“You are not that tall.”
“You’re one of the only people that would tell me that. Ready to ride?”
He watched as she put her foot in the loop and swung up on the saddle. He copied the motion. The horse moved nervously, but quieted with urgings from him.
When Kallie gave her horse a slight nudge with her foot, it started to walk. His horse moved with it, tossing its head. Jerreon could feel the animal’s excitement. It wanted to run.
“We’re supposed to stay on the beach and in sight of the town. There’s a sign down there to mark the farthest point.” Kallie reached down and stroked her horse’s neck.
“Can we go faster?”
She looked at him. “He said it was all right to run them but not hard. But you said you’ve never ridden. Are you sure?”
“My horse would like to run. I would like to try.”
“How about a gallop first and we’ll see how you do?” She made a clicking sound and nudged her horse in the side again with her foot. It sprang into a faster pace. His horse immediately leapt to match.
Jerreon heard Kallie laugh, and for the first time since coming to Earth, he relaxed. Pure pleasure washed over him. He liked the feel of the animal under him. He knew of horses. On his world they had pilipi which were similar. But here by the ocean, with the sun shining down, and Kallie beside him, nothing had ever been better.
When Kallie pulled her horse to a stop, she beamed with pleasure. “I thought you said you’d never ridden a horse before?”
“I have not, but I have ridden something similar. This is a fabulous animal. I like it very much. As it seems, you do. Why do you not ride often if you enjoy it?”
“Mainly, because I don’t have a horse. I’d forgotten how much I like it. I got busy with work and other goals.”
“What is it you do?”
“I’m an accounts supervisor, or I was. I quit recently.” A frown passed over her face.
Jerreon wondered what bothered her.
She brightened again before he could ask. “I also write books.”
“Really?” That caught his interest.
She blushed. “I doubt you’ve read anything I’ve written. I write romantic suspense.”
“I am afraid I do not know what that is.”
“I write about falling in love and having adventures.” Her lips twitched as if she was holding back a smile. “A handsome hero saving the woman from the bad guy.”
He edged his horse in closer to her. “I could do this.”
“I think I’m to believe you already did.”
The weight descended back to Jerreon. His chest burned as he thought of the dead and injured back on his planet. “Ptolemaios will not stop. You must have caution. He hungers for power.”
“You said something like that earlier. What do you think he will do?”
“Ptolemaios is cunning and strong. He will kill and destroy whatever stands in the way of what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
He met her gaze straight on. “To rule this planet.”
Chapter Four
Kallie stared back in shock, not as surprised about what he’d said as much as she actually believed him.
She recalled the image of Lysias, his pale eyes, the color of the sand on the beach, burrowing into her. His demanding she do as he said, and the compulsion she had felt to do it. She remembered his anger when she didn’t. It too was very real. “So, you followed him here?”
“To this town, no. I had not located him yet.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I was following the crystal.”
Kallie reached for her necklace. Assurance flooded her heart. “You’re planning on taking it from me?”
“At first, I was planning to retrieve it. Now, I think it is better if it stays on you. I think it shields you.”
“Shields?
“Lysias could not control you. He is very good at manipulating people but, for some reason, he could not control you. I think it might be partly due to the crystal. It will bother him. I fear he will come after the crystal, but if he were to sense a connection between you and me, he would come to harm you.”
“There is no connection between us.” As soon as Kallie said the words, she felt they were wrong. She glanced over at him. He was quiet, but his eyes intent as he looked back at her. My One. She heard the words in her mind again. They burned through her. Her breathing quickened.
When his eyes dropped to her lips, they tingled as if waiting for his kiss. She swallowed, breaking his gaze to look out over the ocean.
“Do not fear. I will never harm you, nor will I let any harm come to you. I will do all I can to keep you safe, but you must be cautious. You will never know when, but I promise you, he will come. That is assured. He will not give up until he has what he wants.”
A trickle of fear ran through her. “Well, I’m not staying around here. After dinner, I am heading back to California.”
“You are not staying here then?
“No. Melissa and I have been at a writer’s conference. It was a great time but since I don’t have a job right now, we booked a condo to stay a little longer. We decided to come here for a day before she had to head back home. She wanted to do some shopping.”
“You were not planning on this?”
“Being here? No. There was a presentation at the condo about the trip, and we decided to take it.” Kallie thought how when she heard of the trip, she’d felt drawn to come. Still, she hadn’t been going to until Melissa said she wanted to.”
“You were meant to be here,” Jerreon said softly.
She looked at him surprised at the comment. “You make it sound like destiny.”
“I believe it was. How else was I to find you?”
Kallie wanted to believe he was teasing her, but the look in his eyes appeared way too serious. “Would you like to run the horses back? It’s almost time to return them.”
“I would like to spend more time with you.”
His words flustered her, making her heart pound again. She wondered what Melissa would say about him. She had a pretty good read on people. “We’re to meet for dinner. We can probably arrange for you to join us.”
“I would like that if it is permitted. I have had a hard time with food here. I have been surviving on rations from my pack, but they are diminishing. The food here is most different.”
“What is the food like where you’re from?” She urged her horse into a walk, and again his horse followed.
“We use a lot of …” he paused to think, “vegetables, herbs and grains, mixed with meats and fruits. I guess that does not sound so different, but the taste is.”
“Well, everyone cooks different.”
“Yes, and live. It is not like I thought here. The world is different from what images I have seen.”
“Some people struggle for what they get. Have you traveled much?”
“It is hard to explain. I traveled a great distance to be here, but I have not seen much yet. I … landed to the south and just arrived in this town.”
“Coming after the crystal?” She prodded.
“And Lysias.”
“How did you know it was here?”
“I have part of it.” He reached into a pocket she hadn’t noticed in his pants. It made her take a close look at his clothes. The t-shirt he wore was blue, the color of the sky, and clung to his body, not overly tight but enough that it delineated the muscles of his chest and arms. It looked like it was brushed silk. She remembered the feel of it earlier. It was soft over the hard muscle of his arms.
His pants were more unique. They were a heavier material, but again soft and stretched with him. A steel gray color, they reminded her of pants she’d expect on a science fiction movie, normal pants but not.
He also wore a type of low-topped boot that hadn’t any heel, not that he needed the extra height. She changed her earlier estimation of his height. He had to be over seven feet. She felt shor
t in comparison to him. It was a new experience, one she liked.
He pulled out a piece of quartz, ripping her attention from his clothes. It was twice the length of hers. The color was identical, but it was the warmth that pulsed within her that testified it was the same. They were not just close, or even from the same place. They were halves of a whole.
“You said ‘part’ as if at one time they were one piece?” she asked for confirmation.
He waited so long to answer that she thought he wasn’t going to, though, he had as much as told her earlier.
“Yes. A long, thin rod, the length of my hand.”
“How’d it break?”
His jaw hardened. “Lysias and I fought over it. I tried to stop him from coming here, but I failed.” Recrimination rang in his words. Pain etched his features.
Kallie reached over and laid her hand on his. The warmth that came from the crystal was nothing compared with the flash which spread up from his hand. She jerked back her hand with the sheer knowledge that filled her. Jerreon was a man of honor. He would give whatever it took, even his life, to correct what he saw as his failure.
His gaze held hers a second. All softness fell from him leaving only what she felt was determination. He looked away. “We should ride back. We were going to let the horses run.” His horse leapt into a full run without any signs from him.
Kallie stared after him, trying to figure out what there was about the man she just wasn’t quite getting. Always being ‘one of the guys’, she felt she had a fairly good understanding of men, but Jerreon was different. He was special, and whatever it was that made him different, she knew it also made him extremely important, and maybe not just to her. A shiver ran through her, but she wasn’t sure why.
Following, she watched him race across the sand. He rode hard. A natural in the saddle, but it was as if demons were after him. Had he lied about never riding before? Maybe it was all just a lie. What was she even thinking was going on? He’d followed a piece of rock. Was after a criminal that wanted it for its power. It was beginning to sound a little like science fiction. Where was he supposed to be from – the future?
She slowed her horse. Her breath caught. The idea was foolishness, her mind told her, but something stirred in her. “I’m not going there,” she said aloud.
Ahead she saw him reach where the other horses were tethered. He swung down and handed over the reins. In a slow, deliberate motion he looked back at her. She pulled to a stop. His eyes held her even from the distance.
Her hand lifted, but this time instead of going to the necklace, she covered her mouth to keep in a sob. Jerreon turned in the sand and strode away. Kallie wanted to call after him, but didn’t know what to say, or what to believe. The remoteness in him kept her silent.
When she reached the other horses, Jerreon was nowhere to be seen. She thanked the horse’s owner and assured him she had a good ride. After looking around for Jerreon, she gave up and headed for the restaurant. Mounting the steps, she sensed his presence and turned back to the beach. The sunlight caught his white hair, making him a beacon standing on a sand dune a short-ways off.
He was looking after her, she knew. The urge to go to him hit her strong. There were just so many questions running through her mind. The main one – who was he?
“My One.” The words whispered across the sand.
Kallie lifted her arm then lowered it before completing a wave. She turned and went inside.
The place was packed with people from the bus. Still, it was easy to find Melissa sitting with the three older sisters, who were having a women’s trip while their husbands went to a ballgame.
“So how was the ride?” Melissa greeted her. “You look a touch windblown.”
“It was good.” Kallie forced a smile. “Definitely interesting.”
“Oh, really?” She looked skeptical. “Did you get some good inspiration riding through the surf?” She brought up the earlier comment.
“You could say that.” Kallie looked past the balustrade that opened onto the beach. He wasn’t there.
“Is something wrong?” Melissa eyed her closely.
Fortunately, food arrived saving her from having to answer, and the women at the table kept everyone entertained with constant banter. Gradually, Kallie relaxed and started to convince herself everything that happened was just the magic of the day. Her mind brought to life a story for her, full of mystery and adventure. Just what she loved to write about but didn’t have in her life.
Dessert arrived just as one of the sisters looked out at the beach. “Mmm.” The sound rumbled from her. “Now, why didn’t I see that earlier? What’s Adonis doing here?” Charlene, the older sister, actually smacked her lips.
Kallie looked out to see the dream image come to life. Jerreon stood on the steps, his eyes, locked on her, the color in them seemed to churn with raging tempests. Reality shifted again in her world.
“My, oh my. You are right about that. That is the stuff fantasies are made of. Do you think that chest feels as fabulous as it looks?” Ruby, the sister whose hair matched her name, asked.
“One way to find out. Won’t you join us?” Beth, the younger of the sisters who was in her early sixties, called out.
After a second, Jerreon dipped his head and walked up the stairs, coming directly to their table, to the one empty chair across from Kallie. He slid in it without pause. “Ladies.” He dipped his head again. “Greetings. I am Jerreon.” His accent made the words linger.
The women started to twitter immediately.
Jerreon. Stunned Kallie realized he’d not said his name to her earlier, but she known it. It didn’t make sense. Before she could figure it out, a waitress brought out a plate for him. With just a touch of encouragement from the women, he filled his plate from the dishes on the table.
“Do you live here?” Charlene asked.
“No, I am just here for the day,” he repeated what Kallie had said earlier.
“Your accent, is it European or Mediterranean?” Melissa asked.
Kallie leaned in a little to hear his response.
“Not either, though there are possibly some ties there.”
“Are you on vacation?” Ruby asked.
“I came because I had a duty. I had to find something.”
“Really?” Charlene, who was sitting next to him, laid her hand on his arm and gave a wicked look to her sisters.
Kallie had to fight to keep from laughing. If Jerreon was conscious of their ogling actions, he didn’t let it bother him.
“Did you find it?” Charlene asked.
“Yes, but I also found a treasure of greater worth.”
All the women leaned into him and oohed.
“And, what was that?” Beth asked.
Kallie’s breath caught in her lungs as Jerreon looked across the table at her. His eyes like blue spears penetrating her heart. “The missing part of my soul.”
His comment sent the women twittering again.
“And, what are you going to do about it?”
Kallie missed which woman asked the question.
“Guard it. Keep it safe, until I can claim it as mine.” His gaze never drifted from her.
The women laughed and gave a couple whistles, but Kallie knew his declaration was completely serious. He’d just stated his intentions to her.
He stared at her a long moment before he lifted something to his mouth. She followed the action, her attention focused on his lips, more enthralled than she’d ever been in her life.
Jerreon shifted his attention from her. The conversation across the table turned lighter as the women chatted with him while he ate.
“What is going on here?” Melissa leaned close and hissed in her ear, breaking her from the trance she’d slipped into.
Kallie looked at her, trying to catch her breath.
“His name is Jerreon.”
Melissa’s brow kicked up in the expressive way she was so good at.
“We met on the beach. Rode hors
es together.”
“And from a horse ride, you get a declaration of love?” The brow arched higher.
“It wasn’t a declaration of love.”
“Not specifically, but darn close. And I think he was serious. Please, tell me he’s not a creep. It would be a shame for a man that looks like that.”
“He’s not a creep. He’s a man of honor. He’s duty bound.” The words slipped through her. Across the table, Jerreon’s eyes came up to light on her, as if he heard what she’d whispered to Melissa.
“Now I am worried. Since when do you talk like that outside of your books?”
“I … it’s just how he is.”
“Because he said so?” Melissa laid her hand over hers.
“No. Because that’s what I felt when I touched him.”
“Touched him? Kallie!” Melissa’s voice rose.
“Shh.” Kallie leaned closer. “My hand on his arm, while we were riding.”
“So, you just met riding?”
She knew Melissa was wondering if she’d gone insane. “Actually, we met when he saved me from being mugged on the beach. It’s a long story.”
“Long story? You were hardly gone over an hour.”
That surprised Kallie. It had felt like a long time.
“Jerreon,” Melissa raised her voice and asked across the table. “You never said your last name.”
“Ander.”
Kallie caught the motion of Melissa’s fingers under the edge of the table and knew she was Googling him. Melissa frowned slightly. Kallie wondered if she couldn’t get cell service, though she knew she had an international calling plan.
“What is it you do?” Melissa asked.
“Security.”
Kallie caught the telltale sign of Jerreon’s hand clenching. She wanted to ask what happened besides Lysias’s escape and find a way to ease his pain.
“Where are you from?” Melissa continued her probe.
“I am a man without a land.” Finality rang in his words.
“You have nothing?” Beth asked, joining back in the conversation.
“My duty.” He paused and looked across the table capturing Kallie’s gaze again. “And possibly, a destiny.”
My Atlantian Page 4
