The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (8 page)

“I don’t mind sharing my room,” said the tall, dark haired woman sitting beside Shellie. 
“If you can have another bed put in there, that is.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Berta said.  “But are you sure you won’t mind, Willa?”

“Not at all,” Willa replied.  “Shellie and I get on well, and besides, those rooms
are huge.  I shared a room that size with five other women when I was in college. 
Unless you object, Shellie.”

“Object?  Not hardly,” she said with a laugh.  “You are very generous, Willa, and
I thank you.”

Willa blushed pink, but looked pleased.

“Well, if Shellie isn’t going to ask, I am,” Berta said with a grin.  “Nica, do you
have any idea who her Rami are?  Which clan?”

Nica frowned at the strange word and started to shake her head.  Then her eyes widened
and she giggled.  “Wolfies!” she said, clapping her hands together.

All of the women at the table joined in Nica’s laughter, Shellie going so far as to
clap her hands as well.  “Lobos,” she said when the laughter died down.  “How wonderful! 
Thanks again, Nica.”

“You’re welcome,” Nica said before returning to her lunch.

“You ladies seem to be having a good time in here,” Hope Bearen said as she stepped
into the dining room with a baby boy on her hip. 

“Hello, Hope,” Berta said, getting up and hurrying around the table.  “Why are you
lugging this young man around like that?” she scolded gently as she reached out toward
Harlan.  The little boy grinned and leaned toward her, happy to go into her arms. 

“Oh no, don’t you start,” Hope said, rolling her eyes.  “I’m getting enough of that
from my guys.”

“Who do you think asked me to keep an eye on you?” Berta asked as she chucked Harlan
gently under the chin.  “Now, where are my other favorite boys?”

“At home,” Hope replied.  “I just came up to meet your niece, and Harlan wanted to
come along to visit.”

“Well, here she is,” Berta said, leading Hope to the other end of the table where
one of the housekeepers had already added a chair for Hope, and another was setting
up a highchair for Harlan. 

A few minutes later, after everyone was seated, Hope and Harlan each had a plate of
food, and the introductions were made, Hope turned to Honey.  “Thank you for delivering
Aisling’s message, Honey,” she said. 

“No problem,” Honey replied.  “She’s a nice woman.  She helped make the journey here
from Earth go by a lot faster, so delivering a message wasn’t a lot to ask in return.”

Hope nodded, wondering why Honey was staring at her so oddly.  After a moment she
seemed to catch herself and returned her attention to her plate.  She answered questions
and smiled in all the right places, but Hope sensed that Honey was preoccupied with
something, and that something had to do with her. 

“If you’re wondering about the mark on my forehead, and on Harlan’s, I’m happy to
tell you about them,” she said, careful to keep her tone casual so that Honey wouldn’t
think she was offended.

Honey’s expression of surprise appeared to be genuine.  “No, actually, I wasn’t.”

Hope smiled and sipped her tea.  If it wasn’t the Sentinel marks that had Honey curious,
what was it? she wondered.

“Can you tell me, please?” Nica asked, with the open curiosity of a child.

“Of course,” Hope replied.  “Harlan and his brothers are my sons by adoption.  Do
you know what that word means?”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Nica said politely, surprising Hope.  How did such a young child know
about adoption?  She looked from Nica to Honey, then to Berta.  The three of them
were obviously related.  “The boys were born Clan Owlfen,” she continued.  “Since
their birth parents have died, we were all given this mark to help us know the right
things to teach them as they grow up.”

“Oh,” Nica said matter-of-factly, surprising Hope further.  The little girl acted
as though what Hope had said made perfect sense to her.  “Do you have a bear mark
too?”

Hope stared in surprise.  This was a very special little girl, she realized.  “No,
I don’t,” she said, keeping her tone as casual as Nica’s.  “Clan Bearen do not have
marks like Clan Owlfen.  In fact, I don’t think any of the other clans have marks.”

“Oh,” Nica said.  “Thank you for ‘splaining, Mrs. Bear.”

“You’re very welcome, Nica,” Hope said, exchanging smiles with Honey. 

“Well, if you’ll all excuse me,” said one of the women at the far end of the table. 
“I have a date with my Rami this afternoon.”

“I suppose I should be getting back home,” Hope said, setting her tea cup down.

“Hope,” Honey said hesitantly, “I would like to speak with you for a few moments,
in private, if you don’t mind.”

Hope nodded slowly.  The expression on Honey’s face indicated that she had something
important on her mind.  “Of course,” she said.  “Berta, would you mind if we use the
blue parlor?”

“Of course not,” Berta replied.  “Would you like me to keep an eye on Harlan and Nica?”

“Actually, if someone else could watch the children for a few minutes, I would like
it if you could join us,” Honey said. 

Berta and Hope exchanged a look, both curious. 

“I’m more than happy to watch over the little ones,” Shellie offered.  “You three
go on, I think Harlan and Nica would like a stroll in the garden.  What do you think,
Nica?”

“Yes, please,” Nica said as she climbed down from her chair.  “And I can help with
Harlan too.  I’m a big girl.”

“You sure are,” Shellie agreed as she lifted Harlan out of his chair and held out
a hand to Nica.  Honey watched Shellie leave with the children, then rose to her feet
and waited for Berta to lead the way.  A few moments later the three of them were
in one of several small sitting rooms designed for potential Arimas and their male-sets
to use.

Berta closed the door behind them and took a chair alongside Honey while Hope sat
on the sofa.  “What’s going on, Honey?” she asked.

“Aunt Berta, remember I told you I had two psychic abilities?” Honey said, still reluctant
to reveal such things in front of strangers, but in this case, it was necessary.

“Yes,” Berta said.  She turned to Hope.  “Honey is able to identify psychic talents
in others, and she also has the ability to tell when a woman is pregnant.”  She turned
back to Honey.  “We already know that Hope is pregnant though, Honey.”

“Actually, what I do is a bit more complicated than that,” Honey said.  “It’s difficult
to explain, but I suppose the easiest way to put it is to say that I can feel the
babies.  I can sense their bodies, their physical and emotional well being.  And sometimes
I can help them if there are problems.  That’s why I became an obstetrician.  So I
could better understand what I was sensing."

“You’re a doctor too?  Oh, that’s wonderful news!” Hope exclaimed.  “We have an Alverian
Healer, and he’s amazing.  And we have obstetricians, of course.  But an obstetrician
with a talent like yours would be invaluable for us Jasani.”

“I didn’t know you were a doctor,” Berta said, beaming at her niece with pride.  “Why
didn’t you tell me that?”

Honey shrugged.  “We haven’t spent a lot of time together yet,” she said.  “I suppose
with everything else, we just didn’t get around to that.”

Hope listened to Berta and Honey, frowning as a thought occurred to her.  “Honey,”
she said, “is there something wrong with my babies?  Is that why you wanted to talk
to me alone.”

“I wanted to talk to you alone about the babies, yes,” Honey said carefully.  “I was
hoping that you would let me examine them a little more closely.  Do you mind?”

“No, not at all,” Hope replied.  “Where and when?  I’m sure Doc won’t mind if we use
the infirmary.”

“How about here and now?” Honey asked hopefully.

Hope studied Honey for a long moment, then nodded.  “Sure.  What do you want me to
do?”

“If you’ll just lie back on the sofa there and relax a little, I can do the rest,”
Honey said as she stood up and moved to the sofa.  Hope kicked off her shoes and laid
down as Honey asked, feeling nervous, but refusing to allow herself to panic.  Honey
knelt down beside her and placed one hand lightly on Hope’s stomach.

“Just relax as much as you can,” Honey said in a soft voice.  “This will only take
a moment.”

Hope nodded, then took a long deep breath and tried to do as Honey asked, though her
heart was beginning to race.  She watched as Honey closed her eyes and went still. 
Then she began to hum softly, a wordless tune that helped Hope to relax and her heart-rate
to slow, though she was still worried. 

Honey opened her eyes and lifted her hands.  She looked up at Hope and smiled, and
Hope saw the relief in her eyes.  Just as Honey started to stand up the door flew
open and three huge men burst into the room. 

Startled, Honey fell backward, hitting her head against a small table right where
her thick braid was coiled on the back of her head.  Even with that cushion, she hit
hard enough to dim her vision for a moment.  She didn’t hear Jackson Bearen’s demands
to know what was happening, or Hope’s sharp retort as she sat up and went to her knees
beside Honey on the floor. 

Honey shook her head slightly trying to stop the dizziness.  “I’m okay,” she said,
trying to sit up.  “Really Hope, I’m fine.  I just need a moment.”

“Help her up, please,” Hope said to a huge bear of a man with long, white blonde hair,
icy blue eyes, and the same owl mark on his forehead that Hope and Harlan both had. 

Jackson knelt down and lifted Honey up off the floor as though she weighed no more
than an infant and deposited her on a chair.  Berta handed her a glass of water and
she sipped it, trying to pull herself together while Hope told her Rami what was going
on. 

“I apologize, Dr. Davis,” Jackson said with a bow.  “We did not mean to startle you. 
We sensed Hope’s worry and I’m afraid we overreacted.”

“It’s all right,” Honey replied.  “No harm done.”

“Can you tell me what you found?” Hope asked nervously.  She felt as though she should
let Honey rest, but she could not leave without knowing.

“Yes, of course,” Honey said at once.  “I’m sorry, just a little disoriented there
for a moment.”

She set the water glass down on the table and, since the three Bearen men were overwhelmingly
large and intimidating, she focused on Hope instead.  “Earlier, when we were in the
dining room, I sensed that there was some distress with your little ones,” she said. 
“It worried me.”

“Distress?” Jackson Bearen demanded.

“Jackson, please,” Hope said softly.  Jackson nodded and closed his mouth, though
the tension in the man’s neck made Honey wonder if he was about to explode.

“I examined your daughters, and though they are yet very tiny, they are quite normal
and healthy,” Honey said quickly.  “However, when you first arrived, I sensed some
distress in the fetuses.  After a while the distress began to lessen.  Right now,
everything is fine and normal.  But I am concerned.  I think it’s very important that
we discover what caused the distress to begin with so that it can be prevented from
recurring.”

“What kind of distress are you talking about?” Jackson asked.  “Is it physical?  Maybe
you shouldn’t be carrying the boys around,” he said, turning to Hope.  “Maybe we should
take a leave of absence so we can stay with you all of the time.”

“I don’t think that’s the problem,” Honey said before Jackson could order Hope wrapped
in cotton batting.  Hope shot her a grateful look, and Honey hid a smile.  But her
smile faded quickly as she thought about what she’d felt from the fetuses. 

“Hope, tell me please, what did you eat and drink this morning?” she asked. 

Hope rattled off what she’d had for breakfast without hesitation, and Honey shook
her head.  None of the items Hope listed would cause the problem she’d sensed.  If
Hope were her patient she’d order a series of tests to be done.  But she couldn’t
do that here.

“Oh,” she said, turning to Berta.  “You told me that there was an Alverian Healer
here, didn’t you?”

“Yes, there is,” Berta replied.  “Do you think he can help?”

“Yes, I think so,” Honey said.  She turned to the Bearens.  “I’m very sorry for upsetting
all of you, but I really do feel this is important.”

Jackson, Clark and Rob all bowed to her.  “If there is the slightest chance of a problem,
we can only be grateful, Dr. Davis,” he said.  “If it should turn out to be nothing,
we will be pleased, but we would prefer to know, either way.”

“I would like to speak with the Healer, if that’s possible,” she said.  “The sooner
the better.  How can I get in touch with him?”

“Give me one minute,” Clark said.  He took one step to the side and turned before
vanishing.  Honey gasped in surprise.

“He’s speed-traveling to get Jareth,” Hope said.  “You’ll get used to it.  The Falcorans
do it all the time, and so do the Dracons.”

“Wow, I bet that comes in handy,” Honey said.  Suddenly Clark appeared again, with
another man beside him.  The newcomer had blood red feathers on his head and the whitest
skin Honey had ever seen.  His eyes were as red as his hair, which she found a little
disconcerting, but when the man bowed to her, she returned it politely.