In Enemy Territory - Shannon West Page 0,70
back to Rasc, catching his bottom lip in his teeth and nibbling on it a moment. “We’ll continue this later. Looks like I have to go meet the ‘General.’”
****
Rasc watched from the doorway of the dining hall, his disruptor aimed at the guards nearest him as Kylon and Pax stood in the yard speaking to the Commandant, with two more of their men beside them. The only thing that gave him any peace of mind was the fact that the Tygerian ambassador stood beside the commandant, the hood of his emerald green robe obscuring his face.
An emerald robe signified a nobleman in Tygeria, and Rasc wondered if Kylon might know the ambassador. He was flanked by his staff, which consisted of four large, Tygerian soldiers, all armed to the teeth. At least that answered the question of whether or not the word got through to Larz. These men looked ready for a fight.
Unlike the guards, the commandant had an undeniably male appearance and was tall and slim in his gray robes. The hood was pushed back off his stern face to reveal thick eyebrows and a pointed military mustache. They were black, as were his eyebrows, though he was an older man. Rasc wondered if he colored his mustache to achieve that particular black. He had high cheekbones and sharp features. The facial hair was another anomaly on Gatifrey and further marked him as alien, as the residents Rasc remembered never had any facial hair.
He stood in front of Kylon, speaking to him in a voice too low for Rasc to hear. There seemed to be a three-way conversation between Kylon, the commandant, and the Tygerian ambassador. Suddenly, the ambassador shoved his hood back from his face, and Rasc gasped out loud to see that the “ambassador” was Prince Larz himself, nodding and listening closely to what the commandant had to say.
Setin immediately sidled over next to him. “Rasc, am I having a heat stroke out here, or is that Prince Larz?”
Rasc’s heart was pounding, but he nodded. “That’s him, all right. What the fuck is he doing here? Surely the commandant doesn’t know who he really is.”
The new “ambassador” was nodding and seemed to be agreeing with whatever Kylon was telling him. The commandant’s long, thin face, though carefully devoid of emotion, registered an air of extreme unhappiness with the entire situation.
Pax’s gaze kept sweeping over the Gatifreyan guards ringed behind the commandant—three of them with their hoods up, obscuring their faces. Their disruptors were held in the crooks of their arms, casually aimed toward them. Rasc and Egam were standing by the door with disruptors as well, and some of the men left inside were also armed. It still didn’t feel like enough. Kylon was standing so close to the Gatifreyans’ weapons—too damn close. Rasc was nervous and itching to take some kind of action. He couldn’t understand why Prince Larz was there and wondered if Kylon had known he was coming all along.
He didn’t like being left out of the negotiations and important information and relegated to second string, though Kylon had explained to him—carefully and at infuriating length—that he thought Rasc’s temperament was too hot for him to be involved in such delicate talks. Since acting as a go-between and liaison for Prince Tibiel had been his primary job when he’d worked on Laltana, he thought the charge was patently ridiculous. He’d told Kylon so and that he’d had plenty of experience as a negotiator for Tibiel.
Kylon’s only reply had been, “And how did that job work out for you? Let me see, Tibiel is banished for life, and you’re in prison, so not really a great example for you to use.”
Rasc had reminded Kylon that nobody liked a sarcastic smart ass, but he’d only laughed at him.
Rasc shifted his gaze around the yard at the ones assembled—the commandant and his three guards, the ambassador and his staff, and then farther back, against the prison walls were a few more guards, all heavily armed. Kylon, Prince Larz, and the commandant had been talking for about ten minutes, and Rasc wondered what they could possibly have to say to each other for so long. Finally, Kylon nodded and turned on his heel to walk back, with Pax guarding his rear and backing away much more slowly toward the door. Rasc and Egam waited until Kylon passed them and until Pax got there before they all backed inside and closed and bolted the door behind them.
Rasc turned and