Laura Jo Phillips (20 page)

“Why would you wish to warn Karma?” Olaf asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Aisling countered.

“If she is their Arima, there is no escaping it,” he replied.

“Are you saying that she would be forced to be with them?” Aisling asked, her anger growing hotter by the moment. 

“Of course not,” Olaf replied.  “No Clan Jasani would ever use force on a woman or a child.  I am only saying that if she is their Arima, there is nothing that can change that fact.”

“Either way, I want to warn her,” Aisling insisted.  “She doesn’t need to go through what you just did to me.”

“Very well,” Olaf said.  “Rand, would you please?”

Rand reached up to tap his vox and hesitated when it began beeping.  He glanced to Olaf, then accepted the incoming call.  He turned away from them as he listened for a few moments.  When he was finished he turned back.

“That was Prince Garen,” he announced.  “He asks that we come to the ranch.  There are some developments that he would share with us in person for security reasons.”

Aisling stared at Olaf, clearly sensing the rush of relief that swept through him.  Knowing how much he wanted to get away from her hurt so badly that it took her breath away.  She struggled to maintain her outward calm.  She could not allow him to see her true feelings.

“Call the transport hangar and tell them we will be there within the hour,” Olaf said.  He turned to Rudy.  “Call Elder Vulpiran.  Ask him to send Talus, Jonus and Karius over.  They will need to remain with Miss Aisling and Miss Karma while we are gone.”  Olaf glanced at Aisling, then back to Rudy.  “And ask him how we can reach Miss Karma as well, please.”

Rand and Rudy both stepped out of the room to make their calls, leaving Aisling alone with Olaf.  Aisling met his gaze unflinchingly, determined to hide her pain.

Olaf stared into her eyes for a long moment before taking a deep breath and blowing it out.  “We have just learned what it feels like to learn you are someone else’s Arima,” he said.  “We had convinced ourselves that you were supposed to be our Arima, that it was a fluke that our mating fangs did not descend.  That you were never meant for another male-set, so it was all right for us to claim you.”

“I believe that is the truth of it,” Aisling said.

“I know you do,” Olaf said.  “But what if we convinced ourselves of that only because that is what we want the truth to be?”

“What if?” Aisling whispered.

“Then a male-set will show up at our door, demanding to see their Arima, and we will have no right to keep them from you.”

“You believe that is what will happen?” Aisling asked.

“That is what just happened,” Olaf replied. 

“But they were wrong,” Aisling reminded him.  “Anyone who comes claiming that I am their Arima will be wrong because I know that I am supposed to be with you.”

“You cannot know that,” Olaf said, taking a step backward.  “Nor can we.”

Aisling nodded jerkily, refusing to allow the tears that were stinging the back of her eyes to fall.  She wanted to say something to convince him that he was wrong, but she couldn’t think of anything that she hadn’t already said.  She turned around without another word and went back up the hallway toward her room.  She went inside, closed the door, turned her back to it and leaned against it.   She suddenly felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach and had the wind knocked out of her.  She gasped for air, her throat burning with the effort as she slid to the floor, both arms crossed tightly in front of her chest in an effort to ease the pain of her shattered heart.

Karma watched from the garden door as Aisling left the living room through one door way, and Rand and Rudy entered from another.  “You guys messed up,” she said.  “You really hurt her a lot, and she didn’t deserve that.”

“We didn’t mean to hurt her,” Olaf said. 

“Let me ask you this,” Karma said.  “Did you stop, even for one moment, and ask yourselves, how will Aisling feel about this?  Or were you thinking about yourselves, and the Falcorans, and who she might rightfully belong to?”

Olaf winced.  “We did not stop to ask ourselves how Aisling would feel, no.”

 “Aisling is a woman, not a prize.  She deserves a lot more than to be handed over to men who want her only because of their own physical reaction to her.  She deserves to be loved unconditionally.  If you guys don’t feel that way about her, then you did the right thing here today because, in the end, she is better off without you.”

Karma turned around and went back into the garden.  She knew that the Gryphons hadn’t meant to hurt Aisling.  It was obvious that they loved her as much as she loved them.  Apparently, they hadn’t figured that part out yet. 

When Karma reached the center of the garden, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see the deep red of Aisling’s hair near the far end of the garden.  She followed the path between the bushes and flowers until she came to the fish pond.

Aisling was standing beside it, watching the brightly colored fish as they swam around in the clear water, an expression of such sadness on her face that it made Karma’s heart hurt.

“You all right?” Karma asked softly.

Aisling glanced up and attempted to smile, but ended up just nodding instead.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.  “You heard all of that?”

“I thought you guys might want privacy so I came in through the kitchen instead of the front door, then out to the garden through the dining room,” she explained.  “The garden doors were open in the living room, so I couldn’t really help hearing most of it.”

“Then I don’t have to tell you about the Falcorans?” Aisling asked.

“No,” Karma replied.  “I’m sorry, Ash.”

Aisling turned back to the pond, frowning in thought.  It took only a few moments for her to make up her mind.

“Karma, I need to leave,” she said.  “May I borrow your vox to call Elder Vulpiran please?”

“Actually, I’ll call him for you,” Karma replied.  “On two conditions.”

Aisling smiled.  “What would those be?”

“First, that you agree that you aren’t going anywhere without me,” Karma said.  “Second, that you tell me where we’re going, and why.”

“That’s three conditions,” Aisling pointed out.  “You can come with me if you want.  Right now we need a car to get us to the air field, then a transport to get us to the spaceport in Badia.  Once we get there, I will tell you where I need to go next, and why.”

“Deal,” Karma said, reaching for her vox.  “When do you want to leave?”

“Now,” Aisling replied.  “I’ll go pack.”

Karma nodded as she placed the vox on her ear and tapped it.  She didn’t blame Aisling for wanting to leave after what had just happened.  She only hoped that the Gryphons figured out how they really felt about Aisling before it was too late for all of them.

It didn’t take long for Aisling to fit all of her clothes into one bag since she’d had so little to start with.  She had some difficulty trying to decide whether or not to take all of the bathing products that the Gryphons had given her.  In the end, she decided to take them.  They’d been a gift from the men she loved, and she couldn’t bring herself to leave them behind.  It took a bit of rearranging to get them all in her bag, but she refused to leave any of it behind.  She was struggling to close her bag when Karma tapped lightly at the garden door.

“Come in,” Aisling said, waving her hand toward Karma. 

“Elder Vulpiran is sending a ground-car,” Karma said as she stepped into the room.

“Did he seem upset?” Aisling asked.

“Concerned, not upset.  I told him that you had some urgent personal business to tend to, and if he would send the
Book of Knowledge
images to your hand terminal, that you would do the translations when you could and send them back.  He said that would be fine.”

“Thank you,” Aisling said with a sigh of relief.  She could fulfill her promise to Prince Garen and Elder Vulpiran, and attend to her other responsibilities at the same time.

“He said that if there is anything you need, ever, to let him know and he would do all in his power to see that you got it,” Karma finished.

“That’s very kind of him,” Aisling replied, wishing she had time to see Elder Vulpiran and tell him goodbye.  “Are you packed?”

“Yes,” Karma replied.  “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

There was a soft knock at the door, causing both women to freeze for a moment in surprise. 

“Aisling, the Falcoran brothers would like to speak with you again, if you don’t mind,” Rand said through the door.

Karma frowned and opened her mouth but Aisling shook her head.  “Tell them I will be out in just a few moments, please,” she said.

“Very well,” Rand replied.  Aisling limped into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, which started her shivering.  Better to shiver than look like she’d been crying, she thought as she patted her face dry, then ran a comb through her hair.

“Will you come with me?” she asked as she stepped out of the bathroom.  “I’ll understand if you don’t want to.”

“If I’m their Arima, which I seriously doubt, I might as well find out now as later,” Karma said.  “Are you cold?”  

“Yes, a bit,” Aisling replied.  “Why do you doubt that you are their Arima?”

Karma spotted the green sweater that Berta had made for Aisling on the back of a chair and crossed the room for it.  “I just don’t think I’m meant to be with three men,” she said as she grabbed the sweater and handed it to Aisling.  “Put that on,” she ordered. 

Aisling took the sweater and put it on, grateful for the soft warmth of it.  “Why not?” she asked.  “The three men, I mean.”

“I don’t know,” Karma said with a frown.  “I just don’t think that’s my future.  It doesn’t feel right to me.”

“I understand what you mean,” Aisling said.  “Unfortunately, it seems that the men around here don’t much trust the feelings of women.”

“I’m sorry, Ash,” Karma said.  “Truly I am.”

“Thanks, Karma,” Aisling replied.  “Well, let’s go get this over with.  I think we should take our bags.  Then we can leave as soon as we’re done with the Falcorans.”

“Good idea,” Karma replied as she opened the door.  Aisling walked with her to the next door up the hall and waited for her to grab her bag, then they walked together toward the living room where the Falcorans were waiting.  Olaf, Rand and Rudy stood near the end of the hallway so that when Aisling and Karma stepped into the room, they were nearly surrounded.  The Falcorans stood at the other end of the room, waiting politely. 

“We apologize for interrupting you again, Miss Aisling,” Merrick began.  Suddenly his nostrils flared and his eyes widened.  He stared at Karma and took a step forward which caused the Gryphons to close ranks in front of Aisling and Karma.

Merrick frowned, as did his brothers. 

“You have already confirmed that Aisling is not your Arima,” Olaf said icily.  “You are a guest here.  Please comport yourselves accordingly.”

Merrick nodded.  “You are correct, and I apologize,” he said.  “This has been a difficult afternoon for us.”

Aisling was tired of this.  She dropped her bag onto the floor, squeezed between Rand and Rudy, and approached Merrick, Karma right behind her.  “Mr. Falcoran, this is my friend, Karma.”

As she spoke, Merrick glanced at Karma, then back to Aisling.  “Forgive me, Miss Aisling,” he said.  “I know that we confirmed earlier that you are not our Arima.  But when you entered the room just now we scented our Arima again, and assumed it was your friend.  Now I realize the scent is coming from you.”

“I assure you, Mr. Falcoran, I am not your Arima,” she said with absolute certainty.

“May I approach you?” Merrick asked.

“Fine,” Aisling agreed, wanting this issue cleared up once and for all. 

Merrick approached her slowly, his nostrils flaring as he stopped right in front of her.  He shook his head again, then held out one hand.  “May I?”

Aisling placed her hand in his, and allowed him to sniff her.  He started to shake his head again, then raised her hand a bit higher and sniffed her sweater.  “That’s it,” he exclaimed.  “The scent is on your garment.  Is that yours?”

“Yes it is,” Aisling said, gently tugging her hand free from Merrick’s.  She turned to look at Karma, who looked as shocked as she felt. 

“Let me get mine first, just to be sure,” Karma said.  Her words were cryptic to all of the males in the room, but Aisling understood at once.  She nodded. 

“Good idea,” she said faintly, a sinking sensation in her stomach.  She understood now.  She just wished she didn’t.

Karma hurried away, but was back a few moments later with the sweater that Berta had made for her.  She squeezed past the Gryphons and walked over to stand beside Aisling.  She offered the sweater to Merrick, who took it carefully and raised it to his face.  After a moment he turned and offered it to his brothers, each of whom took the sweater and breathed in the scent of it before handing it back.

Merrick handed the garment back to Karma with a short bow of thanks, then turned to Aisling.  “Why do your garments smell like our Arima?” he asked.

“Because she made them for us,” Aisling said.