Irresistible Forces

by Catherine Ansaro et al

  Moisture threatened his eyes. Incredibly, she had learned his darkest secret and still chose him.

  A nicker came out of the dark. Something nudged Vyrl, and he realized the lyrine was nuzzling him, its horn poking his arm. He scratched its head again. "She still wants me," he told Moonglaze.

  That night, huddled against the wall of a cliff, wrapped in a cloak, he slept for the first time in the arms of the woman he loved. He prayed it wouldn't be the last. The storm had delayed their trip and tomorrow their parents would realize they had run away.

  Then the search would start.

  4

  Bard of Emeralds

  Moonglaze loped through the meadows at the foothills of the Backbone Mountains. The gray cliffs behind them wore cloaks of snow, but down here only a few patches of melting blue remained. Swaying reeds sparkled in the sun, topped with bubbles. Larger spheres dotted the meadows, vibrant in blue, red, purple, green, and gold, some floating off their stalks and drifting in the breeze. Every now and then one would pop, showering the ground with glimmering rainbow dust. The lyrine raced out of the hills and into the Rillian Vales, stretching his long legs as if he would leave the ground and fly. Lily and Vyrl held on, exhilarated as fresh morning air rushed past their faces. His cloak whipped back from his shoulders and rippled behind them, a swath of blue in the sunshine that streamed across the land.

  They thundered past the first villages. Unlike the Dalvador Plains, where houses were whitewashed and had colored roofs, here the entire structures were glowing hues: blue, green, ruby, or gold-stalk. Although Vyrl could have sought out the Bard in any village, he headed for Rillia itself, the largest city in the settled lands. The Bard in a small town might wonder why an unfamiliar young couple went to him rather than their own Bard, but in a large town with many visitors, it would be more natural.

  However, going to Rillia also carried risk; Lord Rillia, who ruled both the Dalvador Plains and Rillian Vales, knew Vyrl's father. As the Dalvador Bard, Vyrl's father was the highest authority in the Plains, or at least as much an authority as their people accepted. He not only served Dalvador; he also presided over the Bards in the other Plains villages. But Lord Rillia held authority over all the Bards, including Vyrl's father.

  The Bards acted as judges and mediators, performed marriages, officiated at naming ceremonies, and recorded the history of their people in ballads. Vyrl's father had a glorious baritone, a voice Vyrl loved to hear. Every village also had a Memory. She recorded current events in her mind, performed rites of celebration at festivals, and served as a scholar in the women's temple, where acolytes learned and stored knowledge. Together, the Memory and Bard formed the government of a village.

  This morning, Vyrl watched the skies constantly, fearing to see a flash of gold-and-black metal. He had "neglected" to tell Lily that before he had shown up at her house last night, he had gone to the starport—and sabotaged the shuttle. Lily would chide him when she found out, but even so, it had needed doing. His tampering wouldn't hold off pursuit for long, only until the port staff repaired the shuttle or the military sent down another from the ships in orbit, but Vyrl and Lily didn't need long. Only today.

  They reached the city of Rillia in late morning. It was large enough to need several Bards, none of whom Vyrl had met. He chose one who lived on the city outskirts in a green-stalk house that glowed like an emerald. As Moonglaze trotted into the courtyard, Lily twisted around to look up at Vyrl, her eyes as huge as a colt startled by a loud noise.

  He cupped his hand around her cheek. "Shall we go in?"

  She gave him a tremulous smile. "Yes. Let's."

  He swung off Moonglaze, his cloak swirling, his booted feet landing with a thump on the ground. Then he helped Lily off the powerful lyrine. A towheaded boy came into the yard and waited to take Moonglaze back to the glasshouse, to be tended and fed. Vyrl gave the boy two turquoise stones for his trouble. Although the youth was only a few years younger than Vyrl and Lily, he treated them as if they were adults.

  Moonglaze, however, nickered when the boy tried to lead him away. Then the lyrine nudged Vyrl's shoulder, pushing him toward Lily.

  "See?" Vyrl grinned at her. "He knows."

  She patted the animal's head. "You're a good lyrine, Moon. You go ahead. We will be fine."

  Moonglaze snorted, then shook his head and turned away. He walked regally past the boy, his horns held high, his violet coat glossy in the sunlight. The youth hurried after him and grabbed his reins, trying to look as if he were leading the great lyrine instead of the other way around.

  Vyrl held his hand out to Lily, and she put her small one in his large grip. Together, they walked to the Bard's door.

  Flames flickered within jade lamps, and candles burned around the chamber, filling it with radiance. Vyrl, Lily, the Bard, and the Bard's wife had crowded into the circular room. The Memory stood by the curving emerald wall, her green robe brushing the floor; with her holographic memory, she was recording the ceremony, every word and promise, and images as well.

  Vyrl stood facing Lily, holding her hands and gazing down at her face. She filled his sight, her pretty face tilted up to him, a wreath of silvery-green fronds and gold bubbles braided into her hair.

  The Bard continued in his mellow voice. "May the love you share fill your lives, and that of your children, grandchildren, and more, keeping alive the line of your heart."

  Guided by his words, Vyrl and Lily promised their lives to each other. Then the Bard sang for them, his lustrous tenor filling the chamber, his words graceful in their evocation of love under the Blue and Lavender Moons.

  Vyrl's thoughts overflowed with Lily. No matter where their life took them after today, he had found his home, not in a place but in the heart of this girl he had loved his entire life.

  The Bard and his wife accompanied Lily and Vyrl into the courtyard. While they waited for the boy to bring Moonglaze, Vyrl scanned the heavens and was relieved to see nothing unusual, no metallic glints, just the normal lavender sky and blue clouds.

  The Bard pointed out a half-finished tower that rose above the roofs of the town. "The metal-works needs laborers for the new building they are raising." He glanced kindly at Vyrl. "A big, strong fellow like yourself could earn a place to live, meals for your family, and stones for trade."

  His wife smiled at Lily, the lines around her eyes crinkling. "They're needing counters, too. Always looking for a girl with a sharp mind to keep records. It could be a fine start for a young couple."

  Their good-natured concern touched Vyrl. "We thank you, kind lady and sir." Lily murmured similar sentiments. Vyrl wished they could lead the simple life these fine people envisioned for them, setting up a home with no worries beyond food, shelter, and children. "Perhaps when we return, we will visit the metal-works boss."

  The Bard chuckled. "Ah, I am too old. What newlyweds want to start work the day of their marriage, eh?" He paused as the boy came around the house leading Moonglaze. Then he asked, "Where be you off to now?"

  "We aren't sure," Lily admitted. "We're traveling."

  Moonglaze walked grandly up to them, watching Vyrl first with one large eye, then the other, turning his head to give himself a good view. The lyrine growled deep in his throat.

  "What, ho?" Vyrl scratched him behind his horn. "Are you angry with me?"

  Moonglaze nickered, mollified by the attention. He butted Lily's arm, pushing her against Vyrl.

  The Bard laughed. Then he slapped Vyrl on the back. "Off with you, eh? You two go have your time together."

  "My thanks, good sir." Vyrl was pleased to find Moonglaze had been well tended and the backpack was still secure in the travel bags. Excellent! He swung up onto the animal, relishing the motion, his body thrumming with energy. Reaching down, he helped Lily up in front of him. Then he hugged her hard, leaning his head around to kiss her cheek.

  "A safe journey to you," the Bard called up to them.

  The Bard's wife started to speak, then paused. Although Vyrl
couldn't pick up emotions from other people as well as he did from his family, he sensed her turning over ideas much as he might glimpse a wisp of mist curling through glass-stalk trees.

  She spoke thoughtfully to her husband. "I have some concerns about our cabin. With no one to look after it, the place lies empty and unattended. Who knows what might happen?"

  "Ah, so, this is true." The Bard considered Lily and Vyrl up on Moonglaze. "Then again," he continued, as if speaking to his wife even though he was looking at his guests, "perhaps we may convince some nice young couple to spend a few days looking after the place."

  Vyrl hesitated. His first impulse was to decline; the future was too uncertain for them to take on new responsibilities. But his empath's mind felt their intent, like a meadow creek burbling with goodwill. They were offering their secluded cabin so he and Lily could spend their wedding night in safety and warmth instead of sleeping in the forest.

  "Lily?" Vyrl asked in a barely audible voice.

  "Yes," she murmured, understanding his unspoken question.

  Vyrl nodded to the Bard and his wife, letting his gratitude show. "We would be honored, gentle lady and sir, to look after your cabin for a few days."

  The woman beamed at him. "Such good manners."

  The Bard tilted his head, studying first Vyrl, then Moonglaze. A shiver of unease ran up Vyrl's back as he caught the man's mood; the Bard wondered at his visitor's accomplished style and magnificent lyrine. At home, as a farmer's son, Vyrl tended to forget he was the son of the Dalvador Bard and the queen of an Imperial dynasty. His background probably showed more than he realized.

  Whatever the Bard thought, he didn't say. Instead, he gave Vyrl directions to a cabin in the Blue Mountain Dales, deep within a wild forest of stained glass trees that spread their gem-bubbles over the hills. Vyrl thanked him and gave the couple a gold chain for the marriage service.

  Then he and Lily rode into the hills, headed for the cabin, where they could complete the marriage that would sunder the plans of an interstellar empire.

  Flames crackled in the hearth. Vyrl leaned his arm against the stone mantel and stared into the shifting play of orange and red. With only fire lighting the cabin, shadows filled the corners. Handmade furniture covered with cushions warmed the room, and a four-poster bed with a blue-and-gold quilt stood against one wall.

  The door opened behind him, and he felt more than heard Lily enter, her mood bathing him like sunshine. He turned as she closed the door. She stood watching him, twisting her hands in her skirts, smiling shyly, a pretty girl with red-gold curls tumbling around her body to her waist and tendrils curling around her face. Her lavender dress molded to her torso and swirled around her knees, adorned with laces and slits in tempting places. In the flickering light, her face seemed to glow, so beautiful to him that it almost hurt to see. He didn't know what the morning would bring, but tonight he had everything he had ever wanted.

  Lily spoke softly. "Are you hungry?"

  "Saints, I'm famished." Belatedly, Vyrl realized that wasn't the most romantic declaration. An inspiration came to him. "For you."

  Lily laughed, her melodic voice a delight. "Hah! You don't fool me. You want dinner."

  He grinned. "I need my strength."

  Her expression turned sultry, yet with innocence; he could tell she didn't realize her anticipation showed in her gaze or that it would arouse him. "Well, then," she murmured. "Let us build up your strength."

  Vyrl swallowed, suddenly wondering if he wanted dinner after all. He watched Lily walk to the finely engraved table where he had left his pack. Her hips swayed with each step. Taking a deep breath, he picked up a poker from beside the hearth and stirred the flames. This high in the Blue Mountain Dales, the nights were cold. It had taken the entire day to reach this cabin; stars had been sparkling in an icy sky by the time they arrived.

  "Hai, Vyrl!" Lily admonished. "What did you put in this pack? Rocks?"

  He turned with a start to see her digging out the last of the trail rations. She held up his pack in one hand and the food in the other, her expression baffled.

  Reddening, he strode over and hoisted away the pack. "It's nothing."

  "It is so. Look! It sparkles." Reaching past him, she tugged the pack farther open. "See." She brushed her fingers over the apparatus inside, making yellow lights twinkle on its edges. Holos scrolled across its glossy black surface.

  "Oh, Vyrl! It's lovely." She beamed at him. "Are those magic lights from your mother's people?"

  He winced, knowing that when she found out what he had done, she would scold him. But he had to tell her the truth. "The symbols are from a language of my mother's people. They're warning you to stop banging the jammer."

  "Jammer?" She took the pack away from him and peered inside. "Whatever have you stuffed in here?"

  "It hides us," he explained. "It can trick radar, sonar, infrared, UV, visual, even neutrino probes."

  She regarded him dubiously. "You are making up these words."

  "I'm not. Really. It means my parents will have trouble finding us."

  Lily took a moment to absorb his words. "I think you are very clever, to hide us. But are you supposed to have this? It sounds—" She hesitated. "Arcane."

  "Arcane?" He tried to laugh, but it came out scared rather than amused. "It's military equipment you need a security clearance to use. I'm not supposed to touch it."

  Her gaze widened. "Are we in trouble?"

  "Not you. But me, yes." Although stealing equipment from Imperial Space Command wasn't as bad as admitting to her that he danced, it came close. Add to that the damage he had done to ISC property at the starport and he was in it deep.

  "Ah, Vyrl." Instead of rebuking him, she did something even harder to deal with. She came over and laid her palms on his shoulders, looking up at him with trust. "We are together now. If they take you away, they must take me, too." Resolve showed on her face. "Where you go, so do I."

  Vyrl sighed, putting his arms around her. "I don't deserve you."

  "Well, that's true." Impudence filled her voice. "But nevertheless, you have me."

  He glared at her. "I swear, you can sorely bedevil a boy."

  Her face and voice, even her posture, softened. "But you are no longer a boy, my husband."

  His chagrin vanished, replaced by a more primal emotion. Holding her, he let his mind melt into hers. He could relax his defenses with her in a way he could do with no one else. Her mischief was a disguise; behind it, a nervous young woman faced her wedding night with uncertainty as well as anticipation. He drew her closer, forgetting the trail rations. Stroking her hair, he savored its silky texture against his calloused palms. No prince's hands, these, but those of a farmer.

  Tentative, she laid her palm on his cheek. As her eyes closed, he bent his head and let his lips touch hers. She held a curl of his hair as she kissed him, more confident in her response, or so he thought, until she began to pull his hair without realizing it. He folded his large hand around her small one, loosening her grip.

  Lily made a small sound, half a sigh, half a moan. He kissed her deeply, wishing he could lift her up and carry her to the bed.

  A thought nudged his mind, like Moonglaze pushing him; he could carry her off exactly the way he wished. He slowly pulled away, one hand splayed on her back. Bending, he slid his arm under her legs and hefted her into his arms.

  "Oh!" Lily flushed. "Goodness, Vyrl."

  Once he would have grinned, maybe pulled her hair. No longer. He felt only tenderness tonight, and a desire that he wondered how he would hold in check, or if he should. He carried her to the bed and laid her on the downy quilt. She watched him, her lips parted, a rosy flush on her face, the firelight dimly golden around them.

  Kneeling next to her, Vyrl pulled his sweater over his head. As he dropped it on the ground, Lily reached for him, her arms outstretched, her expression trusting. He lay next to her and his pulse jumped, tingling through him. It was so good finally to have her to himself. As th
ey nestled together, he felt her heartbeat against his chest. When he pressed his lips on the creamy skin of her neck, her pulse beat there as well, strong and vibrant.

  She helped him with the laces on her dress. For all that they had resisted his efforts, they unraveled for her at the slightest pull. He and Lily explored each other while they undressed, their touches sweet with the newness of discovery as they joined in the dim light from the embers of the fire. Together they moved in a rhythm more ancient than the Ruby Empire. His heart overflowed; he felt as if it were an airy hall filled with stained glass windows. His love for Lily poured like light through the windows, turning many colors, each window a symbol of another way he knew her. The stained glass was so beautiful it hurt to imagine—for he knew it could shatter under the reality of life.

  But in this miraculous night, the colors glowed within him.

  5

  Blue-Crystal Shards

  The pounding dragged Vyrl awake. A booming noise bombarded his head.

  "Hai!" He sat up groggily, covers falling away from his body, his eyes bleary. Morning light slanted through a window he hadn't even noticed last night. Across the room, the door shook under the force of someone's hammering fists.

  Lily rolled against him, pulling the quilt around her shoulders. Seeing her that way, warm and cozy in a nest of covers, Vyrl wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with her.

  "Valdoria!" The bellow could have shaken a stone wall. "Open this door, you scum of a mush-bog slime, or I'll break it down."

  Lily opened her eyes, wincing. "That is, without doubt, my father."

  With a groan, Vyrl grabbed his trousers off the floor and yanked them on. He pulled on his shirt as he scrambled out of bed. With the shirt laces untied, its tails untucked, and his feet bare, he stumbled across the room. He shot a glance at Lily, to urge her to cover up, but she had already pulled on her dress.