Bianca D'Arc by King of Cups Read Free Book Online Page B

had known.
    “ I thought you were a holy man,”
Alex explained as he stood his ground on the mats. “There are
traditions of warrior priests in some human cultures, but I didn’t
realize the Zenai were like that.”
    “ We are.” Father Theos moved
forward to face Alex, in the center of the room. Both men sank into
ready poses. “Before we can make a final decision about what to do
with you, I must take your measure. Today is for
testing.”
    Alex looked forward to it. Theos was older, to be
sure, but he was also clearly fit. Now that Alex knew the Zenai
were warrior monks, he realized Theos had the look of a master. It
would be an honor and a challenge to pit his skills against this
man.
    “ I have been tested many times,
Father. I hope only that I can live up to the challenge you
pose.”
    Theos didn’t answer in words. Instead, he engaged.
He used a dizzying array of fast and slow techniques, the soft
strike and the hard parry. He systematically tested each and every
one of the Alex’s skills. The movements were both familiar and
strange. There was no doubt Theos had been trained in a very
different style from the human martial arts Alex was used to.
Still, they were well matched.
    Alex didn’t have to call on any of his Enhanced
senses to keep up. He worked hard to suppress the instinct to use
his superior speed and reflexes. Part of being Enhanced was
learning how to appear normal. Alex used all those skills while
Theos evaluated him, glad to know he could make an impression even
without his Enhancements.
    At length Theos called a halt. Alex was sweating
lightly when he bowed to the older man. Theos looked cool. That was
the first clue Alex had that Theos had also held back.
    “ You are well trained,” Father
Theos commented as he handed Alex a bottle of water on the
sidelines, taking one for himself also. “Thank you for the
exercise. You are skilled at evasion both physically and
mentally.”
    Alex’s frowned. “It wasn’t my intent to
deceive.”
    “ Was it not?” Theos gave him a wry
smile. “I am old enough to respect your need for secrecy, but
stubborn enough to demand that it cannot stand. Not between us. Not
if you ever wish to see your home galaxy again.”
    “ You guaranteed a safe passage,”
Alex reminded the old man.
    “ I did,” Theos agreed. “I did not
say when. If you continue to cloud your true nature, the safe
passage will be granted to your corpses.” Now Alex saw for the
first time the emperor in Theos. His will was strong and his decree
intimidating. This was his galaxy. He could very well do just as he
threatened.
    “ You understand loyalty, duty and
honor, don’t you?” Alex tried to placate the ex-emperor. “I vowed
all three to my race, and my galaxy. Revealing military secrets to
you goes against the grain, no matter how kind you appear at the
moment. Jit’suku are still the enemy of the human race.”
    Alex was afraid for a moment he might’ve pushed too
far. Then Theos sighed and took a seat on the bench against one
wall.
    “ And therein lies the real
problem.” He sighed heavily as he folded his hands and assumed a
somewhat meditative pose. “Jit’suku do not make war on their own
kind. It is one of our first and most important tenets of warfare.
You are human. And yet you are also jit’suku. You are a paradox, my
friend. Human, but not. Jit’suku, but not. You are stuck between
worlds and neither, I think, knows exactly what to do with
you.”
    “ Humans don’t seem to mind me at
all,” he felt compelled to say.
    “ Would they allow you to walk so
freely among them if they knew what you really are? I think not.
Even I have heard of the so-called purity movements. If it were
known you carry jit’suku DNA, you would not be so welcome as you
think.”
    Alex sat on the bench a few feet down from the old
man. “I can’t change the fact that I was born human. My loyalties
lie with the human race. I won’t lie to you just because we share
some