“Now you get to see where I live.”
“Please tell me you live on a spaceship orbiting the planet or the moon. No, tell me you’re orbiting Mars! I’ve always wanted to see Mars. I used to pretend I was a Martian when I was a kid.”
“Sorry?” His mouth quirked while she stumbled over herself at the thought of being in space. “I live, we live on your planet.”
“Really? The government allows that?”
“They do, we found a place that was inhabitable to humans and settled there.”
“How is that possible?”
“Roughly forty-seven percent of America is unoccupied.”
“That can’t be true. How can we be overpopulated if we have that much free land? Did the government just say, ‘hey take this?”’
“Your government is not that altruistic. Consider our land more of an embassy.”
She decided to put it away and think about it. She trusted her government as much as the average citizen, but maybe she’d lived too long or was just the wrong color. Watching how the government could go after certain people for nothing and let others go free who were proven criminals was enough to make her squirm.
“The bigger the governing body the more chances of corruption.”
She nodded, Lyrek got it. “So where are we off to?”
“California.”
“Where?”
“We found what we were looking for among their unused land.”
No one was ever going to believe that California the land of sun and sea had unused land.
“Tell me about your sister and the castle in your hand.”
She got comfortable in the front seat not even flinching but noting when the car left the ground. They talked about how she met Em and how she was not only her best friend but her sister. Then she explained what the castle meant until she drifted off to sleep.
“Jade.” Lyrek’s voice woke her up. “We’re here and I wanted you to get your first good look.”
They were still in the sky. The clouds around them were white and fluffy. For a moment she wished she could stand on them and enjoy being so far above the ground. Then he began to descend until they went into hovering.
“I don’t see anything.” The sky above them seemed to be the same as the sky below them.
“You’re looking at a shield. It reflects what is around it. We decided that meeting with humans in our more primitive form wouldn’t be good for either of our people. This way no one who isn’t authorized can enter.”
She took note of that and decided she’d argue for her freedom later. Right now, she had a new world to see. They descended it was like moving through warm water. For a minute she could feel it move around her and within her and then the sensation was gone. She was looking at miles of homes as far as the eye could see. The design and the material screamed alien. Her mouth was open in awe. She did a quick check to make sure she wasn’t drooling.
Then her eyes alighted on the castle. The one that looked like the castle lying on her lap.
“I scanned it and had my house reconfigured to look like the castle with some improvements.”
“You can’t do that.” She stumbled over her words. “I mean something like this takes years not hours to do.”
“Rearranging molecular structures are something my people excel in.”
“Thank you.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the castle in front of her. It was a marvel in architect, but what made it special was Lyrek having it done especially for her. “Won’t you feel weird living in a castle?”
“No, it was the biggest residence before I had it changed. It represents who I am to our people, the hope of the future. That means it gets to be huge and ostentatious. At least I like this design.”
She threw him a grin still not believing her eyes. “Lyrek, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but why are there so many buildings here?”
“These are the dwellings or homes of my people.”
“I thought there was only a few you, like fifty or one hundred. This looks likes thousands or tens of thousands.”
He changed course allowing her to see the land they had claimed as well as the houses built on it.
“There are thousands of us. We range from very young, roughly ten years old your age to very old.”
She opened her mouth to ask about her government before she closed it. Lyrek took them to the castle parking on the street in front of it. It was surrounded by grounds that were wide with grass or trees. She could see a flower garden on one side. There was even a moat.
“What lives in there?” she asked after Lyrek helped her out of the car.
“Nothing. I had it cleared out.” She nodded her head. Whatever lived in there had been nasty if she was to take a guess. They crossed the draw bridge made out of a light material she had never seen before. It was clear and allowed her to see what they were walking over. The sidewalks of the castle shimmered in the sun like it was encrusted with jewels. The steps in front of them were wide and welcoming. There was a large landing at the top of the steps and double doors that were at least twice her height.
The foyer was impressive. She was sure her apartment could fit in it. He took her to the left.
“This is the green room.”
Everything in the room was done in shades of green. It made sense, but still.
“Are all the rooms color coordinated?”
There was an inelegant snort as one of the males in the room looked at her.
She looked up to meet his eyes, his thoughts of her apparent in the blatant disrespect he was giving her.
“Jayton,” Lyrek’s voice cut across his smug look causing him to straighten up.
“Commander, sir.”
“Do you have a problem?”
“No, sir.” Jayton never took his eyes off of Lyrek.
Lyrek casually walked around him. Jayton gulped but made no other moves. Lyrek satisfied with what he saw moved back toward Jade.
“I want to introduce you to my abraza, Jade,” he told the small group of males standing in the room.
“Commander, how can that be? They only have one form.” The male next to Jayton asked.
“Lyrek, if I may?” he nodded at Rial.
“The humans are compatible with us. They have the possibility of surviving the bite. More importantly, they are the first species that we have identified that is capable of becoming abraza. Our commander has a hard choice to make. If he fails to find his abraza and bring her over, we will die.”
“Isn’t that preferable to diluting our bloodlines?”
“Yes,” Jade moved away from Lyrek to stand in front of Jayton. “It is always preferable to die and live in no one’s heart or mind because you were afraid to grow and change. Is that what you are proposing? Would you rather go out with a whimper instead of a bang? Can we put you out of your misery now? That way those who want to live will have a chance.” She stepped closer, so that she was in his face. Her brown eyes challenged him even as his hands tightened.
“You can’t talk to me that way.”
“Why not? Because you are male or because you’re an alien. Or is it because you’re a xenophobic piece of…” She bit her tongue on the last word.
“Did you hear how she spoke to me?” He looked around the room looking for help.
“That’s what I thought.” She walked back over to Lyrek giving him the ‘you and I need to talk’ look.
“Why are they here?” Shouldn’t she have a chance to settle in before she had to meet new people?
“You need a guard.”
“A what?”
“A guard.”
“Do I get to pick?”
“Yes, but since you don’t know anyone, I thought I’d take care of it.”
“That sounds good, but I want Jayton the xenophobe.”
“Jade.”
“She won’t survive.”
“I want him.”
“Your wish my queen.” Lyrek took her hand and kissed it.
“I gave up everything for you, don’t you think it’s time to tell me what’s going on?” Lyrek brought Jade to a suite of rooms which she could happily live and die in.
“You know more than you think.” He placed a suitcase at the end of the bed.
She took her time to look around. The bedroom was spacious with double doors that led out to a balcony. The bed was high and firm. She wanted to climb up and sleep for a while. The walk-in closet was a thing of beauty. The room was done in browns with hints of rose. She liked the walls and the way the crown molding was done. More than anything she loved those tray ceilings. It was beautiful, but she expected nothing less.
“Tell me more, tell me more.” She laughed feeling very Sandra Dee-ish.
“It’s all about the eyes.”
“Those gold eyes that are a symbol of the rulers of your planet?”
“That’s them.” He walked over to the balcony waiting until she followed before they walked out.
In the distance, they were surrounded by mountains. Behind the castle was a beautiful lake.
“This place is like a fairy tale. I expect my alarm to go off any minute and reality to smack me in the face.”
“I lived like that for centuries. I would sleep and believe that my dreams were reality, when I woke up…”
“If it’s been centuries how are you just finding a people that can be compatible with you?”
“It’s more than compatibility.”
She bent over the railing to watch the fish jumping in the lake.
“Lyrek?”
“We have three forms. The one you are looking at.”
“I love the form I’m looking at.” Her eyes raked him up and down. The heat she felt in her belly blossomed spreading through her achy breasts and down to her wet pussy. She definitely liked what she was looking at.
“Our second form… it was on the wall of the restaurant.”
She drifted back to the first night she and Em were there together. There was a picture on the wall that captured her attention and wouldn’t let go. She shivered thinking about it. It reminded her of a prehistoric sabretooth tiger, only much larger and more savage.
“You morph into that?”
“I do, we do.”
She shivered if only she could say it was with fear. There was something dangerous about being with someone with the ability to tear her throat out in a heartbeat. The danger was turning her on making her hotter.
“You believe me?”
“Yeah, maybe it’s all the books I read or the fact that I can see the truth in your eyes. It could also be because I swear, I can feel you deep inside of me. That is scarier than anything I have encountered so far.”
“Then there is our third form.” He turned and left the balcony walking through the bedroom until he reached the living room.
Jade followed him her toes sinking into the plush rug that covered the floors.
“Don’t tell me, I figured it out.” Her unnaturally bright voice stopped the pacing he was doing. “You’re a hermaphrodite. Half the time your male and the other half your female and you never know when you will change.”
His lips trembled as he looked at her shaking his head.
“I’m right come on admit it. I can’t wait to see you in your girl form, I bet you're soooo cute.” He lost it. Laughter tumbled over his lips as his body shook.
“So, I guess that’s not it?” She raised a brow. “Alright, I was hoping this wasn’t it. Part of you turns into a savage beast, but the other half of you turns into a small fairy, think Tinkerbell.”
“You’re a very sick woman.” He pulled her towards him.
She went into his arms as he leaned against the back of the couch.
“You think I’m sick?”
“I do.” He bent and kissed her lips. There was the soft pressure of his lips against hers before his tongue darted out to taste her. “You taste good.”
“Peach lip gloss,” she murmured against his lips.
“And the exotic taste underneath?”
“All me.” She went to her tiptoes presenting her lips for another kiss. It was much deeper this time as she opened her mouth. His tongue moved against hers. The ridges on it no longer surprised her but helped to take the heat in her body up another notch. She rubbed against him thinking of herself as a cat in heat. She was aching and only he could put out the fire.
“Lyrek,” she mumbled more to herself than him as she rubbed her hard nipples across his chest. She wanted to be touched. His fingers needed to pinch her nipples, pull on them, while his dick was buried deep in her pussy pounding into her.
A low growl came out of him before he pushed her away.
“What? Why?” She ran her hand through her hair frustrated. It made sense before why he kissed and ran, but now it was just the two of them. She already committed her life to his, no matter how long it was. This felt a little like torture.
“Our third form,” he took her hand and led her to the couch to sit. “It doesn’t just come and not everyone can reach it. The door has to be opened for the strong ones to access the form.”
“I have a strong suspicion we’re not talking door like the one on the bedroom.”
Jade didn’t feel like she was different from anyone else, but she knew from listening to Lyrek that this was important. Not everyone could do it. That’s why they were on earth hoping to find at least one person who could be to him what was needed.
“Are you saying we get horizontal and this door will open and everything will be good?” The answer to the question was no. She knew that stupid didn’t look good on her. Nothing was ever that easy, at least not for her.
He gave her that look, it made her want to laugh and cry at the same time. Part of this amused her. She could think of ways to tease him to make him smile or be still her heart, to make him laugh again. Part of her was frightened she knew that what they were talking about were life and death. Not just her life and death but the lives or deaths of a people that were tired and homeless. They had crossed the galaxy looking for salvation that was now in the hands of a fragile human. Yeah, she wanted to cry and hide.
“We open the door, you and I, but it’s a process. Step one you must survive mating with my byema while I am at my zenith.”
“I’m not into video games but I’m pretty sure they save that kind of thing for step ten or even twenty.” That smile she craved made an appearance as he shook his head.
“Step one we spend some time together. That way we can see what happens. I can’t say what my beast—.
“Your prehistoric, vicious, man-eating, sabretooth.” She wanted to give him different ways to think of his second form.
“Yeah that. He wants to come out and play with you. I don’t know how much longer I can keep him contained.”
“Confession time. Most girls wanted to be Jane. Nope, nada, not me. I wanted to be Tarzan. I mean Jane was well pasty but Tarzan was the cool one swinging on the vines, talking to the animals. I’m sure sabre and I will have a grand time.” She was having thoughts of her intestines hanging around his neck, but she wasn’t going to admit that.
There was some quote she was sure the old people said about acting fast and repenting slow. She couldn’t remember it but she could feel it. Note too self: spend years immersed in the alien culture before you commit.
“I am not familiar with this Tarzan and Jane.”
“That’s because you have a people to lead, I, on the other hand, watched television.”
“Step two.”
“Nope, something should be a surprise. Let’s just bask in step one, besides I need to know how to get out of here when I feel like going shopping or to a play. You know the important things in life.”
“It would be better for you to stay inside the shields. You’ll be safe that way.”
Kind of thought you’d say that. Too bad it wasn’t going to happen. The windows around were all floor to ceiling but there weren’t any curt
ains.
“Why don’t we have any privacy?” She pointed to the windows as she asked.
“All the windows are tinted on the outside, no one can see in. They have the ability to be tinted from ten percent to one hundred on the inside.”
Which meant if anyone was able to get into their suite that no one outside would be able to see inside to help them.
“Will you be staying within the confines of the shields?”
“I can’t.”
“I thought if you died, the hope of the future dies with you.”
“There is no hope if I hide away and allow others to do for me what I need to get done.”
“Then as your queen, I will follow your example and not hide away.”
“Wait… what?” A sneaky smile made its way to his lips. “I like the way you did that.”
“Did what?” Never admit when you just played someone even if that person could be the other half of your soul.
“As my queen you won’t fight the royal guards that will shadow you when you leave the palace.”
She scuffed her toes against the rug and hoped he wasn’t paying attention as she resisted the urge to pull on her hair. She had forgotten the guard conversation in the midst of everything else. Several arguments came and went, the only one that had any merit was in Lyrek’s favor. She didn’t want to die because she wasn’t equipped to escape the males coming after her.
“How many?”
“There will be a captain a lieutenant and six others.”
“Eight guards for one person?”
“Only if you want to leave.”
“Jayton will be one of my guards?”
“Why do you want him?”
“He’s real, I’ll know where I sit with the rest of your people by watching him. Unless you think that having him is dangerous then I would have someone else.”
“They are now our people. The only danger you will be in with Jayton is the desire to shoot him to get him to shut up. You will survive.”
“One down seven to go. Who do you recommend?”
“Rial.”
“Wasn’t he the doctor?”
“Combat surgeon. He trained in how to take a life as well as save one. he’d rather save but does what is necessary.”
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