by C B Williams
Wait! No. Not Kalea. She would never act this way! Not saying a word, and greedy, grasping hands? Rough when Kalea was gentle?
“No.” Genji sat up and captured the hand reaching for his erection. “Wait.” His voice was hoarse to his ears. “Not like this.” He reached for the solar lamp he had placed by his mat and turned it on.
She blinked at him, her wild hair flying all around her. “You do not want me?” She sounded more angry than hurt.
“I want Kalea,” he answered softly. “And you are not Kalea.”
Makini hissed, tore her wrist from his grasp. She paused at the opening. “You will regret this, I promise you,” she said hotly before disappearing into the night.
Genji groaned and flopped back on his mat. What a strange, emotional place this was. Without looking, he reached for the lamp and switched it off. He settled back onto his pallet and waited for the dawn.
Ululani emerged from the shadows, satisfied Kalea had chosen well. She did not know what Makini was planning. She had suspected a seduction, and from the way the girl flounced out of Genji’s hut, she knew Makini had not succeeded. She sighed and slowly returned to her silent hut. What was she going to do with her tempestuous children?
Haku chewed on a caro root while he leaned against a palm tracking the path of a breeze ruffling the king’s pond’s surface. It wasn’t to everyone’s taste, the caro, but he enjoyed its sharp, bitter taste, and the way it relaxed him yet kept him sharp, especially when he drank too much Ferment and wanted to clear his head.
He’d arrived early so he could do just that. He needed a clear head. Tonight he was meeting the men he had handpicked for the next stages of his plan, men who shared his vision. He would have liked to have at least one more warrior who could change into the Nuri form, but with the fire sticks, it would be enough.
Unfortunately, the only other Nuri in the village were his mother and siblings, and only Makini could be trusted, but she didn’t fight. Besides, she was monitoring the crystal miners. In a way, he decided, it was good he was the only shifter. He would command more respect because he could change.
He chewed and spat. But his eyes still felt heavy-lidded, so he chewed some more.
Once he and King Akamu conquered King Rafa’s tribe and exacted revenge, he would have proven his warrior skills and his ability to rule to his tribe. He would show compassion by killing only the warrior who delivered his father’s killing blow. The others he would banish, or sacrifice to the Goddess; he hadn’t decided.
Then, when he had overthrown his mother and the lands were divided, he would take command. He would bring back the old days, expand his territory, rule with harsh penalties like the times before his father. He knew his mother to be weak, and now he wondered if his father had been weak as well. Perhaps love made one weak.
The idea of love made him think of Pika. He bore the Goddess mark. Why did the Goddess pick such a weakling to be Her lover?
Perhaps she had a need to dominate, he mused.
Haku snorted and tossed the root aside. He heard his comrades coming down the path.
His head was clear, his plan formed.
Revenge would be very sweet, and it would be soon.
Chapter 14
Revisions
Makini woke early, shifted, and flew to the mining site.
Last night her mother had taken her aside and told her the marriage to Likeke would be pushed forward. The queen had met with King Rafa, and they decided a marriage with The Ancestors as witnesses would be very fortuitous.
So soon! So very little time to make a plan.
Makini ground her teeth.
Last night, she had gone to The Ancestor Genji, Kalea’s chosen. She had planned to seduce him, convince him to take her with him. How she had yearned to see her sister’s face when Makini told her she would be going with Genji when he returned to his starbird!
But it didn’t work. He had already chosen.
She released the fire, which had been building.
Below her, a scrubby tree burst into flame.
It gave little satisfaction.
She landed outside the perimeter, behind tall shrubs, where she shifted in private. She arranged the pareo she’d brought with her in an inviting yet demure fashion. Next, she finger-combed her heavy hair, plucked a red blossom that matched her pareo, and tucked it behind her ear. When she was ready, she stepped out from behind the shrubs and through the invisible barrier.
It always startled her how thoroughly the sound was blocked. Huge machines dug into the lava, belching smoke as they dumped their loads onto sorting belts, which sifted through chunks of lava, dirt, and plant matter to expose the crystals. In just a few days the pile of crystals had become a hill. Soon it would be a mountain.
She scanned the worksite, looking for Grale, and spotted him sorting and grading the crystals. With a secret smile she had spent many an hour practicing, she crossed over to him. She would seduce by allowing him to believe he was the seducer. She was an expert at it. Hadn’t she had a lot of practice back home?
Grale watched the woman undulating seductively toward him, her skirt swinging with each step as she made her way across the rocky terrain. It still amazed him she could walk it barefoot. And so silently. And slowly.
He’d seen her move faster. Much faster, but he didn’t mind her taking her time picking her way daintily through the rubble. He caught glimpses of her legs through a slit in the dress thing she wore. She had the most beautiful legs. Long and lean. Just the way he liked them.
When she was closer, he noticed the flower tucked behind her ear and her expression. The little wench planned to seduce him. Pleasantly surprised, he was curious to learn what had changed her attitude toward him. Absently, he switched on the translator box and stood to greet her.
“Makini,” he said. “Do you bring news from Haku?”
She shook her head and gave him an enigmatic look. “I’m here to satisfy my own curiosity.” She stopped and looked up at him.
She was tall, but he was taller. He guessed she might like that. He could feel the heat from her body as she stepped even closer.
He grinned. “Curious, are you?” He saw her mouth curve as she looked at him through lowered lashes.
She nodded. “I am. Very. I’m curious to see how you mine the crystals and how you live. It is so different from the way we live on Longwei.”
His grin widened. “Well then, if that’s what you’re curious about, I’m your man.” He took her arm and guided her away from the dig site and the noise.
He caught sight of Jocko as he led her toward their only shuttle. “Take charge, will you?” he said. “The men will need a break in twenty. I should be back by then.”
Jocko raised an eyebrow and nodded, for once keeping his thoughts to himself.
“Would you like to see the inside of a shuttle?” he asked her.
“Oh yes!” she said. “My sister has been in one. Even on a starbird. I’d like to be able to say I’ve done the same.”
“Your sister, you say? Been on board a ship? When did this happen?” He was under the impression his was the first ship to have discovered this planet. It wasn’t on any navigation charts.
“Only a few days ago. The Ancestors have returned.” She made a face. “I don’t see what all the excitement is about. They’re talking about feasting for days. Dancing, wrestling competitions, even inviting the neighboring tribes.” She made another face.
“The Ancestors? Who are they?”
“Ancestors. I don’t know what else to call them. They came from a distant world to live here. The Goddess was angry that they’d come, so she destroyed everything they brought with them. Then she took pity and made us from them.”
Genetic modification he surmised. Planet seeding. Nothing new there. The Ring used to do it all the time. But the goddess bit was an added twist. “How long will these ancestors be staying?”
“I don’t know. The Goddess hasn’t decided if they will stay or go.”<
br />
“And who is this Goddess?”
She took his hand and compared it to her own. “The Goddess is the Goddess. Longwei.”
Longwei he mused as he laced his fingers with hers and kissed the back of her hand. The old woman had called herself Wei. Did she take advantage of the locals’ naiveté? Did she create a mythology to get these people to work for her? He watched Makini lower her eyes. Pretending innocence, the little tart. “What does Longwei look like?”
“The Goddess is beautiful.” She glanced up and simpered. “I am told I look very much like her.”
Not Wei then, the dried-up old crone.
They had reached the shuttle. “Only a very few are allowed to be in here,” he explained as he led her up the gangplank. “And only me and Jocko have access to it.”
Her eyes were round as she looked around. “It’s solid and bulky. How can it even fly?”
He laughed. “Very easily. Engines. Solar powered...” he reached for her hips ”...thrusters,” he said, bumping against her before he let her go, enjoying her blush.
“It is tiny,” she said turning around in a slow circle, studying everything closely. “How can it fit all those machines and men?”
He took a step closer. “It’s only the shuttle. The interstellar ship is at our primary crystal site,” he said as he threaded his fingers through her hair. Thick and glossy. Just as he had imagined it.
“But I didn’t see another ship.”
“You did. It’s modular. All those buildings you saw? That’s our ship, taken apart to form our mining community.”
She just stared at him, her mouth parted.
He laced his other hand through her hair and drew her toward him. “What do you say we take the tour later? I have other ideas about what we can do with our time at the moment.” He laid his mouth over her parted lips and gently nibbled on the lower lip to tease her into a response.
She burst into life, showering him with kisses as she threw herself at him with such force he had to take a step back to stabilize. Her frantic hands tore at his clothes, reached for his crotch. Fumbled at his pants buttons.
“Easy kitten,” he told her with a laugh. “Take it easy. You’re a wild one, aren’t you? A little wild kitten.”
She didn’t answer him. Just looked at him with her practiced seductress expression, as if waiting.
With a start he realized what she was waiting for. Him. She was waiting for him to do something.
“You’ve never done this before,” he guessed. He grasped her biceps and pushed her away so he could see her face.
Her eyes were uncertain, she leaned toward him, her lips puckered and ready for another kiss.
“Ease up, there. Not going to happen, kitten,” he said.
She growled and reached for his crotch again, pressed against his erection. “But you want to.”
“Well, kitten, we don’t always get what we want, now do we? See, I’ve got this rule. I don’t do virgins.”
She scowled. “If we continue, I won’t be a virgin much longer.” She pouted prettily, tried to rub up against him, but he tightened his grip and held her off.
“I’m going to say it once more, kitten. I. Don’t. Do. Virgins. God help me, I’m tempted. You’ve got no idea. But it’s not going to happen.”
She looked at him for a long time. Her breathing returned to normal.
When she had calmed enough, he let go of her arms with one final stroke along her soft, golden skin. Gods help him, she was so tempting, everything he’d ever wanted. “You’re so beautiful, kitten.”
She crumpled when he let go. Just folded in on herself and crumpled to the shuttle’s floor where she sat in a heap, her hair fanned out around her.
He waited a fraction, then crouched down beside her. “You gonna be okay, kitten?”
She looked up at him, her huge eyes brimming with tears. One of the reasons he didn’t do virgins. He tried not to roll his eyes as he held out his arms. “Come here, baby. There’s no reason for you to cry about this.”
She leaned against him, the tears sliding silently down her cheeks while his shirt darkened and got very damp. “You don’t understand,” she told him.
“Don’t understand what?”
“I have to get away from here. If I don’t, I’ll have to marry someone else to keep the peace. Someone big and ugly and mean.”
He didn’t like thinking about her marrying someone big, ugly, or mean. Hells, he didn’t like thinking about her with anyone else other than him. But he didn’t want her when she was desperate and calculating. He wanted her because she wanted him. And she didn’t. And then there was his rule. “So you tried to seduce me to get off planet.”
She nodded.
At least she was honest. That was refreshing. “You could have asked me.”
She looked at him, her eyelashes stuck together by tears. She swiped at her nose. “You would have said no.”
“I could have said no anyway.”
She shook her head, a bit of her bravado peeping out from beneath her damp lashes. “I don’t think so.”
He caught himself before he guffawed at the minx’s antics. “And why not?”
“Because I would have done anything you asked me to do.” There was that sly smirk again.
He groaned. “Enough of that talk, kitten.” He pulled her to her feet. “Let me show you around some.” He glanced at her, “Unless you’re not really interested.”
“No, I am interested.” She dabbed at her eyes with her dress-thing. He tried to forget she was wearing nothing underneath. “I want to learn. The Ancestors came here on a starbird. My Ancestors. I want to know how they got here. It’s my right to know.”
“Ah, The Ancestors,” he said. It bothered him to think there was an unknown ship orbiting the planet. It bothered him a lot. He made a mental note to ping them next time he was at the blue crystal mine.
“Four days! It’s been four days, Genji. I distinctly remember ordering you to report three times a day, not every three days, and certainly not every four days. This is completely unacceptable. Who do I send down next? Me?”
In all the years he’d served under her, Genji had never seen Aiko so angry with him. He’d seen her angry, but never with him.
It was chilling.
“Please, Aiko, let me explain. This is the first chance I’ve had. Honestly. I was stuck in a lava tube for three of those days.” He quickly informed her of his misadventures, thinking that would placate her.
It didn’t.
“And why didn’t you contact me to help you out of that hole? No. Don’t tell me.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “I can guess. You were embarrassed. Just so you know, your egotistical embarrassment has caused me and Spider to spend four days in extreme anxiety. Do you know how helpless we feel not being able to contact anybody?”
He let her rage. It was the least he could do, and he deserved it.
“I’m done with you, now,” Aiko told him when she’d finished. “Put Eloch on. Spider needs to talk with him.”
Genji felt his face heat up. “Uh, he’s…uh…busy. Next door.”
“Well un-busy him. We’re a ship on a mission. This isn’t a holiday. We’ll wait.”
“Oh, gods.” Genji swiped his hand over his face and went to unbusy Eloch. Earlier that morning Genji had learned how very little privacy there actually was in a village made of grass huts with little curtains for doors.
Granted, Eloch and Wren had been quiet, but he knew exactly what was going on in the neighboring hut. Was still going on, he thought, as he knocked gently on the doorframe.
“Uh, Eloch?” he said to the curtained barrier, “Aiko and Spider need to have a word with you.”
He heard movement. “Be right there,” Eloch said.
As he made his hasty retreat back to his own hut, Genji heard Wren giggling.
“Gods,” he muttered.
He sat in front of the screen and met Aiko’s glower. “Eloch’s coming.”
Ai
ko grunted and sat back from the screen. He could hear Spider talking in the background. Spider received his own glare from Aiko before his face appeared. “Genj,” Spider said. “What’s it like down there?”
“Different. Very different from anything I’ve experienced.” He looked around his room, which contained only the furnishings he’d brought with him in his equipment bag (portable table for his technology, two small folding chairs, first aid and emergency kit) and the sleeping mat.
“Rustic,” he continued. “I’m staying in a grass hut. The people are unpredictable. They don’t hide their feelings. And sensual. It’s very sensual down here. The warmth. The perfumed air.”
He shook his head. “The women don’t hide their breasts. I don’t know where to look. It’s…disconcerting.” He pulled a face. “Obviously, I’m still getting used to it and still feeling very unbalanced at the moment.”
Spider looked at him thoughtfully. Genji wondered what he would have said if Eloch and Wren hadn’t appeared so they got back down to business.
“Whatever you wish to do, Aiko,” Eloch said as he finished relating his experience with Longwei, “do not come down here. If Longwei decides we’re to remain here, She will try to force you to land the Stardust so She can destroy it.” He paused. “I don’t think it will come to that, though. I’m just being extremely cautious. Based on our conversation, I’d say She needs us.”
“Needs us?” Spider asked.
Eloch nodded. “I think She wants to introduce technology to the planet. Said She couldn’t stop ships from coming, so She wants to prepare Her people to meet them. And I get the distinct impression She’s bored. Our being here is interesting and different.”
“Bored?” Wren asked. “How can a planet be bored?”
“Perhaps that’s a poor word choice. She appears to be a creative spirit rather than a nurturing one. She is curious and dabbles. Look how She forced me to keep using my power until there was none left. She wanted to find out how strong I actually am.”
