The Krinar's Bane

by May Sage

  Her friend gasped in shock.

  “Eva, if he fancies you, we have to go now, before something happens. You’re not a goddamned xeno.”

  She recoiled at the insult.

  “I’m not, and you know it. But you always push me to go with the flow when I think a guy is hot, and well…”

  “With a human guy!” Julie yelled impatiently.

  Zarken found the entire exchange as amusing as it was enlightening. She wasn’t used to men in general; that explained some of the skittishness. He drank a sip of his scotch and contacted his computer again.

  Analyze reaction.

  Subject two is classified as Type Undetermined.

  Undetermined. Zarken wondering if that was what had piqued his interest. He’d studied over a million humans on Earth, and she came up as Undetermined? He should have nailed her entire species by now. He frowned.

  Report on subject one. Analyze subject two in the background. Name subject two, Eva.

  Julie was of no relevance; she could stay subject one for a night.

  Subject one will use her personal experience to influence Eva. Eva’s response is inconclusive.

  “Listen to me, Eva. You know I love you like family, so that’s why I say this: you plunge with both feet, into any situation, and you drown. You always do. It never matters because you can just get up and learn your lesson, normally, but this time? If you go with your gut you can end up buried six feet under.”

  He glanced left and saw Eva’s shoulders sagging in defeat. Was she falling for that? Shit.

  Determine countermeasure.

  That part of his program wasn’t even remotely ready. He hadn’t even mentioned it to the Elders, intending to keep it to himself until he could be certain that it worked.

  They’d wanted to know what the humans would do; they hadn’t asked him how to change their mind. But there was a reason why Zarken had a higher standing in their society than most Ks. He never settled for anything less than excellence.

  Bring them drinks, praise Eva, offer to meet them both in a public venue, at a later date. Two to four days recommended.

  Each and every one of his instincts rebelled against it. He’d had no intention of leaving without Eva tonight; he wanted to bury himself inside her for hours on end.

  But there was a reason he’d created that algorithm, and he wasn’t about to ruin what was effectively his first trial because he couldn’t subdue his lust. Zarken wasn’t a young, volatile Krinar led by his dick, and for all his skills, if there was one thing he truly excelled at, it was control.

  He contacted the surveillance equipment installed around the club, before signaling the bartender again; the man immediately abandoned the drink he was currently serving to run back to him.

  “I’ll have another scotch, a Sex on the Beach, and a Blowjob, please.”

  He left a tip, and made his way towards the two women, one of whom looked like she’d rather drink her own urine than take a beverage from him, but he pretended not to notice.

  “For you, lovely ladies,” he said, meeting Eva’s friend’s distrustful gaze. “The bartender recalled your poison of choice, luckily. You’ll have to accept these as an apology, I’m going to have to go sooner than expected.”

  The friend perked up at that, but he was quick to dash her hopes. “I would very much like to see you again, though, Eva.”

  “Why?” Eva asked, shocked and clueless.

  Ah. So, she’d believed he’d only wanted her for instant gratification, because she was there right now. Could he blame her? He’d also assumed so, yet here he was.

  Because I need to feel you come undone under me. Because touching you has made me feel more alive than anything else I’ve done for the last hundred years. Because in this entire world, nothing intrigues me as much as you.

  He could have said any of that, but knowing just how nervous he made her feel, he went for another truth. “Amongst other reasons, I’m running a program that analyses human behavior. Call it a hobby of mine. You threw it off, for some reason. I’d love to know why.”

  She looked downright disappointed, but her friend seemed almost smug; and reassured, too.

  “I wouldn’t need more than five minutes of your time, and we could go for a drink afterwards. You’re welcome to bring Julie along, of course.”

  “And if she doesn’t want to see you, then what?” the antagonistic human asked.

  Good question. Very good question in fact. As his program couldn’t predict Eva’s response, there was the possibility that he wouldn’t see her again after tonight. Right then, he regretted not having asked her surname, at the very least. In a city as populous as Washington, a first name was an insufficient piece of information to track one woman down.

  Would he bother trying to find her?

  To his surprise, he had to admit that yes. Yes, he would.

  Well, that changed things.

  Running through his options, Zarken decided to remotely direct one of his nanocytes.

  Drop one in Eva’s bag, he commended his computer. Carry on analyzing data.

  If he intended to stalk her, might as well do it properly.

  “Oh, Julie, you and I both know that Eva wants to see me. The only question is, is she going to let you stop her?” Then, he turned to his human doll, and pressed his lips on her forehead.

  Her breathing quickened, and she gaped. He could feel her heart beat on his chest; what was more surprising yet was that the rhythm of his had also quickened.

  Zarken really didn’t want to let go, but he forced himself to do just that.

  “I’ll be taking a tour of your White House the day after tomorrow. Be there at nine in the morning.”

  He didn’t formulate it as a question. She would be there. And if she wasn’t, he’d see her on that day, regardless.

  Six

  An Old Friend

  Zarken got back to the apartment he’d purchased in Washington too late to do anything productive in a human city. He caught a couple of hours of sleep, before getting up and making himself a coffee.

  It was strange; no human beverage affected him much, but caffeine, he’d developed a taste for. He might miss it when he got back to Krina in three weeks. Perhaps he ought to analyze it in order to replicate it later.

  Three weeks.

  It had seemed like an infinite amount of time not so long ago, but now, Zarken frowned, the prospect of his flight home seeming slightly unpleasant. Trying to pinpoint why, he recalled that he now had an undetermined situation to assess.

  He smiled, thinking about his doll. Eva.

  Was his memory exaggerating the way just touching her had set him ablaze? Probably. Still, he was looking forward to the next day.

  Where is she now? He asked his computer, which didn’t take long to locate the nanocytes she’d taken with her.

  It shared a location. Good. She was close by.

  Not close enough, however. Krinars liked to have what belonged to them right under their thumb, and Zarken knew that until he’d taken her all night, until she’d taken everything he had to give and satisfied him, she’d remain his, at least in his mind. His shiny new obsession.

  He should have brought her to his place and kept her there until he’d had enough, the previous night. But the opportunity had been too good to pass up; he’d seen his prototype in action. Tomorrow, he’d know if the counter-measure had been effective.

  And if it hadn’t been, if she wasn’t going to be there…

  Connect to the Earthen database. Cross reference the information we have on file about Eva against the address where she’s staying now. Pull her file.

  There. Issue sorted. If she wasn’t there in the morning, he’d go find her.

  Not one to slum it, Zarken had brought Krinar technology with him. He got his home, fitted with intelligent technology, to prepare his breakfast while he got cleaned. He’d just started eating when a discreet signal alerted him of an incoming communication.

  “Ah, finally,�
� he greeted the Krinar when he virtually appeared in front of him. “Glad you got back to me, Korum.”

  “I told the Council, and I’ll say it again. The answer is no,” the Krinar said, definitive. “I’m not submitting my charl to your experiment.”

  Zarken had been extremely surprised when he’d heard that Korum, the youngest Krinar whose standing had ever surpassed his, had bound his fate with a human girl. He hadn’t seen the appeal at the time; after meeting Eva, he understood a little better. They could be pretty enough, obviously. But getting a charl, and then marrying her? That was another matter altogether. A commitment one didn’t do lightly.

  Zarken didn’t care about their relationship; not one bit. The reason why he’d contacted Korum, and formally asked to speak to his charl, was because she might end up being crucial to the development of his program. She was exactly the type of human being he needed to analyze. She had, against reason, against logic, against everything that should have stopped her, joined the resistance, given into her fear of them ‒ the unknown. Unlike regular humans who’d never been tested, and those who’d already joined the resistance because of their personal experiences, she’d joined because she’d been prompted to do so, and more fascinatingly yet, she had changed her mind about their race later. Without using her, his program might end up highly flawed.

  “Come on, young friend. You owe me a favor or two.”

  Korum’s expression hardened.

  “They don’t extend to my mate. That’s a no.”

  Zarken lifted a brow, surprised by his choice of word. He saw her as a mate, did he? That changed things.

  “Korum, I assure you that I will not in any way, shape, or form, harm the woman. I just need to ask a few questions, and monitor her cerebral activity while she answers. It’s entirely non-invasive, I’m using the nanocytes you created to record everything I need.”

  The Krinar softened a little. “What sort of questions?”

  Zarken grimaced, knowing he wouldn’t like his answer. “Nothing personal,” he assured him. “Isn’t it enough to know that the project is entirely backed by Lahur?”

  “No.” Korum was firm and final.

  Their race was always protective, but he hadn’t expected his old apprentice to be quite so unwilling to negotiate terms.

  “She’s essential to my project, or I wouldn’t ask,” he pleaded, and Korum let out a frustrated sigh.

  “Send me your list of questions for approval. We’ll be using my nanocytes - not whatever you’ve modified. And I will be testing her here. Understood?”

  “That should work.” He really didn’t need to be present, and right now, he was in no hurry to leave the crowded city.

  Zarken considered ending the conversation, but paused for a second, hesitant. Finally, he opted to come out and just say it. “You’ve actually united your fate to this human girl.”

  “And?” the other Krinar growled, an edge to his voice.

  Zarken shrugged. “You know me, I’m simply curious. In two thousand years, you haven’t found a Krinar you might want to live with, but within a few months, you marry your charl… Why?”

  Korum’s posture lost all defensiveness, and the young, annoyingly perceptive Krinar laughed. “No,” he said. “This isn’t curiosity, Zarken. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so…animated.”

  He cocked a brow. Animated? Zarken wasn’t moving, his expression just as blank as it always was. Or so he’d thought.

  “Your eyes, old friend,” Korum mocked, copying his tone. “Who would have thought it? Zarken and a human.”

  “Hardly.”

  He intended to leave it at that, but Korum carried on smirking down at him, downright smug.

  “I met a human woman,” he admitted reluctantly. “Quite a charming one, too. But it was just a few hours ago, don’t sign me up for a cross-species union quite yet. Still, I wonder. With no hope of a child, and a lower intelligence, why choose one of them?”

  “You’re assuming I had a choice in the matter. I didn’t. It’s quite simple, really, Zarken. I woke up one morning, and realized that when I was looking at the rest of my existence, all I saw was her.”

  Interesting. And reassuring. Because Zarken saw a flight to Krina in his near future, and he didn’t feel any particular way about it. So long as he got to spend a little quality time between Eva’s lush thighs, first.

  “Secondly, humans, in general, and Mia in particular, can be more astute than you give them credit for. You’d have to actually give this girl the benefit of the doubt, and get to know her to see for yourself. To address your last point, Ellet is working on a workaround for that particular issue. Mia and I may yet have a child.”

  Zarken frowned, taking in the information. It was disturbing him, making him confused and uncomfortable, although he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

  Humans weren’t quite as animalistic and base as he’d believed. So what? It should have been nothing other than an interesting fact he could use to perfect his prototype. But instead of thinking about his work, he was wondering whether Eva was intelligent enough to make her an interesting fling for three weeks.

  Ridiculous. He’d be done by tomorrow.

  Seven

  Disapproval

  It wasn’t too early to panic about her lack of outfits, right? She only had fourteen and a half hours until nine o’clock Saturday morning.

  Eva spent the entire day on autopilot, glad the position of secretary at a dental office didn’t require too much brainpower. Then, getting home, instead of planting herself behind her computer to work on her second job, she ran directly to her wardrobe and started despairing. He’d seen her in her best dress the previous day, and that wasn’t saying much.

  In other circumstances - any other circumstances - she would have raided Julie’s closet, but she sincerely doubted that her friend would have been open to sharing her clothes this time.

  She’d barely spoken to her on their way home. She hadn’t answered her text about grabbing takeout on her way home either. She disapproved, and she wasn’t hiding it.

  Eva knew her MO. When she was annoyed with her, she gave her the cold shoulder until she remembered that it never worked with Eva. On top of having no flight response and being clumsy, Eva was also stubborn; a firm believer in making her own mistakes. She didn’t tend to make them twice, but experience had taught her that trying and failing was more rewarding than wondering “what if.”

  She’d just found a bright, unworn bodycon dress at the back of her closet - a gift from her exuberant mother - when a knock on her open door made her turn, and smile in surprise.

  Looked like Julie had stopped pouting earlier than planned.

  “Hey!” She frowned at her friend’s expression. “Is everything alright?”

  Julie seemed almost crestfallen, defeated.

  “I wanted to speak to you about tomorrow.”

  Oh. She’d come for a lecture, then.

  “I’m not going to go with you,” her best friend said, thinking each word carefully. “I think you’re making a mistake, possibly a dangerous one. And I refuse to put myself in danger to prove it.”

  Wow. That was new.

  “I think you should think about your actions carefully. You know, there’s ways to get in touch with the resistance. You could contact them, ask them if they…”

  “Wait, you’re talking about the idiots who went charging against Krinars in their own Centers? You want me to talk to those people?”

  Julie shrugged. “Wouldn’t hurt to see what they have to say. I googled it, and there are some horror stories out there, Eva. Women disappearing, never seeing their families again…”

  “Okay, do me a favor. Google the number of women disappearing before the Krinar arrived, seven years ago, would you? Let me know if that number has significantly changed.”

  “Eva, I’m just saying, their kind is dangerous.”

  “You know what happened yesterday? How we met? Three guys were cornering me in the d
ark of the club, and they’d made it clear what they had in mind. That’s dangerous. You’re putting yourself in danger every week when you go to Horizon. And every day, when you just leave the house.”

  Julie let a frustrated growl out. “What can I do to make you understand that you’re throwing your life away?”

  Eva sighed, feeling a headache coming. “We’re going to go to the White House, Jules. Do you really think he’ll kidnap me right under the nose of the Secret Service?”

  “No. Maybe. But I think he might, when you go home with him afterwards.”

  Eva opened her mouth, and closed it, thinking better of it.

  “You’re not even going to deny it? That you plan on losing your fucking virginity to an alien?”

  She shrugged. Half a dozen years ago, it might have sounded like a big deal, but at her age, that V-card needed to be throat punched, hard. There was nothing even remotely positive about being a virgin spinster. Young adults didn’t think things out too clearly, but now, she had enough sense to pause and wonder if she really wanted her first experience to be with whatever half-decent date she considered it with, and the response had always been no. She’d felt no all-consuming passion, no crazy tingles and uncontrollable desire. Not until now.

  So yes, if he really wanted her, she wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity.

  Of course, the jury was still out on his intentions. Maybe he just needed her for his experiment, like he’d said?

  “You must be joking.”

  She bit her lip, rather than retorting that they couldn’t all have given it up in the back of the high school quarterback’s truck.

  Julie sighed and walked out of her room, with a parting, “Text me to say you’re okay.”

  Eight

  Territorial

  He saw her long before she saw him, but he remained in his remote spot, willing himself to regain at least some of his control before he got anywhere near her, or he’d rip the tight fabric covering her sinful curves and take her right there and then.