Anders: An Auxem Novel

by Lisa Lace

  I nodded again. We had been over this three times already. I tried to change the subject, knowing he was getting anxious because he couldn’t help himself.

  “The festival of the Stone Goddess lasts for a week. We’re lucky we arrived in time for the final day of celebrations,” I said.

  Morley nodded. “It’s fortunate, but there's no such thing as fate. Everything happens for a reason.”

  “Fate has definitely taken a hand in all this,” I said, thinking about Ven.

  “Do you love him?” Morley sounded more curious than anything.

  “No,” I said. “Of course not.”

  My mind drifted back to our kiss. But that was lust, not love.

  “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

  “Not Shakespeare. It was bad enough you made me read it when I was learning English. I shouldn’t be subjected to it now. Just because everyone says he’s good doesn't make him good.”

  “The Bard is one of Earth’s greatest artists, and you should have more respect for his work. Emmy, do you have feelings for this man? He's an alien, for heaven’s sake. Why would you marry him?”

  “I told you the truth, Morley. I needed to get away from Abel’s men at the time, so I said I would go with him. When I learned his entire tale of woe, I felt bad because I had stolen his bride away from him. I was trying to fix a mistake.”

  I looked away from Morley’s gaze quickly, worried that he might see something concealed in my heart. I didn’t love Ven, so I didn’t think he would discover a hidden secret. But Morley was always able to penetrate my thoughts, and I wanted some privacy right now.

  “I’m worried about you, Emmy. Marriage isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

  “I’m giving the marriage the full consideration it deserves.”

  Morley paused for a moment, then blurted out a thought. “Perhaps Ven should not be part of our search. How much do we know about him? Can he be trusted with these secrets?”

  I bristled at the thought. “Ven saved my life at great personal risk. He left a comfortable home and came with me. We can trust him.” I was feeling indignant.

  “That speaks of a strong commitment,” Morley observed. “In fact, it’s a surprising amount of effort from one stranger to another.”

  “We’re not strangers.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “We’re husband and wife.”

  “In all ways?” he whispered. He wanted to know if I had slept with Ven.

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business. I trust him, Morley. You will too.”

  “Very well. I will defer to your judgment, but I will form my opinion of the young man and whether he is good enough for you.”

  I smiled at him and he kissed me on the cheek.

  “Now it’s time for Cinderella to go to the ball.”

  “Do I have to, Morley? Isn’t there another way to get in?”

  “Not during the festival of the Stone Goddess. You know how these people are. When everyone is drunk and exhausted from their reveling, you will have an opportunity to slip away. The mirror is the key to the ladle. Tonight we’re counting on you and your brain.”

  “Okay.” I suddenly felt nervous. “Be ready in case I need any help.”

  “Of course I’ll be prepared, but I don’t think you’ll need to contact me.”

  I huffed out my breath, feeling more anxious than ever.

  “You can do this, Emmy. I have great faith in you.”

  “Are you sure you can’t come with me?”

  “The scanners would see right through my holographic face. Morley must remain dead. You see that, don’t you? Once the truth came out, Abel would know about it immediately.”

  “I guess you’re right, but I wish things were different. We could be partners again.”

  “Perhaps it’s time for you to get a new partner,” he said under his breath. Ven walked up after parking the hovercraft. I stared at the sight of him impeccably dressed in formal attire. He looked unbelievably handsome. My heart started to pound in my chest. Ven walked toward me like a magnet was pulling him. With a visible effort, he turned his head and greeted Morley, then returned his gaze to my face.

  “You look beautiful.” His eyes locked onto mine.

  “So do you.” I felt tongue-tied and wished I could think of something more interesting to say.

  “I’ll let you two get to work,” Morley said. He had a smile on his face that went completely over my head. I was flabbergasted by Ven’s appearance. “Contact me if you have any emergencies.”

  Ven held out his arm to me. I took it, and my pulse raced. I had never felt this way before. It was like I might float away at any moment.

  “Are you ready?” He flashed a smile that made my body perk up and take notice.

  “I am if you are.” I was ready for anything.

  He led me to the front of the building where destiny waited for us.

  Chapter Sixteen

  VEN

  I glided into the large ballroom after we passed through security, feeling like my feet were barely touching the floor. The way Emmy had looked before we entered the room dramatically affected me. My heart was still pounding from the heat in her eyes.

  She came off like a dream, wearing a long dress that swept the floor. The bodice was tight around her chest, putting her large breasts on display. The rest of the dress curved over her sensual hips on its way to the ground. She was turning me on so much that I had to focus my attention elsewhere so I wouldn’t embarrass myself.

  I had never been attracted to a curvy woman before. The tall, slender women from my dating history were usually thin. No hips, no butts, and small breasts. I had slept with plenty and enjoyed every moment.

  But now that I had Emmy on my arm, I was beginning to wonder what I had ever seen in those types of women in the first place. The dress hugged her luscious curves in a way I didn’t know I desired until I saw it. I wasn’t the only one who noticed. She was turning male heads all over the place as we walked through the packed room.

  The atmosphere was romantic. Music filled the dimly-lit ballroom. People held drink glasses as big as bowls and drained them as quickly as possible. Lavish furnishings and luxurious decor packed every corner.

  She stopped before an ancient stone wheel on display in the main party room.

  “Do you know the history of this object too?”

  Emmy barely heard me. She looked entranced and put her hand on the glass case as if she wanted to touch the smooth stone. “It’s a depiction of the Stone Goddess. She’s always shown as a wheel that has no beginning and no end.”

  I wasn't impressed.

  She read a placard describing the artifact. “The Stone Goddess leaves no survivors. I’m not sure what it means, but I bet we get a chance to find out.” She gave me a dazzling smile. “The Stone Goddess is tomorrow’s problem. We should dance now.” She reached out her hand and pulled me onto the dance floor.

  “We’ll be able to see more this way,” she whispered. “Move me around the room.”

  I was happy to hold her in my arms. I took her hand, lowering my arm around her waist. When I pulled her body next to me, I knew I didn’t want a wealthy but boring life any longer. It had been fun for a while, and nice having anything I wanted. But that life was ultimately meaningless. I wanted something and someone more. The person I wanted was in my arms right now. I glanced down at Emmy, who was dazzled either by the opulence or my proximity.

  “Emmy.” I wasn’t sure how to express the words in my heart.

  “Yes?” Her voice sounded strangled. I wondered again if she was affected by my presence as I was by hers. She had enjoyed our stolen kiss on the spaceship, but I told her we were going to remain friends.

  “Do you remember what I said after we kissed?” Her breathing quickened.

  “Of course. Our relationship will be strictly platonic. If I wanted you...” She hesitated, her skin turning a delicate pink as her voice dropped lower. “...in my bed
, I would have to make the first move. Why? Do you want me to change my mind?”

  “I’m just making sure you remembered.”

  She looked troubled by my words, but I had a feeling that she was getting to the point where her desire for me would outweigh her objections. She was holding onto her ideals because she was scared.

  To be honest, she wasn’t the only one. The possibility of falling in love with Emmy was disturbing. I wasn’t ready for the level of truth required in such a relationship.

  But whenever I stared into Emmy’s soft brown eyes, I knew I couldn’t simply let her go, either.

  Wasn’t I a brave man? A soldier? If I could risk my life in battle, why couldn’t I risk my heart with an Earth woman? Part of me knew an authentic relationship with Emmy would be more difficult than putting my life on the line. If I made a mistake in battle, at least I was dead and my problems were over.

  Her body moved to the music, shifting against mine. I wondered what it would feel like if she moved underneath me as I buried myself into her body.

  “What are you thinking?” she whispered. We were dancing close enough for me to feel her nipples against my chest.

  I whispered into her ear, making her shiver. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be considered polite conversation.”

  “Where would it be considered polite conversation?” I knew she was out of her depth.

  “You’ll have to come to my bed if you want to find out.”

  Maybe she wasn’t out of her depth. She ground her body closer to me, making me draw in a quick breath.

  “Don’t make suggestions if you’re not prepared to follow up on them.” She put her cheek on my shoulder, but not before I saw her blush.

  “I mean it. See me tonight and find out how much.”

  I heard her swallow, and she shuddered. I smiled in satisfaction. Maybe I would have a midnight visitor, or maybe I wouldn’t, but I knew she was interested. It was only a matter of time before she succumbed to the pull between us.

  Would she realize we were good together? We hadn’t had much time, but there was something about us that instantly clicked. I wondered if fate brought us one another.

  “I thought your type was tall, blonde, and skinny.” She lifted her head to look me in the eyes. Would I never live that down?

  “That was long ago when I was young and dumb. I’ve changed my type since then.”

  “Oh?” I heard a spark in her voice. “And what’s your type now?”

  “Short, curvy, and feisty.” I lowered my voice so only she could hear me. “With breasts I could get lost in.”

  “Stop.” She cut me off, and I wondered if I had offended her. When I looked down at her face, I realized she had seen something.

  “Look over there.” She gestured with her finger. I looked where she was pointing, but didn’t see anything important enough to interrupt our sexy banter. Emmy’s eyes looked focused, though, and the time for joking had passed.

  “That mirror is critical. Let’s go check it out.”

  I strained my neck, but I could barely see it from the ballroom. “Lead on, my lady.” I gestured with my hand.

  “Don’t call me that.” Emmy led me across the crowded room. “I’m not a lady.”

  “Maybe not, but you’re going to be mine.”

  She didn’t answer me. I wondered if she had heard me amidst all the noise. I liked the thought of possessing her, but I knew that would come with other problems. If that happened, she would own part of me as well. There was no way for me to gain her heart without losing mine.

  “I don’t belong to anyone.”

  She did hear me. I couldn’t argue with her, but I wanted to.

  It was easy for us to drift off down the hall, ending up in front of the mirror. A volatile mass of dancing and drinking bodies filled the main room. It seemed like the festival of the Stone Goddess celebrated the blessing of Heralla with spirits. The main event consisted of consuming as much alcohol as possible using glasses the size of soup bowls.

  People were already stumbling and falling over each other. By morning, the floor would be littered with hungover bodies and smell like sex.

  “I think this mirror is over a thousand years old.”

  “How do you know?”

  “It was created for the first queen on Heralla. That statue was made in her image.” She pointed to a remarkably life-like bust of a woman on the mantle above the fireplace. “The monks gave the mirror to her as a present. Morley and I researched this planet to death. We know everything an outsider can know about its history.”

  “If you know everything, then what are we supposed to do now?”

  “We had a poem linked to the mirror. On our last attempt, Morley nearly penetrated the monk’s outer defenses on the mountain, but he got stuck. He found a cave that was supposed to contain a passage to Zelia's ladle. The only thing in the cave was a mirror, just like this one.”

  “He made it that far, then gave up and left?” It sounded strange to me.

  “Yeah, it’s a little odd. But Morley thinks he missed something, and the poem would help us open the gate.” Emmy began to recite.

  It looks like glass but yet it’s not

  If you look through an awful lot

  Secrets will begin to show

  The glass will melt like fallen snow

  “It’s not the best poetry, but I guess itt doesn’t matter for an ancient riddle,” I muttered to myself.

  “It loses something in the translation.”

  We both sank into silence.

  “What if the mirror is the gate?” Emmy looked around to see if anyone heard her. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it. Her fingers ran along the glass, and Emmy made a sound of frustration.

  Solving riddles wasn’t my specialty, but this seemed simple enough. All we had to do was follow the directions. “I think you should stand in front of the mirror and look into it.”

  Emmy shook her head. I could see she thought my solution was too easy. Part of me agreed with her. It probably wouldn’t work, but it didn’t hurt to try.

  She stood in front of the mirror and looked into her reflection. As I watched her face, I saw an almost invisible, thin beam of red light focus on her retina.

  “Something is scanning your eye.”

  She didn’t move. “Do you think it’s finished?”

  “I don’t see a laser anymore. Is there anything different about the mirror?”

  Emmy reached out her hand slowly, almost reverently, and touched the mirror. Nothing happened. It was still hard glass.

  “Perhaps it knows you’re not the queen. Would the scan be keyed to the queen’s eye?”

  “They have to be looking for something. The mirror must be the gate, and we have to figure out how to open it.”

  She shook her head. “Other people needed access. What if one of the monks wanted to use the ladle? They must have had a way inside.”

  Emmy looked at the bust of the queen and snatched it up. A light went on and I knew an alarm started ringing somewhere. She ignored the light and came back to the mirror, holding the bust up in front of her face and making the statue look at itself in the mirror. I watched the laser scan the bust’s eye. We heard a soft beep and Emmy drew in a sharp breath.

  “I hope that worked.” She placed the bust back on the mantle and returned to the mirror.

  When she reached out to tap it, I expected to hear her fingers rapping on hard glass again. But when she touched the mirror this time, her fingertips went through.

  I realized that we might not even be looking at a mirror. Was it a type of sophisticated holographic technology, creating the illusion of a reflection? If so, how was she able to touch it before? And why couldn’t she touch it now?

  “There’s nothing there anymore.”

  “We don’t have time to waste. When you took the bust, it set off an alarm. Abel’s men can’t be far behind.”

  “I know.” With a smile in my direction, Emmy stepped through the mirror an
d disappeared.

  Chapter Seventeen

  VEN

  Everything about this situation was bizarre. How had monks from thousands of years ago possessed anything remotely similar to modern technology? It might even be a more advanced holographic science than we had now.

  I looked around. We were at the top of a curving staircase that descended into darkness. The stepping stones consisted of the same red rock used to construct the building. I pulled out a flashlight.

  “Are you ready?” I said to Emmy. Her eyes were lit up like a child opening a present.

  “The monks gave the queen the mirror as a gateway into the catacombs. Morley will be surprised.”

  “Are we supposed to contact Morley? This wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “Maybe.” She checked her computer. “We couldn’t even if we had to. There’s no signal in here. Something in the rocks here blocks communication. Morley and I had the same problem when we explored some of the tunnels in the mountain.”

  “I wonder if it makes more sense to go forward or retreat and consult him?”

  She frowned. “We were supposed to get information, then return to the mirror in the mountain. But we’re close to the ladle already. If we go back out and talk withMorley, we might never get another chance to sneak in again. I think we should go on.”

  “Are you sure?” I didn’t feel as confident as she sounded.

  She nodded. “Listen to me.” She stepped in front of me on the stairs. “We’re going to an ancient place. Monks set up different levels of protection to kill thieves and prevent them from reaching Zelia's ladle.”

  “Kill?” That was the only word in the sentence that mattered to me. “You’re not joking.”

  “Nope. Morley and I gathered a lot of information about this place. There are at least sixteen different types of booby traps.”

  I looked down at Emmy’s breasts questioningly.

  “Not those kind of boobies.” She pursed her lips as if she were trying not to smile. “Traps to surprise and kill trespassers. I have an idea of what they look like and which signs mark them, so I’ll take the point. Just for your information, there are three that appear to be most common. Pan-jee traps, the spike board, and the door trap.”