by Fiona Jayde
I’ve failed miserably. I’ve got a stupid imagination, more interested in creating sexy aliens than man-eating ones.
“You are the worst alien ever. You’re not even remotely scary now, just uselessly good looking. You’ll never be a match against humans in a real scifi movie.”
Tears form in my eyes and then roll down my cheeks. It suddenly occurs to me that normal people don’t pray for man-eating aliens to hold them in their arms, and crying over something like this makes zero sense. These drugs have really messed me up.
The enormous devil lifts my chin, staring at my eyes in concern. He wipes away a few stray tears and examines them where they rest on his black-clawed finger. I notice his horns have rolled back into place and returned to their normal color…or what I assume is normal.
“Your eyes have been damaged,” the devil says, not only surprising me by actually addressing me, but addressing me in English.
That’s not even remotely believable. Aliens don’t speak English.
They’re aliens.
Looks like any dreams I had of writing a believable scifi novel are completely out of the question.
Not that those were ever my dreams to begin with.
I pull back a bit, looking at my surroundings, and I have to pause when I see the night sky with two huge moons hanging in the distance.
Crap.
This is not a hallucination even though my body feels like it isn’t my own. I may have drugs in my system, but I’m one hundred percent lucid…and I just smacked this alien across the face. I turn my head back to stare at him, feeling the first tendrils of fear unfurl within my stomach. My breathing spikes as he lifts a hand, most likely getting ready to crush me, but he surprises me by running a gentle finger along my jaw.
I hold still as the sharp tip of his black claw runs down the length of my neck. His hands are far different from mine, resembling something along the lines of a dinosaur’s talons. My breathing comes in even more labored. He could easily slit my throat with that claw, and I wouldn’t have a chance in hell of stopping him, not sitting on the floor of…whatever we’re on, leaning against his chest as his other arm securely pins me to him. He suddenly retracts his claws then resumes his soft caressing. I don’t know if he did this for my benefit, but I definitely feel less threatened without his claws at my jugular.
His broad chest rises and falls with his own heavy breathing. I feel like he’s gearing up for something, and since I’m no victim, thank you very much, I decide to fake it ‘til I make it and let him know I’m not afraid of him.
“If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with,” I say in a scratchy voice.
He blinks in surprise and removes his hand from my throat.
“Kill you? I would never do anything to hurt you. Why would you think this?”
I slowly pull back, testing the boundaries a bit.
His shoulders and chest are broad and appear hairless. He wears a thick vest that looks like leather, closed on the side with a tie of some kind. He’s watching me with a quizzical expression. Is he a monster? A devil?
“You kidnapped me, and you were holding a sharp, black claw against my throat. I just figured you planned on using it.”
His eyes widen, a look of hurt filling them as he shakes his head.
“That was not my intention at all. I am sorry to have frightened you.”
Such manners. This is so bizarre. I look around again, trying to get my bearings, trying to see if I can spot my ship in the vicinity, but all I see is endless ocean around us…on this tiny ship? What the hell happened to me?
“Um. Where am I?”
“You are on my boat.” He shrugs like I just asked a very stupid question.
Brilliant.
“Right. And who are you?”
“I am Kyllell, son of Koath. I am an Elysium. What are you?”
“What am I?” I’ve never in my life been asked this question.
Surreal.
“My name is Ada of the…Earth people. Earthlings. Humans. Or whatever. You can let go of me now,” I say, struggling to free myself from his very warm embrace.
For a moment, he seems to consider saying no. His arms tighten around me, his eyes looking down at me with what I can only describe as possessiveness. But then he slackens his hold, moving his hands to my waist to help me as I get to my feet. He releases me, and I stand, swaying a little. He stays seated, his knees on either side of my body, helping to steady me.
“Careful. You have been unconscious for some time. The poison from Chassak quills can make you weak and sick, and I think you may have hit your head as well. What are Earthlings?”
Poison, huh? I back away from him, walking until my ass touches the wall on the far side of the boat. I lean with my back against the high railing and gently touch my fingers to my forehead. I wince. Yeah, that’s a pretty deep cut, but I think I’ll live. There’s some clotted blood on part of the wound, but some blood still trails down my cheek. I hold my hand to staunch the bleeding at least a little, and the back of my ear is killing me, ringing even. I must have gone down hard when those quills hit me.
I realize he’s waiting for an answer to his question. “Earthlings are from the planet Earth. We call ourselves humans.” If he doesn’t know what Earth is, that means he’s not a rogue invader of our planet. Just a harmless alien?
Uselessly good looking.
Gazing at him, I’m beginning to realize that assessment isn’t completely accurate. The dude is massive. He’s also wearing what appears to be a swath of worn, brown fabric formed into a kilt-like shape and draped across his waist. His feet are huge and bare, tipped with black claws. They look pretty lethal. As my mind clears a bit, I realize all of him looks pretty lethal.
I know this isn’t Earth, but I’m trying to let that sink in.
Stay calm.
I can breathe the air, which is lucky, and the water outside looks similar to the water on Earth. Wait, could this be Earth in a different dimension? Or maybe I’ve gone into the past, like prehistoric times? But there are two moons, I remind myself. It can’t be Earth. So another planet then. Okay. That’s a new challenge. But at least I’m alive. I take a deep breath and try to center my thoughts. I can handle this.
I look around the boat. We’re out in a big body of water. It looks like the night is nearly over, the moons are already lowering below the horizon, and a strange glowing orb is peeking its way above it. Not my sun. I wonder if my skin will melt under its rays.
Happy thought. I’m just full of them.
The little boat seems to be steering itself, moving with even speed over the water. The waves around us are calm; no more storm.
I look back at the alien who calls himself Kyllell. He is sitting sedately, long muscled legs stretch out in front of him. I feel a strange tug, almost like he has a string wrapped around my chest and is pulling on it, trying to move my body toward his. I don’t like it, so I shove it back and ignore it altogether.
This planet is going to make me lose my mind if I can’t get my crap together.
Then I realize I can smell him—his scent is distinctly male and shockingly attractive. I know that sounds really weird, but it makes him that much more appealing. Sweat and musk combine with some kind of fresh soap-like aroma to create an extremely arousing odor. I try to ignore it. Being attracted to the devil is not on the agenda for today, no matter how handsome and hunky he might be. Still, I find I have to work hard to resist the urge to go to him, to sit back in his lap, and drink in the security of his protection. It’s that weird tug on my heart. I’ve never felt it before, but I really hate it. It makes me feel a bit wild and out of control.
I’m always in control. Well…clearly not over the last twenty-four hours, but my track record up to that point had been stellar.
Stupid alien planet.
“How did I get here, exactly?” I ask, swaying with what I hope is the boat’s movement over the waves and not more dizziness.
“I pulled y
ou out of the water. You were shot with Chassak quills. I am sorry for this. The Chassak species is a volatile, war-mongering one. My people have been at war with them for over twenty solar orbits.”
He draws his feet toward him, looking as if he’s about to stand. I tense, getting ready to defend myself.
His eyes zero in on my movements, his pupils narrowing into thin, black slits. He pauses for a moment and leans back against the boat, resting his hands on his knees. My shoulders relax ever so slightly, but I’m not buying this. I won’t let my guard down for anything. If those other aliens, those…asschaks or whatever, can shoot poison at me, what can this guy do?
“I merely want to clean your wound and bandage it.”
I shake my head, ignoring him. I don’t want his black-clawed hands touching me.
“Shot with what?” I ask, easing against the wall. I dab at the blood again, but it isn’t really that bad, so I simply lower my slightly bloody hand to my side, noticing the disgruntled look on the devil’s face.
“Chassak quills. They are very sharp. They are also poisonous.”
“I heard what you said, I just don’t know what it means. What exactly are Cherrr-tik quills? And wait, what kind of poison are we talking about here?”
He studies me with worry. I realize its because I’m swaying a bit. Is he afraid I might fall and hurt myself? Why does he care?
“Chassak quills. The ones you saw from your vessel. They are Chassaks.”
I swallow hard, feeling like my throat is swelling a bit. “The guys with the scales?”
He has scales too, but mostly on his arms and shoulders. Not on his face.
“Yes.”
“They shot me with their spiny things.”
“Yes. Their quills.”
“They were trying to…what…kill me?”
“Yes, or at the very least overpower you. Those quills can render an Elysium unconscious for many days. You Earthlings…human people...seem more resistant.” He gives me a look of wonder and something bordering on approval. Since I can’t really take credit for my gene pool, or explain why I’m managing better than other species, I don’t comment on that.
“Why would they want to kill me?”
“They saw you as a threat.” He shrugs a green shoulder, a delighted grin coasting across his features. “You fought back and took out their general. Most species do not attack high-ranking Chassaks. At first, I was surprised by your abilities.You are quite small in stature.”
“I may be small, buddy, but I can pack a punch,” I shoot back. “I think they might have been asking me who the captain was. You know…take me to your leader…and all that stuff.”
He gives me an angry look. “And the captain let you take the fall for this?”
“I am the captain.”
“You are the captain?” The green alien asks with surprise. He shakes his head, his grin returning. “That is unusual, is it not?”
I snort. “Yes, I am the captain. It’s not that unusual for a woman to be in charge. Does it make you feel like less of a man…er…being?” I give myself a good eye roll. I can’t even remember what he said he was. I’m just going to continue to refer to him as the devil in my mind and leave it at that.
“Not at all. I like the idea. Elysiums have many female leaders…we used to, anyway. But our leaders were large and fierce looking. You are rather…less so. You are small and beautiful. Are all Earthlings so small?”
I’m going to ignore the “beautiful” thing because I can’t unpack my feelings about it right now. I can feel desire shooting through my body, and it’s just not something I’m willing to deal with.
I’m also not so thrilled with the way he described the Elysium females. They used to be leaders? That sounds ominous. Honestly, though, I don’t want to know what happened to the alien’s females. I also don’t want to talk about how short I am. I may be five-foot-three, but I am just as capable as anyone else. I learned that through years of martial arts classes. It’s not about the size, it’s what you do with it.
That sounds dirty in my mind for some reason. This alluring alien is messing with me again.
Not a topic for discussion right now. The only thing I’m interested in is the status of my people. I need to find Thom and John and figure out a way off this planet.
“Where are the others?”
“There are no others. Only you and I are on this boat. I do not have a crew.”
I can’t tell if he’s being purposely obtuse. “No, the other people from my crew—two Earthlings, my friends.”
“I only took you, and I was only able to manage it because you fell into the water and got caught in the currents. Otherwise, I would have had to fight the Chassaks for you, and that may not have ended well. Very risky. The Chassaks took the others, as far as I know.”
I’m reeling with these revelations. Why in the world would he have bothered fighting for me in the first place? Then I register the rest of his comment.
“Took them? For what? Where?”
He shrugs again and gets to his feet. I’m shocked at how tall he is. Like I said, I’m pretty short, so it’s not that unusual for guys to be taller than me, but this alien is massive. Again, I feel a strange tug, as if he’s lassoed my heart and is reeling me in. I push the feeling away with an even more violent mental shove and move to the front of the boat where alien gadgets with strange symbols blink and beep. I figure this is the helm of the vessel and notice it sailing on auto-pilot at the moment.
Moving to the front is my pitiful attempt at putting some space between us. It doesn’t work, though. He follows me, but I turn around, throwing my hands out in a defensive position.
“Back away,” I say.
He tilts his head, his expression wounded. “Ada, I will not hurt you. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so when you were unconscious for hours.”
I study him for a moment, seeing the earnestness in his gaze, and decide, against my better judgment, to trust this alien devil for now. I nod and watch as he approaches. I ease back toward the front of the boat and look out over the water as he moves in beside me. His arm is close enough to brush against mine. I feel the hairs on my arm rise in response. I shuffle to my left a bit to put some space between us. He gives me a grin, like he knows exactly what I’m up to.
I don’t care. This girl needs space, especially from him and all his sexiness.
I sigh and run my hands through my hair, trying to shake off the feelings of attraction I’m having for him. This is so far out of the realm of normal. This must be related to the physical ordeal I’ve been through. I’m feeling vulnerable and needy.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“The ocean.”
Seriously?
“I can see that,” I say, annoyed. “But what ocean?”
The devil shakes his head. “I do not know its name.”
My head is aching and my dizziness is increasing. I decide to get right to the point. “Look, uh…sorry, I forgot your name.”
“Kyllell,” he says, giving me a look that holds a wealth of meaning, like his name will somehow be very important to me in the near future.
Weird.
“Kyllell, what planet is this?”
Kyllell looks at the controls and presses a few, adjusting the direction of the steering while checking some of the dials on the boat’s dashboard. “My people call this planet Draioch. I do not know of any other name. Its people died out long ago.”
“Aren’t you from here?”
He shakes his head, looking a bit forlorn. “No. My people come from a planet called Elysius. It is far away from this place.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
He looks at me carefully. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I didn’t come here on purpose.”
“Neither did I,” he replies cryptically.
I can’t do this with him right now. My brain is too fried to deal with sassy, sexy, alien devils.
I still
have so many questions, though, and I’m starting to worry that I won’t be able to get anything figured out. This guy is basically useless when it comes to answering anything. I stare straight ahead and try to come up with a plan.
First things first: what is the goal? That one’s easy. I’ll have to rescue Thomasina and John. Then we need to go after the sub-pod, assuming the Chassaks took that along with my crew. But then what? Could we find our way back through whatever trans-dimensional portal we were clearly sucked through? It had to be that stupid trench we were investigating. No wonder we were picking up so much seismic activity. The damn thing’s some kind of portal to a completely different planet.
Who knew?
Clearly, no one on Earth.
Which means I have to get back and warn them. If we go missing for too long, my boss is going to go searching for us, sending another crew out into dangerous waters, and the last thing we need is more humans getting sucked into a portal to another world.
More deep breaths.
Let’s focus on one task at a time, Ada. I place a shaky hand on my cut and wipe away another trickle of blood. First, get your crew back, then worry about the rest.
I stare straight ahead, feeling Kyllell’s golden stare on me, sensing another tug at my heart and even my mind this time around. I mentally bat it away, feeling like my mind and body are out to betray me. Shock is not my friend. It’s making me want to do all sorts of naughty things with this alien…an alien who may want to hurt me. My hormones need to simmer down, folks. This is not some erotic vacation with a sexy devil.
This is now about survival, and it’s time to start formulating a plan to save my crew.
She is intoxicating. I watch her pace the deck of my ship, her stride fluid and confident despite the rocking of the ship and the still-present poison in her blood. She’s so small, but I can already tell she is strong. Courageous. How did she put it? She “packs a punch”. I laugh to myself. Yes, I can see how she would.
I think about touching her, bringing her to my bed, and laying her down, watching her hair glisten under the lights of my cave. That hair—it is like magic. Somehow it is dark yet shining with light at the same time. She keeps it fairly short, shaved on one side and curling around her ear on the other. That’s where I managed to insert her translator chip while she was unconscious. I thought it better to do it then and save her the added pain when she awoke, disoriented and distrusting.