by T. S. Ryder
"Where am I?" she finally asked, regaining her wits about her.
"Senett."
Lisa waited a beat, but when nothing more was forthcoming, she pressed on. "Senett?"
Zon grunted.
"Where is—"
"In the Hysap system."
A planet then, not the name of this city. Lisa rubbed the spot behind her left ear that stung every time he spoke. That must be where they had put the translator. His lips didn't match the words she was hearing. It was disconcerting, like a badly dubbed foreign-language movie. One of her foster dads had been obsessed with Chinese films, and wouldn't let her and Tom watch anything else.
"Where are we going?"
Zon pointed. Between two buildings, one red and rocky-looking, the other curled over like a frozen wave, was a sleek vessel. It reflected back what was around it without mirroring the light, which made Lisa almost miss it at first. Her mouth made an 'o' as they got closer. Despite the situation, she found herself fascinated by the material. When she peered into it, she could see the buildings reflected back at her, but not her own face.
"What is this?" she asked, touching it. It felt like water under her fingers and she scratched at the surface.
Zon grabbed her hand and pulled her away. "Haven't you ever seen a car before?"
It was bizarre to think of the sleek, hovering vessel as a car, but Lisa supposed that it was the closest word in her language to what it was. She also noticed just how much stronger that alluring, bitter scent was when she was closer to Zon. It made her stomach clench.
"Cars look different on my planet," she muttered. "They don't… reflect like that."
"You don't have cameo-skins?"
Lisa shook her head.
Zon grunted. "Get in."
Lisa stared stupidly at the vessel, not seeing any sort of door until Zon picked her up and put her inside. He climbed in on the other side, standing rather than sitting as she did. There was no sound of an engine starting, but suddenly they were moving. The buildings zipped by so quickly that Lisa had to close her eyes to avoid being sick.
Suddenly she remembered what the auctioneer had said about her. She swallowed hard and peeked up at Zon, taking in the bulk of his body. "What are you going to do with me?"
He ignored her. Lisa wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to imagine being chopped up and made into stew. The bitter scent grew stronger as she thought, instead, about being a 'companion' to this giant, beautiful alien. To her surprise, the idea sent shivers of excitement through her.
It's the shock, she insisted. And he saved me. Endorphins giving me a sense of euphoria.
They stopped in the middle of a jungle. At least, that was the best word Lisa had for it. All around where trees, with their familiar shapes of trunks and branches climbing to the sky. Broad leaves and giant flowers reminded her of the amazon jungle. The difference was that everything was in shades of red, yellow and orange. Lisa gaped as she stared around herself. With the heat beating down on her, she felt like she was in the middle of a fire. It was terrifying.
It was beautiful.
What made the plants here red instead of green? Did they operate on photosynthesis? Was the star that fueled the planet a different color than Earth's sun? Or was it something in the soil? Lisa reached for her pockets before remembering she didn't have any. Disappointment rippled through her. She would have liked to have taken a sample of the soil and a plant or two back to Earth with her, so she could run tests on the chemical makeup.
"Stay here," Zon told her. "I have business to take care of before I attend to you."
The image of her lying back on one of these wide, red leaves came to mind, the heat and bird cries surrounding her as she cried out in pleasure while her legs wrapped around Zon's hips. Her eyes widened as her body responded to her imagination.
What is wrong with me? I should be terrified of that, not aroused!
Zon jumped out of the car, striding away through the bush. Lisa sat still, twisting her hands in her lap, until she realized what this meant. He was gone, leaving her alone. If ever there was a time when she could escape him and get back to Earth, it was now.
She slid over to where he had been standing, putting her hands on the console like he had. No response. She tried pressing her fingers in different ways, tried to control it telepathically. Nothing. Maybe it was keyed to his genetics. She gritted her teeth in frustration before jumping out of the car. Well, she wasn't going to just wait around for him to return!
Picking a direction, Lisa began to run. They couldn't be that far into the jungle, and once she was back in the city, she could find the shipyard and hopefully there would be someone who would be sympathetic to her—
The air was knocked out of her lungs as something collided with her. She rolled several times before she got a look at her attacker. Her heart stopped. It was a creature that looked vaguely cat-like, but its body was covered by a hard shell, and two compound eyes stared out at her. A forked tongue flickered from its mouth, a long, whip-like tail lashing back and forth behind it.
It leaped forward. Sharp teeth flashed. She screamed as they clamped on her arm. Claws as long as scythes tore at her, skittering over her armor.
Lisa screamed again.
Somewhere over the creature's snarling, she heard a mighty roar. The creature howled in pain, whirling. Lisa scrambled to her feet to see Zon gripping his sword tightly, driving it into the creature's compound eye. It swiped at him; graceful as a dancer he avoided the claws, pulling the sword out to sink into the other eye. Another scream and Zon sliced open its neck. It screamed and writhed, blood splattering everywhere.
Zon ignored the dying creature as he marched over to her. He grabbed her arm roughly and shook her. "Next time you disobey me, I’ll let the beast kill you."
He dropped her arm and walked away, clearly expecting her to follow. Lisa cast one glance at the creature, which was twitching erratically now, and hurried after him.
"What is that thing?" she asked.
"You've never seen a hacot before?"
Lisa shook her head. "Are they… common?"
Zon hoisted her back into the car. "The only more common species in the galaxy are rats. You're lucky it didn't bite you. You'd be dead within the hour if it had."
"That thing was venomous?" Lisa shook her head. "Is there anything else out there that wants to kill us?"
"Many things."
Great, Lisa thought bitterly. We’re going into a jungle full of creatures that want to eat us. At least we're fast food, maybe they won't catch us.
***
What felt like hours later, Zon parked the car at the base of a giant tree and told Lisa to climb onto his back.
"You have to be kidding me."
His brow furrowed. "It will be night in a few hours, and we need to be off the ground before dusk."
Lisa hesitated, but as Zon crouched in front of her, she scrambled up onto his back. He made sure she was holding tightly before he began climbing. They scaled the tree remarkably fast, his hands finding holds in the bark, the claws on his feet digging in to secure his ascent. When the ground was no longer visible, he walked along a thick branch to the edge, where smaller, leaf-covered limbs extended.
Lisa watched with fascination as he used his hands and feet to weave a nest out of the living branches. The scientist in her longed to know what sort of evolutionary process allowed him to manipulate his limbs so effectively. Had his species evolved in the trees?
The thought sobered her quickly. What was she doing, admiring the way he worked? The way he had killed the toad back at the auction… this was not a gentle man. He was a savage, and she did not want to stick around to find out what he was going to do with her.
"I need to return to my home."
Zon ignored her.
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes."
Lisa put her hands on her hips. "So are you going to take me home or not?"
"What for?" Zon glanced at her as
he settled in the nest.
"I have friends, family—"
"You were found traveling in a ship at light speed. Don't you know what that means?"
Lisa's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to tell him that it didn't matter and that she was abducted, but then she remembered. Her face blanched and she suddenly felt dizzy. Einstein's theory of relativity. There was temporal distortion associated with light speed travel. What could have been months for her on that ship might have been years back on Earth.
"I… I can't have been in there that long," she gasped. "I need to go home!"
"Forget home." Zon patted the space beside him. "You are from an unregistered species acquired in unclaimed space, and sold under the accords of the Scavenger Act. You belong to me, and there is no returning."
"I don't belong to anybody."
Zon smiled at her. "You belong to me. But don't be frightened. There are plenty worse people who could have bought you."
Lisa thought of the toad and privately agreed, though she stood her ground. "I am a sentient being and—"
"Just come here and sleep." Zon's gaze softened a little. "You have had a trying day and I'm afraid you will collapse on the spot. I did not intend on making a purchase today, but since I have you, I would like to have your companionship."
Lisa tensed. So he did mean to use her for sex. She hesitated a moment longer, knowing the idea should be terrifying, knowing she should be at least more repelled than she was. There was a part of her that was, but another part whispered that, for science's sake, she had to learn exactly how similar their species were…
"Parallel evolution," she blurted, not moving closer to him.
A brow arched. "Excuse me?"
"That's why our species look so similar. With the arms and the legs and the faces." Why was she babbling? "Parallel evolution. It's when two unrelated species evolve similar attributes due to filling the same niche in an environment. Like red pandas and raccoons. They look so similar, but they're not at all related."
Zon stared at her like she was crazy. She felt her cheeks flushing but couldn't move her eyes away from the strong musculature over his chest. His pecs were so perfectly formed, she wanted to squeeze them and kiss them. She wanted him to use her, just so she would know what it was like…
For the sake of science, of course. She could use the DNA she collected in her studies once she returned to Earth.
"Ah." Zon's voice was soft.
"Ah?" Lisa repeated. Her throat was dry.
"The auctioneer said that you were compatible with most species. It appears that you are highly receptive to androstanol."
Androstanol. A pheromone produced in fresh, non-oxidized male sweat, proven to be highly attractive to females. Lisa's face heated further.
Zon ran his hand over his face, then his gaze focused on her. It ran over her, caressing every curve. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. His gaze darkened as he came for her. A thrill of panic shot through her, but she found herself frozen, unable to think about fighting against him, her eyes already on his lips… but when he came close he just walked past her.
By the time Lisa had regained her senses and turned, Zon was pounding his fists into the tree. She gaped, too stupefied to move. The alien's shoulders bunched and corded as he pounded again and again and again. When he finally stopped, there were streaks of blood on the bark.
He turned back to her, panting. "Please don't look at me like that."
"Like… what?"
"Like you expect me to throw you down and force myself on you. I'm a mature T'shav, I can handle my musth."
"Your… what?"
He stared at her. "You really don't know?"
Lisa shook her head.
Zon pinched the back of his neck, shaking his head. "Of course not. Lightspeed technology. You haven't had any interaction with species outside of your own planet, have you?"
"We don't have light speed technology. I was taken from my home."
"Really? You're more primitive than I thought."
Lisa flushed. "Hey, at least we have actual guns and don't go around swinging swords. They’re highly inefficient."
"We have guns." Zon smiled. "I just prefer to make sure that the men I kill are actually dead."
How many people had he killed?
"But as I was saying, the males of my species have a cycle that they enter every standard year. We call it musth. It's a time when our hormones run rampant, resulting in a drive to mate. If we do not have regular sex, we can become… unpredictable. More violent than usual. We also produce a cocktail of pheromones that arouse females."
"Oh." Oh. That explained it all, then. Why she was feeling so… She swallowed hard. He needed sex to regulate his hormones. Once again the image of them twined together occurred to her, but this time, she knew why the heat was building in her. "So when you bought me, you wanted—"
A sharp zinging sound interrupted her. Something struck the side of the tree, inches from where she stood, and it burst into flames.
Chapter Three
Lisa screamed, stumbling back. Her foot met air, but even before she had a chance to realize she was falling, Zon was beside her. One thick arm wrapped around her waist and he hoisted her up against him. He stood right in the fire. With the flames licking around his body, he had never looked more devil-like–or more handsome. Just being close to him made Lisa forget for a brief second that they were under attack.
"Pheromones," she blurted, and the next thing she knew, Zon was throwing her.
She landed on a wide branch near the trunk. She clung to the tree to keep from falling. The fire was getting larger, Zon still in the flames, but he wasn't alone. There was another alien standing next to him. They traded blows; the other alien had a knife in his hand, but Zon seemed to be holding his own. Lisa looked around wildly, searching for some way to help him.
"Get down!" he shouted over his shoulder at her.
Lisa instinctively dropped. There was another zinging noise and the trunk over her head burst into flames. An alien dropped right in front of her on the branch. A long, wicked-looking knife was in one hand, a syringe in the other. The creature looked almost exactly like the toad that had nearly bought her, only this one had purple warts over its face. She kicked at its feet. It jumped away, laughing.
There was no room to dodge the syringe coming at her neck. Lisa kicked again, rolling towards the toad. She knocked solidly into its legs. The alien teetered for a moment before falling, a terrible screech following after it. Another scream had her looking up. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. A half-dozen aliens were crowded around Zon, slicing at him with their knives. He avoided every blow and skewered three with a single thrust from his sword. The nearest survivor turned to flee, but Zon grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him into the others, who were attempting a retreat. They all fell screaming through the foliage, disappearing below.
Arms wrapped around Lisa's waist. She screamed and the next thing she knew, Zon was beside her, ripping her away from the creature holding her. His sword flashed, and a body, neatly severed in two, tumbled from the tree branch.
Lisa clung to him, trembling.
"Are you injured?"
Lisa had to laugh at that. He was asking her? "You're the one who was fighting."
"Amateurs." Zon snorted. "They might as well have jumped from the tree without my help."
The bitter smell was stronger, more alluring. Lisa looked up into those black eyes and felt a surge of gratitude. He had saved her life. He had fought off all those aliens for her. Without even realizing what she was doing, Lisa threw her arms around his neck and crushed her mouth to his. The moment their lips touched, heat flared through her whole body. Adrenaline surged, and a giddy feeling filled her head. Zon gripped her hips, thrust her against the trunk of the tree and kissed her back fiercely.
Lisa opened her mouth, inviting him in, and fumbled with his clothing, trying to find him. Before she could, though, he grabbed her wrists and pinned
her against the tree, taking a step back. His eyes were bright and he was panting, but he shook his head.
"It's the musth."
"I don't care," Lisa said, trying to reach him again.
Zon made a frustrated noise and threw her over his back. Lisa clung to him, kissing his neck while she ground herself against him. It took a moment for her to realize that they were scaling back down the tree, but she didn't care.
"You saved my life," she purred. "I want to show you my gratitude."
"Saved your life?" Zon snorted. "More like put you in danger."
Lisa paused in her efforts to seduce the handsome warrior. "What do you mean?"
"They must know why I'm here."
He didn't say anything else until they were back on the ground. The sight of the broken bodies scattered around the base of the tree made Lisa lose any amorous intentions she had, and what little her stomach contained. Zon put her back in the car, which was practically invisible in this setting, and began driving away. Lisa crouched down, feeling sweat break out on her forehead. The adrenaline was wearing off and she shook violently.
Darkness fell quickly, but when they stopped, Lisa saw they were back in the city. Zon climbed out, then picked her up. She glanced around. It wasn't the city, after all, just a collection of a dozen buildings. Zon carried her to a large building that reminded her of a hotel and ordered a room. Both of them were given a stamp on the backs of their hands by the receptionist and told what room to go to.
On the second floor, Zon waved the stamp on his hand in front of the door to open it. At any other time, Lisa would have been curious as to how it worked, but the horror from the attack was warring with her desire for the alien who carried her, leaving no room for scientific inquiry.
Zon put her on the bed. He began hiking up his skirt. Lisa moaned, happy he was making this decision for her. Until he opened his leg and pulled out a small flask.