Stolen Dreams (17 page)

 

He
didn't bother to hide his grin. "It's not my fault you look so
desirable in that scrap of cloth." He leaned a little closer. 'The only
reason I got burned was because I kept thinking about what I saw when
you bent over to place that stool you're sitting on, Her lips formed
an o, and he took advantage of her surprise with a quick kiss. "If you
don't want me to say things like that, try not to tease."

 

"I
... I
... wouldn't, I didn't . . . not on purpose." His smile told her he was
the one who was teasing, and she grimaced at him rather than give him
the smile she felt inside. She then made an attempt to distract him
before she gave away her true reaction to his teasing. "I think you
should know, someone— two people, actually—tried to enter my mind while
we were being greeted. I blocked them, but I'd say we should assume
we're not as accepted as they'd like us to think."

 

Before he
could
respond, Hestia came over to take a look at his arm. When she saw how
many tubers were left in the basin, she pulled up another stool and
helped them out.

 

 

The
sun had set by the time all the food was
prepared. As Shara helped bring it inside, she was pleased to see that
the lodge was now filled with people she hadn't met yet. Though they
all appeared to be humanoid, and the majority looked younger than her,
Shara noted a wide range of differences in their individual
features.             
 

 

There
were rather small people with yellow-brown skin, black hair, slanted
eyes, and prominent cheekbones. There were fair men and women as tall
as Gabriel with wild manes of red and blond hair and bright blue eyes.
Others had skin and eyes in shades of ebony. The most unusual were the
men and women whose bodies were covered in intricate tattoos rather
than clothing.

 

As the people started making their way toward
the
food, Hestia grasped Gabriel's elbow. "Come with me. Apollo has arrived
with my brothers."

 

Shara followed close behind as Hestia
guided
Gabriel across the room to where Athena and Artemis were speaking to a
group of men. One of those men stood out, even amid such a diverse
crowd. Noticeably older than those around him, he was of giant stature
and physique, with a riot of light brown curls that fell below his
shoulders and a full beard of similar springy coils. Beyond the
physical, however, there was something so regally imposing about his
bearing, he could only be one of two men—Zeus or his brother, Poseidon.

 

Quickly
Shara ran through the legendary family history Gabriel had given her.
Zeus had another brother, Hades, who was less dramatic in appearance,
but had a penchant for fire and destruction. His sisters were Hestia,
Demeter, and Hera, whom Zeus made his mate once he was free of the
moral restrictions of the Noronian Tribunal.

 

By this time, he
had
already fathered a considerable number of children with several of his
female followers, in direct opposition to the regulated birth edicts of
the Tribunal. The twins Artemis and Apollo were born of one of his
women. Athena from another. The way he spread his genes around before and after going to Terra, Zeus was a prime suspect
in Shara's search for Khameira's rebel ancestor.

 

"Good
eve, brother," Hestia said cheerfully as she approached the group. "I
hope that scowl you are wearing is caused by an empty stomach and not a
bad day. We prepared all your favorites in anticipation of either
circumstance."

 

The big man hugged her to his barrel chest and
loudly
kissed her on the forehead. "The day was frustratingly unproductive.
The Tribunal has once again refused to hear our petitions and the
councilors are afraid to challenge them. I have no doubt your wonderful
cooking will bring me out of my foul mood, though." He set her away
from him as abruptly as he had hugged her. "But if you were truly
concerned about my disposition, you would have brought my nectar, as
you usually do."

 

Hestia looked to Athena, who answered for
her.
"That was my doing, sire. I recommended that no wines be served
tonight, as we should all have clear heads for the sunrise meeting. Of
course, if you wish—"

 

"No, no," Zeus said firmly. "You made a
wise
decision, as always." His gaze landed on Shara, and his scowl softened.
"Do I dare hope you have come to join our family?"

 

Hestia
spoke
before Shara could reply. "Shara, Gabriel, I present Zeus, leader of
this commune of Friends. They are newly arrived, brother, but I fear I
must disappoint you. They are to be joined soon."

 

His narrowed
eyes
cut through Shara's tunic as he scanned her length. "Soon is not
already done. Perhaps you will share a cup or two of my special nectar
with me tomorrow evening."

 

Thinking that would be an ideal
opportunity to test him, Shara opened her mouth to accept, but
Gabriel's hand clamped over her bare shoulder and squeezed a warning.

 

With
an easy smile, Gabriel said to Zeus, "Perhaps you'd sleep better
tonight if you withdrew that offer."

 

Zeus's laughter echoed
through the lodge. "You not only look like my son Apollo, you must have
his courage as well."

 

"Actually,"
Hestia said, raising her voice to turn everyone's attention to her,
"Apollo is the one I brought Gabriel over here to see. He was burned
while helping at the hearth."

 

As Apollo moved to Gabriel's
side and
Hestia made the formal introduction, Shara could see the resemblance
between the two men. After she obtained Apollo's genetic codes, it
would be interesting to compare them against Gabriel's. They were both
golden specimens of manly beauty, and yet there was something remote
about Apollo. Gabriel was so much more .. . touchable. Her fingernails
dug into her palms to keep her hands from following the route her mind
had taken.

 

Apollo held Gabriel's forearm as he examined the
burn.
Gently his fingertips stroked the blistered skin. In a surprisingly
soft, melodic voice, he said, "Please close your eyes and picture your
arm as it was before the accident." Gabriel did as he was told. "Now
hold on to the image of the healthy skin tissue until I tell you to
open your eyes." Apollo placed the palms of his hands over the burn and
closed his fingers around Gabriel's arm.

 

Shara wondered what
Gabriel was feeling. After an initial muscle twitch when Apollo
enveloped the injury, Gabriel visibly relaxed except for a slight
wrinkle of concentration on his brow.

 

Barely
a few seconds passed, but it seemed much longer. No one around them
spoke or moved until Apollo removed his hands from Gabriel's arm and
stepped back with a confident smile.

 

No evidence of the burn
remained!

 

Delighted,
Gabriel flexed his fingers and rotated his forearm. "I had heard
reports of your skill, Apollo. I'm honored to have experienced it
personally. Thank you."

 

Apollo nodded. "And now perhaps we
should discuss how you appear to be more of a reflection of myself than
my twin sister."

 

"Speak
of whatever you wish," Zeus grumbled, "but let us do it with food
before us." Holding out his huge hand to Shara, he said more
pleasantly, 'You will sit by me, lovely lady. Your guardian angel
cannot object to that much."

 

Although he said nothing,
Gabriel's
expression suggested he objected very much. She assumed he had a good
reason for not wanting her so near Zeus, but she could think of no
polite way to refuse. Thus, she accepted his hand to walk beside him.

 

Platters
of food awaited them at one long table where no one had sat down yet.
As soon as Zeus was seated at its head, however, the benches were soon
crowded. Shara sat to his left, as he directed, and Hestia sat next to
her. Apollo and Gabriel were situated a few feet away on the other side.

 

Hestia
introduced those Shara had not met before, while everyone filled their
plates. All the people at the table were followers of Zeus and resided
in the commune. Most were related to him in some fashion.

 

When
Hestia finished identifying each person, Shara could not resist
commenting, "Your brother has certainly done his part to enlarge your
family."

 

Hestia shrugged. "You must not judge him by the
standards
of average men. He has great appetites and believes in appeasing them."

 

Shara
noted the mountain of food Zeus had piled in front of him, but she
understood Hestia was not referring only to that.

 

"He
is determined that our family will spawn a great dynasty.
Unfortunately, he is having to do it almost singlehandedly. None of his
sisters have a desire for power, nor have we proven fertile thus far.
Our absent brother, Poseidon, keeps to himself most of the time. Though
he has sired only a string of mutants with his mate, Amphitrite, he has
taken no other women to his bed. And Hades ..."

 

Shara followed
Hestia's glance down to the other end of the table where Hades sat. He
was dark in coloring and personality.

 

"Hades
supports Zeus, but he has his own ideas of how changes should be
accomplished, and he has yet to father any children. Of all Zeus's
offspring, only a few have added children to his ranks. Apollo prefers
to spend his private hours alone or with young boys. Athena and Artemis
have taken vows of purity . . . though I do not believe what they do in
the privacy of their cells would be considered totally pure by some."

 

Shara
returned Hestia's knowing smile and encouraged her to continue sharing
her family's secrets. The woman apparently loved to gossip, and Shara
was mentally recording every detail. When Hestia ran out of tidbits
about her own family, she went on to talk about the leaders of other
factions of Friends
who were temporarily in residence: the barbaric Odin and his mate
Frigga; the dark-skinned beauty Isis and her competitive brothers,
Osiris and Set; and Scot, the eccentric leader of the tattooed clan.

 

Listening
attentively to Hestia, Shara failed to block a mental probe for several
seconds. Though unfamiliar with this type of telepathy, she was now
certain that it was as individualized as fingerprints. This was the
gentler of the two intrusions she had felt earlier. She looked at all
the faces around her, but none gave away anything.

 

The touch
had
been so brief and light she didn't think the person would have been
able to glean anything before she blocked the probe, but it was
impossible to know for sure.

 

She held her breath, waiting for
someone to alert the others that she and Gabriel were not what they
claimed to be. Time passed, but no one pointed an accusing finger at
her, nor did anyone attempt another probe.

 

The conversation
grew
louder and more animated as the platters of food emptied and were
cleared away. All had their own ideas about how the Summit should be
handled and what direction the majority of the Friends would vote to
take. Shara noticed how Gabriel fingered Beauty and moved it from one
angle to another as different people spoke. The light in his eyes let
her know he was ecstatic about the historical recordings he was making.

 

Shara
was asking Hestia a question when she felt a warm pressure against her
leg. She shifted in the small space available without crowding Hestia.
When Zeus moved as well, she was certain the contact was not
accidental, even though he appeared to be totally involved in conversation with
Athena.

 

Under
the circumstances, Shara thought it would be better to ignore him than
make a scene. But when his meaty hand slipped under the table and onto
her knee, she changed her mind. As his fingers inched their way beneath
her tunic and up her naked thigh, she leaned close to Zeus's ear and
murmured, "If you wish to continue fathering your dynasty in the
future, I'd suggest you remove your hand from my leg."

 

His
hand stilled uncomfortably close to the juncture of her thighs. "You
would risk your loves life over a trifling?"

 

Shara
met his gaze with a smile. "No, I wouldn't tell him that you took his
warning as a joke. I would handle the matter myself."

 

He
continued
to stare at her for several more heartbeats, then let out another
roarlike laugh as he brought his hand back to his own lap. "Gods above,
I like you, Shara. You could be one of my own."

 

I just might
be,
Shara thought. We'll find out the truth soon enough. As she turned away
from him, she caught sight of Gabriel glaring at her as if she'd
committed some terrible offense. Even after she resumed her
conversation with Hestia, she felt him staring at her.

 

Despite
his
obvious displeasure with her, however, she hadn't expected him to do
anything about it in front of so many people. She was wrong.

 

With
a
few words to those around him, Gabriel rose and came to stand at
Shara's side. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you," he said, grasping
Shara's upper arm and practically lifting her upright off
the bench. "We are especially grateful for your kind hospitality, Zeus
and Hestia, but we traveled a great distance today, so we must ask that
you excuse us until dawn."

 

Shara barely kept her balance as he
started to pull her away before she had climbed over the bench.

 

"Aah,
the mating fever strikes again!" Zeus exclaimed, much to everyone's
amusement, except Shara's.

 

She
was going to strangle Gabriel the moment they got out of here. By the
time he stopped by their bags to fetch his sleeping pouch, she was
certain every person in the entire lodge assumed the same thing Zeus
had—that they were rushing outside to couple before the fever reached a
peak.