The soft sound of the ships door opening caused her to sink her fingers into the ground to stop herself from getting up and running to them. To stop herself from condemning both herself and Tau to a living hell. She could see them walking towards her. They looked pleased, as if she was some prize they had been hunting for years.
There were the two who had gone into Zymar’s tent and a guard. Talia was curled in a ball on the ground, refusing to relax her body. She was weak. She had no ability to stop them from dragging her off and loading her on their ship as another specimen. The guard reached down and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her in slow increments across the ground. Her head ached from the noise of the ship combined with the pain of having her body pulled by her hair.
Where was Zymar? She was already close to the door of the ship when the noise stopped. The silence was so loud at first she missed it. Then the pain went to more manageable levels in her head. She felt her body unfurl and her strength return.
Reaching up, she grabbed onto the guard and pulled him down, forcing his hands to release her hair. One of the two in charge aimed a weapon at her, but Sadir came out of nowhere to knock him down. The grove was now being overrun by Mians.
Zymar whistled and pointed to the ship. They made a run for it.
Chapter Six
The fighting did not last long now that the noise generator had been disabled. The Mians had overrun the ship to find six more Kriers on board. They had been brought out and dispatched of.
Talia protested killing them, since they had been caught. Every Mian there had looked at her as if she had said something wrong. Zymar motioned her to walk with him. Once they left the open grove behind he stopped.
“Talia, we have no place to hold the Kriers. If we let them go, then they come back at us twice as hard and the next time they know our methods. We have no other choice than to get rid of them permanently.”
She had acknowledge what he said, then lowered her head. Killing for any reason seemed wrong to her. It was one of the things they taught her as a soul. You must never take a life. It is precious and does not belong to you. This planet would not make the souls happy.
“Talia, I think you need to go home.”
Her eyes flew to Zymar’s face, knowing she would be unable to hide the fear. He wanted her to leave the planet. Was it because of her reluctance to kill? She didn’t know how to go, not that it mattered. She wasn’t leaving. She was claiming this planet and this body as her new home. What would he think of that?
“Talia.” From the look on his face he must have said her name several times. “I think you should go home to Tau for a while. A bigger battle is coming and I will need you here.”
She knew he could see the relief in her face. She felt it throughout her limbs. Her breathing slowed and the flush that was making her hot retreated. Her heart rate dropped. The longing to see Tau’s smile again became a painful ache in her chest. How did she get back there?
“How many days will it take for me to journey back?”
“You do not have to journey. You can get back there the same way you got here. Close your eyes and think of him in great detail. I will see you soon, Talia.”
She thought about Tau, the last time she had seen him. They had been walking out the door of Tarek’s and Jana’s dwelling. He had been telling her of the marvelous place he was going to find her to stay while his amethyst eyes had lit up and a smile came across his firm lips. She had been thinking of how he smelled when she had disappeared. His smelled like the wild untamed nature, the scent was male and woodsy at the same time. The smell of him made her stomach clench as she longed for something she never experienced before.
The squeal of young voices alerted her to the change in her surroundings, encouraging her look around. She was in a field with several young ones and Tau. The young were attacking him and he was rolling them around and making them laugh with high pitched sounds. She found her mouth quirking up as she watched them play.
One little girl stopped playing long enough to point at her. “Who is she? She’s pretty.”
Talia got lost in the smoldering look he threw her way. It was unacceptable she told herself. The souls would expect her to be a calm, act with the decorum all souls were taught from birth, not to throw caution to the wind. That’s exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to throw caution to the wind and walk up to him and get as close to his body as possible. Maybe she would even kiss the palms of his hands. She didn’t understand it all, but she knew she wanted him.
“That is Talia.” Tau stood, shaking off the young who clung to him like a second skin. There was more laughter as he made sure each child hit the ground gently. “It’s time for all of you to find your homes, before I have angry parents chasing after me.”
The children spent more time laughing at the picture he had drawn for them before turning to Talia and screaming bye as loud as possible. With one more hug to Tau, they took off running and laughing.
“The young seem to like you a lot.”
“I like them. They keep me busy and time spent with me gives their parents a break which I think they appreciate.”
“I am sure you are appreciated for more than that.”
“Hope so. There’s a place to sit. Shall we use it?”
Talia followed him over to seats that were positioned so they could see the young playing while still taking in the beauty of the area.
“It’s very beautiful here.”
“Thank you. I helped to craft this area. I love to work with my hands, to see something come from nothing.”
She looked down at his hands. His fingers were long and strong looking. She wondered what it would be like to have him touching her, to have his finger stroking her skin. She licked her lips as the thought of him touching her all over invaded her mind.
“Talia, is everything ok? Your breathing changed.”
The rasp of his voice went through her, making her shudder. It was a warm feeling that started at the top of her body and slid slowly and sensually down making her knees knock. She wanted to do it again. That shudder had made her insides quake and her stomach melt in anticipation of his voice again.
“I am fine. I was just thinking of something.”
“I’m fine too.” The sound of his voice undid her once again. “Zymar contacted us. He said you were there and would participate in a battle.”
“That’s where I went when I zapped away from here. I showed up outside of the perimeter of his encampment.”
“I wonder why that happened.” He looked at her more intensely, searching for an answer in her eyes.
“I decided it must be so I could fight with them. Whatever the reason, we won this small skirmish as Zymar calls it. There will be a bigger battle soon, he predicts.”
Talia told Tau all that happened to her. He was a good listener, never interrupting unless something was unclear to him. When she came to the end of the battle, she stopped not wanting to give him the last details.
“What happened?” Tau gently prompted her.
“They killed them, Tau. They killed every one of them. I know they have caused us problems, but to just kill them.”
Tau reached out and gently stroked her face, as he moved closer to her, so he could wrap his arms around her.
“Talia, you are so gentle. It’s an amazing quality to find in the middle of war. At times, I think all of our gentleness has been beaten out of us. I like that you can still see the good, even in the Kriers. In the beginning, we did not kill them. We believed they could be changed or at least driven off the planet. Soon we discovered that any real threat to them caused them to multiply rapidly and they would come back to crush it. We discovered rather quickly that if we wanted to live, we had to destroy each one we caught. We could not risk even one surviving to escape.”
Talia allowed herself to relax into the arms holding her. She knew he was right, but all she could think of was a way to change things.
“Did Zymar tell you anything a
bout the Kriers?”
“He told me their planet was dying. They had killed it by taking, but never giving anything back. He said that was what they wished to do with our planet.”
“He should have told you more. The Kriers are a race that seem to be hierarchical. They do what the leader tells them to do, when the leader tells them to do it. From what we have observed, no one breaks rank. It would be a death sentence if they did. If the leader says sacrifice your life, they do it without hesitation.
When the Krier first came to our planet, after the ancient ones were gone, they announced to us exactly what would happen. They were that confident in their abilities to win. They told us they would take our planet’s food and soil. They would strip it down to nothing to feed their people and keep them alive a few more years. They told us how we would resist, but they would prevail. We would either die or become a slave to them, following their orders. They didn’t stop there. They told us about the planets they had already destroyed, the people who would never send another cry out into the galaxy, because they no longer exist. Why? They did it all to sustain a life of greed. They would rather kill other worlds than to work to make theirs better.”
Talia snuggled deeper into Tau’s arms, while his words kicked around in her mind. What if the Kriers succeeded here? What if they were allowed to continue their reign of terror in the galaxy? What if they went to the planet of souls she had come from? That planet would have no defense. They would not fight. The killing would be easy. They would die rather than become a slave to another.
“What did the Mians do when they heard this?” Mians were not a people to go gently into the night.
“We made a vow as a planet. We vowed we would stop this reign of terror. It will end here with us. No matter how many generations have to fight, we will win.”
There was no fanfare. Tau had not puffed up his chest or said it with pride. His words were simply laced with determination, the same determination she heard in Tarek’s and Zymar’s voice. She understood on a basic level it was not a threat. It was a promise.
“I might be able to somehow help us to win. Zymar said he would be seeing me soon. It makes me think he is planning a trip here.”
“You think you can help? Do you want to fight?”
Talia took her time pondering both questions separately. Could she help? She thought so, but did she really want to fight?
“I think I can help. Every time I am exposed to that mind-numbing noise, I become a little more resistant to it.” In time she felt it would not bother her at all. “Do I want to fight is a more difficult question. I do not wish to be known as a slaughterer of innocent or defenseless people. Neither will I allow those same people to hurt this world or another world. In the end, I will fight whether I want to or not.”
“Then it is settled.”
She turned to look at him. What had they settled?
“Only one can go to war in a family. It protects the family and the warrior. You have chosen to fight. I will stay and make sure all is right for your every return.”
“Did you wish to fight?”
Tau shook his head no. He had seen the look on her face as she gave her final answer. It had been the look of a warrior. He had dealt with too many of them not to know it, but he had seen something else also. He saw an ancient one look through her eyes. She would fight and he would not stand in her way.
Chapter Seven
They walked back to Tarek and Jana’s dwelling where Tau promised she would have both great food and conversation. All she wanted was to stay in his arms, but being around others might be the wise decision.
Jana opened the door she was overjoyed to see Talia again. Talia received a big hug before being looked over by Jana. When she was done with her, she passed Talia off to Tarek, who had enfolded her in his big arms and about shook her brains loose. Then he looked over her and scheduled her for an appointment the next day. Finally, she was released back into Tau’s care.
Tau entered the kitchen ducking as a piece of small fruit sailed toward him. “I come in peace,” he said lifting his hands laughing.
“I don’t need any help Tau,” Tarek replied, sitting at the table where he began to cut vegetables.
“Of course you don’t.” Tau took a seat at the table.
“You left Talia alone. Maybe you should go supervise.”
“Stop grumbling like an old one, Tarek. Besides Talia and Jana are talking. Female things is what they said before they banished me from the room.”
Tarek groaned, “Two ancient females talking, we better be on our best behavior.”
“Jana, doesn’t know she’s ancient yet.”
“I didn’t know until we mated. You really could have been more forthcoming with the information.”
“No, I couldn’t somethings have to unfold naturally even for ancients.”
“How ancient are we Tau?”
“You tell me you’re the keeper of the records.”
Tau looked around the kitchen. The insides of their dwellings were at odds with the structure itself. The kitchen was newer, modern, it didn’t look like it belonged to a people who worked the land and lived in harmony with nature. The Mians were a wide and diverse people, none here remembered where their more advanced technology came from they simply made it work in conjunction with their planet.
“Tau,” Tarek pulled him out of his thoughts. “Let’s set the table I finished while you were sleeping.
“I wasn’t asleep,” Tau protested.
Tarek laughed as he carried food into the other room.
*******
“What did you think about Zymar?” Jana asked as she grinned at Tau, but refused to look at Tarek.
“He’s tall. It was the first thing I noticed.”
“And handsome. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that.” Jana raised her hand to hide her quivering lips.
Something sailed over the table to hit Jana in the arm.
“Hey.”
“You’re in a committed relationship, my other half. The only picture of beauty you see is me.”
The laugh Jana had been fighting came out. It was both husky and sensual. “I definitely see you.”
Tau rolled his eyes. “Break it up. You two have guest, save that for later.”
“If not for Talia being here, I would kick you out Tau.”
“Tarek is all threat, no follow through. Do not mind him.” Tau said, ducking under the table to miss whatever Tarek had thrown at him.
Talia laughed with Jana as they watched the two men play.
“Seriously Talia, what did you think about Zymar?” Jana asked again, with a straight face this time.
“I think he is intense and determined. He has a plan that he is playing close to his chest. What he did today hinged on me. How did he know I would be there when he put this plan into motion? He did not just make it up on the spot.”
Talia noticed Tau and Tarek had looked at each other before looking away, like nothing had happened.
“Zymar has always been different,” Jana said quietly.
“Did you know him as a young one?”
“No he just showed up one day, like you did. He quickly made himself invaluable,” Tarek replied.
“He does seem to have that talent,” Talia said opening her mouth to say something else.
“We should be going.” Tau cut off whatever Jana was about to say. “We still have to find a place for Talia to rest.”
Jana and Tarek walked them to the door and each gave her another hug.
When Jana hugged her, she whispered in her ear. “Do not worry. I couldn’t care less where you came from. I am just happy you are here. He needs you.” She gave her another tight squeeze and let her go.
Talia walked out feeling like she was a part of something. When she had just been a soul, she never felt wanted or needed. No one ever wanted to hear what she had to say or took the time to listen if her thoughts were different form theirs. Here she was accepted not criticized. She s
till had a lot to learn, but she wanted to stay.
“So exactly where is this comfortable bed you have been teasing me about?” She gave Tau a playful squeeze to his hand as she smiled at him.
“You have several offers of a place to stay. They have come from both male and female. The males are unattached and wish to know if there is a possibility you could be there other half. The females are just checking out the competition or warning you away from their other halves.”
“So many generous offers to choose from. Which one would you encourage me to take?”
“Let me think…you could stay with…hmm not a good idea. He has found his other half. He will acknowledge this soon. Now you could stay with…the more I think about it I think you should reject all of the offers you have received.”
“I could go back and ask Jana and Tarek if I could stay with them. It may be awkward with them being newly joined.” She pouted, making sure he could see her face before going on. “What am I going to do? Were there any more offers on the table?”
“There was one last offer that came in, a great place to stay.”
She smiled up at him. “This sounds promising. Was it a male or a female?”
“Let me think. I remember now. It was a male.”
“Not another one looking for his other half I hope.”
“I am pretty sure this one has found her.”
They moved through the village waving to everyone they saw, but never stopping to talk. The village gave way to a more sparse landscape with a dwelling here or there, until they came upon the final one.
“This is the house of the one you have been telling me about?”
“Yes.”
“Is he in there?”
“He will be in a minute. Talia will you stay with me?”
Tau's Miracle: Alien Destination: Scifi FantasyRomance Page 4