ROD’H
The unexpected slaughter at the daily lens-alignment ceremony left the Ildiran people reeling. Taking charge of the Prime Designate, Rod’h had fled from the mob, avoiding even the guard kithmen, trusting no one. Keeping hidden, he dragged Daro’h through the streets, desperate to get back to the Prism Palace. He knew that at any moment, some innocuous-seeming citizen on any street corner might turn murderous.
So the two of them ran alone. Rod’h felt vulnerable, but he considered it a greater risk to be near other Ildirans whom the Shana Rei could possess.
Fortunately, the violent outburst faded quickly. As they ran up the steep paths to the Prism Palace, guard kithmen hurried to meet them, but Rod’h took one look at their wicked crystal weapons, their muscled bodies, and their armor, and ordered them to step aside. He was all too aware that they could become enemies.
Daro’h understood the danger as well. “Do as he says!” he commanded. The guards dutifully stepped away and let the two of them run into the Palace.
After the ordeal, the Prime Designate was frightened but not helpless, not panicked. He seemed to understand that Rod’h was trying to help him, and he drew upon his friend’s strength. “Thank you.” He panted as they barricaded themselves in his quarters. “I feel safe with you.”
Rod’h kept his voice hard. “It is possible that I am immune to the taint from the shadows, like my brother Gale’nh, but do not let yourself feel safe with anyone.”
Daro’h collapsed on a cushion and tried to catch his breath. Several of his children were playing in his quarters, along with five breeding partners who had come to spend the day. Illi’v, who had designed their new garments, cried out when she saw the clothes spattered with blood.
In a commanding voice, Rod’h ordered them all out. Daro’h objected. “My children—I need to keep them with me. I need to protect them.”
“You need to be alone and sheltered,” Rod’h insisted. He didn’t want to think about the Prime Designate’s children snatching up sharp-edged toys and lunging at their father. Lowering his voice, he added with more compassion, “We cannot allow the Shana Rei to use your own children against you, Prime Designate. This is a terrible time.”
* * *
He had not expected an opportunity to show his worth so soon, and Rod’h had not done it in a calculating way, but because it needed to be done.
After an urgent discussion, he convinced the Prime Designate that the dead mob members had to be gathered up and incinerated immediately. The risk of the spreading shadow stain was too great. Daro’h agreed, issuing the necessary orders and instructing the handlers of the dead to wear full exosuits, as if they were operating in a hazardous environment.
In the absence of the Mage-Imperator, the Ildirans followed the Prime Designate’s orders without question, and Rod’h was glad—even proud—to help Daro’h impose order. The new victims were all vaporized inside crematory crucibles.
Even after that grim task was completed, though, Rod’h didn’t rest. Mijistra had to be stable when the Mage-Imperator returned, and he and Daro’h had little time to make it so. Surely, Jora’h would already be on his way.
Adar Zan’nh returned to Ildira first, however. As soon as his battered flagship reached the Ildiran system, Rod’h could sense Gale’nh—alive, but shaken from his encounter with the Shana Rei.
Though Rod’h wanted to keep Daro’h isolated from crowds, the Prime Designate was required to receive the returning Adar. The Ildiran people would be even more frightened if the future Mage-Imperator continued to hide in his chambers.
Speaking on Daro’h’s behalf, Rod’h called for twice the usual contingent of guards to stand around the perimeter of the skysphere audience chamber, but with an excess of caution, he refused to allow any of them to approach closer than the lowest step of the dais. He stood partway up, as if he alone could defend the Prime Designate. Concealed beneath his robes, he carried two powerful projectile weapons. If the shadows should seize control of a mob and turn them against Daro’h, he would gun them all down.
Although the Solar Navy flagship had already transmitted reports of what had occurred on Hiltos, Adar Zan’nh and Tal Gale’nh came to deliver a personal report nevertheless.
Rod’h was shocked to see the haughty man accompanying Zan’nh and Gale’nh. Though mad Designate Rusa’h had changed in appearance during two decades of isolation, every Ildiran knew the face of the man who had nearly obliterated the Empire through his alliance with the fire elementals.
Even more shocked, Daro’h lurched up out of the chrysalis chair. Rusa’h strode in beside the Solar Navy officers as if he were an equal. The man had once been corpulent and hedonistic, but now he appeared drained, burnt out from the inside and merely a ghost of who he had been.
“Why have you brought that evil man here?” Daro’h demanded, unconsciously touching his burned cheek.
Adar Zan’nh seemed angry as well. “Great apologies, Prime Designate. He demanded it.”
The disgraced man glanced at the threatening guard kithmen, then made a dismissive gesture. “You have nothing to fear from me. Our Empire is sorely threatened, and I may be able to help.”
Rod’h could not restrain his retort. “You have already caused us enough damage. Controlled by you, the faeros incinerated my own father on Dobro.”
“Do not hold to narrow thoughts in times of crisis,” Rusa’h said, maddeningly calm. “What was once our greatest enemy could now become our most powerful weapon. The shadows are already here, woven throughout space and tangled in the thism. How do you plan to fight them?” His lips quirked in a cold smile. “You just saw for yourselves that Ildirans cannot defend when the shadows strike from within.”
Prime Designate Daro’h tried to sound strong as he stood beside the chrysalis chair. “The Mage-Imperator just strengthened our alliance with the Confederation, and our races will work together to fight the Shana Rei.”
“And if that is ineffective?” Rusa’h asked. “Do not be afraid of the faeros. Think! What better way to drive back the creatures of darkness than with allies who are composed of fire and light? If we can summon—and control—the faeros, they could defend against even the darkest shadows.”
“They could also set Mijistra aflame, as they did before,” said Rod’h. “Is that how you mean to save us?”
The mad Designate frowned at him. “Who are you? Why do you speak for the Prime Designate?”
“He is my friend,” said Daro’h.
Gale’nh added, “Rod’h is my brother.”
Adar Zan’nh said, “As commander of the Solar Navy, I have seen the terrible threat posed by the Shana Rei and the black robots. I cannot in good conscience dismiss any possible way to fight against such a terrible enemy.” He lowered his voice. “Though I am gravely uneasy at the prospect.”
Daro’h flushed, making the scar even more prominent on his face. “We dare not invite the faeros back. We cannot trust them. I am Prime Designate, and I will not allow it!”
Rusa’h lifted his chin. “Then I will wait and speak with the Mage-Imperator when he returns. As I learned so painfully and so clearly, the Ildiran Empire has only one leader.”