strongholdrising (57 page)

"I want my own clothes back!" fumed Alex, clutching her toweling robe closer about her.
"They're in storage with Kai's," she said. "Hurry up and get dressed or you'll be late for prayers."
"I'm not wearing this!" she said, throwing the gray one-piece down on the floor. "And I'm not going to prayers!"
"Suit yourself," said Ruth, putting down the coffeepot. "But you'll go to prayers. The Brotherhood made it possible for you to stay on Shola. Without them, you'd be on Earth right now, in a military telepath training center. You owe it to them to respect their religious services. You'll only make a fool of yourself if you turn up in that bathrobe. Kai's wearing his uniform."
She rounded on him. "How
could
you wear it! Don't you see what she's doing? Turning us into exactly what we ran away from!"
"I wasn't going out in my underwear," said Kai, stuffing a forkful of bacon into his mouth. "You can if you want. Where'd you get food like this from, Ruth?" he asked. "They've never served anything like this in the mess since we got here."
"I brought it with me. Food from Earth is one of the perks of having me stay with you," she said. "You've got ten minutes to eat your breakfast and get to prayers, Alex, and ready or not, you go out that door at eight on the dot!"
Alex made a strangled noise of anger before flouncing off back to the bedroom.
"Will you really throw her out in her bathrobe?" Kai asked curiously as he shoveled more bacon and eggs into his mouth.
"If I have to," said Ruth, picking up her own knife and fork. "Discipline isn't a bad thing, Kai, it's just a matter of who administers it. You, or them. Since you decided to come to Shola, it makes sense to follow their rules. Then it's your decision to wear the uniform and so on. You're imposing it on yourself, not the other way round."
He looked at her dubiously.
She laughed "Look, you're only here for a few weeks, then they'll move you to the Telepath Guild, or maybe even our estate. Things are less formal there, but there are still rules. Play it straight with the Brotherhood. You never know, you might even be asked to join them one day."
"Asked?"
"They choose you if you have the right type of psi skills and other abilities. This is the Warrior elite of Shola, you know. Now come on, you don't want to be late."
Stronghold, Zhal-Oeshi, 18th day (August)
"In some ways, she's just a typical teenager with all the usual mood swings, angst, and attitude problems," said Ruth, cuddling Chay'Dah. "He is so cute! And his coloring!" She smiled up at Kha'Qwa. "The best people have titian hair," she said.
Kha'Qwa laughed.
"What about Alex?" demanded Rhyaz. "Can you do anything with her?"
"One thing at a time, Master Rhyaz," she said, glancing over at the brown-pelted Highlander. "From what Kai told me last night while she was having a bath, they've lived off their wits and skills since they were twelve or thirteen. They got what they needed by fraud and outright theft, using their computer skills with a bit of mental manipulation thrown in. Society was their enemy, trying to force them to conform and lose their individuality. They need to be able to fit into our Human community before we can expect them to adjust to Sholan culture."
"What about the way she's behaving toward me?"
"Part of the same problem. I'll warrant she stayed away from other male company for fear of being attacked or raped. Now she's in a place where she knows she's physically safe, and suddenly, a great many young males are paying her a great deal of flattering attention. She's doing what any Human, and probably Sholan teenager would do, lapping it up and seeing just how much power she has over them. You have to admit that it's no mean feat being able to count the Guild Master as one of her conquests."
He began to growl. "I'm not! The interest is involuntary, believe me! Can't you speak to her about it? She's undermining my authority by making a laughingstock of me."
"Not a laughingstock, Master Rhyaz," said Ruth, letting the cub grab hold of her finger and play with it. "I'm afraid there is some amusement, but even that's died down today because you kept to your office."
"She has to realize she can't treat either Rhyaz or our students like this," said Lijou. "Everyone here was chosen, handpicked for their abilities. They're serious about their studies, and their commitment to the Brotherhood."
"Excuse me speaking frankly, Master Rhyaz, but if you'd had a Companion, then there wouldn't be this problem," said Ruth, looking over at him. "The fact you're not currently in a relationship with anyone hasn't helped matters. Almost as soon as she found out you were the reason they'd been brought to Stronghold, she also found out you're considered unattainable. That's a Challenge to any red-blooded female, let alone a teenager just discovering she's capable of attracting males."
The growl deepened and his hair began to rise around his shoulders. "Are you saying that it's my fault this has happened?"
"Of course she isn't," said Kha'Qwa soothingly, reaching out to touch him. "She's saying the fact you're single is attracting her."
"What do you want me to do? Go out and flirt with some of our Sisters?" he asked caustically, ears flattening as he slumped back in his chair. "I can't believe we're talking like this. I can't even believe this is happening to me! I should be with the U'Churians on Home right now, not stuck at Stronghold being plagued by this youngling!"
"Have you seen her today?" Ruth asked. "Felt her touch your mind at all?"
"No, nothing since yesterday," he sighed, passing his hand across his face and ears in defeat.
"This isn't the way Leska Links usually happen on the estate. In fact, only Vanna and Kusac actually Linked to their Leskas before they were gene-altered. Nothing about this is what we've come to consider standard. You're having symptoms and she's apparently having none. I think the only thing you can do is what Father Lijou suggested. Confront her. One way or another, the waiting will be over."
"Easy for you to say. At least like this I can hope nothing happens," he muttered, sitting up. "Has anyone considered what I do with her if we do Link? She's undisciplined, untrained, and a sociopath! I don't want to be another Zhyaf!"
"She'd have access to your experience, Rhyaz," said Lijou. "That will surely make a difference."
"Master Rhyaz, you're nothing like Zhyaf. He was staid, old well before his time, and Mara was— Mara," Ruth smiled. "You're young and energetic. For Alex, life here would be far from boring. In fact, it would almost be like a legitimate continuation of what she and Kai were doing on their own."
"Nice to know you see us as a group of thieves and frauds, Ruth," he said sarcastically. "Alex would have access to all the information of the Brotherhood if she was Linked to me, have you considered that? With her past, she's a security risk we can't afford."
"I don't think she would be once you were Linked," said Ruth, breaking the silence that followed. "Anything that harmed you or the Brotherhood would harm her, too."
"Not if anger overtook reason. The need for revenge can be powerful enough to face self-destruction as an acceptable cost."
"You'd be aware of what she was thinking and saying, Rhyaz. She could do nothing without you knowing. What strikes me most is that Alex hasn't told anyone why they're here," said Kha'Qwa thoughtfully. "Yes, there's speculation and rumors, but she's not adding to them. What she's doing is playing off an older male against several younger ones. If she wanted to cause you real embarrassment, she'd have made a point of telling everyone that you're waiting to see if a Link will form between you."
"Maybe there's some hope for me yet," said Rhyaz.
"What has Alex said about the possibility of a Link?" asked Ruth. "I haven't broached the subject with her yet."
"Nothing," said Kha'Qwa. "Kora says she's adept at mentally sliding the conversation away from issues she doesn't want to consider. She and Tamghi have at least made the data on Leska Links available to her, but whether or not she's read it is another matter."
"Oh, well," sighed Ruth. "Which of us would be doing what we are if we didn't enjoy a Challenge?"
"Some Challenges are lost causes," Rhyaz muttered.

* * *

It was past the twenty-third hour before Rhyaz dared venture out of his quarters and go downstairs to the temple. He wasn't as religious as Lijou, but he still sought the solace of the temple when there were difficult decisions to be made, and Brothers and Sisters lives hung in the balance, or had been lost. As he closed the great door behind him, he felt as if for a while at least, he was shutting out the world.
He crumbled the incense into the brazier on the God's right-hand side, murmuring the ritual prayer of supplication. He remembered how Varta had last appeared to Lijou and shuddered slightly before bowing to the statue and moving away from it toward the sarcophagus.
Leaning against it, he rested his arms and head on the lid and sighed. He was tired but couldn't sleep, and the headache that had plagued him all day wouldn't lift. He heard a footfall and wondered vaguely who it was. He'd checked that the temple was empty before coming in and he hadn't heard the door opening. As he lifted his head to look, a shadow fell across him.
"You were alone, but no door built can keep Me out," said Vartra, looking at him from beyond the other side of His tomb. "You'll need a Companion in the days to come. Don't be so quick to wish this one away. You know nothing about her."
Fear rushed through him. "I know all I need to know," he said, hearing the tremor in his own voice.
"One conversation and her very short life history? That's not knowing, Master Rhyaz." The tone was gently mocking.
"Why couldn't You leave me alone? I was content as I was! How can I do Your work, protect our world, with a youngling like her compromising me and our Order?"
"The Brotherhood is changing, Rhyaz. What better way to show it than through leading it with a Human Leska at your side? She's not the person you fear she is. Would you rather have a quiet, predictable female?"
"I don't want any female!"
Vartra began to back away from the tomb, merging into the flickering shadow His statue cast on the crimson velvet curtain behind Him. "You don't yet know what you want." He laughed gently. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Wait!" he called out. "Nothing's happened between us yet! You can stop this going any further!"
The laughter grew fainter until it echoed only inside his mind. He groaned, leaning his head against the cool stone again, forcing himself not to be rattled by the visitation. How long he stood like this, lost to everything around him, he had no idea, but the voice when he heard it, startled him.
"Master Rhyaz, are you all right? Should I call the porter?"
He spun around, taking a step toward her. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. Shock at seeing Alex standing there fought with his inability to look anywhere but at the long expanse of bare muscular legs below her short sleeping tunic.
"I couldn't sleep and thought I'd visit the temple," she said. "Wasn't aware it was a crime."
"You should be in bed. It's after hours for juniors."
She shrugged. "Too hot and humid. Feels like a storm's coming."
He remembered she was quartered in one of the empty tutor suites above the workshops. "You came across the courtyard dressed like that? Didn't anyone send you back?" he demanded, then realized the futility of what he'd said.
"Yeah, like I'd be here now if they had," she grinned, looking at the sarcophagus behind him. "I came to see that. I haven't had the chance to look at it yet. We only get to come in here for morning and evening prayers. What is it? His tomb?" She nodded toward the statue of Varta.
"An altar," he said shortly. Her presence had destroyed the fragile peace he'd almost achieved. "Go back to your quarters, Alex. A visit can be arranged tomorrow if you ask your tutor."
"I'm here now," she pointed out reasonably, moving a few steps closer to him. "What's the matter, Master Rhyaz? I'm not disturbing you, am I?" she asked quietly, raising an eyebrow as she put her head on one side.
The gesture was so Sholan, he could almost see her ears flicking coquettishly. He blinked and it was gone; only a small blonde Human dressed in a short white tunic remained. He felt the touch of her mind at the edges of his and backed away from her.
"It's my tunic, isn't it? You think it's too short," she laughed. "I didn't have you down as being so old-fashioned! All the females here show their legs, Master Rhyaz, what's so different about me?"
"Go back to your quarters now, Alex," he said firmly, stopping only as his heel struck the edge of the sarcophagus. A torrent of emotions were running through him, each one warring with the others. He tried unsuccessfully to remember what Lijou had taught him about shielding his mind.
"I know you don't mean that," she said, dropping her voice until it was so quiet he had to strain his ears forward to hear her. "I've seen you watching me when you think I'm not looking. I know you find me attractive." She moved closer. "That's why you had me brought here, isn't it? This stuff about a Link, it's all an excuse."
Almost hypnotized, he could only stand and watch her. As she stepped past him to lay her hands on the stone carvings, he smelled her scent strongly for the first time.
"You needn't worry, Master Rhyaz. Your reputation's safe with me. I'm not interested in you," she said disdainfully. "This tomb really is beautiful. Why did you lie about it being an altar?"
The spell broke, leaving him able to think clearly. "Why are you doing this to me?" he demanded. "I helped you, gave you and your friend sanctuary when you asked for it. Is this any way to repay me, by mocking and teasing me in front of my students and colleagues?"
"I think I'd better go," she said, turning away. "You're taking this too seriously."
His mind suddenly made up, Rhyaz lunged for her, catching her by the arm. As she tried to pull away, she stumbled, her bare feet slipping on the flagstones. He caught hold of her with his other hand, making sure she stayed on her feet. He had to know what was going on.
"You don't realize what could be happening to us, do you? Hasn't anyone told you?" he asked, his face inches from hers. The night
was
hot and humid; he could see the faint sheen of sweat on her face, feel it on her arms, and smell her scent more strongly now.
"Let me go, Master Rhyaz," she said, trying to pull away from him. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie to me! Until your mind touched mine at Chagda Station, I couldn't hear thoughts. You know damned well everyone's waiting to see if we form a Leska Link!" He smelled her fear and saw it leap into her eyes.
"They're lying! That kind of thing can't happen!" There was a note of panic in her voice as she struggled more frantically to pull free of him.
Annoyed, he swung her around till she fetched up against the side of the sarcophagus. "That's what I intend to find out," he said. Pinning her against the tomb, he took hold of her jaw.
"You wouldn't," she said, dropping into her own language in sheer terror. "I'm only a kid! I'll scream!"
He ignored her and leaned forward, his mouth closing over hers, sure that such an intimate touch would trigger any Link that existed between them.
Suddenly, with a pain as intense as any physical blow, his mind was assaulted by hers. Images of her past, flickering so rapidly he could make no sense of them, began to surge through him. Even as it began, part of him was aware of the same happening to her.
Transfixed like insects in amber, they could only endure until gradually the flow of memories slowed, finally stopping, leaving their minds Linked, and their bodies aching to join.
Where his hand held her face, he was acutely aware of the texture and feel of her smooth skin. Where their lips touched, it was as if electricity flowed between them like a two-way tide, letting them each experience what the other felt.
He accepted the inevitable, knowing that if their Link wasn't sealed physically, they'd die, their minds unable to sustain the intensity of such a complete mental bonding as they now had. The decision wasn't as hard to make as he'd thought now that the Link compulsion had begun. Every fiber of his being wanted her.
Reluctantly, he lifted his face from hers. Here, on the cold flagstones of the temple floor, was not where he wanted that pairing to take place. It would have to be Ghyakulla's Shrine. A least it had grass and bushes: there they could be more private. He sent a mute appeal to Lijou, praying he'd be awake and receive him.
"No way!" she said, trying to fight him off as he pulled her toward the dim glow that marked the entrance to the Shrine. "I told you, I'll scream!"
"Then do it," he said grimly, stopping to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder. As his hand clasped her bare thighs and her scent enveloped him, he felt the muscles in his belly and groin start to clench.
I don't want this! I didn't intend this to happen!
she sent, squirming in his grasp and battering her fists against his back as she tried to sit up.
He felt the familiar faint tingle as he stepped through the weak force field. "Believe me, neither did I," he said, stopping and setting her down. "You wanted to tease an adult male, get him aroused. Well, congratulations, Alex, you've succeeded beyond your wildest hopes. Remember this for the future. Never start something with me that you're not prepared to finish. We pair now, or we die. That's the only choice we have." He began to pull her close but she held him off.
"Wait," she said, looking round the dimly lit cavern. "Ghyakulla. She's your earth Goddess, isn't she?"
"Yes," he said impatiently, then realized he was seeing the Shrine as if for the first time through her eyes.
It was dusk here, and the grass beneath their bare feet was still warm. They stood in a small hollow beyond a clump of bushes that partially screened them from the entrance. Insects chirred, and the gentle sound of running water filled the cavern. A movement of air brought with it the scent of nung flowers from the tree nearby. It was easy to forget one was in the heart of the mountain.
"Lights in the ceiling simulate the rhythm of day and night," he said.
"It's beautiful."
He touched her shoulder, making her jump and turn back to face him. "We have to pair," he reminded her. "I don't want to force you, but I will if I have to."
"No one could ever accuse you of being romantic," she said tartly.
"You put me through a week of hell and you expect romance?" He was taken aback by her insolence.
She shrugged and reached for the hem of her tunic, beginning to lift it up.
"No!" Shocked, he reached out to stop her. "That's not what I meant," he said lamely.
Giving him a curious look, she let her tunic go. "You don't know what you want, do you?"
He remembered Vartra saying exactly the same and shivered slightly as he pulled her into his arms. Where they touched, once again he felt the flow of energy between them. Suddenly, he felt more alive than he'd ever felt before.
"I want you," he said, aware that for all her bravado she'd never paired before. "There's no need to be afraid. I'm no striped youngling with his first female, Alex. I am experienced. Many of your people have chosen Sholan males as lovers."
She touched his face, stroking the soft pelt there before moving her hand down his neck to the longer hair that grew there. "It's soft," she said. "I thought it would be coarser, like an animal's."
For the first time, he felt her look at him as a desirable male, and like what she saw. "You said you weren't interested."
She grinned and shrugged, moving her hand to where his robe overlapped across his chest, slipping her fingers beneath the edges. "So I lied."
He reached for his belt, unfastening it and letting his robe fall loose. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his head against her neck, content for the moment to smell her scent and taste her skin. He could feel that she lagged behind him, not yet caught up by their Link's compulsion to pair. The fire in his belly burned so fiercely that it took all his self-control to wait for her. Then he felt his robe move as her cool fingertips tentatively touched his sides.
"I can feel how much you want me," she whispered, resting her hands on his hips. "You like me touching you." She pushed her hands up through the longer pelt of his chest, her fingers searching through his fur till they found his nipples. "You like this, don't you?" she said, rubbing her palms across them.
He began to purr, impressed that she'd learned so quickly how to access his memories. With one hand, he clasped the bare thighs that had been maddening him since she'd appeared in the temple, letting his fingers explore their shape, touch the soft inner surfaces. His licks turned to nips which he tried to keep gentle. He sensed an echoing fire begin in her, starting low in her belly and flooding suddenly outward till it touched him.
He slid his hand under her tunic, pushing it upward, shocked when he realized she was naked beneath it. She helped him, eyes as heavy-lidded as his own. As she discarded her tunic, he slipped out of his robe and dropped it to the ground, never taking his eyes off her.
"You're certainly enthusiastic," she observed as he pulled her into his arms again, covering her face with tiny licks until she took hold of his head and held it still. "No. Like this," she said, kissing him deeply.
He'd heard of Human kisses, but wasn't prepared for their reality. "Self-control be damned," he muttered against her lips as he hoisted her off the ground, wrapping her legs round him before carefully lowering them both onto his robe.
He couldn't touch her enough, the sight and feel and smell of her was intoxicating him just as the touch of his pelt on her bare skin drove her wild. Every sensation was doubled, experienced by the giver as well as the receiver. The intensity of the sensations they were sharing was so great that within minutes, unable to wait any longer, they'd joined. As bodies became one, so did their minds, Linking them irrevocably together for life.