Warrior of the Ages (Warriors of the Ages) (39 page)

Kahtar followed, waffling with disbelief and barely paying attention to Carole White, who now shadowed his every step. His mind reeled. Why had he not considered this possibility—why had he ever assumed? Because Beth was Covenant Keeper as much as any woman in existence, but still, her father was not. The Laws of Cultuelle Khristos were crystal clear on Blending. Ted White didn’t belong. Blending was not allowed.

Kahtar glanced towards Carole White. Ted pulled out a cushioned patio chair for her and she sat reluctantly. Kahtar automatically obeyed when Ted motioned that he do the same. Beth went to work setting the table, sliding dishes and silverware across the glass surface. With a bottle of lighter fluid in hand, Ted turned his attention to an enormous stone grill where flames already shot two feet into the air. Fortunately Ted and Beth kept a running commentary that required no participation on Kahtar’s part. From the corner of his eye he could see that every muscle in Carole White’s lithe body looked tensed to spring, and he instinctively avoided making direct eye contact with her again.

Tossing cloth napkins around the table, Beth bent to peep at him beneath the shade of the striped patio umbrella and silently mouthed, “I think they like you.”

Shades of War.

SITTING NEXT TO her father, Beth seemed blinded by love, seemingly oblivious to Kahtar’s anxiety and her mother’s strange behavior. Ted and Beth talked and laughed almost non-stop. Ted grilled two gigantic steaks and Kahtar forced himself to consume his, not sure the genetically altered food would stay down. The part of his mind that always took in details was aware of the hodgepodge of foods. It knew what Ted had prepared and what Carole had prepared. His mind took note of Ted’s jacket potatoes, unnaturally large supermarket spuds full of fake cheese and some sort of sour cream substitute, bad chives and bits of fake bacon. It saw mushrooms and onions marinated together in some sort of liquid made from a powdery substance. And Kahtar shoved it all down, mixing it with Carole’s grilled clean vegetables and fat slices of what he was vaguely aware was probably the best bread he’d ever eaten.

While most of his mind seemed jammed somewhere between panic and stunned disbelief, a small part watched Beth and Carole eat only clean wholesome food, and listened to Ted and Beth’s stories, and noticed that none of their tales involved Carole. And when it was blessedly time to leave and Beth dashed inside to use the washroom, the part of his brain that gathered facts and worked on automatic, responded appropriately when Ted White took the opportunity to interrogate.

“What religion are you?”

“Same as Beth.”

“She’s crazy about you.”

“I feel the same about her.”

“Hmpf. How did you meet?”

“Well, Mister General White...I stopped her for speeding.”

When they departed, Ted White was still laughing about that, and Beth was grinning and waving a happy goodbye to her parents, and Kahtar was never as thankful to have a meal finally end.

DRIVING HOME KAHTAR kept his eyes focused on the road, squinting into the setting sun. Beth kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her knees. She shivered slightly despite the summer humidity.

“Whew! Hiding things is not for me, I’m exhausted. I was afraid to say your name, that I’d say Kahtar. I called you Kah-Kent all night. Dad kept hugging me and whispering, ‘Calm down, Angel, I approve if you approve.’”

Kahtar forced a chuckle for her sake, but Beth didn’t seem to notice it.

“I’m sorry about my Mom. She’s never been very social. I didn’t think she’d spend the whole night just staring at you though. Gosh, you know I think I was more worried that you’d say something wrong than I would!”

He looked over at her in consternation.

“I told you I wouldn’t mention where you were living.”

“No, no, not that, I thought you’d criticize Dad’s food, or say something about Books of Being or Arcs or Abstracts or something.”

Kahtar wished that those were the things he’d been thinking about.

“But you were great, you even ate his steak!” Beth put her head on her knees. “You set a precedent though. He’ll probably make you one every time we visit.”

Kahtar’s stomach roiled and it had nothing to do with that steak. The good-natured Seeker, Ted White, had rocked his world in ways he’d never thought possible. He’d sooner fall on his own blade than hurt the man that owned Beth’s heart. Gripping the steering wheel tightly he kept as silent as Beth’s shieldmaiden mother, thankful that Beth quietly kept her head on her knees.

BY NOON BETH knew something was wrong. In hindsight she should have known last night. Kahtar had been too quiet and preoccupied. And this morning no sound of fighting had echoed from the barn in the back meadow. Now that she thought about it, she suspected that Kahtar had left last night, because Wolves had snuck into the house and had been sleeping on the floor by her bed when she woke up. The dog wouldn’t have dared with his master in the house. After waking to his odor she’d dragged him down to the pond, and washed him with her own good citrus shampoo. Now he lay beside her on the bank, looking embarrassed to smell so nice. Afraid he’d shake and soak her, Beth scooted further away to lean against the trunk of a big willow.

Maybe this is what it would be like being married to Kahtar. Being married to a warrior wouldn’t be any different than being married to a soldier. Smiling, she looked over the pond. Funny how she’d changed her mind about what kind of man she wanted to marry.

The light of several Old Guard shimmered around the pond. Their sparkly columns of light were so bright it was noticeable even in the summer sunshine, and for a second Beth worried that something had happened with Berwick’s clan. She was part of Cultuelle Khristos now and Kahtar said Old Guard would protect her. Was there danger? Then she remembered that Honor had said countless times that it was impossible for anyone to enter the veil without prior invitation. Remembering the day she’d tried to find her way back to Kahtar’s house alone, she knew that was true. In the other world, her world, this acreage was a thinly wooded, defunct Christmas tree lot. Despite that she shivered, thinking of Berwick. Was Kahtar outside the veil fighting?

Then an Old Guard shimmered solidly into being right in front of her. Wolves, the coward, turned tail and bolted towards the cover of trees on the far side of the pond. Beth stared up at the wall of man that stood in front of her. These beings terrified her, their oddly lit skin flickered from within and she was certain they were not human. Ancient, worn faces sat atop impossibly strong bodies. Black eyes glittered in the face turned towards hers, a sword gripped in one enormous hand and the other hand reached for her. Beth couldn’t help it, she screamed and would have followed Wolves’s example if she could have.

In a flash of light the sunny day vanished, and though she was shaking, her scream cut off as amazement shot through her. The truth of what this being was went through her as though he’d spoken to her. Overwhelmed, she would have fallen to her knees as she reappeared inside an unfamiliar room, but Kahtar was there and he caught her as her legs buckled, his hands warm on her bare arms. The room seemed dark after the bright light of the sunny day, and her eyes couldn’t adjust quickly enough in the dim light to read his expression.

Putting his mouth next to her ear he whispered to her, “I will not leave you, no matter the verdict here. Declared or joined, you are my wife now, Beth.”

Through blurry vision she saw he was dressed in full battle gear, like something out of her shades. He was wearing chain mail. She’d never seen any of the other Cultuelle Khristos warriors wear it. Squinting into the room she saw The Mother and what had to surely be all of the Elders. Dozens of Old Guard stood not shimmering, but solidly around the room, and Warriors of ilu, in their strange mixture of future and past clothes filled the space. Sharpening vision revealed the worst. Their eyes were all on her. Heart jumping, her mind raced over the last day, trying to place what law she’d violated.

“Beth White?” The Mother intoned, and all movement in the room ceased. It seemed as though the crowd had stopped breathing. “Why did you not tell us about your father?”

“My father?”

“Your father is a Seeker.”

Instantly Beth’s back was up, they were upset about her Dad! She straightened and glared. “My father is a wonderful man!”

Gloriana D’Aval came towards her, putting a soft white hand on Beth’s lightly tanned arm. “Beth? Your Father is not a Covenant Keeper.”

“I never said he was. What is going on here? Are you judging him for the sins of humanity? Because surely we are all culpable there.”

“You read The Book of Being, Blending is not allowed. Covenant Keepers do not mix with Seekers. You did not think it was relevant to tell us about your father?”

After a moment, where she stood with her mouth open, Beth finally replied.

“I do not think my mother was aware of the rules, as she has no idea she is Covenant Keeper. My father!” Her voice cracked and anger boiled up and out. “My father is the best man I’ve ever known! You dare…did you seriously think that in the decades or centuries since my people were lost to Covenant Keepers that my ancestors managed to find only other Orphans to join with every generation? That is a ridiculous expectation!”

Father Wixen was nodding his head, but most in attendance looked mortified. The Mother reached to smooth her hair, but Beth pulled away, glaring at her.

“We assumed your parents were both Beings. This does not change the fact that you are part of our clan, Beth, it is a lifetime commitment.”