The Vulpirans' Honor: The Soul-Linked Saga (12 page)

“The only thing we have that matters is ourselves, and Nica,” Michael said.  “We’re
both finished with school now, so they can’t hold that over us any more.  You’re a
doctor, like you always dreamed, and I’m a scientist, like I always dreamed.  We’re
hundreds of light years away, Honey, out of the Teriens’ reach.”

“Right now we’re out of their reach,” Honey said.  “What happens when we return? 
If they find out about your psychic ability they’ll recall us to Terien immediately,
and they’ll keep us there.  We’ll never get another chance to escape.  And what about
your position in the Terien Scientific Federation?  You worked very hard for that,
Michael.” 

“I’ve worked hard to become a
scientist
, not a member of the TSF,” Michael argued.  “The only reason I worked so hard for
a seat on the TSF was so we could get assigned to Earth.  It was our only real chance
to escape Terien, and we’ve done it.” 

“They’ll take your credentials if we don’t go back, Michael, they said they would,
and they will, just like they took mine before we left Earth to come on this trip. 
The only way for you to get around that is to make a name for yourself so big that
they wouldn’t dare, and the best way to do that is the TSF.  That’s what you told
me, Michael.  That was our plan.  Now you’re telling me that...what?  You don’t care
about your credentials any more?”

“Of course I care about them,” Michael said.  “But I think I’m known enough already. 
I get invited to all of the conferences now, I’ve even been invited to speak at a
few, and the Jasani invited me here for my expertise.  I think it’s possible for me
to be accepted for the knowledge in my head, and my abilities, even if Terien revokes
my credentials.” 

“What if you’re wrong?” she asked.  “What if they revoke your credentials and nobody
else wants us?  What will we do then?”

“Honey, I don’t want to go back,” Michael said.  “Not ever.  After we’ve been here
for a while, I’m going to talk to the Vulpirans about the possibility of us remaining
here, on Jasan.  I’ll ask them if there’s a position for me.  If they say no, then
I’m going to look for another world that will take me.  I’ve made up my mind, Honey. 
I’m never going back to Terien again.”

“What about me and Nica?” Honey asked, suddenly frightened.  “Are you going to just
leave us here?”

“Of course not,” Michael said.  “You two are the only people who matter to me any
more, and I would never abandon you.  But Honey, we’ve bent ourselves to the shape
and size of the mold the Teriens demanded of us for long enough.  I’m tired of living
a lie.  Aren’t you?”

“Of course I am,” Honey said with a sigh.  “But I’m also afraid that the Teriens will
take Nica.”

“They’re not going to do that,” Michael said, rubbing his eyes tiredly.  “I know you’re
afraid of it, but honestly, it makes no sense.  There’s no reason for them to take
her, Honey.  If they wanted her, they wouldn’t have allowed us to bring her to Jasan.”

Honey sighed.  Maybe Michael was right.  She was still afraid, though.

“Forget about the Teriens for a moment and look around you,” he continued.  “The people
here are willing to accept that I have psychic abilities.  I see no reason why they
wouldn’t accept the same in you, and Nica.”

“Actually, all of the women at Arima House know of my abilities,” she admitted.  “They
know that Nica has an ability too, but I didn’t say what it was.  They not only accepted
it without batting an eye, they were excited about it.  I did like being accepted
that way Michael, so I do understand what you’re saying.”

“See?” Michael said brightly.  “It’s all going to work out, Honey.”

“I hope so,” Honey said.  “I really do.”

“Be patient, Honey.  Give it a little time.  I really believe that Jasan is exactly
the right place for us.”

“I’ll be patient,” she agreed.  “But please, Michael, be careful who you tell our
secrets to.  Just in case.  That’s all I ask.”

“The Vulpirans are trustworthy,” Michael insisted.  “Outside of them, I won’t tell
anyone anything without discussing it with you, first.”

***

“Nica is an adorable child,” Hunt said as he gazed into the fireplace of their own
guesthouse.  “So bright, and so beautiful.  She looks much like her mother.”

“I wish we’d asked her to tell us more, or even why she said what she said,” Lance
said

“We couldn’t cross-examine a child, Lance,” Vikter said. 

“I’m satisfied with what she did say,” Hunt declared.  “I had no hope at all, in spite
of your words, Vikter.  Now, I do.”

“How do we know it wasn’t just the imaginings of a five year old?” Lance asked.

“I think you two are missing the more important questions,” Vikter said as he rose
from his chair to add another log to the fire.

“Which are?” Lance asked.

“First, why would Nica say that her mother was going to marry us, when she is already
married to Michael?” Vikter said.

“Maybe something is going to happen to Michael,” Hunt suggested.

“Maybe they’re going to end their marriage,” Lance put in.  Hunt and Vikter both stared
at him.  “You know that humans end their marriages all the time,” he said.  “It’s
a natural part of a society where finding one’s soul-mate is a guessing game.  Mistakes
are bound to happen, and happen often.” 

“All right,” Vikter said, turning back to the fire, “if either of those two suggestions
is true, and I admit that I can think of no others, then why was the child not upset?”

Lance and Hunt stared at him in surprise.  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Lance said. 

“She didn’t strike me as a thoughtless or cold hearted child,” Hunt said.  “I cannot
believe that she would be unconcerned about her parents divorcing.”

“Neither can I,” Vikter said.  “Besides, she specifically said that Michael was going
to marry someone else.”

“That’s right, she did,” Lance said, even more confused now than before.  “In that
case, I think it’s safe to assume he won’t die, which is good as I think we need him
and his talents on our side against the Xanti.  Still, why wouldn’t she be upset at
the idea of her parents ending their marriage?”

“Who says they will?” Vikter asked.  He straightened up and turned to face his brothers. 
“Maybe they aren’t really married.  Tell me, what do the words
Mana
and
Dodi
mean?”

“Those are the words Nica uses for her parents,” Lance said.

“Those are the words she uses for Honey and Michael,” Vikter corrected.  “No one ever
said they meant
mother
and
father
, did they?”

“They might have, and we don’t know it,” Hunt said. 

“True,” Vikter said.  “I still think we should try to find out.  Just out of curiosity.”  

Lance reached for his hand terminal and began pressing buttons.  He frowned, then
pressed more buttons.  After several minutes he sighed and shook his head.  “I can’t
find any relevant meaning for those words in any language,” he said.

“That’s interesting,” Vikter said. 

“I think I know where you’re going with this,” Lance said.  “But I have to remind
you that Michael specifically introduced Monica to us as his daughter.”

“No, he didn’t,” Vikter replied.  “I asked him if the child was his daughter, and
he said she was his
little angel
.”

“No, that’s not completely accurate,” Hunt said.  “He said
yes
, and then he said she was his little angel.” 

“That’s true, but I still think he hedged a little,” Vikter insisted.  “Besides, have
you ever heard the Bearens refer to Harlan, Matt or Weld as anything other than their
sons?”

“Are you suggesting that Michael and Honey adopted Nica?” Lance asked.  “Because I
have to remind you that the physical resemblance between Nica, Honey, and Arima Berta
is quite strong.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Vikter agreed.  “There does appear to be a real familial connection
between them.”

“And don’t forget that the child obviously has a psychic talent,” Hunt said.  “She
is probably a
berezi
like Honey and Arima Berta.”

“True,” Vikter conceded.  “But that doesn’t mean they are mother and daughter.”

“Let’s assume you are correct and the relationship between the three of them is not
what they portray,” Lance said.  “My question is, why?  Why would they pretend to
be what they are not?”

“Fear of persecution,” Hunt said.  Vikter and Lance both stared at him in surprise. 
“Michael said his abilities were something that the Teriens didn’t approve of, and
we all know how upset Honey was to learn that we knew of them.  They both said plainly
that if it got back to the Terians, it would be enough to ruin their lives.”

“If the Teriens are so against psychic ability,” Vikter said, “what must it be like
to try to hide Nica’s talents?  Remember, she said she wasn’t supposed to talk about
it.  That must be why.”

“It makes me angry to think of that child being forced to repress a natural part of
herself for such a reason,” Hunt said.

“Yes, me too,” Vikter agreed.  “Lance, I think it might be wise to do some research
on Terien, in particular their beliefs and customs.  Lets see what they do, and do
not, approve of.”

“And what they do to those who don’t fall in line with those beliefs,” Lance said,
frowning.  “I’ll begin right away.”

“No, not just yet,” Vikter said.  “I don’t know about you two, but knowing that our
Arima belongs to another man does not stop my body from reacting to her.  I need a
good long run.”

***

Lariah stood in the doorway leading out to the garden and gazed up at the stars. 
The children were all asleep, though she knew the boys would awaken in another hour
for a feeding.  At the moment the house was quiet and peaceful.  Two large shapes
blocked her view of the stars as they flew over the house and she smiled.  Watching
her men during their nightly flight always reminded her of her first days on the ranch,
before she became a dracon herself. 

“Are you feeling all right this evening, my heart?” Val asked, placing his hands lightly
on her shoulders and leaning down to kiss her neck.

Lariah tilted her head slightly, humming with pleasure.  She turned around and stretched
up to kiss him lightly as Garen and Trey landed in the garden behind her.

“I just have something I want to discuss with you guys,” she admitted when she knew
they could all hear her.

“Inside or out?” Trey asked from just behind her.

“Inside, please,” she said.  “It’s getting chilly out.”

“Yes, winter isn’t far away,” Garen said, following the rest of them into their bedroom
and closing the garden door behind him.  “So what’s on your mind,
sharali
?”

While Lariah told them about her visit with Hope that morning, and the message from
Aisling, Trey lit a fire in the fireplace and Val guided her to a chair near it. 

“Our conclusion is that we should do as Aisling requests, and think about, and discuss,
the issue of war with the Narrasti,” she finished.

“Do you believe we should leave the Narrasti in peace?” Garen asked.

“I don’t know,” Lariah replied.  “I haven’t made up my mind, which is why I want us
to discuss it.”

“The Narrasti destroyed our world,” Val reminded her.

“Summer Katre doesn’t think so,” Lariah pointed out.  “Did you ever get the information
you sent to Sheara 3 for?”

“We did,” Trey replied.  “It supports Summer’s theory, but we are not entirely convinced
of it.  The ancients had magic far stronger than ours.  How do we know that they were
incapable of causing an explosion?”

“We have thousands of years of war with the Narrasti to support our belief that we
destroyed each others’ worlds,” Garen said.  “We have no reason whatsoever to believe
that someone else did it, nor any evidence of a third party.”

“I see your point,” Lariah admitted.  “But is war against the Narrasti really the
right thing to do?  Aren’t the Xanti a bigger threat right now?”

“The Narrasti, and their human descendents, the Brethren, are in league with the Xanti,”
Trey pointed out.  “Eliminating them will allow us to focus on the Xanti.”

“Fighting the Xanti first might convince the Narrasti that war with us is not a good
idea and they’ll leave us in peace,” Lariah suggested.

“
Sharali
, I don’t understand,” Garen said.  “Why are you on the side of the Narrasti in this? 
Not only were the Narrasti behind the attack on you that nearly cost you your life,
they were also directly responsible for the death of Ellicia.”

“No, they weren’t,” Lariah said, tamping down the grief she always felt when she thought
of her sister.  “The Brethren are the ones who kidnapped Hope, Berta and the others,
and the Brethren were responsible for what happened to Ellicia.”