His speech was moving and the Gothman cheered loudly when he was done.
“Very soon you will all receive a new communication device.” Darius held the comm up in the air. “The Runners call it a comm. You will be instructed in its use. It will become your principal way to contact others, it will.”
Darius took it upon himself to show those leaders who reported to him, how to wear the comm and how it worked. Not once did he ask Tara for assistance. She stood next to him silently. When he was done with the demonstration, he walked to his tent.
She followed. “You were rather impressive out there.” She secured the tent flap once they were inside.
He sat in one of the chairs and kicked off his boots. “I have to be confident in front of the men or they’ll have doubts, they will. You know that. Your equipment may be different than ours, but it’s not complicated to understand, no. I agree all our forces should be using the same means of communication.” He leaned back in his chair and stared. “You may think we’re more primitive than you, you may, because we don’t use these landlinks or have your advanced technology. But just because we are different doesn’t make one of our races better then the other, no. I have a tight rule over those men out there. I know how to speak to them, yes. This war will be won, and Gothman will remain strong because of its leadership.” He paused and studied her face.
“Don’t let the words of my sister affect you. Just because she referred to you as primitive, don’t take it personally. She was out of line, as she usually is.” Tara sat next to him and took off her boots as well. “She doesn’t speak for the other Runners, or they wouldn’t be here.”
She draped her long legs across his and leaned back in her chair. “You best believe she doesn’t speak for me, or I sure wouldn’t be here.”
Darius stared at her legs, while running his hand along her inner thigh in a stimulating caress, then without comment he moved her legs, got up and went into the other room.
She sat there, leaning back in the chair completely exhausted. She had almost fallen asleep right there in the chair when he returned to the room. She opened her eyes and saw him standing in front of her. His shirt was off, and his bare chest distracted her out of her sleep.
Tara moaned as she studied the different shades of golden curls that covered hardened chest muscles. She didn’t bother to wake up enough to talk, nor did she see reason to lift her eyes to his face. The view she had at the moment pleased her, and she allowed her eyes to follow the chest hair down to the top of his drawstring pants.
Darius must have noticed that she enjoyed the view, because he didn’t move.
After a minute, Tara looked to his face and met his gaze. She noticed the interest in his eyes and smiled slyly.
He said, “I have something for you. Come here.”
“What?” She followed him and then stopped as she noticed a small box sitting on one of the pillows of the bed. “What have you done?”
She opened the small box and pulled out a delicate chain with a small gold circle on it. In the middle of the circle, a tear-shaped ruby was fused to the side. The deep crimson of the ruby glittered in the dim light.
“It’s the symbol of my clan.” Tara smiled brightly and turned to look at him. Tears welled in her eyes, and she quickly looked down. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried for any reason.
He sat next to her and lifted her face, wiping the tears and smiling gently. “I had it made for you shortly after I first saw you in town. I tell you, my lady, it was love at first sight. You and I were meant to live this life together.”
Her tears flowed freely.
He laid her back on the bed, wrapping his arms around her. He slid off her coat and lifted her shirt over her head. She slid out of her pants and he quickly slid out of his clothes. He gently laid down on top of her naked body, and his flesh on top of hers excited her so much she could hardly contain herself. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, and he leaned on his elbows and stared into her face for a moment.
His kisses were soft and caressing. Once again, he moved slowly and passionately. Several times she tried to roll over and take charge of the lovemaking, but he pinned her and continued to make love slowly to every inch of her body.
She fought to control her soaring passions, but he controlled her destiny. He entered her, and she attempted to thrust upwards and bring him to a climax. He reached down for her legs and carried them upwards until he was able to rest her feet on his shoulders. She refrained from screaming as he penetrated deeper than he had before.
He seemed quite pleased with himself as he watched her face and slowly brought them to a mutual orgasm.
She rolled over on top of him and dared him to make love to her again.
His smile filled her heart with warmth, and he sat up with her facing him on his lap. “We’ve affairs of a nation to tend to, my lady. We need the rest.” His hands caressed her back. “I’ll accept that challenge later.”
He laid her back down, then stretched his body out beside her. “Sleep well, my lady.”
With a kiss to the tip of her nose, he pulled their bodies close, and they fell asleep.
Chapter Nine
Several cycles passed with no indication of an attack by the Sea People. But, they were out there. Landlinks detected them in vast quantities just beyond Gothman borders. But since their arrival almost four cycles ago, the Sea People lingered.
Darius sensed the uneasiness in his soldiers. They did not like sitting and waiting when they were geared up to fight. He’d agreed to send scouts out to visually detect the Sea People using viewers, a long cylindrical tube that magnified items in the distance. They had been provided by the Runners.
After waiting so long for an attack, the Gothman began circulating rumors doubting the accuracy of Runner landlinks. Still, scouts verified thousands of Sea People with large amounts of artillery. No one could say for certain why the Sea People just sat there, apparently doing nothing.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sea People have discovered the Runner’s presence and are waiting for reinforcements,” Tara spoke to a small group of men assembled around the table in Patha’s trailer.
“And who would they be waiting on?” Geeves, Darius’ personal assistant, stared at the Gothman map spread over the table and didn’t glance up at Tara.
She finished slicing a block of cheese, although she didn’t take it to the table. She would be damned if she would wait on these men. She left the sliced cheese on the counter and plopped a piece in her mouth as she moved to stand behind Darius.
“They could just be waiting for more Sea People to arrive,” she offered.
“I say we attack now, I do.” Darius hit the table with his fist, and Geeves grunted his approval. “Gothman won’t tolerate our borders lined with Sea People, no.”
“Runners do not attack unless attacked first.” Patha didn’t raise his voice and glanced at Darius as he spoke.
“Tension builds among the men, my Lord,” one of Darius’ commanders spoke from behind Tara as he leaned against a wall by the trailer door. “They are ready to fight, they are, and we have them sit like women.”
Tara cleared her voice, to show the commander she didn’t like his comment.
“I can’t justify leading any Runner clan into combat at the moment.” Patha paid no attention to his daughter. “The Sea People sit on Freelander land. They are not in violation by being there. Everyone knows the Freelanders allow anyone free rein to their land.”
“So Gothman will sit and do nothing?” The same commander behind Tara raised his voice a bit with the question.
“I don’t like it anymore than you do.” Darius pushed his seat from the table, almost backing into Tara. She moved toward the counter as Darius faced his commander. “But I daresay in all of Gothman history, no attack has occurred before the enemy crossed Gothman borders.”
“We shall wait for the Sea People to make the first move.” Patha didn’t bother to stand.
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Both Darius and his commander turned to study the Runner leader.
The commander released a few expletives, apparently feeling Tara’s presence didn’t prohibit such language, and left the trailer, not bothering to shut the door.
Tara chewed her lip as she followed Darius from Patha’s trailer. She felt irritated that the men couldn’t agree, and frustrated because she wanted more of the cheese and had left it on the counter. Needless to say, her mood was as sour as Darius’.
One morning, Tara lay on her mat working to pull her pants over her hardened belly. This had become a routine, trying to get her clothes to fit, but this particular morning she realized the pants just weren’t going to go on without her making the conscious decision not to breathe. She absolutely could not fasten her pants. Runner women often wore black, loose-fitting dresses over leggings when they were pregnant.
Tara groaned at the thought that she might have to concede to wearing such clothes. She stared at the ceiling of her tent, her hands still gripping button and button hole of her pants, and her fingers burning from trying to pull the material together over the growing bulge of her baby. She’d be forced to obtain some temporary clothing while her child grew within her, even though such articles would hamper her ability to climb on a bike and perform military maneuvers.
Tara decided to drive over to the Blood Circle Clan site and say hello to Balbo, her stepbrother. She’d been too busy with planning and training to have visited him before. Now that Darius and Patha had decided to create a better fighting mechanism by having the two cultures—Gothman and Runner—learn from each other, Darius had gone out daily with a party of scouts comprised of both groups. This left her the opportunity to leave the camp without any questions. Besides which, Balbo might be able to help her with the clothing issue.
Patha had had two wives although Tara only knew one. His first had died in battle. His second wife, Cloya, raised Tara but died giving birth to twins when Tara had seen fourteen winters. One of the twins died with Cloya, and the other twin was sent to Cloya’s family to be raised. Tara also had a half-sister, Tasha, and Balbo, a stepbrother. Balbo was Patha’s son by marriage—a son of his second wife. He was older than Tara, but since he was not of Patha’s blood, was not heir to Patha’s clan. Balbo was a good man, though, and had always been someone Tara could confide in. Right now she needed a favor.
Balbo hugged and kissed his sister on the cheek as she entered his trailer. Then, looked confused as he listened to her request. “You want what?”
“I need a pair of pants, mine don’t fit anymore.” She privately begged that he wouldn’t ask why.
“Eating to much of that Gothman food, are you?” He laughed and then looked at her closely. “Tara, your face is gaunt. And why are there dark shadows under your eyes? Have you been to a doctor recently?”
“No, and I feel fine. I just need a larger pair of pants.”
Balbo left the room for a moment, returning with a pair of pants. As he handed them to her, he gave her that brotherly look she had hoped not to see. “Tara, I’ve never interfered with your life, and I won’t start now. But, what’s the harm in stopping in and seeing Dr. Digo while you’re here?”
“We’ll see.” She hugged her brother and thanked him for the pants. “I wanted to say hello to a few people I haven’t seen in awhile. Maybe, I can see the doc, too.”
Tara no longer had any doubts as to her condition, but she decided to pay heed to her brother’s advice and see if Dr. Digo was busy. He’d been her doctor all her life, or as long as she could remember. He’d tended her first laser wound and set more bones than she cared to remember. He was a good man, and she didn’t mind stopping in to hear the latest stories.
“Tara, child, how you’ve grown. Why, you’re not even a child any more, but a beautiful woman. I’ve heard the stories about you…how you started a revolution. Doesn’t surprise me a bit. Here, have a seat, tell me a good story.” The old man patted the chair that was reserved for his patients and assumed his doctorly position, leaning on the examination table.
“Okay, here’s a story.” She squirmed in her seat. “This young girl has reached the Age of Searching and is drawn to places she’s never been. She enters into a culture unlike any she’d experienced. Doctor, I tell you, she is exposed to a way of life she had only heard about in many exaggerated stories. An old lady takes her in and teaches her about the culture and provides her with clothes so she will look like one of them. It was harder to give up her way of life than the girl thought it would be. Then, one of the men in this culture takes an interest in her. He knows her for what she is, but she doesn’t know this. She thinks she has him fooled. She comes to discover later that he not only knows her for what she is, but he knows more about her than she knows herself. I guess it was inevitable, fate some may call it, but she falls in love with this guy.”
“And, this man, does he love her too?” Dr. Digo looked interested.
“Yes, he tells her this, and then proves it by his actions again and again. It’s just that their cultures are so different. She’s not sure they define love the same way.”
“So, what happens next?”
The old doctor had already moved over to the cabinets along side the wall of his trailer and started opening drawers.
She ached from the tight pants she wore and tightened her grip on the pants in her lap. “I don’t know.”
Dr. Digo pulled a syringe out of the cabinet and moved over next to Tara. “Shall we find out?”
Tara didn’t answer but took off her jacket and pulled up her shirtsleeve.
Dr. Digo smiled as he drew the blood. He’d seen this look of concern and worry on many young women’s faces. They always approached him with the obvious staring him in the face and telling him they didn’t know. He never argued and always let them be the first to know or to admit it out loud.
Tara remained quiet as the doctor took the blood over to the equipment on the table.
He turned the monitor so Tara could see the results as soon as they were available.
“Tara, you’re definitely pregnant. Would you like an examination?”
She consented and it was done.
* * * * *
She left the office wearing the pants her brother had given her. They fit much better but she knew they wouldn’t work for long. Dr. Digo told her she’d have a baby in five cycles, right before the New Winter. Only five cycles before her entire life would change—she would be a mama!
She drove away slowly, lost in thought, which is probably why she didn’t pay much attention to the young Runner standing outside Dr. Digo’s trailer.
The young boy leaned along the backside of the trailer watching her as she mounted her bike and disappeared into the camp. As soon as she was gone, the boy reached up and turned on his comm.
“I found her. She just left Dr. Digo’s trailer.”
* * * * *
As Tara entered the Gothman camp, mulling over how she would handle a pregnancy, a war, and being claimed by a Gothman, Darius and Patha slowly pulled up in front of Dr. Digo’s trailer.
“Come in, Patha, you’re not hurt, are you?” The doctor’s smile lessened as Lord Darius entered the trailer behind Patha. He looked at the tall blond man, as the lord stood expressionless, returning the gaze.
“Digo, my friend, I’m not hurt.” Patha accepted Digo’s extended hand and shook it with both of his. “I’d like you to meet the Lord of Gothman. Lord Darius, this is Dr. Digo. He’s cared for my family as long as I’ve had one.”
Darius appraised the stocky older man, guessing his age to be closer to Patha’s than his. And the doctor was definitely nervous. Darius decided he didn’t really care as long as the doctor told them what they wanted to know.
“Digo, we won’t take up much of your time. I imagine you’re quite busy.” Patha crossed the room and sat in the chair behind Digo’s desk.
Dr. Digo stood to the side as Darius moved as far as the middle of the room. He could se
nse the doctor studying him, but could only wonder what Tara had just told the man.
“We’re here to talk to you about Tara, we are.” Darius didn’t want to waste time on civilities. He wanted to know what happened between the doctor and Tara.
“Patha, you’re an old friend, but you know I can’t talk to you about my patients.”
“As Patha said,” Darius interrupted, looking down at the doctor. He didn’t like speaking to the doctor and then having the doctor address the answers to Patha. “We won’t take much of your time.”
“What can I do for you?” The doctor looked nervous, but held his ground and continued to focus on Patha.
“What did you find out while Tara visited you?” Darius used his tone that had a quiet, unquestionable authority.
“I can’t tell you that.” The doctor rubbed his hand through his hair and sighed deeply. “This is a very sensitive situation.”
“How pregnant is she?” Darius knew in his heart that the child was his, but he had to hear it from the doctor. He had to make sure Tara didn’t arrive in Gothman already pregnant.
“Answer the question,” Patha ordered when the doctor hesitated.
“About four cycles,” the doctor sighed again. “She’ll give birth before the New Winter.”
“Thank you,” Patha said and stood.
Darius knew it had been a good idea to pay the Runner lad to follow Tara after one of his men had reported that his claim had left camp. Tara would learn soon enough that the Lord of Gothman’s claim would always be watched. She may view a claiming as demeaning, but to Gothman, she was a valued woman.
When the lad reported that Tara had gone to the Runner doctor, Patha had told Darius he would go with him when he learned why the Gothman lord wanted to see the doctor. Darius had accepted Patha’s offer, knowing the Runner leader would play diplomat. Still, Darius guessed the older man wouldn’t have wasted words if the doctor had shown reluctance in offering what Darius wanted to know.
Nuworld: The Saga Begins Page 17