Читать книгу The Rhoedraegon Chronicles: Book Two - Paul Sr. Alcorn - Страница 5

Samia Rhoedraegon snuggled comfortably into the deep cushions of the tube train, thankful to be the final leg of her trip from Rhoedraegon to the Bay Area Complex. It had been months now since her ordeal and she was finally back on an even keel. Six weeks. It seemed like such a short time to her, what with the rescue and the wedding, yet so much had happened in that time. Helson, her dear brother and rescuer, had been wonderful to her on the return trip to Rhoedraegon, though once there he had reverted to his usual bravado, and then left almost immediately for Paris. He left her with the threat of annihilation if she ever put him in the position of risking his life for her again. She knew full well that it was just his way of letting her know how worried he had been. It was a mere week since his marriage to the lady Winifred of McDowell, now lady Winifred Rhoedraegon, wife of the First Lord of the family and second only to their father, Skarda Rhoedraegon, and after a very short honeymoon, duty would call him back to the Fleet. How fun it had been, helping Wendy plan the wedding. How close they had come, and what an ass Mathew had made of himself, parading that commoner around to all the parties, and arranging for that lizard thing of his to be the ‘flower girl.’ He’d disgraced himself before the whole of the Nobility. Why Helson had found it so funny she couldn’t imagine.

Dear Helson, she thought. In just six weeks he had won the admiration of the entire Empire for his exploits into the wilderness and was back in the good graces of the Nobility for his staunch defense of the Empire. The Fleet had even given him command of a frigate and a place in the task force sent to deal with the piracy among the outer rim colonies once and for all. And as if that wasn’t enough, his marriage had cemented an alliance between two of the great Houses of the Nobility. Samia was so proud of him. He was dearer to her than nearly anyone, in spite of his fowl manners and gruff tone.

So much was happening. So much had changed. The whole planet was in an uproar over her abduction by the rebels, which she had finally come to accept as what actually happened. She had tried to explain that Louisa and the others were only scavengers in the wilderness, but the authorities would have none of it. Helson told her to keep quiet. It was good, he said, for the solidarity of the Empire to see the enemy so clearly. Hadn’t a rebel missile shot down her skimmer and killed Kurt Steiner, her lover? Hadn’t she been held prisoner and the security forces sent to find her fired upon without warning? Hadn’t they subsequently found three more pockets of rebels in the same mountains, including the one that fired on her skimmer? Was she going to say that Colonel de Palma, a national hero, had died in vain? After all this was explained to her, Samia could only concede that she was truly lucky to be alive and that they had all been enemies of the Empire after all.

She was fortunate to have such a loving family. Marcus was with her now and was her constant companion since her return to Rhoedraegon. He kept her company continually, being absent from her side only when she was with Helson, and he had gently brought her back to health. His manner was healing and as loving as anyone she had ever known. Her very thoughts were an opportunity for him to be of service to her. For days, he accompanied her, leading her among the gardens and beside the river when she refused to speak to anyone. He walked with her, telling her of the Faith and the strength it could bring her. He had philosophized, logically reasoning with her as to why this had all happened, and why she should bring herself back to the present, leaving those unhappy memories behind. “Hold on to the lessons,” he would say, “and forget the experience.” For her every objection he had an answer, for her every question, he had a reply.

She looked over at Marcus in the seat next to hers thinking back over his time with her and his efforts to heal her mind. He looked up and returned her affectionate smile.

“What are you thinking, little sister?”

“I was thinking how kind you are, Marcus. I really couldn’t have made it back without you.”

Marcus shook his head. “I did nothing. I only listened and waited. You did it all, Samia.”

“I’m really lucky to be alive, aren’t I, Marcus?”

Marcus nodded.

“And Kurt? Is he lucky too?” Samia swallowed but kept her composure.

“There is a reason for everything, Samia. I don’t know why Kurt had to die, but it was not without purpose. Who knows? Maybe he had found what he needed to learn in this lifetime. I can’t say. I only know that there are no accidents. Everything has a purpose, and every action has consequences.”

“Did the Universe take him? Did God punish him, Marcus?”

Marcus looked into her eyes in silence for a long time. This was a conversation that they had had often in the past six weeks, but it was a subject they both needed to explore.

“The Universe doesn’t punish, Samia. What happens takes place for reasons we may not understand and as a result of a person’s choices. You are in no way responsible for Kurt’s death, as I have said. You don’t have that kind of power. It is something he did for himself, no matter how much we feel to the contrary. I understand that he did not want to die, but his Higher Being led him and is still leading him along the road to knowledge. What happened was necessary for his growth, that’s all.”

Marcus held her hand tightly. He wished inside himself that he could believe his own words. They were words his master had given him in his meditations, but he still didn’t understand their meaning. Perhaps when he gets to Rebus.”

“Do you think you’ll like training for the Church, Marcus,” she asked as if reading his thoughts?

“I don’t know. It is not something I’m doing for pleasure. The truth is, this is something I’m driven to do. I just do it, whether I really like the idea or not. I have fears. I have doubts. I don’t know what to expect, but still, I must do it. It appears that the Universe has plans for me, and is not particularly interested in what I want to do.”

“Your Higher Being leading you,” she asked?

“Perhaps.”

“Or is it like a compulsion?”

Marcus thought for a moment, frowning and then said, "More like a destiny, I think." Mine lies for me now in the Faith. Tomorrow, perhaps it will lie elsewhere.”

They fell silent, each buried in their own thoughts but thankful for the company of the other, even in their solitude. Sometimes it was unnecessary to speak aloud and just the companionship of another was enough. Marcus shivered, caught by the irony of it all. Here he was a self-proclaimed follower of the Faith, a celibate by choice, a solitary pilgrim in a world of earthly delights who preferred the company of his now non-physical Master to that of the living, solicitously hanging on the every wish of his sister, herself a confused child who has effectively locked herself away from the world in some dream where the horror of her memories keeps replaying over and over again. It was as if they were united in their isolation.

“I’ll miss you, Marcus,” Samia whispered.

“And I’ll miss you.”

They lapsed once again into silence, slumped in their seats in the non-sound of the train, sliding through vacuum, supported in a stasis that was almost womb-like. Soon they were both sound asleep.

It was early morning when they arrived at the Bay Area Center. Marcus arranged for Samia’s belongings to be forwarded to the parliamentary complex where she was to join her parents, then took her to one of the terminal’s shops for a last breakfast together. He would go on from here to Oahu. Neither of them spoke until the shop had delivered their food. They seemed reluctant to speak as if their silence would delay the parting.

Finally, Samia smiled at her brother who was swirling his fork through the mass of eggs and toast that lay limply on his platter. She chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Us.”

He cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean by that?”

“Look at us, Marcus. We’re sitting here like a couple of mourners. You’re off to start one of the greatest adventures of your life and I’m about to spend three months in the very heart of the Empire. We should be bubbling with the excitement of it all! Just think of it, Marcus! I’m actually going to be there when Parliament starts! There’ll be more parties, and all the leaders of the Empire to see, and the excitement of deciding the fate of billions upon billions of people!”

“I get the idea, Samia,” he said calmly. “It seems that you’ve recovered from your ordeal.”

A momentary flicker of recognition crossed her face then faded as she lit up again, beaming from ear to ear. “Its going to be so exciting. Aren’t you just a little bit excited? Think of it, Marcus. I will be a part of it all”

“You always have been.”

She shook her head. “Not like this time. I’m almost old enough to request a position in the Parliament itself. Another three years and I could take a seat and vote.”

He considered her curiously. “What are you up to? You’ve never been the least interested in exercising your right to Parliamentary membership before. You don’t even know what it’s all about.”

“Well, I can change my mind, can’t I? And Parliament isn’t about rules and points of order and all that. I can learn all that. Parliament is about ruling the Empire, and in a time of danger, I think it’s only right for all of the Nobility to be concerned.”

He studied her closely. “What in the world are you talking about? What danger?”

“Why, the revolutionaries, of course.”

Marcus sighed. He sat back in his chair, allowing his fork to clatter noisily on his plate and closed his eyes. When he opened them there was a new seriousness in his face.

“Samia, are you all right? The revolutionaries are not a threat to the Empire. They’re just a small fringe group of malcontents, no different than one would find in any society anywhere.”

“So? What about the beasts who captured me? Weren’t they a threat?”

“You told me they were only scavengers. You told me that the Security forces over reacted.”

“Well, I was wrong. They fooled me, but not for long. I know better now. Helson explained the whole thing to me.”

He closed his eyes and took several measured breaths, trying to recapture his state of balance. He thought of his Master, deep in the recesses of his memory. When he did speak, his calmness surprised even himself.

“So what are you going to do, now that you’ve uncovered this heinous plot to destroy the Empire?”

“You can be sarcastic if you want, Marcus, but I’m going to do something. I’m not sure what it is. Helson has friends in the Nobility who realize what a danger this whole situation is. I’ll ask him whom I should see about helping. Maybe I can work on someone’s staff, or become a member of some committee.”

“Samia, you are not to do anything of the kind. Our father would forbid it anyway. You are forgetting his bill.”

“Oh, let him have his bill! I don’t agree with it anyway, and besides, it will never pass!”

“How do you know? Have you read it? Do you know anything about what he’s trying to do?”

She glared at her brother, suddenly quite angry.

“What I have to do is clear to me, and I can’t understand why you can’t see it too”. There was no use arguing with him any further.

“I’m going now, Marcus. I’ll be at the complex if you want to locate me. It’ll save you the trouble of a tracer if you just try there first.”

“I know where you’ll be, sister.”

“Good. Have a nice ride to the islands. Send me a comm when you get the chance and let me know how the Church is treating you.”

She rose and turned. Just as she left, she looked over her shoulder at her brother and said, “You know, brother, right now I hate you!”

Marcus smiled back and watched her hurry away, all anger and self righteousness

“Yes, I know,” he said. “I love you too.”

She careened through the tables, her anger redoubled. Before Marcus could offer further protest, she was gone, marching deliberately across the concourse toward the transportation area. He watched her go, wondering where her mind was off to now. In spite of the caveats of his Master, he was worried. He was worried and he admitted it to himself without hesitation. In some indefinable way, he knew that his Master was right, that Samia had to seek her own brand of reality in her own way, but he still felt helpless. If only he could do something. If only he could help her somehow.

Then again, he had his own concerns right now. In an hour, he would be aboard another train, speeding beneath the Pacific through rock and sediment and across the great seamounts, bridging canyons miles deep, on his way to the export terminal on Oahu and the shuttle that was the first step on his journey to Rebus and the Church. Marcus had never left the planet, much less traveled a vast distances to a distant world. The unknown loomed before him like a deep, black velvet void, as unfathomable as the space he was about to traverse. Again, he sought solace in the company of his Master, but all that he received was the same message: Accept. Be. It was simply not enough.