Terran Times Second Wave # 10 - Liberty Read online

  Liberty licked her lips and took a gulp of wine. A Terran woman with a scar on her shoulder blade from a dog bite when she was six.

  She swallowed again as the placement of the chalk-white hands and the gleam of his red eyes showed his intimate intent with the woman wearing nothing but a loose drape around her hips.

  “Do you see anyone you know?” When he spoke, his fingers caressed her back and stroked her scar.

  “Um, where did you get this again?”

  “It was sent to me by a matchmaking seer on Yaccaro. Her husband is an acquaintance of mine, and I believe she is one of your people.” His hand moved over her spine.

  “What does it mean?”

  He chuckled. “It means that you are my destiny, or so I have been told.”

  She looked up at him. “Do you believe it?”

  He grinned. “I believe I am open to the possibility.”

  Libby looked back at the clinch depicted on the portrait. “If it is your destiny, why can’t you see the woman’s face?”

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you? This portrait was not for me; it was addressed to you, care of my palace. I merely decided to keep it.” He chuckled. “The joys of power.”

  Libby blinked and tried to step away from the duke. “Um, in that case, I am not sure that it was truly for me. Anyone could have that scar.”

  “It was addressed to you by name.”

  “How could she know about that?”

  “Apparently, she has a notification system that alerts her to any new Terrans entering the Nyal Imperium. She has this idea that they are not safe on their own, that they need to find their ideal mates as quickly as possible. I was fascinated at the idea of having a Terran for my very own.”

  Libby eased away from him. “I heard you tried to buy me.”

  “Death seers are very difficult to find. Having you in my court will be a coup.” He set his wine down on a nearby occasional table and he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “So, that is all you want me for? As a trophy?”

  “I want you for many things, but we have time, Liberty. You will come to me when you are ready to.” Rajon twisted his lips in a smile. “I can wait.”

  Libby blushed. “So, why the peekaboo clothing?”

  “I never said I wouldn’t enjoy the view while I wait. Your body’s curves are delightfully enticing. I look forward to seeing you in more of Abin-Da’s creations. He has an eye for flattering a body.”

  She scowled. “I am not here for your amusement.”

  Rajon turned her toward him and lifted her chin on his large hand. “That is where you are wrong.”

  He leaned in and kissed her, brushing his lips across hers in a slow introduction.

  Libby’s blood pounded in her veins, and she blinked up at him with amazement. “I am not sure how to respond to that.”

  He chuckled and stroked her cheek. “You have an appointment with my physician in the morning. Day clothing will be provided. I look forward to seeing you when the doctor has concluded his examination.”

  “So, I am dismissed for the evening?”

  He raised his brows. “Would you care to join me in bed?”

  Libby bit her lip. “Um, good night, Your Grace.”

  He laughed and inclined his head.

  With her shoulders back, she walked toward the door she had entered by and she pressed her fingertips to her lips. They still tingled from the contact.

  In the doorway, she turned, and he was watching her from in front of the portrait. Blushing at getting caught staring at him, she crossed the front room and left through the door with the guards on either side.

  Liberty touched her lips again as she returned to her quarters, three doors down. Knowing what the interior of the duke’s quarters looked like, she was sure that those other doors were dummies.

  Her own quarters were welcome after the weird semi-formality of the evening. In her dressing room, she reached behind her and found the small connection that held the top in place. A snap and a tug and the entire collection of bands unravelled, leaving her dressed only from the hips down.

  The skirt unsnapped, and she sighed as the fabric slithered to the floor. Naked, she walked out to the balcony and hoped that the darkness was enough to cloak her. The stars were so different; the light was even a different colour as it touched her skin. With a sigh and another look upward to the place where Earth was supposed to be, she turned and walked to her bed, unravelling her hair as she went.

  The bed was springy and had a light sway to it. She snuggled under the covers and hoped that she could sleep. It had been a very eventful first day at work.

  Rajon watched his mate from the shadows. She didn’t have a problem with her body if her naked stance on the balcony was any indication.

  Tomorrow, she would start receiving the genetic alterations that would enable them to mate. When he had first seen the image, he had doubted that he would be attracted to such a tiny creature, but now that he had met her, he could think of no one else.

  There was no woman in his court that caught and held his attention like the Terran had done in five minutes. Prince Drehl’s woman knew her business. Liberty Trout was definitely the female he wanted to bind his life to.

  His mistress was not pleased with his selection, but she would have to find another target. Lohra-Ahn was talented and enthusiastic in bed, but he had known from the first moment they had touched that it was not going to go further than a liaison. Unfortunately, she had been playing the long game, as he had found out when he announced their separation. He would deal with whatever she chose to pull out of her sleeve. Nothing was going to stop him from being with his true match.

  Liberty would be his.

  Waking on an alien world was strange, but it was made more peculiar by Shoklek and several other folks wearing gloves coming into her room and flinging her covers back before bullying her into the shower and brushing her hair to a glossy shine.

  The entire procedure was done while Libby was naked, but when her hair had been arranged and makeup applied, a gown was brought in draped over Abin-Da’s arms.

  “A day gown, as requested.” He directed the assistants, and they dressed her in a gown that had wide strips of fabric in a fantastic swirling black over a base gown of transparent dark smoke.

  When she was dressed, shod and her hair had gotten a final tweak, she was directed to a mirror.

  “Good god.” She looked at the stranger in the mirror with the deep red lips, the eyes that were heavy lidded and sensual and the gown that both teased and concealed.

  Her hair was controlled in a variety of braids that looped and pulled back from her face. She had felt them being crafted but had been unable to see anything with the buzz of activity around her.

  “It is… appropriate for the day I suppose. Shoklek, where is my first start?”

  “The physician is waiting for you in the medical offices.”

  She folded her hands in front of her. “I suppose I am ready to go.”

  Shoklek looked down at her and smiled. “You look lovely. Let’s go.” He inclined his head toward the door and led the way.

  Moments later, they passed the duke’s guarded doorway, and from there, Libby tried to memorize the path to the medical offices.

  When they arrived, the doctor took charge of her and Shoklek faded out the door as was his custom.

  Scans were performed, measurements were taken and then Doctor Tuermlin turned to her and smiled. “Here is a light hypo to help you fully acclimate to our world.”

  Libby made a face. “Is it necessary?”

  “The duke insists that you become one of us as quickly as possible. This shot will help, but you will need boosters every morning for a week. Can you make me your first stop of the day?” He pressed the injector to her skin and it hissed.

  “I suppose so.” She felt a tingling in her arm where the shot had been administered.

  “Excellent. We will have your system in sync with Miexhar in no time, but
don’t miss a shot or we will have to begin all over.”

  She nodded and flexed her fingers. “Right. Do you know what I am supposed to do now?”

  “I believe that the duke has sent an escort for you. You will be taken to your next appointment.”

  Libby made a face at the thought of being handed around like a pet that needed monitoring, but she nodded and left the medical offices with as much dignity as she could muster.

  The escort took her down the halls, through security and finally through a large doorway guarded by two men.

  It was a private dining room, and the duke was sitting at the table, going through documents on a tablet. He smiled at her as she entered. “Good morning, Liberty.”

  She bowed. “Good morning, Your Grace.”

  He sighed and put the tablet down. “We are alone, Liberty. Use my name.”

  She blushed and pulled out a chair. “Fine. Good morning, Rajon.”

  He was out of his chair and behind her in seconds. He held her chair for her and helped her settle in.

  The moment he was seated again, he rang a bell, and it began a progression of platters that were set out in front of them.

  He beckoned to her, and she held out her plate while he filled it with a selection of what seemed to be eggs, fried meat and pastry.

  The pastries were topped with fruit and cream. The moment she had a sample of everything on the platters, she stuck her finger into the cream and tasted it, closing her eyes in delight.

  When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her, his hands paused as he filled his own plate.

  With a rueful grin, he finished loading his meal onto the lightweight metal.

  “Why are you smiling, Rajon?” She stuck her finger into the pastry and licked it clean again.

  “I have the feeling that I am going to engage in a journey of self-control, and I have never been very good at it.”

  She chuckled and nibbled at a piece of fruit. “It seems to me that you have a lot of patience if you have waited this long to go in search of a mate.”

  He quirked his brow. “I am unsure of your meaning.”

  “I have read up on you as much as I was able. Your control over Miexhar has been measured in centuries.” She finished the fruit and picked up her utensils. “You could have lived your life with your mate at your side for hundreds of years.”

  He smiled and settled in to eat his breakfast. “Maybe I just hadn’t met the right lady.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that, so she ate her meal and wondered what the day had in store.

  Chapter Five

  Protocol demanded that she stand three steps down from the duke at all times. She managed to stand at attention for three hours before she had her first revelation.

  She swayed as the images began to flow fast and heavy. A skimmer crash in the high mountains. She waited as the image played out. The skimmer was damaged in the mountains, and then, it would crash into the palace.

  She came out of her vision and looked for Shoklek. He was watching her and came over when she beckoned. “North tower, clear it, there is a skimmer out of control and coming in hard.”

  He nodded and his fingers slid over the nodules on his staff. “They are clearing it now; how long do we have?”

  She looked outside and measured time. “Seven minutes.”

  “We will do what we can.”

  She nodded and fought the urge to run out onto one of the balconies. She had given the warning, and now, it was up to them to heed it.

  Libby stood and mentally counted to four hundred and twenty.

  Shoklek informed the duke as to what was going on, and they waited. It was strange to be simply watching and waiting, but there was nothing to be done for the folk in the skimmer. Two out of three were already dead.

  The third may or may not live. It all depended on how quickly the medical teams could get to the crash.

  The palace quivered when the skimmer hit it.

  The courtiers screamed, but Rajon got to his feet and beckoned her to follow. They moved with Shoklek through the back hallways of the palace until they reached the tower where the survivor was being pulled from the wreckage and the garden that housed dozens of tables and benches, all conveniently empty.

  Libby paused and kept her hands folded together so that she didn’t touch anyone accidentally.

  The duke looked at her, his red eyes intense in their black lids.

  “It appears that my Death Seer is worth her keep.” The duke smiled.

  Shoklek took over the removal and identification of the dead while Libby stood next to Rajon and watched the chaos turn into order.

  When it was all over, she shivered and swayed slightly. It always happened when the event was over. She felt her prediction taking place and the deaths when it was over. It felt like someone running their fingers down her spine to her tailbone.

  The duke caught her and placed a hand on the small of her back to steady her.

  She was still disoriented when he walked her back to the audience chamber.

  He sat on his throne and kept her at his side with a hand around her waist.

  “My Death Seer has saved one hundred and ninety-three lives. She foresaw the skimmer with the dead and dying and warned us that it was arriving. The Countess Liraka’s party has been saved, and it is all due to this particular new addition to the court.”

  Polite applause broke out.

  Libby blushed and kept her head up, staring past the curious gazes and toward the back of the room. A pair of hate-filled eyes glared at her, and she focused on the woman in the back of the crowd.

  The woman was elegant and barely dressed but wearing haute couture at the same time. She was looking at Liberty like she had stolen something and was flaunting it.

  Libby stiffened and her change in posture got Rajon’s attention. He followed the direction of her gaze, and she turned to see his cold expression.

  She looked back at the hostile woman at the edge of the crowd and the elegant female flinched as if struck.

  Libby caught the reverberation between the two and tried to step away from the duke. His fingers tightened and kept her at his side.

  “Don’t move, Liberty. This is where I want you, and this is where you shall stand.”

  She looked into his eyes and noted the steel in his gaze. He was making a statement.

  She stood with her head high and shoulders back while he conducted the business of the day, arranging trades, allowing travel visas and the like. If you wanted to move around on or off Miexhar, you had to ask permission.

  Her arm tingled again and she flexed her hand. It felt like the nerves were being rerouted. The sensation ran up her arm and across her chest. Each minute she stood there, another wave lapped across her tissue under her skin. She could feel a change coursing through her and she began to wonder what precisely was in that shot.

  When lunch was called, Rajon tightened his arm around her and got to his feet. Without a word, he walked her through the crowd and out through the main doors. The gathering parted easily for them and Libby fought her blush as she was directed through the courtiers and out into the hallway.

  She sighed and looked up at the man steering her around. “I thought you were willing to let me choose the time.”

  “I am, but they need to know where you stand and that is next to me. Protocol be damned.”

  Libby blinked and their escort joined and surrounded them as they walked through the unsecure areas of the palace. “Why are you bucking protocol, Your Grace?”

  “Because it vexes me. I want you at my side whenever I can have you there, and that means you will be there. They must get used to it.”

  She heard the absolute demand in his voice. He really meant that Libby would have to get used to it but that was subtext.

  They walked until they entered a heavily fortified garden. Their escort scattered, but they were still nearby in case the duke should call.

  “Why is it that you insist on having me
around for meals?”

  He shrugged and grinned. “I enjoy watching your enjoyment and discovery of our foods. It is a pleasure I am keeping for my own eyes only.”

  Libby wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she sat and waited for the food to arrive.

  Luncheon was made of salads, delicate fish and lighter-than-air pastries. If he wanted to watch her eat, this was definitely the stuff to get the job done.

  “How many dead did you see?”

  She paused with a beverage halfway to her lips. “Two for certain and the others were negotiable.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “How could you tell?”

  “When I see them, they are cloaked in auras that determine their chance of survival.”

  “And the colour of the aura?”

  “It gives me their chances of survival.”

  “What is your current range?”

  She smiled at him, realizing that there was a difference between her contact range and the sensing of incoming death.

  “About a thousand kilometers, though the instructors at the moon base said that I could expand my range through practice.”

  “How are you to practice?”

  Libby shrugged with her hands open. “I have to let it in.”

  He gave her a concerned look, “Does it hurt? Your hands clenched and your body tensed.”

  “That is the side effect of having images of death playing in your mind without warning, like someone starting an entertainment vid without notice at full volume. All you can do is watch and tell those who will listen what you have seen. Death will take its toll no matter what you will and all you can do is watch and hope that those you love are not in its path.”

  She ate her meal with good appetite. Seeing death always made her hungry.

  Rajon nodded and ate his meal in silence.

  When they were both finished, he turned to her and asked, “Have those you loved been in its path?”

  She nodded and gave him a calm and sober look. “All talents wake in energy or trauma. Mine was no different.”