Read Slave Empire III - The Shrike for Free Online Page A

guest room to stretch out on the
bed.
     
     
    Rayne opened
her eyes and blinked at a blank white ceiling in confusion. Rawn’s
house had pale yellow ceilings with wooden beams and warm
illumination, while this was similar to a hospital’s. A vague
antiseptic smell reminded her of Vengeance’s hospital, which had
the same seamless white expanses of moulded plasteel.
    Sitting up, she
swung her legs off the bed and gazed around at a circular white
room. A clutch of machines stood next to the wall, and the bed was
a narrow bunk. A peculiar buzzing inside her skull, which she now
realised had woken her up, became irritating in its insistent
prodding. Alarmed, she activated her implant and sent a call to
Shadowen.
    The buzzing
stopped, and his calm presence filled her mind. At last. I
thought you’d never wake up.
    “What’s
happened? Where am I?” she asked aloud.
    You have been
taken to an Atlantean installation several kilometres to the south
of your brother’s house. According to your escort, you were
transferred while you slept, apparently drugged. There was a
transfer plate under your bed, so it seems this was planned some
time ago. I became aware that you were no longer in the house and
alerted your escort, but it was too late. They tracked your
transfer to your present location and tried to recover you, but a
stress shield and a fluctuating, grounded energy shell surrounds
the installation.
    Rayne shook her
head, her numb brain overwhelmed by all the information. “My
brother? Is he all right?”
    I don’t
know.
    She rubbed her
brow, trying to gather her wits. “It had to be that scheming wife
of his, Norva. She’s after the reward. She must have co-operated
with the Atlanteans without his knowledge. I hope he’s okay.” A
frisson of dread went through her. “Does Tarke know?”
    The Shrike has
been informed, yes.
    “Shit. What’s
happening?”
    A great deal
has taken place since you were kidnapped. Your escort, after
failing to penetrate the facility, lodged an official complaint
with the Yasmarian Government. They’ve threatened reprisals the
Yasmarians know your husband can deliver. At the moment, the
Yasmarians are negotiating with the Atlanteans, probably to have
you removed. The Atlanteans are unwilling, knowing they might lose
you if they try to move you. They’ll probably refuse, at which time
the Yasmarians will claim that they’ve tried unsuccessfully to aid
in your release, to mollify the Shrike.
    Rayne cursed
and jumped up to pace around the room. “Bloody politics! What’s
Tarke doing?”
    He’s en-route
to Darmon, with several more ships. The Atlanteans have sent for
reinforcements, and the Yasmarians have mobilised their fleet.
    “They’re going
to start a damned war.”
    Horror rose
within her in a nauseating tide, and the spectre of the Envoy’s
emptiness loomed, threatening to spill over into her mind. She
thrust it back, clinging to her reason by holding her awareness
like a hot flame in the centre of her mind, scattering the
shadows.
    “Tell Tarke he
must destroy this facility. I know he can do it.” She remembered
that Shadowen would self-destruct, and added, “Tell him to unlink
you from my biorhythms first.” She spoke without thinking about the
consequences. “Tell him to do it before they probe my mind.”
    He’ll find a
way to free you.
    “How? Nothing
can get me out of here. They’ve thought of everything, and they’ll
do anything to learn his identity.”
    By taking you,
the Atlanteans will start a war they’ve sought to avoid for
decades. A conflict between the Atlantean Empire and the Shrike’s
would cause massive loss of life and destruction of planets, and
greatly weaken both sides. They won’t risk it.
    Rayne frowned,
stopping beside the bed. “They won’t hand me back before they probe
my mind.”
    If you block
the telepath for long enough, they’ll be forced to hand you back
before they start a war.
    “So they’ll
probe me until he attacks, then