Laura Jo Phillips (26 page)

“So you’re low man on the totem pole?” Summer asked.

Ran smiled.  “I don’t know what a
totem pole
is, but I think I get your meaning.  And no, that is not what it means.  We are not human, Summer.  We look very human.  But we don’t have any human DNA.

“We share one soul between us.  That means that we need to be together.  We need to work together, live together, do almost everything together.  It is not a choice we must make, but a necessary part of who and what we are.  One of us must be the leader, and the others
need
to follow that lead.  Loni and I have no problem speaking up if we disagree with something Maxim says, or a decision he makes.  We are separate individuals with separate brains and we each have our own personalities, ideas, feelings and opinions.  But in many ways, we are also three parts of one whole.  In order for the whole to work, we must cooperate with one another.”

“That is a very difficult concept for me to grasp,” Summer said. 

“I understand that, but even if you don’t grasp it entirely, it’s important that you are at least aware of it.”

“Why?” Summer asked.

“So that you can understand, at least a little, what’s happening with us,” Ran said.  “You asked if we wanted you only because you are our Arima, but in reality, the opposite is true.  Maxim wished to be careful and go slow, even though he knew that you were the one woman in all of the universe meant specifically for us.  He did not want us to end up in the same position as our Fathers
only
because you are our Arima.  Maxim was worried, very worried, that you could be like Mara.  Neither myself, nor Loni, agreed with him, but at the same time, we have no desire to be with a woman like Mara either.  So we agreed to go slow, as Maxim wished.

“Because of that, we made an effort to hold our feelings back from you.  We know that you, as our Arima, can sense our emotions.  We could not let you feel how much we wanted you.  It would have been unfair to you, and difficult for us.”

“All right, I understand that,” Summer said, trying to ignore the growing relief she felt at Ran’s explanation.  There were other problems, she reminded herself.  “Maxim did not like me, and that you cannot deny.”

“I cannot explain my brother’s feelings, nor his actions,” Ran said.  “He has said he does not dislike you, and if he said it, then it is true.  I admit that there is something going on with him that neither Loni nor I understand.  But it is nothing to do with you.  Whatever it is, it has been rubbing at him for many months now.”

Summer already knew that Maxim did not dislike her, not now at least.  When he had told her that earlier in the armory, she had felt his sincerity.  Just as she felt Ran’s sincerity now.  Because of that, she had to believe that what Ran was saying was true. 

“There is one other thing that bothers me,” she said.  “Actually, there are several things that bother me, but this is the only other really big one.”

“If you tell me what it is, I will try to help you with it,” Ran said.

“Well, it’s about Mara,” she said.  “I only met her once and no, she was not very nice.  And I assume that whatever she did today was really bad.  It looked bad even from where I was sitting.  But still, I don’t understand how you guys could sever your relationship with your own mother.  I don’t have a great relationship with my mother, but I don’t think I could ever do what you did.  That bothers me, Ran.”

“I don’t blame you for being bothered by it,” Ran said sadly.  “She really is not a good person, Summer.  I wish I could say otherwise, but I can’t.  And it is no exaggeration at all that she made our fathers miserable for five hundred years.” 

“I don’t understand that either,” Summer said.  “If they were so unhappy with her, why not divorce her?”

“Because there is no such thing as divorce for Clan Jasani,” Ran replied.  “Once mated, whether it be to an Arima or a chosen human female, there is no going back.  Jasani males can only mate once, Summer.  They can only have sexual feelings for one woman, can only have children with one woman.  Once a choice is made, it cannot be unmade.”

“Wow,” Summer said softly.  “That’s...well, I don’t know what that is.  It certainly makes Maxim’s desire to go slowly even more understandable.  But if your fathers were that unhappy with her, wouldn’t it have been better to end the relationship even if it meant no more sex or children?  If they wanted children that badly, there are other options.  They could have adopted.”

“Perhaps,” Ran said.  “But there is no option for ending such a relationship in our culture.  You make your choice, and you live with it.  There is no going back.”

“But you said earlier today that Mara was no longer your mother,” Summer pointed out.  “Obviously you did something to sever that relationship.”

“Yes, but that is different,” Ran said.  “When one does something so wrong, so far against all rules and customs, breaking faith with not just one or two people, but with our entire society and race as a whole, then there is a ritual,
moztu-oku,
which is used to sever all ties with that person.  It is rarely done, and only as a last resort in extreme situations.”

“What Mara did was that bad?” Summer asked.

“Yes, it was,” Ran said.

“What did she do, Ran?” Summer asked softly.  “I would rather hear it from you than from someone else.”

Ran hesitated.  He did not want to admit what Mara had done.  But Summer was right.  It would be better for her to hear it from him than someone else.  “She stole a sample of Princess Rayne’s blood,” Ran said reluctantly. 

“Why?” Summer gasped.

“That is not yet known,” Ran replied.  “But it cannot have been for any good reason.”

“No, I can see that,” Summer replied.

“Even so,” Ran said, “what you need to understand is that we performed the
moztu-oku
for Mara’s sake.”

“How was that for her sake?” Summer asked doubtfully.

“The penalty for the crime that Mara committed, assaulting a child of our royal family, if she were Clan Jasani, is instant death,” Ran said.  “Even though Mara is human, she was, before the
moztu-oku
, by our law, deemed to be Clan Jasani because she was legally mated to a Jasani male-set, and gave birth to Jasani sons.  By severing our ties with her, it is as though she was never Clan Jasani at all.  She is, at best, Citizen Jasani.”

“And what is the penalty for her crime as a citizen?” 

“Like any other citizen, she will be tried by a jury made up of Citizen Jasani who will then decide her fate.  Since she was caught in the act, and no real harm was done to Princess Rayne, it is not likely she will be sentenced to death.  She will instead be sent to a prison planet, or perhaps she will be sent to the mines for a specified period of time.  After that, she will be banished from Jasan for the remainder of her life.  But she will still have her life. “

“Won’t your Prince be angry with you for manipulating the situation that way?” Summer asked.

“He would be if we did such a thing behind his back, and rightly so,” Ran replied.  “But we did not do that, nor would we.  Maxim asked High Prince Garen for permission to perform the
moztu-oku
.  Prince Garen was kind enough to permit it, and don’t think for a moment that he did not fully understand the reason for Maxim’s request, or the consequences of it.

“No matter what kind of a person Mara is, she is still our mother.  Her life was the only thing we had to offer her, and Prince Garen granted our request for that.”  Ran paused for a moment, then smiled sadly.  “Mara will never understand that what we did, we did for her.  But we know it, and it is ourselves we must live with.”

Summer sat quietly for a few minutes, going over everything that Ran had said.  She realized something, but wanted to be certain.  “That was Maxim’s idea, wasn’t it?” she asked.  “To sever Mara so that she would not lose her life.”

“Of course it was,” Ran said.  “He is not the monster you seem to think him, Summer.”

“I do not think him a monster, Ran,” Summer objected.  “I do not know him at all.  But I am beginning to know you a little.  I was wondering why it was that you were going behind Maxim’s back to talk to me.  But now I realize, you aren’t, are you?  He knows you are here.”

 “Of course,” Ran said.  “We discussed what we believed to be your biggest concerns, and agreed that one of us should try to explain things to you.  We thought it would be easier for you than having all three of us trying to convince you to give us a chance at the same time.”

“Is that what you are doing?” she asked with a smile. “Convincing me to give you a chance?”

“Yes,” Ran replied with a grin. “Is it working?”

“Oh, excuse me one moment,” he said as he reached up to tap his vox.  “Yes?”

“Yes, she’s fine,” Ran said.  “We will be there in just a moment.”

Ran reached up to tap the vox off.  “That was Maxim.  He asks that we go down to the meeting room.  Faron wishes to speak with us.”

“All right,” Summer agreed easily, standing up.  “Let’s go.”

Ran opened the door for her and guided her out of the room and down the hall, wondering what Faron wanted.  Maxim’s voice had given away nothing.  Well, he would soon find out.

Chapter
30

Summer pulled her long, thick braid over her shoulder out of the way and slipped her arms through the katana harness, securing it in place without really thinking about it.  She was getting used to walking around with it all the time, though she hadn’t tried to use it since that first day.  She looked around the guest room she had used for the past several days, and ran through a mental checklist.  Satisfied that she had not forgotten anything, she opened the door and stepped into the hall.

“You about ready?” Darleen asked as she too stepped into the hall from her room next door.

“Yes, I think so,” Summer replied.  “You?”

“Absolutely,” Darleen replied.  “I’m excited to finally be going.  All of this waiting around drives me a little crazy.”

“It’s only been a week,” Summer said.  “And a very busy week at that.”

Darleen nodded.  “Yes, that’s true.  Between trying to remember, and write down, everything Lio did and said over the course of a year, and working with you on getting Lio to sound normal when he speaks the words you put in his mouth, and Doc’s treatments, it has been very hectic.”

“Yes, but in my opinion, out of all of that, the most important things have been Doc’s treatments,” Summer said, studying her friend closely.  Darleen’s hair was a couple of inches long now thanks to Doc, the scars on her face were fainter than they had been, and the dark circles beneath her eyes were almost gone.  “You look so much better.  Still too thin, but much better.  And you aren’t limping at all now.”

“I never thought anyone would be able to do half as much as Doc has already done,” Darleen said.  “I am very grateful for all of his help.”  Darleen shrugged.  “But, I am happy today is the big day.”

“Yes, me too,” Summer agreed as they turned and headed up the hall toward the kitchen.  “I wish I had been more successful with some of the things I’ve been working on though.”

“The computer control stuff isn’t going so well huh?” Darleen asked.

“Yes and no,” Summer replied.  “I can do all of the usual things.  I just can’t get them to upload system files to a remote data retrieval device without setting off system alarms unless I know where the alarms are beforehand.”

“Summer,” Darleen said softly, stopping in the middle of the hall and waiting for Summer to stop and look at her.   

“Yes?”

“Without you, none of this would be happening right now,” Darleen said.  “The slave compound you were in would not be closed.  The women who were saved, would not be on the way home to their families.  I would not be here right now.  The Jasani would still be looking for a break in the slave ring, instead of having its primary human agent on Jasan in custody, along with all of the information in his head.  We would not be ready to board a ship for Li-Hach-Cor in an effort to free even more women from another slave compound. 

“So, if you are not able to get through the Xanti’s computer system, well, that’s too bad.  Another way will have to be found.  You cannot do everything.”

“That is exactly what we have been trying to tell her,” Maxim said from behind them.  “But she won’t listen to us.  Hopefully, she will listen to her friend.”

Summer turned around and smiled at Maxim, Loni and Ran.  Ever since her conversation with Ran a week earlier, she had started to see Maxim in a different light.  That had been the same night that Faron had announced the plans for the upcoming rescue mission to Li-Hach-Cor.  Since then, everyone had been too busy for much in the way of personal conversation.  Summer was glad of that as it had given her exactly what she’d wanted most.  Time to work through things in her own mind, in her own way.

“I understand what you guys are saying,” she said as the Katres caught up with them and bowed.  She was even starting to get used to all of the bowing.  “And I appreciate it.  But these computers are important.  We need to get the information that’s in them or we won’t be able to find the other compounds.”

“We will,” Maxim said.  “Don’t worry about it so much.  Right now, it is most important that you both eat some breakfast before we leave.”