Recognition by Ann Herendeen Read Free Book Online

beliefs and motives, to be
revealed to him in the same way, my hidden self unfurling at a word
or a touch, open and receptive to his slightest wish—there could be
no turning away from this.
    I returned his kiss with clumsy eagerness,
unused to wanting to, my head swimming, overwhelmed with so many
new emotions. I wanted this incredible feeling to go on forever,
until our minds and our bodies succumbed to the inevitable, became
one being, as they were obviously meant to be. And all the time
that we savored each other, through mouth and mind, tongue and
brain, his thoughts spoke of love. Desire, yes, and passion, but
more—that I was dear to him, necessary—
    A noise reverberated in my head and I came to
the surface from our deep communion. The cracked window acted like
a prism as the rising sun, still low in the sky, broke through the
clouds, throwing a distorted rainbow of maroons and violets over
us. I blinked in the light as if waking from sleep, my third
eyelids descending with erotic languor, amazed to find myself
tingling with excitement, standing on my toes, stretching to kiss
this tall man who, even so, had to stoop to meet my lips—not that
it appeared to bother him. At dawn, the dead zone for me, a time
when, if I feel anything, it isn’t good. A line from an ancient
poem came into my mind:
When the dawn comes up like
thunder
…
    Dominic skipped ahead, pulling the verses
from my memory.
Bloody lot she cared for idols when I kissed
her where she stood
, he said, matching his action to the
words.
That is lovely
, he declared when we parted to
breathe.
    Yes
, I agreed.
Kipling
.
    Is that what they call kissing on
Terra?
he said, laughing at his joke to show he had understood
my meaning. His laugh was not yesterday’s grating screech. It was
deep and warm, like his speaking voice, as he expressed his
happiness.
    The intercom buzzed for the third time, in
angry bursts. The concierge’s voice came through, harassed and
irritable. The police were still in the lobby, she said.
    Dominic and I let go of each other,
exchanging a guilty look. His guardsmen had been waiting all this
while. We were hot, not just from the overheated apartment, and
breathing heavily. “Come with me,” Dominic whispered. “Don’t go to
the Terrans, who value you so little.”
    “But you’re the one who doesn’t want me to
take this test,” I said. My voice was low, husky with the passion
that still held us in its grip.
Perhaps I should just stay
here
, I thought.
Why expose myself to the unknown perils
of this ‘Graven Assembly?
    And never explore your gift?
he
chided me.
Never find a place for yourself?
He touched his
sword hilt in a habitual confident gesture.
I will protect you.
You have only to decide and I will support your choice against all
challenge
. He had reversed himself, as I had almost done,
making my own argument to me, backing it up with his usual method
of defense.
    I looked out the window toward the Eclipsian
Sector of the city and its fortress, caught between two extremes,
wishing for middle ground. “I must shower, get dressed, have
breakfast,” I said, preparing him for the delay. It was my own form
of declaration. I would go directly to the Assembly and take their
test, not as Terran, nor as ‘Graven, but as myself.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    Dominic’s idea of escorting was very
different from that of the young Terran who had met my transport. I
had expected Dominic to walk beside me, making conversation or at
least answering some of my questions. Instead he led from the front
as the squad of eight men formed a hexagon around me. Dominic must
have chosen the men for height; it was like walking in a dense
forest where the trees moved with me.
    One of these men was also gifted. I was
beginning to accept the idea of the existence of other telepaths,
of ‘Graven, the shielding eyelid in the sunlight an easy clue in
identifying my peers. This man gave me a brief smile in
acknowledgement of our shared status. Sensing