by Ken Rivers
“Promise me you won’t do anything without filling me in, B. You get hot sometimes and this means a lot to her, and me.”
Yari and Pusi came out the front door. B climbed back into her pod and shimmied around.
“B?”
She crossed her arms and looked out over the island flora.
Pusi ran her hands over the back of her pod. “Rail-bike nice. You redline yet? Speed so nice,” she purred, tapping the display panel and looked over the specs. She was slowly rubbing the handlebar opposite the Flit up, down and around. Her fur tensed and relaxed in a slow roll that ended in her tail flitting back and forth.
“I’ll show you when we’re underway. You’re here, and Yari, you’re right back there.”
B ran her hands across the ass-shaped divot left by Yari. “You might be half-elf, but damn if you don’t have the perfect Levani thigh gap. Can’t get this no matter how hard I train.”
Yari waited patiently until B was done rubbing her fingers over the broad vista in the middle of the two deep impressions in the seat.
“Is that a good thing?” Yari asked, plopping down and letting out a small squeak as the seat once again moved to fit perfectly around her plump, tan thighs.
“Good for some, blue hair.” Pusi was still a little agitated with B, and looked right at her while B was busy shimmying uncomfortably. B caught a glimpse of and they sat there, weighing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
I didn’t want to startle the bird into pecking one of my eyes out so I sat, slowly.
“I’ll try the coordinates again. Maybe we can simply cruise for a few days if we can’t find a pinpoint location.”
My Clear-tech slid into the ignition port. The sudden buzz and low growl of my ride must have startled the Flit because it took off. Damn thing was fast, too. Already a dot high above us and heading east toward the divide.
“Marrrk already losing?” Pusi asked.
The rail-bike lurched, compensated for the extra load, and took off out of the driveway and over the sparsely populated green hills of the human occupied island.
B was immediately unhappy with the ride, holding onto the sides of the passenger pod and bracing herself against the bounce and sway. Pusi, who had settled on wearing an interesting combination of a red tank top and white jean short-shorts, was the opposite, her ass up in the air and tail whipping in the wind as she leaned over the front edge of the pod. At least they weren’t staring at each other anymore.
Yari had been looking at Pusi and smiling the whole time. She wrapped her arms tighter around me and laid her head against my back. “How did you get here, Pusi?”
Pusi glanced at Yari hugging me tight but didn’t seem to mind. “Like most dealing with humans, I slave. I trapped here in Life-Tech cage till have sex enough time so can go home.” She slid her tail between my legs and the rail-bike slowed for a moment. “Thank you no send me back, Marrrk.”
“Bulging trigger finger, Mark?” B giggled.
“You no listen to red-hair, Marrrk, she smelling young love for you.”
B coughed and held her hand on her chest, laughing. “Love. Shit is way overrated.”
“How old are you, Pusi?” Yari continued her questioning.
“Middle age. Like, one hundred seventy years old.”
“Pusani live to be about three hundred,” B chimed in, “but they fuck like they only live for five.”
“Yes. During grandparents’ time, Pusani had big problems. Levani take over planet and enslave us. They say, Pusani make too many babies too fast. So, we can no have cubs if not request them. Population drop happen twice in history. One, when Levani conquer us and when they control baby making. This why only have four tits.” She plopped back into her seat, hugged herself, and flipped one out into her hand, cleaning it with her tongue
The lines of sorrow and regret showed Yari’s empathy. “I’m so sorry for your people’s suffering, Pusi.
“I like you. And no worry, not your fault.” She went for a second tit. “What your story, blue hair?”
“I was raised in the temple under the order of the Maidens. My family roots were hidden from me to keep my mind and soul pure enough to give myself completely to the Kaiju. It was practice for a ritual to become the Mother who, with the Father, bring life to the planet and balance to all.”
B gave a dry harrumph and leaned in over me. “Levani balance means every planet under the rule of techless law. But thanks to us, they’re landlocked her on Levan. The Pusani speaks about interstellar conquest like it was historical fact. They pass down information through the generations by story-telling. Leviathan, conquest, I don’t buy it.”
“They’re called, Kaiju,” Yari corrected her.
“I’ll call them what I choose, thank you very much.”
Pusi’s peaked over my thigh right at B. “Words hard, red hair?”
“Funny coming from a flea-bitten—”
“B, chill,” I said. She leaned back into her seat, arms crossed.
“Anyway, they all dead, blue hair.”
“Most say that, but as a Maiden, we are vessels of hope and prayer, regardless. If there are no Kaiju left, there would be no life. That’s why there is always reason for thanks.”
“Pusani attacked by Levani before I born. We good with fight, but Levani had Kaiju. Many died. Kaiju make magic happen in low sky of Pusani. Pusani almost all die. We live under Levani rule and I born. Then humans help. They help for price. One Pusani generation for service. Humans go on to kill Kaiju here, too. Now, sky mists poisoned. Your skies dead so Kaiju dead, blue hair.”
Yari went silent and hugged me a little harder. What was worse, I had no words to console her, because I worked on the tech that was said to have killed every last one of them.
“Why you come this place, Marrrk? You not horrrrrible fuckhead like all humans.”
I was having trouble keeping track of the Flit and we were already at the Divide Bridge. I didn’t want to get into another conversation of half-truths, especially not with Pusi. She spoke in simple terms but it could lead to both her and Yari pelting me with questions.
“Give me a sec here, Pusi. I might lose it if I don’t focus.”
“That’s what she said. Zing,” B said in flat irritated voice.
“Funny, B.”
The Flit took a hard right and angled down over the edge of the Divide on the Levani side. I pitched hard right and Pusi clapped as she watched me redline it to keep up.
“Why you come, Marrrk?” Pusi wouldn’t give up.
“Well I’d like to cum, but we were interrupted mid stroke. Ha-ha…” I cringed but thought puns might actually be useful for once.
“I think you got problem cuz male Pusani cum in seconds. Not you. First time with human. I like challenge and we no finish.” She gently slid her hand down my arm. “But why you come Levan?”
A firm hand slid up over my knee onto my thigh. “He came for the same reason everyone comes, to make money.” B had my back. “He has an engineering degree from a good training program and he just wants to go home. For him, home seems to be fishing out of a dirty old hole until he dies. Is that about right?” She also had my balls and was busting them.
“Couldn’t have said it better, B.”
The path leading into the gorge wasn’t too narrow, but at full speed, my butt was clenched so hard I could’ve put in a piece of coal and shat out a diamond.
“Mark,” Yari said, grabbing tighter around my waist, hands slipping to rest just below my belt buckle, “we are getting awfully close to the mists.”
The Flit swooped down, then, eyeballed me, and floated in front. It kept looking back like it wanted us to follow. It led us along the edge that slowly descended and became a path I could easily get the rail-bike down.
“Look up, blue-hair,” Pusi said, presenting the hazy sky above with a gesture more elegant than I thought her capable of. We were under the mists and I hadn’t even noticed. “The Dead Mists. Any closer and we be dead, but
we still alive.” Suddenly I had a second hand on my leg and a warm purr in my ear. “Lose Flit, we dead.”
B’s hand slid higher up my other thigh. “I don’t know about this,” she whispered. A rare hint of regret colored her words.
Grey pitch was roiling above and whipping past on all sides of us. I stayed as focused as I could with so many hands near my crotch. The Flit began to pull away. I looked back and saw the mists collapsing in behind. The angle of the path pitched down hard and began to narrow. The further the Flit got from us, the closer the mists came at our rear.
“How much farther, damn it?” I yelled.
The Flit spread its wings and came to a near dead stop. “Hold on!” I yelled, pulling the front of the bike up in full reverse while hitting the emergency brake. We fishtailed and dirt and rocks ground under the frame as it dipped and slid to a stop. To my left, I saw the gorge wall, the rock slick and glimmering with years of churning mist condensing upon it.
“Everyone ok?” I grunted, three women squeezing so hard around my privates that I thought I might pop.
The Flit hovered in front of a shallow cave opening, torches set ablaze to either side of a green door. Its beak opened wide, and a thin and breathy but understandable voice cawed, “Come.”
8
We got off the rail-bike and stood before the door and the Flit. Pusi’s tail whipped about frantically and her breathing quickened.
“Talking bird bad sign.” She licked her nose and got down on all fours. “No worry, I eat for you.”
I stepped in front of her right away. “Nobody’s eating anything. That bird got us here, and I’m pretty sure I wanna get back out of here.”
“I eat. Maybe I get mist block power, too.”
“Pusi!” I snapped at her and surprised myself. She was into my shit, but I still wasn’t sure how far I could push her. I had a Doberman when I was young. Damn thing got into the maxo-fridge and I yanked on its collar too many times while yelling at her, and she bit me. I feared a cat-woman might have similar standards.
The bird touched down on the slick ground and hopped around, talons clicking against the rock. “She won’t stop wanting to eat me. Pusani are very stubborn, human,” the bird chirped at us. “Don’t run.”
The Flit’s abdomen started to expand. It doubled in size before it began glowing green. Its wings were spread wide and looked like they were ready to pop right off under the pressure bloating the bird from within.
A sudden flash of light erupted around the bulbous avian and we all covered our eyes and stepped back. I peeked through my fingers and saw a striking beauty before us.
B’s hand slid to her wand. “I hate being wrong, but when I am, I admit it. Looks magic enough for me.” She tapped her right breast and the loose farmer’s daughter clothes morphed into a tight fitting body suit made of light gray interlocking micron-fabric. “A girl can never be too prepared.”
The woman’s long green hair to the waist was in stark contrast to the billowing black dress she wore. Made from heavy material, it hugged her around the chest and flowed downward from there. It didn’t move a centimeter in the churning winds of the gorge.
“Do you still wish to eat me?” she asked, arms swung wide to present herself as food for Pusi. She brimmed with power and confidence, raising an eyebrow to leave no doubt how stupid the prospect was. B was cocky, but this woman before us had a presence that was undeniable.
She glided across the ground straight to Yari, taking her small, pale hands in her own. She spoke something to her in the Levani tongue and I instantly sensed a regal quality. My beautiful blue haired nurse-mage blanched but looked decidedly relaxed in the woman’s presence.
Yari waited patiently and responded in kind, “You are too giving of yourself in your words, madam…?”
“You may call me Lana, my dear sister.” She smiled warmly and then turned to address the rest of us. “You, on the other hand, may address me as Lady Yen. We usually do not suffer the presence of off-worlders and occupiers here,” she said in a flat irritated tone, then looked at Yari and brightened considerably. “But, to meet this one, we are willing to suffer much.” She stared at Yari a bit too long for my taste. “I am glad the locket has found you, dear sister.”
Yari’s eyes lit up. “Then you’re my—”
“No dear, I am not your sister, but she looks forward to seeing you. We have waited a long time.”
“Who exactly is ‘we’?” I asked, adjusting the blade on my back.
She shot me a look of utter boredom, then walked to the cave door and pulled it open. “We are the Jian-Di.” She waited a moment for the statement to sink in.
There was a lot of power in that name for the Levani. Whether they called themselves that to piggyback on the shoulders of children’s scary bedtime stories to further their goals or not, I wasn’t sure.
“Save any further questions for my brother, human. He is the only one who will, or should, answer them. In the meantime, you will receive no threat to your life while here.”
B spat on the ground. “We’ll ask questions when we want, and you ain’t the bitch to say otherwise to us. You calling yourself Jian-Di? Forgive us if we don’t lay prostrate on the ground before you right here and now. I’ll tell you what I will buy right out the gate, you are hiding out in caves so you probably wash your brain daily in some idealistic pseudo-logic. As far as safe passage, assuming we even go with you, I say you’ll off us the second you get the chance and take what you want.”
I agreed but thought the situation required a bit more tact than that. I shot her a quick look to calm her down.
She shrugged. “That’s how I see it, anyway.”
“I’m sure you understand our reluctance to trust you, Lady Yen,” I said. “Is there any way you can guarantee that we won’t come to harm?”
“Jevim,” she spoke in a low commanding voice and locked her eyes on mine.
Four patches of air, two to either side of her, rippled like heat off a hot blacktop road in summer back home. It took only moments to see their shapes. Cloaked Levani archers kneeling low to the ground, bows drawn, each trained on B, Pusi, and me.
Lady Yen watched my reaction with interest then slowly looked upward. I followed her gaze and saw three more perched against the cliff side, just out of the reach of the swirling gases overhead.
“Drezim,” she commanded, and the archers lowered their weapons. The three from above dropped to join their brethren standing at attention to either side of Lady Yen. “Here is your proof. We could have ended you anytime we wished. We can, anytime we wish….but, we won’t. You appear to have come in good faith with one of our dear sisters, half-blooded as she is. As such, you are extended this limited guarantee to your lives. It is not an offer lightly given or rejected.”
Pusi walked forward. The aggression that hissed forth from her was gone.
“Pusi?” B asked, still pensive about the whole ‘trusting cloaked ne'er-do-wells hiding in a poison gas-filled gorge.’
“Is true. Humans no understand honor code. I no like Levani but Levani understand code. And Pusani understand. I trust what she say.”
B threw her hands in the air. “Mark? You’re going to trust this woman?” she asked, still unsure.
Lady Yen waved her guard in through the doorway. “This is what honor looks like, human. A rare trait among your kind, so I understand why you seem slow to grasp it.”
I put a hand on B’s shoulder and drew her eyes to mine and kept it quiet. “Well, we don’t have much choice, do we? Either we die by the arrow or die by sucking noxious gas into our lungs. To be honest, I’d rather go by an arrow. What do you say, Yari?”
“This locket is from my sister, Yare,” she said.
Lady Yen’s face remained placid. “That locket is the proof that you were meant to come to us, dear sister.”
Yari bowed. “I think trusting you isn’t out of the ordinary.” Then she turned to me. “The promise is a common assurance among my people. I think
she speaks the truth. We’ve also come through the deadly mists so I would like to see what they have to say.”
B sighed. “Fine. But don’t let your guard down too much. They reek of deceit.”
“They no reek red-hair. And she smell verrry nice.”
Yari smiled, hugged me close and whispered, “This is the first time I’ve spoken with another Levani outside the temple. She even addresses me as a fellow Levani. Please, let me have this.”
She was so close and smelled like sweet cinnamon. I nodded without hesitation.
Lady Yen and Yari exchanged some questions and answers in the Levani language.
“Thank you, Mark. I asked her about the healing arts just now. She says they are well-versed in them and can help me with whatever I need.” She held my hands in hers, soft and smooth, and warm even in the cold winds of the gorge. “Just let me talk to them first.”
She was desperate for it, that was easy to see. I knew she had led a cloistered life, but I couldn’t imagine how deep her desire ran to have normal contact with her people. I wanted her to be happy. I was also very keen on not dying, so the part about her maybe being able to heal me was at the forefront of my decision-making processes.
We followed Lady Yen inside. Pusi went first, followed by Yari, B, then me. The wail of the wind behind remained loud until the door slammed shut and the only sound left was the scraping of our boots across the ground.
We started down the long torch-lit passageway carved into the Levani island rock. The further we went, the more porous the rock became. It had a light blue glow but my eyes hadn’t adjusted at all. Lady Yen’s guard could have been anywhere, cloaked or not, and I wouldn’t have known it.
B fell back with me when there was enough room to walk two abreast. “Mark, if anything goes wrong, I’m calling for help. That hasn’t changed.”
“I’m as skeptical as you are, but we can’t do anything rash. We’re way outnumbered and totally off the grid right now. Let’s play it by ear safely and get out of here alive. ALL of us. They actually might just want to talk to her.”