[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
supporters all this time. And none of them had reported to Verot about Imreen? They
had to have known.
That was loyalty. Bosaru was astonished, not that the Verot and his family would
inspire it, but the conflict within, the knowing but not telling that must have torn each
and every one of them apart, day after day. It would have eaten him alive.
And each and every one of them wearing the armbands. So many, he muttered.
I never realized.
Imreen looked too. You touched down in a Vozuan stronghold, she reminded
him. You told me that we re alike, that we don t look particularly different& but at
times like these, we are. And the chasm can be wide.
116
Echoes of Passion
We were born of common stock, you and I and all of these Verot followers. We are
alike. Our differences are minor, Bosaru insisted.
Imreen or Imra, he didn t know whether she wanted to be known by her original
name again glanced at him, with an expression that said, Surely you jest. Not here, not
now.
But all she said was, We ll talk about this later. After&
Her voice tapered off, the echoes of her words dissipating like mist. Then they
didn t speak anymore as they followed Rop, until Bosaru lost track of the twists and
turns in the tunnels. Imreen must have been here from the beginning of the creation of
the tunnels. Could she keep track? Or were they being led in such a way that they
couldn t keep track of where they were?
Where are we going? he asked, his voice loud.
Rop, ahead of them, looked back. To the Verot.
I know that, Bosaru answered. But how far are we going?
Here, the man said, taking one final turn and stopping at a door. It was
nondescript, looking like all the other tunnel doors. This one didn t have a designation,
however, and that made it unique.
What s the address?
Rop turned and stared at him. You don t need to know.
I need to know where I am. Unless you re deliberately trying to confuse me.
Unless I m a prisoner. Unless we re both prisoners.
At that the man snorted. A prison you walked into willingly. The Verot will find
that amusing. Why would we do that, to the Verot s own family? He opened the door
and said, You re entering our home. The new home of the Vozuans. This is where we
make our plans. Our plans for Vozua Primus.
Vozua Primus. The slogan behind which Verot had whipped up hysterical support,
reminding his followers that the name of the planet bore the name of the enemy, the
name of the original hominoid stock from which both cultures sprang. Are these new
plans for Vozua Primus? Or the same plans you had on the home world, for the home
world?
Rop didn t reply, instead making his way up the steps and once more gesturing
Imreen and Bosaru to follow. They did. Bosaru could hear the echo of the Vozuan
followers behind them but they stopped.
He glanced behind. Then he realized only a handful had come up the steps with
them, leaving the rest in the tunnels.
Why? Were they peons, not allowed in the sanctuary?
Or did they want as few witnesses as possible?
Like most of the steps leading from the tunnels, Bosaru and the others ended up on
the surface quickly. He started to go through the final entryway, only to be stopped.
117
Eilis Flynn
Lady Imra should be first to see the sanctum, Rop said. For her and her kind we
have done all this.
Bosaru became curious at that. He heard Imreen gasp. What the
One last step, and he understood.
The room was wide open. The windows were intact, and from what Bosaru could
see beyond the glass, the district was one he hadn t explored yet, a retail area between
Vozuan Town and the Neoti district. In the distance he could see what appeared to be
the med center, and beyond that the building that served as the local government
center.
So Verot had his headquarters in the middle of the town at the heart of the
settlement. Perhaps there was a misleading sign on the outside of this building, one that
no one not in the know would think twice about. Hiding in plain sight.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]