Stolen Dreams (30 page)

 

How was I to
know that the fever could reach its natural
conclusion without our willing participation? I thought we were
coupling to keep the fever from killing us. Instead, we've ended up in
a fate worse than death!

 

They sat there fuming, each one's
anger and
frustration fueling the other's, placing blame yet knowing that neither
had intentionally caused the strange phenomenon. Whatever quirk of fate
and time had triggered their mating fevers had also orchestrated its
climactic ending.

 

They were joined, physically, emotionally,
and
mentally. Based on the evidence Gabriel had listed, it could be assumed
that the joining was spiritual as well, which meant it was irreversible
throughout eternity.

 

They had been cheated, their freedom of
choice stolen, their futures altered in a way neither could imagine
adjusting to.

 

Gabriel's
rage was so painful, Shara threw up a protective mental wall between
them. Surprisingly, it worked. After the first few seconds, she was
able to keep their minds separated with minimal concentration.

 

"You're
gone," Gabriel noted warily.

 

"Not
really." She slowly lowered the partition and raised it again. "I have
no idea how well I can hold it, but I'll do my best." Though she could
no longer hear his thoughts, his taut expression told her enough. "I
know I haven't always been honest with you, and you have good reason
not to trust me. But I swear I did nothing to cause this."

 

He
knew
that, but it didn't eliminate his urge to blame someone. He massaged
the back of his neck and forced himself to calm down. "It's rather
ironic, isn't it?"

 

"What?" Shara asked, wondering how he could comment
on irony in such a seemingly hopeless situation.

 

He
couldn't meet her eyes as he spoke. "For days, you've been trusting me
with your life. Now I have to trust you with my mind. I suppose there's
some justice in that, but you'll have to excuse me if it takes a while
to get used to the idea."

 

She bowed her head. She knew he was
thinking that this might have been avoided if she hadn't been so
stubborn about remaining in the past. But she also knew that he was a
man who eventually accepted what couldn't be changed and found a way to
work around the problem. Though he wouldn't throw it up to her forever,
he would resent her for the rest of his life, and she could never let
down the wall without feeling that resentment.

 

"There is one
positive note," Gabriel said, standing up. "The question of how we were
going to cope with the fever during the next leg of this journey has
just been answered."

 

Shara watched him pull a jumper out of
his
satchel. "You mean you're still willing to go on with me?" She wasn't
sure she felt like continuing herself.

 

As he dressed and put
Beauty
and his paralyzer into his jumper, he said, "Roll up the pouch, will
you? Of course we're going on. But don't get the idea you've changed my
thinking about Khameira's ancestor. I stand by my opinion that history
shouldn't be altered. It's just that while our minds were together, I
felt how important it was for you to verify your heritage. We're going
to do that before we return."

 

He paused and narrowed his eyes
at her. "Then again, my jammer no longer keeps you out of my mind, does it? You could probably convince me that
I changed my mind on my own."

 

Shara
couldn't believe he thought so little of her. "I won't take advantage
of you, Gabriel. I promise." She could see he wasn't reassured and an
idea came to her. "A moment ago you were able to tell immediately that
I was dividing our thoughts."

 

"Yes?"

 

"Once my parents
were
joined, my fathers mental abilities were passed on to her. If we're
truly joined, anytime I let the wall down, you'll feel it. You might
even acquire some of my skills. If you want them, I mean."

 

"I
don't
really know what I want right now," he said, his voice still tightly
controlled. "You'd better get dressed and take out the food you brought
from the lodge."

 

"I'm not hungry," she replied in a flat voice
as
she handed him the pouch. At the moment she didn't care if she ever ate
again, or got dressed, or anything else.

 

"Yes, you are. I felt
it.
We'll have a quick snack to replace the calories lost, then you'll
program the tempometer. The sun's up and we promised to be out of here
by now."

 

Within an hour they had made the time-hop into the
future
and were standing in the vicinity of where they had been a few days
before, but instead of being inside a ship, they were in the busy
transportation hangar. Not far from where they'd appeared was a silver
ship that resembled a flying pterodactyl. It was an older model than
the one on which they had traveled to Norona. A number of people seemed
to be waiting for the doors to open, which, luckily, along with the general noise, kept them from
noticing Shara and Gabriel's appearance.

 

The doors opened and
people started descending the ramp to waiting friends and family.

 

"Dear
heavens!" Shara exclaimed, grabbing Gabriel's arm. "Look who that is!"

 

Standing
in the doorway were Shara's parents, Romulus and Aster. Before panic
set in, though, Shara realized they looked different . . . younger . .
. several decades younger.

 

Aster looked terribly nervous.
Romulus
said something to her, and she gave him a hesitant smile. As they came
down the ramp, Romulus waved at someone below. Shara couldn't resist
taking a few steps closer as a woman exclaimed "Rom!" and walked into
his open arms.

 

"You're staring," Gabriel whispered to Shara.

 

"But
that's my parents and grandparents. Don't worry, they won't recognize
me. I wasn't even born yet. Listen."

 

Romulus
kissed his mother's cheek and hugged his father. The two men looked so
much alike, it was uncanny. Rom stepped back and put an arm around
Aster's waist in a clearly possessive manner. "Mother, Father, this is
Aster Mackenzie. Aster, Yulan and Marcus."

 

"They're meeting
for the
first time," Shara explained. "That means it's about forty years ago,
and tomorrow they'll be presenting their case to the Ruling Tribunal.
The next day they'll be granted special permission to join, in spite of
the law forbidding a mixed joining. I programmed the tempometer for a
later date, but I can see how we would get pulled into this time. It
was a landmark decision." Noticing the way her parents looked at each other, she
couldn't help but add, "It was also very romantic."

 

Shara
knew her parents loved each other, but she'd never given it much
thought. Seeing them like this, prepared to defy the most powerful
force in the universe to be together, made her own heart swell with
emotion. They announced their love with every look, every touch. They
were meant to be joined for all time.

 

Not like her and
Gabriel. She
had never heard of an accidental joining, but then she didn't know of
anyone ever making a successful time-hop, either. As she watched her
parents and grandparents walk away, her heart was weighted with despair.

 

She
would never know the joy of finding her true soulmate as her mother
had. There would be no romantic courtship or day-long preparation for
the formal joining ceremony. She would never know the beautiful oneness
of sharing her life with a man who loved her above all else.

 

Gabriel
didn't need to be in Shara's head to see what she was feeling. Sadness
emanated from every pore in her body. She had told him days ago of her
romantic dreams of finding her true soulmate. She had expected it to
happen the same way it had for her mother. Instead, she got him.

 

Not
that he wasn't a good man; he imagined she could have wound up with
someone worse than him. It wasn't that she was a poor choice for a
mate, either. She had many wonderful traits. He just didn't want a mate
at all. And she knew it. Her first reaction to finding themselves
joined was numb shock. She'd put up the wall before she got over it.
His reaction had been more spontaneous. He was
furious.                 
 

 

Now he realized how cheated she must be feeling as
well, and his misdirected anger had undoubtedly made it worse.

 

But
what could either of them do? Pray for a miracle? Hope that everything
returned to normal when they finally got back into their own time? Risk
a paradox by trying to go back and warning themselves not to go?

 

Make
the best of the situation. That was the reasonable path, but it wasn't
much to look forward to for the rest of their lives.

 

Arranging
passage to Innerworld was relatively easy. The same mail carrier
Romulus and Aster had arrived on was departing again in three hours.
Shara had counted on the Noronian code of honesty working in her favor.
Since the average person never expected to be deceived by another
Noronian, the travel attendant didn't examine their visas too closely.
They booked the only available cabin in Gabriel's name so that hers
wouldn't come up in any records to raise questions. She didn't want to
take the chance of someone noting the fact that Shara Locke was leaving
on the same ship Romulus Locke had come in on.

 

Rather than
taking
one week as it did for their flight to Norona, their return would take
twice as long, since the stardrive's efficiency wasn't improved until
twenty-some years in the future. Neither of them said it aloud, but
they were both wondering how they were going to get through the next
two weeks in such close quarters with relatively few distractions.

 

Gabriel
figured he could spend the time organizing the notes and recordings
he'd made thus far.

 

Shara intended to use the time to figure out how to
program the tempometer for more accuracy.

 

They were reasonable
people. They would manage somehow.

 

As
it turned out, the ship offered a number of distractions, including an
exercise room with sauna and whirlpool, a gaming lounge, a movie
theater, and a library. The cabin to which they were assigned belonged
to a ship's officer who was remaining on Norona. It was furnished with
a large bed, a roomy sanitation cell, and a full-service supply station
and recycling center from which they could order a wide range of food
and clothing. At least they would be physically comfortable.

 

They
managed to stay occupied separately throughout the first day and took
their meals in the dining room with the crew and a few other passengers
on board. Regardless of how much they wished to put it off, however,
the time came for them to retire to their cabin . . . together.

 

From
across the lounge, Gabriel watched Shara try to stifle a yawn for the
third time in a matter of minutes. Throughout dinner, he noticed how
she made an effort to socialize with the other four men and women at
their table. She smiled and laughed when appropriate, but he could see
she was worn out. He kept telling himself she was a grown woman who
didn't need him to remind her when it was time to go to bed.

 

When
he
was invited to play a card game with some of the crew, he accepted, but
his gaze kept wandering over to where she continued to chat with the
group from dinner. Gradually, one after another said good night,
leaving her with a young steward who was too handsome for his own good.
That one didn't
seem to notice how her eyelids were drooping or how many times she'd
yawned; in fact, his gaze seemed to be glued to her breasts throughout
their conversation.

 

The moment the card game was over, Gabriel
excused himself and went to her side. Putting his arm around her, he
smiled at the steward. "I hope you'll forgive me for stealing my lovely
mate away, but it's been a very long day for us."

 

"Of course,"
the man said, smiling back, then nodding to Shara. "We can visit again
tomorrow night."

 

"Don't count on it," Gabriel said under his
breath as he led Shara out of the lounge.

 

"What's wrong?" she
asked.

 

Instead of answering, he had a question for her. "Why
didn't you tell him I was your mate?"

 

Shara was confused by
his annoyed tone. "We aren't exactly celebrating the fact. Besides, how
do you know I didn't tell him?"

 

Gabriel snorted. "The man was
looking at you like I look at a bag of Caresses. He obviously had no
idea you were already taken."

 

"Already
what?" They reached their cabin, and he motioned for her to enter ahead
of him. She gave him a moment to retract his remark, and when he
didn't, she turned on him with her hands fisted on her hips. "You can't
have it both ways, Gabriel. You can't wish me out of your life and also
be jealous of every man I talk to."

 

He opened his mouth to
protest
and she cut him off. "Never mind. I don't even want to discuss it right
now. We're both extremely tired and our emotions are still in an
uproar. I just want to take a shower and go to sleep." She ordered
towels and a conservative nightgown from the supply station and
stepped into the sanitation cell.

 

When
she came out wearing the long, loose sack, she ignored the face he made
at it and got right into bed. Settling close to the wall with her back
to him, she was determined to be asleep before he finished his shower.
She felt good about one thing: The fever had left her system, and her
cool, rational self was back in control.

 

Gabriel had assumed
that
once the fever was gone, his normal behavior would return. But jealousy
had never been part of his normal behavior. And why had it bothered him
to see Shara dressed in that awful nightgown? She had a right to wear
whatever she felt comfortable in. It was just that he had hoped ...