His by Right

by Linda Mooney

  “Oftusel.”

  “Ov-too-sul. I hope I can remember it.”

  “If you forget, ask any of us what the yellow soup is called.”

  They ate for a while. Meredith noticed how the other often used his fingers to pull something from his bowl before putting it in his mouth. Something greenish-brown and still moving.

  “What is it you’re eating?”

  “Makko.”

  “Would I like it?”

  He looked at her. “Care to try some?”

  “Sure.”

  He lifted a small portion over to her tray and waited for her reaction. She gave it a good long stare before poking it with her spoon.

  “It’s still alive, isn’t it?”

  “Partially. If you kill it, the taste becomes bitter. It is best eaten when it is semi-conscious.”

  A shudder went through her. “On second thought, I think I’ll pass. Maybe I’ll have the courage to try again at a later date. Thank you for the offer. By the way, my name is Meredith. You can call me Merry.”

  “I am Torgoth Bajud Arn Vees Neeveer.”

  “Torgoth?”

  “Torgoth is my shield. You may call me Bajud.”

  “Bah-jood. That’s a good name. A strong name. Would that mean Magia is Neeveer’s shield?”

  “Yes.”

  “What’s a shield? Is that like a ranking or something?”

  “It is similar.”

  “Does Magia mean commander?”

  He looked at her. “It is similar.”

  Meredith tapped the side of her neck, beneath the ear. “Do all of you have those translation devices?”

  “They are standard issue when we enlist.”

  “When you enlist? Is this ship part of the army? Or navy? Or whatever you call your military force?”

  “It is similar.”

  She snorted. “Big help you are.”

  “You are welcome.”

  She scraped the bottom of her bowl and licked the spoon for good measure. “All I need now is a napkin and something to drink. Excuse me.”

  She got up to retrieve a cup of water. As for a napkin, she was out of luck the same way she’d been on the whoreship. Pulling the veil out of her hair, she used it to wipe her mouth, then tucked it under the waistlet. She could always get a clean one from the clothing generator if she wanted.

  Bringing her cup back to her seat, she noticed Bajud had finished and was patiently watching her.

  “Please. Don’t stay on my account if you have something you need to do.”

  “My curiosity has not been satisfied. I wish to stay a while longer, if you do not mind.”

  “I’ll pester you with questions if you do.”

  The remark earned her a grin and she noted how his tusks were not as long nor as thick as Neeveer’s. It could be an age thing. He could be younger.

  “Ask me anything,” he offered.

  She didn’t hesitate. “Why did you attack the whoreship?”

  He frowned. “Attack what?”

  “The ship I was on. Why was it attacked?”

  “We did not attack it. We were given orders to find you and bring you here.”

  Although she had half expected that answer, it still managed to surprise her. “How would you know you’d found the right person?”

  That one earned her a chuckle. “The evadium.”

  “What if I had taken it off before you attacked?”

  “Why do you think we boarded your ship so soon after Neeveer left you?”

  Meredith mulled over what he said. He was right. There couldn’t have been more than a ten or fifteen minute gap between the time Neeveer left her, and she went to the lounge, to when the alarm cats started howling.

  “But why me?” She shook her head. “Why kidnap me? Why give me this expensive piece of jewelry? Why offer to pay such an exorbitant amount for me, and then do it anyway after taking me off the ship? Why would he go to all that trouble? Why?”

  Then, another thought hit her. Another realization.

  “Those close to me call me Neeveer.”

  She glared at Bajud. “I’m normally not a suspicious person, but of all the people on this ship, why are you the only one willing to talk to me, much less eat with me?”

  He looked puzzled. “I do not understand the question.”

  “Bullshit. You called him Neeveer. No one calls him that except for those close to him. He sent you to watch over me, didn’t he?”

  “Actually, it was my idea. I wanted to get to know you. Like you, I am also curious to know why he chose you, after all these years of being solitary. Why he believes you are his seela. He does not know I am here, but he soon will. Word travels fast on the ship, even one as large as the Eejagur.”

  “So, what are you? His best friend? His second in command?”

  “Truthfully, I am his son. Neeveer is my father, as well as commander of this ship.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Answers

  Meredith stared at Bajud in disbelief as her stomach clenched in anger and fear.

  “He’s your… Oh, my God!”

  Jumping to her feet, she fled from the room, one hand clamped over her mouth, as she prayed to make it before her stomach sent everything back up. Already she could feel her meal roiling and churning as she tried to keep it down.

  It didn’t take long before she realized she was completely lost. Like the whoreship, every corridor looked exactly alike. Meredith finally collapsed on the floor and hunched over as she gasped for breath and prayed she wouldn’t throw up.

  His son. Bajud was his son. Having a son meant there was a mother. A wife.

  It meant she was his mistress.

  Suddenly, the waistlet made a world of sense. Didn’t the rich and powerful always splurge on their concubines? She was Neeveer’s trophy. His plaything. She meant nothing to him other than a good fuck.

  I’m such an idiot! I’ve been so stupid! Why didn’t I see it? Why didn’t I see it?

  Tears burned in her chest, flooded her face with burning heat, and rolled down her cheeks. Screams built within her throat, bubbling with acidic intensity. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed, shoulders shaking.

  Why do I care? Why does this hurt so much? Why does all of this hurt so damn much? Why?

  It’s your own fault, the little voice derided her. Why would you think only single males, human or non, would use a whoreship?

  “Merry.”

  A hand touched her hair. She slapped it away and blew her nose on the veil.

  “Merry.”

  “What?”

  “Come with me.”

  “I can’t. I’m a mess. And I’m lost. I don’t know how to get back to my room.” She kept her head down and wiped her tears on her shift, too ashamed to look at him. No telling how long he had been standing there, watching her and waiting.

  “I will take you there. Come with me.”

  Bajud took the lead. Meredith stood and meekly followed. They walked through many corridors, passing several crew members, yet no one spoke to them. After a while, she realized they weren’t heading back to the bedroom. Hiccupping slightly, she paused at an intersection.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Patience. We are almost there.”

  True to his word, he stopped at the opposite end of the corridor. “In here,” he instructed, and proceeded ahead of her. She found the door and entered.

  The room was dark except for multi-colored lights emanating from several dripping globes that were scattered around the room. As she watched, one pale lime-colored ball the size of her head appeared to melt. A florescent drop fell into a small cup where the liquid continued to glow.

  There was no furniture except for several large pillows lying on the floor, reminding her of the lounge on the whoreship. Bajud was already resting on several. He gestured toward some others a few feet away.

  “Sit down.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I do not think you know
the truth.”

  She almost sneered at him. “Try me.”

  “Sit down.” His order was rougher, and sounded very much like Neeveer’s low baritone. She knew she had the option of turning around and walking out, but she would still have no idea how to get back to the bedroom. And this was apparently a big, big ship. Resigned, she lowered herself onto the floor, crossed her legs, and drew one of the smaller pillows into her lap.

  “Tell me what you are thinking,” he commanded.

  “That I’m fucked, literally and figuratively.” She ran a hand through her hair, tossing the length over her shoulder. A ruby gleam caught her attention as the bead of light fell a few feet away. It hit the cup without a sound. “That’s pretty. This whole room is pretty. I like the way those balls of light appear to be melting.”

  “They are from my world. We use them to light our homes.” He waved at one nearby. “They get smaller when they evaporate.”

  “What you’re saying is that this room most closely resembles your way of life back on your world?” She waved a hand to include the pillows.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. So why are we here?”

  “To answer your questions.”

  “We could answer those anywhere. Why here?”

  “To give you a taste of what life will be like on Alcatia.”

  Meredith tried to take a deep breath, but failed. Tears threatened to flow again.

  “I’m just a whore to him, aren’t I?”

  “No.”

  “No?” She narrowed her eyes at him. It was not what she expected to hear. Yet, if he had said yes, she knew it would have crushed her.

  Why? Why would it, when I know it’s the truth?

  “He has a wife back on your world, doesn’t he?”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  The Alcatian grimaced. “Why do you not believe me? Do you think I am lying?”

  “You’re his son! That means you have a mother.”

  “Yes, I have a mother, but Neeveer is not bound to her. He never was.”

  Meredith clutched the pillow harder. “Tell me the whole story.”

  “There is not much to tell. Neeveer was young and careless when my mother bore me. She would not have much to do with me because I had no status. Since they were not bonded, I became ineligible. But Neeveer did not give up on me. He stayed with me. He cared for me. When I came of age, he helped me join the service and paid my way until I was ready to be assigned to a ship.”

  “Why didn’t Neeveer and your mother ever marry, err, bond?”

  “They were not seela. So they knew they did not care enough for each other to make it last.”

  She pressed her face into the pillow. “There’s that word again. Seela. When he says it, it’s almost reverently. Like it’s something very special.”

  “It is special. Many of us wait our entire lives to find the one who will accept us, without any luck. Like my father, I never believed he would find his.”

  “Why not?”

  “He is not a loving man. He is hard to know, harder to understand, and nearly impossible to care about. But I do care about him, and not because he is my father. He is good. He is fair. He is also forgiving.”

  She could also see those traits in the man. She also realized that if she allowed herself, there was a chance she could learn to care about him, too.

  “Is he always distant?”

  “I’ve never known my father to be a man who cherishes individual things or others. Not deeply. Not enough to last. He does not become obsessed with anyone or anything. He is always aloof and distant, but he is also faithful and loyal to those who earn and deserve it.”

  The Alcatian leaned toward her. “I have never known or heard of my father becoming focused on anything other than the mission, or the battle. Up until a few weeks ago, he was a known loner. He has few friends, and I have only known him to need a female three other times in the past. Which is why we were completely unprepared for you.”

  She raised her face from the pillow to peer over at him, and waited for him to continue.

  “We had heard about the pleasuring ship in the past, but we never came across it until we were in this quadrant of the galaxy. Neeveer thought it would be interesting to check it out. See if all we had heard about it was true. He took one of the small survey shuttles, and when he came back…” Bajud took a deep breath, then gestured toward her waistlet. “He has had that in his possession for years. He bought it from one of the greatest jewelry makers on Venilios Six. It cost him…a lot. When he showed it to me, I asked him what it was for. It is not something an Alcatian master would wear. He said it gave him comfort. He said it represented the one thing in his life he had yet to find, but he did not tell me what that was. I never thought I would see him part with it.”

  “Did you know he offered to buy me?”

  Bajud appeared surprised. “He did?”

  Meredith nodded. “Nearly twice what they considered to be a fair price. They turned him down.” She saw the young man nod.

  “I know he visited you twice, until we were given new orders to proceed to the Juria galaxy and give protection to a stranded ship lying too close to the Tarakkian border. He brooded the entire time we were en route. We were several days away from the ship when he ordered us to remain in orbit around the fourth planet in the Jaius system, then left without telling us where he was going, or why. Not long afterwards, we received orders from him to backtrack and storm the pleasuring ship with stun blasters. He emphasized no one was to be killed. We were told to search for a humanoid female wearing the evadium jewels, and to bring her back with us.” A corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “I cannot speak for the rest of the crew, but I believe they were as shocked as I was.”

  “He may have kidnapped me from the whoreship, but he left behind payment. Nearly twice what he originally offered.”

  Bajud almost choked, and muttered something under his breath.

  “Are you sure he has no other woman? He doesn’t have a harem? Or a mistress?”

  “My father was a loner when I was sired, and has remained that way.”

  She absorbed that piece of news. Across from her, the young Alcatian studied her reaction, when a thought came to her. Grabbing one of the pillows with a smooth surface, she plopped it between them and gestured for him to watch.

  “Tell me what this means.” As best she could remember, she traced the mark Neeveer had placed on her into the fabric. Bajud stared at it in surprise. “Does this look familiar? I don’t know if I got it exactly the way it was, but it’s close. What does this mean?” she repeated.

  “It says Neeveer.”

  “His signature?”

  “Yes. Where did you see it?” He lowered his hairless brows at her.

  “He wrote it on me. In his own blood.”

  That last part made him blanch slightly, raising her concern.

  “What does that mean?” she demanded.

  “It is his name,” Bajud hesitantly told her again.

  “You’re holding back on me. Don’t lie. He wrote this on my stomach, and he used his own blood, I guess because he didn’t have a pen handy.”

  “He wrote it on you because he claimed you. He used his blood to show he claimed you for life. To show you were his seela, and you are now his by right.”

  “His by right?”

  The room suddenly grew hazy. Afraid she would fall flat on her face, Meredith fell back heavily onto several large pillows and stared at him. “For life? What is he going to do with me?”

  “He has not told you?”

  “He won’t talk to me about anything.”

  “That sounds like him.” Bajud suddenly laughed.

  “It’s not funny!” Meredith sat up and threw the pillow at him. Despite the Alcatian’s reassurance that there was no other female vying for Neeveer’s attention, the fate of her relationship with him, and her future, remained cloudy. She was his by right? For life? What the hell did that mean?
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  “I am not a thing,” she emphasized, pointing to herself. “I am a human being with feelings. There’s things I want in life, too. Those creatures on the whoreship were wrong to take me from my planet. They kidnapped me, just as your father did. Do you know the definition of kidnap? It’s to take a person without permission. No one asked me if I wanted to become a prostitute. I was simply told to do it, or they would starve me until I complied.”

  Grabbing the waistlet, she jiggled it to catch his attention. “This means nothing to me. We don’t know about evadium on Earth. It’s just a bauble. A piece of costume jewelry.”

  She got to her feet and strode stiff-legged to the door, where she turned and gave him the angriest glare she could muster. “Take me back to the bedroom. I need to be ready when your commander is finished with his work.”

  “Merry.”

  “Please.”

  Reluctantly, the young Alcatian stood and returned her to the bedroom, then left her by the doorway without saying another word.

  Once inside, Meredith leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. He was unattached, which made her feel better, but not by much. She had a lot to think about, although the big questions remained unanswered. Why was she here, and what were Neeveer’s future plans for her?

  “He wrote it on you because he claimed you. He used his blood to show he claimed you for life. To show you were his seela, and you are now his by right.”

  “At least you have one thing to be grateful for,” she muttered. “There won’t be a jealous female to contend with at the end of the trip.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Joy

  Neeveer knew he was being watched. Casually glancing over his shoulder, he straightened and partially turned to address the young man.

  “Is this ship’s business?”

  “No. This has to do with Merry.”

  Neeveer glanced around at the others in the control room, but no one appeared to be listening. Regardless, he couldn’t take the chance. Motioning with his head, he gestured they take the conversation into the corridor.

  Before the door had the chance to solidify behind them, he turned a fearful face toward the assistant. “Has something happened to her?”