by Ella Maven
She turned to me with a weak smile. “Zokay,” she said. “U prutektud meh. Luk allwuys.”
Maybe she was thanking me. Or maybe not, but either way, I pressed a kiss to her temple. “You did good, my Fra-kee.” She continually proved what a good mate for me she was.
After climbing down from the tree, we boarded the bike. Luckily, we were traveling in the opposite direction that the Rizar clan went. We set off on a fast pace toward Tark.
Tark’s home sat deep in the mountain range that separated the east and west of the Jasper continent. Most of the Drixonians had settled into clavases in the west, while the Uldani remained holed up in their fortresses in the east. We had to leave our bike at the base of Tark’s mountain, as the flora was too tall and dense to ride through. I helped Fra-kee off the bike and squinted at her bare feet. Those would be a problem. I could carry her the entire way, but Fra-kee seemed to always want to walk herself. I dug around in my saddlebags until I found some thick fabric. I tied the strips to her feet and stepped back to admire my handiwork. They wouldn’t last, but they’d do for now.
Fra-kee wrinkled her nose as she picked up her feet gingerly like a baby antella. “Nut goin too wen fashun awurd.”
She didn’t like them, that was clear, but no way was I letting her walk without protection. “I’ll find you clothes at Tark’s, but for now, this is all I can do.”
She studied me and shrugged her thin shoulders. “Gess um redee den.”
I kept my hand in hers as we entered the forest. She was hesitant, her wide eyes darting every which way. I kept my gun charged and ready at my hip, because the wildlife here would put up a good fight against me and would be able to kill Fra-kee.
She shrieked and swatted at a hunner as it buzzed around her head. I grabbed her arms and held them immobile at her sides, so she didn’t agitate the insect. The sting of a hunner would paralyze me for a short time, so I couldn’t imagine what it would do to her, since its body was the size of her hand. Eventually it flew away, but Fra-kee’s glow in my head became dark and cool with fear.
I picked her up and began to prush to soothe her. At first, she shoved at me, a little scowl on her face, but eventually she relaxed and settled against me, her glow lightening with warmth once again.
I trekked up the mountain, stepping carefully around jagged rocks and ducking under low branches. I did my best to shield Fra-kee from the thorny bushes that seemed to reach out, eager to snag her delicate skin.
“Not much further,” I said, hoping my voice reassured her. “There is a purpose to this journey, I swear it.”
Fra-kee patted my chest. “Uh truss u rr takin keer uv meh. Uh tink.”
I’d only been to Tark’s home twice. It sat atop a small cliff, cleverly hidden. Tark was a private Drixonian, a lonas who’d separated from his Red Bone clavas about ten sun cycles ago. Rumor was that he challenged and defeated the former drexel who had been leading the clavas to ruin. Then Tark had handed over his drexel armband—just like the one I wore—and disappeared. He’d never told us his reasons for being a lonas, and I hadn’t bothered to ask. He was a fair trader who was great at scavenging for parts and repairing any tech he could get his hands on. He was my only hope for a translator implant. Unless I busted into the Uldani fortress.
The path that led to his home was marked by a large rock in the shape of a fang. Its jutting tip nearly reached my chest. I wondered what Fra-kee thought about where we were going. Her trust humbled me—she hadn’t struggled or peppered me with questions in her lilting language. She observed everything, her intelligent gaze constantly scanning our surroundings, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had been able to return to the bike on her own.
I ducked under a branch and continued down the narrow path. As we drew closer to Tark’s home, the brush became less dense. I took another step just as I heard voices. More than one voice.
I froze and listened carefully, worried that Tark’s home had been found and invaded by any number of enemies. But then I heard Tark’s deep rumble, and there was amusement in his voice, not anger or fear.
“Now where could Bazel be?” he called out.
A high-pitched giggle tittered close to us. Fra-kee went still at my side, her eyes wide and her head tipped toward the sound.
“Oh, you gave yourself away now! There, Enna, she’s there!”
Suddenly, little footsteps raced toward us. “No, Ma!” a soft voice cried out with a delighted shriek. Through the brush raced a small body, and I caught a glimpse of long black hair and blue scales before the creature skittered to a stop in front of us, eyes wide, mouth open in shock. She was a small female chit; her head came up to about my hip, and she wore a small metal stud in her nose, as well as beaded braids in her hair.
“Holy Fatas,” I breathed. “A chit.”
“Ma!” the chit screeched in fear.
A larger figure crashed through the brush. But this wasn’t a blue body. There were no scales.
A small female, with pale flesh and red hair rushed to the chit’s side, her eyes wide with fear before she took in Fra-kee at my side. Then her expression went slack with shock. Her mouth dropped open just as Fra-kee’s body bucked. She ripped her hand from mine and stumbled forward with her arms out. “Ho mah gawd, iz a human.”
Eight
Frankie
It had only been a day since I’d seen another human, but it felt like years. Decades. I hadn’t thought I’d see one of my own kind again, and now standing in front of me was a woman. Alive and well.
“Are you real?” I asked her, shaking so hard I thought my legs would collapse. “A real human?”
“Holy sugar,” the woman said in a slight southern accent. The English words were like a balm to my soul. “Yes, I’m real. I’m very much real.”
“Oh my God,” I said again. I surged forward, and she came to me, closing her arms around me as I began to sob. I didn’t know her, but it didn’t matter. She was like me, and she’d somehow survived on this planet, and maybe there was hope for me. She held me, her body shaking as she cried. We were both behaving like blubbering messes when someone else joined our pity party.
Another alien like Daz leapt into the clearing, his blades out, and I screamed, falling backward on my ass, and bringing the other woman with me, landing in a pile of limbs.
Daz stepped forward, growling at the other alien. They barked a few words at each other, and the redhead listened carefully. She wore tight pants that seemed to lead seamlessly into a pair of thick-soled boots. Her shirt hung off one shoulder, revealing freckled skin. She looked healthy. Safe. Well-fed and clothed. She wasn’t chained or bruised and didn’t appear to be a sex slave. I tried to cling to hope.
She turned to me then and hauled me to my feet. “I’m Anna,” she said. “Come. I’ll take you to our home.”
I squeezed her arms, still barely believing she was real and not a figment of my imagination. “I-I’m Frankie.”
Anna smiled as she took my hand in one of hers. It was then I noticed she had the same golden tattoo bands on her wrists I did. Hers were a different pattern. The other alien wore thick leather bracelets on his wrist, but I suspected he had the same tattoos underneath.
“Y-you have these marks too. What do they mean?”
Anna’s thumb rubbed over my marks, her expression contemplative. “I noticed yours right away. I promise I’ll explain and answer any other questions you have, but we should get back home first where it’s safest. The drexel who brought you has questions too.”
A drexel? Was that what he was called? I turned back to see the two aliens no longer angry but discussing something intently. Daz was…more curious than angry, but I did feel a swell of resentment coming from him. “I don’t… What’s going on?”
Anna stopped short and looked me in the eye. “Tark is my mate. He’s hidden us here for ten sun-cycles and is not happy about Daz learning about us. And your Daz… He’s in shock.”
“Because he didn’t know you existed?�
��
She bit her lip and then dipped her chin to the small child at her side. “Because he didn’t know she existed.”
I was even more confused. “A child?”
“Well, yes, a child. And also because Bazel is mine. Mine and Tark’s.” She swallowed thickly before saying, “I birthed her.”
That was when my legs buckled, and I hit the ground with a thud. A shadow instantly loomed over me, and strong, familiar arms scooped me up. Daz bared his teeth at Anna. Eyes widening, she backed up, shielding her child as she glanced nervously at Tark. His teeth were also bared, and I worried about this escalation of aggressive testosterone. I patted Daz’s arm, drawing his attention. He immediately met my eyes and smoothed back my hair. “Ch-ch-ch,” he murmured and nuzzled my temple.
“I’m okay, big guy. Just shock, all right? And I’d really like to talk to my new friend here so can you not start a battle with her man?”
Tark spoke a few words to Anna in his language, and she nodded.
“Wait, can you understand him?” I asked her.
She tapped the space behind her right ear. “I have a translator implant. He hears my words in his language, and vice versa. I can understand your alien too, even though he can’t understand me. Daz says that’s why he’s here. He wants a translator implant for both of you so you can communicate. He came here because Tark is one of the few on this planet with the ability to build one.”
I stared at Daz in wonder as he held me in his arms, his expression still thunderous and his anger pulsing through me like a living thing, his glow red and vibrating. This was what this whole journey was for? Just so he could talk to me?
I squirmed in his arms, and he gently placed me on my feet. I was steadier now. I decided to deal later with the fact Anna had a child, because I was overwhelmed and could only handle one thing at a time. Daz’s anger dulled somewhat, and he watched me with concern.
“Okay,” I said. “So, I can talk to your Tark? He can understand me?”
Anna nodded, and Tark responded with an affirmative, “Yit.”
“Great, thank you. Please tell Daz that I’m okay. Just a little in shock. I’m probably also hungry and in need of a good nap.”
Tark spoke to Daz, who never took his eyes off me. When Tark was done speaking, Daz’s jaw ticked before he jerked his head in a nod. His emotions in my head calmed, the red settling like an ocean calming after a storm. Anna headed up the path and walked next to her with her daughter between us. Stomping in annoyed silence, the males brought up the rear.
Anna smiled. “Now that that is settled, let’s head to our home. This isn’t how I would have liked my very first hosting on Torin to go, but I guess I’m out of hospitality practice.”
I laughed, instantly liking Anna. Her presence was calming, and her comfort around her alien set my mind at ease. “That’s all right. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. Shocked, but happy.”
Sadness leaked into her smile. “I didn’t think I’d see a human again. While I’m happy to see you, I can’t say I’m thrilled you’re here. It means the Uldani haven’t given up procuring humans. Are there others?”
I nodded. “Five more of us. We came on a ship piloted by these one-eyed, dolphin-looking things.”
She shuddered. “Rahguls.”
“Who are the Uldani? Who are these guys?” I gestured to the males behind me. “And what the hell were they doing meeting with the Rahguls?”
Anna’s brow furrowed, and she turned around. Tark was frowning at Daz and barking words at him in an accusatory tone. Daz’s fists were clenched as he hissed a few words back at Tark. Black guilt bled into his emotions, slick and oily.
“What are they saying?” I asked her.
She bit her lip, staring off into the distance in front of us. “Daz says he’ll explain later, but it’s not what it seems.”
“And how… How does it seem?” I asked.
Anna blinked and heaved a sigh. “It seems like Daz and his men had planned to deliver you to the Uldani.”
My stomach curled in on itself, and I didn’t dare look back at Daz. The worst part was that I wasn’t scared of whatever these Uldani would do to me. The knife in the gut was that Daz would possibly betray me. Despite not being able to communicate with him, I’d come to view him as the good guy based on his actions and how he treated me. In such a short time, he had become everything to me. So, I was more upset that Daz would turn out to be the bad guy than I was about actually falling into the hands of more bad guys.
Anna placed her hand on my arm, drawing my attention. I didn’t like the sympathy and pity in her gaze. “Don’t worry right now. He said the other females are safe with his men.”
That was a relief. Of course, I wasn’t sure I’d believe it until I saw it, but I’d been worried about Miranda and the other women. “They’re okay?” I asked, just to be sure.
“Daz says he has to check in with them, but his last orders to his men were to get them somewhere safe. And you’re safe here.” She gestured ahead of us. “This is our home.”
The foliage cleared to reveal a house with a log cabin-type feel. The entire structure was made of rough-hewn tree trunks with some sort of black tar-like stuff connecting them and probably providing insulation. The roof was covered in a material with a silver sheen, and I wondered if it was some type of solar panel. The front door hung open, and the windows seemed to be simple square holes in the walls. I wondered if it ever got cold here.
Surrounding the house was a well-landscaped yard. I suspected Anna had something to do with this, because it was so Earth-familiar I nearly started crying. There were a few flowerbeds I’d be interested in checking out later. In one bed, there was even a small birdhouse on a pole, and I wondered about the species of birds or other flying creatures around here.
Bazel skipped ahead. She called out, “Rufus!” and a big, furry, black thing came bounding out of the front door.
“Ah!” I cried out, and stumbled over my own feet, only remaining upright because Daz gripped my arms.
Anna smiled. “I know Rufus looks scary, but he’s a big softie.”
I stared at the little girl roughhousing with the beast. He looked mostly like a bear but acted like a dog. He had no ears and a kind of pug-nosed snout.
“They call them blukas,” Anna said. “He makes a good pet, although he’s a terrible watchdog.” Surveying the yard, she placed her hands on her hips. I could tell she was trying to look at her home through my eyes.
I cleared my throat. “Well, I love what you’ve done with the place.”
Anna snorted. Which turned into an inelegant laugh. That set me off, and before we knew it, we were falling into each other, laughing a bit hysterically. The men stared at us as we wiped the tears from our eyes and finally got ourselves together. It was just all so normal and yet not.
Anna placed her hand on her chest and exhaled loudly. “I hope you don’t judge my interior-decorating skills. I didn’t have much to work with.”
“I promise you the last thing on my mind is critiquing your homemaking.” I said.
She turned to Tark. “I’m going to take Frankie inside and get her some clothes and something to eat. Can you take Bazel?”
He nodded and spoke a few words while gesturing toward a smaller building I hadn’t noticed. It was tucked behind the house and looked like a small shed. He began to walk in that direction, but Daz didn’t follow. He stood still, watching me.
“I’m okay,” I said. “Go do man stuff in your man cave with your friend.”
He cocked his head, and Anna snort-laughed again. “Tark, tell Daz it’ll be okay. She’s safe with me.”
As I turned away from Daz, I felt a pang in my chest. Sorrow.
Seriously? I’d been with him for two days straight. I was finally talking to another human, and I’d be getting clothes and eating food, and yet I felt sadness at being separated from him by a few yards? My tattoos tingled, and I rubbed my wrists.
“That’ll les
sen over time,” Anna said.
“What will?” I asked as we walked into her house. I glanced back over my shoulder. Daz still stood in the same place watching me with his arms crossed over his chest. Anna shut the door behind her, and his emotions slugged me like a punch. His red glow in my mind swirled and pulsed. Longing.
Anna was speaking, but I missed what she said. “What?” I asked.
“Your loks.” She tapped her wrists. “They ache when you’re separated from your cora-eternal. But it’s only when it’s fresh.”
“My cora what?” I stood in the doorway in my ridiculous thin and dirty night clothes, feeling like I was missing a huge chunk of information.
Anna wrung her hands. “Shoot, I’m sorry. It’s been ten sun-cycles since I arrived here. Sun-cycles are equivalent to Earth years, I think. So, I forget what it was like to have no idea what’s going on here on this planet. Sit, please. Let me get you some food, and then I’ll explain, okay?”
I swallowed. “Yeah, I’m sorry as well. This is just … overwhelming.”
Gracing me with a sympathetic smile, she said, “I do remember that.” Turning away, she walked over to a counter that lined the side wall. The appliances looked different than what I was used to, but there did seem to be some sort of stove, as well as a basin for cleaning.
I checked out the rest of the house—an open space that included a living and dining area and a kitchen. Two doors led to what I assumed were sleeping areas, as I didn’t see bedding anywhere.
I couldn’t help but be impressed with what Anna had done to the place. It was like an Earth home but with… Well, no Earth materials. Blankets made of fur draped over a couch-like object. The cushions seemed to be a dried leather, although it was a surprising pale pink color like a pig’s skin. In front of it was a short coffee table and smaller tables were in convenient spots around the room. In the corner was an area full of colorful blocks and a few stuffed animals, all rather crude and some a little scary, but all well-loved.