Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (43 page)

Chapter Thirty-eight

“How are you feeling today, sweetheart?” Kor
leaned over Maggie’s hospital bed and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Much better now.” Maggie sighed
fretfully. “I’m really tired of being here—I wish they’d let me leave the Med
Station and move in to your suite with you already.”

“They’re just keeping an eye on you,
blondie.” Kor stroked her hair gently out of her face. “I don’t blame them. I
can’t keep my eyes off you either.”

“Silly.” Maggie started to say something
else but then the spot on his big hand caught her eye. “Kor, what’s that? Did
you
still
not get it all off?”

Kor sighed and looked down at the small
spot which looked like a pitch black mole at the base of his right thumb. It
was about the size of a dime and it wasn’t that prominent but it
was
troubling because it was the last of the dust that had coated him when he
stepped onto the Black Planet—the mark of the shadow stone, as the demon had
called it.

“I scrubbed and scrubbed last night,” he
told Maggie. “I don’t know why it won’t all come off.”

She shivered. “Well, you’ll just have to
try again later. I don’t like that stuff—it reminds me of… you know.”

“Yes, I know.” Kor took back his hand and
rubbed the spot against the side of his leg. “Maybe it’s never coming off.
Maybe it’s a reminder to me—something that will never let me forget what I did,
what I allowed to happen through me.”

“Oh, come on, Kor—I don’t think the
Goddess works like that. She’s not vindictive,” Maggie objected. “And speaking
of the Goddess, she healed me so I don’t see why I can’t just
go.”

“The Goddess healed you perfectly but
you’re still weak from blood loss,” Kor said smiling. “So you’ll have to be
patient. Believe me, I can’t wait for you to get strong enough to come home
either.”

“I just bet you can’t.” Maggie gave him a
naughty smile. “And why is that? So we can finally have some more bonding sex?
I’m going to
really
enjoy it this time since I don’t have to feel guilty
the whole time we do it.”

“Bonding sex is all well and good but I
have other things in mind for you,” Kor murmured. “Better than bonding sex
things.”

Maggie raised her eyebrows. “Better than
bonding sex? What can you possibly be talking about?”

“Something very important I’m afraid,” Kor
said seriously. “You see, I went to the Earth goods store and bought a lot of
those canned foods you humans are so fond of but they’re all out of order. The
first thing you need to do when you walk in the door of our suite is alpa…alba…”
His serious façade began to crack and Maggie could tell he was trying not to
laugh. “Seven Hells—what is it Donald made you do again?”

“
Alphabetize
.
He made me
alphabetize
them,” Maggie
giggled.

“Oh, that’s right.” Kor nodded gravely. “Yes,
you need to do that. And when you’re finished, I require you to make me balls
of meat that weigh exactly the right amount. Also, we need to pick linens for
our sleeping platform that match the curtains and all our clothing. All right?”

“Sure.” Maggie laughed again. “And while
we’re at it, let’s be sure the chairs all sit at the dining room table at
perfect ninety degree angles.”

“I’ll also require that our oral hygiene
products keep their distance from each other,” Kor said. “After all, I can’t
risk getting your germs.”

“In that case, maybe you’d better stop
kissing me,” Maggie pointed out.

“Or I could wash out your mouth with
disinfectant every time I do,” Kor said thoughtfully. “That
might
be
sufficient to keep me from being contaminated. I just don’t know…”

Both of them cracked up and Maggie laughed
until tears came to her eyes. In the week since they had returned from Tarsia,
she had been filling Kor in on her disastrous reunion with her ex-fiancé and
this was the result.

Kor, who had hated Donald when he was a
rival, was now fascinated with his strangely fastidious habits. He was
constantly begging for more “Donald stories” to laugh at and Maggie was happy
to oblige him. Now that she and Kor were together and their bond was strong,
she could see how very unhappy she’d been with Donald. In fact, it seemed
completely ridiculous that she’d been with him for so long—almost as ridiculous
as alphabetizing the canned goods or weighing the meatballs or folding all the
napkins into perfect Isosceles triangles for dinner.

“We really need to stop,” she told Kor,
slapping him lightly on the arm. “Poor Donald can’t help himself, really. He
just wasn’t the right guy for me and I
certainly
wasn’t the right girl
for him.”

“No, because you’re only the right female
for
me.”
Kor leaned over to take her mouth in a warm, possessive kiss
that took her breath away. Just as Maggie was about to invite him into her
hospital bed—completely against doctor’s orders—she heard someone clearing
their throat from the doorway.

Thinking it was the nurse, she broke the
kiss reluctantly and looked up.

“I’m sorry, I just—” The words died on her
lips when she saw who was standing in her doorway—Donald.

“Greetings, Margaret,” he said and cleared
his throat. “I hope I have not, ah, interrupted anything.”

“Donald,” she said blankly, looking him
over. His leg was looking much better than the last time she’d seen him. The
external fixation device was gone and he was up and around—albeit with a cast
and a pair of crutches. “What…what are you doing here?” she asked at last,
unable to think of anything else to say.

“I believe I told you I was going to be
doing some work with the Kindred. They were kind enough to invite me to the
Mother Ship early and help treat my leg. It is almost healed now as you see.”

“Uh, yes. Yes, I see,” Maggie felt
awkward. How much of what they were saying had her ex-fiancé heard? How long
had he been standing there or just outside the doorway while she and Kor
laughed about his little peculiarities?

“I heard you were injured as well,” Donald
said stiffly. “So I came to see you. I am glad that you appear to be feeling
well.”

“Yes…much better. Thanks.” God, why
couldn’t she think of anything to say to him? They’d been together for five
years but it was like talking to a stranger! In desperation, Maggie nodded to
the side of the bed where Kor was standing there, silently sizing Donald up.
“Um, so this is Kor. And Kor, this is…”

“Donald!” Kor strode forward, smiling unexpectedly
and reached out to take her ex-fiance’s hand. He had picked up the Earth custom
of hand-shaking but Maggie was a little surprised he was so willing to shake
his ex-rival’s hand.

“Ah…hello,” Donald said awkwardly, holding
onto his crutches with one hand as Kor pumped the other. “It’s a…uh, a real
pleasure to meet you.”

“You too.” Kor grinned and finally dropped
his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you—it’s good to finally meet you in the
flesh.”

“I guess so.” Donald looked at him
awkwardly. “I heard about you as well.”

“Yes, well…sorry about that.” Kor shrugged,
his broad shoulders rolling. “I know you probably feel like I stole Maggie away
from you but I just couldn’t
resist
her. I mean, how could I help
falling in love with the most beautiful female in the galaxy?”

“Kor!” Maggie didn’t know whether to laugh
or scold. Kor really didn’t need to lay it on so thick—poor Donald was
obviously befuddled enough as it was.

“Well…” Donald tucked his crutches back
into place under his arms. “I hate to leave so soon but I’m wanted in therapy.
Now that I see you’re well I should be going.”

“All right.” Maggie smiled. “I’m glad
you’re feeling better. And good luck on your research.”

“Thank you,” Donald said stiffly. “I will
be going on a shuttle to do some actual field work on unexplored worlds. Just
as you did.” He frowned. “Or were
supposed
to do, anyway.”

“Before she got sidetracked with me,
right?” Kor laughed. “Don’t worry—Maggie’s still going to Gaia. I’m going with
her as her personal bodyguard and assistant.”

“Oh, well then…” Donald cleared his
throat.

“Have fun when you go,” Kor told him. “You
never can tell what you might find out there on some distant planet. Could be
the love of your life or something new and mysterious—like a fruit that wants
to eat your head and tastes like a creamy crisp nut-do.”

“That’s
Krispy Kreme
donut.”
This time Maggie
did
laugh. “And I’d think you could get it right by
now. After all, you’ve inhaled several dozen since we got back to the Mother
Ship.”

“Only because you sent me to fetch them
and they smelled so good I couldn’t help myself,” Kor protested, going back to
stand by her bed.

“
That’s
an understatement. You
liked them so much, the first few times you came back with one of those huge
dozen donut boxes with only one left for me,” she complained.

“You’re right—I should be careful I don’t
get fat.” Kor patted his muscular abs where there wasn’t a spare ounce of
flesh. “You might not love me anymore.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Maggie
reached up for his shirt. “Come here, you.”

This time it was her turn to pull Kor into
a kiss but when they finally broke contact, she remembered that she was
supposed to be saying goodbye to Donald. Looking at the doorway to her room,
she saw that it was empty.

“Oh dear—he must have slipped away.”
Maggie put a hand to her face. “Probably he thought we were showing off to make
him feel bad.”

Kor frowned. “Weren’t we?”

“You—” Maggie pretended to hit him and he
dodged away, laughing.

“Just kidding, sweetheart. I forgot he was
there too. Certainly is a tiny little fellow, isn’t he? About the size of that
slave that belonged to Lady Pope’nose—you know, the one you said couldn’t carry
you because of all the cuplakes you ate?”

“Cup
cakes,”
Maggie corrected him.
“You eat those by the dozen too—Lauren says she can’t keep the chocolate
coconut cream ones in stock because of you.”

“They're
really
good,” Kor admitted. “But what was the name of that slave? I
should remember—he was always the one she brought with her when she wanted to
gloat over me.”

“I think it was Jonas. But Kor…” Maggie
bit her lip and took his large hand in both of hers. “Listen, there’s something
that’s been bothering me—something I want to ask you.”

“What? Ask me anything,” he murmured.

“It’s just…” Maggie took a deep breath.
“You never exactly told me what you did to Lady Pope’nose. You just said she
got what she deserved. I mean, she was a horrible person but I just…I need to
know…did you…”

“Did I kill her?” Kor asked directly.

“Exactly.” Maggie nodded earnestly. “I
mean, I would understand if you did. But I just want to
know.”

Kor shook his head. “No, I didn’t kill
her. I took her with me when I went to the Flesh Bazaar to find you.”

“You did?” Maggie looked at him,
surprised. “But…I never saw her anywhere.”

“You were too busy coming all over my
fingers, to think about anything else, as I recall.” Kor’s deep voice came out
in a lustful growl.

“Kor…” Maggie’s cheeks got hot. “Stop
trying to distract me and tell me what you did to her.”

He shrugged. “All right, I don’t mind
telling…I sold her.”

“You
what?”
Maggie looked at him
wide-eyed. “Seriously?”

He nodded gravely. “Seriously. I’m afraid
she didn’t fetch a very big price—not even a fourth as much as I paid for you.
Actually, it’s a wonder I found anyone to buy her at all.”

“But who…who did buy her? Oh my God, is
she somewhere being someone’s sex slave?” Maggie didn’t know whether to feel
horrified or delighted at the thought of the tables being turned so neatly on
the nasty Lady Pope’nose.

Kor snorted. “Hardly. In the end I had to
sell her as a fresher maid because she was saying such awful things and causing
such a scene nobody wanted her as anything else.”

Maggie frowned. “A fresher maid? What’s
that?”

“You know—someone who cleans the fresher
after others use it? What’s your word for it—the bathroom?”

“Oh my God.” Maggie put a hand to her
mouth. “You sold her to someone who was going to make her
scrub toilets?”

Kor nodded. “The merchant who bought her
owns a large all you can eat restaurant which serves Dihoria food.
Unfortunately, though the cuisine is delicious, it also gives most people,
ah…how do I put this nicely?” He frowned. “Oh yes,
intestinal
difficulties.
Meaning that almost as soon as they eat the food, they need to um, expel it.”

Maggie shook her head. “You’re kidding
me—right? You have to be kidding.”

“I’m afraid not.” Kor grinned. “He told me
that he has a fresher pot—or toilet, I guess you call it—for every seat in the
restaurant. Just so none of his customers have to wait. With such a large
amount of usage, his freshers get pretty messy and he’s constantly looking for
good slaves to clean them. I assured him that Lady Pope'nose would be the
perfect fresher maid—with a few modifications, of course.”