Starlight Gleaming Ch. 16

"What? No! You... really? You're here because of her? Oh, the gods are cruel! Cruel, I say! Best pounding my pussy has had in forever and a day, and now you tell me he's out of bounds?" Teela not only looked really disappointed, she wiped at her eyes. "Shit. I really wanted another drilling, Zani!"

"Maybe he will talk to your sons," Zaniyah offered. "You're too old to bear children, so maybe they will finally let you re-marry. Or maybe let you go to the slave market and buy yourself a man."

Teela shook her head. "Look at me. My body is old and wrinkled. Any man who wants to marry me is after my family's money, not me. He'd clean my accounts and after the marriage when he had to do it, he'd have some younger pussy on the side, leaving me broke and my pussy un-poked. And no slave. No way. Remember what happened to that lady in the garment district? Her slave got ideas and fancied himself her new lord. Treated her like dirt."

"Don't be so harsh on yourself, Teela," I told her quietly.

Then she grinned and wiggled her hips. "Hey, my pussy did coax out your seed, didn't it? Maybe I still got it."

I smiled at Teela. "Enthusiasm and a good heart make up for a great deal. Trust me, Teela. You got it."

Zaniyah looked incredulous. "Will you both stop already? I really don't want to hear about your sex-capades."

Clearing her throat a bit, Teela leaned in conspiratorially. "So, young lord, if you and Zani's wild child have a falling out, do you think you might want to come back-"

Zaniyah slapped Teela's shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not telling him to leave her. I'm just asking for future, possible consideration is all."

"You might jinx them."

Chastised, Teela made a sign against bad luck. "You're right, Zani. Dang it. I'm sorry, young lord."

I smiled at Teela. "Under other circumstances, please know that I'd visit you and exercise my lordly right with your body as often as I could. You'd deserve no less."

Teela blushed, immensely pleased. "You are a handsome liar, and I thank you for it. You treated me good, young lord. But Zani's right. I didn't know you belonged to her girl, and I don't want bring you any evil luck."

Struggling to sit up, they moved to help me. Teela handed me a water bottle and a pair of pills from the end-table. "It's just pain-ease. I hope they help. Zani says you shouldn't have anything stronger until we know how serious you're hurt."

Pain-ease was commonly available pain blocker, being mostly a mix of willow bark and quinine. Wincing as much from the bitterness of the pills as with lifting my head, I swallowed them both and drank several swallows of water.

"Do the others know what happened?" I asked.

Zaniyah shrugged. "Maybe. Probably. She wasn't exactly quiet. Teela told them she dropped the bottle of oil and you slipped, hitting your head. That her wailing was her fear you had been killed in her kitchen. There really was quite a mess to clean up. Teela put on a new dress and we got your pants back on before letting in her grandsons. Jerro carried you to the sofa. They demanded to know what happened, but once we saw you were still breathing, she shooed them back out."

Teela nodded. "You think you're going to be okay?"

My head throbbed. "I don't deserve to be, but probably."

Zaniyah gave me another appraising look.

Teela stared at her hands as she said, "I really do want to thank you, Lord Kandikan."

Zaniyah frowned. "You already told him that!"

"I can't help it. I'm sore, but I feel better than I have in ages. Heh, heh! Every time Marko made me feel that good, I gave him a baby."

She saw my look of alarm, and hastened to add, "I'm pretty sure I'm past my bearing years, so don't you worry none. But... is it true that you're here because you love her wild child? True and for certain?"

Turning to Zaniyah, I repeated my declaration. "I love Janetta Tlacotli with all my heart."

Teela looked at her friend sorrowfully. "Oh, gods, Zani, you hit him too hard! I think maybe he's dying. I should call a doctor for him."

"Just because he loves my daughter? What kind of crack is that, Teela?"

"You know how she was. She said a lot of mean, hurtful things to you, her own mother! And gods above, her temper!"

"I have a temper, too, Teela. Or need I remind you?" Then she sighed. "And gods forgive me, I told my own child a lot of mean and hurtful things right back. She needed a strong hand to teach her how to be a Warrior and not get herself killed in the process. I failed at being a loving mother and failed at being her teacher. Gods know I'm no Warrior, so I couldn't help her there, either."

"You did your best, Zani. Everyone knows that."

"Then why have I heard nothing from her since she enlisted? My daughter is six years gone from my home and I've heard not one single word!"

"You tried to mend things. That counts. All your letters came back refused. Still, I think his lordship should see a doctor."

"I am right here," I reminded them.

"His pupils are fine. We just need to watch for dizzy spells or vomiting."

I raised my eyebrows at Zaniyah.

"After my husband died, I studied for a while, to become a medico, maybe become a nurse. Janetta, however, needed me more at home."

"I was a wild, headstrong child myself," I told them. "Janetta is a stand-up officer who takes good care of her flight crew, loves them like they were her family."

"I'm glad to hear that," Zaniyah said. But I could also see she ached to have that relationship with her daughter herself.

"Are you two going to get married?" Teela asked.

A long breath before I answered. "No. Janetta loves flying combat jets. Lives and breathes flying. I won't ask her to give that up for marriage. That would be selfish of me and it would break her heart to have to choose. And even if she did choose me, I think she'd end up feeling trapped, and come to hate me for it. No, I love her. I won't take away her dreams. That would be selfish of me, and cruel to make her choose one or the other."

"You really do understand her," Zaniyah breathed. "Most men want their woman to follow them. But if no marriage, then ... no children. And my husband's House is ended." At that, she looked sad.

"I dearly would love to experience having children with her," I admitted. "However, the law is clear. As long as she wears her uniform, she cannot get pregnant."

Teela looked puzzled. "Why ever not?"

Zaniyah answered first. "Active duty women warriors are agents of death, makers of destruction. A child is a symbol of life and hope. A woman of the Warrior Caste cannot become pregnant while she is in the military. The priests call it heresy, a sacrilege to the gods of war that demand a life's blood to atone for."

The older woman frowned. "A woman is made for making babies. How can that be wrong?"

"Having babies isn't wrong, Teela," I told her. "But the law is clear. If you wear the uniform, pregnancy is not allowed. To marry and have babies, she would have to leave the Air Service, no longer able to fly. And that would kill her heart."

Then I winced. Upright, my head was starting to pound worse. "I've been away from my family for going on fifteen weeks. Janetta and the others - I miss them all terribly."

Zaniyah noticed my phrasing, but I continued before she had a chance to inquire further. "I also have a duty to the people under my command. They depend upon me. I had hoped to make this trip here a quick visit and be on my way. At this point, I will stay the night - either here or next door. Meeno and his family will be here, too.

"Lady Zaniyah, since you won't leave, you need people to help take care of you. I know you don't get much on a captain's pension. And I don't want to hear any objections. You agreed to put yourself into my hands. I will pay for their wages and upkeep. And I intend to straighten your situation out before I leave."

Zaniyah started to ask for more explanation, but I held up my hand. "Later. Tonight, after things have settled down, I'll answer whatever questions I can. And give you some news about your daughter. Providing my head stops pounding. All right?"

Biting her lower lip, she nodded. Teela nodded, too.

With both their help, I got unsteadily to my feet. A wave of nausea ran through me. Fortunately, it quickly passed.

I looked around. "By the way. What happened to my grade pins, lanyard, and the patches on my shirt?"

"Your shirt got soiled when you fell. I took off the pins and your ID. There on that table, there. The rest of it is in the washing machine."

"All right. I'll get them later."

Outside on the covered porch, I ignored the questions of Teela's grandsons and approached Meeno and Eesa. Both sat on chairs near the taxi driver. Keemo slept peacefully on his mother's chest. I leaned up against the porch rail, clutching a post for support.

"Meeno, I was going to offer you a position here. Hire you as a gardener for Lady Zaniyah, and Ai-Eesa to work as her housekeeper. But the way things are here, with the water shortage, having you be the gardener would be a wasted effort."

He watched me carefully, listening to every word. His wife stopped rocking, giving me her complete attention as well.

"Bringing you here was an impulse, but so far, every time I've done something like that, I've made a right choice about the people involved. Therefore, here is my offer to you. My family home is far to the south of here, in the southeastern part of Tacana State, nestled amidst the Shtomar or Sleeping Mountains. That's in the southern continent, over a thousand rads from here. The land is good there. I will set you two up with a place to live and hundred acres of farmland. I will buy whatever additional tools and machines you need. My cut will be twenty percent of whatever you bring in, after expenses. On paper, we will be joint owners. Work it hard, and in ten years, I will deed ownership of the land over to you in full. You will only owe me the five percent as my pledged man, after expenses. You are both homeless right now, yes? Therefore, you have no other lord that we have to make arrangements with. If we don't find land to your liking, we can talk about it, man to man. Will you accept service with me?"

Meeno looked at his wife and she nodded. He got down to his knees. When she started to get up, I put out my hand to her. "Stay. Let your son sleep in peace."

They both pledged fealty to me, and I in turn promised to protect them and their children to the best of my ability. Everyone else watched the exchange in silence.

As he got to his feet, I said, "These are your witnesses to our contract." I dug out my wallet and gave him two one-hundred credit bills. "Use this to take care of yourselves until we reach our destination."

Stunned, he took the money. Eesa choked back a cry, then wiped at her eyes, grinning at him happily.

I turned to look at Zaniyah. "I have seen the porch of your home. That needs urgent repair and the outside of the house needs paint. What is the condition inside?"

She looked away, ashamed.

Teela explained quietly, "It's not her fault, my lord. Between the robberies and being hurt so many times, she's had little enough money to even buy food. Zani - I mean, Lady Zaniyah - she is a good woman. We've done the best we could."

"Teela, your service to Lady Zaniyah is a credit to your House. Eesa, I am going to put you in charge of getting started on cleaning up the house next door. Start with the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, then the rest of the house. Make a list of anything that needs fixing or replacement. Take any needed breaks you to feed Keemo, as well as to eat and drink to keep your energy up. You don't have to ask. Just take the break. Meeno will help you clean, and he will follow your directions because I'm placing you in charge. If Lady Zaniyah is willing, she can take care of your son while you work. She's had experience with children."

Zaniyah brightened at that.

"Yes, my lord," Eesa replied, glancing at the thin, bruised woman standing next to Teela.

I counted out another two one-hundred-credit notes and handed them to Teela. I still had over fifteen-hundred remaining. Teela's eyes went big as she saw the fortune in my wallet. "I want all the cleaning supplies you can get."

"You want me to help clean?" she asked.

"If you wish. You can give advice, but Eesa works for me, and I've put her in charge. Hmm. All of us will need food. Here, take two hundred more. Before you lend a hand, get the cleaning supplies you have on hand for Eesa and Meeno to use. Then take the taxi and one of your grandsons for protection. Buy whatever food you need to cover yourselves and us, too. Just in case, add enough tonight for our taxi driver, too, since he will be hungry as well."

The driver smiled, lifting his beer to me in salute. He'd seen the money, too, and was very happy for his own windfall.

"Lady Zaniyah? You have a washing machine and dryer?"

She shook her head no.

Teela piped in, "We do. You are more than welcome to use it!"

"Meeno and Eesa, get whatever of your clothing that needs washing and give them to Teela. I'm sure there will be plenty of more washing to do, long before the day's done. Teela, tonight, remind me and I'll give you more to cover the extra water charges."

Jerro agreed to work at cleaning for twenty credits, a good day's wages. Dechak would get the same, once he returned with Teela from their shopping trip. The taxi driver would get dinner and his money after their return. I gave Teela another hundred and asked her to get me twenties so that I could pay the wages.

Eesa handed Keemo over to Zaniyah, who delighted in holding the little boy. Keemo snuggled in and sighed. Watchful at first, Eesa saw how gently she held him and smiled, nodding.

Eesa, Meeno, and Dechak went next door to clean. Teela and Jerro went inside to start the wash and gather cleaning supplies for next door. A bit woozy, I went back inside and laid back on the sofa.

And promptly fell asleep.

* * * * *

I woke up to the sounds of Teela and Jerro re-entering the house carrying groceries. I checked my watch. Almost three hours gone.

My head still hurt, but most of the pain had eased off.

Zaniyah sat in a chair nearby, watching me, while Keemo slept on her lap.

"Your grade pins are on the table by your head. Your name patch and shirt are still in the dryer, I'm afraid. Teela didn't know they came off the shirt."

Nodding, I sat for a few moments, gathering myself. Then slowly leaned over, I collected the pins and attached them to my shoulder boards. Placed the velcro-backed patch of the 945th onto my shoulder.

After helping unload the taxi, Teela and Dechak carried over the additional cleaning supplies. The driver came in. I asked him if he was hungry, but he shook his head, explaining that Teela had bought him a meal from a vendor near the grocery store. So I paid the driver his promised money, with additional money for the shopping trip, and he departed a happy man.

Dechak went next door to assist in cleaning while Teela sorted purchases, put the food away, and started cooking dinner.

I pulled out my laptop from the duffle bag and powered it up.

No wifi. I wasn't expecting it, though.

Moving slowly, I checked the walls for an e-jack, but it was too old. However, I had an alternative. Unplugging the cord from the phone itself, I plugged it into the laptop's built-in telephone adapter. Data transfer was a lot slower, but it would work.

Making myself comfortable on the sofa, I got a dial-tone, and the laptop pinged several connections in succession. Within a few minutes, I had a list of nearby servers. I opted for Mahingo War Base, about three hundred rads east by northeast of us. The operating system established a secure link.

I launched the browser to look on the civilian web. Uiyatiwitz was too small a town to have a Managers Guild office. But there was one in Kachotl, the state capital, and they had a website. I narrowed the search to House Managers, and found three resumés posted online. I bypassed both the men, and looked at Pelita Kakoon'atcha. Only twenty, she had less than two years experience, with only one year as full manager. I sent a message for her to contact me as soon as possible.

Before I had a chance to move to my next task, I received a reply from her. Clicking on the message, there was a request for a live, video chat. I accepted.

As the dialog screen opened up, I saw a woman in a small dorm room seated at a desk, her single bed visible behind her. Her pant-suit wasn't new, but it was clean, appropriate attire for an upper-tier guild worker.

I could see right away she was mixed race. Hazel eyes and shoulder-length, light brown hair professionally braided. The woman herself had light, almost white skin. She was even lighter-skinned than Ixma. I could tell that my own appearance startled her. But she saw my uniform and recovered right away.

After introductions, we both presented references and checked each other out by computer as we chatted. Once the formalities were out of the way, the real talk began.

"Pelita, I see that your last work was seven months ago. That's a bit of time."

"Some people think I look too white," she answered bluntly.

I shrugged. "Their loss and maybe my gain. I only mentioned the work gap because I'm hoping that means you are eager for work. I want to find someone quickly, but I want someone who is also qualified, and I'm willing to pay for good people to do good service. The job is in Uiyatiwitz, which is about two hours west - give or take - of your current location. If I hired you today, how soon could you be here?"

Zaniyah watched our interchange with interest.

"Sometime tomorrow evening, I think," Pelita answered. "The bus is not very fast."

"Yes, I know. I see you are requesting four hundred credits a month. I will give you a month's wages in bonus if you can be here by tomorrow evening by dinner time."

"That could be difficult, but your incentive is a good one," Pelita responded, obviously pleased by the offer.

"I'll be honest. The conditions here will be challenging, perhaps difficult even. You will be paid by me, but you will work for Lady Zaniyah, widow to the late Captain Tlacotli. The house is small. There's room for two additional staff, and possibly a guard or two. That means you will end up helping with some of the chores. Still interested?"

"Yes, I am, Lord Kandikan. Very interested."

"Good. Send me your contract, and I will look it over and call you back in, say, two hours?"

"Yes, my lord," she replied, trying to keep her excitement in check and failing.

I closed the browser. A notice popped up that I had ninety-seven messages waiting for me. I clicked on the option to begin downloading.

I had a lot to catch up on. Part of me dreaded it, though, hoping there was nothing bad.

Taking a deep breath, I thought about what had happened to me since leaving Sparantzlo. I trusted Itznacoco. He had spared all of us at Tikún. But at Sparantzlo, and again with my job killing Chatolklan, I was running into unexpected and very dangerous situations that could have easily ended my life. It made me wonder if he was getting the messages sent to Tikún Travel directly, or if he had someone else monitoring it. And if the latter, how trustworthy that person was.

I decided to take a chance. Thinking carefully, I composed a message. Something to let him know I was alive, but only by sheer luck. If either of the recon helicopters had gotten airborne again that same day, or had even one had managed to stay aloft, Chatolklan's men would have boxed me in and I would have died. No question.

Dear Tikún Travel -