Children of the Gods - A Chosen Novel (16 page)

“Stop trying to avoid work and get dressed,”
I said, winking as I pulled away. He gave me a look, eyebrows
raised, but finished getting dressed.

“Need some help?”

I slapped his hand. “If you keep this up we
are going to be late.”

“Well, it is a good thing I am the boss.” He
pulled me to him. His pants were cool against my skin. “Let me help
you with that.” He took the bodice and slipped it over my head. His
lips met mine when it slipped past them. “I have missed these,” he
said, brushing his lips softly in a circle over mine. It took my
breath away.

He leaned over and pulled a pair of pants out
of the opened drawer. I lifted my foot and he slipped a pant leg
over it and pulled it up, pausing at my knee to kiss it. “And
these.”

When he had both pant legs on and pulled up,
he took my hand. “Mostly, I have missed you. Thank you for really
forgiving me.”

~o~

Everyone was in a line, looking at their toes
when we entered the kitchen. Katy chanced a glance up, then started
to look back at her toes when her head stopped and her mouth
dropped open.

“My lady,” she said in surprise. Everyone
looked up, and stared at me with wide eyes.

“Pretend I am not here. I am just an observer
today.” I winked at Katy. Her cheeks turned the rosy pink they
usually did whenever she was singled out. Jaxson squeezed my hand
then let it go.

“What do we have planned for today?” he asked
Marcel, making his way toward the food laid out for him to
sample.

Tuning out their conversation, I came up next
to Katy and hooked my arm in hers. “Is this what you do every
morning?”

“Shhhh. I am supposed to be paying
attention.” She gave me a nervous sideways glance, probably
realizing she had just shushed a queen.

“You will not get in trouble, Katy. I am just
trying to understand the process.”

“Well, we usually stand here and watch while
they discuss the menu for the day.”

“How long does this take usually?”

“Twenty or thirty minutes,” she responded
with a shrug.

I tried to pay attention to their
conversation, but I was completely distracted watching Jaxson. He
looked so interested even though this was something he had done
every day for centuries.

“Going back to the breakfast menu, I think it
would be a good idea if we spice things up a bit. Put something new
out every couple of days,” Jaxson suggested when Marcel was
finished with the day’s line up.

“Yes, sir, I think that would be a good idea.
Keeps people from getting bored, however we have found they get
upset when we take away the daily items. They are expected.” Marcel
tried delicately to shoot down Jaxson’s idea.

He nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment.
Looking up at me, he caught me watching and winked. Turning his
attention back to Marcel, I was amazed at the tenderness in his
expression. “Marcel, you are right. We do not want cause trouble by
removing the things they rely on, but I do think we need some
variety. We do not want them getting bored and complaining. I know
it will be a lot of work to add an extra dish every morning, so how
about twice a week. Sunday and Wednesday you serve a special dish
in addition to the regulars?”

Marcel looked relieved. “That sounds like a
workable compromise.”

“Great, it is settled then.” Jaxson grabbed
something and walked over to me. He held a piece of tender looking
meat to my lips and I took it.

“What do you think?” he asked.

“Delicious,” I responded, and it was. It was
the most tender, flavorful piece of meat I had ever tasted.

He leaned closer to me. “It is my own
recipe.”

Before I could respond, he took my hand and
led me back to the bakery where he snagged a roll. We hurried out
before Lisal noticed. She was an intimidating woman even to me. It
felt like we were children escaping with our prize.

“You really care about them. I can tell.” I
nudged Jaxson’s side.

“They feel more like my people than many of
our own people do. I know you think it is because they remind me of
the Osidians back home, with their refusal to accept their Kinchas.
They do, but it is not just that. The Osidians refuse to reap the
rewards of an extended life that the Kincha would grant them. The
humans and the Osidians must live life the best they can in such a
short time. Live and love to the fullest, waste nothing, take
nothing for granted. It is amazing. It is a gift to know you do not
have time to hold onto hatred. It something more though. Something
special. I feel like I am part of them, like they are the family I
will never have.”

This revelation surprised me. I knew why they
felt that way to me. They were my people, but for him to feel that
way was so comforting. I wondered if the fact that he never had to
take a host had anything to do with it. Was the act of taking a
host what caused the other Halorans to regard us as disposable, to
be used and discarded like cattle?

Chapter
21

“Where to next?” I asked. My expectations
were lowered by our very normal duties in the kitchen.

“You are really going to like this next
place, but I have to warn you…” He looked at me as though he were
trying to make me realize his warning was very serious. “Duester
will be there. Since Leyal’s death, she has found a need to be
useful. I have allowed her to come and fill the spot that was left
empty by Leyal’s absence.”

I felt a twinge of sympathy for her. “I will
be on my best behavior,” I assured him.

“I am not worried about that.” He kissed my
nose. “I just want you to be aware because I know how uncomfortable
she makes you. If you would like to avoid it, I will
understand.”

“Can you taste my emotions when I am lying
also?” I asked with a raised brow.

He smiled sheepishly and nodded. “I can tell
more from your scent than your words could ever tell me, usually.
Like when you were training with Griff. I could taste your pain,
and it was very hard not to be hurt that you did not trust me to
protect you, or even to tell me what you were doing.”

“I do trust you to protect me. I just wanted
to feel like I could also protect myself. I am sorry I did not
trust that you would understand.”

“I might not have understood then, but I am
learning.” He leaned close and kissed me gently, then more urgently
as I worked my hands into his hair. The sound of someone’s
discomfort at finding us as we were put an end to the kiss.

“Duester,” I said, surprised.

“Will she be joining us today?” she asked
Jaxson with a nod in my direction.

“Yes, she will.” His tone was challenging, as
if daring her to object. It stirred something in me.

She nodded and looked at the floor.

Jaxson put his hand to the wall and an
opening similar to a regular door appeared and remained opened,
even after everyone entered. The room was empty, devoid of anything
but walls and the entrance which cast the only light in the
room.

The pale glow spilling across Duesters face
only accentuated the murderous look she was wearing. The room lit
up in response to something Jaxson had done, and a quick glance
back at Duester revealed the look was gone, replaced by a pleasant,
sleepy half smile.

Had I imagined the look? The cold chill that
trickled down my spine told me it was no trick of the light, and my
imagination was in no way responsible for it.

Jaxson pressed his hand to the main wall and
the floor shifted and stretched till there was something resembling
a desk right in front of Duester. He walked over to it and placed
his palm across the middle of it. It flickered to life with a soft
whirring noise and multicolored glowing lights, all in soft hues
that glittered like the skin of the ship.

He stepped away and Duester took her place in
front of it. I did not try to hide my astonishment.

“What does that do?”

I ignored Duesters smirk and looked at Jaxson
in awe.

“Well, you know the ship is organic, but
unlike our Kinchas, it does not have a brain to keep it running.
Some of its functions are automatic, like breathing is to us.
Others need our help. That console helps to regulate certain
systems.” I sensed he was holding back a smirk of his own then. I
decided it was better not to ask what type of systems when I
noticed the severe look Duester was wearing, and how she would not
meet my eyes.

“Do you help it also?”

He touched the wall and a desk that took up
much of the front of the room rose up out of floor. I wanted to run
my hand along the beautiful colored surface, but I thought that
might not be wise, so I only looked closely.

“This,” Jaxson motioned toward the area I had
just been admiring, “is where access is granted or taken away.”

“How? How is someone’s access
determined?”

“Their skin is what allows access, but it is
more than that. The ship knows a person on a deeper level. Each
person has a unique signature written in their cells. The ship
reads this signature through a person’s skin, and checks it here
against what I have granted them.”

“Show me?” I asked, placing my hand atop his.
He looked like he might overflow with happiness.

“We have a new member of the kitchen staff
coming tomorrow. I have already created his profile but have not
assigned his duties or rights. Would you like to grant him
access?”

I could not help my excitement. I clapped my
hands together. “Can I really?”

He took my hand and pressed it to one of the
flickering blue lights. If I was not so excited, I might have been
mesmerized by the swirling patterns it made under my touch. It was
like stirring up light blue sand in a pool of dark blue water.

“Think of the new member of the kitchen
staff,” he whispered in my ear, and the new staff member was the
furthest thing from my mind. The console gave a short whine and the
wall in front of us flickered, then changed. Displayed was a
perfect representation of Jaxson kissing me. I pulled my hand away
and the wall returned to being just a wall.

My cheeks burned; I could feel them turning a
fiery red. The wide smile on Jaxson’s face did not help. It did
nothing to change the sour look on Duester’s face either.

“I think I will leave you two alone for
today,” she said, bowing and backing toward the doorway. I was too
embarrassed to feel concerned with the glare she threw me as she
disappeared into the hallway.

“Now that she is gone, I have something I
have been dying to show you.”

“How did I? I mean… How did what I was
thinking get up there?” I waved to the wall and looked away.

He took my chin delicately in his hand and
coaxed me to look back at the wall. With his hand still holding my
chin, he placed the other hand on the console, and an image of me
appeared on the wall. “It shows you what you want. What you are
thinking about most.”

“You are thinking about me the most?”

“Always.” His eyes were full of amusement.
“It makes it hard to work sometimes. It is not the first time
Duester has left in disgust.”

“Really? You are not just saying that to make
me feel better?”

He shook his head. “You would know if I
was.”

He was right. I could smell it if he were
humoring me. He smelled nothing like humor at the moment. I could
smell and taste his desire as much as I had felt my own before I
made the wall change.

“I want to show you something, but first I
would like you to try again. I would like for you to know how to
make this work.”

“I do not think that is such a good idea. I
am liable to turn the whole ship pink, the way I am feeling right
now.”

He took my hand and pressed his lips to each
finger tip. “You can do it. I believe in you.” He pressed my hand
to console again and waited. I closed my eyes for a second, then
opened them when the lighting in the room changed. On the wall was
an image of a gangly looking boy.

“Now think of the places he should have
access. The kitchen and all that is in it; the kitchen’s entrance
to the ship, the dining room, and his quarters.”

As I did, each area flashed on the wall also.
When I was finished, the console made a pleasant hum and the wall
went blank.

“I knew you could do it.” His lips brushed my
ear and I pulled my hand away from the console before it could
betray me again. He chuckled and placed his hand on the console.
The entrance to the room closed leaving us in privacy.

Chapter
22

“What did you want to show me?” My voice came
out sounding squeaky and unstable.

“First, a bit of instruction,” he said,
taking my hand and laying it on the console again. “The others have
no real control of this ship. Duester could not raise that panel,
or use it, without me granting her temporary access every day. You
have that same ability. You can control every inch of this ship
with simply a touch. If any part of your skin is touching a part of
this ship, you can make it do anything you want.”

“How is that possible with me? This is not
the original Anaya.” I motioned to my body.

“Your Kincha has stored all the information
necessary, and with this body, it has transferred all the
instructions to each of your cells. I do not know if it worked with
the others, but I had a suspicion with this one, and you have
allowed me to test it today. You do not know how happy you have
made me.”

He walked around behind me and wrapped his
arms around my waist. Resting his chin against my shoulder, he
placed a hand on top of mine, with his palm flat, his fingers
touched the console between mine. “This is what I wanted to show
you.”

The room went completely dark. Slowly, pin
pricks of light began to appear on the wall in front of us. Soon
every surface of the room was transformed, covered in stars, then
slowly, moons and planets began to appear. It was like we were
standing, suspended in space.