“Torak, come. We must get under cover.” Manota said desperately. He had to get his brothers and Jo and her sister to safety.
“Come. They will bring her to medical.” Manota said forcefully pulling on Torak.
Torak fought as Jazin and Manota pulled him away from River. He twisted around just in time to see a healer straddle River’s body and force air into her.
“The healers are doing all they can to save her. Come, we must get the other two females to safety.”
Torak’s Captain of the Guard, Kev Mul Kar, had several of his men escorting the two women towards the Common House. Manota was frantic to make sure the blood on Jo was not hers. Both women moved quickly into the Common House following the men to the medical wing.
Not long after they had arrived one of the healers came out to check on Jo and Star.
“What of the other female, my mate Lady River?” Torak asked anxiously.
“The other healers are trying to stabilize her as we speak.” The healer said looking with sympathy at Torak. “It does not look good. I will inform you of her condition once they have evaluated her.” The healer added before leaving the room, satisfied neither Jo nor Star was injured.
Jo and Star had cried until they couldn’t cry any more as they waited to hear if River was going to make it. Shortly after the healer had left he came back again calling out to Torak. The healer said they had River stable for the time being but that she had lost too much blood. She had sustained injuries to her internal organs including a nick to one of the valves in her heart. They were not sure if the blood they had would be compatible and were hesitant to use it on her with her being so weak. Jo and Star knew they shared the same blood type as River and had volunteered to donate what they could.
Now, they sat quietly in a chair sipping a sweeten fruit juice of some type feeling very tired. The stress of arriving at the Houses to find the men they had been falling in love with surrounded by eager females, River’s getting shot, and donating more blood than they should have had left them weak.
Torak brushed off Javonna’s hand again as he paced back and forth. Unable to deal with her touch, he finally ordered her back to the North House. Javonna had been very unhappy about Torak’s refusal to return with her. Jo and Star just watched Torak with disgust.
“I don’t even know why you are here.” Jo said coldly to Torak. “Haven’t you done enough to River without causing her more pain and humiliation?”
Torak turned to stare at Jo. Taking a menacing step towards her, he gritted out through clinched teeth, “Watch what you say. Warrior woman or not, I am in no mood for your ridicule.”
Manota walked over to stand closer to Jo putting his hand on her shoulder. He flinched when she stood up moving further away from him. “Keep your filthy hands to yourself.”
“Why are you so angry?” Jazin asked softly. “What have we done that had caused all three of you to suddenly hate us?”
Star looked at Jazin, tears filling her eyes. “You really don’t know?”
Jazin just shook his head, his heart breaking at the look of utter devastation on Star’s small face.
“It’s all the women you have.” Jo replied harshly. “You may not mind having a harem of women pawing all over you but we do. We don’t share. Ever.” Jo couldn’t keep the tears from her own eyes any longer so she turned her back on Manota.
All three men stood frozen. They had had no idea this was what had upset River, Jo, and Star so much. It was an accepted practice on Kassis for a House to have many, many females in them. In fact, the more women there were, the more prominence the House was consider to have since it took at strong warrior to satisfy so many women. The male would not breed with any of the females in the House except for the one he claimed as a mate. Since the males were so sexually active it was accepted by the mate he would keep other females so as to not distress his mate with his overactive sexual desires. Now, these warrior women were telling them it was because of this practice they did not want anything to do with them.
“I do not understand.” Torak replied looking back and forth between Jo and Star. “Your males do not have more than one female in their House?”
Jo took a deep breath shaking her head before turning around and looking Torak in the eye. “No. Not if they want to live or at least not lose any body parts they are fond of.”
Jo walked back over and sat next to Star motioning for the three men to sit as well. Only after all three men were seated did Jo and Star begin explaining how relationships on Earth evolved.
“On Earth, it is the norm to have one male and one female. They usually love each other very much and are committed to building a life together. If it is a good relationship, they are monogamous, meaning they never touch another male or female in a sexual way again. There are names for the way you guys have relationships on our planet and none of them are very nice. River, Star, and I are into only having one man in our lives who is devoted only to the one of us he is with. If that man was to ever, and I mean ever, have a sexual encounter of any type with another female, or male, then the relationship would be over and we would be gone so fast he wouldn’t know what hit him.” Jo said looking at Manota.
“But, how is the male’s strength known if he does not have but one female?” Jazin asked looking at Star.
“Trust me when I say, one female is all he needs.” Star responded. “Let me ask you this. How would you have felt today if you had walked into my House, as you put it, and I had as many guys kissing and touching me as you had women?”
All three men paled at the idea of so many males touching and feeling on their woman. Flushing a dark red Jazin replied hotly, “I would kill them all!”
“Well, that is precisely how we felt.” Jo replied. “By the way, you know a woman can handle more than one guy at a time a lot better than one guy can handle more than one woman. Not to mention a woman is capable of having multiple orgasms where a guy is good for one shot; even if it only takes him a little while to recharge.” Jo said stiffly.
“How would you know?” Manota said standing up and glowering down at Jo.
“Books, movies, the Internet.” Jo added hastily. “Not from personal experience.”
“So you are saying River left me because of the women in my House. She… all of you, wants to return to your world because of the women we have in our Houses?” Torak asked trying to understand what Jo and Star were telling him and his brothers.
“Yes.” Came the soft reply from both girls.
“I can tell you no matter what any of you do, as long as you have the women you have been fucking living under the same roof as you are none of us will stay. Ever.” Star said looking into Jazin’s eyes.
“Even then I think it is going to be hard to forget.” Jo added glancing at Manota before turning away from him but not before he had seen the pain and betrayal in her eyes and the tremble to her lip.
“I can tell you now, Torak. If that woman who was here a little while ago is anywhere near River when she wakes up, I’ll kill her and you myself.” Star said looking into Torak’s eyes to let him know she meant it. “I won’t let you or anyone else hurt River. She doesn’t deserve it and neither do we.”
Torak nodded. He had a lot to think about. His biggest fear, he suddenly realized, was he wouldn’t be given the chance to prove to River how much he loved her. Shaken by his realization that River meant so much to him, he sank back in his chair, staring blindly towards the door of the waiting room.
Chapter 10
Torak was ready to go out of his mind. None of the healers had come back since they had taken Jo and Star to donate blood. It had been almost twelve hours since River had been shot. Torak paced back and forth ready to charge back into the medical unit to find River. The others had finally given up and found a place to sleep. Star was asleep with her head on Jazin’s lap on the couch while Jo was curled up on Manota’s lap. She had fallen asleep sitting in the chair and only after she had done so had Manota picked her
up. She still wasn’t talking to him unless she had too and she refused to look at him for any length of time. Torak jerked around and both girls sat up with a start when the door opened.
An elderly healer walked into the room looking exhausted. His face was pale and drawn as he looked around the room at the faces looking at him with so much hope.
Turning his gaze to Torak, he let out a tired sigh, “My Lord, your mate should survive.” He said tiredly. “It was very close and she is not entirely out of danger.”
“Why is she still in danger? Our soldiers have suffered worse wounds and not taken so long to heal. Why is she still suffering?” Torak demanded.
The healer looked at Torak before replying, “There is much more to healing than just the body. There is the mind as well. Your mate had made the decision it was her time to go to the next life.”
Torak fell back as what the healer told him sunk in, “But why? How can you know this?” He whispered.
Jo pulled away from Manota and hurried over to the couch where Star sat holding herself tightly trying not to cry again.
“She loves you.” Star whispered. “She has almost from the very beginning.”
Torak sank into the chair by the window staring at Star, “River told this to you?”
Star looked at Torak before answering him, “River had never felt comfortable around the opposite sex. You are the only one she has ever let near her. Oh, she went out on a date or two but she never got serious with anyone. Not even Billy Myers and she actually went out on two dates with him. It’s not just that, I knew when we were in the vents. She would sneak off to go find you and be gone for hours. She was watching you, making sure you were okay. She worried about you.”
“And, don’t forget what happened yesterday.” Jo continued. “She saw you were in danger and protected you even at the risk of her own life. Even hurt by what to us is a deep betrayal, she couldn’t stand that you were in danger.”
The healer listened quietly before adding, “I believe the young ladies are correct. Lady River asked that I convey to you a message should she not survive before she became unconscious. She wanted me to tell you that she hoped you found happiness, My Lord.”
Torak looked at the healer in shock. “You said she should survive, not that she will. What needs to be done to make sure she will survive?”
“I believe only you have the power to give her the will to do so, My Lord.” The healer replied before bowing his head in respect and leaving the room.
“What should I do?” Torak looked at his brothers. For the first time, he felt at a loss as to how to take command of a situation. There was too much to lose if he should make the wrong decision.
Jo stood up and put her hands on her hips before glaring at all three men. “Well, for starters you can get rid of all the women in your Houses! I can guarantee you none of us will be stepping foot into any of those Houses ever again as long as one female you’ve fuck is still there, not to mention you won’t be touching us.”
Star stood up and nodded her agreement looking at Jazin as she did. “That goes for all of us. Come on, Jo, let’s go find River and sit with her.”
The three brothers watched as two out of the three women they loved walked out the door. All three of them had some changes to make in their Houses if they were going to keep the alien warrior women who had struck a blow to their hearts and souls.
“Do you remember the time Jenny the Juggler and Mad Andy got into it?” Star was saying as Torak came into the room where River was lying so pale and still. “Jenny started tossing his pigeons at him and he was running around in circles not knowing what to do, trying to catch the damn things. It was the funniest thing until he ran into the pole when he wasn’t looking and knocked himself out. Poor Jenny cried for a week every time she saw his face after that. No one had the heart to tell her he had already broken his nose on more than one occasion so it wasn’t her fault it was so crooked.”
Jo laughed, “Yeah, and remember the time the monkeys got loose and stole the clowns cars? They drove them all around the rink, running over Walter’s foot, and knocking poor Marcus into the tank he was filling up with water.”
Torak frowned as the girls told one story after another about people called Jeffrey the Snakeman or Donna the Dragonbreather. It was only when they started talking about some of the things River had done that he stopped them to ask questions.
“You said Marcus the Magnificent cut River in half and refused to put her back together again until she told him where his rabbits were? How could she have lived through something like that?”
Followed by, “What is a rabbit?”
“Why did she hide them?
“Who is Walter?”
“Why did she battle the clowns?”
“What is a clown?” Was the last straw for the girls their laughter ringing through the room.
“Will you please keep it down? There’s a girl trying to get her beauty sleep here.” River murmured faintly.
“River?” Jo and Star said at the same time reaching for her hand.
River had a hard time forcing her eyelids to lift. She had been listening to Jo and Star reminiscing for the past twenty minutes or so enjoying the cadence of their voices and the happy memories they had been talking about. She had been about to open her eyes when another voice had spoken softly. Torak. River had felt tears gather in her eyes as she remembered him wrapped in the tall, slim woman’s embrace. She didn’t have the strength to fight him right now. She had hoped he would leave but instead he had begun asking questions about things that were important to her, things that had made her happy.
River opened her eyes and stared above Jo and Star’s head gazing into Torak’s beautiful, dark eyes. “A clown is someone who can make you laugh, even when you are hurting.” River replied softly tears glistening in her eyes and spilling over to splash down her cheek.
“Then I need to find these clowns and bring them to you.” Torak said softly.
Jo and Star looked back and forth between Torak and River. Jo stood motioning for Star to follow her. Star stopped as she moved past Torak. “Remember what I told you. I meant it.” She said before she blew River a kiss and left her alone with Torak.
River stared at Torak for several minutes before her gaze dropped to the covers lying over her. “What did she tell you?”
“That if I hurt you again she would kill me.” Torak replied.
River’s eyes flew up to Torak’s before she lowered them again, biting her lip to keep the small smile from escaping at the idea of little, gentle Star killing a warrior over twice as big as her.
“She’d do it too.” River couldn’t help but say.
Torak walked over to River, gently picking up her hand before sitting on the bed next to her. “I know. And, I would let her.” He added.
River looked at Torak and shook her head. “I can’t go back there. I won’t.” River’s lip trembled and she raised a shaking hand to wipe away a stray tear.
“We will talk of that later. You are still weak.” Torak gazed down into River’s pale face brushing her hair away from it.
He had never seen her hair down until a few days ago when Jo and Star had undone the braid to wash her hair. When he had walked in they had been talking like they were today, like she was really there with them. They had just finished bathing her and had dressed her in a new gown. He had walked in as they were holding her gently, brushing her long, dark hair until it shone like delicate dew on the webs of the thread trees. It had been over a week since she had been shot but she had still not awakened. The healer had been right. They had been able to heal her body but not her mind. She had retreated from the world of the living into the shadow world of a half-life, her body here but her mind there. Jo and Star had called it a coma. They said that on their planet it was believed if someone was in a coma they could still hear those who were in the land of the living and it was important to talk to the person so they could find their way back.
During t
he day, Jo and Star had remained at River’s side while Manota, Jazin, and he had taken care of business within their Houses. Any and all females with whom they had had as a lover were no longer there. The only females that remained were those who were mated, young children, or elderly women. It had not been an easy task as many of the females fought their transfer to another House.
In Torak’s House, Javonna had been the most difficult screaming, cursing, and finally threatening River’s life. It was only when she made that final statement that Torak had had enough. The threat against River was too much considering she was fighting for her life as Javonna spoke of ending it. Torak had threatened to have her put to death for the threat and Mul Kar had been only too eager to carry out the death sentence. Torak had noticed his Captain of the Guard was keeping close tabs on River’s condition and had even visited her on one occasion, though never alone. He knew any and everything that touched River’s life now. Never again would she be threatened or harmed if he could prevent it.