Tara The Great [Nuworld 2] (53 page)

Tara decided she didn’t want Darius to lead the conversation with the beautiful

woman standing in front of them, no matter her modest attire. She guessed that the

young lady was looking for a place to live, and she had high standards when it came to

finding that place. After all, the Neurian woman had lived with a leader in her own

nation. Tara didn’t want the woman getting any ideas that Darius could be used in

similar fashion.

“So what brings you to our humble home?” Tara asked, cocking her head. This

should be good.

“I agreed to bring the priests here,” she said calmly.

Her face looked incredibly humble. Too humble. Tara remembered the woman’s

ability to present a non-threatening attitude, and didn’t trust her.

“Now you will help prepare their temple?” Darius asked. He leaned back in his

chair, studying the Neurian woman. His face looked hard.

Tara wondered if he, also, did not trust her. Or was he preoccupied with self-

control?

She looked back at Tealah for the answer.

“I guess so, for as long as they need me,” Tealah answered. She looked as if she

wanted to add something, but didn’t.

“We’ll try to visit you, we will. Let us know if you need anything.” Darius’ face

showed no expression.

Tealah raised an eyebrow. He’d just dismissed her and she seemed surprised.

For her part, Tara hoped the Neurian would not say anything that might

incriminate her as an accomplice in kidnapping Tigo. Tara didn’t want the woman held

for questioning or detained for any reason.

Tealah lowered her head, giving a very slight bow. Not too humble. Then she

turned and left with the priests.

Tara flipped her legs over the side of her chair and dangled her feet next to Darius’

arm. “We did it.” She smiled and leaned her head back on the opposite arm. The

woman was out of her house, and with her staying on the Runner clan site with the

priests, Tara knew she could keep a close eye on her.

“The first of many such events,” Darius agreed.

“Does her presence here bother you?” Tara leaned forward and pulled her legs

down off the side of the chair.

He looked at her sideways—a slow, long look—as if he was trying to decipher the

meaning behind her question. Finally, he sighed and ran his fingers through his thick

curls. “Yes, she bothers me.” He glanced out a large window overlooking the front

porch. “I know her kind all too well, as you know. She’ll use whatever she can to get

what she wants, she will. And she knows what she’s got, I’m thinking.”

Tara wasn’t sure, but she thought he groaned at that comment. Tealah had tempted

him. Tara knew it. She ground her teeth and decided she’d put a few soldiers around

that new temple and give them specific instructions to keep their eye on Tealah.

Darius pulled his comm from his pocket and wrapped it around his ear. “Geeves,”

he said, without ceremony, and within the minute, the glass doors opened and Darius’

first assistant entered the room.

“You have compiled a list of people imprisoned by the Lunians?” Darius asked.

“Yes, m’lord.” Geeves didn’t look at Tara, but approached and handed a landlink to

Darius. “Several of the women have turned up pregnant, they have.” Geeves stood next

to Darius now and tapped a stocky finger on the screen that Darius held. “I made a list

of them here, like you asked.”

“Have two guards escort us and prepare our gliders. We are ready to visit each of

them.”

Tara and Darius flew into town, with the two guards following, and went from

house to house, checking on the condition of the recently impregnated women.

“Odd how chilly the air is considering the bright sun,” Tara commented after the

two left the last house on their list.

“It seems rather warm to me, it does.” Darius wrinkled his brow at her. “Are you

sure you feel okay?”

“I feel fine.” Tara crossed her arms across her waist as a chilled breeze brushed

through her hair.

She notified Jolee they were on their way to the clan site, and the two left on their

gliders, deciding to drive the distance, instead of fly. Tara wanted to see how the

Runners progressed cleaning up after the ceremony for Patha; her view would be better

from the ground.

Twenty or so Runners and Gothman worked at tearing down wooden tables and

chairs from the burial ceremony. Children and dogs in the open field looked for

anything left on the ground.

Tara and Darius parked amidst the activity. As Tara climbed off her glider, another

cold breeze wrapped itself around her.

“Hello there,” Jolee said as she trudged through trampled grass. “I hear we’re going

to have a Crator temple.” Jolee handed a disc to Tara.

“Yes, four priests from Southland. How’s that going?”

“Well, we’re working on the trailer, so right now I have them in one of the storage

tents.” Jolee added quickly, “It was empty.” She pointed to the disc as the three walked

toward the rows of trailers. “You’ll find current lists of all Runners still convalescing

from the Lunian ordeal. We don’t have any confirmed pregnancies, but you’ll note I’ve

also identified those still suffering from shock.”

Tara glanced down at her screen. Syra was included in the latter group, along with

five others. “Is this everyone?”

“Yes. Everyone else reported for duty this morning.”

That was a Runner for you. Tara smiled to herself. We’re a race not to be conquered. She

handed the flat landlink to Darius. “We’ll see Syra last.”

When they arrived at Balbo’s trailer, no one answered the door. Tara opened it

slowly and said, “Hello.”

No answer.

“She must be asleep,” Tara said quietly as she opened the door and the two of them

entered into the vacant living room. “Good grief, it’s cold in here.”

“It’s not cold.” Darius frowned at her. “You really are cold, aren’t you?” He took off

his leather jacket to wrap around her shoulders. “Go see how she’s doing. I’ll wait out

here, I will.”

Tara nodded and walked down the dark hallway. Syra’s bedroom was even darker,

and all Tara could see was a figure wrapped in blankets on the bed.

She knew what her cousin had been through. The memories of her vision haunted

her as she sat on the bed next to Syra and stroked her hair. “I wish I could take all the

pain and ugly memories away,” Tara whispered.

Syra groaned and rolled over. “Tara,” she whispered and lifted her hand out from

under the blanket.

Tara held Syra’s hand and noticed her bruised wrist and another long bruise going

up her forearm. Tara shuddered, and even Darius’ jacket didn’t keep out the cold. Then

she noticed red, purple and green marks around her niece’s neck. Her vision flooded

back into her thoughts, and she remembered Syra being yanked by the chain secured

around her neck every time she fought off her rapist. Tara’s stomach doubled over. Oh

Syra, I’m so sorry you went through this. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered out loud. “I’m

here, and you’re going to be just fine.”

Syra squeezed Tara’s hand and didn’t let go. Even as her breathing settled back into

sleep, her grasp didn’t lessen.

Tara sat in the dark and studied Syra’s room.

Something like laughter caused her to look down at Syra. Her niece breathed

deeply and her face looked relaxed.

“Tara,” a voice whispered.

Tara looked around the room quickly, working at the same time to free her hand

from Syra’s. The room was so cold she could see her breath through the darkness.

“We want to thank you, Tara.” The whispered sound came again.

It almost sounded like several voices speaking at the same time. Tara squinted her

eyes and moved to the door. Opening it, she allowed some light into the room. After

glancing around her, Tara confirmed that she and Syra were alone in the space.

“You have given us the tool we need, Tara,” the voices whispered. “We’ll grow

strong and multiply, just as it’s written. No one will be able to resist us. All will join.”

There was laughter, high-pitched and eerie. “Doesn’t that scare you, Tara?”

“How can I be scared of something I can’t see?” Tara answered softly. “Who are

you?”

“We’re here because of you. Our strength is because of you. We will let you name

us. Then all credit will be yours, Tara the Great.” The laughter became hysterical.

Tara quickly turned on a lamp sitting on the dresser.

Syra slept soundly with blankets cocooned around her. The laughter continued, but

Syra didn’t seem to hear it, or else she simply slept through it.

Was this another vision? But how could one have a vision, if there was nothing to

see?

“You’re evil. Go away,” Tara ordered.

“Then you’ve named evil.” Now the voices chuckled impishly. “Certainly you can

name us better than that.”

“Where are you?”

“We’ll be there soon. But for now, we will wait. It will only make us stronger,” the

voices hissed.

“Only a coward hides like this.” Tara studied the room. The windows were closed

and the curtains drawn. There was no closet. Certainly, this was a spirit, like the dog-

woman. She doubted Crator sent this spirit, though. She lifted the landlink from the

inside pocket of Darius’ jacket, just to eliminate any other options, and set it to scan the

area. Nothing unusual was detected.

“Is cowardice a trait of evil?” the voices cooed.

“Leave now. There’s no room for you here.”

“Oh, there is plenty of room for us here.” The chuckle that followed curdled her

blood. “When the Waiting is over, you’ll see, Tara the Great.”

The Waiting? What did she wait for? How long was she supposed to wait, and how

would she know when it was over?

She stood in the middle of the room, her back to the open door, staring at the empty

room. Minutes passed and there were no more voices. She felt rather warm in Darius’

jacket and pulled it off. Footsteps behind her caused her to turn as Darius came down

the hallway.

“How’s it going?” Darius squinted, then gently took her arm and led her down the