Sticks and Stones

by Tamsin Ley

  Reaching over, Angie squeezed Mae’s arm. “By the way, thank you.”

  Mae nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. “You know I love you.”

  A silent sob convulsed Angie. “This is Area 51 stuff. They’ll never stop chasing us. I can never go back home, Mae.”

  “After meeting Sten, I wondered if that might be what’s going on.” She pointed to a daypack on the floor of the passenger side. “I managed to swing by your house on the way here. Don’t worry, I pretended I was there to pick you up for work. I brought you stuff.”

  Angie reached for the pack, wiping at her eyes with the back of her other hand. “You shouldn’t have risked going there, but thank you.” She glanced out the back window again, but the small town they were passing through didn’t appear to have any other moving traffic. “I’ll be relieved to have regular clothes.”

  Reaching inside, she found her favorite hoodie. Directly beneath that, she discovered the mason jar where she kept her heirloom seeds. She sucked in a breath, tears clouding her vision. “Mae!”

  Her friend shot her a wry smile and turned onto a dirt road leading west into the mountains. “I figured of all the things you treasure, your garden is the most transportable.”

  Burying her face in her hands, Angie sobbed. She had no idea if her seeds would even grow on Sten’s planet, but now she could at least try.

  Mae’s hand left the steering wheel to rub her back. The sensitive buds of Angie’s wings responded by thrusting against the terry-cloth. Mae yelped and pulled back. “What is that?”

  Angie sat up straight, grimacing against the cramping pain of her wings unable to unfurl beneath the robe. Mae’d been great about taking everything in stride, even the possibility of a half-alien baby. But how was she going to respond to wings? An old homestead with several junk cars in the overgrown yard rolled past outside. Ahead, the dirt road stretched into nothing but rolling sagebrush interspersed with a few pines and the snowcapped mountains beyond. Angie pointed to the side of the road. “Pull over here.”

  Mae slowed to a stop, the truck listing as the passenger side wheels rolled into the ditch. Her brown eyes kept looking between Angie’s face and her shoulder. “Are those wings?”

  “Hybrid, remember?” Angie whispered, shoulder blades aching with the effort of keeping her wings retracted.

  Mouth dropping open, Mae reached over and jerked the neckline of Angie’s robe aside. “No fucking way. Can you fly? Why didn’t you ever tell me this? Show me!”

  “Hold on, hold on!” Angie grappled with the robe, covering herself. “They’re still new to me, so slow down.”

  Sten’s face rose to fill the back window. “Are you injured?”

  Angie’s wings were straining against the robe, no matter how hard she concentrated on shoving them back inside. She yanked open the passenger side door and tumbled out, shedding her robe as she fell to her knees.

  Mae cried, “Holy shit, that’s awesome!” The sound of the truck door slamming and running feet. Then Mae was in front of her. “This really is Area 51 shit. You look like a naughty she-devil with wings in that lingerie. Can I touch one?”

  “I… I guess.” Angie smiled up at her, rising clumsily to her feet while her flapping wings tried to help.

  Mae stepped back. “Whoa, watch the claws, woman.”

  “Sorry.”

  Sten leapt out of the truck bed and took her elbow. His touch was steadying in more ways than one.

  Glancing back and forth between Angie and Sten, Mae shook her head. “Who would’ve thought my best friend’s an alien. So where do you plan to hide?”

  Sten’s voice was a low rumble. “My people are sending a rescue ship at last. We must travel to the rendezvous point to meet it.” He twisted to show Mae his injured wing. “But first, we must fix my wing.”

  Mae grimaced at the appendage. “Ouch. Looks dislocated.” She cracked her knuckles. “I’ve set plenty of limbs, but never a wing. This is going to be interesting.”

  Within minutes and a few strained grunts, Sten’s wing was set. Angie let out a sigh of relief, her own wings fluttering in empathy.

  Sten retracted his into the slits in his back, resuming his more human shape. “Now you, Hondassa.”

  His encouragement helped, and Angie managed to withdraw her wings. She took a deep breath, glad to be back in her familiar form. The wings were going to take some getting used to.

  Mae stepped around and began poking at her back. “Amazing how that works.”

  Sten raised his brows at Angie. She shrugged, letting Mae’s fingers graze over her skin. “She’s a doctor. She likes this stuff.”

  “Nurse Practitioner,” Mae corrected automatically and finished her inspection. She came back around to face them, hands on her hips. “So, can you fly now?”

  “Angie is not yet trained in flying.” Sten’s wings emerged once more. He flapped them, sending a gust of pine needles and dust rolling across the ground, and lifted a few feet. “I will carry us from here to the rendezvous point.”

  “How far away is that? I could just drive you.” Mae reached over and took Angie’s hand. “I wouldn’t mind a few more hours together, since it sounds like I won’t be seeing you again for a while.”

  Angie bit her lip, fighting back tears once more. She’d already cried more today than she had since her father’s death. “I’d like that, Mae. Thank you.”

  Sten pulled his sigil from his pocket. “These coordinates indicate we must move that direction.” He pointed north. “Approximately twelve hundred of your Earth miles.”

  Mae made a strangled noise. “I take it back. I can’t drive you. Are there even roads that for north?”

  “I do not know. Earthians call the location the Yukon Territory.”

  “Why can’t the ship just pick us up here?” Angie asked. Holy shit, she was planning on leaving on a space ship. Well, you are an alien. She flexed her shoulders, struggling to keep her rambunctious wings retracted.

  Holding his sigil in one hand, Sten flicked through holographic screens of data. “Our sigils have a limited range for the teleportation device. Plus, the Prime Directive requires our fleet to remain as discreet as possible, even during a rescue mission. The location and time would have been selected due to a number of factors, most probably the scarcity of surveillance around the site.” Sten closed his eyes and rubbed the base of one horn. “This journey will take us several days.”

  Mae’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re going to another planet. Will I ever talk to you again?”

  Angie shook her head, ugly tears crumpling her face. “I don’t know.” The words ripped from her throat as she gripped Mae’s hand. They stood like that for another long minute. “Will you take care of Sally and my house? My yellow climbing roses will die if they don’t get watered once a week.”

  Mae swallowed, face creased and red, and choked out, “You know I have a black thumb, but I’ll try not to kill anything.” She stepped around Angie and reached into her purse for a pack of travel tissues. She blew her nose, then handed a tissue to Angie before rummaging once more in her purse. “Twelve hundred miles left on Earth. You’re going to need money.”

  Angie stared at the bills. Twelve hundred miles on Earth. Such a long distance, and yet so short. How long would it take to fly there? “We can’t take your money. You’ve already done too much.”

  “You’re going to need to eat. Take it.”

  Reluctantly, Angie accepted the cash. Mae was right. Even now, Angie was ravenous. And Sten would need food to heal, as well. “Thank you.”

  “In fact, you’ll need more than that if you have to travel more than a few days. Take my ATM card. Just stay away from caviar and casinos.”

  Suddenly, Angie remembered the gold stashed in her bed post. “I can pay you back.” She told Mae how to find the coins. “Use whatever’s left to take care of Sally and the house.”

  Mae grinned, but there was a sadness to her. “Tahiti, here I come.”

  Angi
e threw her arms around her friend. “I love you. Thank you for everything.”

  Mae hugged her back fiercely. “Call me if you can. Maybe that gold can pay for a collect call from another planet?”

  “You’re killing me,” Angie said, swiping at stray tears. She’d miss Mae the most of anything. But her only chance at a future—the only future she wanted—was with Sten. She turned to him. “We need to go before I change my mind.”

  “There is no changing your mind. The Syndicate will track us down if we remain on Earth. If not us, then someday our child.”

  Without warning, Mae burst into loud tears. “I’m never gonna meet your rugrat!”

  That set the waterworks off for Angie again. Sten waited patiently while the two hugged and Angie pulled on clothing. Then it was time. Strapping on the day pack, Angie stepped into Sten’s arms. His hard chest and abs were a comfort as she watched Mae’s waving form grow ever smaller until she was lost over the horizon.

  16

  Sten flew them over the sparsely wooded slopes at the base of the mountains, sticking to terrain that as yet remained inhospitable to mankind, carrying them ever north. When they came to roads or small towns, he’d rise into the clouds or at least high enough over the landscape that they’d be mistaken for a large bird by the casual observer. Angie clung to him, feeling like a baby orangutan, her shoulders itching inside her hoody. She was quite proud she’d been able to keep her wings retracted when they were screaming at her to open themselves to the wind.

  An updraft thrust them upward, and her stomach lurched at the sudden motion. Once Sten had stabilized them, she asked, “Do you think I’ll ever be able to fly?”

  “Your wingspan seems sufficient to carry you at least for short distances. But for now, you must let me carry you.”

  But even Sten could not fly forever. They crossed the Canadian border while it was still light and stopped in a town called Cranston, choosing a motel that had doors that could be accessed from the parking lot. Angie checked in while Sten lurked outside. The moment she opened the door, he slipped inside and settled to the floor, his gray skin hardening. She was exhausted, and could hardly imagine how tired he must be after carrying her so many miles. And they still had so far to go. Her stomach rumbled; she had to find something to eat, soon.

  She emptied her day pack and set out for the market she’d seen a few blocks north. Thanking Mae once more for the use of her ATM card, she filled the daypack with food. On the walk back, she devoured all six egg rolls she’d purchased at the deli, hoping Sten would forgive her for not bringing him one. Back at the hotel, he was still in duramna, so she sat in front of the TV and gorged herself on chips and chocolate cookies.

  What kind of food would they have on Duras? Sten had been unfamiliar with chocolate, so no chocolate would suck. She licked the frosting from between the two halves of a cookie and let it melt on her tongue. Maybe she should stock up on chocolate to take with her.

  She awoke to an infomercial on the TV. Sten still slept on the floor, hard as stone, so she rolled over and tried to sleep, but her mind was rolling a million miles a minute. She was leaving Earth. Leaving home. Everything had happened so fast. Literally days ago she’d been minding her own business and saving the seeds from her garden for next year. She’d always craved stability, always planned a life in Turnbull even when she’d gone away to college. Her father wanted better for her, but her heart was in Montana. Leaving it behind felt like a little piece of her soul had been excised.

  Climbing out of bed, she turned the volume all the way down and stretched out next to Sten, laying her head on his rocky shoulder. She should be cold, but she’d always been affected very little when it came to temperature extremes. She’d only seemed to become more impervious since the mating. Tough skinned, strong boned, temperature resistant, and now she had wings. Earth had been her home for twenty-seven years, but even her body was telling her she belonged on Duras.

  She placed an open palm over Sten’s chest where his heart must be beating. Did it beat while he was stone? She couldn’t feel it.

  Apparently sensing her restlessness, he shifted, reaching his other hand up to cover hers. “Can you not sleep, Hondassa?”

  “I didn’t mean to stop your healing. There’s just a lot on my mind.”

  “I understand. Is there a way I can help?”

  She pressed her lips against his hard chest, breathing in his earthy sweet scent. “Tell me about Duras.”

  He rolled to his side, drawing her against him. “It is a harsh planet, but beautiful, much the same as your high deserts on Earth, although our skies are violet rather than blue. But we lack resources. That was the reason my crew ended up crashing on your planet.”

  “You came to Earth looking for resources?” A sickness filled her stomach as she considered what this might mean for humanity.

  “Not Earth.” He stroked her hair. “We avoid planets with sentient life. Our mission was to explore the red planet you call Mars, but we were caught in a wormhole dilation that sent us out of control.”

  “So you’ve been away for a thousand years. What about your family back home? Do all of you live this long?”

  “We do. And now, so will you.”

  She pulled back to get a better look at his face. “My father had more Khargal blood than I do, and he didn’t live that long. He was ancient at a hundred and eight.”

  Sten smiled, his sharp canines catching the light flickering from the silent TV. “The dassa will extend your life to match mine.”

  Well, that was some shocking news. “So I’m going to live for what, a thousand years?”

  “Or more. Our people often live well into their third millennia.”

  She let out a long breath, trying to imagine what she’d do with that much time. The trees she’d planted back on her property would be full grown by then. Not that she’d ever see them. “Do you think there’s a chance we might ever come back to Earth?”

  Sten took a long, slow breath. “I am not certain. But Earthians have come a long way in the time I have watched them. It is possible the planet will reach a stage at which my people will want to return and engage the inhabitants as equals.”

  She bit her lip, thinking about the way York and the other agent had talked about the “creatures.” There were still people who believed some fellow humans were other; it could be a long time before Earth became enlightened enough to be approached by aliens as equals. Even if it did, by then it was likely everyone she knew and loved would be long gone. “I’m going to miss Earth.”

  “So will I,” said Sten. “I have traveled with your family for many generations and seen much of your planet.”

  Angie realized how little she’d seen of her own world. Would she regret never having taken the opportunity to travel? “Tell me more.”

  They spent the rest of the night talking about her ancestors, the trials they’d endured as they moved across continents over the generations. Angie’d been so tied up in her one tiny plot of land, she’d never realized just how far her heritage actually stretched. Beyond Earth, even.

  Perhaps she really was about to go home.

  With a few weeks until the ship arrived at the rendezvous location, Sten took his time, allowing Angie to enjoy her last bit of time on her home planet. She didn’t mind the shoddy hotel rooms as long as she was with Sten. But after exploring the first couple of small towns on her own, Angie decided she didn’t much care for travel. She was looking forward to settling down again. But she did savor playing on pristine snowy slopes, making love beneath the starry night sky, bathing in hidden hot springs, and gorging on chocolate. She even got to practice using her wings a little, jumping from the sharp peaks of mountains and gliding to a stop at the snowy base.

  They’d reached the rendezvous site a few days ago and discovered a number of cabins that were vacant this late in the season. Each morning, they checked the sigil’s interface, watching the white dots marking the locations of the other sigils converge toward
the mountain. She’d asked him if he wanted to meet up with those nearby, but he’d only shaken his head and said there would be time enough for that. He wanted her all to himself.

  Early on the morning of the rendezvous, Angie stood on the stony outcropping near their cabin, overlooking a gorgeous blue-green river. She shrugged off her parka and spread her wings, letting out a frosty sigh. The moon stood out like a pale disk in the morning sky, and the weak sun had begun melting the frost from the nearby trees.

  Sten moved up behind her and took her hand, speaking around a mouthful of breakfast candy. “I am going to miss this Earthian food.”

  “I’ve got more in our pack.” She’d stuffed every spare inch of her duffel bag with Sten’s new favorite food, although she couldn’t seem to stomach chocolate for breakfast, either due to pregnancy or just nerves about leaving. “But if you keep eating it at this rate, none will ever make it back to Duras.”

  “We may be able to convince my people to begin negotiations with Earth sooner than expected if they learn of this delicacy.”

  “Well, if someone could get their hands on some viable cocoa beans, I might be able to grow it.”

  Sten’s eyes widened. “This comes from a plant?”

  “Yep.” She smirked. How fun would it be to grow chocolate? But then, she’d also have to figure out how to harvest and process it. And they’d need sugar…

  The sun cleared the mountain and hit the blue-green thread of open water below, dazzling her with its brilliance. Angie pulled her hand free of his. “Let’s fly.”

  She leapt off the outcrop over the river, holding her wings steady as they bore her weight through the frigid wind. She wasn’t very strong yet so could only go a short distance, plus she couldn’t fly in her parka, but she didn’t seem to get as cold as someone else would in this weather; the short flight over the majestic scenery was definitely worth a few goosebumps and sore muscles.

  The swoosh of Sten’s wings came from behind her, and she looked over her shoulder at him, grinning. She loved the freedom she felt in the air. But she was also grateful for Sten’s watchful presence. More than once, he’d caught her before her strength gave out and sent her crashing to the ground. He said fledglings crashed a lot and suffered broken bones all the time, hence the Khargal ability for accelerated healing. But he didn’t want his Hondassa to suffer through that.