Shalia's Diary Book 11 Read online

  “I want to leave the lottery,” Candy said. “That means I have to be employed, or I can’t stay on Kalquor. I also can’t live on Rel with Stidmun, because it’s a military-only station.”

  “The military supplies so much to its people, they don’t have a lot of discretionary income to work with,” Larten agreed. “I’m not surprised you want to find work rather than have Stidmun pay your bills.”

  Candy grimaced. “The expense of paying for my own living quarters, even at the most basic level, would make it a major financial hardship on my Nobek. I have no intention of being a kept woman anyway.”

  Seot whistled. “You are that serious about being with just one man.”

  She grinned at him. “One specific man.”

  Cifa, bless him, didn’t hesitate for an instant. “I’ll check with personnel and see what they’ve got open, along with the qualifications required. I’ll tell them that if any department will train a motivated applicant, it will make me extremely happy.” He winked conspiratorially.

  Candy beamed at him with genuine gratitude. “I’ll be sure you don’t regret it, Cifa. Thanks heaps.”

  She’s made her final decision. I hope it goes well for her and the Stud Man.

  “You’re the best,” I told Cifa as we walked from the Matara Complex to the market area. “I think you deserve an extra special reward.”

  His adorable face lit up. “Oh, I’ll take that.”

  “I’m a pretty good guy too,” Larten said in a hopeful voice, earning laughter from the rest of us.

  We kept laughing for the rest of the night. I won’t say I didn’t have a few twinges when I thought things were going far too well, that it couldn’t possibly last, that I’d put my neck out with this relationship and it would soon be chopped off. But those instances were fleeting, and I was able to dismiss them fairly quickly.

  Mostly, I did as my therapist had recommended. I stayed in the moment, glorying in being the center of my clan’s attention. Appreciating every little thing they did for me. Noting dozens, if not hundreds, of kindnesses large and small. Reminding myself that I do trust them—it’s only my insecurities jumping in the way.

  I’m getting better at this. The fear is not as pronounced—I’m positive of that. I am exactly where I need to be, where I want to be, where Anrel and I deserve to be.

  January 13

  I’m not even sure where to begin with today’s entry. I’m in shock one second, in tears the next. To say the last few hours have been a rollercoaster would be putting it lightly.

  Last night’s date ended with the expected sexual shenanigans it should have. We didn’t keep our fun and games to the sleeping room. We were on a mission, one would think, to put our mark on every space of our home with the notable exception of Anrel’s nursery.

  Anrel. Oh sweet prophets, my little baby. When I think

  No. I will not finish writing that thought. I will not finish thinking that thought. I refuse to do that to myself.

  Last night our clan exhausted itself with sex, as if we’d just invented it and had to try each permutation possible. We were barely able to move this morning when Candy commed.

  “For you,” an uncharacteristically sluggish Larten mumbled as he handed the com to me. “It’s Candy.”

  Naturally, my first thought was of Anrel. I roused sufficiently to ask my bestie if everything was okay.

  “We’re great,” Candy assured me. “I’m sorry if I woke you all, but I have to head out to the market in a few minutes. I wanted you to know I’m taking Anrel with me, so you wouldn’t go to the complex and freak out if we’re not there.”

  “Thanks,” I said. Since there was no emergency, I was already snuggling between Cifa and Seot in anticipation of catching a few more winks. “When should we come?”

  “Take your time. I’ve got nothing big going on, so get here when you get here.”

  “You’re the best,” I mumbled. “See you later.” Seconds later, I was out again, snoozing like it was Saturday morning.

  Less than an hour later, the com went off again. When Larten picked it up and switched it on, Candy’s hysterical yelling woke us all up in an instant even though he hadn’t put her on the speaker. I jumped up and lunged across Cifa to grab Larten.

  “Is it about Anrel? Has something happened?” I demanded.

  Larten waved at me to quiet down and concentrated on the woman on the other end of the line. “Matara, I can’t understand you,” Larten said. When she kept screaming, he yelled, “Candy, calm down!”

  When she went quiet, I thought him yelling at her had worked. It had not. Her com had been taken away. Another voice spoke. My Nobek said, “This is Officer who?”

  All the breath left my body. In that second, everything went too clear as time stopped. I swear, I can remember each detail at that second. I recall the exact amount of pressure from Seot’s arms wrapping around me. I’ll never forget the look on Cifa’s face, the absolute terror of his expression as he grabbed Larten’s arm, the barely-there whisper of, “Anrel?”

  And the way Larten froze, the utter stillness of that Nobek’s visage the instant before his fangs appeared and murderous rage filled every mote of his being. It was astounding that he could seem so incredibly savage and continue to speak like a sane being. “The baby has a tracker implanted on her, Officer. You can contact my Dramok’s company to find her.” He kept talking and listening, snatching up a pair of pants from the floor where they’d been left the night before.

  As clear as I am on that moment, my own voice seemed as if it screamed from miles away. “She’s missing? Someone took her?”

  Seot released me with a thunderous shout. He swung around to the side table, where he’d left his personal com. He was on it and barking orders in Kalquorian, telling someone on the other end to connect him to the Emergency Tracking Division right away.

  Cifa was also moving, blurring out the door and back in. He flung clothes at me. “Get dressed now.”

  I crawled to the foot of the sleeping mat, clutching a shirt and skirt to my chest, bawling at the top of my lungs. I struggled to put my things on and locate shoes, tears blurring my vision and slowing me down.

  All I could think was, my baby, my baby, my baby. She couldn’t be gone.

  An awful certainty bloomed as Cifa tossed me unceremoniously on the bed so he could shove a pair of shoes on my feet. It shouldn’t be possible, not yet, but I thought there was only one person who might be crazy enough to steal Anrel in broad daylight.

  “Nang. Damn the bastard, it must be Nang,” I blabbered. Terror made me frantic. “Larten, Nang took my baby!”

  “We don’t know that, my love,” he said. Fully dressed and off the com, he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. “He couldn’t have made it to Kalquor yet. Even if he was able to get here straight from Earth, he still wouldn’t have made it by now.”

  Larten was carrying me through the home, starting at a trot and then at a run. We emerged in the shuttle bay. Before I knew it, I was in the cabin of the clan vessel, sitting on a bench with Cifa and Seot settling on either side of me. Larten was in the pilot’s seat, firing up the engine.

  Seot’s com went off. “Yes? Okay. Law enforcement’s moving in? Thank you. Com as soon as you hear anything else.” He turned to me. “They’ve already got a lock on Anrel’s location. She’s in a home in the underground residential area, near the Matara Complex.”

  I could barely credit what he was saying to me. I was in a panic, continuing to imagine Nang, his handsome face twisted into a demented mask, grabbing Anrel and running away. I saw him holed up in one of the rounded-shell-shaped homes, holding my baby hostage as police surrounded the building. Threatening her and demanding to see me.

  I surged to my feet and rushed to Larten’s side. “What did Candy say? What did she see?” I begged him.

  The underground’s landing pad, the same I’d first set foot on Kalquor from, was growing large on the window vid. Larten’s movements were swift and su
re as he zeroed in on a docking spot. “She saw nothing. She’d set Anrel down near the fountain to watch the fish. She turned to ask a busker a question, but she swears she was within grabbing distance of the baby. When she turned back around, Anrel wasn’t there. It was so early that few people were around. No one the police spoke to so far saw anything.”

  “Shalia, they’ve got a lock on her location,” Seot reminded me. “It’s going to be okay.”

  His tone wasn’t for my peace of mind, however. There was the sound of threat in it, as if he’d only spoken part of his thoughts: It’s going to be okay or I’ll kill someone.

  We were landing fast. Cifa came forward to make me sit in the copilot’s seat. He needn’t have worried. Despite the speed of our descent, Larten set us down as light as a feather.

  We all made quickly for the hatch the moment we were down. As we raced from the shuttle to the elevator contraption that would take us below the ground to the hollowed-out interior, the com on Cifa’s belt went off. It signaled using the tone I’d programmed on my unit, however.

  “I must have grabbed yours by mistake,” my Imdiko grimaced.

  “Give it to me. Maybe it’s important.” I still had images of Nang holding Anrel and contacting me with demands that I go to him. I snatched the com from Cifa and glanced at the frequency long enough to verify it was not known to me. “Yes? Hello?”

  “Matara Shalia?”

  The voice was not Nang’s. It was female, and I thought it was familiar. The speaker was obviously crying however, distorting her voice and keeping me from identifying her immediately. That, and the sound of Anrel wailing in the background.

  “Anrel? Where is she? Who are you?” I screamed into the com. I broke into a run towards the elevator building.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. I want to give her back to you. I didn’t mean—please, don’t hate me. It was a mistake! An awful mistake!” The woman sobbed almost as loud as Anrel.

  I fought not to lose my mind and keep the guys at bay. All three were grabbing at my arm, at the com. “Who is this?” I shouted again.

  “Matara Hina. We’ve met a few times on the beach. Near the market. I walked with you a few days ago.”

  I froze at the entrance to the elevator. Matara Hina had taken Anrel? The polished, Kalquorian beauty who doted on her each occasion we’d run into her?

  “Hina? Is Anrel all right?” My voice had gone from shouting to small as I tried to get a grasp on the unbelievable situation. I hardly noticed Seot pushing me into the elevator.

  “She wants her mother. I thought—I don’t know what I was thinking. I saw her in the market and remembered my baby girl, and I just—just—”

  She stopped, overcome by crying once more.

  “It’s a woman,” I overheard Larten saying. I looked to see him on his com. “Her name is Hina. My Matara is speaking to her right now.”

  I assumed he was talking to the authorities. My mind racing, I spoke to the crying woman on my line. “Hina, where are your clanmates?”

  “They’re all at work,” she said between moans. “What will they say when they find out? Oh, if I could only undo this!”

  The door opened. We were underground, though the ceiling vid made it seem a sunny day. Another perfect day on Kalquor, except a hysterical woman had snatched my child out of apparent temporary insanity.

  I had to handle her carefully. She had Anrel. I didn’t know how messed up Hina was.

  “Listen to me, Hina,” I said. “I’m coming to get Anrel. Okay? I’m not angry. But you need to know, Anrel has a tracker implanted on her. The authorities are on their way if they’re not outside your door right now. You need to com your Dramok to come home immediately.”

  She wailed. “I’m so sorry! He’ll never forgive me for being arrested. For taking a child.”

  “Of course he will. I’m Anrel’s mother, and I’ve forgiven you.” I’d have told her anything to make sure Anrel was okay.

  “There they are,” Larten said, pointing at a dwelling, in front of which about fifteen black-uniformed men swarmed. Half a dozen small, official shuttles had landed nearby. Only emergency vehicles were allowed in the underground area.

  “Hina, I’m almost to your home.” I sprinted on, ignoring the stitch in my side. “You don’t have to open the door until I get there, okay? I won’t let the authorities do anything to you until your Dramok comes home.”

  Her voiced still hitched, but she seemed to be calming down. “I’ve got him on the other line. I didn’t tell him what I’ve done yet. He’s on his way home now.”

  “Good. We’ll work this out,” I gasped. The officers had alerted to our approach. “Let me through and stay back! She’ll allow me to go in to get the baby,” I shouted.

  “They’re aware of the situation, my Matara,” Larten said. “They’ve keyed on the frequency exchange and have heard your conversation.”

  “Open the door, Hina,” I huffed. “I’m right outside.” I ran past the formsuited officers, straight up to the house.

  The oval-shaped door opened. Hina appeared. The big Amazon seemed to have shrunk the last time I’d seen her. Her usually regal face was streaked with tears, her expression devastated.

  She stood aside as I reached her. “Go to her,” she said, breaking into fresh weeping. “Anrel wants you.”

  I raced toward the sound of my baby’s sobs. She was steps away in the greeting room, sitting on a thick rug and surrounded by pillows. I scooped her up.

  “Hush, sweet baby. Mommy’s here. Mommy’s got you.”

  Immediately, the waterworks turned off. Anrel looked at me, hiccupped, and then beamed her two-toothed grin. She was all right. Upset, but perfectly fine from what I could see. My knees went weak with relief.

  I turned to Hina, who had closed the door behind me. “Anrel’s okay,” I told her. “See? Everything is okay.”

  I was trying to calm the woman down. She seemed so destroyed. Obliterated. She sank down to the floor and sat, her shoulders shaking as she cried.

  All at once, my concern for Hina wasn’t an act any longer. With Anrel unharmed, my desperate terror easing, I could see how devastated the Kalquorian woman was. Oh sweet prophets, it was the most pitiful display ever.

  She bawled, pulling handfuls of her long hair, curled on the floor like a beaten child. Despite what she’d done to me, taking my baby, I couldn’t help but be swamped by sympathy. Hina was that distraught. I had no doubt she was truly remorseful for what she’d done. I feared she might hurt herself in the wake of it all.

  “Hina, calm down. It’s going to be fine.”

  Life is fucking weird. My child was abducted, and I was trying to make the kidnapper feel better. However, I was pretty sure I knew why Hina did it. Her agony was heartbreaking to watch, even for me, the wronged mother.

  I went over and sat next to her. Anrel, bless her little heart, patted Hina’s hair, which hung over her face. She cooed, as if to say all was forgiven.

  I tried to reach through to her again. “Hina, try to calm down. Your Dramok is going to get here and think Anrel and I beat you up. Deep breaths, girl. Come on. You can do this.”

  I know I don’t do the cheerleader bit well, but my efforts seemed to have an effect.

  “I can’t believe I did this,” Hina said, lifting her head to peer at me through the curtain of hair. “How could I take your baby? Knowing what I do of losing a child, how could I do that? What kind of monster am I?”

  “You’re not a monster,” I insisted, taking her hand. “A monster wouldn’t have commed me. A monster wouldn’t be devastated over it. I don’t know why this happened, but it’s not because you’re a terrible person. I don’t believe that for a second.”

  She stared at me. She looked at me as if I’d declared myself empress of Kalquor. “If this had happened to me—if it was my child snatched by someone—I would have killed them. I wouldn’t have hesitated for a second.”

  I blinked at her and said the first stupid thing
that came to mind. “Do you have a blaster I can use?”

  Her mouth dropped open. All at once, Hina started laughing and crying, rocking back and forth under a somewhat merrier storm of emotions. Anrel crowed, clapped her hands, and then laughed along. Though she’d been upset when I’d arrived, she was back to herself. With any luck, she’d not been traumatized by her abduction.

  Hina was still laughing and crying when a tall, handsome man rushed through the door, with Larten and uniformed officers at his back. They stopped short to see all us gals sitting on the floor.

  Hina’s moment of hilarity ended when the man in the lead shouted, “My Matara! What is all this?”