Healer's Touch Ch. 16

The next two chapters were wrote during a dark time for my family. We recently loss my husband's father unexpectedly. So I apologize if the content seems to be a bit dark. As always feedback, whether it be good or bad is welcome.~ Dakota

Kat turned helplessly towards the man that was bound to her. The fire in her veins told her that once again she was wrapped in the coils of desire. She gazed up into her lover's eyes and realized that he was trapped by his desire also. She could see the desire to claim her in his silver eyes. She vaguely thought about his eyes...they were normally green, why were they silver?

"My power changes their color," Charlie explained as he cupped one of her breasts with the palm of his hand.

She moaned softly as his thumbnail scraped over the hardened tip. She was more than ready to have him take the next step. If he stopped again -- she was going to kill him!

"Relax, Hellkat. Just let me touch you," he whispered against her shoulder, where he was idly pressing open-mouthed kisses. She shivered as his tongue drew lazy patterns against the skin of her shoulder.

"Charlie, kiss me, please," she pleaded as she squirmed against him.

"Gladly," he whispered as he lifted his head. He kept his eyes focused on hers until his firm lips covered hers. She sighed in pleasure as her eyes drifted shut. He took advantage of her parted lips and slowly slid his tongue in deeply to tangle with hers. When she moaned softly, he growled in his chest before rolling over with her on top of his hard body. Threading his fingers through her hair, he cupped her head as they kissed hungrily.

She gasped raggedly when he finally released her mouth. Pushing against his broad chest, she sat up, straddling his narrow hips. She trailed her fingers down his bare chest. She still found it amazing that he had no body hair. She idly wondered at the lack of it. She had yet to met a single Venusian that had any facial hair, let alone body hair. It seemed that the only hair they possessed was the hair on the tops of their heads.

Pressing her fingers to his nipples, she scraped her nails across them. She smiled mischievously at him and watched his reactions.

"Hellkat!" he warned as he gripped her hips with his hands. She grinned at him before leaning down and licking one nipple and then the other. She chuckled when he growled and his fingers tightened on her. She nibbled on him in response. She loved the way his breath caught. His responses thrilled her. He made her feel like she was the most desirable woman in the world... that she was the only one for him.

"You are, Hellkat. You're mine. Every single inch." He pulled her back up to him and rolled her under him. He slowly ground his hips against hers. She could feel the hard length of him against her inner thighs. She swallowed roughly at the thought of him burying himself deep inside of her. Her sheath clenched in response. She could feel the desire moistening her folds and flushed with embarrassment. She was sure that he could feel it against his bare thighs. Bare thighs? * * * * Charlie groaned softly from the upholstered chair where he sat. He had pulled the large chair up to her bed. Once she had fallen asleep, he realized that he couldn't trust himself to sleep next to her without taking 'advantage' of her. So he had tucked the blankets around her securely before leaving the bed. He was glad now that he had. If not, he would have been asleep next to her instead of in the chair. And he knew himself well enough that if he had the dream merge with her in his arms, he wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation of making their 'dreams' a reality.

He could hear her raspy moans of pleasure. What the hell was he doing to her in her dreams, he wondered as his shaft hardened even further in response to her moans. Dammit, how was he supposed to resist this? He wanted nothing more than to go to her and make love to her. He didn't understand why the mezclar had occurred between them but he had a feeling that it wasn't going to go away until they were bound together. He clenched his teeth at the thought of being tied to Kat for a week. To have her anytime that he wanted her for a whole week!

"Charlie, please!"

He froze. His heart surged painfully in his chest. Digging his fingers into the upholstered arms of the chair, he tried to calm himself.

"Yes!" she moaned as she thrashed around on the bed.

"Son of a bitch!" He surged out of the chair and strode quickly from the room. He had to get away or else! * * * * Kat moaned happily as Charlie thrust his fingers deep inside of her. His tongue was busily teasing her clit. She was on the verge of climaxing when he lifted his head.

"Charlie, please!'" she begged as her hips lifted helplessly. She could still feel the warmth of his breath against her. He was gazing down at her pussy with hunger in his eyes. He eased his fingers back out before he pushed them back in to her. He smiled as she moaned and arched into his probing caress.

She protested loudly when he lifted her legs over his shoulders and pulled his fingers out.

"Shh," he soothed as he cupped her ass in his hands. He held her steady before slowly surging into her tight depths.

"YES!" she screamed as he filled her and pushed her over the edge.

* * * *

After the slow going of the Areserican desert, Gracie was glad that the zephti were finally walking on the softer but smoother surface of roads and they made better time. She sighed in relief when she saw a tiny village ahead. She could smell the water of the small stream that skirted the village before it headed towards Kartic.

It was almost dust when they reached the village. She surprised to find the entire village empty. She noticed that there were zephti in the corral behind a tiny stable; but there were no caretakers working in the corral, and she saw no children running around as was the norm. She slipped off her zephti and wandered over to the stable while Rand and Philip checked the main house. When the zephti in the coral started lipping her clothing, she noticed that there was no food or water in their troughs. They whinnied pitifully as she hurried towards the stables in search of food for them. In the cradle of one arm, her daughter cooed softly. She smiled down at her absently as she tugged on the heavy stable door. She frowned as she realized it was stuck.

"This is the time that I wished I had your Daddy's muscles," she told her daughter dryly. "But then again, brain power beats brawn any day." She let her magic rise to the surface. She let the spell flow through her. The stable door groaned before it finally opened. She moved quickly through the dark doorway. Gracie, what do you think you are doing? Rand's voice scolded her.

These animals are staving, Rand. I'm going to give them some food.

Be careful. he warned. I'll be there shortly.

Yes,Dear she teased. She whispered an illumination spell as she walked deeper into the stable. She gasped when she tripped over a prone body. She brightened the illumination spell.

"Randall!" she screamed, this time not bothering to use their mental path.

* * * *

Jason fidgeted in his seat. He had gotten use to wide-open fields. It seemed as if the tight confines of the spacecraft were closing in around him. Finally he reached for his seat belt and released himself. He used the zero gravity to float towards the front of the cabin. The uniformed man that had picked him up looked up from the magazine that he had been reading.

"Is everything all right, Mr. Littlebird?" he asked as he closed the magazine.

"Cabin fever," Jason said tightly. "I'm not used to being in such closed spaces."

"We'll be landing shortly but you can take a few minutes to move about."

Jason nodded before floating across the cabin and staring out the window. They had been orbiting Venus for the past hour. He could see glimpses of her red ground through the protective shield that surrounded her. Excitement warred with dread. As the pilot announced they had been cleared for landing, his dread grew. He had been told that Stephan Dean was planning on meeting him at the landing site. And Stephan knew him from the years when he had trained Charles. Maybe Stephan's memory wouldn't be as sharp as his own. But he doubted it.

Finally he floated back to his seat and sat down - buckled back into his seat and waited impatiently. Only time would tell.

* * * *

Stephan waited patiently at the Kartic landing site. He hadn't told anyone other than Arianna that Kat's grandfather was arriving today. The palace was crazy with all the preparations for the Renewal Festival combined with combating the chicken pox outbreak. Arianna and Kat spent most of their time at the clinic. In fact the seamstresses had been a bit put out when they had to go to the clinic to do the final fitting for her festival robes. The festival couldn't come soon enough. He knew that he was as anxious as Charlie to have the festival over. The mezclar was not being very kind to either of them.

"Flight 342 from Earth has just landed and will be arriving through Gate 23."

"Finally," he sighed as he headed towards the designated gate. The pilot and his attendant were the first to come through the gate.

* * * *

Aric waited impatiently for his contact to meet him. Standing at the bar at the pub where they were supposed to meet, his thoughts drifted back to his new wife. He had finally met the woman that was his match. She had surprised him with her deal. He had thought that he had her firmly in the palm of his hand; but he didn't love this woman and he wasn't completely sure that he trusted her. Something just wasn't adding up. He just couldn't place his finger on it. He turned with his back to the bar and watched the entrance. His contact should be arriving soon. He would deal with Philip first -- and then his disturbing new wife.

* * * *

Philip hurried after Rand. They had both heard Gracie scream. Something was not right. As they rushed towards the corral, he tucked the baby that he carried snugly against his chest. Rand reached the stables first. He barged inside.

"Gracie, where are you?" he asked harshly as he searched the area wildly.

"I'm over here." Her voice was faint and seemed to be off to the right. Philip followed behind the prince and ran into the prince's back when he suddenly stopped.

"Dear God!" Rand whispered. Philip stepped around him and stopped. Gracie stood beside a pile of bodies. They were all dead.

"Gracie, you need to get away from there. Your immune system is still down. I don't think whatever killed these people is still here but it's better to be safe than sorry." Philip gestured for her to come to them. She looked up at them, her eyes dazed.

"Get your little ass over here, Grace de Cartwright." Rand ordered harshly, hoping that his tone would snap his wife out of her shock.

Gracie walked towards them, fire shining in her eyes. She walked directly up to her husband and smiled sweetly at him.

"You care to change your tone of voice, Husband?" she asked him softly.

"Why?" he asked gruffly, trying not to smile at her.

"Because if you don't I'm gonna kick "Your little ass"."

"That's my Gracie." Rand chuckled, then sobered. "Let's go back to the house. I imagine that the communications consoles are still functional. We need to call Charles right away."

* * * *

Pati sighed with relief when she spotted the open gates of Kartic. She had thought that they would never reach the capital of Areseric. While it was similar to Trila, it's setting was much more rural than the Grand Palace. She turned to look at her husband. He smiled reassuringly at her before turning to greet the advancing guards.

"Halt!" One of the guards said as they approached the two tired zephti.

"Hello. We are friends of your king. I do believe that King Charles is expecting us." Jonathan said smoothly as he slowly dismounted his zephti.

"Before you may enter, you must undergo a physical exam. There has been a disease outbreak. We must check to make sure you aren't carrying the disease." The guard smiled apologetically.

"Is this disease serious?" Pati asked as she slid off her own mount.

"Yes. It's from Earth. It has already caused several deaths and many are in our clinics recovering from it. It seems that children are the hardest hit. But it seems to be more fatal when an adult catches it. So we can't be too careful." The other guard led them to a small building that was about a hundred yards from the main gate.

"If you please. There are healers inside that will check both of you for the disease. If you are not contaminated - they will give you a paper stating that you are clean. Come and show us and we will gladly escort you to the palace." He opened the door and ushered them inside.

* * * *

Jason schooled his features as he approached Stephan. He dropped his bag when the other man came up and enveloped him in a bear hug.

"Master Iason! You've returned!" The other man exclaimed as he released him.

Jason shifted nervously as Stephan backed away from him.

"Hello, Stephan." He leaned down and picked up his bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here? Last I heard you were a recluse. You are the very last man that I was expecting to see here."

"Well..." Jason started when the pilot interrupted him.

"Did you get everything off the ship, Mr. Littlebird?"

Jason turned to the pilot and nodded.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for the prompt service, Pilot Andermon."

The pilot nodded before walking back up the ramp. Jason turned back to Stephan. His old friend looked at him with disbelief.

"Mr. Littlebird? Did I hear you correctly?"

"Come on, Stephan. This is a story best told over a cold beer."

"I, I ... yes, maybe that's for the best." Stephan replied as they walked out of the spaceport.

* * * *

Charles was in his solar when his communication console chirped. Pressing the button, he answered it.

"Charles, this is Rand."

"Hello, Prince Rand." Charlie said coldly, his anger at the prince was far from over. He still was not happy with the prince and his actions that had landed him in his current predicament with Kat.

"Still pissed about Kat, Charles?" Rand asked softly.

"I'm not happy about it. Do you realize the hell that you started? I'm back here ruling a country that I never wanted to set foot in again, with a chosen that is from another planet and to top it all off, this crazy mezclar is about to drive me out of my ever loving mind." He growled.

If Charles had expected Rand to apologize, he was very sadly mistaken. Instead his friend started laughing.

"It's not funny, dammit!" Charles fumed.

"Sorry," Rand said between laughs. "It's just...damn...I thought I had it rough." Rand started laughing even harder.

"If all you are going to do is laugh at me, I'm hanging up." Charles told him.

"No, no....don't hang up! We have trouble here. I'm in a small village just north of you. But there is something terribly wrong here. Everyone alive is gone. But we found some bodies in an abandoned stable. Bodies that have not been buried! What the hell is going on?"

"You're in Starla? That village was evacuated a week ago. You need to leave there. There has been an outbreak of an Earthly disease called chicken pox. That whole village was afflicted. I'm not sure why those bodies weren't buried. I'll have to talk to Stephan. The evacuation teams report directly to him. I'll have a team out there in the morning to take care of the bodies. But you need to get out of there as quickly as possible. Do you have anyone with you?"

"Yeah. I caught up with Gracie and Philip."

"Who's Philip?" Charles asked as he started pacing around the solar.

"He's a healer....and he took Gracie...it's complicated. I'll tell you about it when I see you."

"All right. Is Gracie near by?"

"Yeah. Just a sec." Rand hollered through the open door. A moment later Gracie appeared holding two of their children. "Charles wants to talk to you."

"Can you take them?" She asked as she passed them to him. "I do believe that they need a diaper change, Daddy."

Rand wrinkled his nose before taking them from her and heading out of the room.

"Okay, Charlie, what's up?" She asked as she sat down next to the console.

"You have had your babies?" Charlie asked, awe in his voice.

"Yes. Two days ago. We are all fine. What is going on here though?"

Charlie quickly informed her about the outbreak and what was going on in Kartic and across Areseric.

"Damn, I had chicken pox as a child when Mom took me Earth on a school vacation. We're nowhere near prepared to have that disease spread across Areseric, let alone the rest of Venus."

"I know. Kat's been great. She and King Mica have contacted Earth and had the supplies imported to deal with the outbreak and shots for those not affected yet. I'm glad that you have some immunity to it; but I don't know about Rand and the babies. They need to have the vaccine before they come to Kartic. And you need to leave Starla as soon as possible. We're not sure how the virus was spread originally so all of you could easily have been exposed to the virus."

"So you're telling me that the virus started in Starla?"

"We're not sure but the first cases all came from there. So you need to pack up and leave immediately."

"Do you realize that there are at least three dozen zephti left here? We can't just leave them to starve. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that they are the only mode of transportation in some parts of your country?"

"Correct. But if you can't take them with you, then leave them, Gracie. You and Rand's and your children's lives are more important than the zephti. Without you and Rand, our world will be ripe pickings for Aric or any other wizard of his ilk."

"Okay. We'll leave. Tell me where is a safe place for us to go?"

"There is a small camping area about two hours southwest of you, Gracie. I took Rand there a couple years ago. He should remember it. Go there and I'll send supplies and medicine. I'm not sure about what amount of vaccine the babies would need. Let me talk to Kat and the other healers and get back to you."

"How is Kat?"

"She's holding up. She's not dealing well with being my chosen but I think she'll come around. She'd better... as the Renewal Festival begins in two days!"

"Your chosen!" Gracie exclaimed.

"Didn't your husband tell you? He told Kat that we were chosens. And you know what that means."

"Hell! Does she understand?"

"Not really. All I can say is our joining ceremony is going to be a real eye opener for her. Are you sure that you weren't matchmaking when you sent us off together, Gracie?"

"Oh, Charlie, I never dreamed that she was your chosen. I just knew that she drew you out of that shell that you've been hiding in. You seemed more alive when you were sparring with her. I was worried that you were trying to crawl into the grave with Deanna." Gracie said.

"Sometimes I wished that I could, Gracie. I miss her. She was so much different than Kat. And this thing with her healing...I just don't know if I can handle it."

"I know you had a bad experience with magic in the past, Charlie, but you surely realize that Kat's much different than Deanna."

"No, he's too stubborn to let it go, Gracie." Kat said as she stepped in over the windowsill.

"Kat..." A look of panic spread across his face.

* * * *

"Shut up, Charlie. I'm tired of hearing how I'm not Deanna. Bizarre ritual or not, I'm not trying to replace your beloved Deanna." Kat said as she crossed the room. "As if I would want to," she mumbled to herself.

"Kat! How are you?" Gracie's voice came from the console to her left.