Keeper (First Ordinance #2)(59)

"What is it? What about the standoff with the Sector Two ships?"

"The ships' crews want to leave, but the stubborn Second Vice Presidents refuse to allow it. The crews want nothing to do with those hovering airships above the facility."

"Very well. What's the bad news?"

"We can't kill the creature that produces the poison. If we starve it, it goes dormant. The moment an energy source is provided, it wakes again. When we cut into them with micro-lasers, the creature splits and becomes two or more creatures."

"This is more frightening that I imagined it could be. What do you suggest?"

"The planet will die," Firth shook his head. "It's merely a matter of how long it will take the creatures to kill it."

*

Le-Ath Veronis

"Morid, if this doesn't work, there's nothing we can do for you except send you to Siriaa," Lissa said. "The poison and the creatures are already there—so you won't harm another world when you die."

Morid, lying in a quarantine unit at a nearby hospital, wheezed and nodded.

"Adjust the oxygen," Karzac suggested to the masked and gowned attending physician. "He's having difficulty breathing. Are you sure you want to try this, Lissa?" Karzac turned to her.

"What else do we have? I hope I can leave the creatures behind when I turn him to mist. Just get that second bed ready for him when I let him go, and be prepared to send this bed to the ocean outside Fyris. I can't imagine that a hospital bed and a few more creatures will make any difference there in the long run."

"I'm ready," Karzac nodded.

Lissa, one of the few vampires with misting ability, became mist and then pulled Morid into her mist. Karzac, employing only a bit of the vast power he held, sent Morid's bed straight to the bottom of the sea surrounding Fyris, a thousand light-years away.

*

"Did it work?" Renée looked up from her comp-vid when the Queen walked into her office.

"It looks good—Morid is now creature-free, as am I. You understand this is a last resort, though. I had no desire to chase those tiny bastards around Le-Ath Veronis, once Morid was dead."

"I just can't imagine anything that can't be destroyed, somehow," Renée shook her head. "Is it all right if I take a long lunch break today? Montrose asked if he could see me."

"That's wonderful. Tell Monty hi," Lissa smiled. "Have a bottle of blood substitute on me."

Renée was hoping for the bite and not a bottle of blood substitute, but didn't say it. Lissa waved and walked into her private study, closing the door behind her.

*

Avii Castle

I took the old physician's journal to the Library after the midday meal, although Justis wanted me to lie down instead. He'd followed me back to my bedroom after our flight to his suite, and supervised the placing of the glass feather.

I was terrified it would be broken, somehow, and wanted to set it high in a closet. He'd insisted that it go on a table beside a chair instead, so it could be seen by visitors.

I wasn't sure I'd have visitors other than Dena, but I let him make the decision—it seemed important to him. Gurnil wanted to hover, too, when I took a seat on the Library balcony and opened the physician's journal to read.

The physician's name was Ulrin, but the people of Lironis had called him physician or healer so long that few remembered his proper name. His handwriting was tiny, like the tracks a small insect might make should it step in ink and then amble across parchment. At times, I imagined the insect tracks would be easier to read.

Worried that I'd miss something if I left pages unread, I determined to read the entire journal, no matter how difficult. I also resolved to make notes to hand to Amlis, because birth and death records were also recorded in Ulrin's difficult handwriting.

I hadn't gotten far when Dena appeared, letting me know I should dress for dinner with the King. "Berel is wearing the official colors of Sector Five, or that's what he said," she reported. "Kaldill says he's dressing down, so as not to upstage the King."

I wanted to laugh at Kaldill's words, but hid a smile instead. "I will trust your judgment," I said, marking my place in the journal with a scrap of parchment and closing it. "Want to fly or walk to Justis' balcony?"

*

We walked past Halthea's suite on our way to have dinner with Jurris. The door was closed; I wondered briefly if Jurris wanted to close her door in his mind as well. It made me hope that Gurnil was making a difference—Jurris knew that he'd coupled with his half-sister, who almost killed him at the last. I also wondered at Justis' decision to inform Jurris of the tainted relationship.

The moment I saw Wimla, I knew she was pregnant. She and Vorina stood beside Jurris, welcoming Berel and Kaldill to Jurris' private suite. Wimla's pregnant, I informed those with me.

Can you see the baby's sex or wing color? Kaldill asked.

Not yet, it may be too early, I replied.

Are you sure? Justis leaned in to nuzzle my hair. He had mindspeech, he'd merely chosen to use it sparingly.

Yes, I responded. At that moment, I wanted to melt against him as Jurris considered Justis' actions. If he hadn't guessed before, Justis had just announced his feelings for me to his brother.