“Is it morning?” Nella asked as she sat down.
The chair adjusted itself to be at its most comfortable. The walls were a soft, comforting yellow, and lighting glowed from recesses in the ceiling, soothing to the eyes. The air was scented with something hard to identify, a flowery smell that was subtle but filled Nella with ease.
One wall contained a living mural, depicting a mountain meadow, bright sunlight, waving grasses and black volcanic slopes. It looked real enough that Nella felt she could step into the picture and be there. Air wafted from the mural, carrying with it the sweet scent of summer grass.
It also looked so like home that tears welled in her eyes. In fact, it was home—it depicted a remote area in the Baldane province on Ariel, with its emerald green meadows growing over old lava fields.
“Oh dear,” Dr. Laas said. “Baine thought you’d like to see your own planet. But perhaps it is too distressing?”
“No, it’s…” Nella strove to keep her emotions in check. She’d been trained all her life to appear calm, no matter what the situation. “I’d like to see what it’s like outside. I’m a bit disoriented.”
“Of course. Baine, show the street.”
The beautiful meadow shifted and the dusty streets of Bor Narga’s Pas City came into view. They looked down on it, although she knew that Dr. Laas’ compound was deep underground.
They were in a warehouse area. Once white stone walls were scraped raw where sandstorms battered them, the streets littered with pebbles and dust. Women and men in sand-colored coveralls maneuvered floating pallets through the narrow alleys, while multi-armed robots floated behind them.
Both women and men had their heads wrapped in sun-protective cloths and wore dark goggles, a necessity for those who worked outdoors for long periods of time. Those merely strolling from one place to another went bareheaded, but all wore breath masks on their belts. The sky above the tall warehouses was deep, brilliant blue.
There was a beauty of a sort in it, the harsh glare of the sun on the sand-washed stone, the easy and athletic way the women and men handled their loads, talking and laughing with the gestures of people not too worried about anything. It was an alien place, but not frightening.
A tray of food materialized in front of Nella, the steaming greens and golden fruits of Ariel. She stared at it, nearly crying again. She’d been living on dried meat and anything she could get her hands on.
“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“I have many talents and many connections,” Dr. Laas said complacently.
Nella had not been hungry since the transport on which she’d stowed away had slid into its berth in Bor Narga, but suddenly her stomach rumbled. She lifted the two-tined fork and tucked in, eating heartily until every bit was gone.
By the time she set down her fork and dabbed her lips with a napkin, her stomach was sated. “That was—like heaven.”
“You’re welcome,” Dr. Laas said, pleased. “I am happy to see you’ve recovered from your ordeal—poisoning, dehydration, malnutrition, infection—you name it, you had it.”
“Infection?”
“A low-grade fever. I took care of it when I administered your antidote. I thought I might as well cure you all the way.”
“You are kind.”
“Maybe. Or bored. I used to wake up with my mind spinning with what experiments I’d do that day. Today I looked forward to ordering exotic fruits without getting caught.”
“Rio said you were outlawed,” Nella began, curious about her. “Why?”
Dr. Laas heaved a long sigh. “I was a genius at genetic research. Still am. I was the mastermind behind creating the Shareem. Think of it, a race of men genetically enhanced for the greatest sexual pleasure of women. Who would not want that?”
Both Talan and Nella nodded in fervent agreement.
“But DNAmo went crazy with my ideas,” Dr. Laas said. “They created the Shareem all right, then treated them like lab animals. Did experiments on them, put them through tests to see how they’d react. It was hard to watch.”
Nella licked her fork, savoring the last of the juices. “You could not stop it?”
“Sadly, no. I was young and brilliant but not very smart, if you know what I mean. I was thrilled that DNAmo wanted to use my designs, but I had no idea what I was doing when I signed away everything to them. I only saw that they’d give me a fortune and make me famous. But really, I lost everything.”
“That is terrible.”
Dr. Laas nodded. “Basically DNAmo stole all my research and set me up to take the fall when the stiff-necked government decided that DNAmo had to go. My ideas, thus, my fault. I was in it up to my neck. I was only twenty years old when I started, a prodigy with no clue about the realities of life.”
“Did they arrest you?” Nella asked. Talan also listened, interested.
“No, because fortunately, the Shareem themselves were rather fond of me. And everyone at DNAmo was outlawed—the Shareem, the researchers, even the people who leased the buildings to them. Most of the research scientists fled the planet, but I had nowhere to go, and as I said, I was rather foolish about real life. But Dr. Ralston, he hid me and several Shareem, and then we found this place. It was an ancient catacomb from centuries ago, when the war nearly wiped out everyone on Bor Narga. They survived by living in places like this, deep underground. Of course, I fixed it up a little.”
She looked fondly at the walls, which segued to a soothing shade of mint green.
“How long did DNAmo make Shareem?” Nella asked.
“Fifteen years.”
Nella gave her a puzzled look.
Talan also looked perplexed; she must not have known this either. “But Rees was a man when he left, not a fifteen-year-old boy. They all were.”
Dr. Laas nodded. “Accelerated growth. They went through the phases of childhood and adolescence in half the time as a normal human. And then their metabolism was slowed radically, so they age only about a month for every Bor Nargan year. It seemed like a good idea at the time—men forever young and virile. But the researchers didn’t think what that would be like for the Shareem.”
Nella felt it at the same time Talan spoke. “Lonely.”
“Yes,” Dr. Laas agreed. “On the other hand, they were manipulated to be robust and healthy and free of disease, not to mention incredible at sex. I remember one woman proudly telling me she’d successfully removed their capacity to find love and true happiness, as though this was something to boast about.”
“They were wrong,” Talan said softly.
“Of course. The Shareem felt everything, experienced every emotion, even when they were being used like lab robots. They were just wise enough to hide it, to sit tight, and then when DNAmo went down, they all escaped into the blue. I looked for them, and so did Dr. Ralston, but except for the few that hid with him, they’d disappeared. They’d learned, if nothing else, to be cunning and self-reliant.”
“What happened to them?” Nella asked.
“They stayed hidden until the government lifted the death sentence on them, then suddenly, they reappeared, some of them on my doorstep, grinning and ready to live. But they are still second-class citizens, having to update their ident cards and get inoculations with the Ministry of Non-Human Life Forms every six months.”
“Why do the Shareem not leave Bor Narga?” Nella asked, distressed and puzzled. “They would never be treated so on Ariel, simply because they began life as genetic experiments. That isn’t their fault.”
Dr. Laas snorted. “The silly ministry thinks the Shareem will die off eventually, end of problem. So they aren’t allowed to breed, or go off-planet, where they might breed. The women of the government are so afraid of reverting to the submissive mode they had centuries ago that sexual pleasure is all but banned on Bor Narga. And if the ministry could find a way to make sure no woman had sexual pleasure at all, they’d do it.”
“I am surprised they do not fight back, then,” Nella said. “The Sh
areem, I mean. That they do not protest, or band together. They are very strong.”
“Yes, well, the thing is, they are Shareem,” Dr. Laas answered, as though that explained everything. “There are not that many of them, maybe fifty in all, and some of them have managed to leave Bor Narga. And we programmed them not to be dangerous.”
Talan looked amazed. “What are you talking about? I think they are exceedingly dangerous.” Dr. Laas gave her a knowing smile, and Talan blushed.
“They are not dangerous collectively,” Dr. Laas said. “They love women and sex and are not violent or driven by hate or rage. They win their battles, but they do it their own way.”
Nella thought of Rio’s blue eyes, and his wicked smile that told her she’d end up doing everything he wanted, in time. She shivered. “They have power.”
“Of course they do. That is why the Ministry of Non-Human Life Forms keeps such a strict eye on them.”
“Rio is trying to leave the planet,” Talan said quietly.
Dr. Laas shot her a quick look.
“It’s all right,” Nella said. “I would never dream of stopping him.” She thought a moment. “Is that why he thought the assassin bot was after him?”
“Probably,” Dr. Laas said. “He did not tell me the whole story of how he found you.”
“I was being hunted.” Nella swallowed as she remembered the terror of running through the streets, pursued by the relentless silver ball. And then Rio had been there, tall and strong, swearing at the assassin bot and destroying it.
Maybe Shareem weren’t collectively dangerous, like a wolf pack. They were more like lone predators, like the wildcats on Ariel who hunted alone. The cats never attacked human settlements, but you would not want to come upon one alone in the woods.
Rio had destroyed that bot with an ease that startled her. Then he’d turned to her, knowing exactly where she was hiding, his Shareem eyes honing in on her.
She could hide from the assassin bot, but she could not hide from him.
Nella related the tale briefly, then finished, “Rio smashed the bot to bits, but the hypo still hit me. That’s all I know.”
“He brought you straight to me. That was smart. A hospital could not have helped you in time, and someone would have recognized you.”
Nella realized something. “He missed his way to get off-world by helping me, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” Talan said.
“Oh.”
“It was his choice,” Talan said gently.
“I wish I was in a position to help him,” Nella said. “Six months ago, I would have been.”
“I’d love to hear your story, my dear,” Dr. Lass began, but Talan interrupted her.
“They’re coming back.”
Nella glanced at the mural wall. On the street, Rees and Rio walked side by side, Rees in a tunic and leggings with a sun-blocking cloak wrapped around his upper body. Rio strode beside him in leather tunic and leggings, his black hair shining in the sun.
Rees wore his hair tamed in a queue, folded over on itself. Rio’s hair was caught once at the nape of his neck but hung free and wild down his back. Rees said something, and Rio tilted his head back and roared with laughter.
Nella could not hear the sound of the laugh, but his merriment and smile pierced her all the way through the walls of the compound.
Talan heaved a little sigh. Nella glanced at her. The lovely woman was staring hard at Rees, drawn to him as though an invisible thread connected the two of them.
She loves him desperately, Nella realized. And she is loved in return.
Her parents had such a love, sharing a true Bond. They snuggled when they thought no one saw, smiling into each other’s faces. Nella liked finding them like that, stealing kisses, the love pouring from them to surround her.
Nella had never felt the Bond, not yet. As she watched Rio now, she wondered what it would be like to share it with someone like him, to be able to reach out her hand to someone so strong, and have him there to take it.
Rees and Rio disappeared from view as they neared the compound. Talan turned from the screen with regret, then blushed when she saw both Nella and Dr. Laas watching her.
“I can’t help it,” she said with a little smile. “He’s a beautiful man.”
“I know,” Dr. Laas said. “But it’s fun to tease you.”
“They’ve entered,” Baine said above them. “I’m sending them down now.”
Nella knew when Rees and Rio neared the dining room. Even through the walls, she could feel their presence, the strength and sexuality that radiated from them and filled the space around them.
When the door opened, she turned in her chair to watch the two men enter the room, hard masculinity in a chamber designed for feminine comfort. Rees had discarded his cloak, and his tunic bared the huge muscles of his arms and the black chain around his biceps.
Rees put his arms around Talan from behind, tilted her head back and kissed her. Nella looked away, but Dr. Laas watched them with an indulgent smile. The woman was glad, Nella realized, that one of her Shareem had found happiness. Thinking of Dr. Laas as a benevolent mother stretched the imagination, but she did seem to have genuine concern and affection for her creations.
Nella sensed Rio behind her. His body warmth covered her, his presence suddenly blocking all other thoughts from her mind. She must be weak from whatever medicines Dr. Laas gave her, because she couldn’t fight him—and she didn’t really want to.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, a non-sexual move, but she felt herself responding at once to the incredible warmth that bled through her tunic.
“We were about to hear Nella’s story,” Dr. Laas said.
Rio’s hands moved on her shoulders, kneading a little, as though reminding her what she’d trusted him with the previous evening. “Tell us,” he said in his rich, Shareem voice.
“I was kidnapped.” The words poured from her mouth before she could stop them, but she felt a sudden relief, as though telling the truth gave her release.
Baine’s voice cut in overhead. “The story on Ariel is that the princess disappeared, probably for a liaison with her intended.”
“But that’s not the truth, is it?” Rio asked softly.
Nella shook her head. “A man named Linginian wanted to be my Bond-mate, so he kidnapped me.” She drew a breath, not wanting to remember the somewhat handsome but arrogant Linginian, how he’d bribed trusted staff in the palace to give her a sleep drug and spirit her away.
“What is a Bond-mate?” Rio asked. “You mentioned it yesterday, said someone tried to steal the Bond.”
“When a woman of Ariel wishes to marry, she finds the man with whom she feels the Bond,” Nella said. “It is difficult to explain to a non-Arielian. We know the Bond when we feel it—it is a biochemical reaction, I suppose.”
“Similar to the way a Shareem can make a woman do what he wants,” Dr. Laas put in.
“Oh, we would never coerce,” Rio said, his voice innocent. “Would we, Rees?”
“Never,” Rees answered, straight-faced.
“Linginian came up with drugs that he thought could artificially induce the Bond. I would claim that he and I were Bond-mates, and he could marry me and gain much money and power.”
“But it didn’t work,” Rio stated.
“No. It almost killed me. Linginian threatened the lives of my family to force me to tell everyone that the Bond had formed anyway. I refused, and he had me beaten and confined.”
Rio’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “Bastard.”
The quiet word spoke volumes. If Rio ever found Linginian, Linginian would be in trouble. Nella liked the idea.
Dr. Laas gave her a look of concern. “Did he rape you, Nella?”
Nella shook her head. “Not in the sexual sense. But trying to force the Bond is a worse violation than rape. He tried to change my entire self, my emotions, my thoughts, my bodily reactions. It was like he tried to reshape me from the inside out.”
“Yes.”
She felt lassitude seeping through her agitation, his Shareem touch calming her. “But you got away from him,” Talan said, her eyes anxious.
“I managed to sneak onto a transport leaving his estate, which took me to Station 573. But of course, once he realized I’d gotten onto it, he contacted men on the station to snatch me again. He has money and friends everywhere. I managed to escape onto another transport to Station 289. Again, he had friends looking for me when I arrived, and I couldn’t even get to a call console. I simply kept running, stowing away on transport after transport. I became rather good at it.” She laughed a little.
“And eventually you got to Bor Narga,” Dr. Laas said.
“Yes. Sometime along the way, Linginian changed from telling his friends to capture me, to instructing them to kill me. If I reach home and tell my story, you see, he is finished.”
“So he lined up assassin bots to go after you,” Rio said.
She looked up at him. “And you got in one’s way.”
“I’m damn glad I did.” He smiled a little, a hint of wickedness in his eyes. “I never would have gotten to see your ultra-gorgeous body, otherwise.”
Nella flushed. No one else in the room seemed to think his speech was outrageous. They were used to Shareem—they were used to Rio.
Talan reached over and touched her hand. “We’ll help you get back home.”
“You are kind.”
“We know what it’s like to be hunted,” Dr. Laas said.
“Except Talan,” Rio put in. “She’s a rich girl. She gets everything she wants.”
Talan stuck her tongue out at him, but she blushed.
“I can relay a message as far as Station 657,” Baine broke in above them. “The consul there can relay it across stations all the way to Ariel. The message will be untraceable, which means your friends will not be able to contact you here, but then, neither will your enemies.”
“Or mine,” Dr. Laas put in.
Nella hesitated. “I would hate to jeopardize your safety.”
Rio Page 6
