“Did he kiss you?” The general’s eyes were calculating.
John didn’t like the sound of this. He squeezed her hand when she nodded.
“When I first met him, it was the first thing he did. Then, he explained it was some kind of test. The
nij’ta
he called it, and that he was hoping I’d be the one, but I wasn’t.”
“Too bad.” The general made some notes on the datapad on his desk.
“Not in my opinion.” John looked only at Maggie as he spoke.
She hadn’t told him about the emperor’s hopes. He wondered what else she was holding back about the encounter, but he wouldn’t ask. Maggie would tell him, in time. He had great confidence that all their secrets would be revealed to each other over the next fifty years or so of togetherness. He couldn’t wait.
“Well, of course.” MacRauch chuckled a bit, ceding the point to John. “But you can see how having Dalen become the new empress of the jit’suku would have been to our advantage. Still, if he really thinks one of the other second gen girls might be his mate, who am I to argue?”
Maggie laughed. “We all work for you in one form or another, right, Uncle George? And maybe a lower-profile woman would be more easily accepted among the jit’suku.”
“You’ve got a point there, Maggie.” The general sighed. “If it’ll help end this war, I’ll send every second gen woman we’ve got over there for his inspection. He can kiss ‘em all and keep the ones he likes.”
“Uncle George!” Maggie’s tone was chastising, but they were both laughing. John was just amazed at how comfortable his Maggie was with a man so highly placed.
“With the ladies’ full knowledge and cooperation, of course.”
“Of course.”
“I don’t understand,” John spoke up. “How will sending him a human woman, albeit a second generation Enhanced woman, change anything?”
Maggie’s smile broadened as she turned to him. “Tren hinted that there were ancient ways to end the war. I think he meant through marriage. I did some research on our way back through jumpspace, and what little information we have on the jits suggests that marriage between warring clans has been used in the past to stop hostilities without losing face. If he intends to do that on a galactic scale…”
“It just might work.” The general slapped his desk, regaining their attention. “The sly bastard knows he can’t win the war by conventional means, and jits can’t ever concede or retreat without losing face, so he’s looking for a way to call a halt to hostilities in an honorable way.”
“He claimed his people wouldn’t be happy with it, but that it could be done,” Maggie said quietly.
She’d had quite the discussion with the jit emperor. She’d told John some of it on the way back, of course, but quite a few revelations had been made here that John hadn’t heard before. Of course, now that he was with Maggie and in the general’s confidence, John expected his clearance level—already high to begin with—had just shot up a few notches.
“Well, if anyone can get away with it, it would be Tren. He’s as sharp as they come,” the general said, ruefully shaking his head.
Maggie grinned. “Be careful, Uncle, you almost sound as if you like the man.”
MacRauch huffed a bit, sitting back in his chair. “A warrior can respect his opponent even while they battle against each other.”
“So you’re Enhanced too, General?” John asked.
He wasn’t sure the older man would answer, but decided it was time to try to get to know the man better, if they were going to be working together. And working directly for the general was now John’s goal.
The general nodded. “One of the first. I knew Maggie’s father, and when he disappeared, I kept an eye on her and the other children born of Enhanced soldiers like me. We’ve created a little elite corps of those who wanted to serve, and many of them work for me as spies. One thing that still amazes me is that every single second gen child has wanted to serve in one form or another. Their fathers’ dedication seems to breed true.”
“So, then, it’s possible that Maggie and I could have children of our own?” The thought still boggled John’s mind. He’d been told many times before volunteering for Enhancement that it would leave him sterile. Had the medics lied? John shouldn’t be that surprised if they had. They often didn’t tell the whole story when working on a soldier.
The general smiled benevolently. “I don’t see why not. Though you’ll have to keep quiet about being Enhanced, and your kids will have to be monitored like all of us. Still, it shouldn’t be a problem. The docs stretched the truth. We’re not completely incapable, but it isn’t exactly
easy
for Enhanced males to father children. We don’t have any conclusive data on second gen conception, but if anyone can beat the odds, my bets are on you two.”
John felt Maggie’s fingers squeeze his hand, and her face was wreathed in smiles.
“Then, please consider this my resignation from the spy corps, General.” Maggie’s voice was warm with happiness. “John and I are getting married.”
“I thought as much. Congratulations. And I’ll accept your resignation from
active
duty, but I reserve the right to call upon you if you’re ever needed.”
Maggie winked at the general. “But of course!”
*
Thanks for reading
Diva
, part of the
Jit’Suku Chronicles ~ Arcana
timeline. If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.
The
Jit’Suku Chronicles
are a generational saga set over the course of a few centuries. It is made up of two distinct series set in two different time periods—the
Arcana
series and the
Sons of Amber
series.
Arcana
takes place a century or two before
Sons of Amber
during a time before the bioweapon plague has wiped out half of humanity.
Sons of Amber
begins with a story called
Angel in the Badlands
, that is available now. Scroll down for a sneak peek…
A complete list of all of Bianca’s books, separated by series, follows the excerpt. You can also check out Bianca’s website at
WWW.BIANCADARC.COM
. Or you can sign up for
Bianca’s Newsletter
to be alerted when new books are released.
Excerpt from
Angel in the Badlands
by Bianca D’Arc
Chapter One
Zeke looked about the crash site and grimaced. His ship was in bad shape. It wouldn’t be flying again anytime soon without major repairs. But at least the pirates hadn’t gotten him. They were probably still looking for his trail, though, so he had to get moving.
Unfortunately, the uncharted dustball he had landed on was not what anyone would call hospitable. And he was hurt. His leg was bleeding and he had whacked his head on the console when he’d crashed. The world—such as it was—was blurry and too damn hot as he climbed out of his crippled ship and began walking.
The dark, sandy ground beckoned, but he couldn’t drop yet. He had to find shelter before the second sun rose any higher, or he would burn to a cinder on this godforsaken rock.
Zeke had more than his fair share of stamina. It was a gift of his altered genetics. Designed and raised in a special program headed by the famous Dr. Amber Waithe and her team of geneticists, he knew he had a mission in life: to spread his seed far and wide, bringing his fertile offerings to any woman who wanted to have a child. By the Maker, he enjoyed his job.
But even his enormous strength was taxed by the huge binary stars that were just a little too close to this dry, arid planet. He was a risk-taker by nature—what they termed a
Wildcard
in the program. The propensity to play the odds had been designed into his genes. Usually, his superior brain was able to calculate the odds of success and play his hand accordingly. This time though, the pirates had whittled down his available options.
Crashing here wasn’t the best move he could’ve made, but it was the most unexpected. It would buy him some time at least, to evaluate his options. Given the opportunity to change the odds, he always took his best chance.
This time, however, he might just die before he could turn the tables. The suns were rising all too quickly, and he was caught out in the open with a sore head and a bum leg. He took one last, long, weary look at that second, damning sun and kept on trekking. He had to find shelter soon.
Minutes, or maybe hours later, he felt himself fading under the onslaught of oppressive heat and strong solar radiation. He saw the dusty ground rush up at him as if from a distance, then he knew no more.
Zeke woke hours later, feeling a pleasant coolness on his face. He had to be hallucinating, but he didn’t feel the merciless suns pounding down on him anymore. No, instead he felt the welcome chill of rock, and the faint scent of dirt and dampness in his nostrils, as if he were in a cavern. Cautiously, he cracked one eyelid open just enough to see.
There was a woman at his side, mopping his brow with a damp cloth and the cruel suns were blessedly absent. He had to be somewhere underground. He had no idea how long he’d been out or who had saved him. Somehow, they had transported him to his present location—wherever that was. He searched his memory, but didn’t remember anything after passing out in the heat of the twin suns.
“Sister, he wakes.”
The high, treble voice came from somewhere off to his left as the wet cloth abruptly lifted away from his brow. He wanted that gentle touch back. Badly.
“Are you well, brother traveler?”
The soft, melodic voice caressed his senses. He opened his eyes to behold the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His savior was an angel, he was sure, her face heart-shaped and lovely, even devoid of the usual cosmetic alterations women of the upper classes habitually made to their appearance. No, her face was pure and natural, one hundred percent human female. She was soft, slightly rounded, and perfect.
Her delicate eyebrows drew together in concern as she studied him. Her hand touched his face once more with the cool cloth and it was bliss.
“Are you well, brother?” She repeated her question.
“Just keep doing that.” His voice was a hoarse rumble in his chest. “Your touch is comforting.”
He looked up in time to see the compassion in her expression as well as the slight blush on her cheeks, but she continued stroking his brow with the wet cloth. A smile curved her lips.
He felt terrible. Every muscle ached and an unaccustomed weakness gripped him. He had never felt so feeble before in his life.
“What happened?” he asked, needing more data to assess his present situation.
His angel spoke as she tended to him. “I found you on the surface at midday. I don’t know where you came from or how you came to be on the surface at such a dangerous time.”
“Ship crashed.” His strength was waning and he damned the weakness that stole over him. His eyes drooped with weariness.
“You came from the stars?” He heard the hesitation in her voice, and his eyes reopened. He read fear in her gaze, and he didn’t like it. “Are you human?” She whispered the question as if dreading his answer. She seemed to steel herself as he opened his mouth to reply.
“Relax. I’m as human as you. I’m one of the Sons.”
Usually all he had to do was mention his affiliation with the illustrious geneticist, Dr. Amber Waithe, and group of men known as the
Sons of Amber
, and all doors were opened to him. But this woman didn’t seem to grasp what he was talking about.
Since the jit’suku virus, human males were rare in the galaxy. Breeder males even more so. Billions of men across the galaxy had been infected, and died. The few that survived had been left sterile. Many of the women too, had become infertile due to contact with the virus and its many mutations.
Such was the design of the jit’suku weapon. Its sole purpose was to destroy humanity by killing the men outright, and making it nearly impossible for the women to reproduce. From all accounts, the jits had strict rules when it came to warfare, and one of them was that they didn’t kill women. Dr. Amber had voiced her glee over that little quirk because if not for that rule, their insidious virus could easily have been altered to kill everyone.
As it was, humanity could be rebuilt—one baby at a time—as long as there were women to have them. And, of course, a few males who were impervious to the virus. Which was where Zeke and his brothers came in.
“You’re not jit’suku,” the angelic woman said, bringing Zeke out of his drifting thoughts. “That’s good. That’s really good.” She seemed to want to reassure herself. “It’s just that we haven’t seen anyone from the stars in many, many years. Our Order selected this inhospitable planet as a retreat when the war came too close to our home on Espia. Our elders eventually cut off all communication with the outside so that we might hide from the jit’suku.”
“Then you don’t know what happened?” Zeke could hardly believe what he thought she was saying.
His angel shook her head, and he noticed the other women in the small cavern drawing near to listen in. He had to tell them, but he was so damned tired. Still, he could give them the bare bones at least, before his strength gave out completely.
“We defeated the jit’suku armada at Markesh, but they released a viral weapon. It killed billions of men all across the galaxy. The jits are gone except for a few pirates that continue raiding and fighting. One of those made me crash here.” He paused to take a breath. “I’m one of the men known as the
Sons of Amber
. I was genetically engineered to help repopulate the species. I’m immune, and more importantly, I cannot carry the virus, so your people are safe from contamination.”
“The jit’suku really went that far? They used a bioweapon?” she breathed, seeming to grasp the severity of the situation.
“Their armada was almost completely destroyed. It was a desperate act of a defeated enemy, vile and unconscionable,” he whispered as his strength ebbed.