by Maree Dry
Zurian made a strange noise. “Do not get used to that. She is extremely noisy.”
“She cried?”
“I did not think she would stop.”
“Are you sure she is an orphan?”
“She is not. She is your small human.”
She noticed he didn’t say their small human. “I know what happens in orphanages. I used to volunteer at one.”
She could’ve resisted if he’d told her what he planned. But holding the baby, seeing the tattered clothes, how thin she was, Julia’s heart was lost.
“Volunteer?”
“You go and help look after the babies.”
It had been a heartwarming but also devastating experience. She’d been looking for some occupation, something not related to crime. As much as she had loved helping the children, she’d known she couldn’t do it day in and day out. That was the moment that started her career as a cyber-pirate.
She’d taken from the corporations and donated the money to orphanages and people in need. It was a testament to her skills that not even her own family had caught her doing it.
“It is noble of you to care so much for these ugly things.”
“They’re not ugly. All babies are beautiful.”
“This one has an unpleasantly shrill voice.” He cocked his head. “I could exchange it for another one.”
“I like this baby,” she said hastily. She should insist he take the baby back, but she knew how much the orphanages struggled just to feed the children. There was virtually no control over the running of the institutions and rumors about abuse were rife. The infant mortality rate was frightening.
“I thought you said you wouldn’t take in another man’s blood?”
He’d been so violently opposed to the idea, she still couldn’t believe he’d done this.
“I can tolerate a female child. A quiet one,” he said pointedly.
“You do realize that it will take up a lot of my time to care for her?” No doubt he thought they could stash the baby somewhere and forget about her apart from feeding her.
“It is small and doesn’t eat much. And it stays where you put it if you put cushions around it.” He cocked his head. “It wiggles a lot. I will bring it a bed like the one in the nursery. With a Zyrgin mattress.”
“I see. Does she have a name?”
“No, you may name her. Zyrgin warriors only name warriors.”
“Mirabelle, I will call her Mirabelle.” It was Julia’s mother’s name. Before she left, she’d always planned to name her baby after her mother.
***
Chaos reigned with Mirabelle crying constantly and Zurian insisting he could exchange her for a quiet one. It took more than a week for Julia to turn one of the bedrooms into a nursery. When she suggested putting the bassinette in their room, Zurian calmly told her he could easily rid them of this problem. Julia believed him and decided to put her in the bedroom next to theirs. He didn’t object.
Julia suspected Mirabelle was about six months old but was small due to starvation. Viglar came to see her daily and injected her with something that visibly strengthened her. Thoughts of Sarah plagued Julia constantly. Even more than when her friend had first disappeared.
***
Months later they received a message with coordinates on her TC. They had the block in place again with permission to let Jack and the unknown agent get through. Julia stared at the coordinates and then pressed the button that would let Zurian know there was an emergency.
He came at a dead run.
“The agent found Sarah.”
They immediately planned a rescue.
***
“I want to go with you,” she said and turned a pleading look on him. Ever since they received the coordinates, she had the feeling she had to be there when they found Sarah.
He put on his jacket. “No.”
“Please, Zurian. You can put me somewhere safe during the fighting and I promise to stay there.” She searched for something that would convince him. “If Sarah is there, she will be so scared. Imagine how frightened she’ll be when she sees you and Zacar. You’re big and scary looking. After what she’s been through, she won’t go anywhere with you.”
“We will look like humans and you will stay safe here.”
She placed her hands on his chest and tried her best wide eyed pleading look. “Please, Zurian.”
“Who will look after your small human?” Zurian asked and she didn’t know if he was genuinely concerned for Mirabelle or using the baby to keep her here.
She’d found him looking at Mirabelle once with the kind of intensity a snake watched a mouse. Then Mirabelle had grabbed his finger and the look had been replaced with one of bafflement.
“I could take her with me. I know you will keep us safe.”
“A warrior does not take his breeder to the battle field.” He looked down at Mirabelle. “And not a small, weak human.”
“I cannot explain this, but I know deep in my heart that I need to be there. Please, Zurian.”
“Stay here,” Zurian growled and disappeared into the room she thought of as his study.
He returned a few seconds later with a small jacket as well as a pair of boots. He motioned and she sat down. He took off her boots. Shivers travelled up her leg when he took her foot in his warm hand. He carefully placed the silver ones on her feet. They had no laces and simply came open when he touched them. “How does it do that?”
He looked up at her. “Superior Zyrgin technology.”
She signed. “Of course. What else?”
It molded to her foot and calf in the most comfortable fit she’d ever had. He held out the jacket for her and she placed her arms inside. It fit perfectly over her shoulders and waist but hung down almost to her knees.
“It’s too big.”
He stood behind her and closed the jacket, enveloping her in his embrace. “I wanted it to protect your whole body. Do not take this off until we are back.” He left again and returned with a silver blanket. “Use this for the--for Mirabelle.”
“She has a blanket, a few in fact.”
“This will keep her safe.”
Julia stood on tiptoes and pulled his head down for a kiss. “Thank you for protecting us.”
His eyes sparked and then cooled into endless black. Now that she knew why he controlled his emotions, she simply enjoyed the sparks and accepted the need for him to pull back.
They found the others outside, obviously ready for battle. Natalie’s sons were there but she saw no sign of her friend.
“The boys are going as well?”
They stiffened and stared at her before turning their backs on her.
“They are warriors.” Zurian lifted her chin with an insistent finger. “You stay in the transport until we need you to speak to the females. You do not leave it without my permission.”
“All right.”
***
Hours later, she sat in the small shuttle craft, cradling Mirabelle and praying they would find Sarah. So many times they thought they’d found her, only to return without her.
Several warriors were stationed around the craft.
“Come.”
She nearly jumped out of her skin when he grated the word right next to her. The hatch had opened without her noticing.
“How did you get in here without me hearing you?” She looked up and drew back in the seat clutching Mirabelle protectively. Instead of Zurian as she expected, a human with cropped gold blond hair in an army uniform stood in front of her, something familiar in his stance.
“Zurian?”
“Human, I am a Zyrgin warrior in disguise. Come,” he said.
She followed him down the ramp and saw men and women huddled together. According to Zurian, the Raiders had taken hundreds of people prisoner, but this couldn’t be more than eighty or a hundred people.
“Where is everybody?”
“They shipped out humans yesterday,” Zurian said and escorted her to the group of sa
d looking people.
Her heart nearly stopped in fright. If Sarah was among the people shipped, they’d never find her.
“Sarah?”
“Not here. I am going after the ones they shipped out as soon as we have seen to these people.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“They think we are going to sell them again. Reassure them. Ask them where they want to go and tell them the army will take them back to their homes.” All the Zyrgins were dressed like soldiers. “Find out if they heard where the others were shipped to.”
She stepped forward but kept the pity off her face with difficulty. They looked terrible. No one dared look her in the eye, and she could see them bracing themselves for the worst.
Most of them were thin and wearing tattered clothes.
“Hi, everyone, my name is Julia. My friends from...uh...my friends from the army have come to rescue you. If you tell us where you want to go, we will make sure you get home.”
“How do we know they’ll take us home? How do we know they won’t try to sell us again?” This was said aggressively from the back and Julia saw a small redheaded woman push people out of her way to move forward. Something about the way she moved tugged at Julia’s memory. She also noticed that the others gave the woman a wide berth.
“You are welcome to leave on your own or to go with the soldiers. I do not know what other reassurances to give you,” Julia said.
Who knew what the woman had gone through? Julia couldn’t blame her for being distrustful. Still her brash attitude grated.
“What if we want to go with you instead?”
All Julia’s internal sensors went off. She looked up at Zurian who stood slightly behind her.
“We do not allow civilians in our camp,” he said and several of the people stumbled back. The redhead stepped forward.
“Well, right inside an army camp is the only place I’ll ever be safe again.”
Julia could see the bones protruding through the flesh of most of the people here. The aggressive redhead looked a bit scruffy and her clothes were dirty but she clearly wasn’t starving. There was something oddly familiar about her.
“Me, too.” A voice said softly from behind the aggressive redhead and every hair on Julia’s body stood on end.
“Sarah?” she whispered and tears burst from her eyes when she saw her friend shuffle forward slowly, painfully. Her hair hung lank and oily down her neck and shoulders and her clothes were ripped. Her body was one big bruise, but her eyes--her eyes did not belong to her friend Sarah. They were those of a dead woman, or a woman longing for death. An old tired woman.
Julia rushed forward and shifting Mirabelle, gathered Sarah into a hug. There were only fragile bones beneath her hands. She held on tight and felt her friend hesitantly return her embrace.
“Can I go home with you?”
The uncertain whisper broke Julia’s heart. In that moment she would have battled an army of aliens to ensure her friend came with her.
“Yes, you can come with me.” Julia looked at Zurian. “Please,” she mouthed.
“If she can go with the soldiers, I demand to go, too,” the loud redhead insisted.
“What is your name?” Julia asked and felt Sarah stiffen against her.
“Marcie, my name is Marcie. Don’t think you can leave me behind.”
Julia looked up at Zurian.
“She’s coming with us,” a not-quite-warrior voice said from behind them, gruff and determined.
Julia turned and saw one of Natalie’s sons, maybe Larz, staring at Marcia. When Zurian looked at Julia like that her bones melted. But Larz was downright scary. A long discussion in the grating Zyrgin language ensued.
“Are they speaking a different language?” Marcie asked. “It sounds like they’re clearing their throats. It’s rude to speak a language that people around you don’t understand.”
Larz speared her with a penetrating gaze but the woman didn’t seem to find it frightening. Maybe because Larz had the appearance of a twelve-year-old human boy.
The discussion abruptly stopped.
“She comes with us,” Zacar said.
The warriors helped all the others to get into the army transport trucks. Julia had only ever seen them in old movies and she wondered where the Zyrgins had gotten them. At least, it seemed to reassure everyone that they’d be taken home.
Sarah and the redheaded Marcie were quiet as they ushered them into the space craft. Sarah did what they told her and stared in front of her with a vacant, unblinking gaze. She didn’t show any curiosity at the alien transport. Didn’t seem to see Mirabelle cradled in Julia’s arms.
Julia noticed that Marcie didn’t miss anything.
Marcie’s eyes narrowed when Zurian put the craft on auto pilot and came to sit next to Julia. “This is not army issue.”
When Julia caught his eye, he nodded at her and she realized they were very aware of the redhead’s doings.
“We’re not going to an army camp are we?” Marcie asked.
Julia had no intention of telling the woman anything. “I cannot answer your questions.”
She felt guilty for the instant dislike she felt. And still, something familiar tugged at her. Could she have seen Marcie in Denver, in her previous life?
They landed the spacecraft at the foot of the mountain in an area Julia didn’t know.
“Where are we?” she whispered to Zurian as he helped her out of the craft. She turned back to help Sarah and found her already out of the craft, looking forlorn.
“Guest quarters,” Zurian said.
At first, Julia thought there was nothing there but, as she looked around, a perfectly round shape caught her eye. A dome-like structure, built on similar lines as their dwelling, blended perfectly with the surrounding mountains.
Zacar grunted and the door slid open. They walked into a beautifully furnished living room.
Julia frowned at her surroundings. As beautiful and comfortable as this was, she didn’t want to leave Sarah here. She wanted to take her home and care for her. Try and put the laughter back in her eyes. Julia was ashamed to admit that she definitely didn’t want to take Marcie with them. She simply didn’t trust her.
“This is amazing. When did you do all this?” Julia and Zurian stood a little apart from the others. “Why did you build this?”
Marcie looked around with narrowed eyes, Larz sticking close to her. “Why’s he on top of me all the time?” the woman asked, so shrilly Julia winced.
“I protect you,” Larz said.
Natalie walked out of, what Julia assumed was the kitchen, holding a tray with coffee cups.
“Welcome. This is our guest lodge. I hope you will be comfortable here. Would you like some coffee?”
“Guest Lodge, how very grand,” Marcie drawled.
Larz dropped his disguise.
Marcie shrieked and moved back. “You’re one of those aliens they talked about on the TC. Why aren’t you purple?”
“Sarah,” Natalie exclaimed and, putting down the tray, rushed forward to Sarah and carefully hugged her. “I’m so glad they found you. We never stopped looking.”
“Who cares you found your long lost friend?” Marcie shrilled. “These are aliens,”
“Sarah, would you like to take a bath,” Natalie asked. “There are clothes for you in the suitcase in the first bedroom but you can choose any of the other bedrooms you like.”
Sarah slowly shuffled to the entrance to the bedroom. Julia lowered her eyes to the floor because if she saw her friend like that one moment longer, she would cry.
“And what about me?” Marcie demanded.
“You too, of course,” Natalie said neutrally.
“Just keep that strange little fucker away from me.” Marcie moved away from Larz and he stepped closer. Marcie went to one of the bedrooms. She turned to Larz. “Sit, stay.”
Julia stepped outside and looked helplessly up at Zurian.
“We can’t leave her here alone.
Not with that woman.”
He didn’t answer.
She leaned her head against his chest. “I don’t know what to do. What to say to her. She’s so broken.”
Zurian drew her closer to him, turning her so that he didn’t crush Mirabelle. “As soon as the doctor is sure they have no tracking devices, we will decide what to do with them.”
“Why would they do that? It must be expensive to put trackers into all their prisoners.”
“Not all their prisoners. Just the one we’ve been hunting for almost a year.”
“You think they’re using her to find you.”
“Yes.
Natalie joined them outside, cradling her baby. “We have to take Sarah with us. We can’t leave her with that horrible woman.
“We cannot trust her,” Zurian said.
“She would never betray us in any way,” Julia said, but she knew people changed, acted out of desperation and fear.
“Who knows what they have done to her? Done to her mind. And something about that redheaded woman is not right,” Natalie said. She turned to Zacar who’d followed her outside. “And what’s up with Larz? He’s standing guard outside the room she chose.”
“He chose her for his breeder,” Zacar said.
“What?” Natalie and Julia said together.
“It is his choice.”
“But he’s only gone through one change. You said Zyrgins had to go through three changes before they can take a wife,” Natalie said.
“He is close to his second change. We will keep the woman here until he goes through his third change and can take a breeder,” Zacar answered.
Julia wasn’t about to get in the middle of that argument. “Do you think she could be a spy?” she asked Zurian.
“The redheaded woman, yes. Your Sarah may have been forced to have a locator.”
“So we have to leave them here.”
“Yes,” Zacar said.
“Can’t we have the doctor look for a locator and extract it,” Julia said and saw Natalie nod in agreement.
