The Warrior Enchained

2

The skies were gray above stuffy, dead calm when I left the transport at Nidah Inner Port on Alderan. Unlike Central and most of the other worlds of the Amalgamation, all of Alderan’s ports were inner ports, situated right inside the cities they were related to. That fact alone said something about the Kabras of Alderan, but the Kabras themselves were pleased with the arrangement—as though any civilized being could be pleased to have transports take off and land at their front doorstep. I shook my head over custom and the people who conform to it, then made my way across the open field to the landings building where arrangements were made for visitor accommodations. There wasn’t a breath of air anywhere, not even on the field, and I was pleased I’d brought an entire wardrobe of Alderanian leisure suits and had had the foresight to wear one of them for the landing. The short skirt and low-cut bodice gave my body some relief from the oppressive humidity, but I could almost feel the perspiration on my face running my makeup.

The landings building was large, starkly undecorated, and totally without air-conditioning of any sort, a reminder that Kabras supposedly believed in living the austere life. I’d been vaguely impressed by the lacks on my first visit to Alderan, but had soon discovered that the vast majority of the Kabras paid more lip service than attention to the custom of austerity. Their own homes were luxurious to the point of decadence, a sure sign of how far they had come in the last three or four generations. Austerity was no longer necessary, and they’d grown mature enough to realize it.

I detached myself from the group of new arrivals I’d been walking with and went toward the pre-reservations desk, knowing arrangements would already have been made for me. I stopped in front of the young woman behind the desk, cleared my throat to get her attention, then suddenly discovered that her attention was unnecessary.

“Terrillian Reya,” came a deep voice from behind my left shoulder. “Welcome back to Alderan.”

I turned in the direction of the deep voice, already knowing whom I would see. Garth R’Hem Solohr stood there, tall and unselfconscious in the short Kabran kilt of officer blue, Ms long dark hair tied back with a small blue band, his chest bare beneath the regulation straps of office, his feet thonged into sturdy sandals. I had once told him how amusing it was to see a grown man’s bare knees, trying to insult him out of his usual air of extreme superiority, but all he’d done was laugh and tell me he didn’t mind seeing my knees at all. I felt the usual stab of annoyance at the way he looked at me, his mind full of sharp desire, his gray eyes filled with amusement, and found impatience coloring my tone.

“One of these days I’ll be considered important enough to be met by someone of standing,” I said into his grin, then turned to the girl behind the desk. “Has a visitor registration been made in the name of Terrillian Reya, Prime Xenomediator on assignment from Central?”

“But—but of course it has!” the girl protested, shocked out of her own air of superiority. “Colonel Solohr is here to see to your every need and desire and the Colonel’s family is one of the oldest and most respected on Alderan! How can you say . . .?”

“Now, now,” Garth interrupted her. “The Prime is already aware of my exalted status and abilities. She merely feels it necessary to protest our acquaintanceship in the hopes of insulting me. The rudeness is simply her usual manner of behavior.”

“Rudeness is not rudeness when truth is involved,” I shot back, immediately feeling the girl’s indignation. “Family position has nothing at all to do with individual actions. Have you arranged accommodations for me, or am I to be forced to sleep in the streets?”

“Never the streets, my dear Prime,” Garth laughed, folding his arms across his chest. “If no other alternative presents itself, you can always share my accommodations.”

“I would prefer the streets,” I told him. “Would it be too much to ask you to see to my luggage?”

“The matter has already been taken care of,” he informed me with a bow edged with sarcasm. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to the transportation I’ve arranged.”

“Certainly,” I agreed with a pleasant nod. “I’d rather have you in front of me than behind me any day. Lead away.”

The girl behind the desk was close to spluttering by then, something Garth was well aware of as he took my arm and led the way to the street. His amusement left me close to the teeth-grinding point myself. What would I have to say to him to dent that obnoxious air of superiority?

“This vehicle is ours,” Garth said, leading the way across the crowded strollwalk to the sled at the curb. “If you find it unacceptable, I’ll have it destroyed at once.”

“And then make me walk,” I nodded, climbing into the sled by the door held open for me by a uniformed Kabra of lower rank. “Or would you find it necessary to carry me?”

“Oh, carry you, of course,” Garth laughed, settling himself beside me on the white fur cushion. “An opportunity wasted is an opportunity regretted.”

The Kabra closed the door behind Garth, cutting off all outside noise, then climbed up to the front of the sled and guided it into the stream of sled traffic moving past us. Slidewalks were disapproved of on Alderan, having been considered too effeminate by generations gone by. I wondered what they would have thought of the force-field enclosed, decro-powered sleds their descendants used to take themselves everywhere.

“You really shouldn’t have embarrassed that girl like that,” Garth said, leaning back to put his arm across the seat top behind me. “Whether or not you care for the idea, I do happen to be an important man on this planet. My ferrying you around is a greater compliment than you realize.”

“The girl wasn’t embarrassed,” I murmured, looking out at the crowded streets and wondering why the emotional ocean wasn’t as strong as it had been on my last visit. “She was awed at seeing you and scandalized over my lack of appreciation of the honor bestowed upon me. Her reaction was too generalized to be personal.”

“But, of course,” be said, his tone still humorous. “How could I have thought to describe an emotional reaction to you? Please forgive my stupidity.”

“What, again?” I drawled, evoking a chuckle from him, but not really paying attention to the conversation. I was studying the people on the streets, those riding, those walking, those going in and out of the large, square-cut stone buildings rising all around. There was something like a mental curtain of sorts between me and them, one that could be pushed aside easily enough when I thought about it, but which fell into place again as soon as I turned my attention to something other than wanting to know what they were feeling. My gift had never worked that way before, and I didn’t know why it had changed. Was it possible I disliked Kabran pretensions of superiority so much that I was beginning to block them out?

“I do seem to be something of a burden to you,” Garth commented, his body relaxing in enjoyment of the cool air suddenly beginning to fill the sled. “A pity you’ll be forced to put up with me again during your visit.”

I turned my head to look at the self-satisfied smile on his face, knowing he also felt self-satisfied, and then my mind seemed to center on his, so to speak. I became aware of something behind the self-satisfaction, something that wasn’t quite as flippant and free-swinging as he wanted me to believe.

“It’s strange you should use the word, ‘burden,’” I said, feeling my mind probe at him. “Bore, scatterbrain, obnoxious pain in the rump, yes. But, ‘burden’?”

“Possibly I was trying to help you with your cataloguing of my virtues,” he chuckled, unaffected by what I’d said. “If you feel the word inappropriate, by all means remove it from the list.”

“The word wasn’t my choice to begin with,” I pursued. “Why would the famous Colonel Solohr consider himself in conjunction with the concept of burden, even to me? It seems an unconscious attempt at self-rebuke, possibly even the hint of resentment at your current assignment. Where would it be more fitting for you to be? Where would you prefer to be?”

“Don’t you think you ought to save that for tomorrow’s mediating?” he asked, the smile gone from his broad, handsome face, a stiffness entering his thoughts. “I’d never forgive myself if you became overtired.”

“For some of us, thinking is nearly effortless,” I commented, moving around to face him. “You were off-planet on campaign for a while, weren’t you? What made you come back so soon? And why the dissatisfaction?”

“Terry, it really is unwise of you to continue with this,” he said, the stiffness having reached his voice and eyes. “Insulting me isn’t as impossible as you seem to think it is, and I doubt if you’d care for the consequences.”

“Do you mean you’d challenge me?” I scoffed. “Just imagine yourself in front of your peers under those circumstances. They’d laugh themselves silly.”

I turned away from him with a headshake, deciding I’d accomplished what I’d set out to do. His air of superiority had been nicely punctured, and was rapidly being replaced with annoyance and frustration. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving fellow.

The sled traffic was rather heavy, and we rode along in silence for a few minutes. There was no doubt Garth was unhappy and dissatisfied with something, but all I cared about was the fact that he no longer throbbed with desire when he looked at me. Garth had wanted me since the first time we’d met, but the desire was an automatic one, something combined out of his position and mine. The fact that I’d refused him and continued to refuse him fed his desire, but I had no interest in soothing his longings and satisfying his curiosity. His interest in women wasn’t particularly unusual; I just didn’t care to have that interest directed toward me.

“You certainly must feel secure in your position,” he said at last, making a great effort to recapture his former attitudes. “It would scarcely be proper for me to challenge you, but Kabras have been known to be severe with women who offend them. Are you trying to force me to be severe with you?”

I turned to study him again. He was making good progress in throwing off the frustration I’d produced, even going so far as to try returning the annoyance.

“Are you trying to pretend to be so uncivilized as to threaten a Prime?” I asked in turn, arching my eyebrows in disbelief. “No one, on any world in the Amalgamation, would so much as slap my wrist and we both know it. Are you trying to impress me with your virility?”

“If I am, it isn’t working very well,” he laughed, the amusement real. “You seem to have no trouble resisting me. Why won’t you even consider the idea of spending a night with me?”

“What, directness?” I gasped, pretending to be shocked.

“After I’d decided Kabran men didn’t know the meaning of the word?”

“When all else fails,” he shrugged, keeping his light gaze directly on me. “Has the stratagem succeeded?”

“Not in the least,” I came back. “Did you really expect it to?”

“You should know the answer to that as well as I do,” he observed, still staring at me. “Do you care to explain why I haven’t succeeded?”

“No, I don’t care to explain it,” I smiled, a stiff, inflexible smile. “I have no need of explaining my actions to anyone, least of all you.”

“I see.” He nodded, keeping his eyes on me. “I’m too far beneath you to bother with.”

“Exactly.” I nodded, turning away from his smoldering anger. I much preferred having Garth R’Hem Solohr angry and distant rather than amused and near. I had sensed a boldness and restrained strength in him the moment we had first met, convincing me how much safer it would be to keep him at arm’s length. It would be foolish to say I feared him—fear is such a strong emotion—but uneasiness is uncomfortable enough to make one avoid it. Perhaps I had now managed to avoid Garth as well.

A few moments later, Garth stirred and touched my arm.

“Your lodging at last,” he announced, and I looked around to see the sled pulling into the circular drive that led to the best visitor’s Residence in Nidah. It was so new I’d only stayed there once before, and I was pleased to see it again. The suites were large and well furnished, and the food was of better quality than anywhere else on Alderan. When we pulled up at its front entrance, a garishly costumed servant stepped forward to open the sled’s door, saving the Kabra who had been driving from having to lower himself again. Garth stepped out, turned to offer me his hand, then directed the servant to see to the luggage in the compartment beneath the sled. The heat was wilting after the coolness of the sled, but directly behind the entrance’s air curtain lay more cool air, supplied, so it was said, only for the comfort of off-planet visitors. Those Alderaneans standing and walking about the immense entrance foyer were far too good to notice bow comfortable they were.

Garth made inquiries as to which suite had been reserved for me, all the while pretending not to see the marble and mirror surfaces all around us, the plush white carpeting, the silver fixtures. As soon as records had been checked and identities verified, we were led by a servant carrying my luggage to a lift which swept us eighteen stories in the air, then to a cream-colored door which opened on a green and blue suite. My luggage was left in a far room to be seen to by the Residence’s maid staff, then the servant bowed and left us alone. Garth had stood himself to one side of the room, and once the servant was gone he bowed to me.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I have several personal matters to attend to,” he said, his voice overly neutral. “I will, of course, return for you in the morning.”

“Of course,” I nodded, turning away from him to glance around the room. “Do have a pleasant evening without me.”

“I wish you the same,” he said, and then suddenly he was behind me, his hands on my arms forcing me to turn back to him. “You are an insolent, unbearably overweening woman. One day—”

He let the words trail off as he looked down at me, his emotions mixed, and then he showed a grin.

“One day you may learn that I truly am a Kabra,” he murmured. He let me go, took my arm, slapped me hard on the wrist, then turned, strode to the door and was gone. I gasped at the sting of the slap, furious that he would dare to strike me, but he was already out of reach of any words I cared to say. I stood and stared at the door for a moment, rubbing my wrist, then went to the call to arrange for immediate maid service. I wasn’t sure what Garth’s gesture meant, but I knew I didn’t want to be alone in case he came back. His mind pattern had very briefly become stranger than I had ever known it to be, but I had no interest in finding out why it had happened.

The next morning, when Garth came to call for me, he found me already in the entrance foyer, waiting for him. I wore a fresh leisure suit, completely different from the one of the day before, but the only thing different about him was the ceremonial sword he had added to the rest of his accouterments. He came up to me where I sat and bowed very slightly, his left hand resting on the sword hilt.

“Such exemplary promptness,” he greeted me with amusement. “I thought it would be necessary to come to your suite before my duties as your protector might be begun.”

“Yesterday a guide, today a protector,” I remarked, getting to my feet. “Your career seems to be progressing in leaps and bounds. At this rate, by tomorrow you might even be a clerk in Central’s Mediation department.”

“Now, now, none of that,” he scolded, adopting a fierce and dedicated look. “Your protector mustn’t be distracted with attempts at insult. You wouldn’t care to have him forget his duty at the wrong time.”

“I’ve never been told what it is you’re supposed to be protecting me from,” I said, folding my arms. “Which of the two parties of the dissension is supposed to be the dangerous one?”

“Both parties of a dissension are dangerous.” He grinned, taking my arm to lead me out. “My presence may be pure tradition and formality these days, but at one time it wouldn’t have been. You can never tell who will decide you’re biased.”

“A Prime Xenomediator being biased!” I snorted, flinching at the heat as we passed through the entrance curtain. “There couldn’t possibly be anyone foolish enough to believe that.”

“You’d be surprised,” he answered, opening the door to the sled at the curb. “Most people don’t know how mediation works, and when you deal with ignorance, you also deal with fear and mistrust.”

He climbed into the sled next to me, and we pulled away from the curb and down the driveway, undoubtedly heading for Mediation Hall. He’d made a good point about the way people think, and I was surprised to see such clear understanding from someone who couldn’t feel the emotions firsthand. Most unawakened people knew little enough about their own emotions, let alone about the emotions of others.

Garth seemed content to let the ride pass in silence, and in just a few minutes we pulled up beside Mediation Hall, a large, grim, blocky building made of dark stone rectangles piled one on top of the other. I felt my usual shudder at the appearance of that building, sensing the flood of desperate emotions locked in the cold, dark stone. But, as I’d always done in the past, I forced them away from me and followed Garth out of the sled. A Hall guide waited just inside the front entrance, and five minutes later we were entering Mediation Chamber C.

The Chamber itself was familiar enough, being a large room containing a small table at its center, three chairs around the table, and four benches lined up about ten feet behind each of the two chairs that faced one another. The chief adversaries were already in the room, each standing with his own group of supporters, all of them turning toward the door when I entered. Murmurs arose from each of the groups, underlining uneasiness and suspicion from both sides, but the tenor of thoughts changed immediately when Garth stepped in behind me. The Deffloran merchant group began buzzing frantically, outrage in their gestures almost as clearly as in their thoughts; the Kabran contingent hummed contentedly, considering their claim already conceded to. I stepped aside to let Garth move forward ahead of me, then watched the contenders as their attention centered on him.

“Gentlemen,” Garth announced, looking from one group to the other. “I am Colonel Garth R’Hem Solohr, assigned protector to the Prime Terrillian Reya. Should any of you attempt to harm her or interfere with her mission, that one must answer to me. Don’t make the mistake of considering my commission an idle one. I assure you I take it seriously.”

Garth stepped aside, letting the men see me again. All of their eyes were on me, the merchants with nervousness, the Kabras with faint annoyance mixed with uneasiness. None of them had ever been involved in Mediation before, and their hesitation was easy to feel.

“Gentlemen, please take your places,” I said, walking forward to the third chair at the small table. The room was unbearably close, and everyone in it was sweating. Two men, one merchant and one Kabra, separated themselves from their groups to join me at the table, and the rest of the men, six per side, retired to the benches behind their respective representative. The Kabras were dressed as all Kabras are, but the main representative wore the same sort of ceremonial sword as Garth had.

When we were all settled at the table, I nodded to each of the men studying me.

“You will now be discussing the disagreement between you,” I told them, settling myself more comfortably in the chair. “Speak to each other, not to me, and don’t look to me for decisions of any sort. Whatever decisions are agreed upon will be agreed upon by you two. You need only introduce yourselves when you first begin. Please proceed.”

The two men began glaring at each other as I closed my eyes, meshing in with the deep hostility they both felt. The Deffloran merchant stirred in his seat, probably tugging at the tight, high collar of his shirt. He and his contingent all wore the same sort of shirts, high collared and long sleeved, probably so that they might, when dealing, open the collar’s and roll up the sleeves. The gestures were meant to show their willingness to deal, but collars were unopened and sleeves unrolled that day. The merchants had taken their stand and had no intentions of abandoning it.

“I will begin,” announced the Deffloran merchant, his voice high and stiff with resentment and defensiveness. “I am Raskar Alnid, a man who has been done out of his duel A man who stands to lose all he possesses because of the knife at his throat! A man who was cruelly threatened and robbed ....”

“Gently,” I cautioned, projecting peace and calm at both men without opening my eyes. The Kabra had been about to retort in anger, but both men’s heat cooled when they felt my projection. The bands of fire red in their minds eased down to dull purple, still angered but well within their control. “Just the actual happenings, if you please,” I added.

“The happenings are not difficult to relate.” The man huffed, a faint, nearly unnoticed surprise behind his anger. He had intended pursuing his complaints and didn’t quite understand why he wasn’t doing so. “I engaged these—these—Kabras to aid me against my enemies and they accepted the commission then refused to uphold the contract. Therefore I, in the same manner, refuse to pay their outrageous demands.”

“Our demands are not outrageous,” the Kabran officer put in coldly. “We contracted to appear at a certain place and time and did so. We now seek no more than to collect our fee.”

“For standing about like statues?” Raskar Alnid demanded. “For greeting the troops of my enemy as brothers? For refusing to face them as fighters and men, in defense of my claims and attempts?”

“Merely for appearing as we contracted to do, if you care to put it in that light!” snapped the officer, sharing the other’s outrage. “Our bonds cover that, and battle against an equal Kabra force is specifically interdicted. With two forces of equal ability, what sense is there in fighting? Both would be wiped out without any settlement of the original argument ”

As soon as the attention of the two men left me and they began speaking to each other, I was able to move to the second phase of my purpose there. The Kabran officer felt deep conviction in what he was saying, and I passed that conviction on to the merchant, along with a sense of honor defended. The merchant felt the emotions and hesitated, then dropped the outrage that he’d been projecting so strongly.

“But Kabras are fighters!” he protested, not knowing I was passing on his bewilderment. “If you have no intentions of fighting, why do you accept commissions to appear?”

“We will fight any force other than our own people,” the officer said, made uncomfortable by the lack of understanding. “Should we slay our brothers, nothing would be accomplished but our own destruction. Surely this was explained to you?”

“I was told only of Kabran traditions,” the merchant sighed, feeling the officer’s guilt. “I was led to believe I would be triumphant if I engaged your force. Why do you hire out to both sides of a disagreement?”

“Would you have us practice favoritism?” the officer asked, attempting to soothe the merchant’s deep disappointment. “What if the commission we refused was yours, allowing your enemy a clear path to victory? Would you have more than you have now, or less?”

“The thought never occurred to me before,” the merchant responded, frowning. “What am I to do now? I haven’t got the amount contracted for, not without a victory.”

“But you agree we honored our contract?” the other man pursued, but gently. At the merchant’s defeated, reluctant nod, the officer added his own nod and a smile. “Then settlement should not be difficult. Our honor is more important than monetary considerations, and it was a recognition of honor we sought here, not gain. Are you able to meet half the agreed upon fee?”

“Half?” the merchant blurted, surprised. “You’re willing to fettle for half, without argument?”

“Certainly.” The officer smiled. “Our expenses were far less than they would have been if we’d fought”

“Excellent,” smiled the merchant, rubbing his hands together. “I’m sure we can work matters out now to our mutual satisfaction. Would you and your group care to join my cousins and myself at a meal? A tall, cold drink would work wonders right now.”

“That sounds perfect,” agreed the officer. “I know just the place, I’m sure you’ll love it.”

They were feeling very brotherly and satisfied, but I was feeling the least bit annoyed. All that traveling and bother for a ten minute dispute that could have been handled by the newest of Xenomediators! I stood up from my own chair, beginning to wonder what my alternative to returning to Central was, and the two men suddenly remembered that I was there. They both felt an instant of guilt at having forgotten my presence, but the merchant recovered first and spread some of his satisfaction in my direction.

“My dear young lady,” he purred, reaching out with the intention of taking my hand. “How rude of us to have ignored you! After having wasted your trip, you must at least join us at our meal. We insist!”

“Thank you, no,” I said at once, stepping away from him. “My trip accomplished the purpose it was, meant to, so your offer is unnecessary. I’ll be returning to my accommodations now.”

“Then we shall see you there safely,” the merchant announced, expansive in his relief, ignoring the fact that I hadn’t let him touch me.

“That’s my job,” Garth interrupted, abruptly right next to me. “The Prime continues under my protection as long as she remains on the planet. No need to trouble yourself.”

Garth was controlling himself outwardly, but inwardly he was more than annoyed. He didn’t seem to care for the merchant, and something in his eyes must have sent the message to the Kabran officer.

“You’re right, of course,” he interrupted hastily, cutting off whatever the merchant had been about to say against Garth’s statement if his less friendly expression and abrupt flash of anger meant anything. “We’ll just walk you two out to your vehicle and be on our way.”

The officer had put a friendly smile on his face, but his left hand rested on his ceremonial sword, pointing up the sword Garth wore. The merchant looked from the officer’s sword to Garth’s, then nodded his head.

“Of course we’ll abide by the lady’s wishes,” he said, pointedly not looking at Garth. “Am escort to her vehicle, and then we’ll be on our way.”

Garth was only half pleased with that answer. He put himself next to me as I turned toward the door, leaving the merchant and Kabran officer to bring up the rear. I was so happy to get out of there, I didn’t even bother checking for ruffled sensibilities.

The weather was still horribly hot and humid outside, but a thick cloudiness had descended that couldn’t be appreciated from indoors. Our party, went down the steps to the walk, people pressing around me as if I were some sort of celebrity; people were on the walk, the thrum of their emotions close, my mind tugging so tenaciously at the question of where to go that the thrum barely touched me, and then—

“Terril!” a voice called, a deep, strong voice I never thought I’d hear again. I stopped short in the middle of the walk in disbelief. He couldn’t be there on Alderan where I was, there was no reason for him to be there. It had to be my imagination playing tricks

“Who in the name of sweet reason is that?” demanded the merchant Raskar Alnid. I still couldn’t believe this was happening, but I slowly turned my head in the direction from which the voice had come—and there he was, striding toward me. I was aware of others behind him, men who were either hurrying to catch up to him or following easily with no effort, but I couldn’t force my attention to them. All I could see was Tammad, impossibly tall and broad, longish, shaggy blond hair, startling bright blue eye’s, his well-muscled body clothed in no more than the brown loincloth he usually wore, his immense sword sheathed at his side. I wondered briefly why he wasn’t dressed in Alderanean clothing, but all I could do was stand there staring like an idiot until he reached me.

“Terril,” he said again, automatically brushing aside the men who stood between us as if they were children. His mind held an excitement of sorts mixed in with other emotions, but they were all so completely covered by that iron calm of his that I couldn’t see them clearly. “Terril, what do you do here?”

“What am I doing here?” I blurted, feeling a desperate need to sit down. “I’m supposed to be here. What are you doing here?”

“I come seeking you,” he said, and an anger of sorts entered his mind and eyes. “With whose permission was the embassy on Rimilia left? By what right have my bands been removed from you?”

“What are you talking about?” I nearly screamed, feeling my mind tremble and whirl. I’d wanted so much to sue him again, but the growing anger in him was building a wall between us. “I don’t know what you mean! You sent me away from you, back to my own people, without the least sense of regret. You sent me away!”

“I did no more then keep my word,” he answered, a coldness growing beside his anger at the accusation he thought he heard in my voice. “Many times I vowed to return you to your embassy when your efforts at the Ratanan were complete; what need to speak of intention to reclaim you once my word had been kept? I am denday, a leader of my people, and need not account for my actions.”

I stared at him with my mouth open in shock, seeing the snap in his blue eyes, the fold of his massive arms across his chest, the solidness of his barefoot stance. Then that was why he hadn’t felt any regret over sending me away—he intended coming after me. He was only keeping his word, not shutting me out of his life forever.

“You still want me?” I whispered, feeling that terrible weakness spread over me. “You’re not tired of me?”

“Have I not shown you how greatly I desire you?” he returned, softening. He saw the wide-eyed way I looked at him and a smile began to grow. “With bands or without, you remain mine, wenda. Do not doubt this.”

“Tammad,” I choked, unable to say anything but his name, and then his arm’s were around me, holding me to him. I wanted to cry as I had never cried before, with joy impossible to contain, but just clinging to him was all the fulfillment the world contained. I could feel the surprise and astonishment surrounding us, but ignored feelings to glory in the strong desire coming from the man who held me.

“Your unexpected departure from Rimilia has cost me much time,” Tammad murmured after a brief moment. “We must return immediately, for there is considerable work yet to be done. You cannot aid me if you are not by my side.”

“Aid you?” I echoed, lifting my face from his chest to stare up at him with a smile. “You mean in caring for your house and needs when we get back to your city. Oh, Tammad, I can’t wait to learn everything Gilor has to teach met I’ll do everything for you, be everything to you . . . .”

“No, Terril, no,” he laughed, cutting off the flow of words pouring out of me. “There is no need for you to do that which any wenda might do. There is work to be done which only you might see to, the reading of men, the deciphering of their needs, the binding of their loyalty. It is for this reason you must stay beside me.”

All my happiness suddenly faded. I stared at him in silence for a moment, then stepped back out of the clasp of his arms.

“Then it’s a Prime you want beside you,” I said without any inflection to my voice, looking at the amusement in his light eyes. “You want me because of what I can do and what I am.”

“It is my furs which have felt the greatest lack of a woman called Prime,” he chuckled, reaching out to touch my arm. “There are no others who may take your place, wenda, a thing clearly shown me in your absence.”

“Because I’m an empath,” I choked. “Any female empath would do you, as long as she could handle your work and keep your body satisfied. Well, you’d better start looking for another one, because this empath never wants to see you again!”

I whirled away from the startlement he showed, savagely pushed my way through the people behind me, rounded the sled at the curb, and began running across the street. Sleds hissed to abrupt and unexpected stops all around me, nearly running me down, but I ignored them and the shouts of their drivers as well. The hurt I felt was worse than what I’d felt when Tammad had sent me away, simply because I’d known then how badly I fit into his society, how useless I was in it. It was a legitimate reason for rejecting me, something I could understand even if acceptance was hard. But now. . . . All he wanted me for was my talent, something he could use to advance his cause, to secure the ends he had in mind. He hadn’t come looking for me because he wanted me—there was still work for a Prime to do and he had to get her back. My eyes filled with tears and I stumbled, nearly going down before regaining my balance. An open parkland stood behind the throngs of people and I ran toward it, leaving jostled, exclaiming, insulted people in my wake—and not caring.

The parkland stretched wide through the thirty-foot entrance between tall trees, and I just turned to my left and kept running, looking for some place thick and private to hide myself in. He was just like all the rest, wanting me for nothing but my talent, nothing but the prestige I could bring him. I sobbed as I ran, tears streaming down my cheeks, breath rasping through my throat, heart hammering from exertion and crying, but I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to run forever from all of them and never stop to be hurt again.

The parkland was just that—wide open stretches of grass with occasional bushes, tall trees bordering it, stone benches scattered here and there beside short, pebbled walks. I ran as far as I could, finding nothing of the hideaway I needed so badly, at last forced to a stop by shuddering lungs and strengthless legs. I fell to my knees in the short, velvet grass and put my face in my hands, almost to the point of letting the pain and loneliness wail from my mind to everyone in range. Letting go would have been so easy—but there was too much shame beside the pain to broadcast it all over. I’d been a fool, and it was enough that I knew it.

No more than a minute or two passed before I heard the sound of running behind me. He was there, trailing a lot of other mind traces, his confusion and flickering emotions nearly drowning the others out. I tried to get to my feet to run again, but his hand was suddenly on my arm, pulling me around to face him.

“Wench, why did you run?” he demanded, ignoring the way I fought desperately to pull away from him. “Speak to me of what has disturbed you so that I may understand it.”

I couldn’t answer him. All I could do was pant and struggle in an effort to free myself. The tears rolled down my cheeks with nothing to stop them, and then Garth was there, standing close enough to take the barbarian’s attention.

“This woman is under my protection,” he said in a calm, deadly voice, his mind furious with anger—and faintly frightened. “Let her go right now, or face me with that weapon you wear.”

“The woman is my belonging,” Tammad answered, looking down at Garth with an abrupt calm that his mind echoed. “Though she wears no bands, I have not unbanded her. Are you mistaken in thinking her unclaimed, or do you challenge me for possession of her?”

“What are you talking about?” Garth demanded, confused. “That woman is a Prime of the Centran Amalgamation, not something to be owned. I don’t know where you came from, but you’d better let her go.”

“Tammad, he doesn’t want her for himself,” another voice interrupted, belonging to a stranger who was one of those following after the big barbarian. He wore the uniform of a transport captain, and he’d stopped beside Tammad, not far from Garth. “He’s a—a—warrior of this planet, trying to protect the Prime. He’s not trying to take her from you, he’s just trying to keep her safe.”

“I see,” Tammad nodded, staring deep into Garth’s eyes. “He has no feeling for the woman, he merely protects her. Know then, warrior of this world I stand upon, I have paid more than dinga for this woman between my hands. I shall not harm her, but neither shall I release her. I mean to return her to my world as soon as possible, therefore have I little time to spend in balk. Are you able to stand aside knowing she goes with he to whom she rightfully belongs, or does your honor forbid this?”

Garth shook his head. “I still don’t understand most of what you said, but your final question comes through clearly enough. Your answer is, no, I can’t just stand aside and let you take her. Not as long as it isn’t what she wants.”

“A man rarely knows the true desires of a woman,” Tammad sighed. “Though I do not wish to take your life, I nevertheless give you honor for the honor you show. I shall face you as soon as I have seen to the temporary disposition of my wenda.”

He’d been looking around as he talked, one hand still clamped tight to my arm, but apparently he quickly found whatever he was looking for. He moved toward me, turning me around, then continued past where I’d been standing, drawing me along with him. The best I can say is that I didn’t go willingly; tear-stained, and struggling, I still ended up going toward a large, barred and screened structure that held many different kinds of birds. The thing stood flat on the ground and was built with very simple lines, probably to keep the container from detracting from the appearance of the contents. I was pulled right up to it, the barbarian having no more trouble with me than he ever did, and then he opened the door and thrust me inside.

Wings exploded in all directions around me, feathers of many brilliant colors floating under screams of fear and outrage. I threw my arms over my head and tried to back away from the panic my presence was causing, but the door had been closed again behind me. Soft bodies tried to escape but flew directly at me instead, in fear. My back pressed against the bars, I slid to my knees, my arms still over my head, my mind in as much of a turmoil as those tiny minds around me. I could almost feel the bands the barbarian had been talking about, the five small-linked, bronze-colored chains he had used to mark me as his, one each on my ankles and wrists, the fifth about my throat. I didn’t want to wear his bands again, not anymore, but he would take me back to Rimilia and force me to wear them, with no one to stop him or free me from him! The sobbing started again, heaving my chest and hurting it, and I clawed my way around to face the bars I’d been leaning against, ready to scream out my desperation. I don’t want to go back! I started to scream, but no one was paying any attention to me with the greater attraction they had in front of them.

Tammad stood surrounded by the men who had accompanied him, Garth stood with his back to Tammad’s group, facing the Kabran officers and the merchants from the dispute, both groups obviously trying to talk the two men out of the fight they intended having. I wiped my eyes with the back of one hand, more miserable than I would have thought possible, then tried to slide my fingers through the mesh covering the bars of the birdcage. The catch that kept the door closed was a simple one, but the mesh was so small and fine I couldn’t slide even one finger through it. My hand trembled from the way my ragged breathing shook my body, but I kept trying to force my fingers through the mesh, only distantly noticing the abrupt calm settling on the birds behind me. The fluttering and screaming had stopped completely, the feathery minds were relaxed and happy, a chirping and trilling had started up again. I was too upset to know what it meant and I didn’t even care when great big raindrops began pattering down on me, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The rain had no trouble getting through the mesh, but I couldn’t! I had to get out of there, but I couldn’t!

And then, through the thickening rain, I saw all the men on the grass draw back—except for the two who stood staring at each other. Garth had looked so big and strong to me when I’d first arrived, and compared to the other men he was—but not when compared to Tammad. The barbarian and his men towered over all the others, standing tall and confident and feeling and thinking the same way. Tammad drew his blade quickly and with ease, holding it in a sure grip with the point lowered toward the ground. Garth drew his smaller sword more slowly, and it came to me that his fear wasn’t gone but was now under control. He wasn’t about to let it distract him from the upcoming fight, any more than Tammad was letting unconcern distract him. The barbarian had no doubts about who would win, but the conviction had no chance of turning him cocky or careless.

I raised dripping wet fists to beat at the bars and mesh of the cage, then struck at them once only, but with the force of frustration and a screaming rage behind the blow. Those men had no right fighting over me, but they were doing it anyway, one to reclaim a needed possession, the other to defend a point of honor. Neither one was thinking about me, and I hated them both! They were contending over a Prime of the Centran Amalgamation, a thing of definite and specific value. I hadn’t attained the status of human being to either of them, and I probably never would.

Tammad and Garth raised their swords to what were probably defensive positions, then slowly began to close with each other. They circled warily, each watching the other closely, then Garth struck at his big opponent, more a testing stroke than an actual attempt to reach him. Tammad knocked the advancing point aside and replied almost casually, but Garth found himself defending frantically, just short of having his arm sliced open. They returned briefly to circling, exchanged attacks again and then a third time, and I realized then that although Garth had been able to keep himself from being hurt, his mind had turned numb with a deeper fear, a deeper understanding of his mortality. Tammad’s calm determination hadn’t changed, but Garth was no longer as he had been.

I suppose they kept at it for no more than ten or fifteen minutes, but the time somehow seemed endless. The rain poured down on me and on everyone else, drenching everyone and everything, leading me to wonder if rain would always be an aspect of Tammad’s entry into my life. There always seemed to be wetness for me when he was around, if not from the skies or my tears, then from other parts of me. One minute he and Garth were still at it, and the next Garth had slipped during an advance and had gone down to the sodden grass. Tammad had him then, an undeniable victory, but for some reason the barbarian didn’t press his advantage. He lowered his sword and stared briefly at the man who was slowly trying to get to his feet again, then he stepped forward and said something to his erstwhile opponent. Garth looked up and shook his head, his mind sick and resigned, then Tammad said something else. The surprise in Garth’s mind was so strong I could feel it like a blow. Tammad stepped even closer then crouched down, his sword still in his hand but seemingly forgotten, and then the two men began to talk.

The conversation lasted longer than the fight had. I was sitting on the sodden ground, my back against the bars of the cage next to the door, my eyes on the bright plumage of the birds huddled in the tree at the other side of the cage, when the birds began to stir uneasily and I heard a step behind me. I still didn’t have to turn to know who it was; there was only one man in the entire Amalgamation who could throw such deep calm on himself and make it feel natural.

“Come, Terril, it is time to depart,” he told my rounded back, his hand thumbing open the door catch. Some of the birds began fluttering wetly, fearfully, but they weren’t the quarry being pursued.

“I won’t come with you,” I said into the downpour, my voice weak and ineffective even in my own ears. “I’d rather stay locked in here than come with you.”

“I have not the time,” he said, reaching in to grab my arm and pull me out of the cage. “Once we have departed this place to return to Rimilia, we shall speak of that which disturbs you.”

He pulled me along beside him through the rain, moving obliquely to join the other men who had been with him. One of them helped a limping Garth, who must have twisted his ankle when he went down. The merchants and Kabran officers were nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone else left in the park. I moved alone through the rain, all around me a delegation of those who did as they pleased. Only I was denied that right, I, who should have had it before any of them.

The barbarian’s fingers were tight on my arm, making my mind seethe in a fury as useless as struggle would have been.

When we reached the park entrance where I had come in, two sleds were at the curb waiting for us. Tammad hesitated very briefly, then sent Garth to ride with those in the second sled before forcing me into the first one. I didn’t understand why Garth was going with us, but more than that I didn’t understand why Tammad had sent him to the second sled. He couldn’t have felt Garth’s vast reluctance to look me in the eye, the deep well of guilt he worked frantically to control—or his infinite relief when he saw he would not be riding in the same vehicle with me. I moved over as far as possible on the sled seat, seeing the water that dripped from me soak down into the seat cushions, ignoring the amusement coming from the other men in the sled. They were warriors, Tammad’s l’lendaa, and anything he did was perfectly right and proper to them. He was their leader, their denday, and kidnapping women was nothing new to them.

The sleds left the curb together and merged into the thinned stream of traffic, sliding past the suddenly emptied streets. No more than a handful of people were left afoot in the rain, and that handful hadn’t remained out of choice. Cold air began to fill the inside of the sled until Tammad spoke to the driver, then the cold air cut off and we were left with the stuffiness and damp. Even as sopping wet as I was, the stuffiness wasn’t very welcome.

The ride to the port didn’t take very long. I suppose I kept expecting officials of some sort to stop the sled and take me away from the unpleasant dream, escort me back to my accommodations, then assure me that everything would be fine. Instead, the two sleds stopped beside a small, official-looking transport, I was pulled back out into the rain, and then the transport’s ramp was right in front of me. I hung back against the fingers digging into my arm, more than reluctant to go up that ramp, feeling the hurry in the minds all around me, but sharing none of it. My mouth opened to scream for help, any help, but another big hand grabbed my other arm and I was half-carried, half dragged up the ramp and inside.

I wasn’t released until we stood in the middle of the transport’s common area, a section usually containing tables to eat at and couches to socialize on. Yellow and brown carpeting still covered the metal of the deck plates, but the tables and couches had been replaced with pillows of all colors and a few small hand tables. Why it had been done was obvious, but bow Tammad bad gotten an official transport for his own use was beyond me.

“Return us to Rimilia immediately,” Tammad told a man who bad followed us with the others into the transport, a man with captain’s insignia on his tunic. He was the same man who had spoken to Tammad in the park, explaining Garth’s position, and he nodded and began to turn away, then hesitantly turned back to the big barbarian.

“Tammad, are you sure this is all right?” he asked with concern. “Murdock McKenzie told me to do as you ordered and advise you if you needed advice, but this whole thing is beginning to bother me. The woman’s a Prime, and she doesn’t seem to want to go with you.”

“I don’t want to go with him!” I told the man as forcefully as I could. “Call the Port officials and tell them to make him let me go!”

“The woman is mine,” Tammad rumbled calmly, ignoring what I’d said in the same way that he ignored the captain’s increased indecision. “Was she reluctant to accompany me when first I approached her? What was done to cause the change you see?”

“I don’t know,” the man admitted, his tone heavy. “First she was glad to see you, then she was running away. I don’t know what happened.”

“It is difficult for any man to know the mind of a woman,” Tammad smiled, and the power of his personality was so strong that the captain found himself smiling in return. “It is fortunate that upon Rimilia, all things are as men will them. Are you now able to return us there?”

“Certainly.” The captain nodded, still smiling. “I’ll get immediate clearance for departure.”

This time he kept going when he turned away, pretending not to hear my shout of “Wait!” as he strode toward the corridor that would take him to the command deck. I was furious all over again, furious that the captain refused to hear me—and furious at Tammad’s amusement. He looked down at me where I stood beside him, his blue eyes nearly twinkling, and reached a hand out to touch my hair.

“It is now time to delve into the question of what disturbs you, lama,” he murmured. “But first we must dry ourselves from the rain we passed through.”

“I don’t want to dry myself!” I snapped, knocking his hand away from the sopping string’s of my hair. “And don’t you dare use that word to me! I am not your lama!”

“Not my beloved?” he echoed, surprised and amused. “If you are not my beloved, then what might you be to me?”

“Nothing but a tool,” I answered harshly, feeling the stab of pain again. “A tool you can use to get what you want. If I hadn’t been a Prime, would you have left everything on Rimilia to come chasing after me?”

He started to answer immediately, undoubtedly in the affirmative, but I could sense the hesitation in his mind. If he hadn’t needed me to complete his plans on Rimilia, the thought of coming after me would never have entered his head. I turned away fast to hide my grief, and suddenly came face-to-face with Garth. He stood off to one side of the common area, leaning against a wall to ease his twisted ankle, and the accusation in my stare must have been stronger than I thought. He flinched visibly, as though I’d struck him, and then Tammad’s hand was on my arm again.

“Had you not been a Prime, I would not have had to release you to begin with,” he said, pulling me around to face him again. “Would any have asked my word to release you had you been a wenda of no consequence? Would your people have denied me whatever woman I fancied?”

He stared down at me fiercely, willing me, with his anger, to believe what he said. It was a good show—for someone who couldn’t tell what he really felt.

“No, my people wouldn’t have denied you,” I ground out, shaking my head at him. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you wouldn’t have come after me if I weren’t a Prime. Well, you’ve wasted your time after all. I won’t help you ever again and you have my word on that. And if I’ve learned anything from you, it’s how to keep my word.”

A tremor of frustration ran through him, the sort of impatient anger I’d learned to know so well, an emotion that rarely ever reached his face. He took a breath to immediately calm the feeling, then drew me closer to him.

“You are mistaken in all you have said,” he told me softly, letting his calm patience flow toward me. “You are indeed my beloved, the woman I have ever sought, and I shall not release you. Perhaps some day I will find the means to make you believe this.”

“And while I wait for that day, you think I can be talked into helping you anyway.” I ignored the fluttering inside me he had so purposefully produced. “If that’s what you’re counting on, you might as well forget it. You can’t fool me that way a second time.”

His face and eyes lost their soft, patient look and a breath of vexation hissed out between his teeth.

“Truly, I had forgotten how stubborn a female you are,” he muttered, fighting to cool the anger inside him. “First I will see us both dry, then we may discuss this thing further. I will know what has made your mistrust so great.”

With his band still on my arm, he headed for one of the cabins around the periphery of the common area, naturally pulling me along with him. I wasn’t feeling nearly as brave as my words had suggested, but what else could I have done? He had made a fool of me once; could I have let him do it a second time?

The cabin we entered was no different from any other transport cabin. The large bed was bolted to the deck, as were the two chairs. The drawers of a dresser mew out of a wall, and the floor was covered with a tan and green car pet. Tammad closed the door behind us, finally let my arm go, and walked toward a wall cabinet which usually held towels, beginning to remove his haddin as he went. Beneath the swordbelt, his brown body-cloth was as wet as my suit, and it didn’t take him long to get rid of it. He unstrapped his leather wrist bands, put them on the chair with his swordbelt, then reached for a towel.

“There is at times great comfort to be found in off-wonder possessions,” he said, appreciating the softness of the large towel against his skin. “We on Rimilia have not such cloth as this. Why have you not yet begun to remove your clothing?”

“I told you, I don’t want to,” I muttered, turning away from the sight of him. His bare body was as magnificent as I remembered it, tall and broad, muscles moving silkily beneath the tan of his skin. His blond hair, darkened by tile rain, was as shaggy as ever, but on him it was as appealing as custom styling would be on a man of Central. I couldn’t bear to look at him, let alone imagine his hands on me, but a minute later imagination was unnecessary.

“Have you forgotten so soon?” he murmured, his hand suddenly on my neck beneath my hair. “Must I fetch a switch to remind you of the obedience due him to whom you belong? Remove the clothing and dry yourself.”

“I don’t want to!” I screamed without turning to look at him, then pulled away from his hand and ran to the far corner of the cabin to throw myself to my knees on the carpeting. My head bent to my hands as the sobs shook me again in abject desolation. I didn’t want to take my clothing off, and it didn’t take him long to understand why. n

“Do you truly believe your clothing will keep me from you?” he asked from very near, having followed me across the cabin. His amusement was back, and a strange, unexplained elation. “You have said you do not care for me. If this is so, why do you strive to keep me from you? You have known my use many times before, and surely must have grown used to it.”

“I hate you,” I choked out, really meaning it. I could feel him standing behind me, tall and strong and impossible to deny. I’d wanted him so desperately, had so much wanted to be his, but all he wanted was a Prime.

Then I felt his hands on me again and I screamed, “Not Don’t touch me!” but it didn’t do any good. The scream would have stopped a man from Central, but the barbarian had nothing in common with men from Central. His hand’s loosened my clothing and slowly pulled it off me, while he ignored the fact that my eyes were closed tight, refusing to look at him. I lay on the carpeting in the corner, curled into a ball, shivering less from the coolness of the air recirculation system than from what he had done. He had refused to allow me my way, refused to consider my desires above his; he wanted me because I was a Prime, but he refused to treat me as one. I hated him, I knew I hated him, but that didn’t stop the shivering.

“We must take all the wetness from you,” he said, suddenly covering me with a towel. “I do not wish to see you fall ill again. Why do you continue to doubt my words when I have assured you of their truth?”

His hands were moving around on me above the towel, supposedly drying me, in reality setting me on fire. I hadn’t felt his hands in so long a time, as I was sure he was aware.

“Please don’t touch me,” I whimpered, finally forcing my eyes open to see him crouched so close above me. “Please don’t touch me.”

“Your flesh is as cold as death,” he said, using one hand to push my hair away from my face. “Beneath your clothing, you appear more slender than you were upon Rimilia. Are there none upon your world who concern themselves with your well-being? For one of such great importance, you seem ill cared for.”

“Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered, pulling the towel up to my chin. “I won’t help you, I swear I won’t help you!”

“Then we need not concern ourselves with the matter,” he murmured, stroking my face very gently. “You will be no more than another woman upon Rimilia, though one of great beauty and desirability, a true rella wenda. Men will envy my ownership of you for that reason, as they have done in the past.”

“You’re lying!” I cried, feeling the tears beginning to roll down my cheek’s. “All you want me for is my talent, and what that talent can do for your cause!”

“There are other uses a woman may be put to.” He smiled. “It has been long since I had you in my furs.”

“No!” I whispered, shaking my head so hard the tears flew off my cheeks. My hands were clamped tight to the towel at my chin, but the towel was pulled away and then he was lying down beside me, taking me in his arms. I beat at him with my fists and struggled to get away, but when his lips touched mine I whimpered in defeat. He didn’t care how hard I beat at him, how hard I struggled. His body was muscled in metal, his mind hard with determination, his desire so strong it was impossible to ignore. I moaned at the heat coming from his flesh, feeling it seep deeply into mine, and then he was above me, beginning to enter me, and a madness took me. I screamed and struggled and almost got away, then wailed out loud when one surge made his possession too deep to refute.

“I will not cause you pain.” He tried to soothe my frantic writhing, holding me to him with those massive arms. “You have my word, hama, I will not cause you pain.”

I tried to speak, but could do no more than gurgle and choke. I was being flooded with such intense feelings of desire and need that I couldn’t tell whether they were coming from me or him. And then his hips began to move, thrusting hard, sending lightning through me, nearly drowning out the sudden thrum of the transport’s engines. I cried out in protest over the pending takeoff, finding the cry smothered beneath his demanding lips, then thunder came to match the lightning in my body and all protest was gone forever.