Guarding the Goddess Read online

  Which he knew was foolish, since he would eventually be leaving. But at least getting a chewchie of his own would enable him to continue to communicate with her. The little creature would be like a living walkie-talkie, he thought. For that alone, it was worth having, even if it did mean having to take it along on missions.

  “Ah, Your Majesty and Your Holiness.” A white-robed attendant was gliding towards them over the green sands. She had a beatific look on her face and in her hands was a speckled chewchie egg. She came to a stop before Ty and bowed her head. “And Lan’Glaver—I am most honored to present your egg to you.”

  It was a rather small egg, Ty thought, frowning at it. Most of the other eggs he saw lying on the sands were about the size of an ostrich egg and most of them had vividly colored shells with bright, contrasting speckles or splotches on them. He saw scarlet with blue speckles, pink with purple splotches, and all colors of the rainbow in between.

  But the egg the attendant was holding out to him was barely half as big as the others and it had a plain white shell with just a few dirt-brown freckles on it.

  “Um…how do we know this is my egg specifically?” he asked, frowning. “Is there some way to tell if a certain chewchie egg is meant for a certain person?”

  “Indeed there is—those close to Thufar know, when he imparts his wisdom to them, which egg is meant for which person,” the attendant answered. “In your case, the High Priest himself chose your egg for you. Such an honor!” And she bowed deeply.

  Casting a side-long glance at Kikbax, Ty thought he saw a smile curling the priest’s thick lips. Obviously the old bastard had picked the smallest, plainest egg available and labeled it as Ty’s.

  Probably wanted to be sure an off-worlder didn’t get a premium chewchie meant for royalty, he thought sourly. I suppose if I got a rare one it would give me too much status so instead he gave me the runt of the litter.

  “I never would have thought it myself,” the attendant continued, interrupting his thoughts as she looked fondly down at the undersized egg. “This little one has lain dormant for many solar months and to tell the truth, I did not think it would ever hatch. But the very moment the High Priest of Thufar named it as yours, it began to rock.”

  As she spoke, the egg held in her cupped hands began to tremble and shake.

  “There—see?” The attendant smiled up at Ty triumphantly. “See how eager your chewchie is to meet you? Soon you will know the joy of having two hearts!”

  Ty was pretty sure he would know no such thing, but when he saw Ellina watching him with a hopeful look on her face, he knew he had to at least pretend to be excited as the attendant handed him the egg.

  He looked down at it, feeling its minute vibrations in his cupped hands as whatever was in it struggled to be free.

  “Um, how long with it take to—”

  His words were interrupted by a loud CRACK as the shell split neatly in two.

  “Hatch,” he finished in a dazed voice.

  For crawling out of the eggshell was a tiny, perfectly formed chewchie.

  And as she shook herself out and looked up at him Ty saw that her fur was a perfect, vivid Sacred Blue.

  Thirty-One

  He knew she was a female at once because she told him so.

  Large, liquid eyes looked into his own and a high, delicate voice sounded in his mind.

  “I am Tisa and I am yours,” she told him as clearly as though she’d been speaking in his ear. “You are mine as well,” she added after an instant. “But why did you take so long to come to me? I’ve been waiting for months!”

  Any uncertainty or dismay Ty might have felt about being claimed so firmly by the little alien creature was negated by the surprising and completely overwhelming rush of love he felt for her.

  “Tisa,” he murmured, bringing her closer so that he could stare into her large, liquid black eyes. “I’m very pleased to meet you. I am Ty.”

  “I know that!” she informed him bossily, fluffing out her fur which was still a bit damp. “Of course, I know that. As I said, I’ve been waiting for you for months.”

  Ty found himself about to apologize for his tardiness, as foolish as that might seem, when he was interrupted by a startled exclamation by the High Priest.

  “What’s this? What has happened here? This cannot be!” he cried indignantly. “A commoner and most especially an off-worlder cannot have a Sacred Blue chewchie! It is a blasphemy! A sacrilege against Thufar himself!”

  “But Your Holiness, you chose the egg for the Lan’Glaver yourself.” The attendant sounded bewildered.

  “You!” Kikbax rounded on the hapless woman and pointed one shaking finger at her. “You switched the eggs after I was gone!”

  She drew back, obviously offended.

  “Your Holiness knows I would never do that!” she exclaimed coldly. “It would be a violation of my sacred vow as a hatching attendant to replace one egg with another. Besides, Your Holiness knows as well as I do that no one can predict a Sacred Blue chewchie. They can come from any egg at all and they come only when one who is worthy to have one is found.”

  “An off-worlder is not worthy!” the High Priest declared angrily. “Take it away and we will wait for another egg to hatch.”

  “You can’t do that!” Ellina exclaimed and Lor, sitting on her head, chattered angrily at the idea. “No one—not even the High Priest or the Potentate—may separate a chewchie from his or her person! It is our most sacred law.”

  “Besides, they’ve already bonded,” the attendant remarked. “Just look—the little one is already speaking to the Lan’Glaver.”

  Indeed, Tisa was speaking.

  “Who is that?” she asked Ty, and he saw that she was staring with interest at Lor, who was sitting at stiff attention on Ellina’s shoulder. “Is that my mate?”

  “I don’t know,” he murmured honestly. And then he heard Ellina speaking to Lor.

  “Go to her then, my dear,” she was saying to her chewchie, who was quivering with eagerness. “Go on and say hello.”

  At once, Lor scampered down her arm and leapt into Ty’s cupped hands. He pushed the broken halves of the egg shell out of the way and went to look Tisa directly in the eyes.

  “What are they doing? Don’t let them do that!” the High Priest practically yelled.

  “Do what?” Ty looked at the Chorkay priest in irritation. Something special was happening here—something unique which would never be repeated in his lifetime—he sensed that with every fiber of his being. But the idiotic Kikbax wouldn’t shut up and let him enjoy and absorb it.

  “Don’t let them mate!” the High Priest exclaimed. “The Potentate’s chewchie must only mate with the chewchie of her consort! He cannot be allowed to mate with the chewchie of a commoner—of an off-worlder! It must not be!” His own chewchie sat up on top of his head and howled—an angry, eerie sound that seemed to echo the High Priest’s emotion.

  “I’m afraid it is already done, Your Holiness,” the hatching attendant said mildly. “Just look at them groom each other—it’s clear they’ve already formed an attachment.”

  Indeed, Lor and Tisa were licking each other all over with long pink tongues and Ty could hear a hum of happy contentment coming from both of them.

  “No! It must not be!” Unexpectedly, Kikbax made a snatch for the two chewchies sitting happily in Ty’s hands.

  Ty pulled back at once, his protective instincts on high alert, but the chewchies had already scampered up to his shoulder before the High Priest’s grabbing hands could come anywhere near them. From there, the two of them hopped lightly to the top of Ellina’s head and curled around each other. Both sets of big black eyes stared mistrustfully at Kikbax out of the nest of Sacred Blue fur.

  A wave of rage came over Ty—almost as strong as if Ellina herself had been threatened. He took a step forward and grabbed Kikbax by the loose front of his rich golden robes.

  “You son of a bitch!” he growled down into the other male’s face. “If