by Regine Abel
I frowned.
His entire little body jerked and he squealed in surprise. Whatever affected him must have happened again. Head spinning in every direction, Vahl seemed to look for the source of whatever disturbed him. The females went quiet, the four of us staring at the boy.
“Vahl!” our son cried out before bursting into laughter.
Amalia and I exchanged a baffled look. Our son’s most extreme emotions had only ever been despair or a smile. We had never heard him laugh.
Until now…
Vahl squealed in surprise again and got up, bouncing unsteadily on his feet. His laughter resonated in the room and we couldn’t help laughing as well, despite our confusion.
“Mama!” he said, turning to look at Amalia. “Mama… Vahl!”
“Yes, Vahl. I’m your Mama.”
Vahl laughed again and stumble-ran towards her. Amalia picked him up but when she tried to hold him against her chest, he fought his way out of her embrace. Confused, we watched him curl up on her lap and wrap his arms around her waist.
“Vahl…” he whispered then rested his cheek against her stomach.
A shocked silence descended upon the room.
Gharah’s Blood! How didn’t we realize this sooner?
Vahl started humming against Amalia’s tummy. Even though he butchered it, I recognized the lullaby Khel used to sing to me as a child and that we in turn sang to our children every night.
“Oooh shit,” Amalia whispered, placing a careful hand on our son’s back.
Rising from my chair, I knelt at Amalia’s feet and caressed our son’s head. He lifted his little face and gave me a look of pure joy that tugged at my heart.
He placed his small hand on Amalia’s stomach. “Papa… Vahl.”
“Is that why you were so sad, my little warrior?” I asked. “You were missing your Gem?”
He beamed at me, closed his eyes, and pressed his face against his mother.
“Congratulations,” Valena said.
Although she appeared sincere, the subtle sadness in her voice could still be heard. My heart broke for her recent loss. I was ecstatic at the prospect of a new child but reined in my emotion out of respect for their pain. Zhul rose from the floor where he still sat and walked over to his mate. Sitting next to her, he pulled her into his arms. She leaned into him and he kissed her forehead.
Amalia grabbed Valena’s hand, a serious look on her face.
“Your turn will come. Both my pregnancies were conceived during my season. If Vahl feels his Gem now, I assume that it’s because the baby has gotten his first brainwaves. That puts me at seven or eight weeks, which matches the beginning of my season.”
Oh Goddess!
Did we make that baby during our afternoon of kinky sex in our downtown apartment? My face heated. The rosy tint on Amalia’s cheeks made me suspect her thoughts followed a similar path. The ‘guilty as charged’ look she cast my way confirmed it seconds later. Khel could be the sire but as he got injured only a few days into her season, the chances were slim.
“His?” Valena asked.
Amalia frowned. “I’m assuming the baby is a male since I’ve never heard of a female Geminate. Then again, our family never seems to do anything by the book,” she added with a pretty pout.
“Indeed,” Zhul said with a teasing smile.
It suddenly dawned on me…
“With a seven month pregnancy, that would take you at exactly one year from Vahl’s birth.”
“Like you and Khel!” Amalia exclaimed.
“Yes.”
We stared at each other and once again, I realized how much I loved that female. Our lips found each other. I let them express the depth of my feelings for her and my elation at our new little miracle.
The chime of the secure door snapped us out of the magical moment. Cold tendrils of dread slithered down my spine. Had they noticed Vahl’s unusual behavior? Did they realize Amalia carried our child? Rosthan had shown no interest in either Amalia’s or my reproductive system. She only requested samples of my venoms and oxytocin from my mate to test how it affected other males’ Taint.
We took our positions behind the line. To our shock, six Guldans walked into the room, fully armed. A seventh walked in between them.
No, not a Guldan – a hybrid Xelixian-Guldan.
V.
How much did he actually fear us that he would come in with so many bodyguards? And why? He had us right where he wanted. That was, unless he intended to do something he knew we would fight against and came prepared to keep us in check. It seemed the more plausible explanation and scared the fuck out of me.
Amalia tensed, holding tightly onto our son. I pulled her close to me and kept my arm around her waist. Zhul wrapped his arms around Valena, her back resting against his chest.
“What nice family portraits you present.”
Varrek’s eyes roamed over us before resting on Amalia. My arm tightened around her, worry gnawing at me.
“Amalia, we meet at last.”
He took a couple of steps towards her. His shiny black shoes peeked from under his long Tainted cloak. Each step resounded loudly on the white tiles. The guards stayed put but moved their hands closer to their blasters.
As V’s face showed no signs of the Taint, I could only assume he wore the cloak to hide his horns in public.
“The little girl who brought down the mighty Gruuk Vrok.”
“I’m not little,” Amalia snapped back.
He smirked. “I guess you’re not, little sister.”
“I’m not your sister.”
“Father would disagree.”
Amalia snorted. “What? You’re going to tell me that somehow Gruuk was my biological father?”
“Of course not. He just wished he was.”
That knocked the wind out of her… and me for that matter.
Amalia shook a head. “No. Gruuk didn’t love my mother.”
“He had no use for your mother beyond her ability. Your great-mother though, he was in love with. And from all accounts, you are her replica.”
“That’s a big fat load of crap,” Amalia said, glaring at him. “If he had loved her, he would have—”
“Kept her and her daughters safe from any punishment by the guards?” V interrupted. “Allowed her to keep one of her daughters and great-daughter by her side throughout her life? Spared her and her progeny from ever being gloved?”
Amalia’s jaw worked, but she eventually closed her mouth, robbed of any argument. Varrek crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head, looking at her.
“As you know very well, by Guldan rule, he should have punished you with what you cherished the most. When you tried to escape, he should have made you watch your great-mother get raped and tortured, not the other captives.”
Amalia shuddered and cast her eyes down. Vahl frowned at his mother’s distress and caressed her cheek. She tried to smile bravely at him, but failed.
“He tried to have me assassinated.”
“No, I did.” Varrek showed no signs of remorse. “He wanted you back, unharmed. When we failed to retrieve you at the hospital, he ordered me to leave you alone so you could have your happy life with your mate. That clearly displayed his weakness. You were threatening our business. Eliminating you was the Guldan way to go. He allowed feelings to rule him and it was his downfall.”
“Gruuk is dead,” I said. “Whatever he may or may not have felt is irrelevant. If you have a point to make, get to it.”
“Lhor Kirnhan…” His green eyes slowly roamed over me, making my skin crawl. “You are a delicious looking male.”
He smirked at my discomfort, but to my relief, didn’t pursue the topic any further.
“To answer your question, yes, there is a point.” He pulled what looked like a large coin or thin medallion from his pocket. “Remember this?” he asked, waving the coin at Amalia.
She swallowed hard, then nodded.
“It wasn’t just a fetish medallion,” V
Amalia’s eyes misted. Her knees buckled. I held her up. Vahl whimpered, probably getting squished by how tightly his mother held him. Zhul extended his arms towards her and, to my surprise, Amalia let him take our son.
Varrek raised a surprised eyebrow but didn’t comment.
“That data has, of course, been transferred to a more secure storage and deleted from the disk.” He stared at it before looking back at Amalia. “There was a bit more on it that I thought you would find of interest.”
His thumb drew a cross on the face of the medallion before pressing its center. A holographic projection appeared, cycling through various short scenes of a younger Maheva, then an older Maheva playing with a young girl I assumed to be Amalia, then one of a young Amalia sitting on the lap of a Veredian female I didn’t know, who gently caressed her hair.
“Mama!” Amalia choked, tears streaming from her eyes.
She collapsed against me and Varrek ended the projection as a fourth scene I couldn’t quite make out started playing.
“Love is a weakness. Consider this my parting gift to you, little sister.”
He tossed the coin towards us and I caught it in the air.
“Parting gift?” Zhul asked, his tone suspicious.
“I’ve gotten all I need from Amalia and Lhor.” Varrek looked in turn at Valena, Vahl, and Zhul. “You three however, I have many more plans for.”
Zhul placed a protective hand at the back of Vahl’s head and took a step back.
“You’re not taking my son from me!” Amalia shouted, wiping her tears angrily with the back of her hand.
We both took a defensive position in front of Zhul, Valena joining us.
Varrek chuckled. “How cute. Your Tuurean friends are getting a little too close for comfort. It is time for me to leave this rock.”
“You’ll never get away. They’ll catch you before you get off-world,” I said.
Varrek waved a dismissive hand. “The Tuureans are good but not invulnerable. It’s technology, not magic. And technology can be bypassed. Now hand over the boy. I would hate to shoot you on our first and last meeting.”
Foolish though it was, Amalia and I launched ourselves at the Guldans as soon as they moved forward. We couldn’t simply hand over our son. Despite our great speed, we barely moved three steps before lightning struck. Amalia and I both collapsed, stunned by the blaster shots. Every muscle in my body contorted with painful spasms as electric shocks coursed through them. I vaguely heard Valena cry out. And – Vahl? – make a hissing sound.
“See what you made me do?” Varrek said, sounding slightly annoyed. “Now, you two can also get needlessly shot or you can come quietly with the boy.”
“It’s okay, Vahl,” Zhul’s voice said soothingly. “Your parents are okay.”
The hissing sound continued as Zhul entered my line of sight, complying. He turned his head to look at me.
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t respond. I understood but wanted to scream in rage. Worse, I feared for our child and sent a silent prayer to the Goddess that our unborn child, Vahl’s Gem, hadn’t been hurt by the blast.
Varrek stepped aside to let Valena, Zhul, and our son through, under the watchful eye of his six Guldan guards. Vahl struggled in Zhul’s arms.
“Mama!” he shouted, trying to climb over Zhul’s shoulder. “Vahl!”
Oh Goddess!
They couldn’t be parted! As the Anchor, Vahl needed to remain close to his Gem or the Core, our unborn child would wither and die. And I needed to be close to Amalia, or more specifically to the child she carried. Without frequent contact with their sire during pregnancy, Xelixian fetuses suffered from significantly lower cerebral development. I also needed to inject Amalia with small doses of venom once every other day to strengthen the baby’s immune system and boost its growth.
Panic settled in as they approached the door, but I was trapped in the confines of my own body.
“Vahl! Vahl!” our son screamed.
“Shit… His Gem!” Zhul whispered, stopping dead in his tracks.
Yes! Thank the Goddess.
“Keep moving,” Varrek said, “and quiet the boy.”
“We can’t separate the boy from his parents.”
With an exasperated sigh, Varrek gestured with his head for one of the guards to take Vahl. The guard shoved his blaster in Zhul’s face in warning and ripped my son from his arms.
Vahl roared as loud as his tiny throat allowed. Instead of fighting the guard off, he latched onto him and bit his neck. The guard shouted and tried to pull Vahl off. His shouts became a scream before turning into a gurgling sound. Blood trickled down his shoulders where Vahl clung to him.
Claws!
The guard wavered on his feet as Vahl kept his mouth latched onto his neck. The other guards made as if to intervene but Varrek lifted his hand in a stopping motion. He stared intently at them, a look of morbid fascination on his face. The guard collapsed to his knees, eyes rolling to the back of his head. The Guldan went limp and Vahl finally let go, falling the short distance to the floor. Vahl landed on his feet but his knees buckled and he fell on his bum. Without pause, he got back on his feet. Under yet another threatening hiss from my son, the guard crumpled on his back, still breathing.
Tiny fangs dripping with blood peeked between my son’s snarling teeth.
He’s too young to have fangs.
Xelixian males didn’t get them before the age of five. Moreover, Vahl was also too young to have venom. That appeared around twelve. The guard didn’t spasm or foam at the mouth. I could only assume this meant Vahl’s venom wasn’t toxic yet – just able to stun or knock out. Although my muscles no longer tortured me with spasms, I remained paralyzed, helpless to intervene.
As if reading my mind, Zhul took advantage of the general shock and reached for the unconscious male’s blaster. That snapped everyone from their dazed stupor. One of the guards kicked the blaster out of the way, hitting Zhul’s hand in the process. Another Guldan tackled him to the ground before punching his face, hard.
“Sul!” Vahl shouted.
“No!” Valena screamed.
“Don’t damage him!” Varrek yelled.
Vahl’s head snapped towards Varrek. The look on my son’s face scared me.
The guard got off of Zhul and walked backwards to rejoin his comrades, all of their blasters trained on him. Valena rushed to her mate, checking that he was all right.
Varrek and Vahl faced off.
“Your move, little warrior,” Varrek said with a smirk. “I think you’re all out of venom, and I think you know it, too.”
Vahl tilted his head to the side, as if weighing Varrek’s words and pondering his next course of action. His purple eyes, identical to Khel’s, darkened as he placed both palms on the floor. Varrek’s eyes narrowed.
Then chaos reigned.
Varrek and the five Guldans flew backwards as if knocked off their feet by a powerful blow. They crashed in a mess of bodies and limbs against the wall. Blood exploded out of my son’s nose and ears. His eyes turned white and he collapsed.
NOOOOOO!
I fought the numbness that kept me immobile… in vain. The slow rise and fall of Vahl’s tiny chest as he breathed reassured me that he still lived. However, the Goddess only knew what kind of damage he had done to himself. Seeing that Zhul was okay, Valena reached for my son. Varrek and the guards scrambled back to their feet.
Fixing his clothes, an unreadable expression on his face, Varrek faced Valena.
“Bring him. Any more trouble from any of you and I will make you sorry.”
Valena swallowed hard but didn’t comply.
“Amalia is pregnant with Vahl’s Geminate. The baby will die if they are separated,” Valena said quickly, holding Vahl’s limp body against her chest.
Varrek snorted, and shook his head. His dark gaze rested on Amalia. “Always full of surprises, aren’t you?” Turning to his guards, he said, “Bring her as well.”
“The baby needs Lhor,” Valena intervened. “You know how Xelixian pregnancies work.”
Varrek huffed in exasperation. He looked at all of us in turn then at the door behind him. The frown on his face and clenching of his jaw revealed the inner debate raging inside him. I pondered on what could be the problem. Then it dawned on me.
He can’t bring this many people.
Of course. I couldn’t think of any reason for him not to keep Amalia and me. Even if he was done with whatever medical experiment he had performed on our samples, we remained valuable trading chips.
With another pissed-off sigh, Varrek tapped his com. “Cahla, come tend to the baby. See that he gets better if you know what’s good for you.”
Turning on his heel, he marched out of the room. Two guards dragged their unconscious comrade out, followed by the remaining ones.
CHAPTER 24
Valena
I sat curled up on Zhul’s lap on the couch in the sitting area. He absentmindedly played with the hair at the back of my head. I looked over his shoulder at Amalia and Lhor’s cell. They were lying in bed with their son, watching over him. He hadn’t awakened since his insane display of power last night. Nurse Rosthan, under the protection of Sheb and Ghil, had tended to the boy. She claimed he had only overtaxed himself and tapped out his system. He needed rest to recover.
We weren’t fully reassured by her diagnosis. Although effective, Rosthan wasn’t a brain specialist and had a fairly limited exposure to psychic patients. To our great relief, about two hours later, a veiled neurologist using a voice masking device, appeared on the vidscreen and guided Rosthan through additional tests.
She gave Vahl a shot comprised of proteins, fatty acids, and antioxidants to help replenish his system and boost his brain.
Then she gave him a neural inhibitor.
While an effective method to dampen or nullify psychic abilities, they couldn’t be used on Veredians as a control method because of the negative effects of long term use. The duration of the effects also varied based on too many factors from one individual to another. On Vahleryon, though, even his parents were grateful.
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