“If you so choose. It would save us some time.”

“Very well.” George sipped his tea. “Kuyo occurs throughout Galaxy but only in small quantities, which makes Nexus extremely valuable. Currently there are three factions fighting for the control of the planet. Each claims the rights to the entirety of Nexus’ mineral wealth and none are willing to compromise. They’re engaged in a bloody war. It’s been going on for roughly eight years in Earth’s terms and almost twenty years in Nexus’ time. The war is brutal and has cost all sides a great deal. The cooler minds on all sides agree it can’t continue. The matter has been referred for Arbitration by one of the interested factions, the other two agreed, and here we are.”

“I’m guessing one of the factions are the Merchants?” When we had landed on Nexus, we ended up in a Merchant spaceport. Merchants facilitated trade throughout Galaxy and its many dimensions. When you needed rare goods or a large quantity of goods, you went to see the Merchant. They were motivated by profit and prestige.

George nodded. “Yes. The war is cutting into their profits.”

“Which family? The Ama?”

“The Nuan. The Ama family cut their losses and sold its holdings on Nexus to Nuan two years ago.”

Suddenly his presence here made a lot of sense. “Is Nuan Cee involved?”

“Yes. In fact, he was the one who recommended your establishment.”

Before my parents disappeared, they did a lot of business with Nuan Cee. Running an inn sometimes required exotic goods. Even I had done a deal with Nuan Cee. I’d bartered the world’s rarest honey for the eggs of the deadly giant spider.

“Your tea is delicious,” George said.

“Thank you. Who are the other two factions?”

“House Krahr of Holy Cosmic Anocracy.”

Six months ago I had sheltered a vampire of House Krahr, after he were injured trying to apprehend an alien assassin. His nephew had come to rescue him. The nephew’s name was Arland, he was the Marshal of his House, and he had flirted with me. At least flirted in vampire terms. He’d assured me that he would be ecstatic to be my shield and I shouldn’t hesitate to rely upon his warrior’s prowess. He also got drunk on coffee and ran through my orchard naked.

Good God, who could hold the vampires of Krahr off for twenty years? They were one of the most ferocious sentient species in the Galaxy. They were predators, who lived to war. Their entire civilization was dedicated to it.

“Who is the final faction?”

George set his cup down. “Otrokar.”

I blinked.

Silence stretched.

“Otrokar? The Hope-crushing Horde?”

George looked slightly uncomfortable. “That’s the official name, yes.”

Otrokar were the scourge of the Galaxy. They were huge and violent and they lived to conquer. They’d started with one planet and now they had nine. Their feud with Holy Anocracry was older than anyone cared to remember. Their name literally meant the Hope-crushing, because once you saw them, all of your hopes died.

Having vampires and Otrokar together in close proximity was like mixing glycerin with nitric acid and then hitting it with a sledgehammer. They would explode. It would be a slaughter.

I leaned forward. “So you need a neutral venue to hold the Arbitration?”

“Yes. An inn on Earth is ideal. It is defined as neutral ground and we can rely on an innkeeper’s power to keep the participants in check.”

“Let me guess: you’ve tried other inns and everyone turned you down. Am I your last stop?”

George took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“There was an attempt to broker peace between Otrokar and Holy Cosmic Anocracy,” I said. “About fifty years ago.”

He braided his long elegant fingers into a single. “Yes, I’m familiar with it.”

“Then you also know how it ended.”

“I believe the Patriarch of House Jero lunged at the Otrokar Korum, and Korum beheaded him.”

“He ripped the Patrirach’s head off with his bare hands and then proceed to beat the Marshall of House Jero to death with it.”

“Well, it does sound risky when you put it that way…”

“It’s not risky, it’s suicidal.”

“Should I take it as a no?” George asked.

This was a really bad idea.

“How many people do you expect?”

“At least twelve from each party.”

Thirty six guests. My heart sped up. Thirty six guests, each with robust magic. This would sustain the inn for years to come. Not to mention that if I managed to pull it off, it would raise the inn’s standing.

No, what was I thinking? It would be crazy. I would have to keep peace between thirty six individuals, each dying to kill the other. It would be terrible. The risk… The gamble was too great.

What did I have to lose?

George reached into his pocket, produced a small tablet about the size of a playing car and just as thin and showed it to me. Two numbers: $500,000 and $1,000,000.

“The first is your payment in the event the arbitration fails. The second is payment if we succeed.”

Five hundred thousand. We needed the money. I could finally upgrade my books. I could buy the additional building materials for the inn.

No. I might as well set Gertrude Hunt on fire.

My gaze fell on the portrait of my parents. They were looking at me. Demilles never backed down from a challenge. Neither did they take unnecessary risks.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I could simply sit here and continue to wait for a chance traveler to happen my way…

“If I do this, I would need you to meet my conditions,” I said.

“Absolutely.”

“I want agreements of reimbursement to be drawn up and signed by all parties. I want a sum of money to be set aside in escrow from each faction and placed under Arbiter’s control. If they damage the inn, I want them to pay for the damages.”

“I find it reasonable.”

“I need each party to review and sign Earth’s no-disclosure policy. Ordinary citizens of this planet can’t know of their existence. For example, we may experience visits from local law enforcement and I want it expressly understood that nobody will be crushing their necks or ripping off their heads.”

“Also reasonable.”

“I may think of some additional restrictions. Do you have any concerns?”