Page 8 of On A Rift’s Edge (Riftworld #2)
“He’s been chosen by the Matchmaker for me.
” Lyall knocked the rest of the scotch back in one gulp.
It felt good and horrible at the same time to say it out loud.
“He was terrified of the Matchmaker when he thought he had been matched to his best friend Kaveh. He’ll freak out if he finds out he’s trapped into a forced marriage with a monster alien species that humans think are from their version of eternal punishment for the damned. ”
“I did not see this coming.” Remi’s mouth had dropped open, but he recovered and turned his wrist to show Lyall the solid gold watch encircling it.
Remi had a real Rolex too, but this timepiece was an ancient drakone treasure that transformed to help the flying snakes identify their Matchmaker-chosen soulmates.
“How do you even know he’s your match? Is there a fancy hellhound watch your people keep that lights up when the Matchmaker strikes? ”
“Of course not.” Lyall wasn’t surprised by Remi’s question. His friend’s alterform was a chinchilla.
Yes, that was hysterically funny and always would be.
That meant the half-ratkind had a better sense of smell than a human, but not by much.
The same was true for Kaveh. After learning he had been selected by the Matchmaker for an arranged marriage, the drakone had tried to find his spouse-to-be by having most of the inhabitants of the ranch and monstertown touch a gold treasure from the drakones’ fortress.
Unlike Remi and Kaveh, Lyall didn’t need anything fancier than his nose to find out that he had been paired with an entirely inappropriate spouse.
“I knew Kat was the one the first time I sniffed him.” Lyall groaned and gave up trying to put on a show of strength.
He lay flat on the couch and squeezed his eyes shut.
Was this how humans explored their emotions with someone trained to heal their mental ailments?
“He smells like fresh mint and mesquite wood, and I am so fucked.”
“You never told me Kat was your Matchmaker match.” Remi had the nerve to sound outraged.
Lyall breaking his indenture contract meant he had bested Arimanius, and the ratkind mafia boss never took that well.
If Remi’s father found out the Matchmaker had struck twice, he would use the threat of hurting Kat against Lyall for the rest of both of their lives.
He couldn’t ask his pack for help. Even an exiled clan member’s spouse had to be protected to preserve the family’s honor, and Kat’s wishes wouldn’t be considered at all. The drakones had been prepared to take Kat against his will, and they had a friendly relationship with the local humans.
Lyall’s hellhound clan hated humans, their planet, and most of the Earth species they didn’t find tasty. Kat would be their prisoner, and Lyall would have to battle his entire clan or give up and beg to be let back to protect him.
Leaving Kat alone was the only way to keep him safe. Seeing him yesterday and knowing he could never have him had been like a punch in the snout.
“Wait, that was why you stayed with me.” Remi pointed his beer bottle at Lyall in accusation. “You knew all along Kat didn’t belong to Kaveh, but you had to make sure he was okay.”
“I have to make sure he’s safe.” Lyall knew how the old Matchmaker had worked, creating marriages between the upper clans to achieve its mysterious goals that might come to fruition generations in the future.
The new, misfiring Matchmaker had spun out of control after the Sundering, linking drakones to ratkind, as in Remi’s case, or a hellhound to a young and vulnerable human like Kat.
The process still followed the old rules, though.
Lyall didn’t have to fall in love with Kat, or even like him, but he had to protect him with his life if necessary.
“I can’t walk up to Kat and tell him he’s my match. He’ll think the Matchmaker will force me to marry him and carry him off.” Lyall had a hard time thinking about anyone but Kat these days, but talking to him about this would be—even worse.
Remi sighed and placed his beer bottle neatly on a coaster on the coffee table.
Some things would never change.
“What I’m going to say may shock you.” Remi leaned forward and held Lyall’s gaze.
“You need to be honest with Kat. You need to trust that he’s able to make his own life choices, even if that choice is to run screaming away from you.
Look, I tried to mess with the Matchmaker and got myself crucified on a cactus. ”
“The Matchmaker’s malfunctioning, and Kat’s better off not knowing anything.
” Lyall didn’t like this human life coach/therapy thing at all.
“He’s safe here with your Azdaha protecting him.
My clan wouldn’t dare challenge Kaveh on his home turf.
Even a sneak attack like the one Arimanius tried would be too risky. ”
“About that.” Remi frowned. “You know I didn’t let Zale stay here out of the kindness of my heart. I think he’s telling the truth regarding the portal, but it’s also clear that my father had planned for him to scout out the monstertown and the ranch.”
Lyall snorted. “Zale’s a shitty liar. If you want, I can make him want to leave town quickly. Or stay here forever in a shallow grave.”
Remi waved that offer away. “My cousin may believe otherwise, but I know a scouting mission isn’t the real reason the don of the Colony sent him here. Zale’s here because Ari wants to send a message.”
Lyall stilled. He had kept telling himself it was all over. Arimanius had lost, and Lyall was free and would never go back to being his servant. He knew his old adversary well enough never to underestimate how far he would go to keep something he wanted. “What message?”
“That he’s not done with us by a long shot.
” Remi sounded both exasperated and resigned.
“If he didn’t have a solid plan to get back at you, me, and Kaveh—and maybe get his claws on the control object in the process—he wouldn’t have bothered to send Zale.
My dear daddy Ari is awfully good at getting revenge. ”