The Tigrens' Glory (16 page)

She was dressed and ready to go by the time the steward Lariah had promised knocked on her door.  Years of self control insured that no one would ever guess how difficult it was for her to step out in public with her scandalously short hair woven into a single thick braid hanging to her waist. 

Glory put all thoughts of her hair from her mind and paid close attention to her surroundings as she followed the young man up the hall to the elevators and then through another series of halls.  She marked the location of the cafeteria, a long row of specialized training rooms that were of particular interest to her, the ship’s store, and the Dracons’ private dining room.  She frowned as they passed a door with a sign labeling it the
Roar Room
, wondering what that could be, but she didn’t question the steward who seemed intent upon getting her to her destination as quickly as possible.  Luckily she was in excellent physical shape so she didn’t arrive out of breath, even though a bit of tiredness from her first Dream Walk still lingered. 

The Dracons welcomed her graciously, putting her at ease without obvious effort as they always did.  “I’m sorry that the Lobos aren’t here,” Lariah said.  “Saige was worn out so they decided to dine in their room.”

“I hope she’s feeling all right,” Glory said.  She’d been shocked that a woman so far along in her pregnancy was joining them on a military expedition.  Lariah had explained that it was necessary, and although she didn’t fully understand the reasons, it wasn’t her place, as a guest, to ask questions.  “As tired as I was I can’t imagine how exhausted she must have been.”

“She’s fine,” Lariah said with a laugh.  “Her Rami wouldn’t
allow
her to be anything else.”

“That’s an interesting word,” Glory said, surprising herself when she arched one brow playfully at Lariah.  “Arima Saige Lobo did not strike me as the type of woman who would enjoy hearing that word overmuch.” 

“She’s not,” Lariah grinned, happy to see Glory in this mood.  “When she’s not waddling around filled with babies, Saige is a warrior, like you, Glory.  A very skilled one.  I promise you, the Lobos use that word with her at their own peril.”

“They wish only to see that she is well cared for,” Trey said mildly as he pulled a chair out for Glory.  She sat with a polite nod of thanks, then nodded again, this time to Val at his silent offer of wine.  “They are not yet over the scare she gave them a few months back.” 

“That was hardly her fault,” Lariah said as Garen seated her across from Glory.  “They need to get over it.”

“Of course it was not her fault,
Sharali
,” Garen said.  “Nevertheless, I doubt they will
get over it
for quite some time.”

“What happened?” Glory asked.  “If you don’t mind my asking, of course.”

“About three months ago it was discovered that the special prenatal vitamins manufactured for our women had been poisoned,” Garen said with a distinct growl in his voice.

“Who would do such a thing?” she asked, shocked.

“The Xanti of course,” Trey said, his usually cool blue-green eyes smoldering with barely leashed fury at the memory.  “They have attacked our women, our children, and even our unborn, but they have yet to attack our warriors.  That alone tells you much about them.”

Glory nodded.  That the Xanti were without honor was well known, but this seemed a new low even for them.  “Saige took the poisoned vitamins?”

“Yes, she did,” Lariah said.  “Clan Jasani have an extremely fast regeneration rate, so it’s almost impossible to poison us.  But Saige was five months along at the time, and her sons hadn’t yet developed that ability.  The poison didn’t harm Saige, but it burned the babies, nearly killing them.”  Lariah blinked rapidly to control the tears that threatened whenever she thought too closely on what Saige and her unborn sons had gone through.

“They’re all right now though, aren’t they?” Glory asked, certain it was so, since Saige was still very pregnant.

“Yes, thanks only to Dr. Honey,” Garen said.  “She’s blessed with the ability to heal the unborn, a gift beyond measure to all of us.”

“Are all Arimas so strongly gifted?” Glory asked.

“All Arimas that we know of to date have some sort of psychic ability,” Lariah replied.  “Whether psychic talent is a requirement for an Arima isn’t known for certain yet, but it seems to be so.”

Glory frowned, wondering why they wouldn’t know something like that.  She started to ask, but Garen spoke first.

“Lariah told us that you were able to speak with the Tigren during your last Dream Walk,” he said.  “How did that go?”

“In some ways very well, and in others, not so well,” Glory replied, glad he’d opened this subject.  “They don’t trust me because there are too many questions I cannot answer.”

“Such as?” Lariah asked.

“Jasan isn’t a world they’ve heard of, nor do they call themselves
Jasani
.  They want to know why their people no longer live on their own world.  They want to know how much time has passed since the Tigren were lost, and there’ve been only seven clans.  They want to know how it’s possible that they could not know where they are, how a lot of time could have passed without their knowledge, and why we’d think the Xanti have them.  They know that the Xanti come from a different galaxy, and they don’t understand how it’s possible that we could reach them in only a week’s time.  In short, I don’t know the answers to most of the questions they ask of me.”  Glory paused to sip her wine.  She didn’t like having to ask for information that they hadn’t volunteered, but she didn’t have much choice. 

“If we’re going to help them, I first have to find out where they are and what’s happening to them.  I’m probably going to need their cooperation for that, which means I need their trust.  But, I can’t gain their trust because I can’t answer their questions.”

Glory was surprised when Lariah leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared at Garen.  Her expression could only be described as mutinous, and Glory had to fight to hide her smile at the sight of the petite woman standing up to her enormous men without a hint of fear or trepidation.

At that moment the door opened and several stewards entered with rolling carts filled with covered platters of food.  Several minutes later, after they’d been served and Lariah assured the head steward that they’d call if they needed anything further, they were left alone again.

When the door closed behind them, Garen picked up his wineglass, then put it down with a sigh.  “There are some things we Jasani keep to ourselves, Glory, so please don’t take it personally.  I see now that we’ll have to make an exception in this case and share those things with you.”

“I would never ask for what is obviously private information if I didn’t believe it to be critically important, Highness.  I swear that whatever you tell me will be revealed to no one other than the Tigren, and even then, only if I feel it’s necessary.”

“We thank you for your promise, Glory,” Garen said.  Then he glanced at Trey, who nodded, and Val, who shrugged lightly before nodding as well. 

“Our original home world was called Ugaztun,” Garen began.

***

Several hours later Glory changed into a pair of silky lounging pants and matching camisole, precisely positioned her sword beside the bed, and slipped a couple of throwing knives beneath a pillow.  She’d found some candles in the bathroom, two of which now filled the room with a flickering light and soothing herbal scent.  There were no cushions in the room, so she picked up the mosaic from the bedside table where she’d left it, and climbed onto the bed.  She moved to the center and sat cross legged, setting the mosaic in front of her.

She was a little nervous about facing the Tigren again, which annoyed her.  There was no reason to be nervous.  They were just men.  Very large, very beautiful men, granted, but still men.  She was the one doing the Dream Walking, which meant she was in charge.  If they did anything she didn’t like, she’d leave. 

With a short nod to herself, she rolled her shoulders, placed her hands on her knees, closed her eyes and reached for the
Garra-Atea. 
She was again surprised at how quickly and easily she entered the meditative state.  Even when she’d practiced meditation on a daily basis she’d never done it so quickly.  She brushed aside the wayward thoughts and imagined the dream valley she’d created, pleased when it instantly appeared around her, perfect in every detail. 

She called the Tigren, who surprised her by appearing at the far end of the valley almost immediately.  She forced herself to remain seated as they walked toward her in hopes it would be more difficult for one of them to try to kiss her.  Kyerion’s knowing smile was irritating, but they kept their distance, lowering themselves to the grass as they had before.

“We were worried about you, Glory,” Cade said.  She was relieved that Cade was now as solid as Kirk, though of the three, Kyerion still appeared the most solid and the strongest. 

“Time passes strangely for us,” Kyerion said.  “How long have you been gone?”

“Two days and one night,” she replied.  “I needed time to regain my strength.”

“I thank you for your sacrifice, and your generosity,” Cade said, smiling at her in a way that made her want to smile back.  “You are even more beautiful than I remember from your dreams, Glory.  And I like your outfit very much.”

Glory was so startled at being called
beautiful
that it took a moment for his last comment to register.  When it did, she glanced down at herself, horrified to find that she’d forgotten to imagine herself fully dressed and armed.  The pale blue silk lounge set was far more revealing than she was comfortable with, but she couldn’t attempt to change it now.  If she tried and failed, she’d be even more embarrassed than she already was.  She looked at Cade, swallowed hard, nodded her thanks for the compliment as though she appeared dressed in pajamas before men all the time, then forced herself to look at Kirk.

“I now understand why you’re suspicious of me, Kirk,” she said.  “I told Prince Garen that my inability to answer your questions was a problem, so he agreed to share with me a few things that aren’t public knowledge concerning the history of your people.  The first thing I have to tell you will be difficult, and very shocking, to hear, I’m afraid.”  She paused a moment, and took a deep breath.  “Both Narrastia and Ugaztun have been destroyed.”

“Destroyed?” Kirk exclaimed.  “By whom?  Why?”  

“It was long thought that Narrasti destroyed Ugaztun, and that Ugaztun destroyed Narrasti in return,” Glory said, trying hard to leave things like numbers of years out of it for the time being.  “It is now known for certain that the Xanti destroyed both worlds.”

“Our home is no more?” Cade whispered in shocked disbelief.  “Our family?  Everyone, everything is gone?”

“I’m sorry,” Glory said, the pain in Cade’s voice causing her heart to ache.

“I don’t understand,” Kyerion said.  “Narrasti and Ugaztun have ever been brothers.  Why would anyone suspect that they’d destroy each other?”

“The Xanti,” Glory said.

“I see,” Kyerion said.  “Please continue, Glory.  I know your strength has limits, and we can discuss these matters among ourselves when you’re gone.  The more time we spend here, the easier it becomes for us.”

“You spend time here when I’m gone?” she asked in surprise, wondering how that could be possible.

“Not exactly,” Kyerion replied.  “When you’re not here, we recreate the likeness of this valley for ourselves.  We’ve been working to become strong enough to prevent you from giving us too much of your own energy.”

“But...how?” Glory asked. 

“We are Druids,” Kyerion replied, as though that explained everything.  “More than that, we are High Druids, the strongest of our people.  Only High Druids may wear the
Triskele
upon
their flesh.”  He brushed the gold spiral on his cheek with a fingertip.  “Do you see that the spiral has three arms, each made up of three curved lines, for a total of nine?”  Glory nodded.  “It’s the mark of the Druids, and honors the Creators of all.  It represents our vow to place the lives of our people, of all nine clans, above our own.”  Kyerion smiled at Glory’s surprised expression.  “Thanks to you, we are regaining much of what we’ve lost.  We now remember who, and what, we are.  There is much still missing, but the more time we spend together here, in your valley, the stronger we become.”

“That reminds me,” Cade said.  “What is the purpose of the door?”

“The door?” Glory asked, her entire body going cold.

“Yes, that one over there,” he said, pointing behind her. 

Reluctantly, Glory turned her head to look over her shoulder.  Sure enough, the door was there, right down to the last detail.  She turned back to face the Tigren, scrambling for an explanation.  She had no intention of telling them the true purpose of the door.  But neither could she lie.  “It’s personal,” she said quietly.  “Please don’t open it.”

The three of them stared at her unblinkingly for long moments.  She stared back, refusing to blink.  Kyerion lowered his chin a fraction of an inch.  “We will do as you ask, of course,” he said.  “Please, continue telling us about our home world.”  Glory released a long, slow breath of relief and picked up where she’d left off. 

“Some of your people escaped in hastily constructed pods before Ugaztun was destroyed.  A few of those pods landed on Jasan, and they made it their home.”

“You told us before that there are no Tigren, or Owlfen,” Kirk said.  “Is that why?  Were there none of our clan in the escape pods?”

“There weren’t, but that’s not why,” Glory replied.  “There hadn’t been Tigren, or Owlfen, for a very long time before the destruction of Ugaztun.”

“How long?” Kyerion asked.

“It depends,” Glory hedged. 

“What does it depend upon?” Kyerion asked patiently.  Glory bit her lip and dropped her eyes. 

“Why are you so hesitant to tell us this?” Cade asked.

“I’m worried that it will be too much of a shock,” she admitted.

“It is our task to protect you, not yours to protect us,” Cade said.