Daughter of Destiny (8 page)

As she made the
introductions, she glanced at Zane. His mouth quirked upward on one
side, but desire burned in his eyes. His thumb traced a gentle
caress over her knuckles.

"It’s just a hand,
Katarina."

Yeah, but it was attached
to the rest of her and it didn’t seem to matter where he touched,
the effect was the same. She burned with need and her thoughts kept
evaporating.
Why am I so out of control?
The sudden spike of
temper came out of nowhere. She wanted to send him sprawling to the
floor on his butt. Then his laughter sounded in her head.
"You
could do it too, couldn’t you?"

She stared at him in shock.
She lost her temper, but her powers didn't surge. No lights
flickered. No electricity filled the air.

A soft sensuous whisper
echoed in her mind.
"I want you as I have no other woman. Do you
not like my touch?"

Katarina managed to speak
aloud even as Zane's voice whispered in her mind. "Zane, this is
Naia Sheffield. Naia, this is Zane Gratig. He’s coming back to my
place with us. We have a lot to talk about and I think that’s the
best place."

Katarina’s insides quivered
at his words. She couldn’t hold back the truth.
"I feel the
same, but this is happening so fast."
Unbidden her dream came
to mind, and the image of Zane making love to her crystallized in
her mind. Okay, so maybe the attraction wasn’t unexpected, but her
calm well-ordered mind was turning into something she didn’t
recognize.

Zane traced lazy circles
over the pulse on her wrist. An impish grin spread across his face.
"I was the one in your dream, wasn’t I?"

Katarina felt a crimson
blush race up her face at the same time Naia interrupted their
silent conversation.

"Your apartment? I don’t
think so, Kat. We can go to a coffee shop or something."

She ignored Zane’s question
and forced her attention to Naia. Her sister glanced at Zane and
frowned. "I know what I’m doing, Naia."

Naia looked at her and
raised one eyebrow. "Sure you do."

"Naia."

She shook her head and then
raised both hands in acquiescence. "Fine, but I’m coming
too."

Katarina headed to the
Civil War room with Zane at her side. "I never said you
weren’t."

When they finally left the
Mud Island River Museum, she swore she heard Naia mumble, "I should
have left her in the lab."

***

Katarina unlocked her door,
turned off her security alarm, and led the way into her apartment.
She tossed her purse onto the small table in the foyer. "Zane,
please have a seat. Naia, why don’t you come in the kitchen and
help me with the coffee?"

Once they were in the
kitchen, Naia asked in a hushed, but shrill, voice, "What the hell
are you thinking? Is that why you actually wore makeup today? Why
you put on heels? What happened to the woman who freezes men out
with a glance? I don’t care how hot he is. It isn’t safe to bring
him home like a stray puppy."

"Calm down."

"Calm down!? That guy makes
America's Most Wanted look like wimps. I bet he could snap us both
in half without breaking a sweat."

"Both of us without a
sweat, eh?" She wanted to laugh at that image. It would take more
than sheer brawn to best her. She recognized Zane’s lethal grace.
She, however, saw the man inside and understood it was one aspect
of him, much like her dubious gifts were a single aspect of
herself.

"I think your worrywart
brain cells have gone into overdrive. I’m not an imbecile, you
know. He isn’t harmless, but he isn’t here to hurt us."

Naia folded her arms under
her breasts and harrumphed. "I’ll make my own decision about
that."

Katarina shrugged, turned
away and went to the freezer. She retrieved her canister of coffee
and got a filter from the pantry. She shook the canister. A small
amount of grounds shifted around the bottom. "Looks like I need to
grind some more beans."

She measured ground coffee
into the machine and added water. Katarina got out the mugs and
glanced over her shoulder at Naia. As she did so, she dropped the
informational bomb. "The man sitting in my living room is a bona
fide alien from outer space."

Naia stood in stunned
silence. Her mouth hung open. When she finally spoke it came out in
a squeak. What!?" She cleared her throat. "You’re kidding,
right?"

"No."

"You believe
him?"

"I saw things in his head,
Naia, that have no other explanation. He's for real."

"Ohmygod!" She whipped
around and peered around the corner to get another look at Zane, as
if he might have morphed into a little green man while she wasn’t
looking.

While Naia spied on their
guest, Katarina pulled out a pack of Oreo cookies and placed some
in a large bowl. As a small concession to nutrition, she filled a
plate with grapes, strawberries, cheese, and crackers. The coffee
finished brewing, so Katarina got out the cream and sugar. She
tapped Naia’s shoulder and when she turned, Katarina thrust the
bowl of Oreos into her hands. She put everything else on a tea tray
and carried it toward the doorway.

"Let’s go interrogate our
alien."

Naia chose the seat
farthest from Zane. He sat on the sofa and Katarina couldn’t resist
the temptation to be near him, but to be safe, maintained some
distance. It made it easier to think if they weren't
touching.

Katarina added cream and
sugar then handed Zane his mug. She managed not to jolt at the
electric contact when his fingers brushed hers. She pulled her hand
back and his quick intake of breath assured her she wasn't alone in
her discomfort.

"Thank you,
Katarina."

Katarina started to wave
off his thanks, but found her gaze trapped by his as he spoke in
her mind.
"Not for the sustenance, but for your
trust."

She shrugged, trying to
dismiss the enormity of her actions. Thinking of the risk she took
letting him within her emotional walls threatened to start a panic
attack.

"I can always kill you
later if you turn out to be a psychopath."
She meant to pass it
off as a joke, but Zane saw through the humor.

He cocked his head and
studied her.
"I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that
despite my experience you could deliver on that threat. You guard
your thoughts more zealously than a space ship armed and shielded
for battle. It makes me think your trust is a very precious
gift."

"Hello?" Naia’s annoyed
voice broke the intimacy of the moment.

"Sorry, Naia. Zane was
just…uhmm…getting some English straight."

Naia eyed them. "Yeah, I
bet."

Zane took a sampling of the
food from the tray. "I don’t think your friend likes or trusts me,
Katarina."

"Why should I?" She glanced
at Katarina. "I’m not a hundred percent confident in Kat’s judgment
at the moment."

Katarina's cheeks heated
and she hated that her fair skin revealed her crimson blush. Zane
laid a hand on Katarina’s knee. "She’s being a good friend. In her
place I would feel the same."

Katarina relaxed back into
the cushions, burying the temper that wanted to explode while she
pretended to focus on her coffee. She didn’t say anything to Naia,
but she told him telepathically,
"I suppose, but she knows
me."
She gave him a pointed glance.
"I don’t care how strong
the chemistry between us is. I can still read you without
bias."

"I know that. You know
that. She probably does too, but it doesn’t stop her from worrying.
Don’t be angry with her, Katarina. I don’t wish to cause
discord."
Zane reached for the mug he’d set down. He cupped the
mug in his hands, leaned back against the couch cushions, and in
between sips he began his tale.

"Roughly four or five
thousand years ago, a space faring race known as Goloths came here
to Earth. Once they possessed amazing abilities, but myth says that
a more powerful race of beings stripped them of their talents
somehow. They spent thousands of years subjugating other races and
seeking those who possessed unique talents in hopes of finding a
way to get theirs back. Somewhere along the way, they came upon
Earth. While they managed to harvest a number of slaves from the
planet, something here scared them. The texts found were badly
corrupted and very little remained of the tale other than a warning
to future Goloths never to return to Earth.

"Humans and many other
races were kept enslaved until a little less than a thousand years
ago by Earth time measurements. Until that time Goloths dominated
the core of the galaxy. Every being lived in fear of their raids.
As happens with many empires that grow fat, corruption and an
overblown sense of confidence led to their downfall. They never
considered that any worlds would dare defy them, but they did.
Several systems banned together. They created a spy network among
the slaves which played a key role in destroying the Goloth
stranglehold. Those few brave systems were the conception of the
Intergalactic Confederacy.

"Humans gained their
freedom, but unlike other species, we had no idea where home was.
Humans have scattered throughout the galaxy." Emotion filled his
voice and made the words clipped. "Many look at us as if we are
parasites living off of their planets or worse an infection
contaminating their people every time one of mixed blood, like me,
is born." He glared at them, defiant, as if he dared them to think
likewise. "I am human, Trrrork, and Braag."

"Unbelievable," Naia
muttered.

"Amazing!" Katarina sat
back and thought of the Mage legends her mother managed to wheedle
out of one of her interview subjects. Like Zane's tale, they had
rather large holes, but they shared enough common elements to
validate the possibility of his story. Only one race of people
might be able to fill in the gaps, but the last time she saw a
Tuatha de Dannan, or what most people called faeries, she was nine
years old and in the middle of an Irish woodland.

"So, why are you here now?"
asked Naia.

"Knowledge of Earth is a
political time bomb. I need as much accurate information as
possible and have less than eight of your weeks to distill
thousands of years of history into a relevant report. I need your
help."

"Just use the internet,"
Naia said.

Katarina cleared her
throat. "They are. He's asking for a human perspective,
Naia."

"I know that. I just don't
see what he thinks we can do. By all rights we should call up NASA
or the FBI, or one of those alphabet soup outfits and let them deal
with this."

"I thank you for not doing
so," Zane said. He set his hand on Katarina's knee. "I'd appreciate
it if you consider my request."

Katarina sensed urgency
under his calm request. "I'll think on it." Katarina stood,
dislodging his hand. "Lights on." The lights blinked on and
Katarina put several feet of space between them so she could
attempt to think clearly. "Perhaps we’ve grilled you enough. It's
already about dinner time. Y’all hungry? I think I’ll order a
pizza, maybe make a salad to go with it," she babbled and escaped
into the kitchen without waiting for a response from either Naia or
Zane. A large, foreign part of her wanted to let someone else worry
about the research for a bit. The thought of spending time with
Zane and getting to know him presented an enticing lure.

A phone rang and she heard
Naia answer. Katarina pulled open the refrigerator door. She stood
for a solid minute staring at the shelves, trying to remember what
she planned to do. She shook her head. "Salad," she muttered and
gathered the requisite vegetables. When she closed the refrigerator
and turned around, Zane entered the kitchen. His proximity made the
small space claustrophobic. Katarina tried to ignore his presence
as he leaned against a counter to watch dinner
preparations.

Naia poked her head in the
kitchen. "That was Robert. I'll put an order in for you, but I'll
take mine to go. He wants to go to a movie." She glanced at Zane.
"Zap him if he does anything suspicious."

Katarina couldn't help but
smile despite the horrible memory of the last time she 'zapped'
someone. She didn't say anything in response. Between her raging
hormones and the emotions roiling inside, she didn't trust her
voice. She nodded and Naia disappeared to go look up the pizza
delivery number.

That left her alone with
Zane in the kitchen. She busied herself washing, peeling, and
chopping vegetables while lecturing her runaway hormones. She
wished it was just a physical pull but it was more. The glimpses
into his psyche showed her a man she liked and respected. Her
lonely soul recognized another soul trapped in self
isolation.

She focused on her task,
ignoring Zane as best as she could. Zane moved with such stealth,
that she didn’t hear him come up behind her. Katarina turned around
holding the salad bowl and they collided. He put his hands on her
waist to steady her. At his touch, flames of need swept through
her. She locked her knees to keep them from buckling. Her blood
roared in her ears and she fought the urge to drag him to the floor
right then and there to ease the demanding ache. The inhuman
magnitude of her desire, like the well of power inside her,
terrified her in its intensity.