Pt. 14

Galen stirred restlessly in his bed, the Swordsman's last words echoing in his mind. "Her name was Isabel," the man had said, in a tone reserved for the names of the dammed. Galen's hands clenched reflexively, unwilling to hear or see more yet unwilling to turn away. He was so thoroughly enmeshed in the dreaming that nothing, not even the interference of another Technomage, would wake him before this unreal play was through. He sighed deeply then relaxed as the past continued to unfold before him.

"Isabel?" Marianne asked, eyeing the girl quizzically. "Nice name. So, tell me Swordsman, what is it about her that angers you the most? The fact that she seduced and betrayed you or that you let her seduce you and lost your father because of it? Most teenagers are not great judges of character – at least not in my experience. It's not as though you abandoned your father for the little twit."

"I did not abandon him," the man replied, his voice tight. "They came like thieves in the night and were upon us before he could set up a proper defense. There was nothing that could have been done."

"No, there wasn't," she replied softly. "You couldn't have helped him even if you had been there when they attacked. You weren't then the soldier you are now and raw talent is no substitute for experience and desperation. This wasn't your fault Swordsman. The blame, if there must be blame, rests with them."

"And with her," he said flatly. "You asked if she were a pawn to her family's ambitions. I know she was not. She told me herself as they dragged me away from my father's broken body. She boasted the plan was of her own devising, that the jinn had promised her eternal youth and beauty for her services. It seems that for once the beast actually paid his debt."

Marianne smiled coldly. "So, that was the coin her betrayal was paid in, with something as tawdry as eternal beauty? I'll have to remember that." She examined the girl from a distance carefully, memorizing the proud, haughty features that betrayed the woman's cold soul. Then Marianne smiled and looked up at the bright blue sky.

Something screamed in the distance, a sound that echoed off the stones walls of the shops that circled the market. The villagers looked around nervously, glancing uneasily back castle before going about their errands. None looked up until it was too late.

No villager later could say what direction the fiery streak came from or what shape the attacker. All any would remember was the sound of beating wings and the screams of the girl Isabel which mixed with the cries of the bird which raked its claw over her beautiful face then disappeared over the roof tops. The girl fell to the ground, wailing, as the blood gushed from the jagged scratches that ran from above her eye across to her chin. Her maidservant stood dumbfounded, frozen in place by her mistress's distress.

Marianne raised one eyebrow at the screaming figure then shrugged. "Oh, too bad. Somebody's bargain just went down the drain."

"She will heal," The Swordsman replied tonelessly.

"Not this time she won't," Marianne said sweetly, moving away from the rapidly growing crowd of people.

The Swordsman hesitated for a moment, a frown on his normally impassive face. He waited for the Jinn's magic to assert itself, for the betrayer to be made whole again. But the blood still ran and the scratches on her face did not fade. If anything they seemed to grow redder, as though infection was already setting in. A small, cruel smile lit his face and then he turned quickly and followed Marianne from the square.

Gideon strode swiftly into Max's quarters, not waiting for the xenoarcheologist to invite him in. "Well, have you found out anything about Interplanetary Explorations and the Draco family?"

"Not much." Max admitted. "The big boys back home were none to pleased about my poking around that piece of our companies history."

"But you did find something?" Gideon pressed, standing with his arms folded in front of the man.

"Officially, I haven't found out much more than we already know. Unofficially, I was able to find out a very interesting piece of information. Seems Mr. Draco was something of an amateur astronomer. He kept some detailed star maps that had been put together using both ground based and space based telescopes. One of those maps never made much sense to anyone." Max pulled up a file on his screen and displayed the image.

It looked more like abstract art than a star chart. The image was of a long tunnel, surrounded by stars. The center of the tunnel seemed to radiate with waves of power, blotting out any light around it. Gideon stared at it with a frown, unnerved by the feeling of familiarity that surrounded it.

"Recognize it, Captain?" Max asked, a note of suppressed excitement in his voice. "You should. It's something we've seen many, many times."

"I'm not in the mood for games, Max. If you know what it is, just tell me."

"According to my research, Damien Draco entitled this piece of art "Hyperspace". It's a representation of what hyperspace looks like, drawn long before we met the Centauri and acquired jump gate technology." Max stared at the screen in fascination. "Not only is it hyperspace, but it's a particular point in hyperspace, just off the beacon we're traveling on now. I have a feeling, Captain, that our friend Galen's troubles started because of our proximity to whatever Draco was plotting a course for in this part of hyperspace."

Gideon took over the keyboard, punching in commands for an analysis and flight plan to match the drawing. "Well then, let's take a look at what it was that Mr. Draco was so interested in finding." He tapped his COM link quickly. "Mr. Matheson, I'm inputting new coordinates. We're changing course."

"Where to, Captain?" Matheson's voice floated calmly from the link.

"I wish I knew." Gideon muttered, staring down at the drawing. "I wish I knew."