The Lawgivers: Gabriel Part 10

As if he reached that point of awareness at about the same time, Gabriel roused himself and rolled off of her. He grunted when his back settled against the rough ground. as.h.i.+t! Did I peel the hide off of you?a There was a thread of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice that didnat mask the concern also there.

aIam not sure,a Lexa retorted with a touch of amus.e.m.e.nt in response. aI was sort of preoccupied. Guess Iall find out when I wash off.a Gabriel sent her a quick, searching look and grinned. aYou came all over my c.o.c.k.a Patting himself on the back, she mused? Or was that in the nature of a complaint? aOh! Donat you dare try to blame the mess on me!a He chuckled, sat up, and caught her when she began struggling to rise. Pulling her onto his lap, he searched her face. aI made it good for you, baby?a The question made a lump form in her throat, made her chest tighten with some unidentifiable emotion. She smiled back at him a little shyly. aYou made it good for me, Gabriel. Thank you.a His face darkeneda"with discomfort, she thought. She didnat wait around to find out what thoughts had produced the frown that gathered his dark brows together over the bridge of his nose. She pulled away and moved back into the water.

He watched her for a few moments and then followed her.

aWe should get dressed and get back, I guess, although Iam not looking forward to that.a He caught her arm, pulling her against his length.

Which is when Lexa made a startling and unsettling discovery.

There were two long, thick, hard c.o.c.ks pressing against her mound. Her eyes widened. That was what shead felt rubbing her c.l.i.t that had set off the most wonderful thing shead ever felt?

aIf youare in no great hurry, I could be persuaded to do that again.a

Chapter Twelve.

A rush of pleasure went through Lexa despite the doubts that also surfaced.

She hadnat expected him to want to couple againa"certainly not so soona"but it made her feel wonderful that he wanted to.

The doubts were a little harder to pin down, but she thought it was mostly a fear that another coupling wouldnat leave her with the glow she felt at that moment and she wanted to cling to that to wash away all the ugly from before. It seemed nothing short of miraculous that it had been wonderful. She didnat want to risk losing that feeling.

She realized she was also afraid that he would tire of her very quickly and another round of s.e.x would leave him feeling as if head satisfied whatever need had made him decide to couple with her at all. As shead always been in habit of doing whenever bad thoughts arose, though, she pushed those from her mind and yielded to the desire shead been struggling with for a long time, she explored the feel of his skin with her palms and fingertips. His skin, cooled by the night air, reacted by tightening and pebbling and she met his gaze again questioningly.

His expression had grown taut but before she could interpret that to mean that her touch wasnat welcome, he drew her toward the edge of the pool again. This time, instead of immediately mounting her, he settled beside her with his head propped on one palm and skated a hand over her belly and upwards to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She s.h.i.+vered as she felt the warmth and faint roughness of his palm awaken her flesh to heightened sensation. For a few moments she felt herself seesawing between delight and discomfort as she looked down at his hand on her, dismayed to see the ugly projection of rib bones and pelvic bones tenting skin that lacked the flesh to soften them, but when she searched his face she saw from his expression that he didnat find her appearance repulsive. Relaxing fractionally, she reached to explore him again with her gaze and light, tentative touches and he ceased his own exploration to allow it, moving his hand down to rest lightly on her hip.

Moonlight gleamed on the water on his skin, creating a landscape of mounds and shadowy dips that emphasized his musculature so that she could see that he was as beautifully made as shead imagined him to be. The firmness of his flesh was infinitely pleasing, began to warm her inside, created that strange tension that shead begun to equate with him before shead realized it was a precursor to want that could escalate to a sense of desperation.

That thought brought her interest to his genitals naturally enough. She thought the double appendages sprouting from the nest of hair at his groin would have unnerved her if shead seen how he was made before head given her so much please. Now it was a source of interest and curiosity rather than fear and she reached lower to examine him. They jutted toward her as if eager for her touch and she stroked first one and then the other.

aIam made like your women,a she said, trying to keep the dismay from her voice.

His fingers tightened on her hip and he drew her close enough to nestle his genitalia against her belly, b.u.mping her slightly. aIave no complaint,a he murmured, dipping his head lower and nibbling at her shoulder and the side of her neck. aDoes it bother you?a It did, but not in the sense he meant. Shead expected him to be different from any other man shead known and that was a good thing.

It did bother her, a lot, to think he might not find it especially pleasurable to be with her.

aYou could a Iad be ok with it if you want to put the other in the a uh a the other place,a she said tentatively.

He lifted his head to study her face. She could see he was torn at the invitation, but she didnat know if that was because he found the idea intriguing or repellent. aThe idea is to pleasure one another,a he said finally. aYou werenat made for that and Iad think it would be painful for you.a It had beena"very. But somehow she didnat think it would be with him and, in any case, she desperately wanted to please him. aItas ok,a she said, unable to bring herself to a.s.sure him he wouldnat hurt her.

He s.h.i.+fted downward to nuzzle his face against hers. aIt isnat ok to hurt you and it wouldnat be ok with me to give you pain instead of pleasure.a He wanted to, she decided. He just didnat want to hurt her and that realization helped allay her lingering doubts. She t.i.tled her head to meet his lips. aYou could try it.a Instead of responding, he kissed her lingeringly on the lips and then redirected his kisses to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, moving from one to the other until she felt the building desperation to have him enter her and began to move against him. He slid between her thighs at her urging, but, as if he sensed the sudden tension that seized her when he did, he merely moved against her for a time, kissing her on the lips, throat and neck until she began to b.u.mp her mound against his belly in demand. That time when she felt the probe near her r.e.c.t.u.m, she closed her mind to it and focused on the feel of his c.o.c.k against the mouth of her s.e.x.

He penetrated both slowly, merely pumping against her for a few moments until the twin heads penetrated both openings. He paused, giving her a moment to adjust and then pus.h.i.+ng inside a little more and withdrawing until her natural lubrication eased the tension of skin stretched uncomfortably tight. She struggled to make herself relax, to focus on the pleasurable feel of being filled and his next thrust took him deeper with little discomfort.

Surprise flickered through her and then pleasure stirred to life and the sense of being filled by him. He paused again and pushed himself up on his arms to study her face. Apparently satisfied, he lowered himself again and, slowly but surely, increased his pace until he set a rhythm that diverted Lexa from any thought of pain. She felt the pleasurable tension building and focused on it, concentrated on attaining the gift head given her before, hopeful, doubtful, but determined to reach it if she could.

She discovered it wasnat the battle shead expected. Almost as soon as the discomfort gave way to ripples of pleasure those waves became harder and came faster, rus.h.i.+ng her upwards toward the peak she was straining to reach. This time when the tension broke and her pleasure crested it almost seemed to shatter her mind into a million, brilliant fragments of light, as if the pleasure was so intense it couldnat be contained. The low, pleasurable groan escalated to sharp, ecstatic cries, blinding her to the world beyond the explosion inside of her.

She had no awareness of when Gabriel found his own release. She was still coming down from her own experience when he ceased to move and settled heavily against her. His deep, satisfied chuckle was the first thing that actually penetrated her coc.o.o.n of bliss.

aBetter?a aOh my G.o.d,a Lexa gasped.

Lexa had never gotten into the habit of saying no. Shead wanted to, many times, but she knew that Ralph was liable to knock her senseless if she even looked like she wanted to object. It wasnat fear that made her hold her peace, though, when Gabriel coaxed her into a second coupling and then a third. It was grat.i.tude for the pleasure head given her, the hope of receiving more of the same, and pleasure that he wanted her that way.

Shead gotten far more than shead expected. She would never have dreamed any man could make her feel as Gabriel had.

Of course she knew better than to think it made her special to him in any way even though it had been a life altering experience for her. Men just liked to f.u.c.k and they would at any opportunitya"if they could get their hands on a woman, willing or not. She supposed a willing woman had a certain appeal since they didnat have to work nearly as hard to get their pleasure, but then Gabriel had indicated that that was what he was accustomed toa"women that wanted him to f.u.c.k them.

She understood nowa"completelya"at least why women wanted Gabriel to f.u.c.k them. She wasnat so sure that she believed it was the common way of things among the angel-demons, whatever Gabriel had suggested, but she supposed it was possible if they were all as handsome and exciting as Gabriel wasa"if they could make their women feel the way Gabriel had made her feel.

He was handsome. It was a pure pleasure just to look at him. To touch him and be touched by him was beyond the most wonderful thing shead ever experienced before. She hadnat expect to c.u.m, as he referred to it, after that first time, but she had, which was a very welcome surprise for her when shead only agreed for his sake. Mostly.

Her s.e.x was sore by the time theyad coupled the third time and she was so drained from her experience that the flight back to the campsite wasnat nearly as terrifying as the first time had been. It was still scary. She just couldnat arouse enough energy to reach the peak of terror she had before.

Contrary to her hope that the entire episode would remain their secreta"and she thought Gabriel had been hopeful of the same thing or he wouldnat have suggested that she wait until everyone was asleepa"their return didnat escape notice. Gabriel had seemed reluctant to release her immediately once theyad settled on the ground and shead enjoyed the embrace that had changed from security to keep her from falling to one that seemed purely for pleasure. Head stiffened after a moment, however, releasing her slowly and when shead pulled away shead discovered he was looking at something over her head.

She started when she discovered the shadowy figure behind them and then felt a moment of panic when she recognized the figure as the woman whoad come with the suppliesa"walking beside the scary thing that had strange, metal legs and a flattened body but no head. The womanas eyes narrowed when Lexa met her gaze and she felt a wave of anger that almost seemed physical. Glancing from the woman to Gabriel, she saw that Gabriel was focused completely on the angel woman and dismay filled her.

She wasnat certain what it was that pa.s.sed between them, but she suddenly felt like the outsider she knew herself to be rather than the appreciated lover. Without a word, feeling as if shead vanished completely from notice, she headed back to her pallet and settled there, listening for angry voices she never heard.

She was still straining to hear the argument she expected when she fell asleep.

Gah-re-al knew that the idea head hatched had far more to do with a desire to be alone with Lexa again than the search for answers to some of the questions the udai had about the world theyad colonized. Head managed to convince himself that it would serve his purpose to claim that was his motive, however, when he was questioned by his superiorsa"and he would bea"and he discovered that that was all he cared about at the moment. It was reasonable even though his actual motive wasnat.

And he might just get away with it without the risk of flus.h.i.+ng his career down the toilet.

aThereas something I want to show you.a Lexa looked at Gabriel in surprise when he spoke. Shead been so focused on her thoughts she hadnat noticed that it was him that had moved up to walk beside her.

Well a and her misery. As much as shead enjoyed the night they spent together, she was paying for it in pain now, aching almost as much as if shead been in fight rather than spent half the night rutting a and enjoyed every minute of it. She thought it might not be so bad if shead had more sleep before shead been rousted from her pallet to march again, but shead had just enough time for unused muscles to get stiff and sore.

A surge of pleasure instantly rose inside of her. aWhat?a she asked hopefully.

He looked amused, as if he knew shead immediately jumped to the conclusion that he wanted her in that way again. She felt her face heating with discomfort.

aIad have to carry you. It would take much too long to reach the place on foot,a Gah-re-al said, deciding to ignore the look that told him she was thinking about the trip theyad taken the night before. The trip might even take longer than he thought it would, he added mentally, since head be carrying her and he was already sore from carrying her the night before. She was a tiny thinga"which was why he hadnat considered it would be any great feat beforea"and far too thin even for her small frame, but they were still a good distance from his goal and the trip the night before had taken more out of him than head expected.

Well, head had f.u.c.king on his mind, he reminded himself wryly. He hadnat actually spent a lot of time thinking about the logistics of getting her there and back when shead have to depend on him to carry her.

Fear flickered in her eyes. aOh.a She swallowed convulsively several times.

He shook his head at her. aOn my honor, I would not allow anything to happen to you. I know it scares you, but I think youall think this is worth seeing.a Lexa nodded jerkily instead of flatly refusing. It warmed her that he had promised to protect her, but it didnat make her any less afraid. aWhen?a aRight now.a aOh. Well a uh a what is it?a He chuckled, drawing the notice of the people closest to thema"or their gazes. Lexa was pretty sure theyad already been straining to hear the conversation without being too obvious. aItall be better if I just show you.a Dismay flickered through Lexa. Her stomach was already knotting and churning at the prospect of going high into the sky again, but she wanted the opportunity to go with him again, even if it had nothing to do with coupling, and she just couldnat bring herself to refuse him.

aOk,a she replied finally.

He moved closer. Taking her arms, he lifted them to his shoulders and told her to lace her fingers together behind his head for a better hold as she had the night before. He wrapped one arm around her upper back then and reached down to cup her b.u.t.tocks with the other, lifting her off the ground. She tightened her arms when she heard the swoos.h.i.+ng sound of his wings as they stirred the air around them, squeezing her eyes tightly closed.

She would never have thought she was capable of maintaining fear for such a long time. Whatever it was that Gabriel was determined to show her was clearly a very long way away, though. They stopped repeatedly so that he could rest and stretch. She didnat object. She was just glad to have her feet firmly on the ground for short periods of time, but it scared the h.e.l.l out of her every time they went airborne again.

Lexa s.h.i.+vered as she stared at the sight before her, feeling her flesh creep and her belly float upwards with the sensation of falling. aWhat is it?a she whispered.

Gah-re-al had been studying her rather than the excavation, trying to gauge her reaction, but at that he turned to stare at the remains of the city below them. aIt was a city once.a Lexa whipped a sharp look at him. aThe city?a she whispered in a strange voice.

Her tone instantly caught Gah-re-alas attention. aYou know about this?a She shook her head slightly without dragging her gaze from the panorama that stretched out below. aSir saw the city one time. He said he went there with his parents. He described it but a.a aA city like this?a Lexa gaped at him. aThere was more than one?a aIam guessing quite a few more,a Gah-re-al responded quietly. aMy people have found the remains of several.a Lexa frowned. aWho lived here?a Gah-re-al hesitated, but he was convinced Lexa was descended from the builders. He still doubted the majority of the humansa"if anya"were, but Lexa was different and it went beyond the unusual coloring. Shead risked her life to help him when head been attacked by the cougar. That wasnat something someone completely focused on their own survival would have done. They wouldave run in the hope that he would keep the cat occupied long enough for them to escape, he thought wryly. She had the n.o.bility of spirit one expected of a higher race. aYour people.a Lexa sent him a disbelieving look.

Gah-re-al shrugged. aAt least thatas what my people believea"the khabler. The word in your language was archeologist. They study ancient cultures by digging up and examining what theyave left behind. Itas been a difficult to put together the civilization that built these cities weave founda"very few remains of the inhabitants. The skeletal remains they have found were definitely human, but thereas no way to say with absolute certainty whether they were the people that lived here or a.a He broke off. Her people had become scavengers if they really were descendants of the original inhabitants. The avillagesa where head found all of those head found thus far were like the one below thema"built long before the people that now occupied them and crumbling to dust around them.

Lexa frowned. aBut you donat believe it?a He shrugged. aYou tell me. Did your people build these cities? And if so, how is it that no one seems to remember? Or to remember how to do any of the things that your people once knew how to do?a A mixture of shame and resentment flickered through Lexa. She wasnat completely certain of why beyond the fact that it seemed that Gabriel thought they were too primitive and backwards to ever have done anything likea"or even close toa"what his people had.

It seemed to her that hea"probably all of his peoplea"just wanted to see her people as beneath them. Why? So they felt justified in taking over what didnat belong to them?

Despite her resentment, images flickered through her mind of the village the people at the encampment had come from. It hadnat looked much different from any other village shead seen in her wanderings and, with great reluctance, it struck her that they were a sad, sorry lot.

Why had no one gone back to the great cities theyad built, she wondered abruptly? How had they sunk so low?

The olders like Sir had to have remembered many things from before.

But then it was a rare thing to see olders, she realized, and even Sir hadnat been able to do many of the things he remembered from before. Head said his garden didnat grow well because the earth wasnat the same, and maybe that was true and why no one had been able to make things like before? Maybe it was because the ones who should have remembered had forgotten? And maybe it was just because everyone was too busy trying to stay alive to do anything else?

aWould you like to see more? Itas safe enough.a She wanted to. At the same time, it made her feel strangely sad, and afraid, and ashamed. Finally, she nodded, though, her curiosity overcoming her reluctance.

That time when Gabriel held her tightly and flew down to the hard street below them she scarcely noticed the discomfort. She was too busy trying to see what was below her for a change.

The street, she saw when Gabriel alit, was the hard, black ribbon Sir had describeda"sort of. The black rock was fractured all over, like the surface of a frozen pond and there were great pits and small pits everywhere. As she stared into the distance, though, she could see that it did look the way head described ita"wide and very long, seeming to go on forever.

It was even filled with the things Sir had described as cars. At least, that was what she thought they must be even though they were mostly crushed and flattened. On either side, there were tall buildings like head described, too.

It had to be athe citya! Sir had said it was a very long way from their farm.

Shead thought of it as a story when she was a child and head told them about ita"something magical and fanciful and not really real. When shead grown up, shead decided that must have been what the stories were, something head made up to entertain them because she had walked a very long way and shead never seen anything like the place he describeda"not before.

This was real, though, and if it was real and Sir had seen it when he was a child then it was their people whoad built it!

Maybe.

What if it was just that his parents had found a place like this and taken him there?

aSir saw athe citya when he was a child,a she said after a while. aHe described it to us.a aWhat was the city called?a Lexa blinked at him blankly. aThe city.a He frowned. aYou said your father saw it? Not your mother?a Uneasiness flickered through Lexa. She always felt uneasy when he questioned her. She wasnat certain why it made her feel threatened somehow, but she didnat know why he wanted to know the things he asked and it was the possibility that it was awronga to tell him that made her uncomfortable. aI donat think so,a she finally admitted reluctantly. aShe was born before, I think, but she didnat talk about it like Sir.a aSo your father was older than your mother?a aI guess. He was a long beard.a aA what?a aThe boysa"the human boysa"they have hair on their faces. It grows and mostly they let it so it gets very long. Siras had no color, like the hair on his head. I never seen many with hair with no color like his.a She frowned. aSome of Ralphas hair was like Sirasa"no colora"and some a yellow. He was a long beard, too, but his wasnat as long.a They walked in silence for a time, peering into the gaping holes of dark, cave-like buildings they pa.s.seda"those that seemed relatively whole. There was a good deal of rubble piled in places that were nearly as high as a mountain. When they paused at the intersection of two streets, Gah-re-al reached out and lightly ran a hand along a lock of Lexaas hair. aThis hair a did you get it from your mother? Or your father?a Lexa blinked at him. aItas my hair.a He chuckled. aWas your motheras hair this color?a She shook her head. aIt was dark like yours but not as dark.a aThen your father.a aHis hair was no color.a aThe man who fathered you,a Gah-re-al clarified.

Lexa frowned. aMother never talked about him.a He shook his head. aChildren usually look like one parent or the other a or sometimes like both. The color of the hair and eyes and skin. The shape of the facial features a.a Lexa shrugged. aI donat know. I canat see my face.a A jolt of surprise went through Gah-re-al. It hadnat occurred to him that she might not know what her own face looked like, but he realized, then, that there were few reflective surfaces where she might have seen her face and those that did reflect also distorted.

aYou look like your parents?a she asked curiously.

That question sent another unpleasant jolt through him because it was nearly as unexpected as the comment before and he hadnat had time to brace for it. He shrugged. aMy mother died at my birth and a I never knew my father.a The sympathy in Lexaas gaze discomfited him. aThatas a that makes me feel sad. My babies died and I cried for them because I never got to know them or got the chance to love them and know their love. How sad for you and your mother. She missed so much.a Gah-re-al had never considered it from his motheras viewpoint, naturally enough, only his own. He wondered if his mother would have felt as Lexa dida"sad that she couldnat be there to love him or know his love.

It wasnat a thought he wanted to dwell on, however. It made him feel a hollow inside and he had spent many years trying to bury that sense of emptiness that had plagued his childhood each time head seen other children with their parentsa"and the anger.

Shaking the unwelcome memories, he redirected his mind and Lexaas to his purpose for taking her to show her the city. aMy people believe that it was your people who built these cities. They want to teach them the things that were lost so that your people can live as you once dida"build new cities.a Lexaas heart was thudding, but although most of it, she was sure, was because of the way Gabriel had looked at her and touched her hair, some of it was excitement at the thought of living as these people must havea"the way Sir had told her things were abeforea.

She still felt some uneasiness, as well. aWhy would they do that?a He shrugged and grimaced. aI was appointed as a Lawgivera"to help to bring order to the wild territories because the gangs, particularly the roving gangs, create problems for the colonists. The ones that take over the villages usually only create problems for those weaker than themselves.

aPart of it is nothing more than thata"to establish peace between our two peoples so that we can focus on our own comfort. There are also those who believe that your people will eventually perish if something isnat done to help your people recover from the destruction of your civilization. If you are the people who built the great civilization of this world, your numbers have dwindled and this will only continue with such limited resources. They believe itas the only way to save your people. They want to do it because the udai are a civilized people who consider the death of an entire civilization a great loss to all.a He was saying they were all going to die if they didnat learn from the angel-demons, Lexa thought, feeling uneasiness p.r.i.c.k her?

Was that so hard to believe, though? She knew how hard it was to survive from personal experience, how hard she had to struggle every day to find food and water. She also knew that it had been hard even before shead struck off on her owna"for everyone. In all the time shead wandered she hadnat come upon anyone or any place where the story was different.

She thought about what Gabriel had said as they began to walk again and found herself trying to picture what it might have been like to have lived in such a place with all the things Sir had told her about that had seemed so wondrous. Water that could be had by simply turning on a fauceta"whatever that wasa"but in every place. Food that one could get just by going to a place called a grocery storea"all kinds of food and plenty of it.

She thought the angels must live like that. They never looked hungry and thirsty and she was almost always both. Everyone she knew or had ever known was almost always hungry or thirsty or both.

They had things that Sir had never told her about and she knew theyad come here from another world and she didnat think even the abeforea was like thata"that her people had traveled from one world to another. aThatas what the relocation and rehabilitation is?a she asked finally.

aYes.a Lexa frowned. aWe wouldnat have been so scared if youad explained that.a Discomfort wafted through Gah-re-al. aYou have a point. Iam not sure they wouldave cooperated anywaya"or believed, however. They donat trust us.a He shrugged. aAnd honestly, I didnat know they didnat understand.a Lexa shrugged. aYou wiped out the king and his gang.a aThat shouldave built trust,a he said with disgust. aThe kings and their gangs prey upon the weak. Theyare the worst savages.a Meaning they were all savages as far as he was concerned?

She knew he thought they werea"primitive savages hardly better than animals.

He must think they were better than that, though, if he thought theyad built the great city? And he thought they could learn the things theyad forgotten?

It seemed to her that it would take a whole lot of learning, but then maybe not?

aIt was scary the way you did it.a He lifted his brows at her. aI didnat think you stayed around long enough to watch,a he said dryly.

aI didnat see much, actually. It was scary, but it was the judgment thing. It was like they do things. They just decide.a Anger flickered through him. aYouare saying they werenat guilty of the most heinous crimes?a Lexa frowned. aNot sure what heinous is.a aRape, murder, torture.a aOh. Well, I donat know. Iad just got there.a He shook his head in disgust. aI do. Iave cleaned out my share of the vermin in my time.a Lexa was certain he was right. Shead seen her share of them and she hadnat seen any anicea ones. Ralph wasnat even the worst shead run across and head done some pretty horrible things. aWhat were you before you were a Lawgiver?a she asked curiously.

aA soldier.a Lexa frowned. aWhatas that?a Gah-re-al looked at her blankly for a moment and struggled with a definition she might understand. Finally, he grinned wryly. aPretty much the same thing I do now. A little different. When I was a soldier, I was part of a larger group that enforced the peace.a aOh. Were you born here?a He glanced at her and then looked away. aNo.a aSo youare one of the angel-demons that came from the stars?a He sent her an amused glanced. aAngel-demons?a aThatas what my people call yours a because of the wings. They got it out of a book.a Gah-re-al looked a question.

Lexa shrugged. aSir said. He never said what book only that the star people looked like the beings called angels in this book and thatas what everybody called them. They were like G.o.ds, I think.a Gah-re-al lifted his brows in surprise. aIf thatas true, I donat think I understand why your people seem to hate and fear mine.a Lexa glanced at him with amus.e.m.e.nt. aThey werenat nice, I donat think. They brought the wrath of G.o.d in a war on the earth and stuff like that. Mostly they punished people for doing things G.o.d didnat like.a He grimaced. aI think I see what you mean. We had no purpose in coming, though, except to find a place for our people to live.a aSo you came when the others came?a aNo. I came only a few years ago. Before that I was on another worlda"a colony like this one. Not the home world.a Lexa stared into the distance, trying to wrap her mind around what head said. aWhatas home world?a He grimaced. aOvercrowded,a he said wryly. aItas called Narthia.a Lexa glanced at him curiously. aOvercrowded? Youave seen it?a He grunted. aFar too many people living there. Yes. I was sent there to become a soldier when I came of age. They only keep children in the orphan facilities until theyare of age and then they send them to learn a useful tradea"ausefula generally means becoming a soldier.a Lexa puzzled over some of the things he said, unfamiliar with a lot of the words he used. She got the general idea, though. Head been sent away as soon as he was old enough to a place he hadnat liked. He didnat have to tell her that he hadnat. There was no pleasure in his face when he told her about it.

aThey didnat ask you if you wanted to be a soldier?a she guessed.

He uttered a bark of a laugh that held no humor. aThey didnat ask. Orphans are suited to the trade, though, since they have no familiesa"and theyare accustomed to the rigid discipline required of a soldier.a aWhat was it like?a He glanced at her in surprise, but he smiled faintly. aDo you really want to know?a She realized she wasnat just curious because head spoken about things she really didnat understand. She wanted to know about hima"anything he was willing to tell her. She nodded.

She discovered that it was easier to understand the life he described than shead expected. It certainly wasnat the wonderful life shead thought he must have had. He hadnat had to worry about food, water, and shelter as she had, but he hadnat had choices either. Head had officers always telling him what to do until head become one himself.

And head had to fight to survive.

It sounded to her as if he had spent most of his life fighting to survive. It was no wonder, she mused, that he was so very good at fighting.