by Mara, Devi
He jerked himself away from her. It was far harder than it should have been. He cleared his throat and his eyes scanned her flushed face. She licked her lips and her eyelids fluttered open. He stared at her, unable to remember what he wanted to say. Her eyes clouded, as her gaze left him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He did not feel the usual irritation at her apology. He frowned. "That can not happen, again."
She nodded hurriedly.
His eyes dropped to her lips, and he had to drag his gaze away. "The relationship between a Dem and his marked is one of mutual respect."
"I understand. It won't happen again. I don't know-"
He lurched forward and captured her lips. The draw was stronger the second time. He fought to keep his grip gentle, his lips just short of bruising. She whimpered, and he nearly lost control. He pulled away from her, breathing hard. Her dazed eyes rose to his. He cursed.
Chapter Fourteen
The Place Between
"You are distraught," he told her. "Your mind is not on your actions." He did not look at her.
She gave him a weak nod.
He hovered for another moment, as if he would add something, then he turned and stalked away.
She watched him until he vanished through the door to the stairwell.
"Ms. Mackenzie?"
She tipped her head back to look at Eitad. His eyes held what appeared to be concern. She forced a smile.
"You are well?"
"As can be expected." She ducked her head and let herself into the hotel room.
She pressed the door closed and slid down to the floor.
"Ms. Mackenzie?"
A wave of something threatened to overwhelm her, but she choked it down. "Yes?"
She heard Eitad and Mahdi speaking quietly just outside the door. One of them, she thought it might be Eitad, snapped in a foreign language. A moment later, someone tapped the door lightly.
"Ms. Mackenzie, do you require anything?"
She bit her lip, and whispered, "No."
The doorknob twisted and the door bumped against her back.
"Ms. Mackenzie. For what reason are you sitting on the floor?" He frowned down at her.
"I'm...tired," she finished lamely. She cleared her throat at his dubious expression. "Do you think I could visit the hospital?"
He looked away. "The General has expressed his desire for you to limit yourself to the hotel."
She clenched her jaw and nodded. "I understand."
He continued to stare at her. "Would-" he broke off and glanced toward the hall. "Would you care to converse?"
Sarah blinked up at him. "Are you allowed?"
He gave her a curt nod.
She slowly climbed to her feet. "Then, yes." She added, "Thank you," as he helped her out of her coat, and hung it over the back of a chair.
He nodded. "Do you have a preference of topic?"
She wandered across the room toward the sitting area. "Can you tell me about marking?" She heard him sigh.
"My ki- my general has given me permission to speak of it."
Her head popped up, and she stared at him. "When?"
"Before he left."
"Oh." Confusion buzzed through her mind. "What is Marking, exactly?" She turned to face the window, vaguely aware of him settling in the chair across from her.
"The transference of the ator to a worthy being of another culture," he said, as if reading out of a book.
She nodded. Her eyes moved over the cloudless sky. "And what makes a person worthy?"
He paused. In his silence, she remembered the king's words. Warriors, kings, leaders of men. She shook her head at herself.
"It is an ancient tradition," Eitad started. He seemed to take a moment to think, before he continued, "The general is far older than myself, from a time when Dems marked those who were considered suitable as advisors and battle companions."
Sarah glanced at him. "But, I'm neither one of those."
He appeared perplexed. "True."
"Far- the general said the relationship between a Dem and his marked is about mutual respect."
Eitad nodded. "Yes. I assume over time a sort of fondness may develop, but it is ultimately a bond of respect and convenience."
"Oh." She rubbed her fingertips over her lips. "What happens if a Dem decides he doesn't want to be bonded anymore?"
His gaze jerked to hers, and she got the impression she said something wrong. He shook his head. "That is not done."
"Ever?"
He moved his dark gaze away from her. "No."
"Is it possible?" She watched his brows draw together.
"It is." A disgusted look crossed his face. "Only one Marking has been reversed, the Dem separated from his Marked."
Sarah frowned. "That doesn't sound too bad."
Eitad stared at her. "Survival is impossible. For the Marked."
"I don't understand."
"The ator is..." he seemed to search for the correct term, "ripped from the Marked. The body violently seizes, all systems fail, and the Marked dies."
Sarah stared at him in horror. "That's terrible." She could not suppress a shiver.
"It is. That is why we do not speak of it."
"But why didn't anything happen when I was suspended?"
His eyes moved to her, then quickly away. "That was not a reversal of the marks, but the effects were not pleasant."
She turned to face him. "What do you mean?"
He visibly swallowed. "I am unsure it is my place." His eyes darted around the room nervously.
"Please, tell me? You said the general said it was okay." She could see him waver, before he nodded.
"As you say." He took a deep breath. "The effects of separation begin with the Dem, with the Marked feeling very little. It is not until the separation has lasted more than five days, the Marked begins to feel ill."
"Ill?" She questioned.
He nodded. "Yes. Though I have heard stories about strong bonds, in which the Dem felt pain within two days."
She frowned in thought. "What kind of pain?"
His lips pressed into a straight line. "I have heard it compared to disembowelment."
Sarah grimaced. "But Far- the general didn't feel that. We were apart less than two days."
His eyes did not meet hers. "In most bonds, the mild pain would begin after three days."
Sarah nodded, then bit her lip. "Why does the Dem feel it before the Marked?"
He glanced at her. His lips quirked into a small smile. "You ask very thoughtful questions, Ms. Mackenzie." He continued, "The ator is fractured when a Dem marks their chosen. When the ator is incomplete it is...unstable."
"Oh." She tried to digest the information. Her mind spun. "So, is that why the Marked's healing ability takes a while to start working? The...ator has to settle?"
An odd expression crossed his face. He coughed. "Yes. It is the reason a Marked is not free to wander before the bond settles. A mortal wound will not heal."
She tipped her head to the side. "How long does it take to settle?"
Eitad shifted. "Years."
"But, I did. Farran said our bond wasn't even strong. That's why we had to..." she blushed. "Why we had to be in contact."
The Dem would not look at her. "It should have been impossible." He shook his head. "It has never happened." He suddenly stood. "I will gather refreshments for you."
Sarah stared at him. Her eyes widened when he hurried from the room, and pulled the door closed with a soft click. She frowned in confusion. After a moment of silence, her mind began to replay the conversation. He had never answered her question about the effect her absence had on Farran. She pursed her lips.
Her eyes moved to the window to watch the grey clouds move in from the south. Her gunshot should not have healed. She pondered the idea for several minutes, trying to decide what it meant. If that were true, Farran lied to her about their bond. She scowled.
...
"You are content to l
eave your marked unattended?"
Farran glanced at his brother, feeling Tradis' attention turn to them. He sighed. "I am."
"You think the human could defend itself?" Lonan sneered. He crossed his arms over his chest and scanned the edge of the forest. "It will yield to any threat and die like any other undersized prey animal.
Farran bit back a snarl at his brother's words, and glared at the forest. "She is stronger than she appears," he forced out. He tried to ignore Lonan's incredulous stare.
"She appears to be the runt of the litter."
He shot his king a dark look, but did not comment.
"General!" Farran let out a mental sigh, as Captain Azzan approached. He gave him a sharp nod.
"Speak."
Azzan bowed to Lonan, then gave Farran and Tradis and quick nod. "We have discovered a break in the line."
"Explain." Farran ignored his brother's amused huff.
"A tracker noticed a trail from the north east. It leads to the edge of the city." Azzan dropped his gaze at the look Farran gave him.
He turned to his second. "Take your battalion and sweep the city. The other stays in place."
"As you say." Tradis gave Lonan a quick bow and met his eyes in a nod, before he strode away.
"If it pleases my king," Farran gestured toward the city.
Lonan sent him an unreadable look, but fell into step with him. "It would please me if I could speak with you, brother."
Farran gave him a curt nod, eyes on the street ahead. He noticed the king's guard fall back from the corner of his eye.
"Your behavior is not as I remember," his brother said under his breath.
"Banishment is a trying experience," he offered by way of explanation.
"Yes, I suppose it is." There was something vulnerable about his brother's words.
He turned his head to scan his face. Lonan glared at the ground, and for a moment he saw his brother in his youth. A gawky young man, with a shock of white blond hair and innocent blue eyes. He sighed.
"My king-"
"Lonan," his brother interrupted quickly. "I- I don't not want this space between us."
"I see." They walked in silence for several minutes, before his brother spoke again.
"I have never seen you behave with another the way you did with the hum- your marked."
Farran frowned, but did not meet his questioning gaze. "I do not know of what you speak."
Lonan stopped walking. "I would almost believe you have fondness for it."
Farran scowled. "Her." He paused, when his brother made no move to continue walking. "Why the interest?"
"After you-" he broke off. He looked so unsure, Farran had to force himself not to reach out. "After the banishment, father explained the situation. How you..." He visibly swallowed. "How you chose the humans over your own."
Farran scowled. "Is that what father told you?"
His brother nodded.
"It is not true, Lonan. My loyalty has always been absolute." He met his brother's eyes. "I did not set you aside."
Lonan's eyes brightened. "Then, you have decided to take my offer."
"It is complicated." He glanced toward the nearby houses.
"It was never complicated before. Do you not remember the Leagins? When they set upon me, you and I returned with the army and-"
"I remember everything," Farran cut in.
"Then why, when it is you who have been betrayed by humanity, will you not allow me to-"
"The situation is not the same."
"It is! You will not allow me to aid you, because you think-"
"Please, do not finish that thought," Farran sighed.
"Then, is it that human who makes it complicated?"
Farran started to answer, and paused.
"The human is manipulating you! First to mark it, and now to spare its worthless species." Irritation began to bleed into Lonan's tone.
Farran cast him a sharp look. He started toward the city. "The Marking was unintentional," he admitted.
"You could reverse it," his brother insisted.
Farran froze. A wave of revulsion swept through him. He turned his head to glare at his brother. "I do not believe those words came from your mouth."
Lonan had the grace to look ashamed. "Is it not better than the alternative? Would you choose to mark such a creature? It will be your destruction. Surely, you must-"
"You do not know her." He strode past the first row of houses, to step onto the outer road. His brother hurried to catch up.
"I do not need to know the human. They are all the same, and none of them can be trusted. This Keane, the parents of your Marked. You are making the same mistake twice."
Farran ignored him.
"Your marked comes from a long line of treachery, you cannot believe it has not inherited-"
"She, and you are wrong, brother." He glanced at his brother's scowl, and shook his head. "She is what I saw when I first admired humanity. When I chose to save them."
"When you disobeyed father," Lonan spat.
Farran gave him a long look, but nodded. "Yes."
"You are wrong and you are foolish to believe you possess more wisdom than our father."
"He is blinded by his fear," Farran spat.
Lonan's eyes widened. "You would not say such things if it were not for that human."
"I would," he argued. "The years have left him jaded, and unable to see past the potential for evil." He paused on the sidewalk and spun to face his brother. "He saw only the negative, and you are well on the way to being the same."
His brother clamped his mouth shut. An expression of pain crossed his face, before he blinked at it was gone. "You could have been king," he growled. "You should have been king! Yet, you set aside your responsibilities, you birthright, for a race that hates us!" He shoved at him.
Farran stepped back to avoid his brother. "You make a fine king." His quiet words seem to enrage his brother.
Lonan's eyes blazed. "You fool! I never wanted to be king."
Farran started to reply, when one of his soldiers jogged around a corner.
"General!" The Dem came to a stop in front of them. His eyes went from Farran to the king and he quickly dropped into a bow. "General, we have discovered one of the intruders."
Farran ignored his brother's furious expression. "And?"
"There are two others, sir. One of city guards and Keane, himself."
Farran eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Anything else?"
The Dem's gaze flicked to the king. "The humans were able to communicate with the others."
"In the city?" Farran demanded.
"Beyond."
...
"Come with me." He glanced around the room at his men, and turned on his heel. Tradis fell into step beside him.
"General," Tradis acknowledged, as they descended the steps of City Hall.
"I have a request." He caught his second's nod from the corner of his eye. "Far beyond anything I have asked of you previously."
"I understand."
"Keane is in the city."
Tradis paused, then lengthened his strides to catch up to him. "I see. You would like me to exterminate him?"
Farran almost smiled. "Yes, but that is not what I am asking." He paused on the sidewalk in front of the hospital and turned to face his second.
Tradis' eyes went to the door and then quickly to his face. "You want-" He broke off, and for the first time in six millennia he appeared mildly alarmed.
Farran nodded. He jerked open the door and silently crossed the lobby. Tradis followed at a much more sedate pace. His lips twitched in amusement.
"General, I am unsure..." Tradis' trailed off, as he stepped inside the hospital room behind him.
Farran raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"
His second visibly swallowed. "I understand the necessity, but I do not-" he broke off and his eyes moved to the human on the hospital bed. "You believe it will be as it is with your Marked?"
He gestured towar
d the still man. "We shall see."
"If it is so..." Tradis rounded the corner of the bed.
"Then, the weakness of my marked shall be no more."
Tradis leaned over the human, hands still at his sides. A mixture of curiosity and unease filled his eyes when he lifted them to his. "You are certain."
"I am." He watched Tradis nod, seemingly to himself, and grasp the humans arms. He stepped back quickly.
"Take a seat." Farran watched his second all but collapse into the chair beside the bed. He smirked.
As they waited, he allowed himself to study Sarah's brother. At the offset, they looked nothing alike. Where Sarah was petite and pale, her brother appeared tall and lightly tanned. He scanned the man's face for any familiar features. The same nose, he decided. He tipped his head to the side.
From the death certificates in City Hall, he knew Sarah shared a birth date with her brother. As twins, he expected more physical similarities.
"They differ greatly in appearance," Tradis said, jerking him out of his thoughts.
"Yes. I was just pondering the few similarities." He started to continue, when the man let out a quiet groan.
The human, John Mackenzie, shifted under the thin hospital blanket. A moment later, his eyelashes fluttered. Farran felt himself tense in preparation of the human's reaction. When the dark eyes finally opened, John simply stared up at the ceiling. Tradis shifted, and the human's gaze snapped to look at him.
Farran watched John's eyes widen. His mouth opened and closed several times without any words escaping. He finally let out a dry cough.
"Who are you?" His voice was surprisingly deep.
Tradis looked away from the human to meet his eyes. He nodded.
"Colonel Tradis."
"A Dem," the human rasped. His gaze turned to scan the room and settled on him. "And you?"
Farran could not help but be impressed by the human's composure. "General Farran."
John nodded. His eyes suddenly narrowed. "Sarah Mackenzie?" When he did not immediately answer, the human sat up. "Sarah Mackenzie?" he demanded louder.
Farran raised an eyebrow. "What of her?"
The human tensed. "If she has been harmed, so help me-"
"Calm yourself, human," Tradis interrupted.
John jerked his head to glare at him. "I don't care who you are, I will-"
