GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) (14 page)

"Why aren't you in class?" Rom added.

Roman marched across the room shaking his head and flopped his long body into the striped chair. "Somebody's pulling a twist on me but I can't figure out who or why. I got to class this morning and the professor said I wasn't on his roster. He admitted that I was there yesterday and the day before that, but today my name's not on the list, so I must not be in the class."

Frustration had him out of the chair again. "Then I went to the admin clerk to straighten it out and guess what?" He paused and made sure he had both parents' full attention. "I'm not in their records at all. According to the computer, I never registered for school this year. Do you believe that? After how hard I tried to talk you out of making me attend academy this year and how I killed myself to earn a passing mark in calculus last term, nothing I've done shows up in the files!"

"That's ridiculous," Rom said, striding over to the telecommunicator. "I'll get this straightened out right now."

While Rom contacted the academy, Aster questioned Roman about the chair. When he seriously asked "You mean that's not the same one that was here yesterday?" she knew he wasn't the culprit responsible for the strange switch.

"No one can explain it," Rom told Roman after ending his call. "All traces of your attending classes this year have been erased. They're investigating the matter, but in the meantime, you can go back and reregister right now."

"Oh, lucky me," Roman muttered sarcastically.

As soon as he had gone, Aster and Rom shared the same thought. Something wasn't right. Both of them had the feeling that neither incident was simply someone pulling a twist.

They were already worried sick over Shara taking off with the tempometer. It seemed unlikely that she would get past the security officers on Norona but a confirming report that she had been stopped had not yet reached Innerworld's communication center.

The moment they had realized what she had done, Rom had sent a message to Norona, vaguely explaining that due to a family emergency, Shara needed to be detained immediately upon her arrival there and put on the first return flight. He and Aster firmly believed that Shara's unusual defiance would end the moment she knew her deception was uncovered. But that didn't really prevent either of them from worrying.

By the end of the day, they knew Shara wasn't the only thing they had to worry about.

A number of people they talked to had weird stories about something in their lives that had inexplicably been altered. Each involved a choice that had previously been made but had now been reversed. Like Aster's chair fabric and Roman's attending the academy, one man swore he'd decided to park his vehicle in his garage last night but in the morning it was in his driveway. A woman spoke of how the kalani bushes that had been in front of her residence for months had somehow been replaced by roses, which was what she had almost planted to begin with.

Rom called in several trackers who had the ability to see events that occurred within the past twenty-four hours. None picked up a single image of something changing in any way, despite the clear memories of those affected.

Rom and Aster called a meeting with the Chiefs of Security and Scientific Research that evening. They too had heard some peculiar tales during the day. Nothing suggested any imminent danger but neither could the incidents be ignored, no matter how insignificant.

The only immediate actions decided on, however, were to search the universal history data banks for similar circumstances, while a team of scientists would be set to work theorizing how such changes might have logically happened without the interference of some alien culture in possession of magical powers.

Whatever had caused the alterations, the Innerworlders were determined they could stop it before anything more serious was affected.

Chapter 7

Shara crawled out of the pouch and huddled in a corner of the tent. If Gabriel was about to have another attack, he was going to suffer this one on his own.

The starlight, combined with the dim glow from the heater orb, illuminated the tent enough for her to see how the fever progressed. She sympathized with him as muscle spasms racked his body and he began clawing at his neck and chest as if biting insects were eating him alive.

His groan of pain was so excruciating, she had to stop herself from going to him. There was really nothing she could do to help and she had no intention of becoming part of any hallucination he might be having this time.

Shara.

She heard it clearly, the voice from her dream, but it didn't seem to have come from Gabriel.

Shara.

Panic trapped the air in her lungs. Her name hadn't been said aloud. It was
thought
to her. But Gabriel had no such ability, nor was she touching his temple to read him. And yet she was intuitively certain it was Gabriel calling her.

She wiped at the annoying film of perspiration on her upper lip. It seemed incredible that his body temperature could be so high that it heated the entire tent but that seemed to be the case.

Gabriel thrashed from side to side, kicking at the confining pouch and moaning in pain and frustration. She
could
do something to help a little, she realized. Careful to keep out of his reach, she freed him from the pouch and opened the tent flap a fraction of an inch to let in a draft of icy air.

The cold was such a relief from the suffocating heat, she knelt in front of the opening and let the biting wind curl around her. Still, it was not enough to cool her. Urgently tugging at her clothing, she stripped to the skin and opened the tent flap a bit more.

Come to me, Shara.

She whirled around, expecting to see Gabriel right behind her, but he was where he had been, curled in a fetal position and twitching uncontrollably.

Help me!

The desperation in the words almost rent her in half. The cold air was so soothing, yet she felt compelled to obey his call.

Something crawled up her arm and she brushed at it, but she could see nothing there. She scratched at the skin where she had brushed to ease the itch left behind. An insect must have invaded their shelter! A few seconds later, a similar itch irritated her neck then her other arm. She suddenly felt as though her nerve endings had moved to the outside of her flesh.

I need you.

The words stroked her body as if they had substance. Despite the cold at her back, fingers of fire caressed her breasts and danced between her naked thighs, creating a burning need that even the freezing wind could not cool.

You need me
.

Her perspiring body trembled from the effort it took to remain where she was rather than give in to her weakness.

Suddenly awareness flashed through her discomfort. She was suffering from all the same symptoms as Gabriel. The virus had affected her after all. She wasn't hearing his thoughts. She was
hallucinating!
Without her realizing it, the mysterious fever had taken control of her mind as well as her body. While logic remained, she closed the flap, no matter how good the cold felt at the moment.

A pounding drum had taken up residence between her thighs, demanding immediate appeasement. The fever seemed to begin and end at the core of her womanhood. Her fingers confirmed the excessive dampness she knew would be there but it was not her own touch that her body craved.

She cried aloud from the pain of a need so great she would surely die if it went unsatisfied, yet she continued to fight against it.

Until her mind could fight no more and retreated into darkness.

* * *

"Shara? Are you asleep?"

She heard his voice and knew it was him and not the fever talking, but held her response in order to analyze the situation.

She was lying on top of him, naked, and she could feel him deep inside her. How could she not remember how she had gotten there? With her next breath, she realized her body's temperature had returned to normal, as had his, and she could feel the chill in the air from when she had opened the flap. The fever that had driven her to the brink of sanity was gone. The overpowering desire that had held her in thrall was now only a mild humming through her body.

What sort of virus would carry so many radical symptoms and yet be completely neutralized by sexual gratification? Before she could give that question further consideration, Gabriel's shaft throbbed within her and her own muscles clenched around him in automatic response.

"Shara, as good as this is to wake up to, I have the distinct impression I've missed something again."

With an embarrassed groan, she separated their bodies and eased to his side. The light tone of his voice contrasted with the humiliation she felt at finding herself in such an intimate situation and not knowing how it had come about. Only the concern in his eyes gave her the courage to speak.

"You had another... seizure a while ago. However, it now appears I have contracted the same virus. The symptoms seem to be identical. High fever, tremors, oversensitive skin, possibly brought on by agitated nerves—everything, exactly like that night. Unlike you, though, I was wide awake, at least for a while. I heard a voice call me, like in my dream, only this time I knew it was you. I heard you in my mind. Or I thought I did. It must have been a hallucination brought on by the fever. I blacked out. I swear to the Supreme Being, I have no idea how I came to you, or... or..."

Gabriel stroked her cheek. "Considering the position we were in when I awoke, I will assume I did not force myself on you this time."

She couldn't meet his eyes but she shook her head. "No,
I...
I believe it was I who took you. I'm afraid I don't remember."

Gabriel couldn't resist a small joke. "Doesn't say much for either one of us, does it?"

Shara made a face at him and sat up. With a quick scan of the tent, she located their discarded jumpers and tossed his onto his lap. "I don't see any humor in this situation."

"No, I don't suppose you would." As they both dressed, he suddenly became angry. Very angry. And he wasn't going to put up with her bad humor or unreasonableness another minute! "You know something? You're right. There's nothing funny about this situation at all. But it's not my fault and I'm sick and tired of you treating me like it is."

Shara turned on him in shock. "I never said this was your fault!"

"Hah!" Her denial fueled his frustration. "Every time I get near you, you flinch away. Every look you give me is suspicious.
Drek,
woman! You touched my mind. You
know
I don't have the power to manipulate you."

"Then who is doing it?" she shouted back at him. "What's happening to me?"

"I certainly don't know but losing your temper isn't the way to figure it out!"

Breathing heavily, they both glared at each other for several seconds as if deciding whether to escalate their fight to physical blows.

Belatedly, the perverse humor in this situation struck Shara and she quelled the urge to laugh. "I never lose my temper," she stated as seriously as possible.

He noted her attempt to smother a smile and felt his anger slip away as quickly as it had come upon him. "Neither do I. Shall we find someone else to blame for our loss of reason as well as our bodily control?"

Now she felt foolish. She hated these quicksilver mood changes she had been going through but without understanding the cause, she didn't know how to control them. "I'm open to suggestions."

He was relieved to hear that, though he wondered just how open she'd remain. "I told you I had only seen these symptoms one time before. Until you were stricken, I was certain it couldn't be the same problem, but now I think we may have to consider the possibility."

When he hesitated, Shara assumed the worst. "Is it... incurable?"

"Not normally. Before I explain, please understand, I'm only guessing. I could be completely wrong."

Growing more impatient by the second, Shara insisted, "Just tell me and get it over with."

"The man I referred to was a Noronian also. The joining ceremony with his chosen mate-to-be was scheduled to take place in a short time. She had to make a brief business trip and was delayed in returning. By the third day of her absence, his mating fever became so intense, he descended into a deep coma."