Page 45 of Condemned

“The attraction to her. Yes, yes, I know she’s female but it’s more than that. You stuck your fingers in her cunt back at the cell. Did you taste her?”

“No. I did not.” Slowly, Takk shook his head. “Why? I wouldn’t.” Then he smiled to remove the sting. “You know I don’t fuck humans, or huleons.”

“I believe she’s what the old ones called an efsana, a super attractor. Her hormonal storm grabs onto any male mauleon, creates a torm reaction, in any of us. Efsana are supposed to occur in huleons more than purebred but are rare. I thought it a myth until I tasted her.”

Zo sat forward, entwining claw against claw as if they fascinated him. He looked up at Takk.

Taste. As if he’d do that with a huleon. “You are serious?”

“Absolutely.”

“So that’s why you used the perfume. I knew it was odd. If she is this efsana, you dared to keep her with us knowing this? Without saying? You’re forcing this on me, knowing my preferences.”

“I never did, sir. The perfume was to prevent any compulsion. However...” He frowned. “I do insist we don’t sell her. I think this will run its course in her.”

“You didn’t tell Timin either.”

“No. I was actually hoping this would help him.”

“Help a mauleon who is suffering depression after a head wound by making him lust after a female?” His lip curled.

To his credit, Zo looked anguished. “That does sound bad. It felt like fate when I realized what we had. We are all wounded in more ways than physical, than leg or head or whatever.”

Takk leaned back, stretched out his legs to the side of the table, and he sighed. “Fuck it, Zo. You can’t. I’m not even sure she’s a nice person, let alone a suitable mate. As if we can decide what someone else wants. She’s a thief. She steals for a living.”

“We’re soldiers. We kill for a living.”

“Were.” They were going home. “Farmers again soon.” The gods alone knew what Timin would do. He couldn’t go back to making small machinery. He’d cut off a hand by accident. “But, you have a point.”

“She’s as adrift as we are. A victim of politics. Hated by her own family. And she told me why she didn’t shoot Timin. Because it felt wrong. I like her. I do!”

“Of course you do. Of course she said that. The irony is he can’t smell her anyway. I’ll bet you didn’t know the brain injury took away his sense of smell?” He nodded out the window at her and Timin, and noticed Timin sitting on the ground, legs out toward the middle of the street. A cart was bearing down on him. Dust flew from the hooves of the florses drawing it.

Was he fitting again?

He thrust himself to his feet. At his consternation, Zo turned to look over his shoulder.

The cart went by without touching Timin. He let out a long breath. “Thought he was going to get run over.”

“He’s not as far out as it looks, plus, guess what, Avalon waved them off. She’s there on the other side of the florse. Perspective, and...” Zo grinned. “Fate?”

“Oh, fuck your zendokai fate.” He double checked where Timin was and saw that Zo was right. She was warding off traffic and he wasn’t really as far out as it’d looked, or at risk. “So you say you’ve used that scent to shield us from her, but what about her? What if she’s bonded to us? And don’t get ideas I’m concerned about her.”

Zo snorted. “Me? Do that? You’re obviously not attracted to her.” His grin spread, a knowing grin that Takk pretended to ignore. “But, as to her, there’s nothing I can do about it if it has happened. Maybe that’s why she’s out there, doing that?”

“And you’re okay with her wanting all of us?” It seemed a valid question.

“Why would I not be?”

Then Takk realized that of course, this was Zo’s purpose from the beginning. It did raise certain interesting points. What if some of what he thought came true? What if she helped his soldiers?

“Zendokai philosophy?” he mused. “I’ve not yet decided if I’m a believer.”

“One is never too old for zendokai. Just don’t sell her and I’ll promise to hold your hand and guide you, youngling.”

Takk threw back his head and let out a belly laugh. “We’ll see. On the other side of the range. They might say they don’t want her, then we have to contend with her being the holder of some dubious political information. How would you hide her forever? I figure at least we gave her a chance to survive.” That didn’t seem to meet with Zo’s approval. “Okay. Let’s get the purchases done. We should be at the start of the pass middle of tomorrow, if we leave here early in the morning. Oh, and when are you going to tell Timin about her?”

Zo shot him an aggrieved look.

“Yes, you do have to.” He rubbed his itchy nose. “And you’d better hope this super attraction wears off soon. My nose is not happy. I think I’m allergic to lemony.”

It must wear off. Otherwise you could never take the girl anywhere without drawing in a whole lot of horny mauleons. And that would be damn inconvenient, even at a religious site like Omage.