The Ninth Orb (13 page)

“And?” Ivy prompted when she didn’t continue.

“They aren’t an alien species. They’re human, just like us.”

Ivy was clearly as stunned as she had been. “How is that even possible? It must have been some kind of screw up.”

“I thought so, too, but Deb was convinced. So now, the three of us know.”

Ivy looked troubled. “When the others find out, there’s going to be no stopping them.”

“I’m not sure we should try to stop them. Unfortunately, I’m also not sure we shouldn’t. Even if they’re just another race, and not a completely different species like we thought, their culture is so completely different from ours that’s enough by itself to cause some real problems. Right now they’re very respectful and I’m pretty sure it’s because they see us as the same as their queens. If we disabused them of that misconception, there’s no telling how they would behave toward us.”

“Did you find this out before or after you kissed him?”

Eden gave her a look and Ivy shook her head. “This is exactly what I’ve been afraid of. You’re one of the most level headed people I know, and look what you’ve done!”

“And you trying to provoke a territorial battle and or jealousy wasn’t just as impulsive and ill advised?” Eden said indignantly.

Anger flashed across Ivy’s face but was gone almost at once. “Maybe it was. But I thought it better to prod them a little while they were on the outside of the fields!”

They both fell silent, thinking.

“Maybe it isn’t such a bad idea,” Ivy said finally, if somewhat obscurely.

“What isn’t such a bad idea?” Eden asked testily.

“I think we can both agree that we’re not going to be able to keep the colonists on their side of the fence long, and not at all once they discover the aliens are just ‘foreigners’. Somebody has to test the waters before it gets completely out of hand. Since you’ve already taken the plunge, I’m thinking you should pursue it and see what happens.”

Eden studied Ivy with a mixture of fear, resentment and, admittedly, more than a little wishfulness. “There’s one little problem with that that you’re forgetting. They form harem units.”

“Just tell them you’re not interested. That’s the whole idea, stirring them up to see how much danger they could represent.”

“Easy enough for you to say! Besides, this family unit is at the very root of their culture. Everything revolves around it.”

“All the more reason. And you didn’t mind kissing him!”

“I wouldn’t mind doing all sorts of things with him, but that isn’t the point! This pazaan of theirs is more complicated than that. Baen is a soldier and, apparently, they aren’t allowed to--uh--mate. It’s the workers that--uh--handle the breeding. Besides that, he--they expect us to take a brood, like their queens do. If we refuse, they might just decide they want nothing to do with us, or they might decide that they can make us do what’s expected, or they might just start fighting over which one’s get the females. Then there’ll be hell to pay.”

“What’s a brood?”

“The queens appear to have multiple births--anywhere from five and up at the same time. All those born at the same time are called a brood.”

Ivy gaped at her for several moments. “How many in his brood?”

“Eight.”

Abruptly, Ivy burst out laughing. “Lucky you.”

“Very funny. I can’t have eight of them in here!”

Sobering almost at once, Ivy frowned. “No, not enough room, besides the fact that the other colonists would really be outraged about you having eight when they don’t have any. So maybe the experiment should be conducted on the other side?”

“If I decided to try it, I’d rather it be on neutral ground, thank you very much!”

Chapter Eleven

Wryly, Eden conceded that she had only thought the colonists were the next thing to hysterical with excitement when the celebration was announced. By the time the day everyone had been anticipating rolled around, nerves were at fever pitch and probably three quarters of the colonists had had disciplinary action taken against them for a variety of infractions. They were behaving a lot more like teenagers, or mail order brides than the educated, mature, sensible women they’d proven themselves to be pre-alien-colony-discovery.

She was hardly in a position to throw stones. Even though it had been Ivy who’d suggested the ‘experiment’ she entertained a lot of doubts about her own reasons for seriously considering the suggestion.

It seemed reasonable.

It seemed like the only safe solution, really, to a situation that couldn’t be simply ignored.

But was it? Or did it just seem like that because she wanted to consider it?

As far as that went, she wasn’t completely certain she did. As little as she’d been around any of the others, she didn’t feel threatened by the Xtanians, but how much faith could she place in her instincts for survival when her instincts for ‘mating’ were turning her brain to mush? Intellect and sensibility only took one so far. In the end, people were still animals and had a very hard time ignoring their instincts or controlling them.

Beyond that, just any one wouldn’t do it for her. If she was going to consider taking a partner/companion, she wanted Baen, but if she’d understood him correctly, he wasn’t really in the picture. And she wasn’t sure she dared to cross that particular line, in the interests or either pursuit of knowledge or personal preference. Everything she’d learned about them told her they were born to their stations. Baen didn’t strike her as a man that was easily flustered, and yet he’d been so thoroughly rattled by her overtures that he’d left New Savannah as if the hounds of hell were after him.

What did the Xtanians do to those who bucked the system and crossed the boundaries of acceptable behavior? It must be something pretty horrible to keep them all in line, because they were human, too, and however differently they might have evolved it was impossible to believe that some of them hadn’t rebelled, or just been too weak to resist temptation.

They weren’t immune to jealousy and rivalry. Sademeen had said she’d banished her last brood because the older males didn’t want them around. She supposed Sademeen having that extra brood, when she was supposed to have produced a female had disrupted the balance of things and she hadn’t been able to settle them with their own queen because there weren’t enough to go around--her fault and thus her disgrace.

But if they were as prone to jealousy and rivalry as their Earthly counterparts, how the hell was she going to pacify a whole brood? How did their queens manage it?

She still hadn’t come to a decision when the Xtanians arrived to take part in the thanksgiving celebration, but she very quickly had plenty to do to distract her.

The males that she and Ivy and Liz had chosen seemed to be laboring under the impression that they were to stay with the ‘queens’ who’d chosen them. When she and the other council members had greeted them at the city’s main gate and escorted them through the city to the site chosen for their grand party, none of them made any attempt to join the festivities. She didn’t know whether she was more horrified or amused at the discovery--because Liz and Ivy looked as horrified as she felt and that struck her as extremely funny.

She’d expected a certain amount of awkwardness. It stood to reason there would be some, but it was much worse than she’d expected. The park north of the center of the city had been chosen as the one and only possibility for a gathering of such a size. Most of the colonists had turned out, although there were a few whose jobs prevented them from participating completely and would only be coming for a short time and leaving again. The colonists had ranged themselves on one side. The Xtanians halted on the other, behind the women who’d escorted them in.

Wryly, Eden wondered if the first thanksgiving that the pilgrims had celebrated with the American Indians had been as unnerving for everyone involved.

Probably. She was certain the white faced, strangely clothed English must have looked just as alien to the American Indians as vice versa. And they were in much the same position, alien in culture and race, each uncertain of just how much the other side could be trusted.

She encountered the next stumbling block when she informed the Xtanians that they were expected to mingle and entertain all of the women. The nearly identical expressions of abject panic that flitted across every Xtanian male’s face was enough to assure her that she needed to rephrase the invitation. “We are all here to begin to get to know one another,” she added hurriedly. “You must feel free to converse with anyone and everyone here.”

Something was lost in translation, Eden decided when the Xtanian’s merely stared at her in confusion. After a few moments, however, one--she knew he must be one of Baen’s brothers from the strong resemblance--detached himself from the group and strode purposefully toward the tables laden with refreshments. Grabbing a plate, he moved along the tables, studying the offerings carefully and making selections. When he’d filled the plate, he brought it to her. Surprised but pleased, Eden thanked him and took it. She had just begun to relax when she saw that the Xtanian’s had decided they’d been brought to serve. The others hurried over to the tables and quickly followed suit, carrying plates of food to the other women gathered on the green.

Eden exchanged a helpless glance with Liz. Liz shrugged. “It’s a start. Maybe when they’ve had time to get used to us a little, they’ll relax.”

Eden wasn’t convinced but the comment about relaxing sent a jolt through her. “Tell me no one’s spiked the punch.”

Liz didn’t meet her gaze. “I made it clear that nothing alcoholic would be allowed at the gathering. Whether they’ll ignore that particular order or not is yet to be seen.”

Eden bit her lip. “The Xtanians can’t tolerate alcoholic beverages.”

Liz glanced at her in surprise.

Eden thought she detected just a hint of guilt in her friend’s expression. “If you know something ….”

“I told you I’d issued the order. I don’t know that anybody had plans to ignore it, no.”

“But you suspect?”

Liz shrugged. “We’ll know soon enough, I imagine.”

“Sooner than you think,” Eden muttered. “If they’re anything like Baen, and I’m guessing they are, it’ll knock them for a loop.”

Liz sent her an interested glance. “How did that go, anyway? I heard you had invited him to your place for refreshments.”

Eden glanced self-consciously at the men standing around her. Relieved when she saw that they probably weren’t close enough to overhear the low voiced conversation, she returned her attention to Liz.

She would’ve been more surprised if Liz hadn’t heard about the incident. She knew very well the whole city had been discussing it and speculating about what had transpired. Mentally, she shrugged. “Not very well, actually. I decided, since he was a guest, to give him a glass of liqueur and then I thought I’d poisoned him. Deb said his metabolism just couldn’t handle it.”

“Oh,” Liz said, sounding dismayed. “He didn’t … behave badly, did he?”

“No,” Eden responded non-committally. She had, but she wasn’t about to tell Liz that. She had debated whether or not to tell anyone exactly why they shouldn’t give the natives anything alcoholic and had finally decided against it, knowing that it would probably inspire as many colonists to check it out for themselves as it convinced that it was a bad idea. She still thought she’d made the only decision she could have. If she’d said nothing at all they would certainly have been serving drinks all around for such an occasion. At least this way they would be cautious--and sneaky about it.

She hoped that meant they would have fewer ‘incidents’. She didn’t really trust that they wouldn’t, though.

Despite her discomfort over the fact that their guests didn’t seem to grasp that they were guests, Eden relaxed fractionally when everyone began to settle and enjoy their refreshments. She would have been a lot more relaxed if she hadn’t been surrounded by Baen’s brood brothers.

She knew at least two of them had to be without even having to ask. Their resemblance to him was too striking, she felt, for it to be otherwise, but since she couldn’t think of anything else to say to introduce a conversation, she asked them.

They exchanged glances. “Yes,” the tallest of the four finally responded.

Very talkative, Eden thought sarcastically. Another strong family resemblance! Tension immediately coiled inside of her again as she thought about the long afternoon before her, struggling endlessly to make polite conversation with people who seemed predisposed not to talk at all, much less carry on conversations purely for the sake of entertainment and politeness.

“I am Trar,” said a deep male voice that drew her surprised attention. “Last of the brood of Sademeen, brood brother to these tongue tied louts--and Baen, as well.”

Eden’s surprise deepened as she looked at the man. He looked nothing at all like any of the others. His hair, far longer than the others, was also much lighter--a pale brown that was nearly blond, and streaked with blond. As she studied him, though, she began to see some similarity in his facial features to the others. The twinkle of teasing amusement and intelligence in his eyes was as appealing as his regular features. Repressing the urge to chuckle at the glares his brothers were giving him, Eden smiled. “I am Eden Chisholm.”

His grin was even more appealing. “Yes. I know this. Baen has told us. What means this in your tongue?”

Eden felt her face go scarlet as blood rushed into her cheeks.

“Paradise,” Liz supplied with a chuckle.

Eden gave her a drop dead look and glanced self-consciously at Trar, and then the others. Warmth of a different kind, and a good deal of tension, went through her when she saw they were all studying her now with keen, clearly amorous, interest. It was flattering. She felt an undeniable response, but it was a little overwhelming to have four men giving her ‘you look good enough to eat’ glances all at the same time.

“This is true, or your friend queen makes jest?”

“My friend is Liz Chin,” Eden said, trying to redirect the conversation.

“This Liz Chin has said, is true?”