Knight of a Trillion Stars (12 page)

Deana continued her act. “Surprised at what, mastah?”

“That you have realized your reason for existence so quickly.” He firmly led her down the street, inwardly laughing at the outraged look on her face.

After taking several side tunnels at Yaniff’s direction, they finally came to the abode of the healer. They were ushered into the residence by a servant who asked them to wait for the healer to come.

Deana immediately noticed a difference in this domicile from the others she had seen on this world. For one thing, there actually was furniture here. Although rustic in design, at least it wasn’t made of rock. Deana spotted a chair in the corner that had a real cushion. She didn’t waste any time gratefully sinking down into the soft, padded seat.

“Ahhh! This is more like it.”

Yaniff agreed as he joined her on a matching chair. “Laeva decided that if she was going to leave the culture of the larger pods, she was at least going to be surrounded by some comfort. Most of her patients gift her with items such as these fine furnishings. A rarity in these parts, to be sure.”

Stretching her legs out, Deana leaned back in the seat, her mind wandering. Closing her eyes, she pictured a large pepperoni pizza. Her stomach growled. “How’s the food here?”

“The food here is fine, thank you very much.” Deana jumped at the sound of the authoritative feminine voice. “To what do I owe this visit, Yaniff? I am sure it is not just my sweet presence you have come to see.” The gruff voice snickered.

Deana was surprised at the appearance of the healer. She was a large woman, tall, and in her later years. Like Miki, her ears were pointed, but unlike Miki’s, they were not delicate. In fact nothing about this woman could be called delicate. Her eyes were brilliantly alive with humor. Deana decided she liked her at once.

Deana discreetly glanced at Yaniff, interested in his apparent embarrassment at Laeva’s words. The old mystic was making a great to-do about straightening the folds of his robe. Deana guessed that he was fond of the old gal.

Lorgin spoke, saving Yaniff from having to answer her.

“Laeva, I am sure that your presence alone is enough for any man to brave the Reaches. However, we do have need of your services.”

Laeva turned from Yaniff to gaze upon Lorgin. “Well, what do we have here besides an honest man?” She in-spected Lorgin, shifting her gaze to Rejar. Her face took on a thoughtful expression when she noted his eyes. “A wizard and his Familiar. How quaint.”

Rejar moved away from the wall he was leaning against.
{I am not his Familiar.
}

Laeva looked at Yaniff, then back to Rejar. “You are his, all right.”

Lorgin spoke up. “What do you mean? My brother and I—”

“Your brother?” Laeva smiled at Lorgin. “Yes, the two of you…Yaniff follows his—”

“Enough!” Yaniff stood, facing Laeva. “You have always had this keen ability to irritate me beyond belief, healer.”

Laeva didn’t seem at all shocked by Yaniff’s rudeness. Quite the opposite; she seemed to be enjoying it.

“Hit a nerve, have I? Good.” Ignoring Yaniff, she turned back to Lorgin. “Who are you, my dear man?”

Lorgin introduced himself, Rejar, and Adeeann to her, all the while wondering at Yaniff’s strange behavior.

“What is this service I can do for you? Excuse me for saying so, but you all look healthy to me.” She eyed Lorgin cheekily. “More than healthy.”

“We need you to perform a translator insertion on Adeeann.”

Deana’s head snapped up. “Whoa! I never agreed to this. What do you mean
an insertion
? An insertion where?”

“In your mind, of course. Do not be concerned,
zira
; it is a minor procedure.”

“Minor to you maybe.” She put her hands on her hips. “No one, I repeat, no one is going to mess with my mind. I don’t want some alien device in my brain.”

Lorgin was somehow not surprised at her reaction. She
was, after all, his
gharta.
“Come, there is no need for worry. It will be over very quickly.”

“I told you no. Besides, I don’t need a translation device. I won’t be here that long, and we’ve managed okay up till now.”

Lorgin ignored her comment about not being here long, concentrating on her other remark. “You need the device. We will be leaving this world soon. You will need to know what is being said around you.”

Deana had an awful feeling he wasn’t going to relent on this one. She decided to be firm. “You can tell me what’s being said. The answer is no and that is final.”

Lorgin sighed. Then began advancing on her.

Deana started backing up, then crazily decided to hold her ground.

“Lorgin, I mean it! I will not have this…
thing
put in my head.” She crossed her arms over her chest to show she was serious. “That is the last I will say on the subject.”

“Promise?” Lorgin continued to advance on her.

Deana began backing away from him again. She started looking for an avenue of escape, missing Lorgin’s nod to Rejar. Which probably was the reason she turned right around and ran straight into him.

“Rejar, let me go!”

“He will not let you go because he knows you are being foolish.” Lorgin was in front of her now. She tried to kick out at him, but missed. He managed to grab her leg, though. Then the other one. “Where shall we bring her, Laeva?”

Laeva raised an eyebrow. “Through these doors here.”

Deana let out a howl of protest as the two men carried her, kicking and squirming, into the next room. Laeva turned to the silent Yaniff. “You never bring me the easy ones, do you, old man?”

Yaniff’s twinkled. “Pfft! A woman like you needs a challenge every now and then.” A particularly loud wail came from the other room. “We best help my young friends else you will need to treat their hearing as well.”

Laeva smirked and led the way into the treatment room.

“Place her on the table there in the center of the room.”

“No!”

“Adeeann, stop this now. You will have Laeva think we are not appreciative of her skills.” Lorgin held her shoulders down to the table. Rejar gripped her ankles.

Deana stopped thrashing to pierce Lorgin with a heated glare. “If that woman so much as touches me, I’ll sue! Do you hear me? I’ll sue all of you! Now let me go.”

{What is she talking about?
}

Lorgin shrugged. “I have no idea. I think I am going to need your assistance, Rejar.”

{Very well.
}

Deana’s focus shifted to Rejar. “Don’t you dare touch me, you…you…cat in a hat!”

Rejar grinned. Instead of insulting him as she intended, she apparently was entertaining him. He leaned over her, his multicolored eyes dancing with mirth.
{You are tired
}

Was he trying to hypnotize her? “I am not!”

{You are tired…
}

Deana blinked. “I am n—”

{You are tired…
}

“Yes…I am tired.” She tried not to close her eyes, but her lids seemed so heavy.

{Sleep now…
}

Rejar straightened up.
{She will sleep for a short time
}

Lorgin smoothed Deana’s hair back from her forehead. “Good. The procedure will not take long.”

{Why was she so opposed to it? It is but a simple method to benefit her.
}

“I do not know why she behaved in this manner.” Lorgin sighed. “I only hope her anger is short-lived.”

{Yes.
} Rejar grinned.
{Anger would make things so much more difficult for you, brother.}

Lorgin gave him a rueful look. “You need not enjoy it so much, Rejar.”

{That is what a brother is for.}

Laeva clapped her hands briskly together. “Everyone leave. I’ll call you when I am finished.”

Yaniff and Rejar gladly departed. Lorgin, however, stayed behind.

“You, too, Lorgin.”

“I will stay here.”

“She will be fine. Now go along.”

“I expect her to be fine. Nonetheless, I will stay here.”

Laeva looked at the man before her in exasperation. “You are no different than your wife. Both of you stubborn beyond belief! Truly, it is a good match you have made.”

Lorgin responded with a wry grin.

Once again, Deana opened her eyes to the sight of Lorgin leaning over her, a concerned expression on his handsome face. It briefly occurred to her that he wouldn’t have to wear that expression so much if he didn’t cause so much trouble! He took her hand, the warmth of his skin making her realize how cold she felt. She began shivering.

“I-isn’t there any h-heat in here? I-I’m f-freezing.” She looked around the room, noticing that she had been placed in a bedroom. Hesitantly she felt the surface beneath her, sighing when her hand confronted a real mattress. “Is there another blanket?”

“No. Here; use my cloak.” He stood up, removed his cape, and placed it gently over the blanket covering her. “It is the aftereffects of the sleeping potion you were given. It causes your body temperature to drop.”

She eyed him out of the corner of her eye. “I thought Rejar put me to sleep—for which I will never forgive him.” Her teeth began chattering from the cold.

“He did, initially. Laeva decided to administer a sleeping draught when the procedure took longer than we had anticipated.”

“So, it’s done then?” Her hand reached up to her forehead.
Although nothing felt any different, a tear tracked its way down her cheek.

Lorgin sat on the edge of the bed. “What is this? Why does it disturb you so?” He wiped away the tear with his finger. “Children have this done all the time in my world. It is nothing.”

“To you, maybe. Now my mind’s been tampered with. I’m not the same as I was. For all I know, I’m a different person entirely.”

Lorgin’s look was ironic. “Believe me, you are the same person. This I can tell you with complete confidence.”

“But I can never know that for sure, can I?” Her expression was mutinous.

“Woman, there was nothing done to your mind! All you had was a simple translation device inserted.” Her expression did not waver.

Lorgin exhaled a long-suffering breath of sound “If you could have been altered, first, I would have made you more agreeable. This, as you can see, was not done!” Lorgin rubbed his temple. “You are giving me a headache.”

Deana was hardly listening to him. She was getting colder and colder by the minute, her body wracked with chills. “Lorgin, I’m so cold. Help me; I’m scared.”

Lorgin stopped rubbing his forehead, noticing her distress. “It is the medicine clearing from your body.” He stood and got under the covers next to her, enfolding her in his arms. His voice was gentle. “I will try to warm you.” He kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her back, his soothing hands leaving a trail of heat. “Do not be frightened, Little Fire. I would not permit anything bad to happen to you.”

“I believe that, but who’s going to stop
you
from happening to me?” Her chills were starting to subside, but her feelings of helplessness in the face of Lorgin’s will frightened her. She was truly at his mercy in this strange land he had
brought her to. Her secret fears were confirmed with his next words.

Lifting her chin with his forefinger, he firmly replied, “No one.”

She pushed out of his arms and turned away from him in the bed. His words upset her. She thought they were…well, friends. Now, in her mind, he was abusing their friendship. In the future, her behavior toward him was going to be quite different. If this was his attitude, he would learn that no man lorded himself over Deana Jones. With those thoughts, she allowed herself to drift into a nap.

She never felt Lorgin’s protective arms encircle her waist, pulling her possessively close as he too fell into slumber.

Lorgin heard Yaniff’s voice whispering in his ear like an insistent insect.

“If all you intend to do is lie there and sleep, Lorgin ta’al Krue, you might as well get up and come to the evening meal.”

Lorgin opened his lavender eyes, gazing straight into Bojo’s beady ones. “Get that beast out of my face, old man.” Bojo squawked at the insult.

“There, there.” Yaniff stroked the animal, soothing his ruffled feathers. “Just because this woman has you in knots is no reason to insult Bojo.” He gazed at Deana sleeping peacefully in Lorgin’s arms. “Hard to believe such a little thing wields such power over a Knight of the Charl.” The wizard grinned slyly. “Perhaps Rejar—”

Yaniff never finished his words as Lorgin held the Cearix to his throat. “You were saying?”

Yaniff’s eyes gleamed. “Take that dagger away from my throat, you insolent pup, before I turn you into a snail.” Lorgin complied. “Much better, thank you. Now, as I was saying, Laeva sent me to bring you down to the evening meal. You may wish to come.” He turned to leave, then
stopped, turning cunningly back to Lorgin. “After all, you may need to keep your strength up for the terrible ordeal you have to face later.”

Lorgin’s deep, throaty laughter filled the chamber as Yaniff left.

Deana woke to the rich sound of his laughter. The man never took her seriously! Even now, he was laughing at her. Perhaps he found her attitude regarding the translating device humorous; she did not. He was about to find out how serious she was. Disengaging herself from his embrace, she afforded him a cold stare.

“You are awake? Good. Laeva has prepared a meal for us. I recall you saying you were hungry some time back.” His lazy glance flicked to her hair, which fell about her in a cascade of red curls. He wanted to run his fingers through the silken strands, watch the incredible little curls wrap around his fingers.

“Yes, I am.” He’s probably going to make fun of my hair, as well, Deana thought sourly. Giving him another chilling look, she got out of bed, exiting the chamber without giving him a second glance.

Lorgin watched her departure with interest. He rubbed his chin in thought. So, that was the way of it, was it? The
gharta
thought to hold him off with a spiny exterior. Lorgin shook his head and chuckled. A prickly front was no obstruction to him. She could sting him all she liked, but in the end, the sweetness would be his. He got up to follow her below, looking forward to the confrontation.

All during dinner, Deana made it a point to ignore Lorgin. She talked gaily with Laeva, whom she liked but did not really forgive. She winked at Yaniff, and laughed with Rejar, whom she also did not forgive. But to Lorgin, the person who was really to blame for the whole fiasco, she gave the cold shoulder.

After the meal, which was the first appetizing one she
had enjoyed since coming to this place, she excused herself and headed back to her bedroom.

She kicked her boots off, flopping down on the top of the bed. She was surprised when Lorgin entered the room.

“Get out! This is my room. Your presence here is not wanted.”

Lorgin grinned at the little
gharta
. “No? Perhaps I should make it
wanted.
” Deana hopped off the bed.

“This is not
your
room, Adeeann. It is
our
room. I will come and go as I please.”

Deana put her hands on her hips. “Why do I always have to share sleeping arrangements with you? There must be another room for you. I don’t want you here.”

Lorgin approached her, peering intently down into her face through half-closed eyes, responding to her quip in a tone all the more threatening for the quietness of it. “Even if there were a thousand rooms in this dwelling, I would still sleep in this one.”

Deana looked away from him. Now she had done it! He wasn’t cowering under her cold treatment like other men she had known. In fact, it seemed to have the opposite effect on him, fueling his aggressiveness. That wasn’t what she wanted at all. What should she do now? This whole episode confirmed her belief that she was wise to steer clear of any entanglement with the man. There was no controlling him. She bit her lip while she concentrated on her next move.

“Come here,
zira.
”

His words interrupted her thoughts. He had called her
zira
again. This time she suddenly knew, just
knew
, what the word meant. The translating device! Her look was one of utter horror.

“You called me…
wife.
” She flung the accusation at him. Actually, he had called her “beloved wife,” but she chose to ignore the endearment attached to the translation.

Lorgin leveled his amethyst gaze on her. “
You are my wife.
Mine by right of succession, as well as sworn oath. It is past time we join.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t belong to anybody but myself!”

Her words angered him more than she would have believed. “We are mated!” He slashed his hand through the air. “The oath has been given and taken.”

Deana looked nonplussed. She blinked. “I don’t recall any oath between us.”

His eyes pierced her. “Do you not? Recall, if you will, my kneeling before you, offering myself and my line to you, offering the Cearix of the Lodarres, a noble line of sixteen generations!”

He stood before her now, towering over her. “Recall, if you will, your acceptance of this sacred symbol; binding us for all time,
joined as one.
”

Deana took a step back, noticeably paler. “Are you telling me that…when you gave me that dagger of yours, you were…
marrying
me?”

“Precisely.”

“And according to your customs, the woman isn’t allowed a say in this?”

“Of course she is. By our customs, I told you in the sanfrancisco I had taken the Right. You,
Adeeann zira’al Lorgin
, accepted my troth when you returned the Cearix to me in the time-honored manner, its point to my heart. You have taken the oath. I expect you to honor it.”

At this point, Deana decided to put the space of the room between them.

“But how was I to know? I have no knowledge of your customs. I didn’t even know what you were doing!”

Lorgin said nothing, only grinned wickedly, reminding her of his feral brother. His crystal earring flashed as it dangled from his ear.

She gulped. A thin film of sweat broke out on her forehead. “You planned this! Tricked me into marriage. You…you…” she sputtered. “It’s not legal! It’s called entrapment or something. It would never stand up in a court of law. What am I saying? This doesn’t mean anything on my world.”

“Ah, but we are not on your world.”

“How dare you! You arrogant, presumptuous, overbearing…intruder!”

Lorgin furrowed his brow.
Intruder?

“Coming into my house, my home, totally uninvited, forcing your way into my life! Who asked you to?”

Lorgin opened his mouth to answer, but Deana cut him off. Crossing her arms over her chest, she emphatically stated, “I’m not staying here another minute. Take me back this instant!”