Hostile Takeover: A Space Opera Adventure (Luminous Void Book 3), page 18
Skyler gave her one of his cheekiest grins. “Your pretty face is all I need, darlin’.”
James whacked him on the shoulder. “You can’t say thank you like a normal person?”
Skyler gave him an injured look as he rubbed his arm. “I’m just being friendly.”
Dalia, who Callum remembered had been quite pretty once and still was attractive in a maternal way, bit her lips to stifle a smile that threatened to turn into a giggle.
Tatianna cleared her throat. “Thank you, Dalia. Please help yourselves, gentlemen.”
Skyler gave the housekeeper a wink as she slipped out of the room.
When Dalia had gone, James nipped a perfectly square sweetcress sandwich from the platter. “So, about the kidnapping; was anyone else lingering around when you put the kids in the carriage?”
“Lord and Lady Osvaldo were waiting for their carriage, but he was too drunk to see anything, and she said she didn’t. She had her eyes on one of the grooms. The only people who might have been paying attention were the offworlder guards.”
“Corpsec?” Skyler said around a mouthful of yellow jelly-crinkled pastry. “Not Royal Guards?”
Aunt Tatianna shook her head. “After you and Tik…” she caught her breath. “The queen and the general decided we needed more security than the guard could provide. They’ve hired people from the corporation to reinforce palace guards.” The tightening of her mouth conveyed her disapproval. “It’s supposed to be temporary until we can train more of our own people.”
James grunted. “Yeah, right. Temporary.”
She nodded. “There’s been no effort to recruit or train.”
“So what happened with Alanzo and Suwen?” Callum asked.
“Their carriage was attacked outside the palace square. The coachman, Laron, said the assailants were wearing prayer robes. He saw them clearly before they threw him off the coach. He struck his head and lost consciousness. It’s a miracle he remembers anything at all.” Tatianna’s face grew ice cold. “Whoever it was, they’ve made no demands. Nothing. The general says the Royal Guard have searched the city, but he can’t seem to explain why he hasn’t found them.”
Skyler wrinkled his nose. “Something doesn’t smell right. Why would they leave a witness?”
“Maybe they thought he was dead,” Callum said. He thought he remembered Laron; a rail-thin man, a little stiff but devoted to Aunt and Uncle and especially Alanzo and Suwen. “Or they didn’t care if there was a witness.”
“Or that’s exactly what they wanted,” James said.
Dalia re-entered the room and curtsied to Callum. “Pardon me, lords and lady, but Her Majesty sends for His Highness to attend her immediately in her quarters.”
Callum winced. He wasn’t ready for this. He waved a hand, trying to look confident and unconcerned. “Thank you, Dalia.”
Tatianna stood. “We’ll go with you as far as your mother’s rooms, then Dalia can take your friends to their room.”
The living quarters were on the opposite side of the palace, and Callum was glad he’d had a chance to sit down and fortify himself for the walk. They reached the second floor, and James and Skyler were about to follow Dalia down the hall. The king’s and queen’s suites were on the third floor, one level up. James cocked his head at Callum. “You okay? You don’t have to do this on your own.”
“Yeah,” Skyler said. “Do you know what Salome will do to me if something happens to you?”
“Go ahead. I’ll fill you in later. I promise.”
Dalia led them away with Skyler already flirting.
Callum and his aunt climbed the stairs to the top floor. A pair of guards in blue-and-gold uniforms with plumed helmets flanked the doors of the queen’s quarters.
Callum braced himself. He felt like an eight-year-old boy being pulled along by his governess or his tutor on his way to receive another lecture on the duties of a prince or the obligations of royalty or the importance of courtly manners. They hadn’t been parents the way Jovaugn’s parents were. They were like the statues in the throne room—bigger than human, their faces stony with disapproval.
He reached the door to his mother’s chambers and took a deep breath. This time was different. He was different. He flung the door open to find his mother’s outer chambers just as he remembered. Damsen-wood panels lined the walls and displayed a variety of paintings—the king mounted on a green-black yenorubi, the queen posed in the formal flower garden, a family portrait with twelve-year-old Callum in front of his parents looking stiff and uncomfortable.
Familiar sweet floral perfume filled his nostrils as a door across the room opened to admit a woman in a simple dark-green gown belted with gold. She was shorter and rounder than her portraits, and the artists had wisely left out the age lines surrounding her mouth and bright green eyes. If Callum hadn’t known better, she would look like the kind of stout and jolly mother who always had a candy in her pocket and a pat on the head for a lively boy. She caught sight of Callum and for a moment her features were frozen, then they shifted and reformed into an expression almost like something he would expect to see on his Aunt Tatianna.
Before Callum could utter a word, his mother threw herself at him and embraced him so tightly that he gasped for air.
“Callum, oh Jehovah, it’s really you. Praise him for bringing you back to us.”
Callum stood motionless, his hands at his sides. Finally, he took her by the shoulders and set her away from him. “Save it, mother.”
Her emerald eyes widened. “Callum Navier Tyrese, is that any way to speak to your mother, the queen of this realm?” She stepped back slowly and deliberately. “Your return signifies the bounty of blessings Jehovah has bestowed upon us. We shall rejoice in his name and be grateful to the father of all fathers.”
Callum felt his lip curl. “Drop the performance, Your Majesty. You aren’t any happier to have me back than I am to be here, especially given the reason I’m here. What happened to Suwen and Alanzo? Did you have anything to do with that?”
She pursed her lips. “Mind your manners. You don’t actually think I would harm a hair on those children’s heads.”
Callum folded his arms against his chest. “So it’s just one big coincidence? First me disappearing, then Alanzo, the next in line for the throne?”
“We haven’t given up on your cousins. I have complete confidence in the Royal Guard.”
“Forgive me if I don’t share your confidence. The only reason I came back is to find them.”
“Leave that to those better qualified than you.”
“Like General Waltham? Did my father put him in charge of that?”
“Your father has been unable to do anything. The shock of losing you caused him to contract a brain infection. I have been fighting for his life, but without you, he’s lost his will to live.”
Callum couldn’t believe he was actually feeling a knife of guilt in his chest. He had a childish fantasy that when his father thought Callum was dead, he had finally realized how much he loved his only son. “I want to see him.”
She shook her head. “The doctor just gave him his final dose of medicine for the evening. You might be able to see him tomorrow. In the meantime, we have a thousand things to do. We have to instate you as his regent. We can make the formal ceremony and celebration for tomorrow night. That will give me time to summon the noble families to witness.”
Callum’s jaw almost hit the fluffy, pale pink carpet he stood on. “You want to throw a party? Now? While my cousins are being held by the Jehovah knows who?”
“Ceremony is important, and I’m certain the Royal Guard will have found your cousins by then.” The queen looked him up and down. “We need to get you a new wardrobe and a new signet ring.” She sniffed the air. “And when was the last time you bathed? Seriously, Callum, I taught you better. You are representing the royal family. You need to act like it.”
Callum had imagined landing on Qwell, finding his cousins—he’d kind of glossed over that part in his planning—and escaping before he got sucked into his old life, his dead life. It was dawning on him now that it wasn’t going to be that easy. He was going to have to navigate his mother’s world at least long enough to find the kids. The problem was he was never good at lies and subterfuge. Luckily, he knew just the person who excelled at deceit and manipulation. Skyler would be more than happy to help him devise a plan of attack.
His mother paced the room. “Carnivalia is the perfect time for a ball. The noble families are going to be ecstatic to have you back. Your new friends will attend, I assume. I’ve heard they’re quite colorful, or lack color, whatever that means. How did you ever stumble across them?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. “The entire planet has been on edge, but your return has brought us hope... hope that our kingdom will not only endure these trials and tribulations, but will emerge triumphant.” She wasn’t really talking to him anymore.
Callum ground his teeth. “Mother, it’s been a long, trying day. I’m going to my rooms. I’ll see my father in the morning, then I’ll discuss what needs to be done about the regency.”
He didn’t look back or wait for an answer as the door shut behind him. He descended the stairs to the second floor. He needed to find Skyler and James.
Halfway down the hall, he flung open the door of the scarlet room. “There you are. Come on. I’m going to go see my father.”
The crimson coverlet on the bed matched the canopy, the floor-to-ceiling drapes, the pillowy carpet, and even the paint on the walls. Skyler, on the other hand, was dressed in black—a stiff tunic embroidered in gold thread. He looked over his shoulder. “I don’t know whose room this is, but they’ve got tolerable taste in clothes.”
“It doesn’t belong to anybody,” Callum said. “You arrived here without luggage, so Dalia had clothes sent up for you from household storage.”
Skylar struck a pose in front of the mirror. “Well now, I call that hospitality.” he turned to face Callum. “How did things go with mother of the year?”
“Don’t ask,” Callum said. “I need your help, it’s my father. “
“What about him?”
“According to my mother, he’s gravely ill.”
“And I look like a medtech to you?”
Callum shrugged. “I want to get in to see him, and I might need backup. Let’s get James.”
Callum strolled down the corridor and stopped two doors down from Skyler on the opposite side of the hall. He threw the door open, revealing a room that would have been a mirror image of Skyler’s, except that the overpowering color was bright blue instead of red.
James sat at a dressing table in front of a large oval mirror, brushing his left ear with a soft brush, his furry forehead draped in a mask of thin muslin steeped in something herbal and tangy. He dropped the eyelash brush on the table and turned to the door, his whiskers bristling with outrage. “Is that your idea of knocking?”
Skylar sputtered with laughter. “I get the ears. What’s the point of the thing on your face?”
“Can’t a guy groom himself in private?” James picked at the mask, peeling it off his forehead.
Callum regained his composure. “OK, I really need your help. I have to find out what’s going on with my father.”
“What about your father?” James headed to the adjoining bathroom, and Callum heard water splashing.
Skyler tilted his head toward the door. “C’mon, pretty boy, we’ll catch you up on the way.”
Once James had washed and dried his face, Callum led the way through the back service corridors. The king’s private rooms were at the far end of the residence wing, and the servants’ stairs allowed them to avoid passing by the queen’s rooms.
Callum eased up the latch of the narrow door and glanced through the crack. A guard in a dark-blue uniform stood outside his father’s chambers. Callum pushed the door wide and strode confidently out. The guard stiffened, reaching for the sword at his belt. Before he could draw it, he caught sight of Callum’s face and froze. Then he broke into a broad grin. “Callum, praise Jehovah, it’s true. I couldn’t believe it when I heard you were alive and well.”
“Falid!” Callum leaped forward and threw his arms around the man.
When he stepped back, the guard looked Callum up and down. “I saw the body they said was you. Dammit, the face was mangled beyond recognition, but everything else… I could have sworn on my own life it was you. I didn’t think these weary eyes would ever rest on you again.”
Callum motioned for Skyler and James to join him. “These are my friends,” he explained to Falid. “I wouldn’t be here without them.” He turned to James and Skyler as they reached his side. “This is Falid. He was my personal guard since I was a kid. I called him my shadow because he literally went everywhere with me.”
Skyler and Falid sized each other up. Falid had always been a little too easygoing for a guard, but with his large arms and massive shoulders, he was definitely burly enough to give a proper thrashing to anyone who threatened one of his charges.
The guard’s grin faded as he looked down. “Except the one day… the one day you needed me and I wasn’t there to protect you…”
Callum gripped the man’s forearm. “You couldn’t have been with me, and who would have thought I would be attacked on my uncle’s estate?”
Falid nodded, and his face tightened. “I’m guessing you’re here to see His Majesty.”
Callum nodded.
“I’m under strict orders not to allow anyone in, only Her Majesty and the doctor.” Falid leaned closer. “I’m afraid he’s not doing well.”
Callum had known it wasn’t going to be as easy as just walking in. “So my mother informed me. I won’t disturb him. I just want to see him.”
Skyler flashed a conspiratorial smile. “C’mon, the poor kid’s been gone for months. Are you really going to stop a long-lost son from seeing his ailing father?”
Falid gave Skyler a look of either annoyance or confusion. His eyes went back to Callum. “Just for a moment. Waltham will have my hide if he finds out.” He fixed a threatening eye on James and Skyler. “You two can’t stay out here, so just wait in the outer chamber.” He cracked the door, allowing Callum, Skyler, and James to slip inside.
Callum paused in the sitting room as the outer door closed softly behind them. A wheel of resin candles hung from the ceiling, casting a yellow light over an arrangement of small chairs and occasional tables where visitors could sit while waiting for the king’s attention.
The room reeked of something pungent. The smell of sickness? Some medicine the doctors were using to treat his father?
Skyler looked around. “For a king, your dad is quite the minimalist.”
It was true. His father preferred plain, heavy furniture with no gilding, and the cushions on chairs and couches were plain blue velvet, no brocade. The room contained no flowers or ornamental knickknacks. Nothing that Skyler could slip into a pocket, in other words.
“Stay here and don’t touch anything,” Callum said. He left his friends in the vestibule and crossed the sitting room, the king’s private dining room, and finally opened the door to his father’s bed chamber. The pungent smell was stronger here, concentrated by the shuttered windows and the heat of a fire in the big hearth. The smell seems to be coming from two large potted plants set on tables on opposite sides of the king’s bed. They were pretty enough plants, with broad leaflets framing bright-red flowers. Maybe the smell was supposed to be healing or to drive out evil spirits.
The only light came from the fire that overheated the room, but that was enough to show him the ruin on the bed. His father’s gray-streaked hair was lank and tangled with sweat. His chest rose and fell erratically with his stertorous breathing.
The nausea that had lingered at the edge of Callum’s awareness surged up again, along with the memory of the chanting bishop and a box and his father’s face rigid with disgust. He choked back the threatened nausea.
Maybe it was the light, but the face was sunken and pallid as a cadaver. Callum rested his hand on his father’s shoulder, feeling the bone hard and sharp under the skin. He must have lost at least 10 kg since Callum had last seen him. Okay, so maybe his mother wasn’t lying. He sure wasn’t going to get any answers from his father.
Callum felt giddy. Something about the dim light, the stuffy air, and the sound of the old man’s breathing made his head swim. He wished he could feel something—anger, pity, frustration, even hate. He just didn’t. All he felt was sick, and he had a headache coming on.
Callum emerged from his father’s chambers to find James plunked on the couch and Skyler sitting in the chair beside a writing desk. Callum plopped down beside the buck. He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub away the headache. “I’m surprised you two weren’t out here rummaging through my father’s things.”
“What’s there to steal?” Skyler got a good look at Callum’s face. “How is dear old dad doing? Is it as dire as Her Royal Bitchness said?”
“He didn’t even stir when I walked in, and he’s pale and thin as a mosquitostork.”
“And this is something you care about?”
He grimaced. The smell of the plants in his father’s room was lighter here, but he must have gotten sensitized. It seemed to coat the inside of his nose.
Falid popped his head into the door. “Sorry, Your Highness, but time’s up.”
Callum straightened. He’d seen what he needed to see, which was that his father was going to be no use to anyone. “Thanks, Falid. I owe you.”
CHAPTER 15
SALOME
Salome left Lurayne in charge of Prucilla, Ramadi in charge of the ship, and Sweetums in charge of Lenny and climbed onto a people-mover with O’Brien.
The people-mover took them on a plunging ride through tunnels and chasms and across gulfs of void between one section of the station and another. Salome was soon completely disoriented. She could spend the rest of her life searching the station and never be able to find her way back to Luminous Void on her own.
