True Believers (19 page)

“And after that?”

She took his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. “After that, I think we both need to take a long vacation…together.”

The maps and data Gilgamesh requested were delivered in minutes. He studied the charts and digigraphs, while Jessit sat in silence. A grand dinner had been prepared, but Jessit wasn't about to interrupt his Holiness with anything as mundane as food.

Gilgamesh peered over at Jessit with a satisfied grunt. “I think I see a way in, but Paul won't be able to make it alone.” A perverse grin painted his face. “It seems he will require divine intervention.” He clasped his hands together, pleased with his plans. “How long must I wait to eat, Taelen?”

Jessit jumped to his feet. “Dinner is prepared, my Lord. Whenever you are ready.”

“Get my daughter and Paul Domino. We will dine with them alone.”

“Sir, with due respect, Lord Kalya—”

“Is a nuisance and not required at our table,” Gilgamesh said, cutting Jessit off. “I did not come here for pleasantries, Taelen. I came to save a planet.”

Jessit bowed his head low. If Domino didn't succeed, the task would be left to him and the armada. The Emperor had pledged them all to a holy war. Jessit called a steward to summon the other guests while he escorted Gilgamesh to the prepared banquet. He wished he could have been the one to tell Kalya he wasn't invited. There were so few pleasures in his life lately, and he sorely wanted to jab Kalya where it hurt him most.

Rachel and Domino were waiting for them when they arrived. Rachel looked radiant, her cheeks flushed with color and her eyes dewy soft. He studied her for a moment, startled by a strange sense of sadness in her bearing. She was smiling, but her eyes told a different story. She'd also been crying. A lump settled in his throat as she drew nearer. Every time he got close to her his chest warmed like an ember. He sighed audibly.

Gilgamesh didn't let it go unnoticed.

“She is a beautiful woman, so much like her mother.”

“Meeting both you and the Lady has been the greatest joy in our lives, Holiness.”

Gilgamesh laughed. “I have a feeling Rachel has probably given you more joy than I have. But I will have to take her away from you soon. Her destiny lies elsewhere.”

“Mine too, it seems,” Jessit said absentmindedly.

Rachel glided toward him, extracting herself from Domino's arm, then latching on to Jessit's hand.

A shiver ran through him. It felt like she was inside him once more. She kissed him, the soft glow on her face making her look like a woodland spirit. He helped her to her seat, motioning to the servants to serve at once.

Rachel turned to her father. “Did you get what you came for, Gilgamesh?”

Gilgamesh regarded her with the barest of importance. “I did, though it might be harder to get into the complex than I hoped.”

“Where is it?”

“Chicago.”

She nodded in acknowledgement. “I lived in Chicago for a while. Where did they put this computer, downtown?”

“Somewhere a little lower than that.”

Rachel waved her soup spoon at Gilgamesh. “Paul and I have discussed it. I can run interference for him once he gets inside the complex.” She took a bite of her fish soup and swallowed. “We won't have any trouble.”

“It's underwater.” Gilgamesh lifted his water goblet to his lips, but his eyes watched for Rachel's reaction.

Jessit noticed a flush of pimply bumps rise on Rachel's arms.

“What?”

“The facility. We found the hub, but it's underwater. Under Lake Michigan to be exact.” He didn't elaborate further.

She put her spoon down and stared at her place setting. A subtle gulp punctuated her unease, though she tried to look unaffected. “What kind of idiot puts a trillion-dollar facility in the middle of a lake?”

“It's quite clever, actually. Do you still want to accompany Paul?” Gilgamesh seemed unconcerned about Rachel's water phobia, but he granted her the option of backing out.

Jessit felt sorry for her. It was hard to imagine anyone being afraid of water.

Rachel didn't say anything at first. Paul answered for her. “I can get in on my own, Rachel. I don't need you to go.”

“No,” she said with a shudder. Her face paled. “No. I'll go with you.”

“That will not be necessary. I will go with Mr. Domino,” Jessit said.

Paul glared at him. “I don't see how you'd be any help.” He paused. “Sir.”

They locked stares, neither wanting to give quarter. “This is a covert operation, something I am sure you are ill-equipped to understand. We have the resources to get you in and out. And I can at least keep you from getting killed. For Rachel's sake.”

“That's not necessary, Taelen,” Rachel insisted. “I'll go. I can follow Paul in my ethereal form and get him in.” She looked down at her fish soup. “At least that part of me can't drown.”

“Agreed.” Gilgamesh tapped his glass with a spoon to settle the dispute. “We will return you to Earth. Jacob Denman will put you some place safe. There you can disengage from your body and follow Paul. Jacob has assured me we can get Paul to Chicago by morning.”

Dinner concluded on a somber note, Jessit gloomiest of all. Gilgamesh planned to send Rachel down to the planet surface that night, but she begged him to let her have the evening on board ship. Jessit cringed when he noticed her look lovingly in Paul's direction.

Jessit ordered a steward to ready their quarters, but he suspected Paul would be sharing his bed with Rachel. He bid everyone good-night and retired for the evening. He needed time to heal his wounds, and that would require ample alcohol.

Delicate footsteps sprinted behind him. He turned to find Rachel alone.

She looked wounded, as well. “Are you taking Ajula to your bed tonight?” Her eyes shimmered with the hint of tears.

“No,” he said quietly. “I planned on sleeping alone.”

“Me too.” She bit her lower lip. “Maybe we can sleep alone together.”

“What about your friend, Domino?”

Her hands reached up around his neck before she kissed him. He didn't want to kiss her back. He didn't want to fall into a trap he couldn't escape, but it didn't stop him from holding her in his arms. Something torched inside him, and he realized he needed her like he needed breath. Without another word he scooped her up and carried her to his quarters.

Jessit locked the door behind them and smothered her with a kiss he'd been holding back all night. “Will anyone ask for you?”

“No,” she said breathlessly.

“Domino?”

“No one. No one knows I'm with you.” She nibbled her way up his ear.

He pulled her away, wanting to freeze every detail of her in his mind. Tonight would be the last time they would be together. He wanted this moment to last a lifetime. “I love you, Rachel. I love you so much.”

She stared at him for several seconds, her eyes glistening with tears. “I love you too, even when I knew it was wrong.”

Wrong.
That was it. She felt it too. Their love was wrong. It was twisted and wicked. He was meant for the priesthood. The only love he should express should have been from his knees as a disciple, not a lover.

“When I saw you with Domino, I thought…”

“Paul is my friend and I love him, but not the way I love you.” Her hands feathered down his arms. “He said you wouldn't want me. He said you were married to the military.” She crushed her body against his. “Tell me it's not true.”

Jessit held her as she sobbed on his shoulder. How could he tell her he couldn't keep her? How could he admit she was better off with Domino? In a matter of weeks, he'd be useless to her in bed, destined to serve as her priest and not her lover.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “You're not saying anything.”

He wiped an errant tear off her cheek with his thumb. “Words…are not enough.” He grazed his lips over hers, and she opened her mouth to accept his.

“Tell me Paul is wrong. Tell me you want me.”

His hands worked feverishly at the ties on her dress.
Want her?
He hungered for her like a man possessed. If only he could keep her.

One deft move freed Rachel from her gown. It fell to the floor in waves of silk. She pulled his tunic off his shoulders then fussed with the clip at his trousers. He unbuckled it for her, unwilling to waste a single moment on trifles, and they fumbled for the bed. They nibbled, kissed and licked each other, powerless to deny their lust.

Union,
his
na'hala
said. He heard it clearly that time, and hers, as well. He hurried to get them both naked.

The urgency to mate wasn't paramount anymore. Instead it was replaced by something sweeter. The need to be one.

He slid a finger between her legs and she shuddered a gasp. Her hand went to his cock, but instead of pumping it, she teased it with delicate fingers. It was enough to make him hard as stone.

He fingered her more vigorously until she cried out for him. “Come for me,” he urged her. “Let me hear your bliss.”

She moaned in his ear, a serenade that made him mad for more. He wanted to hear her. He wanted to know that it was his touch that drove her to sweet torture.

In the throngs of passion, just like before, their
na'halas
touched and merged, pulling them into the ethereal as one single being.

Jessit shuddered when their souls fused. How was he ever going to tell her they were through?

“What?” She pulled away and stared at him in disbelief.

“Is something wrong?”

“You said we were through.”

“I-I said no such thing,” he stammered.

“You didn't have to. I felt it.” She pressed against his solar plexus. “Here.”

His
na'hala had a big mouth.
He hoped it was capable of keeping some secrets.

“Did it not also tell you how much I love you?”

She nodded her head.

He rolled her to her side and held her face with both hands. “No matter what happens, always remember that.”

“You're keeping something from me.”

He kissed her gently on the lips. “That is impossible, my love. Everything I have is already yours.”

***

They made love many times throughout the night, bringing morning much too soon. Gilgamesh had insisted on collecting Rachel early. He wanted her on Earth ready to join Domino when he arrived in Chicago. Domino had already left. Jacob Denman was entrusted to see him safely to his checkpoint. Gilgamesh was anxious to get underway, as well.

Jessit answered the door dressed only in his robe. Kalya and Gilgamesh waited impatiently on the other side. They barreled in without apology.

Rachel, still naked and under the covers, clutched the sheet to her breast when she saw Gilgamesh. “At least have the decency to allow us to dress.”

Gilgamesh's face hardened into a stony façade. He glared at Jessit with a father's loathing. Jessit was in a strange predicament. He couldn't blithely offend a god, but neither did he feel the least bit repentant. Not anymore. Even if she was Gilgamesh's daughter, Rachel was a grown woman. Why couldn't she share a bed with him?

Jessit ordered Kalya out of his quarters. If there was going to be an argument, he didn't want that withered carcass of a priest getting in the way.

The old man balked. “I am here at our Lord's request.”

“Get out, Kalya, before I throw you out. This does not concern you.”

Kalya looked to Gilgamesh for support, but the Divinity was not interested in him. The old priest hobbled out with a squawk. Rachel took the sheet that covered her and stamped into the other room where she could dress in private. That left Jessit alone with Gilgamesh.

“She was not yours to take, Taelen Jessit.”

“I did not take anything that was not given freely, my Lord.”

Gilgamesh's face darkened. He lashed out at Jessit, grabbing him by the collar of his robe and pushing him against a wall. “She was in estrus! How dare you interfere?”

Jessit wrapped his hands across each of Gilgamesh's wrists. He didn't understand the outrage. What difference did it make if she were in season? Surely a mere mortal couldn't get a god pregnant.

He was in a precarious situation. Instinct told him to fight, but common sense warned him not to be so quick to throw his life away.

“Let him go, Apa,” Rachel said, coming back into the room fully dressed. “It wasn't his fault. I came into season before you arrived. I had no choice. Taelen helped me.”

He growled at Jessit, never taking his eyes off him. “I think he helped himself too. He is not the same man. I can sense it.” His hands tightened around Jessit's collar.

Rachel pried her father's fingers off him and placed herself squarely between them. “You're right. He's not the same. Get over it.”

Jessit admired her courage, but Gilgamesh wasn't finished with her yet.

“What have you done?” he said menacingly.

Rachel took a step back.

“Rachel!” Her father's throaty growl held malice.

Gilgamesh pushed her farther back, grabbing her by the wrist. Her eyes went wild with fear, and she tried to pull away.

“I did what I had to,” she pleaded.

A god or not, Jessit wasn't about to let her suffer on his account. He moved to intervene when a hot charge of electricity bolted out of Rachel and into Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh staggered back, dazed but more livid than before. He rushed at her but Jessit pushed her behind him.

Gilgamesh jerked to a stop and studied them both. “What has she done?” he chanted in a sing-song voice.

Jessit felt something cut through him, slicing him open like a cleaver. When he looked down, he expected to see his intestines on the floor, but he was still whole. He also couldn't move.

He felt probed, as if Gilgamesh's fingers were poking around his organs. The more he struggled, the more it hurt. Rachel screamed at her father.

“Let him go! I let him take my virginity. Damn you, Gilgamesh! He didn't know. I didn't tell him. If you want to punish someone, punish me.”

Jessit felt a sudden release and promptly collapsed to the floor. He gasped for air, desperate to get up and protect Rachel, though he didn't know by what means. How could he fight a god?

But the fight had already deserted Gilgamesh. His wrath subsided as quickly as it erupted. He pulled Rachel by the wrist and placed a necklace with a red jewel in the palm of her hand. She wrapped her fingers around it protectively. “Is there a child from your union?”