9781631055577NiKohsChosenMichaelsNC (16 page)

“Oh.”
GiNae took SkiRee to her room, and after wrestling for several minutes to come
up with an appropriate question to ask, returned the
dogas
to his pen outside.

NiKoh, are you home?

Yes. Do you need to talk?

I…think so.

I’m in the living area, by the fi
replace.

I’ll be there in a moment.

GiNae
went to her washroom and checked her appearance, brushing out her hair and
splashing water on her face. Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself in the
mirror and gave herself a quick pep talk. She squared her s
houlders, then went past her mother into the main part of
the house, seating herself on the couch opposite him.

“How
are you?” NiKoh smiled at her.

“I
am fine. Congratulations on having a new nephew.”

“Thank
you. LoGar’s son is nearly two months old now, a
nd
we’ve only seen a holographic image of him. Mother was able to hold her new
grandchild, but he will also be raised on Xaxa. That is how things are done on
that planet.” NiKoh sighed.

GiNae
twisted her hands together. “NiKoh, what happened last night?”

“Last
night?”

“Yes.
I…woke up and my nightclothes were…not where I expected them to be.” She looked
down. “I don’t remember having any dream, but RaKel said my mood today…”

GiNae
felt him take her hands. She watched his thumb rub her knuckles, then raised
her eyes to meet his steady ones.

“You
cried out to me.” He visibly swallowed. “I’m not exactly sure what happened,
but I observed someone reaching out to you, and you begged him to help you.
What happened next eased your pain and helped you sleep.”

“Anoth
er man?” She recoiled in shock. “I thought a person would
only dream of their Chosen! Does this mean…I remember something about how
helping someone wasn’t the same as being a servant.” Her voice dropped to a
whisper. “Was that you?”

NiKoh
cupped her cheek
and shook his head. “I did not take
advantage of you, and neither did the other man, if that’s what you’re
wondering. It would not be fair to you.”

Relief
washed over her. “Thank you. I spoke to RaKel about it, and apparently I slept
through something wond
erful. If it happens again,
will I wake up?”

NiKoh
smiled. “I hope so.” His hand dropped her fingers again. “This…thing you’re
going through, I know I’m not the person you hoped I would be. Maybe this
mystery man is the one for you.”

“Maybe
I just need to
quit fighting it. I mean, I’m glad
you—or he—did…whatever it was last night.” She felt heat rush to her face.
“Maybe—”

“Shhh.”
He laid his finger across her lips. “This isn’t something you can force, or do
out of obligation. It has to be done willingly, an
d
trust me, you’re nowhere near that yet. When you’re ready, you’ll know.”

GiNae
grimaced. “Now I’m more confused than ever.” Pulling her hands free, she sat
back. “I thought this was what you wanted.”

“Do
you feel in your heart that this is right?”

She
sh
ook her head.

“Good,
because neither do I. I have no idea why I dreamed I was observing someone—I
couldn’t see anything, so don’t feel embarrassed. Afterward, it just didn’t
feel right, if you understand what I mean.” NiKoh put his hand over his heart.
“I’
ve never heard of anything like this happening
before. Normally when two people are proven to be each other’s Chosen, it is a
wonderful experience on both sides.”

“You’re
more in tune with my mother. She’s the one who anticipates everything for you,
not me
.” GiNae leaned forward and held her hands out
closer to the fire. “This is the second time she’s expressed surprise at
something I’ve had to ask her.”

“I
know. I’ve not felt the same connection with you as I did with BeSai. I would
wake up and we’d talk w
hile we were dressing. We
became so in tune with each other, we’d know where the other one was at every
hour of the day.” NiKoh clasped his hands. “I’ve not felt that sort of link
with you. The dreams…to tell you the truth, when I’m dreaming of you, it’s l
ike I’m watching someone else. I know that sounds weird,
but that’s the best way I can explain it.”

“Do
we
have
to wait till the end of the season?” Agitated, GiNae stood
up and rubbed her arms, feeling the warmth of the fire against her thighs.
“This just
seems so
senseless.
”

“It
will get better, I promise. If you think it would help, my sister KiRah is only
a year younger than you. Do you think speaking with her would help?”

“Gods,
no! She’s your sister, NiKoh! I haven’t even spoken to my own mother about
this. No one knows, except RaKel, and I haven’t told her
it’s you. This is so embarrassing.” GiNae spun around to face the mantle. “Why
couldn’t I be normal and go through this while at school, like the other girls
did?”

“Then
you know a little about it.”

“Not
really. I wasn’t interested. I saw how the animals mated, and thought it was
the same for us. Dumb, huh?”

NiKoh
coughed. “Not really. The concept is the same, but we are sentient beings, with
a higher level of intelligence. Animals use basic instinct
, nothing more.”

GiNae
sighed and turned around to face him again. “If I call out to you again, in my
sleep, wake me up? That way maybe it will save us some embarrassment.”

He
inclined his head. “I will. Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”
She led the way into th
e dining area, but continued
on to the kitchen.

She
surprised RaKel the next morning by arriving at her usual time.

“I
told you to take a day off. What happened? Didn’t you speak to your Chosen?”
RaKel followed her outside to the
dogas
pen.

“I
did speak to
him, and he admitted something strange.
It was as if he was watching someone else help me with my malady the other
night.” GiNae measured out food for each bowl. “So I told him to wake me up
from now on, should I ‘call out’ to him. I can conquer this, RaK
el.”

“Determination
isn’t always going to win. When it comes to desire, the body is weak.”

“I
don’t care.” GiNae set her jaw.

RaKel
sighed. “You know, there is another way. As soon as you finish, we’re going to
town.”

“Why?”

“I
want to show you something.”

Thoroughly
confused by this break in the routine, GiNae teleported to the Trade District
with RaKel, and felt further baffled when they wove their way through the back
streets and entered a tiny shop GiNae had never noticed.

“What
are those?” She pointed
to a shelf of long slender
tubes. “Oh!” GiNae felt her cheeks heat when she spotted the contents of
another shelf. “Are those—RaKel!”

“Relax.”
RaKel picked up one of the cylinders and rotated the base. “See? This one
vibrates.”

“Put
it back,” she hissed.
“I can’t believe you brought me
here.”

“It’s
perfectly natural.” RaKel approached the shop owner and purchased the item. “Do
you want to look around some more?”

“No.
Can we leave?” GiNae caught sight of her face in the mirror and noted she was
nearly the s
ame color as her hair.

RaKel
thanked the woman and teleported the two of them back to the shelter. In the
privacy of the office, RaKel unwrapped the item.

“Hold
out your hand.”

“Why?”

“Trust
me. I want to show you something.”

GiNae
held out her hand in a t
imid fashion. “You aren’t
going to hurt me, are you?”

“Of
course not. Make a fist, then open so your fingers touch your thumb.”

GiNae
complied.

RaKel
pointed to the second joint of GiNae’s index finger. “Pretend you’re looking
between your legs. Right abou
t here is your
chi
, which is the most sensitive part of a
woman’s body.” She rotated the base of the cylinder and placed it near GiNae’s
finger. “Now, this is what you do with this. Remember the sensation you had a
few days ago? You should feel something s
imilar. Play
around with it, find where you feel the most pleasure. You can even insert it
like this…” RaKel demonstrated by pushing it into GiNae’s palm. “You get the
general idea.” Shutting it off, she put it back into the sack. “Don’t forget
this tonigh
t. Your natal day is in two weeks, right?
Consider this an early gift.”

GiNae
stared at the sack. “Do all women use these?”

“I
don’t know.” RaKel shrugged. “My older sister told me about them, and since
you’re too embarrassed to talk to your mother, I decided maybe you needed to
know about it. This way you won’t need to call out in your sleep. Yes, it’s a
little uncomfortable a
t first. It took me several
attempts before I found a comfort level. Late at night is best, when everyone
is asleep. Put a pillow over your head if you’re afraid of waking anyone up,
and activate the Privacy setting.” RaKel stood up. “Another group of scho
ol kids will be here tomorrow, and there’s another
bitre
in the infirmary. He got loose last
night and pissed all over the place. I scrubbed most of it, but I need your
help in moving the cabinet away from the wall, and we need to resterilize all
the instr
uments on it.”

Thankful
the subject had changed, GiNae put away the item and went to work.

Lying
in bed that night, her thoughts drifted to the tube, her conversation with
NiKoh, and RaKel’s explanation. GiNae closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but
the la
st dream she remembered surfaced, and brought
with it a strange tightness within her body. After tossing and turning for
several minutes, she climbed out of bed to activate the Privacy setting on her
bedchamber. Pulling the bag from its hiding place deep i
n her closet, she sat on the bed, removed the cylinder, looking at it and
turning it over in her hands. Leaving the lights off, GiNae discarded her
panties and climbed under the covers, then turned the base, hearing the slight
buzzing sound.

Should I?

Yes
. If I
don’t like it, I don’t have to ever use it again.

Squeezing
her eyes shut, GiNae raised her knees and pointed the tip in the general area.
She didn’t feel anything special at first, but after moving it around, an
intense pleasurable spasm rocked her
. She gasped and
jerked her hand away, then pulled her pillow over her face and did it again,
holding it in place for several seconds while her body shook with pleasure.
Moans broke from her throat, then turned into cries of delight, very thankful
the pill
ow muffled her noises. When she couldn’t take
it anymore, she moved her hand away and flung the pillow to the side, gasping
with fresh air and damp with perspiration.

Holy gods…that’s the feeling I was
trying to get back the other day! Wow…that was intense
!

Rolling
over, she cuddled into her pillow, feeling her body relax. Yawning, she slipped
from the bed and washed the item, then returned it to its hiding place. GiNae
found her panties and put them on, returned to the bed, and was soon sleeping
soundly.

Chapter Seven

Two months later…

NiKoh
frowned at his computer pad. Since the Xaxonians had returned to their own
planet, things had been fairly quiet. But now the space station was just a few
weeks from opening, and here was a complaint from his own
son, stating the Mother AnDoh shrine had been repeatedly
vandalized. With the annual Feast only days away, OkVei implored his father to
send more security personnel, since the ones already on the station were
overwhelmed.

Does my son not understand I am no
t in charge of security up there?
He sighed and forwarded it on to his
superior officer with a note attached. He was thrilled OkVei was enjoying his
experience, but during his Security rotation, a change had come over the boy.
Lines etched his forehead, an
d sentences began,
Had
to break up a fight,
or
those damned Xaxonians were at it again.

NiKoh
pinched the bridge of his nose. OkVei was becoming a man, no longer the
schoolboy who dreamed of translating a new language or traveling with an
important diplom
at. He’d enjoyed his Engineering
rotation, rubbing his hands with glee that he had been in pylons normally
restricted to only experienced engineers.
I
don’t know where he is showing the most aptitude, but I dearly hope it is not
Security. I don’t like the
cynical note in his voice.
I did not raise my child to show contempt for others species. BeSai would not
be proud of him at the moment. No, if BeSai were alive—the old BeSai, not the
depressed one—she would give him a stern talking to, about how important
it is to get along with everyone and show respect.

His
communicator dinged. NiKoh smiled and activated the holographic panel.
“Greetings, my son.”

“Greetings.
Father, those damned—”

“Hold
on,” NiKoh interrupted. “For once, can you not start with ‘those dam
ned Xaxonians’?”

OkVei’s
silver face smiled. “I’m sorry. My Security rotation ends tomorrow, thankfully,
and I start work with MyLei, and learning about the universal translators. Did
you receive my communique?”

“I
did. Now tell me what ‘those damned Xaxon
ians’ have
done this time.”

Turning
bronze with anger, OkVei related the latest. “We’ve had to send a few of the
women home, because of being mistreated. How can Aunt SaLie put up with DuKah?
I’ve heard stories—”

NiKoh
held up his hand. “Yes, I’m well
aware the Xaxonian
mating rituals are different from our own.”

“There’s
even a species which mate by holding hands. Thankfully our medical doctor has
been able to stop several accidental pregnancies.” OkVei grinned. “Can you
imagine shaking hands and sudde
nly find yourself
pregnant? We’ve had to implement strict greeting guidelines. My friend SuWeh
has helped draw those up.”

“He’s
up there with you?” NiKoh’s eyebrows rose. “I wondered if any of your friends
had been placed with you.”

“Yes.
He’s on a differe
nt rotation, but we’ve discovered we
really enjoy hanging out in one of the eateries. It’s not as good as ViShe’s
cooking, but pretty damned close.”

“I
see. When will I get to see you in person again? Your Aunt KiRah is planning a
huge celebration for the
Feast.”

OkVei’s
face darkened. “I don’t know. Those damn…uh, Xaxonians don’t seem to practice
any religion and take great pleasure in molesting AnDoh’s shrine. I would like
to see GiNae again. Maybe I can request leave and state the stress of being in
Secu
rity. One of the girls had to return home after
her Engineering rotation, and is now enjoying Linguistics.”

“If
you think it won’t hurt your chances.” NiKoh rubbed his jaw. “You know your
grandmother would love to see you.”

“I
would like that also.” OkVei
turned his head and
spoke in a hushed tone before facing his father again. “I have to go, Father. I
will let you know if I’m able to return home for a day or two. Blessings.” He
bowed his head, then the hologram flickered and disappeared.

“Blessings,
my so
n,” NiKoh murmured. He got up from his desk and
stretched. Lydie’s voice entered his head.

JaHbo is here. He is ready to venture to
the Agricultural District with you.

Thank you, LyDie.
Inwardly, he groaned. JaHbo was
convinced someone was springing his t
raps, so no
animals would be caught. NiKoh had been the only one not currently busy with
other matters, so the task had fallen to him.

He
exited his office and greeted the short stocky man. “Ready?”

“Yes.
Let me show you what I found this morning.” The two
men teleported to a section of wooded land.

JaHbo
held up a trap which had clearly been cut. “I’ve been tracking a rather large
xofes
which
has been sneaking in and helping itself to the
nei’ches
. I’d like to get my hands on the person
or thing responsibl
e for damaging my best trap.” His
chest rose and fell with his rising anger. “This isn’t the only incident. I’ve
had my
sa’mah
lines tangled, and one of my fence
gates was left open. I found my
wocais
wandering all over the place two weeks
ago.”

“We’ll
get
to the bottom of this.” NiKoh examined the trap,
then dusted his hands and checked his whereabouts. “You’re close to the animal
shelter, aren’t you?”

“Yes.
What does that have to do with anything?”

“My
Domestic’s daughter works there. Let’s go see if RaKe
l
has had reports of strangers wandering around, or any unusual wounds on
animals.”

He
and JaHbo set off, and met GiNae cantering up on XaDie, who called out a
greeting.

NiKoh
explained their reason for being there. “Has there been any unusual animal
activ
ity, or have you seen anyone around?”

GiNae
frowned. “RaKel said she spotted someone the other day, when she freed a
bitre
from
a snare. She’s in the infirmary, treating it for a broken leg.”

“Thanks,
GiNae. Is this the
pannei
you’ve been talking about?”

She
beamed. “Yes. Isn’t he beautiful? The blood test came back positive for a rare
digestive disorder. DaVae from the Northern Pannei Association has been very
helpful in finding a cure.” She dropped her voice in a conspiratorial manner.
“I think a romance
is budding between he and RaKel.”

NiKoh
laughed. “Get on with your exercise. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Blessings.”
GiNae dipped her head, then clucked to the
pannei
and cantered away.

“Are
you normally this friendly with your Domestic’s daughter?” JaHbo wri
nkled his nose. “She almost treated you like an equal.”

Holding
in his temper, NiKoh reminded himself there were still those who saw a definite
class system. “I’ve known her since she was a child. She and my son used to
play together.”

“Oh.”
JaHbo said not
hing further until they arrived at the
shelter and called out to RaKel.

“Greetings,
gentleman. What can I help you with?”

NiKoh
introduced JaHbo and explained their mission.

“I
set up a camera around the traps I’ve found near the woods,” RaKel explained.
“Whoever is doing it has been out of range, so I’d planned
to move the camera closer. I did not know that was your land, JaHbo. I ask
forgiveness, since I have rescued a few small animals from the snares.” RaKel
looked humble. “Let me get the one picture a
nd see if
you can recognize the person.” She moved past them and pulled open a drawer
from her desk. “Can you make out any distinguishing features?”

JaHbo’s
eyes widened. “It’s my neighbor, PaBle! We’ve been having a dispute over
property lines, and when i
t was ruled in my favor, he
was very angry. I did not think he would sabotage my livelihood.”

“You’re
sure this is he?” NiKoh took the picture and squinted at it
.

“I’m
positive.” JaHbo held it closer and squinted.

“Why
don’t you set another trap tonight, a
nd let the
camera get a better look at him?” RaKel suggested. “That way we have a positive
identification.”

NiKoh
agreed. “This way there will be no doubt, and your neighbor can’t claim anyone
has that same coat or hat.”

JaHbo
handed back the photo with a
grim look on his face.
“I see your point. I will return tomorrow. Blessings.” He turned and went out
the door.

NiKoh
watched him leave. “Thank you for your help, RaKel.”

“My
pleasure. It would also help if he would not set his traps so close to my area.
I’
ve had to treat some of our
catois
who are not inclined to pass up a free
meal.” RaKel shook her head. “I will contact you if I collect the picture
before JaHbo returns.”

“Blessings.”
NiKoh left and teleported back to his office building.

He
greeted LyDie,
who smiled and stopped him.

“You
have a visitor.” She handed him a folder.

“What’s
this? A visitor?” NiKoh started to open it, but LyDie put her hand on it.

“You’ll
see.”

Frowning,
NiKoh entered, then emotion clogged his throat as he saw who sat in his d
esk chair. “OkVei!” He rushed forward. “How—I wasn’t
expecting you for at least two days.”

OkVei
stood and embraced his father. “I spoke to my supervisor, and when he learned
I’d not been home since Mother’s funeral, he sent me on the next shuttle.
They’re
not letting people teleport, since there was
an accident shortly after the station was built. They think it has something to
do with the artificial gravity, so everyone uses shuttle transport.”

“I’m
so happy to see you.” NiKoh choked back tears. He pulled
away, holding his son at arm’s length. “You’ve grown, and what’s this?”
He chucked his son under the chin, at the purple whiskers curling around his
jaw.

OkVei
grinned. “I was the only one on the Security detail without facial hair, so I
tried growing som
e. I don’t know if I like it or not.
It beats shaving every day. Does it make me look older?”

“It
reminds me of the time when you and GiNae put on that play for us and she glued
those strips of fringe from one of her stuffed
catois
onto your face. It took your mother two
days of scrubbing to get them completely off your neck.”

OkVei
winced. “I’d forgotten about that. Her mother wasn’t too happy with her, since
she dyed her hair green, then discovered she’d used the paint from the st
oreroom.”

“Took
an entire month before it fully washed out of her hair.” NiKoh guffawed. “How
long can you stay?”

“They’re
giving me a week.” OkVei moved around the desk and let his father take the
chair. “Then I start working with the Linguistics officer.
”

NiKoh
consulted his calendar. He didn’t have anything pressing the remainder of the
day. “Come on, let’s go.” He led his son out of the office and told LyDie to
take the rest of the day off.

“Do
you think GiNae will like my new look?” OkVei grinned when
they arrived.

“You
can ask her yourself tonight. I’ve implemented a new policy of keeping the
kitchen door open, so I can enjoy their company while we eat.” NiKoh reached
out to ViShe.