Road to Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

new sources of income. Now her mind spun as she considered the enormity of the problem.
    Attendants surged forward to assist with unloading their luggage and belongings. Dr. Yueh, still wobbly, finally emerged. He took deep breaths of the dry air and made a face, as if smelling something unpleasant all around him.
    The two dusty escorts led the newcomers toward the nearby mansion, along a steep path. Wind from the rising storm found its way through the sheltering crags and tugged at their hair and clothes. Jesse and Dorothy both ducked against the stinging breeze. Their son had run ahead, but she called him back. Reluctantly, the brown-haired boy waited for them to catch up.
    “It’s probably best for you to get a face full of grime the first day,” Gurney said. “That’s the way it is here on Duneworld, and we haven’t figured out a way to clean the place up yet. The accursed sand and dust gets into everything. I’ve got the worst rash on my—” Glancing at Dorothy, he left his sentence uncompleted.
    She took Barri by the hand as they continued walking. At a disapproving glance from Jesse, she released the boy to walk on his own, a few steps ahead.
    “The main spice fields are fifteen hundred klicks from here,” Tuek quickly filled the silence, “but Carthage is the nearest stable and defensible site for a large city and landing zones.”
    Gurney nudged Jesse and pointed ahead. “Feast your eyes on your new home, laddie.”
    Through a haze of blowing sand, Dorothy barely made out the old headquarters mansion in front of them, a rock-walled fortress that reflected the brutish architectural tastes of the Hoskanners. She thought again of their former home on the Catalan shores, the rustic yet welcoming wood furnishings, the rugs and fireplaces, the cheerful lights. In contrast, this place offered all the creature comforts of great hunks of stone and fused alloy beams.
    What have we gotten into?
    Immense statues of old Hoskanner family patriarchs lined the entry walk. “Those will have to come down,” she said immediately.
    “Old Valdemar won’t like that at all if he comes back here,” Gurney said, grinning more than scowling.
    Jesse paused for a long time before he said, “If Valdemar comes back in two years, I will be beyond caring.”

    DOROTHY WOKE EARLY the next morning after a night of fitful sleep in a flinty-smelling bedchamber. Sitting up in bed to look at the harsh yellow sunlight bleeding through the shielded window, she noticed that Jesse was no longer beside her, though the sheets on his side of the bed were rumpled.
    Detecting that she was awake, a tiny device like a fat bee buzzed in front of her face, and she blew a breath to activate the messager. Jesse’s compressed voice said, “I’m on an inspection tour with Esmar and Gurney. You took so long to get to sleep, Dor, I didn’t want to wake you.”
    She smiled at his consideration, but could not allow herself to rest, not on their first full day on Duneworld. Thousands of details demanded her attention for the household to run smoothly.
    Barri was already up and bursting with energy. He had dark brown hair that remained unruly despite Dorothy’s efforts to tame it. His nose was round and covered with a thin scatter of freckles easily disguised by the ever-present dust on Duneworld. His bright laughter came easily, especially when he amused himself by discovering interesting facets to even ordinary things.
    The smart eight-year-old followed her throughout the morning, asking constant questions, poking into unlabeled boxes, exploring hallways and closed rooms. Dorothy issued instructions to the domestic staff she had brought from Catalan, as well as a handful of Hoskanner holdovers that General Tuek had screened with his usual care. Jesse might trust the old veteran’s precautions, but Dorothy had quietly decided to make her own judgments about the staff. The consequences of an error in this regard were too high, the stakes too