True Believers (31 page)

Jessit relinquished his quarters along with his command, but he'd been allowed a small private room of his own. It was a mercy on Eklan's part; otherwise he would've been forced to share quarters with the priests.

As soon as Rachel was released from the med ward, she was taken from him, obligated to attend meetings with Gilgamesh and high-ranking representatives from the Imperial court. Earth was being carved up like a melon, and it required her attention.

She'd been able to sneak away and see him in the beginning, but negotiations had grown complicated, and he slept alone most nights.

It was on one of these nights that found Kalya at his door.

Jessit's first reaction was anger, followed by a cold belt of fear. He did his best not to show either. “Lord Kalya,” he said casually. “What can I do for you?”

The old man beamed a crooked smile. “What do you think I want…brother?”

“I have spent considerable time at prayer and meditation, my lord. If you would like to start my studies—”

“I want to do more than that, apprentice. A delegation from the High Lord himself arrived yesterday. We have decided to save time and consecrate you here before we leave Earth orbit.”

Jessit was sure his balls sucked into his body. “Why so soon? Isn't a quorum necessary for such a ceremony?”

“Yes.” Kalya drawled out the word. “And we do have a quorum. Everything is in place. There's no reason to delay this any longer.” He guided Jessit into the corridor where six muscular priests waited for them. “I'm sure you'll agree that it would be best to get this over with as quickly as possible.” He patted him on the back. “It will give you time to heal.”

Jessit stopped dead in his tracks.

“Are you telling me we're doing the cutting now?”

“Well, no. Not this very moment. We need to prepare you. You must fast and meditate for twenty-two hours. I've arranged a lovely location where you won't be disturbed.”

“But…Rachel.”

Kalya smiled viciously. “The Lady has been busy, hasn't she? If all goes well, you should be consecrated and healed by the time she is ready to depart for Alturis.”

“I'd like to speak with her. To explain…”

“There is nothing to explain. You can see her as soon as you've been castrated.”

Castrated.

Kalya tried to push him along, but Jessit found his feet locked in place.

“Taelen, do not make this harder than it has to be. You’re not the first man to make this sacrifice.”

Somehow he managed to drag one foot in front of the other and found himself on the planet surface on a lush tropical island. Kalya didn't even give him a chance to contact Senit. No one knew he was down here.

Preparation was a day of fasting and meditation. If he was anything like the other acolytes before him, meditating also meant grieving the impending loss of his testicles. How he wished he could have seen Rachel once more before the knife lopped off his manhood.

If the acolytes were old enough, they were allowed a night of sex with a woman or man before the ceremony, but no such offer was made to him. He would've blamed it on oversight, but he was certain it was deliberate on Kalya's part.

The moment they landed on Earth, he was ordered into total silence. He was not to speak again until the ceremony was over. That had to be part of Kalya's plot too. The old man wanted no interruptions, no arguments and no witnesses.

Nearly faceless under his hooded robes, Jessit stumbled out of the transport onto a tranquil beachfront. The air was warm and humid and had it not been for the circumstances, he might have found this paradise idyllic. But even that was stolen from him when Kalya escorted him to a cabin with all the windows barred. He left him there, locking the door from the outside.

Jessit pulled down his hood and scanned the barren room. They didn't even make the effort to hide the surveillance sensors. Kalya was going to make sure Jessit didn't miss his appointment with Fate this time.

Jessit didn't sleep that night, and it was just as well he was on a fast because he wasn't hungry either. But when he noticed a delegation of priests descend upon the quiet village, Jessit would have gladly committed murder just to have made his escape.

Excited voices filled the air, and the beat of drums encouraged the mob of men to sway and dance. It was a party at his expense. Was it always like this? Did they always celebrate castration of the men and boys who stood rope-bound and drugged?

They led him into a courtyard festooned with colorful flags and the scent of
menze.
Two poles were set five feet apart, each with a set of restraints.
That was for him.

Directly in front of the posts was a massive black sharpening stone, water for purification and a short knife that gleamed in the sunlight.
That was for him too.

In the center was a priest in full ceremonial garb. A red and yellow scarf wrapped around his forehead, but his vestment was snow-white and pristine. The skill of the surgeon would prove how white that robe remained.

The bald priest was as brown as mago-wood, and his bare arms belied the tattoo of a cutter, a priest whose only job was severing the sweetmeats from man and boy alike.

The priest sweated profusely. Jessit hoped it was due to the heat. He didn't need a nervous cutter on top of everything else.

Jessit had been stripped to nothing more than a loin cloth and soon that would be robbed from him too.

Menze,
he thought. He needed more menze. There was no way he'd be able to endure this butchery.

Two priests led him to the poles and there, his arms and legs were strapped tightly. His legs were shoulder-width apart, and he could feel a breeze underneath his loin cloth.

Anu, god of gods, let this end quickly!

By now he had a full audience with Kalya in the front, grinning like a sea cow in heat. The castrating priest was in good voice as he prayed for Jessit's soul.

Why was no one praying for his poor testicles?

Despite the priest's loud oratory, there was an even louder scuffle behind him. Jessit felt the ground tremble beneath him as a wave of energy washed over him. It seemed familiar but he dared not wish for the impossible.

There was no way to turn around, but something was happening, something that brought the entire assembly to their knees.

Kalya looked like he had swallowed a mouthful of bat dung. He prostrated himself lower than everyone else.

Rachel!

His spirit soared at seeing her again, and he had to smile at her grandiose entrance. He couldn't have done it better himself. Her robes swished the sand with every step, and the ground shook with her fury. The haughty and self-serving congregation trembled at her approach. Their utter humiliation was more satisfying than he expected.

Seeing her again took him back to the first time they met.
Was this the same woman?
The urchin clothes had been replaced with silk, but she was still the fiery angel from the cave. A woman who loved him even when they knew it was wrong. He loved her too with a passion that wouldn’t have ended with the swipe of a knife, no matter how much Kalya wanted to make it so. Their union transcended the physical. And nothing made it more precious than knowing he nearly lost her.

He'd never let anyone separate them again.

Rachel was going to make sure of that too. She looked ready to disembowel every priest and onlooker.

“Who is in charge here?” she asked through her translator.

Kalya fumbled to his feet with a plea for clemency.

Rachel marched toward him, Senit and Eklan behind her. “You knew this man was my consort, yet you dared to have him neutered?”

“My—my Lady. Every male who can see
glory
is bound by law—”

“That was not my question!” She grabbed the knife off the stone pier and waved it at the priest who would have done the deed. “And you! Do you also dare to take my consort?”

“No—no, my Lady,” the man stuttered, prostrating himself before her. “Lord Kalya ordered the ceremony.”

Rachel flung the knife to the dirt then hurled a wall of energy toward Kalya. It trapped him, and he screamed like a burnt pup. He covered his face with his hands and begged for mercy.

She glared at a priest closest to where Jessit still stood bound. “What are you waiting for? Release him.”

Two priests jumped as if they were on fire and unshackled Jessit's bonds.

Jessit grabbed each by the shoulder and knocked them down like they were cardboard. Kalya was his real quarry. He had a score to settle with that sadist. But it seemed Rachel was taking care of that.

Rachel removed the cage of energy around Kalya, grabbing him by the beads. “Per my father's wishes, I am returning to Alturis with you. Per Avenar, your High Lord, I will also submit to learning your ways and laws. But Taelen Jessit remains my consort. Make him a priest if it is your law, but you will not castrate him. Is that clear?”

Kalya had lost the capacity for speech. He nodded dumbly, agreeable to any demands his god made.

Someone had brought Jessit a robe, but he only managed to fasten half the buttons by the time her attention turned to him.

“Are you all right?” Her words were barely audible.

“I am now.”

Rachel turned to Senit. “Get these vultures off the island.”

Senit bowed. “With pleasure, my Lady.”

Her hand folded around Jessit's arm and he led her back to his cabin. When she closed the door behind her, she blew out a breath. “That was close.”

Jessit took her in his arms. “Too close, but your timing was excellent.” He wiped his brow. “Most excellent.”

She hugged him tight, unwilling to let him go. “I'm sorry I couldn't do anything about getting you out of the priesthood. Avenar wouldn't budge on that.”

“I will settle for keeping all my parts.”

“Good. I like those parts.”

Rachel walked over to the bed, tugging him after her. “You are a lot of trouble for a man. Have I mentioned that? I had to make a lot of promises to keep you intact. Avenar is bound and determined to turn me into a god.”

“How did you ever find me?”

“You have a very resourceful friend in Senit. He went looking for you and when you turned up missing with no one breathing a word on where you'd gone, he broke into my chambers.”

Jessit's eyes grew wide. “Senit?”

She laughed. “Eklan was furious. He had escorted me to my room and we found Senit rummaging through some of your things. Evidently Eklan's security was not as impenetrable as he thought.”

“But how did you know to look here?”

Rachel kissed him on the lips then hugged him as if she were afraid of letting go. “That was Lord Avenar's doing. I sent a message to him saying you had gone missing. We suspected it was the priests, but no one was talking.” She grimaced in the telling. “Avenar is a shrewd negotiator. I had no intention of going to Alturis, but he told me I could get you back if I promised to make the trip.”

Jessit cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “Then it sounds as if I am your bound servant.”

Her hands feathered down his chest while she sought to unfasten the long row of buttons on the front of his robe. “You got that wrong, soldier. It makes us partners in crime. If I pretend to be a god, you'll have to pretend to be a priest—fully intact, of course.” She winked at him.

Jessit pushed her back on the bed, the silk of her body gentle against his chest. “Then I am ready to pray at your altar, Mistress.”

“That's good. Now, let me show you how I'll pray at yours.” Her big doe eyes turned glassy and bright. She gazed at him in for long silent moments, but he knew what was in her heart—and his. He didn't find what he was looking for. He found so much more.

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