Outcast 
Evangeline Anderson 

All rights reserved. 
Copyright ©2006 Evangeline Anderson 


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ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-427-4 
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Chapter 1 

Sayana Nakamura knocked on the shabby door, her slim white knuckles making 
a dull thump against the rotten wood. She shifted from foot to foot as she waited. The 
shuffling footsteps she heard inside seemed to move very slowly. Above her head, in 
characters so faded they were barely readable, a sign said “House of a thousand 
Blossoms and ten thousand Desires. All who ask entrance in peace may enter.” 

Sayana looked away from the sign with a sick feeling of disgust in the pit of her 
stomach. So this was what she had come to -- she, Sayana Nakamura of one of the great 
families of Kanasum, was reduced to begging for a place in a house of blossoms. And 
not just any house -- the least reputable in town. For no other would have a girl whose 
family carried a taint. She knocked again, wanting to get this shameful task over with. 

“Yes, yes, contain your desires a moment longer,” an irritable voice said from 
within. “It’s barely past noon and most of the girls are still asleep.” 

So at least she would be allowed to sleep late every day if she was taken into this 
house. Sayana suppressed the urge to laugh hysterically by biting the inside of her 
bottom lip. She once had a suitor compose a poem about her lips -- as ‘full and tender as 
ripe fruit begging to be plucked.’ Sayana had blushed with embarrassed modesty when 
he read the suggestive lines and hidden her face behind her stiff white fan. 

If the Heavens had smiled on her, she might have been planning her joining 
ceremony to the young man who had written the poem instead of standing on the 
sagging front porch of the blossom house, waiting to beg entrance to a life the lowliest 
servant might scorn. But there was no time for such regrets -- at last the door was 
opening. Sayana hurried to pull the hood of her cloak forward, keeping her face in 
shadow. 


“Yes?” A woman with untidy gray-blue hair stood in the doorway, pulling a 
stained silk wrap tight over her drooping breasts. 

“I… I…” Sayana could barely make herself speak. It seemed her tongue was 
glued to the roof of her mouth. 

“Well?” The woman put a gnarled hand on her skinny hip. “What can I do for 
you, fine lady? We do not receive female clients at this house and none of my girls 
wishes to leave in order to wash your dirty dishes for a pittance of what they make 
now, no matter how respectable it would make them.” 

Sayana lifted her chin. She had come to do a difficult thing and it must be done. 
“I am not here seeking pleasure,” she said, relieved that her voice came out strong and 
without a tremble. “Nor do I wish to take any of your, ah, girls for employment at my 
home.” She stepped forward, putting herself into the skinny woman’s personal space 
although all her training forbade it. “I have come to seek employment myself,” she said. 
“I wish to be numbered among the thousand blossoms.” 

The madam of the house looked at her skeptically. “Throw back your hood,” she 
said at last. She did as the woman asked, freeing her long hair but keeping her head 
bent modestly low. She studied the small rounded points of her slippers poking out 
from under the hem of her gown as she waited. 

“Skin like palest silk. And your hair,” the madam said. “You’re from one of the 
great families.” 

Sayana nodded, still keeping her head low. Only those of the oldest and greatest 
families on Kanasum had the famous indigo hair, so blue it was almost black. When it 
was unbound, it ran like a river over her slender shoulders and down past her knees, 
the color of the sky just before night falls and drowns the world in darkness. 

“So a fine lady of one of the great families wishes to bind herself to my service, 
eh?” the madam asked blandly. 

“Yes,” Sayana said, keeping her eyes down. 


“I don’t have time for jokes,” the madam said. She started to close the door and 
Sayana had a brief, fierce struggle with herself before she was able to overcome her 
training and step forward, holding the door open with one petite slipper. 

“Please.” She pointed to the sign above her head. “It says all who come in peace 
may enter. I… I beg you to at least hear my plea.” 

“All right then.” Grudgingly, she opened the door and Sayana passed by her into 
the cramped interior of the house of blossoms. “I have tea if you want some,” the 
madam said, leading her deeper into the shadowy recesses. The wooden floors were 
dry and dull, and the coarse tan paper that separated the tiny rooms was ripped in 
places and had been haphazardly repaired using cheap tape. 

“I would be honored to take tea with you.” Sayana said the words automatically, 
years of good breeding rising to her lips when the truth was she didn’t want to eat or 
drink anything in such a filthy place. But if she was taken on here she would have no 
choice, so she might as well get used to it. 

They settled onto woven mats, thick with ingrained dirt, in a small room where a 
pot of tea steamed over a brazier in the corner. The madam of the house poured the hot 
liquid into two chipped cups. Then, after what appeared to be a moment of 
deliberation, she dug into a tin of biscuits that was half hidden behind the brazier and 
handed one to Sayana along with her tea. 

“A thousand thanks,” Sayana said formally and took the tiniest sip possible of 
the poor quality tea. She wanted to nibble the dry, stale biscuit as well, but when she 
brought it to her lips, her hunger overcame her. She had not eaten in three days and her 
stomach growled angrily. Before she knew it, half the biscuit was gone. Then she made 
herself stop, although she felt she could have eaten a thousand such biscuits before her 
raging appetite was satisfied. 

“Well.” The madam of the house watched her with sharp eyes, the same blue-
gray color of her hair. There was an expression of doubtful wonder on her seamed face, 
as though she had never seen a girl of one of the great families gobbling biscuits like a 


famished street urchin. Well, she probably hadn’t, Sayana reasoned. She straightened 

but kept her eyes on her teacup, cradled in the palm of her hand. 

“I seek employment,” she said once again, formally. 

“Why?” the madam asked bluntly. 

It went against her training not to answer a direct question but Sayana sealed her 
lips against the truth. After all, the truth had done her no good at any of the other 
houses where she had sought employment. 

“I am in need,” she said simply. 

“If your family has fallen on hard times, why not seek employment in a shop or a 
tea house?” the madam demanded. “Do you not know that if I take you in here you will 
be Xaichan -- outcast forever?” 

“I know,” Sayana said steadily, refusing to let her voice crack. “But I must earn a 
great deal of credit very quickly. That cannot be done at a shop. And…” She took 
another small sip of the tea, seeking to quiet her spirits. “And there are other fortunes 
besides my own at stake.” She thought of the hungry wails of her little sisters, Kimi and 
Kanji who were too young to starve gracefully simply because their family was tainted. 
And they were too young to understand that a woman of the great families was 
supposed to fade gently into death when her name no longer held value. 

“What is your name?” the madam asked, startling her out of her grim thoughts. 

“I am called Sayana.” She took another sip of tea to cover her fear. She sent a 
swift prayer heavenward to the Goddess of Mercy. Please, don’t let her ask my family 
name. But the Goddess must not have been listening. 

“Your family name,” the madam said, as though reading her mind. 

Sayana braced herself. “Nakamura,” she said. “I am Sayana Nakamura of the 
great house of Nakamura.” 

The madam recoiled as though she had been slapped. “I know of your family 
and the taint they carry. Why did you not say so at once?” 

“Because you would have turned me away at the door, as have all the others,” 
Sayana said, desperation lending strength to her voice. “Please, most esteemed elder 


sister, I beg of you to consider me and not just my name. I… I am certain that I can make 
you much profit.” She raised her eyes at last to meet the watery blue gray eyes of her 
hostess. “I am unplucked,” she said evenly, knowing that the pure silver of her eyes, 
unmarred by any other tint, would carry the truth of her statement. 

Only after virginity was taken did the eyes of a Kanasumi woman change color, 
typically darkening to the exact shade of her hair. The old proverb, ‘After love, the eyes 
fill with the experience of the body and the sorrow of the soul’ was one that still held 
true. 

“As to that, I would expect no less of a girl of a great house,” the madam said. 
She appeared to be wavering, perhaps flattered by the respectful title Sayana had used 
when addressing her, or maybe just calculating the price she could ask of a man who 
wanted to be the first with a girl of one of the great houses. Such a prize was unheard of 
-- rare beyond belief -- because when a woman of substance on Kanasum fell into 
disgrace she inevitably committed Sun-dak-cho, a ritual involving a tiny knife with a 
sharp blade and a deadly poison. To die was preferable over living under the dark 
cloud of a taint on one’s family name. 

Sun-dak-cho, with its honorable if agonizing ending, was Sayana’s ultimate goal 
but she couldn’t afford the luxury of it right now. She had to think of Kimi and Kanji 
before her own ascent to the Goddess could be accomplished. 

She waited, breathless, to hear what the madam would say. Greed flickered in 
the older woman’s eyes, making Sayana hope that her offer would be accepted. But at 
last, she shook her head regretfully. 

“I am sorry, little sister,” she said formally, using the honorific as gently as she 
could. “But I cannot risk letting your bad Jo infect my house. I, too, have fortunes other 
than my own to consider. If the name of my house became tainted, I would have no 
more customers and the girls that work here would starve.” 

“As my little sisters are starving now,” Sayana said bitterly, unable to hold back 
her words. “They are too young to meet the Goddess by Sun-dak-cho. Too young to 
understand that a lady of the great houses does not complain about her hunger but 


waits for death in silence and serenity. No one will help us because of the taint. Even 
the charity kitchens shut their doors when they see our faces.” She sighed and sat the 
half empty teacup beside her on the dirty mat. “I thank you for your time and 
hospitality,” she said formally, and rose to go. 

“Wait.” The madam put down her own teacup and motioned for Sayana to stay 
where she was. “There is nothing I or anyone else on Kanasum can do to help you,” she 
said. “For no one will risk the taint. But there are those who care nothing for such things 
-- who laugh in the face of convention and will gladly take what you have to offer.” 

“Where?” Sayana asked desperately. “As you said, everyone on the planet will 
shun me because of my family’s shame.” 

“The place I speak of is not on the planet,” the madam said mysteriously. “But in 
a great ship, orbiting in space.” 

“You do not mean…” Sayana put a hand over her mouth, unwilling to say more. 

The madam nodded her frowsy head. “The ship of the Gwylo -- the great floating 
palace where men go to gamble and buy pleasure all night long. But since the night 
never ends in the black void of space, many never come back.” She laughed, a broken 
cackle that raised the fine hairs on the back of Sayana’s neck. 

“I know of the floating palace of the Gwylo,” she said shortly. The palace had 
played no small part in the misfortune that had fallen on her family, and she was not 
anxious to go there. 

“Then you know that they ask no admission to get there,” the madam said 
brightly. “All who ask are given a place on the shuttle to the palace.” 

“Because the Gwylo hope to take all their credit when they arrive at the palace,” 
Sayana pointed out. It was true -- men of Kanasum went to the palace in the sky with 
their accounts full of credit and came back broken -- if they came back at all. Many 
committed Sun-dak-cho to avoid the disgrace of seeing their wives’ eyes when they 
admitted that all the credit, along with all the good Jo or luck of the household, had 
been frittered away on the flashy games of chance at the Gwylo palace. 


“Exactly, but this time the trick will be on them,” the madam said, breaking into 
Sayana’s bitter thoughts. “You will go with nothing and come back with a pocketful of 
credit. The Gwylo care nothing for taints or the evil Jo that accompanies a tainted one 
wherever he or she goes.” 

Sayana winced at the words, but there was nothing she could say to refute them. 
The Heavens had closed against her family, leaving her with nothing but a handful of 
dust and memories of better times. There was truth in the madam’s words, but great 
pain as well. She must sell herself and the only ones who might buy were the hated 
outsiders who had helped to ruin her family in the first place. The irony was not lost on 
her and she closed her eyes, willing the hot tears that stung them to go away. 

“You must go to the palace and find the auction -- they hold one every night, I’m 
told,” the madam said. She shook her finger at Sayana. “You must show them your 
pure silver eyes and offer yourself to the highest bidder. One night there will earn you 
what many nights in my house could not.” 

“But the Gwylo men,” Sayana protested weakly. “They’re said to be so savage -- 
so huge. They grow fur on their faces and chests like animals and their eyes and hair are 
all different colors -- not only blue or silver which is proper.” 

“They’re no more savage than any other man,” the madam said with a 
dismissive wave of her hand. “And all men are beasts when they’re in rut, as you’ll 
soon find out.” There was a faint rapping on the door and she sprang to her feet. “Stay 
put while I tend to this customer,” she hissed. “I won’t have you seen in my house.” 
Then she padded rapidly into the long wooden hallway and Sayana could hear her 
talking. 

“Good afternoon to you, esteemed sir. Which of our blossoms would you care to 
pluck today?” she simpered in a fawning voice. 

A low rumble of a male voice answered her, and the madam ran down the 
hallway and knocked briskly at the wooden doorframe of the room almost directly 
across from where Sayana sat. 


“Tataka,” she called in a falsely cheerful voice. “Come see what the Goddess of 
Mercy has seen fit to bestow on you, and so early in the day too! A fine gentleman has 
come and he declares that none but you can slake his thirst.” 

Behind the dirty paper wall, Sayana could see the silhouette of a sleepy girl 
sitting up from her mat and running a hand through her tangled hair. No doubt her 
locks would be a pale washed-out blue unlike the rich color of Sayana’s own, and her 
eyes would match her hair, proclaiming that she was no virgin. But other than that, she 
and the girl might very easily switch places, Sayana realized. Both of them were forced 
to sell themselves for credit and neither had any choice in the matter. 

Apparently tired of waiting, the madam slid open the door and stuck her head 
inside. She lowered her voice but Sayana could still hear her scolding the hapless girl 
who had been woken to service the man. “Get up, you lazy slut,” she hissed, rapping 
her knuckles on the wooden frame for emphasis. “I don’t care how late you were up last 
night -- we don’t count hours in this business. We only count men and the credit they 
bring in. So if you want to eat, you’d better get ready to work.” 

She pulled out her head and slapped the light wooden framed door closed. “Ah, 
Sir, she can barely contain her excitement to see you,” she said smoothly to the waiting 
customer. “Come right this way -- you will be the first with her this afternoon. And I 
know how you men enjoy being first.” She fluttered her lashes coquettishly as she 
ushered a thick-bodied man who was dressed as a common laborer into the room 
where Tataka waited. When the man was safely inside, she shut the door briskly and 
turned back to the waiting Sayana. 

“You’ll have to go now,” she said, motioning for Sayana to rise once more. She 
sighed. “The customers are coming earlier and earlier, I vow, but there’s nothing to be 
done about men’s lusts. They must have what they want when they want it or they will 
get it someplace else.” 

“Of course, I understand.” Sayana rose on trembling legs. She tried not to see the 
silhouettes of Tataka and her customer behind the screen but she couldn’t help it. The 
smaller female shadow appeared to be on her hands and knees with her nether regions 


in the air and the larger shape of her customer was behind her, mounting her like a wild 
animal. The grunts and vigorous slapping of flesh on flesh that were audible from 
behind the thin paper wall made Sayana sick to her stomach. To be taken like that -- to 
be used for some man to gratify his sick carnal lusts -- it was unthinkable. And yet, she 
had to think of it, had to get used to the fact that it would be her in that degrading and 
compromising position very soon. 

Perhaps the madam saw the horror reflected in Sayana’s silver eyes because 
some of the flinty hardness left her own gaze and she patted her guest awkwardly on 
the arm. “It is not so bad a life, little sister, once you get used to it,” she said. “But 
remember to sell yourself very dear -- an unplucked blossom is a rare thing, and once 
your eyes match your hair you’ll never command such a price again.” 

“I understand,” Sayana said again. She stumbled out the door ungracefully, on 
legs that were numb. She must be on the shuttle for the floating palace of the Gwylo 
before the night fell. Her little sisters were sick with hunger, and her mother was fading 
away like a dried petal caught between the pages of a book. 

“I wish you good Jo,” the madam said carelessly, scanning the empty street to 
make sure no one saw the girl with the taint on her name frequenting her establishment. 
“And remember -- it’s a living. Any blossom girl will tell you that the loss of virtue is 
better than the loss of one’s life. Think of it as a new destiny.” 

“Indeed. I… I thank you for your time and advice,” Sayana said faintly. But 
inside she believed that the loss of life was far preferable to the loss of honor. She would 
do this -- would sell herself to the highest bidder on the Gwylo ship -- and then she 
would come home to see that Kimi and Kanji were settled someplace safe, a convent 
where the Sisters of Heaven would care for them. The money she got from auctioning 
herself off should more than pay for their admission to such a place. Then she would be 
free to release her soul heavenward and greet the Goddess of Mercy. The honorable 
death of Sun-dak-cho was the only way to escape her tainted name and remove the stain 
of selling herself from her soul. 


With a heavy heart, she turned her feet away from the house of blossoms and 
took the first step on the road to her new destiny. 


Chapter 2 

The Kani girl was the tiniest little thing Captain Caleb Joiner had ever seen and 
she was wearing a dark floor-length gown that buttoned up to her chin -- hardly the 
showgirl style of dressing most of the women aboard the casino ship affected. With that 
outfit, the indigo hair piled atop her head in an elaborate hairstyle, and her porcelain 
pale complexion, she looked more like an old-fashioned doll than a woman. 

She also looked lost, wandering around the maze of lighted gaming tables with a 
confused look on her delicate features. Plainly she was looking for something on the 
huge casino ship, and just as plainly she was too timid to ask any of the rough-looking 
gamblers for directions. 

Caleb wondered why they let a Kani girl up here in the first place. There were 
plenty of the blue-haired Kani men at the tables, gaming away their credit along with 
their souls when the gambling fever bit them, but this was the first female from the 
planet he’d seen. Supposedly the Kani men didn’t like to let their females leave the 
surface, although the shuttles ran day and night and were free to anyone who wanted 
to gamble. 

Not my problem. He turned back to his single malt scotch and studied the golden 
depths of the liquid carefully. It wasn’t a good idea to go playing the white knight -- 
always got a guy into trouble. Better he should concentrate on the fact that he was now 
a very wealthy man. The last run to Garn Prime had netted him credit in the billions --
enough to disband his crew and retire permanently --which was every smuggler’s 
dream. Wasn’t it? 

Caleb sighed and took another sip of scotch. It all felt empty somehow. He knew 
most of the men on his crew were probably losing their share of the credit to the 
flashing lights and easy women that beckoned from the dark corners of the casino but 


he had no urge to place a bet or find a girl himself. Just sitting here at the bar, watching 
the poor suckers betting on the rigged games and losing every credit they owned was 
enough to cure any gambling fever he might have picked up hanging around this adult 
playground. The men that owned the casino ship were worse outlaws than he had ever 
been, in his opinion. 

His musings were interrupted by a moan of fear behind him, followed by rough, 
trollish laugher. 

“Hey, little girl. You a Kani?” 

“Sure she is -- gotta be with that pretty blue hair.” The voices obviously belonged 
to the two men who had been laughing. 

“Please. Just leave me alone. I am not seeking trouble.” The soft shy voice 
belonged to the girl -- the one he’d thought looked like a doll. 

Caleb sipped his scotch and hunched his shoulders. Not my problem! 

“Too bad ya weren’t lookin’ for trouble, ’cause it found you anyway,” voice 
number one continued. “In fact, that’s my middle name -- trouble. Ain’t that right, 
Burk?” 

“Sure is,” the second voice answered. “And mine’s ‘bad.’ As in, you’re in bad 
trouble, little lady. Or we’re about to be in you. What’s yer price?” 

“I don’t know what you mean. Please -- do not touch me. Please!” The last word 
was almost a scream and Caleb was up and out of his chair before he could stop 
himself. Damn the little voice that warned him not to play the white knight -- telling 
him it wasn’t his problem. He was making this situation his problem. 

Two huge ugly men stood on either side of the Kani girl and one had his meaty 
hand halfway up her long skirt. The girl tried to fight him off but big’n’ugly number 
two was holding her by the arms. In another minute they’d have her out of her clothes 
and up against the nearest wall. Caleb didn’t intend to give them that minute. 

Never one to mince words, he slung the glass of half empty scotch into the eyes 
of big’n’ugly number one. He watched with satisfaction as the man pulled his hand out 
from under the Kani girl’s skirt and pawed at his eyes like a bear that had blundered 


into a beehive. The second man barely had time to open his mouth before Caleb cold-
cocked the son-of-a-bitch. He went down hard, his piggy eyes rolling up to show the 
blood-shot whites. By then the first man was beginning to get a handle on the situation 
again. He swung clumsily in Caleb’s general direction so Caleb punched him too. 

It was over in less than sixty seconds. Both big’n’uglies were lying unconscious 
in a puddle of scotch on the casino’s expensive but durable carpeting and the Kani girl 
was looking at him like he was the second coming of some foreign deity. 

“Hey, you all right?” Caleb asked her. He took a step toward her, noticing that 
she had pure silver eyes without a single speck of another color in their depths. Not 
gray -- actual silver. It was beautiful, especially with her deep blue hair. 

“No…” The Kani girl held out a hand to keep him off and tried to back away. She 
tripped over the beefy arm of big’n’ugly number one and started to fall, windmilling 
her arms wildly to keep her balance. There was no choice --Caleb reached out and 
caught her, pulling her into his arms to avoid another accident. 

“Hey,” he said again, “Are you okay, sweetheart?” She trembled like a hurt 
animal against him, and her scent filled his senses like cherry blossoms, fresh and 
achingly sweet in the smoke clogged atmosphere of the casino ship. “Well?” Caleb 
looked anxiously into her pure silver eyes. 

“No,” she said again. She gasped and her silver eyes rolled up, showing the 
whites. Then she went utterly limp in his arms. It took Caleb a moment to realize she 
had fainted. 

Great, just great. What am I supposed to do now? It looked like he was stuck playing 
the white knight after all. Suddenly everything to do with the Kani girl was very much 
his problem and he doubted that would change in the immediate future. 


Chapter 3 

“…early stages of malnutrition. But a good meal should go a long way to setting 
that right. Are you responsible for her?” 

A deep sigh and then a vaguely familiar voice said, “Yeah, I guess I am.” 

“So feed her,” the first voice said. “Something fattening -- she’s not much more 
than skin and bones. Needs all the nutrition she can get.” 

“I’ll do that, thanks.” 

Sayana blinked her eyes, willing the owners of the strange voices to come into 
view. Both voices had a strange accent that sounded flat and foreign to her ears which 
were accustomed to the sharp and brittle dialogue of her native planet. She could 
understand them but they were too deep -- much deeper than any voice she had ever 
heard from any man or woman of Kanasum. They sounded like growling beasts talking 
over her head, a thought which frightened her when she remembered the beast-like 
men that had grabbed her outside the long bar filled with bottles of alcohol. 

“Take care of her,” said the first voice. “She’ll be fine.” She heard the low 
creaking of a door’s hinges and retreating footsteps. 

She tried to sit up and a strong but gentle arm held her down. “Easy, 
sweetheart,” the vaguely familiar voice growled softly. “You’ve been out cold for going 
on half an hour. No need to rush it.” 

The fuzzy image of odd, brown-colored hair and even stranger green eyes swam 
into focus. To Sayana, who had never seen anyone without blue hair before a few hours 
ago, it seemed very peculiar indeed. Blinking, she recognized the Gwylo man who had 
defended her. 

She was at once relived and alarmed. On one hand, he had driven away the 
rutting beast men and saved her virginity. But on the other, by custom on Kanasum, no 


act of kindness went unrewarded. What would this strange Gwylo demand as his 

reward for her rescue? 

“Who are you?” she asked faintly. 

He sighed and appeared to think before giving her an answer. “I’m Captain 
Caleb Joiner, very lately of the ship Fortune’s Kiss, but recently on my own, 
independently wealthy and indescribably bored. At least until you dropped into my 
life. Does that about cover it?” 

“I… suppose.” Sayana blinked, uncertain of what he was telling her. The only 
words that really made sense were his name, Caleb, and his ship -- something about 
good fortune. Fortune was another word for luck -- what her people called Jo. Could it 
be that this man had been placed in her path for a reason? 

“Yeah, too much, too soon, isn’t it?” The man gave a little self-deprecating grin 
that looked strangely handsome on his rough face. Sayana couldn’t help noticing that 
he had dark smudges on his cheeks and chin that looked like dirt. Or was it the fur the 
Gwylo men were supposed to grow on their faces? She had a sudden desire to reach up 
and test the texture of his skin but fiercely suppressed the improper urge. 

“I must look strange to you, huh?” he said, breaking into her thoughts. Sayana 
realized she had been staring and looked down at once, her cheeks heating with 
mortification. How rude he would think her! Then she reminded herself that in her new 
destiny she no longer had to care what people thought. She had only to fulfill her 
mission and save her sisters. Then she could meet the Goddess in peace. Still, there was 
no excuse for impoliteness. 

“I beg your pardon, kind sir,” she said formally, looking down at her hands. The 
Gwylo man had moved her into a small office but she could see the lights of the gaming 
machines through the square of glass in the door and hear the faint hum of the ceaseless 
conversations going on outside. 

“No pardon to beg,” he said easily. He was bending over the small cot she half 
sat, half lay on with a worried expression on his dark foreign face. “Are you hungry?” 
he asked bluntly. 


Sayana felt her cheeks grow even hotter. On Kanasum, a lady didn’t eat in the 
presence of a gentleman until after she was joined to him. Nor did she talk about 
appetites of the flesh -- not even hunger pangs. 

“I’m sorry,” he said in that inhumanly deep voice, obviously sensing her 
discomfort. “Is that something you don’t talk about in your culture? Forgive me if I say 
something stupid and offend you. I’ve been all around the galaxy but this casino ship is 
as close as I’ve gotten to touching surface on Kanasum.” 

“No… you do not offend me,” Sayana forced herself to whisper. The fact was 
that this conversation, however strange, had her thinking almost obsessively about 
food. She felt her stomach rumbling at the thought of having something to fill it. The 
half of a stale biscuit she had eaten at the house of blossoms hours ago was completely 
gone by now and her bones felt like water. 

“Oh, good.” He sounded relieved. “So how about if we get something to eat? I’m 
starved and you look like you could use a square meal. What do you say? My treat.” 

“I don’t… I am not sure what you are talking about.” Sayana dared to look up at 
him although she knew good manners forbade it. She felt the need to take in the 
unfamiliar angles of his face before he melted away like a dream. 

But just now the man that called himself Caleb Joiner looked very solid. He 
caught her looking and smiled. “I asked if you’d join me in a home cooked meal. Or as 
home cooked as this joint gets, anyway.” 

One thing was clear -- he was talking about food. Before she could stop herself, 
Sayana found herself saying, “I would be honored to accompany you, Sir.” 

“Just Caleb, sweetheart. And what’s your name, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“Sayana,” she said hesitantly and after a moment she added, “Nakamura.” She 
was relived when the big Gwylo didn’t flinch away from her at the sound of her tainted 
family name. 

Instead he only smiled and said, “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sayana.” 

He offered her a hand in getting up off the cot and, after an awkward moment, 
Sayana accepted it. He could not know that physical contact between an unjoined man 


and woman was considered highly improper on Kanasum and she didn’t want to insult 
him by refusing his offer. Then she wondered why she was worried about improper 
conduct, considering what she had come here to do. The auction… the auction! In her 
hurry to satisfy her hunger she had almost forgotten why she’d come to the ship in the 
first place. 

“Please.” She clutched at his arm, heedless of the impropriety of the gesture. 
“Please, can you tell me where the auction is being held? The one for… for the girls who 
sell… who are sold…” But she couldn’t go on -- it was too terrible to have to ask such a 
thing of a foreigner no matter how pleasant he seemed. 

“You mean the Pussy Auction?” he asked, frowning. Then he backpedaled 
hastily. “I mean, that’s what they call it, anyway. But I shouldn’t have said…” He blew 
out a breath and ran a large hand through his untidy thatch of dark brown hair. “Look, 
I’m sorry. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a real lady.” 

“But where is it?” Sayana asked urgently, bypassing his fumbling apology with 
what she knew was inexcusable rudeness. “Please tell me. I have to get there.” 

“Well…” Caleb consulted a chronometer that was strapped to his forearm and 
shook his head. “You just missed the last one. But don’t worry,” he said quickly, 
obviously seeing the distressed look on her face. “There’s another one in a couple of 
hours. I’ll be sure you get to it if you’ll just come and have something to eat with me 
now.” 

Familial duty warred with hunger inside Sayana. She knew she ought to go to 
the auction at once to be sure she didn’t miss it. And her little sisters and her mother 
weren’t getting anything to eat right now -- why should she? But on the other hand, 
how much good could she do at the auction if she fainted in the middle of it for want of 
food? No one would want to buy a blossom, even an unplucked one, if she was too 
weak to deliver what she promised. 

“Come on,” Caleb said. He held out his hand to her, enticing her to join him in a 
meal. Feeling strange and forbidden, Sayana held out her own hand and watched as it 
was swallowed up in his much larger and rougher one. It was the most contact she had 


ever had with any man in her life since she was a little girl and her father used to swing 
her up onto his shoulders to see the stars. And yet, she would shortly have to submit to 
much more intimate contact and the man who touched her might not be nearly as kind 
or gentle as Caleb Joiner. She tried to put that terrible thought out of her mind and 
followed him out of the office, holding his hand tightly. 


Chapter 4 

He led her outside, past a long row of machines that blinked and made enticing 
clinking noises, to a huge room filled with silver tables. Steam rose from the surface of 
the tables and there were stacks of plates as large as wheels scattered everywhere. 
Sayana copied Caleb’s motions, taking one of the gigantic plates and helping herself to a 
tiny dab of each kind of food as they went down the line. She had heard her uncle boast 
of the never ending feast aboard the floating palace of the Gwylo, but she had never 
believed his words until now. Much of the food was foreign but it smelled good, and 
she was so hungry she didn’t care if it was familiar or not. 

They sat on cushiony raised chairs that faced each other across a waist-high table 
instead of on mats on the floor. There were no eating sticks but again she copied Caleb’s 
actions with the silver implements that were rolled into little thin pieces of poor quality 
paper and managed to eat what was on the enormous platter. 

“You don’t talk much, do you?” he said, after they ate in silence for a while. 

Sayana looked up, blushing. Was talking required? “Forgive me,” she said 
formally. “I do not know your customs either. If you require my conversation, of course 
I will be happy to provide it.” 

He laughed, a rich deep sound that seemed to set the plates dancing on the table. 
“I like you, Sayana,” he said, and the warmth in his voice made her blush all over again. 
“But no, I don’t ‘require’ your conversation. I’d just like to know a little more about you. 
I like to get to know girls I happen to save from plug-ugly bastards like the two that 
jumped you by the bar.” 

Sayana was horrified to realize that she hadn’t thanked him properly for saving 
her life and her virginity. How could she be so oblivious? What was wrong with her? 
Though she hadn’t had nearly as much food as she wanted, she forced herself to put 


down the shiny metal eating instrument and compose her thoughts. She must not allow 
the appetites of her flesh to distract her from the more important matters at hand. She 
owned the Gwylo a debt and it was time to find out how he intended for her to pay it. 

“A thousand thanks for your help, Caleb Joiner,” she said, bowing as well as the 
table would allow. Then, realizing the gesture was not enough, she got up and knelt on 
the floor at his feet. 

“Hey! There’s no need for that.” He sounded uncomfortable but Sayana couldn’t 
leave until the ritual of gratitude was complete. 

“You saved me,” she said simply. “I am completely in your debt. Pray tell me 
what payment I can offer to repay you for my unworthy life?” 

“No payment,” he said. He reached down to try and lift her up by one arm but 
Sayana remained firmly in place. 

“Please, Caleb Joiner, among my people debts must be honored. My honor will 
not allow me to leave this obligation unpaid.” 

“But what… How…” He looked confused and worried, then his face brightened. 
“Look, sweetheart, just talk to me, okay? I was bored out of my mind before you 
dropped into my life. So you can repay me by talking to me a little while.” 

“Talking?” Sayana frowned. She had never heard of such a payment for a debt 
before but she did not wish to offend him. 

“Sure, talking. As in, let’s get to know each other a little bit before we go our 
separate ways and never see each other again? I like to learn about different cultures -- 
that’s why I left Old Earth in the first place.” He grinned at her, his teeth very white in 
his dark face. 

“I will do my best,” she said hesitantly, at last allowing herself to be lifted from 
the floor. She settled onto the cushioned seat across from him and pushed her plate 
away. “But what do you wish me to talk about?” 

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Tell me about yourself and your people. How did 
you get here? For that matter why are you here? I’ve never seen a Kani… err, Kanasumi 
girl aboard the casino ship before.” 


Sayana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Caleb Joiner didn’t know it, but 
he was asking for a heavy payment indeed. It would be easier to open her veins and 
spill her blood than to spill her shameful story on the table between them. But if this 
was what he desired, well, she had no choice. Her honor allowed nothing but complete 
repayment of his debt. 

“I am Sayana Nakamura of the house of Nakamura on Kanasum,” she began 
formally. “My name means ‘star over the waters.’ My home overlooks a lake that 
reflects the Heavens. My father named me so for good Jo -- what you would call luck, I 
think.” She looked up but he was listening intently and made a small motion for her to 
go on. 

“My life was… uneventful until recently,” Sayana continued. Uneventful -- was 
that really the word to describe her past? She thought of warm summer nights under 
the stars, sitting with her father as he pointed out the constellations over Kanasum and 
explained the purpose the Goddess of Mercy had given each one. She thought of her 
mother’s soft kiss on her cheek at bedtime and the pleasure of playing with her little 
sisters, swinging them up into the air until they shrieked with laughter. And most of all, 
the security of knowing that she was loved and cared for -- a feeling she had taken for 
granted until it was no longer there. 

“Sayana?” Caleb’s voice startled her and she realized she had been lost in the 
memory of her past, a happier time before the evil Jo had rained down on her family 
like fire from the unforgiving Heavens. 

“I am so sorry,” she tried to say and realized she was crying, a shameful act in 
front of a man she barely knew. She started to wipe her eyes on her long sleeves, aware 
that the elaborate make-up she’d put on in order to auction herself would be completely 
washed away. 

“Wait, you’ll ruin your clothes -- here.” He reached across the table and blotted 
her eyes gently with one of the thin pieces of paper the eating instruments had been 
wrapped in. 


“Thank you,” Sayana murmured, composing herself. His touch was remarkably 
light for such a large man. 

“You have the most beautiful eyes. I mean, I’ve, uh, never seen silver eyes 
before.” He sounded flustered, as though he wasn’t used to paying compliments. 

Sayana bit her lip. “They will not be silver for very much longer,” she whispered, 
feeling the tears prick behind her lids again. 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I mean, if talking about your 
life makes you sad…” 

“No.” She shook her head. “No, I am all right. Please do not concern yourself.” 
She must go on -- the debt was not yet paid. Caleb Joiner wanted to know how she had 
gotten here and she must tell him. Taking a deep breath, Sayana continued. “A few 
months ago, my beloved father grew ill. We took him to the best doctors on Kanasum, 
but none of them were able to help and… and he died.” She took another deep breath, 
amazed that she could talk so without weeping again. 

“I do not know how things are on other planets, but on Kanasum, wealth passes 
from male to male,” she went on. “So it was that my father’s fortune passed not to my 
mother or to myself but to his younger brother -- my uncle, Hwang.” She closed her 
eyes, trying to shut the twisted face of her despised uncle from her memory. “My uncle 
was a weak man,” she said, opening her eyes and looking down at her hands, folded 
neatly on the tabletop. “With wealth comes responsibility and according to tradition, he 
should have seen to the welfare of my family.” 

“But he didn’t.” Caleb’s voice was flat. 

Sayana shook her head. “No. Instead he took the credit that had passed to him at 
my father’s death and came here.” She gestured, indicating the entire floating palace. 

Caleb groaned. “You mean he gambled it all away?” 

She nodded. “Over a few short weeks every last credit went to feed the greedy 
machines of the Gwylo. Oh…” She blushed crimson. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean…” 

“Gwylo.” He grinned. “That’s what you call us?” 


Hesitantly, Sayana nodded. It wasn’t an insult or a filthy word, but it wasn’t 
exactly a compliment either. “It means ‘other’,” she told him. “One who is not of 
Kanasum.” 

“I understand.” He nodded. “And don’t worry. I’ve been called worse. So what 
happened with your uncle?” 

Sayana sighed. “He lost more and more credit but every time he returned, he 
bragged that he would win it all back.” 

“But of course he never did,” Caleb finished for her. 

“No.” She shook her head. “He told us stories of this place but… but I never 
dreamed I’d be here myself some day.” 

“Why are you here?” he asked. It was the question that Sayana had been 
dreading. She tried to approach it in a roundabout fashion. 

“One day my uncle came back for more credit but there was nothing left. So 
he…” She shook her head, trying to think how she could explain. “On Kanasum every 
family has what is called a T’song-wa -- a set of tablets inscribed with the names of our 
ancestors. The tablets can be made of many different materials -- stone, bone, or 
precious metals. The T’song-wa of our family was made of very pure white gold but it 
was not this that made it so valuable -- so very precious to us.” 

“It was the names on the tablets, wasn’t it?” Caleb asked quietly. 

“Yes.” His understanding surprised her into looking up at him, into those green 
eyes that made her think of the ocean on a calm day. How could a Gwylo understand 
the importance of a T’song-wa? 

“We have something like what you’re talking about back on Old Earth, or at least 
my family did,” he said, answering her unspoken question. “Our family Bible. It’s, uh, a 
book with the names of everyone in the family written in it. Or we had one, anyway.” 
He sounded sad. 

“Did you lose it?” she asked. It was a very impolite question but it slipped out 
before she could stop herself. Never had she spoken so informally to anyone. It seemed 
strange to talk this way with a Gwylo man she barely knew, but right somehow too. 


“It was destroyed,” Caleb said and his jaw hardened. “There was ah… a fire. I 
was the only one who got out. That was when I decided Old Earth wasn’t for me 
anymore.” He tried to smile. “But enough about me. I think I can guess what happened 
with your… what did you call them? The tablets?” 

“The T’song-wa,” Sayana said, pulled abruptly from his past and back into her 
own. “My uncle took them from the shrine where they were displayed.” She bowed her 
head. “I cannot explain how shameful it was for him to do this. Even a thief on 
Kanasum will not steal another family’s T’song-wa. They are too sacred and the anger of 
the Heavens would be too great.” She looked up. “But he took them anyway. Took 
them here, to the floating palace, and changed them into credit. He claimed our 
ancestors would bring him good Jo. He said they would have to help him win in order 
to return to their home in the shrine.” 

“And I guess he lost,” Caleb said. 

Sayana nodded and bit her lip, without words for a moment. Then she took a 
deep breath. “After it was known that my uncle had sold our ancestors for credit and 
then lost them forever gambling on this ship, our family name was tainted with the evil 
Jo he had brought upon us all.” She looked up at him, waiting to see if he would jump 
away from her or shun her when he heard about the taint, but Caleb just nodded. 

“So… what does that mean? Tainted?” He frowned and arched one dark brown 
eyebrow. It had seemed so strange to her to see a man without blue hair of whatever 
shade, but Sayana was getting used to it. Indeed, she rather liked it. 

“The taint is…” She frowned, trying to think how to explain. “It is like a curse of 
evil or bad luck that may pass from one family to the next until a whole town is 
infected, unless the community is careful not to allow it to spread.” 

“How do you keep the, uh, bad luck from spreading?” he asked, leaning 
forward. 

“The tainted family must be shunned.” Sayana thought of the last terrible month 
-- after the news of her uncle’s loss of their T’song-wa had gotten around the town. She 
swallowed. “No one will do business with us -- with them, I mean -- the tainted ones. 


No one will allow them into their houses and all shops and places of business are closed 
to them.” 

“But then… how did you live?” He sounded upset for her -- almost angry. “What 
are you supposed to eat?” 

“We had some food saved,” Sayana said. “My mother didn’t believe my uncle 
would go so far but I did. I made the servants save as much as they could but it was 
very little. My uncle had not allowed us credit to buy food in some time.” 

He shook his head, apparently unable to take in her story. “So you were 
starving? And no one would help you because they were afraid of ‘catching’ your bad 
luck? Aren’t there any charitable organizations on Kanasum?” 

“None willing to risk the taint,” she said softly, thinking of the way the charity 
kitchens closed their windows when she came near, wishing only to beg a little gruel for 
Kimi and Kanji. 

“What happened to your family? All the people in your house?” 

Sayana shrugged. “My family is smaller now -- only my mother and two little 
sisters now that the servants have all gone and my uncle ran away.” 

“Wait. He left you after all of that? He didn’t stay and at least try to provide for 
you?” Caleb’s voice was definitely angry now. Several people at nearby tables turned to 
look at him but he paid no attention. 

Sayana nodded. “Yes, but there was nothing he could have done. Only bringing 
back our family’s T’song-wa could remove the taint and that was impossible. There was 
no credit to buy them back. They were probably melted down for their metals, or so 
said my uncle. With the name of our family tainted, no one would give him work. Of 
course, the honorable thing for him to do would have been to take the path of Sun-dak-
cho. But he had proved that he had no honor. I was not surprised when he left.” 

“But then… what were you and your mother and sisters supposed to do?” Caleb 
sounded indignant. 

Sayana looked down at her hands. “We were supposed to greet death gracefully. 
A woman without a family name is nothing, not worth mentioning. We fade to dust 


and no one remembers us.” She looked up at him, meeting his eyes again. Eyes where 
she saw her own loss reflected along with his anger for her sorrow and shame. “But I 
could not do that,” she told him. “That is why I am here. I could not fade to dust -- I 
cannot, not yet.” 

“Of course not.” He made it sound like her unconventional choice was the only 
right and logical thing to do. “Of course you can’t just give up like that. You have to go 
on no matter what society says -- no matter what rules you have to break.” He 
grimaced. “Believe me, I know. I’ve broken plenty of rules in my time.” 

Sayana shook her head. “I’m not ‘breaking the rules,’ as you call it, for me. I am 
old enough to follow convention, but my sisters are not. They are only five and six -- too 
young to understand that a great lady must not complain about her hunger. They 
begged for food and I…” She closed her eyes, trying to push back the tears. “I tried… 
tried so hard to find it for them.” She thought of the nights she’d spent digging through 
the refuse of the tea shops and the town dump, searching for any morsel however small 
to feed the hungry bellies of her little sisters. 

“Sayana, I’m sorry.” He reached out and took her hand, enclosing it in his own 
larger, warmer one. It would have been an unthinkable act in public on Kanasum -- 
even between a husband and wife. But here somehow it felt right. Sayana felt almost as 
though the warmth of his hand was traveling up her arm to reach her frozen heart. She 
wondered how long he would feel sorrow and pity for her when he heard about her 
determination to join the auction. 

“That’s why I’m here,” she said, feeling that it was best to tell him at once, before 
her courage deserted her. She pulled her hand gently out of his and looked at him. “To 
earn enough credit to send Kimi and Kanji --my little sisters -- to live at the Sisters of 
Heaven convent. They are young and I hope the taint has not darkened their souls too 
much to be taken in by the Sisters who live there. But I need enough credit to cover their 
entrance fee.” 

Caleb frowned. “So you’re hoping to get a job here? Waitressing? Or…?” He 
shook his head. 


Sayana twisted her hands in her lap. “Not exactly,” she said. Why was it so hard 
to tell him what she had planned? Why should she care what he thought of her? She’d 
only known him for… She glanced at the chronometer on his arm -- had they really 
been talking two hours? And when was the next auction? A sudden surge of panic rose 
inside her. 

“Please, Caleb Joiner,” she said urgently, “I know it is rude to interrupt our 
conversation but can you show me to the direction of the auction? Maybe…” she 
dropped her eyes, knowing it was probably a falsehood, “maybe we can talk again 
later. But for now, if you will forgive me, I must go.” 

He rose from the table looking mystified and showed her out of the large eating 
room. “The auction is going to be held right over there,” he said, pointing past the rows 
of clanging machines to a large raised platform where several scantily clad women were 
already assembled. “But I don’t understand --” 

“I must go. Thank you a thousand times for your kindness,” Sayana told him. 
She bowed deeply to him, then straightened and marched in the direction of what he 
had called ‘The Pussy Auction’… only to be dragged back a moment later. 

“Wait a minute.” Caleb’s green eyes were wide. “You’re not going to do what I 
think you’re going to do, are you? You aren’t thinking of entering yourself in the 
auction?” 

“Please…” Sayana pulled free of his grip. “I am sorry but I must go. I cannot let 
them start without me.” 

“Listen to me, Sayana,” he said urgently. “You don’t want to do this. You don’t 
know the kinds of animals who bids on these things. The same kind of guys who 
attacked you earlier. You don’t want to end up with one of them, do you?” 

Sayana felt all the blood rush from her face until her cheeks were pale and cold. 
“It is only for one night,” she said through lips that felt numb. “One night is very little 
to pay to save the lives of my sisters.” She turned away but he pulled her back again. 

“I’ll give you the money,” he said, searching her gaze with his. “Right here and 
right now. I don’t want to see you put yourself through this nightmare.” 


Sayana lifted her chin. She knew Caleb Joiner didn’t understand the great insult 
he had just given her, offering money she had in no way earned, but it stung 
nonetheless. He might as well have called her a blossom girl to her face. “Please excuse 
me,” she said in her most formal tone, “But I cannot accept your kind offer. I must earn 
this money myself to redeem the souls of my sisters. The Heavens will not smile upon 
my efforts otherwise and the bad Jo of my family will worsen.” 

“Damn that superstitious nonsense.” His face grew dark with anger. “Are you 
standing here telling me you’d rather sell yourself to some animal than take a little 
credit from me?” 

“Sir,” she said coolly, “you yourself have said that you do not understand the 
customs of my people. Please honor me by believing that I am very serious in following 
this path. It is my destiny.” 

He let go of her at last. “There’s no way I can change your mind?” 

“No, but I thank you a thousand times for your kindness in offering.” Sayana 
bowed deeply to him again and when she looked up, there were tears in her eyes. 
“Your soul and mine must have met before,” she said softly, unable to stop the words. 
“And I hope, in some other life beyond the Heavens, we may meet again.” 

She turned and left him although the anger burned brightly in his dark face and 
his eyes were no longer the color of the ocean on a calm day. Instead, they looked like 
the sea during a storm. But Sayana could not force herself to see them anymore. 

It was time to greet her destiny. 


Chapter 5 

Caleb watched her go in disbelief. Who ever heard of the damsel in distress 
politely thanking the white knight and then walking calmly into the den of the very 
dragon he had just been trying to rescue her from? How could she refuse his offer and 
elect to sell herself instead? Was it stubborn pride or some strange Kani custom that 
kept her from accepting anything that smacked of charity? 

Whatever the reason, he was good and mad. It was stupid for her to turn down 
his credit when all he wanted to do was help! He stared after her as she walked up to 
the auctioneer and spoke to the man in his ear. She gestured with her small white hands 
and appeared to be pointing to her eyes for some reason. The auctioneer nodded and 
motioned for her to go around to the costuming area behind the stage. 

“Damn,” Caleb muttered, shoving his fists deep into the pockets of his black flak 
pants. Before hearing her story he’d been half-convinced she was trying to fleece him. 
That the whole sad little play was just a racket to get credits out of a soft-hearted guy. 
Not that he was soft-hearted, he amended. He was a ruthless ex-smuggler, after all. But 
she might have seen him as soft-hearted if she was looking for an easy mark. It 
sounded, cynical, he knew, but he’d seen many more outlandish scams. 

But after hearing her story and seeing the tears in her silver eyes, he had been 
convinced she was for real. He had yet to see a woman who could fake the kind of 
emotion he’d seen reflected in her porcelain pale face. And she had an innocence about 
her that she couldn’t hide, despite the fact that she was trying to be worldly and brave. 

Still, he’d been prepared for her to ask for credit and he was more than ready to 
give her some -- for nothing else than the pleasure of her company. She’d been a 
wonderful distraction from the boredom and ennui that had threatened to drown him 


earlier. But when he’d actually offered her credit and she turned him down… that was 
just… well… 

“Stupid,” muttered Caleb to himself. Not my problem, spoke up the little voice in 
his head, the one that had advised him not to get involved in the first place. He should 
have listened. 

He turned to walk away, putting the stage to his back. He was determined to put 
the strange, blue-haired, silver-eyed girl from Kanasum out of his mind. He had almost 
decided to just chalk it up to experience when a loud voice behind him interrupted his 
sulk. 

“That little Kani bitch is gonna be in the next auction.” 

“You’re kiddin’ me. That oughta be worth a credit or two.” 

His heart pounding, Caleb turned to see the two goons that had attacked Sayana 
earlier standing off to his right. They looked a little worse for the wear with several 
bruises and a black eye apiece but they didn’t see him-- they were too intent on 
watching the stage where the girls for the auction were beginning to assemble. 

Big’n’ugly number one licked his thin, liver-colored lips and grinned. “I’m gonna 
buy her,” he announced to his friend. “Don’t care what it costs either -- that little tease. I 
think she needs a taste of her own medicine.” 

“Hey -- I want a piece of that action,” big’n’ugly two protested. “Let me chip in.” 

His friend laughed, an ugly grating sound. “Sure, we’ll double team ’er. Show 
her what being with a real man is really like. She oughta appreciate that.” 

Caleb closed his eyes for a moment. No way, he thought. No way can anyone be that 
unlucky. Maybe Sayana wasn’t kidding when she said a cloud of bad luck followed her 
everywhere. 

It’s not your problem -- just walk away. But he couldn’t. Her bravery and honor had 
touched him in a way no other woman had ever touched his heart. It wasn’t simply her 
beauty that he liked -- it was the courage that shone through that beauty, making her 
delicate features more perfect, more flawless. 


As he was thinking of her, Sayana emerged from the curtained area behind the 
stage, walking slowly as though aware that all eyes were upon her. As well they should 
be -- the costumer, whoever he or she was, had changed her out of the elegant dark 
gown and into a mockery of innocence lost. 

Sayana’s slender, petite frame was draped in a white see-through kimono-type 
robe that hugged her full breasts, highlighting her pale pink nipples that pressed 
against the thin silk material. The robe fell to her upper thighs and stopped abruptly, 
leaving a long expanse of pale, shapely leg exposed. Beneath the sheer material, Caleb 
could see the pink lips of her mound, pouting outward as she pressed her thighs 
together nervously, unobscured by any pubic hair. Did Kani girls shave or was she 
naturally smooth, he wondered vaguely. But there was more to see. 

Not content with putting her into an outfit that would make a whore blush, the 
costumer had forced her tiny feet into ridiculously high silver heels and taken down the 
elaborate hairstyle she’d been wearing when he first saw her. Now her deep blue 
tresses hung loose down her back in rippling, shimmering waves that fell past the hem 
of the robe and brushed the backs of her knees. 

She was utterly beautiful and, looking at her oval face flushed dull red with 
shame, Caleb realized she was also utterly miserable. He felt a bright surge of anger at 
whoever had gotten her up like this -- obviously offending her deep natural modesty. 
He bet she wouldn’t show this much skin on her wedding night to her husband. And 
here she was on display like some kind of a sex kitten for every idiot on the casino ship 
to see -- and bid on. 

There was dead silence for a moment after Sayana walked out onto the stage, as 
though the large audience of drunk and horny men were holding their breaths. Then 
the air erupted into loud wolf-whistles and cat-calls as they cheered and stamped, 
voicing their collective lust for the fragile girl who stood on the stage before them, 
eclipsing the showy beauty of every other woman there. 

“Well, well, let’s start this off with a bang, shall we?” A short man with orange 
hair stepped forward, adjusting the ampli-collar he wore around his neck. The device 


bobbed with his Adam’s apple as he spoke, broadcasting his voice over the hum of the 
crowd. Clearly, he was the auctioneer. 

The crowd of men roared their approval and surged forward, swamping the end 
of the stage in their eagerness to bid on the petite beauty with long blue hair. Caleb saw 
Sayana take a step back, a look of fright crossing her oval face. Then, she lifted her chin 
and stepped forward again. Obviously she was forcing herself to stay on the stage and 
accept the consequences of her actions. Again he found himself admiring her bravery. 
How could she possibly go through with this? He sure as hell wouldn’t want to. But she 
showed no signs of backing down as the auctioneer had her twirl before the men, 
showing off her assets from every angle. 

“What we have here, gentlemen,” he shouted through the ampli-collar, “Is a gen-
u-ine virgin. Yes, yes, I know…” He motioned to Sayana as the crowd shouted their 
disbelief. “In this day and age, how can you tell? But with this little lady, it’s a sure 
thing because of the eyes. Kani girls got silver eyes until they…” He made a lewd 
gesture and Sayana looked down at her feet, her pink cheeks reddened with shame. 

“No, no, m’dear,” the auctioneer admonished her, lifting her chin with one 
finger. “Look up. Let ’em see I know what I’m talking about.” 

Sayana looked out over the crowd. Caleb saw that her beautiful silver eyes were 
glassy with tears. His heart ached for her and he clenched his big hands into fists at his 
sides. How dare they sell her virginity like this? How dare they auction her off like a 
prime cut of meat that was worth more because no one else had ever had any of it? 

“Let’s start the bidding at ten thousand credits, shall we?” the auctioneer said, 
oblivious to the tears in Sayana’s eyes. “She’s worth every penny, boys,” he added, 
when some of the men grumbled about the high starting bid. “Be the first with a 
genuine Kani girl -- you’ll never get a chance like this again.” 

“I’m in,” yelled big’n’ugly number one, raising his beefy fist. 

“Me too,” yelled a drunk man waving a fistful of credit slips. “Just hit it big in 
craps -- can’t think of a better way to celebrate.” 


“Ten thousand I’m bid for the blue-haired Kani beauty, do I hear twenty 
thousand?” the auctioneer said, falling into a low, rapid gabble. Several men raised 
their hands, among them, big’n’ugly one again. 

“Twenty thousand for a certified virgin,” the auctioneer went on. “Do I hear 
thirty thousand credits? Thirty thousand to be the first man in this tight little cunt?” He 
motioned at the pouting lips of Sayana’s mound. He knew his business. Hands rose all 
over the place, waving credit slips as men who had gotten lucky at the slots or tables 
prepared to celebrate in style. 

The bidding escalated until it was into the millions of credits. All the while 
Sayana stood helplessly staring at her shoes. Unfortunately, Caleb saw, it appeared to 
be the big’n’uglies. They had pooled their resources and as the other men dropped 
away from the prize, they continued to meet each bid with raised fists and raucous 
laughter. 

“Three million credits from the two gentlemen at the front,” the auctioneer 
called. “Three million for a night you’ll never forget. Do I hear four?” 

There were murmurs of “too rich for my blood” and several of the men 
wandered off to other parts of the casino. But the two trolls had attacked Sayana earlier 
stood firm, waving their credits and laughing. Obviously they were sure of winning. 
Three million credits was about to buy them the right to do any damn thing they 
wanted to the slender girl on the stage and they were already planning their assault. 

Caleb felt helpless as he watched. Several times he had nearly raised his hand to 
enter the bidding, but then he remembered Sayana’s stiff-necked pride. She didn’t want 
to be rescued so what could he do? 

“Three million once,” the auctioneer barked. 

“Oh, man, can’t wait to get my hands on that ass,” big’n’ugly two chuckled 
gleefully. 

“Three million twice,” yelled the auctioneer. 

“Gonna ride her hard. Teach her a lesson,” big’n’ugly one agreed. 


“Three million is the final bid. The highest we’ve ever gone for a girl at the Pussy 
Auction and worth every credit. Going, going…” The auctioneer raised his hand, ready 
to end the auction. 

Suddenly Caleb heard himself yell, “Ten million credits!” over the buzz of the 
crowd. 

“Ten million?” The auctioneer looked dazed and every head turned to stare at 
Caleb as he strode toward the stage. The big’n’uglies glared at him, angry to be cheated 
of their prize. But clearly they didn’t want to tangle with him again. 

“You heard me. Ten million,” Caleb growled, reaching the edge of the stage. He 
looked up into the silver eyes still swimming with tears and reached out for Sayana’s 
hand. “Come with me,” he said gently. 

So what if she didn’t want to be rescued? He was damn well going to rescue her 
anyway. 


Chapter 6 

The room was a blur of tears. Sayana barely noticed when Caleb paid the 
auctioneer and demanded her real clothes. She had been fighting so hard to keep her 
composure that little details didn’t seem to matter. When he tried to help her off the 
stage, she nearly collapsed -- her bones weak as water. Without a word, Caleb swung 
her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. He carried her past the leering 
men and the orange-haired auctioneer easily, as though she weighed no more than a 
flower petal. 

Sayana buried her face in his neck to hide her tears and block out the hateful 
blinking lights of the Gwylo palace. She trembled all over and couldn’t seem to stop. 
Thank the Goddess of Mercy that the two beast men hadn’t bought the right to her 
virginity! There was an old saying on Kanasum -- “Every blossom must be plucked in 
the fullness of time.” Sayana didn’t think she would have survived such an experience 
with the two rough Gwylo men. At least she could hope that Caleb Joiner would be 
gentle with her. 

“Hey, are you all right?” His deep voice rumbled against her cheek, and she 
realized they had left the smoky, glaring casino and were in a smaller room that was 
warmly lit by a few scattered wall glows. Caleb had taken her someplace safe -- 
someplace where the other Gwylo men couldn’t reach her. She looked around and saw 
that he was sitting, still holding her, on the side of a large raised platform that must be 
the Gwylo version of a bed mat. So they were in a sleeping room -- that made sense 
considering what he had paid for. 

Despite the knowledge that she was safe now, she was reluctant to leave the 
shelter of his arms. It might have been unthinkable to be held in the arms of a man she 
barely knew dressed in less than she slept in at night on Kanasum, but the floating 


palace was another world -- another destiny. Besides, Caleb Joiner had won the right to 
her virginity, the right to change the color of her eyes, as they said on Kanasum, so she 
might as well get used to being close to him. 

Not that it was difficult letting herself be close. He had a warm, spicy scent that 
was unfamiliar but appealingly masculine, and his chest against her cheek was firm and 
muscular. She was cold in the thin robe but his body heat seemed to penetrate straight 
to her bones, keeping her from shivering while he held her in his arms. Sayana had 
sometimes daydreamed of the man who would pluck her blossom and change the color 
of her eyes, but she never would have guessed that it would be a Gwylo. 

“Sayana?” He looked down at her anxiously and she realized she hadn’t 
answered him yet. But no words would come to her lips. There was only the knowledge 
that she belonged to this man for the night crowding into her mind, forcing every other 
thought out. She felt a sudden desire to do what must be done before she lost her nerve. 

With a quick prayer to the Goddess for forgiveness and courage, Sayana did the 
boldest and most unladylike thing she had ever done. Instead of answering Caleb with 
words, she tilted her chin and met his lips with a soft kiss. 

It wasn’t a very expert kiss because she had never kissed anyone. His lips were 
warm and firm against hers, but at first Sayana was afraid she was doing it wrong 
because he didn’t react. Then he crushed her to him suddenly and deepened the kiss, 
parting her lips to taste her mouth more fully and running his big, warm hands over the 
thin white material that covered her back. Her nipples tightened immediately behind 
the silky white robe and she put her arms around his neck, giving into the kiss more 
freely. Caleb held her tighter and explored her mouth as though he owned her, as 
though he wanted to mark her as his forever. 

It was frightening and exciting to be held close to his big male body while being 
kissed so fiercely -- like having a ferocious animal by the tail. Sayana struggled within 
herself, trying to accept the desire she felt in his touch without being overcome by fear 
and uncertainty. He was so big that she felt helpless in his arms, like a doll. She had 


been certain he would be gentle with her, but as the deep, intense kiss went on and on, 
she wasn’t so sure. 

His warm blunt fingertips carded through her long indigo hair and traveled 
downward. When he brushed against her hardened nipples, he sent trails of fire 
through her veins. Sayana gasped into his mouth at the forbidden touch and when his 
hand traveled lower and cupped her mound through the thin white robe the Gwylo 
costumer had forced her to wear, she couldn’t help stiffening. Knowing he had the right 
to do anything he wanted to her, at least for one night, didn’t lessen the anxiety that 
threatened to overcome her when he touched her where no one else ever had. 

“I’m sorry.” He pulled away from her at once when he felt her tense and placed 
her on the bed beside him. 

Sayana pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stop trembling. She wrapped the 
see-through material of the robe she wore tightly around herself and watched to see 
what he would do next. 

“I shouldn’t have done that.” Caleb ran a hand through his hair and stood up. 
He restlessly the deep maroon carpeting. “It’s just that you’re so beautiful and I just… I 
got carried away,” he explained, giving her a distressed look. 

Sayana bit her lip. “Why… I don’t understand why you didn’t…” Caleb stared at 
her oddly and she knew she had to make herself ask, no matter how improper it made 
her sound. “Why did you stop?” she asked at last, looking up at him. She had agreed to 
give herself to him for the night -- he had won the bidding fair and square, after all. So 
why had he stopped in the middle of claiming her virginity? 

“Why did I stop?” Caleb stopped pacing to stand in front of her, staring down at 
her incredulously. “Why did I stop?” he repeated. “Because this isn’t right. This isn’t 
what I came here to do.” 

“What did you come to do then?” Sayana was genuinely mystified. He had 
brought her to his private sleeping room and she was dressed in little more than a 
cobweb. He had held her in his arms and kissed her passionately -- her heart still 
pounded against her ribs from the experience and she could still taste him on her lips -- 


spicy and hot. He had paid dearly for the privilege of doing these things and much 
more to her, so what else could he possibly intend? 

“I brought you here to give you a safe place to change into these.” He pointed at 
the bundle of clothing she had been forced to take off when she put on the white robe 
for the auction. “Can’t have you changing in public,” he said gruffly. “So just put them 
back on -- go ahead, I’ll turn my back or I can leave the room if you want.” 

“But…” Sayana couldn’t understand. “But why do you want me to put on my 
other clothing?” Wouldn’t her long skirt get in the way of his… claiming her? Just the 
thought made her blush but she realized she no longer dreaded the experience as she 
had. The soul-touching kiss Caleb had given her had taken away much of her fear, 
leaving curiosity in its place. What would it be like to have Caleb Joiner change the 
color of her eyes? Maybe it wouldn’t be nearly as unpleasant as she had feared. 

“Because you can’t go back to Kanasum dressed in… in that.” He stared at the 
thin white robe which did nothing to conceal her body. “You wouldn’t even get to the 
shuttle before somebody grabbed you.” 

Sayana shifted on the bed and he tore his gaze away suddenly, as though it hurt 
him to see her dressed so. Or maybe, she suddenly realized, he wanted to look but 
would not let himself. His gaze on her body made her feel hot all over, but in a pleasant 
way. It was a completely different feeling from the horror and shame that had nearly 
overcome her when the other leering Gwylo men stared at her while she stood on the 
stage. But all Sayana could think about was his words. 

“I don’t understand,” she said softly. “Why would you want me to go back to 
Kanasum now? You have not… have not done what you paid to do.” 

“And I’m not going to either,” he said savagely, turning to face her. “I won’t do 
that to you.” 

“Please…” Sayana felt the panic build in her throat. “I must earn the credit to 
help my little sisters. I cannot let them starve!” 

“Oh, no. Hey, I didn’t mean I wouldn’t pay.” Obviously seeing the distress on 
her face, Caleb knelt in front of her and took both her shoulders in his hands. “It’s all 


right, Sayana. All you have to do is take the voucher I got from the auctioneer to the pay 
window to get your credits. Of course, the casino takes five percent of the money -- 
that’s the way it works with these auctions -- but that should still leave you plenty of 
credit to take care of your sisters.” 

“It is not all right,” she said. Her eyes filled with tears again. “You do not 
understand the ways of my people, Caleb Joiner. I can no more take this money from 
you without earning it than I could change into a bird and fly to the Heavens. If you 
refuse to change the color of my eyes, then I must go back with empty hands and watch 
my sisters die of hunger. Please, please do not ask that of me.” 

“Damn it!” He scowled fiercely, looking into her eyes. “I never heard of such a 
screwed up culture! You think bad luck is catching like some kind of plague, but you 
refuse good luck or any kind of help when it falls in your lap.” 

“You are wrong.” Sayana lifted her chin and looked him in the eye. “We do not 
refuse good Jo. I knew from the moment I met you that the Goddess of Mercy had put 
you into my path for a reason -- to help me -- but not to fix everything that is wrong. We 
Kanasumi have a saying: ‘On the path of life, it is a blessing to accept a hand from a 
fellow traveler, but a curse to ask to ride upon his back.’ Do you see?” 

Caleb sighed. “Yeah, sweetheart, I get it. Basically you’re saying there’s no such 
thing as a free ride, huh?” 

“Yes.” The knot of panic in her chest began to loosen. Maybe he did understand. 

He stood up and paced again. “I could loan you the credit,” he said, sounding 
hopeful. “And you could pay me back sometime in the future.” 

“We both know that would not happen,” Sayana said gently. Why was he 
fighting so hard against the inevitable? 

Caleb ran both hands through his hair. “But if I do this… if we do this… how will 
it affect you when you get back to Kanasum? You seem to come from a very 
unforgiving culture so if you come back without your…” He gestured, plainly 
embarrassed. 


“What will happen to me if you pluck my blossom,” Sayana finished for him 
calmly. “If you change the color of my eyes for everyone to see, how will I be treated 
when I return to my native planet? Is that what you wish to know?” 

“Yes -- exactly.” He turned to face her. 

“It is true that having the color of my eyes changed without a wearing a silver 
ring of joining upon my arm will make me Xaichan -- an outcast,” Sayana admitted. 

“I knew it! I --” 

She held up a hand to stop him. “Caleb, I am already shunned because of the 
taint on my family’s name. And it does not matter any longer what others think of me. 
As soon as I take care of Kimi and Kanji, I will be taking the path of Sun-dak-cho.” 

He frowned. “Sun-dak-cho? You mentioned that before. Is that some kind of self-
imposed exile?” 

Sayana bowed her head, thinking about the meaning of his words. She could not 
explain fully the ceremony of honorable death to a Gwylo, no matter how kind and 
handsome he was. “In a way,” she said at last. “It is an exile from which I shall never 
return.” 

“But --” 

“No more words,” Sayana said. She beckoned to him, wondering where she got 
the daring to speak to him so. But she knew that if she did not do what had to be done, 
her courage would evaporate like water droplets in a dry wind. 

Caleb dropped to his knees before her and took her shoulders into his hands 
once more. “Sayana, I don’t want to do this to you. Don’t want to take this from you.” 

She lifted her chin. “Are you saying you do not desire me?” 

“No. God, no.” He cupped her cheek in his palm. “Of course I desire you. But… I 
don’t want to use you. I don’t want you to think that all… what do you call us? That all 
Gwylo are the same. We’re not all animals just looking for a quick…” He shook his head. 
“I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“I do not believe you will hurt me,” she said, leaning forward and caress the side 
of his face with her palm. It was scratchy and rough, a strange but pleasing texture to 


her soft skin. “I… I found kissing you very pleasant,” she admitted, dropping her gaze 
in embarrassment. “I am not afraid.” She hoped the beating of her heart did not reveal 
the untruth of her last words. 

“Sayana,” he whispered, pulling her to the edge of the sleeping platform and 
enfolding her in his arms. “I haven’t even known you a whole day yet, and already I’m 
more afraid than I’ve ever been in my life.” He kissed her gently on the mouth, a tender 
touch of his warm lips to hers that left her breathless and hungry for more. 

“What do you fear?” she asked feeling her heart stutter inside her chest in an 
eager, urgent rhythm. 

He kissed her again. “That I’ll hurt you. That I’ll lose you. That I’m falling for 
you.” 

“Falling?” She didn’t understand but before she could ask him to explain, Caleb 
Joiner kissed her again and this time he didn’t stop. 


Chapter 7 

Her lips were like flower petals -- fresh and soft and untouched -- and she felt so 
delicate in his arms that Caleb was almost afraid she would break. He tried to be careful 
with her, taking things slowly so as not to scare her. Despite her brave declaration that 
she wasn’t frightened, he felt her heart skittering against his chest like a small, 
frightened creature’s when he held her close. Her courage despite her obvious fear 
touched him to the core, and a wave of tenderness washed over him. What was it about 
this girl that made him want to protect her, to hold her close and never let her go even 
though he barely knew her? 

He had heard of love at first sight but had always scoffed at it before. When he’d 
first seen Sayana wandering around the casino floor, he’d thought she looked like a 
pretty little doll. But under her porcelain perfect exterior was a personality stronger and 
tougher than any of the men he’d crewed with over the years. This tiny girl, with her 
long blue hair and her soft pink bow of a mouth, commanded emotions in him that had 
never before been awakened. 

Gently, he kissed the side of her neck, feeling her pulse stutter under the brush of 
his lips. She was frightened but, he hoped, not terrified of him. He would be lying to 
himself if he said he didn’t want to do this, but he didn’t want to make it a bad 
experience for her. He’d had virgins before and he knew how to take things slowly, 
how to build the pleasure until the pain of their sexual awakening seemed negligible 
beside it. He sensed he had scared her earlier with the frantic passion of his kiss and he 
was determined to calm her down before he went on. 

“Hey,” he whispered, looking deep into her wide silver eyes. “I just want you to 
know that I’m going to take this easy and slow, all right, Sayana? The last thing I want 
to do is hurt or scare you.” 


“I am not afraid,” she said again. “And please, do not worry about hurting me, 
Caleb. My… my mother told me what I should expect when the moment came for a 
man to change the color of my eyes. I am prepared for the pain.” 

“That’s just it -- I want you to feel pleasure, not pain,” he whispered softly. 

“But… I don’t see how --” 

“It’s not about seeing -- it’s about feeling,” he told her. “I want you to relax and 
close your eyes and just let yourself feel. All right?” 

“All… all right,” she murmured. Her eyelids fluttered closed, as softly as a 
butterfly’s wings and she released a long breath as the tension in her body dissipated. 
Her utter trust in him touched Caleb’s heart again. God, he could fall for her if he 
wasn’t careful. But looking down at her beautiful delicate face he wondered if that 
would be such a bad thing. 

* * * 

Sayana closed her eyes when he told her to, trying to give him what he wanted, 
trying to relax despite the way her heart pounded against her ribs. How could anyone 
relax under such circumstances? Then she felt his lips on her throat again and all 
thoughts vanished in the hot, tender sensation he was building within her. Goddess of 
Mercy but his mouth was so warm against her trembling flesh -- how could he make 
her body freeze like ice and burn like fire at the same time all with one touch of his lips? 

She kept waiting for him to roll her over and mount her, as the customer at the 
blossom house had mounted the girl who was forced to service him, but Caleb didn’t 
seem to be interested in doing that. Instead, he seemed intent on tasting and kissing 
every inch of her skin starting with her neck and making his way gradually downward. 
His lips traced patterns on her shoulders and arms, even lingering for a moment to 
place sweet kisses in the palms of her hands. Then he made his way back and began to 
kiss the top of her chest, just above her breasts. 

He had told her to keep her eyes closed but they flew open and Sayana couldn’t 
help the little gasp that escaped her when he untied the sash that held her thin silk robe 
and pulled it open, baring her body completely to his gaze. Had she been joined to a 


Kanasumi man, he never would have seen her nude body in the light -- it simply wasn’t 
done. Despite her fear, Sayana found she couldn’t regret allowing Caleb Joiner this 
forbidden glimpse, especially when she heard him breathe, “Beautiful,” as his gaze 
swept over her naked form. 

“I am pleasing to you?” she dared to ask, searching his face. 

“More than pleasing,” he assured her. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve 
ever seen.” 

Sayana felt her cheeks pinken with pleasure. “You are… pleasing to me as well, 
Caleb Joiner.” She reached up to caress his rough cheek once more. She had been led to 
believe that Gwylo men were little more than beasts, with their hairy faces and fierce, 
strangely colored eyes. But would a beast caress her so gently, as though she was made 
of finest crystal that might shatter at his touch? Would a beast kiss her so delicately, 
tracing the curves of her breasts with his warm, wet tongue, sending helpless shivers 
through her body? Would a beast --? 

“Oh,” she gasped softly as he sucked one of her naked nipples into his hot 
mouth. A spark of pure pleasure coursed through her, straight from the nipple he 
sucked to the sensitive place between her thighs. 

He stopped, a look of concern in his eyes. “Am I hurting you?” he asked. 

“N-no,” Sayana managed to whisper. “It is… quite the opposite sensation in 
fact.” She blushed and dropped her eyes as she admitted, “That feels very good.” 

“Good.” His deep chuckle rolled through her, warming her all over. “That’s 
exactly the way I want you to feel. But, Sayana, feel free to stop me and let me know if 
there’s anything you want me to do that I’m not doing. I want to know what makes you 
feel good -- what brings you pleasure.” 

“There is one thing,” she admitted, astonished by her own bravery. Her mother 
had told her that when the time for her eyes to change color came, she must lie silently 
and submit to her husband. But Caleb made her feel like a part of the process -- as 
though they were taking a journey together to a mountaintop she had never visited 


before. It was this feeling of adventure that gave her the courage to ask for something 
when he told her to. 

“What do you want?” he asked at once. “Anything -- well, anything within my 
power. I mean, I’m pretty flexible but --” 

“Remove your shirt,” she interrupted him softly. “I want… that is… I am naked 
before you. I would like to see… would like to know if…” 

“If what?” he prompted her gently. 

Sayana blushed. “I was taught that Gwylo men are hairy all over -- that they grow 
fur on their faces and chests like… well, like beasts. Not that I mind your fur,” she 
hastily assured him, reaching up to stroke his rough cheek again. “In fact, I confess I 
find that I rather like it.” 

Caleb laughed again. “Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart,” he said, 
unbuttoning the coarse linen shirt he was wearing. “I may need a shave but my chest is 
smooth.” He shrugged the shirt off his broad shoulders to reveal a tanned and muscular 
chest and a flat stomach. 

“Oh…” Sayana could not resist touching the smooth, flat planes of muscle 
revealed when he took of his shirt. His skin was warm and his nipples were small 
copper disks, much different from her own pale pink ones that were currently erect 
from the way he had been sucking and licking them. Thinking of that made her wish he 
would return to his previous activities. 

“Like what you see?” Caleb seemed amused by her reaction to his naked skin. 

“Very much,” Sayana admitted shyly. “But… I liked your… your mouth on me 
as well.” Then she bit her lip at the shocking admission. How had she gotten so bold? 
But Caleb didn’t appear to be bothered by her forward words at all. He only smiled and 
bent his head to kiss her gently on the lips. 

“I’m glad you like my mouth on you because I intend to taste you everywhere, 
Sayana. And I do mean everywhere.” As though to lend truth to his words, he kissed a 
hot trail down her chest again to her breasts, kissing and licking her nipples until 


Sayana thought she might scream with the building tension. How could she have 
guessed that being kissed in her secret areas could be so incredibly pleasurable? 

But Caleb was not content to confine himself to her breasts and nipples. After a 
long time, his hot mouth moved downward, trailing kisses over her trembling belly 
until at last he knelt on the floor before her with his hands on her thighs, about to 
spread her legs. 

“Oh!” Sayana’s eyes were wide and for the first time she would have liked to 
stop him. To let him kiss her there… somehow it seemed an even more forbidden act 
than allowing him to pluck her blossom and change the color of her eyes. Caleb looked 
up at her, his green eyes filled with wanting. 

“Please, Sayana,” he whispered hoarsely, “I need you to trust me now. Let me 
touch you here -- let me kiss you. I want to taste your sweet juices on my tongue. It’s the 
only way I can be sure you’re ready.” 

“Ready?” she echoed him doubtfully. 

“Ready for me to make love to you -- to change the color of your eyes, as you 
keep saying,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you. Just trust me.” 

“I… I don’t understand,” Sayana panted. “How can you tell if I am ready by… 
by…” 

“By tasting you?” Caleb stroked the top of her thigh and kissed her knee gently. 
“Because if you’re ready for me to take you, your little pussy will be wet and hot. I need 
to spread open your sweet pussy lips and kiss you there -- need to put my tongue inside 
you to feel how wet and ready you are. It’s the only way to be sure I won’t hurt you 
when I put my cock inside you.” 

His hot, strange words ignited something inside her but still, the act he was 
asking her to participate in was so foreign, so wrong, that it almost took Sayana’s breath 
away. She did feel a warmth between her thighs that she had never felt before at his 
words -- could it be that her body was preparing her to be plucked? 

For a moment she squeezed her legs tightly together. Gwylo men are beasts -- only 
interested in the lusts of the flesh, whispered a warning voice in her brain. But Caleb Joiner 


hadn’t acted like a beast. He wanted only to give her pleasure and spare her pain. 
Could she trust him enough to allow his kiss in this most forbidden area? Sayana’s 
thighs seemed to open of their own accord, answering her question. She could and she 
would. 

“Beautiful,” Caleb whispered again. His warm hands on her inner thighs urged 
her to spread her legs even farther for him and then he bent his head to kiss the top of 
her slit. 

Sayana bit her lip at his feather-soft touch. How warm his breath was on her sex! 
And how eagerly her flesh seemed to part for him as he used his thumbs to spread her 
soft nether lips as he had promised he would. 

“Look, Sayana,” he murmured hoarsely, “See how wet you are? How ready?” He 
indicated her pale pink inner flesh, glistening with a moisture that she had never seen 
before. 

Sayana blushed from the roots of her long hair to the tips of her toes and yet his 
touch on her was so pleasurable she didn’t wish him to stop. “If I am ready then why 
do you not… pluck my blossom?” she asked, her voice trembling with need. 

“Because I want you to be more ready. See this?” he asked, indicating the little 
pink bud that was revealed when he opened her pussy. 

Sayana nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She had never looked at herself 
there before. It was a forbidden area -- one she did not touch more than was absolutely 
necessary. 

“That’s your clit -- where all these good feelings come from, sweetheart,” Caleb 
told her. “Let me show you.” He bent his head and laid a soft, open-mouthed kiss over 
the sensitive bud of flesh, making Sayana gasp. His tongue flicked out and lapped at 
her, making her moan and grab the blanket on either side of her in both fists. Then he 
sucked her clit into his mouth and his tongue caressed her softly, tasting her, laving the 
side of her bud until the pleasure he gave her threatened to make her explode. 


Sayana cried out with the unfamiliar sensation, loving the feel of his hot mouth 
covering her most sensitive and illicit area. Caleb looked up for a moment, his mouth 
wet with her juices. His green eyes blazed with passion. 

“How does that feel, sweetheart? You like having your pussy eaten?” 

“Yes!” Sayana writhed under him, unable to deny the truth. His mouth on her 
felt so good -- so right. She couldn’t imagine a sweeter sensation than the one he was 
giving her. But Caleb surprised her again. 

“Spread your legs a little wider, Sayana,” he said, pressing her thighs apart 
gently but firmly. “I need to get closer -- want to put my tongue inside you and taste 
every bit of your sweet, wet pussy.” 

“Oh…” she moaned, but there was no question of disobeying his command. She 
was helpless in his hands now -- willing to give him anything he asked for and loving 
every minute of it. She had come to the Gwylo ship prepared to surrender herself in 
shame and pain, but never had she expected to enjoy the experience of giving up her 
virginity. 

“That’s good -- spread wide for me, sweetheart,” Caleb murmured. Then he bent 
his head again and she felt his warm, wet tongue entering her, breaching her most 
secret entrance and making her moan with pleasure. 

How could he do this to her? Make her feel so helpless and so needy at the same 
time, all with a few movements of his tongue? Sayana didn’t have an answer but after a 
moment, she felt the broad pad of his thumb moving over her flesh, caressing the side 
of her clit again and the pleasure drove all other thoughts out of her mind. The feel of 
his tongue moving inside her while he touched her in just the right way was sending 
her to dizzying heights of pleasure she had never experienced before -- had never even 
imagined existed. She felt as though Caleb had brought her to the peak of a tall 
mountain, and any minute she might fall over the edge and find out suddenly and 
inexplicably that she could fly. 

No longer were her hands fisted in the blanket at her sides. Instead they were 
buried in the silky strands of his dark brown hair, pulling him closer, urging him on. 


She was shameless in her pleasure, wanton in her need as she would never have 
dreamed of being in her former prim life. 

“Caleb,” she gasped, uncertain what was happening to her. “Caleb, I feel so 
strange. So…” But she could not finish the thought -- she had no words for what she 
felt. 

He looked up, panting. “Feel like you’re going to explode inside, sweetheart?” he 
asked, his eyes burning into hers. 

Sayana nodded. “Yes… yes, exactly.” 

“Let it happen,” Caleb told her. “You’re going to come. Let yourself go and trust 
me enough to let it happen.” 

Sayana didn’t know the meaning of his words, but he bent his head again and 
sucked her clit back into his mouth, making swirling patterns over the hypersensitive 
flesh. At the same time, two of his large fingers entered her and began to move in the 
same rhythm as his tongue. 

The pleasure built into an unbearable crescendo until suddenly, Sayana was at 
the peak and falling over, learning to fly. She cried out with the intensity of the 
sensation and bucked her hips up to meet his mouth shamelessly. Goddess of Mercy! 
How could he make her feel these things? How could she live through such intense 
pleasure? But even as she wondered if her heart would stop beating in her chest, the 
pleasure ebbed and she was able to catch her breath. 

Caleb climbed up beside her on the bed and cradled her in his arms, kissing her 
fiercely and sharing her own unique taste with her on his warm tongue. Sayana kissed 
him back eagerly. She liked the taste of her own juices mingled with the flavor of his 
mouth. It was a wholly unexpected pleasure -- much like everything else that had to do 
with Caleb Joiner. 

“You all right?” he asked at last, when they broke apart to breathe. 

Sayana nodded. “Better than I could have hoped or dreamed. Caleb, how did 
you… that is, can all men do what you just did to me? Or is it a Gwylo technique or…?” 


He laughed, the rich sound rolling through her. “I think it’s something that 
anybody could learn if they wanted to. Why do you want to know?” 

Sayana blushed. “I… it is only that if I would have known such acts could be 
so… so pleasurable, I would not have feared to have my blossom plucked.” She looked 
down. “That is… I mean to say, I know you have not plucked it yet, but…” 

“We don’t have to do that,” Caleb reassured her, lifting her chin to look into her 
eyes. “We can let it go at this, Sayana. Eating your sweet little pussy was more than 
worth the credits I spent at the auction. Hell, just meeting you was worth it.” 

“No.” She shook her head firmly. “No, my honor does not permit it. And 
besides,” she dared to put her arms around his neck and look fully into his eyes, “I 
want you, Caleb Joiner. I want to give myself to you as I have never wanted anything 
else in my life.” 

It was true. Despite the fact that it was a wrong and shameful act, Sayana could 
find no shame within herself anymore when it came to Caleb. He made her feel so good, 
so right, and what was wrong with that, she asked herself. She had this one night, this 
one time to experience love with the kind and handsome Gwylo man. One night before 
she went back to Kanasum and did all that needed to be done. Then she would take the 
path of Sun-dak-cho and end the bleak existence which was all that was left to her on her 
home planet. It was a grim future indeed, so why not take what pleasure she could in 
the present? 

Truly, the Goddess of Mercy must be sending her some good Jo at last to put 
such a sweet and considerate man in her path to do what had to be done and turn 
necessity into pleasure. In fact, if circumstances were different, she might almost think 
she was falling in love with Caleb Joiner. But that was foolish, Sayana told herself. She 
had no time to love any man, no matter how tenderly he treated her or how incredibly 
good he made her feel. She had only enough time to set things right before she made 
her ascent to the Goddess and no time for foolish emotions. 


Still, when Caleb held her tightly to him and kissed her again until she was dizzy 
with wanting him, she could almost forget that they had only one night together. 
Almost. 

“Caleb,” she whispered in his ear, “I think… I think I am ready now. Ready for 
you to change the color of my eyes.” 

He reached between her legs, stroking her wet, open sex and sending a fresh 
shiver of desire through her body. “Yes, I think you are too,” he murmured in that 
deep, husky voice. “But I’m not -- not quite anyway.” 

“You’re not?” She looked at him, confused. 

He laughed. “Not until I get these pants off.” He stood and pushed off the black 
pants and boots he had on, revealing himself completely. At last he was as naked as 
Sayana and despite how very impolite it was, she found she couldn’t help staring. The 
club of his sex was thick and long with a plum-shaped head. Clearly it was straining for 
release. But it arose from a thicket of dark, curly hair that made her eyes wide with 
wonder. 

People of Kanasum had no body hair and it seemed strange to see hair that was 
both the wrong color and in the wrong place. Yet Sayana’s fingertips itched to touch it 
and feel its texture. She also wanted to hold his shaft in her hand and cup the soft-
looking sac hanging beneath it. She wanted to know Caleb Joiner in every possible way, 
but she could think of no way to ask politely if she might touch him. 

“Is everything all right?” he asked, sounding concerned. 

“Yes.” Sayana nodded eagerly. “Only…” She hung her head, biting her lip, 
unable to voice the request. 

“Something you need? Something you want?” Caleb asked, moving closer to 
where she was sitting on the edge of the bed. 

She nodded again. “I want… that is, it is rude to say. But the way you touched 
me… I would like…” 

“You want to touch me?” He moved closer, his voice dropping even lower. 


“Yes,” she whispered. “I want to know you the way you know me. Is that… 
would that be all right?” 

“More than all right.” He stepped even closer, putting himself within reach of 
her hand. Hesitantly, Sayana reached out and brushed her fingertips over the coarse, 
curling hair of his groin. Like the hair on his face, it was rough yet pleasing to touch and 
she decided she liked it. Then she turned her attention to his shaft, stroking her fingers 
along its thick length lightly until Caleb groaned in the back of his throat. 

Sayana drew back abruptly. “Am I hurting you?” she asked anxiously. 

He shook his head. “No, more like driving me crazy. Here, let me show you how 
to do it.” He took her hand in his and placed it on his straining shaft, wrapping her 
fingers around its thickness so that she was holding him in her palm. “Like that,” he 
whispered as she explored his length and texture, surprised to feel how soft and silky 
the skin was. Sayana stroked up and down the length of him, marveling at the heat and 
power she felt in her hand and Caleb threw back his head and groaned even more 
loudly. 

This time Sayana knew he was groaning because he liked what she was doing. 
Feeling bold, she stroked him again and reached out with the other hand to cup the sac 
that hung beneath his shaft. Lightly, she tickled it with her fingertips. 

“Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea how good that feels!” Caleb drew in a deep 
breath and closed his eyes tightly, clearly almost overcome with the pleasure she was 
giving him. The look on his face made Sayana feel powerful in a way she had never 
dreamed possible. But she wanted to know Caleb in the same way that he knew her. 
She wanted to taste him. 

Daring to go farther, she bent her head and laid an open-mouthed kiss on the 
broad, plum-shaped head. She could smell the masculine spice very strongly now, 
filling her head with desire, and the taste of him exploded across her tongue -- hot, 
salty, slightly bitter and utterly delicious. 

Caleb gasped. “No, no, sweetheart,” he said, pulling away from her gently. 

“But why?” Sayana looked up at him uncertainly. “Am I doing it wrong?” 


“You’re doing it just right, that’s the problem.” He sat on the sleeping platform 
beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. “There’s nothing 
I’d like more than to let you kiss me and suck me, but I couldn’t last very long if you 
did. Eating your sweet little pussy made me feel like I might explode at any minute 
myself.” 

“Oh.” She nodded, understanding at last. He wanted to make the moment last. 
Well, so did she, she realized. But she wanted to get started. She snuggled closer to him 
boldly, and tilted her head to kiss him on his rough cheek. “Caleb,” she whispered, “I 
am still ready.” 

“Mmm.” He bent his head to kiss her deeply on the mouth. “So tell me, Sayana, 
how do you want me to, uh, pluck your blossom?” he asked at last, when the long, 
sweet kiss broke. 

Sayana gave him a puzzled frown. “How?” 

“You know -- what position?” He made a vague, one handed gesture and she 
thought she understood him. He wanted her to get into the right position. Since the 
scene at the blossom house she had visited was the only one she had ever witnessed, 
Sayana could only assume that she must put herself in the same position she had seen 
the hapless girl assume when the madam of the house sent her a client. Accordingly, 
she crawled to the center of the sleeping platform and settled herself on her hands and 
knees, raising her bottom high in the air. 

“Hmm. Are you sure this is what you want?” Caleb’s voice coming from behind 
her sounded doubtful but she felt his large warm hands on her hips and a shiver of 
desire shot through her. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice…” He raised the 
silky robe and she could feel him parting her thighs once more, but this time for his 
shaft instead of his tongue. She felt the velvety soft skin of his thickness rub gently 
against her open sex, spiking pleasure through her entire body as he pressed inside her, 
entering her with just the broad head. “But it’s not exactly what I’d recommend for your 
first time,” Caleb finished in that soft, growling voice. 


“What?” she gasped, looking over her shoulder at him. “I thought this was the 
only way.” 

“What gave you that idea?” He quirked an eyebrow at her, then shook his head. 
“Never mind. It’s clear your sexual education hasn’t exactly been extensive. Here, let’s 
try this instead.” He backed away from her and rolled onto his back beside her on the 
wide sleeping platform. “Here, climb on top of me and straddle my hips.” 

“I am not sure what --” Sayana began, but he lifted her up and positioned her 
exactly as he had explained. She looked down to see his thick shaft standing at attention 
between her legs, just under her wet, open sex. 

“There you go, sweetheart.” Caleb’s voice was low and husky again. “Now all 
you have to do is lower yourself down onto me and let my cock slide right up inside 
your sweet, wet pussy.” 

“Oh.” Sayana felt her eyes widen as she contemplated his thickness. It hadn’t 
occurred to her how exactly they would fit together but now she saw that his shaft was 
very large compared with her own small opening. 

Caleb seemed to see the concern in her eyes. “Don’t worry, Sayana,” he said 
softly, caressing her arms, suddenly covered with chill bumps, with his big, warm 
hands. “We’re going to take this real slow and easy. Unless you want to change your 
mind and stop?” 

Sayana shook her head determinedly. “No, my honor forbids it. And…” She 
looked down, biting her lip. 

“Yes?” Caleb prompted her gently. 

“I want to do this with you -- want you to change the color of my eyes,” she burst 
out, unable to keep the improper desires to herself anymore. “I am… not nearly as 
afraid as I was, Caleb. You brought me such pleasure… I trust you to bring me more, 
along with the pain.” 

“There won’t be much pain involved, I hope,” he murmured. “Come on, lower 
yourself down slowly and let me slip into your sweet little pussy. I want to fill you up 
and feel you coming all around me.” 


Sayana shivered with desire and fear as she obeyed him. Spreading her legs 
wider, she settled down upon him, feeling the plum-shaped head part the tender lips of 
her pussy and breach her entrance once more. Only this time, Caleb didn’t stop with 
just the head. Hands firmly on her hips, he guided her slowly but inexorably 
downward, pressing his thick shaft into her tight, wet sex inch by inch until he was 
halfway buried inside her. It hurt a little but it was a good kind of hurt, the feeling of 
being stretched open to receive him inside her and the slide of his shaft into her naked, 
unprotected sex. 

“Almost there…” Caleb whispered in a strained voice and Sayana felt he was 
pressing on something inside her, something that longed to give way for the thrust of 
his thick cock. 

“Caleb,” she moaned, needing him to go on but unable to tell him so. He seemed 
to understand anyway. 

“All right, sweetheart,” he said, taking a firmer grip on her hips. “Now.” He 
pulled her down and thrust up sharply at the same time. Sayana felt a stab of pain that 
was there and gone so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it. But when she 
looked down, she was surprised to see that she was fully connected to Caleb now -- his 
entire thick shaft was completely buried in her small, soft sex. 

“Oh,” she whispered, uncertain how to feel. She felt so full, stretched to the limit 
by his thickness, but despite the slight pain and discomfort, it was undeniably a good 
feeling. The feeling of being part of him, of being joined together with this man she was 
coming to care about much more than she should. 

“You ready?” Caleb asked in a voice thick with need. He pulled out a tiny bit 
and thrust back into her, sending spikes of pleasure so intense through her body that 
Sayana had to close her eyes and clench her fists. 

“Please,” she moaned, bracing her hands on his chest, “Please, Caleb. Yes.” 

It was all he needed to hear. He pulled out again, farther this time, and pressed 
deeply into her, making Sayana moan again. Then he began pumping into her with a 
slow, steady rhythm that seemed designed to drive her completely wild. Sayana threw 


back her head and reveled in the feelings he was giving her, the intense pleasure of 
being opened and owned by him, penetrated by his thick shaft which was sliding in 
and out of her so sweetly. 

“That’s right, sweetheart, let it go. Let it all go,” she heard Caleb murmur to her 
as he stroked into her. He reached up to caress her breasts, pinching her nipples gently 
as she rode him and sending more shocks of fire through her body. She had never 
expected to be in this position, straddling a man with his shaft buried to the hilt in her 
wet, open sex as he thrust into her, filling her with himself, claiming her for his own. 
But it felt undeniably right to be here, doing this with Caleb Joiner right now, giving 
herself to him completely and feeling the bone deep pleasure begin to build within her 
once more as he pushed her to the peak. 

“Oh… oh, Goddess… Oh, please…” Sayana moaned, unable to stay silent as he 
thrust deeply inside her, tugging at her nipples and owning her completely with his 
thick shaft. It seemed forever, it seemed no time at all since she had mounted Caleb’s 
shaft and felt him slide all the way inside her. But she felt a wave of intense sensation 
beginning to crest within her once more, carrying her higher and higher until she 
thought she might scream or cry out with the mixture of pleasure and need. 

“Come for me, Sayana,” Caleb’s deep voice was commanding her. “Come for me, 
sweetheart. Want to feel you coming all over my cock while I open you up. Want to fill 
you up with my come. Let me feel it -- come on, let it go.” 

The urging of his deep voice loosed something inside her, and Sayana felt herself 
slipping over the edge once more and flying high as her orgasm took her. She felt her 
inner muscles clenching tight around his straining shaft and then Caleb groaned and 
pressed deeply within her, letting her pleasure trigger his own. 

Suddenly Sayana felt a rush that started at her toes and tingled through her 
entire body until it reached the roots of her hair. It was a dizzying wave of sensation 
that left her breathless and frightened. She gasped and collapsed on Caleb’s broad 
chest, pressing her flushed cheek to his warm skin. 


“Sayana? Are you all right?” He took her by the shoulders, raising her face. 
There was an anxious expression on his face when she looked at him. Sayana wanted to 
tell him that she was fine, only a little dizzy, but then she saw his green eyes widen in 
alarm. 

“Caleb?” she asked, uncertain of why he was looking at her so strangely. 

“My God,” he muttered hoarsely, still staring, “your eyes.” 


Chapter 8 

“My…” Sayana reached up to touch her face, as though she could feel with her 
fingertips what he was talking about. What was making him stare at her with such 
horror and confusion. She pulled away from Caleb and shrugged off his hand when he 
tried to hold her. Her only thought was to get to a mirror. 

She stumbled around the large sleeping platform and into the dimly lit 
bathroom, feeling her way and trying to stem the rising tide of panic. She shut the door 
behind her and found a dimmer switch to turn up the wall glows as she stared into the 
silvery surface of the mirror. What she saw should not have surprised her, but Sayana 
felt it like a blow to the face anyway. 

Her eyes, which had been a pure, untouched silver all of her life, were now the 
same deep indigo blue as her hair. She was no longer a virgin and it showed. From now 
on she was Xaichan, and no one who saw her could mistake her for anything else but a 
fallen woman -- one who had given her body without first pledging her soul in a joining 
ceremony to a respectable man of good family. Not that any would have her now, with 
her dowry money gambled away and the taint on her family name, but it hurt just the 
same. 

Xaichan. 

Sayana stared at the blue-eyed stranger in the mirror until her reflection blurred 
into an unrecognizable watercolor and she realized she was crying. No wonder Caleb 
had looked at her so strangely -- she was different now. Used. She had sold herself for 
ten million credits -- the highest amount a girl ever brought at the auction here on the 
Gwylo ship -- and not nearly enough. For how could she put a price on her soul? 

“But it is enough to buy Kimi and Kanji entrance to the Sisters of Heaven 
convent,” she told herself in a low, trembling voice. “More than enough to ensure they 


have proper dowries so that someday they may make good matches with men of fine 
families and forget their tainted older sister forever.” 

Sayana lifted her chin. That was all she had ever wanted, and the transitory 
moment of pleasure she had shared with Caleb was just that -- transitory. Now that she 
was changed, now that her eyes matched her hair, he no longer wanted her. But that 
was all right. She had not come to the Gwylo ship seeking love, she had come seeking 
redemption for her sisters and she had found it. When she returned to the surface of 
Kanasum, she would see to their futures before she took the path of Sun-dak-cho and 
ended her shame forever. 

“Sayana? Sweetheart?” Caleb’s deep, worried voice interrupted her bitter 
musings, and Sayana looked down and realized she still wore only the transparent 
white silk robe. There was a small smear of blood on her inner thighs. That would never 
do. “Are you all right?” Caleb asked, sounding genuinely concerned. 

“I am fine, thank you,” she answered, in a voice that wobbled only slightly. 
Hastily she splashed some cold water from the sink on her new blue eyes which had 
turned slightly red from crying and blotted them with a towel. She washed off her 
thighs as well, then faced the door. “Be so kind as to hand me my clothing,” she said, in 
a stronger voice. 

“Uh… okay. Hang on.” She heard Caleb fumbling around outside the bathroom 
and when she opened the door a crack, he handed her the bundle of the long formal 
robe and her small satin slippers which she had worn to the Gwylo ship in the first 
place. She had thought that her robe and slippers, which were her best, would make her 
more attractive in the auction. What a fool she had been. She should have known all 
Gwylo men cared about was naked skin and bare flesh. She should have known nothing 
else mattered to them. 

Angrily, Sayana pulled on her robe and buttoned it up to her chin. She kicked off 
the ridiculously high-heeled sliver shoes and replaced them with her own modest and 
comfortable slippers. Her hairpins were lost but she made do by twisting her long hair 
into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Then, trying not to see how the dark blue robe 


accentuated the new blue of her eyes, she pulled open the bathroom door and stepped 
back out into the bedroom. 

She was ready to face the rest of her destiny -- her brief life as a Xaichan -- and 
she was not afraid, she told herself. Not at all. 


Chapter 9 

The girl that came out of the bathroom looked completely different than the one 
who had gone in. Caleb stared in dismay at the prim and proper Kanasumi lady who 
swept past him when the door finally opened. Sayana’s abundant indigo hair was 
coiled tightly at the nape of her neck and her face was pale and pinched-looking. Her 
narrow shoulders were tight with tension and she refused to look him in the eye. 

“Sayana?” he asked doubtfully, trying to get a look at her new blue eyes. They 
were beautiful, in fact, he liked them better than the untouchable silver they had been 
before he and Sayana made love. But for all her talk of ‘changing the color of her eyes’ it 
had still surprised him to actually see it happen. 

“Please, may I have the credit voucher?” she said, still looking down at her 
hands. 

“Well… sure. But…” Caleb fumbled in the pocket of his discarded flack pants for 
the voucher. Realizing he was still naked, he decided to pull them on halfway through 
the operation. He ended up looking like an idiot when he nearly fell over trying to 
search for the voucher and pull on his pants at the same time, but Sayana didn’t laugh 
at his comical attempts. She stood quietly looking down at her hands, not meeting his 
gaze. 

At last he found the voucher and handed it to her. Sayana took it without a word 
and was turning toward the door when Caleb realized she was really leaving. 

“Wait a minute.” He put a hand on her narrow shoulder to stop her. Sayana 
flinched away from his touch as though he’d burned her. 

“Yes?” she asked with icy politeness, still not looking at him. 

“That’s it? You’re going?” Caleb couldn’t believe it. What had he done to make 
her so upset? Why wouldn’t she look at him? 


“I must return to my sisters. They are very hungry.” She looked down at her 
hands. 

“I understand that. It’s just…” Caleb ran a hand through his hair and blew out a 
breath in frustration. “I thought that we… shared something. I don’t know -- a 
connection,” he ended lamely. 

Finally Sayana looked up at him and there was some dark emotion blazing in the 
depths of her indigo eyes that twisted his heart, even though he couldn’t read it. “We 
shared nothing but a mutual desire -- I to earn the money to see my sisters to a safe 
haven and you to take what no man ever had before and could never have again.” Her 
hand was on the door switch as she talked, preparing to exit the room. “We both got 
what we wanted,” she said. 

“What we wanted? What the hell are you talking about?” Caleb’s face got hot 
with anger. She acted like he’d raped her when he’d given her every opportunity to 
stop, even when he felt like his balls would fall off if they did. 

“You know of what I speak.” Sayana slapped the door switch and left the room, 
finding her way down the long hallway that led to the main casino where the flashing 
lights and ringing bells beckoned the unwary to try their luck. 

“No, I don’t know ‘of what you speak’,” he mocked fiercely, following her. “But 
I’d like some kind of explanation for why you’re acting like an ice princess all of a 
sudden.” 

Without answering, Sayana threaded her way through the crowded tables and 
Caleb followed her, not caring that he was shirtless and barefoot and people were 
staring at him. She stopped at the credit window and presented the voucher to the clerk 
bot with glowing red eyes which began counting out the credit slips and stashing them 
in a secured bag for her while she watched. 

“Sayana, look at me,” Caleb demanded. “What’s wrong? Why are you upset? 
Talk to me.” Behind her and to the left was the open entrance to the shuttle bay. If he 
didn’t get to the bottom of this now, he likely never would. 


“I must go,” Sayana said firmly. She took the bag from the clerk bot and bowed 
to Caleb formally. “A thousand and one thanks for your kindness to me, Caleb Joiner. I 
will… always remember you.” Her new blue eyes flickered up to his once more and 
there were tears shining in their depths that drove away all his anger. He just wanted to 
scoop her up in his arms and hold her close as he had after the auction. But he had lost 
his right to do that. Now he could only stand and watch her walk away. 

“Wait,” he said, not caring if he sounded desperate. “Where are you going 
exactly? How long will it take you to get your sisters settled? Can I see you afterward?” 

She sighed and swiped at her eyes. “I am going to the Tanzai province where I 
live, and it should not take long to get my sisters settled. But Caleb,” she looked up at 
him, biting her lip, “where I am going after that, you cannot follow. The Goddess of 
Mercy grant that our souls shall meet again in the Heavens. For now I can only say 
goodbye and wish you good Jo.” She stood on her tiptoes and brushed a quick kiss 
across his cheek. “I will never forget you,” she whispered, and turned to go without 
looking back. 

Caleb watched her enter the shuttle bay with a sinking feeling in the pit of his 
stomach. There was no way he should feel so strongly about a girl he’d just met a few 
hours ago. No way should he feel like his heart was being torn out as the last silky wisp 
of her dark blue hair disappeared around the corner and out of his life forever. 

He ran a hand through his hair. It was crazy anyway. What was he supposed to 
do? Go after her and beg her to come back? Get down on one knee and propose? He 
hadn’t even known her for an entire twenty four hours -- it wasn’t like she was the love 
of his life. 

“Pretty girl.” The strange voice in his ear startled Caleb and he jumped, his hand 
going automatically to the inner pocket of his flak pants where he always kept a blaster. 
In the line of business he’d so recently been in, it didn’t pay to be unprepared. He came 
around with the diminutive but deadly weapon in his hand to find he was pointing it at 
a tiny, wizened old Kanasumi man. The man wore a long robe similar to the one Sayana 
had had on and his hair and eyes were a blue so faded they almost looked gray. 


“Uh, sorry,” Caleb muttered, holstering the blaster. He remembered that he was 
standing around with no shoes and no shirt in the middle of the casino and began to 
feel like a fool. 

“So sorry to disturb you,” the old Kani man said, bowing, “But I could not help 
noticing the beautiful girl you were with. It is… most unusual to see a girl of one of the 
great families of Kanasum here in the floating palace.” 

“Great families?” Caleb raised an eyebrow at the old man. Sayana hadn’t said 
anything to him about her family being some kind of nobility or anything like that. 
“How do you know that?” he asked the old man. 

“Her hair. Her eyes. They are deep indigo blue.” The old Kani man raised a 
tufted, bushy eyebrow at Caleb in turn. “I saw her when she came in -- I was tending 
my shop. She had silver eyes then.” 

Caleb felt his cheeks heating with shame. “Yeah, well, I guess that’s my fault,” he 
muttered. “But it’s not what you think. She needed credits to help her little sisters but 
she wouldn’t just take them from me without giving anything in return.” 

“So you took her blossom.” The old man’s voice was completely bland but Caleb 
still felt as though he was being accused of a crime worse than murder. 

He shrugged angrily. “It was all she had. She said she was under a curse -- a taint 
-- that was what she called it. Her uncle sold their family tablets. The, uh…” he snapped 
his fingers, “their T’song-wa. He sold their T’song-wa and nobody down on Kanasum 
would help her because of it.” 

“Ah.” The old Kani man nodded sadly. “That explains much. I have many 
T’song-wa in my shop. It is regrettable that so many feel their sacred ancestors are worth 
only a little more credit to gamble with.” 

Caleb frowned. “You sell T’song-wa? What kind of shop do you run, anyway?” 

“A pawn shop, of course,” the old man said. “And I do not sell the T’song-wa. I 
only buy them. Would you like to come and see?” 

Caleb shrugged. “Why not?” 

* * * 


The tiny shop tucked in the corner of the huge casino ship was crammed full of 
old and valuable items. Solid gold and silver wall chronometers shared shelf space with 
bottles of aged spirits and wine and jumbles of antique heirlooms. Caleb saw mirrors 
made from pure cadmium glass and polished yar wood and even a weather taker made 
of Beezle bronze standing in one corner. But the real prize was behind the counter, on 
shelves mounted on the back wall. Rows and rows of palm-sized sets of tablets, carved 
in flowing foreign lettering greeted his eyes. They were made of every conceivable 
material including fine crystal, mellow ivory, rare woods and precious metals. No two 
were alike but all were beautiful, obviously sacred objects that had the look of antiquity 
and grace. 

“These must be the T’song-wa.” Caleb pointed to the rows and rows of shelves as 
the old Kani man made his way slowly behind the counter. 

“Indeed, indeed.” He nodded gravely and glanced at his collection. “It gives me 
much joy and much sorrow as well.” 

Caleb frowned. “I know you said you didn’t sell them, but I wonder… do you 
think you might still have the T’song-wa of the girl I was with? Her uncle sold it a while 
ago and told her it was probably melted down for its metal -- white gold. But I thought -” 


“Melt and destroy a T’song-wa?” the old man sounded horrified, as though Caleb 
had suggested he might like to go grave robbing on the weekends for fun. “Surely not,” 
he said. “If the girl’s uncle sold it here, I am certain it will still be in my collection. What 
was her family name?” 

“Nana… Nakamura. That was it,” Caleb said. “She said it was made of pure 
white gold. Can I at least see it?” 

“I think I remember the T’song-wa you are speaking of,” the old Kani man said, 
nodding. He trundled into the back room of his shop and returned with two silvery 
palm-sized tablets carved in the flowing script Caleb couldn’t read wrapped in a soft 
gold cloth. “Here they are.” He set the tablets on the counter between them. “Some of 


the finest I have ever seen. A great pity the worthless uncle sold them and brought a 
taint upon so worthy a family.” 

“They’re beautiful,” Caleb said. He wanted to touch the tablets but wasn’t sure of 
the protocol. Would it be like reaching out to touch someone’s dead grandmother? He 
stuffed his hands in his pockets nervously, his brain working at a thousand light years a 
minute. “Look, what I did to Sayana -- the girl you saw me with -- it wasn’t right no 
matter what she said. I’d really like to make it up to her so if I could bring back her 
T’song-wa, maybe…” 

The old man shook his head. “I am sorry, friend, but as I said, none of these are 
for sale. It would be sacrilege to let them fall into the hands of a Gwylo only for a little 
credit. I have hope that the men who sold these to me will one day come back to reclaim 
their honor.” 

“Please, you don’t understand.” Caleb clenched his fists inside his pockets. “I 
just want to return them to her before it’s too late. I want to tell her… to show her…” 
He shook his head, trying to find the right words. “I know I’m not your kind -- not 
Kanasumi -- and maybe it’s some kind of insult or sacrilege to say this, but I… well, I 
think I love her.” 

The old man raised his bushy eyebrows. “You think but you are not sure?” 

Caleb sighed in frustration. “Look, what do you want from me? I haven’t even 
known her a whole day yet. But…” 

“But?” the old man echoed. 

“But I’ve been all over the galaxy on over a thousand runs to every space port 
you can name and I’ve never met anyone like her,” Caleb admitted as much to himself 
as the old Kanasumi man. “She’s brave and honest and true and strong and beautiful… 
Hell, I don’t know if there’s any way to make what I did to her right but I want to try. I 
thought returning her family tablets -- her T’song-wa -- and removing the taint from her 
name might be a good start.” 

The old man frowned. “You should know that restoring the T’song-wa will not 
restore the girl’s place in Kanasum society.” 


“Why not?” Caleb demanded. “I thought all this trouble was about losing the 
names of her ancestors. So if I bring them back…” 

“That is how it began,” the man said. “But there is more than one kind of taint. 
Now that she has sold her honor to you -- allowed you to change the color of her eyes -- 
she will be considered Xaichan. She will have no chance at a good marriage or of being 
received into the houses of those who once respected her family ever again.” 

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, grinding his teeth in frustration. “I 
knew it! I asked her about that but she said it didn’t matter that she would be zi, uh, 
whatever you called it. Outcast. She said she was going away to some kind of exile -- 
taking the path of San-dak… sun-dak…” 

“Sun-dak-cho.” The old man’s faded blue eyes widened and he shook his head in 
sympathy. “If she has decided to travel that road, my friend, there is nothing you can 
do to help her except say a prayer to the Goddess of Mercy to guide her soul peacefully 
toward the Heavens.” 

“Peacefully toward the…” Caleb trailed off. There was an icy coldness in his 
stomach, a feeling like he had swallowed a fist-sized piece of ice. He kept remembering 
Sayana’s last words to him. Where I am going, you cannot follow. “Sun-dak-cho,” he 
murmured through numb lips. “Suicide -- it’s suicide, isn’t it? Oh my God -- she’s going 
to kill herself!” 

“Of course,” the old man said, as though it was the only sensible course of action. 
“There is no other way to remove the shame of having sold herself. Everyone will know 
when she returns to Kanasum with eyes that match her hair and no silver joining ring 
on her arm. It is not as though such a thing can be hidden.” 

Caleb remembered the tears in Sayana’s dark blue eyes -- eyes he had changed 
himself by making love to her. He hadn’t understood it before, but now he realized he 
might as well have sent her back down to her home planet wearing a scarlet letter 
pinned to her dress or the word ‘whore’ stamped on her forehead. He had ruined her 
and all her hopes of happiness. Even if he brought back her family’s T’song-wa, she 


would still be shunned by everyone who knew her. No wonder she felt her only option 
was suicide! 

“Oh my God,” he groaned, putting a hand to his eyes. “What have I done? I can’t 
let her go through with it. I can’t!” He reached across the counter and grabbed the old 
Kanasumi man by the front of his robe. “Please help me! I love this girl -- there has to be 
a way to stop her.” 

The old man pulled Caleb’s frantic fingers from his robe and shook his head 
sadly. “I’m sorry, friend. Sun-dak-cho is an honorable death to the Kanasumi. When 
someone has decided to greet the Heavens, we do not interfere in that decision.” 

“But… but she doesn’t really want to,” Caleb protested, remembering the tears in 
Sayana’s eyes. “She’s only doing it because she has no choice. But there’s always a 
choice. Always.” He closed his eyes briefly, remembering the desolation he had felt 
after his family died in the fire back on Old Earth. He had wanted to lie down and die 
but he hadn’t, because someone -- his first captain -- had offered him a place on a ship 
bound for the Crab Nebula. A way off planet and away from all the things that 
reminded him of the loss he had suffered. Once he put some distance between himself 
and Old Earth, he had been able to heal, to remember the good times with his mom and 
dad and his little sister, Nessa, instead of wondering over and over again if there was 
something he could have done to save them. 

And now the woman he loved -- yes, loved, even if he hadn’t known her a whole 
day yet Sayana had touched a place in his heart that he couldn’t ignore -- the woman he 
loved was slipping away from him too. He would lose her as well if he couldn’t think of 
a way to save her, to keep her from doing what she felt she had to do. Caleb didn’t 
know how he was going to do it, but he did know he didn’t want to spend the rest of 
his days wondering if he could have saved her without at least trying. 

“There has to be a way,” he said to the old Kanasumi shop keeper. “There has to. I 
love her.” 

“Well,” the old man furrowed his brow, “let me think…” 


Chapter 10 

“They are tainted.” The Blessed Mother of Humility of the Sisters of Heaven 
convent scowled down her long nose at Kimi and Kanji who were scuffing their shoes 
in the dust of the road before the convent gates. 

“No, I beg you, honorable mother.” Sayana knelt and bowed low in the dust, 
prostrating herself in abject submission before the older woman. “They have not yet 
reached the age of consent,” she pointed out in her humblest tone. “The taint has not 
infected their souls.” 

“As long as a member of their household above the age of consent lives, the taint 
remains.” The tone of the Mother of Humility’s voice was utterly unrelenting and 
Sayana felt her heart sink. Still, it was no more than she had expected. 

“Our mother ascended to the Goddess only this morning,” she said, choking 
back her tears at the memory of her honorable mother, dead from shame as much as 
starvation who was now lying peacefully at rest in the garden as was the Kanasumi 
custom. Sayana had been too late to say goodbye and wish her mother good Jo in the 
afterworld. She could only close her eyes and lead her weeping sisters away from their 
mother’s body, comforting them as best she could. When she had told them she was 
taking them to lead a good life in the Sisters of Heaven convent, Kimi and Kanji both 
had begun to wail. 

“But when will we see you, ’Yana,” Kimi, the youngest sister had cried. 

“Don’t you go away and leave us too,” Kanji had begged. “Honorable mother 
and father are gone. You are the only one left.” 

Sayana had closed her eyes and promised to try and visit them in their dreams. 
She could not, in good conscience, promise anything else. She knew what would be 
required of her in order to place her little sisters in the convent. 


“Please, honorable mother,” she said again to the frowning woman standing 
above her. “I am the last of Kimi and Kanji’s family alive here in the Tanzai province 
and before the sun touches the horizon tonight, I will be taking the path of Sun-dak-cho. 
I… I have enough credit to ensure their future dowries as well as to make a sizable 
donation to the convent.” 

“Raise your face,” the Mother of Humility commanded. “Let me look into your 
eyes.” 

Dreading what was to happen, yet helpless to stop it, Sayana did as she was told. 
She tried to keep her expression blank and impassive but she could not help flinching 
from the disgusted look on the Mother’s pinched face. 

“So you have credit?” the older woman spat. “And how did you earn this credit? 
I would wager you wear no ring upon your arm, yet your eyes match your hair. You 
have done your family a great dishonor, playing the blossom girl. Xaichan.” 

“My sister is not a blossom girl! And she’s not Xaichan!” Kanji, who had been 
sidling closer and closer to Sayana as she knelt in the dust before the Mother of 
Humility suddenly flew to her older sister’s defense. 

“Not a blossom girl! Not Xaichan!” Kimi, who was too young to know what 
either title meant, echoed Kanji’s words anyway. Both little girls put their arms around 
Sayana’s neck and began to sob. 

“Don’t leave us here! Please, ’Yana. We want to come home with you!” 

“Kimi, Kanji.” Sayana crushed them to her for a brief moment before 
withdrawing. “You must behave yourselves,” she cautioned them, trying to make her 
choked voice sound stern. “The Blessed Mother will not take you, even with the 
millions of credits I bring, unless you are on your best behavior.” 

The older woman’s eyes widened briefly. “Millions, did you say?” 

Sayana nodded, feeling a rush of relief. Finally she had found her way into the 
heart of stone that stood before her. “The girls must have two million apiece for their 
dowries but that would still leave almost six million to enrich the honor of the convent.” 


“Hmm.” The Mother Superior sucked her teeth thoughtfully. “It is a tempting 
offer. But the taint…” 

“Will be removed as soon as Kimi and Kanji are settled here with you and I 
return home,” Sayana said quickly. “I have already been to visit a magistrate -- all that I 
have will be left to the convent after I make my assent to the Heavens, as I have 
instructed in my last testament. Kimi and Kanji can take another name -- one that is not 
tainted -- and grow up in peace and honor at the convent. Please, most honorable 
mother.” She bowed low again, feeling the choking dust fill her throat. 

“Well… I suppose if all the conditions are met, the Sisters of Heaven can take in 
little… What are their names? Kandi and Kami?” 

“Kimi and Kanji,” Sayana said quickly, taking her sisters by their hands. “Come, 
girls, the honorable mother has agreed to allow you to stay at the convent. Let us go and 
see your new home.” 

“Stop.” The Blessed Mother of Humility stood between the three of them and the 
convent gate. “I will take them from here. We cannot risk the taint entering our 
convent.” 

“No! No!” Kimi and Kanji clung to her gown and Sayana was forced to pry their 
fingers away, gulping down sobs as she did so. 

“I love you more than the moon and the sun and all the stars above,” she told 
them, kissing their tear-streaked cheeks one last time. “Stay close together and protect 
each other. You have only each other now.” 

Then she turned her back on her wailing sisters, held tight in the iron grip of the 
grim Mother of Humility. She must take the path of Sun-dak-cho before the sun touched 
the horizon and it was already low in the sky. Most of her day had been spent in laying 
her mother’s body out in the garden among the sweetest smelling flowers and getting 
her last testament settled with the magistrate. 

Kimi and Kanji’s cries faded in her ears as she traveled the dusty road that led to 
her final destiny. 


Chapter 11 

The tiny sharp ceremonial knife gleamed in the light of the setting sun as Sayana 
brought its blade to her wrist. She was sitting in the garden, not far from where her 
mother was laid to rest among the sweet smelling flowers. Soon she, too, would lie 
among the flowers, feeling the claws of death grip her to drag her up into the Heavens. 

Beside her on the carved stone bench sat a small blue vial filled with the deadly 
poison distilled from the eyes of the Goddess flowers, so named because they were a 
shade of blue impossible to duplicate in any dye. They always faded the moment they 
were plucked and so their vivid shade could not be captured except in death. For after 
Sayana had opened her veins and poured a few drops of the poison into them to mingle 
with her blood, her own eyes would lose their dark indigo hue and mirror exactly the 
shade of the fresh flowers. 

It was an agonizing death -- the poison was said to make its victims feel as 
though they were being burned alive from the inside out -- but an honorable one. And 
Sayana was committed to it. There was no way to clear the taint from her name and the 
shame from her soul other than to commit Sun-dak-cho. When she was found with eyes 
turned Goddess blue, her family name would be erased forever and Kimi and Kanji 
would be free to start a new life. 

The point of the knife pierced the flesh of her slim, white wrist just as the 
rounded edge of the sun touched the horizon. The pain was brief and stinging and the 
single drop of blood that welled from the wound was much smaller than the tear drops 
she had cried as she took the knife and poison from the small golden case where they 
were stored. Her mind had been wandering, then, wondering if she might find a way 
out of this yet. Somehow she did not feel ready to greet the Heavens just yet. 


There was the obvious argument, of course, that she was now in possession of 
small fortune, possibly enough to relocate herself and Kimi and Kanji to another world, 
a world where the color of her eyes and her last name didn’t matter. Spending even a 
few brief precious hours with Caleb Joiner had taught her that such places existed. 

But Sayana rejected this idea. It was the coward’s way to run from death and 
how would she raise her little sisters alone and care for them on a strange world? If she 
had someone to help her, someone that loved her… but she had pushed that thought 
away. It was foolish to keep thinking of the Gwylo man who had changed the color of 
her eyes. Caleb Joiner had cared for her only as long as her eyes were silver. She had 
seen the horror on his face when her eyes had matched her hair and now she wanted 
only to erase that image from her mind forever. 

Well, she told herself, making another long, thin cut with the tiny knife, soon all 
thoughts and memories of this life would be taken from her. They would fly away on 
the wind like dried flower petals on an autumn breeze. 

She looked at her wrist and judged that the two long, shallow cuts she had made 
should be sufficient. The eyes of the Goddess poison was so deadly that only a drop or 
two was needed to ensure death. She laid down the ceremonial knife and lifted the tiny 
blue bottle from the bench beside her. Just a few drops… She tilted the bottle over her 
bleeding arm… 

And had it knocked from her hand. 

“Oh, God. Please tell me I caught you in time!” It was Caleb Joiner, kneeling at 
her feet among the fragrant flowers of the garden and holding her bleeding wrist in 
both of his large warm hands. 

Sayana was shocked. “What are you doing? This is a very sacred ceremony. You 
have no right to interrupt,” she said. 

“I can’t let you do this.” He didn’t release her arm, only stared up into her eyes 
with a wild look on his face. “Please tell me you didn’t. You didn’t use the Goddess 
eyes poison yet, did you?” 


He looked so terribly upset that Sayana forgave him for breaking her 
concentration and her courage. “The eyes of the Goddess poison,” she corrected him 
gently. “And no, I have not used it… yet.” 

“Never.” He gripped her hands fiercely in his own. “You don’t have to -- look 
what I brought.” Carefully, never taking his eyes off her as though he was afraid she 
would slip away from him and start searching for the poison, Caleb reached into an 
inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out something small wrapped in a familiar gold 
cloth. 

“The T’song-wa of my family!” Sayana was so surprised her hands flew to her 
face. The palm-sized white gold tablets engraved with the names of all her ancestors 
gleamed in the light of the dying sun, reflecting the tears upon her cheeks. “Where did 
you find them?” she asked, looking at Caleb, kneeling at her feet. 

“They were aboard the casino ship in the pawn shop, of all places. Apparently 
the owner of the shop is also Kanasumi and he felt it was a sacrilege to melt them 
down.” 

“Now they can be displayed again in their shrine,” Sayana said, stroking the 
silvery white gold reverently. “The taint will be removed from the name of Nakamura.” 

“Then there’s no need to commit suicide. I mean -- Sun-dak-cho,” Caleb said 
eagerly. “Is there?” 

“Well…” A strand of her hair floated across her face and Sayana reached up to 
brush it away. The indigo color reminded her that her eyes were no longer the pure 
silver of the T’song-wa, but the same shade as the silky hair that fell around her 
shoulders. Grief gripped her heart and she shook her head. “I am sorry, Caleb, but I 
must still take the path of Sun-dak-cho. The taint has been removed from my name, but 
the shame of having… having sold myself cannot be otherwise removed. I must think of 
my little sisters. How will they live with an older sister who would do such a thing?” 

“How will they live without the older sister who was willing to do anything to 
ensure their futures? The older sister who loves them more than she loves her own 


life?” Caleb asked roughly. He took the T’song-wa from her lap and laid them carefully 
on the stone bench beside her before taking her hands in both of his again.” 

Sayana felt her eyes welling with tears once more. “Please, Caleb, there’s no 
other way.” 

“There is another way,” he said, his deep voice quiet and intense. “If the one who 
bought your virginity in the first place comes back to redeem you and asks for your 
hand in marriage -- I mean, in joining.” 

Sayana’s eyes widened. “How… how did you know that?” 

He laughed softly. “I didn’t have as much time as I might have liked to learn 
about the customs of your people but you could say I took a crash course. As in, I nearly 
crashed my ship getting down here to you. And then I never thought I’d find you 
before it was too late. But I did, I hope. Sayana Nakamura, I love you.” 

He reached into his pocket again and pulled out a beautiful antique joining ring, 
carved with characters of peace and prosperity in the same script that named her 
ancestors on the T’song-wa. 

“Oh.” Sayana put a hand to her heart and bit her lip. “Caleb, it’s beautiful. But… 
but you haven’t known me long enough to ask me to join with you.” 

“I’ve known you long enough to know I want you like no other woman I’ve ever 
known,” he said softly. “To know you’re the bravest, most beautiful, most honorable 
girl in the whole damn galaxy and I want you with me always. Please, Sayana, say 
you’ll join with me. Let me put this ring on your arm and call you my wife.” 

The happiness welling within her heart was almost too much. Sayana covered 
her face with her hands, feeling like she might explode. “I thought you didn’t want me 
after my eyes matched my hair. That you couldn’t care for a woman who would sell 
herself as I did.” 

“You did what you had to do,” Caleb said. He pulled her hands away from her 
face and lifted her chin so that their eyes met. “I think your eyes are beautiful,” he 
whispered in a deep, husky voice. “In fact, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in 
my life. Say you’ll do it. Say you’ll join with me.” 


“I want to, only…” Sayana bit her lip. “Only I swore to the Mother of the convent 
that I would take the path of Sun-dak-cho before the sun dipped below the horizon 
tonight. It was the only way she would accept Kimi and Kanji into the convent.” 

Caleb swore under his breath. “Then take your sisters out of the convent,” he 
said. In the light of the setting sun, his brown hair was touched with fiery red and his 
eyes were as green as emeralds in his dark face. 

“If I take them out, where will they live?” Sayana asked, feeling like her heart 
was lodged in her throat. If he suggested sending Kimi and Kanji away… 

“With us,” Caleb said firmly, laying her fears to rest before they could fully form. 
“Here, in your house if you want. Or some other house on Kanasum if this one has too 
many memories.” He stroked her cheek and smiled. “Or, if you want, I’ll fly you all 
away on my ship and we’ll find a whole new place to live. We can travel around the 
galaxy for a while, exploring until we find just the right place. It’s completely up to 
you.” 

“Oh, Caleb. Do you really mean it?” Sayana held her breath, afraid to believe, 
afraid to move for fear of shattering the beautiful dream she suddenly found herself in. 

“I really do,” he assured her. “Look, I know how hard it is to go on after you lose 
everyone you love. But you‘ve still got your sisters. And you’ve got me, if you want 
me.” 

“I do. I do want you.” At last she was able to believe. Sayana threw her arms 
around his neck, holding him tight to her in a most improper display of affection, but 
she didn’t care a bit. This man, this Gwylo, Caleb Joiner, had come into her life at a time 
when all seemed lost and salvaged her heart from the ashes. He made her feel things no 
other man had ever made her feel and he cared for her as no other. 

Caleb kissed her, a long, deep kiss that made her feel tingles of pleasure from the 
tips of her toes to the roots of her long indigo hair. “Here,” he murmured, sliding the 
beautiful silver ring up her arm so it rested just above the crook of her elbow. “And 
here.” He blotted the shallow scratches she had made with the ceremonial knife on her 
other arm and kissed them tenderly. “And now we’re ready to go.” 


“Where are we going?” Sayana asked, taking his arm as he stood, pulling her up 
from the bench. 

He smiled at her. “I told you -- anywhere you want.” He swung her up into his 
arms, making her gasp, making her heart thump in her chest and her cheeks flush with 
pleasure. “Are you ready?” he asked. 

Sayana looked at him and her heart told her that she was Xaichan no longer. That 
with Caleb Joiner, she would always have a place to call her home -- wherever he was 
would be her shelter and his heart would shield hers in the years to come. Never again 
would she be an outcast while he was there to love her and take her in. 

“I am ready,” she told him, daring to kiss him on his rough, scratchy cheek. 
“And, Caleb -- I love you.” 

Her only answer was another long, sweet kiss and then he carried her away from 
her old life. Sayana turned her face to the setting sun, ready to greet her new destiny 
without fear. 


Evangeline Anderson 

Evangeline Anderson is a registered MRI tech who would rather be writing. She 
is thirty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, three cats and a college-age 
sister but no kids because enough is enough already. She had been writing erotic stories 
for her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try and get 
paid for it. To her delight, she found it was actually possible to get money for having a 
dirty mind and she has been writing science fiction and paranormal erotica steadily 
ever since. 

Evangeline welcomes reader comments. Visit her on the web at 
www.evangelineanderson.com or write her at vangiekitty@aol.com.