Laura Jo Phillips (35 page)

“Poor guy,” Karma said from her seat near the door.  “They scared him out of a few years of his life.”

“You didn’t hit him or anything, did you?” Aisling asked.

“Of course not,” Rudy said.  “We only asked that he leave the room.”

“He’s probably hiding on the other end of the ship by now,” Aisling said with a smile.

“You find this amusing?” Olaf asked archly.

“Yes, actually, I do,” Aisling said.  “I’m not used to having anyone care that much about me and I like it.  Not that I want you to actually hurt him or anything.”

Aisling hopped down off the bed and stretched, testing her muscles to be sure she had no pain or discomfort.  “When can we do this?”

“Whenever we want,” Olaf replied.

“Tonight?”

“You just got out of a healing tank,” Karma said.  “Don’t you think you should give yourself a few days?”

“No,” Aisling replied.  “Just having gotten out of a healing tank means I’m perfectly healthy right now.  Therefore, logically, sooner is better.”

“Well, I’m going to go grab some dinner,” Karma said as she stood up to give Aisling a quick hug.  “You guys let me know when you need me, and I’ll be there.”

 “Do you really want to do this tonight?” Olaf asked after Karma was gone.

“Yes, but I sense that you guys don’t,” Aisling replied.

“Actually, that’s not quite right,” Olaf said.  “We want to, very much.  But we are also nervous about it.”

“Why?”

“Because we know that you will be in a lot of pain for an extended period of time,” Olaf replied. 

“True, but I’m not going to feel it,” Aisling said.  “If you guys want to wait though, we can wait.”

“We do not want to wait,” Olaf said as he reached out and pulled her toward him.  “We are only nervous.”

Aisling raised herself up on her toes so that she could kiss him on the jaw.  She gestured to Rand and Rudy, wanting them all close.  A moment later all three of her men surrounded her, holding her close between them.

“I spent my childhood being loved so well that when it was taken from me, it took me a very long time to learn how to be alone in the world,” she said in a low voice.  “Now, I have you three, and I never want to be alone again.  If we are soul-linked, I never
have
to be alone again.  We will be connected, a part of each other forever, no matter what happens.  I want that.  I
need
that.”

Olaf reached down and lifted her into his arms, cradling her close to his chest.  “Then we shall give our Arima what we all want and need.”

Olaf turned toward the door, Rand and Rudy right behind him. 

“I can walk you know,” Aisling said, smiling up at him.  She had a feeling she was going to be saying that a lot from now on.

“Yes, I know,” Olaf said, leaving the infirmary and heading for the elevator.  “We watched you walk this morning.”

Aisling’s smile turned smug. 

“However,” Olaf continued blandly, “if we have to watch you walk like that again right now, we will be forced to find the nearest empty room so that we can fuck you for the remainder of the night.”

Aisling’s smile became a grin.

“If that happens, we will have to put the ritual off for another day.”

Aisling scowled.  “Can’t you walk any faster?”

Olaf chuckled, as did Rand and Rudy, but Aisling chose to ignore them.  She was excited about what was to come, but as Olaf carried her quickly toward their room, she began to feel nervous as well.  By the time they reached their room and Olaf set her on her feet, she was both nervous and worried.

“Have you changed your mind?” Olaf asked, sensing her emotions as she sensed theirs. 

“No, not at all,” she replied.  “I’m just worried that I’m rushing you guys into this.  I can be pushy sometimes when I want something, but I don’t want you to do this unless you’re all ready for it too.”

“Do not worry so much,” Olaf said with a gentle smile.  “To be soul-linked with you, and with each other, is a miracle we never imagined for ourselves.  We want this very much.”

Aisling sighed with relief.  “So, what next?”

“First, we relax a little,” Rand said as he walked over to the sitting area.  Aisling saw a tray on the table holding glasses and a bottle of wine.  While Rand poured the wine, Rudy went to the closet and took a box down from the shelf.  He opened it up and removed several candles which he then began to place around the room.

Rand handed her a glass of wine and she sipped it slowly.  It was the same wine they had given her the first night they’d had dinner alone.  So much had happened since then that, even though it had been only a few weeks ago, she felt as though it had been much longer.

“Sit,” Olaf said, gesturing toward a chair.  Aisling sat and Olaf knelt down to unbuckle her boots and pull them off. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

Olaf set her boots aside, then reached for the buckles on her vest, while Rand began unbuckling her weapons belt.  She felt Rudy behind her, his fingers in her hair, working it into a braid.  It felt a little strange to be sitting there while they undressed her and did her hair, but she was learning that they liked to do things like this.  So she relaxed and sipped her wine.

“Stand up,
bilara
,” Olaf said when they’d removed all of her weapons and put them away in the drawer. 

Aisling set her glass down and did as he asked, feeling a little less relaxed as they removed the remainder of her clothing so quickly she hardly had time to blink.  She was just getting ready to protest when Rudy touched her shoulder from behind.  “Put your arms out,” he said softly.

Aisling slowly held her arms out, wondering what he meant to do, startled by the feel of something cool and silky against her skin.  She looked down to see that she was now wearing a long golden robe with something embroidered on it.  She turned toward the mirror and gasped.

Along the sleeves and around the neck and shoulders were three gryphons, all embroidered in olive green and golden brown silk.  The one around her neck had green eyes, the one on the right sleeve had golden brown eyes and the one on the left sleeve had dark brown eyes.  She knew without having to look at the eye colors that they were perfect depictions of Olaf, Rand and Rudy in their alter forms. 

“This is beautiful,” she said, running her fingers over the embroidery, awed by the detail of the work.  “When did you have a chance to get this made?”

“You are not the only one who can place a secret order with tele-fabricators,” Rudy said with a grin. 

“These are like...what do you call them?  Mating marks?” she asked.

“Lau-lotu
,” Olaf said.  “Binding marks.”

“I saw Hope’s and she told me about them,” Aisling said.  “Won’t I have them too, when the ritual is finished?”

“Yes, you will,” Olaf said.  “When we ordered this for you, we did not know that our mating fangs would descend, allowing us to perform the ritual.  We wanted you to have this, so that you would know we will always think of you as our Arima, ritual or no ritual.”

Aisling turned from the mirror, tears in her eyes.  “I will treasure this forever.  Thank you.”

“You are most welcome,
tia-flam
,” Rudy said.  “Now, shall we begin?”

“Yes,” she said.  “Let’s begin.”

Rudy picked her up and carried her to the bed, where he laid her down.  He climbed onto the bed beside her, while Rand knelt on her right, and Olaf laid down across the bed, his head over hers.

“This will not hurt,” he assured her. 

That brought a smile to Aisling’s face.  “I am not worried about pain,” she said.  Olaf returned her smile and kissed her gently, before turning to his brothers.  Rudy raised Aisling’s left wrist to his mouth and pressed his lips to the tender skin in a warm and gentle kiss, while Rand did the same with her right wrist.  Olaf bent his head to Aisling’s neck and kissed her lightly. 

“Now,” he said.  As one, all three of them sank their mating fangs into her skin, then remained motionless.  Aisling felt the tiniest of stings, hardly daring to breathe as she waited.  She wondered how long this would take, and was surprised at herself for not having asked that before.  She opened her mouth to ask, then closed it when she realized none of them could very well answer her.

Moments later they all removed their mating fangs as one, and she felt their tongues as they each licked the tiny wounds.  She blew her breath out in a long whoosh of relief.

“You are all right?” Olaf asked, raising his head from her neck.

“Yes, perfectly,” she said.  “What next?”

“We wait.  Between half an hour to an hour from now you will become sleepy quite suddenly.  You should have no symptoms or discomfort during that time.”

“Can I ask you something?” she asked.

“Certainly,” Olaf replied. 

“Do you know what happened to Berta?”

“The Falcoran’s Arima?” Olaf asked.

“Yes, that’s one way of describing her,” Aisling said with a frown.  “She is also my friend, and the woman who helped to save my life as well as Karma’s, Hope’s and Grace’s, and who risked her life for mine.”

“We are sorry,” Olaf said.  “I did not mean to insult her, or you.”

“I know,” Aisling said with a sigh.  “I get a little testy when I have to wait a lot.  Did I mention to you guys that I’m not very good at being patient?”

“No, you did not mention it,” Olaf said, choosing his words very carefully.  “We did, however, observe a slight resistance to waiting.”

Aisling grinned and kissed his jaw again.  She liked that spot, half way between his chin and his ear.  “Nicely done,” she said.  “So do you have any news of her?  I know that the Falcorans took her from the ranch, but no more than that.”

“No, we have not heard anything,” Olaf said.  “But we can send a message inquiring, if you like.”

“Yes, please,” Aisling said.  “I would like that.  I’m worried about her.”

“We should have anticipated your concern and sent a message sooner,” Olaf said.  “We apologize.”

“There is no need to apologize,” Aisling said. “You cannot read my mind.”  She frowned.  “Can you?”

“No, although I sometimes think it is a talent that could come in handy,” he replied with a grin.

Aisling grimaced.  “That would be awful,” she said.  “This talent for languages is a little weird, but I’m lucky compared to some.”

“Why do you say that?” Rudy asked.  “Some of the things you women do are truly amazing.”

“Yeah, that’s true I suppose.  I wouldn’t mind being able to talk to animals, like Princess Lariah.  Or controlling computers with my mind, like Summer.  On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to be able to read objects by touching them, like Hope, or, worse, talk to dead people, like Karma.”

“No?” Rand asked. 

“No,” Aisling said.  “You never know what you’re going to find out.  You could end up knowing something that you really don’t want to know.”

“But that’s true in life as well,” Rand argued.  “You don’t always know what someone will say to you.  I think I would like to be able to speak to our parents again after so many years.”

“Your parents are dead?” Aisling asked.  She blushed with embarrassment.  “How horrible I am.”

“Why do you say that?” Rand asked in surprise. 

“I’ve told you practically everything about my life, and have not once asked about yours,” she said.  “I must be very self-centered.”

“You are not self-centered,” Olaf replied.  “And you have asked us about ourselves, we are just vastly more interested in you.”

Aisling rolled her eyes at that.  “Would you mind telling me about your parents?”

“Of course not,” Olaf replied.  “They have been gone from the plane of the living for three hundred years now.  We miss them, but the pain is no longer as sharp as it once was.”

“What happened to them?”

“Our mother died in childbirth,” Rand said.  “Neither she, nor our younger brothers survived.  She was not our fathers’ Arima, but they loved her as much as if she had been.  After she passed to the next plane, their grief was such that they had no desire to remain here without her.” 

“That’s sad,” Aisling said, “but, they didn’t kill themselves, did they?”

“No, not as you are thinking,” Rand replied.  “We do not age as humans do.   so, in theory, we could live for thousands of years.  But those we are close to, our brothers, our mates, are everything to us, they become part of us.  When we lose them, it is difficult for us to continue.  The strain of our grief and loss ages us, in a sense.  If we lose our will to live altogether, our bodies release our souls so that we can rejoin those who have gone before us.”

“I see,” Aisling said, not altogether certain that she did.  “How old are you three?”

“We are just over seven hundred years old,” Olaf replied.

“Whoa,” Aisling said, shocked.  “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously,” Olaf replied.  “Even for us, that is a long time to wait for a woman, and family.  But we could not choose another when we knew there was one woman, a woman with your face, and hair and eyes, that was meant just for us.  Still, the wait grew heavy on us, so we decided to step down as Consuls of our Clan, and move on to the next plane.  We gave up.”