The Final Key: Part Two of Triad (Saga of the Skolian Empire) by Asaro Catherine

Author:Asaro, Catherine [Asaro, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2010-04-01T00:00:00+00:00

Eldrin’s bodyguards couldn’t operate the flyer on the roof of the palace. For some reason they couldn’t link to its EI. The flyer’s responses were scrambled and nonfunctional, and it refused orders. They finally gave up and took Eldrin down through the palace to an underground level where a black hover limousine waited.

Inside the limo, Eldrin sat in the back, in a seat that faced forward. One of his bodyguards took the end of the seat, and the captain and another Abaj settled into a seat facing him across a wide space. The fourth Abaj “drove” up front, though the limo’s AI actually did the work. The seats were a plush black material that felt like velvet but seemed far more durable. A blue carpet covered the floor, with the emblem of the House of Skolia in gold and white. It resembled the insignia for the Skolian Imperialate: a golden sunburst exploding past a white circle. The Imperialate symbol, however, also had a silver line slashed through it to represent the Dyad.

It didn’t matter how posh the limo, Eldrin was as stiff as casecrete. He could have watched the news on a screen that swung to wherever he wanted it, he could have rested by reclining his seat into a bed, or he could have had the cover retract on the small pool in the back so he could bathe. But he was too agitated to concentrate, let alone indulge in activities that even after eight years as the Pharaoh’s consort felt decadent to him.

The limo hummed through the landscaped gardens of the palace. Droop-willows shaded blue stone sculptures that reminded him of Dalvador. But nothing on Lyshriol had such perfection. Everything here was elegant and restrained, from the immaculately tended gardens to the blue gravel paths with no stone out of place. It confined his mind. He was relieved when they left the grounds through the vine-draped archway of a wrought-iron gate. But nothing eased the tension, neither his nor that of his bodyguards.

The palace was high in the hills above Selei City. They drove down a winding road with no traffic or houses, just willows lush with silvery bells. At the bottom, they encountered a few other vehicles. By the time they reached the outskirts of Selei City, the scatter of hovercraft had turned into a steady flow. The evacuation seemed to be proceeding smoothly, but his Abaj couldn’t get any information beyond their preliminary orders. It disquieted Eldrin that they were having so much trouble, first with the flyer and now with the meshes.

Municipal EIs monitored the traffic. The limo was taking him to the Admiral Starport, a facility used by military and government officials. Most vehicles were headed in other directions, probably to the huge Selei Interstellar Starport across the city, to underground bunkers, or out of the city. ISC couldn’t evacuate the entire city into space; even Selei Interstellar couldn’t handle an influx that large in such a short time.

Eldrin clenched a polished handle in the door.

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