The Siren's Call (Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance) (FORCED TO SERVE) (24 page)

Instead of being so pleased, he probably should have been ashamed that he had to grab her hands to stop her from undressing, but that noble reaction eluded him as well. Again, he wanted to laugh when she was startled. Then she frowned and looked disappointed when he quickly fastened her shirt back up.

Emotion choked him that such a female wanted him, conceded to him, and was willing to see to his needs as well as the hundreds of other responsibilities she tended on the Liberator. But strange things had been happening to him all day. Tiny snippets leaking through the walls in his mind were keeping him from seeing clearly. He needed her help.

“Later we will seek our pleasure, Sweet Joy. I have another need at this moment. I remembered something significant today,” he said. “Can you take me to a place Sarinnea called the ‘meditation room’?”

Nodding, she stepped into him for a hug, matching their mating cords. Then she backed up and took his hand.

“You created it as a private counseling place. It looks like a training room but feels like a temple. It’s just down the hall from your quarters,” she said, wondering if all his memories were just going to come back on their own.

The walk was short, and Gwen stopped in front of the door of the room. “It’s voice activated for you, but hand recognition should also work.”

Dorian waved a hand over the sensor, putting his other hand out to open the door when he heard the familiar click. Inside was exactly what he had seen in his vision.

“I remembered this room today,” he said quietly, walking forward. “I saw it clearly in my head and somehow knew this place was on the ship. I verified its existence with Sarinnea. I almost called you when it popped into my mind, but figured it best to wait until our arranged meeting time.”

“That was a good idea,” Gwen praised. “There’s a lot going on right now needing my attention. Things are a bit tense. The next mission is causing several people some problems. Everyone is dreading it.”

Dorian nodded, not the needing to hear her sincerity to know she spoke the truth. Anywhere they walked on the Liberator together, his mate was in high demand. He’d often been surprised that she’d so readily agreed to meet with him several times a day. Though he’d sincerely tried to let the sleep cycles be enough time with her, he just wasn’t able to quell the lust from obsessing him without the daytime liaisons.

“What did I do in here?” he asked. “In the vision, I was kneeling on a pillow wearing a robe like the one you…the one you wear after your cleansings.”

Gwen looked to the side of the room and saw his other robe hanging on the pegs. She’d worn every robe in here and his room, so none contained his former energy, but wearing one might spur some recollection anyway. She walked to fetch the robe, then helped him into it.

“Since I never visited with you here, I don’t really know what you used to do. When Ania brought me, she made me go kneel down on the pillow over there,” Gwen said, pointing.

Dorian held out the sleeves of the robe, which fit him perfectly, and looked at her. “Since I seem to own several of these, you should just keep the one you use.”

“Thanks,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes. “I wasn’t planning on giving it back anyway.”

Having gotten used to her sense of humor in the last few days, Dorian laughed. He knew his mate would hand it over to him in a heartbeat if he asked, but he also knew that wearing his robe gave her great pleasure. At first, he’d been almost jealous of her holding on to memories of the male who had worn it, but the ridiculousness of that was not worthy to be put into words.

“Why don’t you go kneel on the pillow and let’s see what happens?” Gwen suggested.

Dorian raised an eyebrow and walked to the front of the room, dropping to his knees on the pillow. He rocked back on his heels, his body finding a comfortable position automatically. Muscle memory, he supposed. It felt natural to him to be doing this.

“Now close your eyes and think of…” Gwen stopped. Ania had had her think of him. What should Zade think of?

Then she noticed he already had closed his eyes and had leveled his breathing.

“Try to imagine what it was like to be on the Liberator and be your true self,” Gwen suggested.

“Can you describe my duties to me once again?” he asked.

“You counseled crew members on the best ways to deal with their problems. You rightly harassed Captain Synar to do the right things. You kept telling Ania Looren that she shouldn’t give up living just because she carried the demon. And when all that got boring, you made my life a living hell by telling me everything I was doing wrong all the time,” Gwen added, but laughed at the end to make sure he knew she was no longer angry about it.

He opened his eyes and turned his gaze. “Were my comments to you untrue or unkind?” he asked with a frown.

Gwen snorted and shook back her hair, which needed cutting again. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done any personal maintenance.

“No—your comments were mostly always true. I just didn’t like hearing it from you. I think I was perpetually mad about your rejection of my initial bonding offer, and it made it difficult for me to hear anything you said after that point. No matter how helpful you were trying to be, I never took your advice well,” she admitted.

“Given the intensity between us that was being ignored, your anger about my conduct is understandable,” he said logically, turning back and closing his eyes again.

Gwen walked the edge of the mat and sat down herself. There were benches and seats around the edges of the room, but she preferred being on the same level he was.

“The visions come quite easily in this room. I see you kneeling here in my robe not long ago,” Dorian said in awe. “You were crying, distraught, trying to find me. Then your spirit…”

Gwen watched him pitch forward, then crawled to him because it was faster than standing up and running.

Cradling his head in her lap as she turned his body to a less awkward angle, she punched a button on the wrist unit she’d taken to wearing lately, just so she could be found easier. It seemed like everyone was always looking for her since her return.

“Connect me to Medical,” she ordered.

“How can we help you, Commander Jet?” a medic asked.

“Tell Peace Keeper Looren I need her help in Zade’s meditation room right away. Do it now,” she commanded.

Moments later, Ania’s voice came on the line. “Gwen—Boca and I are on our way. She’s helping me get to you.”

While she waited, Gwen checked his breathing and his heart rate. Everything seemed normal. But being with Zade’s body was a lot like being with Conor’s body when Malachi was out of it. It was obvious there was nobody home inside the shell.

What seemed like hours later, she heard Ania chanting until the lock on the door opened. Ania came in slowly, followed closely by Boca, who was practically holding her up.

“Long walk, but I needed the exercise. What happened?” Ania asked, pausing at the edge of the mat for breath.

“Zade knelt down to meditate and next thing I knew, he fell over face first,” Gwen complained. “Is he having a vision?”

Ania shrugged. “We won’t really know what’s going on until Dorian comes back to his body.”

“Is this what I did when I tried to meditate?” Gwen asked, awed to think she was capable of leaving her body. What she did remember is that it had given her a whopper of a headache after.

“Yes,” Ania said. “You did this almost exactly, and probably wearing the same robe.”

“You have a weird obsession with fashion for someone I think should be above that crap. Just tell me what to do to help him. I’m having a mini-meltdown here,” Gwen declared, unaware she had been petting Zade’s head until she saw Ania’s amused gaze and froze.

“Help me get down on their level,” Ania ordered gently, taking Boca’s arm as she walked carefully across the mat.

When they got to where Lieutenant Zade lay in Gwen’s lap, Boca sat first and crossed her legs. “Here. Kneel gently and then lean back against me when you sit. I’ll work on your shoulder. We might as well do some healing while we wait. This room is excellent for concentrating energy.”

Ania lowered herself, pleased when she didn’t groan aloud.

If you’re well enough to wander around all over, I’m heading back to Conor’s body
, Malachi sent.

“Fine. Go. Leave me alone so I can get some peace. You nag me more than my parents ever did,” Ania said sternly, and out of context out loud, she realized, when her companions looked at her strangely. She laughed at herself. It had been awhile since she had given her inner dialogue with Malachi any thought.

Boca and Gwen glanced at each other, understanding her strange behavior when the black mist lifted from Ania and streaked out of the room. They had both witnessed it enough times now not to be overly alarmed to see Malachi coming and going out of people.

“Commander? It’s probably best to warn Chiang the demon is headed to the body in stasis,” Boca suggested, looking expectantly at Gwen.

Sighing at having to torture him further but seeing no alternative, Gwen pressed the button. “Locate Lieutenant Chiang.”

“Lieutenant Chiang is in Engineering” the computer replied.

“Damn it, Chiang. You’re not where you’re supposed to be,” Gwen stated, talking mostly to herself. She looked at Boca and Ania who were waiting on her.

“Connect me to Lieutenant Chiang,” Gwen ordered at last, her tone resigned to dealing with the already pissed-off Greggor.

Looking at the serene, healing version of Boca sitting on the mat, she well understood the reason for his concern. The female didn’t look like she could hurt anyone. Gwen made herself remember the way she’d wielded the scalpels as weapons. It helped.

“Chiang here,” Chiang barked loudly, his anger obvious to all of them, even through the wrist unit.

She heard Ania snicker and watched Boca tense up at his angry voice. Gwen sighed and tightened her jaw as she lifted the wrist unit closer to her mouth.

“Quit yelling at the intercom and get your ass to Medical, Chiang. The demon is headed back to his host body. God only knows what he’ll try to do to it.”

The cursing in Greggor and metal flying to land with loud clanging sounds was rapidly followed by more swearing as he yelled into the intercom again. “Get Boca to help him. He might try to bond with her, but he won’t harm her. Trust me.”

Boca blushed at Chiang’s words, and Gwen couldn’t prevent the smile.

“She can’t go. She’s helping me with Zade, who’s in a freaking trance at the moment. So go to Medical where you belong, Lieutenant Chiang,” Gwen demanded. “And yes—that’s an order.”

“
Du-te la Dracu
,” he spat viciously, making all three women wince.

“What did he say to the Commander?” Boca whispered to Ania.

Ania laughed softly. “I don’t know for sure. I don’t speak Greggor. But I imagine it’s nasty.”

Gwen snorted at the irony of being the only one of them who spoke Greggor fluently enough to understand the nuances of the curse. Of course, Chiang probably did that because he knew it. Gwen bit the side of mouth before answering, struggling for the calmest response she could manage.

“That would be a negative on the self-bonding request, Lieutenant. There’s no chance of that happening right now under any condition because
Zade is freaking unconscious
. Now I repeat—Ania and Boca are assisting me here. Get your angry Greggor ass to Medical and deal with Malachi.”

They heard more metal against metal and some other angry shouts nearby. Gwen ignored the temper tantrum, idly stroking Zade’s forehead until it passed. When no more metal sounds were heard, she spoke again.

“And, on your way to Medical, contact Ensign Lofgren and order him to get his reluctant ass to Engineering and replace you. You outrank him, Chiang. He has to damn well do what you say,” Gwen said, her mouth twitching as she heard more cursing, but softer this time. “Good to see you’re finally getting over your temper tantrum. Officers can’t indulge those often.”

“If you call me before the next revolution on the Liberator’s timekeeper has passed, you will regret your life. I don’t care what rank you hold,” Chiang barked.

And then the com went completely silent.

Boca stared at Gwen with wide eyes. Gwen shrugged and gave Ania an arched look for snickering over it. They had their work cut out for them if the Sumerian female flinched every time a male yelled around her.

“Oh, don’t mind him, Boca. Chiang is just a bit stressed about all the changes he’s making. You know how males are about that. Now, Ania, you were going to tell me what we have to do for Zade,” Gwen asked, adeptly changing the subject. “If he’s not in his body, where did he go?”

Ania shrugged. “I cannot tell just by looking at him, no more than I knew where you went. Maybe Dorian will be able to tell us when he gets back.”

Gwen sighed. “So what? We just wait then?”

“Yes, we wait and stand guard over him while he is out of his body,” Ania said, closing her eyes as Boca muttered words behind her. The Sumerian healer put a hand over the wound and heat filled it, easing the pain away almost completely. “That feels so wonderful. You have a gift in your hands. This is first time the pain has left me.”