Part 5 (1/2)
With all due respect, that may not be an entirely good idea.' This new arrival was of the same stock as Emmel, but he had the look about him of a hunting dog. He was lean and spare, and hungry with it. The a.n.a.lytical part of Verity's mind automatically noticed the telltale yellowing around the edges of his eyelids common to those who smoked kyxa. The plant extract from worlds in the Ultima Segmentum was a mild narcotic and aphrodisiac, far too costly for the common folk.
Governor Emmel gave a shallow bow. 'My honoured Baron Sherring, your counsel is welcome at all times.
There is an issue you wish to bring to my attention?'
Sherring glanced at Galatea and the a.s.sembled Sis-ters, then away again. 'I would not be so bold as to cast doubt on the dedication of these fine women, but voices are raised in chambers, governor. My fellowbarons wonder if our personal guards might not take up the hunt for this Vaun fellow'
Miriya spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. At first she seemed apologetic. 'Begging the baron's pardon, but you overlook a matter of some importance.'
'Does he?' piped Emmel, drawing a goblet from a pa.s.sing cherubim. 'Do tell.
Torris Vaun was loose on this planet for a full two solar years before he ventured offworld to further his criminal career. In that time, the soldiers of your n.o.ble houses utterly failed to effect the witch's cap-ture.
She laid a cool eye on Sherring. 'But forgive me. I am not party to the radical, sweeping changes in combat doctrine that you must have instilled in your guards since then.
Sherring covered his annoyance with a puff from a tabac stick, and Emmel tapped his lips thought-fully. 'I don't recall any changes. he said aloud. 'Perhaps there were and I was not informed?'
The baron bowed and made to leave. 'As I said, it was a suggestion, nothing more. Clearly the Battle Sisters have everything in hand. Sherring retreated back into the gathering, bidding farewell with a plastic smile.
Emmel found Verity watching him and he threw her a slightly boozy wink. 'Good old Holt. Stout fel-low, if a bit ambitious. He glanced at Miriya. 'Sister, your forthrightness is refres.h.i.+ng. A good trait for a warrior.
The governor leaned closer to her, and in that moment his mask of affable geniality slipped. 'But I will be disappointed if that is the only arrow in your quiver. Then the smirk was back and he was drifting away, draining the goblet to the dregs.
In his place appeared an officer of the planetary guard garrison, bearded and furrow-browed. The man wore the local uniform of gra.s.s green and black, dotted with highly polished decorations of many kinds. At his waist was a ceremonial lasgun made of gla.s.s and a scimitar. The lord deacon asks that you attend him on the tier. His voice was flat.
'I would be glad to do so, Colonel Braun. began Galatea, but the officer gave a slow shake of the head.
'Lord LaHayn wishes to address Sister Miriya. Braun looked at Verity. 'And the Hospitaller as well.
The Canoness covered a twitch of annoyance. 'Of course. She nodded, but the colonel was already walking.
Verity felt her throat go dry as she fell into step with Miriya. It took her a moment to find her voice. 'What do I tell him?'
Miriya's expression remained rigid. Her distaste for these people was more potent than the per-fumes.
Whatever he wants to hear.
The Tier of Greatest Piety extended out like a jutted lip from the cathedral tower at its thickest point, high up over the teeming ma.s.ses below. While white noise generators kept the genteel music inside the chapel, out here on the crescent-shaped terrace the night seemed to float on waves of cheering and hymnals.
There were ranks of illuminators everywhere, but none of them were operating at the moment. The only light came from below, from the floodlamps and the uncountable numbers of electro-candles in the hands of the amphitheatre audience. Braun guided them between busy lines of servitors preparing hololith lenses and nets of vox cabling. At the raised edge of the terrace, the great Lord Deacon of Neva, Viktor LaHayn, sat atop a stone battlement watching the crowd, apparently unaffected by the dizzying view.
He had to raise his voice a little to be heard. They can't see us up here yet. began the priest-lord. ”We are dark. Anyone who looks up will miss the words and that would be unforgivable.'
Miriya saw down below where vast turning boards made of small painted shutters flapped and clacked into words in High Gothic. The lyrics to the hymns rolled over them for the ma.s.sive crowd to see. 'Surely, lord, they should know the words by heart?'
LaHayn threw an amused look to the dean at his side. 'Spoken like a true Sororitas, eh Venik?'
The other man just nodded, and then gestured to Braun. Without words, the colonel gave a shallow bow and retreated into the company of a dozen armsmen near the chapel door. It became clear to Miriya that the deacon was waiting for the soldiers to be out of earshot.
'Those who cannot read, learn by rote,' said LaHayn. 'In this way, the word of the G.o.d-Emperor is never lost to us. It remains unalterable, inviolate, eternal.
Ave Imperator. The ritual coda slipped from her mouth without conscious thought.
'Indeed. said the priest-lord, and he smiled again. 'Sisters Miriya and Verity, I hope you will not think ill of me for my display in the convent. Understand that the zeal the Emperor imbues me with is some-times more than an old man may conduct. In the matter of the criminal Vaun, I am most ardent.
'His light touches all of us in its own way. piped Verity, keeping her eyes lowered.
'And you share my pa.s.sion for this mission, yes?' LaHayn's voice was casual, level, but aimed like a laser at the Sister Superior.'How could I not?' she replied. The man took the life of one of my most trusted comrades, a deco-rated Sister who devoted her entire existence to our church, and for that alone he should die a hundred deaths.
She kept her voice steady with effort. 'His violation of Sister Iona's mind blackens him further still. If it is in my power, I should like to present the wastrel to her so that she might be the one to strike his head from his neck.
Dean Venik raised an eyebrow, but LaHayn's expression did not alter. 'It pleases me to hear you say those words. I prayed for Sister Iona's soul today at my private ma.s.s. I hope that in the grace of the Condicio Repentia she might find the solace she seeks.
A nerve jumped in Miriya's jaw. Iona might never have taken the terrible exile of the repentant had it not been for LaHayn's demands for contrition. That simple fact seemed to escape the priest-lord.
'Honoured Sisters, I require you to keep the dean appraised of your investigations at all times. I'm sure you understand that Governor Emmel and the planetary congress have their issues with your continued involvement, but I have ensured that you may progress without undue censure.'
'His lords.h.i.+p has instructed me to open my office to you during your hunt for the criminal. added Venik.
'You may pet.i.tion me directly on any matters that fall outside your purview.
'You are most generous. added Verity.
'Tell me. the priest-lord said in a confidential tone. 'I understand you conducted an interroga-tion at the reformatory. What did you discover?'
'I have no conclusions to offer at this stage, lord. Miriya spoke quickly, pre-empting anything that Verity might say. 'But I fear that the orchestration of Vaun's escape was not mere opportunism. There is a plan at work here.
'Indeed? We must consider that carefully. Some-thing below in the arena made the crowd cry out in awe and it caught LaHayn's attention for a moment. He studied Miriya. 'Vaun is no easy prey, Sister. He is elusive and deadly, but brilliant with it.
'He's a thug. she grated, a growing sense of irri-tation building in her.
The priest seemed not to notice. 'Only on the outside. I've met him face to face, my dear, and he can be charming when he wants to be.
'If you were close enough to look him in the eye, why is he not dead?' Venik inhaled sharply and shot her a warning glare, but Miriya ignored it. 'I find myself wondering why a creature such as he was not gathered up as a youth for the harvest of the Black s.h.i.+ps.
Torris Vaun is wily. noted LaHayn. 'Compa.s.sion and love are absent from his heart. He burns cold, Sister.
Verity studied his face as he spoke. 'You sound as if you admire him, lord.
The priest snorted lightly. 'Only as one might admire the function of a boltgun or the virulence of a disease.
Believe me, there is no one on Neva who will be more content than I when Vaun meets the end I have planned for him.
The dean made to dismiss them, but Miriya stood her ground. 'If it pleases the deacon, you have not answered my questions.
LaHayn stood, brus.h.i.+ng a speck of dust from the rich crimson and gold fabric of his robes. 'Some-times, death alone is not enough to satisfy the Emperor's decree. He was terse now, each word sharp and hard.