A rapping on the door interrupted his stride. “Come,” he called impatiently. It couldn’t be the shadow caster—her ship had not yet landed on the barren surface of Hrakaz. If it had, his sentries would have notified him. But it might be one of his soulless servants, bearing some news of her.
The broad double doors swung open revealing a pair of trolls from the Xix tribe. Their immense size and heavy musculature were impressive, but not enough to offset the dull expressions on their lumpish faces. Gods, sometimes he got so tired of being surrounded by idiots!
“What?” he snapped, looking at the troll on the right. “What have you to say?”
“The one you wait for, Lord. Shadow caster,” it said. “She here.”
“That’s impossible, she hasn’t landed yet.”
The troll looked confused. “But…she here, my Lord.“
“Where?” Draven demanded. “I see nothing but you two imbeciles standing there.”
“Here,” the troll repeated stupidly. It glanced at the other troll in obvious confusion. The second troll returned the look, an expression of dull incomprehension in its piggy eyes.
Draven’s limited patience was completely gone. He turned his pain voice on both of them and shouted, “Where is she, you fools?”
Gashes opened in their wrinkled, dirty gray skin but while the first troll bled black, the second bled red. Draven frowned at the thin crimson rivulets that decorated its hide. As he watched, the hide began to shrink and change color. Before he knew it, a slender, well-formed woman with dark blue hair and pale eyes was standing before him.
“That’s going to cost you extra,” she said icily, wiping at the cut on her cheek. “I didn’t come here to play your twisted pain games, Draven.”
“Nor do I expect you to,” he said smoothly. “Please, come in, my dear L.” He saw her eyes widen and nodded. “Yes, I know your name—or what you call yourself anyway. Though that was almost the only thing I was able to find out about you.”
What he really wanted to know was how she’d gotten past his security and managed to land on the planet without anyone the wiser. Heads would roll on that account, he promised himself. But for now, he was intent on enjoying her company. The shadow caster was almost as sly as he was. It was going to be a rare pleasure to have her as a guest.
A rare pleasure indeed.
Chapter Four
“Okay, looks like you’re all packed up and ready to go.” Kat pressed a small dark pink cube into Lissa’s hand. “That’s got everything you need. Dresses, accessories, equipment—all you have to do is pick the one you want and add a drop of the regrowth serum. It’s the blue bottle on the inside of the case. Just remember that there’s no way to minimize the items in the cube again so you may have to leave some of this stuff behind when you come back—unless you want to cram it all into the shuttle.”
“Got it.” Lissa said dryly. “And don’t worry, Kat—I appreciate all the hard work you put into my outfits but I don’t think I could wear any of them outside Yonnie Six. So I won’t be too upset if I have to leave a few behind.”
“Of course.” Kat smiled. “And don’t forget, you’re Lissa R’awr from the colony on Zetta Prime and this is your first time on Yonnie Six. The Zettas are a faction that broke off from the main planet and went in search of greater wealth the next system over. But they still consider Yonnie Six their home world and acknowledge the Yonnite empress as their sovereign. So you’re like a country cousin come to see the big city sights.”
“That’s perfect.” Lissa smiled at her. She and Kat had been spending every spare minute together perfecting what Kat called her “back story” until she finally felt ready to go. Although she still had some qualms about her mission to Yonnie Six, she was feeling much better than she had been at the dress fitting the day before. Even the sight of Saber, already dressed in his slave outfit, couldn’t rattle her.
“Hello, kinsman,” she murmured, nodding her head as he entered the small Kindred shuttle they would be taking to the Ganda system. “Are…are you ready to go?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He winced as he sat down in the pilot’s chair. “These trousers are pretty Goddess damned tight.”
“Believe me,” Kat said dryly. “You two are going to be the most discreetly dressed mistress and slave there. That’s why I decided it would be best to go with the country cousin story—to explain your modesty and any confusion you may have about the local customs.”
“I really appreciate everything you’ve done, Kat.” Impulsively, Lissa threw her arms around her friend and gave her a hug. “Nadiah told me I would love all of you when I got here and she was right. You’re a wonderful friend.”
“Oh, stop it. You’re making me blush.” Kat grinned and her cheeks were pink as she finally pulled out of the hug. “You just make sure you’re careful and don’t do anything to blow your cover. I don’t want to think what would happen if the Yonnites found out who you two really are.”
“Don’t worry,” Saber said, as he adjusted the controls. “We’re both prepared to play our parts to the hilt.”
“You’ll have to be,” Kat said grimly. She looked at Lissa. “Now, you’re sure you’ve got everything you need?”
“I’ve got the list of collectors Minverna sold to,” Lissa said. “One of them happens to be the Yonnite cultural ambassador—we’ve arranged an introduction so we can go talk to her first. And I’ve got the mirror-mere dagger.” She shivered as she said it. She didn’t want to wear the instrument of her old High Priestess’s death around her waist but it had been decided that such an obvious display of wealth would gain her instant respect in the rapacious Yonnite high society.
The dagger was made of a solid piece of the most rare and precious substance in the known universe—mirror-mere. Lissa would be wearing the wealth of a world strapped to her side. It was also the bargaining tool she hoped to use when she found the ancient scrolls she and Saber were looking for. No matter how much the collector who had bought them might enjoy owning such a rare item, Lissa was hoping they would be willing to trade for the fabulously opulent dagger.
“Well, it looks like you’re all set,” Kat said. “Do you have the bracelet—oh, I see that you do.”
“Of course.” Lissa looked down at the delicate silver wire bracelet which was set with a single pure white stone. “If there’s any trouble it will change color, right?”
“Red indicates there’s danger and you need to contact the Mother Ship,” Kat said. “Black means you have to come back immediately. Of course, that would only be in the event of an attack where we were unsure about opening the fold so you could get safely home. I wouldn’t worry about it too much but the Council agrees that the Hoard’s aggression indicates they want war. So…”
“We have to keep in communication. I understand.” Lissa nodded.
“Exactly.”
“We’ll be careful and we’ll be back soon,” Lissa told her, hoping it was true.
“I’m sure you will, hon.” Kat smiled at her. “And—”
“Forgive me, Kat, but we really need to get going. The fold should be waiting and my understanding is, it takes massive amounts of energy to hold it open for any length of time,” Saber said, doing something to the instruments.
“Right. Of course.” Kat gave Lissa one last hug and then stepped back out of the small shuttle and went to stand by Sophia and Olivia who had come along to say goodbye. She gave a little wave and Lissa waved back.
“Closing the access door now,” Saber warned her. “It’s time to get strapped in for flight.”
“Oh yes, of course.” As the hatch closed, she went forward and sat beside him in the passenger seat. The viewscreen before them showed the shuttle bay doors already opening and beyond that, in the blackness of space, was the red gash of the fold. Lissa had already been through it once, when they had first come to the Mother Ship, so she wasn’t afraid of going into the gaping wound in space. What frightened her was what they would find on t
he other side.
Saber gave her a sidelong glance. “Are you ready?”
“As ready as I can be.” Lissa took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”
* * * * *
Kat watched them take off, her heart in her throat as the small shuttle lifted soundlessly and flew toward the shuttle bay doors. As it passed through the invisible atmosphere bubble that allowed the doors to open into space without sucking all the oxygen out of the ship, she felt like she might cry. Lissa had become very dear to her over the past few months and Kat couldn’t help wondering if the timid, humble little priestess would really be able to pull off the part she had to play.
Please, Goddess, help her, she thought as she watched the shuttle slip through the massive doors and out into the darkness of space. Help her and bring her back safely. Her and Saber both.
“Hey, Kat woman.” Liv’s voice in her ear startled Kat out of her prayerful concentration. “You okay?”
Kat sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. Just worried about her. She’s such a shy little thing—I did everything I could to get her ready but I still feel like I just threw a kitten into a shark tank and told it to swim.”
“Oh come on now, you must be exaggerating,” Sophia protested. “How bad can Yonnie Six really be?”
“They’re pretty brutal.” Kat sighed. “But Lissa knows that—she did the research right along with me. I just have a feeling that knowing it and actually experiencing it are going to be two totally different things for her.”
“She’ll be fine,” Olivia said firmly, patting her on the arm. “You did everything you could to help her prepare. Now you can concentrate on your own business—like a certain joining ceremony slash wedding for you and your guys.”
Kat frowned. “Don’t start that again, Liv. I’ll get to it when I can.”
“I think you should try to make an effort to get to it sooner rather than later,” her friend said seriously. “I don’t mean to butt into your business but Baird says Deep has been grumbling lately about everyone having a joining ceremony but you three.”
“That’s not true,” Kat said defensively. “Elise and Merrick haven’t gotten joined yet.”
“Yes, but they have plans to, very soon. You know that—you’re helping Elise plan their ceremony,” Sophia pointed out.
“Exactly. And I’ll get to my own as soon as hers is out of the way.”
Liv put a hand on her hip. “That’s what you said after Lauren and Xairn’s ceremony. Look, Kat, I don’t know who made you the unofficial party planner of the entire Mother Ship but you can’t keep putting your own business behind someone else’s. At the rate people are hooking up and getting preggers around here, you’ll never get joined to Deep and Lock.”
“Yes, I will,” Kat protested. “I mean, eventually…”
Olivia gave a sigh that echoed in the cavernous shuttle bay. “I know you love them, so what’s the problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, okay?” Kat snapped. “Geeze, guys, I’m a little stressed out right now, what with possibly sending my new friend off to her death. Do you think we could save the moralizing until later?”
“Fine.” Liv looked hurt and Sophie looked shocked, which made Kat feel wretched.
“I’m sorry,” she said as gently as she could. “I just…don’t want to talk about it right now. Okay?”
“Sure, Kat, we understand.” Sophia nodded and put an arm around Olivia’s shoulders. “I should probably get Liv back to her suite and get her some breakfast anyway.”
“Right.” Liv gave her a grin that looked a little forced. “It’s been at least an hour since I had any seaweed or spinach waffles. I need to feed.”
“And I’m hungry too.” Sophia smiled. “Now that I’m eating for three. C’mon, womb mate.”
Feeling guilty, Kat watched the two of them walk off. Sophie and Liv were her two oldest friends—she knew she ought to be able to talk to them about what was bothering her. It was just that she’d spent so much time denying, even to herself, that there was a problem, she found it really hard to share.
I’ll think about it later, she promised herself. Maybe after I help Elise and Merrick with their ceremony. She felt a twinge of guilt for putting off her own joining again but she placed it to the back of her mind resolutely. There would be plenty of time to plan a wedding for herself and Deep and Lock later.
Chapter Five
“Are you almost ready?” Saber called, adjusting the shuttle’s controls minutely as the purple-gray sphere of Yonnie Six grew larger in the viewscreen. “We’ve been given clearance to land.”
“Almost…done.” Lissa’s words were punctuated by the swish of fabric. She was changing in the back of the shuttle—taking off her modest white priestess robes and putting on one of the dresses Kat had prepared for her to wear on Yonnie Six. Saber wondered if what she was changing into looked anything like the purple dress she’d been wearing the other day. He could still recall how revealing it had been—the way her rosy pink nipples had peeked out from behind the pale gold lace and the tiny panties of the same material, which barely covered her sex…
The mental image made him instantly hard and he winced as his rigid cock strangled in the too-tight pants. There was another rustle of fabric behind him and he had an almost overwhelming urge to turn and look, to see what she was wearing and how much it showed. Goddess, have to stop thinking like this! Have to stop imagining her sexually. He kept his eyes forward instead, looking at the viewscreen as though he could stare a hole through it.
At last, Lissa came forward and sat beside him. Out of the corner of his eye, Saber could see she was wearing a dark blue gown cut low in front. When she twisted in her seat to buckle herself in, he saw it was cut even lower in back. Low enough to see the softly rounded tops of her buttocks. His cock surged against the tight black pants again and he cursed himself for a lecherous fool but somehow he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the enticing sight.
Lissa turned and caught him watching. Her face went pink. “I…it was the most modest one I could find,” she stammered. “I…I…”
“Forgive me for looking.” Saber averted his eyes, staring at the viewscreen again. “I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s all right,” Lissa mumbled, clearly embarrassed. “I mean, I guess you can’t help…” She shook her head and settled back in her seat, her arms crossed tightly over her breasts.
“I’ll try to help it from now on,” Saber vowed in a low voice. He was filled with shame for the embarrassment he had caused her. If only you weren’t so damn beautiful. If only I didn’t dream of taking you in my arms every night. Of Touching you…
He felt his other sense—his Touch sense—wanting to reach out to her. He ached to caress her with his whisper-fingers. To stroke the strands of blonde and jade green hair away from her flushed cheek and kiss her warm skin. To touch her physically as he was Touching her with his mind…but that was wrong. So wrong. And honestly, he didn’t even know if it would be possible.
They had both been injected with the kinship compound as infants—a kind of inoculation to make physical contact with a member of the same tribe utterly repellent. Though Saber had touched her skin before and even kissed her forehead when they were younger, he had never dared to touch her in a sexual way. If he did, would he feel a surge of revulsion and see the same disgust mirrored in Lissa’s jade green eyes?
He hoped not but he couldn’t be sure. Not unless he tried and he knew that he would never do that, never dare to lay a hand on her in such a brazen, forbidden fashion. Lissa could barely stand his eyes on her—how would she bear his hands? No matter how much he might wish it, the experiment to see if they were able to have physical, sexual contact was completely out of the question. And without being able to have skin-to-skin sexual touching, there was no way they could ever experience the Deep Touch together.
Just the thought of that—the mental image of holding Lissa naked in his arms as he penetrated both her mind and body at the same time—made
Saber feel like he was going to burst out of the damn too-tight trousers he had been forced to wear as part of his slave outfit. But he had to put the idea out of his mind. It was forbidden and wrong. Depraved. It was—
Lissa cleared her throat, pulling him out of his illicit thoughts. “Um…”
“Yes?” Saber turned to her slightly, trying not to notice how revealing her dress was.
“I…um…” Clearly she was searching for a new topic of conversation. “When will we land in Opulex?” she asked, pointing at the growing point of light that served as a beacon to the capital city of Yonnie Six.
Saber shook his head. “We can’t land directly in the city—only on the fringes of it,” he said, banking the ship and heading for the designated landing area. “We have to stay to one side of the trench until we’re cleared to go through to Opulex.”
“The trench?” She frowned. “I don’t think I read about that.”
“Well, you were busy studying the culture, not the cartography.” Saber gave her a small smile. “It’s the mining trench around the city. They have enormous deposits of rare and precious minerals on Yonnie Six. It’s where most of their wealth comes from.”
“Oh. Of course.” She nodded.
“And the trench also serves as a natural barrier around the city,” he went on. “Although it limits the expansion of the city—which is why most of their growth is vertical.” As he spoke, the towering buildings of Opulex came into view. Their needle-like points rose high into the murky Yonnite atmosphere, piercing the clouds of smog that veiled the lower portions of the bustling city.
“I see,” Lissa murmured, her eyes glued to the ominous sight. “It’s…not very pretty, is it?”
“No.” Saber thought of the verdant fields and sprawling, lush farmlands of his own home world. “It’s not.” And if what he’d read was true, Opulex was even uglier on the inside. But he didn’t say that out loud. It was clear that Lissa was upset enough already—he didn’t want to add to her unease about their mission. Carefully, he set them down in the designated landing area. “We’re here,” he said, not looking at her.