Traitor's Sun

  It is good to hear you sounding excited, my dearest. These last few days have

  been so hard on you.

  On both of us, Mikhail.

  Mikhail offered Katherine his arm, and she took it cautiously, acutely aware of

  the young man just behind him, watching her suspiciously. Who was he, and why

  had no one introduced him? Katherine let herself be guided toward the table as

  her husband fell in beside Marguerida with conscious grace, as if this were no

  more than a state dinner of the sort they had attended hundreds of times before.

  There was a quiet scraping of chairs, as everyone got settled. Mikhail saw Nico

  get Alanna seated, while Roderick helped Ter‚se. Amaury, taking a cue from the

  boys, helped Yllana, and then sat between her and Alanna, casting an admiring

  glance at the Alar girl. Mikhail seated Katherine to his right, in the place of

  honor, while Marguerida did the same with Hermes.

  Gisela started to take the place at Mikhail's left, but just then Lew Alton

  appeared with Ida Davidson, the widow of Marguerida's mentor, on his arm. He

  seated Ida next to Herm, then subtly shifted Gisela one place down, getting a

  very dirty look for his pains. Danilo Syrtis-Ardais trailed behind them, and

  took the empty place on Gisela's other side. She did not look as if being

  buttressed by the two men pleased her, but she shrugged and seemed to choose to

  make the best of it. Mikhail observed her green eyes as they flashed toward the

  other side of the table, where Rafael was taking his place on Marguerida's left,

  with the children ranged beside him.

  The servants went around, filling glasses, and the soup course was brought.

  Except for the children, there was very little conversation around the table.

  Roderick was telling Herm's daughter about his horse, and she was round-eyed.

  Horses were almost extinct in much of the Federation, and it was clear the girl

  had only seen one in the Menagerie.

  Lew gave Mikhail a quick look, his eyes troubled. What is it, Lew?

  I just received a most interesting message from Belfontaine-addressed to Regis,

  of course. Thus far I have managed to keep word of his death from getting to HQ,

  but I won't be able to keep it from them for much longer.

  Why bother, they'll find out eventually?

  Because I do not wish us to be perceived as being vulnerable, Mikhail. The

  Federation has a history of using events like Regis' death to try to further

  their own interests. I am especially glad that Dani as here, and not at Elhalyn

  Castle. And Gareth Elhalyn showed up an hour ago, so he is safe, too.

  I don't understand.

  It is not beyond imagination that they might kidnap him and try to have him put

  into power. They have done such things on other worlds. I believe that the

  situation in the Federation is too chaotic at present for anyone to attempt such

  a coup, but the sooner Domna Miralys and her daughter get here, the happier I

  wall be. Gareth is with his father and Lady Linnea for the evening. I am

  probably jumping at shadows, and giving Belfontaine more credit for imagination

  than he deserves.

  So, what was in the message?

  It was closer to a demand-he wants me to hand over Herm, as an enemy of the

  Federation. He made a few veiled threats about what would result if we did not,

  but since 1 know that the Federation is going to be leaving Darkover in the very

  near future, 1 don't think he can really act on them.

  Pull out? Did Belfontaine say that?

  Hardly. That I learned in a note from Ethan MacDoevid just ten minutes ago-our

  intelligence as still better than Belfontaine's! He seems to have charmed the

  information out of Belfontaine's personal clerk, immediately before he was

  ordered out of Headquarters for good. He said he will come around tomorrow, and

  tell me everything he has managed to pick up. I praise the day Marguerida

  decided to send him to Rafe Scott, for he has been invaluable since Rafe was

  forced to retire, even though he has no laran and cannot eavesdrop that way. But

  it does mean we now have no one actually in HQ and any information we get will

  have to be acquired unscrupulously. There was a kind of merriment in this last

  remark, and Mikhail knew what his father-in-law meant.

  Mikhail realized that Katherine was watching him intently, and that she must

  suspect something was being said that she could not hear. Her earlier discomfort

  had returned, and he cursed himself silently for letting his attention wander.

  She was an intelligent woman, and for all he knew, might be a Federation spy.

  No, he was being overcautious. She was just a woman in an unfamiliar setting,

  yanked out of her familiar world without warning and dropped down in the middle

  of a political crisis.

  "Lew mentioned that you were from Renney, Domna Katherine. I confess I know

  nothing about it, except that your ancestor, the composer, came from there. He

  is a favorite of my wife's, and she is yearning to interrogate you about him,

  but that will keep. Please, tell me about your home world."

  Katherine set down her spoon, her bowl empty, looking quite relieved to be asked

  about so ordinary a subject. "Well, there is not a great deal to tell. It is a

  small place, at the edge of the Pollux sector. We are farmers and dairymen and

  seafarers, much as our ancestors were when they were still on Terra. We speak a

  tongue very similar to your own-it astonished me when Herm demonstrated the

  likenesses. I lived there until I was sixteen, and then I won a scholarship to

  the Fine Arts Academy on Coronis. I studied painting with Donaldo dePaul, and

  then met my first husband, Amaury's father. He was killed in an accident when

  Amaury was a baby, and two years later, I met Herm. My life, until the past few

  days, has been extremely uneventful."

  "I am sorry that you did not come to Darkover under better circumstances,

  domna."

  "When I married Herm, I took a vow to be with him at all times, good and bad,

  but I confess I never expected that to mean I would be dragged out of my bed in

  the middle of the night and end up on the other side of the Federation, far away

  from everything I know, and with very little chance of ever seeing Renney

  again." There was no mistaking the sadness in her voice now, and the undertone

  of worry as well. "Except for the children, and my cousin Cara, who was in the

  Chamber of Deputies, my entire family is still there, for we are not a world

  that produces very many travelers. We have everything we need on Renney, or

  almost. When I left, my Nana just shook her head and said she hoped I would not

  rue the day. I can imagine what she would say now."

  "I hope you will not miss it too much, and we must both pray that things do not

  get completely out of hand."

  She shook her head, and the coil at her nape shifted, so Mikhail got a glimpse

  of the soft flesh at the back of her neck. "I overheard Lew Alton and Herm

  talking, and they did not sound very cheerful. I can barely believe that the

  Premier has disbanded the Legislature. It seems so . . . extreme. And, for all

  that I am the wife of politician, I have managed to keep myself in relative

  ignorance, because worrying about political strife interferes with
my work." She

  looked faintly embarrased at this admission, and glanced at the now empty glass

  in front of her, as if she wanted something to focus on. A servant started to

  refill it almost immediately.

  Domenic, who was seated beside Katherine, spoke for the first time. "It was a

  crazy thing to do, domna." A puzzled look came into his face, as if he was

  surprised by his own outburst. He glanced at his father, and when he found no

  look of disapproval, he relaxed.

  Mikhail looked fondly at his oldest child, the most mysterious of his offspring.

  He did not know if it was because the child had been conceived in the distant

  past, or because he had spent several weeks of time suspended in his mother's

  womb while both she and Mikhail were in the misty waters of Lake Hali, but he

  was much more mature than his years suggested, and he was a remote boy. No . . .

  not remote, but just having a hard time making the transition from childhood to

  adulthood. Sometimes he was shy and other times he was outspoken, although he

  was never bold in the way his brother Roderick was.

  Istvana Ridenow, who had first tested him, said he had a unique laran, one she

  was unable to define to her own satisfaction. True, he had the Alton Gift of

  forced rapport, as strongly as his mother, but there was something else as well.

  Mikhail wondered from time to time if Nico had the living matrix of the Hasturs,

  but Istvana said it was not that. Whatever it was, it was developing in its own

  way, slowly and almost painfully. He had a kind of shyness around everyone

  except his cousin Alana that made him quiet and reserved.

  Katherine looked at Nico with interest. "I agree, but I would like to know your

  thoughts." What am I saying? I can't know his thoughts, because I am not a

  telepath, but he can probably know mine, even though Marguerida said that . . .

  damn Herm for not warning me! And what about Ter‚se? Is my little girl going to

  be a mindreader or some other sort of witch, like Great-grandmother Lila was

  supposed to have been? Nana's stories about her always gave me the creeps, and

  here I am on a planet where some of the people have the ability to look into my

  mind whenever they choose, and I can't tell who can and who cannot. Even though

  I have nothing to hide, it as still intolerable! Well, I would not be

  disappointed to give that Gisela a piece of my mind, except she probably has

  just enough scruples not to snoop when I very much wish she would! I really must

  try to be more consistent-one second feeling naked in this room, and the next

  expecting these odd folks to hear my thoughts. I wonder what that man next to

  Gisela is saying. Whatever it is, she doesn't look very happy about it-serves

  her right, the cat! She deliberately tried to embarrass us!

  Nico considered her question without speaking, as if trying to find the best

  approach. These days he often appeared very sullen, alternating without reason

  toward sudden bursts of pungent observation that surprised his elders.

  Remembering his own adolescence, Mikhail knew it was normal for his age. At

  least he thought about his words first, unlike Rory who said the first thing

  that came into his head, without any thought of the consequences. Mikhail loved

  them both, but he knew he favored Roderick, just a little, because Domenic was

  so very opaque and distant.

  "I have been listening to Grandfather Lew. And thinking. It seems to me that the

  Terranan have leaped before they looked." Nico frowned and hesitated. Then he

  continued. "Granddad says that most of his mistakes came from acting before he

  considered what might happen, and that the Federation has done that now." He

  glanced across the table at Lew, to see if he had said anything untoward, but

  Lew just continued consuming his soup in pleasant silence.

  "Aren't you a little young to be thinking about political ramifications?"

  Katherine sounded both amused and genuinely interested. It was clear she was at

  ease with the boy. Mikhail could tell that Domenic was starting to respond to

  her friendliness, to abandon his normal reserve and actually enjoy himself.

  "I am fifteen, and I have been thinking of politics all my life, or so it seems

  to me." He gave Katherine one of his rare and charming smiles, then ran his

  fingers through his hair, unconsciously imitating Mikhail. His hair was a little

  long, touching the collar of his green tunic, because Nico loathed the barber.

  "You see, with our long winters, with the snow up to the window sills for

  months, we are all devoted to intrigue here. Just ask Aunt Giz sometime, and you

  will get an earful." He cast a look across the table at Gisela, and to Mikhail's

  surprise, there was something like real malice in his son's gaze.

  "Aunt?" She looked slightly confused for a moment. "Of course. Do you know, I

  believe that makes me your in-law as well. I had not thought of that before. I

  have lots of sisters, and nieces and nephews by the bushel, but it hadn't really

  penetrated my brain that I would have instant relations on Darkover." She turned

  her head gracefully and looked Gisela up and down, managing to convey without a

  word that her new sister-in-law was a mere country girl, and something of a dowd

  into the bargain. Mikhail dabbed his napkin to his mouth to conceal the broad

  grin on his lips, while Gisela simmered with fury. Then Katherine turned back to

  Mikhail, her dark eyes flashing in a very attractive way, as if she had paid off

  a score and was quite pleased with herself. "Indeed, I believe Amaury and I are

  the only people at the table who are not some sort of relation to you by blood.

  Is that right?"

  Mikhail nodded. She was as intelligent as Lew had suggested. "Almost correct.

  The elderly woman seated next to Hermes is not a native of Darkover, but the

  widow of Marguerida's musical mentor. But everyone else is a relative, yes.

  Young Donal here," he said, gesturing over his shoulder, "is both my nephew and

  my paxman, and Alanna is his sister. You could say that most gatherings of the

  Domain families are family gatherings, and not be too far off the mark." It

  seemed like a safe topic, and he decided to pursue it further, just to keep

  Katherine from dwelling on her fears. "And since the arrival of the Terranan

  over a century ago, we have intermarried with them as well. For instance, Lew's

  mother, Elaine, was a daughter of Mariel Aldaran and a Terran man, Wade Montray.

  Lew's first wife, Marjorie, was also an Aldaran, on her mother's side, and her

  father was Zeb Scott, a Terran. So, my Marguerida is a cousin of your husband

  through her grandmother."

  Katherine frowned over this. "But not an Aldaran through her father's first

  wife, I take it."

  She was quick! "No-Marguerida's mother was Marjorie's half sister, Thyra."

  "Mother does not like to talk about her," Nico said very quietly, the remnants

  of his usual shyness vanishing in the warmth of Katherine's attention. "She was

  a very strange person, and wicked, too."

  "Thank you for telling me-I can see that it would be easy to make a mistake and

  mention something that would offend her. Now I finally understand why she and

  Gisela look so similar-they are cousins as well as sisters-in-law.
I thought

  that Renney kinships were convoluted, but I think that Darkover might just have

  us beaten, fair and square."

  "Father was almost forced to marry Gisela, but he went away instead," Nico

  answered, his tongue loosened with wine and his dark eyes glittering with

  something like his brother's devilment. He knew that the subject still made

  Mikhail squirm. Then he glanced at Katherine's face and grinned. "Father and

  Mother ran away together in the middle of the night and got married by . . ."

  "Domenic!"

  "Oh, Father, she is sure to hear the tale from someone, and you would not want

  the servants telling her, would you?"

  "I am sure Domna Katherine does not wish to be bored with events in the past."

  Domenic laughed aloud, and everyone stared at him for a moment. "The past! That

  is a good one, Father."

  For a moment, Mikhail had the wish to strangle his firstborn. Katherine was not

  yet easy in their company, and he was sure that hearing a tale about a trip into

  the Ages of Chaos, in Darkover's distant past, would only increase her

  discomfort. Accepting telepaths was surely enough for the present. At the same

  time, he realized, Nico was right. If she did not hear the story from him, she

  would find out from another source, likely embellished with details that were

  more fancy than truth. He could just imagine Gisela's version of their

  adventures.

  Katherine looked from son to father and raised her eyebrows. She really was a

  handsome woman. "Now I am very intrigued. My Nana always said that I was as

  curious as a bag of cats. And, in truth, I would rather hear about anything

  except the follies of the Federation. I am throughly sick of that subject."

  A servant removed her soup bowl and replaced it with a plate of fritters and

  broiled fish. Mikhail had already been served his portion, and picked up his

  fork with his gloved hand. He cut off a bite of fritter, lightly flavored with

  herbs, and speared a piece of fish.

  When he had swallowed and sipped some wine, Mikhail spoke. "Domenic means that

  Marguerida and I were drawn into the past-about seven hundred years-and were

  married by an ancient laranzu called Varzil the Good, who was of the Ridenow

  Domain. It all seems quite fantastic to me, and I was there!" Then he cursed

  himself for the clumsiness of his choice of words, and knew how very weary he