Protected: Alien Mate Index Book 2: (Alien Warrior BBW Paranormal Science fiction Romance) (The Alien Mate Index) (21 page)

Of course, some of the races have branched out and mixed with others to form new races of their own and seed other planets with life. And there are worlds where the Ancient Ones didn’t travel, where life evolved into much stranger forms than the ones we knew and recognized. But clearly the Geminians didn’t recognize any of those as legitimate life forms because they weren’t represented on the ceiling panels.

I couldn’t say I blamed them. Like I told Leah earlier, hybrids like me who were mixtures of two of the Twelve Peoples, couldn’t form lasting bonds with their females. And a lasting bond was what ensured that a race could continue to grow and flourish.

The only thing that confused me was something Leah had told me—that her people, like hybrids and half-breeds, didn’t form bonds when they joined with their true or fated mate. I wondered if the Ancient Ones had done that to them on purpose. But if so, why?

As we reached the end of the long corridor flanked with slender columns, I saw something on the last ceiling panel which surprised me. It was a painting of a small blue and green planet surrounded by a shining golden barrier. Could that be a depiction of Earth, Leah’s home world? But how did the Geminians know about it when the Commercians had just discovered it and started exploiting it not long ago?

“And here is the study of the Reverend Mother,” the guard said, breaking my train of thought. “Please go in—she is expecting you and will be with you shortly.”

All right—show time.

I took a deep breath as we stepped through the doorway. And as I did, I felt the image generator
move.

Not a lot—but enough. It shifted beneath my skin and for just a moment I thought the illusion it was casting around me flickered.

Shit.

I looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed. Luckily the guard’s back was to us but Leah had seen. Her eyes widened as she looked at me, a fearful question in her eyes.

I shook my head quickly, trying to tell her it would be all right, that everything was under control.

But was it?

I just didn’t know.

Leah

This time I was
sure
I had seen Grav’s disguise flicker. It freaked me out, I don’t mind telling you. For a minute I had images of my own head floating in the lake of acid outside the temple. But then the image stabilized again and looked perfectly solid. Well, maybe it was just a momentary lapse.

But even a momentary lapse could get us in trouble if the stern-looking guard had seen it. Luckily, she apparently hadn’t. She ushered us into a small but comfortable looking sitting room where two low pink and gold couches, very close to the floor, were facing each other.

“Please have a seat, the Reverend Mother will be in shortly,” she said and left us there. I looked around but it wasn’t the couches that caught my eye, it was what was above us.

From the ceiling hung long, trailing pink and purple and blue vines. They made a kind of curtain swaying gracefully above us. The study was filled with a soft chattering noise and after a moment I realized there were small, brightly colored creatures jumping or flying from vine to vine. They were the ones making the noise.

At first I thought they were monkeys—then I thought they were birds. Then one flew down to land on the low table between the couches and I saw it was a weird, alien combination. It had a brightly colored, feathered body about as big as a parakeet but its head was little and furry and cute with big golden eyes and a tiny, chattering mouth.

“Hey now, aren’t you a cutie?” I said, but I
didn’t
reach out to touch it. The incident with Purrah’s kit in the Goddess-eye was still too fresh in my memory.

“Ah, I see you’re admiring my
loolies.”

The voice came from behind us and Grav and I both turned to see an ancient, dried up stick of a woman coming towards us.

The pink of her skin had faded until it was almost white and her hair was silver with just a few traces of pale purple. She hobbled in, leaning on a gnarled staff and the folds of her long white gown trailed on the stone floor, as though it was too long for her.

“Well now,” she continued, as she came up to us. “You’re the first male I’ve seen in nigh on fifty cycles, my son.” She nodded at Grav. “And my—aren’t you
large.”

“My size and strength is used only to serve my goddess,” Grav murmured, nodding at me.

“So it is, so it is.” The Reverend Mother nodded approvingly. “Which is why Ma
jor
an males are the only kind we allow here on Gemina. You’re all so respectful and protective of your females. Not wild and savage like Vorn… or Goddess forbid,
Braxians.”

She gave an exaggerated shiver and Grav and I exchanged a glance. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I was hoping that his image generator kept doing its job—at least until we could get out of there.

“Well go on—sit down. Sit down.” The Reverend Mother indicated one of the low pink and gold couches. “We don’t stand on ceremony here—not when we all serve the Goddess’ will.”

“Uh, thank you, your Reverence,” I said, hoping it was the right way to address her. I was raised Southern Baptist, remember? So I had no idea. “We’re very honored to be here.”

“No matter, no matter.” She made a shooing motion at Grav and me. “Come, acolytes, sit—won’t you? My old bones are demanding a rest.”

With that she sank down onto the couch opposite us. One of the multicolored
loolies
gave a chattering whistle and came to land on her shoulder.

“Thank you,” I said again and Grav and I sat carefully on the couch.

“Now, you must be the Truth-Sayer,” the Reverend Mother said, pointing at me. “And you’re the Truth-Knower.” She pointed at Grav.

“Yes, exactly. How did you know?”

“Oh, I have a knack for knowing things.” The Reverend Mother smiled proudly and stroked the
loolie
on her shoulder as it nuzzled its furry little head against her cheek.

“You must have the gift of discernment, then,” Grav remarked.

“Yes, you…” The words died in my throat and I watched in horror as one of the
loolies
promptly flew down and landed on his invisible right horn. It sat there, perched as though in mid-air, and chattered mockingly at me.

“Shoo!” I hissed at it, waving with one hand.
“Shoo!”

“And don’t mind the
loolies
—they’re just curious, they are.” Luckily the Reverend Mother had her head bent over the table between us and didn’t see what was going on.

The
loolie
flew away but I couldn’t help thinking that we’d had yet
another
close call. I was beginning to feel extremely nervous here. We needed to get down to business and get away from this temple that sat in the middle of a lake of acid.

“Thank you so much for having us,” I said. “But unfortunately we’re pressed for time. Can you lead us to the guard who was warding Teeny Kiv’orop?”

“In time, in time. But I’m sure you don’t wish to question her until you have some of your truth-telling drink. Yes?”

The ancient Reverend Mother pressed a button on the table, which was made of some pale purple wood. There was a small
click
and a tray rose up from the center of it. On it was a teapot-looking thing made of pale blue porcelain and painted all over with pink and purple and green flowers. The pot had two spouts and two buttons—one gold and one silver. Fragrant steam curled from both. There were two pale blue handless cups to match the pot.

“Oh…uh…” I wasn’t sure what to say but the old woman was already pouring both me and Grav a cup of the steaming liquid. She pushed the gold button on the pot and a stream of pale blue liquid came from the first spout to half-fill the handless cup she was holding out. When she pushed the silver button beside it, pale pink liquid which looked disturbingly like the acid water of the lake outside, filled the cup the rest of the way.

I would have expected the two liquids to mix together and make purple but they didn’t—they sat on top of each other in layers and refused to combine. It was almost as if oil and water had been poured into a glass.

“I had the truth herb specially imported when I heard the two of you were coming,” the Reverend Mother said, handing the steaming cup to me and then pouring a second one for Grav. “A small enough courtesy to extend to acolytes who come to us from across the galaxy.”

“Um, thank you.” I looked at the strange two-part steaming liquid, not sure what it would do to me to drink it. Was it some kind of poison for anyone but the real Acolyte of Naama? Or maybe some kind of mind-altering drug?

But then again, what real choice did we have? I thought of the skull floating in the lake of acid. I’d rather have a bad trip from drinking truth-tea than wind up in pieces in the lake. Grav and I exchanged another glance and then I carefully brought the steaming cup to my lips and sipped the top layer, which was the pink liquid.

It wasn’t anything like the
yarex
Magda had served me on Sincon station. That had reminded me of jasmine tea with a hint of exotic alien fruit thrown in. The truth-herb liquid also had a familiar flavor but I couldn’t think what it was. Salty, bland and somehow tomato-y. What was that taste? It was right on the tip of my tongue—something from my childhood…

“Spaghetti-os!” I exclaimed, taking another sip.

“I’m sorry, what my dear?” The Reverend Mother looked at me frowning and Grav raised an eyebrow too.

“Oh, uh, forgive me.” I bowed my head, trying to think how to explain away my words. “That’s just an expression of, um, appreciation. It means
wonderful
. Or
perfect
. You made the truth-drink so perfectly, I just
had
to say it.”

“Oh, well thank you very much. Spaghetti-os, indeed.” The old lady nodded her head, looking pleased. “I tried but I wasn’t certain if I had the proportions quite right.”

“They seem right to me,” I said, taking another sip.

“I’m glad.” She smiled. “You know, I would have drunk some and interviewed the guard myself—she is
quite
stubborn and refuses to speak the truth to any of us here at the Temple—so it would have come in handy. But I was afraid of ill-effects of overdosing, as I have no partner.”

“Ill-effects?” I looked at her uncertainly. “Overdosing?”

“Well, certainly. I know that when the truth-drink is prepared correctly, it aids your powers of perception. But if it’s made too strong, the effects can be more, well, let’s say
pronounced
.”

“How do you mean?” I said, taking the small cup from my lips as Grav did the same. “I mean, what have you heard?”

“Well, instead of just helping you tell if the person you’re questioning is telling the truth, it can act as an agent of emotional and physiological exchange.”

“
What
?” I asked, beginning to feel sick. What was she talking about?

“Well, yes—if it’s too strong you don’t just perceive if the person you’re questioning is being truthful, you actually start to
feel
the sensations and emotions of everyone around you—especially those of the person who imbibes the herb with you. Isn’t that right?” She peered at me sharply. “I had one of the minor priestesses do some research for me and she said that was how it worked. I’d
assume
you two would know of the inherent dangers of a drink you use every day.”

“Oh, of course, that’s right,” Grav said quickly, covering for me. “The truth-drink
can
have some, uh, unforeseen side-effects if you make it incorrectly.”

“But that isn’t the case here,” I said, picking up the ball and running with it. “You’ve prepared it perfectly your, uh, Reverence.”

I took another sip, hoping I was telling the truth. What would I do if Grav and I started feeling each other’s emotions? I tried to tell if I was feeling any different but so far I wasn’t feeling anything but scared and anxious and I’d been having those emotions since the minute we walked in the Temple door.

“Yes, it’s fuckin’ perfect,” Grav echoed me. “Uh, I mean
exactly
perfect.”

“Well,
Spaghetti-os!
I’m so glad I got it right.” The Reverend Mother smiled at us. “You know, I really like that expression—I think I’m going to use it from now on when things go just right.”

I had to bite back a snort of hysterical laughter that tried to escape my lips.

“Spaghetti-os,” I echoed, lifting my cup to her in a kind of toast.

“Spaghetti-os,” Grav rumbled and lifted his cup as well.

The Reverend Mother looked pleased. “Now finish it up and we’ll go to the detention center of the temple. That’s where the guard who was warding young Teeny is being held.”

She was watching us intently so Grav and I had to do as she said. I finished the pink, Spaghetti-os tasting layer of liquid and started on the pale blue one.

It tasted like hot, melted, salty liquorish.

I nearly gagged on the flavor—I
hate
black liquorish and adding salt on top of it made it truly barf-worthy, as Zoe would say. Somehow, though, I managed to keep it down and swallow the last few drops.

I set the cup down with a shudder just as Grav did the same thing. I still didn’t feel any different so hopefully the truth-drink hadn’t had an adverse effect. Maybe my lie was right and the Reverend Mother
had
prepared the drink correctly.

I sure hoped so, anyway.

We sat there for a moment in silence until I realized the Reverend Mother was waiting for us—or for me—to say something.

“Ah, I feel the truth-drink working,” I said, trying to look mystical and wise. “Reverend Mother, I think we should go at once to interview this guard while the drink is in full effect.”

“Of course, my dear.” She rose with surprising agility for such an old lady and nodded at us. “Come right this way.”

Grav

The prison wing of the Temple wasn’t nearly as nice as the rest of the big building. There were no painted ceilings or marble pillars here—just bare cells with nothing but a straw mattress in one corner.

Most of the cells were empty but a few held heretics, thieves, and blasphemers awaiting trial. None of them were male though—according to the Reverend Mother, if a male was caught trespassing on the holy ground of the Temple of the Goddess, he was cast summarily into the lake without so much as a by-your-leave.