by Ruby Dixon
Raven’s Return
A SciFi Alien Romance
Ruby Dixon
Copyright © 2020 by Ruby Dixon
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Photo by: Sara Eirew Photographer
Cover design by: Kati Wilde
Editing: Aquila Editing
Mistakes: All mine, baby.
Created with Vellum
Contents
RAVEN’S RETURN
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Epilogue
Epilogue II
Author’s Note
PEOPLE OF ICEHOME
Want More to Read?
RAVEN’S RETURN
No one ever comes back for me.
I’ve always been on my own, and why should it be any different on an ice planet? So when I’m kidnapped by a feral outcast, I suspect I’d better learn to love raw fish and rough living.
Then…U’dron comes to my rescue.
He’s always understood me more than anyone else. He’s been my friend and my confidante. We’ve made music together. And now that he’s my hero? The crush I’ve had on him is turning into something more, something deeper. He won’t want me when he hears my terrible secrets, though.
But it turns out that U’dron has a secret of his own…
1
RAVEN
I wake up with a groan and a throbbing headache and a terrible taste in my mouth. With a cough, I sit up, wiping at my lips as I look around. Disoriented, I peer into the darkness, trying to recall what happened and where I am. I know I should be heading toward the far end of the camp, where the dragon has landed. Everyone's going to be gathered around Mari, T'chai, Veronica and Ashtar wanting all the gossip from the other tribe. There'll probably be a feast and a celebration of some kind.
I do like the celebrations. I like singing and dancing, and it makes me feel like less of a fraud when I'm in my element. Plus, when I'm singing, U'dron watches me like…well, like I'm something special. I like that, too. I rub my face, my skin covered in grit, and grimace. What was I doing? I rack my brain, trying to think. Right. I was collecting driftwood on the beach and had gone to the far end of what's considered “safe” territory. I'd seen footprints in the sand and they'd alarmed me because they were so small. I know what an alien footprint looks like—it's huge. And human footprints are “normal” sized. But this set of footprints was alarmingly small, and I'd had visions of one of the children wandering away, alone. I could return to the group and let the others know, but the tide was coming in quickly, and so I rushed ahead.
I followed the footprints farther and farther from camp, crossing over rocky shoals because I saw they continued onto the sand on the other side. I followed them…only to find myself in a tidal cave that got filled up with water. It was up to my knees before I could even think, and still I went deeper into the cave, because I didn't want to leave a kid behind.
I might be a shitty person, but I'm absolutely not that shitty.
The last thing I remember was something touching the back of my head, and then darkness. I must have run into a rock of some kind, or the water pushed me under.
Okay, so…I'm dead?
I'm dead. Fine. Whatever.
I rub my forehead, wondering why my mouth tastes weird and minty if I drowned. I open my eyes, squinting at my surroundings. It's dark as fuck, but I can't see stars overhead. I shiver, plucking at the wet material of my tunic. If I'm dead, why's it so fucking cold then? My tits are freezing and I can barely feel my toes. Okay, I must not be dead, then.
I'm still in the cave. Somehow. I blow on my chilled fingers, wondering if someone's going to come get me or if I'm on my own.
My mouth twists with amusement at that. Bitch, you have always been on your own, I tell myself. Quit expecting anything different.
Right. Okay, so I'm alone. I reach into the darkness and to my surprise, I touch something rough and prickly that feels like coral. It's the size of a Christmas tree, I realize, as I keep touching and find more and more of it. I…don't recall seeing that in the cave. If anything, the cave was completely empty when I entered it…at least from what I could tell. So did the coral wash up while I slept? Or am I in a completely different cave?
And if so, how the hell did I get here?
A rock skitters somewhere behind me. My skin prickles all over.
"Hello?" I get to my feet, and everything hurts. Everything. I cough up more saltwater and wince at my leg—it feels like it was scraped raw. "Who's out there? U'dron?"
I don't know why I call for U'dron.
Well, okay, I do know why. I'm quite possibly infatuated with the guy. He's big and strong and caring, and he's got this beard that seems to do a number on me. He watches me intently all the time, as if he wants to memorize every word I say. And he plays a mean drum and manages to keep the beat I lay down, no matter how odd. He doesn't know who I really am, so it's a little disheartening to realize that the person he flirts with is a lie. That the Raven he's friendly with is nothing but a big ol' fib.
So I tell myself I don't like him all that much. I tell myself that just like in the past, the only person I can count on is me. And that goes for right now, too.
It's why I modulate my voice to the sweeter tone I've adopted since coming to the ice planet. "Guys? Who's out there? Anyone? It's me, Raven."
There's no response. Okay, well, I have two options. I can stay in this cave and freeze my tits off, or I can try to find a way out.
I shuffle forward, feeling around until I see light. Then, I head toward it and come out into open air. It's nighttime, and the stars are out overhead. It's not much warmer out here, and there's a stiff breeze. More than that, though, there's enough light for me to get a good look around at where I am.
I'm on the beach.
That part's not surprising. The part that is a little alarming is that this is a different part of the beach than I've ever seen before. Here, the cliffs are tall and menacing and offer no way up their steep sides. I look around, but the only way to get off this sliver of beach that I'm on is…through the water. And since it's slushy with ice and teeming with all kinds of terrifying things, that's a hard pass for me. Shivering, I cross my arms and take a few steps down the beach, looking around. My boots are soggy and wet, squishing with every step I take. The tide is in, and at the edge of the water, there's a ton of debris and junk piled up. It's as if shit's been washing up on the shore for weeks and weeks and no one's bothered to clean it off or gather it, which is…weird. I pick up a piece of wood that looks sturdy, and then another piece. A
ll of this wood is good stuff if it's taken out of the water and dried out. The beach over by our camp has been picked clean, with all of the guys gone hut-building-crazy.
That makes me think of U'dron again, because he's hinted he built his hut for me. I giggled and said nothing, escaping away without responding, but I've kept that tidbit close to my heart for weeks now. I can't take him up on the offer, but it's still kind of lovely to think about.
Wherever I am, the tribe hasn't been here. None of the clans—Shadow Cat, Tall Horn, or Strong Arm—have been here. And that's a little terrifying. If they don't know where I am, how can they find me?
"Hello?" I call again, a little more desperately. "Can anyone hear me?"
How did I get to this place? This isn't motherfucking Narnia. I can't go through a door to another world. This is an ice planet. I'm starting to panic, and I force myself to calm down.
You've got this, Raven. You know how to survive. Build a fire, like the others showed you. Warm up, and then you can figure out where the hell you are in the morning when it's warmer.
Warmer. Hah.
I change my mental note to “Less Shittily Cold” and go with it.
I pick up a second piece of wood, pulling it out of the pile, and then toss it back down. Too wet. If I'm going to start a fire from scratch—somehow—it needs to be dry. God. In this moment, I wish I'd picked a better fake persona than a hippie love child. I haven't gone hunting like the others. I've barely made fire. I help with the cooking and skinning and gathering, but I'm feeling woefully inadequate right now. If I ever do this again, the next Raven is going to be a bad bitch. Being likable doesn't do shit when you're stranded on a beach alone.
I pick up another piece of wood, then straighten and pause.
A figure steps out from behind some of the wreckage, hopping down over the piles of driftwood and pacing toward me.
It's a child, I realize, as the figure approaches, though it doesn't look like any of the kids back at camp. His eyes are khui blue and glow in the spooky way all of our eyes glow in the dark. It's hard to see due to the shadows, but I'm also pretty sure he doesn't have four arms. He doesn't look human, either, though. There’s a strange flatness to his features that marks him as alien, as do the tiny horns at his brow and the shock of wild pale hair that sticks right up from his head like a flame. Not quite human, but he doesn’t quite match the aliens I’ve seen, either.
The mystery of the footprints has been solved, at least. Thank god.
The strange child tilts his head and watches me, then crouches on his haunches like a wild animal. He’s totally naked, I realize, despite the cold weather, and can’t be more than three or four years old.
Is he feral, then? How the hell did that happen?
"Hi there, cutie. Who are you?" I smile, my voice sweet, and hold a hand out to him. "Are you cold?"
His tail swishes back and forth, and as it stirs the sand like a brush, I realize that it’s much, much shorter than the alien tails I’ve seen. It’s stubby and bushy. He giggles at me and then scampers away on hands and knees, racing back to the piles of driftwood.
I straighten, wondering if I should chase him. As I do, I look up.
Another pair of eyes flare to life in the darkness. Bigger. Narrowed.
Menacing.
Uh oh. I stare at the second newcomer as he approaches and realize I am in some serious, serious shit. I'm not stranded on this beach alone. I'm here with an adult stranger, too. This has to be the dad of the kid…and he does not look thrilled to see me.
In the slightest.
I hesitate for a moment, terrified, and then decide to play it like I've played everything else. I adopt my “Raven” persona, smoothing out my features to a blissful smile that promises nothing but zen. "Hi there. I'm Raven."
The newcomer drops to a low crouch, watching me. His eyes are still narrowed with wariness, but I feel like I'm making progress.
"Can you take me home?" I ask. When that doesn't elicit a response, I try again. "Do you speak English? Sa-khui?" I try the few words I know in the alien tongue. Things like “hello” and “food” and “fire.”
The stranger reacts to none of them. He simply watches me.
"Okay then. I'm on the beach with a pair of strangers. I have no idea how I got here, and no one's talking. Cool." I sigh and pick up another piece of wood. "If you're not going to talk to me, let's at least build a fire, hm?"
The child tilts his head at me and breaks into a wide smile. For some reason, they don't feel like the enemy, and I smile back. I have no idea who they are, but maybe we can be friends. Maybe we can figure out how to get home before we turn into icicles. The kid reaches out and picks up a piece of wood, handing it to me. I take it, glancing over at his dad, and he hasn't moved. All righty then. I start humming the first song that pops into my head—Ginuwine's "Pony". It's a staple at any strip club and one of my go-tos. With a song in my head and a plan, I get to work.
Even if I can't build a fire, I can at least work on one. It beats laying around and freezing to death.
I gather wood until dawn, tossing it all into a pile farther up the beach. My teeth chatter and my wet clothes stick to my skin, so I peel off several layers and spread them out in the sand. After all, the kid and his dad aren't freezing despite the fact that they're wearing next to nothing, so I do the same. I'm uncomfortably cold, but it's somehow not as bad. I keep moving, too, singing and adding a little dancing step here and there to warm my body with a bit of cardio. The kid watches me with interest, handing me pieces of wood as I work.
The dad just watches me.
By the time the sun comes up, I'm wiped out. I have a decent pile of mostly dry wood from farther up the beach, and I've found a pair of rocks that can produce a spark when struck together. "See, I've learned something," I whisper to the world around me. I gather up some dried, needle-like grass that's fallen at the edges of the cliffs and use it for tinder. With a few strikes of the rocks, I make a spark.
The small boy makes a startled sound in his throat.
I look over. "What is it?"
But he only snaps his mouth shut and backs away a step. A moment later, the father comes over and ushers his child away with a scowl. Right. Okay.
I turn back to my fire-making and spark the rocks again. I lean over the tiny pile of smoking tinder to blow on it. It doesn't take too long to make a flame—thank god—and I transfer it over to the wood in the fire pit I've prepared. It takes a few minutes, but the flames finally start to lick at the branches, and I sigh with relief, holding my hands out to the warmth.
The boy returns, and his father. They sit near the fire, opposite me, and both look at me suspiciously.
"Sure," I say. "Come hang out. Plenty of room for everyone." I lie down in the sand, cradling my head against my arm. Now that there's a hint of warmth, I'm exhausted. I'll sleep for a bit, I decide, and then head off looking for the way home.
I can't be far.
2
U'DRON
When a full night passes without any sign of R'ven, I suspect that someone in the beach tribe is hiding her from me. My anger steams and bubbles in my chest as I get my spear and sharpen the point. Someone in this cluster of clans knows that R'ven is special to me. They know that I feel things for her, things that must surely come with resonance, and they do not want that. They do not want Shadow Cat clan to resonate…and so they hide her from me.
I confess this to A'tam, who rolls his eyes. "My clan brother, I am not the cleverest, and even I know this is a foolish thought. Why would they hide her from you?"
"What else can it be?" I scrape the rock along the edge of my bone spear, making the sides of the point as deadly as possible. "All the males are here, yet she is gone. And M'tok and S'bren stole females. I heard R'hosh stole his female. Someone has stolen her from me." My jaw clenches.
"You resonated to her?" A'tam asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
"No. It does not matter. I will."
He snorts.
I notice he has no spear in hand. In fact, he holds a cup of the shrimp tea and looks as if he plans to hang around the campfire, no doubt to be around the fickle B'shit. "Be silent and ready your weapon. We will hunt for her this morning."
A'tam laughs. "You will? Now I have seen everything. If she is lost, then she truly is doomed." He places a friendly hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off, my anger simmering. Normally, I take my clan's ribbing with good-natured endurance, but today I do not find this amusing. A'tam finally notices my mood and flicks me with his tail. "Do not be so angry, my friend. We will find her. She probably stared at the stars for too long and wandered away. You know how that one is."
I stiffen. "And how is that one, exactly?"
"Strange." He chuckles into his cup. "Strange for even a hyoo-man female."
He does not know her like I do. None of them do. I jerk to my feet, frustrated, and when I turn, I see O'jek and I'rec approaching, spears in hand. A surge of relief hits me. At least they take this seriously. "Are we ready to hunt for R'ven?" I ask, trying to keep the impatience from my voice. "The suns are up. We should go out soon. If she has been out all night, she will be cold and afraid."
I'rec nods, his expression grim. "R'hosh and his hunters are taking to the hills. I told them we would move along the beach and the caves, since Shadow Cat has the best sense of smell."
