Alex flew up and a cheer reached her. The revolutionaries were waving their weapons and shouting. The palace forces were down or running.
Alex flew slow circles over the palace courtyard, Kuni's body dangling.The body's now-broken neck made a dull crack against the metal of the Guardian sword.
More revolutionaries poured into the front courtyard, cheering. Warriors in the jubilant crowd leaped in place.
She landed when she saw Rile, Cale, and Gabe, but they couldn't reach her. Alex was lifted up by many arms and carried into the palace, crowd roaring.
So much for psychology. They love a winner, mammal or reptile, it seems.
Alex looked around the throne room, not seeing any Anolis males.
I guess the females have no intention of sharing their victory celebration.
She could hear Rile voicing his discontent from some distance. The new Kuni, bronze crown of spikes on her head, nodded to one of her guard and soon the brothers filed in.
Someone pushed Alex forward in front of the throne.
"I thank you for your help. I know what you wish as a reward. Gabe is yours," the new Kuni said.
Gabe, Cale, and Rile protested as one.
Alex smiled faintly. "You boys thought you were fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. Wrong. Different Kuni. Same system of slavery. Guess Deela didn't fill you in on the details of the revolution."
"We put you in power so things would change," Rile stormed at the new Anolis Kuni.
"They will. I will be a most benevolent Kuni." She beamed and touched the massive crown lovingly.
"Then free all the Anolis males," Alex said.
The new Kuni and the revolutionaries all laughed. It sounded like cries of death to Alex. The Gila mercenaries scowled and a few growled deep in their chests. The Anolis females stopped laughing.
"I will make sure they are treated better by their females."
"A dictator by any other name," Cale cut across her words.
The female warriors leveled their spears at them.
"One mate for my help?" Alex brushed imaginary dust from her shoulder. "Benevolent? Stingy is more the word."
"What do you want?" the new Kuni asked warily.
"Cale, Gabe, and the whole palace harem. Rile is already mine."
"The whole harem?" The new Kuni, displeasure writ large on her face, gripped the throne arms.
"The whole harem. I have affection for them. They hid me overnight until I could challenge Amal, the old Kuni, for Rile. He supplied your revolutionaries with information," Alex said, not above reminding the new Kuni of where her help had come. When the Kuni glared at her, still clutching the arms of her throne, Alex gazed at her steadily and said, "You want me out of your affairs."
I'm not above using threats, either.
"You are a clever bargainer, mammal."
"A few males for an entire empire? Not hardly. A cheap price. What do you say?" Alex's gaze on the Kuni never wavered.
"You amuse me. They are yours. Not a word, Deela."
The spears were withdrawn.
"Have a nice life, boys," Alex told the brothers and turned to go. "Next time, pick your girlfriends more carefully."
"What are you doing?" the new Kuni asked as the Anolis warriors murmured in surprise, but the Gilas nodded their approval.
"I can't remember the term for it. I'm setting them free. I can do that, right? Without some other female claiming them?"
I remember the term very well. I want the new Kuni to say it.
"Yes, but the emancipation is uncommon," the new Kuni said.
Alex shrugged and said with calculated indifference, "Oh, that's the word. I'm emancipating all of them, whole palace harem as well as Rile, Cale, and Gabe. I've already proclaimed I will kill anyone who enslaves one of my emancipated males, whether he's willing or not. My kind finds it more fun to choose each other for mates rather than winning one by force."
"Curious. No wonder your kind never came to power."
"We did, just not here. With your leave, majesty," Alex said as she bowed.
As she walked out of the palace, Alex found her friends on her heels.
"Nice speech. Capt. Kirk, right? The Gamesters of Triskelion?" Cale asked.
"I think that was the episode. Kirk got on his soapbox so many times, I get them mixed up. Do you think if this world came up with Star Trek, it would havemade a difference?" She put her arm around Cale's waist and winked at him.
"Told you watching all those old episodes would come in handy." Cale smiled his calm smile at her.
"I got you hooked on Star Trek, remember?" Alex smiled back, relaxing both internally and externally at Cale's touch and expression.
"How did you know they had no intention of changing the system? Why didn't you tell Zilik? Or me?" Rile came up on Alex's other side and nudged her to put her arm around him, which she did.
"I didn't know at first, plus I needed Zilik's help. And yours. But the more I talked with the revolutionaries, the more I began to suspect. What tipped me off was when I told them that I wanted all of you and the harem as a reward. They didn't say. 'They'll be free to do as they like'. Oh no, they said, 'No problem'. Capiche?" Alex asked.
"All too well and I'm angry as to how this turned out. I say we overthrow that new Kuni." Rile withdrew his Guardian sword a bit
Gabe, Cale, and Alex groaned.
"Please, Rile, one revolution a week." Alex pushed on his hand so his sword slid back in its sheath.
"They gave us up so easily." Cale sounded hurt.
Alex looked at him in surprise and squeezed him slightly. "You call that easy? I had to overthrow an entire government to get you back. If it makes you feel better, the females also told me that if I took you all, I would spend the rest of my life fighting challenges to keep you. That's why I released you. It's not that I wouldn't like having three personal slaves." She winked at them. "I'm too tired to fight all the time. Let's go around back. I want to make sure everyone in the harem made it out."
To her annoyance, several warriors of the new Kuni followed them. Alex glared at them over her shoulder and tapped the hilt of her Guardian sword. They ignored her.
By back entrance, the males in the palace harem crowded around her, talking, asking questions, and her smug demeanor melted.
"You're all free but this was a wash for your country. This new Kuni is the same as the old one," Alex said.
"Look, Alex," several voices urged at once and the males parted to show a slowly moving figure.
"Trac! You're alive!" Alex rushed to him. His arm was in an enormous sling that covered his chest. "I thought you were dead."
"I may be small, but I'm tough. You'll appreciate that," Trac said.
"She'll appreciate all of us," Kress added. "We all belong to you now."
"No, you're free. I emancipated you and even made the new Kuni say it out loud. I reminded them I'll kill anyone who takes one of my emancipated males, willing or not." Alex looked over at the new guards, who started running into the palace.
"But how do we get y'all out of here?" Alex's accent slipped through over her distress that she hadn't thought of this important detail.
"We haven't been hiding in the chamber all this time. We've arranged help," Kress said.
A sole horse with rider pounded into view and several large carriages lumbered behind it.
"We don't rely totally on females, reptile or mammal," Trac told her.
"Ouch, point taken," Alex said.
"Hello, Alex." The horse's rider leaned over.
"Zilik?" Alex looked up at him. "Why are you here?"
"We don't trust this new Kuni." A voice came from the front carriage. "I've been appointed Council member for the new Kuni, whether she likes it or not."
"Razz? But how?" Alex ran over to the carriage and Razz stuck his head out. Alex gazed up at him. "I don't want you here. It's too dangerous."
Instinctively she held her hands up to him. He squeezed through the window and jumped into her arms. Startled, Alex staggered back a step but held him close. Razz practically wrapped himself around her and laid his head on her shoulder.
"They must accept me to remain on the Council. If they do not, our intelligence tells us that this territory is ripe for invasion by certain hostile species. A civil war weakens a country and leaves it vulnerable. Only countries on the Council have the luxury of its protection. This new Kuni should be much more eager to stay on the Council than the old one," Razz said, head nestled between her collarbone and breasts.
"Congratulations, advisor. I can guess who arranged that." She looked at Zilik, who shrugged innocently. "It's also too dangerous for you to be here, Zilik. What did I tell you about changing the world from the Council table, not the front lines?" Alex scolded. "Both of you back to InterSpec City."
"Guilty as charged," he replied cheerfully. "Now let's leave. I have transport for your whole harem to Chameleon City." He indicated the large carriages and grinned at Alex.
"All right, all right, that's a better choice, smart aleck." She bent her knees so Razz could place his feet on the ground and unwrap from her, which he did with reluctance.
Alex bumped against Zilik in a friendly manner but moved away before he could put his arm around her.
"You'll need a lot of Freedom Collars," Zilik waved at the crowd of Anolis palace males.
Alex bit her lip. "I can't ask you to pay for all those."
Her sword hummed so hard that her leg tingled and the small stones around their feet jumped around like tiny rubber balls.
Razz knelt and held his hand palm up so that the nuggets bounced into it. The pearlescent stones were marked with ribbons of blue, lines of orange and red and green that spiraled out from the center, twisting and curving to the edges.
Zilik stooped and cupped a handful of stones. These were star sapphires of blue-grey, rose, and spring green, all with six-ray stars.
"These star sapphires will more than pay for the collars," Zilik said.
Razz stood and held out the gems to Alex. "These opals are for the collars themselves."
Alex poked at the jewels but didn't pick any up. "I really wish there was another name for them than collars."
"Give the Anolis males time," Zilik said in a kind tone. "They'll think of something."
Trac interrupted. "Look what I've brought."
He opened a pouch that had been sewn into his arm sling. Alex peered in and saw four tiny forms.
"The babies!" Alex squealed and then flushed with embarrassment that she had sounded like a schoolgirl. She stuck her tongue out at Zilik when he chuckled.
Trac scooped out two of them and handed them to Alex. "These are Razz's. You should give them to him."
Alex thought it odd, what with Razz standing right next to her. She chalked it up to the female dominated society the males had suffered under.
She handed over his babies, bubbling, "Look! Look! Your babies! I held them as they hatched! Aren't they beautiful?"
Alerted by Alex's curious behavior, Rile, Gabe, and Cale walked over. Razz took the babies and nuzzled them.
For the first time, Alex felt sorry that they couldn't cry. Tears of joy seemed appropriate right now.
"Alex, thank you," Razz murmured over and over again, but he couldn't tear his gaze from his children. He held them close and nuzzled them.
"Don't thank me. Trac is the one who brought them out," she said.
"Only with your help, Alex," Trac added.
"What cute little ones," Cale said, the only brother who looked interested.
Rile, once he saw the babies, scanned the surroundings for trouble, still on guard. Gabe was expressionless.
"These are Razz and Trac's babies. Aren't they adorable?" Alex asked, gushing.
Cale leaned over and tickled one of the babies. They all trilled at him in an adorable way, their squeals and coos praising the latest miracle of life.
Razz inhaled deeply. "Alex, pick one," he said.
"What?" Alex picked up the larger baby, still giddy, and cradled it. "Pick a name? I suppose it would be selfish to ask you name one Alex."
"Not a name. Pick a baby. It will be yours. That is the female. Do you wish to keep her?" Razz gazed steadily at her face, head tilted, indicating that he was analyzing her closely.
"What?" Alex's giddiness stopped cold. Frozen into immobility, she stared at Razz.
"You saved my life and freed us. There can be only one thing you cannot provide to your sleep-mate, Gabe, so I am giving it to you. Although you should choose Rile. He is the far better male and mate for life," Razz said.
"What?" Gabe was no longer expressionless, but furious. His fists clenched and his posture stiffened. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
"Now you know that choosing Cla over Alex was a terrible mistake. With a child, you can have everything you want," Razz told him.
"Who said I wanted a child?" Gabe asked.
"You, Gabe," Rile said, unsympathetic. He leaned over to Razz and whispered, "Thanks a lot, buddy. I thought you were on my side."
"I am sorry, but Alex will always come first. She should have whatever she most wants, including a baby." Razz said with remorse. "I did tell her that she should pick you."
"Here." Alex handed the baby back and Razz was quick to cradle it. "That is the most unselfish thing anyone has ever offered me, so please don't be offended. But if Gabe doesn't want me, a baby won't change that. Females of my species have already tried that trick for centuries without luck. Besides, I can't condemn her to be the daughter of a freak all her life."
"I didn't 'choose' Cla! I was helping this revolution," Gabe hissed.
No one looked like they believed him.
"What is this foolishness?" The Kuni stormed out of the palace, full of royal indignation, trailed by her guards.
She leaned to the female warrior on her right and said in a low tone, "I hadn't counted on the mammal being able to take the entire palace harem."
"Perhaps I should introduce your new advisor to the Council." Zilik indicated Razz with a flourish of his hand and an exaggerated bow
"What? This is an outrage!" The new Kuni stormed, anger dissolving the royal facade.
Razz hugged his children to his chest to protect them, so Alex placed herself between the Kuni and Razz and drew her sword.
She balanced lightly and held the sword in guard position. She lit one hand to show that she did not consider this a matter of honor. She kept the light-show to light sparks only, to save power. The guards all drew their swords.
"In no way," Zilik said smoothly. "An advisor to the Council has been the governing arrangement for decades. Are you saying that you will not honor the relationship with the Council?"
"Two minutes in power and already manipulating some scheme with ZIlik?" Alex whispered to Razz.
"We would not want to waste time." He grinned at her. "Thank you for defending me."
"No one is taking you back to a lifetime of slavery, Razz. I thought I told you to stop risking yourself," Alex whispered, gaze fixed on the Kuni. She stopped the power to her hand.
I need to save it. There's a whole lot of these witches that need blasting.
"While I will be forever grateful to you, now it is my turn 'to do the saving' as you say. I will save my fellow males," Razz said in a tone that Alex didn't care to argue with.
The Kuni stopped her bluster. An aide whispered into her ear. The Kuni regained her composure and said evenly, "The advisor is chosen by the population's representatives."
"Since you did not pick one by the deadline, those that were present for the vote in InterSpec City chose one. I am their choice," Razz said.
Alex smiled at the cleverness of having Razz voted in by the dissidents smuggled into InterSpec City while the war raged.
Now keeping Razz alive to fulfill his duties: that's another problem. One I wouldn't mind solving by staying here until I die. Yes, that would do nicely. Do I have a choice in assignments?
"I see." The Kuni's looked at them shrewdly. "So be it, for now." The Kuni gave an inaudible command to her aide, who disappeared with several guards.
Zilik and Razz frowned at the Kuni's composure. The males cheered and jostled Alex, breaking her out of her reverie, while the Kuni and her retinue withdrew.
"Now I have a base of support," Razz told her over the crowd.
"It's not that many," Alex replied, pushing closer to him.
"More than you think. I wish to grow it as males escape their slavery. You are doing well for a monogamous species," he teased.
"I emancipated every male. I don't have a single sleep-mate." Alex said in a prim tone.
Razz nodded his head significantly at Rile. "You only have to ask."
"Razz!" Alex was scandalized. "Rile . . . is . . . well . . . I mean . . . he's not the monogamous type."
She returned her sword to its scabbard and shoved back memories of a soft kiss, a gentle embrace, his hands stroking her hair.
"Maybe with the right sleep-mate, he would be. Do not look shocked. Think about it and then act. You are good at acting." He turned and raised his voice. "Load up the carriages. Every emancipated male on board."
***
A/N
Victory for Alex and the Anolis males! Well, sort of...
Will Alex listen to Razz and act on his advice about Rile?
Dedicated to Cocosghost
Her unflagging support came at just the right time!
Although I appreciate the support of all my readers and commenters! Thanks to you all!