Her eyes came wide open and Brenda looked around slowly. When she tried to sit up, she found that Jax had curled around her in sleep. The position of the large jungle cat was amazingly identical to the position Jax assumed when they had slept together in the fields on Charporta. His lower body lay protectively across her legs, and his head nestled in the soft place where her shoulder met her neck.

Brenda looked down and saw that the cat apparently was still deep in sleep. She wasn’t surprised – after the suffering Jax had gone through, she fully expected him to sleep for many more hours. As Brenda lay in a half-reclined position, the grotto pool beckoned to her. It had been many days since she had had a thorough cleansing, and with Jax asleep, there was nothing more she could do to help him at this point.

Brenda carefully disengaged herself from Jax’s embrace. When she rose to her feet, the muscles in her back screamed in protest from sleeping on the hard floor of the cave. She looked out the mouth of the cave and it was still dark. She had no idea how long they had been asleep, but obviously the dangerously hot sun had set for the day soon after they entered the cave.

Glancing over one more time at Jax, Brenda went to the edge of the pool. She leaned down and scooped some of the water, splashing her face with it. It was cool, but not cold, and it felt wonderful. Brenda went back to the bag of supplies she had found earlier that contained the panoch. Digging further inside, she found some materials that smelled of carbon and were probably useful in starting a fire. But she gave a small cry of delight when her fingers wrapped around a small vial of oil. She brought it to her nose, and immediately the sweet scent of sajmar flooded her senses. It would be almost celestial to have something other than the scent of perspiration on her body.

Brenda went back to the edge of the pool nearest Jax and set the vial down carefully. She began to pull her gown from her shoulders, but then stopped to look towards Jax one more time. His chest rose and fell evenly in sleep, his eyes were shut as they had been before, and the cat’s tail was still. Reassured that she would have her bath privately, Brenda shed her gown and stepped into the pool.

The cool water had an immediate effect on her, drawing her nipples to sharp points, but Brenda didn’t care. She had to control herself not to laugh aloud – she didn’t want to wake Jax when he needed his rest. But she couldn’t resist the urge and she cupped some water in her hands, holding it above her head, and then letting it cascade over her body in luxurious abandon. She took a quick breath, and then dipped her head beneath the water, coming up quickly. Brenda ran her hands over her hair to squeeze out the excess water as she stood with her back to a sleeping Jax.

Or so she thought. She never saw the cat’s tail switch briskly.

Brenda poured some of the precious oil into her hand and rubbed it over her body. She scrubbed at her arms and legs, enjoying the clean feel of the temperate water. When she was satisfied that her body was clean, she poured a little more of the oil into her hands and massaged it into her scalp. As she lifted her arms to rub the oil through her tresses, her back arched gracefully.

The cat’s tail began to move the small pebbles on the floor of the cave with its vigorous twitching. His eyes opened to narrow slits and a low purr rumbled deep in his chest.

Brenda inhaled the scent of the sajmar in bliss. Whoever had left the bag of supplies, she wished there was a way to thank them. Convinced that her hair was thoroughly saturated, Brenda turned to face the side of the pool where the cat lay and dipped below the surface of the water again. As she came back up, sputtering and spitting water, she wiped at her eyes to clear them of the water. Her hands went to her hair and she pulled the bulk of it to one side, wringing the water from it.

It was then that she felt it. Heat spilled through her body, even in the cool water of the pool. She raised her eyes slowly, her hands frozen in place where they held her hair. Brenda’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Jax. He was obviously awake.

The intense blue/green color of his eyes cast a spell over her. He was still in the form of a cat, but the eyes were pure Jax. Brenda couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. If she hadn’t known the identity of the jungle cat before her, Brenda would have felt fear at the predatory look in its eyes. But as she continued to stare into those eyes, all that she felt was warmth and desire. She noticed the cat’s tail was twitching anxiously, and as she stood completely still, she heard a loud purring sound.

Brenda almost didn’t realize when she began to move sensuously in the water. She finished wringing her hair and combed her fingers though it slowly. She turned to put her back to Jax again, and tipped her head back so that her hair dusted her bare back. As she arched and ran her fingers through her hair again, she heard a loud growl coming from the cat. Brenda raised her head again and turned just slightly, looking over her shoulder in abandon, giving Jax a heated look that could have melted the rocks on the cave floor.

The cat’s eyes narrowed to slits again as Brenda turned and began walking towards him. When she got to the edge of the pool, she began to question her own sanity. The cat appeared to be sleeping again. His eyes were shut, his tail completely still. She was almost ashamed at her own brazen actions just a few moments earlier. Brenda realized that her thin gown would do very little good in absorbing the moisture from her bath, so she reached for her cloak and wrapped it around her as she exited the pool.

She moved over to a side of the pool away from Jax so that she wouldn’t disturb him. Brenda rubbed her arms and legs briskly with the cloak, and then let it fall loosely open in the front so that she could concentrate on trying to get her hair to dry. She combed her fingers through it, thinking that if she could get more air to more of the strands, it would dry more quickly. She bent forward and threw her hair forward, combing through it again. As she did, the cloak slipped from her shoulders and down to catch in the crooks of her elbows.

Brenda felt Jax behind her as she straightened. His strong hands gripped her bare shoulders and she felt his breath stir the soft hairs at the nape of her neck. "Do you want me to build a fire so that your hair will dry more quickly?"

As Brenda sat up straight, she felt Jax nuzzle the back of her neck and place kisses behind her right ear. Her spine seemed to melt as she relaxed her body against his. Jax’s hand slipped from her bare shoulder to delve inside the open cloak, cupping her left breast. She turned towards the right to look into Jax’s sparkling eyes. "I think we probably have all the fire we need already, don’t you?" Her eyes were barely open, Jax’s seduction having such a drugging effect on her senses.

"There is never enough fire to satisfy a Familiar, my zira," Jax replied huskily, and his lips closed over hers. Brenda moaned deep in her throat as Jax crouched on the floor of the cave and pulled her into his arms. As he deepened the kiss, sinking his tongue repeatedly into her waiting mouth, he slid the cloak from her shoulders.

Brenda broke the kiss once, pulling back just enough to look at Jax. She ran her hand gently over his broad shoulders and handsome face. It was no longer burned or blistered. His skin was pink and clear and healthy again. "Your burns are healed," she whispered, placing a soft kiss on his shoulder.

Jax surprised her when he quickly rose to his feet, cradling her to his chest in his arms. "The burns on my skin are healed, yet there is one burn I suffer from that only you can heal, my angel." He lowered his head to kiss her again as he turned and began walking slowly towards the pool.

As he stepped down into the water, Brenda suddenly realized his intent. "Jax! I’ve already bathed! I was just dry!" she pouted.

"Wrap your legs around my waist, Brenda," Jax replied, shifting her in his arms so that they were chest to chest. As he continued to wade into the water and kiss her deeply, Brenda whimpered. Jax broke the kiss and started nibbling on her shoulder, tracing the spot with his tongue where he had marked her in the hollow of her neck. As Jax’s right hand reached down to caress her, Brenda took his face in her hands.

"Jax," she began shyly, "the last time…..the enhancing…..I felt so…" Her brown eyes were tinged with a pain that tore at Jax’s heart. "…..it was so …..overwhelming…."

Jax sighed with understanding. It would take some time to show his beautiful angel that surrendering to desire and pleasure didn’t rob you of freedom, but allowed you to share something perfect with one true mate. Feeling *need* for a mate did not make one a slave to that mate. "No enhancing for now, zira."

She nodded, reassured by his words. As Jax carefully lowered her to sit astride his hips and made them one, Brenda’s eyelids fluttered in pleasure. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "No enhancing……for now." She gave Jax a quick smile, which caused a low chuckle in Jax’s chest. Perhaps it wouldn’t take that long to teach her after all.

Tunnel Point in Harsty, Planet Charporta

Scorpian squinted as he emerged from the Tunnel Point into the bright sunlight on Charporta. He wore a long, hooded cloak of navy worsted, dark navy breeches, and thigh-high boots of finest leather. The cloak hid the evidence of his Knighthood – the royal purple sash that crossed his fine white lawn shirt, and the lethal drakon beam that dangled from his hip.

He stopped in place, trying to filter out all of the other disturbing sensations and concentrate on Zir Jax. Having the Familiar senses, Scorpian would be able to "see" Jax’s spirit and if he had been anywhere near here recently.

A fellow traveler jostled him, so Scorpian moved over to the side near some vendors. He quickly ducked behind a tent and closed his eyes, breathing deeply and concentrating on this less annoying, younger of the two Sharay brothers. As Jax’s golden blonde hair and intense Familiar blue eyes came into clear focus in Scorpian’s mind, a myriad of impressions flooded his senses. Scorpian sank to a crouch and buried his face in his hands to clear the images.

Jax had entered Charporta through this same Tunnel Point – Scorpian was sure of it. But he had no sense of Jax leaving this way. As he pursued the vision, Scorpian sensed imminent danger, and then cold darkness. He shivered as an image of a dungeon came into view, although the image suddenly became one of empty manacles, and a sweet scent of sajmar. Scorpian frowned. Hallways – running – fear of being caught – flying through the air. The impressions came fast and furious. The cool Charportan night. A pool of water.

Scorpian shook his head, but the images continued. Mortal danger. Weariness and thirst. And then…..intense pleasure? This was truly mystifying. Scorpian was about to rise to his feet when another impression assailed him.

But this was different. He sensed continued, anguished pain. An old crone, and a hut filled with aromas of cooking food. Still the pain. A soothing hand, albeit a withered one, holding up a spoon of broth. But every time Scorpian tried to form a clearer picture of the wounded one, the pain overwhelmed him. Scorpian raised his eyes and rubbed them with the back of his hands. He was sure that the wounded one wasn’t Jax, but who could it be? Perhaps the other Familiar that Jax had been sent to find -- what was his name?

Scorpian debated the dilemma. Tomassif had been most specific. Zir Jax was to be found immediately. And so, at another one of those crucial forks in the road, Scorpian chose to find Jax rather than to pursue his sense of the other wounded Familiar.

He rose to his feet, pulling his cloak around him, and wandered through the busy marketplace at Harsty. If nothing else, Scorpian had a talent for gleaning information by listening to the conversations of others. He didn’t have to wait long until he picked up the lament of a nearby Charportan.

"I tell you, Audaraine," the woman wailed, "I haven’t been able to have a single night’s rest since that horrid alien abducted our Crown Princess. I worry so for the fair Brenda."

The merchant-woman nodded in agreement. "You know what they say about those Familiars and their sexual appetites." She leaned closer to her companion in hearsay. "A friend of mine is a serving girl in the castle, and she told me that Corinthon learned that the Familiar attacked the Crown Princess even before they left the castle! He was brazen enough to take her while still in the dungeon!"

Scorpian frowned. This did not sound at *all* like Zir Jax, nor like any Familiar that he knew. Thanks to their sexual prowess, Scorpian seriously doubted that *any* Familiar male would have to resort to forcing a woman to join with him! And as for the abduction -- knowing Jax, it was more likely that the Princess had abducted him instead!

Scorpian ambled over to the vendor’s stand where the women were loudly lamenting the fate of the Crown Princess, but one of Corinthon’s soldiers also happened to make his way to the same spot. "Ladies," he said gallantly, "I could not help but hear you discussing the fate of our beloved Princess Brenda." He leaned over to them confidentially. "Corinthon is *most* anxious for her safe return to Charporta, and would pay handsomely for any information you might have as to her whereabouts."

"As would I," Scorpian suddenly interrupted. The soldier and the women looked at him abruptly, but at the sight of his fine cloak and boots, they had no doubt that he would make good on his word and reimburse them for any tidbit of information. He looked at the soldier. "I am on a quest of my own for this particular Familiar," Scorpian continued cryptically. "We have an old score to settle."

"Well," the soldier drawled, "I might be willing to give you some information that you might find useful -- if I was suitably compensated."

"And just what would you consider *suitable*?" Scorpian’s lip curled. He really hated dealing with imbeciles.

"Oh, perhaps......four rarified gems," the soldier said quietly. The two women just stood there, open-mouthed, at the soldier’s boldness. The soldier saw Scorpian’s eyebrows lift at his price. "Believe me -- I happen to know that the Familiar you seek is no longer on Charporta. He has taken our Princess and already gone through a Tunnel Point to another planet." Both women put their hands to their mouths in horror.

"And just which Tunnel Point would he have used?" Scorpian’s voice was low.

The soldier smiled. "That is the information that can be bought for the four gems." The nature of the Matrix travel system gave the soldier his advantage. Each Tunnel Point connected to a different planet, and without knowing where Jax had exited Charporta, Scorpian had a much more difficult task of finding out what planet he might be on now.

"I’ll give you one gem," Scorpian haggled. This was the part of the quest he hated most -- a good drakon beam duel was far more exciting than bargaining with idiots.

The soldier shrugged. "No deal," he said smugly.

Scorpian clucked his tongue. "Well, then, if you do not accept my counter-offer, I suppose I have but one proposition left for you." Scorpian started to turn away but suddenly spun back. He had pulled his weapon and before the soldier could blink, he had the lethal drakon beam aimed at the soldier’s throat. "Now, are you sure you don’t want to come to my terms?"

One of the women stifled a shriek. "A Knight! He is a Knight of the Thren!" Scorpian glanced down and saw that his cloak had opened and his sash was indeed visible.

"Think quickly, friend," Scorpian hissed. "Which Tunnel Point did the Familiar use to escape from Charporta?"

The soldier’s knees were shaking so badly that he could barely stand. "They went through the second Tunnel Point -- a journey of about five days from here."

Scorpian relaxed and lowered the beam a little, but still kept it just inches from the soldier’s heart. "Much better. Now -- tell me where this Tunnel Point is so that I might make the journey there myself."

One of the women stepped forward. "The entrance to the Tunnel is over that way, through the mountains and around the ravneau."

The soldier suddenly spoke up again. "The talk is that the Familiar somehow went *across* the ravneau -- although every rational Charportan knows that simply cannot be done."

Scorpian retracted his drakon beam and re-holstered it at his hip. "Every rational Charportan is not a Familiar like the fugitive and myself." The women drew in fearful breaths at his revelation. "If he managed to cross this ravneau, I will do so also."

Scorpian whirled and began to stride away, with merchants calling after him, making him offers of beasts for hire that could take him around the ravneau more quickly. But Scorpian ignored them. He had a quest. He had to find Zir Jax. Scorpian increased his speed as he shuddered to think what horrible trials and tribulations some misguided aliens on the next planet might be inflicting on Jax, even now.

*~*~*~*

"Brenda! Ahhhh, my sweet angel!" Jax’s cry of pleasure rang through the furthest chambers of the cave.

Brenda blushed at Jax’s enthusiastic response to her ministrations. Who would have ever known that a simple touch to certain parts of a Familiar’s anatomy would bring such unspeakable pleasure? Brenda reached down to continue to explore this sensitive area on Jax’s body, but with a growl, he flipped their positions.

After bringing them both to a breathless peak while in the grotto pool, Jax had carried her carefully from the pool and lay her down on her cloak. He wrapped it around her, drying her thoroughly, but in the process he also managed to caress the spots that he was learning brought Brenda exquisite pleasure. Pleasure points were different for each woman – Familiars were well-acquainted with that fact. One of a Familiar’s many gifts was the ability to find a woman’s pleasure points quickly and stimulate them more completely than any other creature.

Jax spread the cloak on the rough gravel surface of the cave so that the tiny rocks would bring no discomfort to Brenda or mar her beautiful skin in any way. Brenda had innocently been stroking Jax’s body, jealous of the intimate knowledge that he had of her. He seemed to have an uncanny talent for finding just those places where his touch made her see stars. The naïve Torengi had no idea that when her hand roamed below Jax’s waist, her quest would finally be met with success.

As Brenda’s hand had closed around him, Jax growled his pleasure fiercely and pulled her beneath him, pinning her to the ground on her back. Brenda managed to extricate her hand just in time before she felt Jax moving to join with her again. "Jax! Again? So soon after you were so ill?"

"Sleep has had a very ……invigorating effect on me, angel," Jax smiled wickedly. He knew that she had no idea that he could probably make love to her another three or four times before he was even winded. And that pitiful circumstance was only because he had been so badly burned. Had he been healthy, the number would have at least doubled.

"I can tell," she murmured huskily against his throat, threading her hands up into his hair. Brenda realized that having his hair stroked brought Jax much pleasure, so for now, she intended to use that to her advantage as much as possible. But as Jax moved into her again, Brenda caught her breath. Her muscles were still relatively tight and not accustomed to this amount of stretching.

Jax noticed her in-drawn breath immediately. "Am I hurting you?"

"No," Brenda said softly, but he couldn’t help but feel her body tense. "I’ll be alright."

Jax smiled with compassion. "I thought you told me just before I morphed that Torengi always told the truth." He shifted his weight, taking his right arm and placing it under Brenda’s left knee so that he could lift her leg closer up to his chest.

Brenda gasped aloud at the feel of the change in position. As Jax moved again, he could press more deeply into Brenda’s body without her being uncomfortable. She clung to his shoulders and gripped them fiercely as Jax flexed inside her. "Jax! What are you doing?"

"Merely changing position so that you feel nothing but pleasure, my zira," Jax replied. As he trailed kisses up her neck, Jax pulsated inside her, causing Brenda to reach a shattering pinnacle without warning.

As Jax continued to move slowly, yet more intensely than any other time he had made love to her, Brenda breathlessly managed to form her words. "Jax….are there *other* ways of joining besides this and the one in the pool?"

Jax continued to move towards his own peak. "Angel," he smiled, "there are *many* other ways of joining. There are Familiars on Meer’an who spend their entire lives devoted to the study of cataloguing these ways."

Brenda caught her breath again as Jax favored a particularly deep spot inside her with the caress of his body. "And just…….how many……are there?"

Jax had buried his head in the crook of her neck and was trailing kisses down towards her breasts. Brenda thought that perhaps Jax had failed to hear her, so she ran her fingers up his neck to cup his face. "Jax?"

"Ssshhhh, Brenda," Jax growled. "I’m still counting." As he lowered his head to her breast and began to favor it with his attention, Brenda forgot her question for several minutes.

Finally, Jax raised his head. "I believe that, at last count, there were four hundred fifty-seven different ways, although that doesn’t include various combinations."

"And this one is?"

Jax’s breathing began to increase in tempo. "Number eighteen," he gasped.

Brenda was about to ask if he was introducing her to them in numerical order when Jax stroked her more deeply than ever before. They both cried aloud at the pleasure, and then there were no more discussions of any type of mathematics in the cave for a long time afterward.

*~*~*~*

"THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!" Corinthon screamed, leaping to his feet and pounding his fist on the wooden table in front of him.

"I’m afraid it’s true…..uh…..sir," the captain of the guard replied, trying to think of the appropriate title for the enraged tyrant. At that moment, he was sincerely wishing that he were still the captain of the sewer cleaners rather than the one who had to give Corinthon the bad tidings. "Our guards report that some of the merchants at the second Tunnel point recall seeing the Familiar and the Crown Princess entering the tunnel two days ago."

Corinthon drew a long breath and walked to look out one of the windows. "It must have been a different Familiar." He turned back to the captain. "That means that they would have crossed the ravneau in one day, and everyone knows that that is impossible."

The captain tried to take small steps backwards towards the door. "There is speculation that the Familiar ran across, sir, carrying the Crown Princess on his back." Corinthon began to breathe more quickly, and the captain shrank back even farther. "And one merchant woman in particular was most positive. She recognized the Crown Princess by the small darkening of her skin near her mouth."

As Corinthon began to sputter even more, a dazzling haze took shape in one corner of the room. He turned towards it and his face paled visibly. "Take one squadron and pass through the second Tunnel Point to the next world. It remains a possibility that they were not able to make their way far beyond the portal if Princess Brenda was ill from the effects of the Matrix." He waved his hand at the captain, who was never so happy to leave a room in his life.

The captain had no sooner exited Corinthon’s apartment than the haze began to take the shape of a menacing face. "Corinthon! What news is there?"

Corinthon slowly walked towards the apparition. "It appears that the Crown Princess and the Familiar may have been able to escape from Charporta after all, sire." He cringed as the face took on an even blacker scowl.

"That is *not* the news we were hoping for, Corinthon. The alliance was expecting for you to produce this Familiar."

Corinthon tried to appear as though he were unfazed by the turn of events. "Actually, this is not a severe setback." He walked closer to the apparition and drew a small vial from his cloak. "The Crown Princess was not a vital part of our plans. Even if this Familiar manages to take her back to an Imperial planet, our strategy will remain the same. The Familiar was heavily drugged while here and cannot possibly know of our plot."

The magnified face raised one eyebrow in skepticism, but Corinthon rushed on. "I am still organizing a large army and training special forces for our attack." He smiled down at the vial. "There is no way the Familiars on Meer’an will suspect that we know of the other. They will be caught completely unawares at our arrival and before they can regroup, this formula will render them helpless."

"And then," Faisonaire growled, "your army will be able to round up as many Familiars as are needed to fill the requisitions we have from our various allies." He smiled wickedly. "I myself will revel in the day when that brilliant, elusive king of theirs is brought before me on his knees." He gave Corinthon a pointed stare. "Keep me informed of your progress in mounting the attack force. I look forward to hearing of your victory."

The haze faded as quickly as it had appeared in Corinthon’s apartment. He shook his head and sat down heavily in a chair. Let Faisonaire have the king of the Familiars. All Corinthon wanted was the head of one particular Familiar on a platter – the one who had stolen his Brenda, body and soul.

To be continued…..