“Well, of course, my dear!” Aunt Zeelah said. “Just come to the main grotto and we’ll meet you by the reflecting pool.”
“Wonderful!” Kara wanted to grin but instead she gave them another closed-mouth smile. “I’ll be right there.”
“We’ll see you soon!” Aunt Zeelah trilled and Uncle Grennly waved a hand at her in a friendly way before the connection was cut and her viewscreen went blank.
There, that wasn’t so bad—they’re welcoming me with open arms! Kara told herself as she pulled on her boots, grabbed her carryall cube and swathed herself in the thick vranna skin coat. She put on thermal gloves and a thermal face shield too, just to be safe. She well remembered the story her parents had told about how her mother had nearly died from exposure, even in the short amount of time it took her father to carry her from their ship to the entrance of the grotto, when she first came to Tranq Prime.
Finally, when she felt she was as shielded from the weather as she could be, Kara popped open the door to her shuttle…and was nearly knocked flat on her back by the gust of icy wind that shoved through the entrance like an overeager customer at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“Whoa!” she muttered, bracing herself against the wind. “Good thing I’m covered up!”
She stepped out into a cold so icy it seemed to steal her breath. It made her nose and mouth go numb and her lungs ached when she breathed it in, despite her thermal face shield. Kara knew that she needed to get out of it quickly before she froze.
Up ahead, moving in a group over the snowy plain, she saw the traders and merchants. Raak was among them—a head taller than everyone else. He was also the only one not wearing any kind of face and head protection. His long black hair whipped in the icy wind but Kara didn’t think he looked distressed or even particularly cold. He moved easily, walking at the front of the pack of merchants and looking around, his silver-ringed eyes taking in everything while all the other traders were solely focused on the door in the vast stone wall that rose to their left.
Kara was focused on the grotto door too. She didn’t want to draw unwanted attention from the traders or let Raak know she was there but neither did she want to get left behind. Moving quickly and blessing the fact that the thermal face shield would mask her features, she made her way to the back of the group and was the last one through the rusted metal door before it clanged shut behind her.
She found herself in a long tunnel made of rough, brown stone walls which stretched downward at a mild slope as though going into the heart of the earth.
“Whew—fucking cold out there!” one of the merchants complained, blowing on his hands—which were large and blue and had seven fingers each. He looked like a Durstan from Drusia Seven to Kara.
“You’re not kidding,” muttered another. “Hope this stop is worth it.”
“If you’ve got the right wares to sell, you’ll make it worth it,” a deep voice said.
It was Raak speaking, Kara saw, glancing up quickly. She saw his nose twitch as he caught her gaze momentarily and she was glad all over again for the face shield. It would be so awkward if he knew who she was—thankfully her cold weather disguise allowed her to be anonymous.
Not wanting to make small talk with the rest of the merchants, she hurried down the long access tunnel, the vranna fur coat trailing behind her.
“Look at him go—must have a buyer already lined up,” she heard one of the merchants say.
“Nah—just trying to get warm. Damned hard on a ball of ice like this,” came the muttered reply. And then Kara was far enough ahead that she couldn’t make out their words anymore, which suited her just fine—as did the fact that they had apparently assumed she was male.
After many twists and turns, she emerged from the long tunnel into a much larger, open area—the grotto. It was enormous for an underground space, Kara thought—at least as big as two football fields from Earth put together. It was also open and airy, so that she could only dimly see the natural rock ceiling glinting far above.
The plain brown walls of the tunnel had given way to vast sheets of pinkish rock that were streaked with what must be mineral deposits in every imaginable color. A purplish-blue vegetation that was short and fuzzy like moss covered the floor which sloped down to a center area, where a grove of pale trees with silvery leaves grew around a still blue lake.
“Oh, beautiful,” Kara breathed to herself as she surveyed the scene. Then she saw two familiar figures standing by the side of the lake—her great aunt and uncle waiting for her.
“Aunt Zeelah! Uncle Grennly!” Kara waved eagerly to them and then hurried down the purple moss-covered slope to the shores of the placid blue lake. “It’s so good to meet you at last!” she exclaimed, pulling off the hood of the vranna skin coat and stripping off her thermal mask.
“Oh yes, my dear—we’re happy to see you too.” Aunt Zeelah gave her a tight little smile. She was dressed in a furry brown dress that Kara recognized at once.
“Oh, a tharp! My mother still has hers—the one that gave her so much trouble when she and my father visited Tranq Prime before they were bonded,” she said.
Her Uncle Greenly was also dressed in furs, although unfortunately, his didn’t suit him quite as well as Aunt Zeelah’s. He was wearing a kind of furry purple skirt which came to mid-thigh and furry purple boots to match. This outfit left his scrawny, somewhat concave chest bare and didn’t do his skinny legs any favors either.
But Kara didn’t care about appearances—she was just happy to see her distant relatives and hopeful that she might soon get the treatment she so desperately needed.
“Well, well—tell me, my dear, what brings you to us so unexpectedly this way?” Uncle Grennly asked. “Are you hoping to see the grotto when the Snowdrop trees are all in bloom?”
“Oh yes, that must be it,” Aunt Zeelah exclaimed. “After all, the Snowdrop Festival is tomorrow. You must sit at our table during the feast, my dear. We’ll get you some…suitable clothing.” She looked at the vranna skin coat—which really was rather old and worn—with a highly skeptical eye.
“That sounds beautiful and I would love to sit with you during the feast,” Kara said. “But…well…that’s not exactly why I came.”
“Why then have you come, wife’s sister’s son’s daughter?” Uncle Grennly asked, frowning.
“Well…” Kara hesitated but there didn’t seem to be any easy way to say it. “I came because of these,” she said. Parting her mouth, she pointed to the sharp, double set of fangs on either side of her mouth, exactly where a human had their canine teeth.
“Oh my goodness gracious!” Aunt Zeelah actually went pale.
“Are those real?” Uncle Grennly demanded.
“I’m afraid so,” Kara said apologetically.
“Close your mouth at once!” Aunt Zeelah was looking around, as though wondering if anyone had seen the shameful sight. “Blood Kindred males are bad enough but a female with fangs? Who ever heard of such a thing?”
“No one,” Kara admitted. “I’m the only one that I know of.”
“Well that is just completely unacceptable!” Uncle Grennly blustered, as though she’d grown the fangs on purpose.
“Really most shocking,” Aunt Zeelah agreed, fanning herself with one hand. “Kara, dear, I’m afraid we can’t be seen with a fanged Kindred female. In fact, I think we’d better go now. Come, Grennly.” She tugged on her husband’s skinny arm.
“But…but I came here because I heard you had a treatment for Blood Kindred—for their fangs, I mean,” Kara pleaded.
“A treatment?” Aunt Zeelah frowned for a moment…then her expression cleared and she lifted an eyebrow, studying Kara intently. “Ah yes…the treatment.”
Now we’re getting somewhere, Kara thought.
“Yes, exactly!” she said anxiously. “Please, can you just tell me where I can get it done? I’m so tired of living with these.” She pointed at her mouth, though she was careful not to bare her fangs since her relatives had been
so shocked and horrified by the sight of them earlier.
“Well, of course you are.” Aunt Zeelah was beginning to sound kind rather than offended again, which seemed like a good sign. “After all, nobody wants to go through life disfigured if they can help it.”
Kara didn’t like to think of herself as “disfigured.” That sounded like someone had splashed acid in her face or she had been horribly burned in a fire. But she supposed she would have to keep her mouth shut—both literally and figuratively—if she wanted her relatives’ help.
So she simply nodded her head humbly.
“Can you help me find the right doctor to help me? I have credit so I can pay. And I can stay in the public hostel while I wait to have the treatment done.”
“Stay in the public hostel?” Aunt Zeelah looked shocked. “Where anyone might see those…” She dropped her voice to a whisper, as though she was saying a dirty word. “Those fangs of yours and then find out you’re related to us? Certainly not!” She shook her head decisively. “No, you’ll just have to stay in our domicile and I’ll ask the doctor to make a house call.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” This was exactly what Kara had been hoping for but she didn’t want to push things too far. “I don’t want to impose.”
“No imposition at all,” Uncle Grennly said, a bit too heartily.
“That’s exactly right, my dear,” Aunt Zeelah agreed. “The doctor can treat you in private and then, when you’re ready to come out in public for the Snowdrop Festival, no one will be the wiser.”
“Oh, is the treatment really that fast?” Kara exclaimed. “I mean, it can be done in only a day?”
“It’s pretty much instantaneous,” Uncle Grennly assured her. “I’ve seen it done before—it makes an immediate difference.”
“That’s wonderful! What is it?” Kara asked. “I mean, what’s the treatment? Is it some kind of gel or paste you rub on the fangs that makes them shrink to normal size?”
“Something like that, dear,” Aunt Zeelah said evasively. “Doctor ThrobGood can tell you about it in detail.”
“Dr. ThrobGood?” Kara frowned. It seemed like an odd name for a doctor but then, she did remember from her mother’s stories of Tranq Prime that the people had weird names here.
“Oh yes, he’s the preeminent extract—I mean doctor—here in the main grotto.” Aunt Zeelah looked over Kara’s shoulder and frowned at the bunch of merchants who were just now arriving in the main grotto. “But come—we can’t just stand around here in public talking about such a delicate subject. Let’s get you back to our domicile.”
“Of course,” Kara agreed. She threw a quick glance over her shoulder as she followed her great aunt and uncle out of the grotto. Raak was standing there, among the other merchants, already haggling over the price of goods with one of the Tranq Prime natives. Kara thought his nose wrinkled but he didn’t look up at her. Which was good, she told herself—he must have no idea she was there.
But as they skirted the pale blue lake and made their way out of the main grotto, she couldn’t help remembering the big warrior’s words to her when he’d first seen her fangs.
“They’re beautiful—fuckin’ gorgeous. And anybody who can’t see that isn’t worth your time. If they don’t like you just the way you are, fuck ‘em, baby girl.”
But I’m the one who doesn’t like my fangs, Kara argued with herself, feeling uncomfortable. I’m going to have this treatment done for me—so I can be happy and live a normal life. Right?
Holding on to that thought, she followed her great uncle and aunt into another hallway—this one vast and richly carved—and lost sight of Raak completely.
Eight
Aunt Zeelah and Uncle Greenly lived right off the main grotto in the wide tunnel which was called the Central Corridor. They seemed quite proud of their proximity to the grotto and Kara thought it must be some kind of status symbol.
“Here you are, my dear.” Uncle Grennly opened the front door, decorated lavishly in elaborate gold symbols, with a flourish, revealing a tastefully appointed room with a steaming, purple stream running through the middle of it. The stream went through the entire house, apparently providing heat to the chilly underground cavern. Kara admired it and was careful not to step in it as she entered the domicile and looked around.
“Now, I think we can put you in Nadiah’s old room,” Aunt Zeelah said, smiling. “Nobody’s using it since she never comes to visit. Of course she says it’s because that mate of hers can’t leave his planet for some reason but I really think that’s an excuse. I never get to see my daughter’s children.” She sighed. “But never mind about that—come this way, my dear.”
Actually, Kara had heard the story of Nadiah and how Aunt Zeelah and Uncle Grennly had tried to force her into marriage with a male she didn’t love, so she didn’t really blame her for not visiting.
The thought gave her an uneasy feeling but she tried to push it aside.
That’s been more than twenty years ago—surely they’ve mellowed since then, she told herself as she followed Aunt Zeelah down the hallway, being careful not to step in the purple stream.
“Here we go—I hope you don’t mind, I neatened it up a bit but other than that, we’ve kept the room just as Nadiah left it,” Aunt Zeelah said, opening a door.
“It’s fine,” Kara assured her as she stepped inside. The room looked like a teenage girl still lived there—the bed was covered with a bright purple spread and there were curling posters of Kindred warriors on the walls. Kara, who had talked with her Aunt Nadiah over the viewscreen enough to like her, could almost feel her bubbly presence here. It was nice—comforting in a way. After all, wasn’t she doing what Nadiah had done so many years ago? Going off on an adventure—looking to change her life?
There was a holo picture of Nadiah herself sitting on a tall chest of drawers. It had been taken years ago, before she had met and married Councilor Rast and he had changed the color of her eyes. In this picture they were still blue and she was laughing and waving. In a way, Kara almost felt like she was waving at her. She smiled warmly at Aunt Zeelah.
“This is lovely. Thank you so much for welcoming me into your home.”
“Of course, my dear. You’re very welcome.”
Aunt Zeelah smiled back, a bit tightly, Kara thought. Then she realized her own smile was showing her fangs. Quickly she closed her lips, scaling her smile down considerably.
“You just make yourself comfortable,” Aunt Zeelah told her. “Last meal will be ready shortly and then I’m sure you’ll want to get some rest before you see Dr. ThrobGood tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, of course. It has been a long day.” Kara almost yawned and then realized that would show her fangs again. So she held the yawn back and just smiled until her great aunt left.
Kara wanted to explore Nadiah’s room and see if there were any more bright little sparks of her personality left around but she’d barely gotten started before Zeelah was back.
“Here we are, my dear—a selection of tharps for you to try,” she said, putting a heap of furry, multicolored fabrics on the bed.
“Oh, thank you!” Kara was cautiously excited. She had always wanted her own tharp—a semi-sentient living creature which doubled as an article of clothing. As a child, she had heard horror stories from her mother about how Sophia’s tharp had double-crossed her during an important dinner and caused no end of problems by tickling her and grabbing the guests who were sitting on either side of her.
Of course, that had only made Kara want one all the more. She could remember that every time their mother told that story she and Kaleb had laughed until their sides ached. The idea of their quiet, dependable mother being tickled by her living dress and making a scene at a big banquet had seemed deliciously funny.
“Now let’s see…which one would suit you best…”
Kara shed the heavy vranna skin coat and Aunt Zeelah started holding up the different tharps to her cheek. To an outside observer it might look li
ke she was seeing which color matched Kara’s complexion the best but Kara knew differently. More important than matching coloring was finding a tharp which matched your personality. That had been the problem with her mother’s tharp—the two of them were a mismatch which had led to all the confusion and problems.
“Well now,” Aunt Zeelah said at last. “I think this one will do nicely.”
To Kara’s delight, her new tharp was a deep, royal blue which brought out the color of her eyes. She pressed it to her cheek and could almost feel a hum of delight coming from the fuzzy fabric. It was as soft as velvet against her skin and she felt an instant affinity with it.
“It’s lovely,” she said. “How can I ever repay you for your kindness?”
“Nonsense, my dear. You’re family which means you have to look presentable. Your uncle Grennly and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Kara thanked her again and as soon as Aunt Zeelah had gone, she took off everything but her boots to try the tharp on. It felt a little funny to be naked under the soft blue fabric but sensuous too.
“Mmm, you feel wonderful,” Kara told the tharp, draping it around herself in a one-arm-over-the-shoulder toga look. “And you’re gorgeous too. I just know we’re going to get along—nothing like my mother and her tharp.”
She could have sworn she heard a barely audible purr of approval and the friendly tharp molded itself more firmly to her breasts and hips, emphasizing her hourglass figure.
“Oh, that’s nice!” Kara exclaimed, stroking it gently. “I wonder if you’re a male or a female?” Did tharps have sexes, she wondered? And if so, how would you ever tell the males and females apart?
The tharp responded to her gentle caress with a caress of its own. Suddenly the royal blue fabric seemed to be tighter around her nipples and below, it was brushing inward, to stroke the soft patch of blonde curls between her thighs.
“Hey!” Kara wasn’t sure about this. It was one thing to be friendly with your clothing but something else to have it be friendly back—especially since the tharp seemed to be edging past friendly and into sexual harassment territory.
Unbondable: Book 1 of the Kindred Birthright Series (Brides of the Kindred) Page 6