fortuneswheel

by Lisanne Norman

  She could sense Brynne skulking around the refectory looking for a partner for the night. He was determined to show Vanna he didn’t need her, that any female would do. She sighed. It looked as if she was in for a repeat of last night. Another helping of secondhand sex was not what she needed, especially when she was too inhibited by the mental closeness to pair with Garras.

  By late evening, Vanna was suffering from a headache and nausea. She’d tried taking medication for them and found out the truth of Sorli’s words. The symptoms persisted. Sensitized as they were to each other, she knew most of it was due to Brynne’s determination to stay away from her.

  She could feel the pull of their Link, the compulsion getting stronger as the night wore on. Despite his charm, he’d been unable to find a partner, probably because of the mixture of signals he was projecting— anger coupled with a highly charged sexuality was not a combination that would attract even a nontelepath and he was looking for a female in the Telepath Guild! At least she had the benefit of Kusac’s advice on how to go about building stronger shields than they were being shown by Sorli. She needn’t let everyone know exactly how she was feeling.

  Balked of his chosen diversion, he’d gone out drinking with his friends. That in itself wasn’t a problem, but he’d continued to the point where she was beginning to feel as bad as he did.

  The whole situation was ludicrous. She’d sat here for the last four hours experiencing his anger and every objection he could think up for staying away from her, and none of it mattered a damn except whether they wanted to live with the Link, or die without it. She was going to live, and she was no meek Terran female to sit and wait for the male to come to her.

  Grabbing her jacket, she opened the door, coming face-to-face with her bodyguard.

  “Where are you going, Physician?” Lhea asked, falling into step beside her.

  “I’m going to get Brynne,” she said, ears set to the side of her head and tail flicking with anger. “I’ve had enough. We’ve got to sort this thing out between us now.”

  Lhea, sensibly, made no comment.

  They made their way out of the gates and into the narrow streets surrounding the guild. Vanna knew exactly where he was, at a small inn not far from the temple. As they entered, she saw that the Terran males seemed to have made it their meeting place. There were a few ribald comments as she went over to where Brynne and his friends were sitting, but she ignored them. Brynne was slumped over the table nursing his head.

  Sitting down opposite him, she reached for his glass and moved it away. “You’ve had enough,” she said firmly.

  He looked blearily up at her. “Oh, it’s you, is it? What d’ you want?”

  “You’re coming back to the guild with me. We have to talk this thing over.”

  “I’m not going,” he said belligerently, sitting up.

  “Look, you can do what you damned well please for the rest of the week, but tonight you’ll talk to me!” she snapped. “Being Linked to you isn’t exactly my idea of fun either, and I object to suffering from your hangovers!” Just being this close to him was upsetting her already jangled nerves.

  “I think you’d better go with the lady,” said one of his friends. “You don’t look too well.”

  Vanna got to her feet, fighting to control her own stomach as his began to rebel. “Come on,” she said, reaching out a hand to pull him up, but his friend forestalled her.

  “I’ll help you get him back,” he said, getting up and hauling the protesting Brynne out from behind the table. “You don’t look too well yourself. You’re his Leska, aren’t you?” He frowned over the strange word. “You’re called Vanna.”

  Vanna nodded as Lhea moved closer to help him.

  Once they hit the cold air outside, the argument left Brynne and he began to droop between them. His friend and Lhea linked arms with him and marched him along at a reasonable pace while Vanna loped alongside.

  “He’s not a bad sort once you get to know him,” the Terran said, glancing across at her. “We worked together for two years on the Cassandra Project back on Earth. That’s how we come to be here. I’m Terry, by the way,” he added. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Lhea,” she said, looking at him more closely. He was about the same size as Brynne but fair where he was dark, and clean shaven where Brynne was bearded.

  “Cassandra?” she asked.

  “We belonged to a group of people who worked for the police, finding missing persons and stolen goods,” he explained.

  “Sounds interesting.”

  “It’s not bad. Beats sitting in an office all day,” he grinned as they entered the guild gates. “Where do you want to take him?”

  “My quarters,” she said, leading the way.

  *

  She pushed the door open, standing back for Terry and Lhea to take Brynne in. “In the kitchen, please.”

  Terry gave a low whistle as they half-carried Brynne’s inert form through the lounge into the kitchen.

  “This is luxury,” he said. “Not that where we are isn’t nice,” he added hurriedly.

  Vanna managed a small grin. “These are the Leska quarters. You’ll be in one of the dorms, I expect.”

  Terry and Lhea sat Brynne down in a chair at the table.

  “Yes, we’re all together. Well, the men are,” he amended. “The two women are in the dorm next door. I’ll leave you to it, then. See you again, I hope. I’ll see myself out.” With a friendly smile he left.

  “Can you manage?” asked Lhea.

  Vanna nodded.

  “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  Vanna sighed and took off her jacket, flinging it over a chair. She looked at her Leska and sighed again. Brynne had slumped over the table, his head resting on his forearms.

  “We’d better do something for you, hadn’t we? I’m afraid you’re no use to anyone in this condition.” She pulled him up into a vertical position. “Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, sensing his stomach starting to heave. Hauling him out of his chair, she shoved him over to the sink, holding him there until he’d finished throwing up. Then she pulled his unresisting body to the bathing room.

  Propping him against the shower wall, she started trying to undress him, but his knees gave under him and slowly he slid down to a sitting position on the floor. He sat there motionless, his eyes closed.

  With an exclamation of annoyance, she turned to the cupboard set above the basin. From it she took out a glass and a sachet of detox. Half filling the glass with water, she ripped the sachet open and poured in the contents. Swirling it around, she turned back to Brynne and squatting down, took him by the chin and shook him.

  “Wake up, Brynne,” she said in Terran. “Come on, drink this.”

  As his eyes opened and he tried to focus blearily on her, she found herself very conscious of how soft the hair on his face was. For some reason she’d expected it to be coarse.

  “Come on, drink this,” she repeated, taking his hand and wrapping it around the glass.

  “Hey, ‘nother drink!” he said, his voice slurred as he gripped the glass tightly. He tossed the contents off in one swallow then pulled a face as the taste hit him. “God, that’s vile,” he said, shuddering and shutting his eyes again.

  “Never mind that, it’ll make you feel better,” she said, taking the glass from him and putting it on the side of the basin. She took hold of his sweater and started to haul it off over his head. “Help me, for God’s sake,” she snapped as her claws snagged yet again in the garment.

  “Leave me alone,” he mumbled, lifting his arm and trying to fend her off. “What you tryin’ to do?”

  The sweater finally wrestled off, Vanna gave up. “Damn you,” she said, her voice close to a growl. “Shower in the rest of your clothes for all I care!”

  Standing up she leaned into the cubicle and switched the water on, letting a burst of cold hit him first.

  Brynne gave a yell as it hit him and he began trying to struggle to his feet. “Blood
y hell, woman! What’re you trying to do? Kill me?” Then warm water sluiced over him and he gasped again at the sudden change in temperature.

  It had some of the desired effect: he was fully conscious, but he was mad. He lunged out of the shower toward her, grabbing her by the arm.

  “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded. “Look at me! I’m soaked!”

  Vanna pulled her chin in and stared up at him. “You feel better now, though, don’t you?” Then she began to smile at the sight of him standing there, water streaming off his hair onto his back and shoulders, his saturated trousers and shoes making puddles on the floor.

  His eyes narrowed, brows meeting in the middle of his forehead.

  Where he held her by the arm, it was as if a static charge was passing between them. Every hair on her body began to tingle and rise. She knew he could feel it, too.

  His other arm snaked round her waist, pulling her a little closer. He was studying her, gauging her against a mixture of Terran and Sholan values. Leaning forward, he sniffed at her. “You smell nice,” he said.

  “You’re drunk,” she retorted.

  He smiled beatifically at her. “That’s right,” he said, slurring the words.

  Vanna was acutely conscious of his presence. She could feel the tension building in their bodies as he released her arm to put his hand up to her face. His fingers gently touched the soft fur there, then moved on to caress her ear.

  She looked up at him. He wasn’t so different from Sholan males— at least as far as his face was concerned. The dark hair covering the lower part of his face was not unlike their fur.

  Where her hand touched his chest, she could feel the warmth and softness of his skin through the fine covering of hair, could feel the compulsive pull of their Link increasing as it swept through them both. Deliberately she ran her hands across his chest, making sure her claws stayed retracted. “We’ve unfinished business to attend to,” she said quietly.

  “I know,” he said, no longer quite so drunk. His fingers pushed through the short curls on the back of her head, tightening in them as he matched her body to his, unconsciously pulling her head back to expose her throat.

  *

  “You seem singularly unsurprised at the course of recent events,” said the younger male as they strolled across the courtyard toward the small formal garden.

  His companion made a gesture of dismissal. “When we can clearly see the hand of Vartra at work, nothing should surprise us.”

  “Well, it surprised me,” Ghyan said. “The temple couldn’t influence Vailkoi’s daughter. She’s determined the Challenge will go ahead. How real are the risks to the human girl?”

  “Real enough if anything should go wrong,” said Kaid, stopping to examine a low fruiting bush. “You’ll have a good crop this year,” he observed, gently feeling the weight of one of the dark red globes.

  “Never mind them! What actions are your people taking to protect her?” he demanded, thrusting his thumbs through the narrow belt that encircled his robe.

  “She’s being taught to fight.” He was surprised to be asked that.

  “What of their cub? Will she be affected by this?”

  He regarded the younger male, a brief of expression of humor crossing his face. “You’re asking me for predictions? She should win easily, with no harm to her unborn cub— if all proceeds as expected.”

  “The Clan Leader is to petition the Governor, asking him to stop the Challenge.”

  “Let him. If the God wills it, the Challenge will be stopped. Bring no more pressure to bear on Vailkoi or his daughter as it suits our purposes to see the fight go ahead. We need to know how both of them will react to a real combat situation.”

  “I don’t like it. Too much is being left to chance.”

  “You call the God’s will chance?” His eye ridge rose questioningly as he noted the other’s ears flick in concern. “I thought you at least would have perceived the matter differently.”

  “Don’t play semantics with me. There’s a lot at stake here, not least their lives! Do you realize that because of the investigations into the Terrans’ abilities, my guild has all the information it needs about the lack of minor Talents amongst their members? It’s going to draw the obvious conclusion.”

  “We’re aware of that,” Kaid said imperturbably, turning to regard the building in the distance. “More important now is the need to know what the Clan Lord plans to do to control the power of your guild. We’re aware of what happened to the latest pair. Though we deplore it, at least it ensured they survived. This must not happen again.”

  “Everything’s so cold and calculated with you, isn’t it? All you’re concerned about is that the outcome is favorable for you. What about them? What if Kusac can’t stand there and watch his Leska fight, perhaps even get wounded? Then what will happen to your bid for independence?”

  “They have to be tested,” he replied, voice and body emotionless. “We have to know once and for all. I know they can do it. He’s no longer merely a Telepath, he’s more now, more like us— as she has always been.”

  Ghyan pulled his hands free of his belt. “They chose the right person for the job,” he said coldly, turning away from him. “I’ll do as I’m ordered, but under protest. You’ve not a shred of compassion for them, have you? Nothing touches you, only duty. Don’t contact me again unless you have to,” he said, turning his back on him and walking away.

  How wrong you are, Kaid thought, watching the retreating figure. The God mocks me at every turn, stabbing a knife in my side whenever I think of the Challenge and the risks she faces. You’d laugh if you knew that, little priest.

  He sighed, turning toward the rear exit. It was time he left. He’d been gone too long.

  *

  Vanna contacted Carrie and Kusac midweek, full of apologies. “I would have been in touch earlier, but this last week and a half have been rather difficult.”

  “Troubles with Brynne?” asked Kusac sympathetically.

  “Yes and no. He still resents the physical tie of the bond and hasn’t come to terms with the fact that we need each other every fifth day. He still tries to satisfy his frustrations with other females before he comes to me.”

  “You should return the compliment,” said Kusac frowning, annoyed that she was obviously linked to someone so insensitive.

  “Actually I did,” she admitted, flicking her ears backward, “with Garras. Brynne didn’t appreciate it. Fortunately, his resentment vanishes as soon as we touch. Even though we have no relationship to speak of, the physical side of our Link is more than satisfying.”

  Kusac grinned. “Well, there have to be some advantages, don’t there?”

  “Look, I didn’t call you up to talk about my problems,” she said with a sudden change of mood. “I’d like you to come over to the guild this afternoon. There are some tests I must run on Carrie. If I don’t, I’ll have Khafsa breathing down my neck and threatening to take over your case.”

  “What time shall we meet you?”

  “Tenth hour, in the reception area of the medical center.”

  “We’ll be there,” he said.

  *

  “Once again, confirmation of these rumors eludes us as both the Telepath Guild and the Guild of Medics hold their peace. All we can say for sure is that a Challenge has been made by our Liegen’s Leska and was duly accepted by Liegena Vailkoi, heir of the Vailkoi Clan from the Vrusa estate in the northern continent. It is interesting to note, though, that there is a strange silence from the Aldatan Clan who refused to accept any calls from us at Infonet. Should our informant be proved correct, I’m sure you’ll join me in expressing concern over the alleged genetic changes that may have made it possible for the increasing number of mixed Leska pairs to breed.”

  The screen faded to show Kusac and Carrie standing in one of the small central parks in Valsgarth, listening to a public storytelling performance.

  “This is Rhaema Vorkoh, your reporter for Inf
onet News.”

  Seeing Carrie’s face begin to pale, Rhyasha switched off the leisure comm unit.

  “Don’t worry, cub,” she said soothingly. “They love to speculate. I’m sure your people are no different.”

  “That was taken yesterday,” said Carrie, her hands clenching into fists. “We only stood there for five minutes! They’re always following us. Why won’t they leave us alone? Now everyone knows!”

  “No, they don’t,” said Rhyasha firmly, putting her arm around Carrie’s shoulders and giving her a comforting squeeze. “Without proof they won’t dare voice their suspicions. The Challenge is only a few days away now. Once it’s over, what could be more natural than that you should take an extended rest on the estate?”

  Rhyasha leaned forward to pick up the drink that sat half finished on the table beside them. “Come on, drink this down before Kusac arrives. You know how he’s worrying about your health. Vanna won’t be pleased either, considering the bother she went to in checking out the vitamins and minerals needed to concoct this supplement drink.”

  Carrie took the mug from her and pulling a face, drank the contents.

  Rhyasha laughed. “It would have tasted better if you hadn’t let it get cold,” she chided as they heard the noise of the aircar landing outside under the window.

  “I don’t want to go to the guild,” said Carrie, reluctantly getting to her feet. “I’m afraid of meeting any of the Terrans.”

  “There’s nothing to fear,” said Rhyasha as she linked arms with the girl and led her to the study door. “Kusac and Kaid will be with you. Vanna needs to do this checkup, you know that. Are you sure you don’t want me to come, too?” she asked as they walked along the inner balcony to the stairway down to the ground level.

  Carrie shook her head. “No, thank you. I know you’re busy with estate business today.”

  Kusac met them at the foot of the stairs. “Don’t worry about the newscast,” he said, taking her by the hand. “Most people at the guild will be in classes and won’t have heard it. As Mother said, once this is over, you won’t need to leave the estate until you’re ready to do so.”