The Tigrens' Glory (14 page)

“Neither,” Jareth replied, frowning in thought.  “When she said she’d prefer death over being examined by a physician, she meant it literally.  However, I wager that if you asked her
why
she feels that way, she’d be unable to give you more than a vague or superficial answer.  She might claim she has an unreasoning fear of doctors, or even that she doesn’t know why, both truths, but not the real truth.”

“Is she dangerous?” Lariah asked.  She didn’t think so, but she had to know for sure since she’d be in the same house with her children.

“No, Highness,” Jareth said.  “If I thought that, I’d have warned you before Prince Trey took her to your home.”

“Thank you, Jareth,” Lariah said. 

“One more thing,” Jareth said as Trey and Val both arrived with Suly. 

“Yes?” Lariah asked.

“Should anything happen to Glory while on board the
Ugaztun
, should she become ill or injured, tell Doc to test her before placing her in a healing tank.”

“Why?” Lariah asked, surprised again.  “Is something wrong with her?”

“No, not in the way you mean,” Jareth said.  “Her genetic code isn’t fully human.  Or perhaps she is just a different type of human.  Either way, I’m not certain I could heal her of more than a small injury, if that.  I don’t have enough knowledge of healing tanks to know if one would be safe for her, but Doc will be able to determine that easily enough should it be necessary.  He just needs to be warned ahead of time.”

“I’ll be sure that Doc is informed,” Trey promised.  “Of that, you can be sure, Jareth.”

***

Glory opened her eyes and looked around, wondering where she was.  She wasn’t afraid and had no sense that she was threatened or in danger, so some part of her, the
different
part of her, knew she was safe.  She sat up and inhaled deeply.  She was in the Dracons’ home. 

She tossed the covers back and climbed out of bed, taking a few minutes to stretch her body.  When every muscle felt warm and awake, she crossed the room to the sliding glass doors and looked outside. 

When she’d visited the Dracons her first day on Jasan, she’d entered and left by the front door.  She’d seen nothing of the back part of the house other than the high walls surrounding it, nor had she seen the children, though she had heard them in distant parts of the house.  Now she saw a large covered patio, a playground where three red haired girls played, and an enormous garden.  Beyond the walls she saw a small grove of trees and rolling pastures dotted with livestock grazing on the blue grass. 

Movement caught her eye and she shifted her gaze as Lariah stepped into view.  She watched her cross the patio to where the biggest dog Glory had ever seen sat watching over the children.  Lariah scratched the dog’s ears while she, too, watched her daughters.  An older woman placed a heavily laden tray on the patio table, and Lariah turned around and smiled.

“Thank you, Suly,” she said. 

Glory turned away from the door while the two women on the patio spoke.  She spotted an open door that led into a bathroom and, a few short minutes later she returned to the patio door and slid it open.

“Good afternoon, Glory,” Lariah said, turning at the sound of the patio door sliding open.

“Good afternoon, Lariah,” Glory replied.  “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.  I’d like that very much.”

Glory slid the door shut and took a chair across from Lariah at the patio table.  Lariah waved toward the tray.  “There’s coffee, juice, sandwiches and fruit,” she said.  “Help yourself.  If you’d prefer something different just let me know.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Glory said.  “Coffee and fruit sounds wonderful.”

“You look better than you did this morning,” Lariah observed.  “Do you feel better?”

“Yes, I do, thank you,” Glory said.  “I apologize for imposing on your last day with your children.”

Lariah smiled.  “Don’t worry about it, Glory.  It’s no imposition, and besides, you’ve been asleep all morning anyway.”

Glory sipped her coffee, turning slightly so she could see the children playing nearby.  “Your daughters are as beautiful as you,” she said. 

“That’s sweet of you,” Lariah said, blushing at the compliment.  Then she grinned.  “They also have my temper.”

“I did notice a bit of temper yesterday when Rollo showed up,” Glory said, returning Lariah’s grin.  “It was certainly provoked though.”

“Yeah,” Lariah admitted, wrinkling her nose.  “It takes a lot to make me angry, but once I’m there, look out.”

“I’m much that way myself,” Glory said.  She set her cup on the table, glanced at Lariah, then back at the fruit on her plate.  “Lariah, I know we’ve only just met, but I wonder if you would mind discussing a personal matter with me.”

Lariah watched Glory play with a slice of fruit, noted her averted eyes and the faint blush staining her cheeks.  “Of course I don’t mind, Glory.  I tend to know very quickly whether someone is friend or foe.  You are friend.  Or could be, if you want.”

Glory looked up to meet Lariah’s gaze directly.  “I’ve never had a friend before.  I’d be most honored to call you friend, Lariah Dracon.”

“I’m honored to be your friend, too,” Lariah said, hiding the rush of sympathy she felt at Glory’s words.  Instead, she smiled and said, “So, Friend, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Glory’s smile faded.  “I spent all of yesterday afternoon using the vid-terminal to research some of the subjects forbidden to women on Ramouri.  I was shocked by most of what I learned.”

Lariah refilled her coffee cup as she listened.  When Glory’s blush deepened, Lariah shifted her eyes to her daughters, pretending not to notice.

“I now know the mechanics of sex,” Glory said, finally.  “It makes me angry that young women of Ramouri have so little time to prepare themselves for something so…momentous as what I learned yesterday.  Traditionally, information such as that is provided only by older female relatives, and only on a woman’s wedding day, regardless of her age.”

Lariah nodded serenely, taking a slow sip of her coffee to help hide her shock.  “Go on,” she encouraged gently when she set the cup down.  She had no idea where Glory was going with this, but she intended to be sure her newest friend didn’t regret confiding in her. 

Glory took a long, slow deep breath.  She’d gotten through the worst of it, and Lariah hadn’t laughed or jeered at her.  Her unusual senses told her that Lariah was surprised, but she hid it well, and for that Glory was grateful.

“I Dream Walked last night,” Glory said.  Lariah nodded.  “I saw the Tigren as men for the first time.”  Glory paused, uncertain how to express what she wanted to say next. 

“And your physical reaction to them shocked your hair straight and curled your toes, is that about right?” Lariah asked with a smile that was both gentle and understanding. 

Glory surprised herself by returning Lariah’s smile with a grin.  “You could say that, yes.  I had many unusual sensations.”

“I can imagine,” Lariah said.  “Actually, I don’t have to imagine.  I remember the first time I experienced those
unusual
sensations
myself quite vividly.  I assume you found them to be attractive?”

“Very,” Glory said with a sigh that Lariah couldn’t quite decipher.  It seemed a cross between admiration and regret.  “They’re very tall, even taller than your Rami, but built much the same way, very strong, very muscular.  Never have I seen men so...so...
big
.”  That wasn’t the word Glory was searching for, but it would have to do. 

“Was that the first time you ever felt a physical attraction like that?” Lariah asked.

“Yes,” Glory said.  “To be honest, I didn’t know what was happening to me at first.  I thought perhaps my body was having an adverse reaction to Dream Walking.”

Lariah took another sip of her coffee, once again fighting to hide her surprise.  She’d been inexperienced when she’d met the Dracons, but even she had recognized her body’s responses for what they were.  Could Glory really be that innocent?  She met the other woman’s worried gaze, and saw that yes, she was.  She also saw that there was more to it than that. 

“It bothers you that you had a sexual response to them.”

“Very much,” Glory admitted.  “It is my hope that you can tell me how to prevent such reactions from occurring in future.”

This time Lariah didn’t try to hide her surprise.  “Why do you want to do that?”

“Because I think they already have an Arima,” Glory said.

“Did you ask them?”

“I did,” Glory said with a grimace.  “They couldn’t remember having one, but neither could they say with certainty that they didn’t.”

Lariah thought about that for a long moment.  She had a strong feeling that Glory was the Tigrens’ Arima, but she couldn’t know for sure.  For Glory’s sake, it was best to keep her suspicions to herself and let the matter play out between them as it would.  “I don’t really know that you can prevent the reactions and feelings you have to them, Glory.  Did they have a response to you?”

“I’m afraid so,” Glory replied, dropping her eyes.

Lariah waited, but apparently Glory had no intention of saying more on that particular subject.  “I’ll do some research on the matter,” she said finally.  “If I find an answer for you, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you, Lariah,” Glory said.  “I appreciate it.”

“I haven’t done anything yet,” Lariah said. 

“You’ve listened to me, and spoken to me as a friend,” Glory said.  “To me, that’s a great deal.”  She pushed her chair back.  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll sleep some more.  I still feel quite tired.”

“Of course,” Lariah said.  “Jareth said you would need lots of sleep to regain your strength.  If you need anything at all, just let me know.”

“I will, thanks,” Glory said before returning to the guest room.  She closed the door behind her and pulled the drapes shut, blocking the sunlight.  Then she climbed into bed and closed her eyes. 

Chapter Twelve

Xaqana-Ti tapped one foreleg against her control board as she considered Xi-Kung’s latest general report.  Near the end, he mentioned that the
Megalodon
, a new Marrazon battleship, was seen in Terien space.  Something about that tickled her inner sense of impending danger, but she couldn’t think why. 

She recalled another report from Xi-Kung a couple of weeks past which contained a brief line indicating that Jung Del of Marrazo was visiting Jasan aboard his personal yacht, the
Predator
.  At the time she’d been mildly irritated by Xi-Kung’s habit of including so much trivial data in his reports.

She wasn’t irritated by it now, though.  She was…concerned?  No.  She was
worried
.  But why?  It was ridiculous to think that Jung Del had found a way to travel from Jasan to Marrazo, and back again in so short a time.  He probably had the
Megalodon
delivered to him on Jasan.  That was the simplest, and most logical explanation.  It was nothing to worry about.  But, for some reason, that didn’t
feel
right.  Why not?  There was something else.  Something she wasn’t remembering.

She pulled up a list of incoming reports going back several days and scrolled through them until one caught her eye.  It was the most recent report from her spy on Earth, Za-Marliq.  In it, he mentioned that Jung Del was visiting that planet aboard the
Megalodon,
and had made an appointment to see the Director in two days’ time.  If both reports were correct, Jung Del was in Terien space less than two full days after leaving Earth.

Now
that
was alarming.

But, no.  There had to be a mistake.  Not even the Xanti could make a journey of that distance so quickly, and they had the ability to create Doors, their own private jump points.  She never understood why they couldn’t put Doors anywhere and everywhere, but then, she didn’t understand how Doors worked to begin with.  Nor did she care to.  They worked.  They had limitations.  She needed no more knowledge than that.

None of that mattered.

What mattered was the accuracy of the information in the two reports, one from Xi-Kung, the other from Za-Linq.  Had one of them made an error in identifying the
Megalodon
?  Or had Marrazo discovered a new jump point?  That was a startling thought. 

Not for the first time, Xaqana-Ti paused to consider whether or not to share her secret knowledge with the Queen Mother.  When Xi-Kung had finally told her that the Jasani had discovered their Doors, and found a way to identify, and destroy, their ships coming through them, she’d been so stunned she’d nearly thanked him.  After all, without his warning, she wouldn’t have gotten rid of Jasan in time.  And that was precisely why she hesitated to tell the Queen Mother what she knew.

She couldn’t admit her knowledge without revealing that it was the very reason she’d dumped Jasan onto her sister.  That, in itself, wasn’t an issue.  The problem was that she’d made certain statements to the Queen Mother that weren’t exactly true.  The moment
that
was revealed, her strand would be cut from the web.  She had far too many plans for the future to allow that to happen so no, she wouldn’t share that knowledge as yet.

Still, Marrazo was close friends with Jasan, so if one had a new jump point, it had to be assumed that the other knew about it.  That, in combination with the Jasani’s discovery of their Doors, was disturbing indeed.  Not disturbing enough for her to want to risk her own life, but enough for her to turn some of her own resources to investigating the matter a bit more closely.  Now that she no longer had to concern herself with Jasan or Onddo, she could easily spare a ship or two.  Besides, if they had new jump points, she wanted that knowledge for the Xanti.  Of course, once she had it, she’d have to destroy Marrazo to prevent the information from spreading, but that was easily done.  In fact, the thought of eradicating Marrazo gave her a pleasant sensation in her middle section that she’d missed of late. 

Making up her mind, she quickly began composing a message to Za-Marliq, remembering to address it to his Earth cover name, Mark Baza, demanding more details regarding Jung Del’s visit.  Once she’d sent that, she composed another message to Xi-Kung.  Imagining her Leg Leader’s reaction to his new orders would have made her smile had she been capable of such an expression.