strongholdrising (8 page)

* * *

Later that afternoon, when T'Chebbi came to relieve him from guarding Kusac, Rezac made his way to the rec room where he knew Kaid was waiting for him. During Kusac's debriefing, he'd been able to piece together a timetable of events. Now Kaid wanted to be updated. Though the rec was busy, somehow Kaid had managed to ensure they had a table to themselves.
Kaid sat silently, listening while Rezac told him the details.
"So Carrie was moved from cryo to one of their stasis units as early as four days after the Primes took us," he said, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard. "And Kusac? When did you say he was awakened?"
"Fourteen days later, when they implanted him— four days before you and Carrie were reunited," Rezac said quietly. "When Vriuzu finished the debriefing, while Kusac was recovering, I took the opportunity to speak privately to Doctor Zayshul. She said given what they knew about Leska links, she was sure the timing was significant, that your bond to Carrie had been growing since they'd taken her out of cryo. When she began to weaken after they operated on her, they had to put her in a reduced stasis field. It's looking more and more like the implant wasn't needed at all and that Chy'qui's story of Kusac's seizures was a lie so he could experiment on the two of them. Then you became the jegget in his barn when it became obvious that every time they took Carrie out of stasis, you collapsed in agony."
"Initially Chy'qui may have lied," agreed Kaid. "But we know Kusac's had at least two seizures. Unless Doctor Zayshul...?"
Rezac shook his head. "She only saw those two. As to the abductions of the rest of us, that was done on Chy'qui's orders. Jo and I were obviously taken because we were injured and needed treatment. Kate and Taynar because they provided a healthy specimen of each of our species so Doctor Zayshul could study them before operating on Carrie."
"And Jeran and Giyesh because they were the only U'Churian and Sholan pair."
Rezac nodded. "And you know why you were taken. Our drugs couldn't control the pain you were suffering because they weren't strong enough. The Primes needed to give you more powerful analgesics, and Chy'qui wanted to find out how you were able to sense Carrie's pain despite the fact you were obviously not her Leska. You'd drawn so much attention to yourself and Carrie, he was able to keep his experiments with Kusac secret. Even so, if it hadn't been for Prince Zsurtul haunting Doctor Zayshul's medical labs with the natural curiosity of youth, Chy'qui would likely have succeeded in keeping you and Carrie apart."
"Youth has its advantages, as you know," Kaid said dryly, raising a sardonic eye ridge at his father.
Rezac's mind spun briefly as he remembered that the male sitting opposite him, though some thirty years his senior, was in fact his son, both of them exiles in this time, fifteen hundred years in their future.
Kaid broke the silence. "Does Doctor Zayshul have any new theories as to what caused Kusac's convulsions?"
"No, but she says the TeLaxaudin Kzizysus is convinced it was his system rejecting the implant. If it had been left in, he'd have suffered more frequent and violent seizures until either he died, or Chy'qui put an end to him. Implant rejection isn't common, but it does happen, and there's no cure. M'ezozakk, Captain of the
M'ijikk,
died that way. Kusac is the first person to have survived the removal of a control unit. That's why Zayshul wanted to examine him today."
"Better a swift end than a lingering one," Kaid murmured, realizing that they'd cheated death more than once with the Primes. "He's out of danger now, that's what matters. If it hadn't been for our Triad, all three of us would be dead. At least now we understand why events happened the way they did."
"Kaid, nothing was said to Kusac about neural damage. I know what those collars do. How could they miss it when they knew he was tortured to the extent he was?"
"They know, but I'm having it kept from both Carrie and Kusac for the time being, at least until we know the extent of it," he said.
"I suppose they don't need the extra worry right now. What about the treaty? How're the negotiations going?"
Kaid sighed, resting his elbows on the table. "We're in the last stages now. We've taken a break so copies of the final agreement on the trade and training issues could be sent to our home worlds. I'm told the TeLaxaudins have been in touch with President Nesul, asking for a duplicate of the Primes' treaty for themselves, with the exception of the clauses concerning the young Prime warriors."
"So we're actually going to train some of their precious young warrior caste?"
"Only a token number— twenty to be exact, and only up to Forces skill level, not beyond. They'll come to Shola with the Prime Ambassador in about a month's time."
"Hardly a token number, that's half of them! Are they really that trusting of us?"
"Yes, as far as I and any of the other telepaths can tell, but we're only able to get their surface thoughts, nothing more, without drawing attention to ourselves. They do have more warriors, but they're a full five years younger than this group. Apparently they waited five years to see how the original forty turned out before breeding any more half M'zullian males. They wanted to be sure they'd eradicated the worst of their phobias from their racial memory of the Fall."
"And how did they check they won't go as psychotic as the M'zullians the moment they smell us?" Rezac asked.
"They use chemical scent stimulants and holographic images of us created from their data files to finish their conditioning, but it takes time and doesn't work for all of them. That's why they wanted Kezule. He's pre-Fall, with none of those psychoses." His wrist comm buzzed gently and he pushed himself up from the table. "I have to get back now. L'Seuli sends that they're ready to reconvene. It'll be late when I finish. If you can find a way to discreetly tell Carrie I'll sleep in the dorm tonight, I'd appreciate it. She and Kusac need some time alone."
"Is that wise?" asked Rezac, getting up. "After hearing what J'koshuk put him through, I'd say he's walking too narrow a trail right now to be left alone with her."
"I walked that trail myself not long ago, Rezac. I've no reason to keep them apart. The sooner he's normalized, the quicker his recovery will be. The bio-monitor on his wrist will trigger either mine or T'Chebbi's alarms if there are any abnormal changes in his telemetry and we'll be there instantly."
Rezac grunted softly. "I've had personal experience of J'koshuk's interrogation methods, though obviously not for as long as Kusac. I think it's too soon to leave them alone, especially when he could take the view that you've betrayed him with Carrie."
Kaid's ears folded briefly sideways before righting themselves. "He won't. We don't acknowledge jealousy the way your culture did. He knows why our Link happened. I do intend to leave someone on duty outside his room overnight. I hate playing into Rhyaz' claws like this, but if I don't keep Kusac guarded, Rhyaz will get Vriuzu or Jiosha to try probing him again, and I won't risk him having another seizure."
"I don't think Vriuzu would be that stupid after the pain he experienced. Or Jiosha," Rezac said, accompanying him to the door.
Stronghold, Zhal-S'Asha, 19th day (October)
The wind howled round the towers of Stronghold, gusting through the courtyard to whip his hair about his face as he crossed to the aircar. Fighting to hold his Brotherhood uniform jacket closed, he attempted to buckle the belt one-handed. Already dawn brightened the eastern sky, illuminating the roiling clouds overhead. He was committed to leaving now, there was no turning back. Today would be stormy in more ways than one.
Takeoff needed his full attention, but once he was high above Stronghold and heading for the spaceport, the air currents grew calmer and he switched on the autopilot. His thoughts soon began to wander back to Haven.
Haven, Zhal-Zhalwae, 22nd/23rd day (May)
He hadn't been aware of falling asleep, let alone being undressed and put to bed, but when he woke, the room was quiet and the light had been dimmed. A quick glance around had shown him he and Carrie were alone. He lay there for some time, just listening to her soft breathing, and that of the jegget curled near the foot of the bed. Since they'd brought him to this room, either T'Chebbi or Rezac had been with them, trying every now and then, like Carrie, to draw him into some conversation, but there was nothing he wanted to say. All he'd wanted was to be left alone with Carrie.
Among the belongings she'd given him back from the
Profit
were his wrist comm with the psi-damper he didn't need anymore. To please her, he'd put it on next to the bio-monitor the physician had given him. He supposed it would provide him with some mental protection, meant he didn't have to rely on his natural shielding alone. His torc, like Carrie's, was lost, taken from them by the Primes. Its loss seemed symbolic.
Turning round carefully, he raised himself on one elbow so he could watch her. Her face was relaxed in sleep, the taut lines that had creased her forehead all day were gone now. Realization that he was no longer a captive hit him. He was free, free to do what
he
chose.
Reaching out, he picked up a lock of her blonde hair, rubbing it gently between his fingers. It was as soft as he remembered. Letting it fall back to the pillow, hesitantly he touched her face, running a gentle fingertip across her cheek. Her skin felt like one of the fruits from her world, soft, and covered with a very faint down. He could smell her scent now, and it brought back memories, painful ones, of pairings the like of which they'd never share again.
He slipped his hand round the back of her neck, tears momentarily blurring his sight. As he blinked them away, her eyes flicked open— Sholan eyes, the pupils narrowing to vertical slits as the light from the lamp fell on them. Suddenly, he wanted her very badly.
Closing the gap that separated them, he leaned across her, lowering his face to hers, catching hold of her bottom lip with his teeth. He looped his free hand under her back, pressing her close against his belly and groin as he began to nip at her face.
Her hands pushed against his chest, trying to ease him away. He ignored her, clenching his hand in her hair, pulling her head back to arch her throat toward him. His breathing was uneven now as the muscles in his lower belly and groin began to contract. With a grunt of discomfort, he loosened his hold on her body, moving back slightly to allow his genitals room to descend. Releasing her mouth, he began to nip and lick his way down her arched throat.
"Kusac!"
In the unaccustomed heady rush of sexual arousal and freedom, he barely heard her. It had been so long since they'd paired! When he'd first woken to J'koshuk and the world of the
Kz'adul,
he'd been sure that they'd all die. Then the priest had dragged him to the stasis area, shown him her and Kaid pairing. He'd known then that somehow they'd become Leskas and she no longer needed him to survive. But he needed her so badly.
His mouth touched the neckline of her uniform. It was a barrier, preventing him from going further. As he stopped, reaching for the fastening, her hands batted against his chest.
"Kusac! You're hurting me!"
Again he ignored her, his need to have her outweighing any other consideration. The seal parted instantly, exposing her naked flesh and surrounding him with her warm scent. His purr of pleasure was nearer a growl.
She twisted away from him, and surprised, he used his body weight to pin her down. He lapped at her skin, tasting her before closing his teeth on the nearest breast.
A sharp tug on his left ear made him flick it in irritation, but it wasn't till her hand closed, far too tightly, on a sensitive part of his anatomy, that she got his undivided attention.
With a yelp of pain, his hand covered hers, trying to ease her fingers apart. "Not so tight!" His voice was strained, tears springing to his eyes as he tried to roll clumsily off her.
"You're hurting me," she repeated. "What's wrong with you, Kusac? You were never this rough before."
"Let me go," he said, his claws extending just enough to prick her fingers warningly. "There's no need for you to grab me like this."
"Take your claws out of me first. You were ignoring me, it was the only way I could get your attention."
With a rumble of annoyance, he retracted his claws and she released him. "You were never so reluctant before," he muttered, clutching his abused anatomy.
"I'm not reluctant, Kusac," she said. "You were too rough. You know how much stronger than me you are."
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, the mood utterly gone. "I wasn't being rough, I just got carried away, that's all. It's been so long...I thought you'd be as willing...Forget it." He felt her hand touch his chest but ignored it. How could they continue in any kind of relationship when she squealed the first time he laid hands on her? He'd been no more rough than usual. She'd never complained before.
But before, they'd had their Link. He'd known from moment to moment exactly how his touch felt to her, whether he was being too rough. All that was gone now. Dread filled him as he wondered if he was afraid to pick up where they'd left off, afraid he was no longer able to be the lover he'd been before their Leska Link was gone. If he left it like this, he'd never know.
"I am willing," she said softly.
He turned back to her: she was his life-mate, the mother of their cub, the person who mattered most to him, the one he'd tried to protect from J'koshuk. His mind a confused jumble of fear and desire, he let her take the lead, almost afraid to touch her lest he miscalculate his strength again.
The way she ran her hands across his body, her fingers pushing through his pelt to find the skin beneath, brought back so many memories, as did the feel of her blunt teeth nipping their way so gently across his neck and chest.
More confident now, he encouraged her, trying not to think of what was lacking or to remember his last insane night on the
Kz'adul
with the Valtegan doctor. He wanted to forget it completely, as if it had never happened: he needed desperately to pair with her to wash away that memory. As they joined, he felt the brief touch of her mind against his before she remembered.
Fiery pain swept through him then was gone. Like the night with the doctor, in its wake, every sensation was heightened, but this time, because he hadn't triggered it, it was much shorter lived. Enough to bring him to the verge of climax, it left him poised there in limbo. What little self-control he'd been able to exert, vanished. Frustrated and impatient, his hands clenched round her hips as he tensed, readying himself for the initial pain he'd feel when he tried to reach mentally for her.