Rebellion (17 page)

She knew he was right, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her say it.

He nodded as though he understood. “How two people from such different worlds could bond is beyond me. The Mother Goddess has a sick sense of humor.” His thumb caressed the still-healing scar on her arm sending little bolts of pleasure outward.

She swallowed a slight moan before he continued.

“I may not like who or what you are, and I suspect you feel the same about me, but you’re safe here. I would never hurt you. You know that, right?”

Ria wanted to scream, “Why you?” She hated the fact that when he leaned in, she met his kiss openly. Pleasure flowed as thought ceased.

* * * *

Just as things were getting out of control, there was a knock at the door. Ria shoved Ty backward. He stumbled a step and gave her an exasperated look with a shrug of his shoulders. They were both trapped.

Ty waved a hand, and the door opened to Merek. The large man’s eyes flicked from one to the other with a questioning look.

Ria’s face burned, and she turned away as though looking for something. Of course, there was nothing for her to find. It was embarrassing to have a psi-mate she didn’t know.

One thing was becoming clear. All friction between them stopped the moment they touched. All thoughts, questions, and fears vanished. Their bodies and psi were so perfectly meshed, there was no denying it. She took another step away from Ty.

“Everything all right here?” Merek asked.

“It’s fine,” Ty said over Ria’s puff.

Merek scanned the room, his eyes stopping at the rumpled bed. Ria refused to meet his gaze and kicked herself for not at least throwing a blanket and pillow on the couch.

“Let me get my darts, and we can head out,” Ty said.

Ria watched him retrieve the weapons. They had been next to the bed the whole time. She’d never even considered trying to get one to use against him. He’d said he would never hurt her. But it was more—he
couldn’t
hurt her. No more than she could hurt him.

She dropped her arms to her sides and met his gaze.
“This is an impossible situation.”

“And yet, here we are, Red.”

Merek cleared his throat and motioned to the door. “Trin is worried sick about you.”

Ria pushed her way past him and headed toward the cruiser. The sun warmed her skin. She climbed into the back seat and closed the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when Ty got into the front passenger seat. Merek reached out to the dashboard and grabbed a pair of psi-bands.

Ty turned to her.
“We don’t need these anymore, do we?”

“No.”
She wouldn’t leave again until things were resolved one way or another. She leaned back and took in the forest around them.

Ty shook his head at Merek, and they made the trip back to the hunting lodge in silence.

The door to the lodge opened before the cruiser stopped and Bella bounded down the stairs. “Where have you guys been?” She gave a big hug to Ty, then turned to Ria and put her hands on her hips. “You promised.”

It was impossible not to like the teen. “I know. I’m sorry. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again. See?” She held her hands out to emphasize there were no psi-bands.

“She’s free?” Bella asked Ty.

“Well…she’s got the run of the lodge.”

“Thanks,”
she said to Ty. She’d always envied Dani and Ian being able to communicate like this, and it was cool. It just wasn’t how she’d imagined it.
“I need to contact my people. Let them know I’m okay.”
Sort of.

Ty’s eyebrows drew together.
“I know. I’ll see what I can do.”

Bella bounced on her heels next to Ria, presumably waiting for someone to say something. She gave up and grabbed Ria’s arm. “Excellent. You not being locked up and all will give us more time to talk. Come on, you probably need a shower, and I washed your clothes for you.” She chatted all the way up the stairs.

* * * *

Ty furrowed his brows as Bella ushered Ria off to her bedroom. Standing in the doorway to the lodge with her arms crossed was Trin. He climbed the stairs and stopped in front of her. “Sorry. I didn’t have time to wake anyone.”

“You best not let that happen again, mister. Family comes first, you hear?”

Inside Ria and Bella turned left at the top of the landing. She glanced down at him, and their connection buzzed. He wondered how long it would be before they were pulled together again. He turned his attention back to Trin. “Family first. I’m going to go clean up, and then we need to talk. Where’s Olivia?”

“She’s on a call with her dad. Ria’s employer is pitching a fit over her disappearance.” She stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll talk about that, too, when you’re back down. Now, go on with you.”

Ty took the steps two at a time. Like it or not, his body was responding to having a psi-mate. He was energized and sensed her presence stronger than ever. He couldn’t deny it felt good, but why her?

He showered quickly and went back downstairs with wet hair. Gathered around the dining room table were Merek, Trin, Bella, and Olivia. They’d turned it into a makeshift office while they worked on deciphering the old books.

Olivia came around the table the moment she saw him. “Are you nuts? Running off in the middle of the night?” She placed a hand on his arm and gave a gentle squeeze. He was going to have to break the news to her soon. Her touch had less-than-zero allure. Another side affect of being bonded.

She smiled, unaware. “My father would lock me up for a week if I pulled a stunt like that.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it. Tell me about your call. What’s going on in Starfall?” He could tell she wanted more information about last night, but she answered, anyway.

“The Cavacent clan that Ria works for is making a lot of noise. Sou has your and Ria’s pictures plastered on every vid and news feed on the planet. Rumors are flying about another crackdown on Curzans. My father’s worried about the leaks in Watersedge. Especially Father Arlo. He can be tied to every Curzan that’s died in the past two years.”

“His church has a large congregation. Nearly a thousand people go to his services every week. He’s not the only common denominator.”

“He doesn’t have to be,” Olivia said quietly. “Rumor is that certain schools and churches are going to be targeted. They’re going to spot-check DNA.”

Gods, that would be a disaster.
Last he heard, Arlo’s church only had fifteen to twenty percent Mitans. The vast majority were Curzan. Nearly everyone who attended was complicit with their activities to help Curzans.

“All the more reason,” Merek said, “to get a breakthrough on these texts. If we can prove native Curzans had psi, the GTO will have to return the planet to our rule.”

It wouldn’t be that easy. The Mitans had lived here for generations. It wouldn’t be fair to kick the Mitans out just as it wasn’t fair that the Curzans
possibly
had their planet illegally taken away from them. They still didn’t know for sure. All they did know was that many Curzans had psi now. No, he thought their better option was to get rid of Mortog. Sou was a simpleton, and there were no other officials with Mortog’s collective power. There was too much infighting among the city and town leaders for an immediate coup. If they took out Mortog, it could very well give them the time they needed to start recognizing Curzan equality. Ignoring the fact that Curzans had psi and killing them was punishable by GTO law. Not many were willing to risk such retribution the way Mortog was. The chancellor was the key. He needed to go. Olivia and her father agreed with Ty on this, but he was fairly sure Merek and Trin wouldn’t go along with it.

In the meantime, deciphering the texts was the next most important thing they could do.

“There’s one thing we need to discuss,” Ty said. “It may help the situation with Sou and most certainly Ria’s clan.”

“What is it?” Merek asked.

“She needs to contact her people. Assure them she’s okay and not being ill-treated.”

“And then what?” Olivia snarled. “Give her the run of the place? Why don’t we just let her play with the texts?”

Ria chose that moment to make an appearance at the top of the stairs.

“About that,” Ty said.

“What is she doing loose?” Olivia jumped to her feet and drew her laser.

“Put it away,” Ty said.

Ria walked down the stairs, head held high with a pissed off expression on her face. “I’m not your dog to be tied up and locked in a room.”

“Why you—”

Ty grabbed Olivia as she lunged for Ria. He wasn’t sure who was in need of protection at the moment.

Merek positioned himself between the two women as an added layer.

“Hold on, Olivia. Calm down. I told her she wasn’t going to be locked up any more.”

“Why in the name of the Goddess would you do that? She’s Sandarian military. In case you forgot, they kill our people like it’s a blasted sport.”

Ty had no answer for that. She was right. Was he doing the right thing? Was he blinded by their bond?

“I don’t kill Curzans,” Ria said. “At least… not yet.”

“That’s quite enough,” Merek said. “Ria, you sit there, please.” He motioned to a chair next to Bella who sat open-mouthed. “Olivia, please take a seat over there.”

Olivia growled but took a seat as far away from Ria as she could.

“Now”—Merek looked to Ty—“you care to tell us why we’re suddenly letting our hostage, one you kidnapped as you’ll recall, run around freely?”

Ty was surprised to find that Trin was fiddling with her set of knitting needles and smiling.
She knows.
He took a deep breath. “I can’t lock her up.”

“Why the
frack
not?” Olivia said.

He would have preferred to tell her in private, but that wasn’t going to happen. “Because she’s my psi-mate.”

Bella squealed. Trin let her grin grow into a full-blown smile.

“Yep, I thought that might be the case.” Merek rubbed the back of his neck and sat hard next to Trin who patted his shoulder.

Olivia glared at him, as if waiting for him to take it back.

Going through the deceased Jara’s files, it didn’t take Sou long to find the young new informant. A mere teen named Connor. Jara had to find a new mole when he’d accidentally beaten the last one beyond the healers’ ability to fix. Sou sent an undercover to pick him up and bring him to the PR’s Palace. Mortog had created a delightful little space where they could conduct interviews of a certain nature without interruption. The boy lay on an inclined rack with his wrists and ankles pinned.

Mortog watched from behind one-way glass. Unable to communicate telepathically, Sou wore a small com clip in one ear. The fact that Mortog didn’t show his face meant that the teen needed to live. A pity really. Sou enjoyed watching as bodies gasped for their last breath. After Sou smashed his left kneecap, the teen started talking.

“I’ll ask you again before I crush your other knee, who is the leader in Watersedge?”

Connor’s face was badly bruised and his upper lip split, but he still managed to answer. “Farther Arlo.” His head fell forward.

“Oh, why so glum? You’ve already betrayed your fellow Curzans. What’s a few more?”

The boy shot him daggers.

“There’s one more thing I need before I get the healers and give you some relief. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Ease the pain?” Sou waited, but the boy didn’t reply. He slapped the boy’s broken knee, enjoying his response. “I want you to tell me about the texts.”

Connor shook his head but didn’t meet his eyes. Sou punched him in the face. Never more alive than when he inflicted pain on others, he laughed with the feeling of power.

The boy looked up, blood now flowing freely from his lip. “I don’t know about any texts.”

“You lie! Jara reported to me. Tell me about the texts that will ‘change everything.’ Those were his exact words. What was he talking about?”

Tears rolled down the youth’s face. It made Sou want to hit him again. He pulled his hand back, but Connor finally talked.

“It may be nothing. They don’t know. They’re ancient texts. Merek is sure they’ll prove Curzans had psi when Salvator took the planetary rulership.”

It was difficult to make out his words, but the meaning was clear.

Sou moved to strike again when Mortog’s voice stopped him. “Enough. Summon the healers and come here.”

In the next room Sou found Mortog pacing.

“You must find those texts. They need to be destroyed.” He reached into a pocket and handed a coin-sized device to Sou.

“What is this?”

“A tracking device. Have the healers insert it into the boy’s body.”

“But, sir. The underground will surely scan for that.”

“Ah, this is a unique device. The same engineers that developed our beloved psi-bands recently came up with this. It is completely organic and will not transmit, and therefore can’t be detected until remotely activated. Send the boy to Father Arlo. He must tell the priest that a massive sweep is imminent.”

“How would he know this?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Mortog leaned in, inches from Sou’s face. “Make it work. When you lose them—because you always do, don’t you?—I’ll activate the device and we’ll have our Watersedge Underground.”

* * * *

“It’s been almost a week, Ian. Where the hell is she?” Dani pulled her blond hair. It was a bad habit she had when she needed to clear her head.

“I don’t know.” Ian paced nearby. They were staying at Darl’s place again since the portal was still open. Officially, they wouldn’t arrive until the transport ship they were supposedly on did, and that wasn’t for another day.

They’d been here for two days and gotten no closer to finding Ria or Ty Sordina. Sou’s men were useless, and something was nagging Dani, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe it was just Sou. She didn’t like him.

“I know Sou said they’d checked everything, but we can’t just sit here. I say we do our own research, starting with Ty’s family.”

“Works for me.” Ian grabbed his com and held the door for her and Armond.

“Wait a moment,” Armond said. He dug around his duffle bag and pulled out a small case. Inside were focal points. Small round devices that could be used to pinpoint their location and activate an emergency portal move. They’d saved the lives of Dani, Ian, Ria, and Balastar back on Sandaria. “If I’d given one of these to Ria, we never would have lost her. It was my oversight.”