“I don’t know why,” Faith said with a shrug, carefully not moving her left shoulder where Bubbles sat. “It’s not like you can read my mind.” She paused, her eyes going round. “You can’t, can you? Read my mind, I mean.”
“No, we cannot read your mind,” Tristan said, smiling. “I confess, there are times I wish we could, but we can’t.”
Faith relaxed. The door opened and two white coated young men entered, pushing carts in front of them. They quickly transformed the meeting table into a dining table, complete with a linen tablecloth and candles. Tristan guided her to a place at the end of the table and pulled the chair out for her. Faith sat down, then lifted the cover from the plate before her. She grinned at the tiny glass dish holding finely chopped steak for Bubbles. Even though the Falcorans were rewarding Joseph in a big way, she was still determined to find something that she could do for the thoughtful man herself.
“This is for you, Bubbles,” Faith said, picking up the small container and looking around, frowning.
“What are you looking for?” Gray asked.
“Somewhere for Bubbles to eat,” she said. “She’s cute and all, but I am not letting her sit on the table while we eat.”
“Here,” Gray said, pulling an empty chair away from the table and moving it next to Faith. “She can sit here.”
“Thank you, Gray,” Faith said. She set the small dish down on the chair, then held her arm out so that Bubbles could walk down it. As Bubbles dug into her dinner, Faith turned to her own. She glanced up at the viewport and saw what they now knew was a jump point to Sheara 3 in the distance.
“I wish I could see meta space through images,” she said. “That would take so much less time.”
“We won’t have to do as we did this past week,” Gray told her. “We’ve taken careful readings of the new jump points, as well as the Doors created by the Xanti, both opened and closed, and sent them to Sheara 3 a couple of days ago. They’ve begun searching their system, and will have a list of the most likely spots to look when we arrive. It will certainly require time to visit each spot, but that won’t be a problem. It will take most of the day for the entire task force to pass through the jump point anyway, so it’ll give us something to do besides sit and wait.”
“That’s good,” Faith said, relieved. “I just wish I wasn’t so stupid. If I could do more than simply point it would sure be easier for you guys to find what I see.”
“First of all, lack of knowledge does not indicate stupidity, and you are far from stupid,” Jon said. “Secondly, I think we may have solved that problem.”
“Really? How?”
“It would be easier to show you,” Jon said. “After we finish our meal, this room will be transformed. Since you must be able to see out a viewport in order to identify anomalies, and since your identity and abilities are classified, we’ve decided to transform the Observation Deck into a restricted working area for the four of us. By the time we depart in the morning, it will be ready.”
“It will be a nice place to work with that view,” Faith said.
“On the subject of Arimas and Rami,” Jon said. Faith looked at him expectantly. “I have a suggestion. Mind you, it is a suggestion only. If you don’t like it, we can discuss the matter, as you asked.”
“All right,” Faith said, wondering what he had in mind.
“The Gryphon Consuls had to make an unexpected journey to Earth a few months back,” he said. “To pass the time, they began compiling a booklet containing information specifically for new Arimas. It has proven to be extremely useful, particularly for those women staying at Arima House. I’ll give you a hand terminal with the booklet on it. You can read it at your leisure, and we will be glad to answer any questions you may have.”
“That would be fantastic, Jon, thank you so much,” Faith said with real excitement.
“We must ask for your word, Faith, that the information you read is never repeated to anyone who is not themselves an Arima,” Tristan said. “There are many secrets of our race that we do not share with anyone save Clan Jasani, and Arimas.”
“You have my word, Tristan, of course,” Faith said. “But if you’re not supposed to tell me things, then maybe I shouldn’t read it.”
“You are our Arima, Faith,” Gray said. “As such, you have a right to this knowledge.”
“Thank you,” Faith said. “I appreciate it and, again, I promise I will never share a word of it with anyone.”
***
Faith changed into her pajamas and climbed into the big bed where Bubbles waited on an extra pillow. She put another pillow behind her and turned on the hand terminal Jon had given her after dinner. A moment later she was looking at a file entitled For Arimas Eyes ONLY
An hour later she turned off the hand terminal with a yawn and set it on her bedside table. Bubbles was stretched out on the pillow beside hers, snoring softly. She grinned at the strip of bright red fur, then turned off the lamp and laid down.
She’d read about the destruction of the Jasani home world, and their attempt to keep their race alive by mating with human women. Unfortunately, that had stirred up a few unpleasant memories. She tried to push them back, telling herself over and over that one event had nothing to do with the other, but by the time she fell asleep she hadn’t been able to convince herself.
Faith stared at the bronze plaque engraved with her twin sister’s name, and their shared birth date. Just above Grace’s name was their mother’s name, and above that, their father’s. So many deaths in the past year. How had this happened? She set her teeth grimly. She had her suspicions. Not about Grace’s death, though. The Director had been quite clear on that, once they’d found her on Terien where she’d been hiding since shortly after her parents had died. Hiding because she didn’t believe that her parents died in a freak ground-car explosion at all. They’d been murdered in an attempt to lure her away from her hiding place on Jasan, and it had worked.
They’d very nearly caught her. But she’d been late, her taxi having to find another route to the church for the memorial service due to an accident on the road. Faith had been looking out the window, uncertain whether her blurred vision was due to the rain on the glass, or the tears in her eyes. She blinked, clearing her vision just as a tall blonde figure dressed in black, standing beside a tree outside the church, turned just so, catching her eye. Cinthy.
“Don’t stop,” she’d ordered the driver. “Don’t even slow down. I’ll double the fare.”
The cab passed the church without hesitation, Faith scooting down just a bit as she watched Cinthy glance at it, then away. She let out a slow breath, her heart pounding so hard she wondered if she might have a heart attack.
“Take me to the spaceport,” she said to the driver.
“Double fare?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Faith replied. “Just get me there as fast as you can.” She hated missing the service, especially since it had been delayed to give her time to return from Jasan. But there was no help for it. She’d call Grace from the spaceport and tell her why. Grace would understand. She only hoped her parents would, too.
Now, as Faith stood before the marble tomb that held the ashes of her family, her eyes fell on the blank space below Grace’s name. Space that was waiting for another name. Whose name would be engraved next? Her own? Or her younger sister’s?
She felt a sudden sharp sting in her arm and looked down, frowning in confusion at the shiny metal dart sticking out of her flesh. She started to reach for it, her mind just beginning to process what it was. The sound of her own mental screams chased her down the dark tunnel of unconsciousness.
When she awoke her head was pounding and her mouth tasted like sawdust. She sat up slowly, every muscle aching, wondering how long she’d been lying on the cold cement floor.
“About damn time you woke up,” Cinthy said.
Faith looked up and saw her former friend sitting in a chair just a few feet away from her. She started to get up, but Cinthy held up
one hand, stopping her. “Remain where you are if you don’t want a harsh lesson in staying put,” she said coldly. Faith subsided, her eyes meeting Cinthy’s.
“Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you?” Cinthy asked.
“A while,” Faith said, her voice raw and rough.
Cinthy grimaced. “Yes, you could say that. You ruined my life, Faith. My life, and my brother’s life. I owe you for that, and I intend to pay this bill in full.”
“I ruined your life?” Faith asked, anger rising within her. “That’s rich, Cinthy. You decided to steal from the museum. You chose not to leave even one guard on the damn door, or the stairs, or the elevators. You pulled out a laser gun and shot me three times with it. How is any of that my fault?”
“My brother is in prison because of you,” Cinthy said, refusing to hear the logic in Faith’s words.
“Because of me?” Faith asked. “He killed Mrs. Henders, and a cop. I was on the floor bleeding out when it happened, so I don’t know how you can possibly lay that on me.”
“You named him,” Cinthy insisted. “You told them he did it.”
“I didn’t know he did it,” Faith replied, suddenly tired. “I was almost dead at the time. I didn’t tell anyone he did anything.”
“If you had done what I told you to do, and stayed in the lounge, everything would have been fine,” Cinthy said, her voice rising.
“That’s not true either,” Faith argued. “Mrs. Henders was on her way to the Basement anyway.”
“Stop arguing with me!” Cinthy screeched. She sat back in her chair and took several deep breaths. “It’s your fault, Faith,” she said more calmly. “All of it. Your fault that my brother suffers as he does. Do you know what they do to young, good looking men in prison?”
“No,” Faith replied.
“Well, you’re about to find out,” Cinthy said.
Three men came forward, stepping into the small pool of light that surrounded Faith and Cinthy. Faith looked at them, realizing after a few moments that they were the guards in the museum basement that day. One of them sneered at her, the other two laughed, and suddenly Faith knew exactly what Cinthy had meant.
Faith sat up in bed, the sound of her own scream still reverberating in her ears. She reached for the lamp on the bedside table and turned it on, relieved to see the room around her just as she left it. She felt something tickle her arm and jerked before she realized it was Bubbles. She looked down into Bubble’s big, sad eyes.
“It’s okay,” she said shakily. She lowered her hand and let Bubbles climb into her palm. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I didn’t mean to. It was just a dream.”
Bubbles stared into her eyes for a long moment, then leapt lightly onto her shoulder and rubbed against her neck while purring soothingly. After a few moments Faith laid back down, but she left the light on. Her eyes grew heavy and seconds later, she was in a deep sleep.
Bubbles raised her head and looked at the door for a long moment. Then she curled her body around Faith’s neck, continuing to purr softly. She stayed that way the remainder of the night, watching over Faith as she slept.
“I’d hoped that Bubbles would prevent her from having nightmares,” Gray said.
“She only screamed once this time, and it seems to have been what woke her up,” Jon pointed out. “That’s an improvement.”
“And it was far easier to put her into a deep sleep than usual,” Tristan added.
They stood in the hall outside Faith’s door for a few more minutes, checking on Faith and Bubbles. Satisfied that Faith was beyond nightmares and that she wouldn’t wake up again till morning, they started to return to their own rooms.
“Let’s talk,” Tristan said, stopping Gray and Jon before they reached their own doors. They both turned around and followed him into his room. He closed the door behind them, and they all went to the sitting area and sat around the table.
“I’ve been reviewing that information we gave to Faith,” he began. “By the time she’s half way through it she’ll have enough knowledge to understand our story without us having to give her long explanations.”
“You want to tell Faith what happened to us?” Gray asked, shocked.
“I’m considering it,” Tristan said. “I want to know what you two think about it.”
“I think we should,” Jon said at once. Gray nodded. “I agree.”
“I assumed that much,” Tristan said wryly. “I want to know your reasons, and please, don’t tell me its just because she’s our Arima, or that our mating fangs descended, or because our sexual urges are growing stronger by the day. I want an answer that isn’t based on physiology.”
“Do you remember how you felt when Faith said she didn’t want to be our Arima?” Gray asked. “Do you remember how angry it made you?”
“Yes,” Tristan said reluctantly.
“You felt insulted,” Jon said. “You felt as though you, personally, were being rejected. It didn’t matter that you were doing the same thing to her. It still felt bad, and you still got angry.”
“And your point is?” Tristan asked. Jon was right, but Tristan didn’t like being reminded of his feelings, or his behavior.
“My point is, what makes you think she doesn’t feel the same way? She doesn’t want to be mated, for reasons we have yet to learn. But we’ve made it clear we don’t want her, either, and that must hurt at least on some level.”
“You suggest that we tell her so that she understands our feelings are not a rejection of her, specifically,” Tristan said.
“Yes,” Jon replied. “It’s the least we can do.”
“And maybe, just maybe, she’ll share her story with us in return,” Gray said.
“You make a good point,” Tristan said. “I will think on it.”
Jon and Gray stood up, knowing the conversation was over. As they left their elder brother’s room and went to their own, they were both feeling cautiously hopeful. It was beginning to look as though Tristan would change his mind about claiming Faith. Then the only obstacle would be Faith, herself. But they would cross that bridge when they got to it.
Chapter Nineteen
Faith awoke early the next morning, knowing there would be a lot of work for her to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. She gave Bubbles a snack from the packaged food Mr. Fray had supplied to hold her over until breakfast, cleaned her litter box, then grabbed a quick shower and dressed. Bubbles gave her a sad look when she left her hair down, so she put it up in a pony tail again, receiving a chorus of tiny popping kisses on the cheek.
“You’re going to see a lot more new people today, so if you change your mind, let me know,” Faith said. Bubbles popped a few times, then draped herself over Faith’s shoulder. Faith grabbed the vox Tristan had given her and left her room, pulling the door shut behind herself. Then she stood in the corridor, nonplussed as she realized she had no idea where she was supposed to go.
She wondered if she should try voxing one of the Falcorans, or if she should just get in the elevator and try each floor. Or deck. Or whatever they were called on a ship like this.
She heard the elevator doors opening half way up the corridor, and turned toward them in time to see Gray and Jon step out of the elevator alcove and walk toward her. She smiled and hurried to meet them. “Good morning,” she said. “I was going to join you guys for breakfast but I don’t know where to go.”
“Yes, we just realized that,” Gray said, smiling. “Come on, we’ll show you.”
A few minutes later they were all sitting in the cafeteria eating breakfast, along with about a hundred crew members. Faith noticed the surreptitious looks she’d been getting from the moment she stepped through the doorway, but she was trying to pretend otherwise. Bubbles picked up on her mood though and became tense and wary until Gray coaxed her onto his shoulder and spoke with her softly for a few moments. When he gave her back to Faith, she was calmer, and ready to eat the minced chicken Joseph had prepared for her.
“What did you say to her?” Faith asked.
“I promised her that we would not allow anything to happen to you, and that she could relax because all of the people here were of our tribe.”
“Tribe?” Faith asked.
“To her, a tribe is a family group,” Jon explained.
“I see,” Faith said, looking around at all of the men in the room. She sincerely hoped that the Falcorans were right.
“I assume we made it through the jump point to Sheara 3 safely?” she asked, searching for a new subject.
“Yes,” Tristan said. “About three hours ago. The Shearans have already given us a list of five areas that may be what we’re looking for. Two are possible Doors, one a possible jump point, and two they are uncertain of.”
“Sounds good,” Faith said. “How much time do we have before the rest of the task force joins us?”
“Most of the day,” Tristan said. “We’ve mapped the marked areas, and estimate we’ll have just enough time to finish.”
“Well, I guess I better get busy then,” Faith said, putting her fork down. She finished her juice and looked to see if Bubbles was done eating before putting her hand down so the raktsasa could climb up her arm. Since the Falcorans had started eating earlier, they were ready to go when she was and they all stood to leave. Faith felt a surge of relief once they were out of the cafeteria that the Falcorans picked up on.
“Why were you nervous in the cafeteria?” Jon asked.
Faith shrugged. “Not used to a lot of people watching me, I suppose.”
“If you prefer, you can have your meals delivered to your room,” he offered.
“No, thanks,” Faith said, tossing a quick smile over her shoulder at him. “I can’t hide in a room forever. Don’t worry, I’ll get used to it. Just give me a couple of days.”
“Certainly,” Jon said. “But we do ask that if anyone aboard this ship does or says anything that makes you uncomfortable in the slightest degree, that you let us know at once. Even if it’s just a look.”
Faith’s shoulders relaxed even as tears stung her eyes. She nodded her head quickly. “I will, thank you,” she said, then cleared her throat and took several deep breaths to compose herself. She didn’t notice the speculative frowns that passed between the men escorting her.
The Falcoran’s Faith Page 16
