Laura Jo Phillips (23 page)

“However, the moment I saw the two of you together, I realized how wrong I was.  You are not remotely like Mara.  It was my worry, and my imagination, that got the better of my common sense, and for that I apologize to you most profusely.”

Summer shook her head in shock.  Maxim sighed and took a step back.  “I suppose I cannot blame you,” he said.

Summer frowned.  “For what?”

“For not forgiving me,” he said.

“I do not understand why it would matter to you what kind of person I am,” Summer said, “nor do I understand why I seem to care what you think of me.  But, that aside, I have to admit that, while I did not see much of your...er...Mara, from what I did see, I can’t say I blame you for your concerns.  So, of course I forgive you.”

“Then why were you shaking your head?” Ran asked curiously.

“Because I thought Maxim said that Mara made your fathers unhappy for five hundred years,” Summer explained with a smile.  “Obviously I misheard you.”

“No, you did not,” Maxim said.  “As I said, we have much to discuss with you.  If you do not mind, we would prefer to do it inside.”

“Inside?” Summer asked.

“Yes.  It is growing cold and I think you would be more comfortable indoors.”

“Okay, inside sounds good to me,” Summer agreed.  “Should we go back to the Lobos’ home?”

“We can, if that is what you wish,” Maxim replied.  “We also have a house nearby which we would prefer to use, if you do not object.”

“You have a house here?” Summer asked.  “I thought this was the Dracons’ ranch.”

“It is,” Ran said.  “We are honored to be distantly related to the Princess, Lariah Dracon.  As a courtesy to Clan Katre, our Princes built a house for us, and our great-uncle, Eldar Hamat, to use when we visit.”

Summer thought that she should be hesitant to be alone with these men in their own home, but she wasn’t.  Just the opposite, in fact.  She didn’t think there was any other place on Jasan where she would be more safe.  And she was curious about the change in feelings she sensed coming from all three of the Katres, especially Maxim.

“All right, let’s go there then,” Summer agreed, shivering a little as the wind began to pick up. 

“We can travel much faster if you will allow one of us to carry you,” Maxim offered.

“That super-speed thing that Loni did when he caught Darleen?” Summer asked, grinning.

“Yes, that
super-speed thing
,” Maxim replied with a grin of his own, the first one she had ever seen on his face.

“Sounds like fun,” Summer said. 

Maxim stepped forward and lifted Summer into his arms, pulling her close against his chest.  Summer felt a thrill of arousal rush through her body at his touch and ducked her head, hoping to hide her sudden blush. 

“Are you sure I’m not too heavy for you?” she asked, wondering nervously if he had the senses of a cat while in his human form.  If he did, if
they
did, then she thought it likely they could scent her arousal.  Oh well, she thought, not much I can do about it if they can. 

“No, you are not heavy at all,” Maxim replied. 

He pulled her even closer against his chest and suddenly, the strangest sensation came over her.  It was so strange that it took her a moment to identify the feeling.  She felt connected somehow.  Cared for.  She gave her head a tiny shake, reminding herself that, up until the past hour or so, this man holding her close against his body had given every indication of disliking her intensely.  She mentally reviewed every harsh look and sharp comment he had directed at her, but it didn’t change a thing.  The strange, good feelings remained.

“Are you ready?” Maxim asked.

Summer opened her mouth to answer him but found she couldn’t speak.  Her emotions were simply too overwhelming at the moment.  She nodded instead, hoping that would suffice.  Evidently it did as Maxim turned around until they were facing away from the Lobos’ house, and then took off running.  He moved so fast that Summer saw nothing but a blur as they moved past grass, trees and, she thought, a couple of buildings.  Within seconds Maxim slowed down, then stopped altogether.

Summer took a deep breath, realizing that she hadn’t breathed at all while they were moving. 

“Oh my goodness
!
” she gasped.  “How do you move so quickly?  Is it part of being a shifter?”

“No,” Maxim replied as he set her down on the front porch of the house the Dracons had built for the Katre’s use.  “It is part of being Clan Jasani.”

Summer lifted a brow and waited for more.  This time, Maxim took the gesture for what it was.  She was not being demanding, she was merely curious.  As a Katre with a katrenca alter form, he understood curiosity very well.  It was a universal trait for those of his Clan.

“Katrencas are exceptionally fast, to begin with,” he explained.  “In addition, all male Jasani are born with the ability to use magic.  We happen to be strongest in Air and Earth magic.  It is the Air magic that allows us to greatly increase our natural speed.”

Summer thought about that as she followed Ran into the house, then waited until Loni turned on the lights before moving further inside. 

“As I understand it, true magic is the control of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water,” she said as she gazed around the living room.  Summer was not very domestic, but the overstuffed furniture and the warm glow of polished wood gave her a feeling of instant comfort.

“That is correct,” Maxim replied as he guided her to a chair near a large stone fireplace and helped her to remove her katana harness.  Ran set a thick log on the grate in the fireplace, stepped back and waved his hand.  The log burst into flame, providing instant warmth.  Summer smiled. 

“I guess that’s a fairly good indication of your ability to control fire,” she said.  Summer fell silent for a long moment which caught the Katres’ attention.  She seemed to be simply sitting there, gazing blankly into space, but Maxim had the sense that the distant look in her eye indicated intense focus.  After a few moments, she proved him correct.

“According to Mother’s books, she was only able to prove magical ability in two species, and one of those was questionable,” she said as though she hadn’t paused at all.

“What were you doing?” Ran asked curiously.

“Oops,” Summer said softly.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t usually do that in front of people.”

“Do what?” Maxim asked, as curious as Ran. 

“As I said earlier today, I remember everything I’ve ever read, seen, heard or said,” Summer replied.  “But, I’ve read a LOT of books on a very wide variety of subjects.  Sometimes I have to sort of...leaf through them to find what I’m looking for.  When I do that, it’s like I’m actually seeing the books in my mind, so I kind of glaze over a bit.”

“What’s it like to be able to remember everything?” Ran asked.

 “What’s it like to be able to wave your hand and start a fire?” she asked back.

“Point taken,” Ran replied with a grin.“

“Which species did your Mother prove had magic?” Maxim asked.

“There is a population of humanoids on Sauria 2 who are apparently able to manipulate Fire and Earth to some extent.  However, since they cannot control Air or Water, Mother believed that theirs was more likely a telekinetic ability than a magical one. 

“The other species are known only as the Spellcasters of Warneb.  They are very secretive and won’t reveal their true names to out-worlders.  They use a lot of magic in their everyday lives, and shun technology.”

“She did not list the Jasani as users of magic?” Loni asked quietly.

Summer felt Loni’s curiosity, and his deep inner calm, though neither trait showed on his face.  On the surface, he looked as though he felt nothing at all. 

“No, she did not mention the Jasani,” she replied.  “She did say that there is very little known about Clan Jasani, and she was right.  I originally came here as a Candy Bride, and I did a lot of research both before and after I made that decision.  I didn’t find much information, and I never came across a word about magic, or shifters.”

Maxim’s brows rose in surprise.  “That is interesting,” he said.  “There are many aspects of our history, and our lives, that we keep to ourselves.  But we do not hide the fact that we wield magic, nor the fact that we are shifters.  To try to do so would be impossible since we regularly encourage human women to come here to mate with our male-sets, and of those who come, few remain.”

“Do you usually inform the women that you’re shifters before they marry?” Summer asked.

Maxim’s brows lowered instantly.  “Now, don’t get angry,” Summer said quickly.  “I am not trying to be insulting.  I have a reason for my question.”

Maxim shook his head at himself.  He didn’t understand why he was so quick to lose his temper with Summer when he normally rarely lost his temper at all.  No, he amended.  Now that he thought about it, he realized that over the past year he had grown very temperamental.

“Yes, females are always told the truth before mating,” he answered.  “That is the reason the majority of them change their minds about mating and leave Jasan.”

“That really doesn’t make much sense,” Summer said with a frown.

“I assure you, it’s true,” Maxim replied a little stiffly. 

Summer glanced at Maxim in surprise, replaying the last comments in her head.  “I’m sorry Maxim, that isn’t what I meant,” she said quickly, wondering if they would always have such trouble understanding each other.  “What makes no sense to me is, why isn’t it common knowledge that Jasani are shifters?  You guys tell a potential mate that you’re shifters, she freaks and hops on the next liner home, and then...what?  She never tells anyone about it? 
None
of them ever tell anyone about it? 
Ever
?”

Maxim was stunned.  Why had none of them ever realized this before?  It seemed so simple and obvious now that Summer had pointed it out, yet none of his people had ever once considered it. 

“We must be a species of fools that we never realized that before,” he said, shaking his head.

“I do not think you are fools,” Summer argued.  “I think that you live here, on Jasan.  What is, or is not, common knowledge on other worlds is not exactly the most important bit of information in your daily life.”

“Nevertheless, it is a very important fact that we never noticed,” Maxim said.  “And it is also troublesome.”

 “Yes, I agree,” Summer said.  “Do you keep records of the women who come here, and then leave?”

“To some extent, yes,” Maxim said.  “We will contact the council in the morning and discuss this matter at length.  For now however, we would like to get back to the reason why we brought you here.”

“All right,” Summer replied hesitantly.  This time Maxim understood, and did not take offense.

“Do not worry,” he said.  “I give you my word that this subject will be addressed with all seriousness.  I will not forget.”

“Thank you,” Summer replied.  “And yes, I would like to know more about why you brought me here.”

 “I think I should tell you about our history first,” Maxim said slowly.  “Things that we do not generally tell those who are not Clan Jasani.”

 Even as he spoke, it suddenly occurred to Maxim that if Summer did not like the things he was about to tell her, she could simply stand up and walk out of their lives.  Forever.  And there would not be a single thing they could do to stop her.  He had been so busy trying to decide whether they should accept her, it had not occurred to him that she might very well refuse to accept them.  It was a very humbling thought and it caused him to fall silent for a long moment as he struggled with it. 

“Is something wrong?” Summer asked after a moment.

Maxim shook his head quickly.  “No, nothing,” he said.  “I apologize, I was...thinking where to begin.”

“Okay,” Summer replied slowly, wondering why he was lying to her.  “You said your history.”

“Yes of course,” Maxim said.  He cleared his throat, feeling nervous all of a sudden.  “Over three thousand years ago, our home world was destroyed,” he began.  “There was barely enough time for some of our people to escape in pods, which were sent out in hopes that at least some might survive.

“Several pods landed here, on this planet that the survivors named Jasan.  Unfortunately, all of the survivors were male.  There was not a single female among them, and, for a time, it was thought that our race was doomed after all.  A few males who were still very strong in magic were able to travel to other worlds.  They split up, a few of them searching for survivors, the others searching for females of a race compatible with our own.  They found what they were searching for on a distant planet called Earth, and convinced a number of human women to return with them to our new world.”

“Until today I never gave much thought to the question of compatibility between human females and Jasani males,” Summer said.  “But now that I know you are shifters, I find it surprising.”

“Human women are not completely compatible with us until after the mating ritual is performed,” Maxim explained. 

“Mating ritual?” Summer asked.  “And, what exactly does that entail that it would cause one’s biology to be altered?”

“Summer, I will answer your questions, this I promise,” Maxim said patiently.  “But I ask that you let me tell you this in my own way.”