Starkissed (26 page)

“Since everything has come out into the open, I think they’ll listen and accept.” Leith shook her head. “I just hope the media focuses on Zi as a whole and not J’Qhir. He will be extremely uncomfortable with the attention.”

“Leith, you know they will. You’re a target as well. The message you sent has made every major newspaper and news program on Earth. It has spread to every major planet, too.”

Leith groaned. “I never wanted that. I would come home right now, but I won’t abandon J’Qhir to face the media alone. I’ll catch the first Earth-bound ship as soon as the media conference is over.”

Catherine’s face appeared beside Cameron’s. “You’re coming home?”

“Of course.” Leith blinked. “Where else would I go?”

Cameron poked Catherine. “Your mother is afraid you might have been starkissed.”

Leith laughed. She had been starkissed, but not the way her parents meant. “No chance of that. I’ve had enough interstellar travel to last the rest of my life. I can’t wait to see you again. Dad, you need to rest and so do I. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. I love you both!”

Leith closed the connection. She started to call the house steward to find out which room J’Qhir occupied but hesitated. This wasn’t Paradise and they weren’t alone anymore. She wasn’t sure how he would react to the intrusion. She’d wait. Let him come to her. Let him construct some semblance of a proper Zi courtship…if that was what he wanted.

She left the terrace doors open, the warm breeze stirring the gauzy curtains. She stretched across the bed and slept until a knock on the door woke her hours later.

The air had grown chilly, and the evening sun slanted at a low angle across the terrace. The knocking sounded again. Leith jumped from the bed, ran her hands through her hair, and straightened her robe. She opened the door…and her heart fell into the pit of her belly.

“You’re not dressed?” Drew greeted her. “It’s time for dinner and I’m starved.”

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Starkissed

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“I-I was asleep. Come on in.”

In the dressing room stocked with a variety of clothes, Leith chose a floor-length cream-colored dress that gathered at the shoulders and formed angel-wing sleeves. A wide bronze belt fastened at her waist, bronze sandals to match. She left her hair long and loose. She thought she looked pale and touched her face with only a little of the cosmetics from the well-stocked dressing room.

“I’m ready.”

“You’re not like other women.” Drew laughed. “I expected to wait for hours.”

She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

As they walked down the hall, she asked, “Do you know which room J’Qhir is in?

Maybe he and Rohm’dh haven’t gone down yet.”

“He’s gone, Leith.”

The finality of the word stopped her. “What do you mean, gone?”

Drew shrugged. “He’s left the guesthouse.”

“Left? Why?”

“Let’s go to the dining room, and I’ll tell you what I know.”

Several tables filled the area, all empty. With J’Qhir and Rohm’dh gone, Leith and Drew were the only guests. They chose a table by the open patio doors. Sunlight faded rapidly and stars began to twinkle in the dark lavender sky. They made their choices from the menu.

“Hykaisian paow steak.” Drew’s eyes widened. “I thought the Artilians were strict vegetarians.”

“They are, but they cater to their guests.”

“But paow steak is illegal.”

“Artilia is neutral, remember.” Neutrality meant a planet reaped the benefits, but wasn’t obliged to obey all the rules.

Leith didn’t recognize half the dishes so she chose Terran beef stew, bread, and iced tea.

“Tell me, Drew.”

“I went to get J’Qhir and Rohm’dh. I thought all of us could escort you to dinner.

The steward said they left earlier in the day. His exact words, ‘It was requested they be moved’.”

“Did the steward say where?”

“He didn’t offer the information. I asked because I knew you’d want to know. He said he couldn’t divulge the location. But, Leith, the way he worded it doesn’t mean J’Qhir made the request.”

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152

Lanette

Curington

“Rohm’dh wouldn’t. J’Qhir is his superior. Who else?”

“You know a Zi ship arrived not long after we landed. It came from Arreis. They were still investigating the situation.” Drew laughed. “Investigating is too strong a word.

The Zi really don’t know how to function among others. According to what I heard, they were hanging around hoping someone would come to them. Anyway, maybe someone from the ship made the request.”

“Maybe,” Leith conceded. “But J’Qhir, as the Warrior, answers to no one except the Council of Elders.”

“Unless the ship received orders directly from the Council.”

Leith nodded. “They want to isolate him, keep him from being influenced by off-worlders. And he would go along with it. Duty, obligation, responsibility…” Words of honor that turned to ashes in her mouth. J’Qhir placed them above all else and rightly so.

Except that he now placed them above her as well.

“Many worlds do that, Leith. They keep contact with others to a minimum, to keep from diluting their own cultures. Even Artilia does it to a great extent. Not every culture wants theirs to become a melting pot like our own.”

She understood the concept well enough, but now it hit her on a personal level.

While dressing, she had decided to find a way to be alone with him, entice him to her suite, make love to him all night long in a real bed with soft sheets and pillows.

Tomorrow, over a breakfast that did not consist of food they had gathered or killed themselves, they would discuss their future and make their decisions. No, it wasn’t the proper courtship she had envisioned earlier in the day. But she had expected him to come to her without being prodded. When he didn’t, seduction was the only way she knew to force him to choose. Hadn’t she feared he would choose Zi and his position as Warrior over her all along?

By leaving, J’Qhir had made his choice. There was no future. He hadn’t even said good-bye.

Leith’s eyes burned. She stood. “I’m sorry, Drew. I-I don’t feel well.”

“I’ll have your food sent up to you,” Drew offered as she ran from the room. She reached the stairs as hot tears scalded her cheeks.

Drew knew her well enough not to come after her. If only J’Qhir had known her well enough to come to her!

In her suite, Leith changed into a warmer robe. She scrubbed her face free of cosmetics and tears. She propped herself in bed with a viewer and tried to reach Nura. As Chief Servitor of Security, Nura could find out to which guesthouse he had been moved.

She was told again and again, “Servitor Nura is unavailable at this time.”

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Starkissed

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When her food arrived, she uncovered the stew, but she wasn’t really hungry.

Instead, she found a channel showing Terran programming and watched an old vid from a century ago. The actors were long dead and the plot rehashed, but it kept her from thinking about what she had planned to do in this bed this night. She fell asleep before the vid was half over.

”””

A beep on the viewer woke her the next morning. She punched the button.

“Ready for breakfast?” Drew asked cheerfully.

She stared at him sleepily. “Is food all you can think about?”

“I’m starved.”

“You’re not starved, especially if you finished off that paow steak last night.”

“I did. It was delicious, pink and bloody, just the way I like it.”

Leith’s stomach roiled and she covered her mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

“I’ll come by and get you in ten minutes.”

“I’ll meet you downstairs, Drew. I wouldn’t want you to waste away to nothing while waiting on me.”

Drew laughed as his image disappeared.

Leith lay still for a while, letting her stomach calm. When she thought she could move without retching, she slowly got out of bed. As she passed the food tray, she stopped to replace the cover. Lumps of meat and vegetables floated in a greasy broth. She rushed to the facilities and emptied her stomach in the waste receptacle.

The transition from Paradise to civilization wasn’t agreeing with her. Maybe her system wasn’t compatible with Artilia, although she’d never heard of other humans having problems. And she’d felt queasy on board the
Starfire
before ever reaching Artilia. Stress. Leaving Paradise, anxiety over her relationship with J’Qhir, the conference with them on interstellar display… Nerves.

Leith made another call to Nura and was once more told the Servitor was unavailable. She left a message that it was an emergency, for Servitor Nura to get in touch with her as soon as possible.

She dressed in a loose pale blue tunic and trousers and joined Drew downstairs. He had ordered a Terran breakfast she had often craved in the past two months—eggs, sausage and gravy, biscuits, and hash browns. This morning, Leith’s stomach churned at the sight and smell of it. She ordered tea and plain toast.

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154

Lanette

Curington

“The conference is tomorrow evening,” Drew said and drained the last of his coffee.

“That leaves a day and a half for sightseeing. I’d like to visit the Penelaape Arcs. How does that sound to you?”

“I can’t get in touch with Nura. I’m going to stay here and keep trying.”

Leith didn’t think the Artilians would appreciate her raiding all the guesthouses till she found J’Qhir. Certainly, J’Qhir wouldn’t relish the attention. On the other hand, he knew exactly where she was. Surely, he could have found a moment to call her and explain. To say good-bye, at the very least. If he wanted to. Unless he just wanted to make a clean break of it. Damn, all she needed was a few moments with him, just to find out. Guessing what was going through his Zi mind was useless.

A server brought her tea and toast.

“You’re not eating much, Leith. Are you ill?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think Artilia is agreeing with me.” No need to mention she’d had the same symptoms aboard the
Starfire.
Maybe she had picked up a virus on Paradise. As soon as the media conference was over, she’d see a doctor.

“You look pale. Do you want me to stay with you while you wait for Nura to call?”

“No thanks, Drew. I’d rather be alone. You do your sight-seeing.”

“If you’re sure. If you need anything, just call. I’ll be carrying a beeper with me.”

Drew wiped his mouth with a napkin, then stood. “Just think, Leith, people pay small fortunes to visit Artilia and the Arcs, and we’re getting the royal treatment for free.”

She told him to enjoy himself, then sat for a while sipping tea and nibbling toast. The bland food settled her stomach, and she felt better. She only hoped she could hold out until after the conference.

”””

Penelaape Arcs of myriad sizes shimmered in bright metallic hues as Leith walked among them. The graceful arches sensed her unrest and responded. She drew a deep breath and felt some of her fear and trepidation ease. The Arcs of Artilia were known galaxy-wide for their calming effects. Beings traveled from far away to spend time in the public parks.

Leith chose a cluster of small Arcs, in pale shades of pinks and blues and dusky lavender. Their glossy surfaces trembled as she drew near. Leith thought her alien emotions might traumatize them, but she had been assured the Arcs in this private garden would be all right.

She knelt in the sandy soil lightly covered with silvery-green moss and touched each Arc in turn.

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“Thank you,” she whispered, “for allowing me here.”

One Arc shuddered violently. Not the tallest, largest, nor brightest, but the “leader”

of this little group. She could leave and return in an hour or a day, and find the Arcs in this garden completely rearranged. She might find another small cluster, which might or might not include any of these and this leader might not be a leader at all.

Even the Artilians didn’t know how the Arcs functioned, what they were made of, or how group leaders were chosen. No one knew how or why the Arcs moved from one position to another. They did so when completely unobserved. One park had been kept under surveillance for decades, with hidden recording equipment. None of the Arcs moved until the equipment malfunctioned, and the Arcs rearranged themselves once more. The Artilians then decreed no park should ever be secretly watched again.

“Leith!”

The Arcs, recognizing the voice, shivered pleasantly. Leith stood, brushed dry sand from her ankle-length tunic, and straightened to greet her friend. Nura hadn’t changed since their days at the university. If anything she was more beautiful. Long silky white hair flowed freely around her shoulders, and her eyes were clear, celestial blue. Her skin was as translucent as starlight. The tunic she wore was white and sparkled in the pale Artilian sunlight.

“Leith, I’m so glad you thought to call me. I would have been heart-broken if you hadn’t contacted me.”

“Nura, it’s good to see you.” Leith threw her arms around her friend. “I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. Yesterday, I finally told them it was an emergency. I know you’re busy, but I wanted to see you before the conference.” Leith had anxiously waited for Nura to return her call, but it came only a standard hour before. Since it was only a few standard hours until the conference, Leith saw no reason to try to track down J’Qhir now. She would see him then.

“I’m so sorry, Leith. I was away from Katasa~ri on business. And frankly, Artilians don’t consider off-worlder emergencies
real
emergencies. Artilians feel that most others, especially humans, are much too emotional and tend to ‘make mountains out of molehills’.” Nura laughed at the Terran phrase. “It feels good to use your idioms again and actually have someone know what I’m talking about.”

The Arcs around them shimmered. “They like you, Leith.”