Between Darkness and Light (89 page)

“It's still worth trying. My wife is being drawn to him, Zhalmo. Every day that this damned marker remains on him, her attraction to him grows stronger, as does his to her!” said Kezule, leaning forward slightly. “It must be stopped.”

“Then may I respectfully ask why you canceled our orders to keep them apart and instead have them working in close proximity to each other?” she asked, getting to her feet and standing rigidly at attention. “I must refuse your request—unless it is an order.” She stared straight ahead, refusing to look at him. If all she'd wanted with the Sholan was one night, she'd have pushed her slight advantage home when they'd first met, but she didn't.

Kezule sighed and sat back in his seat. “Relax, Zhalmo,” he said tiredly. “It wasn't an order. I didn't think you'd agree, if it's any comfort to you, but since you're the only one Kusac's taken an interest in, I had to ask you. As to why I stopped keeping them apart, I needed to learn for myself how the marker was affecting them both.”

She relaxed her stance a little, accepting what was from him an apology.

“May I be excused now?” she asked.

Kezule nodded. “Yes. You're off duty now, I had your relief report early.” He caught her gaze with his. “This conversation must remain private, Zhalmo.”

When she reached the door, she stopped briefly. “Captain Aldatan won't show an interest in anyone else until the marker's removed,” she said. “That's the point of it.”

“I know, which was why I spoke to you. You were my best hope after Giyarishis said there was nothing he could do.”

“I'm sorry, General, but not even for worthy reasons could I do that,” she said awkwardly.

“Forget we even spoke about it, Zhalmo,” he said. “I didn't realize you felt such loyalty to the Sholan.”

 

When she'd gone, M'kou came in from the Ready Room next door.

“Did you hear everything?” asked Kezule. The talk with his daughter had exhausted him because she'd been right. His whole plan was dishonorable in the extreme, beneath even his own contempt for one of his caste and principles, but he didn't know what else to do.

“Yes, General,” said M'kou quietly, taking Zhalmo's vacated seat on the sofa.

“Is there no one else he's shown an interest in?”

M'kou thought for a moment. “There's Ghidd'ah,” he said dubiously. “He's been seen quite a few times going about in her company since we returned from Ch'almuth, but she's a close friend of the Doctor's. I wouldn't recommend even talking to her.”

“Agreed,” said Kezule, rubbing his hand over his eyes. “Then we need to find a female willing to use subterfuge to seduce him. That's going to have to be up to you, M'kou. You know everyone here. There must be the odd female from our original group who's less principled than the rest.”

“There's one or two,” M'kou agreed. “In fact, though the bet they had to see who'd be first to couple with a Sholan has been won, there's still another that hasn't—to see who'd be first to seduce the Captain. I know someone who'd like to win, regardless of how it's accomplished, but she's a Ch'almuthian.”

“Speak to her and get it set up as soon as possible,” said Kezule, closing his eyes. “I want this over with, for the good of both of them. Don't forget, she needs to scent-mark him, then turn it off.”

“General, wouldn't it be easier all round just to let the Doctor go to him and turn it off?”

“No,” he said unequivocally. “She didn't put the marker there in the first place so it wouldn't help, and I'm afraid if she tried, it would only make the situation between them worse.”

“You realize the Captain will probably have to be drugged if she's to couple with him at least twice?”

“Just arrange it, M'kou,” he said tiredly. “I know you don't want to do it any more than I do, but it has to be done.”

“It's the Captain's birthday today and they're planning something for him in the rec,” said M'kou thoughtfully. “Tonight would be the ideal time. I'll need some clothing of the Doctor's. It will make it easier if he thinks it's her to start with.”

“Go ahead. You know where everything is in our suite.”

When Kusac joined Banner in the rec, his Second was already sitting with Khadui and a small group of females that included Lorish and Kiosh. Looking round, he caught sight of Dzaou with Ghidd'ah and some of her friends, but of Jayza there was no sign.

“No Jayza?” he asked, flicking his loose hair over his shoulders then picking up his ale.

“Up at the pool with Shezhul,” said Banner with a grin. “Lirtosh says he's becoming very popular.”

Lorish nodded. “He's pleasant company, as well as being young and energetic,” she laughed. “We like that in him.”

“I don't doubt it,” he murmured with a faint smile of his own.

“It won't do him any harm,” said Banner, quietly. “He hasn't chosen his specialist field yet. I was going to ask you to recommend him for the Diplomatic Corps.”

“I'll bear that in mind,” he said, making a mental note to observe Jayza more closely. Their experiences here would qualify all of his crew for at least a field rating in AlRel, were they in any other Guild.

“Kiosh has been telling us that they were helping the Ch'almuthians stock up the old store on this level,” said Khadui. “It should be open in a day or two.”

“I didn't know they'd be ready to open so soon,” he said. “The
Khalossa
had several stores, but most of their goods were for the females because we had a mixed crew. What kind of goods will they be selling and how are we supposed to pay for them?”

“Kezule's introducing a currency tomorrow,” said Banner. “Apparently he and M'kou have been working on the idea off and on for the last couple of weeks. We'll all be issued with fifty credits at first meal tomorrow, and fifty more each week.”

“Even us?”

Khadui nodded. “Even us.”

“I suppose they'll start charging us for the ale then,” Kusac said.

“Only a small, token amount, but the spirits will cost more,” said Banner. “As for goods, Lorish says there will be clothing, material, and threads, jewelry, foodstuffs and sweets, pottery—luxury goods and some basics, the usual mix though not on the commercial scale you'd get on our ships. And, of course, custom-made goods will be available as well. They've also got books, which is what I'm most interested in, though accepting even credits from Kezule goes against my grain.”

“Definitely worth checking out,” he said, looking around as he suddenly picked up a stir of suppressed excitement.

“How's your work with the Ch'almuthians going?” asked Khadui.

Surprised at the other's inquiry, he looked back at him. “All right,” he said. “I'm beginning to form a good idea of the workings of their culture and it isn't that far off the civilian side here.”

“How about their religion?” the older male continued. “Are they happy with the idea of a main fertility Goddess?”

He was formulating an answer when he saw Zayshul come through the door. They'd been together in his quarters the previous evening, under some pretext Ghidd'ah, who'd been with her, had thought up, but his senses were still heightened enough to pick up her scent immediately despite the crowded rec.

“They gave up Emperor worship immediately after their Empire collapsed,” he began, trying not to watch her as she crossed the room and passed him with a small nod and smile. “Being mainly an agricultural world, their fertility Goddess is about the only one they follow now.”

He could sense she'd stopped not far behind him, then a moment later, he could smell her scent getting closer again. Then she was leaning past him and placing a large plate, covered with small, round decorated cookies in front of him.

“Banner told us it was your birth day today,” she said, accepting the chair that materialized behind her and sitting down beside him. “This is what we have on that day, so Happy Birth Day, Kusac.”

Taken aback, he could say nothing as those at his table wished him well.

“I'd forgotten about it,” he said, his ears still tilted back in embarrassment. “Thank you.”

“You must eat the top one yourself,” said Zayshul, “but the rest are for you to give to your friends. For us, to be given one is good luck.”

Reaching out, he took the topmost cookie off the pile, then gestured to her, Banner, and the others. “Please, help yourself.”

The cookies, full of exotic berries from the hydroponics level, were delicious.

“Better take one over to Dzaou, and Ghidd'ah,” he said, beginning to get up.

“Sit down, I'll take it over,” said Banner as a couple of people headed over to their table to pass on their good wishes.

From that point on, there were always at least two people standing by their table chatting to them and any opportunity for private conversation was almost impossible. As soon as his glass of ale was nearing the bottom, another appeared, along with the odd glass of spirits. After the first two glasses, he decided there was no option but to give in with good grace, and it wasn't long before tales were being swapped and jokes exchanged.

He found the evening passed quickly and pleasantly. All too soon, it seemed, the rec began to empty of people and it was time to leave. It wasn't till he stumbled as he tried to stand up that he realized he'd probably drunk too much. Banner's hand was there to catch him.

“Easy there,” his Second said with a grin.

“How much did I have?” he asked, steadying himself by holding onto the back of his chair.

“A fair bit,” said Banner, guiding him toward the door. “Not so much ale, but you had maybe five glasses of spirits. Hell, a birth day only comes once a year; you're entitled to kick back and relax.”

He groaned. “I'm going to have a hangover tomorrow.”

“Drink plenty of water when you get back to your room,” said Zayshul from his other side. “That will help.”

When they reached the door to his suite, he insisted they leave him to manage the rest on his own. The cooler air in the corridor had woken him up a little and he was steadier on his legs now.

Yawning, he headed for the small sink in the kitchen area and getting his mug, he stuck it under the cold faucet. The first mug went down easily, and he poured himself a second, sipping it as he made his way through to his bedroom.

He was tired, but a pleasant warm feeling suffused him, and the fact that everything he looked at seemed to have a soft focus—slightly blurred, his logical side observed—made his surroundings seem friendlier. Setting his mug down on his night table, he unfastened his robe and tossed it onto the end of the bed. Pulling back the covers, he crawled into bed and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He came to suddenly, blinking in the dim light as he tried to remember what had awakened him. He'd left the bedside light on, but he knew it wasn't that. Despite his still blurred vision, everything seemed to be the same. Barely able to keep his eyes open, he gave in and let them close again. Something was nudging at the edges of his mind, but he had no idea what. His thinking was as fuzzy as his sight right now, but he had a feeling it was important. Frowning, he tried to concentrate. There had been a dream, one with Vartra in it. What was Vartra doing in his dreams?

At the edge of his hearing, he thought he caught a faint sound from the main room. A vague sense of urgency began to build in him, but he was warm and relaxed right now and disinclined to move. Likely it was only a change in the speed of the ventilation fans. Unbidden, the memory of his dream of Vartra returned, nagging him till he began to wonder if they were connected. Then he heard the sound again.

Opening his eyes this time, he decided he really ought to get up. He tried to turn over but found his body leaden and slow to respond—moving was too much effort. He'd had far too much to drink and his imagination was playing tricks by creating noises and feelings of unease that didn't exist, that was all. Closing his eyes, he gave in once more to the lassitude and began to let himself drift.

He dreamed of Zayshul, smelling her scent surrounding him, feeling her naked skin sliding across his, moving along his pelt until she lay on top of him. Familiarity made his body respond instantly to her presence, kindling fires deep in his belly and groin as he welcomed her. Her hand stroked his cheek then brushed gently against his nose. He reached up to catch hold of her wrist, pressing his tongue to her palm and licking it with short, feverish strokes, aware of the toxins her skin carried rushing into his system, fully wakening and enhancing his sensitivity to her.