Avatara

AVATARA

Linda Chapman

Copyright © 1994 by Linda Chapman

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-7-XLIBRIS

www.Xlibris.com

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 42

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 44

To my beloved husband, Gene…

whose steadfast patience, faith, and love

made my life and this book come true.

Ravishee.

To all my writing friends who encouraged me

to keep writing.

And in loving memory of:

John Bahnsen, my proofreader—among other things…

You are missed.

CHAPTER 1

The muscles of his body were rigid with apprehension as Teolar waited impatiently for the life-giving oxygen to finish filling the pod. Beads of condensation had formed on the inside of the transparency; strain as he might, he could not see the interior. The only thing visible was the rhythmic flashing of a dim yellow light, indicating the renewal cycle was in progress.

Perspiration dotted his high forehead as he waited. This pod was malfunctioning, just as the others. He had been too late to do anything for the occupants of the first twelve pods. This one, bearing the most precious cargo of all, had been the last to fail. His whole existence and the life of his planet, Vascallion, lay inside that fragile tube. Feverishly he prayed he had been in time, that she still lived.

She stirred from her protracted trance, the heat from the radiant side panels dispelling the freezing chill. As the steady hissing of the oxygen injectors penetrated the dark hollows of her subjective mind, she opened her eyes. With the passage of so much time, she had no rational thought. She watched the yellow light flashing above her.

On…off…up…down…one…two…

The blinking yellow ceased, signaling the completion of the process. Teo extended a finger to press the square button over the vault, manually activating the lock mechanism. A series of tumblers clicked in, then silence. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing more would happen. He glanced frantically around the room for something with which to break the transparency. He was tightening his fist when, slowly, the pod began to slide forward on its contoured metal shelf. A whirring sound filled the air. The slab tilted, pointing the rotund head toward the ceiling. As it locked into place in an upright position, the hazy panel split vertically with a soft hiss, and the two sides rolled back into the shell of the pod.

The blinking was gone and she was moving. The vibrations of the mechanisms beneath her pod were slight, yet the gentle disturbance after centuries of suspension caused her shrunken organs to react violently. Her eyes closed. Nausea flowed over her. Her mind offered her no knowledge to fight it.

The motion stilled, then began again. She was no longer prone but upright. The vibrations had stopped. Instinct demanded movement. Her brain thrust the thought upon her and with it, the renewed intensity of nausea.

Teo groaned as he viewed the female form strapped within the narrow confines. The eyes were closed, bulging hideously under thin lids. The shrunken skin was stretched so tautly across the naked body that she appeared more bones than flesh. Long hair, the color of old straw, hung in dry straggles down the front of shriveled breasts. The nails on the fingers and toes were more than an inch long. Teo’s heart wrenched with anguish at the transformation inflicted by life-support failure.

Quickly, he unfastened the circular bands imprisoning her. He scooped her up into the hollow of his massive forearms before she could fall forward, and rushed into the adjoining chamber.

Something touched her…

She sensed rather than felt hands, large hands, going over her body— touching her head, her arms, her waist, her thighs, her ankles, her feet. Innate fear of the unknown seized her, and her mind wailed in bottomless panic. Arms were around her, lifting her, and she was pressed against hard, unyielding flesh.

Fight…claw…kick…get away… The body which encased her remained oblivious to her mute commands.

An immense ovoid vat, brimming with a rose-colored fluid, occupied the center of the room. He lowered her into this herbal- smelling substance until the gel reached her chin. Carefully, he eased the head support around the back of her neck and secured it. The gel was already beginning to take on a darker hue, its healing properties coaxing life to remain in the spare, near-mummified form.

Then the arms were gone and she was floating—gently, lightly, peacefully. As the warmth enveloped her, the panic receded and she knew an irrepressible weariness.

Darkness…

Teo stepped back and stared down at her, his involuntary shudders giving vent to the pain in his soul. The complete incubation period would last many days. At the end of that time, if she did not awake…

He sighed heavily, his hand going to the left shoulder of his black, one-piece garment. Unconsciously, he fingered the silver and red emblem—her royal symbol. For the entire span of his thirty-two years he had served the House of Shelocta. The High Lord Vulaj, her father, had entrusted her care to him when she was but a year old, and he a child of seven. If it had not been for the D’Gehr, they would not be here on this robot starship, traveling to nowhere with a purpose which must surely be obsolete after the passage of centuries.

When the second flicker of consciousness began to pull her up from the void of nonentity, it was through sensation, not motion. Every part of her, inside and out, felt needle-sharp pangs simultaneously. Her lungs burned and her breathing became a roaring wind in her ears. The pounding at the base of her skull turned frenzied. Searing streaks of nearly unbearable pain billowed in jagged flashes of color behind her eyelids, hammered on her incessantly until, writhing in agony, she screamed.

A hoarse cry abruptly shattered his bitter reverie. Teo grabbed the vial from the small table near the vat and hurriedly leaned over to pour the contents between her cracked lips. She coughed once, then her feeble struggles ceased. She lapsed into a more normal sleep, her slight mass sinking as the gel permeated her body.

A hand at the base of her neck raised her head. Something cold and sour trickled into her mouth and down the back of her throat. She gagged. The numbing liquid spread through her swiftly, taking with it the horrible, excruciating pain.

Blackness…

She had revived more quickly than he had anticipated. A good sign. The gel would purge her tissue of accumulated toxins and adjust the cellular structure to its original programming, restoring her to the physical age and state of being at the time she was placed in suspension. It was out of his hands now.

Exhausted, Teo allowed his big-boned frame to collapse in the pillow chair hanging from the ceiling near the vat. From there he would keep the vigil—even if it be forever.

CHAPTER 2

The healing gel had done its work. The body in the vat bore no resemblance to the pitiful skeleton of five days earlier. Muscles had tightened around bones now covered with firm, youthful flesh. The natural hue of clover honey had returned to the skin, the wrinkles caused by dehydration were smoothed. Long, double lashes curling up from under closed eyelids reflected the same radiance of vitality that shimmered around the snow-blond hair. The breasts were no longer shriveled, but high and full, just visible beneath the gel. The nails, pale pink with health, did not impede the tips of the fingers which were beginning to move with renewed life.

Full awakening came slowly to Valssina. As her inner mind laboriously began to climb from the depths of ether-sleep, she felt something stroking her skin, lightly holding her in a web of humid temperature. Her eyes flickered open.

Through blurred sight she saw walls, colorless and dull, composed of unfamiliar metal. As she strained to clear her vision, the walls seemed to move toward her, growing mammoth in height, then shrinking with alarming rapidity. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly to fight the dizziness and became conscious of her ribs expanding, her lungs filling with air…breathing… living…

A rational wave rolled forth from the well of near-death, bringing with it drifting bits of memory that washed teasingly against the shore of reality.

I am.

Awareness returned in a rush. Valssina quivered with fear, her subconscious replaying the remembered anguish of reactivated nerves and circulation—the touch of those hands—

What is happening to me? I was asleep in my chambers… I am dreaming… Yes!…yes, I must still be asleep…

Her mind seized that reasoning, pushing away the whirlpool of panic which threatened to engulf her. Nothing is real, she thought. I will open my eyes and I will awake.

Her eyes opened. Her focus was better, but what she saw still made no sense. To the left of her was nothing except the same metal walls. She surveyed them critically. There did not appear to be any windows on that side of the room, nor was there any kind of break in the drab surface to indicate a door. She looked up. The over-hanging ceiling was composed of the same material as the walls and again, there was nothing with which she could identify. She looked down.

She was floating in a pool of reddish liquid. It covered her from her feet to her neck. The sight of her bare skin stirred deeper memories to the surface and Valssina began to comprehend: This was not a dream but reality—and so were the groping hands.

She fought down the rising horror, struggling to move with muscles that felt as if they had never been used. They did not obey her will easily. Instinct warned Valssina—if she failed to move now, she might never move.

Her heart slammed against her ribs, her breath came harder between her clenched teeth as she exerted all her will, concentrating her efforts on her right hand. She almost cried out when the fingers began to jerk. Her head lolled against the soft support, the desperate attempt costing her the little strength she possessed. She closed her eyes, savoring the delicious triumph of mind over body.

But her elation did not last; once more, cold realization came persistently to the surface. Everything she experienced was real. She was not dreaming. Her brain still felt soggy, and Valssina made a supreme effort to clear her thoughts.

I must have been hurt…where am I?…not the palace… She frowned as she pictured the room in which she was a captive. Am I a captive?

She forced her mind to function calmly. Someone had put her in this tub, but who? Who would dare risk his life by touching her without permission? The hands were real…and disturbingly familiar…

Her eyes flew open; she turned her head to the right, the only direction she had not looked, and she saw him. At first, the shock of finding she had not been alone in the room all this time numbed her senses. Then she recognized him and so great was her relief, Valssina cried out his name.

Teo!

Her voice exploded like a thunderclap in her ears. It was only a rasping croak, yet the joy that sound brought to his handsome face was wondrous.

Thank the gods, my lady, you live!

She tried to smile as he leaned over the vat, freeing her neck from its support restraint. Seeing him was a delight; his very presence had given her the confirmation she needed—she was not a prisoner.

His gentle hands helped her to a sitting position. She grasped the sides of the vat, her fingers now stronger. Then quickly he stepped back, bowing at the waist, arms straight at his sides, hands pointing outward, palms down, in the proper gesture of obedience. Her nakedness forgotten, she gave him permission to straighten.

He did so, keeping his head lowered, eyes to the floor. He was not wearing his usual harness of service; instead he was clothed in a black garment, fitted to his powerful body like a second skin. There were weary circles under his eyes and he looked as though he had not removed the growth of hair from his cheeks in weeks. Still, he was Teo, her personal bodyguard—her friend. It must have been Teo who placed her in this vat. But why?

Her voice was rough; it scratched her throat as she questioned him, starved for knowledge. Teo, where are we?

In space, my lady, on a robot ship that your father prepared. A lifeboat.

Valssina tried to ignore her physical weakness. A ship? The one Father has been working on so hard these past few months?

The very same, Highness.

A ship… What has happened?

Teo said quietly, The D’Gehr have attacked.

Valssina slumped back into the gel, suddenly ill again. So the D’Gehr had finally come. After centuries of preparation and plotting, the D’Gehr had invaded before her world was ready to defend itself. My father…

The thought jarred her harshly. She stared hard at Teo, observing his readable body language as she asked, Teo, are there others on board?

His fingers curled at his sides and he raised his head to look at her. There was no mistaking the grief in his voice or the moisture that gathered in his golden eyes when he said, The High Lord chose to remain.

Go on, she whispered. Tell me. Tell me everything, spare me nothing. Tell me!

I…I tried to save them, Princess. Your Elite…all dead. Only you and I have survived.

Stricken to her depths, Valssina moaned. The life she had known before no longer existed. Her father dead, her people destroyed, her planet ripped apart by the ravages of war…all…gone… It was too much to accept at once. Raw sobs welled up in her chest and her composure fled. She felt a faint prick inside her elbow, then a sudden chill.

Teo’s arms were under her, lifting her from the vat as she slid into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER 3

The injection Teo had given her had induced fitful sleep. He moved Valssina to another compartment, where he bathed away the residue of the gel, washed, dried, and combed her hair, and neatly trimmed her nails. Carrying his lady to her quarters, he tucked her into bed. Before he left, he laid out a long robe for her to wear.

He then probed the entire ship, ending with the control section. At the conclusion of an exasperating two hours of intense verifying, he knew no more than he had nearly six days ago. They were still in serious trouble.

Temporarily thwarted, Teo returned to Valssina’s room. Going to her bedside, he timed her pulse and respiration. Satisfied she was sleeping normally, he permitted himself a brief period for personal care. He took a thorough shower, used a depilatory on his beard, and incinerated the uniform he had been wearing since his pod was motivated. He dressed in a fresh black jumpsuit, pausing by a liquid mirror to check his appearance before he looked in on her again.

Valssina was beginning to stir, and he knew she would awaken shortly. He proceeded to the galley. As he selected a meal of her favorite foods and prepared it with the utmost care, Teo’s thoughts were turbulent.

He had never imagined it would come to this, had never even hypothesized such an outcome to all the years of patient structuring and careful nurturing. Wasted—all wasted! And now to die in this ship, stranded only the gods knew where, completely alone with her; it was the ultimate torture. How could he possibly keep his blood oath? Teo gritted his teeth. Such destructive reflections were best smothered early. Just keeping the two of them alive was enough of a challenge.

Returning to her quarters with the meal, he found her standing unaided beside the bed. The silken flood of her waist-length hair shone from the care she had given it while he had been gone. She managed a thin smile.

He returned her smile. How do you feel?

All right. Tired. How do I look?

She walked toward him. The blue spidersilk did nothing to hide the suppleness of her lean limbs. Gods all, but she is exquisite! he thought. The ordeal has not touched her pale beauty. He said, Naught can outshine your glory, my lady.

Her smile faded and Teo wondered if he had blundered with the compliment. An expression of infinite sadness settled on her face. He pretended not to notice, occupying himself with the placement of the various dishes on the table.

We two are isolated?

He answered her impassively. Yes, my lady.

We are to believe the High Lord is dead?

Yes, my lady.

And we are also to believe we are now…queen?

Yes, Highness.

Her green eyes were very bright, and he watched a pink flush color her cheeks. She spoke again, half to herself. Since I do not know where the Symbol is, my hands will have to do. Then, imperiously: Teo, attend me.

Puzzled, he went down on one knee before her.

You will assume the Attitude of Obedience.

Teo remained where he was and extended his arms to the front of his chest, crossed at the wrists as though bound. Softly, she began to chant in the esoteric language known solely to the royal family and the high priest of the palace temple. Teo melded with the singsong cadence, the detached melody, the sensuous pronouncement of the words. All too soon she finished and he suddenly felt unsupported. She struck his wrists apart with her hands.

Hear us, Teolar of Arzadon, she intoned formally. You are no longer slave, but friend. You are no longer slave, but free. I, Valssina, Queen of Vascallion, forgive you any and all breaches and debts. You are no longer ours, but your own. So have we stated, so now is it Law. She stepped back.

Teo was shocked. Vulaj had been right. She had given him his freedom, but it was too soon, too soon. He dared to glance up. Her stance was relaxed as she waited for his reaction. When he hesitated, she reached out to trail her fingers gently down his cheek.

Things are far different, Teo. All we have known must surely be gone. It is just you and I. You are a free man with a free mind now. That makes me happy.

He could not refuse, yet if he accepted, he would have to go his own way if they landed, unless… Thinking quickly, he took her hand, pressing her palm first to his forehead, then to his lips in a gesture of devotion. He raised his eyes to hers and in ritual voice, said, I thank you, Highness, for my life, my honor, and my freedom. Since I can now choose my destiny, I choose it to be one with your own—freely. My heart is bound to you as strongly as though there were leather straps of submission on my wrists. I beg you—allow me to remain with you, for the moment and forever.

We grant your wish… she began just as formally, then giggled. She took his hands, drawing him to his feet. Do you remember the few times you slipped and called me Val when we were attended?

Teo rolled his eyes. That I do. The High Lord would have had me scalded if he’d heard.

She laughed. And you were always the tough one for ceremony. Do you think we can forget all this protocol so you can call me Valssina once in awhile?

I think I can do so, my…Valssina. He was uncomfortable with the swift progression of so informal a relationship and the closeness it offered. He did not let his unease be evident.

Come. Show me what you have no doubt labored over for my culinary delight, she said. And we must talk.

Teo seated her at the table. Her expression was childlike as she rubbed her hands together, pleased with the array.

Teo, how considerate! My favorite bird.

I thought you might like something special for your first meal. The rest of the rations aren’t quite so delectable, he said.

Then I shall make the best of this. Sup with me. There is plenty here for two. I no longer wish to eat in solitude.

Teo finished serving, waiting for Valssina to begin before he sat in the chair she had indicated. While they ate in relative silence, his thoughts drifted and Teo suppressed a grin. He was proud of himself. Too long had he played that submissive role he so despised, but he had played it well. She had not once been suspicious. Now she would take him totally into her confidence, as Vulaj had predicted. He was glad it was over; at least, part of it was. It would be harder from here on. One wrong word… No—he would have to be even more cautious. There must not be any mistakes. If he could just find out where they were, he could.Teo quelled his dangerous thoughts. Valssina had an uncanny way of reading his mind, even his movements, when he least expected it. No. He must forget all of this for the moment. He must not give himself away. She must never know—

What are you thinking?

He started. I? Uh, I was thinking about how we came to be here.

Start from the beginning. How did we come to be here, on this ship?

You were asleep when the signal came from Illis, warning us the D’Gehr had entered the outer system. I was in the fusion lab with the High Lord. The viewers reported a fleet in excess of a thousand warships.

Her sharp intake of breath was a hiss. He went on, not looking at her, knowing what her expression would be.

They were traveling at hyperspeed, of course. There was no mistaking their intentions and there was very little time to evacuate. Your father chose not to awaken you. You were drugged while you slept, my lady. Under the High Lord’s orders, I placed you in suspension while he saw to your personal effects and to the preparation of your Elite. He placed me in suspension last. To protect you, my module was triggered to motivate first at any sign of trouble. He looked up from his meal to see her frown.

Then the ship’s systems are robotronic?

Yes and no, Highness. She was staring at him, her eyes wide and unblinking. He continued. There are manual controls, but they are set to activate and become operational only after we enter planet orbit. When the ether systems malfunctioned, I was roused. My first thought was for the safety of the ship, so I went to the auto-control section.

A flicker of pain crossed her lovely features as she asked the next question. And my guard?

He shook his head, trying to tell her kindly. Died in their sleep, my lady, with no pain. Their oxygen and blood support was completely gone before I was even revived. I could do nothing for them. I barely reached you in time. Somehow, whatever disrupted their maintenance also affected your system, though your receptacle was supposed to be self-contained.

Valssina stopped drinking. What little color she had regained was beginning to fade from her skin. She set her glass down with utmost care.

Gently, he said, I have hermetically sealed off their compartment.

I see. Thank you. Her voice was low. She sat fingering the thin stem of the goblet. It was several moments before she spoke.

The Nihilists were so close, Teo. Another few months and their rebellion would have succeeded. But what made the D’Gehr suspicious of us? Father was so careful, we were all so careful…

A traitor. A D’Gehrian plant in the Elite.

Her head snapped up. Who?

Teo shrugged. Your father didn’t give me his name.

Valssina shuddered violently, as though she had just touched something loathsome. To think I may have…gods…

She broke her thought, but he knew how to finish her sentence. Taken a D’Gehrian to your couch? No. I am certain he was not one of your intimate Elite.

I find I no longer have an appetite, she said, pushing her plate to one side, thereby dismissing the subject. It was delicious, and I was ravenous. How long has it been since my last meal?

A needle of apprehension slid down his spine at her casual question. He reached for the crystal bottle at his elbow, pouring more wine into her glass. He answered carefully. That is a hard question, Highness, since I haven’t any idea when you last ate.

Ah, you are right, as always.

Teo gave her a covert look as he refilled his own goblet. She was reaching for her wine, apparently unconcerned with his evasive answer. He relaxed.

I was so looking forward to my Ascension. Just a few more hours and I would have been ruler of Vascallion. I would have made a good queen, would I not, Teo?

You are queen, my…Val. And you will make an excellent ruler.

Of what? she asked ruefully and when he would have protested, she shook her head. It is no longer of any consequence. Teo, you said earlier you did not know where we are. Would not the instruments give our location?

A hard knot began to form in his belly. Here it comes, he thought. She had to ask the obvious eventually. I can’t tell her what I suspect. I must be sure first.

Teo?

He realized he had not answered her. From the time of our escape off world, the flight memory registers our having been in space about two months. Every other readout correlates with the data, but nothing is currently functioning except the chronometer. He had said more than he intended.

Her eyes were alert. "Having been in space?"

He tensed.

What does it read, Teo?

Somehow he must turn her thoughts from the direction they had taken, answer her without arousing alarm. I don’t think it’s functioning properly, my lady. I think…it isn’t correct…

She leaned forward on the table, fixing him with a look that bode him trouble. His stammering reply had not misled her at all. Those compelling eyes continued to pierce his from over the table with growing impatience. He chanced her silence and waited, fearing she would ask him again and he would have to answer. Instead, she asked the second question he dreaded.

Can we not determine our position from the star clusters?

The knot in his belly chilled. Teo reached for the goblet by his plate, stalling, but Valssina stopped him with slender fingers on his wrist. Her touch stirred him despite his resolve.

Teo, she began, too softly, you are keeping something from me. What is it?

There simply was no easy way to tell her, so he blurted out the truth. That’s what is strange, my lady. There are…no stars. His attempts to keep her calm were shattered.

What? Valssina came to her feet, her face paling even more.

Please, Highness, he implored, there aren’t any stars. I have checked and rechecked the scanners and they are fully functional. There isn’t anything out there. A blackness…a void…I just don’t know.

That cannot be! she gasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

Teo longed to reach out, touch her, reassure her, but he had no valid reassurances to give. He spoke rapidly, concerned for her well- being, for she was visibly shaken. I don’t understand it either. I know everything there is to know about this ship and how to repair it. The High Lord instructed me himself. I think even your father didn’t know about this. For all my knowledge, I can’t determine where we are. I can’t even tell if we are moving.

What does the chronometer read, Teo?

He sighed. Four thousand years.

Valssina swayed where she stood. Thinking she was about to faint, he made a move toward her, but she held up her hand to stay him. Slowly, she sank back down into the chair and covered her eyes with clenched fists.

The minutes passed and Teo silently sympathized with her. He knew what she must be feeling; he felt it too. For the first time in his life, he was utterly helpless.

It was Valssina who broke the stillness. She dropped her hands. He could glean nothing from her face. What if the chronometer is correct? Is there no way to check and evaluate?

No, he said. None.

You were not jesting before when you said it was a hard question to answer. How do you tell someone they have not eaten in four thousand years!

I must give her hope, Teo thought. I can’t let her know the dismay I feel, the uselessness of it all…

He forced himself to touch her hand casually as he spoke. Have some wine. It will help. We were supposed to circle the Nordus system and return—a journey of twenty years. The High Lord had hoped things would be right on Vascallion and you would be safe to assume your rightful throne, free of the D’Gehr. I don’t know for certain, but if I can return the controls to manual I might be able to find out what has happened. I feel sure it has to do with whatever caused the failure of the ether systems.

She squeezed his fingers, again in command of her outward emotions. Teo felt the awe she could inspire in those she met. This was no ordinary woman; her control was indeed noble.

So you think there is a chance you might succeed? she asked calmly.

Teo shrugged. I have no answer, my lady. There are safeguards against tampering. The High Lord was quite efficient in his plans for your life. I may accidentally activate a destruct sequence.

How many rations on board?

For only two people, several weeks, if we are frugal.

A few weeks? We may be here for several eternities. Teo, I wish to begin immediately.

CHAPTER 4

They spent the next several days methodically trying to unravel the enigma, but their attempts came to nothing. Teo could find no logical reason for the instruments not to be operational. None of the equipment had sustained damage. Yet the scanners remained dark as though the elements, for reasons known only to that source which created all life, were conspiring against them.

Valssina had watched attentively at first, helping when she could, as Teo dismantled and reassembled every piece of sensory equipment in the small lifeboat. She had prayed silently, often a feverish prayer, for his success. When none was forthcoming, she had retreated within herself, walking the circular corridor too many times to count.

And still she walked. Teo watched her unobserved more than once, deeply concerned. She had never known such close confinement, and it was beginning to show in the vagueness of her eyes. The drugs he had been lacing through her food were gone; soon the pressure within her would begin to build. He did not know how he was going to protect her when it happened.

One day, quite unexpected, Teo leaped out at her from the galley with a rakish grin. He had taken a pair of swords from the armory, and now he whirled one high above his head, challenging her to fight for her honor. She halted to stare at him as if he had gone mad. Then she burst into uncontrolled laughter. Grabbing for the second sword Teo had hung conveniently on the nearby wall, she attacked him.

They fenced furiously, Valssina holding her ground, allowing him no quarter. When he saw she was becoming winded, he lunged forward, offering her a weakness in his defense. She parried and quickly sidestepped. A fast kick to the outside of his knee forced him off balance. Teo went down with a thud.

He rose quickly to find Valssina leaning on the pommel of her weapon, point to the floor, grinning with that fiendish smile he had so hoped to resurrect. Roaring with false indignation, he chased her around the ship, managing to finally corner her amid the boxes and crates of the storage room. Valssina shrieked, trying to bolt past him for the door. Both went down in a jumbled heap when Teo expertly tackled her.

Exhausted, they lay on the floor, gasping, the tension of the past week momentarily forgotten. Their playfulness faded as the closeness of their bodies sobered the mood with sharp pangs of physical awareness. Teo hurriedly drew away with a dry chuckle, trying to be casual, saying they had best conserve their energy for the future. Valssina did not reply, but her eyes were no longer dim.

From then on Teo had been watchful, not touching her, fearing the intoxicating nearness of her might well cause him to lose the stringent control he had so arduously maintained throughout their long association. She was thirteen when the yearnings in his young body had become inflamed whenever he had been in close proximity to her. Shortly after her fourteenth birthday, Valssina had gone into the temple. Teo knew for what she was being prepared; he had gone into the temple four years earlier. He had been crushed and resentful and Vulaj had taken him to the far side of the island. It was then he heard the words which destroyed his unavowed dreams forever. Never could he possess Valssina. The High Lord had told Teo why, on the day Teo had sworn that holy oath—after learning the black secret he must bear in eternal silence.

Now the tight confines of the ship made it impossible to avoid her, and Teo longed to tell her the forbidden knowledge. Yet, despite their growing amity, he still held back, refusing to give in to the possibility there was no longer a chance, and that they were slowly dying of starvation….

Valssina tossed uncomfortably in her bed as her subconscious dangled vivid, disturbing memories before her. She dreamed of her home with its rich, primal greens and violet undertones; of mountains so high one could not look down from them without feeling the urge to fly. She saw her father walking toward her through tall grasses, motioning for her to hurry and come along. She began to run, stumbled and fell over her favorite horse lying dead. She screamed and screamed and fled into the forest, briars and low branches tearing at her. Then she was in a clearing. Before her, in swirling colors, her Elite danced about a huge bonfire, singing of war. The thunder-drums excited her blood, became her heartbeat. Reinon waved to her. She could read his lips as he formed her name and gestured urgently for her to come. She rushed toward them, the heat of the flames reaching her even from this great distance. Gentle Wertin was there, wrestling with Gorin, who was winning. And Kattous…so amusing in his attempt to hide behind a tree that was much too small.

Teo…

Penyue, his dark eyes alive with mischief, reached for her but did not come nearer. She floated past him.

Teo…where was Teo…

Arsice was stretched out on the mossy ground, noisily pouring mead into his mouth.

Teo…

She saw him, his golden eyes aglow, standing at the far edge of the shadows. She called out to him, but he turned and faded into the woods. Teo!she cried after him, Teo…wait…come back…do not go…do not leave me!

Valssina bolted upright, still in the embrace of