Embracing Ember

by Astrid Cielo

  “Hi, Dr. Langston, this is Maria. I was just calling with the status of the patient and to find out some information.” Maria responded.

  “Hi Maria. How is the patient?” he asked.

  “Ember is fully recovered, physically that is. She woke up about an hour and a half ago. Since she did have a traumatic experience, I believe she would benefit from counseling.” Maria replied.

  “Okay. I’ll arrange that. I’ll see you when you get back, today.” Dr. Langston said. Maria was silent for a few minutes as if contemplating what to say. She looked up at Ceylon and he sighed at the fear he saw in her eyes.

  “Dr. Langston, I have decided to keep Maria and Ember for at least a couple more days. I think it would benefit your people if we extend that courtesy. Besides, I promised Maria an explanation of sorts. I promise you that she will be safe as will Ember.” Ceylon answered for Maria. She nodded as if relieved he had decided to speak and let Dr. Langston know that he was here.

  “Ceylon is that you?” Dr. Langston asked.

  “Yes. Maria has some other issues that she needs to talk to you about.” Ceylon replied.

  “Right, I, well, I really just needed to speak with the police department and contact someone to bring clothes. I believe Ceylon was going to arrange transport.” Maria said as she looked over at Ceylon for affirmation. He nodded that he would arrange for transport as she had advised Langston.

  “Okay. I’ll talk to you when I get back. I’m going to transfer you to the ER and they will transfer you to the PD, Okay.” Dr. Langston finally stated. Maria replied her thanks and after a brief conversation with the Emergency room a male’s voice came over the line.

  “Police Department.”

  “Hi, my name is Maria and I work in the Emergency Room at Trinity Heart. Last night a white female by the name of Ember Anderson was brought into the ER for treatment of injuries sustained by her husband. I was calling just to see where he was, whether in jail or has not been apprehended.” Maria stated.

  “Hold for a second, Ma’Am.” the male voice said. After long moments the disembodied voice came back with, “Ma’am?”

  “Yes.” Maria.

  “It would appear that the suspect, Landon Anderson, has not been apprehended and his whereabouts are unknown at this time. Might I inquire as to how the victim is doing?” he stated.

  “Ember is awake and aboard a Salinian ship. Their generosity saved her life.” Maria stated.

  “Well, we need a statement from her if we could talk to her.” He stated.

  “I’m sorry but that will have to wait at least two days.” Maria stated. Ceylon shook his head, his mind still reeling from the fact that the male who had caused such harm to Ember had yet to be punished. Maria looked at him puzzled not knowing what to say.

  “This is Ceylon, a Salinian diplomat. I would be willing to arrange transport to this ship if you need to speak with Ember about the incident.” He stated. Even he could hear the strain in his voice as he attempted to keep his emotions in check.

  “That would be helpful.” The male voice replied. “I’ll let the Chief know and he will send someone to wherever you deem appropriate.”

  Ceylon nodded to Maria and said, “Make the rest of your arrangements and tell Silvius. He will land the transporter in as soon as an hour. Just let him know what you need and he will ensure that it is done for you.” He didn’t wait for Maria’s acceptance he turned to leave.

  He still couldn’t explain how Ember was important to him in some way. In all of his thirty-two years of life he had never felt this way about someone. He felt elated in her presence, but that elation was tainted by his guilt. How could he feel this way for Ember when he never felt this way for Ashwin? He loved Ashwin, he knew that he did. He grieved for her, and still did. His friends and colleagues often accused him of existing instead of living. After his death, he supposed he did. He wrapped himself in his work, desperate for the distraction. Now Ember, the girl that was so battered she shouldn’t have stirred any feelings, besides protectiveness wouldn’t leave his mind. He had spent the night dreaming of holding her in his arms and tasting her, every inch of her. She would smile up at him and smile with her green eyes lighting up with arousal. The guilt left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  He almost missed her but her intake of breath alerted him to her presence. He turned and her green eyes speared him. The tears were flowing freely. Before he understood what he was doing he was on his knees and pulling her into his embrace. He saw her flinch when he reached for her and felt the tension in her as he sat her upon his lap. He held her close and whispered to her how beautiful she was to him in his own language. She wouldn’t understand and it was the only reason he found himself able to admit the truth. She slowly relaxed into his hold. Maria’s voice could be heard in the background, speaking to her roommate as she assured her that she was perfectly fine and the reason she needed the clothes.

  Ember pulled back from him, terror in her eyes pulling at his heart. “What am I going to do? He will kill me this next time. I only wanted to leave. I only wanted to be loved.” She said as sobs racked her small body. He pulled her close and tried to harden his heart to the little bundle that had just become more important than Ashwin ever was, despite the lies he told himself otherwise.

  FOUR

  Serenity stood in the place that had once been her playground as a child and later where she and Eon met in their dreams while she lay dying. Her heart was breaking at the barrenness that greeted her senses. It didn’t even look like her field anymore. It looked like a desert, no trees surrounding the missing wildflowers. The creek that they had swam in-gone. The perfect blue sky that’s sun had caressed her face-gone. All that remained in its place a sickening gray and black swirling cloud that seemed to drown the world in darkness. Her lungs protested the smell of ruin that hung in the air like death. But then she couldn’t describe what she saw with as a desert. A desert though appearing barren was teeming with life. This just felt wrong.

  She fell to her knees and touched the now ravaged ground and gasped as the images played in her mind, this world of hers telling her its tale in the only way it knew how. The disappearances came first. She could see them taking females and males, always children in the still of night. They had to study each species. Their eyes, deep and fathomless pools of darkness and their skin a sickly green taunting each person they took. Serenity could only think of one time she had seen a similar color green. A diabetic had come into the ER and as a part of her assessment she had taken off his shoes. His toes had turned black and at the end of those toes was the worst shade of green she could have imagined. He had died three weeks later from complications of gangrene. After they had studied their victims and ensured that their biological weapon would work, they unleashed the Blue Death upon the unsuspecting population. The death tolls were always staggering. They always targeted the females first, as if knowing the planet would suffer without them. Serenity didn’t understand why the eliminated the females, except to ensure their repopulation would halt. Serenity cried out at the pain this world had absorbed as the men had lost their women-mother’s, sisters and lover’s all taken from them. Serenity’s heart clenched in anguish for their suffering as she remembered her own harrowing days at the mercy of the Blue Death. Had Anna not been adamant that a cure could be found, she would have died.

  The death of the female’s came years before they actually acted, allowing the numbers to dwindle. Some planets had ended themselves as anarchy reigned after their beloved mates had died. Other planets simply wouldn’t accept defeat, like Salin. Her breath hitched at the view of Salin that she remembered when she first arrived. Its mix of Earth and Mars had always taken her breath away. The lushness of this planet that each Salinian used to its full capacity had become her home. She could feel the greed as they peered at it. She could almost taste their excitement at the thought of destroying another planet, but then she could feel the horror some of their kind shared. How they disagreed, but outnumb
ered they hid and tried to run below the radar. Especially the younger male who looked covetously at the female who huddled in a corner of a cell as if trying to draw as much attention from her as possible, love emanated from him in waves that he was desperate to hide. Things that were loved or cared for in his society didn’t last very long. Their beauty snuffed out without thought of kindness. He looked into her eyes and gave her a sad smile, as if he knew she could see him. He whispered, his voice carrying to her through the dreams she knew she was in – Invasion.

  Invasion was next. A crying pulled her from her decimated field. She sat up in the bed, her room coming into focus as her baby cried for her. Eon sat up beside her his eyes still blurry from his sleep. She rushed to the bassinet that Eon had built of the reddened trees around their home. She had fallen in love with the rose colored wood at first glance, but the fact it smelled similar to lavender was a bonus. She picked up her baby girl, whose own rose colored skin matched her mother’s. “Marianna, sweet, what’s wrong?” she cooed.

  Eon came up behind her and pulled her into his embrace, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine, “Hush, my child.” Serenity still awed at how his voice calmed their child. She quit crying and stared up at Eon with a smile on her cherubic face. She was the spitting image of her father and he doted on his little girl like the proud father he was. Serenity pulled the blue gown that Eon loved down to expose her breast to feed the now giggling Marianna. Eon groaned before whispering, “I never thought I’d be jealous of my child.” Serenity chuckled as she walked back to the bed. Eon pulled her between his legs so that his chest supported her back. Serenity sighed in contentment and Eon kissed her temple.

  “I had another dream.” Serenity said. Eon tensed behind her as if knowing by her tone it wasn’t a good one.

  “What about?” Eon asked cautiously.

  “Them. The ones who let loose the Blue Death. The first thing they do is study. They steal people from the planet and ensure the virus works. Then they Infect. There was so much death. Then they invade. That’s what comes next.” She answered her breath hitching as the tears she hadn’t allowed to fall in her dream cascaded down her cheeks. Eon held her tightly as he comforted her. She fell asleep in his arms, his scent and love enfolding her in a cocoon of comfort.

  ***

  Aurum slid the paltry tray of food to the girl who had haunted his dreams since he was assigned to deliver and care for the prisoners. Her jet black hair touched her waist in dirty knotted tendrils. Her skin was a deep red, almost scarlet that begged him to touch its silky texture. He had always believed his people’s ideals were right, but he had come to question them as he worked with the prisoners. She had proved one of the lucky ones that had been immune to the virus that his people introduced to other planets. Their goal was to eradicate the female population of that planet and prepare for the invasion and thus taking their planet’s resources for the betterment of their home planet Malum. Their home planet was a barren wasteland that didn’t support life. He had never seen his people’s home planet, having been born and raised on this ship. He could still remember his mother who sang him to sleep. As with all in his culture he was taken from his Mother and Father at the tender age of six and trained in the area he would eventually be assigned. He never would have chosen to be the prisoner caretaker, but at six they didn’t ask.

  He whispered at the girl who haunted him to gain her attention. Her eyes like the color of skies his mother had shown him pictures of jumped to his face. They took his breath away. She shrank further in the shadows trying to avert his attention from her as tears formed in her eyes. He tried not to imagine why she was so scared of him, because he knew the former prisoner caretaker wasn’t the best of men. He didn’t like the idea of her being hurt and felt guilty that his people had taken her. He placed a few extra rations on her tray and nudged it closer trying to calm her with his voice. Of course he didn’t expect her to answer, but felt compelled to ease her in any way he knew.

  She wiped the tears and slowly inched to the food. She was careful to remain away from his grasp as she began to eat shoving handfuls of the food in her mouth. His gut clenched at the way she ate her food, knowing she had probably been starved before, but he wouldn’t allow that to happen anymore. Not on his watch. He watched until she was finished and produced a cup of his favorite juice made from a fruit they had confiscated from their last conquest. He placed it in her cell and placed his hands in front of him and backed away. She watched him as she warily eased forward. She snatched the container and hurriedly returned to the shadows. He watched her as she sniffed the container and a ghost of a smile flitted over her face. She took a small sip and moaned in pleasure. His cock stiffened and he once again felt guilty that something as miniscule as this juice was that pleasurable. She drank and moaned after each swallow. She was unaware that she was doing so he realized, but was loathe bringing it to her attention as this was the first time he had ever heard her make a sound.

  Her eyes sought his after she sat the container on the ground. Her blue eyes widened when she noticed him still staring at her and she quickly looked away. She took a deep breath and looked up at him again - curiosity causing her blue eyes to sparkle and she spoke, her voice rough from disuse. He knew she had asked a question, but he didn’t understand her language, although the words weren’t that dissimilar to their own language. “I am sorry but I do not speak your language,” he replied. She nibbled on her bottom lip her small white teeth a startling contrast to the scarlet of her skin. She pointed to the food and juice container and then to herself. She was wondering why he gave her those items. He thought for a second and came up blank. He honestly didn’t know why he had decided to give her extra rations and juice. She was his only prisoner, the only one left alive after the other caretaker had been relieved of duties. He just knew that he had never been one to enjoy in the sufferings of others and on some level he had always felt guilty for the release of the virus and the invasion. He couldn’t believe how guilty he felt about the whole damn thing, but he could imagine his mother being in this cell and facing what this young female had no doubt been subjected to. It made him angry. Confused. Wasn’t this for the best for all Maluminians? Suddenly he wasn’t so sure anymore.

  She spoke, one word bringing him from his puzzling thoughts. He looked into her blue eyes and was startled to realize he understood what she was attempting to say - Thank you. He smiled at her and said, “Your welcome.” She pointed to herself then said, “Cekayda.” Her name was Cekayda. He pointed to himself in return and repaid the favor, “Aurum.”

  “Aurum,” she repeated her voice causing him to react. He didn’t know what to think about this, but he did know one thing he couldn’t wait to bring her the next meal he thought as he gathered her tray. She stood in the shadows of her cell and watched him still wary, but she had every right to be he mused. “I’ll see you at next meal time, Cekayda,” he said as he exited even knowing she didn’t understand him.

  ***

  Anna placed the now sleeping infant in his bed. She traced his nose marveling in the ruddy red of his skin so like her mates. While Serenity’s skin had turned a blushing rose-pink, probably because she was so white before, Anna’s had turned into a slightly lighter shade of the ruddy red that Kylan sported. Kylan walked in and stared down at his son, “How is Adam?” he asked as he pulled her into his embrace. She smiled up at him and whispered, “Fine.” She had named her son Adam after the first man since he was the first boy of an Earth and Salin mating. Kylan leaned down and kissed her turning her thoughts to mush. He released her and whispered in her ear, “We have company and they want to speak with you.” She pulled away and looked at him questioningly. He just took her hand and pulled her into their living room.

  She recognized Alric, the High Councilor and Eon’s father and Kylan’s father, Noctae. The other two were complete strangers, but if she had to guess they were a part of the Counsel also. Noctae stood and opened his arms to hug her. After the f
irst time they met during a Council meeting when she first arrived, he had welcomed her with open arms-literally. She hugged her father-in-law who then asked, “How is Adam?”

  She smiled up at him before saying, “He is growing and becoming spoiled. Your son will never be able to say no to him and I am coming to believe that you won’t either.” She greeted the other males and took a seat.

  “Anna we have discussed this among the Counsel and have agreed that we would like for you to look over the research and problems with fertility that our remaining female population has. I’d like for you to meet Solaris and Faunus, the two we had tasked with the fertility problem. We would like you to aid them in their work,” Alric stated. Anna looked at Kylan who beamed with pride, but he didn’t know how panicked Anna was. Anna was a labor and delivery nurse, sure her job was important and she took pride in that job. Yeah she had read a few articles on fertility, had even volunteered her time at a fertility clinic for the extra education, but help with research – she wasn’t so sure about that.

  “Um, I think maybe you need someone else for this job. Serenity may not be a labor and delivery nurse, but I believe she would be better suited for this. I just…I, well. I’m just not as smart as she is,” she said her voice cracking at the end. She would never have told Serenity or even hinted to the fact but she felt insecure with her intelligence, especially with Serenity. She loved Serenity, but it didn’t stop her from feeling inadequate in intelligence when Serenity was just so damn smart. She hated herself for that jealousy and had tried to beat it down, especially since Serenity had never thrown it in her face when she didn’t understand things. Kylan sat beside her and pulled her into his embrace.