The Chameleon Soul Mate

by Evelyn Lederman

  “I was on a date with him and we were having a great time. The next thing I know, he is dragging me down an isolated walkway. Fortunately, Koel and Tolfer rescued me. They have kind of adopted me as a kid sister. Can you believe, they followed me to the zoo? They did not like that I was dating Raine, there is some kind of bad blood between them.”

  “Thank the Supreme Being they were there,” Sondra commented. “They were probably looking out for Tarsea’s interests, since you are currently dating him.”

  The manager of the restaurant came by with another round of drinks for the table. “Please accept my apologies that confrontation happened in our restaurant. Your lunch is on the house.”

  “Thank you,” Alex said, “that is very sweet of you.” She was grateful for the second glass of wine after the encounter with Raine.

  Things calmed down and all four women started to pick at their remaining lunch. Everyone seemed to have lost their appetites.

  She decided she needed to distract her mind away from the latest episode with Raine Narmouth. After taking another bite, she concentrated on Chartail. The woman had really backed her up this afternoon. All she got was static once again.

  Alex was just about to give up, when she picked something up. “I better stop eating, I have to meet Stephano this evening for dinner here. He really messed things up with Prime Hosp and the assassination attempt. All my hard work and what did I get, nothing!”

  All she could do was stare at Chartail. She needed to get a grip on things and not give herself away. Alex took another sip of wine, a bite of her salad and looked at Sondra.

  She was really torn about what to do. Chartail was part of the assassination plot, yet she just helped her get rid of Raine Narmouth. Two men were dead, she could not ignore what she just heard. The welfare of the Aster Province has to be her first priority, regardless of her personal feelings.

  “Tarsea, we are going to have to cancel shopping for now. I know who was behind the assassination attack. We need to regroup at your parents’ house. Come and pick me up in about twenty minutes.”

  “Alex, do not do anything stupid. Finish your lunch and then meet me in front of the trail we walked on yesterday. It is not far from the entrance to the restaurant. I am heading over there now.”

  “There is something else you need to know. Raine Narmouth came up to me in the restaurant. Chartail and the restaurant’s manager took care of the situation for now. Tarsea, he is not going to just go away I am afraid. Let me finish things here with the girls and meet you.”

  Fortunately Tarsea did not respond to her. It would have only resulted in delaying her executing an exit strategy and meeting up with him. She figured they were going to have a lot of words on the subject.

  “What do you girls do for exercise? I figure with all this great food, I am going to have to get more physical activity in.” Alex pushed back her salad bowl. She needed to get out of here gracefully.

  “We all belong to the same gym. They have great classes. This was fun, how about the four of us getting together again for lunch this time next week,” Jessalyn suggested.

  “I would love that. When Chartail suggested we have lunch together, I have to admit, I was apprehensive. You three are wonderful and I had a great time. I was afraid if I moved here, I would not know anyone.” Alex was not sure if she was going to be able to continue the relationship with the other two women once Chartail was arrested.

  “It is not your fault Tarsea goes through women like someone with an allergy attack goes through tissue.” Alex could not help herself, she laughed at Jessalyn’s comment.

  “On that note, I need to leave. I am looking forward to seeing you all next week.” Alex got up from the table and started walking toward the restaurant’s park entrance.

  She never wanted to get out of anywhere faster than she wanted to leave the restaurant and get to Tarsea. Alex headed for the trail and spotted him almost immediately.

  He opened his arms as she started running toward him. She felt his arms entwine around her and she felt safe again. Raising her head, she kissed him.

  “I want to go home,” Alex shared with Tarsea. They had to deal with Raine Narmouth and figure out what to do about Chartail.

  Chapter 23

  Tarsea walked the streets of Aster Province with his arm across his soul mate’s shoulder. She seemed visibly shaken by what happened at lunch. He held off asking her about Narmouth or who was behind the assassination attempt. He figured she would tell him when she was ready or was waiting to tell the group at one time.

  After Alex had communicated to him that she knew who was behind the attack on Jeryl Jarlyn, he put out an alert through the warrior link that new information had been discovered. Everyone available was making their way to his parents’ home. After he sent out the broadcast, Alex then told him about another incident with Narmouth. They were going to have to do something about the guy.

  He should have kept an eye on the restaurant. After the beating Koel gave Narmouth, Tarsea had assumed the man would have the sense to give Alex a wide berth. It appeared he had some kind of obsession toward his soul mate. He would make sure that someone watched her every time she left the house.

  They reached their destination, just as Darden and Solfa arrived. Tarsea greeted his best friend, while Alex hugged her cousin. Alexandra still did not seem eager to share the information she had uncovered.

  His mother let them in, with concern in her eyes for Alexandra. “Would you like a mug of herbal tea, dear? I know you have just had lunch, but it may help. You look a little pale.”

  Tarsea looked at his little pixie. His mother was right, she did appear a little pale. Alex had been a little flushed in the park from running. He wondered if it was the information she uncovered or Narmouth that upset her the most. The combination of both must be overwhelming her.

  “That would be lovely, Leenea. I had never read anyone’s mind before. I guess it took more out of me than I thought.” Alexandra sounded exhausted. Tarsea led her into the common room and the two of them sat in the lone love seat.

  Within ten minutes everyone except Tolfer was present and ready to hear Alexandra’s report.

  “Before we start discussing the assassination attempt, I want to talk about what we can do about Raine Narmouth. He approached Alex at the restaurant.”

  “He was not involved in the plot, was he?” questioned Starc. There was a hopeful tone to his question. Tarsea knew there was bad blood between his friend and Narmouth. He had his suspicions about what caused the issue, but never pressed Starc about it.

  “I wish,” Alex answered, “that would have killed two birds with one stone. Life is never that easy. What are our options?”

  “Unfortunately,” Darden said, “there is not a lot we can do. We cannot report it to the authorities. Alex does not exist in this world. It would place unwanted scrutiny on her.”

  “It gets worse,” Starc shared. “The bastard is also too highly placed in the Crystal Telepath Guard. I just found out this morning that I will be reporting to him. He cannot just disappear. Nothing would make me happier than having Darden send him to some hell hole of a world.”

  For once in his life he considered leveraging a mind control telepath to take care of the problem. He knew that Tarah could compel him to leave Alexandra alone. It was a true reflection of his feelings for her that he would consider using a practice he had worked his whole life to abolish. Tarsea decided to hold off on that alternative for now. He had to come to grips with his feelings for her and his commitment to the cause. His opinion had always been that any type of mind control was wrong. Where did you draw the line over what was acceptable and what was a violation of someone’s mind?

  “So,” Tarsea conceded, “there is nothing we can do for the time being. We just have to make sure Alex is shadowed by one of us whenever she leaves the ho
use. You also need to hold off on moving in with Norri for the time being.”

  Alex nodded. He was relieved she readily agreed to his dictate on that subject. It was a testament to how much Narmouth had spooked her. She also did not complain about having someone following her at all times.

  “When Alex is working for me,” Solfa joined in the conversation, “I will make sure she has added protection. I do not have to explain why, I will just double the protection we provide our operatives.”

  Tarsea turned to Starc. “Can you watch him at work? Look for anything you can to discredit him.”

  Starc nodded. He knew that Starc would relish the opportunity to discredit Narmouth. Going forward, he would try to pair Starc and Alexandra together when he needed someone to follow his soul mate.

  “All right, Alex,” Tarsea asked, “what did you hear during lunch about the assassination plot?” He was ready to move the group on to the next subject, the reason why they were together this afternoon.

  Tarsea took her hand, knowing she was upset. Her coloring still had not returned to normal.

  Alex looked stunned. She shook her head and appeared to be struggling over what to say. “I was expecting to hear about shopping, boys, and dieting. The last thing I expected, right out the gate, was a confession.”

  Solfa sat on the table in front of her cousin. “Alexia, tell us what you heard. All my intelligence officers have a hard time with their first debrief. Some feel they are being disloyal or breaking a confidence.”

  Alex took a sip from her mug, Tarsea could see she was visibly shaking. It was almost as if she did not want to identify who was responsible, but could not figure out why. She looked up at her cousin, with unshed tears in her eyes. It was tearing Tarsea apart.

  “I first listened to Sondra and Jessalyn’s thoughts. Then I concentrated on Chartail. I heard she was meeting some guy named Stephano for dinner and how he messed things up with Prime Hosp. She thought about all the work she had done resulting in nothing.”

  Everyone in the room was shocked, Tarsea most of all. He had slept with the woman, dated her for seven months. There were several occasions she was on his arm when he met Prime Hosp at a social event. Never for one minute had he suspected of her plotting behind everyone’s backs to assassinate the Prime Ruler.

  “Boy,” the silence was broken when Koel said, “I was not expecting that! Tarsea, guess she does not talk in her sleep.” Leave it to Koel to make a snide remark related to this news, he was going to kill him.

  Tarsea was about to rip him to shreds when Alex started to laugh. She got up and went to kiss Koel on the cheek.

  “God,” Alex exclaimed, “I needed that. I love you, Koel. Never change. You always put things in perspective with that smart mouth of yours.” Koel put one of those goofy smiles on his face.

  Tarsea felt he must be feeling more secure in his relationship with his soul mate. Had Alex kissed Koel just a few days before, he probably would have killed his friend. It seemed natural now for her to feel for his friends and family as he did.

  Solfa brought everyone back to the discussion about what Alexandra heard. “Does anyone know who this Stephano could be? Tarsea, was there any indication that she was upset with her father or the government?”

  Tarsea shook his head. “I am as surprised as everyone else. Chartail is the last person I would have pegged as the mastermind of an assassination plot. She always appeared so shallow. So much for appearances. I guess I never really knew her.”

  Alex started laughing again. “Were they going to outlaw bright colors?” Tarsea knew her laughter was relieving the stress she had bottled up. Alex lifted her hand, indicating to the group, she was getting herself under control.

  His soul mate seemed to have gotten over her giggles. “I am so sorry. I agree with Tarsea, she is the last person anyone would have expected. Maybe that is why she did it.”

  “What do you mean, Alex?” Starc asked.

  “Perhaps she just got tired of just being someone’s beautiful daughter or girlfriend. I know my friend Shirl discounts what anyone says if they start out telling her how beautiful she is.” Alex got a faraway look in her eye. She was probably thinking of Shirl and worrying about how she was doing.

  “Her father is a powerful man in the government and a mind control telepath. I have seen him ignore her when she said something.” Solfa considered what she had said for a moment. “To be truthful, I have done the same thing when we talked at social functions. It never dawned on me that she would be so impacted by people dismissing her.”

  “She is always surrounded by men whenever I see her,” Darden shared with the group. “This Stephano could be one of her admirers she was able to manipulate.”

  “The man bashed in Prime Hosp’s skull,” his father shared his feelings with the group. “That is certainly taking things to extremes. I am certainly glad my boys have grown into two strong minded men.”

  His father threw compliments out rarely. Tarsea was going to have to share what his father said with Tolfer when he got home from teaching.

  “All right,” Tarsea continued, “we need to discuss the next steps. Alex, did Chartail’s thoughts include where she was meeting Stephano tonight?”

  “Same place we had lunch. I gather it is her favorite restaurant.”

  Tarsea figured at this point he was going to give orders through the warrior channel. He did not want Alexandra involved in the next phase of the operation.

  “I will go with Starc to the restaurant and listen to their thoughts. Once I have confirmation, Solfa, you will take over in your official capacity.”

  “Oh my God!” Alexandra exclaimed, temporarily stopping Tarsea from giving further orders.

  “What has happened?” He looked at his soul mate and the shocked expression on her face. It was a different kind of shock than before. She almost looked excited.

  “I can hear what you are saying in the warrior channel. Not only am I an intelligence officer, I am now a warrior!”

  Once again, Tarsea swore under his breath.

  Alex at first could not believe she was able to link into the warrior channel. Actually, it made a lot of sense. It was her intelligence that was going to bring down the remainder of the people responsible for the attempted assassination of The Prime Ruler. It also reinforced she had done the right thing in ratting out Chartail.

  She could feel Tarsea’s body tense next to her and he swore under his breath. He always did that when he thought he was losing control. It surprised her how well she knew this man already. Alex knew that he wanted to keep her safe and this has been just another obstacle in his pursuit to do that. She was going to have to help him manage his frustration related to her expanding role in this group.

  “I am not going to go crazy and demand to go on every mission you put together.” She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. “However, I want to be involved in what you are planning and help out where I can. Don’t worry, I am too much of a coward to do anything stupid.”

  That seemed to pacify Tarsea, at least for now. He went ahead and continued the meeting. “We will go back to talking, as well as using the warrior channel. Alex, I think you have used your telepathic abilities enough in the last couple of hours. Give that part of your brain a rest of the time being.”

  She nodded in agreement. There was no question she was drained. “I do have one comment on your plan so far. If I remember what you said, you can only read one mind at a time. Both Chartail and Stephano will be there, so we need two people. That means I need to be there too. I will leave when Solfa is ready to take action. Trust me, I want to be long gone when the arrests are made.”

  “By The Prime! Alexandra, you are not making this easy on me. Was not the incident with Raine Narmouth enough to have you be more cautious?” Tarsea complained using the mating link.

&nb
sp; “I know, but I am right. The arrest can be postponed until I am out of the restaurant and out of harm’s way, if you would like. You can work out your frustrations when we are in bed after all of this is over. Trust me, I learned my lesson related to that scum ball!”

  Tarsea grinned at her, men were so easy to manipulate. It was clear she was now part of the operation. “Alexandra and I will have dinner at the restaurant. Once we get additional information regarding the plot, we will turn things over to Solfa.”

  Alex could see that Koel was struggling with the plan, she hoped it was not because of her.

  He spoke up. “I think Chartail will be set off seeing you and Alex together in the restaurant. Since it is going to come out that Solfa and Alex are cousins, they should be the ones dining in the restaurant. We can start chatting about their relationship in the communal channels. You and Starc can be in the bar area. Just before Solfa is about to arrest them, he can get Alex out of there and bring her here.”

  Alex liked Koel’s plan. It got her involved, but also gave her an escape route. There was a lot more to this man than the ridiculous comments he made on a regular basis.

  Solfa looked at Koel and smiled. “Your plan is sound. Chartail will be distracted if the two of them are together. The plan also gets me close to the action, as well as safeguarding my cousin. Koel, Tarsea was right about your tactical abilities. I am impressed. We need to talk when this is all over.”

  She looked at Alex with that direct stare of hers. If Solfa wasn’t her cousin, she would have been unsettled by that look. “When we are out on the town together, Alexia, I need you to stand out. No one should even get an inkling that you are part of my network.”

  Solfa got up and grabbed a package behind the couch. “Your aunt and my mom went shopping today and bought you this.” She gave the package to Alex. “It is one of many presents you will be getting to celebrate your coming home and missed birthdays. The outfit is also appropriate for the second dinner seating. I have a feeling that Chartail and Stephano’s meeting will be around that time.”