Enemy Known

by Butler, J. M.

  "Apparently." Naatos turned her, examining her back. "It's unfortunate. The color of your dress suited you."

  "Why…are you the reason there was blood on the turquoise dress? Whose blood is this?" Amelia looked at him. The black material of his clothing made it all but invisible except for the liquid's sheen.

  "Yes. Fortunately, they can be replaced. That's why you have more than one dress. We should leave." He checked his other arm for blood and then offered it to her.

  Amelia accepted hesitantly. To think that she had been resting so peacefully beside him only a short time before, letting him caress her and tell her Vawtrian myths. And she had almost been flirting with him moments before.

  Her cheeks flushed. It's all right, she told herself. This is what I have to do. But the guilt and unease flared. "What were you doing in there?" she asked.

  "The dispensement. But do not ask for more details. It would upset you." Naatos pressed the door to the upper stairwell open.

  "I can guess." Amelia looked down at his hands. The skin just beneath his fingernails and in the creases of his fingers looked bloodied as well despite no presence of wounds.

  "I'm sure you could. And while I have no desire to keep secrets from you, I don't want to burden you either. In this case, I can comfort you with the knowledge that this involves dealing with actual criminals, at least by your definition. Given what happened between you and WroOth, I don't want you having any more pressure."

  "I don't even know what I did," Amelia said.

  "It wasn't your fault. You just didn't know how to protect yourself, and I didn't realize how damaged WroOth's mind was. Perhaps it was a bad idea even so. I should have shown you how to protect yourself during observation. I have been through such ordeals so many times that I cannot be shaken. At worst, you would have disoriented me."

  Amelia still couldn't remember all that had happened though the pieces were sliding into place. "WroOth is…I hurt him." She might have said that she had changed him, but the way he had responded, his reaction, was more like a wound than enlightenment.

  "He'll recover."

  "When?"

  "None too soon."

  "Can Neyeb do this at will?" Though uncomfortable, it struck Amelia that she might be able to use this to her advantage. It might even help to persuade Naatos.

  "Not without grave risks. It's more a reactionary response."

  Amelia wondered if he would tell her the truth on this. Clearly she had some defenses she had not known about.

  Still holding onto Naatos's arm, she slipped into silence. Even so, she noted the passages and other identifying traits. Once more the tapestries proved to be important anchoring details. And to her relief, they soon reached even more familiar halls. Halls she herself had been through. They climbed the second staircase and passed through multiple passages and at last returned to the family chambers.

  No one else was present. Once again, Naatos offered to let her join him as he dressed, but Amelia declined. When Naatos pointed out that she should not attend dinner in a bloodied dress, she slipped a dress out of the wardrobe and dressed in another room, an inner library from the looks of it. She then retreated to the open common room.

  This room was somewhat similar to the living rooms in her Indiana home and Uncle Joe's. The legless couches had the same general form as a regular couch, and they were just as high on the ground. Crimson and gold phoenixes and dragons were woven into the carpet along with many other abstract designs. Books of all sizes and covers lined the thick inset shelves. The bindings themselves revealed no titles, but a sheet on the right-hand side of each shelf offered a list of the books in order. Amelia examined the titles. They ranged from The Faults of the Fallen to Interpretation and Visions for Only the Machat? to Locked: All The Things You Should Have Known Before You Did It to Adventures of the Istai. All the books were exquisite. WroOth hadn't been joking when he said that they enjoyed stories.

  She moved to the other bookshelf. It had a number of drawers and cubbies as well as shelves. As Amelia leaned in to read the titles, she caught sight of her tablet thrust in at the end. She pulled it out, surprised to see it.

  The tablet slid out easily, but it had a strange glowing clump of blue along the side. It glistened as if it was wet, but when Amelia touched it, none rubbed off. The tablet screen brightened as she ran her hand across it. Obviously whatever this blue stuff was, it was keeping the battery alive. The charge read full, though by this time, it should have died. Given the ease with which AaQar had manipulated the tablet, Amelia guessed that Vawtrian technology was superior even to Earth's.

  That raised a number of other questions and problems though. She found her e-reader application running a copy of Crime and Punishment. Numerous highlights and notations dotted each page. She tapped on one, resizing it for easier reading, but it was only a series of abbreviations. She pulled up the "recently opened" tab. Her eyes widened. Practically everything had been opened. She scrolled down. Every book, every music file, every movie, every document. Thank Elonumato she had deleted her journal! What about the other things she had brought?

  Hugging the tablet to her chest, Amelia opened the drawers. In the first, she found bits of candle, a broken quill, a couple pots of ink, and other odds and ends. In the second, she found blades of all sizes, some with patterns, some plain. A few had been broken. The third held a number of strange things. Carved game pieces, it looked like. Leather cords and polished claws.

  She paused. There was her gun. And the bullets. She picked it up. It felt like ages since she had held it. A lot of good it had done. She pushed it back in the drawer, making note of it in case she needed it later. Her eyeliner was in the corner of the drawer.

  A heavy pang of sadness passed over her. Eyeliner had been one of the items she'd used to feel feminine and empowered. Picking it up, she looked at herself in the mirror. A few quick flicks with the narrow brush highlighted her eyes and gave them a long-missed boldness, complete with the exaggerated tail.

  But the boldness was false. She capped the lid and returned it to the drawer. Her eyeliner was about as effective as her gun, though in the moment of putting it on she had felt better. That was something even if it was short lived.

  Turning, she glimpsed the satchel she had brought from New Istador. From the bulging at the sides, it had obviously been unpacked and repacked without as much care as the initial packing. She returned the tablet to its place in the book shelf, closed the drawer, and then rifled through the satchel until she found one of the books Kepsalon had given her. It was simply titled Neyeb Customs and Traditions.

  Amelia curled up on the couch, tucking her feet beneath herself and pushing her hair behind her ears. The book had been handwritten in a simple script with elegant upper lettering and drop caps at the start of each chapter. The section on "Engagements and Marriages" confirmed what Naatos had told her.

  Marriages were arranged between an infant's first and fourth year whenever possible. A suitable spouse could be any age, provided the Council of the Neyeb agreed and the intended spouse agreed to avoid the betrothed until he or she reached twenty-four. Even if they were approximately the same age or only a few years apart, this observation was strictly practiced, but violation had no listed punishment. Divorces likewise appeared uncommon. In fact, the only information Amelia could find on the subject was that they were frowned upon.

  "Just perfect," Amelia muttered. Not that it mattered much anyway. Naatos would probably insist that Vawtrian law controlled their marriage.

  She continued with her reading, finding an interesting section entitled "The Imprinting." She frowned as she read the text.

  The imprinting is forbidden except when used in self-defense. Before the enactment of the Natuda Code, it was common for Neyeb warriors to forcibly imprint themselves upon their enemies, thrusting their foes into a nightmare of contradictions.

  Amelia shook her head. Naatos had lied to her.

  The Neyeb's personality and memories would be
imprinted upon the other's mind in such a way that the enemy would feel as that Neyeb. The effects would largely wear off within a matter of hours. But during that time, the Neyeb's enemies could be forced to act against their better judgment. Only those with exceptional loyalties and overriding beliefs succeeded in fighting the influences. In some cases, the connection never fully ended.

  One point to bear in mind is that if this is done to another Neyeb or another of the races with mind powers, it is possible that more information may be transmitted than intended. Neyeb, in particular, maintain far more information and connections than is consciously realized. The conscious act of accessing memories of the person upon whom the imprinting was conducted can supplement information easily. Such memories will be in a lighter tone with wilted haze around the peripherals. If the imprintor wishes to avoid unintentional transmission of information, then the imprintor must sequester and block all but what information is allowed to pass through in the imprinting. Please see Accessing Imprinted Memories on page 310.

  That could actually be helpful. She had tried to gain as much information about the temple as possible, but WroOth knew the entire layout. If she followed those instructions when she made up the map, that could help.

  In many cases, the Neyeb would enter into the deep mindreading with their enemy's agreement, often under some deception or pretense. Other Neyeb succeeded in circumventing the typical protections of the mind and initiating deep mindreading without their enemies' acceptance or cooperation. Few even mastered the Forbidden Arts, using sorcery as a means to bypass the mind's guards.

  Imprinting, however, is not always forbidden. It can be instinctual or as a means of self-defense. If, during the deep mindreading or a similarly deep connection, an individual attempts to overwhelm a Neyeb with her own memories and force a changed perception against the Neyeb's will, the imprinting may be triggered. For a single instance rather than repeated instances to trigger it, however, the connection must be strong. The Imprinting may also be triggered in emergency situations, similar to the Bending and the Puppeteer. Any situation in which a strong mindreading connection has been formed by the Neyeb and in which the Neyeb's identity is overwhelmed or at risk can trigger an attack.

  However, the Imprinting is not without its risks to the Neyeb. Not all Neyeb have the capability to fully imprint, but the stronger the ability to imprint, the greater the threat to the Neyeb if the other individual should reject the imprinting. Some have succeeded in becoming immune to the Imprinting, and in those cases, the Imprinting is not only unsuccessful but the Neyeb loses all concept of identity and self, being overwhelmed then by his attacker's conscience and beliefs.

  Amelia's heart pounded faster. She flipped back to the Table of Contents. There had to be something about arranged marriages that went wrong, situations where both parties were not pleased to be with one another.

  Naatos had already told her that he was immovable when it came to Imprinting. He'd made quite a point to tell her. She remembered when he kissed her in New Istador. How overwhelming it had been. Her deep fear that she would forget who she was. Perhaps that fear had all been justified. She swallowed hard, running her finger down the list of entries, trying to find one that would help her.

  There was nothing. Small bits of dust rose around her as she flipped through the pages. "Abuse" offered no help as the required custom involved appealing to the Neyeb district council. "Consummation and the Non Neyeb" cautioned against all unions with Vawtrians and Bealorns due to their "animalistic natures and exceptionally vicious and or aggressive minds." But it was a paragraph at the end of page 329 that made Amelia's neck tighten and her stomach knot with fear.

  Intimacy and consummation of a marriage are among the most vulnerable of acts, triggering the most sacred of joining experiences, mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Yet the Vawtrian and Bealorn traditions often focus on control, following rituals which require the pair to strive for strength and authority within the relationship, regardless of gender or size. For Neyeb, the stress of this situation may trigger the Imprinting, and in the most severe cases, wiping away the personality and mind that the Neyeb came to love or his own if his betrothed is immune. Though this may happen with any race, a Neyeb must prepare himself by strengthening his mind and controlling his instincts.

  During the final four years before the marriage, the Neyeb should devote himself to this study. A mastery of the Five Forms should be required before any non Neyeb and Neyeb pairing receives the final blessing of the Council of the Neyeb. As of this date, it is only recommended and not required.

  Amelia let the book slide from her fingers. Her mouth was dry. All her fears of being overwhelmed, rewritten, and lost in this relationship returned all the stronger. This morning, this afternoon…it had only been a taste of what was to come. It had been almost pleasant in those moments; there had been no struggle. Naatos had held her so tenderly, spoken to her with such gentleness. But then she remembered how different WroOth was now. How hard he struggled against what he described as whispers and contradictions. Her whispers and contradictions. A part of him, a very strong part, resisted, and soon he would defeat it. But Amelia had not intended to harm him or change him.

  Naatos certainly intended to change her. If Naatos's voice was in her head, whispering his beliefs and his conscience in her innermost heart, how could she stand against him? And how could she not respond to defend herself in the only way she knew how? In a way she could not even control? It was little wonder Naatos was not concerned.

  For after the consummation, he would not have to deal with her conscience or will ever again.

  39

  A Late Dinner

  The couch dipped beside her. Amelia looked to the side, pulling back as she stared into a pair of amber eyes tinged with green. The large silver puma sat beside her, its head cocked quizzically. Amelia swallowed. "Hello…"

  The puma purred. It looked familiar. As it nodded its head at her, Amelia caught sight of the fairly new scars beneath its fur. Her eyes widened. Painful memories snapped back into her mind. She reached for her shoulder instinctively. "I thought you were dead."

  The large cat, not quite the size of a full-grown Siberian tiger, lay down beside her, resting its head on its massive forepaws. It blinked its large eyes, and a throaty purr rose from its throat. Amelia looked around to see where it had come from.

  Naatos apparently was still in the bedroom cleaning up, the door firmly shut. No one else seemed to be present. Had this puma simply been roaming?

  The large cat thrust its head at her, extending its chin like a housecat begging to be scratched. Hesitantly, Amelia reached out and rubbed the side of its powerful jaw. The puma responded by closing its eyes and purring louder. Amelia scratched it lightly, moving her fingers along its jaw to its neck to its ears. The puma pressed closer, rubbing against her forearm. Were all silver pumas so affectionate when they weren't facing death by hook-fanged spiders?

  Amelia smiled faintly. "I don't suppose you would know how I should deal with this situation."

  The puma nuzzled in closer, a soothing presence. Amelia continued to stroke it as she returned to reading. Scratching a massive full-grown puma couldn't be more dangerous than living here or consummating her marriage with Naatos. It might turn on her at any time or try to play and injure her badly, but that was like everything else.

  The book Kepsalon had given her gave her little additional help. She pored over multiple entries, searching for insight. The sections of "Self-Defense, Fear, and the Neyeb Psyche" only confirmed her fears that, even if Naatos did not intend to overwhelm her, her own fear could be her undoing. But even without fear "Intimacy and the Neyeb" confirmed that a Neyeb spouse naturally desired to please his mate, often feeling it as an almost physical need. The final lines read: For this reason, Neyeb are often sought as spouses. Their ability to understand and their desire to please their mates makes them highly desirable, but it is for this reason that the Council of the Neyeb shou
ld never shirk their duties. No betrothed should be approved for a Neyeb if that individual shows indications of using this to remake the Neyeb.

  Amelia shook her head. In a sense her own people had betrayed her. Even if they feared the blood curse, how could they have given her to Naatos?

  She continued her search through the book, but all it contained was bad news. The Five Forms was mentioned at several points, but it was never defined. She got the sense that it was something that she should have been taught, trained in, and prepared for. "Too bad no one put a Handbook for the Neyeb in the basket with me," Amelia muttered.

  The puma chirruped and blinked its eyes at her. It moved a little closer, placing its paw across her lap. Its long silver claws worked in and out of its paw though it did not knead them against her skin, thankfully. Those claws were clean now, but Amelia remembered when they had been stained with her blood. Whether the puma remembered, she couldn't tell. Whenever her scratches slowed, the puma nudged her with its head much like the cats at the vet's office.

  As Amelia continued reading, the door opened and closed several times with attendants entering. She only caught glimpses of them wearing uniforms, carrying large covered platters. The dishes smelled savory and spicy. With each entrance, the puma's ears pricked up and it lifted its head.

  Amelia tried to keep her focus on reading, but nervous energy swam through her, making her aimless. Closing her eyes, she whispered a prayer. I really don't get how this could possibly have been a right decision. If this was what I was supposed to do, then you really need to show me what's next. Amelia bit her lip. She wanted to believe that Elonumato wouldn't let her be lost like this, but she didn't feel confident.

  "Viskaro…" When she looked up Naatos was standing under the archway, and he nodded to the left. "It's time for dinner. Come." He held out his hand.