“Leave, Prax.”
Prax-Denay sneered at him. “No.”
Jorenkis gave him a look of disgust, then he leaned in toward Lisette. “How are you getting on?”
“Good,” she said. She concentrated on neither nodding nor shaking her head.
“How are you getting along with Prax?”
“Fine.”
“How fine?”
“We’re…getting a lot of work done.”
“Yeah, I heard. A friend of mine thinks you and Prax-Denay have gotten romantic. That’s not true, right?”
“Right.” She cleared her throat.
“Good. I still see you and me getting together. I had a lot of time to think things over. I think the best way to take care of your problems is if you—“
“No.”
Jorenkis blinked. “What?”
Lisette forced her eyes to meet his. Her lower lip trembled. “I don’t…want to be with you.”
Jorenkis glowered at her with the beginnings of a sneer. Then he leaned back in his large chair and propped his arms behind his head.
“Is that so?”
Lisette swallowed. She realized Jorenkis’ glare had moved to Prax-Denay.
“Yeah. I see why my friend was concerned. So you’ve been fucking her, huh Prax? Did she want it or are you torturing her?”
Lisette’s face flushed. She wanted to deny his accusation, but she’d already gone as far as she could. The imbecile’s challenge made her words get stuck in her throat. She was furious to the point of tears.
Prax-Denay merely sighed. “Are you done wasting our time? We were in the middle of a damned experiment.”
“Don’t try to deflect me. I bet you slept with her the second I was gone.”
“If you were so worried why did you leave us unsupervised?”
“I didn’t leave you unsupervised. I had the feeds of three different robots tapped to watch you two in the lab.”
Lisette felt as though her gut had been punched.
Prax-Denay remained smug. “Yes. And what did you see?”
“Nothing.”
Lisette stopped chewing her lower lip to eye him.
“Because you disabled their connections.”
“Damn right,” Prax-Denay said. “I don’t need your snide nose prodding into my lab. If you want to know what we’re doing, then drag your lazy carcass into work. The girl and I have worked ceaselessly since you’ve been gone.”
“I’m sure you found a few segments here and there for recreational activities.”
“I already told you we’re in the middle of an experiment!” Prax-Denay strode to the front of his desk. Lisette felt them to be united against their common enemy. “Are you going to lob baseless accusations all day?”
Jorenkis turned toward his console. That felt like a triumph to Lisette. He couldn’t confront the two of them head on. He spoke to his monitor.
“You don’t think she’s cute, Prax? She’s timid and bookish. Easy to bully. Just your type, right?”
“I think she’s a lure, set by you and your more ignorant superiors, in order to take me down. None of you can bear for an Etiken to be as accomplished as I am. Someone above you is intimidated and wanted to use a slave to destroy my career. Your convenient month long absence only confirmed my suspicion.”
Jorenkis shot him a dubious look.
“Tell them their ploy has backfired. Not only have I resisted your bait, I’ve used her to bring my work to even greater heights than before. Tell them this Etiken hasn’t touched a petal on the pretty flower you put in his lab. That’s something even Lord Drathek admitted he couldn’t do. For me, who is in all ways superior to you and your ilk, it was easy. I put her to work. I used her to further my supremacy over the rest of you dullards. That’s all.”
“All right!” Jorenkis said. “You’re not sleeping with her. I believe you.”
Lisette felt like clapping. Prax-Denay was magnificent! His words were so strong—so eloquent. She brimmed with pride to be married to him.
“He doesn’t even want you, Lisette,” Jorenkis said, while turning his face toward her only slightly. “I’m here, and I want to make it work with you. What? Are you going to just die unmarried?”
“Lord Elentinus said I didn’t have to—”
“He’s not here. I’m running things. I’m not going to let a woman go to waste when we’re practically extinct. If you don’t want me then you’ll have to be with someone else, and most of them here are from the old guard who think women are supposed to be collar-shocked into submission.”
Prax-Denay groaned and cupped Lisette’s elbow. “Up. Up!”
She scrambled to her feet.
“We don’t have the whole day to waste on your idiocy.” He pulled Lisette towards the door.
Once out of his sight Prax-Denay’s gruff hold became gentle. He hugged her against his side and kissed her forehead. Lisette stifled a joyful laugh.
Jorenkis remained in the building too late for them to share their evening meal together, a ritual Lisette had come to cherish. Prax-Denay and Lisette exchanged looks of abject annoyance when the light in his office was still on past dark.
“He does have some duties,” Prax-Denay told her as they ascended the stairs. “We’ve built up a large back-log of work for him to report to Lord Matoranis. He can get obsessed with his tasks sometimes. He’ll likely be here all night.”
Lisette pouted. Her sweet husband deserved some extra-special loving for dealing with the twit so adroitly. She had to settle for a heated kiss on the landing.
“You must sleep in your own bed tonight, my dearest.”
She puffed out a breath of disappointment.
“It won’t be for long.” Prax-Denay swept his fingers through her hair. “Once he’s caught up he’ll take another extended vacation. He can’t bear to have me trouncing him.”
Lisette smiled and nuzzled her cheek against his hand.
“I love you,” Prax-Denay said.
She lifted her face to look him squarely in the eyes. “I love you, too.”
He closed his eyes to shudder with euphoria. “That’s the first time you’ve said it.” He kissed her gently and parted from her.
She fell asleep on what felt like the blissful cloud of their love. Floating turned to rocking in her dreams. She was on a cruise ship with Prax-Denay back on Earth. The waters were turbulent. She clung to him while high swells wreaked havoc on her equilibrium. In the dream she broke from Prax-Denay’s side to vomit over the bow.
She woke just in time to lean over the side of her bed. The contents of stomach poured onto the floor. Before she could fathom why another involuntary heave wrung her, shooting out still more vomit. By the forth such heave her stomach was empty and only clear liquid escaped. Finally, the onslaught within her ceased. Her temples throbbed and her torso felt cramped. She balled herself against the headboard.
What had she eaten? There was nothing unusual she could recall. She and Prax-Denay dined on a set menu that varied little from week to week. She’d had bean curd and fish for lunch, the mollusk in brown sauce for dinner. It tasted no differently than normal.
She climbed from the bed on tremulous legs and went to her bathroom. After rinsing her mouth she swallowed a few gulps of water. A robot was at her bedside cleaning up the vomit. She huddled back beneath her sheets once it rolled away. Something she’d eaten had been bad, or she’d caught some Dak-Hiliah flu from Jorenkis. She’d wait until morning to tell Prax-Denay.
Just when her thoughts were turning into the nonsense that came before sleep she leaned off the side of the bed again for another puke session. The water came up, then bile and spit. Her middle tightened with shocking pain. She balled up once again until it abated enough for her to move. This time she forced her unsteady legs to the door. Maybe Prax-Denay knew of some medicine that would relieve her suffering. She no longer felt capable of waiting until morning.
Her door led out to a lobby which separated her apartment from
Prax-Denay’s. In the middle was a seating area beneath a skylight with several blue and green plants. She could see a figure lying on the long couch between two ferns. It appeared Prax-Denay couldn’t bear to sleep in his bed without her. She knelt beside him and nudged his side.
“Prax…I don’t feel good.”
Jorenkis rolled over and looked at her. “Huh?” He sat up and tapped on the lamp beside him.
Lisette wanted to retreat at the sight of her enemy, but her legs could only go so far as an armchair beside the couch. She hunched over with renewed agony.
“What? You’re sick?”
She began to nod, but stopped herself. “I threw up.”
“Why? Is this normal?”
“No. I’m sick.”
Jorenkis picked up his pants from the floor. Lisette averted her eyes as he donned them.
“Shit. I don’t know what to do. Do you have to go to the clinic or something? They don’t have any human cures there. You’re not supposed to get sick.”
Lisette’s annoyance got the better of her. “Why are you here?”
“Why am I here? Puh.” He leaned back in consideration. “Why am I here? Yeah. Exactly. Why?”
Prax-Denay would know how to help her. It was only a few more steps to his quarters. She tried to stand but her legs felt strained. She leaned back in the chair to recuperate.
“It’s your fault I’m here,” Jorenkis said at last. “You put the idea of happiness in my head and then fucked it all up. I wanted to be in love and have a wife and have heirs and a dynasty. Then you turned out to be defective—just great. Just what I wanted them to send me. So I thought about all the work I was going to have to do to make you right, all the shit I’d have to go through for my whole life. The misery you were going to cause me. I just gave up. I gave up on the whole idea. And then I thought, maybe I can still have love and happiness. Maybe I had to give up the dynasty—for now—but I could still be with someone. So I went to Tiltawhirl and I said let’s try. Let’s be together.”
You’re gay? She had to think this in English. Lisette realized there was no word for homosexuality in the Dak-Hiliah language.
“It was great in the beginning. He was already everything you weren’t, and besides that we came from the same world. We understood our culture. There was none of your stupidity with the head bobbing and mumbling. I kept telling him how happy I was that he wasn’t broken like you. But he was broken—even worse than you. He was selfish and full of himself and expected me to be the one to make all the sacrifices for our relationship. He wouldn’t give up his stupid Penstick game even though it was obviously ruining things for us. Why did he even agree to be with me if that was more important to him? I was so stupid I’d combined our housing. Now all my belongings are at his place and I have no intention of seeing him but the robots I sent were blocked out and he said if I want my stuff I have to come get it myself. And most of it is just junk, but my shintella crystals—gods, if he smashed them I will war with him for the rest of our lives. I don’t care who his father is. Also my red cloak and the medtanium armor. I need that stuff back. Though I guess I could go to Fenterill for another suit of armor, but who wants to go through hyperspace on the shit transports we have here? Besides, I have a perfectly good suit right at his place and he knows it’s mine, so—”
Lisetted doubled over in pain.
“Oh, gods, what’s wrong with you? There’s no human diseases here.”
“Something…I ate.”
“What? Do you eat off the floor of the lab? Actually, I bet Prax-Denay got you infected with some experimental garbage in there. That’s the only possibility. The food you eat here is sanitary. The robots test it.”
“It wasn’t…the lab. There’s containment for anything—”
He groaned. “What then? What makes human’s throw up?”
“Either…bad food, sickness…”
“Not possible. Not likely.”
“…pregnancy…”
Jorenkis froze with his mouth dropped open. Lisette leaned up. His shock was renewing her nausea.
“I can’t get…”
“Yes you can. I made sure a specialized surgical robot came with you from Earth so your reproductive organs could be altered during your language surgery. There was no way I was going to let them send me a woman who couldn’t breed with us.”
Lisette’s heart raced with instant panic. When was her last period? Not since…oh God.
Jorenkis’ face turned more somber than she’d ever seen before. “Listen to me. I need you to tell the truth. Have you and Prax-Denay slept together? Don’t bother lying. I’m going to have you tested no matter what you say.”
Lisette stared at him. She felt cold, as though ice were in her stomach. She drew her lips closed to swallow but there was no spittle. If she had a mirror she’d have no doubt her face was tinged green.
Jorenkis turned away from her and put his forehead in his hand. “I can’t believe I fell for it. All that self-righteous posturing—I really believed him.” He looked back toward her with a gleam in his eyes. “It was rape, right? He raped you?”
“No!”
Jorenkis frowned.
Tears welled in her eyes. “I love him.”
“Whatever. He still blasphemed against the druid.” Jorenkis stood on the couch and shrieked with laughter. “Yes! Oh, he’s going to crash down so hard! This makes up for everything. Fuck my armor! Now I can get a new set when we go to the capital for his trial. I’d give up the armor, the cloak, even the damn crystals in exchange for this! You’re ruined Prax!” He turned around and screamed at his door. “Hear that Prax-Denay! You’re ruined!”
Lisette rocked back and forth. No…no…please no. Let it be a nightmare.
Prax-Denay opened his door enough for one auburn eye to shot daggers at Jorenkis. Lisette felt like vomiting again.
“I know you’ve been fucking her!” Jorenkis said. He jumped off the couch and ran for the stairs. “I’m going to tell Lord Drathek. Oh, this is so rich! I’m waking him up. He won’t mind. Now this—this is happiness!”
He laughed all the way to the front doors. Lisette heard them chime open and then thud close. After that there was a silence so terrible it felt like she’d fallen into an abyss.
Prax-Denay emerged, gathered her in his arms, and held her.
The first thing he did was give Lisette a cure for her morning sickness. She protested that it might hurt the baby. He assured her it would not. It was always used with Dak-Hiliah women without consequences and her reproductive organs were the same as a Dak-Hiliah female now. She felt her nausea disappear after the first gulp.
Then they sat together on his bed, facing each other but separate. Prax-Denay stared downward. She’d already told him of the horror that transpired. He held none of it against her. If Jorenkis hadn’t found out now he would have learned later anyway. It was his fault for not making sure she hadn’t been altered. He was the one who’d made the assumption that damned them.
All Lisette wanted to know was, what now? She didn’t dare ask, and Prax-Denay wasn’t speaking. He must have feared the worse. She wanted, desperately, to know what that was. Especially when an unborn child was now involved.
“If there was none of this other trouble,” he said, “suppose I was of the same race and status as Jorenkis and our marriage was fine for all concerned, would you be happy you were pregnant?”
“Yes.” She said it with fervent passion. “I…want to have your children.”
He closed his eyes and tears streaked down his cheeks. Lisette began to cry also. Appalling thoughts came into her head: she was going to lose both him and her baby. They wouldn’t kill her—but Prax-Denay? He was probably going to be executed. She would have a forced abortion. Each horror snowballed in her mind. She covered her face to sob.
“Can we run away?” she said while snuffling.
Prax-Denay soothed her hand. “I can’t, Lisette. Even if a place for us existed—I can’t leave.”
/> The words were too resolute for her to argue. She only continued to sob. Prax-Denay wrapped an arm around her. His touch warmed her as always, but could not relieve the pain in her heart.
She left many things unspoken because they were so attuned not everything needed to be said. He had to know she would stand by him no matter what the cost. She didn’t want to fathom what that cost might be. Living with him in the slums was fine. It was actually her best case scenario. Getting forced to have an abortion, however—she couldn’t bear to think of it. This was an accident, yes, but it was with the man she loved and wanted to share her life with. She already cherished what grew inside her.
Please, oh please. Don’t make me abort.
And yet—if that’s what it took to make everything right? Abortion and then sterilization—wasn’t that better than Prax-Denay being executed?
She never wanted to have to make the choice, but she knew—she would do it for him. Even if broke her heart into a thousand pieces. She had to suffer now, too. She’d played her part in all of this. Lisette felt just as culpable as Prax-Denay.
They didn’t work that day. Prax-Denay forced them both to eat. After that he sat with her in front of a console. He showed her pictures of their High Council, the seven member body of government who ruled the Dak-Hiliah. They would be the judges at his trial.
“Matoranis,” he pointed to a lean pale blue man wearing something like a silk turban who looked to be in his 80s. “He’s my sponsor. He arranged for me to leave the slums on planet Fenterill, our capital, and work in this lab. That was nearly twenty years ago, and it wasn’t an act of charity. The last scientist working in this lab had retired. The facility and all its fine equipment was going to fall into disuse unless a scientist was installed here. None of the scientists from Fenterill wished to transfer since Paggellatin is practically a wasteland now. Fenterill is where most of our population resides. I proved my exceptional knowledge and skills at the Etiken school. Matoranis said I should be allowed to work in the Paggellatin lab since there aren’t any women left on this planet anyway. The rest of the council agreed. Usually Etikens have to be castrated in order to earn the right to leave the slums. I’d refused. Fortunately, our dwindling population made them desperate enough to make an exception for me. Matoranis was commended for this when I developed the Instajant vaccine. It was the ultimate vindication for both of us.”
The Complete Alien's Bride Page 26