Knaleg: A Terraneu Novel (Book 3) (5 page)

Knaleg looked to the side and saw Kniam, Kneus,
Knollig and Mairi standing with their heads bowed. When he turned his head the
other way, he saw Catherine standing by him. She held out her hand and he took
it. He wasn’t sure why he found comfort in her small fingers entwined in his,
but he did. When he looked back over to Kniam he was surprised to see the
council members waiting to walk past them.

“I am sorry for your loss Kniam. We all loved
Amber.” They walked along…one after the other. Thian, Asteen and Ailech. All of
them saying things like how sorry they were for her passing, how tragic it was,
how much she would be missed.

Kniam just stood like a statue. Tears tracked down
his face. Cebat and Tabec were prowling around and every few minutes they would
let out a sorrowful yowling.

“Where are the babies?” Knaleg asked Kniam, his
heart was squeezing painfully. He felt like he wanted to scream and cry with
Kniam. This is what it felt like to lose someone you loved? He didn’t think he
could bear the searing pain he felt. He wanted to run into the wilds of
Terraneu and never stop.

Kniam looked dazed, “The babies? Mairi is watching
them.”

Knaleg frowned, “She isn’t watching them. She is
standing right there.” He pointed to where Knollig stood then his frown
deepened. Mairi was gone from the line.

“Do you think I can’t take care of my own children?
I may have lost Amber, but I would never let anything happen to my own sons and
daughter!” Kniam’s eyes flashed with a mix of anger and misery.

“I’m sorry Kniam, I just didn’t see Mairi leave to
go take care of them.” Knaleg tried to placate his brother.

“What babies are you talking about?” Kneus asked the
question from his place next to Kniam.

“Your two nephews and niece. Amber had to have an
emergency cesarean.” Knollig turned to look at them in the line.

“Amber was pregnant...with triplets?!” Kneus
shouted, “I’m an uncle?”

“Shhhh…Kneus! Have some respect for the severity of
the situation!” Knaleg snapped, “We are all excited to be uncles but show some
sympathy for Kniam’s loss.”

“What did Kniam lose?” Kneus sounded confused.

“What did Kniam lose? Are you serious?” Knaleg
turned to look incredulously at Kneus. “Amber! He lost Amber…she died in
childbirth! It was…” Knaleg paused. He couldn’t remember when she had died. He
looked back to ask Catherine what the last thing she remembered was, only to
find his hand empty and Catherine wasn’t standing by his side anymore.

Something strange was going on.

“Kneus what is the last thing you remember?” Knaleg
asked his brother.

“I was on Earth and there was a small female
pointing a gun at me. I activated the port pad, and then I was standing in line
with you. I don’t remember getting here, and I definitely don’t remember anyone
telling me I was an uncle! To triplets!” Kneus started laughing. “I’m going to
get to use all that baby stuff I sent through the portal and spoil my nephews
and niece.”

“Yes...” Knaleg scowled, “Knollig what do you
remember last?”

Knollig moved to stand next to them, walking around
Kniam who was just frozen in his spot. “I remember standing over the bassinets
that held the triplets. We had moved Amber to the medical unit. It was decided
that everyone should get some rest. Amber was going to take time to heal, there
was a lot of damage.”

“Yes. Now I remember.” Knaleg frowned, “I had walked
Catherine back to her quarters. It was determined that we would meet when the
situation had calmed.”

Knollig spoke again, “Gwen had arranged to have some
females help with bottle feeding the triplets until it was determined if Amber
would be lactating. She had taken samples of Amber’s breast ‘milk’ to determine
what to use in the bottles. It was highly mineralized water, so it would be
easily replicated.”

Knaleg wondered, “How would you know about that?”

“Think Knaleg! Mairi is pregnant too. We needed to
know all about Ambers’ pregnancy so we know what to expect with hers. She
wanted to wait to find out the sex of our baby for when her grandfather got here,
but with everything that happened after the dance we just haven’t gotten around
to it.”

“Mairi is pregnant too?!” Kneus’ shocked yell echoed
around them.

“Can we get back to mourning Amber?” Kniam’s
grief-stricken voice broke into their discussion.

“We are having a conversation here Kniam just hold
on!” Kneus shot back.

At the shocked look on his brother’s faces Kneus
just laughed. “Haven’t you figured it out yet?” They both just shook their
heads, No.

 
“Kniam is
having
a nightmare
and we are locked into it with him. He is the only one that can
connect
and
trap us with him. He is under such stress, that he has
managed to do it in a nightmare.”

“Hold on! That explains why you are here.” Knaleg
looked to Kneus then Knollig.

“What about me?” Kneus lost his excited look.

“You were injured and even though we repaired the
damage, you are still trapped in your own mind. We have been unable to get you
to regain consciousness.” Knollig explained.

“That is fascinating!” Kneus didn’t seem upset by
the knowledge that he was in a comatose state. He muttered excitedly, “I wonder
if I am aware of you in my dream state?”

“We need to wake Kniam up, this is the most
depressing thing I have had to deal with in a few lifetimes.” Knollig went to
slap Kniam on the face.

“That won’t work.” Kneus stopped him by grabbing his
arm.

“It would make me feel better for having to go
through this!” Knollig retorted.

“If hitting him will not work, how then do we wake
him up?” Knaleg asked.

“We will just have to wait it out…” Kneus shrugged.

“Screw that!” Knaleg turned to Kniam shaking him,
“Wake up Kniam!”

Kniam just groaned louder, “Amber…”

Kneus laughed, “I told you that would not work. You
might try yelling in mind. Try to reach him with that connection.”

“
Wake up Kniam
!” Knaleg yelled louder,
shaking him harder, “Maybe if you tried too?” He looked at Kneus and Knollig.

“
Wake up Kniam
.” They all yelled together.

Nothing changed. They were still standing in the
same spot.

“On the count of three. One…two…three…” the brothers
shouted, “
WAKE…UP… KNIAM
!” It worked, the edges around his brothers
started to dim and he looked to Knollig.

“We need to try to wake Kneus too. If he is trapped
in his own mind it might work!” Knaleg looked from Knollig to Kneus.

“It might work?” Kneus agreed, “You won’t have this
link again. Kniam usually has such iron control over his ability. I’m sure the
only reason this happened was the stress of the triplets’ birth.”

They were fading fast as Kneus was talking so both
brothers yelled as loud as they could, just as each of them blurred…”
WAKE UP
KNEUS! WE NEED YOU
!”

~*~*~*

Knaleg sat up in bed, drenched in sweat!

”Did that just happen?”
He sent out to his
brothers.
”Knollig? Kniam?”

“It is my fault.”
Kniam’s voice came across
tired but clear, “
I locked you into my nightmare. I am sorry.”

“I have got to get Mairi to go back to sleep.
Kniam is everything okay?”

“Yes. Is all well here on Terraneu?”
Kneus’
voice weak and weary rang in his head.

“Kneus?!”
All three brothers were shocked to
hear him.

“
You are awake?” Kniam’s excitement over hearing
Kneus was clear.

“Yes, I’m awake. How long have I been out?” Kneus
questioned them.

“We can answer your questions when you get here.
Knollig bring Kneus to the medical unit in New Haven where Amber is
recovering.”
Kniam commanded. He shifted to talk in mind to the other
council members,
“Thian, Asteen and Ailech…Kneus is awake, and we need you
to come to New Haven. We might as well have our meeting now that we are all
awake.”

“Thanks a lot Kniam. Could we meet in lets say
thirty minutes or so?” Thian questioned, “I am…uh, occupied at the moment.”

“Yes Thian. Thirty minutes would be fine.”
Kniam
cleared with the council and sent to his brothers, “
Get here as soon as you
can.”

Knaleg knew his brother well. He was determined to
see Kneus to make sure that he wasn’t still dreaming.

~*~*~*

“We are on our way. Kneus isn’t happy with being
led around. He is grumping that he could have been told ‘Go South’ and that
would have been good enough.”
 
Knollig’s laughing voice came to the brothers.

“I am not ‘grumping’ as you put it Knollig! I was
just saying that Terraneu hasn’t changed that much! I could have found the
medical unit without too much trouble.”

”Let Knollig get you there faster Kneus…did being
on Earth so long wipe your memory of how irritating Kniam can be when he has to
wait for something he wants?”
Knaleg couldn’t resist teasing.
”We have
so much to catch you up on.”
 
Knaleg
had dressed as fast as he could, and was out the door running for New Haven. “
Like
the plans for the large swimming pond in the park. The dance we hold every six
months to celebrate…and the fact that our illustrious leader fainted…”

“Don’t tell him that!”
Kniam tried to block
his voice.

“
Fainted when he heard he was having twin
sons…and a daughter!”
Knaleg finished, ignoring his brother’s protests.

Knaleg finally made it to the medical dome. He
rushed inside to see that Knollig and Kneus had made it there ahead of him.
When they heard him enter, Kneus turned from the bassinets. His eyes grew huge
in his face.

“I thought I had exaggerated you in the dream. What
have you done to yourself? You are as big as a damn tree!” Kneus laughed out
loud.

Knaleg just flexed his chest and laughed back, “What
have you done to yourself? You are as puny and pale as those babies!”

He didn’t waste anymore time talking. He was just so
damn happy to see his brother that he rushed over and gathered him into a bear
hug. As they slapped each other on the back he swallowed the lump in his
throat. He didn’t ever want to let go!

The babies were not happy in the least with the
disturbance, and set up a wailing. Letting Kneus go and laughing the men walked
over to the bassinets. All of them were peering in at the tiny infants. Kniam,
Kneus and Knollig were each rocking a bassinet to try to soothe the baby in it.

“How is Amber?” Knaleg was almost afraid to ask.

“She is doing better. Her readings are improving and
I think she should be awake by this afternoon.” Kniam’s tired voice held
relief. “We had a very close call that I don’t want any other male to have to
face. We will have to get working on making pregnancy and delivering babies
safer.”

Kneus spoke up, “I can work on the technical end.
Our medical units will need to be programmed for pregnant women, babies and
children. We can even downsize them so that they can be more maneuverable in
here. We can also try to make them portable as well.”

Knollig was quick to add, “We have been monitoring
both Amber and Mairi’s pregnancies. There should be a lot of data to work with
to make the medical units safer for pregnant women.”

“I will start there then.” Kneus made to move to a
console.

“After you have fully recovered will be soon enough
Kneus!” Kniam stopped him.
 

“I agree.” Gwen had walked into the dome. “How is
our patient?” She asked.

“Amber is improving.” Kniam smiled at her.

“I was talking about that one.” She shot a glance
under her lashes at Kneus. “We are going to need to do a further work up on
you.” Gwen started. “We need to find out why you didn’t wake up for so long.
There could be some internal brain damage.”

“Why don’t you men go do your meeting at Kniam’s
dome?” Mairi had rushed into the room, then stopped when everyone looked at
her. “Did I interrupt?”

“No.” All the men blurted out at once.

“Yes.” Gwen said at the same time.

“Okay…which is it?” Mairi laughed.

“You didn’t interrupt.” The men all hurried to
assured her.

“I was talking about Kneus…” Gwen started then
narrowed her eyes on the men. “I’m not going to get you to talk about it today
am I?”

“No.” They all insisted as one. Gwen just sighed and
moved toward the babies. Doing a quick check on them she smiled. “They look
really good this morning Kniam. They are showing excellent reaction so
stimulation, their color is good and their lungs are obviously well developed.”

This had everyone laughing since the noise level in
the dome had increased. It was feeding time, and the triplets were letting
everyone know. Mairi handed out babies and bottles. Kneus got to hold his
niece, Knaleg and Kniam got one of the males and Knollig got to hold Mairi.

“When do you think their eyes will turn purple?”
Knaleg asked. He had just noticed that the male he was holding had blue eyes.

“They should turn around their first birthday, or at
least they would in a normal Earth baby. We will just have to see what we can
expect from a Terraneu toddler!” Gwen smiled like she couldn’t wait to do the
research on the triplets.

Chaos. That is what Catherine thought of her first
meeting with the council of Terraneu as a whole. They had to hold the meeting
in the medical dome since Kniam wouldn’t leave Ambers side. There were so many
people packed inside she wondered if they hadn’t reached maximum capacity. She
had come from an only child home so this kind of meeting was a bit
overwhelming. Even when her parents were still alive they had never had
gatherings like this one. Mairi, Gwen and some other females were all around
the bassinets to the right of Amber. Helping with the babies, and making sure
Amber wasn’t overtaxed. The males were all lined up on her left, trying to hold
what was supposed to be an important meeting.

Thian, Asteen, Ailech, Knollig, Kneus, Knaleg and Kniam were all in
attendance. Every now and then a male would get a strange look on his face that
Catherine was quickly learning was the “telepathy talk” face. When they weren’t
talking to each other, they were debating out loud trying to get their point
across.

“To the business of Catherine.” Kniam’s statement brought all eyes to
her. She almost jumped to hear her name. She had been daydreaming, watching the
triplets in their bassinets. They were beautiful babies. The males had downy
black hair, and the female looked entirely bald due to her blond hair being so
fine. Her eyes jumped to Kniams face, her teeth bit into her lip in worry. It was
the moment of truth. She was uncertain about what was going to be decided about
her. She had helped with the babies, but she had shot Kneus. Then there was the
fact that she had assaulted, and incapacitated their leader. Even if it was for
a good reason, was that a punishable offense?

Kniam began with, “Kneus has told us that you were lowering your weapon
that day on the port pad. It is his belief that you would not have shot him.”

Catherine almost sagged in relief. Then Kniam continued, “As to yesterday
when the triplets were born. You may have physical attacked me, but you did it
with the intent of saving my daughter and helped Gwen with my sons.” Kniam
stepped forward and bowed before her. “It is my honor to welcome you officially
to Terraneu. You will be a welcome addition to our community.” He smiled a
genuine smile that was a marked improvement over the frosty glares she had been
receiving from him. He then stepped back to hold the hand of his mate, who
smiled lovingly at him.

This was some kind of sign for the others. As soon as Kniam had given his
speech one by one the other council members did the same. The one she had met
the night she woke up was named Thian, and his mate was Jen. They smiled at
each other across the room since Jen was helping with the babies. Next was a
ridiculously handsome blond named Ailech. Then Asteen, Knollig, Kneus and
Knaleg all gave her the welcome speech.

When they were done, Amber spoke to the group. “Kniam and I have talked
about an issue that has been bothering me, and he has informed me that he
brought the matter to the council.” She looked around the room, “It has been
decided that there will be a women’s council formed.” All the females in the
room got excited at the idea of finally having a council that they could go to
for women’s issues. “I would like to say that it would be democratically
decided who would be serving on our council, however my mate does like to
remind me that Terraneu does not run on a democratic system.” Amber’s warm
blue-green eyes swung to Catherine. “The men’s council would like to offer you
a seat on the newly formed female council if you would like it.”

Catherine was stunned. She had never expected to be asked to sit on a
ruling council. “Why me?” She asked curiously.

“I hacked your tablet on Earth and was able to find information regarding
you on the database of your agency.” Kneus reminded her, “You are an incredibly
skilled… female.” Kneus said for lack of a better word.

Catherine blushed. If he had indeed hacked her agency, he probably knew
every case she had been assigned. To hide her discomfit she asked, “As to that,
how did you access my tablet? It should have been impossible.”

“Someone with your talents should know that nothing is impossible if you
set your mind to overcoming it.” Kneus’ laughing purple eyes swept over her.

“We all know that Catherine is a female of many abilities.” Knaleg’s deep
voice growled out, “What we need to know from her is the answer to our offer.”
Catherine swung her gaze to Knaleg. “Do you wish to sit on the newly formed
female council or not?” He asked roughly.

Catherine paused for a moment then asked, “Who else is to be offered a
position?”

Kniam answered, “We have not finalized all of the females. However Amber
was chosen because of her status as the first female to arrive on Terraneu.
Gwen will sit on the council because of her medical knowledge. Jen and Mairi
because of their status as mates to council members. We have asked you because
of your unique set of military skills. If you accept that would make five. We
are searching for two others, but you may hold meetings as you see fit until we
find them.”

Catherine thought about their offer. She would be able to help make
decisions that would impact the lives of the females living here. She had never
dreamed of getting such an offer after the last couple of days of uncertainty.

“I would love to sit on the female council.” She agreed hurriedly in case
they took her hesitation as lack of interest, “I have to warn you though I can
be very stubborn, and I don’t back down if the cause is important to me.”

She thought she heard Knaleg mutter, “Doesn’t back down is an
understatement.” But when she swung her gaze to look at him, he wasn’t looking
her way.

“That is settled then.” Amber spoke up, “We will have the dome next to
the males set up for our council.”

“I have men working on it already.” Kniam rubbed Amber’s arms, “It will
be ready by the time Gwen releases you from medical. Though I do not want you
pushing yourself by holding a meeting today.”

Amber just shrugged, “Since I won’t be able to breastfeed due to the
medical unit ‘fixing’ everything and taking me back to pre-pregnancy I will be
able to feed the babies on the go.” Amber laughed, her gaze sweeping warmly
around the room, “Although with all the help lining up I may not get a lot of
alone time with the triplets.” Her voice ended on a melancholy note, which her
mate picked up on.

“We will make sure that we have as much alone time with them as you
want.” Kniam assured her.

“Have you chosen names for them yet?” Thian asked eagerly. “We can hardly
keep calling them ‘the triplets’”.

“Thian!” His mate, Jen admonished him, “You can’t just ask that out of
the blue. They will tell us when they are ready!”

“What?” Thian looked at her in all innocence, “I am just asking what we
are all wondering.”

“Really Thian…” Jen sighed but Amber stopped her.

“No, it’s okay Jen. We were going to announce it today anyway.” She
looked up at Kniam. “Do you want to do the honors?”

Kniam smiled proudly and said, “We have named our daughter Brennae.” He
paused a second, “Our sons will be known as Kniam Junior 1 and Kniam Junior 2.”

Catherine thought Brennae was a very pretty name. She didn’t know what to
think about the boy’s names and judging by the silence and blank stares neither
did any of the others.

After a few seconds Kniam burst out laughing! “I am just making humor
with you.”

“Kniam you made a joke!” Amber’s shocked voice broke on a laugh. The rest
of the room started laughing with her.

Kniam grabbed her hand and kissed it then turned his attention back to
them, “In all seriousness, we have agreed our sons will be Knadyn and Knacayn.”

Catherine smiled when everyone around the room broke into discussion on
the choice of names. She thought they were unique and would definitely be easy
to remember.

Amber looked over at Jen who was at the bassinets, “Could you wrap the
babies in fresh blankets and bring the other blankets to Kniam?”

“Sure Amber, no problem.” Jen, Gwen and Mairi each quickly unwrapped and
re-wrapped a baby. Jen took the blankets and handed them to Kniam. He had been
busy talking with one of his brothers so Catherine noticed his confused look
when Jen held out the blankets.

“What do I need these for?” He looked from Jen to the baby blankets.

Jen just shrugged, “Amber just said to give them to you.” She returned to
the bassinets and her conversation with the other females.

Kniam turned to Amber to inquire, “What do I need these for?”

“I want you to make sure that Cebat and Tabec get a good smell of the
babies by putting those in our home. Rub them all over the furniture, walls,
and into the nursery. Make sure they know that the babies are a part of the
family now.” Amber smiled up at him.

Kniam frowned, “They are very well trained and I do not think they will
need this to be done.”

Kneus snickered, “So well trained as to not claw a mans home up when left
locked in.”

Kniam blushed. “That is only because he was impatient for a mate.” He
hurried to add, “With Tabec at his side he is perfectly domesticated now.”

Before the males could turn the discussion into an argument Amber hurried
to ask, “For me, please Kniam?”

The change in the leader of the council was instant. Catherine didn’t
know their eyes could glow that purple.

“For you my Amber, anything.” Kniam took her hand and rubbed it against
his cheek.

Catherine smiled at the warmth in his voice and his obvious need for
physical contact with his mate. His devotion to Amber was heartwarming.

Gwen broke into their conversations, “I hate to break this up, but the
babies need some peace and quiet. Amber will be released this afternoon, and we
can hold a meeting at the new council in a few days. Does that work for
everyone?”

Catherine was quick to nod then hurried to add, “I hate to be a bother,
but if I am going to be allowed freedom around Terraneu, would it be possible
to unlock my balcony door? I would also appreciate the ability to utilize the
privacy settings on my console.”

She was surprised when Ailech offered to escort her back to her living
quarters and adjust the settings to allow her access. She was hoping maybe
Knaleg would offer. Slightly disappointed she hurried to smile at the handsome
council member before he thought her unappreciative. “Thank you, Ailech. That
is very thoughtful of you.” She had turned toward the door when Amber called
out.

“I would like to stop by after I am released and visit for a second. If
you don’t mind Catherine.”

“That would be nice Amber, I will see you later then.” Catherine did a
wave to the others around the room, her eyes straying to Knaleg. He was busy
talking with his brother and didn’t seem to notice her leaving. She made it to
the medical unit doors when she felt a hand on her elbow.

She looked up into Ailech’s face and he smiled, “Allow me to escort you
properly.” He entwined his arm with hers and they walked out of the dome
together.