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

Last night had shown him that, in all its bloody glory. The blood, the flames, the screams…. not all of it had been his doing, but how would the Shadow Criers have fared without his discreet support? How much of the carnage could have been prevented if the nobles and Guards had not been so paranoid as to regard the slaughter as a personal assault on them?

And how much could have been prevented if Londo had been permitted to carry out his own plans?

Londo was lost to him now. Everything was lost.

"First Minister," said a voice at his door. His personal servant. A young man named Kiron Maray. Malachi was saddened that he knew nothing of the young man beyond his name. "First Minister, there is a runner from the Court here. Your attendance is requested."

"I am ill," he croaked, trying to make himself sound unwell. It did not take a great deal of effort.

"Yes, First Minister. I will tell him so."

Malachi raised his head once more to look in the mirror. Where had it all gone so wrong? Where had one man's noble dream turned into a nightmare which consumed the entire planet?

Where?

She was not afraid, no matter how alone she was, how trapped by darkness, how expectant of their arrival, no matter how she could see her fate, she was not afraid.

"My lord," she whispered softly. "I am sorry. Forgive me." That was what hurt her most of all — the knowledge of how Sinoval would react. Without her around, without her to bear the burden of his anger and his pain…. without her, what would he become?

She was his conscience, his confessor, everything that would help him become the leader he should be, the leader he wanted to be.

It was too dark in here, and she did not like the dark these days. But then she did not like the light either, preferring a muted half-light.

She remembered Sonovar standing over here, watching in silence as she was broken at Kalain's hands. He had done nothing, said nothing, just watched.

Meditation was rapidly becoming impossible. She rose to her feet, wondering how long she had been here. She had never been good at gauging time, and after her imprisonment in the Hall of the Grey Council that handicap had got worse. She guessed a day or two, but she just could not tell.

The door opened, and someone entered. At least, she thought someone entered. There was a brief silhouette in the doorway, and then it vanished. "Is anyone there?" she asked, trying to calm her breathing.

There was no answer. No sound even. Not even breathing.

Sighing softly, she closed her eyes. "Lights," she ordered, opening them again.

Someone was standing opposite her, at the other side of the bed.

He smiled, and she let out a strangled cry. She did not recognise him, but there was something about him that was familiar. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Death," he said, in an almost lyrical tone. "Death, death, darkness and death. You know these things, don't you? I can see it. How much did you beg to die? It tells me you did, you know. It tells me."

She breathed out slowly and began to back away. The same madness she had heard in Ashan's voice. A similar tone, although more certain, less divided. "Who are you?" she said, trying to remain calm. "How is…. it…. speaking to you?"

"It is there. Always there. Would you like it to speak to you too? That can be…. ah. No. It says that cannot be done. You're too…. too strong now. Perhaps earlier. You were not so strong then, were you?" He began to circle around the bed, moving towards her. "On your knees, begging for mercy, crying, weeping…. screaming…. Perhaps then you might have been worthy, but…. there was no opportunity, and now it's too late. Now you've got to die."

He smiled, a hideous sight, and cocked his head. "You're beautiful, you know. I think so. Very beautiful. It would be a shame to mar that beauty, but…. it tells me I must. It tells me that…. it tells me that this should be very messy. Very ugly. Very…. Oh. That isn't nice. Not nice at all."

She found herself backed up against the wall, and looked around frantically. There had to be somewhere she could go, something she could use as a weapon. No, of course there wouldn't be. Sonovar would have made sure of that. Had Sonovar sent him here to kill her? No, that was stupid. If Sonovar wanted to kill her, he could have done so before. He could have killed her at the shelter. He could….

She started, and her throat suddenly went very dry. The door was still open!

It was at the far side of the room, and she would have to get past him to get to it, but…. that was not impossible.

"This won't hurt," he said. "I'll not make it hurt. You've been hurt enough already. Kalain saw to that, and Sonovar, and all the others. Don't worry. Just close your eyes, and it will…." He closed his eyes, still moving forward. His gait was swaying and uncertain, as if he were hypnotised.

Now! She sprang forward, charging directly towards him. He started and raised his hand, something bright gleaming in it. He swung at her, but she reached him first, throwing her whole weight at him. His foot slipped and twisted, and he fell. Recovering her balance and stepping around his frenzied efforts to grasp at her, she made for the door as fast as she could.

Two steps outside the door, she literally ran into Sonovar. Reeling from the impact, she stumbled and would have fallen had he not caught her. Swaying in his not particularly gentle grip, she saw that he was accompanied by two warriors. All three of them were armed.

"Trying to reject my hospitality, my lady?" he said harshly. "I am afraid I cannot accept that."

"He was trying to kill me," she whispered. "What sort of 'hospitality' is that?"

"He? Who?" He gestured to his guards, and they entered the room. A few moments later they emerged, with Kats' mysterious assailant walking between them. There was no visible sign of a weapon.

"Ah," Sonovar said. "Forell. Yes, I understand your…. mistake that he may have intended some harm to you. He is not an easy man to like."

"He tried to kill me," she protested. "He…. he is corrupted somehow. I don't know how, but something is influencing him, something…."

"Silence!" Sonovar barked. "I trust him more than I do you, my lady. He has not betrayed our people, but you will pay for that crime shortly. In any event, Forell, you are not to go near her again, do you understand?"

"Of course, lord," he said, bowing his head. His voice was much more polite and refined now. Almost as if he were an entirely different person from the one who had attacked her.

"And now, my lady," Sonovar said. "I wish to discuss certain matters with you, in your quarters, if you have no objection?" She shook her head, still looking at Forell, and returned to her cell. He followed her.

"I apologise for your treatment, Lady," he said smoothly. "My aides misheard my instructions as to your welfare. They have been corrected. I also apologise if Forell startled you. I sent him ahead to see you were ready to receive me. I understand how he may have…. startled you."

She said no more about just how much he had startled her. He was corrupted in some way, the same taint that had consumed Ashan. Did Sonovar know about it? Was he corrupted as well? She turned to look at him. He stood tall above her, strong and powerful, an arrogant strength shining in his dark eyes.

She said his name softly, trying to infuse as much respect as she could into it.

"Yes, Lady. I suppose I still bear the title Satai, as do you, but such distinctions mean little these days. My name is title enough." He paused, studying her. She did not shift her posture, but she did avert her eyes from his piercing gaze.

"Are you comfortable here? Have you been brought enough food? Drink?"

"Neither," she replied. "But I wish only to be freed."

"Don't we all?" he replied enigmatically. "In any event, that is impossible at the moment. Sinoval will be here soon. It is a long journey from Epsilon Eridani, and that has bought me enough time, but I regret I will not be able to talk with you as much as I would like."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh? Nothing? Nothing at all?"

"What have you done to our people…. your people? What possible reason could you have for this?"

"I have many, but here is one. Sinoval will destroy us. Oh, under him we may be able to defeat the Enemy, and the Earthers, perhaps even win every battle we face, but where will that victory bring us? Our people are dead anyway. Sinoval has torn down everything that made us Minbari, and he will not be able to rebuild us. Not in the way he wants. A victory under him will be every bit as dark and terrible as if we had been enslaved by the Earthers.

"I will provide an alternative. Sinoval has committed too many wrongs for him to be allowed to remain."

"Minbari do not kill Minbari. And yet you did. Is that not a wrong?"

He shrugged. "Of course. I know what I have done here, and I accept it, but I punished only those who swore fealty to Sinoval…. only the weak and the cowardly. My actions may have been wrong, but my motives were pure. Can he say the same?"

"I don't need to bother arguing that. Were those in that hospital you killed guilty? Did they deserve to die?"

"They were sheltering you…. and you, Lady, are guilty."

She shook her head and tried to restrain a sob. "And there it is. A high and mighty worker aspiring to a position above her station. Only the warriors should rule, yes? Only they are fit to rule, and let the rest of us stay down in the gutter where we belong. You have no idea how many times I have heard that."

"You wrong me, Lady. Sinoval raised you to whatever position you hold because he thought you were deserving of it. I do not dispute that, but surely you more than anyone are intelligent enough to see the evil in what he has done. You have seen that, and yet you continue to serve him. That is why you are guilty."

"Yes, Sinoval has done a great deal that was wrong, but I believe in him. I chose to serve him not out of weakness, but because I know he is right, and…." She fell silent, and shied away. "I believe in him, and I always will."

"Truly? Or are you merely grateful to him for saving you? I saw you, remember…. begging on your knees, screaming…. tears running down your face…."

"Stop it!" She was crying again. "Yes, you saw me…. and you did nothing! You stood there and watched. How can you justify that?"

"I followed Kalain. He was my superior then, and I believed in him. Whatever madness afflicted him, it is gone now. It died with him. In a way, Lady, you are responsible for my actions now."

"Me?"

"Your…. ordeal showed me that the ones who rule can be as wrong and as flawed as any of us. After Kalain died I chose to embark on my own path instead of following Sinoval's. Had I not witnessed your torture, I would probably still be as those sheep on the planet, following Sinoval simply because he has claimed the right to rule. You and Kalain showed me that I did not have to follow blindly."

"You're…. you…."

"I'm sorry, Lady. I've obviously overwhelmed you. Rest here. Sleep if you wish. I will have food and drink brought to you, and I would like to talk with you again when you are feeling better. I…. I can see why Sinoval thinks so highly of you." He turned, and began to walk away.

A few moments later, he stopped. "Tell me, Lady, what is your definition of a great man? One theory could be that a great man is someone who takes his own path rather than meekly following others. What do you think of that?"

She said nothing. There was nothing to say. He left.

There had been no time for explanations, little time for questions, or answers. The next few hours passed hurriedly aboard Babylon 4.

Captain Dexter Smith was brought on board the station under heavy armed guard. He was met at the docking bay by Taan Churok.

"I was right," he said in harsh English. "I should have killed you."

"Yes," came the muted reply. "You should have."

The rest of the crew of the Babylon remained on board, although the ship was now operated by a large number of Narn Rangers. Captain Sheridan did not go near the ship, nor ask about anyone on it.

The survivors of the chaos on Epsilon 3 were brought up to the station. G'Kar was immediately rushed to the medical bay for extensive emergency work. Later reports said that he was stable, albeit with extensive internal and external injuries. Healing would take months at least.

Attempts were made to keep Ta'Lon in the medical bay as well, but he politely refused. He did consent to having his eye bandaged and disinfected, but then he insisted on meeting G'Dok and the other Ranger lieutenants. His second act was to tell them about those who had died on the planet. His first act was to rebuff all allegations that he was too weak to lead.

"I trust that scratch hasn't made you unfit to fight?" asked G'Dok.

"Hardly," came the reply. "It's just an eye, after all. I have a spare."

Ko'Dath and G'Dan came over from the Parmenion to liaise with the Narns on the station. Neither made any remark about Ta'Lon's injuries.

Dr. Mary Kirkish was also taken to the medical bay, and was diagnosed as suffering from extreme stress and trauma. She was sedated and left to rest. Commander David Corwin went to see her while she was sleeping. He whispered three words to her, words she did not hear, and then resumed his duties on the Parmenion.

Zathras remained on the planet for a while, advising and coaching Michael Garibaldi as much as he could. He frequently clicked and muttered in his own language, but it was clear that something was definitely not good.

Susan Ivanova was brought to the station. She was now semi-conscious, and seemed aware of her surroundings. Lyta Alexander, remaining on the Parmenion to scan for the presence of Shadow ships, gave a slight shudder at this time, although she would not explain why. Ivanova was taken to a cell and left there to await the attentions of those in authority.

No one dared touch the bodies at the Heart of the Machine.

A few hours after the ending of what would later be called the first stage of the Battle of the Third Line, a council was called. It was not attended by quite the number of dignitaries who had been present at G'Kar's doomed summit, but there was still enough power wielded in the room to influence a considerable portion of the galaxy.

It was Ta'Lon who spoke first. "Our current situation here is one of great danger," he explained. "The threat to this place has not ended with the surrender of the human forces. This station has a greater purpose than as a mere command centre for the war in the present. It has…. another destiny."

"This station was built to go backwards in time a thousand years, and serve a vital role in the last war against the Darkness."

Some of those present knew that already, but a great many did not. Lethke and Taan Churok in particular looked astonished. "You will…. forgive us…." Lethke said, "But that sounds a little…. uh…. hard to believe."