Mate: Level 8

by Heather Karn

  “Breathe, Cammie,” Kilani snickered, bumping me with his knee, a very unlike Kilani thing to do, which brought me out of my shock to close my mouth, breathe, and swallow. “I take it you think this is beautiful?”

  I nodded, no words able to spill from my tongue.

  “Then wait until you see Luthara. It is far more beautiful than this.”

  “You might be biased,” I warned him in a murmur, unable to believe that much could be more beautiful to behold than the sight before me now. Of course, Earth would top the list, but that wasn’t a current option.

  “I probably am biased, so I’ll leave that up for you to decide. When you see my planet, please tell me what you think, and please don’t let my actions or those of my people affect the way you view it.” His voice grew hesitant the longer he spoke, like he knew my thoughts were headed toward that of my home planet. “I hope the crimes you hold against me and part of my crew haven’t blackened your ability to see my world and people as all being evil and wrong.”

  If I were honest with myself, the more time I spent with Kilani, the less angry I was that he’d kidnapped me. It was stupid and probably some form of Stockholm Syndrome, but I couldn’t help it. His people’s plight was heartbreaking, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I would’ve done the same thing if I’d been in his shoes.

  “I’ll keep an open mind,” I promised him, keeping all other thoughts to myself.

  “Thank you. Now, let me give some orders to my men and once we’ve landed, I’ll come back up for you.”

  He left my side to do as he’d said. Meanwhile, I was fighting a racing heart. Me, Cammie Taylor, was about to step foot onto another planet.

  The whole way to the planet’s surface I couldn’t take my eyes off the view above and in front of us. How could a planet be so blue? Yes, Earth was blue, but not this blue. Except for the random specks of red and green, and a few yellow that were too small to see from too far away, the whole surface of the planet was varying shades of blue.

  The ship headed for a network of buildings that were built into a large circle. They aimed the ship to land in the opening within the buildings, and I got my first look at another spaceship. Again, my mouth popped open at the sight. It had to be...I couldn’t even begin to guess the size. Huge. Mammoth. And we were even taller than it, so we had to be bigger. The reality of that and how large this open space was had me taking a seat on the chair beside me. Sticking my head between my knees, I fought to take deep, slow breaths and clear my head of all thoughts.

  “Are you all right?” Maltak asked, his voice near my ear, dripping with concern.

  “Just a little overwhelmed,” I murmured, not ready to lift my head yet. “I think it all just caught up with me at once.”

  “I imagine this must be a lot to take in. Take your time to adjust. Once you’re ready, I have the clothing you requested.”

  The mention of my flannel shirt brought me back to reality, and ready or not, I lifted my head and took the shirt Maltak offered me. The pink and white plaid stood out among the gray uniforms and tannish fur of those around me, but I didn’t care. Hopefully the shirt would be warm enough.

  After we’d landed on the planet’s surface, Kilani spoke into the communication device on his wrist, and this time it broadcast throughout the ship. I could only understand half the words, and those I did understand didn’t make sense out of context. Those I didn’t understand were the odd animal-ish sounds I’d heard from him before when there hadn’t been a word to translate into my language.

  “What’s he saying?” I asked Maltak. “And don’t say it the way he is. I don’t understand part of that.”

  “He’s telling them what to do with the supplies we have for the outpost and what to do with the supplies they have for us. And reminding everyone to be respectful, especially to the locals since this is a kindness for us that they allow our outpost to be here.”

  “Why couldn’t he have said that?”

  Maltak chuckled. “He did, but far more detailed.”

  Rolling my eyes, I stood up and pulled the flannel shirt over my t-shirt, glad it matched better than I’d been prepared for. Kilani finished giving his orders, and while half the men stood from their stations, talking and laughing amongst themselves as they left the deck, he returned to me like he’d said he would. When he caught sight of the long-sleeved shirt, he nodded his approval.

  “Are you ready?” he asked, giving Maltak a dismissive nod. The younger man returned the gesture and strode down a few levels to some of the men who remained sitting at their stations.

  “I guess so. Aren’t they coming?”

  “No. They’ll stay with the ship and keep an eye on things here. Believe it or not, not everyone is as curious as you are about other planets, or they’ve been here enough not to care if they stay behind.”

  I grinned up at the captain and motioned toward the room’s exit. “Yes, I’m curious, so what’re we waiting for?”

  Laughing, Kilani led the way out into the corridors and through the ship. There was far more movement in the halls now that we’d landed. It appeared most of the crew wanted off the ship, and avoiding bumping into them was becoming a nightmare. They, on the other hand, were quite adept at avoiding one another. I had a few close calls when we entered new corridors that were a tighter fit, but the men always seemed to maneuver themselves to avoid hitting me.

  Even sticking close behind Kilani, the frequent ups and downs in the path were hard to keep track of, and once again I tripped. Reaching out, I grabbed a hold of Kilani’s uniform on his back to stop my fall as I squeaked. My grip slipped, but before I could hit the ground, arms wrapped around me and lifted me back to my feet. Expecting to find Kilani’s arms to be those that had saved me, I found him staring behind me, an unreadable look on his face. Twisting around, I found an alien male close to me, and obviously the one who’d caught me.

  “Forgive me,” the young alien murmured, averting his gaze to stare at the floor. “I did not want you to hurt yourself.”

  Knowing what they thought of touching another and how this man was likely terrified he’d be reprimanded by Kilani, and not knowing if Kilani had that intention planned, I stepped closer to the soldier. “Look at me, please.” The soldier’s eyes met mine and I smiled. “I don’t feel the same way you do about touch, so it doesn’t bother me. Actually, the fact that I won’t have any scrapes or bruises from falling is worth it. I appreciate you catching me so I didn’t land on my face.”

  The man didn’t seem to know what to say, so he nodded. Kilani cleared his throat and jerked his head down the hallway, so I took the hint and followed him again. While most of the men continued deeper into the ship, Kilani took another path, which was less crowded, and within minutes, daylight shown from an opening ahead of us. Cutting in front of Kilani, I raced ahead and down the ship’s ramp until my feet landed on solid ground.

  The dirt crunched below my feet, and I should’ve been more surprised to find it the deep blue color of the planet. It only made sense to me now that the planet’s color was due to the ground, but I couldn’t understand how dirt and rocks could be various shades of that deep blue. It was likely some odd mineral that Earth didn’t have, or that I didn’t know about. Crouching down, I lifted some of the dirt into my fingers and crushed it together. It was dry, like clumpy dirt after it’s wet and hardens as it dries.

  “Are you warm enough?” Kilani asked, humor in his voice as he stood beside me, watching me play in the dirt.

  I hadn’t even bothered to feel the temperature outside in my excitement to be out of the ship and see the planet. Standing straight, the dirt still in my fingers as I crushed more of the clump, I tested the temperature. There was no wind or clouds, only the sun’s heat, which was far less warm than I’d expected. Still, it wasn’t cold. It was more like an early Fall day back home. Just what I’d left.

  “Yeah, I should be warm enough, especially if I walk around,” I responded, my gaze sweeping over the immediate area
. Now that we’d landed, people filed out of the outlying buildings toward our ship and the others. “Am I the only woman around here or are there some of your species here?”

  “There are likely some of my species around, though not many. Currently our people have far more males than females, and most of those are Companions. They usually take positions on ships and at outposts, at least until they retire or are old enough to take a Companion or Mate. Then they’ll hang around our planet for a while in hopes of being chosen.”

  “Sometime you’ll have to explain how that works. I’d like to know before I’m forced to choose someone.”

  Kilani flinched. “You won’t be forced. Prodded repeatedly, yes, but not forced.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “Yes. My older sister didn’t want to choose a Mate. The council and our parents were constantly after her that she needed to choose, but she didn’t, not until she met her Mate. Then nothing could stop her from choosing him. I never saw her as happy as when she was with him.” He looked down at me, his eyes serious. “Don’t choose someone because you feel you have to. You still have a choice of who you can choose, so wait until you’re sure you’ve found the one who will make you happy.”

  “You do realize I’m seventeen, right? Or I was when you took me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Is that young or old for your kind?”

  “It’s not even considered a legal adult. You aren’t considered a legal adult where I come from until you’re eighteen.”

  Closing his eyes, Kilani took a deep breath and pressed fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Please don’t tell anyone that. I’m begging you. It’s bad enough I took a female from her home, but one who is viewed as a child? That’s far from unforgivable. When will you be an adult?”

  “Five days from when you took me. What’ll happen if they find out I’m not an adult?”

  “I’ll calculate the time that’s passed on your planet since we took you. And as for what would happen...I do not dare to think about it. At best I’d lose my rank and Mate level. I suppose it’s justly deserved, and I shouldn’t be asking you to hide that information at all.”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t change anything. I’m here. Plus, it was a legal thing anyway, not necessarily a physical thing. By the time I have to choose I’ll probably be an adult by Earth’s standards anyway. Can we see the planet now?”

  I didn’t want to think about the opportunity staring me in the face. If I wanted to hurt Kilani, this was the way to do it. Not long ago I would’ve taken it and run with it, but now? I’d seen him with his men, seen the way he gave each one the attention that they needed, and he ran his ship like a well-oiled machine. And he was letting me explore a new planet when I could’ve very well been locked on that ship with Maltak standing guard outside my room.

  “Yes, follow me.”

  We strode side by side across the open ground of blue dirt toward the nearest buildings. Various people passed us, some with papers, others dragging carts of odd boxes, and some with nothing. Each eyed me with open curiosity, and it took all the courage I had not to grab hold of Kilani’s hand and glue myself to his side. As it was, I was practically walking on top of him.

  “They won’t harm you,” he snickered when we passed a group of three men and they each in turn stopped walking to stare at me as we strode by.

  “But do they have to stare?”

  “They’ve never seen anyone of your species before, let alone a female. They’re probably wondering what you’re even doing with me.”

  That made sense. “By the way, I’m sorry for grabbing your uniform earlier when I almost fell.”

  “Instinct again, right?”

  “Yeah. By the way, who was the man who caught me?”

  “Hasak. He’s barely old enough to be on a ship and he’s extremely shy, so I’m surprised he caught you at all. It was likely he saw a female needing help and responded, much like your instinct to reach out to others. I believe I know the answer to this, but if it was uncomfortable for you that he grabbed you in such a way, I will speak with him and reprimand him for his actions.”

  I almost choked on the breath I was taking into my lungs. “Please don’t. If I fall, I want someone to catch me if I’m going to hurt myself.”

  “Do you fall often?”

  “I do when I still have a hard time seeing. Why do you keep it so dark in there?”

  “It’s not that dark for us, but the lesser light helps to conserve the ship’s energy.”

  And that made even more sense.

  Kilani led us between the buildings. Once we were past them, the world opened up for as far as I could see. Flat, blue ground for miles. If I wanted to get my steps in, there were plenty to be had...only there was really nowhere to go that I could see. But this was a new planet, and I’d make the most of my time here.

  “How long do we have until the ship takes off again?”

  “Several hours.”

  “Your hours.”

  “Of course. Will you need to sleep during that time?”

  I shrugged. “My body is all confused about what it’s supposed to be doing, so I have no idea. Right now, it’s telling me the sun is up, so I should be moving around. Forget that I’m on an alien planet instead of my own. The brain only cares the sun is shining.”

  “So when the sun sets?”

  “We sleep at night. I’ll probably feel tired and want to go to bed.” Forget that I’d already been up for hours.

  My stomach rolled and I groaned. Instead of appearing worried, Kilani grinned wide.

  “Would you like to try food from this planet?”

  “Umm, sure. Where is it?” Because I was only seeing dirt, unless they had a stock of food here somewhere.

  Kilani nodded toward a couple of strange objects behind me. They almost appeared like the top half of a four-wheeler but where the tires were supposed to be was a flat panel underneath. If I had to guess, it was transportation, and my stomach twisted in dread and anticipation, not knowing which emotion to fully grasp.

  Leading me over to the first one, Kilani stepped onto the lower platform and swung his leg over the machine. When I just stood there staring at him, he waved me over. I followed him to the machine, and halted.

  “Am I supposed to climb in front of you or behind? And what about the no touching rule?”

  He grinned wider. “Usually we only ride one person per glider, but since you’ve never used one and you’re small enough, you’ll ride with me. And I’ll try to keep touching to a minimum, but since you’re always touching me, consider this payback. I will let you choose where you feel you will be most comfortable.”

  Well, that was a loaded option.

  There wasn’t much time to think about it. “Probably in front so I don’t feel like I’m going to fly off.”

  “Very well. If you don’t like that, you can try behind me on the way back here.”

  “How far are we going?” I asked as I stepped onto the thin platform and slid my leg over in such a way that I wouldn’t kick the captain. Once in place, he leaned forward, his chest pressing against my back as he reached for the button to start the machine and the handles.

  “Far enough I don’t want to walk, but not too far by glider. We can even ride around so you can see more of the planet if you wish.”

  “Let’s see how I like this ride first,” I mumbled, gripping a small rise in the machine in front of me with a death grip, the heat of his body behind me comforting. I wouldn’t be flying off backwards. With his strong arms boxing me in on the sides, it was unlikely I’d exit those ways either.

  “You’re safe with me,” he murmured, his breath warm against the outer shell of my ear. Then he punched the accelerator and I shrieked in shock before swallowing the sound. He laughed, the sound barely reaching my ears though I felt it through our connection on my back.

  The glider was much faster than I’d anticipated, and we really should’ve been wearing helmets at the very least, but Kilani
wasn’t worried about it. Maybe his head was stronger than mine and wouldn’t split wide open if we crashed? Then again, there wasn’t anything to crash on since this was the flattest world I’d ever seen...flat compared to Earth, which was as yet my only point of reference to compare and contrast.

  It didn’t take long for my eyes to water from the wind we created by flying so fast through the air. Blinking back the tears, I refused to take my hands off the machine to wipe them away. The wind was cool as it tugged at my flannel shirt, but the heat from behind me kept me from being cold, and soon enough I was smiling at the sensation. If I closed my eyes, it actually felt like I was flying.

  I lost all track of time as we drove through the barren land. A few times Kilani adjusted our course, but for the most part, we kept a pretty straight direction. When a speck of red on the horizon appeared, I leaned forward and squinted, trying to see it better. We were much closer before I realized that the red was actually leaves on trees in a large grove.

  Kilani slowed the glider and pulled up beside the trees where he parked. About a dozen other gliders were also parked in this area, but besides the trees, there wasn’t a person or object to be seen on any horizon.

  “What is this place?” I asked as Kilani climbed off and extended a hand, which made my heart skip.

  He caught my gaze and shrugged. “I don’t want you to fall. Is this wrong?”

  “No, it’s totally right...if you were on Earth and human, not Lutharian.”

  He shrugged again. “I would rather break a few customs and have you safe and unhurt than worry about what my people would think of my behavior. As for what this place is, it’s a graveyard.”

  “A what?” I squeaked. I’d already slid my hand into his, and a gentle tug was all I needed to extract myself from the machine. “It looks more like some sort of orchard to me.”

  “It is.” Kilani released my hand and led the way between the trees. He chose a specific tree and pulled a green fruit from its branches and handed it over to me. “The Kultaro’s religion is centered around a cycle of death and life.” He held the fruit out to me and I took it. “Those that die are buried within this stand of trees, their bodies giving the trees life so they produce fruit for those still living.”