Sweep of the Blade

Maud knocked on the door separating Arland's quarters from the passageway leading to her rooms. Yesterday she would have hesitated. Today she didn't even pause.

The door swung open. Arland stood on the other side, barefoot and out of armor, wearing a black shirt over loose black pants. His hair was damp, and he'd pulled it back into a loose ponytail. He must've just stepped out of the shower. The afternoon had turned into evening, and the light of the sunset tinted the room behind him with purple, red, and deep turquoise.

His gaze snagged on her. She was wearing a white robe of fonari spider silk, its fabric so thin and light, she barely felt it. The wide sleeves fell over her arms like a cloud. She'd cinched the robe at the waist with the belt, but it was cut so wide that the voluminous skirt swept the ground behind her, the gossamer silk swirling at the slightest breeze. When the light caught it just right, it shimmered, nearly translucent.

The robe was a Christmas gift from Dina. Her sister had handed her the gift, smiled, and walked away, giving Maud her privacy. Maud had opened the gilded box and stared. At the time it seemed like an unbelievable luxury. On Karhari it would have paid for a year of water for her and Helen.

She'd touched the robe, feeling the delicate fabric, and it stirred something inside her, something gentle and fragile she had hidden deep within her soul to survive, the part of her that loved beautiful clothes, and flowers, and long soaks in the bath. Something she'd thought she lost forever that first night on Karhari, when she cut off her hair and sat alone on the floor among the dark locks and cried. Now, that part came awake and it hurt, and she'd cried again from pain and relief. She wished so much she'd had her hair now.

Arland opened his mouth.

Nothing came out. He just looked at her. An exhilarating flash of female satisfaction surged through her.

Silence stretched.

"Arland?"

He closed his mouth and opened it again. "How is Helen?"

"Very tired. We washed all of the blood off and she fell asleep."

"Understandable. She was fighting for her life." His voice trailed off.

"Arland?"

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?"

He blinked and stepped aside. "Apparently, I lost my manners somewhere on the hunt. My deepest apologies."

She swept past him into the room.

He shut the door and turned to her. "Have you sustained any inju-"

She put her arms around his neck and stood on her toes. Her lips met his, and he held very still.

Does he not want me?

Arland's arms closed around her. He spun her, and her back pressed into the door. His rough fingers slid along her cheek, caressing her skin. She looked into his blue eyes and caught her breath. His eyes were hot with lust, need, and hunger, all swirled together and sharpened with a hint of predatory anticipation.

His lips trembled in the beginning of a growl. He smiled wide, showing his fangs, and lowered his mouth to hers. Her instincts screamed in panic, not sure if she was mate or prey, but she had waited so long for this and she met him halfway. They came together like two clashing blades. His mouth sealed on hers and she opened for him, desperate to connect, to feel him, to taste... His tongue glided over hers. He tasted of mint and warm spice. His fangs rasped against her lip. Her head swam. She felt light, and strong, and wanted...

He kissed her deeper, his big body bracing hers. She nipped his lip. A snarl rumbled deep in his throat, the sound a predatory warning, or maybe a purr, she wasn't sure. He kissed the corner of her mouth, her lips, her chin, her neck, painting a line of heat and desire on her skin. She was shaking with need now.

"I've wanted this for so long," he groaned.

"So have I."

"Why now?"

He was kissing her neck again, each touch of his lips a burst of pleasure. She could barely think, but she answered anyway. "We almost died today. I can't wait any longer. I don't want to be careful, I don't want to think about the consequences or things going wrong. I just want you. I want you more than anything."

"You have me."

"Always?"

"Always," he promised.

***

Maud stretched, sliding her foot along the heated length of Arland's leg. He pulled her tighter to his body. Her head rested on his chest.

"What were they? The creatures."

"The closest thing to Mukama in my generation. On the vampire home world, there were predatory apes, like us, but not quite us. A distant relative, less intelligent, more feral, more vicious."

"Primitive?"

"Yes. The Mukona, the creatures that attacked us, are the Mukama's primeval cousins. They are to the Mukama what feral apes are to us. An earlier evolutionary branch that didn't grow. Daesyn is the birth place of the Mukama, after all. The Mukona possess rudimentary intelligence, more of a predatory cunning, really, and inhabit caves deep below the planet's surface. When we took over the planet, we had hunted them to extinction, or so we thought. Apparently we were mistaken."

"There were three of them," Maud said. "A mated pair and an offspring?"

"I don't know. Possibly. I'd never seen one before today. I'd heard stories." He made a low growl. "Once this damn wedding is over, we'll have to send survey drones into the caverns. Find out how many of them there are, and if any are left, we'll have to take measures to preserve them."

She raised her head and looked at him.

He smiled at her. "Today we are legends. We killed a Mukona, the next thing to the Mukama, the ancient enemy, the devourers of children, the cosmic butchers who almost exterminated us. Once the word gets out, every House will be beating on our door for a chance to hunt one. They really are magnificent beasts. We have to protect their future and manage their numbers. I have no idea what brought them to the surface for this hunt, but whatever it was ensured its place in history. Oh well, at least something good will come out of this wedding."

"It was Helen," Maud said.

He frowned.

"When I was a little girl, a Mukama came to stay at our inn."

Arland jerked upright in the bed. "A living Mukama?"

"Well yes, it wasn't a dead one that somebody brought with them. No, he was very much alive and wanted a room. They are out there somewhere, Arland. Think about it. They were an interstellar civilization with an armada of ships. You didn't really think you got them all, did you?"

"Yes, I kind of did. What happened?"

Maud sighed. "I was very young, so I only remember bits and pieces. My brother told me most of it. He is older than me by three years and he saw the whole thing. He had nightmares for years after. The inn had lain dormant for a long time and my parents had just recently become its innkeepers. They were not in a position to turn down guests, and when the Mukama came, he was brimming with magic. The inn desperately needed sustenance and giving him a room would go a long way to restore the inn's strength."

"I understand," he said. "That's why your sister agreed to host our peace summit after everyone else turned us down."

Maud nodded. "My parents offered him quarters with a separate exit, completely away from all the other guests, on the condition that he refrain from harming anyone. Supposedly, I had walked into the garden at this point. I was maybe five. I should remember it, but I don't. All I recall is a monster chasing me through the garden. And then there were teeth. Really scary teeth."

She slid deeper under the blanket. Arland lowered himself back down next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I was running for my life and then my father stepped onto the path in front of me. His robe was black, and his eyes and his broom were glowing with blue light. I ran behind him and kept running, and then there was this awful roar. My parents had restrained the Mukama. It had taken all of their combined power and everything the inn had. When my father demanded to know why he shouldn't just kill the Mukama now, the creature told him that it couldn't help itself. That I was full of magic and he would do anything to devour me. He offered them a fortune. He told them they could always make more children, but it was vital that he be allowed to eat me."

Arland swore.

"He raved about it. My father was worried that they wouldn't be able to contain him, and he appealed to the Innkeeper Assembly. They sent the ad-hal and the ad-hal took him away. That's why the Mukama are barred from inns." "Why didn't you ever tell me? Why didn't anyone tell us?"

Maud sighed. "I didn't tell you because I had forgotten it. I've had nightmares about it every night on this planet, but I must have repressed it. It was just too scary. All of my energy was spent either tending to your wounds or trying to not throw myself at you."

His eyebrows crept up.

"As to why nobody told the Holy Anocracy, the vampires are just one of the thousands of species who come through Earth's inns. We maintain our neutrality and we keep the secrets of our guests."

Maud frowned. "What is it about the children? The Mukama and their relatives seem uncontrollably drawn to them. Three creatures who had survived on a vampire world all this time burst out of hiding just to eat my daughter. Why now?" "I don't know," Arland said. "But we will find out."

They lay together in a comfortable silence. Maud basked in it. Warm and safe and...

"Tell me something. When I was running to you, I could have sworn the Mukona froze in mid-move. Was it you?"

She groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

Arland peeled the blankets back. "That's not an answer."

"It was me."

"How?"

"I don't know."

He pinned her with his stare. "It reminded me of Tony. The ad-hal Tony. When he walked into the battle at your sister's inn and froze the attacking Draziri."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you have to be so observant?"

"A lifetime of training and a few moments of fear," Arland said. "When you see the woman you love and your daughter about to be eaten alive, it sharpens your senses a bit. Why do you have the magic of an ad-hal?"

"I wish I could tell you. I've never done that before. Nobody knows how the ad-hal are made or trained. When a child is chosen to become an ad-hal, and the family consents, they are taken away for a while. Sometimes a few months, sometimes a year. The older you are, the longer the training takes. They don't talk about it, even with their families. Sometimes they come back, like Tony, sometimes they choose not to."

"Are the ad-hal highly prized? Are they rare?"

"Yes," she said.

His expression hardened.

"Are you formulating a battle plan in case the ad-hal show up here and try to take me or Helen away?" she asked.

"They will not take you away. You are the Maven of House Krahr. Nobody comes to take you away. They would have to kill the entirety of our House. You said it yourself, their numbers are few. Should they try, there would be a lot fewer of them."

She gave a mock shudder. "So bloodthirsty."

He flashed his fangs at her.

"It doesn't work like that," she explained. "Becoming an ad-hal is strictly voluntary. If I go back to Earth and demonstrate my new time freezing ability, assuming I can do it, because I don't know how I did it and I've been trying to do it again with no success, the Innkeeper Assembly may want to ask me some questions. But I am not an innkeeper. They have no authority over me unless I break the treaty. But I like the way you think, my lord." Arland kissed her shoulder. "That's excellent news."

The kissing made it difficult to carry on a conversation. "Mhm. So when did you know your mother made me the Maven?"

"She informed me after the fact." He nuzzled her neck. "Do you like being the Maven?"

"I'm thinking about it. What are you doing?"

"Since my wounds don't need tending, I am seeing if I can get you to throw yourself at me." "Already?"

"A knight always rises to the occasion, my lady."

***

The three of them were eating breakfast on her barren balcony. She and Arland sat at the table, enjoying mint tea and a platter of meats, cheeses and fruit, while Helen had taken her plate and sat cross-legged on the stone wall, contemplating the dizzying drop below. Every time she shifted her weight, Maud had to fight the urge to leap into action and pull her back from the edge.

"The child is completely fearless," Arland said quietly.

"Karhari was flat," Maud said. "I'm not sure if she understands the danger or is just ignoring it."

Arland raised his voice. "Helen, do not fall."

"I won't."

Arland glanced back at Maud.

Well, of course, that fixes everything. She hid a smile and drank her mint tea.

"I have a gift for you." Arland pushed a small tablet across the table.

On the tablet, a slightly worse for wear but still impressive vessel appeared on the screen. It was patched, repaired and obviously scarred but the battle-damaged nature of the ship seemed to make it even more imposing. It was like an aging fighter, battered but unbowed.

"The Star Arrow? Renouard's ship?"

Arland nodded. "The pirate."

"What about it?"

"Would you like him killed?"

She blinked.

"He insulted you. You seem to dislike him, so I sent a frigate to track him down. We've been watching him for the past half-cycle, and we have more than enough firepower to reduce him and his ship to cosmic dust."

"Let me see if I understand correctly. You didn't like the way a pirate and slave trader spoke to me, so you sent a frigate to track him down and murder him and his crew at my convenience?"

"You seemed to really dislike him."

She stared at him for a long moment and then began counting on her fingers. "Fuel cost, hazard pay, an entire crew sent into deep space..."

"The man is a menace, and the galaxy would be better off without him."

She squinted at him. "Are you jealous of Renouard?"

"Not anymore. You are here with me and he is somewhere in the Malpin Quadrant, about to impersonate a supernova." Arland sipped his tea.

She laughed. "Would you like me to tell you about him?"

"If you wish."

"We met at a Road Lodge, a year and a half ago. He is a smuggler, occasional slave trader, and pirate of opportunity. I don't know which House he was in, but I do know that he was born out of wedlock and it caused an issue. Depending on who you asked, he was either cast out or he left of his own free will, but he has been a pirate for the last two decades. I ran into him again after Melizard died. I was desperate to get off the planet, and he offered me passage."

"At what price?"

Maud shook her head. "Human, vampire, doesn't matter. You want to know if I slept with him." It was rather adorable that it was bugging him that much.

"I would never presume to ask." Arland's face was very carefully neutral. If he appeared any more disinterested, he would fade into the stone wall.

"I never had sex with Renouard. He hinted at first, then he offered me passage for it, but even if I had found him attractive, which I didn't, I never trusted him. He is the type to screw you until he's bored, and then sell you to the highest bidder to make a quick credit. Even if I had been by myself, I wouldn't have taken him up on it. I was responsible for Helen. I wasn't about to take any chances. Shooting him now serves no purpose."

"It might be entertaining to watch him explode." Arland smiled wide, showing her his splendid fangs.

Maud rolled her eyes. "Keep him. He's not stupid. He's been a pirate for twenty years; he's a survivor. He knows a lot of creatures. He's also vain and he hates the Holy Anocracy, which makes him predictable. He may prove a valuable resource. Alternatively, you can storm his ship, put him in chains, have him dragged here and hidden in some dark hole, and when you're suffering from an attack of melancholy, you could go and poke him with a stick. It would cheer you right up." "I don't do melancholy." Arland sat up straighter. "I am the Lord Marshal of House Krahr. I have no time to mope."

Maud shrugged. "There is your answer then."

Arland took the tablet back and typed something in a very deliberate fashion.

"I recalled the frigate. The man is a scumbag but blowing him to pieces after this conversation would be unseemly. I have to avoid the appearance of pettiness."

"What happens the next time somebody is mean to me? Will you scramble the fleet again?"

"I'll handle it. I just won't tell you about it until it's done."

She laughed. "Do you feel I need assistance defending my honor?"

Arland leaned back and glanced into her quarters.

"What are you doing?" Maud asked.

"Checking to see where your sword is before I answer."

She leaned back in her chair and laughed again. She couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun at breakfast. You could have this every day, a small voice told her. Just like this, the three of them, together, making jokes about pirate hunting and watching to see if they needed to rescue Helen.

Arland stopped chewing halfway through his smoked meat. "Do you want plants? Make a list. I'll have them delivered before sunset."

"Do you think I could get some plants for this balcony?"

"Thank you. It needs some flowers," she said.

"You don't need to even ask. Anything you want is yours, if it is within my power to grant. Besides, as Maven, you have a discretionary spending account and the authority to use it as you wish."

Maud toyed with her spoon. "I don't even know what to get..."

"Can I have a kitty?" Helen asked.

The two of them turned to her.

"If Mommy gets flowers, can I have a kitty?"

Arland looked abashed. "We don't really have kitties. Would you settle for a rassa puppy or a goren puppy?"

Helen checked her harbinger. "Yes!"

"Then we'll go to the kennels when we finish breakfast. If your mother approves."

Smart man. "I approve," Maud said.

Their harbingers chimed at the same time. Maud read the short, one-sentence message, and her stomach tried to crawl sideways.

The happy couple want to wed on the battle station.

-Karat.