“And how do you know it is a ‘her’?” Torin teased, amazed at how Bri’aque was obsessed with the fairer sex.

  “Interpreting and searching one’s dreams is not a man’s work. Ruling, killing and protecting is. That is how I know.”

  “No one has ever seen the face of a Dream Walker, nor its sex, for that matter. You truly are a horny beast.” Torin laughed as he and Bri’aque walked briskly to the docking bay, automatically flanked by two guards at the rear and two at the front.

  “Yes, well, there is a lot to be said about hunting the fairer sex. Hunting anything else does not measure up to it’s reward when captured,” Bri’aque answered slyly.

  “That, my friend, is pure truth,” Torin agreed.

  They walked in silence along the short distance to the docking bay. A small white ship hummed quietly while the mouth of it opened. One large guard exited, sniffed, looked around before beckoning its master to come forth.

  “Seems you have hired Preze. I hear it is the best of it’s kind,” Bri’aque murmured, eyeing the small figure, cloaked in what looked like great amounts of black fabric.

  “This is important. Only the best.”

  “For Karia,” Bri’aque stated.

  “I do not follow,” Torin murmured, watching the two figures approach.

  “Only the best for Karia, dear friend. That is what you meant, but have not the guts to say.” With that, Bri’aque stepped forward to introduce his cleverly concealed, perplexed Prince. After the introduction, they immediately led Preze to the Meeting Room. After being seated with polite offers of drink and food, the meeting was officially underway.

  “You have called me here personally, First. I am honored.” Preze spoke in an almost metallic voice, sounding neither male nor female.

  “I understand you are the best.”

  “That is quite a compliment. How may I help you?”

  “First of all, I mean no offense, but I need you to understand you will be held to your word by the Seal of the First Family that whatever is learned in the forthcoming session is strictly divulged to the people in this room. Until given instructions from me and only me, you may not pass this information to the First Order.”

  Bri’aque looked to Torin in surprise. Then a sly grinned appeared and disappeared quickly.

  “I understand, First Son. Again how may I assist you?”

  “I have a young female in my possession. It is unclear whether she is a danger to the general population. There is a question of her guilt in a number of brutal killings, particularly her own people. All people on her ship have been attacked; only she and another female survived. The other earth female is not conscious and, therefore, cannot testify if she was attacked by another entity or the female in question.”

  “If these are her own people, pardon me, but why do you attend to this matter? Her crime has no bearing on the Federated Planets.”

  “She is my responsibility because she is now in my ruling system. If she is capable of such crime against her own people, she is capable of harming mine. I do not want to possibly kill one of the last survivors of this species.”

  “I see. Politically it would be suicide. You are a wise man, First. I can begin as soon as you wish.”

  “Now if not the soonest.” Torin stood and gestured for Knoxly, the flanking guard, outside the door, to enter. “Inform Bela to prepare but do not give the Sleeping Potion to our guest,” Torin ordered coolly though inside he was in shambles.

  This was it. He believed Karia was not guilty, but what if something else damning came up? He could no more harm her than he could a child. He would have to choose his people, his government, his family—or his only true mate, Karia.

  Knoxly accepted the order and told himself that soon he would be the one calling the shots. He would allow for this to go on until he could get a clean shot with a good reason to kill the girl. She was suspected of being a danger. A suspicion strong enough to warrant Preze’s presence. In his book, she was as good as dead, and he was as good as promoted. He would thank Knoxly for alleviating a potentially political fiasco. No one wanted their hands dirty. The First wouldn’t have to with old Knoxly around.

  Torin, Bri’aque, Preze and Bela entered her room. Her heart beat frantically in her chest. Whoever it was cloaked in black gave her the creeps, swathed in black material, the person was covered from head to toe. There was no way to get a look at this person; it made her even more wary. Torin approached the bed, and reached out to caress her cheek. She closed her eyes enjoying his touch, but too quickly it was gone.

  “Is that the Dream Walker?” She looked into Torin’s eyes. He silently nodded affirmation. “Why can’t I see their face? I want to see who’s going to be stomping around inside my head.”

  “It is forbidden to lay eyes on the form of one. They must remain unrecognizable; to see its face would taint all dreams and memories now and for the rest of your days. The old stories say once you have seen the face of a Dream Walker, you will never have a peaceful night’s sleep again. I am sorry but it is impossible to look upon it. Preze will not harm you, you will not even know it is there.”

  “How does this go?”

  She was scared. Torin could hear it in the voice she used to mask it.

  “We will deliver a Dausas implant into the Walker. It will record all it sees from the Walker. We can download the images into our system then view them.”

  “You mean my memories and dreams are recorded?” Karia sounded incredulous. Her father would have killed for a biological specimen such as that. “May I see the Dausas implant?”

  “I do not think it is a good idea. They are rather…unpleasant to look upon. Perhaps when this is over, you can view it while the images are being transferred. We do not want any tainting of your memories. Bela, administer the potion.”

  As Bela gave Karia the sweet tasting mixture, Preze smoothly inserted the Dausas while Karia was distracted and waited while it settled. Quickly Karia began to feel the effects of the potion. Lightly Torin kissed her forehead while she tumbled into a deep sleep. Karia at first found herself immersed in the memory of her and Torin’s lovemaking. An unforeseen will forced her memories back further, and she felt like she was in a tunnel being sucked backward. Images flew, faintly familiar but so quickly, until the scene slowed. She recognized this memory of Torin carrying her. She thought it but a dream. He held her so close…the image flew by.

  Then she was at the image of the cave. She wanted to scream and tell her mind to stop but something controlled and propelled it further back. The fire, she and Brietta were around the cooking fire, this is when the image stopped and events began to unfold, as if she were reliving it, which she was…

  “It has started, old friend. Trust in your instincts.”

  “I know she is not a killer. I just wonder…”

  “If there might be something else, you didn’t know about her, that could be harmful?’’

  “Yes.”

  “Interesting…”Bri’aque looked at Karia, who began to sweat and fidget on the bed.

  They were running as fast as their legs would carry them. Fiohn was getting heavier as consciousness came and went. They would not leave her. Then Brietta called out to the men in warning…

  “She’s suffering!” Torin bit out. “This is not right, we must stop this.”

  “She is not suffering. It is only memories revisited. If we do not do this, your hands are tied and it is an automatic death sentence for those who cannot be trusted. You know the laws better than I.”

  Yes, Torin did know the laws, and up to this point, he enforced them without question. Right now they just seemed cruel. He approached the bed and held her hand. He hoped he could give her comfort thought the Attachment wasn’t complete.

  The boulder was almost in place, when the Gaurans broke from the wooded ahead and fell upon Ramus and Cord. A rock caught her in the head and she felt the blood ooze. Ramus and Cord fought hard, but the Gaurans were too many and too strong. The boulder was almost in place when the memory began to dim, but something stopped it, forcing it to clear and play itself.

  The darkness turned gray and then she saw the memory through a purple haze. She knew she had to get the boulder in place or she and Brietta would be dead. Just a few more pulls and it would be too small an opening for the monsters to get through. She pulled and tugged, and just when she almost had it in place with her new found strength, one of the monsters grabbed her arm and tried to pull her through the opening.

  She pulled back, giving the creature enough leverage to force itself through the opening. It came through, tall and foreboding, but in a crouched position. Another soon squeezed through. Through the haze, her panic doubled, giving her more strength. The first beast went for Brietta, who screamed, and the second beast attacked her.

  She fought hard, taking slashes from its claws as it tried repeatedly to pin and mount her. Brietta screamed and then was silent. Quickly she glanced over and saw the first monster had knocked Brietta unconscious and proceeded to try to mate with her. Rage won over panic. She threw her enemy off of her, rushed in before it could recover and snapped it’s neck. She ran to the beast who had almost completely mounted Brietta and, putting everything she had into the action, forced her clawed hand through its back and pushed its heart out the front.

  She saw more monsters fighting to get to the small opening. That would not do. She dragged the body off of Brietta and began to stuff it in the opening. Quickly the monsters, seemingly cannibals, snatched the body from her hands and immediately began to devour it. She dragged the second one to the opening and again they immediately began to feast.

  She had to close the opening while they were distracted. She tugged, grabbing purchase where she could; she felt her energy draining along with her blood. She was badly injured. Her state of consciousness contributed to her judgment of the boulder being in place, she locked her own fingers between the boulders and howled in pain. Frantically, like a panicked wounded animal, she yanked her finger out and felt something pull out of place. Still she continued, filling the small crevices with whatever she could make fit. She couldn’t let them get in. She stumbled then everything went black…

  “How long does this take?” Irritated, Torin wiped the sweaty forehead of Karia, who mumbled now and then, her whole state of being agitated.

  “As long as it takes,” Bri’aque said quietly, putting his hand on Torin’s shoulder for support. “Whatever is going on is deeply affecting the Dream Walker.”

  Torin looked at the Walker and saw it too was twitching almost cowering. It was reliving her dreams as well.

  “I would not wish for that calling.” Torin commented gravely.

  She was brought out of the blackness periodically only to see the darkness of the cave. They deserted the idea of her and Brietta. Would they be back? She tried to listen for the sound of breathing, Fiohn’s or Brietta’s, but could hear nothing over her own erratic heartbeat.

  She felt like she was dying. Her body knew it and was trying desperately to stop it. Then she saw a golden gaze, it wasn’t clear, she could barely focus. Soon she was being carried in strong arms. It had been many days since she felt the presence of someone else and this person brought her comfort.

  “Look she’s settling,” Bri’aque announced to Torin, whose head was down almost in prayer as he held Karia’s hand. His head jerked up. True enough. It seemed the worst was over. A quick glance at the Dream Walker confirmed it. It too was relaxed.

  It was time to bring the Earth woman back to consciousness. It closed off the dream sequence and ordered the Dausas to stop recording. Just as it was about to bring the female to consciousness, the Dream Walker was sucked into an image of a liquid world. The sound in its world, muffled. It knew nothing but the warmth and safety of its immediate existence. The Dream Walker, in shock, recognized the signature of the creature and with haste pulled the woman out of the dream state.

  “There she is.” Torin hovered over Karia as she opened her eyes. His tone almost childlike and filled with relief.

  “I don’t remember anything,” she said in puzzlement, feeling the last of the effects of the potion.

  “In time, they will surface. All at once, the memories could cause you harm. The Dream Walker has set it so the memories come slow.”

  “I feel so…drained.” Karia tried to sit up.

  “You should rest. Dream questing takes a lot out of a Scyrillian; I can only imagine the effects it would have on a fragile creature such as yourself.”

  “You mean primitive,” Karia said sarcastically.

  “Well, she seems to be in fine form.” Bri’aque piped in. Karia rolled her eyes at him.

  “First, I must hold counsel with you immediately,” the metallic voice of Preze interrupted.

  “Have you disengaged the Dausas?”

  Torin, through years of training knew how to appear calm and in control. But at the mention of those words, his heart flipped. Did the Walker find something wrong with Karia. Did her father do more to her than even he and Karia could have guessed?

  “I have the disgusting little bugger.” Bri’aque could barely hold the distaste at such a creature.

  “You said you’d let me see it,” Karia reminded Torin.

  Hesitating at first, he nodded for Bri’aque to show Karia the thing that had been implanted in her.

  Karia was not prepared for the disgusting squirming creature she beheld. It looked as if a fly and silverfish had mated. Bela was right, it had lots of eyes and legs. It was tiny, barely larger than a penny but no less disgusting. And she had had the honor of having one. Gross. Bri’aque, tortured soul that he was thoroughly, enjoyed her state of being. He turned on his heel with a smirk and left the room.

  “Get some rest, I will return soon,” Torin clipped. He didn’t wait for her answer, he had to find out what the Dream Walker wanted.

  Knoxly stood guard outside the door of the chamber but he heard every word. The Dream Walker was agitated. It could only mean one thing. It had found something truly disgusting about the human. There wasn’t a chance in all of Scyrillis he was letting the opportunity slip by. If he took the human out now, it would show he had initiative. He had what it took to be part of the elite guard for the First Family. It would mean more coin. He stood straight as the First in Command left the room followed by the First Son and the Dream Walker. Two guards flanked behind the couple. That left him and Baer.

  “Stay here.” he ordered the dimwitted soldier.

  “You’re going to kill her now?” Baer asked almost too loudly.

  “Keep your voice down. Yes, if anyone comes, whistle.” With that, Knoxly entered the room of the human. The perimeter guard had negligently been left down, that would certainly aid him. He approached the bed. It was true the small human was attractive, but she was also his way to a better command post. He sat his weapon by the foot of the bed and pulled the sharp dagger from his boot. His sick mind intent on the kill.

  “Please speak freely,” Torin ordered the Dream Walker, successfully keeping the impatience out of his voice. Preze bowed slightly before it sat at the Meeting Table.

  “As I was pulling the woman from the Dream State, I was pulled into another,” Preze announced.

  “How is that possible? You are a Dream Walker, you control the Dream State.”

  “I can control the dream state of persons aware or having been aware at one point of the difference between reality, dreams and memories. This understanding is what allows me to control it. It is through the boundaries that I can manipulate and therefore control. So if a creature knows no such bounds, it can be quite powerful when connecting with a mind with power such as mine. The dream state becomes a playground to it. There is nothing to restrain it.”

  “What kind of creature would have this sort of power and what has this to do with Karia?”

  Torin sensed the Walker was smiling under all that material. “It is not a state of emergency. The power this creature has does not last long. Soon it is taught the difference between things of this nature.”

  “What has this to do with Karia, and what creature do you speak of?” Torin let his impatience loose. He was confused and worried. He had no time for riddles.

  “The unborn,” Preze stated.

  “I do not understand you.” Torin shook his head and began to pace erratically around the Meeting Room.

  “Karia is with the child of the First Son. I recognize your dream signature. Families all carry the same dream signature.” Preze stood. “Bri’aque has the Dausas, and my job here is done. As agreed, nothing goes outside of these walls. I wish you well on your upcoming Attachment.” The bodyguard for Preze appeared at its side and escorted its master to the docking bay, leaving Torin with his mouth open.

  Karia felt a sense of foreboding as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. A long shadow fell across her face. Her eyes flew open in greeting, but she did not recognize the face that stared down at her, knife poised ready to strike. Instinctually, she rolled to the other side of the bed. The knife barely missed her, but lopped off a chunk of her curly hair. She screamed in surprise as she hit the floor with a thud. The man leaped across the bed after her, and the world went hazy and purple.

  Baer saw the First coming toward the room moments too late to warn his friend. In a panic, he fled. Torin immediately ordered his guard to follow the retreating guard, his heart in his throat as he wondered about Karia. He had forgotten to reactivate the field. He left her open to attack.

  He rushed into the room in time to see a bloody Knoxly fire his weapon at an enraged Karia. The blast hit her, though he couldn’t see where; she screamed in a high pitch wail reminiscent of a Gauran but not quite, in a futile attempt she tried to tear open his throat but fell short of it as her brain registered the wound.

 

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