by Ashley West
Excitement pulsed in his veins, and his heart pounded.
This was something he had missed.
Chapter Two: Enterprising
Katia poked her head out of the tangle of covers as her alarm blared to life. She groaned, rubbing at her eyes and then stretching with a jaw cracking yawn before she reached over and quickly did the puzzle on her phone that would let her turn the alarm off.
It was a good thing the puzzle changed every day, or else she’d have learned how to do it in her sleep by now.
It was also a good thing it was a Friday, because Katia needed the weekend like she needed air to breathe. Granted, the only day she had off was Saturday, and that was because she’d hired someone specifically to handle the Saturday crowd.
Sundays were her favorite days, since there was a high tea in the afternoon, and she loved presiding over that, but honestly, every day was a good day when she was doing something she’d wanted to do for so long.
Three and a half years ago, she’d been still trying to scrape together enough money to make The Laureled Lily a real thing. It had just been an abandoned old mansion on the edge of town, covered in ivy and fraught with structural damage, termites, and mold. Honestly, it should have taken much longer than three years to get everything put together, but by some miracle, Katia’s great aunt had passed away and left her a significant chunk of her money in her will.
...The money was the miracle, not her great aunt dying. But the point was, that money had allowed her to quit one of the two jobs she had been working and still have money to put away for the inn.
And now it was a real thing. Shiny and painted and renovated, bursting with flowers and guests. It was right on the edge of town, which was perfect for the people who were just passing through and the people who wanted a quiet night away from home and anyone else who happened to find their way to The Lily, as the name had been truncated to.
Katia was delighted with the success.
On this Friday morning, she hit the button on her phone to make her morning playlist fill her bedroom and half danced, half stumbled around her room, pulling out her outfit for the day (a classy skirt with a smart blouse) and shucking off her pajamas so she could head for the shower. In her small kitchen, she heard the coffeemaker click on, and she smiled. Some people had significant others, but she had a coffeemaker that worked on a timer, and honestly that was just as good as far as she was concerned.
Katia padded into the bathroom, hips swaying slightly as she made her way to the lighted mirror above the sink and washed her face. Her bathroom was small enough that she could just lean over and turn on the shower to get the water heating while she surveyed her appearance in the mirror.
She had done a lot of dance in high school and college, and that showed still in her willowy figure and her natural grace. She was tall and slender, and she looked at herself in the mirror with a critical eye. She wasn’t as curvy as some of her friends or even some of the women in her family, and it wasn’t like she had time to exercise what with running her own business now, so she just assumed that she was going to stay that way. Her hips were softly rounded, just enough that someone could rest their hands there, and her breasts were small and perky, tipped in soft brown nipples.
The freckles that were dusted over her cheeks and forehead and nose were also scattered over the rest of her body, from her shoulders down to her stomach, and then lower to her thighs, and she made a face at the sight of them as she usually did.
Green eyes looked back at herself in the reflection, and Katia made a face at her messy hair. It was long and a mousy shade of brown, usually kept in a long braid that she coiled into a bun for work so she didn’t have to deal with it.
People were always telling her that if she did more with her hair or her makeup, she’d have a boyfriend by now. They went on and on about her flawless skin and how men liked girls with freckles and how her nose was pert and perfect and her eyes would look amazing if she did more with eye makeup, but honestly it all sounded exhausting.
She had enough to be keeping up with when it came to her business. The inn took up any free time that she would spend dating someone, and if her friends thought she was getting up any earlier than she already did just so she could make herself look ‘prettier’ then they had another thing coming.
Who had time for curling irons and eyeliner? Not her, that was for sure. More power to the women who did, but Katia was fine with her lip gloss and braid, and she nodded decisively as she stepped into the shower.
Two hours later, she was parking her car and getting out to stand in front of her inn. Her inn. Just thinking it made her shiver with delight. The four story building with two porches, three turrets, and spiral staircases was all hers.
The contractors and renovators had done a great job on the place, and Katia always had to take a minute to look it over when she arrived. The porches were still hung with ivy, but it was a carefully garlanded look now, instead of just masses of overgrowth. There were lights on strings woven into the ivy, as well, and at night they twinkled and lit up the porches to amazing effect.
The exterior had been painted a dark lavender color, and the columns were white, the sign done in both colors that proclaimed the name of her inn in script.
She walked up the stairs, sensible heels clacking on the wood as she made her way to the door and let herself in.
It was the fall, and apple season was just a few days away. The apple picking in this part of the state was amazing, so they were anticipating having a full house by the time October rolled around. People who wanted to get out of the city for a while and remember how fresh air smelled.
“Good morning, Katia,” said Harley, one of the housekeepers. She wheeled her cart out from the utility closet and made her way across the lobby with it.
“Morning, Harley,” Katia replied with a smile. There was something about this time of morning that just made everything seem softer, friendlier. She watched Harley go on her way and then made her own way to the front desk.
Ava was leaning against the wood, phone pressed to her ear and a bored expression on her face. She was the assistant manager of The Lily, so to speak. Basically everything Katia did during the day, Ava did at night, making sure that there was always someone on call to handle any emergencies or needs the guests had, even at night.
“I understand that, Mr. Moseley,” she was saying into the phone. “And it’s a terrible thing she did, but when you finalized your reservation, you agreed to our terms and conditions, which clearly state that if you cancel less than twenty four hours before your stay, you don’t get a refund. And according to my records, you’re due to check in at four this afternoon.”
Katia covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Ava was not what she’d call a ‘people person’. A fact that made some people wonder why she’d been hired for a job in the hospitality industry. But she had a mind for organization and putting out fires, so Katia had been working with her on dealing with the guests and people on the phone. There was always one potential guest that would get her fired up, though, and Katia decided to spare her, since she’d been behind the desk for almost twelve hours.
She plucked the phone from Ava’s hand with a kind smile, laughing and shooing her off when Ava mimed bowing.
“Good morning, Mr. Moseley,” she said, in her most chipper voice. “Let’s see how we can help you today.”
“You’re too soft on them,” Ava said as they both sat in the kitchen with cups of coffee and scones made by the chef. “What’s the point of having the conditions, if you’re just going to bend them to make people happy?”
Katia buttered her scone, breaking a piece off and popping it into her mouth. “Delicious as always, Jerry!” she called to the harassed man in the back who was frantically stirring something. “Because it keeps them coming back, Ava,” she said to her friend. “Think about it like this. Say you wanted to return a shirt to the mall, but the store had a no refunds policy. If you talked to someone on the phone a
nd were just told that they didn’t take refunds, no matter the situation, even if the shirt didn’t fit, even if it was ripped when you bought it, would you shop there again?”
“No,” Ava said, as if it should be obvious. She sipped at her coffee.
“Exactly. Now say the same store had a no refunds policy, but you decided to call anyway and someone decided to work with you. Maybe they couldn’t give you your money back because of the policy, but they offered you store credit. Or maybe they got you a percentage of your money back, even though the policy stated they didn’t have to. How would you feel, then?”
Ava rolled her eyes, clearly catching on to what Katia was trying to say to her. “Yeah, alright, I get it. That would make me feel better about shopping there again.”
“And that’s how we want the guests to feel. Seventy percent of our business is generated via word of mouth, you know. People like Mr. Moseley will tell their friends about our excellent customer service and the excellent time he had here, even if his wife just ran away with his business partner. Which means more business for us.”
“Right, right,” Ava said, smothering a yawn with her hand. “And then we keep getting paid, and everything’s wonderful, right?”
“In theory.” Katia grinned. “Anyway, get out of here. I’m not paying you to sit around and drink coffee.”
“Slave driver.”
“Rude.”
The two women laughed and finished their breakfasts before the day truly got started.
Fridays were always busy at The Lily. People usually checked in on Friday afternoons before they spent their weekends there, and so it was every bit of five o’clock in the evening before Katia had time to really take a break. She’d had lunch, but her stomach was growling, and she knew the sandwich shop down the block would have something to tide her over until she got home and could warm up something for dinner. Thank god for leftovers, right?
She was humming to herself as she walked, shoes clicking on the pavement while she dreamed of the roast beef sandwich she was going to get. Toasted, probably, with swiss and cheddar. And some of those spicy pickles the shop had.
Maybe on the way home she’d stop for a milkshake and have that with whatever she ended up microwaving for dinner.
Katia was deep in thought, but that didn’t stop her from noticing when something bright and fiery streaked across the sky.
It was still light outside, but the sun was setting, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. Katia lifted a hand to shade her eyes and she squinted hard up at the sky, watching as, yes, something that smoked and burned crossed the sky and then disappeared.
She stood there for a moment, just watching for any sign of what might have happened, and then there was a crash in the distance. Something had definitely just fallen or had been shot down out of the air.
“I hope everyone’s alright,” she murmured to herself and then kept walking.
There wasn’t anything for her to do about it, after all. It wasn’t her problem to solve, and she didn’t even know where the...whatever it was had ended up. She had enough to do without going to hunt down some kind of crash site.
And so she put it out of her mind and found a smile for the young man working the counter at the sandwich shop, putting in her order.
Of course, things that streak and burn across the sky aren’t really ‘out of sight, out of mind’ kinds of things. Katia went back to work, finished her shift, filled Ava in on what was happening, and then made her way out to her car, yawning and stretching as she prepared to head home. The next day was her day off, but she usually ended up coming in for a bit anyway, just to make sure things were running smoothly.
Ava teased her all the time about it, calling her a ‘helicopter parent’ when it came to the inn. Katia didn’t think she could be blamed for wanting to make sure her business succeeded.
Either way, she was glad for the chance to sleep in on Saturday, and she drove home, her phone plugged into the sound system of her car, letting her sing along to some of her favorite songs.
So she was in high spirits when she made it back to her place, still humming along under her breath as she stepped up to her door and moved to unlock it. The house was small, but much better than the apartment she’d rented right out of college, and it was perfect for just her. One day she wanted to move to a bigger place, but this was exactly what she needed for now while the inn was still establishing itself.
“One day,” she said aloud to herself.
“Help,” someone answered.
Katia wasn’t proud of the way she screamed, but when you thought you were alone in the darkness and then suddenly someone started talking to you, she was pretty sure that was the appropriate response.
Either way, it was what she did, and when someone huge and hulking stepped out of the shadows on the side of her house, she dropped her keys on the porch and backed up, hands shaking.
She lived in a small neighborhood, a safe one, but there was always the chance that something like this could happen, and she usually kept pepper spray on her for reasons like this, but for the moment she couldn’t do much of anything other than stand there and watch this...intruder approach.
As he got closer, the light from the street lights hit his face, and she saw that he was bruised and bloody in places.
A fight with someone else?
Was he running away from something or someone?
She opened her mouth to scream again, but he held his hands up. His voice was deep when he spoke, but his words weren’t in English. They were thick and stumbling, and she didn’t understand any of it.
“I...I’m sorry?” Katia said, even though she knew it made more sense for her to run, to get inside her house or get to somewhere else that would be safe.
But the man came closer, and it was apparent that there was a look of fear in his eyes. He was hurt and he looked dazed and confused, and something in Katia wouldn’t let her scream or lash out at him. Instead, she took a step forward.
“Are you alright?”
The man was huge. Taller than her by nearly two feet, thick with muscle. His skin was...huh. It seemed to shine with a strange light, almost a silvery cast to it, and she blinked, confused.
He held up his hands higher, brow furrowed.
“Alright,” he pronounced, saying the word slowly, almost like he was turning it over in his mouth, trying to get a feel for it. “Alright.”
“I don’t think you are,” Katia said slowly. “You look hurt.”
“Hurt,” he said, touching his fingers to the sticky wounds on his face and then looking down at himself. “Yes. Help.”
Maybe he had a concussion. Maybe he was slowly bleeding to death. Although, he was up and mobile, so it couldn’t be that bad, could it? She knew the right thing to do would be to call the police.
They could get him to a hospital or wherever it was he needed to go, and then she wouldn’t have to involve herself with this.
But…
But.
He looked so lost and confused. And he was bleeding, and the thought of going into her house and just leaving him there to bleed and be hurt alone made her stomach churn with bad feeling.
If her mother or her friends were there, they would be yelling at her to leave this man alone and take her butt into the house. It wasn’t her problem, and getting involved was dumb, but. Well, her mind was already made up.
Apparently.
“Hold on,” she said gently. “Can you do that?”
The man seemed to consider and then nodded.
Katia dipped down and picked up her keys from the porch where she’d dropped them. It was a wonder that none of her neighbors had come out to see what she was screaming about, and she shook her head at the thought of people so wrapped up in their own lives that they couldn’t check in on someone who might be in danger.
She fit the key into the lock on the door and then let them both in. With fingers that still shook slightly, she turned the lights on in
the living room and then gaped when she turned to look at her unexpected guest.
He looked even larger in her tiny house, his head nearly reaching to the ceiling. He seemed to take up more space than should have been possible, though she noted he was holding his arm at an angle that caused the blood to run down his arm and soak into his shirt, rather than dripping it all over her floor.
Katia could appreciate that.
More than his size, though, was the fact that his skin did indeed have a silvery sheen to it. And under it, his skin was...blue. Either he had hypothermia in the middle of autumn, or… Or something very strange was happening here.
Maybe both, honestly.
His hair was a normal color. Brown and cut short, and his eyes were a piercing blue, a bit darker than the shade of his skin. As they both stood there in her living room, he blinked and looked around, clearly trying to get his bearings.
“Where is this?” he asked, voice raspy.
“Uh. Mansfield?” Katia said. “Just on the outskirts of it, at least.”
“But what planet?” the man insisted.
Katia’s eyes widened. “What do you mean what planet? It’s Earth.”
“Earth,” he said, and a look of distress flashed across his face. “I am not supposed to be here.”
And then, right there in the middle of her living room floor, he collapsed.
Chapter Three: The Hunt
Flying was amazing.
It had been so long since Silas had been able to strap himself into a little speeder and break records for the fastest time streaking through the darkness of space. As he’d predicted, his new rank kept him at his desk quite a bit. He sent others out into the field, out into the vastness of space, and then waited for them to report back. Sometimes he tried to live vicariously through them, but it wasn’t the same.
There was nothing that compared to the way this felt. Just him and his shuttle and the stars whizzing by as he chased down bad guys who would be brought to justice.