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  Now, she opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom at her parents’ estate on the planet Risciter. She’d been undressed, put into her sleeping garments, her hair braided, and tucked under the covers. It was as if she’d never left. She sprang out of bed and started for the door. She had to find out where Keirth was, and then...

  Well, she didn’t know what she’d do then, but there had to be something she could do. They thought he was a murderer, and he wasn’t.

  The door was locked. She pressed the button for it to open over and over, but it just kept flashing at her. They’d locked her in her room? How dare they?

  Ariana began to pace in front of her bed. What was she going to do? It had been so long since she’d been in this world, she’d practically forgotten how things worked. She’d never been locked in her room before, of course, but she’d always practically been a prisoner. She couldn’t go places because it wasn’t proper, and she’d never had access to anything she actually owned without the help of a servant.

  Servant!

  Yes, if she wanted to be let out of this room, she needed to contact a servant. Usually, she’d use her comm. Of course, she didn’t have one anymore, but most rooms had a comm that connected to the kitchens, at least. She found it next to the door. She pressed the speak button. “I need assistance.”

  “Miss Gilit?” came a voice from the comm. “I’ll send Sadie up right away.”

  Good. Okay. Ariana sat back down on the bed, trying to calm herself down. When Sadie got there...

  When Sadie got there, what? She was a lady’s maid. There was no reason to think that Sadie could help her get to Keirth. She didn’t even know where Keirth was. She’d only been back in the sector for a few minutes, and she was already imprisoned by it. She couldn’t handle this.

  The door opened, and Sadie entered. She curtsied. “Well, miss, we sure haven’t seen you in a while. Was it as terrible as it says it was on the nets?”

  “No,” said Ariana. She considered. “Well, some of it was terrible. What does it say on the nets?”

  “Well, you was captured by that crazy man, wasn’t you? Transman. He’s a rapist and serial killer, he is. Did he hurt you, miss?”

  “He’s not a rapist or a serial killer,” said Ariana. “They’ve got it all wrong. He never hurt me.” And tears were filling her eyes. How could she have been so happy just a few hours ago, snug in Keirth’s arms, thinking about marrying him, and now have it all completely torn away from her?

  “Well, I guess it was all pretty bad, then,” said Sadie. “They told me not to ask you about it too much. I’m sorry, miss.” She curtsied again. “What did you need me for, then?”

  Ariana stood up. “I want to leave.”

  Sadie’s face fell. “Oh. Well, you can’t do that, you know? They said to make you comfortable as best we could, but to keep a close eye on you.”

  Ariana sagged against her bed post.

  “I’m very sorry, miss. Your parents will be coming in from Wendo tonight. There’s going to be a dinner party to welcome you back. If you look in the wardrobe, there’s a very pretty dress that I’m to help you into later—”

  “A dinner party?” Ariana was completely flummoxed. Her parents, who assumed she’d been held captive by a rapist and serial killer, were going to throw her a dinner party? Were they completely out of their minds?

  “I’m sure it will be very nice.” Sadie’s voice was tiny. She was cowering away from Ariana in a way that Ariana had never seen the girl behave. Apparently, Ariana was scary now. Well, good.

  Ariana took a deep breath and began to pace again. “So, they’re going to pretend like none of it happened, I suppose. They’ll have a nice dinner, shove it all under the rug, and go on. Meanwhile, they’re keeping me prisoner here.”

  “I’m so sorry, miss,” said Sadie.

  Ariana waved her away. “Go away, Sadie.”

  Sadie started for the door.

  “Wait,” said Ariana. “Bring me a net tablet.” If she couldn’t leave the house, at least she could find out what was going on in the sector. Maybe if she sent out a few blasts over the the net, she could try to get people to see that what they thought of Keirth wasn’t true.

  Sadie stared at the floor. “Well, they thought that access to the net might just upset you, miss, so they’ve ordered us to keep it from you.”

  Ariana let out a roar of frustration. “Get out of my sight.”

  When Sadie left the room, Ariana felt guilty. It wasn’t the girl’s fault, after all. She was only doing what she was told. It seemed her only recourse was the dinner party. She’d be sure to have a lot to say that evening.

  * * *

  Keirth hadn’t offered any resistance to his arrest, but they’d beaten him anyway. Once they’d hauled Ariana away the police had taken turns kicking him and ramming the butts of their blaster rifles into his face. He was bloody and bruised when they brought him into the courtroom on Risciter.

  He’d never been in such a room before. It was all guilded arches, high ceilings, and glittering pillars.The judge sat on a high bench, at least twenty feet in the air, glaring down at him as they dragged him forward. Why was he in a coutroom already?

  Keirth knew a bit about arrests, mostly things he’d learned from the people he’d met who’d been through the sector’s legal system. He knew things worked a bit differently here than they did on the colony worlds, but most people claimed the sector was a bit more civilized. There were more comfortable jail cells, court-appointed counsels, and other sorts of things that made being arrested on the sector seem more appealing. Of course, it wasn’t likely you’d get arrested on a colony world. Mostly, on the colonies, you just got shot. Some places were more civilized than others, of course. Here, in the sector, things were supposed to be the most civilized of all.

  “Ah,” said the judge, “he’s here.”

  The police shoved Keirth into a seat at a table in front of the judge’s bench. Across from him, Keirth could see a man in a suit seated with a few other police officers, all in their dress uniforms. A camera was buzzing around the room. It fluttered down in front of his face. Keirth batted it away, and it tumbled through the air a few feet before righting itself.

  The judge banged a gavel down. “The state vs. Keirth Transman,” he said. “Prosecution may begin.”

  Wait a second. This was his trial? He’d barely been arrested. He certainly hadn’t been processed or given counsel or anything. He stood up. “Your Honor?”

  The judge glared at him. “I have not recognized you, have I, scum?”

  “Aren’t I supposed to get a court-appointed counsel or a comm message or something?” Keirth asked.

  “Sit down,” thundered the judge.

  Keirth didn’t. “I’m fairly sure you’re violating my rights.”

  “This,” said the judge, “is the King’s Bench and Star Chamber, where we hear only the most heinous crimes against the nobility. I decide what rights you have, and I’ve decided, due to the nature of your crimes, you deserve none.”

  A policeman pushed Keirth back into his seat.

  “Prosecution, proceed,” said the judge.

  The man in a suit opposite Keirth stood up. “The state calls Sergeant Nol Praxider.”

  One of the uniformed policemen got up and took the stand. He swore his oath and sat down.

  The prosecuting attorney stood behind his table. “Sergeant Praxider, you were the investigating officer on the scene on Scranth, were you not?”

  Sergeant Praxider nodded. “That’s true.”

  “And can you briefly describe the nature of the crimes perpetrated at the brothel there?”

  “There were thirty-three bodies,” said Praxider. “Twenty-nine of them were prostitutes who worked at the brothel, two were customers of the prostitutes, one was a small girl of about eight, and the final body belonged to the Duke of Risciter. All had their throats slashed except the girl, the men, and the duke, who was killed by multiple stab wounds, which is actu
ally something I find rather strange, and I wonder—” Praxider turned to the judge— “perhaps if the department could be given leave to question the suspect now that we have him in custody, we could determine if there wasn’t more to this crime than meets the eye?”

  Keirth held his breath. The sergeant had seen something strange had happened. Maybe they’d listen to him. Maybe he could still prove his innocence.

  The judge grimaced. “You will answer the questions as they are given to you, Sergeant.”

  Keirth let his breath out. Not a chance.

  The prosecuting attorney straightened his lapel. “With the exception of the small girl, does it appear that all of these bodies were killed with the same weapon?”

  “Yes,” said Praxider.

  The attorney picked up a clear bag, with Risciter’s knife encased in it.

  Keirth stared. Why hadn’t he thought to take the knife? Why had he left it there?

  “Is this the weapon?” asked the attorney.

  “It appears so,” said Praxider.

  “Were there any fingerprints found on the weapon?”

  “Actually, yes,” said Praxider. “Some of them belonged to the duke, and some belonged to someone we couldn’t identify. Given that we haven’t actually had the chance to fingerprint Keirth Transman, we can’t be sure that they belong to him.”

  The prosecuting attorney pursed his lips. “Might there have been a reason that the duke’s fingerprints were on the knife?”

  “I’m sure it means that he was holding it at some point,” said Praxider. “Although, oddly enough, the duke’s body was found wearing gloves, which I think is quite strange—”

  “I’m referring, of course,” said the prosecutor, “to a distress call that you received from the duke himself. Didn’t you get a message from him indicating that he had attempted to fight Transman off, and wouldn’t that account for his fingerprints on the knife?”

  “Well, we did receive a message,” said Praxider, “and the duke also claimed he’d killed Transman, which, as you can see, wasn’t true. Further, the duke claimed that Miss Ariana Gilit had also been murdered, but we took her into custody earlier today, and she appeared in fine health. I really must indicate again that my department has not had sufficient time to make heads or tails of this case and—”

  The judge banged his gavel. “I’ve heard enough,” he said. “I find the defendant, Keirth Transman, guilty of the willful and horrific murder of Terence Yon, the Duke of Risciter, and hereby sentence him to death by hanging.”

  Keirth was on his feet again. “Don’t I get the chance to defend myself? To call witnesses?” What kind of trial was this?

  “The sentence will be carried out in the morning,” said the judge, banging his gavel again. He stood up and turned with a swirl of his robes.

  Policemen grabbed Keirth and yanked him out of his chair.

  Praxider was standing up in the witness box. “Your Honor, this is highly irregular, even for the Star Chamber.”

  The judge didn’t respond.

  Keirth was tugged out of the room. His struggling didn’t make any difference.

  * * *

  Ariana strode into the parlor, dressed in the “very pretty” dress that Sadie had told her about earlier. She’d had Sadie redo her hair three times, claiming she didn’t like the effect, when in actuality it was fine. She wanted to be a little late. She wanted to make an entrance.

  The guests for the dinner party had already arrived, which was the way she wanted it. She could see that her parents were there, as well as Aunt Tildy, and her sister Maga. There were also about seven or eight other members of the nobility. No one particularly well-placed, of course, because she and her family were on the planet Risciter, and most people in the sector were on Wendo, since it was fashionable this season. Ariana wondered why they’d brought her to Risciter anyway. Wouldn’t it have been easier to ship her to Wendo, where her family was?

  It hardly mattered. Ariana let one of the servants fetch her a drink, and then she waited until everyone had seen that she’d entered the room. Maga ran to her immediately, and her parents followed, no doubt ready to give a very public and very emotional welcome to her, but Ariana held up her hand to stop them.

  Clutching her drink, she addressed everyone in a loud voice. “As this dinner is given in my honor since I have returned, I thought I’d give a small speech to thank you all for welcoming me.”

  That sounded good, didn’t it? All around her, everyone was smiling and nodding in approval.

  Excellent. Ariana cleared her throat. “Except for the fact, of course, that I’d rather not be welcomed at all. While I was away, I discovered that the man who’d been courting me, the Duke of Risciter, was actually a violent pervert who attempted to violate and kill me. I was present when he slaughtered an entire brothel full of women, and if it hadn’t been for the actions of one very brave man, I might have died. That man is Keirth Transman, and he’s been wrongly arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. His only crime was to protect me.”

  At this point, Ariana’s mother was trying to shush her. “Ariana, please.” She turned to the other people in the room. “She’s been through quite an ordeal. I’m sure she doesn’t know what she’s saying.”

  But Ariana only spoke louder, doing her best to drown out her mother. “He does not deserve the treatment given him, and I do not wish to stay here. Keirth and I are in love, you see, and before he was arrested, we were to be married—”

  But she didn’t get any more of it out, because her mother, her father, and a cadre of servants propelled her from the parlor and away from the guests.

  * * *

  Ariana sat in a chair in one of her family’s studies. Her father had a drink, which he rested on the mantle of the fireplace. Her mother was sitting in a chair opposite Ariana. She’d been crying, but Ariana didn’t care.

  “You’ve upset your mother terribly,” said her father.

  “It was completely inappropriate, Ariana,” said her mother. “How could you say things like that in front of our guests?” She twisted her hands in her lap. “They’ll all be talking about it, that’s for sure. The scandal. You won’t be able to show your face for months, and your family will be just as tarred with your broad strokes of disaster. What were you thinking?”

  She’d been thinking exactly that, of course. If she could get the word out on Keirth’s innocence, maybe it would help. It was the only thing she could think of to do. Now that it was done, she didn’t much care what her family thought or what society thought either. Ariana sat rigidly, refusing to answer.

  “We didn’t have to travel all the way from Wendo to welcome you back, you know,” said her father. “When we learned you were here, we came to you, we organized this dinner in your honor—”

  “On short notice, too,” added her mother, “and you know how difficult such things can be.”

  “—and this is how you repay us,” her father finished. “We didn’t raise you to be so ungrateful.”

  Ariana could barely get her head around this. Her parents could not seriously be so concerned with appearances that they scolded her now, did they? She narrowed her eyes. “What could possibly have made you think that the appropriate way to greet me after what had happened would be a dinner party?”

  Her parents both looked bewildered.

  Her mother fluttered a hand at her chest. “Well, there wasn’t time to organize anything more elaborate. It was the best we could do.” She looked up at her husband. “She is ungrateful.”

  Ariana squeezed her eyes shut. “Not something more elaborate. Something less elaborate. I’m sure you scoured the nets while I was gone. You read what they said was happening to me.”

  “Well, we thought you were dead, darling,” said her father. “Your mother sobbed for days. She was inconsolable. Having you back alive, whole and unharmed, was the best news we’d ever received.”

  “So, you decided to throw a dinner party?” Ariana realized she was furiou
s. Her parents didn’t seem to care about her well-being one bit. If the nets were to be believed, she’d been through a horrific experience. And while the news stories didn’t have all the details right, Ariana had been through hell. The last thing she needed was for everyone to pretend it hadn’t happened and keep on as though things were normal.

  Her mother’s lip trembled. “Oh, Ariana, they were saying horrible things about you. And then you were dead, and I thought...” She reached for her. “Of course, I’m glad to have you back, but how we’ll salvage any of it, I don’t know. When this all started, you were practically engaged to Risciter, the most eligible bachelor in the sector, and now, after everything, well, I simply don’t know what kind of life you’ll have. It’s not the life I would have wanted for you. I don’t want you dead, of course. I want you alive, but...”

  Ariana’s jaw dropped, and she shook her head in disbelief. Her mother had actually been relieved to think she was dead. Her mother was so short-sighted, so entrenched in the society of the sector, that part of her thought dead was better than socially ruined. Ariana was appalled.

  Her mother was still babbling. “So, I thought, a dinner party. I thought that I’d show everyone that you were all right, and they’d see that you were strong, and perhaps they’d forget about all the nonsense. Perhaps, if you could be charming enough, they’d find it all exciting, and it would actually help your chances. I see I was wrong. You’ve been warped by everything that’s happened. My poor little girl.” And then she got out of her chair and tried to put her arms around Ariana.

  Ariana recoiled. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Ariana!” scolded her father.

  Her mother straightened. “No, it’s not her fault, dear. She’s been scarred by all this. I see it now. We can’t blame her for the way she’s acting.”

  “The way I’m acting?” Ariana stood up. “Marrying Risciter would have been the most disastrous thing that ever happened to me. He was a horrible man. You have no idea how absolutely disturbed he was. And you have no idea what he did to me. Everything about this place is upside down. You only look at the surface. How things look to the outside world. Not how things really are.”