CHAPTER SIX
Anil Graven’s home clung to the side of a cliff.
This was not remarkable on Fortuna — most structures were built into canyon walls or on constructed terraces, leaving what little fertile land there was on the planet to growing food and the riverbanks to commerce — but Graven’s place wasn’t one of the types made out of old ship’s metal and local wood. No, his mansion was a series of rounded shapes connected over the dark rock, glowing faintly from lights inside and constructed from some artificial material. It was like the sleek, seamless designs of pre-Singularity times when technology didn’t require a dozen patches and failsafe switches. It was undoubtedly incredibly expensive, and it reminded Sebastian of nothing more than the husks of beetles.
“I hope it’s a good deal sturdier than that,” Sebastian said, sharing his observation with the others. “Of course it’s Fortuna, and they tend to leave things like building codes to fate.”
Ren shot him a poisonous look but kept his lips firmly pressed together as he did his best to ignore the ground they were well above. Jaime too looked queasy, his eyes huge. Only Rylan seemed unbothered, planting himself like a particularly muscular rock in front of the open window of the craft taking them through the canyon and seeming to enjoy the view. The sun was just setting, and they were high up enough to see it paint the cliff tops with golden light.
Private airship sounded impressive, but in reality it was not much more than a hot-air balloon with a motor attached. It was a purely mechanical motor too, judging by the anxious looks Jaime kept sending it. Sebastian knew Jaime felt better around machines that he could touch with his mind, but this one was too primitive for that, just a biofuel-powered engine that flared more heat into the balloon to keep them aloft and spun the metal propeller that gave them forward motion. If Sebastian truly wanted to alarm everyone he could mention the strong smell of alcohol that he’d noticed on the breath of their somewhat bleary-eyed airship pilot, but since the woman seemed to be keeping them on a straight course he chose discretion.
He slipped closer to Ren’s side, admiring the man’s profile, dark and graceful against the golden sky, until Ren turned to give him a questioning stare. Caught, Sebastian hastily shifted from admiration to mild mockery.
“I had no idea you were afraid of heights, Your Highness,” he murmured.
Ren grimaced. “I’m not, in fact, but thanks to you I’ve discovered an entirely new fear of inadequate safety regulations.”
Sebastian smiled. “Really, though, you have to appreciate the Fortunan philosophy. There’s no point in worrying about what we can’t control.”
“We should just surrender to fate then?”
Sebastian shrugged carelessly. “I trust in my own luck.”
From the other side of the cabin Rylan snorted. “You have terrible luck, Captain.”
“But it’s mine.” The wood of the cabin creaked. Ren winced, and Jaime closed his eyes. “And there are always ways to cheat. Even fate.”
The airship took them to a platform that jutted out into the air over the canyon. The woman that had been with Graven was waiting for them on it.
“I trust you had an easy journey?” Her small face was polite as they came down the less than sturdy ramp from the airship, but her eyes had a mischievous twinkle. Ren marched down, back ramrod straight, hands clenched behind his back, and for his part, Sebastian was unable to resist giving his usual saunter even more of a lazy flourish.
“Delightful,” he drawled. “You have a lovely view.”
“Mr. Graven’s view is impressive,” she corrected. “I know he’s very glad you could join him this evening.” She looked questioningly at Rylan and Jaime.
“They work for us,” Sebastian said, flicking his hand toward them. “It’s always best to travel to new places with a few dependable and familiar faces. For security purposes.”
“Understandable,” she said. Her gaze lingered on Jaime, no doubt wondering at his role in a providing that security.
“How should we address you?” Ren asked. His manners seemed to be in a battle with his obvious desire to get off the open platform.
The woman gestured for them to follow her. “If you require anything of me, ask for Ebba.”
She opened a wide door for them at the end of the platform, and they went through it. Immediately there was the sound of a soft chime, and two burly, dark-suited men stepped toward them, faces grim. Ebba, however, seemed unconcerned.
“Our scanners have detected something,” she said. “You did get the message about no weapons?”
“Oh, we did,” Sebastian said, smiling winningly at the stony guards. “It’s just that Rylan here carries around a bit of extra metal with him.”
Rylan obligingly held out his arm, palm up in an unthreatening manner. All four of them were whisked over with handheld scanners and given a good old-fashioned pat down. Not entirely satisfied, the guards conferred in low voices with Ebba.
Sebastian sighed with great drama. “It’s not like he can stash his arm in the coat check.”
“If Mr. Graven needs personal assurances about our staff, I’m happy to provide it,” Ren put in more diplomatically. “Though of course we are here at his invitation and supposedly out of his gratitude.”
Ebba inclined her head toward him. “It’s not a problem at all. This way, please.”
Once they went through the short hallway and passed by the frowning guards, the interior proved to be impressive. The translucent outside wall curved up well above them, with a curved staircase swooping gracefully among several levels. The natural stone of the cliff was visible, with entryways leading into it. Smiling serenely over it all was the giant face of a woman with braided hair, carved into the rock wall, her broad straight nose alone as long as Sebastian’s entire body. The dark stone eyes seemed to be oddly spoked, but Sebastian realized they were meant to be wheels of fortune.
“Fortuna,” Ebba supplied.
“Mr. Graven is obviously a very spiritual man,” Sebastian replied and got a discreet elbow in his side from Ren.
Ebba gave no sign of noticing and led them on, up the stairs to a wide room where the glow of the sunset was supplemented with chandeliers. A number of well-dressed people stood or lounged on the furniture sipping drinks brought to them on trays. A few other sturdy types stood near the walls, obviously more security, and Rylan eyed them with professional interest.
“Enjoy your evening,” Ebba said to Ren and Sebastian. “If your employees need refreshments we would be happy to have them join us in the kitchen for the servants’ meal.”
Sebastian had an urge to see how far he could get the others to take their role — maybe demand they get him a drink or carry his coat, but, since he figured Rylan would likely throw him through a window, he settled for giving Ebba a bored look. “They’ll be fine,” he said. “Their needs are few.”
“We appreciate your courtesy,” Ren said, stepping in smoothly. “But we must pay our respects to our host before we do anything else.”
Ebba indicated where Graven stood, locked deep in conversation toward the back of the room near the dark stone of the cliff wall. They started toward him, Ebba lightly touching Jaime’s arm as he followed, forehead slightly creased with concern. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Sebastian supposed that it was good that he was playing the part so well that his employees were already earning sympathy.
Graven broke away from his conversation as they approached, smiling broadly. “My rescuer!” he said taking Ren’s hand.
“And hapless bystander,” Sebastian supplied, offering his hand as well.
“I’m so glad you could join me,” he said, snapping his fingers to get a waiter to bring a tray with drinks over. “I understand you’ve only recently arrived? Is this your first visit to Fortuna?”
Sebastian took a drink, pleased that word had spread about them — or more likely Ren’s spending.
“It is my first time to your world,” Ren was saying, his voice smoothly polite, though Sebastian saw his shoulders tense as more people gathered around, curious about the newcomers. He gestured gracefully to Sebastian. “I’m fortunate in having an experienced guide.”
Sebastian took that as Ren’s polite request to get the fuck into this conversation. “My previous visits were nowhere near as interesting. Strictly business.” He let his eyes wander up and down Ren. “Whereas this one is purely pleasure.”
Ren took a long swallow of his drink, while Graven laughed heartily and slapped Sebastian on the back. “More people should have that attitude. Enjoy the moment, I say; you never know how long it will last.”
Other guests stepped in to offer suggestions of things they simply must do while on the planet — waterfall-gazing and rock climbing and hang gliding — and then Graven and others told them exactly why all those things weren’t worth doing at all. Talk turned to restaurants and theater and books, and then to what they really cared about, which was trade and money and evading various Commonwealth laws concerning those things.
Finally, Ren was able to pull Sebastian aside for a brief moment. “What was that about telling Graven we weren’t interested in business?” His face was pleasant, but his voice was a hiss.
Sebastian paused to snag another drink from the tray of a harried-looking waiter — he hadn’t finished the first, but it was better to look like he was drinking more than he was. “We mustn’t appear too eager,” he said to Ren. “Men like Graven prefer the ones who are hard to get.”
“Men like Graven like to talk and talk,” Ren muttered before a laughing group came over and swallowed them both up.
The party swirled on around them, the space darkening as the sun set with chandeliers twinkling from the far-away ceiling. A sweet-voiced woman sang from a balcony above them, backed by a trio of musicians. They played a song that Sebastian recognized from bars that catered to the crews of long-haul freighters — one about the pull of open, black skies and the lover left behind in port — but they turned the lament of the original into something smooth and inoffensive. Sebastian wondered if any of these people had ever felt lonely or wanting in their entire lives. But then he looked at Ren. Saw the sadness that lay behind the mask.
His eyes were drawn to Ren’s lips, the slight scab on the bottom marring its tender fullness. It had felt like his heart had stopped when Ren jumped into that truck and hadn’t started again until he’d seen his face, shocked and bloody, through the windshield. Long practice had made Sebastian accustomed to his plans going wrong — often quite spectacularly — but thinking that Ren might be hurt by them was something he was unprepared for. It had untethered all of his usual bravado and left him drifting. That the leap had been spectacular and heroic and altogether appealing was another issue.
He didn’t know what to do with all of the guilt he felt about Ren. But he couldn’t change their history; Sebastian could only try and make this job a success. It wouldn’t be enough, but it would be something in Sebastian’s favor.
He savored his wine, slowly, because he was on the job, and savored too the sight of Ren, surrounded by talking people. The party, at least, was going well.
* * *
Ren thought the party was horrible.
He supposed it was all going according to plan. Smiling faces surrounded him, adorned with jeweled piercings or bright makeup. The clatter of glasses, loud voices, and laughter filled the air, with music filling in any possible silence. Ren stood and smiled and cast around desperately for things to say that wouldn’t expose him as not only a person playing a part, but also, more truthfully, a desperate, panicked fool. Fortunately, no one seemed to care what he was saying, merely waiting him out until they could talk about their own far more interesting lives.
He saw Rylan and Jaime standing against one of the walls, their job only to observe and stay silent and wished he could trade places.
Food was brought around, trays of bioluminescent mussels that left glowing trails of bluish-green light on hands and mouths and in splashes on the floor. Ren felt like all the shining mouths were mocking him and drew back to the edges of the party as much as he could.
“You really do hate this, don’t you?”
Sebastian was beside him. The faint trace of glowing light on his lips showed that they weren’t smiling. He was close enough that they couldn’t be easily overheard but not crowding him.
Ren shifted, trying to ease his tight shoulders. “I find this all… draining. But I’m used to it. Or I should be by now.”
Sebastian’s voice was light but not unkind. “When you’re in charge you get to make all the rules, right? There can be one about no gathering larger than ten in your presence. Or just order everyone to leave you alone.”
Ren grimaced faintly. “It doesn’t work like that. Being the public face of the government means being in public. But believe me, my social anxiety is the least of the reasons why I’m ill-suited for the throne.”
“I highly doubt that; in fact—”
Ren didn’t get to hear the rest because Graven was descending on them, voice and gestures broad. Ebba followed quietly behind him.
“But there you are,” Graven cried as though they had been lost. “Enjoying yourselves?”
“Immensely,” Sebastian replied and started up a comfortable chatter with the other man. Ren admired how easily Sebastian slipped through these conversations that made Ren feel like he was crashing against hidden rocks. But then Sebastian did everything with ease.
“You must see my collection,” Graven said, and Ren’s attention snapped back to him. “I’m having an auction in a few days. I know you’re not here for business, but perhaps something will catch your eye.”
Sebastian gave a bored shrug and Ren followed his lead and tried not to look overeager. “What sort of collection?” Ren asked politely.
“The secrets of our ancestors.” Graven laughed. “Relics of a time when we were the masters of this galaxy, rather than squatters on the edge.”
“You must be a student of history,” Ren offered, but Graven waved that away.
“I’m a businessman. The past is a commodity, like beans or fuel cells, and there’s money to be made in selling it. These things are valuable because we can’t make them anymore or the knowledge is forbidden. But nothing stays a secret forever. The wheel always turns, does it not? Perhaps with one of my trinkets you’ll be able to unlock some of the magic of its creation and be richer than any of us put together.”
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. “That’s an intriguing idea. We should bring our wizard with us, if you don’t mind? Jaime.” He snapped his fingers, much like Graven had been doing with his waiters. Ren watched to see how the others would react — Jaime managed to suppress his eye roll, and Rylan’s glower was in character, but he imagined Sebastian was going to get an earful later.
As for their hosts, Ebba looked a little more sharply at them, but Graven only gave a worldly shrug. “Let your wizard see the technology that gave rise to creatures such as himself. Everything is powered down of course, so there’s no danger. To him or to us if he’s not enjoying your employment as much as you think.” Graven laughed too loudly and even in the low light Ren could see Jaime’s lips pressed tightly together. He himself stiffened in outrage, though he kept his face blank.
Graven led them toward one of the passageways carved into the rock wall. Sebastian kept up the conversation, with Ren adding a word or two. He was trained in concealing his emotions in public, but he was finding it hard to mask the anticipation as they walked down the hallway, lit with glowing orbs. At the end of the hall was a single door, its polished metal a bright contrast to the rock walls. Graven pressed his palm into a panel next to the door and it opened with a gentle click. Graven and Ebba led them in, Sebastian and Ren flanked by Rylan and Jaime.
Ren knew that inside Rylan’s arm — surgically inserted by Dr. Stevenson before they’d landed on the planet — was a device that would map the layout of the rooms he passed through. It had gone undetected by Graven’s scanners, disguised as just another component of the technology that made up Rylan’s arm. But Ren still looked around, eager to see the Heart of Arcadia again with his own eyes.
The room was large and a half dozen other party guests were already inside, calling out greetings as they entered. The atmosphere was more hushed compared to the raucous party outside, the sound being eaten by the high ceiling. It was a room meant to inspire something like reverence, or at least respect, for the likely high prices Graven was commanding. The floors of the room were even and tiled, while the walls and ceiling were natural stone, dark and curving upward. Circles of light illuminated objects in glass cases.
A large painting in a carved wooden frame took up much of one wall near the entrance. Its surface was cracked in places, but Ren could see light-skinned people, seemingly all men, blotches of pink on their cheeks, with wide white ruffled collars.
“So much cloth, layers of it,” Sebastian said, staring up at it.
“I’m not getting the hats,” Jaime mused. “I mean why wear them at all? It’s not covering all their hair, and I don’t think that would offer much in the way of UV protection.”
Rylan folded his arms. “Maybe appreciate a thousand-year-old piece of art and don’t worry about the fashion.”
Graven laughed, and they all started, having nearly forgotten he was there. “I assure you there are more practical, and easily transportable, items here as well.” He turned his head and waved as another guest called to him. “Look around. Almost everything will be available for auction.”
He moved away, Ebba shadowing him. The others looked at each other. Sebastian rubbed lightly at one eye, and Jaime slightly inclined his head. Cameras then. Rylan tugged at his ear, and Jaime gave a negative shake. So they may be watched but not listened in on.
“Let’s see what mysteries we can discover,” Sebastian said, taking Ren’s arm. Ren suspected it was as much to keep him from racing off in search of the Heart as a play for the cameras.
They strolled among the cases, Jaime and Rylan a few steps behind, pausing to comment or read the description cards in front of each display. Some simply read “unknown,” the oddly shaped bits of tech not giving even a hint as to their purpose. Others were more obvious.
Sebastian stopped them in front of a case containing a pair of guns, dark and sleekly curved. “It says they shoot lasers,” Sebastian said.
Ren looked closer. Lasers were necessary tools for cutting through metal and doing precision work, but he had never seen one in gun form before.
Sebastian sounded a bit wistful. “Lasers. Why can’t we have guns that shoot lasers?”
“Bullets are bad enough,” Rylan growled.
“It has a stun setting,” Sebastian said, pointing. “Imagine the possibilities. You could shoot anyone you liked without all those pesky scruples getting in the way.”
Rylan stared pointedly at Sebastian. “Anyone at all, you say… Captain?”
Sebastian grinned and kept walking. Ren liked the look of Sebastian’s smile, so easy and free. He wished he could join in, but he was overcome with a sick feeling of anticipation. The Heart had to be here, somewhere in this room. If it wasn’t, he didn’t know what he’d do. Even if it was, he still didn’t know how to feel.
They came to an abrupt stop in front of a case that stretched from floor to ceiling, dropping all pretense at sophistication to simply stare. It was a humanoid shape with arms, legs, a stocky body, and the suggestion of a head with round glass lenses for eyes. But it was made of machinery, the metal casing dinged a bit but still with a smooth sheen of some unknown metal. Robot, Ren remembered the name from a book. But that was too small a word for the queasy horror mingled with wonder that this thing evoked. It had once walked among people, maybe even talked, worthy of no more notice than a chair. Until one day… Ren looked at those hands, long and jointed, and imagined them gripping a weapon. Or they were quite likely strong enough to kill on their own.
He saw Jaime slip his hand into Rylan’s and noticed the grim set of the big man’s jaw. Of course Rylan, with his artificial arm, would be especially disturbed by this.
“It’s dead,” Jaime said. “I mean, no power; nothing at all is coming from it.”
“Good,” Sebastian said sincerely.
“We need to contact the Commonwealth,” Rylan said in a low voice. He stepped in close to Sebastian and Ren. “My brother could have a team here in—”
“We’re on a job, Rylan.”
“These things are dangerous.”
“It’s scrap, like Jaime said.”
“That’s not what he said,” Rylan hissed. “Just about everything in here is a potential weapon. It’s not only about what some asshole like Graven can do with them — what if the Singularity shows up to turn everything back on? You know they’re out there, Captain. You know.”
Sebastian dropped Ren’s arm to rub between his eyes. “Finish the job. Once we’re well the fuck away we can talk about discreet messages to your stick-up-the-ass sibling.”
The two of them were looking at each other so only Ren saw when Jaime’s head lifted, turning sharply as though he’d been called. He followed the direction of Jaime’s gaze, seeing a small case tucked into a corner of the room.
Ren started toward it, hope and worry warring within him. Worry took over when he saw that Jaime, too, was headed for the case.
They were close enough now that Ren could see the necklace, weighed down with the large, cloudy-white jewel that hung from it in a metal-bound pendant. Like all the display cases in the room it was made of thick glass, keeping the item inside untouchable, but that didn’t stop Jaime from starting to reach out.
Ren caught his arm. “Please stay back,” he said softly. “It may not be safe for you.”
“Ren?”
Sebastian and Rylan were coming toward them, but Ren kept hold of Jaime.
“Is that it?” Sebastian asked him, making a face. “Are you saying that you have to wear that monstrosity one day?”
Jaime was still staring at the case. Rylan strode forward and grabbed Jaime’s shoulders, swinging him around to face him.
“Jaime?”
He blinked up at Rylan, eyes wide with surprise. “We’ve got a problem,” Jaime said, voice a near whisper. “That jewel — the Heart of Arcadia. It’s alive.”