Sentinel's Hunger (8 page)

Gracie C. McKeever

she finally turned and headed back to her apartment.

He shook his head at the urge to go back to his apartment and call in sick. But that would look even more suspicious to Mrs. Knowles and wouldn’t go over too well with his superiors, despite the fact that he hadn’t taken a sick day in eight years with the department.

Michael took a deep breath, started his SUV and headed for the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, secure in the knowledge that not even Mrs. Knowles would be bold enough to go into his apartment when he wasn’t there with no good reason.

* * * *

By the time Michael made it to the station in Manhattan thirty minutes later, Allan was already buzzing about the news coverage of the night’s events.

“Did you hear, man? Our alien cat woman struck again after
The
Tunnel
. Two homeboys claim some naked Xena warrior woman attacked them in an alley.”

Michael had to stop himself from smiling at Allan’s wide-eyed enthusiasm, especially when he remembered how seriously those guys had been roughed up last night. “I didn’t listen to the news this morning.” He rarely listened to the news if he could help it. He got his quota of tragedy from the job. The most he listened to the news for was sports and weather. This morning he’d had even less time or inclination than usual to tune in. He’d been too busy trying to convince himself to leave Xevera. “You’re sure it’s our cat woman?”

“Like there’re two of them out there like her?”

“They say everyone has a twin, and you saw how much she looked like a supermodel.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But it’s a freaky coincidence, don’t you think?”

“Anything’s possible.” Michael crossed the floor to the coffeemaker on the kitchen counter and poured himself a cup before
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bringing it back to the table where Allan was sitting. He straddled the seat across from the younger man and took a sip of coffee.

“Speaking of supermodels, how did your visit go with our last run of the night? Or am I right in assuming she wasn’t even there when you arrived?”

Michael could see Allan wasn’t going to let the subject go. And overzealous Walter Cronkite wannabes and the two injured homeboys made it almost impossible for him to come up with something plausible to put the kid’s curiosity to rest without telling a total lie.

“She was there and resting comfortable.”

“So it really wasn’t her that attacked that doctor and those guys?”

“Guess not.” Michael shrugged.

“Damn, from the description—”

“Can’t believe everything you hear.”

“Yeah, you’re right. That
was
some real fantasy, X-Men shit.”

“It was, yeah.”

“Think we’ll have any runs as freaky today?”

Michael grinned at Allan’s hopeful tone. “Anything’s possible.”

* * * *

Emsharra Settlement—Three Years after the Alliance and New
Regime

Nahemah did not want to tell her Sentinel-in-Command that she
would die if she did not feed, but she had no other recourse.

The hunger was upon Xevera Nanay.

Nahemah watched now as her loyal servant entered her office,
erect and proud carriage making her six feet appear much taller.

Xevera reminded Nahemah so much of Sala Nanay, Xevera’s
mother, that a sharp pang of nostalgia and regret slashed through
Nahemah’s heart.

Such a waste.

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Gracie C. McKeever

“You summoned me, Highest?”

“Yes, Xevera. Please have a seat.” Nahemah tried hard to keep
the gravity out of her voice as she pointed Xevera to a plumb-colored
settee, but when she saw the frown creasing Xevera’s raisin-brown
face, she knew she had not been totally successful.”

“What is it, Quna?”

“I have some very difficult news to relay.” She did not know
which would be harder, telling Xevera that she would die if she did
not break her Pledge of Deprivation to hunt and feed like an ordinary,
civilian Inanna, or that she had to leave The Guard. Nahemah could
not imagine either would go over well. Xevera had been in her service
for almost two centuries, a sentinel who considered her oath to
protect The Highest sacrosanct.

She peered at Xevera now, searching her brain and trying to get
an idea of the younger woman’s mindset. But like herself and most
sentinels, Xevera had grown very adept over the centuries at shielding
her thoughts and emotions from other Inanna.

“I believe I already know what you are about to disclose,” Xevera
murmured, taking a deep breath as she averted her jade eyes.

Nahemah arched a brow. “Pray tell.”

Xevera slowly raised her gaze to meet Nahemah’s and Nahemah
immediately saw the truth of the sentinel’s words.

“How long have you known?’ Nahemah asked.

“I have been feeling…unwell for a few weeks now. I had hoped
that the malady would pass, but unfortunately—“

“You should have come to me the minute you were aware of your
condition, Xevera!”

“I do not understand, Highest.”

“Do you realize that your silence put your fellow sentinels and
Emsharra at risk? What if you had succumbed to your cravings
during a mission? Do you know what sort of jeopardy the rest of the
team and any target would have been in?”

“I thought that I could handle it. I have been handling it.”

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This was true. Had Nahemah not been as attuned and sensitive to
her sentinel’s condition, or had she not possessed prior experience
with the collapse of Xevera’s mother, she would not have recognized
the signs of Xevera’s affliction, indeed would not have known
anything was amiss with her Sentinel-in-Command.

Nahemah sighed and took a seat beside Xevera. She should have
been used to delivering distasteful information, having done so many
times over the centuries than she cared to count, but dashing the
hopes of someone so promising and gifted never got easier. “You
understand you must leave The Guard, Xevera.”

“But I…” She swallowed and shook her head. “No…”

“Your condition makes it impossible for you to serve The Highest
in the capacity of a sentinel. If you do not feed naturally and soon, the
cravings will drive you mad.”

“I cannot leave. The Guard is…my family. It is all I know.”

“The illness—your hunger has triggered your natural Inanna
instincts to feed. The rest will take care of itself once you leave the
service.”

“What if I chose not to leave?”

“Unfortunately, that is not an option. I wish there was some other
way.”

“But Quna—“

“Your condition does not preclude your living a long Inanna
lifespan, nor does it prevent you from serving in an advisory capacity
to the assembly. Your diplomatic skills are impeccable and will be
much sought after. You just cannot serve as a sentinel.” Nahemah
knew these were small consolations to someone who held her post to
The Highest so dear.

Xevera stood, then bowed at the waist, gaze unflinching. “If it
pleases Quna, I would like to keep this from the assembly for the time
being.”

“Very well, I will give you two weeks, no longer. Each day that
you put off feeding puts yourself and your fellow Emsharrans at risk.”

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Gracie C. McKeever

“Understood.” Xevera nodded. “However, I would request to
escort the next retrieval team into the Great Above.”

“Xevera, the dangers to the squad could be catastrophic.”

“I would die before I let anything happen to your great-grandson
and his mate.”

Nahemah felt Xevera distancing herself, retreating behind a wall
of formality into the cold and impersonal world of her military
training, and wished that she herself had not created the need for her
friend to dissociate. “Alex and Genesis trust you with their lives, as
do I. They, however, are not the only ones I am concerned about.”

“When I swore allegiance to you, Highest, I swore to abide to the
tenets of the Alliance and the New Regime as well. I would never
bring harm to a human.”

Nahemah’s smile was indulgent.

Should she tell Xevera that the first man to mate with her and
survive her hunger was her soul mate, or that any of the others who
did not survive were the sacrifices that had to be made to a sentinel’s
hunger, tenets of the New Regime notwithstanding?

She stared at Xevera, heart pounding with the decision she was
about to make.

* * * *

Nahemah woke with a start, jerking up in bed, only to feel the gentle but firm embrace of her lover, Tenebrion, Supreme and ruler of Gaiam, enclose her in his warmth. He cradled his chin against her shoulder to nuzzle her neck.

“What is it,
mishva
?”

Nahemah swallowed hard, the vision of her last meeting with Xevera still weighing down her mind along with the imminent arrival of her great-grandson and his wife.

“They will be here soon.” She pulled out of Tenebrion’s arms with a sigh rather than directly respond to his question.

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65

“Alex and Genesis?”

She nodded, not looking forward to meeting with them so early in the morning but knew that there was no reason to delay the encounter any longer.

Between making plans for her handfasting ceremony to Tenebrion and scrambling to assure the assembly that Xevera was safe in the Great Above until another squad could be sent in to retrieve her, Nahemah had her hands full.

Of course, the situation could and would have been much more serious had any in Emsharra’s assembly and Gaiam’s council known the truth of Xevera’s condition and realized that as long as she was loose in the human world, all humans were at risk. As long as humans were at risk, the Alliance and New Regime were at risk.

“You will have to go, Ten.”

“Are you sure there is nothing I can do to help?”

“This is something I must handle myself.” She knew that he sensed the difference in her, that he wondered why she had her shields engaged around him when normally she did not.

She could not risk Tenebrion catching any errant thoughts. She did not want to put him in the position of putting his feelings for her above his duty to his people. She would not. And as long as he did not know the situation with Xevera, he would not be forced to reveal it to the Alliance. Once the Alliance was in the picture, they would take the decision on what to do about Xevera out of Nahemah’s hands.

Nahemah could not allow this, had to resolve the situation on her own. Too much was at stake, the life of her friend and erstwhile Sentinel-in-Command being paramount.

She had already lost Xevera’s mother Sala to the hunger, and since had vowed never to lose another sentinel to the insidious syndrome again.

Nahemah had been using the Inanna tracking practice to pick up her former Sentinel-in-Command’s spirit signal since the retrieval team had returned sans one member the evening before. She had only
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Gracie C. McKeever

met with minimal success.

Normally, Xevera was a master at shielding and could have completely obstructed any tracking at will. Either she was too weak to attempt a total blockade, or she was too distracted.

At the latter thought, Nahemah had her ideas about what was distracting Xevera. She could only hope the Inanna had found the mate to cure her hunger.

Tenebrion turned her to face him and planted a kiss on her lips before he pressed his forehead against hers. “You know I am here whenever you need me.”

“I know,” she murmured, sliding from his embrace to leave the bed and the comfort of his nearness to prepare for her day.

Normally, she would have started her day hours ago but allowed herself the rare indulgence of enjoying a spontaneous evening and early morning of lovemaking with her betrothed. For a brief time, Tenebrion’s nearness helped keep her guilt and demons at bay, but now the morning was here.

Tenebrion followed her lead, leaving the bed and using enchantment to dress himself in his official Gaiam attire as Nahemah clad herself in the formal blue tunic of Emsharran royalty.

She led the way through the bedroom to her palace office, and almost on cue, her aide-de-camp knocked on the door and entered.

“Highest, your great-grandson and his helpmate are here to see you.”

“I will be with them shortly. Tell them to wait in the outer office, Irkalla.”

“Yes, Highest.” Her assistant ducked out of the room and closed the door.

“That is my cue to leave.” Tenebrion reluctantly pulled away from her, and took her hand as she walked him to the door. He paused near the threshold and turned to her. “Whenever you are ready to share what is troubling you, I will be ready.”

Silently, she cupped his face, then watched with a heavy heart as he opened the door and left. Were that she could put that burden on
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him, but she could not.

Five seconds after Tenebrion left, Alex appeared at the open door.

“Great-grandmother?”

“Enter.”

Alex entered, trailing Genesis as he crossed the carpeted floor to stand before Nahemah. “Have you locked onto Xevera?”

Nahemah grinned. Her great-grandson had never been one to mince words. In this, he was much like his mother. “I do not have the exact coordinates for her as yet,” she said.

“Nahemah, let me use Inanna’s knot to bypass the next scheduled portal opening.”