Falcorans' Faith (5 page)

“Certainly, Consul Jackson,” Tristan replied, understanding that Jackson wished to speak with them alone.  “If you will excuse us, Highness, we will not be long,” he said, before leading the way out of the Observation Deck, both of his brothers and all three Bearens behind him.  They went just far enough down the corridor to prevent their conversation from being overheard, then stopped and faced each other in a tight circle.

“Our Arima was kidnapped on Earth, by the Brethren,” Jackson said without preamble.  Tristan, Gray and Jon all nodded.  They had read the reports, as had all Clan Jasani.  “Three other women were kidnapped at the same time,” Jackson continued.  “One of those was a woman named Grace.”  Jackson paused a moment, and bowed his head.  “Grace was a close friend of Hope’s, fatally wounded by the Brethren just before they escaped to Onddo with the aid of the Xanti.”

Tristan, Gray, and Jon all raised their fists to their hearts and bowed their heads in silent sympathy.  Obviously the Bearens had known and cared for the woman Jackson spoke of, though Tristan couldn’t understand why they were hearing this story right now when there were other more important matters to discuss.  After a moment Jackson continued. 

“Grace had a sister.  An identical twin sister,” he said.  “Faith Meyers is that sister.  In honor and memory of Grace, we have placed Faith under our protection, and sworn to see to her care in all things.”

Tristan felt instant sympathy for the woman and clenched his jaw against it.

“Grace died in my arms,” Clark added in a low voice.  “There are no words to explain what it is to have a woman die as you hold her, so I will not attempt it.  I will say only that I, personally, will tolerate no harm, or insult, to Faith Meyers.”

“We understand, of course,” Tristan said.  “But I must ask why you feel it necessary to warn us so strongly against harming her?  Have we given you the impression we would harm any female?”

Jackson met Tristan’s gaze without blinking.  “We know of your unfortunate experience.  We also know that it has had a lasting effect on the three of you.  It is clear that Faith is your Arima, and that you all feel a rather high level of resentment toward her because of it.  As though she had a choice in the matter.”

Jackson’s voice chilled considerably, and with good reason, Tristan thought.  Blaming Faith Meyers for a choice made by fate was unconscionably unfair.  Tristan understood that, and silently vowed to make an effort to moderate his behavior toward her.  But he had no desire for an Arima, and absolutely no intention of accepting one, no matter who she might be.

***

“What was all that about?” Faith asked Hope the moment the doors closed behind the Falcorans and the Bearens.

Hope wasn’t sure how Faith was going to take this, but she wouldn’t lie to her.  “It seems that the Falcorans are your Rami,” she said. 

Faith frowned as she rolled the vaguely familiar word around in her mind for a moment.  “Oh no,” she said, suddenly understanding.  “That was definitely not part of the deal.”  She pushed her chair back and stood up as though to leave before remembering she didn’t know where she was.  This speed traveling stuff was kinda cool, but it could also be annoying.

“Relax, Faith,” Hope said.  “You will not be forced into anything.”

“Are you sure?” Faith asked.  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be insulting, I just need to know what I’m getting myself into here.”

“Miss Meyers,” Garen said.  “As Hope said, you will not be forced into anything.  In truth, you could not be safer anywhere in the Thousand Worlds than you will be with the Falcorans.  By their very nature they can do no other than protect you, and care for you.”

“Maybe that’s true for most Jasani, but I’m not so sure about them,” Faith said.  “They don’t like me, and they don’t want me here.”

“Perhaps they have had unfortunate experiences in their lives, just as you have had in yours,” Hope suggested mildly. 

“If you wish to change your mind about helping us, we’ll understand,” Lariah said gently.  “This must be your choice, Faith.”

Faith was so tempted by that offer that it took her a few moments to muster the courage to decline.  This entire world was putting some of its plans on hold, and changing others, while they waited to see if she could find new jump points, or more Xanti hiding in their space.  She’d spent a little time with Hope and her family, had met Lariah’s sons and daughters.  The thought of invisible Xanti murdering those children, and others like them, while an unsuspecting and unprepared Jasan stood helpless against an enemy they couldn’t see, decided her. 

She was afraid, and there was no sense in denying it.  Not to herself, anyway.  But, she’d spent most of the past couple of years being afraid.  Years spent running and hiding.  When she wasn’t in a healing tank.  She was tired of it.  All of it.  Now she had a chance to do something important.  Something no one else could do.  Did she want to throw that away because of a little more fear?

“Thank you, Lariah,” she said.  “But I said I’d do this, and I will.”

Hope started to say something, but at that moment the doors opened and the Bearens and Falcorans entered the room and retook their seats. 

“We have little time, Admiral, so I must have your decision,” Garen said once everyone was seated again.  “Will you accept this task, or will you not?”

Tristan wanted to refuse.  Rarely had he wanted anything more.  But he didn’t have to look at his brothers to know what they wanted, or to feel their worry over what he might say.  “We will, of course, High Prince,” Tristan replied. 

“How much time do you think you’ll need?” Garen asked. 

“That’s hard to say,” Tristan replied.  “It depends on what we find.  I would say a few days at minimum.  We’ll take the cutter and a small crew, which will allow us to cover a larger area more quickly.”

“That’s about what we expected,” Garen said.  “We ask that you begin with the jump point near the Skyport.  We just received word that the sensor readings have changed, which is why we changed our meeting plans this morning.  All of the accumulated data will be downloaded to the
Eyrie
immediately.”  Before he’d finished speaking Trey was tapping his vox to give the orders.  Tristan glanced at Gray, who tapped his own vox.  Within moments of the data reaching the
Eyrie
, it would be downloaded to the cutter. 

 “When can you be ready to depart?” Garen asked.

“I’ve already given orders to have the cutter prepped,” Graysan said, disconnecting his call with the
Eyrie’s
Captain.  “As soon as Miss Meyers returns with her belongings, we’ll be ready.”

“Faith brought her things with her,” Hope said.

“In that case, we’ll need about half an hour,” Tristan said.

“Then I might as well start now,” Faith said, turning to stare directly into Tristan’s emerald green eyes.  “There’s another jump point out there.”  She gestured toward the viewing window behind her as she spoke.  “I’ve studied the current jump point maps, and this is not on them.”

“Will you show us?” Garen asked, his voice noticeably gentler than it had been when he spoke to Tristan. 

Faith nodded and stood up, doing her best to ignore the conflicting emotions coming from the Falcorans.  She walked to the window, the Bearens and Dracons following, the Falcorans trailing behind them.  “It’s pretty far away,” she said, pointing to a distant spot that, to her eyes, looked lighter and, somehow,
thinner
than the space surrounding it.  “Almost dead center of that triangle of stars.”

“Can Miss Meyers see jump spots on images?” Tristan asked, unwilling to ask the woman directly.

“It doesn’t seem so,” Trey replied, cutting a look at him that said he’d noticed, and wasn’t pleased.  “We showed her a few images and she saw nothing in them that we didn’t see.”

“I assume that, because of...this, we are pushing the Onddo departure date back again?” Tristan asked.

“That will depend on how long
this
takes,” Garen said, turning to face the Falcorans.  “Onddo is a priority, Admiral.  We cannot begin our attack on the Xanti until we settle the matter of the Narrasti at our backs.  However, the security for our people, our world, and our space, must come first.  We know the Xanti have a new Blind Sight system, and now we know that they have a jump point directly into our space.  Miss Meyers saw not just the jump point, but she also saw through the Blind Sight camouflage which hid the ship from the eyes of everyone else.”

Tristan’s eyes widened slightly.  How had he missed that rather obvious point?   Prince Garen was right.  Checking their space for hidden Xanti ships was of the utmost importance. 

“Understand me clearly, gentleman,” Garen continued, “Miss Meyers is to be protected at all costs, and her identity and abilities kept secret.”

“Yes, Highness,” Tristan replied, bowing formally.  “You have our promise that we will guard Miss Meyers with our lives while she is in our care.”

Chapter
Three

Faith looked around the small, but very nicely appointed cabin that the Falcorans had directed her to on the cutter.  It was larger than the stateroom she’d had on the passenger liner, and appeared to be brand new.  The bed looked like it might even be comfortable to sleep in.  She set her duffle on the floor and opened one of two doors.  The first was a closet.  Narrow, but more than large enough for her few belongings.  The second was a small, but private, bathroom.  That was a shock.  Even the huge passenger liner had private bathrooms in only a handful of extremely pricey luxury staterooms. 

After unpacking and stowing her duffle in the closet, she took a few moments to splash some cool water on her face and try to relax.  Maintaining an appearance of calm in the presence of the Falcorans after the Dracons and Bearens left her alone with them had taken a lot of effort.  She already missed Hope.  After knowing her for just an hour she’d understood why Grace had bonded with the woman.  There was something about Hope that drew her, as well.  But she was on her own now, and she had a job to do.  She braced herself and left the cabin. 

The cutter was bigger than she’d expected, but not so big that she had any trouble finding her way around.  It took only a few moments to return to the big auxiliary control room with its armored viewports that the Falcorans had shown her earlier.  They hadn’t seemed too happy at having to use the auxiliary room in order to hide her ability from the rest of the crew, but that hadn’t been her choice, either, so she certainly wasn’t going to apologize for it.

She paused just inside the hatch and watched the three brothers as they stood together facing the viewport, their backs to her.  She had to admit, if only to her most secret self, that they were striking men
. 
They were tall, broad shouldered and looked immensely powerful.  Suddenly, as though she’d called to them, they all turned around to face her at the same time.

They had sharp cheekbones, bold noses that curved slightly in the center, and long black hair that fell below their shoulders in waves.  They also had the brightest eyes she’d ever seen.  Tristan’s were emerald green and so bright they seemed to glow.  Grayson’s were also green, but much lighter in color, like new grass on Earth.  Jon’s eyes were a bright, mesmerizing purple.  She was having a difficult time not staring at them, which bothered her more than she liked. 

“Welcome, Miss Meyers,” Graysan said.  “We hope you found your cabin to be satisfactory.”

“Please, call me Faith, and yes, thanks, it’s very nice.  I’d like to thank whoever gave it up.”

“No thanks are needed,” Tristan said.  “Are you ready to begin...
working
?”  The blatant sarcasm struck Faith on the raw, setting off her temper.  She was glad for it.  Anger beat fear every day of the week.

“Look, Admiral Falcoran, or whatever I’m supposed to call you,” she said.  “Let’s just get a few things out on the table.  I don’t like you, you don’t like me, and the thought of a long term relationship makes us all break out in hives.  I’m here as a favor to the Dracons and the Bearens.  I’m not getting paid, so I’m not an employee.  Therefore, I see no reason why I should put up with your nasty attitude.  If you intend to treat me like some kind of disease while I’m here, then turn around right now and take me back to the Skyport.  I’m sure there must be someone else on Jasan who won’t mind helping me do this job.  Preferably someone who won’t hate me quite so much as you so
very
obviously do.”

“We do not hate you,” Jonathan said, his purple eyes dark with emotion, though his voice was flat.  “On behalf of all of us, I apologize for making you feel that way.  I ask that you give us another chance.  The discovery that you are our Arima is as big a shock to us, as it is to you.”

Faith doubted that, but saw no reason to say so.  “Look, I don’t want to get you guys in trouble with your Princes, so I’ll tell them I’m the one with the problem.  Just take me back and you can forget you ever laid eyes on me.  I’ll go repack my things.” 

“Wait, please,” Tristan said.  “I apologize for my behavior, Miss Meyers.  I assure you, my feelings have nothing to do with you.”

Faith took a deep breath and forced herself to pay attention to the emotions she felt coming from the three of them.  Tristan was sincere in his apology, though she still felt the anger simmering just below the surface.  Graysan was wary, of what she had no idea, but also a little relieved.  Jonathan was relieved too, and something more that she couldn’t get.  He was the most difficult to read, she realized.  It was as though he kept his emotions hidden behind a wall.  Well, she could certainly identify with that.