was white as a sheet, and her eyes were very wide. Adrienne took her time getting to her feet. She didn't want the Shreck thinking he could fluster her. She gave Gregor her best icy glare.
'Haven't you ever heard of knocking?'
'In my own home?' said the Shreck, smiling widely. 'Now, why should I do that? The tower is mine, along with everything and everyone in it. I own them. Isn't that right, Evangeline? Now, be a dear, and tell your new friend to run along. I have so much to say to you.'
'No,' mumbled Evangeline, staring at her shoes.
'What was that?' said Gregor. 'I don't think I can have heard you correctly, my dear.'
'No,' said Evangeline, lifting her head to stare at him defiantly. 'I'm tired of being scared. You lied to me, Daddy. You swore to me you were protecting Adrienne and her children and all the other surviving Campbells. Now I find out from Adrienne that you've been threatening them, to get at Finlay. You lied to me.'
'It's politics, dear. Things change. I don't expect you to understand. All you need to know is that I'm doing what's best for the Family.'
'If your Clan found out that you've been screwing your daughter, they'd disown you,' said Adrienne calmly. 'Such a tacky crime, Gregor. And backed up with a coward's threats and lies. I'm disappointed in you, Gregor. I never thought you were much of a man, but I never suspected you had to bully women into your bed. Now, turn around and get out of here. You ever lay a hand on this poor dear again, and I'll see everyone in your Family knows your dirty little secret. They'll remove you as head and throw you out of the Clan. They can do that if enough of them agree, and I can't see any of them disagreeing over a nasty little mess like this. Without a Clan, no one will talk to you, or politic with you, or do business with you. You'd be an outcast, just like me. Only I can handle it. You couldn't. Don't slam the door when you leave.'
'And you'd agree to this?' said the Shreck to his daughter. 'You'd turn against your own father, who loves you so dearly?'
'What you do to me isn't love, Daddy. And you lied to me. I'd like you to leave now, please. And don't ever come in without knocking again.'
'Think you're so clever, don't you, both of you,' said the Shreck, his broad glistening face flushing red with rage. 'Think you're smarter than me. But you should know, dear Adrienne, that you don't know everything. You see, Evie hasn't told you her real secret. She wouldn't dare. So you tell this Campbell bitch to leave, Evie, or I'll tell her what you really are.'
'No need to put yourself out. Daddy. I'll tell her.' Evangeline drew herself up and threw Adrienne a look that was part defiance and part plea. 'I'm a clone. Daddy had me made to replace the daughter he murdered. That's how he's controlled me all this time. Or so he thinks. You never knew I was part of the clone underground, did you, Daddy dear? No, I can see from your face that you didn't. You threaten me, and the underground will have you killed. You tell anyone about me, and I'll disappear into the underground. I only stayed because Finlay made me promise I'd protect his Family. You don't have a hold over me anymore. You never did, really, apart from my own fear. You told me you owned me, and I believed you. I don't believe that anymore.'
'Good for you, girl,' said Adrienne. She looked triumphantly at the Shreck. 'Get out of our sight, you nasty little toad.'
Gregor Shreck looked from one woman to the other, struggling for words, then turned abruptly and left, slamming the door behind him. Adrienne let out her breath in an explosive sigh and collapsed back into her chair. Evangeline remained where she was.
'Well?' she said quietly. 'How do you feel about me now, now that you know I'm just a clone?'
'My dear, after everything you and I have been through, your being a clone is the least of it. I'm actually rather fascinated. I've never known anyone in the underground before. Apart from Finlay, of course, but I think we've established I never really knew him.'
'How do you feel about me being a rebel, then?'
'Damned if I know. This is all happening a little fast, even for me. I suppose I should be shocked and outraged, but I haven't been shocked since I was fourteen, and I'm too emotionally exhausted to be outraged. You're a clone and I'm a bitch, and the Empire doesn't have much use for either of us. So to hell with them, and long live the underground. Do you have a battle hymn? I feel like singing something loud and defiant.'
The viewscreen on the dressing table chimed suddenly, and they both jumped. They smiled at each other, and Evangeline moved over to answer it. Adrienne got up and moved quickly out of sight. 'Better if no one knows I'm here for the moment, Evie.'
Evangeline nodded, sat down before the dressing table, and accepted the call. The mirror cleared, and she nodded as she recognized a familiar face. It was Klaus Griffin, her immediate contact in the underground. As far as the outside world was concerned, he was her costumier. For once he wasn't smiling, and Evangeline sat up a little straighter.
'Are you alone, Evangeline?'
'Of course. Is there a problem?'
'This call is being shielded. We can talk freely. We need you to come below, to talk to Finlay. It's urgent. Can you get away?'
'If I have to. What's wrong with Finlay? Is he hurt?'
'No. But it's imperative he undertake a particular mission and we need you down here to convince him to go.'
'Why wouldn't he want to?'
'Because this one will almost certainly get him killed.'
'And you expect me to talk him into it? Are you crazy?'
'We need you, Evangeline. We need him. The safety of the entire underground is at risk. He's our only hope. Will you come?'
'I'll come, but I'm not promising anything. Finlay's gone on enough missions for you. You've no right to expect this of him. And don't you dare try and talk him into this before I get there. He's not going anywhere until I've talked to him, and maybe not even then. Damn it, Klaus, we've done so much for the underground already. Find somebody else.'
'It has to be him. How long before you can get here?'
'Give me an hour.' She broke contact and glared into the mirror. 'Bastards. Do they really think I'd betray Finlay, even for the Cause?'
'This gets more fascinating by the minute,' said Adrienne, coming over to join her. 'Dear Finlay, the last best hope of the underground? I'm beginning to think you're right, and I never did really know him. Since you apparently know him better than I, what do you think? Would he go on a suicide mission if it was important enough?'
'Oh, yes. That's what worries me. Most of his recent missions would have been suicide runs for anyone else. He never was very strong in the commonsense department, and since he lost his Family, he's become increasingly reckless. He feels guilty for having survived, when so many died. If this mission is so dangerous that even Finlay would hesitate, it must be really bad. I've got to go, Adrienne. Thank you for all your help; I wish there was something I could do for you.'
'There is,' Adrienne said briskly. 'Take me with you. There's no place safe here for me anymore now that I've made an enemy of your father. If I'm to find protection for my children, the only people left to turn to are the underground. Though, God knows what I've got to buy their protection with. Gossip, maybe. I know more secrets about more people than half the Court put together. Some of it has got to be prime blackmail material. Besides, whatever you eventually decide, you're going to need my help to convince Finlay. I always could talk him into anything. I think I'm going to enjoy being part of the underground.'
'What makes you so sure they'll accept you?'
'What makes you think they'll have any choice? I can be very determined when I put my mind to something. Besides, I really can't wait to see this whole new Finlay I've never known. I have a feeling I might like him a lot more than the old one. Shall we go?'
Julian Skye, rogue esper and agent of the underworld, had been handsome once, but that was before the Empire interrogators got their hands on him. They'd started with a vicious beating, not because they expected him to talk, but just to soften him up. They didn't even ask any questions. Two of them took it in turns holding him up, while the third worked him over in brutal, efficient ways, until every part of him moaned with pain. Then they hurt him some more. They paid special attention to his face. Damage there was psychologically damaging as well.
