GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) Page 5

  "Yes, I am," the five answered in unison.

  "And do you welcome this initiation?"

  "Yes, I do," they replied.

  Honorbound nodded her head and they all knelt. She walked up to the first young man in the line and pressed the medallion to his forehead. "To what do you owe your total allegiance?"

  "The honor and glory of Illusia," he responded firmly.

  "To whom do you grant the power over your life and death?"

  "The possessor of the medallion may take my life if I ever dishonor our people."

  "Do you swear to destroy all enemies of Illusia?"

  "I do."

  "And who are your enemies?"

  The young man's face twisted into a savage snarl as he roared his answer. "All Noronians and their allies!"

  She repeated the oath-taking with the other four then turned to her council. "You have witnessed their vows of loyalty. Now witness their bravery and strength. Let the battles begin."

  The young people rose and all but the first moved to the edge of the room. The Princess's second in command stood and strode to the novitiate. He was taller, heavier and had the advantage of experience, but the younger man reflected the utmost confidence in his own abilities.

  The servant woman brought forward a tray bearing two short-bladed knives and waited until each man had taken up a weapon. The moment she backed away, the experienced warrior and the young hopeful began circling each other.

  Honorbound stated the rules of the skirmish. "This is for blood only. Death is not acceptable. The fight ceases when the novitiate receives a scarring cut, the badge of his courage. However, I remind you that the longer it takes for the council member to deliver that blow, the greater the honor for the new warrior." She returned to her place then clapped her hands once. "To blood."

  The young man did not disappoint the observers as he demonstrated considerable agility to counter the smallness of his frame. He did not manage to mark the commander but he avoided being sliced for an impressive length of time.

  By the time the first novitiate received his cut, Josep's blood was singing in his veins. He was tempted to change his mind and take on one of the others after all but another hot look from the girl made him decide to conserve his energy.

  A different council member battled each of the young warriors and every one of them could be proud of his or her show of bravery. After all their wounds were bound in such a way to insure attractive scars, the Princess pronounced the end of the first part of the ceremony.

  The council briefly rehashed the skirmishes and declared that the two novitiates who had fought the most valiantly and the longest were the second young man and the maiden who had been eyeing Josep. They would be rewarded with the highest honor of all—having their virginities taken by the Princess and her chief advisor. The others were partnered by rank and ability in a like manner. In preparation, the stone table was cleared of debris and covered with a white cloth.

  Josep completely abandoned his veneer of civility as the Princess and the new warrior removed their wraps. From opposite sides, they crawled onto the makeshift stage, growling, clawing and biting each other like animals. Josep soon found himself urging the young man to greatness as loudly as the others. In practically no time at all, the Princess's bellow of pleasure proclaimed the boy to be a man in every way, even before she removed his white headband.

  Josep's own performance some minutes later earned so many cheers from his audience that he could hardly wait for the formal ceremony to end and the open celebration to begin. For that night at least, he was once again one of the infamous barbarian warriors of Illusia.

  * * *

  "You're blocking something from me," Aster accused Rom as they finished breakfast. "I feel it as strongly as this baby's kicks. Whatever it is, I'm going to find out sooner or later, so you may as well get it over with."

  Rom tried not to appear as guilty as he felt but she saw through that also. "I just didn't want to upset you. It's nothing serious."

  "Then tell me."

  With a sigh, Rom ran his fingers through his hair. "Cherry won't be having lunch with you today either."

  Aster narrowed her brows at her mate. "Yesterday, you told me she couldn't keep our lunch date because she was tied up. What's today's excuse?"

  "I didn't say tied up. I said detained, and that still goes for today."

  "Tied up, detained, whatever. It sounds like we're back to variations of the truth game." The Noronian code of honesty forbade anyone from lying outright but evasiveness was occasionally employed to avoid the whole truth. "Your daughter and I are both getting upset. I want to know what you're hiding."

  Rom shook his head in resignation. Actually, he had managed to keep it from her longer than he'd expected, hoping the whole time that Cherry would be back before Aster knew she was gone. It was probably best to get the facts out as simply and quickly as possible. "Cherry witnessed an assassination the night before last and has been temporarily removed from Innerworld for her own protection."

  Aster blinked at him. "I beg your pardon? I believe I am still Co-Governor of this colony and, as such, assassinations and Terrans being removed from Innerworld would normally be brought to my attention."

  "Well, yes," Rom said with a decidedly sheepish expression. "Normally that's true, but under the circumstances..." He looked at her swollen abdomen and hoped that would be sufficient explanation for his duplicity. Her annoyed frown told her he'd have to give details.

  "The other day, I introduced you to an old friend of mine from the academy, Gallant Voyager."

  Aster could not have easily forgotten the dangerous-looking man with the odd name. "Yes, you said you hadn't seen each other for a while and I left you alone to catch up on old times. What did I miss?"

  "He was here as part of a highly confidential mission. The only information he would give me was that he was currently in the employ of the Consociation of Planets and that the future of the entire civilized universe could be at stake."

  "You said there was an assassination. Did he—"

  "No. He didn't do it, though he is authorized and has been known to use lethal force on occasion."

  "Please, Rom, just get to the point. How could there have been an assassination and no one in Innerworld is talking about it?"

  "Gallant was on the trail of a man who had come here as a visitor. The assassin was on the same trail. The man was incinerated in Fantasy World, right in front of Cherry. Gallant was there also, in the guise of an actor, but he was unable to prevent the murder. He convinced everyone that it was a part of the enactment, so that no one would panic. That was why you didn't hear anything about it."

  Aster was not at all satisfied with that explanation but Cherry's situation had to be discussed first. "So, what happened to Cherry?"

  Rom shrugged. "Unfortunately, the message I received from Gallant was very vague—only that she was under his protective custody and that he would return her as soon as it was safe. The one thing I want to know is how he got Cherry out of here without anyone being the wiser. Security has not been able to explain that, but they're still investigating the matter... discreetly, of course."

  "I don't like any of this, Romulus."

  He knew just how upset she was by the way she used his full name and he sought to reassure her. "There's really nothing to worry about. If Gallant says he's protecting Cherry, you can be certain no harm will come to her. His less-than-sterling reputation is mostly hearsay." In spite of his words, he sincerely hoped Aster never got wind of some of that hearsay.

  She did not care for the sound of that one bit. "Mostly? Even if he's only half as wicked as he looks, Cherry could be in serious trouble."

  Rom raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Our Cherry? More than likely, Gallant's the one in trouble by now."

  Aster thought about it for a moment then decided he might be right. There hadn't been a man born that Cherry couldn't twist around her little finger in no time. Surely Gallant Voyager wasn't
that different from the other men Cherry had encountered. But then she recalled her first impression of him—the devil in black leather—and she started worrying all over again.

  Chapter 4

  "You are in serious trouble, pal!" Cherry marched onto the bridge with her fists planted on her hips and an accusing glare in her eyes. She noted how Dot spun away, leaving Mar to witness her anger, but her attention was captured by an incredible sight beyond the bridge.

  A giant tortoise suddenly appeared in space, withdrew its head and feet into its shell then vanished. "What the hell was that?"

  After taking a moment to adjust his eye patch, Gallant turned toward her and cocked his head. "Is there a problem?"

  "What was that?" she demanded again.

  "What?"

  She pointed at the spot where she had seen the tortoise. "There was a... a... tortoise and then, poof, there wasn't."

  He raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief. "A tortoise? Out there?" He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly back and forth. "Mar, did you see a tortoise?"

  "No, Captain. Perhaps Cherry is coming down with space sickness. It is known to cause hallucinations in some species. I don't believe we have any antidote pills on board either."

  Cherry didn't know anything about space sickness but she clearly had hallucinated since there was nothing out there now and no one else had seen what she had. Regardless, she couldn't think about that now. Remembering how furious she had been when she awoke, she took the few steps needed to get into his air space and stared down at him. "How dare you do this to me? How dare you pretend to be friendly yesterday when you had this planned all the while!"

  "It must be the sickness," Gallant said with another concerned head shake. "I don't understand anything you're saying this morning." He moved to rise but she instantly pressed the palm of her right hand against his chest.

  "Oh, no you don't. I have no intention of looking up at you while I'm trying to put you down."

  He tried to resist the pressure of her hand but it was as if he were nailed to the chair. "A robotic arm?"

  Cherry eased back a fraction of an inch. "Yes. I don't usually rely on it but in your case, it looks like I need every advantage I can come up with." She didn't mention the fact that, at the moment, the arm was acting most peculiarly. If it had been her left arm, which was real, she would have thought it had fallen asleep the way it was tingling.

  He looked down at the soft hand rapidly spreading heat through his chest then let his gaze slide up her arm, over her breasts and finally to her eyes. "Any other artificial parts I should know about?"

  Cherry might have been pleased that he finally seemed to notice she was a woman, if she hadn't recognized it as another ploy to distract her. "Don't be a smartass. And stop trying to change the subject."

  Gallant attempted to look innocent but he couldn't resist testing her temper. "I didn't realize we even had a subject yet."

  "Was my bunk comfortable enough?" Mar asked, abruptly splintering the tension on the bridge.

  Cherry looked at the he-she without lifting her hand from Gallant. "Yes, it was quite comfortable. Thank you for letting me use it." When Mar-Dot had awakened last evening, the captain had retired to his room, leaving Cherry to seek her rest in a different place than she had before. "In fact, it was so comfortable, the clock in your room says I slept almost ten hours.

  "If my calculation is correct, that means it has been over twenty-four hours since you said we were one day away from Earth. Now, I'm no expert but there is nothing out there that bears any resemblance to my home, and I don't think that's the way it should be." She watched the captain's mouth twist into a frown.

  Suddenly a light blinked on in Cherry's head and she glanced at the screen in front of Mar-Dot. The blue dot was still following the red sparkles at a distance. "You son-of-a-bitch," she muttered, applying more pressure to his chest in spite of the strange sensation touching him was causing. "We're still tracking that beast aren't we? You never had any intention of turning this ship around, did you?"

  His eyes widened with the awareness that she was capable of collapsing one of his lungs with almost no effort at all, while his body was responding to her touch as if it were a tender caress. Careful not to make any sudden moves, he said, "I had no choice. My mission—"

  "Your mission be damned. You outright lied to me. And since that is a major no-no for a Noronian, that means you're not a Noronian, are you?"

  "I have no idea."

  Dot swiveled toward them. "Captain, if I may make a suggestion. Some explanations on your part might go a long way to relieve Cherry's mind... as well as your discomfort."

  Gallant smirked at her then frowned at the dainty hand that hid so much strength. Nothing was going the way he had expected on this mission. Recalling his plan to use Cherry to lure Frezlo out of hiding, he realized he would have to do some fast, believable talking. He wondered if she had any sympathies he could tap into.

  Not certain what tidbit Mar-Dot might feel tempted to add to his story, he said, "All right. I'll tell you everything. But let's go to my room so we don't disturb Mar-Dot."

  Cherry could see by Dot's crestfallen expression that she did not want to be left out of this discussion but she simply pursed her lips and turned away.

  "Fine," Cherry said and moved away from Gallant.

  He took a gulp of air into his lungs as he rose and led the way.

  The moment the door closed behind her, Cherry said, "Okay, shoot."

  Gallant still thought that was a very odd expression but he decided he'd better get started testing her sympathetic nature. "I suppose I could begin with my background. I don't know if I'm a Noronian by birth but I was raised on Norona. I was abandoned as a baby and adopted by a good man and woman. The only thing that was left with me was a note requesting that I be named Gallant Voyager. I possess certain characteristics that are not precisely Noronian, so there is a question of my genetic origins. However, I usually abide by the Noronian codes of behavior I was taught."

  "Except when it's not convenient," Cherry added in a sarcastic tone. "If you think I'm going to feel sorry for you because you don't know who your real parents are, you've made a tactical error. You see, I was raised by my biological parents, and always wished I had been orphaned at birth. I figured any foster home had to be better than the one I was in. So forget the poor Gallant angle and try for a truthful explanation of why I'm not back in Innerworld by now."

  Gallant realized his plan had backfired. Rather than instill sympathy in her, she stirred it in him. Once again damning the volatile emotions he was forced to live with, he quashed the urge to ask her more about her childhood and sat down on his bunk. Immediately he realized there was nowhere for her to sit but right next to him, which was altogether too close for his comfort. Berating himself for not taking her into the larger, less intimate facility chamber instead, he did what any civilized adult would do. He shifted to the foot of the bunk and waved her toward the other end. "Sit. Please. This will take some time and I don't like looking up while I'm talking any more than you do."

  Cherry lowered herself but her crossed arms and stern expression warned him to make his explanation a very convincing one. It was time for the truth... at least enough of it to assure her cooperation. Now he would see if she bore any loyalty to Norona.

  "Please understand, the mission I am on is so sensitive, I didn't even reveal details of it to Governor Romulus. He was not personally involved, however, and you are. I see now that you should have been informed of the situation right from the beginning. You must swear that what I am about to tell you will remain confidential. Millions of lives could be at stake."

  Cherry clucked her tongue. "You know, you almost had me before that last line. Don't you think millions of lives is a bit much?"

  Gallant sighed. "I realize you have reason not to trust me but I swear by the Noronian code of honesty I was raised with, everything I'm about to tell you is the truth."

  "Okay, I prom
ise whatever secrets you reveal will stay inside my head." She proceeded to get into a more comfortable listening position by folding her legs Indian-style on the bunk. "Aster and Rom saved millions of lives ten years ago when an asteroid was heading toward Earth. Is this something like that?"

  "I'm afraid it's not that simple. For you to understand, I'll have to go back in history about four hundred years. Within the same solar system as Norona is the planet Illusia. At that time, the Illusians were a barbaric warrior race, kept isolated from the other planets by their own lack of development. It isn't known positively but it is assumed that a spaceship from a more sophisticated civilization landed or crashed there and, suddenly, the Illusians gained the ability to leave their home planet and make war on one of their neighbors.

  "When the first planet was devastated, they moved on. Wherever they went destruction and violence followed. Ultimate power was their only goal. They cared nothing for the people they conquered other than how they could most effectively be used to entertain the Illusian warriors. There are wild animals more civilized than they were."

  Cherry wondered at the vehemence of Gallant's speech. He had started out in a matter-of-fact tone but it quickly altered as he began listing the atrocities accredited to the Illusians. There was no question he was being truthful and that the truth infuriated him.

  The horrendous cruelties he went on to describe made Cherry's stomach queasy but she didn't interrupt him until he paused on his own. "But how was it that such primitive people could so easily overcome more sophisticated nations?"

  He took a slow breath as he brought his obvious disgust back under control. "The Illusians have the uncanny ability to create perfectly realistic illusions, complete with three-dimensional visuals and accompanying sound. It was the only mental ability they were known to have but no other talents were needed. Basically, their victims were either fooled or terrified into submission because of images they saw and believed to be real. The Illusians were able to make a conquering army of one hundred appear to be one million strong. They didn't have to actually possess weapons of massive destruction, they only had to make the people think they saw such weapons being aimed at them then demand their surrender."