Wind and Fire

by T. J. Michaels

  He was pleased to see his warriors strategically positioned and keeping watch. Though focused on their duties, many still took the time to kneel down and speak with the curious children who had never seen a Gaian warrior before.

  RuArk even spotted a couple of the giants sneaking a sweet or two to their little comrades. Then, with a conspiratorial wink, they slipped their calm, yet serious expressions back into place and resumed their patrols.

  The men and women of the township had readily accepted his men, who had arrived to prepare the place before Rhia and he rode in. Now it was time to begin getting the people better acquainted with The Protector himself.

  In no time, news flashed through the township that the Protector was in the square and he quickly found himself surrounded. Sharyn, Linc and two fireteams of warriors appeared and took up positions covering his sides and back.

  “Stand down. I wish to meet the people, not scare them away,” RuArk spoke quietly. The twinkle in his eyes took the sting from his words. “Let them come two at a time. And take care, you are so much larger than these Draeman townsfolk, I do not wish them to get broken.” The unexpected jest rolled from his lips. Some of his warriors tilted their heads in wonder, if only for a moment. Sharyn and Linc grinned, but said nothing, and quickly took control. In seconds, the crowd was organized and RuArk held a town meeting next to a huge stone fountain in front of the Society of Justice’s halls in the square.

  By reputation, he was known to be a fierce fighter, but he was also just and fair. RuArk was pleased that both the Draeman, and the Gaian who would newly settle on this side of the river, all voiced their needs and concerns openly and without fear.

  In the midst of a spirited conversation with the senior fellows of the Society of Horse Breeders, it suddenly became hard to concentrate.

  Thinking on his lifemate caused their bond to kick in. A little Rhia-sized spot in his head was suddenly filled with her. Sure, he expected the bond to make him aware of his mate’s general whereabouts, and perhaps strong feelings. But he was not supposed to know that she’d just come awake or what she was thinking. And she was definitely thinking about him. In fact, she dwelled on the memory of his hands blazing trails over her body. The feel of his hard flesh, claiming and filling her. His lips claiming her everywhere between her mouth and her toes.

  RuArk was instantly hard.

  Well, this is new and damn disconcerting.

  As he thought about it, he had to admit to himself that since he’d become reacquainted with Rhia, all kinds of new and interesting things were bursting their way to the surface.

  Good gods, it took an effort to focus, so he forced himself to concentrate on what the Horse Breeders were saying. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when the bond released and winked out. Good thing he’d thought to grab a large drying towel before leaving home because he used it now to hide his burgeoning erection. Promising to have another town meeting soon, he instructed Linc to hear the rest of the petitions and excused himself from the crowd.

  Instead of returning to the estate stables for his mount, RuArk took off at a dead run. He waved to the soldiers standing atop both the inner and outer walls as he passed through both sets of gates. Quickly covering the two-mile stretch to the overlook, he made his way down the steep slope and sank his feet into the cool, coarse sand at the base of the towering mountains.

  He looked up at the rocky formation that stood between the open ocean and the beginning of the river, and his mind drifted back to Rhia. RuArk accepted that he missed her. Actually looked forward to simply sitting and enjoying a cup of coffee and conversation with her.

  He wished she were with him so he could take her around the other side of the mountain gate to where the soaring rock ended and the open sea began. To show her the land bridge suspended hundreds of feet overhead where the mountains had broken and fallen away so long ago, leaving the thin ribbon of rock that connected this side of the river to the other.

  He suspected that Noman snuck into Draema across the land bridge to avoid his warriors who patrolled the Gaian borders on the other side. Though the area he scouted stood outside of Draema province, his warriors would keep an eye on the lands anyway. His mate and their new home was less than two miles away. He would take no chances.

  RuArk shed his clothes and weapons, and placed them close to the edge of the water. After a quick wash, he waded out into the warm blue-green water. Easy waves danced over his body, and he dove deep, with long sure kicks against the easy current. Again, his mind conjured an image of Rhia slipping her long legs around his waist. He could see her so clearly and if he hadn’t been underwater, he may have tried to inhale, just to see if he could smell the gelsoap she lathered through her wild curly mane.

  Five. Six. Ten dives later he still couldn’t get his mind off how responsive she’d been during sex. Then there was her easy smile, her admirably stout heart. Yes, she’d kicked open the door to his heart and walked right on through. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d lost himself to her the moment she’d sunk her well-controlled blade into his pec muscle in a filthy, well-prepared training circle.

  So much for well laid plans. He’d set out to make her need him, not the other way around. Instead, he was... smitten?

  Great Ancestors, was he really? He’d need to come up for air to ponder that one. Making his way back to shore, the smile fell from his face as if someone had taken an ice-cold cloth and wiped it away.

  His long legs ate up the distance and he was back home in no time. But the entire way, he couldn’t help but feeling that something was wrong. He felt it in the air, in his gut. He’d looked back a few times as he’d run. There’d been nothing. No one. Yet his senses stood on full alert. He hated to break the spirit of the festivities that still permeated the atmosphere because of his joining, but whatever was coming, they’d better be ready for it. Anything less was unacceptable.

  He’d have to have a conversation with his First Commanders immediately.

  No sooner had the thought cleared his head, when suddenly Linc came riding up. To RuArk’s surprise, the man was dressed in a one-piece jumpsuit done in the Draeman style, like Rhia’s favorite workout garb. The lightweight looking garb was light gray and royal blue—the first color denoting his allegiance to RuArk’s house and the second, his rank as First Commander.

  “Wind Storm, we have a visitor.”

  RuArk slammed to a half and Linc swung down off his mount to walk beside him.

  “Marth?”

  “No, not yet. They are making their way down the River Dee. He said to expect his arrival any day now. Joan Rouillard, your mate’s good friend, is well.”

  “Good, but don’t tell Rhia. I’ll do it.” RuArk tilted his head to the side and observed his First Commander.

  “The Fire Storm is quite the handful, sir.”

  Linc was right, but RuArk knew this man as well as he knew himself. “But Rhia isn’t what’s bothering you, Linc.”

  “It is probably nothing.” The man hesitated, then said, “But that Ricard person rode in while you were scouting on the other side of the wall.”

  “Ricard? Ricard Shae, the odd brother of my mate’s companion, Brita, yes?”

  “The very same.”

  “So what is the problem?”

  “He said he came to bring Brita her things.”

  RuArk was losing patience. The longer he stood here, the more uneasy he became, yet there was no immediate threat. He sensed no ill presence or strange energy at all. What the blazes was going on here? “So what. Tell the story a little faster, Linc.”

  “Sir, he claims to have brought Brita’s belongings, but Marth was the last of us to leave the High City and he had Brita’s baggage sent before he left. It arrived two days ago.”

  “His sister is here. That is reason enough to visit. Why would he need to lie about coming to Province Springs?”

  “I do not know,” Linc said, “but I do know he is up to something. I can feel it.”

  With a no
d of agreement, RuArk gave his orders. “Watch him, Linc. Closely.”

  “Yes, sir. Right now, he’s getting settled in the barracks. Since he showed up unannounced, your cousin, Drefan, thought that was the best place for him rather than in your house.”

  “Good call. Where is Sharyn this morning?”

  “On Rhia.”

  “Good. By the way, it was very well done of you to ask Sharyn to dine with you last evening.”

  “She did not accept my invitation, Wind Storm.”

  “That doesn’t mean she does not accept you, my friend.” With that, RuArk headed to the stables and Linc went to find ‘the Ricard person’.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rhia closed her eyes and massaged her temples as she tried to get her brain to absorb all the information Sharyn soaked her with. Sigh. It was too early in the morning for anything that didn’t fall into the coffee or physical training categories.

  “Okay, tell me again how the Gifts were lost,” Rhia said.

  Sharyn settled her bow at her feet and relaxed on a firm, sturdy couch. A Houseman knocked discreetly on the door, then entered with a hot pot of rich Gaian chocolate. Sharyn picked up the small pot from the coffee table and poured them both a cup before answering Rhia’s question.

  “Rhia, I have only told the story of our history to you twice. Why do you expect to learn in a few days what takes many people cycle upon cycle?

  “Because, this is important,” she snapped a bit more sharply than she intended. She was starting to stress. Boy did she ever need a workout. “I’m sorry, Sharyn. Now, tell me again, thank you.”

  “After the Great Quakes, what you call the Breaking, the province of Draema managed to get their society back to some semblance of civilization, having sustained less damage than many of the others. People from lands that were completely destroyed traveled to Draema and it became home to many different peoples.”

  “Exactly. It’s why Draeman skin, eyes and hair run the gamut, while Gaian are mostly golden brown with dark hair.”

  Sharyn nodded her head and took another long sip of hot chocolate. “The old Gaian Elders had no desire to abandon our customs, but knew it would be unwise to completely isolate ourselves. Through the treaty of Non-Aggression, we established a relationship with Draema, and the provinces farther to the East, like Maine and Varlmont. The treaty assured our Gaian forefathers that those provinces would respect our desires to keep to the old paths and they would not try to force themselves onto our lands.”

  “Okay, but what did the other provinces get out of the treaty?”

  “The promise that Gaia would not annihilate her neighbors.”

  Rhia’s eyebrows flew up.

  Sharyn hadn’t missed her expression. She smiled with pride, her dark eyes twinkling with just a hint of mischief. “Well, we are the most skilled and feared warriors in the world, as we have been for generations,” Sharyn said with pride.

  Rhia knew her friend wasn’t simply boasting. There wasn’t a single province that would dare go head to head with Gaia, not even Draema, advanced weaponry and all.

  “What about the Gifts and all the spiritual woo woo stuff? It’s hard to believe I’ve never read anything about Gifts or this Source business in any of the histories.”

  “After the Quakes most, including the Draeman, still had the ability to touch their Source, but use of the Gifts quickly began to fade when they began to rely more on their inventions and achievements. They abandoned the traditions that linked them to the land and the Ancestors, from whom the Source is given. All people are born with the ability to touch their Source. Yet if a Gift is left dormant, over time it is eventually lost.”

  Rhia left the couch, and stretched out on the floor on her back. She pillowed her head in her hands and closed her eyes while Sharyn’s soothing voice painted pictures in her head.

  “In spite of what the Gaian considered to be Draema’s abandonment of the Ancestors, we continued to trade with them. We have benefited from many of their accomplishments, but we choose what we wish to integrate into our society and what we wish to keep out.”

  “Like what,” Rhia asked, sitting up long enough to take a large gulp of the hot and sweetly addicting cup of chocolate.

  “For example, iozene gas is used in Gaia, as well as the famous white stone in some of our buildings. Some of the metal alloys are used in our weapons, though we have improved the recipes. However, we do not use the hover machines or eat the man-created food.”

  “What’s wrong with hovers and synthetic food? It’s a faster way to travel. And the food has everything in it the body needs to be healthy, though it tastes like wood. Okay, never mind.”

  “The Great Spirits did not intend for us to float above the ground to travel. Nor did they intend for us to eat food that does not come from the earth.”

  Made sense to Rhia. She’d grown up on synthetic food, but lord, how she hated the stuff. Rhia couldn’t think of anything blander than grain bread and pasty calmonut butter. Well, perhaps paint. She simply ate the stuff out of habit. Now she understood why RuArk had eliminated the serving of synthetic food in their new home. It was simply... unnatural. Besides, it didn’t make sense to eat synth food imported from the central colonies when the natural stuff grew just fine way out here on the rim.

  “So what’s the deal with the flimsy little outfit you guys call clothes? And why wasn’t I required to wear it when I first mated?”

  “The sarand is an expression of our femininity. As you can see, I am a warrior like you, but I am still blessed by the Ancestors to be a woman. I see no reason why I cannot revel in my femininity and still be a carrier of the sword and the bow.”

  “I think I see what you mean. It’s the same reason my uniform is cut differently than the male instructors’. I wanted something that screamed ‘woman’ loud and clear.”

  “You were not required to wear the sarand at your joining ceremony because you were not adopted into our family until the ceremony was completed. And as you saw, it continued for several days. Now the ceremony is over and you will be expected to dress appropriately.”

  Rhia blew the comment off. She knew the queen had left several sarands in various shades of gray, yet she was still dressed in her Draeman uniform. She just couldn’t see herself in the skimpy thing. It was the worst garb in the world for a fight.

  They weren’t going to get anywhere on the subject of clothes, so Rhia was relieved when Sharyn moved on with the lesson. “We will practice touching our Source.”

  Rhia rolled her eyes, wondering if she’d ever get it. Sharyn had been trying to teach her to reach inside herself and feel her Source for the past few days, but she didn’t seem to be able to do it. All she had to do was touch it, then maybe she would discover one of the Gifts waiting on the other side of that touching.

  She closed her eyes, took in a deep centering breath and... Wait. There was a shimmer of subtle heat just out of reach. It felt like a gentle thrum of... something. When she reached for it, it danced away.

  “You are learning quickly,” Sharyn said gently. “You must learn to embrace the Source, not chase or fight it. Even reaching out to it rather than relaxing and letting it embrace you will have the same effect as fighting it. You will learn. It takes time. Do not be impatient.”

  Rhia threw her hands up. “It’s frustrating being around a bunch of Gifted people. The little hairs on the back of my neck keep stirring all the time, and I know people are using the Gifts. It’s a bit uncanny not being able to tell what they’re doing.”

  “I understand. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, let’s do it again.” Rhia stayed exactly where she was, laid out on the floor.

  “Now, reach for your Source...”

  It was early afternoon when she stood and declared herself done with her Gaian lessons for the day. Rhia was beyond restless. She hadn’t had a good physical workout since she’d left the High City. Her mind raced furiously with questions for Sharyn, and her body buzzed with p
ent up energy. She needed, just had to do something.

  Rhia rose, and moved toward the door.

  “I’m going for a ride.”

  “You should change your clothes, Rhia.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve already been through this. You are expected to wear the sarand in the colors of the Wind Storm’s house, which is the same color as your own house of Greysomne. You know this. You should not walk about dressed as you are, nor go without an escort.”

  “Well, I just can’t see myself wearing that thing out of the house. What I can see, is it getting tangled around my legs while riding or fighting.”

  “But you are not to be fighting right now with anyone but myself or the Wind Storm. This is a time for learning.”

  “Aw, come on! This is fucking ridiculous.”

  “Just remember that the warriors and soldiers here are not yours to command. While we must all respect your station as First Heir and Blademaster, the Society of War has no standing in this township.”

  Yes, she remembered. This place had basically become an extension of RuArk’s authority, an embassy of sorts. Sitting on Draeman land made no difference.

  She sighed and backtracked a bit. “Look Sharyn, I’ve been walking around by myself in my province forever. I’ll only be gone a little while. I’ll go ride a bit and come right back.”

  “Not alone and not wearing that.”

  “Yes, mom.”

  “Sarcasm does not become you, Fire Storm.” Sharyn’s words were stern, but the slightest tremble at the left corner of her mouth made it clear she was trying not to laugh.

  “Of course it does.”

  This time Sharyn’s lyrical laugh filled the space. Wanting to get outside more than she wanted to win the argument, Rhia finally said, “Fine. Meet me at the stables.” She ducked out the door and Sharyn’s quiet chuckles followed her.

  ◊ ◊ ◊

  Rhia waited as Moonlight was led out to the courtyard. She spotted Sharyn under one of the large trees just outside the stable doors. She wore a lightweight cloak over a blue sarand artfully arranged over black buckskin leggings. Her long black hair was pulled into a single fat braid, and her bow was slung across her back, as was her custom.