Chapter Fourteen
Brogan looked at the suit Ziggy gave her, now hung up in the wardrobe. Ziggy was right. It was more her taste than Ziggy’s.
It was a nice dark grey suit, with a crisp white shirt and black dress shoes. Much more appropriate than a pink or light sky-blue that Ziggy would wear.
Brogan was so confused. She looked at her image in the mirror and said, “Why are you doing this to yourself? Why are you getting involved?”
The voice of her wolf in head said, Because she’s your mate.
She’s not my mate, Brogan said to herself. We live in different worlds, different parts of the universe, different realms, whatever they want to call it.
Brogan didn’t know exactly, but it was a long way away from her own system of planets and home. Last night Brogan couldn’t stop kissing Camber. She knew when she kissed Camber, there would never be another kiss like it.
Only Camber’s lips fitted, and Brogan felt they were made for hers. Then this morning they were so close to going further. She’d inhaled Camber’s scent from her soft neck and made Camber shiver. Then Ziggy had interrupted them.
Would they have gone further? In that moment, probably yes. When her lips touched Camber’s neck, her incisors lengthened, and she wanted to bite her. Never wanted to bite anyone more. In fact, she’d never wanted to bite any female she’d been with.
Camber’s scent was still swirling around in her head. It was intoxicating and mixing her thoughts. What would she do? What could she do?
Inside her mind a voice said, Because she’s your mate.
Brogan put her hands on her temples and squeezed. A mate in another region of space? Yeah, that’ll work. Even her thoughts were sarcastic.
If these fellow wolves could help, she’d be going home. She’d have to step through a portal and leave Camber behind. Then she’d be back home with her friends, her pack, and of course she’d be delighted to see them, but there would forever be an ache in her heart.
Brogan would look up at the sky and know that Camber was there somewhere, and she wasn’t with her.
“Great Mother, what am I supposed to do?”
There was a knock at the door, and Brogan, glad of this distraction, went to answer. She opened the door slowly.
One of the hotel staff said, “Ziggy asked me to bring these things for you.”
There was a notebook, a box of charcoals, a pencil, and a fountain pen and ink.
“Do thank Ziggy for me. This is fantastic.”
Brogan took the things from the young man and realized she had no currency to give him a tip. All she could do was say, “Sorry I don’t have anything with me. I’ll give you double next time I see you.”
“Don’t worry, Ziggy takes good care of us,” he said.
Camber, whom she hadn’t seen since Ziggy left, came out to see what had arrived at the door.
“What is it?”
“I called down to Ziggy to ask if they had art supplies. I didn’t know if the people from this realm made art in the same way we do—paper, ink, charcoals—or if you had gone beyond that type of art,” Brogan said.
“We have gone beyond it but”—Camber grinned at her—“some more primitive peoples do make their art that way.”
Brogan smiled back at her. “Thanks for that. I haven’t lifted a brush to paint in I don’t know how long, maybe a few months before I left Earth. I was helping my friends with Balor.”
Camber found it sweet that this big dominant wolf felt that she would like to express herself that way.
“I’m really missing it, and when I’m going through difficult things…” Brogan seemed to be grasping for words. “Some issues with feelings, it’s hard for me to talk about them—I’m a wolf, a dominant wolf. Talking isn’t our best attribute, but I can always get it out through art.”
Camber wanted this wolf even more. She dared to presume that the feelings were connected to her. She was hoping. When she’d left, after their small argument, all Camber could feel was fire inside her and the feel of Brogan’s breath and her lips trailing down her neck.
She wasn’t used to dealing with these emotions, much like she thought Brogan was struggling. Camber had come up with a plan to help them talk about what was going on between them.
“I have a suggestion. We’re going out for dinner tonight, so this afternoon we have time.
I thought we could go in the RR, and I could show you Danus, where I was brought up, among the monks, where they look after the super portal and praise Danu.
Vorka is the elder of the monks and the closest thing I have to a parent.
You could bring your art things—there are monuments, and the scenery is wild and beautiful. ”
“Yeah, I would love that. I’d love to see anything about you,” Brogan said.
Camber said, “Why don’t we get some food sent up to take with us, and we could talk. I know you don’t like too much talking, but I think we do need a talk.”
“Okay.” Brogan sounded worried.
“Don’t worry, Wolfy. I won’t pin you down and make you tell me all your deepest, darkest secrets.” Camber laughed, but she was sure Brogan still looked worried.
“Good idea,” Brogan said.
“Let’s go and check the menu, then.”
Davor was sitting in his office, off the main bridge of the cruiser.
He was going over his history and mythological people’s reports on the map and the beyond.
He had scoured all four corners of the realm to find the best experts on the history of the ones who came before, who made the portals and the map and might know what The Beyond was.
There was so much myth and legend, it was hard to know what was real and what was fiction.
The Beyond and access to it were the pinnacle of Davor’s ambitions, to bring Abnobians back to be an empire like they once were, and to make even bigger strides and control other realms that were too far away to reach by their ships.
Davor would lead, with total control over time and space. No rebels could ever defeat them then. He needed that Map Keeper.
The voice of the captain came though his computer. “Commander-in-chief?”
“Yes.”
“I have Cardo wishing to speak to you.”
Was this it? Was this the message to tell him that Cardo had the Map Keeper for him?
“I’ll take it on the bridge.”
Davor wanted to show Cardo the full power of the bridge officers, with him standing at the head.
He got up and walked through to the bridge of the cruiser ship. The bridge captain got up from the captain’s chair and gave it to Davor. Davor didn’t sit. He stood, hands on hips in a powerful position, all seven feet of him.
“Put him on.”
He could see Cardo was in a side room, away from the Drazani guard. Are you feeling the heat?
“Do you have my Map Keeper yet, Cardo?” Davor said.
Cardo looked nervous. “Not as yet, Davor. We would have been to Ziggy’s by now, but we were held up going through the edge of Vetia’s space.”
“Queen Emaris’s planet? What happened?” Davor said with surprise.
“The queen’s border forces insisted on checking every nut and bolt on the ship. It’s slowed us down considerably,” Cardo said.
“Do you think this was intentional?” Davor asked.
“It seemed like it to me.”
“Queen Emaris’s kingdom has stayed neutral so far, in the line between us and the rebels,” Davor said.
“That’s all I can tell you. So we’re about twelve to fifteen hours behind. But we will get there by tomorrow, late morning.”
“Let’s hope so for you. Bring the Map Keeper back to me. I might remind you, you are surrounded by Drazani guards. Remember that. So put every ounce of your brain, brawn, and drive into finding her.”
“I will find her, Davor. I promise,” Cardo pleaded.
It wasn’t often a vampire had to plead to anyone. But he would plead to a god, Davor thought.
Davor left Cardo’s plea hanging, simply to make Cardo feel more uncomfortable. He sat in his command chair and slowly crossed his legs. He was exuding the power that could end Cardo’s life.
“People have always made promises to me, and to my fellow gods, Cardo. But promises mean nothing. If you don’t give us what we want—promises spell death.”
Cardo put his hands together. “I will put everything into finding this woman. I won’t promise, I will guarantee you.”
“Guarantee?” Davor said. “Big words. I hope they come to pass, for your sake. Your planet has lived happily with Abnobia. We enjoy excellent relations, we have common cause in keeping the weak under our boots or destroying them if we must. But a hand of friendship can very quickly disappear.”
Davor leaned forwards in his seat. “Let me say again, it can very easily disappear if you disappoint us, Cardo.”
Cardo looked like he hadn’t fed in weeks, shaky and pale. “The next time I see you, I will have the Map Keeper.”
“Excellent.”
Davor changed his menacing look to smiles in an instant.
“If there’s anything you need after you apprehend her, let me know.
Otherwise set a course directly for Danus.
We are currently closing in on their space now.
I need to have some words with Vorka. So I will leave you to your job, Cardo, and with the word you’ve given me, I will see you very soon. Goodbye.”
Davor signalled to end the communication.
One thing Davor knew for certain. Intelligence had Camber at Ziggy’s.
Ziggy had always been accommodating to searches in property and person around the moon.
He was sure that he would be able to send over his subordinates to turn over every inch of that moon, but he was willing to wait until tomorrow to see how Cardo did.
“You! You have to be cheating.”
“Excuse me,” Kartog said, “I’ve never cheated about anything in my life. I simply excel in many games.”
While waiting on Ziggy to be free, she decided to play a few rounds of cards, and she had equally frustrated each of her opponents, apart from one first-time player, a young woman called Jenice, who was struggling but smiling and enjoying the game.
The man who had lost his temper with her was called Balbo. He was of short legs and body, with scaly skin and two black eyes.