Cyrus hopped off the stage, and several beefy men escorted him to the tunnels under the seating that led to dressing rooms, offices, and equipment storage areas. He was constantly on the move these days, going from one location to another, but he wasn’t tired. These appearances energized him.
“Cyrus, I need to speak with you.” Simon was his right hand and the keeper of his schedule. While Cyrus preached his message, Simon did a stellar job organizing the movement. He claimed past lives as both a political and religious organizer, and was honest when he claimed loyalty to neither The Collective nor The Natural Order. But that didn’t bother Cyrus, because he could count on Simon’s addiction to organizing success. And The Natural Order was proving to be very successful.
“Let’s step in here.” Cyrus ducked into an empty office and Simon closed the door behind them.
“Two things.”
Cyrus also appreciated Simon’s brevity.
“Rumors are circulating that The Collective is gathering an army to deal with The Natural Order.”
Cyrus snorted. “To do what? Arrange a mass meditation, then hold hands for a chant-a-thon?”
“A real army.”
“Impossible. It goes against everything they stand for. Besides, what will they use for weapons? Do they plan to smoke us out with incense? You’ve been listening to the rantings of my daughter again.”
“That’s the second thing. Since she got a taste of what it would be like to live outside your protection, she’s asking to see you.”
“Where is she?”
“I thought you’d want to speak to her, so I sent a believer to bring her here.”
At the sound of a knock, they both turned to the door.
“Enter,” Cyrus said.
A pudgy man with an acne-scarred face stepped into the room, tightly gripping the arm of a pale twenty-one-year-old woman who stumbled in behind him, eyes downcast. Cyrus grimaced. That girl was unnaturally tall and boyish for a female, just like her mother. At least her mannish defiance had disappeared. She was pale, waif-thin, and, judging from her smell, in need of a bath. Still, her blue eyes and dark hair were the same striking features that had attracted him to Laine. The weight she’d lost over the past weeks made her cheekbones even more striking. He’d easily find a mate for her once they’d cleaned her up and dressed her in clothes more appropriate for a woman.
“You wanted to see me, Kylie?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Pardon?”
“Yes, sir.” She spoke louder, but she didn’t look up.
“Have you enjoyed the past weeks, living as you would outside The Natural Order—without sufficient food or shelter?”
“No, sir.”
“It’s a hard life, Kylie. It’s a life those who subscribe to pagan beliefs are destined to live. The One has been patient, but he will not be appeased until his people return to The Natural Order. Do you understand that now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. What did you want to see me about?”
She looked up for the first time, and he flinched. Her face held no expression, and her eyes that once burned with fiery intellect were dead and unreadable. “I want to come in…to join The Natural Order,” she said.
He was silent until she began to shift restlessly under his scrutiny. At last, he spoke. “No talk of running off to find your mother and brother? You finally believe me that they are dead?”
“No, sir. I mean, yes, sir. I believe you. I won’t run away again.” She stared at the floor.
“Good. Because you and your sister are all I have left. I need you at my side. As part of The Natural Order, you will have plenty to eat and warm shelter, and I will find you a suitable mate.”
“Thank you, sir, but I don’t need…deserve a mate. I only want to serve the cause.”
“You are strong enough to bear many children. You will serve the cause by serving your husband. That is The Natural Order.”
She stared at the floor and didn’t answer.
“Simon, please arrange some food and a bath for my daughter. Then, I want her put under Ruth’s direct supervision. She can teach her how to dress and act more feminine. I’m afraid her mother wasn’t such a good example.”
“Father, please, if I may speak.”
“Yes?”
“I understand that a contingent is traveling to the latest disaster site. I would like to go with them, to help them spread the word.” She fidgeted when he didn’t immediately answer. “I mean, after the past weeks, I think I understand better than most what they face if they don’t join us. I think I’ll know what to say to persuade some who may be reluctant.”
He was struck by the change in her. The defiant stance and belligerent eyes were gone. She met his eyes only in darting glances now. Her slumped posture and hand-wringing showed that he’d finally broken her. Good. “Very well. I’ll ask Ruth to help you prepare and assign you to a group of women.”
“Thank you, Father.”
He found a sheet of paper and pen on the office’s desk and scribbled a note that he handed to the believer who had brought her. “Take her and this note to Ruth. Don’t turn her over to anyone else.”
Cyrus watched them leave.
“I wouldn’t trust her,” Simon said. “Starving her with only water and a half cup of chow a day may have worked for the short term, but what happens after she’s had a month of full rations and a warm bed? I don’t believe she has been that easily reformed.”
“Do you think me a fool? My note instructs Ruth to have her watched every minute. Granting her request is a small reward that will bond her to me and our cause.”
“When are you going to listen to me? I’ve helped many men reach positions of power—politicians, generals, religious leaders. Fear is the only bond that never breaks. Her defiance will return when she regains her strength.”
Cyrus spun on him. “I want her to love me, not fear me. Laine took my son from me. He idolized her, and that killed him. Her daughters will be mine, and Laine will feel the ache of loss just as I do.”
“Kylie is unnatural. You know it as well as I. She’ll never let you mate her to a man. She’ll need one who can force her into submission.”
“I won’t beat my child. That’s wrong. If she refuses The Natural Order, then I’ll give her a reminder of the past few weeks. When she gets hungry enough, she’ll accept the young man I’ve picked for her to marry.” He was growing impatient with this subject. “Speaking of food, we need a truck of supplies to accompany the group to the North Sector.”
“No problem. We’ve just acquired a warehouse of food that was to be shipped to the Second Continent.”
“Good. We’ve been feeding those grass-hut people for decades. It’s time they quit being a burden on us.”
Chapter Twelve
Jael was careful to keep her pace slow, because Alyssa had to take two steps for every one of her long strides. But, dragon’s teeth, she was happy to be stretching her muscles rather than standing in a clinic probing the thoughts of every person with a trace of warrior DNA. Surprisingly, she really didn’t mind the leisurely pace or the half-hour breather they spent at the rock ledge that overlooked the valley, sharing a snack from the food Second had packed for them.
She was enjoying the clear summer day and Alyssa’s chatter—the conversation occurring in her head rather than what she was voicing. She wondered if Alyssa even realized she’d dropped her shields so that her thoughts were broadcasting. She chuckled. It was interesting to learn that her eyes rivaled the blue of the sky and Alyssa preferred the narrow parts of the trail because it meant she could watch Jael’s “killer sexy” butt unobserved. Just to be fair, she dropped her shields a small bit, too, and let Alyssa feel how much she was enjoying their outing and her company.
“What’s so funny?”
“Uh, nothing.” Jael stepped into a sun-filled clearing where a creek pooled briefly and the low banks were littered with the track of area wildlife. “We�
��ve got about a klick to go. Want to take a breather?” She dipped her bandanna into the cool water and soaked her wrists and neck to cool her body. Although she could consciously raise her body temperature and withstand superheat temperatures, she relished anything cool against her skin. She dipped it again and handed it to Alyssa to do the same. “Keeps you from overheating,” she said.
“Thank you.”
Jael watched as Alyssa bathed her delicate wrists, then her neck and face. The splashes of pink on her cheeks had spread and darkened with her exertion, and Jael thought an artist couldn’t have conceived a more lovely face.
“Since I don’t have the advantage of being able to read your thoughts, maybe you can tell me what you’re thinking right now.”
Jael jerked her eyes away and shrugged. She’d made a private vow to be completely honest today, but it was harder than she’d anticipated.
“Jael.” Part admonishment, part gentle plea.
Still, the confession of her intimate thoughts stuck in her throat. She took the bandanna from Alyssa and dipped it in the water again and handed it back. “Tie this around your neck. The last klick is the steepest section.”
The silence was sudden and deafening. She realized that Alyssa had intentionally lowered her shields to let Jael hear her thoughts. The raising of that shield again was as abrupt as a door slamming shut and left an aching emptiness in its wake.
“Don’t,” she said softly. She raised her eyes to Alyssa’s. “I was thinking that you are very beautiful.”
The shield lowered again and Alyssa stepped closer. Kiss me. She shouldn’t. Not until Alyssa knew everything. But eyes as green as the forest captured hers. Don’t be a coward. Kiss me. The challenge wasn’t necessary. She’d already decided on surrender.
She cupped Alyssa’s chin, cursing the thick skin on her hands, then bent to brush her cheek against Alyssa’s. Her skin was even softer than she’d imagined. She smelled of honeysuckle and summer rain. And, when Jael pulled back and lowered her head again, Alyssa’s mouth tasted of pineapple and sweet fried plantains, her tongue like satin against Jael’s. A delicious wave of passion and longing washed over her. Her emotions or Alyssa’s projection? It didn’t matter. She savored it, wallowed in it, deepened her kiss to prolong it. She was nearly lost to it when she realized Alyssa’s hands were tantalizing against her stiff nipples and Alyssa’s butt fit perfectly in her hands. So, she gently disengaged. Honesty was imperative before this went any further.
Alyssa stared up at her. “Fireballs and ice cream,” she breathed.
“What?”
“Hot and sweet and everything between.”
“Yeah?” This woman was like none she’d ever encountered.
“Yeah.”
Jael grinned, her heart soaring higher than Specter’s wings had ever taken her. She impulsively swept Alyssa into her arms and jumped the creek as she shrieked. She set Alyssa on her feet again and waved her toward the trail. “Go ahead. We’re almost there.”
“I kind of like bringing up the rear.”
“You like looking at my rear.”
“Have you been listening in on my thoughts?”
“Hard to shut them out when you’re shouting them. You need to go first because the trail is steep and I might need to catch you if you start to slide back down.”
“Admit it. You just want to look at my butt.”
“There has to be some reward for playing backstop if you start to tumble down.”
Alyssa’s grin outshone the sun, and the deliberate sway of her hips warmed Jael more than the late-afternoon heat. But the arduous climb curtailed any further banter until they crested the lip of their destination. The wide crater sheltered a meadow dotted with glittering jewels.
“Stars above, they’re beautiful, Jael.”
She stepped around Alyssa and offered a hand to steady her as they descended the brief slope. She liked the feel of Alyssa’s hand in hers, so she didn’t release it when the ground leveled off at the meadow. “Come meet Specter.”
Alyssa saw a pale stallion, greyhound lean, raise his head and study them. He shook himself and ambled toward them. One by one the other horses followed. The stallion stopped in front of Jael, and, when he lowered his head, she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to his. They remained like this for several minutes before Jael straightened and turned back to her.
“Remember how you said that I think in pictures?”
Alyssa nodded, recalling the picture Jael had projected into her thoughts when she was dizzy from the vertigo. “Yes. It was like a movie in my head.”
“I don’t naturally think in pictures. I learned how to do it because that’s how he communicates. He understands only a few words and, of course, body language.”
Wow. This was amazing. More amazing than fire springing from Jael’s fingertips. “You were talking to him, just now…when you touched your forehead to his?”
“Yes. It’s not necessary, but it makes communicating effortless and clearer.”
“Can he talk to anybody?”
“Just me. We’re bonded.”
“He has blue eyes like yours. Is that because of your bond?”
“No. He’s a perlino. It refers to his color. It’s a rather rare gene, but the blue eyes usually come with the pale-gold coat color.”
“Can I pet him?”
“Sure. His favorite scratching spot is at the peak of his withers…right there where his mane stops on his shoulder.”
Alyssa scratched gently in the spot Jael indicated. “Hello, Specter. I’m Alyssa.”
She stepped back to let the huge blue eyes study her. After a minute he turned back to Jael, and she pressed her forehead to his again. His ears worked back and forth, and then he turned back to Alyssa. She held out her hand, but he gave it only a bare sniff before pushing his nose within an inch of hers. His breath was warm as he scented along her cheek; his whiskers tickled as he smelled her neck. Then he raised his nose skyward and comically curled his lip.
“Hey, is he saying I stink?”
Jael laughed. “No. He’s opening his olfactory receptors to fully experience your scent. It’s how he’ll identify you in the future.
“Just now, what’d he say, uh, picture for you?” She stood very still while he gently lipped at the Advocate tattoo that ran from her left temple to her throat, as if testing to see if he could pull it off.
“He wanted to know who you were.”
“What did you tell…I mean, what did you show him?”
“I showed you working to heal people in the clinic. Then I showed, well, you know. I showed us…at the creek.”
She glanced over at Jael and smiled. “You’re shy.”
Jael scoffed. “Hardly.”
“You are. I don’t mean in the I-don’t-want-to-be-seen-naked traditional sense. You’re shy about expressing your feelings.” She laughed at Jael’s scowl until she finally smiled back.
“I’ll admit to being reticent.”
His inspection done, Specter stepped closer, the skin at the top of his shoulder twitching away an invisible insect, and Jael laughed. “You suck-up,” she said to the horse. “He wants you to scratch him again. Your nails are longer than mine and he likes them.”
Alyssa scratched the stallion’s shoulder. His color reminded her of champagne. “Why are they so skinny and what makes them glitter in the sun? I’ve seen plenty of horses before, but never any that glitter like jewels.”
“They’re all descended from the Akhal-Teke breed. The Akhal-Teke gene is what gives racing Thoroughbreds their long, lean bodies. The Akhal-Teke had the speed of a Thoroughbred and the endurance of an Arabian, but they were mainly bred for the unusual metallic-like glitter in their coats.”
“Are all of them yours?”
“No. Each belongs and is bonded to a member of The Guard.” Jael pointed to a shimmering buckskin, his mane and tail black like the lower half of his legs. “Titan is bonded to Second, and the silver-dappled mare next to him
is Azar, who is bonded to Furcho. The black is Bero, bonded to Diego. The palomino is Michael’s Apollo, and the gold-and-white pinto is Raven’s Potawatomi.”
“That’s sort of a mouthful to say. Pot-taw…”
“Raven calls her Tomi for short.”
“Much better. And the one that looks like copper? Let me guess—Tan’s?”
“Yes. That’s Phyrrhos. It means flame.”
“Sort of stands out in the group, like Tan does.”
Jael laughed. “Her coat is only a few shades lighter than your hair.”
Alyssa self-consciously ran her fingers through her rakish spikes. “I hate the color of my hair. Kids always teased me about it when I was growing up. They called me things like flare head.”
Jael grabbed her hand and pulled it away. “I love it. It was the first thing I noticed about you.” She brushed the more sensitive backside of her hand against Alyssa’s hair. “But then I’ve always liked to play with fire.” She smiled, and Alyssa felt as if the sun had suddenly changed direction to rise higher and shine brighter even though the night beckoned. And, when Jael’s fingers brushed against her neck as she lowered her hand, they left trails of heat that burned all the way to her belly.
She wanted Jael to kiss her again. She wanted to wrap herself in Jael’s heat, her strong body. She wanted them both naked so Jael could feel with her skin what the thick pads of her fingers couldn’t.
But Jael stepped back and dropped to sit cross-legged in the grass. “Sit. I need to tell you more about why we’re here.”
*
Kyle pulled the towel around her body tighter and stared at the clothes Ruth laid on the bed for her. “I’ve never worn a skirt. I think I’d be more comfortable in pants.”
“All of the women in The Natural Order wear skirts, Kylie. It’s more feminine and preserves their modesty around the male members.”
“My name isn’t Kylie.”
Ruth looked surprised. “Your father calls you Kylie.”
“The name my mother wrote on my birth certificate is Kyle. I prefer it.”
Dragon Horse War Page 12