by Lace, Lisa
Loud noises of stomping feet came through the wide doors of the temple, which creaked sharply as they swung open. Armed Kerdim men filled the threshold.
Rev quickly helped Tracy slip her robe on, and then he pulled on his slacks.
"Stop!"
"Who dares disturb us!" growled Rev, standing.
"Move away from the woman," commanded Ja-Idin Du, moving through the crush of men. Pa-Kregan and Se-Margen flanked him.
"Traitors revealed," said Rev, shaking his head.
"We are patriots, Ar-Reven," said Margen. "People who want to preserve Kerdos and not destroy it."
There was a stirring behind the screens, and Lady Essen and the other eleven Priestesses of Endra revealed themselves to the intruders.
"Leave now," said Essen. "Weapons are not allowed on the temple grounds. You have no business here."
"But I do," snarled Ja-Idin Du. "I have a warrant for the arrest of Ar-Reven, and as soon as the Aligned Worlds fleet arrives, I will exercise it."
"Du, you have no authority in our sacred temple, but you are too late anyway. My sisters and I have witnessed the mating of Prince Ar-Reven and Princess Tracy. Put your weapons away. It was unanimous; the Priestesses of Endra recognize their sacred union."
"No!" said Du.
"Yes," said Essen with great calm. "You can do nothing about this. As a recognized mate of an Aligned Worlds citizen, Princess Tracy Walsh is now a citizen of the Aligned Worlds too. She is now free to press any legal claims she has."
Du was shaking in his rage. "Kill them all," he ordered.
Kregan and Margen looked at each other then at Du.
"No," said Kregan. "It is one thing to have our prince arrested, but we will not kill him."
"Se-Margen," said Ja-Idin Du.
Margen shook his head. "You do not command me, Du. I do not take your orders."
Ja-Idin Du's dark eyes got very wide. "I don't need you. Your men are under my control."
His eyes fixed on Tracy. "You! You've caused all this!" With a serpentine coil of his body, he launched himself towards Tracy, his mouth opened wide, fangs extended.
Several things happened at once.
Kregan and Margen moved forward, unsuccessfully grabbing for Du.
Rev pushed Tracy out of the way.
Most surprisingly, Essen leaped, a curved bronze knife in her hand, and landed on Du's back, toppling him to the floor. She held the knife over his neck. "Move, and I'll slice your head off." She glanced behind her, and Tracy followed her eyes to the horde of armed men advancing.
"Defend them!" she cried.
At her words, the other priestesses raised curved blades and rushed the men violating the temple.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The loud sounds of the battle faded and were replaced with the noise of their feet slapping the dusty red stone floor as Tracy and Rev fled the temple. They were running together, but Rev was slightly ahead of her, pulling her and urging her to run faster.
They raced down a long hallway past alcoves showcasing alien sculptures. The corridor ended in a wide, pillared veranda. It appeared to be open to the elements, but Tracy knew better; she’d seen the force fields up close. Before they reached the veranda, they slowed down.
"Over here!" Someone was calling out to them.
The wall of one of the alcoves was open into darkness. There was a familiar face looking at them. It was Telwin, the novice who had helped Tracy when she arrived at the compound.
"Telwin?" said Tracy.
"Follow me," said Telwin urgently, beckoning with her hand.
Tracy and Rev entered the dark passage. Telwin pressed a button, and a door slid back into position, concealing their location. With the door closed, Tracy sensed a difference in the air. It felt stale and musty as if this passage hadn't been used in a long time.
Telwin held up a lamp that lit her with a golden glow. "Let's go," she said, her voice almost a whisper.
"Where are we going?" asked Tracy.
"I'm going to do my best to get you to your shuttle."
"What about my brother?" said Rev.
"My sisters are trying to get him there too. Come on."
Telwin led them down a stairway, holding the lamp before her, leaving little light for Tracy and Rev. Tracy stumbled the first few steps, but Rev caught her and held her tight to his body.
"Here," he said. "Let me go first, and hold my hand."
As they moved down the many steps, an all-encompassing darkness stretched ahead of and behind them. For a while, the only sound was their labored breathing. Then Tracy heard something else. There was a muted scraping coming from the top of the staircase. Were those voices, too?
"Rev? Do you hear that?" she whispered.
"Yes, but I was trying not to mention it," he whispered back.
"Telwin," said Tracy, "how much farther? We've got company."
Telwin stopped on a landing and held up her lamp to the wall, searching for something. "Here. Help me move this out of the way."
Telwin pushed against the wall, and Rev joined her. As the sounds of feet clattering on the stairs became louder, Telwin and Rev strained against the wall. Finally, there was a popping sound and a rush of stale air. The wall pushed inward, leaving just enough space for them to enter.
"Hopefully they won't be able to find this passageway. Let's keep going," said Telwin as she disappeared into the opening.
After Tracy and Rev had followed her, Telwin and Rev pushed at the wall and settled it into its original place. Their sense of relief lasted only a few moments. The noises of the men searching for them soon drifted into their passageway, and Telwin made a sign for Rev and Tracy to remain silent. Time seemed to slow down.
Tracy found it difficult to breathe. She felt like they had been running forever. When would there be a time when she could sit down and relax with Rev?
After a long stretch that felt like miles, the air freshened, and they could see a small blur of light ahead. Telwin quickened her pace, and they found themselves at the mouth of a cave overlooking a small grassy plateau. Beyond the grasslands, they could see a purple mountain range. They were close to the transport Tev had used to bring Tracy here. It looked out of place there in the beautiful natural scenery, a big black machine surrounded by greenery.
Tev had made it out already and was waiting for them. He was searching the area with a set of binoculars. As Rev emerged from the cave, he waved to his brother. "Hurry up!" Tev shouted.
The outside air swirling around Tracy was so cold she started to shiver. Rev put his arm around her as they jogged towards the transport. Out of the corner of her eye, Tracy saw a flash of red light. Dirt and rocks at their feet sprayed into the air as laser shots suddenly streaked around them.
"Fuck!" yelled Rev.
All three broke into a run as Tev returned fire with a laser rifle. Telwin shrieked and fell down. An ugly red line was cut into the flesh of her leg. Rev told Tracy to keep going, and he dropped back to get Telwin. Laser fire from men positioned on the rocks above the cave rained down around them.
Tracy ran to the transport and hurled herself in while Tev shot streak after streak of cover fire.
Rev finally reached Telwin. He picked her up ran to the transport.
Once everyone was inside the ship, Tev shut the hatch and disappeared into the pilot's cabin. Rev laid Telwin down on the deck of the craft. Tracy searched the compartments in the bulkhead until she found a medical kit. The ship lifted into the air, throwing Tracy to the deck. The medical kit flew out of her hands, but Rev was there to catch it. He ripped it open and pulled out some antiseptic gel and bandages. Rev moved back to Telwin and smeared gel on the wound. As the craft shuddered its way up into the turbulent atmosphere, he began bandaging Telwin's leg. Tracy felt sick again, and Rev caught the tortured look on her face.
After Telwin's wound was dressed, Rev stood up and worked some controls by the hatch.
"Brother," called Tev from the cockpit, "what are you doing?
"
"Making sure the women don't get sick."
Tracy could barely hear what Rev was saying. She almost thought she heard Rev say "again" in a derisive tone, and then shook her head. No, Rev wouldn't say that. Tracy heard Tev manipulate some controls. The cabin filled with fresh air and she began to feel better.
"Where now?" she said, drawing her knees to her chin.
"We have nowhere to go but up," Rev muttered.
Telwin's leg was bandaged, but she was still groaning in pain. Rev found a painkiller in the medical kit and administered it to the novice. Her face relaxed finally, and Rev gently lifted her up. He set her in a seat and secured the seat belts with a click.
"I know it hurts," Rev said. "But it's better if you are strapped in."
"I understand," said Telwin weakly.
"Shouldn't her leg be elevated?" Tracy said.
"Yes," Rev said, pulling up Tracy from the deck and setting her gently in a seat. "But we can't do that now."
"What's the plan?"
"Let me go talk to Tev." Rev disappeared into the cockpit.
Telwin looked at Tracy and smiled. Her dark hair was disheveled, and her gown was torn, but she was handling it well. "I heard all twelve priestesses voted for your mating," she said.
"You did?" Information sure went around quickly at the temple.
"Yes, it was remarkable. That hardly ever happens. You are very blessed, Lady Tracy. Your bodies, hearts, and souls are joined. It is truly a sign from heaven."
As Tracy thought this over, Rev entered the cabin and knelt before them. "We've got enough fuel for a few hours. Tev and I think our best shot is to hang around in the upper atmosphere and hope one of the rebel ships notices us and comes to get us."
"Rebels? What rebels?"
"The same ones nurse S'den talked about when we were on the Tor. They are hiding behind Endra right now."
Tracy took in this bit of information, but it only led to more questions. For example, why were rebels there in the first place? But she thought it best to concentrate on the practical questions. "I understand that we can't fly to them, because this vessel is not designed for space flight. But why would they be looking for us? We're not rebels."
The brothers looked at each other. Neither one wanted to speak first. Finally, Rev knew he had to say something. "The rebels will do anything to protect their queen. When you were on the Tor, they did a number of tests. One of them was a test on your DNA. They found that you carry the genome of the Moc-Noton line."
Spending time searching through the alien equivalent of Wikipedia had finally paid off. "You mean the Moc-Noton royal line? You're telling me I'm queen of all the Aligned Worlds."
"You could be queen. There are legal procedures, of course. We would need to go to an Aligned Worlds advocate and file a claim to start the process. But unofficially..."
Tracy was thinking many things at the same time, but the foremost thought in her mind was that, once again, Rev knew something and hadn’t told her.
"Wait. How long have you known this?"
"For a couple days. Nurse S'den told me when she arrived."
Tracy sighed. "I know we haven't had a lot of downtime, and I guess we haven't had a lot of opportunities to speak with each other. But next time, can you try to let me know important things as soon as possible? I feel like everyone else knows what's going on, but I don't. "
Rev took her hands. "What do you want to know?"
"Who is chasing us, for one thing."
"A dissident from my government. His name is Se-Margen, and he is the Northern Reaches governor. He has ambitions for his family. When he failed to get either of us to claim his daughter, he turned on us. He has help from Ja-Idin Du, though I don't know to what extent."
Tracy laughed. "I think I sat next to her at dinner. She's a gold digger, that's for sure."
Rev pulled himself off the deck and settled in the seat next to hers.
"How many Kerdim support him?"
"It is too early to tell. I've been off-planet for a long time, and things are moving quickly."
"Is that why Lady Essen rushed us into the temple?"
"It's part of the reason. Our council promised the crown to the brother with a confirmed mating. Now either they stand by their word or..." Rev stopped and swallowed. "There's one more thing. Now that you are confirmed as my mate, you are a citizen. No one can send you back to Earth against your will."
"So," said Tracy, "Essen sets you up as Emperor of Kerdos. And I have the right to claim the Vacant Throne." Tracy shook her head and mumbled to herself, "What more can happen?"
"It was a lot for me to absorb," said Rev. “I was surprised too. Shocked, actually. But it clears up Ja-Idin Du's reaction to you and his desire to quarantine Earth. Anyone with the Moc-Noton genome can file a claim to the throne."
"You keep talking about filing a claim. What exactly does that entail?"
Rev looked uncomfortable, but Telwin helpfully filled the silence. "You sit on the Vacant Throne," she said, "and if it doesn't kill you, you are named empress."
Tracy’s mouth dropped open, but Telwin kept talking. "Of course, this is news to you, but it is common knowledge among our people. The Vacant Throne remains vacant because it will kill anyone without the correct genetic markers to sit on it."
"Fabulous," said Tracy. "Well, let someone else do it. I'm not going to risk my life to rule an empire with thousands of planets. It's been vacant for a long time; it can stay vacant."
"Hundreds of thousands," said Telwin under her breath.
"Great. Hundreds of thousands. Well, I'm just an Earth girl who—"
"I hate to interrupt this touching scene," said Tev, "but we have incoming."
"I'll be right back. I've got to help out." Rev gave Tracy a quick kiss and bounded off to the cockpit.
When he reached the front of the ship, a holoscreen shimmered in front of him, showing four fighters advancing on them.
Tev opened a channel to them. "Fighters, this is Prince Tev. Cease firing. Repeat, this is Prince Ar-Teven, with your emperor, Ar-Reven. Stop shooting at us!"
The ships broke off their attack, and conflicting orders came through the holoscreen speakers. Voices were instructing the fighters to force the transport to land. Tev claimed that these orders were coming from traitors.
Finally, Ja-Idin Du's face shimmered onto the screen. "Let's make this simple. Land," he ordered, "or we'll shoot you down."
"Try it," said Rev. He turned off communications and the holoscreen went dark.
Chapter Fifty
Tracy hated just sitting around. Sure, it was safe, but she had been through enough recently to know that the safest decision wasn't always the best decision. She wanted to know what was going on so she could feel like she was participating. She might not be able to pilot a spaceship, but her ideas were as good as anyone else's. She released her seat belt and made her way to the cockpit. Rev and Tev sat in their seats, eyes glued to displays that showed moving objects. Tracy snorted. Even if they were aliens, it was still hard to pull males away from their video games.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Rev turned to look at her, so he didn't notice the missile heading towards the ship.
"Watch out!" Tracy screamed.
The cabin filled with the sound of tortured metal ripping apart, and the ship seesawed wildly. Tracy was thrown against first one bulkhead then another. Telwin screeched in fright.
"Engine one was hit," announced Tev. "The missile only grazed it, but the engine is not functioning."
"Got it," said Rev.
"Just for my information, how many engines do we have?" asked Tracy.
"Four," said Rev absently.
The brothers were trying to maintain speed and course on three engines, but the looks on their faces showed they knew they were fighting a losing battle. The ship fell through the sky so quickly Tracy felt weightless. She reached for Rev, needing to touch him one more time.
The view from the
windows was bright but grew dark as a large ship moved ahead of them. At the rear of the ship, under the wings, a great maw opened.
"Here's our chance. Someone's offering to take us in," said Rev.
"Who is it?" asked Tracy.
"That's the problem. We don't know. Communication systems are down."
"Are you sure you can fly in there with your piloting skills, little brother?" Tev asked.
"Me? Why me?"
"You said you were the one with tricks."
"Oh, for fuck's sake," muttered Tracy. They were in danger of falling out of the sky and crashing, and they were fighting about who would get to fly the ship.
"I can take care of this." Rev clenched his jaw in determination.
The larger ship hovered before them, and Rev adjusted the angle of the transport so it would fall into the waiting docking bay.
"Hang on," said Rev. His dark hair fell across his forehead as he concentrated on matching the air speed of the waiting ship.
"Rev," said his brother, "engine two just failed."
"I felt it," growled Rev. Tracy also felt the ship slowing down.
"Punch it," urged Tev. "If we hit hard, we hit hard."
Rev took a deep breath and pushed the joystick forward, increasing power to the two remaining engines. Tracy held her breath and gripped Rev's chair. The larger ship enveloped them, but they hit the lower edge of the opening and bounced. Their transport flew forward, skidding across the deck. There was nothing to stop them but the wall at the end of the bay, which was growing larger and larger on the screen.
Suddenly they were jerked back, and Tracy went flying into the forward viewport. She felt strong hands grab her, and she was pulled back roughly, avoided a head-on collision with the glass. Rev was holding her on one side and Tev on the other. Tev gave her a gentle push and she fell in Rev's lap.
"Next time, when I say strap in, stay strapped in." His voice was rough, but he held her tight.
They sat for a moment, shock slowly leaving their bodies after the rough ride. They heard a banging on the ship.
"Sounds like someone wants in," said Tev.
