by Ashley West
“They’re kind of monstrous,” Draco explained. “Tall and thin with ashen skin and pitch black eyes. They always seem to come out of nowhere. Most other races can mate with humans or other clans, but they’re one of the only groups who has to mate with their own kind, which is why there aren’t that many of them.”
Steph shuddered at the image. “So they’re more like the aliens we see on TV, then. I guess it’s good to know that not all extraterrestrials look like hot guys.”
Draco snorted and leaned over to kiss her. “No, not all of them.”
Somehow, work was easier now that she had someone there who knew what was going on. Nate made a habit of taking his lunch breaks with her and the two of them would talk about what new information they had.
Nate, nice as he was, had offered to be the one who told Simon and Clive that something had happened to the blade, and while Stephanie didn’t think that was strictly fair, she didn’t want to argue about it. After all, it wasn’t even a part of her job description to be dealing with it at all, and Clive already gave her enough crap when it came to making sure she was just doing her job and nothing else.
She told Nate all about the Triptherus, and was gratified to find out that he was taking extra care to make sure the blade was locked up tight at night. Steph wasn’t sure how long they were buying Plintos time, but she didn’t want anything to happen to the blade while they were.
She also didn’t want to concentrate too hard on what was going to happen when Draco had to go back. Her life had never been as exciting as it was right then, and on top of that, she was going to miss him.
Instead of trying to keep their distance to make the leaving easier, they just seemed to be getting closer to each other, which wasn’t going to help when they had to separate. Draco was at her house most nights, and she had altered her routine for the first time since she’d gotten the job at the museum so she could drop him off at the house he stayed at before she went to work each morning.
Soon, she wouldn’t have to do that because he’d be back on his planet, and she’d still be here on Earth, missing him.
There was nothing for it, though, so she sighed and forced herself to get back to work.
She and Nate both kept their eyes open for anything that even resembled a Triptherus, but by the end of that week, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Draco had been talking about leaving soon, so she made her way to the lounge that night after closing to see if Nate was still around so she could let him know.
The museum was quiet except for her footsteps, empty of visitors and pretty much all of the staff.
She caught Nate just as he was heading back to do the lock up. “I think it’s going to be soon,” she said, falling into step with him.
“Really?” he asked, making a face. “That’s too bad. I mean, it’s good for them, of course, so they can get all of this dealt with, but when’s the last time we had something so interesting happen around here?”
Stephanie laughed softly. “I know what you mean. I’m going to miss it.”
Nate gave her a look, then. “You’re going to miss him. Don’t even try to pretend like that’s not what it is, Steph. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other, and it’s only been a few days.”
Now it was her turn to make a face. “Alright, alright. Maybe you’re right about that. But either way, it doesn’t matter, right? He has to go back, and I’m just going to have to…” She trailed off as something moving in the distance caught her attention. “What is that?”
“What’s what?” Nate asked, following her gaze with his own.
It had been just a flicker, but it had definitely been something, and her mind was suddenly filled with the image of what she thought a Triptherus might look like. They were somewhere on Earth, after all, and it wouldn’t have taken them long at all to figure out where the blade was. Her heart slammed into overtime as she reached for Nate’s arm to make him stop walking.
“Wait,” she whispered. “Look there.” Steph pointed to a shadowy corner where she’d seen the movement. It was slight, but it was there, a rhythmic motion that almost seemed like the shadows were breathing.
She didn’t want to say anything else out loud in case saying their name was enough to provoke them to attack her, but it seemed like Nate had caught on. “Let’s go,” he said loudly, and tugged her in the direction of the viewing room quickly.
A feeling like something cold sliding down her spine followed when they walked past the corner, but nothing reached out to grab her, so she tried to control her breathing as they went.
They made it inside the viewing room, but just as they went to close the door, a shadowy hand reached out and grabbed the edge of it, keeping her from being able to close it. As she watched, the hand solidified into something in a sickly shade of gray, fingers thin and spindly, but obviously strong.
Steph gasped and nearly jolted back away from the thing, loosening her grip on the door enough for the Triptherus to be able to shove it open so it could step inside.
It wasn’t like anything she had ever seen before, that was for sure.
She’d seen the images of tall gray aliens with large heads and bulbous eyes in comics and movies just like everyone else, but this was something altogether different than that. Those aliens had looked strange and well, alien, but this thing looked downright menacing.
It was tall and thin, its limbs just as spindly looking as the rest of it. For something that could melt into the shadows, it was oddly sharp, all jagged edges. The head was normal sized and looking, aside from the gray skin and the fact that it had no visible nose, but the eyes were large and empty, just black pits from all Steph could see, and they seemed to ooze darkness as she stared up at it. Its mouth was a garish slash across its face, stretching from nearly ear to ear. There was no way to tell what gender it was, and it was, for all intents and purposes, naked.
Clearly it had seen her, and she waited to see if it was going to strike out at her, though that was clearly not the smartest course of action that she could have taken.
“It’s here,” said the creature in a cold, hissing voice, and Steph shivered to hear it. “Give the blade to me.”
She was nearly frozen with fear, and she couldn’t have said no even if she wanted to. Dealing with Draco was one thing, but this was something entirely foreign to her, and she was afraid.
“Steph!” Nate called from behind her. “Move!”
That was enough to startle her out of her daze, but before she could jerk away from the thing and take cover or something, its strong fingers were wrapping around her wrist, holding her in place. The very touch of the Triptherus was cold and clammy, and Stephanie felt sick just feeling it against her skin.
“Give it to me,” the thing said again, narrowing its eyes as it peered at her. “You have it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Steph shouted and jerked at her arm. “Let go of me!”
That mouth opened wider, showing off pointed teeth, and she flinched back. Before the thing could bite her or suck out her soul or whatever its plan was, it was being shoved back. Nate had a chair in his hands and he’d used it to put himself between Stephanie and the Triptherus, breaking the creature’s hold on her and shoving it into the wall.
The thing made a horrible screeching sound, and Stephanie whimpered, fighting the urge to clap her hands over her ears.
“Get back!” Nate spat. “You’re not going to find what you’re looking for here.”
“You lie.” The Triptherus replied, and then Steph watched in horror as it drew itself up to its full height and backhanded Nate across the face.
The chair fell to the floor with a clatter and Nate fell with it, sprawled across the shiny linoleum, unconscious. The creature looked at him for a moment and then raised those eyes back to Stephanie, stepping over Nate’s body neatly as it advanced on her.
She stepped back, her butt hitting the table when she ran out of room. Her hands went to the flat of the
table to brace herself, and she gasped when her hand touched something cold.
The blade.
It didn’t have a hilt, and she had no idea how to use a sword besides what she’d read about and seen on television, but it was sharp enough and it was better than nothing, so she grabbed it, wincing when the edges bit into her skin as she drew it up between her and the advancing alien.
“Stay back,” she said, and as she leveled the blade at the creature, she could feel that strange power pulsing through her. It jolted up her arms and gave her a strange feeling of strength as she swung the blade at the Triptherus.
She felt stupid, but it seemed to be working. The creature stopped and eyed her warily, leaning back a bit from the arc of the blade. After a moment it screeched once more and then loped off towards the door, taking its leave.
Once it was gone and didn’t seem to be coming back with more of its kind, Stephanie exhaled shakily and slumped to the ground. She let the blade clatter to the floor, blood staining it and her hands where the sharp metal had cut her. Her heart was still racing, and she felt like she was going to throw up, remembering those dark eyes and the way it had felt when the thing touched her.
It took her long minutes to be able to drag air into her lungs without shaking, and only then did she remember and look to Nate. There was a bruise on his face from what she could see, but he was still breathing fine and would probably be alright, so that was a relief.
Stephanie was about to put the blade away and try to wake Nate up when the sound of footsteps approaching made her freeze.
If it was the Triptherus coming back, then she didn’t know what she was going to do, and she didn’t breathe until she saw Draco stick his head in the room.
All at once, she melted with relief. “Draco.”
He looked at her and then at Nate on the floor and stepped further in, looking alarmed. “What happened.”
She was in his arms in a matter of seconds, shaking and clinging to him as she tried to relate the story of what happened in as calm a manner as possible. Her hands were bleeding on his shirt, but she didn’t care about that. All she was concerned with was staying as close to him as possible because he was grounding and familiar, and she was still so shaken up.
Draco swore under his breath and held her close, stroking her hair with one hand. “I knew something had happened,” he said. “I was waiting for you, but you didn’t come out and then I got the security guard to let me in.”
“What happens now?” Stephanie wanted to know. She didn’t have any delusions that they wouldn’t be back for the blade.
“We need to call someone for Nate. And we need to take the blade with us.”
Stephanie nodded at the logic of that. They would come back and who knew if they’d wait until closing time or if it would just be one the next time. The thought of facing down another one of those things made her want to throw up all over the shiny floor, and while she didn’t know what it was about the sword that had saved her this time, she didn’t want to take any chances on it not working the next time.
She went through everything in something of a daze, grateful when Nate woke up on his own, holding his head. He shooed them off with the promise that he would be fine and knew how to take care of himself, heading to his car after they’d wrapped up the blade to take with them. Stephanie noticed that he looked at it until they walked out of the building and then sighed, and she knew how he felt. It was an amazing find, and now that it was going away, things were going to go back to normal.
Normal had been wonderful before, but now…
Well, now things were different.
Draco insisted on driving them back to Steph’s place, and Stephanie argued that she was fine and he didn’t even have a license. Her hands had already stopped bleeding because the cuts weren’t that deep due to the dullness of the blade’s edges, and even if they throbbed with pain, she could still drive them home.
But in the end she was outmatched and got into the passenger seat with the blade in her lap while Draco started up the car. If he could pilot a spaceship or whatever he called it, then he could more than likely handle her little car, so she resolved not to worry about it.
As he drove, she stroked the blade through the cloth. “You know,” she said, speaking for the first time since they’d gotten in the car. “This thing probably saved my life.”
Draco glanced at her and then back at the road. “I’m very glad it did. And that there weren’t any consequences from you using it. I highly doubt it was made with humans in mind, and there’s some strange power to it.”
“I noticed,” Steph said, rubbing at her arm absently. “It’s incredible.”
They didn’t speak again until they made it back to Steph’s place in one piece, thankfully. Draco took the blade from her at the door and made her go sit on the bed while he took care of cleaning and bandaging her hands just to be on the safe side.
Then he stripped out of his shirt, liberally stained with her blood, and stood there, looking at her.
“I was so worried,” he admitted into the quiet of the room. “I thought something had happened to you.”
Stephanie shrugged a shoulder. “You were almost right about that.”
Draco sighed and scrubbed at his face with his hands. “I just. I know I wasn’t supposed to come here and find someone that I… That I’d feel things for. That was never the plan, but it happened anyway, and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if you knowing me got you hurt.”
“Look at it this way,” Steph said, giving him a little smile. “It probably would have happened regardless of me knowing you or not. I work at the museum, and what they want was there. At least with me knowing you, I had a way of knowing what was going on. And now you have the blade and you can take it back to Plintos, and…” She trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. Yes, it was wonderful that Draco had the blade that he’d come all this way for. And yes, it was great that he could go back and help his people. But there was that small, selfish part of her that was demanding no, stay with me; don’t go.
As if he could read those words on her face, Draco stepped closer. He cupped her face in gentle hands and tipped it up so she was looking at him.
“I don’t want to go,” he admitted softly, and Stephanie gave him a shaky smile in return.
“You have to, though. We both know Plintos isn’t coming here, and even if he was willing, there’s no time.”
Their eyes held for a moment and Draco sighed. “You’re right.” Instead of saying anything else, he leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth.
It was a kiss that felt like a claim, and it took Steph’s breath away as she kissed him back, bandaged hands braced against his chest as their lips moved together.
When Draco pressed his advantage and pushed her back so she was lying on the bed, Stephanie didn’t fight it. Heat flared in her, and she was well aware that this might well be their last chance to do this.
She blinked away the tears that wanted to fall at the thought and wrapped her arms around Draco’s neck, pulling him down onto her because she wanted to feel him. She wanted his weight on her, solid and real before he went back home and left her life. She wanted to burn the memory of his weight on her, his hands on her, his taste, his mouth on hers into her mind so well that there would never be any doubt whether or not this had really happened.
Draco seemed to have the same idea because he didn’t go with his usual slow, measured movements. He was pulling her clothes off and kissing skin feverishly, dragging his hands down her body and leaving stinging bites in his wake, each kissing and touch seeming to echo his claim: mine, mine, this is mine.
Protesting that was the last thing she wanted. Because she was his in that moment. Wholly and completely and when he pushed into her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, moving with him as he practically pounded into her.
Her moans were high and loud, and she trembled when he bit her neck and groaned against the skin of it, whispering t
hat he cared for her so much and didn’t want to leave her.
She came hard under him, shaking a bit with the force of it, but found that she was still not completely satisfied. So she took him into her mouth and worked him until he was hard again and then changed their positions so that she could sit astride his lap, hips rolling in undulating waves while his hands gripped her waist and he stared at up at her with adoration in his eyes.
When they’d both come again, they laid together, sweaty and breathing hard, Stephanie’s head pillowed on Draco’s chest while he stroked her hair.
“I should go tonight,” he murmured, and her heart nearly sank.
“Probably,” she replied because she knew he was right.
“They’ll be more concerned with regrouping to try to take the blade from the museum again than thinking I might already have it. They know you’re connected to the blade somehow, but they don’t know you’re connected to me. It’s better if I leave now.”
Stephanie lifted her head to look at him. “I know,” she said. “I’ll drive you back to the house.”
Draco nodded, still staring at the ceiling, and neither of them moved for long minutes. They both needed a shower and to get dressed before they could go anywhere, and time wasn’t exactly on their side with this, but Stephanie didn’t really want to move, so she wasn’t going to say anything.
Chapter 9: Leave Taking
The drive back to Presea’s house was silent for the most part. There were a lot of things that Draco wanted to say to Stephanie, but he wasn’t sure any of them were appropriate, and he didn’t know how to begin anyway, so he just kept his mouth shut and tried to focus.
Presea had assured him that when it was time for him to go back, she would make sure that his little shuttle was fueled and ready to go. Apparently part of her duties in being on Earth to help visitors was to make sure they could get home again, and Draco found that he felt bad about assuming the worst of her the first time they’d met.
