Whisper in the Dark

by Charlene Perry

  Fuck, he’s beautiful.

  “You can’t hurt me, Damon.” I tear my eyes away from his body, back up to his face. He’s looking at me with renewed heat, but he’s holding it back. Waiting for my permission. “We were made for each other.”

  His abs flex tight as he lifts his shoulders off the ground, one hand threaded through my hair as he pulls my face to meet his. He takes my mouth in a deep, slow, burning kiss.

  His other hand grips my ass, pulling me tight against him so that my core presses firmly against the length of his erection. I move my hips, grinding my clit along his hard length and making him slick with the proof of my arousal.

  Our breathing grows increasingly labored, our kisses becoming sloppy as our attention focuses on our growing need. I expect him to maneuver so he can thrust inside me and find the same release I’m getting so close to. Instead, he moves his mouth down my neck, down my chest. He kneads one sensitive breast with his hand as he licks and sucks on the pebbled peak of the other. His free hand guides my hips to continue grinding along his cock, encouraging me to chase my own orgasm.

  He releases the hardened bud of my nipple, moving to the other one. He swaps his hands, not missing a beat. I hold back, even though I’m so close to the edge. I don’t want to be selfish. I don’t want to come without him, but I can’t bear to stop the sweet ecstasy of his mouth on me.

  I reach between us, wrapping my hand around his cock as his moan of pleasure vibrates against my chest. I arch my hips to guide him inside me, but he grips my ass tighter, preventing me from getting the distance I need to maneuver him.

  “Come for me first,” he rasps against my chest, the hand on my ass moving around to press against my clit with quick, precise circles.

  My orgasm is instant, the moment he says the words it crashes into me, the motion of his fingers taking me even higher. When I come down, he’s staring at me, his dark eyes roaming over my face as if he’s memorizing every detail.

  He flips me softly onto my back, pressing his forehead against mine as he slides inside me. He braces his arms on the ground at either side of me, his hips taking a steady, unhurried rhythm.

  I run my hands up over his arms, loving the feel of his biceps flexing to hold his body above me. I wrap my legs around his waist, giving him full access to thrust deep.

  He keeps up the slow pace, as I let my hands explore every bit of skin I can reach. Soon, yet another orgasm is building inside me. I dig my fingers into his back, gripping him tighter with my thighs as I urge him into a faster pace. He responds immediately, picking up the speed so perfectly, it’s as if he read my mind.

  Then I’m detonating again, and this time he’s right there with me. His roars of pleasure. His final, frantic thrusts. His cock throbbing inside me as he fills me. It’s all so intense. Such utter perfection.

  I can’t imagine ever leaving him.

  “Don’t go.” His thoughts are right there with mine, even as he still lingers inside me.

  His chest is heaving with the aftermath of intense orgasm, but the look in his eyes is such sorrow I have to close mine to keep from falling apart.

  “I love you, Damon. I love you more than I ever thought possible. But if I don’t help them, who will?”

  He flops down beside me, pulling me close so my head rests on his chest. I trace the scars on his skin with lazy fingers. The rapid beat of his heart is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

  My Medic. I hadn’t even considered. It doubled as my birth control, but I don’t have it anymore. Can a Shifter and a human even… I don’t know why I’m bothering to think about this now. I won’t be around long enough to worry about the consequences.

  “Promise me you’ll come back.”

  I push myself up so I can see his eyes. He knows such a promise would be empty. If the roles were reversed, if it were him leaving...

  “I promise.” I say it with conviction, even though we both know better. Saying the words makes this all seem a little less tragic. “Will you promise me something, too?”

  “Anything.”

  I know what I need to say. I know what I would need to hear, if it were me being left behind. The words just don’t want to come.

  I want to tell him to be happy. To live his life, find someone new, fall in love, make a family. Seeing him in my mind’s eye, surrounded by love and family, old and content. I want all of that for him. But I know I couldn’t do any of that without him. I wouldn’t even want to try. I know just as surely that he won’t either. He’ll die waiting for me.

  “Destroy BioSol Labs.” His body goes rigid, his steady breathing coming to an abrupt halt. I sit up, feeling the truth in my own words as the idea spreads through my mind. “Destroy it. Show the world who you are. Show them the truth.”

  “Whisper, without you...” There’s a hitch in his voice, as a shudder ripples through his body.

  “I know.”

  Gliese

  Days and nights pass, the sun and moon slipping by above my head without fail, just as they always have. My world has ended, but the world around me continues to turn without so much as a flicker of the devastation I feel.

  I shift my position, tucking my paws under my chest. My muscles are stiff, and my fur is dry and rough, but I don’t care. Watching her walk away was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I could have stopped her. I could have taken her away and held her until she gave in to my will.

  But I didn’t. I let her go.

  This form dulls the pain just a little, the animal instincts taking precedence over human worries. Even that is getting weaker. Lately, my human mind seems to follow me into each form I take.

  “Damon, will you come in for lunch?” The female’s voice calls from below, and I growl in response.

  I hear a window slide closed, and I’m alone again. From my perch on the Elder’s roof, I can look past the well-tended garden and it’s stand of birch trees. Past the high stone wall, and the rolling countryside beyond.

  It’s the direction they took her. I watched from here as a tiny spark of light rose from the horizon. A tiny spark disappearing into the atmosphere. My Whisper, gone.

  I can’t move. I can’t move from this spot or move on with my life. I can’t.

  Destroy BioSol Labs.

  Whisper’s voice echoes in my memory. The idea she planted that I’ve been refusing to think about. She’s always taken jobs, followed orders, gotten paid. There was never anything more to it than that. I followed her commands, and she followed those given to her. Now she’s off planet, sacrificing her life for people she doesn’t even know. And she wants me to do the same.

  She knew that by leaving, she was sentencing me to a slow death. Not because of some artificial bond that would make my organs fail upon her own death... but because she understood how much I loved her. She understood because she felt the same.

  But how? I’ve never planned a mission. I’ve never even asked what the next step is, let alone thought it through to completion. Protect Whisper. Do as she asks. That’s the extent of my planning abilities.

  I shift to my human form. I need all the focus I can get. What would she be expecting me to do? I could tear through the lab with dragon talons, destroying their facility and equipment. That would set them back. It would also show the world that Shifters are dangerous. Not the effect Whisper intended.

  I think of Hope and the Meadow. They’ve been fighting for years. Not in any real sense of the word, but they’ve been saving Shifters, creating a place where we can be ourselves.

  Show the world who you are. Show them the truth.

  It’s not about showing the humans, or teaching them any kind of lesson. Hell, they enslave their own kind readily enough, why bother trying to open their eyes to the plight of another species? It’s the Shifters. They are the ones that need to see. Once they understand they can take human form and live independent of their Agent’s, they’ll be free to make their own choices.

  Even knowing all of this, I wouldn’t ha
ve left Whisper. Not all Shifters would feel that way if they had the chance to question their realities.

  I could go back to the Meadow, but I need someone connected. Someone who’s already dissatisfied with the system, and skilled enough to fight if it comes to that.

  Ah, fuck.

  The familiar sound of a clock ticking lures me out of a thick, dreamless sleep. Something’s not right. As I listen, focusing on the steady tic-toc-tic-toc, it occurs to me that it’s far too slow to be a clock. I listen for other sounds, and one by one they filter through the fog. I hear voices, male voices, distant and muffled. I hear wind, as if through an open window, and the soft crying of a girl.

  I focus on my sense of touch. I’m on a firm mattress, covered with a light sheet. I carefully flex each muscle group but find no injuries. I run my tongue along the edge of my gums, feeling the undisturbed ridge behind my teeth. They would have found my implants during the loading procedures, but this little toy was all but invisible.

  The air smells like a stable; wood, hay and dampness. Tobias’s words come to mind, that the Pharaoh deals with women like rich men deal with horses. Guess he meant that literally.

  I can’t hear any breathing nearby, so I peek through my eyelids, opening them slowly to adjust to the hazy light. I’m alone, and most definitely in a stable. My stall is about four feet by eight feet, containing a cot, bucket, and a small table with water and some sort of purple fruit. There’s also a clock, the second hand ticking slowly around a face with fourteen symbols instead of twelve.

  I guess I made it to Gliese.

  I rub my temples, but I don’t really have a headache. Actually, I feel pretty great. I’d heard cryosleep was a breeze, after the latest updates, but I’d never considered I might experience it myself. The last thing I remember, I was handed a paper cup with some sweet-smelling liquid. Now, I’m lightyears away.

  About three days would have passed back on Earth.

  My heart aches as I think of the torment on Damon’s face when I left him. The evening before, and most of the night, he had shown me more love than I could have ever imagined possible. He had given me every reason to stay, and then some. But in the morning, when it came time for me to leave, he had stood strong. He had respected my decision, and whispered a final Be safe, little one, in my ear.

  I don’t deserve him. I never did. I only pray he finds some purpose, some reason to live.

  I stand up, stretching my arms above my head to the sound of a shoulder popping. I feel the weight of the alien gravity, like I gained about fifty pounds along the way. It’s a fraction of what I should be experiencing, with this size planet. I reach over and rub my left shoulder. A tender spot marks where the inoculations were administered on route. Everything from the common Gliesien cold to environmental variations, all counteracted with a series of nano-bot injections.

  Fucking science.

  I nearly jump out of my skin as a heavy knock rattles the door. Not a knock, it’s the sound of a heavy chain being removed. The door slides open, and I stare wide-eyed at the strangest man I’ve ever seen.

  He’s under five feet tall, but his features look like they belong on someone monstrous. His long, straight hair is stark white, framing an angular and not quite unattractive face. His skin is a pale, powder-white that makes his red eyes stand out like pools of blood.

  Is that two pupils in each?

  His neck is thick and short, his shoulders wider than any human’s. His chest is bare; a smooth barrel without any distinctive pecs or even nipples. He’s wearing a wrap like a kilt around his waist, covering him from below that strange chest down to his knees. His legs are like tree trunks, his bare feet wide and flat.

  I catch myself staring, forcing my gaze down to the floor. The girls I’m with completed all the levels of training. They certainly wouldn’t stare. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem bothered by my indiscretion.

  He nods his head in a gesture I assume means I should follow, and sure enough as I head out into the center walk-way of the stable, other girls are emerging from their stalls as well. We’re all dressed in the familiar gauzy slips, with Horizon Zero tattoos on our wrists. Mine with a slight pink tint around the edges.

  Amongst the girls are many more of the strange Gliesien men, all wearing the same kilt-ish wraps in varying colors and patterns. Many of them have weapons strapped to their backs; odd devices that resemble high-tech swords.

  I wish I’d spent a little time learning about their culture, but it hadn’t seemed important. Not that it matters now, either. I know enough to finish my mission. What they use to kill me after is irrelevant.

  I filter out of the barn with the others, the hazy air taking on a red hue as we step out into the sunlight. Make that suns. We’re in an open field covered in thick, crimson grass. Trees and brush in all shades of red surround us on three sides. At the fourth side stands a looming A-frame building that blocks out a large chunk of sky. Its white siding is crawling with an intricate, black design. Its windows are round and blackened.

  I suddenly feel very, very far from home.

  I swallow the lump in my throat, forcing deep, steady breaths. I scan the men, looking for one in particular. The moment my eyes land on him, a heavy calm washes over me. Kle’Tar. Any worries I had about Tobias’s intel disappear.

  The Pharaoh looks mostly like the others, except for his chalky skin is covered in red tattoos. Every exposed inch of him is marked with the symbols and prophecies of their race. Even the unexposed inches, according to Tobias. When he blinks, even his eyelids are inked. Ouch. Might be a little bit sexy if he didn’t look so much like a hobbit on steroids...

  I know the moment he spots me. His double take is almost humorous. I don’t let on I’ve noticed, but I do casually tilt my head to make my scarlet curls fall forward. Like a moth to a flame, he starts in my direction. He can’t resist.

  Red. It’s the color of their sun, their world, and their gods. A female with this particular shade of red hair is a gift sent from above. A symbol of life and fertility.

  When he gets close enough to touch, a meaty hand grips my shoulder from behind, pushing me down to my knees. He’s certainly a lot more menacing from this angle.

  My heartrate nearly doubles as adrenaline surges, every sense prickling with heightened awareness. A hand strokes my hair, tangles in it and tugs. The dye job’s still good enough for this initial inspection, I hope. Even if he catches on, he’s close enough for what I need to do.

  With bowed head, I wait. His thick hand leaves my hair, dipping under my chin to tilt my face up. I summon all my strength and extend my knees. The motion propels me up into a squat, and then I lunge. Straight for his thick, veiny neck.

  I bite him.

  Like a fucking vampire.

  The tiny hypodermic needle implanted in my eye tooth injects a swarm of nano-bots into his bloodstream. In the few seconds it takes his men to react and pull me off, the damage is done. The Pharaoh drops like a stone, blood trickling out of his ears, nose, eyes and mouth.

  The sound of girls screaming mixes with the enraged battle-cries of the men. It’s all a distant hum as I crouch on the ground, eyes closed, my conciousness far away in a stand of birch trees with Damon.

  Pharaoh

  I flare my wings, tilting them to catch the air and stall my decent. My wide back feet touch the rough pavement first, followed by my front feet as my wings fold back against my side. A perfectly graceful landing. Possibly due to the fact that I practiced about a hundred times before coming here.

  Not that I’m vain, I just don’t think a dragon belly-flopping at your feet instills much confidence.

  Gideon appears appropriately impressed, nodding his head with a half-grin. Tarek looks almost wild with what I hope is excitement. His emerald eyes are wide, and his wings are poised for flight. The truth is I can’t really read him that well. I can pick up on every little variation of Whisper’s expressions and moods, but other Shifters are a mystery to me.

  “Hel
lo, Damon,” Gideon shouts. “Good to see you’re not dead!”

  I snort, giving my head a shake. Elder Tobias wasn’t willing to risk getting involved in this. His loyalty lies with the stolen girls. But he did agree to make one call for me... to Gideon, asking him to meet Whisper and I here.

  “Where’s our girl?” He looks around as if she would materialize out of thin air. His expression goes dark, and I fight back a surge of anger. Whisper told me his part in getting her involved in all of this. I can’t let that affect my actions now. I need him.

  I shift. Forcing it to be slow, I compress my massive dragon form down, reshaping into human form.

  Tarek jumps as if electrocuted, a sound like a bark coming from him. Gideon goes a few shades paler, his jaw clenching along with his fists.

  “Whisper is gone.” I swallow back the emotion that comes with those words. I can’t fail her now. “She found a way to save more girls. Maybe all of them. She left on a cargo freighter days ago.”

  Gideon doesn’t move a muscle, even his expression gives nothing away. Then his lips peel back from his teeth as he nearly growls, “Why didn’t you stop her? Why aren’t you at least with her?”

  I stalk toward him until we’re nose to nose, the rumble of Tarek’s guttural warning thick in the air. “I would gladly lay down my life to keep my Whisper from harm. I did everything I could to keep her safe in my arms.”

  Gideons eyebrows raise, the half-smirk returning. “In your arms?”

  I ignore the comment, stepping back a pace as I turn my attention to Tarek. I tell him the story of our kind. I tell him all I know. All that I learned from the Meadow, what I’ve discovered on my own, and the details Whisp gave me from her conversation with Tanikka.

  When I’m done, the green dragon seems to have lost some size. His wings are tucked tight, his eyes narrowed.