The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “You didn’t laugh, or brush me off,” Honey said. “You took it seriously.”

  “Of course we did,” Hunt said. “Why wouldn’t we? Nica’s fears should be taken seriously.”

  “Did Michael not believe in her ability?” Lance asked.

  Honey shrugged, and felt their hurt at her reticence. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but I’m uncomfortable speaking badly of Michael. He’s been a good friend to me, and a good brother to Nica.”

  “But?” Vikter asked.

  “He knows Nica has a gift, of course,” she said. “But at the same time, he has a difficult time taking it too seriously. Michael was born and raised on Terien with Terien beliefs. He never knew he had a psychic talent until after we got to know each other better and I told him. He’d been using it for years to a small degree without even being aware of it.”

  “So he knows, but doesn’t really believe,” Vikter said, trying to understand. “What else does he not believe?”

  “He doesn’t believe that the Teriens will try to take Nica from me when they find out we’ve defected,” she said.

  “What do you think they’ll do? ” Vikter asked.

  “They’ve threatened to take her from me,” she replied. “So yes, I am afraid that they will. Michael says that there is no reason for them to do that, and I see his point. What would they want with a little girl?”

  “You see his point, but you’re still afraid they’ll try to take her,” Hunt said.

  “Yes,” Honey replied. “They won’t take her because they want her. They’ll take her to punish us for defecting.”

  “What else will they do?” Vikter said.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “They’ve already pulled my credentials. The worst thing they could do to me would be to take Nica.”

  “They will not take Nica,” Vikter said, his tone so certain, his expression so absolute, that she couldn’t help but believe him.

  “We should go now,” Lance said. “It grows late, and you need sleep.”

  Honey nodded, as she stood up. “I feel much better now than I did earlier. Thank you.”

  “We feel much better too,” Vikter said. “Tomorrow, when the architect comes, would you object to our joining you?”

  “Not at all,” Honey said with a smile that included all of them. “It’s going to be your home too, so I really think you should be there.”

  After a gentle goodnight kiss from each of them, the Vulpirans walked off into the garden, using the garden gate rather than going through the house. Honey watched after them for a few moments, wrapping her arms around herself against the mild chill, realizing that she still had Hunt’s jacket on. She turned and went into the house, locked the door behind her and went up the stairs, all in a dreamy haze of happiness. After preparing for bed she checked on Nica, brushing a lock of hair from her cheek, before climbing into her own bed. She took Hunt’s jacket with her, laying it over her pillow so that she could fall asleep with the scent of him surrounding her. She slept better than she had in months.

  Day Eleven

  Vikter, Lance and Hunt met in the kitchen of their guesthouse the next morning. As soon as they’d left the Bearens’ the night before, they’d shifted into their vulpins and tried to run off their nearly overwhelming physical desires. It had allowed them to sleep better than they might have otherwise, but that was all that could be said. They didn’t mind though. Not now. After their talk with Honey the night before, they knew that they had a future with their Arima, and with Nica, who had already found a place in their hearts.

  “This morning we have a lot to do,” Vikter said as they sat at the breakfast table. “First thing is Nica and the mysterious Shari. We need to discuss that situation with the Lobos. The Falcorans too, since they’re in charge of ranch security now.”

  “I don’t think we should reveal her talents,” Hunt said. “Honey didn’t ask us not to, but she hasn’t spoken of them to anyone else yet. I think we should follow her lead in this.”

  “Agreed,” Vikter said. “No one will mind. Just tell them she has a gift, they’ll understand. We just need to find out if there’s anyone named Shari on the ranch. Or if anyone even knows the name.”

  “Do you think we should go back to Berria to talk with the council in person?” Lance asked.

  “Let’s see how Michael’s hunch on this puzzle goes,” Vikter said. “If he’s right, and I have a very strong feeling that he is, this will cinch the council’s impression of him. New ideas, a new way of thinking and of looking at things is desperately needed, and everyone knows that. Right now they think Michael is the right person to teach us this. If he solves this puzzle, they’ll know it.”

  “Agreed,” Lance said. “I wonder when that architect is supposed to show up?”

  “I don’t know,” Vikter said. “Vox Trey and ask him, but do it a bit later. It’s too early yet.”

  “It’s not that early,” Hunt objected, checking his watch.

  “They have three toddlers and three babies to feed breakfast to, and dress for the day. For the Dracons, it’s early,” Vikter said. “It’ll probably be early for another hour or two.”

  “In that case, I look forward to the day when noon is too early for us to be bothered by outside concerns,” Hunt said with a grin so big that both Lance and Vikter could only stare at him in surprise before they all began laughing.

  ***

  “Good morning, Mana,” Nica said cheerfully from her perch at the foot of Honey’s bed. Honey opened her eyes and stretched.

  “Good morning, Nica,” she replied. “How are you this morning?”

  “I’m very happy today,” Nica said.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you’re so happy now and ‘cause you’re going to marry the foxes and we’re going to live in a big house and have lots of our own babies to play with,” Nica said, bouncing lightly with excitement as she spoke.

  Honey sat up and pulled Nica into her lap for a hug. “It’s going to be wonderful, isn’t it?”

  “We all of us are gonna be happy,” Nica agreed. Suddenly she stilled, her eyes going dark and distant for a moment. Honey had seen this before and while it always made her a little tense, she was used to it.

  “Mana,” Nica said, turning to look at her with a solemn expression on her gamin face. “I still get to see Dodi, don’t I?”

  “Absolutely, Sweetie,” Honey assured her. “He’s probably going to be working at a place that’s on the other side of Jasan, but we’ll go there to see him often.”

  “Okay,” Nica said. “He’ll need us to visit ‘cause he’ll be awful sad for a long time.”

  “Nica, the Vulpirans told me that you saw us being married,” Honey said.

  Nica dropped her eyes, but Honey put a finger under her chin and tapped lightly. “Don’t worry, I’m not angry and you didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”

  Nica looked into Honey’s eyes for a long moment, then smiled. “It wasn’t bad of me?”

  “No Sweetie, it wasn’t, and from now on, you never have to worry about things like that any more. Everyone here knows, or will know, that you have special things, like I do, and you know what? Most of the people here have special things too, so we’re not any different than they are.

  “Not only that, but everyone here will know that I’m your sister, and Michael is your adopted brother, so no more worries about that either.”

  Nica’s eyes had gotten large and round as Honey spoke. “Really, Mana? No more secrets?”

  “No more secrets,” Honey said. “Not those kind, anyway.”

  “That makes me very happy,” Nica said, smiling from ear to ear. Then the smile faded. “Mana, did you ‘member about Shari?”

  “I did,” Honey said. “I told the Vulpirans about her and they’re going to find out of there’s anyone on the ranch with that name. Do you know more than you told me yesterday?”

  Nica tilted her head for a moment, then shook it slowly. “No, I can’t see more of her.
But Dodi is going to be very sad.”

  “Is there anything we can do to stop it so he doesn’t get sad?” Honey asked.

  “No,” Nica said after a moment’s thought. “He has to be sad or something more worser will happen. But later he’ll be happy again one day.” Then, with the lightening quick change of direction that always made Honey think of a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower, Nica grinned and clapped her hands. “I can’t wait to see your vulpie, Mana,” she said. “You’re gonna be so big and so pretty. Will you give me rides? ‘Cause the foxes said I can’t be a vulpie too but they would give me rides and never drop me.”

  “Let’s talk about that later, imp,” Honey said with a laugh. “Right now I want to take a shower and have breakfast. Then I’m going to see some patients at the clinic. But later on, you and I are going to meet with the Vulpirans and another man who’s going to design a house for us.”

  “What’s that mean?” Nica asked as she climbed off of Honey’s bed.

  “Well, a family named Dracon owns this ranch, and they’re going to build a house here just for us, and we get to decide what we want it to look like,” Honey explained as she got up and made her bed.

  “Really?” Nica asked in surprise. “Can we have a garden like the Bears have?”

  “Yes, we can,” Honey said as she went to help Nica make her bed. “And you can decide what color you want your bedroom to be and how many windows you want and what kind of floor you want. You should think about that this morning while I’m working so you know what you want when we see him.”

  “All right, Mana,” Nica agreed. “That will be fun to do.”

  “Yes, Sweetie, it certainly will be.”

  ***

  “Greetings, Arima Hope,” Olaf Gryphon said with a bow when the Bearens were shown into his office in the Hidden City.

  “Hello, Olaf,” Hope said. “It’s good to see you again. Did you have a nice journey?”

  “Yes, we did,” Olaf replied. “It was somewhat longer than we originally expected, of course, but we enjoyed our time together. Aisling has asked that I apologize for her. She is working closely with Elder Vulpiran today on a matter of some importance. Rand and Rudy are with her. I’m afraid you’re stuck with just me today.”

  “That’s all right,” Hope said. “We aren’t staying very long anyway. I look forward to visiting with Aisling during the meeting in a couple of weeks.”

  “Are you planning to stay in the Hidden City over night?”

  “No, I’m afraid not, Olaf,” Jackson said. “We’ve got the boys to get home to, and we don’t want Hope to get over tired. Our plan is to be here for a couple of hours. If Hope is unable to finish her task today, we’ll ask to impose on you again another day.”

  “It’s no imposition, I assure you,” Olaf said. “The artifacts of our previous world have been stored away for over three thousand years. They have become no more than curiosities that are rarely seen, and mostly forgotten. If some use can be made of them, that can be nothing but good.”

  “I can’t make any promises,” Hope said. “But I’ll see what happens.”

  “Will you want to take objects with you, if you find any?” Olaf asked.

  Hope shook her head emphatically. “It isn’t necessary,” Jackson said. “If Hope finds objects that she senses need to go to someone in particular, we’ll put them aside in one place until such time as they’re needed. In all likelihood she won’t know who they go to until she meets the person.”

  “Good,” Olaf replied. “If and when an object is needed you can either speed travel over for it, or ask us to bring it to you. In either case, just let us know what item is being taken so that we can log it out. Now, if you’ll follow me.”

  Olaf led the way to a door in the back of the office, down a set of stairs to a vault door. He opened it and stepped back. “I’m going back to work so vox me if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Olaf,” Jackson said. He waited for Olaf to leave before stepping into the vault first. He flipped on the lights and looked around to be certain there was no one else in the room before gesturing for Hope to enter, Clark and Rob right behind her.

  “Wow,” Hope said softly as she looked around. The room was much larger than she’d expected it to be, though when she thought about it, she wasn’t sure why she’d had any expectations at all. There were floor to ceiling shelves on three walls, with several rows of shelves filling two thirds of the floor space. The last third held items that were too large to fit on shelves. Some rested on the floor, some on a long, narrow table. The fourth wall was covered with wall hangings. Tapestries, paintings, drawings and carvings.

  As Hope began to look closer she saw that there were notations painted on the edges of the shelves, as well as what appeared to be a log or register at the end. She assumed the items were arranged in some sort of order, but the characters meant nothing to her. Not that it mattered. She was not looking for a particular item so the system used to order them was of no use to her.

  “Where to start,” she murmured softly to herself as she wandered around the narrow table. Without her permission her hand reached out toward a tall purple goblet. She stopped herself from touching it, but she could not prevent the strange tingling sensation she got when she looked at it.

  It appeared to be carved from a single stone, amethyst she thought. It was quite large, about eighteen inches tall and maybe ten inches wide with a narrow stem and flared base, polished to a dull gleam. A tree with wide, leaf covered branches was carved into the bowl with amazing detail, the trunk extending down the stem, the roots spreading out across the base.

  “This one,” she said, pointing to it without letting her hand get too close.

  “The Bizitzaren Kopa,” Clark said. “The Cup of Life.”

  “So called because of the Tree of Life carved into it,” Hope said.

  “Yes,” Clark said, smiling as he carefully picked the cup up and carried it to an empty space on a nearby shelf.

  Hope continued walking along the table but sensed nothing else among the beautiful and strange objects. She turned around and spent a few moments looking at the items on the wall. After a moment, she pointed to a mosaic hung at eye level to her. She stepped closer to it, smiling when she realized that the mosaic was made up of gemstones.

  “There must have been a lot of gem mines on your old world,” she said, tilting her head slightly as she studied the mosaic. There were tall, jungle plants in the foreground with a high waterfall in the back ground, all of it rendered in precisely cut gemstones. The plants weren’t green, though. They were orange, red, and yellow. Aside from the colors, it could have been a depiction of an ancient jungle on Earth. But there was something about it that puzzled her. She stepped sideways, tilted her head again, then took another step before smiling widely.

  “Amazing,” she said softly. “What is this called?”

  “It’s just a landscape depiction rendered in gemstones,” Clark replied. “Some of the stones were found only on Ugaztun, but other than that, it has no significant importance.”

  “Really?” Hope asked, not really surprised. “Come here, please.”

  Clark walked toward her and she stepped aside. “Bend you knees a bit so you’re about my height, then tilt your head, just so.” She placed her hands gently on Clark’s head and tilted it until she thought it was right. “Now, tell me, what do you see?”

  Clark stared at the mosaic for a moment, then started to shrug his shoulders when suddenly he saw it. “Poutanas yie!” he exclaimed. Hope laughed as she always did when her guys used her favorite Greek swear words.

  “Jackson, get over here,” Clark said. “You’ve got to see this.”

  First Jackson, then Rob, looked at the mosaic in turn, both of them swearing when their eyes finally decoded what they were seeing; an image of a large black and orange striped feline creature with horns behind it’s round ears and pale blue eyes.

  “It’s a Tigren,” Jackson said in awe. “
How is it that no one ever saw that before?”

  “Perhaps someone did, but thought it only a curiosity,” Hope said. “As I understand it no one even knew that there were Lost Clans until The Nine revealed it.”

  “That’s true,” Clark said. “Even so, you’d think some note of it would have been made.”

  “Maybe there has been,” Jackson said. “I will ask Olaf Gryphon about it.”

  “Either way, it’s an object meant for someone,” Hope said. “I don’t know who yet.”

  Rob reached up and, touching only the edges, removed the mosaic from the wall and placed it next to the goblet on the shelf. Hope continued her search, pointing out objects as she walked along the rows of floor to ceiling shelves. By the end of two hours she was exhausted, yet hadn’t covered half the room yet.

  She walked over to the shelf where her men had placed the things she’d marked. In addition to the goblet and the mosaic, there was a red metal pendant into which strange symbols were carved, a fan made of a fabric like silk with geometric shapes painted all over it that made no sense, a walking stick topped with a round crystal, and half a dozen other objects. She was surprised at how many items in the room called out to her.

  “Do you need to take any of these now?” Jackson asked her.

  Hope shook her head. “No, I don’t,” she said. “I’ll tell you guys something though.”

  “What’s that?” Jackson asked, unable to decipher the expression on Hope’s face.

  “There is something in this room meant for Nica,” Hope said. “I haven’t found it yet, and I don’t know what it is. I just know there’s something here for her.”

  “Then she is berezi,” Clark said.

  “Yes,” Hope said. “But I think that, for now, we should keep that to ourselves. It’s not ours to share.”

  “Agreed,” Jackson said.

  “Jackson, why are all of these beautiful things hidden away like this?” she asked.

  “To keep them safe, I suppose,” Jackson replied. “They are all that we have from Ugaztun.”