The Tigrens' Glory (19 page)

Twenty minutes and several practice rounds later, Aisling was smiling at Glory in approval, and the rest of the women were exclaiming in awe.  Glory’s accuracy wasn’t quite as precise as Aisling’s, but it was close.  An astounding feat considering the
sai
was a new weapon to her.  “I’ve
got
to have some of these,” Glory said with unbridled excitement.  “Where can I get them?”

“I believe the
Ugaztun
has a weapon fabricator on board,” Aisling said, turning to Lariah for confirmation.

“Yes, we do,” she replied.  “All you need is the specifications, and the fabricator will make them.”

“Did those feel right to you?” Aisling asked Glory.  “Do you think you’d like them heavier, bigger, lighter?”

“No, these are perfect,” Glory said. 

“Excellent,” Aisling said.  “I’ll give you the specs before you leave.  When yours are finished, you can pop over here and we’ll practice with them.”

“You are very generous, Aisling,” Glory said.  “I would enjoy that very much.”

“You’re welcome,” Aisling said.  “It’ll be great fun for me to have someone else who uses
sai
.  In fact, would you like to try sparring with them?  See if you like using in that manner as well?”

Glory’s bronze eyes lit up, then she frowned as she looked down at Aisling’s bulging tummy.  “Are you sure it’s safe for you?”

“Perfectly,” Aisling said.  “I do this every day, and I’m always careful.  I’d never do anything to risk harm to my babies.”

Glory nodded and the two women went to a matted area at one side of the room.  Glory had no trouble adjusting to the differences between knives and
sai
, and found she liked them for sparring even more than she did for throwing.  When they were finished, Summer asked Glory to spar with her since they were the only two women who used swords.  Aisling spent some time with Faith, teaching her to throw knives. 

Lariah and Saige watched Glory and Summer flow back and forth with their wooden practice swords as though they were doing a perfectly choreographed dance.  A few minutes later Aisling and Faith joined them, all of them stunned by the beauty of the two women.  Summer was brilliant with a sword, but it was easy to see that Glory was just as good.  When they stepped back and bowed to each other, calling a draw to their match, the other women clapped and cheered for both of them.  Glory flushed with pleasure. 

“Faith,” Lariah said.  “Would you mind asking Bubbles to shift for us?  I mean, if it’s safe.  I’d love to see her.”

“Bubbles would never hurt anyone that wasn’t attacking someone she cared about,” Faith said.  “Let me ask her.  Um, if you don’t mind, Aisling.”

“No, I don’t mind at all,” Aisling said.  “I’m dying to see her myself.  She’s so darn cute it’s kind of hard to imagine her being anything else.”

“Bubbles, would you like to shift for a minute so everyone can see you?” Faith asked the little strip of red fur on her shoulder.  Bubbles raised herself up and gave Faith a few popping kisses on her cheek, then she leapt to the floor and shifted.  Just like that, between one second and the next, the little strip of fur became an eight foot tall creature with six sets of claws, a mouth full of fangs, and the same wayward red fur and oval eyes. 

Lariah laughed and reached out fearlessly to pet the
raktsasa
.  “You’re so cute, Bubbles,” she said.  “Big or small, you’re still adorable.”

Glory stared at Lariah, wondering if she’d lost her mind.  When the other women closed in to pet the
raktsasa
, Glory took a deep breath and joined them.  When Bubbles made her familiar bubble popping noises and began to purr, Glory burst into laughter, shocking everyone.  It was the first laugh any of them had ever heard from her.  When all eyes turned to her, she shrugged.  “Like Lariah said, she’s adorable.”

Chapter Seventeen

Kyerion stood with his face tilted toward the sun, his eyes closed as he savored the sensation of warmth.  He smiled to himself.  Glory’s valley was wonderfully detailed and precise, and their recreation of it in her absence exact.

“Brother, I would speak to you of Glory,” Kirk asked.

Kyerion opened his eyes and turned to face his middle brother.  “Of course.”

“I believe her when she says she’s not Klanaren, yet at the same time, everything in me insists that she is meant to be ours.  How can this be possible?”

“I don’t know,” Kyerion replied.  “I feel as you do, Kirk, and I’m equally confused.  For now, I suggest we take what solace we can find in Glory herself, and not worry too much about the rest.”

“What of her belief that we already have an Arima?” Cade asked as he walked toward them.

“I know we waited a very long time for an Arima,” Kirk said.  “That is one memory that never left me.  Now, as we grow stronger, my memories become more detailed, but there is no memory of finding the one woman meant for us.  Nor do I remember any female tigrenca with orange stripes and blue eyes who was important to us.”

“Nor do I,” Kyerion said.  “Even more telling is the fact that we’re strongly attracted to Glory even without the influence of her pheromones.  Such a thing shouldn’t be possible if we already had an Arima.”

“Do you think that she lied to us?” Kirk asked.

“No,” Kyerion replied.  “I’m quite certain she’s told us the truth as she knows it.  On the other hand, I trust my Druid senses which, like our memories, grow ever stronger.  They are telling me that Glory is ours.”

“Yes, my senses tell me the same thing,” Kirk replied.  “Just as they tell me that her claim that we’ve been imprisoned for seven thousand years is true, though that, too, seems impossible.  How can we not be completely insane?  How is it that we possess enough mental acuity and power to recreate this imaginary valley and meet here, even block Glory’s flow of energy, yet we cannot awaken ourselves?  None of this makes sense.”

“We are all of us struggling to understand,” Kyerion said.  “Glory included.” 

“What does she need to understand?” Kirk demanded in frustration.  “She’s not trapped in her own mind with no knowledge of how to free herself.”

“For a High Druid you listen with your ears overmuch,” Kyerion said dryly.

“I ask that you be kinder to her,” Cade said to Kirk.  “I know that she appears cool and aloof on the outside, but I have more of her energy within me then either of you, and I see her more clearly.  She is a woman of great courage and enormous heart, who has learned to keep her emotions deeply hidden.”

“Why?” Kirk asked.  “Courage and heart are admirable traits.  Why would any woman wish to hide them?”

“I don’t know, Kirk,” Cade said.  “Perhaps we should ask her.”

“I’d like to see beyond that door,” Kyerion said, glancing at the door that they’d replicated along with the rest of Glory’s valley.  “It’s very size and strength trouble me.”

“Why not open it?” Kirk asked.

Kyerion stared at his middle brother, who frowned.  After a long moment he dropped his eyes and shook his head at himself.  “All right, that was not a well thought-out question.  As this is a copy of her valley, we cannot replicate that which we have no knowledge of.  Of course, we could open the door when we’re in Glory’s valley.”

“I have already told her that we wouldn’t do that,” Kyerion reminded him, turning to stare at the door thoughtfully.  “Something tells me that door is important.  It worries me.”

Kirk and Cade looked at their eldest brother in surprise, but put whatever comments they may have had aside when they noticed a strange rippling effect in their surroundings.  The valley itself seemed to shift and waver, their only warning before Glory suddenly appeared a few feet from where they stood.  Once again she wore the black leather pants, vest, boots and gloves that she’d worn the first time they’d joined her in the dream valley.  The only difference was that in addition to her curved sword, the belt that had contained throwing knives now held
sai
.

“Hello,” she said, the undisguised warmth and pleasure in her voice capturing their full, undivided attention. 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Kyerion said, bowing slightly, his eyes drinking her in.  He found that he had to struggle to keep his hands at his sides when what he really wanted to do was reach out and stroke her satin skin before claiming another kiss, a deeper, more passionate kiss than the first one.  But, he didn’t want to make her nervous again, so he gritted his teeth and kept his hands at his sides.

“We find that we like this valley of yours very much,” Cade said.  “It’s strangely colored to our eyes, but soothing nonetheless.”

“I found the lavender skies and blue grass of Jasan to be strange when I first arrived there as well,” Glory admitted.  “But it grows on you rather quickly.  Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes,” Kyerion said.  “It seems to us that you’ve been gone for a long time.”

“It’s been two days,” Glory said.  “I’m sorry.  I tried really hard to come last night, but I couldn’t make it work.  I don’t know why.  I didn’t have any trouble tonight, though.”

“You said before that Dream Walking is new to you, right?” Kirk asked.

“Yes,” Glory said.  “This is only my third successful attempt.”

“It takes enormous amounts of energy to do what you’re doing,” Kirk said.  “You’ll get stronger each time, so long as you don’t push too hard and drain yourself.”

“Dr. Honey said much the same thing,” Glory said.  “Maybe I’ll be able to do it again tomorrow night.”

“It’s possible,” Kirk agreed. 

“Is there a particular reason why you were waiting for me?” she asked.  “Is there something wrong?”

“No, it’s just that you’re our only contact with reality,” Kyerion said.  “While we were waiting, it occurred to me that we know nothing of you.  Will you tell us of yourself?”

Glory tensed.  She’d never been asked to talk about herself before, and the very idea worried her.  There were many things she couldn’t talk about, and even more that she had no desire to talk about.  She didn’t have the first idea what to say, or where to start.  “What would you like to know?” she asked warily.

Kyerion had no trouble sensing Glory’s surprise, confusion, and distress, though she gave no hint of her feelings in her face, eyes, or tone.  When the warmth she’d displayed moments earlier slid smoothly behind her cool mask, he nearly growled out loud in frustration.

The ability to hide one’s thoughts and feelings was a valuable asset for any warrior, as he well knew.  Glory was
too
good at hiding, though.  Why would such a strong, intelligent, compassionate, and beautiful woman hide herself so completely?

“Whatever you’re willing to tell us, we will gladly listen to,” Kyerion said smoothly, betraying no hint of his own thoughts.  “You’re the only bright spot in our existence, Glory.  We would know more of you, if you’re willing to share.”

It was obvious that Glory didn’t want to talk about herself, but Kyerion had inadvertently hit on the one reason that had the power to compel her to do as he’d asked.  She would do it for
them
, because
they
needed it. 

“I’m from a world called Ramouri,” she began.  “Ramouri is a mix of the new and the old, which turns out to be a good thing for the four of us.  When I was about twelve, it occurred to me that if you were real, as I’d always believed, and came from a different world, as I also believed, we would not speak the same language.  It was a compelling argument.  How could you speak a language that only native Ramourians speak?  Most people in the Thousand Worlds speak Standard now, but on Ramouri we keep to the old ways where we can, and all children are taught the old language.  But, I knew that you were not Ramourian.”

“We have never heard of Ramouri,” Kirk said.  “I hear us speak and know we speak our own language.”

“Exactly my point,” Glory said.  “You speak your language and I speak mine, yet we understand each other.  It is the same now, this moment, as it was in my dreams.  I am speaking what I know to be Ramourian, and you are speaking whatever language you spoke seven thousand years ago on
Ugaztun
.  It’s an inconsistency that made me doubt the truth of your existence, and it stuck with me even after I began my search for you.”

“Have you solved that mystery?” Kyerion asked.

“Yes, I have,” Glory replied.  “After I reached Jasan, I heard Prince Garen say something in their old language, an endearment he calls his Arima, and I understood it, which surprised me.  The next day I spent time with many different people, and heard several more expressions that I understood.  I did some research on the vid-terminal in my guest house and discovered that the two languages are very nearly one and the same.  There are some small differences here and there, but the old tongues of Ugaztun and Ramouri are undeniably the same language.”

“Instead of doubting us because of our language, you were forced to believe in us because of it,” Cade said with a smug smile that Glory could not resist returning. 

“Exactly,” she said. 

“How is that possible, unless Klanaren once lived on your world?” Kirk asked.

“I have no idea,” she replied.  “I just discovered this a couple of days ago so I haven’t had time to develop any theories yet.”

“Will you tell us of your childhood?” Cade asked, changing the subject.

“My childhood?” Glory asked, tensing again.  “Why would you wish to know about that?”

“It would be nice to have something new to think on in this place when you’re not here,” Kyerion said, acting as though he didn’t notice her reaction to the question.

“There’s not much to tell,” she said.  She couldn’t talk about her childhood, but she couldn’t resist giving them what they wanted, either.  She’d go insane if she were trapped within her own mind as they were.  She just needed to be careful with what she said, and didn’t say.  “My official name is Gloriani
nee
Aniya,
tu
Bashir, Third Princess of Ramouri.  I’m the youngest of six children born to the King and Queen of Ramouri, and the third daughter.”