“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“I have many talents and many connections,” Dr. Laas said complacently.
Nella had not been hungry since the transport on which she’d stowed away had slid into its berth in Bor Narga, but now her stomach rumbled. She lifted the two-tined fork and tucked in, eating heartily until every bit was gone.
By the time she set down her fork and dabbed her lips with a napkin, her stomach was sated. “That was heaven.”
“You’re welcome,” Dr. Laas said, pleased. “I am happy to see you’ve recovered from your ordeal—poisoning, dehydration, malnutrition, infection—you name it, you had it.”
“Infection?”
“A low-grade fever. I took care of it when I administered your antidote. I thought I might as well cure you all the way.”
“You are kind,” Nella said, grateful and surprised. These people had helped her so much, at risk to themselves.
“Maybe. Or bored. Years ago I used to wake up every morning with my mind spinning with what experiments I’d do that day. Today I looked forward to ordering exotic fruits without getting caught.”
“Rio said you were outlawed,” Nella began, curious about her. “Why?”
Dr. Laas heaved a long sigh. “I was a genius at genetic research. Still am. I was the mastermind behind creating the Shareem. Think of it, a race of men genetically enhanced for the greatest sexual pleasure of women. Who would not want that?”
Talan nodded in fervent agreement.
“But DNAmo went crazy with my ideas,” Dr. Laas said. “They created the Shareem all right, then they treated them like lab animals. Did experiments on them, put them through tests to see how they’d react. It was hard to watch.”
Nella licked her fork, savoring the last of the juices. “You could not stop it?”
“Sadly, no. I was young and brilliant but at the same time not very smart, if you know what I mean. I was thrilled that DNAmo wanted to use my designs, but I had no idea what I was doing when I signed away everything to them. I only saw that they’d give me a fortune and make me famous. But really, I lost everything.”
Nella’s heart squeezed in sympathy. “That is terrible.”
“Basically DNAmo stole all my research and set me up to take the fall when the stiff-necked government decided that DNAmo had to go. My ideas, thus, my fault. I was in it up to my neck. I was only twenty years old when I started, a prodigy with no clue about the realities of life.”
“Did they arrest you?” Nella asked.
“No, because fortunately, the Shareem themselves were rather fond of me and kept my whereabouts secret. And everyone at DNAmo was outlawed—the Shareem, the researchers, even the people who leased the buildings to them. Most of the research scientists fled the planet, but I had nowhere to go, and as I said, I was rather foolish about real life. Dr. Ralston hid me with several Shareem, and then we found this place. It was an ancient catacomb from centuries ago, when war nearly wiped out everyone on Bor Narga. They survived by living in places like this, deep underground. I’ve fixed it up a little.”
She looked fondly at the walls, which segued to a cool shade of mint green.
“How long did DNAmo produce Shareem?” Nella asked.
“Fifteen years.”
Nella gave her a puzzled look.
Talan also looked perplexed; she must not have known this either. “But Rees was a man when he left, not a fifteen-year-old boy. They all were.”
Dr. Laas nodded. “Accelerated growth. They went through the phases of childhood and adolescence in half the time as a normal human. And then their metabolism was slowed radically, so they age only about a month for every Bor Nargan year. It seemed like a good idea at the time—men forever young and virile. But the researchers didn’t think what that would be like for the Shareem.”
Nella felt it at the same time Talan spoke. “Lonely.”
“Yes,” Dr. Laas said. “On the other hand, they were manipulated to be robust, healthy, and free of disease, not to mention incredible at sex. I remember one researcher proudly telling me she’d successfully removed their capacity to find love and true happiness, as though this was something to boast about.”
“They were wrong,” Talan said softly.
“Of course they were. The Shareem felt everything, experienced every emotion, even when they were being used like lab robots. But they were wise enough to hide it, to sit tight, and then when DNAmo went down, they all escaped into the blue. I looked for them, and so did Dr. Ralston, but except for the few that hid with us, they’d disappeared. They’d learned, if nothing else, to be cunning and self-reliant.”
“What happened to them all?” Nella asked, moved by the story.
“They stayed hidden until the government lifted the death sentence on them, then they reappeared, some of them on my doorstep, ready to live. But they are still second-class citizens, having to update their ident cards and get inoculations with the Ministry of Non-Human Life Forms every six months.”
“Why do the Shareem not leave Bor Narga?” Nella asked, distressed and puzzled. “They would never be treated so on Ariel. The fact that they began life as genetic experiments isn’t their fault.”
Dr. Laas gave her a look of approval. “Ha. The silly ministry thinks the Shareem will die off eventually, end of problem. So they aren’t allowed to breed, or go off-planet, where they might breed. The women of the government are so afraid of reverting to the submissive mode they had centuries ago that sexual pleasure is all but banned on Bor Narga. And if the ministry could find a way to make sure no woman had sexual pleasure at all, they’d do it.”
“I am surprised they don’t fight back, then,” Nella said, indignant. “The Shareem, I mean. That they don’t protest, or band together. They’re very strong.”
“Yes, well, the thing is, they’re Shareem,” Dr. Laas answered, as though that explained everything. “There are not that many of them, maybe fifty in all, and some of them have managed to leave Bor Narga. And we programmed them to not be dangerous.”
Talan looked amazed. “What are you talking about? They’re exceedingly dangerous.”
“They are not dangerous collectively,” Dr. Laas said. “They love women and sex and aren’t driven by hate or rage. They win their battles, but they do it their own way.”
Nella thought of Rio’s blue eyes and his wicked smile that told her she’d end up doing everything he wanted, in time. She shivered. “They have power.”
“Of course they do. That’s why the Ministry of Non-Human Life Forms keeps such a strict eye on them.”
“Rio is trying to leave the planet,” Talan said quietly.
Dr. Laas shot her a quick look.
“It’s all right,” Nella said. “I would never dream of stopping him.” She thought a moment. “Is that why he thought the assassin bot was after him?”
“Probably,” Dr. Laas said. “He didn’t tell me the whole story of how he found you.”
“I was being hunted.” Nella swallowed as she remembered the terror of running through the streets, pursued by the relentless silver ball. And then Rio had been there, tall and strong, swearing at the assassin bot and destroying it.
Maybe Shareem weren’t collectively dangerous, like a wolf pack. They were more lone predators, like the wildcats on Ariel who hunted by themselves. The cats never attacked human settlements, but you wouldn’t want to come upon one alone in the woods.
Rio had destroyed the bot with an ease that startled her. Then he’d turned to Nella, knowing exactly where she was hiding.
Nella related the tale briefly, then finished, “Rio smashed the bot to bits, but the hypo still hit me. That’s all I know.”
“He brought you straight to me,” Dr. Laas said. “That was smart. A hospital couldn’t have helped you in time, and someone would have recognized you.”
Nella realized something in a wash of remorse. “Rio missed his way to get off-world by helping me, didn’t he?”
“Yes.
It was his choice,” Talan explained gently.
“I wish I were in a position to help him,” Nella said, pushing her plate away. “Six months ago, I would have been.”
“I’d love to hear your story, my dear,” Dr. Lass began, but Talan interrupted her.
“They’re coming back.”
Nella glanced at the mural wall. On the street, Rees and Rio walked side by side, Rees in a tunic and leggings with a sun-blocking cloak wrapped around his upper body. Rio strode beside him in leather tunic and leggings, his black hair shining in the sun.
Rees wore his hair tamed in a queue, folded over on itself. Rio’s hair was caught once at the nape of his neck. Rees said something, and Rio tilted his head back and roared with laughter.
Nella could not hear the sound of the laugh, but his merriment and smile pierced her all the way through the walls of the compound.
Talan heaved a little sigh. Nella glanced at her. The lovely woman was staring hard at Rees, drawn to him as though an invisible thread connected the two of them.
She loves him desperately, Nella realized. And she is loved in return.
Her parents had such a love, sharing a true Bond. They snuggled when they thought no one saw, and smiled into each other’s faces. Nella liked finding them like that, stealing kisses, the love pouring from them to surround her.
Nella had never felt the Bond, not yet. As she watched Rio now, she wondered what it would be like to share it with someone like him, to be able to reach out her hand to someone so strong, and have him there to take it.
Rees and Rio disappeared from view as they neared the compound. Talan turned from the screen with regret, then blushed when she saw both Nella and Dr. Laas watching her.
“I can’t help it,” she said with a little smile. “He’s a beautiful man.”
“I know,” Dr. Laas said. “But it’s fun to tease you.”
“They’ve entered,” Baine said above them. “I’m sending them down now.”
Nella knew when Rees and Rio neared the dining room. Even through the walls, she could feel their presence, the strength and sexuality that radiated from them and filled the space around them.
When the door opened, she turned in her chair to watch the two men enter the room, hard masculinity in a chamber designed for feminine comfort. Rees had discarded his cloak, and his tunic bared the muscles of his arms and the black chain around his biceps.
Rees put his arms around Talan from behind, tilted her head back and kissed her. Nella looked away, but Dr. Laas watched them with an indulgent smile.
The woman was glad, Nella realized, that one of her Shareem had found happiness. Putting Dr. Laas into the role of benevolent mother stretched the imagination, but the woman did seem to have genuine concern and affection for her creations.
Nella sensed Rio behind her. His body warmth covered her, his presence blocking all other thoughts from her mind. She must be weak from whatever medicines Dr. Laas had given her, because Nella couldn’t fight him—and she didn’t really want to.
Rio placed his hands on her shoulders, a non-sexual move, but she felt herself responding at once to the incredible warmth of him.
“We were about to hear Nella’s story,” Dr. Laas said.
Rio’s hands moved on Nella’s shoulders, kneading a little, as though reminding her that she’d trusted him the previous evening. “Tell us,” he said in his rich, Shareem voice.
“I was kidnapped.” The words poured from Nella’s mouth before she could stop them, but she felt a sudden relief, as though telling the truth gave her release.
Baine’s voice cut in overhead. “The story on Ariel is that the princess disappeared, probably for a liaison with her intended.”
“But that’s not the truth, is it?” Rio asked.
Nella shook her head. “A man named Linginian wanted to be my Bond-mate, so he kidnapped me.” She drew a breath, not wanting to remember the somewhat handsome but arrogant Linginian, how he’d bribed trusted staff in the palace to give her a sleep drug and spirit her away.
“What’s a Bond-mate?” Rio asked. “You mentioned it yesterday, said someone tried to steal the Bond.”
“When a woman of Ariel wishes to marry, she finds the man with whom she feels the Bond. It’s difficult to explain to a non-Arielian. We know the Bond when we feel it—it’s a biochemical reaction, I suppose.”
“Similar to the way a Shareem can make a woman do what he wants,” Dr. Laas put in.
“Oh, we would never coerce,” Rio said, his voice innocent. “Would we, Rees?”
“Never,” Rees answered, straight-faced.
“Linginian came up with drugs that he thought could artificially induce the Bond. I would say that he and I were Bond-mates, and he could marry me and gain much money and power.”
“But it didn’t work?” Talan asked.
“No. It almost killed me. Then Linginian threatened the lives of my family to force me to tell everyone that the Bond had formed anyway. I refused, and he had me beaten and confined.”
Rio’s hands tightened on her shoulders. “Bastard.”
The quiet word spoke volumes. If Rio ever found Linginian, Linginian would be in trouble. Nella liked the idea.
Dr. Laas gave her a look of concern. “Did he rape you, Nella?”
Nella shook her head. “Not in the sexual sense. But trying to force the Bond is a worse violation than rape. He tried to change my entire self, my emotions, my thoughts, my bodily reactions. It was like he tried to reshape me from the inside out.”
Rio leaned down and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “That’s why you said he tried to take you away from you.”
“Yes.”
Nella felt lassitude seeping through her agitation, Rio’s Shareem touch calming her. “But you got away from him,” Talan said, her eyes anxious.
“I managed to sneak onto a transport leaving Linginian’s estate, which took me to Station 573. But once he realized I’d gotten onto it, he contacted men on the station to snatch me again. He has money and friends everywhere. I managed to escape onto another transport to Station 289. Again, he had friends looking for me when I arrived, and I couldn’t even get to a call console. I simply kept running, stowing away on transport after transport. I became good at it.” She laughed a little.
“And eventually you got to Bor Narga,” Dr. Laas said.
“Yes. Sometime along the way, Linginian changed from telling his friends to capture me to instructing them to kill me. If I reach home and tell my story, you see, he’s finished.”
“So he lined up assassin bots to go after you,” Rio said.
Nella looked up at him. “And you got in one’s way.”
“I’m damned glad I did.” Rio smiled a little, wickedness in his eyes. “I never would have gotten to see your ultra-gorgeous body, otherwise.”
Nella flushed. No one else in the room seemed to think his speech outrageous. They were used to Shareem—they were used to Rio.
Talan touched her hand. “We’ll help you get back home.”
“You are kind.”
“We know what it’s like to be hunted,” Dr. Laas said.
“Except Talan,” Rio put in. “She’s a rich girl. She gets everything she wants.”
Talan stuck her tongue out at him, and Rio laughed.
“I can relay a message as far as Station 657,” Baine broke in above them. “The consul there can relay it across stations all the way to Ariel. The message will be untraceable, which means your friends will not be able to contact you here, but then, neither will your enemies.”
“Or mine,” Dr. Laas put in.
Nella hesitated. “I would hate to jeopardize your safety.”
“You will not,” Baine said, sounding offended. “No one will ever trace a transmission to this compound. I am the most sophisticated computer ever made.”
“With an ego to match,” Rees observed.
“That is rich, coming from a Shareem.”
“Prepare the message, Baine
,” Dr. Laas said. “What do you want it to say, Nella?”
“Just that I am safe and that Linginian should be arrested and questioned, and that he tried to use drugs to induce the Bond.” Nella shuddered. “It was the most horrifying thing he could have done.”
“Will the people on Ariel believe the message is from Nella?” Talan asked. “They won’t think it a trick, or a hoax?”
“They will have visual, voice print, and DNA match,” Baine said, somewhat huffily. “I will direct the rescue effort to Station 657. We will get Nella there, and all will be well. No one will need to come near the compound, or even to Bor Narga. I fancy that Princess Nella would be happy to leave this ‘rock’ as Rio so poetically calls it.”
“Yes, indeed,” Nella said. “Not that I don’t appreciate what you all have done . . .”
She broke off as Rio laughed. “You’re not offending me wanting to get out of this place.” He nuzzled her neck, and warm sensation trickled down her spine. “Of course, that means we won’t have much time to get to know each other. We’d better do it fast.”
“I’ll find you passage on another transport,” Rees said. “Rio will go with you.”
“No.” Nella pushed back her chair and stood up. The others looked at her in surprise.
“Tired of me already, beautiful?” Rio asked. His blue eyes were watchful behind the teasing twinkle.
“I don’t want the assassin bots after you. Put me on a transport—I will do the rest.”
This noble speech did not go over well. Rio shook his head, Rees looked skeptical, Talan distressed.
“Still don’t trust us, do you?” Rio said. He moved to stand behind her and began teasing the fine hairs on the nape of her neck. Nella felt her agitation slow, her body responding whether she liked it or not.
“I do,” she said. “But—”
“No buts,” Rees broke in. “Rio brought you here, and we’re in it now. Rio can protect you until you find your own people.”
Tales of the Shareem, Volume 1 Page 23