An Abyss of Light (The Light Trilogy) by Kathleen M. O'Neal Page A

you—”
    “All right, all right,” Ari conceded guiltily. “I didn’t mean to mess things up.” Gently supporting Yosef’s arm, he led him back toward the Seros.
    “Is it just a headache or something more?”
    “I don’t know.” Yosef blinked as the pain began to fade as quickly as it had come. “But I feel a little better now.”
    They climbed the steps to the ship in silence. Yosef, in aggravation, threw his bag into the compartment. It bounced from the wall to land on the floor near the control console. He waddled to a chair and flopped down.
    Ari exhaled and went to the tiny galley. Slapping the button to the cooling unit, he pulled out two bottles of beer and came back to sit beside Yosef.
    “Here,” he said softly, handing over the brew. “You need this more than I do.”
    “Thanks.”
    Ari frowned, looking Yosef over in painstaking detail. Concern was plain on his withered face. “Are you feeling better? You look pale.”
    “I’m better. The pain went away as suddenly as it came.”
    “Probably just the sun. Don’t worry about it. A cool drink will make you feel better.”
    They sat in silence for a while, sipping at the cold beer. The frosty bottle felt soothing in Yosef’s hot hand. Absently, he scanned the rows of blank computer screens on the control console.
    “So,” Ari said softly. “What do you think? They have quotas on Gamants today or something?”
    “Maybe.”
    “I think it’s because someone’s scared witless. I’m telling you marines don’t guard spaceports unless they’re expecting big trouble.”
    “From Gamants on the planet?”
    Ari shook his head and tipped his bottle high, taking a long swallow before snuggling back in his chair. “From somebody coming in.”
    “That makes sense.”
    “Who do you think they’re trying to nab?”
    Yosef shrugged uneasily. At this moment, he could have cared less. He struggled to analyze the emotions that roiled inside him. His grandmother had suffered the same types of attacks he’d just experienced—always just before something terrible happened. He squinted out the portal. Afternoon sunlight lay in glimmering pools of amber on the needles of the pines clustering around the landing field. He took a deep breath and let it hiss out his nostrils. “All I care about is getting to my brother. I don’t know what it is, Ari, but I got a bad feeling standing out there.”
    “You’re going to a funeral. Of course, you feel bad.”
    “It’s not that. I never even knew Ezarin. I feel nothing for her except pity. But Zadok—”
    “Don’t worry. You’ll see him soon.”
    Yosef nodded, but his fingers tightened around his beer bottle until the nails gleamed white. He knew that blinding pain, had experienced it twice before in his life. Unwillingly, he let his mind drift back to his childhood and the days before his mother’s horrifying death.
    A weight pressed down on his chest with such terrible force he could barely breathe.
    CHAPTER 7
     
    Cole Tahn paced the oval bridge of the Hoyer, arms crossed over his broad chest. His formfitting purple uniform looked crisp. The gold braid on his shoulders shimmered in the harsh light. A tall man with brown hair and blue-violet eyes, he moved with the controlled strength of a hunting lion.
    “Halloway, how long until we exit light vault?”
    She flipped auburn hair over her shoulder, reading the monitors on the navigation console. “Approximately three minutes, sir.”
    “Macey?” he called to his redheaded communications officer. “As soon as we sight Kayan, I want you on com to every colonel manning our six military installations.”
    “Aye, sir. Message?”
    “Tell them we’re coming in under section twenty-one of the Treaty of Lysomia. I want a state of emergency declared immediately: curfews, house searches, and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.” He pointed a finger harshly. “You tell those people, we know Baruch is down there and, by God, we’re going to get