“No,” he answered quietly.
Aimee thought he was going to end it at that. She was conscious of a strange chirping sound coming from outside, but Zak seemed unconcerned.
“A disease did not destroy my home.” He surprised her by continuing. “The Korons did.”
Aimee frowned. Having never encountered one, she had nonetheless developed a strong dislike for this alien race.
“What happened?” she prompted.
Zak took a deep breath and shifted his body. The warm length of his thigh no longer brushed against hers. She missed it.
“I was very young. I knew something was terribly wrong by the look on my mother’s face. She put my sister and I down in the vault beneath our house. It was a chamber designed to protect us from the horrible sandstorms that raged through seasonally. Our mother told us she was going outside to get our father and that they would join us soon. She said to stay deep in the shadows and not to open the access panel unless we recognized one of their voices.”
The dark clung to them with thick, humid talons. For as moist as the air was, night still brought on a wave of frigid air. Aimee trembled and wrapped her arms around her knees.
“Are you alright?” Zak’s hushed concern warmed her.
“I’m fine. Tell me, Zak. Tell me what happened.”
He sighed, but it wasn’t a sound of impatience, rather something to stem from a lifetime of fatigue.
"We stayed down in the dark for hours until Zari grew anxious. I was still young enough to fear disobeying my mother's order, but Zari decided that she was going to go up and look for them. She told me to crawl under our father's work table. It was carved out of a mineral that would withstand most weather catastrophes. She said, don't come out until we come get you. She repeated it over and over as if now she was the adult."
Zak hesitated. It was so still in this small cave that Aimee could hear him swallow.
"So, I crawled under that table and I peeked out to watch her climb the steps. She had her hand on the latch and she looked back down at me to make sure I was staying put. She saw me watching and gave me a smile, and then she pushed open the latch—"
Aimee could sense Zak's agitation.
"There was an explosion." His voice grew hoarse. "They must have seen the latch opening and fired. She—she was gone—turned to dust in an instant. That dust floated down the stairs. I could see it against the light—"
Aimee gasped. She didn't even think. She reached for his arm in the dark, wrapping her fingers around it.
"And then a shadow filled that light. I was so traumatized at that point. All I knew was that I couldn't see the sparkling dust now because of that shadow. I wanted to see the dust. It was my sister. I wanted to see where it landed."
Zak did not withdraw from her grip.
"But something was up there," he shuddered. "Something locked out all the light and I wanted to cry because Zari wasn't there to tell me what to do. So I just listened to her last command. I listened and I obeyed. I crawled back far under that table and I didn't move. I didn't move when I heard the heavy steps coming down those stairs. Heavy steps. The sound of rock smacking against rock. I didn't move when that last footfall hit the floor of our vault, and I didn't move when the steps began to circle the room."
He paused. "I didn't move when they stood before the table. I saw their boots, formed from sand. Their feet were so big. Their legs seemed endless. To me it looked like a stone sculpture come to life, and I bit my palm to muffle my crying. Those stone feet and legs stood right before me, and I thought that soon I would be dust on the floor as well. But a sound came from above. Their dialect. A sing-song chain of grunts...and then the stone feet retreated."
"What happened, Zak?" Aimee refused to let go now. She wanted to hug the young boy who had just lost his sister.
"I listened to Zari, Aimee. I listened to her and I stayed under that table until my father, my mother, or my sister would come get me."
"Oh Zak." A sob formed deep in her throat.
Zak coughed. When he spoke again, his voice was void of emotion. His brief dip into grief had faded. Zak, the Warrior, had returned.
"No one knows how long it was. They say the siege of the Korons lasted for days. They destroyed every settlement. The weather and topography of our planet was enticing to them. We came from such an arid land."
"And the Korons don't like water." Aimee added.
"Right." Zak confirmed. "That they don't. They took over our planet much as these green creatures found this planet to be hospitable to them."
"But Zak, what happened to you? How did you get out of there?"
"Vodu later told me that I must have been under that table for at least three days. The Horus received a distress call at the initiation of the Korons attack. It came too late, but it did come. They were much more sophisticated than the Korons. They had sensors to detect life and they found me. Vodu said that I was weak and couldn't open my eyes because the light hurt them so much. He said that for as frail as I was, I fought them. I kicked. I scratched. And I told them that I had to stay under that table until my family came back."
Aimee could sense Zak glancing around. "So you see,” he paused, “I don't really mind this cave. I like the dark."
"They took you away?" she asked. "And brought you onto the Horus?"
"Yes. I was in shock for a very long time." He flexed his arm and this time Aimee let her hand drop. "Vodu knew," he murmured. "He trained me to become a Warrior because he knew that one day I would go after the race that took my home. My family."
"Have you?" Aimee whispered. "Have you gone after them? Have you gone back to your planet?"
"Once." He shifted. "It is a wasteland now. Pockets of Korons still live there, but many have moved on. They say there are bands of rebels who survived the attack, but I could not find any. The orbit to reach my planet is shorter than yours. It is about four of your years. The next time I return I will be better prepared. I will be stronger. I will search for the rebels again, and together we will flush out the remaining Korons...and rebuild."
Zak fell quiet and Aimee used this opportunity to absorb his tale.
"Aimee, that terra angel out there...I must protect it. If I need to kill more of these creatures, I will. I am angered that they shot it down and jeopardized it."
"Naturally you're upset. First, it's your ship. Second, it bears the name of your sister."
"No." She could hear his head shake. "When I went back to my planet, I was able to locate what was left of my house. Vodu still had the coordinates." Zak hesitated. "I found that vault, Aimee. I found that table. And I found a layer of dust on the floor. Sand filled with sprinkles the color of the dress Zari wore that day."
Aimee’s breath lodged in her throat.
"I scooped up a handful of that sand and it sits in a compartment inside that terra angel. It travels through every galaxy with me."
That was the catalyst. Aimee felt tears leak from behind her eyes. What pain this man harbored, and yet he carried himself with dignity, and not with a grudge...or hostility.
"You are sniffling," he observed. "Are you cold?"
Aimee shook her head and then mumbled, "A little." But she thought the chill had more to do with his tale than the environment.
Zak shifted and she felt his arm slip around her back. At first she stiffened, but then relaxed against him, grateful for this warm haven.
"What about you?” he asked. “Tell me about what you've left behind."
How could she possibly answer that—after the story he just shared? What epic disaster had her parents been through? The year they were audited? The death of Aunt Jenny to cancer? Her mother missed her older sister desperately, but it was not spoken of often.
"Are your parents alive?" he prompted.
It was such a sad question. It was tragic that he even felt compelled to ask it.
“Yes. I have no brothers or sisters, though. My mom had some complications with me so she was never able to hav
e more children.” And so they smother me. No. They love me. They love me so much, and now they don’t know where I am.
“I’m sorry.” There was sincerity in his deep tone. “Do they have a trade?”
“A trade? Oh, my father is an engineer, just like I am studying to be.”
“An engineer.” He tested out the word. “Ah, you will be building spacecrafts. You make sense now.”
“What do you mean, I make sense?”
“You can see your way around the Horus. You were able to get into my ship. You have an analytical eye. You are very intelligent.”
Having never felt pretty, she used to think that she craved being told she was. But somehow, when Zak stated so matter-of-factly that she was intelligent—the compliment made her stomach flip.
"I don't know about intelligent," she felt blood rushing to her cheeks, "but my parents always said I was resourceful. Not resourceful enough though. I can't get back home."
"You tried. There is respect in that."
A branch cracked outside. Aimee jerked from her slouch.
"Stay still," Zak whispered.
She felt him shift and saw his outline fill the entrance to their cave.
"Be careful," she warned.
He slipped into the night and Aimee crawled to the cave's entrance to locate him. It was pitch black, with no benevolent moon to cast the faintest glow. Light did filter through the forest, but it seemed to emanate from the ground as if some of the vegetation was phosphorescent. Still, it wasn't enough to help her find Zak. She wanted to join him and assist, but she knew he would want her to stay put.
Before she could panic, he returned. He burrowed through the entrance and announced casually, "Animal life. Something like a Sumpum. Salvan would love to get his hands on it."
The thought of the pale scientist made her cringe.
Zak settled back against the roots. "We have several hours until light hits this planet. You better try to sleep, Aimee."
"I'm not sure I can," she mumbled, although the dark veil of fatigue reached for her.
"Are you cold?"
If she said yes, would he put his arm around her?
"A little."
She felt the warm band slip around her back. There was a slight tug to urge her to relax against him. She didn't need much coaxing. She was tired, and his chest was wide and comfortable. Settling inside this cocoon, she laid her head against his collarbone.
"Tell me, Aimee," he spoke softly. "Do you have a man back home?"
“A man?” No. The one man who had showed any interest really wanted her Dad, not her.
“Umm, no. No men.”
“I’m surprised,” his voice was drifting. He too sounded tired.
Aimee closed her eyes and listened to the beat of Zak’s heart. He was human. She could hear it in that confident cadence.
“What about you?” she asked. “Do they do things like get married here?”
“Married.” He tested out the word. “Yes. You become bonded. It’s pretty much a universal term. Married is a new word for it…at least for me.”
“Do couples ever become un-bonded?”
“No. Bonding is something special. For a couple to feel that much for each other—there is no chance of it ever coming apart. My parents were bonded when they were very young. They knew already that they would spend the rest of their lives—”
Zak stopped. Aimee had reached up and placed her hand flat on his chest. Fatigue gave her liberties she would never attempt during the light of day. Her palm pressed the shiny black fabric.
“How old are you, Zak?”
There was no answer and she thought either he had fallen asleep or was still too upset at the mention of his parents.
“In your years?” he probed. “That’s hard to calculate. My planet was much larger than yours and took a path far greater. They tell me that I’m almost twelve revolutions of my planet which is probably twice as many as yours.”
“Twenty-three,” she calculated. “You are twenty-three of my years.”
Aimee surrendered to a yawn, but continued in a whisper, “You look twenty-three, but you act—you seem so much older.”
Zak chuckled softly and she felt a puff of air against her hair. “I feel old, Aimee. I feel very old.”
“You need to sleep.” She didn’t even know if she had said the words aloud. His heartbeat had finally lulled her into slumber.
Chapter Ten
“It’s time.”
Her butt hurt. But the rest of her was quite comfortable. She yawned and slipped her arm around the pillow. It moved beneath her.
“Aimee, it’s time.”
She frowned. Time for what?
“Aimee.”
She felt the words brush against her ear and jumped.
“Easy there. That’s my jaw you almost broke.”
Aimee rubbed the top of her head and blinked her eyes. Light filtered in from the opening of the cave. Outside, clouds hugged the ground like diaphanous patches of snow. Cognizance returned and she sat up straight, rubbing her palm into her eye and staring at Zak who wore a bemused smile. It looked really good on him.
“Are you going back to the ship?” she asked.
“Yes. It has been quiet out there. Maybe we’re going to get lucky.”
“Or maybe they were waiting for the morning as well.”
Zak shook his head. “I admire your keen sense of impending doom.”
She had to laugh at that. “I’m here to help.”
He smiled, but his lips thinned and his eyes grew alert. He moved to the rim of the cave. "I’m going inside the ship, but I want you to stay here. You can see the TA from here. When I open the panel, you run like an erect sumpum is after you. As soon as you’re in, we’re taking off—” he paused and added, “that is, if I can fix the damage. And don’t you dare ask me what we’re going to do if I can’t.”
Aimee snapped her mouth shut. It was exactly what she was going to ask.
“Alright,” he leaned forward with his gun extended, “remember…as soon as you see that panel open—”
“I become an Olympic sprinter.”
Zak’s lip curled up at the corner. “You think I don’t know what that means? I have heard of your Olympic games. They’re nothing compared to the Zorgan races on my planet.”
“Oh, sure, sure. Hit me with the, my planet is bigger than yours speech.” Aimee laughed, trying to subdue her apprehension.
Zak looked at her. When he stared at her like that she felt her ears go numb and the world go fuzzy, and all she could see was a golden light…and it beguiled her. It beckoned her. But she could not go to it. The golden light shifted, and he was gone.
* * *
From her perspective, the Zari looked like a big horse lying on its side with its legs stretched out. The swell of the cockpit resembled the swell of the horse’s belly. She saw Zak slip inside without incident and she finally started to breathe again.
There was light now, but it was a haze bogged down with clouds and wispy vapors—a haunting version of the Aurora borealis. Lofty cacti secreted a glistening liquid that trickled down their sides as if the tree was crying. Red-stalked plants spiked out of the ground to form a stockade around Zak’s ship.
Aimee hugged her arms about her and listened for him. What did she expect to hear, him hammering away? She didn’t hear a hammer, but she did hear something. It wasn’t coming from the terra angel, though. It was coming from the opposite direction. It sounded like the wind sifting through the underbrush…but there was no breeze. Shifting onto her knees, she leaned forward for a better view. No signal from Zak. The hatch was not open. Her head turned into that whisper of wind as it channeled from the other direction. On it rode the musty scent of cedar and moss.
Aimee squinted, longing for her glasses.
There! The vegetation wriggled, while the stalks around it remained as straight and stoic as British guards before the Tower of London. In the melee of underbrush, the stretch of a jade trunk
emerged. She would have disregarded it as one of the myriad cacti competing with each other for dominance over the rosy skyline, but this trunk was mobile. She followed its progress until it grew and produced branches. No—not branches. Arms.
A long torso resplendent with leaves emerged and Aimee looked up at the head shadowed beneath a crown of woven vines. Moss grew over a stony face with lifeless eyes the shade of a stagnant pond. She yanked her head back into the shadows.
It was the jolly green giant, and he didn’t look very jolly. Slung across his chest was a weapon akin to a bow and arrow, but from her brief glimpse, she could tell the arrows were much more potent than anything earthly.
To her horror another set of arms and legs trailed—a forest of athletic limbs with a single goal. Aimee swerved her head to follow the trek of their soulless eyes.
Zak.
Could he see them from inside the TA? Was he completely vulnerable to this attack? Damn him for not leaving her with some method of communicating with him.
As elusive as the trickle of a breeze, the tree men advanced.
Think. Think. Think.
Aimee cast a futile glance at her surroundings, but what single obstacle could she produce to halt them? The green giants were now only ten yards away from Zak's ship. It was hard to see them. It was hard to hear them.
She watched helplessly as they drew their weapons and the first arrow arced towards the terra angel. When it struck, an explosion shook the ground beneath her. Her cry of protest was muffled by the next tumult.
Through the melee of fog and smoke Aimee noticed the hatch slide open as return shots volleyed through the air. They weren't like lasers, though. Either they were invisible, or lost in the vapors. Their shock waves were evident on impact. One struck a giant in the shoulder as the creature staggered backwards under the impetus. Where he faltered, his teammate rallied and struck the ship again.
Zak was trapped. There was no way he could fend off this assault.
Beyond : Series Bundle (9781311505637) Page 12