Ospar and Rivek were waiting for them in the grand space, their faces drawn in worry. The instant Iris walked in, she found herself surrounded by the clan, Jol still holding her weeping son in his arms. They seemed like living shields, as if their massive frames could keep her safe. Ospar and Rivek’s arms circled her.
The Dramok looked to his clanmate. “Jol, are they unharmed?”
“Physically, I’ve seen only slight scrapes, perhaps some bruising. They fought their attackers hard.” He sounded proud beneath the anger that simmered on the surface.
Thomas curled to the Nobek’s chest, whimpering. “Train is okay.”
Iris grasped the boy’s arm. Her voice seemed to float from a million miles away. “We’re all right,” she said in a strange, choked tone.
Rivek’s arm around her shoulder tightened. “You’re in shock. Your face is as pale as snow.”
The door announce went off. Ospar said, “Enter.”
An unfamiliar Kalquorian entered. He was extremely short for his race, perhaps only six feet tall. His earnest face composed, he looked at the knot of people standing there. “You sent for me, Master Rivek?”
The priest waved him forward. “This woman and child were attacked and have only just arrived. We haven’t ascertained their condition just yet.” He smiled comfortingly at Iris. “Imdiko Dala is a medic trained for Earther care. Please let him scan you to be sure you haven’t been injured.”
As Dala approached Iris with a handheld wave scanner, she plucked at Thomas’ coat sleeve. “I’m more worried about Thomas. Scan him.”
Ospar grasped her shoulders and made her face him. “You both need treatment, and I think Thomas will do better if he sees Dala scan you first. Hold still.”
Iris was too shaken to protest the Dramok’s high-handed taking over of the situation. Her mind was reliving the attack, seeing Thomas dragged off by unknown assailants, men who would take her baby away and maybe never give him back. She hadn’t been able to defend him no matter how hard she’d fought. It was a terrible realization, one that absorbed her so much that she didn’t protest as Dala scanned her first. She was pronounced healthy, and the medic turned to Thomas.
Thomas yelled, “No! Go away!” as Dala turned to him. The child kicked at the scanner when it was brought near. Jol whispered comforting sounds, carefully restraining the boy so that Dala could get a reading. Thomas squalled to have his arms and legs held still, the little bit of calm he’d gained disappearing quickly. The moment the Nobek let his arms free, Thomas flapped his hands wildly.
Dala looked at his readout. “No injuries. I can’t say why he’s doing that, though.” He frowned worriedly as Thomas looked for all the world like he was pretending to be a bird in flight.
Iris shooed away Ospar’s attempts to get the boy to stop flapping. “He’s stimming. It helps him release some of the stress. It’s okay now, Thomas.”
But the boy’s voice was edging higher and higher, coming close to a shriek. “Go home? Go home now?”
Jol bounced him a little, trying to soothe. “I can’t let you do that. Not until we know who it was who tried to abduct you.”
“You’re staying here,” Ospar declared.
As much as Iris wanted to remain with the clan, she knew Thomas was heading for a violent reaction. Thomas wanted to go home now, to the place that he knew best and felt most comfortable in. He needed his routine and the stability that came with it. The boy’s rising stress fed hers, making it impossible to think clearly.
She said, “He’s already way off his usual routine what with starting his work with Copin today and eating lunch here. He doesn’t know what to do. He needs to get back on track.”
Ospar stroked her hair. “What will ease some of his stress?”
Thomas screamed. “Thomas go home! Thomas go home now!”
Now it was Iris’ hands that wrung frantically as she tried to think of how to keep the boy from going completely out of control. “If he had his trains. He needs his belongings. He has to have his usual schooling routine he would be doing at home. I must get him home—”
Jol interrupted. “Tell me what you need and where it is. I will gather your belongings and bring them here.”
Ospar nodded. “At least three days’ worth. Clothes, Thomas’ toys, that sort of thing.”
Iris’ pride flared, confusing the issue even more. “I can’t – I mean, it’s too much—”
“Thomas go home!” The boy was actively fighting Jol now, though the Nobek seemed little affected by the kicking feet and flying hands. He was faring much better than the E.I.K. attackers had.
“We have to go,” Iris said. “Give him to me.”
Rivek spoke quietly in her ear. “You can’t go home right now, Iris. You have been attacked twice. Jol has this place set up like a fortress, so this is the safest place for you and Thomas to be.”
Ospar’s voice was firm. “You will stay here.”
Thomas went wild. He whipped his head from side to side, his screams becoming earsplitting. Iris was frantic now, but she didn’t know what to do. Thomas needed to be home, but home wasn’t safe. Even if they could go home, he was too far gone to ride anywhere calmly.
She grabbed at him, trying to settle him down and knowing nothing she could do would work until he’d gone all the way through his explosion. Until he was too exhausted to fight and scream anymore.
“Thomas, please,” she wailed and rounded on Ospar. “He needs to have his structure now.”
The medic spoke loudly to be heard over Thomas, his expression apologetic as he did so. “I can sedate him for a couple of hours. That will give you time to figure out the situation and put whatever he needs in place.”
“Do it.” Ospar gave the command.
Iris glared at the governor. “He’s not your child. I don’t like him unnecessarily medicated.”
The Dramok leaned close so he could speak in her ear. While his tone was firm, his hand rubbed up and down her arm in a comforting manner, as if to take the sting out of his words. “He will not be calm until you know what to do. It is obvious you cannot figure that out while he is losing control. For his welfare, I am taking command of the situation and will do as I see best.”
Rivek added, “Let Thomas be sedated, Iris. He will face his difficulties much better after he’s been removed from the immediate turmoil.”
Iris knew they were right. Thomas’ face had gone blood red and he was clearly beyond regaining his senses, shrieking, “Go home! Go home now! Want go home! Bye-bye!”
Her shoulders sagged. “All right. He’s only going to get worse.”
Dala quickly prepared the sedative. Rivek helped Jol hold Thomas still as the medic approached them with the painless injector.
“No! Thomas go home!”
Rivek held the boy’s cheeks between his palms, forcing Thomas to look him in the face. “I know, Thomas. This is very frightening and confusing for you. You’ll be all right though.”
“No, Rivek! Thomas go home now!”
Iris burst into tears to see the big men restrain her desperate child. Fortunately, Dala worked fast, pressing the injector to the side of Thomas’ neck. Seconds later, Thomas went limp in Jol’s arms.
That only made it worse for Iris. She sobbed, hating her helplessness to make her son feel better, to make things right when he needed her most.
Ospar folded his arms around her, pressing her to his chest. His pleasantly raspy voice was loud in the silence that fell after Thomas’ screams ended. “Everything will be fine, Iris. I promise. I’m sorry I was so demanding about putting him under, but I only want to take care of the two of you.”
Jol’s voice came next. “I’m carrying him to the room next to ours.”
“That will be good. We’ll keep them both close to us,” Ospar agreed.
“As close as possible.”
Ospar gently prodded Iris to follow Jol out of the room and down a long hall. Rivek walked beside them. “Come, lovely one. You will both be
all right now.”
Iris clung to Ospar, trying to find consolation in his strength and Thomas’ peaceful slumbering face.
They followed Jol through the house. They went down a couple of hallways, ending up in a long corridor of the big mansion. “The sleeping wing,” Rivek told Iris.
The Nobek stopped before a closed door, which opened obediently for him. He carried Thomas in. Ospar followed with his arm still locked around Iris’ shoulders, and she saw Jol lay Thomas on a tall, thick mat that reached as tall as mid-thigh on her. It stretched across the floor, large enough to allow an entire family to sleep on. The little boy sank into the soft blue linens. The only other things Iris saw in the room were vids depicting landscapes both alien and familiar.
Jol started pulling Thomas’ boots and coat off.
“Let me,” Iris whispered. Jol moved aside, allowing her to undress Thomas down to his underwear. Then Rivek pulled the folded sheets at the foot of the mat up to cover the sleeping child. The fresh scent of recently laundered fabric reached Iris’ nostrils.
Ospar rummaged in a drawer that had emerged from the wall at his touch. He pulled out a round, white cushion, which he placed beneath Thomas’ head.
Iris sat next to Thomas on the soft bed, stroking his overlong hair. She was no longer crying at least. Not when her little boy looked so serene lying in the silky blue stretch of bed. He appeared angelic, too sweet and pure for such an ugly universe.
Heaven help her. Iris knew she couldn’t live if anything happened to him.
Heavy hands laid on her shoulders. She looked up to see Ospar standing over her. He rubbed her shoulders, easing the tension she felt there.
Rivek told them, “Dala gave me another dose for Thomas if he has difficulty sleeping tonight.”
Ospar’s thumbs massaged either side of Iris’ neck. She almost moaned in reaction. It felt really good.
The Dramok said, “Perhaps he should have left something for Iris as well.”
She shook her head adamantly. “I don’t want to be sedated. I want to be ready if ... if...”
The tears suddenly returned. It didn’t matter if she was ready or not. She’d failed Thomas. If Jol hadn’t raced to get to them, she would have lost him to the would-be kidnappers.
“I couldn’t protect him. I fought them with everything I had, but I couldn’t protect him,” she moaned.
Jol folded his arms over his chest. “That’s what I’m here for and why you are staying with us. We will keep you safe.”
Iris looked up at him. Jol was such a massive man. Strong, like a mighty primal god. She wanted to believe he could keep horror from happening to Thomas. “Can you really? If someone wanted to hurt my child enough, can you actually guarantee that won’t happen?”
Rivek came around and knelt at her feet. His hands cupped her knees, their warmth chasing back some of the chill that had filled her. “Nothing in life is guaranteed. But you and Thomas will not be left alone or unprotected.”
Ospar squeezed her shoulders. “That is a certainty.”
Iris hunched a little, ashamed that she’d behaved so pathetically. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually so weak. But if anything happens to Thomas, I won’t survive it.”
Jol knelt next to Rivek. He reached to stroke her hair. Now all three men were touching her, calming her, making that feeling of security grow. That and the strange familiarity she always felt around them. A sense of rightness that shouldn’t be there.
And if Iris was going to be absolutely honest about it, arousal. It made no sense, not when she sat here, still remembering the terror of only minutes ago. Yet the heated tumbling of her guts refused to be ignored. She had the wild urge to throw herself into the shelter of the men’s arms, to make them kiss her and touch her and make the fear go away.
Iris dragged her rogue thoughts away from how good their hands on her made her feel. She attended to what Rivek was saying.
“You must not even contemplate such things as losing your son, not now when you’ve endured such a horrific shock. Just know you are safe with us.”
Jol’s quiet thunder of a voice was determined. “No one will get to you or your child while I am near, Iris. That is my vow to you, and I will give you my throat and the knife to cut it with if I fail.”
She drew a shuddering breath and blinked out what she hoped were the last of her tears, at least for the day. She managed to smile at each man in turn. “You hardly know us, but you’ve been so good to us. Without my even asking.”
Ospar returned her smile with a quizzical one of his own. “We have just met, haven’t we? I keep reminding myself of that. It’s funny, but I feel like a part of me has known you all along. What is that called, Rivek?”
“Spirit recognition.” The Imdiko told Iris, “It’s an idea some theologians have discussed through the centuries. It refers to the belief that the essence of who we are has already met before we join to a physical form.” He cocked his head and studied her face. “You seem very familiar to me too. The first time you and Thomas came to the temple, I thought, ‘Well, here they are finally.’ As if something in me had been expecting you to come along.”
“You even asked Thomas if he already knew you.” Iris blinked at him. “This spirit recognition sounds similar to the Earther idea of soul mates. But that goes beyond simple recognition. It’s the idea that two people are meant for each other.” Her face heated.
Jol watched her carefully. “There are more than two people here. I feel that even Thomas belongs with us.”
“He does.” Ospar looked at the sleeping boy, and his expression softened in a look of affection.
Iris basked in their acceptance of her son. “I wished I believed in such things.”
Rivek asked, “Why shouldn’t you? It certainly feels right to me.”
It felt right to her too, Iris thought. It had from the moment she saw Jol holding Thomas after snatching him out of Blaine Middleton’s reckless path. The first instant she’d seen Rivek and again when Ospar came to her home.
The idea should have frightened her. Such things simply didn’t happen, especially not on Haven where most Earthers held the Kalquorians at arms’ length. And yet the familiarity persisted, embracing her in comfort.
She swallowed. “This – this can’t be happening. We just met.”
Ospar chuckled. “As far as you can remember. However, I think my spirit recognizes yours, lovely Iris. I think we want to be re-acquainted.” He tugged her to her feet. “Come. Let’s leave Thomas to sleep.”
“But—”
“We won’t go far. Just to the next room, and we’ll put the monitor on so we can hear Thomas when he wakes.” Ospar smiled at her, not just with his lips but with his whole face. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Looking into those kind, purple eyes, Iris could almost believe him.
She followed Ospar into the next room over, with Jol and Rivek following them. They went into another bedroom, but this space was not impersonal like the one Thomas now slept in. This one had shelves with mementos like a hand-carved bowl, incense burners, and something that looked like a towel wrap carelessly dropped on the floor.
One wall was covered in still vids of Ospar’s clan, portraits of them through the years. The largest sat in the middle of the collection, a recent picture of the three men standing in front of this very house. The words Haven Colony Opens followed by the date floated beneath the picture. Ospar wore his familiar grin, Jol seemed politely stern, and Rivek looked as open and peaceful as ever. Other pictures ranged around this one, all with captions and dates. Iris stared at the two on either side of the middle portrait. On the left, a very young Ospar and Jol stood together in front of what appeared to a tree with sapphire-blue leaves. Ospar looked elated and Jol appeared almost lighthearted himself. At least the most relaxed Iris had ever seen him. He also had a livid scar, apparently fresh, on his chest, which was nearly bared in the wide-opened collar of a white shirt. Clanning Ceremony read the caption.
The other picture that caught her eye also bore the legend Clanning Ceremony, but this one included a young, smiling Rivek, and an unchanged Ospar and Jol. Unchanged except the two men seemed more serious. They still looked happy, but there was a wariness added to their features that hadn’t been there before. Jol wore a red shirt in this portrait, and his scar had faded. They stood very close to the ever-serene blue, silver, and brown-robed Rivek, almost too close for a casual picture. It was almost as if the Dramok and Nobek were reassuring themselves by staying in contact with their new clanmate.
There was certainly a story there, Iris thought. But that curiosity was eclipsed by the knowledge that she was in the clan’s bedroom.
She opened her mouth and tried to repeat her earlier statement: It’s too soon. The words wouldn’t come, especially as she looked at the three men watching her. The statement sounded like a lie.
“Monitor on in Guest Room One, receiving only. Now we can hear Thomas,” Ospar said. He sat on the edge of the immense bed and patted the surface next to him. “Sit down. Please.”
Iris never considered not going to him. Her legs moved forward and turned her around so that she sat close to the Dramok. She sank into the cloud softness of the bed, but all her awareness was on Ospar. They didn’t quite touch, but she imagined she could feel the heat of him, even through her coat. Every sense was on alert, every mote of her being at perfect attention.
Rivek came towards her and tugged at her coat’s clasps. “Let me take this for you. You’re going to overheat.”
She looked into his peaceful, kind face. She was alone with three near strangers that didn’t feel like strangers. In their bedroom. Sitting on their bed. Rivek and Ospar were sliding her coat from her shoulders, and Jol pulled her boots off. It was a situation no woman in her right mind would allow. Yet it felt so right, so perfect that she was there with them like this.
Spirit recognition. Soul mates. Utterly ridiculous. Yet it felt precisely dead on.
Ospar cupped her chin and raised her face to his. Iris gazed up into those cat-slitted purple eyes that were so alien and yet beautiful. His breath wafted over her face, warm and sweet.
Alien Refuge Page 13