"I'm going to kill you, Leith, for the universe to see. I don't intend to get away with it. Everything is spoiled now. All I can do is make sure the Rep suffers."

"But why?"

"Why not?" Steve opened the door and checked to see if the corridor was clear. He pushed her through the door. "Remember, Leith, I have the Blaser on you at all times. And if you make me use it, I will take as many Artilians as I can as well."

Leith allowed herself to be herded along. Where there's life, there's hope. Maybe Steve would exact his revenge in front of the universe, but Leith felt that every moment alive was one moment closer to rescue. Drew had to be alive, tricked as Steve said. Drew would be her salvation somehow.

Steve pushed her through the door at the other end of the corridor, into a dimly lit back hallway.

Hurry, Drew, Leith thought as Steve led her deeper behind the Great Hall.

The Council of Elders led J'Qhir away from the unrelenting reporters, the flashing cams, and Leith. He had wanted to twine his fingers around hers and take her with him. Find a place where they could be alone. So many things he wanted to ask her, tell her, do to her.

Now was not the time. The three Council Elders of the Bh'rin'gha, disgruntled by his seeming disregard for the situation, despised him for bringing such garish attention to Zi-as if he had a choice in the matter. They acted as if he engineered this entire plot to put himself and his people in the spotlight.

Sss't!

The Zi were now forced to mingle with other-worlders, and the Council of three felt this was an atrocity committed against their people in general and themselves in particular. The Zi did not mingle socially, politically, or personally.

Only half-listening to Elder M'bat'h awkwardly answer a question posed by an Elder from the Lha'awh Council, J'Qhir maneuvered his body around, positioning himself where he could see the greater part of the Hall. In doing so, he turned his leg wrong and the familiar dull throb started up once again. He eased most of his weight to the other leg.

His amber eyes flicked over the crowd of beings in search of one in particular. He could not find her now. The same group of reporters had rallied around a side door, guarded by two Artilians. Had she gone in there?

Suddenly, he was aware the Elder of Lha'awh as well as the three Elders of Bh'rin'gha had turned their attention to him. They watched him expectantly, as if they awaited his profound answer.

He had no inkling what they had asked of him.

Bowing slightly, he murmured in Zi, "Beg forgiveness..."

Bodies pressed close to him as he threaded his way toward the door. He walked slowly, mindful not to aggravate his injury. What he really wanted to do was charge through, find Leith, and leave all this unpleasantness behind.

Would she come with him? Did she want to be with him again? Some of the questions he needed to ask but didn't know how. Deserted on a planet, no one but the two of them, was one thing. Now, they were back in the middle of civilization. She could return to her Earth and continue the life she regretted leaving behind. Perhaps she had no desire to ever be with him again.

Could he bear it if her answer was no?

By the time he had progressed halfway across the room, the reporters had dispersed, looking for a new target. He steadily made his way toward the door, careful to avoid any of them. If they caught him alone, they would try to pry knowledge out of him. Or admission of something. Hadn't some of the questions he'd heard before the Elders led him away aimed at delving into what sort of relationship he and Leith had maintained during their stay on Paradise? How could they inquire into a situation of such a delicate nature?

They could not know, but they suspected the truth. Did the Elders suspect also? Was leading him away at that moment to keep him from admitting the truth? Did they truly expect him to lay bare his privacy, and Leith's as well, before strangers eager for a hint of scandal?

Yet, he could not speak falsely. Truth was a tenet of his culture and position, but he also could not deny what pa.s.sed between Leith and him. He would not dishonor what they had shared.

Two of the reporters caught sight of him, just as he approached the Artilian guards. He tilted his head, indicating the beings now heading toward him. He spoke in Terran Standard. "Isss there sssomeplace..."

The Artilian nodded his understanding. "These are privacy rooms. When you enter the corridor, the second room on the right is empty."

J'Qhir bowed his head in grat.i.tude. The other guard had opened the door, and he slipped inside as the reporters, now joined by a few others, were stopped by the guards. The door slid shut behind him.

Sweet silence.

He leaned back against the door, relieving his bad knee of all pressure. The dull throb lessened only slightly. The medical technician had been correct on several counts. He should have brought a walking staff with him, and he should have rested the knee a few days longer before attempting any length of time on his feet. He would need surgery after all.

J'Qhir had declined surgery because recovery would have kept him bedridden. He would have missed the conference...and seeing Leith. The technician had supplied him with a staff he discarded before entering the Hall. The Council had looked upon its use with contempt. Physical impairment in one Zi, however temporary, could be construed by others as a sign of weakness in Zi as a whole.

He hissed and pushed away from the door. Leith was in one of these rooms, but which one? Unless he pounded on each in turn, he had no way of knowing. He disliked the thought of invading anyone else's privacy, but he knew no other way. He could stand in the corridor until Leith emerged, but she might not return to the Hall until time for the conference, which was over a standard hour away. His knee would not allow him to stand that length of time.

He limped a few steps toward the first door on the right. Fresh sparks of pain shot up his thigh. One thoughtless twist had completely undone two standard days of rest and medication.

J'Qhir took a few more halting steps and raised his fist to knock when another door, the third on the left, opened. Drew Garrison emerged, and J'Qhir quickly dropped his hand.

"Warrior," Garrison acknowledged him with a nod and smile, but briskly walked past him and disappeared through the door at the end of the corridor.

At least he would not embarra.s.s himself and his people. He now knew which one contained Leith. He was almost even with the second rooms when the corridor door opened once again. A Biian monk, robed and cowled, stepped inside. The monk paused stiffly when he became aware of J'Qhir's presence.

J'Qhir said nothing since Biian monks did not speak. Patiently, he waited for the monk to find his appointed room. Before the monk could move, once again the corridor door opened and the Council of Elders of the Bh'rin'gha filed in. The monk swiftly stepped aside, then halted again.

d.a.m.nation! J'Qhir swore silently in Terran Standard. Although cursing and its religious connotations meant nothing to him, or any Zi, Leith had explained the concept. Although J'Qhir could not conceive an omnipotent being manipulating all of life, he thought if any G.o.ds existed, they now created an elaborate joke at his expense.

The Elders charged past the monk without giving him a second glance. J'Qhir looked longingly at the third door on the left, then opened the one he had been a.s.signed, the second door on the right. The Elders marched in behind him.

J'Qhir let his bulk fall heavily onto the divan, a laserblast of pain shooting from knee to hip. He closed his eyes against the pacing of Elder M'bat'h, the nervousness of Elder S'huhfh, and the affected indifference of Elder P'hi'in.

"Warrior, how dare you disgrace the Bh'rin'gha?" M'bat'h growled.

"My knee painsss me," he said...in Terran Standard.

His eyes slid open to gauge their reaction. M'bat'h scowled furiously, his crested brow raised to a point. S'huhfh's eyes were as wide as they could get, his mouth a small circular shape. P'hi'in smirked, his talons tapping together.

P'hi'in, he decided, was the most dangerous after all.

"My knee hurts," he repeated in Zi. He could not explain how most of his thoughts came to him in Terran Standard now. It was all he had spoken for the six weeks he had been on Paradise...except for the times he had murmured Zi words of longing into Leith's ear after their lovemaking. His first reaction was to speak Terran Standard so that Leith would understand.

But Leith wasn't here.

She was across the corridor, one room down. He had been within minutes of seeing her, holding her, if it was what she wanted. Kissing her there and there and there, if she would allow it.

"-have to uphold the dignity of Bh'rin'gha," M'bat'h snapped.

"Yes, Elder," he muttered although he had only a vague notion of what M'bat'h had said. "I know my duty. I know my obligations. I have been exposed to the position of the Warrior almost as long as you have been a Council Elder. My father taught me well." He broke off, having lost the impetus of the anger with which he had begun. He did not want to argue. He certainly did not intend to be chastised for a marginal transgression, at worst.

"Perhaps Warrior J'Qhir is not well enough-" S'huhfh began.

"If the Warrior suffers debilitated health then the Council is obligated to appoint someone in his place." P'hi'in looked quite pleased at the prospect. "You have no issue, do you?"

"You know as well as anyone here that my lifemate died before bearing young, Elder," J'Qhir snapped.

M'bat'h hissed and turned away from them.

J'Qhir regretted the sharpness of his tone. T'hirz had been M'bat'h's daughter, and although she had died many years ago, he must still feel the loss. P'hi'in was well aware of this.

P'hi'in shrugged. "You have been repeatedly exposed to many new experiences on your off-world journeys. The temptation-"

"Enough!" J'Qhir cut off the accusation before it could be spoken. P'hi'in came too close to the truth and the possibility. If it were at all possible for Zi and human to procreate... No, their physiologies were similar, but much too different. Surely, Leith would have told him if it were so.

"I have done nothing to bring dishonor to me or my people." In truth, he had not. He had found comfort and companionship with the only being on an entire planet. He'd had no logical reason to a.s.sume they would ever be rescued. How could he? Hanc.o.c.k had carefully engineered and executed his plans to ensure no one could find them. His plot had been flawed, but how could J'Qhir foresee those circ.u.mstances. Always be prepared; always expect the unexpected. If he had adhered to this tenet, would he have done anything differently?

"My health is not debilitated, only my knee." He continued brusquely, "Surgery and a short period of recovery will remedy it."

"Of course, Warrior J'Qhir." S'huhfh attempted to defuse the situation. "Let there be no more talk of appointing another Warrior. The one we have is quite capable of handling the position."

J'Qhir bowed his head in grat.i.tude at S'huhfh. If only he knew what Leith would answer, he would d.a.m.n all three to Terran h.e.l.l and walk away. If Leith wanted no more to do with him, then his status as Warrior, as empty as it had become, was all he had. He could not jeopardize it until he knew how Leith felt.

"He must also uphold our tradition of honor and dignity," M'bat'h growled fiercely. "Leaving in the middle of a conversation with a Lha'awh Council member is not dignified."

"Nor is writhing in pain, Elder," J'Qhir pointed out. He decided he'd taken enough hara.s.sment from them all. If he could make them leave, he still had time to talk to Leith. "I came in here to rest before the conference. Beg forgiveness, Council, but-"

A sharp tap at the door startled them all. J'Qhir hissed inwardly. Another delay. Always something to keep him and Leith apart. According to her, some things were meant to be. She called it "fate". Perhaps their fate was not to be together, other than little moments spent near one another, yet unable to connect.

M'bat'h scowled and nodded at S'huhfh who scurried to open the door. One of two Artilian guardsmen stood just outside, quite embarra.s.sed.

"I do beg your pardon, but someone insists on speaking with one of you. He says it's an emerg-"

"Warrior." Drew Garrison brushed past the Artilian. "Leith has disappeared."

J'Qhir lurched to his feet. "What?"

Garrison explained in a rush. "I left Leith in one of the other rooms. When we met in the hallway earlier, I was on my way to get her some water. I was approached with an urgent message to contact McClure Shipping. When I finally got through, no one there had sent a message at all. I hurried back to the room and...Leith's gone. The guards say she never came back into the Great Hall."

"Ssshe isss not here a.s.ss you can sssee." P'hi'in had stood and now swept the room with his hand.

Garrison ignored him and looked at J'Qhir. "She wouldn't have returned to the Hall. She was tired of the media and wanted to rest before the conference. She wouldn't have chanced going back in there."

"Did you check the other roomsss?"

Garrison nodded in the direction of the guardsmen. "They wouldn't let me. They didn't want to let me in here, but I told them it would cause an interstellar incident if you weren't informed."

"Alert her amba.s.ssador," M'bat'h snapped. "Now, leave usss. Do not interrupt usss again."

J'Qhir was already limping out of the room. "Which roomsss are occupied?"

"These are privacy rooms-" one of the Artilians began.

Pushing him aside, J'Qhir crossed to the door opposite and pounded on it with a heavy fist.

"You can't-" "Garrissson. Sssee that the Artilian sssecurity isss informed. Now."

"You got it." Garrison solidly clamped his hand on the second Artilian's shoulder and led him away.

The door slid open beneath J'Qhir's fist, and a frail Danid peered out at him. He stepped into the room and saw it was otherwise empty.

The wide-eyed Danid shook his tentacles. "F-First th-the B-Biian, n-now th-the Z-Zi!"

"A Biian monk?" J'Qhir questioned.

"I-Is th-there a-any o-other k-kind?" the Danid sneered.

"What did the monk want?"

"S-Same a-as y-you. L-Looked a-around a-and l-left."

J'Qhir whirled on the guard, but nearly collided with M'bat'h instead. The Elder blocked the doorway.

"Warrior, what are you doing?" M'bat'h snarled in Zi.

"My duty."

"How is this your duty? Your responsibility is first and foremost to your people, not some inconsequential alien female."

Inconsequential? Never. Alien? Leith had not been alien to him in a long time. Female? Most definitely... J'Qhir suppressed a smile.

"This female is not alien to me." In defiance he stepped past the Elder. "My duty is to protect and she is within the realm of my protection. My responsibility has not ended because we are on another world. This is what being the Warrior means to me."

His fierce determination silenced M'bat'h.

"How many othersss?" he demanded of the guardsman.

"Two." He pointed them out.

A group of Peridots crawled over one room. The other was empty.

"The Biian monk should be here," the Artilian declared. "He didn't leave past us."

J'Qhir systematically searched the empty rooms. When finished, he faced the door at the opposite end of the corridor.

"Isss this a privacy room alssso?"

"No. It leads to storage rooms, the food preparation center, and the emergency stairwell. These areas are not open to the public."

J'Qhir jerked open the door then felt a restraining hand on his arm. The pressure was so light, he thought for a moment Leith touched him.

"Warrior. I am Security Servitor Nura. Let my people do their job."

"Nura. Msss McClure'sss friend."

"Yes. You are Warrior J'Qhir."

It was not a question, J'Qhir decided as Servitor Nura's pale blue eyes delved into his. Her smile was friendly as if they knew one another. Leith must have told her about him. Had Leith confided in her completely? Perhaps, perhaps not. It did not matter.

"I've already closed off the Great Hall. The watchers will search for our friend." Her voice lowered so only he could hear. "I know you are in pain, but there is nothing to be done right now."