by Juno Wells
Aster, apparently, still had a thing or two to learn about human interactions. He wasn’t sensing detective Shaw’s sarcasm. He thought this man believed him.
“Our planets have been at war for centuries,” Aster said. “But there is a prophecy. The elders of my planet prophesied that I would mate with a human woman. And we would bear a child together. A son. A son who would change the fate of the universe. A son who would grow up to lead our Alluvian army and defeat the Zatharians and bring peace to the galaxy.”
My heart lodged in my throat as I heard Aster’s words. A prophecy? A son? Like the baby in my dream?
“Wait, why didn’t you tell me this?” I interrupted. “We’re supposed to have a baby together? It’s a prophecy? How could you keep this from me?”
“I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Aster said, turning to me. He took my hand in his. “I didn’t think it was fair to tell you, to influence you. And I wasn’t even sure if you were the woman I was fated to mate with until…”
“Until I told you about my dream,” I said. “The dream about our child. Our son. Right?”
“I knew I felt something for you, Ava. I knew there was something special about you. But when you told me about your dream… I knew you were the one. I knew, without hesitation, that you were the one I had been looking for. It’s why I came to Earth. To find you.”
Suddenly it all made sense. I understood why I had felt such an immediate connection to Aster. I looked into his blue eyes and felt an overwhelming urge to cry. We truly were meant to be.
“Aster, I…” I searched for the right words, but my mind was reeling. A baby. I’d always wanted to have a baby. And I always figured that it would eventually happen, the way it always happened. I’d meet a nice guy, fall in love, move in together. Eventually get married. Then start trying for kids. I’d imagined going to Little League baseball games, or Girl Scout troop meetings. You know, normal stuff. But apparently my life’s destiny was a bit more complicated.
Before I could wrap my brain around this new piece of information, Detective Shaw chuckled, then began to speak again.
“So you two, you’re like fated mates or something? This is some kind of intergalactic destiny?” The sarcasm practically dripped from his mouth. “And you’re supposed to give birth to some kind of Messiah figure, do I have that right? And that’s why the bad guy alien is trying to kill you? So you can’t have this alien baby that would bring peace to the universe?”
“Listen, I haven’t heard this part either. I mean, the baby part,” I offered. “And I know there’s no way in hell you’re going to believe any of this. But it’s true. And I’ve seen what this guy Xa’rath can do. I don’t want anything bad to happen to the people here. I know this is against all of your protocol, all of your rules. But when your partner comes back with that water, Aster is going show you something. He’s going to show you something that is going to make you believe. And if you believe us, you need to let us go. Otherwise, everyone here is in danger.”
“Well I’m very interested to see this magic trick that your boyfriend is going to show us,” Detective Shaw said. “But I don’t think it’s gonna influence my decision on any of this. Ms. Clarke, I respect you as a professional woman. You’re a little too mouthy, and you never seem to know your place…” I resisted the urge to jump across the table and throttle him. What a jerk, I thought to myself. He continued on. “In any case, I’m going to be straight with you. It’s clear that you both have suffered some sort of mental break. You’re delusional. And my guess is that this it’s drug-related –”
“Damnit, this has nothing to do with drugs!” Aster slammed his fist on the table.
“Easy, son,” Detective Shaw said. “Don’t make me put you back in handcuffs.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get a word out I heard a massive explosion in the other room, followed by frantic shrieks. Then, I heard that unmistakable humming sound.
Detective Shaw jumped up from the table, knocking his chair over in the process. “What in God’s name was that?”
“If I had to guess,” Aster said, his voice low and steady. “I’d say that was Xa’rath.”
Chapter Thirteen
Another explosion rocked the police station. Detective Shaw bolted from the room, gun drawn, leaving the door open.
“I have to stop him,” Aster said. “Stay here.”
“No way. You’re not leaving me here by myself. I’m coming with you, Aster.”
I saw Aster’s jaw clench. “Fine. But stay right behind me. If he wants to get to you, he’s going to have to get through me first. And I won’t let that happen.” He turned to walk out of the room, but I stopped him.
“Aster, wait…” I grabbed his hand and took a deep breath. “I love you. I know this isn’t the best time to say it, but if anything happens… If we don’t make it out of here alive…”
Aster kissed me before I could finish my sentence. “I love you too, Ava,” he said as he pulled his mouth away from mine. “And we’ll make it out of here alive. I promise you that. I traveled through galaxies to find you, and there’s no way I’m losing you now.”
I believed him. With every fiber of my being, I believed him.
As we made our way into the main room of the police station, I heard gunshots and frantic shouting. I plastered myself as close as possible to Aster’s back as I could, shielding myself behind his tall, strong frame. Then I peeked out from behind him, just for a moment.
The scene I saw was one of utter chaos. Desks and chairs lay strewn about, crumpled into mangled shapes. Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, and a layer of smoke hung heavy in the room. Detective Shaw and some of the other officers had barricaded themselves behind a large table. They fired their weapons into the corner of the room. I looked to where they were firing, and I saw Xa’rath’s gargantuan body standing in front of a blasted-out hole in the wall. They unloaded their guns into him, shooting over and over again, but the bullets didn’t even faze him. And as soon as they were out of bullets, the police officers began to bolt from the room one by one. I didn’t blame them one bit.
“Xa’rath!” Aster shouted. His voice was so loud, so powerful, that it carried over the noise of the gunshots.
Xa’rath turned his head in our direction. “Asterion,” he growled. His voice was sickening, like crunching gravel. “Is that your mate hiding behind you?”
“If you touch Ava, I’ll destroy you.” Aster’s voice was calm, but full of fire. “Actually, I’m going to destroy you anyway.”
“She’s not pregnant yet,” Xa’rath hissed. “That means I can still kill her. And that’s exactly what I intend to do.”
I saw Aster’s body stiffen, and his fists clenched. Then I saw him turn his head to the side, just for an instant, to look at something on the floor near our feet. It was a janitor’s bucket, half-full of water. I knew that if Aster had water, he could get us out of this.
Xa’rath pointed something in our direction, something long and made of metal. It didn’t look like any gun I’d ever seen, but I knew with certainty that it was a weapon. I didn’t know what was about to happen, but something was definitely about to happen. My heart hammered in my chest and I began to shake so hard it felt like I was having a seizure.
It all happened so fast. I heard Aster shout, “Ava, get down!” I dove on the floor. In the split second before Xa’rath fired his weapon, Aster grabbed the bucket of water and threw it at him. A ball of fire exploded from Xa’rath’s weapon, and the liquid left the bucket at the exact same moment. The water flew across the room in an arc, and when it hit the fireball that was headed our way, it bounced it right back in the other direction like a tennis ball. The ball of fire slammed into Xa’rath’s shoulder, and I heard him let out a gurgling, choked scream. Then he collapsed on the floor.
In the next instant, Aster scooped me up in his arms and ran me out of the room. In the foyer we ran into Detective Shaw and the other officers, who were busy changing int
o bulletproof tactical gear. They had enough weapons with them to fight off a small army. I realized that they hadn’t ran out of the room in fear; they’d run to go get more guns.
“You believe me now?” Aster asked Detective Shaw.
Detective Shaw nodded gravely and cocked the large rifle he was holding. “I believe you, son. What can we do?”
“Your weapons won’t hurt Xa’rath. Nothing you can do to him will hurt him. I’ve incapacitated him, for a few minutes at least, but I haven’t killed him. Not yet. If you really want to help, give me your car keys and then get out of the way. Once I leave, he’ll follow me. I’ll lead him out to the woods. Then I’ll take care of him.”
Detective Shaw may have been grumpy, but he was smart enough to know when to listen to reason. He chucked his car keys at Aster. “White Ford Taurus next to the oak tree out front. Make sure you kill that fucker.”
“I will.” Aster took my hand and we ran out of the building. We jumped in Detective Shaw’s car and sped out of the parking lot, Aster behind the wheel, and headed to the National Park.
Chapter Fourteen
We found Aster’s ship, hidden deep in the woods in the National Park in a dense thicket of trees. Its surface was sleek and smooth, like a water droplet, and it was the same brilliant blue indigo color as his eyes. When he walked up to it, a door opened immediately, like a parted curtain. He stepped inside. I followed.
The interior of the ship was lit with cool blue lights. There were a few high-backed chairs, a small cot in the corner, and along the back wall of the ship there was a huge tank of water. I wandered around the space, taking it all in. Meanwhile, Aster opened a hatch in a panel in the wall and took out a sizable-looking weapon.
“That’s what you’re going to kill Xa’rath with?” Aster nodded. “So what does that thing shoot? Some sort of alien death ray?”
Aster laughed. “Nope. Just water.”
“So you’re going to destroy him with water? If that’s all it takes, why didn’t you just dump all that pool water over him last night?”
“That was Earth water,” he explained. “I can do a lot with Earth water. I can protect us, hide us, shield us from Xa’rath’s powers. But to kill a Zatharian, you need water from the Alluvian Ocean. That’s what makes this weapon so special. Now, come on. We don’t have time to stand around and talk. We need to hide so I can ambush Xa’rath when he shows up.”
Aster exited the ship, gun in hand, and I followed. He began collecting fallen tree limbs and piling up large rocks. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m making a place for us to hide. It’s primitive, but it’ll do. Xa’rath isn’t smart. None of the Zatharians are. They’re brutes. They have notoriously bad eyesight, and they have a hard time harnessing their powers. They’re basically giant apes. He’ll head straight for the ship when he gets here. He won’t even notice us.”
“If we need to hide, why don’t you just use the water out of that giant tank you have inside your ship? Won’t that make us invisible to him?”
“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?” Aster took my hand and led me to his makeshift hiding place.
“Sorry. I’m a private investigator. It’s kind of my thing.” I crouched down behind a pile of rocks, and Aster brought a couple of tree limbs down on top of us.
“That water you saw inside my ship has to stay in the tank. I can’t waste that.” He put his hand on my hip and kissed me on the cheek. “Now, stop talking. He’ll be here soon. I can feel it.”
The sun had set, and the moonlight overhead illuminated the forest with a hazy glow. Every time I heard a twig snap or the wind blowing the leaves in the trees, my heart leapt into my throat. “Are you sure this is going to work?” I tried to whisper as quietly as I could.
“It’ll work. I promise. Don’t be scared.” Aster took my hand in his. “I’d never let him hurt you.”
I wished I had a gun of my own, even though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Still, I trusted Aster. We’d been through so much together, and he had protected me every step of the way. And as we crouched in the shadows, waiting for Xa’rath, I knew with every beat of my heart that Aster would do anything to keep me safe.
The minutes ticked by. Five minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes. The wind whipped through the trees. Lightning bugs danced in the moonlight, unaware of the danger that was quickly headed our way. Which way would Xa’rath come from? Would he stalk up behind us, and catch us off guard? The mere thought of that made all the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. At some point an owl hooted in a nearby tree, and it startled me so bad I almost had a heart attack.
Then, finally, I heard it: the humming. The humming that meant Xa’rath was close, and using some type of power. The sound was as sickening as it always was, like a bag full of angry bees. A wave of nervous nausea hit me, and I buried my face in my hands. This was it. This was the moment.
Xa’rath’s footsteps fell heavy in the dense underbrush. I knew he was close, but I couldn’t bear to look at him. I tried to remain as motionless as a heavy stone, but my fear betrayed me. My whole body trembled, shaking the tree limbs that hid us from Xa’rath’s view. I felt Aster’s body tense next to me, and then he suddenly stood up. Our fortress of branches collapsed around us.
“Xa’rath!” he screamed.
I saw Xa’rath’s large, dark figure turn. The humming intensified, reaching a fever pitch, and with it came the pain that I had felt the night before. The pain that rattled the very heart of me, that made me forget my own name. Xa’rath directed every ounce of his power into inflicting this pain upon us. I knew Aster felt it too, but he didn’t hesitate, not for one second.
He aimed his weapon at Xa’rath and smiled. “This is for my son,” he said. Then he fired.
An undulating mass of crystal blue water burst from the gun and coated Xa’rath’s body like glue. I heard a low, choked gurgle escape his throat. He clawed at the water like he was trying to escape from a spider web. But there was no escape. He staggered for a moment more, and then he fell, his gigantic body landing with a loud thud on the forest floor. The water surrounding him burst like a popped bubble as he collapsed.
I looked up at Aster. “Is he…”
“He’s dead.”
Chapter Fifteen
Aster threw the gun down and scooped me up in his arms, and I let out a sigh to rival all sighs. It felt like I’d been holding my breath for the last 30 minutes. But finally, it was over. I hugged Aster as tight as I possibly could. I pressed my mouth to his and I lost myself in him, feeling safer and more loved than I ever had in my entire life.
Eventually, we broke apart, then walked together hand in hand to where Xa’rath lay. I looked down at him, and for the first time I got a good look at his face. He was hideous. His features were broad and lumpy, as if there were pebbles underneath his skin. His mouth was set in a sickening snarl, and his beady eyes stared up at me, lifeless, like little black beetles. I kicked his body with my foot.
“He’s an ugly fucker,” I muttered.
“The Zatharians are not known for their beauty. Or their intelligence. Or their kindness.” Aster sighed and ran his hands through his dark hair. “They’re cockroaches.”
“I can’t believe it was a glorified water gun that took him out,” I said.
Aster softly laughed. “Water gives us life. And water can take it away.”
“So what next?” I asked. “We killed the big bad alien. I feel like that deserves some sort of celebration. You want to, I don’t know, get something to eat? Have some champagne?”
Aster’s face, which just seconds earlier had looked light and carefree, turned starkly serious. “Xa’rath may be dead, but I know there are other Zatharians on the way to Earth as we speak. I think we need to leave right now.”
“And go where?”
“To Alluvia,” he said. He reached out his hand, but I hesitated. “Come on, Ava. We don’t have all the time in the world.”
“Wait. Just wait
a second.” I held up my hand in front of me and took a step back. “Do you mean go to Alluvia for a while, like for a vacation or something? That’s not what you mean, is it?” Aster shook his head no. “Are we not even going to discuss this?”
Aster stepped toward me and grabbed my hand. “Ava, we really don’t have time to discuss this. We need to leave.”
“But what about my dog – what about Pepper? What about my parents, my friends, my house, my job? You expect me to leave all of that with just a moment’s notice? To jump in your spaceship and go to another planet?” I yanked my hand away from his and stepped back. “You can’t just grab me and take me like some sort of alien abduction, Aster.”
Aster sighed and gave me a sweet smile. “You’re right, Ava. You don’t have to come with me. This prophecy I spoke of… our son…” When he said those words – our son – my stomach clenched, and I took in a sharp breath. His blue eyes looked so sad that my heart almost broke into a million pieces. “It’s just a prophecy. This life with me is just one possible destiny. The choice is still yours. If you don’t want to come with me, you don’t have to. Change your name. Move to a new city. The Zatharians won’t be able to find you then.”