Warrior of the Ages (Warriors of the Ages) (36 page)

“Yes you can!” Kahtar snapped and Beth was suddenly glad there was a spare chair between them. The hair rose at the base of her scalp and she fought back a shiver. When he continued, his voice had lost the sharp edge.

“They’re not going to give up until they know there’s no possibility of you returning their declaration, and I don’t know what Monroe is about. Either he wants me to beat him with the broad of my sword, or he wants to braid your hair and play dolls with you.”

“Don’t be such a crank! Honor is my best friend. I’ve never had a best friend before, don’t you dare ruin it for me. And I didn’t know why those Palmers didn’t give up. I’m certainly not encouraging them! Where I come from, when a woman is living with a man that pretty much means she’s taken.”

“Well, where I come from, it means try harder. Your bedroom is full of flowers and notes from those who couldn’t make today’s picnic. Tomorrow the Palmers are planning on taking you berry picking and then showing you an Abstract they’ve created from the mountains near Bhutan!”

“I am not going to Bhutan with the Palmers!”

“It’s not in Bhutan it’s down by the lake. I thought they explained Abstracts.”

Slapping at a mosquito she grouched right back at him. “They lull me into a boredom coma before they ever get to the point.”

“Don’t worry,” he snapped right back. “They’ll explain it all again tomorrow!”

“In that case, I return YOUR declaration right now.”

He exhaled as though he’d been hit in the chest, but the feeling that rose from his heart made her tear up as it brushed against hers. Dear God how she loved this man, every single part of his very being was for her. Why had she even hesitated?

After several beats he responded drolly, but Beth knew he was fighting to regain control of his emotions.

“That’s not very romantic. You’ll take me just to avoid the Palmers?”

“Yes.” Without missing a beat she tossed it right back at him, giving him a moment. “It’s quite an incentive.”

The battle lost, Kahtar knocked the chair between them over backwards, and all the tools scattered loudly over the porch. Wolves yelped and took off, taking his rank odor with him. Kahtar’s arms wrapped around her, as he lifted her bodily from the chair and pulled her tight against his chest. In the darkness she suddenly liked his ugly sleeveless linen tunic and the ridiculous shorts that looked like short long johns, they were soft against her skin. He smelled like the woods and salt, and she wanted to lick his neck where it pressed against her mouth.

Then he lifted her chin with a gentle finger and kissed her, a real kiss. Beth’s stomach dropped out and she attempted to climb him. Helping, Kahtar lifted her until she wrapped her long legs around him and held on with her mouth. It was then that Kahtar’s heart moved to the forefront of her consciousness. The strong touch of it, as it towered beside her own, was so intense it was as though she could see it.

It was a wall of granite cliffs, rising into a cloudy day, stretching in both directions so far she didn’t know where it might end. There was rest there, home. Briefly she paused, feeling it, knowing him and wondering how there could be so much of him. He was a fortress. Then the lure was too much, she wanted to burrow into the silvery grey mass that pressed against her own heart. It was then that instinct took over, her own heart buffeting against his defenses and she suddenly knew how to use it to claim him.

The touch of her heart against Kahtar’s grew stronger and razed over his heart. It seemed to be leaving a physical mark as it moved. It felt exquisite to bite through the hard exterior that was Kahtar and scratch across a great length of his heart. Kahtar’s moan of pleasure filled her mouth as she marked him for her own. Shivering with pleasure, Beth stopped, afraid to continue, afraid to know the expanse that was Kahtar. He immediately extricated himself from her, his strong hands trembling as he pressed her gently away.

“And so it is done. I am yours. I love you, Beth, but I need a moment to find my land legs again. Let’s say goodnight.” Then he hurried across the dark porch and into the house, leaving Beth standing alone on the porch in the dark night, wondering.

KAHTAR COULD SENSE pressure outside the veil as he scanned the skies. Storms had passed in the night, but rays of sunlight now filled the veil. Not one shade had bothered him throughout the night, and he’d drawn first blood against an Old Guard in his morning training match. Scooping food from a pan he breathed deep. Never had he felt so alive, so healthy, so at peace. Being declared felt nothing like he’d ever imagined. It felt right.

Beth raced into the kitchen in the same shorts and t-shirt she’d slept in, her feet bare, exposing vivid purple toenails. It didn’t look like she’d slept well. The summer blonde hair looked neat as always, but her eyes were puffy and she didn’t return his smile.

“Good Morning, Love.” The endearment came naturally, and he tried not to think about why she hadn’t slept well. “Do you like toast and sausage?”

Without answering she picked up one of the round slices of meat and gamely took a bite. To his surprise she frowned up at him, blunt. “Kahtar? I didn’t mean to accept your declaration last night.”

Before his heart could sink through the strata of the planet she hurried to explain.

“I planned to accept it! I just wanted to—negotiate—first.”

“Negotiate? What did you have in mind?” Suddenly he felt evasive, wondering what she wanted, and if it was something he could possibly give.

“Well…first of all I need an indoor bathroom. Sometimes women need to use it at night.” The look was meaningful, and he got it after just a few seconds.

“Oh. Well, all right, that isn’t a problem.”

Beth didn’t smile though. She looked at her hands and sighed.

“Look, I can’t sleep in this house with that stuff in here.” A slight motion with her head pointed towards the main room, from their angle, axes and clubs were clearly visible.

“My collection?”

“Kahtar? I know what that wooden pyramid thing is—it was used in one of my shades—on a woman.”

“The Judas Cradle? Shades of War, I’m sorry, Beth. I’ll move it.”

“What would be really nice is if you could move it all. I mean, there’s a nice big basement here isn’t there?”

Looking at her for a moment, he thought of why he kept all that stuff, wondered if she could ever understand that it helped him sleep at night. Wondered how on earth he was ever going to explain what those weapons meant to him. He forced a reluctant nod, they were only things.

“Is there anything else?”

Sliding into the chair he normally sat at, she piled a gigantic amount of toast onto her plate. After pouring a large glass of bright green, unripe-berry juice she took several large gulps before proceeding. Looking right up into his eyes she demanded.

“How old are you, Kahtar?”

Here it was then. He’d expected it last night, after their hearts had abutted so intimately. Even as an Orphan of the Inquisition he was certain she had sensed the vast experience in his heart, experience that came only with time. As she waited for his answer her heart caressed his, touching the mark she’d left on it—her touch was deliciously intensified in that spot. He couldn’t tell her, not yet. Easing into the spindly chair across the small round table from Beth, Kahtar blindly pushed food onto his plate.

“I’m fifty-one, Beth.”

Her eyes widened, it was true Kahtar defended himself mentally. That was exactly how old his body was, this time—how long he’d been called Kahtar. If Beth saw more she didn’t push, the number seemed to sidetrack her.

“You are my Dad’s age!”

He shrugged, playfully apologizing. “Sorry?”

She laughed then and took a few bites of her food before commenting.

“I knew you were a few years older than me. Sheesh, you do realize that I’m only twenty-four?”

His eyes lit up.

“Declarations can be broken, hearts heal given enough time, but I’m afraid you cut deeper than most. We are almost joined already, so there is no going back for us. Besides, you are not getting out of this marriage just because I’m old.”

Beth leaned towards him, studying his face diligently, and then her eyes flicked to his hands as though searching for age spots. The scrutiny made him glad that this repeat had been relatively peaceful. His body was completely functional and all appendages were still attached. He boasted few scars and all his teeth were even intact. He’d never been handsome like the Palmer men, but neither was he unattractive.

“Why do you look maybe thirty-four?”

“We age differently—Covenant Keepers. I suppose it is the clean living. Your idea of fifty-one would be my idea of around eighty or so.”

Her eyes widened as she took that in. “Covenant Keepers live longer? My shades don’t show that, and no one mentioned it.”

This conversation was painful for Kahtar. He’d been thrilled to make it to fifty one more time, but he’d never made it much further, they might not have much time together. What would come after he died, he didn’t want to think about. He led the conversation in another direction.

“Do your parents look their ages?”

“My parents!” It worked, Beth’s eyes lit up. “I miss my Dad so much. Kahtar? I’ve read the laws of being so many times. They are very black and white. My only question was why you spell ilu with a little i.”

“ilu is from the Ancient Tongue, it means The One.”

“That’s what they said at Cobbson Clinic, I still don’t really get why it isn’t capitalized. So, the thing about the laws of being is, there are only ten and it isn’t like they are difficult to know.”

“It is in the implementation where the difficulty lies. You do not want to force this life on your parents.”

“No, but I won’t! You’ll be surprised, they won’t ask much. You watch. They never do, especially not my Mom. Please? I’m dying to see them, and it’s not like I’d say anything to them.”

For once his gaze made her flush.

“Oh really? The speaker of truth won’t mention to her parents that—”

“That she’s really an alien species and has now joined a cult of them.”

Kahtar laughed then, a deep hard laugh. “Covenant Keepers are as human as the rest of the planet though technically we are a cult….”

“Don’t change the subject. You’re coming with me anyway. They’re going to want to meet you, especially my Dad.”

Grinning Kahtar drummed his fingers on the table as he considered Beth’s request, wondering if he’d ever even consider approving this for anyone besides her.

“Of course they’ll want to meet your declared.”

“Fiancé. My Dad is going to want to meet whoever kept me from visiting him all summer. You’re dog meat because whatever cover story you’ve fed them, he’ll just assume I didn’t come home because of you. There’s no disguising that truth.”

The smile vanished.

“We’ll have to discuss exactly what you’re going to say, Beth. They think you’ve been traveling, I don’t expect you to lie, but I also expect you to be careful what you do say.”

She rolled her eyes at him then.

“I meant he’s going to assume I’ve been off getting cozy with you instead of visiting.”