by Lisa Lace
“Ugh. Is it morning already?”
Ruth was pale and her eyes were puffy. The rest of them looked no better. “Perhaps we overdid it a little.”
Snia looked even worse than Ruth. “A little? The next time you want to educate me on how humans celebrate, remind me to run for the hills.”
Trili moaned. “Why is that stuff even legal on earth? And how did Klowix even get it through customs? I can’t see them letting in poison.”
Lizzy protested. “Alcohol isn’t poison. Well, not exactly.”
Beoli disagreed. “It’s poison. I can’t believe you let us drink that stuff.”
“She has a point.” Anna sat holding her head in her hands.
Culip clearly remembered it differently. “Come on, it was fun last night. I’ve never enjoyed dancing that much.”
“So not worth it.” Everyone nodded limply. Bethany was half wishing Klowix hadn’t decided she was well enough to go and celebrate her last night with her friends. Sure, it had been amazing, but now she felt like her head would explode.
Everyone winced when the doorbell rang. Trili staggered off to get it and came back with Dr. Yie, who muttered disapprovingly.
“Humans. I can’t believe Klowix allowed this; he usually has more sense. Nothing to be done now, though. Come on, everyone over here.”
“What?” Bethany was sure that if she moved, she was going to throw up.
Dr. Yie shot them all an incredulous look. “Surely, you didn’t think that Klowix would allow you to ingest poison without having the antidote ready?”
“There’s an antidote to hangovers?”
“Of course. Alcohol is a rather simple poison. The antidote really isn’t that difficult.”
Lizzy spoke right up. “If you ever want to make your fortune, go sell that on earth. I promise, you’ll be the richest man on the planet.”
Dr. Yie just shook his head and poured a thick, smooth liquid from his flask into eight different glasses. Everyone took a glass and drank silently.
The liquid was cold, almost painfully so, but the moment she swallowed it, every pain in Bethany’s body seemed to disappear at once. It was incredible.
“Everyone feeling better? No side effects?”
They all shook their heads. “Well, I hope you’ve learned your lesson about poisons for recreational use.”
Though she knew that only seconds ago, she had been feeling like she wanted to die, Bethany couldn’t recall the feeling. Now she felt amazing.
Lizzy, Anna, and Ruth had their bags packed and sitting by the door. Though she’d known them for less than a year, Bethany felt like she was losing a part of her family.
She turned to Ruth and held back tears. “You’ll stay in touch?”
“Every day. You as well. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Or perhaps we can arrange to meet somewhere else, maybe on one of the tourist planets.”
Bethany loved the idea. “That would be amazing. I’d love to see more of the universe.”
Klowix had gone to bed long before they got back from their party, but he appeared now to see them off. “Thank you for coming. It has been an honor getting to know you.”
Anna nodded. “You as well, Commander. I hope you find someone to give you massages.”
“Perhaps I will wait for you to return.”
Anna seemed to like that. “Perhaps.”
Klowix shook hands with all three of them, and Bethany and her friends hugged one last time before what was likely to be a long separation.
“Wait, before we go.” Trili pushed some buttons on a T-screen, which started a little motor and hovered in midair. “Smile!”
There was a flash as they all beamed into the screen. Bethany beckoned Klowix and he ducked in with all of them for another photo. There was a whirring sound, and eighteen square pieces of paper flew out of a small slit on the screen’s side. Everyone took their copies. Bethany held hers to her chest. When would she be with all of them again?
There were more tears and hugs until finally, it was time to go. Klowix went with them, intending to personally escort them to the planet’s edge, where they would be safe.
Bethany, Trili, Snia, Beoli, and Culip all sat around in the lounge, feeling a bit dejected. Bethany wished Klowix would get back.
Trili eventually spoke up. “We shouldn’t be sad. It’s not like we won’t see them again, and besides, this is what we all wanted eventually. With the compensation they’re getting from Klowix, they can do whatever they want.”
Culip sounded hopeful. “I wonder what they’ll do.”
Bethany teased her. “Yeah, because none of us knows what you’ll do.”
Culip’s eyes brightened. “Have you ever heard of Yentri?”
“No, what’s that?”
“It’s a shopping planet. Literally every inch of it is devoted to commerce. You could spend years there, and you’d never even see a sampling of everything they have to offer.”
“So I guess when we don’t hear from you for five years, we should send a rescue mission there – thanks for the heads-up.”
“We’ll probably find her being courted by every store owner on the planet.”
“Oh, I will be. They will grow to love me.”
The morning passed in an amicable fashion as they chatted, then had lunch. After lunch, Bethany wandered off to do her own thing. She spent some time reading, and took a while looking up Yentri. It seemed like everything Culip said it was.
When night began to fall, Bethany eagerly waited at the door for Klowix. Like a clockwork, he always arrived home at exactly the same time.
The time came and went. Klowix didn’t come in.
Bethany sent him a message on his T-screen, but got no response. It didn’t even show as read.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“No, never. At least, not without him telling us he’ll be late. I’m sure he’ll be home soon, though.”
Bethany tried to focus on other things, but she couldn’t help her eyes moving to the door every few minutes. Where was he? What if the protesters had attacked him? Klowix was a formidable warrior, but if hundreds of them jumped him at once…
“He’ll be fine.” Beoli sounded sure, but her brow was furrowed in worry.
“What if something has happened to him? Is there anyone we can call to find out?”
Trili shook her head. “He never gave us emergency contacts for him. We’ve got lines for hospital or law enforcement, that kind of thing, but he never told us what to do if he might be in trouble.”
That night, Bethany barely slept. She was listening for the sound of a door opening. It never came.
The next morning, when Klowix still hadn’t arrived, Bethany really started to panic. The only reason she didn’t go out searching for him was because Snia hid the keys to the hover car, telling her it was way too dangerous to go out with so much unrest still about.
Bethany called Klowix on his T-screen again and again, but there was never any answer. She knew she shouldn’t be this upset, that Klowix could take care of himself, but she couldn’t help it. She was afraid for him.
Chapter Fourteen
“Klowix!”
Bethany flew into his arms, knocking him a few steps back. “Where have you been? It’s been four days!”
She stared up into his face, basking in relief that he was ok. She was hoping he’d say he was pleased to see her, or at least smile, but Klowix’s movements were wooden and his face was blank.
“Klowix?”
Without a word, he disengaged himself from her and went into the kitchen. Bethany followed on his heels, hurt and confused. Snia, Trili, Culip, and Beoli all piled into the kitchen, tripping over themselves to welcome him home. Klowix didn’t respond to them either.
He sat down and silently gestured for them to do the same. He was scaring Bethany. She’d never seen him like this.
Finally, Klowix spoke. “I have been engaged in intense discussions in the king’s court.” He wasn’t looking
at any of them, but rather staring over their heads. “I have fought with every means I know how, with everything I have. It was not enough.”
He bowed his head, as though in shame. Bethany ached to comfort him, but she remained seated. Finally, Klowix looked up, straight at her.
“While Telion is not a democracy like earth, the king rules only by the grace of his people. Sirin wants to remain king. Instead of doing the right thing, he has been pushed into doing the popular thing to appease the masses.”
The disgust in Klowix’s voice was clear. Bethany had previously heard him talk about the king with respect, but all of that was gone now.
Klowix took a deep breath before continuing. “The king has declared that Telion is to be an Evion-only planet. All humans, even those born here, will be deported at once. All people who are a mixture of human and Evion will be deported at once. The shuttles begin leaving tomorrow.”
Bethany felt like the ground was falling away from under her. She was being sent away? She knew she should be looking forward to seeing her parents again, but all she could see was Klowix, how he broke eye contact with her, how his every gesture said that he believed he had failed her.
He didn’t say anything else. No plan for appeal or action – nothing. In the void, Bethany felt like she was drowning.
Beoli seemed calm. “When does Bethany leave?”
Bethany felt like a shard of ice had pierced her heart. How could Beoli say that so calmly, without any emotion, as though she didn’t care?
“I have managed to schedule her for the very last shuttle leaving the planet, one week from now.”
“All right. Then we have one week to make a plan.”
As Bethany met Beoli’s eyes, she realized she never should have doubted her friend for a second. Beoli would fight for her; they all would.
Klowix, though, was already shaking his head. “No. Believe me, I tried, but it’s done. It won’t be safe for Bethany – for any human – to be on the planet after the shuttles have left. There is a death sentence for any human found on Telion after the deportations are complete.”
Bethany shut her eyes, trying to push back the tears. She had been sure Klowix would fight for her, but here he was, just accepting it. Did he not care about her at all?
“Commander?”
When their eyes met, his were no longer dead, but filled with fire. “I will not let anyone or anything harm you.”
At that moment, Bethany realized he was fighting for her in the best way he knew how – protecting her, even if it meant sending her away.
Under the table, Beoli’s hand found her wrist, and squeezed. Bethany grabbed onto her and held silently to her like a lifeline.
Trili looked up. “We understand, Commander.”
Bethany lowered her eyes. “I need to be alone.” She couldn’t bear to be there a moment longer, not with Klowix watching with such sadness in his eyes. She heard the scraping of chairs as Klowix granted the others permission to follow her.
Bethany went straight to her room. The door hadn’t even finished closing when Snia caught it and held it open. They all crowded in, sitting with her on her huge bed.
Culip was firm. “Beoli is right; we’ll make a plan. This kind of thing can’t be allowed to stand.”
“What can we do, though? Klowix must be one of the most influential people on the planet. If even he can’t stop this…”
Snia shook her head. “Don’t think like that. I’ll talk to my family. They have connections; maybe they can do something.”
Trili spoke slowly and sounded almost grim. “You do that. I’m going to take this further. I’m taking this to the intergalactic council. This kind of thing could reignite a war. They won’t stand for it.”
“That could take years, though. The council doesn’t make decisions quickly.”
“You’re right, we’ll need something in the meantime.” Beoli ran her hands through her hair, thinking. “I can teach you. You can’t pass as an Evion – yet. I can teach you to fit in. If you change your hair and clothes, no one will recognize you; you hardly ever go out anyway. No one knows what you look like, except the protesters who kidnapped you, and they’re all dead. Perhaps Dr. Yie will, but Klowix trusts him.”
“That may work, but it won’t take care of the most important thing. She can’t move like us; no humans can.”
Culip raised her eyebrows. “That, I can do something about. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Humans and Evions are almost genetically identical. There are only a few minor differences. It shouldn’t take much to develop a serum humans can take to activate certain genes, the ones that allow for fast movement.”
Trili nodded, looking between them. “Then it sounds like we have a plan. Snia and I will try to get the decision reversed, Snia from her contacts here, me by appealing to the council. In case that doesn’t work, Beoli and Culip will help Bethany pass as an Evion – Beoli by teaching her to blend in, Culip by making her what she needs physically.”
Bethany didn’t know what to expect. “Will it work?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry, but I really don’t know. We won’t stop trying, though, Bethany.”
“We’ve only got a week.”
“Hey, don’t give up hope. We’ll find a solution.”
Bethany nodded. She didn’t know if they really would be able to pull this off, but encircled by her friends, each with her own skills and talents, all focused on keeping her here, she felt a bit better.
“I’m going to see Klowix. We all just left him; he probably thinks we’re angry at him for failing.”
“Yes, go on.” Culip waved her hand absently, already immersed in calculations on a T-screen. Snia was dialing her father’s number. Bethany left them to it. Maybe they would succeed despite everything.
Klowix was still sitting at the table. It didn’t look like he’d moved since they left.
“Commander?”
He looked up at her. Bethany sat down beside him.
“Commander, please don’t give up on me. The others aren’t; don’t you either. We need you. Please, you have to fight for me.”
Klowix glanced to Bethany’s closed bedroom door. “Do I even want to know what your friends have cooked up?”
Despite everything, Bethany smiled. “Probably not. You may want to get some kind of chemical barriers up. Culip is usually really careful, but with the time limit we’re working under, I wouldn’t want her to blow up the house by accident.”
Klowix nodded slowly. “Culip is a better soldier than I am. A true soldier never gives up. I think I had forgotten that.”
Somehow, he seemed to pull the air of power and command around himself, like he was stepping back into his old self. It was beautiful to see. Klowix wasn’t broken, and Bethany wouldn’t be either.
“I will go to court tomorrow. I will petition to the king to change the decision. I will fight until there is no more time left.”
“Talk to Snia about that. She’s going to get her family involved.”
Klowix brightened. “Snia’s family is high up in court, and well-respected. If she could secure their support, it would go a long way – but Bethany, you need to know something. I will fight, but that doesn’t mean I will succeed. If we do fail, you will have to leave as the king decrees. It won’t be safe for you here otherwise.”
“I understand.” Bethany didn’t meet his eyes. How could she even consider leaving? The thought of life without Klowix was terrifying.
“Promise me.”
Bethany opened her mouth, but no words came out. “It won’t come to that. We’ll see to it.”
“No.” Bethany looked from Klowix to Snia and Trili, then to Culip and Beoli. All of them shook their heads. Bethany couldn’t believe this was happening.
“We can’t give up!”
“There is no more time.” Klowix sounded resigned. “The shuttle leaves tomorrow. We have tonight. After that, there’s no telling.”
He trailed off. No one wanted to
look at Bethany.
Eventually, Trili leaned close. “Spend tonight with him. Say goodbye. We’ll say our farewells in the morning; the shuttle only leaves in the afternoon. Have this last night with him.”
Bethany realized she was right. She’d hate herself forever if she wasted her last night with Klowix. He seemed to think the same thing, because he got up and held out his hand, indicating for her to go before him. When they got to his room, Klowix closed the door behind him and turned to face Bethany.
She reached for him and he reached for her. He took her firmly in his grasp and kissed her. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, and Bethany opened herself to him. She could feel the slick slide of his tongue against hers, against her cheeks, her teeth, and her throat.
Klowix lifted her and carried her to the bed, pressing her down against the silk covers. Bethany tugged at her dress, trying to get it off. Klowix deftly lifted her, sweeping the dress off and throwing it aside. Bethany’s hands roamed under his shirt and over his chest; his skin was hot under her fingers.
She moved her hands down, feeling the bulge of his cock. He shifted slightly to give her better access, never breaking the kiss. Eventually, Bethany had to break away for air, gasping as his hands found her breasts and squeezed them together.
She finally got his pants unbuttoned and slipped her hand into the tight space, finally finding his cock. Klowix moaned and pressed into her grip, his fingers moving over her nipples, which hardened at his touch.
With one hand, Bethany tried to pull off his shirt, but Klowix got there before her. Moments later, he wriggled out of his pants and loomed over her, naked and magnificent. His cock arched up as Bethany stroked it, relishing the feel of his skin. A dribble of precome seeped out and she swiped at it, spreading it over the head of his cock.
Klowix put his hands under her back and lifted her, pulling her up so that they were both sitting, entwined in each other. Bethany’s grip on his cock was lost, so she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. She let herself forget that tomorrow she had to leave, that this might be the last time she ever saw him. Klowix swept her up in the heat of lust, and she went willingly.
