That would certainly burn any bridges he had to the Mother Ship and ensure that he would never be invited back. That way he would never have any reason to even think of getting near Earth again. He would—
“And now, we have the presentation of the T’lix-Kruthe,” Commander Lordin’s droning voice interrupted his thoughts. “As you know, the Council has been eager to acquire this artifact which is said to contain the wisdom of the Goddess herself.” He motioned at Chain as he spoke. “Please come forward and show the artifact,” he said.
Chain got up, feeling somewhat self-conscious now that all eyes were on him. Not that he minded putting on a show, but he knew what all these high and mighty bastards thought when they saw him—There goes one of those dirty Snatchers!
Or something to that effect, surely.
Still, he kept his head high and his shoulders straight as he walked to the front of the Council Chamber with a piece of the T’lix-Kruthe clutched in either hand. He hadn’t put them together yet—Commander Sylvan had asked him to wait and do it as part of the presentation. Chain didn’t know why that was necessary either. Maybe Sylvan just wanted to add a little drama to the meeting.
The Goddess knows it needs something to spice it up in here, Chain thought dryly.
He reached the front of the room and stood in front of the huge table which seated all the males on the High Council. Several of the senior Priestesses from the Sacred Grove were there as well. And all of them were watching him.
Chain cleared his throat.
“This is the T’lix-Kruthe,” he said, holding up both halves. “It was separated many eons ago and I had to go and, er, retrieve it from several different locations.”
“It is said that when the two halves are joined, the one who holds the sacred artifact will be gifted with the wisdom of the Goddess herself,” intoned Commander Lordin. “If you please…” He made a sweeping gesture to Chain. “Join the two halves and then hand the T’lix-Kruthe to me.”
Chain shrugged. “All right.”
He made a great show of fitting the small but heavy round ball-shaped bottom of the artifact to the fluted top half. The pieces made a low, rich click as they snapped into place, making something that looked almost like a kind of musical instrument.
“Very good,” Commander Lordin said. “And if you would just hand it over here to m—”
But at that moment the T’lix-Kruthe began to glow. The gems that studded its sides grew brighter and brighter and it started making a musical humming sound. The music started out faint but increased in volume so rapidly that Chain was almost tempted to drop the thing and cover his ears. But when he tried, he found that he couldn’t—his entire body seemed to be frozen in place, unable to do anything but stand there while the light and noise from the artifact grew in intensity until he thought he couldn’t stand it anymore.
The music—just one pure sweet note, growing in intensity—was so loud he could feel his eardrums bulging. And the lights were so bright it seemed like he was holding a small star. And still he couldn’t look away—couldn’t even blink as both light and sound grew and grew and grew…
Gods, make it stop! he thought wildly. If it keeps on I’m going to go blind or deaf or both! Why can’t I let go of it? Why can’t I—
“Warrior,” a strong, feminine voice proclaimed—it seemed to fill the whole Council room. “You should not be here.”
Finally, Chain found he was able to move—well, to move his mouth, at least—the rest of him still seemed to be frozen.
“Why, Goddess?” he asked, because there could be no doubt who was addressing him. “Because I’m an M-Switch Kindred?”
“The gifts which I gave you are of no consequence in this matter,” the Goddess’s voice replied. “You should not be here because your female is in danger.”
“My female?” Chain asked, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
“Do not pretend ignorance with me, Warrior—my patience grows thin!” the Goddess’s voice crackled like lightning in the Council Room, making him wince. “You were longing for companionship with one who would not judge you for your abilities. Your female had been badly treated by her past mate and longed for one to love her and be true to her. I put the two of you together…and then you left her!”
Chain knew she must be talking about Victoria.
“She didn’t want me!” he protested. “We had a chance to bond and she refused it.”
“You never asked her to bond with you,” the Goddess said. “You never told her how you longed for the bonding—you only put the possibility before her without requesting her heart and her hand.”
Chain felt sick. The Goddess was right! He’d never actually asked Victoria to bond with him—he’d only told her that if they made love, a bond was inevitable.
I was too cowardly to tell her how I actually felt for her, he thought. Too afraid of rejection to let her know I loved her and wanted to bond with her.
“Goddess,” he said aloud. “I’ve been a fool. Forgive me.”
“All shall be forgiven but you must hurry to your female’s side,” the Goddess told him. “Even now she is in hiding, fearing for her life. The Varians have returned and trapped her in her home. You must go to her, Warrior—NOW!”
And then, with a final blare of music and light, the T’lix-Kruthe abruptly went silent and dark in his hands.
For a moment Chain just stared at it. Then he dropped it into the hands of the startled Commander Lordin and ran for the door.
Victoria! Victoria was in danger and he wasn’t there to help her, to save her!
Hang on,
