The Dancer (Men of the North Book 7)

by Elin Peer

  After we were all seated, ten policemen came in. One of them spoke up. “Welcome to the Northlands.”

  Everyone replied with polite smiles and thanked him.

  “My name is Cameron and if you’re on this drone, I’m in charge of your security. There are only three main rules that we need you to follow.” The large brusque-looking man held up a hand and counted on his fingers. “One: Stay with the group. Two: Tell one of us security personnel immediately if someone is harassing you. And three: Keep an eye on your colleagues. If someone is missing, alert us right away.”

  We all nodded our heads and Cameron did a last head count and found his seat before the drone took off.

  I wrote a quick message to Hunter letting him know that I had arrived in the Northlands by sending him a picture from the large drone. “Going on a field trip again. See you soon.”

  Hunter sent me back a photo from his locker room showing me his muddy shoes. “Last training for the season. Two hours in drenching rain. I should have become a dancer instead.”

  I stared at the picture, enlarging the background where one of his teammates was changing. I couldn’t see his face, but he was naked and it made me a bit flustered. I looked around to make sure no one had seen it.

  Delete it, the Motlander part of me whispered in my head, but the Northlander part of me looked a little longer. I liked big, muscular men and I wondered for a second if Solomon looked like this now.

  Don’t think about him, I ordered myself and sat back in my seat. This is a new start. It’s my chance to make new memories in the Northlands. The promise of a fun adventure ahead had me smiling. This was perfect. For as long as I could remember, I had felt restless. The hours I danced at the local theater and the lessons I gave children on occasion were my highlights.

  I had friends that were nice and caring, but few of them understood the sarcasm and irony that I’d picked up while living in the Northlands. Some of them were curious about the years I’d lived at the school, but I could never explain it right and their attention span was short anyway.

  The sad truth was that I was twenty-two and carrying around an undefined feeling of being restless and lost.

  I moved my head and saw one of the police officers staring at me. He turned his gaze away but my feminine pride was awakened. In the Motherlands, men didn’t look at me that way and although he wasn’t my type, it dawned on me that this would be my first journey into the Northlands without my brother as my protector. I was a single woman entering a land with ten million men. The thought alone was both frightening and exhilarating.

  When the guard looked over again I didn’t look at him but my mouth flirted with a small smile.

  CHAPTER 8

  Kingston

  Solomon

  I stood outside the hotel, waiting for Leo and Zasquash to arrive with the songbird that we were babysitting for the next four weeks. It was raining and I was already annoyed with the situation. A man crossed to the other side of the street instead of passing me. I was used to others finding me intimidating, and with the deep scowl on my face I probably looked like I was contemplating something evil.

  I wasn’t.

  In my head, thoughts of how miserable I would be following some little Motlander around for a month were running amok. I preferred to stay away from large crowds of people, and now I’d have to suck it up and deal with her performing her concerts before thousands of people. No more sleeping in the wild or running in the forest. I sighed and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Leo, Zasquash, and I would have to find a way to divide the hours between us. If I didn’t get my exercise and some alone time, I’d be cranky as hell.

  My wristband beeped and I accepted the message.

  “Look up, fucker.”

  I leaned my head back but didn’t see any drone in the sky.

  A loud whistle made me take a step forward and turn around to look up. Zasquash was waving his hands at me five stories up. “They have roof parking.”

  I waved back at him. So much for Leo telling me to meet them in front of the hotel. With a last deep sigh, I made my way inside and waited in the foyer until Leo and Zasquash came out of the lift with a man and a woman between them.

  “Hey, you skunk. Glad to see you decided to join us.” Zasquash was smiling.

  “What did you do?” I frowned at how different he looked.

  “Nothing,” he whispered as he not at all subtly moved his eyeballs toward the female, whom I recognized from her picture as Salma Rose.

  “Ahh.” I didn’t point out that Zasquash, whose beard had been down to his collarbone yesterday, now had only stubble and that his hair was braided back making my friend seem like a tamed version of the man I knew. At least he was still wearing his dark uniform like me.

  “Let me introduce you to Ben and Salma.” Leo swung a hand and looked at the two Motlanders. “This is the infamous Solo that we were talking about.”

  They both leaned their heads back and gaped a little as they looked up at me.

  “Nice to meet you both.”

  Salma Rose collected herself first as she reached out her hands to me, but then reconsidered and pulled them back. “I’m sorry. Willow told me not to touch you.”

  I was stunned. “What did you say?”

  “We flew up here with an expert and she explained about your strict laws. She told me not to touch you.”

  My heart was hammering. “Willow Darlington?”

  “Yes. The dancer.”

  “Why wasn’t she on the list?” Zasquash gave Leo a blameful look.

  I focused on Salma, pointing a finger to my chest. “Did Willow tell you to specifically not touch me?”

  “Do you know Willow?”

  “Yes. We were… ehm… classmates.”

  Ben and Salma broke into large smiles. “How wonderful. She’ll be so excited to see you again. She spoke very fondly of her time here in the Northlands.”

  “So, I take it she wasn’t talking about me specifically, but all Nmen?” I asked again because the thought that Willow somehow felt possessive of me made me dizzy.

  “Yes, it was a general recommendation. She said if I touched you Nmen it could lead to a misunderstanding and someone getting hurt.”

  “Oh.” My shoulders fell. “I see. Yeah, she’s right. Don’t touch anyone. It’s better that way.”

  “As I said.” Leo smacked my shoulder while looking at the Motlanders. “You’re in good hands with Solo, Zasquash, and me.”

  Salma kept close to Ben but inclined her head with a courteous “Thank you, Leo.”

  “Of course. Let’s get you settled in to your rooms. I was told you’ll be on the fifth floor with most of the other performers.”

  I had to be sure I’d heard them right and took a small step closer. “Did you say that Willow is part of the tour as well?”

  Ben confirmed. “Yes, she should be here any minute.”

  “Then let’s get you to your rooms before this place gets busy.” Leo gestured with his chin. “Solo, would you mind getting the codes to their rooms?”

  I walked over to the small reception desk and was surprised to see a real human.

  “What can I help you with?” the man asked.

  “Ehm… I need the codes for some rooms.”

  “Can you give me names, please?”

  “Salma Rose and Ben… ehm, I’m not sure about his last name.”

  “I don’t have a Ben on the list, but I do have Salma Rose in our royal suite, where there’s three bedrooms.” The man spoke with excitement. “We never used to have the need for hotel suites that size, but more and more Nmen have wives and children now.”

  “Uh-huh.” I leaned on the counter. “How come you don’t have bots to do this sort of work?”

  A sly smile spread on his face. “The police said that only people who had a function could be present, so I figured that I might as well be helpful and give you all a warm welcome.”

  I shrugged. “As long as you know what you�
�re doing.”

  His smile stiffened a little. “I’m the owner of this hotel. Personal service is a what sets us apart from other places.” The older man kept sending stolen glances in Salma’s direction. “She’s the singer, isn’t she?”

  I positioned myself so as to block his view of her. “All you need to know is that she’s under my protection.”

  “I was only asking.”

  My face was stern. “And now you know.”

  His tone turned a bit sour. “Do you prefer to do face recognition or fingerprints?”

  “Can’t I just get some codes?”

  “No.”

  “Fine. I guess face recognition will work.”

  “Great. Then all I need is for each of the guests who’ll be using the room to come over here and get set up in the system. It’ll only take a second.”

  I turned around to wave my group over and after setting it up, the owner of the hotel gave Salma a sugarcoated smile.

  “If there’s anything I can do to make your stay more pleasant, please let me know.”

  “Yup. You can count on it,” Zasquash said while Ben thanked the owner of the hotel.

  More people filled the foyer and my eyes were scanning for Willow. Being taller than everyone else in the room, I had a full overview. She wasn’t there.

  “Solo, are you coming?” I wanted to stay in the foyer to see Willow for myself, but Leo was holding the doors open with an annoyed look on his face. “Hurry up.”

  The suite on the fourth floor was large enough that there was a small living room and three bedrooms. Salma and Ben each got one, and Leo, Zas, and I would share the last room, since we’d be rotating shifts between us.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind sharing one room?” Ben wrinkled his nose a little. “You’ll be sleeping in another man’s dirty bedsheets.”

  Zasquash and I exchanged a look and he laughed a little. “We’ve done much worse than that.”

  “Oh, I get it.” Ben made suggestive eye movements. “I take it you two are more than colleagues?”

  “Yeah, we’re friends.” Zasquash gave a shrug.

  Having more experience with Motlanders, I cleared my throat. “I think Ben was asking if we’re in a sexual relationship.”

  Zasquash narrowed his eyes and gave Ben a puzzled look. “Is that what you meant?”

  “Well, you implied that you’ve done more than share each other’s dirty bedsheets, so…”

  “Fuck no!” Zasquash took a step away from me and swung his hands through the air while looking at Salma. “I’m only interested in women. I just want to clear that up.”

  “It’s fine if you…”

  “I’m not!” Zasquash interrupted Ben. “What I meant was that Solo and I have gone without sleep for days, slept on floors, and fucking pine cones. Hell, we’ve even slept in trees on occasions. We’re used to rough conditions and sharing bedsheets isn’t one of them.”

  “There’s no need to get upset.” Ben kept a polite smile. “Willow told me homosexuality isn’t spoken about, so I apologize for assuming.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I put my bag in the shared bedroom. “It used to be something no one spoke about but that is changing. I suppose we have you people to thank for it.”

  “Did you and Solo really sleep in a tree?” Salma, who hadn’t been very talkative, finally opened her mouth to speak.

  “Sure.”

  “Why?” She looked completely baffled.

  “Because it was raining hard and it was either that or sleeping in mud.”

  “Don’t you have tents in the Northlands?” If it weren’t for Ben’s looking genuinely clueless, I would have told him to go fuck himself.

  “Yes, we have tents, but Zas and I are Huntsmen. We’re special forces. Surviving in the wild and tracking people is our specialty. We don’t always have time to set up camp.”

  “Wow. Aren’t you scared of being in a dark forest by yourself?” Salma pulled her sleeves down over her hands. “I heard you have wolves and bears up here. I would be terrified.”

  Leo gave her a patient smile. “We’ve been trained to survive in the wild since we were children. That part doesn’t scare us. Going on stage like you do and singing to people… now that would freak me out.”

  “Ohh…” she chuckled. “I don’t blame you. I freak out too. I suffer from horrible stage fright.”

  “Didn’t you choose the wrong profession, then?”

  “Maybe. But I’ve learned to cope with it and two minutes into the concert, I’m calm and happy.”

  “At least being a star makes you rich, right?” Zasquash took a seat on the living room sofa.

  Ben, who came out from his bedroom, leaned against the door frame. “We’re both rich.”

  “Awesome.” Zasquash grinned. “Good for you, Ben.”

  I rolled my eyes and addressed my friend. “He means that in the Motherlands they don’t have income the way we do. No one is rich, and no one is poor.”

  “Right. I knew that,” Zasquash claimed and held his head high.

  I doubted it. It was more likely that he didn’t want to appear uninformed. “They have a point system and each individual can only have so many. If you contribute in a way that earns you more points than you need then you are rewarded with the joy of deciding who you want to give your excess points to.”

  “They force you to give away your points?” Zasquash moved to the edge of his seat starring at Ben. “And you let them?”

  Ben chuckled. “An individual serves the community so the community can support the individual.”

  “Say what?”

  “It’s the motto of the Motherlands,” Salma explained to Zasquash, whose whole face was scrunched up as if they were offering him maggots for dinner. “We live by the big five. No killing, no greed, no borders, no pollution, and equality for all.”

  Zasquash turned his head and gave Leo and me a troubled look. “I thought the brainwashing was just a rumor. That shit sounds like the world’s biggest sect.”

  Ben and Salma laughed. “We’re no more brainwashed than you are. It’s just a different way of living.”

  Zasquash leaned back in the sofa again, spread his arms on the back of it, and placed his right ankle on top of his left knee. “I think what you have is some fuckery that you were force-fed since childhood. Makes me even happier that I was lucky enough to be born a free man.”

  “All this talk about cultural differences is fascinating, but our guests have traveled half a day to get here and must be starving.” Leo looked down at his wristband. “According to the program, dinner will be served in twenty-five minutes in the downstairs restaurant.” He looked up at Salma. “Do you want to eat with the others or do you prefer to order something that you can eat here?”

  Salma sat down on a chair and held on to the armrest. “Staying here is fine with me.”

  Ben moved over and squatted down in front of her. “Sweetie, everyone will expect you to show up.” He lowered his voice. “If you don’t some might think you’re arrogant.”

  Salma bit her lip. “It’s just that it’s a lot of people.”

  “I know. But you can do it.”

  Leo and I exchanged a look, confused about why eating dinner with her fellow performers would be a problem for Salma.

  She rubbed her face. “Maybe if I take a minute to rest first.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Ben got up and offered his hand to pull her up from the chair.

  We watched in silence as Salma walked down the small hallway and closed the door to her bedroom before all three of us turned to Ben.

  “What was that about?” Leo pointed to her door.

  Ben sighed. “Salma suffers from anxiety. It’s not something you have to worry about. I’m here to help her handle it.”

  “Anxiety?” Zasquash shook his head. “You mean she’s scared?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who is she scared of? Tell me and I’ll beat the fucker up.”

  Ben tugge
d his lips. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy. Right now Salma is doing fine. She has been for months, but an attack can happen at any given time and we never get a warning.”

  I shifted my balance. “But what is she afraid of?”

  Ben threw his hands in the air. “Of everything. Of dying, of losing her fans, of falling onstage, of people not liking her, of her family forgetting about her because she travels too much. If it’s not one thing, she’ll find another to obsess about. Anxiety is like the tricky monster hiding in your brain. It feeds on your worst fears.”

  I scratched my head. “So, hang on, are you her psychologist or something?”

  “No, I’m her manager. I just so happen to love her and I’ve learned how best to support her as the anxiety progressed.”

  “You love her?” Zasquash narrowed his eyes. “Does that mean you two are in a relationship?”

  “She depends on me.”

  “Yeah, but does she fuck you?”

  Ben frowned and folded his hands in front of him. “Oh, Sweet Nature, you Nmen truly are blunt and crude.”

  “Yeah, you’ll get over it. Just answer my question.”

  Ben squirmed a bit. “Salma and I share an emotional bond.”

  A smile grew on Zasquash face. “I take that as a no.”

  “You would be correct to assume that our relationship is platonic in nature.” He brushed invisible dust from his chest and avoided looking at us. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll take a short nap too. It was a long flight.” Ben got up and stood there like he was waiting for our permission to be dismissed.

  “Go ahead.” Leo crossed his arms. “We’ll stay here and make sure that no one gets past us.”

  As soon as Ben closed his door, Leo sat down next to Zasquash while I took the chair.

  Leo spoke in a low voice. “What do you think?”

  “She’s beautiful but clearly a little mental,” Zasquash concluded. “Other than that, they seem nice enough.”

  Leo scratched his ear. “I meant, how do we divide the hours between us?”