The Ta'e'sha Chronicles 2: Shards of the Mind Page 4

  Thea shook her bag. “Got it right here. Did you find the water?”

  Ruri held up a large amber bottle with a cork tightly fitted in the top. “Yup; good thing that weasel I got stuck with brought it.”

  Thea winced. “How is Kiger’s nose?” she asked hesitantly.

  Ruri shrugged. “Broken. He better learn to quit putting his hands on me.”

  “Wow, that’s, um, extreme.” Thea fumbled for something else to say.

  “Not my fault the goof decided to kidnap a kenjutsu instructor,” was the blasé reply.

  “You’re a biologist, Ruri.”

  “I know, but that’s not all I am.”

  Ruri took the more extreme attitude of the women taken from Earth. She refused to have anything to do with the man who took her and would not acknowledge him as her husband. If he tried to touch her, she usually tried to break something on him. Kiger was on a first name basis with everyone who worked in the medical bays. Ruri swore if he would court her in the traditional Japanese manner she would give him a chance.

  Except she hadn’t bothered to tell him that.

  And he hadn’t bothered learning anything about Japan since she was from California.

  After hearing that, Thea had come to the conclusion that men were stupid and species didn’t change it. But she still didn’t approve of the way Ruri treated Kiger. He seemed to be a very nice man.

  They reached the area Ruri had described and began setting up for the ceremony.

  Thea saw eyes reflecting the light from their candles but didn’t draw Ruri’s attention to it. She smiled to herself. They would show themselves when they were ready.

  Chapter Six

  Two weeks later…

  Sya’tia paused when the conversation halted and two pairs of eyes speared her. She stepped hesitantly into the room. She relaxed marginally when Thea smiled in welcome. The other woman continued to stare at her with a faintly hostile expression. “Hello, Thea,” she said uncertainly.

  In the last month Thea had become secretive and wasn’t spending as much time with Sya’tia. It hurt more than she had expected. She was sure the reason was glaring at her right now.

  Thea closed the book in front of her. “Hey, Sya, this is my friend Ruri. Ruri, this is my best friend, Sya’tia.”

  Sya’tia nodded. The intensity of Ruri’s glare eased but did not completely fade. “Hello, Ruri, nice to meet you.” She sat down beside Thea and looked at the cover of the book. It was old and covered with scarred leather. There was no title or markings on the cover. “What’s this?”

  The human women exchanged a glance. Sya’tia didn’t react when Ruri shook her head slightly. She watched Thea’s features tighten and her eyes narrow.

  “This is not the Middle Ages. There will not be burnings, Ruri.”

  Sya’tia blinked, mystified. She had no idea what they were talking about.

  “She’s not one of us, Thea.”

  Sya’tia felt her heart wilt slightly. Those words hurt, even from a stranger. She was always “not one of us.” She had been born with features that most of her people considered birth defects. And while you could say many great things about her people and her culture, they were not a race that readily accepted someone born looking like a throwback. Even though her features were like those in the carvings and artwork depicting their own gods and goddesses.

  Thea’s shoulders squared. “She is part of me. And I’m not hiding.” She pushed the book toward Sya’tia. “This is a Book of Shadows, Sya. It’s been passed down in my family for eight generations. It contains the spells and rituals of my religion.”

  Sya’tia smiled brilliantly at her friend. “I see.” She looked down at the book, not wanting her friend to see the tears pooling in her eyes at Thea’s words. This small woman beside her had never made her feel like a freak and had always had a kind word or hug for her. She didn’t look up as Ruri slammed away from the table. “Why is it called a Book of Shadows?” she asked softly.

  Thea leaned back in her chair. “Well, Ruri and I are witches, and hundreds of years ago witches were hunted down and killed by members of other religions. As a result the witches went into hiding. We had to practice in the shadows, where no one would find us.”

  Sya’tia ran her finger over the soft leather. “I see.” She looked up at Ruri. “Hiding is a habit now?” she asked the other woman quietly.

  Ruri nodded slowly. “For some of us.” She shot a glare at Thea.

  “Then I will leave you to your shadows.” She stood and pressed a kiss onto Thea’s cheek. “Jogging and a horror movie tonight, love?”

  Thea smiled and nodded. “It’s your night to bring dinner.”

  Sya’tia grinned. “Okay, see you in a few hours.” She strolled out, feeling much lighter.

  The moment the door closed Ruri spun and snarled at Thea, “Where the hell do you get off? You had no right to tell her that!”

  Thea straightened and stared long and hard at Ruri. “You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot tell. I don’t care where you come from, or what you were before you came here. So, don’t pull that alpha bitch bullshit on me.” She crossed her arms under her breasts and stared at her friend.

  Ruri looked up at the ceiling for a minute then sighed. “We don’t know how these people will react to us. Sure, the Ta’e’sha may be accepting, but what about the other women from home? Are you willing to let it become common knowledge that we are witches?”

  Thea nodded slowly. “I am willing to take that risk. Would you like to know why?”

  The other woman nodded slowly.

  “Because Kyrin and Daeshen ask me questions and then leave it alone. They don’t try to convert me. Because none of the other women we’ve met seem to care, they are too busy with their own lives.” Thea smiled slightly. “Don’t make problems that aren’t here. If someone has a problem with us, we’ll deal with it as it arises. However, I, for one, plan on living my life, not worrying about what someone else is going to think.”

  “Whatever. Are we still doing circle this weekend?”

  Thea nodded.

  Ruri squared her shoulders. “Fine. I’ll see you then,” she grumbled and promptly left.

  Thea sighed and stroked her hand over the old leather covering the book. The more she got to know Ruri the less she liked the woman’s attitude. Ruri seemed to carry a chip on her shoulder about everything. The smallest thing would set her off and she had no tolerance for the Ta’e’shian people. Any of them. She treated Kyrin and Daeshen with barely veiled contempt most of the time and was downright abusive to almost everyone else.

  Thea was starting to get tired of it. She had enough things going on in her life she needed to deal with without listening to someone spew poison every time she disagreed with her.

  She leaned back in her chair. “Blah, I’m going to have a talk with Ruri. I can’t deal with her and I’m not going to keep swallowing it every time she treats people badly,” she muttered to herself. “It’s the same as saying it’s okay.”

  She pushed away from the table, suddenly feeling the need to be held by her husbands.

  * * * * *

  Condezl and Shrayne watched silently. They had decided to keep an eye on Thea and Ruri for a while to see how they interacted. Shrayne wanted to see how they dealt with each other.

  “This is going to be interesting,” Condezl sent to the other cat. “They could easily end up enemies. It’s starting already. Thea will put up with Ruri’s attitude for only so long. Especially when that attitude starts to affect her family.”

  Shrayne nodded pensively, staring at something that wasn’t there. “Ruri is very discordant. That is why I chose her.” The smaller cat’s mental voice floated in Condezl’s head like smoke on still air. “She is not at peace within herself and as such will not find peace outside herself. Discord has become so natural to her she spreads it without thought. I will help her in this.” She curled her front legs under her chest and blinked slowly at Condezl. “The
others come this moon?”

  “Yes.”

  “You must impress upon the Twins the graveness of the evening.”

  Condezl chuffed softly with amusement. “I’m leaving that to Chimera and Chicory.”

  * * * * *

  Kyrin popped his head into Thea’s workroom. “Ready to go jogging?”

  Thea turned and smiled brightly. “Yup, but go grab Daeshen, please. I finished the veil.”

  Kyrin grinned and went to find his husband. They were both curious to see the finished product since Thea had refused to let anyone see it before it was done.

  He found Daeshen digging under their bed for something. Kyrin paused for a moment to admire the view. His firm ass wiggled a bit before Daeshen scooted back out.

  Daeshen frowned at the balls of yarn in his hands.

  “What are those doing under there?” Kyrin asked.

  “Dunno, maybe Thea dropped them. They looked like something has been chewing on them, though.”

  Kyrin stole a quick kiss. “Come on. Thea finished the veil; she wants to show it to us.”

  Daeshen’s eyes lit up with excitement. They quickly went to see the eagerly awaited item.

  When they arrived at the door, Thea was straightening the last edge of the veil. The men gathered close to see. Kyrin moved to the side when Thea wiggled between them and slid her arms around their waists.

  The veil was six feet long and two feet wide. The weave was strong and precise, the colors perfectly suited to Sya’tia’s pale coloring. It almost appeared to glow in the bright light. Pale swirls of color accented the pure white silk and the pastel browns and greens of the tree covering the center of the veil. More white silk edged the veil with delicate crocheted seashells shot through with palest blue.

  Daeshen traced a finger along the design woven into the edges of the silk. “What is this writing?”

  Thea leaned against him. “Those are runes for love, security, and protection.”

  “It’s beautiful, love.” Kyrin pressed a kiss on the top of Thea’s head.

  “Do you think she’ll like it?” she asked anxiously.

  Daeshen nodded happily. “She’s going to be stunned, darling. It’s wonderful, better than the veils my father gave my mothers. Your work is going to be in high demand.”

  Kyrin watched her carefully roll the fabric into a neat bundle. “When would you like to present it to her?” He caught a lock of her hair and tugged gently, bringing her attention back to him after she finished.

  “I dunno. What do you think?” She peered up at him and leaned against his chest.

  Kyrin rubbed his hands up and down her back while he thought about it. “After dinner?”

  “Okay,” she replied softly.

  Half an hour later they’d met Sya’tia and were jogging through the paths in the recreation area. Kyrin watched the smooth play of muscle under the women’s clothing. Thea had been doing much better since she had started going to see the therapists. Her nightmares had diminished and she seemed to be more at ease around people. He wished the therapy were helping him as well. It was an interesting experience but seemed much slower than working with the asana. He had talked to Thea last night and she finally felt ready to let them help her as well. He’d sent off a com to Kyaness to ask if she could set up an appointment for them to see her.

  He had felt something ease in his chest when she had agreed to talk to Kyaness. Kyrin hadn’t been aware of how hard it was to talk to the human therapists until that moment. For some reason it had seemed so much harder to speak the words aloud than to let an asana pull them from his mind.

  Daeshen nudged him as they jogged. He looked over at his husband with an inquiring expression. Daeshen leered and wiggled his eyebrows at the women’s asses. Kyrin grinned and winked.

  They jogged around a curve and began to slow as they finished the final loop of their jog. He wasn’t really thrilled with Thea’s preferred choice of exercise, but she didn’t really like trying to swim with them. She had commented it was like a mouse trying to keep up with a horse.

  As they slowed to a stop and began walking to cool down, several people waved and called greetings. He watched his wife tense, but smile gamely and return the friendly remarks. For once she wasn’t shaking by the time they were walking out.

  Maybe the sessions with Reba were helping more than he had realized.

  They stopped by Sya’tia’s cabin to help her carry the food she had prepared for dinner that evening. He looked around curiously; it wasn’t often that he and Daeshen came in.

  The rooms were neat and bare. Very few personal items were visible other than some pictures of her family and some mementos. His wife followed Sya’tia into the bathroom to rinse her face while Sya’tia took a quick shower. He and Daeshen wandered into the living area to wait.

  The walls were light blue and Ta’e’shian weapons were displayed in strategic places. It looked like she was ready for an invasion. Now he had a better idea what Thea had meant when she had said it looked like Sya’tia lived in a constant state of paranoia.

  “Our cabin is going to look like an armory after Sya’tia moves in,” Daeshen sent to him on a private thread, echoing Kyrin’s thoughts. “Well, if she accepts us.”

  * * * * *

  Sya’tia eyed her friends as they finished clearing the soiled dishes from the table. All evening they had been casting secretive little smiles at each other and now she was beyond curious about what was going on in their heads. It was obvious they were up to something. She shrugged mentally. They would tell her or they wouldn’t. Or she’d pry it out of Thea later.

  They shooed her out of the kitchen claiming they weren’t going to worry about washing the dishes.

  “Could you start the movie, Sya? We’ll be in there in just a minute or two,” Thea asked with a sweet smile.

  “Sure.” She meandered into the living area and settled into the bowl-shaped couch that was set into the middle of the floor and clicked the controls set into the table resting in the center of the seating area. A large screen shimmered into view on the far wall. She pondered her choices for a bit before finally settling on something about small evil creatures that multiplied when water is thrown on them.

  Humans had a rather sick fascination with death and dismemberment, she decided. How they could find those movies about knife wielding maniacs so entertaining she didn’t know. They seemed to only highlight the vicious side of their nature. She had noticed that Thea wasn’t watching as many since she had been attacked. Even some of the movies that had been her favorites scared her now.

  * * * * *

  “You do it.”

  “No, it’s your duty.”

  “Is not.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Thea sighed in frustration and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. She glared up at him. “I want you to do it.”

  Kyrin grinned and shook his head.

  Daeshen was sprawled across the bed, watching their antics. He propped his head up on a hand and hummed to himself, wondering how long they were going to argue. Not that it would do any good. Thea was bound to lose since it was custom for the first wife of a mated set to offer the veil to another woman. Likewise, if they decided to ask another man to join them, Kyrin would have to offer the veil. If a member of the opposite sex offered the veil it meant that the husband or wife who had refused to do so was accepting the proposal and inclusion of another member under duress. Such proposals were usually refused.

  As he watched, Kyrin bent down and kissed Thea. He slowly deepened the kiss until she collapsed against his chest and moaned into his mouth. Daeshen smirked. They had discovered that she was rather pliant after a kiss like that and they both used it to their advantage when they had annoyed her.

  Kyrin slowly lifted his mouth from hers. “You have to do it, love,” he whispered.

  She nodded with a dazed expression.

  Daeshen snickered.

  Kyrin picked up the veil and pressed it into Thea’s han
ds.

  Her expression cleared as she looked at the silk. “That wasn’t fair,” she grumbled. Her fingers nervously smoothed the cloth. She took a deep breath and turned to leave the room.

  Daeshen rolled off the bed and followed her, lacing his fingers with Kyrin’s. He was just as nervous as she was, but he didn’t want her to know that.

  Sya’tia looked up when she heard them come in. She smiled brightly. “Ready to watch the movie?” Her smiled faded as she took in their nervous expressions. Thea’s normally healthy color had a faintly gray cast to it. “What’s wrong?”

  Thea fidgeted.

  Sya’tia stood up, beginning to feel alarmed.

  Thea stopped in front of her and looked back at the men. They nodded.

  She held out a small bundle of cloth. “Sya’tia, will you marry us?” she blurted out in a rush.

  Sya’tia froze. Her mind scrabbled franticly as she stared at the cloth being offered to her. She felt the blood leave her face in a cold rush, only to return hotly. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought this would happen. She had resigned herself to the belief that the only marriage proposal she would ever receive would have been out of pity.

  Her fingers itched to snatch the veil.

  She held herself back and stared deeply into Thea’s gray eyes. The hope and nervousness there struck her. Her heart tightened. There was no pity there. She looked up at Kyrin and Daeshen, taking in how tightly they held each other’s hands. Their eyes held the same emotions.

  She smiled slowly. Her hands reached for the precious veil. “Yes, I would be honored to join your family.” Her fingers tingled as they stroked the smooth cloth. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. Tears welled in her eyes.

  Thea squealed and threw her arms around Sya’tia, hugging her tightly. She giggled and returned the hug. Warm emotion squeezed her heart. Thea leaned back, her face serious again.

  The smaller woman stood up on tiptoe and gently pressed a soft kiss against Sya’tia’s mouth. It was over as soon as it began.

  Sya’tia licked her lips.