by Viola Grace
She stood until her fingers glowed nearly white hot, and then, she walked off the bridge and waited for herself to cool down by looking out over the melting valley. He was definitely closer.
She ate when she was no longer glowing, and by the afternoon, she could read up on Los and the mating practices of the population.
The fruit was key to triggering breeding in males and females. They just didn’t go into season without it, and dried didn’t cut it. It had to be fresh.
Idalia wondered idly if they had ever tried freeze drying and rehydrating in natural spring water.
After dinner in the evening, she lay down on the bridge for a nap. It wasn’t something she had to do, but it felt super relaxing to just nod off over the heat and let it sink in.
That was when the dreams came.
She woke up, startled, checking her clothing, and it was all there. So was one of the fire kittens from her dream. The dream was fading quickly, but the fire kitten watched her as she left the bridge and stretched.
She turned, and the kitten dissipated. “Huh. That’s new.”
Her skin was glowing softly, and she waited until it downgraded in colour before she passed the mark in the floor. There were graduated markings on the floor that told her where she could go at what temperature. She walked out onto the balcony and looked at the rapid progress that she had made over a week.
Food was delivered on schedule every day and that was a good thing because she had no idea where she could go to get any. That made her a little nervous, but she just took the meals and ate them, then got on with her day. If the food ever didn’t show up, she would have to head out to look for food.
Idalia tried to remember the dreams. She couldn’t. She could only remember that she was wrapped in careful heat and held until it was time for her to return topside. She remembered a low rumbling voice that was smooth as water over rocks. It was funny that she thought of water when she was surrounded by fire.
She looked out over the valley and sighed. The farmers were moving through it, and crops were being planted and trees tended. Not bad for a week of standing over fire.
Her handlers and the speaker came to her the next week and did a checkup.
The speaker asked, “Are you feeling all right?”
“A little weak, and my skin is kinda itchy, but otherwise, fine.”
The speaker beckoned to the medic. “Itchy how?”
“Uh, itchy. I am trying not to rub at it because an ashy stuff comes off. Soaking in the pools makes it worse, so I am just trying to minimize the ashing.”
They medic got her to take a seat, and he scraped a tool along her skin. There was a small pile of ash when he finished. They spoke rapidly and nodded to each other. Idalia frowned and tried to keep up, but she only heard the word change. “I thought I was done transforming.”
They stared at her. The speaker looked at her and said, “We were not expecting this to work, so there were details omitted from the brief. If Los finds you acceptable, he will continue your transformation into something that can... uh... withstand him.”
Idalia blinked, “Beg your pardon?”
“He is not like us on the surface; he is hot all the time. If he is to touch you, he has to be able to come into contact with you and not set you on fire.”
“Set me on what now?” She blinked and looked at the spot that the medic had scraped. It looked like embers were glowing under her skin. “Oh... that’s new.”
“Go to the pools and scrub your skin as best you can. It seems that you meet with Los’s approval. Have you heard from him?”
“Heard how?”
“It has been a few centuries, but I believe that the dreams are the first sign.”
Idalia rubbed her forehead. “I don’t remember the dreams.”
The speaker leaned forward eagerly. “But you have them?”
“Yes. I get called to the crevice, and I nap there. That is when the dreams come.”
The group got excited.
The speaker leaned in. “He summons you?”
“Yeah, after dinner. I go in there and lie down, and then, I fall asleep.” She smiled. “Lately, there is a fire kitten watching me when I wake, and it makes sure I get off the bridge without any issues.” Idalia blinked. “It is taking me longer to cool down now though.”
“How long?”
“Close to an hour? Even the balcony isn’t cooling me as fast as it used to.”
“Ah. This is good. Very good. We were not anticipating it to work.”
“Yeah, you said that, so you were all just going to evacuate the planet and leave me here to starve?”
There was a frozen expression on the speaker’s face. She tried to recover. “We just wanted to make sure that you were doing well. We wouldn’t have left you without supplies.”
“Fine. Bring them now. Supplies for a year. Here. In a safe area. I am tired of waiting for food in the mornings and evenings. The schedules have been slipping, and it is making me unsure.”
“What about the mid-day meal?”
Idalia blinked. “What mid-day meal?”
The speaker’s face was outraged, and she barked queries. Idalia squinted and tried to listen harder. There was something about sabotage, idiots, lazy bastards, and limp-dicked morons? Wow. The speaker had really let go.
The speaker nodded and more orders were given. Two of the men bolted. “They will bring the meals that are prepared and a dispenser unit that will store and heat them for you. You will have enough for three meals a day for a year. That should be enough to complete the process. Actually, the way you are going, it should be within a month.”
“What happens then?”
“When Los rises, he can control the heat, and we can return to being a warm world with green growing spaces so that we don’t need to grow in the caves around here.”
“Uh-huh. What happens to me?”
“Oh, uh. You will be his consort.”
“So, I am expected to have sex with him?”
“It was in the contract.”
Idalia wrinkled her nose. “I know that, but I wasn’t sure that you did.”
The speaker burst out laughing, and she leaned in. “My name is Lal by the way.”
“Idalia.” She inclined her head because she was pretty sure that she was running hotter than was comfortable. “Why are you the only one who talks to me?”
“Los doesn’t like you to have male companionship. It is just tradition at this point. He hasn’t figured out that some women like women, so we just pretend that this is the way that makes sense.”
Idalia chuckled. “Right, well, this is going to affect me using the library, isn’t it?”
“We will work on getting you something that you can use as it seems to be helping you adapt.”
“Uh-huh. When can I go out and actually see Los?”
Lal smiled. “When he is with you. He needs you here until then. There is no other place to call him from.”
Idalia felt the tug to nap, and she sighed. “Well, I have to rest, so you all need to leave.”
Lal frowned. “What?”
“You know how you said he would call me? Well, something is calling.”
She got up and walked past the gathered personnel and into the room with the bridge. She stood on the bridge, sat down, and stretched out. Warmth surrounded her, fire kittens cuddled with her, and she slept.
Chapter Three
Idalia breathed in and out on the bridge, and she soon fell into a deep sleep.
The landscape was made of fire. Her dream always started the same way.
“Ah, precious one. You are here.”
She turned and slowly stared at the glowing creature that walked out of the pool of lava.
“Precious one? Really? That old trope?” She smiled slightly. “I know you, but I don’t know you.”
“It is necessary until you are able to withstand my touch. It wouldn’t do to have you fling yourself
toward me in search of a caress.”
“Cocky bugger, aren’t you?”
He inclined his head. “You say that a lot. I am looking forward to the day I can hold you in my arms.”
“Where are we?”
“A place in between dimensions. Your consciousness is here, and your body is being adjusted so that I can touch you.”
He was pacing around her slowly.
“Um, why would you want to touch me? I am just a miniscule little alien. I believe those were your words. It was repetitive. Miniscule and little mean the same thing.”
He continued to look her over. “Do they? It is your brain that is translating them.”
“Ah. Well, that is my bad taste. I always was a bit of a stickler for grammar. Tricking people into goofing is a hobby of mine.”
She felt him get closer. She could tell because she was getting warmer.
“Why are you coming closer?”
“Because I want to. We have discussed this.” He chuckled. “You have tried to run. I always catch you.”
“Why?”
He paused. “What?”
“Why are you pursuing me?”
“Ah. Well, you are mine, I am yours, and you will pull me toward the surface, and we will begin a new life in the sun.” His head dipped toward her. “I look forward to seeing you in the sun.”
His hand trailed over her bicep.
She tried to focus on his face, but she couldn’t see him. He was white hot, but he didn’t burn. It just blurred her view of him, and she could not make out features. If Los looked like his people, he would have had grey skin, crimson eyes, and white-black-grey hair. The way he moved though, he was something else.
He had wings. That was definitely different. None of the Los had wings.
He sang to her. She blinked but then swayed. The song wasn’t words, it was sound and images of a green and lush world, laughing population, and Idalia, or rather her overhauled body standing next to him, still unable to see his face, but he had wings made of fire.
He wrapped his arms around her and settled clawed hands against her abdomen, which was obviously occupied with a developing infant. His song continued as his head bent for a kiss.
Idalia jolted awake and panted. Her skin was hot orange and pulsing with power.
Lal was waiting for her in the safe zone. “Idalia, you are...”
“On fire? I know. I am pretty sure that is what he was going for.” The dream faded, but there was a song in her mind that hadn’t been there before.
Idalia got up and walked off the bridge, saw Lal flinch from the heat, and took the long way to get to the balcony. “He’s getting closer.”
Lal nodded. “But how are you? You were out for hours.”
“Oh. I am fine. Do you hear that?” She looked around to find the source of the sound.
“No, Idalia. I don’t hear anything. What are you hearing?”
“There is a song. I hear a song. It doesn’t have words, and it wraps around me and pulls at me but is in here.” Idalia tapped her head.
“I have not heard of such things with the maidens, but I can look into it. You are hearing music?”
“I am hearing a song. A vocalization with no words. It is familiar, but I have never heard anything like it before.”
Lal nodded. “Okay. I will check the archives. Does it occur with your species?”
“Definitely not.”
“Right. I will look into it. Do you feel cooler?”
“A little bit. I will head over to the pools and scrub the ash off.”
“You feel you have sloughed more?”
“I know I have.” She drew her finger down her cooling arm and flicked the ash away. “I just don’t want to boil the water off, so I will wait a bit.”
Lal nodded. “I can get within five feet of you now.”
Idalia chuckled. “I get the feeling that the end game is to have my skin encased in living fire.”
“That is what happened to the others. That is in our archives.”
“Okay. Well then, I hope there are pumice loofahs. I need a scrub.” Idalia turned and looked at her in the doorway. “You might want to step back. I don’t want to frizz your hair.”
Lal stepped back and nodded. “I will head to the archive and look that up. The food centre has been installed, but you have to be normal temperatures to use it, so practice chilling down.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Idalia headed for the bathing area and only sizzled slightly as she sank into the first of the tubs. This was the one where she scrubbed as it had the strongest current. The rocks that she had taken to using were nearby, and she grabbed her pumice and set to work. The skin under the ash was smooth and grey. It didn’t even feel the harsh grating of the rock. She hummed along with the tune in her head and stopped, the rock over her abdomen. She had the memory of huge clawed hands holding her belly, her skin a dark pewter colour. Her hair had settled into a silver and white, cascading around her shoulders. Apparently, hair was easy.
It was difficult to reach her back, but she scrubbed as best she could before scraping her upper back along the edge of the stone tub. The outer layer was coming off in sheets of ash. Things got messy.
She washed more in the next tub, and the water got grey and swirled away. She contaminated ten of the pools before the water ran clear. She was dark, shiny pewter. Shit.
The song got stronger.
“Oh, shut up!”
She splashed out of the pools, her skin evaporated the water in seconds, and she got dressed in the same outfit she had been wearing since she got there. It hadn’t melted or twisted in the chronic heat.
She headed for the library, looking out at the night sky, the three moons, and the unfamiliar constellations. Her eyes had adapted to the darkness. She could even read in the dark, which was good as that was what she had in mind right then.
She entered the library and pulled out a history of Los’s maidens. It was a fascinating read. Some were consorts, some were companions, and others were assistants. They were all women, and they were all from Los. She was the first break from tradition.
She looked at the clothing that the maidens wore, and it was very similar to the outfit she had in place. So, this was a uniform for identification.
She read a few of the diaries of the first maidens, and they all wrote very vaguely about Los, either out of respect or they didn’t remember.
The skirt was clunky, and the lack of shoes was annoying... and the stupid song in her head kept going on and on.
She closed the book and got up. She might have napped on the bridge, but the only thing that would silence that damned song was a proper night’s sleep.
Idalia headed to her bedroom, near the crevice, and lay back on the stone. The weird thing about running as hot as she was, was that she didn’t need bed coverings, pillows, or anything. She did need to strip though, so she shucked out of her clothing and curled up on her side. The song lulled her into sleep.
* * * *
Los crawled out of the crevice silently and looked around for his mate. He found her curled into a ball in the corner. Ta-da.
He wanted to touch her, but she wasn’t quite ready yet. After eons of waiting, someone had found him a mate. He wanted to roll her to her back and stroke her until the new oils slicked her for his entrance, but those oil glands weren’t active yet, and they were necessary. At the temperature she was running, nothing water-based was possible.
He grinned as he moved his hand over her flank. As it was, they were going to smoke when they got together. The first heat was always the strongest, but she was needed to disperse the heat across the globe. He couldn’t do it without her. He grinned as his wings swept out to help him balance. Well, he could do it without her, but it wasn’t going to be nearly as much fun.
He took his pinky and drew a small design on her thigh. She frowned in her sleep and batted at him, but he dodged the touch. Her skin was a deep pewte
r, and the design that he drew came out bright silver. It was a simple pattern that would be easily identified for anyone on the world.
He pressed a kiss to her lips while using his song to keep her under. The kiss was slow and relatively chaste, but when he lifted his head, her lips were glowing and fading to silver.
He chuckled. There were no mirrors here, so she might notice the mark on her thigh, but it would be the others who would notice her lips. It was a sign that he was rising and that he had his consort at long last.
He kissed her forehead and got up to return to the crevice. He stepped over the edge and fell into the lava. A few more days and he would be with his consort.
She had heard his song.
Chapter Four
She scrubbed at her thigh, even though her skirt covered most of it when it was lying straight. Where it had come from, she had no idea, but when Lal came in that morning and stared at her, she knew that something else was up.
“Idalia, your mouth.”
“What?” It hadn’t felt different when she had breakfast.
“Is Los here? Did he rise?”
Idalia shook her head. “No. Why would you think that?”
Lal blinked. “Your lips are silver. It was a mark of favour offered by Los to his lovers.”
“Was it? Ah. No. I haven’t seen him.” She remembered feeling really warm as she slept. Had that been him?
She looked at Lal and pulled her skirt aside at the split. “What does this say?”
Lal covered her mouth with her hand, and she giggled. “Los’s rose. You might not have seen him, but he was definitely there.”
Idalia returned her skirt to normal position. “So, he creeped in and kissed me before tattooing me?”
“I think it was a heat marking, but it looks hand done.”
“Ah, so he touched me. In my sleep. Delightful.” She growled it, and the song in her mind continued cheerfully.
Lal looked at her wide-eyed. “No, you don’t understand, this is amazing. We have been sending our women up here for decades. Nothing. You show up, and a few weeks later, he is physically crawling out of the crust to touch you, and then, he returns.”
