Iq'her

by Elin Wyn

  I found her in one of the back corners, talking to about eight or nine people, trying to calm them down. “I promise you, we’re not here to hurt you,” I heard her say. The inflection in her voice let me know that she had already said it several times and was just doing it again with the mentality that repetition would make it true.

  “We heard gunshots outside,” a portly lady said as she stood protectively in front of a pregnant woman, two children, and some young ones that looked like teenagers.

  “I know, and I apologize for that. My brother tends to be a bit overzealous sometimes,” she explained. She went on to explain what the group was there for, but without the lies that Roddik was spinning.

  The woman, I guessed that she was the shop owner based on the apron that she wore that had a logo stitched into it that matched the logo on the window, continued to glare at Stasia, and at me, but nodded.

  Stasia turned her head and seemed relieved to see me.

  She whispered something to the woman and headed over towards me. “I hope I won’t be made out to be a liar,” she whispered to me.

  “No, I don’t think you will,” I whispered back. “Your brother is doing a fantastic job of being charming and polite right now.”

  She looked at me as though something were growing out of my head. “My brother?”

  I nodded.

  “My brother?” she asked again. “The one that treats me like shit, talks bad about you and your crew, and essentially wants to kill anything and everything not human? The one that has reinvented the word ‘asshole’?”

  I had to chuckle a bit at the last question, but I nodded. “He’s super charming, polite, and respectful. He’s also lying through his teeth,” I added as Stasia continued to look at me as though I had a second head or something.

  When I mentioned that he was lying, Stasia nodded in understanding. “Oh, that’s why he’s being nice. It’s not working, is it?”

  “I’m afraid it is,” I answered as I reached out for her. She allowed me to lead her to the window and I pointed at the crowd of people surrounding him. It wasn’t just members of the original group, there were several villagers there as well, still talking to him.

  What made me tense up was the sight of three of them bringing out food and drinks. “Skrell.”

  Stasia elbowed me. “Careful.”

  Right. “Shit.”

  She looked up at me, grinning slightly. “That I can agree with.”

  She stepped away from the window and headed back to the people in the back. “Now, my brother, or whoever he decides to send in here, is going to tell you that we’re here to save you, and eventually the planet.”

  “You’re not?” the pregnant lady asked.

  “Sort of,” Stasia answered. “The plants are dying, and food is running out, so we’re trying to find a way to stop that. But he’s going to tell you that it’s the fault of those men that fell from space, that they’re the reason all of this is happening.”

  “Is it?” the pregnant one asked as she stood up.

  Stasia looked back at me, a look of loss and regret on her face. “I… I don’t know,” she finally said. I felt a pang in my stomach when she said it. Her statement hurt, just a little. I knew we weren’t responsible… were we?

  Would the Puppet Master have awoken, or whatever it did, if we had never arrived on the planet and caused as much damage as we had with our crash landings and then the battles that happened afterwards?

  Was Roddik right? Were we the reason things had gotten bad and things were now getting even worse?

  I was staggered by the thought.

  We’d been so busy trying to keep order, keep everyone fed, I’d never truly wondered.

  Was Stasia right in her disbelief and confusion about what happened and who was responsible?

  My mind circled, until I didn’t hear any of what they spoke about in the corner after that. Eventually, Stasia led the people out and I followed. She spoke with Roddik, and he was surprisingly kind to her. He smiled at her, gave her a hug, and nodded at whatever she said.

  I followed Stasia as she started talking to people, finding out how the village was arranged, who had been in charge, and started putting together a plan to house and feed the newcomers along with the original inhabitants. With Roddik’s endorsement of her, they listened to what she had to say.

  I watched her as she bloomed in her role. She was a natural leader, good at what she did.

  And I was left to wonder, finally, if somewhere in Roddik’s hateful words was a kernel of truth.

  And if so, how could I allow myself to touch her ever again?

  Stasia

  “Careful now,” I said, holding up one of the planks as the man beside me hammered a nail into it. Some of the houses had been damaged during the fight, and I had decided to replace any shattered windows with rough wooden planks Iq'her had carved out at my request.

  Not many people were happy about it, but I figured that at least the planks would stop the houses from getting cold during the night. It was only a temporary solution, anyway… or so I hoped.

  “Here, miss,” Alena, the pregnant woman I had met when we arrived, said as she handed me a glass of cold water.

  I took it from her hands with a smile, enjoying the taste of fresh water as it touched my lips.

  “I’m not a ‘miss’,” I told her gently. “It’s just Stasia.”

  “Stasia,” she repeated hesitantly, still unsure on how to deal with the group of newcomers. I didn’t blame her. Even though my brother had fed his lies to the settlement population, a lot of people still didn’t know what to make of their supposed saviors.

  I felt terrible about being a part of Roddik’s schemes, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to play along...especially because Iq'her had been the one suggesting it. I just hoped that whatever the hell his plan was, it would work. And soon.

  “I still can’t believe the aliens were here to hurt us,” the young woman continued, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “I mean… they were so nice. They even brought food a few days ago, right when the plants started dying around here.”

  “Well, these are strange times.” My heart tightened into a little fist. I couldn’t say much more than that — playing along was one thing, but I wouldn’t help with the spreading of lies.

  “You’re too trusting, Alena,” the man that was helping me grumbled. Judging by the ring on his finger, I guessed he was her husband. “We never needed anybody's help before. Things were going just fine before they got here.”

  “But it’s not their fault,” Alena protested.

  Her husband just shrugged.

  “Then who’s fault is it?” he asked. “It sure as hell ain’t ours.”

  “Damn right it isn’t,’” a voice chirped from outside the house, and I saw through the gaps in the window who that voice belonged to: my brother. Grinning, he leaned against the doorway of the small house, arms folded over his chest. “I see you haven’t let the aliens’ propaganda fool you, my friend,” he continued, offering his hand to the man. “The name’s Roddik.”

  “I’m Uther. This is my wife, Alena.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Roddik smiled, his words so easy and gentle that I almost didn’t recognize him. How could someone so filled with hatred turn the charm up like this? “I see you have a little one on the way. Together, I’ll make sure we’ll build a safe future for the coming generations.”

  Shaking my head, I threw the nails I had been holding on top of the table and walked out of the house. No way in hell would I stay there and listen to Roddik spit his hateful lies. It was baffling the way people trusted him. He wasn’t even doing anything to help repair the damages we had caused during the ‘gunfight’ against the aliens. Aside from walking around and trying to drum up support, the only thing he told his goons to do was to make a complete inventory of the settlement’s food reserves.

  I walked toward the small open square, the place where most of Roddik’s men
had gathered. They had improvised a long wooden table out of some planks and tree logs, and they had hauled out all the food inside the houses and laid it there. Although I hadn’t agreed to this course of action, at least I saw that some of them had followed my earlier suggestion and were now using a datapad to note how much food we had. The settlement had been struggling before we got here, and now with more mouths to feed...the days ahead would be complicated ones, I knew that.

  Grabbing my bag and blanket from where I had stashed them, I paused as I tried to decide where I would stay for the night. All the men in Roddik’s group had decided they’d bunk up with the families living in the settlement, but I wouldn’t impose myself like that. I’d rather spend another night outside than to force my way into someone’s home.

  I was already at the edge of the settlement when I heard a tired voice call after me. “Stasia, isn’t it?” I turned on my heels to see an elderly woman standing in the middle of the street, a long, polished limb serving as her cane. Her wrinkles cut deeply across her face, and her advanced age made her body look frail. Still, her smile was a warm one.

  “That’s right,” I replied as politely as I could. “Can I help you?”

  “I was just wondering about where you’re going with that,” she asked me, jutting her chin out to point at the bag in my hand. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on sleeping outside, young lady.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I—”

  “Nonsense,” she cut me short, hitting the stone floor twice with her cane. She waved me over and, not knowing what else to say, I started walking toward the old woman. “No way am I going to allow that. All these men are staying indoors, so why would a pretty woman like you have to sleep in the forest? Not on my watch, miss.”

  “I really don’t…” I started to say, but I trailed off the moment she shot me a steely glance. She might be an old woman, but she was a fiery one, all the same. “Thank you so much.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” she continued, leading the way toward her house. It was nothing but a small two-bedroom building on the edge of the settlement, but it had a certain quaintness to it. Small vases with flowers, most of them already withered, lined the cobbled path to the entrance, and there was even a small garden out front. “You can call me Evna. It’s just me, anyway, so I’ll appreciate the company. My husband built this house with his bare hands, but those damn bugs made sure he would never build anything again.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Evna,” I whispered. It seemed that even out here, away from the largest cities, there was no escaping the heartache caused by the war.

  “Well, that’s life, isn’t it?” She shrugged, pushing the door open and stepping inside the house. It was a small place, a small kitchen that doubled as a living room, but she kept everything spotless. “Care for some tea?” she asked, but didn’t wait for my reply — she pressed the display on the kettle right away, turning it on, and then invited me to take a seat.

  “It’s not much, but that’s what I got,” she said when the tea was ready, steam rising up from the cups she had laid on the table. Between the cups was a small plate with thin slices of stale bread.

  “No, this is perfect.” My stomach grumbled at the sight of the bread. I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten, and the first bite I took of the bread was absolutely amazing.

  For the next hour, I almost forgot about how much of a mess my life was. I was a woman sharing tea and bread with a kind old lady, not a criminal on the run. She asked me about life in the city, and I asked her about life in the settlement. Just two women making conversation.

  When she finally showed me to my room, I was starting to feel like my old self. A small room with a bed, a dresser, and a shallow basin with water. So little, but so much more than I’d expected.

  It seemed that there was nothing quite like the kindness of an old woman to make me feel whole again.

  I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard someone knocking on the wall by my window.

  I swung my legs off the bed immediately, anxiety making my heart beat faster, but then I heard Iq'her’s voice.

  “Stasia?” he asked, rapping his knuckles against the frame again.

  “Come in.”

  “I just wanted to check up on you. It’s been a long day.” He paused, then swung easily into the room.

  “I know,” I sighed, moving to the side as Iq'her sat next to me. “It’s been crazy, especially with my brother spouting off. I just can’t take any more of this, Iq'her.”

  “Just hang in there,” he whispered gently, then he reached for me and laid his hand on top of mine. A shiver ran up my spine as I felt the touch of his warm skin, and a warm but pleasant heat took over my body. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

  “I hope so.”

  “But I don’t have a choice,” he continued, hesitating slightly. “Your brother and most of the group… they’ll have to be detained. We can’t let them go free after all they’ve done.”

  “I… I understand,” I breathed out. “Roddik needs to be stopped.”

  “He will be. I’ve kept in touch with Nyheim, and it won’t take long before they send one of the strike teams. Just be patient. This nightmare will be over soon enough.”

  “I know,” I whispered, trusting Iq'her to deliver on his promises. We had started off on the wrong foot, but the more I got to know him, the more I trusted him. He was exactly the kind of man the people on this planet needed by their side, and I felt lucky to have him as my protector. And I wanted him. “Thank you, Iq'her. For everything.”

  “You never have to thank me.” The way his eyes looked into mine made me feel like time stood still and like nothing was wrong in the world.

  “You could’ve just ordered a strike on the group… but you didn’t. You waited, you gave everyone a chance. And for that, I do have to thank you.”

  “No, you don’t,” he smiled. “In a way, I didn’t do it for the group. I did it because of you, Stasia. I couldn’t abandon you.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” I said, my heart beating just a little faster. I brushed my thumb against the palm of his hand, aching to feel more of him, and our eyes locked in that exact moment.

  Time stopped, and then I just let my heart take over.

  Leaning in, I closed my eyes and brushed my lips against his. He returned my kiss eagerly, his tongue parting my lips immediately, and he pressed his whole body against mine.

  Slowly, as if worshiping every inch of newly exposed skin, he pulled off my clothing, raining soft kisses behind the fabric as it fell into a pile on the floor, until I was entirely naked before him.

  “Wait,” I breathed out, one hand on his chest. He pulled back from me and I took the chance to drop my hand to his belt. I had seen him do it once before, in the dying forest. I was sure I remembered how…

  There.

  Sliding the hidden plate open, I pressed down and, just like that, his human appearance faded right before my eyes.

  “I want to see you,” I continued, taking in every detail of him. Before, at the lean-to, he’d pleasured me, but now I wanted to witness him in all his glory.

  His body was strong and muscular, the clothes outlining his strong arms and shoulders, and his dark skin seemed so alluring that I could barely think straight. Laying one hand on his forearm, I traced the green threads of biocircuitry that crawled up to his shoulders, holding my breath as I did it.

  “This is me,” he said, his voice soft but strong. “The real me.”

  “I like it.” I closed the distance between both our bodies, my mouth crashing against his once more. Allowing instinct to take the steering wheel, I jumped to his lap, my knees on either side of his thighs. Throwing my arms over his shoulders, I straddled him, moaning softly as I felt the hardness between his legs straining against the fabric of his pants.

  “You’re perfect, Stasia,” he groaned, both his hands running down the sides of my body to cup my ass. He pulled me t
ightly against him, my breasts mashed against his chest, and we surrendered to our frenzied kiss as if nothing else in the world mattered.

  The loud snoring coming from the adjoining bedroom broke the spell.

  “Perfect timing,” I chuckled, slowly licking my lips at Iq’her.

  “We’re going to have to be very quiet.” he said seriously, only the trace of a smile lifting his lips. “Again.”

  “I know,” I nodded, licking my lips. “I kinda liked it, actually.”

  He groaned softly. “The things you do to me, Stasia. I need to be inside you, mate.”

  Mate?

  I turned the strange word over in my mind. I…liked it.

  More than that.

  “I need you, too,” I breathed softly against his neck. “But first….”

  I pushed him back against the mattress, hard kisses of desire and lust distracting him as he lay back.

  Shifting slightly, frantically moving the fabric out of the way, I kissed my way down his chest.

  I needed this alien god. I wanted every inch of him inside me. I didn’t want anything less than to please him and then surrender my body to him.

  But first, I wanted to repay him for earlier in the forest.

  Iq’her shuddered as I brought my hands to his crotch, rubbing him through the straining fabric.

  He was hard. Rock solid.

  “Is this for me?” I asked quietly, looking up at him with an innocent smile. He growled, then in one quick movement, pushed the offending pants down.

  I forced myself to look away, remove the boots, and pull the pants all the way down before looking back.

  He lay back, supported by his elbows, black eyes fixed on my every move.

  Patient.

  Hungry.

  Ready to devour me.

  And I was ready to be consumed.

  I knelt over him, then ran my hand over his thick, scaled, and rigid cock. At my first touch, he shuddered, a growl starting deep in his chest.