Chapter One

NARRAGAN ENTERED THE communications vault at a little past midnight, the ideal time for the Highlord of Darkness to commune with offworld devils. The technicians didn't even blink when he entered the cramped metal room, a nice change from the incessant kowtowing that Narragan had to contend with in most of the Highlord's City. Here, he was the boss—an affectionate and accurate title employed by his offworld staff, who were under contract from worlds with political and religious structures more sensible than Orgon's.

Outside of this room Narragan was the incarnation of the Evil One, Lady Orgon's protector, the sentinel who stood against the devils who inhabited all space outside her gracious orbit. In short, on Orgon Narragan was supposed to bad. It was their religion.

Narragan accepted a vacated seat and a steaming mug of caffee guaranteed to keep him from getting any sleep before noon.

"Was she here?"

"Right on time, boss. Lady Diana made her usual drop to the Emperor and one to her father. You want to see 'em?"

"And offend the Emperor?" Narragan asked with an eyebrow raised.

The technician smirked. "Of course not, sir. I made a copy before applying diplomatic seals."

"In that case…" Narragan mumbled the rest of his sentence into his drink as he scrolled through the report displayed on the monitor. Nothing of interest except that Diana planned to ask for leave to take her son, Richard, to visit his grandfather. He would have to remember not to grant permission before she made her request. She likely realized that he read her correspondence, but he didn't want to rub her face in it.

Every ten days, she sent a chronology detailing the activities of the Highlord of Darkness, Supreme Ruler of Orgon. Diana's report to the Emperor was deadly dull as usual, not that she had to lie. Narragan had been on good behavior of late. So had Emperor Thane. The two rulers weren't on speaking terms, but they had learned to ignore each other despite Orgon's continued status as a protectorate of the Triden Empire.

Narragan snorted at his own delusions. He wasn't important enough these days to draw Thane's interest. Now that the Empire no longer consumed weapons' grade crystals by the shipload, Orgon warranted no more than a line in the Emperor's daily report—if she was mentioned at all.

Diana's report to Thane stated what Narragan wanted the Emperor to know. Thane could expect an increase in shipments of unprocessed, plant-based protein from Orgon, no ulterior motives involved other than the credits deposited into Narragan's offworld accounts. Trade in crystals, chocolates, wine and art would continue as before.

Included was the standard entry, "I have detected no long-range telepathic communications to or from Orgon," which was meant to reassure Emperor Thane of Narragan's continued telepathic impotence. Almost twenty years had passed since Narragan crossed the distance between stars and touched Diana's mind with his. Impossible for him to accomplish now, not that he wanted to.

"What about the Emissary?" Narragan asked. "Anything going through official channels?"

Narragan's questions elicited another smirk from the technician, who had learned more at his post about the workings of Orgon than he should. Officially, Diana worked for the Emperor and the Triden Emissary while she served as tutor for Narragan's children—Bowyn, who had exhibited telepathic talent since birth, and Allegra, who was delightfully lacking in telepathic arts. Narragan insisted that Diana work for his enemies as a condition of the sanctuary she claimed for herself and her son. The complicated arrangement required that she serve as double agent.

The technician reached across Narragan and brought up Diana's missive to her father. Narragan began skimming the message, shaking his head over the convoluted situation that had him reading her communiqués.

Narragan would have rather just begged her to stay, but their relationship had never been simple. Not until recently. The presence of Narragan's wife had simplified it almost out of existence.

Diana wanted to remain on Orgon to maintain control over what happened to her son, a budding telepath who held the Emperor's interest, but Narragan didn't want to risk another invasion by Triden troops should the Emperor, or Diana's husband, demand their return. By telling her to accept Emperor Thane's request to spy on Orgon's Highlord while posing as instructor to his heir, Narragan settled the matter to the satisfaction of almost everyone. Even Narragan's wife was pleased, as long as Diana limited her contact to their children's classroom and stayed out of the Highlord's bed.

Narragan blanked the screen when Diana's message to her father turned personal. The technician, whose name Narragan couldn't remember, pulled out his log sheet.

"In the open it's been a quiet week in Emperor Thane's neighborhood. Classified channels are full of chatter though."

"What kind of chatter?" Narragan left the chair to stretch his legs. At forty-five his body no longer took kindly to all-night walkabouts.

Copyright © 2006 Christine W. Murphy.