by Roxie Ray
She tilted her head. “But you said you're on a mission, right? A dangerous one, I'm guessing, or those other Valkredians wouldn't have chased us through the station. So where am I supposed to fit into all this?”
“I am gripped with a deep certainty that somehow, you have an integral part to play in all this. You humans have concepts like ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ on your world, yes? The notion that sometimes, things are simply unexplainable yet undeniable… that they're somehow written indelibly into the very fabric of the universe, and must play out as they will?”
She smiled wryly. “Some people on my planet believe in those things, sure. Others call them naive and privileged, and choose to believe we make our own fates in this life.”
“That doesn't change the fact that for now, at least, you're stuck with me. And I intend to do whatever is necessary to ensure that you remain by my side.”
“Okay, well, if I'm stuck with you, then I think I deserve a little more information about what's going on, right?” she teased, sitting on the bed. “Like for example, why those people were after us?”
I nodded. “Fair enough. They were mercenaries, in the service of a Valkredian named Torqa. She was formerly an advisor to my brother Akzun… and the head of our security and espionage services. During our long and bloody war with the Mana – an aquatic race, you probably saw plenty of them on the station – she proved herself invaluable in keeping our planet and people safe. But then, Akzun rightly decided that the conflict had gone on for far too long, and had cost too many lives. He felt the wisest course of action was to enter into a peace treaty with the Mana.”
“And let me guess – Torqa didn't see it that way, huh?”
I grinned, impressed by her deductive skills. I'd clearly made an excellent selection when I chose her. “She was furious. She engaged in covert hostile activities against both sides, in order to goad us into war again. Her reasoning was that the only acceptable outcome was the utter conquest of the Mana, or their obliteration. When her treachery was discovered, she fled. Now she's gathering new allies, in order to finish what she started.”
“So your mission is to find her and stop her? Makes sense. But I really don't see how I'm supposed to help you with any of that.”
“I can’t help but be certain that somehow, you will.”
“Well, that sure is a whole lot of pressure to put on a li'l Earth girl like me,” she responded with a big yawn. “Sounds like I'll be needing plenty of rest to pitch in on something this heavy. Now that we're on board, mind if I grab a nap?”
“By all means. Rest well. But before you make another escape attempt, I feel I should warn you that the escape pods on this vessel are programmed to only obey Valkredian commands.”
“Gosh, you sure know how to help a girl relax before bed,” she said sourly.
I laughed, and then withdrew from the room, closing the door behind me. For someone in a situation as precarious as hers, she had quite a sense of humor! I admired that.
I went to the command deck, hitting a few keys on the communications console to contact my brother. A few seconds later, a hologram of Akzun's face appeared before me. “What news, Zark? Have you found Torqa?”
“Ah, not quite,” I replied with a grimace. “In fact, it would be rather more accurate to say that her people found me. It was a narrow escape, getting off Cexiea.”
“You mean you turned off your disguising technology, and then forgot to turn it back on again. At least tell me you've found a clue that will lead us to Torqa?”
“Well, yes – but before that… While I was poking around The Vein for information, one of Nos's human females caught my eye, and I had to take her with me. It was as though I simply had no other choice! I couldn't bear the idea of anyone else touching her, let alone bidding on her.”
Akzun raised an eyebrow. “Zark, you wouldn't be… making fun of me, would you? Or my consort?”
I sighed wearily. “I can see how you might take it that way, given the similarity to your own recent circumstances. But, no. Much as I may wish this were a joke, I'm afraid I'm being quite serious. She's aboard the Wrath now, resting in a cabin next to the captain's quarters.”
“I see.” Akzun held up a data pad. “Then may I assume that this is the explanation for the bill I received from Nos less than an hour ago, for a quarter of a million rula? I assumed he was attempting to double-bill me for Carly, like the shiftless cheat he is.”
“…I did mention that amount to him on the way out, yes.”
Akzun spread his arms expansively. “In that case, what can I say? Clearly, I'm not unsympathetic to your situation. These things do happen. Carly is proof of that.” He paused, frowned, then added, “But it does seem strange, doesn't it? That this same fate should befall us both, and in such a short span of time? What do you think it means?”
“I am not sure,” I confessed. “But it's funny that you should use the word ‘fate,’ because I genuinely feel that may be part of it. I believe – no, I know – that somehow, my path was destined to cross hers. Just as I know that she's meant to aid me in my mission.”
“I certainly hope so, given your level of success thus far,” Akzun commented dryly. “Tell me, brother, and please be honest with me… and with yourself, for that matter: Do you feel that this woman is meant to be your mate?”
The question left me momentarily speechless. Mate. That was the one word I hadn't allowed myself to fully contemplate since I saw Miranda. But…
“Yes, I believe she is,” I admitted.
“You must open yourself fully to that possibility, Zark. The hand of the universe places us where it feels we are supposed to be. I am living proof of that. If you feel this way about this woman, you should see where those feelings take you. I, for one, am happy for you, and wish you the best. Besides, it doesn't matter that she is an Earthling. The taboo of mating with humans will die out within a generation, I assure you. After all, Valkred's Blood Ruler recently elevated a member of her species to the title of Royal Consort, or hadn't you heard?”
I laughed. “I may have heard a rumor or two about that, yes. But what if there's something I'm not seeing? What if she's some kind of spy? What if Torqa sent her as bait, so she could sabotage my mission?”
Akzun steepled his long fingers. “Do you truly believe that to be the case?”
“No,” I answered, “not really. I suppose I'd feel unwise if I didn't count it as a possibility, though.”
His face softened. “If you take an idea like that seriously enough to dismiss someone you're so clearly taken with, then you will have done Torqa's work for her.”
“Perhaps. Still, there's something peculiar about her. She seems as though she might possess some sort of psychic ability to read thoughts by touching people. But that's impossible, isn't it? Humans aren't any more capable of duplicating our telepathic powers than they would be able to grow wings like ours, right?”
Akzun thought this over for a long moment. “That is… not entirely accurate. There have been instances – more like obscure legends, really – where humans are said to have demonstrated such abilities. Clairvoyance, they call it. There are even stories among other races in the galaxy indicating that alien DNA runs through certain Earthling bloodlines, and that such things might account for such phenomena. It's all speculation, though. No one's ever made a serious study of it, as far as I know. And I haven’t heard mention of it in many years. What has she said when you've asked her about it?”
“Heh. She hasn't admitted to anything. Not every human female is as cooperative as yours.”
“Even Carly didn't start off particularly cooperative, as you may remember,” Akzun replied with a grin. “Patience, brother. These things take time.”
“How is she these days?”
“Quite pregnant. Khim says the child will come soon, and that it should be healthy, thank the Succubi.”
“That's excellent news.”
“Indeed,” he agreed. “I only wish you had some good
news for me in return about the Torqa investigation.”
“Well, to be fair, I did learn one thing that could be useful,” I offered. “Umel said that after Bis'er rejected her overtures regarding an alliance, she mentioned going to Egone.”
“By the stars.” Akzun's eyes filled with concern. “Cexiea may be lawless, but at least it's run by the Sives, so they keep order. Egone is a place of utter anarchy. Please exercise caution, brother.”
“Don't I always?”
I ended the transmission quickly, before he could recount the long list of occasions when I hadn't. Then I sat for a while, lost in thought about what I hadn't told him.
About the curse.
When it had first happened, I'd told myself that I wouldn't share that information with him until after the treaty with the Mana had been negotiated – otherwise, it might unnecessarily distract him at a point when his focus was crucial to the survival of our planet.
Then there were the problems with the treaty (thanks to Torqa), and the complications that came with Carly's sudden presence in his life.
And then Torqa was banished, the treaty was saved… but there was news of Carly's pregnancy. I’d told myself it wasn't fair to ruin that for him with such bad news. That it could wait until after the child had been born.
Now here I was – perhaps with a way to make sure Akzun never needed to know.
A way to break the curse on my own.
Valkredian telepathy was useful, but limited. If I could employ the powers of a true clairvoyant, though, that would be another matter entirely. Miranda could help me. She could use her abilities to locate the precious object I'd been unable to find, before it was too late and the final moon cycle had concluded.
First, though, I'd have to get her to trust me.
4
Miranda
On the bed. Curled up in a fetal position. Fighting off the voices, the images, the feelings, and trying not to shriek.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
It had taken all of my energy and willpower to act normally around Zark earlier, especially when he'd brought me to this room. Ever since that first vision I'd gotten from him when he touched me, my clairvoyance had been in overdrive. It was as though I were surrounded by a thousand echoes of people from different points in time, all chattering and jostling for position, their raw emotions battering me from all sides. It was more intense than anything I'd ever felt before.
Worse, my own emotions were confusing me, erupting inside me uncontrollably.
Zark. The self-proclaimed alien prince. And, for all intents and purposes, a goddamn vampire. He'd chosen me seemingly at random, brought me to some kind of perverse extraterrestrial cathouse, gotten me in the middle of a running firefight, absconded with me on some dangerous mission – and all the while, he made such a show of charming me with his manners, and spouting romantic notions about how “fate” and “destiny” had brought us together.
I should have been horrified, nauseated, looking for any way to escape.
So why wasn't I? Why did I keep thinking about how oddly handsome his features were? Why did I have this bizarre certainty that I would be far safer tagging along with him than I would have been back on the station?
My first thought was that Zark was somehow using his telepathy to keep me docile so I wouldn't resist going with him. But that didn't seem likely. Based on what little I knew about the Valkred, they could use their abilities to read and transmit thoughts, but not to control them.
Besides, I had felt him trying to poke around in my mind earlier, and somehow, I'd been able to resist him.
There had been a few times in my life when my clairvoyance had guided me down weird paths that had seemed… right, somehow, or at least inevitable. And every time, the outcome had proven to be a lot better than it would have if I'd ignored those impulses. Was that what was happening this time, too? Should I just go along with it and see where it led, even if it doesn't seem to make sense?
It didn't feel like I had much of a choice.
The images were getting louder, more insistent. I was seized with a terrible certainty that they were emanating from the next room – the one he'd referred to as the captain's quarters.
I didn't want to get up. Didn't want to look, to listen. But I couldn't resist. The jumble of senseless thoughts and feelings I was receiving would almost certainly drive me over the edge unless I could find a way to identify them, make sense of them somehow.
I forced myself to get up from the bed, cross the room, and hit the access button on the keypad next to the door.
It slid open, and for a split-second, I thought my skull would explode.
But after a few moments of squinting and rubbing my temples, everything was reduced to a dull roar – my brain was adjusting, the way eyes were gradually able to adjust to darkness. My brain needed time to process experiencing two completely opposite things at once.
The room was totally empty.
The room was crushingly full.
There was nobody here. At the same time, it was like wandering into a party that was uncomfortably overcrowded – but with ghosts, all of whom wore the same two faces. The effect was disturbing.
Most of them were a Valkredian male – one whom I assumed was Akzun, based on his physical resemblance to Zark and the errant leftover thoughts drifting through the air indicating that he identified himself as Blood Ruler. He was sleeping. He was pacing. He was reading. He was staring out the window at the stars streaking by. He was happy. He was anxious. He was proud of the choices he'd made on behalf of his people. He was concerned for the future of his planet.
All of these things, all these thoughts and feelings and actions, all at the same time, all overlapping. I'd never experienced anything like it before.
And the second person was a human female who looked very familiar. Could it be… Carly?
Yes, the more I looked, the surer I was that it was the same girl I'd spoken with before she'd been dragged out of The Vein. So the Valkredian who had taken her was Zark's brother. That was a funny little detail.
There weren't nearly as many iterations of Carly in the room – clearly, she hadn't spent as much time here as he had. Which made sense, after all, since it was his ship and she'd probably spent less time aboard. Still, I saw afterimages of them talking, eating, looking out the immense observation window that dominated three tall walls of the quarters. I saw them making love, too… which felt like a violation of their privacy, but it wasn't exactly as though I was in a position to look away, was I? Even when I wasn't looking at them, I could still see them.
Even being in the same room as the observation window was too much for me to take after a few minutes. The patterns of the stars kept shifting and overlapping, until they made my eyes and brain hurt. I felt like I was being pulled in a thousand directions at once.
I had to get out. Immediately. And find a room that wasn't so close to all this cacophony.
I scrambled out the door and down the corridor, reaching out with my mind, trying to sense a place where I could gather my thoughts and get some rest. Finally, at the very end of the hall, I felt a relative stillness coming from one of the rooms. I tried the access pad, and it worked.
Ah. This was much better.
There were a series of extremely faint images – apparently, these quarters were infrequently used, except on missions that required a full complement of Valkredian soldiers. I saw a couple of them, sitting and standing. They hadn't been inhabiting the room at the same time. Their impressions were so weak I couldn't even see the features of their faces. There was a slight buzz of anxiety left in the air, which was no surprise, since they'd clearly been on their way into battle while they'd briefly stayed here.
Even so, it was minimal enough to allow me to lie down for a while.
As I curled up on the bed, I replayed the sequences I'd seen acted out endlessly in the captain's quarters. There had been so many feelings soaked into the walls, but the strongest one I'd sensed was… lo
ve.
Akzun hadn't pulled Carly out of The Vein to brutally have his way with her and suck out all of her blood. He'd fallen in love with her. And, more shockingly, she'd fallen in love with him, too. The sex I'd seen between them had been consensual, tender, joyful. He was protective of her, and they were devoted to each other.
So all of the gruesome outcomes that had played out in my mind after Carly had been taken had never actually happened. She was safe. More than that, she'd found true happiness in the arms of a Valkredian.
Could something like that happen between me and Zark, as well?
Where had that thought come from? I had no idea, but now that it was in my head, I found that I was unable to rid myself of it. I had been caught off-guard by his good looks when he'd deactivated his disguise. And there was a playfulness to him that was disarming. Still, the idea of ending up with him romantically seemed crazy! He was a space vampire, for God's sake! How would that even work?
I didn't know, but the concept kept twisting and turning in my brain like a shard of glass until I finally fell into a restless sleep.
When I woke up, I sensed Zark's presence even before I saw him. He was standing in the corner, watching me.
“You know, I'm not sure how things work on Planet Vampire,” I said, sitting up, “but where I come from, it's considered creepy and weird to stare at someone while they're asleep.”
He shrugged. “Since you see me as a ‘vampire,’ I can only imagine you find me ‘creepy and weird’ to begin with, so what do I have to lose? I am curious about why you chose a room more distant from mine, though. The accommodations are essentially identical.”
“It's quieter in here.”