Now that she was safe, Nadia stopped to catch her breath. She couldn't believe how perfectly splendid the adventure had gone. Closing her eyes and hugging her body, she wallowed in the remnants of pleasure still skipping through her. What was most exciting about what she just experienced was knowing she could have more whenever she liked. It simply required a certain boldness and relying on her intuition to hone in on the Earth male's fears as well as his natural urges.
She hadn't found the scarred man as she had hoped but Ray Higgs was quite adequate for her purposes... at least until she tired of him.
She recalled how she had called herself Parisia and laughed aloud at how mortified the Imperial Prefect would be if she learned how her name had been used. Nadia thought it made a delightful private joke, but it was also a slight precaution against being correctly identified if Ray Higgs ever managed to reveal her activities to anyone.
As she neared her residence, she considered taking a long, hot bath to soothe her strained muscles and cleanse the man's leavings from her body. She could wake Fulton and—No. She didn't want that half-man's hands on her tonight. Not after having the real thing. She would see to her own bath, and her need, which was already creeping back to life.
Tomorrow night couldn't come soon enough for her.
* * *
Higgs slowly regained control of his muscles along with his vision. He was so anxious to tell someone about what just happened, he'd taken several steps before realizing he was still nude. Between his nerves and natural lack of coordination, it took him longer than usual to get himself clothed and headed toward Major Cookson's tent.
Geoffrey heard someone approaching and got up from his cot. He was disappointed to see that it was only Higgs.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Major, but this is of urgent importance."
"Come in," Geoffrey said, immediately wondering how long it would take to get the man out again. He was tense enough waiting for news of Logan's team without having to deal with Higgs. He lit his candle lantern and made himself ask, "What's the problem?"
"It's the water. There's something in it."
"That possibility occurred to us. That's why you were ordered not to eat or drink anything all day."
"It's not the food. She only told me not to drink the water."
Geoffrey could see Higgs was upset over something but he was making less sense than usual. "She who?"
Higgs waved his arms in the air and tried to pace within the small tent. "A female alien... from beyond the invisible wall. I was just with her out in the field."
Geoffrey turned away so Higgs wouldn't see his look of disbelief.
"I'm telling you, she came for me. She... she wanted to... she forced me to... to copulate with her... that's what she called it... right out there."
Geoffrey couldn't hold back the chuckle at that one. "Are you trying to tell me you were just raped by an alien woman?"
"Twice!" When he only got another laugh at that, he tried harder to be convincing. "She was huge, and strong, and she tortured me first, and she had a weapon that paralyzed me."
Geoffrey nodded with feigned comprehension. "An amazon used a stun gun on you then took advantage of you while you were helpless."
"No, no," Higgs said, getting more frustrated by the second. "She used me first then paralyzed me while she ran off."
"Just out of curiosity, Higgs, how did you happen to be in the condition necessary to be used?"
"She... she must have used some sort of mind control. I couldn't resist."
Higgs clearly believed what he was saying but Geoffrey could hardly accept the truth of such an outrageous tale coming from a man who had been whining about aliens and androids from the moment they'd arrived. There was a strong possibility that this was just another attempt by Higgs to get others to accept his point of view.
"I'm not crazy, Major," Higgs insisted. "She said her name was Parisia, that there were humans on the other side of the wall, and that their men don't... function like Earth men. We landed in an alternate dimension. Actually, she said it's a mirror planet to Earth called Heart."
"Heart?" Geoffrey asked sarcastically. "I suppose it's a coincidence that Heart is an anagram of Earth."
"Maybe. Why not? Maybe it's not an identical twin. It could be like Earth, but twisted—like the green sky and blue grass, and men that can't have sex. But you don't have to believe me. You can see her for yourself. She said she was coming back tomorrow night... for more. The last order she gave me was not to drink the water. I'm sure that had to be because there's something in the water that would relax me too much to be able to service her."
Geoffrey was no longer certain that Higgs was off his nut. The more he talked, the more believable his story seemed. He needed another opinion. "Come with me," he said and led him to Tarla and Robin's tent.
The flap to their shelter was pulled back, but he didn't presume to enter unannounced. Standing to the side, he spoke in a hushed voice. "Tarla? It's Geoffrey. May I speak to you?"
"Of course," she replied, and a moment later, she and Robin stepped outside.
Geoffrey's gaze automatically slid from Robin's mussed hair to her long legs exposed below the large shirt she was wearing and, for a moment, he was rendered mute. Only by turning his full attention on Tarla, was he able to get back on track. "Higgs just came to me with a rather extraordinary story and I'd like you to hear it from him."
Higgs shifted from one foot to the other, looking extremely embarrassed, but he managed to relate his experience to the two women. Geoffrey noted that it came out in better order this time and with more colorful description. Also, the alien female had become more monstrous and terrifying with the second telling. Whatever truth there was to Higgs's claims would probably be completely obscured in exaggeration by the fourth or fifth time he told it.
Tarla noted the skeptical expressions on both Geoffrey's and Robin's face. Higgs had a tendency to let his imagination take over whatever logic he might have in his brain, but there was no question they were in a world alien to Earth. Under the circumstance she didn't think any story should be dismissed, no matter how crazy it sounded or who was telling it.
When Higgs finally ran out of details of his close encounter, Tarla asked, "Is there a possibility that you had a hallucination? If they could tranquilize us without our being aware of it, couldn't they also administer a hallucinogenic?"
Higgs shook his head. "No way. It happened. I'm positive."
Geoffrey had another thought. "Is there any way it could have been one of our women and you mistook her—"
"Geoffrey! That's ridiculous," Robin stated with annoyance. "There are only ten of us, two of whom are with Logan's team and another two of whom are standing here."
"Robin's right," Tarla said. "I'd vouch for the other six. None of them are thinking of fun and games right now."
Geoffrey shrugged. "I'm just trying to cover every possibility. No offense meant."
"None taken then," Robin said with a smile of forgiveness. "So what's the verdict?"
Tarla looked to Geoffrey but he was waiting for her to speak. "I think we have to assume it happened as Ray said. In which case, we can trust the food and fruit juice but not the water."
"Thank God!" Robin said with a laugh. "I'm starving! How much longer are we supposed to pretend everyone's tucked away for the night?"
Geoffrey glanced at his watch and made a face. "Logan's team went into the tack room nearly two hours ago. We agreed to give them until sunrise before taking any further action. But I have to admit, I'm worried."
Tarla wished he hadn't said that. It made her identify the queasiness she'd felt for the last hour—a combination of worry and guilt. Now she wished she had spoken kinder words to Logan before he left. It might not have meant anything to him, but it would have made her feel better now.
After Geoffrey and Higgs said good night a second time, Robin and Tarla went back inside their tent to wait for sunrise. Sleep was out of the question.
&
nbsp; In spite of her support of Higgs's story, she still thought his mind may have been playing tricks on him. The drug, or whatever it was, obviously had the power to drastically alter one's personality. It had turned a cold-hearted soldier into a gentle Romeo, complete with a fabricated memory of sensual fantasies and delusions of unrequited love.
That considered, Higgs's eight-foot tall, sex-starved alien could have seemed completely real to him.
"I think he's attracted to you," Robin said, abruptly breaking into Tarla's thoughts.
With her mind on Logan, Tarla automatically thought that was who Robin was referring to. "It was just the drug. Nothing else."
"I don't think so. Right from the start, he kept his eyes on you. He barely glanced at me. The only time a man doesn't look at my legs when they're showing is when he's in love with someone else... or he prefers male companions. Oh dear. I hadn't thought of that. You don't think that's it, do you? I mean, wouldn't that be simply too depressing?"
Tarla squinted at her friend. "What are you talking about?"
Robin sighed. "He seems very gentle and soft-spoken for a man. If he prefers men, that could explain why I haven't been able to get through to him."
"Wait a minute," Tarla said holding up one finger. "Who do you think prefers men?"
"Geoffrey. Who did you think I was talking about? Higgs?"
Tarla chuckled at the face Robin made. "No. I'm sorry. I guess I was only giving you half my attention."
"That's all right. I'm not making any sense anyway. This waiting is driving me nuts."
"Me too," Tarla admitted. "I can't help but wonder where they are and if they're safe, or in trouble, or—" She wouldn't say her worst fear aloud.
* * *
Logan opened one eye a crack to peek at the candle in the lantern. Judging by the short stub left to be burned away, he guessed it was nearly dawn. He was proud of this team. No one had moved or made a sound in hours. Unfortunately it had all been a waste of effort. Somehow the caretakers figured out what they were up to and chose to ignore them. He hated to think what that meant.
A lifetime of imprisonment. Of course, he'd been facing that anyway, and the farm was considerably more pleasant than Leavenworth would have been.
Being drugged and having no defenses. He had to admit, the time he'd spent with Tarla while both their defenses were down was like a taste of heaven. It was only after their minds cleared and they both remembered that he wasn't good enough for her, that he was sorry he'd been given that taste. At least with the drug in his system, he didn't feel the ache in his chest.
All in all, he wasn't sure which was worse—remaining on the farm and becoming one of the puppet-people, with Tarla, or returning to his own dismal world without her. It wasn't so confusing when he put it that way.
"Okay, everybody," he said, stretching his arms and legs. "There's no sense putting in more time here. They didn't fall for it."
A harmony of groans accompanied the unbending of stiff bodies.
"Damn!" Gianni muttered. "I think I need some medical treatment for real now. How do you think they knew?"
Logan shook his head. "For all we know, they could have heard us planning it. The main problem is, we have no idea how closely we're being watched. But it was worth a try. And we'll keep on trying till we get out of here." The sad faces around him brightened a little from his attempted pep-talk, but it was hard to sound optimistic when he didn't believe a word he was saying.
As he had estimated, the sun was just topping the horizon when they exited the barn. In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded by people who were relieved to see them unharmed and anxious for a full report. However, the relief was quickly buried beneath the news that the mission had been a complete failure.
Geoffrey took advantage of the gathering to tell everyone that they could resume eating but should continue to avoid the water. If they felt at all unusual after eating, they were to notify Tarla immediately.
The hungry crowd practically tripped over each other to get to the kitchen. Refortified, there was barely a complaint uttered when Geoffrey gave out the day's chore assignments. Though he knew they all needed to get some sleep, he requested a meeting with Logan's team, Tarla and Robin. He had ordered Higgs not to share his story with anyone else yet, but knowing the temptation would probably be too great for him, he asked Higgs to join them as well.
Geoffrey waited until all the other teams departed then gathered his group under one of the large shade trees near the big house. As soon as they were settled, he asked Logan to open the discussion.
"Actually," Logan said, "you heard all there was to report when we came out of the barn. Everyone was in place. I heard the hissing sound and pretended to fall asleep. We waited as planned but nothing happened. They had to have known we were up to something."
"There is another possibility," Higgs said. He paused for Geoffrey to acknowledge him before continuing. "They might have come for you and you may have attacked but they overpowered you then replaced your memories with what they wanted you to remember, which was, that nothing happened. They might have that much power."
Logan rolled his eyes. "Look, Higgs, I've had just about—"
"Hold off on that," Geoffrey said quickly. "I think you need to hear something first." He still wasn't entirely convinced that Higgs's tale was true but he also wasn't convinced otherwise. "Go ahead, Higgs, tell them what happened. But, please, try to stick to the basic facts without your assumptions. I'd like everyone else's opinion without being influenced by your superior knowledge of extraterrestrials." As he had hoped, Higgs took that as a compliment and proceeded to give a fairly concise report that was only slightly more enhanced than the story he'd told Tarla and Robin. If nothing else, he provided a much needed boost to the team's spirits.
Gianni laughed the loudest. "Right! Out of all the men stranded here, she picked you to teach her about sex!"
"You were lucky it wasn't a giant lizard who came for a few lessons," Lee taunted.
"If you were so damn good," another prodded, "how come she didn't abduct you and take you home in her spaceship?"
"Oh, sure," Higgs whined. "You can all laugh but you wouldn't think it was so funny if you were the one forced to strip and play stud-horse to the creature from the black lagoon."
Geoffrey cleared his throat to stop the not-so-good-natured teasing. "That's enough everyone. I can vouch for the fact that Higgs was near hysteria when he came to my tent. Something happened to him out there and, considering the fact that we're sitting under a green sky it's certainly possible that he was used, or abused, by a woman from outside the farm." He covered his mouth with his hand but couldn't quite conceal his smile. "I do apologize, Higgs. I am trying to believe your story but you must see how difficult it is to imagine. All the residents we've talked to claim they've never seen anyone from the other side of the wall, let alone be assaulted by one."
Higgs opened his mouth to reply but Tarla cut him off.
"Okay," Tarla said. "No matter how hard it is to imagine, this is all we've got. I've been thinking about it for hours and I keep coming back to one thing. This woman warned Higgs not to drink the water. By tonight, if everyone is feeling even more clearheaded than last night, we should know whether the warning had basis. If so, we have to consider what else she said."
"Yeah! And you know what that was?" Higgs asked in a challenging tone. "She's coming back for me. She'll make me do it again. And she threatened to turn me into dust if I didn't have something new to show her. Maybe you should all come and watch. Then you'll see that I didn't make any of this up!"
"That's it!" Gianni exclaimed, fighting a grin. "We'll all go watch Higgs perform and when he's got the alien blinded by lust, we grab her. Maybe if we threaten never to let her use Higgs's body again, she'll take us to her leader."
Everyone burst into another round of off-color joking but Geoffrey put a stop to it by saying, "It could work. If Higgs distracted her sufficiently, we might be able to capture her."
"A hostage?" Logan asked, still looking somewhat amused.
"Have you got a better idea?" Tarla countered then was immediately sorry she had, for it brought his attention to her. As much as she wanted to lower her gaze, she didn't allow herself to be such a coward. Finally, he was the one who looked away to speak to Geoffrey.
"The only other thing that's come to me would be for one man to go into the tack room with a mask of some kind to prevent him from inhaling the gas. We could stage another fight and have the loser appear to have a broken nose or something, like Wilkes's jaw. That way the mask wouldn't be noticed for what it really was."
"They have too much power," Higgs declared. "I didn't stand a chance and I was only facing one of them."
Logan ignored him. The differences between Higgs and himself weren't worth wasting breath on. He kept his eyes on the major until the man was obliged to make a decision.
"We'll try to capture the woman first," Geoffrey said after a few more seconds of silent deliberation. "If that fails, then I'll consider sending in one man, but only as a last resort."
Contrary to the old adage, keeping their hands busy for the remainder of the day did not make the time go faster. At sundown, Tarla and the other nurses took a poll of everyone's mental condition. They were bored with the menial tasks and anxious for action. No one could be described as relaxed.
On a personal basis, she could attest to the fact that in spite of numerous glances passing between her and Logan, neither was overcome by desire. Her defenses were firmly in place, and apparently his indifference was as well. The only emotion she was suffering from was lingering bewilderment... and some disappointment.
Geoffrey's team gathered together without his having to call them.
LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) Page 12
