by Lily Harlem
Eventually I came to my quarters. A sudden dash of hope sparkled like a shooting star through my brain.
Perhaps he’s come back.
I rushed in, muttering a quick prayer, a wish and a hope all in one. Maybe he’d found his way through the maze. Could parrots do that? Did they have homing instincts?
But his cage was empty, so was the room. It didn’t matter how long I stood by the doorway panting and staring, Magic wasn’t there.
“Damn it,” I said, reaching for my abandoned coffee and taking a slug. It was cold and vile. Grimacing, I spread out a plan of Equinox and tapped the tiny section indicating where my quarters were.
It was an effort to summon logic and decide where to start searching when the plan showed how vast the ship was. It was such a warren of corridors, pods, vents, and engines. Fuck! The engines and mechanical sections were enormous and complex, and I didn’t have a huge understanding of how they worked. Could Magic get into the blasters? The hatch that opened to the abyss of space?
I shuddered and beat down another need to sob. There was no time for that.
The corridors from my room led to the bridge and games room, and the pool, gym, and isolation pod which held Julian. Beyond that were the livestock and sleeper pod, though these were on opposite sides of the ship. I figured the main vents ran down the corridor and split into a fork at the isolation pod, over our prisoner’s head. Of course, there were many branches to the left and right along the way, a large one of which went to the gym and pool.
Which seemed as good a place to start as any.
Quickly, I left my quarters and set off at a fast walk. I had to try to cool down my emotions. Hysteria wouldn’t get Magic back.
I brushed my fingers over my lips, and a memory of Hurin’s sweet kiss made my heart beat faster for another reason. Being in his arms had given me a warm sense of security. To be wrapped in such strength, and in the knowledge he’d protect me no matter what, was exquisite. One thing I knew for sure was when I’d said he could kiss me again sometime, that had been said from my heart. He could kiss me again, and more. Because I wanted to get to know the Athion who had been distant the way a far-flung galaxy was, but now was heading my way, meteorite-like, and showing me more of his true self with each passing day.
I reached the gym and rushed past it without looking inside. The pool was in silence, the water so still it reminded me of a mirror the way it reflected the stars outside on the surface.
Pausing at the water’s edge, I closed my eyes and listened. The familiar faint whirring of Equinox’s engines filled my ears. I held my breath and wished my pulse wasn’t so loud.
But there was nothing.
All I wanted was a sign that Magic was close by. His claws would tap and scratch on the metal vents if he was walking, or rather strutting as I called it. But if he was flying, would he be silent?
I remained by the pool for ten minutes. Then with no evidence that Magic had come that way, I headed out.
This time I did glance into the gym.
Sai and Ezekeil were in there. Both wore black sweats that had been hacked off to turn them into shorts, the ends frayed and stringy. Their top halves were bare, and like Anki and Hurin, their blue skin was tight over honed muscles and tendons.
It was what they were doing that really caught my attention. It was some kind of fight, like martial arts. But more grabbing and twisting. Sai pulled Ezekeil to the right, attempted to knock him to the mat with a sweep of his foot but failed. Ezekeil reacted by hunching over and almost dragging Sai over his back. Sai sprang forward then bent double and head-barged Ezekeil.
Ezekeil grabbed him under his arms and staggered backward.
They both fell—a tangle of arms and legs and sweat-slicked skin.
What are they doing?
The fall turned into a roll then ended with Sai on top of Ezekeil with his legs either side of Ezekeil’s hips. Sai clasped Ezekeil’s hands and rammed them over his head, then hovered with their faces close. Noses practically touching.
They were breathing hard, their ribs evident as their chests expanded and contracted. There was something heated, homoerotic, and captivating about their connection.
I hit the button to open the door to the gym. It slid back with a small hiss.
Hot air washed over my cheeks, and the scent of unfamiliar cologne.
“What the heck are you doing?” I asked.
Chapter Nine
Both Athions turned to me, surprise on their faces.
“Working out,” Sai said, releasing Ezekeil’s arms and straightening. He remained sitting on his fellow Space Marshall.
“Is it some kind of karate?” I asked, stepping closer.
“If karate is warrior training, then yes, it is.” Sai suddenly jumped up the way a released spring would. He held out his hand to Ezekeil and hoisted him up, too. “Are you okay, my Custo friend?”
“Of course.” Ezekeil laughed and gave Sai a shove. “Would take more than a training session with you to do me any damage.”
I was fascinated watching them interact. After spying on them earlier and now knowing the true nature of their relationship, Sai and Ezekeil were all the more intriguing to me. Though they did seem to be indulging in a lot of fun time together when really they had a job to do. And I knew only too well that things could go wrong quickly when distracted by hot sex. “And while you’re doing your training session, who is watching the Trad?”
“Anki,” Sai said. “He offered.”
“Oh, that was nice of him.”
“Well, it’s not exactly a tough mission,” Ezekeil said. “I mean, he’s securely locked in. Food is being sent direct from the canteen via a chute, so there’s no need to even open the door until we reach Madoc.”
“I guess you’re right, but still…” I hesitated.
“Still what?” Sai grabbed a towel and wiped his sweaty brow with it.
“He’s still dangerous. They’re clever, remember, and even though they don’t look it, they’re pure evil.”
“Maybe on Tradrych or Earth,” Ezekeil said. “But not here, not contained and guarded. Here he’s harmless.”
“They’d be dangerous on Athion, too,” I said. “The Trads.”
“Not that they’ll ever get there.” Sai tossed the towel to Ezekeil who used it to mop his face.
“What if they are already?” I said. “What if we haven’t caught the first one making the journey posing as a human? What if there have been others who made it undetected?”
“Laird give me strength,” Sai muttered. “I hadn’t thought of that.” He seemed to pale a little and he worried at his bottom lip with his teeth.
“That would be a disaster.” Ezekeil paced. “Just when Earth women are settling down as Athion residents and babies are being born again.”
“And we have the antidote to the virus to give to baby girls,” Sai said. “To have Trads walking amongst families is…”
“It’s sick,” I said.
“Yes, it’s sick.” Ezekeil clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He appeared ready to punch something.
“We’ll have to hope Emperor Elrin has a solution. Have faith in our leader.” Sai rested his hand on Ezekeil’s shoulder.
“But what if…?”
“Don’t even think it,” Sai said.
“Think what?” I asked.
Sai let out a sigh. “Ezekeil’s three brothers have recently married an Earth woman. The thought of something happening to her is awful.”
“They have? That’s great news. Any sign of babies?”
“Not when we left, but I was hoping to wake up and have news of a next-generation child in our family.”
“I hope it works out,” I said. “Really I do.”
“When will you have Anki’s babies?” Ezekeil asked.
I laughed, a tense little sound that caught in my chest. “That’s a very personal question?”
“It’s the only question,” Ezekeil said. “For Athion men. And it
’s clear you two have a relationship. We saw how he protected you in the sleeper pod.”
“We need to save our species, and you, and women like you, are our salvation,” Sai added.
“Have you ever considered what a pressure that is?”
Both men were quiet. They glanced at each other, then Sai stepped close to me. Heat radiated from his bare chest, and he drew his eyebrows together as he studied my face. “We’re sorry if you feel that way.” He reached out and touched a lock of my hair. “It would never be our intention to do anything other than love and respect a female from Planet Earth. Never to make them feel pressured, even though procreation is so important to us.”
His fingertips brushed my skin.
“No,” Ezekeil said, also moving in close with his attention fixed firmly on me. “Every Athion dreams of having a woman like you, not just for babies but to love.”
I felt surrounded by them. They filled all my senses. But one thing filled my thoughts. “But you…you’re…”
“What?” Sai asked.
I was silent.
“What are we?” Ezekeil added.
“You’re gay.” I sucked in a breath. I’d snapped the words out, and it seemed wholly inconsiderate and rude now they’d been spoken.
“Gay?” Ezekeil frowned.
“What do you mean?” Sai moved another lock of my hair, tucking it behind my right ear. He seemed quite fascinated by it.
“You like each other, you’re in love.” I looked between their faces.
“Love?” Sai glanced at Ezekeil. “Are we in love?”
“No.” Ezekeil shook his head. “What makes you think that, Uma?”
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. Why were they denying it? “I saw you, together in the dormitory.”
“It’s where we live for now.” Sai appeared puzzled. “So of course we’d be there.”
“But I saw you…I saw…” Oh, just say it, Uma. “I saw Ezekeil sucking your cock.”
Sai’s eyebrows went from being pulled so low I could hardly see his eyes to shooting up to his hairline. “You saw Ezekeil sucking my cock?”
“Well, I did,” Ezekeil said. “Remember?”
“Ah yes.” Sai nodded. “So you did.” He grinned. “Thanks for that.”
I was confused. “What’s going on?”
“Why were you watching?” Ezekeil asked. He wasn’t angry, though there was amusement in his eyes.
“Julian, he—”
“The Trad,” Sai said firmly. “Don’t call him by the Earth name he gave himself.”
“Yes, the Trad, he told me to look in the room, so I did.”
“Why were you speaking with him, Uma? The captain wouldn’t like that at all, and neither would Anki.”
“Nor would Mateo,” I added, then silently put Hurin’s name on the list. None of the four crew members who each held a piece of my heart would want me talking to the prisoner.
“So why did you?”
“I don’t know really. I was just walking past, and it seemed polite.”
“He doesn’t deserve politeness.”
“I’m not a rude person,” I said. “And he’s most likely got the death sentence to look forward to.” I held in a shudder.
“Only what he deserves,” Sai said.
“I agree.” Ezekeil nodded.
“But going back to us being gay and what you saw,” Sai went on. “What is the definition of gay to you? Forgive us, we’re still fairly new to the nuances of your language.”
“Gay…well, it means you like men. You like sex with each other and not with a woman.”
Again they glanced at each other.
“Uma,” Ezekeil said, standing as close to me now as Sai was. “I’ve never had sex with a woman, neither has Sai, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to, or wouldn’t be honored to.”
“Oh, I see.” So they were bi.
“We’ve just…” Sai paused. “We’ve just found a way to cope with sexual frustration. It was tough becoming a man and being told we’d never even meet a woman, let alone find one to love and have sex with. We’re guys, we have needs, our cocks want to release seed.”
“Yes, yes, I understand that.”
“So you see, it’s just a way to relieve the pressure and find some kind of satisfaction,” Ezekeil said. “Luckily for me, Sai is a handsome warrior, and it’s not a chore to make him feel good.”
“I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said.” Sai laughed.
Ezekeil frowned. “Yeah, well, don’t think I’m going soft.”
“You’re usually hard.” Sai’s guffaws deepened.
Ezekeil cupped his groin, drawing my attention to it. “I’m hard now.”
Sai’s expression fell serious. “So am I. It’s what you’ve done to us, Uma.”
“I haven’t done anything.” Seriously. They were both ready for action?
“Just by you being here,” Ezekeil said. “It’s a natural response. Of course, we won’t do anything about it.” He paused. “Unless you want us to, that is.”
I licked my lips and stepped away.
Sai dropped his hand to his side.
A strange pull low in my belly told me my body didn’t abhor the idea of getting naked with Ezekeil and Sai. Would they pleasure each other, too, if we all fell into bed together? Would I get to watch them without having to hide?
I’d like that. A lot.
Tucking my hair properly behind my ears, I folded my arms.
“Would you be okay with that?” Sai asked. “If we all mated, if we all had sex?”
“Together?”
“Yes, together.” He smiled. “All three of us.”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Anki wouldn’t mind. Sharing is something Athions have accepted. It’s the only way for our species to survive.”
“Gavyn and Mateo would mind.”
“You’re with them, too?” Sai asked.
Ezekeil smiled. “That’s not news for me. I saw how they both were with you, when we first got the Trad.”
“You did, well yes, I am, with them too.”
Ezekeil tipped his head. “What about Hurin, the Southern Tip.”
“No, but…well…I…”
“Yes or no? Have you had sex with an Athion from the islands of the Southern Tip?” Ezekeil seemed very keen to get an answer.
“No, but he’s very special to me.”
“You do know they’re different?” Sai reached for the towel again and looped it around the back of his neck. “Athion men from that region.”
I trailed my gaze down his body; it was impossible not to. “Yes, I know they’re different.”
“And not just their darker skin and size, there’s the other thing.” Ezekeil raised his eyebrows.
“The two cocks.” I tilted my chin. “Yes, I know about that. I’ve seen an Athion from the islands in the sleeper pod.”
“Ah good, just so you know what you’re getting into.”
“I’m not getting into anything.”
“They’re very hard to satisfy, apparently,” Sai said.
“What do you mean?”
“A Custo friend of mine sought to sate his appetite for release with a Southern Tip, and it’s true, two cocks are twice as much work to please.”
“I really don’t think we should be talking about Hurin, another Equinox crew member like this.” The conversation was beginning to heat the back of my neck. “And I have more pressing matters to concern myself with.”
“More pressing matters than helping repopulate Athion?”
“Sai,” I said, pointing at him. “You and I will fall out, because I’m not about to drop my panties and have Anki’s babies, Hurin’s, yours, or Ezekeil’s, or even Gavyn’s and Mateo’s. Mateo, by the way, I’ve been with for a long time. So forget it. I have much more important things to do.” I glanced at the air vents.
Both Athions followed my line of sight.
“Magic, my parrot, he’s escaped.”
“Parrot?” Sai exclaimed.
“Escaped?” Ezekeil’s eyes widened.
“Yes, he’s my pet, a bird, you know, and he’s in the ventilation system somewhere.”
“Laird give me strength.” Ezekeil straightened. “This could be a disaster. What if he gets caught in the generators?”
“Or falls into the water store.”
“Guys, don’t give me more things to worry about.”
Sai caught my hand in his. “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. What can we do to help?”
“Gavyn said I’ve got an hour to find him, and then he’ll have to report the incident to the observatory. I don’t want that, it will go on my records, and I’m keen to keep them blemish free.”
“An hour, okay.”
“And I’ve probably used up half of that now.”
“We’ll find him.” Sai squeezed my fingers.
“I’m so worried he’ll get hurt.”
“And we’ll find him unharmed,” Ezekeil added, then, “Wow, I’ve never seen a parrot.”
“Let’s hope you get the chance.” I paused and strained to hear above me.
Nothing.
“Where have you checked?” Sai asked.
“Gavyn and Mateo are examining the CCTV that covers the vents; there’s some inside the shafts. And I’ve been to the games room and the pool. Hurin is checking the sleeper pod. I doubt he’ll come out of there until Magic is found. He’ll be too worried about something happening.”
“Yes, Southern Tips have very focused, intense personality traits.”
“Thank goodness,” I said. “Because he’s the reason we discovered the Trad.” I gestured overhead. “The vents are mostly above us, or at least the ones he’d want to be in. I can’t think of anything to do other than listen for him, and if he’s heard, open the nearest vent and tempt him out.”
“Where did he escape from?” Sai asked.
“My quarters.”
“And do you think he’s found his way back there?”
“I checked not long ago. I’m hoping and praying he’ll turn up in his cage.”
“He might.” Ezekeil squeezed my shoulder. “Never give up hope, Uma. That’s another thing Emperor Elrin has taught us. You’ve got to have hope.”