Rebellion (10 page)

Once they had him secured, they hoisted him to his feet, keeping a firm grip.

When he met her gaze, hatred, pure and simple, rolled off him. Hatred directed at her.
What the frack?
A storm of emotion blasted her. Their intense attraction battled with his emotions. Clenching her fists, she stepped closer to him. “What have you done, Ty?” It came out with more force than she intended.

Dani stood next to her, and Ian and Armond shot her a questioning look.

“You know him?” Ian asked.

Ria was barely keeping it together. The intensity of their connection made her feel like her mind was splitting. She grabbed her head and squeezed. “Why did you do that?”

“What is going on here?” A man’s voice broke through her fog.

She turned to find a thin-framed man with greasy hair. He wore a uniform she recognized as Mitah security. He had an air of authority and appeared to be in charge. Others in similar uniforms filed in and started clearing the scene of onlookers. In the immediate area, the globes of colored light turned white and formed a circle. A moment later, the air between the globes shimmered and an opaque wall surrounded the group. The sound was muted and the light had an eerie, ethereal quality to it.

“I’m Lieutenant Sou, and someone better start talking before I have you all arrested.”

“He killed the man over there.” Ian motioned to Jara’s body.

The sound of Nini’s wailing reverberated around the small space.

“Someone shut her up,” Sou said.

One of the officers approached Sou and spoke in his ear.

“Jara? Are you sure?”

The man nodded before leaving them.

“Well that’s just perfect, isn’t it? Not only do we have a dead body, but it’s the chancellor’s new favorite.” The smirk on Sou’s face made him look almost pleased.

Ria’s control started slipping again. “Tell me why, Ty?”

Ty shot her a look of pure malice. “I don’t have to tell you anything.” His voice was so low she almost missed it.

“You know this Curzan?” Sou asked.

Ria clenched her fists. “Yes. No. I—wait, Curzan?”

Sou looked between Ria and Ty. “Yes, Curzan. He was to be rounded up next week for impersonating a Mitan. There’s a whole lot of ’em getting ready to pay for their crimes.”

Sou called out to his men who took Ty from Ian and Armond. For some reason, they placed an additional set of bands on his wrists. The moment the bands were in place the intense barrage of emotion from his psi stopped.

Ria took a shaky breath. The absence was both a relief and a pain. “What do you mean he’s Curzan? I thought they didn’t have psi. That man has psi.”

“And exactly how do you know this?”

Sou was making her uncomfortable and angry.

There was a commotion beyond the perimeter. Laric’s voice could be heard arguing with someone on the outside.

“Let him in,” Ria said to Sou.

“Are you giving me orders now?”

Ian stepped next to her before she could give the lieutenant a special kind of order. “Easy, Ria. This is their planet. We have no authority here.”

She motioned to the body. “The man making all the noise out there is Leon Jara’s son. He’s a friend.”

Sou nodded to one of the officers, and Laric stepped through.

Ria moved to go to him but Sou stopped her. “Hold on. I’m not done with you yet.”

The look of devastation on Laric’s face as he knelt down next to Leon was heartbreaking. He wrapped an arm around Nini who’d gone silent and was clearly in shock. One of the men with Sou was scanning the body with a recording device. A group of medics with a hover stretcher waited nearby. No one seemed to know what to do with the two grievers nearby.

Ria swung back to Ty. After their intense connection, it was like he wasn’t there. All she had were her own emotions, which were seriously messed up. She couldn’t sense anything from him. She guessed it had something to do with the extra set of bands on his wrists. Just as well, given the effect he had on her.

Ian reached a hand out to Sou. “We’re the protectorate team for a planet called Earth.”

“So I heard.” Sou looked around the scene with distaste. “This is only the second time we’ve had a murder at the Summer’s Ball. Chancellor isn’t going to like it. Now, someone want to tell me what exactly happened?”

“You’ll have to ask Ria. She had him down before we arrived.”

“That so?”

Ria bristled at his tone. “Yes. That’s so.”

Sou eyed her from top to bottom, his skepticism obvious. “Well? Let’s hear it then.”

“All I saw were the last few moments. Leon had a hold of his arm. The man had a laser blade and…and I wasn’t fast enough. He slit him from stomach to head.” Ria looked at Ty, not able to comprehend why he would do it. Her anger stirred. “Leon has two young children. Did you know that, Ty?”

He wouldn’t respond. Just stared at the ground a few feet ahead.

Ria wanted to grab hold and shake him till he answered her. “Did you know that?” she yelled.

His head snapped up, and he stared at her. She sensed his emotions but it was devoid of psi, which was a bizarre sensation for her. His anger was nearly psychotic.

“You better get him out of here,” she said. “He’s getting ready to snap.”

“Not with our bands on him,” the Lieutenant said. “That one of your abilities? Reading emotions?”

“Yes.” Ria resented having to answer the man.

Sou eyed her a long moment. “Just so we’re clear. You know Leon and his son there, and you know the killer?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know Leon?” He looked skeptical.

“I did my military training with Laric. We stayed with them when we were here shopping.” Pain stabbed at her when she thought of Laric.

Ty’s head tilted slightly, and his anger intensified.

Ria shook her head.
Are you insane? Is that it?

“And how do you know this Curzan?”

Ria flashed back to her night with Ty. He’d dropped his gaze back to the ground, but she knew he was remembering as well. “We went on a date when Dani and I were here last. That’s all. One date. I haven’t seen or talked to him since that night.”

Sou eyed her critically, again scanning her body head to toe. “You went on a date with a Curzan?”

“I didn’t know he was a Curzan. You said yourself he was impersonating a Mitan.”

Sou grunted. “Well, you’re not to leave Mitah until I can look into this further.”

“Sir, with all respect, I tried to save Jara and captured the killer.”

“That don’t mean there isn’t more to the story here. Where are you staying?”

Ria wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but Ian’s voice stopped her.

“Let it go. We need to cooperate with the locals. Tell him what he wants to know.”
Unlike most, Ian was strong enough to project his thoughts.

Ria couldn’t answer, but his intent was loud and clear. She took a calming breath. “We’re staying with the Kartons.”

“That be Darl Karton? Up on the hill there?” Sou nodded toward the mountains that towered to the west.

“Yeah, up on the hill.”

In the end, he insisted on questioning the rest of the team and verifying they were, in fact, staying with the Kartons.

Ria was sure he was deliberately dragging things out. He finally let them go, and she was able to grab a few minutes with Laric before they took away his father’s body.

It made her sick. If only she’d gotten to him sooner. How could Ty do that?

Once the space had been cleared and cleaned, the lights reassumed their bright colors and the wall disappeared. The guards escorted Ty away without incident. Outside their bubble, the ball had carried on as though nothing had happened.

She watched Ty’s back disappear into the crowds. People laughing and dancing replaced his departing form. There was a major disconnect between what she saw and how she felt. Part of her couldn’t believe the man that had brought her so much pleasure was such a brutal killer. It didn’t fit.

Dani took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I think we’re done for tonight.”

Ria nodded and followed the others. She thought of Laric and his half-siblings. She thought of Ty and her connection with him. He was a Curzan and a killer.

Watersedge was ablaze in colored lights as they flew over the festivities in the cruiser on the way back to the Kartons. It was beautiful and so very sad.

Loc Zorton stood in the inner sanctum of the Portal Masters’ Guild on Sandaria. Deep underground, the ancient walls of roughly carved-out mertoc rock stood sentinel over the center of the room where a large object radiated a deep red glow. Gas-fed torches lined the walls, providing the only source of light. Inside the smooth stone-like surface lived the heart of the guild’s power—the key to their ability to create interstellar portals, a secret known only to a few. Loc’s short term as head of the guild had been tenuous at best, but he felt he was making progress. Now, however, old Merrin was up to something. His gnarled fingers tapped on the surface of the wood table and his black guild robes smelled of smoke.

Loc usually liked this cool, dark space, but not today. “You must be mistaken. We all know you can’t create a portal with only one end. Something has to anchor it. Basic theory.” It was clear from the look on their faces that they knew something he didn’t. Merrin loved his games and mysteries.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Loc crossed his arms, enjoying the weight of the hand-stitched robes worn only by the head of the guild.

Merrin smiled over his steepled fingers. “He had an anchor.”

“Of course, he had an anchor. A second device, as always.”

Merrin shook his head slowly. Loc waited until it was clear the old Portal Master was going to make him ask for it. “What then?” he said through gritted teeth.

“Our own portal.” Merrin pulled out his com and projected a holo display. It showed the standard waveform of an active portal on Sandaria. Old data, it wasn’t live. “We know when Armond ported Rucon’s EPs away from Gordat Prayda, it was here.” He pointed to a slight phase shift in the waveform. The signature was what the Torogs used to track down the devices from Vertan. Devices that allowed Vertans to create interstellar portals of their own. They’d discovered the planet almost thirty years ago. The Vertans had been exploring the stars for only a few decades and had gone out of their way to remain undetected by the empire. They were mere children among the stars. Abilities such as theirs were not easily hidden, and once the guild found out, they moved quickly. With the help of Torogs, the planet was quarantined, their space-faring capabilities removed, and a prolonged mission to apprehend all portal-making devices was launched. Very few knew of the existence of the planet, and even fewer their ability to create portals.

Merrin studied Loc’s face, allowing time for the information to sink in. “Within the next minute, Rucon himself was ported directly to Earth.”

“We already know this,” Loc said.

“Yes, but what we failed to notice was this.” The data on the holo blinked out and was replaced by a new set. Loc took a closer look. “Those are the portals on Earth. So?”

Merrin used his psi and created two vertical lines in the graph display. “This is the time frame Rucon ported out.”

“That’s the normal signature for one of our portal moves.”

“Correct.”

Loc was starting to see where this was going, and he didn’t like it. “You’re saying that wasn’t one of us?”

“Now you see.”

“He used a Vertan device on one end and our own portal to anchor?” Loc shook his head. “Surely, we would have discovered it by now if that were possible.”

The old man shrugged. “The Vertans could easily hide such a thing from us. Or perhaps they don’t know they can do it themselves.”

“We can’t let word of this get out. They could create portals across the galaxy anywhere ours exist. That would be our undoing.”

“Agreed. The fact that they have yet to do so makes me think they are unaware of the possibility, or perhaps there is something else going on. Regardless, given our lack of full Masters, we must find a solution.”

“I suppose you have one?” Loc resented having to ask, and Merrin knew it. The old man had nearly won Loc’s position as head of the guild and made no effort to hide his animosity.

“I do. Until now, we have used our abilities to alter their devices in the only way possible. To send them back to their own planet. But what if we were able to bring them someplace else? Someplace like here, perhaps.”

Loc tilted his head. “We don’t have that ability.”

“We don’t. No.” Merrin leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms. “But they do.”

Loc thought a moment and came to the only conclusion. “You want to bring Vertans here and use them to create portals for us.”
Slavery.
He almost said it aloud, but he didn’t. It was instantly clear that the plan would work. They could go on making portals and the GTO would know nothing. It was a good idea. “They could never leave Sandaria.”

“Correct.” Merrin’s thin lips pressed into what passed for a smile.

“I believe your pet Torogs could assist in rounding them up.”

“They could.”

Loc was certain the old man had already implemented the plan, but he didn’t need to advertise his disregard for Loc’s command.

“I regret that this is necessary,” Loc said, “but in order to save our guild, I believe it is our only choice. Have the Torogs track down twelve Vertans. Bring them here immediately upon capture. I suspect it will take some convincing to get them to cooperate.”

“If I were you, Loc, I’d be more concerned with what we’re going to do if the GTO discovers we’ve had an entire planet under quarantine for nearly thirty years.”

“Do you think one second
ever
goes by without that weighing on me?”

“I should hope not.”

Loc spun around and left the chamber. Merrin was right, of course. It was how they were maintaining their power. The planet of Sandaria, although beautiful, had no natural resources to speak of. The reason for its affluence was the Portal Masters. Planets paid dearly for the creation of portals and continued paying in order to maintain them. Limitations inherent in portals would mean interstellar ships would always be necessary, but having one or more portals on a planet was a sign of great prestige. Vertan and its people must be contained at all cost.