The Falcoran’s Faith

by Laura Jo Phillips

  By the time the Blind Sight flickered off, half the Xanti ship was torn to shreds. As they watched, the remainder of the ship followed, leaving a wide area of debris hanging in space.

  They’d done it. They’d completely destroyed two Xanti ships without firing a single weapon, or, more importantly, letting them know they were being attacked. It was beginning to look like their plans for the Xanti were going to work even better than they’d hoped.

  Chapter Twenty

  “How in the heck did they do that?” Faith asked as she watched the last of the second Xanti ship disintegrate.

  “The Gryphons and the Katres are soul-linked with their Arimas,” Tristan said. “It allows them to have power that the Jasani have not experienced since the destruction of our home world.”

  Faith nodded. She’d read enough to know about the destruction of Ugaztun, though she hadn’t gotten much further than that.

  “Will all of you Jasani be able to do things like that?” Faith asked. Then her eyes widened. “Can you guys do that?”

  “No, we can’t,” Tristan said. “Our greatest strengths are in Air, and Water, but only Clan Jasani who are soul-linked with their Arima are able to wield the huge amounts of magic required to do what you’ve just witnessed. It’s in the book that we gave you last evening.”

  “Will the war against the Xanti be fought without weapons?” she asked.

  Something in her voice caused them all to turn their attention to her.

  “If we can manage it, yes,” Tristan said. “Princess Lariah, Arima Saige Lobo, and Arima Summer Katre, make up what we call the Three. They are all from Earth and, as you know, Earth suffered greatly from the ravages of the Bolkin wars. They have strongly suggested that magic be used to stop our enemies rather than weapons which leave behind chemicals and devastation far beyond their initial impact. Radiation is, of course, the biggest concern.”

  Faith leapt to her feet, her face suddenly pale. “Excuse me for a few minutes, please.”

  Without waiting for a response she ran out of the room. She turned toward the elevators and continued running, slamming her hand against the call button so hard she jammed her wrist painfully, but she barely noticed. She desperately needed someplace private. The only such place she was aware of on the Eyrie was her own room, so that’s where she was going.

  “What was that about?” Tristan asked as they stood staring at the door Faith had just fled through.

  “No idea,” Gray said. “Something upset her though, obviously. I sense her distress. It’s nearly as extreme as it was sudden. It cannot be good for her.”

  “Jon?” Tristan asked.

  “It was something you said,” Jon replied. “I don’t know if it was talk of the Bolkin wars or radiation that set her off. I believe it was one of the two.”

  Tristan nodded in agreement. That had been his conclusion as well. “Maybe it’s time to ask her straight out what it is she is afraid of.”

  “No,” Jon said. “I don’t believe that is a good idea. She must tell us in her own way, in her own time, because she wants to. Because she trusts us. We cannot force it.”

  “We have to do something, Jon,” Gray said.

  “If we won’t trust her with our story, we have no right to ask her to trust us with hers,” Jon said.

  “I know that you are correct,” Tristan said. “But how do we know that she even wants to hear our sordid little tale? She has not asked for it.”

  “She will never ask,” Jon said. “For one thing, she doesn’t consider it her business. For another, she knows, or believes, that if we tell her our story, we will expect her to tell hers. We must make it clear to her that we do not expect that. ”

  “But that is why we would tell her,” Gray pointed out. “It would be a lie to say otherwise.”

  “We want it, yes,” Jon agreed. “But we can’t expect it.”

  “I have no objection to telling her,” Tristan said. “Not any more. I would prefer that she read more of the information we gave her, though.”

  Jon started to smile, then the expression froze on his face. A second later he was on his feet and racing for the door, Tristan one step ahead of him, Gray a step behind. They used every particle of Air magic they possessed in a desperate effort to reach Faith as quickly as they could.

  ***

  Faith stepped into the elevator, pushed the button for her floor, then leaned back against the wall. Bubbles rose up on her hind legs and placed her forepaws on Faith’s cheek, her big red eyes conveying her worry as she patted Faith lightly with her tiny paws.

  Faith took a long deep breath, then reached up to pet Bubbles soothingly. “I’m sorry, Bubbles,” she said. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just got a little stressed. I’ll be okay in a few minutes.”

  Bubbles made her little popping sounds, then lowered herself back to Faith’s shoulder before rubbing along the side of her neck. Faith felt her heart begin to slow as the impending panic attack began to recede. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Faith took one step away from the wall, assuming she’d reached her own floor. Then she looked up to see three men standing just outside the door, staring in at her. Though she’d begun to relax a little, she still had one foot firmly in the land of panic, and her overwrought mind took a fear fueled leap, plunging her into a horror that usually stayed within the realm of her nightmares.

  When she looked at the three crewmen standing outside the elevator in their black and red uniforms, she saw the faces of three very different men. Her body froze as adrenalin dumped into her bloodstream for the second time in just a few minutes. There was one small thread of reason remaining, and it fought against what her panicked mind was telling her, knowing it was impossible. She bit back the scream that rose in her throat, forced her feet to remain planted where they were, refusing to let the panic take her where it wanted to go. The one thing she didn’t think of was Bubbles.

  Bubbles felt Faith’s fear, saw the newcomers as the cause, and reacted instinctively to protect her bonder. One moment she was a cute, fuzzy little creature sitting on Faith’s shoulder. The next moment she leapt to the floor and shifted into nine feet of massive, bear shaped muscle, fangs and claws as she roared a warning at the intruders that caused the elevator to shake.

  Faith blinked, shocked out of her own panic by the realization of what she’d done. She had to fix this, now, before someone got hurt.

  “Bubbles,” she said in the firmest tone she possessed, the one she’d used on her baby sister when she was doing something naughty. “Everything’s fine. Return to my shoulder, Bubbles. Right now, please.”

  Bubbles turned her enormous head to look at Faith. “It’s all right, Bubbles,” Faith said calmly, keeping her gaze on the raktsasa’s familiar eyes and not the long, sharp fangs that filled her mouth. “I’m safe. It was a mistake. Come on, back to my shoulder.”

  Sensing Faith’s concern for her, and her current lack of fear, Bubbles immediately shrank back to her usual size, a two inch wide by seven inch long strip of red fur lying on the floor of the elevator. She scrunched herself up, shot up to Faith’s shoulder from the floor like a spring, then wrapped herself around Faith’s neck and began to purr.

  “I’m sorry,” Faith said to the men still standing in the hall. Men who, she suddenly realized, looked a lot like the Falcorans. “I was distressed about something and she misinterpreted my feelings. It was careless of me.”

  “Please do not give it another thought,” one of the men said, taking a small step forward and bowing. “It is a raktsasa’s purpose to protect her bonder. She did a good job. You should be proud of her.”

  “Thank you,” Faith said, glad that they weren’t angry. “I appreciate your understanding, and I’ll be more careful in future.”

  “We, too, appreciate your understanding, nephews,” Tristan said as he, Gray and Jon suddenly appeared in front of the elevator, their bodies between her and the other three men.

  “Please, think nothing of it, Admirals,”
the man replied. “If you will excuse us, we will take another elevator.” He bowed once more, then walked away, his brothers following him. Once they were gone, Tristan, Gray and Jon turned to face Faith.

  “Are you all right?” Tristan asked, his eyes scanning her face carefully.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Faith said, suddenly realizing that she was trembling all over. She stared up into Tristan’s eyes, fighting the overwhelming urge to fling herself into his arms. When he slowly raised his arms and spread them in silent invitation, sensing her need, she lost the battle.

  Tristan gasped in surprise as Faith slammed into him, her arms going around his waist. He knew she wanted to, knew that she needed someone to hold her in this moment, but he had not believed that she would trust him, trust them, enough to actually give in to her need.

  She felt so small and fragile against him, her body trembling so hard he worried she’d hurt herself. He slowly settled his arms around her shoulders, not wanting to startle her by moving too fast. Gray and Jon moved closer so that the three of them surrounded Faith without quite touching her. They waited patiently as she shook and trembled against Tristan. It took far less time than they’d expected for her to calm herself. When her breathing returned to normal, she dropped her arms and took a step back.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, her eyes on the floor so that she didn’t see Tristan shake his head. “I nearly got those men hurt because of my own carelessness. Poor Bubbles.” She reached up to stroke the raktsasa with a shaky hand.

  “Bubbles would not have harmed them unless they’d threatened you, Faith,” Tristan said as he reached out with Water magic to soothe Bubbles, who was still fretful. “Besides, our nephews are Clan Jasani. They would not have been seriously harmed even had Bubbles attacked them. What’s important is that you stopped her, Faith. You did exactly as you should have, and no harm was done.”

  Faith sighed and hung her head, not quite believing the incident was as minor as Tristan made it sound.

  “Would you like to return to your room now?” Gray asked.

  “Yes, for a few minutes,” she said without looking up. “Then I’ll come back to work.”

  “If you need a longer break, take one,” Tristan said, but Faith shook her head.

  “No, I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “I just need a few minutes.”

  Tristan stepped the rest of the way into the elevator and pressed a button. When the doors opened a few seconds later, they escorted Faith up the hall to her room.

  “We will wait for you here,” Tristan said. Faith only nodded, then closed the door. Tristan stood motionless, absorbing the unfamiliar sensation of warmth that lingered on his body where Faith had touched him, and the sweet scent of orange blossoms.

  “She is very hard on herself,” Gray said quietly. “No harm was done, yet she feels as though she did something wrong.”

  “I think the real problem is whatever sent her running in the first place,” Jon said.

  “I no longer care what we have to do to earn her trust,” Tristan said. “We cannot help her without knowing what the problem is.”

  “I am certainly in agreement with that,” Jon said, not quite daring to believe that Tristan had changed his mind about claiming her as their Arima. He wanted to help her. That was enough for now.

  “I know this is probably wrong, but I would like to use Water to soothe her as you did Bubbles,” Gray said.

  “No,” Jon barked sharply. “I apologize,” he added when his brothers stared at him in surprise. “I am becoming very concerned that Faith was...violated...in some way.” He paused, swallowed hard against the rage that threatened at the thought. “If I am correct, any action that manipulates her in any way is going to be seen as a violation by her.”

  “What about helping her to sleep past her nightmares?” Gray said. “Are you suggesting we stop doing that as well? Because I do not believe I can stand to listen to her screams and do nothing about them.”

  “I think it would be best to tell her what we’ve been doing,” Jon said reluctantly.

  “I don’t want to do that,” Gray said. “There’s too much of a chance she’ll tell us not to do it anymore.”

  “I don’t want to do it either,” Jon agreed. “But we must.”

  “I agree with you, Jon,” Tristan said. “I too am beginning to sense that she was violated, and I am concerned what our reaction will be when, if, she tells us about it.”

  Jon and Gray had nothing to say to that since they shared the same concern. A few minutes later Faith’s door opened and they turned to face her. She’d washed her face and brushed her hair. She looked refreshed, but still too pale and nervous.

  “Faith,” Tristan said. “as we told you, we have some strength in Water magic. We can soothe your nerves, if you like. It will not make you feel drugged or sleepy or forgetful. We would only clean up some of the residual adrenaline in your bloodstream, and help you to relax.”

  Faith hesitated. But she knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate feeling as edgy as she did, and she had responsibilities. The Jasani were counting on her, and she didn’t want to let anyone down. “All right,” she said. “I don’t have to lie down or anything, do I?”

  “No,” Tristan said. “Just stand there for one moment, and try to relax.”

  Faith tried to do as Tristan asked, watching as the Falcorans closed their eyes for a few moments. Suddenly she felt better. Her trembling stopped, her stomach stopped hurting, and she felt as though her heart rate had returned to normal. The tight feeling in her back and neck eased, and she felt like she could take a deep breath again.

  They opened their eyes, relieved to see her smiling. “That was amazing.”

  “We are glad to be of help,” Tristan said. Faith pulled her door shut and turned toward the elevator, the Falcorans once again falling into step with her “I believe that it was something I said that upset you to begin with. For that, I apologize.”

  Faith shook her head, but didn’t meet Tristan’s eyes. “It was nothing,” she said. “Certain words tend to bring back unpleasant memories. It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes, we can certainly understand that,” Tristan said. “Faith, I would ask you for a favor.”

  “Okay,” Faith said. After what they’d just done for her, she was willing to at least hear what they wanted.

  “About two years ago something happened to us that changed us, and not in a good way,” Tristan said. “We have decided that we would like to share our story with you, if you agree.”

  “May I ask why you want to share your story with me?” she asked, not liking the suspicion that rose in her, but unable to prevent it.

  “We have been told, repeatedly, that our wounds would never heal until we trusted someone enough to tell them all that had happened,” Tristan said.

  “Yeah, I’m familiar with that concept,” Faith said dryly.

  “Does it work?” Tristan asked, the hope in his voice unfeigned.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, with a half-hearted shrug. “I suppose it does, to some extent.”

  “We would like to try,” Tristan said. “What happened to us is not a secret since many Clan Jasani were present at the time. But we have never told the whole story to anyone. We do not even discuss it among ourselves.”

  Faith hesitated. She wasn’t ready to trade stories with them, but they hadn’t asked for that. They’d only asked her to listen.

  “Yes, I’ll listen,” she said. “When do you want to do this?”

  “Thank you,” Tristan said with obvious relief. For a moment there he’d been certain she would refuse. “Would this evening, after dinner, be acceptable to you?”

  “Sure, that’s fine,” Faith replied.

  “I think it would be easier for all of us if you read a bit more of the book on the hand terminal, if you don’t mind,” Tristan said. “It will give you a better understanding of us, and our background.”

  “Nope, don’t mind at all,” Faith said
. “I read some last night before bed. It was very interesting.”

  “How far did you get?” Tristan asked.

  “To the part where the first human women were brought to Jasan,” she said. “I was very sad to read how your home world was destroyed. I brought the hand terminal with me so I can read some more in between jump point checks.”

  “Excellent,” Tristan said. They had reached the Observation Deck and he opened the door for her. She stepped inside, her eyes going to the viewport.

  “What will the Xanti say about all that debris? Will they think that we blew up their ship?”

  “We hope not,” Tristan said as he guided her to a chair they’d placed near the viewport. There was a small table beside it so she could eat or read if she liked. “The Shearans sent a frantic message to the Xanti demanding to know why two of their ships entered their space without requesting permission, attacked their guests without provocation, then disintegrated in their space without even being fired upon. They’re claiming that it was highly embarrassing to them to have this occur in the middle of trade negotiations, and that we Jasani are threatening to leave because of it.”

  “Clever,” Faith said.

  “While we’re waiting for the rest of the task force to finish their jumps, we’ll check out the five anomalies the Shearans found for us,” Tristan said.

  “Sounds good,” Faith replied. She removed the hand terminal from her pocket and powered it up just as one of the boys from the cafeteria came in with her mid morning meal. She ate while she read, putting Bubbles’ meal on the floor for her. By the time they were finished, the Eyrie was approaching the first anomaly that the Shearans had found.

  She stood up and walked toward the viewport as she studied the now familiar sight. “This is a Door, like the one by the Jasani Skyport,” she said after a moment. “The size looks the same, and it’s edges are straight and even. It’s closed right now.”

  “That’s exactly what the sensors are telling us,” Tristan said. She smiled, glad that they were developing a way of finding these things without her. She turned and crossed to where Jon waited beside the big binoculars still set up on a tripod. A few minutes later they had the exact location and dimensions of the Door, and moved on to the next anomaly, which was another closed Door.