Chapter 16

Charlie groaned softly from the upholstered chair where he sat. He had pulled the large chair up to her bed. Once she had fallen asleep, he realized that he couldn't trust himself to sleep next to her without taking 'advantage' of her. So he had tucked the blankets around her securely before leaving the bed. He was glad now that he had. If not, he would have been asleep next to her instead of in the chair. And he knew himself well enough that if he had the dream merge with her in his arms, he wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation of making their 'dreams' a reality.

He could hear her raspy moans of pleasure. What the hell was he doing to her in her dreams, he wondered as his shaft hardened even further in response to her moans. Dammit, how was he supposed to resist this? He wanted nothing more than to go to her and make love to her. He didn't understand why the mezclar had occurred between them but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to go away until they were bound together. He clenched his teeth at the thought of being tied to Kat for a week. To have her anytime that he wanted her for a whole week!

"Charlie, please!"

He froze. His heart surged painfully in his chest. Digging his fingers into the upholstered arms of the chair, he tried to calm himself.

"Yes!" she moaned as she thrashed around on the bed.

"Son of a bitch!" He surged out of the chair and strode quickly from the room. He had to get away or else!

After the slow going of the Areserican desert, Gracie was glad that the zephti were finally walking on the softer but smoother surface of roads and they made better time. She sighed in relief when she saw a tiny village ahead. She could smell the water of the small stream that skirted the village before it headed towards Kartic.

It was almost dust when they reached the village. She surprised to find the entire village empty. She noticed that there were zephti in the corral behind a tiny stable; but there were no caretakers working in the corral, and she saw no children running around as was the norm. She slipped off her zephti and wandered over to the stable while Rand and Philip checked the main house. When the zephti in the coral started lipping her clothing, she noticed that there was no food or water in their troughs. They whinnied pitifully as she hurried towards the stables in search of food for them. In the cradle of one arm, her daughter cooed softly. She smiled down at her absently as she tugged on the heavy stable door. She frowned as she realized it was stuck.

"This is the time that I wished I had your Daddy's muscles," she told her daughter dryly. "But then again, brain power beats brawn any day." She let her magic rise to the surface. She let the spell flow through her. The stable door groaned before it finally opened. She moved quickly through the dark doorway.

Gracie, what do you think you are doing? Rand's voice scolded her.

These animals are staving, Rand. I'm going to give them some food.

Be careful. he warned. I'll be there shortly.

Yes, Dear she teased. She whispered an illumination spell as she walked deeper into the stable. She gasped when she tripped over a prone body. She brightened the illumination spell.

"Randall!" she screamed, this time not bothering to use their mental path.

Jason fidgeted in his seat. He had gotten use to wide-open fields. It seemed as if the tight confines of the spacecraft were closing in around him. Finally he reached for his seat belt and released himself. He used the zero gravity to float towards the front of the cabin. The uniformed man that had picked him up looked up from the magazine that he had been reading.

"Is everything all right, Mr. Littlebird?" he asked as he closed the magazine.

"Cabin fever," Jason said tightly. "I'm not used to being in such closed spaces."

"We'll be landing shortly but you can take a few minutes to move about."

Jason nodded before floating across the cabin and staring out the window. They had been orbiting Venus for the past hour. He could see glimpses of her red ground through the protective shield that surrounded her. Excitement warred with dread. As the pilot announced they had been cleared for landing, his dread grew. He had been told that Stephan Dean was planning on meeting him at the landing site. And Stephan knew him from the years when he had trained Charles. Maybe Stephan's memory wouldn't be as sharp as his own. But he doubted it.

Finally he floated back to his seat and sat down - buckled back into his seat and waited impatiently. Only time would tell.

Stephan waited patiently at the Kartic landing site. He hadn't told anyone other than Arianna that Kat's grandfather was arriving today. The palace was crazy with all the preparations for the Renewal Festival combined with combating the chicken pox outbreak. Arianna and Kat spent most of their time at the clinic. In fact the seamstresses had been a bit put out when they had to go to the clinic to do the final fitting for her festival robes. The festival couldn't come soon enough. He knew that he was as anxious as Charlie to have the festival over. The mezclar was not being very kind to either of them.

"Flight 342 from Earth has just landed and will be arriving through Gate 23."

"Finally," he sighed as he headed towards the designated gate. The pilot and his attendant were the first to come through the gate.

Aric waited impatiently for his contact to meet him. Standing at the bar at the pub where they were supposed to meet, his thoughts drifted back to his new wife. He had finally met the woman that was his match. She had surprised him with her deal. He had thought that he had her firmly in the palm of his hand; but he didn't love this woman and he wasn't completely sure that he trusted her. Something just wasn't adding up. He just couldn't place his finger on it. He turned with his back to the bar and watched the entrance. His contact should be arriving soon. He would deal with Philip first -- and then his disturbing new wife.

Philip hurried after Rand. They had both heard Gracie scream. Something was not right. As they rushed towards the corral, he tucked the baby that he carried snugly against his chest. Rand reached the stables first. He barged inside.

"Gracie, where are you?" he asked harshly as he searched the area wildly.

"I'm over here." Her voice was faint and seemed to be off to the right. Philip followed behind the prince and ran into the prince's back when he suddenly stopped.