Wulfe glared at Cat's retreating back, his fists clenching and unclenching with frustrated rage. The female he'd considered as consort--the female he apparently had taken as mate--dared to betray him by stealing away his children, kidnapping them. One hand around her little neck! No. Too quick. Too clean. She'd pay the price for her lies, her tricks, her honorless deception, but he needed to find out why, and the destination.
Each disjointed thought battled the others for supremacy until chaos reigned. In a macabre way, some things finally made sense, though. Small pieces of the huge puzzle began to fit.
Wulfe slipped around behind the staging area toward the main entrance to the bay. Once, he thought he heard the sound of another's footsteps, but he couldn't locate the source so he continued on his way. He approached the taller redhead as though he'd come from another docking ring.
"Hello, Cass," he said in a casual tone, using the name Catherine--Cat--had only moments before. Try as he might, he couldn't remember this woman, but he intended to give the opposite impression. "Been a long time since I've seen you."
Cass spun around. She reached for the stiletto strapped to her thigh. "Wulfe! What are you doing here?" A scowl formed shallow lines on her face. "You know who I am?"
"Of course," Wulfe bluffed, hoping Cass would drop more information. "Why wouldn't I recognize my own mate's sister?"
"You rotten son of a curra."
"I have only one thing to say to you."
"What?" She glared at him, her mouth set in a hard slash.
"Mention this conversation to your sister, and you will regret the moment you ever heard the name Wulfe Kincade."
"As if I don't already!" Shock and outrage marched over her face. Her jaw tightened in a way so like Cat's that the movement almost unnerved him. "How long have you had your memory back? Or did you ever forget? Why would you do this to Cat? Haven't you disgraced your wife enough for one lifetime?"
With a speed and skill that surprised Wulfe, Cass held her stiletto to his ribs. "You're planning to Abandon her again, aren't you? Do the honorable thing, Brother Wulfe. Take the bonding chains from her waist and thighs, wrap them around her neck and choke the life from her. Death would be preferable to another cowardly Abandonment by you."
The vortex pulled with more force, exerting an overwhelming compulsion to strip him of his sanity. No wonder Cat's face had reflected such stunned confusion when he'd announced his intention to take her as his consort! And what past transgression had Catherine--Cat--committed that he would Abandon her? "You will tell no one of my warning to you."
"What, exactly, is going to stop me?"
"One word of our conversation to anyone, and I will put those bonding chains to use in the manner you suggested--around your sister's neck. Then I'll take you on. The League and Space Corps will suddenly find reason to doubt your loyalty when I see to it they discover you to be a good friend of the Mallochons."
"They won't believe your lies."
"Let's try it, shall we? When I'm done with my tales, the League of Unified Worlds will realize you've used your shrouding and detection capabilities against them. Is that understood?"
"So you know enough to falsely incriminate me." The auburn-haired Cass continued to glare at him. "What my sister found in you, I will never comprehend. Why she still loves you is beyond mortal understanding. Why she would insist the children be escorted home to your parents also eludes me. The House of Burnelle will not accept your actions lightly. Claiming amnesia as a way of Abandoning your mate is not honorable."
Wulfe's heart thudded and then stopped for a soul-rending moment. By the gods! Culver and Burnelle. Dove Burnelle of the Bellon House of Burnelle had mated to an offworlder, the Syllogian ambassador, Aidan Culver. Cat did claim Bellon blood, enough that she'd seen to the children's safety by sending them to Bellona. He'd bonded with a Burnelle! "Perhaps the Burnelle House won't accept my actions, but the House of Kincade will."
"Do not be so certain, Wulfe. Now that Hawke and I have bonded together, too, our Houses are so closely intertwined, they may as well be one. Any insult to Cat--which your Abandonment is--is an insult to me. An insult to me is an insult to my husband--your own brother. Do you wish to cross swords with him? Brother should not shed blood of a brother."
Cass's claim nearly did steal his reasoning then. She lied! If, in fact, he and Cat were bonded, then Cass and Hawke had been forbidden to each other, becoming brother and sister when he and Cat had bonded. Bellon custom dictated this, tradition demanded adherence. How could he trust anything Cass said? "Your words hold no power."
"Perhaps not mine alone, but the Bellon Tribunal will have an opinion of its own, I assure you. When the lawmakers rescinded the old rules and allowed Hawke to claim me as his mate, they bound the people of our world more closely together, made us stronger against Malloch. Your actions to divide our Houses defeat their very intent. One day, the Tribunal will summon you to stand before them."
"One day," Wulfe continued to bluff his way through, "but for now, if you tell anyone of our conversation, your sister will pay the price. Will you carry that burden?"
"I won't risk Cat's life. You've won this confrontation only. I warn you, do not underestimate the women from the House of Burnelle." Cass sheathed her blade, turned her back--a calculated insult--and walked to her ship without sparing one look toward him again.
The personnel hatch to her ship closed with finality. Uhlein's inner seal hissed shut. Wulfe stumbled to a shipping drum, sat upon the container while he tried to absorb everything he'd heard and experienced in the last hour.
CAT STOOD ON the narrow observation platform overlooking the flight deck. She watched the shuttle take Garrett and Morgan away from the Falchion, away from her, away from their father. And away from danger, she reminded herself, the words a mantra. Knowing the children and Fallon would be safe with Cass did nothing to alleviate the painful loss twisting through her.
Cat intended to stay right in this exact spot until she could be around other people without betraying her emotions. One look of sympathy from a single crew member would put her over the edge.
A flash of movement snared her attention. A cutter drew closer against the backdrop of stars. The little craft aligned itself to the Falchion's bay door, made an approach to dock. By the time the cutter touched down to the bay's deck, she'd read the markings. The captain's cutter from the Orion. Wheeler. Cat clenched her teeth in reaction.
She watched him head toward Ellery in the control room, decided she'd better find out what he wanted. By the time Cat reached the main deck, Ellery had left Wheeler alone in the control room and walked over to the just-arrived cutter.
Wheeler, standing behind Ellery's computer console, looked up and saw her through the plazglass. He left the control room and headed toward the main exit.
Cat changed paths and went after him. "Captain Wheeler. What can the Falchion do for you?"
He stopped and turned to face her with a high-voltage smile. "Commander. Seems my timing is off. I came over to tell Fallon goodbye. Actually, I'd planned to ask Fallon if she'd promise not to see anyone else at least until we can put the Mallochon threat behind us."
Wheeler's effusive response grated on her nerves. Dismayed by his intentions toward Fallon, Cat worked to find something to say that wouldn't antagonize him. "You just missed her."
"Chief Ellery said she went over to the station."
"She won't be there long. Fallon is on a tight schedule."
Wheeler's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Oh? Then I'd better return to Uhlein. I did want to go back to my old quarters for a minute first."
"Why is that?"
"I can't seem to find a small keepsake of my mother's. Thought maybe I left it behind."
"I doubt it. Housekeeping would have notified you."
"You've had my quarters cleaned already?"
"Standard procedure, Captain." Cat didn't know if the cleaning crew had been there or not, but she didn't want Wheeler on the ship
for one second longer than necessary. She had the oddest sensation she'd stepped in something nasty and needed to scrape the bottom of her boots.
"Well, if they didn't find anything, guess I'm looking in the wrong place."
"Guess so."
Cat watched Wheeler return to his cutter and launch from the bay. Ellery reentered the control room for a moment, then came out to join her, so she asked, "What was that about?"
"Nothing much. The captain said his cutter gave him a spot of trouble on the way over, so I took a look. Just a loose connection. Took me about five seconds with the sonic wrench."
"Something Wheeler could have fixed himself?"
"Oh, aye, if he had cared to."
The low-pitched tone of her comm tag distracted Cat.
"Culver."
`Catherine,' Albright's stressed voice came over the comm link. `I really need you in medical. Now.'
Cat almost groaned aloud. If it wasn't one bloody thing, it was another. She'd given up the idea of a night's sleep and would happily, greedily accept an hour or two at this point.
Cat sighed, resigned. "What's happened now?"
`We have a situation--blast!--just a minute!--Catherine, I must take this transmission. How soon can you get to sickbay?'
Possible catastrophes whirled through her muddled mind. The alarmed anxiety in Albright's voice pushed her into action. "I'm on my way."
Less than a minute later--the lift gods had looked favorably upon her--Cat dashed into the central chamber of the Falchion's partially remodeled sickbay, propelled by the urgency she'd heard in Albright's voice over the comm channel. She skidded to a stop in front of the doctor. "What's wrong? Something happen to Wulfe? One of our crew injured?"
Albright shook her head. "None of ours. Moira and I need your help. An Erosian ship, the Shania, is on her way into Uhlein. The Mallochons attacked her. Half the crew is dead, the other half is in bad shape and need medical attention."
Unheralded panic swooped in, threatened to engulf her. "I can't--"
"Any healers aboard the Shania are dead. You studied healing on Erosia. I haven't, nor have any of the physicians on Uhlein or any of the ships in orbit. Moira's the only one, and she won't be enough to save everyone needing emergency treatment."
"My empathic abilities are gone, Nora! Vanished as if they never existed." Dread she couldn't contain or categorize rose up in her. Panic choked off her air, jerked her heart around like an out-of-control aeroball. To feel and hear the death screams again--no, not ever again! "I can't. I won't."
"Whoa. I didn't mean to set you off. I tend to think of you as the Bellon who conquered Wulfe, capable of withstanding anything. I thought this might help you regain your empathic ability. I didn't know the situation was so tough," Albright tried to soothe her with syrupy words.
"Why should the situation be tough? Simply because I've warped or broken nearly every regulation Space Corps has regarding command officers? I've lied to half the command brass. I've lied to my own husband. I'm sneaking my children around like they're something to be ashamed of, and narg it all, I've lost the connection to my husband! On top of that, he doesn't bloody remember me! Tough? Not yet, but wait until things really get heated up. Stand back and watch me go nova!"
Cat slapped a hand to her mouth and stared at Albright. She lowered her hand a few centimeters at a time, then used it to brush back an annoying strand of hair from her face. "I have no idea where that outburst came from."
"Stars, I do. Glad you got that out before you popped a vein."
Albright's words only sounded concerned and caring now. Cat shook her head helplessly, embarrassed by her fit of temper, but oddly relieved at the same time once she got past the sense of panic and doom hovering around her.
Moira bustled into the central chamber carrying three diagnostic medical packs. "Uhlein just contacted me. The Shania is docking. Her remaining crew is in dire need. The injured will likely not respond to standard medical methodology. To minimize further trauma and facilitate access, Uhlein personnel are setting up a triage in the bay adjoining the Shania."
Years of ingrained training surfaced in Cat and took command, forced everything else temporarily into the background to be sorted through later. She threw off the burden of futility weighing her down and automatically grabbed a pack. She headed out of medical on a run, called over her shoulder to the other women, "Let's hit it!"
In the station's docking bay, Cat's quick assessment of the senseless destruction of life raised her loathing and bitter anger against the Mallochons to new heights. Erosians--all peace-loving, kind, generous, spiritual people--surrounded her in the temporary triage. Their bodies, bathed in blood and gore, covered with forced plasma burns, broken and shattered, revealed the horrifying depths of Mallochon depravity. The moans of the dying, the stench of burned flesh and pooling blood screamed of Mallochon cruelty.
Medical scanner clenched so tightly her knuckles hurt, Cat stopped and knelt next to the first victim she found with life signs. Such weak signs.
To her left, a frenzied Albright struggled to establish a preservation field around a wounded man. In all likelihood, a fruitless effort, because the victims had gone so long between the injuries and help, but Albright persisted. Medical science could perform many miracles, but once the body degenerated beyond a certain point, nothing could sustain or restore life.
Cat glanced over at Moira. The physician already touched her hand against another victim's temple, guiding the wounded woman into a healing rhapsody. Throat dry, Cat tried swallowing as she strove to find the guts to do the same as Moira. She worked at opening her mind enough to save lives. Enough to feel others die. She shivered with dread.
Cat looked down at the man beside whom she knelt, touched his temple, closed her eyes and fought to subdue her terror. She strained to pry her mind open, to tear down the mental shields. As fast as she demolished portions of the barriers, allowing the victims' pain to leak into her awareness, the barricades rebuilt themselves. Each time the shields came back thicker, stronger, higher, darker than before.
The grievously wounded man next to her expended precious life energy to comfort her by touching the side of her face with a trembling hand. "Thank you for trying. The gods smile upon you."
Startled, Cat looked into the golden-hued eyes shadowed with so much pain. His eyes revealed understanding and compassion for her distress, as well. The realization humbled her, made her feel weak and insignificant. In one large, mind-rending burst, the mental barriers came tumbling down. The agony of all the victims rushed in, swept her away into their hellish suffering.
Unprepared for the harsh onslaught, Cat doubled over. Her forehead struck the deck. She struggled to draw in a breath, fought to sort the overwhelming flood of emotions and physical sensations. Her natural coping mechanisms kicked in, filtering and segregating the sensory input. Only that reflex saved her sanity. Cat touched the fringes of the injured man's mind with hers, made a tenuous connection, guided him along the difficult path to his personal healing rhapsody.
She moved on to the next wounded Erosian. The next. Then yet another, until time held no meaning for her. Only cheating death mattered. Five more of the Erosians died; a woman Cat held in her arms while the Erosian took her last breath; a man who pleaded with Cat to save his wife; three others before she could get to them. Each death haunted her, ripped out a piece of her heart, devastated a fragment of her soul. And strengthened her determination.
Cat finally reached the end of the last row of wounded. She watched through fatigue-blurred eyes as the station's and ships' medical techs and doctors checked and rechecked the Erosians' vital signs. One technician gestured sharply for assistance. Moira sped to the tech's side, worked to restore the victim's rhapsody. Too enervated to stop her own weak momentum, Cat felt herself slump toward the deck in a slow disjointed tumble.
Massive, sweetly familiar arms caught her. Wulfe lifted her, held her against his chest as he strode from the station's bay. Though he
remained silent and grim-faced when she peered up at him, Cat sensed no animosity aimed in her direction. Only his curiosity, concern and unexpected tenderness reached her. For now, that would be enough. She pressed her face against the side of his neck, breathed in the wild, spicy man-scent. She allowed her body to move with his long-legged rhythm, let darkness close around her.
Cat stirred from her daze when Wulfe eased her onto the bed. Their bed aboard the Falchion, some dim and distant corner of her mind realized. Her heart fluttered in weak response.
Wulfe held a glass to her lips. "Drink. Wildfire brandy."
She managed to open her eyes long enough to look into his, wanting nothing more than to stay lost within their dark depths.
"No need for you to worry, Cat. I haven't poisoned the brandy. Much too good a year to ruin that way."
"Ah, well, in that case." Cat sipped, swallowed, gasped as the fire exploded in her stomach. "Needed that."
"Thought as much. Finish the ration." When she complied, Wulfe sat beside her, pillows propped behind his back. He pulled her to his chest, sheltered her in his arms. "Sleep, and regain your strength, for we have much yet to argue and settle between us, my wife. The days ahead will not be easy."
"Wulfe--" Funny. In her exhaustion, she'd mistaken his words to sound like he'd called her his wife.
"Hush. Sleep. I command it."
"Aye, my Lord." Cat melted against him, into him. At least he still seemed to believe they had some sort of future ahead of them. This one moment of contentment must satisfy her for now. She closed her eyes. "But only because I wish to do so."
Chapter 11
FINALLY, WULFE thought, as he felt Cat's little body relax against his. With her soft breathing the only sound, the vision of what he'd witnessed in the station's triage replayed in his mind. The stark images haunted him.
Devoted Deceptions, A 4th Millennium Adventure, Book 3 Page 15
