“Shit, thass cool.” Cissy squinted at the darkness beyond. “No lights?”
“A few. Come on.”
Tasha and Cissy entered the warren of dimly lit passageways dug into the rock. The twilight environs reminded Cissy that Kalquorian eyes were much more sensitive to light than that of Earthers. Little by little she adjusted to the dark.
Tasha led her. She hesitated from time to time when presented with more than one tunnel to travel in.
“You sure you know where we’re going?” Cissy asked, taking another drink. She had the vision of someone stumbling across their skeletons a few years from now, both clutching the bottle of bohut. For some reason that struck her as funny and she snorted the alcohol up her nose. She coughed and gagged as her eyes ran with tears at the burn.
“Pretty sure. About another half mile and we’ll be—”
Tasha stopped short as they rounded the corner, coming face to face with a group of black uniformed Nobeks. Cissy stared at the percussion blasters pointed at her and her sister. A surge of fright found its way through the muddle of her alcohol-soaked brain.
The tunnel erupted in Kalquorian curses. The blasters lowered, and one craggy-faced man came striding forward to confront the women.
“Mataras! What are you doing down here?”
Tasha grabbed the bottle from Cissy and said, “What do you think? We were looking for a place to hide, Nobek. In case you haven’t heard, the complesh is under attack.”
Cissy looked at the officer’s Global Security insignia. She had to lean in so close to see it clearly that her nose brushed the fabric. She straightened to tell her twin, “Only three bars. He’s not one of yours, I take it?”
Tasha peered at him and smiled. “Nope. Wish he was, though. I’d lower my sights and panties for a piece of that.”
Cissy blinked to clear her gaze as she looked the seething Nobek over. Great body, plenty of muscle, but his weathered face said he was rough around the edges. His nose was big and bent, as if it had been broken half a dozen times. His jaw was too aggressive. She saw a couple of scars on him too. He was compelling, but not a pretty man by any stretch of the imagination.
She looked at her twin in confusion. “Do I know anything about you? Anything at all?”
The commander turned from them, huffing with impatience. He told one of the younger officers, “We can’t have them roaming around down here. Take these women to headquarters.”
Cissy slapped his bulging shoulder to reclaim his attention. “Actually, you can take us to the Imperial House. We’re the cousins of Empress Jessica. Hup, hup, big boy. Let’s go.”
He glared at her, as if he’d rather put her over his knee and give her the walloping of her life. Cissy thought of Rolat’s nice hard hand and sighed. Now that was a Nobek. Worthy of five stars – or bars – at least.
“Rawr,” she said, unaware she’d made the sound out loud. Tasha bellowed laughter.
The commander scowled at the bottle in Tasha’s hand. “You’re both drunk is what you are. If you weren’t Mataras, I’d put you in a cell to teach you better sense.”
The officer he’d told to escort them away cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Your pardon, Commander, but I recognize them from news vids. They are of the Imperial Family. Mataras Cecilia and Natasha, I believe.”
The commander turned the white-hot glare on the young officer. Cissy rolled her eyes. At this rate, Earth would be inhabitable again before she and Tasha got out of here. Shouldn’t these men be liberating the Matara Complex instead of arguing over where to put a couple of women?
She shoved the commander’s shoulder this time. “The kid is right. So get on with saving the rest of the gals and let us by. Otherwise, it’ll be off with your heads.” She made chopping motions towards the commander’s neck to demonstrate.
Tasha gave her an impatient push, nearly knocking Cissy off her feet. “Oh for heaven’s sake. You are such a bull in a china shop. Try some charm every now and again.”
Tasha turned from her reeling twin to give the shocked Nobek a sweet, drunken smile. “Excuse my shister. She has no sense of prospostefy – prefostrophy. Propriety, damn it. We keep her chained in a corner most of the time where nobody can see her. It’s true!” she continued, as if the man had denied the claim. “Do you know it was only through my efforts that she managed to get engaged to be clanned? Cissy is impossible, but you can see that. Please don’t take her lack of good manners personally.”
“My lack of manners? You’re the one humping everyone but who you should,” Cissy swiped to grab the bohut away from Tasha. Her sister held it out of reach while continuing her attempt to charm the commander.
“Sir, we really are the cousins of Empress Jessica, but wherever you wish us to go, we’ll be glad to do so. Thank you. I hope the rest of your day gets better.”
The commander looked flummoxed rather than mad now. Cissy thought she detected some of his squad fighting back smiles. She wondered what was so funny.
The officer abruptly bowed to them then turned back to the young Nobek who had affirmed their identity. “Take them straight to the Imperial House. If there is a problem, the Royal Guard can deal with it. The rest of you, let’s go!”
He led the men down the tunnel towards the complex. They hurried past Cissy and Tasha. A few dipped their heads in hurried respect, grins lighting their faces. Then they were gone, except for the one officer left to take care of the women.
The young Nobek gave them a bow. “Mataras, this way please.”
They fell into step behind him, weaving from side to side in his wake. Cissy grabbed the bottle from Tasha and hissed in her ear, “Little Miss Sweetie-Pie. What a performance. I bet your pussy drips sugar.”
Tasha smirked and flipped the hem of her skirt. “That’s what they tell me.”
The sisters cracked up, hiccupping laughter. Suddenly, the officer went on alert, his blaster coming up as he swung an arm out to keep them back. “Who’s there?” he yelled.
A vaguely familiar voice called from the darkness ahead. “Ease down, soldier! It’s Emperor Bevau and his aide Dramok Erybet!”
“My emperor!” The soldier bowed so deeply that Cissy thought he might break his nose on his knees. “My apologies! I didn’t realize—”
Bevau emerged from the gloom, with the too-pretty-to-be-a-man Erybet at his shoulder. The emperor returned the officer’s bow.
“Well done, Nobek. No apology is necessary. I appreciate your readiness to defend my cousins and thank you for doing so.” His attention moved to the goggling women. “Are you two all right?”
Cissy and Tasha paid no attention to him. Instead, they looked at the officer. The young Nobek was still bent double bowing. His ass stuck up in the air. The women exchanged a glance and then shrieked with laughter.
Bevau stepped forward and took the half-full bottle of bohut from Cissy. He handed it to the snickering Erybet. The Nobek put his arms around the sisters, gently guiding them.
Cissy looked back to see the officer being left behind, his expression confused as they walked away. That made her laugh even harder.
Bevau’s rolling chuckles joined in on the merriment. He told Erybet, “At least someone on Kalquor is having a good day. Maybe we should douse the whole Empire in bohut, Erybet.”
Cissy said, “I’ll drink to that.” She would have too, but Erybet wouldn’t give the bottle back.
“You’ve had enough, young lady.”
“Spoil sport. I bet you and Diltan would get along famously.”
Chapter 31
It was one of those situations that Diltan would have laughed uproariously over had he heard it as someone else’s tale. Maybe he’d laugh about it later anyway ... but for now, matters were anything but funny.
Rolat and Wal had arrived minutes after Bevau and Erybet’s departure. When he got the news Rolat wanted to head out for the Matara complex to rescue his Matara and her sister. Diltan wanted to go with him. Everyone else protested them going into what the news vids were
proclaiming to be a ‘tense situation’ between converging Global Security squads and a large group of protestors who had overrun the complex’s security staff. Even Wal shoved at his clanmates, telling them to not be such macho asses looking to get themselves shot.
Rolat not only wanted to storm over, he wanted Diltan to stay behind. “You’ve got no fighting experience,” he said, dismissing Diltan’s insistence on going. “I can’t rescue Cissy and keep your ass protected too.”
“Neither of you goes anywhere,” Clajak stormed at the pair. “Stop acting like fools and wait for Bevau and Erybet to bring the women here.”
“I am responsible for my Matara. I will see to her safety.” Rolat growled. “Enough talk. I’m leaving now. If you try to go with me, Diltan, I will beat your ass in front of everyone.”
“Oh, save us all from chest-beating men,” Jessica said. She spoke into her com. Seconds later, half a dozen armored Royal Guards filed into the room and lined up in front of the door.
“No one leaves,” Jessica told them. “Especially those two idiots.” She motioned to Rolat and Diltan.
That was when Rolat lost all patience. He swelled in fury to be challenged, his muscles bunching so that he looked twice his normal size to Diltan. He took a step towards the guards. They tensed and took up fighting stances.
“Hey!” Wal yelled. He jumped up on Rolat’s back, wrapping his arms around the thick, corded neck and his legs around the Nobek’s waist. “Just settle down, okay?”
Rolat didn’t seem to notice his clanmate clinging to him like a living backpack. He took another step towards the guards. They began to growl.
Despite Rolat’s size and fighting ability, Diltan knew he didn’t stand a chance against six battle-trained men. Even though he was more than a little ticked off that Rolat had blatantly thrown off his command, had even threatened him in front of the Imperial Clan, he didn’t want to see his Nobek beat down.
“Whoa!” Diltan jumped in front of his advancing clanmate. “Calm down. Take a breath. Think about what you’re doing.”
“What I’m doing is making people bleed if they don’t back the fuck off. Every one of you, get out of my way. I want my Matara now.” Rolat sounded nowhere near sensible.
Wal released his neck with one arm to pound his fist against the Nobek’s chest. “Stop being a fool! Wake up, you stupid animal!”
Diltan was too busy dancing in front of Rolat to appreciate how ridiculous his high court judge Imdiko looked. Wal perched on the Nobek like a child playing kestarsh-back. Diltan’s bouncing and wildly waving of arms was no doubt as indecorous as Wal’s behavior. Most of the other people in the room watched their performance with incredulous expressions.
The clan’s outrageous behavior was halted by Korkla’s shout of, “Global Security has taken the complex! Initial reports are that none of the women were harmed. They all locked themselves in their rooms. The rioters never went into the buildings that house them.”
Clan Diltan ended their antics to look in the direction of the news vids. Ospar, who monitored another feed, added, “The same has happened at the other Matara complex. The mob went after the administration areas, not the women. There was never any sign they wanted to harm the females.”
Clajak gave a sigh of relief. “At least the Basma hasn’t incited enough madness to hurt our Mataras.” He looked at Clan Diltan, still frozen in place. Diltan noted the way the emperor tried to keep his expression neutral ... and the grin that wouldn’t let him.
Jessica was not so amused. “Are you three asses done now? Cissy and Tasha should be safe. There is no reason to kill each other getting to them. Honestly, I’m not so sure I should give my approval to you clanning my cousin after that ridiculous performance.”
Diltan realized his arms were still in the air. He lowered them sheepishly as Wal slid down Rolat’s back. The Imdiko was bright red. After he’d gained his feet, he ducked behind the larger Nobek in his embarrassment. Snickers filled the room.
As for Rolat, his temper had cooled enough for him to recognize he wasn’t going to barrel through six Royal Guards. He stepped back, easing down. He gave Jessica a bow in apology.
“My regrets for being so aggressive, my empress. I lost my head in my fear for Cissy. The thought of standing by while Cissy cowered in that place, under a threat and no doubt frightened—”
The door opened behind the wall of guards. They stepped aside as Cissy and Tasha stumbled their way into the room. Bevau and Erybet followed, grins stretching their handsome faces. Diltan was sure the half-empty bottle of bohut in Erybet’s hand was not his.
Jessica snorted and said, “Yes, Nobek Rolat, my cousin looks utterly traumatized.” Eyeing the lurching Cissy, she added, “On second thought, you four do deserve each other. You have my blessing.”
Diltan barely heard her. Unable to contain himself, he rushed to Cissy. He and his clanmates surrounded her, kissing her, touching her, reassuring themselves that she was safe and whole. She squealed with delight over the attention, returning the caresses with no inhibitions. Diltan had to clutch her hands to halt her attempt to pull his pants open in front of everyone.
Tasha sounded disgruntled in the midst of all the laughter. “Hey. Where’s my kissy face? No fair. I was in danger and needing rescue too.”
Jessica joined in the merriment, enjoying the sight of her drunken cousins. She laughed, “Sorry, Tasha. My clan is off-limits.”
Mumbling against Diltan’s lips, Cissy said, “Give her one of those Royal Guards. Just make sure he either has a beat-up face or four bars.”
Diltan paused the wild welcome, wrinkling his nose at the overpowering odor of alcohol that clouded the air about her. “You are so drunk. In the middle of a riot, no less!”
She laughed. “And you’re cute for a pompous ass.” She got serious for a moment. “I am so glad you got out of your office okay. All of my guys are safe, it looks like.” She smiled all around at the men crowding her, and then peered around Wal. She beckoned to Erybet. “This calls for a celebration. Hand that bohut over, pretty boy.”
Wal snorted. “I think you’ve celebrated enough, my love.”
Clajak asked Bevau, “So you ran into no trouble retrieving our cousins?”
“They’d stumbled on the emergency access tunnels.”
Cissy brayed to Tasha, “Yeah, we stumbled on them, right Mata Hari?”
Tasha had found her way to a lounger and sprawled across it, for once every bit as unrefined as her twin. She waved a hand in the air as she said, “Stumbled on them, through them, out of them—”
Rolat looked from one sister to the other. “By the ancestors, you girls need keepers. Someone find Tasha a clan before she gets herself hurt.”
With the Matara Complexes secured, everyone found the ability to relax and laugh at the women’s antics. Diltan looked into the flushed face of his Cissy while she laughed along with them. Even with her eyes bleary, her hair in disarray, and stinking of booze, she had never looked so beautiful to him.
She gazed up at him. Defying the love that shone in her eyes, she smarted off, “I guess I’ve screwed up, huh? All vulgarity, none of your prized decor – decoration – um—”
“Decorum?” Wal suggested.
“That’s it! Whatever will you do with me, Dramok Diltan?” She batted her eyes and started to lean against him – and fell hard against his chest instead.
Diltan shook his head and grabbed hold to keep her from splashing to the floor. “If you’ll have me and these other two buffoons, I’ll clan you right here and now, you mad, messy little Earther.”
Cissy gave him wide, delighted eyes. “Yay! He asked me! I’m saying yes! I’m clanned, everyone.”
From her lounger Tasha yelled, “Woohoo! Pass me that bottle! She reeled one – I mean three – in!”
That brought more laughter and cheers from the rest. As Erybet hid the bottle he’d confiscated behind his back, Diltan looked for Clajak. It was good to see the Dramok Emperor, who’d had so lit
tle joy lately, looking cheerful for a change.
Clajak caught his eye, and Diltan pretended concern. “My emperor, she is contrary enough to ask to de-clan us later. She’ll claim intoxication made her accept my offer.”
The emperor came over to clap him on the shoulder. “From what I can see, she’s in too much need of supervision to be allowed loose again. She’s yours to keep, Clan Diltan. Our congratulations – and best of luck with her!”
Rolat and Wal whooped with triumph. Diltan looked down at the beaming face of his new clanmate as congratulations rang in his ears. Yes, Cissy was loud, crass, and scruffy. She was also his, now and forever. Diltan had never been happier.
Chapter 32
Cissy crept through the halls of her clan’s getaway on the moon-based Itahi Colony. Clan Diltan’s second of five homes resided within an exclusive resort in a picturesque mountainous region. She snuck through the sun-spotted corridor.
Not real sun, she reminded herself as she passed one of the vids that simulated a window. The lovely snow-dusted mountain scenery was real enough, being transmitted from just outside the home. Windows were energy wasters, however, so Kalquorians didn’t tend to use them in constructed buildings such as this one.
Much as the landscape outside showed, the moon resort was renowned for its hot springs and picturesque beauty. Cissy had nevertheless experienced little of Itahi’s pleasures. She’d been too busy indulging in the sensual delights of her clan for the last three days following their clanning ceremony and its subsequent five-day celebration with family and her clanmates’ colleagues. Clan Diltan’s massive ballroom had gotten its use for the round-the-clock party. Rank had its responsibilities, and tending to guests had taken up much of their time during the festivities. Cissy and her men were more than happy to now exercise rank’s privileges in decadent luxury ... and exuberant fucking in the midst of that luxury. Responsibility had taken a distant backseat to pleasure, for at least three out of four of them.
Cissy tiptoed barefoot in a new soaksuit that made the one Wal and Rolat had first seen her in look demure. As usual, she was uncaring of the marble-tiled floors or the expensive rugs that covered them. Ridiculous extravagance, in her opinion. Floors were meant to be walked on, not be dressed up in silks and designs better left hung on walls to be admired. With a hot spring located in the middle of the house, things were bound to get sloppy and wet.
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