Chapter Twenty-Five
No one ate much at the evening meal, even though T’gana made pancakes for a second time. S’rah looked at the despondent little faces.
“Why don’t we all go curl up on the couch and watch a movie?” she suggested.
The movie was a classic quest tale with a female hero, and he recognized it as having inspired their earlier game. At one point in the story, an Elder Female died and then appeared in the water as a large sea creature.
“Do you think Daddy’s in the sea?” T’bitha whispered.
Most Yehrin believed that their souls went to join the Ancestors, but who knew what form they took?
“Perhaps so,” he agreed. She nodded and settled back against his chest and her thumb did not return to her mouth.
He found he identified with the warrior in the movie—one who had made a mistake and finally found a way to atone. Perhaps there was a way for him to move past his mistakes as well.
When bedtime came, both girls dissolved into tears again and clung to them. S’rah gave him a helpless look, then settled them both in the big bed in the mirrored bedroom and told them stories until their eyes finally closed.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“About what?”
“Having two little girls in our bed. We can’t… do anything tonight.”
“I always want you, my S’rah. But I do believe I can survive one night.”
She looked startled, then smiled at him. “Of course, you can. And I can too.”
Driven by his pleasure at her smile, he leaned over and kissed her until she was clinging to him.
“But not if you keep doing that,” she said breathlessly.
“Should I desist?”
“Never!” The word hung between them.
“S’rah…”
“One day at a time, my love. Remember?”
“You are as wise as you are beautiful.”
A delicate pink spread over her cheeks. “And you’re a sweet talker.” She bent down and kissed each girl softly. “Hopefully they’ll sleep now. Shall we go into the other room?”
He nodded, but as soon as S’rah started to ease her way out of the bed, J’ne woke up. The rest of the night followed a similar pattern. Both girls had nightmares and woke crying. In the early hours of the morning, his females finally settled into an exhausted sleep, but he couldn’t join them. His thoughts circled endlessly. Finally, he slipped carefully out of the bed and went to patrol the house.
When that didn’t work to settle his mind, he started moving through the training exercises, letting the familiar patterns calm his anxiety. By the time he found some measure of peace, his chest was dripping with sweat and his weak leg trembled, but he had reached a conclusion. He was not what they deserved, but his females needed him. For their sakes, he would find a way out of this pit of despair.
“T’gana, what are you doing?” S’rah asked sleepily from the doorway.
“I could not sleep.”
Without a word, she came over and put her arms around him, all soft, sleepy female.
“Do you really want me to stay with you?” he asked.
Her body stiffened and she leaned her head back to look up at him.
“You know I do,” she said quietly.
“I do not know how long it will take to become even half the male I was before.”
“My love, I don’t miss him. We only saw each other’s surface. What we have now, between us, this is real.”
His chest ached but he recognized the truth in her words. They had seen into the heart of each other and he could not regret that, no matter how much pain they had shared.
“And you would trust me to care for T’bitha and J’ne?”
“There is no one I would trust more.”
“Then we will still take one day at a time, but each day will be here with you.”
“Oh, T’gana.” Her eyes were bright with water, but her smile was as bright as the rising sun. “I love you.”
“I love you too, my S’rah.”
He bent his head to kiss her, to seal their love, and a small voice intruded.
“I’m hungry, Daddy Tigga.”
“Then you shall be fed.” His heart lighter than it had been in many days, he scooped up T’bitha, put his arm around S’rah’s waist and led the way to the kitchen.
As they moved through the morning, Sarah noticed that T’gana’s newfound peace seemed to help all of them. The girls behaved more like their usual selves and she, too, felt like a weight had been lifted. Although the strain had left his face, he still looked tired, so she lured him into the bedroom and coaxed him into laying down for a while.
“I seem to be spending a lot of time in this bed.” His eyes glinted at her. “And not for the most pleasant reasons. Are you going to join me?”
“If I do, you won’t rest. But if you catch up on your sleep now, maybe we can do some of those more pleasant things tonight.”
“Your reasoning is excellent, my S’rah,” he said, his eyes already closing, and she watched in satisfaction as he slipped into a deep, natural sleep.
Not long after T’gana drifted off, Crystal called. Darryl’s parents were in town for the funeral and wanted to see the girls. Sarah didn’t remember them being particularly interested in the girls before, but perhaps things had changed while she was gone.
“You can bring them over anytime,” she offered.
“Uh, no. They don’t even wanna come to his house. Said there were too many memories. They’re staying at the Hotel Grayson. I thought I could pick them up. Just for a couple of hours.”
“I suppose that’s all right,” she said doubtfully. “Isn’t that kind of a fancy place for little girls?”
“I’m sure it’s cool. I’ll be over in about thirty minutes, okay?”
Before Sarah could respond, she hung up.
Wondering what T’gana would think, she went to check on him. He was still sleeping, his face smooth and at peace, and she decided not to disturb him. Leaving him to sleep, she slipped quietly out of the room, closing the door behind her. At the last minute, she also took the monitor. The last thing he needed was to be startled awake by the alarm when Crystal arrived.
Jane and Tabby changed into two of their new outfits readily enough, but when Crystal showed up at the door, neither girl wanted to leave, and they clung to Sarah’s hands.
“Maybe I should come with them,” she said to Crystal as she went to her knees to wrap an arm around each girl. She didn’t want to leave T’gana, but it the girls needed her.
“No,” Crystal said quickly, then shot a nervous glance around. “Their grandparents want to see them by themselves.”
“But just for a few hours, right? You’re bringing them back this afternoon?”
“Yes, of course,” she agreed, but her eyes flickered. Sarah’s instincts kicked into overdrive. She couldn’t deny that the grandparents had a right to see the girls, but what if they were planning on trying to keep them?
“I don’t wanna go, Mama Sarah,” Jane whispered. “Last time we saw Grandma, she was on the phone the whole time and didn’t want to play with us and Grandpa always smells funny.”
“He smells yucky,” Tabby agreed. “Wanna stay with Daddy Tigga.”
Sarah’s heart sank even further but the complaints weren’t serious enough to give her a reason to prevent them from going.
“It’s just for a little while,” she said gently. “Then Crystal will bring you back to me. Right, Crystal?”
“Yeah, sure.” The girl darted another look around. “But we gotta go. I don’t wanna get stuck in traffic.”
Sarah hugged the girls, then disentangled the clinging fingers and sent them off, her heart aching. What was she going to do if Darryl’s parents wanted custody? Custody laws would surely favor their grandparents, even if they were virtual strangers. But those were human custody laws… Her hands shook as she went to find the communicator. So many times she had envied the Yehrin
their prerogatives. Perhaps this time, she could use it in her favor.
A harsh voice answered in Yehrin.
“Commander, this is Sarah Anderson again.”
“Is there trouble?”
“No, or at least not of the kind I called about last time.”
“That is a relief. Why are you calling?” His voice was brusque, but not unsympathetic.
“When we spoke before, you said the girls could stay with me. Do you remember?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Can you enforce that? I mean, if someone tried to take them away?”
“My word is law,” he said firmly, and there was no trace of doubt in his voice. For once Yehrin arrogance came as a relief and she relaxed for the first time since she’d opened the door.
“Thank you so much. The girls have gone to see their grandparents. I am afraid that they won’t return them, or that even if they do, their grandparents will try and claim them.”
“If they do not return, have Sub Commander T’gana contact me. I am surprised he let them leave if you are so concerned.”
She winced. “I didn’t tell him. He’s still on shaky ground.”
“Your earth is moving? Should I send an extraction team?” he asked immediately, and she had to fight back the urge to giggle.
“No, sorry. I just meant that his recovery is still uncertain.”
“Ah. My advice to you is not to keep anything from your warrior. It never ends well.”
“I’ll let him know as soon as I can.”
“Very well.”
He disconnected. Apparently, the Yehrin didn’t believe in long goodbyes, or any goodbyes for that matter.
The monitor chimed softly, and she saw Becca walking up the driveway. Now what? She hurried to get to the door before the girl rang the bell and disturbed T’gana.
“Hi, Becca. Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, sure. Crystal sent me to get another shirt for Tabitha. She spilled grape juice on hers.”
“Already?” Apparently, the cute little white blouse had been a little too optimistic. “Come on in. I’ll find another one.”
“What’s that?” The girl gestured at the device she was still carrying.
“Oh, I forgot I was carrying it. It’s a communicator.”
Becca giggled. “It looks like something out of Star Trek.”
“I guess it is kind of like that.” She put it down on the island and gestured to a stool. “Have a seat. I’ll only be a minute.”
It wasn’t until she was combing through Tabby’s limited supply of clothes to find a suitable blouse that it hit her. The girls still had clothing at their house. Why couldn’t Crystal have used those?
“Becca, I’m not sure I have another top that will match,” she called as she headed back to the kitchen. “Can’t Crystal find—”
Her words came to an abrupt halt. The garage door was open, and Becca was no longer alone. Two men flanked her and just as she entered, the larger one brought a heavy pan down on the communicator, sending shards flying across the kitchen. Another sound penetrated her shocked horror and she looked across to see a third man standing at the door to the bedroom and, oh God, lowering an odd-looking rifle.
“What did you do?” she cried, racing towards him.
He caught her arm in a bruising grip. “None of that, missy. He’s alive. For now.”
“You shot him?” Visions of T’gana bleeding flashed through her mind and she started struggling.
“It’s just a fucking tranquilizer. Now settle down.” He yanked her arm behind her back and used it to steer her over to the island.
“Don’t hurt her,” Becca cried.
“Why do you care about some alien-loving slut?” the man behind Sarah demanded.
“It’s not her fault—they made her do it. And you said we would rescue her. Get her out of that bastard’s hands.”
The look she shot in the direction of the bedroom was so venomous that it shocked Sarah. The girl no longer seemed like the empty-headed young girl she had appeared to be before. Her pale face looked drawn and years older.
“Yeah, well, she’s away from him now, isn’t she?”
Becca nodded reluctantly. “What about him? How long until he wakes up and you can make him talk, Jim?”
The man holding her shrugged. “Hell, if I know. I shot him with an elephant tranquilizer.”
“Those aren’t intended for people,” Sarah cried, her heart pounding.
“He ain’t human. Or did you forget that when you were busy betraying your race?”
“Betraying my race? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Fucking a goddamn alien. Making more of the bastards. I bet you’re already fucking pregnant.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Becca cried. “What about my sister? How are you going to question him if you knocked him out?”
The men exchanged glances and she turned even paler. “Oh my god, you never had any intention of asking him, did you?”
“Your sister’s gone, Becca.” The man standing next to her said brusquely. Tall and slender with a serious expression, he seemed younger than the other two, but no sympathy softened his face. “If she isn’t dead, she probably already spawning another invader.”
Becca swayed, her hand reaching for the counter. “But, David, you promised me you’d help me find her.”
He shrugged. “We needed you to make contact with the bimbo up the street. You were our path in.”
“Crystal? Crystal is on this too? What has she done to the girls?” Frantic, Sarah started struggling again and Jim yanked her arm so high it felt like it was coming out of the socket.
“Stop that,” Becca yelled at Jim when Sarah cried out. “She’s human. She isn’t one of them.” She gave Sarah an earnest look. “The girls are fine, Sarah, I promise. We even made up the story about their grandparents to make sure they weren’t around here when the men came to deal with the alien. Crystal will take really good care of them until we get you out.”
“Get me out? I don’t want out!”
“Told ya.” The big man who had smashed the communicator spoke for the first time. “Fucking aliens do something to ‘em. My Margie’s always going on about Yehrin this and Yehrin fucking that.”
Since he was grossly overweight with sweat stains under his arms and what looked like food caught in his bushy beard, Sarah couldn’t blame Margie.
“You see, Becca. We did get her out,” Jim said, and laughed. The hair on Sarah’s arms stood on end.
“And now what?” she asked.
“We’re going to make an example of you.”
“What does that mean?” Becca asked before Sarah could work up the nerve.
“Becca, I think you should leave now,” David said. “You did your job and got us in.”
“But my sister… You promised.”
“You just have to accept that she’s gone,” he said gravely, as he took her by the arm and started walking her towards the door.
“I’m not leaving without Sarah,” she objected, dragging her feet. “This is my fault.”
“You really mean that, don’t you?” he said, studying her face.
When she nodded, he drew back his arm and with astonishing speed, punched her in the face. She didn’t even get a chance to cry out before she dropped to the floor.
“Damn, you’re a cold one,” the big man laughed. “Thought she was your little girlfriend.”
“Shut up, Tiny,” David said. “Are we ready, Jim?”
“Just have to bring in the rest of the supplies through the garage. It would be more dramatic at night, but I don’t know how long that tranquilizer will hold him.”
“Right. Come on, Tiny. Make yourself useful.”
“Shit. Why do I always have to carry stuff?” Tiny grumbled as he followed David into the garage.
“Because you sure as hell aren’t the brains of the operation.”
It wasn’t until he returned with a five gallon can of g
as in each hand that Sarah understood.
“You’re going to burn down the house,” she whispered through numb lips. “With T’gana in it.”
“Yep.” Jim leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “And he’s not going to be alone.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
T’gana was dreaming. At first the dream was pleasant—S’rah leading him along a garden path, stopping to kiss him each time the path changed direction. The girls skipped ahead, J’ne singing and T’bitha collecting wildflowers. But the next time he looked up, the girls were gone. He took a firmer grip on S’rah’s hand and tried to catch up with them, but the path started to change. The dirt beneath their feet turned to black sand and the sky turned green. Bitter smoke assailed his nose, and then S’rah was gone and he was back in the desert on Klendat Five. The bugs chittered and screeched. He tried to run but the sand dragged at his feet until he could barely move. Blood dripped from his missing rear claw and his leg burned and itched. A distant scream penetrated his consciousness—S’rah.
Startling awake, he tried to sit up, but his limbs would barely respond, as if he were truly mired in the dark sands. It took an infinite amount of time before he could move his head enough to look down and see a dart protruding from his arm. Gritting his teeth, sweat dripping down his forehead, he finally managed to bring his other hand over and pull it out. His mind immediately began to clear, although his movements were still sluggish. What had happened?
The smell of smoke drifted through the room and for a horrified moment he thought the Saviji had followed him here. Then he heard a human voice from the next room.
“We need to leave.”
A strange male voice in their domicile. Chills raced up his spine as he tried to bring his body back under control. Where was S’rah? Where were his girls?
“Shut up, Tiny.” A second voice spoke up. “I want to make sure the fire has caught first.”
“Why’re you in such a fucking hurry? We coulda had a little fun with her first.”
“You’re a sick fuck.”
Her? Were they talking about his S’rah? His skin crawling, he managed to push himself off the bed, landing on all fours.
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