by Marie Dry
“Come, we have a new arrival and she’s in bad shape,” Margaret said. She ignored Viglar’s rudeness.There was something almost tragic in her eyes when she talked about the other woman. Who was she and why was Viglar convinced she’s crazy? And what was a breeder exactly? She and Natalie both seemed content with being that.
They all went inside and found a young woman bruised and bleeding cringing on the examination table. Viglar immediately stepped back and motioned Madison to help her. “Reassure her that I will not hurt her. Human women become hysterical when they see our fearsome faces so you have to be firm.”
Rolling her eyes and smiling at the women she went to her. “Hi, I’m Madison and I’m a doctor. Will you let me help you?”
The woman had become still, her terrified eyes glued to Viglar.
Margaret stepped forward and sat next to the woman. “Don’t mind him, he’s all bark and no bite.”
“He’s a Zyrgin, you know, the aliens that took over the Earth, the aliens we’re going to kick off our planet one of these days,” Madison added.
The woman looked scared enough to run away.
“You wish, human,” Viglar said in his most expressionless voice.
“Just you wait and see, alien.”
The woman looked between them and when Viglar didn’t incinerate Madison for insulting him, she seemed to relax.
“I’m Madison and I’m a doctor,” Madison repeated. “What’s your name?”
“Janet.”
“Well, Janet, this ugly arrogant alien will fix you with his gadgets. It’s just like in the sci-fi movies. He waves around some silver gadgets and you’re instantly better.”
Viglar crossed his arms over his massive chest, looking more warrior than doctor. “Zyrgin healing is far superior than human methods and less invasive.”
Madison and Margaret shared an amused look.
“You will remain in bed for two days,” Viglar said to Janet.
She nodded, still looking scared, but at least it didn’t look as if she wanted to run for the door anymore.
Viglar passed his scanner in front of her and injected her. Her eyes widened and Madison thought it might be because of the instant pain relief.
“Do you require a sweet?” he asked in the tone of someone willing to make a huge sacrifice.
Margaret pressed her hands against her lips, her shoulders shook, and Madison bit her lip raw to stop herself from screaming with laughter.
“No, thank you,” the woman said and inched back a little.
“We will leave now. The human Margaret will ensure you rest and are looked after.” He gave Margaret a pointed look, as if he doubted she’d follow his instructions.
Margaret touched her chest. “Cross my heart, I’ll not desert your patient.”
They went back to the shuttle and something he’d said about the other Zyrgin came back to her. “Why did you call Margaret’s alien citizen Larz? I thought you all called yourselves warrior.”
“He took Margaret’s punishment and won’t be a warrior again until the punishment ends.”
“But that’s not fair. Is that why you dislike her so?”
“It is very fair. A warrior should sacrifice for his breeder. I dislike her because she is crazy and dangerous.”
“So, you’re saying if I did something wrong, you’d take my punishment?”
“It would be my honor.”
“Even if I did something terrible, like killing a Zyrgin or stealing a shuttle or taking your silver gadget while you slept or getting your synthesizer to make me lots of money?”
He stopped and looked down at her and, for a moment, she thought she’d managed to make him speechless.
“You cannot kill a Zyrgin, you are not strong enough, the shuttle will not open for you to steal it. I am a superior warrior, you could never take anything from me without me waking, and you do not need the synthesizer to make you money. I will give you anything you want.”
“That’s good to know, but say I managed to do any of those things, would you take the punishment for me.”
“You are not capable of doing those things.”
“Just imagine that I can, let’s pretend I can do all of it, would you take the punishment for me?”
“Yes.”
Chapter 14
They returned to the hospital, Madison still feeling a little dazed at the thought of Viglar willing to take her punishment no matter what she did. She ended her shift and went home, almost wishing they lived together.
The next day she jumped out of bed, telling herself she was relieved when a green alien didn’t stand beside it. She walked into the hospital and knew immediately that he was there. That strange electric atmosphere hung over the place, and everybody was on their best behavior. No one knew how, but he had the habit of being right behind you the moment you did something wrong or took an unscheduled break. For such a big man, he sure moved softly. To be fair, she had to admit that he worked harder than any of them. When they arrived, he was here and when the late shift arrived he was still working.
The nurse on duty at reception waved her over. “Viglar said he will be late, but you have to wait for him in his office.” She didn’t even try to hide her curiosity. Rumors about Madison and Viglar were making the rounds.
Madison sighed to hide how her heart was suddenly beating much faster. She felt her face warm. “He probably wants to put me to work again and tell me off for not starting at five these last few days.”
With a smile at the nurse, she went to his office, forcing herself not to rush. She was acting silly. She found another book on his desk, sat down, and worked steadily through it.
Something landed on the table next to her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She smelled the coffee before she saw it. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers.
“You didn’t come to wake me this morning,” she said and smoothed a hand over his uniform. She loved the weird texture, the way it was butter soft while it looked like metal.
“You missed me?”
“In your dreams.” She did miss him, didn’t know what to make of the fact that he was gone every time she woke after a night of torrid lovemaking.
“I want you to tell me why you hate us and then we will discuss hours.”
“I don’t hate you. What hours?”
“Do not lie to me, you hate us. I see it in the way you look at me. Hear it in the words you speak to your friends.”
“I don’t want to hate you anymore. I can’t want you and hate you at the same time, it’s tearing me apart.” She took a sip of coffee to give her time to work up the courage to tell him about Rory. “My brother Rory left my parents’ house two years ago, and we haven’t heard from him since.”
“You think we killed him?”
She wanted to say no, to tell him Rory was probably somewhere in the world having a grand adventure. “Yes.”
“At the Battle of No Name Town.” There was a slight sneer when he said the word battle. As if what happened there was not a battle. And he was right. It was not a battle but a slaughter.
“Yes.”
“I do not know if your brother was at that battle.” Again, a slight sneer at the word battle.
“Did you fight that day?” Please let him say he only tended to their wounded.
“Yes.”
Madison closed her eyes.
“You will give me his image. Our probes recorded the battle. If he was there, we will know.”
Did she want to know? Suspecting he might have killed her brother and seeing it happening in color were two different things. She nodded and sat sipping her coffee in silence.
At last he said, “I have decided that from now on you will live here with me. When I go to the cave, you will go with me.”
He heart bounced in her chest. He did want her, enough to insist she move in with him. “I can’t do that.” She didn’t know why she protested. Deep inside she knew she wanted to be with him. She wanted to go to sleep k
nowing he was beside her. Holding her safe.
“You will.”
“Do you know what everyone will think?”
“They are welcome to leave. Disrespect toward you will not be tolerated.”
“It’s not that simple. These people are my colleagues.” The way they acted lately she despaired of them ever accepting her relationship with Viglar.
He pulled his lips back from his teeth, and she had to force herself to hold her ground.
“They are not worth my time,” he said.
“You don’t understand Viglar. Their friendship is important to me.”
“You will do it,” he said.
Madison sighed. “Everyone already thinks we--”
“I will kill anyone who displeases you. You should not care what they think.”
“No, please, if you kill anyone because of me, I could never live with myself again. Please let’s just date for a while.”
“That is agreeable. We will now commence having sex.”
“Gee, the romance of the moment is overwhelming,” she said in her Sunday-best Southern voice, “I don’t know how I can refrain from fainting.”
He picked her up. “I will research romance later. Now we will fuck.”
Madison couldn’t stop the giggles. “No, no, I insist on romance with my fucking.”
“I am now an expert in romance.”
Madison giggled harder. She couldn’t wait to hear this. “Already? So what romantic thing will we do now?”
“You will lick disgusting warm chocolate from my body.” He said it with such distaste she kept a straight face with difficulty.
“I think it would be more romantic if you licked it off my body.”
“No, it would not be romantic,” he said with emphasis.
“Why not?” She expected him to say it was unworthy for a warrior to do or some superior thing like that.
“If I licked that, the chocolate, from your body, I will hurl it out of my body the way you lose your food every time we fly.”
“In that case, bring on the chocolate. It won’t make me hurl. Wanna guess where I want to lick it from?” She dipped her eyes suggestively and found herself in the bedroom with warm chocolate in her hands before she could blink.
He lay gloriously naked on the bed and managed even with his expressionless face to appear expectant. She’d barely dribbled the chocolate on his stomach and worked her way lower, when he grabbed her. Chocolate went flying and her clothes tore. They kissed and bit and licked each other, and Madison was glad she’d kept using the foul smelling salve because otherwise she would’ve run screaming after round three. He explored her as if he’d never seen her body before, kept asking her how it felt when he touched behind her knee, bit her neck, and then blew on it. He even wiggled her toes and asked her if that brought her pleasure. She giggled and told him it could drive her to orgasm, and he wiggled them for a long time before he stopped and stared at her.
“You are trying teasing.”
“Unlike some people, I don’t have to try, I do it,” she said.
“Who are the people trying?” he asked in all seriousness.
“Well, one of them is sort of tall, very well built, and green and chocolate makes him throw up.”
He cocked his head. “I am superior at teasing.”
“Oh, stop talking nonsense and kiss me.”
The air changed, became dangerous, but then he kissed her, and she relaxed, enjoying the way he kissed her as if nothing else in the world existed. She loved the intensity in his eyes when he stared at her while he entered her body and made her convulse with pleasure while stars burst behind her eyes. Her senses overloaded and she clung to him while she lost herself.
She came back to herself to the smell of coffee. She stretched and smiled, for this one moment not having a care in the world. This was the life, lovemaking that made you pass out and a male that made you coffee afterward.
He came in, still naked, handed her a cup, and sat down on the bed next to her, holding his own cup.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you drink coffee. I thought you guys didn’t like it.”
“It is a superior brew. Our theory is that a Zyrgin landed here centuries ago and planted it in Africa and showed humans how to cultivate it.”
Madison stared at him. That was a joke. He couldn’t possibly be serious. “You know, I’ll learn to read your face eventually. I’ll know if you are serious or joking.”
“I look forward to when it happens. We now have to talk about hours.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you what you meant about hours. Is it about my duties?”
“Yes, it is about your duty to me. I require eight hours of fucking every night.”
“What?” He had to be joking. She’d need medical treatment if she tried that.
“I will not negotiate.”
“Do you have any idea what eight hours of that will do to my body?”
“The salve I made for you will ensure you do not become sore.”
“Forget it, I’m not committing to eight hours a day. Good heavens, you’re like a machine, you just never stop.”
“Thank you.”
She clenched her teeth together, not sure if she wanted to laugh or get mad. “That was not a compliment.”
“It was. We are agreed, eight hours.”
“No, one hour and not a minute more.” She’d gone down the rabbit hole for sure. This just couldn’t be happening.
“Seven and a half hours.”
“No. Think alien--”
“I’m a Zyrgin.”
“Whatever, I cannot do eight or seven or six or five hours. It is physically impossible.”
“I will synthesize vitamins for you.”
“You are like a broken record.”
“What is that?”
“I have no idea, but that is what you say when someone just never ends saying or doing something.”
“Thank you, my breeder.”
“Again, that was not a compliment.”
“Six hours.”
She screamed and fell back on the bed. Luckily, her cup was empty and it fell harmlessly to the floor. “Are you deaf? I said one hour and that’s it. I might be willing to bargain on a day to day basis, but not for five hours.” She sat up again to shout the last words in his face.
“Three hours,” he said in a voice that told her either she agreed or he’d make it eight hours and she wouldn’t stop him.
“All right, three hours, but you better keep the salve coming.”
“It will be done, my breeder.”
She got out on the other side of the bed. “I have to get back to work. As it is, I didn’t do any studying today.”
He kissed her and pressed his forehead against hers before she left. She did some painting and was grateful that the mammoth task was almost done. Afterward, she changed into her white pants and jacket. She found Rachel in the dressing room. “I wonder who thought it was a good idea for people who work with blood to wear white.”
“Bet you it was Jacobson,” Rachel said.
Madison picked up her bag. “Wouldn’t take that bet.”
“Are you all right, Madison?”
Madison smiled at Rachel. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“Are you still coming to the party? I’d understand if you’d rather spend the time with Viglar.”
Madison hit her head. “I totally forgot about it, and I’m definitely going.” A fellow intern was turning twenty-one, and everyone not on duty was invited. The plan was for the party to last so long everyone on duty would eventually be able to attend. “I’ve gotta run, I’ll see you later, we can share transport.” She suppressed a wince at the cost of taking a taxi. At least she got paid on a regular basis now.
After much internal debate she decided not to tell Viglar about the party. He was going to be working until the early morning hours before coming to her flat. She’d tell him about it afterwards.
They arrived at the party that
night to find music blaring and everyone dressed like aliens. “Terribly original,” Madison muttered and adjusted the silver antennae on her head.
“At least it’s just for fun. We’re not like those freaks walking around pretending they’re aliens,” Rachel said. She was dressed in a very short skirt, her hair arranged on top of her head with ringlets curling down the sides of her face. Already Madison saw some of the men checking out her friend.
They had a great time but, around midnight, Madison felt strangely light headed.
“I feel light headed. I’m going to get a cab home, you coming?”
Rachel nodded. “I think they spiked the beer bowl. I feel strange too.”
In the cab they sat with their eyes closed. “So where does Viglar live?” Rachel asked sleepily.
“In the mountains,” Madison murmured and then thought better of talking about Viglar. She didn’t want to get on the wrong side of the Zyrgins for innocently telling Rachel something about them.
They paid the taxi and staggered into their building. Madison didn’t feel lightheaded anymore, she felt sort of good. “I know what we can do.” She giggled and suddenly couldn’t stop.
“What?” Rachel asked and crawled up the steps when she had trouble walking up.
“You’re so clever, Rachie.” Madison crawled up the steps that kept jumping around on her.
“What can we do?” Rachel asked.
“What?” Madison stumbled to her feet and lurched to the door. “Oh, I remember, we can phone my boyfriend.”
“Where you got one?” Rachel tried to get through the door at the same time and they were stuck for a moment until Madison had the happy idea to go in sideways. That worked and they crawled up the steps to her apartment. “Viglar, he’s my eight-hour boyfriend.” She laughed and couldn’t stop laughing at such a funny joke.
She had to try a few times before she managed to call Viglar on the TC.
“Hey, Viggie, guess who.”
“My drunken breeder,” he said with absolutely no expression.
Rachel giggled and Madison jointed her. “He doesn’t know.”
“Would never guess,” Rachel agreed.
