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  LEISURE BOOKS

  NEW YORK CITY

  To my soul sister, Roni Lee Chadick Sullivan Russo

  Buzzi for recognizing Falcon's capabilities even

  before I did. May you always have romance in your life.

  LOVE SPELL® February 1997 Published by

  Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc. 276 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10001

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property.

  It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither

  the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

  Copyright © 1992 by Marilyn Campbell

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic

  or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system,

  without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

  The name' 'Love Spell'' and its logo are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Chapter One

  Innerworld, Planet Terra (Earth)

  It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it.—Benjamin Franklin.

  Clang! Governor Romulus's heavy broadsword crashed against Falcon's shield for the hundredth time. At least it felt like the hundredth as Romulus's arms strained and the muscles in his legs burned from the energy required to remain standing, but Falcon gave him no quarter, no chance to catch his breath.

  "Uncle!" Romulus shouted at his tireless opponent.

  Falcon lowered his weapon and angled his head slightly to signify his lack of understanding. Romulus laughed when he realized he had automatically used the Terran expression Aster had taught him. "I mean, I give up before you kill me. Drek, Falcon, what did you have for breakfast this morning?" Rom dropped his sword and shield and peeled off his protective helmet and gloves.

  Falcon pulled off his own headgear and, with a quick shake of his head, his thick mane of gold-streaked hair fell to his shoulders in waves. "You have become soft, my friend. I remember a time when you beat me, and barely took a deep breath. Perhaps being governor has made an old man of you," Falcon quipped in a rare show of humor. "Then again, perhaps having Aster as a mate has more to do with your loss of strength!"

  Romulus laughed again, both at the memory of his first meeting with Falcon and his reference to Aster. Between her and his work, Romulus no longer felt the need to purge the primitive beasts within his civilized mind. As he and Falcon headed for the Arena's refreshing room for showers, he recalled that he had not known during a joust eight months ago that the Black Knight he faced was Falcon, a superb trainer of ancient sports in the Arena as well as a highly skilled tracker.

  A special law enforcer with highly developed extrasensory powers, Falcon rarely used his unique abilities for much more than finding lost items in the peaceful, law-abiding Innerworld culture. But by the time Rom learned the identity of the knight, Falcon had twice exercised his tracker talents for Rom's benefit. The first time was to rescue Aster from another Terran, the criminal, Victor Rodriguez, when he tried using her to force Romulus to return him to his home on Outerworld, as the Noronians called the Earth's surface. The second time, Falcon had journeyed to the United States to find Romulus when he had been abducted by the billionaire industrialist, Gordon Underwood.

  Since his first game with Falcon in which Rom had been the victor, he had achieved his life-long career goal of becoming governor of Innerworld. More important, however, was that he had found his shalla, his soul's mate, and had joined with Aster, in spite of all the obstacles, including the law forbidding mating between their races.

  As he undressed and stepped into the shower, Rom reflected on the circumstances which had brought his people to Earth ten thousand years ago. Volterrin, a dustlike substance, was discovered in abundance in the Earth's core, and the Noronians had settled a mining colony there. The Noronians had considered the native Terrans being humanoid like themselves as an advantage and to protect the colony, it was decided that some Noronians would inhabit Earth's surface and integrate with the primitive Outerworlders. But Terrans were not allowed in Innerworld.

  To travel by ship between the two worlds, the Noronians bored tunnels through Earth's twelve magnetic fields, but as Earth's population grew, accidents occurred. Occasionally, an undetected Terran vessel moved into a tunnel doorway just as it was opening for a Noronian ship, and the Terrans on board were transported into Innerworld. The Noronians considered these Terrans dangerous and inferior, but they could not risk revealing their presence inside the Earth by sending the Terrans back to Outerworld.

  Aster Mackenzie had come to Innerworld that way. Despite her determination to return to her world, the Noronian prejudice against her, and the near certainty that mating with Aster could destroy his political career, Rom had made her a part of him.

  He smiled at that thought as he turned off the water and dried himself off. After dressing, he exited the refreshing room to join Falcon. He studied his friend's face as they walked, and realized that his own poor performance in the game was not entirely his fault.

  "Would you care to talk about whatever is bothering you, Falcon?"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "Something is obviously wrong. You normally have the strength of two men. Today you fought like ten. Besides that, every time Aster and I have seen you lately you've been as nervous as a cat in ... Sorry, no pun intended." Rom was relieved to note Falcon had not been offended by his unconscious reference to Falcon's leonine characteristics. "Aster's worried."

  Falcon smiled and nodded. "You are right, my friend, but it is not a matter easily discussed. I am not sure you could relate to the problem as a human any more than a felan from my home on Emiron could."

  "Is that what this is all about—your mixed blood? Come on, Falcon, you've seen me at my worst. You've been inside my head and Aster's as well. If there's something we can do for you now, we certainly owe you."

  Falcon considered the offer for a moment. Knowing that Romulus's and Aster's minds had been permanently bonded during the formal Joining Ceremony, and remembering how easily she was embarrassed, he suggested, "Perhaps if you could assure me that Aster is not listening, I would not find it so difficult to explain. I would not wish to cause her discomfort."

  "She's busy. She won't notice if I block my thoughts from her mind for a short time."

  "It does concern the fact that I am the offspring of a Noronian male and an Emironian female." He did not elaborate since the circumstances of his conception were still a well-guarded secret among the Emironian felans. "After so many years I thought I had adjusted to being half human and half felan. Now something quite unexpected has begun, and I am struggling between fighting and accepting it." When Romulus simply raised one eyebrow at him, Falcon decided to share his dilemma.

  "I believe my body has entered the human stage of puberty."

  "What?" Rom asked with a cough. "I figured you were about my age, not that fifty-four is so far from adolescence."

  "To be precise, I have attained forty human years, but for a felan that age would signify the end of childhood. Since my physical body was formed almost entirely from my father's genes, I had always assumed my life span would be determined by my human half. Now I am of the belief that if I have only now reached this physical stage, I may live far beyond that."

  "You shouldn't let the possibility of longevity bother you. Many of our people live well over two hundred years."

  It is not that. I will live each day to the fullest, regardless of how many of those days are grante
d to me. What is happening to me now has made me aware of the possibility that there may be more changes in store for me. You see, as I matured on Emiron I never knew which half would control my development. I inherited many of the mental powers associated with the felans, including empathy, but my appearance is much more human, with the exception of my eyes, of course."

  Rom was accustomed to Falcon's unusual catlike eyes, but he automatically recalled how their luminous topaz color and black, marquis-shaped pupils had fascinated Aster. He ignored the familiar twinge of irrational jealousy, and thought back to his first encounter with the Emironians.

  Once during his academy years in Innerworld, Rom had journeyed to Emiron to attend an astrophysical exposition. Although the felans there walked upright, their spines were curved and their extremely thin bodies were covered with a fine down in shades of brown and blond. Their rounded faces, flat noses, and slanted eyes confirmed their relationship, however distant, to the feline family. The males could be easily distinguished from the females by the huge mane of wild hair, which not only covered the male's head but continued down his spine. Rom also remembered how the human women had been intrigued by them.

  Falcon, on the other hand, possessed a totally human, masculine appearance. Besides Falcon's features being humanoid, he stood erect, about six feet tall, and his lean body was solid muscle. The other major difference between him and his felan parent was that, with the exception of Falcon's full head of blond, light brown, and golden hair, and straight brown eyebrows, the rest of his body was almost void of hair.

  Realizing his attention had rudely wandered, Rom gestured to Falcon to continue.

  "I never felt that I belonged on Emiron, but neither did I feel truly comfortable on Norona. There was a restlessness within me that drove me to find a place of compromise. After many years of travel, I settled in Innerworld shortly before I met you. Here I am tolerated and appreciated for my skills. I have been content with my life—until now." Falcon took a deep breath and lowered his eyelids.

  Romulus was confused by the blush that appeared on his friend's cheekbones.

  "I had always assumed I inherited the felan's inability to experience personal emotions, including sexual desire. Suddenly I find myself craving a female, regardless of the species. I walk around in a state of discomfort a good portion of the day. Excuse me, Romulus, but the incredulous expression on your face is making it rather difficult for me to continue in a serious manner."

  "I'm sorry, Falcon. As I recall, the physical state you're describing is most certainly common in adolescence. I don't see that it's such a problem, though. Drek, man. Let me treat you to a night, no, make that a week, at the Indulgence Center. You've got a lot of catching up to do, and I can assure you none of it is painful. Put it on my account. Since I met Aster, I've only been there for my monthly beard removal and hair trim."

  When Falcon continued to frown, Rom thought perhaps the man didn't understand what could be purchased at the center. "Besides the personal grooming services, restaurants, and entertainments, the Indulgence Center here in Car-Tem has one of the most extensive menus of sexual gratifications, not to mention some of the most beautiful and talented pleasure females you'll ever find. And if it's lack of experience that's putting you off, you could even select a responsive android to teach you whatever you don't already know."

  "I fear it is not that simple. I am not ignorant of the physical activity involved in satisfying this need. It is the desire itself that presents the problem. If I give in to desire, a decidedly human emotion, what will be next? Hate? Fear? Anger? How could I cope with such strong feelings when I already absorb those of anyone who comes near me? Surely you remember when Victor Rodriguez tortured Aster and you saw her mutilated body. Your violent fury blocked my ability to perform my job until you controlled yourself. If I open myself to human emotions, will that mean the end of my felan mental powers, or will I be in constant turmoil because of a struggle between the two? I do not wish to decide my fate at all, yet my physical body is making demands I am not prepared to satisfy at the risk of losing a part of myself."

  Romulus could not help but notice that Falcon's speech sounded strongly emotional for one who denied having personal feelings. The man had just said more in the last five minutes than he had spoken since they met. It occurred to Rom that the final choice would not be up to Falcon. He was already changing, prepared or not.

  "Falcon, you are Aster's and my friend, whether you are felan, Noronian, or a blend of the two. Remember, we are always here if you need us." Rom reached out and grasped Falcon's hand, then gave a small chuckle. "Seriously, you never, ever—"

  "Never," Falcon replied with a narrowing of his brows. "I am, what you call, a virgin."

  The emergency message reached Romulus as he and Falcon were leaving the Arena. In less than ten minutes Rom was back in his office concentrating intently on the. details of the disaster that had just occurred. One thousand people dead, a ship destroyed, the tunnel collapsed, all in a split second, with no viable explanation of how or why it had happened. Because the passengers and crew were instantly disintegrated, there was no way Medical could restore any of their lives, as they would be able to do if the victim's bodies were relatively intact. Never since the first Noronian colonists' arrival and the Great Flood's drowning a major portion of Outerworld's civilization had Innerworld known such a tragedy.

  The Innerworld ship had departed through the tunnel on schedule, and the doorway in the Atlantic Ocean opened smoothly. Suddenly outside interference jammed the signal, causing the doorway to close just before the ship soared through.

  Romulus's instincts told him this catastrophe was connected with other recent unexplained events. About a month ago, Outerworld Monitor Control, Innerworld's agency responsible for keeping tabs on everyone and everything on the planet's surface, had reported dozens of odd messages which no one could decipher. They were able to determine that the jumbled letters, numbers, and symbols were originating somewhere in the northwestern quartersphere of the surface. They also knew that only someone in possession of an Innerworld ring would have direct access to their central computer system. The elaborate opal and gold ring, easily recognized by most Innerworlders, was worn only by a select few since it was more than a means of identifying a fellow Noronian. The special ring was a micro-computer that could give a properly trained user the key to vast power.

  Every Innerworld emissary wore one. As agents placed in strategic locations throughout Outerworld, the emissaries assisted OMC by blending into the various cultures, observing, but never interfering with, the normal advancement of Outerworld civilization, unless the future of the planet was threatened. Every emissary could be trusted implicitly, and it had been verified that none of their rings were malfunctioning.

  Until now, Romulus had not been certain that those messages had anything to do with the mysterious disappearance of the pleasure female Delphina. Two weeks ago, following a routine reassignment from the Indulgence Center to the remote Gladly volterrin mining camp, Delphina stepped into the glass transmigrator cell and vanished. The technician testified that he hadn't yet programmed the control panel to send Delphina to her destination, but she definitely transmigrated out of the departure cell.

  Delphina never arrived at Gladly, and no one had uncovered a single due as to her whereabouts. But it was known that someone with an Innerworld ring could have brought her to them. If it could be assumed that this someone was the same person transmitting the messages, then Delphina had been migrated to the source of the interference on Outerworld- The problem of the missing female was made more difficult by her limited intelligence. She would have no way of knowing who or where the nearest emissary was to help get her home.

  Romulus had put off sending any trackers out to search for her, hoping another message would come in that could be traced to a more specific area within the northwestern quartersphere of Outerworld, but the transmissions stopped abruptly following Delphina's disappearance.
<
br />   This day's disaster proved he had waited too long.

  Only one possible explanation remained. A ring was in the hands of a novice, one who had not been trained to use it properly, but was attempting to do so anyway. There was only one ring unaccounted for, Romulus's, and he knew who had it: Gordon Underwood, the unscrupulous man who had abducted Romulus when he and Aster were on their secret mission in California six months ago.

  Because of his background in astrophysics and his diplomatic accomplishments, Romulus had been chosen to contact Doctor Katherine Houston, a scientist at the Palomar Observatory, with a solution to prevent an enormous asteroid from destroying the Earth. Aster, more familiar with Outerworld and its people, had accompanied him. All would have gone well except Dr. Houston's secretary had eavesdropped on their conversation and had relayed to Gordon Underwood the fact that an alien was in California.

  At times Rom was almost grateful to Underwood for kidnapping him. Aster's subsequent show of bravery and loyalty to Innerworld had weighed heavily in the Ruling Tribunal's momentous decision to permit Aster to join with him and be named co-governor of Norona's most valuable colony.

  It had to be assumed that Underwood still possessed the ring he had stolen from Romulus, decided it was not merely jewelry, and was trying to learn its secrets.

  Until the ring and Delphina were found, all transportation using either the transmigrator or the doorways would be limited to emergency use only. Norona would not be happy with the temporary suspension of trade with its mining colony, but Romulus had no choice. He would not risk any further loss of life.

  Rom called to his assistant in the outer office. "Page Falcon in his quarters. Tell him to come immediately. We have another job for him."

  Falcon frowned at the stack of books and files on Outerworld he had brought home following his meeting with Romulus. He was to review them as a supplement to the information he would find in the computer files. Learn only the bare essentials, Rom had said to him, enough to get around in the United States without attracting attention. Fortunately Falcon did not have to learn the language or wear a translator to communicate with the natives.