Asaro, Catherine - Skolian Empire 3 - The Last Hawk

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Tor Books by Catherine Asaro THE SAGA OF THE SKOLIAN EMPIRE Primary Inversion Cach the Lightning The Last Hawk TheRadiantSeas

The Last Hawk Catherine Asaro A torn DOHERTY ASSOCIATES BOOKNEW YORK

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. THE LAST HAWK Copyright © 1997 by Catherine Asaro All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. Edited by David . Hartwell Map by Ellisa Mitchell A Tor Book Published by torn Doherty Associates, Inc. 175Fifth Avenue

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New York,NY1000 Tor Books on the World Wide Web: http://www.tor.com a registered trademark of torn Doherty Associates, Inc. ISBN: 0-812-55110-9 Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 97-15568 Firs! edition: November 1997 First mass market edition: December 1998 Printed in the United States of America 0987654321

To my daughter, Cathy, with love

Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the readers who gave me input on thisbook: Dr. Lynne Deutsch, Dr. Steve Goldhaber Dr Margaret Graffe, Dr. Kate Kirby, Dr. Malcolm LeCompte and Mr. Tim Oey. I give special thanks to the above because they were the first ever to see my fiction and their insights helped me learn to write. My thanks also to Dr Joan Slonczewski, to Eleanor Wood of Spectrm Literary Agency to Scovil, Chichak, and Galen, and to the staff at Tor in ' particular Tad Dembinski and David G. Hartwell A lo'vins thanks to my husband, John Kendall Cannizzo, for his care and support.

Contents Map Prologue BOOK ONE: YEARS 960-966 OF THE MODEN AGE I: Dahl II: Haka III: Bahvia BOOK TWO: YEARS 971-976 OF THE MODERN AGE

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IV: Miesa V:Varz VI: Kam Appendix I: The Estates Appendix II: Glossary Appendix III: The Ruby Dynasty Appendix IV: Timeline About the Author

Prologue The ship's controls wobbled in and out of focus. Kelric tried to rub his eyes, but his arm refused to respond. The exoskeleton on his pilot's seat had jammed around his body. When he fumbled for the catches, his fingers just scraped over the mesh. On his fourth attempt, the exoskeleton opened and he fell forward, sprawling across the weapons grid in the co*ckpit. The only illumination came from the red warning lights that glowed al over the control panels, bathing the co*ckpit in a dim crimson radiance that didn't reach its shadowed recesses. One green light shone among the red. An engine. One of his inversion engines. It was the only fully functional system on his ship. It was also why he still lived. "I'm inverted," Kelric mumbled. The same hit that had crippled his Jag fighter had kicked it from the sublight universe into inversion, hurling him away from his attackers before they could blast him into slag. The medkit above him hadn't released. He reached for it, but his arm faltered in midair and dropped back onto the grid. Not that it mattered. He needed far more help than a kit could give, more help even than provided by his nanomeds, the tiny cell-repair machines in bis body. Pain throbbed in his arm, from a bone-deep gash. In the exoskeleton he had been numb, probably because it injected him with an anesthetic. Or perhaps the biomech web in his body had released a drug that blocked pain receptors in his brain. It would give him only so much of the drug, though, before its safety routines cut it off, to prevent an overdose or brain damage. Now his arm hurt too much to move. Even if it intended to stay put, though, his ship was going somewhere. At least it had

2Catherine . taken him away from the Traders. He had been out alone, »i reconnaissance, when the Trader squad caught him. He iM they all inverted into the gravity well of a star and tff!i their careers as kindling for the local furnace. , An alarm sputtered. Lifting his head, he saw that thejMit light had turned yellow. The last inversion engine was ffm

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Kelric swallowed. He had to find a place to land. Closing rtt eyes, he tried to clear his mind. i | Bolt, respond, he thought.

•

The computer node in his spine answered. Attending f! messages traveled along bio-optic threads to his brain, VJ|R tiny bioelectrodes in his brain cells convened the signals 'iiUri; neural firing patterns. It worked in reverse as well, letting iWi "talk" to the node. ; Status ofnanomeds, he thought.

Nanomed series G and H functional but depleted, thei answered. Series 0 nonfunctional. All other series exhibit •mMil function. ; Kelric grimaced. His nanomeds repaired his body. B!l med consisted of two parts, a molecule designed for a i«T lar task and a picochip, an atomic computer that operated )it quantum transitions. Altogether, the picochips formed i picoweb that told the meds what to do and how to replicate themselves. But it was Bolt, his spinal node, that ran the show. Like the conductor of a symphony it directed his entire bio-1 mech web, which consisted of the picoweb, the bio-optics threading his body, and the bio-electrodes in his brain. The system had been integrated into his body fourteen years ago, ' when he was twenty, the year he received his officer's co- 1 mission. Bolt, he thought. What happened to my biomech web? ' You were linked into the ship's Evolving Intelligence brain when we were hit, so your web took a lot of damage. I am making repairs, ? but the malfunctions are to extensive for me to fully correct. Proceed » immediately to an ISC medical facility. If he hadn't hurt so much, Kelric would have laughed. Wish I could do that. He swallowed. Can you give me a status report? Accessing optical nerve, Bolt answered.

_————————————————————— The Last Hawk 3 A display formed in Kelric's mind, with different views of his interior systems. Then the display "jumped" out in front of him so it looked like a ghostly image hanging in the co*ckpit. Posterior tibial arter damaged. Bolt highlighted a diagram of his circulatory system, showing a torn artery leaking blood. Kelric exhaled. His best hope to repair himself came from the final component of his internal systems: his Kyle centers. Unlike the biomech web, which had been created for him, he had been born with Kyle mutations, courtesy of his unusual genetics. Micscopic organs in his brain made it possible for his brain waves to interact with those of people nearby, letting him pick up their moods and on rare occasions their thoughts. He could also enhance the output of his own brain and so exert increased biofeedback control

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over his body. Kelric concentrated, trying to augment his biofeedback training. He helped speed structural components to the damaged artery, control his blood flow, and bring in nutrients. When he finally surfaced from his trance, he felt steadier, enough so he could sit up, holding his arm against his chest. An alarm warned again of the dying engine. "Navak," he said. 'Take us out of inversion, into sublight space." No response came from the navigation-attack node in the ship's Evolving Intelligence brain. "Navak," he repeated. "Initiate navigation mode." Silence. Bolt, give me the ship's emergency menu, he thought. Bolt produced a display of emergency psicons, like computer icons but in his mind instead of on a screen. He concentrated on the emergency-shutoff psicon for the inversion engines, the symbol of a running cheetah turning into a crawling snail. Only one of each animal appeared in the display, a reminder that he had only one functional engine. The cheetah was blinking off and on, warning it would soon disappear as well. Toggle emergency shutdown, he thought. Nothing happened. Bolt, toggle it! A twisting sensation hit Kelric, as if he were being pulled

4Catherine through a Klein bottle, the three-dimensional equivalent of ;| Mobius strip. The effect intensified with a nauseating ilH?nl wrench and then stopped t Bolt? he thought. ? We have dropped into normal space, Bolt answered j Kelric sagged in his seat, hit with an urge to laugh. fflBffi!T! Safe. He was safe. r He was also lost. None of his holomaps worked and | many files in the ship's El were degraded. He couldn't j accurate data. He knew only that he was light-years away rfifft his previous position, drifting in space like interstellar MWt What he needed was a beach to wash up on. "Navak," he said. "Respond." \ Nothing i Kelric slid his hand around his waist, searching his W?. back. Sockets in his spine, wrists, and ankles let him *r»)iiiM»l| his biomech web to exterior systems, such as the El brain •)i his ship. When a connector prong clicked into a socket, it linked his bio-optics to the ship's fiberoptics. The sockets } could also act as infrared receivers and transmitters, a less reli-' able form of communication than a physical link, but better' than nothing. When he had fallen out of the exoskeleton, its prongs had pulled out of his body. He tried to push one

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back into his lower spine, but the prong wouldn't stay put. Activate infrared receptors, he thought. ' IR nonfunctional Bolt thought. • Kelric swore. He was running out of options. Taking a 1 breath, he marshaled his thoughts. With his Kyle enhance- ; ments, maybe he could couple the fields of his brain directly \ to those of the ship's El brain. It helped that he was inside the I ship, essentially on top of the El; the electrical forces that dominated his brain activity fell off rapidly with distance. Concentrating, he tried to kick the El awake with his mind. A ghostly green marble appeared in the air in front of him, casting eerie light over the co*ckpit. It took him a moment to recognize it as a holomap's crudest default display i Kelric exhaled. "Planet," he rasped. ' Navaks audio made a scraping noise.

- The Last Hawk 5 He tried again. "Planet." Nothing. Navak, he thought. You have to respond. A sentence formed in the air, green words in Navak's default font. HAV#"%SPOND IS AN UNIDENTIFIABLE COMMAND. Relief washed over Kelric. PLANET, he thought, with more intensity. The word appeared under Navak's response. PLANET WHAT? Navak printed. FIND ME ONE. OR A BASE. SOMEPLACE HABITABLE WE CAN REACH BEFORE ENGINE FOUR DIES. SEARCHING, Navak printed. Kelric waited. And waited. Maybe no place was near enough. Or Navak was too damaged to answer. Or the engine couldn't— OBJECT 85B5D-E6-JHEO SATISFIES YOUR REQUIREMENTS, Navak printed. WHAT is IT? DOES 'IT' REFER TO OBJECT 85B5D-E6-JHEO? For pugging sake, Kelric thought. What else would I mean? NO DATA EXISTS ON 'PUGGING S %' AS AN OBJECT, Navak printed. HOWEVER, 'PUGGING' APPEARS IN LANGUAGE FILE 4 UNDER PROFANITY. DO YOU WANT TO

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KNOW MORE? WHAT WANT, Kelric thought, IS EVERYTHNG YOU'VE GOT ON OBJECT 85B5D—he squinted at the screen—E6-JHEO. S A PLANET. NAME: COBA. INHABITANTS: HUMAN. STATUS: RESTRICTED. Kelric swallowed. Inhabitants. Help. He just might survive this mess after all. TAKE SHIP TO COBA, he thought.

BOOK ONE Years 960-966 of the Modern Age

> ? ' 1 I \ i) 1 l! t. t 4 < ... .

Dahl

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t' 1 I
B| With so many people, ripples bounce back and forth, h»F cancel, make new ripples." She paused. "Perhaps that 't ultimate wager. Power. Control the Quis and you »r)iW1 Twelve Estates." ———————————————————— The Last Hawk 31 Kelric wanted to ask more, but he was tiring. He leaned back in the pillows to gather his strength for new questions. "Ai," Deha murmured. "I should let you rest." "It's all right." He regarded her. "I meant to ask you_what news is there about the starport?" Her inscrutable look came back. "I wrote the Ministry as you ask. They verify what I tell you. After your people made the Restriction, they took away their ships. I am sorry. We have no port here." 'There must be some outpost." "None." "They would have left a base," he said. "I can find it with equipment on my ship." "The crash destroyed your ship." That wasn't what he wanted to hear. ISC had started to experiment with combining the El brain of a Jag starfighter and the bomech web of its Jagernaut pilot. So the Jag's routnes could run on Bolt and Bolt's could run on the Jag When he disconnected from the ship, it usually felt like the mental equivalent of logging off a computer. What he felt now was dierent, a void, as if part of him had vanished. Bolt he thught. Have you had any luck reaching the Jae No. However, at this distance from the crash site, it is unlikely I will pick up any significant signal. Surely you can get at least a residual interaction is s a logical assumption. However, I detect nothing Keinc considered Deha. "If the crash destroyed my ship that noroughly, how am I still alive?" You don't remember? You ejected." aolt, did the Jag eject me? o ripS option My records of the crash are too rbled o etermine what actually happened. a11 a" P grief at the Jag's destruction. It o kn ought to Iepot The P designers needed nemaTL T modiflcations w creating a complex naclr101 the P' brain and its Pt Bt ha claimed no ISC personnel were on planet for him to con-

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io starport, no base, no outpost, no nothing. "e didn't believe it.

32 Catherine Asaro————————————————————• Prepare Kyle probe, he thought. Your Kyle centers are injured Bolt thought. Kelric tensed. Why didn 't you say anything before? I was too damaged. As I effect repairs to myself, I can better i itor you. If his Kyle centers were injured it meant he had sufii brain damage. Kelric had always known that linking a mech web to his brain had its risks, but realizing that in th and facing the reality were two different things. His Kyle centers were microscopic organs, the Kyle Ai ent Body and Kyle Efferent Body. KAB and KEB. The t acted as a receiver, its molecular sites activated by fields duced in other people's brains. The KEB acted as a "tt mier," strengthening and modulating the fields his brain produced Everyone had a KAB and KEB, but in I people the organs were atrophied. In rare cases like his, genes that controlled KAB and KEB growth were mut unable to carry out their duties. So the Kyle organs conti to grow. Having an enhanced KAB and KEB, however, wi enough to make a Kyle. The brain also had to interpret the nals those organs received and sent. That function was cai out by specialized neural structures called paras, aided b neurotransmitter psiamine. Most Kyle operators could decode the moods of other people, but a strong operator c pick up intense thoughts if they came from nearby, particui if the sender was also a Kyle operator. Focusing inward, Kelric sensitized his KAB to Deha. It like brushing the outer seawall of a hidden grotto. Bubbles faced in her thoughts: sexual arousal, thoughts of her Esta Pain seared his head, vaporizing the link. Blotches da in his vision. "So quiet," Deha said. "Is something wrong?" "I'm just tired." Given his uncertain situation here, he no intention of revealing his diminished capabilities. She set aside his tray and helped him ease under the c Sliding in to him, she tucked the covers about his body. ing her so close unsettled him. His last tour of duty had t nightmare of skirmishes separated by extended periods of

__—————————————— The Last Hawk 33 lation while he ran reconnaissance. He hadn't touched a woman in a long time and Deha was no ordinary woman. When Deha leaned over him, Kelric laid his hand on the small of her back. She stiffened as if a pulse of

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electricity shot up her spine. She didn't pull away, though. Instead she looked down at his face, her expression gentling. Then she kissed him. At first he was too startled to respond. When he recovered, he slid his arms around her waist and returned the kiss. Warning, Bolt thought. Amorous interaction with a potential enemy is unwise. Bolt, go away. I am inside our body. I cannot leave. Busy with the kiss, Kelric didn't respond. After a while Deha raised her head, holding herself up with her hands. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who. He caught a wisp of her mood, a sense of affection. Something else was there too. Regret? When he tried to concentrae, a headache lanced his temples. He dropped his arms, his forehead knotting with pain. "Ai," Deha murured. "I am sorry. I must let you rest." She stood up by the bed, watching him with her gentle expression, one he had never seen her use with her staff. She touched his hair, her hand brushing his curls. Then she withdrew. As he closed his eyes, he heard the door whisper closed. . Bolt, he thought. / need an analysis of this situation. The analsis is simple. You shouldn't be kissing someone you don't •rust. Ai, but, what a kiss. Kelric smiled. / still need an analysis what she told me about there bein no !SC base. ou need to sleep. I will run calculations while you are down. He had given up telling Bolt that humans didn't "go down" ike computers when they slept Bolt had decided its coinage •vas appropriate and resisted changing it. So Kelric simply •losed his eyes and let sleep settle over him. his ought to be interesting Captain Hacha thought They ouldn't move Kelric to the dice table, so they moved the ble to him, a blue lacquered stand with legs a handspan in

34 Catherine Asaro————————————————y ••I length. It was easier for Kelric now that the doctors removed his bodycast and put him in lighter casts hat i went to midthigh. He sat up in bed and they set the table, his lap. They were six players: Hacha and Rev pulled up chairs :':

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the bed, Balv and Llaach sat on the bed, and Ixpar sat ci| legged between Balv and Llaach. Kelic blinked at t( seeming unsure what to do with so many people. : At least he had shown some modesty and put on a s During the heat wave that descended on Dahl, he had t* sleeping bare-chested, wearing only pajama trousers spli the sides to accommodate his casts. Athough watching [ that way had its pleasures, Hacha otherwise failed to see ',' Deha found him so attractive He was too big, for one th Men shouldn't be taller than women. The idea of a male :' rior repeed her. | Llaach adjusted the pillow behind his back and sp slowly, so he could understand their language. "Are you o fortable?" | He answered in his heavy accent. "Yes. My thanks." | They each picked a die from Hacha's pouch, and Rev erf up with the highest-ranking piece, an orange heptagon. opened the session and the game took off.

Hacha built her defense fm polyhedrons, a wall bloc the other players. Her offense thrust forward in a phalan, wedges. Rev attacked with bar-builders, battling her backj forth across the board. Balv tried to make a spectrum, but it running afoul of Ixpar's defensive walls. Llaach floundered a ony a few moves and Kelric paced his dice randomly i Then Hacha saw it; xpar was taking advantage of her tie with Rev to sneak in an attack. Hacha diverted her phal toward a weak spot in the girl's defense. Ixpar deflected attack, but Hacha had slowed her down. Turning her atten back to Rev, she finally trapped him with one of her fav moves: hawk's claw—a ring of dice closing like a claw aro his highest-ranking structure. ••; "Hen." Rev exhaled. "The win goes to you, Hacha." Balv smiled. "For a while there I thought Ixpar woud you both."

_————————————————————The Last Hawk 35 Hacha nodded to Ixpar. "You payed wel." It felt strange to omit the title Successor Karn when she spoke to the girl. But she agreed with Deha's decision; it was best not to reveal Ixpar's position to Kelric. The less he knew, the better. Ba)v studied the board. "It looks like Rev is second and Ixpar third." He grinned. "But I beat you, Llaach." Llaach peered at the pieces. "Pah," she grumbled. "You did." Kelric was obviously trying to follow the conversation. He spoke with halting words. "I am last?" "Yhee," Balv said. "I'm afraid so."

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"I understand not yhee," Kelric said. When Ixpar started to answer him in Skolian, he shook his head. "Coban. So I learn." Hacha frowned, "Coba is the name of the world. We don't speak 'cabon.' We call our language Teotecan. Yhee is a formal form of the word yes." 'The informal form is yip," Balv added. "But you only hear it in slang." Keric tried the word. "Yhees." "Yhee," Rev said. "Yheez," Kelric said. Llaach laughed. "It's all right. Say it however you like. Your accent is beautifu." "And don't be discouraged about losing the game." Balv motioned toward Hacha and Rev. "You're playing with Dahl's best." "Keric didn't lose," Ixpar said. "He made a flat-stack. That ranks over Llaach's toppled builder." What was this? Hacha looked where Ixpar pointed and saw a neat stack of blue disks nestled behind one of Rev's towers. A perfect flat-stack and she had missed it. That irked her. She 'adn't expected Kelric even to start a structue. "I can't believe I never saw that," Balv said. Kelric tapped the table. "Is—" He hesitated, then asked par something in Skolian. "Biue," Ixpar said. : "Table is blue." Kelric tapped his stack. "Also blue. So it nde.s." . ev's laugh rumbled. "A camouflage. You'll do well, Kel-

36Catherine. "I don't believe it," Ltaach said. "I got caught by a f.ii fa*ge."

___.

Ixpar smiled. "Maybe you had other thoughts nawwif you." As the others laughed, Llaach reddened. "Blow off, oafs." When Kelric gave Ixpar a questioning look, she ? "Llaach recently took a kasi." "Kasi?" he asked.

| ,

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"Husband," Hacha said. "Llaach wed the youth Jevi." It ffi? surprise her that Llaach was distracted, married to a man as i some and charming as Jevi. He reminded Hacha of her •! band. The similarities between the two men ran deeper appearance; both were dice players in the Dahl Calanya. 3 Llaach had served on the Calanya honor guard for a time, w1 them the rare opportunity to court a Calani. It was true that in? ting her wed a Calani, Deha had bestowed her with great iW But what good was honor when Hacha could only visit her i band instead of living with him? It made her crazy. On Ri that, she was stuck with this disagreeable assignment, mij Kelric. "Ask Balv or Rev," Ixpar was telling Kelric. "They can a!T you." Balv pushed up his sleeve, revealing a gold band •i«l>lill wrist. "It symbolizes the vow that joins the woman and man. A man who wears the bands is called a kasi." Kelric glanced at the bands on Rev's wrists. "All of .f have someone?" Llaach laughed. "We've all been caught." She waSRt Ixpar. "Most of us, anyway." The girl smiled. "I'm keeping my options open." "You sound like Deha," Balv said.

«>

Kelric's reaction was so subtle that Hacha suspected »; she caught it. But she had no doubt; the moment he T Manager's name he stiffened. "Manager Dahl is alone?" he asked

Hacha spoke brusquely. "By her choice. Deha has X only Jaym."

"What happen to him?" Kelric asked. '—————————The Last Hawk 37 "He died of a fever several years ago," Balv said. "Since then Deha has been—well, different. More distant" "She doesn't want another Akasi," Hacha said "Akasi?" Kelric asked. "It's the title of a Manager's husband," Ixpar said • ? Pj saw the flicker of jealousy on the g,rl s ace. She had been around long enough to recognize t oaTD Mmlstry successor was as taken As far as Hacha could see, that meant nothing but trouble. 3 Double Circle : craz Kelric was too diffe. Too young. And toold s 3 onh kissed him' he had mitiated a re advanc

y e rules were clear: women the

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ownSs IwhT T now Young peo had th an oworl ade sese to her Besides Iric was an ottworlder half brother to the Imperator, for wind's sak 0 gre1 to see Hacha in the d arch. "Captain. My Hacha bowed. "Do you have a momen" l was going to see Kelric. Walk with me." m sone an with high Ma re eT' this wing of the th Successor Kam," Hacha said. "I don't • wise she spend so much time with Kelric."

38Catherine Aaro"I didn't realize she was there that often," Deha said. \ "She translates for him. But he knows enough now to mar age on his own." "Has he done anything to threaten her?" | "No. Nothing. But we shoud take no chances where he| safety is concerned." t Deha thought for a moment. Tel Kelric she's been neglec( ing he schoolwork and won't be able to see him as much." I "As much? t Although Deha knew she could stop Ixpar from seeing Ke e, she had no desire to antagonize the girl. "Brief visits a' all right, if guards accompany her into the room." i "I'll take care of it" | They walked in silence for a while. Eventually Hacha saii "How are you feeling?" Deha glanced at her. "Pine. Why?" f. "Senior Physician Rohka asked me to talk to you." t Deha scowled. Not this again. Ever since that minor hea attack of hers last year, her staff had been acting as if she wer. a blown-glass Quis die. Dont work so hard, dont stay up late, don't push yourself. To listen to them talk, a person wou think she was a doddering od woman instead of a vigoro Manager in her prime. | "I'm fine," Deha said. "Just don't go playing Quis with ghosts." Deha smiled. "I won't." She considered the captain. "Ho; are your Quis sessions with Kelric?" | Hacha spoke grudgingly. "He does have talent." ? "That was my impression aso." It wasn't ony his obvio knack for the game. Deha had never met anyone who learn rules and strategies so fast. At times she had an odd sense, i if he kept a record in his mind of what he learned and page through it when he had a question. At the skyroom, she left Hacha outside with the oth guards Inside, she found Keiric asleep, lying on his back the sweltering heat with the covers thrown off his upper bod leaving his chest bare. She quickly closed the door, giving hi privacy. For a while she just sat on the bed, watching him slee

__————————————————————The Last Hawk 39

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Eventually the temptation became too great and she slid her hand across his chest. His gold nipples glittered and felt more metallic than normal skin. The hair curling on his chest wasn't as stiff as true metal, but it had a smooth, cool texture to it. Kelric opened his eyes. With a drowsy smie, he sid his arms around her waist and spoke in Teotecan. "My greetings Manager Dahl." Deha leaned over and kissed him. When he puled her down next to him on the bed, she stiffened, knowing it was wrong to take advantage of his being laid up this way. But he was so wiling. As they kissed, she slid her hand along his side, down to his eg. He was wearing sleep trousers, well-washed linen that felt downy under her palm. She stroked his muscles through the thin material. Such a pleasure, touching him this way. As his kiss grew more passionate, Kelric rolled her onto her back and stretched out on top of her. Put off by his aggressive response, Deha pulled away her head. She eased out from under him and sat up. Kelric blinked. Then he drew himself into a sitting position, his plaster-sheathed legs sliding under the quit. He spoke in halting Teotecan. "Something is wrong?" She paused. "No, it's nothing." He looked puzzled, but his face gentled as she closed her hand around his. He said, "Jag, news you?" "I don't understand." He tried again. "My Jag. My ship. News have you?" So. He ventured into even more difficult territory now. "We went through every bit of debris we found," she said. "I'm sorry, Kelric. But it's al slag. Any communications equipment was destroyed." "I need look myself." Not a chance, she thought. Although they had blown up his •ip, she had no intention of letting him near the remains. Who knew what he might salvage? He watched her with an odd look, as if he were concentratig on a monologue he could barely hear. Then he gasped and doubled over, his palms pressed against his temples. "Kelric!" Deha leaned over him. "What's wrong?"

40 Catherine Asaro——————————————————————• His face knotted. "Head . .. hurts." "I'll get the doctor." "No." He lowered his arms."Nothing she can do." The door swung open and Captain Hacha strode into t room. As soon as she saw them on the bed, she

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stopped. ' apologies." She left quickly, closing the door behind her. "Kelric, I'm sorry." Deha slid off the bed. "I shouldn't ha put you in such a compromising position." She touched 1 shoulder. "I'll have Senior Physician Rohka bring you a poti for your headache." "What about ship?" "Theres nothing we can do." He watched her closely. "Your words, they make tricks light." "What do you mean?" "Are they pan lies? I don't know." You know more than you realize, she thought. "You shou get some rest." She kissed him again and took her leave befo he could ask more questions. Deha found Hacha waiting outside the skyroom. S' motioned for the captain to walk with her. When they reach the privacy of the vaulted corridors, Deha said, "You wanted see me?" "Kelric's guards gave me a strange report about Ix Kam," Hacha said. 'This morning they saw her come out his room. But they never saw her go in." "Probably she was in there before they came on duty." , "They looked at the start of their shift. He was alone. Tnl closed the door and a while later Ixpar walked out." ; "Check into it." Deha thought of Ixpar's political clout. "B be discreet." They continued walking through the halls. Finally De said, "What is it?" Hacha glanced at her. "Ma'am?" "I know you. You're worried about something."

"As captain of your escort, I have no business conceraij myself with your private life." "Then tell me as my friend."

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 41 Hacha exhaled. "To use a man for your pleasure, especially a man in so vulnerable a position as Kelric—it is unlike you." "What makes you think my intentions toward him are dishonorable?" "You certainly can't make him yourAkasi."

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"Why not?" Hacha laid her hand on Delia's arm, drawing the Manager to a stop. "He isn't worthy of you." Dryy, Deha said, "I suspect the Rhon would disagree with you as to who isn't worthy of whom." "'m sorry to be blunt. But how many other women's beds do you think he's been in?" Deha shrugged. "I wil learn to deal with his past." "What about the rest of it? He's a Jagemaut. Up until now, he's been in no condition to do much more than sleep. But he's getting stronger. When he reaies we never intend to let him go, his reaction won't be mild." "Everything you say is true." Deha paused. "But he will be my Akasi, Hacha. Whether he consents to it or not." Scroll in hand, Ixpar knelt in front of the stone wall. The Estate dungeons were a few paces to her right, damp and unused for centuries. She unrolled the scroll, a copy of the ancient Estate plans she had filched from the Dahl museum. Yes there it was; the distance between this wall and the nearest cell as shown on the diagram was less than the actual distance she had just measured on the wall. Ixpar grinned. She had begun this game years ago when she discovered the museum at Kam housed copies of the plans used to build the Estate. Comparing them with the real Kam, she found hundreds of inconsistencies. Most were changes made over the centuries, but a few were inexplicabe. She finally uncovered their secret: hidden passages honeycombed the Estate. Now the Dahl plans were giving up their secrets. Running "er hands over the stone, she found a crumbling niche where he wall met the ground. She dug her finger into it and jarred oose the cracked remains of a switch, clicking it to one side.

Holding her breath, she waited. Sometimes the ancient m??1 anisms were broken or jammed— The clink of stone hitting stone sounded inside the Bracing her feet against the ground, she leaned her weight 'ii the wall. With a grating protest, as if wakened from a R? sleep, a massive block slid inward and ponderously MWri one side. Beyond it, a passage stretched into darkness. gathered up the scroll and squeezed into the tunnel, il!T pushed the door back into place. Lifting her oil lamp, she 11? veyed the latest addition to her collection of hidden »m An unassuming tunnel made of rough stone extended ; front of her for a few paces and then turned to the left. She ff lowed it around several turns, until the passage terminated '\ dead end. An examination of the wall uncovered three i'ii! near the ceiling. It took her a while to figure out the .MHIMJF' for flipping the switches, but her efforts were finally awad with the clink of releasing pins. She pushed in the wall, ing a circular hole big enough for her to crawl through.

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Ixpar recognized the passage beyond. She had explored T| few days ago. The light from her lamp made huge Ixpar i ows on the walls, giving the tunnel a barbaric aspect, as if ;" ancient warrior queen might step out of the shadows n| moment and challenge the intruder in her domain. Ixpar .'' ined the queen; fierce and vital, gleaming in her bronze ;* leather armor. With a flourish, she whipped out an iu sword and dueled her opponent up and down the mi thrusting at the air until she vanquished her invisible foe. she dropped to the ground, laughing and gasping for inTI! I should bring a real sword, she thought. It would make i game even better. Then again, how would she explain why was walking around Dahl with a sword? Better to bring Wn thing she could hide under her shirt, perhaps a blunt-edged !.' cus in a sling. You couldn't fight a duel with it, but ((Mil were always good for knocking down enemies while you , skulking around in the shadows. She wondered why the ancient queens made these ijaaa Secret escape routes, in case an enemy took the Estate? B warriors prowled around down here engaging in w, intrigues. Or perhaps a queen made this passage so she ,

__————————————————————The Last Hawk 43 sneak into the bedroom of her concubine. Ixpar smiled. No wonder her imaginary opponent had fought so hard. She was protecting her lover. But won, Ixpar thought. I get to claim the prize. The tunnel took her to a dead end that she already knew was a secret door. Easing it open, she peered into the room beyond. Her prize lay fast asleep, unsuspecting of the warrior queen sneaking into his boudoir, his gold chest rising and falling in deep breaths. Ixpar smirked, remembering how Kelric's guards had gaped when she walked out of his room yesterday. She had enjoyed it immensely. Still, it was best not to do it again. Hacha was probably trying to figure out how she managed it. She doubted the captain would solve the puzzle, but she intended to take no chances. Leaving the door ajar, Ixpar slipped into the skyroom. She went over and sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating Kelric's sleeping form. Faced with the reaity of him, she had no idea how to proceed with her courtship. In fact, she was so discreet about courting him, she suspected only she knew she was doing it. But how could she make her intentions known with guards hulking around her all the time? She couldn't pay suit to him with an audience. Voices outside the door brought her jumping to her feet. She ran into the tunnel, barely managing to close it up before the skyroom door scraped open. With her ear pressed against the wall, she could just hear Dha's voice as she talked to Kelric's guards.

Pah, Ixpar thought. If she didn't make her intentions known to Kelric soon, it would be too late. Deha was also courting him—and doing a much better job of it.

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4 Orb Starburst Moing sun filled the skyroom as Kelric's nurse pushed ; the curtains. An autumn breeze fluttered the boy's shirt u° rippled through the pants he wore tucked into his a' boots. The gentle picture he made only added more jolt to words. "Exploded?" Kelric pushed up on his elbow. "What do ' mean, exploded?"

The fires after the crash," the boy said. "Like when W tanks on a windrider catch fire." "Starships don't run on petrol. And if the antimatter on if ship hadn't properly deactivated, it would have taken half i' mountain range when it blew." | "The mountain is still there," the boy said. "But your ?.. did blow up. Captain Hacha said so herself." I The hell it did. What his nurse described was 'mgjI unless someone set the blast after the crash. What was ? to? He pulled away the quilt and swung his cast-covered off the bed. His nurse tensed. "What are you doing?" "Getting up"

;

"You can't get up." Kelric leaned on a chair and stood up on his l'gTgT feet. Then he grinned. "Care to bet on that?" ; "You have to stay in bed" "Why? Every time I get up you people tell me to lie R Every time I talk about my ship the subject gets changed one will tell me a thing. So I'm going to find out for u "You can't," the boy said. "Not with plaster on your R| "Good point." Kelric sat down and banged his legs :M

_———————————————————The Last Hawk 45 the metal rim that bordered the bottom of the bed. Plaster sprayed out over the floor." "Stop it!" The nurse grabbed his leg in midswing. "You'l break the bones again." "Not bones." He tugged away his leg and unpeeled strips of plaster in powdery chunks. "Just casts." A grating noise came from the wall.

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Kelric stopped. "What was that?" His nurse turned to the wall. "I don't know." The noise came again. Then a panel in the wall opened and Ixpar stepped into the room. "Hey," the boy said. Ixpar pushed the panel closed, leaving a smooth blank wall. She spoke to the nurse. "Get the guards. Now." As the youth strode to the door, Kelric went back to work, peeling the last chunk of plaster off his legs. "Kelric, stop," Ixpar said. "Not a chance." He stood up and tried an exploratory step. His legs held up, so he limped across the room to a long mirror with Quis designs etched around its edges. A man in blue leep clothes looked back at him, a thinner man than he emembered. When the increased flow of blood tingled in his legs, at first -t puzzled him. Then he almost laughed in relief. His janomeds weren't dead; they were responding to his weakned condition, trying to help him. "What are you doing?" a voice said. Kelric turned to see Captain Hacha in the door arch. "Standig," he said, She used what was apparently meant as a placating voice. We don't want you to hurt yourself. Why don't you get back tobed? I'll send for the doctor" eiric limped toward the door. "I don't need a doctor." 1 rn sorry." She blocked his way. "You can't leave." Why not?" He looked around as Rev, Llaach, and Balv epped into the room. "Why are you keeping me locked up?" you need to recuperate," Hacha said. No I don't"

The last semblance ofplacation disappeared from SS "Get back into bed." Combat mode toggled, Bolt thought.

Kelric caught sight of Ixpar inching toward the door. R' ing with enhanced speed, he grabbed her arm. When all ffl guards whipped out their guns, he didn't have time to if* at the vehemence of their response. Bolt's reflex libraries RT over and bypassed his brain, sending commands straight to ! hydraulics that controlled his body. As the guards fired, he dove to one side, swinging Ixpar 'i?< the nurse so both she and the boy stumbled

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back into the rii Although he avoided most of the shots, one caught him in p shoulder. When the tiny needles punctured his skin, sffl thought: Alert: injection of chemicals into bloodstream. iin* sizing possible antidotes , As Kelric staggered Rev wrenched his arms behind f back while Llaach leveled a stunner at his chest. The mR!?,' was one Kelric had learned to break in basic training. S, twisted free, went for Llaach— | —and his legs collapsed. Kelric fell, taking Llaach with him. She shoved her Wf_ right up against his chest and fired. Then she went limp in T arms, passing out as he choked her. Numbness spread iTCTT Kelric's torso i' Switching to ful hydraulics Bolt thought.

Kelric's legs jerked as the hydraulics took control of , body. They kept him moving, like a machine, despite li} drugs coursing through his veins. Even as he jumped to ft' feet, Balv was lunging at him. He grappled with the ttiiin man, rolling him over his shoulder and slamming him to ground. At full strength, the throw would have killed STn As it was Bolt calculated only the force necessary for ' knockout and sent that data to Kelric's hydraulics, all \' a fraction of a second. : Then he was wrestling with Rev and Hacha, crashing and forth across the doorway. He twisted the stunner ••v.'y from Rev and emptied the last of its charge into the yS guard. As Hacha knocked the gun out of his hand, he «w

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 47 up his leg and caught her in the stomach, hurling her into the wall. Again Bolt calculated for a knockout rather than kill. Gasping as his hydraulics faltered, Kelric sank to his knees among the unconscious guards. The nurse also lay in a heap, caught in the cross fire of a stunner. Motion flickered in his side vision. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Ixpar just before she darted out of the room. Shoving her back inside, he closed the door. "You'll never make it out of Dahl," she said. "There are guards all over the Estate." "They won't shoot." Kelric sagged against the door, taking a labored breath. "Not if it means hitting you." Keeping his attention on Ixpar, he picked up Balv's stunner and took Llaach's knife out of her boot. "The charge needed to knock out someone my size could do you a lot of damage. And I have a hunch." He straightened up. "I think your safety is a lot more important around here than anyone lets on." "That's ridiculous." "I've spent my entire life among people with power, Ixpar. I know it when I see it." He tilted his head

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toward the wall. "Where does your secret door lead to?" "1 don't know how to open it from this side." Kelric pulled her over to the panel. "Open it." "No." He didn't bother to argue, he just heaved his bulk into the wall. After being rammed a few times, it buckled in to reveal a stone passage. He pulled Ixpar inside and limped down the tunnel, bringing her with him. As they walked, he brooded. He had finally figured out who Deha reminded him of. His first wife. An Imperialate admiral over twenty years his senior, Corey had died ten years ago, assassinated by Trader terrorists. One day she was a passionate, powerful woman; the next she was gone. Now he had the damn-fool idiocy to see her in Deha. The tunnel exited into a tower. A staircase spiraled up on the ight and a door stood on the left. He motioned at the stairs. "What's up there?" "One of the storage wings," Ixpar said.

48Catherine /f With his gun poised, he stood to one side and opened i* door revealing an empty garden. Leaving the door open, as they had gone out of it, he pushed Ixpar toward the stairs. "R| You first." Doors appeared at each landing. The first three were RBI!?g| but the fourth opened into a room filled with graceful ums ; tail as his waist. Dusty light filtered in a window midway n5 the opposite wall. I"This is crazy," Ixpar said as he pushed her inside. "It's H backing yourself into a box. Why didn't you go through garden?" ' "It's the first place they'll look." He shut the door. "I i, some answers. You can start by telling me why Coba t Restricted. What is it you're all trying to hide?" ? "Nothing. What Manager Dahl told you is true." "That you don't like ISC? You'll have to do better than STf She clenched her fists. "Did it ever occur to you that till freedom means more to us than your Imperialate? Or nv conquerors prefer to forget that about the conquered." -' "You people never intended to let me go, did you?" % "You were dying. We had to make a decision. We gave SJI. your life" She met his gaze. "But we won't trade our nSiffl?1 for yours." Kelric knew ISC wouldn't Restrict Coba and then leave g untended. That his Jag's El brain directed his ship to iWS region of the planet suggested ISC had made contact with i Twelve Estates. That meant the base or port would be >l)i«al where nearby. Given the local mountainous terrain, it w.kS| probably in the desert. What he needed was transportation. I "Where is the airfield?" he asked. | "Across Dahl. On the other side of the Calanya." "What's a Calanya?" | "Some parks and buildings. Dice players live there." ? Dice again. He shook his head, then stiffened as pain aiTT through his muscles. The stun shots were wearing off. 1;

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She watched him. "You ought to be out as flat as a Quis tB3| right now. Four hits you took and that one time Llaach had i gun shoved right into your chest."

_—————————————————————The Last Hawk 49 Kelric made no response. Instead he pulled her to a bench under the window and made her step up onto it. Looking out, he saw mountains towering over the city. He moved to one side, out of view, and motioned at the latch on the pane. "Open it." When she pushed the latch, the window banged open and wind rushed into the room. As Kelric slid off his shirt, she flushed. "What are you doing, taking off your clothes?" "Making a holster." He fastened the stunner and Llaach's knife into the shirt, then tied it around his waist. "We're going to climb down the tower." She stared at him. "Those little cracks in its wall won't support me, let alone you." "I've climbed down worse in training drills." He grasped her around the waist and lifted her onto the sill. "Turn around so you're sitting with your legs hanging outside." Sweat beaded on her forehead. But she did as he said, with more composure than many adults he had seen in similar situations. Leaning out, he saw a courtyard four stories below them. Beyond it, the city spread out on all sides. "Where is this Calanya?" he asked. Ixpar indicated a distant wall across the city. "On the other side of that windbreak." Kelric climbed over the sill and lowered himself into the wind, facing the tower. He probed the wall with his toes until he found a foothold. Then he tugged Ixpar off the sill, holding her as she maneuvered around to face the wall. They descended slowly, Ixpar about half a meter above him. Suddenly an avalanche of pebbles cascaded over him, accompanied by a frantic scraping. Looking up, he saw a toehold under Ixpar's foot disintegrate. He worked his toes deeper into a crack and clenched the wall with a vise grip that, courtesy of his biomech, would take a powered wrench to release. Even so, when Ixpar slid into him, he had to strain to keep from being knocked off the wall. She eased her weight away from him. "I'm all right." Releasing his breath, Kelric resumed the climb. When he fet packed dirt under his feet, he let go of he wall, then swayed,

50Catherine .1 spots dancing in his vision. As Ixpar slid down next to him, sagged against the tower. She tried to bolt, but he caught W around the waist. |

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"Kelric, listen to me," she said. "You'll never make it to 1!T airfield. Give it up before you rebreak your legs." More iii? she said, "We won't hurt you." I' You have no idea, he thought. His fight with the guards T.i unmasked a portion of his hidden enhancements, but Deha iii' her people didn't know the extent of his abilities. It left iff* room to bluff. But he had to get help. The longer he went ff., out repair, the more it aggravated the damage to his 'mrTiiT'; systems. Holding Ixpar's arm, he drew her to the gate. A plaza W outside the courtyard, bordered by pale blue houses. In center of the plaza, opening to the sky like a flower, a vifff fountain glazed with accents of color brought to mind H forests, and sun. Water arched up from it, whipped by the mp into a mist of rainbows He set off in a limping jog across the plaza pulling n with him. On the other side they entered a maze of ii cobbled lanes that wound among stone houses three and Bfgb stories high, with windows full of plants. As they ran, the i, mountain air cleared his head. Once the sound of TO|| reached their ears, and an instant later a flock of tiWiR dashed into the lane, too intent on their game of chase to inii| two people hiding in the shadows of a recessed doorway. __» A lawn separated the city outskirts from the wall Hgl called the Calanya windbreak. The barrier stood as high three adults and was thick enough for two people to wil abreast on its top edge. It curved off in both directions for 1R| meters. Holes sculpted in the stone provided glimpses of RTffSB scaped parks beyond. ; "It should be easy to climb this," Kelric said. "We can tin through the parks." "No!" Ixpar said.

He blinked. That was the strongest emotion he had ever aMi her show. "Why not?" ;' "It is a violation of the Calanya," she said. "You will *!titB minate the Quis."

____——————————————————— The Last Hawk 51 Contaminate a dice game? He drew her over to the windbreak. "Climb." Ixpar scowled. "May a giant hawk pluck you off the mountain and feed you to her babies." He couldn't help but smile. "I hope not." The wind grew stronger as they scaled the wall, tearing at their clothes and hair when they reached the top. It died away as they descended the inner side. At the bottom, a lush carpet of grass sloped down from the windbreak. Groves of trees heavy with gold fruit were scattered at the foot of the hill and far across the parks the windows in a cluster of buildings sparkled like liquid diamonds. They set off across the lawn. He was limping more now, his still healing legs growing more fatigued. He

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glanced at Ixpar. "You said dice payers live here?" "The men in a Calanya are all expert Quis players," she said. "You could call them advisers. To Deha. Quis advisers." "And Quis is power." When Ixpar nodded, Kelric smiled. "This park isn't a bad setup just for being good at dice." They were crossing a carved wooden bridge that arched over a stream when they saw the man. He was sitting on a stone bench on the other side of the stream, relaxing in the sun. Kelric halted with Ixpar on the bridge and drew his gun. "Who is that?" "A Calani," she said. "A dice player who lives in a Calanya." The man stood up, watching them. He was slender, having gray hair and the look of a scholar. His clothes were simple, with an appearance of wealth about them: suede trousers and knee boots, a darker suede belt tooled with Quis designs, and a white shirt with embroidered cuffs. Guards made from what looked like solid gold circled his wrists and two gold armbands showed on each of his upper arms. 'Those bands make him look like a Jagemaut," Kelric said. "You insult him," Ixpar said. "Since when is that an insult?" With Ixpar at his side, Kelric walked down to the Calani and spoke in Teotecan. "You are the only one out here?" The Calani watched him in silence. Kelric glanced at Ixpar. "Why won't he talk?"

52Catherine. . •. "Calani never speak to Outsiders." She crossed her ni "In the Old Age, the penalty for breaking into a Calanya m| . death"

Kelric frowned. He neither needed nor wanted iniiT hostage, but he coudn't leave the man free to sound an .n'ilt: So he fired the stunner. Surprise flashed across the *PTff|| face as he collapsed. |1 "No!" Ixpar dropped on her knees and felt for the »iin| pulse. "I'm sorry." Kelric rubbed his temples. "But I can't '. chances." The look she gave him could have chilled ice. "We niirf' leave him like this."

_|| \ | -j\ -

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"He'll be all right." Kelric drew her to her feet. "He'llji; 3 sleep for a few hours." He headed for a single-story 'iil(lj||j| : made from amberwood and blue stone. Potted plants iTO from its eaves and the shutters were open, revealing n«(fflC!| . of gold glass bordered by copper Inside, they walked down a hall painted in green t>i[i| } shadow-gray, dappled like a forest glade with sun rtim through the foliage. It ended at a sunroom; the walls aFfjl from amber at the floor into white-gold at the top. The MtfflTI was blue, with clouds half covering a sun. In one comer, youth sat at a table playing Quis solitaire. ; "Get up" Kelric said.

The youth looked up as if surfacing from a dive. When he : saw Kelric, he blinked and stood up. | Kelric glanced at the meter on the stunner. He couldn't keep knocking out people; the gun's charge was almost exhausted So he motioned at a papery screen painted with trees and birds that blocked a doorway across the room. "Open it." || With Kelric and Ixpar following, the youth backed RST7| J the screen. He pushed it aside to reveal a larger sunroom with 1 two huge doors in the opposite wall. In one comer of the room a boy sat listening to the talk of a man with a halo of vjW hair. In the center, seven men sat at a table playing Quis. J Kelric silently swore. The odds were now eleven to one ;iiH , some of the dice players looked formidable. When they saw'; ;

-The Last Hawk 53 him, they rose to their feet. None spoke—except Ixpar, who let out a shout loud enough to wake the next planet. The doors across the room slammed open and four guards strode into the room. As Kelric fired, the stunner sputtered. He managed to knock out the guards, but as soon as the dice players realized his gun was empty they started toward him. Kelric grabbed the youth from the sunroom and jerked back his head. "If anybody twitches, I'll snap his neck." The Quis players froze. Still holding the boy, Kelric took Ixpar's arm and pulled his hostages across the room to the double doors. As soon as they were outside, he shoved the youth back into the Calanya and closed the doors, then locked everyone inside. Ixpar twisted in his grip. "You can't do this." "Watch me." He headed down the hall, drawing her with him. He opened the door at its end onto gardens and lawns. Several hundred meters away he saw a line of trees, and beyond them an airfield tower rose into the sky.

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They were halfway to the trees when shouts broke out behind them. Spinning around, Keric saw guards pouring out of the Calanya. He broke into a run, pulling Ixpar, and she huffed for breath as she struggled to keep up. His hunch about her proved correct; no one fired at them. They ran through the line of trees and onto the airfield. Sprinting across the tarmac, he headed for the first hangar. When he saw it was empty, he ran toward the next. An octet of guards burst out of the control tower ahead of them. Kelric stopped so fast it would have jolted Ixpar off her feet if he hadn't caught her. A glance back showed the guards from the Calanya closing in on them from behind. So he backed up toward the hangar they had just passed, coming to a stop against its rough wall. The guards surrounded them, forming a semicircle three rows thick, with the closest guards about ten meters away. Holding Ixpar with her back against his front, Kelric laid his knife across her neck. "Come any closer," he said, "and I'll open her throat." Ixpar went rigid, her dismay reaching even his injured Kyle

54 Catherine Asaro ———————————————————————• centers. He had no intention of carrying out his threat; he would go into combat mode if he had to fight, relying on his enhancements to avoid capture. But he had a hunch the bluff was his strongest weapon right now. The guards parted and Deha appeared, coming forward. "Let her go. An Estate Manager will make a better hostage." "No," he said. "Call off your guards." "I don't believe you would hurt her." "Are you willing to bet her life on that?" Deha turned to a guard captain. "Clear the field."

"You stay" Kelric said. The area cleared with remarkable speed. Whe.n he and Ixpar were alone with Deha, Kelric tilted his head toward the next' hangar. "Over there." They walked to the structure, he and Deha watching each other, his knife against Ixpar's neck. When they reached the hapgar, he saw a windrider inside. He pulled Ixpar over to the aircraft and pushed her at the hatch. "Get inside." | "Kelric, no." Deha swallowed. "She's just a child. Leave her | here and take me." Not a chance, he thought. He had no doubt that Deha unarmed was as dangerous as her guards were armed; her intellect was more potent than a stunner. Ixpar made a safer hostage.

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He waited while Ixpar scrambled into the rider. Then he stepped up into the hatchway, keeping close watch on Deha. Strain showed in the Manager's face. "Kelric, don't do this." Warning: Bolt thought. Posture and voice inflections of agent below suggest a threat behind you. Kelric spun around—in time to see Ixpar hurl a blunt-edged ; discus at him. He dodged, but at such close quarters he j couldn't evade it even with enhanced speed. The discus hit his temple and he plunged into blackness.

5 ueen' Spectral Tower Jahit Kam stood before the wall of one-way glass. To avoid a glare, lights on both sides of it had been lowered. In the dimness, her gray eyes darkened to jet. Gray streaked the braid of ebony hair that hung down her back. Dressed in black trousers, black tunic, and gray boots, she blended with the shadows. She stood tall and gaunt, spoke in a quiet voice, and as Minister she ruled the Twelve Estates. Deha stood next to her. Below them, in the room beyond the glass, Kelric lay unconscious on a bed. "Imperialate law is clear." Jahit turned to Deha. "The Restriction forbids us contact with Skolians. You should have taken him to the port." "He would have died before we reached it," Deha said. "All Coba will suffer the consequences of your decision." Jahit shook her head. "As long as he lives, the chance exists he might escape. Then what? Neither he nor his notorious family will appreciate our attempts to hold him prisoner." She regarded Deha. "We have no choice. He must not live." Deha tensed. "We've had no executions in decades." "Nevertheless. It is either execution or life in prison, and I see no reason to take chances." Deha spoke carefully. "There are many forms of prison." "Meaning?" "Consider the one institution our ancestors guarded more closely than any prison." "Put him in a Calanya?" Jahit snorted. "You might as well roll a firebomb with your Quis dice." Deha had her rebuttal ready. "He would be kept separate from the others. Until he adapts."

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56Catherine AsaroJahit studied her. "I begin to wonder if other factors affect your decisions about this offworlder." "Such as?"

"He is a remarkably striking young man." "I don't appreciate your implication." "Then tell me something," Jahit said. "If you swear this man ! to your Calanya, will he be Calani? Or Akasi Calani?" Deha crossed her arms. "Whether or not I make him my ' Akasi is my business." "It becomes my business when I think your hormones are.i impairing your judgment."

j |

"My judgment is fine." lgfatTft.g.rMnTiimiir«TOlTfcfM.V»'..T.T.a play Quis."

;

"He can play Quis. He had nothing else to do while he '•'iri|| recovering."

Jahit shrugged. 'To know the rudiments of dice and have the | talent for Calanya Quis are two different things." : 'True," Deha said. "But consider this: he had no money iTi1 when he was learning, so he wagered planets instead." smiled. "After a few days my escort owned half the Imperialate." ', Dryly Jahit said, "I'm sure ISC will gladly pay the debt I. when Captain Hacha shows up to collect." "There is no debt. Kelric won back his planets." Jahit moved her hand in dismissal. "It wouldn't be the first time a handsome face swayed Hacha into letting a lesser player win." ' "Hacha doesn't like him. Besides, he's never won a game against her. But he's beaten both Llaach and Balv and they're y no beginners. He even beat Rev once." Deha paused. "I've played him myself, Jahit. He has a true gift." , The Minister put her hands behind her back and paced . across the room. "Have you considered the effect he will have on the Quis?" I "What effect do you mean?" Jahit turned. "I don't know. That's the problem." She came back to Deha. "And if he escapes? No talent is worth that ? risk." J

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"He won't escape."

-The Last Hawk 57 "The last time you told me that, he kidnapped my successor." "It won't happen again." Jahlt's voice hardened. "It certainly won't." "If we send Keric to prison," Deha said, "it will be an abominable waste of his life and his genius. Resurrect the death penalty and we put Coba back centuries." The Minister considered her. Then she went to the window and looked down at Kelric. After a moment she said, "I will trust your judgment, Deha. But think well before you make your final decision." Jaht turned back to her. "If you swear him to the Calanya, he will be there for life, with all that will mean for you, for Dahl, and for Coba." Chankah Dahl, Successor to the Dahl Manager, was a young woman, though not so young that the years hadn't honed her skills in Estate politics. With a position at Dahl second only to Deha, a kasi and two young daughters to her name, and the respect of her peers, Chankah was well satisfied with her life. Today she walked along the Ivory Hall with the doctor Dabbiv. "You should tell all of this to Deha," Chankah said. "I have told her," he said. "She says that under no condition am I to stop sedating Kelric. She's afraid if he wakes up he'll try to escape again." "Are you sure the drugs are poisoning him? Maybe the dosage is just too high." "That's what Deha said. But the dosage is only half that needed for a man his size." Dabbiv came to a halt. "It's all wrong. I have trouble bringing him out of sedation so he can eat. When I do get food into him he can't keep it down, not even what he could eat before. And his blood has a violet tinge to it. Maybe that's normal. Maybe it means he's dying. I just don't know." Chankah laid a calming hand on his arm. "Did you ask him why his blood is purple?" "He said something about a chemical reaction of 'nanomeds' with nitrogen in the air. It makes no sense." "Perhaps you should talk to Deha again about your concerns."

58 Catherine Asam——————————————————. "It won't do any good. She doesn't take anything I say seriously." "Of course she does. Why else would she appoint you to the Estate staff?"

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He snorted. "I have no idea. If she had her way, we'd be back in the Old Age and I'd be locked up in a Calanya." Chankah raised her eyebrows. "That's absurd. She practically dotes on you." "I don't want to be doted on. I'm not a pet." "It can't be that bad." He scowled. "How would you know? You've never experi-' enced it. If I said 'Deha, the wind is blowing,' she'd say hat's nice, Dabbiv.' If you said 'Deha, the wind is blowing,' she'd say 'A profound observation, Chankah. One worthy of my successor.' " "Dabbiv." "It's true." He took a breath. "That's why I need your sup port. She listens to you." Despite Dabbiv's reputation for being excitable, Chankah considered him one of the most promising physicians in Dahl. It had been her own recommendation that Deha appoint him to her staff. If he was this worried, she ought to speak to Deha. "All right. I'll need to see his medical records first, though." "You'll have them. And Chankah—there's something else." "Yes?" "Are you familiar with the work being done at Varz Estate?" "Some experiments with blood composition, isn't it?" Dabbiv started to walk again. "They've isolated several blood types. At least three." She walked with him. "I wouldn't take this claim too seriously. Not when it originates from Varz." "Just because there's hostility between Varz and Kam, it doesn't make the Varz biochemists incompetent." "It's the uses Manager Varz intends for the research that I question." Dabbiv cleared his throat. It sounded like preparation for battle. "I want to send a sample of Kelric's blood to their labs for analysis."

-The Last Hawk 59 "Impossible." "Why?" She frowned. "Which reason do you want first? That Minister Kam forbids us to let it be known we

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have a Skolian here? That Deha would object to correspondence with Varz? Or simply that it would be a waste of time?" "If Kelric dies," he said, "none of those reasons will stand up against the wind." "Heh." She felt like an airsack going empty. "You think it's that important?" "Yes." "I'll see what I can do. But I make no promises." "There's one more thing." "Any more and Deha will send me to dig rock on a quarry crew." Dabbiv made a frustrated noise. "It's her health. She won't listen to anyone. If she has another heart attack like the one last year, it could kill her." i "She's sensitive about it. She will think I imply she's too weak to manage Dahl." "If she doesn't slow down," Dabbiv said, "she won't be too weak. She'll be too dead." Chankah exhaled. "All right. I'll talk to her." Usually the Quis patterns engraved on the walls of an Estate hall fascinated Ixpar. Not today. The carvings sped past in a blur as she strode through the Lower Halls of Dahl. Nothing could erase the memory of Kelric's words: Come any closer and I'll open her throat. How did she reconcile the Jagemaut who had dragged her across Dahl with the man she had watched learning Quis? It seemed ludicrous now, the way she had courted him. Tomorrow Jahit was taking her back to Kam, and in a few more days Kelric would be sworn to the Dahl Calanya, forever forbidden to her. So for the first time, she was going to disobey a direct order from the Minister. Ixpar walked to the AmberTower and climbed its spiral stairs, around and around the cramped turns. At the top she followed the curve of the wall until she came to a window of one-

60 Catherine Asam—————————————————————— way glass. On its other side, the AmberRoom glowed, with gold walls and a goldstone floor. Plants in baskets hung about the windows and sunlight sifted through the foliage, making patterns on the walls. Kelric was sleeping in a bed with yellow sheets and a green velvet cover. Ixpar went on, walking around the tower until she found the door with its octet of guards. Captain Hacha bowed to her. "My greetings, Successor Kam." Ixpar nodded. "I've come to visit Kelric." "He's asleep."

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Ixpar knew he wasn't asleep. He was drugged senseless. "I still wish to see him." Hacha shifted her weight. Ixpar had given her a no-win choice; antagonize the Ministry Successor or disobey the Datu Manager. After considering for a moment, Hacha pressed panels on the door handle in a complicated combination. A bolt thumped and she swung the door open. But as Ixpar walked forward, Hacha motioned at the guards and they fell into formation around her. "You may all wait Outside," Ixpar said. Hacha shook her head. "I'm sorry Successor Kam. We can't leave you alone with him." Ixpar knew Hacha well enough to realize she had pushed the captain as far as she would go. "Very well. Wait by the door." Hacha nodded, satisfied with the compromise. Ixpar sat in a chair next to Kelric's bed and spoke in a voice too soft for the guards to overhear. "I came to tell you goodbye, Kelric. I'm sorry about what we've done to you. But we had to. I wish I could make it better for you." She swallowed. "I wish I knew how to stop caring about you." "Ixpar?" His lashes lifted and he looked at her with eyes like liquid gold. She leaned closer. "How are you awake? The doctors gave you a sleep potion." "Sleep?" His eyes closed. "I thought.. . poison." "Poison? Kelric, no. It must be a mistake." "Ixpar.. ." "Yes?"

-The Last Hawk 61 "Was bluff." The drugs slurred his speech, heightening his accent. "I wouldn't have killed you." She wondered if he had any idea how much that meant to her. As he sank back into sleep, she touched his cheek. "Goodbye, Kelric." Senior Physician Rohka paced in front of Deia's desk. "I wish you would put him somewhere with fewer stairs." "The exercise is good for you." With Kelric asleep in the tower and guards posted on every landing, Deha's mind was more at ease. They had come too close to disaster. Who would have guessed Ixpar could search out secret tunnels unknown even to the Estate archivists? Had the girl not been carrying the discus as part of her "quest" game, Kelric might now be on his way back to ISC headquarters. She regarded the doctor. "Why does he have that limp?"

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"One leg healed with a slight twist," Rohka said. "His bones had so many breaks, it's a miracle they set properly at all." A buzz came from the desk's audiocom. Deha switched it on. "Manager Dahl." Chankah's voice floated into the air. "Can you come up here?" "Is there a problem?" "He woke up," Chankah said. Deha glanced at Rohka. "I thought you gave him a sedative." "I did. He should have been out until tonight." They found Chankah outside the one-way glass in the tower. Inside the AmberRoom, Kelric was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. Deha activated the audiocom by the window. "Kelric?" He looked around. "Where are you?" "Outside. How are you feeling?" He scowled. "Like I've been poisoned." She glanced at Rohka. "Can there be something in what Dabbiv says?" "Dabbiv overreacts. Kelric obviously isn't being poisoned to death." "But?"

__ Grudgingly, Rohka said "The medicine does seem to 'iBTliT him." She thought for a moment. "There is another •l5fy|1 potion. It doesn't usually work as well, but I can try it." if "All right." Thinking of how Kelric would react to 'K& another potion, Deha added, "But put it in his tea." After the doctor left, Chankah spoke to Deha. "I wish ' would reconsider swearing him to the Calanya. Send him to if: prison."

| "or what? He hasn't done anything wrong,"

"For Coba's safety. For your safety. Winds, Deha, he *nnifS(| snap you in two as easily as if you were a stalk of grain." S "He won't." j; "You don't know that. At least take precautions."

| "Such as?"

"I'll show you" •s| Chankah took her down to the Old Library. As always, the • room soothed, with its shelves crammed full of books, old and » new, gilt edged, bound in leather. A

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display case by the wall J held a set of exquisitely tooled Calanya guards as ancient as j the Estate. Chankah opened the case and lifted out the guards. "Iffjl these to him."

Deha blinked at her. "First you want me to send him to prison. Then you say I should honor him above all other S Calani." f "I don't suggest this for his honor. These are the only guards |, we have that are made in the old way." | "Meaning they can be locked together?" Deha scowled. "That's barbaric." "We're talking about your life" Chankah clenched the H guards. "What if he turns violent again?" For a long moment Deha considered her successor. Then she t;' exhaled. "Let me think on it." ? The room was a smear of gold dotted by bits of emerald. Kel- *? ric tried t focus, but blurred vision apparently came as a side I effect of the battle going on inside his body. One species of his ? nanomeds eliminated chemicals—like unwanted drugs—that his biomech web hadn't authorized. The biochemistry sounded ,

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 63 simple: a med locked onto an invading molecule, deactivated it if possible, usually by changing its molecular structure or taking it apart, and flushed the debris out of his body. It rarely worked that smoothly. The meds first had to find the invaders, then get rid of them without producing hazardous byproducts. It also took energy, and fighting an invasion this severe drained him. Nor could the meds immediately capture every drug invader. According to Bolt, the sedative moecules that had so far escaped were destroying enzymes he needed to metabolize certain foods. The Coban diet made it worse; the unboiled water contained bacteria that attacked his digestive system, and some of the spices and sauces would have required intervention by his meds even if he had been in perfect condition. His condition was far from perfect. Bolt's memory was corrupted, some bio-optic threads in his body were experiencing attenuated transmission, his hydraulics had sustained structural damage, and his meds were replicating too slowly. Worse, some meds were replicating improperly, forcing others to treat them like invaders. The sound of an opening door broke Kelric's concentration. Two blurs were approaching him. "Hacha?" he asked. "Rev?" "We brought you lunch," Rev said. As he came nearer, a blur in his hands resolved into a tray. He set it on the nightstand. Kelric regarded the food without interest. At least the Tanghi tea was made with boiled water. After the

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guards left, he drank the Tanghi and then lay down again, exhausted from his battle with the drugs. It wasn't until he opened his eyes that he realized he had fallen asleep. Morning sunshine was pouring through the window when a moment ago the shadows of late afternoon had filled the room. "How do you feel?" Deha asked. Disoriented, he rolled over and saw her standing by the bed. As he sat up, his wrist caught on a blanket. When he pushed away the cloth, his hand slid over metal. Puzzled, he looked down at his wrists. Guards. Calanya guards. The gold was welded together so cleanly around each of his wrists that its joining blended into

64Catherine .1 the engraved designs on the metal. Yanking away the vi he saw his ankles similarly guarded by gold. He swore, nii around to Deha—and hands shoved him down on his back. S looked up into the bores of Rev and Llaach's guns. ' "Try anything," Llaach said, "and we'll put you out like iitf' avalanche on an airbug." '| "Let him go," Deha said. j; Rev released him, but Llaach looked as if she wanted rail dump him out the window. When she finally let go, Kelric iljj up and regarded them implacably, then gave Deha the .nii; look. ' ||' The Manager sat on the bed. "I know you don't want to l a Calani, Kelric. But winds, it's better than the alternatives. % Most of my advisers think you should be sent to prison n Kam almost ordered your execution." || He stared at her. "The Minister wants me killed?" |1 "Yes." , , | "For whatT He felt as if a cage were closing around him. "Don't you realize what will happen if the Imperial Assembly learns what you people are doing?" "That," Llaach said, "is why the Minister wants you dead." H She touched her gun to his temple. "Dead like that Calani whose neck you threatened to break." Deha glanced at her. "Perhaps you and Rev should wait Out- 4' side." When they started to protest, Deha shook her head. With j obvious reluctance, the guards withdrew. Llaach paused at the | door, looking back at Deha, but when the Manager frowned, Llaach went out and closed the door. 41 Deha turned back to him. "I'm sorry. They don't trust you." "And you do?" he asked. J "It would do you no good to take me hostage. My guards ( have orders to stop any escape you attempt even if they have to shoot me" "This is crazy. You can't lock me up." "Your Oath ceremony is tonight." | "I'm not taking any damn oath." ! "Another man will speak for you." Deha paused. "In the Old ] Age the Oath was always given through a surrogate, suppos; ediy because Calani were too exalted to speak in public." S

-The Last Hawk 65

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she added, "I suspect the real reason was to avoid questions about whether or not the Calani was there of his own free will." He snorted. 'That figures." "Kelric, I truly am sorry." She stood up. "I wish it was your choice to stay." He couldn't give the answer she wanted, so he said nothing. After she left, Kelric lay back, trying to subdue his vertigo. He wished they would stop with their potions. His head felt strange, like an earthquake fault under pressure. He needed to think, but he was too tired to sit up and every time he lay down he drifted into a fitful sleep. That evening, while he lay in a drugged daze, the door opened. Rev and Balv came in, followed by a boy carrying a pile of clothes. The boy approached shyly and showed him the garments. "For the ceremony, sir." Rubbing his eyes, Kelric made himself sit up. Both Rev and Balv had their guns out, but they needn't have bothered. His battle with the drugs left him too drained to fight anyone. With the boy helping like a valet, he dressed. The shirt was made from burgundy velvet. Its sleeves fit tight around his Calanya guards, then widened out from wrist to shoulder. The collar opened halfway down his chest, but crisscrossing laces held it closed. Almost closed. A gray suede vest went over the shirt, its snug fit accenting his physique. The trousers, made from a rich gray suede, were odd. The outer seam of each leg was unsewn but kept closed by small flaps that buttoned across it. Suede knee boots finished off the picture. Kelric was no expert on the messages given by clothes, but even he recognized the ones in these: sexually provocative, in a subtle manner designed to suggest high social class. He almost refused to wear them. But he already had a pounding headache, and he didn't want to make it worse by getting into a contest of wills. When Kelric finished dressing,Balv ushered the valet out of the room. But Rev remained. "I wanted to tell you," the guard said. "Yes?" Kelric asked. "About tonight," Rev said. "For a normal ceremony you would have chosen an Oath Brother."

66 Catherine 5| Oath Brother?" "Your closest friend." Rev hesitated. "I know you have ihll reason to call me a friend. But you shouldn't have to Til alone." "You would stand as my brother?"

-a

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"Yes" The offer caught Kelric by surprise. It was true he felt a kin- • ship with Rev; not only were they alike physically, they aSl shared a similar awkwardness with words. But he had iliTBTBfflfe. his escape attempt blotted out any friendships he had with w. guards. He felt it most with Llaach, whose hostility was ik, intense he could almost touch it. ; He spoke quietly. "I would be honored to have you stand as |, my brother." Rev bowed to him. "The honor is mine."

After Rev left, Kelric fell into a half sleep. At Night's Midhour the escort and four more guards came for him. Not only -| did they carry stunners now, they also wore ceremonial curved swords with glistening nacre inlaid in the hilts No one spoke as he stood up. Captain Hacha stepped behind him, drawing his arms behind his back. Metal pins *iffi1SRH and his wrist guards locked together, binding his arms behind | him. 1 "What the—?" He tried to pull apart his wrists. "What are you doing?"

No one answered. Instead they escorted him from the room. They descended the stairs that spiraled around the tower, a J guard on each side keeping a steadying hand on his arm. At ; the bottom they walked through halls lit only by torches that | sent shadows flickering on the walls. When they reached a t recessed archway Rev pulled back the bolt in an ancient door i there and leaned his weight into the heavy portal until it |f creaked open. & A great hall stretched out before them, lit by no more than f the starlight pouring through its crystal walls. Radiance shim- | mered in the air, reflected off the marble floor, glimmered in the shadows of a ceiling so high above their heads Kelric could ? barely make out its vaulted spaces. P A retinue of robed figures drifted toward them from the far

-The Last Hawk 67 end of the hall. Deha walked at its front with a younger woman at her side. "Chankah," Rev said, following Kelric's gaze to the unfamiliar woman. "The Dahl Successor." The shimmering air, the starlight, and the shadowy retinue all combined with his drugged haze to make him feel as if he were floating in a surreal netherworld. When Balv prodded him with his gun Kelric walked forward. The retinue parted so he was passing down an aisle of people. Deha led them back the way they had come, to a large dais at the far end of the hall. Made from black marble and veined with crystal, the disk scintillated in the starlight. The rows of finely carved chairs that circled it held an aura of age, as if they had guarded the dais for centuries. The retinue withdrew to the chairs, and Deha climbed the dais with Chankah. When Balv prodded him

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up the steps, Kelric stumbled and with his wrists bound behind his back he couldn't catch his balance. As he fell to one knee, his guards drew their swords. He froze, acutely aware of the honed steel only fingerspans away from his body. Deha spoke. "Help him up." Hacha slid her hand under his arm, supporting him as he rose to his feet. With their swords still drawn, the guards escorted him up the stairs. They followed Deha and Chankah to a depression in the center of the dais, a circular area about a meter in diameter and a handspan deep. A rail at waist height circled it, with an opening just wide enough to let a person step through. In the shadows on the far edge of the dais, the vague outline of a table curved in a semicircle. Glitters came from the blades of the guards' drawn swords. Deha spoke to the retinue. "Ekaf Dahl, approach the Circle." A man came forward and climbed the dais. When he reached Deha, she indicated a place to the right of the circle. "You will Speak from here." Then she and Chankah walked toward the table, becoming blurs as they receded into the dark. A moment later, her voice floated through the air. "Sevtar Dahl, you may enter the Circle." As far as Kelric knew, no one named Sevtar stood on the dais. But Rev nudged him forward. With the guard at his

side, and the drawn swords all around him, Kelric (!i|. through the gap in the rail, down into the sunken area. * A pipe began playing, caressing the night with notes as ' icate as a lover's touch. Its melody flowed through the W!j; sweet and haunting. Then it receded, growing fainter, until | vanished. Deha spoke out of the shadows. "Does one here stand | Oath Brother to Sevtar?" "1 "I stand for him," Rev said. "What are your words?" Jf Kelric realized then just how much Rev's offer meant. I taciturn giant made no secret of his discomfort with iiiiafl speaking.

Rev's voice rumbled. "I speak thus: Sevtar may differ us, but the quality of his character transcends differences. { inner strength is as great as his outer He will honor nl Calanya." Chankah spoke softly. "Your words are heard and *w| Rev of Dahl."

The guard bowed. Then he stepped out of the Circle sii vanished into the darkness. A bell chimed, two notes, high and clear, vibrating in thertH|| very air. Chankah began speaking, what sounded like a iT in a language other than Teotecan, verses with an >iM'[i sound, a hypnotic rhythm. When she finished, the bell uninw' again, a musical echo of the radiance filling the hall. | Deha spoke. "Hear my words, Sevtar but before you give | them back to me as Oath know that your life is bound by | them." |

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Even if Kelric had intended to answer, he was too dazed to . think of a response. It didn't matter. Ekaf spoke. "I hear and understand." A glow appeared on the table, a flame in a bow of oil. j Ruddy light flickered across Dha's face. "For Dahl and for ij Coba, do you, Sevtar, enter the Circle to give your Oath?" '$ "I do" Ekaf said.

"Do you swear that you will hold my Estate above all else, j as you hold the future of Dahl in your hands and your mind?" "I swear"

-The Last Hawk 69 "Do you swear to keep forever the discipline of the Calanya? To never read or write? To never speak in the presence of those who are not of the Calanya?" Saints almighty, Kelric thought. What is this? "I swear," Ekaf said. "Do you swear, on penalty of your life, that your loyalty is to Dahl, only to Dahl, and completely to Dahl?" "I swear," Ekaf said. "With my life." A chime rippled like a waterfall. Deha passed her hand over the oil, and the flame flickered and vanished. Kelric felt as if he were floating in the shimmering air. Deha and her successor seemed to materialize out of nowhere, walking toward the Circle. Chankah carried a box of carved wood. When they reached the rail, she opened it to reveal two armbands lying on velvet. They looked like solid gold. Deha regarded him. "In return for your Oath, I vow that for the rest of your life you will be provided for as befits a Calani." Then she nodded to Hacha. When the captain moved behind him and lifted his manacled wrists, Kelric stiffened. But all she did was release him. Bringing his arms in front of his body, he rubbed his sore muscles. "Kelric." Deha spoke softly. "You need to put your hands on the rail." He set his palms on the wood. It felt cool and smooth under his palms. "The bands I give you are those of an Akasi Calani." Her face gentled. "May you someday wear them of your own free will." She took an armband from the box. Picking up his hand, she slid on the band and pushed it up his arm until it stopped on his biceps. She slid the second band onto his other arm. "Sevtar Dahl," Deha said. "You are now a First Level Calani of Dahl."

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6 Night's Move The escort retued Kelric to the AmberRoom the same way they had taken him from it; in complete silence, his wrists locked behind his back, without Deha or her retinue. The journey up the tower seemed endless. He couldn't even use his hands to lean on the rail as he climbed. Inside the AmberRoom, Hacha freed his wrists. Brusquely she said, "Don't try to leave. An armed octet will be posted Outside at all times." She turned and walked toward the door, motioning for the others to follow. Rev spoke. "I'll stay a while." Hacha glanced back and shrugged. "Suit yourself." Then she left with the others, closing the door behind her. Kelric sat on the edge of the bed. "Is she always that abrupt? Or is it just me?" Rev said nothing. "Ekaf took the vow of silence," Kelric said. "Not me." "I have no right to speak with you." "Hacha just did." "Only because she is now captain of your Calanya escort and Deha has allowed it. But she can't talk with you. Only to you." Kelric exhaled. "I don't understand any of this." "You can speak with other Dahl Calani," Rev said. "And with Deha. But not to anyone Outside." "You do it too." "It?" "Say Outside as if it were a title." "It is," Rev said. "Those within the Calanya are Inside. The rest of the universe is Outside." Dryly, Kelric said/That leaves a lot of people Outside."

-The Last Hawk 71 "Yes. You are one of a very few."

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"Great," Kelric muttered. Rev sat in a chair. "Kelric, it is considered a great honor among our people." He stopped. "I should call you Sevtar now." "Why Sevtar?" "He is the dawn god, a giant with skin made from sunlight. He strides across the sky, pushing back the night so the sungoddess Savina can sail out from behind the mountains on her giant hawk." Rev smiled. "Deha thought it appropriate." "What's wrong with the name Kelric?" "Kelric isn't Coban." "You're right, he isn't. But my name is Kelric." "You have a new name now." Kelric shook his head. This was getting him nowhere. He ran his fingers over his right armband. Akasi? Deha reminded him too much of Corey, his first wife, stirring ghosts better left buried. Corey had been a well-known figure, a hero of the people. During the long days after her death, at the ceremonies and state funeral, all broadcast to a grieving public, he had stood silent in his black dress uniform, a widower when he was barely twenty-four. On display before everyone, he had kept it all inside, how it tore him apart to lose her. In the ten years since, he had gradually regained his equilibrium. Now Deha came along, throwing everything off balance. It was safer to think of other things. He regarded Rev. "I thank you for your speech." "It was my honor." "I'm glad someone feels that way. I think Llaach wants to heave me off a cliff." "There is the matter of Jevi," Rev said. "Jevi? He's her husband, isn't he?" "Yes." Rev paused. "He is also the youth whose neck you threatened to break in the Calanya." Kelric winced. No wonder Llaach was angry. Across the room the door swung open, leaving Balv framed in its arch, with torchlight flickering behind him. He stepped aside and Deha walked in, her silken robe from the Oath Ceremony rippling in the dusky light.

72 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— I t

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Surprise flashed across Rev's face. "Well. Ah." He stood up. s, "I will go now." I' As Rev crossed the room, Hacha and Llaach joined Balv in the | archway. When Rev reached them, the four guards stood looking $ at Deha, who had stopped halfway between Kelric and the door. | The Manager smiled. "Do you four plan to stay there all j| night?" Hacha regarded her. "Ma'am—" | "Yes?" | Hacha started to speak, stopped, then said "If you need us, 4 we're right outside." "Thank you Captain," Deha said. "Good night." The guards shifted their feet, glancing at Kelric. Finally they | closed the door. j Deha turned to him. "It seems they still don't trust you." |: "Maybe you shouldn't either," he said, though in truth he wanted her to stay.

She walked over to the bed. "I don't." "Then why are you here?" ' | She dimmed the lamp on the nightstand until only stars lit the room. Then she knelt next to him on the bed. "I don't trust .1 that you would do what is best for Coba if you left here. I do | trust the quality of your judgment. You won't hurt me." ' "How do you know that?" j She brushed the back of her hand over his cheek in a gesture fe of intimacy he had come to know well. "I've played Quis with | you" .1, Kelric took hold of her wrist. He had started with a half- ; formed thought of pushing her away, but instead he drew her into his arms, as he had done so many other times recently. In the starlight her eyes made large pools of black Deha eased off his vest, then undid the laces on his shirt and g let it fall open. Laying her hand against his chest, she murmured, "Your skin is so much like metal. How can that be?" Ji He brushed his hand over her hair. "My grandfather's ancestors fiddled with their genes to make themselves reflective. To help dump heat. They lived on a hot, bright planet." j "I don't know what genes are." Smiling, she nudged him •; down on the bed. "But the fiddling sounds good." When Kel- i

_——————————————————————The Last Hawk 73 ric gave a soft laugh, she stretched out against his side and kissed him, her tongue tickling his mouth until he let her come inside. Eventually, when they paused, Deha spoke near his ear. "You truly are a beautiful man. Your eyes are like liquid sunshine. They grace a face that would shame Khozaar, most handsome of all gods." Kelric blinked. He wished he were more adept at the sort of words lovers spoke to each other. She didn't seem to expect a response, though. She tugged down his shirt until it tangled around his elbows and then she traced her finger through the hair on his chest. "So beautiful. But so tall. Are all Skolian men as large as you?" "Not most." At six feet seven, he was large anywhere, even on Coba where most everyone was tall. He extricated himself from his shirt, pulling out his arms, but when she started to stroke him again, he caught

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her hand. "Deha." "Hmmm?" She slid down his body until her head was level with his chest. Then she took his nipple into her mouth. "Ah . . ." He stared at the shadowed ceiling while she played with his nipple, kissing and gently biting it. After a moment he remembered what he was going to say. "We can't keep pretending this is a normal wedding night." Closing his eyes, he added, "Do the other one too." She moved across his chest. Eventually he said, "You can't force me to stay on Coba. ISC will look for me." Deha stopped kissing him. "Not if they think you're dead." She slid back up to look at his face. "You are a prince among your people, yes? I have made you one among mine. Is that really so terrible?" "I have my own life." He undid her braid, letting her glossy hair pour over their bodies. "I want it back." "I can offer you a better one. No more being alone." Kelric brushed her cheek with his thumb. Although he had no intention of staying on Coba, at this moment "no more being alone" felt just fine. He opened her robe, revealing a satin shift underneath. Her breasts were firm, the nipples erect under the satin. As he rubbed them, her eyes closed. Pulling

74 Catherine Asaro——————————————————————:| her forward, he took her breast into his mouth and suckled it| through the satin. She made a satisfied noise deep in her throat, | somewhere between a sigh and a moan. -f When he paused for a breath, Deha started to play with the.i flaps on the seams of his trousers. "You are discreet in hows you wear these," she said. "Old-fashioned. I like that." | He could guess how those less "old-fashioned" wore the' style: fasten the flaps looser and the pants revealed a strip of; skin from the man's waist to foot. He wondered if she saw the contradiction in giving him clothes that were deliberately provocative and then expecting him to wear them in a way that hid what they were designed to show. He suspected not; all he ; picked up from her was desire, mixed with relief that perhaps he wasn't as "modem" as she had believed. It was soon obvious, however, that his clothes were also ' designed so that a woman who knew what she was doing could ; make removing them as erotic as she wanted. Deha took her time unfastening the flaps, her hands caressing his thighs and legs until he was so aroused that Bolt started up with warnings about elevated physiological responses. Kelric told the node to shut up. : When he tugged at her clothes, Deha sat up on her heels and slid of the robe, then pulled the satin shift

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over her head. She had well-toned curves, slender and lean, with long, muscular legs. Kelric trailed his fingertips across her flat stomach. The hint of stretch marks showed at her hips, indicating she had given birth. "Your body is lovely," he said. "How do you stay so fit?" "Morning walk. Evening walk." Wryly she added, "Arguing with my doctors." "Your doctors?" "They worry too much." She smiled. "It gives them something to do." Deha finished taking off his clothes, then lay next to him and slid her hand up his inner thigh. While she caressed him, he rubbed his hands over her backside and his cheek against the top of her head. Then she slid on top of his body, straddling his hips, and eased onto him. They made love slowly, building together. Her touch was

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 75 skilled, first gentle, then urgent. When he used his Kyle senses to match his response to her emotions, she murmured in Teotecan, her words too blurred to distinguish, simply noises of affection. One time he caught a memory that came into her mind, the image of himself laughing, with sunlight in his hair. At that moment she paused, pensive as she raised her head to look at him. Then she lay down again and kissed him. Kelric hugged her, stroking her hair. As they built to their crest, Kelric tried to open his mind to her, to share his pleasure. Then the org*sm broke over him and he lost his senses in her embrace and the silver night. Later when they were drowsing in each other's arms, he tried again to reach her mind, with no more success than before. Deha simply wasn't a Kyle. It didn't mean he couldn't feel affection for her, but it did leave him with a sense of incompletion. Still, he almost felt content. Only a dull throb in his temples kept him awake. It intensified every time he used his Kyle senses on it. Whatever brain damage he had taken was growing worse Kelric watched Deha sleep, wondering how much he should tell her. He had no illusions about why these people feared him. They kept their autonomy because Coba was inconsequential enough that some overworked ISC bureaucrat had let the Restriction through. But the Twelve Estates didn't merit a status meant for places so uninhabitable or hostile they required quarantine. As soon as ISC took closer notice, Coba's evanescent independence would evaporate. Absorption by the Imperialate would bring the Cobans advanced technology, but it would also mean military occupation and obedience to Imperial law, as well as opening their world to Imperial use. He wasn't sure why the guards had hesitated to shoot Ixpar. But he felt Dha's resolve; if he took her hostage and forced his guards to choose between letting him go or risking their Manager's life, they would follow her orders to stop him— ven if it meant killing her.

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,ii 76 Catherine Asaro ——————————————————————— ;> "No" he said.

Deha opened her eyes. "You are still awake?" She stretchedl against his side. "You seemed so tired at the ceremony." ; He smiled, savoring the feel of her skin sliding against his.' "I guess you revived me." Her face gentled, that expression she showed only him.j "You look pensive."

He chose his words carefully. "I have a system inside my body. It's called hiomech." ; Deha pushed up on her elbow. "We wondered, after your; fight with the guards. You seemed beyond a normal human." She watched his face. "But why does that make you pensive?; "The system needs maintenance." That wasn't really the problem, but it came close enough without revealing his weakened condition "What will happen if it doesn't get it?" she asked.

"It could injure me" She tensed. "Kelric, anything I can do to help, I will." He wondered if she realized she was calling him Kelric rather than the Teotecan name they had given him. "You can't provide what it needs. I have to leave Coba." Softly she said, "We can't let you go. You know that." "Even if refusing causes me harm?" Her voice caught. "I'm sorry." Looking at her, he almost wished he hadn't said anything. He felt her anguish. Again he caught one of her memories, a glimpse of her former Akasi, this time lying stilt and lifeless on a funeral bower. "Ai, Deha." He touched her cheek. "I'm not going to die." "Anything I can do here on Coba, I will. I mean that." He pulled her into his arms. "Just lie with me. Like this."

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Eventually they slept. Sometime later he was awakened by her moving about. Opening his eyes, he saw her sit up and reach for her shift. "Are you cold?" he asked. "No." She drew the shift over her head. "I have to finish some paperwork in my office." "On your wedding night?" Deha gave him a rueful smile. "Dahl won't stop even for

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 77 that." She pulled on her robe, then leaned over and kissed him. "Sleep well, my Akasi." After she left, Kelric lay staring at the ceiling. The throb in his head kept shifting and resettling, as if adjusting to an inner pressure. Finally he got up and paced around the suite. In an adjoining chamber he found a bathtub the size of a swimming pool, tiled in green and gold, with statues of three-legged animals at its comers. He started toward it— —and pain rocked through his head like an earthquake. Kelric gasped and fell to his knees by the pool. In the water he saw the reflection of his face contort in agony. Shocks hit him again and again, built and subsided, like blows from a hammer. It went on and on unl he wanted to cry out. But he made no sound, no motion, barely even breathed. Gradually the tremors came farther apart. Their force eased, lessened, died away. For a long time afterward he remained still, afraid to move lest it start again. A ray of light touched his face. Looking up, he saw the dawn through a window across the room. Kelric closed his eyes. Bolt. No answer. Bolt, what just happened? I'm not sure. I am d%&— What? I am damaged. The bio-electrodes in your brain are also malfunctioning. The seizure you just experienced was due to their making your neurons misfire. I can't You can't what? I can't fix it: You must go to a biomech repair facility. If you don't, ou may lose all function.

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Kelric knew that without his biomech, he had even less chance of escaping. He had to make his move now, despite his unhealed injuries, before it was too late. He returned to the bedroom and dressed, not in the sexually suggestive outfit from his Oath ceremony, but in some old clothes he found in the bureau. He braced himself against the door and sensitized his Kyle organs to the guards outside, using his biomech to amplify the signals from his KEB. When his link with the guards faltered, he clenched his teeth against

.. 78Catherine /B the pain, overrode the safety toggles in his web, and let a ; of power surge out of his brain A cry came through the door; Bolt had miscalculated ii' applied too much force. With his injuries Kelric couldn't rier himself against the shock of the attack as it reflected 'V: to him. It hammered at his mind until he groaned and .f? clouded his vision. Half blinded by pain, he threw his bulk htI the door again and again, until it flew open with a bang. | Outside, his guards lay unconscious on the floor. He 'Iiill around their bodies and headed for the stairs. |: 7 Hawks Flight f Deha sat behind her desk, bathed in the morning sunshine RT8| ing through the window at her back. Piles of folders waited iii, a full day faced her: city meetings Estate conferences, Quis sions. She reached for the audiocom— Another hand came from behind her and bent back the w, switch until the wood snapped off with a crack. h Deha spun her chair around—to see Kelric a few jm_)| away, aiming a stunner at her head. Behind him, curtainsSl lowed out from an open window that should have been iRlilH She stared at him, remembering how he had felt in her nn He looked far different now, his expression closed to her. " "I came for my Jumbler," he said. "Jumbler?" It sounded like a description of himself, or least what he did to her emotional state. How had he wnij the tower? ' "„, "My gun," he said. "I must have been wearing it when 'ilt found me."

•

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She thought of the monster weapon they had found on him.4 "We left it on your ship. The explosion destroyed it." In truth, \ she had stowed the gun in her safe. Her experts said it didn't

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 79 work. But then, they were only experts when it came to stunners. Kelric looked as if he were straining to hear a muttered conversation. Softly he said, "That's what I needed," followed by, "Forgive me, Deha." Then he fired. The guards who had formerly watched the AmberRoom now stood clumped before Deha's desk. Dabbiv stood with them, his hands in the pockets of his white sweater where Deha knew he always put them when he was tense. "Escaped." Deha was standing behind her desk, her head pounding in the aftermath of the stun shots. Kelric had pumped her with enough charge to put her out for the entire morning. "Where were all of you while he was escaping?" "Kelric knocked them out," Hacha said. Deha scowled. "How could he knock out every guard in the tower, sneak into my office, knock me out, rob my safe, and disappear? My entire CityGuard can't find one man?" "We have every available unit out searching," Hacha said. "I also doubled the detail at the airfield. We'll catch him." "You'd better." Deha turned to Dabbiv. "And you. Insisting we stop his medication. No wonder he escaped." 'The drugs were poisoning him," Dabbiv said. "If he was in such terrible shape, how did he manage this phenomenal escape? I want him back on sedation the instant he's found." "Deha, no." Dabbiv pulled his hands out of his pockets. "There's no telling what cumulative effect the drugs will have on him." She forced out the words. "That may be. But we have no choice." "My calling is to heal. Not harm." He took a breath. "I'd rather you put me on a city crew than ask me to go against that." Deha pushed her hand through the tendrils that had escaped her braid. "Fine. You're no longer on his case. You're reassigned to the city." She glanced at Hacha. "I want reports from the search teams every hour."

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•. "You'll have them" Hacha said. | "Very well. You may all go." As they left, Deha took a breath, trying to calm the wij of her heart and ease the pain behind her breastbone thafif|| ated into her neck, jaw, and arms. She watched the iB guards bow to a woman who stood just inside the doorway. S' "Chankah;' Deha said. | Her successor closed the door. "Dabbiv told me you it him to the city." She came over to the desk. "Deha, why? { does a good job here." s| "We—disagreed." | "Do you really intend to dismiss him from the Estate?" || "No. No, I don't." She exhaled. "Everything is a mess. S Kelric makes it to the port we're finished." 1| "There's no way out of Dahl except by air. We'll catch W when he goes for a rider." Chankah paused. "When we do, .' must put an end to all this." I "Lady Death already stole Jaym from me. I won't give ff. Kelric too." H "Whether Kelric dies or goes to prison, he will be .miii More gently Chankah said, "From what I've seen, he's a m»i? man. But that doesn't change the danger he poses us." J "So." Deha crossed her arms. "You would lock him up in i Haka prison." "That's right." . | "And which Estates are strongest, Chankah?" "I don't see how that—" "Answer the question." "Kam and Varz are strongest." "Kam and Varz. The two Estates whose relations define i!T| word antagonism. And after them?" i "Haka and Dahl." _J "Haka. Haka." Deha scowled. "You want me to hand a W| genius to the most powerful ally of Varz? What other iifeMiil would you give Manager Haka?" a "He'll be in her prison," Chankah said. "Not her Calanya" 1 Deha lowered her arms. "A dice player as gifted as R belongs in a Calanya." ,

-The Last Hawk 81 "I hope you're right," Chankah said. So do I, Deha thought. Hidden by a moonless night, Kelric leaned against a clump of boulders. Rocks littered a trail that wound down the mountain until it leveled out into cultivated fields far below Beyond the fields, Dahl gleamed like a sculpture of spires. Lights on the aircontrol tower blinked in the night, beckoning—and unattainable. Too many guards were out searching: in the city, on the Estate, everywhere. Hunger gnawed at him. Although crops flourished below, eating them made him sick, as did drinking water from fountains in Dahl. His resources were almost gone. He still had the Jumbler that hung heavy at his hip, but to activate it required that he key his brain to a neural chip in the gun. Designed with his own DNA, the chip picked up waves sent by his KEB and filtered by his biomech web, making them more distinctive than fingerprints. It ensured that only he could fire the gun. But that vaunted safety feature had put him in a nowin situation; using his Kyle senses and biomech would further aggravate his injuries, but if he didn't do it now he might never have another chance. He sent a probe to the gun. Contact—no, he lost it. On the second try, his probe clicked into synch with the weapon. A menu flashed in his mind:

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Fuel: abiton rest energy: 1.9 eV charge: 5.95X1025 C magnet: 0.0001 T max radius:0.05 M The menu wavered, came into focus—and melted. Gritting his teeth against what felt like a mental version of ripping his tendons, he yanked his link to the gun back in place. Then he set out for Dahl. ha eaned against a rail on the airfield, brooding in the orning sunlight. Hacha stood at her side, watching her

82 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— guards patrol the hangars. Then she looked up into the mout tains. "He can't stay out there forever," the captain said. has to come back in sometime." ' And then? Deha wondered. Kelric was a windstorm th( had trapped in a bottle. Cracks kept fracturing the glass, ai every time she tried to repair one, two more appeared. | Balv came out of the tower and walked over to the "Llaach just reported in. She and Rev are still at the Calaig Everythin is quiet." ; Deha nodded, struck by the irony of having Rev guard I Calanya. In past ages, a dice player with his brilliance wou have been in it. His Quis expertise was why she had chos him for her escort. A Manager could learn much from what h bodyguards picked up in the Quis. ; Shouts came from across the field, as guards converged1 a hangar, forming a semicirce. "That's it," Deha said. She t(x off anked by Hacha and Balv. 1 At the semicircle, they made their way to the front. T( paces away, Kelric stood backed up against the hangar with h weapon drawn. ; Hacha stepped forward. "Be reasonable, Kelric. We kno your gun doesn't work."

"It works," he said. "It shoots abitoris. Antimatter particle 0 the biton. And guess what Captain. Every electron in yottj body contains hundreds of thousands of bitons. I shoot, yo get annihilated." '} Deha glanced at Balv. "Do you know what he's talkin|] about?"

"I've no idea" Balv said. Hacha took another step—and Kelric raised his gun. The Dahl guards fired in unison, and though Kelric lunge to the side, many of the shots hit him. Yet it had no discernib efect. Holding his gun in both hands, with his feet plante wide, he fired across the ground separating him from d octets. Orange sparkles lit the air in a narrow beam—al where the beam hit tarmac, the ground exploded in a flash ffl orange light. Rocks and dust flew into the air. In a second, a chasm stretched the length of the fied, with debris crumbling from its edges in miniature avalanches.

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_—————————————————————The Last Hawk 83 "Winds above," Balv muttered. Deha swallowed. Apparently his gun worked much better than they had thought. Kelric ooked at her. "Order the guards inside the hangar to come out." "There aren't any," Deha said. He aimed into the building. "You have two seconds. Then I shoot." "Wait." Deha raised her voice. "Unit three, come out of the hangar." Three guards walked out. "All of them," Kelric said. "That is all of them." "There are five more." "No one else is in there," Deha said. Kelric brought his thumb down on the firing stud. "No!" Deha raised her voice again. "Unit five out." Five more guards appeared. After the octet backed away from the hangar, Kelric motioned at Balv. "Send him over here." "There's no way you can leave Dahl," Deha said. "Send him here," Kelric said. "No." Kelric didn't argue, he just fired at a nearby hangar. His target exploded in a blast of orange light. Deha swore under her breath. Watching her, Balv said, "I better do what he wants, before he starts shooting at people." "We have to stop him, Balv. No matter what it takes. If you're in the rider when we catch it—" Deha left the rest unsaid. "1 understand." "All right. Go." Softly she added, "Wind's luck to you." He touched her arm. Then he headed for the edge of the fied, where the chasm narrowed enough for him to cross.

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Deha turned to Hacha. "Have the guards block their takeoff. And get the other riders ready to go." "1 have crews standing by." "And Captain. If you can't recapture him—" Deha forced out the words, hearing them as if another person spoke. "Force is rider into a crash."

84Catherine /5R Kelric loomed above Balv in the hatch. "Put your stunner •' the tarmac." Balv set down the weapon. • "Now climb in here," Kelric said. Balv climbed, acutely aware of the gun Kelric kept trained ) him. Inside, the cabin seemed cramped, dwarfed by Kelric's .wl| Kelric motioned him toward the pilot and copilot's i)T| the front. "You fly."

As Balv sat in the pilot's chair, he looked through the •.'ii'i| shield and saw guards running along the fissure. By the rtW he finished his preflight checks, several octets were iifcMI outside the hangar. When he started the engines a line of »Ma| pie solidified in front of the rider. | Kelric was standing by the seat, his gun poised near t?ltBt head. "Go." "I can't. I'll run over the guards." | In response, Kelric yanked on the throttle. The rider hiMll into motion. | "No!" As Balv grabbed the wheel, people scattered in In directions. Mercifully, he regained control of the craft before | hit anyone. As the area cleared, he taxied out of the hangar aii;ininm«l In his side mirror, Balv saw a flock of craft rising from the air-1 field. They looked like specks against the cliffs towering Vi Dahl. * "Skytreader." Hacha's voice crackled on the co. "Land now or we'll force you out of the air." f "Outrun them," Kelric said. "I can't," Balv said. A fist of wind grabbed Skytreader and i tossed it upward like a child playing with a dice cube. "This is crazy. We have to land."

_————————————————————The Last Hawk 85 Kelric touched his gun to Balv's temple. "We're going to the starport you all claim doesn't exist." "You can't shoot that thing in here. You'll destroy the rider." "No. Just you."

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"I won't fly." Balv swallowed, wondering if he were about to die. For a moment there was silence. Then Kelric said, "Get up" Balv stared at him. "What? Kelric flipped over his gun and held it like a club. "Get up." "You'll kill us both." "You have five seconds. Then you go to sleep." It only took Balv an instant to imagine lying unconscious in a craft flown by someone who had never handled a rider, let alone battled the winds of the Teotecs. Then he slid out of the pilot's seat. As Kelric took his place, the rider lurched ike a drunk gambler. "Let me take us down." Balv motioned to a cluster of cloudwreathed crags below. "I know places we can land." "The only place I'm going is home." "We can't make it." As Balv slid into the copilot's seat he looked back through a window. Painted eyes and wings showed on the pursuing riders. "You know they'll catch us." Kelric made a fast scan of the controls. Then, with no warning, he pulled Skytreader into a nearly vertical climb. Pressure built in Balv's ears and he had to yell to be heard over the straining engines. "You're going too high!" Kelric ignored him, taking the rider up in a dizzying half loop, the horizon careening past the windshield as the craft turned upside down. Just when Balv began to fear altitude would finish them as surely as a crash in the Teotecs, Kelric rolled the rider right side up and angled into a descent, headed the opposite way from their previous direction. Skytreader streaked into the upper ranges of the Teotecs, leaving their pursuers far behind. They landed high in the mountains, in a pocket of rock fenced by crags and icy patches of snow. Balv stared through the windshield at a finger of basalt thrusting into a cobalt sky. "I thought we were going to the port."

86 Catherine Asam————————————————— ,j| Kelric cut the engines. "So did Hacha. Once she gets turned |t : around, she won't have any idea where to find us." .

It almost made sense; locating a craft up here was virtually | impossible unless the pilot wanted to be found. But Kelric had | missed one "minor" fact—the starport was in the desert. . "You're going to fly me there," Kelric said. "When it gets f dark." J "Fly you where?" 1. "To the starport." % A chill ran down Balv's back.

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How did Kelric always know | what he was thinking? "And if I refuse?" '•9. "You won't." t'l "Why not?" '!jl "Because you want to live." Balv had no answer for that. | Kelric loosened the collar of his shirt. "Does this craft carry oxygen?" "Oxygen?" be stored in the cabin locker He

3 'Air"

stood up. "I'll check in back."

| Balv knew a weapon might

• Kelric raised his gun. "Sit down." | Balv sat. stores emergency air out of reach." Kelric's voice | rasped. The air. Now."

| "No pilot

Balv heard the edge of desperation in his voice, recognized the danger in it. "The panel is above your head." Kelric ran his fingers along the hull until he found the catch. When he clicked the panel open, a mask dropped out, hanging by a hose. He clamped it over his face and drew n huge lungfuls of air. When Kelric finally lowered the mask, his tension had visibly eased. He spoke in a calmer voice. 'The air is so thin up here." Thin?" Balv had never heard of thin or fat air. "The concentration of oxygen is low for me." "Air is an element. Its composition can't vary." "It's a mixture of elements, Balv. Oxygen and nitrogen, with traces of other gases."

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 87 Balv had no intention of arguing. "All right." "I don't get it." Kelric's voice was growing hoarser. "Your science is only in the rudimentary stages, yet you people can build machines as sophisticated as these riders." "You sound terrible. You need a doctor." "What I need is the starport." Balv had no response to that. So they sat silent, Kelric periodically breathing from the mask. After a while Balv said, "Can I ask you something?" "What?" "You are a soldier, yes?" "That's right." "Who do you fight?"

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"Eubian Traders." "Why?" "We have something they want." "Why not trade?" Balv wondered what ISC considered worth more than the lives lost to keep it Wealth? Power? What pushed them, that they ruled so much and still wanted more? "You think it's greed?" Kelric said. "If the Traders had found Coba before we did, your life would be a lot different now. I'll tell you what we have that they want. People." "People?" "They sell them. You want to be a slave? I'd rather die." That made Balv pause. It had never occurred to him that the Imperialate lived with its own nightmares. He chose his words carefully. "During our Old Age, the Estates were always at war. Managers made their captives into slaves. Calani were bought and sold like prized goods." He grimaced. "I am glad I live now and not then." "I had the impression there wasn't much warfare here." "Now, yes. But in the Old Age, Managers were warriors. They nearly fought one another into extinction. Now we fight with Quis." Unexpectedly, Kelric smiled. "Political hostilities submerged into a dice game. That's quite an accomplishment." He glanced at Balv's wrist. "Is that your kasi band?" Bav looked down. He had pulled the gold out from under

88Catherine Asaro his cuff and was twisting it around his wrist. "Yes." He won-1 dered if he would ever see his wife again. | Kelric touched his own shirt where the outline of an arm-1 band showed under the cloth. "Why are yours on your wrists? | "It's not the same thing. The armbands mean you are a; Calani." Balv stopped twisting his band. "Of course, nowadays some kasi refuse to wear these." Why?" "In the Old Age a kasi was his wife's property. He wore. wrist guards with her name engraved on them. Some men feel the bands are a remnant of those days."

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Kelric pushed back his cuff, uncovering his wrist guard with its engraving of the Dahl suntree hieroglyph. "Like this?" Balv shifted in his seat. "Well—yes." "I take it that means I'm Dha's property." "Yes." Balv felt the need to add more. "Many of us consider the Akasi Laws barbaric." "I won't argue with that," Kelric muttered. Sweat trickled down his neck. Balv wondered why Kelric was so hot. The cabin was cold and all Kelric wore were flimsy old clothes. He ought to be freezing. Balv peered at the skin above Kelric's wrist guard. "Can you roll up your sleeves?" "Why? "I want to check something." Watching him warily, Kelric pushed up his sleeve—and revealed an inflamed rash of red dots all over his arm. "What the hell?" He looked at Balv. "What is that?" "Kevtar's disease, I think. Most of us get it as children." "I'm sick?" "It's not serious. You'll be fine by tonight." Balv winced. I should apologize. You must have caught it from me." "You don't look sick." "I'm not. But Rev and I were at the Med House this morning visiting his children. All three of them have Kevtar's." Kelric grimaced. "Thirty-four is a little old for me to catch a child's illness." "Thirty-four?" Balv stared at him. "You can't be that old." "Why not?"

-The Last Hawk 89 "The way you look—we all assumed you were younger." Kelric shrugged. "It's just biotech. And good genes." "Oh. Of course." That made no sense to Balv. "Little Kelric," he muttered. His voice sounded like sand scraping glass. "Baby of the Rhon. Youngest and biggest." He wiped sweat off his forehead. "Gods, I'm burning up." By evening Kelric's rash had spread until it covered his chest and neck. He paced across the cabin, shivering now, his voice even hoarser than before. "I thought you said I would feel fine by now."

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"You should," Balv said. "I've never seen Kevtar's affect anyone this way. We have to get you to a Med House." "Not a chance." Kelric shifted his Jumbler from hand to hand. "We're leaving for the port." "We don't have enough fuel to reach it from here." "Maybe not. But we have enough to get damn close." He motioned with the gun. "Get in the pilot's seat." Balv knew this might be his last chance to make a move. He stood up, stepped away from the copilot's seat—and lunged for the Jumbler. Kelric jerked away the gun, his movements mechanical, as if he were a puppet acting on reflex. It happened so fast that despite the accuracy and speed of Balv's lunge, his hand closed on air. Kelric leveled the Jumbler at Balv. "Sit." Balv froze. "You don't want to shoot me." "That doesn't mean I won't." Balv sat in the pilot's seat, his mind racing to find a solution. What if Kelric reached the port? Were the tales true, that entire worlds had been punished for an offense against the Rhon? If Kelric was their youngest, the one they felt most protective toward, their wrath would be even greater. He looked up at his abductor. "I won't fly you to the port." "Fly or I shoot." Balv took a deep breath. "Then you'll have to shoot." "You're willing to die to keep me here?" "Yes." Kelric stared jt him as if he were trying to extract the truth of Balv's words from his brain. Then he jerked his gun toward the hatch. "Take what you need to survive and get out."

90 Catherine Asaro———————————————————————| Balv jumped out of his seat and strode toward the back o| the cabin, moving fast, before Kelric changed his mind. Kelric' had already taken the stunner from the locker, so Balv grabbed, a jacket and a box of flares to signal the search panis. : When Balv heaved open the hatch, chill wind blasted! through the cabin, throwing back his hair. He jumped out onto the ice-encrusted rocks around the rider where the snow tha melted during their landing had refrozen. ;

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Within seconds the rider was airborne, leaving Balv alone in the freezing wind. A burst of static from the co jolted Kelric awake. One glance| at the controls told him the craft was losing altitude. As he; brought up the nose, the radio crackled again, with a voice buried in the static. 3 ASkolian voice. "... identify yourself. You are approach ... Restricted zone off limits . . . identify .. ." "I'm a Skolian citizen," Kelric rasped. His fever was worse now and his voice had grown so hoarse he could barely talk. | "Do you read? I'm an Imperialate citizen." ". .. off limits to all Coban . . . identify yourself." '• "Is anyone there?" he asked. "Anyone?" | The message continued to repeat. | The rider faltered, coughing and spluttering. A fast check | showed what he had feared would result from his'erratic fly- I ing: the fuel tanks were empty. As he opened the wings and | rode the wind like a hawk, the desert sped upward in a blur 5; of red.

Kelric did his best to control the dive, trying to glide on the I wind. At the last moment, he hunched over and covered his head with his arms. With a shriek of splintering metal, the rider '': hit ground and plowed through the sand. The impact nearly tore him out of his seat despite the harness. The craft rolled over, wrenching him from side to side, and the crack of break- ; ing glass added its cry to the chaos. With a final shudder, the rider rocked to a stop. Slow and cautious, Kelric raised his head. The windshield was broken and the cabin looked like a storm had hit Jt. Equipment lay

-The Last Hawk 91 thrown all over the deck. Two passenger seats had ripped loose and his Jumbler lay smashed under a crumpled section of the hull. His Quis dice were scattered everywhere, most of them crushed. Kelric untangled himself from his seat, moving stiffly, both from the damage he had sustained during the crash and from the fever raging in his body. He limped across the cabin, piking his way over the debris. The rider rocked, then listed to one side, leaving the deck at a slant that sent him sliding into the hatch. The buckled dor came loose under his shove and fell out onto the desert. Scorching wind poured into the cabin, accompanied by a rain of sand that insinuated itself everywhere. Raising his arm to protect his eyes, he climbed out into the heat. Red desert stretched everywhere. Nothing but sand, sand, sand, and the towers that reached into a pale blue sky like fingers from a giant buried hand— Towers?

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Kelric squinted in the heat shimmer of the air. Then he grinned. It was the starport. Lift one foot. Put it down. Again and again and again .... The impact of his body against sand jarred Kelric out of his daze. He rolled onto his back and stared at the twilit sky. The stars dazzled. It didn't matter that Coba had no moon. She had enough stars to light a hundred nights. "Port," he mumbled. He climbed back to his feet and resumed his trudge. Deceptive sands. He had forgotten how a desert could lie. The towers had taunted him all day with their distance, coming closer with maddening slowness. But he was almost there now. He could make out the ISC insignia on the tallest structure. Even in a fully automated port, regulations required at least one shuttle be available for transport. Fevered thoughts darted through his mind. When he reached HQ, he had to report on Coba. ISC would take a long look at the Twelve Estates. It was obvious Coba claimed rich

92 Catherine Asaro ——————————————————| ' resources, both in material terms and the harder-toquantify value of human mind and culture. Had the Cobans been more i accommodating in their first contacts with ISC, Coba might | have earned Imperial citizenship, but now he had no idea what would happen. ISC would see their unpredictable behavior as| a potential threat. | And Deha? Imperial law recognized marriages on anyi planet under ISC jurisdiction, including Restricted worlds., Dissolving his union with Deha would require legal action, and if he revealed the circ*mstances of its formation she would. | come up on criminal charges. Given his titled position within the Imperialate, she was in serious trouble. He didn't want her| destroyed that way. Hell, he wasn't even sure he wanted the ;i marriage dissolved. | He would have to make his report with caution, when his | mind was clear. Stress how these people saved his life. If he | wasn't careful, he could destroy the Cobans because he was , too clumsy with words to choose ones that would ward off the wrath of ISC and his family. When this fever-cooled he could i think better ; What would happen if he got into space and the fever grew worse? Any shuttle in an automated backwaters port like this ".: would be bottom-of-the-line, with minimal medical facilities. The fever was devastating his system, raging faster than his crippled nanomeds could fight it. If he didn't cool it off, the shuttle would deliver a corpse to ISC. Then what would hap pen to Coba?

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The growl of an automated crane lifting freight interrupted his thoughts. He was close enough now to see it moving within the port. But there was still another rumble. An engine? Kelric spun around and stared at the sky. Stark against a crimson sunset, the black silhouette of a rider was growing in size. "No!" he shouted. "Not now." Combat mode toggled Bolt thought. Whirling around, Kelric ran for the starport, using enhanced speed. Warning. Bolt created a display of statistics. Femur, tibia, and

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 93 fibula hydraulics malfunctioning. Sciatic fiberoptic thread: 48 percent loss of efficiency. Auriculotemporal thread misfiring. Estimat&*-3## The growl behind him swelled into a roar. Then a shadow passed over his head. He shouted a protest, his voice lost in a thunder of engines as the rider skimmed along the ground in front of him. Even before it rolled to a full stop, its hatch burst open and his escort was jumping out Balv included. Kelric tried to veer away. Bolt should have analyzed the terrain, his reflex libraries should have guided his feet, and his hydraulics should have supported the abrupt direction change. Somewhere the system failed. He tripped and fell forward, slamming into the sand. As he struggled to his knees in the evening's fading light, he saw the guards running toward him. Kyle magnification activated, Bolt thought. Deactivate.' Kelric thought. Preparing attack. No! He shouted the thought. You can't use my brain for that! STOP! But he had pushed his injured systems too far one too many times. The safety protocols failed and an attack exploded out from his Kyle centers, amplified so far beyond what his brain could tolerate that Bolt quit trying to calculate the resulting damage and just flashed red warnings all over the disintegrating display of stats. Uncontrolled, the attack slammed into the escort with a force only a member of the Rhon could summon. Kelric tried to stop the onslaught, cut it of, swamp it out, anything to end the nightmare. But his damaged systems refused to respond. The signal held true, unrelenting, dragging him further and further into his link with the escort, until their dentities merged.

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He was Hacha. level after level of personality, each peeling back like a skin: strength, traditionalism, pride in her work, love for her husband and child. Rev's mind was a complex of dice patterns, shifting, unceasing. He lived Quis, thought Quis, dreamt Quis . . . Balv thought of flying, of his family, of his job. Impressions of Llaach lanced though the barrage; newest member of the escort, least confident. Deeper down he found her love of her husband: Jevi, Calani.

94 Catherine Asam— Like a runaway web vims, Kelric's amplified signals a away at their minds. Llaach buckled first, her neurotransmi ters going wild, attacking her own brain cells. As she die Kelric screamed, dying with her, experiencing every instant < it, unable to break the link that bound the five of them togethe And when the other three guards began to die, Kelric final in desperation, broke the link by breaking his own mind. 8 The Square "The Tribunal of Dahl," Chankah said, "is now convened." She stood in the Hall of Voices, a large room paneled in wood, filled with a sense of antiquity. The table in front of herj reflected light from amberglass lamps overhead. At her back,| a rail set of a gallery filled with benches. An empty gallery. This Tribunal was closed to the public i The Estate aide Corb stood at her side, adjusting his spectacles. About five paces in front of them, the judges sat at: their high bench, looking down from its gleaming expanse of darkwood. Their robes rustled as they moved. For this ase there were six judges instead of the usual three: two on defense, two on prosecution, and two neutral, including the Elder Judge. The Elder regarded Chankah. "Successor Dahl, do you agree to act as Estate Manager until Deha Dahl can once more assume her duties?" "Yes," Chankah said. No, she thought. Not this way. But no choice existed. Deha—her lifelong mentor—lay near death in the aftermath of a massive heart attack brought on by whatever had happened three days ago, out in the desert. One fact remained clear: Llaach was dead. Although the Tribunal would focus primarily on her death, the ramifications of

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 95 any decisions made here would go much further than Llaach. The future of the Twelve Estates was at

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stake. "We shall begin," the Elder said. She waited until Chankah and Corb sat down, then said, "Bring in the Tribunal party." An Estate aide pulled back the bolts in a door to the left of the bench and leaned her weight into it. With the creak of old wood, the portal slowly swung open. The Voice entered first, a tall man in a violet robe, his silvered hair swept back from his face. The witnesses came next: guards from the city, airfield personnel, doctors Rohka and Dabbiv, and Captain Hacha. The captain looked pale, but her walk was steady. They brought Kelric in last. Dressed in a black prison uniform, he walked surrounded by an octet of guards. A chain four handspans long joined the iron manacles fastened around his wrists above the gold gleam of his Calanya guards. Watching him, Chankah felt a sense of grief. So much was lost, both for Dahl and for Kelric, all because he had the misfortune to crash on a world where he was both coveted and feared. The Voice crossed to a table on Chankah's right and the aide directed the witnesses to the gallery. The Square of Decision stood to the left, a chair surrounded by a wooden rail. The guards seated Kelric in the chair and took up posts around the rail. The Elder spoke. "Before we begin, do any here have petitions that concern this Tribunal?" The large number of people who approached the gallery rail worried Chankah. How could there be so many petitioners when so few citizens knew what had happened? She had kept the incident quiet, backed in her decision by the Ministry. If knowledge spread about Kelric's identity, it could start a panic. News of Llaach's death had leaked into the Quis, but most people believed she died apprehending a Dahl citizen who had stolen a windrider. Chankah had revealed the full story only to a select few: city elders, top oficials, and Deha's kin. Four people stood in the first group: two women and two men. "Please identify yourselves," the Elder said.

96 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— "I am Yeva," the first woman an swered. "Two decades ag< before Deha Dahl became Manager, she worked in the Chi dren's Cooperative. During that time she was my primal guardian." "I am Tabbol," the first man said. "Manager Dahl was m guardian in the Cooperative." "I am Sabhia," the second woman said. "Manager Dahl w also my guardian." The younger man spoke last. He watched the judges wit familiar eyes, huge and black, like dark pools. "I am Jaymsol Deha Dahl is my mother."

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Chankah stared at him. It had been longer than she realize since she had seen Jaymi. He wasn't "Jaymi" anymore. Deha' son, her only biological child, had grown into a man. "What is your petition?" the Elder asked. Yeva read from a document in her hand. "If Manager Dat dies as a result of her heart seizure, Sevtar Dah should be trie for her murder as well as that of Llaach Dahl." Chankah almost swore. Did they realize what they were asl ing? Whether they acknowledged it or not, Kelric was the stepfather. All they saw in hi was the conqueror incarnate, nightmare come to life. Watching Jaymson, she felt a dee loss. She suspected he would have liked Kelric once he had th chance to know him, but that would never happen now. "Your charge is severe," the Elder said. "On what ground do you bring it?" "On the grounds," Yeva said, "that Manager Dahl's cond tion is a direct result of the accused's actions." The Elder considered her. "This is not a murder trial. We ai met to determine what transpired in the desert why Llaach Da died, and what our response should be." She paused. "Given th far-reaching ramifications of any decisions we make here, yoi petition will require a private conference by the Bench." "I understand," Yeva said. "We await your decision." Sh gave her document to the Tribunal aide and withdrew with h group. Chankah recognized the second petitioner: Avahna Dan Speaker for the Calanya. The painful duty of telling Llaach husband that his wife had died had fallen to Chankah. Whe

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 97 he requested to see the Speaker, she thought he wanted to send a message to Llaach's kin. Avahna's presence here was an unwelcome surprise. The aide Corb spoke to her in a low voice. "Are you going to allow this? What if Jevi demands Sevtar's life for Llaach's?" Chankah pushed her hand through her hair. "It's Jevi's right to petition. Just pray we don't have to intervene." Avahna said, "I speak for the Calani Jevi." "What is his request?" the Elder asked. "He asks," Avahna said, "that if the Bench acquits the accused, then Sevtar never be allowed to live in the Dahl Calanya. Should this be unacceptable, Jevi asks to leave Dahl for the Calanya of another Estate." Sympathy gentled the Elder's face. When she glanced toward the table, Chankah nodded, relieved. The Elder turned to Avahna. "You may tell Jevi his petition is granted."

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Avahna bowed. "Thank you, your Honor." The final petitioner was a woman with coppery curls spilling down her back. She wore the blue jumpsuit of a guardian from the Children's Cooperative and looked ill at ease in the severity of the court. The woman took a breath. "I am Chala Dahl. I represent the Elders of the Dahl residences: the Women's House, Men's House, Couples' House, Parents' House, and Children's Cooperative." She shuffled her papers self-consciously, then read from one. "Although we abhor the nature of the events that led to this Tribunal, we feel compelled to make this statement: there have been no executions for centuries. If Sevtar Dahl is given such a sentence, it will set us back to an age when violence was our way of life. For this reason we exhort you to refrain from any such ruling." Yeva jumped to her feet. "I object to this girl's claim—" "You are out of order," the Elder judge said. "Your Honor, I apologize," Yeva said. "But this girl claims to represent all Houses of the city when in fact she speaks only the naive opinions of a few people." Chankah stood and the petitioners fell silent. She considered Yeva. "Do you claim to represent the Houses of Dahl?"

98 Catherine Asaro——————————————————————| "Successor Dahl." Yeva bowed. "All I state is this: the sev ity of the crimes brought before this Bench require measue of equal severity when dealing with the perpetrator." ; Perpetrator. Chankah frowned. Yeva spoke as if Kelric' guilt were already decided. The hearing hadn't even begun an already they had convicted him. It undermined the very foun dation of a Tribunal, which was that the person who sat in i Square of Decision should receive a fair hearing. They neede to cool off the courtroom, give the tension time to eas Chankah turned to the Eder and the judge nodded, undei standing her unspoken message. The Elder regarded Yeva. "If you wish to present a state ment, you may do so prior to the morning session tomorrow. She turned to Chala. "We will take your petition into consic eration." Chala and Yeva nodded. After everyone had taken thei seats, the Elder picked up a mallet and knocked it against small gong on the bench. "This Tribunal is ow in session, She turned to the Voice. "Evid Dahl, step forward." The Voice went to stand before the Bench. "Do you swear to remain impartial when you question th witnesses?" the Elder asked. "I swear," Evid said. "Please call your first witness."

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Testimony of officers from the CityGuard filled the morr ing, and after Midday recess the airfield personnel were ques tioned. The witnesses laid out a list of Kelric's actions; fight! threats, assaults, abductions—it all formed a violent pictur incongruous with the quiet man who sat in the Square c Decision. "And so the matter before this Tribunal," Yeva finished, "is on with no precedent in modern history. As such, it require unprecedented justice. Yesterday it was claimed we regress t barbarism if we deal with the accused as he has dealt with u I answer with this: if his crimes go unpunished what messa will that send out? That a person may murder without cer sure 7 Mutters rumbled among' the witnesses. The Elder waite

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 99 until the noise died down and then spoke. "No one would deny we must avoid such a message. However, we remind you that Sevtar Dahl has been convicted of nothing." "I understand, your Honor," Yeva said. But as she returned to her seat, others nodded their support to her. The Elder turned to Evid. "Summon your next witness." "I call Dabbiv Dahl," Evid said. Dabbiv went to stand before the Bench. The Elder said, "The Tribunal oath requires you tell the facts with truth. Do you swear to do so? "Yes," Dabbiv said. "Be seated then." The Square of Witness, to the left of the Bench, looked much like the chair where Kelric sat. However, no guards stood around its rail. After Dabbiv was seated, Evid said, "Doctor, in what capacity do you know Sevtar Dahl?" "I was his physician," Dabbiv said. "Was? You no longer are?" "Manager Dahl took me off his case." "Why?" Dabbiv hesitated. "We disagreed about his treatment." "Disagreed how?"

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"She wanted me to give him drugs that made him sick." Evid raised his eyebrows. "Manager Dahl wished to poison her Akasi?" Dabbiv flushed. "Of course not. The drug was a sedative, a powerful one, but safe under proper superviston. Safe for a Coban, that is. Kelric, I mean Sevtar, isn't a Coban." A prosecution judge beckoned to Evid. He talked with her, then turned back to Dabbiv. "When was the last time you gave Sevtar the drug in question?" "The day of his Oath ceremony," Dabbiv said. "After which he escaped from a locked room at the top of a tower, knocked out all of his guards, shot Manager Dahl, wrecked the airfield, kidnapped a pilot, and flew to the starport?" Dabbiv reddened. "Yes." "Since these events, do you believe the drug had any effect on him at all?"

100 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————~~B "I don't know how he managed to nullify it, but it was poi| soning him."

IBI

A neutral judge bent to Evid. He listened, then spoke tl Dabbiv. "Could a side effect of this drug be to induce psyH "It made him physically ill," Dabbiv said. "Not mentally." U "But is it possible?" if "I don't know." B "Could his adverse reactions, both to food and medicine, b psychological in origin?" /llL "I doubt it." Evid leaned forward. "Then tell me this. Can a change in eye or skin pigmentation dramatically alter the way a persoB reacts to sedation?" "|| "I don't know. It doesn't seem likely." ;| "Yet," Evid pounced, the only difference between Sevtar| and you or me is coloring. Why then should a substance that is? harmless to us poison him?" '> "He only looks like us." Dabbiv thumped his fist on the;; chair. "What do I have to do to make you people see? This man;| isn't from another Estate. He's from another world." \ "Young man," the Elder said. "Please control yourself." 3 Dabbiv scowled at her A prosecution judge beckoned Evid. He listened, theni turned to Dabbiv. "Are you still a member of the Estate staff?" "• The doctor stiffened. "No." "What is your position?" ; "Medic for the city maintenance crew." "Manager Dahl dismissed you from the Estate?" ' Tightly, Dabbiv said, "Yes." s "I see." Evid glanced at the judges for confirmation, then ' said, "We have no further questions Doctor." " Chankah frowned. The more she heard, the less impartial Evid sounded. She rose to her feet. When the Elder nodded, Chankah said, "It should be made clear in transcript that Man- \ ager Dahl fully intends to recall Dabbiv in his position as one of her physicians." i "Very well." The Elder glanced at the Scribe. He sat to the right of the Bench at a Quis table recognizable by its distinc-

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.——————————————————————The Last Hawk 101 tive structure, a round top on a fluted pedestaL The Scribe dipped his quill in ink and turned Chankah's words into hieroglyphs on his parchment. The next witness was Senior Physician Rohka. "His reaction was severe," Rohka said when questioned about Kelric's bout of Kevtar's disease. "The night they brought him back here his fever was so high we had to pack him in ice. Without treatment, he would have died." "Do you know what caused it?" Evid asked. "He probably lacks immunities we're born with." "Can't emotional stress make some people sick?" Rohka considered the thought. "It's possible." "Could that have led him to attack the escort?" "It would take more than stress to explain how he killed Llaach Dahl." The doctor blanched. "Every blood vessel in her brain was ruptured." A murmur rumbled through the petitioners and witnesses. Evid waited until it quieted, then said, "We have no more questions, Doctor." After Rohka left the chair, Evid bowed to Chankah. "I now call the acting Estate Manager of Dahl." So, Chankah thought. It was a rare occurrence for a Manager or her successor to be called in a Tribunal. But then, this was no normal Tribunal. When Chankah was seated, Evid said, "Successor Dahl, please describe the events that led to your discovery of the escort." "I was with the two riders that found Balv," Chankah said. "After he took over as pilot for the other craft, it outdistanced the one in which Manager Dahl and I rode. We found it that night near the starport." "And the escort?" Evid asked. "Their bodies were on the ground nearby." "What was Sevtar doing?" "Kneeling in the sand." "That's all?" "There wasn't much else he could do. He was catatonic." Evid frowned. "Then what caused Manager Dahl's heart seizure?"

102 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— "It happened when she realized Llaach was dead. She knelt ;| next to the body." Chankah steadied herself against the memory. 'Then she said, 'No/I'm not ready,' and collapsed." | "Ready? For what?"

••}

"I think she realized she was having a heart attack." Quietly Chankah said, "She meant she wasn't ready to die." "How did Sevtar react?" Evid asked.

"Her voice roused him. He tried to go to her. But he could; H hardly move." 'a Evid considered her. "Successor Dahl, your statement indi- | cates that besides Manager Dahl and the

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escort, only Ixpar 1 Kam knew Sevtar well. Since Minister Karn refuses to let her ''• successor testi—" | "Her wha!" Kelric's interruption vibrated in the air. Silence followed the words. The Elder looked down at | Chankah, her face flushed. "Perhaps you should . . . ?" The request startled Chankah as much as Kelric's outburst. \ By law, no witness could intervene with any person in the Square of Decision. Then she understood; as acting Estate ; Manager only she could speak to a Calani.

'•

Chankah hurried over to Kelric. "Please. You mustn't dis- • nipt the testimony." He clenched the rail in front of him. "Ixpar is the Minister's heir "Not heir. Her successor to the Ministry." "Why isn't she here to testify? Her word could make a lot of difference." "Sevtar, please. Now isn't—" "My name is Kelric." "Outbursts like this only hurt your case." He regarded her with the look of a man who expected to die. "What case? They've already convicted me." Chankah regarded him. Then she returned to the Bench and spoke to the Elder. "We need a recess." The aide Corb sat on the bench that circled the alcove, watching Chankah pace across the small room. Sunlight slanted through the arched window and reflected off his spectacles.

-The Last Hawk 103 "Kelric is right," Chankah said. "They've already decided his guilt. Evid is hardly any more objective than the petitioners who want an execution." "They're afraid," Corb said. "That doesn't excuse the charade going on in there." Chankah stopped. "Ixpar Karri should be here. Her testimony is important" "I don't see how the Minister can refuse our summons." Chankah grimaced. "She's the Minister, that's how."

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"You should talk with Elder Dahl." "Good idea. Check with her aides. See if we can meet before the Tribunal reconvenes." She went to the window, watching the hawks drift in lazy circles above the city. "Tell me, have you ever seen an althawk?" He adjusted his spectacles. "Well, yes. Of course. A lot of them nest in the peaks above Dahl Pass." "Not the common hawks. I mean the giants. The beasts our ancestors rode through the skies." "How could I? They're extinct." She turned to him. "Legends say a hawk chose one warrior and one warrior only whose touch he would tolerate. He killed anyone else who tried to catch him." Corb studied her face. "Why do you bring this up now?" "Because the giant hawks aren't extinct, my friend. One came down from the stars." She rubbed her hands along her arms. "We caged him with an oath and pinioned him in gold. Now we're so terrified of what we've done, we're afraid to let him live." The Elder lifted her robe off the chair in her chambers where she had draped it during the recess. "To say your suggestion is unusual, Chankah, is an understatement." "Who else is there to speak in Sevtar's defense?" Chankah asked. "Only Successor Kam, and the Minister forbids it." "Dabbiv spoke for him." "And Evid did his best to make Dabbiv look like a fool. We have only prosecutors in this hearing. No defense." The Elder settled the robe on her shouders. "Perhaps because there is no defense."

104 Caherine Asaro—————————————————————1 Chankah wondered what had happened to the Elder's; vaunted neutrality. "Or because we wish to see none." "To let Sevtar take the Witness Chair would violate his Oath." "As acting Estate Manager I can allow it." A tap sounded on the chamber door. "Elder Dahl?" a girl called. "The other judges are ready to enter court." "All right." The Elder regarded Chankah. "I must think more on your suggestion."

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When the Tribunal reconvened, Evid summoned Hacha. Watching the captain take her seat, Chankah fet as if a weight descended on her. Hacha's word carried authority in Dahl. And from the beginning she had despised Kelric. Her testimony would destroy him. Evid spoke. "Captain, you were the only witness to Llaach Dahl's death. Can you describe what happened?" "Sevtar afected our minds," Hacha said. "He had a weapon that worked on your brain?" "No. He did it himself." "He attacked you physically?" "No. He didn't move." "Then how did he kill Officer Dahl?" "I'm not sure," Hacha said. "It was an accident." Evid frowned. "You mean the deceased 'accidentally' burst every blood vessel in her brain?" "No," Hacha said. "I mean Sevtar never intended for it to happen." "Then why is Officer Llaach dead?" Evid demanded. "He only meant to knock us out," Hacha said. "But he couldn't break his ink with our minds. So he broke what created it. He burnt out his brain." "Ah." Evid relaxed. "I see." He almost smiled. "You believe he used—what is the word? Telepathy?" "I don't know what it was." "Llaach Dahl suffered massive brain hemorrhages," Evid said. "Isn't it possible the accused's weapon affected your brain as well, making you think this mental force existed?" "He wasn't carrying any weapons." "Wouldn't it be more accurae to say he had no weapons you recognized?"

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 105 Hacha snorted. "Is that any less absurd? An invisible gun that explodes blood vessels in the brain?" Evid leaned forward. "No more absurd than a gun that does nothing until fired by the accused, at which time it tears holes in airfields and disintegrates hangars." "He didn't shoot us."

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Evid studied her. "The fact that he let you live must make you grateful." "I defend him," Hacha said, "because he didn't commit murder." "No?" Evid demanded. "A member of our CityGuard—an officer in your command—is dead." Hacha leaned forward. "All four of us would be dead if he hadn't sacrificed himself to save our lives." Evid's voice grew louder. "Murder is no sacrifice." "Llaach's death was an accident." "How can you defend a murderer?" someone yelled. Looking out at the gallery, Hacha raised her voice. "I'll mourn Llaach for the rest of my life. But killing Sevtar won't make her live again." She turned to the Bench. "If you execute him, it's you who are the murderers." One of the judges flushed. "You dare make such an accusation?" "Winds above," Chankah muttered. The rumbles in the gallery were growing loud and harsh. Several of the witnesses stood up, staring at Kelric with hostility bred by fear. Watching him pull at his manacles, Chankah's mind formed the ugly image of a mob attacking a man trapped in chains. She strode to the Bench. "Stop the Tribunal. Now." Rising to her full height, the Elder banged her mallet on the gong. A sonorous note pealed out above the din. "This is Tribunal," the Elder boomed. "Not a contest of lung power." When the room quieted, she said, "We are in recess until tomorrow morning. If an outbreak like this occurs again we will close these proceedings completely." "And so it is our decision," the Elder fnished, "that Sevtar be allowed to make any statement he wishes. Anyone who interrupts him will be expelled from this courtroom."

106 Catherine Asam————————————————_ Chankah looked out over the gallery. The watchers sat ii silence, as if subdued by the capacity for violence they had di covered in themselves the previous day. As Kelric sat in the Witness Chair, he pushed a curl of ha hair away from his eyes. His sleeve slipped, revealing both hi Calanya guards and manacles, cold iron paired with gold Murmurs of dismay came from the witnesses. Is this how Dahl will become known? Chankah brooded. A the Estate that put a Calani in chains? Kelric took a breath. "I come before you with—with grea regret."

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His voice was deep and husky, with a lilting accent. From normal man such a voice would have captivated. From a Cala it devastated. Hearing him, Chankah could believe the legend o the warrior who, after coaxing only one word from her queen' Akasi, became so enamored of him that she committed suicid because he was unattainable. But after his first words, Kelric froze. The Elder waite then motioned for Dahl's acting Estate Manager. Chankah went to the Chair. "Kelric? What's wrong?" He swallowed. "I'm not sure I can do this." "But why?" "Speaking in public—I could never do it well. I'm a sodie: not an orator. And now I'm—I've a neurological problem. Th electrodes in my brain. They're damaged. They're making m neurons misfire." "I know what an electrode is," she said. "But how could yo fit something so big in your brain?" "They're small. You can't even see them with the unaide eye." Chankah wondered at the marvels his people had achieve But at what price? "You're talking to me." He twisted the chain that joined his manacles. "Publi speaking—it makes my tension jump. I can't—it's triggerin something in my brain that affects the electrodes. They mak my neurons misfire. Then I stutter. Or lose my thoughts." Although Chankah knew his reaction had no connection t his oath of silence, the instincts it evoked in her went deep( than logic. Every time he stumbled with his speech, it was a

_————————————————————The Last Hawk 107 if he struggled against breaking his Calanya Oath. It made her want to protect him, care for him, assure him everything would be all right. It was, in fact, an effective defense on his part. "Going ahead with this could help you," she said. He rubbed his palms on his knees. "I'll try." After she returned to her table, Kelric said, "Manager Dahl and her guards—they saved my life. I have the greatest of gratitude for that. I never wanted—I never meant for Llaach's death to happen. If I could change it—undo it—if only ..." If only, Chankah thought. So many ifonlys.

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Kelric glanced at the petitioners who wanted his death. "Deha is my wife. I would never—how could you believe I would try to kill her?" Spots of red touched Jaymson's cheeks and even Yeva looked subdued. Kelric took a breath, then continued. "My mind has injuries. I've described it—to your doctors. It is real. I needed—need even more now—I have to get treatment. And I—the food. The water. I can barely even eat here." He pushed back his curls, looking like a Calani out of an Old Age legend. "In the desert—the link Captain Hacha described—it was real. I—I malfunctioned. I became the escort." He swallowed, his face pale. "When Llaach died—I died with her. I couldn't make it stop" His voice cracked. "For the rest of my life I'll live with the memory of her dying." Then the only sound was the scratch of the Scribe's quill. Chankah wondered if the others realized the full impact of his words. His own mind had imposed a sentence on him worse than any a court could issue. He would live with Llaach's memories until the day he died. When it was clear Kelric had no more to say, the Eler spoke in a subdued voice. 'This Tribunal is now in recess until the Bench reaches its decision." The clang of metal woke Kelric. He lifted his head from the cot and peered into the darkness. A glow lit the end of the hall outside his cell. It came closer, resolving into a guard who carried a lamp. Captain Hacha walked with her.

108 Catherine AsamWhen they reached the cell, the guard peered through th|a bars. "I think he's asleep, Capt'n." Kelric sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the cot. Thel guard bunked at him, then turned to Hacha. "If anyone finds odi| I let you in here I'll be in more trouble than a fly in a vat of hof wax." I won't stay long;' Hacha said. The guard muttered under her breath. But she opened tl door and withdrew down the hall, leaving Hacha alone witf" Kelric. f The captain came into the cell. "Rev and Balv ask that I give you a message." : "Yes?" Kelric asked. for their lives." Quietly she added, "As I do for mine"

lj "They thank you

He wasn't sure what he had expected from the captain, but this wasn't it. "Are they all right?" t

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"Yes. They're both out of the Med House now." She sat on t the other end of the cot. "Kelric, I don't understand you.| I doubt I ever will. But I know what happened out there. The only thing preventing you from reaching the starportt was the four of us. To escape Coba, all you had to do was let i us die." | He spoke quietly. "In the past, I've wondered what I would do if I ever faced such a choice. I always assumed I would save , myself." With an edge of bitterness, he added, "I was wrong. 1 Now I'm going to die for it." | She regarded him. "There is a phrase. Chabiat k 'in. It comes t from an ancient language, older even than Old Script. The lit- ? eral translation is 'the day is guarded, watched over.' But it is ? more than that. It is a spiritual thing, a guarding of life. My I ancestors used it to mean the life a warrior gives by offering t her own to save others." Lamplight flickered on her face. H "There is that between us now." The guard appeared in the doorway. "We've done with | changing shifts, Capt'n. You got to leave or I'm in trouble." J Hacha stood and spoke in a low voice. "I won't forget Kel- s ric." Then she was gone and the door clanged shut.

-The Last Hawk 109 * * * Fatigue creased the Elder's face as she stood, looking out at the courtroom. "We are met today to issue a decision in the case of Sevtar Dahl." Chankah sat with Corb, her hands clenched in her lap. A tense sience filled the hall. The Elder continued. "It is true that Sevtar's actions led to Manager Dahl's injuries. However, he is responsible for neither her heart condition nor her decisions. We thus bring no charges against him for any calamity that results from that illness." "No!" Yeva Dahl stood up. Two guards moved away from the wall and started toward her. She looked from one to the other, her face flushed. Then she sat down. The Elder waited until the murmurs among the witnesses quieted. Then she said, "We may never fully understand Sevtar's abilities. We lack the background to determine whether or not he misused them. For our decision in the matter of Llaach's death, we must rely on the testimony we have heard about Sevtar's character and our judgment of the statement he made to this Bench." When the Elder paused, Chankah could almost feel every person in the room leaning forward to hear her words. "It is our conclusion," the Elder said, "that the accused did not intend to kill Llaach Dahl. We therefore rule her death as accidental manslaughter." So, Chankah thought. The penalty for manslaughter varied, but the maximum sentence was a lengthy

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prison term. She was surprised how much it relieved her to know that Kelric would live. "In deciding sentence for this case," the Elder continued, "we are faced with an unprecedented situation. If Sevtar ever escapes—no, if Kelricson Garlin Valdoria, third heir to the military rule of Imperial Skolia ever escapes, all Coba will suffer the consequences." She spoke in a strained voice. "We have no wish to pass sentence on a Calani. Nor do we desire to revive punitive measures unused for centuries. And it is clear the accused is a man of good character." She sounded as if she were struggling under a weight. "But

110 Catherine Asaro———————————————————— against our desire for leniency we must weigh the safety d our world."

;

Her final words fell into the air. "The Dahl Bench therefo sentences Sevtar Dahl to execution by honed discus, to be ca ried out on Halften, at Night's First Hour." 9 Quee' Arch Ixpar walked along the sunhall, soaking in the sunlight tha poured through its many windows. An arched door swun, open farther down the hall, making a pleasing shape. Then i closed, leaving Jahit Kam behind in the hall. "Ixpar." The Minister waited for her. "I was looking fo you." She came alongside Jahlt. "I just finished my physics tutorial. The Minister walked with her. "Avtac Varz is coming t visit." Ixpar thought of the Varz Manager; a steel-gray woman wh knew her power well and pitted it against Kam often. "Why? "A good question. If you ask Avtac, she will say she come to discuss mining rights on the Miesa Plateau." Jahlt snortec "The real reason she comes is to make trouble. As usual." Ixpar almost smiled, wondering if the Varz Manager said th same thing to her staff when Jahlt visited Varz. "Is she bring ing her successor?" "Yes, Stahna comes. Manager Varz has suggested you an Stahna exchange Quis." "They know I've never played Council Quis before." "They also know Stahna has twice your age and experience. Jahlt paused. "There will be no loss of honor if you decline." And back down to Varz? "I'll play." Jahlt gave her a look of approval. "Avtac has no idea of you gift with the Quis. You will dice spirals around Stahna."

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—————————————————————The Last Hawk 111 Ixpar didn't know about that, but she intended to spend all her free time in preparation. "Tev will be impressed." "Tev?" "He's in my mathematics tutorial." "Ah. He." Jahit smiled. 'Tell me about him." Ixpar warmed to the subject of Tev. "He's beautiful. His eyes are brown. Like hazelle eyes. They almost look gold when the light hits them right." Jahlt's smile vanished. "I thought you left that behind." "Left what behind?" "The Skolian." Ixpar stiffened, and silence accompanied them for the rest of their walk. An Estate aide was waiting in the antechamber at the end of the sunhall. She bowed to the Minister. "A construction forewoman is here to see you, ma'am. Something about a contract for her crew." "All right." Jahit turned to Ixpar. "The file on the Miesa mining treaties is in my desk. You should read it before Avtac arrives." Ixpar went on alone to Jahlt's office, a comer room filled with sunshine. Armchairs upholstered in fine old leather stood on the rugs and bookshelves lined the walls. The top drawer of the desk contained a clutter of quills, two ink bottles, and a pendulum watch. The Miesa file lay tucked into a comer. As Ixpar took the file, the door opened. She tued to see an aide enter the room. The woman bowed. "Successor Kam." She gave Ixpar a letter. "A rider delivered this at dawn. The pilot said it was urgent, to be opened by you only." Curious, Ixpar turned the envelope over. The gilt stamp of the Dahl suntree emblem gleamed in one comer. Who in Dahl would send her a secret communication? Kelric? The instant the aide left, Ixpar tore open the letter. The message was from Captain Hacha. Jaht opened the door of her ofice and found Ixpar staring at her from the center of the room. The girl held a crumpled paper clenched in her fist.

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112 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————| "It's a lie," Ixpar said. Jahit frowned. "What?"

| ]

"A lie." Ixpar's usually vibrant voice was flat with fury. "What are you talking about?" "Have they killed him yet? Murdered him for the good Coba?" So. Ixpar knew. Whoever caused this trouble would so regret it. "Who were you talking to?" "No one. The Miesa file wasn't in your desk so I looked it. I found this." Ixpar raised her fist with the paper. "W didn't you tel me about the Tribunal? I should have testifio Jahit closed the door. "You must accept that Kelric gone." "No! You can't let them execute him tonight. It's wrong." Jahit went over and pried the paper out of her fist. It was t letter Chankah had sent after the Tribunal. "Let those with t necessary experience decide his guilt or innocence." "I know him. Better than any of you." Jahit laid a hand on her shoulder: "You see only what y want to see. The handsome prince in need of a protector. isn't reality. It doesn't even come close." Ixpar shrugged off her hand. "What happened to your wot about justice? How can I believe you when you don't folk them yourself?" Jahit motioned to a dice table by the window. "Sit dowi She would engage Ixpar in a Quis session. The evolving str tures would tell the story of the Imperialate, revealing far bi ter than words what it would mean for Coba to become occupied world. After they were seated, they rolled out their dice. Jahit set orb in the center of the table. A gold orb, for Kelric. S watched Ixpar, waiting to see how the girl responded. Jaht knew Ixpar would try to convince her, through t dice, that they should let Kelric live. But Ixpar had ne\ faced the full power of her mentor's Quis. It was no coin dence Jahit ruled Kam: none could hold their own against t unmitigated force of her dice, especially not a child. She h hoped to spare the girl the blistering pressure of such a se sion. But Ixpar was coming of age and it was time s

__———————————————————The Last Hawk 113 learned the ways of power. She had lived her entire life in freedom and was too young to comprehend from her history lessons what it meant to be subjugated by conquerors. Caught in her infatuation, she refused to see the danger Kelric posed.

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It was time the girl faced reality. Then she would understand why Kelric had to die. Still breathless from running, the aide leaned on the table in Chankah's suite. "The message came over the air tower co. The rider must have broken every known speed record." Chankah forgot the dinner she hadn't been able to eat anyway and left with the aide. They strode through the city, tall figures passing through the falling dusk, and reached the airfield in time to see a windrider descending in a glare of lights, buffeted by angry winds. The craft bore the Kam symbol: a giant althawk with its wings spread in soaring flight. As soon as the rider landed, the hatch swung open—and the Minister of Coba stepped out into the night. Leaning against the wind, Chankah crossed the tarmac. She bowed to Jahlt. "You honor my Estate." Shadows hooded Jahlt's face. "The execution. Is it done?" "No. In an hour." The Minister said, "I want to see him first." Kelric heard the prison door clang open. Boots sounded on stone in the hall outside his cell. He stood up and gazed out the high window of his cell, at the stars that gleamed between the bars. Good-bye, he thought. Then he turned to face his executioners.

Chankah was coming down the hall with an octet of guards. An unfamiliar woman accompanied them, a tall and gaunt figure in black trousers and jacket. After a guard unlocked the cell door, the gaunt woman turned to the others. "Leave us." Chankah started to speak. "It's not safe—" "Leave us," the woman repeated. Under the force of her stare they all retreated down the hall and out the door at its end, leaving the gaunt woman alone with Kelric.

114 Catherine Aro——————i ; i0' into his celL "You are PTin Kelrics I It unsettled Keinc to hear his title in Coban "Yes " & : I am Minister Karn." ' ' i? s you' Had they a11 come to see him d? "Is Ixpar vf | "Ixpar is not your concern" ;;Ifshecame-I don't want her to see the execution" I You have contaminated her mind enough. I have no in lion of letting you do so further."

"You came alone to witness it?" |[ "No." Jahit regarded him with night-back eyes "I can I alone to meet the man who so affected my succr t t convinced me to grant him a stay of execution 'c At hrst the words made no sense. He heard them but th wereoy sounds. Slowly they filted into h lodged

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there with a spark of hope. A stay" I stopped the execution," Jahit said. "Your sentence i n 1a life term in the Haka prison." is n

sentence

10 Ruby Wedges Set in motion by the wind, the desert rolled in from the horizon like an ocean of sand and broke in red waves against the Teotec Mountains. As the rider descended, Haka materialized out of the sandstorm, spread out on the desert floor and climbing into the Teotecs. Towers the hues of a pale sunset were carved out of the cliffs, with windows like square eyes. When the rider glided past them, Kelric could see people staring out at it. He turned away and looked around the cabin. His guards filled eight of the seats, but they weren't who his gaze sought. Deha sat behind the pilot, with Chankah at her side. She was staring out the window, her face pensive. The rider skimmed into the whirling sand and landed at the airfield. Deha disembarked first, followed by Chankah, both of them pulling their jacket hoods tight in protection against the blowing sand. Then the Dahl guards brought out Kelric. An octet of Haka guards waited on the tarmac, eight giants in yellow uniforms and dusty boots, dark skinned and dark eyed, each with a tasseled scarf wrapped around her head as protection from the blowing sand. In addition to the usual stunners, they also carried daggers with blades as long as a forearm. As the Haka guards closed around Kelric, Deha came over to him. Although it was impossible to hear her in the keening wind, he understood the words her lips formed: Good-bye, my husband. Softly, Kelric said, "Good-bye, my wife." Then the guards took him away, into the sandstorm. Mountains rose from the desert in huge steps, dominating land and sky. At their feet, lesser peaks alternated with stretches of

118 Catherine Asaro—————————•——————————i desert like rocks on a treacherous shoreline. Wind whipped the' sand into plumes that sprayed against the crags. | Surrounded by guards, Kelric walked numbly, uncaring of the sand that scratched under his clothes, his hair, his armbands and manacles; A lifetime sentence, with no chance of parole. At leasti one ray of light

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eased his gloom: Deha was recovering. It meant more to him than he knew how to express, and it also gave him;' the illogical hope that he might find a way to escape this mess. They took him to a small peak jutting up from the desert. A metal door in it opened into a tunnel with iron-gray wals,; They followed the passage to a huge cavern partitioned mW cubicles, with a ceiling so high it hid in shadow. ; The guards took him to a cubicle where a clerk waited at a podium. "Sevtar Dahl?" she asked. "That's right," the captain said. She pulled down the tasseled scarf that had protected her face in the sandstorm. "He's to go to Compound Four." "Any valuables?" the clerk asked. "Armbands," the captain said. "Ankle and wrist guards, too, but they're welded on." "He's a CalaniT The clerk stared at Kelric, then remembered herself and looked at the captain. "He better leave the armbands here." Kelric held up his wrists. After a guard removed his manacles, he gave his armbands to the clerk. She gently set them on her podium, then pulled out a gray uniform. The captain took the uniform and turned to Kelric. "Take off your clothes." He stood, looking at the guards. They just looked back. So. No privacy. Gritting his teeth, he undressed. The clerk and several guards averted their gaze, but the rest of the group watched. When he was done, he waited, sweat evaporating off his bare skin in the dry air. The captain motioned to him. "Turn around and put your hands against the wall." Kelric stared at her. Why a search? When he paused, balking, the guards dropped their hands to their dagger-swords. So he turned to the wall and put his palms against it. He didn't

-The Last Hawk 119 like what it said about the prison administration, that a guard could take such actions, apparently with no fear of reprisal. The captain, a woman about his height, stood behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders. As she rubbed his skin with her fingertips, she murmured, "The gold really doesn't come off." She slid her hands down his back to his hips, speaking next to his ear in a low voice only he could overhear. "So this is how a Calani feels." Stroking his hips, she added, "What a waste, to put you in prison." Clenching his teeth, Kelric said nothing, just stared at the wall, trying to imagine himself elsewhere. Anywhere else. The captain spent a long time with her search, as if she could actually find something on bare skin. But

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finally she gave him the uniform and let him dress. They led him back through the cavern to a new tunnel. After various turns and twists, it exited into the sandstorm. A clearing surrounded by crags stretched before them. Several buildings stood in its center, partially obscured by blowing sand; beyond them, mountains rose into the sky. The guards took him to the fourth building. Inside, they followed a hall that ended at a massive portal. Opening it revealed a second portal. Only after they ushered him into the room between the doors and locked the first did they open the second. It was like going through a huge airlock. The second door opened onto a hall lined with wide archways, with drifts of sand piled against the walls. The captain led him to the third cell. "This is it. Home." Home? For the rest of his life? After the guards left, Kelric walked into the cell, a sandstone room about ten paces wide. A blanket lay on a pallet and sunlight slanted past the bars of a skylight in the ceiling. He went back into the hall. The rooms near the airlock showed signs of occupation: a shirt on a pallet, a dice pouch in the sand, a clay pot in a corner. A large man with shoulder-length black curls and a thick beard appeared in the archway of a cell. "Got a bone for slithering snakes, heh, crooner?" "What?" Kelric said. "This one's slow in the upper level, heh? And the hum says

120Catherine Asarohe's Calani." The man laughed. "Croon away, boy. Cre away." He came forward until his nose was a handspan fro Kelric's face. "Your skin offends me." "That's your problem," Kelric said. "Think you're bigger than the wind, heh, boy?" The ma snorted, deliberately turned his back, and walked away. Kelric shook his head. Then he went to his cell and lay o the pallet. He slipped into a fitful doze, waking at ever sound. Toward evening footsteps entered his cell. When his visitc crouched by the pallet, Kelric snapped open his eyes an grabbed the wrist of a hand coming down at his head. Abov / him, silhouetted against the skylight, he saw the angelic fao of a teenage boy. The boy tugged at his wrist. "Let go. I ony came to se what you was." Kelric dropped his wrist and sat up. "Now you know." ,

The boy shrank away from him. "You're even bigger'n Zev.' "Who is Zev?"

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"Zev Shazorla. He was here when the beaks brought yo in." The boy made a face. "He's the one got everyone callinj me Little Crooner. Kicks me off mad as a scowlbug for then to call me that, but seeing as they're big and I'm not, that's m name. But it used to be Ched. Ched Lasa Viasa." It was the first triple name Kelric had heard. The boy mus : moved to Viasa. "Lasa is

have been born in Lasa and later

Secondary Estate, isn't it?" :

" 'Course it is." Ched squinted in the dim light. "You loot , like metal."

Kelric shrugged, tired of the comments on his coloring. i •

"You from Ahkah Estate?" Ched asked.

"Why would I be from Ahkah?"

"I heard they talk funny." "My accent is Skolian." "Sure." Ched laughed. "And I'm Manager of Haka." He set: really?" ; Kelric saw no point in arguing. "I was at Dahl."

tied by the pallet. "Where you from

"Haka's boss must be a happy clawcat tonight." "Why should my sentence make Manager Haka happy?"

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 121 "You slow in the upper level or what?" Kelric scowled. "Let's just say my upper level is empty. Fill it up." Ched leaned forward. "Haka is a happy clawcat because what brews Dahl brews Kam and what brews Kam strokes Haka pink." Dryly Kelric said, "That's clear." He wondered if anyone here spoke normal Teotecan. "How long you here for?" Ched asked. "Life." The boy's smile vanished. The question What did you do? hung in the air. Then Ched's mouth fell open. "Hey! Where's your dice pouch?" Crushed in a windrider crash, Kelric thought. He regretted losing Deia's gift. "I don't have one." "Everyone's got one." Ched seemed more disturbed by his lack of dice than his life sentence. "And you told Zev you was a Calani. A Calani with no Quis dice. What a croon." He reached for Kelric's arm. "I can prove you're no Calani." In reflex, Kelric knocked away the boy's hand. The motion pushed up his sleeve anyway, and his

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Calanya guard gleamed in the murky ligh. "You got guards!" Ched said. "You steal 'em?" "What would possess me to steal them?" The boy peered at the gold. "Them's old. Ancient. Must be worth half an Estate." He looked up. "Got 'em on your ankles too?" "Yes." "Real gold and old as Haka. You better sleep with your eyes open." "They're welded on. You can't get them off." Ched shrugged. "All the gold on Coba won't do me no good in this place. But there's crooners here razy enough to cut of your hands and feet for those things." "Great," Kelric muttered. "Just great." It was obvious to Deha Dahl that the Haka Manager had spared no effort to ensure her visitor received the finest treatment. They sat at a gleaming table, drank wine from crystal

122 Catherine Asaro———————————————| ' .•1! goblets, and dined on cream pheasant. A handsome youtH stood ready to refresh their drinks. Rashiva Haka's intended message was also obvious: Haka had more wealth, morel power, and more prestige than Dahl. ; Despite the excellent mea, Deha only picked at the food She felt too drained to eat, particularly when faced with the; vibrant beauty of the woman across the table. Rashiva Haka was a desert goddess. She glowed with youth. Her hair glis' tened like black satin and her eyes slanted upward, black opal&j in a face as smooth and as dark as java-cream. j "Is the meal to your liking Manager Dahl? Rashiva asked1 "Excellent, Manager Haka," Deha said.

"I'm glad we had this chance to relax." Rashiva smiled j "Even Estate Managers need a rest sometimes." | "So they do." Deha remembered her first years as a Man-, ager. "You will find, though, that the Managing becomes eas-'? ier with time." Rashiva's smile took on an edge. "I wasn't aware I found it i difficult."

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So much for polite conversation. Deha wished this ordeal were over. "Would you like to take our drinks in the Kejroom?";; Rashiva asked. "The tapestries there may amuse you."

-1

Deha tried not to think about the doctors at Dahl and their adamant warnings to avoid liqueur. If she refused the customary jai rum, Rashiva would suspect the weakness of her health. She smiled pleasantly. "Yes, let us retire for our drinks." ' Rashiva Haka, Manager of Haka Estate, felt like a misplayed dice cube. The Dahl Manager's imposing presence made her' acutely aware of her inexperience. As she ushered Deha into the Kejroom, she looked around at the tapestries on the walls, rich with scenes from the Old Age: warriors aloft on giant , althawks, Calanya ceremonies, battle scenes. Rashiva wished she could soak up the ferocity of those ancient warriors to help her deal with Dahl's formidable queen. ' Deha walked about looking at the tapestries. "These are beautiful." "They were a gift from Kej Estate," Rashiva said. "A Kej

-The Last Hawk 123 Manager gave them to Haka over a thousand years ago, when the two Estates joined forces during the Desert Wars." "Such detailed work." Deha studied a piece woven in gold, red, and blue thread. "It's a pity Kej didn't survive the Wars" Rashiva stiffened, wondering if Deha meant to belittle Haka's alliance with Kej. To hide her reaction, she turned to a co on the wall and flipped the switch. "Nida?" Her aide's voice floated into the air. "Here, ma'am." "Manager Dahl and I will take our jai in the Kejroom." "'ll send someone up right away," Nida said. Deha smiled as Rashiva clicked off the co. "Shall we sit down?" The impeccable courtesy of her voice made her host seem inestimably rude to leave her standing. "Most certainly," Rashiva said. "Let us be seated." So they sat facing off in armchairs until a youth arrived with the liqueur. He poured two glasses of jai rum, then set the decanter on (he table between them and withdrew from the room. Deha picked up her glass. "Well." She glanced at the Quis pouch on Rashiva's belt. "Shall we roll a game of dice?"

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Game? Rashiva thought. When two Managers sat at dice it was no game. Deha Dahl's mastery over the Quis was infamous. She would wipe the floor with Haka's young Manager. "Perhaps another time," Rashiva said. Deha nodded. "Another time, then. When you are ready." When she was ready. The barb stung. Rashiva forced herself to relax. "How are the renovations going at Dahl?" "Very well." Deha settled in her chair. "If Minister Karn pardons Sevtar, I will reopen the Akasi suite." Rashiva nearly spluttered rum all over the table. Pardoned? Was Deha mad? When she regained her equilibrium, she spoke in a mild voice that hinted at skepticism. "Why would he be pardoned?" "He no more belongs in prison than I do." She wondered what Deha was up to. Jahit Kam would never pardon Sevtar. Rashiva tried a discreet probe. "Prison does seem inappropriate for a Calani. A waste of his talent." "So it is." Deha sipped her jai. "After all, he mastered Outsider Quis in ony a season."

124 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— | Rashiva almost snorted. Did Deha think her a fool? "One | rarely hears of such talent." ' | 'True. But then, such talent rarely exists." | If ever. Yet it was an odd boast to make. What advantage lay | in it? If it were true, Sevtar was a genius who now belonged to ; Haka. Why would Deha want her to know that? Of course the "genius" was also a killer. Deha would be delighted if Haka rehabilitated Sevtar, taught him Haka Quis, and then sent him back to Dahl. No better way existed for one Manager to gain power over another than by obtaining a Calani versed in her Quis. The question was academic, though. | Sevtar was as likely to get a pardon as the desert was to get up | / and walk away. . But... the documents specified only that he serve his sentence at Haka. They didn't dictate where at Haka. No stipula: tion said he couldn 't go into the Calanya. : Rashiva considered the thought. To acquire a Calani from i another Estate, a Manager paid a stratospheric price for his $ contract. But suppose she agreed to take Sevtar into her Calanya and teach him Quis for as long as he was in prison? She would pay nothing for his Dahl contract. Of course, were he ever pardoned, he would return to Dahl without Deha having to pay for his Haka contract. Considering the nonexistent chance of a pardon, Haka could only benefit from such an agreement. She chose her words with care. "It is unfortunate Sevtar i never had a chance to realize his potential." Deha regarded her. "So it is." "One could always hypothesize alternatives." "I'm not sure I

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follow you Manager Haka." Rashiva sipped her rum. "Suppose a man is temporarily I sworn to a Calanya. Say for the duration of his visit somewhere." She paused. "Perhaps a visit to prison. Assuming he . can be rehabilitated." l "Go on." ' "When his prison term ends he is released from his temporary Oath." Dryly Deha said, "Not much of a bargain, if his term is life.

-The Last Hawk 125 The original Manager is handing a genius to her adversary for nothing." "True," Rashiva said. "But were he ever pardoned, the original Manager would get a Calani from her adversary for nothing. It would be a gamble for both parties." For a long moment the Dahl Manager was silent. Rashiva couldn't tell if Deha was studying her, thinking, or simply pausing for effect. When she finally spoke, her voice was unexpectedly soft. "A worthy gamble, I would say, if it will free him from prison." Rashiva stared at her. She hadn't seriously expected Deha to consider the proposal. It was too obviously weighted in Haka's favor. So. Dahl's formidable queen had a weakness. Sevtar. Deha must love him a great deal if, to get him out of prison, she would consider letting one of her greatest adversaries take him into her Calanya. Rashiva set down her rum, "Perhaps we can discuss this hypothesis in more specific terms." "Perhaps we can," Deha said. They penned and signed the documents that night, an agreement that in all respects favored Haka. Yet when it was done and finished, Rashiva had an odd feeling, as if she had been outmaneuvered. Kelric awoke into darkness as someone flipped him onto his stomach. Hands pinned down his limbs and a knife touched his throat. Fingers fumbled at his Calanya guards. "You jus' lie still," Zev said. "Cooperate and you won't get hurt." He laughed. "At least not hurt as much as if you fight." Kelric's reflexes took control. Even without full support from his damaged enhancements, his combat techniques were far superior to the methods used by his attackers. He knocked out two of the three immediately, then flipped Zev onto his back and knelt on his chest with his fist raised. "I didn't mean nothing," Zev gasped. "Nothing. 1 swear." "Ever touch me again," Kelric said, "and I'll smash your goddamned head open." Then he sent the Shazoria man into oblivion.

126 Catherine Asaro——————————————————————

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An arm flickered in an archway. By the time Kelric realized; it was only Ched, he had already caught the boy. "Lemme go," Ched warned. "Or I'll yell so loud everyone in Haka'll hear." Kelric released him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

;

"Sure. I saw what you did to them." He peered right and left' then slipped into his cell and knelt by his pallet. A spar jumped in the air and then he held up a lit candle. Kelric stood in the cell's entrance. "Where did you get the: candle?"

"From Bonni." Chad retreated, going to sit against the backj wall. "She's a guard. But she's all right. Not like Zev an' them." "They come after you, don't they?" "None of your business." "I'm making it my business." Ched hugged his knees to his chest. "What am I supposed to do? I'm no giant like you and I don't know nothing about fighting." "Can't you protest to the authorities? File a complaint?" "File a complaint," Ched mimicked. "Sure." "If you've never tried, how do you know it won't work?" "I did try. I won't do nothing that stupid again." "Why?" Ched scowled: "You ask too much." "Why are you afraid to answer?" "I'm not afraid of nothing." Ched curled his fist around the candle. "After my first night here, I told the guards I wanted to talk to our warden. They said 'He's busy' and left. Then one time the top warden came here for inspection. Zecha Haka. Keyclinker for the whole place. When I told her about Zev and them, you know what she said? That I must've asked for trouble and me being who I was I deserved it." Kelric stared at him. "You deserved it? That's sick." Ched shrugged. "Zev knew I talked. When they was done with me, I was two days in the Med House. They told the guards I fell in the quarry. So don't tell me to file a complaint."

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"If you were beaten that badly, it should have been obvious you didn't fall."

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 127 "That's what the meds told Zecha. You think she cares? She hates me. And I got bad news for you, metal man. She hates Calani too." "Can't you talk to Manager Haka?" Kelric asked. "If she's anything like Deha Dahl, she would be outraged by what you just told me." Ched snorted. "Sure. We talk to the Manager all the time. Besides, the last Manager never came round at all. I don't know about the new one." Kelric didn't like the sound of it. The more he saw of Haka, the worse it looked. "You know," Chad said, "I never saw anyone put out a body fast as you put out Zev and them. Whoosh." He grinned. "Just like that, they was out flat." "I've been trained to defend myself in virtually any circ*mstance." "Virchilly. Sir-stance." Ched laughed. "If your words was pictures you could sell 'em for a lot of money. Real Calani, heh? But you got trouble. One night here and already Zev don't like you." "I'll manage." "Listen," Ched said. "What you need is a friend. Someone to let you know how things are here." 'That someone being you, 1 take it." "I could do it." "What is it you want in return?" "Keep them away from me. Be my protection." Deal or no deal, Kelric had no intention of standing by while the others took out their frustrations on the boy. "All right." Ched smiled. "You're not so bad. You get cooped for what somebody else pulled?" "No. I did it." Ched made a show of looking nonchalant. "Did what?" "Killed a guard on my Calanya escort." The light vanished as Ched dropped his candle. "Winds," he muttered. "Where did that flint go?"

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"You left it under your pallet." "That's right." His voice shook. "Pretty slow of me, heh?" "Ched, it was ruled accidental manslaughter."

128Catherine Asaro"You just remember I'm with you. All right?" The boy relit his candle. In its dusky glow he looked scared and vulnera- •'?' ble. , "You're so young," Kelric said. "This is no place for a y child" • i "Don't go calling me a child." 1 "Why are you here?" "Why? Because I'm a crooner. That's why." : Kelric crossed his arms. "I protect, you talk. So talk." | "Heh. Don't get mad." Ched retreated to sit against the wall I :; again. "I was a tavern kinsa in Viasa. That was after I left | Lasa" $

"Kinsa? What's that?"

"You really must be from outer space." ;

"I got paid for making the customers happy.", :

"Ched."

"Happy how?"

;

"I was real nice to the women. In private." Ched squinted at | him. "You know." | "You were sent here just for solicitation?"

"No. I'm here because of a scumrat." Ched leaned forward. ; "See, things was finally going better for me. Feni, she hired me out of the tavern. Took care of me." He scowled. "Then she ' went prowling after that scum. When he came to live with us, | he treated me ike mold in the pipes. Things got worse an' | worse. So one night I put my hands around his scrawny neck | and squeezed till he turned purple. If people hadn't heard him ' yelping I woulda squeezed off his head." It made no sense to Kelric. He was generally a good judge of people and Ched hardly struck him as a murderer. "Couldn't you just leave Feni? Ixpar told me most city Houses will give someone a meal and a bed in return for chores." "Well, it don't always work that way. How would this Ixpar Pixpar know anyway?" "Her name is Kam." Ched snorted. "Sure. Successor Kara herself. Winds, but you can croon." Sand scattered as Kelric walked across the cell. He crouched

-The Last Hawk 129

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in front of the boy. "I don't like being called a liar. Understand?" Ched flattened himself against the wall. "Y-yes." "Good." Kelric stood up. Come on." Ched scrambled to his feet. "Where are we going?" "There's some garbage in my cell. I'm going to put it where it belongs. You better stay with me, in case they wake up." After they carried the unconscious men back to their rooms, Ched settled down on the other side of Kelric's cell. Within moments he was asleep. Kelric lay down on his pallet. Bolt? he thought. No response. He tried various resets, but none worked. His enhanced reflexes had tried to kick in during the fight, so he knew Bolt still functioned. His bioelectrodes must have stopped working, preventing him from contacting the node. He hoped the system could manage at least a partial repair. He had developed a symbiosis with Bolt over the past fourteen years. To be without it was ike losing part of himself. 11 Rock Wel Zecha Haka, head warden at the Haka prison, sat tensed at her desk. The last person she had expected to show up in her office was the Haka Manager. Rashiva's doddering predecessor had never come to the compounds. "The prisoner from Dahl." Rashiva was sitting across the desk from her. "Sevtar." "I sent him out with a quarry crew this morning," Zecha said. "You put a Calani on a quarry crew?" "He's a convict now, ma'am."

130Catherine AsaroRashiva leaned forward. "I want him made into more. Rehabilitate him. And give him Quis instruction." Bones and bugs, Zecha thought. "In cases like his, rehabilitation rarely works." Rashiva stood. " have faith in your abilities Warden."

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After Rashiva left, Zecha swore. Calani, heh? Lazy dice players who lived in luxury with everything given to them for nothing. She, Zecha, had worked for her position, starting as a ' nobody. Her mother was a disgrace, a losing dice player who gambled away everything she owned. Her father had been a Lasa kinsa like that boy in Compound Four. But none of that stopped Zecha. She had worked at her Quis until she became a power to be reckoned with. Why should she give favors to a Calani? "Think the wind only blows for them, don't they?" she muttered. "We'll see about that." The line of prisoners and guards wound into the cliffs, sweltering in the heat of a sun barely risen above the mountains. Kelric trudged up the path with Ched, holding the hood of his jacket tight against the blowing sand. Ched grinned. "Like our weather?" When Kelric glowered at him, the boy smirked. "You see Zev this morning? Got him an ugly eye. Black as tar." His smile vanished. "You better watch yourself today." He hesitated. "Both ourselves. That's the deal, isn't it?" "Yes." "Yiss. Yish." Ched grinned as he imitated Kelric's accent. "I'm ready to keep my side of our deal. So. What you want me to tel you?" Kelric considered. To make escape plans, he had to know what he faced. "About Haka. Is it like Dah?" "No way. Haka is home of the Scowl Laws." "Scowl Laws? What are those?" "They're old as the mountains. They say a man can't smile at a woman unless she's his wife. Smile at a Haka woman and she thinks you're a whor*." "That's crazy." "That's Haka, metal man. Haka men can't go outside without an escort neither, and if they do go out they have to wear robes

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 131 that cover them from head to foot, and these woven scarves that hide their faces, except their eyes." Ched snorted. "It's them Haka women. They spend half their time figuring ways to protect their men's honor and the other half trying to compromise it." "But I've seen male guards here." "They aren't from Haka." Ched nodded at a guard on the trail above them. "Like him. He has yellow hair. Hakabom have black hair and black eyes." "What about the prisoners in the other compounds?"

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"They're from all over." Ched flipped his hand in dismissal. "They're in for little stuff. Four is where they put real troublemakers. There's eleven crooners in the Compound Four women's coop." He grimaced. 'Those are some big clawcats. Men's coop has Zev, Gossi, Ikav, and us. Zev killed a Scribe in Shazoria and Gossi blew up a Cooperative at Ahkah." "Gods," Kelric muttered. "I don't like them neither," Ched said. "They're in for life." "What about Ikav?" "He stole some dice. Got ten years." "For stealing diceT "Calanya dice. He's lucky that's all he got." Kelric fell silent, turning the information over in his mind. At the top of the trail, they came out onto a plateau. The line of prisoners stretched across it, almost lost in the whirling sandstorm. When they reached the far edge, Kelric saw it formed the top of a staircase that descended into a quarry. Sand cliffs loomed on all sides, jutting into the sky like red fingers. Eons of wind had eroded the cliffs until they were riddled with holes that bore an eerie resemblance to windows. Gales moaned through the cliffs like a chorus of ghosts. As they descended the steps, Ched muttered, "This place gives me nightmares." "I'm not surprised," Kelric said. At the bottom, a massive man about Kelric's height stood checking off prisoners. A rough scarf with black tassels hung around his neck. He glanced at Kelric. "Sevtar Dahl?" "Yes?" Kelric asked. "What was that?" the man asked. "Say sir," Ched whispered. "Yhee, sir."

132 Catherine Asam————————————————————— "Yhee, sir," Kelric said. The man made a check on his clipboard. "You'll work on the rim crew." As Kelric and Ched hiked across the quarry with their guards, the boy said, 'That was Torv Haka. Compound Four men's warden. You call all them keyclinkers 'ma'am' and 'sir.' " Ched raised his hand as if to strike Kelric. "If you forget they remind you." "I thought Haka men had to wear robes."

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"Can't have our warden running around in robes. How would he keep control over scum like us?" Kelric grimaced. But the warden was his least worry. He felt an all-too-familiar nausea. "Ched—if a prisoner needed a special diet, would he get it?" "You got to be joking. This isn't a Calanya, you know." Kelric blew out a gust of air. "No, it certainly isn't." Zecha stood with Rashiva at the rim viewing station. She indicated a distant ine of prisoners winding across the quarry floor. "Down there. The big one with the odd coloring." Rashiva looked. Sevtar Dahl stood out like gold among pewter. But what caught her attention more was the quarry. She saw no windbreaks to protect crews from the sandstorms, and the water system looked defunct. "What's wrong with the aqueducts?" "The sand erodes them," Zecha said. "The system kept breaking down, so I quit using it. A team of carriers brings water up from the compounds instead." Rashiva frowned."Why hasn't this been reported?" "I wasn't aware a report was required." Rashiva considered her. The arrangement that gave full authority over the prison to the head warden made sense; a Manager didn't have time to run the prison as well as the Estate and city. And Zecha had an impressive record. Rashiva doubted the grizzled warden appreciated being questioned on it. Still, she had no intention of ignoring the prison as her predecessor had done. "I want to see a report each quarter," Rashiva said. She nod-

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 133 ded at the quarry. "Have the water ducts repaired and more windbreaks installed." Zecha kept her voice neutral. "Yhee, ma'am." "And Warden." "Yes." "Keep me posted on your progress with Sevtar." Zecha regarded her with an inscrutable expression. "Of course, ma'am." A guard issued Kelric a pickaxe, a sentry directed him to a workstation, and a captain warned him about the consequences of trying to use his pick on people instead of rock. Another guard assigned him a trundle in a train of cars that ran through the quarry. His job was simple: cut rock and fill his trundle. Normally Kelric wouldn't have minded the work. It was hard but reasonable, at least for someone with

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his strength. But not today. The first spasm hit him while he was carrying a block of stone. As his stomach lurched, his grip on the block slipped and it crashed to the ground. He fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Hey!" Ched ran over to him. "You don't got to lift such big—winds, what's wrong Leaning over, Kelric vomited behind the block. When the spasm eased he spoke in a rasp. "Can you get me water?" "They don't give us hardly none," Ched said. "The pipes broke." Footsteps sounded behind them. Ched spun around, then relaxed. "He's sick, Bonni. Can he have some water?" A guard knelt next to Kelric, a tall woman with the dark coloring of the Hakabom. She brushed her hand across his forehead. "You're burning up." "Today's his first day," Ched said. "He used to be a Calani." She smiled. "A Calani? I heard rumors, but I thought that was just a story." "It's true." Ched pushed back Kelric's sleeve, uncovering the gold. "Cuaz above." Bonni looked at Kelric. "What are you doing here?"

134Catherine AsaroA shadow fell across him. "Trouble, Bonni?" Torv Haka | stood over them, a truncheon in his hand. Bonni stood up. "This man is sick" "He's from Compound Four," Torv said. "They'll give you | any story." '

Kelric stood slowly, watching the warden. Torv regarded him like a fumigator who had found a bug. "If you think you'll get high-level treatment because of that gold on your wrists, you're wrong." Kelric gritted his teeth. "Yes. Sir." Torv's voice hardened. "I don't like your tone, Calani." "So choke on it," Kelric said. "Cuaz me," Ched muttered. Torv smiled. Then he whipped his club through the air. Kelric caught the pole, stopping it with enough force to knock .Torv off his feet. As the warden fell, other guards in the area ran over. They grabbed Kelric while Torv climbed to his feet. With his face contorted in fury, the warden fired his stunner until Kelric collapsed, blackness closing around him.

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Kelric came to in a pocket hidden from the quarry by crags of rock. He was kneeling in front of a boulder with his arms pulled around it and his wrists bound to a ring embedded in the stone. "So," a voice said. "You woke up." He looked around to see Torv Haka holding a thick belt. "Thought you'd knock me around, heh, crooner?" Torv grabbed Kelric's shirt and ripped it off his back. "You'll think differently soon."

12 Reopen Kelric lay on his stomach on the pallet in his cell. In the starlight, he could just make out the jug of water Ched was setting next to him. The boy tore a rag from the remains of Kelric's shin and dunked it in the pot. Then he went to work cleaning the welts and cuts on Kelric's back. " 'Choke on "it.' " Ched shook his head. "What gets into you, talking to the warden that way?" "I'm not accustomed to being spoken to like that," Kelric said. "I think maybe you got too much pride for your own good." Ched's frown shifted into a grin."You got guts, though. It flew round the quarry faster than wind, about you knocking him down. One day here and already you're famous." With a smirk, he added, "And guess what? Torv put Zev and them on third shift at the quarry. Seems they didn't feel so good today. All they was doing was complaining." His smile faded. "Starting tomorrow you're on three shifts a day, too, for a tenday. You gonna be all right? You was pretty sick today." "I need to boil my water," Kelric said. "There's nothing here to make a fire." Halfheartedly, Kelric thought Bolt? &$unct** degrad He tensed, elated by the response. Boh, what's with my nanomeds? Can't they help make the water drinkable? Series J has suffered severe depleti Bolt? No response. Kelric exhaled. Series J included the nanomeds best equipped to deal with the bacteria in the Coban water, so its depletion explained his increased problems. However, as far as

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136 Catherine Asam————————————————————— he could tell, the meds that repaired his cells, retarding his aging process, still worked. So if he survived, he faced the unpalatable prospect of several centuries at Haka. "You don't look so happy," Ched said. "Has anyone ever escaped from here? "It's a dumb idea, meal man. Even if you got out, which is almost impossible, the only place to go is the city. They'd catch you in no time. The next closest place is the starport and that's way out in the desert." Ched finished cleaning a cut on Kelric's shoulder. "When I first heard about Skolians I thought it was a big croon. Then Minister Kam said it was real. People from above the sky. Thing is, they won't even let us into their port." He went to work on Kelric's arm. "Maybe it really is a croon. I never seen no Skolian." "Yes you have." "I have?" "Me." Kelric smiled. "If I tell you who I am, you'll really think I'm crazy." Ched's interest perked up. "This sounds like a good croon." "My brother commands Imperial Space Command. I'm one of his heirs. Just think, Ched. You're talking to the future Imperator of the Skolian empire." The boy chuckled. "If you plan to take over the universe, you better get some rest. You're a mess." Kelric laughed. "All right." He closed his eyes. Sometime later a sound scraped by the pallet. He looked to see Ched kneeling down with a clay flask. "I boiled some water," the boy said. "With my candles." Sitting up, Kelric took the jug the boy offered and gulped the water, slowing down only when the last welcome runnels of warm liquid ran down his throat. Then he lowered the jug. "Thanks. I know what those candles mean to you." "Heh. Well." Ched shrugged. "It's not like I'm scared of the dark or nothing." "I know." It hadn't taken Kelric long to realize the night terrified Ched. "But I thank you anyway." Night lamps threw a glare over the quarry, cutting the dark with shears of light. Kelric's pick caught glitters of light as it

-The Last Hawk 137 arced through the air. Where the tip hit stone, sparks jumped and chips swirled in the wid. Swing.

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Impact. Swing. Impact; His fatigue blended with the monotony, numbing his mind. "Sevtar." Kelric jumped. The guard Bonni stood nearby. As he stared at her, trying to focus his thoughts, her hand went to the javelin slung across her back. That was when he realized he still had his axe raised in the air. When he lowered it, Bonni considered him, then came over and handed him a foil package. Opening the foil, he uncovered slices of meat and spicebread. Dumbfounded, he looked at her. "Why?" "Ched told me the food in Four makes you sick. He said you could eat this." Her voice softened. "You're a miracle for that boy. Without protection, he'd be dead within a year. It's wrong. He shouldn't be here." The same thought had occurred to Kelric. "It's hard to believe he tried to commit murder." "He talks tough. But he's no killer. Get under his armor and you'll see." "All right." He lifted the package. "And thanks." Bonni nodded. After she left, Kelric ate some of the food, then slipped the package into his waistband under his shirt. He hefted up a block and headed to his trundle car, hiking past sandblasted water pipes. As he reached the trundle, a woman called out, "Hey, Goldy. You that color all over?" He squinted into the wind. On a ledge a few hundred paces away, the Compound Four women's crew stood watching him. Clumped in a pack, they stood as tall or even taller than him, their hair hanging in greasy tangles around their massive shoulders. Kelric grimaced. Then he headed back to his workstation. On his next trip, one of the biggest women was hoisting a block into his car. "Well, looky that," she said. "Goldy." He dumped his blocks in the trundle. "Where's the Little Crooner?" she asked. "His name is Ched." "Not on third shift, heh?" She scratched the huge expanse of her stomach. "Too bad. He's near as good to look at as you."

138 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— v "So look somewhere else."

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She laughed, showing a row of gaps and rotted teeth. "I just watch the scenery. I don't much care whether or not it takes to |» being watched." ' . Kelric shook his head and headed back to his workstation, ;|| his shoulders twitching under her stare. It felt like her eyes I were burning holes in his clothes. | Bonni was waiting for him. "If that bunch gives you trouble, let me know." "It's no problem." He smiled. "But thanks."

;

She flushed and averted her eyes. It wasn't until after she 1 left that he figured out why. She was Hakabom. She probably never saw any man smile except her husband. ' The night wore on interminably. When the shout for shift's end came, Kelric was moving in a haze. Three shifts were • more than his recently healed legs could handle. He limped 1 after the other prisoners, thinking of sleep. The climb out of | the quarry dragged on forever, each flight seeming steeper | than the last. | At the top, an unfamiliar octet of guards stopped their crew. | The captain came over to Kelric. "Sevtar Dahl?" | It took a moment for the name to register through his daze. | "Yes?" "Come with us."

Gods, he thought. Now what? They took him down the '| mountain and past the compounds. By the time they reached | the gatehouse, dawn was tinging the sky. Inside the gatehouse it was dark, but. an office glowed with light at the back. A woman there was pouring herself a steaming mug of Tanghi tea. She was tall, with a lean build and dark red hair wound in — a braid on her head. Sun and wind had weathered her face until she looked like a rusted pole. As the guards brought Kelric into the office, the unfamiliar woman turned to the captain. "He make trouble today?" "None," the captain said. "Filled his quota and then some." The rusted woman nodded at a pouch on the desk next to •; Kelric. "Quis dice. For you. Take it."

;

As he picked up the pouch, the woman spoke to his guards. | "You can take him back to the quarry." '

_—————————————————————The Last Hawk 139 The captain stared at her. "But he's done three shifts today."

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"And you just have time to get him back for a fourth." "No," Kelric said. The rusted woman turned to him. "I hear a lot about you being a troublemaker, Calani." She took a swallow of her Tanghi. "I don't like troublemakers." Kelric knew there had to be regulations against working prisoners until they dropped. "I want to talk to the head warden. Zecha Haka." "You are." Zecha turned to the captain. "That will be all." Kelric gritted his teeth, knowing further protests would get him nothing more than retaliation, probably in the form of more extra shifts. Clenching his fist on the pouch, he went with his guards. Outside the building, he fumbled with the pouch, trying to tie it onto his belt. It slipped from his fingers and thudded into the sand. The captain knelt down and scooped up the pouch. "Sevtar, I'm sorry." Standing, she tied it on his belt. "About the shifts." He swallowed. "So am I." As they climbed back into the cliffs, he wondered what he was supposed to do with a pouch of dice. 13 Contiuity mon room, it was otherwise much like his spice suite. )i "This is where you will live" Rashiva spoke with awkwad t I formality. The common rooms are open to all, but no one can i come in here unless you invite them." f; "Does that include you? he asked. She stiffened. "No."

M |

Kelric hadn't meant it to sound so hostile. He fet as if he | ' had been suffering a fever, not in his body but in his mind, one T he hadn't realized was burning until it began to ease. Like a distant voice nearly lost in a cave where no light had shone for years, thoughts were stirring, awakening from their slumber, trying to bring him coolness and health. Rashiva pushed her fingers through her hair tousling her ! normally perfect braid. "I will leave you to rest now." Her brocade trousers rustled as she exited the room. He wandered through the suite for a while and eventually ' stopped in the bedroom. For a long time he stood at a window gazing at the desert. He tried to think about Dahl, but he I couldn't imagine it without

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Deha. Tears ran down his face. He didn't move or make a sound, he just kept watching the desert t while he cried. For Deha. ;" It wasn 't until later that afternoon that he returned to the arch- \ way that opened into the common room. When he pushed aside the screen, he saw Saje in a nearby alcove talking to Adaar. I \-

————————————————————The Last Hawk 173 "Ah. Sevtar." The Third Level nodded to him. "Will you join us at Quis?" Kelric retued the nod, trying to relax. Quis he could do. With Adaar's assistance, Saje walked stiffly to a table where several Calani had been analyzing a Quis game. The players all rose, standing until Saje had settled into his cushions. After everyone was seated, Saje nodded to Raaj, the Hakabom prince. "Will you begin? We will work on the Miesa Plateau." Kelric rolled out his dice, wondering what a plateau in Miesa had to do with Quis. Raaj set a gold dodecahedron on the table and the session took off. At first Kelric had trouble following a game with so many players, but gradually the patterns became clear. The structures described an Estate. Miesa? Its Manager was young. Gold. Sun. It came up again and again. "Savina," Kelric suddenly said. The sungoddess." Heads jerked up. Raaj scowled and Adaar dropped a cone, knocking over a structure. "Yes," Saje said. "Savina is the name of the Miesa Manager. Please do not disrupt the session again." Kelric winced. But as soon as the game resumed, he became absorbed in the patterns. It was as if he circled over Miesa, dropping nearer. It nestled in a valley where the mountains met a plateau that boasted a wealth of mineral deposits The Manager who controlled the Miesa Plateau controlled the mineral markets of the Twelve Estates and so wielded great power. But Varz Estate rather than Miesa dominated the patterns. The once-wealthy Miesa had declined; unti now it depended heavily on Varz. After the picture was complete, the players projected various futures for Miesa into the structures. If a pattern formed with the Kam Ministry dominant, they destroyed it the same way an Outsider playing dice for money sought to destroy an opponent's advantage. New patterns developed with Varz ascendent. As they played, Kelric finally began to understand what the Calani did cloistered in their Calanya. They were shaping the future of their world.

174Catherine Asaro* * *

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Saje ushered Kelric into a private alcove in the Third Level's I suite. They sat among cushions on a carpet so thick that Kel-| ric's toes sank into the pile. "Tomorrow," Saje continued, "I will sit at Quis with Rashiva and build her patterns of the work we did today." | Kelric was beginning to understand what Ixpar had meant,; that Calani advised the Manager. "What happens then?" i "She plays Quis with selected aides. They play with others. Her input soon creates powerful ripples in the Quis net that. spreads across the Twelve Estates." He slid a cushion under his legs. "It works both ways. She interacts with many high-level players, including other Managers, and then inputs her knowledge into our Quis by playing dice with us. We use the information to find advantage for Haka." "But everyone plays Quis." "Yes. Every woman, man, and child in the Twelve Estates." Saje paused. "It is one game. We have been playing it for a thousand years." A new pattern was unveiling itself in Kelric's mind. Quis was the Coban equivalent of the star-spanning computer networks that tied together the Imperialate, the reguar electro- . optical webs and aso the psiberspace webs only Kyle operators could access. Quis was a third type of web, one the Cobans "accessed" every time they played dice. This was a subjective net, depending on fluxes of personality "and dice expertise rather than electricity or quantum physics. Its "memory" was the social, cultural, and racial memory of a people. "Consider the situation at Miesa," Saje said. "We must help , Varz stop the Ministry from taking control of the Plateau." S "Why?"

Saje snorted. "I should think this is obvious. If the Ministry controls the Plateau, it will give Jahit Karn more power. She already has too much." "She's the Minister," Kelric said.

"Varz challenges that claim." Saje setted his legs more ? comfortaby on the pillow. "During the Od Age Var and Kara S often went to war. Now they battle with Quis." "I take it Haka is an ally of Varz."

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 175 "Of course." Saje tilted his head toward the common room. "At the center of the ripples are the Calani, The more powerful a Calanya, the stronger its waves. But without a strong Manager, a Calanya is powerless."

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"Why not just send Calani out into the network?" Saje gave him a look that Kelric suspected he reserved for the dullest of the dull-witted. "We never speak with, read about, write to, or receive input from Outsiders. They are in no way allowed to contaminate the Calanya. If Outsiders can get to our Quis, they can manipulate it to their advantage. This would weaken Haka at its core." The idea of protected nodes in a web intrigued Kelric. "Doesn't Third Level mean you lived on two other Estates before you came here?" Saje nodded. "I was hardly more than a boy when I did my First Level at Viasa. I went to Varz soon after and stayed many years. Then I came here." "Won't your knowledge of Varz and Viasa affect Haka?" "Ah." Saje smiled as if he and Kelric were conspirators. "What better way to learn the inner working of another Estate than to obtain one of its Calani?" Quietly he added, "This is why we swear, on penalty of our lives, that our loyalty is to the Estate where we are Calani. It is also why the higher Levels are so rare. And so sought after. To bring me here, Rashiva's predecessor put Haka into debt for years." "They buy us?" Saje shrugged. "It is a matter of negotiation. I wished to come to Haka, Haka wished to have me. So. A trade was arranged," He shifted the pillow under his legs. "The desert climate eases my joints. I doubt I would leave Haka even if I were offered a Fourth Level." "I had the impression Fourth Levels were nonexistent." "Almost. Only one has existed in the last century." Saje leaned forward. "Mentar. He is at Kam. Akasi to the Minister. Mentar doesn't make ripples with his Quis. He makes tidal waves." Keiric's mind created a Quis pattern of waves. "Has there ever been a Fifth Level?" Saje thought for a moment. "In this millennium I believe records exist of two. Legends from the Old Age claim another.

176 Catherine Asaro——————————————————————; But the cost of a Fifth Level settlement is prohibitive to th point of impossibility." 'i "What about a Sixth?" | Saje laughed. "A Sixth Level could never exist." His smil faded. "It is fortunate. The power of his dice would be beyondl comprehension." J 18 Toppled Chute "Ixpar." Jahit Kam, the Minister of Coba, looked up as the young woman strode into her office. "I didn't expect you back from Bahvia Estate until tonight."

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"We left early. The pilot was worried about the weather." Ixpar dropped into an armchair and stretched her legs out to their full length, seeming to cover half the room. Strands of hair had escaped her braid and were curling in fiery tendrils around her face. "Manager Bahvia sends her greetings." "And how is Henta?" With a grimace, Ixpar said, "Nosier than ever." Jahit smiled. Henta Bahvla's penchant for gossip was well known. "Did your visit go well?" Ixpar leaned forward. "Henta supports a Ministry Wardship of the Miesa mines. I didn't even need to ask. She told me herself she thinks Varz holds too much control over the Plateau." "Good. I'm also fairly certain of Shazoria Estate." Her successor got up and paced to the bookshelf. "Henta has heard rumors that Ahkah will side with Varz." "That would be unfortunate." Ixpar paced to the window. "There's still Viasa." "I wouldn't roll dice on it." The feud between Bahvia and Viasa was so old, Jahit doubted anyone even knew its cause anymore. "Viasa almost always votes against Bahvia. So if Bahvia goes with us, Viasa will go with Varz."

-The Last Hawk 177 "There's the new Manager at Viasa, though." Ixpar sat on the windowsill. "Even Henta doesn't know much about her." She got up and started pacing again. Jahit watched her successor, hiding her smile. Ixpar was as restless as a caged ctawcat. "Perhaps it's time I sent an ambassador to Viasa, to give my regards to its new Manager." Ixpar stopped pacing and squinted at her. 'This ambassador wouldn't happen to have red hair, would she?" "Manager Viasa is only a few years older than you. The two of you should have a lot in common." "What about my visit to Dahl?" "Dahl." Jahit exhaled. "A difficult situation. It is best we postpone your trip there." "I thought Chankah's support was solid." "It is. This is another matter." Jahit disliked bringing up the subject. It remained Ixpar's one weakness. "An offworld matter"

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"Kelric." "Chankah wants me to pardon him. It was Deha's dying request. I must tell her no." "Why?" Jahit injected a coldness into her voice she rarely used with her successor. "I am surprised you need ask." "You know," Ixpar said. "When one spends time with Henta one hears many rumors." "Such as?" "Such as, Dahl and Haka made an arrangement years ago." Jahit frowned. "I was not aware of any agreements between Dahl and Haka." Ixpar walked over to her desk. "It was about Kelric. He's a Haka Calani now." "Deha would never have consented to such an arrangement." "Henta seemed sure of her sources." Jahit didn't like the sound of it. Not at all. After the formalities were done, the Estate dinner eaten and the speeches given, Jahit and Chankah withdrew to Chankah's private study. The new Dahl Manager poured out two gasses

{178Catherine Asaroofjai rum and gave one to the Minister. "Deha would appreci-] ate your visit." | "She was a fine friend and ally." Jahit lifted her rum. "Td| Deha." Chankah raised her glass. "To Deha."

"Well. Now. we must decide what to do with this problems she left us." Jahit settled back in her armchair. "What exactly is this contract she and Rashiva thought up?" "Basically this." Chankah swirled her rum. "If a time ever came when Rashiva deemed it safe, she could take Sevtar into her Calanya. If he's ever pardoned, his Oath to Haka becomes void and he returns to Dahl." Jahit scowled. "Deha actually signed that?" "I have an original of the document."

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It made no sense to Jahit. Deha knew the Ministry would deny such a pardon. Yet even so she gave her own Akasi to Haka. Why? . Since Kelric's entry into the Calanya, Haka's power in the Quis had surged more than could be accounted for by the usual fluctuations among Estates. Even more serious, an unpredictable factor had entered the Haka Quis, an influence like none Jahit had seen before, as if it evolved independent of known constraints—which made it all the more dangerous. Kelric? He had been in the Haka Calanya only a short time. If he had already made such a marked difference, who knew what heights his dice might reach? It was unacceptable, totally unacceptable that Haka should gain such an advantage. Jahit silently swore. Oh yes, Deha had known exactly what she was doing. The late Dahl Manager had outplayed them all. "So." The Minister set down her rum. "It is time, Chankah, that we consider how to solve this problem Deha left us." Columns pressed in on him. Gray columns. He would never escape, never find his way out, never be free, never touch another human being . . . Kelric opened his eyes to see the exotic furnishings of an unfamiliar room. As his nightmare-driven surge of adrenaline calmed, he realized he was on a sofa with a plush blanket laid

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 179 over his body. Across the room, Rashiva stood looking out a window, her body silhouetted against the dawn. She was wearing day clothes, trousers and a jacket, both made with soft brocade in amber hues. Confused, Kelric rubbed his eyes. The last he remembered, his escort had brought him to Rashiva's personal suite the previous night. They hadn't told him why. He must have fallen asleep while waiting for her. As he sat up, rustling the blanket, Rashiva turned. "Sevtar." She spoke awkwardly. "My greetings." Kelric pushed his hand through his tousled curls. "My greetings." After an uncomfortable silence, he said, "Did I sleep here all night?" "Yes. You seemed so tired last night. I didn't want to disturb you." "Why did you want to see me?" "I had thought we might dine together." She came over and sat stiffly on the other end of the sofa. "So that we might start over. A Manager and a Calani should not—have antagonism. It doesn't do well for the Estate." This didn't fit his negative picture of her. He wasn't sure about any of his impressions anymore, though. Since he had come to the Calanya, living a normal life, interacting with others, eating well and getting fresh air, he had begun to feel as if he were recovering from a long illness. And she was right;

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their stilted relationship was affecting their Quis. He spoke carefully. "Perhaps we could start over." A shy smile dawned on her face. "Well. Good." She stood up. "When I get back, shall we try with dinner again?" "All right." He paused. "Where are you going?" She fastened her jacket, winding the silk ties around hooks. "To see Zecha Haka. Then to Viasa for a few days." Zecha. The name hit like ice water. Kelric stood up, rolling his stiff shoulders. "Would you call my escort?" She stopped tying her jacket. "Is something wrong?" "No." He went to the door. "I would like to return to the Calanya." "Is it the prison? Zecha told me it would bother you to be reminded of it."

180 Catherine Asaro———————————————— Kelric wondered how he could have conceived, even for | moment, that he might want to become closer to this womai "How can you live with yourself?" | "Live with myself? I don't understand."

He just looked at her. If she felt what they had done witft him was justified, he had nothing to say. I But something was wrong. He had an odd sense abou Rashiva, like the shifting of an optical illusion. Suddenly sh| wasn't the hardened seductress playing with him after subject3 ing him to a year of painful solitude. Instead, she just seemed young and puzzled, a good Manager but inexperienced compared to someone like Deha Dahl. "Sevtar?" She was still watching him. "Your face changes so fast sometimes, it's hard to follow." He spoke quietly. "You don't have any idea what Zecha doe down there, do you?" "It is natural you resent her. Hate her even. She was your jailor, after all." "You see only what she wants you to see." Rashiva stiffened. "Do you suggest that you, my Akasi. know more about what goes on in Haka than I?" Kelric wanted to block out his memories of the prison. Nor did he think it likely Rashiva would listen to a convicted killer with a supposed history of mental instability over a highranking figure like Zecha

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particularly if believing him meant Rashiva had to admit she had been duped. But he had opened a dam and it refused to close. Although he spoke calmly, the words flooded out. "We worked double, even triple shifts in the quarry. No breaks, no helmets, no goggles, no scarves, no nothing. We weren't even allowed a drink of water. Guards had free rein to beat prisoners. Big convicts abused smaller ones, physically and sexually. Anyone who complained was punished." "I've been to the compounds. I know what you describe doesn't happen." He wondered if he would ever be able to speak of his time in solitary. "You live in a world where Quis dice are made from diamonds. It blinds you to Zecha's world."

-The Last Hawk 181 She just looked at him. As the moment stretched out, he began to regret even mentioning the prison. When she finally spoke, all she said was, "I'll use the smelter's door." Kelric walked alone through the Calanya parks. The lateafternoon sky made a wash of blue and shadows dappled under the trees, but the day's tranquility was lost on him. In the three days since his tak with Rashiva, memories of the prison had plagued his thoughts and dreams. Sand rustled behind him and he turned to see Captain Khaaj. Her presence jarred. Technically he was still an inmate, which meant he had guards assigned to him at all times. But usually they were so discreet he barely noticed them. "I'm sorry to disturb you," Khaaj said. "But it's important." Kelric waited. His year in solitary had reinforced his tendency toward reticence, and his Calanya Oath made his silences acceptable and expected. "Have you seen Manager Haka since you dined at her suite?" Khaaj asked. He shook his head no. "1 brought the Speaker with me," Khaaj said. "Will you talk to her?" He considered, then nodded yes. Ekoe Haka, Speaker for the Haka Calanya, was waiting in the main common room. Khaaj escorted Ekoe and Kelric to the Alcove of Words, a small room set apart from the common rooms. She stopped outside, leaving them in privacy as they sat opposite each other at the alcove's Quis table. Ekoe spoke the formal words. "Manager Haka permits me to be your voice in times of crisis, when it is vital your words be known to Outsiders. Will you Speak to me?" "Yes," Kelric said. "You were the last person to see Manager Haka," Ekoe said. "Do you know where she is?"

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Last person? "She said she was going to Viasa." Ekoe shook her head. "A windrider came in from Viasa today. They wanted to know what happened. She never

fl showed up. She also had a meeting with Warden Haka and never showed up for that. No one has seen her for three days.;, Kelric thought back to his conversation with Rashiva. "ffHl| before she left for her meeting, she said something about i| smelter's door." 1 "Smelter? What do you mean?" j "The back door," Khaaj blurted out. Ekoe turned to the captain, who was supposed to be out )i| earshot, and raised her eyebrows. ____ Khaaj reddened. "Forgive my interruption. But TTI Haka says she's going in the smelter's door when she plans wl. use a back entrance. It's because smelters deliver their inl to the back of an ore shop." | Suddenly it became clear for Kelric. He didn't want believe it, but the pattern refused denial. "The back entrance of what?" Ekoe asked. | "Compound Four," Kelric said. i Ekoe stared at him. "The prison . | "Yes." He swallowed. "She's sent herself to prison." The only sound in the common room came from the click »)j| dice. Kelric paced past the table where Saje and the others m| playing Quis. He wished someone would laugh. Or yell. -2| thing to break the evening's tension. The fourth time he crossed the room, Saje came over to him. ; "Why don't you sit with us for a while?" "No." J "Rashiva will be fine" ' Kelric scowled. "I'm not worried about Rashiva" "Of course not" Saje drew him over to the table. "Play Quis.t It will calm you." [ "I am calm." ? "Of course." Saje nudged him down into the cushions Kelric tried to concentrate on the session. Somber dice predominated: ebony octagons, purple balls, cobalt blocks. It j looked like a study of relations between Varz and Kam. his turn came, he pushed his Ixpar die against a dome Raaj 'f used to denote the Varz Successor. Raaj glanced at him with an expression close to hatred. ':

-The Last Hawk 183 Then he played a black onyx die on top of Kelric's piece. As the game progressed the patterns became more and more muddled, disintegrating into a morass of hostility. Had it been an actual battle, deaths would have littered the field. Finally Saje rose stiffly to his feet. "I'm afraid I tire more easily than you young people." He turned to Kelric. "Will you assist me?"

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Kelric stood up, relieved to escape the session, and put out his arm. Saje leaned on him, limping as they crossed the common room. The moment they were within Saje's suite, he herded Kelric to an alcove. "Please be seated," he said, easing himself down among several cushions. Kelric dropped down to sit against the wall, with his legs stretched in front of him. "I thought you were tired." Saje scowled at him. "You must learn better control over your dice. Jumbled schemes, conflict between you and Raaj, patterns of Rashiva everywhere—it was a mess." "My mind wasn't in it." "You should never have Spoken to Ekoe this afternoon. It disrupted the Quis." "I had to talk to her. As for Raaj—" Kelric shrugged. "The conflict is always there. He just plain doesn't like me." Sage sighed. "I must admit, it is hard to believe you and he are so close in age. You seem much more mature." At thirty-six, Kelric knew he had sixteen years on Raaj. But rather than trying to explain molecular cell repair, all he said was, "I am older. My people age more slowly than yours." "You are fortunate." Saje rubbed his legs. "I age more every day. I should take myself to bed." After helping Saje to his room, Kelric returned to his own suite. But he couldn't sleep. At Night's Midhour, he went back into the common room and sat at a table playing solitaire. When he heard footsteps, he turned, looking for Khaaj—but it was only Raaj, coming through an archway across the room. The youth saw him and stopped, standing like the statue of an ancient prince, tall and unsmiling. Then he left. The doors of the common room suddenly swung open and Khaaj strode into the room. "She's here," the captain said. Kelric jumped to his feet. As soon as he stepped outside, his

184Catherine Asamguards closed around him and they headed for Rashiva's suite He found her seated on a sofa in her living room, wincingi while a doctor treated a bruise on her face. She wore a ripped; gray uniform with the Compound Four label stitched into th arm. Kelric crossed to her started to speak, then remembered th| Others in the room and scowled. : "Doctor," Rashiva said. The doctor straightened up. "I'll check on you later, ma'am." Then she and the others eft.

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When she and Kelric were alone, Rashiva drew him down on the sofa. "Don't frown so." He wanted to shake her. "Are you insane? What were you doing down there?" "You sound like my CityGuard chief." Rashiva rubbed her temple. "She almost had heart failure when I told her to give me a fake name and send me to prison." "She should have told someone where you were." "I ordered her not to. I didn't want to risk warning the prison authorities." He looked at the bruise on her face. "Who hit you?" Rashiva' winced. "That one is from the Compound Four women's warden." "Didn't she recognize you?" "Only a few of the prison staf know me in person." Dryly she added, "One guard did tell me I looked ike Rashiva Haka." She pushed back her disarrayed hair, which was unbraided and tangled. Torv Haka knows me by sight. I had intended to find him when I left the quarry in the evening, so I could get out." "Why didn't you?" "He was gone. A prisoner knifed him and he's in the Med House." So someone had finally gotten Torv. Kelric felt little sympathy for the brutal warden. "Couldn't you tell anyone else?" "I did." She spread her hands, "Apparently I'm not the first prisoner to claim she's me. So after my two shifts in the quarry I got to see Compound Four firsthand." He remembered the women's crew, could imagine all too

_ —————————————————The Last Hawk 185 well how they responded to Rashiva. Beautiful and vulnerable, with no street knowledge at all, she would have been in an even worse position than Ched in the men's compound. He discovered that the thought dismayed him. Kelric lifted a tangle of her hair, wondering who had undone her braid. He saw more bruises on her neck and the part of her shoulder visible through the tear in her uniform. "Are you all right?" he asked She stared down at her hands. "I am—fine." He felt her emotions roiling: anger, shame, pain. He also felt the lock she put on them and knew she would never speak of the experience. Rashiva looked up at him. "It didn't take me long to find out no one had seen you for a long time. After my people got me out of the compound, I demanded to see where you had been. Khaaj finally found a guard who knew." Her voice caught. "Sevtar—so long—in that tomb—" Don't ask me to remember, he thought. Don't ask. She reached forward and switched on a co in the table. A sleepy voice floated into

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the air. "Nida here." "Nida, this is Manager Haka. I want you to begin preparations for an Estate Tribunal." The voice snapped into alertness. "A Tribunal, ma'am?" "Yes. Notify Warden Haka." In a quiet voice, Rashiva said, "She stands accused." Although it was almost dawn when Kelric returned to the Calanya, he found Raaj waiting. The First Level looked as if he hadn't slept the entire night. He strode over to Kelric. "Captain Khaaj said Rashiva is back." As Kelric nodded a few pieces of a puzzle fell into place. No wonder Raaj resented him. The Hakabom prince loved Rashiva. "Is she hurt?" Raaj asked. "Some bruises." As fast as it had coalesced the puzzle fragmented. Hadn't Saje told him Raaj was someone's kasi? That wouldn't necessarily stop him from loving the Manager, particularly considering how much attention she paid to him, but it was odd he would be this blatant about it.

186Catherine AsaroHis sister. Of course. Rashiva was his sister. He should have> seen it before. They looked so natural together. , But then, why did Raaj's wife never visit him? « The puzzle suddenly snapped together. Kelric looked at Raaj's armbands and saw the symbols which, had he ever let himself notice before, he would have recognized as identical to \ his own. Not a kasi. Akasi. "Sevtar," Raaj said. "Why do you stare at me this way?" Kelric just kept looking at him. Then he walked past the Haka born prince and kept going, out into the parks and the predawn i darkness. When a gazebo appeared in front of him, he went in I and sat on a bench. Sometime later Saje came to sit with him. "Raaj is in my ; morning that he is also I Rashiva's husband."

suite. He thinks you only realized this

"He's right." Kelric stared out at the darkness. So much 'made sense now. 'This shouldn't have happened." i Saje sighed. "So goes the problem of all ages." Kelric glanced at him. "What problem?" ; "Man has always yielded to woman's nature." Saje nodded. \ "Woman is strength and man is passion. He sees with his heart and she with her mind. Woman leads, protects, innovates, builds, creates life. Man fathers children. So a powerful \ woman will gather her mates around her. And so the men she , chooses must learn to deal with it." '\ Kelric snorted. "You actually believe all that? ; "Yes." ; "Why?" j "It is what I have seen all my life." Saje paused. 'The young now, they talk of a new way for woman and man. Perhaps they ; will find it. But I think they try to change a fundamental nature '{ of that which cannot be altered." He watched Kelric's face. "In .)' time you will come to terms with your life here."

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That isn't the problem, Saje. I can accept the Calanya. Hell, I like it, living like a king and playing Quis all day." f But sharing Rashiva was a different story. Each time he began to think he might want to know her better, something happened that made it impossible.

-The Last Hawk 187 All he said was, "Raaj loves her. Having me here is killing him." Saje exhaled. "Yes. It is." Kelric looked out at the line of dawn on the horizon. The barriers between him and Rashiva were wider than he knew how to cross. In the Haka Tribunal Hall, the Elder Judge stood behind the high bench. 'The accused shall rise." Zecha stood up within the Square of Decision. Tall and unflinching, she faced her accusers. She would show no weakness, never, no matter how many betrayals they committed against her. And the betrayals had been many. Witnesses from her staff had come forward, their words halting at first, full of fear, then condemning with more force. But more damning than a thousand traitors had been the Calanya Speaker as she gave Sevtar's statement first of the compound, then of his time in solitude. Zecha could still see the horror on the judges' faces, still see Rashiva sitting with her head in her hands. Her rage flared. Did they expect a prison to be pretty? OT years she had faced what the rest of Coba wanted to forget. For years she had dealt with the ugliness the world dredged up from its sewers. The constant influx of thoughts from the basest element of the Twelve Estates had forced her to barrier her mind, condemning her to loneliness. Why? So the rest of them could live in blissful ignorance. This was her reward. The Elder spoke. "The Haka Bench finds the accused guilty." Betrayal, Zecha thought. "Prom this day forward," the Elder said, "the convicted no longer bears the Haka name. All will forbid her work. All Houses will turn her from their door. All citizens will refuse her haven. She is Shunned." Shunned. It was even worse than Zecha had expected. She had no home. No place. No kin. She was no one. This was Sevtar's doing. She would remember this evil he had caused her. She would remember.

19 My Fire i

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"3 Summer blossoms scented the Calanya parks, clusters of -'. gold flowers blooming on the jahalla trees. Iridescent ' hummed through their branches, giving the desert a iillffi voice. Kelric walked with Rashiva along a gravel path, tiled pools filled with water that, in the desert, was worth much as the gold around his wrists. __ | "We changed almost a third of the prison {tnWtlSTO Rashiva said. "It's one reason the Tribunal lasted two full -f sons." She shook her head. "Zecha baffles me. She imR believes she did what was right." t: She's gone, Kelric thought. That was all that mattered. *| ing the Calanya Speaker his testimony had torn apart the ri nimity he managed to regain after coming to Sili Calanya. But it had been worth it to see justie done. % He knew Rashiva better now after two seasons, had come T| i see her as a dedicated and soft-spoken Manager Although {T3 remained formal with each other, their marriage wiiMH mated, the tension in their conversations had eased. Hate ? longer drove the desire she provoked in him. % When she took his hand with unexpected shyness, MSjft smiled down at her. She squeezed his hand. "You've a B3ITTBI ful smile, my husband. I've wondered how it looked." * That caught him by surprise. Had he never smiled at ff before? It wasn't the Propriety Laws; unlike most Haka uMiH they weren't habit for him. Within the Calanya he had no ai son to think about them, except around his guards, whom iT never felt much inclined to smile at anyway. ; Holding his hand, Rashiva led him through the trees along hidden path that took them far from the Calanya buildings. I : Irrigation kept the parks blooming all year, including these 1 i \

_————————————————————The Last Hawk 189 forests of gnarled jahallas with leaves and limbs plumped full of water. In a private clearing deep within ajahalla grove, they sat together on the soft decade-grass, which took its name from its ability to lie dormant for decades in the desert and come back to life when given water. Golden flies with gauzy black wings flitted around them. With a touch of blush reddening her cheeks, Rashiva cupped his face with her hands and drew him into a kiss. Her mouth was full. Soft. The fragrance of spice-soap scented her hair. He wrapped his arms around her and savored the sense of discovery he always felt the first time he kissed a woman. When they paused, she brushed her hand across his trousers. "You will get grass stains on these handsome clothes." He slid his hand up her leg. "You also." "Perhaps we should find a way to avoid this problem." Kelric smiled, this time using it with full knowledge of the effect it would produce. "Perhaps we should." So they undressed each other, each exploring the other's body as they shed their layers of clothes. His mind responded to their intimacy like ajahalla to water, swelling to fullness. He felt swirls and eddies of her emotions, more than he had picked up in a long time.

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Lying next to him, bare skin against bare skin, she touched the hair at his pelvis, rubbing a curl between her fingers. "It looks even more like metal than the hair on your head. It even feels like soft metal." Kelric tightened his embrace around her. "All my hair is an organometallic alloy." "Hmmm." She moved her hand, distracting their thoughts from metallurgy to biology. At first Kelric kept his caresses reserved, assuming that in love she would be even more traditional than Deha. But eventually he rolled on top of her. She felt fine, her body firm beneath him, breasts plump and hips curved out from a small waist. nstead of cooling off when he became more aggressive, she pulled him into another kiss, hungry for his mouth. Her thoughts brushed his mind; she expected him to be passionate, out of control. She took it as a sign of virility. It was one

190Catherine Asaro—— reason Haka women had created the Propriety Laws; Haf culture claimed men were impassioned vessels of love with n restraint over their desires. Without restrictions, they woui drive women to distraction with their unbridled sexuality. IH Kelric lifted his head and laughed softly. "Rashiva, you a____| such a sexist." I She blinked at him, her face flushed with arousal. "WhatqH Without waiting for an answer, she pulled him back down an|U sought out his mouth, kissing him deeply. "H Secluded among thejahallas, they came to their lovemakingg with an intensity made all the more urgent by the long waiH both choosing to forget, for one afternoon, the reasons for theU prolonged restraint. Kelric stroked her hips and breasts, tasteH the honey between her thighs. For all her arousal, her caresseH were shy. He suspected she had never lain with any other maH but Raaj, though he doubted she would admit to such inexpe|H rience. The longer they played with each other, the more hB guileless curiosity aroused him. Finally, as they lay side by side on the soft grass, he entereU her. They rolled over, Rashiva on top, then he, then Rashiva| then he. He thrust deeply and she held on to him as theB moved together. So they went, until she cried out and stiff ened in his arms. He relaxed his control then, losing himsel in the consuming release of an intense climax. J Afterward Kelric floated in a pleasant daze. It wasn't untill Rashiva pushed his shoulder that he realized he had let his weight sink onto her. He rolled onto his back and she rolled; with him, coming to rest against his side, her leg thrown ove| his, her head on his shoulder. As the sun descended below the trees, veiling the clearing in shadow, they lay in each other's' arms, sated and content.

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After a while Rashiva said, "Perhaps we will make a child." He opened his eyes. Child? "I know I can," she added sleepily. "My daughter is almost six." Unwelcome thoughts of Raaj invaded Kelric's good mood. The Haka prince was twenty years old, ten years Rashiva's junior. If he and Rashiva had a six-year-old daughter, Raaj must have been a child groom, probably not V _____—————————————————The Last Hawk 191 even a Calani yet. Given the seclusion boys training for the Calanya lived in, Rashiva was probably one of the only women he had ever seen, et alone spoken to. Kelric needed no telepathy to realize what it would do to Raaj if she bore another man's child.

"You and I come from different worlds," he said. "We can't have children." "Your parents did." "How did you know that?" "You are a Ruby Dynasty prince, yes? Isn't it true your mother comes from one world, your father from another? I have heard this." Although he knew the ISC Public Affairs people might have included information about his family in their discussions with Minister Kam, it surprised him that Rashiva knew. Then again, Quis was the ultimate gossip mill. "My parents have the same ancestry," he said. "My mother's lineage goes back to Raylicon, the home world of the people who colonized my father's planet." "Ralkon is no world" Rashiva murmured. "She is a spirit of wisdom." Kelric knew the similarity was more than coincidence. Six thousand years ago, an unknown race had moved a population of humans from Earth to the planet Raylicon and then vanished with no explanation. All they left behind were their spacecraft. As time passed, the stranded humans reproduced the technology and went searching for their lost home. They never found Earth, but they established a number of colonies, what historians now called the Ruby Empire. It collapsed after a few centuries, isolating the Raylicans on their world and cutting the colonies off from their mother planet. So the Raylicans began a long slide into extinction. After four millennia, desperate for an influx of fresh genes to replenish their shrinking pool, they redeveloped space travel and went out to reclaim the lost colonies. Two factions formed: the Traders, who took the slave trade that had always tainted Raylican culture and turned it into an economy of mindnumbing brutality; and the Imperialate, an attempt by the free worlds to stay that way, or as free as possible in a civilization

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192 Catherine Asam—————————————————————• y founded on the need for an indefatigable military machine thatS , grew ever more powerful. I Less than two hundred years ago, in Earth's twenty-firs ? century, her people had finally made their way to the stars— | and found their siblings already there. Research soon showed > j that the Raylicans' ancestors came from Earth circa 4000 B.C. | Yet no civilization from that period matched any remnant of| ancient Raylican culture. | Some anthropologists postulated Egypt as their birthplace. I But though ancient Raylicans built pyramids, they didn't look Egyptian. A few scholars believed they came from Meso | america, or perhaps both Mesoamerica and the Middle East or North Africa. Rare hints of Christianity and Greek mythology seemed to show up, yet all evidence indicated humans had been stranded on Raylicon four thousand years before the birth of Christ. One school of thought held that the abducted humans had been moved in time as well as space. ; Genetic drift, both natural and self-induced added the final complication. It all added up to make the Raylicans' ancestry a mystery. : Kelric was certain the Twelve Estates descended from a lost Ruby colony. He saw many similarities between the Twelve i Estates and the primary culture of ancient Raylicon, especially ; the hieroglyphic language and the Cobans' love of ball courts j But the lesser known side of Raylican culture also showed up, ; most notably in the architecture and names of Haka. He suspected scholars would find Haka a gold mine, a living remnant of a subculture that had vanished on Raylicon after the fall of the Ruby Empire. '\ He rubbed a strand of Rashiva's hair between his fingers. "My ancestors had black hair and eyes, and dark skin." ' She opened her eyes. "Hakabom." "Like Hakabom." "But you need only find a mirror to see that you are no Haka .; born man." "I look like my grandfather." He paused, at a loss to explain , the genetic engineering that altered his grandfather's people. Then he thought of Shaliece, his childhood love. "Even if you did conceive, the baby might not survive. The mother of the

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—————————————————————The Last Hawk 193 only child I've ever fathered had so much difficulty with her pregnancy that she miscarried." Rashiva curled her fingers around his. "I'm sorry. I never knew you shared bands with another woman besides Deha Dahl." "Once. But not with the girl who miscarried." He still remembered Shaliece's stunned look when he had offered to marry her. They were only fifteen. He pressed too hard and she fled, frightened by his Ruby Dynasty titles. Perhaps eventually he would have won her over, had she not miscarried. After a suitable amount of time, to let he and Shaliece mourn, Kelric's parents sent him offworld to the Deishan Military Academy. A few years later Shaliece wed another youth. Rashiva was watching him with an inscrutable expression. "This woman named you as the father of her child but offered you no kasi bands?" He brought his thoughts back to the present. "That wasn't our custom. I offered to her." You offered?" "Yes." She looked as if he had hit her in the stomach. "Was this the only time you offered to—to be free with—" He stiffened. "With what?" "Yourself." How could she, who had two husbands, condemn him for past lovers? "No." Rashiva drew away from him. "We should get back. I have matters to attend to on the Estate." They dressed in silence. Although they headed into the forest together, Kelric soon stopped. He didn't want a day of such contentment to end in this stiff and silent walk. Better to let Rashiva go on alone. She stopped and glanced back. For a moment he thought she would finally speak. Then she turned and went on, disappearing into the trees. The screen in the archway of Kelric's suite rustled. "Sevtar?" Kelric put down his dice. "Come." Saje came in and eased himself down on the other side of

194 Catherine Asamthe Quis table where Kelric had been playing solitaire. "Whe you didn't show for dinner I worried you weren't feeling well. "I'm fine" Kelric said. Saje glanced at the structures on the table. "Red blocks. R:

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balls. Red bars" | "I wasn't paying attention to the colors." | "Red is often used in patterns of anger." Kelric collected the dice and put them in his pouch, t "You came back from the parks alone," Saje said. | "Rashiva had business on the Estate." Kelric considered thBP ager Viasa and Ixpar Kam, the Ministry Successor, good terms these days." „ "It sounds like it depends on Manager Viasa, then" 5 "Sure did. Got 'em to match my hair." Bahr angled a look T him. "Got me new rooms in the Women's House too." Ht' mind made a fantasy of Rhab in her rooms; the sexy modern condemns her advances until she overcomes his resistance an he gives in to her. Then she had an odd thought; it would t? nice to have Rhab's company even if he didn't succumb to heU amorous overtures. "Maybe I'll bring you over and let you se them." ;j "Prowling after Modernists, heh?"

She reddened. "Prowling, pah. I'd rather go after off worlders." "I hear they're all Modernists. Matter of fact, I hear the Minister is a man." "Just shows how gullible you are." But Bahr had caugh wind of the same rumor. It was in the Quis. All sorts of new was there to read, from the growing legend of the Fourth Leve at Miesa to the mysterious goings-on in the Varz labs. Strang undercurrents ran through the dice, offworlder ideas, subtl and confusing, detectable only to a Quis Wizard. 4 "Heh," Rhab said. "Look at that." Bahr looked. A retinue had entered the market, rippling excitement through the crowd. "I wonder who it is," she said. "The Ministry Senior Aide, looks like." "Kastora? Cuaz me. It is" "She's coming over here." Bahr snorted, primarily to hide the fact that important peo| pie made her knees shake. But Rhab was

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right. Kastora was'»: coming their way.

•

The Senior Aide stopped in front of Bahr's dice table. "Quis?? Wizard Bahr?" | Bahr scrambled to her feet, acutely aware of how Kastora? towered over her. "Yhee, ma'am. I mean, that's me." "Minister Kam sends her greetings." Kastora handed her a letter.

Bahr read the letter, then gaped at Kastora. A nudge from' Rhab's foot started her tongue working again. "Uh—yes. Tell

-The Last Hawk 295 her I will. I mean, tell Minister Kara I will be honored to meet with her." I've no reason to be intimidated, Bahr thought. Ixpar Kam was just a person, hardly older than Bahr herself. But she recognized the late Jahit Karn in the woman who faced her from behind the large desk. Ixpar had that same aura of understated power. She also possessed a quality Bahr had never detected in Jahit, a ferocity just below her civilized exterior. I'm not intimidated, Bahr reminded herself. "I wish to know more about the work you describe in your proposal," the Minister said. Bahr rubbed her sweating palms on her trousers. "I want to understand elements. Chemical elements, I mean." "Why?" "Well—ah—" She had never thought about why. "It's interesting." "1 see." Bahr knew she sounded like an idiot. But she couldn't quit now. She wanted the funds too much. Sure she boasted about her great life, rolling dice and making pots of coins. Truth was, she didn't like gambling. Nor was she a woman to parlay her skil with the dice into power and prestige. She didn't care about that. She just wanted to play Quis. Real Quis. Like a Calani. Like a man. She coud hear the laughter; not much of a woman, heh, Bahr? Well, she would learn to take it. She had to. She needed support if she wanted to play pattern games full time and this was the only way to get it. "I'm trying to find a Quis pattern that describes the elements," she said. "Actually, I already found one. But it has problems." "Problems?" Ixpar asked.

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"I think we're missing some elements. A lot of them." Her fascination with the project jumped in and kicked away her nervousness. "My pattern predicts periodicity in the elements. It all fits. It's beautiful. But some elements it predicts aren't in y chemistry scroll I've found. And a few elements listed in e scrolls don't fit my pattern." "Which ones?" Ixpar asked.

296 Catherin Asaro"Water. And air." Bahr knew any respectable scienst woy laugh her out of the room. But she had to see this through. don't believe water and air are really elements." "I see." Ixpar picked up a folder on her desk. "These a your tutorial files from the Cooperative. You have an unustt record." Bahr's face flamed. Unusual was a polite term for a trua who had been too busy playing dice to bother with lesson The Minister's meaning was obvious; where did someone lil Bahr get the wind to challenge the patterns of established sc ence? "It isn't exactly an impressive file," Ixpar said. "No, ma'am, it isn't." "Were you bored?" The question threw Bahr. "Bored?" "With your lessons." Bahr had no idea how to answer. She had never paid enou attention to remember the lessons. "I don't know." Ixpar considered her. "Atomic structure." "I don't understand." "Neither do I." Ixpar closed the folder. "A man once sa those words to me while trying to explain the chemical el ments." "What does it mean?" "That's what I want you to tell me." Ixpar tapped her styh against her fingers. "You will have to move onto the Estate.' Bahr was getting confused. "Estate?"

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Ixpar leaned forward. "Understand me, Quis Wizard. would never let a woman loose in my Calanya nor tolerate tt suggestion of such. But you will take the Oath and live as Calani. Mentors from the Preparatory House will instru you." She paused. "I assume you will put more effort into yoi studies now than you did as a child?" The room whirled about Bahr. "Calani? Me?" "I want you to study it all with your Quis: physics, chen istry, elements. Full time. I want you to tell me what is atom structure." Bahr gaped at her. "I'll be blown over a bubble."

-The Last Hawk 297 "Are you interested?" the Minister asked. "Yhee, ma'am," Bahr said. "That I surely am." Keiric closed his eyes, trying to ease the throbbing in his head. It didn't even help that he was sitting in his favorite armchair in the main common room, as he always did after dinner. In a nearby alcove Hayl strummed a lyderharp and Revi lay next to him. As Hayl played, Keiric brooded. The question of taking Savina offworld had become moot; she was too sick to travel and too far into her pregnancy for him to bring back a doctor in time even if he could have gone for one. Their child's life was in the hands of the Coban doctors now. Hayl began "Song of the Snowprince," a ballad about a Varz Akasi from the Old Age who died when he was caught in a blizzard as he fled from the stone-hearted Manager to the arms of the woman he loved. Although Keiric usually enjoyed Hayl's playing, tonight even the music couldn't soothe his headache. In the seven years since he had come to Miesa, his brain damage had gradually been healing. Until now. Suddenly his Kyle centers were reactivating with a vengeance, an uneven resurgence that felt like shards of glass driving into his head. How could Savina's gentle touch evoke such an intense response? The KEB in her brain didn't have enough active sites to broadcast a signal this strong. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the link he shared with her. With his Kyle senses so sensitized, he picked her up more easily than ever before. As her presence grew more distinct, it separated. One part remained a dim glow, warm and familiar. The other blazed like a blue giant star being bom. Being bom. Keiric jumped to his feet and strode past a startled Hayl to the Outside doors. Heaving them open, he looked out at the escort. "I have to see Savina." Captain Lesi dropped her pouch, scattering dice across the floor. One of the guards jumped, knocking over a Quis struce, and another sputtered Tanghi tea across the table. "For pugging sake," he said. "Do you think my vocal cords

298Catherine Asaro-

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have been cut?" He headed Out into the hal. If they w< going to gawk, he would find Savina himself. • In seconds the guards had surrounded him, their stun drawn. He forced himself to stop. Being knocked out wo| get him nowhere. ] "Manager Miesa is sick," Captain Lesi said. "I need to see her." His voice shook them up more than anything else he co have done, short of jumping off a tower. Lesi motioned six his guards into formation around him and sent the seventh it ning ahead. Behz, the Miesa Senior Physician, was waiting for them Savina's suite. Kelric walked straight past her. As he entel the darkened bedroom, he heard Lesi order someone to { down their gun. His back itched, waiting for a stun shot, bi never came. Inside the bedroom he paused, halted by the si of Savina's small form curled under the quilts. Behz came in and closed the door. Drawing him aside, s spoke in a low voice. "If she gets any worse she will lose t baby. Can't this wait?" He shook his head no. She studied his face, as if search for an answer. "You will take care with her, yes, Sevtai When he nodded, she bowed to him and withdrew from t room, eaving him alone with his wfe. Kelric sat on the bed and genty rested his hand on Savin abdomen, so near now to full term. "Is Avtac here ... ?" she asked. "It's me," he said.. Her eyes opened. "You look scared to death." "Savina, it's about the baby. She's a more powerful psi than I realized." "Psion?" She nestled against him, closing her eyes. "Si for me, Sevtar." He didn't know how to describe for her the way the quanfa wavefunctions of her brain and his coupled with each other a with that of the baby's developing brain. Through that thr< way link he and Savina already loved their child, on a le1 deeper than conscious thought. But a danger also existed i infant had little or no control over its developing Kyle orgai

_———————————————————The Last Hawk 299 During the trauma of its birth, its mind would probably hit Savina with a neural overload. A Kyle birth usually gave the mother a headache or at worst caused a convulsion. It might have no effect if the mother knew how to release neurotransmitters that blocked receptor sites affected by the overload. Except their child was no ordinary Kyle.

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"The baby doesn't know she can hurt you," he said. "My mind is like hers. I can protect both you and her." Drowsily she said, "You worry about the strangest things." "I have to be with you when she's born. Right here. Kyle effects fall off roughly as the coulomb force, so the farther away I am from you, the weaker my interaction with the two of you." She opened her eyes, her face gentling. "I would like for you to be here. I wanted to ask, but I wasn't sure how. Some men feel uncomfortable in the birthing room." She sighed. "Avtac will protest, of course." "You mean Avtac Varz?" "She comes to help Manage Miesa while I am sick." "Can't your staff take care of it?" "Yes. But not as well as Avtac. I appreciate her help." "I don't trust her." "You never met her." " don't like the Quis patterns I've seen of her." "1 know she intimidates people " Savina said. "But she has always been a friend to me. Harsh and demanding, but also steadfast." The door opened, making a line of light in the dark, "Manager Miesa?" Captain Lesi asked. "Is everything all right?" "Fine," Savina said. After the captain withdrew, Savina smiled at Kelric. "You must have shaken them up." "I wasn't exactly being a model Calani." He smoothed her hair. "They're right, though. I should let you rest." She curled closer to him. "Don't leave. 1 feel better when you're here." So he held her while she slept. His own thoughts refused to let him rest. How could he have known Savina carried the full set o Rhon genes, mostly unpaired, hidden and recessive? No wonder he loved her. Far down, in a place deeper than conscious

300Catherine Asarothought, like had recognized like. Her unexpressed genes h paired up with his and produced a child of

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phenoei strength Their daughter was Rhon. Avtac Varz locked her valise and straightened up, fastening) jacket to ward off the predawn chill. She considered stopp by Hettav's apartment in the city to say good-bye before s left for Miesa, but decided against it. The time had come toe her arrangement with him. Young and handsome though was, he had ceased to please her. In fact, last night Avtac had found herself seeking < Garith, her only Akasi, the father of her five children. A t man with a muscular build and eyes like the sky, his bea had once been stunning. The decades had streaked his gt hair with gray and added lines around his eyes, but even af so many years she still enjoyed his company. Besides, Hettav wanted too much. He should have realiz she would never make him an Akasi. He gave away his virt too easily, on top of which he was a terrible dice player. An aide appeared in the archway, shivering in the cold. T rider is ready, ma'am." "Good." Avtac handed her the valise. "Take this out to t airfield." She headed to her office for a last—but most imp< tant—meeting. Zecha should be there by now. Avtac knew there were those who criticized her decision appoint Zecha as captain of her hunters. Before making t decision, she had gone over every detail ofZecha's methods Haka. The former warden hadn't understood the subtleties power and so abused it. But for a Manager who knew how utilize her strengths and control her excesses, Zecha made excellent, and loyal, officer. It was also obvious why the Haka Bench reacted with su severity in Zecha's case. It involved a Calani. At times Av was convinced the sungoddess Savina had created men as pu ishment for some perceived misdeed of womankind. Eitt handsome and seductive, with few redeeming qualities asi from the obvious, or else plain and querulous, they fore\ caused trouble.

-The Last Hawk 301 When she reached her ofice, she found Zecha waiting with the chemist Iva. Although Iva had recovered from the injuries she took during the lab accident, a scar marred her cheek. It struck Avtac as inappropriate that Iva wore the mark while the clumsy assistant who caused the accident went unscathed. The accident itself, however, intrigued Avtac. Sulphur, nitrate, charcoal. "I've read your research proposal." Avtac moved her hand in dismissal. "Pattern games." Iva had her arguments prepared. "Working out Quis patterns of inorganic syntheses has great potential to improve our lives, Manager Varz. It could lead to uncountable new compounds." "Whatever," Avtac said. "I'm giving you the funds." A surprised smile jumped onto Iva's face. "You won't regret it, I assure—•" "With one stipulation," Avtac interrupted. " want you to complete a project first." She took a folder .from

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her desk and handed it to the chemist. "You will work with Captain Zecha. and a crew of metal-shapers she selected." Iva glanced through the file. "Metal Quis dice with chemicals in them?" "That's right. Can you do it?" "Well—yes, I think so." Iva looked up at Avtac. "I'm not sure they will have much use. But I can do it." Papers, Savina thought. She listlessly regarded the pies stacked on the bed. How could a tree be left anywhere on Coba? They had all been cut down to make papers Savina Miesa must read. At least since Avtac's arrival yesterday, Savina had found more time to rest. Except that Zecha had flown down from Varz today to report to Avtac. Although Savina found nothing specific about the captain she could point to and say "This bothers me," Zecha disquieted her, like a pressure against her mind. Savina et the folder she held drop onto the bed. As she lay ack, a cramp caught her like a vise. With a gasp, she reached out to the nightstand for the co. The added weight of her pregnancy gave her more momentum than she expected and her

302Catherine Asaro— awkward size made it difficult to recover. Her body unbalanc and she rolled forward, off the bed, tumbling through the a She landed on the floor with a thud. "Ah—no . . ." Savina cried out as a full-blown contracti clenched her. "Behz! Someone!"

The door burst open and people ran into the bedroom t Beh knet next to her, another contraction hit Savina, shoe ing firebrands up her spine. She gazed up at the doctor, mute imploring her to make the pain stop. After a quick exam, Behz looked up at the nurses. "We w need clean sheets. And boil some water." .', "No." Savina groaned as they lifted her onto the bed. Til baby hasn't even turned yet." As much as Beh tried to hide her concern, it radiated o her like heat off an ingot. "That may be. But you're in labor, can't stop it." Avtac paced the living room outside Savina's bedroom while i cluster of aides spoke with hushed voices. Zecha waited by l window, staring out at the city, her face drawn as if she hadn sept the entire night. \ Suddenly the outer door of the suite swung open and Ca; tain Lesi of the Calanya escort strode into the room. "Is there a problem in the Calanya?" Avtac asked.

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Lesi bowed to her. "The Calani Sevtar wishes to be witi) Manager Miesa."

Avtac could imagine the consequences of letting a high-| strung Calani into the birthing room. "Tell him no." J "He's already here, ma'am. 1 could barely convince him to| wait in the alcove."

;

The lack of discipline at Miesa appalled Avtac. Savina indulged this ourth Level far too much. "Take him back." The Miesa Senior Aide came over to them. "Savina wants him with her, ma'am."

That gave Avtac pause. "She spoke to you about this?" "I think she and Sevtar just made the decision." "But did she give orders?" Avtac said. t was a moment before the Senior answered. "Not yet."

__———————————————————The Last Hawk 303 "Yet?" Avtac wished the woman would be more specific. "Then she told you she intended to give orders on the subject." "No," the Senior admitted. "But she did intend to." Avtac appraised the Senior. Was she operating on her own agenda or did she truly believe Savina wanted this excitable Calani hovering around while she labored? Avtac had never asked for Garith in the five times she had given birth. His presence would have been an intrusion. A nurse opened the door of Savina's bedroom. "Manager Varz?" Avtac went over to him. "How is Savina?" "She's had several convulsions, we aren't sure why. And the baby is in the wrong position." Quietly he said, "Behz doesn't know if either she or the baby will live." No, Avtac thought. Savina, be strong. "Has she asked for the baby's father?" The nurse shook his head. "She sleeps between contractions and isn't coherent during them." "Do you think it would help her to have him come in?" The nurse spread his hands. "We don't know." Avtac suspected that if Savina had said nothing about the matter this far into her pregnancy, she didn't want Sevtar in there. Unfortunately, with Savina it was difficult to tell; you could never be sure what was

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going on in her odd, albeit engaging, mind. Nor was promptness one of her strong points; Avtac went to the window where Zecha stood. As the captain turned to her, Avtac was surprised by the extensive lines of fatigue on her face. "You knew this man Sevtar at Haka," Avtac said. "He isn't stable," Zecha said. "Let him in there and you could have a disaster." Avtac motioned for the Calanya captain. When Lesi came over, Avtac said, "Do you believe Sevtar might lose control of himself in the birthing room?" "Not at all," Lesi said. "He never behaves in an erratic manner?" The Miesa captain hesitated.

304 Catherine Asaw———————————————————— "Answer with care," Avtac said. "Your Manager's life c depend on what you say." Lesi exhaled. "I can't guarantee he'll do nothing u pected."

The Miesa Senior Aide joined them in time to hear Les comment. "Sevtar is steadier than a rock," the Senior said. A guard opened the outer door of the suite. "Captain Le I don't know how much longer he's going to wait." "Bring him," the Senior said. Avtac spoke to the guard. "You will do nothing until y have my permission." The guard hesitated, looking from Avtac to the Senior. Tt she said, "Yhee, ma'am," to Avtac. Zecha drew Avtac to one side. "I woud think before you him in there. It's well-known what you have to gain if Saw Miesa dies." Avtac had no wish to see Savina die. The Miesa Mana was one of the few people she actually liked. Besides, if s appeared to seek Savina's death, the political ramificatk would be ugly. On the other hand, if she refused the Pou Level and i turned out Savina had actually wanted him th the consequences could be just as serious. A bead of sweat ran down the side of Zecha's face. S wiped it away with a distracted motion. "Are you sick?" Avtac asked.

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"It's the tension. Can't you feel it?" Zecha pressed the he of her palms against her tempes. "It's like being in a mu compactor." Avtac frowned. "What are you talking about?" Zecha's face took on an odd expression, as if she had do and shuttered herself. "It's nothing." "Manager Varz." Captain Lesi stepped over to them. '" need to decide." Avtac considered her, then turned to Zecha. "I need y< best opinion Captain. One untainted by anger." Zecha stiffened and Avtac saw that her implication was lost on the captain. If the wrong decision was made, it woi reflect on Zecha now as well.

-The Last Hawk 305 j| Zecha rubbed her temples, her face drawn. With complete certainty she said, Manager Miesa wants him with her." Relrics awareness of the foyer faded as he concentrated on the force being bora in the other room. His daughter reacted in instinct, innocent of the knowledge her miraclous power could kill. Keltic buffered Savina, easing the onslaught, but hoding his link with her proved difficult from two rooms away. The foyer door opened, framing Captain Lesi in its archway. She said, simply, "I will take you to Manager Miesa." Somehow, through his tenion he managed to nod. He wound the Talha around his face and puled up the cowl of his robe secluding himself from watching eyes so the covetous reactions of people to his appearance wouldn't disrupt his concentration. As soon as he was inside Savina's bedroom, he slipped off his robe and Talha and went to the bed, standing back from the gathered medics. Savina strained with another contraction and his mind reeled with the intensity of her effort. He deepened his concentration, spurring her brain to produce chemicals that blocked its pain receptors. After the contraction finished Savina dropped back on the bed. At first he thought she had passed out, but then she opened her eyes. "Sevtar, she whispered. "Come hep. Please." When Keric started toward her, Behz laid her hand on his arm. "Be carefu." He swallowed and nodded. They helped him to kneel on the bed behind Savina and showed him how to support her during the contractions. He was so close to her now that both she and the baby glowed in his mind. Again and again Savina strained in his arms, her body wrung with her exertions The day ground into night, blending into a haze of exhaustion. As her strength ebbed their child's nnnd began to fade, Kelric refused to admit what was happeng, that his wife and daughter were dying in his arms. He poured his

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support into Savina, barely even realizing he was ll now that kept her and their child alive. She had stopped

306 Catherine Asaro———————————————————— thinking, giving all her remaining strength over to the ag nized labor. Suddenly Behz cried, "She's coming!" * Kelric heard through a daze. With his consciousn focused inward, the room had blurred around him and he cou no longer see. Suddenly Savina screamed, her body going rigid as if s were struggling back from the threshold of death for one fitt] gargantuan effort i Then a baby wailed. With a curiously gentle sigh, Savina sagged in his ar Incredibly, for the first time in hours, perhaps even days, s looked up with recognition. Her voice was a whisper. "Sl lived because of you." '': Tears ran down his face. "And you." "I'm so tired ..." "Savina." He rasped her name. "Savina, don't." She smiled her face blurred in the room's dimmed light. love you, Sevtar." Then her eyes closed. 30 The Tower of Soul The torch on the wall flickered gilding the corridor wi antique ight. Avtac walked in silence. At the end of the hi she stopped before an archway and stood with her palm re ing against the door, the only concession to her crushing gri she would ever reveal. Then she unlocked the door and enter the room where a legend waited. He was sitting in a window seat, staring out at Miesa below the tower. Then he turned—and she saw that the Ie ends of his beauty were indeed false. The reality of him w not less, as she had expected; it was more, far more. His fla'

-The Last Hawk 307

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less face, the symmetry of his form, the beauty of his skin: he was perfect. Utterly perfect. Instead of the midnight-blue cloak of mourning, for some reason he wore black: boots, trousers, shirt, vest—all black. The only color came from the gold of his wrist guards glinting under the edge of his cuffs. So. This was the man who had destroyed an Estate. Sevtar turned away from her and stared out the window at Miesa again. No, not Miesa. Varz. It was hers now, all of it, and a Fifth Level as well. But it came at a bitter price. Softly she said, "Your daughter survived, Sevtar." He looked back at her, for the first time showing a spark of life. Avtac wondered at his reaction. Calani such as he were another species, erratic in emotion and thought. Still, perhaps it would be kind to let him see the infant. Within moments after she sent for the child, a nurse appeared with a small bundle wrapped in blankets. When Avtac nodded, the youth approached Sevtar and bowed. Then he offered Sevtar the bundle. The transformation that came over Sevtar astounded Avtac. He cradled the tiny infant in his massive hold with a tenderness incongruous to his reputation. Then he murmured a name. The nurse jerked back and Avtac motioned for him to leave. Despite the jolt of hearing Sevtar break his Oath, Avtac understood his lapse. It wasn't his fault men of great beauty lacked moral strength. Today he needed to mourn. She would leave Calanya discipline for another time. She wondered about the name he spoke. Rohka. Had he and Savina picked it for their daughter? She sat next to him and spoke gently. "Rohka will have the best care we can offer." Sevtar looked as if he were trying to answer. But words failed him. Instead he bent his head over the child and repeated her name in his husky accent, making it sound like Roca. As a tear ran down his face, he added words that made no sense: "No longer am I the littlest Rhon child." arz stood alone, high in the mountains, ancient and inmutable, a solitary garrison with the grandeur of the Teotecs retching away on all sides as far as a hawk could fly. The

308 Catherine Asam————_______ oSSM. \'s The v01 dSfL swre 1 T, "" T e "a1 " 11 « no« , Fifth v" "W

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31 Switch: Black Oyx Ixpar slid open the stained-glass doors of her suite and walked onto the patio. In a distant garden she saw Bahr at a table, intent on her dice. The gambler looked like a wild gypsy: huge hoop earrings, yellow scarf tied in her red curls, blue trousers, yellow shirt, and those spectacular red boots of hers. Nearby, her friend Rhab was bent over a potter's wheel, hard at work. Ixpar smiled. They made quite a picture: the Quis Wizard who lived as a Calani and her Modernist friend who came to pay suit the same way a woman would court a Calani, though neither of them would admit Rhab was courting anyone. Jahit would have had a fit. Ixpar sometimes wondered why she had done it. Supporting Bahr in the full style of a Calani was no meager investment. The arrangement drew constant criticism from the Elders. But the gambler's unusual mind, brimming with its plethora of odd ideas, fascinated her. She wanted Bahr to play Quis with her Calanya and for that stratospheric privilege, Bahr would have to keep the Oath for the rest of her life. A man appeared in another garden, his brown hair whipping in the breeze as he strode down a path. When he neared, Ixpar recognized him as Anthoni, one of her more promising Estate aides. He came over and bowed to her. "I have a message." "From whom?" Ixpar asked. "Skybird." Ixpar motioned him into her living room, then closed the doors and pulled the curtains. "Who gave you the message?" "A pilot. The name on the delivery sheet was Levi Kam." "This pilot asked for your name before she spoke to you? Twice?" When Anthoni nodded, Ixpar said, "Who else knows of this?"

, 312 Catherine Asaro————————_____________j "No one. I came straight here." | "Good. What did Levi tell you?" "This: The skybird flew high and now roosts well. Hisi nests are clean.' " | Skybird. It was the code name for her agent Jevrin. The message meant he had established himself at

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Varz with a posi.T tion on the CityGuard. Given Avtac's views on the unsuitabiM ity of men for the Guard, Ixpar hadn't been sure he woud make it this far. But Avtac's inflexibility worked to Ixpar's advantage; the iron-hard Varz Manager was less likely to sus- i" pect a man as a spy, given it required numerous traits she asso ciated only with women, including that he be discreet enough to keep his true identity out of the dice. A considerable portion of Jevrin's training had gone into Quis, to ensure he didn't reveal himself. But he couldn't use the dice to send messages to Kam; no matter how well he | secured his work, a Quis Wizard might still pick up the patterns. | "Was there anything else?" Ixpar asked. "What?"

I1 Anthoni nodded. " The sun is extinguished' "

"That was the message. The sun is extinguished.' " sure."

I "Are you certain? You didn't hear it wrong?" "I'm

She took a breath. "Thank you, Anthoni. You've done well." I. After Anthoni left, Ixpar sank into a chair. How could it be? $ The sun is extinguished. owned Miesa. Ixpar's fist C

» Savina Miesa is dead. If that were true, then Varz now

clenched as she thought of what else belonged to Varz

t Kelric.

32 Raaged Tower The days passed Kelric like ghosts, ten and then twenty, in dark, silent procession. Winter's blizzards raged outside, but he barely noticed. He lived in a universe of numb silence. In such a large Calanya he had company even tonight, when he wandered through the common rooms after most of Varz slept. Two men conversed at a Quis table and another sat absorbed in solitaire. As always, each person he passed stopped what he was doing and nodded to him, silent and deferential. Fifth Level. He felt abnormal. The other Calani treated him the way Outsiders treated all Calani. No one intruded on his solitude and he talked to no one. Even Avtac had the decency to leave him alone, despite the Akasi bands. He had finally, today, changed from the black of mourning into normal clothes, but what he wore made no difference. The shadows" inside him remained. The main common room was dark, except for a night lamp in one comer. Kelric tapped at Hayl's screen, but no one answered. As he turned to leave he heard a faint noise within. Crying? He hesitated, reluctant to trespass, yet knowing that were Hayl his own son he would try to help. The crying came again, almost inaudible. So he went in. He found Hayl in a darkened alcove, lying on the rug among several cushions. Like most Miesans, the boy had never grown very tall; hidden in shadows he looked even younger than his fourteen years. "Are you all right?" Kelric asked.

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Hayl looked around with a start and then sat up. "Sevtar?" "I'm sorry—I didn't mean to intrude. But I thought I heard crying. Can I help?"

314 Catherine Asaro———————————————————— "No." Then Hay) said, "Sevtar, wait. Stay." Kelric sat on the rug. He couldn't bring himself to mentii Savina so instead he said, "Is it Revi?" Hayl nodded, wiping tears off his cheeks. "Do you knc what my mother told me once? When I was a baby and Re was five, I wouldn't go to sleep unless he carried me around ti nursery in the Cooperative." "Avtac probably didn't realize how close you two were." "She knew. The Miesa Senior Aide told her." Hay swi lowed. "Manager Varz doesn't care. She just wanted the be of us and a good price for the rest." He wiped his palms on k trousers. "Someday I'll be a Third Level. At Haka. With Revi "Perhaps you will." "You've been to Haka. Do you think Revi likes it there?" "I did. The desert is beautiful." "Tel me about it." As they talked, Hayl's spirits recovered a bit. Although th< skirted the subject of Savina's death, Kelric felt Hayl's gri and knew the boy understood his. It helped in some way, sha ing their silences about her. When Kelric eventually returned to the main common roo he saw Qahotra, the Calanya captain, waiting by his suite wi his "valets," Tak, Thek, Netak, and Katak. The Taks, as 1 called them. With diplomacy, or perhaps duplicity, Avtac cho, to cal these four of his guards "servants in honor of his pos tion." Given that all four men carried guns, were larger ev( than Kelric, and obviously had martial-arts training, th didn't make convincing valets. When Kelric saw what Qahotra carried, his heart leapt ai he forgot the Taks. He strode over and stopped in front of h< accepting the blanket-swathed bundle she offered him. He cr died his daughter in his arms, gazing at her beoved face as 1 swayed slightly from side to side, rocking her. When he finally glanced up, he saw Qahotra watching hi with a smile. Even the Taks looked ike they might actual crack their wooden faces with a pleasant expression. "We'll be back in an hour," Qahotra said. After the captain left, the Taks sat around a Quis table ai

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————————————————————The Last Hawk 315 played dice. Kelric setted into an armchair across the room, enfolding Roca in his arms, and murmured nonsense words. She watched him with wide blue eyes that someday would turn gray, gold, green, or violet, he had no idea which. She felt so small, so vulnerable. He hadn't realized fatherhood would come with such an intensity of response on his part. When he had told Avtac he wanted Roca to live with him in the Calanya, the Manager hadn't even responded, she had simply stared as if he were demented. The next day when he and Avtac sat in a private Quis session, he introduced patterns of Roca into his dice, trying to make Avtac see what his daughter meant to him. She said nothing then either, but the next day Qahotra brought Roca up from Miesa for her first visit. Since then he had seen her every one or two days. The hour went by far too fast. Kelric wasn't sure how he looked when Qahotra returned, but she gave him another hour. When she finally took the baby, she spoke gently. "She'll be back for another visit soon. I'll see to it myself." After the captain left, Kelric went to his suite and sat in his living room, struggling to make his mind blank. If he let his houghts surface, they would turn to Savina, to a grief that went too deep and too far. If he let it pull him under now, he would drown. For Roca, he had to stay on top of his life. He would make the Varz Quis soar as it never had before, turn this Estate and its dependents into the gilded land, give Roca the best world it was within his power to create. Several hours later a tap came at his screen He found Qahotra outside again, this time with both the Taks and his Calanya escort. They took him through the Estate, along ancient halls made empty by their isolated location and the late hour, and lit only y lamps shaped like clawcats. Eventually they ascended a tower, climbing its spiral staircase. This journey he recognized. He had taken it three times before, once in a drugged daze at Dahl, once in incomprehension at Haka, and once in Joy at Miesa. They left him locked in a suite that gave reality to the age and wealth of Varz. Chandeliers made from diaonds hung

316 Catherine Asaro ——————————————————————|j above rugs so thick his toes disappeared in the pile. The antique furniture looked priceless. Gold, ivory, ebony, silk; il was an Akasi suite unparalleled by any he had seen. '; The living room had no windows. He wandered through the other windowless rooms, glad to discover none of them conf tained Avtac either. In the bathing room, he went for a swim ifl| the pool. When he finished, he dried off with a towel someone had laid on a stone bench and he dressed in the robe he foud: there. Then he sat by a fountain, watching rainbows flicker iffii the cascade of water. When his eyes refused to stay open any longer he went to the bedroom and was relieved to find it still; empty. Apparently unexpected business had kept Avtac away. I

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He folded his robe on a chair and went to bed. Within | moments he was asleep.

A tiring job, this merger of two Estates, Avtac thought as she| lit a lamp in the living room of the Akasi suite. But well wort i the trouble; since absorbing Miesa, the power of Varz had; surged. Perhaps she had judged too harshly Savina's decision to acquire Sevtar. The man was a remarkable Quis player.;, More than remarkable. Truly gifted. But neurotic. What , bizarre notion had prompted him to dress in black for so long? It was hard to believe he mourned Savina. He hadnt shed a tear since her death. ; At least he had finally changed into normal clothes. Whatever his capricious logic, it wouldn't have done for her to vio late what looked like mourning. But the wait had made her impatient. She found him in the main bedroom. Asleep, he was eve more provocative than awake. Light crept in from the living • room and curled glowing fingers around his body. He lay on his back with one arm thrown across the pillows behind his head and the other stretched out on the bare sheets, the fist clenched in the silk. The quilts had ended up on the floor and the sheet was bunched around his waist, leaving his bare chest in view. She sat next to him and explored his chest, satisfying the curiosity that had tugged at her since he came to Varz. His skin felt like a metal alloy, warm and flexible.

_—————————————————————The Last Hawk 317 His eyes opened and he grasped her hand. "Avtac. It's late." "So it is." "I'm tired." His reluctance whetted her desire. When she tweaked away the sheet, uncovering his body, he avoided her gaze. Given his past, she doubted his modesty was real. But it was far more fitting behavior for an Akasi than that of the youth she kept in the city, who made no secret of how much he enjoyed her company. She spoke gently. "Sevtar, turn over. I will help you relax." He glanced at her, his face guarded. But he did roil onto his stomach, laying his head on a pillow and his arms by his sides. Still fully dressed, Avtac straddled his hips and massaged his back, working deep into the stiff muscles. After a while, his eyes closed and he sighed, murmuring a sleepy thanks. She ran her hands along his ars, then lifted his wrists and brought them together. With a click, she locked his Calanya guards behind his back. Sevtar looked back at her, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Why did you do that?" "Shhh, sweet dawn god," she murmured. Sweet submission. He excited her even more than she had

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expected. She stretched out on top of him, caressing his sides with long strokes as she rubbed her pelvis against his buttocks. While she moved on him, he stared at the wall across the room, his expression numb. He was hers to own and enjoy. Her pent-up desire and the friction of her motion made her rise happen so fast she could barely control it. When the release came, it was with a shuddering intensity. After a while, when her breathing had calmed, she rolled off him and lay on her back with her eyes closed, one leg stretched out and the other bent. "Are you done?" he asked. Avtac looked at him, his perfect face, his long lashes, his gold curls. She traced her finger along his cheek. "You are a great beauty, Sevtar." "I can't seep with my arms like this." In her youth, she might have spent the rest of the night with him, but she was too drowsy now. Come morning, all would be

318 Catherine Asaro—————————————————I new again, a time for full lovemaking. She wanted him, rested.

As soon as she unlocked his wrists, he turned onto his t and stared at the ceiing. Avtac stretched her arms, then re her clothes and set them in a neat pile on the nightstand. a Then she rolled over and went to sleep.

33 King's Spectru Kastora Kara, Senior Aide to the Minister, studied the me dice on the tabie. They had an odd shape: cyindrical at end, pointed at the other She glanced atjxpar. "These- are i Quis?" | "It would seem not." The Minister put a packet of dark po der next to the dice. .' Kastora poked at the packet. "What is it?" "A mixture," Ixpar said. "Charcoal, sulphur, nitrate." "What does it do?" "Explode." | Kastora quickly withdrew her hand. "Is it for the quarriesi Ixpar shook her head. "Jevrin, the agent I have at Var smuggled it to me. The powder goes in the dice," | "Rather odd dice. What does one do with them?" ;: "Apparently," Ixpar said, "one puts them in a rifle."

1 "A rifle?" "A gun"

"Why put dice in a stunner?" "A rifle is different than a stunner," Ixpar said. "It propel the dice out again." : "Whatever for?" "To damage the target, I assume."

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Kastora stared at her. "Why?" "That," Ixpar said, "is what I would like to know."

-The Last Hawk 319 "So you see," Bahr finished. "By putting the dice structure in a high level and controlling how it evolves to a low evel, the , pattern models a chemical that glows with a single color of light. Like red light." Ixpar relaxed at the table where she and Bahr had been diing. Bahr's outrageous ideas never ceased to fascinate her. "What would one do with this red light?" "You could use it in the Calanya fountains." Bahr took a spice mufin. "Thing is, I wouldn't know bread from cheese how to make a real device that does what my Quis pattern predicts." "I can have the labs look into it." Ixpar sipped her wine. "What do you call this light-making pattern of yours?" "I haven't decided." Bahr washed a bite of her muffin down with wine. "You see, what actually gives off the light are motes I call atoms. When a mote is in a high level, it wants to emit light by going to a low level. For the patterns I'm working on now, you have to kick the mote to make it relax to the lower level. So I was thinking of calling it a kicked-mote emitter." Ixpar could imagine the reaction Bahr would get to a Quis structure called kicked-mote emitters. "What you're doing is modeling a system that amplifies light by stimulating the emission of radiance. Why don't you abbreviate that?" "Albsteor?" Bahr grimaced. "It sounds like a rock." "Maybe if you just used letters from the main words. Alser. Laser. Saler." "Sailor? Sailing light." Bahr beamed. "Yes, that sounds better." Ixpar laughed. "Sailing light? It doesn't make sense." "Sure it does. The light sails out of the device." "All right." Ixpar smiled. "I will see if the labs can make you I a light-sailor." j "Come on," Hayl said. "Wake up. You said you would run with me this morning." t. Kelric opened one eye. Through a window in his suite, he | saw dawn tinging the sky. He closed his eye and pulled a pil- t ow over his head. !

320 Catherine Asaro-

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"Sevtar." Hayl tugged away the pillow. "You promised." Kelric grimaced. Most Cobans found the concept ofjoggitj ;as strange as eating Quis dice, but in Miesa he had talked Haj |into running with him in the mornings. Now he wished the bo Ihadn't taken to it with such enthusiasm. :Waking up to run, though, was better than waking up t ;Avtac. Mercifully, she had been at Council the past few day »Otherwise she sent for him almost every night, for "love" ma Iing that left him feeling emotionally bruised. The one facet of Avtac he missed was her Quis. No OUK person he had played on Coba could match her brilliance. If |man's love were measured by a desire for a woman's die ;rather than for the woman, then instead of abhorring Avtac h would have loved her with a passion like none other.Right now, his only passion was to sleep. But he had promise IHayl. He rolled out of bed and limped to the bureau where h kept his running clothes. After he dressed, they went into his In |iing room and found the Taks were aready there, lounging i ;.;chairs. The "valets" followed Hayl and Kelric out to the ic( Scovered parks and stood out of earshot, watching them warm u] their breath making clouds under a sky of leaden clouds. 3"I know they're your servants and all," Hayl said. "But .wish they would go away." "At least they quit trying to run with us." .Hayl smirked. They're too lazy." He leaned forward an pulled a hair off Kelric's head. "Why did you do that?" Kelric asked. Hayl gave him the hair. "Your first gray one." .Kelric rolled it between his fingers, then let it float away o i|the wind. "Don't look so depressed," Hayl said good-naturedl: "Everyone gets gray hair." "Come on" Kelric stood up. "Let's go" As they ran, taking a path down to the lakes, Kelric made

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listless attempt to reach Bolt. The node remained silent, as had since Savina's death. It didn't matter; he knew what wa thappening. His meds were no longer performing the celluk :repairs needed to retard his aging. The trauma of Savina's deat Shad sent his only partially healed biomech web into shock, an

————————————————————The Last Hawk 321 his grief, combined with his life at Varz, only served to exacerbate his condition. That the priitive state of Coban medicine left him with a limp—that he could live with. But having Varz take a century off his life was another matter altogether. When they returned to the Calanya, the common rooms were filling up, as Calani trickled out from their suites looking for food, conversation, or Quis. While the Taks sat down at a table to eat, Kelric continued across the room with Hayl. A Second Level named Jev intercepted them. "Some of us are having Tanghi in Orttal's suite," he said. "We wondered if the two of you would like to join us." Kelric almost declined. Then he saw the anticipation oh Hayl's face. So instead he said, "Thanks. We'll be over as soon as we clean up." As he and Hayl continued on to their suites, Hayl smiled. "Maybe we won't be so much like Outsiders here anymore." "Maybe not," Kelric said. "Sevtar—" "Yes?" "It might help if—well—they might like us better if you were friendlier." Kelric squinted at him. "Sorry. I'll try." Inside his suite, he bathed and dressed. As he pulled on his shirt, his wrist guard twisted and he winced. Neither of his guards fit properly and both irritated his skin, but to get them fixed meant going to Avtac. And he had no intention of being put in the humiliating position of having to ask her for anything. Rummaging through his bureau, he found an old cloth. He ripped off a strip and worked it under his guard to protect his skin from the metal. Then he eft his suite. Orttal answered when Kelric tapped at his screen. He was the higher ranked of the two Third Levels at Varz, yet he bowed as if he were an Outsider compared to his Fifth Level guest. In the living room,

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Kelric saw Hayl sitting on a divan talking to Mox, a First Level who moved with an agility that made him look ready to burst into somersaults. "It's a matter of timing," Mox was saying. He juggled three Quis dice, then handed them to Hayl. "Go ahead. Try it."

322 Catherine Asaw——————————————| When Kelric entered, all conversation stopped Hl ered him to a Quis table, giving him the position of hoo the window, acss from the Second Level Jev. EveryoaB watching him except Hayl, who kept trying to juggle M|B The gems clattered to the floor, "Pah," Hayl muttered. H Mox laughed and scooped up the dice. 'Try with two fijH Conversation begin to flow again. The others tossed iH tences back and forth with an ease that fascinaed Kelric, H had never mastered he art of talking to people he didn't flB well. Mox's energy and Jev's quiet confidence impressed B but it was Orttal who commanded attention. A husky man «iJ gray-streaked hair, the Third Leve reminded Kelric of the the air tank?" s Surprise flickered across Sevtar's face. "How did you know 1 that?" i "I heard her." away." t "I know. But I heard her" thought for a while that jw show traces of Kyle reception." "What is that?"

i "You were too far f Sevtar considered him. "I've

i: | "It means you have a few Kyle genes paired." He paused, as

if looking for the right words. "You're like a receiver. You can s

_————————————————————The Last Hawk 333 pick up a little of what others feel, especially when they're speaking or dreaming. They would have to be empaths, though, to make a signal strong enough for you to register." He tilted his head. "I'll bet Revi is an empath. It's probably why you two are so close. Kyle genes seem more common in pure Miesan stock." Hayl sat up. "Does that mean Zecha is an empath?" "Hardly." "You said I could hear what empaths think. And I heard her. So she must be one." Sevtar stared at him. "Gods. You're right." Kastora pushed open the tavern door and walked inside with Ixpar. The hour was late and the youth who usually sang on the stage had gone home. Ixpar indicated a booth in one comer. After the waiter took their orders, she said, "Did you find anything?" Kastora rested her arms on the wooden tabletop. "I dug up every record of a Fifth Level. In the entire modern Age only two others besides Sevtar Varz have existed." The waiter reappeared with their mugs of ale. Ixpar waited until he left, then said, "What were their contracts?" "After the earthquake of 232 destroyed Hahvna Estate, the survivors went to Ahkah. So the Hahvna Fourth Level became an Ahkah Fifth." Kastora took a swallow of ale. "In507 a Bahvia Manager fell in love with a Varz Fourth and brought him to Bahvia as a Fifth. The price of his contract was the Bahvia Calanya." Ixpar's eyebrows went up. "She agreed to that?"

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"And more. Varz took all profits from the Bahvia lumber industry for the next century." Ixpar let out a whistle. "What about in the Old Age?" "During the Desert Wars, Kej captured a Kam Third and "eld him prisoner as a Fourth. He escaped and received asylum from Dahl as a Fifth." Kastora set down her ale. "A few centuries later an Ahkah Manager kidnapped a Viasa Fourth and made him her Akasi." Ixpar smiled. "I guess I could always resort to abduction." "Are you really thinking of Fifth?"

334 Catherine Asaro——————————————— "We have to do something. Varz is too strong now." "The only living Fourth is Mentar," Kastora pointed c "He's already in your Calanya. You would have to arrange a Third to go to another Estate, tay there long enough to S up its Quis, and then come here. Even that would do no g Te price of a Fifth Level would wipe out Kam." "Var is already wiping us out." Ixpar clenched her fist the table. "It is unjust. Sevtar has reached the highest Lev Calani can attain, become a legend, had songs written ah him, yet he is denied his happiness." "His wife died. Of course he's unhappy." "It's more than that." "How can you know that?" "It's in te Quis." "You're the ony one who sees it." "It's there." Kastora leaned forward. "You know what you need? "What?" "An Akasi. Someone to keep your mind off Avtacs h bands." Kastora thought of the tavern singer. His voice stir her heart and his slender physique stirred the rest of her. warm fellow to curl up with at night. It settles a woman." Ixpar laughed. "You should see your face. Gone courti heh?" "Of course not." In truth, she hadn't yet summoned courage to make her interest known to the singer. "A Minis however, should have an Akasi." Ixpar shrugged. "There is no Calani I wish to wed."

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The ancient dilemma, Kastora thought. Law required M agers to declare vows ony with a Calani, the higher the Le the better, particularly for the Minister. Most Ministers chi a Second or Third from another Estate, often arranging marriage after seeing the man only once or twice. "Jahit probaby fet the same way," Kastora said. "But k how well her arrangement with Mentar worked out." "I'm not ready to take an Akasi. I'm only twenty-seven, wind's sake." Kastora downed her ale. "Wel, someday." "Someday." Ixpar said.

-The Last Hawk 335 Standing in the snow-covered park under an icefir, Kelric watched Garith. The Second Leve was about twenty meters away, sitting on a high-backed bench with his eyes closed and his face tipped back to savor the winter sun. A tall man, though not as tall as Avtac, he had classic features, with the blue eyes and yellow hair so rare and so prized among the northern Esates. Although Kelric knew he looked much younger than Garith, the two of them were actually the same age, in their late forties. Keric walked over to him. "May I join you?" Garith opened his eyes. "No." Although Kelric inwardly winced, he plowed ahead anyway. "Garith, we need to talk. This is affecting our Quis." "Talk about what?" Garith stood up. "I never say a word about her boys in the city. What good would it do? When she brough that First Level here I kept my mouth shut. She got bored and traded him to Shazorla. Now you're here and you won't be leaving. So what do you expect me to say? That after ail these years, 1 like being pushed aside like an old dice pouch?" He shook his head. "I have no wish to tak to you." Then he turned and walked away. Gods, Kelric thought. So much for his diplomacy. He went back to his suite and stood at a floor-to-ceiling window in his bedroom watching clouds nudge the glass. The thick pane was set into a cliff that plunged down until it disappeared in the mountains far below. If he could just step out... Stop it, Kelric told himself. What would Roca do without her father? Her next visit wasn't until tomorrow and her absence left him epty and lonely. Kelric settled into his favorite armchair and dozed, waking at intervals to look at the tall, clock across the room with its swinging pendulum. The afternoon passed with numbing dullness. Toward evening he heard someone push aside the screen of is suite. Then Hayl appeared in the door arch of the bedroom.

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"Yes?" Kelric asked. "1 was worried when you missed dinner." Keric stayed ouched in his chair. "I wasn't hungry." As silence stretched between them, Hayl looked around as

336 Catherine Asaro—————————————— if searching for a way to cheer Kelric up. When he saw J( ric's boots by the window, he smiled. "I figured out hoi open the cliff windows. Some of them have pattern lo worked into the carvings on their frames." Kelric sat up straighten "Hayl, it's not safe." Somehow boy had picked up his interest in the windows. On some si of the Estate, the outer walls were cut straight from a cliff, decorated with bas-relief. A person could conceivably cl out to a ledge and creep along the wall to the city using { jections for handholds. Of course they could also fall, a d of over a kilometer. However, in the region of the Calanya, no decorad graced the sheer wall of stone that dropped into the clo Kelric had no doubt the reason was historical, dating from Old Age when Calani were often held against their will.' architecture still served its purpose, trapping him here. "I don't want you to open the windows," he said. "Not even the ones in my suite?" Hayl asked. 'They. open onto the parks." "You figured those out too?" "They were easy." Hayl's knack with the locks amazed him. The mechani were designed from tiny bars and knobs that had to be pust pulled, and turned in patterns that seemed random to Ke Some quirk of Hayl's brain allowed him to solve the pu every time. "Just be careful," Kelric said. The drop from Hayl's v dows to the parks was only a few meters, but it could i cause injury. "Don't hang out of them." "I won't," Hayl promised. After the boy left, Kelric stared at the ceiling. It had b days since he talked to Avtac about Hayl's kasi ceremon resounding failure of an attempt. He had to give it at least more try. He went to find the Taks.

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Avtac waited until the Taks withdrew from the den in her vate suite. Then she said, "I hope this is important, Sevt have a lot of work to do."

———————————————————The Last Hawk 337 Kelric detested sparring with her, but he had made a promise to Hayl and he meant to keep it. He stood facing her across the expanse of the desk, where she sat in her big chair. "It's Hayl," he said. "This better not be about his kasi ceremony again. That matter is none of your affair." He leaned forward, his hands braced on the desk. "Can't you see how he feels about it? You'll ruin his life." Avtac took off her reading glasses. "I am tired of this vendetta you have gainst Captain Zecha. It is jealousy, yes? Right now you are the most important person to that boy. You don't want to lose him to Zecha." "This has nothing to do with Zecha and me. Hayl doesn't love her. He doesn't even like her. And he's a child, for wind's sake. He's too young to be anyone's kasi." Annoyance edged her voice. "Maybe if there weren't so many 'modem' men today, women wouldn't have to seek halfgrown youths to find an unsullied mate." She considered him. "But then, I'm not telling you anything new." "What is that supposed to mean? She put her glasses back on. "You should know. ou've been with half the Managers on Coba." He scowled. "So find yourself a 'cleaner' Akasi and leave me alone." "You should be grateful I was willing to overlook your past." She got up and walked around the desk to him. "This isn't Miesa. Savina may have let you meddle in Estate business but I will tolerate no such interference." Kelric felt as if she had kicked him in the stomach. "Let Savina be." Avtac spoke in a gentler voice. "I don't mean to hurt you." She laid her hand on his arm. "I realize you cannot help your nature." It was too much. Kelric snapped up his arm to throw off her hand. With no warning or reason, his enhanced strength kicked in and he literally flung her into a bookshelf. As the shelves toppled, she jumped away and smacked her palm against a m on the wall.

Gods no, Kelric thought. He stepped toward her. "Avtac, I dn't mean—"

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338 Catherine Asaro————————————————————s She grabbed a beam from the fallen shelf. "Stay back."j Combat mode on, Bolt thought. < What the hell? Mode off! he thought. ' He heard running feet and spun around to see his valets; Calanya escort. As Netak drew his stunner, Kelric struck gun out of his hand, his speed enhanced by the malfunctio? Bolt, which for some bizarre reason had interpreted a doa|r tic quarrel as a combat situation. Could he actually be j| traumatized by his situation at Varz? The combination of neurological damage with stress must have pushed his aire* erratic biomech systems even further out of kilter. J| The escort tried to stun him, but despite the damage tf systems, his hydraulics kept him moving and his biomech synthesized an antidote. Finally the Taks managed to pin t against the wall. While he struggled, Qahotra appeared wi' straitjacket. They wrapped it around his torso and fastened | into it with his arms pulled across his chest. | "Take him into the bedroom," Avtac said. "But be carefi don't want him hurt." Combat mode off, Bolt thought. ' No! Kelric thought. Reactivate! Now, when he need'l Bolt's help, it had deserted him. The Taks half carried, half dragged him into the bedro< As they held him down on the bed, a nurse tried to force a p| down his throat. When he spat it out Doctor Shyl bent o' him with a syringe f" Avtac grabbed the doctor's arm. "What is that?" Shyl showed her the syringe. "It injects the medicine i* his blood. It's much faster than a potion." < "I won't have you experimenting on him." "It's safe," Shyl assured her. H Kelric stared at the syringe, then redoubled his efforts escape. With the Taks holding him down, Shyl administe the shot. Within moments, his muscles went lax and voi
356Catherine Asarothe door wider, he ventured forward, and the escort came with him into the common room. Some of the Calani glanced up and nodded then went back to their dice. For some reason Eb urged him over to an archway, where she tapped at the screen. A moment later a man drew aside the screen—and Hayl's mouth fell open. The man smiled, holding up his hand to invite Hayl into his suite. As soon as they were alone, Hayl said, "Sevtar! What are you doing here? Winds, you've got six bands. Six." He closed his mouth as the import of it hit him. Six Levels. "So it's true." Sevtar watched him with a gentle gaze. "You're alive." "A tree caught me." "Gods, Hayl." Sevtar's voice caught as they embraced. "Its good to see you." He set Hayl back from him and smiled, a drop of water glistening in the corner of his eye. Then he motioned at his Quis table. "Will you play dice with me?" Almost giddy with seeing Sevtar again, Hayl pulled off his pouch. It wasn't until long afterward that he realized just how thoroughly he had broken his Oath. 37 The Bridge of Oloton Summer in Ka lasted longer than in the upper ranges. Autumn gusted with chill winds but the. winter snows carne| gently, wafting from the sky. Spring unfurled in a multitude of I lavender, pink, and blue blossoms on the plumberry vines. I Kelric watched the seasons from his suite, where the interplay ! of sunshine and shadow in the rooms shifted with a grace that j spoke eloquently of the architects who had built this, the first Estate.

-The Last Hawk 357 On a morning in early spring, he walked across the parks to a secluded lake far from the Calanya. Sitting on a knoll that overlooked the water, he bowed his head. The tears came softly, running down his cheeks, silent in their release from the prison he had built around his heart in Varz and then slowly dismantled as the seasons in Kam passed. He made no sound, just sat by the lake and cried until his grief spent itself in the gided afternoon.

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Ixpar sat by a window in her study, wanned in a pool of sunlight. While she ate her Midday meal she went through the last of the Ministry documents still at Kam, filing them to send to Varz. It had taken well over a year to shift the Ministry, but soon the transition woud be complete. She lifted a page off the pile. This was the conclusion, the final document she had signed as Minister. It wasn't worldshaking, simply a pardon for a young man in the Haka prison, a bookkeeper in Compound Two. Ched Viasa. She wondered how he would feel if he knew he was the last person touched by the reign of Kam. An aide tapped at the door arch. "Ma'ana? Captan Eb would like to see you." "Send her in." Ixpar blinked at the interruption. She had scheduled no Quis sessions today, feeling a need to be alone while she concluded her fina acts as Minister. Eb entered and bowed. "Sevtar wishes to see you, ma'am." A ticklefly fluttered in Ixpar's stomach. "Very well." While Eb went for him, Ixpar paced a bit, then stopped by a window and watched children playing in a courtyard below her suite. Why today? Kelric had never before sought her companionship. He sat at dice with her and played a miraculous Quis like none she had ever known, but that was their only contact. She felt no closer to him now than the day he had taken his Kara Oath. "Ixpar?" She turned with a start. He stood by the archway, glimmerig in the sunlight like his Coban namesake, god of the dawn. er voice tied itself into knots and left her mute. Watching m. she again felt the guilt that came every time she

358 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— remembered how little success she had so far in gaining ( tody of his daughter for him from Varz. , Kelric came over to her. "I wanted to tell you." "Tell me?" He hesitated. "About that night—" "Night?" So close to him now, she found herself incap of coming up with intelligent responses. "In the Akasi suite." "The Akasi suite." "About the—you see, what—ai, Ixpar, I don't know hov do this. I am no good with words."

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She thought of her sparkling responses in (he past min "Right now, neither am I." He grinned. "The infamous Orator of Kam is tongue-tie His expression caught her utterly off guard. It was a smile, not his usual slight curve of the lips. His teeth fla& white, lighting his entire face. It made it even harder for he say what had to be said. "It was wrong for me to push Akasi bands on you. If you wish to be only Calani, I ' release you from your Akasi vow." "Ixpar, no. That wasn't what I meant." He took her hai "You were so beautiful that night, a warrior goddess in vei and lace." A curious sense came over her then, as if she floated ab their bodies looking down in the slanting rays of the sun , private moment captured in amber. She stepped forward Kelric came into her arms. That afternoon, they joined together in the simplicity of own rooms rather than the opulence of an Akasi suite. Af ward they lay in the rays of a setting sun that left a faint g in the room. A hint of fiery light touched Ixpar's face as drifted to sleep.

38 Multiple Phalanxes "Karri cheated Varz." Avtac walked through the Estate gardens with her successor. "Ixpar lied." "She signed the papers," Stahna said. "You are Minister." Avtac opened her fist, revealing her Kara octahedron, a diamond that threw splinters of sunlight into her hand. "No one can touch her Quis. No one even comes close." She dropped the die and it thudded onto the din path. "With her Sixth Level she holds Coba in a stronger grip than when she was Minister." "Does it matter?" Stahna retrieved the diamond for her. "Ixpar and Sevtar won't live forever. Varz will. And the Ministry with it." Sevtar. During the tenday before he left for Kam, Avtac had wanted him constantly, knowing he would soon be gone. She could still see his golden body stretched across her bed, driving a hunger she never satisfied. She had thought sending him away would quench her desire, give her back contro, but nstead her craving grew worse. She hated herself for that weakness, tried to bury it with her work, with Quis, Garith, a new youth in the city. Nothing worked. Sevtar was hers. He belonged to Varz. Henta Bahvia sat glowering at her desk. Any aides who ventured into her office received a cold stare until they retreated. "Why doesn't she just send copies?" Henta said to the empty room. "Why bother with a new letter every time?" Beneath the formal jargon, every one ofAvtac's messages said the same thing: Miesa was now Varz and that included the iesa Plateau. °nly in a dice cheater's hell, Henta thought. None of this rolled well with her. Ixpar had been a good

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Minister. More

360Catherine Asarothan good. Brilliant. Avtac was iron. The unrelenting power Varz boded nothing but trouble i "She'll not get the Plateau," Henta said. "Not if I can h< it."

Rashiva always enjoyed her dinners with Jimorla. Tonight h celebrated. News had come this morning; ten-yearold Jioi ranked well in his exams and was accepted to he Preparatfl House. He grew so fast, this son of hers, like a steeplestalk, with t creamy dark skin of the Hakaborn. Like Raaj. Only when t sun hit his skin just right did it reveal that telling gold sh mer. Jimorla watched her'from across the table. "Why are you] quiet?" "I was thinking about Raaj. He's very proud of you." | His face brightened. "Father wants to come to the ceremoi| at the Preparatory House. Do you think he can?" | "Of course." It pleased Rashiva that the bond between Raaj and Jimo| was so strong. Afraid to break that tie with the weight of a lejj end, she had never told her son that his father was the Ka| Sixth Level. | i Yezi Lasa, freight hauler extraordinary, or so she styled hej self, jumped from her rider onto the Karn airfield and eyed thi young man with the inventory sheets. Strange world it w nowadays, when they had boys out greeting the pilots. "Well, looky you," Yezi said. "Manager Kam send you tl make us pilots happy?" He handed her the cipboard. "You can sign for your carg here. A freight crew will load it." Yezi peered at the board, looking for his name. "He Anthoni." She angled a look at him. "What're you doing on tb docks, Anthoni? Maybe looking for company, hmmm?" "I'm an Estate aide," he said. "My winds." Yezi signed the clipboard and handed it bad to him. "An Estate aide" "Your crew is on dock six," Anthoni said.

-The Last Hawk 361 "Righto." Yezi wondered if the fellow was always so sullen. Least he could do was turn out a smile to please a tired pilot. As Anthoni went to the next rider, a voice behind Yezi said, "You there." Yezi turned to see a burly pilot who also flew the VarzKarn route. "Heh, Ada." Ada tilted her head at Anthoni. "Nice."

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Yezi grimaced. "I think he's a Modernist." Ada took out a tin of tas and rolled the leaves in a paper. "Modernists on the docks is nothing compared to what I've heard lately." She lit her tas stick. "Seems there's a rumor about a dead Calani that isn't dead." "Sure, Ada." "It's true." Ada blew out a stream of smoke. "Varz Calani. Boy fell over a cliff right into Ixpar Kam's lap." "How would you know what goes on with high-level folk? "You want to check it, roll the dice." Ada puffed her tas. "It's in the Quis if you know how to read it." Yezi snorted. But in truth the tale intrigued her. A right good story it was, like in the Old Age. Now those were days to be alive. No modern men back then. She smiled, imagining her circle of listeners. She had one gutsy tale to take to Varz. Chankah Dahl stood in Dabbiv's lab, surrounded by his gadgets and scrolls. "You went to the starporfl And no one stopped you?" "There's no one there," Dabbiv said. "A robot told me to leave but it didn't do anything to me." He shrugged. "It's pbaby because the buildings all have locks. All I could do was walk around the streets." He gave her a guilty look. "I did find a few broken locks, though. So I went in and, uh—" Chankah recognized that look. "Yes?" "I filched some books." His face changed again, lighting up as fast as wind. "They're amazing! You can change the glyphs into any style you want and the books make three-dimensional pictures. They even talk." She stared at him. "Are you mad? If you get caught, ISC w haul you off to prison."

362 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— • 1 "Am I supposed to pretend it isn't there? Think what j could learn."

Chankah could imagine how frustrating it was for a scien with his vision to know such great knowledge lay so close, y just beyond his grasp. "Were the books interesting?" He grinned. "I can't tell you. It's Restricted." When sl glowered at him, he laughed, then unlocked a drawer in desk and pulled out a text with a metallic cover. She peered at the title. "You can read that?"

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"I taught myself Skolian." "What does it say?" " 'Proceedings of the Eighty-sixth Conference on Circuli tory Pathology.' It's a collection of papers given at a meetii of Imperialate doctors." "Do you understand it?" "Not yet," he said. "But I'm learning." Hayl strolled to the entrance of his suite, trying to look no chalant as he watched his escort gambling Outside. Nesina, d youngest guard, looked up at him and smiled. She was twenf three, eight years older than him, with dark eyes and hair. Somewhere within the suite, a pot banged on glass. Ha folowed the noise to his sunroom, where a breeze gust< through an open window, ruffling his hair and jostling a an ing plant by the curtains. How was the window open? It wasn't until the wall blocked his view that he realized 1 was backing out of the room. He made himself stop, remind himself he could step out the window and reach the grour with his feet while he straddled the sill. It had been worse when Ixpar first brought him to Kam. Sl imprisoned him in the logical place to hold a captive: the K of a tower. He hid his fear, never speaking of the nightma that splintered his sleep, but somehow Ixpar guessed. Soon sl moved him to this suite on the ground level, where he cou fall no more than the length of his own body. Bracing himself, Hayl walked to the window and reach out to close it. Hands grabbed him so fast he barely realized it had ha

___——————————————————The Last Hawk 363 pened before he was thrown into the wall. Spinning around, he saw a bulky figure vault over the sill. He lunged back to the window, but by the time he looked out, the courtyard Outside was empty. Hayl scowled. Then he returned to the entrance of his suite. When the captain of his escort looked up, he pointed toward the sunroom and mimed a person climbing in the window. As the other guards went to investigate, Nesina came over to him. "You look upset," she said. He shrugged. Compared to his fall over the cliff, a peeper in his suite wasn't much to get excited about. She took his arm. "You should lie down."

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He didn't feel like lying down. But she was pulling him toward the bedroom, so he went with her. Inside, she paused in front of the mirror over his bureau. Standing behind him, taller than him, she looked over his shoulder at their reflection. Then she slid her hand through his hair. "You've beautiful curls." Hayl reddened. No woman had ever touched him in such a familiar manner. Nesina pushed him over to the bed. "You lie down. I'll get something to calm your nerves." His nerves were fine. But he lay down anyway, too intrigued to object. Nesina disappeared and returned with a decanter of wine. By the time they had finished the wine, he felt remarkably calm. So calm, in fact, that he had a hard time remembering why he was lying on his bed in a locked room with a guard sitting next to him. And Nesina had locked the door. Even from across the room, he could see the bolt pushed in place. "You look pale," Nesina said, her voice a little slurred. "We should make you more comfortable." She unlaced his shirt and pulled it off his shoulders. Hayl tried to sit up and she pushed him back down. "Relax," she said. "Try to forget what happened." Nothing had happened. In fact, the only "happening" was here, as Nesina slid her hand along his leg. He tried to roll away, afraid she would see his erection, but she held him in place. "I won't tell. Hayl," she coaxed. "You're ready, a man now. I won't feel any differently about you tomorrow."

364 Catherine Asaro——————————————————— While he fubled with his thoughts, Nesina fumbled the flaps on his pants. He tried to marshal arguments ab why she should stop, but it was more interesting to feel take off his clothes. She undressed herself next, giving word "interesting" whole new shades of meaning. Whenstretched out on top of him, he slid his arms around her wa unsure how to proceed. Nesina kissed him, first gently and then with more passi She guided him with her hand, her touch so arousing almost as soon as he was inside her, he reached his peak. his breathing calmed, he realized she had just started and had already finished. Hayl flushed. "I'm sorry." "You shouldn't be." Nesina lifted her head. "Your voi beautiful." Winds above. What was wong with him, getting dru making love to his guard, and breaking his Oath? He ougn be appalled with himself. Actually, though, he was ral pleased. Nesina slid off and stretched out against his side. After ti had dozed in each other's arms for a while, he started explore her body. As she opened her eyes, he said, "This ti I'll hold on longer."

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She smiled, then ndged him onto his back, rolling v him. Pushing up on her elbows, she looked down at him. was your first time, yes?" He nodded. "'m glad you let it be with me, Hayl." He pulled her down on top of him. "Me too." Seven women and one dark-haired man made up the \ octet. They stood side by side, each with a rifle over her she der. As Avtac walked along the line, Zecha called out ord and the guards obeyed in unison: right, left, poise, aim, rel Avtac stopped in front of the man. "What's your name?' "Jevrin Miesa Varz, ma'am." "Think you could shoot a clawcat, Jevrin?" "I have, during city patrol last winter." Avtac glanced at Zecha and the captain nodded.

____——————————————————The Last Hawk 365 After Zecha dismissed the guards, Avtac frowned at her. "A unit of elite hunters is no place for a man." "He's a good marksman," Zecha said. "I do recall a boy in the Miesa Cooperative named evrin. He would be about this man's age now." Avtac paused. "He had yellow hair." "1 can run another check," Zecha said. "Do it." The Minister walked to a rack on the wall and lifted out a rifle. "I want no leaks. If any have opened, plug them." She sighted along the gun barrel. "Permanently." "We searched the entire Estate." Senior Aide Kastora walked with Ixpar aong a cobbled street that crooked between two buildings. "Whoever broke into Hayl's suite got away." "Was anything stolen?" Ixpar asked. Kastora shook her head. "His guards think it was a peeper trying to see a Calani." "I hope that's all." Ixpar grimaced. "If she came from Varz, we're in troube." They turned into a lane that ended at a building dating from the Old Age, its turrets and spires silhouetted against a blue sky puffed with clouds. The sign read THE KARN INSTITUTE. They found Ekina bent over a clutter of equipment in her lab. The physicist straightened up, smoothing out her smock. • "Minister Kam. I wasn't expecting you." r "Manager Kam," Ixpar said.

Ekina reddened. "My apologies, ma' am." Ixpar nodded, wondering if the title "Manager" would ever P feel right. "Bahr is curious to know how

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your work on her ; light-sailor is going." "Not so well." Ekina nodded at an apparatus on the table, a helical tube wrapped around a red stone. "I'm using a ruby stal. I managed to get a light pulse, but when I try to pump o"t a steady beam of light I overheat the ruby." She shook her head. "Every time I solve one glitch, 1 run into another." "Suppose 1 put my Calanya on it?" Ixpar asked. "They're amaing with these pattern games of Bahr's. Maybe they can . P figure out what you need here."

1 366Catherine .1 3 From Ekina's look, Ixpar might have suggested she stand » her head and eat Quis dice. "Calani help with equipment?" (! "Let's see what they do with it," Ixpar said. j| The escort left Bahr alone in the Coral Chamber. She sat at ?|; Quis table reminding herself she wasn't nervous. She !iw?6 Every time she heard a sound she jumped like a shylark. | Then the door opened and a man walked into the room. li Bahr nearly fell off her chair. "Winds above." .A Sevtar smiled and sat across the table from her, jllnnli'I gold. "My greetings." A Ai! What a voice. He was a prince of Calani, no doubt sTll that. For days she had been preparing for this first session »)|| hers with the Sixth and now she would make a fool of snSf; Once they got started, though, Bahr forgot k'W; except the dice. Sevtar knew. He understood her patterns. T Quis exhilarated, challenged, was a true matching of wits. !? barely noticed when a guard slipped in and lit the f!WUM lamps. Eventually Sevtar pushed back from the table. "Perhaps '|| should take a break." She blinked. "Heh?" . "A break. We've been here all day." t Bahr peered out a window. "Well, I'll be a pog on a pole." nl was dark outside. Stretching out her legs, she discovered iT her feet, encased in their fine red boots for this special »l«fll sion, had gone to sleep. She got up and hobbled around iif| room, grumbling as her circulation returned. When Sevtar laughed, Bahr squinted at him. "What's i funny?" ) "You're just not how I imagined Coba's leading Ji5BTWt| physicist." "Physicist? I'm a Quis Wizard." . "That you are. Your Quis is brilliant." Bahr smiled. "Heh. Well. You too" i| That night after Bahr returned to her suite, she sat down r review her session with Sevtar. He understood her new pattern, i the one she called a hot-light sailor. "Quis Wizard?" a voice said. -.

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——————————————————————The Last Hawk 367 Bahr jumped. A guard was standing in the door arch. She almost told the woman to go away, but remembered her Oath in time. "You have a visitor," the guard said. "Shall I bring him?" Him? Maybe it was Rhab. Bahr nodded and stood up. The guard reappeared with the potter Rhab. She said, "Manager Karn grants this visitor Suitor's Privilege," and then closed the door, leaving Bahr and Rhab alone together. Suitor's Privilege," Bahr sputtered. "It means I can talk to you," Rhab said. "You always talk to me." "Apparently I've always been your suitor." "Like grub you have." "It's true. Manager Karn told me tonight that Suitor's Privilege is the only way a woman in my position would be allowed to visit a man who is a Calani." "She never told me that." Rhab came over to her. "She waited because she thought we needed a while to adjust to the, uh, unusual circ*mstances." Bahr squinted at him. Sure there were times when she fantasized that a sexy fellow like Rhab reversed the roles and pursued her. But in real life she didn't feel comfortable with it. If courting was going on, she should be doing it. Just how she would manage that, though, was a mystery. She couldn't even leave her room without an escort. She regarded the Modernist warily. "You come to pay me suit, Rhab?" "I don't know." He grinned. "Is it safe?" "Probably not." He took her hands. "I'm willing to risk it." His forwardness flustered her. She tried to think of something to say. "I played Quis with the Sixth Level today." He looked suitably impressed. "What was it like?" "Rhab, it's likelying. He helped me with a new idea I have for my light-sailor. I'll bet we could make one

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that gives off enough energy to bum a hole in wood." "Why would you want to do that?" Bahr blinked. She hadn't thought about that. "Campers ould start campfires with it."

~3 368 Catherine Asaro———————————————————— "Seems to me it would be easier to use a flint." "Probably," she admitted. "But I'll tell Ixpar about it at way." It was late when Ixpar left her office, numbers from freij inventories still reeling off in her head. She took the long vu to her suite, through the Atrium, an airy hall two stories hi filled by plants, its walls and dome made from tinted glass. staircase swept up from the floor to an indoor bale Halfway up the stairs, she lingered, watching a winter sto lash the glass, knowing an empty bed waited for her. Kel had an early Quis session in the morning and had slept in 1 Calanya. When she reached her suite, though, a line of light under 1 door greeted her. In the bedroom a lamp glowed on the nig stand, and a fully dressed Sixth Level ay fast aseep on the b She sat next to him. "Kelric?" He stirred. "Hmmm . . . ?" "I hought you were sleeping in the Calanya." "Axis," he mumbled. "Do you know where you are?" "On the Z-axis." Ixpar smied. She undressed him and herself, then slip into bed. As she reached for the lamp, he walked his fing across her outstretched body. "Have you had dinner yet?" "Dinner?" She dimmed the lamp, then slid into his arms. ong time ago." "What time is it?" "Morning's Second Hour." "Second Hour? I must have fallen asleep." He motioned i strange dice structure on the nightstand. "I was working on equation for Bahr. I guess I fell asleep."

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It took Ixpar a moment to isolate why his response seen odd. He had repeated himself. Not that repetition was all t unusual; he just never did it. "You sound tired." He smiled sleepily. "Not that tired." Then he pulled her i his arms. In the morning, he missed his Quis session because

_——————————————————The Last Hawk 369 couldn't wake him up. She almost called for the doctor, but when he finally did get up, he seemed fine. In her excitement, Zecha strode straight into Avtac's library. The Minister stood by a bookcase, intent on a book she was reading. "The rumors are true," Zecha said. "My agent saw the whole setup. Hayl is at Kam! He's been there the whole two years he's been gone. Jevrin kidnapped him." Avtac raised her eyebrows at the interruption. "And have you found Jevrin?" "Not yet." The Kam spy had disappeared the night after Avtac inspected the hunting unit, just hours before Zecha's people broke his cover. Even knowing she had incurred Avtac's displeasure didn't dim Zecha's mood. Hayl was alive. Besides, she knew what bothered Avtac most about Jevrin; he had been clever enough to figure out the Manager was suspicious. "What about the other hunters?" Avtac asked. "I ran checks and double checks," Zecha said. "There are no more spies." "There had better not be." Avtac closed her book. "So. Ixpar Karn adds thievery of Calani to her list of crimes." "What will you do?" "A good question." Zecha waited, knowing Avtac would speak when she came to a decision. One fact was obvious: the longer Hayl stayed at am, the more chance Sevtar had to contaminate the boy's Quis. They locked her out, the way they shared that quality, that sameness of their minds. No. She gritted her teeth. They shared nothing. Comparing Hayl to Sevtar was like comparing fresh linen to soiled laundry. Yet the innocence Sevtar lacked and Hayl possessed— was it more than sexual? Whenever Sevtar had looked at her, both here and at Haka he had seemed to say: / know you. Avtac slid her book onto the shelf, revealing the title on its spine: Strategic Pattern Games of the Old Age. She turned to Zecha. "Ixpar Kam may have defrauded me out of a Fifth

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370 Caherine Asam———————————————_| Level, but she dressed it up in documents to make it looll egal." In a deceptively soft voice she said, "Now she has give me justifiable cause for action." | Kelric awoke with a sense of lethargy. He had fallen asleep sit3 ting up in a window seat of his suite. Rays of afternoon sv slanted across his body and traces of a dream lingered in hi; mind, an impression of Zecha like a sour aftertaste. With the clarity of hindsight, he understood her now. AS with many empaths, the same genes that gave rise to Zecha's Kyle abilities had probably hurt her It was the main reaso Kyles were so rare; most mutations associated with the gene& were harmful. Only in rare cases such as Kelric's family did the Kyle genes produce a viable human. Zecha's trouble was subtle, but devastating. He suspected her brain couldn't produce sufficient concentrations of kyla tine, a chemical that blocked receptors in the neural structure that interpreted signals she picked up from other people. In other words, she couldn't block out emotions. Most empaths learned to produce kylatine blockers at least on a subconscious level, and Jagemauts could even order their biomech webs t make it. Genetic therapy could repair defective kylatine genes, but it also reduced the empath's Kyle abilities. Most people either took the treatment or else withdrew from human contact. Neither choice had been available for Zecha. Worse, as warden of Coba's only prison, she had lived with the ugliest side of human nature her world had to offer. Without protection from that onslaught, it was no wonder her mind had warped. Nor was it any wonder she loved Hayl. He was her opposite, sheltered all his life from the dark side of humanity. He must have soothed her like water in a desert. Avtac was another story. Kelric doubted she even understood the concept of empathy. What malediction had the power to describe his last days at Varz? She never told him why his doctors stopped the electroshock therapy that was supposed to "cure" him. Instead she let him believe that only as long as he pleased her would he be free of it. Until the moment he left her Estate, he hadn't known he was going to Kam.

-The Last Hawk 371 You dwell too much on the past, he thought. He looked for a better memory and eventually found one: the jeweled world of his childhood. It glistened like a bubble isolated in encroaching darkness. 39 Hawks Claw It was a spring morning of the new year when Ixpar found Kastora on the outside balcony that circled the Observatory. Mild breezes blew back the Senior's hair as she considered the polished box she held in her hands, with its two jeweled dice.

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"Those look like Suitor's Dice," Ixpar said. Kastora looked up with a start. "What gave you that idea?" Ixpar chuckled. "Does he have a name?" The Senior simultaneously reddened and smiled. "You know the singer in the tavern where we go—" She paused, her gaze shifting to the sky. "Look at that." Ixpar looked to see a pair of windriders above the northern mountains. As they drew nearer she made out the black Varz clawcat on their wings. "They're going to miss the airfield." "There's nowhere to land in the direction they're going," Kastora said. "Yes there is." Ixpar scowled. "The Calanya parks." She spun around and strode to the stairs, looking back at Kastora. "Send two octets to the Calanya. And stay on co." Then she took off. At the Calanya, Ixpar found most of her Calani absorbed in a dice session. The Fourth Level Mentar left the table and came over to her. Gray-haired and gray-eyed, he reminded her of the Scribe who had been her father. "You look concerned," he said.

372 Catherine Asaro—————————————————— "Varz riders are headed for the parks," she said. "Why?" "I wish I knew. Where is Sevtar? "He sleeps in his suite." That surprised Ixpar. "Is he sick?" "I don't believe so. Just tired." Eb, captain of the Calanya escort, appeared at Ixpar's side. "Two octets from the CityGuard are Outside." "Post one in Sevtar's suite," Ixpar said. "We'll take the second out to meet the riders." She found the two craft crouched in a sculpture garden they had wrecked when they landed. A trio of Varz guards disembarked and bowed to Ixpar. "Manager Kam," a thin woman said. " am Ahva Varz." Ixpar frowned. "Trespassing on Calanya grounds is illegal, Ahva Varz." "I apologize, ma'am. But we bring a message from the Minister."

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"If Avtac has something to tell me, she can do it without breaking the law." "It seems a difficulty exists." Ahva took a scroll from another guard and handed it to her. "I believe this explains the prob lem." The message made no sense; written in legal jargon, it just restated the contract she and Avtac had signed when Kam relinquished the Ministry. I will put these people in jail, Ixpar thought. Did Avtac actually expect her to let such an intrusion pass? Of course she would protect her Calanya. Ixpar froze. Of course. Of course. She thrust the scroll at Captain Eb. "Lock up these people." Then she took off running across the parks. When she reached a co Outside the Calanya, she banged her hand against the co. "Kastora!" A voice snapped out of the speaker. "Kastora here." "Get as many octets as you can to Hayl's suite," Ixpar said. "Get him out of there!" Then she set off running again. Ixpar reached the gardens around Hayl's suite in time to see three Varz riders descending, the rumble of their engines

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 373 swelling into a roar as they landed on the lawns, tearing up grass and destroying fountains. As she raced toward Hayl's patio, Varz guards burst out of the craft—all armed with rifles. Hands yanked Ixpar to a stop. Twisting around she found herself staring up at Borj, a gigantic captain on her CityGuard. She had to shout to be heard over the noise. "Let go of me!" The rumble of engines drowned out Borj's answer, but her grip stayed firm. Ixpar struggled with the massive captain, then gave up and wrenched around in Borj's arms in time to see the rest of the captain's octet converge with the invaders on Hayl's patio. Even the thunder of the riders couldn't smother the blast of rifle shots. Defenseless against the bullets, Kam guards dropped everywhere. Then a Varz captain spotted Ixpar—and fired. Borj threw her to one side and the bullet missed Ixpar's chest, thudding instead into her shoulder. Strengthened by her rage, Ixpar wrenched out of Borj's grip and ran for Hayl's suite, ready to attack the invaders with her bare hands. As she passed a glass table on the patio, it shattered under the impact of a bullet. Boots pounded behind her. "Manager Karn!" Borj shouted. "Get down." The captain tackled her and literally threw her over a retaining wall. Ixpar wrestled furiously, almost pulling free despite her gunshot wound. She felt no pain at all. Borj shouted for help and another guard jumped over the wall. She grabbed Ixpar's legs and together with Borj managed to pin Ixpar to the ground. Helpless, Ixpar could do nothing but watch the Varz raiders.

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They smashed the stained-glass doors fronting Hayl's patio and ran Inside. Gunshots sounded and then the Varz guards reappeared, dragging Hayl. The boy was fighting, hitting with his fists, kicking with his legs, biting and scratching as the octet ran, half dragging and half carrying him to the riders. A formation of Kam guards burst out of Hayl's suite and opened fire with their stunners, sending a slew of the intruders stumbling to their knees. The Varz guards answered with rifle shots and the Kam unit lunged for cover. Motion flashed in Ixpar's side vision. Turning, she saw Kastora striding across a garden. Time seemed to slow down as the Senior Aide grabbed the stunner of a fallen guard. Even as

374 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— Ixpar shouted for her to get down, Kastora sighted on the guards carrying Hayl. In the same instant she fired, a rifle discharge cracked like thunder—and Kastora collapsed, blood splattering out of her torso. Then the intruders reached their aircraft. They hoisted Hayl inside, and within seconds the craft was aloft. A sudden silence filled the gardens. When Borj and the other guard relaxed their hold, Ixpar shoved them away, then vaulted over the retaining wall and ran to her Senior Aide. "Kastora!" Kneeling by her body, Ixpar lifted her wrist, trying to find a pulse. "What were you doing, standing out in the open like that?" Her voice cracked. "Kastora answer me." The Senior Aide stared with sightless eyes at the sky. Blood no longer seeped out the wound in her chest. Borj crouched next to Ixpar and checkd for Kastora's pulse, then pulled back her eyelids. After what seemed like an eternity, she turned to xpar. "I'm sorry Manager Kam. We can't do any more for her." "No." Ixpar bent over her friend's body, pressing her hands against the wound as if that would fix it. When she pulled the stunner out of Kastora's grip, the Senior's hand fell limply to the ground. Her other hand was clenched around something else. Ixpar pried open the fist, revealing the box with the Suitor's Dice. Gone. Kastora was gone. Her friendship, her wisdom, her dreams. All gone. Standing up, Ixpar looked around at the carnage in the gardens. An ancient instinct was rising inside of her, burning so hot that a red haze clouded her vision, like a fog of blood. A hand touched her shoulder. Spinning around, Ixpar almost socked a Kam medic in the jaw. The woman paled. "I—I just meant—well, that." Lowering her fist, Ixpar looked where the medic pointed. A hole in her shoulder was pumping out blood. While Ixpar blinked, the medic began to clean the wound. Ixpar knew she should feel pain, but only her anger was real.

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Another aide appeared at her side, Anthoni, the fellow she had recently promoted to the top level of her Estate staff, mak-

-The Last Hawk 375 ing him the first man in Kam history to hold such a high position. "I just came from Hayl's suite," he said. "The meds are treating his guards." "How are they?" Ixpar said. "Alive. But they'll be in Med for a while. Nesina took it the worst." He shook his head. "She went crazy when they grabbed Hayl. She wouldn't back off even after they shot her" Ixpar swallowed. Guards trained to fight with stunners often plowed on after being hit, trying to do as much damage as possible before they passed out. She and Kastora had reacted the same way. Against rifles, that strategy was suicide. Elder Solan came up to them, her lined face drawn and pale. "I cannot believe this happened. We must demand a Council Tribunal against Varz." Ixpar disengaged her arm from the medic, putting up her hand when the woman protested. Then she drew Solan to the side. "Varz will refuse to convene a Tribunal." "She can't refuse." Solan swept her arm out at the gardens. "Not only was this outrage a criminal act, it was stupid." "Avtac never makes stupid moves." "No Estate will support her after this." "No?" Ixpar regarded the Elder. "What institution would you guard with your life, fight to the death to protect?" "The Calanya, of course." "The Calanya. Solan, I kidnapped Hayl. I had him playing Quis with Kam Calani. Including a female Calani, for wind's sake. Avtac's allies probably consider her use of force justified." "Justified for what?" Solan watched an aide pull a blanket over Kastora's body. "All Varz had to do was demand a Tribunal against you." As the orderlies lifted Kastora onto a stretcher, Ixpar spoke in a subdued voice. "It makes perfect sense. Hayl didn't want to go back to Varz. For many reasons, not the least being he knows what Avtac did to Kelric. Given access to a Speaker and a Tribunal, winds only know what he would say. Avtac needed a reason to justify attacking Kam and I gave it to her."

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376 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— "You believe this attack had more than one purpose." Solan made it a statement rather than a question. "Do you know what the riders that landed in the Calanya brought me? A copy of Sevtar's Calanya contract." Ixpar exhaled. "There is one reason and one reason alone why Varz doesn't control Coba. Kelric. Avtac means to get him back and she can only do that by force." "Then she hasn't rescued a Calani." Solan paused as the orderlies carried Kastora's body by them. "She has started a war." The Kara Skywalk arched into the Teotecs, ending at a hollow globe of tinted glass high in the mountains. Sunlight diffused through the sphere's polarized walls, gilding the chamber inside. As Ixpar drew nearer, she saw Kelric standing by one curved wall, staring out at the sfcy like a metal statue bathed in amber light. At the sound of her footsteps, he turned. His gaze raked over the sling on her arm. "What happened?" She paused just inside the chamber's entrance. "I got in the way of a bullet." He shook his head. "I thought the only guns your people had were stunners." "Things ... change." "And Hayl?" "He went back to Varz." A cloud drifted by the chamber, making a shadow inside the sphere. "I've given you war," Kelric said. , "We've always had it." Dryly she said, "That's all we used to do during the Old Age." Kelric cupped his hands together. "Think of the Oath: 'You hold within your hands and mind the future of Coba.' Your world is a Calanya and the Restriction is your Oath." He dropped his arms. "When I crashed here that Oath was broken." "You didn't create our aggressions." "I've never known a people as quick as yours." He shook his head. "Coba has just begun to tap the knowledge buried in the Quis. It's going to break out like water through a collapsing

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 377 dam, with my influence warping the flow. You have to take me out of the Calanya. Get me out of the Quis net." "I need you now more than ever," Ixpar said. "I won't be responsible for the destruction of a world." She walked over to him. "We are responsible for ourselves, Kelric. That we've suppressed our violent tendencies doesn't mean they went away. It's time we faced that. Dealt with it." He touched her sling. "I can see what I've given you." Quietly she said, "You could have ruined Deha Dahl's life. You

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didn't. You could have brutalized Rashiva Haka. You didn't. You could have devastated Varz. You didn't. Even now, when you work with me to give Kara advantage over Varz, you marshal your dice to favor Kam rather than hurt Varz." "I don't see your point. Why hurt Deha or Rashiva? They never wished harm against me. And why would I make tens of thousands of people in Varz suffer because their Manager is abusive to her Akasi? It's not their fault." Ixpar watched his face. "All those years ago, you could have escaped Coba. You sacrificed your freedom, almost your life, so the Dahl escort could live." Her voice softened. "Yes, you've put yourself into the Quis. Your decency, your strength of character, your courage. Your capacity to love." Kelric's face gentled, crinkling the lines around his eyes. He took her hand and for a while they just watched the sky that arched everywhere around them like an ocean of blue. Far to the north the speck of a rider appeared above the mountains. "Not another!" Ixpar strode to the co panel where the Skywalk met the chamber. But then she paused, her hand poised over the co. Something about the rider looked odd . . . The craft drew nearer. Nearer. Nearer. Its wings swept through the air in an impossibly huge arc. A chill sped down Ixpar's back. "It can't be." Kelric glanced at her. "You think this one is from Varz?" "Not Varz." She took a breath. "Much higher in the mountains." "There are no Estates higher than Varz."

378Catherine Asaro"I know." Softly she said, "It's an althawk, Kelric. A giant althawk." The bird glided closer until it was clearly visible, a beas' with huge wings, glorious wings, their span outdoing a windrider. Brilliant red feathers edged its black wings like tongues of fire and the gold plumage on the rest of its body gleamed in the sun's pouring light. Ixpar could almost feel the gale that accompanied every sweep of those massive pinions. Talons as long as a man's arm curved under its legs. "Gods," Kelric said. "It's beautiful." "We thought they were extinct. It's the only one to come down from the mountains in a thousand years." "Maybe it's the last of its kind. Searching for a mate." After so long? she wondered. Had this magnificent hawk been driven from his home by loneliness, come to search the world for a mate he would never find? Kelric touched her shoulder and pointed at the city. Tiny figures were running in the streets, waving at each other and the hawk. At the airfield, two riders were preparing to take off. Ixpar switched on the co and an excited voice floated into the air. "Tal here!"

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"Tal, this is Manager Kam. Ground those windriders." "But there's an althawk up there. A real one! They're going to catch it." "Tell them to let it go." Tal paused. "Ma'am?" "They aren't to catch it," Ixpar repeated. "I'll have anyone who tries thrown in jail." The aide spoke in a disappointed voice. "Yhee, ma'am." Kelric watched as she switched off the co. "You'll probably never see it again." "I know." She came to stand with him. "But it would die in captivity." The bird sailed closer until his shadow filled the sphere. For one instant he looked directly at them with his ancient gaze, his gold eyes hooded and inscrutable, so close now that had they been able to reach out, they could have touched his feathers. Then he swept over the Skywalk, wheeling away into the freedom of an intensely blue sky.

40 Jahalla's Defiance Rain drummed throughout the night on the windows ofHayl's suite. He sat in the comer of an alcove while the memory of his "rescue" marched through his mind. They had shot Nesina. Shot her. Riddled her through with burning metal dice. Everyone at Varz had been so kind. So solicitous. It made him sick. Zecha had held him while he cried, and the doctors talked with Avtac in low voices about the supposed trauma of his experiences. He doubted they would be so understanding if they knew he was crying because he had seen them shoot his lover. Avtac refused him the comfort of his friends. He still heard her voice: You cannot return to the Calanya yet. We must avoid contamination to the Quis. Not that it stopped her from trying to wring out every last bit of Kam Quis he had absorbed. A door creaked. As Hayl looked up, Zecha appeared in the archway of the alcove. She came to sit by him, taller than him by almost a head. "I couldn't sleep either," she said. Hay said nothing, acutely aware that she came with no introduction of Suitor's Privilege. The fact that she rarely requested it made him feel as if he wore an invisible gag. Zecha poked her finger inside one of his curls. "I never thought I'd take a boy with yellow hair as my

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kasi." She sighed. "It's Haka, you know. In the desert, if a man smiles at a woman it's considered an invitation to his bed. But you yellow-haired boys from the north, you smile so easily. It makes a woman think the wrong things." I ought to tell her about Nesina, Hayl thought. Maybe then she would leave me alone. Zecha took hold of his chin, turning his face up to hers. Then she kissed him.

3 80 Catherine Asao ————————————————————— Hayl stiffened and tried to pull away from her. When she wouldn't let him go, he struggled harder, but with her stronger muscles she easily held him. "So modest," she murmured. "Or is this the pretense of innocent youth?" A hard edge grated in her voice. "I'll take you no matter what happened at Kam." She fumbled with the laces on his shirt, undoing them with deft fingers. Hayl tried to twist away, but he was trapped in the corner. When Zecha opened his shirt and stroked his chest, he nearly gagged. Working his arms up inside her embrace, he hit his fists against her shoulders again and again. She caught his wrists and held them together while she fondled him with her other hand. He kept fighting, trying to escape, but with no success. After several moments the captain paused and considered him. "Maybe you aren't so worldly as rumor claims." She stroked his curls. "You must learn not to smile at other women, Hayl. It gives the wrong impression." Finally she let him go and stood up. "Try to sleep now. You need the rest." The moment Zecha was gone, Hayl ran to the bathing room, peeled off his clothes, and dove into the pool. He soaped his body, cleaning every place she had touched him. Afterward he put on the warmest clothes he could find and went back to the alcove. It was time to make plans. Avtac believed she had him secure. This guest suite jutted out from a comer of the Estate, with two sides facing the vertical cliffs that made Varz such an isolated—and forbidding— fortress. His escort guarded the other two sides. One of the cliff windows had a lock, but even had anyone been crazy enough to think Hayl would dream of opening it, Avtac believed his previous success had been a fluke. His plan was simple: open the window, climb out, and creep along the ledge below it to freedom. At this hour most of Varz slept and the rain would keep anyone else inside. No one would see him running to the airfield. Once there, he would find a way to pay passage to another Estate. He could gamble for it. He didn't care that he had no idea how to survive on the Outside. He would rather spend the rest of his life a beggar than stay at Varz.

-The Last Hawk 381 Only one problem remained. He had to climb out the window.

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So he sat in the alcove, far more securely trapped by his terror than by the guards Outside his suite. When he heard a clock chime Morning's Third Hour he knew he was almost out of time. Taking a breath, he crossed to the window and went to work. Every time he heard a board creak he tensed, afraid a guard was coming to check on him. Finally the last pin clicked free. Hayl froze, his palm lying flat on the door of glass. Then, with shaking hands, he pulled it open. Wind rushed in, splattering him with rain—he was going to fall, fall, fall, icy air slashing past as he hurtled faster, faster, faster. . . With a gasp, Hayl cut off the image. He drew himself up to his ful, albeit not so tall, height and took a deep breath. Then he carefully let himself out over the windowsill, turning so he faced the cliff, his breath coming in cautious gasps. As he lowered himself into the night, wind buffeted his body. He hung from the sill, paralyzed with fear, unable to move. Finally he forced his toe to reach for a toehold in the basrelief of the wall. With excruciating care he descended. Rain made the stone slippery and wind played havoc with his balance. Once he lost his grip and slid an arm's length before he found another handhold. He had to bite the inside of his mouth to keep from screaming. He kept climbing. Eons later he reached the ledge. Built as a decoration, the shelf was too narrow for a boy's foot. He slid his toes along it and used wall projections for handholds. Bit by bit, fraction by fraction, he moved, praying he didn't reach a point where he had nothing to hold on to, or the ledge ended, or was broken, or— His foot slid out over empty air. Hayl nearly panicked. He had reached the end of the wall and a gap too big to step across separated him from the windbreak around the city. Maneuvering his head around, he looked along the tortuous route he had just traversed. He was too stiff with cold and fear to retrace his steps. Breathing in ragged gulps, he turned back to stare at the windbreak. He couldn't go

382 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— back, he couldn't go forward, and soon his fingers would be too numb to grip the wall. So he jumped. He overestimated the distance and hit the windbreak in a jarring impact. Flailing for a handhold, he slid downward until his foot caught on a gargoyle and he flipped over its head. Grabbing for the statue, he caught a horn and wrenched to a stop, hanging in the air, his body swinging in darkness lit only by a faint glow from the city. Struggling to stay calm, he probed for a toehold with his foot. He found one, another—and then he began climbing. Using drilled holes and grinning statues for support, clutching the wet stone, praying his

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hands didn't slip, he clambered up the wall. When he reached the top, he slid stomach-down onto the wide expanse of stone and pulled himself across it, not even trying to stand. As he let himself down the inner side, he started to laugh; by the time he jumped to the ground he was shaking uncontrollably. He huddled against the wall, his laughter heaving out in huge breaths, until it turned into sobs. Eventually the sobs trailed into silence. With a final gulp of air, he stood up and looked around. The cobbled street was empty. No one had heard him. He pulled down his sleeves to hide his wrist guards and took off for the airfield. Ixpar walked around the rider, scrutinizing it in the bright daylight. The gun turrets and cannons gave it a bristling appearance, like an angry hawk. Captain Borj stood in the hatch, her massive frame filling the opening. "How did the test flights go?" Ixpar asked. "It has good speed and acceleration. But it doesn't take gforces well." Borj jumped onto the tarmac. "Do you really plan to use these riders?" "If I'm forced to." Anthoni appeared from behind the craft. "We just got a message from the airtower, Ixpar. A Varz rider has requested permission to land." Finally, Ixpar thought. Although she had known Avtac

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 383 would refuse her demand for a Tribunal, she had called for it anyway, knowing it would provide invaluable information. In a Council Tribunal, the Managers sat as judges. The Quis Council chose six judges, two each for prosecution, defense, and neutrality. So in response to the call for the Tribunal, every Manager gave her preference as a judge. It meant stating where they stood on the hostilities between Varz and Kam. In the tenday since she had sent out the call, every Estate but Varz had responded. Both Dahl and Bahvia pledged full support to Kam. Viasa chose neutrality, as did its secondary Tehnsa. More disturbing was that Shazoria, usually a Kara ally, also declared neutrality, followed by its secondary Eviza. Ahkah and Lasa confirmed their close ties to Varz with a pledge of support for the Ministry. The biggest surprise came from Haka. Varz's staunchest ally chose neutrality. Ixpar and Anthoni walked to the airtower and stood inside to watch the Varz rider land. As soon as it was down, a Kam octet armed with rifles surrounded it. The pilot opened the hatch and spoke with them, then handed the captain a scroll wrapped in gold suede and tied with a black cord. As the rider lifted off, the captain brought the scroll to Ixpar. Tooled into the suede, the snarling black clawcat of Varz crouched next to the Ministry insignia, a combination that jarred Ixpar as much now as it

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had the first time she had seen it. Ixpar sent Anthoni after Elder Solan and walked back to the Estate alone. Inside her office, she stood next to her desk reading the scroll. Anthoni spoke from the doorway. "Elder Solan is here." Ixpar glanced up. "Send her in." Solan entered and closed the door. "Anthoni said you got an answer from Varz." "Avtac refuses to convene a Tribunal," Ixpar said. Solan didn't look surprised. "Refusing a Manager's call for a Council Tribunal will set an unpopular precedent. That could damage Varz credibility." "1 don't know what to think." Ixpar handed her the letter. "Tell me if it makes any sense to you."

384 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— As Solan read the scroll, her face furrowed. "Is this a joke?" "I have no idea." The Elder looked up at Ixpar. "Where would Avtac Varz ever get the notion you reabducted Hayl? It's a bizarre accusation." "There are rumors he committed suicide." "Winds, I hope not." "You and I both." Ixpar paused. "It's the oddest thing, Solan—but I think I caught a trace of him in the Quis. It's so faint, though. I may be grasping at a ghost." "Where is this phantom?" "Viasa."

Solan frowned. "Why would Avtac send Hayl there? "Maybe she asked Khal Viasa to hide him while she accuses me of abduction again. It gives her a reason to refuse my demand for a Tribunal." "If Manager Viasa has decided to support Varz," Solan said, "we are in serious trouble." "I know." Ixpar indicated the letter. 'Take this to the other Elders. I'll meet with all of you at Evening's Hour to discuss it." After Solan left, Ixpar sat at her desk and rested her forehead on her hands. She longed to talk with

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Kastora, to hear her counsel. Then another image came to her, her mother, the late Atlena Kam, a tall woman with blazing red hair who had managed the largest Common House in the city. Ixpar could still hear her voice: Look to the Quis, child. Unveil its secrets. Ixpar left her office and went to the Blue Alcove in her suite, then descended from there into the Memory of Kam. To walk through its cool halls was like stepping into the past. The identity of a race lay hidden here, just as it lay buried within the Quis. But tonight she saw no answers in its history, only the record of a people plagued by their own violent nature. Rev Miesa Haka walked next to the Calanya windbreak, using its shadows as a shield against the sun. After three years, he still loathed Haka. No lush mountains here. Just heat. And sand. It drifted through sculpted holes in the wall, blown by

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 385 the keening gales Outside, the forever keening wind, until he almost believed he heard voices in its eerie song. Rev stopped. That was a voice. It had alled his name. He looked through an opening in the windbreak. At first all he made out were clouds of swirling sand, like ruby-topaz powder veiling the land. Then he saw the woman; dressed in rough trousers and jacket, with her hood pulled up against the storm, she looked like a freight hauler from the docks. He drew away from the wall, insulted. But when the hauler called him again, he paused. How did she know his name? He looked out the hole again. The woman came closer. "Revi?" He regarded her. "Don't you recognize me?" she asked. He shook his head. She pulled back her hood—and she was a he. "Hayl?" he asked. "Is that really you?" "I've come every day for half a season, hoping to see you." "Winds, Hayl! I can hardly believe it." Revi grinned. "Climb on over! Get yourself in here." "Someone might see." "No one's around. Come on!"

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Hayl clambered up the wall and half slid, half climbed down the inner side. The instant he jumped to the ground, Revi threw his arms around him. "Winds above." Hayl's voice came out muffled against his shoulder. "You sure got big." They sat on the grass under a grove ofjahalla trees and Rev listened while Hayl told him all that had happened since Avtac separated them. "So I got a ride to Viasa by playing lyderharp for the crew on a merchant rider," Hayl finished. "In Viasa I gambled at the market. It was easy. Outsiders can't play Quis worth spit. I used the money I made to buy passage here." "Is that what you do now? Gamble?" Hayl shook his head. "Men aren't allowed to gamble at the Haka market. Even if they were, I couldn't risk it. Someone will figure out I'm a Calani. I shouldn't have done it at Viasa." At sixteen, Hayl looked almost as vulnerable to Revi as the

386 Catherine Asam—————————————————————— first time Rev had seen him, when he was five and Hayl an t: infant curled in his crib. "How do you live?"

"One of the Men's Houses took me in," Hayl said. 'They give me meals and a room in return for chores." . "What if someone sees your Calanya guards? X Hayl pushed up his sleeve, revealing a bandage that hid his | guard. "I say I burned myself. I know I have to find a way to , take off the guards. But once they're gone—it's final." He dropped his hands in his lap as if it hurt to remember what cir- j cled his wrists. "I hate it Outside, especially here. People i like I'm pole-dung because I have yellow hair. A kinsa-boss wants me to work for her and she won't stop bothering me. I used to be a Second Level Calani and now I'm nothing." "Ask Rashiva for asylum." || "Manager Haka7" Hayl laughed harshly. "She'd pack me i' off to Avtac faster than you can roll your dice." | "Not if you tell her what you've told me." H "Not a chance." "Hayl, I'm serious." "You trust her that much?" When Rev nodded, Hayl -| exhaled. "You better be right." The rider soared above the Teotec Mountains, piloted by Aka ¥, Kam, a merchant taking her cargo of spices to Bahvla. To starboard, she sighted an octet of riders flying in formation. Feel- | ing gregarious, she switched on channel two of her co. "This is Kam Greenbird, calling octet north by east. Beautiful day, | hen?" . I. The co crackled. "Varz Nightrider here. You're violating '| our airspace, Greenbird." t Violating their airspace? What did that mean? "I'm headed ; for Bahvla." -5 •.i

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"The Bahvla lanes are closed," Nightrider said. "Pull off, Greenbird," "Cuaz and Khozaar," Aka muttered. She flew in a large arc j that took her away from the octet. Maybe she had better approach Bahvla along a different route. The co spat static. "Pull off, Greenbird! This is your final | warning."

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 387 "Pull off? I am pulling off. Pull off where?" With growing apprehension, Aka realized the riders were closing in on her. Somehow Nightrider released a metal hawk from under its belly. When it became obvious the bird was going to commit suicide and fly into her rider, Aka tried to veer off. The hawk managed to graze Greenbirds wing anyway—and an explosion rocked the craft. "Nightrider, are you crazy?" she shouted into the co, struggling to keep Greenbird under control. In response, Nightrider launched another false hawk and Aka just barely brought up her craft in time to avoid it. Then she set course and ran back to Kam. Rashiva Haka paced across her den. "It gets worse and worse. Abductions, accusations, and now this." Her Senior Aide stood by the fireplace. "I would advise against giving Hayl asylum. He broke his Oath. Winds, he pulverized it. Avtac is the one who should deal with him." Rashiva stopped in front of her. "I can't send him back to Varz. Not after what he's been through." "If you keep him here you will antagonize the Minister." "If I send him to Varz I will antagonize my conscience." Rashiva leaned one hand against the mantel and stared at the flames crackling in the fireplace. "There are times when I wish it was Ixpar who ruled in Varz and Avtac who Managed Kara. It would make this matter of alliances more palatable." The Senior spoke in a low voice. "Take care, Rashiva. You never know who might hear." The Manager looked at her. "Avtac has my loyalty, not my soul." She straightened up. "Hayl stays here." Ixpar walked out of the hangar with Captain Borj. "Who was the pilot?" "A merchant named Aka Kam." Borj unhooked her flight jacket. "She had already left Kam when we found out about the blockade. Greenbird barely made it back here in one piece." Ixpar scowled. "I want armed riders on patrol along the perimeter of Kam airspace."

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388Catherine Asaro"I'll see to it." As Ixpar headed to the Estate, she brooded. So. Varz was blocking every route into Bahvla It cut Kam off from a crucial ally. Worse, Avtac's noise about Hayl's supposed reabduction had finally convinced Shazoria normally a Kam ally, to speak in support of the Varz Ministry. That meant Ahkah, Lasa Shazoria and Eviza all stood behind Varz. And whatever Rashiva's personal feelings toward Avtac, Ixpar knew the Haka Manager put a high value on loyalty. In a confrontation Haka would support Varz. Viasa and its secondary Tehnsa still claimed neutrality. But the centuries of feuding between Bahvla and Viasa didn't bode well for Kam. If Manager Viasa broke neutrality it was unlikely she would side with a Bahvla ally. It all added up to a gambler's roll of dice with odds Ixpar didn't like one bit. Captain Tazza Varz piloted her craft with pride, soaring through the sky. They were two parts of a whole, she and Nightrider, and no craft could best them. A buzz came from channel six on co, a line open only to the riders in her unit. VarzSun here, Cap'n Tazza. We've got two riders coming up on port side. Looks like Bahvla." "I have them on scan," Tazza said. Co crackled on channel two this time, the line open to all riders within co range. 'This is Bahvla Clouddancer. You're blocking our travel lane, Nightrider." These lanes are under Varz authority," Tazza said. "Go back to Bahvla." Clouddancer's pilot swore. "You people have no right to hold an entire Estate prisoner." Just try to get past us, Tazza thought. But the Bahvla riders headed back to their Estate like furpups cuffed by their dam. That evening, while sunset blazed across the sky, Tazza spotted a Kam octet on the Bahvla-Kam perimeter. A man's voice came over channel two. This is Jevrin Kam, flying Silverhawk. Acknowledge, Nightrider." Tazza laughed. Ixpar Kam must be desperate, sending boys

—————————————————————The Last Hawk 389 to do a woman's job. "You're playing in Varz airspace Silverhawk. Pull off." "We're headed to Bahvia" Jevrin said. "Suggest you pull off yourself Captain." Tazza scowled, annoyed by his tone.

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A woman spoke on channel two. "Captain Borj here, Nightrider. We dont recognize your authority to block this lane." Tazza's co buzzed on six, a secured message from one of her riders. "Cap'n, this is VarzSun Shall we take them out?" "Only on my order." Tazza switched to line two. "Borj, this is your last warning. Pull off." In response, the Kam riders dipped together and crossed into Varz space. "That's it!" Tazza said on six. "Let's go." Her riders sheared toward the Kam octet. She sighted on 57verhawk—hold steady—there! He tried to dodge, but her gunfire ripped his wing. Just one more shot and— A blast reverberated through Nightrider. These Kam birds had weapons! The rider pitched and went into a dive, losing altitude at an alarming rate. Tazza fought with the wings, playing he slats in and out, until finally they caught the wind with a jolt, slowing her plunge. She lowered the landing gear and aimed for a clear hill in the forest below. Nightrider hit with a force that crushed Tazza against her safety haess. The screech of buckling metal pierced the air as the craft tore along the ground, until it flipped over and jerked to a stop, leaving her hanging from her seat. She unbuckled her harness and dropped to the overhead bulkhead, which had become the "deck." As the rider teetered back and forth, she made her way to the upside-down hatch. Tazza shoved open the hatch—and saw flames racing along the fuselage. Throwing caution to the wind, she vaulted to the ground and broke into a run. Just when she reached the top of the hill, an explosion roared behind her. A second later the shock wave flung her into the air like a leaf on the wind. She hit the ground and tumbled down the other side of the hill until she thudded into a mound of dirt.

390 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— Tazza lay trying to focus her thoughts. She tried to move, but her body didn't respond. All she could do was listen to the flames consuming Nightrider. Another small explosion came from the wreckage and a drne filled her head. It wasn't until VarSun flew overhead that she connected the hum to an engine. After VarzSun bumped int a landing farther down the slope, its pilot jumped out and sprinted up the hill. She knelt next to Tazza. "Cap'n? Thank the winds!" "Did you get the Kara riders9" Tazza asked. "Six, maybe seven." The pilot slid an arm under her shoulders. "One dodged by us, but it took several hits. Another went back to Kam." Tazza struggled to her feet. "And ours?" In a subdued voice the pilot said, "We lost four." She helped Tazza limp to the VarzSun. Starbird went back for crews to douse the forest fire."

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Before now, keeping riders out of Bahvia had been almost a game to Tazza. No longer. Suddenly it was all too tangible, a grim reality brought home by the deaths today. When VarSun was aloft, Tazza looked down at the blaze of Nightrider' demise. She would fly again. The deaths of her pilots wouldn't be in vain. "No!" Henta Bahvia faced Jevrin from behind her desk like a fighter squaring off with an opponent. "Don't we have trouble enough? I can't get a single rider out of Bahvia and you're the only one who has made it in since the blockade started. Do you have any idea what that means? We don't have farms up here. Just trees, trees, and trees. I've got a fortune in lumber rotting out there on the docks while my city starves." 'Then you must give me the riders," Jevrin said. "1 can show your guilds how to build guns and missiles. We can break the blockade." "At what cost of lives? You limped in here with one rider and you left Kam with eight." A shadow descended on his face. "They died for your Estate, Manager Bahvia." Her voice gentled. "And Bahvia honors their memory. But

-The Last Hawk 391 how many more will die if I give you what you want? You may not define it as such, but what you're asking for is an air force. Bah via hasn't flown into war in a thousand years." "You may have no choice. Not unless you renounce Kam and give in to Varz." Henta blew out a gust of air. "I will give you an answer tomorrow." After Jevrin left, Henta sank into her chair, weighing her thoughts: I will not be a party to war. I will not let Bahvia starve. I will not submit to Varz. Then just what would she do? What? Long after the sun had set, she sat brooding. She thought of Sevtar as she had once seen him, an isolated figure standing on the Calanya windbreak, staring out at the Teotecs with the wind blowing his hair. Now an entire world balanced on the verge of battle over this legend who wanted nothing more than to be left alone. 41

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The Rising Tower: Souls Ascendant When Borj's rider limped into Kam, the sole survivor of her octet, Ixpar mourned, both for the lost pilots and for the dying of a peace that had lasted a millennium. In the year since Kastora's death, Ixpar had come to recognize the vioence that surged within her, a beast kept in control by a thin veneer of civilization. She saw that rage in Borj now as well, who had seen six, maybe seven, of her riders go down in flames. After that day, the captain drove herself relentlessly, working with the ArmsGuild. Today, a season later, she stood with Ixpar in a warehouse and slid a gunbelt over Ixpar's shoulders.

392 Catherine Asaro——————•———————————————— Then she handed the Manager a gun, one larger and heavier than a rifle. "As long as you keep the lever depressed, the cartridges continue to feed in." Ixpar nodded. At the far end of the warehouse, Anthoni was arranging a line of empty fuel canisters, and closer by Tal stood holding a clipboard. "Ready, here," Anthoni called. Ixpar waited until he moved out of range, then lifted her gun. Sighting along its barrel, she pressed the lever—and a roar of shots erupted, its echoes vibrating in the cavernous warehouse like thunder. Canisters flew into the air, riddled by bullets. Despite the teeth-jarring recoil of the gun, Ixpar continued to fire until not one container remained intact. The silence that followed was broken only by the clink of one canister rolling into another. "Cuaz above," Tal said. Ixpar looked at Borj. "It works." Borj watched her with a bleak, hard gaze. "So it does." After they finished the tests, Ixpar walked back to the Estate with Tal and Anthoni, carrying the gun slung over her shoulder by its strap. At times like this she deeply missed Kastora's counsel. Although Solan had done well serving as both Senior Aide and Elder, the arrangement was temporary. It was time she trained a new Senior Aide. As they crossed a courtyard at the Estate, Ixpar glanced at the aides with her. Tal perhaps? She had considered Tal as a possible successor, but concluded she lacked the necessary leadership qualities. As a Senior Aide, though, she might do well. Anthoni is better qualified, she thought. Ixpar halted, envisioning the backlash that would happen if she chose a man as her top aide. She had traded the Ministry for an Akasi and bards wrote embarrassing songs praising her supposedly passionate soul, but if she made a decision as sensible as choosing Anthoni for her Senior Aide, it would outrage all

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Coba. "So what," Ixpar said. "Manager Kam?" Tal asked. She and Anthoni had been waiting while she stood absorbed in her thoughts.

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 393 Ixpar handed Tal the gun and its belt. "Lock these in my safe and notify the ArmsGuild to set up their production as we discussed." She glanced at Anthoni. "I'd like to see you in my office tomorrow morning at Second Hour." "Yhee, ma'am," he said. The aides went to the Estate and Ixpar headed for the Kam Institute in the city. When she reached Ekina's lab it was dark, and at first she thought the physicist had left. Then she saw a dim red glow emanating from a table. As her eyes adjusted, she made out Ekina standing at the table, surrounded by a cluster of her students. When Ixpar tapped on the door, the physicist looked around. "Manager -Kam." She beckoned her over. "I hoped you woud come today." Ixpar went to the table. "Anthoni gave me your note." "Just wait until you see," Ekina said. The students drew back, revealing a glass tube stretched between two mirrors, one of which was only partially silvered. Light from the tube slipped through the partial mirror and made a faint red beam that was visible where it hit dust particles in the air; The beam ended in a small red dot on a screen a short distance away. "Ah—what is it?" Ixpar asked. Ekina looked as pleased as a chub cub after a feast. "That, Manager Kam, is a helium-neon-gas laser." "Laser?" "What Quis Wizard Bahr calls a light-sailor. We thought laser made more sense." "Well, I'll be windblown," Ixpar said, evoking a ripple of gratified laughter from the students. "How did you get it to work?" "It's the helium." Ekina tapped the tube. "With only neon gas we couldn't get enough atoms into high energy levels. Helium is easy to excite. So we pump up the helium and it pumps up the neon." "Bahr will want to see this. I'll have the escort bring her." "I'm curious to meet her," Ekina said. "You wouldn't believe some of the ideas she sends the Speaker

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over with." "Try me," Ixpar said.

394 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— "Have you ever heard of metal changers?" , "They were popular back in the Old Age, weren't they?" "That's right. Claimed they could change iron into gold." Jf Ixpar laughed. "Winds, Ekina, I hope Bahr hasn't got you | started on that." | "She thinks she can do it. She calls it atom cracking." Atom cracking? That sounded like Bahr. "How does it work: "You change the number of neutron and proton dice in ;> atom by splitting its nucleus. Crack it apart, so to speak. Bahr claims if a nucleus has more than two hundred nine nucleon dice, it splits spontaneously. This morning she sent me a (ffltfc pattern for cracking uranium two hundred thirty-eight." "Why- would you want to crack uranium?" Ixpar wasn't j|, even sure what uranium was, other than that Bahr's patterns predicted it existed. |l "It could produce energy Ekina said. A lot." "Do you think it will work?" | Ekina shrugged. "I'm not even sure how to test for it." . Ixpar drew the physicist aside, away from the students.? "What about her idea for campfires? Can you build me a handcarried laser that Burns things?" She paused. "Like buildings." Ekina stopped smiling. "Are you sure that's what yout want?" " | "Yes." It was a moment before Ekina answered. "I'll see what we | can do." |' After Ixpar left the lab, she went to the Calanya and walked out to the parks with Mentar, telling him about the laser.

"You should tell Sevtar," Mentar said. "It might put him in | a better mood." "He is upset?" "I am not sure. Earlier today he was standing by a window ;; in the common room. Then he cursed and went into his suite. He hasn't come out since." Mentar spread his hands. "One never knows with him." , When Ixpar tapped at Kelric's suite, no one answered. Just '•11 as she was about to leave he pulled aside the screen. He simply looked at her, then left the screen pushed to one side and i walked back into his living room, over to the liqueur cabinet. \

-The Last Hawk 395 As Ixpar followed him, closing the screen behind her, he poured himself a glass of baiz. "If you want to play Quis," Kelric said, "you'll have to come back another time." "Mentar thinks you're angry." "Why should I be angry?" He turned to face her, holding his baiz as if he wanted to throw the glass. "I'm impressed. Astonished. It's remarkable how fast you people are regaining knowledge hidden in the Quis. I've never seen anything like it. From knives to machine guns in one generation." He downed his drink in one swallow. "What next? Nuclear warheads?"

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Suddenly she understood. "You saw me in the courtyard with the gun we tested today." He set down his glass and came over to her. "I hate being the cause of this." She drew him into her arms. "Ai, Kelric. It's not your fault." But as they held each other in the fading sunlight, she knew there was no solace even here in the Calanya, either for her or for Kelric. The door of Ixpar's office slammed open and Anthoni burst into the room. "Two Varz riders—over the airfield—shooting." He heaved in a breath. "The tower is blind and city co lines are dead." Ixpar was on her feet before he finished. "Get on Estate co." She ran to the vault and took out the machine gun. "Sound the alarm and have our defenses armed." Anthoni grabbed her arm. "You can't go out there. You could get killed." "Let go of me." "Ixpar, for wind's sake—" "Get on that co." She yanked her arm away, then slung the gun over her shoulder and ran out of the office. It took only minutes to cross the city. Ixpar heard the boom of the defense cannons as she was running through the factory district near the airfield. The area around her lay in ruins: smoke roiled in bilows, fires flared, cracks rent the pavement. Two Varz riders swept into view, flying in a strafing run, their blistering attack spurring an explosion in a nearby warehouse,

i c

•

1 396 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— i f Then the Kam 5now a pride of Ixpar's air force, | appeared in the sky, climbing above the smoke. It went at the ; Varz riders like an althawk defending its territory. As the craft | engaged in the sky, Ixpar raced for the meager shelter of an .]• awning One of Snowhawk's missiles caught an invader dead center, setting it off like a firebomb. As debris rained out of the sky, the second Varz rider fired. Snowhawk tried to veer off, but the |:

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missile caught its wing, blasting the slats. Snowhawk careened ' into a burning warehouse, caught the shredded remains of its | wing on an upthrusting column of wood, swung around like a v toy on a stick, slammed into a blazing wall—and detonated in . a plume of orange and black. Ixpar's lips drew back in a snarl. When the surviving Varz rider swept low over the awning where she had sought cover t she stepped out and brought up the machine gun. Standing 1; with her long legs planted wide, she braced the gun against her j: body and fired at the craft's belly. Bullets stabbed its engines reckety-reckety-reckety, so loud that even in the chaos of the burning district the noise deafened her. The Varz rider lurched f into a roof and met its death in a roaring balloon of fire. 'Jt Then the only sound was the crackle of flames.

Ixpar stood tensed, half expecting another rider to material- i odd expression. "If I had a successor you would also advise me t to keep her protected, yes?" "Yes. Of course." i. "Then why did Imperator Skolia—your brother—have ife fighting on the front lines?" The question caught Kelric off guard. "He had his reasons." "He lost his successor because of them." t His years on Coba had allowed Kelric to forget the I game of political intrigue that stalked the Imperial court. "My half brother chose three heirs: one of my older brothers, one of | my sisters, and myself. Only one of us can succeed him." | Quietly she said, "The one who survives." "Yes." ( "He is a fool." "He's many things. But a fool isn't one of them. He wanted t the strongest of us for his heir." ' .J ."Only a fool pits kin against kin and throws away a man like |

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you"

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A childhood memory came to Kelric; his mother standing on a balcony, radiant as she waved to him, with his half | brother Kurj towering next to her, the case-hardened dictator S who had, incredibly, once been a baby in her arms. It was only here, on Coba, that Kelric had finally realized Kurj sought to tear him down because he feared Kelric would someday become him. It never occurred to him that Kelric had neither the desire nor the intention of following his half brother's vio- ' lent path to power.

-The Last Hawk 399 Elder Solan, First among the Seven Elders of Kam, leaned toward Ixpar from her seat at the conference table. "This decision of yours to make Anthoni Senior Aide is unacceptable." "Preposterous," Elder Fourth said. Murmurs of agreement came from the others. Elder Second's sonorous voice rolled out. "I fail to understand, Ixpar, why you do not pick someone better qualified than a boy." "For wind's sake," Ixpar said. "He's not a boy. He's older than I am. And there is no one better qualified." Elder Fourth puffed on her pipe. "You possess a staff of highly percipient aides. Surely you can find a more appropriate choice." Percipient? Ixpar wondered if Elder Fourth ever talked like a normal person. "He's unreliable," Solan added. "I've always found him reliable," Ixpar said. "He is too nice," Elder Sixth said. "He hasn't the necessary authority." "Deficiency also exists in his diplomatic skills," Elder Fourth said. "This could cause acrimony." Ixpar snorted. "He's simultaneously too nice and not nice enough? That's a feat." "Consider how your staff will react," Elder Sixth said. "How he deals with them. It is crucial. As important as his competence. If they mistrust his judgment it weakens his authority. Weakens the Estate." Ixpar crossed her arms. "Give him a chance to prove himself before you all bemoan the fall of Kam." "And then what?" Solan demanded. "Perhaps you have a boy in mind for the Kam Successor too?" "I don't have anyone in mind," Ixpar said. "I haven't found a suitable candidate." Elder Third spoke. "There is another matter I find of more conce. Your proposal to build ground-based artillery in the city disturbs me." "We have to do something," Ixpar said. "If Varz breaks our defenses again, they may go after people

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instead of factories." Elder Fourth relit her pipe. "It seems to me the prudent

' 400 Catherine Asaro————————————————————— course of action would be to increase the number of riders on |k patrol and forestall Varz from reaching Kam in the first place." | "We don't have enough riders," Ixpar said.

Solan frowned. "We have as many as Varz." "It isn't just Varz," Ixpar said. "Ahkah and Shazoria also I have to be considered." "Shazoria fly against Kam?" Elder Second rumbled. I, Never

"There is this matter of the perpetually disappearing Hayl Varz," Elder Fourth said.. "Manager Shazoria seems to believe f he is here." ' Elder ifth snorted. "I'll bet any roll of the dice Avtac knows * where he is "We need to prove it," Elder Sixth said. "Prove she hides | him. Then we might turn Shazoria from Varz. Back to Kam" |i "What about Rashiva Haka?" Elder Seventh asked. "She still claims neutrali—"

"Meaningless," Elder Second rumbled. "If it comes to the test, Haka will remain loyal to Varz." Elder Fifth leaned forward. "We have other allies. Dahl. | Bahvla." "Chankah Dahl has pledged a rider fleet," Ixpar said. | "There's still no word from Bahvla." "It has been a year since Borj's unit went down," Elder | Third said. "If anyone made it to Bahvla we should have heard i by now." J "How?" Elder Second demanded. "Any messengers would t have to come on foot. Winds only know if they would make it." .* Elder Fourth put down her pipe. "The situation appears to be | this: we presently have only one viable ally whereas Varz has J three at the very least, five if you include secondary Estates i and possibly seven should the alignment of Viasa and Tehnsa ' become manifest." { "In other words," Ixpar said, "we're in trouble."

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2 Golden Nested Tower Rohka Miesa Varz poked her head around the big clock at the entrance of the Children's Cooperative. No guardians in sigh She padded to the door, nudged it open—and she was out and free, trotting across the starlit plaza. Tonight she would find the Magic. It lived in a place called Galerunner's Tavern on Juggler's Lane. Rohka wasn't sure what tavern meant, but she knew it was Magic by the way Guardian Jasina lit up when anyone mentioned a singer there named Tomi. The glow was inside of Jasina, a warmth in her mind that spread to Rohka and made her glow too. While her mind danced with bright pictures of jugglers skipping over cobblestones, Rohka trotted through MiesaVarz to Juggler's Lane. But when she reached it, she saw no jugglers anywhere. All the shops looked dark except for a place at the end where colorful lights and music spilled into the street. After pondering, Rohka padded toward the building with lights. When she neared, she saw two fierce and burly women looming at its entrance. Rohka hesitated. She hadn't expected the Magic to be guarded by giants. "Well, I'll be a Quis cube." One of the giants knelt down to look at her. "Where did you come from?" Rohka blinked, suddenly shy. The woman smiled. "What brings you out here so late?" "I came to hear Tomi sing," Rohka said. The other giant laughed. "She may be,young, but she appreciates true an." "Come on back to the kitchen," the first woman said. "We'll get you a glass of tawmilk." "Can I see Tomi there?" Rohka asked.

402Catherine .1 "The cook won't mind if you peek into the lounge." stood up and spoke with the other giant in a low voice. 'l second woman nodded and set off toward Miesa Square. . "Is she going home?" Rohka asked. 5. The woman took her hand. "No. Just on an errand for uM| She led Rohka around the side of the tavern. "Do you have i? name?" . "Rohka." I The giant smiled. "I'm Chal." i Warm air and good smells filled the kitchen. Pots S1IS1!1S| over the fireplace. In the door of a big icebox, Rohka saw !T3| own reflection: a little girl with tousled yellow curls and J smudge on her cheek. She wiped at the smudge with her iTTTll A plump woman in an apron bustled over to them. "YTiC' brings you back here, heh, Chal? No

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clawcats making iTOil!l| tonight?"

Chal grinned. "Caught me a clawcat cub." She inH Rohka forward. "Instead of bouncing her out, though, | thought I'd bring her back for some tawmilk." ? "Well, looky you." The cook bent over Rohka. "What beauty. And look at those eyes. Never seen gold eyes before/I Rohka blinked up at the woman. "My greetings, ma'am." The cook chuckled. "My greetings to you, little cub." While the cook went for the tawmilk, Chal led Rohka to ; half door and lifted her onto a stool. From her perch Si|> could see over the door into a room full of people and lilRB A man on the stage was singing. ' The cook brought Rohka a glass of warm tawmilk. "So.' She settled her bulk on a stool next to her visitor. "What say, little one? Is Tomi a right fine sight or what?" | "I guess so." Rohka's interest in the Magic was dimming ft had no jugglers or magicians, just a smoky room and a i«iij| who sang songs she didn't understand. She wanted to y home. It was such a long way, though. Maybe they would w her sleep here tonight. | Rohka curled her hands around her glass and drank i tawmilk. When she yawned, the cook picked her up and .tiiil her into her ample lap, humming a lullaby as she rocked back forth. Roca closed her eyes and snuggled in the woman's arms. t

_—————————————————————The Last Hawk 403 A commotion woke Rohka. She peeked over the cook's elbow to see Guardian Jasina hurrying in with the giant who had gone on the errand. "Winds above; child." Jasina bustled over to her. "Do you know how worried we've been? What are you doing here?" "See Tomi," Rohka said drowsily. The cook chuckled. "She came to woo your intended, Jasina." The guardian lifted Rohka into her arms. "The last time she went exporing we found her trying to stow away on a rider to Shazorla." "Shazoria?" the cook said. "Whatever for?" "Someone told her that suntrees there have real suns for fruit." Jasina smiled. "She wanted to see." "Sunny trees," Rohka mumbled. She could feel Jasina's love for the singer. The Magic was back and now she knew where it came from. It was Jasina and Tomi together. Their warmth spread everywhere, making her safe and secure . . . A gust of cold air woke Rohka. She found herself being carried through the streets of Miesa. Chal held her now and Jasina was walking next to them. * ". . . unusual for a child her age to find her way around the city so well," Chal said.

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"She's remarkably bright," Jasina said. "She has some odd ideas, though." "Odd how?" "Well, for one, she used to ask me why people thought one thing and said another." Chal shifted Rohka in her arms. "Sounds like a good question to me." Jasina smiled. "The thing is, she really believed she could hear people think." Rohka remembered how she had tried to stop hearing thoughts after everyone told her it was impossible. But she still pcked them up, like when Jon broke his toe and his yell bounced around her head as clear as if she stood right next to him instead of halfway across Miesa. A rumbling swelled above them. When Chal stopped to look t the sky, Rohka looked, too, and saw three riders flying

404 Catherine ; toward the airfield. A moment later, a big noise and a burst ;'r light came from across the city. More noises boomed and i' light got brighter ' "Cuaz above," Chal said. "They're shelling it." "Why is the sun coming up over there?" Rohka 7?|| "That's the wrong place." | "It isn't the sun, honey," Jasina said. "The airfield is on fff Why?" . I Jasina drew them under a shop awning. "Not now, ;nl(|| "Are we hiding?" Rohka asked. 4 "Just until they go away," Jasina said. "Look." Rohka pointed up at the mountains and wiggled 'ii| Chal's arms, trying to get down. "There's more." The new riders sped over the city, following the ones iI had made so much noise and light. Jasina waited until 'T$ after they had vanished before she stepped into the Tsi again. , For the rest of the trip back to the Cooperative no one Mi Rohka caught a wisp of thought from someone about the T8| ers being Kam. It confused her. Adults said Kam people ii| bad and Varz people were good, but that wasn't always "jr they thought. They were afraid of someone named Avtac sur Avtac was at Varz. 4 Rohka knew Kam was important. Her father lived there. T wished he was at Miesa. She didn't understand why the H| people at Kam took him away, or why everyone said ! mother had left on a long trip, when what they thought that Savina Miesa had died. \ Sometimes Rohka made pictures in her mind of the wi goddess Savina carrying her away to a magical cloud .yTS the Akasi Sevtar lived. Suns grew on the trees and jugglers nt laughing down the cloud streets. It was a place where Rt never made you sick and gold eyes were normal and no lii told you hearing thoughts was wrong. Ss In predawn dimness Captain Borj walked with Ixpar sicM the Kam airfield. She pulled off her helmet, a

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bronze headgear; shaped like the head of a clawcat. "The Varz defenses were too';

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 405 strong. We only managed one run over the airfield before they ran us off." "Any casualties?" Ixpar asked. "None." Borj paused. "We didn't lose any riders at Miesa either." "Miesa? What were you doing there?" "When we hit Varz, they brought in reinforcements from the Plateau. So we snuck out over Miesa while her defenders were at Varz." Borj tugged of her gloves. "We put out their airfield. Miesa won't be sending support to Varz for a while." Although Ixpar knew the move made tactical sense, it disturbed her. Miesa barely claimed enough riders to support itself, let alone anyone else. For the rest of the morning, Ixpar sat in her ofce reading reports from her commanders. At Midday she climbed up to her suite for a Quis session with Kelric. She found him asleep in the bedroom, and an uneasy feeling came over her as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. She went back to the entrance and spoke to Eb, the captain of his Calanya escort. "Does Sevtar always sleep this much?" "Usually," Eb said. "Why? What does he do that makes him so tired?" "Can't rightly say I know, ma'am. He spends most of his time playing Quis." Ixpar frowned, then left the suite and went down to Med. She found her Senior Physician reading in the medical library. "So," Shallina said. "Have you finally come for the physical I ordered?" "This is about Sevtar," Ixpar said. "He sleeps too much." Shallina spoke dryly. There is no harm in sleep. You should try it sometime." "Not this much. It's not normal." The doctor closed her book. "I will look at him."

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It was evening when Shallina came to Ixpar's office. "He's exhausted," the doctor said. "I don't know why. I found nothing wrong." She paused. "To be honest, I don't know what is wrong or right for a Skolian." Ixpar put down her quill. "What do you suggest?"

406 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— * Shallina cleared her throat. "I think you should, ah—ask | Dabbiv Dahl to come here." That threw Ixpar like a Quis die. Shallina's conservative approach to medicine usually had her denouncing Dabbiv's work. "Why?" i "Don't mistake my meaning," Shallina said. "I don't sub |_ scribe to these off-pattern ideas of his. But he is the only doctor on Coba who has had experience with offworlders." i Ixpar sent an octet of riders to Dahl that night Three days later, while Ixpar sat listening to her advisers i argue in the Hall of Teotec, Anthoni brought her a message. She slipped out of the meeting and hurried with him to the air- 'f field, reaching it in time to see her Kam riders landing, accompanied by a Dahl craft j The heavyset man with gray-streaked hair who jumped i down from the Dahl rider looked like a stranger. But the j' moment he smiled, Ixpar recognized him. "Dabbiv." She returned the smile. "Welcome to my Estate." .1 The doctor bowed. "You look well Manager Kam" "Did you have a good fight?" *? "For the most part. There was a bit of trouble near the end." '$ Dabbiv adjusted his glasses. "For some reason an Ahkah patrol '• decided we were in their way." ! "What happened?" | "Not much. They shook us around some, your Captain Borj I shook them around some, and that was the end of it." | She laid her hand on his arm.." know the risks you took'; coming here. You have my deepest thanks." * "I'm honored you think I can help." They walked to the Estate with Anthoni and a retinue of guards. While Anthoni showed Dabbiv to his suite, Ixpar F returned to the Hall of Teotec. Her commanders were still arguing, but they had migrated from the Opal Table to the wall " map. Colored pins covered the map: red for enemy, blue for;' ally, gray for neutral. Red dominated: in the east it showed on Ahkah and Lasa, in the northeast on Varz and Miesa, in the west on Shazoria and Eviza. Kam made a splash of blue in the \ center, as did Bahvia to the north and Dahl to the south. Gray

-The Last Hawk 407 showed on Haka in the southwest and on Viasa and Tehnsa in the northwest. Air lanes networked the chart in blue, gray, and red. Ixpar went to the map and pushed in a pin to mark the skirmish between Dabbiv's escort and the Ahkah patrol. The red marker encroached on the blue of the KamDahl air lanes.

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Elder Solan frowned. "At this rate, red will soon surround Karn." Ixpar pulled out the red pin at Shazoria and replaced it with a blue one. "Wishful hopes," Solan said. "Soon to be fact." Ixpar regarded the Elder. "Whether Shazoria likes it or not." Kelric sat in the Blue Alcove thinking Quis thoughts. In another part of the suite a door opened. He looked up, expecting Ixpar, but instead he saw the Calanya Speaker and an unknown man. After introducing the man as Dabbiv Dahl, the Speaker withdrew. Dabbiv bowed. "My greetings." Kelric wondered why Ixpar allowed a stranger to intrude on his privacy. "Don't you recognize me?" the man asked. "Dabbiv. Your doctor at Dahl." Kelric did recall an intense young doctor there. This man looked too old to be the same person. After a moment Dabbiv said, "Would you prefer I came back later?" Kelric had no desire to be poked at by more doctors. But Ixpar must have gone to a lot of trouble to bring Dabbiv here. For her sake he would consent to one more exam. Ixpar found the person she sought in the office she had provided him, bent over the microscope he had invented. "Dabbiv?" she asked. He jumped to his feet, then grabbed some folders and slapped them down on the desk. "Manager Kam." "Captain Eb told me you finished examining Kelric." Ixpar went over and pushed aside the folders, uncovering several

'I 408 Catherine Asaro—————————————————————— texts, all with titles in Skolian. She picked one up. "Car- | diopulmonary Anomalies in Gamma Physiology." "Ah—" His face paled. "Yes." . "What does it mean?" "Gamma refers to the breed of humans Kelric belongs to. ;| Cardiopulmonary means heart and lungs." "Imperiaate hearts and lungs." ' "Yes." Ixpar set down the text and covered it with folders. "You 4 should keep a neater office. You never know who might walk in" The color eased back into Dabbiv's face. "I'll do that." f "How is Kelric?" "I need more tests," he said. "It will take a few days. I've never done these procedures before, so I have to make sure I I get them right." Ixpar tensed. "You want to experiment on my Akasi?" "The tests aren't experimental. Skolians use them all the ; time." "You aren't Skolian." j He regarded her steadily. "If I don't determine what's wrong J with Kelric—and

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believe me, something is wrong—it will do him far more harm than my tests ever could." His words quashed Ixpar's last hopes that her worries were unfounded. "All right. But be careful." ' Four days passed while Dabbiv ran his tests. On the fifth evening Ixpar found him waiting in her office, sitting at a table a with his fingers steepled together. She sat across from him. "What did you find?" ? "Kelric differs from us far more than is obvious from his j physical appearance." | "We take every precaution for him. Special diet, purified ': water—you've seen what we do."

"You can't change the ecosystems of an entire world." He lowered his hands. "Coba has poisoned him day by day, year by year, weakened his heart, digestive system, lungs, liver—: '* everything. This world is far more hostile to him than we real- | ized. But he has miniature biochemistry labs in his body, nanomeds. Coupled with something—a thing called bio- \

————————————————————The Last Hawk 409 mech—they've kept him alive. Except they haven't been working right, not for years. Maybe not since he crashed here. It's gotten worse, until the meds themselves are poisoning him." Ixpar watched his face. "And to heal him?" For a long moment he looked at her. Finally he said, "If we had access to the resources of a full ISC medical facility, I think most of the damage could be repaired." The room suddenly seemed too quiet. "There is nothing remotely resembling a full ISC medical facility on Coba." "I know. I—Ixpar—I'm sorry." "No." Her mind refused to understand. "No." "I'll do all I can." Softly he added, "But it's like trying to stop a flood with a cup." No. It couldn't be true. Couldn 't. "I haven't told him," Dabbiv said. "I thought it might be better if it came from you." "How long?" "It's hard to know exactly, with—" "How long?" He spoke quietly. "I doubt he'll live past this winter." And though he continued to speak, Ixpar heard nothing else.

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Two seasons. Two seasons remained for the legend that had changed her world. That night, while the rest of Kam slept, she walked through the city, neither seeing nor caring where she went. It was deep in the silent hours before dawn when she returned to the Estate. In the living room of her suite, she found an eerie Quis structure spread across a table. The longer she stared at it, the more patterns became visible, multiple threads woven together with an intricacy almost impossible to follow, the designs curled in haunting symmetries that whispered of precognition. She traced a thread in black, the pattern of a long, slow dying, and a chil breathed on her neck. "You look tired," Kelric said. Ixpar looked up to see him standing in the bedroom archway, dressed in a robe. "Did I wake you?" "I'm glad you did." He came over to her. "Sometimes, when 'rn falling asleep, I feel—strange."

410Catherine .1 Her eyes felt hot with unshed tears. "Strange how?"

He stroked her hair, looking at it as if it were a treasure i?5| valued. "I wonder if I'll wake up again." j Ixpar's voice caught. "If you could have any wish, iiivilniir at all, what would you ask for?" "Anything?" "Yes. Anything." She waited for him to ask for the one iWR she couldn't give: his freedom. "To see my children," he said. Later, while Kelric slept, Ixpar slipped out of his arms mr«1 went to the co in the Blue Alcove. She roused Captain from her sleep and told her what needed to be done. . Then Ixpar descended into the Memory. As she l!?? through it, her tears fell like sand, leaving behind truths .fiT had too long denied. She could give up the rule of a worldffJ Kelric, wage for him the first war Coba had seen in a iiilIR nium, but she could no more make him love her, truly love i than she could contain the spirit of a wild hawk. \ 3 Double Nested Tower Rashiva walked with her retinue through Haka. A letter R crisp in her pocket and crisp in her mind. New Ministers, it Levels, war between the Estates, and in the midst of it all nS|. Kam bid for the Calanya contract of a boy—a Haka boy—far too young to leave the Preparatory House. __

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Sevtar wanted to see his son, Rashiva was certain awii Ixpar's viewpoint, it would have been far easier to askiTT Jimoria visit his father. Although the Preparatory House TOS| Outsiders from contact with its students, who could (ifl such a request from a Sixth Level? Or Ixpar could have mll warriors to kidnap Jimoria. Considering everything else iiTlS had happened, it wouldn't have surprised Rashiva. Instead the i

——————————————————————The Last Hawk 411 Kam queen chose the way of honor, making an offer for Jimorla's Calanya contract. Rashiva's Senior Aide was walking at her side. She touched Rashiva's arm as they passed a street leading to the airfield. In the distance, a battered rider rested in a repair bay. "It comes from Shazoria," the Senior said. Rashiva nodded. "Several limped in yesterday also." "Crippling Miesa wasn't enough for Ixpar Kam, was it?" The Senior's voice hardened. "Now she adds Shazoria to the list." Although Rashiva would never admit it aloud, she considered Ixpar's tactics inspired. Shazoria was a traditional Kam ally, a city and people Ixpar knew well. She had worked beautifully subtle pattes into the Quis, swaying Shazorla's already wavering citizenry to favor Kam rather than their uncomfortable new Varz allies. So at crucial times, crucial people in Shazoria looked the other way. By the time Rashiva had figured out what was going on, it was too late; Kam agents had sabotaged every maintenance bay, fuel tank, oil refinery, and rider-related factory in Shazoria. Its air force had been nullified without the loss of a single life. "Kam grows more audacious each day," her Senior Aide said. "How much longer will you wait before you send support to Varz?" "Until Varz needs it," Rashiva said. "Right now Avtac is doing fine without my help." "She lost Shazoria." "And Kara ost Bahvla." "No one attacked Bahvla." Rashiva scowled. "What dp you call a blockade that cuts off an Estate from its food supply for over a year? Starvation, of an entire city. It appalls me." "Miesa and Shazoria—" "Lost their airfields. Shazoria has farms. Miesa has Varz. Bahvla has lumber. You can't feed people with wood." The Senior fell silent as they approached the Preparatory House. The Elder Mentor was waiting at the arched entrance, cowled and cloaked, his face hidden behind a tasseled scarf. He bowed to Rashiva and

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preceded her into the House while

her retinue waited Outside. They walked through ancient iB the Mentor's robe whispering on the cold stone floors. At the sitation Room the Mentor halted, leaving her RS enter alone. Inside, a thirteen-year-old boy stood poking at i mobile of metal spheres that bobbed on the mantel. He WMl| unusually tall for his age, with the athletic poise of an i;»i!I Black curls spilled into his violet eyes. |. Rashiva closed the door behind her. "Jimoria." Her son looked up, his face lighting in welcome. When !T' came over and hugged her, Rashiva smiled. "You grow so ff Soon you will go through the ceiling." i Obviously pleased, he pulled himself to his full height iij, looked down on her "Do you want tea? I'm an Initiate, so can have a Novice bring it." "Tanghi would be nice." | Jimoria opened a side door and spoke to a younger boy al side. Whie the Novice went for tea, Rashiva sat with her soint the sofa, and they talked about his life in the Preparatory SR "My Mentor thinks I'll be ready to apply to the Calanya 'i; six or seven years," Jimoria said as the Novice returned. Rashiva waited until the boy poured them each a mug of il and left. Then she said, "Suppose someone made an offer ffi3|j your contract now?" -; "Mother," Jimoria said. "I'm serious." J "Why in a year of windless wogs would anyone do that?j| Rashiva tried not to smile at the idiom. "It happens." took a swallow of tea. "Say Kam made an offer." ji He laughed. "I'd take a sword and go fight them." "Jimi, I mean it. What would you do?" ? "I would never go to Kam."

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