Moonbeams and magic (23 page)

Auken grinned and said, "We were in and out like a comet."

"Let us get our business handled," Tochar said, "then all of you can seek rest and diversions, both of which are needed and well deser\/ed. My buyers are arriving in two deegas for the crystals. In three deegas, you will leave again and bring me another supply of drugs for them. This time, there will not be a patrol in that sector."

"We're going back to Zumali?" Starla inquired.

"I have been assured it will be safe this time. They will not expect you to strike at the same place and so soon; they will be guarding other sites."

"Who will go with me this time?" she asked.

"The entire unit will make the trek together."

Starla nodded understanding and agreement to Tochar.

"Meet for departure at the landing grid on the morning of the third deega from this one. Until then, do as you please."

"Don't you need us to guard you for the buyer meeting?" Dagan asked.

"No, I am taking a large and well-armed unit of Enforcers with me. Unless you have other questions, you may leave and enjoy yourselves. Dagan, stay behind for a while; I have more to talk about with you."

Starla left with the others and walked to her shuttle. She was glad she had warned Thaine to prepare a surprise attack on the Thracians who were coming for the crystals, since she would not have an opportunity to destroy them, and doing so again would be reckless. When she returned to her ship, she would send Thaine an update to confirm that delivery schedule and would report Moig's death, as she had waited for this meeting to take place before contacting her superior. She hoped no Serians would be near Zumali during the next drug raid, as she wanted to avoid a lethal battle. She would warn Raz Yakir via Thaine, as it would be dangerous for the

ruler to give his forces a command to stay clear of the planet since that information could enter the wrong ears. She would ask both men not to act upon that news and risk exposing her to the Serian traitor, and she was certain they would concur with her precaution. So far, Yakir had kept his word about protecting her identity and mission; because she was still alive and free.

She decided against waiting for Dagan to finish his talk with Tochar. She would return to her ship, make her report to Thaine, and change into Yana before seeing him tonight.

Dagan rounded the comer of the structure to head for his chamber and sighted the sultry creature leaning against the wall near his door. She looked up and smiled, then straightened her posture and fingered her long golden hair. Blast it all, you re the last person I want to encounter tonight! I need to file a report with Phaedrig and try to reach Starla. "Yana, what are you doing here?" Annoyance dripped from his words.

"I saw Auken and Sach in the Skull's Den, so I knew you had returned. When you didn't appear or answer my signal, I waited for you. It's been a long time since we saw each other. Can we visit tonight?"

"Come inside; we need to talk." Dagan slid the metallic card into a slot and the door swished open. He stepped aside for Yana to enter first, her scent teasing into his nostrils as she did so. He felt his body warm, and he was annoyed by her effect on him. Keep your distance from her! He walked to the eating area and fetched himself a cool drink which he downed with haste; he offered her no refreshment. He looked at the sensual woman who took a seat and gazed at him.

"You're angry with me for coming here, aren't you?" she asked.

"Not exactly," he replied, staying where he was, a parti-

tion between them. "I don't want to hurt you or mislead you, Yana, but nothing can happen between us again. From here on, let's keep our distance."

Yana widened her fake blue gaze. "Why?" she asked. "What have I done to be rejected like this? We're a good match. I thought you were as attracted to me as I am to you. We enjoyed each other. Am I being too forward and easy? Did I displease you on the sleeper? "

"I'm involved with another woman, so I can't see you again."

"Surely a virile male like you can have more than one relationship."

He shook his head. "This one is serious and important to me."

"If you love and want another woman, why did you have sex with me? You cannot tell me you did not find pleasure and satisfaction with m.e."

As she stood to approach him, he ordered, "Stay where you are!"

Yana halted and stared at him. "What's wrong with you? I am not an enemy; v/hy are you afraid of me?"

"I don't know how you did it, and maybe it was unintentional, but you snared me in some unknown trap. That's the only way to explain what happened with you. Perhaps Asisan fem^ales possess some biological m.agic. It won't happen again. If you're in trouble or danger, I'll try to help you; but that's as far as our relationship can go."

"You think I tricked you into surrendering to me?"

"I didn't want you that night and I don't want you tonight, but there's something you emit that makes you irresistible at close proximity."

"There is a special chemistry between us, Dagan, so why fight it? You affect me in the same way; that is why I came to you both times."

He chilled his tone. "Leave, Yana, and don't return again.

I love and desire another woman. I won't allow you to destroy my chances with her."

Yana was astonished and aroused by his words and expression. It would be wrong of her to use the pheromone on him again, and she was glad she had sprayed it on so lightly he could do battle with it. "You sound determined. True love is rare and valuable, so I will not intrude on your life again. I'm sorry you don't trust me. I will not bother you in the future unless I am in dire need of your help. Good-bye, Dagan."

"Good-bye, Yana, and I'm sorry if your feelings are injured by me."

"I am a survivor, Dagan Latu, so do not worry about me."

He watched Yana leave and hoped she wouldn't cause him trouble with Starla. It seemed she had given up too easily to be trusted. If a problem arose, he told himself, he would handle it. Right now, he had work to do. He checked the security of his chamber, filed his report, and awaited a reply as he thought about Starla and how close she had come to death. Even so, the incident had not frightened or convinced her to terminate her work. How, he worried, could he protect her when they were separated, if that happened again? How could he coax her away from Noy and Tochar?

Dagan was astonished by Phaedrig's response: an I-GAF unit was already standing by to prevent Koteas and Terin from returning to Icaria with the crystals they had stolen recently. Phaedrig did not know where the information had come from; it had been entered into their private network from an untraceable source, one using the proper code and password. In case the data was true, Phaedrig had sent a cloaked ship and special team to handle the matter in guarded secrecy.

Dagan could not imagine who had gotten those facts in time to put his superior's plan into motion, when he and

the others had been told only less than an hora ago. Was it possible there was an agent working in Icaria, he mused, or could Tochar's lover be a traitor to him? Who else could know the fiendaPs plans so far in advance except someone close to Tochar or to his buyers? At least he wouldn't have to worry about the crystals being used by the Thracians, but a further mystery had arisen. If another agent was working on this same mission, who was he? Who had hired him and what was his location and why the secrecy from I-GAF? He needed to be on alert for clues to the answers to those questions.

Dagan showered and changed, then headed for the Skull's Den to ask Auken or Sach how he could contact Starla on her ship. He hoped Yana had not returned there as he didn't want to confront her again. He was relieved when he sighted Starla sitting alone at a side table.

Dagan joined her and smiled. "I was coming to search for you, woman. I've been zoned out since I heard about your close brush with peril. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine; I can take care of myself." Starla sipped her drink.

"Still chilly from your visit to Zumali? I was hoping you had changed your mind about us and would soften toward me."

Her gaze met his. "Do you really need two women at one time?"

He tensed. "What do you mean?"

"I was coming to see you earlier, but you were busy, so I left."

"You have it all wrong, Starla; please, let me explain."

She leaned back in her chair. "Then, explain, if you can."

C7,

£/2

Dagan glanced around the room which was becoming crowded and noisy. "Not here, in private, at my place or on your ship," he whispered.

"Cypher is on my ship. I know he's an android, but he's like a real person to me, like a brother; so I don't want to go there to talk."

"Will you come to my chamber?"

"What if she returns?" Starla asked, trying to impress upon him they were different entities, even though it was unlikely he would suspect shapeshifting.

"1 can promise you she won't, if she leaves me alone as I ordered her to do. I didn't invite Yana there and didn't want to see her; I swear."

Starla pretended to study him for a moment. She needed to learn if he had discovered any clues during his last raid which he might share with her, by accident or volition. She also wanted to draw him closer to her in case his help and protection were needed soon, if he truly loved her and would provide them. "Let's go. I'll hear you out this one time."

They left the Skull's Den and walked the short distance to Dagan's chamber.

Dagan took a position facing her. He rested his right arm along the back of the seata, his fingers touching her shoulder. He gazed into her green eyes. "Yana was waiting for me when I returned: I asked her to come inside so I could

settle the matter with her. Despite what I am, Starla, I'm not a cruel person. I didn't want to hurt her and didn't mean to mislead her. I told her I'm involved with another woman and made it clear nothing could happen between us. I suppose she's never been rebuffed before, so she looked confused and surprised by my rejection, and maybe her feelings were injured. I told her I loved and desired only you, and I wouldn't allow her to cause trouble between us by making it appear as if I was betraying you in secret." Dagan noticed Starla's controlled expression and reaction. When she didn't respond to his last sentence, he continued with his explanation.

"I don't know who she is or why she's here, but there seems to be a serious problem where she habitates. I got the impression something important must take place before she can return home. She puts on a good facade of being brave, but I think she's afraid and lonely, and that's why she turned to me. I offered to help her if she got into trouble here, but that's all. She said she believed me and wouldn't approach me again unless she was threatened; I hope she was telling the truth. If not, please don't misread any contact between us. In fact, if you see us together, join me and prove to her I'm off-limits, prove to yourself I'm not chasing her." Dagan thought it best not to reveal their sexual encounter and his suspicions about how and why it happened. "I love you, Starla Vedris, and I want you, only you, and forever. I hope you either feel the same way or will some deega."

Starla took a deep breath and kept her gaze locked to his blue one. She knew an intimate relationship with him was hazardous, but it seemed necessary. Yet, she felt guilty about deceiving him and worse about using him, and couldn't imagine her torment if she had to betray and arrest him.

"Do you believe me?" Dagan asked, his chest tight with dread.

"Yes, I do." She saw him exhale in relief, then smile. "I

don't understand this fast and potent attraction between us, but it exists. Let's move slowly and carefully and see where it takes us."

Dagan clasped her hand in his as he vowed, "It will guide us to our fiiture if we don't resist its power and magic."

"Our future?" We have none as long as your trajectory is wrong. Recalibrate it, my love; decontaminate yourself, Dagan, so I can have you, if it's not already too late for you to escape your nefarious past.

Her silence and intense study worried him, as did the chilled fiesh on her hand. "Yield to me, Starla; bond to me as you have to no other man. Let me love you, protect you, cherish you above all females who have lived or will live. I will do everything in my pov/er to defend you and to keep you at my side forever, this I swear with all my heart and soul."

As she gazed into his blue eyes and listened to his words, she could not convince herself he was being anything other than serious and honest. Yet, the obstacles between them were enormous, seemingly insurmountable. Why did cruel fate send you here to create havoc with my emotions and mission? Why did I fall in love with a forbidden rogue? She felt the vibration in her wrist unit as Cypher signaled a warning she was losing control of herself and the situation, a fact the android had deduced from monitoring her physiological reactions. Starla pressed a tiny button to let Cypher know she had gotten his message, the response m.asked by her rise from the seata.

Dagan grasped her arm and entreated, "Don't leave."

"I was heading there," she replied, nodding toward his sleeper

Dagan stood and embraced her. "I feared I had panicked you with my confession and the revelation of my great need for you."

Starla rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "The only thing I fear at this preon

is that this mysterious bond between us won't be strong or tight enough to hold us together for the rest of our Uves. I don't want to lose you, Dagan, but I'm afraid something or someone will tear us apart; that would evoke terrible anguish."

He hugged her. "We v/on't allow that to happen, my love."

"There are many forces in the Cosmos stronger than we are, so that choice might not be ours to make."

Dagan lifted her chin and fused their gazes. "If necessary, my ravishing m.oonbeam, I will battle both Kahala and Kar-lee to have you."

"Moonbeam," her troubled mind echoed, the endearment her father used for her golden-haired mother and the crux of her mission: a word with such disparate mieanings: love and unity, death and separation. "Whatever happens beyond this night, Dagan, know I love and desire only you."