Bianca D'Arc (7 page)

“
I like your honesty, Alexander.
It is a good place to start. So then, you must also be honest about
other things. As will I.” Theos turned to face him. “I have ordered
all record of your DNA and all recordings of your fighting on the
station and anything you do here to be wiped. There we’ll be no
record of your differences.”

“
Why would you do something like
that?” Alex was astounded.

“
I spent most of the night
meditating on this issue. You represent a thorny problem for both
my people in general, and my house in particular. I believe it best
to conceal all record of exactly what you are and your relation to
my house, to protect my brother, his son, and their heirs. The
inheritance of the throne cannot ever be in question.”

“
I thought that was what the
ceremony was all about.”

“
It is. And you will perform it
when we reach Solaris Prime. But to leave records where anyone
might see them is not wise. Tren will know. He will act as witness
to the renunciation ceremony, but my brother will be kept in the
dark. Every man on this ship is loyal to me, part of my retinue as
former emperor. They know about you, but it will go no further. As
eldest it is my right to do this to protect my brother.” Theos
seemed unsure for the first time. The old man had taken a lot of
weight on his shoulders, Alex realized. Most of it having to do
with Alex and Della’s futures.

“
I’m surprised you’d keep
information about my kind from your military. They could use
knowledge of me against my brethren.”

“
They could,” Theos agreed. “But
as a priest, I have a higher calling. In my time on the throne, I
scaled back the skirmishes with your galaxy as best I could. I do
not agree with my brother’s reopening of hostilities. But it is his
throne now. I will not interfere—on either side.”

Alex knew he had to make a decision. He had to
decide whether or not he should trust the old man, ex-emperor that
he was. Were his loyalties to his order or to his brother? Was he
trying to lull Alex into compliance only to betray him later? Or
was he on the level? Perhaps he could take this one step at a
time.

“
I’ll show you some of what I can
do.” Alex stood, stretching slightly as he prepared both mentally
and physically for what he would do next. “We humans have a saying:
trust is earned. I’m about to give you some of mine. I hope you
won’t betray it.”

“
Time will tell. Is that not also
one of your human sayings?” Theos looked amused and pleased all at
once as Alex picked up a practice blade from the side wall, then
moved to the center of the matted area.

“
Then watch and learn.” Centering
himself, Alex launched into a lightning fast
kata
—a series of movements designed
to be either strikes or blocks, choreographed into a centuries old
ballet of form, function, and deadly accuracy.

The
kata
was something Alex had mastered
long before he’d been Enhanced. The changes made to his DNA only
improved his ability to perform. He could cycle through the
movements with more strength, speed, and skill than most
grandmasters now that he had been Enhanced. He was a blur of motion
but he knew Theos could appreciate what he was doing. Only another
martial artist of great skill would understand what he was
seeing.

When he finished, Theos was grinning from ear to
ear.

“
Oh, this is good. This is very
good!” Theos clapped his hands together just once as he approached,
beaming a grin at Alex. “This will turn out even better than I had
hoped.”

“
How so, Father?”

“
I believe you have the necessary
defensive skills to be named a novitiate of the Zenai
Priesthood.”

“
You want me to be a
priest?”

“
No, son. Merely a novitiate. You
can still marry and you need not take further vows. Being a
novitiate could solve a lot of problems for all of us.”

“
So what does it require besides
martial arts skill?”

“
A vow to the Mother Goddess.”
Alex didn’t say a word. He wasn’t a religious man, but he knew how
touchy people got about their gods. “I’ll give you a book to study.
Perhaps you can talk it over with your mate. Such decisions should
not be made without consulting one’s spouse.”

“
We’re not married,” Alex had to
admit.

“
Not married?” Theos seemed
genuinely surprised. “Why not? What are you waiting for? It is
clear you are mates.”

“
How do you know?” Alex was really
interested in the old man’s answer.

“
Did you not feel it when you
first kissed her?”

“
Feel what, exactly?” He’d felt
something, but he didn’t know how to describe it. He also didn’t
know what it meant.

“
The
nij-ta
.” Theos watched him as if he
were slow. “Is it not custom among humans?”

“
Forgive my ignorance, Father. I
don’t know what
nij-ta
means.” Alex felt lost in the conversation and was almost
sorry he’d asked the question.

“
It is the first kiss. The test to
determine if a man has found his destined mate. When you kiss the
woman meant for you for the first time, your body quickens and your
heart begins to beat in time with hers. The more you are together,
the closer your bodies align until there is no you, no her, only
you both... together.”

That sounded an awful lot like what he’d been
feeling, but he still wasn’t sure. “Humans don’t do things that
way, Father Theos. We date many different people. It can take a
long search to find one person you want to marry and even after
marrying them, you might discover you were wrong.”

Theos seemed appalled. “What do you do then?”

“
That’s why they invented
divorce.” His smile was ironic.

“
Jit’suku do not divorce. Marriage
is for life among our kind. Divorce is never a question when
the
nij-ta
shows
us the perfect woman for each man. The search can take many years,
of course, but when we find that special one, we marry her and
spend the rest of our years with her, if the Goddess
wills.”

Alex saw the sadness on the old man’s face. “You
were married, weren’t you?”

“
My Amalina. My perfect mate,” he
answered in a gentle tone. “She died. Taken early from my life by
an assassin’s blade. After I lost her, I lost interest in the
empire. Without her, I would never have an heir, so it was best to
abdicate in favor of my brother. He already had a daughter and then
Tren was born a year later. He will be emperor, in his time. I have
done my best to teach him, preparing him for when he takes the
throne.”

“
He seems like a fine young man.”
Privately, Alex wondered if the brother had something to do with
Amalina’s death. It wouldn’t be the first time in history a greedy
sibling arranged a tragedy in order to gain power.

“
And you saved his life. For that,
he owes you. It is not an insignificant thing to have the future
emperor owe you a life debt.” Theos’s smile was crafty.

“
I suppose not.”

“
Come.” Theos led the way toward a
hatch at the far end of the room. “You must study hard if we want
to make you novitiate material by the time we reach the
homeworld.”

Theos led him to a small library and they spent the
next hours deep in bookwork. It wasn’t something Alex minded but it
also wasn’t the usual way he spent his free time. Before he knew
it, the dinner chime sounded and Theos led him to the door of the
mess hall. Alex carried a small satchel that contained a very old
book Theos had given him to study overnight. He had more recent
tomes waiting for him on his quarters’ data station, having been
shunted there by Theos as they came up in conversation during the
day.

Della found them in the hall, a
huge grin on her face as her escort delivered her to Alex’s side,
then made his bows and left. The poor sod looked half in love with
Della already but she seemed to pay it no mind. Alex had seen her
deal with infatuated fools many times at
The Rabbit Hole
but it was different
now that they’d been intimate.

Some of his ruffled feathers were soothed when she
walked up to him and kissed him, right there in the hall. It was a
small kiss. A hello kiss. It warmed him all the same and he wanted
more. His arms came up to wrap around her waist but the blasted
book got in the way.

She drew back, looking down to see what the obstacle
was. Curiously, she lifted the flap covering the ancient paper
book.

“
Sweet Mother of All! It’s an
actual book. I haven’t seen one like this in years.”

“
You believe in a female deity?”
Theos looked surprised. “I thought the majority of human religions
believe in a male god.”

“
Most do,” Della agreed. “There
are, however, many of us who follow older ways. We believe in the
three aspects of the Goddess. The Maiden, the Mother and the Crone.
I prefer to see Her as the Mother. Though I’ve never given birth
myself, I like the idea of Her being the giver of life.”

“
It is a worthy notion. I would
like to hear more about these beliefs, if you have time
tomorrow.”

“
Certainly. I’d be happy to talk
more with you, Father Theos.”

“
Come with your mate to my library
after lunch,” he instructed. “Until tomorrow.” He left them in the
corridor and they made it into the mess hall just in time to snag
the last free table.

Chapter Seven

Della accompanied Alex to the Theos’s library the
next day after lunch. She’d had a chance to peruse the ancient book
with him earlier that morning and had been surprised at how similar
the jit’suku beliefs were to her own. Oh, there were slight
differences, of course, but the heart of the belief system appeared
to be compatible and convergent.

They talked for an hour or more about her beliefs
and she found Theos to be a sharp and sensitive man. She liked him
more than she had thought she would and enjoyed the way he sparked
her intellectual curiosity and seemed to respect her opinions. Alex
sat listening, only answering questions at first. After a while, he
relaxed and took a more active part in the conversation, though he
was still more reticent than either Della or Theos.

Alex was a man of action. A doer. Not necessarily a
philosopher. Or at least, he didn’t talk about his deeper thoughts
much. Soldiers weren’t encouraged to discuss their feelings. And a
covert operative’s life often depended on his ability to keep
silent.

“
I understand you own a tavern
aboard
Madhatter
Station
?” Theos changed the subject
unexpectedly, turning to Alex.

“
I do. It’s called
The Rabbit Hole
.”

“
And you tend bar?” Theos asked.
“Do not bartenders hear all sorts of stories and complaints from
their patrons?”

“
That we do.” Alex smiled easily,
sitting back in his chair. They were seated around a circular
table, Della on his left, Theos on his right. “I’ve heard all kinds
of confessions in my time there.”

“
Not unlike a priest, wouldn’t you
say?” Theos looked both speculative and amused.

Alex chuckled. “There’s nothing religious going on
in that bar, Father. Some people just find it easier to talk to a
stranger who’s been in their shoes.”

“
Soldiers, you mean,” Theos
insisted. “I understand the men at your bar are often soldiers.
Recent retirees and youngsters who have been recommended by their
elder brethren. Why, do you think? Why do they recommend your bar
especially? From all I have heard, it isn’t a raucous place. No
prostitutes. Just a pretty card dealer and honest games of chance.”
He nodded toward Della and she acknowledged his compliment with a
little bow of her head.

“
I don’t know.” Alex seemed to
think about the idea.

“
I do,” Della covered his hand
with hers on the table, drawing his gaze. “It’s because you’re
fair. You won’t cheat the young ones who are more naïve than most,
and you’ll teach them a thing or two about how to go on in the
world. So will the men who gather around you. Those old vets who’ve
made your place a second home, gather there because of you, Alex.
They respect you and they like you. You are a familiar figure from
a world they have trouble leaving behind. They’ve been cast adrift
in a civilian world that doesn’t understand them. In your bar, they
have the opportunity to mingle with some of the civ’s under your
watchful eye. The workers who come into your place after their
shifts are good people who don’t hold the soldiers in fear. They
talk to them. They follow your lead and you treat them
well.”

“
I’m not running a halfway house
for old soldiers,” he objected.

Della squeezed his hand. “In a way, you are. But
it’s so natural nobody seems to recognize it. You did that, Alex.
You created that atmosphere. The bar wasn’t like that before you
came.”

“
How do you know?”

“
I talk to station personnel too,
you know.” She winked at him and withdrew her hand. Alex seemed to
think about what she’d said, sitting back in his chair.