by Jenny Foster
This former warrior had risked his life and sent his understanding of concepts like honor and loyalty to the back of the line, in order to save her life. It was a small leap from that thought to the next one. Cat wiped the cold tears from her eyes and forced herself to follow her thoughts to their bitter conclusion. She had nothing else in her head other than complaining that he hadn’t asked her if he should save her life. How did the noticeable connection with Talon measure up against the fact that she was still breathing? She shook her head at herself in disgust and wished she had reacted a little more calmly. Her question about the length of the bond must have felt like a slap in the face to Talon. “Stupid,” she chided herself. How could she have been so dumb? Wasn’t this exactly what Cat wanted, anyway? She hadn’t said out loud that she loved him, but had thought it so often that the thought of being separated from him seemed like an impossibility. Her heart started to race like crazy. Where was he? Cat squinted in the dim light, but couldn’t see his broad back anywhere.
“I love you,” she said, once, just to get used to the sound coming from her mouth. It felt good to say it out loud, so she repeated the words louder one more time and laughed. She spread her arms and spun around in a circle. Why had she waited so long? She pressed on with renewed energy, trying to catch up to Talon. Instead of saying anything that might sound like a lame excuse, she would finally tell him how she really felt!
She thought of one more thing as she continued to follow the path. Without looking left or right, she just kept going. She was going to come clean, and while she was at it, she needed to admit that she was just as arrogant as Talon. When the Krak had finally told her what they wanted from her, she had agreed. The assignment she had accepted in exchange for both of their lives did not just affect her. The Krak wanted Ferthoris. There was no way she would be able to lure him to Earth without Talon’s help, so who exactly was making important decisions without consulting the other one?
Out of the corner of her eye, Cat saw movement and looked up. Even though she was moving along quickly, Talon was faster. “Wait,” she called, and for the first time, she realized that a wind had come up. It whistled in her ears and was so loud that Talon probably couldn’t hear her, despite his excellent hearing. “Talon,” Cat screamed as loudly as she could. There was a tone of desperation in her cry. The path she had taken didn’t look at all familiar now. Cat doubted that it had anything to do with the snow. She frowned and tried to remember all of the turns she had taken. When was the last time she had seen Talon’s tracks? Was that Talon calling for her? She stopped and closed her eyes, so that she could concentrate on listening, but there was nothing other than the howling of the wind which was really getting stronger. “Talon!” she roared now, trying to decide if she should keep going or try to backtrack. Would she be able to find her way back to the zoo, where she could at least crawl into one of the cages and wait out the storm? Valuable seconds passed while she tried to figure out what to do. She had no idea if she was even heading in the right direction. The library could easily be around the next bend, or it might be a few hours’ walk away.
Without Talon, she was lost.
This realization hit her with a force that almost made her fall over. When had she started relying on him? Cat made her decision based on her gut and turned around. She estimated that she had been walking for about half an hour, so she thought she could make it back to the deserted zoo. All she needed to do was follow her own tracks. The Krak were probably still hiding in the zoo, too. Hopefully they would leave her alone. Back there, at the very edge of her field of vision, she could see something moving. Once more, she called her beloved’s name as loudly as she could, but her vocal chords were no longer up to the challenge. All she could manage was a hoarse croak. She gathered her strength and started running. Well, she tried to. She braced herself against the wind until her muscles started to shake but her progress was painstakingly slow. Something appeared again, and this time Cat was quick enough to catch a glimpse of whoever was running ahead of her.
It wasn’t Talon. Whoever, or whatever, was moving in front of her was too small and stocky, and Cat thought she could see a tentacle. That was impossible. No Krak would dare to go out in weather like this, and why would they when it was nice and warm in the zoo? No, when she caught up to the creature, Cat saw this was not a Krak. It only had one tentacle, or rather, a snout. The creature moving towards her was a Sethari. Damn. Cat had thought that the Sethari had left Earth a long time ago. At the very latest, after the legendary battle during which the mercenaries, people called the Qua’Hathri, had annihilated the energy vampires. Surely, the last of them had fled the blue planet at that point. Back then, they had kept humans like cattle, so they could feed on their energy, but finally the fearless Khazaar Drasurq had managed to kill them. Cat thought it was strange that one of them was still on Earth after so many years. Those who had not been able to flee had suddenly found themselves in the opposite role, as the prey, and had been hunted by humans. Either this Sethari was very clever, or he had enjoyed the protection of a human. He would have never survived alone in a world where people called for his head every time they saw his unmistakable figure.
Could she take on a single Sethari?
Cat weighed her chances. She still had a small reservoir of strength left, but she didn’t know if she was fast enough to be able to evade the quick snout the Sethari used to suck their prey empty. If he was able to place his snout at the back of her neck, she would be out of luck. She was also not sure if she would be able to use her gift. She had never been in a Sethari’s head, and honestly didn’t want to be. She had had enough experiences in strange heads for one day – even several days.
She was just about to turn around and flee, when something odd happened. The Sethari stopped in his tracks. It was as if he wanted to make sure that she was following him. The other odd thing was that she suddenly felt the strong urge to do just that. Cat shook her head to gather her thoughts. This was very strange and extremely eerie. The urge to follow the Sethari was not coming from inside her. Cat recognized the foreign impulse, standing across from him, but the thing that really spooked her and made her hair stand on end was something else. She hadn’t felt a thing! Even when she was newly with the Mind Readers, and her mentors had wanted to demonstrate something, or when she had an opponent who had the same abilities as she did, she had always felt it when someone slipped into her head. Not to mention that it took a lot of training to be able to implant an impulse to act, in someone else.
She felt a wave of adrenaline with this realization, and it made her jump a few feet, even in this storm. One of her ex-colleagues from the Mind Reader Academy must be behind this attack on her free will. She gulped and forced herself to run in the opposite direction. Her legs grew heavier the further she got from the Sethari. He was still waiting patiently. Her thoughts were going in desperate circles, and the urge to run to him was getting stronger. Why had she never learned how to remove a strange impulse?
She hadn’t made it more than twenty feet when she had to acknowledge that she wasn’t going to make it. She sank to her knees, but the strange will didn’t want to allow her to do this, either. She stood up heavily. With every step in the right direction, it became easier. She cried and while her own will was fighting desperately to win the upper hand, Cat knew that it was useless.
It was time to give up.
Chapter 5
Talon was furious. He was so mad that when snowflakes landed on him, they evaporated with a hiss. He got angrier with every step he took away from Cat. These damned human women. Did they always have to second-guess everything? Couldn’t they, for once, just accept something? Grudgingly he realised that he hadn’t exactly expected overflowing gratitude, because he suspected that Cat didn’t appreciate it when things were decided without her input. He snorted. Who did like that, anyway, but sometimes, you just have to bite your tongue and show a little patience. These humans were just not rational enough. Their emotional
decisions and “gut feelings”, as they called them, were really starting to get on his nerves. The worst part, he realised, was that her behavior was starting to rub off on him. Every day he spent on the blue planet was making him more sentimental. He cursed quietly, and then more loudly. It felt good! The throbbing in his temples faded to a dull headache.
By now, Cat should have understood that he definitely hadn’t evoked the rite between the two of them to make her angry, or to patronize her. The women from Earth were always afraid of being told what to do. He understood that. He didn’t need any special powers of observation for that. He had spent a few days unobserved in one of their big cities, and had turned away from the human women in disgust. They were always focused on proving how strong they were. Every one of them needed to be just as strong and just as clever as a man. Why did they want to do something that wasn’t in their nature? He wasn’t talking about cleverness here – not at all. Intelligence didn’t come with just one gender. He had experienced women who revealed themselves as masters of diabolic intrigue, who easily put any man’s understanding to shame. He just didn’t understand why the women here were always worried about losing their position, when they were inferior to any man physically. He made a face. Good God, they didn’t even need to prove that they were basically the stronger sex. Every man who had ever witnessed a birth, bowed humbly to this indestructible courage.
He could feel that Cat was just as furious as he was. This made Talon smile, against his will. Here they were, both stomping through the snow, cursing away, when all they really wanted was to be together. He stopped, looked around and listened. He couldn’t hear a thing. Not a single step or breath. Where was Cat? It should have been easy for her to follow his tracks. Even though he had been furious, he had made sure to break branches and to leave deep footprints.
But Cat wasn’t there. She must have made a wrong turn somewhere. His anger evaporated and was replaced by worry. It was true, this suburb was deserted, and there were hardly ever any mercenaries or looters around, but still – anything could have happened to her. He had to find her. Maybe she would come to her senses, he thought, and turn around.
While he was running, he tried to gauge her feelings. He had felt the switch from anger to love, and knew instinctively that her mood had changed to the opposite. That was just more proof that human women changed their minds all the time. He much preferred the Cat who was in love to the angry one, although a Cat who showed her claws and gave him everything she had, definitely had her charms. His mood improved with every foot he covered in her direction. This is how the bond worked – you just felt incomplete without the partner you had chosen for the rest of your life. Something was missing, pulling at your consciousness, until you were reunited with your partner. He was sure that he and Cat would be able to build a future together. He had seen instances where a rushed decision had overshadowed the rest of people’s lives. Two people had already committed themselves to each other before their maturing ceremony. Her sharp tongue and his hot temper ensured that they came to hate each other over the years – but they still couldn’t live without each other. This would not happen to him and Cat, Talon swore to himself silently. He just knew it. His predator rumbled in agreement, and Talon relaxed a little. If the cat, who had exceptional instincts, agreed with him, then he couldn’t be wrong.
He reached the spot where Cat had taken the wrong turn. He could see the tracks she had left behind clearly. Even a toddler could have followed her, he thought, and decided to teach her the art of walking without leaving a trail next. Talon stopped when a huge gust of wind hit him. He looked up at the sky, searching. It looked like a massive storm was brewing. Enough dawdling, he decided and broke into a run. It felt good to move, and it warmed him up. He felt good, even though the temperature was falling. He had a job to do, and he was moving. The long wait, sitting around in the dusty library, had made him crazy, and when he thought about having to spend a few more days there, his hair stood on end.
Suddenly, he smelled a strange odor. Without making a conscious decision, he hid behind a snow-covered bush, although this was hardly necessary in the now heavy snow. The wind stirred the snow up in front of him, and when the wet stuff hit him in the face, he felt a wave of reluctance. The temperatures on Earth were another reason to get out of here as soon as possible. The cold air did have one advantage, however – it carried scents better. It was easy to perceive strange odors in the cold, even when the wind was blowing as hard as it was now. He clenched his teeth when he smelled the unmistakable scent of a Sethari.
What was this despicable creature doing here on Earth? Maybe he had been wrong. He smelled again. No, it was definitely a Sethari, but one who had lived here for a long time. Over the typical and always slightly musty Sethari odor, he could also smell the typical human scent. Talon frowned. If he remembered correctly, the Sethari had been chased from Earth over two decades ago, after they had subdued its inhabitants for a long time and had literally sucked them dry. Those who had not died in the battle, had either fled or been killed by the surviving humans. So, what was this Sethari doing here?
He snuck closer, looking for protection behind bushes and trees along the way. He could smell Cat now, too. She must have gone a different way, or Talon would have been able to smell her much sooner. She was halfway between him and the Sethari, but what was she doing?
Talon watched as Cat stood still for what seemed like an eternity. She seemed to have noticed the alien as well, although he was difficult to make out in the distance with his gray skin. She swayed back and forth. The strength he had given her seemed to be waning. Talon wondered if he should send her another boost of energy. The other option was to run up to where she was, grab her, and run away. Even though he was sure that he could easily defeat the Sethari, he also needed to consider Cat’s safety. Humans were emotional and also very vulnerable. Her thin skin would be easy to injure with one swipe of a claw – or, in this case, with a Sethari’s barbed sucking snout. If the energy vampire was hungry, then he would attack Cat.
No, there was only one way, and that was a surprise attack. In his imagination, he saw himself carefully approaching Cat until he could reach her with one powerful jump. He saw himself landing on the ground, reaching for his companion, throwing her over his shoulder and fleeing. Leaving the Sethari unharmed didn’t sit well with him, but Talon knew that his options were limited.
He snuck closer. He stepped carefully, making sure he didn’t snap a branch and give himself away. Cat had stopped swaying, and she had taken a few steps towards him. Come on, he thought and imagined being able to call to her in his thoughts just like she could. The closer they were to each other, the more stilted her steps became, and finally, she fell to her knees. Were those tears glistening on her cheeks?
For a moment, Talon admired the perfection in the liquid diamonds that were leaving frozen tracks on her cheeks.
Then he jumped.
Chapter 6
Cat was sure that she was freezing to death. Her eyes were playing tricks on her, so she must be close to death. Her ears were fooling her too, because not only did she see Talon racing towards her, but she could also hear the dull thud when he landed right next to her. When he grabbed her, and she could actually feel his arms around her and the heat of his skin, it dawned on her that this wasn’t a dream.
Talon. She let out a strangled sob. He was kneeling next to her, looking at her, checking to see if everything was okay. His gold eyes bored into hers, and in them, there was no accusation or reprimand. The only thing she could see was the love he felt for her. Had she really thought that he wouldn’t find her? With one move, he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. This wasn’t especially dignified, but she was in no position to complain about it. She could feel a hysterical giggle erupt when she thought about yelling at Talon to put her down. She could feel him turning his head as if he wanted to convince himself that she was alright, but even a flexible and nimble warrior like Talon couldn’t look i
nto her eyes while her head was banging against his hips.
Cat laughed when she thought of the look the Mind Reader must have on his face. Surely, he was watching her flight. Talon’s nearness made it easier for her to ignore the impulse in her head. The further away he carried her, the less she wanted to fend him off. This was fantastic! It must have something to do with their connection. In her head, she was running through the various options that lay before her and Talon – the possibilities were endless, especially if his presence and help enabled her to resist such attacks! She raised her head, overly confident now, even though it was hard to do so. Talon was not concerned with moving gracefully. All he cared about was speed, and that meant that her body was being banged around quite badly. Even so, she was able to catch a quick glimpse of the path they were leaving behind.
The damned Sethari just wouldn’t quit. He was following them! It was good that he was so slow and couldn’t compete with Talon’s strength and power. For a moment, she considered giving him, and thus all Mind Readers, the middle finger. The creature must be in their debt somehow. Just when Cat decided against using that universally understood gesture, however, she noticed something.