Into the Rift by Cynthia Garner Page A

isn’t the way to resolve your grief. Visit with the priests at—”
    “Don’t you think I’ve gone through all the grief rituals and sought counseling? I have. Several times.” Natchook surged to his feet. “Vardan killed Yura. Someone needs to make him pay.”
    “He did not kill her. She died because of a regulation that’s been in place for centuries.” Sirina put one hand on his shoulder. “Yura was Avasan. Talisians get service at hospitals before Avasans, you know that.”
    “I’m a citizen of Talis. She was my wife, and she was sick. She should have gotten tests. A diagnosis. Treatment!” He shrugged off her hand. “Our Most Benevolent Leader,” he said with a sneer, “could have taken action when this regulation went to referendum fifteen years ago during his tenure as a member of parliament. Once he became world leader, he could have pushed to change the legislation. He should have…” He turned away, one hand going to his face.
    She knew he fought back tears. He’d loved Yura with a fierceness Sirina had never known. And he still did, all these years later.
    Natchook turned again to face her. His eyes were wet, his face hard. “It’s not just the health-care edicts. There are many laws that disadvantage Avasans. Laws that are equally unjust. They’ve been unjust for centuries. Yet no one seems bothered by it. They just accept it. You just accept it.” His lips curled with disdain. “She was your best friend, Sirina. Surely that meant something to you once.”
    “Of course it meant… means something.” She scowled. “And don’t you try to make me out to be the villain in this. I’m Avasan. I have no vote. No voice. What could I have done to change anything?”
    “Maybe you couldn’t have done something then. But now…”
    “No.” She slashed one hand through the air. “Killing the Talisian leader isn’t going to solve anything. It will just make things worse.”
    “Wait, just listen to me.” His voice lowered and took on a pleading tone, but she heard the dark intensity that rode beneath the surface. He went back to the dining alcove and sat down, waiting until she retook her seat before going on. “This one thought has been rolling around in my mind for years now: Righteous men live in peace and think they’re free; only the enlightened can know true peace through anarchy and chaos.” His eyes glittered with fanatic fervor. He tapped one finger on the table. “That’s the key, Sirina. Overthrow the government by ushering in anarchy and chaos.”
    “Natchook, no!” She grabbed his hand. Ice crawled from her belly up her throat. This idea of his was deranged, and he scared her with his sincerity. “You listen to me . Kai Vardan didn’t pass the laws that keep Avasa under Talis’s rule. He wasn’t the one who kept moving Yura’s name to the bottom of the list for medical treatment—”
    “She never got the chance for treatment !” He jerked his hand away and sat back in his chair. “Because of these archaic, discriminatory edicts, a Talisian with a hangnail gets to see a physician before any Avasan, no matter how sick they are.”
    “It’s not that bad.”
    “Right. The next time you get sick and can’t get in to see a doctor and just keep getting sicker and sicker, you tell me you still think that way.” He leaned forward, his expression set. “If there is no rule of law, everyone’s on the same footing. Chaos makes us all equal.” He spread his hands. “Avasans will finally be the same as Talisians, free to do what they want, be what they want. Tell me that’s not tempting.”
    Oh, it was tempting all right. Not that she would admit it to him. But she’d lived her entire life being told what to do, when to do it, how to do it. She had enjoyed her time in the service, but she hadn’t had a choice about serving. Now that she was her own person again, she’d managed to eke out a living as a consultant for the local security forces. But she’d often