“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t want to give offense,” Lisa said, gratefully belting the robe—which felt like it was made of feathers—around her waist.
“Come then—let us go.” And Lambada glided away, leading Lisa out of the changing area and into a whole other part of the baths.
If the purification process he’d had to go through was only of the medium variety, he would hate to see what the maximum level was, Asher thought grimly as he followed Natillus to the holy mists.
First he had been stripped and then submerged in a pool of icy cold liquid which was a shock to his entire system. Then Natillus led him shivering to another pool—this one boiling hot—which left his skin lobster-red. After that it was back to the icy pool again and then on to the “tunnel of scouring.”
This turned out to be a long passageway he had to walk through filled with dozens of mechanical arms, each tipped with a type of brush. Some had soft bristles but some were stiff and harsh and all of them seemed to be scrubbing various parts of his body at once as he walked slowly through the gauntlet of arms.
At last he was relieved when Natillus pronounced him pure enough to enter the holy mists. Asher only hoped that when he saw Lisa there, she would not have undergone the same treatment he had. Even the emergency and holiday pay wouldn’t be enough to off-set such a punishing routine and she might be very upset—even traumatized—at this point, and wishing she had never come with him in the first place.
So he was eager to see her, to make certain she was all right. But as they entered the mists, though he looked high and low, he didn’t see her anywhere.
Twenty-Two
The holy mists turned out to be a huge room—about twice as big as a basketball court, Lisa estimated—filled with a warm, steamy mist like a sauna.
She and Lambada took off their robes and hung them on hooks on the wall by the door that led into the area and then Lisa stood there, with her arms wrapped around herself. She was shivering despite the warmth, mostly because she disliked feeling so exposed.
But this is what you signed up for, she reminded herself sternly. You knew you were going to have to wear the crazy underwear and walk around in public. Kat warned you and you agreed to it. Remember how much you’re getting paid by the hour, Lisa. It’s time to suck it up and do this!
Her inner pep-talk strengthened her resolve so when Lambada said,
“Are you ready to enter the mists, Lady Lisa?”
Lisa nodded firmly.
“Let’s go,” she said, thinking that the sooner they started this, the sooner it would be over. “Uh—where are we going, though?” she added uncertainly. She hoped they weren’t going to wander around in the warm, steamy room in their obscene underwear for hours. How long, exactly, did it take to be “purified?”
“Natillus and I always like to meet under the mouth of Thufar when we come to be purified,” Lambada said serenely. “It is in the very center of the room,” she added by way of explanation and then glided away into the mists with her chewchie chattering happily on her head.
Lisa followed quickly, not wanting to lose sight of her guide. The mist swirling around the vast room was so thick it was difficult to see more than three feet in front of her and it would be easy to get lost.
As they walked, she occasionally saw more of the Chorkay people wandering through the large room. They appeared out of the warm vapor like ghosts coming out of a fog, Lisa thought—sometimes a single male or female but most often in pairs or threes and she remembered that they apparently viewed group marriages here as valid as couples joining.
All of the Chorkay she saw had chewchies riding on their heads and all of them were naked—or at least they looked naked, in the case of the females. They gave Lisa curious looks, though no one said anything to her, and she had to confess, she looked back. The Chorkays were just so strange looking—strange but interesting. And she had to admit, she wanted to know if the male Chorkay genitals were as different as the female ones.
Of course, she couldn’t just stare at someone’s crotch so she tried to be subtle about it and only look from the corner of her eye as she passed someone in the mists.
She had just determined that while the Chorkay men had only one penis, (which appeared to curve upward at the end in a startling-kind of corkscrew shape,) they certainly had three testicles…when Lisa realized she was lost.
She looked around and then turned in a circle, frowning. Where was Lambada? She couldn’t remember hearing the other woman’s voice in some time and Lisa didn’t see her anywhere.
Maybe she ought to call for her? But the silence in the large, misty room stopped her. Nobody seemed to be talking much at all, except for a murmur here or there to their mate or mates. Lisa remembered that this was a sacred space—she didn’t want to offend anyone by “shouting down the house” as her mom would have said.
Well, Lambada had said they were going to meet at the mouth of Thufar—whatever that was—in the middle of the room. Of course, it was impossible to tell in the thick mists where the middle might be, but it seemed to Lisa that her only option was to keep wandering around the room and hope that she ran into someone she knew. Also, she would keep her eye out for the landmark—the mouth of Thufar—though she had no idea what it might look like—and just hope for the best.
It seemed she had been wandering for hours when she nearly ran into a Chorkay man who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He was completely naked, of course, with a bright orange chewchie nesting in his fringe of turquoise hair.
“Oh, excuse me,” she mumbled and tried to duck around him. But the Chorkay man moved to block her path.
“Hello, lovely one,” he said to Lisa, his three red eyes raking over her body. “You must be from a different place, as I am myself.”
“I’m from Earth,” Lisa said, surprised into talking to him, though she really didn’t want to.
“And I am a representative from the Southern continent,” the man said.
“The, uh, Southern continent? I didn’t know you had a Southern continent here on Helios Beta,” Lisa remarked, not knowing what else to say.
Now that she looked at him, he didn’t look like a regular Chorkay. His skin was deep purple instead of blue and one of his eyes—the third one in the middle—was shrunken and slitted, almost like it was blind. The red eyeball inside the tiny shrunken socket was blurry and clouded and didn’t seem to see anything. However, the alien male made up for this by staring at her avidly with his two good eyes.
She tried to not notice the way he was looking her over and made an effort not to look below his waistline herself. She concentrated, instead, on his chewchie, which was different from any of the others she had seen.
The little creature didn’t seem to have the light, feathery fur she’d seen on other chewchies for one thing. Instead it seemed to have scales, rather like a snake. Other than that, it still looked like a cross between a monkey and a cat but she thought it might have been less horrific looking if it appeared to be a kind of reptile, as the scales seemed to imply. As it was, it reminded her a little of one of those awful-looking hairless Sphinx cats but with tiny clawed hands and large, luminous poison-green eyes that glowed in the misty room.
“Ah yes, the Southern continent,” the strange Chorkay male mused, sounding both proud and homesick at the same time. “We still live above ground there, you know—instead of dwelling in these stifling tunnels,” he added with a grimace of distaste.
“Ah…I see.” Lisa nodded, wishing she knew how to extract herself from the conversation without offending him. “And are you here for the coronation tomorrow?” she asked politely.
“Most assuredly.” He nodded. “I am a special envoy sent from my people to make peace. For years we of the Southern continent have warred with the people of the Northern desert lands,” he went on. “But what more auspicious time than at the coronation of the new Potentate to call a truce to our endless war?”
“Um, of course. That seems like a very, uh, au
spicious idea,” Lisa said, beginning to edge away from him. “Would you excuse me? I’m looking for my friends.”
“What need have you for friends when you have me?” The man moved unexpectedly closer—much closer than Lisa felt comfortable with. Especially considering that his large, protruding penis with its weird corkscrew end was waving much closer to her pelvis than she liked. The head of his penis was a dark, bruised purple color and it seemed to be dripping some kind of reddish liquid. The sight made her want to gag and she looked hastily away.
“Um, excuse me,” Lisa said, moving pointedly away from him. “But I don’t even know you.”
“Ah yes—for I have not told you my name and title, lovely one. I am Ambassador Ba’deal from the great city of Sinlex of the Southern continent.” He made her an elaborate bow. “And you are?” he asked, straightening up.
“Lady Lisa of Earth,” Lisa said shortly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really have to find my party.”
She moved to get away but once more Ambassador Ba’deal blocked her path.
“Now that we know each other, lovely one,” he said, giving her a lecherous smile, “Why do we not go to a private purification chamber and bathe each other for the mutual benefit of our souls?”
“No thank you,” Lisa said, trying to get around him again. Again he blocked her.
“Tell me, do you really only have one sacred mouth?” he asked, staring pointedly at her crotch. “Does that mean you risk conception every time you copulate?”
“That’s none of your business!” Lisa snapped. “And it’s extremely rude of you to ask!”
He shrugged, his purple shoulders rolling with the gesture.
“I was only wondering if our mutual purification might result in a big belly for you, my dear. I think our species are close enough to breed—why don’t we find out?” He came towards her, as he spoke, herding her through the swirling mist.
“What? No!” Lisa exclaimed, backing away from him. “Keep your distance! I’m not interested.”
“Ah, but I am interested in you,” Ba’deal made a grab for her, which she barely evaded. “I wonder if the child I get on you will have two eyes…or three?”
Lisa was backing away as fast as she could now. She wanted to turn and run but she was afraid he would only grab her and reel her in. If he wrapped an arm around her throat so she couldn’t breathe and dragged her into one of these “private purification chambers” he had spoken of, would anyone even notice?
She might be willing to put up with a lot of things for twenty-five hundred dollars an hour but rape was not one of them.
Oh God, I have to get away from him—have to get away! She felt just like she had when Cameron used to come after her. The awful fear that he would grab her…hurt her…made her throat want to close and her heartbeat pound in her ears. She felt like a trapped thing—like prey being chased by a predator.
Sacred place or not, she was going to have to scream, she decided as Ambassador Ba’deal made another grab for her. She opened her mouth to yell for help but just then she tripped over her own feet and started falling backwards.
Oh no! Lisa tried to brace herself for impact as Ba’deal lunged at her. She knew the minute she hit the floor he would be on her and then what was she going to do?
“Hel—” she started to scream but before she could finish her cry or hit the floor, someone caught her from behind and put her back on her feet.
“What in the—” Lisa gasped.
“Lisa, are you well?” a deep, familiar voice said in her ear.
Looking up, Lisa saw that it was Asher standing at her back.
“Oh, thank goodness!” she exclaimed, feeling weak with relief. “There’s this man—this Chorkay—and he won’t leave me alone! He was talking about taking me into a private room and…and…”
But just then, Ambassador Ba’deal appeared out of the mists.
“Ah, there you are, my dear,” he said to Lisa, as though he hadn’t just been trying to assault her. “Let’s go find that private chamber we talked about, shall we?”
“No!” Lisa exclaimed. She took a step back, pressing her back to Asher’s broad chest and glared at the asshole. “Get away from me,” she told him. “I told you I wasn’t interested and I’m still not!”
“Lisa, what is the meaning of this?” Asher looked down at her in concern and then glared fiercely at the Chorkay Ambassador. “Is this male bothering you?”
“Yes, he absolutely is,” Lisa said at the same time Ba’deal said,
“No, of course not. I was just having a conversation with the lovely little female. Is she yours then?”
“Lisa is mine,” Asher growled and Lisa saw that his normally-green eyes were beginning to glow red. “What have you done to her?”
“Why nothing—nothing at all.” Ba’deal spread his hands in an apparent gesture of placation. “We were only having a simple conversation about our respective homelands and then she ran away from me, for no reason I could tell.”
“That isn’t true!” Lisa exclaimed. “You’re lying! He’s lying,” she told Asher. “He tried to grab me!”
“What’s this? Is there a problem?” Suddenly Natillus and Lambada appeared from out of the mists. “Oh, Ambassador Ba’deal,” he said, catching sight of the other Chorkay male. “How are you? I had no idea you would be here tonight.”
“Why of course—I couldn’t miss the opportunity for purification in your lovely temple, now could I?” Ba’deal asked, smiling.
“And is there some kind of trouble here?” Natillus asked, frowning.
“Yes, there does appear to be,” Asher answered before Ba’deal could speak. He looked at Lisa. “What happened?”
“Nothing but a misunderstanding, I assure you,” the Ambassador said smoothly, before Lisa could even speak. “A cultural miscommunication.”
“Lisa?” Asher looked at her seriously. “Is that what happened?”
Lisa felt angry and cornered. She wanted to shout that it had not been a misunderstanding—that the asshole had come after her and tried to attack her. But…what if what Ambassador Ba’deal had done was the normal way men and women interacted here? Also, Asher himself was supposed to be a diplomat. If she kicked up a fuss and accused Ba’deal of trying to attack her, how would it affect him?
“I…guess it was a misunderstanding,” she said unwillingly.
“Of course. And if I have offended you, I am most heartily sorry, my dear.” Ba’deal bowed politely.
“Sure, whatever,” Lisa muttered. “Excuse me.” She ducked past Asher and Natillus and Lambada, just wanting to get away from the Chorkay asshole. But Asher followed her.
“Lisa,” he said seriously, turning her to face him. “What really happened? You can tell me.”
“It was nothing.” She looked away, arms crossed protectively over her breasts, hands cupping her elbows. “I thought he was trying to…to do something but maybe I was wrong.”
“Do you want me to fight him? Kill him?” Asher asked seriously.
“And make a public scene in a place where you’re supposed to be a peaceful diplomat?” Lisa raised her eyebrows at him. “Do you think that would be a good idea?”
“Do you really think I have to make it public when I decide to kill someone?” Asher returned, his voice low and full of deadly menace. “If he hurt or attacked you I can and will make him sorry without raising an alarm.”
Looking into his green eyes—which were now ice-cold—Lisa felt herself shiver. This was a side of the big Kindred she hadn’t seen before. He was so kind and gentle and respectful of her it was easy to forget that he was also an assassin when his job called for it.
“That’s okay,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry I was so upset. It just…it brought back some bad memories of my husband. Ex-husband,” she added because damn it, divorce papers or not, Cameron was out of her life and she didn’t intend to consider herself married to him at all anymore.
“I’m sorry,” Asher sai
d, frowning. “Did your ex-mate…” He shook his head. “Never mind. I am certain you don’t want to tell me about that part of your past and it would only make me go into Rage to hear of anyone hurting you.” He looked at her intently. “Are you certain you don’t wish me to make this Ambassador Ba’deal sorry he bothered you?”
“No. I’ll just make sure to steer clear of him in the future.” Lisa sighed. “Especially in a situation where everyone is naked in a huge sauna together.”
“Are you naked?” Asher asked, frowning. “I thought that females were required to wear some kind of garment to cover themselves.”
“Oh, I am,” Lisa said quickly. “I mean this—these, uh pictures—are fake.” She nodded down at herself uncomfortably.
“I see.” Asher’s eyes flicked over her body quickly and then back up to her face. Lisa was also trying her best not to look below the big Kindred’s belt-line but she couldn’t help a quick glance. Well, at least his cock wasn’t erect and waving at her like Ambassador Ba’deal’s had been. That had just been creepy.
“How was your purification process?” Asher asked, apparently trying to change the subject. “I hope it wasn’t too onerous? I was very concerned about you.”
“No, it wasn’t bad at all,” Lisa said. “Why—was yours?”
“It was…extensive.” Asher told her about the hot and cold pools and the hall with the long mechanical arms and rough brushes and Lisa shook her head.
“Oh, that sounds awful! No, I didn’t have to go through any of that. Lambada and I didn’t do anything but lie on a pink couch and breathe in flower fumes.”
“I’m relieved you didn’t have a bad experience,” Asher remarked. “But rather envious, too. It sounds like your purification process was much easier than my own.”
“I would think so,” Lisa said. “Guess I’m lucky I have the Sacred Blue eyes.”
Falling for Kindred Claus Page 12