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Chapter 24
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Dynan followed Carryn out of bay two into bay one across the span of a wide corridor. Gaden’s transport craft and the midrange ship that would take the rest of them to the planet sat in this bay. To Dynan’s surprise, so did the XR-30. He looked at Carryn for an explanation. “I thought we were sending her to drift.”
Carryn shrugged. “So did I. You’ll have to ask Trevan about this one, since he’s so prone to going behind my back about things like this.”
Dynan eyed her at the choice of words. “I’ll do that.”
Trevan and Lycon entered the Bay through a different archway, both of them grinning about something. They were obviously headed toward the XR-30, but stopped when they saw Dynan and his questioning glance. Trevan grinned, producing the control pad from his pocket and a moment later the ramp hissed open.
“What is this?” Dynan asked.
“This is Drake being an absolutely great fellow,” Trevan said.
“You mean it’s fixed?”
“Fixed and better equipped than it was before.” He gestured to Dynan to go on board.
Carryn frowned at him. “Didn’t you think the rest of us would have wanted to know about this?”
Trevan held up his hand. “Yell at Drake if you want. He told me not to say anything about it, so I figured it would be okay.”
Dynan grunted at that and walked up the ramp, moving first to the flight deck. He looked around at all the new instrumentation, much of it unfamiliar to him. Trevan joined him. “Does it work?”
“Oh yes. I took it out for a test flight before we left Trea.” Trevan smiled at Dynan’s frown. “It won’t take you long to learn the new system. It’s easier than the old one.”
“I liked the old one.” He shook his head, still looking doubtfully at the sophisticated controls. “Besides, once I’m King who’s going to let me fly anyway?”
“I will,” Trevan said seriously.
Dynan smiled for a moment. He leaned against the frame, still looking around and finally nodding at the changes. “Thank you, Trevan.”
“I thought going home in this ship would be appropriate.”
Carryn came forward, eyeing the new equipment as well. “Everyone is on board. Gaden and Lycon are standing by in the transport.” She looked at the instruments. “Does it work?”
Trevan sat down in the pilot’s chair. “I don’t know, Carryn. Guess we’ll find out.”
Allie came in, taking the co-pilot’s seat while Trevan laughed at Carryn’s expression. The ship’s engines hummed to life. “When ever you’re ready,” Dynan said, eyeing the controls one more time before turning for the hold.
Everyone had gathered and found a seat. Dynan continued back to his room, listening as the engines started to rumble. An odd, donging bell rang through the ship, making him jump at the sound.
“Prepare for launch, please,” Trevan’s voice echoed through the ship.
Dynan moved to a chair, shaking his head at the bell. He felt the engine’s power increase and the gentle sway of the ship as it rose off the deck. He found the new panel that would activate a built-in view screen and ran his finger along the slight edge. The first corner he reached activated it.
He sat back, watching as Cobalt’s blue surface slowly filled the screen, intently noting every detail, the formations so familiar, though partially obscured by white swirling clouds. He almost couldn’t believe it was real, or that he was really going home.
He frowned then, noticing how slowly they approached. “Trevan?” he said, activating the intercom.
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t we be going in a little faster than this?”
“No. We’re jamming Central Control right now.”
“Jamming them? I didn’t think that was possible.”
“It is now,” Trevan said. “Lycon and I have been working on it for a while. It only works on smaller ships like the XR-30, which includes troop carriers.”
“Oh. Well, that ought to be handy to have. Just don’t let anyone else know about it, all right? Some of these inventions of yours could land us in trouble later on in the wrong hands.”
A few minutes later the ship shuddered slightly as it entered the atmosphere. Dynan shook his head at how easy that was and turned back to watch the green brown lands rolling beneath them, too many emotions playing through his mind.
Behind so many years of built up anticipation, fear clouded his ability to think clearly, draining confidence away into extinction. He knew that a trap was waiting for him. He knew what Maralt was doing to Loren. He knew the risk he was taking by bringing so few men with him. He didn’t know what any of them could do to change the horrible outcome.
The ship slowed slightly. The ground was much closer, its features growing distinct. He saw a mountain range in the distance, lowering to a broad expanse of green land. Trevan slowed the XR-30 steadily, bringing them down. Behind them, the sun set in a blaze of colors. A moment later, the land was blanketed in darkness.
The ship lowered toward the ground, slowing for the final approach to the Beren Mansion. Trevan avoided flying directly over the farmsteads that dotted the land, if only for courtesy’s sake. There wasn’t much risk that any of these outlying farms could send a warning. They gave the Beren Port a wide berth, flying far below detection levels for port to pick them up.
Another mountain range came dimly into view, as did the first of Cobalt’s moons, rising in bright fullness. “Isn’t that the most beautiful sight?” Trevan asked.
Dynan smiled, nodding to himself. He rose, moving to the flight deck. “We’re getting close,” he said as he passed through the hold. Carryn had already moved forward, sitting in one of the extra seats.
“How’s it look?” Dynan asked, taking the other.
“So far, so good. No patrols. Nothing to indicate we’ve been spotted,” Trevan said, keeping his attention on the controls. He steadily slowed until they were moving at a near crawl. “I’ve picked up an energy source on the mansion, so it may be occupied.”
“Won’t they be surprised,” Dynan said, frowning slightly, watching the forward view screen. They approached from the south, bypassing the town of Beren. The ship rose over a hill, and as they crested it, Dynan saw the outline of the mansion. Light shone clearly through all the ground floor windows. A grove of trees stood off to the right, and Dynan directed Trevan to set the ship down there, then turned to Allie. “Tell the troop carriers to set up a patrol once we’re down, but keep everyone else on board. This could be a very brief stop.”
“Right,” Allie said, looking at the house as he relayed that order.
Dynan frowned again, then returned to the hold with Carryn, where he explained what was happening. “I don’t know who’s living here. So, do what you have to and keep them from getting out any kind of warning. We’ll secure the house. As soon as we do, Gaden will head for Rianamar. I’m giving him six hours to get there, get the information, and get back to us. That will put our arrival at the Palace shortly before dawn.”
He paused for a moment as the XR-30 gently touched ground. “Marc, I want you to stay here with Geneal.” He stopped, eyes suddenly distant and unfocused.
Carryn took his arm, turning him. “What is it?”
For a moment he didn’t answer, confused by the sensation he felt. He saw Marc had the same expression and shivered. An inexplicable sense of presence continued.
“Dynan?”
“I don’t know what it is. You don’t feel it?”
“No.”
“Then it isn’t Maralt.”
“Hopefully not,” Carryn said. “Still?”
“Yes,” Dynan said, frowning. “It’s still here.”
“Not too strong,” Marc said, standing.
Dynan shook his head. “No, this isn’t that close.” He frowned again and thought he should recognize this. The same and somehow different. That stopped him. The same as what, he asked himself. Different how? He wondered suddenly what he was even thinking.
“Maybe Marc should come with us,” Carryn said.
Dynan looked at her. “What?”
“Maybe Marc should come with us,” she repeated.
He nodded absently, looked at Marc and frowned because he’d lost the trail of thought. “Let’s go get this started then.”
Ralion opened the ramp, glancing out. The air that entered the hold held the sweet scent of fresh grass and wild flowers. Everyone breathed deeply as they filed off the ship, cautiously but at the same time confident. They were home. This was familiar ground.
“Damn, that feels good,” Marc said, looking up at the moon and the canopy of stars stretching from horizon to horizon. Beside him, Carryn looked with him, then seemed to search for something, found it, and turned Marc in that direction. She pointed slightly above the western horizon and Dynan realized she was showing him where Cadal was among the stars.
Marc smiled briefly, but his expression soon changed. He bowed his head, turning abruptly from that direction and found Dynan watching him. He almost took a step back, but lowered his gaze instead. Dynan waited until he looked up again. “Ready?” he asked him, then included everyone else. There were nods all around. “Let’s go then.”
They set off at an easy walk, listening for any abnormalities in the night sounds, every sense alert. They didn’t carry a light, using the moon’s growing brightness instead.
The peace was abruptly shattered when a bird exploded from the tall grasses just in front of Ralion, who by reflex drew his sword and reached for his laser rifle at the same time. Everyone jumped at the sound, then chuckled lightly at each other. Sheed patted Ralion on the back, listening as the bird flapped away into the dark. Ralion held a hand to his chest, leaning over briefly.
The mansion stood lit against the night. The lake glistened in moonlight off to their left. As they neared, they heard the muted strains of music. “What is this, a party?” Dynan asked.
“It certainly looks like it,” Carryn said, pointing. A woman dressed in a flowing gown, accompanied by a man in formal attire, walked out onto the back portico where they shared a brief conversation before they returned inside.
Dynan frowned darkly. “Let’s go find out who these people are.”
“Easy, Dynan. We don’t know how many of them there are.”
“All right. Get twenty of our troops off the carrier.”
Carryn relayed the order. “We’ll need to get to that comterm fast. Why don’t you give us a quick ground plan?”
Dynan nodded, but waited for the troops from the carriers to arrive. They did so quickly and quietly, impressing him with their stealth. He saw Mikk Jorg and Jarrid Rohn among them. There were a couple of the others from that initial team who guarded Loren. Dynan described to them all what the mansion looked like.
On the grounds there were several structures other than the main house, the barn and guesthouse the most prominent. The mansion was a two-story stone building, which could house twenty or so guests, with a sub-floor below ground. A wide portico that matched the front of the building also encompassed the middle of the back. Just inside the rear doors, a corridor ran almost the length of the building. To the right of the doors three rooms opened, one into a group of small rooms, the offices Ambrose Telaerin used to use when he visited. The middle door was a sitting room that connected to the formal dining room. On the left of the central hall that opened to the main entrance there was a small ballroom. There were a number of sitting rooms and parlors. Stairs on either side of the hall mounted to the second floor. A balcony ran square with the center hall and another corridor spanned the front of the building.
“Second floor, down the left front hallway, the third door is where the comterm used to be. My old study. I suspect it’s still there. Gaden, Allie, it’s your job to get up to that room and guard the comterm. The largest room is the ballroom and it’s likely everyone will be there. If not, that’s where they should all be gathered.” Dynan looked to Boral and he nodded.
“Trevan, Lycon you’ll take the back doors with five men,” Boral said. “I’ll take the rest and secure the building from the front. The main purpose of this exercise is to gain access to the comterm. We don’t want anyone to get away, but it doesn’t seem likely that these people will be a threat to us. Minimal force. This shouldn’t be a problem. Caution and common sense people. Let’s move.”
Ralion, Sheed, Marc, and Carryn remained with him while the others started toward the mansion. Dynan watched as Boral and fifteen men skirted the building around to the front entrance. He reported a few minutes later that he was in position. Trevan led his team onto the portico, followed closely by Allie and Gaden. With Ralion and Sheed leading the way, the rest of them moved up the short flight of stairs to the back doors.
Dynan turned for a moment and looked down over the slopping lawn. New spring growth was evident everywhere. The grounds had been newly tended, but he saw in the moonlight, areas that were overgrown with weeds where gardens once grew. The central fountain wasn’t bubbling water.
Marc joined him, a frown of confusion crossing his face as he looked around. “I feel like I’ve been here before.”
“This is where I brought you,” Dynan said, checking over his shoulder the progress inside. He pointed at the fountain. “Right there.”
Marc shook his head. “It’s different.”
“It’s real this time,” Dynan said and turned back to the doors. It was time to go.
Groups of people gathered in the main hall and a few others drifting into or out of the ballroom. Dynan didn’t recognize the twenty or so he got a good look at. He saw a woman, standing closest to the back door turn in their direction. “Now, Boral,” he said softly.
Boral walked into the mansion through the front doors, the noise turning the woman’s attention. His weapon wasn’t drawn, though visible. Everyone else turned his way, their astonishment evident at seeing fifteen armed men dressed in black camouflage pour into the house. At the same time, Trevan and Lycon moved inside with their men. Gaden and Allie followed and they immediately started for the left stairs, rushing by shocked men and women, and then taking the steps two at a time.
In a large voice, Boral began issuing orders to the mansion’s occupants, telling them all to move into the ballroom. Trevan and Lycon did the same thing, ushering people along, keeping Allie and Gaden in sight until they took the corridor at the top of the stair.
Many of the guests realized what was happening, their alarm turning swiftly to fear. Dynan watched from the doors for a moment, nodding finally to Carryn, and they went in.
No one noticed, preoccupied with being herded into the ballroom. Memories crowded into Dynan’s mind of all the other times he’d walked through those doors and down the hall. The white marble hadn’t been polished in some time, but still gleamed in the light. Even the air smelled the same. Like home.
He stopped abruptly when they reached a point about midway down the hall, looking at a patch of bare wall. His mother’s portrait, that had always hung there, was missing. He had to wonder why anyone would want to take it or how they could have managed it, considering the size of the painting. He swore under his breath. Of all the things that could have been different, that was one he hadn’t expected. He swore again and kept going.
Boral had everyone moved into the ballroom by the time Dynan reached its entrance. It was all very fast and very orderly. The men were re-deployed, leaving a few in the ballroom, with the rest moving back outside to surround the house.
A loud voice, nearly hysterical with rage broke through the silence. “I demand to know the meaning of this. Who is responsible for this outrage?”
Dynan stiffened as the ranting continued, recognizing the voice. With Ralion and Sheed preceding him, he moved to the ballroom entrance. “That son of a bitch.”
Dynan’s cousin Gauvin Telaerin still yelled, demanding answers from a stone-faced soldier, who did an excellent job of ignoring him. Dynan froze when a woman’s much calmer voice silenced Gauvin.
“I want to see your superior officer immediately,” she said to the unfortunate soldier, her tone icy but controlled. Dynan remembered well how perilous it was to cross Liselle Telaerin.
“Welcome home, Dynan,” Carryn said, smiling slightly.
Dynan only shook his head as he stood in the entryway, unable to completely believe she was here. “Of all people,” he muttered.
His appearance drew attention from Liselle and a startled murmur rippled through the gathering as more heads turned to him.
“Everyone keep your eyes open,” Carryn said, as recognition spread from face to face. Ralion moved a step in front of Dynan, with Sheed flanking his other side.
There was a good deal of hesitation among those facing him, until one young woman stepped aside and bowed deeply. That motion started similar behavior among the guests, bows spreading through them wave like.
One man didn’t follow as quickly as he should have, drawing Dynan’s eye. Years of always disguising his reactions kept any sign of recognition from his face, but Lyle Dowd grinned as he bowed his head. Dynan nodded to him briefly as he moved through the parting crowd. They made a path, directly to Liselle and Gauvin.
They stood apart from everyone else, nervous and very apparently afraid. Liselle drew herself up and Dynan saw her shaking. She seemed to shrink away from him the nearer he came. “Well, isn’t this a ... surprise,” he said, having a difficult time controlling his anger.
“Your ... Your Highness,” she said. She looked the same with glossy brown hair that asked to be touched. Her face was thinner, but she was just as beautiful as ever. “Dynan. Surprise? This is a-amazing.”
“I think you might be forgetting something, Liselle,” he said through clenched teeth, his voice very low.
She didn’t understand him. She bowed to him, which only made him angrier. He reached down and pulled her up, close enough so only she could hear him.
“I’m certain you were told to never set foot in this house again.”
“You were gone,” she whispered, trying to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her go. “No one expected you’d come back here after all this time. In your absence, I have as much right to this house as anyone.”
“And you think you’re just spitting distance from the throne. Sorry to disappoint you, Liselle. You’re not even close.”
“What do you mean? I’ve never—”
“Don’t protest innocence with me. Or should I explain to Gauvin exactly what you did to try and trap me into marriage. I wonder how familiar he might find the story.”
“You wouldn’t. You were to blame as much as I.” She pulled in a breath. “Dredging up the past won’t help anyone.”
“Least of all you. I suppose there’s enough punishment in just being married to you,” he said, stopping her when she began to speak. “Don’t cross me, Liselle. You know where I’m going. Should I succeed, I will, sooner or later, get around to dealing with you. I’d start looking for another place to live now.” He turned to Gauvin. “Come with me. The rest of you people go on with what you were doing. You’re going to be here for a while.”
Dynan turned and with obvious reluctance, Gauvin followed. They left the room amid hushed murmurs and bows.
