Sunlight

by Amanda Ashley

  When she asked him of Micah’s whereabouts, he’d merely smiled and shrugged.

  Dressing quickly, she had tried the door, only to find it locked.

  Muttering a very unladylike oath, she began to pace again, her imagination running wild.

  Micah was dead.

  She was being taken to an alien planet to be studied like a bug under a microscope.

  She was going to be sold as a love slave to some horrible, slimy creature from another world. She shuddered as visions of the loathsome Jabba from Star Wars filled her mind.

  She whirled around as the door to her room opened, Micah’s name on her lips. But it wasn’t Micah.

  Pergith stared at the woman for a moment. She was undoubtedly quite attractive, but Zermicazyne had known beautiful women before. What was there about this Earthling that made his best friend willing to sacrifice his career and his home just to be with her?

  Lainey put her hands behind her back and clasped them tightly together. “Where’s Micah?”

  “Micah?” Pergith lifted one brow in amusement. “Is that what you call him?”

  “Yes. Where is he? Is he all right?”

  “He is well.”

  “Would you…can I see him?”

  “I am afraid that is quite impossible. You will be transporting soon.”

  “Transporting?”

  “We will transport you down to the planet. To Earth.” Pergith folded his arms across his chest. “I made…Micah, did you call him?…a promise that I would not erase your memory of this time. In return, I will require your promise that you tell no one of what has transpired here, or what you have seen.”

  Erase her memory? Fear coiled in the depths of her soul. She remembered Micah telling her that after his people interviewed people from Earth, the entire incident was erased from their mind. “I promise.”

  “Nevertheless, I would advise you to forget this incident entirely. Get on with your life.”

  “Can’t I please tell him goodbye?”

  “No.” Pergith stared at the woman, at the moisture welling in her eyes. He had never seen a woman weep. It was most disconcerting. “It is for your own good,” he said gently. “And for his.”

  “Is it?”

  “Yes. Zermicazyne has resigned himself to returning home. It is where he belongs. He has a duty to his people. If he sees you again, it will only make parting more difficult for him. And for you.”

  “But…but I…”

  Pergith drew himself up to his full height, steeling himself against the sorrow in her eyes, the overwhelming sadness of her tears.

  “I am sorry,” he said gruffly. “Jerva will take you down when we have landed.”

  Lainey stared at the door after he was gone. That was it, she thought. She’d never see Micah again.

  She felt suddenly numb, the hurt too deep for tears. She’d met a man she never should have met, fallen in love with him, and now it was over without even a chance to tell him goodbye.

  Some time later, it could have been an hour or a day, an alien came for her. Her feet felt like lead as she followed him to a small, oval room. She stood where he told her, felt a sudden sense of disorientation, of being hurled through space, and then, miraculously, she was standing on the hill behind the cabin at Chadds Creek.

  A faint whirring sound drew her attention and she glanced up in time to see a slender silver craft hovering overhead and then it was gone, and Micah with it.

  The tears came then. Buckets of tears. Oceans of tears. Sitting down, Lainey crossed her arms on her bent knees and wept until she had no tears left.

  * * * * *

  Micah glared at Pergith and then slowly raised his shackled hands. “Are you going to make me wear these until we get home?”

  Pergith shrugged. “Do you think it will be necessary?”

  Micah shook his head, the anger draining out of him. Lainey was gone and Pergith had laid a course for Xanthia. It was over.

  “I will have Jerva remove the restraints immediately,” Pergith said quietly.

  Micah nodded, his face impassive.

  Pergith spread his hands in a gesture of appeal. “I am truly sorry about the restraints.”

  “So am I.”

  Pergith swore under his breath, irritated by his friend’s sullen attitude. Zermicazyne had been a good friend; he would be a formidable enemy.

  “I will send Jerva to you,” Pergith said, and left the room, fearing he had lost his best friend.

  Micah sat on the edge of his bunk, staring at the floor. He was going home, but he felt as if he were being sent into exile, away from everything he loved.

  Lainey… He felt a tightness in his chest, a thickness in his throat. Lainey. He remembered the first time he had seen her. She had been wearing black pants and a pink sweater and he had thought her quite the prettiest creature he had ever seen.

  He closed his eyes and her image rose up in his mind, so vivid he could almost smell the fragrance of her hair, see the love shining in her eyes, hear the sound of her voice.

  With an effort, he banished her image from his mind. She was no longer a part of his life, he thought bleakly, but she would always be a part of his heart.

  He stood up as the door to his quarters swung open and Jerva entered the room. Wordlessly, Micah held out his hands and Jerva removed the restraints.

  “Commander Pergith requests that you dine with him,” Jerva said, tucking the restraints into his jacket.

  “No.”

  “As you wish, Commander. Shall I have something sent in?”

  “No.”

  Jerva stared at him for a moment, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

  With a sigh, Micah stretched out on his bunk and closed his eyes. She was gone, and his life would never be the same again.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Lainey! Thank God! Where have you been?” Dolores St. John wrapped her arms around her daughter and hugged her tight. “We’ve been so worried.”

  “I’m fine, Mom.”

  “Get her inside, Dee,” Ralph St. John said, hovering over the two of them. “I’ll get some coffee.”

  “Come in and sit down, dear,” Dolores said. She shepherded Lainey into the living room, settled her on the sofa, and covered her with a blanket.

  “Here, sweetie,” Ralph said, handing Lainey a cup of coffee laced with brandy. “Drink this.”

  Obediently, Lainey took a sip, coughed, and drained the cup.

  “Lainey, can you tell us about it now?”

  She nodded, then burst into tears. “Here, now,” her father said, gathering her into his arms as if she were still his little girl. “Go ahead, sweeting, cry it all out.”

  And she did, releasing all her unhappiness, all her heartache in a flood of tears that scorched her eyes and did almost nothing to ease the pain in her heart. And all the while her father held her and rocked her.

  When her tears finally subsided, she slid off his lap onto the sofa. “Sorry, Dad,” she said, sniffing. “I didn’t mean to drown you.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Ralph thrust his handkerchief at her. “I’m waterproof. You ought to know that by now.”

  Lainey smiled in spite of herself, then blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes.

  For the next half hour, she related what had happened up at the cabin and on the spaceship. Fresh tears welled in her eyes when she reached the end of her story.

  “And now he’s gone,” she said mournfully, “and I’ll never see him again.”

  “What happened to the bodies?” Ralph asked.

  “The bodies?” Lainey shuddered, remembering the charred remains. “I don’t know.”

  Deloris and Ralph exchanged glances, then Ralph cleared his throat. “We weren’t going to say anything, Lainey, but maybe you should know. A man came here the same night you and Micah were attacked. He held us at gunpoint for twenty-four hours.”

  “Gunpoint! Who was he?”

  Ralph shook his head. “I don’t know. He
wore a ski mask, but I’d guess he had something to do with the two men who followed you to the cabin. I think he came here to wait in case you got away and came home. I don’t know. He got real fidgety when you didn’t show up. He kept looking at the phone, as if he was expecting a call. He even picked up the receiver a couple of times, like he was checking to make sure the phone was working.” Ralph took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. “All I’m saying is maybe it’s a good thing Micah’s gone.”

  Lainey shook her head. “No…”

  “Lainey, think of what would have happened to Micah if the wrong people found out he was here,” Dolores remarked quietly. “The press would have a field day. Scientists would be poking and probing at him for the rest of his life.”

  She thought about the three men who had captured Micah, about the tests they’d performed, and knew that would be as nothing compared to what would happen if SETI or some other organization had gotten hold of Micah. Her mother was right, and she knew it, but it didn’t lessen the pain.

  Lainey frowned. The men who had followed them to the cabin had to be the same men who had captured Micah. But how had they known where her parents lived? The realization that her parents might have been hurt or killed hit her for the first time. She stared at her father and saw the knowledge in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Lainey,” Ralph said. “I know how much you cared for him, but I can’t be sorry he’s gone. I’d rather have you grieving than see anything happen to you or your mother.”

  Lainey placed her hand on her father’s and gave it a squeeze. “I know, Dad. Thanks for caring.”

  Rising, she hugged her father, then her mother. “I think I’ll go to bed.”

  “Good night, sweetie,” Dolores said. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Good night, Mom. Dad.”

  Heavy-hearted, Lainey climbed the stairs to her room, pulled off her sneakers, jeans, and sweater, and crawled into bed, praying that Micah would travel in safety, thanking God that her parents hadn’t been harmed.

  She tried to focus on putting her life back together, tried to think of a plot for her next mystery, which was due the end of the year, but to no avail.

  Micah was gone from her life, and nothing else mattered.

  * * * * *

  He sat in the car across the street from the St. John house, an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth. Gene and Mac were dead and the girl had come home alone. What did it mean?

  Turning the key in the ignition, he pulled away from the curb. The girl had come home alone. Did that mean the alien had jumped in his flying saucer and headed home, or was he merely lying low?

  Frowning, he turned down the alley that ran behind his house. The alien was gone, at least for now, but there was always a chance he’d come back for the girl.

  And Red LeMans would be waiting for him.

  * * * * *

  Dressed in his official fleet uniform, Micah stood in front of his superiors, his face impassive as the Minister of Flight enumerated the charges that had been filed against him.

  It was quite a lengthy list, Micah thought. Most of the charges were of little consequence, but his failure to follow standard procedures after the crash, coupled with his admission that he had intentionally put off signaling his sister ship, were charges to be reckoned with. And the fact that he had not only let an Earthling see him, but had lived with her and told her about Xanthian ways, only made things worse. And yet it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He had answered their questions honestly, not caring what anyone thought, not caring that he was likely ruining what had been an outstanding career. He had told them everything except the most important thing.

  Pergith had been called to testify. Micah had felt the commander’s sympathetic gaze as Pergith related all that had happened on his ship from the time Micah and the woman had come on board until the time the woman had been returned to Earth. Told in a straightforward manner, fact upon fact, Micah’s behavior sounded irrational, unacceptable. He wasn’t surprised when he was stripped of his flight status and rank for the space of a solar year. He was also denied the right to leave Xanthia during that period.

  Pergith was waiting for him in the hallway when Micah left the Minister of Flight’s chambers. Micah would have passed him by, but Pergith grabbed him by the arm.

  “I am sorry, Zermicazyne,” he said. “I never thought the penalty would be this severe.”

  “Didn’t you?” Micah stared at his old friend and Pergith released his hold on Micah’s arm.

  “I wish you would join me for late meal,” Pergith said.

  “No.”

  “We have been friends for many years,” Pergith remarked quietly. “What I did, I did because I thought it was best for you. And for the Earth woman.”

  “Her name is Lainey,” Micah said softly. “Lainey St. John.” He stared past Pergith, his heart aching with the knowledge that he would never see her again. He took a deep breath and expelled it in a long, slow sigh. “Farewell, Pergith.”

  “You will not forgive me for this?”

  “No.”

  Pergith inclined his head in a formal gesture. “Very well. I will not trouble you again.”

  Micah watched Pergith walk away. He stood there for a long moment, feeling more alone than he could ever remember, and left the building.

  Adana was waiting for him outside. He had forgotten how lovely she was. Her hair, so blonde it was almost white, fell to her waist in a mass of soft waves. Her eyes were as blue as Earth’s sky, her skin was a smooth golden-brown.

  “Zermicazyne,” she said, slipping her arm through his in an uncharacteristic display of affection. “I have missed you.”

  Micah nodded, wishing he could say he had missed her, too, that it was good to be home. But it would only be a lie, and so he remained silent.

  “What happened in there?” Adana asked in gentle concern.

  “I was stripped of my rank and my flight status and admonished not to leave Xanthia.”

  “I am sorry. I know how much flying means to you.” She squeezed his arm. “But perhaps some good will come of it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  A faint blush tinged her cheeks. “You were scheduled for an exploratory flight to Delton Seven when you returned from your last mission, but now that you’ve been…now that you will not be leaving, we can expedite the date of our joining.”

  Her softly spoken words hit him like an iron fist. He had given his word, his pledge, to join with Adana. Speechless, he stared into the depths of her eyes and wondered how he could possibly fulfill his commitment now.

  He remembered Lainey’s words, spoken in hurt and fear: Go home and join with Adana. She’ll probably give you a hundred sons. He thought of the nights spent in Lainey’s arms, the attraction that had flowed between them, the way his heart had swelled with love whenever she was near.

  In Lainey’s arms, he had learned the true meaning of love, of caring and sharing. How could he join with Adana, plant his seed within her womb, knowing their progeny would be raised by others? If he was to have offspring, he wanted them to be nurtured by Lainey. Lainey who so badly wanted a child and could never have one.

  Lainey… The thought of never seeing her again slashed through his heart like a laser blast.

  Adana was looking up at him, her expression worried. “Is something wrong, Zermicazyne? I’m sorry if I spoke out of turn. Perhaps now isn’t the time to discuss intimate matters.”

  She was smiling at him, the look in her eyes asking for his forgiveness.

  “I am sorry, Adana,” he said. “I…I have a lot on my mind right now.”

  “Of course.” She gave his arm an understanding squeeze. “We can talk about it later.”

  “Yes,” he said in a strangled voice. “Later.”

  Micah watched Adana walk away. Joining wasn’t quite as casual as he had made it sound when he spoke of it to Lainey. There were gifts to be exchanged, blessings to be obtained from the High Church, medical
examinations to insure they were both in good health, both mentally and physically.

  Each requirement suddenly seemed like an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome. The thought of buying Adana a gift reminded him of the bracelet he had bought for Lainey; obtaining a blessing from the church reminded him that he had asked Lainey to marry him—to be his woman, not just until a child was conceived, but forever.

  Joining with Adana, which he had once viewed as no more than an obligation to be fulfilled and forgotten, now filled him with dread. And yet, how could he refuse? It was expected of him, just as total allegiance to Xanthia was expected of him.

  He walked out of the city, needing to be alone. A narrow path ran alongside the river that supplied the city with water.

  Stripping off his uniform shirt and boots, Micah cleared his mind and began to run, losing himself in the sheer physical act of running.

  His pace quickened as the miles went by. His legs ached, his side felt as if it were on fire, perspiration dripped from his body, and still he ran, but no matter how fast he ran, or far he went, he couldn’t outrun Lainey’s memory, couldn’t run away from the fact that he’d been grounded for a solar year. Couldn’t run away from the knowledge that, sooner or later, he would have to fulfill his obligation and join with Adana.

  He ran until his legs refused to obey, until the pain in his side forced him to stop. Dropping down to the ground, he threw back his head and loosed all his pain and frustration in a long, anguished cry.

  He sat there for a long time, reviewing his past, his life on Xanthia, the numerous flight honors and commendations he had accumulated in the last fifteen years. He thought of how little he had to live for on Xanthia, and how much waited for him on Earth.

  Sitting there, gazing at the city that glowed beneath a pale-pink sky, he bid a silent farewell to his old life. If all went well, he would soon be with Lainey. If he failed…

  A wry smile lifted a corner of his mouth. If he failed, all his problems would be over. Permanently over.

  * * * * *

  Lainey glanced over her shoulder, unable to shake the feeling that she was being watched, but there was no one there.