WOLF DAWN: Science Fiction Thriller/ Romance (Forsaken Worlds) Read online

  — Admiral Neopol Jones, personal records

  It was dark, completely dark, and the three wolves were hunting. Senses fully alert, Long Fang, Seeta and Teella remained silent and well hidden while they waited and watched.

  This was not unexpected. When seeking a kill, stealth, patience and concealment were principal aspects of the hunt. What was different was that they were stalking men this night. When stalking men it was even more important to wait and watch.

  The clouds were low lying, hiding the stars. It was well before dawn. There was no hurry. The wolves looked down from the thin timberland above the basin below. The darkness was complete, but the wolves saw almost as well in the black of night as in full daylight. Systematically searching, Ash’s wolf family had looked for him for months.

  “The cub was here.”

  “His scent is old.”

  It was time. In instinctive accord the wolves moved out of the trees and down into the camp.

  Long Fang stopped at the rusty speeder and lifted his leg, urinating on it. It was a display of contempt.

  “The men are here.”

  “Yes.” A thick ferocious hate swelled with that one word.

  The strong, unpleasant acrid smell of Ein and Del irritated the nose of each wolf: cigarette smoke, alcohol, urine and unwashed body stench. The wolves knew the scent of each man. They had learned these scents as only a wolf can learn them. This knowledge had been seared into their senses the day Ash had been taken. After Ash disappeared, they sought those unique scents and tonight they had found them.

  The men were here.

  The men were asleep in the makeshift hut. The wolves skirted the building and, picking up the scent of their lost family member, they went to the cave. The cave was open, its metal bars pulled back. Long Fang stayed on watch while Seeta and Teella explored inside, traversing back and forth, noses to the ground.

  Seeta snarled and her ears lay back with rage as she recognized the smell of her cub’s blood. She knew he had been wounded many times in this dark, unpleasant den. Long Fang and Teella echoed her fury with low growls of their own. In silent agreement they left the cave, traversing the rest of the mine area.

  The cub had not walked from this place. There was no trail to follow.

  They stopped outside the open window of the hut.

  “I will kill these men,” Seeta said with cold fury as the snarling, raging demon within her swelled. She was a mother who had lost her cub. Her cub had been taken by these men! She would jump through the open window and tear open the jugular of each man. It was her right. Then she would eat them: She would eat those that would dare to harm her cub. Her muscles bunched.

  Stiff-legged, his ruff in a slight bristle, Long Fang pushed in front of his mate. He stood with the dominant stance of pack leader, yet his lip did not curl, nor did he show his teeth. He said, “It is dangerous to kill men. Other men will hunt us.”

  The force of Seeta’s rage was terrible, but with Long Fang’s assertion she stilled.

  “The cub lives,” he said.

  She considered this and knew it to be true. “Yes. He lives.”

  “The cub will return. We will wait at the den,” Long Fang said.

  Seeta hesitated; the need to kill was strong in her. It was a fiery rage inside of her. She was torn by conflicting impulses. She wanted to tear, to rend, to kill. Yet Long Fang was pack leader and mate. She wanted to submit to his dominance, to obey. Teeth bared, she glared at the hut, her yellow eyes glowing with malignant menace. Long moments passed while she struggled for mastery of the hate and impotent rage that burned inside.

  The three wolves stood close to each other, their combined warmth radiating unseen steamy tendrils of warmth into the cold, dark night. Inside the hut, someone coughed, shifted and mumbled a swear word. The wolves tensed, instantly prepared to move.

  The man settled and became silent. Muted heartbeats and breathing were all that could be heard. The wolves’ muscles loosened, tension eased.

  Seeta relented. “Yes. The cub will return to the den.”

  In agreement, the wolves slipped away, like dark shadows into the night, on their journey homeward.

  Lindha lay spent, languid and asleep in his arms, mental contact broken. Ash smiled, satisfied. He had exhausted her. He grinned. She had exhausted him, too. He glanced at Lindha, still surprised at the hard, impulsive bite he had given her between neck and shoulder. Well. While he had left distinctive teeth marks, at least he hadn’t drawn blood. Relaxed and replete, he gave in to his fatigue. That had been a wild ride. Who would have thought that they could contact the animals together like that? The connection was so natural. Mind-touch with the animals was one of his greatest pleasures. He was glad to have shared it with Lindha. Cuddled up against her, he slept.

  Time passed unhurriedly in the afternoon sun. It wasn’t long, however, before Ash was wide awake, his mind busy, his passions cooled. No longer did he need to resist the temptation for love as Lindha was there whenever he needed her. As a result sex, while still an insistent driving need, no longer seemed so essential. He was happy just to be with her. When Ash was with her he was at peace.

  When she started to wake he said, “Lindha?”

  “Humm?”

  “Did you like mind-touch with the animals?”

  “Are you kidding? It was the best! I want to mind-touch every kind of animal on Opan. Could we?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good,” she said. “Oh, and I particularly want us to mind-touch them when they are mating.”

  Ash laughed and hugged her. Then he looked at her suspiciously, and frowned. “You’re not serious, are you?”

  She smiled, and there was mischief in her eyes. “Maybe.”

  They both laughed.

  He said, “Did you know that the Damithst jewel reacted when Dorian touched it?”

  Lindha stretched and sat up. “What?” She slipped out of her shirt and bra as they were half off anyway. It was warm out and they were both comfortably naked.

  “The Damithst. It lit up when Dorian touched it.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “If he was a girl, he would have become a Sister of Jana.”

  “Yes.”

  They both thought about that for a while.

  “Maybe my people had the ability to mind-touch due to the proximity of Damithst on Delian. Maybe mind-touch is obtainable for everyone.”

  Lindha frowned, turning it over in her mind. “That could be.”

  “I’ve been thinking. I want Dorian and his brother to be trained as Brothers of Jana — if they are willing, of course. I want a separate order to be established. Dorian and Anton will be the first members. The stone must react to Anton too, of course.

  Lindha said, “That is a good plan, Trueborn. What other skills should they have?”

  Ash shrugged. “Let Dorian decide for now. I trust his judgment. He is a natural survivor.” Dorian was innovative, determined, ruthless, resourceful and courageous. Ash remembered the force of his mind and the strength of his personality when he had touched him all those years ago.

  “And another thing; over the next few months have two Temple Sisters genuinely befriend those twins. Find ones that are as young as possible, but kind and experienced, skilled in sexual mind-touch. This is a sensitive duty, Lindha. It is important to find the right women. Let them have traits and interests comparable to each boy; they must be told of the twins’ history and must want to help them. They should seduce Dorian and Anton as soon as possible.”

  “But Ash, they are thirteen! You realize of course that what you propose would be quite illegal, such underage sex.”

  “Yes, the boys are too young, but they already have carnal knowledge. Their mental and emotional growth will be stunted without this interference. Besides, they are almost fourteen.”

  “Fourteen!”

  “Lindha, they need people that they can trust and mind-touch to heal. When I say let them have sex I don’t mean right n
ow. There will be a time that is right. They should be so lucky! I would have loved it if you had mind-touched me when I was fourteen and you were eighteen. Think of how different my life would have been.”

  Lindha tilted her head, studying him. “Everything that has happened to you has made you who you are, Ash. I fell in love with the person you are now. I wouldn’t have loved you when you were a child of fourteen.”

  Ash looked at her and asserted with complete confidence, “You would have loved me. I would have made you love me.” He smiled a crooked smile.

  Lindha reacted instantly with a loud snort of laughter. It was an inelegant sort of snort, not at all ladylike.

  Ash looked at her, momentarily startled, his eyes wide with surprise. He had never heard such a noise from her. She attacked quickly, an obvious attempt to get him to ignore the graceless sound, “You are so arrogant.”

  He pointed at her and said, “You snorted. The Prefect snorted!” he shouted, as if informing the world of such an event. He laughed out loud.

  “Prefects never snort,” Lindha said, her chin high with hauteur, but she began to giggle. She and Ash soon were rolling together and holding their stomachs like a couple of silly children. The entire incident was so ridiculous that when one of them started to settle from laughing, they would look at the other and something in their expression would start laughing again. This went on for some time until both had tears rolling down their faces and sore stomachs.

  When they finally settled, Ash said, “Anyway, perhaps the twins will be fifteen before the time is right, perhaps older. Some people do have sex at fifteen, you know.”

  “Yes,” Lindha agreed. “Young people do experiment with people of the same age. For a young man to be seduced by an older woman, especially for the first time, creates too great a power inequity. Trust me, Ash, there is something inherently wrong with the concept.”

  Diverted, Ash’s mouth lifted in another crooked smile. “You’re an older woman.”

  “I am four years older, and you should listen to me, as I am four years wiser.”

  Ash pulled her down and kissed her, running his hands through her hair, stroking her face, the column of her neck, her collarbone. He loved her collarbone. He said, “I want to be seduced by an older woman.”

  They both became distracted then. He began to kiss and caress her with keen interest, his movements slow.

  Lindha rolled on top of Ash, taking control. She gave him a haughty look. “Watch and learn, youngster. As an older woman I’m going to teach you everything you need to know. Now pay attention.” She began to move down his body, enjoying his reaction as he responded to her touch.

  They returned to the subject much later, but the argument continued. They sat beside each other in the blue and violet meadow. The horses had wandered some distance, but they would come when called.

  “Ash, about Dorian and Anton, I can ensure that at least one Sister will befriend each of those boys. Why does it have to be sex?”

  “They need mind-touch. Who knows what irrational decisions they have hidden? They both suffer the Dark Sankomin. I was a mess and you know it, and that all began from one event. I became self-destructive, inhibiting my powers. The boys were sexual toys for months. I can’t even imagine what they did to survive, how they learned to live with themselves. This will spiral, Lindha as you well know. They are thirteen. Sexual need comes with adolescence and with that comes guilt and additional awareness of what was done to them. And, more importantly, what choices they made and what they did because of it. They will feel bad, unclean and immoral, just as I did.”

  Her brows furrowed. “The boys are not Delian — they won’t be victimized by the same uncontrollable passions that your people were subjected to. It follows that they won’t suffer with the Dark Sankomin to the degree that a Delian would. Perhaps they will be able to manage it.”

  “Lindha,” he said persuasively, “I know what it is like to have that sexual burden at such a young age. It will tarnish their whole world.”

  “So why don’t you mind-touch them?”

  Ash lay back and placed both hands behind his head, looking up into a light green sky. A few pink clouds were moving, some darker. It might rain later. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe. I’d have to seek their permission. They have trust issues with men. I don’t want to make things worse.” He sighed. “Let the Sisters see what can be done. If necessary I’ll try.” He reached out, took one of her hands, kissed her palm and then released it.

  She pulled her hand back and clasped both in front of her. Composed and formal, she said, “So, just to be sure of your command, Trueborn: You want me to tell the sisters to become friends and then seduce them as soon as possible, mind-touching them to heal them?”

  Ash’s eyebrows drew down in a frown. “You make it sound so bad.” He studied her curiously, weighing her words. Other than the rare hint of a blush, Lindha always had her countenance under control. Tranquil and self possessed, Ash had never seen her lose her temper or show unseemly reactions as Prefect. She could be herself with him, when she was simply Lindha. But her position as Prefect required a different persona. Possibly no one, except perhaps Jeeha could tell when the Temple Prefect was tense and upset. Ash could always see the difference between the person she projected and the person she was.

  Ash knew that he had upset her.

  He breathed in deeply, and then sighed. “I guess that’s because it is bad. All right, you win. Give the boys companions, genuine companions, and leave it at that. We will also leave mind-touch through sex out of the equation while they are young. Perhaps the Dark Sankomin can be managed through counseling and communication with people they trust. I’ll be happy if they just connect with someone. If things get out of hand I’ll get their permission and try to mind-touch them myself. Are you happy now?”

  Lindha gave him a wide grin and a little bounce of joy. “Yes. I’ll find just the right Sisters, I swear it. They will care of those boys and befriend them. This is an easy task, Trueborn.”

  “Good. You worry too much.”

  She snuggled back down beside him, and smiled at his embrace.

  Ash stroked Lindha’s back, his face smiled against her as he smelled her hair. Dorian would not be fooled. No matter how sensitive and careful the Sisters were, Dorian would know that Ash was behind the befriending.

  He was too quick, that boy.

  The warm weight of the King’s Mirror pressed against his arm and Ash frowned, remembering. There was one area in which he was still deeply troubled. That disturbing dream he had had last night. Perhaps it was a sign. He was happy and at peace here with Lindha and perhaps he shouldn’t be. His father and his people had been killed. He needed to avenge them. He had withheld the vision from Lindha, waiting until he had worked out the meaning for himself. Ash clenched his teeth and mentally swore. How he hated the man.

  He stiffened and shifted, disturbing Lindha from her languorous reverie.

  “What is it, Ash?”

  “Nothing. I’ve just been thinking.”

  “And what is it that gives such dark thoughts?”

  “Lindha,” he said. “I know now what I must do. I made a vow almost five years ago and the Goddess has not let me forget it. Last night I had a dream. I was traveling in search and there I saw a man.” He hesitated, recalling the dream. “I killed that man — with my bare hands.”

  “Was it Forseth?”

  “Yes. I know now the purpose of the Trueborn. I must kill that man.”

  Lindha looked away. “I can’t advise against your purpose; as you are well aware, it would break my vows. If it is your wish to seek this man, to end his life, then it is the duty of the Prefect and our Temple to help you achieve this goal.”

  Ash turned to her, aware that he had upset her again. He gripped her hands tightly. “Think of the parables, Lindha. ‘For everything, there is a season; a time to live, a time to die.’ You know this. Sometimes killing is the right thing to do.”

 
; “But, Ash,” Lindha pleaded, coming dangerously close to breaking her vows. “How do you know that the vision was from Jana? Perhaps it was Taro in your dreams. Remember the Testimonials: ‘Hate crushes the power. In blindness thou shall see a world of enemies, eyes cast toward revenge, not gentle truth.’”

  “No,” Ash said. “That doesn’t apply. He himself has wrought the evil, yet he still lives. It is for the Trueborn, the last of my people, to kill him.”

  She looked unconvinced.

  “Lindha. Trust me,” his voice was low with determined menace. “I intend to find and kill that son of Taro and return to you.”

  “Certainly, Trueborn,” she affirmed, the Prefect once more. “When did you want to leave?”

  “The sooner I’m gone, the sooner I will return.”

  She bit her lower lip, something Ash had never seen her do. “Don’t worry, Lindha. That Taro spawn has Chinter’s Chance against me. You know that, don’t you?”

  “He was a Freeworlds policeman, a dangerous man. They have extensive combat training, Ash.”

  “So what! I’ve fought an enormous maddened boar with a little knife.”

  She gave him a smile at that.

  “When I come back we can retrieve the Testimonials from Assurance. I’ll also find my wolf family once this task is done. Wherever they are, they will be worried about me. There is much to do, my love.” He stood up, pulling her to her feet. “Do you know,” he said, “that I’ll be eighteen in four months time? I’ll be back by then and old enough to legally wed.” He drew Lindha to him and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “There is just enough time. Everything will work out perfectly.”

  All uncertainty was over.

  They dressed and mounted their horses, riding back to the Temple. Ash was astounded with the amount of credit, gold and jewels he was provided, just in case they were needed. He was further amazed to discover that there were Sisters of Jana on every Freeworld, all pledged to serve him. He must have hundreds and thousands of people, all at his command. The thought made him feel invulnerable.