by Jenny Foster
“I don’t think it will be difficult to lure him here,” Talon remarked. “If I know Ferthoris at all, he will leave as soon as he hears about us. One of his brown-nosing minions will surely report that the woman he won in a poker game prefers his warlord to him. That will not sit well with him.”
“So, you think he will come here on his own?” Cat frowned. “Then all we will need to do is set a trap for him, and make sure that he falls into it.” She thought hard, shaking her head. Her hair had come loose during their lovemaking. It fell onto her naked shoulders and offered an appealing contrast to her light skin.
“He will determine the time of his arrival,” Talon said. “We can’t do anything about that.”
Her eyes glowed when she understood. “But we can determine the spot. I think, we should go into the city. It will be harder for him to detect us there. I know the city well.”
“We shouldn’t make it too easy for him,” Talon agreed. “He cannot suspect in the least that we want to be found, and we need to figure out how to isolate him from his bodyguards.”
“The only problem I can see are the Krak. Do you think they would come into the city with us?” Cat bit her lower lip. “They obviously need water, and that is hard to come by in the city. No, we will have to deliver the king to their doorstep like a package. Is that too complicated?” She laid her head to the side, almost as if she were listening for a voice that he couldn’t hear.
“I don’t think so,” Talon responded. He shrugged. “They want him, so they will have him. They let us go, so we owe them something, and we will pay our debts.”
“Have you ever dealt with them before?” Cat asked curiously. “I don’t know - I think they are creepy. When they kidnapped me, I was held in a kind of living chamber. It felt like a huge, pulsing heart or other organ. That can’t be, can it?
Talon felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. This was worse than he had expected. “That isn’t good,” he began and wondered how he could explain to Cat where she had really been. He had her undivided attention, and she forced him to continue with her look. “You were in one of their breeding caves.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That’s gross, but I didn’t see anything that pointed at procreation. No eggs, no larvae or anything that would have to do with however they raise their offspring.”
“Cat, this is serious. Really serious.” Talon got up. “When the Krak breed, they make a cave where they raise their offspring for years on end. Do you understand? They have settled on Earth to start a colony here.” Talon drew his hand over his forehead and tried to make sense of it all. Ferthoris, Cat, he himself – what did the Krak want? What was their real goal?
“That isn’t good,” Cat agreed and then asked the question that wouldn't leave him alone, either. “Does that mean that we aren’t bound to keep our promise and can just get out of here?” She shook her head, as if she were trying to rid her head of something unwanted, an image or maybe the memory of what the breeding cave had been like.
“I would go anywhere with you, you know that, right?”
“I hear a big but,” she said. The smile on her lips did not make it to her eyes.
“You should never break a promise you make to the Krak. They have a way of finding anyone who owes them anything, as you can tell by their plot against my king.” He took a deep breath. “In any case, I don’t like the idea of us sneaking off and getting out of here. That goes against everything that is important to me. It is enough that I am breaking my allegiance to my king.”
“I understand,” Cat said. She had also risen and was getting dressed. She looked like she didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. Her strong side won, even if just by a hair, and she smiled at him. “You and I really don’t have it easy,” she said and giggled. “I used to think that my life was complicated. Since I met you, the level of complexity has shot through the roof.”
“I can only return the compliment,” Talon grinned. It was strange to be so happy in a hopeless moment like this one. It wasn’t pretend happiness, either. It was more than fatalism. It was the feeling of meeting fate head on, with the woman of his life at his side, and punching fate with his fist. To challenge it.
With Cat at his side, he was undefeatable.
At that moment, he realized that this feeling was a mistake. Fate did not take kindly to being made fun of. It would rear its ugly head and get to work on destroying their lives.
Part 4: The Protector
Chapter 1
Cat hadn’t felt this light in a long time. During their passionate night of lovemaking, a burden had been lifted from her, and from Talon in the same way. She hadn’t realized until now that she could breathe easier, how much the events of the last few days had affected her. Talon was a fantastic lover, and not just because was familiar with the female anatomy. The heat in her cheeks deepened when she thought about the clever use of his fingers, tongue, and other body parts. No, it was also the fact that he had showed her during every second, how much he loved her. She had always found her body to be lacking in certain areas, but under his touch, it turned into an instrument of love. She shook her head, embarrassed at herself. She had never been good at kitsch and romance, but Talon awakened a soft and surrendering side of her that she still needed to get used to. Her body had become an instrument. Sure, she thought, and giggled softly. What next? Her rose-red mood couldn’t be any brighter, she thought as she snuggled up closer to Talon’s warm body. Lost in thought, she traced her index finger along his hard abdominal muscles. Was he really sleeping, or was he just pretending to be asleep so that she could enjoy exploring his body as thoroughly as he had hers? Her fingers wandered further upwards and traced a scar that ran across his ribs like a thin rope. Further up, on his shoulder, she discovered another scar that looked newer. She couldn’t help but ask herself what it would be like to grow old with him. She imagined an aged Talon, who still stood up straight, and in whom you could still see the warrior. Cat saw herself, with gray strands in her hair, looking up at him, completely in love, and kissing him.
Even when she had told him about her agreement with the Krak, the lightness hadn’t disappeared. Talon had listened and was sure that they could solve this problem together. Cat could see that he wasn’t crazy about the idea. It probably had something to do with luring the man he had served so faithfully for years into a trap, and with having to stay on Earth longer. She could feel the impatience in his muscles, and the urge to finally get away from here and start a new life. Waiting was the hardest thing for Talon, she realized. Not because he didn’t have any patience, but because he was not a man who counted passiveness as one of his character traits. Talon was, in every way, a man of action – something she loved very much about him.
She had felt Shazuul’s presence once or twice since he had left, but had rigorously denied him access to her head. There were some things that were none of the small and curious Sethari’s business. Her night of lovemaking with dreamy Talon was definitely a forbidden zone for anyone who wasn’t directly involved!
Talon had stood up and paced the room restlessly. Cat could practically touch the energy she felt in Talon’s presence. It was strange, but typical for him that his strength showed most during moments of great desperation. This, more than anything, convinced her that she had chosen the right man. A man who was difficult, but who stood behind her one hundred percent. One who caught her when she was weak – and he didn’t hold it against her when she was strong. Cat grinned happily. There was actually nothing that she couldn’t do with Talon at her side. When was the last time she had dared to build castles in the sky and to be this happy doing so?
The rational part of her raised its voice in warning. Don’t be happy too soon, it whispered. You haven’t accomplished even close to everything you have to before your happy ending with your prince comes true.
Talon was completely dressed now, so Cat gathered the rest of her things that had been strewn all over, and pulled them on. “Let’s eat some
thing, and then we’ll set off,” she suggested. Talon looked at her. For a moment, she thought she could see something foreign in his eyes, darting by like a poisonous snake. Her heart skipped a beat, only to restart beating twice as fast. Had she just seen the mind twister in Talon’s head, or had she imagined the whole thing? She didn’t dare sneak into his head to try to find the mind twister’s trail. The risk was too high that he might discover her. Cat was good at what she did, maybe even too good, as the academy had confirmed at the end of her training, but mind twisters were a species that she just didn’t have enough experience with, to give her the confidence she would need. Among her former colleagues, there was only one human who was a mind twister and who worked with them, instead of against them, and that was Anna. What were the chances that Anna was helping herself to Talon’s thoughts, so she could bring her back? Of course, she could try to chase Anna from Talon’s head. She might even be able to hurt the parasite significantly, but the one thing that made Cat hesitate was Talon. She wasn’t ready to risk his well-being. He was not an assignment for her to complete obediently, especially if it meant that the object might be hurt. He was her lover.
She watched him unobtrusively as he picked up her jacket and went into the entry hall. Cat followed him, her heart beating loudly, but she acted completely normally. Talon reached for the little animal he had killed and started pulling its fur off. The smell of blood and the sight of the animal cadaver were too much for her, so she turned away quickly. “I will start a fire,” she said, and went to the fire pit that Talon’s men had built on the once flawless marble floor. There were still enough logs remaining for her to get a good fire going. She would make herself a nice cup of hot tea, and maybe she would even be able to find a chunk of bread somewhere.
An hour later, they started making their way into the city. Cat fought against the heavy exhaustion that made her steps difficult. They had briefly considered waiting until the following evening to set off, so they could rest for a day, but Talon had decided against it. Not only was he restless, but he was also of the opinion that nothing would be gained by postponing the unpleasant situation any longer. “The sooner we find a place to stay, the better we will be able to prepare for Ferthoris,” he argued. And he was right, in every way. Even so, it was a long walk in the dark.
Talon stayed close at her side. He and some of his men had been in the city several times to trade a few things, so he knew the way. Cat was still watchful, especially when they passed the freight yard. Men and women who were on the run from the law often hid there, and they were not squeamish when it came to clothing or food. They snuck past the glowing fire in the shadows of the bushes and stopped only to check if they were being followed. When they finally reached the city, Cat gave an audible sigh of relief. Not because they were safe here, but because they were close to their destination. She and Talon had agreed to seek shelter in an old, abandoned department store.
“How do you know that other humans haven’t moved in there already?” Talon asked reasonably.
Cat smiled. “That is the trickiest part of our plan that has a lot of holes,” Cat admitted. The building is empty only because nobody wants to live near the Mind Readers.” She sighed heavily when Talon stopped walking and looked at her, stunned. Before he could say anything, she continued quickly. “It’s almost like moving into a house right next door to the secret service – everyone would be afraid that the house was bugged. People think that the Mind Readers have nothing better to do than control every tiny and unimportant thought that those across from them might have.”
“Is it not like that?” Talon shook his head but allowed Cat to convince him to keep going. He mumbled something she couldn’t understand.
“I worked there myself,” she reminded him. “I know that this is a pretty brazen step, but it also has its advantages. Nobody would ever think that I would be dumb enough to move in next door. Where is the best place to hide a needle? Not in a haystack, but among other needles. I can’t imagine that anybody would look for us, or more accurately, me, there.”
“That’s true,” Talon growled, but she could see that he didn’t like the idea. “I still think the risk is too great. The building is surely guarded, right? What if they see us walking in and out of the department store?”
“There is a garage underneath the store that has an emergency exit. The exit leads to the rear. Also, they are doing exactly what you said: They are guarding the Mind Readers’ headquarters, not the building next door, and this gives us an advantage over Ferthoris. When he comes, he will need to be careful. He will not be able to just walk in and pull us out of there while there are armed guards right next door watching the street.”
“You shouldn’t underestimate his vanity,” Talon warned her. They had left the edge of the city behind them. The closer they got to the inner city, the more evidence there was of enemy attacks. The streets had holes in them. Where houses had once stood, deep craters now remained. It smelled of urine and trash. “The problem with somebody like Ferthoris is that he doesn’t care how many of his men die in pursuit of his idiotic undertakings. As long as there are enough left to fly him and his rightful prey, meaning you, safely home, he won’t care about the rest.” He gave her a sharp look. “Is there another reason why you chose this particular spot, right under your former colleagues’ noses, for shelter? Aren’t you actually on the run from them?”
A sharp pang of guilt hit Cat, but she shook her head. She could hardly tell him that she suspected that a mind twister had settled in his head, and that she thought that it might be one of her former colleagues. Being close to the headquarters would make it easier for her to search for Anna, and if push really came to shove – well, then she would offer her life in exchange for Talon’s.
And that was something she definitely couldn’t tell him.
Chapter 2
Talon felt uncomfortable. The closer they got to the center of the city, the more vigilant he became, and the more he scanned every street and door for danger. He tried to shake off the memory of the moment when he had the distinct feeling that someone was wandering around in his thoughts and leaving ideas behind that felt foreign to him. One moment, he had been filled with confidence that he and Cat would be okay, and the next, he had looked down at her full of mistrust. Since then, the dull feeling had been nagging him that she was hiding something from him. No, it was more than a feeling, he admitted to himself. He was almost sure that she was keeping something from him. He could feel it in every cell of his body, because of the bond between them. She had probably already forgotten or maybe she was ignoring what he had told her. Everything pointed to the fact that she resented him for what he had done. A treacherous voice inside him advised him to keep a close eye on her.
What will you do if she lies to you? the voice asked. Will you separate yourself from her, just as casually as humans do? You need to make sure that it never comes to that. Talon shrugged and opened his mouth to answer, before he realized that the voice didn’t really exist. Damn. This planet was slowly making him go crazy. He wondered if that wasn’t something they could use to lure Ferthoris into their trap. If Earth’s atmosphere was doing this to someone like him, then it wouldn’t take long for his king to lose control of himself and… do what? Talon decided to talk with Cat about it when they reached their destination. He had to admit that her plan was pretty good. Normally, nobody would ever think to move into a house right next door, but he had already experienced too much to rely on “normally.” The only thing he wanted was to have as much control over a situation in which he had no way of being able to predict the variables, and that was nagging at him.
He looked at Cat out of the corner of his eye, without interrupting his search for possible sources of danger. He couldn’t imagine that Cat might betray him. No. It just wasn’t possible. Or was it? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of these unloving thoughts. Now was not the time, nor the place, to start doubting whether his decision had been a good one. They cou
ld talk about it at length later, when they were on their way to another solar system – one that was more suitable for his inner equilibrium.
Cat motioned to him to stop for a second. They were standing at an intersection of four enormous streets. You could easily tell that these had once been the most magnificent streets the city had to offer. What was left of the buildings indicated former wealth, but not necessarily good taste. The big catastrophe, which is what they called the destruction brought on by foreign spaceships here on Earth, had been decades ago, and Talon wondered why the humans hadn’t rebuilt the buildings. If they were organized enough to have an agency of Mind Readers, then one would think that some people would be taking care of reconstruction. This was something else he needed to ask Cat about.
“That,” she pointed to a building about a hundred yards away, “is the headquarters. Can you tell how many guards are standing in front of it?” Talon squinted. The Earth’s moon had hidden behind a cloud, and there weren’t any streetlights to illuminate the area. Either the building was abandoned, or they had darkened the windows. He waited patiently, and was soon rewarded. “Three men,” he whispered. He looked more closely this time. “With weapons.” They were trying to be completely motionless, but that was something these fidgety and restless humans would never learn. They couldn’t manage to melt into the darkness and to make themselves invisible, something he and his predator could do effortlessly.
“That’s good,” Cat replied and withdrew. They made an arc and avoided the street that led directly to the headquarters. “That means that they are not in an elevated state of alarm. Three guards mean that things are normal.” She breathed a little easier now. Had the sight of the main office really been that difficult for her?