by Cara Bristol
“You shouldn’t travel alone in any case. I can’t foresee a circumstance when I wouldn’t come with you, but if I was away for some reason, you must travel with another person. Our land and climate is harsh; numbers provide safety.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Do you have wild animals?”
“All our animals are wild, except for the harebits, which can be domesticated. Sometimes kits will make pets of them.”
“What’s a harebit?”
“It’s an animal with big hind feet, a long tail, long ears, and whiskers.”
“Sounds like a cross between a cat and a rabbit,” she said.
“I don’t know what those are.”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “What I meant was, are there any dangerous wild animals? Like saber-toothed tigers or bears? Predators.” She scowled as an insect flew close to her face.
In the bright sunlight, its body gleamed unnaturally. It had to have come from Terra. Other than the ones following us, I’d never seen such creatures before.
“Some larger birds will attack smaller ones and harebits, but you are too big for them to bother with. Kel are not predators, but if you approach, they’ll charge, and they can gore you with their horns,” I explained. The asteroid had devastated our ecosystem, wiping out many species and most of the larger ones, which included the predators. If not for the survival of the kel, which provided us with food and clothing, we would have perished, too.
“So, I don’t need to worry about getting eaten, only about falling into a pit.”
“And getting caught in a sudden blizzard and getting lost and dying of exposure.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“You’re welcome.”
A smile tugged at her lips.
“You’re laughing at me,” I said.
“I wouldn’t do that.” She slipped her arm through mine. Heat surged despite the layers of our kels. Since the mouth-meshing, she had avoided physical contact.
She hugged my arm and released me, stepping away, while I tried not to show how much her spontaneous gesture affected me. “I hope you won’t mind, but if it’s okay with you, I’ll drop you off at the lodge,” I said, casually. “While you’re talking to your family, I can take care of some business.” Andrea would be at the lodge; I had to avoid her seeing me in case it jogged her memory.
“Oh no, I don’t mind at all!” she said with surprising alacrity. “What kind of business do you have?”
I shrugged the pack on my shoulders. “I brought a few items for barter at the trading post.” There wasn’t anything I needed, other than an excuse to dodge Andrea. “I’ll also notate our mating in the record book.”
She bit her lip. “You need to do that, huh?”
“The declaration is what sanctions us as a mated pair,” I explained. Until the final step, our mating wasn’t official. I had to get our names in that book—but avoid being high on the list where they would stand out. By now, many couples would have already recorded their mating, so it should be safe.
“What happens if a couple gets a divorce or an annulment?”
“I don’t understand those words.”
“Do couples ever break up?”
We had so few females, that if a male had the good fortune to get one, he did everything in his power to please her and keep her. “I can’t recall that ever happening—well, except for Icha and her mates.”
“Icha—is that the woman who poisoned Starr?”
“That’s her. She has had several mates and is known to share her favors with men she is not mated to.”
“Ah! She’s the tribe good-time girl.”
“I don’t think she’s having a good time. Men need her for what she provides, but I suspect most of them don’t like her.” If they had options, they wouldn’t pick Icha.
“Have you utilized her services?” Sunny’s sharp tone sliced through the quiet of the wood.
“She never offered herself to me. She was more interested in Torg.”
“Would you have, if you’d had the opportunity?”
“Proba—” I glanced at Sunny whose eyes had narrowed and reconsidered my answer. “No.”
“It has nothing to do with me, anyway.” A harebit ran across the path and dove into the brush. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
“If you think it’s a harebit, it is.”
“I guessed right! It does look like a cross between a cat and a rabbit. Mostly rabbit.”
“I should have brought traps. We could have had harebit for dinner.” I could have set them up on the way to the meeting place and checked them on the way home.
“Aw…” Sunny wrinkled her nose. “I know where food comes from—and clothing.” She plucked at the sleeve of her kel. “But, I would have trouble hunting and trapping. Killing. Do Dakonian women hunt?”
“Some do—but they don’t have to, because their mates are more than willing to take care of them.”
“Does Icha hunt?”
“Yes.”
“Given she isn’t permanently mated, and Torg is, if I wasn’t here, is she someone you would be interested in?”
“How can I answer that? You are here.” I shrugged. Another harebit darted across the path.
“Hypothetically—if I wasn’t.”
“No.”
“You sound emphatic.”
An insect hovered so close to my face I could see the red bead of its single eye. As I marched forward, it flew backward, keeping pace. My palm itched to grab it, but I’d promised, and instead, Sunny swatted at it. “Get out of here! Leave him alone!”
My mate was fierce. How could I ever consider another, even hypothetically?
Once, I might have considered Icha out of convenience. But now? No. “After having met you, there could never be another,” I told her. If something were to happen to Sunny, Icha would be cold consolation. I pitied her, but lie with her? No. Not now.
“We haven’t, um, consummated our relationship yet,” Sunny said.
“We will—when the time is right,” I spoke confidently, but my body ached with desire. I hoped the right time would happen soon.
A flock of squawking, soaring phea shadowed the ground. Two harebits, the birds. I’d spotted kel tracks, too. I inhaled the chill air. “A storm is on the way.” Fortunately, we’d almost reached the meeting place.
“How do you know?”
“I smell it in the air. Plus, the animals are active and have come out to feed.”
She sniffed. “I smell trees—and kel hide.” Her hood fell off as she tilted her head. “There’s not a cloud in the sky.”
“The climate favors snow. Clouds form and move swiftly. I don’t want to rush you, but let’s not tarry.”
We smelled the smoke from the lodge before it came into view, but then we rounded the bend and the meeting place sprawled out: a big stone lodge separated from a half ring of smaller stone huts by a large field.
“I had expected to see people, but nobody’s here.” She glanced around.
“There usually isn’t,” I explained. “Each tribe is self-sufficient and autonomous. Unless the tribal council is meeting, it’s rare for a large crowd to convene. But it looks like Andrea has arrived.”
A single skimmer was parked outside the lodge.
“I’m going to those two huts.” I pointed out the trading post, the hall of records. “If you finish early”—I doubted she would—“look for me there. Otherwise, I’ll meet you in the tavern.” I motioned to another hut.
The insects circled over our heads.
“Sounds like a plan,” she agreed. “Thank you, for this.” She stood on tiptoes, pressed her lips to my cheek, and then ran for the lodge. Two insects flew after her, but she got to the lodge first, pushed through the flaps, and shut them out. They whirled outside the door, almost angrily. Odd.
I hiked to the hall of records with the third one following me.
Until the Ter
rans had arrived, few matings had occurred, and there’d been even fewer births. Now there were several pages of names. Soon, Torg and Starr would add their baby to the list of births, and, one day, I hoped to enter our child’s name. I flipped to the matings and ran my finger down the list. Sixty-two new entries. Perfect. Others would add their names after ours, and we would be in the middle—official, but not obvious.
I dipped a phea quill into a pot of ink made from kel fat and ash, and scribed our names and the date. I inhaled a deep breath of satisfaction.
The insect swooped in and hovered over the tome.
I tapped a finger beside our entry, taking care not to smear it since the ink hadn’t dried. “Sunny and I are officially mated,” I said to the insect. It bobbed up and down as if encouraging me to continue. As silly as I felt for speaking to it, the import of the ritual needed words. Sunny should have been here with me. “Nothing can separate us now. We were meant to be together.” I blew on the ink then closed the book.
I peered into the trading post but didn’t see anything I wanted, so I left the items I’d brought and went to the tavern to wait. I poured an ale and parked at one of the tables.
The insect looked at me with its red eye. I saluted it with my glass then took a sip of ale. Already, I’d grown accustomed to having my mate at my side, and though she was only across the field—I could walk there and be with her—loneliness pressed in on me. I missed her. “This is what my life would be like without Sunny,” I said. “We have not known each other very long, but she means everything to me.”
The insect bobbed, and I found myself pouring out my heart.
Chapter Eleven
Sunny
I ducked into the lodge and yanked the flap closed before the cambots could get in. Without Apogee recording me, I’d be able to speak freer and wouldn’t risk revealing my plans—as soon as I figured out what they were.
A woman, her braided, beaded hair dangling to mid-back, sat in front of a screen where a computer booted up with dings and hums. “Andrea Simmons, I presume?” I asked.
She spun around. She had the high cheekbones of a supermodel, flawless skin, and piercing eyes. “Guilty! You must be one of the new arrivals.” Hair beads clacked as she approached. “Have we met? You look familiar.”
“A lot of people say that,” I lied. “I have one of those average faces.” I was pretty damn sure she recognized me from the reality show, but if she hadn’t figured it out, I wasn’t going to jog her memory. I needed her to get me on the ’net and then vamoose. “I’m Sunny,” I said. “We have a friend in common—Starr Conner?”
“Starr! My partner in crime. Sort of.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Did you know her on Terra?”
“No. I’m staying with her and Torg now.”
She frowned. “Who’s your mate?”
“Darq, Torg’s brother.”
She blinked and then her forehead creased. “Darq is your mate? Darq?”
“Yeah…” Why was she so surprised?
She shook her head. “What can I do for you?”
“Starr said you’re in charge of the ’net access. I was hoping you could get me on the system so I could contact my family. My nephew has been ill, and I’d like to talk to my sister and check on him.”
“Of course. Do you have her ’net ID and address?”
“Yes.” I’d memorized Stormy’s ID.
“Well, let’s do it. Do you want to a send a standard text message or have a real-time vid-con?”
“I can see her and talk to her?”
“Oh sure!” Andrea said. “Terra set up the system, allocating us a few hours of facetime per month for emergencies.”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble…” Or rack up charges I couldn’t pay.
“We’ve been going over our time since the beginning—they just don’t know it. However, the Terran Department of Criminal Justice has received several congressional reprimands for cost overruns.” A rich, husky laugh erupted from her throat.
“You’ve been billing it to the DCJ?”
“I’ve had to route it through several channels, but basically…yeah.”
An ex-felon from the first group of women, Andrea obviously enjoyed scamming the justice system that had convicted her. I had an axe to grind, too. She and I had something in common.
She rolled a second chair to the console. We sat, I reeled off the ’net coordinates, and she got to work. Her fingers flew over the screen. “Getting it set up is a little tricky, and the vid-con loads slow at first, but once it caches, it speeds up, and after that, it’s pretty easy. If there’s anybody else you want to talk to or any ’net sites you want to visit while you’re here, you can do so.”
“There are one or two more,” I said. “Thanks.” I intended to confront Chantelle about her role and take a peek at what had aired already. I had a feeling it was going to piss me off.
Andrea ran through a quick tutorial on using the system, as the first transmission hail shot across the galaxy. “Oh—one other thing. You’ll need to speak in Dakonian because the computer was programmed for Enoki. The system will translate your words to Terran English for the user on the other side.”
“Got it,” I said.
The computer pinged and then Stormy’s face came into view.
My sister’s eyes widened. “Sunny? Sunny!” She started to cry, and I broke down and began to blubber.
“It’s me!” I sobbed.
“I can’t believe it! I missed you so much. Devon misses you. How are you? What’s happening? What’s your alien like? Is it really cold there? Why didn’t you call me sooner? When did you arrive?”
I laughed. “I missed you, too!”
Andrea touched my elbow. “I’ll let you two chat. Take as long as you want. Come get me when you’re done.”
“I-I will. Thank you so much. Um, Darq is supposed to be in the tavern…” I figured they could keep each other company.
Andrea left, and I focused my attention on Stormy. “How is Devon? Did he have the surgery? Did he get the artificial heart?” Stormy cried harder, and fear shot through me. “What happened?”
“No, no, it’s good. It’s great.” She fanned her face to try to stop crying. “Devon had the surgery. He thinks he’s a cyborg now, and he’s thrilled. He’s doing so well. It’s only been a couple of months, but he’s running, jumping, and playing. He has so much energy, I can’t keep up with him. For so long, I was afraid he’d never get to grow up. His doctor says he’s going to live a long, healthy life.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth and absorbed the news. We’d lived under of cloud of worry for so long, I hardly knew how to react. “I can’t believe it. It’s wonderful.” Devon would be okay! I would see him grow up and become a man. And, I could leave Dakon post haste, catch the next cargo ship. Andrea probably could find out the schedule.
I’ll never see Darq again. Never hear his laugh or his growl. No man would call me “my mate” with pride in his voice. No horns would quiver when I entered the room. I’d never see horns again. My relief and joy in Devon’s improvement was major, but sad tears mixed with happy ones. I’d expected I’d be excited about going home, but at the prospect, I felt like my heart was being ripped from my body. I had to force a smile. “That is the best news. Can I talk to Devon?”
“He’s at school. He goes now! He’s a grade behind, but he’s catching up fast. He should be home in about half an hour, though…”
I had to pull myself together. Focus. “I’m not sure how much time I have. I want to see him so bad, but I need to tell you stuff, and I have to contact Chantelle, too. How much money is left in our account?”
“Not a lot. Enough to pay for the final therapy sessions and follow-ups with his doctor.”
“But it’s still in the account?”
“Yes.”
“Get it out of there. Open your own account or one in Devon’s name, or prepay the doctor and therapist, b
ut get it out of my name.”
“What’s going on?”
“Apogee is going to accuse me of breach of contract, demand the money back, and issue a payment reversal.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m coming home. They’re trying to keep me here for a year to coerce me to sign another contract. I have to leave before that happens.”
“Is Dakon so terrible? You and Darq seemed to be hitting it off. I mean the way he looks at you…and the way you look at him…”
“You’ve been watching the show?”
“Me and everybody else in the world. The waiting list for the exchange program has tripled. Women can’t wait to get to Dakon.” She tilted her head. “You really don’t like him? I know we sometimes fake emotion for the camera, but the connection between you seemed genuine.”
Sharp-edged ambivalence twisted inside me. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We have chemistry. I like him a lot. Stormy, he is so nice. So sweet, caring, strong, and built. Sexy as all get out.” And more. Much more.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m not here for the right reasons, and I don’t want to hurt him. The men here—they need women. Their situation is dire. Darq got cheated by picking me.”
“Then, it could be real, couldn’t it? I mean, he doesn’t know about the show, right?”
“No, he doesn’t know.” I rolled my eyes. “Apogee sent these robotic cameras. Darq thinks they’re insects. They’re as obnoxious as a swarm of gnats. He ‘killed’ two of them, and one fell into a hot spring. Apogee is pissed about that, too, and has warned they’ll consider it a contractual violation if any more cameras are destroyed.”
I peered into the screen. My sister looked younger, more rested, happier than I’d seen her in years. “So I wanted to check that Devon had had his surgery, and the money had been spent or was no longer in my name.”
Stormy grinned. “No worries there. It’s all good. If you stayed with your alien, Apogee couldn’t force you to do the show anymore.”
My alien. A life with Darq sounded like bliss, but how could I stay? “I can’t abandon you and Devon. Never see you again.”
Stormy leaned forward. “I’m doing it, too.”