Naked Read online

  From the light on the chrono, the time was just beyond dawn. This meeting had to be urgent if Sapya was pulling Ahket in for a chat.

  They sat in silence and drank their tea before settling to the meal. After he had completed his breakfast, General Sapya cleared his throat, his teacup held lightly between his palms.

  “Captain Ahket, you are to be detained upon our arrival on Sebach for knowingly abducting a woman who could not be ransomed and refusing the ransom of one and a half million credits. You will be sentenced to three months of shunning.”

  Ahket paused. “Three months? No one has survived three months before.”

  Sapya nodded. “I am aware of it. I am filing an appeal immediately, but I wanted you to know what we were flying into.”

  Ahket ran his hands through his hair. “Right. I should have thought of that.”

  “You did think of it. You just followed your instinct, and I believe it was correct. Your grandmother has been read into this, and she is working to have your crimes heard before we arrive. It might not happen and you need to be ready.”

  Cierra looked between the two. “What is going on?”

  Ahket made a face. “It seems that our union is going to be of short duration. No one survives in the wastes of Sebach for more than three weeks.”

  “I don’t understand. Didn’t the amount of credits we saved make the difference in the funds?”

  Ahket smiled. “That was your doing, not mine. I cannot take credit for your actions or intelligence.”

  “But if I wasn’t there, your people wouldn’t have as many supplies to get them through until the next need.”

  Sapya shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. If you were not there, we would have bought the supplies we needed and returned home regardless. Ahket is being punished because not only did he take you when you were not on our approved capture list, but he refused to cash in on the demands for your return.”

  “I was worth one and a half million?” She was surprised by the amount.

  “The Xerat felt you were very valuable, and having experienced you in action, I would have to agree. The line of suitors will be extensive when we land.” Sapya seemed upset about it.

  “I don’t care. If Ahket gets shunned, I am going with him.” She was as surprised as they were when the words came out of her mouth.

  The feel of certainty had never come out from between her lips before. Normally, it was confined to sight, but now, she spoke the truth. Staying with him was burning in her with intensity.

  Sapya looked at her and he scowled.

  Ahket cleared his throat. “We will be stripped and sent into the wastelands of Sebach. Unless you have more skills for physical survival than you have shown, it will not be long before we both die.”

  She smiled tightly. “I didn’t know about the naked part, but I will go with you.”

  Sapya was grim. “This is most unusual. Women are rulers amongst our kind. One would never follow a man she had just met.”

  “I see him and he glows with energy that I have never seen before. He is mine and I will not see him go to his death without me at his side.” The flat voice was speaking through her again.

  Cierra made a face and cleared her throat. “When do we arrive?”

  General Sapya sat back. “We arrive in twenty-six hours.”

  Ahket swallowed the last of his tea. “Thank you, General Sapya. It has been an honour to serve under you.”

  “We will fix this, Urion. I promise you that.”

  Sapya got up and Ahket met him, receiving a very un-military hug.

  “Urion?”

  Ahket smiled over his grandfather’s shoulder. “My private name, spoken by family.”

  She nodded. “Right. Of course.”

  She got to her feet, and he came around the table to take her by her arms. “I don’t want you to come with me.”

  She could see the danger that she would face in his expression. “I don’t care. Can we pick the landing point?”

  Sapya looked at her with curious eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

  “If something is pulling me to Sebach, something will give me a sign. Let’s remain in orbit for one rotation and let me look at the land beneath. If I see a likely spot, I will request that you have us dropped there.”

  Ahket smiled at her. “I will look as well. There is no regulation on picking part of the wastelands; we are just locked out of the community.”

  “Right. Well, as soon as we are within scanning distance, let’s start looking for a place to live.”

  He brought her in for a hug, but she could see the worry in his aura. Pale lavender was not a good colour on him.

  A woman with the same reflected gemstone-coloured skin as the rest of the crew pronounced the sentence.

  “It is the finding of the tribunal that Captain Ahket did wilfully and deliberately abduct a woman who was unsuitable for ransom. He has wasted the resources of this colony and risked the lives of his crewmates by being arrogant enough to put his wishes above the needs of those depending on him. That is the first week of the shunning. The remaining eleven weeks are due to his arrogance in refusing the exorbitant ransom offered for the woman he selected.”

  She cleared her throat. “Ahket, you are to go into the wilds and remain there for three months. After that time, we will send someone to recover you.”

  Cierra was holding Ahket’s hand, and the moment that the sentence was decreed, she started walking.

  The two suns warmed her skin, but clouds moved to shelter her as she stepped barefoot into the low rocks of the mountains. Whatever had called her all this way was up in those rocks, and she was going to find it.

  Ahket was right behind her, his skin a little more protection than hers on the rocks and grit that they were climbing.

  “This isn’t the most natural place to try and survive. I think they were shocked.”

  She chuckled while gasping for air. “You saw it. I saw it. There is something in here that wants our attention. For good or evil, it is our only chance.”

  They had a pouch of supplies that Ahket was carrying and it should last four days. It should. There was no guarantee that it would.

  When they had left the sight of the shuttle behind and it had soared overhead, she rested her naked backside against the stone wall, and she looked for a pathway.

  It was a lot easier to see the destination than the path.

  Ahket offered her the water bottle, and she took a sip before passing it back. He capped it and stowed it in the pack, his naked body gleaming in the light.

  “I can see a pathway. It looks like one of the ancient N’ga paths.”

  “Lead on. I will follow.”

  His legs and ass flexed as he took the steps and pushed himself upward against the stone. He seemed built to pull himself along. For Cierra, it was not something she was going to enjoy in the morning.

  They walked for hours, climbing, sliding downhill and edging along cliffs.

  Her feet were raw, and she was sure that blood was following behind, her but she didn’t want to look.

  They stopped for lunch, and she sat with her feet pointed away from him. “What happened to the N’ga? Did they just interbreed and cease to be?”

  He frowned. “Yes and no. Sebach was a living world. It had an Avatar named Seera, and she was nearing the end of her term. The Admaryn are not suited to being Avatars, and Sebach asked to have one of our kind impregnate the Avatar to grow another generation. No one would, so Seera went to the hills and died. The world began to shut down soon after. With no one to speak for it, it closed off and even water went deep underground.”

  She listened to the story, but there was whispering in her mind.

  He told her the legends and myths about Seera, all involving sightings across the generations.

  Cierra nodded, and when it was time to move again, she got to her feet and limped along behind him.

  She lifted her head. “Do you smell that?”

  He turn
ed and lifted his head. “Water.”

  They followed the scent over a small gorge and stepped into a nearly invisible cavern on a cliff wall. The passage got snug every now and then, but they stumbled into the cave as it opened, and Ahket muttered in ancient Admaryn. There was a waterfall and a huge crystal pool.

  “Am I hallucinating?” She stepped forward on the cool stone.

  “No. I don’t believe this. It is remarkable to see water so near the surface.”

  The whispering in her mind made comforting sounds.

  She asked, “Can we stay here for the rest of the day?”

  “If the water is potable, yes.”

  Cierra knelt at the side of the pool and reached to the waterfall. When she had a handful of water and her palm was washed clean, she sipped.

  “It tastes good.” She drank more and pivoted to soak her abused feet.

  “Your feet are bleeding.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I am aware of it. I didn’t want to slow you down.”

  “We will wait here tonight. If you are not up to walking tomorrow, we will remain here for another day.”

  Cierra couldn’t argue with that. When her feet felt better, she lifted them out of the water and scooted to the wall using her hands and butt.

  Ahket dove into the water and surfaced under the waterfall. He turned and called out, “There is something back here.”

  She was about to head toward him, but he reached into the water and behind it then pulled out a large chest three feet wide and two feet tall. He pushed it to the edge of the pool and gave her a surprised look. “Should I open it?”

  “We are out here under a death sentence. I say go for it.”

  He opened the chest and blinked. “This is exceedingly peculiar.”

  He lifted out a pair of soft leather boots and a loose tunic-style dress with a sash. “These are N’ga clothing. There is a male set as well.”

  Their gazes met in the dim light coming through a small crevice in the upper wall.

  Cierra swallowed. “It seems that someone knew we were coming.”

  Chapter Eight

  There must have been something in the water, because when Cierra woke in Ahket’s arms and flexed her feet, she didn’t feel pain or the tugging of the cuts from the day before. The rest of her body was a wad of aches and pains, but her feet were fine.

  “Ready to move out?” Ahket kissed her neck softly.

  She nodded and sat up.

  She jerked in surprise when a strange voice said, “Thank goodness. It thought you were going to sleep the day away.”

  A woman was sitting on a chair made of stone, wearing boots and a tunic, much the same as those that Cierra was currently wearing.

  There was a glow in the eyes, and Cierra blinked when Ahket said, “Seera.”

  The woman smiled slightly. “Yes and no. Seera’s soul left her body generations ago. I am Sebach.”

  Cierra got to her feet, wincing slightly. Ahket was behind her, steadying her.

  “Come with me, travellers. You are the two I have been waiting for, or you will be.” Sebach got to her feet and walked toward a wall. The stone simply ceased to exist as she walked through it.

  Ahket whispered, “I think we need to follow her.”

  Cierra nodded. “Not a bad idea.”

  They had both slept in their found clothing, so he grabbed their pack and they followed the living mind of the world in the body that had once been her Avatar’s.

  The path she took them on led them into the mountain range itself and the wide-open hallway that appeared as they walked, disappeared behind them. They had to follow Sebach or the stone would swallow them whole.

  The walk was long, and they sank deeper and deeper into the bedrock of the world.

  “Is this a dream?” Cierra had to say it out loud.

  “No, in a dream, you would be naked and we would have complete privacy.” Ahket put his hand on her back and stroked downward, patting her butt.

  She stifled a giggle and picked up the pace. Sebach was moving at quite a clip, and this wasn’t the place she wanted to get left behind.

  The tunnel ended suddenly, and a grand open space filled with greenery, a spring and glowing plants intermittent throughout the entire football field of the space.

  In the centre of the room was a bier with a pillow and a sheet over it.

  Stone chairs rose from the floor, and Sebach took a seat next to the brook. “Pardon my lack of tea, but it has been some time since I entertained. It is good to finally have you here.”

  Cierra took one of the chairs and Ahket the final seat.

  She cleared her throat. “What do you mean finally?”

  “I have been waiting for you. The Admaryn genes in the regular population are not suitable. The one who could have been Seera’s mate refused her and broke her heart, so I closed off nearly all of my resources to his people.”

  The light brightened, and Cierra could finally get a clear view of the woman with the peacock skin and golden eyes. The undercurrent of the skin was ruby rather than ebony, but the rainbow on the surface was still there.

  “Why us?”

  Sebach cocked her head. “I do not need him, precisely. He has already done his part. You two are to be the parents of my next Avatar. Your mind, my dear, is perfect to house me, but you have already lived a life off world and you are not native to Sebach. Call me provincial, but I prefer to inhabit only those who have been born here.”

  Cierra placed a hand over her belly. “If I am pregnant—”

  “You are.”

  “If I am, this child will not be forced into hosting you. You will leave it alone until it is an adult and then you will ask it, very politely, if you can share space with it. If my child says no, I will move worlds to get you out of his or her skin.” Cierra vibrated with tension.

  To her surprise, Sebach smiled. “Good. I accept your terms. If you have more children, I will be able to ask them all if their elders refuse. Just having the Terrans in the bloodline will give me options to seek my Avatar when I need to. What do you wish in return?”

  Cierra looked at Ahket, but he just shrugged helplessly. “I cannot speak to this matter. My kind have already betrayed the trust of Sebach. You are working for our children and you need to know, what would you want for them?”

  The expanses of empty, blown dirt from their shuttle trip in sprang into her mind.

  “I want my children to grow on a living world. I want life and plants and animals and water. I want a world that is alive, not a sad little dustbowl still throwing a tantrum.” She watched carefully as Sebach took in her words.

  A grin formed. “It will begin immediately. You might want to remain in the city until the storms pass. The animals you will have to trade for on your own. I have some suggestions though. Would you care to join me in the tower?”

  Ahket finally spoke. “The tower is just a mountaintop.”

  Sebach chuckled. “I may not be able to bond to an Admaryn mind, but I have no trouble controlling what they see. Cierra, what did you see when you flew past the mountain range?”

  That she knew their names was not surprising. Cierra answered. “I saw an old and abandoned city covered in the blown dirt of centuries with a huge tower in the centre.”

  Ahket scowled. “You didn’t say anything.”

  She blinked. “I thought you could see it.”

  “There are no cities left on the surface of Sebach.”

  Sebach smiled. “Not that your kind can see. The N’ga-Sebach are easy to fool. I have hidden the shelters from them since Seera decided to leave me.”

  She got it, or she thought she did. Sebach had been left by everyone who mattered to her and her revenge had been to make herself inhospitable. She was punishing the N’ga-Sebach for rejecting her.

  She met the gaze of the world in the woman’s body, and she saw a far more powerful reflection of her own soul. A life in the foster system had left her cold, and if it weren’t for her talent for see
king out what she needed, she would have thrown herself into the arms of the first man who wanted her. That was the position that Seera had been in, and when the man she wanted had rejected her, she had literally ended it all, though her body remained.

  “What happened to Seera’s soul?” The words came out of her mouth without willing it.

  Sebach’s face flickered with pain. “She is in her afterlife. The energy rings that surround the moon contain the dead souls of the N’ga. They spend time with their ancestors and slowly give themselves to the universe.”

  Cierra followed her impulse and got to her feet. Ahket rose behind her. She walked to Sebach and pulled her to her feet, hugging her tightly. She was not surprised when the soul of the lonely world hugged her back.

  They were both crying and laughing uncomfortably when they parted, but Sebach extended her hand to Ahket, and they walked through the green mosses, the lush plants and the burbling water.

  A flat platform of stone rose straight up and took them to where they could feel the air and see daylight.

  “You can stay here for the remainder of your banishment, though I rather suspect that they will come in search of you.”

  The platform halted and Sebach took them on a tour. While the exterior was clogged with dust, the interior was pristine.

  “Why is it so clean?”

  “I have felt you coming for the last twenty-six years. The moment you were born, I felt the surge of connection between us. When you were of age, I began to call you and here you are. All that has gone before was to bring you here, now.”

  Ahket looked at the woman that he obviously respected and feared. “So the line of seers that runs through my bloodline comes from you as well?”

  Sebach smiled and led them to a room with wide windows that let in the light. She waved her hands at the walls. “These were the last of the N’ga and that woman, right there, is your ancestress. Jimeera was wise, strong and loved her mate very much. She only had the one child, and she died bearing it, as did many of the N’ga women. Our two peoples did not join together easily, but I can see that our skin remained strong in the genes.”

  To Cierra’s amusement, Sebach reached up and patted Ahket’s cheek.