The Illegitimate Claim (14 page)

“You’ve extended your powers to their fullest here, Lady Tara.” His voice was

cruel, and her eyebrow shot up at him. “Remember where you are, and who is talking

to you. If you can overlook blood to inflict a punishment, I can overlook it as well. I

won’t have you eavesdrop. If you’d like to play mama, you may come over to your

daughter, so she knows you’re here. Otherwise, leave.”

Ana groaned as she struggled to look over her shoulder at her mama. Andru

thought he saw relief on Tara’s face when the doctor climbed the stairs and was in the

room in minutes. The good doctor didn’t ask any questions, but quickly went about his

business. Andru backed away from his sister to allow him room, and simply stood and

watched until he felt a gentle touch on his back.

“May I speak with you?” His mama’s tone was quiet.

Andru followed Tara out of the room and watched as she closed the door gently.

For a moment he thought she might collapse into his arms as her fingers went up and

pinched the bridge of her nose. She took a deep gulp of air, and then to his surprise

shivered uncontrollably. He took a step back and leaned against the wall, crossing his

arms and staring at her. Finally, she looked up, and he forced indifference across his

face when he saw her blue eyes were glassy with tears.

“You’ll find out one day that as leader of a nation you have to do things that more

than anything in Nuworld, you don’t want to do.” She watched her son’s face and

understood when it remained blank. “I don’t think I have much time, so I’ll get right to

the point. I can see you want nothing to do with me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your

papa made an appearance sometime soon. So hear me, Andru. Hear every word.”

Her voice took on the tone of a leader that he was very familiar with and the

grieving mama disappeared.

“I don’t agree with Darius on how he is handling this offer of Dorn Gowsky’s. He

sees an opportunity for Gothman to move into the Neurian nation, and wants you to

see things as he does. I know you’ll draw your own conclusions, but I want you to

know how I feel about this. I can see that you still want Meah, and I would have done

exactly what Ana did when she sent out those messages to the clan sites. Obviously

they would respond quickly if they thought the message came from me. She’ll do

anything to see to your happiness. Your papa will do anything, regardless of people’s

happiness, for the sake of Gothman. He’ll kill Meah if he finds her.” Tara paused and

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wished for Andru to say something. He’d mastered every art of Darius’ leadership

abilities and he’d mastered them well. She smiled sadly in spite of herself. She wouldn’t

know his thoughts, but she would at least know that he was listening. “He will do this

because I refuse to proclaim her dead. He’s simply waiting for her to enter Gothman

land. I know he gave orders for Gilroy to kill her when he finds her.”

When her son still wouldn’t respond to her words, she took a step toward him and

placed her hand on his iron chest. She smiled and looked up at him. “I guess I want you

to know that I’m on your side. Bring her to the clan site and I’ll give her sanctuary.”

Tara sighed again and stepped back, then turned to head toward the stairs.

“Mama?”

Tara turned, and her expression was hopeful.

“I told Ana her stunt was foolish and she would pay dearly. She won’t hold a

grudge.”

Tara nodded and turned toward the stairs again.

“Andru,” she said, pausing. “Your papa knows you’ve agreed to meet Dorn’s

daughter to avoid suspicion of your true intentions. Be careful, please.”

Andru watched her descend the stairs and then returned to his sister.

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The Illegitimate Claim

Chapter Eight

“I can’t believe this is Taratown.” Meah spoke through her comm as she swiveled

her head back and forth, taking in the sights of the busy town.

“I can’t believe I’m surrounded by so many Gothman.” Paleah looked around

nervously as she drove her glider slowly alongside Meah’s. “Where are all the men?”

Meah laughed. “Welcome to Gothman, my friend. Men don’t do women’s work

and women don’t do men’s work. They’re a stubborn race. I doubt if they’ll ever

change.”

“Why would anyone want to be a part of this?” Paleah spoke to herself but Meah

couldn’t help but laugh.

“There’s a certain appeal to a Gothman man,” she said simply.

“If you like having no rights,” Paleah muttered, and continued to stare at the

women and children who ignored them as they briskly went about their morning

activities.

“I wonder when they built that?” Meah pulled to a stop in front of a large temple.

She got off her glider and helped two sweaty children to the ground as she stared

up at the beautiful building in front of them. It was built from white stone and had wide

stairs leading up to double doors that stood open. The yard surrounding the temple

was clean, but plain. She immediately visualized climbing flowers on trellises on either

side of the stairs. A plaque secured to the stone wall of the building said, “House of

Crator”.

Meah climbed the stairs without a thought to her actions, and the twins

accompanied her on either side. Paleah parked her glider next to Meah’s and climbed

off quickly to follow. The Neurian was halfway up the stairs when the sound of gliders

coming down the street caused her to turn. Her motive was purely curiosity. Gothman

gliders were so noisy, she couldn’t help reacting to the sound. She noticed the women

and children on the streets stopped and watched as a procession of about fifteen

Gothman warriors drove slowly past.

The man leading the procession caught Paleah’s attention first. He was a very large

man, with a powerful-looking body. Even at a distance, Paleah saw corded muscles

pressing against brown leather pants. His expression was blank, but she could tell he

was taking in everything as he passed slowly, and for a brief moment he made eye

contact with her. The intensity of his blue eyes sent a chill down her spine. His black

hair was as straight and thick as her own and it bordered a perfectly chiseled face.

“Paleah, come on.” Meah walked out of the temple and stood at the top of the

stairs. “I think we can stay here.”

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Paleah turned away as the procession of warriors continued down the street, and

climbed the remaining stairs to Meah. She noticed the look of shock on her new friend’s

face, and then the woman quickly turned and darted into the building. Paleah turned to

get one last glance at the men as they passed by, and continued down the road. One of

the men bringing up the rear of Gothman seemed to watch her for a long second and

she found she couldn’t pull away from his gaze. Floppy blond curls begged for fingers

to comb through and straighten them. His expression didn’t appear to be quite as

serious as the first man she’d noticed. His eyes were dark but not imposing. She did a

double-take when the man smiled at her. Without thinking, she smiled back.

Paleah’s heart pounded in her chest as she remembered the picture of the heir of

Gothman her sister had shown her. The picture looked just like this man. But it couldn’t

be. Certainly, Lord Andru wouldn’t bring up the rear of a procession of warriors. There

were stories of a bastard, Lord Darius’ other son. Was that who she’d just seen? She

feared that impish grin was burned into her memory for a while, as she slowly walked

into the large temple.

Long, narrow windows allowed what little light there was in the unadorned room,

as Meah walked slowly toward a simple altar at the opposite end of the temple. There

were long wooden upright benches on either side of her and she wondered if Taratown

had enough believers in Crator to fill the room. The ceiling was high and vaulted and

two low-hanging ceiling fans moved slowly, offering little relief to the hot, sticky

morning.

“Mama, it’s the dog-woman.” Tory pulled on the thin material of her pant leg.

Meah looked around the quiet area before she realized her son pointed to a large

painting that hung on the wall toward the front of the temple. Tia tugged on her

opposite pant leg, and Meah looked down at her daughter who pointed to the opposite

wall. There hung another painting of the dog-woman. One of the paintings was of a

large dog, sitting and facing the painter. The other picture was of the old woman

herself. Meah walked with her children at her side, and studied one of the pictures

before turning to study the other. She was impressed by the painter’s ability to capture

the compassion in the old lady’s face, and the wisdom in the dog’s eyes. The strokes

were long and thick and the color rich. They were wonderfully done, and she couldn’t

imagine who in Gothman could capture the inner beauty of the dog-woman in both her

forms.

“I never understood why they’d want to hang pictures of me in Crator’s temple.”

Meah turned quickly to see the dog-woman sitting on one of the upright benches.

Paleah stood several feet behind her in the middle aisle looking somewhat distracted.

She was unaware of the dog-woman’s presence. Well, Meah thought to herself, she might

as well get accustomed to this part of me now.

“Don’t let the paintings fool you, child. Beauty is only skin deep. It’s what’s inside

that counts.”

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Meah sat down next to the dog-woman, while Tia climbed onto the old woman’s

lap. “If that is true then I would say you are the most beautiful woman in all of

Nuworld.”

“Now you flatter an old lady,” the dog-woman said, with a rusty chuckle. “Crator

has brought you here. You will get your wish, but you must get started right away.”

“My wish…what have I wished for?” Meah whispered.

“Now, if I ate your food for you and slept for you, certainly you would starve to

death and go crazy from exhaustion.” The old woman chuckled again and then patted

Tia before standing and walking slowly down the central aisle toward the two open

doors. She passed Paleah who now stood giving Meah an odd look. The old woman

stopped and pointed a crooked finger at the young Neurian. “Know her, Meah.”

“I don’t understand,” Meah complained.

“You don’t understand what?” Paleah wrinkled her brow.