GalacticFlame

by Mel Teshco

  “Bolishtas,” he yelled out, enlightening her.

  Five of them ran—galloped?—beside them, just yards away. Their long, muscular legs tapered down to huge round discs for hooves, clearly all the better for travelling over sand. Long red fur appeared to be flecked with a burnished gold, while their thick, tangled manes and tails were a creamy yellow.

  The leader swiveled its long, arched face her way. Black, intelligent eyes peered at her, seemingly sizing her up. With a toss of its head and a high-pitched keening cry, much the same as a doco she’d watched on Earth television about the sounds of whales, it wheeled away, the small herd following.

  All too soon the beasts merged into the red desert sands, as though a part of the landscape. But even as she wished they’d not gone as fast as they’d appeared, she was soon drawn to the mountain looming ever larger ahead.

  Her pulse thudded. Was this the surprise where Genesis was taking her?

  The peak appeared to soar right through the heavens, too high surely to climb?

  Genesis abruptly topped a rise. Maneuvering the bike down the incline with its spiked wheels kicking up what would easily be knee-deep sand, they as quickly leveled out. Ahead, the ground appeared to be perfectly flat, hard-packed red sand, with the mountain far ahead rearing upward like some preternatural giant.

  He opened the bike up until the surroundings blurred into iridescent scarlet. Beautiful. Magnificent. Dramatic.

  She pressed her face into his back once again, scrunching her eyes closed and taking short, sharp breaths of the heavy, honeyed air that seemingly blew past without getting a chance to fill her lungs.

  In that moment she realized if it wasn’t for the fact she’d left her loved ones behind, she could really have been happy here. Oh she’d been satisfied in many ways on Earth. But being with Genesis, even after such a short time, took her to another place, and not just physically. Excitement, passion and fulfillment were no longer emotions to imagine, they were real.

  Muscles flexed along the length of his spine as he leaned forward, his hair flailing in the wind.

  She smiled, for a moment allowing happiness to surge. She could so easily fall in love with him.

  Her heart stuttered. Perhaps she was already a little in love with him.

  Her arms tightened instinctively around him. Impossible though it seemed, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

  She could never tell him who she really was. She couldn’t take the risk.

  She couldn’t lose him.

  Chapter Five

  She wasn’t sure exactly when the surroundings began to change, but the ground wasn’t as vibrant a red, especially with the bleached grasses and straggly shrubs dotted here and there.

  A flock of tiny crimson birds, their disproportionately long tails that appeared to be a knot of twisted, hanging feathers, flew past, headed to what was probably the safety of the mountaintop, or more likely its fresh water.

  Genesis slowed the cercanne to little more than walking pace as she peered over his shoulder. Another herd of bolishtas with their red coats and yellowish manes were grazing on the grasses ahead, seemingly oblivious to their presence.

  She put a hand to her mouth as she looked past the animals. She must be seeing things? Plants couldn’t grow out here, surely? But behind the herd, rows upon rows of lush plants in varying colors and heights stood out in stark relief against the endless red backdrop of mountain and sand.

  “You have gardens here?” she breathed. At his nod she added huskily, “Plants are—were—my passion back on Earth.”

  He turned to her, his eyes darkening as though he’d guessed that tidbit of information already and he wasn’t happy she’d used the past tense. “These plants were the surprise I wanted to show you. I don’t think there’s any reason you can’t keep your passion alive and well here on Carèche.”

  Her stare fell back on the plants. Excitement thudded through her veins. She could learn so much about the flora on this planet; take her knowledge to a whole new level.

  She glanced back at Genesis, moved by the surprise he’d given her, but even more touched that he’d even noticed her passion for all things plants. Someone interested in her interests was a rare novelty to be cherished and appreciated.

  “The bolishta don’t eat the gardens?”

  “Their stomachs have trouble digesting anything more than the grasses they’re fond of eating.” He inclined his head toward the red-gold mountain, “The base of Mount Heamington is where almost all our food is grown.”

  Her excitement plummeted as her gaze travelled from the base of the mountain to the lofty mountain peak where the transmitter to find other Earth women would be located. She needed to forget about the gardens and think about saving her sister!

  She clasped his hard forearms, forcing a casual tone as she asked, “Is it possible to go to the top of the mountain?”

  He arched a brow. “You’d need five Earth hours and the speed and strength of a bolishta for that journey. But once the caltronian mating cycle is finished I will take you. Otherwise it’s far too dangerous to travel to the summit.”

  Her gaze swung to the bolishtas they approached as she tried to push aside bitter disappointment at how inaccessible the transmitter was. “Oh?’

  He stopped the bike beside the herd of ten. “Though they’re much the same as your Earth horses to look at, bolishtas are immensely strong and can extend hundreds of sharp, hooklike talons, which are retracted beneath their hooves. They’re one of the few big animals who can scale almost vertically.”

  “That’s awesome,” she breathed, looking at the animals in a whole new light.

  He nodded, humor sparking in his eyes as he glanced back at her. “Yes. I guess it’s to our benefit they’re a gentle beast and don’t use their talons even for self-defense. Unfortunately it leaves them vulnerable to a caltronian attack, which is why they roam freely around our camps and our gardens, choosing to stay nearby for our protection.”

  They were flight animals much the same as horses.

  “In return for our aid, the bolishtas take us where the cercannes can’t.” He pointed to the mountain. “Mostly steep terrain.”

  She pulled her feet free from the stirrups. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she tilted her head to the side as she took in the graceful animals. “If I could walk on the hot sand I’d get closer to those bolishtas. I’d love to check them out properly.”

  “You will have that opportunity soon,” he said huskily, as though he too wasn’t immune to the awareness between them. “I sent one of my men to the central province to acquire some special footwear that will shape to your feet and protect them.”

  She smiled thanks. “I noticed the Earth women wearing them today.”

  “Yes. Theirs were made in advance. I shouldn’t have assumed you wouldn’t need them too.”

  She frowned. “Why would you think that?”

  “The children born here who are of mixed blood like you and me have the thicker-soled feet of the Carèche people. I foolishly assumed you’d be the same.”

  “Perhaps it’s nature’s evolution? I was born on Earth and didn’t need the thicker-skinned feet that the children did of this planet?”

  His eyes glinted. “Beautiful and smart. How’d I get so lucky?”

  A flash of pleasure filled her to the brim. She pulled a face in an attempt to disguise the emotion, uncertain just yet if she wanted him to know how he affected her. “If only it wasn’t for my feet…?”

  “Your feet are perfect, Sheehar,” he said gently, clearly seeing right through her bluff. “And even if they weren’t, it’d be just another thing for me to love about you.”

  She sucked in a breath. “Love?”

  He dismounted with the grace of much practice and stood facing her. “You are my intended. I loved you from the moment I saw you. My love is irrefutable, undeniable.”

  Oh, God.

  Noxious guilt swirled thickly within. Unlike her, he didn’t see the need
to hide his true feelings. Unlike her he wasn’t carrying a secret that could destroy everything.

  She swallowed hard. She needed to change the subject fast, before she blurted out something foolish. She jerked a nod toward the bolishtas.“Would you mind taking me to see them?”

  His eyelids swept low, though she perceived his astute gaze studied her face. After long seconds he relented with a nod. “Of course.” Gathering her in his arms, he carried her to the herd that showed no sign of fear, the creatures turning large, trusting eyes their way.

  An arm around Genesis’ shoulders, she reached out her free hand and touched the bowed, velvety nose of one bolishta, causing its rubbery, whiskered lips to tremble.

  “They adore affection,” Genesis said with a smile.

  Her hand slid up the creature’s graceful curving face and between its large, V-shaped ears. “They’re so big, much bigger than horses.” She scratched between its ears, grinning as its lips continued to quiver.

  At least its comical expression distracted her from Genesis’ bare chest that had the hard musculature of a warrior and musky scent of male.

  She turned to him. “Are they all trained to be ridden?”

  “They are.” He faced the bolishta getting all the attention and commanded, “Karsh.”

  The animal grunted, its head dropping as it all but collapsed onto its knees. Genesis lifted her onto its back then climbed behind her, his arms encircling her from behind.

  “I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” She swallowed. “Where’s the bridle and saddle?”

  “We need none of those things,” he reassured. “As you can probably feel, their coats are soft, even a little spongy.”

  She wriggled a little. He was right. It was much the same as the memory foam cushion she’d owned on Earth, imprinting her favorite position.

  “As for a bridle…we simply look to where we want to go and that’s where the bolishta heads. Everything else is voice control and their sensitivity to our emotions.”

  She bit her bottom lip. If she had any hope to one day destroy the airwave device on the tower, she needed to learn how to ride these creatures. “Sounds…easy enough.”

  “Unct.” At his command the bolishta clambered to its feet, making the ground seem a long way down. Genesis’ arms tightened around her as he murmured, “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Merdee.” His next command had the bolishta’s long-legged stride take them closer to the mountain base, where plants of all descriptions grew. A few of them she recognized, but there were many others she didn’t.

  Soon enough she forgot her nerves, her focus instead zoning in on each new plant. She pointed to one with blue and red striped leaves. “What is that one?”

  “It’s a xenz. Its ground up and dried leaves make incomparable pain relief. Its roots are highly toxic, as is its fresh sap—though taken in small doses it counteracts the bacteria found in a caltronian bite or claws—if you’re lucky enough to survive the attack.”

  “And those?” she asked as they rode past the odd looking rows of what appeared to be arm-length pieces of jagged, burnt-orange bark stuck in the ground.

  His arms stiffened around her, causing the bolishta to nervously toss its head. Talking to the animal in his own tongue, he finally answered her question, his tone stark. “We call it gratzi. It was brought here after the crew on the mothership discovered an unmapped planet, on its way back from Earth.”

  “Oh?” She peered at the gratzi with even more interest, imagining it growing wild on some undoubtedly inhospitable planet.

  “Once its outer woody shell is infused in water for a day or more, it triggers the body—alien or human—to produce millions of antibodies, far more than we’d need to fight off the worst virus or bacteria.”

  Realization shuddered through her. “So…this,” she swept out a goose-pimpled arm, her voice quavering with heartfelt emotion, “would have saved our races from the virus had it been discovered earlier?”

  “Yes.”

  His one word expressed enough bitter regret for the both of them and her vision blurred as she took in the unassuming wooded plant that could have easily changed the fate of two great worlds.

  “Selfish bastard that I am, I’m almost glad it wasn’t found,” he said hoarsely. His arms tightened. “I’d never have met you.”

  “I’m…glad too,” she admitted in a small voice. “I just wish there could have been another reason for our worlds to unite and that we’d met in other circumstances.”

  Moving the loosened strands of her hair aside, he kissed her nape, his lips and tongue and breath causing her belly to flutter while longing curled as though smoke deep inside. “What’s done is done,” he said. “Let’s not dwell on it.”

  “You’re right.” She leaned back a little more as she said huskily, “There’s nothing that can be done to change the past. But our future is a whole lot brighter.”

  “Agreed, Sheehar.” Clearly changing the subject he pointed to the thick, jelly-looking stalks that reminded her of aloe vera. “Those are an excellent tonic against our endless daylight.”

  She frowned, intrigued and puzzled all at once. “Oh?”

  “When a person sucks the plant’s jellied sap, it darkens vision. The more one drinks the darker the surroundings become.” He offhandedly added, “It also substitutes for water in a pinch.”

  He showed her a dozen more plants, each with amazing capabilities. She leaned against him fully, absorbing his strength of will before allowing her awed gaze to travel over the extensively planted gardens. “Why are the gardens here? Why not have them closer to where you live?”

  He swept out a hand. “The mountain gives off enough naturally occurring underground moisture and nutrients to keep all the plants alive and healthy, without any help from us once we’ve planted the seeds.”

  So the water from here was nontoxic, unlike the lake water. The mountain suddenly took on a whole new perspective, the desert not quite the inhospitable terrain she’d once thought. “So why don’t you and your people stay here too?”

  “Aside from the fact it’s near impossible to syphon the moisture from underground to use as drinking water, the caltronians prefer to hunt when the suns are at their weakest—about the same time our body clock tells us to sleep.”

  “Weakest point?”

  He nodded. “The suns follow the perimeter of our far horizons. It’s coolest when all three are on the horizon opposite the mountain.”

  “Do all the bears—caltronians—live on the mountain?”

  “Almost exclusively,” he said, “though occasionally a rogue male will be chased into the desert by his competition in the mating cycle, which is bad news for the rogue if it isn’t able to return with a few days at most. Its only source of pure, drinkable water is what little there is that runs off the cliff face up high.”

  She shivered, no longer so eager to climb off the bolishta’s back and carefully examine each and every plant. She never wanted to be in the vicinity of such a dangerous animal.

  Not even for your sister?

  Genesis’ warm breath tickled her ear as he laughed from behind. “You’re safe with me, Sheehar. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you. The bolishtas have amazing hearing and senses, they would have been spooked long ago if a caltronian was near.”

  “So they’re like an alarm?”

  “Yes, I guess they are. Nature’s own warning system.”

  She gave the beast they were riding a pat on the neck, thankful for its company.

  Genesis’ arms tightened around her in an oddly proud but possessive gesture as he informed, “In a day or so your footwear will arrive and I’ll bring you back here so that you can have a better look at the plants.”

  “Thank you, I’d love that.”

  He turned the bolishta back in the direction of the cercanne. She craned her head upward to peer at the seemingly endless mountain, trying not to think about the predato
rs that might well be lying in wait.

  It made her realize just how brave and devoted Auron and Trasean were travelling up and down the mountain probably countless times to work on the tower in the hope of finding their intended.

  A blinding thought hit her, catching the breath in her throat. If Aline had been the one who’d gone with Genesis as his rightful intended, Auron and Trasean might well have discovered her as their next intended!

  The idea was almost too incredible to contemplate.

  Yes, she found them both beyond good-looking, but she wasn’t attracted to them in any way. Genesis was the only one who sent her pulse soaring and caused her belly to dip. The only one who made her heart pitter-patter just from a glance.

  Was it possible some things were simply meant to be?

  Pushing aside all thoughts related to Genesis, she asked in a small voice, “Are the caltronians really so vicious?” She couldn’t go up that mountain ill-advised and without knowledge.

  “Unfortunately, yes. Few people survive an attack. Even those of us who hunt them in groups take a big risk.”

  It highlighted how fearless and undoubtedly skilled Trasean and Auron were as warriors. “So why not leave them alone?”

  “They’re prolific breeders. One female caltronian has a litter of up to ten cubs every mating cycle—every eight to ten months.” He shrugged. “If you do the math you can see why that would be a problem. There’d be so many we’d be fighting just to stay alive, as would much of Carèche’s other wildlife.”

  His earlier statement about staying on his planet to keep it alive suddenly made so much sense.

  “Besides which,” he added, “their meat is a pleasure to eat and their dense fur makes for the best bedding.”

  She pointed to his bike. “Not to mention seat padding.”

  “Exactly.”

  When he got the bolishta to kneel once again, he slid off before gathering her back into his arms. She gave the animal one last pat along its nose. It almost groaned with pleasure, its lips wobbling as though jelly. “Thank you,” she said to the animal with a laugh, “you were great for a novice rider.”