The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga

by Laura Jo Phillips

“Anything else you can learn about it, Honey, without causing harm to yourself, may be of use,” Garen said.

  “It’s one of my abilities,” she said to Vikter. He clenched his jaw tightly, but released her. She stepped forward again, held the palms of her hands close to the barrier without touching it, and tried to relax. It took longer than usual, but eventually she managed to get a good sense of Shari’s abilities. And the barrier’s.

  She stepped back and sighed. “Prince Garen and Jackson are correct. It repels both magic, and anything solid, or physical. The only weakness I can find is that it also blocks sound. She can’t hear us, but then, we can’t hear her, either.”

  “If she wants to speak with Michael, she’ll have to either come out, or let him in,” Vikter said.

  “Correct,” Honey said. “I doubt even a vox would work from inside that thing.”

  “Anything else?” Garen asked.

  “Not that I found,” Honey said.

  “Then we will have to work with what we have,” Garen replied. He turned to Vikter. “As you can see, the porch light is on, and the door partly open. I believe that is an invitation for Michael to enter.”

  “Honey, do you think she can open one spot for him to get in, or will she have to remove the entire thing?” Vikter asked.

  “I don’t think she can open a door in it, if that’s what you mean,” Honey said. “It’s a single object. It’s either all thick, all thin, all there, or not.”

  Vikter nodded. “Lance, shift and go around to the back. Hunt, shift and move back into the darkness so you cannot be seen. When Michael steps through, tell Lance so he can cross in at the same moment.”

  Lance and Hunt nodded and left. The moment they faded into the darkness, Vikter turned to Michael. “You’re up, Michael,” he said. “She wants you, so once you get inside, get her talking. Lance will work his way toward wherever Nica is, and get her safe before taking Shari down.”

  “You plan to kill her?” Michael asked.

  “We’re going to try very hard not to,” Vikter said. “Are you going to be able to do this?”

  Michael took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes,” he said. “The woman in there is not the one I loved. She’s insane. Nica must be rescued.”

  “Agreed,” Vikter said. “Good luck.”

  Michael nodded, then looked at Honey. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t let her hurt Nica.”

  Michael turned and walked directly toward the light shining through the barrier at the front door, then stood there, waiting. They all watched intently, but there was no movement through the partly open door that they could see. Still, it was only a few moments later that the shimmering began to dim. Michael raised one leg and stepped into the barrier.

  It was not easy. He struggled for several moments, as though trying to push his body through a wall of thick gel. When he pulled free on the other side he stumbled and fell against the porch, but got back to his feet in just a moment. Without turning back, he climbed the two steps to the porch, and entered the house.

  “Go, now,” Hunt said urgently the moment Michael stepped into the barrier.

  Lance leapt forward, straight at the shimmering blue wall, pushing off the ground with his hind legs as hard as he could. The moment his nose touched the barrier he felt himself begin to shift back to his humanoid form, but he continued pushing through without hesitation. Just as he pulled his foot free of the wall, he heard a soft snapping sound and turned to see that the wall was brighter now, and seemed thicker than before. But he was on the inside. That was all that mattered.

  He studied the back of the building for a moment, but all of the windows were shut tight. He walked along one side, then retraced his steps, went around the back and up the other side. He finally found a kitchen window open just enough for him to slip his fingers under it. A moment later he was in the house.

  He crossed the kitchen to the dining room doorway and looked around the corner. He heard Michael and the woman talking. But where was Nica? He crossed the dining room, stepping carefully around the table and chairs, his feet silent on the tiled floor. He put his back against the wall beside the doorway into the circular entryway, remembering the area clearly from the times they’d been in it over the past couple of weeks.

  He listened to the woman talk, ignoring the words. He only cared that her voice sounded intent, which meant she probably had her eyes trained on Michael. He held his breath, then slowly peeked around the corner into the entry way. What he saw nearly made him growl out loud.

  Nica was tied to a wooden chair with the same heavy rope that had been used on Adori. The chair was positioned with its back against the far wall of the entry way, Nica directly facing Michael and her kidnapper. Her face was stark white and tear streaked, and there was a small bruise on her cheek. Her large blue eyes stared blankly ahead. Shock, Lance thought. Perhaps that was for the best.

  He pulled his head back, thought for a moment, then peeked again, this time looking for Michael and Shari.

  ***

  “Hello Shari,” Michael said, pasting what he hoped was a happy smile on his face as he took in her appearance. Her once long, shining blonde hair was short and uneven, as though she’d hacked it off with a knife without benefit of a mirror. Her big green eyes were bloodshot and restless, going back and forth between Michael, the door, Nica, and back again. She wore torn, dirty jeans, a blouse with the sleeves ripped off, and grungy tennis shoes that didn’t match. She was too thin, her bones sticking out in her shoulders and arms, but at the same time, the muscles in those thin arms looked rock solid as they held some kind of beam weapon pointed unwaveringly at Nica.

  “Hello, Michael,” she said with a smile that seemed happy and relaxed, as though this were a casual meeting and she wasn’t holding a gun on a child. “You’re late, dear.”

  “Late?” Michael asked, not quite daring to look at Nica.

  “Yes, you should have been home hours ago,” Shari said. “Dinner’s getting cold. Aren’t you going to say hello to your daughter?”

  Her tone changed from friendly to cold on the last sentence, warning Michael. “I don’t have a daughter,” he said without looking at Nica. “That little girl is my adopted sister.”

  Shari frowned. “Sister?”

  “Yes, Shari,” he said. “Adopted sister.”

  “No, Michael,” Shari said, still frowning. “She’s your daughter. Yours and that woman you married.”

  “That’s not true,” Michael said. “Who told you this?”

  “Baron Rubai,” Shari said. “He told me you got married and had a child and you didn’t want me any more.”

  “He lied,” Michael said calmly. “He told me the same thing of you. Was that true? Did you get married and have a child?”

  “No, I never did that,” Shari said, suddenly angry. “How could you think that?”

  “I didn’t,” Michael said. “That’s what Baron Rubai told me, but I didn’t believe him. I hoped, one day, I would find you, but I couldn’t. I looked for years, Shari. Where did you go?”

  Shari shook her head, suddenly feeling confused. She glanced at the child, then at Michael. No, they didn’t look at all alike. Could it be true?

  She was tired. So tired. And confused. She’d spent months hiding out on cargo transports, slowly making her way to Earth, only to learn that Michael had just left for Jasan with his family. So she’d stowed away on another ship, following him more by instinct and luck than anything else. She’d stolen what she needed, when she needed it, killed indiscriminately whenever necessary. All she wanted was Michael. She didn’t care what she had to do, how far she had to go. Now, here he was, but he was telling her everything she thought was true, was wrong. Was he lying to her? Or had Baron Rubai lied to her? Baron Rubai was a bad man. She knew that much.

  She started to turn back to Michael when she saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Without thinking, she squeezed the trigger hard, and held it down.

  Michael saw La
nce step from the dining room doorway, saw Shari pull the trigger, saw the beam from the gun shoot straight at Nica, hitting Lance as he leapt directly into its path. He watched it all as though in slow motion even as he stepped toward Shari, grabbed the gun and yanked it down and away from Lance and Nica. Shari’s finger was pressed against the trigger, so the weapon continued to discharge into the floor. Shari began struggling against him and she was, to Michael’s surprise, far stronger than he’d imagined. He realized that the gun was slowly moving toward him, and he automatically pushed back as hard as he could, in total survival mode.

  Suddenly, Shari went still. He froze and looked into her eyes, which had lost their fixed, manic look. Instead, they were the soft, gentle eyes of the woman he had once loved.

  “I’m sorry, Michael,” she whispered. “Please, forgive me.”

  “Always,” he whispered back, realizing he was talking to the real Shari for this one, lost moment in time.

  “I love you,” she said, but there wasn’t enough air for her to whisper this time. He had no trouble reading her lips, and leaned forward to kiss them gently.

  “I love you, Shari,” he said. Her eyes seemed to flash with some inner light, then the light dimmed, and she went limp in his arms. He stood there, holding her, even when the sound of the Jasani entering the house through the doorway behind him filled his ears.

  ***

  Honey saw the shimmering bubble flicker, then begin to fade before blinking out. She was running toward the front door before Vikter realized what had happened, and he had to hurry to get in front of her. He pushed the door open, blocking the doorway with his body to protect Honey just in case it was a trap. The limp female form in Michael’s arms satisfied him. He stepped forward, his eyes going to Nica first where she sat limply tied to a chair, then Lance who lay on the floor in a growing puddle of blood, one hand still stretched out toward Nica.

  Vikter went to his knees beside his brother, Hunt right beside him. “Get Nica,” he said to her. Honey went to Nica and began tearing at the ropes, tears pouring down her cheeks as she struggled with the heavy knots.

  “Honey, let me,” Merrick said, his low, gentle voice breaking through her panic. She nodded and pulled her hands out of the way so that he could slip a knife under the ropes and cut them. Two more cuts and the ropes fell to the floor. Honey pulled an unresisting and unresponsive Nica into her arms and held her tightly.

  She knew Nica was in shock, but having her warm, breathing body in her arms helped somehow. She turned around and hurried toward Lance, going to her knees on the floor beside him.

  “How is she?” Lance asked, his voice rough but clear.

  “I think she’ll be okay,” Honey replied. “She’s going to need all of us though.”

  Lance coughed, his entire body jerking from the pain, a thin stream of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. “Do me a favor?” he asked.

  “Of course,” Honey said, wondering when the horror of this night would end.

  “Make sure Nica knows I love her, okay?”

  Honey shook her head. “Lance, you have to tell her that yourself,” she said.

  “Please, Honey,” he said, and the pleading in his eyes made her heart hurt.

  “I’ll tell her, Lance,” she said. “She loves you too, you know that, right?”

  “She’s a beautiful child,” Lance said. “Like her sister.”

  “Lance,” Honey said, reaching out with one hand and placing her palm on his cheek. “I love you,” she said. “I need you to stay with me. Please.”

  Lance looked at her for a long moment. “You love me?” he asked in a whisper.

  “Of course I do, lunkhead,” she said. “I love all three of you. And I just found you. You can’t leave now. We haven’t even linked yet.”

  Lance turned his head just enough so that he could see Vikter and Hunt. “She loves us,” he said. “Did you hear that?”

  “I did,” Vikter said. “She needs you, Lance. Remember, her happiness comes before all things. You don’t have any choice.”

  “Give us a bit of room there,” Doc said from behind them. Honey looked up, relieved to see Jareth pop into the room with Trey Dracon.

  Something inside of her eased a little as she struggled to her feet with Nica in her arms. She stepped back to give Jareth room, her knees weak with relief. Jareth would heal Lance, of that she had no doubt.

  “How is she?” Vikter asked, bending down to look into Nica’s blank, staring eyes.

  “She’s in shock,” Honey said. “I don’t think she’s injured.”

  “We should get her somewhere quiet,” Vikter said. Honey nodded, her eyes going to Michael who sat on the floor near the door, the body of a young woman lying beside him. He looked up, his eyes meeting hers for a long moment. “Is she okay?” he mouthed. Honey nodded, and he smiled tiredly before turning his attention back to Shari.

  “Take us home, Vikter,” she said. “Please?”

  “Of course, zetia,” Vikter replied. “Right away.”

  Day Twenty-Six

  “You sure you’re going to be okay staying with the Bearens tonight?” Honey asked Nica.

  Nica grinned, displaying a new gap in her smile. “Yep,” she said. “I’m gonna read some stories to the boys from the books Lance gave me, and Auntie Hope says she’s gonna teach me to draw a painting and Miss Tess says I can help her make some cookies, and Uncle Dav is gonna take me on a ride on his bear. It’s gonna be fun, Mana.”

  “Draw a painting, huh?” Honey asked, smiling. It was hard to believe only a week had passed since that horrible night, but Nica had bounced back remarkably fast. She’d had a couple of bad nights, but after telling her, Vikter, Lance and Hunt all that had happened, she’d been doing much better. Honey was grateful that Nica hadn’t witnessed Sila’s murder. Unfortunately, just as Shari was taking her out the kitchen door, Adori had come in, so Nica had seen Shari hit Adori and tie her up, which had been traumatic. But the bruise on Nica’s cheek hadn’t been intentional. Nica told them she’d tripped on the steps going into the guesthouse and hit her face on the railing. A great deal of Nica’s shock had been caused by being tied up, and Shari’s irrational and frightening behavior.

  Nica was a bright, happy child by nature and had recovered quickly once she knew she was safe and back in the arms of those who loved her. She still worried about Michael, and had extracted many promises that she would get to visit him regularly. The Falcorans had speed-traveled her to Berria just the day before, and the Bearens had promised to take her next week.

  “She’s gonna have a great time,” Hunt said scooping her up into his arms and tossing her carefully into the air.

  “Mr. Hunt,” Adori scolded, “that’s not safe for a little girl. What if you drop her?”

  Hunt and Nica both laughed as Hunt tossed her higher. “I’d never drop Nica, would I little bug?”

  “Nope,” Nica squealed as Hunt caught her and pulled her close for a hug before setting her feet back on the floor.

  “Well, you’ll upset her digestion, that’s what you’ll do,” Adori said, shaking her gray head solemnly though her eyes twinkled.

  “It’s okay, Miss Adori,” Nica said. “My ‘gestion is real good. Isn’t it Mana?”

  “Don’t drag me into this,” Honey laughed. “I’m going to the clinic now Nica, so come give me a hug.”

  Nica ran into her arms and hugged her tightly. “I’d tell you to be a good girl tonight and mind your manners, but I know you’ll do that without me telling you, so instead I’ll just say have a great time.”

  “Thanks, Mana,” Nica said. “I will. You have fun too.”

  Honey’s face heated and she stood up, glancing quickly at Hunt who was grinning far too widely.

  “I’ll see you guys later,” she said as she reached for her purse.

  “You won’t be long?” Hunt asked for the third time.

  “No, I won’t be long,” she replied. “I just want to check Lexa Bearen-Hiru one las
t time before they go back to Berria.”

  Hunt dropped a kiss on the end of her nose, and though she wanted more, it would have to wait until later. She was a little nervous, a little scared and a lot excited about their plans for that night. It had been her idea to do the transformation.

  She’d lived for years pretending to be married. Pretending to be a wife and mother. The hardest part of that was that what she wanted more than anything was to be a wife and mother for real. But, her pretend life made it impossible for her to have the things she wanted most. It was an irony that had not escaped her.

  After giving the Bearen-Hirus the okay to return to their home, Honey said a quick goodbye to Doc and hurried back home. When she pulled into the driveway she was happy to see that all three of her men were waiting for her.

  “We thought you’d never get back,” Hunt said, opening her door for her.

  “I was only gone an hour,” Honey replied.

  “Well, it was a very long hour,” Hunt said.

  Honey got out of the car and bent down to grab her purse. “Nica?”

  “She’s happily ensconced at Arima House with a dozen women clamoring to play with her,” Vikter said. “There is no need to worry about her.”

  Hunt closed the car door behind her and they all walked to the house together. “Are you nervous?” Lance asked.

  “Yes, I am, a little,” Honey admitted.

  “We do not have to do this today,” Vikter said. “We do not want to rush you.”

  “This was my idea, remember?” Honey said. “I want to do this today. I’m just a little bit nervous is all.”

  “Come into the bedroom and we will see what we can do to help you relax,” Hunt said, leading the way across the living room and into the hall. He opened the bedroom door and stepped aside so that Honey could enter first.

  “Wow,” she said softly as she entered the room. There were candles everywhere, all lit, casting a warm, intimate glow throughout the room. There was soft, romantic music playing in the background, and the little table near the window was loaded with snacks and drinks. “You guys went all out, didn’t you?”