by L. K. Rigel
Jake lifted his weapon over Char's head, his arms and shoulders hovering over her as he took aim at the other eagle. It was hardly appropriate, but she couldn't help thinking how sexy he was in his lord-of-the-manor apocapunk brown-black leathers. It took everything she had to keep from reaching up and pressing her palm to his chest.
But then she was always weak for Jake right after they escaped death together.
"Shib." He checked his aim and lowered the crossbow. The bird had moved out of range, and quarrels weren't exactly plentiful.
From this vantage the land outside the perimeter wall was in full view. There were the beginnings of a forest to the east and foothills beyond that. Flat wasteland lay to the south. The escaping raptor flew north, past a peninsula that curved westward to shelter the bay. Farther west was the Pacific Ocean.
The guard moved to call the all-clear but stopped when he saw Jake.
"You're in charge, Gordon," Jake said. "Be in charge."
The man squared his shoulders and yelled, "All clear!" His unit repeated all clear along the wall. Two clangs signaled from the bell tower.
"We lost no one," Gordon said, "and Lady Char took out a raptor."
"It took both our hits to bring that monster down."
Gordon nodded, acknowledging the compliment. "The birds are learning to stay away, my lord. Attacks are down by half since the cages were installed."
"That's the plan," Jake said. "Soon I want to walk to the hospital and hydroponics without need for a weapon."
The cagers dashed through the gate to retrieve the dead eagle. There was no nice word for how raptors tasted, but protein was protein. The kitchen would marinade and spice the meat and dry it into semi-bearable jerky. Char had some of the execrable stuff packed in her bag for today's outing.
She always brought goodies from Corcovado, and she always meant to eat them. But it was just too tacky to hide treats from people who survived on textured protein and raptor carcasses with the occasional carrot. The strawberries and chocolates and coffee and real beef jerky usually became gifts for the servants within an hour of her arrival.
"Lord Ardri!" In the center of the common the wagon driver stood over the real treasure, the gorgeous black-tailed doe the raptor had dropped. "Will you have this deer cut into steaks for tomorrow's feast?"
If looks were poison quarrels, the driver would be a dead man. A mason slammed his hammer against a stone, but the driver seemed unaware of the distress he had caused. There was a ban on hunting endangered deer, but this doe was a gift from the gods.
Jake got that twinkle in his eye. "That's fine of you to care, Hamish." He walked out of the cage onto the open perimeter wall. "You'll be attending that feast, I believe?"
"That I will, my lord." Hamish beamed with pleasure at being recognized and ignored the grumbles all around.
"And as chief of hydroponics, you know all these hard-working people have so graciously given up their share of this week's crop in order to impress the poobahs coming in for that feast."
The pleasure left Hamish's face.
"Haul that animal down to the kitchen," Jake said. "I want a good venison stew made for all the workers in the common, masons and cagers alike."
"To Lord Ardri!" One of the cagers cried.
"Rah!" The masons and cagers responded in unison. They broke into laughter at the driver's tragic expression.
"And Hamish."
"Yes, my lord?"
"You will personally see that the ghost woman who makes the cage nets eats a cup of the stew. I don't care if it takes her a day."
Char wrapped her arms around Jake's waist and leaned her head against his chest. "No wonder your people love you."
"It's my secret to successful lording. People like to eat." He kissed her forehead and tweaked her cap. "Jordana's work gets more interesting all the time." His gaze traveled from her cap to her lips, and then his mouth was on hers, and for a moment the world went away. There was only Jake's kiss, his arms, his aching murmur of desire, and her body's responding heat.
"To Lady Char!" The approval of the kiss was answered by a group Rah!
Jake grinned and gave the cagers and masons a thumbs-up. "It's good to be alive, Meadowlark."
The sane part of Char's brain knew that Jake loved her. But a perversity in her couldn't let go of one small problem. He was having children with someone else. It was kind of driving her crazy, even though it was her own fault.
Char had helped Durga and Magda convince him to do it. Jake could be lord sheriff of the settlement without heirs; but city status required a king, and a king must have two natural born children. It was all about establishing dynastic rule and stability. This was Asherah's law.
The chalice Faina had already delivered a girl, and she was five months pregnant with a boy. Everything was going according to plan. Char just hadn't expected to feel so jealous and insecure about it. Jake swore he didn't compare Char to Faina, but how could he not? Char compared herself to Faina, and always came out wanting.
Beautiful, sweet, fertile Faina. Truly nice Faina, always a pleasure to be with.
"There they are." Jake nodded toward the gate where a handler held the reins of two horses, saddled and packed for a daytrip. "Let's get out of here."
Vain To Deny It
Char and Jake galloped north in silence. Halfway to the peninsula, Char fell back a length to enjoy the view. She liked Jake's hair longer, the way he wore it now. The brown as yet had no grays.
Cripes. She had done it again. It was probably because of the coronation, it being such a life-changing event, but she'd been thinking about age a lot lately.
She and Jake were both natural born, and they could expect to live to eighty or ninety. Unlike the poor baggers who rarely lived past fifty. Nor was it the hundred and fifty years of youthful good health promised to a chalice, but Char wouldn't want to live sixty years in a world without Jake.
Still. She was thirty-two, and Jake was thirty-six. She should have married him right after the cataclysm, the first time he asked. Before things got so complicated.
Shibadeh, he looked good. His muscles had always been natural, no enhancements. Good thing too. So many people had lived through the war and the cataclysm and then died from enhancement withdrawal.
Jake was in better shape than ever. Years of physical labor at the settlement had put even more muscles on the man. He was funny and smart, an excellent lord sheriff who worked to better his settlement. He would -- he had -- risked his life for the people he loved.
It was a bonus that he was gorgeous.
At the top of the rise of land that overlooked the bay, she looked back at the citadel. A grey blimp had tied down in the dirigidock. At the sight of a dark blob in the distant sky she nearly panicked—then realized it must be another airship coming in.
"I want my shades back." Durga had confiscated the telescoping sunglasses long ago, promising to return them after she had the design copied for reproduction. Char wasn't holding her breath anymore.
"That's ZhMngguó in the dirigidock," Jake said. "I see Ithaca came by sail." A square-rigged clipper ship had just entered the bay from the south. His face went all misty. "Now, isn't that pretty." Maybe he was remembering his time as pilot of the Space Junque. "We should have built a harbor. What will my fellow poobahs think of me?"
"They'll be impressed, believe me."
Char should know. She'd been to plenty of shibdung settlements and so-called cities to consult on hydroponics systems. Most lord sheriffs were closer to the Sheriff of Nottingham than to Jake. They drove their people to exhaustion with constant labor and fed them nothing but textured protein and oatmeal. In most of the world, public works like hydroponics and hospitals and even waste disposal came as an afterthought.
In Jake's settlement hydroponics had come first, and then the hospital, even before the citadel proper. The perimeter wall surrounded it all, enclosing land enough for future streets and parks and housing and schools and shops—every good thin
g a proper city would want.
Technically, everything within the settlement wall comprised the citadel. But when people said citadel, they really meant the huge administrative structure that was beginning to look like a castle from an old fairy tale. The residential tower even had a turret with a window facing the bay.
"Rapunzel should live in the turret," Char said. "Or Sleeping Beauty."
"Durga will like it, don't you think? She can pretend she's in a fairy tale fighting off dragons."
"You forget she's grown up now."
"True, she is quite the young woman. And attractive, though I don't think she knows it." Jake's attention was still on the bay. A jollyboat pulled away from the clipper ship and headed for shore. "I'm putting her in the tower for security."
"No one would dare."
"I mean for privacy. Most of these people are coming only for the chance to see The Chosen One." It was cute how his cheeks turned a little red. "I'd like to see some man touch her without permission. She could kill a guy with a blow to the trachea."
"Or Asherah would smite him."
"There's always that." Jake squinted at the airship still in the sky. "I'm guessing that's Hibernia."
The second airship had come in as close as the clipper ship and turned to line up for the dirigidock. It was as large as Corcovado's Monster, but the resemblance stopped there. This one was faster and much better looking, emerald green with polished brass trim and a huge gold harp logo on the side. Char said, "When Durga sees that, she'll demand a new airship."
"I'm sure Hibernia has that in mind, since they have the charter on airships. Next to this rig, the Monster is shibdung ugly."
Char chuckled, remembering the first time Durga saw Sanguibahd's airship. She called it a big red monster—and not in a good way. Among her friends, the name caught on.
"Shíb dài!" A thunderous boom cracked overhead. Char's horse was up on its hind legs before she knew it, and she fought to throw her body weight forward to keep from falling. A black fuel-based jet plane burst out of the eastern sky and over the bay. As Char and Jake calmed their horses, the jet circled the Hibernian airship then headed toward the citadel.
Garrick. Arrogant shibdabs.
Char hadn't heard the roar of engines in years. The sheer power and speed of the thing made her pulse race. It was vulgar, an insult to her sensibilities. It was blasphemous, as much as she hated that word. No wonder Garrick wanted to get its hands on the orbit runner.
Jake had been right to take the horses today. Thank Asherah he'd had the foresight to hide the runner while the poobahs were in residence. Char and Jake watched the jet until it dipped down behind the citadel. She had no idea what he was thinking.
"I suppose we should go back," she said.
"It would be the right thing to do."
"You are the proper person to greet them." Char's heart rate slowed to match her sudden bad mood. She and Jake weren't going to have any time together until this whole thing was over.
"I don't know." He had that mischievous glint in his eye. "Hamish is probably already organizing a tour of hydroponics." Jake took off east toward the new forest, laughing. He called over his shoulder, "Catch me if you can, Meadowlark!"
Char urged her horse on after him into the trees. Young oaks, eucalyptus, and birch were dwarfed by pines that had grown tall abnormally quickly. Under the cover of the branches, Char felt her body relax. She had been subconsciously on the alert for raptors.
They took a turn into an area Char didn't recognize and had to slow down to pick their way through untraveled undergrowth. The scent of pine was invigorating, and she heard the sound of a waterfall.
"Char, watch it!"
Jake reined in his horse on the verge of going over a cliff, a sheer drop to a canyon that ran northeast forever. A river flowed through the gorge below, fed by a waterfall on the canyon's other side.
"It's beautiful." Char dismounted. On a clear night, this would be a fantastic place to watch meteor showers.
"Let's eat." Jake jumped down from his horse and spread a blanket on the ground.
Despite the shade, Char was warm from the ride. And besides, she had prepared for more than lunch. A little bare skin never hurt anything. She tossed her jacket and cap on the corner of the blanket and shook out her hair. She had hardly anything on underneath, a bra and a soft pink camisole. She had only worn the bra because they were riding horses today.
"A drink?" As Jake handed her a bota bag from his pack, his eyes widened with appreciation at her changed look. He took off his own jacket, disclosing broad shoulders and strong arms in a sleeveless forest green hemp shirt. Very nice combined with black leather pants and black boots.
"Lord Ardri." Char had expected water, but the bag contained wine. "Are you trying to seduce me?" She slowly traced her lips with the tip of the bag, then slipped it into her mouth and drank.
"Milady, you've discovered my evil plan." In two steps, Jake was at her side. He took the bota bag out of her hands and flung it away. "And now I'm going for your precious parts." He lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. Their mouths crashed into each other, as if they'd been waiting forever.
She felt him swell with desire, and she squeezed tighter against him. He groaned and pressed a hand to her breast, fingering the nipple. She was hot and wet, and she had to have him right now. She let go with her legs and slid to the ground, and Jake helped her unfasten his pants. He lifted her camisole over her head and she had her bra off in an instant. Then he was on his knees kissing her breasts.
She ran her fingers through his hair down his neck to his shoulders and moaned with pleasure, pulsing with heat and pressure. She slipped out of her pants and tossed them on the pile of her clothes, then pushed Jake down onto his back and straddled him.
"I've been thinking about doing this all morning."
It took an hour to remember they were hungry for food. Char retrieved the wine and opened the lunch the kitchen had provided. Thank Asherah, no raptor jerky. She pulled out a red apple. "What a treat! How did this escape tomorrow's dinner?"
"I have an in with the cook." Jake put his arms behind his head and admired her still-naked body. "But she would only give me one. We'll have to share."
She took a bite and tossed the apple to him. Her pants easily slid up over her thighs and hips. With the rest of the world, Char had grown thinner. She was hardly ghostly; and unlike the cager women, she did still have breasts. But she was nothing like Faina.
One of the horses snorted, as if it had read her mind. They were grazing nearby in a small clearing. Jake hadn't read her mind, but he had read her face. "What happened just now? You were happy, and then the light went out."
"I was just thinking. This spot is so beautiful. The view and the waterfall and the trees. What if we were wildlings and lived here alone? No settlement, no Corcovado, no poobahs."
"No Faina." Jake knew her too well.
"No Faina." She accepted the last of the apple and sat down. "Don't get me wrong, Jake. You did the right thing."
"Then why is Faina in our way?"
When Sanguibahd made the offer of kingship, it had taken some time to convince Jake to accept. He came up with all kinds of reasons why it wasn't the right time, but none made any sense. He had overseen the settlement's design and build-out, and he had been truly happy in the work. He wasn't afraid of the commitment. He relished it. He had often remarked on how it was the first time he had made the world a better place.
He finally told Char it was the children clause that bothered him. Two natural born children which a chalice would provide. It was sweet, really. Jake didn't want to have children with someone else.
"I love you, Char." Again, he had asked her to marry him. "I want a family with you, not some breeder."
"That's a harsh word." Char had taken Durga and Magda's side. "The chalices serve humanity by Asherah's command. We have no say in this. And you couldn't even have baggers wi
th me. The hospital that stored my eggs was destroyed in the fire. We can't go against the gods' laws."
It had been so strange to hear those words coming out of her own mouth. We can't go against the gods' laws. Positively medieval.
Garrick, of all things, spurred Jake to action. The city offered to provide one of its scions to do the honors. Jake couldn't stand the thought of Garrick enjoying and corrupting all he'd built. With that possibility looming and Char taking Sanguibahd's part, he accepted.
But Char couldn't marry him, not yet. Not until she was sure. If Jake did fall in love with his chalice, she wouldn't be able to bear it.
"Faina isn't in our way, Jake. I'm in our way."
"You once asked me to ignore what happened with you and Mike."
"That was just a kiss. And it was an accident!"
"As you said. Plus you shoved him out an airlock, so I've always been pretty much convinced you didn't like him all that much."
"I can't believe you would bring up Mike."
"I'm just giving an example of how a person might have an interaction with another person, but it doesn't mean a person is in love with a person. It doesn't mean I took any pleasure in it."
"I can't believe you would bring up Mike, is all."
"I can't very well throw Faina out an airlock."
"And you're telling me you had sex with someone as lovely and sweet as Faina and you took no pleasure in it?"
Jake's face went all screwy. Ha! He couldn't deny it.
"Bees. Boom."
What the shib? Both their heads jerked toward the clearing. The horses were undisturbed, still poking around looking for goodies in the undergrowth. Char and Jake remained still for minutes, but she didn't see anything unusual.
It had definitely been a human voice…hadn't it? She whispered, "Did you hear that?" Jake put a finger to his lips then pointed.
About thirty feet away behind a clump of birch trees, a ghost was staring at them.