“If someone hadn’t smashed my phone, I’d have easy access to maps that could show us all kinds of routes. As it is, this one is the most direct. I’m not going to sit here with the road map I bought open on my lap, trying to puzzle out all the little lines around this city.”
“But if I am seen—”
“That’s what the disguise is for. I know it’s not good, and I know you’re not comfortable, but just relax and keep looking ahead. Most humans avoid eye contact with each other while they’re driving, anyway. They have a lot of other stuff they’re focused on, and unless you cut them off, they couldn’t care less about you.”
“Cut them off? Is combat a frequent occurrence when traveling on this planet?”
“No. It’s if I were to swerve into another lane in front of someone without leaving much space between our cars.”
“How do your people keep track of their words when so many of them have multiple meanings?”
“Our language is ever-changing,” she replied, “but I guess it’s easier to keep up with when it’s all you know. Sort of. I’m still not sure what on fleek means.”
Gaudy casinos rose over the interstate on either side. The only other time she’d driven through Vegas had been at night, when she’d first gone to California, while everything was lit up and gorgeous. It seemed to lack a lot of that magic during the day, but it was still a struggle to keep her eyes from wandering.
After Las Vegas, they found themselves in the desert again; it stretched on in all directions, always seeming to lead to distant, blue-tinged mountains. The traffic thinned, but not enough to ease Zoey’s nerves. She caught herself on numerous occasions watching for cliché black SUVs in her mirrors, expecting government agents in black suits and ties to leap out, toss a bag over Rendash’s head, and wipe her memory with some high-tech gadget.
They took their first rest stop after an hour of driving. Zoey glanced out across the desert as she exited the restroom. There was a certain beauty to it, though she couldn’t stand the heat or the blazing sun in such places during most of the year. The December temperatures made it bearable; today was cool and clear, the sort of weather she could appreciate.
To the south, a trio of aircrafts — made into tiny specks by the distance — sped through the sky. Her anxiety increased, constricting her chest.
People are flying around in helicopters all the time. It’s nothing.
But what if they were the same ones that had been searching for Ren?
Zoey returned to the car, opened the door, and pulled out her road atlas. She flipped through the pages until she found their current position. Using the little scale ruler and her fingers, she measured the distance back to where she’d found Rendash, pausing to blow warm air into her chilled hands as she turned pages from Nevada to California.
She knew her estimate was inaccurate, but they were somewhere around one hundred and fifty miles from the rest stop where he’d entered her car. Would the search area really have inflated that much since last night? It seemed unlikely, but she couldn’t dismiss the nagging fear that they somehow knew Ren was with her. Should she have told the cop she was heading somewhere else?
For the first time, she was glad Ren had destroyed her phone. There were stories on the internet all the time about the government and criminals alike hacking into phones, accessing data, and tracking them via GPS.
“I’m here,” Rendash whispered from behind her, making her jump.
“Ugh! I’m never going to get used to that,” Zoey whispered back. She stepped away from the car, checked for onlookers, and opened the back door. The brush of his invisible body as he passed her was equal parts eerie and exciting.
The car wobbled as it took his weight. Would her shocks hold up to carrying him for untold miles?
Why the hell am I worried about my shocks, of all things?
She tossed the map onto his lap, shut the door, and hurried to the driver’s seat. She started the car and continued their journey.
They crossed into the northwestern corner of Arizona an hour later, where the terrain grew decidedly rockier, and forty more minutes took them over the Utah border.
They stopped twice more — once for gas and food, and once to stretch their legs and pee. Rendash didn’t take any chances; he turned invisible before she entered the parking lots, and she slipped her purse into the back seat as an excuse to open the door and let him out without looking like a crazy person.
Each time they stopped, she expected him to return with the foundation scrubbed off his face, but he kept it on despite his complaints.
As they drove on through Utah, the mountainous terrain that had remained in the distance for most of their drive grew steadily closer to the road, much of it dusted with snow. The snow only deepened as they turned onto I-70 and moved up into the mountains. She’d turned the heater on to high as the day progressed. Too soon, the sky began to dim with the approach of evening.
“Is there snow where you’re from?” Zoey asked.
“What is snow?”
Zoey swept a hand out to one side, indicating the land spread out around them. “All that white stuff. It falls from the sky in winter.”
“Yes. But only in certain places. Much of my home world is too warm for it.”
“It doesn’t snow where I lived in California, either, but it did a lot in my hometown in the Midwest.”
“I have been on a number of planets where it snowed heavily. It…” She saw him shake his head from the corner of her eye, and he said no more.
“It what, Ren?”
He sighed. “It serves as a stark contrast to freshly spilled blood.”
“Oh.” She was sorry she’d asked, but she couldn’t leave it on that disturbing note. “I used to love it when I was little. My dad and I played in it for hours, throwing snowballs, building forts and snowmen. Our fingers and toes would be so cold by the time we went inside that we were sure they’d fall off. Afterwards, he’d make hot cocoa to warm us up.” She smiled. “He always gave me extra marshmallows.”
“You speak of him with great fondness in your voice.”
“Yeah,” she said softly.
“Is he who you are traveling to see?”
“No, I was going to stay with a friend.” Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and her chest ached. It always did, when she thought about her dad. “My father…died when I was ten. He had cancer.”
“That is some sort of disease?” Ren asked, voice uncharacteristically gentle.
“Yeah. We didn’t catch it soon enough. By the time he was diagnosed, it was too late.” Those last few months with her father had been at once the best and worst time of her life. If nothing else, they’d made what little time they had left together count. Now that she was older, she understood how difficult that must’ve been for him, the willpower he’d demonstrated in giving his daughter happy memories while he was dying.
Tears stung her eyes, but this time she didn’t allow them to spill.
Ren was silent. She half-expected him to go off on how primitive humans were, on how his people likely had cured all the diseases that once afflicted them.
“I am sorry for your loss, Zoey,” he said. For once, she was glad to have misjudged someone. “What of your mother?”
Zoey shrugged. “Never knew her. She walked out on us when I was two and never looked back. My dad took it hard, though. He loved her. I don’t think he ever got over the pain of knowing she didn’t care about either of us enough to stick around. But my dad was the best there ever was, and he made sure I knew I was loved.” She glanced up at the rearview mirror. Ren’s face was unreadable in the deepening shadows, his eyes masked by his dark sunglasses. “What about your parents?”
“I was born into the Khorzar, which is the class of warriors in aligarii society. A soldier from birth. I knew my parents only as my earliest trainers and chose at a young age to be separated from them to continue my training. They were at the ceremony when I received my nyros and took great
pride in my accomplishment. I have not seen them since.”
“That’s…kind of sad.”
“What’s sad about it?”
“It sounds like you never really had time with them. That you immediately went into this training program, or whatever, and that was it. I couldn’t imagine not having my dad around as a kid. We did everything together, and if he were alive now, I’d be calling him every day to talk.” She blinked back a fresh wave of tears. “I’d give anything just to hear his voice again.”
“I had a strong bond with my Umen’rak. We spent every day together, whether in combat or not. They were my family. Their absence leaves a great emptiness inside me.”
“I know I said it already, but I’m sorry, Ren. Blood doesn’t always make a family. I’m sorry you lost yours.”
A large sign up ahead caught Zoey’s attention.
NO BULL
NO SERVICE FOR THE NEXT 110 MILES
SALINA-NEXT EXIT-ALL SERVICES
Zoey looked down at the dash. She had three-quarters of a tank of gas, a bag of beef jerky, chips, a few candy bars, and a small styrofoam cooler filled with bottled water and packaged sandwiches. It was only 5:42pm. They could make the stretch and book a motel in the next town.
“I’m curious about something,” Zoey said as they drove past the Salina exit. “You keep saying nuros; what is that?”
“Nyros,” he corrected before falling silent.
She glanced at his face in the mirror. His features seemed drawn in thought, though she couldn’t be certain between the caked-on makeup, the sunglasses, and the deepening twilight.
“All of the aligarii receive a lesser form of it, called uldros,” he finally said. “They are…machines, too small to see with the naked eye, that mend the body from within and prolong life. They allow us to heal quickly and battle disease without additional treatment. But aekhora, like me, receive the stronger form, nyros, when coming of age. Strong enough that the bonding kills many hopefuls despite spending their youth in training. Those who survive are honored to become aekhora, the greatest of our soldiers. Those who do not are honored for giving their lives in the attempt to serve the aligarii in a greater capacity.”
“Wow. That sounds amazing and totally scary all at the same time. No wonder you call us primitive. You have tiny machines inside your body.” An oncoming car in the far lane flashed its headlights as it passed. Zoey flipped hers on; it didn’t seem like it should be so dark already, but she’d been caught up in conversation. “So…what does your nyros do? Other than heal you, I mean.”
“I should not tell you any of this,” he said softly. “I’ve already revealed too much.”
“As curious as I am, I can respect that. Betrayal of your kind to a weak human—”
“It is not because I distrust you, Zoey. The more—”
“Ren, I get it. You don’t have to tell me.” She cleared her throat. “Besides…it might be for the best. What if one of those guys gets hold of me and tortures me for information? I don’t like pain, and as much as I’d like to say I wouldn’t break, I can’t make that promise.”
“That is the only reason I am hesitant, Zoey. The more you know of me, the more valuable you become to them.”
“Yep. Totally not looking forward to torture.”
Despite her genuine fear that such a scenario would come to pass, Ren’s words had softened something inside her. He trusted her. Though he’d chosen her car at the rest area by chance, though he’d known her for less than twenty-four hours, he trusted her.
“I gave you my word, on my honor, to keep you safe.” The tone of his voice — the dedication, the graveness — drew her eyes back to the mirror. He’d removed the sunglasses and opened his side-eyes to meet her gaze. “I will not fail in that.”
Zoey smiled. “I know you won’t.”
They continued driving in silence, through snowy hills blanketed in shadow now that the sky had darkened to night. Under other circumstances or with different company she would’ve turned on the radio. Even while she and Joshua were good, their conversations usually died out within fifteen or twenty minutes. With Rendash, she felt no need to fill the silence. It was oddly comforting.
The more she thought about her relationship with Josh, the more she realized how blind she’d been. Sure, he’d often made her laugh, and he had shown her kindness while they were together, but it was nothing more than she had with Melissa — a friendship. Zoey could count on one hand the number of times they’d had real sex during their relationship. All those rare occasions had been in the dark with little foreplay — at least on his end — and usually wound up with porn on at some point.
She’d told herself repeatedly it wasn’t about the sex. What did sex matter when you had someone you could talk to, someone you could depend on?
But Joshua wasn’t dependable. Zoey had worked every day, taking every extra shift available, and he’d taken her hard-earned money and spent it on himself — and on other women, too.
Had she been so desperate for love and companionship that she’d allowed herself to be used for a year?
Pathetic as it felt, the answer was yes. She’d been lonely and craved some stability in her life, a family…something.
Her decision to stay in California, to make it her new beginning, hadn’t gone as she’d imagined. She’d worked small jobs, earning barely enough to pay for her first apartment — a cramped studio — and rarely had time to socialize. After she’d been hired on at Bud’s, she happened to wait on Joshua’s table. His easy smile and laidback manner had drawn her in, and he must’ve seen something in her because they became friends and things quickly progressed from there…
The warning lights on the dash suddenly lit up and the car slowed. Zoey frowned and pressed her foot on the gas pedal, but nothing happened.
Ren grasped the front seats and pulled himself forward. “What is wrong?”
“I-I don’t know.” She attempted to turn the steering wheel, but it barely moved, as though the power steering had failed. “Oh no, oh please, don’t do this to me.”
She battled the wheel to guide the coasting vehicle onto the shoulder, where it finally came to a stop. Shifting it into park, she shut it off and turned the key to start it again. A high-pitched, electric spinning noise — almost like an amplified remote-control car — was the only sound the engine produced; it refused to turn over.
“No, no, no, no! Damnit!” Zoey smacked the steering wheel. Frustration filled her eyes with tears as she dropped her forehead to the wheel in defeat.
“Zoey?” Rendash asked gently from behind her.
“The car’s broken,” she said. “Now we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere.”
“We can walk to the next settlement,” he suggested. His practicality almost made her want to scream.
Zoey lifted her head and looked around the car; they were in a snow-dusted desert with barely enough light to see by.
“We’re maybe halfway to the next town. That’d leave us with fifty miles to walk. Even if I was in the best shape of my life, that’d take me…I don’t know, twelve or thirteen hours. And this is my car! Even if I had my phone to call for a tow, I can’t afford to repair it. I have nothing!” She let her head fall back against the seat. “Nothing.”
Was this rock bottom, so quick to introduce itself after she’d been having a decent day? It sure felt like it. Funny how rock bottom seemed to get a little lower every time she thought she’d finally hit it.
Can’t even win at losing.
“We cannot simply give up and sit here,” Rendash said. “This is a complication. A setback. But it is not the end, Zoey.”
She closed her eyes. “I know. Just give me a few minutes to wallow in self-pity.”
The car rocked gently as Rendash moved. He settled his fingers on her left cheek, and she opened her eyes as he guided her to face him. His features were largely cast in shadow, but his eyes gleamed with faint, reflected light.
“You will not wallow in sel
f-pity,” he said firmly. “We will take action, no matter how small. While we still breathe, we will carry on. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Zoey sighed. “Okay, okay. No more self-pity.”
One day at a time, Zoey. One day at a time.
Though reluctant to break contact with him, Zoey sat up. She pulled the keys out of the ignition, popped the trunk, picked up her purse, and climbed out of the car. The cold sucker-punched her.
“So not dressed for this,” she muttered, rubbing her arms through her long sleeves.
The back door opened and closed as she went to the trunk. Ren stood beside her while she rummaged through her suitcases, stuffing as much of her clothing into the larger of the two as she could. She made sure her photo album was in there, too, before she zipped it up.
Setting the bulging suitcase on the ground, she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and closed the trunk. As much as it hurt to ditch her belongings, Ren’s statement after he’d smashed her phone had been true — stuff could be replaced. Their lives, not so much.
“Bet you’re glad I got you those clothes and boots now, huh?” she asked, looking at Ren.
He glanced down at himself. Even though she’d bought clothes from a big and tall store, they’d had to tear the sides of his shirt and hoodie to allow his lower arms to fit, and his long overcoat hung in a way that made him look too wide. He was also ridiculously tall.
Zoey cracked up laughing when the image of Ren’s coat opening to reveal he’d been three waist-high aliens standing on each other’s shoulders slipped into her mind.
“Should I be wary of the sudden shift in your demeanor, human?” Ren asked as he took the suitcase from her.
“No wallowing, right?”
“Right,” he agreed. He shifted his attention to their surroundings. “Shall we begin?”
Zoey stared at her car. It wasn’t new, luxurious, or even nice, but it had been the first major purchase of her life, bought with money she’d earned, and it had seen her through a lot over the years. This second cross-country trip had simply proven too much for it.
Claimed by an Alien Warrior Page 9
