Wekniz shot to his feet and hurried out. A quick check of the home verified that their unwanted visitors had indeed vacated. Once he was assured Ket and his men were gone, the Nobek returned to the lavatory.
Nur was wrapping a towel around his waist as Wekniz entered. The Nobek said, “They’re gone. Where—?”
Nur grinned. He looked toward the mirrored area where he usually sat to groom himself. “You may come out now, my princess.”
The skirting of a small draped table where Nur kept more of his vast supply of skin and hair products twitched. Wekniz’s jaw dropped open. Surely the space beneath the table was too small to have hidden both females. Yet the princess and her lovely cousin emerged from behind the skirt, hair and clothing still dripping from their sudden shower with Nur. They seemed none the worse for wear despite the soaking.
With the immediate danger over, Wekniz laughed. He slapped his grinning Imdiko’s back, impressed with his ingenuity.
“Brilliant,” he congratulated. “Ket was so focused on who might be in the shower, he never thought to look anywhere else.”
Nur huffed with pretended insult. He flexed an impressive bicep. “Well, who would look for someone else when they can see me naked and wet?”
Wekniz shook his head and chuckled. “I swear I have the best Imdiko in the Empire.”
He looked at their impromptu guests again. The child was as cute as a button and exotic to boot with her silvery-steel hair. Yet it was the woman his gaze lingered on. The Earther was pretty as she could be even with her dirty clothes and uncombed hair, he noted. Her eyes were a stunning blue-green fringed with long lashes. And her figure … all lush curves that made him wonder how it would feel to…
She looked at him with blatant distrust as she dripped on the floor and partially hid the princess behind her. Wekniz guided his thoughts to nobler realms. He went to a set of shelves to fetch their bedraggled guests some towels.
* * * *
The two men supplied Tasha and Noelle with shirts to wear in place of their drenched clothing. They used the smallest shirts available. Since the shortest member of the clan was almost six-and-a-half-feet tall, the princess and Tasha were swallowed by the clothing. Noelle kept tripping over Nur’s green shirt until the Imdiko adjusted the resealable seams and pinned it in a dozen different places.
Nur did all that after he got dressed. He’d done everything possible to keep his nudity hidden from them after being surprised in the shower. Kalquorians didn’t tend to be overly modest as far as Tasha knew, but Nur had been quite flustered over being in the presence of the princess.
Despite wearing a casual tee-shirt and slacks that clung lovingly to a trim, toned body, he managed to look polished. His damp hair was pulled back from the temples and hung loose down his back, the effect careless but somehow refined at the same time.
His was a robust face, heavy-boned, and not quite symmetrical enough to truly be called handsome. Tasha liked Nur’s features however, finding his look compelling. He had an interesting face, she decided, particularly when he smiled and his eyes twinkled with what she imagined to be merry deviltry. There was a darkness there too, a sense of troubled thoughts when Nur knew Noelle wasn’t looking at him.
And the glimpse Tasha had gotten of the naked Imdiko when she’d been shoved into the shower with him ... well, that had been a fine thing to see. She wished she could have seen more for a lot longer.
Too bad she hadn’t looked nearly as impressive, she thought. Tasha was well aware she was not at her best as the four of them gathered in the clan’s common room. Despite her unplanned soaking, she still had the filth of the prison camp’s yard clinging to her feet and legs. Her hair had not been combed in some time, and it lay clumped against her neck and cheeks.
Perhaps she would have begged to use the shower to clean herself up, but she was more mindful of Noelle’s well-being. Neither of them had eaten a decent meal in five days, so Tasha asked Nur if they could have something to eat. The Imdiko had immediately dashed to the large kitchen and pulled together a meal of gusasp, aparus, and rizpah steaks. Tasha and Noelle devoured everything he put in front of them, sighing with pleasure when they’d cleaned their plates.
It was no surprise that with her stomach full and danger momentarily averted, Noelle fell asleep snuggled against Tasha on the common room’s huge light blue lounger. The room was cheerful with mostly white walls and varying hues of blue accenting it. Even in the low, comfortable lighting it felt bright, a happy place. It bolstered Tasha’s spirits as the she shared her dark story of the kidnapping with Nur and Wekniz. The glass of bohut Wekniz had provided her with, now empty and sitting on the nearby wooden table, also helped to get her through the account.
The Nobek’s gaze rested on the exhausted child after Tasha finished the harrowing tale. “Our suspicions were correct. Maf is working with the Basma.”
“Maf is the Basma.” Tasha had saved that revelation for last.
The two men exchanged a shocked look. Tasha expected them to protest the assertion as she initially had. Even now, Tasha still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that the former councilman was the Empire’s greatest enemy.
Yet neither Nur nor Wekniz denied the possibility. Instead Nur choked, “Mother of All. As if our lives weren’t complicated enough. Falinset—”
“We can discuss that part later.” Wekniz shot Tasha a look.
The Nobek’s expression looked violent, what with the brutal scars that pulled at one side of his face. The way the lumped and melted-looking flesh tugged down the corners of his eye and mouth made that side seem perpetually furious. Just looking at the ferocious aspect made Tasha’s heart thump hard. Yet the other side told the true tale of Wekniz’s feelings: concern and caution.
The name Nur had spoken woke Tasha’s suspicions. “Your Dramok is Falinset? Maf’s biological son?”
The tension in the room rose palpably with her remark. Nur went pale and his mouth worked without uttering a sound.
It was Wekniz who protested, “Much to his unhappiness, I assure you, Matara Tasha. Falinset does not name Maf as his sire.”
Nur recovered to add his adamant defense. “Our Dramok rejects his blood father.”
Tasha spoke in a soothing tone, recognizing how upset they were over the matter. “That’s pretty much what Ket said.”
Both men relaxed when she didn’t become hysterical or accusatory. His shoulders dropping from their tensed set, Nur told her, “It is not common knowledge that Maf is Falinset’s sire.” He turned anxious again as he looked to his Nobek. “By the ancestors! Maf is the Basma!”
Since Nur and Wekniz didn’t seem to be fans of Maf, Tasha eagerly said, “We need to com the Imperial Clan or Global Security. They need to know Noelle is safe and that Maf is behind the revolt.”
Wekniz stood, and Tasha thought he would do that very thing. Instead, he began pacing back and forth, the worried look on the unmarred side of his face making the scarred profile seem more vicious than ever.
He mused, “You and the princess are not safe, even here. You saw how I could not keep Ket and his men out of our home. Our one defense is that we convinced them you aren’t here. I fear Ket will be back.”
“All the more reason to send out a message now,” she urged.
“We could try,” Nur said, concern working his face as well. “But knowing what I do, I hesitate to call for help.”
Tasha’s heart sank. “Because of your connection to Maf? No one can blame you or your Dramok for an accident of birth.”
Nur made a derisive sound, his gaze on her almost rabid with sudden anger. His dark face was a thundercloud. “I’d give anything to have Maf out of our lives. Executed in the bloodiest way possible is too good a fate for him.”
“So what’s the problem?” Tasha’s voice pitched higher as panic edged in. She had to get Noelle away from Ket and Maf.
Nur waved a hand at the system that if powered up would broadcast entertainment and news vids. �
��I’ve kept up on everything to do with the rebellion. It’s well known the Basma has recruited military specialists to his cause. We have to assume the security monitoring on his property is high, particularly since he put you and the princess in that prison camp. With our property right next to his, he may be monitoring our coms as well in case we stumble across the abductees and try to alert the authorities.”
Wekniz nodded his agreement. “If we call for help, they may intercept it. Then they will come in here and take Princess Noelle hostage once again.”
Tasha scowled. “Ket doesn’t strike me as being that smart. I can’t imagine him thinking far enough ahead to install bugs on your system.”
Half of Wekniz’s mouth stretched in a mirthless grin. “You’re right. Ket is an idiot even when he’s not drinking. But Maf is another matter. The people he has working for him in the realm of security measures are the best at what they do. Trust me on that. I know some of them personally. There have been times when they had access to this house and our com system as welcomed guests.” Furious shame reddened the Nobek’s features. For a few moments, he was unable to continue speaking.
When he recovered himself with obvious effort, Wekniz said in a quiet tone, “Even if our coms haven’t been monitored in the past, I guarantee you the instant Ket and his goons walked out of this home, someone set up a tracer frequency on our system.”
Nur glowered. “I’m betting they had it in place already. They must have had concerns we’d stumble on that prison compound sooner or later.”
Wekniz rubbed his face wearily. “We would have if Falinset wasn’t so determined to avoid Maf at all costs. Those poor women. To think that all this time they’ve been suffering there and I didn’t know!” He punched his thigh as if to punish himself.
Tasha insisted, “There are ways around tapped frequencies. I know there are.”
“If I was military or law enforcement, I might have such knowledge. But I am a firefighting expert. Beyond basic training camp, I learned nothing of military skills.” Wekniz’s expression was a cross between anger and helplessness. The way his face settled into those lines made it seem it was a look he’d worn many times before.
Tasha felt the same emotions settling over her. She scrambled desperately for a way out. “Do you have a space-worthy shuttle?”
“I wish we did, but our transport is for planet-bound flight only.” Wekniz said in a heavy voice. “We don’t leave Lobam very often. If we’d had a space-ready transport, we could have flown you and the princess back to Kalquor before Ket had a chance to react.” He paced back and forth again as he thought out loud. “We can take you to Nalta City though. Maybe disguise you and the princess and buy you tickets on a standard coach going to Kalquor.”
Nur nodded. “That would be our best bet, but I don’t think it would be wise to try it right away. If there is the least bit of suspicion that we know something—”
“There’s a ton of suspicion,” Wekniz said firmly. “Even Ket, who hasn’t had a decent thought in his life, was sure I’d brought the princess and Matara Tasha here. I have no doubt he’s got us under surveillance.”
Nur made himself calm with effort. He even managed to smile an apology at Tasha. “We’ll have to wait until they aren’t watching us too closely. We’ll keep you two hidden and go about our routines as if nothing has changed. Maybe in a week or two, we can get you out of here.”
His words deflated Tasha’s hopes for a quick escape. Worse still, Noelle remained in danger. The added horror of what the women back at the camp were going through right now in the aftermath of the escape chilled her to her soul.
Tasha thought of the blaster shot she’d heard as she’d carried Noelle away. Who had been killed already? Sonia? Amy? Were they all dead now, the women who’d hinged one last desperate hope on her?
“Fuck,” she whispered.
Wekniz’s voice was heavy with regret. “You came to us for help, and we offer damned little of it. I am truly sorry.”
The sound of the front door opening brought Nur to his feet. He and Wekniz faced the door of the common room that led to the hall, their bodies tense. Tasha eased her body out from under Noelle’s sleeping weight, looking around for something to fight with.
“By the ancestors! Nur, how much fucking cologne are you wearing? I can’t breathe!”
Tasha’s alarm eased slightly as the Imdiko and Nobek relaxed at the sound of the deep and irritated voice. Their Dramok – the Basma’s son – was home.
Chapter 11
Falinset gagged at the overpowering scent of Nur’s favorite cologne. Usually it smelled good, but on his Imdiko in sparing amounts. Nur must have spilled the whole damned bottle to make Falinset’s eyes water this way.
He was preparing to call out again when Wekniz’s voice drifted down the hall. “We’re in the common room.”
Falinset headed into the entertainment space. He stopped short two steps into the room, his mouth opened to greet his Imdiko and Nobek. The universe seemed to freeze as his gaze fell on the lovely Earther female sitting on the lounger with a child curled up sleeping next to her.
The child, a little girl, had steel-colored hair.
“What?” was all his breathless voice could manage. But he already knew. Maf was up to his neck in the Basma’s revolt. He had taken some part in the princess’s abduction. There was no other explanation. It was just as easy to figure out how Princess Noelle had come to be napping in his home. Falinset turned his stunned gaze to Wekniz.
The Nobek gave him an unwavering gaze. “They escaped Maf. I found them running from Ket and his men in the woods.”
Falinset felt his lips move though he wasn’t consciously controlling speech. “And you brought them here? To our home?” His voice rose as terror seized him.
This was horrible. Falinset had spent years fighting to keep his clan safe from Maf and his dealings. He’d given up almost everything to save them from his biological sire’s underhanded tricks. Now Wekniz had dragged Maf’s worst infraction right onto their property, right into their home. He had picked up Maf’s mess and dumped it in the middle of their common room, a mess that would bring suffering beyond anything any of them had known thus far.
Wekniz’s voice stayed steady. “I had no choice, Falinset. They need our help.”
They need our help. But who would help his clan when the Empire learned what Maf had done? Who would greet them with anything but derision when Falinset was revealed to be the fiend’s son? Their fortune would disappear. Nur’s poor fathers would be sent to prison. Wekniz’s honor would disappear with that of his parent clan’s. Maf would destroy them all.
Falinset looked around at the people watching him, the people who had doomed his clan to ruin. He asked the entire room, “Do you know what you have done?”
The woman’s hazel eyes narrowed, flashing blue-green fire at him as equal parts anger and fear tightened her pretty face. Wekniz kept his features still, but the Dramok sensed the return of disappointment in his Nobek’s attitude.
Nur’s quiet voice was the only hint of any understanding, though the firm words told Falinset where the Imdiko stood on the matter. “We did the right thing, my Dramok. The only thing we could do.”
Wekniz turned his attention to practical matters. “Did you see anyone outside when you came in? Ket and his men suspect we’re hiding the princess and her cousin here.”
Falinset couldn’t answer him. His attention riveted on the females instead, the two individuals who would tear his clan apart. Even though his conscience had finally woken in the aftermath of his shock, even though he knew Wekniz and Nur had done the right thing, the agony of the situation challenged all that.
He focused on the woman, pain killing off any appreciation he might have enjoyed as he looked at her intelligent face and lush figure. Her pretty features spoke of recent trauma, but all Falinset could think of was what lay ahead for the two men who relied on his leadership. How could someone who looked so incapable of causing troubl
e be the reason his clan teetered on ruin?
Falinset hated himself for wanting to make the Earther and her ward disappear. Yet after all he’d done to keep trouble at a distance, he couldn’t help but speak harsh words to the woman. “Why did you have to come here? Why did you have to bring this to my door?”
She crooked a brow at him. Her lips tightened, and temper blazed from her eyes. She snapped, “I’m so sorry my being drugged and kidnapped has inconvenienced you. I apologize for being starved and threatened with rape and death. I beg your pardon for trying to get my three-year-old cousin to safety. I’m sorry all that has put a kink in your operation, Dramok.”
Shame walloped Falinset. Yet her warranted censure couldn’t lessen his dread of the coming doom. He groaned, knowing he’d never make this angry woman who’d been through so much understand his pain too. “I know it’s not your fault, Matara. I do. But if you knew what this will do to my clan – Mother of All, why is this happening to us?”
Wekniz said darkly, “It’s worse than all that, Falinset.”
Nur held his hand up to stop the Nobek from speaking. “I don’t think he can handle hearing the rest right now, my Nobek. At least let him absorb this shock.”
There was more? More than Maf working for the Basma, more than his blood father assisting in the abduction of the Princess of Kalquor? Falinset shook his head in disbelief, barking a bitter, hurt laugh.
He waved his arms wildly at his clanmates, pushed to his limits. “How could it get any worse? Go ahead, hit me with it. Let me hear how this incredible fuck-up of a situation can be worse than it already is. Because I don’t believe it can get more terrible. Go ahead, tell me.”
Wekniz told him. Falinset stared at him for a long time, trying and failing to absorb this final shock. At last, the horrific words ringing in his ears, the Dramok staggered blindly out of the room, unconscious of where his feet took him.
Falinset had been stricken blind and deaf, unaware of anything around him. It wasn’t until a powerful hand grabbed his arm and whirled him around that he returned to his senses. Vision flooded back, bringing him the sight of Wekniz and Nur’s worried faces.
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