Ghost in Her Heart (4 page)

The blue shield moved with them as they
walked, though Vana couldn’t detect the source. It was easy enough
to see the alien shape of the naked trees. Wind bent the tops and
snatched the few remaining leaves, though the temperature inside
the shield remained tolerable, as if it held in their body
heat.

Dagon didn’t look at her again. She resented
that. Not only was she scared, but it was his fault she was here.
If he’d really been a nice guy, he’d have….

What? Reassured her? Her inner voice
demanded. That was stupid. He’d as much as said they’d been
captured and lied to so these men could have sex with them. Did she
expect him to say that it wouldn’t happen? That she was an
exception?

Grow up, that tough side of her demanded.
You’re nothing but a piece of meat to him. You’re better off using
your time to plan an escape.

She looked around and shivered at the alien
landscape. She didn’t even know how they’d gotten there. How would
she ever get back home?

They’d walked about two miles before she saw
a glowing blue city in the distance. The walls of the city were
laid out in a ring, and the whole thing shimmered with what she
suspected was another shield. As they got closer, she discovered
that the walls were truly massive and completely smooth, like
metal.

Those inside must have seen them coming,
because the walls opened up and men on silver hover sleds with
animal head cowlings poured out. A large transport accompanied
them.

“About time,” Dagon snapped at the warrior
who reached them first. “I’ve been trying to raise you on the
communicator for an hour.”

“You must have been jammed. We received no
transmissions,” the man answered.

The transport stopped in front of them, and
the tired, frightened women were loaded inside and seated under
guard.

The beast who’d escorted her reached for her
cuffs.

“What? You don’t think I’ll try to hijack the
ship?” Vana asked sarcastically.

He paused, stared at her—and left them
on.

She shot him a look of disgust and let
herself be herded onto the transport. They placed her alone on a
bench seat, presumably so she couldn’t cause more trouble. More
nervous than she cared to admit, she turned to stare out the
transport window.

Fear skipped along her veins, making her
shiver as they entered the city gates. Spires and domes passed by,
reminding her just how far from home they were. God, I want this to
be a dream, she prayed, but this is far too real.

Chapter 2

“You can’t leave her chained forever,”
Dagon’s friend Ser said quietly, using the private link built
inside their helmets to speak to Dagon alone. His expression was
hidden behind his helmet, but Dagon knew that chiding tone
well.

Dagon sent him a dark look, also hidden
behind his gleaming helmet. Their generation had grown so
accustomed to battle and surprise attacks that they felt naked
without their armor. No one willingly removed it in public.

“I hadn’t intended to. We’ll reach the Bride
House soon. I will free her when we offload the others.” The Bride
House was heavily guarded and in the center of the city. There
would be plenty of men on hand to make her behave.

He wouldn’t have thought she’d turn into such
a cunning ball of fire. Everything about her had screamed
‘introvert’ and ‘desperate hope’. Or maybe he’d mistaken her
shyness for a lack of courage. Her swift metamorphosis had been a
nasty shock. Were all Earth women like that? He sent a quick look
around, eyeing the captives for suspicious behavior.

Though Ser had told him the woman’s plan to
end the standoff, he could hardly credit it. For all he knew, she’d
planned to use her hostage to affect her own escape. Maybe she had
lost her nerve at the end and given it up as hopeless. Maybe not.
Whichever it was, he planned to keep a sharp eye on her until she
was married off. They didn’t need a repeat of that morning’s
performance.

Ser’s helmet was turned toward the blond
woman Vana had held captive. “They are very different from our
women.”

“Women are women,” Dagon said
dismissively.

“I think not. I had time to talk with the
gold haired one, Jen, when I transported her to the ‘academy’.” He
paused. Taking with a woman was a rare thing. It was obvious from
Ser’s tone that he’d found it quite an experience. “She has a keen
sense of humor, and she kept looking at me when she thought I
wouldn’t notice.” He sounded smug.

Amused, Dagon grinned. Ser had always been a
romantic. “Be careful. If she’s anything like her friend, you could
have a firebrand on your hands.”

Ser remained silent, probably thinking that
truth over.

The spiraled towers of the Bride House came
into view, and the transport slowed down as the shields were
lowered to let them through. Nothing was being left to chance with
the precious cargo.

The ‘precious cargo’ gave her captor a dirty
look as he removed her cuffs. Unease prickled her skin as he
remained beside her on the way down the ramp. Twin women carved of
stone, implausibly tall, held the entrance door’s capstone above
their heads. A whisper of carved silk swathed their bodies, doing
very little to disguise their nipples. She could actually see the
dip of their belly buttons.

Of course, Vana’s sudden fascination with art
was more a way of dealing with her growing fear than a study of
alien sculpture. Her breathing became harsher the deeper they moved
into the building.

As if sensing the fear radiating from her,
the warrior next to her looked at her. His helmet slid back into
the collar of his body armor, leaving his face exposed.

“Dagon!” She hadn’t realized he’s switched
places with the other man. They all looked alike in their armor.
Even more disturbing was the long, silver scar on his cheek.
Perfectly smooth and covering most of the left side of his face, it
hadn’t been there before. Though it looked more like paint than
healed skin, somehow she knew it wasn’t cosmetic. At some time,
someone had hurt him badly.

She shivered.

He regarded her through lowered lids. “No man
here is going to harm you,
adajah
. You are far too precious
to my people to abuse.” His eyes moved to the triple file of woman
moving across the sunlit, pink marble floor, silently including
them in his statement.

Massive white marble columns carved with
twining vines and flowers soared to the arched ceiling. Skylights
let in light and warmth, providing the perfect environment for the
brightly plumed, long tailed birds that flitted about overhead.
Potted plants perfumed the air with their delicate blossoms.

Had she not been a virtual prisoner, Vana
would have appreciated the place more.

They were escorted into a large, circular
room strewn with carved benches upholstered in geometric tapestry.
The men waited until the women were seated, then ranged themselves
around the perimeter of the room. Dagon stood on a dais before the
long windows.

“My name is Dagon,” he said. His words didn’t
quite match the moving of his lips. For the first time she realized
that she’d always heard a faint, almost whispered echo whenever he
spoke. She’d put it down to his accent, but now she wondered….

“We are using translators to communicate, as
our languages are very different. Our needs, however, are much like
that of your Earth men.”

The women rustled with a ripple of fear. Vana
tensed.

“We need wives,” Dagon went on, his ice blue
eyes taking in their action, but revealing none of his thoughts.
“You were chosen because you have no families, no one who will miss
you. We also have no families. Our women are unable to produce
female offspring, a result of an engineered virus wrought by our
enemies, the Dark Ones.” His eyes glittered with the first glimpse
of emotion—hatred. “You will be given everything you need during
your adjustment phase. Our men will court you, selecting wives for
themselves. You will have some say in the matter, but be aware—you
will chose a man.” While the women still reeled with shock, he
gestured. Two elder women came forward and joined him on the
platform. “This is Ellyn and Adibi, two of our few surviving women.
They will act as your counselors and teachers. That is all.” With
that abrupt statement, he and all the men filed out of the
room.

The moment he was gone, a buzz of frantic
whispers began.

Ellyn stared after his retreating back. “I
see we will have to work on his reassuring skills,” she said
drolly. Her pale eyes moved over the crowd of frightened women. By
the light streaks in her black locks, she must have been on the far
end of forty, or perhaps a well-preserved early fifty. “You see
what happens when a generation of men is raised without a woman’s
gentle hand. Our words carry great weight, but there have not been
enough of us to soften their hearts. You have the power to change
this.”

“No one is going to harm you,” Adibi, the
smaller of the two women, said quickly. She was dressed in a gown
of muted colors, unlike Ellyn’s bright lavender and pink robes. “We
are all hoping for happy matches, and Ellyn and I have been chosen
to be your counselors in this matter. Both of us enjoy harmonious
marriages, and hope to guide you into making good choices. After
all, your match is to be for life.” She beamed.

Vana scowled, not in the least pleased.
Happily married to an abrupt man like Dagon? Ha! Then she caught
sight of a huddled girl who couldn’t have been more than sixteen. A
quick glance around showed more like her. Her blood boiled.

“Are you so desperate that you have to marry
off children?” she snapped at Ellyn, indicating the girl with a
jerk of her head. “Where we come from, that’s not legal.”

Ellyn sighed as if put upon. “Our customs are
different here. We most certainly match up girls of her age. She is
physically mature, and even in your culture young women of her age
are known to take lovers.

“Besides, it is very difficult to find women
in your “United States” who have not known men.” Her mouth
tightened a fraction. “We do not approve of promiscuous intercourse
here.”

A dreadful suspicion bloomed in Vana’s mind.
“How would you know who has and hasn’t…” she trailed off, too
nervous to outright say it.

With a kind smile, Ellyn said, “Our men are
very resourceful. I’m told they tracked down each woman and
observed her, doing remote medical scans to check for health
and…other things. You would not be here if you were not pure,
believe me.”

Face burning, Vana looked away. That was not
the sort of information she wanted to be public knowledge.

“Now, let me show you to your sleeping places
and help you get settled. We’ll have a meal soon, and then you’ll
have a chance to get to know your future husbands.”

Oh, joy, Vana thought grimly.

Their rooms were actually curtained and
screened off sections of the larger chamber. The gel-filled beds
were thermostatically controlled, allowing the sleeper to adjust
the temperature and density for their comfort. Each woman was given
grooming supplies and urged to choose from a colorful array of
saris, sarongs and alluring tops.

Vana balked. No way did she want to dress up
like some virginal, sacrificial harem girl. “I’m quite comfortable
in my own clothes, thank you,” she said firmly to Ellyn. At least
her jeans and sweater hid her belly button, which was more than she
could say for most of the clothes they were offered.

The older woman considered her calmly. “What
will you do when your clothes become ragged and worn? You have only
the one set. Besides, your rebellion would gain Dagon’s notice. He
might feel the need to compel your obedience—personally.”

The subtle threat did its dirty work. With a
glower, Vana chose some clothes and retreated to her “room” to
change.

The wrap-around skirt was gorgeous. Black
silk with gold fringe hugged her legs from waist to ankle in loving
detail, allowing just a glimpse of sandal-clad feet. Also of black
silk, the sleeveless halter-top with hidden support was attached to
a golden embroidered, choker-like collar. The top ended inches
above her skirt, allowing for an enticing glimpse of skin.

She didn’t like how exposed it made her feel.
She liked it even less when she entered the dinner hall and saw how
the men looked at the women. Suddenly she felt like filet mignon at
an all-you-can-eat buffet.

There were many tables scattered throughout
the huge banquet room, so she was surprised when Ellyn personally
escorted her to Dagon’s table. His enquiring look as she climbed
the dais told her that it had not been at his request.

“I think you should keep a close eye on this
one,” Ellyn said firmly, seating her in the empty place on Dagon’s
right. Throughout the hall women were being paired with men. “I do
not trust her not to escape during the banquet and get captured by
Nikon. She’s just the sort he would fancy.”

Vana sent her a look. If only she knew.

Dagon’s eyes moved leisurely over Vana’s
long, loose hair and subtle makeup—Ellyn had insisted on cosmetics,
and had done Vana’s herself—then dropped briefly to take in the
rest of her. With a gleam in his eye, he murmured, “I can think of
more difficult hardships.”

Eyes narrowed, Vana looked away, over the
heads of those at Dagon’s table.

“So you are Dagon’s warrior woman,” the
handsome, dark-haired man seated across from her drawled. “My name
is Ser. It’s a delight to meet you, Vana.”

Not trusting herself to say anything civil,
Vana acknowledged him with a curt nod. The blond head at his side
caught her eye, making her eyes widen. Now there was someone she
needed to speak to.

“I’m sorry if I scared you earlier,” she said
quietly to the petite woman. “I didn’t want us to get hurt in a war
between…them,” she concluded, her voice dropping an angry octave on
the last word.