by Mark Eller
Parting her lips, Melna gave in to the kiss. She pressed her body into the caressing hands. One of her wrists was grasped, and then the other. The kiss broke free, and her head swam as the blond god lifted his mouth from hers. A superior smile played about the corner of his lips. His hand cupped the back of her head, and he shoved a gag into her mouth.
Melna tried to gasp. Her hands were jerked behind her and bound. They threw her to the ground hard enough to jar her teeth.
"Need anything else?"
"Just keep people away," the blond, Clack, answered. "Toss me the middle whip, the one with the embedded glass. I'll call when I'm done."
"The whip's too noisy. . It's all right if our pet Chins know what's going on, but we don't want Klein to find out."
"Hardly a peep," Clack promised.
"Peeps I'm not worried about. It's the screams I'm concerned with. Make sure she's breathing when you're finished. I didn't get much use out of the last two. "
Melna tried to scream, but only a muffled moan worked past the gag. Hands pulled at her clothing. This was no longer exciting. It was terrifying. She kicked out, but her legs were bound.
A fist slammed into her stomach, doubling her over. No, this wasn't fun anymore. Unwanted tears flowed. Melna couldn't breathe, couldn't straighten, but she refused to throw up, knowing the gag would drown her in her own vomit.
Grabbing her shirt, Clack ripped it off just as the tent flap jerked open.
The Afkan stepped in. "Enough!" he snapped in Jut.
"This is none of your business!" Clack snapped back.
"It is so long as I'm in charge of security. Release her."
Clack growled. Something evil and twisted showed in his eyes. Scowling, his right hand shot down to clutch the small swell of Melna's right breast. He twisted it hard enough to make her gasp though the gag. Smiling, Clack squeezed harder. "What did you do with Johnston?"
"I sent him away," the Afkan replied. "Let the girl go. "
Clack twisted one more time. It felt like the bastard was ripping her breast off.
"You can have the whore. " Releasing his hold, Clack tore the gag off her mouth and flipped her over to untie her hands. He wasn't gentle.
When he finished, Melna carefully stood. She gathered the remnants of her shredded shirt while the two men watched. The Afkan wore a frown, but Clack showed only a contemptuous smirk. Melna slid her arms through the sleeves but did not close the front. There would be no point. Her shirt no longer had buttons. Besides, showing skin didn't bother her.
She stared Clack straight in his eyes. Giving him her most winsome smile, she spoke in Frankish. "Sweetling, the next time I see you I'll string your guts around your neck."
Clack tilted his head and laughed.
Melna's first strike caught him in the throat. He gagged as she quick spun to send an elbow up under his sternum. Releasing a thin scream, Clack dropped to his knees, which made it easy for Melna's heel to shatter his nose. Clack fell full onto his back.
Well, damn. The stuff Aaron taught worked pretty good. Imagine a bitty thing like her flooring such a big hunk of a man.
The Afkan warily watched both her and Clack. Good because Clack was a tough man and she no longer had the element of surprise. If he got up, he would tear her apart.
"Are you going to hit me, too?" The Afkan's voice seemed more amused than angry.
"Do I need to?"
"Not really. However, you do want to talk to me. The information I have is more reliable than the stuff you picked up from overheard gossip."
His voice had a strangely familiar ring to it, though she could swear she had never heard it before. No, Melna corrected herself, the familiar part was not his voice. It was his inflection and delivery. It was his accent. His voice reminded her of Aaron. Smiling humorlessly, she remembered Aaron's words to the Governor.
"You can start by telling me about this world you and the emperor came from."
The black man frowned. "Now that is surprising. Why don't you follow me to someplace less crowded?"
Melna looked down at herself. Her breast was already bruised, and so was her stomach. If Aaron saw those bruises, he would ask questions she would find hard to answer. Thinking of the lies she might have to spin, a vindictive twinge ran through Melna. Clack had risen to his knees. Murder rested deep in his eyes, but he apparently thought she was finished with him.
Melna kicked out. Clack screamed and clutched both hands between his legs.
There. Better. Pulling her arms out of her sleeves, she threw the useless shirt away.
"Give me his shirt," she ordered the Afkan.
* * *
"The Chins brought approximately fifty people to the conference. Four are diplomats, eight are personal servants, and one is the emperor. The rest are security for the emperor. Apparently, this part of Efran is a peninsula protruding into Chin, so the Chinish border is only seventy miles away. Across the border is an army of five thousand who are ready to commit war at the first hint their emperor has been harmed. However, despite appearances and rumor, the Chins are not completely unified. Several tribes believe they can only be fully recognized by conquering civilized lands. Others want cooperation with their neighbors, and a few just want to be left alone."
Pausing for breath, Melna watched Aaron's, Kim's, and Governor Rhodes' doubtful expressions.
"The emperor believes he will win an all out war for the first year or two, but then other countries will bring in their troops to stop the Chin incursion. His armies will be pushed back and overrun. I have been told Emperor Klein does not have enough firearms and ammunition to support his elite troops for more than a few months. He can't get more ammunition because he doesn't have a technological base. Knowing all this, he will still try to expand his borders through war unless the civilized nations give his empire the technologies and support it needs to consolidate into a nation in fact and not just in name."
"Where did you get these ideas?" Rhodes asked.
"From the Afkan, the head of Chin security. He told me to ask any question, and he would answer. I think the last thing he wants is a war. Unfortunately, he's not the emperor, so he has little say in the matter."
Rhodes snorted. "Dear, his job is to deceive you. Trust me; the true art of diplomacy is lying so you get what you want while allowing the other party to think they've won the battle. Any truth the Afkan told you is a truth Emperor Klein wants us to know because it suits his ends."
"That may be," Melna admitted. "It's also possible nothing he told me is true. Then again, I can generally tell when people are lying. I think he told the truth."
Melna refused to believe she had been manhandled, terrified, and almost raped, only to be further insulted by the Afkan's lies.
Kim moved next to her. She touched Melna's shoulder. "You have been injured. Your arm has lost flexibility, and you move stiffly."
This was something Melna did not want. "I met a couple men with rough ideas. The black man chased them away. The one who took liberties knows I'm not happy since I broke his nose, or I think it's broken. Anyway, it was bleeding when I last saw him."
Kim lifted Melna's arm until the sleeve fell back to bare her wrist. Melna tried to pull her arm back, but Kim's fingers held like brass clamps.
"Rope marks. They had you tied."
Sighing, Melna flicked a glance toward Aaron. His face was still, pale, and very angry. A lie would not serve. No story she invented on the spot would be matched by the Afkan when questions were asked.
Trapped, Melna told the tale from the moment she stole a servant's clothes, leaving out only those personal thoughts she knew Aaron would not appreciate. She also skipped over the fact that she was a willing participant in some of the proceedings. Unfortunately, Melna did not do a good enough job of deceiving. Aaron's side of the room grew cold.
"I think all three men came from the same place as Aaron," she finished. "The black man and brown haired man both have his accent. Clack spoke Frankish, but he called it
Normandish."
"Thank you, dear," Governor Rhodes said. "I'll pass on the information along with a warning about this Clack fellow."
"There is no need," Kim said without noticeable inflection. "Melna is under my protection. I will take care of the insult."
"Kim!" Aaron's voice rang sharp. "Attempt any action and I'll see you kicked off these grounds. This isn't a matter for a woman to handle."
Melna caught the eyes of the other two women. They seemed to be as confused as she felt. In some ways, Aaron's eccentricities gave him a bit of charm. Sometimes they were inconvenient.
"As you say," Kim reluctantly answered. "I will allow this matter to drop."
"I mean it. I'll watch for anything suspicious."
"I will never lie to you," Kim said, giving Melna a pointed look. "The matter is over unless something happens to endanger you. " Her gaze rested uncomfortably long on Melna before turning back to Aaron.
Melna shivered. Kim knew. The woman was too perceptive. Some of the attraction and excitement she had initially felt toward Clack had come through when she told her tale.
Aaron's eyes said he knew too.
Melna felt like crap. She felt like throwing up. Damn it, she was nineteen. When was she going to grow up? Could she have found anything else to so greatly damage her marriage?
When she looked at Aaron she wanted to cry. His expression said he would have forgiven murder quicker than he would forgive her betrayal.
Later, she gave Aaron a kiss and snuggled deep into his arms as they lay in bed. Her breast and stomach ached when she pressed into him, but she counted the pain as part of the price she had to pay. Fortunately, her night shirt covered the bruises. She was the only one who knew they existed.
Aaron kissed the side of her neck with dry lips. He held her, but his hands lay still against her back. The gentle, almost unconscious strokes his fingers habitually gave her were missing. Outwardly, his demeanor and voice were no different than the night before, but Melna knew a part of her husband had withdrawn. He was lost to her.
Closing her eyes, she rolled to place her back to him so he could not see her tears. It hurt. By the Lady did it hurt. She had driven her husband away only to discover she was more than fond of him. Somehow, over the last weeks, Melna had learned to appreciate him, only she had not known it. Until now--when it was too late.
Chapter 17
Convention seating was assigned, and there was no chair for Kim. She pitched a restrained fit, but eventually accepted the inevitable. Aaron left for the convention hall without her. A woman standing in the hall's doorway looked up his name in a ledger, gave him a small map, and used it to point out where he should sit. He thanked her, handed her back the map, and went to his assigned seat near the rear of the conference room. He was early, one of the first, which was fine by him. He wanted to see those attending as they arrived. So far, most were the self-important snobs who had snubbed him for the last couple weeks. Aaron grinned when he saw that most of those were overdressed. Already warm, the room would only get hotter as more bodies arrived. As far as he was concerned, the supercilious prigs could enjoy their tailored suits and jackets. By the time this meeting was over he would be comfortable, and they would not.
The room slowly filled until Aaron could barely see the front table. Amused, he noted Curfras Adoracil, the Nefran ambassador, was seated in a much better position than himself. Governor Rhodes' opinion as to their respective worth had not filtered down to the person in charge of seating.
The Chin delegation arrived only a few minutes before the meeting started. Aaron peered closely to get a better look at the tribespeople. His heart almost stopped when he caught sight of the third person through the door.
Samuel Aybarra. More than eleven years had passed since they crossed paths, but it was Aybarra.
A trickle of uneasiness ran through Aaron. What was a government agent from the other world doing here? Had the Jefferson government's idea of forcing a way into this realm born fruit?
Hopefully not, but Aybarra was here.
Following Aybarra's entrance, a small troop carried the emperor in on a wooden chair. Unsure what he felt, Aaron watched the man who had almost been a father to him. When he took in the bindings holding Klein in place, his heart sank, but there could be no pity. Even crippled, Klein's eyes spoke of power and arrogance. Helmet's body might be a ruin, but Aaron knew Helmet's mind was his most powerful weapon.
When the room finished filling, the conference started. People talked. Others translated. Still others protested the clarity of the translations. In all, four hours passed pointlessly. The only thing accomplished was everyone agreed the important people were, indeed, in attendance. Aaron wasn't called on to speak. He assumed this meant Fitzbeth and Governor Rhodes and a few others had been wrong. He was not important to this process. That irked him, but also brought relief. He felt more comfortable as an observer than as a participant.
When the speakers finished listening to themselves talk, the opening day was closed. Drumming his fingers on his right knee, Aaron remained in his seat until the room almost emptied. Only a few people remained by the time he rose and reached the doorway where Aaron stepped back to allow a corpulent man to pass and was jostled by a pair of women. Frowning, he stepped further to the side until he stood entirely out of the flow.
"By Jesus!"
A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around. Aaron stared into dark eyes set in a dark face speckled with the stubs of gray whiskers.
"He said he'd get you here. By God, Turner, am I glad to see you!"
Aaron smiled thinly, feeling tense. "Mister Aybarra. Forgive me if I'm surprised by your happiness. The last time I saw you, you tried to kill me."
Aybarra waved their past history off. "Different world. Different politics. You were right not to let Jefferson have a chance at this place. They screwed up their world; now they can fix it. Hell, look at what they did to Klein. My boss hooked wires and probes into his brain and ran electricity through him until he became like this. Made me feel like crap, so I shut the machine down and pulled him free. Helmet leaped us both over here."
Aybarra shook his head. "Lord, Aaron, will Helmet be glad to see you. He swore you'd be somewhere nearby, but I thought you'd be too smart to come to the conference."
"Somebody told somebody else my presence was imperative. Nobody has quite figured out who did the talking or why I'm here, and now I wonder why Helmet is so anxious to see me?"
"That's his story to tell. Will you come with me?"
A small voice in Aaron's mind shouted "No!" Helmet Klein was the father he loved, but the man was dangerous and unpredictable, a reason Aaron had never gotten in touch with him. Klein would use anybody to further his goals. Witness what he had allowed the militia to do to Aaron.
They needed to talk.
"I'll go."
He followed Aybarra out of the Hall and to the grounds. They went through the Chin encampment and over to the largest Chin tent. Aybarra walked past the guards, waving them away when they tried to stop Aaron.
"Helmet! Hey, Helmet! He's here!"
Klein swiveled his head. Satisfaction filled his recessed eyes.
"You're walking straight, boy, and your arm works. I'm glad."
"Really," Aaron said. "Then tell me why you helped Field make me that way?"
Klein's welcoming expression changed to shock. "What are you talking about? No wait. Everybody but Turner leaves."
One guard stepped forward. "Is this wise? You have not seen this man for a long time. He might no longer be trustworthy."
"I don't care if it's wise or not. If Aaron wants to kill me he can. Nobody harms him no matter what happens. " His eyes flicked back to Aaron. "Of course, if I die under suspicious circumstances, an army of five thousand will come this way. I can't stop that."
"I didn't think you could," Aaron said. The Chin army didn't matter. Klein knew him well. Even if Aaron wanted to harm Klein, his nature would not allow it, not in co
ld blood, not when Klein was unable to protect himself.
The tent emptied slowly. Several people looked back to make sure the emperor didn't change his mind. Klein's resolve remained resolute.
Aaron half-smiled while he wanted to frown. "Was clearing them out necessary?"
"What we talk about is for no one's ears but our own," Klein answered. "Only a handful of my people know about you. All of them come from our own world."
He paused, breathing hard. Aaron waited while Klein caught his breath.
"Sit down, boy. Tell me how I helped cripple you. I need to know because I swear to God I knew nothing about it. I seldom saw you when you weren't in bad shape. You were mostly dying or broken from the moment we met in the hospital until shortly before you came over here."
Aaron sat down hard. The chair groaned protest. "What do you mean you didn't know? The operations I went through weren't to heal me. They were to put wires and electronics and C4 in me. Turns out, there was nothing initially wrong that couldn't be repaired in a few days. The wiring was what crippled me."
Turning his head to the side, Klein spat a yellow fluid. "If I thought you could survive I'd have brought you over here. I didn't know. How could I? I know nothing about medicine or science or anything else except how to lead people and make war. The only reason I didn't bring you with me was because Field could give you the medical help you needed. Or I thought you needed. " He shook his head at Aaron's doubtful frown, and then smiled slowly. "I'm not lying to you Aaron. Now that I know what they did to you, I don't feel so bad about lying to them. When I brought Field's militia people over here, I spread them around in separate tribes so they'd mostly be without allies. The majority I put on the bottom of the pecking order. Those who survived I moved up."
His face shifted, turned rock hard and serious.
"I need you, Aaron. I can't go back to Jefferson. The last time burned me out. I don't have the Talent anymore, and my people need what Jefferson can give them. We need medicines and tractors and so much more. I have people dying in droves. Half will never see twenty, and that's an improvement since I first took over. I stopped most of the intertribal warring and started them on agriculture. My people are known for being short, but this last generation of kids is growing taller because they're getting better food."