The Inquisitors (The Space Merchants Book 6)

by Wendie Nordgren

  After a short nap, I awoke to Quaid’s strong hands stroking my back and lifted my head to smile at him and kiss his handsome face. Now, his eyes had white sclera visible which meant he was relaxed and satisfied. “I have a gift for you, but not one that sparkles.”

  With a naughty grin, I peeked under the covers. “It doesn’t look like you’re ready yet.”

  Quaid laughed, scooted out from under me, pulled his vid-screen from his jacket, and returned to bed. I placed kisses across his chest and wished he would will himself hard once more. His cock gave a weak jerk in response prompting his laughter. “Teagan,” he said. His voice had taken on a serious tone. “The gift I have for you is a wrong righted, of an evil ended, and of a pain you might never again fear. I have journeyed to the farthest reaches of the Galaxic Expanse, tracking buyers, sellers, and material components, to eradicate this vile symbol of devastation from the universes. I can make no promises or guarantees that more of them will not be produced, but laws have been passed to make doing so not worth the risk if caught. My father made certain of it.”

  Quaid placed his vid-screen into my hands. Upon it was a long, detailed report of an intense investigation into detonating pulse blades. Arrests and seizures had all been documented. Slowly, I scrolled through it reading every word until my eyes were too blurry to see. Quaid took the vid-screen from me and held me while I grieved for Luca once more.

  “My hope is that through the Militia’s continued vigilance, no one else will suffer Luca’s fate,” Quaid said quietly against my hair while I cried.

  Once I was done, I had a headache but felt purged. Quaid handed me a fresh silk square. “Will you share what you can of this with Lucius and Fallon, Luca’s parents?”

  Quaid hugged me close while continuing to rub circles on my back. “Our commanding officers have shared the report with the Parvac Empire.”

  I didn’t need to tell Quaid what his efforts along with those of the Hadrian’s crew and the Galaxic and Laconian governments meant to me, because he knew. Quaid had renewed the telepathic bond between us. I relaxed against him spreading my fingers through his sexy blonde chest hair and let my thoughts wander over the events of the past few days.

  “You did the right thing when you answered the distress call of the other stealth ship,” he said.

  “I was thinking of what Hiroshi would do. He would drop everything to aid a Militia ship.”

  Quaid chuckled.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Gossip from Simon is that Ling has been demonstrating signs of queasiness. Furthermore, Tora has been docked in her berth on Arachne for a few weeks.”

  I straddled Quaid’s chest and squealed. “Seriously? I mean really? Is Ling pregnant? Little Hiroshi Lee babies crawling around could be in the near future?”

  Quaid’s eyes followed the bouncing of my breasts. “What?” he asked rhetorically. His cock gave me its undivided attention.

  By the time Quaid and I stepped from my room, freshly showered and dressed, he was what his younger sister, Eri Bosh, would describe as being love drunk. I had gone a bit overboard with the amounts of pleasure I had been rolling through him, but I enjoyed seeing the grin on his face and the white around his eyes. Jazon jealously guarded Tracy from Quaid, and I laughed about how she practically drooled over my Eriopis husband. On the other hand, Terre seemed unaffected even by Eric’s charm. Being raised in the Empire, she had preconceived notions regarding the behavior of an Imperial attendant and fussed with my hair and made sure that my coffee was perfectly suited to my tastes. Otto and Rolf deferred to her in a way they never had to me. When Terre ordered Rolf to make me a fresh cup of coffee because it wasn’t strong enough, he immediately complied. Had I asked, he would have raised an eyebrow and suggested juice might be better for me. When Terre’s back was turned, I stuck my tongue out at him. That got him to give me his snooty butler look, but he didn’t let Terre see it. I laughed. I loved having her on my side.

  “Well! Hello! Hello! Hello! Did you miss me?” a playful voice called out from the sitting room.

  Neema ran from the patio inside yelling, “Fip! Fip! Fip!” the entire time.

  Thunderdrop jumped down from his perch atop my head to follow. I took a small sandwich from a tray and fed it to Quaid, who gazed at me with love-drunk rapture. Phillip joined us on the patio with Neema in his arms. He pulled out a chair in between Yukihyo and Nico and started filling his plate with two of everything from the tiered tray at the center of the table.

  “Hey, Cupcake. You and Quaid look relaxed.”

  “Thanks. Where have you been?”

  “I went to a medical research facility on Daphoene to study advances in pediatrics. Uncle Fip needs to stay current, right, Creampuff?”

  “Neema loves Fip,” she said as she gave him a baby kiss. Evidence in the form of jelly remained on his cheek. We didn’t tell him.

  Eric, Nico, and Yukihyo were busy catching up and didn’t notice the look that transformed Phillip’s face. I followed his gaze to Terre, who politely refilled my cup.

  “Phillip, may I introduce Lady Terre Dacia. Terre is a new friend we met while on Naxa. She has agreed to serve as one of my Imperial attendants since Violet has her hands full with Poppy at the moment.”

  Phillip’s chair scraped against the stone as he stood and walked around the table. Terre turned to him and curtsied. “Hi, I’m Fip. I mean Phillip. I mean…. I’m Dr. Phillip Svenson. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” With Neema clinging to him and his right arm around her, awkwardly he took Terre’s hand in his left and bent forward to kiss her fingers. Neema laughed and clutched his shirt with sticky hands.

  “Dr. Svenson, I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” she said as she removed her hand from his and discreetly wiped it on a napkin.

  Realizing his palm had grown damp, Phillip wiped it on his pants. Thunderdrop chirped at me and showed me an image of a male spider chasing a large female spider through an Arachnean forest. I shoved a sandwich into my mouth and watched the display in front of me in fascination.

  “You are so beautiful,” Phillip said. The pause that followed was so long and awkward that it got Eric and Yukihyo’s attention.

  “You are too kind,” Terre said. She turned to me. “Will there be anything else, Princess?”

  I was startled when I realized she was talking to me. “No, but you’re welcome to join us.”

  “Thank you. However, something requires my attention.” Terre curtsied and turned to enter the Palace.

  “Do you need help? I can help,” Phillip said. He followed her.

  After the door closed, I started to ask, but Eric beat me to it. “What the fucking shit was that?” I stared into my cousin’s ice-blue eyes. “Was that our Phillip, the ladies’ man?”

  “No way. That had to be a clone. Our Phillip was kidnapped at the medical conference. Another possibility is that an imposter underwent reconstructive surgery to take his place. But, wouldn’t Neema know if that wasn’t Phillip?” I asked.

  Yukihyo’s mouth was hanging open.

  “Quaid, what just happened?” Eric demanded. He had just taken another bite and couldn’t answer.

  Jazon answered for him. “Phillip fell so hard for Terre that he knocked all of his charm out of himself and behaved like an unsure boy with his first crush. His palms are sweating for fuck’s sake. Maybe, he’ll stop making eyes at my female now. Too bad he bombed so badly with Terre.”

  Zared snorted and said, “Hi, I’m Fip.”

  Jazon and Zared howled with laughter. I shook my head. “But, she’s Parvacian. I thought human males weren’t attracted to us,” I said puzzled by what I had just witnessed.

  “She has far more human blood than the average Parvacian female, and stranger things have happened,” Yukihyo said under his breath with a nod toward Farowyn, who watched me from the edge of the patio.

  Chapter Six

  After breakfast, I went to my room to change for the Inquisitor Cadet Awards Ceremony. Terre was att
empting to put together wardrobe selections for me, all of which were white. Phillip hovered. Neema had her arms around his neck and a sweet smile on her face. “Can I help?” Phillip asked.

  “No, you are covered in jelly,” Terre said primly.

  “I will take the Princess, Lord Svenson,” Pierce said.

  “No! My Fip!” Neema said with a fierce scowl.

  “Neema, don’t you want to go with Mommy, Daddy, and Fip to the party?” I asked.

  “Party?” She took her arms from Phillip’s neck.

  “Yes, the reporters will be taking lots of pictures,” I said. I knew how to manipulate my daughter.

  “Pierce! Party!” Neema went with him eagerly. She loved the attention of cameras and cheering crowds.

  I whispered in Phillip’s ear, “Maybe, if you ask nicely, she’ll lick all of that jelly off of you.” When Phillip turned red, I knew something was wrong with him.

  “I’ll just go get cleaned up,” he said nervously. He tripped when he turned. I laughed and caught his arm.

  Drex stood in the bedroom doorway and watched Phillip leave. From Drex’s expression, I could tell he didn’t notice anything odd. I turned myself over to Terre and let her dress me how she wanted. “So, what am I supposed to do today?” I asked him.

  With his hands clasped behind his back, he stepped closer. “There has been a slight change of plans. You and your team will sit with the other cadets and walk to the platform when called. The Empress Neema will award the rank insignias.”

  I tried to hide my disappointment. Terre straightened my hair so that it fell in a shiny, sleek curtain down my back and arranged a sparkling diamond tiara on top of my head. She chose a white lace calf-length dress with a full skirt and paired it with a white leather jacket and a pair of tan flats. She had chosen to wear a yellow dress that made her dark skin look creamy and rich. Again, I longed for Thalassa’s sun and the tan I hoped to get.

  “You ladies are exquisite,” Drex complimented.

  “Chirp!”

  “Aww! Thank you both,” I said. Thunderdrop jumped to my skirt. In the sitting room, my jaw dropped. “Wow! You all look gorgeous!”

  Yukihyo wore a sexy dark-grey suit. Nico wore his uniform with all of his medals and held Niklos, who wore a white romper. Neema wore a white top and ruffled white bloomers. Quaid was trying to lure her closer with a new doll. He and Eric wore their Galaxic Militia uniforms. Zared, Jazon, and Xavier wore their Omnes Videntes uniforms complete with all of their medals. Tracy wore a blue dress whose hem swirled at her ankles, and I was shocked to see Sparrow in a dress of light-purple. She had her arms around Gary, also in uniform.

  “Rolf! Oh, please!” I begged with my hands clasped in front of me.

  Yukihyo, Eric, and Quaid laughed knowing from experience what I wanted.

  “Might I suggest the lawn?” Rolf asked.

  I took Peter, also dressed in a white romper, from Lorca and went outside to stand on the grass.

  “What are we doing?” Sparrow asked.

  “Family pictures!” I yelled out to her. I kissed Peter all over his face. “I love family pictures.” Once we were all together, I yelled, “Terre! Hurry!”

  “Me, your Grace?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  Terre walked over and stood near Sparrow, Xavier, and Gary. Phillip, who had changed into one of his best suits, repositioned himself so that he stood behind her. Jazon started making telepathic bets with his brothers about how Phillip might flounder with Terre next. I ignored them. My heart was close to bursting with happiness. Had Fitz and Luca been with us, it would have been perfect. The combined telepathic and empathic efforts of Yukihyo, Zared, and Quaid kept my feelings of loss at bay and kept me focused on my happiness, and the gratitude I felt for those who had become my family. We posed for a few pictures, and I made certain to get one of Sparrow, Tracy, and me.

  “Dearest one, it is time for our departure,” Drex said. He offered me his arm. We formed a well-dressed parade of sorts as we walked along the Palace halls to the main entrance.

  “Where are Momma and Papa?”

  “They are arriving separately. We need to arrive with the cadets.”

  We loaded into transports and were driven in a procession to a large military base devoted to inductees of the Inquisitors Branch. “What are each of the different buildings?” I asked.

  “Those at the back of the property are the barracks,” Drex said. There were four, three-story buildings.

  “There must be lots of students.”

  “Recruits are separated by age. In the first building, ten, eleven, and twelve-year-old students are housed, and so on. Young males, from nineteen to twenty-one, reside in the last building.”

  “Is this where you lived from the time you were ten until you graduated?”

  “Yes, dearest one.”

  “Drex and I have that in common,” Eli said.

  I tried to see all of the mysterious place that I could through my window. I ran my hand over Thunderdrop’s abdomen. Curiosity and nervousness fought for control of me. Curiosity won and began to morph into excitement, even though Momma was the one getting to preside over the ceremony. The transport carrying us veered away from the others and to the back of one of the large, white stone buildings.

  “Aren’t we sitting with the others?” Tracy asked.

  Drex said, “No, Lady Ponidi. You and your team will sit with the cadets.”

  Tracy turned her solid black eyes to me. I shrugged at her. Sparrow quietly observed. “Are you okay?” I asked her.

  “Yes. Daddy is impressed with my lab.” Sparrow smiled at us. For her, it was an extravagant display of emotion.

  Tracy and I each squeezed one of her hands. “Gary is so proud of you,” I said.

  “Yes, that’s what Xavier was just telling me. It makes me feel squishy, right here,” Sparrow said as she pointed to her chest.

  “I felt squishy when we were taking family pictures,” I admitted.

  “So, did Jazon,” Tracy said.

  “Seriously?” I asked as I leaned forward.

  “Chitter chitter!”

  “Sorry, Thunderdrop.”

  My spider crawled up to my shoulder where I wouldn’t squish him.

  Tracy laughed. “I’m in trouble for telling you that, so I might as well continue. The three of us, all of the children, and Andy make my husband a gooey puddle. That mean, stoic expression he keeps plastered on his face is as fake as fake can be. Likewise, if anyone were to try to hurt us, well, I wouldn’t want to be that person.” Tracy laughed, assumedly from whatever retaliation Jazon silently threatened.

  “Chirp? Chirp?”

  “Oh, yes, Thunderdrop. We all love you. Jazon considers you to be more of an equal than as someone to be coddled and protected. You are a brave warrior.”

  Thunderdrop blinked his eight eyes at Tracy and perked up.

  “Thunderdrop has saved me many times. He grows from being my spider baby into my trusted companion and protector.” I smiled adoringly at him.

  “He’s your best friend. Isn’t he?” Sparrow asked.

  I gazed into his black eyes. “Yes, Thunderdrop is my best friend. He has my complete trust, love, and undying loyalty.”

  “Chirp chirp chirp chirp,” Thunderdrop said as he wrapped his front legs around my throat.

  “I want for us to feel that way about each other, too,” Sparrow said decisively.

  “I’d like that.”

  Tracy wiped at her eyes, and said, “Me, too.”

  Drex looked at all of us oddly. “Well, then. Shall we?”

  “See you inside,” Nico said.

  Yukihyo had a funny smirk on his mouth.

  “Females,” Zared said.

  The three of us scowled at him and followed Drex from the transport. I bent back inside and kissed each of my babies before joining them. Then, our transport drove back around to the front of the building. Drex led us inside and through reinforced doors that slid open in a whoosh of
cold air. The Inquisitors standing inside saluted as we walked past. Several sets of dark eyes followed us as we walked along the corridor and into a large auditorium. Drex showed us to the end of a line of cadets, right behind Cadet Cedrenus.

  “Teagan, you, Sparrow, and Tracy will follow Cadet Cedrenus’ lead and sit where he indicates.” With that, Drex kissed my cheek and walked away.

  Including the three of us in our dresses, there were thirty-six of us in line. The cadets wore unadorned black uniforms and appeared to range in age from eighteen to twenty-one.

  Sparrow whispered, “I feel overdressed.”

  An officer ordered, “Quiet.”

  Sparrow narrowed her eyes at him, but he stared her down. My cheeks heated. I was the shortest person in the line. I wondered if Tracy and Sparrow felt as out of place as I did. On an officer’s command, the cadets began to march into the auditorium where they filed down rows to stand before their chairs. I couldn’t see the stage because of the tall males in front of me, but I could see the people in the stands to either side of us. To the left, I saw Yukihyo, Nico, Quaid, Zared, the children, my Omnes Videntes, Grandmother, Aunt Seyla, Uncle Kagan, Kane, and everyone else. Next to them were General and Mrs. Tereas, Aya, Adina, Ashura, their husbands, and children.

  In my mind, I heard, “Do not wave. Stand up straight and look forward.”

  I did as Zared instructed. Realizing that all of them had come to show their support was surreal. The stands were filled with parents and family members. Any spare seats were filled with uniformed Inquisitors. My head began to feel like a balloon. I focused on breathing, so I wouldn’t faint. The auditorium quieted.

  A male began to speak. It was Inquisitor Cormac Gordian. “Always, it is a great honor to award deserving young cadets for their skill and ingenuity in service to the Empire. Before you today are trainees who have excelled in evasive and interstellar travel and tracking. They are at the top of their classes and were hand-selected to participate. Each team was entrusted with a stealth ship and assigned an objective, either to find their target across Parvac space or to capture a team before it could do so. The students before you have learned to captain a vessel, defend it, evade discovery, track invaders, and offer medical assistance. The youths before you are some of the finest of the Empire. Of them, three teams proved themselves to be exceptional, so much so that with us today are our beloved Emperor and Empress.”