Chapter 8
Darien groaned as he regained consciousness. The light hurt his eyes. His whole body ached. Shakily, he sat up and looked around. What had happened to him? Then he remembered Jyari and struggled to his feet in alarm.
“Hello.”
He looked around with a grimace of pain. “Jyari? You run away and get me beaten up, then you stand there and say hello?”
She stepped back. “I'm - sorry.”
“Don’t be afraid,” he said hastily. “I'm in no condition to chase you again.”
“What did you mean about seeing my brother?”
“Jed rolled you up in the mat.” Darien dabbed his swollen lips gingerly. "He made me carry you out while he - did something else. We were to wait for him at - ” he looked around vaguely. “Wherever we were.”
“Why didn’t you say so?” Her look was reproachful.
“I did! I guess you were too groggy from the drug to understand me properly.”
“We should go back there. You can follow me at a distance.”
Darien groaned. “Just make it a bit slower, this time. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jyari smiled. “What’s your name?”
“You don’t remember that, either? I’m Darien.”
“You'd better catch up, Darien. I want to talk to you. Just walk over on the other side of the path.”
“You're pretty suspicious for a little kid. Can’t you trust me?”
“I used to trust Uncle Vexson.”
He could find no answer to that
“Why didn't Jed just wake me up? I could have walked out. How come he wasn’t caught in the palace? It’s dangerous for him in there.”
“You were drugged.” Darien explained it all again. “We couldn't waken you. Jed said to wait for him until noon.”
Jyari glanced at her watch. “It’s only early yet.”
Suddenly, the silence was split by a shrill alarm. Darien looked around uneasily. It seemed longer than an hour since Seret’s warning.
“They’ve probably discovered I’m missing,” Jyari said.
Darien nodded, remembering Seret’s warning. They should leave immediately, but what about Jed? This was not going how he had imagined.
“Guards are coming!” Jyari exclaimed, pointing. “Where can we hide, Darien? I don’t want to go back to the palace!”
“They might be looking for Jed, not you,” Darien said hopefully. “We’ve got to get back to that hill where we were before you ran away. Where is it?”
“This way.” Jyari ran up a side street.
Darien followed as well as he was able. Every step hurt and he felt as if he was going to throw up, but he could see where they were now. The trees were just ahead.
“He’s not here, yet,” Jyari said forlornly, looking about. “Do you think Vexson caught him?”
Darien sank down in the shade of a tree.
“There’s time yet,” he said, to comfort her. “If he’s not here by noon, we’ll go to our other meeting place. He might be there.”
“Where’s that?”
“Near the Cliffs of Ebor.” He couldn’t tell her about the Voyager.
“But that’s a long way away. It’s too far to walk, Darien.”
“We won’t need to walk.” He wouldn’t mention the air-bike until the last moment. It could be dangerous. “There are no guards up here. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Darien leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. Noon came and passed. The afternoon wore away slowly. How could they desert Jed by leaving? Jyari complained about being hungry, but there was no way to get food.
Suddenly, she let out a cry. “The guards are coming this way now! They’ve just turned into the street that leads here.”
Darien jumped up to look. She was right. And he had promised to guard her with his life.
“Come on, Princess. It’s time we got out of here.” He ran to the air-bike and pulled away the branches, smiling briefly at her astonishment.
“This is our ticket to safety.”
He adjusted Jed’s helmet to fit her and showed her where to sit, clipping on the safety harness.
“But we can’t go without Jed,” she wailed, as the jets whined.
“I’ll come back for him,” Darien assured her.
Yes, that was the best thing to do. It would not take very long to get to the Voyager. With the princess safely on board the starship, he would be free to return and assist Jed. With a whoosh, they hurtled into the air.
He had not bargained on the presence of sunflyers. The radar beeped a warning as the air-bike shot out from the cover of the trees. The guard in the sunflyer behind him requested his ID and licence number, using intergalactic signals. Even without the princess, he dared not stop; he had no spaceport clearance or visa. He would not pass as a Jeddonite. Normally, he would be able to dodge anything that homed in on him, but the sunflyer proved more difficult. The thud of its rotors dogged him no matter how he veered and twisted. He would have to use super-speed.
“Hang on, Jyari!” he yelled, and opened up the throttle.
Back at the palace, Jed stole through the empty rooms with a thudding heart. What a pity he hadn’t been able to waken Jyari, she could have told him most of what he needed to know. Now he had to find someone else to help him. But first, he would take the discs that Admiral Andrass needed for the Voyager. The computer storage room should be empty at this time of morning. Noiselessly, he ran down carpeted hallways and passed into a huge room through which ran rows of shelves stacked with computer discs. Dim light shone through large windows on one side. It would take too long to search for what he needed.
Quickly he activated the nearest computer to find the position of the discs he wanted, then ran through the aisles, looking for the number sequence. There it was. Triumphantly, he lifted out the discs and zipped them securely into his top pocket. Just as he turned to leave, a dark-caped figure hurried around the end of the aisle. There was no time to hide.
“Garaan!” Jed stepped back, his heart thudding.
“Jed! What are you doing here?”
The elder looked totally taken aback – and not in the least pleased to see him.
“I’ve come for the Badge!” Jed blurted it out before he could stop himself. Garaan had been so close to his father. “You know Vexson shouldn’t be the one to rule. You are surely loyal to my father, Garaan. You must help me!”
“Your father is dead, Jed.”
“Because that cur, Vexson assassinated him!”
“His starship exploded.”
“You believe those lies? How long since any starship ever exploded? Never in living memory. Vexson sabotaged it. I should be Ruler.”
“But you are guilty of treason.” Garaan’s expression was regretful. “And murder.”
“More lies! You’ve watched me grow up, Garaan. You know I could never kill. For Jeddon’s sake, help me end Vexson’s madness. You know he is not fit to rule Jeddon.”
“Justice will prevail, Jed. You must stand trial. You know the law as well as I.”
“When I am Ruler, I’ll change that law!” Jed vowed, hot fury coursing through him. “If my father were alive he’d be disappointed in you, Garaan.”
Behind them, the door hissed open again. Jed ducked down behind the shelves.
“Garaan!” Vexson’s voice boomed out. “What are you doing? You know the council is to meet soon.”
Jed looked up beseechingly at Garaan. His life was in the elder’s hands. Any moment he would call the guards.
“Strange,” murmured Garaan, almost to himself. “In spite of the law, I find I cannot betray Ankzar’s son.”
“Garaan.” Vexson’s voice was closer. “Are you coming or not?”
“Of course I’m coming.” Garaan turned and walked away, his cape flowing out behind him.
“To whom were you talking?”
“Myself, mostly. Is it council time already?”
Relieved, Jed listened to the voices fade. But what was he thinking of? The Badge was right under his nose and he was sitting on the floor like a fool. There could never be a better chance than this. Garaan would surely be his ally. Vexson was almost at the door. How could he be stopped?
In one fluid movement, Jed rose to his feet, grabbed a box of discs from the shelf and hurled it across the room. Then he raced along another aisle to get ahead of Vexson. Across the room, the box crashed into a shelf.
Vexson whirled around. “What in Jeddon’s name was that?”
Jed reached the door and kicked it shut.
“I challenge you for the right to rule, Vexson!” he cried. “Hold him, Garaan!”
Jed leapt at Vexson, his fingers closing around the Badge of Ruling. But Vexson chopped at his arm with such force that he thought briefly it had broken. All the same, he closed with the elder and struggled to overpower him, anger giving him strength. Garaan did not move.
In spite of his fury, Jed could not get the upper hand. Vexson was twice his weight and a wily old fighter. They crashed against a shelf and discs fell out on top of them. Soon Jed found himself pinned to the floor, with Vexson’s hands tightening around his neck. The blood drummed in his head and a red mist swirled before his eyes.
“Garaan – help me!” he sent.
Dimly he was aware of Garaan’s voice remonstrating; his face - and words - floating just above him.
“You can’t kill him, Vexson. Not now he has challenged you. It’s the law.”
Gradually, the pressure eased from his neck and he could breathe again. Vexson jerked him to his feet, keeping his arms pinned behind his back.
“Do you think I care for your challenge, boy? It amounts to nothing now you are a criminal. Huh! What a fool you were to think you could get the Badge.”
“I could have – with help!” Jed glared bitterly at Garaan.
The elder could not meet his gaze. “The law must be upheld, Jed. You will have a fair trial.”
“Fair? There is nothing fair about this whole business!” Jed shouted. “Why are you so blind?”
Vexson pressed an alarm and guards rushed into the room. They grabbed Jed and in spite of his struggles, marched him down to the dungeons. The metal door crashed open and Jed was thrust into a cell, almost tripping over a small shape huddled on the floor.
“Zarine?”
“Jed! I knew you wouldn’t die in the desert.”
“I may as well have,” Jed said somberly.
“True, but it’s better this way,” Vexson snarled, behind him. “Search him!”
One of the guards flanking Vexson stepped forward, his face impassive as he frisked Jed roughly. He must have felt the flat hardness of the discs, the bump of the pistol, but he said nothing. Jed began to hope again. Perhaps there were other guards on his side.
“Tomorrow you will be tried and executed,” Vexson told him as the guard stepped back. “But before you die you will formally invest me with the Badge of Ruling.”
“Never!”
Vexson stepped forward and grabbed Zarine, twisting her arm up behind her back until she screamed.
“Stop! Leave her!” Jed cried. “I will - do as you say.”
“I thought you'd see reason.” Vexson thrust the girl away. “Now kneel to me. Give your allegiance.”
“I'd sooner die!”
One of the guards swung his laser-gun casually in Zarine's direction. It was only to save her that Jed bit back his rage and dropped to his knees in front of Vexson. He was dimly aware of violent movement above him, but before he could look up pain exploded through his head. Long minutes later, he found himself face down on the floor with Zarine sitting over him, red-eyed.
He groaned. “What happened?”
“He hit you with the butt of the laser-gun. Can you stand up?”
He made it up with her help. There seemed to be two of everything and his legs felt rubbery. He shook his head to clear it and grimaced at the pain.
“Oh Jed,” Zarine sobbed. “I’m so sorry it has to end like this.”
“It hasn’t ended yet,” Jed muttered grimly, as he collapsed onto the hard bunk.
“What do you mean? There’s nothing we can do.”
“Listen. There are no guards on duty at night; all the doors are double-locked by computer. It is so safe that those guards who remain in the palace, sleep.”
“I know that.” Zarine sat down beside him. “It’s impossible to escape.”
“Not quite.” Jed reached into his inner pocket and withdrew the tiny pistol that Darien had given him. “The guard left me this. Thank the stars there are still some on my side. We can shoot out the locks with it.”
“Will – it work?” Zarine asked hopefully. “It’s so small.”
“Small, but powerful.” He returned the weapon to his pocket. “We’ll go late tonight, when the guards retire.”
He stretched out on the bunk with a groan. If he didn’t feel better than at present, he would never make it past the door.
Stars gleamed from the tiny window. The guard had collected their empty plates and left long ago. Jed’s pounding headache had subsided to a mild throb. He put the barrel of the weapon to the keyhole. There was a hiss and the cell was lit briefly by a red glow.
Zarine shoved the door open and they fled down the dank corridor at a stumbling run, the wail of the alarm dogging their footsteps.