And, yes, he was my Leo-now, forever, and always.

*308 *56*.

Chapter 15.

I wasted no time in locating the woman in the crowd who'd seemed so knowledgeable about Zetithians-and she wasn't too difficult to locate, because she had four of them with her! Three of them were children, but that they were Zetithians was undisputable-and also that the adult male knew Leo.

"Leccarian!" he called out.

Leo's head spun around so fast, I thought he would pull a muscle. "Cark?" he said in a voice that sounded nothing like his own.

The tall, dark-haired Zetithian grinned, revealing his fangs. "I thought it was you," he said. "But I did not wish to interrupt. You seemed...occupied."

I'd never seen Leo cry, but if he didn't have a few tears in his eyes at that point, I'd have thought much less of him. The rest of what they said to one another must have been in Zetithian, because I didn't catch a word of it.

"You two know each other?" I exclaimed. "I'd heard the galaxy was getting smaller, but I never dreamed..."

The tall, dark-haired woman with him responded with a smile. "Me either! Cat said there might be others, but, honest to God, finding another one is like finding a needle in a haystack-one helluva big haystack, too." I couldn't have agreed more, since Zetithians were obviously pretty rare. "What are the odds of finding two of *309 *56*.

310.

Cheryl Brooks them?" she marveled. "Must be about a hundred quadrillion to one!"

The man she called Cat looked up from hugging Leo, "I believe it would be more."

"Probably would, at that," she agreed. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Jack Tshevnoe of the starship Jolly Roger, and this incredibly sexy fellow is my husband, Carkdacund Tshevnoe-otherwise known as 'Cat'."

Bending down, she herded three pint-sized versions of her husband toward me. "And these guys are Larry, Moe, and Curly. They've got Zetithian names, of course, but they're as unwieldy as Carkdacund; I had to call them something for short! I wanted to name them Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, but Cat wouldn't let me-thought it would be too confusing."

Cat rolled his eyes and laughed. There was a joke there somewhere, but I didn't get it. No doubt I would be enlightened at some point.

I shook Jack's outstretched hand, staring at her in awe. What a woman! Tall, lean, and muscular, she looked tough enough to take on Rafe and Brandon at the same time and beat them both in a fair fight. And what a man! He could have been Leo's brother, except for their coloring. And she'd introduced herself as captain of her own starship, no less! My wanderlust returning with a vengeance, I thought, now here is a woman who really has spread her wings to fly! Other women might have envied her the man standing next to her, or her adorable children, but all I could think about was her ship.

"Must be great to have your own ship," I remarked.

"You can go anywhere you want, can't you?"

*310 *56*.

warrior 311.

"Well, yeah," she agreed. "Most of the time. We've had a few close calls, but mostly we haven't had too much trouble." She glanced around suspiciously. "You haven't got any Nedwuts on this planet, have you?"

"Never heard of them," I replied. "But that doesn't mean there aren't any. I haven't traveled much."

Jack eyed me speculatively. "They said you were a witch. Just what kind of witch would that be?"

"A good witch," I replied. "I'm a healer...nothing more," I added out of habit. Then I thought, well, since everybody else already knows... "Though I can communicate with animals...and...start fires with my eyes," I added lamely.

Jack just looked at me for a moment, then scratched her head. "Got to be a way to make a profit with those talents!"

Shrugging my shoulders in an offhand gesture, I said, "Not really. At least, not around here."

"Well," answered Jack, "I wasn't thinking of 'around here.' It's a big fuckin' galaxy, you know."

"Yes, but I'm sort of stuck here," I said. "I have a responsibility to the people of my domain."

Jack viewed me with open skepticism. "Listen to me-what's your name?"

"Tisana," I replied.

"Well, Tisana, I'm sure they could find someone to take your place-and besides, it's not every day that two of the last remaining Zetithians find each other. It'd be a damn shame to split them up now, wouldn't it?"

My mouth fell open. "You mean you'd take us with you?" I whispered hoarsely. "On your ship? Through space?"

*311 *56*.

312.

Cheryl Brooks "Do bees be? Do bears bear?"

I felt like I was talking to Craynolt. "Huh?"

"I mean yes," she said, laughing. "And don't worry, Cat doesn't get that one, either." Rolling her eyes, she added, "He's still got so much to learn!"

I must have looked like I was about to faint, because Gerald wanted to know if I was having morning sickness.

"No, Gerald," I replied. "It's not that. She just offered to take us with them."

"Where to?"

"Into space! Into the sky!"

"Go for it, Tisana!" Gerald urged. "This is one chance you may never get again as long as you live! You took me with you, remember? You gave me a chance to prove myself, now it's your turn!"

He was right, but my head was already spinning with the possibilities. To travel to other worlds! To fly past the stars! What could be more exciting than that?

"But how could I leave you guys?" I asked him. "And Morgana and Desdemona?"

"You can take the cat with you," he said reasonably.

"But I think the horse had better stay here."

"Yeah," I replied. "I guess it would work."

"What about me? Can I come, too?"

I looked down into Max's soulful eyes. What is it about dogs that can make even the toughest person want to cry?

"You'd take me with you, wouldn't you?"

"Max," I said gently. "You need to stay here with Rafe and the boys. You belong to them."

"But I don't want to," he said stoutly. "I can run away. Dogs do it all the time."

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warrior 313.

"But would you like to be on a ship all the time?

Never get to chase squirrels anymore?"

Max shook his head so hard his ears made a snapping sound. "Chasing squirrels isn't all it's cracked up to be," he said. "I want to stay with you. It doesn't matter where we live."

"So, what about it, Tisana?" Jack was saying. "Want to go where no witch has gone before?"

I looked over at Leo, who was obviously overjoyed to have found his old friend. Jack was right; we shouldn't split them up so soon. I didn't even have to feel like I was being selfish, because I was sure he wanted it every bit as much as I did. But still, I thought it best to ask.

"What do you want to do, Leo?"

"I want to be with you, wherever you go," he replied.

"I will remain here if you wish."

"She doesn't wish," Jack said knowingly. "So you'd best be packing your bags, Bucko."

"Um, that's Leo," I reminded her.

"Figure of speech," she said with a casual wave.

"Don't get your panties in a wad."

Seeing my puzzled look, Cat remarked, "Yes, Jacinth is very odd, but it is not difficult to become accustomed to her ways."

"Hey, if I can understand an otterell, I'm sure I can figure her out, too," I declared. "Might take a while, though." I looked down at Max. Housebreaking him would be no trouble at all, since I could talk to him.

Desdemona might not like the idea of leaving my cottage, but I knew her pretty well, and I was sure that as long as she had plenty to eat and a warm place to curl *313 *56*.

314.

Cheryl Brooks up, she'd be happy. "Um, Jack-er, Jacinth-which is your real name?"

"It's Jacinth," she said grimly. "But Cat's the only one who says it the way I like to hear it."

"Jacinth," Leo said experimentally.

"Damn, he can do it, too!" Jack exclaimed. "Must be a Zetithian thing. I guess you can call me Jacinth, too, Leo-but no one else is allowed." Returning her attention to me, she went on, "Now, what were you going to ask?"

"Can I bring along a dog and a cat?"

"Sure, my ship's pretty big. That dog there?" she asked, pointing at Max.

"Yes," I replied. "He says he wants to come along.

I'll have to ask the cat, but she probably will, too."

Desdemona might hate Max for a while, but I was pretty sure she'd get used to him. If I could get a squirrel and an otterell to work together, a dog and a cat should be a piece of cake.

"That's settled, then!" Jack said. "And don't worry about paying passage or any stupid shit like that. We'll make millions off of your ability to talk to animals!" She paused a moment, as though considering our other options.

"Might not be a good idea to market the fire-starting thing, though. Might make people a little nervous."

"That's what I've always thought," I agreed. "Maybe we should keep it quiet."

"But it would be useful if we meet any more Nedwuts," Cat pointed out.

"Oh, no shit!" Jack exclaimed. "She could roast their hairy little asses, couldn't she?" Jack seemed terribly pleased with this idea. She must have really hated Nedwuts, whatever they were.

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warrior 315.

"And Leccarian is a very good fighter," Cat added.

"He was the best swordsman in our company."

If anyone expected Leo to disclaim, they'd have been disappointed. He just nodded and smiled.

"Ha! Those fuckin' Nedwuts won't stand a chance!"

Jack declared. "With a few more of us, we could take on their whole damn planet!"

"Excuse me," I said meekly. "What are Nedwuts?"

"Just the nastiest, slimiest bastards in the galaxy!"

she replied. "They're the ones who destroyed Zetith!"

She eyed me speculatively. "Don't suppose you could blow up a planet just by looking at it, could you?"