“For what? For not helping me back then, for not telling me now,” she shrilled, “or because I remember?”
“I did help you,” he said softly, “but you wouldn’t know about that because you were unconscious at the time. I had every intention of telling you, and yes, I am very, very sorry you remember. That memory was suppressed for your protection.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” she said, throwing up her hands. “Not a clue. All I know is—”
“All you know is that I was present during a terrifying and horrific ordeal, and I didn’t tell you. That, Ellie, is all you know, and if you’ll let me, I can fill in the blanks, I can explain the entire situation to you, in detail, as I had planned.”
“Why don’t you just go away. Better still, do what I asked and take me back home. I’m exhausted,” she sniffled. “I’m absolutely exhausted.”
“Of course you are,” he sighed. “Your psyche is battered. It must be treated with great care and tenderness, and the memory would not have surfaced without someone’s purposeful manipulations. I must know who that is, but that can wait for the moment. I’m going to make you a soothing drink, but Ellie, you must realize, your memory only tells part of the story. Think about that, and I’ll be right back.”
The anger and hurt clung tightly as she watched him rise from the bed and leave the room. His parting words were probably true, but did they even matter? He hadn’t been honest with her about something that was so profound! Why hadn’t he told her?
“If I hadn’t been straight with you about something so important, and you remembered it, you’d be just as furious and hurt as I am,” she muttered angrily. “What happened was ages ago. Have you been spying on me all this time?”
Overwhelmed, scared, and confused, pulling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them and buried her head. She wanted to turn back the clock, she wanted things to be as they had been before she’d gone into the eatery and met up with that strange beaked creature. She’d been so happy, so gloriously happy. It wasn’t fair, none of it was fair. Suddenly the term, ignorance is bliss, flashed through her head. It now held a whole new meaning.
“You need to drink this,” he said softly.
She’d heard him move around the bed and sit next to her, but when she’d felt the mattress depress as he’d sat down, she didn’t acknowledge him. She didn’t want to acknowledge him. She didn’t want to gaze at his beautiful face, or stare into his infinitely warm, constantly changing eyes.
“You don’t have to look at me,” he said gently, “but you do need this.”
The fragrant aroma of the drink was tickling her nostrils. It smelled like sweet lavender, and she had no doubt whatever it was would help to calm her frazzled state, but a part of her didn’t want to let go of her anger. It was warranted, and he deserved her wrath.
“Ellie, you can hold on to your fury,” he remarked, as if reading her mind, “but that isn’t going to make anything better. At some point you’ll have to speak to me, so why wait? Let’s get this over with. Do you want sit there and remain furious, or do you want to know the whole story?”
“Of course I do,” she mumbled, “but how do I know the whole story is what you’ll tell me? How can I believe anything you say?”
“That’s unfair,” he said soberly. “I haven’t lied to you. I wouldn’t lie to you. You’ve only been here a short while, and I simply haven’t had the opportunity to sit down with you and explain what happened back then. It was important for you to know how much I care about you first, and I wanted to properly prepare you before bringing that dreadful memory to light. As I said, your psyche must be treated with great care and tenderness. Revealing something so disturbing before you were ready would have been unfair to you, and to me. It would have been unfair to us.”
Lifting her head, she wiped her wet face with her hand.
“If the shoe was on the other foot, you’d be just as fucking crazed as I am, and you know it.”
“If the shoe was…” he frowned. “Oh, you mean if our situations were reversed.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. You know exactly how angry you’d be.”
“You’re right,” he admitted, “but I wouldn’t shut you out. I would allow you to explain.”
She knew he was telling her the truth. He would sit with her, his eyes scrutinizing her as she laid out her case. It was his way. He was able to separate himself from his emotions, but then, he wasn’t human.
“Is that going to put me to sleep?” she asked, staring at the mug in his hand.
“No, but if that’s what you want, I can make it stronger.”
“It’s not what I want,” she replied, taking it from him. “I just wanted to make sure.”
It was warm, and tasted of lavender, honey, and something else she couldn’t define. As it slipped down her throat she let out a sigh, then took a large swallow. It was delicious, and just the flavor seemed to be helping.
“Which do you want first?” he asked, studying her. She was beginning to settle, her face was softening, and in a few minutes the relaxing drink would have eased her anxiety. “Should I tell you what happened back then, or do you want to describe who it was that did this to you.”
The choice was an easy one. She was eager to expose the birdlike creature who had caused her such heartache.
“She was a weird thing, small, with a beak and red eyes. I think her name was Andlin.”
“Do you mean Endolin?”
“Yes, that’s it, Endolin, do you know her?”
“Not well, even so, I’m very surprised she would do such a thing… very surprised, though I have a suspicion who might have put her up to it, and that’s just as important, but…”
“But what?”
“It’s strange. Endolin may have been a pawn, but she’s smarter than that. She would have known I’d find out. It’s strange,” he said thoughtfully, “very strange.”
“Now it’s your turn,” she said, swallowing back a fresh set of tears. “Tell me why I was paralyzed and being abused by those horrible grey creatures and why you just stood there and did nothing. Why I was chosen, what made me the target? Tell me everything, then take me home.”
Chapter Thirteen
His eyes had transformed to a deep blue. Not a dark blue but a deep, royal blue. What did that signify? She made a mental note to ask him why his eyes changed color so often, and how she could best read them, but would that suggest she planned on sticking around? She didn’t know if she would. The jury was still out. The question about his eyes could wait until he had explained himself, assuming she believed what he said, otherwise she wasn’t staying a minute longer.
“As I told you, the greys were dying out, and their scientists were convinced a virus carried by humans might save them.”
“Wow,” she grunted, “there’s a newsflash.”
“Do you want me to explain, or do you want to interrupt me with sarcastic comments?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, dropping her eyes to the mug. “I’m still fucking angry and totally freaked out by all this.”
“I’m sure you are, but you have to listen. Finish up the drink, then I’ll continue.”
“Fine,” she mumbled. “I’ll do my best, but I’m not promising anything.”
She was still justifiably furious, and while she doubted the drink would take away her anger, she could feel it smoothing out its sharp edges. Downing the last of it, she placed the cup on the table by the bed, then sat back and looked at him expectantly.
“Thank you,” he said warmly. “Back to the story. I had been working with the greys for many Earth years, and they were making progress, but it was painfully slow, and their challenge wasn’t just finding a cure. The disease made them sterile, both the males and the females. They thought if they could prevent that from happening, a new generation would be born with an immunity, but things were becoming truly dire. Are you with me?”
“I’m with you,” she nodded. �
��You’re saying they were about to become extinct.”
“Correct, then one of the researchers made a breakthrough. He suspected blood typing might hold an important key. He’d discovered the most successful results were delivered from a human whose blood type was AB negative.”
“That’s my blood type!” Ellie exclaimed. “I’m AB negative.”
“Yes, that’s your blood type,” he repeated, “and it’s rare, but more important, Ellie, what you don’t know,” he said gravely, “is that I was the leader of this entire operation. I was charged with doing everything I could to save the civilization.”
“Endolin mentioned something about that, but hearing you say it, that’s uh… I don’t know what that is. That’s one huge undertaking.”
“It was. When we first started, we tried similar viruses found in cattle and sheep, but it when it escalated to humans, and it appeared we may finally have found some answers, my role expanded. I had many responsibilities, including the care of the humans who were taken. I had to find a way to suppress their memories, but in the early days, I’m afraid the process I developed wasn’t very successful. There were hundreds of people who reported missing time, spacecraft beaming them up, and they were all true, because I could only manage to block out so much, but it’s like anything; enough practice, trial and error, and you get better.”
“So what does all this have to do with me?”
“By the time the research showed the greys needed AB negative donors, I had perfected the process. When you came on board there was no reason to expect anything but the routine. I deepened your sleep, I put the memory block in place, you were decontaminated, and the greys began their work.”
“Decontaminated? Never mind, you can explain that later. Keep going?”
“Then, Ellie, in the middle of the procedure, you opened your eyes.”
“I did? Wait, yes, I know I did, because now I remember,” she declared, her face crinkling as she recalled the horrific event. “Oh, I’m getting all freaked out again. It was so horrible.”
“Take a deep breath,” he said softly, leaning forward and stroking her arm. “I know it’s frightening to think about, but you’re in no danger here. I care for you. I care for you deeply.”
She could feel the warm tingles from his touch radiate through her body, and following his advice, taking several long deep breaths, the abrupt shard of anxiety began to abate.
“You weren’t the only one who was panic-stricken,” he said, moving closer to her. “The greys literally jumped backwards and dropped their instruments, and I was stunned. I stood there like a complete idiot, not believing what I was seeing.”
“Is that why, when I think about this, I see you staring down at me?”
“That’s exactly why. I was truly stupefied for a few seconds. There was no possible way you could have woken from the sleep you were in, or so I had believed. When the sudden shock wore off, I immediately thought I must have done something wrong. The greys kept assuring me that the procedure had been perfectly executed, just as it had been hundreds of times before.”
“So, what happened? Why did I wake up? Did you find out? Do you know?”
“It was you, Ellie,” he said solemnly, locking her gaze, “the fight in you, your refusal to surrender, your determination that strangers were not going to touch you.”
“Seriously, that’s truly what happened?”
“You are a very determined young woman. You were then, and you still are.”
“I guess my parents were right,” she mumbled. “I always thought it was just something they said.”
“What was that?”
“They said I was the most stubborn child in the county.”
“Stubborn? Ellie, there is stubborn, there is a will of iron, and then there is you.”
“I remember when Dad was teaching me how to ride, if I fell off my pony, no matter how badly I was injured, or how much pain I was in, I refused to cry, and I would demand he put me back on.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” he said with a soft smile, “but Ellie, when you were lying there with your eyes open, looking absolutely mortified, I felt terrible. I kept trying to send you back to sleep, but nothing would work. It was so frustrating, and I felt so helpless.”
“How did you finally manage it?”
“I remembered the greys had a substance similar to chloroform. It was used in conjunction with another chemical to preserve the samples. It worked. I was able to send you safely back to sleep.”
“You knew how much to use? That stuff is dangerous.”
“I have a wide range of knowledge about chemicals and their uses. I wouldn’t have risked it if I hadn’t known exactly what I was doing. We were all very shaken by the event. As desperate as the greys were, as determined as the Consortium was to save them, no harm to the human race was ever intended.”
“I see,” she said softly. “That does, sort of, put a different light on things.”
“There’s more. You’re not here with me now by accident. I didn’t suddenly wake up one day and come and visit you.”
“That was my next question. Have you been spying on me all this time?”
“Not really spying. After that night, I was very worried about you.”
“You were?”
“I was, and every time I was in this area, I would check on you. I wanted to make sure you were suffering no ill effects, mentally, emotionally, or physically, but the reason for my visits began to change.”
“What do you mean?”
“As a monitor, I am responsible for overseeing large rescue operations, ending skirmishes on planets that have civil conflicts, I meet with nations’ leaders and negotiate treaties, and in the midst of doing these things, you, Ellie Blake, would sneak into my mind. My reasons for visiting you changed. They became personal, and many times I wanted to take a leave and spend time with you on Earth, but it would have been impossible.”
“Why?”
“Where do I start? I can’t be in your sun. The daylight hours would have been extremely difficult. I have six very long fingers, not easy to explain, not to mention an electric current running through my body. I have no idea what havoc that might have caused. Anyway, I found myself wishing to pair. I interacted with many, but I was always thinking about you. Unfortunately, Earth is not part of the Consortium, and I knew it could be difficult.”
“Why?”
“It’s a big adjustment for a human to leave Earth and be with… well… what you consider an alien. An extraterrestrial. The planets in the Consortium are rather like countries on Earth. We’re neighbors, we know each other, and our civilizations are far more advanced than the human race.”
“But I’m here? Why did you decide to come for me?”
“The determination I witnessed,” he smiled. “I had faith in you, Ellie. I believed, if you developed feelings that matched my own, your determination would prevail. We could make it work. I wanted to try. I still want to try.”
“I, uh, I’m kind of speechless.”
“Being with you in the dreamscape was everything I knew it would be, and you felt it too. I don’t know if our unique connection stems from what happened all those years ago, but there is something unique between us.”
“This explains something else,” she murmured, running her fingers through her hair. “Finally, things are making sense.”
“What do you mean? What’s making sense?”
“I often felt as though someone was watching over me,” she replied, staring at him. “I once told a friend I felt as though I had a guardian angel.”
“You did. You do,” he said with a soft smile. “I’m so sorry you found out about what happened the way you did. I swear to you, I was going to tell you everything. I’d actually planned to do it over our next meal.”
“I believe you, and I’m sorry I got so mad.”
“It was a terrible shock, and Endolin will be punished.”
“She should be! What a mean thing to do,
and how the hell did she know? And why did she do it?”
“I intend to find out,” he said gravely, “and I’ll tell you everything I learn.”
“You’d better,” she murmured, shooting him a look. “Now can you tell what the dreamscape is?”
“Ah, yes, the dreamscape. It’s a state between waking and sleeping. Initially, you’re more asleep than awake, but as you become more accustomed to it, you become more awake than asleep. In the beginning, I spent many Earth hours just talking with you.”
“I kind of remember that,” she said softly. “I’d wake up and feel as if I’d just spent the night with a very special friend. No wonder I feel as if I know you,” she said softly, “and I have that warm feeling back inside me. I want to be with you, Valodar. I do.”
“I’m so pleased to hear you say that,” he said, letting out a long breath. “Now all I want to do now is lie down and hold you.”
“Yes, please.”
Moments later, worn out from the ordeal, wrapped up in Valodar’s powerful, comforting arms, and deeply relaxed from the drink he had given her, she began to doze.
As her body grew limp, he was filled with relief and gratitude. He was sure Raven was behind Endolin’s clumsy attempt to cause trouble between him and Ellie. He would deal with them both, but he still found it odd that Endolin had agreed to do such a thing, but she would have to wait. There were other, more serious matters he had to discuss with Ellie first.
When she woke up he would have to tell her that they were in danger, and she would have to stay on the station for the foreseeable future. He didn’t want to scare her, but she was smart, very smart, and he wouldn’t be able to sugarcoat the news.
Chapter Fourteen
Ellie could feel a pleasurable tickling against her clit. Moaning softly, she wriggled against it, assuming it was one of Valodar’s magic fingers, but realizing both of his hands were fondling her breasts, she realized it was the strange coil that had brought her so much pleasure. Apprehensively, she reached between her legs.
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