“It’s been a long winter. He’s probably bored with the women of the keep,” said Davies.
“He’s not going to jeopardize our work here by making a pass at me.”
“He’s right,” growled Rezac. “You shouldn’t go. Stay here with us, let the males eat with them. I won’t be there to protect you.”
Jo felt Kris’ quick flash of annoyance. “I’ll protect her if need be, Rezac,” he said stiffly.
“I’m quite capable of protecting myself,” Jo snapped, annoyed with both of them. “Don’t either of you confuse me with the Jalnian females.” She got up and headed for her room, wanting a break from the intensity of emotions that were filling her mind. She still hadn’t mastered shielding enough to cut out strong sending, but a few yards and a wooden door added to the barriers she could erect.
As she stormed across the room, she heard the sound of tiny claws accompanying her. When she opened the bedroom door, Scamp darted in before she could stop him. Annoyed as she was with the two men, she didn’t have the patience to chase the jegget and evict him. She shut the door firmly behind her and flung herself down on the bed. Moments later, she felt a thump beside her and a small, wet nose pushed its way through her hair to nuzzle her cheek.
Rezac huffed and got to his feet. “I’ll talk to her,” he growled.
“No,” said Kris, pushing his chair back so fast it screeched across the floorboards. “I don’t think so, Rezac. She’s our concern, not yours.”
He knocked on the door, waiting for a reply. When none came, he opened it and entered.
“Look, Jo, unlike Rezac, I didn’t mean to suggest you couldn’t defend yourself,” he said awkwardly, closing the door behind him. “I was only trying to alert you to the possibility of a situation developing.”
“I know exactly what you and Rezac meant. I told you, it isn’t going to happen,” she said, dislodging Scamp and sitting up. “He’s got no chance of getting me on my own and neither has anyone else, so you can both forget it!”
“I didn’t mean that. I can’t vouch for Rezac, but I certainly didn’t.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous of him!”
“It’s not jealousy. He’s Sholan, for God’s sake. Why should I be jealous of a Sholan? I know how you feel about aliens after your experiences with the Valtegans. It’s just that recently he’s been trying to get too involved with you and what you’re doing.”
Jo had noticed Rezac’s changed attitude toward herself and put it down to a desire on his part to understand the Humans more. However, if it was making Kris jealous, then perhaps there was more to it.
“Don’t think I’m not aware of your interest in me, Kris, but I’m not about to jeopardize this mission by getting involved with anyone. Grant me at least some modicum of professionalism,” she said coldly.
“What mission, Jo?” he asked quietly. “It’s done, finished. We found out about the cube—and we’re captives, marooned here on Jalna for God knows how long!” He moved closer, his tone becoming persuasive. “Who’d blame us for taking comfort in a closer relationship if that was what we both wanted? Davies won’t, and Rezac’s got his Leska.”
Jo slid off the bed and stood up, eyeing him warily. Scamp began chittering loudly and angrily at both of them.
“You’d better see to your pet. He’s a giveaway, Kris. He’s too tied into your mind not to let me know how you feel.”
His face took on a slightly stricken look. “How did you find out?”
“You and Rezac constantly mind-speaking to me has increased my awareness. Now I’d prefer you to leave. As you said, I shouldn’t let myself be alone with men. I might come to harm.” She laced her voice with heavy sarcasm.
Stopping only long enough to call Scamp to his side, Kris turned abruptly on his heel and stalked out. Left alone, Jo sat back down on the bed feeling decidedly shaky.
The invitation to dine came later that day via Durvan, who arrived complete with a change of clothing for all the Humans, including a more revealing dress for Jo.
“Now tell me he isn’t interested,” muttered Kris as he headed for the bedroom to wash and change.
Left alone with Davies, Jo sighed.
“You’re going to have to decide,” he said, getting up.
“Decide what?” she asked tiredly. The day had been depressing, with her speaking to neither Rezac nor Kris, and both males avoiding her as much as was possible in their cramped environment.
“Which one you want.”
She sat up, shocked by what he’d said. “Which one?” she echoed.
“Come on, Jo. You must be the only one who hasn’t noticed. Why d’you think Zashou’s been so touchy the last couple of days?”
“You’re mistaken! You must be! I’ve done nothing to make either of them think … How could they think that!”
“In a way it’s really got nothing to do with you,” he said, leaning forward to touch her cheek gently. “They’re interested in you, I didn’t say you were interested in them. Something you might want to consider, given Rezac’s lack of trust of us, I have a suspicion his interest has something to do with the fact you’re a telepath. He wants you for your mind,” he said with a grin.
“Not funny, Gary. He’s got a Leska. He can’t have more than one …” she faltered, looking up at him. “Can he?”
“He’s one of the first telepaths altered by Vartra. Who’s to say what he’s capable of? I don’t know, you’d have to ask Kris. Maybe Rezac can have a Human Leska as well as a Sholan one.”
“I can’t ask Kris that!”
“Make up your mind as soon as you can, Jo, and put them both out of their misery. This atmosphere isn’t good for any of us.”
“I don’t want either of them! I made that clear to Kris. I can’t speak to Rezac because he hasn’t said anything to me yet!”
“He will,” said Davies, moving off to change. “If I’m right, he won’t have any option, and maybe neither will you.”
Rezac sat in the chair by the fire after they’d left, half-dozing in the warmth. Zashou was still lying down. It was nothing much, only that her cycle had restarted. After so long in stasis, it wasn’t surprising her first should make her feel poorly.
Zashou was aware of his interest in the Human female, but, he hoped, not the nature of it. Unfortunately, she couldn’t have cared less. It had begun innocently enough, with him hoping through Jo’s stories, and that of the other Humans, that Zashou could see that when you live in brutal times, you often had to be equally brutal yourself to combat it.
The relief of having other telepaths to talk to after so long meant that he’d frequently touched Jo’s mind, grown accustomed to the feel of it. She hadn’t shrunk away from him because he’d been a fighter. She didn’t like conflict, but then who in their right mind did? She would be prepared to do what was necessary to win.
Now, though, what had been a meeting of similar minds, was more. Almost against his will, he felt drawn to her, as he’d been further drawn to Zashou by the forming of their Link. There was a difference in the degree of the pull, however. It had nothing like the intensity of the Leska Link.
It had come as a shock to him, to find himself attracted to an alien female. He’d despised the Valtegans for just such behavior, and the one time the Emperor had decided to see what a Sholan female was like, he’d gone into a red fury—until they’d used their control bracelets on him. Zashou had instantly reacted to not only his anger but also his punishment, and the experiment was never repeated. It had nearly cost them their lives, happening as it did, early in their captivity. Emperor Q’emgo’h, however, hadn’t been prepared to lose his pets quite so quickly.
From Jo’s mind, he knew about the reality of the mixed Leskas, and though he was convinced it was to do with Vartra’s gene enhancement, he was at a loss to know why he, a Sholan male, should find her attractive, unless it was another form of psychic link. Without realizing it, his thoughts began to drift back to the past.
<
br /> Rezac sat watching the screen, waiting for the weekly report from the Laasoi Peninsula to come up. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zashou padding over in his direction, clipboard in hand. She stopped beside him.
“How’s it going?” she asked. “Any info for me yet?”
“Not finished loading,” he said shortly, pulling down his sweater sleeves again. The erratic heating in the underground labs was worse than usual today. He’d been alternately chilly then overly warm all morning, and it was making him uncomfortable and edgy. On top of that, against his will, he’d kept finding himself looking over to where she was working. Now, all he could think of was her scent and his overwhelming desire to take hold of her.
“Will it be much longer? Vartra needs this urgently.”
“S’cuse me,” said Jaisa as she squeezed round behind them.
With an exclamation of surprise, Zashou stumbled against him, her free hand going out to clutch at him in an effort to break her fall.
Instinctively, his hands went out to catch her. As they touched, his mind exploded in a myriad of flickering images. Where her hand lay within his, his skin felt seared, burned by the intensity of her touch.
“Oh, sorry,” he heard Jaisa say. He knew she was reaching out to help Zashou. She mustn’t touch them, he realized as he fought the mental confusion of the images in an effort to communicate his alarm to her.
The lab suddenly came into focus once more, but everything began to slow down. He had to stop Jaisa. He opened his mouth to yell ‘No!’—but for the first time his reactions weren’t fast enough, and desperately afraid, he watched Jaisa’s hand inching toward Zashou’s arm. Then the two females touched.
Rezac felt the backlash of the shock that flung Jaisa a good ten feet. Pain lanced through Zashou’s mind to be instantly echoed in his. Her body suddenly went limp, her eyes rolling back till only the whites showed.
He grabbed her, staggering himself as he came off his stool and found his legs unable to support him. He fell, managing to twist to one side so he didn’t land on her. Pain exploded in his skull as he struck it on the edge of a crate behind him.
Faces swam into view, then receded. He blinked, trying to concentrate. With a sickening lurch, his vision righted itself.
“What’s happened? Is she all right?” asked an angry voice he recognized as belonging to her husband Shanka.
He discovered that he was lying on the floor, his arms clasping Zashou close against his chest. A new face pushed the others away. Mentor Viaz. Irrelevantly he wondered what Viaz was doing in the lab. Trying to move, he found he couldn’t because of the way Zashou was lying across him.
Viaz reached out to move Zashou aside.
“No, she’s all right,” Rezac said sharply, pushing his hand away. “I can feel her coming round.” He stopped, realizing what he’d said. She was there, in his mind with him, and he could feel her surfacing to consciousness.
She stirred, moaning softly because of the pain in her head, then sat bolt upright, her panic filling everyone’s minds.
You’re in my mind! What are you doing there? Get out! she sent, fear on her face as she pulled free of him and scrambled backward, waves of nausea threatening to make her throw up. She fetched up against Vartra’s legs, looking round in panic.
Viaz’s hand moved closer to Rezac.
“Let me help,” he said.
Zashou’s nausea was affecting him, too. This time Rezac gratefully accepted the help, letting Viaz pull him into a sitting position. He put his hand to his head, bringing it away covered in blood.
“I think we should go up to the infirmary and dress that cut,” said Viaz calmly. “Dr. Vartra, perhaps you would be so kind as to bring Zashou.”
“Certainly,” said Vartra, bending down to help her.
Rezac looked round. “Jaisa?”
“She’s fine,” said Viaz. “Just winded, that’s all.”
He could feel Zashou’s panic still filling his mind. “For the Gods’ sake, stop it, Zashou,” he snapped. “I haven’t done anything to you, nor am I about to.” His head was throbbing fit to burst, as was hers.
“What the hell is going on?” demanded Shanka, trying to push past Vartra to his mate.
“Tiernay, see to Shanka, please. He’s to remain here,” said Vartra.
“A Leska Link?” Zashou said in horror, trying to pull away from the doctor. “No, it can’t be! Not Rezac, for pity’s sake! He killed Jaisa’s mother!”
Rezac staggered to his feet while Vartra made soothing noises to Zashou, holding onto her to prevent her from running away. Grasping the edge of the workbench, he took a couple of unsteady steps till he reached her. With Zashou’s mind wide open to everyone’s thoughts, his felt unbearably raw and exposed. He pushed Viaz aside and took hold of her by the upper arms, beginning to shake her.
“Stop it!” he said. “Get your mind under control now, Zashou. I won’t put up with your hysteria.”
His anger penetrated through her fear in a way reason couldn’t. Every mental barrier she had learned went up and she retreated behind them, fear in her eyes as she watched him. He tried to withdraw his thoughts from hers but couldn’t. He was forced to remain at the edges of her mind, a presence over which he had no control.
“Good,” he said, letting her go. “This Link isn’t my choice either, Zashou.”
“Liar!”
“Enough,” said Vartra. “Let’s go upstairs and discuss this in private.”
“I’m her husband, I’ve a right to go with her,” Shanka called angrily after them as they left the lab.
The discussion had solved nothing. Zashou made her feelings perfectly clear. The flashing images had been their exchange of memories as their minds had begun to Link for the first time. Now she knew everything about his past in Ranz and hated him for it. He’d stormed out in anger, heading out of the monastery to run through the woods until he was exhausted.
When he’d returned, he felt Zashou wake. Someone was at her bedroom door. Slowly he made his way along the corridor until he was standing just out of sight of her open door. He could hear the conversation in his mind as well as with his ears.
Shanka had finally been let out of the lab. He’d made straight for their room and had stormed in on her. “Where is he?” he demanded.
“Who?”
“Rezac! He’s here, or he’s been here,” he said striding over to the curtains and pulling them back.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, confused as she rubbed her hands across her eyes.
“Why was the door locked if you didn’t have him in here?”
“I was resting, I didn’t want to see anyone,” she said.
“I’m not anyone,” he snapped, prowling round the room, tail lashing, hackles up. “I’m your mate! It’s my room, too! Why did you have to choose him of all people? Why not me if you had to have a Leska?”
“You can’t choose your Leska, Shanka,” she said, and Rezac could sense her trying to keep her temper. “I didn’t choose him; it happened.”
“Don’t give me that! You’ve no right to have a Leska, you’re married.”
“I have as much right to have a Leska—or lovers—as you.”
“You know I don’t have one,” he said, his voice becoming deceptively calm.
“No,” she said coldly, “you have lovers, in fives at a time!” She turned away from him.
He grunted contemptuously. “You’ve had lovers, too.”
“So what? Ours was never a love match, only an arrangement between our families. You’re not denying me the rights of any Sholan are you?”
“Damned right I am! You’re my mate, you’ll not take any more lovers!”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Shanka,” she said, rounding on him. “You’ve no right to tell me what to do. I’ll do as I choose.”
“Not Rezac. You’ll not have Rezac,” he snarled, advancing on her.
“I haven’t said I want him! Just leave me alone, Shanka. Get out of here and l
eave me alone!” She began to back off as he got closer, his hand outstretched to grab her.
Rezac waited no longer. “She told you to leave,” he said.
Zashou’s eyes widened as she saw him standing in the open doorway.
Shanka turned round. “This is none of your business,” he snarled, ears lying sideways in anger.
“You want him out?” Rezac asked, looking at Zashou over Shanka’s head.
She hesitated.
You want him to leave? he sent.
She nodded slowly, backing farther into the room.
Rezac stepped in. “Out, now,” he said, jerking his head toward the door in case the other was in any doubt.
“Get the hell out, Rezac, you’ve no right to interfere!”
Reaching forward, Rezac grabbed Shanka by the tunic. “I said out! You want to argue in the corridor, fine, but not in here,” he said, hauling him out through the open doorway.
Zashou followed them. A portion of his mind heard the sound of running feet. An image of Tiernay and Goran flashed into his mind as Zashou turned to look at them. They skidded to a stop beside him and Shanka.
“We’ll take it from here, Rezac,” said Tiernay as Goran grasped Shanka firmly by the arm and began dragging the protesting youth down the corridor.
Rezac let him go and shrugged, feigning indifference. “I’ll settle it with him later.”
“We picked up what happened. We’ll see to it,” repeated Tiernay, laying a restraining hand on Rezac’s arm.
Shaking himself free, Rezac moved aside and locked eyes with the group’s leader. “He’s my problem now, Tiernay. Keep him away from her. She’s my Leska.”
Tiernay looked away first. “Violence isn’t an answer.”
“Tell him that. He was about to strike her.”
“He’ll be dealt with. Your attitude could endanger our work, Rezac. We’ll see he doesn’t threaten Zashou again. Leave him alone,” Tiernay ordered before turning to follow Goran and Shanka.
Aware of her mounting fear of him, Rezac looked over to Zashou.
She took a step back into the room, standing partly behind the door frame.
He shook his head. “I’m not going to touch you,” he said. “I only came because I felt your fear. They’ll see to Shanka this time. He won’t bother you again. If he does, send to me. I’ll deal with him. All right?” He waited, but she said nothing, only looked at him with eyes enlarged by fear.
Razor's Edge Page 33