We could make love, he thought, his mind opening fully to the forbidden possibility. Without actually touching. Without breaking any taboos. But he rejected the idea almost immediately.
If they used the Dream Gas to consummate their love it wouldn’t be real. Also, he would never be able to give her the Deep Touch unless he was actually physically touching her at the same time he used his Touch sense. And that was what Saber wanted more than anything else in the universe—the chance to take her and bond her to him forever. Any substitute, no matter how sweet, would be a pale shadow of what could be if they allowed themselves to come together.
Before he could think any more about his forbidden desires, the scene moved on and he found he was holding a sobbing Lissa/Zali against his side.
“I don’t want you to go,” she was crying. “It’s suicide! I know in my heart if you board a ship for Hrakaz we’ll never see each other again.”
Saber felt his chest grow tight. The scene they were playing might be over a thousand years old but the dilemma their characters were experiencing ran strangely parallel to his own situation with Lissa.
“I love you,” he whispered, wrapping her in his shimmering wings, trying to take away the hurt and pain he felt coursing through her. “I will always love you, my darling. Even unto death and beyond.”
“Kall…” Lissa/Zali sobbed against him. “I know we knew this day would come but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. Didn’t expect to have to lose you like this. I thought…I always thought that in the end we’d be together.” She buried her face in his shoulder. “I can stand to die. I can even stand to send our son away and never seen him again. But I can’t bear the idea of being separated from you.”
“It may be our fate to lose each other in this life,” Saber replied, stroking her hair. “But I swear to you, my Lyzel, I will find you in the next one and we will never be parted again.” Gently but firmly he extricated himself from her embrace. “I must go now—you know I must.”
“I know.” She stepped back, her eyes overflowing with tears. “I love you so much, Kall. I’m so proud of what you’re doing. Of what you’re giving up.” She reached out and stroked the shining edge of one of his wings.
Saber shook his head. “The loss of my wings is nothing compared to the loss of you, Zali.”
“Don’t.” She shook her head. “Please, don’t. I can’t bear it.”
“Goodbye.” Saber felt a lump in his throat. This was the final moment between them—the character he was playing wouldn’t be able to help his wife through her delivery. He was never going to see his unborn son or hold him in his arms. He was leaving the woman he loved more than his own life and he would never see her again. Gods, this was terrible. So sad he wanted to sob but he knew he couldn’t—he had to be strong. Had to do this awful thing no matter how painful it was because there was no other way.
But what awful thing is he going to do? Saber wondered, as he stepped away from Lissa’s character. How is he going to stop the Hoard? It’s obvious he intends to board a ship to Hrakaz but what is he going to do once he gets there? There must be more to this scroll. It can’t be ending here—can it?
As though in answer to his unspoken questions, the scene changed again and he found himself sitting on the bridge of a primitive looking space ship. He was lifting off the planet’s surface and there was a terrible, burning pain in his shoulders for some reason. Looking from side to side, he saw why—his wings were burning away to ash, their vast, iridescent feathers crisping and curling as though they had been touched by some unseen fire.
Saber curled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth against the pain. “Goddess,” he prayed aloud. “Forgive me for abandoning your planet. But if this is the only way, then I must take it. If the only way to defeat the Hoard is to—”
Suddenly the scene around him faded and Saber found himself back in the little room made of purple fabric. He was standing opposite Lissa, who was looking around in confusion.
“What happened?” he demanded, turning to Greggor who was watching with a bored look on his face. “Why did it stop? We were just getting to the really important part!”
“Sorry. That was the end of the scroll.” Greggor held up the ancient document.
“Oh, no!” Lissa snatched the scroll from him and examined it closely, as though she could make the missing part appear by will alone. “What happened to the rest of the story?”
“Hmm…” Greggor looked over her shoulder. “See this little annotation here?” He pointed at some printing so fine it could scarcely be read. “Says here that part two was sold.”
“Sold? To who?” Saber growled.
“Hmm…looks like…Lady P.” Greggor looked up. “Probably Lady Pope’nose. She also collects antiquities and historical documents.” He looked at Lissa. “Do you know her?”
“We’ve met her all right.” Saber sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“That must be the recent acquisition she was talking about,” Lissa murmured.
“Come to think of it, she did recently make some purchases from my mistress—very discreetly, of course. Selling off documents is a bit akin to selling off your children—at least to most of the older collectors.” Greggor sniffed. “I mean it can be done but you don’t want to advertise it or anything. But if she—”
Just then a loud gooooonnnnng echoed through the air. It was a sound so loud Lissa put her hands over her ears and the fabric panels that made up their “room” vibrated.
“What was that?” Saber demanded, when the note finally faded away.
“That was my mistress letting everyone know the show is about to begin.” Greggor grabbed him and Lissa both by the arm and dragged them out of the historical drama area. “Come on, we don’t want to be late.”
Saber gave one last look at the purple drapes that marked the historical documents room and promised himself they would get the second scroll from Lady Pope’nose. Although how they were going to get the important document away from such a horrible woman he had absolutely no idea.
Chapter Nineteen
“…and that’s the whole truth, Grandma. I’m with both of them because I love them both and they love me.” Kat took a deep breath and squeezed her men’s hands. Lock was standing by her right side and Deep was standing by her left. Both of them squeezed back and she felt a surge of protection and support coming through their bond.
“I love you,” she sent to both of them. “No matter what she says, I promise that won’t change.”
“We love you too, little Kat,” Deep rumbled in her mind.
“My lady, nothing could change our love for you,” Lock assured her quietly but firmly.
“Well!” Grandma stood suddenly and for a moment Kat was afraid she was going to storm out of the comfortably decorated living room with its neat but slightly faded floral print furniture.
Instead, she came up to Kat and hugged her tight.
“Grandma?” Kat was so surprised she didn’t know what to do. “I…uh…”
“I’m so glad.” Her grandmother’s voice was muffled against her shoulder. “I’m just so glad you finally found the right one for you, Kat.” She pulled back and looked at Kat with a smile. “Or I guess, the right ones.”
“You do realize I’m marrying both of them, right?” Kat looked at her closely, wanting to make sure what she was saying was sinking in. “I mean, as in a triple wedding?”
“A wedding I’ll be proud to attend,” her grandmother promised, her faded blue eyes shining.
Kat shook her head. “I don’t understand. I mean, I’ve been worried about telling you this for months. I put off the ceremony because I was so afraid you wouldn’t attend.”
“Katrina Melissa O’Connor!” Her grandmother looked scandalized—which was exactly how Kat had imagined her looking when she broke the news. “How could you even think such a thing?” she demanded.
“Well…because of the way you raised me.” Kat gave her a bewildered look. “I m
ean, you have to admit, Grandma, you were pretty strict.”
“Because I didn’t want to lose you.” Her grandmother patted her cheek. “And more importantly, I didn’t want you to lose yourself, honey. But now look at you…” She stepped back, smiling. “You have a whole new life you love up in that big ship and you’ve got two handsome men hanging all over you, looking to make an honest woman of you. I couldn’t be prouder.”
“Mrs. O’Connor, we vow to love Kat forever,” Lock said earnestly.
“And protect her with our lives,” Deep growled.
Kat’s grandmother nodded and smiled. “I can tell how much you two love my little girl. It’s been written all over your faces from the minute the three of you came in the door.” She looked at Kat. “So when is the wedding? And when can I expect grandbabies?”
“Wow!” Kat started laughing in relief but then her laughter turned into a sob. “Oh, Grandma!” she exclaimed. Rushing forward, she hugged her grandmother hard. “I was so afraid,” she whispered through her tears. “I never wanted to disappoint you. Thank you for understanding.”
“Of course I understand.” Her grandmother stroked her hair soothingly. “Having two husbands isn’t, well, it’s not the usual thing. And I’m sure some of the ladies in my sewing circle are going to have something to say about it but, well, I don’t care.” She pulled back and Kat saw that there were tears in her eyes as well. “As long as you’re happy, honey, I don’t care.” Then she gestured to Deep and Lock. “Get in here, you two. You’re part of the family now.”
Both men came forward and soon Kat found herself enveloped in a group hug that warmed her heart. For so many long months she had been putting this moment off—the moment when she would reveal the truth to her grandmother. And now it turned out that she needn’t have worried at all.
“I should have given you more credit, Grandma,” she whispered. “You always were the coolest grandmother in town.”
“Well, thank you, honey. That means a lot to me.” Grandma patted her back.
When the hug finally broke apart, Kat had to wipe her eyes. “Will you excuse me?” She smiled at her men. “I think I need to go check my makeup and blow my nose.”
“Use the upstairs bathroom, honey,” Grandma said, smiling. “The downstairs one is a mess right now—I just did a load of laundry.”
“Oh, right.” Kat knew what that meant. Her grandmother insisted on washing all her pantyhose and fine washables by hand and hanging them to dry over the shower curtain. It had driven Kat crazy when she was a teenager but now she thought it was funny—just one of Grandma’s loveable little quirks. “I’ll just be a minute,” she said and with a last smile at her grandmother and her men, she ran up the steps to the second story with a lighter heart than she’d had in weeks.
The upstairs bathroom was done in pink and purple tile that Kat had helped pick out when she was nine and had just moved into the house. Grandma had pretty much given her free rein in the redecoration, trying to cheer her up after her parents split and it really showed—both here and in her childhood bedroom.
Kat smiled as she looked at the tile. She had told her grandma that she could redo the bathroom again if she wanted to—after all, the bright pink and purple motif wasn’t exactly something anyone but a nine year old girl would like. Her grandma stubbornly refused, however, saying she loved it—although she had finally replaced the prancing unicorn wallpaper with a coat of plain cream paint.
Looking at it, Kat realized afresh how much her grandmother loved her. I’m so lucky, she thought, looking at her tear-streaked face in the bathroom mirror. I should have given Grandma more credit. She—
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when a face appeared behind her in the silver surface of the mirror. A familiar face.
“Lauren?” Kat whirled around, frowning. “Are you all right? What are you doing here in my Grandma’s house?”
“I watched the scene downstairs,” Lauren said but her voice sounded strange—colder somehow. “Very touching, Kat.”
“Yes, my Grandma is cool with me being with Twin Kindred. Such a relief.” Kat shook her head. “But… you never did say how you got here?”
“I followed you. But I’ll be leaving alone.” Lauren held something up and Kat was shocked to see a silver syringe with a three inch long needle in her hand. A droplet of poison green liquid quivered on its tip, shining like a distant star in the dim overhead light.
“Lauren, doll, you’re not making a lot of sense.” Kat began to back away. “Is everything all right?”
“It will be. Very soon.” And then Lauren’s features began to run, shifting and flowing like hot wax, changing her into someone else—changing her into Kat.
“Oh my God,” Kat whispered in breathless horror. What the hell was going on? The thing that had been Lauren now looked exactly like her. It was like staring into a mirror, right down to her mussed auburn hair and the mascara smudges beneath her blue eyes.
“What do you think?” A perfect replica of Kat’s own mouth twitched up, giving her a sarcastic little smile. “Will it fool Deep and Lock? Will it fool sweet old Grandma?”
Kat opened her mouth to scream and the needle plunged down, stabbing her in the neck. A burning river of fire suddenly filled her veins and her legs gave way. I have to warn them somehow—have to warn Grandma, she thought frantically. But her mouth wouldn’t work and her vocal cords were paralyzed. She tried to shout a warning through her link to Deep and Lock but even that part of her seemed to be frozen.
Please, God, she thought as the stranger who wore her face caught her and lowered her gently to the cool tile floor. Please don’t let her hurt—
And then everything went black.
Chapter Twenty
“Here we are. Best seat in the house. Be sure you wave when Lady Hake’bean shows up—she told me she’ll be looking for you and she’ll be very offended if she doesn’t see you,” Greggor lectured as he ushered them through the crowd. They ended up in the front row of plush pink seats, which had been set up around the platform where they had been announced previously. A large area inside it had been screened off with panels of shimmering golden fabric, creating a mysterious barrier between the audience and whatever was set up on stage. Greggor got Lissa settled, winked and said, “Enjoy the show,” before bustling away.
Lissa couldn’t help glancing at Saber, who was sitting beside and slightly behind her on a plain wooden stool—the seating provided for slaves. She wondered if he was thinking about what had happened earlier between them on that very stage. If he was, his face didn’t betray it.
But the illicit kiss he’d placed between her thighs wasn’t the only thing Lissa was thinking about. She still had a lump in her throat from the emotional scene they had acted out earlier. It wasn’t just the words she had said as they acted their parts either—Lissa had actually felt the emotions of her character. The despair at watching him leave, the utter desolation of losing the man she loved and knowing she would never see him again.
The way I’m never going to see Saber again after this is over, Lissa thought. She wrapped her arms around herself and squeezed, trying to push the awful thought away. But this time she couldn’t do it. If only we could be together. If only we could forget about what our people say and do what we want… But that would mean asking Saber to give up his future position as the Over Chief of the Sun Clan and the Touch Kindred. Lissa couldn’t do that—it wasn’t fair. Wasn’t right to ask him to sacrifice his entire life to be with her. I’ll just have to learn to deal with it, she told herself unhappily. Just have to—
“Esteemed Ladies of Opulex,” Greggor suddenly boomed from the platform. “I hope you’ve all been enjoying yourselves tonight.”
“Immensely!” someone shouted with a slightly tipsy giggle.
And someone else added, “Nobody throws a party like Snyra!”
“Good, good, I’m glad to hear it.” Greggor flashed the crowd a blinding grin. “But the Dream Gas and sensi-play aside,
we have another entertainment planned for you tonight. A rare sight—my Mistress, Lady Hake’bean, will be subduing and punishing her new slave for your pleasure. Ladies of Opulex, from the Berrack mines on Primus Three where he was confined for multiple murder, I give you…The Beast!”
With a flourish, he ripped down the shimmering golden curtain that hid the stage from view. There was a collective gasp when the Beast, still wearing his snarling animal mask, was revealed. Except for the mask he was nude and it looked as though someone had taken great pains to oil every inch of his massive body.
To Lissa, it looked like every muscle in his huge frame was tensed and trembling with rage. When the curtain came down, he threw back his head and howled—a sound of such pure, unadulterated rage that her blood turned to ice water in her veins. An uneasy murmur ran through the assembled crowd.
The lady sitting beside Lissa shivered and whispered, “Look at that brute! He’s not even wearing restraints, let alone a pain collar. How can she control him?”
“I think she said something about chemicals that keep him in check,” Lissa whispered back but she couldn’t help feeling uneasy herself. Was it her imagination or did the Beast seem more mobile than he had earlier when they had met Lady Hake’bean? He was shrugging his shoulders and moving his head from side to side like a man trying to rid himself of invisible chains. Did he have more freedom of movement than he had before?
“I don’t like this.” Saber was suddenly between her and the stage. He crouched low and glared at the masked figure, obviously ready for action. “I think we should leave.”
“We can’t,” Lissa objected. “You heard what Greggor said—Lady Hake’bean will be offended!”
“I don’t give a damn about that,” he growled. “This isn’t safe. It’s—”
Just then there was a theatrical puff of smoke and Snyra Hake’bean appeared almost directly in front of them. The crowd ooed and ahhed as she bowed and preened, obviously loving the attention. When she saw Lissa in the front row, she blew her a kiss and waved.