GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) (5 page)

"So he's a loner and dedicated to his career." Shara couldn't find fault with that.

Ferrine nodded. "He's not shy or introverted. He just doesn't go out of his way to encourage relationships. Of course, the way he looks, he's never had to encourage
female
relationships anyway. Women tend to overlook his lack of interest and readjust their schedules to suit him. As far as I can tell, the only thing he gets excited about is his work. Personally, I can't imagine making love to a man whose mind is off in another time or place but I guess there's no accounting for taste." She noted the slight flush on Shara's cheekbones and added, "You really confused him today."

Shara's eyebrows lifted a notch. "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't know what happened when he went to see you but he came back and asked me what I thought he should do to make himself more acceptable to you. Knowing Gabriel, I assumed he meant in a working sense, not personally."

"Uh, yes, he intends to work with me on a project," Shara said, trying not to care that he might not be as sure of himself as he had appeared.

"And again, knowing Gabriel, he probably forgot certain amenities like saying hello or excuse me, or introducing himself."

"Well..."

"Believe me, I know," Ferrine said with a laugh. "But I'm used to him. Truly, he's not inconsiderate. It's just that his mind is sometimes miles ahead of his mouth. When he's not distracted by a project, he's quite pleasant and actually fun to be around. He really seemed anxious to get along with you."

Shara gave a noncommittal shrug, realizing she had been hoping for some negative information and wound up talking to the professor's one-woman support team instead.

"Listen," Ferrine said, leaning closer and lowering her voice. "He wouldn't want me to tell you this but it's not as much of a secret as he likes to believe, and it might help you to give him a little more leeway, as far as his behavior is concerned."

Shara tilted her head expectantly. A secret about the professor could be just what she needed.

"He was born in Parson's Colony."

That simple sentence told Shara more than enough to fill her with panic. She thanked Ferrine for her time and returned to her lab, but her mind was occupied with thoughts of the experiment that had taken place at Parson's.

Although it was not widely publicized, as a geneticist she had studied the few details recorded. Six couples with exceptionally developed mental abilities had formed a group family in which no one spoke aloud. All communication was by thought and all minds were always open to the others, the theory being that together they would form a dynamic mental union.

Most Noronians were trained to communicate mentally by pressing two fingers to another's temple and concentrating. Despite having a Terran mother, Shara had been born with a few exceptional mental abilities. Though she couldn't discern another's thoughts without making physical contact, she could send specific thoughts or simple instructions, usually without the receiver being aware of it.

She had several other extraordinary skills besides that, but only her immediate family knew about them. The curious attention she drew by being a mixed-breed was bad enough. She didn't want her special skills being talked about as well.

However, those abilities could be useless against someone from Parson's. The professor could have the power to manipulate her to do whatever he wanted. Although she had no problem blocking an average intrusion, such as her brother had occasionally attempted, she had no way of knowing if her mind was strong enough to hold off a more talented trespasser. She would just have to keep her guard up around the professor at all times.

Her reasons for making sure he did not accompany her had now doubled. But she thought it would be best to let him think she was being cooperative while staying a step ahead of him.

The next morning she arrived in the dining room precisely at 0800 prepared to pretend she was open-minded. By 0900 she headed to her lab, more annoyed with the self-centered boor than before. He had not shown up, nor canceled their appointment.

Her morning took another downward turn when she received notice that a highly skilled research assistant had chosen to work in another department rather than accept her more generous offer. This had happened before, during the years she ran the genetics research lab in Innerworld, but only once did the prospective employee let it be known that Shara's questionable breeding had affected his decision. After that, she always wondered about the true reasons when she lost a qualified employee or when a choice assignment was passed on to a geneticist on Norona.

Three hours later, Gabriel finally appeared in the lab. This time he stood quietly beside her until she looked up at him.

The explicitly graphic directions she had intended to deliver if she ever saw him again slipped away. It was impossible to curse at an angel. The way the light caught in his blond curls even gave the impression of a halo. She decided to let him have the first word, because she fully intended to have the last.

Rather than speak, he handed her a brown leather pouch. Shara glanced suspiciously at the small bag then back at him.

"It's for you," he said, loosening the drawstring at the top of the pouch.

Turning the bag upside down, Shara shook the contents onto her worktable. A gray, crescent-shaped stone about two inches long fell out with a thud. "You're giving me a rock?"

Gabriel frowned and shook his head at her. "That's not a rock. That's the foreclaw of an Umerian trenchrat." When she still looked skeptical, he explained. "In ancient times on Norona, if one person offended another, it was customary for the one to offer the other a gift that held sentimental meaning for the giver."

"Let me get this straight. This... thing... has sentimental value to you?"

"Very much so! It saved my life. I was on the planet Umer when I accidentally met the gaze of one of the amazons there. It isn't that I didn't know better, mind you, but she caught me by surprise. Before I could blink, she had me half entranced. Let me tell you, if that trenchrat hadn't attacked me right then, I might never have escaped. I killed the beast but this claw broke off in my back. I've had it for years."

Shara wondered if he could be making up the story. The thing still looked like a rock to her. But Ferrine
had
said his journeys took him to distant places on a regular basis, so his tale could be true. And she had heard of the hypnotic powers of certain Umerian females. Just as she had heard that some men went there hoping to be forced into their exotic brand of captivity.

"I could show you the scar," Gabriel said seriously. "I never had it repaired."

She tensed at the thought of his removing his shirt for her to inspect his back. "No. That's not necessary. I was just thinking about your story. I've never been anywhere but Innerworld and Norona."

"Then you are probably in need of this adventure you're planning. Oh, I almost forgot. I apologize for missing our appointment this morning. I'm afraid I started translating an ancient Terran scroll last night and failed to note the time until a half hour ago."

"You mean you haven't been to sleep yet?" Shara asked, remembering what Ferrine had said about his forgetfulness. More than likely, it was Ferrine's suggestion that he apologize.

"No. I'll catch up with it later. I always do. Since I missed our breakfast appointment, would it be possible to have our discussion over lunch?" Rather than attempting to sway her with the boyish grin and dimple ploy, his expression remained sincere.

She preferred not to have the discussion at all but she reminded herself that it would behoove her to play along. "That would be satisfactory." After putting the claw and pouch into her desk drawer, she gave her computer instructions to run a program while she was gone.

Neither spoke until they had ordered a meal then Gabriel got right to the point. "As I understand it, you have a time-travel device in your possession and substantiating evidence to justify its use. Do you have a good case?"

"Excellent." Shara had already decided to fill him in on the situation. It would not be that difficult for him to find out on his own anyway and she wanted him to believe she was accepting him.

Meanwhile, she stayed alert for any attempt on his part to touch her mind.

He paid close attention as she told of Lantana's insistence that she go back in time to prevent one rebel from being sent to Terra. By the time their meal arrived, he knew as much as she did about the reason for the trip.

"And what about the device? It won't matter what you intend to do if you can't operate it."

Her study of the tempometer was still a secret but she didn't dare lie. "I think I'll be able to manage. Once approval comes through of course."

"Of course." Gabriel couldn't prove she was withholding something but the irises of her eyes had changed color twice since they sat down. They started out a soft brown-green hazel, but turned bright emerald green as she talked about Lantana's appearance and her plan to go back in time. Then, just as suddenly, when he asked about the time device, they darkened to a dull shade of olive.

Not for the first time, Gabriel thanked the heavens that he had not inherited the emotionally reactive irises common to so many Noronians. Of course, without that trait, the Code of Honesty would be difficult to enforce. But he had never seen a pair of eyes in which the changes were as drastic as Shara's.

He decided it was time to terminate the preliminaries and state his objective. "I understand why you want to make the trip, and it makes sense that you should be the geneticist to go. But, as I told you yesterday, I believe a historian should participate in the venture and that I should be that historian."

"I've given that some thought, Professor, and—"

"Gabriel. The title is an honor but not necessary."

Not necessary for him perhaps, Shara thought, but she preferred to keep familiarities to a minimum. "As I was saying, I have come to the conclusion that a historian would be a logical addition to the team. Since history is out of my area of expertise, I would leave it to the Tribunal to select the individual best qualified."

His eyes narrowed at her implication that it would not necessarily be him. "And I'm telling you, there is no one more qualified than I. The moment I heard the rumor, my mind was made up that I would be part of this. The research would be invaluable to my text. But now, after hearing exactly what you plan to do, I realize there is more at stake here than my work."

With his elbows on the table and his hands clenched in fists, he leaned closer and spoke in a deceptively soft voice. "I will do everything in my power to make sure I'm right beside you all the way, Shara Locke. You think you're going to go back in time, alter an event that occurred twelve thousand years ago, and everything will be just wonderful when you return. Well, I don't believe that's possible. In fact, I don't believe it should be permitted. I won't stop you from going, because I want to make the trip myself and you seem to have my ticket. But I'll be
drekked
before I let you do anything that might affect history as we know it."

Shara was so stunned by his pronouncement, it took a moment for her anger to flare. "Since you were so thoughtful as to give me fair warning,
Professor,
I'll give you one right back. I'm going to do everything in
my
power to make sure you do not get to accompany me. But if you still manage it, you had better stay out of my way. I will do whatever needs to be done to save this planet. And if that means altering history, so be it."

Shara stood up to walk away from the table but before she took three steps, Gabriel blocked her path. When she tried to go around him, he grasped her upper arms and held her in place. She tipped her head back to give him the full effect of her yellow-flecked glare and met a fury that matched her own.

"Some people might be intimidated by your tough act, Shara. You
are
a big girl." He moved closer and stared down his nose at her. "But I'm bigger." Stepping back again, he released her. "Let me give you another warning. Know your enemy before you threaten him."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Shara," Romulus said, his hazel eyes revealing that he truly did sympathize. "There's nothing more we can do. The Ruling Tribunal has made its decision. They are united in the belief that it is too dangerous to tamper with time."

When Romulus had asked her to come to his office, Shara's heart had started to pound with excitement. She had been so sure the news would be good. She appreciated his difficult position. As Governor, he had to abide by the Tribunal's edicts. As her father, he always wanted to give her everything she wanted. But this was one time he had no idea how badly she wanted something, nor the real reason why. "Didn't they believe what Lantana told us?" she asked.

"According to the transmission I just received, they apparently accept all of what he related will happen, because they have decided to prepare warnings for future generations."

"But I thought we made it clear that a warning would be too precarious." Shara's frustration forced her to rise from her chair and pace the large room.

"I'm sorry," Romulus repeated with a shake of his head. "Our hands are tied."

Maybe
your
hands are tied, Shara thought, but mine are still free. She turned away from him, knowing that if he saw her eyes, he would know she was scheming. Trying to appear resigned to the decision, she promised to be at his house for dinner in two nights, as usual, and left the office.