She challenged his mind and aroused his lust.
I chose best.
‘Bhyr?’ Indira shifted on her knees to face him. Something subdued her expression. ‘Will you tell me about them?’
The warmth of the sun evaporated. He stiffened, needing no clarification. ‘Aztekan females?’
She nodded, solemn. ‘If it’s not too traumatic.’
‘Why would it be? They never hurt me.’
They never will.
‘Your father told you stories about them to foster hatred, so the indoctrination of your religion seemed like a salvation.’ When he remained close-lipped, she sighed. ‘You were just a boy. That kind of thing leaves its mark.’
Bhyr shook his head, but deep inside, he felt the wall he’d hidden his doubts and misgivings behind crack so far open, he knew it to be irreparable. His time with Indira had chipped away at its foundations until this last realisation dashed it to rubble. He chuffed. ‘Again you slip beneath my guard.’
She smiled, sad, and said nothing.
If she gloated, he might have baulked. Her quiet support had the words leaving his lips as if of their own volition. ‘Before the Beginning was the Old Way. The females ruled, and we bowed to them. Life was bearable until it wasn’t. They grew jaded and cruel.’
‘I remember you saying their lifespans were longer?’
‘Centuries longer. We think it is why it was so easy for them to see us as temporary. Not worthy of the same consideration they afforded themselves.’
‘On Earth, the reproductive cycles of long-lived species tend not to be prolific. Assuming it’s the same here, I don’t see how the males back then thought a breeding cycle like the one you have could work.’
‘My predecessors thought the failings of our genetics were surmountable. That it was the females’ reluctance to change the class order that hampered the progress of research in that area.’ He shook his head at their lack of foresight. ‘The females began to kill males indiscriminately and used them in vicious games of sport. We died by the thousands. They did not care. Sons were plenty and replaceable. They used our sacred organ,’ he touched his mouth, ‘and our submission points,’ another touch, this time to the hollows of his hips, ‘as a means to torture us. This went on for generations. Until a male, the First Male, said no more.’ He looked at her. ‘He is a legend to us. He was strong enough to defeat the weaker queens and canny enough to trick the most powerful. He wrenched control from them, then went to war with those who rose against him. Many males died. Countless. In the end, our numbers were enough. We won.’ He felt a swell of pride towards those ancestors and the horrors they had overcome. ‘The females were locked away.’
‘Hearing it from you, I understand those males felt besieged.’ Indira released a shaky breath. ‘I do. They were fighting for their lives.’
‘Yes.’ It relieved him he could discuss this with her.
‘How did the Horde go from locking them away to killing them?’ She met his gaze. ‘It seems less like justice and more like vengeance.’
‘You have no right to judge the decisions they made.’
‘Don’t I?’ Her head tilted as her gaze searched his face. ‘Those decisions led to events that affect me and my people.’
Bhyr clenched his fists on his knees.
‘Come on, Bhyr. Don’t get mad.’ Indira held up her palms. ‘I want to understand.’
He grunted, avoiding her eyes. ‘There were rebellions led by males coerced into supplication by the remaining queens. They used the males’ instincts against them.’ He hesitated. Divulging information about Horde weaknesses felt dangerous. ‘We are by nature attentive and protective of our queen, but not affectionate as a species in the way humans are.’
‘That’s not my experience. You give me affection.’
‘You are irresistible.’
‘Loving how you said that with a straight face.’
He pondered her meaning then let it go. ‘Mating for life was how we displayed our devotion, and we had ferocious appetites for rutting. It was this need the queens preyed upon. After they quelled the rebellions, it became plain the First must dispense discipline amongst the Horde and restrict the carnal aspects of our natures which lead us to ruin.’
‘You understand sex isn’t inherently immoral or evil, right? That it’s the intention of the people doing it that makes it good or bad.’
‘I know better. You’ve shown me better. Back then, it seemed the nexus of our troubles. We tore down the temples of Creation, all things created at the females’ behest, and turned to the most fervent teachings of Destruction’s priests. We became devout. The teachings became our way of life and through abstinence we found purity of purpose. The First Male became the Avatar of Destruction, charged with overseeing the sacrifice of breeders.’
‘I don’t get why they have to die.’
‘When we hold our sons in our arms, it is a powerful thing. To keep the life bearer who bore this great gift within sight weakens a male’s resolve. Then to allow the breeder to become a mother and influence the spawn from so young an age?’ He shook his head. ‘They decided after several males tried to retrieve their breeder from the farms that rites would happen as soon as the child was born. To avoid unseemly attachments.’
‘Females were born less than males. That would never be sustainable.’
‘We hoped we would find an answer to that problem, but as our numbers shrank, we lost knowledge and drive and a strange apathy took hold.’ He shrugged. ‘It was not until I took control of the Horde that we again discussed solutions.’
‘You decided to find surrogates.’
‘Many wanted to die out. Others agreed that we must find compatible females to host our spawn until we replenished our female stocks.’ He looked her in the eye. ‘I pushed for that one. A handful wanted to move away from the Horde teachings and adopt the ways of other species like the Verak and Rä. To have life mates. It was a disagreement over how to proceed that led to Hel Bihter leaving.’
She frowned. ‘What’s so big a deal about that?’
‘I had forbidden it.’
Her brows rose.
‘I feared the other species discovering how diminished we had become. A concentrated effort by several of our enemies would mean our extinction. My species has not made friends over the aeons.’
‘I’d imagine not.’ She rose and walked over to stand between his legs. Her fingers trailed down his chest, then lower. ‘These hurt when touched?’ She referenced his submission points.
Uneasy, his hands caught hers. ‘Aztekan queens have bone protrusions within their sex that press these nerve clusters to subdue her chosen male.’ He swallowed. ‘It paralyses him, so she may take seed.’ His grip tightened. ‘If you press hard enough, I will be defenceless.’
As the Keeping had left her defenceless. His stomachs churned thinking of it.
‘Bhyr? Please look at me. Please?’ She sighed. ‘I will never use that knowledge on an Aztekan male.’
His head jerked up.
Indira’s expression was fierce. She cupped his neck. ‘Ever.’ She kissed him. He felt her sincerity through every part of his being. ‘All this talk has given me a headache.’
Bumping his forehead to hers, Bhyr stood. ‘I can cure that.’ He urged her to sit. He prepared a remedy from a weedy plant root that grew in abundance on his mountain. It would work with her biology. He swallowed the root, growled at her fussing and fed her the tisane mouth to mouth.
Within chimes, her pallor gained a healthy glow and her pinched expression eased.
‘That’s better.’ She stopped rubbing her temples. ‘What was it you gave me?’
On the walk back to their nest, he explained the medicinal properties of several plants and root systems she could use for simple ailments.
‘Did you mean it?’ he asked in the deep quiet of night as he lay her down on his furs.
He nuzzled her neck.
‘Hm?’ Her eyes glazed as his hand slid bet
ween her thighs to cup the hot well of her sex. ‘What was that?’
‘You will never use my weakness against me. Did you speak the truth?’
She arched and stretched until her sweat slicked body fused to his. Her arms draped over his shoulders. ‘I meant it.’ Hips rolling, she kissed his chest. ‘I promised.’
He lowered his mouth and stroked his tongue across her smiling lips.
27
Indira
Bhyr roused me with strokes across my back and ass. ‘Up.’
I rolled over. ‘Huh?’
‘You must wake now.’
His muscular buttocks flexed as he strode for the bathroom. I blinked to refocus and get a better ogle, but didn’t lift my eyelids again.
While his words registered, the night before tired me too much to care and I dropped back asleep.
‘Indira. Up.’
Cool air whisked over my flesh as he snapped the covers back. ‘Fine. I’m up.’
My eyes screwed closed, body limp as a noodle.
‘Lazy female.’
I patted my mouth, yawning. ‘You kept me up all night.’
‘Vzzt.’
That had sounded less charmed and more irritated.
I curled upright and scrubbed both hands through the puffy volume of my hair. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There has been….’ He glanced at me. A fleeting expression of worry masked his features before he shook his head. ‘There is an urgent matter I must see too. Get up now. Your fellow humans have arrived.’
I managed a drowsy interest as he paced across the nest gathering his things and making my breakfast.
Others arrived during this rushed exodus, and with a hard press of his mouth to mine, Bhyr left at speed.
Bihter, Ohx and a steady-eyed Aztekan I’d yet to meet tromped close at his back, an urgency to their movements.
‘Bye,’ I told Bhyr’s shadow.
The warriors left behind their women. They stood at the foot of the nook and smirked at my naked, sex-stinking self.
Face mushed into my palm, I waved them towards the squashy floor pillows. I braved the icy gush of the waterfall to wash away the evidence of my excessive nighttime activities. I dressed as fast as I was able. It still took me ten minutes, having to wrap and tie everything. A cup of bronze liquid with a malted aroma waited on the table. I gulped it without thinking on its origins and then joined the others.
The women sat chatting, encircling the hot rock pit, their outerwear discarded around them. They took one look at the smudges beneath my eyes, my air of satiation, and started wagging their eyebrows and exchanging grins.
‘Whatever,’ I muttered.
Cristina chuckled.
Curious, I greeted the sombre, dewy-skinned newcomer in our midst with a handshake. ‘I’m Indira.’
‘I know.’ Her chocolate eyes widened as she looked me over. She looked spooked. ‘I’m sorry to stare. You’re the First’s woman. I’ve heard a lot about you from Drayg.’
When my brows pulled together, she motioned towards the exit as if to remind me. My frown eased as I recalled the lithe-bodied stranger who’d left with Bhyr.
‘Intimidated?’ I asked.
‘A little.’
‘Good.’ I winked.
She covered her mouth to giggle. The blunt edge of her bob grazed her jaw. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’ We talked. Mayumi was the manager for her family-run hotel in northern Japan, stolen from her home at night. Her origins explained the Asiatic language my ears picked up under the translation my brain received.
Awkwardness had me avoiding Ashleigh’s eyes when she nodded in greeting.
I hadn’t seen her since the Ella nightmare.
Picking up on my unease, she gave me a sad smile then patted my shoulder.
Cristina jumped up to give me an exuberant squeeze. We tittered like secondary schoolers and swayed side to side.
She flopped back down to lounge on the mounds of cushions, fiddling with her hair. ‘How things change.’ She waved a hand to bring up a holosphere then dismissed it with a grand flourish. ‘Things are so much better now.’
Mayumi’s eyes lost focus. A sensual, feminine look crossed her face. ‘Much better.’
‘It’s an improvement,’ I agreed, curling into my cushion to get comfortable.
‘We can talk to each other whenever we want.’ Cristina’s tone was rife with satisfaction. ‘Surf the intergalactic frequencies and learn about other species.’ She snapped her fingers. ‘Have you read the Baxnonian article on She, Lumen of the Stars?’ Her face brightened. ‘She’s human like us.’ Cristina glanced at me, grinning. ‘She’s the one who returned to Earth and held the press conference. Remember? They talk about her like she’s the second coming. Traffickers kidnapped her from Earth and she ended up on a slave planet and sold to some creep. But she escaped, found three mates, averted a war and then had a baby.’
I winced at the “creep” comment, but let it pass. If Bihter only gave her the highlights of the story, I wasn’t going to shake her trust in him by revealing what he’d left out in loyalty to Bhyr.
‘Goodie for her,’ said Ashleigh, voice dry.
‘I read about the Verak Queen, Sine. She is human, too. She brought her whole family to an alien world.’ Mayumi, someone who presented herself as family oriented from the little we’d spoken sounded impressed.
‘I skimmed that piece. She’s interesting, but Lumen is a freedom fighter,’ Cristina said. ‘I hope I get to meet her.’
I considered telling her the Rä and the Azteka were in a cold war because of the altercation between Bhyr and Venomous. An altercation that resulted in us being abducted. I set the mess on the “ignorance is bliss” shelf for another time.
‘Do you think Aztekan spunk is, like, an elixir of life or something?’ Cristina asked.
We fell quiet.
‘Um, no,’ I said.
‘No,’ Ashleigh replied in abject horror.
‘I’m feeling fantastic, and my hair has never looked shinier. I swear, my smile is whiter.’ Cristina parted her lips in a snarl that was all the way scary. ‘See what I mean?’ She garbled through admittedly bright white teeth.
I started laughing.
Ashleigh harrumphed. ‘You sound like social media ditz who drinks the sperm of ten men from a sippy cup because it has,’ she made air quotes, ‘“so much protein” in it.’
‘Ew.’ I groaned.
‘I also feel wonderful.’ Mayumi blushed. ‘Drayg makes me feel beautiful, so I’m not an unbiased source.’
‘Cristina,’ I said in strangled tones. ‘Your youthful glow is more of an environmental effect than, uh, an ingested one.’ I laughed again.
Mayumi giggled.
Cristina appeared skeptical. ‘If you say so.’
‘It may also be because of the healing pods.’ I paused. ‘Have they told you about your new life expectancy?’
They stared, faces blank.
I told them, surprised I wasn’t the last person to know something interesting.
‘This is amazing,’ Cristina breathed.
Mayumi looked stunned. ‘A wonderful gift.’
‘Ella was right,’ Ashleigh said à propos of nothing.
We fell silent, smiles dying.
‘What?’ I asked flatly.
‘Is this happening?’ she demanded overlooking my question. ‘Are we doing this?’
‘What do you mean?’ Mayumi leaned back as if to escape an upcoming explosion. ‘Are we doing what?’
Ashleigh’s hands fisted in her lap. ‘Ohx kidnapped me.’
Exchanging worried looks with Mayumi and Cristina, I nodded with them.
‘He forced me to.…’ She took a breath. ‘He might not have violated me in the most traditional sense, but I didn’t want it like I should have.’
We nodded again.
Her experience was ours, and something we all had to make our peace with.
‘You know what? Screw this.’ Ashleigh surged onto her fe
et. ‘Planning an escape is the right thing to do. It should be the only thing to do. Greater life expectancy? Don’t you get it? It was an accident, a side effect of their genetic engineering. They never meant for us to live those years. They planned to kill us.’ Her hands tore though her hair. ‘They terrorised us, took us when we told them no, regardless if our bodies were reciprocal or not.’
‘It happens,’ Cristina said.
‘Not where I come from.’ The push of her hand was violent, rejecting the notion. ‘Not back home on Earth.’
‘Oh, stop it. Earth wasn’t like that. No place in the universe is like that. Assholes are everywhere. Check your privilege, Ashleigh.’
‘My privilege? Really?’ She scoffed. ‘Miss Top Influential People Under 40 to Watch?’
‘You are a fan!’ Cristina pointed, beaming. ‘Anyway, our aliens didn’t know better and they’re willing to change. Enough said.’ She shrugged.
‘No, no, no. They knew. I don’t care if they change.’
‘Yes, you do.’ Cristina kissed her teeth. ‘Honestly.’
‘They raped us.’
‘But it wasn’t rape to them,’ my mouth said before my brain applied filters.
‘Uh oh,’ Mayumi said.
‘It popped out,’ I said quickly, but it was too late. They stared as if I’d spontaneously grown Shiva’s burning third eye.
I cringed. ‘Um.’
‘“It popped out,” didn’t sound like an apology,’ Ashleigh noted, stone-faced.
‘Because it wasn’t.’
She shook her head, dazed. ‘How can you say that?’
Bhyr Page 25
