The Saga Begins [Nuworld 1] (28 page)

After assuring all three parties she would stay put and call if she needed anything, Tara found herself alone. She slowly got up and moved over to her desk where all her landlink equipment sat. The homing device was surprisingly still on the back of Darius’ neck, and she was able to locate him without difficulty. He was at Patha’s trailer. She reached for her comm to see if he’d respond. “Darius?”

No answer.

She resorted to the landlink and sent him a message to see if he was on one of the transmissions.

Patha answered the message and told her Darius was in the shower.

She told her papa to send him to her at once indicating it was very important. She could not go through this pregnancy alone and needed to talk to him personally.

Patha said he would send him.

Tara logged off the landlink. She stared out the window, not seeing the beautiful view for the first time. She’d grown accustomed to the thought of having a baby to raise by the New Winter, which was still two cycles away. She was familiar with the amount of work involved. She’d helped with the younger children in her clan as she grew up. But two babies…double the work…she’d not once entertained that thought. It was so overwhelming. Suddenly, she was scared of parenthood all over again.

She needed to hear Darius tell her he’d help her with the babies. She’d known in her mind all along that when the baby came she’d do most of the raising. The thought hadn’t actually bothered her too much. He would rule the nation with her guidance, and she would raise the child with his guidance. By the time she became ruler of the Runner clans, this child, uh, children would be much older.

Now, with two babies, she needed to know he would help feed them, change them, and get up when they cried at night. But she didn’t want anyone else to assume responsibility of her armies. Tara had worked hard to gain Patha’s respect—her
papa’s
respect—so that he would give her all the responsibility she now had. Her days already were full with overseeing all the commanders, not to mention the tasks that she would need to undertake once this war ended. How could she possibly handle working all day with her clan and being the mama to two babies? Tara let her thoughts absorb her and after a bit laid her head down on the desk and started to cry.

“Tara?”

Tara lifted her head at the sound of his voice and smiled at Darius, then wiped her eyes to clear her blurred vision.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered and pushed herself to her feet before falling into his arms when he moved across the room. “I’ve just found out that we’re going to have twins, Darius. How are we going to handle two babies?”

“We’re going to have twins?” Darius sounded pleased.

Tara looked up at him and frowned. “That isn’t good news,” Tara said and pushed away. “That means twice as much work. I’ve got responsibilities, and so do you. How will we handle twins?”

“Together, my lady.” Darius pulled her to him again. “We will handle them together. I’m not that ignorant to the raising of a child, you know. You forget that Torgo came along when I was old enough to help, he did. Papa didn’t have much of a hand in raising him, but I did.”

“You helped with Torgo when he was a baby?” Tara’s voice cracked through her tears, and she walked over to her dresser and pulled out one of her handkerchiefs, then blew her nose.

“Yes, my Lady. My papa wasn’t around too much, and the lad often put my mama at her wit’s end.” Darius sat on her bed, and patted the spot next to him. “I know my share about changing diapers and feeding time, I do. You and I will do just fine, we will.”

Tara smiled and hugged him. The man said exactly what she needed to hear, and now she felt like crying again, because she was so lucky to have him.

“It doesn’t seem right that it takes two people to make the baby,” he stroked her blotchy cheeks, smiling gently, “but just one is expected to raise the baby.”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” she whispered as he pulled her close. “Do you really mean that?”

“Having you in my life has brought out what I already believed in my soul, it has.” He pulled away far enough to be able to look deep into her eyes with those penetrating gray ones of his. “We can’t have you all upset like this, now can we? You’ll rest now, you will.”

Had he truly meant all those things he’d just said? She knew only time would tell—and she hated that she would have to wait and see Darius in action to find out if he spoke the truth.

* * * * *

Darius smiled to himself as he closed her bedroom door. He’d calmed her and appeased her worries nicely, he told himself. They would need to hire servants, especially with twins. He thought about some of the pretty young Gothman women he’d noticed over the past few cycles.

There were several that were exceptionally enticing that brought food and other services to the Gothman warriors out on the battlefield. He’d declined their offers. After all, he had just claimed a woman of his own. And, there was no way he would risk the union of Gothman and the Runners by enjoying the pleasures of a whore. No, it would be better to hire plain-looking servants to help with the children after they were born.

* * * * *

The next few weeks moved along uneventfully. Tara moved from room to room, changing her environment, so she wouldn’t go stir crazy being in her room all the time, and she went outside a few times—although the oncoming winter made it easier to stay inside. She wasn’t exactly bored. There was plenty to think about. Especially since Reena had returned from town a few days before with news. Rumors in town claimed the war was all but over.

“We finished clearing the last of the rubble today.” Torgo joined Tara at the table, carrying a hot bowl of soup he’d brought from the kitchen. “I think several of the womenfolk are going to have a gathering for everyone who helped.”

“That sounds great.” Tara sipped at her own soup and smiled when Torgo offered her a slice of bread from the platter in the center of the table. He’d smeared butter on it, and she took a bite.

“I think some of the Runner kids are going to be there.” He wasn’t sure why, but he decided not to mention his friendship with Syra. He’d never hung out with a girl before, but she was cool.

“You’re experiencing history in the making.” Tara smiled in between bites. “Already our cultures are accepting each other.”

Torgo slurped his soup just as Hilda entered the room.

She slapped the back of his head. “Reena should be here soon.” Hilda sat at the opposite end of the table from Tara and placed a large cloth bag in front of her so Tara couldn’t see her face. “I wanted to show you some of the material we will use on the baby quilts.”

Ladies in town gathered once a week to work on quilts for the expected twins. Tara had seen so many different materials for the quilts; she couldn’t keep straight what they’d look like when they were done. She humored the woman though and watched attentively.

The front door opened, and Reena entered the room in the next minute, bringing a gust of cold air with her. “I daresay that one is my favorite.” Reena ran her hand over a flowery print Hilda had just pulled from the bag.

“I’m going to join some of the kids in town to play.” Torgo stood, grabbing his empty bowl. “All this quilting talk is for ladies.”

“You behave now, boy,” Hilda scolded, but smiled and then turned to see Tara’s reaction to the material.

“I have to agree with Reena.” Tara dunked the crust of her bread into her soup. “I like that pattern too.”

Hilda seemed pleased and folded the material before placing it back in the bag. “Now are you sure you’ll be okay left alone for a time?”

The pair appeared anxious to go, and Tara hurried to reassure them. “I’ll be fine. Get going you two. We’ll be needing those quilts soon, I expect.” Tara stood and walked around the table, then made a feeble attempt to hug the two women. She watched as they left the house.

Soon after that, Tara headed out the back door to enjoy a walk through the snow. The weather was crisp, and she felt her lungs freeze with her first gulp of air. A path was shoveled through the snow, and Tara stuck to it. It led through the yard to the driveway, which had also been shoveled. Small mountains of snow towered on either side of her. Snow from the path rested on the pristine, sparkling white yard.

Tara desperately wanted to wade into the snow to reach the shed and the backfield. There, she could truly enjoy the winter’s beauty, but she behaved and stayed in the cleared area. She reached the end of the path and began walking toward the front of the house along the driveway.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. A red spot soiled the ground in front of her. The ruby liquid covered a two-foot area, and from it something had been dragged through the huge pile of snow to the other side. Tara moved closer and recognized the mark as blood. One touch told her the liquid was still warm.

Tara pulled her comm out of her pocket and hooked it around her ear. “Darius,” she said quietly as she looked around her warily.

“Yes?”

“There’s something wrong at the house.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. There’s blood in the driveway. I think one of the guards has been dragged off. Darius, I’m outside and I’m not armed,” she whispered as she moved closer to the house.

“We’ll be there in a minute. Who’s there with you?”

“I’m here alone.” Tara could hear the mouthpiece go dead as soon as she’d spoken those words. She wondered where Darius was and how long it would take him to get there. She was in no condition to fight unarmed, and her laser was in her other coat pocket, which was lying on her bed.

She looked toward the back of the house and then to the front. Four guards were supposed to be stationed out here. She saw no sign of them.

Tara moved as fast as she dared along the slick surface of the driveway and reentered the back of the house. There was no way to tell if anyone was in the house, due to its size. She moved up the stairs to her bedroom as quickly and quietly as she could. The laser was still in her coat pocket. Grabbing it, she headed back down the stairs.

No sign of life was evident through the windows, and from the front porch she noted the snow was undisturbed except for the footprints along the driveway. Then she saw it—more blood along the snow in the front yard and indications that someone had been dragged.

Whoever did this was still nearby.

An icy breeze caused Tara to shiver, and icicles shattered to the ground from a nearby tree. Tara stepped carefully to the bloodstained snow and looked off into the direction where crushed snow appeared to form a path. The snow was deep, and she had to move slowly to insure her balance. A hard fall to the ground would possibly send her into labor.

“Isn’t it inappropriate for someone in your condition to be out in this weather?” Tara turned quickly to face a Runner standing on the path by the house. She didn’t recognize the man through his headscarf, and something was strange about his voice.

“Who are you?” She wrapped her fingers around the laser in her pocket.

“This is rather a shame,” he stated, ignoring her question. “It’s not really you I’m after, although I guess you should die as well.”

Tara listened to the voice carefully. It was Gothman.

Just then, the sounds of motorcycles quickly approaching could be heard. The Gothman in Runner clothing pulled out a laser from his pocket and aimed it straight at Tara.

“Drop it, now!” Darius pulled his bike to a stop and aimed his gun straight at the Runner.

“Oh, what perfect timing. And how heroic. Don’t tell me you came alone.” The intruder turned his laser on Darius.

Tara pointed her weapon at the stranger and approached slowly. “Hold it right there.”

The intruder pulled a second gun from his pocket and aimed this one at Tara. “I won’t let this continue.”

“You won’t let what continue?” Tara took another step toward the stranger, feeling the snow crunch under her boots.

The stranger didn’t acknowledge her question, although the laser remained pointed at her. He looked at Darius. “You’ve destroyed the Bryton blood line. You have no respect for anything but your power. To think how many bastards you have running around out there. That was bad enough.”

“What bastards? Darius, who is this?” Tara didn’t take her eyes from the man, and his laser didn’t waver from her.

“Who knows when someone might show up claiming his right to be Lord of Gothman?” The man continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “But then, you go and do something like this.” The man waved his laser at Tara.

One of her hands instinctively went to her belly, although she realized with hideous clarity that her hand hardly offered an ample shield for her babies.

“You’ll allow a half-breed to be our heir? Darius, that is unacceptable!” The man continued his rantings.

“Mikel, put down the gun.” Darius spoke with a calmness that the other man didn’t possess.

Tara’s mouth fell open in disbelief. This masked stranger—the one holding a laser to her heart, dressed in the garb of people he claimed to despise—was Darius’ brother.

“I may die, brother, but so shall you.” Mikel raised both of his hands and wrapped his fingers around each trigger. “You murdered Juro, I can prove that, you know. That alone gives me the right to kill you. What do you think our papa would say about this?” He gestured his gun at Tara. “You disgust me, Darius.”