a Pleasure Rites, #1 by Ines Johnson (reader novel .TXT) 📕

her shoulder, giving her the same brilliant smile he'd been free with the other night. "It's my pleasure."

The twinkle in his eye made Chanyn's lips part.

"I'm surprised you could grow such a bounty out there, in your garden."

Chanyn popped a berry into her mouth and nodded. "It’s receded some since my mother went to the Goddess."

Dain nodded in understanding. The ground was only fertile when women were present. Now that there was only one woman, Mother Nature only saw fit to provide for the one.

Dain brought a plate over to Khial. He brushed his lips against the other man's forehead. Khial accepted both the plate and the affection.

Chanyn tried to look away, but couldn't. Though she knew it was fruitless, the yearning in her held her eyes fast. Dain turned back to her. His eyes told her that he knew she'd watched him, both now and last night. What Chanyn couldn't figure was whether he mocked her solitude, or extended an invitation.

"We're leaving soon, Chanyn."

Chanyn's face fell. So that look last night had been to set her straight. He was in a bond with Khial, and there was no room, nor desire, for her.

"You deserve to be put up in the comfort and luxury for which your sex affords you." Dain glanced around the room.

It was the first time Chanyn had seen the man frown or look displeased. She looked around her home and tried to see it from his perspective. The crumbling paint on the wall. The dust that never went away. The worn furniture and dreariness of the ruined establishment. Suddenly she felt embarrassed by the way she lived, though she knew no other way.

"I cannot leave you here alone," Dain continued. "It would go against everything I believe in."

Chanyn nodded, a spark of hope lit her chest. At least they would take her with them. There would be other males in the city. Many more. She was sure to find love there. She just hoped they had the kind eyes and easy laugh of Dain.

"So, you'll come with us?" Dain looked surprised, as though he'd prepared more words to convince her.

Chanyn needed no convincing. She would never achieve her dreams here, alone. More than comfort or luxury, Chanyn wanted human companionship, love, and a family of her own. The city was the only place she would get that.

Dain came forward, his hands outstretched. Chanyn's heart sped up. She'd read about hugs. Saw couples embracing on paperbacks. Saw parents with their arms around children on hardbacks. She'd seen small squirrels wrestling each other over nuts, jumping on each other’s back. In her youth, Chanyn had watched the animals from up high in a tree. So rapt that when she leaned in for a closer look, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. She'd limped to her mother with a huge bruise on her leg, sniffling, she held her arms out. Her mother backed away from her as though she saw signs of the plague, and she'd told Chanyn to get busy with the first aid kit, and then get dinner ready.

Now, looking up at Dain, Chanyn held her breath with anticipation. But instead of an embrace, Dain clasped her shoulders with his big hands and squeezed. His face shone radiant as he looked at her. Chanyn's heart did another flip and she stared up into his lovely face.

"Pack your things, my lady. We will be in the city before nightfall."

Dain released her and began clearing away Chanyn's empty plate. When Chanyn glanced up, she met Khial's clear blue eyes. For all the joy Dain displayed, Khial looked none too pleased about this decision. His scowl reminded Chanyn of her mother's distaste when Chanyn tried to seek comfort after falling from a tree.

4

From the outside looking in, Khial's childhood home resembled a palatial estate befitting his family's ancestry. But from the inside, looking out through a child's eyes, it could best be described as a jungle. A wild, treacherous place where one wrong turn could lead to eminent danger. An empty hall could quickly erupt with adults spewing hot words meant to scald anyone in their path. A man lying wounded in the corner was never a candidate for pity or help. A scar behind Khial’s ear proved that. Most importantly, a woman's smile was never a good sign. It was a mirage that could lead to injury or death.

In the bright morning sun of the ruined city in the Wasted Lands, the dark haired girl came up beside Khial with a tattered bag slung over her shoulder, a crate of books in her hands, and the naive, trusting smile of a wild animal who'd never encountered mankind before. Khial glanced down at the books in the crate to see tanned men, some with long golden hair, others with dark waves about their faces. In each picture the men embraced a woman. The girl, noticing Khial's perusal of her reading selection, smiled shyly. Khial's blood went cold. He turned away from what his past told him was a trap and slid into the front seat of the conveyance.

With the car loaded, heavier by its new addition and the remnants of her solitary life, Khial had a decision to make. He could take the high road, turn on the hover craft capabilities of the car and sail safely through the skies back to the city. Or he could take the low road, which was actually a road. The old highway systems of what used to be called the States of North America. The intersecting tar pavements crossing the barren land were reduced to rubble in most spots, ending at collapsed bridges in others. The pathways were filled with roaming beasts such as lions, bears, and apes, which were once held captive in enclosures called zoos. It was a treacherous place, those wild lands, a jungle where men no longer roamed.

Khial peered up at the clear, cloudless sky. He turned the ignition, and pulled out onto the