Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке - Гэрет Уильямс

She stopped one of the mercenary soldiers she had managed to gather and asked him. The answer she received hardly filled her with solace.

The seeress had not moved in all the time since Mariel had been here last. Neither, it seemed, had Jarno. He was still standing there, looking directly at the Lady Ladira. He looked so pathetic. Ladira was sitting on the floor, her legs still crossed, in some kind of trance. Jarno could well have been in some kind of trance himself, judging by his expression.

"Good news," she said, walking up to his side. She lifted her veil and kissed him once, briefly. "He confessed. He was actually plotting a coup. All the evidence is in his computer records. I would know where to find it, but alas…. such things are beyond a simple lady of the court. You will have to help me, my love."

"Is he…. did you…. is he…?"

"Dead? No, not yet. We may need him alive for more information, but I dare say his wounds will kill him before long. Be happy, my love. We have pulled off a great victory, removed one of your rivals, and we are now a step closer to your securing the throne. Next…. I think we may be strong enough to deal with Prince Cartagia and that…. that slut of his. The Lady Elrisia will surely be put out once she hears of this."

"The Lady Elrisia called you a slut from the woods with no manners, class, breeding or intellect, Mariel. I think that sours your opinion of her just a little."

"I told you never to repeat that!" she snapped, slapping at him. "Don't forget who has brought you this far. Without me, you'd still be languishing in some Gods-forsaken post as under-sub-secretary to the clerk to the secretary of the Minister of the Treasury."

"I know full well where you've brought me, Mariel. And that you only latched yourself on to me because your husband went missing in action. But still, if Kiro really was planning a coup perhaps some good will come out of this after all."

"Of course some good will come out of this. We're one step nearer the throne for you. Remember…."

"Jarno!" cried a familiar voice. Mariel groaned slightly, and then underwent a conscious change to her bearing, expression and tone of voice. It was a skill she had taken great pains to learn, and practised at every opportunity.

"Why, Daggair, dear. How wonderful to see you here."

"What have you done, Jarno?" cried Mariel's beloved sister-wife. "Word has reached the Court. They're calling it treason. They're…. they're going to arrest you. I came to…. to see if it was true…. What have you done?"

"Nothing, dear, now please leave us alone. They won't dare do anything to us. They…." Mariel stopped abruptly, as a sudden cold wind rushed through the room. She turned back to Jarno and followed his gaze, with much the same expression of horror. Lady Ladira was rising to her feet.

"The Darkness is coming," hissed the seeress, swaying drunkenly. She reached out her arms as if for Jarno, but he backed away in a terrified panic. "The Darkness is coming for us all.

"I can see it. I can see it reaching this world, claiming us all. It has already claimed you.

"By knife, by madness, by rope…. all here shall die. Surely you…. and surely I. By knife, by madness, by rope we must die. Surely you…. but firstly I."

Jarno let out a strangled cry and moved forward. His hand seized a goblet from the mantle at his side. It was an old ornament, and heavy. Stumbling forward, as if he had inherited the same near-drunkenness that afflicted her, he dashed the goblet against Ladira's head.

She fell crumpled to the floor, a brief spot of blood dropping from her crushed skull.

"Oh, Gods," cried Daggair. "What have you…? The Court must…. must…." She turned and lurched for the door. Mariel was faster, sliding a thin blade from the spine of her fan. Daggair had hardly reached the corridor outside the door when the blade pierced the back of her neck, and she fell.

"She was right," said Jarno, looking at the two bodies before him. "She was right."

"Shut up! There's no backing out of this now, Jarno…. none. We are in this to the end. Do you hear me?"

"Rope, knife, madness. Rope, knife, madness."

Mariel sighed, and noticed a speck of blood on her gloves. She cursed slightly as she tried to wipe it off. Then, mindful that her companion seemed incapable of doing anything, she called for the guards to remove the bodies.

Then she fled to a distant corner to be terribly sick.

Captain Dexter Smith refrained from checking his uniform for the eighth time and drew in a deep breath. He was the representative of the conquering heroes after all. He had won. Well, not just him, but he had been a part of it.

Maybe now the ghost of the Starkiller would leave his shoulder.

He walked forward into the docking bay of the station the Narn had, strangely, named Babylon 4. That was the proper name for the place of course, but Smith was less than sure why a Narn would call it that. Ah, who could fathom the motives of aliens? His security guards were behind and beside him. Enough of them…. for the moment. Enough to deal with such problems as might arise.

A small group of aliens was waiting for him. Most of them were Narns, wearing peculiar sunburst insignia, and carrying weapons. In front of them were a Drazi, glowering unpleasantly, and a Brakiri, dressed in an immaculate copy of an Earth business suit.

The Brakiri stepped forward, as Smith came to a halt. "I am Lethke, Minister of the Economy for the United Alliance of Kazomi Seven. It is with…. some reluctance that I hand the station over to you, Captain Smith."

"I thank you, Minister Lethke. Reluctance need not play a part. This station was meant to be ours and this area of space does belong to the Resistance Government. Our diplomats will be more than happy to confirm this, and once they have done so you and your staff will be free to return to your home. We at Proxima would value good relations with the United Alliance."

The Drazi barked something in a strange language, and the Brakiri nodded once. "It is unfortunate, I suppose, that those more qualified than I to authorise an action such as this are not here. Messrs G'Kar and Ta'Lon are currently missing, and the Narn security forces here seem to accept me as the acting leader…. at least for the moment."

"We will be happy to discuss matters with G'Kar and Ta'Lon when they make themselves known to us, Minister. Now, where is Satai Delenn? I have orders to take her into custody."

"Ah, Delenn no longer goes by that title, Captain, and I do not know where she is. I should also point out that any measures taken against her will constitute hostile action against the Alliance, and we will respond in kind."

"Neither I nor my Government has any wish for hostilities with the Alliance, Minister. However, Delenn is wanted for war crimes against my people, and my orders are to make sure she stands trial for them."

"Well then, Captain, it appears we are at an impasse. I cannot allow Delenn to be taken into your custody. Would it not be said she possesses diplomatic immunity, as head of the Alliance?"

"My Government has not recognised that position." Smith hoped his bearing did not betray his concern. His orders had stated that the capture of Delenn was second in importance only to the capture of the Machine. War with the Alliance would be a trifling price to pay if it brought the President Delenn. And yet…. Smith did not want to start a war, and he did not want to hand someone over for torture and probable execution. He had no doubt that she would have no qualms about doing the same to him, but he liked to believe that that was what made him better than the Minbari.

The Drazi said something else, and this time Lethke shook his head sadly.

"What did he say?" Smith asked.

"He said we should kill you," came the reply.

"Then do so," Smith said, quietly pleased by how stern his voice sounded, "but know that if you do, the four ships waiting in orbit will attack and board this station, and there will be no measures taken to protect diplomatic immunity. Your guards will stand down their weapons, and you will render us every co-operation in the capture of Satai Delenn. Do you understand me?"

Something else from the Drazi, and a hint of anticipation in the Brakiri's bearing. "We understand you perfectly, Captain. Absolutely perfectly."

"Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar…. is anything…. wrong?"

"Of course not," replied Donne. "Why would there be anything wrong?" She looked at the figures before her, searching through the Machine's memories to find their records. They had all come from the station, and all but two of them were Narn — G'Kar must have had details on them. It would have helped if the Narns didn't all look alike, but then it was only a matter of time. How long to leave things before she showed them all the truth? How long would it take those mundanes to seize control of the station? Silly question, they were mundanes — they would probably still be trying by Christmas.

"We were unable to contact you. You have not been seen on the station for hours. We were…. worried."

"There was no need to be worried." The one in front was speaking. He would be the leader then. Come on, his files would have to be here somewhere. What sort of organisation was there in this thing? Where…? Her vision swam, and she found herself still staring at the Narn before her, but somehow she knew he was younger.

"Will you follow me, Ta'Lon?" she asked. No, it wasn't she who was asking. It was G'Kar.

"Of course I will. Through fire and darkness, past death and despair…."

With a colossal force of will she brought herself back to the present. That was not the first time she had found herself visually and mentally reliving old scenes, all of them involving G'Kar. The Machine's equivalent of a filing cabinet, no doubt.

"There was…. no need for concern. The Machine has just been…. under some strain lately."

"Of course, Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar. I understand. I shall report back that all is well. May I lay my blade at your feet in honour and respect?"

"Yes. Yes of course." What was this? Some absurd Narn ritual. Donne scanned through the others. All Rangers no doubt. All expendable therefore. Who were the humans? She recognised Michael Garibaldi. He'd been working for Al for quite a while. A mundane, but an important one. She'd probably have to keep him alive then. The other one…. the woman…. where had she seen her before?

She looked back to see Ta'Lon draw that long sword from the sheath on his back and kneel down just in front of her. He was almost close enough to touch. She considered reaching out and tearing his mind open.

His next motion was too fast even for the Machine to track. He brought the sword up and slashed it across her side. She threw back her head and screamed, knowing that had she not installed a protective force field the blow would have killed her.

Through her pain she could feel the voices of the Machine wailing in her mind, a myriad cacophony of screams.

"Did you think I would not recognise an imposter in the place of my lord?" hissed the Narn. "Where is he and what have you done with him?"

Something began to knit across the wound. She did not know what, nor did she care. All she felt was the burning hatred, and the explosion of voices in her mind.

"Burn!"

The entire room before her burst into a blaze of electrical discharge. The Narn Rangers ran forward, drawing their own swords, rushing to join their leader.

Too late.

At the last minute Donne remembered to erect a hasty force field, shielding both herself and Ta'Lon from the effects of the blast. She very much wanted him alive. The Narns screamed as the floor beneath them heated up and the air thickened and flashed with sparks.

"Burn," she said again, and the blasts ended, six smoking bodies falling to the ground. "Tu'Pari!"

Ta'Lon, who had been knocked aside by her blast, rolled to his feet in one smooth motion. Still wielding his sword, he lunged for her again, but this time she had her own Narn to aid her.

The assassin's cloak of darkness dissolved and he burst into motion. Hiding him had been simplicity itself. Concealing Numbers One and Two had been equally easy, although G'Kar had been a little harder. The Machine recognised its former keeper and did not want to harm him. Forcing it to do so had taken some effort.

Numbers One and Two trained their weapons on the other two humans. Garibaldi looked up at Donne, her holographic illusion now cast aside. He shrugged, and handed his own weapon over to Number One. His companion carried no weapon.

Ta'Lon's sword swept out towards Tu'Pari, but the assassin raised an arm and the sword appeared to glance aside. Lashing out with his other fist, he caught the underside of Ta'Lon's jaw. Just before the impact, small spikes shot out from the knuckles of his glove.

The Ranger went down. A few sharp kicks ensured that he did not rise again.

"Is he dead, Tu'Pari?"

"No, not yet. You aren't paying me enough to kill him."

A wave of anger poured through her, but she managed to restrain herself. She needed Tu'Pari alive. Better by far to turn that anger against the being who had wounded her.

"Am I paying you enough to torture him?"

"Depends on what you want done to him."

"I had plans for G'Kar, but I still need him alive and relatively unharmed. He may be willing to talk more if he feels his friends are in danger. Begin with an eye, and work your way up from there. I trust to your expertise in this matter."

Tu'Pari drew his wickedly-bladed dagger and tested it against his arm. He then smiled. "Always a pleasure to serve."

Catherine shook her head slowly. "It's all so…. I don't know. I thought you were dead. No one survived the Line, they said. No one."

"No one did. I can't…. quite…. see it. But I do know that no one survived. The Minbari were…. very thorough."

"Now that is what I don't understand. The Minbari destroyed everything of ours. They tore us apart, and they kept us apart these past thirteen years. Oh, I know it was these Vorlons who did…. whatever…. but it was the Minbari who allowed it. So why in God's name are you…. looking like…. that?"

"I don't expect you to understand. Sometimes I'm not sure I understand." He rose to his feet and gently took her hand, guiding her outside to his balcony. It was the middle of the morning now, and the bustle of people through the streets of Kazomi 7 could be heard. Slowly he pointed to a park, not far away. There was a small shrine there, made of wood and stone. In front of the shrine there was a garden of sand and rocks. "You see that?"

"A Japanese stone garden, yes…. I…. What is a Japanese stone garden doing here? I've only seen two other humans on this whole planet; that insane merchant who brought me here and the Gandalf wannabe who checked me out in the customs area."

"Ah, I believe the Centauri picked up the idea, and quite liked it…. for a time. Our fashions were quite popular with them for a while, remember? And after…. afterwards…. Delenn told me that they merely altered the stone garden a little to make it look Minbari. It was destroyed when the Drakh invaded, but Delenn saw to it that it was rebuilt. She said…. something…." He straightened. "The power of one mind to change the universe. I told Marrain that once, when he was questioning some of my ideas. That was the one occasion when I wish he hadn't listened to me."