“What’s going on?” Charlie demanded, sitting up even though it made her head feel like it was going to split open. “Who are you people and why are you bringing me babies?”
“Oh! Oh no, doll—you’ve got it all wrong!” The redhead began to laugh. “We just wanted to check on you because we heard you were hurt.”
“And because we haven’t seen a new face around the Mother Ship for awhile,” the girl holding the black-haired baby said. “At least not since the stupid war started. I’m Becca, by the way.”
“And I’m Kat,” the redhead said. “And that’s Mei-Li.” She indicated the girl with long black hair. “She’s our newest addition to the Mother Ship—or she was until you showed up.”
“Okay…” Charlie looked at them warily. “That’s nice, I guess but it still doesn’t explain the babies.”
“Oh these little guys? They’re all mine.” The redhead smiled proudly. “Their fathers are away for a little while so I pressed Becca and Mei-Li here into baby sitting duty. Having triplets isn’t easy—I’ve only got one set of arms.”
“They’re adorable, aren’t they?” Becca cooed, tickling the black haired baby’s cheek until he gurgled. “Look, this one is Seeks War—because he’s always fighting with his brothers. Well, with that one, anyway.” She nodded at the baby with silver-white hair.
“And this one is Makes Peace, because he somehow manages to get between them and stop the fighting.” Mei-Li indicated the blond haired baby she was holding.
“Get it?” Kat asked grinning. “War and Peace. Cute, huh?”
“Um, I guess so.” Charlie nodded at the baby with liquid silver eyes. “And who’s that?”
“Oh that’s Shad. Short for Shadow.” Kat sighed and shrugged. “We tried to think of a more traditional Twin Kindred name but nothing else really seemed to fit him. So…Shad it is.”
“He’s cute,” Charlie said neutrally. Normally she loved babies but these weren’t exactly normal circumstances she found herself in. “So…all of you were abducted forced to come up here for a Claiming Period and you just stayed here?” she asked, looking at the three of them.
“I wouldn’t say abducted, exactly,” Kat protested.
“I would,” Mei-Li said quietly. “When Six came to get me, it started a media firestorm. That’s why we’re in this mess in the first place.”
“Don’t mind Mei-Li,” Becca said easily. “She thinks she’s the reason for the whole war.”
“Well I am,” Mei-Li said earnestly. “If my father hadn’t freaked out…and then later when I ignored the message from the Goddess…”
“You’re Senator Hastings’ daughter,” Charlie exclaimed. “I knew you looked familiar—your face has been plastered all over the TV for weeks!”
Mei-Li sighed unhappily. “Oh dear, that sounds like something my father would do. He loves me but he’s not above using me for his ‘cause.’”
“He started the EPB too—the Earth Protection Bureau,” Charlie told her. “I’m an EPB officer myself.”
“Really?” Kat’s eyes widened. “Aren’t they extremely anti-Kindred?”
“They are,” Charlie said, lifting her chin. “And so am I. That’s why I took the job.” It might be an unpopular opinion here on the Mother Ship but she’d be damned if she would hide how she felt.
“Wow—is that how you met Commander Stavros?” Becca asked. “You were trying to arrest him or something?”
“That’s about the long and the short of it,” Charlie admitted. “In fact, I did arrest him. Had him cuffed up and everything but he escaped.” She frowned, trying to remember exactly what had happened after Stavros had broken her bedposts and gotten away. Everything was still extremely fuzzy. “Then for some reason I guess he decided to bring me up here,” she said, shrugging. “Maybe he was retaliating—an eye for an eye or something like that.”
“I don’t think it was about retaliation—he said you were sick,” Kat said.
“We saw him bringing you in,” Becca added. “He was carrying you so carefully—wouldn’t let anyone else touch you.”
“He was very protective,” Mei-Li said, nodding. “And you should know that they have the best medicine up here on the Mother Ship. Whatever is wrong, they can fix it.”
“Fix it?” Charlie looked at them blankly. “I’m not sick. I’m just—”
“It’s very good to see you, Commander Stavros. I’m glad you were able to make it with no problems,” a man’s voice said just outside the door to her room.
“I wouldn’t exactly say no problems, Commander Sylvan,” Stavros’s voice replied. “What in the Seven Hells are the Dark Kindred doing in this sector?”
“That’s a long story—too long to tell you now although I promise you’ll hear all about it during our special briefing,” the other Kindred replied. “But before that, I know you’re very anxious to get your female examined.”
“She is not exactly my female but I do feel responsible for her,” Stavros said. “I brought her up here because of her severe pain and bleeding—though I could never find the wound or I would have tried to seal and heal it.”
“You would, hmm?” Commander Sylvan sounded like he might be raising his eyebrows. “It sounds to me as though you feel more than just ‘responsible’ for her, Commander Stavros. You and I both know a Blood Kindred only heals his bride.”
“I cannot take a bride for reasons that you must be aware of,” Stavros said stolidly. “But I do wish to take care of this female and heal her of her affliction.”
“Very well, I’ll examine her. Can you tell me first what the symptoms of her illness are?”
“A terrible stabbing, cramping pain in the lower abdomen/pelvis area,” Stavros said. “Accompanied by bleeding. She told me that this happens to her every lunar cycle and no medical personnel on Earth have been able to help her.”
When the men had started talking outside her door, all of the girls inside, including Charlie, had instinctively gone silent. Now Kat broke the quiet with a stifled giggle.
“Oh my God,” she whispered to Charlie. “Did I just hear him say he brought you up here because you were on your period?”
Reluctantly, Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. I do have really bad ones from time to time but—”
“Can you tell me anything else?” the Kindred named Sylvan was asking.
“Just that the only thing that helps her during these attacks is medication which causes her to act completely out of character,” Stavros answered. “She was…under its influence while we were together in the shuttle, waiting for a safe passage to the Mother Ship. She was asleep when I brought her in but I am not certain if she will be completely, uh, lucid now or not.”
Charlie put her head in her hands and groaned softly. Suddenly all of the fuzzy details her brain had refused to reveal earlier were coming painfully clear. The way she had flirted with Stavros in the shuttle, begging to sit on his lap, cuddling up with him… And kissing him! Don’t forget you laid a live one on him up there while you were snuggled up on his lap like he was Santa Clause or something, whispered a sarcastic little voice in her head.
The metallic taste of blood in her mouth from the unhealed cut reminded her of how that particular kiss had ended. And a good thing too—if he hadn’t bitten her, who knew what kind of mischief she might have gotten into next?
Oh my God, I acted like a complete and total fool! Charlie wanted to sink through the floor and disappear completely—just let the blackness of space take her away. Anything so she didn’t have to face Stavros again.
“What is it, doll?” Kat asked softly. “Are you in pain? Having cramps?”
Strangely, even though the muscle relaxers appeared to have worn off, she wasn’t. Actually, she wasn’t feeling a bit of pain. Well, not physical pain, anyway.
“I’m fine,” she said, sighing. “Just having some regrets, that’s all.”
Kat raised an eyebrow at her. “Regrets?”
“Never mind. It’s complicate
d.” Charlie rubbed her temples. She might be over her cramps but she could feel the mother of all tension headaches coming on.
“Well, maybe we’d better go and let you talk to Sylvan and Commander Stavros,” Becca said tactfully. “I think little War here is getting hungry.”
“Peace too,” Mei-Li said. “And Six is expecting me back at our suite soon.”
“We’ll go,” Kat decided. “But listen, feel free to look us up if you need some female companionship. We all know firsthand how aggravating these Kindred males can be sometimes so if your guy is giving you trouble—”
“He’s not my guy,” Charlie protested. “Really, he’s not! He was my prisoner and now I’m his. End of story.”
“Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, doll.” Kat winked at her. “See you later.”
Just then, Stavros opened the door. He stood aside, holding it respectfully as Kat and her friends and the babies left and then he and a blond haired Kindred warrior entered Charlie’s room.
Charlie sat up straighter, suddenly wishing she had something besides the too-big hospital gown on. She was bare beneath it and she couldn’t help wondering who had taken off her clothes and where said clothing had gone.
“Oh good, you’re awake.” Stavros approached the bed warily. “How are you feeling?”
“Just fine,” Charlie said crisply. “Much more myself than I was last time we talked.”
She wanted him to get the message that she wasn’t going to be crawling all over him again and from the look of mingled relief and regret in his deep blue eyes, he understood.
“Excellent,” he said, nodding. “I was…quite concerned for you earlier. You didn’t seem to be, er, acting in character at all.”
“It was the muscle relaxers,” Charlie said quickly. “I told you—they make me loopy. I would never normally act the way I, um, acted when I took them.”
She wanted to tell him point blank that she hadn’t meant to kiss him or sit on his lap and act like a simpering little idiot but the presence of the other Kindred inhibited her.
“This is Commander Sylvan,” Stavros said, seeing her eyes flicker to the other male. “He is here to examine you. He is one of the finest doctors aboard the Mother Ship.”
“No examination needed,” Charlie said briskly. “I’m just fine and I’ll thank you kindly to return me to Earth.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible, at least for now,” Commander Sylvan said gravely. “Commander Stavros has told me of your illness in detail, Ms. Sayers, why don’t you let me try to help you?”
“Because my illness isn’t an illness at all,” Charlie snapped. “It’s just my damn period.”
“Oh!” A dawning look of comprehension crossed the blond Kindred’s face. “Of course—I should have thought. Forgive me, Ms. Sayers.”
Stavros looked confused. “I’m sorry—is that supposed to mean something to me? What is a ‘period?’”
“It is part of the reproductive cycle of Earth females,” Commander Sylvan explained. “A normal part. You might as well have brought Ms. Sayers for treatment for ovulating or being pregnant.”
“That can’t be.” Stavros frowned. “I felt those pains, Commander Sylvan. They were agonizing—there was nothing normal about them.”
Charlie narrowed her eyes. “How could you feel my cramps? And didn’t you…take some of them for me? At least for awhile?” The fuzzy memories were becoming clearer and clearer and she was quite sure she was right—before she’d managed to swallow the muscle relaxers, Stavros had taken some of her pain. “You did, didn’t you?” she asked, staring at him. “How is that possible?”
“I am one of the Cursed,” Stavros spoke reluctantly.
“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Charlie demanded, throwing his own words back at him. “What does that mean—one of the Cursed? Cursed with what?”
His face got a closed look. “It is highly personal—something I do not care to discuss.”
“Guess what, buddy—so is my period,” Charlie snapped. “I know you’re completely clueless about Earth customs but where I come from, girls don’t exactly consider their monthly ‘lady days’ as my mom used to call them, a topic for polite conversation.”
“Ms. Sayers is correct,” Commander Sylvan said. “Earth females are generally reluctant to speak about their reproductive cycles to males. The fact that you have revealed hers to me is just cause for her to dislike you and expect some kind of retribution. Probably in the form of an exchange of information.”
“In other words, tell me what the hell you’re talking about and how you could feel my pain,” Charlie said, glaring at Stavros.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Very well, I suppose it is only fair.”
“I’ll give you some privacy,” Commander Sylvan said tactfully. “But Commander Stavros, please don’t forget that the special briefing starts in one hour. It concerns the fate not only of the Mother Ship but also of the Earth. So don’t be late.”
“I will be there,” Stavros promised, nodding.
Sylvan nodded back and closed the door behind him.
Charlie turned at once to Stavros.
“What does he mean, the fate of the Earth? What’s going on? Have the Kindred developed some kind of secret weapon to use against us?”
“You think I would tell you if we had?” he asked blandly. “But no—I told you, even though you have declared war on us, we wish you no harm. I think that the Dark Kindred have something to do with it but I won’t know until I attend the briefing.”
“Who are the ‘Dark Kindred?’ No, wait—we’re getting off topic,” Charlie said. “First, tell me about how you could feel my pain and how you took some of it for me. And why.”
He sighed and came over to the side of the bed. “Do you mind?” he asked. When she shook her head, he sat at the foot of the bed, on the side nearest to her.
“Now explain,” she said impatiently, trying not to notice the warmth of his big body radiating against her legs or the spicy, masculine scent that seemed to follow him everywhere. For some reason the little wound he’d made when he bit her began to sting and throb and the taste of blood in her mouth got stronger. She tried to ignore it and concentrate on what he was about to say.
Stavros closed his eyes briefly, as though collecting his thoughts. He was dressed in fresh black leather trousers and boots and a royal blue uniform shirt which seemed to be made of a thick, satiny material. It made his hair look deep red, like the embers of a fire, and Charlie suddenly wondered what it would look like if it was loosed from the club at the back of his neck and spread across his broad shoulders.
“Well?” she asked impatiently when he still didn’t speak.
“I suppose the best way to explain is to show you,” he said.
“Show me what?” Charlie asked but his fingers were already flying over the buttons of his uniform shirt. Before she knew it he had pulled it back and lowered it to his waist. He turned silently, showing her his broad, muscular back.
Charlie caught her breath, rendered speechless by what she saw.
His entire back from his neck down to the lower curve of his waist was covered in the broad, black curving lines of an intricate tattoo. But the lines seemed to shift as she stared at them, forming first one pattern…then another. And they didn’t stay black either. The colors shifted like a rainbow on the surface of an oil slick. Neon blue turned to turquoise turned to emerald green turned to vermillion turned to scarlet… It was a like a never ending Kaleidoscope of patterns and colors—a visual display that felt like it might hypnotize her if she stared at it too long.
“Beautiful,” she whispered. Hardly knowing what she did, she reached out to touch it, brushing the ever-flowing pattern with just the tips of her fingers.
Stavros flinched as though she’d burned him and shied away from her seeking fingers.
“I’m sorry,” Charlie said. “Did I hurt you?”
“You…surprised me.” He shrugged back into his shi
rt and turned to face her. “Among my people, no one will touch the mark of a Cursed One. It is considered…bad luck.”
“I don’t believe in superstitious nonsense,” Charlie said briskly. “And I still don’t understand how your tattoo—uh, mark—explains the whole pain thing.”
“The Cursed Ones—also called a Sin Eaters—are rare among my people.” Stavros kept his eyes down as he buttoned his shirt. “There are only two or three born every generation. We are called cursed because we feel the physical pain of those around us. That was how I knew you were ill.” He looked up at her. “Those really were terrible pains you were experiencing—you can’t tell me such an occurrence is normal.”
“It only happens once or twice a year that way.” Charlie shrugged. “It is normal—at least for me. I’ve learned to live with it.”
“The same way I’ve learned to live with my Curse, I suppose.” He sighed.
“I guess. But what about you taking some of my pain—how did you do that?”
He frowned. “I wasn’t sure that I could. But…my body responded to yours in the right way so it was possible.”
“What do you mean your body responded to mine?” she asked suspiciously. She could feel her cheeks getting hot but she had to know, even if the answer was embarrassing.
“It…my body thought I was trying to claim you as a bride. As a mate.” Stavros’s cheeks were dull red but he lifted his chin and met her eyes unflinchingly. “I was not, of course. But taking your pain would not have been possible otherwise.”
Charlie’s heart skipped a beat and the cut on the tip of her tongue ached and stung for some reason. She ignored it and tried to cover her confusion by looking right back at him, never dropping her gaze.
“Fine, but you still didn’t answer why. Why did you take my pain? I had taken you prisoner and was going to turn you in to the authorities—well, if my stupid boss ever let me. Why did you care enough about me to take some of my pain yourself? You should have hated me.”
“I tried. I…could not.” He looked away, breaking the strange staring contest they had somehow gotten into. “And I could not let you bear so much pain on your own. I just…couldn’t.”