The Tigrens' Glory (Soul-Linked Saga) (Volume 9)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “Thank you, Suly,” she said.

  Glory turned away from the door while the two women on the patio spoke. She spotted an open door that led into a bathroom and, a few short minutes later she returned to the patio door and slid it open.

  “Good afternoon, Glory,” Lariah said, turning at the sound of the patio door sliding open.

  “Good afternoon, Lariah,” Glory replied. “Do you mind if I join you?”

  “Not at all. I’d like that very much.”

  Glory slid the door shut and took a chair across from Lariah at the patio table. Lariah waved toward the tray. “There’s coffee, juice, sandwiches and fruit,” she said. “Help yourself. If you’d prefer something different just let me know.”

  “That’s very kind of you,” Glory said. “Coffee and fruit sounds wonderful.”

  “You look better than you did this morning,” Lariah observed. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes, I do, thank you,” Glory said. “I apologize for imposing on your last day with your children.”

  Lariah smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Glory. It’s no imposition, and besides, you’ve been asleep all morning anyway.”

  Glory sipped her coffee, turning slightly so she could see the children playing nearby. “Your daughters are as beautiful as you,” she said.

  “That’s sweet of you,” Lariah said, blushing at the compliment. Then she grinned. “They also have my temper.”

  “I did notice a bit of temper yesterday when Rollo showed up,” Glory said, returning Lariah’s grin. “It was certainly provoked though.”

  “Yeah,” Lariah admitted, wrinkling her nose. “It takes a lot to make me angry, but once I’m there, look out.”

  “I’m much that way myself,” Glory said. She set her cup on the table, glanced at Lariah, then back at the fruit on her plate. “Lariah, I know we’ve only just met, but I wonder if you would mind discussing a personal matter with me.”

  Lariah watched Glory play with a slice of fruit, noted her averted eyes and the faint blush staining her cheeks. “Of course I don’t mind, Glory. I tend to know very quickly whether someone is friend or foe. You are friend. Or could be, if you want.”

  Glory looked up to meet Lariah’s gaze directly. “I’ve never had a friend before. I’d be most honored to call you friend, Lariah Dracon.”

  “I’m honored to be your friend, too,” Lariah said, hiding the rush of sympathy she felt at Glory’s words. Instead, she smiled and said, “So, Friend, tell me what’s on your mind.”

  Glory’s smile faded. “I spent all of yesterday afternoon using the vid-terminal to research some of the subjects forbidden to women on Ramouri. I was shocked by most of what I learned.”

  Lariah refilled her coffee cup as she listened. When Glory’s blush deepened, Lariah shifted her eyes to her daughters, pretending not to notice.

  “I now know the mechanics of sex,” Glory said, finally. “It makes me angry that young women of Ramouri have so little time to prepare themselves for something so…momentous as what I learned yesterday. Traditionally, information such as that is provided only by older female relatives, and only on a woman’s wedding day, regardless of her age.”

  Lariah nodded serenely, taking a slow sip of her coffee to help hide her shock. “Go on,” she encouraged gently when she set the cup down. She had no idea where Glory was going with this, but she intended to be sure her newest friend didn’t regret confiding in her.

  Glory took a long, slow deep breath. She’d gotten through the worst of it, and Lariah hadn’t laughed or jeered at her. Her unusual senses told her that Lariah was surprised, but she hid it well, and for that Glory was grateful.

  “I Dream Walked last night,” Glory said. Lariah nodded. “I saw the Tigren as men for the first time.” Glory paused, uncertain how to express what she wanted to say next.

  “And your physical reaction to them shocked your hair straight and curled your toes, is that about right?” Lariah asked with a smile that was both gentle and understanding.

  Glory surprised herself by returning Lariah’s smile with a grin. “You could say that, yes. I had many unusual sensations.”

  “I can imagine,” Lariah said. “Actually, I don’t have to imagine. I remember the first time I experienced those unusual sensations myself quite vividly. I assume you found them to be attractive?”

  “Very,” Glory said with a sigh that Lariah couldn’t quite decipher. It seemed a cross between admiration and regret. “They’re very tall, even taller than your Rami, but built much the same way, very strong, very muscular. Never have I seen men so...so...big.” That wasn’t the word Glory was searching for, but it would have to do.

  “Was that the first time you ever felt a physical attraction like that?” Lariah asked.

  “Yes,” Glory said. “To be honest, I didn’t know what was happening to me at first. I thought perhaps my body was having an adverse reaction to Dream Walking.”

  Lariah took another sip of her coffee, once again fighting to hide her surprise. She’d been inexperienced when she’d met the Dracons, but even she had recognized her body’s responses for what they were. Could Glory really be that innocent? She met the other woman’s worried gaze, and saw that yes, she was. She also saw that there was more to it than that.

  “It bothers you that you had a sexual response to them.”

  “Very much,” Glory admitted. “It is my hope that you can tell me how to prevent such reactions from occurring in future.”

  This time Lariah didn’t try to hide her surprise. “Why do you want to do that?”

  “Because I think they already have an Arima,” Glory said.

  “Did you ask them?”

  “I did,” Glory said with a grimace. “They couldn’t remember having one, but neither could they say with certainty that they didn’t.”

  Lariah thought about that for a long moment. She had a strong feeling that Glory was the Tigrens’ Arima, but she couldn’t know for sure. For Glory’s sake, it was best to keep her suspicions to herself and let the matter play out between them as it would. “I don’t really know that you can prevent the reactions and feelings you have to them, Glory. Did they have a response to you?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Glory replied, dropping her eyes.

  Lariah waited, but apparently Glory had no intention of saying more on that particular subject. “I’ll do some research on the matter,” she said finally. “If I find an answer for you, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you, Lariah,” Glory said. “I appreciate it.”

  “I haven’t done anything yet,” Lariah said.

  “You’ve listened to me, and spoken to me as a friend,” Glory said. “To me, that’s a great deal.” She pushed her chair back. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll sleep some more. I still feel quite tired.”

  “Of course,” Lariah said. “Jareth said you would need lots of sleep to regain your strength. If you need anything at all, just let me know.”

  “I will, thanks,” Glory said before returning to the guest room. She closed the door behind her and pulled the drapes shut, blocking the sunlight. Then she climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

  Chapter Twelve

  Xaqana-Ti tapped one foreleg against her control board as she considered Xi-Kung’s latest general report. Near the end, he mentioned that the Megalodon, a new Marrazon battleship, was seen in Terien space. Something about that tickled her inner sense of impending danger, but she couldn’t think why.

  She recalled another report from Xi-Kung a couple of weeks past which contained a brief line indicating that Jung Del of Marrazo was visiting Jasan aboard his personal yacht, the Predator. At the time she’d been mildly irritated by Xi-Kung’s habit of including so much trivial data in his reports.

  She wasn’t irritated by it now, though. She was…concerned? No. She was worried. But why? It was ridiculous to think that Jung Del had found a way to travel from Jasan to Marrazo, and back again in so short a time. He probably had the Megalodon
delivered to him on Jasan. That was the simplest, and most logical explanation. It was nothing to worry about. But, for some reason, that didn’t feel right. Why not? There was something else. Something she wasn’t remembering.

  She pulled up a list of incoming reports going back several days and scrolled through them until one caught her eye. It was the most recent report from her spy on Earth, Za-Marliq. In it, he mentioned that Jung Del was visiting that planet aboard the Megalodon, and had made an appointment to see the Director in two days’ time. If both reports were correct, Jung Del was in Terien space less than two full days after leaving Earth.

  Now that was alarming.

  But, no. There had to be a mistake. Not even the Xanti could make a journey of that distance so quickly, and they had the ability to create Doors, their own private jump points. She never understood why they couldn’t put Doors anywhere and everywhere, but then, she didn’t understand how Doors worked to begin with. Nor did she care to. They worked. They had limitations. She needed no more knowledge than that.

  None of that mattered.

  What mattered was the accuracy of the information in the two reports, one from Xi-Kung, the other from Za-Linq. Had one of them made an error in identifying the Megalodon? Or had Marrazo discovered a new jump point? That was a startling thought.

  Not for the first time, Xaqana-Ti paused to consider whether or not to share her secret knowledge with the Queen Mother. When Xi-Kung had finally told her that the Jasani had discovered their Doors, and found a way to identify, and destroy, their ships coming through them, she’d been so stunned she’d nearly thanked him. After all, without his warning, she wouldn’t have gotten rid of Jasan in time. And that was precisely why she hesitated to tell the Queen Mother what she knew.

  She couldn’t admit her knowledge without revealing that it was the very reason she’d dumped Jasan onto her sister. That, in itself, wasn’t an issue. The problem was that she’d made certain statements to the Queen Mother that weren’t exactly true. The moment that was revealed, her strand would be cut from the web. She had far too many plans for the future to allow that to happen so no, she wouldn’t share that knowledge as yet.

  Still, Marrazo was close friends with Jasan, so if one had a new jump point, it had to be assumed that the other knew about it. That, in combination with the Jasani’s discovery of their Doors, was disturbing indeed. Not disturbing enough for her to want to risk her own life, but enough for her to turn some of her own resources to investigating the matter a bit more closely. Now that she no longer had to concern herself with Jasan or Onddo, she could easily spare a ship or two. Besides, if they had new jump points, she wanted that knowledge for the Xanti. Of course, once she had it, she’d have to destroy Marrazo to prevent the information from spreading, but that was easily done. In fact, the thought of eradicating Marrazo gave her a pleasant sensation in her middle section that she’d missed of late.

  Making up her mind, she quickly began composing a message to Za-Marliq, remembering to address it to his Earth cover name, Mark Baza, demanding more details regarding Jung Del’s visit. Once she’d sent that, she composed another message to Xi-Kung. Imagining her Leg Leader’s reaction to his new orders would have made her smile had she been capable of such an expression.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Glory looked around the extravagant stateroom she’d been assigned to aboard the Ugaztun and sighed tiredly. It had been a very long day already and it was just an hour after noon. There’d been a ceremony of sorts before they’d left the ranch, and another when they’d reached the spaceport in Badia. She’d met so many new people while waiting to board that she was having a difficult time sorting them out in her mind. The men all came in nearly identical threes, and there’d been so many of them that remembering their names was impossible when her head still felt as though it were filled with cotton from her first Dream Walk.

  The women were much easier. There were far fewer of them, and they were each so unique. To her surprise, they’d all been very friendly to her, and sincerely welcoming. She found that she was looking forward to getting to know them better in the coming days.

  A light knock on her door interrupted her reverie. She opened it, mildly surprised to see that it was Lariah since she’d just left her not fifteen minutes earlier. “How are you feeling?” Lariah asked, frowning worriedly as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “You look so tired, Glory. I should have insisted you come to your room sooner. I’m so sorry.”

  “I am a little tired,” Glory admitted as she led the way to the sitting area at the far side of the room. “But I’m glad I got to meet so many people, especially the women. I enjoyed myself very much.”

  “I’m so glad,” Lariah said. “Now that we’re aboard the Ugaztun, you can rest all you want for the next few days. If you’d like to have dinner in your room this evening, you can call the cafeteria and they’ll deliver a tray. Otherwise, you’re welcome to join us in our private dining room.”

  Glory’s initial reaction was to decline, but she hesitated. “I haven’t had a chance to discuss my Dream Walk with you and your Rami, and I imagine they’d like to know what I learned.”

  “Of course they would,” Lariah said. “So would I, for that matter. But we don’t mind waiting until you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready,” Glory said. “I also have a few things I want to ask you and the Princes about. If you think a serious discussion should not take place over dinner, I’ll certainly understand.”

  “That’s fine,” Lariah said, waving one hand as though to brush away the concern. “We’ll eat at seven. Will that work for you?”

  “It’s perfect,” Glory said. “I’m afraid I don’t know where your private dining room is, though.”

  “I don’t either,” Lariah said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ll send a steward to get you. Now, I have a little gift for you,” Lariah said, reaching into the bag hanging from her shoulder and removing a thin, five by seven inch package wrapped in bright red paper which she offered to Glory.

  Glory accepted the package, her hands suddenly trembling. “A gift?”

  “Yes,” Lariah said.

  Glory stared at the package in her hands, then looked up at Lariah and swallowed hard. “I apologize for my emotional response. It’s just that I’ve never received a gift before.”

  Lariah blinked rapidly to hold back the threat of tears and widened her smile. “Then I am very happy to give you your first.”

  Her bronze eyes glowing with emotion, Glory tore the wrapping off the package to reveal an electronic reader. “This is wonderful,” she gasped, running her gloved fingers over the smooth plastic frame.

  “I know how important knowledge is to you,” Lariah said. “With this, you can read books whenever and wherever you want. There’s a complete library on Ugaztun’s computer, so you can download books on any subject you want. The reader’s already set up so all you need to do is pick what you want.”

  “I saw people using these on the passenger liner after I left Ramouri,” Glory said. “Once I understood what they were I tried to purchased one, but the ship’s store had already sold out. I thank you, Lariah, from the bottom of my heart.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Glory,” Lariah said, then hesitated. “There’s more.”

  Glory looked at her curiously, and Lariah took a deep breath and plunged in. “As I mentioned the other day, I used to be a librarian, before I met my Rami. It was a very lonely time in my life, and I often found escape in books. Some of my favorites were romance novels, especially the really steamy ones.”

  “Steamy?” Glory asked.

  “Sexy,” Lariah clarified. Glory’s eyes widened, but Lariah caught the gleam of interest in them. She’d been a little nervous about this part of her gift, but Glory’s reaction eased her worries. “The mechanics of sex are one thing, but there’s so much more to relationships than that. There’s love, romance, attraction, need, desire, and much, much more. I’ve taken the liberty
of loading a selection of romance novels onto your reader. I’ve divided them into categories from mild, to steamy, to explicit.”

  Glory’s face heated, but her smile was pure delight. Her curiosity on this subject had been extreme, but she hadn’t known where to go for information that went beyond the bald facts she’d gotten from the vid-terminal. “This is so wonderful, Lariah,” she said, holding the reader almost reverently in the palms of her hands. “I cannot think of anything that could have made me happier than this gift.”

  “I’m so happy that you like it,” Lariah said, then grinned. “It’ll give you something to do when you aren’t Dream Walking.”

  Glory set the reader down carefully, then got up and hugged Lariah. It was the first hug she’d ever initiated in her entire life, but she was so happy that that never even occurred to her. Lariah hugged her back, more than pleased by Glory’s reaction to her gift.

  “Well, I better get out of here and let you rest,” she said. “Oh, the reader is easy to use, but if you have any trouble figuring something out, just let me know.”

  “I will Lariah, thank you,” Glory said.

  “One more thing,” Lariah said, turning back just before Glory closed the door. “It’s waterproof, so you can read in the tub if you want.” She winked, then hurried up the corridor, laughing softly.

  Glory closed and locked the door, then spent a moment arguing with herself before setting the reader aside and reaching for her bags. After putting her things away she grabbed her bathrobe and the reader, and carried them into the bathroom. She turned on the taps in the spacious bathtub and adjusted the temperature so it was as hot as she could stand it. She removed her weapons, setting her sword on the bathroom counter, and her knife belt on the floor beside the tub with one knife on the rim, just in case. Then she peeled her gloves off, sighing with relief at the sensation of cool air against her skin. She dropped one, which made a hard metallic thunk as it hit the tile, causing her to wince. She picked it up, relieved to see that it hadn’t damaged the floor. This was the Ugaztun’s maiden voyage, and she had no desire to be known as the first person to break something.