River's Run

  “What Prophesy?” Jazin asked.

  “Later. Tell me why you have not claimed the female warriors.” Ajaska said looking sharply at his two younger sons. He would not let them distract him.

  Manota ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Jo is the most hard-headed, stubborn, frustrating female I have ever met! I should just spank her ass, tie her down, and claim her but I am afraid she would probably slit my throat when she got loose just to prove she could.” Manota said feeling overwhelmingly frustrated. He didn’t know what to do.

  “Is she not attracted to you?” Ajaska in surprise.

  “No, she is attracted to me alright. Her kisses are…” Manota’s voice faded as he looked down at his hands. “She has family back in her world. Her parents. She is not sure she can commit to me because she feels she must return to them.”

  “Star is the same. She cannot commit to me knowing her sister may leave and at the idea of causing her parents so much pain at not knowing what has happened to her and Jo.” Jazin said softly. “It is causing her great distress.”

  Puzzled, Ajaska turned to Torak. “Why does your mate not have these same feelings?” He wondered.

  Torak looked at his father and brothers. “I don’t know.”

  “Perhaps there are answers in these. I found them next to our bed. They have images of River, Jo, and Star on them. Jazin, can you see if you can download the data from them?” Torak said pushing the pile of disks at Jazin.

  Jazin reached for them turning them over and over. He nodded. “It shouldn’t be too difficult. I can scan them while we work and see if I can decipher the information.”

  Jazin pulled a scanner out from his waist and slowly ran it over each disk pulling the information into it. Next, he asked the computer to decipher the information and to let them know when it was completed. Perhaps the information on the disks would help him and Manota understand why Jo and Star were so reluctant to accept their claim on them.

  Nodding to the other men, they began discussing their strategy for capturing the man or men behind the assassination attempt on Ajaska and Torak.

  “The dinner is planned. Kev will be in charge of security for the South House. He is working with Manota and Jazin’s Captain of the Guards. Each will have men acting as servers during the dinner. In addition, he has set up additional screens in the force field that will allow us to track each person entering the House. A link will be sent to all of us showing where a person is at any given moment.” Torak began.

  “How can he do this?” Ajaska surprised. The force field was good at keeping out anyone who had not been given permission to enter but once they did they had never been able to track specific individuals before.

  “Thanks to Manota, it can now be done. He has been working on it for the past year and has created a digital mapping of each person’s genetic marker. Even if they were to use a disguise it will tell who they really are.”

  “Does anyone else know of this?” Ajaska asked curiously.

  “No.” Manota said. “I have not wanted to share it as yet until we caught the man or men behind the attempts on you. It will come in useful once the Council assembles again though.”

  Nodding his head, Ajaska turned back to Torak. “Continue.”

  “Jazin will cover the gardens. He will monitor anyone who comes and goes through the garden areas as the force fields will be focusing on protecting the other three Houses. The gardens will be accessible to the guests as is customary during formal dinners. Manota will be covering the South House. He will monitor anyone who is in any of the levels including the lower levels and roof where the assassin tried before.” Torak’s eyes grew dark as he remembered the day he almost lost River.

  “Father and Torak will be at the front entrance greeting everyone. Torak will attach a small vidcom to Tai Tek as he enters as well as attaching one to any of his guests or known allies.” Jazin added picking up a vidcom so small it was almost impossible to see on the tip of his finger. “Another of Manota’s inventions.”

  Ajaska looked amused as he studied it. “Remind me never to make you mad.” He teased his middle son.

  “Once everyone has arrived we don’t think Tai Tek will try anything too soon. He has to give the impression of being the loyal councilman he was elected to be. After dinner when people are mingling is when we think he will try to strike. He will of course try to maintain a high profile so he has plenty of witnesses to vouch for him. Father and Torak will be the main targets and will be acting as the bait. If he or any of his guests try to draw either of you away, go with them. We will be watching both of you at all times. We will also be looking at anyone who is not who they appear to be. If you have a doubt, just touch your left eye and an image of the person will appear. Manota will show you how to use the eye lens before the dinner. They are good for about four hours before they dissolve. Once Tai Tek makes his move we will surround him and take him out.” Torak finished. “Are there any questions?”

  The men talked for almost another hour going over different possible scenarios and fine tuning their plans. They were just finishing when the computer chimed to let Jazin know the deciphering of the disks were completed. He glanced down at the data and was surprised to see it was a type of video.

  “We might be more comfortable in the common room watching it.” Jazin said. “I don’t know about you but I didn’t eat this morning and could use some refreshments.”

  As the men were walking out of the planning room they heard the sound of soft feminine laughter coming from the common living area they used when they had company. Torak walked into the room and stared at the three females sitting around drinking a hot liquid they called ‘coffee’. River had made Torak figure out how to replicate the beverage shortly after she had moved into the North House. Torak smiled softly as he watched River lean over and brush a stray curl away from Star’s cheek. The love the three females had for each other was obvious. He felt fortunate River had not fought his claim as long as her sisters were doing. He didn’t know if he would have had the self-control not to take her, by force if necessary.

  “Something smells good.” Torak said as he went over to give River a kiss.

  River blushed. He had said that say thing to her during the night while he was licking her.

  “Behave.” She whispered softly kissing him back.

  “Never.” Torak replied as he nibbled on her neck.

  Manota and Jazin cleared their throats loudly. “We’re hungry.” They both said at the same time looking at Jo and Star with a deep hunger in their eyes.

  The two sisters blushed and burst out laughing. “We are not on the menu this morning. There is plenty of other wonderful stuff though. I don’t know what everything is. The cooks in these Houses’ of yours are awesome.” Jo said waving a hand towards the table.

  “River, I found some disks in the bedroom. Jazin was able to decipher them. Would it be permissible with you if we were to watch them?” Torak asked gently. He did not want River to think he was trying to go behind her back or upset her.

  “You did! Oh Torak, I love you!” River said as she threw her arms around his neck giving him a big kiss.

  “Jo, Star, I had forgotten all about them. Walter made me some home movies of the three of us from when we first met until you guys left two years ago. I was going to surprise you with a copy of them but didn’t have a chance to make them. I found them again the other day in my bag and was going to ask Kev or Torak if they could somehow convert them. Thanks, Jazin for doing it.” River said ignore the way Torak growled when she said his Captain of the Guards’ first name.

  “What is on them?” Manota asked sitting down next to Jo with a plate overflowing with food.

  “Just wait, you’ll see!” River replied with a mischievous grin.

  She settled back against Torak’s legs on the floor. All the men sat back with plates piled high with food. Star let out a groan when Jazin pulled her between his legs. Jo just gave Manota a look that said ‘don’t
even try it’ before sitting between him and Ajaska. Jazin gave the computer the command to start the vidcom it had uploaded from the disks.

  “Oh. My. God.” Jo groaned as she buried her face into Manota’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you meant from the very first time.”

  On the screen appeared three very young girls. River was five, Star was seven, and Jo was eight. They were all dressed in ballerina costumes and were chasing each other around on a huge net several feet off the ground.

  “Hey, Walter.” Yelled five year old River. “This is Jo and Star. They are going to be my new sisters!” River giggled as Jo started tickling her. Star was prancing around waving at the camera.

  “Oh. My. God.” River said as tears spilled down her cheeks. “There are my parents with yours.” She whispered to Star and Jo leaning forward. “Look how young they were.”

  The four men had forgotten all about eating as they watched the vidcom. Walter, whom Torak had heard River talk about several times, was a male approximately three feet tall if he was an inch who wore a red costume and a hat half as tall as he was. As the videos continued he saw a young River slowly growing up. The video had plenty of shots of her, Jo, and Star together but also of each one with different people, unusual people. When the video showed a man named Kid Cozack, a man of about thirty to River’s eight, teaching her how to swallow a sword he cringed at first; then, his eyes grew wide with sudden understanding. If she could swallow a sword then she wouldn’t have any problems swallowing…he gulped.

  “So that’s how you know how to do that.” He murmured in disbelief.

  “Know how to do what?” Manota asked glancing over to Torak who had an expression of awe on his face before looking at River’s face which was a bright, bright red.

  Torak looked at Jo. “Do you know how to do that?” He asked with a grin.

  “Of course, Kid taught all three of us how to do it. Why?” Jo asked puzzled looking at Torak. It wasn’t until she looked at River’s face that she understood what else could be swallowed. Jo turned as bright red as River and shot Torak a look that spoke of severe pain should he say anything else on the subject.

  Torak grinned really big before replying, “I only hope you find out one day, brother. Both of you. It is a most incredible thing.”

  Manota and Jazin looked at each other puzzled before shrugging their shoulders. River, Star, and Jo looked like they would like to do nothing better than crawl under the couch. River might have attempted to escape if Torak hadn’t put his food down and drawn her onto his lap. She suspected it was to cover the very large bulge that was protruding from it.

  All of them watched the vidcom for the next two hours pausing it at times when the men needed clarification about some of the things they had seen. When Marcus the Magnificant cut River in two for hiding all of his rabbits Torak had been overflowing with questions as to if it hurt, why would a man do such a thing, how could she have survived it, and what did she mean, he did it more than once. Jazin and Manota both had to be told numerous times to loosen their holds on Jo and Star when they watched them flying through the air, walking on the tight ropes, or falling through fire. None of them could understand the clowns were just men and women in makeup doing outrageous things.

  The more they watched the more confused they became. They saw magnificent buildings and a world that was somewhat similar to theirs but vastly different in others. The technology they saw was primitive compared to theirs. They saw women working right alongside the men, many doing things females on their planet would never be allowed to do. When all three of the men saw some of the costumes, or rather lack of costumes, the girls wore in front of so many other males the room filled with growls except for the chuckle coming from Ajaska. Walter was their biggest mystery. He bossed and ordered everyone around no matter he was a fraction of their size.

  When Walter showed the performance dedicated to River’s parents she broke down in tears burying her face in Torak’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly trying to calm her as she cried.

  “River’s parents were killed in a fire at the hotel we were supposed to be staying at. There had been a mix up with the arrangements. Almost all of us were at another hotel a block away. River’s parents wanted to stay at the one originally booked because it was where they had met. River stayed with us to give her folks some privacy. They never had a chance. The stairwell exit had been chained closed against fire regulations. They died of smoke inhalation.” Jo said softly coming over to rub her hands on River’s back while Star rubbed her hair. “It took River almost a year to recover. She heard the sirens and had raced down the street. When she couldn’t find her parents she rushed into the building. When the firemen pulled her out she was barely alive.”

  Star continued, “River was only seventeen at the time. She came to live with me, Jo, and our parents but the circus was her family, too.”

  River looked up, her lips trembled as she stared at Star, softly she whispered. “They wrapped me in their love. They loved my parents so much. I can still hear Walter announcing them, ‘The Magnificent God and Goddess of the Blade, Godwin and Godiva Knight and their daughter, River’. No one could throw a knife like my dad.”

  Star leaned over and gave River a hug before moving back to sit next to Jazin. “We had more moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents than any girl should ever have. Forget about getting a date! If a boy ever had the nerve to even ask they had to go through every person there.”

  “Yeah, remember the one that finally made it as far as Walter?” River laughed looking at Jo.

  “Jo had this one boy who wouldn’t leave her alone. He was to the point he was almost stalking her as we went from town to town. Anyway, he decided to sneak into where we were staying one night. He made it as far as Jo’s room before Walter surprised him.” River continued laughing.

  “Yeah, surprised him so bad he peed his pants when he pulled the covers down to give me a kiss and found Walter’s ugly mug there instead.” Jo laughed.

  Manota growled, “Walter killed this male?”

  Jo looked at Manota in disbelief, “Of course not. He sat the poor kid down and told him if he ever came back he was going to put him to work mucking out the elephant pens.”

  Star chuckled, “Yeah, now he has two performances a day with the damn things.”

  “Perhaps I am missing something. I have seen many of your people, some doing incredible things, but I have not seen you battle anyone. How is it this Walter did not capture your battles with your enemies?” Torak asked puzzled.

  River, Jo, and Star looked at each other before bursting out laughing. “We aren’t warriors. We are as far from being warriors as you guys are from being…well, let’s just say a long, long way from being warriors. We are performers. We make people laugh and forget their troubles for a little while. People come from all over to watch us perform death defying acts just for fun. We’ve never had to fight anything worse than maybe a bad cold before all this happened.” River explained.

  All four men just stared at the three females in stunned silence.

  Chapter 17

  “They are not warriors!” Torak growled again at his father.

  All the men had been stunned as the women told them they were just performers for a thing called a circus. It was what they did to support themselves. They explained they did not have a male to take care of them and that it was not an uncommon thing in their world. Women often lived and worked all alone without males in their lives. Their world did have warriors, even female ones, but they fought using different weapons and you had to go into the military which none of them had ever done. When River explained how she had come aboard the Tearnat’s warship, how she had hidden in the hopes of finding a way to release her friends, and how they had taken turns learning more about the ship and stashing items they thought them might be able to use to escape using only the skills they had learned from the circus Torak, Manota, and Jazin had all been horrified.

  “The Prophesy
says three warriors will come carrying the items your women carried. I tell you they are the warriors the Prophesy talked about!” Ajaska insisted.

  “Father, they had never killed anything in their lives until they boarded the Tearnat’s warship.” Jazin began. It explained so much to him now. How gentle and sensitive Star was. Why she had looked so scared the first time he saw her. Why she often cried out during the night.

  “In the name of all the Gods and Goddesses, they did not even know life existed outside their galaxy! The furthest their people had gone was to their moon and it wasn’t even that far!” Manota exploded. “Now you expect them to fight alongside us knowing that we know this?”

  “Yes. I do.” Ajaska replied softly. He watched as all three of his sons looked at him in stunned silence wondering if he had lost his mind. “They are the three warriors. I am sure of this. Look what they have done so far. Do not underestimate their skills. Just because they have not been trained as a warrior, does not mean they are not one.”