ve taken out the surveillance equipment he uses to watch me. At the last minute, you can warn your brother yourself. I’ll take you to my communication console, and your brother will never set foot on the planet until he’s defeated Prometheus, and it’s safe to do so. In the meantime, all we have to do is keep
you
safe from slugs still hiding on the planet’s surface.”

“So we sit and wait,” Marcos angrily said as he paced a few steps.

“We shall transmit just before sunset. Until then, please, be seated and eat. You’re likely cold and hungry. I would have come to you sooner and offered help, but I didn’t dare try to hide you until the circumstances were right. As I’ve said, I’m being watched constantly and must make excuses when I disappear. I have many justifications in my arsenal. Just as I have medicines should your burns require tending. The healer is welcome to use them,” he liberally offered with one hand raised.

“The only thing that will help now us is an incubation chamber. But you managed to make sure we didn’t have any,” Nova shot back.

“Again, the slugs—”

Marcos hauled the man to a pile of cushions and forced him into them. “I don’t want to hear any more excuses. I’ve given my word, so keep your mouth shut unless you’re spoken to and until it’s time for me to talk to my brother.”

Adaman nodded and proceeded to pour himself some ale with a shaking hand.

Marcos kept the laser aimed at him, but addressed Nova. “You may as well get some food in you and stay warm yourself. Just in case we have to run. Make sure Forrell eats out of any dish first.”

“I will,” she softly told him as she sat on the other side of the room, as far away from Forrell as she could get.

She wasn’t hungry, and none of the delicacies on the tables could possibly induce her to eat. But she slipped small portions of food to Una from plates Forrell had chosen. She wasn’t losing her pet now that there might be some chance the governor was telling the truth.

To keep her anger at bay, she kept her attention on Marcos. She now witnessed the strong, staunch enforcer he’d always been. With Forrell’s explanations, it was easier to forgive King Dar. She was sure now that the ruler of Luster had tried to help. And she was heartily ashamed of all the terrible accusations she’d made before knowing who Marcos was or what he did for a living. He, in return, hadn’t hated her. Instead, he’d held her in his arms and made love to her once more.

If tonight went badly, she’d at least been with the one she loved. Many had died on Delta Seven who couldn’t say the same.

• • •

Marcos willed himself to keep a cool head.

Fear over what the night would bring kept forcing him to plan options he’d never have considered.

If he couldn’t warn Darius, the
Titan
might be surprised by slug warships hidden somewhere in this sector of space. And if the
Titan
went down and Darius with it, he would
have
to survive until help could come. He’d have to transmit a simultaneous message back to Luster, though it wouldn’t get there for a very long time. And that meant running and hiding again. The population would likely be decimated, and his and Nova’s chances for survival would be almost impossible. Before he’d let the slugs have her, he’d kill her himself. And that would be as low as he would ever sink.

He silently prayed to the Creator that if it came to that, he could do the deed quickly and painlessly.

Then he considered another dangerous aspect.

How many others like Prometheus had access to the knowledge that the League’s fleet wasn’t at full strength? The launch ports for Luster’s fighting ships were highly restricted areas and guarded constantly. The crews knew their own safety depended upon keeping the rebuilding of the fleet secret. But he surmised that having so few ships on patrol might have been cause for gossip. That gossip might have spread to outer sectors where brutal savages like the Limaxians dwelled.

He glanced at Nova and prayed he’d never have to do what his heart told him he
might
. Taking her precious life to keep slugs from getting her was the last option. The thought was too horrifying. By the same token, he’d hope someone on Luster would never let the rest of his family perish at the hands of Limaxians. No one should have to die like that.

Finally, he sent a silent prayer forward for his brother’s safety. Not just because Darius was the heir to the throne, but because he loved him fiercely and wanted to see him again. Darius would search every planet in the known universe to see
him
safely home. That was how close they were and always had been.

More than anything else in his life, Marcos wanted this over with as soon as possible. He wanted to be back on Luster, as far from this colorless planet and its horrors as he could get. And he wanted Nova with him. He wanted a chance to start over with her. But the dreams could only become reality if he was careful. It was all up to him. And that responsibility was the worst of his life.