Nuworld: Claiming Tara (17 page)

Many men viewed it as good luck to claim a woman who’d
fucked an honourable warrior til death.
Darius would consider it good luck to capture one hot
and incredibly
disobedient
Runner
without
his men
learning what he was doing.
He took care moving though the tress. He spotted Tara
as she reached her bike and straddled it. He crept up from
behind, wrapped his arms around her and cupped his
hand over her mouth.
Instantly,
Tara
lurched
backward
off
the
bike.
She
shoved herself into her aggressor. Her body had more pack
to it than he might have guessed. She pulled her legs up
and slammed her heels into his knees. The pain was
damned annoying, but determination prevailed.
Tara must know it was him. She was trying to convince
him how well
she
fought.
She
twisted
her
body and
thrashed against his. He tightened the arm around her
chest until he was afraid he would smash her rib cage if
she didn’t succumb.
Darius was impressed. More than once he struggled to
keep his balance. Finally he tightened his grip until she
was gasping for breath. She stopped thrashing her legs.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered into her ear.
Tara relaxed. He slowly removed his hand from her
mouth and slid it possessively down her neck.
“You’ve been fed wrong information,” she whispered as
she coughed in air. “Hopefully, your spies are dead. I don’t
detect any other Gothman in the area other than those
behind us and about twenty or so down the hill.” She
spoke quickly then stopped and inhaled sharply.
“What are you talking about?” He flipped her around
and gripped her arms, fighting the urge to shake her until
she made sense.
“The Sea People are north and northwest of Gothman.
They’re heavily armed and driving metal groundmobiles
loaded with artillery. You need to move all of your troops
now.” She paused for a moment, confirming they were
alone. She pulled her shirt down and adjusted her face
cloth. “I’m pretty sure Mikel fed you false information to get
you out here and kill you.”
A look Tara couldn’t identify crossed Darius’ face. “I
didn’t know he was warrior enough to try such a stunt.”
“I heard your men talking on their walkntalks.” She tried
reading his reaction to what she was telling him. “There’ll
be several thousand Runners meeting you at your northern
borders in about two days. Your defense needs to be strong
to hold the Sea People off until then.” Tara turned and
began punching keys on a flat pad between her bike’s
handlebars. It hadn’t been there when her bike had been in
his shed. “Patha’s on line. He’s verified reinforcement.”
“Patha of the Blood Circle Clan?” He frowned. “How do
you know Patha?”
“He’s my papa.” It would confuse matters to tell him
she’d just found this out today.
“I see.”
Tara thought Darius already knew who she was. They’d
never discussed her clan though. At least she had the
satisfaction of knowing he hadn’t tried claiming her
because she was heir to all clans. If he didn’t know her
clan, or her relation to Patha, then he wouldn’t know where
she ranked among Runners. It wasn’t much better that
he’d initially claimed her based on her looks. Something
told her that more than her body appealed to him now.
Darius looked away from her and murmured, “My papa
knew him.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Darius took his time looking at her again. Although it
was only a brief moment, he stared at her and it seemed a
silent understanding passed between them. There was
history the two of them would discuss. But not now. Now
was time to prepare for battle.
“I’ll confirm your information.” He started to walk away
but then turned to look at her. “I’d hate to think of what
might have happened if you hadn’t interfered.”
“I’m not interfering.”
A small smile played at his lips.
“What are you going to do about Mikel?”
“He’ll be taken care of.” His voice was quiet, and his gray
eyes melted her insides. “He’s not my priority, though.
Gothman comes first. Trust me, my lady, Mikel won’t
interfere with my securing the strength of my nation. I
won’t allow it.”
Tara grabbed her handlebars and started her bike. She
believed him. His gray eyes might seduce her with a look,
but they also held the gleam of a warrior. Not only would
Darius fight
to
the
death
to
maintain Gothman,
the
thought of doing so created the excitement in him that she
saw now.
She rolled the bike forward, its motor a quiet purr. “I’ve
made my decision.” She gave him one last look. “The claim
stands.”
Tara didn’t wait for a response, but hopped on her bike,
accelerated and left him standing there.

Arriving back at the house, she set up camp in her
bedroom.
She
propped
the
landlink
on the
desk
and
opened the balcony doors. The fresh air made her feel less
boxed in and she’d hear any Gothman bike approaching.
Confirming she was still activated, she again searched for
Runners in the area.

This is Tara, of the Blood Circle Clan,
she typed, after
detecting one of the clan leaders on line.
Greetings. This is Jaree, wife to the leader of the Red Star
Clan.
Before long, she was deep in conversation explaining to
Jaree what to expect when her clan arrived at the north
Gothman border.
The Red Star Clan is loyal to Patha and the Blood Circle
Clan
. Jaree’s typed message appeared on Tara’s screen.
You can count on our help if you need us.
Tara worked into the night, briefing clan after clan that
had either heard from Patha or from another clan leader.
She joined a transmission with several other clan leaders,
including Patha who was on his landlink at Reena’s house,
and argued the pros and cons of a Runner and Gothman
union.
I see you claim two titles now,
Patha typed in a private
message to Tara, while both of them continued to discuss
political issues in the group transmission.
You’re not only
my heir, but now you’re the claim to the Lord of Gothman?
I need to show that I’m dedicated to helping Gothman.
Tara felt her fingers cramp as she hurried to express her
point to Patha, while continuing to comment in the group
transmission.
Runners and Gothman have always believed
they were enemies. Sharing news of my claim will help
strengthen the alliance.
As the evening wore on, news travelled of the union
between the Runners and the Gothman.
Is it true?
One of her friends from her clan sent a
transmission that popped up on her screen.
How have you
become the claim to the Lord of Gothman?
The questions from Tara’s clan members were justified.
She typed and typed until her fingers were numb and her
eyes watered and burned from staring at the screen so
long.
The
Runners needed
reassurance,
though,
that
Gothman would now be a formidable ally.
Tara fell asleep before Darius returned that night and
woke up with the cool morning breeze blowing through the
open balcony doors. She was starving and the walkntalk
she’d brought back with her beeped next to her. Getting up
and stretching, Tara experienced a wave of nausea. It
terrified her that Reena might be right.
Hell and doomed! Now wasn’t the time for a pregnancy.
The truth of it was Tara had never given thought to being
pregnant, or raising children. She was a warrior. Protecting
her people, insuring their freedom, and doing whatever was
needed for Runners in general had always been her top
priority. The walkntalk beeped again and Tara pressed the
flat button on the side, allowing the person to talk.
“Tara?” It was Hilda’s voice. The older woman muttered
something to someone else. She then yelled. “Tara, are you
there?”
Reena yelled too. “Tara, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. What time is it?”
“Oh, for Gothman’s sake. We woke her up.” It was Hilda
again. “Reena thinks you’re pregnant. Is that true?”
Tara forced herself to ride out the nausea and hurried to
dress. Last night she’d been alone in the house. One glance
out the open balcony doors and she knew it was well pass
sunrise. She didn’t know who was in the house now. Tara
was definitely not ready for two meddling old women to
squawk a word like
pregnant
through a walkntalk loud
enough that others around her might hear them.
“I don’t know, Hilda. What did you want?”
“She wants to know what we need,” Hilda said, her voice
breaking up when she kept the button pressed and spoke
to the background again. Hilda shouted into the walkntalk.
“We want to make sure you’re okay. Is my son there?”
Tara was suddenly grouchy and nauseous. She bit back
her urge to snap and demand to be allowed to go back to
sleep. Tara needed Hilda to believe she was okay or the
woman might very likely try contacting Darius with news
that Tara wasn’t ready to share. She sat on the bed and
found her landlink under the blankets.
“Your son is out with his troops defending Gothman. I’m
fine, Hilda. I promise. I don’t want you to leave Reena’s
house. Do you have enough food?”
“The Runner, um, Patha, is here. And yes, my dear, I
daresay we have plenty of food—even for Torgo.”
Tara dropped the walkntalk on the crumpled sheets,
then typed a message to Patha. He wouldn’t like doing it
but Tara begged him to keep Reena and Hilda from telling
anyone she might be pregnant.
“After all,” she read to herself after she’d finished typing
the message. “There’s no proof that I am and a false rumor
would do more damage that good right now.” Satisfied, she
sent the message.
Nothing in the kitchen looked good. Tara settled on some
grape juice. She then returned to her bedroom, sat crosslegged on her unmade bed with her landlink and planned
her strategy for the day. She remembered the walkntalk
and found it between folds of the sheets. Could she reach
Darius on it?
Tara might not have
knowledge
of such antiquated
devices, but she was sure they were not a secured means of
communication. How had a nation become so large on
such primitive equipment? Wit and brawn – there was no
other logical answer.
What information she’d obtained last night led her to
believe the Sea People had obtained more sophisticated
equipment. Gothman would have to be armed with better
weapons than Oldworld technology if they were to survive.
Something needed to be done about it immediately. She
prayed Darius wouldn’t be too stubborn. She had to take
matters into her own hands.
Tara carried her landlink out of the house to her bike.
The few guards on duty were alongside the house talking.
Darius would have to train his men better. But for now,
she was glad they didn’t notice her climb onto her bike and
disappear around the other side of the house.
The morning air was cool and the sky a magnificent
blue. She travelled north on an obviously seldom-used
rocky road heading toward the location indicated on her
screen. Half
an hour
later,
she
noticed
several black
trailers coming across the meadow to her west. Within
minutes, many motorcycles became visible as well. It was a
Runner clan and a rather large one at that. The scouts
leading the clan approached her first, and she slowed to
greet them.
“Identify yourself, Runner.” The voice
was female
although with her headscarf and large jacket it was hard to
determine her gender if she hadn’t spoke.
“I’m Tara of the Blood Circle Clan.” She scanned the
open area as more motorcycles came into view.
The Runner spoke into her comm clipped around her ear
and extending to her mouth. The comms were used by
most clans, proving the easiest way to communicate while
on a
bike.
Tara knew that
one
of
the
black trailers
contained the clan’s base unit, and the female Runner was
informing those inside the van of her contact.
“I’m to tell you that Redo of the Red Star clan greets you.
He’s received your communication and has brought his
clan to assist.”
“I’m very grateful to all of your clan for your willingness
to help with the Sea People. I’m on my way to meet Lord
Darius of Gothman. Will you ride with me?”
The woman spoke into her comm again, then grinned.
“Lead the way.”
Darius’ exact location was beyond the oncoming hills.
She and the clan began making their way toward him,
slowing their pace over the rough ground so the trailers
would be able to keep up with them.
Pride in her people grew as Tara rode with a scout on
either side of her. The remaining members of the clan rode
behind them. She and her fellow Runners were creating
history.
The
noise
of
their
approaching
motorcycles—
several hundred in all—roared over the hills like thunder,
stirring up clouds of dirt like a tornado, and sending
tremors through the ground as powerful as an earthquake.
The scout to Tara’s right pointed to a large number of
parked bikes, and scores of tents being assembled. They’d
arrived at the Gothman camp. As the Gothman became
aware of the approaching Runner clan, all hands dropped
what they were doing. But while a commotion stirred in the
camp, the Gothman warriors had obviously been notified of
the Runners’ pending arrival since no shots were fired.
Nevertheless, Gothman guards at the edge of the camp
pulled their bang sticks and stood alert.
The clan’s warriors accelerated around the scouts, now
leading the way, and Tara alerted them to slow down. She
stopped the clan within twenty feet of the Gothman. It
would appear to any bystander to be quite a standoff, with
Runners lined up over a hundred bikes thick and Gothman
mostly on foot tense with bang sticks in their hands.
“Hold your clan and wait for my instructions,” Tara told
the nearest scout.
She
accelerated and parked alongside
the
Gothman
guard who wore the armband of highest rank.
“I’m Tara of the Blood Circle Clan. This is the Red Star
clan, here to assist the Gothman. Inform Lord Darius we
await his instructions.”
He yelled to another guard who was standing next to
him, and that man turned and ran into the camp toward
one of the tents.
Tara didn’t move. The Red Star clan remained parked
with the
Gothman watching them.
Over
five
hundred
people were silent in the meadow. Birds didn’t dare fly
overhead. The silence was deafening. Tara wondered if
prejudices could be put aside long enough to fight this
battle together.
Something rumbled behind her. Tara turned, as did
those behind her. Behind the Red Star clan, at the bottom
of the hill, another clan approached.
Tara shouted to the Gothman warrior, “Tell your men to
hold their position. I will see what clan this is.”
She rode back to the Runner scout, who was already on
her comm. “Have
the
clan
identify themselves,”
Tara
instructed. Ask them to hold their ground and wait further
instructions.
Tara turned back to the Gothman at the sound of a
motorcycle
weaving
around
the
Gothman men.
She
breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Darius.
“Lower your weapons, Gothman!” He bellowed
with
enough ferocity that his men turned on a dime to face him.
“The Runners are here to assist us. Get back to work and
get this camp in order!”
His men returned to assembling the tents and preparing
the camp for battle, although many kept their eyes on the
arriving Runners. Darius accelerated around the Gothman
guards and pulled up alongside Tara.
“How many Runners are here?” Darius’ tone was
demanding and harsh, although he spoke softly enough
only Tara heard.
She glanced at him but he wasn’t looking at her. His
tone wasn’t controlling, but instead demanding information
as a leader of people would to another. “I don’t have a
count, yet. I’ll get one.”
She looked at the scout parked on the other side of her.
“Lord Darius wants a count of Runners. How many are
there in the Red Star clan?”
“We are two hundred and fifty,” the woman responded
and glanced past Tara to give Darius a curious once over.
“Two weeks ago, our clan numbered over seven hundred.
The Sea People attacked us because they thought we were
destroying a field where some opiate plants grow. We were
all but destroyed by them. It’s an honor to join the other
clans and the Gothman in battle. The Sea People are a no
good race of drug addicts. Nuworld is better off without
them.”
Tara saw the anger in the woman’s eyes as she spoke.
The woman pressed her hand to her ear, listening to
someone through her comm. She then glanced at Tara and
smiled. “The Blood Circle Clan is behind us. They number
twelve hundred, and Patha sends his greeting to you,
Tara.”
Tara’s face lit up. Her people had come. Not that she’d
ever doubted Patha. She started to turn back toward
Darius when the woman raised her hand.
“Wait,” she said. “Patha is coming forward. His clan will
maintain their location until further orders, as will ours.
Patha says no further action is to occur until he meets with
Lord Darius.”
Patha was not only leader of all clans but loved and
respected by all. He’d established the large networking
system existing among Runners today when he was a very
young man. It was due to Patha’s ingenuity that the clans
were able to communicate with each other no matter how
far away they might travel. His focus had always been
protection of all the clans. It would be tough following in
his footsteps.
Tara was proud of Patha, her papa. She straightened
when
she
spotted
him
approaching
the
front
line
of
Runners. She glanced at Darius. He
too sat tall and
watched Patha ride toward them.
“It’s Patha. He’ll want to speak privately.”
Darius nodded but focused on the large man on a larger
version of Tara’s bike. Completely covered by Runner attire,
and adorned with metals of victory, a muscular man, not
quite Darius’s size, drew near. In spike of his headscarf
concealing his appearance, Darius saw what he needed to
see in Patha’s eyes. Patha never once looked away from
Darius. The man looked intelligent, shrewd and incredibly
focused.
“Patha, I’m so glad you’ve arrived.” Tara said when Patha
stopped, facing them. “May I present Lord Darius.”
Patha looked from Tara to Darius. “I’ll speak with you
two alone now.”