Chapter Nine
As the shovel flew from her sight, Charity enacted the first rule of self-defense: she screamed, as loud and piercing as she could. Then she stomped the booted feet and jabbed her elbows in a stomach as hard as steel.
She was rewarded by the softest of grunts from her efforts. The bastard was big, and as far as she could tell, he was pure muscle. She screamed anew.
Something sprayed her face. Its scent was reminiscent of skunk, and she choked. Dizziness overwhelmed her. Her legs loosened, and she started to fall. Her surroundings rocked.
She was dimly aware her sudden collapse had made her slide low in her attacker’s grip. As he scrambled to catch her, she summoned what strength remained and shot her elbow back once more.
Score. Square in the family jewels, her fading mind whispered.
A high-pitched wheeze verified her hope, a lovely prize for her efforts. The man lost his hold on her. Her instincts screamed escape, and she obeyed them. On numbed legs, the barn tilting like a funhouse, she ran for the outside.
She got through the door and ran smack into another large, muscled body. For a moment, she thought it was her attacker. To her relief, a familiar face swam in view as her upper arms were grabbed and she was held upright.
“Jennifer! Was it you screaming?”
Detodev’s nose wrinkled. “What’s that smell?”
She clung to him as her brain tried to gather the wisps of her thoughts and pull them together. “Man. In the barn. Attacked me.”
Sara and her eldest son were abruptly there. The woman’s arm clasped Charity’s waist. “Attacked you? Who was it?”
“I’ll check. Adam, stay here.”
Detodev’s lips wrinkled in fury to display descended fangs. He rushed past them to search the building.
Adam stared after Detodev, his face pale. Behind him in the kitchen doorway, Tori and James watched the scene, their eyes wide.
Charity gulped air. The faintness began to dissipate. “I didn’t see him. He was big. Kalquorian big. All muscle. He sprayed something in my face, and I almost lost consciousness.”
“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
Sara glanced to the side. A number of farmhands were racing from the fields, calling questions.
Detodev came out, pieces of hay clinging to his braid and red flannel shirt. His brows were drawn together and low, giving him a bestial, violent appearance. “I didn’t see anyone, but he could have gone through the window in the back. It’s open.”
“I thought I saw someone coming from this direction as I was running up,”
Bud panted, out of breath. “He was limping but moving fast. I couldn’t make out any details, except he was a big bastard. He headed into the trees at the edge of the property.”
Charity’s gaze met Sara’s. “Someone knows who I am,”
she whispered. “They came for me.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Detodev frown. Despite keeping her voice low, he’d heard her.
* * * *
Detodev joined in the strained laughter as Mitag told everyone of the young bride he worked for and her obsession with tuxedos and haybale seating arrangements. It should have been a hilarious story, but the gaiety was forced from Jennifer, Clan Amgar, and Detodev following the incident in the barn.
At Jennifer’s insistence, dinner had gone ahead as planned. Sara’s pork tenderloin was as amazing as ever. The scent coming from the berry pies was mouthwatering. Detodev had been surprised to learn the would-be astronomer Starry Eyes Seng could bake. He wished he could do real justice to the anticipation of tasting her culinary efforts.
Unfortunately, he was too concerned about what had happened in the barn. He eyed Jennifer and her hosts, wondering what the real story was.
Anxiety kept creeping in, giving rise to anger. His reaction when she’d staggered from the barn, her expression dazed and terrified, had been an upwelling of fury he recognized all too easily. He’d smelled the knockout gas, used often on farm stock by the local veterinarians when a horse or ronka needed medical treatment. He’d helped out on enough neighboring ranches to identify the odor once his mind-blinding rage had dissipated. Whoever had cornered Jennifer must have used a diluted formula. The full-strength version could have stopped her heart instantly.
Who’d do such a thing? And why? It was obvious she was in danger. The remark she’d made to Sara referencing someone knowing who she really was told him she hadn’t come to Haven over a mere prank gone wrong.
And she’d stumbled over her name when she’d initially introduced herself to Detodev.
She’s in hiding on Haven. Who is Jennifer Seng? Why is someone after her?
Who’s after her?
His heart drummed. He realized he was on the verge of an animalistic growl. Detodev drew a deep breath, grateful Mitag continued to talk and hold everyone’s attention. No one had noticed the Nobek’s tense jaw or how he grasped the edge of the polished wood table in a white-knuckled grip.
He forced himself to relax. Jennifer was safe now. The powerful but restrained Groteg, a decent version of a Nobek, would protect her. Knowing she’d been targeted, he’d make sure nothing else happened to her.
Detodev could focus on what he was suited for, what he was safe doing. Farming was where he belonged, where his energies could do the most good. Where he wouldn’t lose control and commit the terrible harm he was capable of, the harm he’d done in the past.
“Hey! Detodev, quit daydreaming,”
Mitag demanded. Trust a Nobek to drift off when the talk turned to event planning and weddings, though the stories were funny. Detodev had obviously missed the recent change in conversation.
“Huh?”
Detodev’s distant gaze sharpened as he responded to the Imdiko.
“I was telling everyone about the show the Sapphire Isles District Players are putting on at Sunrise’s theater next weekend. It’s a comedy centering around a guy coming to Haven and trying to start a high-end vacation spot for rich people who want a taste of ranch life. It all goes sideways, of course.”
Utber snorted. “I’ve heard of it. My understanding is it’s bawdy. Downright crude. Not suitable for the children.”
“The title of the play tells you all you need to know . Cow Patties in Paradise ,”
Groteg chuckled.
“Prophets. No thanks,”
Sara laughed as Tori groaned.
“What’s ‘bawdy’ mean?”
James asked as he gobbled pork roast and eagerly stared at the nearby pies. If his bandaged arm bothered him, he gave no sign.
“It means young men your age don’t get to see it.”
Mitag directed his interest to Jennifer, Ilid, and Detodev. “That leaves us, my fine friends. It got rave reviews in the neighboring districts. It’s supposed to be hilarious. I can get tickets if we decide to go. Dinner first, maybe drinks later?”
“It sounds like a laugh. I’m in,”
Ilid said.
“Is it really what passes as culture here?”
Jennifer groused. “What I wouldn’t do for an actual dance club. Except you spoilsport Kalquorians don’t dance.”
Mitag’s brilliant smile fell an octave. “It’s a chance at some new entertainment. I thought it might be fun.”
Detodev noted Jennifer, who had struck him as empathetic to others’ feelings if not always sympathetic , wasn’t picking up on the Imdiko’s disappointment. She was too shaken from what had happened, he guessed.
Her reticence was shared by Sara, who eyed her worriedly. “Maybe going out isn’t such a wise idea. Sticking close to home might be better.”
As Ilid and Mitag registered surprise, Groteg at last updated them on the situation. “Someone got up to mischief on the farm today. Jennifer surprised him while he was messing around in the barn. It was apparently someone who shouldn’t have been there. Possibly a thief, I suppose. He attacked her. She fought him and got free.”
At the Dramok’s and Imdiko’s shocked exclamations, Groteg shot Detodev a glance. Maybe he suspected the younger Nobek had doubts about the story of a would-be robber. Detodev guessed Groteg was warning him to keep such concerns to himself.
Definitely something weird going on where Jennifer’s concerned.
“Detodev was in the vicinity when he heard her call for help, and he came to the rescue,”
Groteg continued smoothly. “The person ran off, and Jennifer wasn’t harmed. She’s a little rattled, nonetheless.”
“Good for you, Detodev.”
Ilid praised.
“Too bad you didn’t catch him,”
Mitag snarled. “Imagine attacking a woman. He deserved the full measure of a Nobek’s wrath for such an act.”
Detodev’s stomach twisted. He ignored Groteg’s regard and the elder man’s uplifted brow. “At least she’s okay,”
he muttered.
“A night out and a silly show, whether it’s good or not, is an excellent idea,”
Utber suddenly opined. “In my view, the last thing you should do once something bad happens is let it stop you from normal activities.”
“I agree,”
Groteg said. “Jennifer, if you want to see the show, who better to be in the company of than three strong Kalquorian men? I can’t imagine what happened today repeating in public, especially if your friends don’t let you out of their sight.”
Again, his gaze swung to Detodev. His stare was challenging.
It was the elder Nobek’s assertion no trouble was apt to happen in public that offered the younger man the space to nod. “If Jennifer wishes to attend the play and it’ll help her feel safer, I’ll go along as well.”
“The same goes for me,”
Ilid quickly added. “We’ll see to it no jerk keeps you from enjoying yourself, Jennifer.”
The strain she’d worn like a mask evaporated in the face of their protectiveness. Her smile was nearly its usual brightness. “The show does sound worth checking out. I guess you’d better make good on those tickets, Mitag.”
“Done.”
The Imdiko grinned. “I might be categorized as a caregiver, but you have my promise of protection too…after the Nobek and Dramok soften up our enemies.”
Detodev’s laugh joining the rest had a hoarse quality. Thank the ancestors it was doubtful anyone would try to harm Jennifer at the theater. The last thing he wanted to do was show how ill-suited he was when it came to fending off adversaries.
* * * *
Wilkes couldn’t sit still in the aftermath of his failed attempt to grab the Nath woman. Despite the ache of his groin where she’d managed her lucky shot, he paced his casual but nicely furnished living room, snarling at his bad luck.
On top of it all, he’d run from Nobek Detodev, a known coward. He hadn’t realized who’d raced to Charity’s rescue until he’d already fled into the trees, where he’d hidden to see if he’d been identified. Detodev’s face in the barn’s rear window, peering to see where the quarry had fled, had nearly incited him to emerge and issue a challenge. Had it not been for the rising excited voices telling him others had arrived on the scene, he might have. Despite the Nobek’s furious expression, Wilkes hadn’t been impressed. He was as big and strong as the young Kalquorian farmer…and he didn’t slink from confrontations like a beaten cur as Detodev was notorious for.
“I had her,”
he snarled to the room, kept clean and tidy by a woman he’d hired to make it so once a week. “My first real chance to do something worthwhile against the Kalqs and Kalq lovers, and I blew it. I had the traitor’s bitch daughter, and she got away!”
He’d ranted and raged in the aftermath, and he could feel the passion of his anger depleting. It was a letdown and a gift: the part of him rarely allowed to vent wanted nothing more than to continue to wallow in ire. Yet Wilkes knew it would take a clearer head to cut his losses and begin anew.
At least no one had identified him. If they had, Groteg would have broken down his door already. Perhaps Nath thought she’d been accosted by a Kalquorian. A few local human men were near Wilkes’ size and strength, but they were a scant minority. It stood to reason she’d surmise some lusty Kalquorian man had been lying in wait for her, eager to rape yet another degenerate human woman. It was what they were infamous for, after all.
It would have served her right if I had been one of those beasts. Wilkes thought of her lying helpless under him, of her cries and tears as he taught her the error of her sinful ways. He enjoyed the idea of just payment for her and her father’s transgressions, though his aching groin found no sensual thrill in it.
The vision of Charity Nath suffering what she deserved at his hands leeched the last of Wilkes’ blinding rage. He eased into his favorite overstuffed chair. He shifted until he found a comfortable position, ready to contemplate the next step.
“They may suspect she’s been found out,”
he told the room with its cozy seating arrangement in front of a top-of-the-line entertainment system, on which he enjoyed football games and movies. Talking out loud had always helped him think matters through better. “I’ve lost the element of surprise. Groteg will be on the alert for further attempts in the immediate future.”
Wilkes’ next try would have to be along less suspicious lines. He mused over various scenarios, letting his mind range from the conventional to the ridiculous. He’d found even dumb notions sometimes held a nugget of promise he could take advantage of.
“Might have to take chances…but nothing excessively risky. Not unless the risk can be shoved onto someone else loyal enough to the cause to willingly accept it. Or loyal and stupid enough.”
He grinned. He knew a fellow who fit the bill where such an accomplice was concerned. Once more, speaking the thoughts running through his head had sorted their confused clattering.
* * * *
Charity aimed the battered antique telescope she’d set up in the Amgar backyard. “There, out beyond the Bi’is territory’s sun…what was the Bi’is territory,”
she amended. “It isn’t visible from here or from any telescope even at the edge of known space, but my calculations say there’s a hypergiant sun about seventeen hundred light years from Galactic Council territory.”
“Hypergiant?”
Mitag asked.
“A star larger than a supergiant. It’s huge, in other words.”
She gazed at the blue twinkle of Bi’is itself, a planet now devoid of the sentients who’d called it home for eons. The Bi’isils had been real bastards, but she felt sorry for their extinction just the same. No species deserved to be wiped out, with the possible exception of the entity which had ended them: the All, from which the Darks came.
“How would it compare to Kalquor’s sun?”
Detodev asked.
“Close to two thousand times the radius. Visualize six and a half billion of your suns fitting into it.”
The Nobek whistled, for once impressed.
Charity focused and waved Ilid over to look. “There’s Bi’is, as my people would have seen it hundreds of years ago, if they’d been on Haven.”
He hesitated. For an instant, she thought he’d retreat rather than looking. Slowly he bent and peered through the eyepiece. He almost sounded relieved when he spoke. “It’s so tiny. It’s astonishing this device was at one time the apex of scientific tools.”
He leaned back and gazed in amused wonder at the telescope.
“Isn’t it? A computer tied to the GC’s Polttuu space telescope could show you geographic formations on Bi’is’ surface. Yet my people discovered a number of planets with one of these before we had non-animal transportation. As did our common ancestors before they flew to the stars.”
Mitag took a turn. “It doesn’t do any calculations for you either. So primitive…but incredible too.”
“What happens if you’re proven correct about this sun’s existence? What does it mean for you?”
Ilid asked.
Charity wondered if he could see her flush in the dark. “My name would be attached as its discoverer. It could land me a great job at an observatory, so it’s a career-maker. It sounds like a big ego trip.”
The Dramok’s regard was warm. “You aren’t chasing accolades, though.”
“Don’t get me wrong; I’d enjoy the praise. I’m a mere occasionally self-absorbed mortal, after all. But to be the first to know something of such magnitude is out there…to be the first to realize what no one else has…”
She sounded foolish to her own ears. Pathetic, as if she were a toddler shouting, look at me, look what I did! But it wasn’t that at all. If she proved her hypergiant was out there, it would be the same as discovering a treasure. Or a cure for a devastating illness. Proving her sun existed was a thrill she’d embrace whether the galaxy knew of her accomplishment or not.
“The heart of the explorer,”
Ilid said. “Living to find a dream made real.”
She beamed at him. He understood. Somehow, despite her clumsy attempts to explain, he understood.
Detodev took his turn to peer at Bi’is through the lens. “I like this,”
he said in his even voice that doggedly betrayed so little emotion. “It underlines how far apart the planets and stars are. Too much is put so easily at our fingertips. Our modern technology makes it seem trivial how far our people have come from our beginnings. This reminds me how hard we had to work to get to this point.”
Charity joined Ilid and Mitag in gaping at the Nobek. He straightened and frowned at their regard.
Mitag recovered and chuckled. “You almost waxed poetic, you big thug.”
“Shut up. I have a brain.”
“I suspected it all along,”
Charity grinned, then lightened up on him. “You’re right. It doesn’t apply only to stargazing, either. As backward as I complain Haven is, farming is a breeze compared to what it was when hunters and gatherers began planting rather than chasing their food. Sometimes I dream we might actually survive our worst selves.”
“I suppose there’s hope.”
Charity imagined there was a note of sadness in Detodev’s voice. She brushed off the notion and stared up at the sky. It was vast. Limitless, dotted by endless points of distant stars. “So clear,”
she sighed. “You don’t get such views from Jedver’s surface, thanks to the light pollution.”
“Careful. We might get the idea you appreciate Haven,”
Ilid chuckled.
She turned in a slow circle, her gaze sweeping the cosmos laid out like a computer star map. She’d already memorized the positions of Kalquor, Earth II, Joshada, Bi’is…so many planets twinkling when their turn to visit the night sky came. Haven held an impressive position to view its distant relatives and beyond.
“No light pollution here, thanks to it being mostly pastoral. The location is a sort of hub to view everything we’re taught in our classes. You can explore the farthest reaches of known space from this very spot. There should be an observatory on this planet.”
“Do you think so?”
Mitag joined her in eyeing the black stretch of sky overhead.
Charity imagined Haven’s position in her mind’s eye. There were moons, planets, and stations in the area, but far fewer than most colonized planets. Travel routes weren’t heavily trafficked even when Planet Farm Hell wasn’t quarantined. It wasn’t considered a tourist attraction. No big cities. A handful of satellites and one space station orbited. Nothing else.
“It’s the perfect place for an observatory,”
she said. “So much wide-open space on the planet…a university study facility would be inexpensive to put here alongside an observatory. A big one, so there isn’t so much wait time to use the study stations.”
“Was that typically a problem on Jedver?”
Ilid asked.
“You better believe it. There’s sometimes up to a GC standard month delay to get at the resources at my school. We’re constantly filing extensions to finish our work for our professors.”
“Haven’s colony charter is specific about it being a resource to benefit Earthers and Kalquorians who wish to pursue farming and ranching. However, other colony charters belonging to Kalquor have been changed if the alterations were considered of value to civilization,”
Detodev noted. “It’s possible our government would consider an observatory and university facility to be an advantageous addition.”
“It is inside the empire’s space,”
Mitag added.
“If the Galactic Council’s university got its shit together after the Darks are shown the door…or Kalquor and Haven residents decided to extend Kalquor’s current university system to extend studies here…I can see it. Planet Farm Hell could be an important place for stellar investigation.”
Charity’s mind boggled. The modest home of cow and ronka patties could become a springboard for a whole field of education and exploration.
“You should send a proposal to the Kalquorian university board,”
Ilid said. “As well as the governors of Haven. Groteg and Utber have the connections to get you interviews.”
“The Jennifer Seng Observatory.”
Mitag grinned. “Impressive credentials. You’d have Kalquorian clans of high rank beating down your door.”
She snorted, not just at his obvious fishing. Nor because it wasn’t her real name he was using.
She considered her father’s vaunted position on the original Earth. He’d been a high-ranking general at the Holy Leader’s side when Browning Copeland had wielded all the power. It wouldn’t have saved her from Copeland’s sick lust. Then there was her sister Hope. She’d joined a high-ranking clan, but they had served as double agents in the empire’s recent civil war. Though they’d been instrumental in saving Kalquor from the enemies determined to destroy it, they were still considered one step above traitors by many.
All those showy titles, all their heroics, yet the Naths weren’t allowed to be together as a family. Charity had no clue when she’d see her father and sister again. Thanks to the dangers inherent in their positions, it was possible she wouldn’t.
“Rank is nothing,”
she said. “I can’t imagine anything lower on my list of priorities. I’m only interested in those I can count on to be close. People I can count on, period.”
Reminded of how Detodev had been there outside the barn when she’d run to escape her attacker, she glanced at the big Nobek. True, his showing up when she needed him had been a coincidence…but he’d been there, nonetheless. Her smile of gratitude was sincere.
She must have caught him off guard because he returned it in full. His was a wonderful smile. It transformed what had been a merely handsome man…in a morose sort of fashion…into stunning.
Hello, gorgeous. Why have you been hiding?
Jennifer smiling…really smiling instead of in her teasing, ready-to-kick-you-in-the-crotch smirk…was a revelation for Detodev. Starry Eyes was beautiful. Truly, unequivocally beautiful. It was as if he’d never seen her before.
It had come on gradually, he realized. As she’d spoken of the hypergiant sun she ached to prove, as she’d seen the potential for an observatory on Haven, the snide and somewhat juvenile aspect of her personality had faded to reveal an intelligent woman fully capable of forging a path for herself and those who’d take note and follow. Just as she’d looked at the sky and seen the whole of its possibilities, he now saw that in her.
Is this what it is to fall in love?
Shit.
The notion simultaneously amused and irritated Detodev. The urge to be near Jennifer, to protect her at all costs…an urge setting his teeth on edge…was terrifying because it felt so imperative. It was a desire he couldn’t shove aside.
It was getting late, and Jennifer began packing up her telescope. Mitag glanced between Ilid and Detodev. “Want to come back to my place? Drinks, whatever else?”
“I have to be in the fields early. The east field’s monitors seem to be passing their glitches to each other. In fact, I need to talk to Groteg and Sara about it, get some extra hands over there to work on the machines if they can spare them. I’ll join you another time.”
Detodev spoke half-truths blandly, hoping Mitag wouldn’t suspect he was doing so. The Imdiko had an uncanny ability to sense when he was being outright lied to.
“I’ll join you,”
Ilid told Mitag. He glanced at Detodev but didn’t press him to accompany them. “I told my parents not to wait up. Hopefully, they’ll listen this time.”
Detodev felt a mix of disappointment and relief. The idea he could have enjoyed both the fascinating Dramok and lovely Mitag almost made him wish he hadn’t opted to remain behind. At least Mitag was too delighted to be entertaining Ilid to press him on his excuses.
They stuck around long enough to see Jennifer to the back steps of the Amgar home. Then the two men left, their heads close together in conversation as they walked away. Their laughter drifted on the air.
“Good. Ilid needs to have an affair. He and Mitag fit well, don’t they?”
Jennifer sighed, the sound happy.
“You really aren’t put off by them being intimate?”
It wasn’t the conversation Detodev wanted to have, but curiosity demanded he ask.
“It’s hot. I’ll be imagining those two together later.”
Her bald statement was accompanied by a challenging gaze. “Not all Earthers are uptight. Do I strike you as an Earthtique?”
“No. But some Earthers have secrets. What did you mean when you told Sara someone had discovered who you really are after the attack in the barn?”
She paled. “I have the feeling you understand about keeping secrets. It seems you’re a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Heaven forbid you share anything when it comes to yourself.”
“You’re deflecting.”
He kept accusation from his tone, trying to invite her to share. “I’ve spent the entire evening wondering who Jennifer Seng really is. And who realizes who she is and why they came after her today.”
“Damn it.”
She scowled at the sky she’d been looking so dreamily at minutes earlier.
He expected her to tell him to mind his own business. To storm into the house. Instead, she set the telescope on the porch and sat on the back steps. When he stared at her, she impatiently waved at him to sit by her side.
“I get you Nobeks prefer to be on your feet, but I’d like you close while I spill my guts. In case I have to smack you for some reason. Down, big man.”
He obeyed. It wasn’t the threat of being hit, but his sense of her underlying need for support bringing him close. Her warmth was beguiling, forcing him to restrain himself from scooting as close as possible. “You’ll tell me?”
“I suppose I owe you, since you came running to my rescue. You have to keep this to yourself, though. My safety depends on it.”
A wave of protective anger swept through him. Detodev glanced at their surroundings, instinctively checking for trouble. “I don’t tell tales.”
“No kidding. You barely talk.”
She chuckled and gave him a playful nudge before sobering again. “My real name is Charity Nath. Does it ring a bell?”
Nath. Detodev frowned. It did indeed sound familiar, and he sifted through his memory to discover why.
A second later, he had it. He wasn’t one to watch much where news was concerned, but he’d have to live under a rock to have missed the story of Holy Leader Browning Copeland’s supposed survival…and the allegations his last general, Borey Nath, had conspired with the Kalquorian Empire to illegally hold him prisoner.
“General Nath had…has a daughter supposedly clanned to Admiral Piras, the spy who played traitor to get to Copeland,”
he said, thinking out loud. Jennifer, or Charity, couldn’t be her…no way a clan like Piras’ would let their high-profile Matara out of their sight. Besides, she was young for such a mature clan. His eyes widened in realization. “There was a younger daughter too, recently sighted on Alpha Space Station. You?”
“Me.”
Charity smiled ruefully before launching into her tale of the bounty placed on her by certain factions of Mercy and New Bethlehem colonies. “It’s probably their leaders, the epitome of Earthtiques, who want to question me as to what I know. I happen to know a lot. Plenty to shake up the balance of the current situation.”
“Copeland’s alive,”
Detodev surmised. Shock reverberated through him. If the Darks in charge of the Galactic Council could prove it, Kalquor’s few remaining allies might turn on the empire…a ruinous result for a dimension already rumored to be teetering on the edge of destruction.
“Unfortunately. Why Kalquor didn’t execute the bastard is beyond me.”
She stomped the step her feet rested on. “Some people don’t deserve a fair trial when their guilt is beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
Detodev didn’t feel capable of weighing in on that portion of the situation, but he recognized what was important to him. “If the Earthtiques have learned you’re here, you’re in danger. We have to assume it’s the case.” He stood.
Charity stared up at him. “Where are you going?”
“To talk to Groteg.”
* * * *
“I can keep an eye on the farm. Patrol, watch for trouble,”
Detodev said.
He and Groteg had the kitchen to themselves for the moment. Steady thumps overhead were evidence of James running around on the second floor. Sara’s, Charity’s, and Tori’s voices also drifted from the upper story. Detodev was unsure where Utber and Adam might be. The fact Groteg hadn’t signaled for quiet when the younger Nobek had announced he knew about Charity Nath, the fugitive Clan Amgar hid, reassured him they were far enough away for it to not be an issue.
“You?”
Groteg’s tone was bland, indicating neither acceptance nor disbelief. His gaze was steady. Perhaps curious. “How did you feel when you searched for her attacker, Detodev? More importantly, what will you do if you discover a possible intruder on the property?”
Detodev remembered the hot, sick feeling when Charity had burst from the barn, her eyes wild from fear. How his vision had turned red-tinged when he’d torn into the building, searching for the animal who’d stamped such terror on her features.
He thought of another woman gaping in horror. Of a man, dripping blood. And another, groaning in a heap. Bile rose in his throat.
Detodev swallowed. “I can help. I can watch for trouble. And if…if nothing else, I can raise the alarm if I come across anyone suspicious.”
Groteg watched him for several beats, his expression evaluating. At last, he nodded. “I agree someone needs to be patrolling the grounds. I’d planned to do so myself, but I appreciate the assistance. You can take first watch and report to the fields tomorrow afternoon rather than morning.”
Detodev snapped a nod. Relief and dread mixed uneasily in his gut. He had no choice but to ensure Starry Eyes was kept safe…but he couldn’t keep from hoping he wouldn’t have to face those who’d harm her.
* * * *
Charity spent an hour tossing and turning after she’d bid everyone goodnight. At last, she admitted sleep wasn’t coming. She sat up on the edge of her bed and considered the view beyond the window before her.
The stars she loved were shining bright. Another body gleamed in the distance, larger but dimmer than the rest. She identified it as Rel Station, a Kalquorian fleet training facility floating a few hours’ shuttle journey from Haven.
She loved the expanse of black, the sense of vast space. For some, it might be lonely. For Charity, it served as a reminder that as big as her problems sometimes felt, they were truly insignificant in the scheme of life. Whatever happened to her, the universe went on unperturbed. Its unending existence was a balm to fears.
She stood and went to the window. Movement caught her eye. A shadow passed between the lovely pecan trees in the front yard. She squinted at the darkness, wishing for a Kalquorian’s heightened sight.
She didn’t need it. As the shadow emerged from beneath the wide branches, she identified the silhouette as belonging to Detodev. Funny how she already knew his figure: the breadth of his shoulders, the shape of his head, the swing of his arms. Even his manner of smooth striding was recognizable. When had she noticed so many details about him to the point of being able to recall them easily?
She watched him, an imposing shade striding confidently. She realized she was smiling. The comforting warmth his mere presence brought was startling. It brought back the memory of clutching him in the aftermath of the attack, of his strength against her. Of his protective snarl. Removed from the terror of the moment, the remembered expression raised the hairs on her body in a far from unpleasant manner.
Silly crush. Silly lust. Still…why not?
Clad in her thin nightgown, she slipped from her bedroom, not bothering to pull on clothes or a robe. She glided down the stairs and considered the direction Detodev had been walking.
She let herself out through the kitchen door and crossed the porch. Down the steps to the lawn, the grass soft beneath her feet, she turned to intercept him, shivering slightly in coolness of night. She angled to leave the shadow of the overhang, so he could see her approach.
“Jennifer. Charity.”
The rough voice floated from near the chicken coop.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
She spoke quietly as she headed in his direction.
He hurried to meet her halfway between the coop and the house. He stopped a few feet short. “What are you doing out here in your…aren’t you cold?”
“A little. I’m used to running outside and freezing when I notice something interesting is happening in the sky.”
She closed the distance.
“Is anything wrong in the house?”
He seemed to realize belatedly her sudden appearance might herald trouble.
“As I said, I can’t sleep. I saw you patrolling and thought you might appreciate the company.”
“Dressed like that?”
“You don’t appreciate the view?”
She pirouetted to give him the full effect of her flimsy white chemise. It covered everything, but the suggestion of what was beneath the fabric was blatant. Her curvy figure guaranteed it.
He remained silent. Motionless. His thoughts, as usual, were impossible to guess.
“Okay, so maybe I’m trying to distract you from my purpose of luring you out of your impervious Nobek shell.”
She had no urge to tease. She felt very, very serious. “I told you my secret. Charity Nath, her truth laid bare, and I’m not referring to my nightgown. Or my hair, eyes, or the surgical alterations to my face from the empire’s efforts to hide my identity.”
“I looked you up in news archives. It is a change.”
He paused. “You’re beautiful either way.”
“Thanks for trying to buck me up.”
“It’s true. You don’t believe me?”
She considered. “I don’t mind if you’re just being kind. I hate not being me.”
“I don’t give false compliments.”
Typically gruff, he pulled a smile from her. “Does Ilid know?”
She shook her head. “I want him to, but it might not be safe for him, especially if I’ve been discovered by my father’s enemies.”
“Maybe. He’d probably welcome the opportunity to protect you. He strikes me as the type.”
She scowled. “Hey, no fair trying to distract me when I was attempting to do so to you. Make with the true confession, big man. What brought you to Haven to be helped by Clan Amgar? Why are you so afraid of getting close to people? Are you in hiding too?”
His silhouette turned slightly from her. Was it her imagination, or did his shoulders hunch? Was it defensive or from shame?
“I’m not in hiding. I’m Nobek Detodev, farmhand on Haven. Nothing more. Why does it matter?”
“Because I trust you. I hope to earn the same from you.”
When he failed to react, she spoke in a frustrated voice. “Look, you came running to my rescue. I realize it’s the warrior Nobek thing to do, but—”
“I’m not a warrior. I’m a pacifist.”
She stilled, confused. A pacifist Nobek? Wasn’t it a contradiction in terms? He’d looked far from peaceful when he’d raced into the barn to confront whomever had grabbed her in there. He’d appeared just as brutish when he’d emerged.
He had to be screwing with her…except a prankster Detodev was as unlikely as a non-violent Nobek when angered.
“I’ve never met a member of your breed who described himself in such terms,” she said.
“My breed is barely a step above primitive animals. Do you think the typical Nobek would admit it?”
he muttered. “Cruelty is our nature. Most Nobeks hide behind excuses to indulge in it. A badge of protectiveness to pretend nobility in what we’d do anyway out of anger.”
Charity blinked. There was fury in his voice. And humiliation. He believed the words he spoke.
She heard pain too. An ocean of pain beneath the surface indignity.
“That’s quite the indictment, Detodev. Most Nobeks I’ve met are noble.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? They play the part so well. But there wasn’t an ounce of honor when I attacked my own mother and Nobek father at the mere age of four. My father still carries the scar I gave him. And over what? I was refused a treat. I wanted a damned tiky puff and went after my mother when she told me no. I was an animal from birth. I knew nothing but vicious drives.”
The self-loathing in his voice chilled her. Though she half-feared his reaction, she placed a hand on his arm. She felt the fine trembling, but he didn’t pull away.
Heartened, she soothed, “Children throw tantrums when they’re young. I threw fits as a teen. Accidents happen.”
“It was no accident when I put an instructor at training camp in a coma. He damned near died when I lost control.”
“When you were four?”
Charity couldn’t believe it.
“I was sixteen on that glorious occasion. I’d fucked up during an exercise since I was already disgusted by my urge to hurt others. I refused to spar hand-to-hand and defend my team’s position during the drill. It caused us to lose the battle simulation. My instructor was within his rights to punish me.”
“How? Did he hit you?”
Detodev barked a laugh possessing no humor. “He never had a chance to lay a hand on me. He only got as far as screaming in my face, and I…I lost it. It took half a dozen full-grown men to pull me off him. Even when I realized he was near death, all I could think was how I wanted to finish the job.”
He abruptly pulled loose of her hold. For a moment, she thought he’d stalk off. Instead, he rolled the three-quarter sleeve of his shirt up and shone a light on the inside of his arm.
A ladder of scars...scars on top of scars on top of scars…climbed up to where his bunched sleeve began. It was only then Charity realized Detodev never wore sleeveless shirts as did many Nobeks, who were typically eager to show off battle scars.
“These didn’t come from others. These are from my own blade,”
he rumbled.
“You’re a cutter?”
She winced at her own surprised words, realizing how insulting she sounded. She stared at the tormented suggestion of his features, mostly hidden by the dark.
“It relieves the urge when I’m tempted to attack.”
He twisted to face her full on, going as far as to bend so their noses were mere inches away. “I don’t want to be a monster, Charity. I don’t want to be a mindless beast who destroys people over a difference of opinion. I can be better than the breed I was born to. Which means I can’t be the Nobek potential clanmates or lovers expect me to be.”
“Detodev.”
She grabbed his arm again and felt the raised proof of his anguish. So much pain. So much suffering. She spoke, her tone thick from feeling. “I don’t see any hint of such brutality from you.”
“You did when I ran in the barn. Seeing you frightened…if I’d caught your attacker, I might have torn him apart. I would have torn him apart.”
“Why? We’re barely acquainted.”
The words mocked her. She was protective of him too.
“I told you,”
he said after a lengthy, uncertain pause. “I’m a Nobek. Violence is what my breed does.”
“You were violent when the tantrums of a toddler arrived. Earthers call it the ‘terrible twos,’ though it can go on for longer. Our children strike out as well. Then you were violent when you were an adolescent, cooking in hormones. From what I’ve heard, it isn’t uncommon for teen Nobeks to majorly lose their shit on a regular basis.”
“Which proves my point. We’re only beasts.”
“You know what? It can happen to Earther teens too. Even if they don’t get physical, they aren’t recognized for making good decisions during adolescence.”
“My breed is infamous for getting physical.”
She refused to give up. “Doesn’t the danger of losing control fade as Nobeks get older? Don’t the majority graduate from the training camps around eighteen, nineteen years old?”
“In any case, few of us put their trainers in the hospital.”
“It sounds to me as if your trainer failed to keep his wits about him, especially considering you were coming out of a training battle where your control had already been tested. If anyone was to blame, it was him.”
“You can’t excuse what I did. What I’m still capable of.”
He straightened and looked away.
She kept going, as if he hadn’t spoken. “As for what you might have done today…well, I hope you care enough to defend a frightened woman who runs to you for help. A man should be enraged to see someone weaker victimized. I’d like it even more if you’d cared because it was me who’d been terrorized.”
Silence. She let the quiet stretch, so he could consider what she’d said.
At last, he spoke. “I couldn’t see straight when you were standing there, shaking like a leaf and staring at me as if I were your only shelter. All I could think was the bastard had to pay for assaulting you.”
“Do you hear me arguing you shouldn’t have? I’d have loved for you to teach him a well-earned lesson.”
“I refuse to consider violence as the only means of correcting problems. Despite how I acted today, I won’t be reduced to it.”
Tension thrummed through his frame.
“Oh no, you aren’t a big meathead who pounds people first and asks questions later? How awfully enlightened of you. It’s scandalous.”
She smirked.
“I’m also not the kind of man anyone expects a Nobek to be.”
“Then be the Nobek you want to be, even if it means rewriting the book on warrior mentality. Why do you believe I wouldn’t think it’s okay? Give me a little credit, Detodev. Even if I thought less of you, why would you care? Do I pay your bills? Is my opinion worth more than yours when it comes to how you live your life? Is anyone’s?”
His attention turned toward her. She saw the glint of his eyes in the starlight as he gazed at her, perhaps weighing whether she meant it.
“I wish I knew what to make of you,”
he muttered.
On sudden impulse, she said, “Figure this out for starters.”
She closed the distance and rose on her toes, grateful she wasn’t as short as her sister. Wrapping her arms around his thick neck, she pressed her lips to his.
His hands pressed the small of her back, drawing her close before he froze. She clung, moving against him, willing a man’s instinct to grab control…as his Nobek instinct for protectiveness had earlier in the day.
To bring home her intentions, her mouth parted and her tongue slid between his lips. Uttering a groan, he opened to taste.
Sizzling excitement coursed through Charity as their tongues met and twined. She writhed, letting him feel her softness pressing his iron frame, keening in blatant need. The kiss grew hotter, hungrier. When at last it ended, they gasped as if they’d run miles.
“I’m not the man you want,”
he panted. “I can’t be.”
“Detodev, I don’t have a habit of kissing men who don’t interest me,”
she said. “So why don’t we mosey to the old barn over there and create me some better memories of it? At that distance from the house, we won’t scare the Amgars, the kids, and the chickens. Trust me, you don’t want me getting crazy aroused in the backyard. I’m noisy when it comes to sex.”
“Fuck,”
he hissed. “You’re sure?”
“I’m many things, my friend. A tease isn’t one of them.”
She used her grip on his neck to pull him toward the barn. “This invitation is set in stone, big man. I take refusals personally.”
He allowed her to tug him a couple of slow steps. “I’m on guard duty. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on things.”
“You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on me . How better to do so when we’re up close and very personal?”
* * * *
Groteg stood at the window, where he’d been since hearing Charity go outside. He shook his head in mingled disbelief and amusement as he watched the young woman drag Detodev toward the barn. The younger Nobek’s initial reluctance…probably brought about by Charity’s unforeseen lascivious attack rather than disinterest…ended in a flash. He abruptly lifted her and trotted to the silhouette of the large building. Her legs wrapped around his waist. She kissed and nipped his ear and neck. They disappeared in the barn’s dark environs.
“Are they letting nature take its course?”
Utber asked from the clan’s shared bed. He sat leaning on the headboard, Sara snuggled against his chest.
“That would be an affirmative. Apparently, Charity doesn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.”
Groteg couldn’t keep the laughter from his tone as he joined his clanmates. He slid between the sheets and curved into their warmth.
“Good for her,”
Sara yawned. The scent of her earlier pleasure mixed with theirs washed over the Nobek. “Our girl’s going to be all right as long as we keep those bastards from Mercy and New Bethlehem at bay. Detodev will be okay too, if she can convince him to get out of his own way.”
“She might. She’s bringing out the protective instincts he fights. Maybe having her to keep safe will help him learn to trust rather than fear them.”