“I didn’t think you meant like this. You never cease to surprise me. How did you get into the city?” As soon as she asked, she knew the answer. “Never mind. Are you safe here?”
“Relatively safe. It’s dark and crowded. If any angwhi come in, I’ll spot them.”
Even through the music and noise, Dina had no trouble understanding Rayn, even using spoken words. “And give them the . . . what do you call it, anyway? When you ‘influence’ someone?”
“Dher. It literally means ‘to muddy.’ An especially appropriate word, since my homeland on B’harata is known for its almost ceaseless rainfall.”
“Do you miss B’harata? Do you miss the rain?” She wasn’t sure why she asked him about the rain, except that it was one of the few features of the place she knew about.
“I miss certain things, the rain being one, yes. The rain on B’harata can be fierce, but it can also be soft. Soft, pure, and very alive. When I was a boy, it used to dance for me, sing to me, tell me stories.” He paused, and his eyes took on a strange, wistful glaze. “This place . . . this place takes the tears and sweat of the gods and dries them to crystal shards that do nothing but bite and sting. This place is dead, Dina, in spite of the fact that all you Glacians do your best to dress it up. This whole city is made to look like a box full of glittering jewels, but it’s just window dressing for a dead world.”
She had never heard him talk like this. “What’s wrong with turning a dead world like this into something productive and beautiful? I thought you liked it here. You chose to come here.”
“As you say. A lot of worlds are closed to me, Dina. Sometimes it’s not so much that I choose a place, but that a place chooses me. And, yes, I’ve tried to make the best of it.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“To one who is trying to escape, little girl, the destination is often not as important as the mere fact of getting away.”
“Don’t call me that. Escape? From what?”
“That’s a story for someday.” The music had slowed and was softer, and several couples were dancing closely. Come, dance with me.
As she heard his telepathic voice in her mind, she felt a warm runnel of pleasure trickle down her spine and coalesce into a pool of liquid fire deep inside her. I . . . uh . . . don’t dance.
Why not? Everyone dances.
It was embarrassing, but there was no point in trying to hide the truth from Rayn. I’ve never had anyone to dance with.
Well, you do now. Come.
He led her to an unobtrusive corner of the dance floor and gently pulled her to him. She became aware first of her heart pounding in her chest. Next, she felt the heat from his body and inhaled his particular scent. It was like that of the desert at merkwia, she thought idly, a combination of the heat and vastness of the day, and the cool energy of the night. She knew it was his power, as tangible as the mountain mint fragrance that he wore. The latter was, ironically, grown in the city greenhouses, not the mountains, but it was sold by the mercari and was a popular cleansing scent with the desert dwellers. It was a scent she would always associate with Rayn.
She slipped her arms tentatively around his neck, still uncomfortable with being so close to him. His hold on her was sure, but not so tight she couldn’t breathe, and their bodies moved in tandem to the music.
Relax.
The single word was like thick velvet being rubbed over the most sensitive spot on her body. She shuddered in his arms, and, as if the shudder had been a key to unlock a hidden door, his power immediately poured over her, a cool river of life force. It was hard for her vision to register color in the dim light of the club, but behind her eyes danced blue lights of every hue and shade. It was like thousands of cut and polished sapphires, iolites, and exodites, caught in the same current of power, rolling, twisting, and flashing their brilliance at her, almost mesmerizing her.
She wanted nothing more than to melt against him, and yet a small voice of caution warned her of the danger.
Rayn, don’t.
Don’t what, T’anga?
You know very well. Don’t pull me under. That’s what you could easily do, isn’t it?
Of course. But you have nothing to worry about. I have a leash on it.
She moved her hands to his shoulders, ready to push away from him if his hold became too fast. Not tight enough.
You weaken my control, Dina. Don’t you know that?
She dug her fingers into his shoulder muscles. Pull it back, Rayn.
I wouldn’t hurt you.
Pull it back!
He loosened his hold on her just enough for her to see his face, and the cool current receded to a trickle, sliding over her skin in a teasing zigzag.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Better?”
She responded with a lift of both brows. “If and when I want to take the plunge, I’ll let you know.”
“Perhaps you just don’t like being reminded of what I am.”
All she could see in his eyes were reflections of the neon flames. “I don’t forget what you are, Rayn, ever.”
A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but the smile had no connection to his eyes. He eased her head to his shoulder as he tightened his hold on her again. She made no move this time to resist him. He didn’t answer her.
The music ended, and he whispered into her mind before he released her. I look forward to your taking the plunge, little girl.
She tried to shove him away from her. “Don’t call me that. I hate it.”
His hand caught her waist, and the cat smile widened. “One more dance, and I promise.”
A new song began, and she studied his face as he reeled her back to him for the last dance. The dark hair, worn loose, was smooth and shiny, but as usual had a mind of its own and fell forward to frame his face. His eyes, focused somewhere over her shoulder as if in thought, continued to glow with flickering light. Her gaze lingered lastly on the sensuous mouth that fascinated her, now but a breath from hers. She wondered what it would be like to kiss that mouth, and as the thought passed through her mind, Rayn’s eyes shifted and locked with hers.
You know everything I think and feel, don’t you, dens. This last was thought to herself, not projected at him, but she wanted to see what his reaction would be.
Do you really want me to answer that?
She stared at him, hardly able to breathe, and he leaned forward and gave her her wish. It was a soft kiss, warm and sweet, but teasing, lasting only a heartbeat before he pulled back. His body infused hers with heat, but the small ribbon of cool power floated down her spine and reminded her that it was still there. Gods, she thought, no one had ever kissed her like that before. The strange mixture of hot and cold made her feel faint, and her heart caught in the back of her throat.
The last notes of the song faded away, and Rayn led her back to their seats, no longer touching her. Dina tried to compose herself, but it was too crowded and noisy to practice any of her usual relaxation or visualization techniques. She settled for briefly closing her eyes and counting backwards from five to one. She still had so many things she wanted to ask him, and time was so short. He ordered a Mocava Lava for her—iced mocava with mint and alcohol added—and a Mirage for himself, a sweet, creamy drink mixed with a generous dose of uisque, a potent, but tasteless alcoholic liquor.
“This morning you touched my cheek. I felt it. How did you do that?”
“It’s not as hard as you might think. The mind is the most complex and powerful tool in the universe. I had touched your cheek physically on several previous occasions, so I knew you had the memory of it. I simply instructed your mind to retrieve that particular memory so you could relive it. There are other ways to induce people to experience sensory feelings, but memory recall is the easiest.”
“Tonight, when I arrived. H
ow did I know you were here? You didn’t call to me, yet I knew exactly where you were.”
Rayn hesitated, but only for an instant. “Our minds have touched. Your thoughts are attuned to mine. Your awareness and sensitivity have increased more than you realize. Like it or not, it means that when we’re close physically, you’ll be able to sense my presence. Just as I can sense yours.”
Dina looked away. Attuned to a dens.
“This bothers you,” he stated.
She couldn’t deny it. “There are so many things about you I don’t understand.”
“You will.”
She looked at him. “I still have a job to do, and obligations to the IIB and Jon. I still have to find the killer and prevent him from committing more crimes. I still need your help.”
He stroked her hair. “You’ll have it, T’anga. I promise.” He paused. “I have to go. I have to move my people tonight. All is in readiness. They await only my return. Are you generally free from your work and Jon at this time?”
She nodded. “Yes, our meetings are usually finished by merkwia. Can you come here again tomorrow?”
“With luck. Call me as you did this evening.” He threw his head back and quickly downed the last of his drink. “Go on. I’ll wait for you to leave before I do.”
All-knowing dens, she thought to herself. If he was any good at anticipating and satisfying her needs, he would know what to do right now.
I do know. But I can’t do it in a room full of people. So this will have to suffice for now. He held her face and drew her slowly to him until he could claim her mouth with his in a slow kiss that was not quite as soft as the first one had been. By the time he released her, she was shaken to her toes.
She left the Furnace with a wide smile on her face.
She didn’t see the smile slowly fade from his.
Twelve
The Bond
PERHAPS SHE WAS overtired. Perhaps it was her preoccupation with the events of the past few days, or that Rayn was simply on her mind. Whatever the cause, she dreamed again of his death and woke with a start and the memory of sightless, ash-brown eyes fresh in her mind’s eye.
Dina tried in vain for an hour to quiet her mind so she could fall back asleep, then finally surrendered to the questions that refused to let her rest. The last dream had presaged the attempt on Rayn’s life. Was he in trouble again? She knew she shouldn’t care, but she did. She had to know if he was all right. Yet she hesitated calling him in the middle of the night. He was probably either still moving his people, or exhausted from the effort. What excuse could she give for such an intrusion? It didn’t matter.
Rayn. Her projection was tentative.
No answer.
Dina tried to rationalize. He was probably asleep. Or otherwise occupied. A disturbing vision of Rayn making love to Alessane swooped into her mind. As painful as the picture was, it was preferable to the image from her dream. She had to know.
RAYN.
I hear you, Dina. Is something wrong?
She sank to her bed. Now that she knew he was all right, she was at a loss as to what to say to him.
Dina?
No, nothing’s wrong. Are you . . . busy?
She had almost asked if he was alone. Embarrassment washed over her as she envisioned the possibility of being inside his mind while his body was making love to another woman. The thought mortified her.
His reply was light, and she could almost hear laughter in his words.
As a matter of fact . . . no. The others are asleep.
There was a pause, and when next Dina heard Rayn, his tone was solemn.
Dina, don’t tell me nothing’s wrong. What happened?
It was just a dream.
Dina, I know it’s more than that. I can feel your terror. Do you want to talk about it? Is that why you called me?
She should have known she couldn’t hide anything from Mr. All-knowing, damn him. When she hesitated, he continued.
Listen, Dina, nightmares are nothing to be ashamed of. You were almost killed. It would be strange if you didn’t have nightmares.
She took a deep breath. The dream wasn’t about being killed.
What then?
You.
Dina, I’m not going to hurt you. I wish you could believe that.
Dina shook her head and stupidly realized Rayn couldn’t see the gesture. When she spoke to his mind it was easy to forget he was decbars away. But now she was glad she wasn’t face to face with him, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to physically speak the next words.
I was running across the desert, then something, like an explosion without the bang, knocked me down. I was on the sand and couldn’t breathe. A heavy weight was on top of me, suffocating me, and I pushed and pushed, but . . .
She paused, and Rayn didn’t try to rush her.
Finally I saw what the weight was. It was you. You were dead, and your eyes were . . .
Listen to me! Lower your guards and let me in.
But her mental shields, instinctively raised and fortified with her fear, stubbornly stayed put.
Lower your shields and let me in.
She obeyed this time, having no choice. Her shields were no match for the compelling command of a dens.
I’m here, Dina. I’m alive. Hold me.
He was instantly with her, in her room, right beside her. She reached out for him, disoriented, but felt only the cool air before her and a damp sheet beneath her.
Just relax. Link your mind with mine. Slow your breathing.
As she relaxed, she chided herself. It was foolish to think he was actually in the room with her, but with the link in place and the lights off, his presence was so strong she no longer thought about the absurdity of it. She lay on the bed, and he was beside her. She felt his body heat, his strength, and as she concentrated on her breathing, even imagined she could inhale his scent. Neither spoke for a long time.
Rayn, I didn’t tell you this before, but I had the same dream just before you were poisoned.
And I survived, didn’t I? And I will continue to do so. It’s what I’m best at. So don’t think about the dream any more.
She closed her eyes. Stay with me. Talk to me. There are so many things I’ve wanted to ask you about.
Yes. Asking questions is the one thing you’re best at. Ask away.
Why do you keep saying you ‘escaped’ from B’harata? What did you do there?
Do? On B’harata there’s an old saying that you thrive, you survive, or you die. I survived, but I didn’t thrive. My mother used to tell me I was born two hundred years too late. She said I would have made a good spiritual teacher, but nowadays few care about spirituality. I did various jobs, but nothing I did seemed to make a difference. I never fit in with those around me, not even members of my own family, and as the years passed, I became more and more dissatisfied with life. I was foolish enough to think I could find happiness elsewhere in the galaxy.
She smiled. Foolishness is not confined to the young.
Oh, but I was very young, by B’haratan standards, when I left.
What was it you were so dissatisfied with?
He hesitated. You wouldn’t understand. To you, we’re all nothing but ruthless puppet-masters, are we not?
If I still believed that, I wouldn’t be here with you now, like this.
For a few moments he didn’t reply, and just when she thought he wouldn’t, his words poured into her mind.
It’s been long held by the dens that the advancement of the self brings advancement of society. But I’m a traditionalist. I believe the mind is a road with forks that bring choices, force decisions. But the modernists believe the mind is but a place to be fortified and made invincible, a stagnant fortress quivering with every weapon they can bring t
o bear. My brother Ryol is a modernist. He sees me as weak and without goals in life. Bitter laughter filled her head.
Maybe he’s right. Even now I don’t always know what it is I search for. All I know is that I won’t live the lonely existence my brother does.
She didn’t understand his talk about roads and fortresses, but she understood loneliness. But this outlaw life, with no one to connect with . . . surely it’s been lonely.
It has. I’ve been waiting a long time for someone like you, Dina.
Is that why you visit the spacedock every time a ship comes in? How did you do that, anyway?
I don’t bother with cargo ships, only those carrying passengers. The bond between the physical body and the astral body of a dens is very elastic. I merely project my etheric self to the spacedock. Distance is of no matter.
She didn’t understand. But I could see you.
Yes. It was a wonderful surprise, was it not? Of course, I couldn’t answer your challenge, so I had no choice but to return to my physical body.
She remembered the moment and her reaction to the experience. Her mouth turned down. It was hardly a ‘wonderful surprise.’ I thought I had spacefever.
Laughter again filled her. Try to get some sleep now. I’ll stay with you until dawn.
She snuggled down under her sheet. Rayn’s presence was a warm cocoon of safety around her, and she had no more nightmares that night.
Dina woke the next morning just before agherz to the lingering scent of mountain mint and the feel of Rayn’s arms around her. If the light hadn’t automatically brightened to reveal that she was alone in the room, she would have sworn Rayn lay beside her. It was an unnerving experience, but she couldn’t deny the pleasure it brought. All too soon, though, they unlinked and he parted from her, promising he would see her later that evening.
Agherz was still an hour away, but Dina dressed quickly, wanting to make the most of the time she had before her morning meeting with Jon. She felt so energized she couldn’t stand still, so she checked her skimmer out of the storage bay and cruised through the city toward Ghe Wespero. As early as it was, there was a throng of people on the streets, making their way to the marketplace or to their jobs. Dina stopped her skimmer near the mercari alongside the gate.
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