Instructing the Novice

by Evangeline Anderson

  “But if you had, you wouldn’t have had to heal me and we never would have gotten fully and properly bonded,” Lizabeth pointed out.

  “True.” He put an arm around her and drew her in for a gentle kiss. “And if we hadn’t gone to the Tower in the first place, I never would have been your ‘Novice’ and started a partial bond.”

  “About that,” Lizabeth said firmly, sitting up from the sweet embrace. “It’s about time you stopped being my assistant, Lone. We both know you’re ready to practice law on your own.”

  “What?” He looked stricken and she felt his concern through their link. “Are you going to get rid of me now just because we’re bonded and you don’t think it’s appropriate to have a romantic relationship with your assistant?”

  “Well, it’s not appropriate,” Lizabeth pointed out briskly. “But…” She leaned forward and kissed him. “It’s perfectly fine to have a relationship with your partner. I’m not getting rid of you, Lone—I’m promoting you. We’re going to be equal partners now, Councilor Stands Alone.”

  “Oh!” He put a hand to his heart and smiled in relief. Kat and Liv laughed and Sylvan smiled as well.

  “It sounds like the two of you have everything worked out,” he remarked. “I’m going to let you go but I want to see Councilor Paige back here in a few days for some prenatal tests.”

  “I’ll get her scheduled,” Liv said, grinning. “Come on, Kat—let’s leave these two love birds alone while I pull up the schedule.”

  They left Lizabeth and Lone, who couldn’t seem to stop staring into each other’s eyes and smiling. As she looked into Lone’s deep gray eyes, Lizabeth began to feel the familiar tingle of desire and she felt an answering wave of heat from Lone.

  “I appreciate the promotion you know,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “But I hope I can still be your Novice sometimes, Mistress. You know how I love to serve you.”

  “Yes, I know,” Lizabeth said, smiling at him. “And in fact, I’m feeling in need of some ‘service’ right now.”

  “Then let’s go back to our suite,” Lone suggested. Standing, he swung her up into his arms.

  “Oh, Lone!” she gasped in surprise, but didn’t ask him to put her down. She knew by now he was plenty strong enough to carry her all over the place and in fact, she actually enjoyed it.

  “Sorry, but I think it’s time you instructed your Novice on how best to meet your needs, Mistress,” he growled softly.

  Lizabeth felt a wave of desire wash over her as she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a breathless kiss. She thought again of how blessed and happy she was and how lucky she and Lone were to have each other and the two new lives growing inside her.

  Truly the Goddess had blessed them. And now, there was nothing she would rather do than spend the rest of the afternoon and evening Instructing her Novice.

  The End?

  Of course not! There are always more Kindred Tales coming. Those of you who follow me on Facebook may remember that I posted a while back and offered two plots for my readers' consideration. The first one was for Instructing the Novice—an older woman/younger man romance. The second was for another Giant Kindred book, about a Jor'gen Kindred who is a scientist who clones a human woman and falls in love with her. I asked which book readers wanted and most of them replied, "Both!" So I wrote both, lol. You just read the first one, now read on for a taste of my next book, AWAKENED BY THE GIANT—a Kindred Tale of the Jor'gen Kindred, coming out in February.

  Hugs and Happy Reading!

  Evangeline

  Before you go, if you've enjoyed reading Instructing the Novice, please consider leaving a short review. Good reviews are worth their weight in gold to an author. They let other readers know it's okay to take a chance on a new series. Plus they give me the warm fuzzies. Thanks for being an awesome reader!

  : ) Evangeline

  Awakened by the Giant

  A Kindred Tale of the Jor'gen Kindred

  AVAILABLE FEBRUARY 2019

  A Giant Kindred devoted to science Clones a beautiful woman to learn from her But what Maddy teaches Calden is how to love And love is forbidden—punishable by Death Can they escape now that Maddy has been...Awakened by the Giant?

  Meet the Jor’gen Kindred. After leaving the main Mother Ship centuries ago to make a genetic trade with a massive race of people, they are thirty percent bigger than their ancestors. Which makes them 9 feet tall—giants to regular sized humanoids. Hundreds of years after the genetic trade which made them so huge, the Jor’gen Kindred have no more females and are seeking a new people to trade with— all but Calden.

  Believing he doesn't need a female in his life to be happy, Calden moves to the Mentat Space Station to devote his life to biological research through cloning. The Station is ruled by a harsh taskmaster—an AI called FATHER who forbids any females. But Calden doesn't care, as long as he is allowed to clone and study as many specimens as he wants. Then one day, the recovery droids find something new—the remains of a sentient human female and the ship she crashed in. Consumed by scientific curiosity, Calden gets special permission to make a clone of the dead woman...but he has no idea he'll fall in love with her.

  Madeline Harris has no idea what's going on. She wakes up in a vat of green goo with her memories fractured, surrounded by the big, scary Mentats of the Station. Then a giant comes to save her. It doesn't take much for her to fall for Calden but she doesn't realize that the station is a hostile place for women...or that she could be in big trouble if the AI, FATHER, discovers how very much Calden cares for her in return.

  Will they escape the Mentat Station in time to save Maddy's life? And will she ever forgive Calden for keeping deadly secrets from her? You'll have to read Awakened by the Giant to find out...

  One

  “Welcome, Calden. Thank you for coming to see FATHER. What guidance do you seek today?”

  Calden of the Jor’gen Kindred shifted on the slightly-too-small stool which sat in the middle of the scanning booth. Everything aboard the Mentat station was too small for him but since he was over three meters tall, it wasn’t surprising. In the five years he had been living and working there, he had gotten used to accommodating himself to the smaller living quarters and furnishings. It was worth a bit of discomfort to do the work he loved.

  The Jor’gen Kindred were a branch of the Kindred who had bonded themselves, against the High Council’s will, to a race of people who were thirty percent larger than most other humanoid races. They had lost touch with their Kindred brothers and then, as the High Council had predicted, they ran out of females to bond with. Because of a genetic anomaly, any joining with a Kindred warrior produced only sons, 99% of the time, which meant that the Kindred were always on the move, looking for new brides.

  When the Jor’gen Kindred ran out of females, they built a Mother Ship and went in search of new females to bond with them. Their leader, Bram, was certain that the Goddess—the Mother of All Life whom all Kindred worship—would lead them in the right direction.

  Calden had disagreed. He was an atheist and a scientist and he cared nothing for religion or wild hopes and dreams—or for females for that matter. He could happily live without a mate and so had taken a shuttle and had gone to live and work at the Mentat science station, a place where logic and reason were valued above all else. He had also taken the seed of a bonding fruit plant—a requirement for any Jor’gen Kindred who decided to leave the Mother Ship.

  “I will never use this, you know,” he had objected when Ren, the science officer and his good friend, had given it to him on his departure. “You know how the Mentats are—you know the rules aboard the station where I’m going to work.”

  “Nevertheless, you must take it,” Ren had insisted. “Bram wants to be certain that any warrior who leaves the Mother Ship has the means to bond with a chosen female if he meets one. And since we are so much larger than most of the people we can bond with, the bonding fruit is a necessity.”

  “I will ta
ke it as a token and memento of my race,” Calden had agreed, relenting. “Though I know I will never use it.”

  “Go in peace, Brother. And may the Goddess bless you,” Ren told him. “If you ever wish to join with us again, simply signal. Though we are going far from the Mentat station, I fear.” He frowned. “Still, we may hear you.”

  “I will be certain to keep my shuttle tuned to the Mother Ship for as long as possible,” Calden had promised. He and Ren had embraced one last time and then he had left, going to his new life—a life of science and study and observation.

  It was the life Calden had always wished for and he was happy here at the Mentat station. It was a bit cramped but since the race he now lived with was only half a meter or so shorter than he was, it wasn’t too bad. He had no problems living and working with the most logical beings in the universe, who valued reason over emotion. He fit right in with them and had no difficulty following their rules—even the more stringent ones most males would balk at.

  But now he was here in the scanning booth asking to break one of those rules…or at least bend it a little.

  “I am not so much in need of guidance as permission, FATHER,” he said, choosing his words carefully. The AI who oversaw and ran the Mentat station was a reasonable entity but some topics must still be approached with caution.

  There was a moment while the soothing blue light which suffused the scanning booth flickered and then FATHER’s voice spoke in that same, soft, melodious tone.

  “Very well, Calden. Explain.”

  “The recovery droids have made an extraordinary find,” Calden said. “The remains of a spaceship—a colony ship, we believe. Its inhabitants must have been seeking a new planet to live on because there are frozen embryos of many different animals and cuttings and seeds of hundreds of plants.”

  “A most stirring discovery.” The lighting in the scanning booth flickered faintly pink and FATHER’s voice sounded mildly interested, which for the Mentat AI was an extreme expression of emotion. “A whole new sentient alien race, you say—one none of us has encountered before?”

  “Exactly.” Calden worked hard to keep the excitement out of his own voice, though it was difficult to contain himself. To his curious, scientific mind, this was like a biggest name-day present anyone could wish for. He was itching to start studying some of the new plants and animals but there was one in particular he wanted to study—if only FATHER would agree.

  “What do you need permission for?” the AI asked, the lighting going back to soothing blue. “Why do you not begin your study of this new race at once? All knowledge is valuable, as you know.”

  “Yes, of course.” Calden nodded. “But there is one specimen in particular that I wish to study. You see, FATHER, despite the many plant and animal samples we have acquired, only one member of the alien race who sent this space craft out in the first place has been recovered. The ship was torn in two—we speculate that it went through a wormhole and came out in the middle of an asteroid field. The front half was lost and only the back half—the storage area—remained. At least, that is the only part our recovery droids found. The body of the sentient being was discovered there.”

  “I see.” FATHER hummed quietly to itself. “So only one sentient specimen remains and naturally you wish to grow a clone of it in the nutrient tanks and study it.”

  “Naturally,” Calden said.

  “Why must you ask permission for this, Calden?” FATHER asked. “Though you have not grown sentient specimens before, the protocol is the same as for non-sentient ones.”

  “I must ask permission because…” Calden took a deep breath. “Because this particular specimen is…female.”

  “Female?” The light in the scanning booth flickered again—this time turning an ominous reddish-orange. “Calden, you know our rules here. You were told when you first came to the Mentat station and were allowed to live and work with us. Females cause discord and illogical reactions among males. For this reason they are banned from our station with no exception.”

  “Of course I know the rules and I am not seeking to circumvent them now,” Calden said quickly. “But this is the only sentient member of the crew left. She could teach us so much about the plant and animal specimens we have collected.” He sat forward on the too-small stool, his hands clasped on his knees. “FATHER, I swear that this female would not be sexually compatible with any of the Mentats aboard the station. She is too different physically for any of them to mate with.”

  The Mentats were humanoid in some respects, having two eyes located on the front of their elongated heads, two nostril slits, a thin, lipless mouth, and a long, narrow torso from which two sets of arms sprouted. They were also bipedal and walked upright. But they kept their organs of reproduction tucked in a pouch under their narrow, pointed chins. And even if they had been able to breed with this new sentient species which had been recovered, their DNA was far too different to allow any kind of viable embryo to result.

  “And what of yourself, Calden?” FATHER demanded in its soft, melodious voice. “Would you be able to mate with this female if you grew a clone of her in the tanks?”

  “Certainly not,” Calden said firmly.

  “Because you would not be a match genetically?” the AI probed.

  “Well…” Calden cleared his throat and shifted uneasily on the stool. “As a matter of fact, our DNA is compatible—from what I have seen so far, anyway. But there is still no way that I would be able to mate with this female—even if I wanted to. Which I most certainly do not.”

  “And why is that, Calden?” FATHER asked.

  “Because of our size difference, FATHER. Even fully grown, this female would be no more than half my size. My, er…” He cleared his throat. “My shaft would never be able to fit inside her—again, not that I would want it to—rendering a mating between us completely impossible.”

  “Hmmm…” The lights flickered again, this time to a thoughtful bluish-purple. Clearly FATHER was considering the proposition.

  Calden waited anxiously, trying to appear relaxed. He took deep, even breaths and concentrated on keeping his heart rate slow and steady, knowing that the AI was scanning him all the time for untoward emotion. But how could he help being excited? This was the find of a lifetime—thousands of specimens from a whole new world—and this female could be the key to it all. She could tell him so much that wouldn’t be evident any other way. If only FATHER would agree…

  “All right, Calden,” the AI said at last, breaking his train of thought. “Clearly you only wish only to study this female and not to breed with her. You are granted permission to grown a clone of your new specimen in the nutrient tanks—provided that she is implanted with a self-termination unit as with all live specimens.”

  “Oh, but—” Calden started to protest.

  “A self-termination unit is necessary,” FATHER’s soft voice repeated implacably. “This new specimen must not be treated any differently than any of the others, even if she is sentient. Also, knowing that she has a limited lifespan may discourage any untoward emotion between you.”

  “If you are implying that I get emotionally attached to my work, FATHER I must protest,” Calden said, frowning.

  “You did resist allowing the brantha specimens you were studying to terminate,” the AI reminded him softly.

  Calden shifted again. “They were…small. And harmless. Also very affectionate. It would not have been a problem to allow them to continue living.”

  “Calden, you know the station has limited resources.” FATHER’s soft voice was reasonable. “If every specimen that you started to have emotions for was allowed to live—”

  “I don’t have emotions for my specimens,” Calden said, frowning. “I simply dislike waste. It seemed…unnecessary for the branthas to terminate.”

  “Nevertheless, you know the rules, Calden. All specimens must have a self-termination unit implanted. Otherwise the station would be overrun with creatures we cannot accommodate.”

/>   “Understood,” Calden said stiffly. “Thank you for permission to continue this new study, FATHER.”

  “You are most welcome, Calden. You know that we find you a valuable addition to our scientific study here aboard our station,” FATHER said. “Keep up the excellent progress. And remember, all knowledge is valuable.”

  “All knowledge is valuable,” Calden repeated, rising to go.

  As he left the scanning booth, the lights flickered again and then resumed their cool, soothing blue tone. FATHER was quiescent once more, waiting for the next supplicant in need of help or guidance.

  Calden knew the station was lucky to have such a benevolent overseer but sometimes he could not help chafing under the AI’s strict rule. Still, he had agreed to obey FATHER and to be held accountable by the AI for all his actions and emotions when he first came to live and work at the Mentat station so it was only fair that he keep his end of the agreement.

  At least FATHER agreed to let me grow the new specimen. I’ll learn so much from her!

  The hum of excitement in his veins wasn’t the Mentat way but as long as Calden kept the emotion hidden, what harm could it do? He strode back down the long, winding metal corridor of the circular station towards his own quarters with a spring in his step. Exploring and learning about this new find the recovery droids had brought in could be the work of a lifetime!

  A very short lifetime—for the female, at least, whispered a little voice in his brain. Calden frowned as he placed his palm to the privacy pad and the metal door to his room slid silently open. Well, that was true. He would just have to make the most of the time he had with her and not think about her ultimate end.

  And after all, he argued with himself, it wasn’t like the self-termination switch was a painful way to end existence. It was lodged in the brainstem, where all autonomic functions were located in most species. When the specimen’s time was done, the switch simply stopped the nervous impulses from the brain to the heart and lungs. The heart stopped beating and the lungs stopped drawing breath. Termination was almost instantaneous and entirely painless—or so Calden had been assured by the Mentats.