“I think not.” Lorgin stepped forward, placing a proprietary hand on Deana’s shoulder.
Jimmy stepped back. “Oh, are you together?”
“No,” she said.
“Yes,” he said.
Jimmy looked from one to the other. Deana looked surprised, but the big guy looked like he was getting hot.
Lorgin’s eyes narrowed ominously. “You will leave now and forget this woman.”
Jimmy turned to Deana, clearly perplexed. “Deana?” Lorgin started forward. Jimmy was nothing if not smart. “I’ll-I’ll see you at the party.” Deana gave him a half-hearted wave.
When he was out of sight, she turned to Lorgin, reached up on tiptoe, and grabbed him by his arrogant ear. She yanked and twisted it for good measure.
“Ouch! Unhand me at once!” Lorgin was shocked that anyone, let alone a mere slip of a girl, would have the audacity to touch a Knight of the Charl in such a manner.
Deana was not about to be intimidated like poor Jimmy. She yanked on his ear again so there was no misunderstanding. “What did you think you were doing? I happen to like him!”
Lorgin clamped his hand around her wrist and applied subtle pressure to her hand, causing a reflex action which freed his ear from her grip. Still clasping her wrist, he turned to her, saying in a low voice, “You will not see this man again.”
“What?” She could not believe his gall. She yanked her hand free.
“I have said what I wish to say. I will not permit it.”
“You won’t permit—Listen, pal, what makes you think you’ve got the right—”
She stopped because Lorgin had grabbed her upper arms, furious. His luminous glare pierced her. “I have taken The Right. You will not do this.”
“I never gave you The Right.” What was she saying? She was starting to sound as crazy as him, for crying out loud.
He snorted at her foolish statement. “You do not give me The Right; I take it. We will talk no more of it.”
“We will, too. I can do whatever I choose, I have my—”
“No.”
“No? Excuse me, did I hear no?”
“At least there is nothing amiss with your hearing.”
Now that made her mad. “Well, you can go back to your forest primeval and leave me alone. I don’t like your attitude.”
“This matters not to me.” He shrugged arrogantly. It was impossible to have an argument with him, she fumed. He keeps changing the parameters to suit himself!
“Listen up, Lorgin, you may have ordained yourself my Chi’in t’se Leau but that doesn’t give you the right to tell me who to keep company with.”
“You are right.” She gave him a surprised look, which quickly darkened with his next words. “I give myself that particular authority.”
“Then I don’t recognize it.” Two could play at this game.
His look became thunderous. “You will.”
She refused to talk to him for most of the meal. Not that he noticed. Apparently Lorgin had finally found food he enjoyed in the Chinese restaurant. She’d never seen anyone eat so much moo goo gai pan in her life.
Her friends found him strange enough to be interesting, and soon were drinking mai-tais with him as if he were a convention institution of some kind. She was beginning to suspect he could drink them all under the table and still be able to battle a microwave or two.
She was not at all happy about this sudden possessive attitude of his. Maybe he feared that she would abandon him. Maybe he was insecure, being in a new place, feeling strange…
The rich sound of his laughter broke into her thoughts.
That man never had an insecure day in his life, you idiot! He’s just an arrogant beast!
She drummed her fingers on the table.
How to deal with him—that was the question. She looked over at him again. Lorgin was talking to her friend Kristen. He turned his head at that moment and coolly met her eyes.
Deana stared him down, lifting her chin a notch. Lorgin raised an eyebrow at her, an unspoken challenge.
Obviously he wasn’t backing down from his stand.
And he didn’t seem terribly wounded by her silent treatment. On the contrary, by the gleam in his eye, the man actually seemed amused by it. She turned away from his gaze in pique, not missing the sound of his low chuckle as he turned his attention to the other end of the table.
There was a name for men like him. She shuddered distastefully.
A horrible thought occurred to her. What would he be like in his own environment? She shuddered again. Thank God she’d never have to witness that display of swaggering lordliness. The very thought of it made her ill. No sense upsetting herself, for thankfully she’d never be in such a position.
Even though she was wearing her sweater, she inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine.
After dinner, everyone walked back to the convention center main hall area, deciding to mill about and mingle until party time. Lorgin was waylaid by the artist they had met earlier in the day.
Kristen decided to use the opportunity to grill Deana on the mysterious subject of Lorgin. Since the hall was warm, Deana unzipped her sweater and slung it over a couch. The torque gleamed brightly in the fluorescent lighting.
Lorgin felt a strange pulling sensation.
He slowly turned his head toward Deana, his eyes widening in shock. The Shimalee! By Aiyah, she wears the Shimalee! Lorgin stood transfixed, feeling its power even from this distance. There was no doubt in his mind now why he had been brought here.
So, the ancient prophecy was true.
Knowing that this was not the place where danger threatened the woman, he abruptly turned and walked away, leaving the artist talking to the air. There was much that needed to be done. He would avoid the nuisance of The Challenge and take care of the first now.
He headed back to the hotel.
Deana was being thoroughly grilled by Kristen. The girl was like the Spanish Inquisition when she set her mind to it. And no one knows when the Spanish Inquisition will strike!
Deana smiled to herself while deftly avoiding answering some of the more pointed questions. She looked up, expecting to see Lorgin standing nearby and was surprised when she didn’t spot him. That wasn’t like him. He had made it a personal mission not to let her out of his sight. The last time she had seen him he was talking to that artist fellow…
There was a curious buzzing of voices down at the end of the hall by the doors, moving her way.
The crowd suddenly parted like the Red Sea and Lorgin strode through, wearing his original caped costume. The bright white of his shirt shimmered against his golden tan skin as his black pirate boots pounded forcefully across the cement floor. His midnight cape with the golden symbols swirled around him as he purposefully made his way to her.
Deana’s breath caught in her throat. She had forgotten how magnificent he looked in his own raiment.
As he approached her, he whipped out the Cearix and went down on one knee, his cape floating about him. Bowing his head, he held the Cearix out to her, blade facing her, saying in a firm, bold voice, “Your servant.”
Deana stood transfixed, looking down at the top of his golden head. He obviously expected her to do something. But what? Take the blade, perhaps? She reached out and gingerly took the blade from him.
Lorgin remained with his arms outstretched in front of him, head bowed. Now what did he want? It wasn’t as if she knew what the damn alien wanted!
Annoyed, she started to return the dagger to him the way she had been taught since a young child. Always hand a knife back to someone with the handle facing them, Deana. Good advice, since this blade looked sharp as hell.
She was about to do just that when, for a reason she couldn’t name, she abruptly changed her mind and handed it back to him exactly the way he had given it to her, the blade facing his heart.
Without looking up, his warm, powerful hands covered hers on the hilt, sending a wave of tingling heat up her arms and throughout her body. T
hen he reclaimed the dagger, swiftly embedding it in its sheath as he stood.
He gazed down at her, eyes heavy-lidded with a passion she didn’t understand. “Your king,” he murmured arrogantly.
Before she could ask what this was all about, he turned to Kristen. “Did you not witness this?” he demanded.
Kristen was stunned. “Y-yes.”
“Your name, mistress?”
“K-Kristen. Kristen Brown.”
Lorgin looked upward, throwing his arms wide as his compelling voice boomed throughout the hall.
“I, Lorgin ta’al Krue,
Knight of the Charl,
Holder of the Fourth Power,
Son of the line of Lodarres,
Whose destiny is about to speak,
Hereby claim Kristen Brown of this world
As Witness.
LET IT BE SEALED FOR ALL ETERNITY!”
There was dead silence in the room. Then spontaneous applause broke out all over the place. They think this is a skit! Deana looked around, not sure what to make of all this. She felt Lorgin’s strong hand at her elbow.
“Come with me, zira.” His tongue rolled the r on the strange word.
She looked up at him, recognizing that look. At any moment those little pink lights were going to start up.
Yes, they had definitely better leave.
They entered their hotel room.
Deana turned to confront Lorgin about that outrageous scene he had just enacted. She opened her mouth to let him have it, then abruptly closed it. He was approaching her with a purpose she was not sure of.
She backed against the wall, but he was not to be put off. He picked her up in his arms as if she were nothing more than a rag doll, his cape fluttering around both of them.
Then she felt a slight breeze and a strange prickling sensation. There was a peculiar light in the room. Suddenly a small circular hole of flashing colored lights appeared from out of nowhere. It grew and grew, almost engulfing half the room.
Deana was terrified and ducked her head inside Lorgin’s cloak, seeking the security of his embrace. He wrapped his cape fully around her as he stepped into the portal. He inclined his head to hers, and his low, deep voice rippled over her like the pulses of light.
“Now do we go home, zira.”
She knew nothing more until her eyes opened onto a new universe.
Chapter Four
The bed was so hard!
The least this hotel could do was provide better mattresses for what they charged per night. Deana groaned. It felt as if she were lying on a slab of rock. She blearily opened her eyes.
Lorgin was leaning over her, his hands on either side of her hips, his expression…concerned. He was smoothing back her hair with a gentle hand.
“Lorgin.” Deana weakly smiled up at him. What did he look so worried about?
“Adeeann, how are you feeling?”
How am I feeling? What a strange question. “I’m fine.”
She started to sit up when a wave of dizziness washed over her. She cried out, and Lorgin quickly lowered her back down.
She put a steadying hand to her forehead. “Everything’s spinning. Am I sick or something?”
“Not in the manner you have asked.”
What the hell did that mean?
Her hand fell back down to her side, hitting the hard mattress. She blinked as her fingers felt along the rough, cool surface. It was a slab of rock!
Then she remembered…the strange pulsing lights, the whirring tunnel, and Lorgin carrying her directly into that maelstrom. Her eyes shifted warily to his.
“Tell me that what I’m thinking isn’t true,” she whispered.
Lorgin’s hand brushed her cheek. “The effects of the phasing will pass,” he said softly. “There is always this feeling of displacement the first time. Yours was more severe than our people’s. I think this is because of your belief system as regards the nature of reality.” He hesitated. “Although this is just a guess on my part, since no one from your world has ever transported through the tunnels. You will feel better in a short time.”
Deana closed her eyes, fear making two tears track slowly down her cheeks as the significance of his words hit her. He had taken her into another universe! The enormity of it rendered her almost senseless.
Until she felt his fingers tenderly wipe the tears from her face, as if that could make her forgive him! Her eyes flashed open full of fire, leveled directly at him.
She brushed aside his irksome hand. “You told me you couldn’t go back! Why did you lie to me?”
Lorgin tried not to smile as the gharta returned. “I did not lie to you, Little Fire. I said I could not go back. I did not say I did not know how to go back.”
Her eyes narrowed in a fair imitation of him.
“Semantics? You knew very well how I felt…” She stopped as her eyes traveled about the room, or cave, they were in.
It was a small chamber with some kind of phosphorescent ceiling. The temperature in the room was fairly cool so she suspected that they were well underground. Behind Lorgin’s right shoulder she could make out an opening which appeared to lead into a much larger cavern. A fur of unknowable origin partially covered the entrance. Strangecolored lights were coming from beyond the doorway, the source of which didn’t bear thinking about. Her astounded gaze shifted back to his.
“Where am I, or should I ask what planet is this? Sound familiar?” she asked sarcastically.
Lorgin sighed. He’d rather battle a hira beast than have this conversation with Adeeann, and when she found out the rest of it, she would try to have his kani on a platter.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Travel the universe and women were still the same! There was no deciphering them. Lorgin learned long ago that the best thing was not to even try. Still, her response more than confused him. She should be grateful, should she not? Had he not removed her from her backward unenlightened world? Had he not offered the Cearix to her in the time-old tradition? What did she have to be angry about?
As these thoughts gained momentum, he pinned her to the rock with an icy glare.
“And if I tell you where you are, will it matter so much then? Will you know this place in relation to any other place?” He coldly clipped his words.
Deana raised her chin a fraction, trying to not let him see how his harsh but truthful words had affected her. “It would be a start—a focal point, if you will, to map my position.”
A lot of good it would do her, halfway between here and nowhere. Her lips quivered at the thought, but she did not lower her eyes from his.
The slight tremble of her mouth did not go unnoticed by Lorgin. The coldness of a moment ago melted within him, replaced by a sudden rush of tenderness. “You are frightened.” He took her hand in his large one. “There is no need to be, zira. I will not let anything happen to you.”
Deana drew in a deep breath, counted to ten, then came out shooting. “You big dumb idiot! You’re what happened! I feel like punching you right in the kisser!” Intending to do just that, she looked up into his beautiful lavender eyes and shocked herself by bursting into tears.
“Adeeann…”
Not knowing what else to do, Lorgin gently gathered her in his arms, pulling her onto his lap. She sobbed all over his silky white shirt as he stroked her hair and tried to soothe her, while discreetly looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being observed. After all, he did have a reputation to maintain. He was a warrior.
“We are on Ryka Twelve.” The warrior’s voice was now distinctly gentle. He spoke into her hair, his voice conciliatory in tone. “It is a small satellite of Ryka, an immense planet in the Graion System. This moon, one of fifteen, supports an atmosphere capable of sustaining life—barely.
“The inhabitants live underground in a series of interconnecting naturally formed caves that link the underworld of the planet. We are in what you would call a rural area—an outlying region. The population here i
s sparse, and made up of various clans. They are a simple people, but quite friendly to those they trust.”
She sniffed and looked up at him, leaning back against his arm. “Is this where you live?”
He wiped her cheeks with the back of his hand, letting his fingers glide across the creamy skin. His action caused his hair to fall forward and tickle her nose. Deana crossed her eyes trying to focus on the lock of hair before blowing it away. Lorgin tried not to laugh out loud.
He looked down at her serious little face. “No, zira, this is not my home planet. I will take you to Aviara, but not for a while. There are…some things that have to be taken care of first, before we can go home. Word was sent to me that my mentor Yaniff is coming to meet with you. He should arrive shortly; I imagine he has much to discuss with you.”
Before we can go home That didn’t sound quite right. “Lorgin…you are going to take me back to my home, I mean after I’ve visited for a while, aren’t you?”
Lorgin contemplated her with a thoughtful expression. His thumb rubbed the underside of her jaw before he answered her. “I—”
He was interrupted by a young woman who entered the room carrying a thin slab of rock on which rested a large steaming bowl. She was fairly tall, although much shorter than Lorgin. She had long black hair, sloe eyes, and a delicate face with elfin ears.
Exotically beautiful, Deana thought, wondering how well the alien woman knew Lorgin. From the looks she was giving him, Deana would bet that she knew him very well. In any event, the woman’s appearance had prevented Lorgin from answering her question. Was it her imagination, or did Lorgin look grateful for the intrusion?
“Here is Miki with some nourishment for you. This broth will help your dizziness and make you feel better.”
“What is it, chicken soup?” she asked facetiously.
Lorgin furrowed his brows, not knowing what chicken soup was. He decided to ignore the question. Placing her back on the slab, he stood up, saying, “I will be in the next chamber should you need me. Miki will see to your present needs.”
He leaned over and whispered low in her ear. “Do not under any circumstances remove the Shimalee.” That said, he turned and exited the chamber.