Chapter Twenty

" T hank you for showing us to the temple Alana," Dante said. While the temple was not as impressive as the ones on the planet with their pyramid structures and polished stone, it shared a lot of the same architecture.

Sacred animals were carved into the burnished metal walls and multicolor lighting strips cast a rainbow of shadows across the wide floor, interrupting the bluish light from fixtures so high up in the ceiling Dante couldn't see them. The ceiling had to be ten or twenty stories in the air, and the walls tilted in so the space felt like the inside of an oblong pyramid with a ceiling only a third as wide as the floor. Tiny, irregular windows dotted the long walls in a chaotic scattering.

But what surprised him the most was that floor. Every vid Dante had ever seen about space travel suggested that dirt was the enemy of equipment. On the slavers' ship, Dante had scrubbed every surface of traces of shed skin flakes or minute bits of dop bedding that escaped the cages. A single dusty corner would earn him torture by alien cattle prod.

However, in the temple, the floor was covered with dirt and moss and low grasses growing in clumps. Pebafri wandered under the artificial sunlight, and the air had the slight tang Dante had come to associate with their scat. Birds sang from squat, bushy trees, and Dante felt as if he were standing on a planet, which was an impressive piece of engineering. Even Ter looked impressed.

"Of course, Exalted Dante," Alana said. "I would not want to disrespect either you or your goddess."

"Divashi is dangerous enough that I will admit it's probably best to keep on her good side. Even though I know she likes me, I'm still scared of her."

"You are a wise being," Alana said with a smile. "If you have need of anything, please contact me."

"I shall, and thank you." Dante poked Ter with his elbow, but the engineer ignored him in favor of studying the blue lines stretching from one wall to another. "What are those? How does the ship maintain integrity with such a large void? Wouldn't this allow too much warpage during take-off and landing?"

Rather than answering, Alana touched his thumbs to his temples and left.

Ter turned toward the wide arch with its hinged doors chained open to the enormous corridor leading to the main exit. "He didn't answer my questions." Ter sounded offended.

"If you treat others rudely, they are likely to ignore your questions," Dante said. This seemed like a rather obvious truth to him, but for all of his admiration for truth, Ter did not seem to understand that.

"It is more likely he lacked the knowledge, which is reasonable given he is a healer. However, I was not rude. I did not contradict his beliefs," Ter said.

"Is that your only definition of rude?"

Ter's elbows jutted out in offense. "Of course not," Ter snapped. "However, I have never used physical size to intimidate another. I have never refused to acknowledge exceptional performance on the rare occasion I saw it, and I have never ignored a person who is seeking attention or given attention to someone who is seeking anonymity."

For a second, Dante could only gape at the man. "Does it occur to you that other people might have a broader definition of rude?"

"Does it occur to you that the Coalition was specifically founded on the belief that each species has a right to maintain their own cultural traditions and norms, and that no one can require me to uphold any cultural expectation other than my own?"

Ter's anger suggested he was not interested in compromise, and normally Dante would be in favor of people living their own lives, but they had been kidnapped by individuals who had their own concept of right and wrong and very little compunction against killing outsiders.

"The outsider has come to our temple," a loud voice said.

Dante turned to see Bekdi walking toward him, flanked by two smaller Kowri, one graying with age. Dante thought the Kowri respected age, so he was surprised to see an older Kowri yielding to Bekdi.

Bekdi's obvious anger made Dante want to curl into a small ball and hide from the potential danger. He might have except for Ter. Ter was an impressive engineer and a semi-competent adult in general, but he had no idea how to handle Kowri, which meant that Dante had to postpone any mental breakdowns until after their rescue.

And that meant he needed to make it clear he had the status to challenge Bekdi and he wouldn't be disrespected or walked over. He squared off against Bekdi and touched his two fingers to his forehead in a mockery of a Texas salute.

"If it isn't my least favorite exalted. I have not missed debating you in the temple, but is there any reason why you would be surprised to find me here? It seems that the temple would be the most logical place for an exalted of Divashi."

Dante stroked Peach's spine. Never before in all his life had he been so grateful for the presence of an animal, and he'd grown up telling all his woes and secrets to Blue while the old dog had listened with his head cocked to the side. The touch must have woken Peaches because she sat up fast with an aggravated chittering before settling onto his shoulder again, her tight grip holding her in place and putting tiny holes in his shirt.

Bekdi frowned. "You were not invited into the ship."

Dante hummed for a second, leaving them to figure out what possible meaning that could have been human language. Then he smiled slowly. "I understood the ships belong to no one. The gods directed them, not the exalted."

Bekdi's fur stood on end. The two flanking Kowri shot concerned looks in Bekdi's direction. Dante had no illusions about the other Kowri siding with outsiders, but if he'd learned anything from months of going to temple debates it was that Kowri would side with their gods, even over their closest allies.

"The gods rarely interfere in our lives." Bekdi spoke with confidence and stepped closer. Given his size, Dante's stomach soured with fear, and Ter made an unhappy grumble. Bekdi continued, now standing so close he was glaring down at Dante. "It is up to us to act in a way that honors the legacy of the gods and the gods interfere only when they see their legacy being threatened."

"Perhaps you have less of your god's attention than I have of mine," Dante shot back. He was going to give himself a heart attack, but he'd learned in his father's house to push through blind terror. When he'd been thirteen, Leon Romano had been far more terrifying than any alien kidnapper. "After all, my goddess caused me to trip over Regi, run into a radiated area, shielded me from radiation, encouraged a pebafri to throw me, used that same pebafri to bring Regi to my side and guided me to the temple before ensuring that the former exalted who betrayed the god of storytelling died in front of me. Divashi spends an inordinate amount of time interfering, but perhaps Gavd is busy elsewhere."

All Bekdi's hair stood on end. "You are impudent, and you never studied at the temple. Do not attempt to educate me in areas where you wallow in ignorance," Bekdi spat.

"Ignorance? Interesting. I thought the gods of crystals and radiation and midwifery and a dozen other areas regularly guided the hands of their exalteds. So it is only you who waits in vain for the attention of your god. Am I mistaken?" Dante had almost finished his speech when Bekdi growled and lunged forward, his analace in his hand.

Given that that ceremonial blade was intended to give a quick death to injured animals, Dante retreated as fast as he could, grabbing Ter and hauling him toward the arched exit. Before Bekdi could take more than two steps, his compatriots caught him and held him in place.

"Exalted Bekdi," the older male said, "act with logic and composure."

"He insults my god and me. I will not bear it."

Dante stopped in the arched doorway and watched to see whether Bekdi's friends were able to hold him. He spoke only when that was clear. "I do not dishonor Gavd. I honor any god that would see justice done. That said, I do question how much he watches his followers since it was those who honored Gavd who attempted to kill me as I approached the cold-weather temple. It was followers of Gavd who dishonored my goddess by suggesting that Divashi would act in a way that would harm the Kowri people."

Bekdi growled. "Do not give credit to the gods where the actions of dishonorable Kowri prevail."

"Wise words. Therefore, I shall blame you rather than assuming Gavd has any knowledge of your actions in kidnapping Engineer Ter."

Bekdi turned fluffy with rage.

The di-male who stood at Bekdi's side took a step forward, leaving the smaller female to contain Bekdi. Dante balanced on his toes, ready to flee at the first sign of violence.

"I am not an exalted, and I will not speak for the God to whom I make my sacrifices," the male said. "I am Gior, and I am a high-ranking follower of Gavd within the ship, surely you recognize how disrespectful your behavior is."

For a moment, Dante had hoped they had found an ally, but no. That was fine. Dante had to assume that Divashi was still keeping an eye on matters, and he trusted her to stick her oversized and clumsy fingers into the situation before he ended up dead.

"Among my people, rudeness is attributed to actions as well as words," Dante said, reminded of the conversation he had just finished with Ter. Apparently what counted as rude was a significant issue in interspecies communication.

"And what actions have we taken to warrant such disrespect and suspicion?"

Followers of Gavd attempted to murder me at the back door of a temple, I believe you can understand my suspicion."

Gior's nostrils paled.

Having made his point, Dante continued. "But in terms of those who are on the ship, I am exceptionally unhappy that Ter and I were forced into a ship that we did not choose to join. Removing someone without their permission is the epitome of rudeness on my planet."

Gior glanced over his shoulder at Bekdi who had sheathed his knife. When he didn't speak, Gior continued. "We attempted to remove an individual who had been assigned to the care of the temple. We did not ask you to board our ship."

"Did you claim custody in a general meeting or ask the input of the two exalteds who know Ter best?" Dante stared at Bekdi, daring him to lie. Again, Gior gave Bekdi a concerned look.

Bekdi straightened and the fur on his arms rippled before it flattened, and he assumed an expression of boredom. "Your ignorance of our political customs is not an issue I must address. Perhaps, like the other outsider, you would be best to return to your Temple years so that you can better learn the obligations of one who would choose to stand in a Kowri temple."

Coming from someone like Gimi, Dante might consider that good advice. Being able to learn about a culture without having the obligation to act as an exalted sounded wise, but Bekdi had no interest in assisting him.

"I'm afraid I must decline. Divashi has already chosen me, and it would be inappropriate for me to abandon my duties to my goddess." Dante smiled wide enough to show his canines. Gimi had spoken in temple, describing Dante's habit of smiling as friendliness and a desire to avoid conflict. So Bekdi could not take offense to a gesture that would lead Kowri to violence. Still, Bekdi looked like he had swallowed a cactus.

"You have no right to this place," Bekdi said with more calm than Dante would have expected. "You do not understand how a Kowri ship functions."

Despite his earlier apprehension, Dante was now starting to feel like he was playing a game of chess, and he might not be losing. Ter stepped forward as if he wanted to say something, but Dante moved in front of him and spoke loud enough to cut him off.

"As an exalted, I have every right to participate in decisions, and I am mature enough to avoid giving my opinion when my ignorance is too great. Surely you have noticed that I don't speak up every time you and exalted Regi have some disagreement, even when that disagreement exceeds the bounds of politeness."

"‘Politeness'?" Bekdi barked the word out. "What do outsiders know of politeness? It is the rudeness of this outsider which has led to him being stripped of his adult rights." Bekdi gestured toward Ter.

Ter blurted, "At least I am not so lacking in intelligence that I would kidnap another for failing to uphold my definition of politeness even when the other's culture has no such definition."

"The obligation to adapt is yours," Bekdi said. "You chose to request entry into our space."

Ter gave a bark of laughter. "Surely you are not so inbred or mentally deficient to believe that."

Dante winced and felt a frisson of fear as Ter tried to aggravate the armed Kowri who had the ability to kill them before any senior members of the temple could prevent it. "Why is it that every truth you share is negative?" Dante demanded. If the other Kowri saw that he would confront Ter, it might improve his reputation and keep them both safe.

Ter blinked at him for several seconds. "What need have I to share truths that others already accept? I could say that I find you less annoying than most. I could say that Regi is a competent security chief. However, those truths are already known and I feel no need to state them."

"Well, feel free to avoid stating any of your truths for a while," Dante said. He suspected that Ter was so used to being smarter than everyone around him that he had grown a little too comfortable sharing insults. Maybe all his people were this rude, but Dante doubted it. However, that was a problem for another day. Right now, he had to establish himself as an exalted who had a right to be heard in the temple.

He turned back to Bekdi and his two sidekicks. "I want to meet the other exalteds. You can either show me to their offices or I can find it myself."

"Do not order me around," Bekdi snarled.

"Perhaps I should ask Divashi for help," Dante said.

All three Kowri turned fluffy. "How dare you mock our beliefs," Gior snarled.

Crap. That had not been Dante's intent, and here he had criticized Ter for making their situation worse. "I do not mock," Dante said softly. "My people believe in asking god for assistance, and now that I have Divashi's attention, I do the same. I understand that inviting her into my life is inviting disaster, but I have enough faith in her and in my ability to survive that I'm willing to take that risk."

Now the two shorter Kowri were studying Dante as if he were an idiot. Maybe he was. However, he didn't know how else to convince them that he hadn't meant to insult their belief.

Gior found his voice first. "Exalted, please do not draw Lady Divashi's attention to our ship."

Dante snorted. "I have a feeling she's already watching." He turned to Ter. "Are you okay waiting here while I introduce myself to the others?"

"I would rather go somewhere with fewer animals." Ter eyed the pebafri herd.

The female Kowri said, "I will show you to your assigned rooms."

"Make sure I have rooms in the same part of the ship," Dante said.

She stared at Dante without speaking, and he had the impression none of these Kowri were impressed. It was like being back in high school with the other kids telling him he wasn't special because his father was a senator. Only no one would dare say a word against Divashi. A goddess known for her poisons was much scarier than a backward senator who made the world a worse place for everyone except himself.

He'd survived on Earth, and he'd do even better here because he had faith in Divashi to have his back. He walked past Bekdi and Gior and their nameless friend. If no one wanted to show him where the exalteds met, he would have to explore on his own.