Brianna

by Judy Mays

  Brianna snorted inelegantly. Only Jenneta would call Marljas a boy.

  Jenneta ignored Brianna and continued, “We can be very grateful for Marljas. If Sheala had still been a virgin when Bakom and his assistants raped her, the mental damage would have been much more profound. As it is, it may take years for her to recover from this experience. This marriage to Marljas may aid in her recuperation. We must think very carefully before we try to deny them.”

  “Marljas would just take her to Gattan anyway,” Brianna muttered.

  Char gazed at his wife thoughtfully. “Brianna’s right. We all know Marljas is impulsive. Right now he’s convinced he loves Sheala. Maybe he does. At this point, it will harm no one to agree with them. Later, if one or both believes there’s been a mistake, well, there was no formal marriage. They can walk away from each other.”

  Brianna stared at Char as if he’d grown another head, but she kept her thoughts to herself. From Denieen, she’d learned that nothing on Gattan was as binding as a bloodbond. Sheala and Marljas’ blood had mixed on his chest and her palm. To the Gattan, they were as married as married could be.

  Jamiros sighed and patted his wife’s shoulder. “Then we’ll bide our time with Sheala and Marljas. As for Bakom and this afternoon’s hearing, we are in agreement?”

  Affirmative nods answered his question.

  “Good. We’ll meet together again in four hours to leave for the Council building. Until then, I suggest we make sure everything is ready.”

  As everyone was going his or her separate way, Brianna said, “I am expecting Denieen soon. Please have her brought to my room when she arrives.”

  After Brianna left, Char turned to Ban. “What are my wife and Denieen planning?”

  Ban stared at the doorway Brianna had just disappeared through. “I haven’t got the vaguest idea but knowing Brianna, whatever it is will make an impression.”

  Char started towards the door. “That’s what I’m afraid of. We’ve got Bakom right where we want him. I don’t want Brianna to ruin that, nor do I want her in any danger of any kind.”

  Ban’s hand on his arm stopped him. “Don’t. You know Brianna. If she doesn’t want you to know what she’s doing, she won’t tell you and you’ll both only become more upset. Brianna won’t do anything to endanger her baby. Leave her be. What could she possibly do, anyway? We’ll all be there to stop her.”

  After a short pause, Char nodded. Ban was right. What could she possibly do with all of them there? Findal surely had assassins somewhere. The members of the royal family always had at least one guarding them at all times. Char cursed mentally, wishing he could recognize the assassins. Not the Aradabs. They’d never shown any interest in the Brotherhood. Damn, but he had to talk to Findal. Brianna was his wife. He deserved to know what the assassin guarding her looked like.

  Ban stared at the wall. Brianna would do as she damn well pleased and not even he would be able to stop her. Shaking himself out of his reverie, Ban rose. He too had things to do before the meeting.

  * * * * *

  Bakom awoke refreshed. The Alalakans were exactly where he wanted them. Unfortunately, late-night planning had caused him to sleep later than usual, and he wouldn’t be able to stop at the secret laboratory before the Ruling Council’s hearing. A session with the Gattan would have been so invigorating.

  Charging Alalakan don al’ Chardadon with treason had been a stroke of genius, Bakom admitted to himself. He only needed the agreement of ten other Council members to register that charge, and he’d had little trouble finding ten members who hated the Alalakans enough to agree. The fact that treason was normally leveled against only those who compromised the security of Drakan in some way didn’t matter. He, Bakom, was or soon would be the ruler of Drakan. Anyone who went against his wishes was a traitor. Soon he’d have not only the Alalakan daughter but also his stolen specimen back.

  Slipping into the official yellow robes of Academy President, Bakom chuckled gleefully. These robes would bolster his argument by reminding everyone of his position. And anyone voting against him would be marked and remembered.

  After checking his appearance one last time in the mirror, Bakom left his bedroom. Calling to his housekeeper to bring his breakfast, he made his way to his study. Sitting down before his computer, he checked his agenda. Shrugging away the irritation he’d experienced earlier because he wouldn’t have time to stop in at his secret laboratory, he checked the time. He had one hour until he had to meet with his primary allies on the council to review their strategy. Two hours after that, he would break the back of the Alalakan clan.

  Taking a deep breath, Eliana pressed the code that would connect her with Bakom’s personal computer. The early morning call she received from Alalakan don al’ Chardadon had been very clear. The longer it took Bakom to reach the Council chamber, the better. She knew exactly what they were asking her to do.

  “What is it, Eliana?” said Bakom’s voice from her communicator. “There isn’t a problem at the lab is there?”

  “No, Doctor,” she answered as she pushed a button. “I know you’ll be busy this afternoon and this evening. I was hoping I could congratulate you on your victory while there was time.”

  Bakom stared at the viewing screen on his computer. The image of Eliana was very clear. She stood before her screen practically naked. A small scrap of sequined leather barely covered her pubic region and two sparkling nipple tassels were strategically placed on her breasts. He watched as she took her tail in her hand and began to rub it over her body. His breath quickened and his pupils dilated.

  “Forget the breakfast,” he yelled to his housekeeper. “I am leaving now.”

  His allies knew his plans. He could talk to them later.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Char squeezed Brianna’s hand. “Remember, you need only answer the questions asked by Council members. You don’t have to speak to Bakom at all.”

  Brianna craned her neck and tried to look into the room. “Well, at least I’ll finally get to see what he looks like.”

  Silence spread across the room as Alalakan don al’ Jamiros entered.

  Bakom was already seated in the chair reserved for the accuser, arriving barely five minutes before the hearing began. The hour he’d spent with Eliana had been well worth the delay.

  Nodding to friends and acquaintances as he crossed the floor, Jamiros bypassed the chair reserved for the accused and took his customary seat among the counselors.

  A shocked silence seemed to echo throughout the hall as Bakom smiled with glee. This slap in the face to the Council was more than he’d dreamed of.

  The Council president cleared his throat and said, “Alalakan don al’ Jamiros, do you remember why this session of the council was called?”

  “Of course I do, Mr. President. I’m not senile.”

  “Why then have you taken your customary seat? As head of the Alalakan clan, you are required to answer the accusations made against your clan member.”

  Jamiros made eye contact with a smug Bakom and chuckled. “But Mr. President, I am no longer head of the clan. That honor now belongs to my son.”

  Bakom scowled but then his countenance cleared. Rodane was no smarter than Jamiros.

  The president smiled briefly. The Alalakan clan had waited a long time for Rodane and his wife to conceive. “My congratulations, Alalakan don al’ Jamiros. Your son is here?”

  “Of course, Mr. President. The Alalakan clan would certainly never ignore a summons from the Ruling Council. My son is simply waiting for the accusation to be placed before the Council and acknowledged as legitimate.”

  Many members, especially Bakom’s allies, grumbled. They’d expected a quick session. The Alalakans were demanding formal procedure.

  The president frowned and sighed. He’d spent most of his career on the Council struggling to remain neutral between Bakom and his allies and the Alalakans and theirs. “Very well, Jamiros. Madam Speaker, please read the accusation placed before the Cou
ncil.”

  A woman, much stouter than the usual Drakian, rose and began to read. “The accusation as placed forth by Dr. Rodak don al’ Bakom, First President of the Academy of Science and Ruling Council member, against Alalakan don al’ Chardadon is as follows: Know then that Alalakan don al’ Chardadon did knowingly and maliciously steal a hitherto unknown animal specimen native to a newly discovered planet from the presence of Dr. Rodak don al’ Bakom. While Dr. Bakom is willing to acknowledge Captain Alalakan’s reasoning that the specimen needed medical attention, Dr. Bakom does remind the Council that he is a fully qualified medical doctor. Furthermore, after medical attention was no longer necessary, Captain Alalakan removed the specimen from the medical section of his ship to his private quarters, denying Dr. Bakom all access. The specimen’s human-like characteristics demanded that it be given the Tests of Humanity. Captain Alalakan willfully disregarded Dr. Bakom’s claim. Dr. Bakom therefore enters the charge of treason against Captain Alalakan don al’ Chardadon on behalf of the Drakian Academy of Science. Will the Head of the Clan Alalakan acknowledge this claim of treason?”

  Chardadon strode onto the chamber floor and took his place next to the chair allotted to him. “The head of the Clan Alalakan hears the accusation and answers.”

  Bakom leaped to his feet. “What perfidy is this?”

  The President turned to Jamiros and said, “This isn’t amusing, Alalakan don al’ Jamiros. What game do you play?”

  Jamiros met the President’s questioning gaze with a stern stare. “No game, Mr. President. My son Chardadon now heads our clan. His wife carries the Alalakan heir.”

  “The Council was unaware of Alalakan don al’ Chardadon’s marriage.”

  “As Head of the Clan Alalakan, Mr. President, I demand that you address your comments to me,” Char said in an icy tone. “And since when has it been necessary to inform the Council when one marries?”

  “It’s a lie,” Bakom snarled. “He’s spent most of the last fourteen months in space or on Mediria. He didn’t have enough time to court and marry, let alone impregnate, a woman.”

  Char’s smile was anything but pleasant. “That’s assuming my wife is Drakian. Mr. President, there is no law that requires me to marry a Drakian, is there?”

  The president grimaced. He was being maneuvered into a corner and there was nothing he could do about it. “No, Alalakan don al’ Chardadon, there is no law requiring you to marry a Drakian.”

  “I will not tolerate this!” Bakom shouted. He was beginning to get an inkling of what Chardadon was about to reveal. Now he understood why some of his allies were so upset about his late arrival. Rumors of Chardadon’s marriage must have been circulating.

  The President pounded his gavel. “I will have silence from you, Dr. Bakom. Your accusation has been made. The Alalakans have the right to answer.”

  Char smiled and bowed his head towards Bakom. Then he turned back to the Council. “Ladies and gentlemen of the Ruling Council, in the interest of time and to help expedite matters, I would like to introduce to you my wife, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna of the previously unknown planet Earth, Bakom’s so-called specimen.”

  Char held out his hand towards the door he had entered. On cue, Brianna swept into the room on Rodane’s arm followed by Bandalardrac and Ademis. All three men, as had Char and his father, wore jackets with heavily embroidered representations of their dragons on the lapels. Brianna, on the other hand, bared her flaming dragon with its implicit challenge for the entire Council to see.

  Brianna was dressed in a flowing white dress that bared her right shoulder, her dragon shimmering in the lights of the Council chamber. Her hair flowed down her back, held in place by her bridal net of red diamonds. Red diamonds also sparkled from her right wrist, fingers, and ears. On her left forearm, she wore a Gattan wrist sheath of beaten red gold covered with even more red diamonds. Denieen had delivered it that morning with very specific instructions on how to use the razor-sharp knife that rested in the sheath.

  To say Brianna dazzled those sitting in the Council chamber would be an understatement. Seeing her, every member there could understand why Chardadon had married her—and why Bakom wanted her back. More than anything else, though, her pregnancy was obvious to everyone.

  Taking Brianna’s hand, Char helped her into the chair he stood beside. Turning to the Council, he asked in a challenging tone, “Are there any questions?”

  By rights, the President should have called an end to the meeting right then and there. However, Bakom was not about to give up, something Char and his family had counted on.

  He rose from his chair and beat his fist on the railing before him. “This is ridiculous! How do we know she was not pregnant when she first boarded the ship?”

  Char stepped forward and handed a folder to the president. “Medical records from Dr. Bakom’s own computers detailing his initial physical examination of my wife. As you can see, it is stated quite clearly that she was not pregnant at that time. Also included in the file are records from Brianna’s latest prenatal examination. Blood tests performed by Dr. Sendenton dem al’ Lorilana prove quite conclusively that she carries a Drakian child.”

  The President didn’t bother to open the folder. He had no doubt that everything Char said was true.

  As Bakom snarled and sputtered, a loud pounding from the doors at the back of the Council chamber interrupted the preceding. Motioning the guards to open the heavy doors, the President sighed again. Obviously the entire Council session was being very carefully orchestrated and manipulated by the Alalakans. Bakom had finally gone too far.

  The doors were barely open when the Medirian ambassador strode down the aisle to the center of the Council floor.

  The President rose to greet him. “Prince Hardan, we are honored by your presence, but surely this is not a Medirian matter.”

  “Since when is the demand that a Hardan princess be turned over to your Academy of Science as a scientific specimen not a Medirian matter?” Kavlalardrac snapped in a very icy tone. “I’m here to inform you that the Hardan royal family will not forgive this insult to its honor. Failure to dismiss all charges against my niece’s husband will result in an immediate cancellation of any connections between Mediria and Drakan. Have I made myself clear?”

  The President paled and shot a venomous look in Bakom’s direction. “Your Highness, please, there must be some misunderstanding.”

  Bakom’s fists pounded the railing again. “It’s a lie. The Hardan family is in collusion with the Alalakans!”

  Gasps of dismay filled the room. Even Bakom’s staunchest allies would not go so far as to anger the Medirian royal family. Too many of them would be financially ruined if Mediria severed all contacts with Drakan. And there were the assassins to consider.

  Kavlalardrac became even more icily royal, if that were possible. “Brianna was adopted into the Hardan royal family months ago because the dols and orcs reside on her home planet. That is all the explanation my brother wishes to provide. I trust that I can inform him that this has all been a terrible misunderstanding?”

  “Rest assured, Prince Kavlalardrac, that the Ruling Council of Drakan has no wish to bring any insult to the Hardan royal family.”

  “You fools!” Bakom howled. “Can’t you see that the Alalakans are manipulating you? Who is in charge here?”

  Brianna had had enough. “God, what an asshole.”

  Rising slowly, she left her seat and stepped up onto the platform before the Council members. Char placed his hand on her arm, but she shrugged it off. Her head high, she brushed her hair back off of her shoulder so that her flaming dragon was fully visible to everyone.

  “I’ve had enough of this bullshit,” she said in a voice that carried clearly.

  “Bullshit?” flew around the chamber in whispers from mouth to mouth.

  Both Char and Ban stepped onto the platform but were halted by Council guards as Brianna waddled purposefully towards Bakom. Fists clenched, she stared at the man who had g
iven her nightmares for months. Bakom’s just like Gustovson, interested only in himself, and he doesn’t care who he hurts to satisfy his own ambitions. Well, he picked the wrong person to mess with.

  Halting three feet from her nemesis, Brianna drew the knife from the wrist sheath. Very deliberately and very slowly she drew the sharp blade across the fleshy part of her lower arm. Blood rolled down over her hand and dripped to the floor. With a quick flick of her wrist, she buried the knife in the floor in front of Bakom.

  “I, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna, call bloodfeud on Rodak don al’ Bakom,” she stated in a clear voice that seethed with anger.

  Pandemonium broke loose.

  As soon as she threw the knife, Council guards grabbed Ban and Char.

  “Brianna!” Char bellowed as he struggled against the two guards that held him.

  She ignored him.

  Eventually, the pounding of the president’s gavel and his shouts for order silenced most of those present.

  “Alalakan dem al’ Brianna,” the President demanded, “you are not a Gattan to call for bloodfeud.”

  Flexing his shoulders, Ban tensed to throw off the two guards who held him.

  Marljas’ shout halted him.

  Every head turned to the Federation balconies that lined the walls around the Council chamber.

  Marljas’ voice rang clearly from the Gattan balcony. “I, Marljas Drefeson, answer my bloodsister’s call.”

  Leaping from the balcony, he landed as lightly and gracefully as any cat. Rising, he strode to Brianna’s side. Muscles rippled on his bare arms and chest. The Alalakan dragon and an unknown beast that resembled Marljas closely were bared for everyone to see.

  Standing before Bakom, whose eyes widened at the sight of the dragon, Marljas unsheathed the claws of his right hand and drew them across his left forearm, one at a time, reciting each accusation against Bakom clearly. “Rodak don al’ Bakom, I call bloodfeud,” he snarled as the first rivulet of blood began to flow down his arm and drip to the floor, “for your harassment of my bloodsister, Alalakan dem al’ Brianna and your failure to honor her humanity.