Raife: An Aquadomina Novel (10 page)

Sophie was as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof. It was time to implement
her plan.

“PAC, make the call.” She directed the computer and then hurried over
into the corner, sat down and applied the seat restraint.

“You will have company in thirty seconds.” The computer warned her. “I
informed the rest of the guard to stand down.”

“Thank you PAC. You know my orders after we are gone.” Sophie instructed
and then waited. She didn’t have long to sit there in the darkness before her
target stormed in.

“Where is the emergency?” Raife bit out looking frantically around the
Aquavi. “Chosen where are you?”

Before Sophie could answer the doors slid shut, the Aquavi disembarked
from the Castrum, and they were falling. The falling part was what worried her,
but PAC had assured her he could adjust their impact to keep Raife from being
hurt. Well, the computers exact words were, “He won’t be hurt too much.” When
they hit the water, instead of staying on the surface, the Aquavi did an
immediate dive.

“What—” Raife lost his footing as they fell. When they hit the water, he
went flying into a seat and then bounced to hit the floor. He looked like he
was playing on a trampoline. Sophie worried when he lay there for a moment and
then groaned and sat up, “What is going on?”

“PAC lights to normal.” Sophie called. “Please sit down Raife.”

Hearing her voice was a catalyst of some type. Raife jumped off the floor
and stormed over to her, she had to admit he was an intimidating sight. His
eyes were flashing sparks and he practically bristled angry energy. “What is
going on?” He tore off her restraint, and pulled her out of the seat. “Answer
me.”

“Unauthorized release of restraint while moving.” The computer blared and
she felt the vehicle slowing down. “Please return to your seat.”

“PAC cease warning, and keep moving.” Sophie yelled just as Raife grabbed
her by the throat and squeezed.

“What have you done?” She was grasping at his wrist, she hadn’t figured
on this response. Raife had never been anything but deferential to her. “Answer
me.” He pulled her forward and Sophie was caught again by the amazing flecks in
his eyes.

“I’ve kidnapped you.” Sophie gasped, “Please, let me explain.” She could
feel his fingers loosen on her neck and air was making its way into her lungs.
His hold wasn’t deadly, but could be in a second if he didn’t like what he
heard. “You said you could help me. This is the only way.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Raife seemed honestly bewildered.

“No. The longer I think about it, the more clarity comes to me.” Sophie
assured him. “Can you let go so we can sit and talk?” She was relieved when he
released her. She quickly sat in the seat he had just pulled her out of and
then he sat down in the one across from hers. She had turned them toward each
other so they were going to sit face to face to talk this out. “I’m sorry, I
know all of your guards are trustworthy, but we needed to leave quickly. With
as small a number as possible.”

Raife bristled at her words and she waited for him to defend his men,
which he did. “Why not bring more of my guard along with us?”

“I couldn’t risk it. They are going to follow in a couple of days.” She
informed him.

“A couple of days?” Raife bit out, “Where exactly are we going?”

“We are going to Kingdom Two as planned, just a few days early.” Sophie
waited patiently for Raife to calm down.

“No. We have to go back.” Raife insisted, “We can’t just show up in
Kingdom Two days ahead of schedule, with no other guard. It is not safe.”

“Why not? Don’t you think you are up for the task of protecting my body?”
Realizing how that sounded, Sophie felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Before he
could respond she added, “I am The Chosen. I want to go to Kingdom Two, so I am
going.” She laughed at the look on Raife’s face.
 
His reaction to her statement was priceless.

He was looking at her like she had completely lost her mind. Sophie
sighed and decided to get down to business. Raife didn’t seem like he was in
the mood to be playful. It might have something to do with being kidnapped.
“Okay, I’ll get serious. I have a more important reason for leaving early. You
wanted answers and I still have questions. So here it is.” Sophie sat forward
in her seat, “Ri’Carn, my soon to be dearly beloved, is crazy. I would go so
far as to say he has some psychopathic tendencies.” Sophie sat back in her
seat, “Don’t ask me how I know, I just feel it.” She couldn’t explain the sixth
sense like feeling she got around people. She could just “see” them all of a
sudden. In the Lextrium, she had a faint feeling of unease with The Three, but
when Ri’Carn had come into the room, she had really felt it. The man was power
mad mixed with pure evil.

She looked at Raife, their eyes locking. Sophie was searching again for
something. “You on the other hand….” She almost laughed when he squirmed in his
seat, “You I get the feeling of safety. That I can trust you. So here we are.”
She didn’t add that she felt that he was hiding something from her. Since he
was in servitude, she assumed he was ashamed of whatever deviation in his
family member caused his current situation. She would get the truth out of him
sooner or later.

Raife looked at her, “Why the rush out of Castrum in the middle of the
night?”

“Ri’Carn was coming in the morning to discuss our travel plans.” Sophie
adjusted her seat so she was getting a warming massage. The stress of this
“abduction” had worn her out. “I got the feeling that he had more on his agenda
than just a friendly visit, so I planned our early departure. PAC and a couple
of the staff helped. I haven’t bought us very much time. I know that Ri’Carn
will have those loyal to him all over Aquadomina.”

“What you say is true, he has spies spread out over all Three Kingdoms.
Ri’Carn will follow in the morning. We will only have a few hours on him.”
Raife argued.

“I have PAC informing him I am “indisposed to visitors” this morning.
Then again the next morning. They will stall him as long as possible. I have
complete trust in all of my staff, even Debb. To get her out of the way I
requested she go to Norhurst to better prepare my itinerary. She will meet us
in Terragale for the Welcome Celebration.”

 
“Why all the cloak and dagger. Why
not stay in Aquarian and deal with Ri’Carn?” Raife asked.

“When I was talking with Willem and Connor, it came to my attention that
Kingdom Two may have urgent problems that need dealing with. I want to meet
with their leaders before Ri’Carn can stop me. I want a true picture of what
Kingdom Two is suffering, not a pretty picture all tied up to show me lies.”
Sophie yawned and gave Raife a weak smile. “Can we continue this after some
sleep? I really am tired.”

“Yes. That is probably a good idea.” Raife looked around at the seats.
“These fold into a sleeping pod. I will be okay out here.”

Something of a devil rose in Sophie. She sat forward in her seat so that
the slit in her dress moved to show her leg up to the thigh. She noticed his
eyes flash to her leg, then back to her face. “Why Commander.” She leaned
forward as if to push herself up. “I don’t mind sharing that big bed. You can
even sleep on top...of the covers if it makes you feel better.” As she stood,
she made sure to swing her hair out of the way so that Raife would get a good
look down her dress. If he was interested in looking that is. When she met his
gaze next, she realized the man was definitely interested. His eyes were the
darkest she had seen them and the fireworks show the flecks in them were
putting on had her transfixed.

Clearing his throat Raife whispered, “I think it best that I sleep out
here.”

“Suit yourself.” Sophie moved toward the double doors. “Do me a favor
would you?” She gave him her back. “Allie ties this corset in the back and I
have no idea how to get it off. Would you mind…?” Looking over her shoulder,
she didn’t let the fact that Raife was walking like he was on death row moving
toward ol’ sparky hurt her feelings.

“Your hair…” She felt his hands against her shoulders, “It’s…uh…in the
way.”

She almost laughed at his reluctance.
 
“Here let me move that for you.” Reaching over her shoulder her fingers
brushed against his and the spark between them was obvious. She got goose bumps
at the idea of his fingers touching all over her body.

With her hair out of the way, he moved to work the ties of her corset.
“There they are undone.”

“Thank you.” Sophie opened the doors to the private quarters, “If you
change your mind, I’m a heavy sleeper. You won’t wake me up if you join me in
the bed. If you decide to stay out here, your clothes and toiletries are in the
bag over there.” She pointed to the stack of items PAC had ordered and Allie
had delivered to the Aquavi. “Good night Raife.”

She and Raife had talked some more between sex and showering. When she
told him of her ex-husband, he was shocked that marriages on Earth were able to
be dissolved. The previous Chosen had made marriage absolute. The only way to
leave a partner was in death.

“We have some cultures on Earth like that still. Most have moved on to be
more accepting of peoples personal choices.” Sophie had told him. “Not that
there isn’t a lot of room for improvement.” She had laughed, “Just like here.”

Raife had gotten serious and asked her, “What are you hoping to change
about Aquadomina?” Sophie had looked up and saw the intense look on his face.

She wasn’t sure what changes she was going to request so answered him
truthfully. “I am hoping that seeing Terragale and Norhurst will give me some
ideas on what the people would like done differently. You are from Norhurst.
What do you think they would like to see improved on?

Raife had tucked her into his side, “Life in Norhurst is idyllic. The
fields are green and the people happy. The only thing that clouds life there is
the Deviant law.” He said that with a bitterness Sophie hadn’t heard from him
before.

“Is that how you came to be a guard?” She asked, hoping that the topic
didn’t ruin the closeness she was feeling with him. “The Three said they take
Deviants siblings into servitude.”

“Yes.” He replied shortly and Sophie knew she had hit a sore spot with
asking.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It is okay. I am not used to talking about this part of my life. Most
families with a deviation try to bury the pain of losing their family members.”

“That is a horrible way to have to live Raife.” Sophie hugged closer
along his side.

“It is.” Raife had been rubbing her shoulder and Sophie yawned hugely.
She really was exhausted. “You need to rest. We will arrive in Terragale soon.”

The warmth from Raife and physical activity all led to Sophie falling
asleep a lot faster than she would have expected.

Waking up a short while later in Raife’s arms was the best feeling she
could remember having in a long time. Shifting her fingers to draw circles on
his chest, she sighed and moved to go shower. They were close to Terragale and
she wanted to be ready when it was time to disembark.

“Where are you off to sweetheart?” Raife spoke sleepily from the side of
the bed.

“I was thinking about taking a shower.” Sophie leaned over and kissed him
lightly on the lips.

“Why not get dirty first?” He eyed her suggestively. “There was that
position you told me about that we didn’t get to try.”

“We will arrived at Terragale in approximately fifteen minutes.” PAC gave
an update on Ri’Carn. “We have not heard from Ri’Carn this morning. However, I
am expecting his arrival to be imminent. Today was to be your departure day.
Once he knows you are gone, he will inform his people to be on the lookout for
you. You must hurry to disembark as soon as we make dock. I am putting you as
close to the Queens quarters as possible.”

“Thank you PAC. We will be ready to disembark in a few minutes.” Sophie
rolled to go into the shower. It wasn’t very large, but worked to get clean.
She washed as quickly as possible. She had gotten a history from Raife on
Kingdom Two and Three. The head of both cities was called a Queen, what on
Earth would be like a mayor. Only mayors were voted in. Here on Aquadomina,
Queens were the daughters of the ruling family. The Queen met with the elected
council and took the issues brought to her in front of The Three. The members
of the council were voted in by districts. There were six districts in
Terragale and four in Norhurst with a population of about fifty-thousand voters
each. She needed to meet with the Queen and as many members of the council of
Terragale as she could. Then she would try to make it to Norhurst and do the
same there. Raife had casually stated that the councils were all controlled by
women. Since as long as he could remember, it was this way. Sophie wasn’t
completely surprised by the matriarchal rule. Aquadomina roughly translated
meant, “water ladies”. It would explain all the women in power she had met, all
The Chosen’s being women and the authority The Three had.

Kissing Raife as they passed each other in the bedroom she grabbed a
handful of veggies Maureen had made and snacked on them as she hurried into her
dress. This one was similar to the mauve one she had worn to her meeting with
The Three, only this one was a “state” dress. It was deep chocolate brown, with
golden embroidery and fancy pearl adornments. The corset that matched this
dress was also fancier. She was meeting with the leadership of a Kingdom and
she wanted to look good. She almost laughed at the thought of presenting
herself to “royalty”.

Once she was done with her dress, she groaned. Her hair was a wicked
mess. Grabbing a comb and tearing it through her hair, she sighed. Why hadn’t
she brought Allie? Then she remembered what she and Raife had done last night.
It was good that Allie wasn’t here. She could do her own hair. Taking some
pins, she did a sloppy wrapping braid. Looking in the mirror, she grimaced. It
wasn’t perfect but it would have to do.

“We have to go.” Raife adjusted her corset then kissed the exposed skin
on her neck. “Are you sure you want to do this?” His voice was thick with
concern.

“No. I’m not sure.” Sophie leaned back into him, “but if I don’t try, who
will?”

She hurried to kiss Raife again before she lost her nerve and then they
were ready to go.

“PAC we are ready. Not a single person is to board in my absence.” She
insisted.

“Remote access chip initialized.” PAC informed her, Sophie felt a slight
tingle in one of her fingers.

“Was that you PAC?” She rubbed the spot and looked at Raife
questioningly.

“During the initial scan when I was programmed for you, I took the
liberty of installing a small chip so I could track you. Any slight discomfort
will pass.” PAC assured her.

“Okay.” She wasn’t sure about the computer tracking her and told PAC, “We
will discuss you chipping me when I get back.”

“We need to go.” Raife moved to the doors and waited for her. She hurried
to stand next to him, when the doors slid open they moved down the dock.

“Have you been here before?” Sophie asked Raife as they moved along the
dock toward a street. “Do you know where we are going?”

“Yes. I can get us to the building. It is how we are going to get inside
without Ri’Carn’s spies seeing us first is the problem.” Raife was walking fast
and Sophie was almost running to keep up.

“Let me worry about getting us in.” Sophie didn’t have a plan and didn’t
want Raife to know that she didn’t have a plan. She was kind of winging it.

“This is the building.” Raife moved toward a guarded door. Sophie heard a
voice in her head yelling a warning.

Not this side. Go around to the
east.

“Not this door.” She whispered. “Go around to the eastern entrance.” If
Raife thought her request odd, he didn’t mention it. He just grabbed her hand
and pulled her along the street. After a few minutes of walking, they came to another
entrance.

“There is the eastern entrance.” He looked at her. “Is this the one you
want?”

Sophie didn’t hear any warning bells going off so nodded. As they
approached the two guards Sophie got a feeling of honor and integrity, but
there was a tinge of sadness too.
Both of
the males have family in the mines. They are worried for the health of their
loved ones.

“Who goes there?” The guards stepped forward. Both of them were staring
at her and Raife with aggression written all over their features.

“The Chosen.” Sophie moved forward. “I have urgent,
private
business with the Queen.” She had gotten close and could
see the shocked faces of the two males more closely. “I need entrance as
quickly as possible. It is not wise to stand out in the open for too long.”

They didn’t salute or bow, which she was grateful for.
Put your fingers on their skin.
That was
an odd thought, but it couldn’t hurt. Seeing the arm of one was uncovered, she
reached her fingertips out. As soon as she put her fingers on his arm, he jerked
upright and stared at her openmouthed. She poured out calming, happy thoughts
trying to relax the guard.

“Chosen.” He rasped out, his voice weak. “It really is you.”

His friend was staring at him, “What has gotten into you—” Sophie didn’t
wait for the thought to come to her, she put her fingers on the other males
arm. He had the same reaction.

“It is going to be okay.” Sophie assured both males. “You must not tell
anyone I am here. We can make our own way.” Smiling at both guards, she slipped
inside with Raife following her, a bewildered expression etched on his face.

“It is true then.” Raife whispered softly.

“What is true?” Sophie looked at Raife as they walked. She was trying to
find someone to show them to the Queens quarters.

“They say that the Chosen has special abilities.” Raife spoke as if in
awe.

“Special abilities?” Sophie scoffed, “What kind of special abilities?”
She had spotted someone walking down a hallway and hurried toward them.

“Just different—” Raife broke off as they approached the female in the
hall.

“Hello.” Sophie smiled at the woman. She wasn’t feeling a bad vibe so
felt comfortable asking, “We need to find the Queens meeting room. Can you
please help us?”

“Of course. Are you sitting in on the celebration plans?” The woman was a
chatterbox and kept talking even when Sophie and Raife just walked silently
alongside her. “You aren’t from Terragale. Are you the delegates from Norhurst
or Aquarian?” She asked.

“We are from Aquarian.” Sophie replied excitedly. This was a bit of good
news. If the delegates from Norhurst happened to be council members, she could
kill two Kingdoms with one stone so to speak. She wouldn’t have to travel to
Norhurst to get a feel for where they stood on the happenings in Aquadomina.

“Ah.” The woman lost a little of her sparkle at the mention of Aquarian.
“It is nice to welcome you to Terragale.” She pointed to the doors of a room
directly across from them, “The meeting is being held in there.”

“Thank you for your time.” Sophie smiled warmly and the woman left shaking
her head.

“You are too nice to be from Aquarian.” Raife bit out. “Try to be
more…demanding.”

“I am nice. I can’t help it.” Sophie turned to Raife, “I need you to
bring out each person inside that room.” She looked around, saw another set of
doors and hurried to see what was inside. “Okay, this is how we can do it. I
will stand in this doorway. You bring them into my line of sight. If I give you
this signal…” Sophie moved her finger across her throat like “you’re dead” in
the movies from Earth, “Send that person away.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Raife asked.

“I don’t know.” Sophie waved her hands around. “Think of something
official sounding.” She looked into Raife’s face and saw his sudden smile.

 
“I will tell them I am doing
security duty in advance of your arrival and I found something on their record
that they need to fix. That should buy us some time.”

Sophie hurried to hug him tightly, “If I nod it is safe to send them back
inside.” She let go and hurried to stand in the doorway, “Are you ready?”

Raife braced his hands on the doorway and kissed her quickly his eyes
turning turbulent, “I think I can handle this. Watch your man at work.”

Sophie’s heart jumped when Raife teased her about being her man. The
words felt right though, and she went all soft thinking about them being
together. When he stepped out with the first person from the meeting, she
instantly nodded. This one was okay. Raife brought out three women before
Sophie got a bad feeling. Number four she had a screaming in her head,
Ri’Carn’s spy…get rid of her.
She did
the finger across the throat.

“I just came from security and you need to check your credentials for the
celebration ceremony.” Raife told the woman, “You will want those ready before
The Chosen gets here. Until you have them in order, I will need you to leave
the planning meeting.”

The female sputtered and groaned then hurried off to check her
credentials.

This happened with two others, and then Raife came out and waved her
over.

“That is everyone in the room. There are seven delegates left. The Queen
of Terragale, three of her council and three councilwomen from Norhurst.”

“Thank you Raife.” She hugged him tightly, “I couldn’t have done this
without you.” Stepping back, she nodded for him to open the door. “I’m ready.”