“A First?”
“Firstborn.” Cade spoke with an almost feral, dark hatred, his tone a low hiss.
His fury bathed her in the horror. The idea of brother hating brother had nausea curling in her stomach. “Are you telling me that all firstborn children have the right—”
“To all the salt they need.” Visibly, he collected himself and finished explaining in quick, flat words. “Because the rest of us are lacking the vital nutrient, we don’t grow properly. Our brains don’t mature correctly during childhood, and we are . . . inferior.”
She understood what Cade was telling her, but emotionally, she just couldn’t accept that he was inferior in any way. In her eyes he was just about the most perfect specimen of a man she’d ever seen. But his history set him apart from every other gorgeous man who’d been doted upon, first by their adoring mamas and grandmothers, then by legions of females. She’d known handsome men who’d grown up poor but who nevertheless held attitudes of entitlement. They expected women to worship them, because women always had.
Cade had never been doted upon.
“Are you saying you have a lower intelligence than your brother?”
He nodded, eyes once again rippling anger. “A lower intelligence. Slower physical reactions. A weaker immune system. Poorer reflexes and muscle control. The list is long and boring.”
“And since Jamar doesn’t wish for you to change the status quo,” she muttered, recalling Cade’s earlier words, “he’s willing to kill you?”
“To him, I’m not a man.” Cade’s voice was low, tortured, bitter. “So he doesn’t consider my death by his hand to be murder.”
Slaves on Earth had been considered inhuman. Even as a history fact, she had difficulty comprehending the narrow-minded viewpoints of a time long gone. Rama sounded far more brutal.
“How did you manage to travel to Earth?” she asked, confused that someone who was as low as a slave could manage such a feat.
But she heard no pride of accomplishment in Cade’s tone when he explained. “I stole the spaceship along with the equipment to create the portal with the help of some desperate rebels,” he admitted. “The Firsts discovered our plan and sent Jamar here in a faster ship. But my friends, the rebels who helped me, if they are lucky, they are dead.”
“If they’re lucky?”
“Death is better than torture.” The pain in his eyes ripped at her.
She placed her hand on his knee. “They aren’t the only ones who risked their lives and torture.”
“Risk is nothing. Success is everything. I won’t let those who helped me die in vain.” He put his hand over hers. “We may not be as perfect as my brother and the other Firsts, but we should have the right to work for ourselves, to own property, and to pass it down to all children, no matter their birth order.” His big hand tensed, but he was mindful not to hurt her. “Many good people gave up their salt and weakened themselves, possibly giving up years of their own lives, so I would have the strength to free us all.”
His society was almost incomprehensible to her. “So would your firstborn child become a First?”
Cade shook his head. “Only the firstborn of two Firsts can become a First except—”
“But then wouldn’t the First population diminish by half in every generation?”
“Except male Firsts sire one firstborn with their wife and are allowed to sire another firstborn with anyone else they choose. That child is raised by the First wife and rarely knows its biological mother.”
Her stomach churned. “The women accept this?”
“They have no choice, but many tears are shed.”
Shara couldn’t imagine the pain of bearing a baby and then having the child taken and raised by another—as a matter of course.
“And the underfirsts . . . have they rebelled before?”
“Many times. We’ve always failed because we never had a place to go where we could escape a First’s power. But with the technology to leave our world, we can finally escape.” Cade took her cold hand between both of his. “Will you help me?”
His eyes found hers, and the burning determination she saw there gave her pause. Deceiving him, stopping him, seemed wrong.
Yet, the last time she hadn’t listened to Jules, she’d paid a terrible price. The love of her life had died at her hand. She hadn’t switched the blanks with real bullets, but she had pulled the trigger. It didn’t matter that the gun was a prop, that the bullets should have been blanks. All that mattered was that Bruce had died because she hadn’t believed Jules’s warning.
And now Jules had said Cade must be stopped.
Oh, God. What was she going to do?
Shara had to see Jules before she promised anything.
Hoping he didn’t notice that she hadn’t answered his question, she almost leapt out of the hovercar. “Come on. Let’s go sell your rubies.”
9
Cade followed Shara from the hovercar, glad for the opportunity to walk and burn off frustration. Had sharing the truth with Shara been a mistake?
In Shara, he saw the confidence of a First tempered with the compassion of his own class. And there was a haunting scar of loneliness inside her that he wished he could banish. The indulgence of cooking for her, of sharing salt, but most of all talking freely and touching her, was affecting him in ways he hadn’t imagined.
Her kiss of life lingered in his thoughts, tempting him, teasing him, taunting him. Ever since she’d pressed her lips to his, combining her own sweet taste with that of precious salt, he’d had the maddening compulsion to kiss her again. But he couldn’t allow himself to surrender to his own wants. Not unless she was in full agreement.
When he’d been about to kiss her, her anguished, “Don’t,” had slashed knives in his gut. He’d burned to taste her, to claim her. Clearly, she wasn’t certain.
He had to remember to temper his burning impatience. Right now he needed to focus on winning her over to his cause.
He had to put his personal yen for her aside. Nothing could be allowed to stop him from freeing his people.
Although she listened to his words, she hadn’t lived on Rama. She didn’t know of the bitter cruelty and soul-scarring humiliations. She hadn’t smelled the sickness. She hadn’t seen the children dying for lack of salt. She hadn’t heard the desperate moans of those who were too weak to work, those who sacrificed themselves, so he could be strong enough to accomplish this task.
Icy calm came over him, and cold intent sluiced through his veins. “On Rama, the economic system only protects Firsts. Birth order alone sets one up for life. So all Firsts are wealthy, due to the hard work of everyone else—and even if they are cruel, they remain wealthy.”
She frowned at him. “Just because one is wealthy here, doesn’t mean one will stay that way. And riches can be earned by all, or lost, for a variety of reasons varying from bad luck to stupidity.”
“You have freedom for all and equal opportunities here. We have a justice system that is denied to all but the Firsts on Rama. I want what you have here for my people, too. That’s why I must build the portal and send salt to my people. All Ramans deserve to have hope for a better future.”
“Your cause sounds like a good one,” she said, but she didn’t sound convinced.
Her uncertainty bothered him. She didn’t seem frightened, but thoughtful and filled with doubts, poised on the edge of a decision that meant everything to him. He knew better than to push her about using her asteroid, again.
Cade was gambling that he could appeal to Shara’s humanity. While holovid stars on her world were well known for taking up the causes of the poor, he’d seen a wariness in her eyes that suggested he had convincing to do. But how?
“Here”—he waved his hand at the space station bustle—”there’s no deference paid to those who have more.”
“No deference?”
“No bowing and scuttling out of the way. No one being kicked aside if they don’t move fast enough.”
&nbs
p; Shara sucked in a breath and stepped off one walkway onto another that moved at a perpendicular angle. He followed. “Before my journey began, for over a decade—ever since our scientists detected your salt-filled oceans—I’d wondered if I could feel at home here, wondered if the programs that fed me English, culture, geography, and history as I slept through my journey would be enough.”
“Was it?”
“Every so often there’s a language glitch, but I can usually figure out meaning from context. Your food is wonderful. And so far the company has surpassed my expectations.” He shot her a warm smile.
She glanced sideways at him, her quick steps easily keeping up with his longer and slower strides. But she didn’t respond to his personal remark. All the force-fed intel couldn’t help him here. Was he pushing too hard? Getting too personal?
At times she seemed warm and open. He’d seen the hint of passion in her eyes. But she was holding back. Uncertain of him and what he’d said. Obviously, she needed more time.
But that was one thing he couldn’t give. Jamar would be hunting.
They stopped at an intersection and waited for a walkway to change levels. “My friends and I tried to anticipate many contingencies, but never did we expect Jamar to learn of our plans. The First has a huge advantage from arriving in your solar system before me.”
“Both of you are strangers here. How could he have an advantage in anything but firepower?”
“Jamar has no doubt already established a secure base of operations, hacked necessary vidlink programs, perhaps has paid snitches or hired mercenaries.”
“You sound so certain.”
“That’s how he operated when he took over a mine back on Rama. His tactical advantage by scouting your worlds ahead of me is enormous. But luckily on Earth I have your knowledge and help.”
Again she didn’t respond. Stars be merciful if he couldn’t convince her.
10
Shara stopped beside two double brass-plated doors, gave her name through an intercom, and the owner buzzed them through the locked front doors. Inside, Cade welcomed the cool air-conditioning as well as the security.
Several jewelry store robotic clerks rolled behind brightly lit holographic displays of jewelry and helped other customers make decisions. Along mirrored walls, rotating glass cases were filled with sparkling stones made into rings, bracelets, and necklaces as well as body piercing adornments.
A tiny man wearing a jeweler’s loupe sat hunched over his work. He looked up, spied them, and placed his loupe aside.
“Shara!” He hurried over, his smile wide and friendly. “I hadn’t heard you were back on the space station.”
“We just arrived.” Shara shook his hand and hugged him at the same time, a gesture reserved for good friends of the opposite sex. Her voice warm, she made introductions. “Ben Stillman, meet Cade Archer.”
The men shook hands, and the diminutive jeweler possessed a surprisingly strong grip and friendly pale blue eyes. “What brings you to my humble establishment, Mr. Archer?”
“Cade,” he corrected and reached into his pocket. “I hoped you might be interested in purchasing these.” The stones in his palm sparkled a deep reddish hue.
Ben’s eyes narrowed. “May I have a better look?”
“Sure.”
The jeweler led him back to a work table and placed a loupe in one eye. “These are spectacular color and cut. I’m sure we’ll be able to deal.”
“Able to deal” was slang for buying and selling. During cryo-sleep in hyperspace, language had been drilled into Cade’s mind. He’d regained consciousness a few months before entering Shara’s asteroid’s atmosphere and tried to pick up slang expressions and idioms.
So he understood the merchant’s slang but wondered if perhaps his time would have been better spent trying to understand Earth women. Shara was complicated. From the warm sparkle of her eyes to the coolness of her voice, she sent contradictory signals. At times, he sensed she was interested in him as a man. At others, she seemed reserved, as if she’d retreated behind a shield.
As they strode to Ben’s workbench, Cade caught Shara eyeing a tanzanite-and-diamond ring, a pensive expression in her exquisite eyes. Although she neither needed nor wore any jewelry to enhance her beauty, she could most certainly afford it.
“You like tanzanite and diamonds?” he asked, wondering why her admiration didn’t turn into a purchase.
“I was admiring Ben’s skill.”
“That ring design is very popular. I’m having trouble keeping them in stock,” Ben told her.
“Business is good?” she asked.
“Excellent. You would have looked spectacular at openings in one of those diamond pieces.”
“Actually I prefer opal with tanzanite. Diamonds are such a cold stone.”
Cade looked at her. “You don’t wear jewelry. Not even earrings.”
At his mention of her lack of adornments, she fingered a pierced ear, and sadness darkened her eyes. “All my jewelry is safely locked away. Swimming with bright metal objects can attract sharks.”
Why would that make her sad? She could have removed the metal before swimming in the sea. He suspected some romantic memory and not the jewelry she didn’t wear was the reason for her sadness.
Underfirsts didn’t usually form permanent attachments, and Cade had seen the wisdom of following those ways. What was the point of loving a woman when a First could claim her for his own?
He wouldn’t fall into a terrible situation like his brother. Losing a woman he loved or his children would destroy him. Better to have none. Better not to form close attachments that could rip out a man’s heart.
So Cade took only casual and temporary partners to share sensual experiences . . . sensual experiences he’d enjoy sharing with Shara.
But damn it. Why didn’t she want him?
11
Jamar couldn’t believe his bad luck. First Cade had ejected and escaped death by falling to the asteroid.
But Jamar could still have fixed things. If only he hadn’t taken Ulani, a rebellious underfirst he’d been teaching obedience training, with him onto the bridge while he waited to see if his scanners would pick up Cade emerging from the sea.
“I told you to sit still.”
“I’m sorry, master.” Ulani trembled, but her tone wasn’t subservient enough.
Obviously she required more training. Jamar turned to slap her, and she cringed. Good. Fear would make her more attentive.
But his scanner’s alarms went off. Cade and Shara Weston were in clear sight on the beach, drawing him back to the helm. With a quick pull of his controls, Jamar flew over the asteroid’s island, ready to shoot from orbit.
But just as he unleashed the deadly laser fire, Ulani bumped his hand. The laser missed.
Before he could slap her down, she yanked on his fuel lever, dumping all but his emergency landing supply into space.
With a roar of frustration, Jamar backhanded the interfering bitch. Her head slammed into the bulkhead, and her neck snapped.
Damn it.
Jamar’s gaze fell on Ulani’s broken body. Who would have thought that the stupid bitch would dare defy him?
At home, no underfirst would have ever out-played him. With a First’s superior speed and power, his reflexes would have been fast enough to stop her. But his Quait powers of control were weakening. Either the salt on this world was inferior, or the plenitude of salt in the air, ocean, and earth was upsetting the natural order. No matter how much salt Jamar ingested, his Quait diminished every month.
And with more salt available to Cade, his slime-crèche brother would grow stronger. Not enough however. A little extra salt now couldn’t make up for Cade’s lifetime of deprivation.
Disgusted that he needed to even consider salt’s effect on his brother, Jamar set the autopilot for his home base to refuel. He kicked Ulani’s dead body aside, furious that he’d killed her so quickly. She had to have been in league with his brother, part of the re
bels.
Damn Cade. His under brother had the proverbial seven lives of a cataw. Still alive, still tormenting him. Still keeping him in this backwater solar system.
Even the weather was against him. Jamar had planned to refuel and return immediately. But a storm at his base had taken out his generator, preventing him from immediately refueling. By the time he’d flown back to Haven the following morning, Cade and the bitch were gone.
Hours later, Jamar still fumed.
It would take time to build a portal, and Jamar considered Cade’s options. He didn’t know where Cade had fled, but to build the portal, he had to collect the portal parts, and to collect the parts, his brother had to first construct a locator beacon.
Luckily for Jamar, Cade and the slut, Shara Weston, had limited options. With Cade’s spaceship disintegrated, the underfirst would be forced to use slow, local transportation.
Jamar hacked into the computer systems and learned a searocket had already landed on Haven at dawn and flown Cade and Shara to the space station. Tracking them from the space station would be demeaning. A First did not chase an underfirst, so Jamar would hire a private investigator to follow the underfirst and the woman. After all, Jamar couldn’t do everything, so he’d save his efforts for the pleasure of the final kill.
Meanwhile, he required a woman. Earth would have better pickings.
12
Finances settled, Cade and Shara caught a rocket down to New L.A., bought the hardware Cade needed to build his locater, and now they’d finally arrived at Jules’s home for a late dinner. Tantalizing barbecue aromas from the grill outside teased Shara’s nostrils, but nothing was quite as welcoming as Jules’s out flung arms ready for hearty embrace.
“Finally.” Shara gave Jules a grin of pure delight as she threw herself into the arms of her good friend.
Lunar Heat: 1 (The Heat Series) Page 6
