by Maia Starr
“Look ahead of you at all times, human. This is not your world anymore. Doing the wrong thing could mean execution.”
I sighed deeply, wondering if the execution would be at his hands or if he was simply reciting laws passed down to him from the evil sounding man in charge. I didn’t have a lot of time to speculate about this though. Jaize soon led me into a huge, ominous building with a shadowed doorway, and a chill crawled up my spine. The place was a lot like a monstrous cathedral, only without the sense of peace or hope. Only despair.
We walked through a series of winding hallways until we finally reached a tall doorway that opened narrowly, and again I was reminded of how much taller the Verians were from humans. All of them, even the women, were at least a head taller than the tallest man I had ever seen.
“Commander,” Jaize said into an intercom outside the door.
“Jaize, come in. Doyan Vera, this is Commander Jaize Lorna.”
Jaize knelt abruptly, and suddenly his strong hand was on my shoulder, urging me to the ground with him.
“Doyan! Please excuse my intrusion.”
“It’s no harm at all, Jaize. I see you’ve brought somebody with you.”
“I have,” Jaize said, scrambling to his feet and pulling me along with him. “A human.”
He said this with pride and presented me to a rather stern-looking woman, whose eyes flickered over me and then back to Jaize as if she were unimpressed.
“You’re aware of the overpopulation issue in the prison?”
“Yes,” Jaize said, shifting uncomfortably. “But I’ve got a solution to propose.”
The doyan nodded her head and Jaize, heartened, continued.
“I’m sure you are aware of the unfortunate fertility issues plaguing so many of our yula.”
“Of course,” the doyan said, glaring at Jaize as if he had insulted her. Or maybe she had dealt with the same infertility issues herself. Both were equally possible.
“I was wondering if I might be permitted to bring this human home with me,” Jaize said, glancing back at me as if to gauge my reaction.
His home? Who knew if that would be better or worse than a prison cell? At least in prison there would be other humans, and I would be guaranteed a predictable level of treatment. Going into this man’s home as a prisoner seemed much riskier somehow.
“What do you want with a human in your home?” The doyan asked, arching a suspicious eyebrow.
“My wife has been overwhelmed with every loss of life that has come from her womb. I would like to take the household responsibilities off of her shoulders. Our staff mostly left to assist in the war effort. Perhaps with some extra help, then she might be able to focus her healing powers inward as opposed to on tasks that are menial enough for a human to do.”
“I see,” the Doyan said. “But why just this human? You could trade her for any other. I’m sure those who are experienced in the prison system have a greater sense of propriety than one you just randomly plucked off of Earth. We teach them etiquette in there, you know. The rules.”
Jaize nodded.
“Of course. Well, as you can see, I was injured. The human treated me with aid and set the bone to heal. I would like to have her on hand. It would spare the army the resources of looking after my wounds so that they can focus on the men who have been injured in the line of duty.”
“I don’t see an issue with this,” the doyan said with a lazy shrug. “But you do know what it would mean to keep a human in your home. You have a sense of duty.”
“Duty?” Jaize asked, clearly puzzled.
The commander’s gravelly voice cut into the conversation, and as soon as I laid eyes on him, I knew it was the man I had heard speaking to Jaize. He looked just as unpleasant in person as he had in my mind’s eye, and I did my best to look away before he could catch my gaze. The last thing I needed was to have him acknowledge me in any way. Who knew what might happen? Ever since I had been abducted, only two things seemed to ring true: I couldn’t count on anything as a certainty, and I had to keep myself more well-guarded. If I was caught unawares again, it could mean the end of the line. Not only for myself, but for Luke. The search had to continue, no matter what.
“The same duty you have to your wife, you have to your people now, son!” the older Verian man exclaimed, slapping Jaize on the back. Jaize furrowed his brow and glanced back at me as if he didn’t want me to hear what the commander was about to say. But of course, it made me want to hear it even more. The more I knew about the situation I had landed myself in, the better. If nothing else, I could mentally prepare myself.
“It is our job to create the super soldiers, son. As many as we possibly can. With our genetic code, they grow fast and strong. Within the year, we’ll be able to send the first batch of boys in.”
“But they’re just children!” Jaize exclaimed, looking from the commander to the doyan in shock. “What do you mean you’re sending the boys in?”
“You haven’t seen them fight, Jaize. It’s miraculous. It’s really going to turn the tides of this war around.”
“Still, I hardly think it’s fair…they’ve hardly had the chance to just be kids.”
“I don’t think you understand, son. You have to see them in action. They’re not going to just be kids when we send them in. They mature quickly, and the scientists are saying they’re going to have longer life spans as well. We have a twenty-year-old hybrid who says he reached maturity at age ten, and has a sharp mind and a warrior’s body.”
Jaize looked incredulous, and Doyan Vera turned to him, her voice a condescendingly gentle tone.
“Hybrids have been around for years, Jaize. Even before the war started. You’re just going to have to trust us. Those boys are going to turn this war on its head, and the humans won’t know what hit them. It’s your job to help that happen.”
The doyan looked meaningfully at me, and my stomach churned. If they were suggesting what I thought they were suggesting, they wanted Jaize to impregnate me with a hybrid child so that it could aid in the takeover of my planet. Did everybody on the planet think I was some kind of an idiot or something? There was no way I would be a traitor to my people. Especially if it meant my offspring would quickly be sent to war. It was unfathomable.
“If you think I’m going to let you anywhere near me, you are mistaken,” I said, shaking my head and backing up toward the door.
The doyan laughed lightly.
“She’s spunky. We need that in a soldier. Good luck, Jaize.”
Doyan Vera knelt briefly, nodding at each man before she stood up and headed for the door, leaving me alone with Jaize and the commander. The commander cleared his throat and grinned at Jaize.
“What I wouldn’t give to see my daughter’s reaction when you drag that thing in through the door like you found a stray,” the commander chuckled, his hard, beady eyes boring into Jaize unkindly.
Jaize pursed his lips, and suddenly I realized that the two of them didn’t have a great relationship. In fact, it sounded like Jaize was married to the commander’s child, and I felt a sudden, involuntary pang of jealousy jab at me. But what did I care if the man was married? I was going to get off this planet as soon as I could and go find my brother.
***
“Malnia,” Jaize called timidly. I almost laughed. It sounded as if he were terrified of his wife, not in love.
“It’s about time you got home.”
The woman’s voice that greeted him sounded irate, as if everything Jaize did caused her great distress. I couldn’t blame her. Everything he’d done to me so far had certainly done the same.
“I had a meeting with the doyan and your father.”
“The doyan?!”
Suddenly, a tall, beautiful Verian woman appeared, her eyes thin slits when she realized that Jaize wasn’t alone. I couldn’t help but wonder how this was going to play out.
“What is this doing here?”
I looked expectantly at Jaize, curious to see whether or not he
would admit that my being there had been all his own doing. But he simply smiled charmingly at his wife.
“Malnia, this human has been granted to us so that you can rest easy and recover from the recent loss of our child. You can ask her to do anything, and she will do it. Won’t you?”
Jaize looked meaningfully at me, and I sighed, nodding begrudgingly.
“She hasn’t been trained in our ways so it may take a while, but there isn’t any room left in the prison right now, and we need her here.”
“What happened to your leg?” Malnia said, not acknowledging Jaize’s words. “I swear, you’re the most bumbling—”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Jaize said as evenly as he possibly could. “I was outnumbered. The human is also experienced in medicine. She will be tending to my wounds so that Verian resources can be utilized out in the field. Perhaps when we are done with her, she can be sent to the field as well.”
My heart lurched at the thought. What kind of life would it be to run around a battlefield all day, right on my own soil, tending only to Verian soldiers? I would be a traitor to my people. And worse than that, I would never find Lucas. Still, it could afford me a good opportunity to escape. If I did my job well, perhaps I would be able to join the ranks on Earth and find my way back home. It was worth a shot.
Malnia wrinkled her nose. “She looks dirty. Make sure she is cleansed before she touches any of my things.”
Jaize nodded, but I could tell from his jaw that he was clenching his teeth. Was it possible that he was offended on my behalf? If so, it was somewhat sweet, in a way. But I could hardly allow myself to grow a soft spot for this man. He had been the bane of my existence. And now he wanted me to be his housekeeper? He had a lot of nerve.
“Come,” Jaize said as his wife turned away and disappeared into one of the rooms deep in the hallway. “We must get you settled in.”
My heart fluttered when I felt Jaize’s long fingers pressed against the small of my back, and he led me the opposite direction of his wife, down another dark hallway. I had no idea what the Verian meant by “cleansing,” but I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like it.
Chapter 3
Commander Jaize Lorna
When we reached the altar room, the female ahead of me stopped abruptly.
“I’m not going in there,” she said firmly. Her whole body quaked in fear, and I frowned.
“What’s wrong with it?” I asked.
“The smell.”
I frowned and sniffed the air.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, perplexed.
“It smells like the battlefield after…”
Suddenly, it dawned on me. She didn’t want to go inside because it smelled like the death of her people. Many succumbed to the power Verian technology, and the fumes wafting from the room were causing the human great distress. I laughed nervously.
“It’s just the smell of the vapors. It is a deep disinfectant. High doses of it are known to do more than purge, however, and were utilized in the weapons that we take to Earth. It limits environmental destruction that way.”
The female was quiet for a moment before she turned to me, her deep brown eyes shining with tears.
“My parents were killed that way,” she whispered. “And I’m afraid that my brother was as well.”
The human’s brother. If I was right about the communication I had received, I would be able to find her brother right there on Helna, but it would be cruel to tell her so in case I was wrong. It would be best to find out for sure before I told her.
It suddenly dawned on me that it might even be a horrible idea to let her know. She could ultimately end up doing something dangerous and reckless that would get her killed or dishonor my family name. Both were unacceptable. I wanted this human safe. She was mine now.
“It’s possible that he wasn’t killed at all,” I said lightly, choosing not to let her in on the fact that he may have been captured. There was no good that would come of revealing that knowledge. At least not yet. Perhaps I would be able to use it to my benefit later.
“I can’t go in there,” she whispered again. “I will throw up if I do.”
I felt torn. I didn’t want to force the human to face what was clearly one of the worst moments of her life, but I also couldn’t stand to be reprimanded by my wife for yet another thing she would believe I had done wrong. I had to make sure the human was cleansed. No matter what. Otherwise, my father in law would see to it that my human was taken away.
Malnia used him frequently in our relationship, tattling on me to him about this and that so that when we were having marital strife, I was also given strife at work as well. It made my life miserable, frankly, and I would do just about anything to avoid that. Especially if there was the risk that I would have to surrender this human to him, of all Verians on the planet. I wouldn’t trust her with him to save my own life.
“You are to do as I tell you,” I said firmly. “It’s for your own good.”
I knew she would hate me for this. In fact, I hated myself a little bit for it as well. But it wasn’t my own safety I was looking out for anymore. It was hers.
The human yelped as I pushed her inside the altar room, and I grimaced when I heard her begin to dry-heave.
“Not near the statue,” I barked, guiding the girl’s frail body to the corner of the room and handing her a basket that would normally have held the ceremonial fruits in it. Unfortunately, the planet hadn’t produced such fruit for going on twelve years now. All the more reason to head to earth.
The girl stood straight up and eyed me sternly. It was a look similar to the look Malnia gave me when she was angry that I had attempted to thwart her in any way. Truly, my wife had been spoiled beyond repair by her father, and I had bitten off more than I could chew by marrying into her dysfunctional, power-hungry family. Malnia would have made a great doyan.
“Are you done?” I asked, wishing I could show the girl more kindness than this. I was worried about the harm I was causing her, physically and mentally, but there was nothing I could do about it. My hands were tied. And sure, I could have left her on Earth, but there was just something about her. Something that felt fated.
She nodded, and I sighed in relief. I had never been so affected by the suffering of another. I was grateful to think that she would be able to endure the cleansing quickly.
“Remove your clothes,” I said, turning away to fill the basin with sacred water.
“What?” the female asked, clearly indignant. “I will do no such thing.”
“You have no choice in the matter,” I reminded her sternly. I had to remind myself not to raise my voice. It was considered a most uncivil thing to do, and if my wife heard me, surely she would report it back to her father.
“I won’t be shamed by exposing my body to you willingly,” she said, her amber colored eyes firmly set upon me.
“My Freg, Yula! You won’t stay naked for long! You’ve got to submerge yourself into the bath and then dress in the ceremonial robes for the initiation into our home.”
The female jutted her chin out at me and anger boiled in my breast.
“Come!” I growled, gripping her wrist and pulling her to the basin. It was nearly full at this point, and I twisted her around so that she was facing it. “In you go.”
“There’s a special place in hell for men like you!” she spat. But I couldn’t let her anger phase me. If she fell into the hands of Malnia’s father, it would only get worse for her from there.
“Take off your clothes and get in the water,” I said. “I shall avert my eyes.”
The female sighed heavily, and I turned away, just enough that she wouldn’t feel as exposed. Still, I had to keep her in my peripheral sight, just to make sure she didn’t try to attack me from behind. It was especially dangerous considering my physical health. Not only was I weakened from my secret disease, but I was also injured. Even a female from Earth could gain the upper hand against me far more quickly than I would
have liked.
“How can you justify this to yourself?” she asked, her voice low with quiet fury as she began to disrobe.
The blood rushed to my loins as her soft, radiant skin was exposed, and I averted my eyes sincerely this time. I couldn’t let my lust take over. Especially not now. There was no way of knowing how it would be received, but I could certainly tell that it wasn’t going to be favorable if I tried. I was in no condition to attempt to mate regardless. Especially before the human was cleansed of the evils on her planet.
“I’m not doing this for myself, Yula,” I said, in a way, reminding myself as well that there was far more at stake than the human could possibly know. It was difficult to be perceived as a bad man, and in a house full of Yulas, I was outnumbered by the energies of females who would just as soon kill me as look at me.
“My name isn’t Yula,” the human spat. I glanced back at her in my peripherals again, just in time to see her climb the golden staircase leading up to the basin and dipping her toe in the warm water.
“What is your name then?” I asked, shocked that I hadn’t thought to ask it before now.
“Christina. Dr. Christina Evans. I’m a medical doctor. Not just some human house servant.”
“Well, Christina,” I said, trying my best to ignore the hot flames of longing that were ignited deep in my abdomen as her lithe body slipped into the basin and became submerged within the water. “That is the other reason that you are here with me, is it not?”
I finally turned to face her now that she was mostly hidden by the deep water, and cleared my throat as I fetched the ceremonial cloths. She was to run them over every inch of her body, sending blessings and purification over every inch of her skin so that the ancient Verian gods would treat her as a guest in our home rather than a threat.
It was a sensual tradition, often performed by a husband to his wife, and vice versa, to ensure that not an inch of skin was missed. With this human, however, it seemed improper to go too near her, and I dropped the cloth into the basin so that she could hold it herself.