Sylor

by Elin Wyn

  I didn’t want to go in, but I did. “My darling Nesta. How are you, sweetie?” Prym said to me as I walked in, closing the door behind me. “Did you and your big green friend get what you were looking for?”

  I nodded apprehensively as I made my way towards Prym’s counter. “We did, Gamma. Thank you for telling us where to go.” I tried to keep my voice calm and friendly.

  She must have known something was up. “What is it, dear? What’s the matter?”

  It was better to be straightforward and not pull punches. So, I asked her outright. “What kind of business do you have with Odeon?”

  “Who?”

  That’s right, he had changed his name here. “Sorry,” I said. “I meant Viekat.”

  Her expression hardened. “Don’t tell me you work for him.”

  “I do, maybe. I’m not completely sure anymore,” I admitted.

  She was angry, and I couldn’t blame her. “How could you work for such a man? I thought you were better than that.” She was disappointed in me, and that hurt. It hurt almost as much as letting Sylor go.

  “He…” I started, then stopped. I looked back at the door, then got closer to Prym, my voice lowered so only she could hear me. “He didn’t used to be this way. I didn’t know he worked this way now.”

  “You mean he’s conned and bullied people before?” she asked.

  “Not exactly,” I shrugged. “Sort of, actually.” I gave her the abridged version of how he raised me and how we ran Sabre before the Xathi attack, including what he told me when I found him here.

  “So, are you going to keep working for him then?” she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. She stared me down as I hesitated. I blushed a bit, causing her to smile.

  “No. I think I’m done with him,” I smiled. Then my smile faded. “But, one of his goons is right outside.”

  “The ugly one or the tall one?”

  “Ugly one,” I answered, trying not to laugh.

  She grimaced. “He’s a mean one.” She let out a heavy sigh and reached under her counter, pulling out a small bundle of money. “Here’s this month’s payment.”

  “No,” I said desperately. “I’ll figure something out.”

  She shook her head. “No, you won’t, not with how he is now. If what you told me is true, your mentor has changed. He’s more dangerous now. He won’t hesitate to hurt people, he’s done it before.” She shoved the money into my hands. “Take it, give it to him. Then get out. Make sure you get out, and if you come back here…and I hope you do, I miss you…stay away from him.”

  I nodded and hugged her. I was breaking away when Ugly slammed open the door. “What’s taking so long?”

  “Nothing,” I lied. “We were talking. What, you got a date or something?”

  “Shut up,” he snarled. “Did the old bat pay you?”

  I never thought I could desire to beat someone so badly, but when he said that, I had a quick fantasy of beating on his face until he was pretty.

  “I paid her,” Prym shot back loudly. “Now, get out of my shop.”

  I shrugged and walked towards Ugly as he tried to stare Prym down. If he only knew about the blaster she had under her counter, he might act differently. He growled at me as he snatched the money from my hands and walked out. I shot a quick look back at Gamma Prym, winked at her, and left.

  That night, I packed my stuff.

  I couldn’t do this anymore.

  This wasn’t what I had signed up for.

  Odeon always went to sleep early and he posted a guard outside his door. I waited till I could hear him snoring and then I peeked outside.

  The guard, after a bit, went to go fetch some food. There wasn’t much to really guard against. And he wasn’t expecting that I would be trying to escape.

  But still, I knew I had only a small amount of time.

  As soon as the guard left, I tiptoed to the door. I looked back one last time.

  It held nothing more me. I had made such a mistake in staying behind.

  Without looking back, I left. Well, I did something first. I stole back Gamma’s money, and made sure that I put a little bit of fish oil in Odeon’s booze. I knew he was allergic to fish, so this would at least make him sick as hell. Bastard deserved worse, but I wasn’t a cold-blooded killer.

  Now, if he happened to ‘accidentally’ drink too much and die of an allergic reaction, that wouldn’t be my fault.

  I made my way back to Nyheim. Traveling the pathways at night wasn’t the smartest thing in the world for me to do, but I had done it before, so I knew what to look and listen for. I didn’t have any problems making it back, just worn out legs and a tired mind was all.

  The sun was barely peeking above the horizon when I got back to the dome. I walked around it until I found the hole Sylor had dug, still in the dark due to the dome. That tiny, small, miniscule, enclosed hole that was too tight and would cave in on top of me, burying me forever.

  There wasn’t enough air.

  There wasn’t enough room.

  There wasn’t enough…

  I had started hyperventilating. I couldn’t just sit here, and there was no other way to get in. I forced my breathing to calm down and knelt down by the hole. I slowly, carefully, stupidly put my foot down into the hole and found a foothold. I lowered myself, like an idiot, into the hole, fighting the completely rational panic that was taking over.

  I took a deep breath, then took four more, took an even deeper breath, and held it as I scrambled down. The instant my feet touched bottom, I dropped down to my hands and knees and crawled as fast as I could until I was out. I finally started breathing again as I hunched over in one of those awkward yoga poses some of the women did.

  I wasn’t sure how long I stayed there cursing myself for being stupid enough to go alone through the tunnel, praising myself for managing a way through, and swearing that I would never, ever, ever, ever do that again.

  I made my way into the small warrens. I made sure to pass along the news that Odeon was alive and well, sort of, in the Duvest underground, making a living while we starved and suffered.

  Many of them were angry and wanted revenge. I told them it wasn’t worth it, we needed to take care of ourselves. A few suggested rebuilding Sabre, and one of them recommended me. When I asked why, they said it was because I had come to know the aliens and made friends with one.

  “If we rebuild, maybe we can do something about that traitorous bastard that left us,” one of the older ones said.

  “Yeah, we can take over his operation there,” another said. That started a small flood of people and members wanting to rebuild and conquer. I shot them all down, told them that we had to be better.

  “Then stay, work with us, help us rebuild,” one more said, her voice scratchy.

  “I will,” I said. “But I have something to do first.”

  I headed above ground. I had to see Sylor. I wasn’t sure where he would be, so when I saw one of the guards that I had recognized, I asked.

  He looked like he didn’t want to answer me, but I was resolute in my demands. Basically, I didn’t let him go and annoyed the hell out of him until he finally told me, most likely to shut me up and to get away from me.

  “He’s in the armory. Has been for maybe two days. Can I go now?” He wasn’t happy with me. He gave me directions and stomped away, obviously annoyed.

  I didn’t bother hiding my smile.

  But there was something I needed to do.

  Sylor

  Sylor

  “Skrell,” I grumbled, looking down at the broken circuit board on the table. I had been trying to figure out the best way to build a delivery device for the toxin, but it was getting harder and harder to focus. I had been at it since the crack of dawn, and still no progress.

  Stretching my back, I paced the entirety of the workshop as I tried to think of something that could help. The harder I thought, though, the more my mind insisted on circling back to Nesta. I worried about her safety, especially since I knew
she had stayed with that arrogant little man.

  I found it harder to believe Nesta was loyal to such a man, but I had little understanding of the way human families behaved. It didn’t make it easier that Odeon wasn’t biologically related to Nesta, of course. But he had raised her, and so that had to count for something.

  Returning to the table, I exhaled sharply and pushed the broken pieces of the board onto the trash. Then, grabbing some new circuitry, I held the soldering gun and got to work. It was a delicate procedure, but most days I wouldn’t have had any trouble doing something like this. But, after finding and losing Nesta, it felt as if my skills had abandoned me.

  “Skrell,” I hissed through gritted teeth, frustration getting the best of me. Somehow, I had connected the wrong circuits and, in the process, rendered another circuit board useless. I threw it in the trash harshly, and was about to pick up a new board when I heard something that made me pause.

  “Man, you suck at your job,” I heard someone laugh right behind me, the softness of that voice making my heart stop beating for a second. Barely believing my ears, I turned around and... there she was.

  Nesta stood at the other end of the workshop, casually leaning against the doorway. She had her arms folded over her chest, and there was a bright smile on her crimson lips. I blinked, unsure if what I was seeing was real.

  “Is that really you?” I asked her, slowly lowering the soldering gun.

  “No,” she laughed once more. “I’m the general.” With that, she pushed herself off the doorway and rushed toward me. I opened my arms by instinct and she fell into them as if she had never left in the first place. “God, I missed you,” she whispered, her head against my chest.

  “Nesta...what are you doing here?” I asked. “I thought you had decided to stay.”

  “And I did,” she nodded, looking up into my eyes. “But I was wrong about Odeon. He isn’t the person I thought he was. I just couldn’t stay there. Besides, I knew you’d be useless without me.”

  “That is true,” I said, now it being my turn to laugh. I knew she was just joking, but she was right. Without her by my side I was completely useless. I couldn’t concentrate, I couldn’t sleep...I couldn’t live. Somehow, this tiny human had asserted herself as the axis around which my life spun.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t come back with you, Sylor.”

  “You don’t have to apologize, little one,” I found myself saying, holding her close. After being without her, I was almost afraid of letting go. “You’re here now.”

  “Yes, I am,” she whispered, going on her tiptoes to brush her lips against mine. I closed my eyes as we kissed, one hand on the nape of her neck as I held her. She felt so tiny against my body, so delicate, and that was enough to awaken my innermost protective instincts. But more than just feeling protective toward Nesta, I also felt a certain...possessiveness.

  I wanted her to be mine.

  “I missed this,” I said, both hands now on her hips. Moving fast, I pushed her back and pinned her against the wall. I leaned in, bringing my mouth down onto her neck, and I kissed her smooth skin as she moaned weakly into my ear.

  “Not as much as I’ve missed this,” she purred, flattening her hand between my legs. The pressure of her hand was enough to make me become even harder than I already was, boiling blood rushing through my veins at breakneck speed.

  “Then we have to do something about it, don’t we?” I asked, taking a step back. Without taking my eyes off her, I reached for my datapad on the table and tapped the screen a few times. The door to the room slammed shut almost immediately, and a red light over the doorway indicated it had been locked.

  “Good thinking,” she chuckled, swaying her hips as she moved toward me. Laying both hands on my chest, she then lowered herself until her knees touched the floor. She kept looking into my eyes as she unbuttoned my pants and pushed them down, freeing my erection.

  I gritted my teeth as she grabbed my hard cock, and I couldn’t stop myself from exhaling sharply as she ran the tip of her tongue down my whole length. When she finally parted her lips and took me inside her mouth, I was so out of it I wasn’t sure I could remember my own name.

  I had never experienced intercourse with a human before Nesta, but now...Nesta had become an addiction. Nothing I had ever experienced compared to the way her body made me feel.

  “So good,” I let out as she bobbed her head, her lips running up and down the length of my hardness. I laid both hands on her head and, allowing instinct to kick in, I started directing her movements while I thrusted. I would’ve gone all the way, but I needed more than just her mouth. Taking a deep breath, I beat my own body into submission and slid out from her mouth.

  “More,” I growled as I pulled her up to her feet. Grabbing her by the hips, I picked her up effortlessly and sat her down on the edge of my workstation. I swept whatever was on top of it to the floor and hurriedly kicked off my boots, eager to have her naked body against mine. I was about to reach for her clothes when she stopped me, one hand on my chest.

  “Easy,” she chuckled teasingly. “Don’t rip those. You don’t want me walking out of here naked, do you?” Taking her shirt off as I busied myself with pushing her pants down her legs, I somehow kept my urges at bay...at least until she was in her underwear.

  “You can walk out of here without this,” I said, hooking my fingers on her scrap of cloth that covered her loins and ripping it off her body. She squealed and said something then, but my heart was beating so loudly inside my chest that I didn’t even hear what it was. I just pushed her knees apart and closed the space between us, my mouth crashing against hers urgently.

  She reached down for me as we kissed and, angling my cock down, she pressed its tip right against her entrance. “Easy now,” she whispered against my lips, and I used all of my willpower not to thrust savagely. I slid inside of her carefully, enjoying the way her inner walls tightly hugged my length, and I only stopped when she dug her fingernails into my chest. “Good,” she said, “you can do easy. Now I want hard.”

  I said nothing.

  I merely grinned and got to work.

  Holding her tightly, I started thrusting as hard as I could. I cupped one of her breasts as I did it, and leaned in to suck her perky nipple into my mouth. The taste of her body was maddening, and it just made me want to ravage her even harder. And that’s exactly what I did.

  “Fuck me, Sylor,” she moaned, her fingernails digging into my chest like daggers. I didn’t even feel the pain. I just concentrated on her expression of pure ecstasy and on the way her inner walls became tighter and tighter, squeezing my thickness like a vise.

  “There’s nothing I want more than that,” I told her, weaving my fingers into her hair. I held her gaze as I thrusted, the sound of flesh on flesh echoing throughout the room, and I only changed gears when Nesta closed her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered quickly, and her body became so tense that I became worried for a fraction of a second.

  And then she screamed.

  Her high-pitched voice hung in the room from one second to the next, the sound of it brimming with pleasure. I just took in the expression on her face, one of pure ecstasy, and surrendered to the sweet release my body craved.

  Gritting my teeth, I thrust one final time.

  And, just like that, I exploded.

  Fire climbed up my spine in an inferno, and whatever rationality still existing in my mind was burned to a crisp as I came. Breathing hard, my body still reeling from the experience, I just wrapped my arms around Nesta and pulled her against me.

  “I can’t believe you’re back,” I whispered into her ear, still not believing her naked skin was against mine.

  “I had to,” she replied softly. Resting her forehead against mine, she offered me a little smile. “Life without you...it’s just not any fun.”

  Nesta

  “You are an interesting little one, aren’t you?” the alien named Rouhr said as I sat in his office. His red eyes were disconcerting. They seem
ed to stare right through me all the way down to the beginnings of my bloodlines, wherever—and whenever—the hell that was.

  He was a big man, but only slightly bigger than Sylor, which meant that they both towered over me and made me seem like a tiny little teenager. Then again, I had just stopped being in my teens, if you believed the birthdate Odeon had told me, and was still pretty tiny.

  Rouhr’s red skin was so much different than Sylor’s. Sylor’s skin was a deep, rich, vibrant green that was full of youth. Rouhr’s was a faded red that spoke to his age, and, I was going to guess, his experiences. His scarred arms told so many stories that I wanted to know, but didn’t think it was my place to ask, at least not now.

  “Thank you? Sir?” I responded. I wasn’t sure if he had complimented me or not.

  He chuckled a bit. “Relax. Everything is cleared up. You’ve been pardoned, no record of your transgression. The old lady isn’t even angry at you, she said that she knows what it’s like to survive on next to nothing.”

  That made me feel better.

  “Combined with what you and Sylor have told me about your excursion, as well as your connection to the people underground, I have a proposal for you,” he said.

  “What did you have in mind, sir?”

  “I want you to be a liaison between those of us on the surface and those below.” He took a drink from his water glass before continuing. “I’d rather have them all back above ground, but I can understand if they wish to stay below. It’s hard to change what you’re used to.” His tone led me to believe that he wasn’t just talking about the people below. I knew that Rouhr and the others landed here in a ship, found another one, and were now living here. I was pretty damn sure he was talking about himself and his people as well as mine.

  “You want me to be, what, a go-between for you and the underground?”

  “In a sense,” he answered, his head bobbing up and down a bit as he did so. “You have shown that there are some serious skills owned by your people, and if we work together, we can all help one another. If the toxin…we really need to name that stuff…if it works, then we might be able to bring the dome down. If it comes down, we can return to rebuilding Nyheim.