And he couldn’t forget the Signs.
The Strike and the Sight—two of the Three. Had he really experienced them? Could it be true?
Asher told himself uneasily that it was impossible—that he had only imagined it—what he had felt…what he had seen. But somehow the sight of her big blue eyes changing to match the green of his own wouldn’t leave his thoughts.
But what else could he do at this point, he asked himself? She clearly didn’t wish to talk to him anymore and the large indoor area of commerce seemed to be closing. Also, he didn’t have much time to prepare for his real mission to the Chorkays. He needed to get back to his ship and ask the Mother Ship to fold space for him.
But still he lingered a little longer, watching Lisa walk away and wondering why it felt like a piece of his heart was leaving with her.
Ten
Lisa sat at the bus stop outside the mall and waited for the bus which was either late or else—in a much worse scenario—had come a little early and she had missed it.
She was beginning to be afraid the latter scenario was true which would be really bad. There weren’t any more busses running to University Mall this late because it closed at ten during Christmas time. If she had missed her bus, she would have to walk a long, weary, mile and a half down to the next bus stop and hope to get the eleven o’clock bus from there.
Lisa really didn’t want to have to make the walk. She’d been on her feet all day and the jingle-bell elf shoes she’d been wearing for most of that time had pinched her toes and cramped her arches. Plus, it was dangerous walking in the dark alone—she wasn’t looking forward to that either.
A chilly wind swept through the half-covered bus stop and she shivered and wrapped her coat more tightly around her. Florida usually didn’t get cold until around January but there was an unseasonable frost right now that meant her fingers and toes were nearly frozen.
Shouldn’t even go home at all, Lisa told herself morosely. What if Cameron had figured out his mistake and was even now headed up Alligator Alley, making the trip from Miami to Tampa?
But there were things she needed at her apartment, she reasoned—not least of which was the cash she had stowed there. She wondered if she had time to pick up her last paycheck from Santa’s Village tomorrow and cash it before she left? If she did, she could get a lot further—maybe even all the way to New Mexico or someplace like that. Someplace Cameron couldn’t find her…
Lisa looked at the time on her phone and admitted to herself that she had missed her bus. It was ten twenty and there was no way it was running that far behind. She needed to get moving right now if she was going to get to the next bus stop before eleven.
“Well…crap,” Lisa muttered. It was just the way her luck was going lately. Although it did seem that she ought to be due for some good luck for a change soon.
With a sigh, she heaved herself off the bench, wrapped her thin coat more tightly around herself, a prepared to hoof it.
Just then a vehicle pulled up at the bus stop—but it wasn’t a bus. It was a sleek, silver car that seemed almost to float above the dark streets like something out of a sci-fi movie.
The window rolled smoothly down and Lisa found herself looking at the face of Kindred Claus—no, Asher, she reminded herself.
“May I ask why you’re out so late in the dark and cold?” he asked. “Has your vehicle broken down?”
Lisa opened her mouth to tell him to get lost…and then thought better of it. She really had been unnecessarily harsh with him earlier. It wasn’t his fault she’d gotten fired—the poor guy was an alien. He didn’t know Santa Claus from the Easter Bunny and he didn’t have the looks to play either one. Despite that, he had done his best. It wasn’t his fault that Old Saint Nick wasn’t seven feet tall with piercing green eyes, washboard abs, and vampire fangs.
“I missed my bus,” she said at last, a little reluctantly. She didn’t want to sound like she was begging for a ride and she didn’t know if she ought to accept a ride even if he offered it.
To her surprise, the big Kindred neither offered her a ride, or drove on. Instead he killed the motor of his sleek, silver vehicle and seemed to deliberate for a moment. Finally he asked,
“Can I come sit with you and just talk for a moment? Or I will stay in my ship if it makes you feel more comfortable,” he offered, seeming to realize belatedly that she might find sitting in a deserted bus stop with a seven-foot-tall alien somewhat intimidating.
Lisa considered for a moment. It seemed like if he wanted to attack her, he would have just done it—not politely asked if he could sit with her.
“Okay,” she said at last. “But I can’t stay long—I have to get to the next bus station or I’ll miss the eleven o’clock bus too.”
“I won’t take much of your time.” He unfolded himself from the sleek vehicle and came to sit beside her on the bus stop bench. He leaned forward and turned to Lisa, elbows planted on his thighs and his big hands clasped loosely between his knees and said, “I want to make up the wrong I did you in some way. I feel solely responsible for your loss of employment and I am sorry if I caused you distress.”
“Oh, well…” Lisa shifted uncomfortably. She appreciated his offer, but really, what could he do? “I’ll be fine,” she said. “Though it’s really nice of you to offer. Really though, I’m okay.”
“You are not ‘okay,’” he said fiercely, frowning. “You were extremely upset—I saw it in your eyes. You must be worried about finding new employment and making the regularly scheduled payment on your domicile—things of that nature.”
“Actually, I’m going to be leaving my, uh, domicile soon anyway for…personal reasons,” Lisa reassured him. “And when I move, I’ll have to get another job. So…” She shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter in the long run.”
He frowned. “But where are you moving—if you don’t mind me asking?”
Lisa shrugged again. “Don’t know, to be honest. Just…anywhere away from here. I just need to get moving.”
Asher seemed to consider for a moment.
“Well,” he said slowly, frowning down at his hands. “If you have nowhere to be and nothing to do…” He looked up at her. “Why not come with me?”
Lisa frowned at him.
“Look, buddy, I’ve known you all of three hours at this point and most of that time you were scaring kids so badly they puked or peed on you. Do you really think I’m going to get in your car and go to some undisclosed location with you in the middle of the night? I mean do I have STUPID stamped on my forehead?”
“No—why would you?” He gave her a startled look and actually glanced at her forehead, as though to make sure she didn’t have “stupid” written there.
For some reason, this cracked Lisa up.
“Do you take everything literally?” she asked, giggling. “I meant it would be extremely stupid of me to go someplace with a guy I don’t even know—that’s all.”
“But you do know me,” he objected. “We worked together tonight in a very stressful situation. If that doesn’t help you get to know another person’s character, I don’t know what else would.”
Lisa had to admit he was right about that last part, anyway. And she had gotten a glimpse of the big Kindred’s character, to be honest. She remembered how carefully he had cradled the few babies he had been given to hold and the way he had defended her from the jerky dad of the kid who wanted a machine gun. Also when she’d had to cancel the rest of the photo sessions, the way he had stood behind her and glared menacingly at the angry crowd, until they got the hint and left.
He hadn’t had to do any of that, she reasoned with herself. But he had done it anyway—he had protected her. It had been…nice.
He also said you were fucking gorgeous and got the most enormous hard-on you’ve ever seen in your life just from smelling you, a nervous little voice in the back of her head reminded her. You should watch out, Lisa!
But the fact was, she was getting tired of watching out.
She’d been watching out, looking over her shoulder, for the past six months, ever since she’d finally managed to get away from Cameron. And it seemed that she was going to be watching out the rest of her life, since he clearly wasn’t giving up on getting her back.
All that watching out just made a girl tired. And besides, her gut told her that Asher was a good guy. Also, she had never heard of any Kindred serial killers. Mostly you heard the exact opposite—that they were defenders of women and that they worshipped a Goddess and revered all things female.
“All right,” she heard herself saying at last. “Where do you want to take me? I mean—where are we going?”
Asher couldn’t believe she’d agreed to come with him. He was well aware of what a threatening sight he must be—so much bigger and stronger and taller than the little Earth female, looming over her in the gloom of the night. But she had apparently decided to trust him and was even willing to go wherever he suggested.
Then he realized, he hadn’t decided where to take her when he had offered her a ride.
He supposed the most sensible thing would be to drop her off at the other bus stop, where she had been headed when he arrived. But he didn’t want to leave her somewhere in the dark to wait for unreliable public transportation which might not show up. He didn’t like the idea of leaving her vulnerable and alone anywhere.
The next suggestion that popped into his mind was to ask if she knew of an eatery somewhere near where they could sit and share a cup of warm liquid. He believed the humans had several such liquids to choose from—some savory and some sweet—and it would be a good way to get to know her better—which Asher found he desperately wanted to do.
The problem with that idea was that it would take too much time. He really should have been headed back to the Mother Ship to ask them to fold space for him so he could get to the Chorkay home world in time for the coronation of their new Potentate.
He supposed he could take her to the Mother Ship—there were facilities for guests there and he could see her and get to know her better after his mission was completed.
But there was a problem with that plan too—the Mother Ship had lots and lots of unmated warriors—warriors who would be more than happy to woo a gorgeous, curvy Earth girl like Lisa. Why, it was even conceivable that he might come back and find her bonded to another!
Asher felt a rush of possessive anger at the very thought. Lisa was his, by the Goddess, and he’d be damned if he would let some other male Claim her! Of course the thought made no sense, since he wasn’t able to bond with a female without the right DNA, but he couldn’t deny the visceral feeling that rose in him when he thought of another male bonding her instead.
So it seemed like the only way to avoid losing her forever was to take her with him.
Asher opened his mouth and heard himself say,
“Come with me…to Helios Beta.”
Eleven
“Um…where?” Lisa frowned at him. “Is that some kind of a nightclub? Because I’ve never heard of it.”
“It is not a nightclub—it’s a planet,” the big Kindred explained. “I am to be a special envoy from the Kindred High Council at the coronation of their new Potentate and I need a companion or they won’t trust me. Will you come?”
“Uh…what?” Lisa shook her head, trying to take all this in. “You know, if you weren’t so clearly a Kindred I would think that sounded like crazy talk. It sounds kind of crazy anyway,” she said. “I mean, I thought you wanted to take me out to coffee at Denny’s or something and instead you’re asking me to be your plus-one at a coronation on another planet?”
“Helios Beta isn’t even outside your own galaxy,” Asher said, as though trying to reassure her. “It can’t be more than fifty or sixty thousand light years away.”
“Fifty or sixty thousand light years?” Lisa stared at him. “That might not sound like much to you but it’s a hell of a long way from where I’m sitting. And it’s certainly farther than the nearest Denny’s.”
“Just hear me out,” Asher said earnestly. “This is a diplomatic mission—an extremely boring and safe one or I would never ask an untrained operative to come with me. And, because I am in dire need of a companion to complete this mission successfully, I am certain the Kindred High Council will authorize emergency pay for you.”
“Emergency pay?” Lisa asked suspiciously—she had to admit he had her attention now. “How much is emergency pay?”
He frowned, as though trying to calculate the numbers in his head.
“I am not absolutely certain about the conversion rate of Kindred credits to human currency but I think it would work out to be somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand of your dollars for every solar hour.”
“Are you kidding me? A thousand dollars an hour?” Lisa exclaimed. She’d been making eight fifty an hour playing Santa’s Helper Elf and that had included crying babies, crabby parents, and rowdy kids who might puke or pee on themselves—or someone else—at any moment. Suddenly traveling a couple of thousand light years away didn’t sound so bad after all.
“I think so,” Asher cautioned. “I would have to ask my Commanding Officer to be certain. And of course I would have to get permission to bring you—but I do not think that will be a problem once I vouch for you and explain how much you are needed on this mission.”
Lisa shook her head slowly.
“I don’t know—it all sounds too good to be true. I mean, a thousand dollars an hour… And how long would this, uh, mission last?” she asked, frowning at him.
Asher shrugged. “Not above a single standard day, I wouldn’t think. I don’t believe the coronation would take longer than that.” He frowned. “But I shouldn’t promise you anything until I get permission from my CO. Would you like to sit in my ship with me while I call him to get permission?”
“Well…sure. I guess so.”
Lisa still felt dazed by the phrase, “a thousand dollars an hour.” Even if the big Kindred was wrong and the emergency pay was only a hundred dollars an hour, a hundred times twenty-four hours added up to a tidy sum. Enough for her to buy a plane ticket instead of a bus ticket and go all the way to California or someplace Cameron would never think to look. She’d always wanted to see the West Coast—she’d had quite enough of the East Coast to last a lifetime, thank you very much.
“Come.” Asher got up and led her over to the sleek silver car he kept calling a “ship” for some reason. When he opened the front passenger door, Lisa saw that the description was surprisingly accurate.
Instead of a regular dashboard with a steering wheel and a gear shift, the passenger’s side console was covered in bright displays and blinking buttons. It looked more complicated than a plane, Lisa thought, studying it in awe. She wondered how in the world Asher had learned how to drive it or fly it or whatever.
“Hey, does this thing really take off and land and everything else?” she asked as Asher helped her into the over-large passenger seat and showed her how to work the four-part safety harness. “I mean, does it actually fly through space?”
“Of course,” he said, as though it was no big deal to be driving a spaceship around downtown Tampa. “It is made to convert to look like one of your Earth vehicles called ‘mars’ when I’m down here but it’s actually a long-range shuttle fitted for deep space missions.”
“Cars,” Lisa corrected him absently. “They’re called ‘cars,’ not ‘mars.’ Mars is the fourth planet in our solar system. And also the name of a candy making company,” she added, thoughtfully.
Asher frowned.
“Why would you name a confectionary enterprise after a planet? Or was it the other way around?”
“No, no—the planet came first,” Lisa assured him, trying to stifle a laugh. “Um—how are you going to call your boss? Do you have a cell phone?”
“I’ll use my viewscreen.” He pointed to the part of the car-ship she’d thought was the windshield. At any rate, it seemed to be showing the street outside and she’d a
ssumed it was made of glass.
But when Asher poked a few buttons and said some commands in a harsh, guttural language which must be his native tongue, the viewscreen flickered to life and a man with slitted vertical pupils like a cat’s suddenly appeared.
“Asher,” he said, frowning. “Make it quick—this channel is secure for now. Where are you? The Mother Ship was expecting to fold space for you hours ago.”
“I got…detained on Earth,” Asher explained. He rapidly went into the same problem he had outlined for Lisa—that the people he was going to visit—the Chorkays—expected him to bring a plus-one to their coronation but there was no one available.
“But you’ve found someone you want to propose, I’m guessing?” the man with slitted pupils said, his strange eyes flicking to Lisa and then back to Asher.
“I encountered Lisa just tonight but I can vouch for her completely,” Asher said sincerely. “She is extremely good at crisis management and crowd control. She also has excellent organizational skills. I think she would be a credit to the mission and I would much prefer to bring her rather than going alone and pretending that my mate has just passed on to be with the Goddess.”
“Yes…it is better to follow local customs whenever possible—especially during a first contact,” the man with strange eyes said, nodding thoughtfully. “You may recall that my own mate, Annie, has been on several missions with me before we decided to settle on Earth and attempt to start a family. So you’ll get no objections from me. But I will, of course, have to pass this up the chain of command to Commander Sylvan.”
“Of course.” Asher nodded his head. “Would you mind doing so now? Time is running short.”
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