Askance (2 page)

If the other women knew that she had this view, their attitude was far more understandable. It was a room to kill for.

Silari unpacked her ship suits and coveralls before she explored her room. There was a lav, a wide bed with crisp sheets and a small entertainment unit, as well as a low couch and table. It was perfectly comfortable, but there was no food dispenser, so she had to join the others if she was to have any sort of sustenance.

She checked her reflection out in the mirror of the lav and as soon as her cuffs hid all traces of her scars, she walked back to the common area to face the rest of the two dozen.

She could only name about half the races of women that were sitting around on couches and drinking either tea or wine.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” She kept her voice blank and calm.

The woman who had spoken earlier turned to her with a scowl. “We were having a discussion and it did not include you.”

Silari smiled and went to the dispenser to get a cup of tea. Her sense of hearing was the most exceptional thing about her, so she sat at the edge of the grouping and simply listened.

The other women were discussing the most likely of them to get the attention of the Avatar and they were wondering about when he was going to make his appearance.

Silari sipped at her tea and listened to the footfalls that were coming down the hall. If all the women were gathered, there could only be one possible new entry to the mix.

* * * *

Maksuan deliberately made his footsteps audible to the women waiting for him in the chambers designed for this purpose.

When he saw all the women in the room, he forced himself to keep walking. If Niiko wanted him to take a mate, he would find a woman that he could converse with and leave the more wild behaviour to others. Niiko was the one who wanted a female Avatar to complement Maksuan’s presence. It was a trend that many sentient planets were trying and Niiko was no exception.

A Selna, Azon, Wyoran, Borthic and Oefric were easily identifiable by their auras, but the others were generic blends based on the glow of their skin. The women were all dressed in revealing clothing and he winced at the exposed flesh.

Sitting to one side was a Terran, but her aura was showing dark colouration and a deep emotional pain. Her clothing covered her from neck to ankle and the demure way she was sitting caused a flutter of relaxation in him.

“Good afternoon, ladies. If you would accompany me to the dining hall, we will share a meal and introduce ourselves.”

He watched their reactions to his presence and gauged their attitudes based on their body language. He repelled four, three were confused, ten were indifferent, six were attracted to him and the woman sitting on her own simply watched him warily. She was reserving judgement on him and her situation.

He quirked his lips as the others got to their feet and lined up to follow him. He led the way down the halls, past the endless pillars and into the grand dining hall with its long table set for twenty-five.

He stood next to the chair at the head of the table, unsurprised to see the Selna snake in next to him. The lush Wyoran took over the seat on his other side and the women slowly arranged themselves next to their seats, waiting for his authorization to sit.

The Terran took a seat at the far end of the table without waiting, facing his chair. There was a stillness to her that should have been unsettling, but she was simply there, taking up space while her mind was elsewhere.

She was not focussed on him, not waiting for his attentions but rather, simply waiting.

What could a woman with a face that lovely be waiting for if it wasn’t the chance at being a planet’s secondary Avatar?

Maksuan was resigned to the amusement that Niiko was emanating from deep within. With the planet manipulating events, it was unsurprising that there was a woman who caught Maksuan’s interest. He just wondered what the Planet saw in the quiet woman at the far side of the table.
What lay beneath her concealing clothing and behind her sombre face?

Chapter Three

Silari sat and waited as the courses of food were brought out and the women were at their most charming with their host.

She kept concentrating on the thought that she only needed to make a tolerable impression in order to make it seem that she was an active participant in this ridiculous process. The other women were in a series of alluring costumes or traditional dress. As a Terran Volunteer, she had no native costume. A number of Volunteers had tried to get jeans and t-shirts in as official garb, but the Alliance wasn’t that gullible.

After she gave her name and planet of origin, Silari kept to herself. The food of Niiko tasted nice and the preparations were not too exotic. She found herself eating with good appetite and a focussed ear on what was going on around her.

Rashharna, the Selna, was positively purring into Maksuan’s ear. The Wyoran, Thira, had one of her hands suspiciously off the table.

Silari found a teeny bit of amusement in the discomfort in the eyes of the Avatar. It was rather comforting to see that she was not the only one less than impressed by the process.

“Ladies, I offer you the full run of the grounds, but please do not leave the compound as the local population is less than thrilled at the move that the Planet is making. Niiko means well, but the Yeruan have dignity beyond what they feel their Planet can tamper with.”

He got to his feet and the light of the candles flickered and illuminated his elegant clothing.

Aside from his long, loose hair, he reminded her of a samurai. Maksuan’s clothing echoed the boxy, pleated fabric of those Earth warriors and aside from the green-gold tinge to his skin. He could have stepped out of an ancient piece of Terran artwork.

His skin was silky black with a gold shine as the light caught it. His eyes were black unless Niiko joined the conversation, when they turned a glowing emerald green.

Silari was curious about the shape of his ears, but she was content watching him from a distance. He was pretty enough, but all admiration was going to be a one-way street.

When they got to their feet, she immediately gravitated to the gardens that she had been looking at through the glass during dinner.

The flowers were lovely, exotic and peculiar but exactly what her mood needed. She wandered down a path and it wasn’t until she came to a dead end that she realized she had stepped into a maze.

“Damn it.” She stroked the flowers near her and listened for any of the other women in her vicinity.

Humming to herself, she placed a hand on the blooms and gently caressed them as the light faded and she found herself in darkness.

“Holy…” Lights began all around her, the flowers glowing in the darkness and letting her move with relative ease. She took slow and careful steps, always keeping her right hand on the wall.

A voice came to her out of the shadows. “He is ticklish, you know.”

She squeaked in surprise. “Avatar?”

“Yes, Agent Henderson. We have not had a moment to speak and I simply wanted to know what you thought of this whole process.”

He moved out of the shadows to face her in the glow of the flowers. The elegant bow he offered her showed the grace of years of practice. The black silk of his hair slithered over his shoulders and back again as he straightened.

She bowed stiffly in return. “I apologize for my lack of grace.”

“You have done very well considering that you are coming here off an injury.”

She froze. “You know about that?”

He inclined his head. “Not the details, but I am fairly sure that it was not pleasant.”

She barked a laugh and tried to move past him. “You have a knack for understatement.”

He caught her by one arm and took her hand. “You are safe here. No one will hurt you.”

Silari looked up into his dark eyes and she kept her voice calm with effort. “I am not worried about injury here. There is little left to do to me that has not already been done. My body is damaged beyond repair and my mind hangs on by a thread. I don’t know why I was selected as a candidate for this.”

He paused and Niiko surged to the fore, the green glow of his eyes casting shadows on the high cheekbones.

“You are here because I wanted you to be. I have read your dossier, but do not worry, Maksuan is unaware of the details. I chose you because you have survived horror and came out on the other side with a desire for life. You are my choice, Silari Henderson, but Maksuan will have to know you the way that I do.”

She shuddered, near tears. “Does he know what you are saying?”

“No. I have blocked him, but he is eager to return to you. His society has a similar fashion sense to your current garb. The appeal is in not knowing what lies beneath.”

“Thank you for not telling him.”

The colour faded and she was looking up into dark eyes that were illuminated by the flowers around them.

“Did Niiko say something to upset you?”

She quickly drew in a deep breath. “No, no. He merely told me that he was the one who placed me here as a candidate. He didn’t say why.”

“May I escort you out of the maze? You must have had a tiring journey and you have not had time to rest.”

“Thank you. That would be very kind.” She chuckled softly and looked down at their joined hands.

He looked surprised when he saw that he was still holding her hand, but he released her slowly and held his arm, wrist up, to her.

She placed her fingers over his pulse and together, they walked out of the scented floral maze.

“Where are the others?” She looked around and was surprised by the lack of women watching for Maksuan.

“I dismissed fourteen of them to return to their homes. They are packing and the other nine are no doubt hatching some sort of plot to further their chances with me.”

“Do you mind being chased like a small, fluffy animal?” She fought her grin as they approached the huge house that she now realised was the Avatar’s residence.

“It has its perks, but I am finding it a little shocking. There is a cultural divide that the women don’t seem to be taking into account. Courtship among my people is rather different than most races of the Alliance. The male is responsible for making all the overtures and the woman is expected to remain aloof until the moment of declaration is upon them.”

It made sense, several of the more traditional races held a similar bias. The more physically aggressive sex engaged in courtship and the more delicate of the sexes kept the home and engaged in support actions. It was a fairly equal partnership, as long as the efforts and strengths were both accepted and acknowledged.

He led her through the halls and past a number of soberly dressed servants, slowly pacing at her side until they reached the quarters where the candidates were housed.

He leaned forward to kiss her wrist, but she saw the trailing edge of her scar jutting from her sleeve and Silari jerked her hand away. She blushed at his confused look. “I am sorry. Please. Sorry.”

She scuttled into the women’s quarters and met nine pairs of accusing eyes.

With a sigh, she braced herself for the onslaught and they didn’t wait long before they attacked.

Chapter Four

Rashharna scowled, “So, you have been stalking him in the gardens all this time?”

Silari twisted her lips in a matching grimace. “No. I went for a walk and the light disappeared. He came and found me.”

Thira fluffed her hair. “It won’t do you any good anyway. Why would he want a woman like you when he can have one of us?”

Silari held up her hands. “Whatever. You can have him. If you don’t mind, I am off to bed.”

The Azon, Ydella, smiled. “Good night. He said we are going exploring in the morning.”

Rashharna threw a slipper at Ydella. “Why did you tell her?”

Silari rolled her eyes and waved good night to the women still in the common area. Fine, they wanted to have secrets. She could play at that game as well.

Her room opened for her as she approached it. With a sense of relief, she stripped the moment the door shut and faced the open view. Inside her, she knew that Niiko had selected this room, because it had the best view and was probably the largest, but she didn’t care. It was lovely no matter the reason that she had been installed in it.

With a heavy exhalation, she flopped onto the bed and worked her way under the covers. The day hadn’t been a disaster, but she didn’t know what to call it. Somehow, things had gone beyond her control. Oddly enough, disaster had not followed.

There was a small smile on her lips as she drifted off to sleep, images of the glowing wall of flowers teasing her thoughts.

Flowers surrounded her and each one was glowing with a different colour. A figure separated from the glow and walked toward her.

“This is the way you could see the flowers if you joined us. The life force of each blossom is different, the colour more vibrant than the one before it.” The eyes of Niiko smiled at her in Maksuan’s face.

“Where are we?” She gestured to their surroundings.

“We are in your mind. I merely took your favourite memories of the evening and crafted them to suit my perceptions. Would you care to walk?”

He extended his hand, wrist up, and she had little choice but to place her hand on his wrist and let him lead her.

They walked through the gardens until the rush of water showed her a beautiful cascade down a quartz cliff. “It is lovely.”

“Thank you. My surface has many such treasures and they will all be yours if you agree to take on my Avatar as your mate.”

She chuckled. Her clothing in the dream was a long toga-like gown. Her arms were unscarred, but she knew that it was simply her dream state that made them so. “I don’t think that it will be possible. Once he knows the extent of my damage, he will be revolted.”

“Do you find him offensive?”

“No. Of course not. He is very handsome and you chose well to have him represent not only you, but also his species. He also seems kind and polite, so he is an excellent catch.”

“I am glad that you think so. He was a little taken aback that you rejected his kiss earlier.”