by Jenny Foster
Talon was slowing down.
A lot. He wasn’t out of breath – that much she could hear – and since she could still see the Sethari, she knew that they weren’t out of the danger zone yet. She was sure Talon could still smell their enemy. Or maybe not, if he was running away from him? “What is going on?” she asked, trying to get herself upright. It was difficult, but she finally managed it. When she was finally upright all the way, Talon stopped running altogether. He made a soft and tortured sighing sound that ripped right through her.
“Please put me down,” she asked him, so she could get a look at him. He complied slowly, if somewhat reluctantly, and put her down. What was going on with him? His reluctance gave her an uneasy feeling. She took a step away from her beloved, reached for his face, and turned it towards her so that she could look at his chiseled features. On the outside, nothing looked different. His eyes stared straight at her, but they were blind. It was a terrible sight, and it caused tears to well up in Cat’s eyes. She knew what was happening and who was doing it to him. “Damn you all,” she thought, before taking a deep breath and jumping into Talon’s head.
As expected, someone else was already there. Someone who was trying to put that same impulse to turn around, in his head. The same someone who had tried to put it in her head too. Cat thought about it. She could either try to chase this presence out of Talon’s head, or she could try to jump into the attacker’s head herself. Which option was better and promised more success? With great regret, she retreated from Talon’s thoughts. It was a humiliating experience for a man like him to be forced to do something against his will. She would have loved to spare him this experience, but right now, it was more important to beat the attacker with his own methods. She realized with a start that he had already turned around and was pulling her in the wrong direction.
Cat allowed the stranger to determine which way she went, pretending to obey. At the same time, she sent out her spirit. It was unlikely that the Sethari himself was the source of the influence. She had never heard of any member of his race having this gift. Her old colleagues must be nearby somewhere. They had probably reactivated Anna. Where was she hiding, and why hadn’t she felt her old mentor and teacher’s signature when she was in Talon’s head? Unfocused searching was difficult, but not impossible. However, it would take far too long. Anna had such exceptional skills that she could be somewhere completely different. Her radius was enormous, so it was entirely possible that she was 300 miles away, sitting in a damned office somewhere. Cat scanned her surroundings one more time, but other than the Sethari, nobody else was here – there wasn’t even the slightest hint of another Mind Reader.
Fine. She and Talon were quickly approaching the Sethari. She had only one chance before the trap, or whatever it was, would snap shut. When they reached him, it would presumably be too late for her and Talon.
She readied herself and jumped right into the strange creature’s head.
“Hello, Cat,” his voice greeted her. She froze. Not in fear, but in confusion. Of course he knew her name. She was a silly goose. He had had a thorough look around in her head and had probably also received thorough instructions from her ex-colleagues. She looked around. She wasn’t sure what she had expected. Maybe hunger or desperate longing for energy, but she found none of that in the Sethari’s head. Instead, he seemed almost familiar to her. She squeezed her eyes shut and looked around. Nothing in this strange head seemed familiar to her, but there was a second when she realized that she had been there before.
There was this unnerving familiarity. It felt like what Cat thought it must feel like to come home – warm and cozy. She had the distinct feeling that she was being welcomed with an abundance of love. It was just an illusion, she told herself. “Don’t let yourself be fooled,” she reminded herself. A very clever mind twister is at work here. One who wanted to make her believe that he had been waiting for her for a very long time. One who didn’t want to do her any harm. Quite the opposite. He had been looking for her for a long time now.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered in his head. She understood that he had not been sent by her ex-colleagues to trap her. He was here of his own accord, pursuing his own goals.
I want… nothing bad, his voice whispered back softly. As if trying to prove his good intentions, he released his grip on Talon’s thoughts. It was an amazing gesture, Cat thought, still consumed with mistrust. Too amazing to be true.
Was that a giggle she heard? It sounded like a real expression of amusement, and it made her relax, in spite of herself – only by a fraction, mind you, but it was still a noticeable difference. If he was a mind twister, then he was an unusually good one. She had met a few who could create fantastic illusions, but she had always known that they were false images. Here and now, however, Cat was sure that he was genuinely amused.
And then, without any warning, the man sent her an image of herself. She was fifteen years old. Her stepmother had turned her back on her and Cat saw her younger self making a face and sticking her tongue out at the woman. The image vanished. How was it possible for the Sethari to remember that? It was impossible. It couldn’t be! Another image appeared in her head. A tall young man with blue, scale-covered skin, strolling down the street. The sun made the scales that were lying flush with his skin, sparkle. He bent down when he saw something in the street that caught his interest. He pushed the red baseball cap off his forehead. Cat’s heart skipped a beat.
It was Coran, her twin brother, and he had on the same clothes he had been wearing on the day he disappeared.
Part 3: The Ally
Chapter 1
She literally came flying out of the Sethari’s head from the shock of seeing images of herself, and especially of Coran, on the day of his disappearance. For the first time ever, Cat lost all control of herself and her abilities. She felt like she was falling off a cliff very quickly, without any protection or way to stop herself. In the fraction of the second that she had left before she came crashing back into her own body, she tried to soften the blow, but she already knew that she would not succeed. She braced herself for pain… but nothing happened. At the very last second, the Sethari had slowed her down, and was now allowing her spirit to glide back into her body in a slow and controlled manner.
Cat opened her eyes. She exhaled. She had never been more thankful for a pain-free and, above all, functioning body than now. No matter what the Sethari wanted from her, he had saved her from mental and physical harm. She knew that for certain. Cat could feel Talon’s arms around her, like a protective barrier, and she was more than thankful for that, too. When had she started to feel so safe and sound in his presence? Almost from the very beginning, he had started to undermine the mistrust that had become such a big part of her personality. He didn’t do this with nice talk, but rather with his unique character that was free of anything evil. That was extremely rare these days. Obviously, not all humans and aliens were devilish creatures, but evil did have many facets. She had seen everything that humans did to each other, from silent tolerance and looking the other way, to murder, blackmail, or worse.
Now she was standing in front of a Sethari who possibly knew something about her brother. Who had let her into his head and manipulated her with an ease that was startling. The line between good and bad were blurring more and more with every passing day. First, Talon had slyly caught her off guard with his open-hearted presence, and now this alien with his sucking snout also appeared to have friendly intentions. Or at least, not hostile intentions. If things kept going like this, she would soon have no idea if her world view had any validity or not.
With effort, and with Talon’s help, Cat got back on her legs. She heard a threatening growl coming from her beloved’s throat, and it directed her eyes to the path and the figure coming towards them. The Sethari obviously had no trouble moving in the snow, because he was approaching them quickly. Cat put a hand on Talon’s arm and nodded at him silently. “I need to talk to him,” she whispere
d softly. The small, white clouds coming out of her mouth reminded her of just how cold it was, and that they needed to find shelter as soon as possible.
“Not enemy,” the alien squeaked. By now, he was close enough for her to get a good look at him. For some reason, he had found human clothing. It looked ridiculous on him and had the effect of making him even more noticeable than if he had been in his usual, naked state. He was so close now that Cat could see that his sucking snout was scarred over, as if he had used it as a weapon. No, that wasn’t right. She could see that it had actually been severed at some point. Someone with considerable skills had sewn it back on. She shook her head. The Sethari let old people, the sick, and the wounded just die, but this looked like the work of a very skilled surgeon who had gone to a lot of trouble to preserve the organ’s mobility and functionality.
The Sethari stopped in front of them. He bowed, pointed to himself with his snout and introduced himself. “Shazuul,” he said in his strange voice. It made Cat shiver. This behavior was more than strange. Was he introducing himself before sucking the energy out of them? It was absurd. No, he didn’t want their energy, at least not yet. Even Talon seemed to sense that the Sethari posed no immediate danger, because she could feel his muscles relax underneath her hand. Only his eyes, still showing the predator inside him, betrayed his watchfulness.
“This is Talon. You already know my name.” Cat said. She took a step towards him, and like a warming, protective shadow, Talon followed her. “How do you know my brother and me?”
The Sethari held her gaze. “Knew your mother. Father, too.”
This second shock in a very short time was almost too much for Cat. The world around her spun, and the cold bit into her limbs. “Wait,” she said – what had he called himself again, Shazuul – and pulled Talon to her. “I am cold and urgently need to eat something, but…” She looked over at the Sethari meaningfully, and Talon understood.
“You want us to take him with us?” The way in which he frowned told her how he felt about that. “Fine, but you know that these energy vampires can’t be trusted. As soon as you have the information you need, I will throw him out single-handedly.”
“Thank you,” she whispered and motioned to Shazuul to follow them. He did so without asking for an explanation and stayed closely behind them. Why couldn’t she shake the feeling that this was exactly what he had wanted? Talon led their strange group, but not without throwing the occasional look back over his shoulder. Cat felt strangely vulnerable too, stomping through the snow behind her beloved. About a hundred times, she thought she could feel a soft touch on the back of her neck, as if the alien’s sucking snout were sneaking up to her, ready to stick to her and bore through her soft skin. It was similar to the feeling you had when a hand came near you, wanting to tickle you - not unpleasant, but very tense. At some point, she told herself that the Sethari would hardly start some kind of attack as long as Talon was so close by. Or would he? She had visions of Talon being held back by Shazuul’s power of the mind, while he helped himself to her energy, and these thoughts made the rest of the way a very unpleasant experience. At least, she told herself, she wasn’t cold anymore. She didn’t care if this was from constant motion or if it was out of fear.
The deserted library was just as quiet and lonely as they had left it. Wait, that wasn’t true at all. When the Krak had kidnapped her, Talon’s warriors had still been here and had filled the building with life. The Krak! She had almost forgotten all about the tentacled creatures and the promise she had made them so willingly. Even worse, she realized with a start, she still hadn’t told Talon anything about it. She would probably need to get rid of the Sethari first before they could have a quiet moment together.
They could see the traces that Talon’s men had left behind in the big reception hall and adjourning rooms. Seeing the random things left behind by the men made Cat feel melancholy. Not because she missed the warriors, as she had not had many opportunities to get to know them well enough for that, but the voices, occasional thumping, and other sounds they had made a lot during their practice fights, had filled the building with life. She was also sorry, for her beloved’s sake, that they were already on their way back to their home planet. What must it feel like to be cut off from everything he had ever known, and to be stranded on a strange planet?
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Sethari looking around. He seemed to be taking in every detail, no matter how small. He really was a strange fellow – exceptionally observant, standing there in his second-hand clothing – but had he told her the truth when he claimed to know her mother and father?
The time had come to find out.
Chapter 2
Talon was relieved that he and Cat finally had a protective roof over their heads. He hadn’t liked the color of her cheeks and swaying walk at all, and had watched her on the whole way back for any sign of weakness. In the presence of this dubious Sethari, he resisted the urge to belittle his Cat with exaggerated attention. She should not appear weaker than she was. On the other hand, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for him to underestimate Cat. He snorted softly to himself when the Sethari passed him on the way further into the library. He ignored the seductive smell of the dwindling stores that was hitting his nose. Instead, he kept an eye on the Sethari.
Why he was wearing human clothing was just as much a mystery as his behavior, which was extremely peaceable for a Sethari. It could be, of course, that he was trying to lull Cat into a false sense of security, so he could attack even more treacherously. Maybe Shazuul had been on Earth so long that the people’s mentality had rubbed off on him. That was called assimilation, he thought. Or, more closely, attempted assimilation, because he stuck out from a crowd of humans much like a festering boil did. He snorted again, louder this time and with more disdain. It was all well and good that the Sethari seemed to be peaceable, but what did he feed on, anyway? Talon knew all too well, from experience, that the energy vampires literally walked over dead bodies to feed. Just like any other race, he thought. Even so, the Sethari lifestyle was something that repulsed him to his very core.
Whatever. The most important thing right now was for Cat to get the information she thought she needed so urgently. He understood why she felt that way, but in some ways, it was still a mystery to him. The Kantharians were a people who valued only their own accomplishments, and not the things that their parents or grandparents had achieved. Of course, he thought bitterly, with one exception. The Royal House. It was no wonder that Ferthoris had deteriorated into a degenerate version of a man. When had he ever had to fight for anything using his own strength, just like every single man and woman of his people did? You could almost feel sorry for the king.
Talon shook his head, trying to rid himself of this odd thought. It looked like his stay on Earth was making him not only emotional, but also soft. The sooner they finally left this damned planet, the better! He debated whether he should tackle that problem while Cat dealt with the Sethari. Inside, the urge to protect her from everything was fighting with his sense of everything practical. It would not be an easy task to find a ship that would enable them to leave Earth, especially since Cat had to stay below the authorities’ radar. She had told him that she had received a large sum of money from the poker company, but he was beginning to like the idea of using that money to finance the beginning of their new life together, less and less.
However, he did like the hidden irony that the king would be making a new beginning possible for both of them. On the other hand, he was old-fashioned enough not to want to have to rely on another man’s money, especially since it had made Cat his property in a semi-legal fashion. The best solution, if it were up to him, would have been to pay the money back. Damn, why did everything always have to be so complicated? Or was it the weird atmosphere on Earth that made everything appear so complicated to him? There had been a time before Cat, when he would never even have thought of looking at another man’s wife, let alone desiring her.
He looked over at the Sethari. He had made himself comfortable in a corner of the room. He seemed to be waiting patiently for Cat to join him. Talon had no illusions. At best, he was an embellishment to the Sethari. Nothing that really mattered. All he cared about was Cat, and if he didn’t speak up soon and explain why he cared so much, then…
“Talon,” Cat interrupted his thoughts, “is everything okay? Where were you in your thoughts?” She looked at him with her large eyes, and as always, he was overcome with the need to fold her into his arms, and to feel her. To really feel her. If they didn’t find some time alone soon, he was sure to explode. When he had made her his companion, the intimacy of that act had been like a foretaste of the act of making love itself. He could only imagine too well what her soft and smooth skin would feel like beneath his, and what she would look like as she came close to reaching her climax. He swallowed. Another one of these stupid side effects of Earth’s atmosphere, was that it was becoming more difficult for him to concentrate. The air, or whatever it was that was changing him, was confusing his priorities.
“We need to talk, and I mean really talk,” he growled more brusquely than he had intended. “You and I are skidding from one danger to another, and if we don’t start making a plan for getting out of here, then…”
Cat raised her hand and laid it on his cheek. “I know.” She closed her eyes for a second, and when she looked at him, tears were shimmering on her eyes. “I am deeply sorry,” she whispered and snuggled up to his chest. This was the first moment of real and deep peace they had experienced in forever, despite the sadness. “If I hadn’t…”
Now it was he who interrupted her. “Don’t you dare even think such a thing,” he said threateningly. He was completely serious. “Meeting you might have been the most complicated thing that could have happened to me, but it is also the best.”