Devoted Deceptions, A 4th Millennium Adventure, Book 3

by Cherie Singer

  `I didn't speak to her directly. We received a relayed message. Cat, listen to me.

  Cat turned away from the screen, too many terrifying images hurtling through her mind.

  `I said listen! Raptor and I will backtrack from here. We may not be able to contact Cass, but Hawke might be in a position to respond to communication. Are you still at Uhlein?'

  Her numbed mind didn't want to function. Cat shook her head, tried to clear away the fog. "I, uh, I think we left Uhlein a few minutes ago. All the refitting had been..."

  `Cat, look at me! You'll have to contact the station immediately. Find out if Fallon and the little ones are still there. Do you understand me? Garesh! Let me talk with Wulfe!'

  "Wulfe!" Wulfe had decided! Cat's mind cleared at once. "By the gods! He's the one! Your son has stolen my children!" A scream of pure, focused rage erupted from her. "Computer, terminate comm link! Location of Wulfe Kincade?"

  Captain Kincade is in his office.

  Good. Then she wouldn't need to worry about splattering his blood on any innocent bystanders. She tore down the corridor and barged into Wulfe's office. She nearly trampled the Chief Engineer. "Chief Sutton, unless the engines are ready to blow, come back some other time."

  Sutton nodded quick acceptance of her order. "I can wait."

  Cat rounded on Wulfe before the doors slid shut. "How the bloody hell did you manage to pull this one off?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Where are Garrett and Morgan?"

  "What do you mean? You sent them off with your sister."

  Numb, Cat could only shake her head.

  "What's Cass done? What did she do with them?" Wulfe stood abruptly, a look of contempt on his face. "I warned her."

  "She never had them!" Cat shrieked. "You said the plans had been changed. Now I want to know who you gave the children to!" Cat groped for the back of a chair as his words sank in. "What do you mean, you warned Cass? About what?"

  "My parents--"

  "Don't have them, as you well know! I just talked with Kestrel. She got a message from Cass saying you had changed the plans for the children. I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, Wulfe, but I swear you'll pay! You won't admit to my face that Garrett is your son, or that you fathered Morgan with another woman, but the second my back is turned, you spirit them away! Who the narg do you think you are?"

  Wulfe landed in his chair with a thud. "Another wo--Creator, what--you think I'm responsible for their disappearance?"

  "Hell, yes!" Cat stared. Wulfe's dark bronze complexion turned a terrible shade of sickly gray that could never be faked. His eyes held an emptiness that seemed to go straight to his soul. The bleakness nearly did go that far, she realized, when she opened herself enough to feel the tumult of his clashing emotions. Dammit, now her teeth were chattering again. She felt overwhelmed by cold. So cold, and so powerless. "It really wasn't you."

  He kept blinking when he looked at her, as though he couldn't truly focus. "I thought Cass--"

  Sweet Creator, he didn't know where the little ones had been taken! Cat screamed. Rage and terror erupted from her throat, echoed off the bulkheads and deck around her.

  Shocked by Cat's wild actions, Wulfe vaulted over his desk. He caught her against his chest before she could dig more bloody furrows into her arms with her fingernails. His own heart thundered in response to her agony, an anguish that had nothing to do with physical discomfort. He held her tight against him until her screams subsided into hoarse, wordless sounds of denial and grief, a mother's tormented lament.

  The door to the corridor slid open. Albright and Lyon stood within the framework. Trepidation and concern marked their faces. "What's going on?" Albright demanded.

  Lyon rushed toward Cat. "Commander Culver, you're bleeding! You've been injured!"

  Wulfe swept Cat into his arms as her legs collapsed beneath her, keepig her out of Lyon's reach. A warrior is strong--a warrior is strong--a warrior is strong--the mantra kept repeating in his mind while he made himself believe. "We--our children--it's possible someone's taken Garrett and Morgan."

  Albright nodded slowly. "Catherine made arrangements with her sister to take them to Bellona on her ship."

  "No." Wulfe cradled Cat against his heart. He tried to still her trembling while he fought to keep his own stark fears at bay. "Apparently Cass never saw them. Either Cass received a false message saying we'd changed our minds, or my mother received a false one claiming to be from Cass."

  "Or both," Lyon added bleakly.

  Wulfe absorbed Lyon's simple words and wondered at the extent of the planning involved in the disappearance of the children. "Gods, they could be anywhere."

  "Captain," Lyon said, "with your permission, I'll do a security sweep of the Falchion and contact Uhlein's commander."

  "Yes. Lieutenant, have the station's commander hold all ships presently docked or in orbit until each vessel has been checked. I want our children found!"

  "Aye, Captain." Lyon stepped back into the corridor and turned away.

  Albright entered the office all the way. "Catherine?"

  Wulfe shook his head when Cat didn't respond. "She's in shock, I think. Can you do something for her, Doctor?"

  "You don't look so hot yourself." Albright snapped open her medical scanner, took readings from Cat, then Wulfe. "Both of you exhibit signs of shock, though Catherine is far worse." She adjusted an autoinjector, held the device to Cat's neck and released a dose. "This will keep her calm enough to think, but she should lie down until the medication gets into her system."

  Wulfe led the way through the side entry into his quarters, then settled Cat on one of the loungers. If someone had purposefully created this pain, Wulfe intended to exact his own brand of revenge. After he covered Cat's lower body with a blanket, he turned to face Albright. "Who is Morgan's mother?"

  "Why would you ask me a thing like that?" Albright passed a small autohealer over Cat's upper arms, closing and healing the blood-filled furrows her nails had left in the honey-bronze skin.

  "Doctor, do not insult me by responding to my questions with more questions. You are obviously aware my memory has begun to return. I know Garrett and Morgan are my children. Cat is not Morgan's mother, but, for the moment, I can't remember who is."

  "I consider it unlikely that you would remember Morgan is yours without remembering the mother." Albright powered down the autohealer, replaced the small device in her medical pouch, still not looking at him. "Highly improbable, in fact."

  "Are you calling me a liar, Doctor?"

  "No, but you're stretching the daylights out of the truth."

  "Stop it, stop it," Cat commanded. She pushed herself up and gave the cover a weak toss. "Nothing--absolutely nothing--takes precedent over locating my children. If you two would rather argue, fine. Just do so somewhere else and stay out of my way."

  "Feeling calmer, are we?" Albright seemed to gauge Cat's reactions, then moved aside to allow her to stand.

  Wulfe searched Cat's face and demeanor for any sign of the panic she'd given in to. He found only an icy calmness that went far beyond what Albright's medication should provide. Cat set her jaw with a grim determination he easily recognized as Bellon and a smattering of cold Syllogian logic.

  For the first time he could remember, Wulfe wished he had that renowned, detached control the Syllogians utilized. His own emotions seethed just beneath the thin veneer of civilization he enforced. Fear the children would be harmed. Rage at the person responsible. Concern for Cat's emotional and physical well-being. He'd do what he must to protect his family and reunite them. The conviction brought a calmness all its own, along with a sense of unexplainable and unexpected rightness.

  Wulfe's comm tag emitted a low tone.

  "Kincade."

  `Lyon here. Negative on the sweep of the Falchion. Uhlein's commander has initiated a search of the station and surrounding vessels....'

  "What's the worse news?" The security chief would have begun h
is report with the best possible information.

  Cat threw him a sharp look. Her jaw tightened even further.

  `The station's logs indicate at least fifty ships have left Uhlein's docking rings, the station's orbit, or passed within transport range in the last twenty-five hours.'

  "I want ship registries and captains' names."

  `Gathering the information now, Captain.'

  "I'm going to leave you alone," Albright said once Wulfe broke the link with Lyon. "You have a lot of territory to cover while I begin a new litany of prayers. If I'm needed for anything, or if I can help with the search in any way, call. I'm more than happy to lend a hand."

  "We will, Doctor." Wulfe turned toward Cat.

  She watched Albright leave. A forlorn, lost expression shadowed his mate's features.

  Wulfe wanted to...what? Tell her everything would be all right? He needed to believe that, but had no proof, no way to convince himself, and Cat didn't need empty little platitudes. He held out a hand toward her. "Cat?"

  She gave him her hand. His heart filled with an emotion so deep, so bottomless, the feeling left him speechless. Despite everything, his love for this woman continued strong and true. Wulfe brought her hand to his mouth, kissed each cold fingertip, then pressed her palm to his heart.

  "Wulfe, you asked Nora about Morgan's mother."

  "Aye, but if you'd rather not discuss her, I understand."

  "I'm not certain if you do understand. Nora didn't want to explain to you about Danelle because she felt it might damage your chances for a full recovery. I don't think she realizes you've put some of the pieces together. Or that we've had some of the discussions we have."

  "You mean our shouting matches."

  "Aye. Seeing as how I said what I did, I owe you something of an explanation."

  His heartbeat leapt at the remote possibility that all of Cat's deceptions had been founded in some basis other than spiteful or selfish deceit. "I'm listening."

  "That's not always the case, now is it?" Cat gave him a tight, tortured smile. "Danelle Morgan, who happened to be your consort in addition to being Morgan's natural mother, died last year. She was a mining engineer. Initial reports stated she'd been killed in an accident at one of the mines on Tazane."

  "Initial reports. What really happened?"

  "A Mallochon killed her because she mistook Danelle for me."

  "The Mallochons again."

  "Aye. Now, I'm the only mother Morgan has. I am her Oath Mother."

  Wulfe blew out a breath, taken completely off guard by her news. "You swore a Mother Oath with someone I took as consort?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?" Such an undertaking usually involved loyalty and love. He hadn't dared to hope for that much.

  Cat touched his temple with her free hand. "When we bonded as mates, did I not vow to protect what is yours?"

  "That is part of the bonding ceremony."

  "Morgan is yours." Cat lowered her hand. "Besides, Danelle had ended her relationship with you, and I respected her honesty. Actually, Wulfe, I liked Danelle very much. Even if I hadn't, the child should not suffer because of the parents."

  "My wife, you are a remarkable woman."

  "See? Your memory is coming back to you." She managed a taut half-smile, slipped her hand from his. "We have much to do. If you'll contact your parents and explain what's happened--gods, your poor mother! She must think I've lost my mind--I'll talk to mine." The planes of her face shifted as she struggled to remain calm. "Father should be at the League Embassy on Space Station Central. Mother is on Erosia, trying to find more Seekers."

  "Seekers? Explain."

  "Cass's ship--"

  "--can be shrouded," he finished for her. "So if she's in a situation where her ship is ghosting, she can't return a communication to us without betraying her presence. She also has the ability to detect Mallochon vessels that are ghosting."

  "Yes, by using a Seeker." Cat looked at him with a puzzled expression. "How is it that you remember such technical aspects, but fail to recall anything to do with emotions or of a personal nature?"

  Wulfe slid his hand around the back of her neck under her hair. Her skin felt tender and warm. "Truthfully, I didn't remember. I overheard you and Cass talking in Uhlein's bay."

  Cat studied him a moment, as though reading and evaluating an image on a computer screen. "That explains the feeling I had. I felt as though Cass and I were being watched."

  Wulfe stopped stroking the back of her neck. "I felt the same thing. Perhaps someone did watch you. Maybe all of us."

  "Then they could know the capabilities of Cass's ship. She could be in real danger herself. If, by some Creator's blessing, Garrett and Morgan are with Cass, then they are in as much danger. Perhaps someone wants us to believe they are somewhere else instead of on the Moon Maiden. Make sure your parents contact Hawke immediately to tell him. He's probably in the vicinity of the Devil's Graveyard, where Cass planned to go."

  "We'll send out a general message in case they've moved on or changed plans. Cass and Hawke. That's another story I want to hear--and remember this time--once we've brought the children home. Use the comm unit in here. I'll go back into my office and use that one. By the time we've talked with our families, Lyon should have the information we need from the station."

  "Agreed." She looked up at him, her wide amber eyes haunted with a sadness that shredded his soul.

  Wulfe leaned down, kissed her, gently, tenderly, meant as a vow. "I swear, the children will be returned safely," he whispered against her lips, "or I will die in the trying."

  "I'd prefer you didn't die on me." Cat clung to Wulfe for a moment, took what comfort she could from his nearness, hoped he could gather some from her.

  She watched him leave the quarters to enter his office. She sensed the emotions created by love and caring, but they warred with the other feelings in him. Anger, resentment, confusion, grief. More emotions--among them, relief and loneliness--joined her own inner chaos of fear, love, anger. Why couldn't they make that final connection, the all-important bonding link?

  Cat kept all the emotions under firm control, locked away in a dark corner for the duration of the three-way conversation with her parents. The discussion garnered the expected result. Predictably shocked and outraged--and in her father's case, coolly calculating and logical--each parent pledged a sizeable amount of help from Syllog and Erosia. She sighed, frustrated with feeling helpless. If only she could think of something effective the volunteers might do. The only way to keep her sanity now was to concentrate on gathering information.

  "Come," Cat responded to the sound of the door chime.

  Mykal Lyon entered Wulfe's quarters, held up a pair of tiny data chips. "I've split the roster of ships into two lists. One contains all the Space Corps vessels, one has all the non-Space Corps. Any preference?"

  "Wulfe knows the Space Corps captains and should be able to spot any type of deceit. I'll take non-Corps, see if I can sense anyone being less than honest."

  Lyon placed the appropriate crystal in her palm, wrapped her fingers over the data chip, then closed his hand around hers. "Good choice. Anything else you'd like me to do?"

  "I hate to say this, but take over my duties with the pilots, on top of your own. I don't know how long this search will take us."

  "Consider it done, my Lady." Lyon released her hand. "I will do anything needed to help find your children."

  "I know." Cat stood next to him, circled her arm around his upper body as he put his arm over her shoulders. Such a good friend with none of the complexities of her relationship with Wulfe. "I haven't the faintest idea what I'd do without you, Mykal."

  "Try to imagine," Wulfe's deep voice grated from the office doorway. His hand hovered over the hilt of his stiletto. "Every time I turn around, I find you getting cozy with my mate, Lyon."

  Jealousy and resentment broadcasted from Wulfe in prickly waves of agitation that forced Cat to either reinforce her mental shields or succumb to
the crippling emotions herself. She couldn't afford that, not now, and not without risking an unleashing of her fears. She strengthened the mental barriers.

  Lyon withdrew his arm when she stepped back. "I make no explanation or excuse for my friendship with the commander, and certainly no apologies." He tossed the other data chip to Wulfe. "A list of Space Corps ships leaving the vicinity of Uhlein."

  Lyon hesitated, glanced at each officer. "Uhlein has found one disturbing thing. The remains of a body. Initial identification states only a young female Earther. Their medical department is doing an autopsy and DNA match. I took the liberty of providing them with Fallon's records. We should know soon. If there's nothing else, I have duties on the flight deck."

  "Dismissed, Lieutenant." Wulfe nodded pointedly to the door then turned a baleful eye on Cat. "You have something to say?"

  "You could have handled that differently," Cat said after Lyon left. "I sincerely wish you had."

  "I did not wish to do so." He bit off each brittle word with overt savageness.

  "Obviously. Wulfe, if that is Fallon's body, the children are probably by themselves among strangers. Morgan will be so frightened. Who will care for Garrett?" Fear threatened to squeeze her heart from her chest, shut down her mind, freeze the very blood in her veins.

  "We will find them."

  "Do you remember Morgan or Garrett at all, other than the last few days?"

  "No. Though if you had bothered telling me the truth, I might. Have you always had so little faith in me, wife?"

  Cat's heart contracted in a painful knot. She intentionally ignored his question. "I do remember, every single moment I've ever spent with the children." She stabbed a finger at the data chip he held. "Are you helping with this or not?"

  "Aye." Wulfe glowered at her a moment, then turned away, went into his office.

  Wulfe's failure to remember--she sensed no deceit from him in response to her direct question--tore a chunk right out of her soul. What if Wulfe never regained the memory of their son's joyful conception or birth? Would he be capable of giving Garrett the love and guidance the precious boy deserved?