Chapter 19
Maud followed Arland into the HQ of House Krahr. The large room churned with activity. Desks and displays sprouted from the floor, each station a focal point for the House Krahr elite, and between them a dozen knights and retainers hurried to and fro. Screens shone on the walls, flashing with data and images. A clump of retainers surrounded Ilemina on the left and an equally large group crowded Lord Soren.
"Lord Marshal!" Knight Ruin emerged from the rush, a look of determination on his face. As far as she could tell, Knight Ruin's mission in life was to ensure that Arland was where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there so he could be taking care of pressing matters, of which Knight Ruin always had a long and detailed list. She had a feeling the russet-haired knight considered her to be a permanent threat to his success. Arland veered left to what had to be his desk, with Ruin following and speaking in urgent low tones. Several knights peeled off from the crowd and closed in on Arland like starved sharks.
Maud halted, taking in the controlled chaos around her. The entire wedding venue had to be relocated to the battle station, where things would finally come to an end. The logistics of moving the celebration alone were enough to give one kittens but selecting who would be in attendance to the wedding added an entirely new dimension. Planetside, House Krahr had an overwhelming numbers advantage. In space, with a limited capacity, half of which was taken up by the wedding "guests," every attendee counted.
The gauntlet was thrown, the war banner unfurled, and the fangs bared. House Krahr had risen to the challenge.
In his wildest dreams, that's what Melizard had envisioned. A thriving House, bustling with activity and preparing for war. The hum of voices, the chimes of communication alerts, the rapid rhythm of running footsteps...Spacecraft taking off on the monitors. Knights in battle armor. An electric excitement saturating the hall, sizzling along his skin. Her former husband would have drunk it in like it was the nectar of the gods. Melizard would've killed, in a very literal sense of the word, for a chance to be a part of this. He had once told her he felt like he was born into the wrong House. She never understood it until now. House Ervan could have never delivered this, not on this scale. This was what he must've seen in his head. He must've felt suffocated.
She imagined his ghost standing next to her, a thin translucent shadow, and waited for the familiar pinch of bitterness. It didn't come. I've moved on.
She was free. Finally. All her memories and bitter lessons were still there but they lost their bite. The present mattered so much more now.
Everyone around her was busy. She should make herself useful. At least she could contribute in some small way. Someone somewhere could use her assistance...
A young vampire knight slid to a halt in front of her. If Melizard's ghost had any substance, she would have torn right through him. She was tall, with a deep-gray skin and a wealth of blue-black hair braided from her face. She held a tablet in her hands, a communicator curved to her lips, and a secondary display projected over her left eye.
"Lady Maven."
Maud moved to step aside and froze in mid-step. She was the Maven.
"Yes?"
"I'm Lady Lisoun. I'm your adjutant. What should we do about the chairs?"
"What about the chairs?" What chairs? Adjutant?
Lady Lisoun took a deep breath. The words came out of her in a rapid sprint. "The battle station banquet hall chairs."
Maud waited.
"They are sojourn style chairs."
Sojourn style chairs had a solid back. There was no way the tachi would be able to sit in the sojourn chairs. Their vestigial appendages would be in the way.
"Your desk is this way." Lisoun began weaving her way through the crowd.
Maud marched next to her. "Can we substitute different chairs?"
"No, my lady. They are part of a unit, one table and eight chairs."
"Are they attached to the table?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Whose bright idea was that?"
"I don't know, my lady. They stow away for the ease of storage."
"Are they at least height adjustable?" The lees couldn't sit in vampire-sized chairs either.
"I don't know." Lisoun braked to a stop before a desk surrounded by people. "I'll find out." The retainers crowding the desk saw Maud and swarmed them. Everyone spoke at once. "One at a time!" Maud barked.
A familiar looking retainer-where had she seen him? Ah, feast hall-thrust a tablet under her nose. On it glowed an elaborately arranged platter of fruit and vegetables. "Menu for approval!"
Maud stared at the arrangement. "Take out all of the kavla-the tachi are allergic. Make sure the honey doesn't contain any kavla either." She waved her fingers at the tablet, scrolling through the pictures. "No. None of these make any sense. The tikk igi dishes need to have a pattern. You can't just put a bunch of pretty fruit randomly on a platter. There must be a progression of taste or color, ideally both. A circular arrangement would start with sour fruit on the edge and then progressively get sweeter toward the center. Or, you start with purple berries and work your way through a spectrum to yellow. This is a haphazard mess. Take this back, bring me an updated menu."
He took the tablet and broke into a sprint.
"The chairs are not adjustable!" Lisoun reported.
"Get me a station engineer." Maud looked at the crowd. "Next!"
Konstana thrust herself into Maud's view. They hadn't seen each other since the Communal. The red-haired knight's arm didn't show any signs of ever being broken.
"I'm your security chief," she said.
She had a security chief. Huh. "How many people do we have?"
"Three squads, sixty knights total, but they are only letting me take six. They expect me to secure thirty-eight aliens with six vampires."
Maud raised her eyebrows. "Is that a problem?"
Konstana scoffed. "Of course not. But I do need to know how they are getting to the battle station. Are we transporting them or are they transporting themselves? And if they are transporting themselves, are we going to let them dock or are they shuttling over via their shuttles or via ours?"
"What does the Knight-Sergeant say?"
"He said to ask you."
Thank you, Lord Soren. "Get battle station security chief on the line and figure out if a non-regulation shuttle can even dock there. Let me know what you find out."
Lisoun pushed her way back into the circle. She grasped Maud's arm and half-guided, half-propelled her behind a podium next to her desk where a large screen presented her with a tough looking female vampire standing in a large hall. The smooth black floor split, a glossy onyx contraption spiraled out of it and unfolded into a round table ringed by eight sojourn style chairs. The chairs were big, rectangular, and blocky. The worst-case scenario.
"How wide are those chair backs at the seat?" Maud asked.
"Twenty lots," the engineer reported, which Maud's implant helpfully converted into twenty-eight inches. Right.
"I need you to cut a hole in the back of the chair at the seat level, twenty-four inches wide and eight inches tall."
The engineer stared at her, incredulous. "You want me to deface the an-alloy chairs?"
"Yes." She glanced at Lisoun. "I need the seating chart."
A diagram popped out on a side screen. Oh universe, what in the world... "This is wrong," she told Lisoun. "We cannot put the royal in the back of the hall."
"Lord Soren said..."
"Go back to Lord Soren and ask him if he would like to have a war with the Tachi Protectorate. Lady Dil'ki is not just a scientist, she is a member of the royal house. She and Nuan Cee have to be seated in the front. This needs to be reworked." Lisoun took off.
"These chairs are a marvel of function and durability," the engineer growled. "The an-alloy is nearly indestructible."
"I have..." Maud checked her harbinger. "Thirty-eight aliens, of which twenty-two are too small to sit in these chairs and the others have vestigial appendages which prevent them from sitting at all." "These chairs were never designed for aliens!"
"Well, now they have to accommodate some, so find a way to destruct the indestructible chairs. I will send over an updated seating chart. Every chair marked 'tachi' must have a hole. Every chair marked 'lees' must be adjusted for a being of three to four feet in height."
The engineer bared her fangs. "On whose authority?"
"On my authority. I'm the Maven. Look at it as a challenge."
The engineer opened her mouth.
Maud loaded steel into her voice. "When these aliens go off into the galaxy, they will praise House Krahr's hospitality instead of telling the universe that the elite of vampire engineering couldn't solve the trivial problem of appropriate seating. We won't embarrass ourselves. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, my lady."
"I see you're settling into your role," a familiar voice said.
Maud raised her head from the screen. "Lord Erast?"
The Scribe nodded at her and passed her a tablet. "The Preceptor would like you to make the necessary edits. She wishes to deliver the document to the parties in question as soon as possible."
Maud raised the tablet. The green spark of a scanner flashed at her. The contents were locked to her. The screen flared into life.
Mutual Cooperation Pact.
The following Articles are to outline the involvement and voluntary participation of Clan Nuan and the tachi Protectorate...
Oh no. "This won't work."
"What's wrong with it?" the Scribe asked.
"It says involvement."
"Involvement is a perfectly good word."
"We're dealing with the lees. It's like making a deal with..." the devil. She grappled with her knowledge of ancient sagas, looking for a reference. "Yarlas the Cunning."
Lord Erast raised his eyebrows.
"If we leave any gap, any hint at an alternative interpretation, they will drive a space cruiser through it. We have to make this super simple. Short, clear sentences. No ambiguity at all or we will end up explaining to Lady Ilemina why the lees now own the station and half of the planet. This will require an extensive edit."
She stared at the gathering. Six vampires. If she could cull this to a reasonable number, she could devote all of her attention to editing the articles.
"Everyone with an immediate need step forward. Everyone whose issues can wait, see me this evening."
The six vampires in front of her took a step forward in unison.
It was going to be a long day.
***
Maud stood in the middle of the Officer Hall and watched the entrance ceremony unfold on a large screen. The banquet room, a large space meant to accommodate five hundred diners, spread out before her, an expanse of smooth onyx-black floor punctuated by rosettes of tables and chairs made of the same glossy black. The crimson banners of House Krahr stretched along the walls, the gold catlike predator on them snarling to remind the gathering in whose house they were about to dine.
The blast shields of the massive battle station were down, and the far side of the hall was all window, the universe glittering beyond, with the turquoise and blue orb of the planet rising slowly to the right. A spray of radiant stars winked from beyond, the Krahr Home World Fleet displayed for the guests in a show of power and strength.
A dais had been raised in the center, with the windows as the backdrop, and in the middle of it a small vala tree spread its gnarled black branches, its red leaves glowing against the cosmos, at once fragile and indomitable, a testament to the power of life that flourished given the slightest chance.
Both the Kozor and Serak were already seated, taking up the center swath of tables. The lees and the tachi, in the newly butchered chairs, were also in their places, the tachi on the left, and the lees on the right, with the heads of both delegations nearest the dais. The one hundred and twenty knights of House Krahr would take the back rows of the tables. The addition of the thirty-eight aliens brought their numbers to one hundred and fifty-eight. If either Kozor or Serak recognized that they were being boxed in, they could do nothing about it.
She had spoken to both factions only a couple of hours ago about what to expect in greater detail.
"We will do our part. But why won't the Krahr simply bring additional numbers to overwhelm the other Houses?" Dil'ki had asked her as they strolled through the Maven's Gardens. "It would avoid the loss of life."
"It's about face," Nuan Cee had said, drawing his paw-hand over his muzzle. "One must never lose it."
"It's a challenge," Maud had explained. "The Kozor and the Serak hope to accomplish an incredible feat, worthy of the old sagas. The response from the Krahr must be equally heroic. They will reject any numbers advantage. This isn't just about winning. This is about winning against the odds. Every moment of this wedding will be recorded."
"Do the vampires of Krahr truly believe themselves to be that good?" Dil'ki had asked. "Yes," Maud had told her.
The royal sat quietly now, clad in the diaphanous veils and glowing jewelry of her kind. Her warriors waited around her, all a saturated, even color. Despite what was coming, the tachi were at ease.
At the other side of the hall, Clan Nuan, in their best gold and jewels, all wearing soft silky aprons, chattered and giggled without a care in the world.
The Herald announced Ilemina and Otubar. The hosts entered the hall last, according to tradition, and Ilemina and Otubar walked to their table, Ilemina elegant in her ornate armor and Otubar stalking next to her like a hulking krahr in a bad mood, while the Herald barked out their titles: Supreme Predator, Killer, Destroyer, Marauder, Slayer...
Maud wished with all her heart that she could hug Helen again. She left her on the planet. The battle station was no place for a child, especially if things proceeded as expected. She had to do what she did best: survive. Eliminate the threat and go back, to her daughter, her future husband, and her new home.
Easier said than done.
Arland approached. She felt his presence, rather than saw him, and turned. He towered above her in full syn-armor with a crimson cloak that made him seem even more enormous. His blood mace rested on his hip. He'd pulled his long blond hair from his face and secured it at the nape of his neck, and his features looked carved from granite, his blue eyes hard and cold. A Marshal in every sense of the word, meant to inspire fear.
He held out his arm to her. "Ready, my love?"
"Yes." She put her hand on his wrist, her fingers light as a feather.
They entered the long narrow hallway leading to the banquet hall, moving in step.
Ahead the microphone-enhanced voice of the Herald recited their titles, booming through the room.
"Arland Roburtar Gabrian, son of Kord, son of Ilemina, 28th Heir of Krahr, Lord Marshal of his House. Bloodmace, Bone Crusher, Ravager of Nexus, Destroyer of the World Killer. Kill count of two hundred and twenty-four."
Maud caught their reflection in the polished walls. In it a strange woman glided next to Arland, wearing black armor and carrying a blood sword, a narrow crimson sash of the Maven wrapped around her left shoulder, crossing over her collarbone and draping over her right shoulder to trail behind her to the floor. She was graceful and strong, and walked next to a vampire prince like she belonged there.
A giddy, electric anticipation surged through her. They were walking to a fight. Finally, an end to all the pressure. One way or the other, it would be decided. Her lips threatened to curve into a smile, and she forced an arrogant cold mask over her face. Today she was Cinderella and her sword would be her glass slipper.
"Matilda Rose, daughter of Gerard, daughter of Helen, Lady and Heir of Demille, Maven of House Krahr."
The hallway ended, and they strode into the banquet hall. The entirety of the room was watching them. "Maud the Red, the Sariv, the Learned One."
They were approaching the table where Onda and Seveline sat. Both women were staring daggers at her. "Kill count of sixty and eight."
A muscle in Seveline's face jerked. That's right, precious. I'm coming for you.
Arland led her to their table, directly behind the one occupied by the parents of the bride and groom. The two couples had arrived just this morning for the happy occasion.
She took her seat, keeping her face flat. Behind them, the Herald was announcing the next guest.
"Alvina, daughter of Soren, daughter of Alamide, Lady Renadra, Karat, Commander of Krahr..."
Maud sipped the light mint drink and watched the hall fill. Finally, everyone was seated.
Twelve vampire women entered the hall, moving in a column two abreast. Each wore a long white robe with a hood and carried a vala tree branch decorated with bells and golden thread. A low chant rose from their lips, a melodious song that floated through the chamber. Beautiful and timeless, it reached deep into one's soul and found that vulnerable place hidden within. It wrapped around Maud and suddenly she missed her parents, Dina, Klaus, and Helen. She wanted to gather them all to her and hold on, because life was short and fleeting.
The procession split just short of entering the dais, the women moving along the main floor to encircle the raised platform, holding their branches straight up, as if guarding.
Twelve vampire knights entered the chamber, out of armor and dressed in plain black tunics, matching black pants, and wearing tall black boots. Each carried a simple black blade. A second chant rose from the men, joining the song of the women, deepening the melody, like a twin vine growing around the first. The song was everywhere now, echoing from the walls, reverberating back on itself, and Maud breathed it in.
The second column split in two and the men took position between the women, each with their blade straight down, its point resting on the floor.
The song changed, gaining strength and speed.
A Battle Chaplain entered the chamber. He was tall, his skin gray with a slight blue tint. A mane of black hair shot through with gray fell on his shoulders in dozens of long braids. His vestments, the color of fresh blood, were split into ribbons, each about eight inches wide, and as he strode forward, they moved and shifted like the robes of some mystic mage. He carried an ornate spear draped with a red cord and decorated with golden bells. Two glowing yellow orbs about the size of a large orange dangled from it.
The song erupted, suddenly full of joy and triumph.
Behind the Chaplain, the bride and groom strode into the chamber in unison, both out of armor. The bride's gown swept the floor, long, diaphanous, and white. The groom wore an ornate silver doublet over darker pants and soft boots. They had removed all jewelry. Their hair hung loose, brushed back from their faces.
It was one of the rare few moments that vampires permitted themselves to be vulnerable in public. Maud hadn't fully grasped the significance of it during her own wedding but now she understood. You came to the altar as you were, hiding nothing from your future spouse.
Arland reached over and squeezed her hand. She smiled at him.
The Chaplain ascended the dais. The couple followed and the three of them took their places in front of the vala tree. The Chaplain raised the spear and touched its end to the floor.
The chant died.
The Chaplain opened his mouth.
An alarm blared through the chamber.
A screen opened in the middle of a wall, showing a male vampire knight on the bridge of the battle station.
Arland rose to his feet. "Report."
"We are showing multiple unidentified craft entering the system," the knight said, his voice calm. "We are under attack."
***
The banquet hall had gone completely silent. When the huge screen projected on the wall, it showed three merchant barges racing from the gate, deeper into the system, squeezing every drop of speed out of their protesting engines. Behind them, a pirate flotilla swelled like a swarm of angry hornets. A single barge could've fit all of its attackers in its bloated hull, but the pirate ships made up for their lack of tonnage in maneuverability and armaments. No two vessels were alike, but, limited only by the imagination of their crew and the laws of physics, all of them bristled with every possible weapon they could rig onto their hulls, from kinetic cannons to missile batteries. They chased after the lumbering merchants like barracudas ready to tear into an injured whale.
Arland watched the chase, his face impassive, as if unaware that every person in the hall was waiting for him to make his move.
"We're receiving a distress call from the barges," the officer from the bridge reported. "They are begging for our assistance, my lord."
"Put it through," Arland said.
A scratchy, static-filled distress call played from hidden speakers, screams of beings in pain, spearheaded by an urgent, desperate female voice, "... rear thrusters lost...hull integrity compromised...requesting immediate aid. We're at your mercy..."
The call cut out.
"Will House Krahr stand idly by and permit this piracy?" the father of the groom demanded. His voice boomed through the hall.
Maud glanced at Ilemina. Arland's mother sipped her wine, appearing fully unconcerned.
"Lord Marshal!" the bride called. Tears stained her cheeks. "Please. Don't let this travesty stain my wedding."
Arland turned to the bride, concern obvious on his face. "Do not worry, my lady. You have my word that I will allow nothing to ruin this day."
Arland turned to the screen. "Give me the feed from the Eradicator."
The screen flashed with white, and a new snapped into view, a swarm of sparks silhouetted against the dark cosmos, and then, as if by magic, huge elegant vessels appeared on both sides and above, framing the screen-the House Krahr armada, waiting in formation between the battle station and the incoming invaders. If the barges could reach the firing envelope of the leading Krahr vessel, they would be safe.
"Lord Harrendar," Arland said.
The of a middle-aged vampire with a blue-black mane appeared in the lower left corner. "Lord Marshal." Lord Harrendar sounded like a lion who somehow became a vampire.
"How close are the leading pirate vessels to the barges?"
"We expect them to reach firing range in forty seconds."
Arland waited.
The division in the banquet hall was obvious now. The members of House Krahr waited in tense silence, while the wedding guests appeared almost frantic, as if they were barely able to contain themselves. From her spot, Maud had a clear view of the groom's mother and the woman looked ready to explode. Next to her the bride's mother tapped her fingers on the table, looking as if her armor was on too tight.
Seconds ticked by.
"Do something," the bride's father growled.
Arland ignored him. Maud's heart hammered. She forced herself to reach for her drink and take slow measured sips. The tension in the hall was so thick, you could cut it and serve it in slabs on a plate.
"They've launched the opening volley," Lord Harrendar reported.
"Missiles?"
"No, my lord. Long-range kinetic bombardment."
Maud had little experience with space battles, but her harbinger assured her that kinetic bombardment amounted to lobbing chunks of matter, such as stone or metal, in the direction of the target. Kinetic bombardment was deployed primarily against stationary targets, because they couldn't dodge.
"Damage?" Arland asked.
"Slight," Harrendar reported, his tone sharp.
"Well, of course they're not using missiles," the mother of the groom snapped. "They clearly want the cargo, desperately enough to chase it into your territory. If you do not do something, we will."
"Is this what House Krahr stands for?" the father of the bride asked.
"Do not trouble yourself, my lord and lady," Arland said. "We have the situation well in hand."
"You're going to let those merchants get slaughtered by pirates," the groom growled.
"Second volley," Harrendar reported. "Damage minor. The barges have passed the outer beacon. Still mostly intact."
"Show me the relative position," Arland said.
A projection appeared on the screen. The pirates were clustered around the barges now, forming a loose cloud about to engulf the three larger ships.
"Velocity?"
".4 lightspeed," Harrendar reported.
"Initiate firing solution Revelation."
"Finally," the groom muttered.
"Yes, my lord." Harrendar bared his fangs in a joyous grin that would give some people nightmares.
The screen flashed back to the view from the Eradicator. For a torturous moment, nothing happened. Then, the entire armada simultaneously belched a missile salvo. The missiles sparked with bright green and vanished. "Impact in three," Harrendar started. "Two. One."
The screen exploded with white. Maud shut her eyes against the blinding flash. When she opened them, the explosion had faded, and the long-range projection glowed on the left half of the screen.
The barges were no more. The leading third of the pirate fleet had vanished. Chunks of debris hurtled through space in their stead, turning it into a localized asteroid field. The vessels in the center of the swarm reeled, initiating evasive
maneuvers.
Stunned silence claimed the hall.
"Direct hit," Harrendar crowed into the quiet.
"Excellent work, admiral," Arland said. "The field is yours."
Harrendar grinned. The House Krahr armada accelerated toward the remaining pirates.
Arland turned. His gaze swept the hall and settled on the table where the elite of Kozor and Serak waited. "When I became aware of your asinine plot to take over the battle station, one thing kept nagging at me. Our fleet is in-system, and you are, like most pirates, cowardly. You shy from an honorable fight. You had to have a way to neutralize our fleet."
You could hear a pin drop.
"A few days ago, I happened to come across a pirate. He is a knave and a brigand, exiled by his own House and burning with rage. I planned on killing him, but my betrothed reminded me that even a knave could be useful. I asked myself, who would find this pirate, once a Knight Captain and now an enemy of Holy Anocracy, useful? So, I bribed his communication officer and then I listened, and for a paltry sum, he told me your entire battle plan. The three barges loaded with explosives, set to go off as soon as they reached our fleet, and the pirates meant to mop up what was left while you used the chaos to take over the battle station. My lords and ladies, please take these few precious seconds remaining of your lives to contemplate where it all went wrong and prepare to cross death's threshold. You will not be granted another chance to reflect."
That was her cue. Maud stood up, turned to Seveline and Onda, and said in Ancestor Vampiric, "Did you get all that or do you need me to translate it for you into your backwater gibberish?"
For a moment nothing moved. Then Seveline leaped onto the table and charged her, her blood sword screaming.
***
The banquet hall erupted as every armored vampire jumped to their feet. Maud caught a glimpse of Seveline swinging her sword at someone in the distance. Maud's instincts screamed, and she jerked out of the way, turning, and saw the father of the bride, huge and raging, lunging at her from his seat. She'd dodged but not fast enough. His steel fingers clamped her right shoulder. He jerked her to him and roared, baring his fangs.
She grabbed a fork from the table with her left hand, jammed it deep into the roof of his mouth, and twisted. The fork snapped in half. Blood poured from his mouth.
The vampire yanked her off her feet and slammed her onto the table, pinning her shoulders with his hands. The impact reverberated through her, shaking her bones. If she didn't break free now, he would crush her, armor or no. Maud dropped her sword, locked her left hand on his right wrist, and drove her right palm into his elbow. The power of the blow and the sudden pressure on his left elbow forced him to her left, and she hammered her armored knee into his exposed face
with a sickening crunch.
He reared above her, breaking her hold, face bloody, nose broken, eyes insane, and ripped his blood mace off his thigh.
Maud rolled left.
The mace slammed into the table with a telltale whine and bounced off.
The engineer was right. These are really good tables.
Maud swiped her sword off the ground, priming it, and lunged right, putting the table between them. The father of the bride gurgled something, letting out a sound of pure rage saturated with blood.
"Use your words."
His face twisted with fury. He jumped onto the table. She dove underneath, caught herself on the table's smooth narrow base, and used her momentum to swing around it on the glass-slick floor, landing a crouch. The father of the bride leapt down off the table. He'd tried to put some distance into his jump, but he was huge and heavy, and he hit the floor with a thud. For a moment, all of his weight rested on the backs of his feet. Maud lunged. Her blood blade kissed the back of his right ankle, its edge slicing through the segmented armor like it wasn't even there. She didn't stop. Instead she rammed her shoulder into the back of his thigh. The big vampire went down like a felled tree. She scrambled up his back and rammed her blade into the back of his neck, just above the collar of his armor. He jerked once and went still.
Maud straightened. All around her the battle raged. Vampires clashed, blood weapons shrieked, and bloody mist filled the air. Roaring and screaming and the sounds of weapons clashing filled the hall, and the din nearly deafened her. To her left, Arland tore into two attackers. To the far right, Ilemina and Otubar raged, back to back, as attackers came at them over the bodies of the wounded and dying. On the left, the tachi, their exoskeletons so saturated with color they looked almost black, formed a protective ring around their royal and sliced at anyone who came near. On the dais, the Battle Chaplain skewered the bridal attendants as they piled onto him. Most of them were unarmored, but his odds were one to twenty. Karat was methodically cutting her way to the dais to assist the outnumbered cleric.
I should help.
"Mommy!"
Oh my God.
Maud whipped around. Helen scrambled toward her, weaving between combatants, her blond hair flying.
How? How did she get here? What is she doing here? She was supposed to be planetside.
Her legs were already moving. Maud dashed forward. Nothing else mattered.
Helen dove under a table, slid on her knees and crawled forward, disappearing from Maud's view.
"Stay! Don't move!" A vampire got in her way, her armor marked with Kozor colors. Maud stabbed her in the gut, driving the sword through the armor with detached precision. The vampire groaned, Maud pulled her sword free and kept moving. Nothing mattered except getting to the table.
Another knight lunged at her. Maud leaned back a hair out of the way. The blade whistled through the air, fanning her face. She gripped the wrist attached to the hand that held the sword, jerked it up, thrust her blade into the exposed armpit,
Two knights, snarling and locked in combat, blocked her view. She halted. They tore into each other and moved to the right.
freed it, shoved the body out of the way, and kept moving. She was almost there.
Onda stood by the table, holding Helen by her throat with one armored hand.
The world screeched to a halt. Maud went ice cold.
Helen dangled from the Kozor woman's grip like a helpless kitten. Her face was turning blue.
Onda smiled wide and turned to Maud. Helen jerked her hands up and drove both of her daggers into Onda's face. The vampire woman screamed. A shimmer appeared on the table next to them and snapped into Nuan Cee. The merchant tossed a handful of pale powder into Onda's ruined face, caught Helen as Onda collapsed, and dashed across the table tops, leaping nimbly over the larger armored fighters like he could walk on air. A blink and he landed among the lees.
"Let me go!" Helen snarled and kicked, but the lees swarmed her, petting her hair and making cooing noises.
Maud let out a shuddering breath, exhaling so much pressure, it felt like pain, then something burned her side. She spun out of the way of the pain, turning around.
Seveline grinned at her. "I've been waiting for this."
Maud's side was on fire. The armor kept most of the blood in and it drenched her, so hot it felt scalding. She forced a yawn. "Bring it, bitch."
Seveline lunged, opening with a classic overhead stroke. The bitch was fast. Maud dodged left. Seveline reversed the swing, turning into an upward slash. The blood blade grazed Maud's breastplate. The armor held. Maud danced back.
"Running?" Seveline sneered.
"I want you to feel like you're doing well."
"Is that so?"
"You're so scared, you stabbed me from behind, so I'm trying to boost your confidence."
Seveline bared her fangs. Maud struck, lunging fast. Seveline parried. Maud let her blade slide off the other woman's sword and thrust, aiming at Seveline's throat. The vampire woman shied back and launched a furious counterattack. They clashed in a flurry of blows and blocks, neither fully committing, their swords meeting and parting too fast to follow.
Seveline ducked, and Maud's sword whistled over her head. The vampire woman thrust from a near crouch. Maud knocked the blade aside and kicked but missed. They broke apart.
Sweat soaked Seveline's hairline. Maud held completely still, trying to catch her breath. Her whole side was drenched in pain now. Every movement, even deep breaths, hurt. Fighting Seveline required everything she had, and she had attacked and parried on pure instinct. The more she bled, the slower she would be. Time was not on her side.
Seveline charged. Maud parried the slash. The power of the blow traveled up her arm into her shoulder, stabbing the joint. Seveline had switched tactics, banking on her greater strength. The blows rained down on Maud, big, wide, fast. She danced away, dodging and ducking. Her back touched a table. Seveline had backed her into a corner. An electric pulse of alarm burst through Maud.
I will survive this. The vampire gripped her sword with both hands and brought it down with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Maud angled her blade down, catching Seveline's sword at just the right place, and guided it down, out of the way. The momentum pitched Seveline forward and off-balance. Her face was wide open, and Maud hammered a punch into it.
Seveline stumbled back.
The world acquired a slight fuzziness. She was losing too much blood. She needed to end this now, or there would be no time with Helen, no evenings with Arland, and no holidays with Dina.
"You can't beat me," Maud said. "You're not good enough."
Seveline snarled and marched forward. Maud saw her eyes. Murder burned there, hot and blinding. They clashed again, cold and vicious this time. Maud thrust her blade past Seveline's guard. It bit just above the vampire's hip, piercing armor and flesh. Seveline backhanded her. The blow rang through Maud's skull. The world turned black for a terrifying second.
Somehow, she knew even through the darkness that Seveline was coming. Maud slashed blindly. Her sword met resistance, and she charged forward, throwing all of her weight into the swing. Her vision cleared. She caught a glimpse of Seveline's kick right before it landed.
Agony blossomed in her right side, the impact throwing her to the side and knocking the wind out of her. Suddenly there wasn't enough air. Panic tore through her. Maud scrambled back to her feet, holding her blade out in front of her. Across from her Seveline gripped her sword with her left hand, her right arm hanging uselessly at her side. The floor around them was slick with blood.
Seveline bared bloody teeth at Maud. "Die."
"You first."
Seveline screamed and charged. The world slowed to a crawl. Maud watched her come, one powerful step after another, face skewed with rage, mouth gaping, fangs on display, her blond mane streaming behind her. Her own heart was beating
like the toll of a massive bell, steady and somehow too slow. Heartbeat...another...
Maud thrust. Seveline lashed at her, but she was too slow. Maud's blade pierced her chest.
Too low. Missed the heart. Missed my chance.
Seveline dropped her sword, still impaled, and locked her hands on Maud's throat. The air in Maud's lungs turned to fire. Spots exploded in her vision. There was no way to break the hold. Seveline was too strong. Maud clamped both hands
on her sword's grip and dragged the blade, still buried in Seveline's chest, upward, through the muscle and bone.
Seveline was screaming, loud, so loud, spitting blood into Maud's face. Maud's lungs turned to molten lead. She forced the blade up farther, sawing through living flesh.
She will not kill me. I will not die here, with her hands around my throat.
The light dimmed, Seveline's face swimming out of focus.
With a last desperate jerk, Maud twisted the blade. The hands crushing her neck fell away. Seveline stumbled back and collapsed, her blond hair fanning out as she fell. Maud dropped to her knees. Her stomach spasmed and she retched.
Red liquid burst from her mouth and she didn't know if it was wine or blood.
to Seveline on her hands and knees and locked her hand on her sword. Seveline's dead face glared at her with empty eyes. Maud forced herself up, into a crouch, then to her feet. She gripped her sword, put her foot on Seveline's
Get up. Get up, get up, get up.
She crawled
chest and pulled the weapon free.
The fighting around them was drawing to an end. She saw Arland walking toward her, armor stained with blood. Their gazes met and suddenly Maud knew that everything would be alright now.
***
The ceiling of the medward was pristine and white. Every cell in her ached, as if her whole body had been through such a long and grueling punishment that it simply gave up and now wallowed in self-pity and pain.
Maud blinked at the whiteness above her. She remembered many different medward ceilings from the last two years: the grimy mud-brown stone of the Karhari's East Plateau, the thick metal plates of the Kurabi Fort, the multitude of chains hanging from the darkness at the Broken Well...She had woken up a few times like this, in pain and unsure, surprised to be alive. This ceiling was, by far, the cleanest.
I survived
again.
She didn't remember losing consciousness. There was Arland coming toward her, covered in blood, and after that, soft darkness.
To the side, quiet voices murmured. Maud focused on them and the formless noise congealed into words.
"...what if she doesn't wake up?"
Helen.
"She will wake up." Arland. "Her injuries are serious but not life-threatening."
"But what if she doesn't?"
Maud turned her head. Arland lay in an identical medcot. Helen sat by his feet, her blond hair drooping over her face. A smile played on Maud's lips. There you two are.
"Am I in the habit of lying?" A touch of steel crept into his voice.
"No, Lord Arland."
"Your mother will wake up. Have you thought of what you will tell her?"
"Nothing she can tell me will make me less mad," Maud said. "There will be repercussions. Huge repercussions." Helen flew off the medcot and jumped the five feet separating them. Maud barely had a chance to move her legs out of the way. Helen threw herself at Maud, small arms wrapping around her neck. "Mommy!"
Helen stuck her face into Maud's shoulder, like a kitten waiting for a stroke.
Maud hugged her daughter to her. "You're in so much trouble."
Arland was looking at them. His eyes were so blue.
Maud reached over to him, but her arm fell short.
"Hold on." He fiddled with the controls on the side of his medcot. It slid toward hers. The two beds touched. Arland moved toward her and held out his arm. She slipped under it, ignoring the muscles screaming in protest, and settled on his
chest. He kissed her. A hot electric thrill dashed through her, from her neck all the way down into her feet. Maud laughed softly. They stretched against each other, their bodies touching. Maud pulled Helen closer to her. Arland sighed next to
her, sounding completely
content.
"How did you get on the battle station?" Maud asked.
Helen didn't say anything.
"Go ahead," Arland said. "Tell her."
Helen pulled the blanket over her head and burrowed under it.
Maud looked at Arland.
"She walked onto the transport and presented herself to the guards," he said. "When they asked her what she was doing there, she told them, 'My mommy is the Maven and she is waiting for me."
Maud drew in a theatrically shocked breath. "Helen! You lied!"
Helen curled into a ball, trying to make herself smaller.
"And nobody thought to confirm this?" Maud asked quietly.
"No. When I asked them why they let a child onto the transport going to the battle station, I was told she was very convincing and had an air of confidence. She didn't try to sneak in or ask permission, she walked up to them and looked them
in the eyes, as if reporting for duty, which apparently persuaded the battle-hardened knights that she was following orders and was exactly where she was required to be. All of our iron-clad security measures have been defeated by a five-year- old," Arland said, his tone dry. "I'm less than pleased."
That was pure Melizard. He could talk anyone into anything with a wink and a smile.
"What were you thinking?" Maud squeezed her daughter to her.
"I was helping," Helen said in a small voice. "Am I punished?"
"Yes," Maud told her. "As soon as I can think of a floor large enough for you to scrub with your brush."
"I don't care," Helen said. "I helped. You didn't die."
Maud sighed and kissed her daughter's forehead. "What are we going to do with you?"
"Command training," Arland said. "As soon as she is old enough, in about two years, maybe sooner. She needs to learn responsibility for the people she will lead, or we will all be in a lot of trouble when she reaches adolescence."
"I can't think about that right now." Maud shivered.
Arland wrapped his arm tighter around her. The heat of his body warmed her. She could've stayed like this forever.
"I love you, Arland," she whispered. "You know that, right?"
"I know," he told her. "I love you, too, with all my heart. Will you have me?"
"I will." She brushed his lips with hers.
"Even though I am an arrogant idiot who took on nine knights at once?"
"Even though. You're mine. All mine."
He grinned at her.
The medward's doors opened and Ilemina and Otubar marched in.
"You're awake," Ilemina announced. "Good."
Maud had a powerful urge to bury her head under the blanket. Arland let out a low growl.
"Have you told her?" Ilemina demanded.
"No. I was
about to, Mother."
"Well,
I'll tell her." Ilemina smiled at Maud. "We won. We destroyed over half of the pirate fleet. The rest of the cowards fled. We captured seven vessels and picked up a few dozen escape pods, all of them crewed with members of Kozor and
Serak. Of the two hundred wedding guests, only sixty-eight survived. It was a resounding victory." She turned to her husband. "Well? Say something to the boy."
Otubar fixed Arland with a heavy stare. "You did well."
Arland looked like hiding under the blanket had occurred to him as well and he was seriously pondering the merits of that idea.
"We are breaking the survivors up into small batches and shipping them off to Karhari," Ilemina said. "We have several drop points around the planet, so there will be little chance of them reuniting."
"What about the Kozor and Serak Houses?" Maud asked. "Who will be in charge now?"
Ilemina sneered. "House Krahr doesn't concern itself with the petty political squabbles of minor Houses. I can tell you who won't be in charge: the idiots who thought to test the might of Krahr. If they want to travel to Karhari and retrieve
what's left of their former leaders, that is their burden. I have a feeling they will be in no hurry to do so. No matter; on to more important things. I understand my son has asked you to marry him?"
"Mother," Arland snarled.
"Yes,"
Maud said.
"Did you accept?"
"Yes."
Ilemina smiled, baring her fangs. "Excellent. We have some impressive recordings of the both of you from the battle on the station, lots of blood, many severed limbs. They are working on it now. We will splice it in with the wedding
announcement. Shall we say a month from now? The valas will be in full bloom. You don't want to get married on the battle station, do you?"
Arland put his left hand over his face.
Both Ilemina and Otubar stared at her.
"Ummm, no?" Maud said, not sure if she should brace herself. "I would prefer a traditional wedding..."
"That's my girl," Ilemina said. "Recuperate now. I will give the two of you the rest of today. Tomorrow the Marshal will need to assess our losses and the assets we've seized, and the Maven will have to go back to the negotiating table, because
the aliens want edits to the pact and trade station plans and I cannot be trusted to not kill them while they bargain with us."
Otubar reached over and plucked Helen from the bed. "Come with me, child. It's time we tested you with other weapons."
"If you do well, I will give you cake," Ilemina said.
Helen's eyes lit up. "What kind of cake?"
"The delicious kind," Otubar told her. He set her on his massive shoulder like she was a parrot and carried her out of the room. Ilemina watched them go with a smile, followed them, and paused in the doorway.
"By the way," she said, "I was going to tell you once you both had properly recovered, but since you're awake, I might as well. A human is here to see you. I was going to turn him away, but he is an Arbitrator, which presents some difficulties.
His name is Klaus. He says he is your brother."
THE END