by Maree Dry
Zurian kept his eyes on Viglar, trying to gauge Zacar’s movements.
“I promise you on my blood that Viglar will heal her.” Zacar moved so that Zurian could see him. He held his hands away from his body. “She is the best friend of my breeder. Have you any idea what my Natalie would say if I ordered her death?”
“She is not weak.”
“No, she is not. She will be healed and will no doubt use her knowledge of human devices to try and figure out our equipment.”
Zurian slowly relaxed his grip and lowered Viglar. He turned to face his leader.
“She will survive.” Zacar said.
Zurian nodded and followed Viglar to the infirmary where Natalie still held Julia’s hand. He’d heard her words to Natalie earlier. Julia smiled at Zurian, a sad, drowsy smile and he missed her normal energetic one. What would he do if she came out of the operation and looked at him with empty eyes? If he never saw them flash at him again? If she never argued with him, tried to break into his equipment? “If she survives she could be weak, helpless,” he told Zacar. He turned to face him full on. “Still, I would care for her.”
Zacar nodded. “I will stand with you against any command to harm your breeder, should word of this get back to Zyrgin.”
Zurian knew the implication of Zacar’s offer. There was no place in any galaxy they could escape the supreme leader’s wrath if they defied him.
“You would do this for me?”
“Yes.”
Zurian had no words. When no other leader would accept him, Zacar had taken him on. Amidst debates about killing him or neutering him, Zacar had stood firm. Zurian had never understood why he would do that.
“I have to prepare her now. It is dangerous to wait any longer,” Viglar said.
“Wait.” Julia looked at Viglar. “Please, I need to talk to Zurian alone.”
The doctor nodded and left, grunting something at Zurian on the way out.
“I have to tell someone this. If I don’t--if I don’t make it, I want to tell at least one person.” She slurred the words, the drug already taking effect.
“You will make it.”
“They day I ran from the family, I saw my father beat a man. He died. Five years ago President Taylor disappeared before he could pass a new law. The man my father beat to death was President Taylor. I always feared they would send my father after me. I wasn’t sure if he would carry out the order.”
Zurian nodded, although he wasn’t sure why, and called Viglar back in.
The doctor pressed something against her neck and Zurian stared into her panicked eyes, tried to give her some of his strength. The strength he pretended to have for her sake. If she knew of his fear, she would despise him.
She’d tried to ensure that he would never be alone. Never did he think to find someone who would care for him that much. She even said she wanted his scarred face to be the first thing she saw when she came to. He couldn’t bear to have that at last, only to lose her.
“I have to shave her hair,” Viglar said.
“No, she would not like being without her hair. She spends a lot of time working on it every day.” Hadn’t they done enough to her already? Implanting her with their alien device that had turned on her. Now Viglar wanted to rob her of her beautiful hair. “Find a way to do it without shaving her head.”
“It will grow back.”
“It grows back?” He’d noticed it grew longer but he didn’t think it could grow back from being shaved.
“Yes.”
“This better not be more of your teasing. It doesn’t grow back I will beat you for every tear she sheds.”
He felt better for having issued the threat.
“Of course.”
Zurian forced himself to watch as the doctor shaved off Julia’s beautiful hair, leaving her as bald as a Sokra woman. Only much smaller and more frail looking than those warrior women. He stood with his fists clenched, convinced that seeing her lying on the sterile slab, looking so frail and vulnerable, would be the last time he saw her alive.
Chapter 23
Zurian paced up and down outside the infirmary. Viglar had constructed a see-through isolation booth to do the operation in, to protect her from infection.
Hours had passed and still Viglar worked on Julia. With her head shaved, lying on the slab with Viglar’s hulking figure working on her, she looked so tiny--weak, the instinct inside of him insisted.
Zacar walked up to Zurian in armored clothing with two swords and several knives strapped to his body. “The warriors have arrived.”
Zurian could hear their boots stomping on the cave floor. They’d been arriving for two hours now. Only one warrior was ordered to stay behind on the ship.
“I cannot leave her.”
Zacar clasped his shoulder for a moment. “You would not have honor if you could leave her, brother.”
Zurian nodded and saw Azagor checking each warrior’s equipment with his monitor. “Do we know why the equipment is malfunctioning?” Never in their great history of conquest have they had to deal with faulty equipment.
“It is mostly the power sources.”
“It will take three months for new supplies from the home world and every moment more Raiders are coming.”
Zacar slapped him on the other shoulder. Zurian appreciated the gesture but all he wanted to do was stand here and watch through the transparent wall while the doctor either saved Julia or condemned Zurian to misery for the rest of his.
“I cannot stay with you,” Zacar said.
Zurian nodded. “Of course, you are needed in battle.”
“I will leave several warriors here.”
“I will keep our breeders safe,” Zurian said.
His reason for living lay pale and vulnerable on the slab in front of him. A lifetime passed while the doctor operated on Julia. Zurian debated over Viglar’s fate while he watched his every move. He didn’t know if he could allow the doctor to live if Julia did not. Although, maybe he would let him live. It had been several hours and he still worked without seeming to tire. Even for a Zyrgin that was impressive.
Two hours later, one of the warriors left behind in the cave approached him. “Zacar needs us.”
“Lock down the security and join Zacar. I will keep the base safe.”
Azagor had ensured their alarms and defenses around the mountain were functioning. It was not ideal, but Zurian could defend the base alone if necessary.
This should never have happened. If the equipment malfunction had only affected the warriors, Zurian would’ve been glad for the opportunity to fight several thousand Raiders with mostly his sword. Endangering his breeder had ensured that whoever was responsible would face a charge of treason. It was said that it was better to be consumed by a female Eduki than to be charged with treason on Zyrgin.
When this crises was over, some technicians were going to die under his blade after many months of torture. He would demand the right to take their heads.
Thirteen hours later, the doctor walked out of the isolation booth. Zurian wanted to ask him if Julia was all right, but he couldn’t find the words. He did not want to hear that his Julia would never look at him with laughter or intelligence in her beautiful eyes. He pulled back his shoulders.
Viglar flexed his arms and legs. “She will heal. We have to make sure there is no infection but I believe there will be no damage to her brain.”
Zurian’s legs gave way beneath him, disgraceful behavior for a warrior. Viglar turned and fiddled with his equipment. Zurian appreciated the gesture but he was not ashamed. If his Julia was all right, he did not care if he appeared weak to Viglar. “I promised her I would kiss her the moment she is conscious.”
“I will keep her asleep while she is in isolation, to keep her still. I promise when I bring her out of the coma and out of isolation, you will be the first to see her.”
“And kiss her.”
“Yes, then you may kiss her. For now I am most careful because of the possibility o
f infection.”
Zurian paced up and down, vaguely aware of warriors coming and going and absently answering questions about Julia’s welfare.
Natalie brought him food and he ate it to get rid of her sympathetic presence. It did not help. Most of the time, she stood next to him watching Julia. At least, she didn’t bother him with a lot of her talking.
He counted each day, while Viglar and Natalie tried to get him to go to sleep. As if he would be able to rest with Julia lying there so quiet. The battle still raged outside the town but they were winning.
On the third day, Zacar came in looking battered. His eyes glittered and Zurian knew the fight must have been glorious.
If Julia would only wake and look at him with her eyes full of life and intelligence, Zurian would forgo a thousand brilliant battles.
Natalie ran to Zacar and clung to him, sobbing into his shirt. He looked at Zurian over her head while he stroked her hair. “There were many. We killed most of them but some got away.”
“We will have another battle soon.”
“This was just the advance. To see what we have,” Zacar said. “They think we are purple and battle only with our swords.”
They’d decided to camouflage as explorers since that was what the humans thought they looked like. They locked gazes, threw back their heads, and laughed.
Natalie whimpered and clung tighter to Zacar.
Zacar stopped laughing and rubbed her back. Zurian might try that with Julia the next time she was upset with him.
“These humans are weak,” Zacar told him. “We did most of the killing with our swords. I was hoping for a battle worthy of us.”
“We will never find a worthy battle on Earth. We will have to settle for owning a fertile planet.”
“I have never had any desire to become a herdsman,” Zacar said. He held Natalie against him and looked at Julia through the transparent wall. He switched to English. “I received reports that the operation was successful. How long?”
“Another three days and then Viglar brings her out of the coma,” Zurian answered, also in English.
“She is fortunate to have a warrior like you.”
Zurian said nothing. It was because of him that she was in an isolation booth.
Zacar and Natalie left, and Zurian continued his vigil. Each morning and each night without fail, Zacar and Natalie returned and stayed with him for a while. He appreciated their support but he would have preferred to be alone with Julia. He could pretend she was awake, that they were talking to each other.
On the third day, the three of them stood and watched as Viglar injected Julia and fiddled with the equipment.
“I want to find Sarah for her,” Zurian said to Zacar, wanting to concentrate on anything but his fear that he would not see her soul once she opened her eyes.
“We will find her. Every probe that Azagor repairs is going out to search for her.”
“It is time I installed the surveillance.”
When they conquered a planet, they always ensured they could monitor everyone by replacing the local communication systems with Zyrgin technology. The strange decision to go slowly with this conquest had prevented Zurian from doing that.
“As soon as your breeder is well, you and Azagor will replace the antiquated TC technology with Zyrgin.”
Zurian nodded, his eyes on Julia. He watched Viglar’s every move as the doctor brought Julia out of the coma. Viglar turned toward them and nodded at Zurian. Feeling as if he went to his execution, he walked into the isolation booth.
She looked pale, so helpless. Some primitive instinct inside him screamed weak. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Her eyes opened, beautiful as the exotic blue sky above the Earth, and empty. Her lips were slack against his. He continued to kiss her. If he didn’t stop, eventually she would recognize his kiss and come alive. He couldn’t move. This terrible thing that had happened had taken his strength.
He turned to face Viglar, unleashed his claws. “You took her soul.”
“No, she is coming out of a coma. Humans take longer to be fully aware.”
“Zurian,” she whispered.
Zurian knelt next to the slab. She blinked and he saw his Julia in those exotic eyes.
It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten these last few days. His stomach would have expelled the raw Eduki meat.
“Yes, it is me. I kept my promise.”
“Promise?”
The confusion in her eyes worried him. She had to be all right. “I woke you with a kiss.”
“Yes, you did.” She licked her lips. “My warrior has honor.” She lifted her hand and it fell back on the bed. Before she could worry about her weakness, he curled her hand around his scarred cheek the way she liked to do.
“May I give her some water?” he asked Viglar.
“Only wet her lips with this. Allow her very little for now.” Viglar handed him a sponge soaked with water.
He accepted it, glad Viglar had insisted he put on protective gloves. Getting him to allow the kiss had been a battle. “When can I take her home?”
“Another three days,” Viglar said. “I will allow her out of bed for short periods but I want to monitor her to make sure she has regained all of her motor functions.
If she did not regain all her motor functions, Viglar would find himself without some necessary limbs.
“Zurian, I’m fine.”
She did not sound fine to him, but he smiled at her and wondered why she seemed to draw back into the cushion.
***
The doctor kept her in the infirmary two more days. Natalie brought her some cloths to cover her head once Azagor removed the bandages. Zurian pretended to adjust her bandages every hour in order to check, but there was no sign of her hair growing back.
At last, Zurian used the hidden tunnel to carry her into their dwelling.
“Interesting route we’re taking,” she murmured.
He walked to their bedroom and laid her down in the bed. “If you follow the doctor’s orders and get well, I will show you another hidden tunnel.”
She smiled at him and she looked like his Julia. “I am practically sizzling with health.”
He pulled the blanket over her. “I do not have honor.”
“Why do you say that?”
He could see darker blue flecks in her eyes--more importantly, her soul and her intelligence. The stubborn spirit that drew him from the first time he saw her. “All I can think of now is that I want sex making with you.”
She cupped his cheek. He still couldn’t understand why she preferred to cup his ugly face. He leaned into her caress like a weak human male. The softness of her hands illustrated their differences.
“What about one of your dangerous faint-inducing kisses for now?”
Her blue eyes twinkled at him with humor he didn’t understand. For the first time, he didn’t care. His Julia looked at him. His knees nearly buckled.
He leaned down and touched his lips to hers, moving them from side to side to feel every inch of her. Every aware, intelligent inch. “Maybe I will practice kissing your whole body while you are too weak to try and take over.”
She cupped his cheek again, her thumb caressing his scars. “Believe me, you don’t need practice.”
“I need to perfect my technique around some of your areas.”
“Areas?”
He touched her ribs with his forefinger, tracing the alien bones. “The strange ribs.”
“They’re not strange.”
They were strange and alarmingly fragile. He followed the full curve of the underside of her breasts. “I have not explored these enough.”
“I agree. You were shamefully neglectful.”
“I am a warrior with honor. I am never shamefully neglectful of my breeder.”
He forced himself to stop touching her beautiful skin. She had to heal first. Viglar had insisted she should lie down and rest for at least a week.
“You need to eat.”
; “I feel like a chocolate,” she said.
Zurian carefully touched her skin but it didn’t feel warm as Viglar said it might if she developed a fever. Had Viglar’s operation damaged her mind, after all? “Do you fear you will turn brown and become like sugar?”
She looked at him. A strange expression crossed her face and then she laughed. She reached up to kiss him but groaned and held her head.
He quickly kissed her and held her still. “Please do not move, Julia. The doctor said you should be quiet for a few more days.” He did not have the heart to tell her that he found her strange human laugh grating and ugly. When she was well again, she could laugh as much as she liked.
“You are such a caring warrior, Zurian. You will make a wonderful father.”
The bottom dropped out of his world.
Chapter 24
Julia’s laughter dried up when he stiffened and moved away from her. She wanted to grab him and hold him against her. His presence reassured her. For the first time since she ran form her family, she felt safe, had an emotional connection with another human--well, not a human, exactly.
She reached out and he sat next to her again. She cupped his scarred cheek and something flared in his eyes. “What’s wrong? What did I say?”
“You said nothing wrong. I will bring you food.”
His face never moved in a frown or smile but she’d learned to read him and something she said had upset him. He was trying to hide it but she’d come to know him these months. She thought back to their conversation. All she’d said was that he’d be a good father. Why would that upset him?
He came back with a bowl of soup. “Viglar assured me this is appropriate food for a breeder recovering from illness.”
“Or an operation recovering from having alien technology removed from her brain,” she couldn’t help saying.
She could swear he was happy to have her poking at him. His shoulders relaxed and he fed her the soup.
She’d taken the last swallow and teased him, calling him a mother hen when he stilled and then grunted. “I have to report to the leader. Stay still.” He leaned his forehead against hers and then left. He returned almost immediately. “Do not break into my equipment.”
