Identity Revealed: The Tue-Rah Chronicles

by Butler, J. M.

  Naatos refused to relent. "We can have it all."

  "We must choose."

  "It is not necessary." Naatos kept his voice even despite his annoyance. "Give me time, AaQar."

  AaQar groaned and clasped his head. His long white hair fell over his face. "Time for what? It would not surprise me if this was what Salanca wanted all along. What better way to ruin you, to ruin us, than to let you take her daughter and end our line once and for all. Give me strength, I will not stand by and watch this end unless you swear to me that you will do all that is within your power to bring her back and make things work."

  "And then what?" WroOth had removed the puzzle box and now worked the tines together. They clicked together, faster and faster. He pressed his lips together in a tight line. "You're just going to kill yourself? Hold that baby for five whole minutes, kiss it on the head, tell it to live a good life, and off yourself like a coward? Or will you even wait that long?"

  AaQar looked from WroOth to Naatos. A weary sigh broke from him. "I cannot continue much longer."

  Naatos rose to his feet and paced, his steps slow but steady. "What happened with Rasha was not your fault."

  AaQar plucked a shard of broken glass from his hand. "She fled from me and stole my son, Naatos. Whether for hatred or boredom…" The clear blood pooled in his hand and dripped on the stone floor. "Tragically, it seems that even as poor a viskare as I was, you will be the one to lay claim to the title of poorest if you do not soon change your ways." He shook his head, his voice catching in his throat. "And I do not care if she had abandoned me for a thousand years or somehow taken a thousand lovers, I would have taken Rasha back. I would flay the skin from my bones to see my son again."

  Naatos placed his hand on AaQar's shoulder. "We will learn what happened to Rasha and Nydas. We will learn who destroyed Mara and the children. And woe to them who thought to destroy what we most loved."

  "Nydas may yet live," WroOth said softly. "Even Rasha."

  "If the darikov is being enacted against us, then Nydas is dead. Rasha as well." Naatos saw no reason for false hope. "In the end, she most likely regretted her decision to betray your trust and her vows." Though admittedly it was hard for him to imagine a situation where Rasha was overwhelmed and destroyed, it was theoretically possible. Particularly if she had become trapped without food or oxygen. Nydas would have been far easier to kill.

  "Regret? You speak of what you will feel, Naatos." AaQar covered his face with his hands, his elbows resting upon his knees. "All of this will do no good if you do not have Amelia's cooperation. We will be but three dry reeds howling in the night. And you cannot last for eight weeks, so you must—"

  "Trust me." Naatos knelt beside AaQar. "I have not failed us before. I will not fail us now. These worlds need us as never before. Things will be easier when our people join us. Once our position on Ecekom is secure and millions of Vawtrians are on our side, then none of the worlds will resist. And then…as far as Amelia goes, I will win her yet."

  "And what plans have you for that?" AaQar demanded. "You say we will destroy the Machat as WroOth desires. So yes. We destroy them. Let's make her watch while we're at it. I'm sure she'll find that most arousing. There's nothing like a massacre or a genocide to whet a mindreader's appetite for lovemaking."

  WroOth scoffed. "The Machat must die. After what happened to Mara and the children, I have no desire to show them any lenience. If they are such incredible prophets, let them escape." WroOth tossed the puzzle box into the air and caught it. "But that doesn't mean that Amelia must see it. We can remove her."

  "Yes, removing her before the conquest worked so well the last time," AaQar said.

  "We may be able to hide it from her." Naatos studied his brother, choosing his words carefully. "And there must be some way to make her compliant."

  "I believe it's generally referred to as seduction," WroOth said dryly.

  Naatos shot him a dark look. He resumed pacing. This was treacherous ground indeed. If he was not careful, he risked losing his brother as well as the Tue-Rah and Amelia. Yet his brothers' concerns were valid. Why was it so difficult now? Why did it seem that he was constantly making the worst possible choice? He had played the role of the mysterious suitor at various points, but those women had always desired him. His refusal to touch them or speak with tender words except on occasion had added to his intrigue and mystique. How unfortunate that the same approach was not working with Amelia.

  AaQar gave a cold laugh and slowly rose from the chair. "Yes, it's generally known as such, but even knowing that it is called seduction will not help our brother."

  Naatos seized AaQar's arm, pulling him back. His brother was less than half the weight he had once been, further proof of the hollowing of his bones and withering of his muscles. "If you try to end your life again, I will drag you back to life by the scruff of your neck and imprison you in stone until you come to your senses."

  AaQar managed a half-smile and placed his hand over Naatos’s. "I may lose all else, but at least I have not lost the love of my brothers."

  "Give us your word, AaQar," WroOth said. "Or else we'll put you in stone just to keep you safe."

  The silence intensified the weight of the moment. Both Naatos and WroOth watched AaQar closely while AaQar stared at the stone floor. At last he sighed. "I give you my word. Now give me peace."

  Naatos released AaQar's arm. Together he and WroOth watched AaQar leave. His steps were slow and weary. Their brother acted as if he had aged significantly over the past few days. It struck Naatos that he could play on Amelia’s compassion, using AaQar's health and his desire for a family to win her over. Given that she was their only hope at carrying the line, it was a powerful argument that carried little risk unlike some of the others.

  WroOth flicked him in the ear. "That won't end well."

  Naatos gave his brother an annoyed glance as he crossed the room. "I don't recall you having mindreading abilities."

  "You were thinking you could use AaQar's death wish to manipulate Amelia into doing what we want." WroOth sat in the chair and propped his feet up on the end of the bed. "Tell me I'm wrong."

  Naatos glowered at him.

  "See. I know you better than you want to admit." WroOth grinned. He sighed then. "So…eight weeks is unthinkable, but how long are you going to last?"

  Naatos knew that WroOth was referring to one of the side effects of unsatisfied love, the primary reason that most Vawtrians did not wait long between locking and consummation. His healing abilities were already slowing, the pain in his chest and arms rising, and his shifting becoming increasingly unreliable. Particularly after he touched her. He hadn't been able to shift at all during the Machat attack. "I can last as long as necessary," Naatos said.

  "But you won't wait the eight weeks."

  "Of course not." Naatos sat on the bench. He looked once more at the painting of what he might have with Amelia. Of what he would have. "Besides, if someone is targeting our wives and children, then Amelia is next. That Machat said as much. She should be with us."

  "She doesn't agree."

  "What would I do without your keen observations, WroOth?"

  WroOth shrugged, but he gave a crooked smile. "And that still leaves the problem of finding her."

  "Tracking. Searching." Naatos removed the Neyeb necklace from his pocket. "And there's this." He placed the stone on his palm. "At this distance, she would have to be reading someone's mind for me to find her. I cannot yet initiate, and I doubt she is skilled enough to handle such a connection on her own." A slight vibration passed from the stone into his hand, a low hum rising. "Well…" Naatos smiled. "Guess who is reading someone's mind right now?"

  "Really?" WroOth leaned forward. "Are we certain Elonumato doesn't like us? Because that's a particularly excellent bit of luck on our side. Can you reach her?"

  Hope eased the tension in Naatos's chest. It really was only a matter of time now. He stared at the necklace intently. The humming intensified, going up
half an octave. It was her. Whatever she was doing was causing quite a strain on her. And while that was bad for Amelia, it was good for him. "Yes," Naatos said. "I've got her."

  50

  Strange Meetings

  Amelia stared at the creature she had created. It wasn't a hook-fanged spider. It was somehow worse.

  A sleek black spider with six iridescent emerald eyes clung to a large rock, and it didn’t seem to notice either Amelia or Matthu. A long, hooked stinger protruded from the base of its pear-shaped abdomen. It jabbed its stinger into the rock, and several times it bit into the dull black stone. Its mandibles cracked off several shards. Unlike the hook-fanged spiders, which were the size of wolves, this one was as big as a Clydesdale. Whatever part of Amelia's mind this came from, it was horrific. The clicking and cracking was strange as well, both distant and close at intervals as if it wasn't entirely in the same location.

  Matthu cringed. "Couldn't you have made it smaller?"

  "Stay back." Amelia pressed her hand to his chest. Deep down she knew what she needed to do, no matter how afraid she was. This was her creation. She would destroy it. "I don't know what happens if you get stung. You're already in bad condition."

  Matthu straightened his posture and looked at her incredulously. "It's in my head. How much worse can it get?"

  "I don't plan to find out, and I'm not going to let you die." Amelia tried to swallow the knot of fear in her throat, but it only made her stomach twist more.

  "Well, I didn't come all this way just to watch you die," Matthu said.

  "All right. All right. Fine." Amelia bowed her head. There had to be a better plan. "Then what I need you to do is stay here and watch. Tell me what it's doing. I'm going in."

  Amelia charged forward, scaled the rock, and leaped onto the spider's back. She dug her feet into the almost invisible grooves of its back and vaulted herself to what she was fairly certain was its throat.

  The spider reared back, snarling and hissing. Scrambling about, it bucked. Amelia tried to choke it or break its neck, but its thick hide did not bend beneath the pressure of her hands. She screamed, willing it to die. Imagining it falling over dead seemed to have no effect.

  "That's not working!" Matthu shouted.

  "I know!" An idea flashed through Amelia's mind. "Matthu, take your boots off."

  "My boots? It's a little big to step on, isn't it?" Matthu removed his boots anyway, leaving his grey socks on.

  "It's all we've got!" Amelia shrieked. The spider reared up again, slamming her against the wall.

  The force stunned Amelia. She fell to the ground. The spider turned on her. It opened its jaws and roared, sounding like a tyrannosaurus rex.

  Matthu struck it from behind with one of the boots, using it like a sling club. "Back off from her! Amelia, catch!" He threw her one of the boots.

  The spider lunged at Matthu, but he struck it in the face.

  Amelia struggled to her feet. Grabbing the boot up by the laces, she slammed it into the spider's now wounded back leg.

  The spider roared and spun again. Amelia sent the boot to its face, striking it in the two lower right eyes. At the same time, Matthu struck it in the back as well.

  Together Amelia and Matthu beat the spider back, focusing on the eyes and legs. They ran and spun and dodged with the spider circling, attacking, and striking.

  Green and black blood spurted from the creature, but its rage increased with each wound. Amelia scaled back up the rock and jumped onto the spider's back. She pummeled the base of its neck with the boot, screaming with each blow. The spider jolted under each attack as Matthu beat at its legs. It staggered, then lurched, and collapsed.

  "Ha!" Matthu exclaimed. He held up his boot but grimaced, seeing the black and green streaks of blood and venom. He dropped it to the ground. "Looks like we did it."

  "Yeah." Amelia breathed with relief as she slid off the spider. "Here's your boot."

  "Keep it. I'm fine with going barefoot. It doesn’t seem to have hurt you to do so."

  Amelia smiled faintly. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, but some part of her felt cleansed. They had succeeded. "You're going to make it after all."

  Matthu hugged her, laughing. "Only until they come up with some other way to kill us, huh?"

  Amelia returned the hug. Winning felt good. "Here's hoping it's not soon."

  "And that you don't put another spider in my head." Matthu released her. They were still encased in darkness, but all of the spider webs and stone had vanished along with the spider, blood, and venom.

  "Thank you for being so understanding," Amelia said.

  Matthu shrugged. "I would say this isn't the strangest thing to ever happen to me, but that would be a lie." He set his hands on his belt. "All right. So…do we just wake up now?"

  "I guess so." Amelia looked around. She couldn't even see the tapestries anymore, but she supposed that if they went walking back in that direction, they'd find them soon. "I was in a room sort of like this back after the hook-fanged spiders were biting me. Except Naatos was there. And I just woke up, so I suppose that's all it takes."

  "No. Last time I let you go. This time I am not feeling so charitable."

  Both Amelia and Matthu froze. Matthu glanced at her, his body rigid. "Did you bring something else into my head?" he whispered.

  "I don't think so." Amelia's voice shook. How was Naatos even here?

  "Of course she didn't. I am not some subconscious fear that lurks in the corners of the mind."

  Amelia turned slowly, still gripping the laces of the boot in her fist. Naatos stood several feet behind her, wearing the black hunting garb he had been wearing when she last saw him. He smiled when their eyes met. "We certainly meet in strange places, don't we?"

  Amelia tightened her fingers around the bootlaces. "What are you doing here?"

  "I think I can forgive you for the spider," Matthu said. "I'm not forgiving him though." He stooped to pick up his boot.

  Naatos started toward them. "Don't you understand that this is what these necklaces are for, viskaro? I have yours, and you have mine. They join husband and wife, family and family. They serve as a connecting point for the non-Neyeb spouse and until the Neyeb is strong enough to make the connection on their own. Why don't you tell me where you are right now?"

  Matthu pushed Amelia behind him. "Don't tell him. He'll never find us in Emradel."

  "Your lies could not be any more obvious than if you were a Neyeb." Naatos folded his arms as he fixed his gaze then on Amelia. "You will tell me where you are, viskaro. Not him."

  "You are nothing more than a piece of my imagination," Amelia said tersely. "And I will bludgeon your face in like I did that spider."

  "Yeah." Matthu lifted the boot. "We killed that spider ourselves. You'll probably be lots easier."

  "You are not welcome here," Naatos said.

  "It's my mind. You're the one who isn't welcome," Matthu snapped.

  Naatos lunged forward, grabbing Amelia by the head.

  A sharp energy pulse coursed from his hands into her forehead. He moved so fast that she didn't have time to respond until he had seized her. Giving a sharp cry of pain, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were in another chamber filled with tapestries. The blackness still surrounded them, but these tapestries were wrapped in scarlet wool, and Matthu had vanished.

  Amelia thrust Naatos's hands back. "Where's Matthu?"

  "Safe in his own head. I thought your mind would be better suited for our discussion. It's best if we don't use mine."

  "My mind?" Amelia glanced at the tapestry closest to her. Her cheeks burned when she recognized herself. She was struggling to climb a knotted rope with a pack on her back and weights on her ankles and not doing particularly well. Sweat drenched her body, soaking her thin red shirt and long dark braid. She couldn't have been more than eight in that memory.

  "The Neyeb were always weakest in the upper body," Naatos said. "You shouldn't have made it that high at that age with th
ose weights. You were clearly a tenacious child."

  "I'm not any less tenacious now," Amelia said.

  "I would not deny that." Naatos turned back to her. He smiled slightly. "So that we are clear, your actions in the courtyard and decision to flee with the Machat is normally what I would consider to be defiance. But I am prepared to offer you an alternative."

  "Let me guess." Amelia paced a few steps ahead then paused, realizing that would lead him farther into her memories. Who knew what he would see? She could think of countless points she didn't want coming up again. Like the time she'd waxed her legs and sealed the back of her calf to the back of her thigh. Not to mention other embarrassing situations. Oh, there were so many. She turned to face him. "You're willing to forgive me so long as I come back to you and cooperate."

  "My viskaro is quite skilled already. How quickly you take to knowing my thoughts," Naatos said. "Yes. Ordinarily I would have to find some way to punish you so that you would not think such behavior is condoned."

  Amelia crossed her arms. "There are things that matter to me in the world. Whether you condone my behavior isn't one of them."

  "Perhaps, but if you come back to me voluntarily, I will not have to punish you."

  "Two things. First, no one is making you punish me. You're upset with how I acted, and you want to make me suffer. Second, coming back to you means I would be accepting that I am your wife."

  "You are my wife whether you accept it or not."

  Amelia shook her head. "Not only does that go against everything I know, but it's incredibly convenient for you to be able to make that claim. Besides, you don't even know that we are compatible."

  "All of the races handle copulation in much the same way. In the most basic senses, we are the same. Basic biological compatibility is not an issue."