by Pam Uphoff
Endi, Xen, dammit, sighed. "There. See? Lust. You didn’t really love me. My heart is . . ."
"Under the complete control of your mind." She shut her eyes. And danced, her body against his. I should run like hell. "Who died and made you a god?"
"Nobody had to die, the collective subconscious just decided I was the God of Spies, and it stuck. Permanently, apparently. An interesting side effect I’ve noticed is a tendency to fall in love with lady spies."
"And answer their prayers? Toss around a few healing spells, then disappear." She could feel the muscles of his arms tighten and relax, but wasn't sure what it meant. I should run like hell. "You never came back to check on me."
"Oh, I’m not that bad a healer. Medgician, as you lot call them. I tossed around some really good spells. I'll bet your doctors were astounded, the next day. And we’re practically allies, these days; you knew where to find me."
She suppressed a growl.
Not very well, the way the corners of his mouth tucked in.
She stepped wide, got a couple of inches of air between her body and his.
He cast a look around. "How about we argue in private?"
She stumbled suddenly on coarse grass. Stars overhead, crescent moon low on the horizon. Chirping of insects, or maybe frogs. His arms tightened and he lifted her off her wobbly feet and kissed her. Comprehensively. With her body clutched tight to his, one arm around her back under her ribcage, the other sliding down to cup a buttock. His lips withdrew a millimeter.
"And I completely forgot your amazing impact, in person."
Rael took a deep breath and suppressed all her reflexes. Both Kiss and Kill. Although if he thought he was going to be allowed to stop at a kiss . . . "I ought to kill you. Where are we? Did you teleport me?"
"Yes. Would you like me to teleport you back?"
"Yes! No. Not yet." She glowered at him. "Damn you oversized traitorous spy! Damn you."
"Oh. I see. You’re pissed because I’m a better spy than you are a spy hunter."
She punched him in the ribs, then. But she’d felt his muscles tense to take the blow and knew he wasn’t hurt. He did finally set her on the ground, let go of her. She stalked a few meters away, ruining the impression as she wobbled over grass tussocks.
"Besides, I was not a traitor. I was completely loyal to the Kingdom."
Think! She turned and stalked back. "Teleport me back now." There was no problem getting a snarl into her voice.
He touched her shoulder, and she staggered as the ground changed beneath these damned shoes. Still outside, but buildings all around, the nightclub behind her. She turned and stalked inside.
Heads turned, the volume of chatter dropped.
"May I see you tomorrow?" He had followed her, silently.
"If I finish tomorrow, I’ll drop by your office. I’m sure someone can tell me where to find it." She kept her voice chilly.
Eyes widened and she saw people being hushed.
"Good night, Princess."
A faint whiff of disturbed air. She glanced over her shoulder. No Xen. Excellent.
She tossed her head and stalked back to her table. The wide-eyed assistants gawped. Eddi leaped to hold her chair for her. She subdued a desire to grin. That felt fantastic, and I am going to lead that man all over the place tomorrow.
She danced with the boys from the embassy, cautiously, feeling the old injury ache, the creeping numbness. She stopped dancing before she gave her weakness away and chatted with dozens of men from half a dozen worlds and didn’t get back to the embassy until four in the morning.
"I think four is when Xen wakes up and goes for a five kilometer run." Eddi covered his mouth and a prodigious yawn.
"I think I’ll probably sleep until noon, and I recommend you all do the same." And we’ll be right on schedule to move Ajki’s people.
***
Arsa couldn’t keep his eyes from scanning the big open foyer of the Disco building.
Q snorted. "I see Xen is the star attraction today."
He felt himself blush. "Well, I mean after he infiltrated the top echelon of our intelligence . . . I mean even something as minor as getting snubbed by one of the Princesses he’d fooled is going to get coverage. And Rael! I mean, there were rumors of romance and all that."
"Even while he was seducing and getting twenty or so other women pregnant on purpose?" Q shook her head. "I don’t know how he does it. Now, your message said something about algae world research?"
Arsa hauled his gaze back to her. Reasonably good looking, but so completely lacking some essential spark of sexiness. Well, rumor had it her genetics were strange. "Umm, yes. We’re experimenting with two algae worlds, introducing vegetation and forcing a fast succession of ecologies. I wondered if anyone else had tried to do the same, and how they’d gone about it. Subdirector Wrla said I ought to ask you about it."
"Really? This is the first I’ve heard about someone actually doing that. It’s usually just talk, then they go on to a world with more advanced vegetation. You’ve actually started introducing complex plants?"
"Oh, yes. We’re about three years in. One is a very controlled situation, the other, well, I shot off sub-orbital missiles loaded with seed mixtures and . . ." He broke off at her grin.
"Random distribution vs detailed planning? Oh, this I need to see."
"Err, we don’t have gates, we just open the powered gates, when we need to . . ."
"Oh, I’ll do it. If I can spot the right worlds. I’ll need to start from your Gate City."
"Oh, sure. Umm, the Director’s made it clear that you can come and go as you wish. No need for formalities and all that. Actually I think he did the same for Endi, err, Xen as well." Arsa’s eyes drifted again.
Q rolled her eyes. "C’mon. You’re the best excuse I could have hoped for. I have no wish to stick around today and watch my brother make an ass of himself."
Arsa nodded. "Yeah. Work before pleasure."
"Pain. Trust me, a big brother’s romantic wars are painful."
***
Rael watched the Techie lead the infamous Q through the gate, and stayed out of sight. Ajha would wait until the witch was gone before he let his infiltrators out of their staging area. She needed to pull people’s attention away from the Purple gate, and the One gate, for that matter, just enough before the infiltration team crossed to Embassy that no one was getting bored yet. She was stiff; the numbness had spread overnight. Xen could probably help it a bit, but did she want to ask him? Probably the hospital here could do it just as well. The Comet Fall Hospital. Well, it wasn't like they were going to call themselves Target Forty-two, after all. And comet impacts do seem to be the most obvious defining characteristic of that world.
:: Starting now. :: Ajha's thoughts sizzled with something akin to battle readiness.
The guards had been well briefed. When she walked off the embassy grounds, three men tentatively followed her through the gateway, then stalled out and watched her stride across the plaza. It looked purely coincidental the way they drew the eyes away from things like the unfinished side of the peripheral wall, and any trucks with active camouflage driving across the rough ground and taking to the side streets. Rael focused on the Disco building. Absurd thing, all black and menacing. The plaza was large enough that there was plenty of time for people to be summoned, for word to spread. Mostly discreet oglers who "just happened" to stroll out of their embassies. And over on the other side of the Earth’s gate, she spotted some people walking out of a gate and looking her direction. And over toward Disco.
Would the watcher’s attention flag if she went inside? The gate to Purp was the furthest southeast, and return of the regular trucks delivering construction materials to their embassy site was under way. They need to finagle three trucks into that bit of traffic, right now.
There were trucks looping around, stopping, the drivers sticking their heads out the windows but not yelling at the people to get out of the way. Not bad, a slight backup would
give the teamers a bit more time to slide into the line . . . so long as they didn't hang about so long the other drivers started looking over the strangers . . .
Rael slowed, as if indecisive. Stalled. Crossed her arms and glared at the big black monstrosity.
Xen popped out the doors, trotted diagonally down the steps as if angling toward the Comet Fall embassy. As if he hadn’t noticed she was across the street. Oh, you liar. You’re going to pay for that.
He jerked to a stop as if he’d just spotted her. And I’m going to overcharge like you’ve never seen.
He strode across the street. "Princess Rael. Or do you have another title, just now?"
He's being cautious. Can he really be . . . as uncertain as I am?
"No. I am still with the Presidential Directorate. As you know, we don’t label ourselves as obviously as the other branches." She frowned at him. "I swear you look even younger than you did five years ago."
"It's an effect of the healing sleep. If I ever want to look older, I'll have to be very careful and avoid serious injury or mental strain." His smooth façade collapsed. He grinned. Glowed around his shield. "Did I mention how glad I am to see you alive and well?"
"I can’t believe you never asked Urfa."
His smile went a little crooked. "Classic spy-thriller male one-upmanship. Do you see why I resisted you?"
"No. I’d have thought that trivializing our relationship with cheap sex would have been in character." She turned and walked away from him. Stopped a few feet away. Just happened to have a good view of the Purple gate, from where she stood. And Xen, of course, had a good view of her legs and derriere. High heels and short skirts are a Dancer's best friends. Princess, not Dancer. I work for Urfa, not the One, any more. Or Agni. Damn.
:: Damn it, there’s one guy right square in the middle of the gate. :: Dan was observing from the library and sounded worried.
"Oh, that's what I ought to have done. And acted bored. But you already owned me. You just didn’t know it. Cheap sex wasn’t going to happen. I wanted you to respect me. To look at me and see an equal, not a second class sex toy."
She threw her hands out in frustration and spun around. "One damn it all, Endi." She stepped up to him, grabbed a handful of hair and hauled his head down to where she could kiss him.
:: That’s pulled him. ::
She let go of his hair, put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away. "I swear you drive me insane."
"I drive you insane?" Xen shook his head. "Despite my tendency to fall in love with lady spies, I really haven’t noticed a tendency of lady spies to throw themselves at me. Which lack is quite sane."
"Oh, I do not believe I’m hearing this."
"I’m not that bad. And we’re practically allies, these days."
"What about your . . . wife? Lover? Deep Night." She studied the slight muscle twitches of his lower face. He was either unguarded in his feelings, or damned good at pretending to be amused. Dimples on command?
"Deena is neither wife nor lover, and her child is not mine. Whatever attraction we feel for each other is tempered by a professional relationship, and her knowledge of the consequences of having anything to do with me."
Ha! He failed to keep all the wistfulness out of that. Sounds like I have a rival for his heart. She resisted looking toward the Purple gate.
"Consequences?"
"Want a lesson on Comet Fall Gods?"
"It sounds like I need one, just to talk to you."
:: All done, Princess. :: Ajha’s clear thoughts. :: So you’re off duty. Have fun.::
:: Planning on it. ::
"Have you read about Comet Fall? About how we were settled when Earth exiled all their genetically engineered citizens, fourteen hundred years ago? The most magical of them, thirteen men and women, were brain damaged in escaping, and were unable to resist mental molding by the collective subconscious of the less magical exiles."
"Yes, damn it. I’ve read up about you lot, since then. Did you know Izzo figured out where you were from? Literally minutes before the assassination attempt. I’ve watched it from every camm angle. You saved the President, not me."
His eyes darkened, and he reached out to stroke her cheek. "You took that first bullet for him, Spikey. Without you, all my reactions would have been tragically late."
The beauty and terror of that last fight. You were a god, dancing with death. I do not worship you. I do not. And I do not want you to grab me and kiss me again.
She harnessed her chaotic emotions to put anger into her voice. "When I finally regained consciousness, they told me you were a Native from Target Forty-two, and spying for Earth. Our worst enemy. And I had let myself like you."
"Like." He sighed theatrically, amused crinkles at the corners of his eyes. "I had the worst time persuading Urfa that I had nothing to do with Earth. Well, I expect half of his recalcitrance was show. Have you guys finally located Earth? Got your spies all set up?"
Not a line of thought I should let him pursue. "No." She let that irritation build on the others. I'm scarred, not scared, not going to run away. "Do you? Have spies all set up?"
"Gods, yes. Infuriating asses, even worse than Oners, en mass. About half the individuals I meet are perfectly nice people. The society as a whole? Vicious. Want to see?"
She blinked at him. "Are you offering me a tour of your spy facilities?"
"Umm, Disco spy facilities, not Comet Fall. What we are looking for is stuff Disco needs to respond to, not the broader focus of the Fallen spy network. Which, well, I also happened to have set up after I got back from the Empire of the One."
"Oh? Thought you were already a member of Disco."
He shifted, and actually blushed. "Well, at that point, Disco was just an idea, repurposed as a diversionary tactic, something to give Urfa and company pause. Total physical assets, a single magnetic beacon that Q manufactured and put in the alley where our gate was located, a uniform for herself and a few other support staff, and multiple incidental mentions in our computerized reports, just in case Urfa scooped the lot."
"Which he did."
"Figured he would. I kept that fictional organization in mind, and when Garit and I needed something to keep us out of trouble at home, we used it as a kernel to build Embassy around."
"And now you spy on Earth, and no doubt One World as well. Again."
"Yep. Wanna see Earth?"
"Of course. But you wouldn’t actually . . . eep!"
***
She had not actually expected a romantic dinner at the top of the tallest building in the Multiverse.
Nor the tour of Earth’s Gate Complex under an unnoticeable spell of mind boggling strength.
***
And then back to Embassy.
And at a touch, they were standing in front of a small house.
Rael swallowed, suddenly nervous. "So . . . you just pop in, stroll around and check on the Earth's gate activity, not bothering to ask permission, or even notify anyone that you are there?"
"Yep." His teeth flashed. "And yes, I do it on the One World as well."
She growled. And wondered how to leave. How to flee.
She stared at the ground, tried to find some nerve, some brashness . . .
"What's this? Aww, now you're looking shy. Damn, you are so good."
She flashed a glare his direction. "I am not shy!"
"But you are in retreat . . . hmmm. Boyfriend? Serious? I wouldn't dream of interfering with your future happi . . . Oof! I think I hit a nerve."
There was a bit of startlement under his humor. She'd hit him harder than she'd intended. "No, damn it. I don't have a boyfriend . . . " She blinked back weak tears. Looked away. Made herself say it. "I have scars. Bad ones." No tears! One damn it, I will not show how much I care about the state of my body! I don't care if I'm ugly. She refused to meet his eyes.
"I know that. Good grief, I worked over your body for hours. But if you're going to get all self conscious about it, I might let you turn out th
e light . . . this time." He stepped away from another punch.
She narrowed her eyes. "Are you laughing at me?"
"Only at the idea that I'd care about scars. And maybe a bit at the concept of you having such a huge vulnerability." He stepped in closer. "How about we get private, and I'll work on those scars. You can decide whether or not to seduce me, later."
He slid his arms around her, kissed her forehead, starting to lower his shields, letting a hint of that incredible glow show.
She followed him through the door . . . Damn, the last time I followed an attractive man through a door he was a cold blooded murderer, and I was looking for evidence. And I killed him.
And I sure as hell didn't let him drag me straight to bed . . .
She winced, and tried to maneuver her arm to a position that pressed less on the nerves. One damn it all, I want to be loved, to be made love to.
"Hmm, nerves still not right? Drat, I ought to have come back and checked, but I figured Urfa'd have you covered solid after that first visit."
She sighed. "He did. At the time I didn't know whether I was glad you didn't come back or pissed because you didn't."
He chuckled. "And settled on pissed?" His hand had been rubbing her back as he spoke. "Do you know how to do micro-manufacturing? Watch what I'm doing . . ."
She watched the delicate manipulations, dissolving bone that was pressing on nerves, building up bone where it had healed wrong . . . a spell that nudged nerve cells to divide . . . and the one by one replacement of nerve cells with damaged axons. First it itched, then it hurt, then she could feel all the way down her left leg. And the three outside fingers of her right hand were suddenly responsive, giving feedback. At some point he left the bones and nerves and started massaging muscles cramped and sore from concealing the difficulties of some movements, some positions. Tendons that hadn't stretched in years, joints unused to flexing so far. . .
