Sarazen's Claim, Book One (25 page)

The tube they rode in stopped in the lobby of another large building, a green laser light passing over them before the doors opened to permit them into the room beyond. Last sterilization check point, Tarek said. His eagerness was catching, though he appeared for all intents and purposes to be calm and in total command. Her crew waited not far beyond the tube system doors, the women who would be Sarazen mates on one side with their imposingly large men, the rest of her crew on the other side, all of the humans looking around the very empty, Spartan room with uncertain curiosity. Separated again by several feet, stood a knot of robe wearing men who looked…official.
‘Council members, my one
.’ Tarek answered silently, in answer to the question she had asked herself, “
Asha
, welcome home.” The one in the front greeted, bowing his head and giving the now customary gesture of fingertips to heart, as did the other three men behind him.

Her cat was wary, her fur ruffled the wrong way for no apparent reason, quiet in her mind but very much alert and watching every tic and flutter of their lashes. Testing their scents, memorizing them suspiciously. Tarek squeezed her hand gently, pulling her with him as he approached the group of men. “T’farro, I was not expecting to see you here.” Tarek wasn’t any less suspicious or wary of them, but as he was twice their size, his muscled bulk easily double theirs, he didn’t seem to be threatened. “The
Asho
and his mate were unable to be present, so we came in their stead.” He said evasively, his dark eyes flicking over her with a cool sort of curiosity, the sort that made her want to curl her lip at him and growl. “I see. Well, have appropriate quarters been readied in my wing of the citadel?”

“Yes, you and your ah…human fem-“

“
Mate
,” Tarek growled tightly, making all four of the men blink and give a pulse of uncertainty in their scent. “Forgive me, your mate, will find that your quarters have been made quite comfortable.”

T’farro reminded her of the Aria’s acting General. A schmoozer. He said all the right things, his face gave away nothing but pleasantness, and yet he just seemed smarmy. “I am unconcerned with the state of my quarters. I was referring to the housing to be provided for the human crew and my men who have found mates among them.”

“The ambassador’s manor has been made available for the humans, your warriors-“

“As I sent you reports well in advance stating quite plainly the requirements for the human crew and their mates, which were approved by the
Asho
, you are well aware that the ambassador’s manor is unsuitable. Which means either you are purposefully ignoring my requirements, or you are attempting to assert some kind of quarantine which is unnecessary and recipe for revolt.”

“
Asha,
I assure you-“

“That the humans will remain together, close by my mate, and those who have been called by my warriors, will remain, with my warriors. I expect this error to be resolved, immediately.”

She noted that two of the council members hid little smirks in their demure head bobs, while the other two were obviously irked, if their constipated expressions were anything to go by. Tarek started walking again, which gave her no choice but to follow with him, and she glanced back over her shoulder to see that her thirty two crew members and the ten Sarazen warriors were following smartly. They walked out into the bright sunlight, and for the first time in her life, warm, breathable air moved over her body. The sensation was so odd that for a moment she faltered. Tarek didn’t jerk her along, he looked down at her and was smiling while she turned her hand over, rubbing the heat of the massive sun around on her fingertips. She felt heavier, smelled things that her cat identified as actual trees and plants, salt water, free air. “Is something wrong with your female,
Asha
?”

She saw a muscle in Tarek’s jaw tick, and she silently asked him if it was alright for her to answer the question. He gave a grunt and a little nod, while she stood and marveled at the rush of emotion surged through her body. “I was born and raised on a starship. I have never felt the sun or the wind on my skin before, councilman T’farro. I am marveling at the sensation.” Tarek squeezed her hand again, his eyes softening while he stood and waited patiently for her to process the feelings. “Come, my one. There is more to see beyond the sea port.” She grudgingly moved, not sure how to accurately express to him her awe, but then she remembered she didn’t have to. He could feel it. “Come, let me show you my world. Our home.”

She heard the others laughing behind her in wonder, catching the hem of her long dress up to climb the small flight of stairs that led up into some kind of open transport, big enough for all of them to stand in comfortably. Ohlen moved to the front and nodded to the warrior waiting, taking control of the vessel, Andi following in his wake. She watched how the small woman looked up confidently at her mate, eagerness and curiosity alight on her face. So much better than the shadows, pain and fear. Her skin itched and felt stretched tight over her bones, excitement prickling at her, Tarek touched a kiss to her temple, pulling her in front of him so he could wrap his arms around her and keep her stable while the transport lifted up into the air with a hum and shot forward smoothly.
‘Breathe slowly, my one. Your beast desires to feel the earth pounding away beneath her paws.’

‘I haven’t changed since that one time on the ship.’

‘And you must, soon. Or she will do it for you when you least expect it. Tonight, we will take the others and run through the woods.’

The wind rushed over them, and her entire crew was shell shocked by the wonder of it. They zipped over a main road, the sea behind them and in the distance she could see mountains. The land they covered was mostly an open plain, flat grass that smelled sharp and pungent, tall grass that her cat would enjoy running through. The mountains got closer and she could hear the rumble of conversations being struck, the warriors telling their mates and those close by them of what was to come, their home, the citadel, which she reasoned was the palace.

The transport moved down a wide main road that cut through the center of the forest, and the deeper they traveled, the more carefully disguised buildings she saw underneath the massive trunks. The leaves were a vibrant mix of red and orange, the trunks a pale gold slashed with brown, creating what she knew would have been autumnal colors on earth, but a quick question to Tarek and she knew that the trees were this color all year long. They were stunning, and she couldn’t wait to walk beneath them and learn the texture of the wood and feel the soft looking leaves. Tarek sensed her eagerness and touched a kiss to her temple, promising her that soon all her curiosities would be sated.

The buildings were more like the ancient illustrations in some of the equally ancient text books from earth, built by Native Americans or Vikings, made of the golden tree trunks, the roofs thatched with grass. They were lovely, the quick view she got of them showed her hints of intricate carving to the lintels and support beams that protruded from the front and ends of the buildings. So many questions sprang to mind, but she was distracted by how the transport was heading for the rock face of the mountain. She leaned a little to the side, realizing there was a massive entrance carved into the stone, large enough that a small ship would be able to fit inside, and that’s where they were going. ‘
Your people live inside a mountain?’

She tilted her head back as the shuttle moved into the shadow of the mountain, the air became cooler and the scent changed. The tang of the trees and growing things, changed to a subtly spicy scent, which was odd, because she wouldn’t have associated stone with spices. She wound up looking up so high, that the back of her head rested on Tarek’s shoulder.
‘It provides protection from attack, the minerals in the stone naturally repel laser blasts and any sort of orbital surveillance. It is our main citadel, there are others all over this planet, some more blatantly advanced than others, some less.’

The opening gave way to a massive open gate made of the same material as their warships, she was told, and beyond that was a huge forecourt and another gate past that. Beyond the second gate, the space opened up in a jaw dropping expanse, and Tarek murmured in her ear that three of their warships would fit within the truly magnificent cavern. The entire city was made of stone, the first rank of buildings were staggered in positions that reminded her of the dips and hollows aboard Tarek’s ship, defensive positions in case of attack. The whole city was laid out for defense, despite the beautifully carved doorways and carefully laid cobbles of the streets. Men and women milled around, but there was this air of separation between them, little affection shown, so when they saw her practically cuddled up in Tarek’s arms, they stared.

She didn’t want to make a bad impression, so she made to pull away, but his arms tightened around her and kept her right where she was.
‘Tarek, everyone’s staring,’
He snorted, giving her a tighter squeeze.
‘Let them. If it is us they stare at, it is because my one is so beautiful.’

She blushed hotly, but quit trying to pull away and returned to looking at the beauty of the mountain stronghold. Windows and homes were carved into the mountainside, all the way up to the very top of the cavern walls, doorways and pathways carved for foot traffic, and transport platforms every few levels for convenience. There was a large section of stone that had no buildings around or above it by at least a two transport lengths, and from the size of the one stretch of balconies and the seemingly six story height of the dwelling, it was of some importance. And that’s where their transport was headed.
‘Which one is the ambassadors manor?’
she asked, and felt the soft growl Tarek gave, vibrate along her back. ‘
Outside the citadel, in the forest.’

‘Is there room for everyone in your wing of the citadel?’

‘More than enough, my one. T’farro plays some game, as is his way, and as of yet I do not know if it is of nefarious means or protective. His version of politics infuriate me.’

Her stomach lurched as the transport stopped moving horizontally, and suddenly shifted to rise vertically up the wall towards the large section of stone. She counted fifteen balconies from her vantage point, but the higher they got the more she counted, until she lost track at thirty seven. Up they went, Ohlen steering them into a large arched entrance, setting the transport down carefully and got a tight nod of approval from Tarek. “Come,” He commanded aloud, and they led the way off the transport into the large open room just beyond and up a flight of curved stairs carved out of the grey veined stone. It was smooth to the touch, cool, like glass almost. Fifty eight steps opened into a grand, brightly lit room that was truly breathtaking, and she wasn’t the only one to gasp at the sight of it.

Twenty Four

It was a work of unparalleled art, the different colored veins of stone used to carve lifelike looking scenes. The sparkling gold veins that ran up and down were carved to resemble the tree trunks in the forest beyond, red, grey and orange veins that ran above that carved into leaves and branches, blue veins along the floor were carved into streams and banks, patches of flowers where spots of different colors of stone ran along the edges of the walls. But the true beauty lay in the swath of glimmering crystal clusters that were carved into stars, and the curtain like spill of pure white stone that curved down the back of the far wall that faced them. Two stone benches were carved to sit atop the platform, a royal pair of thrones with a five tiered set of wide steps leading up to them.

She was dazzled, but it didn’t stop there.

The hallway Tarek led them down was carved too, more trees and beautiful nature scenes, and when they passed through a large set of wooden doors, a pair of men with the regal air of elders came forward and bowed low, genuine expressions of happiness on their faces when they saw Tarek. “
Asha
, we are so happy to welcome you home.” The one who spoke had a long stripe of ebony hair and silvery grey markings alongside his head, with a kind smile and jewel bright blue eyes. “Ne’tare, it has been long.”

Tarek let her go long enough to reach forward and clap his hand down on the man’s shoulder, and turned his gaze to the other, with sandy blonde hair and soft chocolatey eyes. “Te’sha, you look well.” There was a wealth of emotion in his voice, and she could see the happiness on the blonde’s face, smell the sincerity on him and Ne’tare, smell it on Tarek. “As do you,
Asha
. Your return has been most anticipated since we were given the joyous news.” She realized belatedly that the joyous news, was her. Tarek was smiling when he turned to her, his hand extended towards her and his pride evident when he introduced her. “You will have opportunity to meet everyone soon, but this is my one. Clary.” Both men bowed to her respectfully and their smiles brightened when their gaze touched on her hand in Tarek’s. “Te’sha and Ne’tare have been my trusted caretakers since I was a cub,” Ne’tare’s smile turned a bit mischevious, “Gods willing,
Asha
, we will serve you and your
Asha’na
in the same way. With your permission?”