by Anny Cook
“What? Why?”
“Who knows? Maybe they think his experience will rub off on them!”
Dai frowned angrily. “Why didn’t he say something to your papa? Something must be done.”
Arano snorted in disgust. “Sometimes you demonstrate the brains of a pea and that’s insulting the pea. What exactly do you think you can do to change how his students feel?” Silence echoed around the clearing after Arano’s outburst.
Then Dai coldly inquired, “You have a solution, I suppose?”
“Arturo and I have talked about it. He must go away to one of the other villages and start over. He has skills and sufficient barter credits to support himself. If he stays here, he’ll end up a hermit.” Arano flopped down next to Dai. “He has to go so that both of us can have a life.”
“And what about you, Little Eagle? What will happen to you after he’s gone?” Dai asked softly.
“Maybe I will finally get my bond mate to agree that I’m good mate material.”
“A woman?”
“A woman,” Arano confirmed. “I did tell you that Arturo and I are different.”
“Who?”
“None of your business.”
Dai was shocked by Arano’s refusal to identify the woman. “Why?”
“Because I don’t only have visions about invaders from the out-valley,” Arano replied coolly. “I also see my own future and know the objections there will be to my mate. Until the pledging is complete and accepted by the valley…” He shook his head. “No one will know until then.”
Chapter Eleven
Over the next couple of weeks, Dai observed the swift progress Traveller was making in the healing process. Curiosity finally got the best of him, so he peeked in one day to see exactly what kind of therapy Wrenna was performing on Trav. What he observed made everything clear, for Wrenna was leisurely massaging and suckling a muscle that had nothing to do with broken bones and though Trav appeared to be in agony, Dai had a feeling that was a very temporary condition. Shaking his head, he silently retreated and went away to think about what he must do, since Merlyn and Jade had gone into burda.
The next afternoon, after Wrenna left Trav, Dai and Bishop came to visit. Dai carefully closed the door and motioned for Bish to sit down next to the bed. Pulling up another chair, he said, “There is a thing I must explain to both of you.”
“What’s wrong?” Trav asked, frowning at Dai’s serious expression.
“Yesterday, I saw Wrenna with you,” Dai replied baldly. “There are things you must know before you do something irrevocable.” Bish just looked at them in bafflement. “In the valley, men and women must have the proper rites and ceremonies before consummation. If you are not serious, you must not do this!”
“What was he doing?” Bish asked in growing concern.
“It is not for you to interfere, Bishop. Listen and learn that you may not make the same mistakes!” Dai said sternly. Looking at Trav with growing concern, he asked, “Has Wrenna talked to you any more about our pledging and bonding-rite?”
“No.” Traveller was most definite. “As a matter of fact, conversation hasn’t been a strong point in our encounters.” He shifted restlessly in the bed. “Granddad, can I get up and sit in the chair over there? I’m getting a headache from trying to see your face.”
Tilting his head to one side in consideration, Dai decided that Trav was ready to make that transition. With Bish’s help, Traveller was settled in the chair, his still-fragile bones cushioned by blankets and pillows. Trav gingerly stretched his neck, trying to work out the kinks. “What do we need to know?”
Dai carefully explained about pledges, bonding and schalzah. He explained the purpose of the shardas and described schalzina and the schela.
Traveller looked at him as though he’d lost his mind. “Let me get this right. You’re telling us that once a woman begins schalzina, there’s no cure for it except sex.”
“With her bond mate. Yes.” Dai nodded his head.
“And this includes this locking where her schela grips his cock behind the head and he can’t withdraw until her schalzina episode is over—which might be anywhere from a short time to half a day?”
“Yes.”
“And schalzina episodes continue through most of the year after the oath-binding.” Trav shook his head. “That’s some honeymoon.”
“Merlyn has explained this ‘honeymoon’ to me. It is not the same, I think.”
“Hell no!” Bishop said fervently. “What’s the difference between schalzah and schalzina?”
Dai chuckled and poked Bishop’s leg. “You would worry about that, Bish! Merlyn says that schalzah is akin to being on fire for hours without any water to put it out. Schalzah is total sexual frenzy with no possibility of completion. It lasts for hours.”
Bishop shivered. “It sounds like stories you hear about being on Spanish Fly or something. Ugh.”
“It can be dangerous,” Dai acknowledged seriously. “It draws both partners into a dangerous spiral of desire so that neither is aware of their surroundings. Once Merlyn and Jade were caught out in the woods and Arano narrowly saved them from being attacked by a grimahr. That is why we encourage new and pregnant bond mates to stay in their bonding cottages.”
“Yeah, I can see how that would be important. So this is why Dancer hasn’t been back to visit me?”
“Partly.”
Since Dancer and Eppie had entered burda, Dai finished by discussing burda and covenant bondings. By the time he was done, both men were staring at him with a strange mixture of horror and incredulity. “They’re doing what?” Trav asked when Dai explained that Jade and Merlyn were in burda, also.
“They are in burda. It is like incubation for the minds of the babies.” He searched for the words to make it plain to them. “Here, the people have certain mental skills like mind-to-mind speech—and others—such as healing. They develop during burda. Also the bond between parents and child.” He looked down at his clasped hands. “During burda the parents sleep always joined, maybe one week, maybe two weeks, both day and night, developing a mental bond with their baby. The bond lasts a lifetime so it’s very important. During burda they have a watcher, who wakes them to eat and take care of other things. Then after burda, they return from the bonding cottage but stay close to home in the village. It is all in the first trimester—bonding, schalzina, burda.”
“And this is where Merlyn and Dancer are? Bonding with their babies?” Traveller was clearly trying to envision his brother involved in something so alien.
“It is why I have explained it all to you plainly. Children and women are very precious here in this valley. Until Dancer came and bonded with Eppie, the last pregnancy was over seven years ago. It is a very great responsibility to care for a bond mate. It is certain death if the man is not available in the last stages of schalzina or during burda. My cousin’s wife died and the child was lost also. This was a very great grief to him and his entire clan.”
Traveller was pursuing his own train of thought. “Why didn’t Wrenna say anything?” he asked in bafflement. “She’s never mentioned a word to me.”
“Perhaps she thought her brothers might have explained this to you, or even that I had talked to you. Or since she mentioned it to you before you came to the valley, maybe she’s waiting for you to ask her for more details,” Dai observed thoughtfully. “She is acting in accordance with the custom, letting you know that she has found you a suitable bonding mate. If you continue to take what she offers, you are telling her that you are also interested. The obvious conclusion would be a pledging and oath-binding when you are well enough.” He smiled very grimly. “If this is not what you want, you must tell her at once, as gently as possible, though she believes that you both have a genuine attachment. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“If you take what she offers without the intention of bonding it is considered rape. In the valley, rape is a death sentence offense.”
Trav sigh
ed deeply. “It’s a good thing I’m not capable of much more than playing because I would have never guessed how serious this is.”
Bish nodded. “Right before Merlyn and Jade went to Elyria, he told me to stay away from the women. This must be why he was so anxious for me to not go near a woman.”
Dai laughed. “You! Until your hair grows out, a woman will not offer to pledge or bond with you. Did he not tell you that?”
“He wasn’t exactly forthcoming. I think he was focused on Jade right then. You might as well lay it on me…”
“Short hair is a sign that you have no virility, no promise or you have no wish to bond. Perhaps you are barren. No woman will want a barren man, just as no man would want a barren woman,” Dai pointed out soberly. “Traveller and Dancer arrived here with long hair, a sign that they have much promise. There are not enough men in the valley to be bond mates. A woman must be careful to choose a good bond mate—someone she can entrust with her life and the lives of her children. To do otherwise is to sign her own death warrant.”
“What am I going to tell Wrenna tomorrow?” Trav fretted, troubled by the implications.
Dai stood up, signaling that the interview was over. “You must think carefully on these things. It is your responsibility as a man.”
His brow wrinkling in a frown, Bishop hesitantly inquired about something that had been bothering him from the first day in the valley. “Dai, you said a covenant bond is for anyone not involved in the bond that leads to childbearing. I take it that would mean two men or two women or something like that?”
“It is primarily for garzhan pairs,” Dai agreed. “But bond mates may also take a third or rarely a fourth partner with a covenant bond.”
“Then please explain why Tyger and Llyon have a covenant bond,” Bishop demanded softly.
“Ahhh. Tyger and Llyon.” A quick smile crept across his withered face and a twinkle lit his eyes. “Tyger and Llyon are twin-bond—two-as-one. It occurs about every two or three hundred years. They are bound to each other from birth until death. When one of them dies, so will the other. In their case, the covenant bond is a formality, signifying their readiness to begin life as a mated pair. Some twin-bonds also take a woman into their bond. One pair took another man.” He shrugged. “According to the Talking Wall, they are considered sacred pairs that are protected by the laws of the valley.”
Bishop and Trav looked at each other. Trav quirked one eyebrow and posed the question he had longed to ask. “What is your position in this household, exactly? I mean, you seem to be in charge and all of the kids defer to you.”
Dai pursed his lips and then replied, “I am Merlyn and Jade’s third partner.”
They probably wouldn’t have been more shocked if he had announced that he was the love child of Elvis and Mamie Eisenhower. Ménage was not one of the possibilities that had occurred to either of them. Just to make sure that he clearly understood, Trav said, “You have a covenant bond with them? Why?”
“Because we love each other.”
The simplicity of his answer left little room for questions but Bishop found one to ask. “What do the children think about that?”
Dai shrugged. “It has always been that way, since before Eppie was born. I was their semtorn when they came to the valley. We have been together for many years now. I have always been the children’s jloni. Stepfather?”
“Huh.” Trav pulled his earlobe and thought about that for a while. “Two more questions then. What is a semtorn? And why aren’t you with Merlyn and Jade now, instead of here managing the household?”
A quick snort of derision and then Dai said, “Have I not clearly explained that schalzina is for the bond mates? A covenant bond is not for conception! Love—yes! Support—yes! Schalzina—no!”
“So Wrenna’s not my aunt or something weird like that?”
“No!” For the first time since their arrival, the men saw Dai truly appalled. “There are laws!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down, Granddad.” Trav reached out and took his hand. “Isn’t it better if we know things so we don’t upset people? I’m sorry we hurt you.”
Dai took a deep breath and shuddered. “Never would a covenant mate intrude on an oath-bond. It would be a form of rape and punishable with death.”
“I understand that now,” Trav assured him quietly. “Please, do you mind telling us what a semtorn is before you go?”
Visibly struggling to calm himself, Dai breathed in harshly and then nodded his head. “A semtorn is the one who shares the valley enzyme with a newcomer. If the newcomer mates with a valley inhabitant, then usually their semtorn is their bond mate.”
Trav and Bishop shared another mystified glance and then Bishop asked as delicately as possible, “How is the enzyme shared? And what does it do?”
Abruptly, Dai began to laugh—a great deep laugh from the belly. “What does it do?” Suddenly overcome, he slapped his knees and shook. “Oh, Traveller. The enzyme is the reason you will turn blue and change your appearance.” He leaned forward and whispered loudly, “Wrenna will share it with you when you bond. She’ll bite you!”
“Like a vampire?” Bishop demanded loudly.
“Exactly.” Dai sat back and surveyed them with satisfaction. “Any more questions?”
Both men shook their heads morosely. “I think we already know more than we wanted to. Too much information,” Trav admitted.
* * * * *
In the morning, when Wrenna came for Trav’s exercises, she found him sitting in the chair, surrounded by soft blankets and cushions. “You are up!” she exclaimed with delight.
“In more ways than one,” he replied dryly. “Close the door, Wrenna.”
Sending him a questioning glance from beneath lowered lashes, she went to do as he commanded. “What’s wrong?” she asked quietly.
“Come here,” he demanded, pointing to his knees. She complied reluctantly, suddenly sure that she wasn’t going to be happy with the result. Standing next to him, she waited for him to say something, tell her what he wanted. “Please remove your meerlim,” he requested calmly. Wonderingly, she submitted. “Now straddle my legs, here!” He indicated what he wished her to do. Still unsure of his intentions, she obeyed.
When he was satisfied with her position, he spread his knees, forcing her legs apart, exposing her soft pussy. Faintly alarmed at her vulnerability, she tried to adjust her position but he held her still. Leaning forward, he slipped one hand between her legs, unerringly finding her slippery vaginal opening. Gravely, holding her gaze, he slid one finger inside until he reached her hymen. Then, smoothly withdrawing, he stuck his finger in his mouth. “Umm. Essence of virginal Wrenna. Delicious.”
Shocked at his action, she simply stared into those unfathomable blue eyes, unable to think of anything to say. This wasn’t the same Trav she’d been teasing and playing with for the past two weeks. This Traveller was the man she had first met in the very beginning. She wasn’t sure what to do with this man.
He relaxed his knees, lessening the tension on her legs. “You should have told me, Wrenna,” he said gently. “I don’t mind playing if I know the rules but it wasn’t courteous of you to expect me to know the rules when I’m still a stranger here.” He trailed the damp finger from the hollow of her throat, between her breasts on down to the bright red thatch of curls between her legs. “If you just want to play, I’ll be happy to accommodate you, as long as you reciprocate. If you have some more serious goal in mind, you’ll need to tell me.” He withdrew his hands and placed them in his lap. “That is the honest and fair way to conduct things between a man and a woman. Don’t you agree?”
She bowed her head, unable to look at him and nodded. Gods of the ancients! How was she supposed to answer that?
“Do you have something you wish to say to me?” he asked softly.
When she looked up, she saw that he was patiently waiting for her decision. Taking a deep breath and speaking clearly, she admitted with stark honesty, “I need you to be
my bond mate. We have an attachment. Do you understand what this is?”
“Yes. Dai explained it yesterday.” He frowned lightly. “As I understand all of the duties and responsibilities, I will not be recovered enough to do this for a while, Wrenna. Are you willing to wait? Do we have time?”
“As long as it takes,” she replied seriously. “There is no one else I want.”
“Then I will be privileged to be your bond mate. Do you suppose that merits a kiss?” he wondered wistfully.
Inching forward carefully, anxious not to damage the fragile healing process, she moved into his lap. Leaning against him, she held her breath for a moment at the pleasure of feeling the touch of his soft, curly chest hair brushing against her breasts. He tilted her head back and took her mouth in their first breathless, astonishing kiss. Their tongues brushed together and lingered, sampling tastes and flavors. He tasted of apple tea and honey oatmeal bread. He lightly flicked her fangs and she shuddered.
