Carnal Rites by Ines Johnson (learn to read books .TXT) 📕

see your face when you looked at it in the spring."

And he had. Jaspir had sought Merlyn out to tell her about the plant. She hadn't believed that it survived, so she went with him to see for herself. She'd been sneaking into the gardens nearly every day afterwards to watch its progress for the past three months.

Jaspir twined his fingers around her wounded hand. Merlyn noticed that all pain, all twinges, were gone.

"I knew I loved you on that first day," Jaspir said. "But all these months later I realize something else. That I would serve you all my days, and wait an eternity of winters, just for the privilege of looking upon you. One day, I'm going to buy a piece of land and graft you a field of impossible flowers. You'll see."

"Ahem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat made Jaspir and Merlyn spring apart.

Before them stood a young boy about their age. His skin was pale and his hair the color of red, a paler shade than Alyss'. His green eyes glared at Jaspir who, though standing apart from her, still held Merlyn's hand in his own.

"Lady Merlyn," the newcomer said. "My name is Liam. I was granted the pleasure of becoming your bondmate."

2

Ten years later

"Darwin 152 you're more excited than your little swimmers."

Merlyn looked into the scope again. The worm-like organisms moved slowly through the fluid. Their arrow-shaped heads dropped downward, their typically twirling tails barely wiggled, propelling them nowhere. The vast majority of Darwin 152's spermatozoa appeared in no hurry to get to the egg. In fact most of them formed what looked to be a blockade. A wall of them floated just beyond Goodall 176's egg. There were a few swimmers in action. But they were actively attacking each other.

No, wait. Not each other.

Merlyn pushed back from the microscope and grabbed her log. She flipped through a couple of pages. And yes! There it was.

Just yesterday Goodall 176 had been caged with Newton 192. Newton's spermatozoa was marked with fluorescent yellow dye while Darwin's was marked with fluorescent blue dye.

Merlyn went back to the scope. Clear as day, she saw it. Darwin 152's blue sperm were attacking Newton 176's yellow sperm. It was all out warfare.

"Merlyn?"

Merlyn jumped, nearly upsetting the petri dish of her specimen. A pair of masculine hands reached out to steady her work table, and the sloshing liquid ceased. Merlyn looked over and met green eyes.

"By the Goddess, Liam. When did you arrive?"

Liam straightened, releasing the table. "I've been here for over an hour, my lady."

Merlyn looked Liam up and down. Sometimes it took her aback how much he'd grown from the scrawny boy who showed up on her doorstep ten years ago. Liam was no longer scrawny. He towered over her. His shoulders were broad, so broad she saw the muscles bulging beneath his linen shirt. His red hair was cut neatly to stay out of his eyes. When he spent many hours in the labs she'd see the same red on his chin. Liam's mind was as sharp as her Mother promised. He was an invaluable assistant.

"I think I've found something," Liam said, a hint of pride in his eyes.

"So have I," Merlyn said.

Liam's smile dimmed slightly, his head bowed. "Ladies first, of course."

Merlyn vacated her seat and Liam sat down. He peered into the scope.

"Do you see?" she asked. She bounced on her toes at his back, hand on the back of his seat. The bouncing motion caused her thumb to brush the breadth of his back.

Liam went rigid. Merlyn removed her hand.

Liam swallowed before he spoke. "I see the spermatozoa of two different males and an unfertilized egg."

"Exactly."

Liam leaned back, one eyebrow raised in question. "Exactly what, my lady?"

"There are a number of spermatozoa in the vicinity, but the egg remains unfertilized."

Liam looked again. "You said there are two sperm specimens in here?"

"Yes."

"But neither side are going for the egg."

"Oh, Liam, you see it exactly. They're at war. Its sperm from Darwin 152 and Newton 192. Instead of fertilizing the egg, they're attacking each other, trying to stop one another from getting to the egg. Look, Newton's sperm has formed a blockade against Darwin's."

"I've never seen this behavior before." Liam leaned back.

"It was a mistake," Merlyn admitted. "I forgot that I'd placed Newton's sperm in the dish yesterday. I put Darwin's in this morning."

"What do you think this means?" Liam asked.

"Previously we thought sperm's sole purpose was to fertilize. But now we must amend that thinking. Apparently, there are some sperm that are programed to fight off intruding sperm. We need to present this to Mother and Grand Mother."

Merlyn turned and gathered up her notes.

"This is an amazing find, my lady. But it has nothing to do with gender selection. What I found does—"

"We don't know that, Liam. It could be important."

Merlyn dashed out the door and down the hall. She heard her Mother's voice in the Great Room. When she entered, she paused in the doorway. Her Grand Mother sat on her high backed chair sipping tea, while her Mother paced.

"Can you believe that son of murderers still won't make an appointment to come in and be tested," her Mother said. "Neither him nor that monk."

"Why would you need the monk?" asked Regyn. "We disproved their religious nonsense years ago. The female orgasm, though real, is not magic. It’s a physiological response to the thrusting stimuli. The mucus it creates simply makes the trip to the egg easier for the spermatozoa. But what woman would want to put up with all that barbaric thrusting?"

"Two girl fetuses, back to back." Her Mother continued her pacing. "I know it wasn't the other one, the son of the porn actress."

Regyn gasped. "Angyla, watch your language."

"Sorry, Mother. The other one, the blond one, he was a sickly child. I'm sure he could not perform. Blond is a recessive gene. So it has to be the other one, whatever his name is."

"Lord Khial."

Both women turned to Merlyn. Merlyn