Hastur Lord

Was Valdir trying to apologize,to admit he’d made a mistake?

“I know you think my methods improper—” Valdir said.

Criminal, more like.

“—but I am not a man who shrinks from what must be done. I was right in principle, if not in my choice of an ally.”

“My brother, you mean.”

Valdir’s expression hardened in response.

“You thought you could manage him,” Regis persisted, “like a puppet. But he has priorities of his own and no interest in your precious Federation. You put him in power, and now you must deal with him.”

“He won’t listen! It’s impossible to have a serious discussion with him! He’s unstable, out of control! I don’t know what he’ll do next—no one is beyond his reach.”

Regis straightened, the joints of his spine crackling with tension. “Why should I help you with the mess you’ve dug yourself into? Why should I do anything at all for you?”

“I acted only as I thought best,” Valdir repeated.

For a long moment, the two men stared at one another. Regis remembered Dyan Ardais saying very much the same thing. The man called Kadarin had doubtless thought so, too.

“Better men than you have done terrible things for the good of Darkover. How does that lessen the harm they caused or restore the lives they destroyed?” Black rage boiled up in Regis .“You put Rinaldo where he is and made sure I had no power to oppose you. You married off your own kinswoman to him, though she was a child with no understanding of what that meant.

“You set Haldred as my jailor,” Regis stormed on, “you cut me off from friends. You kidnapped two i

“And you threatened to murder my paxman . . .”

Valdir blanched.

“So now you come whining to me that my brother has a mind of his own? I say, you can choke on it. There are more important things at stake than your petty ambition! Go home to Serrais and tend to your people, or get yourself to Vainwal like your kinsman Lerrys. Or freeze in Hell, for all I care! Just don’t expect any sympathy from me!”

Regis swung into the saddle, leaving Valdir standing alone.

The ride back to the townhouse settled his temper somewhat. The sky still threatened, but the storm was not yet upon him. The last portion of the trip, he found himself longing for the sunlit parlor, Li

The moment Regis entered the foyer of the townhouse, he knew something was wrong.

“Oh, Blessed Cassilda, you’re back!” Merilys rushed through the interior door, face red, hands fluttering.

“What’s happened?”

“ DomnaJava

The sound of incoherent sobbing came from within, carrying the unmistakable imprint of Java

The uproar led him straight to the family parlor, no longer a haven of tranquility. Java

Gabriel—

Java

But Java

“ Breda,you are safe with us. Let us help you.”

Java

Li

“Why, for what cause?” Regis asked. Gabriel was one of the most capable and respected Guards officers in a generation.

“None that Java

“I’m afraid he does,” Regis said with a twinge of regret at how easily and dispassionately his grandfather’s lectures returned to him. “He is Lord Hastur and, nominally at any rate, Regent of the Comyn. The Comyn Council no longer exists, and with Lew Alton off-world, no one else has the rank to challenge him.”

Java

“The Lanarts have some claim to Alton,” Regis said thoughtfully. “Gabriel has a basis to challenge the decision, and many would stand with him.”

“See, it’s not so bad—” Li

“You don’t understand!” Java

28

Taken Ariel?

Java

No, Valdir tried to warn me.

“What do you mean, taken?” Li

“I left her alone—with her governess—in our quarters. Only for an hour, while I tended to—there’s so much to do, and Bettany’s useless! When I got back, Ariel was gone—the governess half out of her mind—a note—”

Java

“Dear sister,”he read the scholarly script aloud for Li

“Be at ease concerning the welfare of my niece. She is well, and her spiritual development is now properly—”with each phrase, his heart sank lower “— in the care of Lady Luminosa. Every means will be taken to ensure her continued safety, but it would be imprudent to interrupt her religious education.

“Rinaldo Felix-Valentine, Lord of Hastur”

“May all the demons in Zandru’s Seven Hells curse him!” Java

“It seems,” Li

“Because my husband isloyal, that’s why! Loyal to the Comyn,” Java

“—except to prevent Gabriel from stopping him,” Li

Memories flooded Regis of the sickening fear when Danilo and Mikhail had been held prisoner. He would have done anything, given anything—even his own life—to save them. Danilo was an adult and Mikhail almost so, but Ariel was just a child . . .

Blessed Cassilda, what kind of monster would do this to a little girl?

“He won’t harm her. He still needs your cooperation,” Li

Java

Regis grasped Java

Breda.Gently he opened his mind to hers, inviting her permission to make contact. She lowered her barriers.