Naked (7 page)

Cierra placed a hand over her belly. “If I am pregnant—”

“You are.”

“If I am, this child will not be forced into hosting you. You will leave it alone until it is an adult and then you will ask it, very politely, if you can share space with it. If my child says no, I will move worlds to get you out of his or her skin.” Cierra vibrated with tension.

To her surprise, Sebach smiled. “Good. I accept your terms. If you have more children, I will be able to ask them all if their elders refuse. Just having the Terrans in the bloodline will give me options to seek my Avatar when I need to. What do you wish in return?”

Cierra looked at Ahket, but he just shrugged helplessly. “I cannot speak to this matter. My kind have already betrayed the trust of Sebach. You are working for our children and you need to know, what would you want for them?”

The expanses of empty, blown dirt from their shuttle trip in sprang into her mind.

“I want my children to grow on a living world. I want life and plants and animals and water. I want a world that is alive, not a sad little dustbowl still throwing a tantrum.” She watched carefully as Sebach took in her words.

A grin formed. “It will begin immediately. You might want to remain in the city until the storms pass. The animals you will have to trade for on your own. I have some suggestions though. Would you care to join me in the tower?”

Ahket finally spoke. “The tower is just a mountaintop.”

Sebach chuckled. “I may not be able to bond to an Admaryn mind, but I have no trouble controlling what they see. Cierra, what did you see when you flew past the mountain range?”

That she knew their names was not surprising. Cierra answered. “I saw an old and abandoned city covered in the blown dirt of centuries with a huge tower in the centre.”

Ahket scowled. “You didn’t say anything.”

She blinked. “I thought you could see it.”

“There are no cities left on the surface of Sebach.”

Sebach smiled. “Not that your kind can see. The N’ga-Sebach are easy to fool. I have hidden the shelters from them since Seera decided to leave me.”

She got it, or she thought she did. Sebach had been left by everyone who mattered to her and her revenge had been to make herself inhospitable. She was punishing the N’ga-Sebach for rejecting her.

She met the gaze of the world in the woman’s body, and she saw a far more powerful reflection of her own soul. A life in the foster system had left her cold, and if it weren’t for her talent for seeking out what she needed, she would have thrown herself into the arms of the first man who wanted her. That was the position that Seera had been in, and when the man she wanted had rejected her, she had literally ended it all, though her body remained.

“What happened to Seera’s soul?” The words came out of her mouth without willing it.

Sebach’s face flickered with pain. “She is in her afterlife. The energy rings that surround the moon contain the dead souls of the N’ga. They spend time with their ancestors and slowly give themselves to the universe.”

Cierra followed her impulse and got to her feet. Ahket rose behind her. She walked to Sebach and pulled her to her feet, hugging her tightly. She was not surprised when the soul of the lonely world hugged her back.

They were both crying and laughing uncomfortably when they parted, but Sebach extended her hand to Ahket, and they walked through the green mosses, the lush plants and the burbling water.

A flat platform of stone rose straight up and took them to where they could feel the air and see daylight.

“You can stay here for the remainder of your banishment, though I rather suspect that they will come in search of you.”

The platform halted and Sebach took them on a tour. While the exterior was clogged with dust, the interior was pristine.

“Why is it so clean?”

“I have felt you coming for the last twenty-six years. The moment you were born, I felt the surge of connection between us. When you were of age, I began to call you and here you are. All that has gone before was to bring you here, now.”

Ahket looked at the woman that he obviously respected and feared. “So the line of seers that runs through my bloodline comes from you as well?”

Sebach smiled and led them to a room with wide windows that let in the light. She waved her hands at the walls. “These were the last of the N’ga and that woman, right there, is your ancestress. Jimeera was wise, strong and loved her mate very much. She only had the one child, and she died bearing it, as did many of the N’ga women. Our two peoples did not join together easily, but I can see that our skin remained strong in the genes.”

To Cierra’s amusement, Sebach reached up and patted Ahket’s cheek.

“You and Cierra will make adorable babies.”

Cierra blinked. “How do you know?”

Ahket stepped over and put his arms around Cierra. “It is visible. Your glow has changed.”

Sebach smiled. “I am glad you came together on your own. Forcing you would not have been pleasant.”

Ahket narrowed his eyes. “Why do you insist on having a native-born being as your Avatar?”

Sebach looked sad again. “I want to be part of them from the moment they draw breath. I will not be their mother, but I will be there and they will know me.”

Cierra sighed and looked out at the piles of sand and grime. “I wonder how long it will take to clear this, and where will we get food?”

Sebach smiled. “It will only be fruits and vegetables, but I will keep you in food while you are with me. As for the other…”

A wind began to blow against the thick windows and the dirt lifted and was swept away in thin layers.

Cierra smirked, “I wish I could sweep like that.”

Sebach smiled and waved her hand toward an open hallway. “The garden is there and the plumbing is working. You have all the comforts of home without meat, but there are several mushrooms that have similar enzymes. Welcome home.”

Six hours later, they had found the kitchen, made a fire with the fuel of the dried bracken and chunks of coal, and settled in with fresh tea while the vegetable stew cooked.

Ahket lifted her hand and kissed it. “Not the start I wanted for us, but it isn’t horrible.”

Cierra looked at him and burst out laughing. “It is better than facing all of your relatives the moment that I landed. Aside from my carving up my feet, which is no longer an issue, I am actually having a nice time. Where did Sebach go?”

He smiled and took her teacup out of her hand. “She mentioned that she was going to check on the colony. I am guessing that they won’t even know that she is there.”

She looked into his lovely eyes and smiled. “What do you have in mind?”

He kissed her neck, drawing his tongue across her skin. “I haven’t thanked you for your generosity at choosing me as your mate.”

She sighed and tilted her head. “No, I don’t believe you have.”

“That is horribly remiss of me.” He mumbled it against her skin as he moved up and kissed her lips.

She surrendered to the kiss and muttered, “What about the stew?”

“We can tangle here and keep an eye on dinner.”

She looked around and realized that for all intents and purposes, they were the only two people for a hundred miles.

His fingers worked at her sash and worked her tunic up until he could cup her breast. It was only fair. She had started things the first time; they had come together during the countdown to banishment, but it had been desperation. This was relief and celebration. She looked forward to experiencing the difference.

Wrestling free of her clothing took precious moments and waiting for him to do the same took an eternity.

She welcomed him into her arms on the bed made of their clothing, and he tasted her from her lips to her ankles and every inch in between.

Cierra knew that many folks enjoyed simply receiving attentions, but she had never been one to wait when she knew that something was for her, and Urion Ahket was hers.

She pulled at his shoulders until he moved over her, and when he slid into her, it was pure relief to move against him, rising to meet the shaft thrusting inside her.

He tangled her fingers with his and pressed her arms above her head. Cierra raised her mouth to his as they moved together, rocking and twisting faster and faster until she clenched her hands against his and moaned into his mouth.

He shuddered, and his own hands gripped hers tight. He moaned against her lips and they both chuckled softly.

Cierra smiled. “That was fun.”

He grinned and lowered his weight onto her, his belly pressing against hers. “Fun? Is that all?”

“You will just have to do better in the future. Perhaps something with a bed?”

She could hear the bubbling behind him.

“Stir the stew, Ahket.”

He kissed her quickly. “I believe you can call me Urion now.”

She chuckled and felt bereft as he rose from her still-damp skin to attend to their meal. “I think Ahket will be the default.”

She leaned up on her elbows. “What do you think of our child eventually becoming the Avatar?”

“If it is their choice and they do it freely, I say they should take the power as it comes. If they do not wish to host Sebach, I hope that they will have many brothers and sisters for Sebach to court.”

She sat up and put her head on her knees with her arms around her legs. “Why do you think I will be able to have more than one? Your people have small families from what you have told me.”

“True, but my species was banished after trying to kill yours because you could out breed us and with us, in only a few generations. I have hopes that you will carry on the potential of your species.”

She sighed. “Will the N’ga-Sebach mix with our bloodline, do you think? Or will our children be alone?”

“If they cannot have local mates, I am sure that we can press the great ship into service once again.” He finished stirring the stew and settled next to her.

“Cierra, stop worrying about children who have not yet been born. Sebach seems to want to help us, and my folk have learned their lesson when it comes to dealing with the Avatar. If she orders them to take our kin to mate, they will.”

She leaned against him, and he took her in his arms, cuddling her with one hand on her belly.

“It sounds so romantic. I suppose you are right. By the way, Sebach is returning. We might want to get dressed.” She smiled and kissed him quickly.

When the Avatar returned, the food was ready and they were dressed. It was the start of a strange arrangement, and Cierra enjoyed it. She had always wanted a sister.

When the three months was up, they were wearing N’ga formalwear that Sebach had brought out of storage, and they flew to the colony with the Avatar holding their hands.

Cierra had never felt so queasy with just a bit of air travel.

They hadn’t sent the retrieval ship. Sebach had told them it wasn’t necessary. Cierra could only imagine how shocked the colonists had been to find out that the Avatar was still alive, sort of.

When they landed, Ahket took her protectively and wrapped his arm around her as they approached the large gathering of the women and men of the N’ga-Sebach.

Sapya gave them each a hug and smiled at how healthy and strong they seemed.

“She needs to be strong. She is carrying my next Avatar.” Sebach smiled tightly, informing everyone that Cierra was pregnant.

Urion’s mother and father stepped forward and embraced him before they turned to her. “Welcome, daughter. Sebach has told us that you have chosen our son and you will take him without dowry.”

Cierra blinked. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I already have him. That is for sure.”

A woman in the back gasped in horror.

Cierra looked toward the woman who had tried to put dibs on Urion. “Isn’t it wonderful that, through Sebach’s efforts, he and I found each other?”

The woman looked from her to the Avatar, and Sebach was bristling with power. She backed down immediately.

Urion grinned down at Cierra, and she slid her arm around his back.

His mother whispered, “Son, are you sure that the child is yours?”

Cierra blinked at that one.

“I was her first, Mother, so, yes. She was not pregnant in the scans done on the ship. Now she is.”

His mother held up her hands. “I just wanted to make sure, son. Her ways might not be our ways.”

The sky opened, and a gentle rain came down, dampening everyone. They moved the discussion underground, and Sebach took control of the meeting, negotiating a return to the great cities now that she had removed the disguise from their minds.

Cierra tried to get used to living in the colony, she really did, but with every passing week, she grew more and more unhappy.

Urion came into their quarters one night, and he wrapped his arms around her. “What is it?”

“I really don’t like it here. They are always touching me, caressing my hair, and they won’t let me do anything. I am not wounded, I am just pregnant. It will pass. I just need to get into a schedule, and I am not even allowed to do that.” She grumbled and tears came to her eyes.

He stroked her back. “I have a solution. You might actually enjoy it.”

She sniffled and looked up. “What?”

“Sebach has offered us the use of her city and tower as long as we wish it. The colony has been looking for a new base to keep the majority of their shuttles, so the city is the best place for them. We can live there and call for a medic when the baby comes.”

“You wouldn’t mind living there with me?”

He smiled. “This time, we would have all the comforts of home and you would be able to assist us in our trade endeavours via com link. I would work with the botanists and those who wished to come to the city could come. It would be a far more controlled situation for you.”

She stroked his chest. “Oh dear. You figured out that I am a control freak?”

He gave an exaggerated look around their quarters with everything neatly stowed and folded. “I have that feeling now and then.”

She sighed. “Would your family come with us?”