Too Close to the Sun (The Sun 1) (45 page)

Rianol crawled in beside her, but didn’t look any happier about being there than she did. He’d barely tucked his legs under the cover when a knock came at the door.

“Come in.” Rianol shouted, quickly draping an arm around Angel’s shoulders, pulling her close.

“What is so urgent that I had to come here...” Her grandfather’s voice fell silent as he stepped into the room and saw them. For a moment, his face mirrored his shock. Then he pulled himself together. “What’s the meaning of this?” He demanded of Rianol. “What are you doing with my granddaughter?”

“We’re invoking the Rite of Consummation,” Rianol replied smoothly, squeezing Angel’s arm to no doubt remind her to keep quiet. As if she would risk her mother’s life, she thought disgustedly. “As you can see,” Rianol continued. “We spent the night together, as man and wife, and need only make a public declaration to legalize our marriage.”

“Is this true?” Her grandfather glared at her.

Angel could only nod.

"You dare do this to me."

"You left us no choice," Rianol replied.

Her grandfather seemed to age before her eyes, all the fight going out of him and he didn’t look at either of them before leaving the room.

Rianol jumped out of bed and crossed the room, apparently unconcerned about his lack of dress. He shut the door and turned to give her a smile. “That went well, don’t you think?”

* * * * *

Yanur stepped to the outer fringes of the crowd gathered in the village’s public square. The tracer tag embedded in the necklace he’d given Katrina indicated she was here. He’d told her he’d come for her, as soon as he took care of Nicoli’s body. Had she believed him?

He surveyed the faces in the crowd, feeling the anticipation and excitement in those gathered there. And his concern grew.

Then he spotted her. She would never hear him over the noise, so he pushed his way through the crowd, until he stood behind her.

“Katrina.” Her name was a prayer on his lips.

At the sound of his voice, she turned to him and her eyes lit up with joy. Then, so quickly that he wondered if he’d mistaken her initial reaction, her eyes clouded and her expression grew solemn.

“Hello, Mr. Snellen.”

Mr. Snellen? What was this?
“Katrina, I’d like to talk to you.” He looked pointedly at her companion, recognizing Sorrah, the maid Katrina hated. “Alone.”

Katrina’s glance darted to the maid before turning to him. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

For a moment, he doubted himself. Had he been wrong thinking there was more to what they shared than mere friendship? Then he saw it, a flicker of emotion in Katrina’s eyes. Fear.

“Very well,” he said to her. “I’ll leave.”

He saw the desperation in her eyes when he turned to leave, but he didn’t go far. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the neuro-tazer. He pressed it to the maid’s neck and she crumpled into his waiting arms, unconscious. The crowd, too distracted by what was about to transpire at the podium, didn’t seem to notice as he dragged her off to the side and set her against a tree.

When he turned around, Katrina was there. For a moment, she stood and stared at the unconscious maid. Then a smile broke across her face and she threw herself into his arms.

“I knew you’d come back. Your timing, as usual, is very good.” The look of love she showered on him left him breathless.

“You really need someone to watch over you,” he scolded.

“Are you applying for the job?”

Yanur looked deep into her eyes. “Yes, I am.” He lowered his head, touching his lips to hers, putting his heart and the promise of a lifetime into a single kiss.

* * * * *

Angel approached the square in a dreamlike state. Fatigue and frustration dominated her emotions and thoughts. She was barely aware of the villagers gathered in the square or how all eyes turned expectantly to watch as she and Rianol walked onto the stage.

With Rianol on one side, clutching her arm, and her grandfather on the other, Angel scanned the crowd for her mother. She was nowhere to be seen.

“Good villagers of Scyphor,” Rianol began. “Hear me now. In accordance with the Rite of Consummation, I swear before all of you that An’jel ToRrenc and I, Rianol DeWintre, did consummate our marriage and stand before you now as husband and wife. Let anyone with a prior claim speak now or forever remain silent.”

Angel prayed for a miracle, knowing none would come. Angel longed to remove the confident smile that crossed Rianol’s face as he looked out over the people. Then a voice shouted from the crowd.

“I lay prior claim.”

A buzzing started in Angel’s head, playing games with her mind. The voice she heard was a figment of her imagination, wishful thinking but nothing more. A low murmuring of voices began in the crowd and grew louder. Then they parted and a figure stepped forward.

“Nicoli.”

The name rushed from her lips on a whisper as she gripped the podium with both hands to steady herself. How could he be alive? It was a miracle. She wanted to race into the crowd, throw herself into his arms, but her mother’s life lay in the balance.

“Colonel Romanof,” Rianol said with a sneer. “You’re a hard man to kill.”

“I doubt you will be,” Nicoli responded. “Step away from my wife.”

Rianol smiled. “I’m afraid you were declared legally dead at
The Challenge
fight. Your claim is forfeited. But don’t worry.” Rianol brushed the back of his hand down Angel’s cheek in a mock show of affection. “An’jel waited at least a day after your death before coming to my bed.”

Nicoli stared at her, confusion and doubt evident in his gaze. “Angel?”

She wanted to cry out, deny Rianol’s claims, profess her love for Nicoli, but she remained silent, dying a little inside. When Nicoli turned to go, she looked away, unable to watch, and spotted someone waving on the far side of the gathering.

She looked closer and gasped. Her mother stood, smiling, beside Yanur. Sorrah was nowhere to be seen “Nicoli, wait...” The laser Rianol pulled from beneath his jacket and now held to her side caused the rest of her cry to die into silence.

A gasp went up from the gathering, drawing Nicoli’s attention. He turned back.

“You couldn’t stay quiet, could you?” Rianol growled at Angel, one hand grabbing her hair close to the scalp to hold her in place while the other hand brought the laser to her head. He jerked her hair roughly as he shouted. “You tell them we spent the night together.”

Angel gritted her teeth against the pain, her eyes tearing involuntarily. “Never,” she ground out between clinched teeth. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man in the universe.”

A hush fell across the crowd while Rianol stared about, wild-eyed, as if unsure what to do.

“It’s over,” Nicoli shouted, training his own laser on Rianol. “Let her go.”

Rianol pushed Angel in front of him as a shield. “You’ll have to kill me first,” he shouted, firing the laser at Nicoli. People screamed and fell, en masse, to the ground, as the shot missed its target. Rianol backed off the podium, pulling Angel with him. He fired three more bursts erratically into the crowd, then turned and ran toward the palace gardens, taking Angel as his hostage.

“There’s a shortcut that way,” Katrina said breathlessly, rushing up to Nicoli and pointing to the far side. “Cut through the trees.”

Nicoli didn’t wait. He ran as if his life depended on it, because it did. Angel made him want to live again. Without her, his life meant nothing.

He barely noticed the sting of the tree branches as they scraped his arm when he pushed his way through the woods. All he could think about was getting there in time.

He reached the spot where the maze opened up as Rianol emerged with Angel.

“You can’t stop me,” Rianol shouted, pulling Angel in front of him again as he faced Nicoli. “I won’t let you destroy my dream.”

There was a wild look to Rianol’s eyes and Nicoli feared pushing him over the edge. “You picked the wrong way to go about it, Rianol.” Nicoli tried to sound calm over the pounding of his heart. “It’s over.”

“No. I’ll kill you both if I have to.” Rianol’s laser wavered dangerously back and forth. “Drop it,” he said, nodding toward Nicoli’s weapon.

Nicoli knew he was dealing with a madman. With no shot open to him, Nicoli lowered his laser to the ground.

Then suddenly, Angel went limp. Unable to hold her, Rianol’s arm dipped under the weight and Angel fell to the ground. In that instant, Nicoli lunged, knocking Rianol off his feet. He grabbed the hand holding the laser and the two men wrestled for it.

Rianol pulled the trigger. A single shot fired and Angel screamed in pain. Out of his peripheral vision, Nicoli saw her fall to the ground.

In a blind rage, Nicoli twisted Rianol’s arm and the laser fired another shot, this time striking Rianol in the head.

For a second, his body remained standing, then it toppled to the ground.

Nicoli was already running to Angel’s side. When he reached her, he checked her wound. It looked serious and real fear swept through him.

Her eyes fluttered open. “Nicoli?”

“I’m here, Kiera.” He leaned close, pressing his lips to her forehead.

"But I saw you die."

“Don’t talk,” Nicoli urged, looking around for Yanur, willing his friend to magically appear.

“Tell me how,” she whispered.

“After the fight, Yanur let everyone believe I was dead. He transferred my life essence back into the biopod, then took my body to the ship where he used the Reparator to heal me. We moved the ship so no one would interrupt us.”

“You could have told me.”

Nicoli heard the pain in her voice and his heart ached. “I’m sorry, Kiera. There wasn’t time.”

“I'm glad you're not dead.” She raised a hand to caress his cheek, then let it fall limply back to the ground. Her eyes drifted shut and she grew still.

“Angel!” Fear made his voice sharp. He couldn’t lose her. “Please don’t leave me,” he begged. “I don’t think I can live without you. I love you, Angel.”

She smiled, slowly opening her eyes. “I’m not dying. I’m just tired. It was a long night.”

Nicoli could hardly believe it. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah. It’s only a flesh wound. I’ve had worse.” She raised her hand to cup the back of his head and pulled him down to her. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

Epilogue

Skeeter's Bar, Earth

One year later

“I thought I told you not to come in here during peak business hours,” Dugan shouted from his office doorway. “The customers don’t feel comfortable with Security Forces hanging around. Scares ‘em away.”

“Give it a break, Dugan.” Angel responded, making straight for the bar and collapsing onto a stool. “Nicoli hasn’t been with the Security Forces for almost a year and you know it.”

Dugan cast a dubious look at Nicoli, who merely smiled as he leaned against the bar next to Angel’s stool. “You’re still scaring away the customers."

Without raising her now blonde head from where it throbbed in her hands, Angel mumbled. “It’s mid-morning. There are no customers. And if you aren’t nice, we’re going to leave.”

“What’s with you this morning?”

Nicoli came to her defense. “She’s not feeling well."

Dugan’s attitude changed immediately, becoming one of fatherly concern. He had slipped easily back into his familiar role when Angel returned to Earth with a new husband in tow, though he hadn't acted thrilled with the idea of having a government agent as a pseudo son-in-law, claiming it was bad for business. Angel, however, knew he secretly admired her husband.

“You drink too much Martian ale last night?” Dugan stood close to her now. “I told you to go easy on that stuff.”

“No. I didn’t even drink last night,” Angel argued, fighting another wave of nausea as it roiled in her stomach. “Ask Martin if you don’t believe me.”

She peeked up at the bartender, who always seemed to be wiping the counter.

“That’s the truth, Dugan. Not a drop for our girl, here. Wasn’t feeling too good last night either, as I recall.”

“I think she might have picked up a bug over on Zeta Prime,” Nicoli offered by way of explanation. “It’s the middle of the rainy season there.”