“If you’re aware that we’re blameless then why are you blaming us?” Melli asked.
“And more to the point, why are you punishing us?” Jodi added.
The female Varian scowled—which was a strange and frightening expression on her lizard-like face.
“Because someone must pay the price!” she exclaimed. “The T’lix Kruthe was the conduit through which the Varian people received their erotic energy, which is especially important because this is a breeding year. Unless someone pays the price of Blood or Lust, we will be unable to fertilize our eggs this annum and a whole generation of Varians will not be.”
“Wait, so…you’re saying that the T’lix Kruthe gave you the energy to, uh, make love? I mean, to breed?” Jodi asked, frowning.
The female nodded. “We are a long-lived but cold-natured species. Only once every twenty cycles do our males and females come together to breed and fertilize the eggs. The top breeders of our people all congregate in the Breeding Forum where they receive the erotic energy and pass it on to the others of our world via a synaptic connection. Then the whole of Varia breeds together on one long day and so our species is continued for another generation.”
“A planet-wide, day-long orgy?” Melli murmured. “That’s wild!”
“We understand you warm-blooded species can breed at any time,”
the Varian continued. “But without something to provide the initial erotic energy, our people cannot breed, which means this annum’s crop of eggs will not be fertilized and thus will not hatch. A generation gap could be fatal to our people and since you are representative of the ones who stole our erotic artifact, you must be the ones to pay the price.”
“But you said the price was blood or lust, right?” Jodi asked.
“Yes.” The female nodded. “Though I fear for you, it must be Blood. You have no males of your own with which to generate sexual energy and none of our males will defile themselves by mating with you.” She shook her head. “It is regrettable, though. Eggs that are fertilized through the energy generated by Blood are much more likely to crack before they can hatch. Still…” She shrugged her bony shoulders. “We have no other option. We must be able to breed and fertilize the eggs.”
“Right, of course…” Jodi swallowed hard. “Um, but let me ask you this, do you have to, uh, hurt both of us to make this work?”
“Well…” the female Varian seemed to consider. “I think that just one of you might do—as long as we could bleed you enough.”
“Take me, then,” Jodi said quickly. “I’m bigger than Melli and I have a lot more blood in me. I’m the one you ought to torture—to bleed—for your ceremony. Please—say you’ll only take me and set my little sister free!”
“Jodi, no!” Melli came to stand beside her. There were tears standing in her big blue eyes. “You can’t do this—I wont’ let you!” she exclaimed in a trembling voice. “Whatever we go through, we have to go through together.”
“No, we don’t,” Jodi said firmly, though her stomach was clenched like a slick fist. Turning to face her little sister, she put her hands on Melli’s arms and looked her in the eye. “Look at me, Melli—I’m not just doing this for you—I’m doing it for Mom. Just stop and think for a minute how awful she’ll feel if she loses us both! Besides, you have a life to look forward to with Liosh. And I…” She shrugged. “Well, I don’t have anybody anymore.”
“What about Vorn?” Melli demanded.
Jodi felt like she was going to cry, but she made herself hold back the tears for her little sister’s sake.
“No,” she said roughly. “He wouldn’t want me now, even if we could be together. He asked me to choose between him and James and I made the wrong choice.” She shook her head. “What an idiot I was! I thought that leaving James would be like Dad leaving Mom. But it wasn’t like that at all because Mom loved Dad. And James, well…” She laughed bitterly. “I guess it was pretty obvious he never really loved me at all.”
“James is a cowardly bastard,” Melli agreed. “But I still don’t want you dying for me, Jodi!”
“You have to let me do what I can,” Jodi said sternly. She turned to the female Varian who had been watching their exchange. “What about it? Can I be the only sacrifice? Please?”
The female nodded.
“I will speak to the elders, but I do not see why not. Only one is needed in a Blood sacrifice, though two are required for Lust.”
“Thank you.” Jodi’s mouth felt as dry as dust but she nodded eagerly. “Thank you so much.”
“You are welcome.” The female Varian extended one seven-fingered, claw-like hand and pointed at her untouched plate of food. “If I were you, I would eat. You will shortly need your strength to cope with the ordeal at the Breeding Forum tonight. Once you are mounted upon the stage, you will know the meaning of true pain as you are slowly bled dry. I suggest you consume the nourishing slugs.”
“I will, uh, certainly take that under advisement,” Jodi said, nodding. “Thank you,’ she added again.
The female Varian simply nodded and glided away, presumably to get the stage where Jodi would be tortured, all set up and ready to go for that night.
“Jodi!” Melli was weeping as she threw her arms around Jodi. “Jodi, please don’t do this!”
“I have to, Melli. Please understand.” Jodi hugged her back fiercely. All their lives she had done her best to protect her tender little sister from the evil and cruelty of the world. She had failed to keep Melli safe on that awful night of her Junior Prom, but she wouldn’t fail now, she swore to herself.
She would keep her little sister safe, even if she had to die to do it.
Forty-One
“Are you certain this technology will work?” Liosh asked, looking at Vorn uncertainly as the Beast Kindred strapped
