Authors: Lisanne Norman
* * *
Josh tried desperately to fight back the nausea caused by the swirling, sickening maelstrom of mental energies into which he'd been thrust by Ghyan. Both their lives were now in the balance. It had been assumed Mara knew how to control this, but she didn't— she was almost as much of a novice as he was! He had no instincts, nothing to guide him; this was Sholan through and through, not Human. Then he remembered what she'd said. Control. She didn't know how to control it.
He could feel them both slipping away from reality, nearer the yawning emptiness that terrified Mara. The voices of the others in the room were very faint, as was his perception of where he was.
Control,
and
where.
Was that it? Was it enough to be utterly determined they would remain where they were, among the living? It was all he had.
While he was still aware of his physical self, he grasped Mara tightly, concentrating on seeing her mentally, pushing aside the swirling colors as if parting his way through an impenetrable jungle. Faintly at first, the image of Mara's face and body formed. As it did, he could feel her become more solid in his arms, but it was a still puppet he held, not a living, breathing woman. He needed her mind. Reaching out with his, he searched, as he'd been taught, for hers. Finding it, he clung onto it as firmly as he was clinging onto her physical body.
He could see it now, the black center of the whirlpool to which Mara was being drawn. There was still a sense of Zhyaf there, but so faint now as to be almost imperceptible.
No. You're not following him,
he sent to her.
Stay with me, Mara. I need you. He's beyond that now. Let him go on in peace and stay with me.
On the brink of the darkness, she hesitated.
Taking advantage of this, he forced her to retreat, drawing her back with him. As he did, suddenly his awareness expanded, encompassing Mara as well. Images flickered before his eyes— images of Mara's life— moving faster and faster till they became a continuous blur.
With a sickening jolt, suddenly it was over and he was lying on the bed, Mara clasped tightly within his arms. He felt her hand move. Confused and shocked as he was, this one fact penetrated.
She'd moved!
I'm here.
Her thought was faint, but it was enough as he took her face in his hands and began to kiss her. She
was
there, in his arms and in his mind, a constant presence, her thoughts flowing to him just as his were flowing to her.
Leskas,
Mara sent.
He raised his head, looking around the now empty room, wondering why they were alone.
You shouldn't have come after me. You've bound us to each other. We're one now, Leskas.
He looked down at her. A single tear was rolling down her cheek. Pushing himself up on one elbow, he gently wiped it away. Now he felt her fears as if they were his own and realized that from now on, they were.
"I'm sorry Zhyaf's gone," he said, keeping his voice low. "He was a good person, but you were mismatched, Mara. There was nothing either of you could have done to make your relationship work."
"He died alone and in terror."
"Not alone, you were there, we all were. He knew that, Mara. He wouldn't have wanted you to die with him." He felt protective of her, something he'd never experienced toward any woman before. "You've no need to feel any guilt, ask Vanna." He looked round for the Physician, then remembered they were alone.
"They left because we're Leskas now," Mara said quietly.
"Huh?" He looked back at her. "Yes, I know, but why would they leave because of that?" Reaching out, he smoothed the hair back from her face, noticing for the first time just how blue her eyes were. The first stirrings of desire began, and he tried to push them aside.
"That's why. Leskas have to pair to complete their Link."
"We're already lovers," he said, stroking her cheek before realizing that wasn't doing a lot to help him deny his need to make love to her. He remembered just how close to death they'd come and shuddered.
"Not Leska lovers." She turned her face away from him. "It's too soon for me, Josh, but we'll have no choice now the Link's started to pull us together."
"How different can it be? Don't worry, it's too soon for me, too, Mara." He began to let her go and move back, but as he did, he felt a compulsion to return to her side.
She gave a shaky laugh and turned her head round again. "Oh, it's different, and you're just starting to find out how different."
He frowned. "You aren't making sense." He remained by her side, wanting to leave, wanting to stay and hold her close. Her scent drifted up to him., warm and feminine, reminding him of honeysuckle on a summer's evening.
"You've never been able to smell my scent before."
Her words jerked his mind back from the daydream. "It's your perfume," he said uneasily.
She shook her head. "Sholan senses. You took over my Link with Zhyaf. You share those senses with me now."
"That's not possible. You know we've got less sensitive noses than the Sholans," he objected as once more the honeysuckle scent teased his nostrils. She touched his hand, and it was as if fire spread to him through her fingertips.
"The Link's no respecter of feelings," she said quietly, her fingers curling round his.
Suddenly he was aware of her desire, a twin flame to his own. It rushed through him shattering his self-control. He reached for her, pulling her close as he slipped back down on the bed beside her. As his mouth closed on hers, it was as if it was for the first time. She was so soft and warm, her skin tasting like honey. He fumbled at the fastening of her robe, his hands suddenly clumsy. Forcing himself to slow down, he pushed it aside to find her naked beneath it.
With a groan, he suddenly became aware of his own physical discomfort and began to haul at his belt buckle. She helped him, her hands trembling in their combined urgency. Finally he pulled her naked body against his, gasping at the strength of the compulsion to mate that now surged through him.
Not yet,
she sent, guiding his head down to her breasts.
It gets better.
Greedily he fastened his mouth over her nipple, catching it between his teeth, feeling it harden, hearing her moan in pleasure as she pressed herself closer, her fingers tightening almost painfully in his hair. Her sensations coursed through him, merging with his, increasing his desire.
She drew her fingernails down his back, making him shudder. Then, cupping his face with one hand, she drew him up and began to kiss him as her other hand trailed down his side to his hip.
Reluctantly he pulled back from her. "What are you doing to me?" he whispered, moving until he was kneeling between her legs. "It was never like this before."
For answer, she pulled him down on top of her, lifting herself up to meet him. As they joined, their minds merged once more, this time so absolutely that he lost all sense of his identity: there was only
them,
their hearts beating as one, their bodies moving in time as they climbed higher and higher to the climax that sealed them together.
As they lay catching their breath afterward, their minds began to part.
Leska Link. We're the only Human Leskas,
he heard Mara say.
* * *
Dawn's light began to filter down through the canopy of trees, illuminating the gloom around them. They'd been walking for hours, it seemed to Keeza. They'd had two brief stops. On both occasions, Kezule had her startle the wildlife. Both times he'd managed to make a kill with the pistol. The first had been a large catlike predator distantly related to the Sholans. She'd had to run and fetch the body. Touching it made her gorge rise. Though offered some of the flesh, Keeza had refused, unable to stomach eating a creature that so closely resembled her own kind.
Kezule had shrugged and begun to eat.
The second kill had been a rhakla, and this she had shared with him. That stop had been shorter as the general had swiftly skinned and butchered the carcass then wrapped it in its pelt to take with them.
"The Aldatans, how long are they expected to be off-world, and where have they gone?" he asked.
"On a rescue mission," she said without thinking as he mindlessly put one foot in front of the other, praying that he'd call another halt before she collapsed. She was feeling decidedly unwell.
"How long?"
"Month to get there, same back, and however long it takes in between," she muttered. "They've been gone three weeks already." Her foot snagged in a chiddoe hole, jerking her out of her daze as she stumbled.
His hand caught her, the fingers firm yet gentle on her arm as, taking care his claws didn't hurt her, he pulled her upright again.
She stammered her thanks, feeling her body become slick with sweat and her temperature start to rise as he continued to hold her.
"You're hot," he observed, tongue flicking out toward her.
"The poison— your bite," she began. "I'm dying, aren't I? That's why you didn't bother killing me." Her vision was beginning to blur now, and she had to blink to keep the sweat from her eyes.
"Not dying, no." There was a grim look on his face as his hand tightened. Stooping, he set down his bundle of raw meat.
His unblinking eyes held her as if paralyzed; the thought of struggling didn't occur to her. Raising a shaking arm to her face, she wiped away the sweat. His skin had darkened, was now a deeper green, more like the vegetation around them. Suddenly she was frightened.
He pulled her closer, moving his grip till he held her by the wrist.
"You promised to neutralize the poison," she said, her disorientation making her reckless.
"Is what I'm doing," he said, his tongue flicking out to touch the hairless palm of her hand.
Seeing the anger on his face, she cringed back.
He pulled her close again. "I need what your body produced to combat my bite," he hissed angrily, claws tightening round her flesh. "Blame your people, Keeza. I have never used a pet this way!"
She fought against him as he reached for her other arm, her claws extending as she tried to hit him.
"Fool of a female!" he snarled, raising his hand instead. "Have it your way, then!"
Her last memory of him was of that hand, armed with razor-sharp claws, descending toward her face.
* * *
It had taken Kezule two days to reach the Ferraki Hills and bypass the Taykui Estate, but now he was as far northeast as was practicable for the time being. He'd also found a suitable place to literally go to earth. A narrow fissure in the rock face, just wide enough for him to squeeze through, provided a place for him to bed down and sleep some of the waiting time away. First he'd need to gather the local undergrowth to form bedding, then hunt and eat. Three months in all, but they'd been gone several weeks already. In a month, he'd start making his way to their estate. Time enough for him to observe their security and slip in unnoticed. He'd be able to locate their home at leisure, then settle down to wait and watch for the Aldatans to return. Then, by the spirit of the God-King, Emperor Q'emgo'h—
may His memory be revered for all time
— debts would be settled!
* * *
"So you think Kezule and Keeza are headed for the estate?" Garras asked Rhyaz.
"It's a strong probability, given the questions he asked Zhyaf," said Rhyaz. "He specifically asked about the people who brought him forward to our time. It's my bet that he wants to be returned so he can change the course of history, make sure he and the eggs escape."
Garras unconsciously drummed his fingers on Rhyaz's table. "Even though he knows they're off-world?"
"What other course of action is available to him?" asked the Guild Master.
"He could try and reach one of those home worlds," said Konis.
"Not possible," said Rhyaz. "I'm positive he was telling the truth when he said he didn't know where they were. That's leaving aside the fact that he won't be able to get his hands on a deep space vessel and a crew willing to take him."
"Shuttles land at the spaceport every day," Lijou pointed out.
"Very few are capable of taking him beyond our orbit, and we've sewn up the spaceport tighter than a demon-fish's arse. No one gets in without a body check and a pass; the perimeter is under heavy surveillance, and every craft is guarded from the moment it lands till it takes off again."
"Same with the estate," agreed Garras. "We're not taking any risks."
"What about Keeza?" asked Lijou. "She'd begun to remember Zhyaf and the fact he'd been tampering with her mind. That's a good indication she's managed to break her programming. Surely once she remembers she'll try to frustrate him and find a way to help us?"
Rhyaz sighed. "That's another complication. We finally got the report on how his herb is affecting her. At least we think it's the herb. There's his bite to be taken into account, too."
"What effect is it having?" asked Garras.
"Basically, stimulating her aggression to an almost psychotic level, and inducing mind-altering states just as it did with Kaid in its other forms."
"I thought the herb had a calmative effect on Kezule. She's out of the center now, away from the herb, beginning to remember her past. Surely all that will return her system to normal?" asked Lijou, a worried look on his face.
"I can only tell you about its effect on Keeza, not Kezule. We have no clear information on that yet. That damned Valtegan is a walking chemical factory, apparently able to control his body to a degree that's difficult for us to comprehend! I'm afraid we can't assume Keeza will be anything but a continuing risk to us. It'll take time for her to normalize, and we don't have that. Kezule could decide to head for the estate anyway on the premise Zhyaf was lying about them being away. Keeza herself could goad him into such a course of action as a revenge attack for what's been done to her."
"What about the search?" asked Konis. "I thought you'd found the aircar. There must have been tracks to indicate which way they headed."
"We did. It was abandoned apart from Zhyaf's body. Supplies and clothing had been taken, but there was no sign of them. Trails for a short distance to the north, then nothing. We've got very little chance of locating them in the forest now that it's well into spring— increased tree canopy, too many heat sources, you name it. It is a game reserve, after all. All we can do is guard the forest perimeter and hope to get him when he emerges."
"But the Taykui Forest is vast!" exclaimed Konis. "How can you hope to patrol it's perimeter?"
"We can't, but we can have outposts at every estate or village, then at regular intervals in between. We haven't exactly got an option, Konis. It has to be done. Commander Chuz is already implementing it with the help of General Raiban and ourselves."
"But Keeza's an innocent in all this!" said Lijou. "She's in this predicament because of us!"
"She killed two guards," reminded Rhyaz.
"Because of the chemicals in her blood, and because we put her in there in the first place," objected the priest. "You can't order her shot on sight, Rhyaz. You have to give her a chance!"
"We will have teams with tranquilizer guns standing by," agreed Rhyaz, "But our first concern is safety. We must stop them at all costs."
Lijou got to his feet and began pacing round the office. "It's our fault," he said. "We should never have agreed to this experiment!"
Konis stirred. "I'm equally responsible, Lijou, but we had to go ahead. We needed the information we've gotten because of her. There was no other option at the time. Rhyaz, please make every effort to take the female alive. Lijou is right. We owe her that at least."
Rhyaz nodded. "That goes without saying, Master Konis."