GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) (15 page)

Like every Noronian, Shara had been taught that she had someone destined to be her mate. When Noronians' mating time arrived, usually about halfway through their lives, and the two people found each other, they would be stricken with the mating fever. Normally the couple realized they were meant for each other right away and joined so that the fever had little or no chance to be bothersome. The formal joining was physical, mental and spiritual, as their minds became one in two bodies and their souls joined for all eternity.

Gabriel was waiting for Shara to draw her own conclusions, but she needed more input. "What were his symptoms?" she asked, hoping his answer would differ from what she expected him to say.

"High fever, itching, red corneas, violent body tremors and finally the coma. During all of it, his body remained in an aroused condition. He would become violent if anyone tried to touch him. His mate-to-be returned, coupled with him,
repeatedly
, and he had a miraculous recovery."

"It can't be the same," she stated firmly, shaking her head.

He shrugged. "You're the scientist. Consider the facts. We're both Noronian. Your Terran ancestry is recessive. The symptoms we are both suffering are most definitely those of the mating fever and we are relieved by coupling... whether we remember doing it or not. Even the first time seemed somewhat mind-stealing, especially when you had so vehemently denied any desire to couple with me before."

"No.
No!
It can't be. There is no way we could be destined for each other. We weren't instantly drawn together by a strong physical attraction. When my father first saw my mother, even though she was an Outerworlder and forbidden to him, he knew. Nothing could keep him from being with her. And my mother had had dreams of him long before she arrived in Innerworld. She recognized him as the man from her dreams the moment she saw him. You and I don't even like each other half the time. It's impossible."

"I agree. It's absolutely impossible. I shouldn't reach my mating age for another thirty or forty years and you're even younger than I am."

Shara frowned. "When my parents joined, they were almost the same ages we are now, as were my father's parents. I'm afraid age is not a valid negative in my case. There is a possibility that my time could have come but instead of being with my intended mate—"

"Wrong. It doesn't work that way and you know it. Only one's true soulmate should be able to put out the fire for someone in the throes of the mating fever."

"But only one's true soulmate should be able to trigger it to begin with. Do you honestly believe I am yours?" His automatic expression of dismay added a bit more acid to her caustic speech. "Of course you don't. No more than I believe you could be mine.
When
I find my mate, I'll know it's him the moment our eyes meet. When he puts his hand on mine, I'll feel tingles of electricity run up my arm. We'll have loads of things in common and he'll love me, unconditionally, for myself. Not because I'm a mixed-breed, or who my father is, or what I can do for him!"

Though he couldn't quite understand his reaction to her little speech, he felt that he had been insulted. "Your conception of finding a mate sounds very romantic and if that's the way it's supposed to be, I'm sure it will happen for you. I have a few preconceived notions of my own.
If
I am destined to have a mate, she would have to be an experienced traveler, have a mild disposition, a good sense of humor and a rational, mature attitude about physical contact—none of which describes you."

He noticed how she bristled at his words but he continued before she could start another argument. "Personally, I hope I never find a mate. Not only do I prefer a solitary life, I am adamantly opposed to altering my lifestyle or my career to satisfy another person's comforts or interests. I've spent half my life running away from having people inside my head. The last thing in the universe I want is to join with a female who would become a permanent fixture in my mind."

"Good," Shara said stiffly, telling herself his negative opinion of her character didn't matter in the slightest. "We're in agreement then. Whatever this is, it cannot be the actual mating fever. Perhaps it's a mutation of it. The only thing I can figure is that something happened during the time-hop that affected our bodies' metabolisms, triggering the same symptoms as we would have experienced during our mating time and because we were physically touching at that moment, we each became the target of the other's, um..."

"Desire?" he finished for her then tried to respond in the same clinical manner she had used. "Continuing with that assumption, perhaps there's a logical reason why the fever is reaching a peak while one or both of us is unconscious. Neither one of us is willing to accept the fact that we are destined to be mates. Though I have demonstrated a desire to couple with you, you firmly rejected my advances... with one notable exception." He paused to see if she would blush for him. She did, and he considerately held back his knowing grin. At least whatever caused the sparks of hostility between them had vanished.

"I would never
consciously
force you to satisfy that desire. Therefore, let me suggest another possibility that should at least be considered. Although we do not accept this situation as the genuine mating fever, our souls may not share our attitude on the subject. Those entities may have taken it out of our hands by forcing us together without our conscious participation."

Shara held up both hands in protest. "I cannot accept that theory. I do not believe for one moment that a spiritual power has taken over our minds and bodies to force us
to... to...
have sexual relations against our will. For that matter, it could be some alien being that we picked up during the time-hop who's getting a vicarious thrill through us."

Though she was clearly upset and perfectly serious, Gabriel couldn't stop himself from laughing. "At the very least we should be allowed to enjoy ourselves while we're performing."

"Very funny."

"I'm sorry. This situation seems to have put me in a peculiar mood. However, I do have another, more constructive thought. If this is a mutation of the mating fever and it was caused by the time-hop, another might take it away again."

"I certainly hope so. I don't care to repeat the last two nights indefinitely."

"Nor do I. What do you suggest, madame scientist?"

Shara pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to analytically separate her feelings from the facts of their dilemma. "The only permanent cure to the mating fever is to be joined. That solution is obviously unacceptable. We are also agreed that the fever may disappear during another time-hop. If not, it can surely be dealt with medically once we return to our own time. Therefore, all we need is a temporary cure for the symptoms."

"Which, as we have already discovered firsthand, is coupling. Agreed?"

Shara took a deep breath. "Yes. Agreed."

"Since I have made it quite clear that I have no objection to sharing my body with you, it is up to you to set aside whatever personal resentments you're harboring and be reasonable—"

"I am not unreasonable, nor do I resent you... precisely. Just because my attitude toward intimacy differs from yours—"

"Enough.
There is no need for further debate on the matter. I am doing my utmost to look at our problem in a purely scientific manner." Perhaps it was a remnant from the fever but he was finding it increasingly difficult to maintain a serious expression. "We both need our wits about us to get through whatever lies ahead. And if that means it becomes necessary from time to time to satisfy
our...
biological urges... I can only recommend that we do so. As efficiently as possible, of course."

She saw a twinkle in his eye and suspected he was secretly delighted that she was being coerced into agreeing to the one thing she most wanted to avoid. Under the circumstances however, she had no logical rebuttal.

When she made no reply, he took her hand in his and shook it in a very businesslike manner. "It's agreed then. I will expect you to tell me when you need me to accommodate you and I will do the same.
Before
the fever becomes a hindrance or steals our consciousness." Without looking at him directly, she gave him a brief nod, despite the fact that she had no idea where she would ever find the nerve to ask him for such a favor if such a need arose again.

Gabriel lifted her chin. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Not unless you count my blackout. You?"

"Enough. If you require a nap, I can—"

"No. Thank you. I keep thinking about the cataclysm. I'm sure that has to be the event that pulled us here. We could even be sitting in the area where the asteroid hit. In which case, we might not have the ten seconds we'd need to escape."

Gabriel rubbed his jaw. "I was thinking the same thing. Do you want to try to return?"

"Give me one more hour... and some light. If I can't come up with anything better, we'll reverse the hop we did."

Gabriel fixed them a meal, recovered the barriers from outside and stowed everything in his satchel except the tent, while Shara went through Lantana's notes and examined the tempometer one last time.

"I don't believe it!" she exclaimed. "It was so simple, I completely overlooked it."

"What?" Gabriel asked, instantly catching her excitement.

"What's the difference between twelve thousand and a million two hundred thousand?"

He angled his head at her. "A million one hundred eighty eight thousand?"

"No. Two zeros. Lantana didn't come out and state it anywhere but there are references I should have picked up on. He worked with a base of a hundred. Instead of one year equals one, one year equals one hundred." She was astounded that she could have missed something so easy. Gabriel's suggestion that spiritual forces were involved in what was happening to them came back to her. Perhaps the same force had prevented her from seeing the obvious until she and Gabriel had come to an agreement of sorts. Again, she firmly rejected that possibility.

"I can have the tent dismantled and packed in sixty seconds. If you hold the heater orb in front of the tempometer, it should stay warm enough until I'm done."

"Right." She secured the belt around her waist and put the notes into her bag. As she turned to go outside, Gabriel grasped her arm.

"Not that I don't trust you," he said in a tone that hinted otherwise, "but my historical knowledge and journeying experience are no longer the only reasons you need to take me with you."

It took her a moment to understand that he was referring to the fever. Ignoring the warmth that flooded her system, she lifted her chin in defiance. "I'm counting on the time-hop to eliminate that particular necessity. But even so, I wouldn't abandon my worst enemy to this place and I think it's horrid of you to imply that I would."

She turned away from him so that her eyes could not reveal the truth. For a brief moment, she
had
considered leaving him. She had never had such a wicked thought in all her life and she only felt slightly guilty about it.

Shara had thought he'd been exaggerating about packing up the tent in sixty seconds but he actually managed it in less than that.

This time they knew what to expect during the hop and without the fear, the journey seemed to go much faster.

Shara felt the warm sunshine even before the tinkling sound of wind chimes drifted away. They were in a fragrant place of fruit-bearing trees and rolling hills covered with tiny multihued flowers.

"Welcome to paradise," Gabriel said, surveying the area. "It's hard to be certain but I think we're at least in the same location we were before. We definitely managed to pass over the planet's rebirth and, considering the lack of construction in the area, I'd guess we didn't overshoot our target date of 5750 either."

Shara shielded her eyes as she noted the sun's position in the sky to get her bearings. The white ring around the large, fiery sphere suggested they were still on Norona. "From what I researched, the administrative center of First Province was approximately twenty kilometers east of where our ship docked. If we're anytime near when I wanted to arrive, the rebels should be amassing in that area."

Gabriel extracted a triangle-shaped mirror from the left breast pocket of his jumper. "Beauty, record," he said. Then, holding one corner, he raised it above his head and turned in a full circle.

"An audiovisual recorder?" Shara asked with open interest.

"Recorder, computer, confidante," he replied and tilted the mirror toward her face. "Smile for the camera."

Instead she smirked and reached for the device. "May I?"

He handed it to her. "Ask whatever you wish to learn. It will respond to the voice of whoever is holding it." As she examined the mirror, he decided it might be quite nice to have some recordings of her that he could play back sometime in the future, when he was far away and very alone. "Look at your image as you speak."

Shara thought that seemed a bit odd, but she did as he instructed. "Where are we?"

INSUFFICIENT DATA

"Oh!" The printed words on the mirror's surface surprised her. "It doesn't use a voice?"

"It has one, but I prefer—"

"Silence," she surmised. "Did I understand you correctly? You call it Beauty?"

Gabriel grinned.