by Jenny Foster
What was that gurgling sound coming from the Sethari’s throat? Was it a laugh? Sharita’s smile widened into a malicious grin. “Oh Talon,” she sighed, and tilted her head to the side dramatically. “Are you really that naïve? You have seen for yourself what I have to offer here. I don’t just deal in information.” Talon stared at her. His cheeks reddened as a thousand thoughts raced through his head at once. How in the world could he have overlooked something so obvious? A man like Ferthoris surely knew about every serious bordello in the whole universe. Did Sharita and Shazuul really expect him to drop Cat off here like a sack of potatoes? Surely not.
“Second,” he continued, “he won’t show up here without his bodyguards, either.” He already suspected that his argument would come to nothing, because the operator of the establishment was looking at him, shaking her head. “The king – forgive me, your former king – prefers to take care of private matters without witnesses. Unless, of course, the observers are female and willing to take part in his games.” She looked at him, this time without a trace of amusement in her blue eyes. “As a special treat, I will offer to personally lend a hand. Then we can be sure that I am present and can intervene, should that become necessary. Shazuul will be in the room too, when Ferthoris thinks he will be able to try your kitty cat. He won’t have the slightest suspicion.”
“Please, do tell me how that will work?” Talon grumbled. Gradually, he was starting to suspect that he was being confronted with an intrigue that had been in the works for a long time. He looked at both of them and realized that he was ready to hear more, against his own will. Wordlessly, he motioned to Sharita to continue. The woman and Shazuul exchanged a barely noticeable nod, but it didn’t escape Talon.
Sharita looked at Shazuul and rubbed her nose. It was the first sign of any insecurity that Talon had seen today. “What I am going to tell you now, must stay between us.” It was not a question, but a very clear demand. Talon would have loved to ask what would happen if it didn’t, but he pulled himself together. After all, this was about Cat and him, and their future together. He was starting to think that Sharita and Shazuul’s plan was at least better than his own, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t even have to though, because the damned energy vampire could just read his thoughts directly.
“Do you remember when this whole story began? Your kitty cat offered herself to the poker company. That company,” she looked up at the ceiling, as if there might be a clue up there that could help her solve this tricky problem, “just so happens to belong to me.”
“Yeah, I got that,” Talon said. “I am not an idiot.”
“I didn’t say you were,” the woman explained, somewhat irritated. Sure, Talon had just made it clear to her that she wasn’t the only one with a functioning brain. Now Talon could be generous.
“And how does Talon fit in?”
“I told Ferthoris that my partner was willing, and able, to store memories, and then play them in someone else’s head. That convinced him very quickly that he wanted to secure this partner’s services for himself temporarily. Memories, including noises, smells and sensory perceptions can only be replayed if they were experienced before. Therefore, Shazuul needs to be in the room, too.”
Talon’s stomach churned at the thought of Ferthoris touching Cat’s naked skin, and the two business partners working hard to help. Speaking of business partner… “What’s in it for you?” He turned to face Sharita directly. “Even if I am willing to assume that Shazuul here just wants to protect the daughter of his beloved friend, I still know that you aren’t that selfless.” His tone left no doubt that he still hadn’t completely overcome his mistrust of the Sethari, and had no intention of doing so, either. Talon stared at Sharita. “Just give it to me straight, please.”
“I still have some unfinished business with your king. Is that sufficient?”
“Could you be more precise?” Talon demanded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to enjoy this conversation.
“Fine. Ferthoris got a distant cousin of mine pregnant and then deserted her.”
Talon squinted his eyes. “But that isn’t everything, my dear.”
The woman’s baby-blue eyes turned into small, hard marbles. “Let’s just put it this way: She didn’t survive his attention, and I would like to put an end to it.”
Was there another woman, in addition to the Krak woman, who had died? Talon thought about it, but he had never concerned himself much with the king’s affairs. “You have gained his trust, under false pretenses, by dangling women under his nose. I understand.” He was silent for a moment. “Please tell me one thing. Why should I, of all people, agree to my Cat being your bait?” He was leaving Shazuul out of it on purpose. It was difficult to see through the Sethari. His motives were hidden in the shadows, and Talon still hadn’t forgiven the energy vampire for manipulating him. Being Shazuul’s pawn in a chess game and being pushed back on forth on the board – those times were over. Forever.
He thought of something else. Sharita had called Shazuul her “business partner.” That was something else he had to keep in mind. It could just be an unimportant detail (at least, it explained how the Sethari had managed to survive on Earth without being noticed), but it could also be a really important one.
“Why is it so important for Cat to be in the dark about what is really going on?” he asked in his last question. “You want her to be clueless, right? If you want me to play along, I need to know why.”
“Your little girlfriend is a human. She cannot act well enough to play her role convincingly. That’s why it is necessary for her to think that you have really left her and that Shazuul is her only friend.”
Talon frowned. “Fine. I will give her good reason to flee to Shazuul, but only on one condition: you will put me up in this house, as well. If you think that I am just going to leave her to you two, and just wait to see what happens, you would be wrong.
“No problem,” Sharita replied. “Will you be able to stay away from her until the whole thing has played out?”
Talon did not dignify her question with an answer.
And so, the whole thing was decided. It was a risky plan, but he had to admit that their chances of success were better than before. It might be dangerous, but Cat had Shazuul at her side, no matter what game he was playing. Until Sharita had what she wanted, meaning revenge on the king, she would take good care of Cat. At the very least, he himself would be close, even if she didn’t know it.
He would see this through, even if it was difficult.
Chapter 7
Cat looked around in astonishment at the room that the woman with the hard blue eyes had given her. It was dominated by a huge bed, in which three adults, at least, could easily have fit into. There was nothing in the closet that Cat would have worn voluntarily, and she discovered some toys in the dresser that made her blush. She might have tried one or two of them if Talon were with her, but alone… no.
Thinking about Talon hurt. Her stomach churned, and her heart skipped a beat when she remembered when he had walked out on her. He was gone. Cat couldn’t understand what had happened or how things could have gone that far. In hindsight, it almost seemed like Talon had been determined to fight with her. Maybe he had realized that he didn’t love her after all and had bound himself to her too soon. Couldn’t he just admit that he had made a mistake? She tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Now he was out in the streets somewhere. He was alone. Or maybe not? Imagining another woman lying in his arms, burned like acid in her body. Angrily, she threw the oddly shaped thing she was holding in her hands into the nearest corner.
Shazuul had assured her that she would be safe in this house. He and the woman, Sharita was her name, would give her shelter until Ferthoris showed up. Cat was not planning to break the promise she had made to the Krak. Contrary to Talon, she was someone who stood by her word. Damn it, why did her thoughts always return to Talon. Every little thing, every gesture, ev
ery thought made her think of him in her heart. It didn’t help that she had tried to build a mental barrier. Talon was always there. She couldn’t block him out. Sometimes, when she was lying in her huge bed, staring at the ceiling, she could almost feel him. That was, of course, complete nonsense. Just a figment of her lively imagination. Wishful thinking. Nothing more. She had been here for two days now, and the longer she sat around in this stupid and overbearing room, the more she longed for him. If only she had just kept her mouth shut!
Talon. She could see and smell him. Even the pillow she had put over her head, to block out the world, smelled like him. That’s the kind of shape she was in. She was so lovesick that she was having hallucinations about being able to smell him, because that was what was going on. A bad case of lovesickness. Separation fever. Heartbreak. Damn it, now she was really crying! She wiped her tears away defiantly with her shirtsleeve.
The only good thing about this accommodation was the fact that The Red Feather not only had running water, but also a bathtub. At first, Cat had hesitated to use it, because her imagination had run wild when she had first laid eyes on the large and luxurious bathroom. After all, she had no idea who had enjoyed themselves in the bathtub before her. However, after she had seen how clean, even sterile, the rooms were, she gave in to temptation and took the longest bath of her life. Even then, she had, of course, thought about Talon. She imagined herself lathering him up really well, from head to toe.
Now that he was gone for good, he seemed to be closer than ever. It must have something to do with the ritual that had made her his companion. The peace and isolation she enjoyed in her room had one advantage: she could really examine her feelings. In the business of the last few days, she really hadn’t been able to feel the things he had described to her so eloquently. Talon had told her that she would feel his feelings like a soft echo, and sure enough, she caught on a few times that something felt foreign – no, not foreign, because Talon wasn’t foreign to her. That was the wrong word. It took a little while, but then Cat was able to differentiate her own feelings from Talon’s. It was a little like reading minds, Cat thought, only more indirect. Her training at the academy had taught her that when she was looking around in a person’s head, that she couldn’t lose herself in the person’s thoughts and perceptions, and now that training was proving itself useful. She was lying stretched out on her soft bed, experimenting and searching for Talon’s state of mind.
The most surprising thing was that he usually seemed impatient. Every now and then, Cat thought she could sense his longing for her, and her heart would start to race. Maybe there was hope for them, after all! But then the feeling would disappear as quickly as it appeared, and she thought she might have imagined it.
When she wasn’t thinking about Talon or experimenting with their bond, she turned the plan she had slid into over in her mind. Yes, the things Shazuul and his strange friend had explained to her were true: Ferthoris would find her, but here she would be safe from the vengeful king. They had told her that he visited The Red Feather regularly, so he could enjoy himself with the girls – although Cat hadn’t seen a single one of them – and that Sharita had already informed him where he could find his poker bride. As soon as he showed up, they would separate him from his bodyguards, bring him to Cat’s room and overpower him. Shazuul insisted every day that they practice influencing others together. He said he was too weak to manipulate the king on his own, but Cat didn’t believe him. She suspected that the Sethari was just trying to keep her busy until Ferthoris arrived.
Cat didn’t even have to leave her room to learn from Shazuul. All they had to do was set their spirits free, look for a person outside in the district, and then try to implant a thought in him. Cat insisted that it shouldn’t be anything dangerous, so they started with simple things. They made a man kiss a strange woman, and they made a woman buy something she didn’t need at all. Cat could hardly describe the high she felt when she succeeded by herself for the first time. It seemed like her powers were getting stronger in Shazuul’s presence. At first, she envied how easy it was for him to sneak into someone’s head and take a look around, but then, when she noticed that she could be almost as good as he was, all of her envy disappeared, and made room for unbelievable joy. She had never realized how strong she really was.
And that scared her a little, too.
Chapter 8
Talon was practically vibrating with impatience in his little room in the attic. As if it wasn’t bad enough that his intimate bond with Cat tortured him every day, he also had to listen to what the girls were doing with their customers. The walls were paper thin, and every time he heard one of the women purr, beg, or moan, he would think about Cat. He had only made love to her once, and his throbbing and impatient member demanded a second, third, and fourth time. As soon as possible.
The only thing that distracted him from his longing was thinking about the plan. Shazuul updated him every day on Cat’s progress. He grumbled his thanks to the Sethari. Shazuul was teaching Cat how to use her entire range of her powers and was of the opinion that it wouldn’t be a problem for them to put the king in a mental pinch. We implant him thought about zoo, the Sethari said, looking especially pleased. King volunteer go to Krak. Promise kept. Problem solved.
“And then Cat and I can get out of here? Just like that, without any further demands?” Talon suspected that Sharita and Shazuul were keeping something from him, but he didn’t know what it could be. The more he met with the Sethari, the more trustworthy he seemed to Talon. In the meantime, he had to admit that he believed that Shazuul really wanted to protect Cat. At the same time, he was almost one hundred percent certain that Shazuul was holding something back. It might be something unimportant that had nothing to do with his and Cat’s, future, but… well, he wasn’t sure. Every time Talon tried to get to the bottom of it, Shazuul ended their visit or refused to speak. There had been only one time when Shazuul had allowed himself to say something about it. Cat must leave Earth. You make sure. Take her away. As soon as possible. Or big danger. Talon, who was sick and tired of insinuations, bit down on his lip and clenched his fists, so he wouldn’t lose all self-control.
“How much longer?” he asked on the third day. Next door, one of the girls was at it again. He was embarrassed about how much the smacking sounds, and the raw, manly moans that came with very smack, were arousing his imagination. Before he could fence in his thoughts, he imagined exposing Cat’s lovely ass, putting her over his knee and raining his hand down on her firm, white butt cheeks. Not too hard, of course. Just enough to make her tender skin turn red. Then he would kiss the prickling pain away, on her ass and also on…
Shazuul cleared his throat discreetly, and with a jolt, Talon returned to reality. He stared angrily at the Sethari, who shrugged. “Thoughts on Talon’s face,” he said with his rusty voice. “Shazuul not in Talon’s head.”
Right, Talon thought and sighed.
“No demands for Cat and Talon,” Shazuul assured him. Something flew over his small, wrinkly face. Talon looked at him a little closer and squinted. To his surprise, Shazuul looked away.
And then Talon understood.
“You made a deal with Sharita, didn’t you?” he asked and had the satisfaction of seeing Shazuul flinch. In Talon’s chest, disbelief and excitement were fighting for supremacy. He couldn’t sit any longer and jumped up. “You,” he said, forgetting that he shouldn’t raise his voice for fear of disturbing the customers, “offered yourself and your skills in exchange for Sharita’s assistance, and she was all too happy to accept your offer, I would imagine.” His dark voice had dropped by an octave.
Shazuul looked at him, with a look of guilt and pride. This time, he didn’t choose the detour over words that were spoken out loud, and for the first time, Talon didn’t care that the little guy was in his head.
Cat must leave, the Sethari repeated. He seemed to be searching for words, but eventually gave up. Instead, he sent images to Talon.
&nbs
p; A middle-aged man and woman brought Cat to a school. Now she will be occupied, and won’t worry about her brother’s disappearance anymore, the woman said. She reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulled out a silver flask out and took a big swig. Are you sure the boy is far enough away?
The man took her hand and squeezed it. I made sure that he will not return to Earth for the next twenty years, the man reassured her. The woman sighed loudly and tried to take another drink, but the man tore the small bottle from her hands and threw it at the curb. The woman watched with regret as the contents flowed into the gutter.
You know that they hate both of us, she said softly. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
I know how hard that is for you, he said, and took her in his arms protectively. We love them and can’t show it, but we promised to protect them from any danger, even if it might cost us our lives.
The woman sobbed quietly and laid her head against the man’s chest. I don’t care about my life, she cried. My soul… that is a different story.
Come on, Jennifer, think about the fact that both children are safe, he mumbled with his lips into her hair. The day will come when both will find out how much you loved them and what you did for them. I promise you that.
Are you sure that nothing will happen to her at the academy? she asked, hesitating. The Mind Readers are tightly connected to the government, and if they discover what Cat is really capable of, then… Her voice died.
Don’t worry, the man repeated. I know someone who will keep an eye on Cat and take care of her. Nothing will happen to her. Coran is in good hands, as well.
