Driven

by Megan Hart

  She couldn't move now, not even to get up. She'd spent her last reserve and could only lie in a tangle of limbs, staring up at the black sky and unable to even call out for help.

  Her breathing slowed and calmed while the sweat dried on her skin. She licked the salt from her lips and wished for a drink. Del groaned softly from beside her and she found the energy to turn toward him. His eyelids fluttered.

  A few more deep breaths and her body's enhanced functions began to repair and replenish the resources she'd spent. She needed food and water, but she wasn't as bad off as she'd been the night Del saved her. She'd survive this, too.

  "One big, freaking adventure," she croaked, not sure where the laughter was coming from, but feeling it burble out of her chest just the same.

  She must have spoken louder than she'd thought because, in the next moment, the bright light no longer shone off in the distance, it shone in her eyes. She threw up a hand to shield them while they adjusted.

  Dark forms appeared in front of her eyes. Broad-shouldered. Tall. They were all men, and Linna found herself on her feet, crouched over Del.

  One of the shapes grunted what sounded like a question, but in a language she didn't know.

  "I don't speak Xanderran," she said.

  "Who are you?" said the man in Universal and dropped the beam of light from her eyes.

  "She's got the melek," said another in a voice hushed with awe.

  "Don't call him that," barked the third man. More slender than the others, his hair long and tied back from his forehead, he nonetheless had a look about him that was familiar. Something about the eyes and set of the mouth.

  "Don't you touch him," Linna warned as she stepped in front of the man. "I know who you are."

  "You do?" In the golden light from the lanterns, the man's face quirked with arrogant amusement. "I highly doubt that, kallah."

  Linna didn't know what a kallah was, but the way he said it made her think it wasn't an endearment. "You're Del's brother. You tried to kill us."

  "Del?" The man laughed. "You mean Delek."

  She had forgotten that was Del's full name. "You tried to kill us."

  His amused look turned sour. "That's quite an accusation, kallah."

  "Don't call me that."

  "Give me your name then."

  "It's Linna Fortense."

  "Unique. You're from...?"

  "I'm from Earth," Linna said, surprised at the rush of pride that filled her at the words. "Newcity."

  "Is there any other place to be from, if you're from Earth?" Del's brother grinned, and for a moment, looked a lot like Del.

  But he isn't Del, she thought. This man had the mark of cruelty on his face, of greed and wanting. She recognized it from many of her clients. Del's brother was the sort of man who wasn't satisfied with what he had, no matter how much that was.

  "He got bitten by a tannan?" one of the other men asked. He bent over Del and felt his pulse, lifted his lids, tapped his wrists and throat.

  "Yes." Linna ignored Del's brother and bent back to Del. "Will he be all right?"

  Del's brother didn't like being ignored apparently. He shoved the man aside to kneel next to her. "The venom causes sleep and temporary paralysis. He'll be fine when it wears off."

  "Which will be when?"

  Del groaned as if on cue, and his eyes fluttered. The next instant, they flew open and he flew upward. His hands locked around his brother's throat. The two of them went tumbling over and over on the ground, fists flying.

  Linna and the other men jumped out of the way. "Stop them!"

  Nobody did. For the first time, she truly understood what life on Xanderra was like. The warriors faced off, hands raised and faces set in grim determination.

  Del was tall and broad, heavily muscled. His tattoos covered his back and ran from his lower biceps to his wrists. His head, which she'd always seen closely shaved, now wore a fine cap of closely curling black hair. He had big features to match his large frame. Del exuded power and strength.

  His brother, on the other hand, stood several inches shorter. His dark hair fell to his shoulders in tight ringlets gleaming with oil and held back from his forehead by a circlet of braided ribbons. He was leaner than Del, muscled but not so broad, and his features reflected that. Thinner nose, thinner lips, narrower, deeper-set eyes. He looked like Del, but a more pinched version. Sly.

  They didn't look like they'd be evenly matched, but watching them circle each other, Linna could see they were. Where Del was blunt and intense, his brother was sharp and swift. Each complemented the other.

  Del threw the first punch, which narrowly missed his brother's face. His brother took the chance to lunge an uppercut to Del's gut. Del grunted and took a step back, but didn't hesitate to slam his fist back toward his opponent.

  The man standing next to her muttered something in Xanderran. Seeing her incomprehension, he switched to Universal.

  "Vardek won't let him win," he said casually. "He likes his life too much. He's not going to let Delek come back and take it away."

  "We didn't come back to take anything away," Linna said.

  The man looked at her. "We? You're behsherit?"

  She nodded reluctantly, not really sure that was any of this stranger's business. The man grinned and shook his head, looking back to the fighting pair.

  "That's going to cause some problems. The Amanrabah is officially supposed to be bonded. Vardek hasn't taken a behshera. If Delek's behsherit, as the older sibling, he's got a better claim to the seat."

  "If Del wants it." Linna turned her back on the fight between brothers, sickened by the noises of flesh hitting flesh.

  "He doesn't have a choice really. If he's back, and behsherit, there's nothing to keep the melekim from electing him in Vardek's place. Delek's got the line of ascension, not his brother."

  "Can't he just...decline?"

  The man jerked his chin toward the brawling duo. "Does it look like he wants to decline to you?"

  Linna turned just in time to see Del crunch his fist into Vardek's face and bring it back covered in blood. Anger overtook her and she strode forward, ignoring the shouts from the men behind her. She forced her way between the men, not even flinching as Vardek's fist, meant for Del's head, flew toward her face. She reached up and caught it, held the fingers, and squeezed.

  Vardek's eyes widened in surprise at her speed and strength, and his face contorted when she put a little extra pressure on his fingers. She bent his hand back at the wrist until he stepped back, and then she dropped it.

  She whirled on Del. "You're acting like a pair of babies! Now stop it, both of you!"

  Del's expression was unreadable. He wiped at his face, smearing blood on his cheek. "Linna, this is between me and my brother."

  She crossed her arms and shook her head. "This is ridiculous. Get out of this freaking jungle before you go killing each other. Get to civilization. Have some food. Take a bath, for the love of God-of-Choice! You both stink. You're filthy! And you're punching each other for what? What do you hope to win?"

  Del dropped his hands and put them on his hips. "Damn it, Linna."

  She faced Vardek. "And you! Don't play the belabored innocent with me, you asshole. You sent us into the jungle on purpose. You tried to kill us, and while I'm not only severely offended on Del's part for that little stunt, I can tell you this. I am extremely pissed about the fact you tried to kill me. So back off, baby brother, stop posturing like an animal and behave like a human being."

  Vardek's brows rose under the onslaught of her insults. He looked past her, toward his brother. "This is the woman you've chosen for your behshera?"

  "He didn't choose me," Linna snapped, fed up to her eyeballs with Xanderran men. "I took him."

  Now Vardek seemed genuinely stunned. "Delek?"

  Del sounded amused. "She's right."

  Vardek looked down at the hand she'd bruised. "She took you?"

  Linna wasn't in the mood to debate semantics or go over her rom
antic history with Del. Now she looked back and forth between the two of them. Only minutes before, they'd been intent on killing each other. Now they grinned identical foolish grins, and at her expense.

  "Four balls apiece!" she shouted in frustration. "God-of-Choice, no wonder this planet is so messed up!"

  "What's she talking about?" Vardek asked Del.

  Del, blast him, shrugged and put his arm around her shoulders. "Sometimes it's better not to ask."

  Then just like that, they were friends again, united in their mutual patronization of her. Linna frowned and shrugged off Del's arm. Vardek was looking at her in a way she didn't like at all.

  "Come on," Vardek said to both of them. "Let's go home."

  It felt better to be home than he wanted to admit. Del sighed and leaned back in the steaming hot water of the bath. Real water, not the artificial stuff he'd had on Earth. Artiwater cleaned you, it was potable, but it wasn't real.

  Steam rose up in wispy curls. The Esheetha servant who'd filled the tub had also added scented oil. The smell filled Del's nostrils with a fragrance he hadn't thought he'd ever smell again. Xanderran bloodflower. The name and the flower were both kind of ugly, but the scent...the scent was glorious.

  Del sank down lower into the water until it covered his head, then came up for air and scrubbed at the curls. "Ahat!"

  The servant appeared in the doorway to the bath. "Yes, xxitarren?"

  "Bring a razor and some shaving soap. I want to get rid of this mess.

  The servant nodded and moved away on silent feet. Del relaxed into the hot water more, letting his body float a little. Every part of him ached. Bruises of every shade covered him all over. The oil smelled good and also served as a balm. Unfortunately, as much as he might like to, he couldn't stay in the tub all day.

  "That looks good."

  He opened his eyes. "You look good."

  Linna looked down at the gauzy strips of material covering her body. "Considering some of the outfits I wore back home, I never thought I'd say this. I feel naked."

  "That's what makes you look so good," he replied with a grin.

  Linna didn't return his smile. She touched the sheer fabric crisscrossed over her breasts and belly, then the triangle between her legs. "I think I'd rather have a jumpsuit."

  "We can get you one, if that's what you want." Del sat up against the tub's curved back. "Want to join me?"

  Linna leaned over to peer into the depths of the tub, and this time, he was relieved to see a smile touch her lips. "Very tempting. And the bath looks good, too."

  Del touched the surface of the water. "Come in."

  Linna reached up behind the fall of her hair and untied the knot holding her outfit together. It fell to pieces in her hands and she dropped them onto the tile floor. Then she slipped into the water in front of him and bobbed there.

  "Delicious," she said with a long sigh. "God-of-Choice, hot, real water."

  "All you want."

  She cracked open one eye and gave an obvious look of appraisal to his naked torso. "Does that go for everything in this tub?"

  For an answer, he pulled her to him and kissed her. She settled onto his thighs, his rising cock pressing into her belly. Linna wiggled her taut ass against him and pressed her breasts to his chest. The oil allowed her to slide against him.

  "Slippery," she murmured, her tongue stroking his lips. She nibbled his chin. "How nice."

  She reached a hand between them to grasp his erection as she lifted herself. She nudged her entrance with the tip of him and Del leaned back, ready for the pleasure he knew she'd give him. Instead, Linna let out a startled squawk and turned, water splashing.

  "Your razor and shaving soap," Ahat said with another bow. The items were laid out on a tray along with a clean towel and a bottle of scented cream. "Do you require assistance?"

  Normally, Del would have allowed the servant to do the shaving for him, but he'd spent the last seven years taking care of things like that for himself. "No. You're dismissed. But I'd like you and Shney to bring us some food. Fruit, bread, some pastries. And wine."

  "Very good, xxitarren." Ahat bowed and left.

  "So much for privacy," Linna said.

  Del understood how she felt. In Newcity, you were rarely alone, but you always had privacy. "To Thine Own Business Attend" was a powerful motto. "Things are a little different here."

  "I believe you've told me that before."

  "You don't need to mind them. The servants. They're..." Del struggled for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain it in terms she'd understand. "They're not...of our rank."

  "Xanderrans use a ranking system, too?"

  "Not like Newcity." As far as Del understood, Newcity's ranking was a complicated series of mathematical formulas that System kept track of. "They're just servants. They're Esheethim. Like your parents. Not one thing or the other."

  Linna looked over her shoulder to where the servant had disappeared. "Androgynes? They're androgynes?"

  "They're not male, not female. Not a mixture of both. They're something altogether different. On Xanderra, the Esheethim are servants."

  "No wonder you looked at me so funny when I told you about my parents." Linna sank into the water up to her neck. "They're still people, whatever they are."

  Ahat came back into the room, followed by Shney. Both carried trays filled with plates and baskets of food, as well as several bottles of wine. Ahat set up a folding table next to the tub, just high enough Del could reach up and grab whatever he wanted.

  "Will there be anything else?"

  "No, thanks, Ahat. You and Shney can go."

  The servants left. Del scooped up some bean paste on a piece of flatbread, but Linna's look stopped him from eating it. "What?"

  "Can't you even remember their names?"

  "I called them both by name."

  "You called the one who set up the table Ahat, but earlier you called the other one Ahat. This time, you called it Shney."

  Del laughed, understanding her confusion. "Linna, Ahat, Shney, Shalosh, they're all just names for whichever servant is first, second, third, whatever, on the waiting list. Whichever comes first to answer a summons is Ahat. They're number names."

  She blinked. "You don't even give them names?"

  "They have names."

  "Not individual names."

  Del put down his food. "No."

  Linna made a face. "So they're not really people to you. They're not even really servants. They're slaves."

  "Esheethim aren't slaves. They get paid for their work."

  "With money?"

  She had him there. "With food and board, medical care--"

  "They're slaves!"

  Del gave her a hard stare. "They're not slaves."

  Linna narrowed her eyes. "Can they refuse to serve you?"

  "Of course they can."

  "Without repercussions?"

  Del sighed. "Linna, they do their jobs and they get paid. They don't do their jobs, they're free to go back to the jungle where they came from. Nobody forces the Esheethim to work for the Xanderrans."

  "But they're not considered equal."

  "No."

  "And if one Esheethim--"

  "Esheetha," he corrected. "If you only mean one, it's Esheetha."

  "If one of them wanted to live here, in the city, but not be a servant, what then? What if it wanted to be, oh, I don't know. A teacher?"

  The thought was so outrageous it made him laugh. "That wouldn't happen."

  "Why not?"

  "Linna." Del slid in the water and took her hands, pulled her close to him. "The Esheethim live the way they want to live. We're not really sure why they like serving us. We think it's some kind of religious thing for them, a period of youth trial, something like that. They have their reasons for doing what they do. None of them are mistreated.

  "They can go home any time they want, and they usually do. They don't give us their names, so we call them by number. It's the way they like it. W
hy are we even arguing about this?"

  After a minute she softened against him. "Your mother visited me this morning."

  That couldn't have been good. "She did?"

  Linna nodded, her cheek on his chest. The warm water covered them both and allowed her to float in his arms. "She came while you were gone. I woke up and there she was, and you weren't."

  "I had to go make arrangements to see my father."

  She looked up at him accusingly. "You didn't tell me that. All I knew was I woke up and the bed beside me was empty, and some woman was glaring at me like I'd just eaten her last hallucinabar."

  Del snugged her closer. "What did she say to you?"

  Linna gave low, brief laugh. "What didn't she say to me? I'm an opportunistic, control-freak trollop who snared her son directly out of the cradle by using the power of my pussy to sway him to the dark side. And a bunch of other stuff I didn't really get about how you were going to take your brother's seat and I needed to be prepared to step back from you like a proper Xanderran spouse. It was like something out of a very, very bad viddy story."

  Del's laugh was more genuine than Linna's had been. "That sounds like my mother."

  "It sounds like a cliché, Del."

  "That, too." He kissed her temple. "You don't have to worry about her."

  "No?" Linna leaned back to look up at him again. "She seemed pretty fierce to me. Am I going to have to fight her like you did your brother?"

  "Women don't fight, even if they know how."

  "Not with their fists apparently." Linna tucked herself back against him. "They fight plenty with their words."

  "I'm sorry."

  She squeezed him. "Not your fault. Besides, I told her if she had any issues with me, it was better to get them off her chest now instead of letting them fester inside. So she ranted for another twenty minutes or so, and when she saw I didn't have anything to say, she left."

  "You are some woman."

  She smiled against his skin. "And you're some man."

  She slipped her hand from behind his back to caress his cock, which had been resting semi-turgid. It lengthened promptly beneath her fingers, and she felt an answering pulse between her legs. She couldn't get enough of him.