True Believers (15 page)

Rachel didn't want to get up. A couple of women had snuck into her room earlier, making little noises to try and rouse her gently, but she ignored them. The less she interacted with these people the better. She didn't know what they expected of her. One wrong move could doom her here indefinitely.

She had thrown off her covers during the night, and her bedding was moist with sweat. It was too hot. Kalya had lowered the temperature for her and it had been fine for a while, but now it was hot again.
She
was hot.

Someone knocked at the door. This time a young woman entered, her head bowed politely. She carried a tray and set it down on a small dining table at the far end of the room. Rachel stretched like a cat, peering at the new visitor with bland interest.

The young woman poured a steaming red liquid into a small bowl and stirred in a teaspoon of powder from a silver cradle. She moved like a ghost, unwilling to be seen. Unlike the others, this one preferred to remain invisible.

Rachel's jaw dropped when the servant turned around to deliver her drink. It was Ajula, the girl from Jessit's room. Rachel bolted to a sitting position. Her first instinct was to fry her. For a moment the reaction startled her. She had never experienced jealousy before, but that's exactly what this was.

Ajula limped with tiny footsteps. Her eyes downcast, she bid Rachel a pleasant morning and offered her some tea.

Rachel slipped the translator back into her ear. “I don't want anything.”

The girl looked like she was ready to cry. “Mercy,” she stuttered. “Mercy, Holiness.”

Rachel squinted and noticed the girl's face and arms were bloated and bruised. It changed her perspective in a heartbeat. She grabbed Ajula by the arm. “Who did this to you?”

“Penance, Holiness. It was my penance.”

“What are you talking about? Who did this? Taelen?”

“Oh no, Divinity! My lord is serving penance too.”

A sick dread forced her out of bed. She pulled Ajula closer to her. “Who did this?”

The girl shook in terror, her clear delicate skin as pale as a cadaver's. “A soldier was ordered to beat me for my part in your unhappiness.” Tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks. “I am an ignorant slave, Holiness. But I am a faithful disciple, a true believer. Whatever I did, I am sorry. I would never blaspheme against the gods.” She hid her face in her hands, no longer able to hide her terror.

Rachel lifted the corner of the bed sheet and wiped Ajula's face dry. “I'm the one who should be sorry. I wasn't myself yesterday. I shouldn't have gotten angry.”

Ajula looked at her in disbelief. Rachel couldn't blame her. It wasn't the girl's fault for being in Jessit's bed. It wasn't even Jessit's fault. What right did she have to interrupt them? She had no claim on the man.

She smoothed Ajula's long blond hair away from her face. A swollen black eye stared back at her, making Rachel feel two inches tall. This was all her fault.

“Where is Taelen?”

Ajula shrugged. “The master has confined himself to his quarters today so he can pray.”

It was as if the world was closing in on her. She would have given anything to be able to hide once more. This whole thing had gotten out of hand—and she was responsible for it.
Gilgamesh would be pleased. For centuries his single ambition was to bring the Nephilim out of hiding. Madness! Hadn't he learned his lesson from last time?

Once upon a time mortals thought them gods, and the Nephilim nearly destroyed human civilization with their greed and gluttony. When the humans recovered, they focused their vengeance on her people with an unholy passion. Her people were hunted without mercy until the memory of
giants
had fallen into myth.

She couldn't let it happen again. Not with these people.

Rachel studied the fragile creature in front of her. Ajula's bruises and welts were a testament to her faith. She believed in the gods. And she wasn't alone.

“Have some, Ajula.” Rachel offered back the tea. “You need this more than I do.”

Ajula stared in horror. “I cannot, Divinity. I am here to serve.” She fell to her knees.

“Okay, okay.” Rachel tried to get her up. This was going to take longer than she thought. “You can start by turning the temperature down. It's too hot in here for me.”

Ajula ordered the computer to lower the temperature. A cool breeze permeated the room in seconds. It helped, but not where it counted. Her groin still itched, making her think of Jessit. The heat cycle had begun with the telltale sign of craving, and it was going to get far worse. The madness couldn't be far off. She had to hold out for a little while longer.

Rachel still had physical needs, needs she had ignored for the last three years after an unfortunate encounter. But heat was different. She had to mate.

The last time she had sex with a mortal, she killed him. Her
na'hala
had pierced his soul at a vulnerable moment, killing not only the body but stranding his spirit on the mortal plane.

It was an accident—a grievous mistake. She was sorry to have killed him, sorrier still to have crippled his soul for eternity.

Heat was unforgiving. It wasn't only the physical need for a man, but the need for union. Once the heat cycle reached its zenith, she wouldn't be able to ignore it. She'd see Jessit about returning to Earth. Right now she needed a cold shower.

She glanced at Ajula, who shivered under these cooler temps. Her nipples hardened beneath her sheer dress, and Rachel winced from a pang of untamed desire.

She had to get out of here.

“Ajula, can you help me with the shower controls?”

“Yes, Holiness. This way.”

Ajula showed her to the bathing area, racing ahead to start the water and bring soaps and towels.

“Let me help you, Holiness.” She approached Rachel from behind and rolled down the straps of her sleeping gown, letting the shift slip to the floor.

Rachel shut her eyes. She could scarcely breathe, much less think.

Ajula said nothing, instead massaging Rachel's shoulders and back. Rachel let the girl touch her. She needed to be touched. She needed to mate.
Damn it!
Was it too late? The heat between her legs begged for relief. She'd never reach one of her own in time.

Rachel let her
na'hala
reach out to taste the air. She could use Ajula for the present; it might quench her needs at least for the short term. But the cost to her would be dear. She thought about the last man she bedded and shuddered. She couldn't do that to this girl.

In a few hours, even that brief amount of compassion would elude her. She needed to get off the ship before she hurt someone. Without turning around, she ordered Ajula out.

“Allow me to be of service, Divinity,” she begged.

“Believe me, you can't help me right now. Please go. Tell that priest I need to see him right away.”

Ajula acknowledged her orders and left, leaving Rachel with a dull ache in her belly. This was
so
going to be painful.

Rachel showered, lingering under the spray of cool water. It gave her a little relief and the strength to hold out a while longer. She slipped out with nothing more than a towel around her torso and found Kalya waiting for her in the next room.

The old man looked horrified to see her half dressed. Every bone in his body crackled like popcorn when he stumbled to his knees. Rachel's soul cord activated on its own and slipped out to taste him.

A possibility.
The man had a primitive
na'hala
of his own. Just like Jessit.

The slow fire of need returned, and she squeezed her thighs tight. She didn't want to go back to Earth now. She wanted Jessit. “Thank you for coming. I-I wondered if I might see Commander Jessit again.” Rachel eased her way closer to Kalya and sniffed him.
Too old.
But he would do if the need overwhelmed her.

“Lord Taelen is at your command, my Lady. I shall summon him at once.”

“No! No, uh, I'll go to him. Later. I just want to make sure he's available.”

Kalya looked confused. Rachel was feeling a little confused too. Common sense seemed to elude her. It wouldn't be long before instinct took over altogether.

She dismissed the old man and dressed in the lightest fabric she could find, a soft, ochre wrap that tied in the back. It was too hot for anything modest. Rachel slowed her breathing and cleared her head. She'd see Jessit, demand a return to Earth and leave. Surely she could hold out a few more hours.

She summoned Nevar, her sleepy guard, who was wide awake and anxious to attend her. “Take me to Commander Jessit.”

Rachel took a deep cleansing breath when Nevar announced her visit.

Jessit threw open the door and bowed his head, folding his hands to his chest. He was only half dressed, his tunic partially opened and feet unclad. Rachel stared at him hungrily. Her
na'hala
pushed against her insides, demanding to be let out again, but sheer force of will kept it in.

He smelled of sex and need. Her knees turned to water.

Steady, Rachel. Make your request and go.

He showed her in. She stiffened as she brushed past him, her skin briefly touching his. Her willpower wavered. But the moment he closed the door, it shattered.

“My apologies for my appearance, Holiness.” His voice was quiet, reserved. He was speaking to a dignitary, not a woman. He rushed to find his uniform jacket.

Rachel glanced around the room. It was clean, the bed made. Everything seemed back in its place. Her gaze swept across the room, a weak attempt to know the man who tempted her. The colors were dark and masculine, the furniture streamlined and functional, a jeweled short sword laid across his bed. This was a soldier's room.

She could still smell a whiff of Ajula's perfume. That put everything in perspective at once. Jessit wasn't just a soldier; he was a bachelor. Her summons to his ship was nothing more than a friendly romp in the hay. Had the circumstances been different, she would have accepted gladly.

“How may I serve you, Holiness?”

Her attention returned to the present. “I-I need to go back to Earth, Commander.”

“Of course,” he said with grave duty. “I will order preparations at once.”

Perfunctory and polite. Jessit wasn't going to stray from protocol now that he assumed she was a god. Perhaps she could get a little truth out of him too.

“Commander.” She paused. “Taelen. Will you tell me something…honestly?”

His eyes softened, looking at her as if she wounded him. “I would never lie to you, Divinity.”

She came up to him and placed one hand on his chest. Two heartbeats. Denman had said there were two. And these two thumped in tandem. “Did you bring me up here just for sport?”

The silence deafened her.

His gaze drifted from her face to her shoulders and then to her eyes. He lifted her hands in his and brought them to his forehead in obeisance. “Forgive a blind fool, Holiness. I did bring you here to make love to you.” He hesitated. “The time we spent in the desert…I thought perhaps you…I am sorry, I do not have the words to explain it. Obviously, I misinterpreted our relationship.”

The room fell silent. All she could hear was her breath.

Her
na'hala
jumped out at that very moment and pierced him. Jessit flinched, not fully realizing what had happened.
Union,
it told her.
We must have union.

Rachel shuddered, trying to retain every ounce of control. She wouldn't hurt Taelen. She couldn't. She'd rather face estrus alone again than damn him for eternity. Her body trembled. He must have mistaken it for cold, because he took her in his arms and held her.

She melted in his embrace. They were so alike. Could his species handle union?

“Taelen,” she whispered. “I need something.”

“Whatever you desire is yours, Divinity. All you have to do is ask.”

Rachel rubbed her hands across his chest and laid her head against his shoulder. “I need you to make love to me.”

He froze, his arms clinging to her tightly. “You want me to do what?”

Her lower lip trembled; she thought she'd break down into tears at any moment. She didn't want to hurt him. But the need—it burned her. She was out of time, and he was all she had.

Rachel wrapped her arms around him, her insides quivering like a leaf in the wind. If she was wrong about him, if he couldn't handle union, she could kill him. She closed her eyes and let her soul cord stroke his.

His cord awoke in an instant, recognizing a like being. It too wanted to join with her. The spirit was willing, but was the body?

Her hand caressed his solar plexus, exciting his
na'hala
further. She pressed firm fingertips against his chest and felt both of his hearts thump in rhythm. “Make love to me, Taelen.”

Jessit looked down at her, his face dark and serious, as if he were trying to gauge her sincerity. “Is this a trick, Holiness? Are you testing me?”

Rachel's breaths came out in gasps. Of course he would think this a test. But she was in no condition to explain her change of heart.

“No test. I need you. More than you know.” She took his hand and pressed it against her breast. “Please.”

Jessit stared at her for a moment, breathing a whispered order to the computer to dim the lights. He bent down and kissed her, first on the nape of her neck, followed by a trail of kisses all the way back up to her lips. He lingered there, tasting them, teasing her.

Rachel grew faint from all his petting but didn't want it to stop. She got up on her tiptoes and nuzzled his neck, licking one of his lymph gills. That brought him to a standstill, servant to all she demanded.

She led him over to his bed, slipping off her sandals before letting her wrap fall to the floor. His eyes grew wide with anticipation at the sight of her nakedness. With his help, she clamored up the tall bed and knelt with her back to him, guiding his hands to cup her at the waist.

Jessit pulled off his jacket and tunic, tossing them to the floor. He pressed his chest against her bare back. His arms locked around her, and he squeezed her so tight she could barely get a breath out.