by Marie Dry
She nibbled on her bottom lip, and he wanted to kiss her with tongue. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Killer sat in her lap, his ugly hairy body quivering with what Azagor strongly suspected was excitement and not fear. The rat tried to jump down, and she grabbed him and held him in her arms. “No, Killer, you can’t explore.”
“You may put him down if you wish. He cannot come to any harm.” If she held the rat much tighter, she’d crush him and then he’d have to find her another rat. Or get Viglar to clone this one. “Make sure she doesn’t notice when we land,” he told Larz in Zyrgin.
“I have the required flight hours,” Larz said.
Susannah quivered and tightened her arms until Killer gave a soft yip. She bit her lip and then gently put Killer on the floor. “Don’t go far, Killer.”
Every warrior was born with the need to conquer. Ever since he could remember, Azagor had wanted to be a technician, but he’d also wanted to explore and conquer other worlds. He couldn’t fathom such an insular life. He’d joined Zacar shortly after his second change, and he’d gone on conquering expeditions from the start.
Killer ran around, his nose against the floor of the shuttle. He sniffed Larz’s boots, and when Larz growled at him, he ran back to Susannah, growling back at Larz from a safe distance.
“Are you going to keep the rat?” Larz asked.
“She would not come without it,” Azagor said. He knew he was going to be taunted by the other warriors. None of them would accept a rat into their dwelling, but none of them had Susannah as a breeder. There were advantages to being a modern Zyrgin.
They landed inside the mountain in the shuttle bay, and Larz left them alone. Azagor picked up the rat and put him in Susannah’s arms. Holding onto him might make meeting Zacar and seeing their headquarters easier. He gathered her meager belongings under one arm and took her arm with his free hand.
“I have to present you to my leader. After that, we will go to our dwelling.”
Anxious midnight eyes stared up at him. “Do I have to meet him?”
“All the breeders are introduced to Zacar. He is our leader. Our laws are very strict. No warrior may harm a breeder. You have nothing to fear here.”
She didn’t say anything, but he could see she didn’t believe him. And, with the way her people treated her, he couldn’t blame her.
***
Susannah walked next to Azagor. Everything around her was silver. Silver walls, silver floors, and invisible silver lights. It was cold and menacing and, not even the thought of being put back in the pit scared her as much as this place did. “Where are we?” she whispered.
“We are inside the caves in the mountain.” He didn’t seem to feel the need to whisper.
It didn’t look like any cave she’d ever seen. Unlike in caves, the walls were smooth and straight and made out of silver metal. Lights came on as far as they walked. It was like magic. It didn’t matter if she walked faster or slower, the lights always came on a few feet in front of her. It scared her almost as much as the flying box did when it appeared out of nowhere. She’d never been anywhere but the farm. What if she couldn’t learn to live in this world? She wanted Noah and Azagor to be proud of her.
“We will emerge in the main cave and from there go to Natalie’s dwelling that is also built inside the cave. She is a human.”
“Is your place also in the cave?”
“No, I built our dwelling outside among the places of the other warriors.”
She didn’t know if she should be glad or worried that she wouldn’t live with this Natalie in the cave.
A large alien waited for them in the main cave, and Susannah sidled closer to Azagor. He looked scarier than Azagor did that first time she saw him. He was bigger than Azagor and wore a silver uniform as well.
Azagor leaned down to her. “Do not call him a baby,” he said very softly against her ear. His breath warmed her, and she shivered and nodded.
He stopped in front of the other alien and pressed his fist against his chest. “Zacar, this is Susannah, my breeder, who has come to live among us,” he said in English. “I am pleased with her. She is a very brave human who caught me in a trap she dug herself. I am pleased that she wanted me that much.”
That wasn’t quite how Susannah remembered it, but she wasn’t about to argue.
Zacar dipped his head. “Welcome, Susannah. You have been chosen by one of my bravest warriors. He is not only a brave and strong warrior, Azagor is also our tech warrior and the best in the known galaxies. He can repair anything. Azagor is on my command staff and responsible for all the equipment in this galaxy and is much valued by me. He is a brave warrior that has earned much respect from The Zyrgin.”
“He repaired my TC,” she said. The words slipped out before she knew she was going to speak. She pressed back against Azagor, but Zacar nodded.
“I am pleased that he is taking proper care of you.” Zacar motioned to a doorway that looked like it led to a long corridor. “My breeder is a human woman like you and has requested that you have tea with her.”
Susannah nodded because her throat was so tense, she couldn’t speak anymore. They walked down a long corridor and then turned into another corridor and, suddenly, she was at the entrance to an old farmhouse. She’d lived on a farm long enough to recognize it. Her shoulders relaxed.
In the living room, a tall, beautiful woman came to her feet. She was dressed in a narrow skirt and beautiful leather shoes with beads shining around her throat. She looked like the women on the TC, and Susannah felt backward and frumpy in comparison.
Susannah resisted the need to glance down at her scuffed and old black shoes. Now that she’d seen Natalie’s shoes, her own looked like men’s shoes. Ugly men’s shoes.
Natalie held out her hand. “You must be Susannah, I am glad to meet you.” She smiled at Killer. “What a darling little dog.”
Susannah shook hands with the woman and marveled at how soft her skin was. Again she had to resist the urge to look down at her hand to see if it was really as rough as it felt against Natalie’s smooth palm. The other woman sounded different when she spoke, but Susannah couldn’t figure out exactly why. She pronounced the words differently.
Susannah only realized she was shaking in Azagor’s arms when Killer barked. She loosened her grip and tried to relax, but the shaking wouldn’t stop.
Zacar growled something she didn’t understand, and Natalie stepped forward. “Why don’t we have tea while the warriors go and discuss whatever they talk about when they’re alone?” She gently put her arm around Susannah and led her to the couch. “My daughter will join us for tea. She’d love to hold your dog.”
Susannah nodded, still unable to speak. She’d braced for condemnation or pity or any other negative emotion. This acceptance by Azagor’s people was hard to fathom.
A little girl dressed like a warrior walked in and made a beeline for Killer. “May I play with him,” she asked politely.
“Susannah, this is my daughter, Alissa,” Natalie said pointedly, but the little girl only had eyes for Killer.
“Yes, but he’s very delicate, so you have to be careful with him.”
“I will guard him with my life,” Alissa said and drew a wooden sword from her back.
Natalie shook her head, looking resigned. Alissa carefully lifted Killer and went to a small table with four equally small chairs in the corner.
Natalie poured the tea and smiled at Susannah. “About a year ago, she decided that she will be a warrior. Every now and then I hear how she will protect me with her life.” She handed a cup to Susannah. “Which is actually much better than her plans to take many trophies in battle. I’m too scared of the answer to ask what kind of trophies exactly.”
Susannah smiled, but her heart ached. She wanted to tell Natalie about Noah, trade stories about what the children were up to. But she had no stories to tell about her son. Had never seen him smile or cry. She didn’t even know what her son look
ed like.
Susannah sipped the tea that tasted much better than any tea she ever had. “You have sugar? We ran out years ago.”
Natalie smiled and seemed to choose her words carefully. “The Zyrgins have a good supply of almost anything. If I tell Zacar about something I want, he seems to produce it from thin air.” She cut two pieces of cake and put them on plates.
It tasted even better than the small cake her mother had made her all those years ago when she turned twelve.
“I think of Azagor as a magic man,” Susannah confessed shyly. Her magic man--that was how she would always think of him. No matter what happened in the future.
“That’s a good description. When I first met Zacar, I couldn’t believe all the things they could do.” She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. “I’d give a lot to know how they manage to carry so many things in their pockets without it bulging out. Unfortunately, they are very secretive about their technology.”
Susannah shivered. She loved talking to Natalie and Killer was lapping up the attention he got from Alissa, but she wanted to be somewhere she could relax and absorb everything that she’d seen. Her mind felt oddly fuzzy.
“Why don’t I call Azagor, we can visit some more when you are rested?” Natalie said and rose. She went to the wall, pressed a button, and said something.
Azagor walked in and took Killer from Alissa. He put him in Susannah’s arms and picked her up.
“Thank you for the tea and cake Natalie,” she said and was ashamed of how shaky she sounded.
Azagor went back through the corridor they came in and crossed the large cavernous space with a sofa and chairs toward the back and an old kitchen table and stove to the side. “Our doctor will examine you. You need not fear. His woman is a doctor and will be the one looking at you.”
Chapter 12
Susannah stiffened and struggled. “No, I don’t want to go to a doctor.”
Everyone knew about the three cousins who’d defied the brothers and went to doctors on the outside. She wasn’t about to die horribly because outsiders killed people. Who knew what an alien doctor would do to her?
Azagor ignored her kicking and screaming and easily carried her and Killer through the huge silver walled cavern.
A woman with red hair and pale freckled skin waited for them in another silver room with an ominous looking slab in the middle of the floor. To Susannah, it looked like a gravestone. She sagged and moaned. No way could she outrun Azagor, but she didn’t want to lie on that thing. And she had a horrible feeling that’s exactly what’s about to happen.
The woman smiled at her. Probably the same fake smile the outside doctors gave the three cousins before they killed them. “Hi, I’m Madison. I’m a doctor. Don’t worry. I’m only going to use this scanner to make sure you are healthy. Azagor doesn’t even have to put you on the bed.” Madison didn’t wait for an answer. She held a slim silver thing in her hand and moved it up and down in front of Susannah. “You can hold the cute dog while I look you over.” She smiled at Killer who’d probably reached his limit of new people. He growled at her. “Hallo, cutie, let’s see if you’re healthy as well.” When he growled again, she laughed.
Susannah clung to Killer and tried to be brave. She could always run if it looked like they wanted to start cutting into her.
Madison frowned down at the silver thing in her hands. “You’re slightly undernourished, but that’s no problem. I’ll give you a shot, and you can come back once a week for more until you’re fixed.”
Susannah shook her head. “Please, no.”
“It won’t hurt. I promise you won’t feel a thing.”
What kind of monster was this redheaded outsider? Susannah burrowed into Azagor. “Please don’t shoot me.”
She was tired, and her head felt as if it wanted to explode with too many things put in there.
Madison bit her lip and fiddled with a slim silver cylinder. “You misunderstood. See this thing? I press it here, and it fills you with all the vitamins you need to become strong.” She sounded strange, and her face was turning red.
“Do it.” If it would get her out of here, she’d endure anything. Susannah scrunched her eyes tightly closed. That thing in the outsider’s hand pressed against her neck. “I am a sea-faring frog, I’m a sea-faring frog.”
“Why does your woman believe she is a frog? I cannot cure human delusions. One of the breeders thinks she’s a chocolate. I don’t want to deal with one who thinks she’s a frog,” the other alien said in English.
“She doesn’t think she’s a frog. It is her way of coping with a situation she doesn’t understand,” Azagor answered and held her tighter against his familiar warm body.
“Please, I want to go home.” Humiliation coursed through her. They must all think she was acting like a baby. The other alien even thought she was as crazy as the woman who thought she was a chocolate. Her mother had told her of chocolates, and Caine had promised to bring her some, but he’d died before he could keep his promise.
Madison nodded. “She’s fine, and I think it will be best if you take her home.”
“Our dwelling is a short distance, and we will have to walk.”
“I’m used to walking,” Susannah said.
She just wanted to be away from these scary aliens and the women who all looked like the glamorous people on the TC. She knew they thought her backward because she didn’t know things and because her clothes were so ugly and old. Her dress was long, past her ankles, and had long sleeves. Natalie’s skirt had been short, and Madison’s jeans were scandalously tight, and she wore it with a pink blouse that had sleeves that only came to her elbows. Brother Joseph would’ve beaten both Natalie and Madison for dressing like that. Susannah lifted her chin. She was done with that world. As soon as she’d found a way to earn money, she’d get modern clothes. Noah would be proud of her.
Madison smiled at her. “As soon as you are settled, we will visit. This time without me having to threaten you with injections.”
Susannah tried to smile back but could’ve cried with relief when Azagor took her arm and walked out with her. She didn’t like that room and their instruments that could put who knows what into her body.
They walked through the big cave, that didn’t look like a cave, up to huge doors that slid opened when they stopped in front of them. Susannah craned her neck but couldn’t see anyone pushing it open. She stepped outside. She didn’t want to know how the doors opened. A huge rock jutted in front of the odd doors. They walked around it, and she drew in a big breath. She stopped and stared. She could see forever from up here. Trees dotted the landscape, and something screamed. She looked up to see a large bird framed against the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
Azagor steered her down a well-trodden path while she looked around them. In the distance, something silver gleamed.
The closer they got to the silver buildings, the less she looked around her at the beautiful landscape with more trees than she’d ever thought to see in her lifetime. Her eyes were glued to the silver domed houses that loomed in front of them. What awaited her in this dwelling?
As if he’d read her thoughts, Azagor said, “I built the dwelling for you, but I have not put any furniture in it. There is a soft bed and a couch, but Natalie said you would want to choose the rest yourself.”
“I liked Natalie,” she said shyly. If Susannah could dress like her and know things, maybe they could be friends.
“My leader’s breeder enjoys inviting everyone for tea and to eat with her.”
He made it sound like the worst thing anyone could do.
She wasn’t overly excited about eating with outsiders either. When the others had left her behind, she’d decided that she’d find a way to get Noah. Then she was going to make a new life and throw off all Brother Joseph’s strictures. Now she knew that it was easier thinking of throwing off a lifetime’s teachings than actually doing it. “How long have she and Zacar been together?”
“Zacar met he
r shortly after we came to Earth, and he chose her after she hit him with a twig.”
She knew him well enough now to guess that the ‘twig’ was probably a branch. “He wasn’t angry that she’d strike him? Brother Joseph said any woman hitting a man will burn in the fires of hell.”
“Brother Joseph will soon change many of his beliefs.” He said it with that growl in his voice and again reminded her of a shovel cutting through rocky earth.
She said nothing to that but glanced at the silver, round dwellings that came into view. “Is this your city?”
It still looked strange to her every time he nodded. As if it was something he learned from a human. “Natalie City. It’s not a city yet, but it will be. Zacar named it after his breeder.”
To Susannah, it looked like a city, alien and enormous. She couldn’t imagine it getting even bigger. In front of them were four domed buildings, built relatively close together, and, in the distance, she could see more. Three large domed structures dotted the landscape. This was so different from the farm where she’d lived her whole life.
“Will I be allowed to walk around freely?” She didn’t know why she asked that. Once she got inside whichever round house was theirs, she planned to stay inside and stay safe. From the moment they got into the flying box, a fine trembling had started in her stomach, and it had spread steadily until all her limbs shook. Even Killer sat absolutely still in her arms.
Azagor moved his grip so that he had his arm around her. “All the breeders visit each other. I will be here when I am free of duties, and the other breeders will help you.”
Would they want to visit with her? Natalie had looked so sophisticated and self-assured. She’d been friendly, but what was Susannah supposed to talk about with such a grand person. “Are there many human women here?”
“Six, including you. Madison spends most of her time working in the hospital with her warrior and Rose and Zanr move around a lot.”