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Feeling the low light surrounding him to be for effect, Ruket twitched slightly, as if startled. The Messerian watching him squelched a burst of satisfaction. Like a tiny seed waiting to sprout, Cat’s presence in his mind expanded. Together, they delicately probed Eadakn.
“Where am I? Why have you brought me here?”
“Lights increase.” The deeper yellow with a hint of red mimicked that of Messeria. If Ruket hadn’t known Eadakn to be from that world, the color would have been a good clue.
“I have questions for you.” The crest peeked just above hair more gray than dark brown. Still, the male looked as trim as any Messerian Ruket had ever seen. The colors of the feathers were as vibrant as those of Maden Vaallaant. And a certain slant of eyes, facial bones, and chin bore a resemblance to that of the elder Vaallaant, Maden’s father.
“Questions?” Ruket put a slight waver in his voice. He was an elderly professor; it would be in character.
“I’m Eadakn, the owner of the game you’ve been looking for. I want to know why you and your cohorts have been trying to find me.”
There are many references to Unda. You seek information on her from this form. Cat’s whispered thought made it hard to keep from smiling.
If Eadakn only knew. If you probe, I’ll keep him busy. We need to know where she came from.
“Nothing bad, I assure you.” Ruket smiled to add credence to his claim. “You once employed a hacker; Unda I believe she called herself then.”
There is no mention of her home world. But I do sense something else. Talk of atta fruit. Unda knew several ways to prepare it. That is only found on a planet in the Audubon system, Nuthatch. Ah, and she knew a good way to open olla nuts without crushing the meat inside. The female you seek had specialized knowledge. I would search for her on Nuthatch.
“May the Selvian goddess of luck be with you. I tried to find the female after she ran off and couldn’t. Why? What do you want with her?” Eadakn’s shift in his stance looked much like Maden when in protector mode over Dahteste.
The kin bond between the two stood out. This male had made a huge error in trying to overthrow the elder Vaallaant. Nor would he get anywhere with Maden. A small twitch in Eadakn’s psyche proved informative. He had plants which he must care for today with water he acquired from Messeria regularly. The male knew he couldn’t go back and had made his peace with it.
He had delayed long enough. “She has something of great value which belongs to another.”
“The female isn’t a thief. One of the best hackers I ever employed, but she wouldn’t steal from her employer.”
Ruket sighed inwardly.
He’s in love with her. As is your other companion, the Natt/Notalt one, Cat observed.
Ruket didn’t ask how she had traced his thoughts back to Natt. Her powers were many and varied. So much so that she had joined the Life Foundation for protection if she were found out. CoDee had joined the Mercenary Union for the same reason, protection for his partner. Cat was unique and her life form had never been seen before by Ruket or anyone he knew.
“No one is labeling her a thief. The thing she has was given to her to protect. Unda has done an admirable job of hiding. The danger is past and the individual who gave her the charge would like to let her know all is well.”
The Messerian laughed and his crest vanished back into the silvery strands of hair. “You can’t find her. She’s burrowed in somewhere and done it so well, you’ve no idea where to look. Whoever this is, they hired her away from me.” His belly laughs echoed around the room. “I’d say that was just. I didn’t let her go. She vanished on me as she has with your form.”
You are not in danger. He will return you to the place he found you. He is sorry he forced her to leave by his actions. This form wished to bind her to him for life as his mate. Unda didn’t feel the same. The Messerian has many regrets. Farewell, Ruket. I will leave you now. Remember what I said about Nuthatch. Cat’s presence left his mind.
Ruket hissed out a breath. Eadakn must have assumed he was anxious over his fate.
The form paced the room a few times before turning back to Ruket. “I’m not going to hurt you, old one. My people will take you back to the Winner’s Circle where we found you. I will assume you can get to your friends from there. I can’t help you. Seek me no more. Any further moves toward me on your part will be met with violence. Do you understand?”
A Gossican male strode into the room. “Sir, we have government troops headed our way. As per instructions, we are ready to move out. What shall we do with this one?”
“We can’t leave him. Fuck. If he’s injured or killed, they will blame us, giving them a reason to use any force against us necessary. Grab him. Load him into the transport and let’s get the hell out of here. I sent a message to Keem that we might need to hide for a while. He should be expecting us.”
Cat! Return, please. Something has happened.
Only a few seconds passed before he got a response.
I am here.
Stay with me, please. I sense this may all go bad.
With Cat a solid presence in his mind, Ruket could almost feel her tail curl around his arm. At least someone knew, even if she sat lightyears away, the Warrior Saint only knew where. But Cat would make sure he got out of this somehow.
