Exiled Read online

  A rapping on the door interrupted his stride. “Come,” he called impatiently. It couldn’t be the shadow caster—her ship had not yet landed on the barren surface of Hrakaz. If it had, his sentries would have notified him. But it might be one of his soulless servants, bearing some news of her.

  The broad double doors swung open revealing a pair of trolls from the Xix tribe. Their immense size and heavy musculature were impressive, but not enough to offset the dull expressions on their lumpish faces. Gods, sometimes he got so tired of being surrounded by idiots!

  “What?” he snapped, looking at the troll on the right. “What have you to say?”

  “The one you wait for, Lord. Shadow caster,” it said. “She here.”

  “That’s impossible, she hasn’t landed yet.”

  The troll looked confused. “But…she here, my Lord.“

  “Where?” Draven demanded. “I see nothing but you two imbeciles standing there.”

  “Here,” the troll repeated stupidly. It glanced at the other troll in obvious confusion. The second troll returned the look, an expression of dull incomprehension in its piggy eyes.

  Draven’s limited patience was completely gone. He turned his pain voice on both of them and shouted, “Where is she, you fools?”

  Gashes opened in their wrinkled, dirty gray skin but while the first troll bled black, the second bled red. Draven frowned at the thin crimson rivulets that decorated its hide. As he watched, the hide began to shrink and change color. Before he knew it, a slender, well-formed woman with dark blue hair and pale eyes was standing before him.

  “That’s going to cost you extra,” she said icily, wiping at the cut on her cheek. “I didn’t come here to play your twisted pain games, Draven.”

  “Nor do I expect you to,” he said smoothly. “Please, come in, my dear L.” He saw her eyes widen and nodded. “Yes, I know your name—or what you call yourself anyway. Though that was almost the only thing I was able to find out about you.”

  What he really wanted to know was how she’d gotten past his security and managed to land on the planet without anyone the wiser. Heads would roll on that account, he promised himself. But for now, he was intent on enjoying her company. The shadow caster was almost as sly as he was. It was going to be a rare pleasure to have her as a guest.

  A rare pleasure indeed.

  Chapter Four

  “Okay, looks like you’re all packed up and ready to go.” Kat pressed a small dark pink cube into Lissa’s hand. “That’s got everything you need. Dresses, accessories, equipment—all you have to do is pick the one you want and add a drop of the regrowth serum. It’s the blue bottle on the inside of the case. Just remember that there’s no way to minimize the items in the cube again so you may have to leave some of this stuff behind when you come back—unless you want to cram it all into the shuttle.”

  “Got it.” Lissa said dryly. “And don’t worry, Kat—I appreciate all the hard work you put into my outfits but I don’t think I could wear any of them outside Yonnie Six. So I won’t be too upset if I have to leave a few behind.”

  “Of course.” Kat smiled. “And don’t forget, you’re Lissa R’awr from the colony on Zetta Prime and this is your first time on Yonnie Six. The Zettas are a faction that broke off from the main planet and went in search of greater wealth the next system over. But they still consider Yonnie Six their home world and acknowledge the Yonnite empress as their sovereign. So you’re like a country cousin come to see the big city sights.”

  “That’s perfect.” Lissa smiled at her. She and Kat had been spending every spare minute together perfecting what Kat called her “back story” until she finally felt ready to go. Although she still had some qualms about her mission to Yonnie Six, she was feeling much better than she had been at the dress fitting the day before. Even the sight of Saber, already dressed in his slave outfit, couldn’t rattle her.

  “Hello, kinsman,” she murmured, nodding her head as he entered the small Kindred shuttle they would be taking to the Ganda system. “Are…are you ready to go?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” He winced as he sat down in the pilot’s chair. “These trousers are pretty Goddess damned tight.”

  “Believe me,” Kat said dryly. “You two are going to be the most discreetly dressed mistress and slave there. That’s why I decided it would be best to go with the country cousin story—to explain your modesty and any confusion you may have about the local customs.”

  “I really appreciate everything you’ve done, Kat.” Impulsively, Lissa threw her arms around her friend and gave her a hug. “Nadiah told me I would love all of you when I got here and she was right. You’re a wonderful friend.”

  “Oh, stop it. You’re making me blush.” Kat grinned and her cheeks were pink as she finally pulled out of the hug. “You just make sure you’re careful and don’t do anything to blow your cover. I don’t want to think what would happen if the Yonnites found out who you two really are.”

  “Don’t worry,” Saber said, as he adjusted the controls. “We’re both prepared to play our parts to the hilt.”

  “You’ll have to be,” Kat said grimly. She looked at Lissa. “Now, you’re sure you’ve got everything you need?”

  “I’ve got the list of collectors Minverna sold to,” Lissa said. “One of them happens to be the Yonnite cultural ambassador—we’ve arranged an introduction so we can go talk to her first. And I’ve got the mirror-mere dagger.” She shivered as she said it. She didn’t want to wear the instrument of her old High Priestess’s death around her waist but it had been decided that such an obvious display of wealth would gain her instant respect in the rapacious Yonnite high society.

  The dagger was made of a solid piece of the most rare and precious substance in the known universe—mirror-mere. Lissa would be wearing the wealth of a world strapped to her side. It was also the bargaining tool she hoped to use when she found the ancient scrolls she and Saber were looking for. No matter how much the collector who had bought them might enjoy owning such a rare item, Lissa was hoping they would be willing to trade for the fabulously opulent dagger.

  “Well, it looks like you’re all set,” Kat said. “Do you have the bracelet—oh, I see that you do.”

  “Of course.” Lissa looked down at the delicate silver wire bracelet which was set with a single pure white stone. “If there’s any trouble it will change color, right?”

  “Red indicates there’s danger and you need to contact the Mother Ship,” Kat said. “Black means you have to come back immediately. Of course, that would only be in the event of an attack where we were unsure about opening the fold so you could get safely home. I wouldn’t worry about it too much but the Council agrees that the Hoard’s aggression indicates they want war. So…”

  “We have to keep in communication. I understand.” Lissa nodded.

  “Exactly.”

  “We’ll be careful and we’ll be back soon,” Lissa told her, hoping it was true.

  “I’m sure you will, hon.” Kat smiled at her. “And—”

  “Forgive me, Kat, but we really need to get going. The fold should be waiting and my understanding is, it takes massive amounts of energy to hold it open for any length of time,” Saber said, doing something to the instruments.

  “Right. Of course.” Kat gave Lissa one last hug and then stepped back out of the small shuttle and went to stand by Sophia and Olivia who had come along to say goodbye. She gave a little wave and Lissa waved back.

  “Closing the access door now,” Saber warned her. “It’s time to get strapped in for flight.”

  “Oh yes, of course.” As the hatch closed, she went forward and sat beside him in the passenger seat. The viewscreen before them showed the shuttle bay doors already opening and beyond that, in the blackness of space, was the red gash of the fold. Lissa had already been through it once, when they had first come to the Mother Ship, so she wasn’t afraid of going into the gaping wound in space. What frightened her was what they would find on t