Chapter 30

Alja had already begun to expect another surprise, when they'd driven through an extensive park and up in front of a baroque mansion so large you could as well call it a palace. Entering the room where the event took place she was stunned. It was a huge hall decorated with rich golden ornaments and wall paintings alternating with gigantic mirrors. On the wall to their left a large buffet table was set up. To their right were two bars offering various beverages and on the opposite wall a stage that accommodated a group of musicians. The middle of the room was filled with beautifully decorated dining tables, except for a wide, empty area in front of the stage – a dance floor. Alja thought she couldn't believe her eyes.

"A ball?" The words popped out of her mouth before she even fully processed the fact. "To say this is not what I expected would be a severe understatement." she added quickly.

Kaleb just looked at her, visibly amused at her hardly contained surprise.

But of course he wasn't. His smile was just so compelling she had to remind herself that it was just a charade. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask." A lie. He had wanted to surprise her, imbalance her enough to make her lose her cool again.

"And you didn't think I could have prepared more accurately had I known?"

Once more he let his eyes wander over her body in that very unsettling way. Then he stated in with the coolest tone: "In my eyes your preparation is more than sufficient."

So I'm the eye candy now? Alja tried hard to be annoyed, but really her heart had started jumping at the compliment and she was a little overwhelmed by the unexpected ambience anyway. When she heard Kaleb's telepathic voice the next moment, she almost feared her last thought had slipped out on the psychic plane. But it seemed he just wanted to avoid being overheard.

Let's get to our seats. If you need more information, I'll tell you some details on our way. With that he started to walk toward the tables right in front of the stage, holding out his arm for her once more.

He knew it was madness to actively seek those forbidden, uncontrollable sensations – especially in such a public place, when dozens of eyes were trained on their already unusual appearance. But all he cared about were the flames Alja ignited so deep inside him. And he was quickly getting addicted to those flames. Reluctantly he put up some of his fine honed control and chilled the impulses to a level that allowed him to function properly. When Alja fell into step beside him he continued the telepathic conversation. This ball is an annual event in Moscow. Most of the leading business managers are invited and some human and changeling high society. Officially the goal is to collect money for some charity organization.

You care for the ones in need?

I'm one of the main donors.

Not so bad for an unfeeling monster. She couldn't bite back the comment. She had to cling to any hint that suggested something more than a cold power hunt as a motive for his actions.

Don't go there again Alja. A sharp warning. It was hard enough keeping up his usual air of coldness, without having to discuss his possible affectivity with her again. He wondered how she did it if she was submerged by emotion all the time. I'm not the only one. Social commitment is very good for publicity, especially for us Psy. And along the way a lot of important business deals are made here. Beside the publicity this is our main reason for attending. And don't worry, dancing is not expected from Psy.

Cool calculation in every word. So that was why so many of their race were present. At second glance it was not hard to distinguish them: Although they were dressed just as elegantly as anyone else in the room, the lack of color and genuine style betrayed them: Most of the women were dressed in simple black robes and if they wore jewelry it were only the most perfect pearls or diamonds, chosen not for their beauty but for their signaling effect: displaying the wealth of the owner. And all of them had the same facial expression, standing stiffly around the edges of the room, some of them checking their organizers now and then.

They drew a stark contrast to the humans and changelings that gathered around the buffet table and on the dance floor. There were couples touching, dancing and joking – the changelings always a little more openly affectionate. Their exquisite, colorful dresses, laughter and buzzing excitement carried a warm joyful atmosphere one didn't need to be an empath to perceive – contrary to the nothingness she her own people radiated. And it was a kick to the guts to be shown so plainly what she'd never have while having to act as if she was part of all this. And worse, she couldn't bring her stupid heart to believe that this gorgeous, courteous man beside her was just a lie.

"Good evening Councilor!" they were welcomed by a man in his late thirties, who was one of four humans already seated at their table. At Alja's and Kaleb's approach they all rose up to greet them – a trace of curiosity in their faces that was clearly concentrated on Alja. She'd been briefed about all of them. Kaleb was associated to the man who had spoken first and the woman of the other couple. But both their spouses wielded significant economic power in Moscow too.

While he maneuvered Alja through the introductions Kaleb found himself fascinated by the way she dealt with the humans. Her charm was just icy enough to be Psy and still compelling enough to draw everyone's sympathy.

He also had time to assess her outfit in a more calculating manner. On first glance she just looked like a woman dressed up for a solemn occasion. But of course that wasn't all there was to it: Her shoes were elegant but the heels flat enough to run or fight. The fabric of the wide, floor-length skirt was light enough that she could move her legs freely. The long ruffled sleeves probably hid at least one deadly willow glass blade and covered her arms that were slightly too muscular for an average Psy woman. No she wasn't weak. She still was a lethal Arrow in yet another disguise. None of the others at their table noticed. In fact the men even paid her compliments. It irritated him far more than it should. But even if it was the last thing he wanted to do right now, he had to get away from Alja. He had to think more clearly and he couldn't abandon the transactions he was here to complete: Building stable relations to the human and changeling businesses was an important step in his plans. He needed them before the Net was swathed in chaos. Because then he could no longer count on his own race. And Alja was more than equipped to deal with the necessary small talk at their table. So when he spotted Selenka Durev he excused himself and strode off into the crowd.

Alja saw Kaleb walk towards a woman she knew to be the alpha of the local wolf pack and wondered again, if he was keeping her away from changelings on purpose. Not that it bothered her, but she should have encountered some of them since they were part of his security too. She pushed away the thought and focused on the conversation.

She displayed perfect civility while she evaded every hint at the political situation. It wasn't hard. Everyone tried to dodge the topic. But their ulterior motives were obvious: Those with higher levels of political or economic power were jockeying for the best positions to make profit in the unstable situation. Kaleb would be pleased to hear that, pleased she did her job so well. Stale resignation dulled her heart at the thought. It was followed by an even worse bite of jealousy, when she looked across the room where Kaleb had started talking to a human woman in her early twenties. Another fucking blonde! And wasn't he an example of integrity? – smiling, charming, flirting even. The woman was disgustingly flattered by his attention. Oh Alja'd have gladly taken the residual of doing violence to the bitch.

Yeah, Alja just go on getting jealous. That's very mature and professional. She tried to reason with the part of her mind that had decided to overreact in a way she'd never known from herself. The woman was absolutely innocent. She was just falling for Kaleb's civilized mask like several other women in the room including herself. Oh hell, the thought that almost every woman she'd watched had given him the once-over with more than approval on her face made her want to explode. She had to get moving. "Your glasses have been empty for the past fifteen minutes. Why don't we get some refreshments?" she suggested to the others at the table.

"Oh yes, great idea! And I wanted to have a go at the dessert table before the next dance starts." One of the women retorted at once. Then she seemed to realize that Alja – like most Psy in the room – hadn't eaten from the buffet all evening and she added a little insecure. "Or we can just go to the bar for a drink."

"No let's have a look at the dessert," Alja retorted at once. Maybe some chocolate cake would help dampen the impact of her frustration about Kaleb. She had denied herself anything but nutrition bars for weeks but it hadn't helped with her response to him in the slightest. So to hell with it. After all it wasn't forbidden for Psy to eat human food – it was even advised under certain circumstances. And since we're making sucha point of associating with humans… Defiance, she was acting out of pure defiance again. She had to get her behavior back in control once this was over. But for now it was enough that her actions were within the parameters of accepted Psy behavior in the presence of other races.

Kaleb had finally ended the exhausting conversation with the daughter of the owner of a large tech company he intended to buy into before the civil war broke out in the open. Although highly intelligent and skilled in economics, she had one of the most boring minds he'd ever seen. But at least he was positive that he had successfully implemented the thought, that she must convince her father how great a business connection to a certain very charming Councilor would be. And he'd been careful enough to cover up any psychic trace. Humans might not be immune to telepathy but if one wasn't careful, they could at least find out that Psy powers had been involved.

Looking over to their table, he didn't see Alja and started shadowing human minds in the room to find her, slipping inside their thoughts without ever being noticed. He spotted her from the mind of a young man who was apparently talking with his friends about her: "Look at that smile again. You'd almost believe it's real!" The words held wonder and contempt at the same time.

She was standing at the bar together with the humans from their table and a few others. She and two other women were just emptying small dessert plates while the men passed over their drinks. Kaleb caught himself hoping she really did enjoy herself, and that her smile wasn't just part of her mask.

"Bah! She's just playing us all! And the humans fall for it like rabbits staring at a snake!" Another man who belonged to the group replied to the owner of the mind Kaleb shadowed. The human knew him as Alek. Kaleb brushed over the minds close to the one he was shadowing, finding he couldn't slip in as easily. They were all changelings.

"I don't care. She's fucking hot and a woman like her should be touched." Another changeling joined the discussion. Kostja was the name in the human's memory.

Kaleb stepped closer to be able to watch them across the room. He recognized most of their group as senior soldiers from the BlackEdge wolf pack, probably here as an extension to their alpha, Selenka Durev's security.

"Yeah your hand would probably freeze off if you tried. Or she'd just Tk you off or something." The human replied laughing, though Kaleb couldn't quite understand how the comment was comical.

"I don't know. She sure as hell doesn't stink as bad as the rest of them." Kostja again.

"Maybe you should ask her to dance." Alek's suggestion was followed by a round of roaring laughter.

"Hey why not? I'd totally do it."

"Do you have a death wish, Kostja? She's with Krychek after all." Alek rolled his eyes at his packmate indicating that this kind of idea wasn't new to him.

"So what? It's not like that block of ice is gonna get jealous." The man had no idea! In vain Kaleb tried to strangle the hot anger that this Kostja triggered with his comments.

"No, but these people sure as hell don't dance and might find it insulting if you provoke them by asking her to." The human tried to reason once more.

"Well, worst that can happen: she says no." And with that the wolf started to walk towards the bar. He was actually about to follow up the idea.

Both his friends shook their heads at him and Alek called after him with a kind of insecure amusement. "You're insane. You know that? – But just go. We'll watch the fun from over here."

Kaleb watched the man cross the hall towards Alja. From his gestures, it was easy to see that he really was asking Alja to dance.

He instantly broke the connection to the humans mind and tried to get to her too. He remembered she'd said changelings were hard for her emotions to handle. And if that one had dared to ask her, he may be stupid enough not to accept her refusal. But to his surprise Alja didn't even attempt to refuse. He just got close enough to hear her say "It would be my pleasure." With a dazzling smile that seemed slightly ironic. She was all ease and charm as she had been all evening.

Only that kind of smile belonged to him.

His conditioning was swashing over his mind in a hail of pain and the horrible images he remembered only too well these days. It did nothing to halt the murderous jealousy that ignited inside him.

The changeling was clearly as surprised as anyone else in the room, when he was leading Alja to the dance floor. Multiple pairs of eyes focused on the unusual couple.

Then the damn wolf put his hand on her back – on her skin!

The illumination of the room flickered for a second. That was how long it took Kaleb to get his Tk back in control. It had been a diffuse impulse, only caught by the electronic lamps on the walls and ceiling. A startled murmur went through the hall, but otherwise the people were unimpressed.

That was close, far too close.

How in hell had he ever thought it would be a good idea to bring Alja to a room full of men who couldn't take their eyes off of her?

The music started and the couples began to move on the dance floor.

Kaleb struggled with his conditioning for an entire minute before he realized that the only thing that would calm him was to have that idiot of a man – that animal – stop touching Alja. Although he'd rather have vaporized him, he scraped up enough self-control to do something he'd seen other men do several times. He crossed over the floor to where they were dancing.

Now it was Alja's turn to be surprised. She knew she was in trouble when the wolf in front of her suddenly tensed and turned very pale gaping over her shoulder. When she heard Kaleb's voice right behind her she almost froze.

"It seems I've been neglecting my partner. Would you mind if I cut in to make up for it?" It sounded more like an icy threat than a question. The wolf's mouth fell open and he stared in disbelief for a moment before he quickly stepped aside almost tripping over his feet.

Kaleb took his place as her dance partner calmly and utterly focused – like a predator before the kill.

Flex your shields! He commanded at once.

You're teleporting me out? She had to admit she hadn't really thought this through, but he was surely overreacting a little.

Certainly not. Now we're going to pull this through. But I didn't have much practice dancing. When he was first invited to the ball a couple of years ago he hadn't known what was expected of him, so he had prepared for all eventualities and made sure he knew the basic steps but not much more. I never thought I would really need that skill. So it might be helpful if you let me assist with Tk.

That got him an amused smile but she obeyed immediately. It calmed him a fraction. It turned out he didn't have to push with Tk even once. Alja's body flowed with his movements as if she'd never done anything else. The dark satin of her dress fluidly caressed her body with every move, along with the liquid motion of her shields. It was a soothing flood to his whipped up emotions to have her so close, to feel the warmth of her body under his hands.

Alja tried her best to keep calm. It proved only to be possible on the outside. Dancing with the changeling had been nice. She had always liked the way movement and music combined. But with Kaleb – this was beyond description. His hands were burning on her skin and sent waves of heat to places deep inside her. And the feel of his body moving so close to hers in the perfect sync of the dance made her imagination go wild. She wouldn't have believed someone so cold could move like that, interact with her body as if they were one. But as Tk movement was second nature to him. So of course he could. Only she'd never have expected him to. Yet here she was floating across the floor in his arms, swathed in sensual bliss. It felt like she was shoved into a cheesy dream. – And that was all it would ever be. But for now didn't care that it was all a fake. She just luxuriated in the moment, absorbing the sensations. And oh how she wanted more!

Why did you cut in at all? She asked, the hope that she finally found some trace of emotion in him more prominent than ever. Kaleb's answer put a sudden damper to her blissful fantasy – like always.

That wolf was questioning my dominance by dancing with my woman.

'Your woman'?

It might not matter to us, but by their social norms it was a clear challenge. In truth he had no idea if that rule really applied. It just sounded very animalistic and was by far more acceptable than admitting that he couldn't bear to let another man put his hands on her.

A stab of bitter pain stung her heart. She suppressed it with anger, fully cognizant that she was risking her emotions to spin out of control again. "Wow! Obviously that is something so archaic all men understand it, regardless of Silence." she said aloud rolling her eyes at him. This whole thing was getting more and more ridiculous.

He wanted to shut her mouth with a kiss. You could have refused. Since you didn't, I had to intervene. He telepathed instead, having no intention to let their conversation carry over to some sensible changeling ears.

I was under the impression we were making a show of associating with the other races. It was a good opportunity to do so. That was perfectly reasonable. But frustrated as she was, she just couldn't hold back another provocation. And maybe I didn't want to refuse. You know cardinal women are quite partial to predatory changelings. She referred to the three cardinals who had recently defected from the Net and formed the deepest emotional bonds with predatory changelings. She was deliberately yanking his chain although she didn't believe it'd work. But nothing prepared her for his next reaction. His face suddenly had lost all the charm he'd put up all night. He spoke the next words out loud, his voice piercing.

"Careful Alja. Don't go too far."

At the same moment his hand on her back tightened possessively and he pulled her so close to his body that her breasts touched his chest and her thighs brushed his with every step. Why did she hear a promise in his voice rather than a threat? All her muscles tightened, only causing her body to arch further towards him. Suddenly the bodice of her dress felt too tight around her breasts and heat rose up to her cheeks. She was sure she was blushing bright red. Oh yeah we're into threats. It's a shame he can't put a knife on your throat in the middle of a dance floor! The wicked voice chirped. But it was swept away in the rapture of the dance as the music picked up pace and Kaleb swirled her across the floor faster and faster.

Kaleb wondered if Alja had any idea what she was putting him through, how close to the edge she brought him. It was more luck than anything else that he managed to keep it together. In a split second after Alja's comment he had scanned the room for the mind of the bloody wolf. The only thing that kept him from evaporating the man with Tk was that he didn't find him immediately. He must have left the building. That short moment of delay gave Kaleb a chance to consider what he was doing and block the murderous impulse from going into action. The thought of Alja being attracted to another man instantly put him on the insane end of jealousy. That the bastard had touched her, had been allowed to –

Reproachful, dead eyes, feathery blonde hair –

Warning flashes of memory filling his mind. But they were pushed aside by new desires: The scent of wildflowers after the rain, a lock of dark hair brushing his face in the draft of a spin. It stimulated a new set of images in his mind: A fall of Alja's red-brown hair sliding through his fingers with a touch of the softest silk, running over his naked chest as female lips laid a trace of heat down his abdomen… Memories and fantasies tangled up inside his head. The physical contact made it impossible to tune down either. He had to exert all the control he had left to keep his very physical response to her in check. It would have been far easier if he hadn't pressed her so close that practically the only thing that separated their hips was the fabric of their clothing. But he couldn't bring himself to loosen the hold. Her face was all but touching his. He could even smell the scent of her velvet skin – it was intoxicating.

What exactly are you doing? Alja whispered to his mind. She didn't know how she finally managed to think beyond the incandescent sensations. But suspicion had been her companion for long enough it had come through somehow. And Kaleb had shown his manipulative nature once again when he'd referred to the dominance challenge. Everything was a power game for him.

I am dancing with my date, just as expected. On the surface the lies came out as smooth as ever.

Good, because it just felt as if we were painting big fat targets for Pure Psy on our backs.

The realization hit him like a punch to the guts. What had he been thinking?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

He had been driven by these irrepressible impulses, his brain functioning just well enough not to take out the stupid changeling the moment he laid his hands on Alja. But what he'd done was unforgivable. He had put her in mortal danger. – Well, in even more danger than she had been in already, if that was possible at all. Still he responded calmly. It was unavoidable in the situation and a political statement on my part was overdue. Because that was what it was: Not once in the five years Kaleb had visited the ball, he had ever seen a Psy dance. No Psy ever danced, even less a Councilor. And in the current political situation… For the public there was only one interpretation of his actions: Kaleb had just publicly withdrawn support for the Silence Protocol in the most dramatic fashion.

The applause at the end of the dance was roaring. It destroyed every hope that anyone in the room had not noticed what had just happened. He had to get Alja out of the line of fire before all hell broke loose.

Alja was speechless. She hadn't thought of it like this before: Yes, everything was a power game for Kaleb, but she had been here to play along and not fuck it up like she'd done, when she let defiance and frustration drive her actions. She had never messed up a job so badly. Not even the kills. She'd been perfect until this man came along and screwed all her precious control over.

I guess we have caused enough trouble for one evening and should now politely take leave. Kaleb added when the dance floor started to empty.

Of course. She was glad she didn't have to speak aloud. Her throat was starting to feel like sandpaper. How was she going to get out of this?