The Chalice (21 page)

“ I’ll decide when an audience is warranted, but for now keep her separated.”

He turned to leave, hesitating as he stalked towards the exit.

“I’m  returning to my quarters. If further contact is made by the Deg’Nara,

notify me.”

Vaux m uttered beneath his breath, scowling as he studied the star charts.

“Did you say something?” Tegan demanded, piqued.

The tech glanced up, silver eyes glinting through the white hair. “If you wish,

I’ll undertake to question the hybrid.”

Curious, he studied Vaux’s face. The tech stared back expressionless, as if

making a concerted effort to hide his thoughts. Som ething was am iss.

“W hy do you offer when the duty is m ine?”

Vaux’s shoulders stiffened. “I would see for myself that a Chalice, even ahybrid one survived the purge. Such a discovery is a rare jewel beyond com pare.”

“Even one stained with Deg’Nara blood?”

The tech nodded slowly. “Even so. Over time the filth can be cleansed from  her

descendents until little remains. The female is priceless. We need her.”

He shrugged. If Vaux wanted the duty, he saw no reason to deny the request.

Vaux would handle the female with the same painstaking care as would he.

“You have my permission but I want everything recorded in minute detail.

Images as well as vocals. Find out what you can about the reasons behind herdefection— if it is a defection.”

He strode from  the bridge, temples pounding with the force of a thousanddrums. Perhaps now would be a good time to indulge in a few of the malepleasure toys. Disgusted, he rolled his shoulders, joints popping along his neckand down his spine. He’d never considered pleasure orbs as a means of sexualgratification, but he’d never before been so tem pted by a female. He could barelyfunction beyond the obsessive desire to ravish the Chalice until she scream ed formercy. Visions of Ka-Ra screaming in ecstasy sent waves of sexual heat racingthrough his veins. Sweat blurred his vision and dripped onto his chest. His loinmuscles tensed, grew hard. Better yet— a cold shower!

He punched his fist against the controls leading to his quarters, throwing everyounce of frustration into the action. When the panel slid open, he raced to thecenter of the room  breathing heavily. He spun, seeking a respite from  thedemands weighing on his shoulders but finding nothing to ease the load. Thechamber was bare of warmth, lacking personal touches, touches such as the sm ileof a loving mate or the laughter of small children. Only the spirits of thosedeparted lingered to keep him  company. Drawing his Chiagan-Tar he bowed low,saluting the cherished memory of his ancestors, finding solace in that simplegesture. The stylized exercises of Chiagan-Ra would help dispel some of hisanguish—help him  to center his thoughts away from  the siren call of the Chalice.

The Tar whipped, whirling and slicing in a gleam ing red arc as he practiced thesynchronized m oves—the weapon drawing potent energy from  his turbulent m ind. Tim e passed and the Tar dim m ed. He jabbed and slashed, concentrating on the

intricacies of each movement—designed to meld the Warrior and Tar into a single entity. Sweat run in rivulets from  his face and chest. Stressed muscles and tendons loosened. Anger and frustration faded as he dipped and shifted. His m ind cleared. The uncertainty and desolation waned and then dissipated. He was himself again.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled feeling cleansed and at peace. His andthe future of the Chiagan-Se depended upon escaping the outer worlds held bythe Deg’Nara. His people depended on him  and he did not take that trust lightly. Nothing should be allowed to sway him  from  the course they’d set so long ago. From  this m oment forward, until they reached the safe zone, he’d avoid the Chalice. Time away from  her would ease the ache and his energies would bebetter focused where they should— guiding and protecting the remaining ChaiganSe. There was no other possible answer.

Chapter Twelve [Thirteen]

Kara picked at her fingernails, grum bling to herself. It’d been days— orwhatever timeframe they had here— since the women’d seen much of thebreeders. The young one with the shoulder drape came in several tim es, smilingand chattering away but that was about it. Moira most often snagged his attentionand hauled him  to the com puter module, waving and gesturing as she tried invain to m ake herself understood. Couldn’t blame the breeder, she thought. Moira’s accent was atrocious.

She heaved a sigh, moody and out of sorts. This sitting around doing nothingwas driving her stir crazy. She wished she had something to do—anything! Longhours were spent practicing language skills and the wom en were im proving, evento the point of speaking small sentences, but the forced confinement was boringand frustrating. She stood up, brushing back a lock of hair and stretching,reaching for the ceiling. If she admitted it to herself, she missed seeing the bigguy. Tegan. Her stomach fluttered, little flickers of excitement zinged through hersystem . Her mouth still tingled from  the force of his throat-licking kiss. Reallyweird how he’d kissed so expertly when there weren’t any accessible fem ales. Maybe the breeders were bi or gay. Possible but not probable. The males exudedhungry sexuality laced with virgin innocence, the like of which she’d only seen inmiddle school adolescents back on earth.

Could Tegan be a virgin? Expertise in kissing required practice, more thanmost virgins were expected to have. He didn’t act like a virgin but then she wasn’tan expert—although she’d been a virgin once. The concept of a virgin loverbothered her. She wasn’t a slut but there had been m en. Two— no three! If you

count the one who’d blew his wad before they’d ever gotten started.

Bending over, she touched her toes, loosening cram ped m uscles. Mind-blowingkissing didn’t necessarily rule out the fact that he could be a virgin. Pathetic lipaction and purity didn’t always go hand in hand. He just might be one of thoseblessed individuals who could do everything well. Now there was a thought worthexploring!

W ould the Warrior even care if she wasn’t a virgin?

She tried running in place, but without her trusty IPod it just wasn’t the same. Music was the stim ulus to keep a body on track. It helped create the environmentneeded to build stamina. Nothing like jogging and great m usic to get the energyflowing.

“You getting in shape to break out?” Dread bounced next to her, calf muscles bulging in her sturdy legs. “Maybe we should start an exercise program .” She twirled, spinning in place, dreadlocks flying. “I was enrolled in a Pilate’s class and had som e workout videos back in the real world.” She squatted down, working her thigh m uscles. “My butt’ll look like two hogs fighting under a blanket if I don’t keep m oving.”

“Great idea,” Anne laughed, joining them . “I can’t stand just sitting around.

Going bonkers staring at the walls.”

“You cannae noo what its like to stare at a com puter all day,” Moira called from

the sleeping chamber. “Me eyes are crossed fer sure.”

“At least you’re getting some action,” Dread yelled back. “None of the rest of

us get to touch a man—sort of.”

Red-haired Moira stom ped from  the cham ber door. “Branos is a fine m an. Hejust isnae like the ones we’re used to,” she snapped. “Ye shouldnae make fun ofhim .”

“You’re different and we make fun of you all the time.” Dread resumed her bouncing. Jumping jacks this time. “Methinks Irish is pissed,” she m uttered, full lips spread in a nasty grin.

Kara stepped up the pace, lifting her knees high. Sweat pooled in her arm pits.

“W ho do you suppose the weird looking woman is?”

“There’s a lot of weird looking women around here.” Dread panted. “Which one

are you referring to?”

“Is dum bass catching? I mean the one who showed up while we were on the

bridge—the dark-haired fang lady.”

“You worried your boyfriend’s interested?”

“He isn’t m y boyfriend,” she groused, flicking [a/ delete] back a lock of hair.

“Just…curious.”

Tegan had shown a good amount of interest in the newest m em ber of thefemale faction. Unwarranted interest from  her point of view. The newcomerwasn’t pretty by human standards, but her demeanor was com pelling and thebreeders seemed fascinated by her appearance. They were all silvery blue eyesand gaping mouths, drooling on their control panels as they stared at the viewingscreen. W hatever the reason, the fem ale caused quite a stir.

“I’m  thinking it’s because she’s the only fang lady we’ve seen since we woke up.” Dread wiped a trickle of m oisture from  her brow. “Even if she is different looking.”

“Maybe Branos can tell us about her.”

Moira’s eyes rounded at the idea. “I’ll ask him  the next tim e he cooms.”

“By the way,” Kara perused the com munal cham ber, noting the familiar faces.

“Anyone seen Hanna?”

Seem ed like they saw less and less of the big woman. She came and went asshe pleased, always with a big smile. The huge bodyguard Mordaq treated her asa treasured possession, mooning and fawning over her like an oversized, lovesickpuppy. It was almost disgusting. Alm ost.

“I think she’s cloistered with the fierce breeder again,” Anne com m ented, her gaze thoughtful and dreamy. “Hanna’s found her mate if I’m  not mistaken. I think I envy her.”

Ume sat down next to Anne, a plateful of unidentifiable som ething in her hand.

“He’s claim ed her as his.”

“Claimed her?”

The Oriental nodded. “He’s staked a claim  on Hanna. Like the warriors in thepast did. W hen a man desired a woman, he made it known to the others that shebelonged to him . If another suitor challenged his claim, they’d fight for the

woman’s favors.”

Dread rolled her chocolate eyes. “What about Hanna? Doesn’t she have a say

in this?”

Ume took a delicate bite, sam pling a mushy purple tidbit, grimacing at thetaste. “I don’t think Hanna would argue the situation. She seems pretty taken byhim . If he isn’t around, she worries about him .”

“I’d be more worried if I was with him,” Kara said. The guy was seriously scary. Tegan was big and powerful, but the bodyguard towered over even him —all muscle and aggression. He’d take the head off any idiot who dared lay a finger on his king. Not that Tegan needed protection. He was pretty scary himself. She’d lay bets he’d hold his own and then some against anyone or anything.

Tegan! W hy did his nam e cause delicious shivers to race up her spine? Andwhy did the alien female’s presence disturb her so much? It wasn’t like she ownedhim, nor did he have a claim  on her. So why all the jealous nigglings preying onher subconscious?

“They need to give us something to do.” Anne scowled at the door. “We’re educated and intelligent. We have skills. There has to be something we can do to alleviate the boredom . Anything.”

“I agree.” Kara slum ped into a chair. Imagining Tegan with the other woman left her depressed, antsy. This empty existence is driving me batty! The women were used to everyday interaction—work, school, recreation. Life before they found them selves in this brave new world was jam -packed with activity. Little time for brooding! Now too m uch time on their hands was dragging all of them down. Not knowing what was happening didn’t help either.

“How do we m ake them  understand?”

“I’ve learned most of the basics of their computer system,” Irish interposed in

her high lilting voice.

Kara tapped her lips. Thoughts and ideas were running rampant. “We’ve allabsorbed a sm idgen of the Chiagan-Se language. If we had the opportunity toconverse with them  on a daily basis, our skills in that direction would growexponentially. Once we get past that hurdle, we should be able to lend a hand inalm ost every departm ent.”

Eyes sparkling with m ischief, Dread raised her hand. “I want to be in

ordinance. Shoot one of them  laser guns,” she drawled.

“This isn’t Star Wars and I don’t think they’re laser guns,” Anne snorted.

“Might be some sort of energy pulse beam .”

“Tachyon beams.” Dread snapped her fingers. “Like in Star Trek. Everything

was tachyon beam s.”

A green cumquat-looking thing squished beneath Um e’s eating utensil. “Whatabout the swords? The one the bodyguard drew looked just like a light saber,except it glowed red.”

“It wasn’t always red. It was blue at first but as he held it, the light changed to red.” That bit of inform ation Kara remem bered all too well. Dread was lucky her head was still attached to her shoulders.

[Covetess/ Covetous] desire suffused the black woman’s features. “I could use

me one of those light sabers.”

Arm s flailing, she danced through an uncoordinated display of shadow fencing,dodging and thrusting at her ghostly opponent. W hirling at the last moment, shetripped over a stool, careened into a nearby table and rolled to the floor.

“I’d be good too,” her voice came from  below.

“For what?” Ume sm irked, chewing on a black string bean. W hatever it was, it

left a residue of grey on her straight white teeth.