by Zara Zenia
As Nur, the other guardsman with us, arrived, we headed back, trying to avoid the shocked stares and gawking pedestrians we passed along the way. It was one thing that I was a prince from a neighboring planet, but it was another that I’d just chased down a refugee civilian.
“Isn’t that the—”
“Holy shit! That’s one of those aliens!”
“Quick, take a picture!”
We hurried through the growing attention and made it back to our vehicle. I climbed in, frustrated and annoyed at the gawking stares and unflattering terms shot at me by the whispering pedestrians.
“Well, shall we return to the ship?” Nur asked, punching commands into the control panel. His nonchalance was infuriating me. I still had a job to do. I wouldn’t rest until Amy was safely in my presence.
“No, we’re going to Manhattan,” I ordered, belting out the instructions as if there was no room for debate on the subject.
Coel looked at me curiously. “You think we can beat her there?” I didn’t know if it was a challenge or a dare, but I was up to accepting either way.
I shook my head. “No, but she said something before I lost her. I asked her what was going on and she refused to tell me. Her sister’s life is at stake. Something is very wrong with this situation and I suspect we will need the assistance of the human authorities.” My voice was shakier than I intended, but the situation was dire.
“Perhaps it would be better that I handle the matter for you, Your Highness. If the girl is in danger, as she says, your involvement may place you in harm’s way.” Coel was always looking out for my best interest. I had to respect him for his efforts to subdue me.
“I understand your concern and I appreciate it, but I’m going to see this through. I suspect her involvement with me is what has put her at risk, and I’ll not sit idly by, hoping for the best,” I affirmed. Nothing would change my mind.
“But—”
I leveled him with a glare, not meaning to vent my frustration but finding it difficult to remain unaffected by the events of the morning.
“What would you do, Coel? If it was Yezia?”
His eyes narrowed, jaw clenched. “I’d rip apart anyone who threatened her.”
“Then you’ll understand,” I said with a curt nod.
He didn’t argue, and we headed for Union Hall in silence with determination, full-steam ahead.
At this low altitude and in the brightness of daylight, it was much easier to make out the human establishments which had been little more than homogenous, distant figures. Up close, I found myself quite admiring the beauty of their architecture. It was chaotic and gritty, but somehow, oddly beautiful. It was something unique to the area and unlike anything one would find on my home planet.
We reached the roof of the Union Hall, which I had visited only once before upon our arrival here on Earth. My heart raced in anticipation and excitement with the bewildered hope of finding Amy somewhere around the area.
Coel had notified the authorities ahead of our arrival and we were greeted by a woman in a simple black jumpsuit.
“Prince Gardax, please follow me,” she said, turning around and walking toward the rooftop entrance. Her lips were flatlined and her expressionless features gave little away of her thoughts on the matter.
We climbed into an elevator and descended several levels before being led down a dimly lit hallway and a series of staff offices before finally arriving in a well-accommodated lobby.
“The mayor will be with you shortly,” she informed us and then walked away.
I was unimpressed with their diplomatic hospitality thus far. After a considerable amount of time had passed, I grew impatient and approached the young man seated at the desk outside what was clearly the main office. As I approached, the door finally swung open and a heavyset person of ambiguous gender nodded. I needed answers and was prepared to demand them.
“Prince Gardax, welcome. I’m Mayor Schrute. Please come in.” He gave me an apprehensive, albeit polite, grin.
With Coel and Nur at my side, we entered and stood before the desk which was backed by a wall of windows that looked out onto a massive green space. I wondered whether this was the ‘Central Park’ I’d heard about.
“I understand that you are looking for someone? A citizen of the Union, correct?” The mayor stroked a small furry creature on the desk. He appeared bored and uninterested.
“Yes, a member of my staff. I have reason to believe she and her sister are in imminent danger. I require your assistance in tracking her. Her name is Amy,” I began.
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to back up. Do you have any evidence of a threat? Any reason I should concern myself with your staffing issues?” the mayor asked, somewhat condescendingly. He made brief eye contact with me before looking away.
“I have her word that her sister’s life was in danger,” I answered. I didn’t know what else he wanted from me as far as an explanation went. Threats to human life should be valued by these humans.
With a dry laugh, the mayor answered, “I’m afraid that’s not quite enough. People’s lives are in danger all the time in New York. That is hardly newsworthy. It’s a harsh world here. I’ll need a little more to go on if you think we’re going to launch some kind of investigative operation.” He behaved as if the safety of Amy and her sister was none of his concern.
I squared my jaw and clenched my sweaty fists. I almost shouted, but Coel eyed the mayor shrewdly, and reaching into the space between his armor and his clothing, he pulled out a slim satchel, dropping it on the Mayor’s desk.
I watched as, with a flicker of excitement, the mayor reached out and opened the packet. “We’ll call this the first payment. With another to come once we find her.” He’d quickly begun to whistle a different tune once money was involved.
Annoyed and relieved at once, I nodded. “Thank you,” I mumbled and swiftly smiled at Coel.
“Now, I’ll need to know her Citizen ID number.” The mayor began listing a set of requirements. I gave what information I could with a promise to send the rest as soon as possible.
We were led back to our transport once more and headed back to my ship to gather the remaining information. Time was of the essence right now, with not a second left to waste.
“The Mayor’s office assures us they’ll find her within the next week,” Coel informed me.
“A week?” I fumed. “Surely, they can do better!” I’d given him a sizable sum of money. I expected more.
Sympathy showed in his eyes, but Coel shook his head. “I offered double the bounty, but they assured me there was no way they could speed the matter any further.”
I sat back, raking my hands through my hair in frustration. “I don’t like this.” I shook my head and blew out a puff of ragged air.
“Nor I, but without their resources, our chances of finding her on our own are slim.” Coel always spoke the truth, even if it hurt.
“Very well, keep me informed of any developments.” I nodded, dismissing Coel because I was too tormented to keep up a conversation.
Left to my own solitude, I paced. I tried to distract myself with business from home. I did everything I could to wear my body and mind down enough that I wasn’t racked with worry over her.
But still, in my mind, I saw the fear and the desperation in her eyes. Something was very, very wrong and there was nothing I could do about it until I found her and begged her to come clean with the issues that plagued and threatened her.
I watched the lights below, as if I expected her to come floating up toward me through the night air, until my eyelids grew heavy.
And then she was there.
Standing before me, just as I’d seen her that morning, her long hair loose in soft and silky waves falling around the perfect angles of her face, her slender shoulders. I breathed a sigh of relief, mesmerized by the way she gently floated to me like a perfect dream of a woman.
“Amy?” I asked, and she came to me without question, without run
ning.
“You found me,” she whispered, smiling with devilish features curling at the edges of her lips.
I fell to my knees, overcome with relief. “I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you. I thought someone was after you or that you’d been harmed because of me.”
“Shh,” she assured me. “It’s okay. I’m here with you now. I survived and we’re together. That’s what counts.” Her voice was like a song, silky and smooth and a paradise to my ears.
I nodded, standing and raising her hands to my lips. The scent of her skin reached me, far more potent than any Tora pollen Rawklix might distill. I was intoxicated by her gaze, by her slender body in front of me.
Before I realized what I was doing, I was pulling her toward me, cradling her scalp in my hands and kissing her, her hair tangling in my fingers, tasting the sweetness of her as my body ignited with the heated awareness of hers. Her breath was both icy and hot on my skin, a perfect combination.
Her strong, finely boned hands snaked around my neck. “Now that you’ve found me, what are you going to do with me?” she asked, her voice a seductive tease that sent a shiver of arousal through me.
“Everything,” I said, and she smiled, blushing slightly. The sky was the limit. She was mine to explore.
“Show me,” she answered, stepping back and lifting the hem of her long tunic up and over her head, exposing her naked body to my appreciative gaze. I couldn’t stop staring at her creamy smooth skin. She was stunning.
I growled some form of inaudible response and pressed against her, her back to the transparent glass wall, the lights of the city below us like they shone for us alone. Rabid and hungry, she peeled the clothes off me, freeing my erection and enclosing it in the warm silk of her palm. My breath caught when she placed her lips along my length. The sight of her naked before me was too erotic, too intense.
I pulled her up, needing to taste her as well, and feasted at the exposed flesh of her firm, rounded breasts, and the sound of her sigh, breathy and delicate, burned me. I lifted her legs, wrapping them around my hips, settling her to straddle me. I could feel the wet heat of her pressed against my hard shaft and I knew she was as eager and ready as I was.
I drove into her, her tight passage closing around me, pulling me deeper into her, as she clung to my shoulders, her nails biting my flesh with every thrust. She moaned softly, quietly through my pulsing ears.
The little sounds she made grew more and more urgent and placed me in her thrall. I lived only to hear the pleasure in her voice, to feel the growing tremble of her flesh around mine as she came for me. We rocked back and forth together with rhythmic, fluid movements that united our chemistry.
Driven to the brink, I sank into her one more time, the chill of the glass behind her on my arms contrasting from the explosion that rocked through me as I lost myself. An explosion of ecstasy blinded me as I groaned with passionate fury.
Finding my breath, I carried her to the bed, collapsing into the soft cushions with her.
I closed my eyes and smiled, finally feeling at peace. My thirst had been quenched, at least for now. I knew it was only a matter of time before I craved her with desperate hunger once again.
“Is that smile for me?” she asked, her voice raspy from our lovemaking. Her cheeks were still flushed, glowing in the aftermath.
I opened my eyes, reaching out for her.
But she wasn’t there.
The room was dark with no sign of Amy. I was alone. Alone and haunted. The dream was a fog that lifted as soon as reality came crashing down on me.
Chapter 14
Amy
It was still dark when I woke up. The cold winds that tore through my thin coat gave me no reprieve and I needed to be out of here before people started to trickle through. To be honest, I was surprised when I opened my eyes and realized that I was still alive, enduring a night in horrendously frigid conditions.
I’d slept under a bush beside the icy waters of the Hudson River to avoid detection, and my body was stiff and aching everywhere. I was on the Jersey side, where I knew Darla and her husband lived. Beyond the city, I had no idea where to find her, but it felt like a place to start. If I could keep convincing myself that I was one step closer with every move I made, then that was all the hope I needed to cling to.
I pulled my coat around me, climbing the railing and jogging along the path to keep warm until I got to a roadway. The sun was starting to lighten the sky and traffic was picking up. Soon, sleepy people would begin to drag themselves out of bed and the hustle of the world would awaken under the dawn of a new day. I bought a hot bagel and lox from a sidewalk vendor, sparing one of the few precious coins I had left.
After the exertions of the day before, I knew I needed to fortify myself, even if it meant making myself a little poorer. The lox was a rare treat and I savored it for as long as I possibly could. I knew I wouldn’t have a meal like that again for a while.
A pang of guilt struck me as I wondered what Corinne was eating . . . if Darla was even still feeding her. I tried to justify the guilty pleasure with the fact that I needed strength and energy if I was ever going to make it to the finish line of finding Corinne.
I walked the streets, pulling my hood low over my face and sweeping my hair under the collar of my coat, doing what I could to blend into the mass of people. But I was walking aimlessly, without direction. The chance of coming across Darla was ridiculous, but it was all I had. Sometimes, miracles happened at random.
I needed a plan, though, in case fate didn’t bring me one of those lucky breaks.
I couldn’t go home. Darla was clear about that. But I certainly wasn’t going to abide by her conditions until I knew Corinne was safe, unharmed. I couldn’t just continue to live outside and sleep in bushes.
I had to think things through. What did I know? I knew Darla didn’t want me around the prince, so going to her on the ship wouldn’t work. I knew if I went to the authorities or Gardax, Darla would hurt Corinne before they got to her, so that wasn’t an option. The only way I was going to get Corinne back was to assure Darla that I hadn’t broken any of her instructions. It seemed like she had a constant watchful eye on me, and there was no escaping her wrath.
The phone was busted though. I pulled it out of my pocket and tapped it a little too roughly. A piece of glass chipped off and fell to the ground. Not a good sign so far.
But maybe the damage was just external. If I could find a tech ravager, maybe I could pull some data out of it. I jogged over to a bodega, asking for directions to the nearest e-scrapper.
The owner, a thin man with eyes that bugged out beneath a pair of caterpillar-thick eyebrows, looked down at me over the rim of his glasses and silently pointed up.
“What floor?” I asked.
He held up three fingers and then returned his attention back to his paper as if I had vanished. I turned to walk away but the front page caught my attention and I halted in my tracks and stared at the print screaming across the page as well as the picture rocking my core.
It was Gardax and his brothers. They were announcing another ball to be held once more at his ship. The thought of him surrounded by hordes of eager, beautiful women unsettled me, but I closed my eyes against the rush of feeling. I needed to focus. I guess he’d forgotten about me even after the scuffle yesterday. Perhaps he’d given up. That idea both crushed me and relieved me.
I’d nearly broken down the day before. I was lucky I’d been delirious, because I’m not sure I would have been able to run from him otherwise. Not after the way he’d looked at me. His eyes had been hungry and desperate for answers.
I steeled my jaw as I pushed through the door of the small, rundown brick building. I didn’t have time for this kind of emotion. Weakness hadn’t gotten me this far, and it certainly wasn’t the way to finish this with Darla. She would be able to sniff out any sign of weakness and use it to destroy me.
I needed to be strong for Corinne’s sake, for my own, even. If I let myself fe
el this, it’d be like chipping away at that wall I’d built to protect myself from all the awful things I couldn’t afford to dwell on. I catalogued the memory and put it away in its own neat box along with everything else that I was better off forgetting. I just hoped it stayed there. I couldn’t afford to unearth those cobwebs.
Jogging up the cold tile steps, I found the third floor and started down the hallway, wondering where the heck the e-scrapper was. Every door looked the same, dark green with faded gold letters and nothing else. There were no names, no titles, nothing. It was bleak and dreary up here. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to report to work in a cold and gloomy place like this.
I couldn’t exactly knock on every door, hoping to find the e-scrapper. It was too risky. What if I encountered a predator of some sort? I wasn’t going to do anything senseless to cause myself to become the hunted.
Another dead end. I walked back the way I came, but as I was mentally berating the rude bodega man, a small explosion sounded from the far end of the hall. I instinctively shielded my head with my arms. The wind was knocked out of me, more from shock than anything else.
The dark green door flew open, and a huge man, maybe seven feet tall, came stomping out, red-faced and carrying scraps that were still letting off bright blue sparks of electricity. I cowered in the corner, wanting to make sure to keep myself veiled as much as possible.
“You pay for this, little man! The boss, she not gonna be happy with you!” he said, shouting over his shoulder and pushing past me as if I was a fly to be swatted away, if he’d even noticed me at all.
A scrawny teenager with mocha skin and shocks of bleached hair popped out, char marks on his white thermal. He frantically scrambled up to the giant man.
“Rupo, wait! I can fix it! Just let me try one more time. I just used the wrong converter. It’ll be fine, you’ll see,” he called after the big man in desperation as if every word depended on the response.
I watched as he chased him down to the street. Through the glass window above the door, I could see them arguing before the big man fumed off. I stayed in the same spot, immobilized with curiosity and fear of the unknown.