by Viola Grace
“Got it.” She reached for her kit and went to work. He had put her headpiece in place first this time, so she didn’t have to worry about her forehead.
It took her ten minutes to get the makeup on and set. She turned to him, and he handed her the jacket with belled sleeves.
The shoes were modified sandals and perfectly comfortable. Hesker got to her feet and looked around. “Where did the box of knives go?”
“I removed it.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Why?”
He was matter-of-fact. “I didn’t want you playing with them.”
“Oh. How much time do we have?”
“About ten minutes before we have to leave.”
She nodded. “Can you show me where the proper food for me is? I don’t want to get that hungry again, and I certainly don’t want to get intoxicated from the wrong ration selection.”
“We can do that when we return. Overriding the system is awkward, and it will take an hour to learn.”
“Ah. Okay. Well, I guess I will just have to wander around here then. Oh. Wait. There are two rooms.”
He smiled. “Would you like to head to the shuttle now?”
“Yes, please.”
“We need to stop by my quarters so that I can change. Is that acceptable?”
“Sure. Anywhere different is good.” She smiled.
“In that case, come with me.”
She followed him out of her quarters and down the hall. She nearly bumped into him when he stopped at the next door.
“Oh. I thought you were somewhere else.”
“No, I am near you should there be a need at any time.” He opened the door and stepped inside.
She followed him and blinked at the blades that adorned the walls. There was everything from a reaper-type scythe to knuckle dusters with short blades coming out of them. Swords, daggers, they lined each of the walls.
“Wow, this is quite the collection.”
He was sitting on the edge of the bed to finish stripping off his trousers. “Thank you. Most of them are gifts from friends or family.”
Naked, he crossed the room, and she looked at him. His muscles were tight, compact, and in an arrangement that she wasn’t familiar with. Even the Nyal documentaries didn’t have musculature like this.
“Your muscles are wrong.”
He paused and turned to her with an armful of leather draped over his arm. “What?”
She looked at him. “Your muscles are wrong. Even by Nyal standard, they aren’t where they are supposed to be.”
He walked over to her. “Really? What is wrong?”
She pointed to his abs. “There are too many long muscles and not enough short ones. You have four muscles across your pectorals instead of two.” She tilted her head and waved her hand down his body. “Like that.”
He smiled. “Perceptive. We will discuss this at a later time as well. For now, I have to give you the briefing on meeting my parents.”
She walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. “Okay.”
Valat sighed and pulled on the leather pants, stomped into his boots, and then pulled on a leather sleeveless vest that he covered with a cloak attached by rows of chains that crossed his chest.
His hair was loosened, and he clipped some bands to hold the front of his hair off his face. The small bands tracked down the locks.
“That looks like what you did to my hair.” She looked down and held up the left banded lock.
“It’s traditional. Now, we have to grab the box for my parents, and then, we will go.”
She nodded and left his room, headed to hers, and then she checked two boxes. She thought so. There were two boxes for Kaluth. She picked them up and went to meet Valat by his door. He exited, and she smiled. “Got ‘em.”
“Them?”
“Yeah. There are two boxes. The identity of the recipient will appear when it is time.”
“Right. Well, it is time to get to the shuttle.”
She nodded and held the boxes on their way through the ship.
Krin and Yish were in the shuttle, and Yish stowed her boxes. But when they were on their way down to the planet, Valat murmured, “You and I will be entering the interior of the keep on our own. I will have your back, and no harm will come to you.”
“That sounds ominous.”
He sighed and told her what to do and how to do it. It wasn’t complicated, but it was precise. She could do precise.
The place was surprisingly cheerful. Men dressed in black leather were with women in charming, bright clothing. The city wasn’t primitive, but it had a comfortable development level. It was rustic-tech for lack of a better description.
“So, why are the clothing choices so different? I mean, across the genders.”
Valat smiled as they travelled over the streets and markets via a skimmer. “It is so that everyone knows who the dangerous ones are. Aliens always guess wrong.”
She blinked at that. “I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
She waved her hand over the crowd, and the dark and deadly auras belonged to the women in the grouping. They were a swirling deep grey. The men were a few shades lighter. Still dangerous, only less so.
She smiled. “Ah. I see it.”
Valat brought them inside the bailey of the keep, and the skimmer settled. She picked up the two boxes and tucked them under her arm as they walked toward the keep.
The two ornate doors swung open, and a couple was standing there.
The woman smiled brightly. “Harikoth, you are home.”
The man was less cheerful, but he smiled warmly at Valat. “It is good that you are home.”
He hugged his mother, and then, his father caught him in a bear hug.
Hesker waited, and when Valat got himself out of his father’s embrace, he wrapped himself in formality. “Dame Hesker, this is the Avatar Thokoth-Kadar and his bonded mate, Haritha.”
Hesker saw the dark auras with flashes of brightness. “Greetings to the world and his avatar, and greetings to the woman who puts up with them.”
Haritha blinked and grinned. “Come inside, child. I like the way you think.”
Hesker saw the blades on Haritha’s wrists, and she smiled. “Please, lead the way, madam.”
Haritha smiled and inclined her head. “Not as dumb as I thought.”
Hesker smiled. “Both of you precede me, please.”
Thokoth raised his brows. “Impertinent.”
She looked at him. “I did say please.”
“Ah, so you did.” The avatar walked into the keep with his mate.
The warning that Imbolt-Zanican had given her rang through her mind. Not all avatars were kind.
Valat walked with her and murmured, “It will be fine.”
“They sound like they want you to stay.”
“They always want me to stay.” He murmured. “It isn’t possible.”
“Why not?”
The avatar and his mate sat on a dais. His mother asked, “Yes, Harikoth, why not?”
Hesker looked at the two boxes and took the one that was marked for Thokoth-Kadar. She held it out and bowed. “A gift from the imperial heirs.”
He beckoned for her to come closer, and she saw his eyes swirling black and silver. She passed her hand over the box, and he narrowed his eyes. “What was that?”
“I was unlocking it for you, Lord Kadar. They are keyed to my energy signature.”
“Ah. I see. Now, let’s see what the offering is.” He took the box with a smile.
He opened the lid, and his face was illuminated. He lifted an orb in one hand, and his gaze locked to Hesker for a moment before he reached for the second orb, and he winced. “I see.”
There was also a scroll inside the box, and Kadar sighed. “Well, little miss. It seems you have friends in powerful places.”
She remained motionless. “I don’t have friends.”
Haritha frowned and said, “What is in the second box?”
Hesker picked the box up. “Huh. This one is addressed to the scariest thing in the room.”
Hesker waved her hand around, shrugged, and turned to Valat. “That would be you. Harikoth Valat, a gift from the imperial heirs.”
Curious, he took the box from her, and she passed her hand over it to open it. He smiled as she stepped back and opened the box. His slow grin wasn’t particularly nice, but it was determined.
He lifted a cuff out of the box, and his parents gasped. He put the cuff on his arm, and he reached out and pulled a second cuff out of the box, and he locked it on her wrist.
“There. So, that has started.” He smiled.
Haritha looked panicked. “No, you can’t. You know our traditions.”
“Yes. She suits the family, and she will remain whole and healthy.”
Haritha growled. “No.” She stood and pulled thin blades from up her sleeves.
Thokoth-Kadar spoke calmly. “Haritha. Sit down. You do not get a choice in this. It has been decided.”
Valat said, “Mother, do not.”
Hesker saw the homicidal rage in the other woman’s eyes. Her body went cold.
She stepped into the attack and grabbed a blade from Haritha. She cut strategic tendons, and Haritha looked shocked. When Hesker moved behind her with the blade to the older woman’s throat. Kadar said, “Courier, please. I believe she is learning the error of her ways. Do not cause any more damage.”
Hesker nodded and flicked the knife into the floor, dropping the woman to the dais.
Thokoth murmured. “By our laws, you own all of her weapons.”
She looked at him. “I am not allowed weapons yet. I am still learning.”
Haritha was lying on the floor, looking up at her in horror. “What are you? I never lose.”
Thokoth lifted her to her feet, and he started to weave shadows across her wounds. “She is not for you to attack. She has been sent here as an emissary.”
“She is taking my son away.” She sounded sad and confused.
“He found her away from our world. That is what your problem is.” As he spoke, he continued weaving threads of shadow and pulling them to close her wounds. “Harikoth, take the courier out for a ride to see the countryside. I will attend to your mother.”
Valat extended his hand. “Come with me, Hesker.”
She nodded and looked at her hands. Only three fingers had gotten bloody. Not bad.
She grabbed a napkin and wiped her hand off before putting her hand into his. He nodded and led her outside and toward a wide low building.
“What are we doing?”
He smiled. “Letting my father lecture my mother on manners and that I am never going to give them grandchildren if she keeps killing all the women that enter my life.”
She frowned. “Has this happened before?”
He nodded. “A few times. She rarely tries to kill them, but she has scarred a few women over the years.”
“So, why do you bring them?”
“I am ordered to. This is the first spontaneous visit that I have made.”
“Okay. Why is... oh what is that?”
He had pulled open a door, and they stepped inside to what felt like a barn. When large, graceful heads extended outside the stalls, she stared.
“They are cafree. Known for their grace and bad tempers. They are hard to control and harder to get along with. You have much in common.”
She walked up to one of the creatures and scratched the chin. “It’s the hair. Isn’t it?” she glanced back at Valat. The creature she was cozying up to had a white mane with golden bands confining it.
He snorted. “Yes. Of course.”
He went to get the gear for riding, and she scratched the jaw of the fearsome animal.
She had never seen a giant pony with fangs before.
Chapter Eight
The beast that she was massaging was happily snuffling at her, and it tried to snap at her once. She grabbed a fistful of mane and twisted near its ear, and its head moved aside and continued to make happy sounds as she scratched.
“You are very good with animals.” He moved to put a saddle on her cafree.
She smiled. “They just like to know where boundaries are and are comforted when your reactions are predictable. Just like children.”
Valat snorted. “Interesting hypothesis.” He reached under the creature and did up the cinch.
Hesker waited until Valat was turned, and then, she bumped the barrel of the beast with her knee, and the exhalation made her smile. She did the band up three more notches, and she looked at the creature. “Nice try.”
The creature lowered long lashes and sighed.
Valat got his own beast saddled, and he smiled. “Let’s walk to the courtyard, and I will help you onto the saddle there.”
She nodded and grabbed the reins that he had attached to the bridle, and walked her new friend outside.
The soft feet with long claws didn’t make much noise. The daylight was bright when they left the barn. Valat left his beast, and he took her by her waist and placed her on the saddle.
Oh, this isn’t appropriate. She looked at the full expanse of her imperial tattoo on her thigh as the skirt slid to one side. She was just glad she had put on the panties. The saddle was cold.
There were no stirrups, so she squeezed with her legs, and the cafree stepped forward. “Cool.”
Valat got on his beast, and he grinned. “Shall we?”
“You know where we are going. So, let’s go.”
He nodded, and she watched his thighs flex, and then, they were on their way. She mimicked the motion, and the cafree moved forward. She settled the reins, and her beast followed his.
They walked out through the gate and down the street. There were several higher-tech vehicles and only one other cafree out and about.
She nudged her beast up next to Valat’s. “Why aren’t there many other cafrees?”
“They are considered necessary but dangerous.”
“Oh. Then, why are we riding them?”
“We are considered the same.”
“We? Oh, you mean your family.”
He chuckled. “Not quite but close enough.”
They walked their beasts through town and to the outskirts. Valat asked, “Are you comfortable enough to ride?”
“I thought that is what I was doing.”
He shook his head. “No, that is sitting.”
He leaned forward, and his beast shot forward down the track.
She looked at her beast and shrugged. “Let’s go.”
She leaned forward, held the reins, and squeezed the animal between her thighs, hard. They shot forward, and it only took a few moments before she was rocking with the cadence of the creature carrying her.
They ran down the road, and soon, she saw Valat waiting for them. He grinned. “That is riding.”
She eased on the reins and sat up straight as they halted next to him. Her cafree paused and shook its head.
Hesker looked at him, her breathing a little faster and her hands tingling. That had been fun. “So, what next?”
“Why not race? From here to that crimson tree.”
“How does that work?”
Valat smiled. “When you say go, we go.”
She turned her mount toward the tree. “Do I have to touch the tree?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Go.” She leaned forward, and her cafree ran forward, going faster as she urged it onward. She was two-thirds of the way there when Valat pulled up next to her, and she was three yards from the tree when he passed her. Her beast slowed when she pulled up, and he was sitting there calmly. The cafree was vibrating with energy.
“I win. You were better than I thought, though. Would you like to try again?”
She narrowed her eyes at his bright and casual posture. He was playing her.
/> “Sure. Where are we racing to?”
He looked around and pointed. “The purple tree with the falling leaves. But, how about we have a penalty or reward?”
She smiled slightly. “I like the idea of a reward.”
“What would you like if you win?”
She thought. “An outfit that is mine for in-between landings. Something comfortable.” She cocked her head. “What would you like?”
“A hug. Standing together and facing each other, our arms around each other.”
“I would give you one of those without racing. You only had to ask.” She shrugged. “Hugging is a lot like dancing.”
He thought about it. “A kiss then. Yes, a kiss will do.”
She thought about the logistics. “I can’t really give you one of those. You are taller than I am. There would have to be some action on your part.”
He inclined his head. “Agreed.”
Hesker worked it out. “I could stand on a box or something.”
Valat smiled. “You agree?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“Well, then, call it when you start.”
She looked at the tree, crouched, and started her cafree. “Go!”
She chuckled as she was already a few lengths away before he started to race her. She managed to hunker down low on her creature’s back, and it sped up. She was smiling as the race continued, and when she was thirty feet from the tree, there was a flicker in front of her, and a dark figure covered with snapping shadows was there. She pulled up, and her mount sidled sideways.
“Hello, Valat. I suppose that you win, though that is not really racing.”
His voice was a deep rumble. “The terms of the race were not stipulated. I am here first.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Fine. You win.”
He dismounted, and she looked for a face in all that shadow.
“I am going to claim my reward.”
He walked up to her, and he crooked his long shadowy finger.
She could reach his head if she bent a little, but she blinked. “Do you even have lips in there?”
His chuckle was loud. “I do. Close your eyes, and I will guide you in.”
She closed her eyes, and he stroked her hair, easing her toward him. His hand felt long and sharp, but his lips brushed hers as he leaned up to meet her.