Dayena nodded. It wasn’t what she wanted to do. But Karr was probably correct. In her current state of health, she’d never escape all the warriors who would come after her. “I will stay. Go in peace, warrior. Brianetta desum.”
Karr’s eyebrow lifted. “What language is that? I know some of almost every language in the Peace Alliance database. I taught myself as a recreational activity. I don’t recognize yours.”
Dayena shrugged. “It is a very old language not spoken anymore. Using it allows me to escape in my mind since I often cannot do so otherwise. I used to tell myself grand stories about how I was kidnapped royalty from some wealthy, lost planet. I would spend many hours in prison pretending my parents were coming to find me. When they did they would take me home where I would discover an entire family waiting to claim me. It never happened. No one ever came looking for me.”
“When I was first placed with my foster family, I used to pretend that someone was looking for me as well. I think I may have given up on that sooner than you did because I was shown a lot of kindness as a child. Now my foster family is my family. When your life force can’t provide any clues to your origin, you learn to be satisfied with who you make of yourself.”
Dayena smiled. “I eventually did that as well, but perhaps not with the same results you did. Thank you for sharing your history with me.”
“I’d like to think that we could be true friends,” Karr said, not knowing what other term to put on his layers of concern for the female in front of him.
“I could be your maternal parent . . . or even your one step back from that,” Dayena said.
“You are not my parent and I cannot think of you that way,” Karr said firmly as he headed for the steps. Her scornful laugh had him turning back. “What? Why don’t you believe my words?”
“What in the Creators’ name do you see when you look at me, young warrior? Am I not extremely old to your young eyes?” Dayena demanded.
Karr saw her eyes crinkling with amusement again. The female was teasing him. She didn’t think of him as her child either. He wasn’t sure what kind of connection they had, but he was glad that he’d found her.
“Yes, you are extremely old to my eyes,” he agreed. “But I also sense we are kindred spirits. It’s the only rationalization I have for why I would risk my Peace Alliance career for you without knowing if you are lying to me or not.”
Dayena sobered. “I may be keeping things from you, but I have been honest about all the things I can be.”
“Then let’s say we are friends,” Karr pronounced. “Now act normal and forget what we have done. If you worry about it, one of the intuitives I work with will read that and suspect you. Go about your business. I’ll see you when we come for an evening meal.”
He bounded down the steps at a rapid clip before Dayena could engage him further.
***
After there was silence once more in the room, she dragged her bag out from where Karr had hidden it. Emptying everything out on the sleeping platform, she repacked the contents with more care so that her meager belongings fit.
Walking around the room that had become home to her over the past couple of months, she tried to think about what the right thing to do was in this situation. What would the life force testing reveal about her? Would it enable her real identity to be found out? As she well knew, there was no way to anticipate it.
Karr’s proposal to falsify the test results, while alarming in some ways, had also been the most generous act anyone had done for her since she had escaped prison. But then she had paid for that escape with a higher price than anything her captors had asked of her while she was rotting inside their walls.
“Karr. Karr. Who are you, young warrior? And why do I care? I see my downfall in your attractive green gaze.”
Shaking her head, she made her way slowly and carefully back down the stairs to the tavern’s main hall. Aging was a thoroughly unpleasant business. The healer’s work had made the task of walking easier today, but she could already feel the advancement of the pain again as her joints gave out more and more. Lately all she could think was that death could not be much worse than her constant struggle to live.
She imagined all creatures her age must have similar thoughts every day.
Chapter 18
“She’s hiding from me again and there is nothing I can do about it,” Malachi complained. He climbed up on the medical table and stretched out his body, groaning in relief. “So this is what being tired feels like. It is quite unacceptable to let one’s body get in this condition. Now I understand why Liam and Ania were so insistent that I monitor how it feels every day. Functioning on stimulants is not the same as being rested.”
From the other table, Chiang laughed. “How hard do you have to work to feel something in your host body?”
Malachi pondered the question. It had never been asked in quite that way before. “I have to slow my real energy down to where it is barely moving at all. When I get it adjusted to precisely the same resonance as the body, I become aware of what it is physically experiencing. It used to take me a long time. Now I can do that in just a few seconds, but it is still a manual process.”
“Fascinating,” Chiang said.
“That’s your new favorite word, isn’t it?” Malachi demanded.
Chiang belly laughed, holding his stomach. “You want me to start saying ‘indeed’ in my most skeptical Siren voice?”
Malachi laughed then and turned his head. “No. Why is it everyone on the ship always mocks Lieutenant Zade? Is there no one else worthy of such amusing imitation?”
“Why? Are you jealous of his popularity?” Chiang asked.
“Indeed,” Malachi said, doing his best imitation of Zade. It was very precise because he had gone to great lengths to perfect the resonance. He laughed when he heard Chiang rolling around in fits next to him.
He laughed even more when Chiang almost fell off the medical table.
“Be careful, Greggor. Your shoulders barely fit on that skinny surface. I don’t know how you and Boca ever did anything in that tiny sleeping platform you used to have on the Liberator. I used to want to come watch your contortions, but I knew Boca would never speak to me again if I did.”
“She slept on top of me because I feared squashing her with my bulk. It was not comfortable at all, but I wanted her with me so badly that I would have suffered any pain to hold her. Now it seems I cannot sleep alone on the most luxurious sleeping platform I have ever possessed without that tiny, irritable female I mated next to me. I swear I never missed a female before her. When the others ran me out of their arms, I just went to my quarters and slept until it was time to get up and go to work. There was always another seeking me out later, so I never went lonely long.”
Malachi sighed. “That sounds like a great life for a male.”
“Yes. It was for many years,” Chiang admitted, but he was also frowning at the thought of going back to a similar situation. It was unthinkable. “Sometimes I still miss the mental and emotional freedom, but I do not miss the feeling of never being satisfied. I didn’t know what was missing from those easy connections until I slid inside the angry Sumerian.”
“Is Boca Ador really that good at bonding or are you just torturing me?” Malachi demanded.
Chiang laughed hard again. “Good is not the word to describe my mate’s talents. She is wretchedly hateful one minute, and the next she is more generous than any female I have ever known. To my continued amazement, her concern for me exceeds her meanness. It’s like taming a wild animal to be with her, yet she is nurturing so long as no one is around to witness. When I’m restless, she even sings me to sleep.”
Malachi tried to imagine the feisty female warrior singing sleep songs to the growling Greggor. “Fascinating. I can hardly believe that Boca sings to you. What’s that like?”
Chiang snickered at the envy in the demon’s tone. “She sings in some ancient Sumerian tongue. It’s different from the version I now understand.
I like it though. She sweeps my braids with her hands and sings lovely, soothing songs. I think it is the only time the restlessness in me ceases. Of course, she could be telling me in song that she wishes I was in Kellnor with all the other males she hates. I would never know the difference.”
Malachi laughed again, sticking his chin in the air to stretch his stiff neck. He pulled the pillow down behind him and squashed it into a roll. “Much better. I don’t think there’s a part of this body that isn’t tense.”
“How many unused erections did you suffer today?” Chiang asked. When Malachi turned his head to glare, it had him snickering again. “I’m asking you as a doctor. Sexual frustration is very unhealthy in males prone to the aggressive expression of most emotions.”
Malachi snorted. “I assure you that I have complete control over my aggression after almost two thousand years of having to thwart those urges at every turn. I can turn off my anger faster than I can snap my fingers.”
“Good,” Chiang said. “What did you do when your previous male hosts needed to find relief for their bonding urges? Did you encourage them to continue abstaining for some greater good? I’m guessing the answer is no.”
“This is different. Oh, shut up—Doctor,” Malachi ordered, fighting his own laughter when Chiang chuckled at his explanation.
“You’ve done better than most fully corporeal males would have done in exercising bonding self-control up to now. I hope your emissary ends up being worth all the waiting you’ve been doing,” Chiang said, closing his eyes.
“I just hope she lands long enough in a body for me to get a chance to express one of these urges she creates in me,” Malachi said. “It’s not like I can just order her into Rena’s body and tell her to stay there.”
While that was the funniest thing the demon had said yet, Chiang opened his eyes at the very real longing in Malachi’s words. “I wish you could. I mean that, Malachi.”
“Aye,” Malachi said, sighing in resignation to feel the Greggor’s sincere compassion washing through him. “I know you mean your words. Your compassion for my plight doesn’t mean I’m going to stop torturing you though. It is all the evil sport I get these days.”
Chiang grinned at the ceiling as he answered. “I hope the emissary decides to come back and mate with you. She’ll make you become so nice you’ll end up hating yourself. She will truly be the good angel on your shoulder constantly nagging you to do the right things.”
“If all you’re going to do is fling curses at me, I’m letting this body go to sleep,” Malachi said firmly, ignoring Chiang’s laughter this time. “Wake me if anything interesting happens. I’m going to go review some of Conor’s memories of his birth parent. Ania wants the information. I know all I need to know of the female, but Ania wants to know what Conor felt about her. Females are so strange sometimes.”
“Indeed,” Chiang said, forgetting to imitate Zade. It just didn’t seem like the time to jest. “Let your body rest, Malachi. I will stand guard over you and your female.”
“Thank you, Chiang.”
Chiang shook his head in wonder at the simple expression of gratitude given so easily. The demon didn’t need the emissary to make him into a better being. He was already changing. But if it ever happened, it would be interesting to see what kind of difference having a devoted female in Malachi’s life would make.
Chiang lay down on the table again to rest, his thoughts flying to the female that owned his full compassion. He wondered if Boca was lying awake thinking of him as well.
***
Ania waited while Ensign Dre transferred the com to her personal quarters.
“Hello, Ania,” Synar said. “The com is very clear. It’s like being in the same room with you.”
Ania bowed her head to her mate. “Indeed. It is very clear. Thank you, Ensign. That’s all I need now.” She waited for Dre’s sign-off, then turned her attention to Synar again. “So how was your day, dear?”
Synar snickered at what passed for sarcasm with Ania. “We rounded up every female in the village over forty Earth years old and forcefully took a blood sample from each of them. By tomorrow, we’ll know which one she is, no matter what.”
“Accosting old females? How completely awful of you, Liam. Malachi will be sorry he missed seeing you be so mean.”
“The only old female I really want to accost is you,” Synar said. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to take off your clothes while I watch.”
“No, I don’t suppose you can,” Ania said. “I feel no bonding urges when you are not here. You well know self-gratification holds no allure for me. Even if you feel the need to use the com for such a purpose, I would have to decline. You have my permission to think the word ‘prude’, but you are not allowed to say it during this communication.”
“Did I mention self-gratification? I don’t recall mentioning it all. And for the record, I’m glad you’re not having any urges while I’m gone. That totally makes up for your unwillingness to indulge my request for visual stimulation while I relieve myself.”
Ania waited. She was getting better at giving him time to adjust to her moods. Eventually, her mate figured it out.
“Since you are not verbally blasting me for my continued teasing, something has to be wrong. You contacted me to give me bad news, didn’t you?” Synar declared, sighing loudly. Their communication link picked up his every breath.
“Unfortunately, that is a truth,” Ania said softly. “I told Malachi and Chiang that I would deliver the news to you since they have enough to contend with right now. Gwen had to deal with a supply problem while Dorian is busy entertaining a gaggle of twinkly Siren females that arrived on the latest supply ship. I don’t suppose you know anything about the sudden appearance of three escorts, do you?”
“Actually,” Synar said, pretending an interest in the ceiling where he was, “I offered them a two year contract on my crew whether we keep the Guardian 13 or not.”
“Siren escorts? Is that really a good idea, Liam? Those females break hearts and stir up darker emotions on purpose. Zade’s counseling work will double,” Ania said.
“Perhaps,” Synar agreed. “I had to do it, Ania. I promised Karr. They’re part of his re-enlistment bonus.”
Ania looked at the ceiling and bit her tongue. It was not the time to enter into an argument, but when he got back . . . yes, she would speak her piece then. Sucking in a breath, she started to speak and tell him the reason for her call, but he interrupted.
“Has Zade chosen the new ensigns yet?”
“You’re hiring more new ensigns?”
Synar laughed softly. “We really need to talk more before I go away.”
“Are they part of Karr’s re-enlistment bonus too?” Ania demanded.
“So Zade has hired some,” Synar said, catching on to her snarky rebuttal.
“Yes—two,” Ania said. “One is beautiful and totally inept. The other is attractive, but at least has a brain. What did you expect him to do? He is following your orders.”
“I told him to hire some female officers. The entire list were all in the top fifty of their cadet class. Any of them would have been fine, but I asked Dorian to also look for those with the highest appeal to the unmated males on the ship. I’m tired of all the complaints I get about the lack of available females,” Synar said.
Ania sighed, saying nothing more. Her anger racketed up and she tamped it back down. Not the time. Not the time. Not the time, she chanted.
“So tell me your bad news,” Synar said finally. “I’m sure you didn’t contact me to complain about my recruiting efforts.”
“Rena Trax is gone,” Ania said bluntly.
“Gone? As in missing and lost, or ran away on a supply ship?” Synar asked.
“Gone as in her body is still here, but her spirit is no longer in it. That happened today,” Ania said, thinking about the lifeless female body she had viewed earlier. “Malachi and Chiang put what was left behind in stasis. They’re hoping that decom
position of the body does not accelerate too much before Lieutenant Trax returns. Stasis can only slow the process down on an unanimated form. After a certain point, the body will have to be destroyed. Even the Guardian 13 doesn’t have a long-term storage chamber.”
“Delay seems necessary at the moment. This would not be a good time for Seta to leave the mission. Can anything more be done for her sibling?”
Ania shook her head. “No. Malachi said Rena Trax uttered some phrase in the language of the Creators which released her spirit from the body. The emissaries must have had a hand in her actions. Malachi won’t leave Medical now. He’s secretly hoping his emissary returns to the body before it decomposes beyond repair.”
“Do you think that will happen?” Liam asked.
Ania thought of her chat with the messengers today. “I have no idea. The emissaries are strange and not given to explanations that make any sense to the rest of us. I suppose it is possible. If his emissary intends to do that, she better hurry, or she’ll be looking for another body to inhabit.”
“Don’t say that too loudly,” Synar advised. “I don’t want to return to the ship and find that creature inside you again. It’s bad enough Malachi goes in and out of you at will. She makes you vicious.”
Ania snorted. “Well, it’s not like hosting either of those creatures was in my plans for my life.”
Synar hung his head and nodded. “I know. Forgive me. You don’t deserve to hear me rant about what cannot be undone.”
“Some of it I would not undo, even if I were given the chance,” Ania said. “Let’s change the subject. I felt the children move today. It was quite remarkable. It was almost like having Malachi inside me, only much fainter.”
Synar smiled. “You felt them? I wish I was there. I would send them calming energy and tell them their sire is waiting anxiously to meet them.”
Ania snorted. “You do know that Pleiadian gestations run a year and half in Earth time, don’t you? Don’t get too impatient.”
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