Zealot (5 page)

“Because history is written by whoever wins the war,” Raina told them. “The Tandori were archrivals of a family named Keire. You might have heard of them.”

The Keire family had ruled Rodymia for the past three hundred and fifty years. Generation after generation had been brutal and ruthless, ruling through fear and intimidation. The current crown stirate, however, was an anomaly. Quinton was weak and easily influenced. Rumors of a military or political coup had been circulating ever since his coronation.

When no one commented on what she’d said so far, Raina went on, “According to the Wisdom of the Ages, the Tandori family actually had more supporters than the Keire family did. The Keire family was just much more ruthless about dealing with their detractors.”

“The Keire family basically started a civil war over whether or not they would fight in the ongoing civil war?” Zilor shook his head in disgust. “No wonder our planet is so screwed up. Rodyte history is obviously unreliable. What does your information say about how the Tandori ended up on Earth?”

He’d been looking at Raina when he asked the question, but Raylon replied. “When Rodymia declared war on Bilarri everyone was expected to participate in the battles. The Tandori refused. All they wanted, all they’ve ever wanted, was to be left alone.”

“So they were exiled again?” Kotto guessed.

“Depends who you ask,” Raina told him. “According to Rodyte records the Tandori deserted their planet during a major crisis because they were cowards and are now scattered to the four winds. The Keire family insists that they had no choice but to declare them traitors and forbid any of them from returning to Rodymia.”

“Obviously, the Tandori tell a different story,” Raylon interjected.

“So this Vinton, or someone in his family, could have been crown stirate if his tribe had been willing to fight for what they believed?” Kotto mused.

Raylon shook his head. “That makes them sound cowardly and they’re not. They just saw no reason to attack Bilarri. They didn’t agree with the exile, but going to war wouldn’t change the past. They are willing to fight, if they feel the cause is just, and if violence serves an actual purpose.”

“After having a Tandori leader make that point with the sharp end of his knife, I’d have to agree with you.” Kotto sighed then spread his arms. “We’ll have to negotiate with them. We can’t keep stealing their women now that we know what the protein marker really means.”

“We don’t know that every female with the protein marker is part of Tandori Tribe,” Raylon argued. Was he just being contrary? He’d been defending the Tandori up until now. “The Tandori aren’t the only Rodytes who have settled on Earth.”

“If their psychic magnet is drawing anyone with Rodyte blood to their sacred bonding grounds, then it won’t matter. Anyone who wasn’t born into Tandori Tribe will soon be bonding into it.” Luckily, Raina brought the counterpoint rather than Kotto, so Raylon just nodded thoughtfully.

“It’s still an important distinction,” Zilor said. “Any female who isn’t directly descended from the original exiles should be allowed to choose between these two opportunities.”

“I’m not sure Vinton Tandori will see it that way, but it’s definitely worth a try.” Not surprisingly, Kotto agreed with his mate.

Even if this door closed, there had to be other options. Zilor wasn’t ready to give up. “On the bright side, if they’re managing the gene pool and scheduling awakenings, they must know the exact location of every Rodyte/human hybrid on Earth.”

“It doesn’t matter. They’re not going to give up their females without a fight,” Kotto reminded. “Vinton made that much absolutely clear tonight.”

“I’m not suggesting we steal them,” Zilor said. “All we need to do is find out what the Tandori need, or want, and provide it. People have been bartering since the beginning of time.”

“And if they don’t want anything we can provide?” Kotto persisted.

“Then we’ll have to be creative.” Raylon was starting to sound impatient again. “We’ll make this happen because we have no other choice. As of right now, bonding with hybrid females is our only option.”

“Is there any hope that will change?” Raina asked.

“There’s always hope,” Raylon stressed. “The research team is working on a formula for full-blooded humans. If they figure out where the previous teams went wrong, that will give us several billion new options.”

Raina smiled, clearly pleased by his optimism.

“So where does this leave Chandar?” Zilor knew Danvier would ask as soon as the meeting ended. Their cabins were across the hall from each other, so Danvier would likely hear him return or sense his energy approach.

“I’m not sure,” Raylon admitted. “Has Indigo’s DNA been tested? Were her potential mates notified?”

Zilor shook his head with a heavy sigh. “We were trying to do it by the book this time and have her sign the contract first.”

Raylon narrowed his gaze as he heard Zilor’s words. “If you’re willing to be creative, maybe we can still sneak her in under the wire.”

“What are you plotting?” Kotto scooted closer to the table, his gaze gleaming with anticipation. “I’ve seen that look too often not to know what it means.”

“I would never suggest you misbehave, but if Indigo had already been tested and if one of her potential mates happened to mark her—without our knowledge of course. We would have a semi-legitimate reason for putting up one last fight before we sit on our hands and start negotiating.”

Kotto looked at Zilor. “Are you willing to risk your brother’s wrath?”

“It sounded more like we need to worry about Indigo’s wrath.” Zilor tried not to seem too anxious, but his pulse raced and his chest felt oddly tight. “Besides, we don’t know that I’m her match yet.” Though her scent told him otherwise.

Raylon chuckled. “Don’t jump ahead to the fun part, puppy. He was only suggesting you arrange what needs to be done, not that you do it all yourself.”

“He can’t help himself,” Kotto added with a smile. “Looks like our resident zealot has chosen his next fixation.”

“You were attracted to Indigo?” Raina wanted to know. “Her scent was appealing?”

“Very.” Zilor hadn’t been able to rid his mind of her image ever since he walked out of her shop. Not that he’d tried very hard.

“First step, she needs to be tested and neither of us can arrange it,” Raylon said. “In fact, I can’t be directly involved in any of it. Raina and Kotto were there when Vinton dropped his bomb, so they can’t play dumb now. That leaves all of this up to you.”

Unable to contain his smile, Zilor assured them, “I’ll take care of everything.”

Milanni, Lady M to her friends and Mistress to her customers, perched on the corner of Akim Farmon’s bed, waiting for him to enter his cabin. He’d left the control center ten minutes ago. How long did it take to walk down the corridor? She’d bio-streamed onto the
Relentless
from her shuttle, which was undetectable to even the most sophisticated Rodyte sensors. Working for the Integration Guild had many perks. State-of-the-art tech just happened to be her favorite.

The door finally parted and she struck a pose both indolent and provocative. She leaned back on her hands while keeping her legs crossed. Her tightly laced synth-leather corset accented her breasts and dramatically narrowed her waist. She swung one booted foot and waited for her target to react to her unexpected visit.

He didn’t disappoint. “Get out.” The door slid closed behind him and his face gradually turned red. “I’ve decided to take my chances with Quinton.”

This poor fool had made the shit list of two of the most powerful people on Rodymia. One or the other would have been bad enough, but Akim had managed to piss off both Crown Stirate Quinton and Pyre Sterling in less than a week.

“You might be able to talk circles around Quinton. Almost anyone can,” she conceded. “But what about Pyre? Without my benefactor’s intervention Pyre would have you in a cage by now. Naked, on your knees, and in a cage.”

He glared and his fingers curled into tight fists. “I won’t play this game, Milanni.”

He could get away with calling her by name. He had taught her everything she knew about inflicting and enjoying pain after all. But they had never been lovers and were no longer friends, so she’d only allow his familiarity for so long. “Do we really have to do this again?” She pushed to her feet and smoothed down her fluttery little skirt. Her high-heeled, platform boots put her eyes on a level with his. “You owe us three assignments. If you fail to accomplish any of the three tasks within the time allowed,” she shrugged then smiled, “we move out of the way and let your enemies devour you.”

A muscle above his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth. “What does
Javin
want me to do?”

She chuckled. He suspected, as she did, that the “benefactor” was Javin Aidentar. But even she had not been told the identity of her boss. She’d been dispatched by the Integration Guild. That was all either of them needed to know.

“The first one is easy,” she promised. “Rumor has it the CSS line has been delivered. We just need to know if it’s true.”

“The what?”

Unable to conceal her shock, she felt her jaw start to drop and snapped it shut. Was he serious? Only by knowing how utterly useless Quinton was could one understand why Akim would be a royal favorite. The two were cut from the same cloth. “Covert Strike Ships, dear heart. Better known as Phantom class shuttles. They’re fast, agile little ships that sneak into all sorts of places where they don’t belong.”

“How in all of hells rings am I supposed to find out something Javin Adentair’s network of spies hasn’t been able to confirm?”

How did he manage to growl and whine at the same time? It was really amazing. “Have you heard of Lunar 9?”

He rolled his eyes. “The old outpost moldering inside the moon? Yes, I’ve heard of it.”

She shoved her hand through her hair, sending the green-tipped spikes off in new directions. “Please, tell me you realize that’s where the
Crusader
has been for the past few weeks.”

As he stared at her in stunned silence, the color slowly drained from his face.

“Un-be-lievable.” She shook her head. “What have you been doing all this time?”

“Searching for them,” he snapped. “I’d like to see you locate something that’s invisible.”

“I just told you where they are. You’re even more useless than I feared.”

He lunged for her but she easily twisted out of reach. “Touch me without permission and the deal is off.”

“Then stop provoking me!”

It was inconceivable now, but she had once found this man intimidating. “Let me take you through this step-by-step.”
Like one would a simple-minded child.
She didn’t speak the slur, but it was there in her derisive tone. His gaze narrowed, but he kept his mouth shut. “Your arch-nemesis Garin Nox is in the process of reopening Lunar 9. He has both of his brothers here now working toward that end.”

“Why? What possible use could the battle born have for an outdated outpost?”

She ignored his questions. If he couldn’t figure it out, he didn’t deserve to understand. “There is no need to investigate the situation. It’s unlikely you’d be able to find out anything we don’t already know. Focus on your assignment. Figure out a way to sneak into Lunar 9 and—”

“I’m sure the compound is shielded. How am I supposed to even get in there?”

“Your sensors can’t detect the
Crusader
or any of the
Phantoms
, but there are three other Rodyte ships and all of their shuttles in this star system. Sneak aboard one of the other ships or steal a shuttle. I don’t care. Just get your ass in there! See if there really is a
Phantom
and snap some images of the thing.
Je at zu.
This is the easy assignment. What are you going to do when we give you something challenging?”

Akim stared at her for a long, tense moment, then suspicion sharpened his already hostile gaze. “Javin wants me to fail, doesn’t he? That’s what this is really about. He wants control of the
Relentless
.”

Rather than dignify that drivel with a response, she simply said, “You have three days to accomplish this assignment.” And then she remotely activated her bio-stream engine so it looked as if she’d teleported off the ship.

* * * * *

Indigo sprawled on her back in bed and stared up at the ceiling. This had been the strangest day of her life. Easily. She’d been ridiculously excited when her mother walked through the door to the house they shared, but she’d even managed to wait until after her mother shared her happy news that they’d been awarded a distributorship before explaining that she’d just met two aliens!

Even in her mind it sounded ridiculous, but that was only where the fun began. Raina had showed up with a
mate,
yet Indigo hadn’t realized her cousin was in the market for a significant other. And then said mate nearly came to blows with yet another alien in the living room downstairs. She felt as if she were sitting in a rowboat during a vicious storm. No sooner had she recovered from one massive wave then the next came crashing down on top of her.

She was an intelligent, rational adult—more or less. She grinned in the darkness. Some questioned her rationality and many doubted her maturity. Of course, those who saw her as an immature screw-up usually spotted her across a room but never bothered to strike up a conversation. Brightly colored hair, an assortment of piercings, and multiple tattoos didn’t mean she was immature or irrational. She was unique. And today helped her understand why so many humans thought she was strange. She was part of something so much bigger than they would ever understand.

Still, finding out her mother had been plotting with Boulder’s “spiritual anchor” to find her the perfect mate had been nearly as disappointing as the rest was thrilling. She’d always lived by her own rules and she didn’t intend to stop now, even if some mystical pull was making her restless and achy.

She sighed and rolled onto her side. It really was ridiculous to hope that she’d fall asleep after everything that had happened this evening. What she’d needed was some time to process, to sort through her options and figure out what was best for her. Well, she’d had several hours now and she was still no closer to making sense out of all of the surreal changes.

Someone tapped on her door. Ordinarily she’d have presumed it was her mother, but with the way the rest of this day had gone who the hell knew. She smiled, but remained quiet.

“Indigo, are you awake?” Her mother’s voice was hushed, yet easily understood. After a short pause, she spoke again, much louder this time. “Let me put it another way. I know you’re awake. May I come in?”

“I’m still pissed at you,” she warned.

The door opened and her mother stood silhouetted in the doorway. “I know, but I wanted to see if I can help you understand.”

“You should have told me.” That was a fact, not her opinion.

“I wanted to. I tried to. Over and over, I tried. But the time was never right.”

She sat up and shoved two pillows behind her back. “There could be a reason for that. What modern woman wants to learn that she’s being bartered away like a brood mare?”

Her mother’s shoulders slumped and she heard her sigh all the way across the room. “Our bloodline is one of the few that has never been compromised. Who you bond with is more important that you realize.”

The implications of that slapped Indigo in the face. “What are you talking about? Mimi was kidnapped by some random warrior. Did he just happen to be… Are you saying it wasn’t random?”

Laura walked in and sat down on the edge of Indigo’s bed. “Sweetheart, you aren’t just a hybrid, you carry Tandori blood. Your grandfather was full-blooded Tandori, a direct descendant of the Original Four. That means he would have been royalty back on Bilarri. That’s why he came for Mimi. Their genetics was perfectly compatible for reproduction. Vinton is pretty sure she never knew it was prearranged, but blood tests don’t lie. And the Tandori bloodline had been meticulously managed for centuries.”

“Then why would you dilute Tandori blood with an unimportant human? Or was my father secretly an alien too?”

“It’s all about balance, Raina. Our abilities flow from Bilarri by way of Rodymia, but we need to access the energy of Earth to fuel those abilities. Only by being both Rodyte and human can we function properly.”

“And?” She wasn’t usually this bitchy, but she was all out of patience right now.

“The Tandoris—I’m talking about the family not the tribe—are one of the oldest and most influential families on Rodymia. Or at least they were before they were forced into hiding by the current royal family. Many, perhaps most, would love to see a Tandori back on the throne.”

“
Back
on the throne? Did a Tandori once rule the planet? According to Mimi’s journals, the Keire family has been in power for hundreds of years.”

“They have, but—”

“But nothing. You can’t take
back
something you never had. Stop drinking Vinton’s Kool-Aid.”

“You and Raina were both meant for something a whole lot better than life with a battle born soldier.” She reached for Indigo’s hand, but Indigo moved it away.

“It’s not your choice to make and it sure as hell isn’t Vinton’s.” She hadn’t realized how deeply her mother had been indoctrinated by this stranger. “I was given my gift for a reason. I’m uniquely qualified to help certain types of people and it sounds like Chandar is just such a person. I’m going to help her if I can.”

“You can still work with her. We’ll make arrangements for her to be brought to you. We’re not opposed to—”

“When did you and Vinton become a ‘we’?” She saw guilt flash through her mother’s gaze and shook her head. “I don’t believe this. Is it physically impossible to resist these guys or what? Ashley and Raina are both “mated” now and the journals say Rodytes mate for life.”

Laura paused to gather her thoughts. Never a good sign. Laura was never at a loss for words. “I’ll let Vinton know you won’t be forced into accepting his first choice.”

“Or his second or third. I won’t be ‘forced’ to marrying anyone.”

“All right. Message received, but don’t expect them to play fair. These men are aggressive and they don’t understand the concept of political correctness. They will pursue you—and knowing you—you’ll love every minute of it. Just remember there is a specific purpose driving everything they do.” She leaned in and kissed Indigo’s forehead. “Was Raina right? Are you feeling the pull?”

Admitting it to her mother was foolish, but they’d always been close. It felt wrong to deceive her. “I’m not sure.” That was as close to an admission as Laura was going to get. “So much has happened, I don’t know which way is up anymore.”

Her mother accepted the evasion with a knowing smile. “You asked if Zilor’s brothers looked like him. Did they send someone tempting to try and recruit you?”

Indigo laughed. “You have no idea. Zilor is…they’ll have to invent a new adjective for Zilor.”

“And you think that’s a coincidence?” Her eyebrows arched, accenting the challenge in her voice. “Regardless of what they say, love. This is not about Chandar.”

With that parting shot, her mother slipped out of the room and quietly closed the door.

Indigo punched the pillow as she lay back down. Mentioning Zilor had been a mistake. Now his image filled her mind and seemed determined to stay there. And it wasn’t just his looks. He had been charming and likable, super easy to talk to, and oh so easy on the eyes. She’d learned so much about herself in that one conversation, it was frightening.

Would Tandori Tribe be able to train her or would they just want her to preserve the bloodline by popping out a bunch of Tandori babies? She had nothing against babies. Recent soul-searching had revealed that she wanted a family of her own,
eventually
.