Daysider

Armistice. Some Bloodmasters may have obtained dhampir serfs born before the end of the War, but they would be rare. As you can imagine, the demand is quite high.”

“And Aegis...” She felt bile climb into her throat. “They can’t possibly know this.”

“As I said, it may be only myth.”

That was scant comfort, Alexia thought ruefully.

“Would it work the same on you?” she asked.

“No. I am not full Opir.”

The statement was so final that Alexia decided he was telling the truth.

“And in spite of all this,” she said, struggling to find a little humor, “you don’t think the Expansionists would try to sell me for some fabulous sum?”

“They know Aegis would investigate your and Michael’s complete disappearance.”

“But the enemy would expect that no matter what happened,” Alexia said, shivering in spite of herself. “They’ve got my patch. Maybe they can use me for some kind of experiment.”

Damon frowned and looked into her eyes. “Such speculation is pointless. We still can’t be sure who stole it, the colony or the Expansionists. Even if we knew the Expansionists had it, we’re not going anywhere near Erebus. I won’t risk it until we have more concrete information.”

“Then I guess we’d better start looking for answers closer to home.”

“Some answers aren’t worth the price.” He reached over and laid his hand on her arm, so lightly that she barely felt it. “Lysander did say one thing of value. You shouldn’t be further involved, Alexia. Your partner is dead, and you’ve suffered a grievous injury.

Aegis would not expect you to continue this mission under the circumstances, and—”

“You just said since I was the sole survivor of my team, I had to finish the mission myself.”

She’d caught him, and he knew it. But that wasn’t enough to make him give up. “I was wrong,” he said.

“Forget it.”

He tightened his grip. “Michael would have reported the theft of the patch, but now that task is yours. Our new information makes it even more essential that Aegis be informed of the Expansionists’ plans so that there will be no misunderstanding if and when the colony is attacked. They must know that the Council is not involved.”

“You said yourself that you aren’t privy to the Council’s deliberations. Given what you’ve said about how Erebus would feel about the colonists’ philosophy, what if they aren’t controlling the Expansionists because they want them to do the Council’s dirty work?”

“They are not involved,” he repeated.

“Isn’t that just what you want to believe, Damon? Because if the Council is just as bad as the Expansionists, you have no reason to serve any of them?”

He got up and moved away from her, a few uneven strides in one direction and then back again. “You’re wrong. We agree that any overt move on the colony could be interpreted to be an act of war. The Independents’ entire purpose is to maintain the status quo.”

“Do you really believe Aegis would send soldiers into the Zone because Erebus eliminated its own illegal colony?” she asked, rising to follow him. “That would make war a certainty.”

“How can you agree that this is a highly volatile situation for both sides if you don’t believe Aegis would take action in that case? Why would they have sent you to investigate at all?”

He was right, of course. It was all imprudent talk on her part, an effort to make herself feel less helpless.

“Then explain to me why you told Lysander that Aegis might be pleased if the colony were destroyed?” she asked. “Why would you even suggest that to him?”

“I don’t believe it, Alexia. I was attempting to throw him off his stride in any way possible, and see what might result.” He held her gaze intently. “We once discussed the fact that the Enclave is just as responsible for the serfs in Erebus as the Opiri. The reason I am convinced that your government would act in the case of violence against the colonists is for that very reason. The Treaty specifies that no humans may be killed in Citadel territory.”

He was silent for some time before he spoke again. “There must be much hostility and resistance to the custom of sending condemned criminals to Erebus, and guilt is a very powerful human emotion,” he said. “Would your government dare remain indifferent to a few dozen human deaths, even if the dead were merely cast-off criminals?”

Pulling back a clenched fist, Alexia swung at Damon’s face. He caught her hand with his own good one and held her still, breathing as hard as if they had just finished a knockdown, drag-out fight.

“What is it?” he taunted, leaning toward her. “Is the hypocrisy of your own people too difficult to bear?”

Alexia squeezed her eyes shut. Oh, Garret. “You son of a bitch,” she hissed, hating him even as the feel of his skin on hers sent a spike of desire through her body.

He tightened his fingers around her fist. “What were your orders coming into the Zone, Alexia? Were you only to observe? Or were you perhaps sent to find a way to get the humans out of the colony before Erebus’s factions tore it apart?”

“Where in hell did you get that idea?” she spat, struggling to free herself.

“It would be a way for your government to avoid open warfare and still retain the goodwill of those citizens who reject their method of holding the Opiri at bay with condemned prisoners,” he said, keeping his iron grip on her wrist. “If they made the case that the Council could not keep the Treaty by protecting its serfs from destruction, they could avoid hostilities completely.”

“That’s insane. You’re assuming Aegis already knew what was going on here!”

“You never denied they might have sent another agent ahead of you and Michael.”

“I never said—” A muscle flexed in his cheek. “And the Council’s first agent investigating the colony was killed by an Enclave weapon.”

“I don’t know anything about that!” Her chest grew tight as it occurred to her just how much she might not have known. “I was never told about any previous mission to investigate the settlement.”

“Then consider that Aegis might already have been well-informed about the situation in the Zone and has already planned its response. You would want Aegis to save the colony’s serfs, would you not?”

“You don’t know a damned thing about it!”

Abruptly he let her go. “I, too, have my secrets, Alexia.” He sighed and backed away.

“The current situation makes it impossible to keep them any longer.”

Alexia rubbed at her cramped fingers, her stomach rolling over and over like a trained circus dog. “What?” she said.

“You should know the real reason why I was sent to meet you and your partner.”

“You didn’t come to help us observe the colony?” she asked, anger fading to a formless sense of dread.

“No. I was sent to prevent you from getting near it.”

Chapter 13

All the nerves in Alexia’s body seemed to jump at once, lifting her like an express elevator and then sending her plummeting all the way to the bottom of the shaft.

“Then I was right after all,” she whispered. “The Council is involved in this, up to its eyeballs.”

“No, Alexia. My orders were to keep you away until the Council could complete its own investigation of the colony, without Enclave involvement, so that they might resolve the situation internally. I knew no more until we met Lysander.”

“You didn’t know about any double agents running loose?”

“Until I spoke to Lysander, I wasn’t aware that the Council had employed such an agent.”

“But you weren’t even aware there were enemies out here. You denied the