Mathias stands, too. “We’ll both go.”
Hysan’s cabin is larger and more comfortable than our spartan guest quarters. The lid of his coffin-shaped pod has already popped open, and he’s inside in his boxers, apparently still asleep. His golden hair fans over his forehead, and his skin nearly glows, his leg completely healed.
Mathias throws a blanket over Hysan, covering him to his chin. “The Libran’s out of danger. You should use this pod to heal your arm.”
“Yeah, maybe later.” I’ve cleaned the glass cuts, but they still sting. Even the plush yellow uniform I’m wearing feels like sandpaper against them.
But I don’t want to cheat the pain. I want to feel it. I need to.
Mathias has laid out Hysan’s weapons across his dressing table to ask him about them. Four plexine laser guns, a particle-beam pistol, a half dozen Tasers, a twelve-pack of nuclear grenades. Quite an arsenal for a traveling Guardian. Along with the mini-cameras and tracking bugs, I can no longer doubt our friendly Libran likes to play spy.
Hysan opens his eyes, and when they find me, I watch recognition settle on his features, curving the ends of his mouth. He sits up and throws off the blanket. Mathias impatiently hands him the pair of gray coveralls that are lying on a nearby chair.
As Hysan steps out and pulls on his clothes, he sees the weapons. He looks straight at Mathias. “I see you have no respect for private property. Not even a Guardian’s.”
Mathias glares right back. “At least I saved your life.”
“Thanks,” says Hysan, like he’s forcing a word that won’t roll off his tongue. “But you should have done what I asked and gone to look for Rho. She’s hurt her arm, it could have been worse—”
“Shut up, both of you.” I look at Hysan. “Caasy ejected himself in an escape capsule.” His eyebrow shoots up, like he finds this amusing. “Right after breaking into your strongbox and taking my black opal.”
Now he grows alert. He looks around eagerly for the box, and when he sees that it’s been forced open, his whole demeanor changes. He becomes kind of . . . professional.
“Rho. We need to talk. Alone.”
“You’re dreaming,” says Mathias.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“It’s a . . . Guardian thing.” He looks at Mathias. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. Since Rho was unable to meet her predecessor, she was never told some things that a Guardian needs to know. That’s all this is about.”
Mathias is unmoved. “I was in Mother Origene’s Royal Guard. I’ve told Rho everything I know.”
“Yes, but there are things even Advisors are not aware of.” A gleam crosses Hysan’s eyes, like a new thought just swam by. “The greatest secret of the Houses is passed on from Guardian to Guardian. No one else can know. This is a truth entrusted to only one person in each House.”
“That’s ridiculous. Cancrian Guardians are only named after the current Guardian passes,” argues Mathias.
“That’s what everyone in every House thinks, but it’s not true.” Hysan sighs in frustration. “Guardians are so attuned to the Psy that they can sense when their death is near, and they prepare their successor before anything is made public. If Mother Origene had seen the Dark Matter, she would have sensed her passing. As a backup, we also leave hidden messages in our chambers that only the new Guardian can find. If Rho had been able to access Origene’s residence on planet Cancer, she would have found this information.”
I look from one guy to the other. I can see why Mathias is having trouble believing Hysan—this sounds strange enough to be a sneaky excuse for us to be alone.
The problem is, I don’t think I’d mind being alone with Hysan. And that’s why I have to insist that Mathias stay.
“Hysan, I get it. And I believe you, but at this point we don’t know whom we can trust—including Guardians, since one just stole my stone. The only people we can be sure of are the three of us. We’ve already been trusting each other with our lives, now let’s live them in the open.”
When I’m finished speaking, Hysan gives me a look that expresses the opposite of Mathias’s one of approval. Then he eyes Mathias warily. “You can never speak a word of this to anyone. Anyone.”
“I know my duty to my Guardian, Libran,” snarls Mathias.
Hysan sighs. He sits on the edge of his bed, and for the first time I notice his golden complexion hasn’t fully returned. He’s not altogether better. He lost a lot of blood and still seems a little weak. I perch next to him so he doesn’t have to keep looking up. Mathias hangs back against the wall.
“When the original Guardians fell to mortality, they all brought one thing with them: A Talisman, each of which holds the knowledge of an aspect of humanity, giving each House a different strength.”