Julian moved in an attempt to gather her up, but suddenly the displacement of energies he’d ridden overwhelmed him and sent him tottering off balance. It was all he could do to brace himself with both hands against the floor. The weakness and disorientation annoyed him, but it would pass. The true irritant lay in showing the flaw to the noble gathering behind him. Of course, he highly doubted any of them had experienced the differences between life on Earth and life here Beneath. The flux of power alone was as nauseating a ride as a gravity-defying, record-breaking roller coaster. The analogy amused him for a moment when he realized it was Shade’s fascination with the human inventions that had brought the example to mind. His coworker was obsessed with the damn things, and it had clearly rubbed off.
“Gatherer, you are weakened,” Greison noted with rankling dispassion. “I shall contact your Companion to come and assist you with your burden.”
“No!” Julian was up and whirling on the Ampliphi in a heartbeat, the action only worsening his fluctuating equilibrium. Still, he held himself strong and steady. “Do not.”
“Nonsense. You require assistance. There is no shame in that. This is what a Companion is for,” Rennin said dismissively, reaching for the bell that would summon Julian’s Companion.
“Please, I beg of you, do not do this in this manner. I…” He hesitated when the desperation in his voice caused their energy to beat at him with curiosity. “I would not wish to reveal the future to my Companion in such a coldhearted manner.”
Julian could tell they did not understand. It was very likely that they wouldn’t, even with an explanation. The Ampliphi, like so many of his people, were quite disengaged from their emotions much of the time. Compassion chief among them.
“Julian, you are being oversensitive,” Ampliphi Sydelle scolded him.
“Too much time exposed to humans, no doubt,” Greison considered.
“No,” Julian retorted sharply. “I merely suggest that it would be cruel to force my Companion to so abruptly face the one who will replace her.”
“Ridiculous. Ariel knows she is not your kindra, and as such expects this day may be in her future. We assigned her to you. You never made a commitment, and even if you had, it would have been foolish of her to accept it at face value,” Kloe scoffed.
“Julian would never make a false promise,” Gisella defended him, making him recall why he had always been partial to her, even though she had not been the one to mentor him. Then she turned to him and reminded him of why the Ampliphi so irritated him at times. “Ariel is your servant. You are her master. She is to obey you in all things and accepts this as her place. You do her discredit to attribute nonsense to her sensibilities.”
“I beg your humble pardon, Ampliphi, but you don’t know a damn thing about Ariel. You haven’t been Companioned with her for sixteen years as I have. I doubt any of you have had more than cursory contact with her in all of this time. Ariel is…insecure. Possessive, you could say. She will not take this well.”
That was understating matters. Over the years, his long, continued absences when his Gatherer duties took him to Earth time and again had germinated small seeds of jealousy and loneliness into full-blown and often debilitating characteristics in Ariel. Characteristics he could have had her dismissed for a long time ago. Perhaps he should have done. Unlike his methodical compatriots, however, he had not had the heart to tip her over the edge by confirming her every doubt that she would never quite be enough for him. Since he was so rarely present in this realm anymore, it had not been much of an issue to leave her to do her work as always.
It would be now.
His days as a Gatherer were on hold for quite some time, if not permanently. Asia had seen to that in more ways than one.
“If this is the case, why did you not approach us with this? You ought to have shed the defective girl immediately. These types of distractions are the last thing our Gatherers need. We have rules and bounds for a reason, Julian.” Sydelle shifted in a rare show of irritation. “Companions are assigned to ease your cares and needs, not compound them. We will have her ejected from your living spaces immediately.”
“You will not.”
Few dared to countermand the Ampliphi, least of all in such a resounding and dire tone of voice. The chamber fell quite quiet, energy ebbing away from Julian now as his own surplus flared hard with his temper.
“You will allow me time to gently and thoughtfully prepare a longtime Companion for her transition to retirement. She will not serve me so long only to be dismissed in shame at the very end. She deserves better, for, despite her weaknesses, she has done her service well and thoroughly. It is not Ariel’s fault that her trainers did not see the flaws in her confidence that made her unsuitable for a role as Companion. She hid them well, even from her own awareness, I assure you. It was years before the cracks became large enough for me to see them. This transition will be done with respect and in private. I will not force her to keep composure in front of you all even as she helps to carry the end of life as she has known it into her own home. She will be rejected, evicted, retired, and obsolete in all of an instant. That instant should be between her and me alone.”
Julian did not wait to see if they agreed or disagreed with what amounted to a command. Despite his position and power, he risked much taking authority with the Ampliphi in such a manner. He doubted anyone else would have been allowed to get away with it.
He knelt again, this time in all steadiness, because so much balanced so precariously on his strength in that moment. He lifted Asia tight and close to his chest and rose smoothly to his feet. He exited the chambers in a few sharp strides.
“He was ever willful,” Sydelle mused.
“His unflagging confidence is what made him so ideal for the role of Gatherer,” Kloe said with no little amount of smug pride. She was the one who had insisted on his training, grooming him from the first day. She would not let them revise all her hard work at this late date.
“He should be checked for this,” Rennin grumbled. “It does not do for him to think he can get away with—”
“He will be more powerful than us all one day,” Christophe interrupted sharply and definitively, quelling the debate before it began. “If any of you doubted that, those doubts must end with the taking of his kindra. Without her, he would be formidable. With her, he will be nigh unstoppable. There are no limits to what he will accomplish.”
“He needs to win her first. Stealing her from her life will not make an easy way of it,” Rennin mused. “To be his match, her will must be equal to his own. They could just as easily destroy one another.”
“Do not look so eager for the prospect, Rennin,” Christophe warned. “You may fear your future if you must, but you ought to fear all our futures if something significant does not happen soon to interrupt the disaster we are rushing toward. Losing Julian will only make it happen all the quicker.”
“God forbid it,” Sydelle whispered with the dreadful respect their situation called for.
“God may yet grant your wish,” Christophe sighed. “But until then…”
He reached for the bell. He fed energy into the ring, sending out a distinctive frequency. Every being among them had their own toned signal. They knew it instinctively, felt the pull to answer the call of the Ampliphi whenever it was sounded. They were born with it, their auras resonating it. Only the six bells in the chamber could create the match. It could not be duplicated any other way.
Within a moment, the Ampliphi’s call was answered, a rush of energy displacement at the center of the chamber rolling off the newcomer in dark, overwhelming waves. It was so different from Julian’s righteous and bright abundance of energy. But then, Julian spent much time feeding from human energy.
This one was from the very bottom of the energy food chain.
Greison narrowed all of his energy on his Gatherer, studying him silently for a long space of time. The others waited patiently as he ordered his thoughts.
“We
have a task for you,” he said, the gravelly resonance of his voice echoing throughout the Hall.
Julian entered his home quickly, closing the door against curious stares that rankled so easily. He didn’t even bother to locate Ariel, knowing she would be on him in just moments once she sensed his arrival. He swiftly made his way to the second level of the structure and carried Asia into the unoccupied room he maintained for visitors. He had no sooner set her down than the excited greeting burst along the walls.
“Julian! Julian!”
Ariel ran into the room as he turned to face her. She rocketed her soft, rounded little body up against him and hugged him until he was throttled by her strength and her excitement. Her hair hung damp against her back and wrists, telling him she had been bathing. Her robe, in fact, was damp, as if she’d leapt straight from the bath and donned it.
“You’re home! I wasn’t expecting you at all! No one warned me. I will ready your things as soon as I—”
“Come now and be easy.” He chuckled softly against her temple. “There is time for everything. Mostly there is time for you to take a breath.”
“Then you aren’t leaving again right away?” she asked eagerly as she clung to him and looked up into his eyes.
Julian hesitated. He didn’t mean to be evasive, but he didn’t want to lie to her, and the bald truth would be like slitting her gut wide open. In the time it took him to struggle for the right words, Ariel’s head tipped to the side and she caught sight of the woman in the bed behind him.
“Julian, who is this?” she asked, her enthusiasm bleeding out of her swiftly and suspicion creeping into her voice—along with an instant emanation of jealousy. She gripped at him a bit more strongly as her eyes narrowed on Asia. “You’ve brought home a guest? A Chosen? Shouldn’t she be with the Ampliphi receiving residence?”
“Ariel, let’s go inside and talk for a moment,” he invited her gently.
“No.” She bit her lip and stubbornly drew back to cross her arms over her body. “Tell me here and now, why is she here?”
“Because this is my home, Ariel,” he reminded her a bit sharply as her petulance boded ill for the coming conversation. “She is my guest because I choose her to be. But also…she is a special woman.” He turned slightly to look at Asia, unable to help reaching out to touch her foot.
“I’ll just bet she is,” Ariel hissed with her entire being, the lash of her fury laced with pain. “The only reason for bringing a Chosen home is so you can bed her, Julian! I can sense the lust on you already! You reek of her!”
“Enough!” he said harshly, turning back to her with a hard motion.
“No! How could you do this?” Ariel’s warm, tragic eyes filled with tears. The energy of her emotions sank into him. Julian found himself already overfilled with Asia’s vitality, so it didn’t affect him as much as it had at other times when Ariel had pulled out cards of guilt and betrayal. It helped him steady himself for her inevitable hurt. “This is my home, too,” she whispered painfully.
“Not any longer,” he told her softly.
Ariel gasped, his information so unexpected that she froze in wide-eyed shock. She stared at him as if she hadn’t heard him right, but she quickly realized that she had.
“No,” she breathed. “No! I-I didn’t mean…t-to make you angry!” She vibrated with clumsy panic, her heart racing wildly in fear.
“Ariel, I am not angry,” he said as gently as he could. “I am not punishing you.”
“Yes! Yes, you are!” she cried, her hands gripping the front of her robe, her body hunching into itself as if seeking protection.
“No, Ari. Ariel, she is kindra to me.” Julian paused only long enough to watch the awful impact that bit of news had on her. He was truly sorry to hurt her, the pain flooding out of her tasting bitter on his tongue and flitting against the walls of mental protection he had to erect against her. However, she had to face the fact that her life was about to change and her plans and fantasies concerning him would never see fruition. “I’m sorry, but this is the way things have been dealt. You have been an excellent Companion for all these years, and I should like you and me to always be close, but the arrival of my kindra means it is time for you to retire. It’s beyond time for you to find companionship for yourself. There are so many out there who would—”
“I don’t want them! I want you!” She flung herself into him, wrapping him in the clutch of her arms like a vise. Her hands gripped his shirt so hard that the fabric popped at its seams. “Please. Oh, please, Julian don’t do this! She’s nothing! An alien! What does she know of you? What can she appreciate of the gift you are? I know! I know everything. What you need. What you like. I even know what you desire!”
“Ariel, stop this,” he commanded her, overpowering her and putting her away from him. “You have always known we are not meant to be committed. You have served your role as Companion with loyalty and devotion. Let’s not end this in a way that will cause us pain and hardship.” He paused, judging the stubbornness and anger radiating off her. “And no, Ari, you do not know what I truly desire. If you did, and if it mattered to you, you wouldn’t be thinking and acting so selfishly. Maybe she doesn’t know anything of me, but she will. Once she does, everything here will change. Don’t you want to see our people healthy and happy?”
“I don’t care about anyone else but you,” she whispered.
“Then I am more convinced than ever that you don’t truly love me, Ariel. If you did, you would never say such a thing. You would never feel such a thing. Now, please…the Ampliphi will give you a beautiful new life where you will be treasured by many just as you deserve.” He reached out and gently brushed back her hair for a moment, trying to ease the rigid betrayal etched into her features. “In three days they will come for you, and you must be ready. Go and begin. I don’t expect you to care for my kindra. I would not be so cruel to you. If it is too hard for you to remain these three days, tell me now and I will see you escorted to Justice Hall as soon as you wish.”
Ariel stood for a moment, her arms wrapped tight and tense around her body, her bitter gaze shifting from him to the woman in the bed behind him.
“I will serve out my time,” she said with wintry emotions oozing off her. “If I am to be banished, I would at least appreciate some time for our good-byes. Will you give me that much?”
“Of course. It is a hard adjustment for us both, Ariel. Don’t mistake my firmness as being uncaring. I simply have no other choice. Not anymore.”
“Yes. So you say.”
With that vague agreement, Ariel turned and walked out of the room, the slump in her defeated posture making Julian’s mouth sour again. He looked back at Asia, more aware than ever of how far he would have to come with her.
Julian turned to sit in the lone chair in the room, the only other piece of furniture there was. He exhaled long and slow, his head bowing so he could rub at the tension in his neck while he waited for Asia to awaken.
Chapter 4
Asia opened her eyes with a slow, sticky flutter, as if she didn’t have the energy to complete the task. It only took an instant for memory to rush in on her, and fury and outrage bolted into her rapidly afterward. She surged upright into a sitting position…
…and promptly flopped over onto her chest and face, her whole body wobbling in on itself like a tragically overcooked noodle. She found her nose buried in a gossamer fabric of white that clung softly to her face even as she tried to get strength under herself to at least roll back and breathe some fresh air.
It was the touch of smooth fingers around her throat and shoulder that finally made the action possible. The stroke of that touch against her skin made it scream with sudden sensitivity, but Asia gritted her teeth against the unwanted sensation as she was turned over. She didn’t need to look up into those jade eyes to know that the hands belonged to her heartless enemy. Julian Sawyer. He pressed a palm to the bedding beside her ear and brushed aside her wild hair as he leaned over her. Darkest brow
n curls slid into a loose arrangement against his forehead. She wished she had the energy to reach up and snatch the charmingly obnoxious lock right out of his forehead. Even more, she wished she could knee the bastard right in the crotch. He was leaning over her in a vulnerable enough position, but she simply had no strength.
“What did you do to me?” she demanded, surprised to hear the breathy weakness in her own voice. Then, in the very next instant, she began to recall very vivid snatches of exactly what he had done to her.
Well, not exactly.
But enough to know without a doubt that it had been his manipulation that had caused her loss of all control. He had ripped away all of her defenses in a heartbeat, prying her open and gutting her for his own fascination and inspection. She remembered the waves of unbelievable pleasure, the crippling need as he had tormented her. Asia especially remembered the embarrassing way she had writhed beneath him, all but begging him to do what she would never have wanted him to do.
She fought the urge to cry like some kind of weak, whimpering heroine in a movie who waited around for someone else to save her. Asia had always saved herself. No one would take that from her, especially not the man who had already stolen her dignity from her. Dignity and oh so very much more.
“I’m sorry,” he said, sliding a hand under her head and slowly rearranging her on the comfortable bedding. The bed felt rather like being cradled in a hammock, only somehow firmer. Certainly a much larger and more stable environment as he knelt halfway onto the surface beside her. “I had no choice. Had it been up to me, I would have done this properly. However, when you drew blood, proper became impossible.”
The memory of bloodying him made her smile…until she recalled the color of that blood.
“You’re an alien?” It sounded utterly ridiculous even to her, so she didn’t resent his laughter. But it was the only explanation she could come up with.