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

enormous.
    She took a stone stairway down to the main kitchen. When she entered, the chef was discussing that evening’s meal with two staff members. Piero Zonn had operated a gourmet restaurant on Catalan prior to joining the Linkam entourage; Jesse had brought him along to serve meals in the headquarters mansion, but the small, energetic man seemed at a loss as to how he would do his job properly. Dorothy wanted to reassure him, but she didn’t know herself how many things they would have to sacrifice here.
    The chef and his assistants fell silent when they saw her; she was a commoner like them, but they lived in different circles. Nearby, a Carthage-native maid paused while wiping dust from a decorative stone alcove, then resumed her work with renewed vigor. Dorothy felt very much out of place.
    Later, as the two of them walked alone through a hall to the upper levels, Barri tugged at his mother’s cool blouse. “What does Odokis mean?”
    “Odokis?”
    “The star we saw when we came into the system.”
    “That’s Arrakis, dear. In ancient astronomy it meant ‘the dancer’ or ‘the trotting camel.’ It’s the sun up in our sky now, on this planet.”
    “I’d rather be back on Catalan. I miss my friends.”
    “You’ll make new friends here.” In truth, though, Dorothy had noticed few children in Carthage, and the ones she had seen appeared to be street urchins. With a population of convict laborers and freedmen who could not afford passage home, Duneworld was not much of a place to raise a family.
    With Jesse already throwing himself into the spice business, Dorothy spent the morning unpacking while Barri continued to explore. An exceedingly curious young man, he invariably pestered his mother when she was busiest or most agitated. But she found reservoirs of patience within herself, knowing that his curiosity was a sign of intelligence.
    In the large master suite, she organized a few Linkam mementos, the bare minimum Jesse had permitted her to bring along, due to the weight restrictions on space cargo. The rest of their possessions had been left behind on Catalan. So much of her life remained back there, and not just things. Barri looked forlorn each time he realized that some toy or keepsake was far away, and possibly lost forever.
    “It’s good to start anew,” she said aloud with a brave smile. While she studied inventory lists, the boy occupied himself by playing with something he had found on the floor in a corner of the large suite.
    One of the articles she unpacked was a holophoto of Jesse’s father. Placing it on the mantle of the bedroom fireplace, she activated it to show the heavyset Jabo Linkam in his gaudy faux-military uniform, the attire he had preferred to wear, though he had never served in any army. A sycophant at the Imperial court, the old fool had loved to dress in fancy costumes and throw extravagant balls that he could not afford. In the process, he’d nearly bankrupted House Linkam.
    During one such banquet, a crazed chef had attempted to assassinate the father of Valdemar Hoskanner by slipping a powerful toxin into his dessert, a famous Catalanian layer cake. But the delicacy had been one of Jabo’s favorite treats, and he had devoured the dish, not knowing it was poisoned, and it quickly killed him. Only a year later, emboldened by the death of his enemy, sure that House Linkam had been behind the poisoning attempt, young Valdemar had publicly challenged Jesse’s brother, Hugo, to fight in a Hoskanner-sponsored bullfight. Hugo let himself be shamed into participating … and the bull killed him. Sheer stupidity. Thus the youngest Linkam had been left in charge of the Noble House.
    As Dorothy studied Jabo’s holophoto, she hoped her beloved Jesse never fell victim to the prideful ways of his star-crossed family.
    Dr. Yueh stepped through the open doorway. “Oh, I’m feeling much better today, now that I’ve done some unpacking and started to get organized.” He held up