“You have to be careful.” Kahvissar got up and folded his hands behind his back. “Taking blood can easily turn into an addiction for both of you.”
“I’m aware of the perils,” he snapped.
The medical overseer had explained it to him in detail. It was a pity he hadn’t explained it before Drako had been sent to Earth.
“I wouldn’t mind a taste,” Kahvissar said. “It sounds rather enticing.”
“Give me permission to go back to Earth and bring the female to Krina,” Drako said, “or at least to a Krina station.”
“We can’t allow such an exception,” Altair replied, “not unless you claim her as your charl.”
“No.” Drako jumped to his feet. “She’s not my charl.” Not after what she’d done to him.
Kahvissar raised a brow. “What then? A harlot?”
“Call it what you want. She’s mine, but I won’t take her as my charl.” Not the woman who’d betrayed him.
“Slavery has long since been abolished,” Altair said.
His patience was wearing thin. “I don’t want her as a slave.”
“As what then?” Altair asked.
“A sexual partner.”
“Ah.” He sighed. “We can’t give her indemnity under our law or save her from conviction by her kind unless she’s a charl. It pains me, but if you’re not interested in taking her as your charl, you’re going to have to give her up.”
Drako pushed to his feet. “I don’t want her as a human mate. I just don’t want her to die.”
Kahvissar flicked through more of the retrieved satellite archive images until he got to the one of Ilse on her knees in front of Drako’s naked body. He tilted his head. “Mind you, if you’re looking for a willing suitor, I’m prepared to save her. I’ll take her as my charl.”
Drako closed his fist, killing the hologram. “I don’t think so.”
Altair sighed again, more deeply this time. “I’ll tell you what. We have two Earth months until the Elders gather to discuss the course of action. I’ll grant you access to Earth for a month to make up your mind. You’ll either return with the female as your charl, let someone else take her as charl, or she suffers whatever fate the Elders decide for her race. If her own kind catches up with her before then, so be it. She’ll live by her laws and judgment.”
“Deal,” he said.
It was better than nothing. Maybe, in an Earth month he’d have worked her out of his system, and his persistent hard-on would abate. These violent feelings would’ve calmed enough for him to take a distance, to let Kahvissar be the one to save her.
“When you come back,” Kahvissar said, “you will hand her over to me. I like her wild spirit, and her … other talents.”
He ground his teeth. The image of her with Kahvissar was somewhere he couldn’t go, not even in his mind, but he’d meant it when he’d said he didn’t want her dead.
“Fine,” he said. “If she’ll have you, you can take her as your charl.”
“Deal,” Kahvissar echoed, his smile broad.
The fuel tank showed the car was near empty. Ilse had been driving around without direction, nearly going out of her mind with every minute that passed, knowing she was taking a risk being on the road but not having anywhere to go. She was circling the city when a sign indicated the northern highway was approaching. At long last, a plan formed in her mind. She took the highway and went off at Alexandra. With a good sense of direction, she easily found her way back to Mosa’s home.
The old lady exited her shack when Ilse parked.
“I didn’t expect another visit so soon,” Mosa said with a toothless grin when Ilse got out of her car, “which is why I’m all the more happy for it.” She wrinkled her nose. “What’s up with the new hair?”
Guilt burned like acid in Ilse’s chest. “I shouldn’t be here, but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”
The lines around Mosa’s wise eyes crinkled. “You’re in trouble.”
“I need to lie low for a while.”
“You came to the right place. If you want to disappear, there’s nowhere better than Alexandra.”
With the vastness of the informal settlement and the quick rate at which it changed, shacks being dismantled and new ones going up almost hourly, it was a maze for the police to search. On top of that, not many officers risked it into the suburb, knowing how easily people got knifed down in the streets, especially law enforcers for nothing more than sporting a badge.
“I’m sorry for putting you in this situation. If you can put me up just until I’ve made another plan, I’d be eternally grateful. I’ll be out of your hair in a couple of days.”
“Stay as long as you like. Come.” Mosa pushed her toward the entrance of the shack. “You must be hungry. I’m making lunch.”
“Don’t put yourself out on my behalf.” Ilse trudged along with heavy feet. “Pretend I’m not here.”
Mosa threw back her head and laughed. “Are you joking? I’m not missing out on having company. No, we’re going to eat, and then we’re playing cards. I haven’t had a rummy partner in ages.”
Despite herself, Ilse smiled, following Mosa into the dark interior.
Stirring a pot on the gas stove, Mosa pointed at the box with crockery. “You can set the table. Make sure you use my best tableware.”
She winked as Ilse pulled out the only two bowls and cups, the bowls cracked and the cups chipped. Ilse grinned at the humor. A little bit of the darkness in her soul lifted.
“After lunch,” Mosa continued, “I’ll get Samuel to bring us another mattress.”
“I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. After the way you helped me, I’m glad you’re giving me the chance to do something for you.” She switched off the gas and poured soup into the bowls, setting one in front of Ilse. “Eat up.” She gave another wink. “You’ll need your strength to fetch our bath water.”
Mosa was a kind and distracting hostess. Little by little, Ilse relaxed at her banter and anecdotes. After lunch, they set off to fetch water. The nearest tap with running water was a good five kilometer-walk. It took them more than an hour to make the round-trip with Mosa carrying a large container on her head without spilling a drop. Ilse had a harder time with the two five liter-containers. Ten kilos got heavy after five kilometers of walking, and not used to the chore, her fingers ached where she grasped the handles. While Ilse filled the water jug and heated the rest in a big pot for their bath, Mosa set off to find Samuel.
A long while later, Samuel and a man who introduced himself as Abel came walking up the dust road, carrying a mattress between them.
Walking up ahead, Mosa waved. She called from a distance, “I got you sheets and a blanket from the neighbor.”
Ilse rushed forward to take Mosa’s load. “I don’t know how to thank you.” She nodded her gratitude to the men.
Samuel left the mattress against the wall opposite Mosa’s and came outside with his hands on his hips. He eyed Ilse’s hair. “You’re the woman from yesterday, the one who brought the medicine.”
Damn. She’d hoped it would be a bit more challenging to recognize her.
Mosa waved Abel off with an impatient flick of her hand. When he was gone, she turned to Samuel. “She’s my guest for a few days, and it’ll be wise if you keep this to yourself and your mouth shut about the medicine.”
He gave Ilse a look of contempt. “You mean she’s hiding. That’s the only reason why a woman with decent clothes and an expensive car would camp out in your shack.”
Mosa pointed a finger at him. “Don’t get cheeky. She’s been good to me.”
“Sure.” He snorted. “She’s got money.” He motioned at the gold ring on her finger. “She should pay if she’s going to lodge here.”
“Leave it, Samuel,” Mosa said angrily.
In an automatic reaction, Ilse placed a palm over her hand, hiding the ring. It had been her mom’s.
“Why must the rich bitch sta
y for free?” he asked.
“Samuel,” Mosa said in a chastising tone.
“He’s right,” Ilse said quickly. “Look, the ring has sentimental value, but if you help me sell my car I can pay for my board and give you commission.”
Mosa shook her pepper-gray head. “Ilse, no.”
“It’s better this way,” she said. “I need to get rid of it.”
“Fifty percent,” Samuel said.
“Fine.” She couldn’t sell it herself. Anything was better than nothing.
He held out a hand. “It’s a deal. How much do you want for it?”
She shook his hand. “Whatever you can get.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow if I can find a buyer.”
“Great. Thank you.”
He spared Mosa a glance before sauntering down the road, kicking at a rock.
“Let’s get dinner going,” Mosa said, “and then you can tell me all about this trouble you’re in.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the less you know the better.”
“I’m not going to talk to anyone, and no one is going to ask me questions. What does an old woman like me know, anyway? We’re going to talk, and you’re going to get this thing that’s eating you and giving you wrinkles from all that frowning off your chest.”
Ilse gave her a grateful smile. “I’m so glad I met you.”
“So am I.”
Inside, Mosa made coffee while Ilse explained what had happened at the risk of sounding crazy. She told her about buying the medicine from the black market dealer, the Krinar the SS had captured, helping him escape, and being framed by the SS. Mosa listened quietly until she’d finished, and then said, “You can’t run from the government. Not forever.”
“I know.”
“Do you think the alien, this man called Drako, will come after you?”
“Maybe. I’m hoping he made it back home.” She wiped her palms over her face. “I hope in a few weeks’ time all of this will seem like just a very bad dream.”
Mosa patted her hand. “I’m afraid that’s wishful thinking. You need to get out of the country, go over the border.”
“How? I’ll be stopped by border control.”
“I have some friends from Lesotho who work in the mines. They know how to get across the border undetected. I’ll ask them to take you.”
“They’re working here illegally, you mean.”
“Yes. I have family in Lesotho. They’ll take you in. It’ll give you time to work out something.”
“I don’t want to drag you into my mess.”
“No one will suspect a thing. I’ll get a message to my friends at the mine. One of them should be able to get leave for the weekend to take you to Lesotho.”
Ilse took a shaky breath. “If Samuel manages to sell my car, you must keep my half.”
“No,” Mosa said with much determination. “You will need it. Maybe you can buy a fake passport and bus fare to Namibia, and start a new life there. This thing the SS did is terrible. They won’t let it go. Imagine what trouble it’ll cause for our government if it ever comes out. The whole world will be against us. Best-case scenario, there’ll be sanctions against South Africa. Worst case, the SS will be accused of human rights violations. To ensure that doesn’t happen, they won’t stop hunting you until you’re dead. You mustn’t talk to anyone about this. Don’t tell anyone what you’ve told me. Money makes good people commit horrendous crimes, and that reward on your head is as good a temptation as one can get.”
“Don’t I know that.”
Mosa took their empty mugs and got to her feet. “Let’s not talk about this, anymore. Even in Alexandra, the walls have ears.” She carried the mugs to the dish that served as kitchen sink.
“I need to use a smartphone. Do you know anyone who’d let me use theirs?”
“What for?”
“To send an anonymous tip about the black market dealer to the media.”
“I’ll ask the man who’ll call my friends at the mine if we can borrow his phone. Go ahead and wash up first. I’ll go now to give you privacy.”
Mosa lifted the cloth that served as door and left the shack. When the makeshift curtain fell back, Ilse filled the plastic bath with the water she’d heated and stripped her blouse. The day was hot. The walk to fetch water had been long and the road dusty. She’d feel better after cleaning up. She was reaching for the button of her jeans when the flap lifted and light streamed into the shack. She turned with a start. Samuel walked through the entrance, his stride urgent.
She pressed the blouse to her chest. “You should knock.”
He laughed. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no door.”
“Mosa’s not here.”
“I know.”
“Did you come about the car? Have you found a buyer, already?”
“No.” His fingers locked around her wrist. “I came for five thousand rand.”
11
“How are you going to locate this woman?” Kahvissar asked.
Drako paced the floor of the main flight deck. “Her government has a price on her head.”
“Exactly. They’ll find her before you do.”
“Most communication on Earth works via satellite. It was easy enough to hack into every one floating in space.”
“And?”
Drako placed his palms on the control counter, the frustration chafing not only his patience, but also his nerves. “There have been a lot of red flags raised, but all false alarms. Fake claims of having spotted her.” He had to find his fugitive. If her own people did, she’d be convicted for her crime, and he didn’t want her punished in a barbarous human way.
“It seems there’s another flag now.” Kahvissar leaned closer to the screen to read the information. “A call from Alexandra to your infamous Agent Evans.”
Drako listened with half an ear. He’d accessed every record on Earth, from Ilse’s address to her listed numbers, but there was no sign of her. She was on the run. He needed a different tactic. The minute he got his hands on Ilse, he was planting a tracker under her skin. He wasn’t going to risk ever losing sight of her again.
“The man says he has the suspect detained,” Kahvissar continued. “Would you like to watch the satellite feed?”
“Why not?” Drako replied listlessly.
All the claims to date had been false. He didn’t expect this one to be different.
Kahvissar manipulated the controls, using the mobile number to pinpoint the caller’s location before zooming in on the area. Drako stared at the planets that zipped past through the outlook window. They couldn’t stay in orbit like this indefinitely. If the search didn’t bring up any results, he’d have to risk moving among humans to conduct a hands-on investigation.
“I have a visual on the owner of that number,” Kahvissar said. “He has a woman with him, but I don’t think it’s your Ilse.”
Drako twirled around, all the nerve endings in his body buzzing to attention. Kahvissar had enlarged satellite images that showed a male and female walking down an alley between temporary constructions. The female’s back was turned to them. She had shorter hair and the color was wrong. Yet, a spark of hope ignited in Drako’s chest. At first glance, she didn’t look like Ilse, but the curve of her hips, the tightness of her ample ass, and her height were exactly right. He leaned closer to the monitor, every muscle in his body going taut. More images from different satellites filled the screen until the human pair was shown from every angle. He held his breath as he fixed his attention on the one where he had a full frontal view. Crute. His fingers clenched on the counter. She’d changed her hair, but it was her. His human. At the sight of the man’s hand around her upper arm, he suppressed a growl.
“Is it her?” Kahvissar asked.
“Yes,” he hissed. “It’s Ilse.”
“How are you going to proceed?”
“I’m going to prepare my pod.”
The technician had ensured him this time it would wor
k. They’d adjusted the technology for the Earth’s atmosphere. He shouldn’t have any problems staying invisible or landing.
“What happens when you get to Earth? How will you maintain discretion?”
“I’m going to construct a dwelling.”
“Using Krina technology?”
“Of course.”
“And then?”
“After a month, I’ll be back.”
A grin spread over Kahvissar’s face. “With my charl, I hope. I’ve always wanted an Earthling companion. I can’t wait to taste her blood. If your turbulent emotions where the woman is concerned are anything to go by, she must be extraordinary.”
Anger slithered up Drako’s spine, although he had no reason to be upset with Kahvissar. Kahvissar was simply expressing his wishes. Still, the idea of Ilse in Kahvissar’s hands evoked feelings of violence.
“I suggest you heed caution,” Drako said, jealousy tainting his voice. “She may not want to be your charl.”
“In that case, she’s doomed.”
Never. He’d never send her to doom. He couldn’t forgive her betrayal, and he’d never trust her, but he didn’t want her in prison, or worse, dead. He’d rather suffer the pain of giving her to someone else than having her life snuffed out.
Without further delay, he stalked to the launch pad where his new pod waited. Less than a Krina hour later, he landed on Earth, near the location where the man was holding Ilse prisoner. He’d chosen a patch of dirt the children used as a soccer field. There was no need to conceal his craft, as it was invisible to both the human and Krinar eye. He moved fast, too fast by Earth standards, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was getting back the woman who was so small she could’ve been a toy. His deceitful, beautiful, false little doll.
The signal on his communication system indicated that Ilse’s captor was keeping her in one of the box-sized structures that consisted of metal, plastic, and cardboard. He stopped in front of the dwelling, his breath chasing with a mixture of excitement and stress. The door was bolted from the inside. Voices reached him through the thin walls.
The Krinar Experiment Page 9