The Ta'e'sha Chronicles 2: Shards of the Mind Read online

  Gaia waited patiently.

  After a few minutes Samonan’s eyes refocused on Gaia. “I see.” Her red hair twisted itself up into a tail. “Perhaps you are right. We have coddled Our children. I will speak to the others.”

  Gaia nodded and sighed as the other Goddess faded from sight. She couldn’t really blame the children. They had never had to go on faith alone as Her children had. There was much about oneself that a person learned in the contemplation of faith. Some of it was lost when belief became fact.

  She flopped down in the chair that reappeared under her. Maybe Her brothers and sisters would think about it now.

  * * * * *

  Daeshen laughed when several boxes were delivered to their quarters. It looked like Sya’tia and Thea hadn’t wasted any time packing. He directed the maintenance crew to place them in one of the empty rooms until they could be unpacked.

  At least it wasn’t an avalanche of belongings. Unlike when Thea’s stuff had arrived. He wondered briefly where they were. He checked his com for the time. Kyrin would be home soon. He doubted the women had thought about dinner so he ordered something from the galley. If they did anything tonight, it would probably be unpacking.

  After a half hour of waiting, he decided to see how much was left to move and headed for Sya’tia’s cabin. A note he had received earlier had informed him Sya’tia had keyed the three of them to be able to enter her quarters whenever they wanted.

  He took a quick look through the rooms and didn’t see either one of them. Finally he decided to check the bedroom when neither of them responded to his soft calls. He came to a stop in the doorway and smiled slowly.

  The women were curled tightly together on the bed, sound asleep. Sya’tia’s arms and hair were wrapped around them protectively. A pure black eye popped open when he stepped quietly into the room. She sent him a blissful smile and adjusted her hold on Thea, who was still sleeping. He settled on the bed beside her and stroked her back.

  He admired their nude bodies. It was a beautiful picture. Thea’s dark hair was tangled in Sya’tia’s white locks. The pale icy blue of Sya’tia’s skin drew out the warm rosy hue of Thea’s. The soft shimmer of Thea’s God-marks peeked out from between their entwined hair. Daeshen leaned over and kissed Sya’tia, who murmured softly with pleasure. “I think I can guess what you two have been doing this afternoon,” he whispered teasingly.

  She smiled shyly. “How was your day?” she asked softly, her hands gently roaming over Thea’s sleeping form. A few strands of her hair separated from the rest and stretched up to caress Daeshen’s face.

  He smiled down at her and stroked her cheek. “It was good, better now. I’m going to take some of the boxes over to our quarters. Kyrin should be off soon. Join us when she wakes up.” He laid a smacking kiss on her lips before leaving.

  He strolled out with a happy smile and quickly loaded a hover lift with boxes. Anticipation curled through his body; he was feeling very good about himself and his family. It was a quiet pleasure, but no less satisfying. Things were coming together very nicely. He and Kyrin had made the right decision when they had decided to wait for the right mates.

  It wasn’t something he thought about often, but over the years there had been several offers made to them. But Daeshen had always felt it wasn’t time and had convinced Kyrin to wait. The other man had been a bit impatient with the delays. He was very eager to start a family, but he had understood that if Daeshen was uncomfortable there would be discord in the marriage.

  There was no such thing as divorce in their culture. Mating was for life, and should be a carefully made decision.

  The moment he had seen Thea he had known. She was the one. Adding Sya’tia to their unit was just as wonderful. He had always had a secret fascination with the exotic woman. Seeing her always sent a small thrill of danger through him. He had a little fantasy about her that he had never told anyone about. Not even Kyrin.

  He smiled to himself, thinking about Sya’tia and Kyrin. Both were unusually aggressive for his race. Strong and self-assured, they were bound to clash over the care of their family. He was looking forward to the sparks. A vision of Sya’tia tying Kyrin up to make him listen to her sent a flutter of warmth through his groin. Oh yes, it was going to be fun being married to both. He and Thea could place bets when the fireworks started.

  * * * * *

  Thea peeked over Daeshen’s shoulder. Both men were sleeping deeply. She slipped one leg over his hips and eased out of the bed, freezing when he murmured softly in his sleep and wiggled against her thigh. After a moment he stilled again.

  She carefully slipped into the bathroom and gathered her bag before leaving their quarters. She knew she would have to eventually tell her husbands what she was doing. She didn’t really want them to wake up in the middle of the night and worry about where she was.

  She hummed happily to herself as she strolled down the corridor in a leisurely fashion. The men had been a bit disappointed when Sya’tia had gone back to her quarters after spending the evening with them. She had claimed she wanted to get a bit more packing done before going to bed since she was scheduled to work for the next few days.

  Her nap earlier with Sya’tia had refreshed her so she wasn’t especially tired tonight. It was a nice change from constantly feeling exhausted. Her sleeping habits were slowly getting back on track as she continued her therapy sessions with Reba. They were going to begin seeing Kyaness within the next few days as well. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that yet. But could she really say no when her husbands had been so willing to try it her way? It didn’t seem fair to them to continue to see Reba when it wasn’t helping them as much as it was her. Maybe trying both methods would have greater results.

  She reached the recreation area. The artificial sky was dark and shadows were everywhere. It was a measure of her peace of mind that she didn’t immediately feel threatened by the long shadows and whispering trees.

  There were a few people in the water but the wooded paths seemed deserted. She carefully made her way through the trees to the small clearing she and Ruri had picked out. Setting down the bag, she pulled out the lamp she had brought with her and inspected the area. It didn’t seem to have been disturbed since the last time they had been there. After setting down the lamp, she reopened the bag and began to set out the items they would be using.

  The crunch of a dead leaf made her look up.

  Ruri stepped out of the shadows and stopped. She looked around the clearing dispassionately before her gaze came to rest on Thea again. Thea watched as Ruri’s gaze chilled.

  Oh great, she thought to herself, here we go again. That particular look generally preceded a nasty rant on Ruri’s part. Thea wasn’t really in the mood for it.

  “Well, considering how you rolled over for those two freaks you married, I suppose it’s no big surprise that you like to munch carpet as well.”

  Thea’s mouth dropped open.

  Ruri smirked at her, a hard cold glint in her eyes.

  Thea’s mouth closed with a snap and her own eyes narrowed. “I so did not hear you just say that,” she growled.

  “I think you did,” was the sneered reply.

  Thea simmered. “Just what is your problem?”

  Ruri’s body fairly vibrated with anger. “My problem is that you just go along with everything that has happened! You don’t seem to care that you were abducted. That you have no choice about your life. You fawn over those two perverts you live with and now you decide to let them marry another woman. Have you no pride? Or a spine?” she spat out venomously.

  Thea felt blood rush hotly to her face. “You ‑‑”

  Ruri cut her off. “Have you ever thought about saying no? Just telling them both to go to hell? Of course not. Because that would require you to have some willpower. You make me sick!” she shouted.

  Thea had had enough. “How dare you,” she snarled, advancing on the other woman. “You bitter, self-absorbed, venomous, hateful bitch.” She poked a
finger into Ruri’s chest. “Let’s talk about you for a minute, you evil-tongued hag. You seem to think that everyone has to be like you. Perpetually pissed off! The only time I’ve ever seen you smile was at someone else’s misfortune.”

  Ruri fell back a step, looking startled.

  Thea advanced until their noses almost touched. “As for my husbands, you will never refer to them as ‘perverts’ again. Do I make myself clear? Nor will you make disparaging remarks about the woman who will soon be my wife! I happen to love all of them. And I do not answer to you!” Thea poked her in the chest again. “Now, let’s talk about our religion. Remember the rule? ‘An’ it harm none do what thou will’? Or is that only when it’s convenient? Are you a wannabe witch? Because that’s sure as hell what you are acting like!”

  Ruri gasped. “How dare you!”

  Thea glared. “I dare much when it comes to my family. You don’t even try to get along with them, and if you did you would find out that they are wonderful men. Sya’tia is my best friend and I asked her to marry us, not my husbands. As for ‘munching carpet,’ as you so quaintly put it, it’s none of your fucking business!” Thea panted after she finished yelling that. Her whole body felt tense. She had thought she had left most of this prejudice bullshit behind her on Earth. She knew it had been a vain wish, but she had hoped.

  Ruri stared at her in shock for a moment, but Thea could almost see her regroup and puff up with outrage.

  “It’s none of my business?” Ruri snarled angrily. “So I’m just supposed to sit back and let you make a fool of yourself? Pretend that everything is okay? Next you’re going to tell me I should just roll over like you did and make pretty with Kiger? Should I pick out a couple of those desperate bitches who can’t have kids and marry them too? Because it’s always been my life’s goal to be a broodmare!”

  Thea rolled her eyes. “Okay, drama queen, let’s go with that. Maybe if you talked to Kiger instead of beating him up every time he looks at you wrong you might find a man you liked! But nooo, you have to abuse him. These people are not like us. They don’t think like us. And maybe if you got laid, you wouldn’t be so fucking nasty to everyone!”

  Ruri hauled back and slapped Thea across her face.

  Thea cried out and stumbled back, cupping her cheek. They stared at each other in shock.

  “Okay, that’s about enough of that shit.” A new voice echoed in the silence that filled the glen.

  They both turned and stared at the two women who were entering the warm circle of light cast by the lamp. Two large cats darted in and out of their feet. One had long black fur and the other was a deep orange.

  Thea pressed her hand against her stinging face. She watched, bewildered, as both women came to a stop in front of them.

  The taller of the two had shoulder-length, curly auburn hair. She was built like an Amazon, with the heavy muscles of a female body builder. Deep blue eyes watched her and Ruri from a strong, square-jawed face. “You slap her again and I’ll return the favor for her, little girl.” She took Thea’s hand away from her face with gentle hands and inspected the skin. “You might bruise and it’ll swell for a bit. Put some ice on it when you get home and expect those overprotective men of yours to be all over you about how it happened.” She winked at Thea. “I’m Cristabel, by the way. This is Zinnia, my girlfriend.” Her head twitched toward the shorter woman standing quietly beside her.

  Thea turned her attention to Zinnia. She was a slender blonde with short feathery hair and light brown eyes. Thea smiled tentatively. “Hello.”

  Zinnia nodded in return before turning her gaze to Ruri. “Well, that was an interesting catfight to listen in on.” She leaned against Cristabel. “I especially liked the ‘carpet munching’ references. It’s always nice to know how someone feels about lesbians before you tell them you are one.”

  Ruri flushed.

  Cristabel slung an arm across her girlfriend’s shoulders. “We got woken up by two very upset cats. They led us here.” She barely spared Ruri a glance. “We know who you are, Thea. The whole ship’s been buzzing about you. We found out you were a witch when someone mentioned your necklace, so we had planned on introducing ourselves. We just didn’t think it would be like this.”

  Thea blushed faintly; she knew why they had heard of her. “It’s nice to meet you,” she mumbled. Not wanting to meet their eyes, she looked around for the cats, but they had disappeared. Drat! She had been hoping to see them again. She had her suspicions, not that she was sharing them with her husbands.

  Zinnia peered at Ruri. “I think you need to spend some time reading the basic tenets of witchcraft again. You don’t seem to understand them very well. The backlash on that slap is gonna be fun. Karma ain’t no one’s friend. So, is Thea right? Are you a wannabe witch? Someone who does it for shock value instead of a true faith?” She said this with all the calm of a lady asking for a fresh cup of tea. As if the answer didn’t matter in the least to her.

  Thea believed it was Zinnia’s tone more than her words that brought a deep flush of color to Ruri’s face. No one liked having their faults pointed out to them, and Zinnia had phrased it in such a way that Thea felt she hadn’t expected any better from Ruri. That had to pinch, and Thea wondered what was being said about Ruri to give her that reputation.

  Thea could almost see Ruri gathering the tattered cloak of her dignity around her.

  Ruri stared down her nose at the newcomers. A remarkable feat since both women were considerably taller than she. “What business is it of yours?”

  Cristabel shrugged. “Well, since we were going to ask Thea to form a coven with us, and it seems you’re probably going to come along for the ride whether we like it or not, we should know if you’re a poser or the real deal.”

  Ruri grumbled something under her breath in Japanese. Thea didn’t bother asking for a translation since the tone conveyed the meaning so well. She sat down on a boulder and watched the byplay. This could get interesting. She already knew the outcome; her Lady had already told her to find her sisters. That thought made her pause for a moment and gave her an idea on how she could smooth things.

  “Ladies, please sit down so we can talk comfortably,” she said in a quiet voice. The other three women broke off staring each other down and looked at her as if they had forgotten her presence.

  Ruri flounced over and threw herself on the ground beside her, and the other two chose to sit facing them.

  Thea touched Ruri’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for the things I said. I had no right to say them.”

  Ruri looked up at her in surprise. “I started it. I was so angry when Kiger came home all excited that Sya’tia was wearing a veil. I just don’t understand how you can accept them.”

  Thea decided that was probably as close as she was going to get to an apology. She turned to the two newcomers. “It’s nice to meet both of you and we would welcome more sisters. Ruri has a bit of a temper and it sparked mine. But what siblings don’t fight occasionally?” She winked at them.

  Cristabel grinned, but Zinnia still had a reserved look on her face. Thea wondered if she always looked that remote.

  She turned back to Ruri. “I accept them because I spent time getting to know them. They aren’t so bad. You have to remember they don’t have the same morals and values we do. They evolved their own culture; how can we expect them to be like us? You have to make allowances for that, Ruri, or you’ll never be happy.” She shrugged. “I liked them and after awhile I loved them.” She slid off the rock and leaned back against it.

  “Who did you get stuck with, Cristabel? Zinnia?” Thea asked.

  Cristabel grinned ruefully. “Shage. He decided that since Zinnia and I were together, he’d get a twofer deal.”

  Ruri blinked. “Twofer?”

  Zinnia sighed. “A two for one deal. Since we were already together, he thought he’d get two wives instead of one. We make him sleep in the spare bedroom.”

  Thea laughed. “Nice. There’s another interesting bit of
culture. Since the Ta’e’sha are bisexual they don’t understand homosexuality or heterosexuality. Bet he got a shock when the two of you woke up!”

  Zinnia stared at Ruri again. “At least we don’t beat him up.”

  Thea winced. This might be more difficult than she had thought.

  Zinnia continued, “I know Kiger, he’s a pretty nice guy and treats everyone else well. Now I know where the bruises and broken bones are coming from.” Her face was very still as she watched Ruri. “My father beat my mother whenever the mood struck him. I don’t think a husband beater is any better.”

  “I am not a husband beater!” Ruri looked outraged.

  Thea and Cristabel remained silent.

  “And my father firmly believed he wasn’t a wife beater. So, what’s your excuse? Kiger needed to be ‘disciplined’?” Zinnia said, a little more heat in her voice.

  “He wouldn’t quit touching me!” Ruri shouted. “Every night he crawled into bed with me after I fell asleep! Everywhere I went, there he was! He wouldn’t leave me alone! Not even in the bathroom!” All of this burst from her like an infection that had gone too long without being cleaned.

  Thea put her hand on Ruri’s shoulder. “It has to stop, Ruri. You can’t keep up like this. If it continues, Security will get involved whether Kiger wants them to or not. You know that.”

  Ruri rested her head against Thea’s shoulder. “I know. But I don’t know what to do. I’m so sick of him stalking me. The only time I feel safe is when I’m at work because Daeshen refuses to allow anyone in who’s not on the team…and when I’m with you.”

  Zinnia’s features relaxed marginally. “I’m sure we can think of something if we put our heads together. But stop hurting him.”

  Cristabel nodded decisively. “Yup. We’ll think of something and if that doesn’t work… Well, leave him.”

  Ruri blinked at that, as if the thought had never occurred to her.

  Thea nodded. “Yup, you can come stay with us. As long as you lose the ’tude. My guys don’t deserve it.”

  “I know,” Ruri said softly.