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

him this time. Anyone found to have offered refuge to this criminal will be subject to immediate execution. Got it?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    The entire spectrum splashed his forward screen as they exited the vault, waves of purple and yellow eddying around the edges. Kayan swam into view, lush, blue, with clouds forming a lacy pattern over the vast oceans.
    Tahn’s shoulder muscles went rigid, and a queasy anxiety invaded his stomach. He stepped down to the second level, walking over to stand before the broad screen and stare hard at the planet.
    “Baruch,” he whispered. “Damn you, I know you’re there. This time, we meet. This time it ends!”
     
    Zadok and Rathanial stood uncomfortably in the huge spaceport. Over a thousand people packed the vast rectangular room, unhappily enduring the delays and canceled flights. Hostile bickering sounded all around them.
    “I hate these places,” Zadok grumbled, wiping sweaty hands on his tan robe.
    “Government places?”
    “Any crowded place.” He leaned a shoulder against the grimy white wall. How long had it been since he’d voluntarily placed himself in such a vulnerable situation? Crowds affected him like cages; a man couldn’t move if danger threatened, except to stumble over bystanders. Silently, he resented allowing Rathanial to talk him into coming inside.
    “It looked like it might rain earlier, but the clouds have gone. Do you want to wait outside?” Dressed in an iridescent silver robe shot through with amethyst stitching, Rathanial looked like royalty in exile.
    Zadok puffed an exhale and examined the route to the door, which would force them to weave around at least a hundred sweating, perfumed bodies. “No, I don’t think I could endure it.”
    “We could go slowly, skirt the wall.”
    “Where could Yosef’s transport be? He said he’d be on a direct flight.”
    “Perhaps they got started late.”
    “Perhaps.”
    “You know how unreliable some of those fast transports are. For the most part, they’re manned by opportunistic incompetents.”
    “Ummm.”
    “I’ll be happy to wait outside with you if you want,” he offered again. “Though, truthfully, I think it’s safe in here. When you’re—”
    “Do you?”
    Zadok ran a hand over his moist scalp, cocking his head inquisitively. Somewhere in his mind the pungent scent of Orillian pines rose and he saw again the spaceport they’d taken a hundred years ago, crowded with captives, stinking with fear-sweat.
    “Zadok?” a voice echoed in his mind. The young golden-haired lieutenant, Rulinsi, waved a hand. “What do you want me to do with these?”
    Civilians were being herded in so quickly and in such large numbers, no one could keep count. This group consisted mostly of children. He’d started shouldering through the crowd when the explosion hit. It blasted from the edge of his forces, sending blood and bits of flesh flying. He dove for the floor as the captives stormed the doors. What had happened? Had his people failed to search someone in the foray?
    Mistakes happened in crowds. There were always too many enemies and too few allies.
    “On second thought, I am going outside,” Zadok decided suddenly and headed toward the door, pushing between people.
    Rathanial frowned, following hurriedly. “Abba, do you want to ask about your brother’s flight before we go? Maybe it’s been delayed for hours. In that case, there’s no reason for us to stay in the city. We can return to the caves.”
    Zadok halted in mid-step. He felt abruptly as though the walls were pressing in around him. An inner urgency told him to get out of the building as quickly as he could. Licking his lips nervously, he gazed around. A small man with fuzzy black hair stared hotly at him, then turned away.
    “I don’t…” Of course, what Rathanial said made sense, but he couldn’t bear the thought. “No. I’m leaving. If they’re not here in another hour, we’ll …”
    His attention jerked to a tall blond man who