David’s hand searched for the panic button, and his wrinkly face lit up when he found it. Stephan saw him press it and expected alarms and guards, but nothing happened.
From the other side of the room, Maria asked in an innocent voice, “Is there a problem?”
“You did this. Somehow, this is all your fault.”
Stephan leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Now, what way is that to talk to a lady? David, you wanted to meet my woman, and this is Maria Callaway. Babe, this is David Red, owner and manager of this fine station.”
He didn’t expect them to answer. Maria seemed fascinated with her nails all of a sudden, and David looked around fervently.
I’d rather look at her nails too. They’re pretty amazing, especially compared with this human vermin.
“What are you doing, David? Searching for a weapon? You have to realize it won’t help you.”
Chrys’s abused face burned in his mind, as did the recording of his own death and his beloved’s reaction to it.
Crap, there comes the conscience again. Guess I’m stuck with it.
“What am I going to do with you? It doesn’t look good.”
The words were almost friendly, but his tone of voice promised death.
David’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. He slammed his hand against the useless panic button, but no help came. Stephan’s hands landing on his shoulders assisted him in re-finding his voice, but the scream became a soft, croaking sound.
This doesn’t feel right. She’s watching. I can’t do this if she’s watching.
“Eh, babe, would you mind looking the other way for a minute?”
“Of course.”
She flashed a smile and turned the chair around.
David said, “Don’t be a fool. I can give you power, money, fame. Women, I know you like women, and drinks... How ‘bout gold?”
*****
Maria waited and pretended she didn’t hear, see, or know anything.
Whatever happens in the world, I’m sitting in a golden bubble of peace. When he comes over, he’ll see nothing but peace.
Stephan entered her view a couple of seconds later and she gazed into his eyes, wanting to ask if he was okay. He dried his hands on a bunch of Kleenex and she lifted an eyebrow. He shrugged.
“He was sweaty.”
I bet, we must have scared him half to death.
She rose up, careful not to look behind her even though she knew what must be there. David’s body was an empty shell that lost its inhabitant, but it represented more than that to humans. To be honest, Stephan’s body had been much more than an empty shell to her only hours earlier, and she understood the phenomenon better now. Her lover was reluctant to take life in front of her, and she didn’t want to embarrass him by ogling the product of his labour.
“Time to go home?”
Hopefully, both his curiosity and urge for revenge would be satisfied.
He looked deeply into her eyes and nodded.
“Yes, beautiful, it’s time to go home. I think there are guards in the corridor, though. Would you?”
“Of course.”
She pressed a palm against his cheek and teleported them to the bridge of their ship. Stephan made a grimace.
“That is so strange.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
He took a seat and watched the large overhead monitors.
“I don’t think coming here was our best idea ever. You know they’ll try to keep us here, right?”
“They’re welcome to try.”
She too looked at the screen.
Magnetic clamps, blah, blah, blah. Seriously? You’ve seen me turn into an ancient and you think magnetic clamps will hold me here?
It didn’t take long until the station and any potential pursuers were far behind them. Stephan engaged the autopilot and rubbed his face.
“Damn I’m tired. C’mon, let’s go check on the eggs.”
She rested a hand on his shoulder.
“You’ve done so good and the eggs are fine. Go rest.”
“No, I want to see them. And we need to talk.”
That can’t be good.
The cargo hold was just as they left it.
Just as predicted, the eggs were still peaceful, resting in their snug compartments, happily unaware of the gruesome fate they so narrowly escaped. They weren’t quite ready to hatch yet, but it wouldn’t be long.
“Would you have handed them over?”
He glanced over at her.
“Before I met you?”
“Yes.”
“Probably. Odds are I would have been too drunk to notice I transported sentient beings.”
“I think everything down here is as good as it can be.”
“I agree. Come, I’ll make you some coffee.”
Oh no, here comes the talk. I don’t want to have the talk. I morphed into a being of light and wrath, my bad.
When they stood in the lift heading back to the upper floors, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his head against hers. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad after all.
The kitchen was neutral ground filled with pleasant memories. She curled up in a chair with her feet under her, watching him handle the industrial-sized coffee machine.
“I’ve really become a sap, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
He laughed.
“I should be wanting to tear your clothes off, not making coffee wanting to chat.”
It made her laugh too.
“I think you do enough clothes tearing to still qualify for macho.”
“Good. I mean, I’d hate for you to think anything else.”
She smiled and shook her head. Silly man.
After a few minutes’ silence he said, “So, that’s really you, huh?”
She fingered her mug and kept her eyes fixed on it.
“Yeah. That’s really me. It’s a little difficult to fit in looking like that, you know. The flaming sword draws a lot of attention. I wanted to tell you, but not like this.”
Given the choice, he probably wouldn’t have died either.
He reached over the table, put his hand on top of hers and gave it a little squeeze. When she lifted her eyes from the mug to meet his, he smiled.
“She’s gorgeous, but I think I like you better like this. Either way, I love you.”
*****
A day later, Stephan stood in the cargo hold, staring at the wooden crates. Leaving the station hadn’t been a problem, but finding a place to go was.
Great. I have a floor filled with unhatched bird men and nowhere to put them.
“All I need to make this day perfect is you guys hatching on me.”
The thought of a few hundred or even thousands of enormous winged creatures flopping around his ship made him want a drink. Or twelve.
Maria’s hands on his hands made him jump. She smirked
“Jittery, lover?”
Not normally, no.
“I didn’t hear you come in. I don’t know what to do with them.”
“Keep them? I hear they make good company.”
He didn’t laugh and she fell serious too.
“We still have a couple of days.”
“It won’t be enough.”
“I’ll make it enough. You are so tense. Relax.”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“Make me.”
“You know, I’m up for a challenge. How ‘bout this... We take them to the new planet, place the eggs at a suitable distance from the ship, and have sex in the grass while waiting for them to hatch.”
She looked happy with herself, and as much as he tried to maintain a grumpy attitude, he had to laugh.
“Alright, it’s better than anything I can come up with...”
“What do you mean better? It’s brilliant.”
He glanced into her eyes and forgot why he’d been so stressed just two minutes earlier. Those big, green eyes held all answe
rs, and he had no reason to worry about anything.
“I like the sex in the grass part.”
She fluffed her hair.
“I thought you would. I have more good ideas.”
I bet you do…
He was so hypnotized by her he hardly noticed the week-long journey to the new world, and it surprised him when the computer declared they’d arrived to their destination.
~ 15 ~
Stephan stepped out of the ship with Maria by his side, and smiled when an expression of delight brightened her face.
He tried to appear unfazed, but it was impossible. The air was cleaner than anything he could remember, and the sky was azur blue. A large yellowish planet hung nearby like a jewel in the heavens, and he saw two moons.
Figuring out the size and spacing of the planets to get this effect and still keep the orbits stable must have taken forever.
He squeezed her hand.
“It’s incredible. You did this, you created this.”
“Yes. We did, we did it together.”
Seeing the recording in David’s office had made him aware of her power, but only now did he see the other side of it: the power of creation.
“Let’s take a look around. Hey, maybe we should build a house here and settle down.”
It was a joke; he couldn’t even fathom staying in one spot for longer than a few days and the same was probably true for her, but seeing something this new still made the idea tempting.
They wandered around in the long grass until she said, “If you place the eggs I’ll fix us a picnic.”
“Oh no, you’re helping.”
“Fine…”
Her attempt to sound exasperated didn’t really work.
They were still waiting for the eggs to hatch late in the afternoon. Maria sat on a blanket he was sure he’d never seen before, munching a cracker with cheese, and sipping a glass of wine. She had her hair in a long braid that hung over her shoulder, and seemed to belong more in a painting than there with him.
She met his eyes. Damn, she wasn’t supposed to know he wanted to stare at her to remember the moment forever.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I was just thinking how lucky I am, and how my life changed since you appeared.
A moment later her eyes grew round and she frowned. He didn’t have time to ask what might be wrong; a strange sound broke the peace and a little tree further down the hill burst into flames.
“What the…”
Another fireball followed the first, exploding into the blaze.
Maria flew to her feet and ran towards the commotion.
Her voice drifted over to him.
“Frank you big old brute, you’re not going to go around destroying things here, this is our planet. You get your own, do you hear me?”
Stephan got up more slowly, and Maria tackled the newcomer before he had time to take even one step towards them. Frank?
The man was tall with dark hair and goatee. He wore peculiar old-fashioned leather clothing, and was handsome in the same extraordinary way she was beautiful.
I thought I was big. That guy is a fucking mountain.
He couldn’t tell if his girl jumped the newcomer out of anger or happiness, but the two went rolling down the hill, and he shook his head and walked towards them with long strides.
*****
It had been years, maybe even decades since Maria saw her brother. Fury with the interruption mixed with pure joy, and when they came to a halt at the end of the hill, she sat up laughing. Frank pulled some grass out of her hair.
“Oh, you haven’t lost your fire, sister. I’ve had one hell of a hard time tracking you down, but it was worth the trouble. You look good.”
She grinned and tossed a handful of leaves and dry grass at him.
“Thanks. You look good too.”
They got up, supporting each other, still laughing. Frank ran a hand through his hair and pulled his leather vest right. “Who’s the human? He’s almost as big as me.”
Oh no, you don’t. Damn, this will be complicated.
“That’s my boyfriend, Stephan. He means the world to me, and you will be nice to him.”
The problem was, if Frank chose not to, there wouldn’t be much she could do about it.
Her brother crossed his arms over his chest, showing off bulging biceps, and glanced down at her. She had forgotten how tall he was.
“Ditch him and come with me instead. There are plenty of humans. We’ll find you a new one later.”
She shook her head but didn’t have a chance to object. He stepped forward and stared into her eyes.
“What do you say little sister, a kiss for old times’ sake?”
She didn’t think; she just reacted and slapped him. Frank roared with laughter.
“Oh yeah, that’s my girl!”
He had always been stronger than her and would always be stronger. He hoisted her up and threw her over his shoulder effortlessly, holding her legs with one arm to keep her from kicking him. Before she met Stephan, she wouldn’t have minded going to look for some adventures together with him; she loved him dearly. Now, she had every intention to stay where she was, and she hit his back with her fists.
He rumbled, “Stop fighting, sis, you know it’s no good against me. Wha’cha gonna do, call Cratus on me?”
“Why not? It was a good idea when I was five, and it still seems like a good idea! Let me down you big troll, this is cheating!”
Stephan’s voice drifted over, “Okay, this has gone far enough.”
She lifted her head and saw her lover close the distance between them with a few long steps.
“Oh no, lover, don’t.”
Just as she feared, he punched Frank right in the face.
I bet that was like hitting a brick wall.
Frank stopped dead in his tracks and she stopped trying to kick him, for the time being.
“Don’t hit him, I swear Frank, if you hit him…”
The large man felt his jaw with his free hand.
“Wow, that almost hurt. You’ve got a good punch human, I like that.”
She ran an elbow into his back.
“I told you, his name is Stephan, not human, and if you hurt him, I’ll turn you into a pile of worms if it kills me.”
Frank said, “Watch your mouth, little sister,” and glared at Stephan.
“Most people who know what’s good for them run to hide from me. You’re either incredibly ballsy, or incredibly stupid.”
Stephan crossed his arms over his chest and stared back.
“This is your brother?”
Frank chuckled and slapped Maria’s butt, hard.
“Oww, stop it and let me down, you big... gorilla!”
The tall man grumbled something unintelligible, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her down from his shoulder as if she weighed no more than a leaf. He held her in front of him, her feet dangling a good half-meter above the ground.
“Are you sure about this? I mean, he seems spunky and all, but he’s human.”
She stared back, and he shook his head, clearly frustrated.
“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m really serious. Let me down.”
“Shit…”
Stephan flexed her fingers and she shook his head.
Don’t hit him again, for the love of whatever you believe in, don’t start a fight with him.
Frank poked Stephan’s shoulder with a meaty finger.
“I’ll keep my eyes on you. If you make her shed one tear, just one, I’ll be back to visit you. Do you understand me?”
Stephan held his ground and brushed Frank’s hand away.
“I’m not the one slapping her around, now am I?”
For a moment, Maria was sure her brother would hit her lover, but he just rolled his shoulders in a shrug and made a dismissive gesture.
“Okay, little sister. I will regard this as a passing fling for n
ow.”
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her a few steps away.
Crap. I should stay with Stephan, reassure him, but I can’t get away from this. He’ll be so mad.
Meeting members of her family was inevitable in the long run, but she had hoped to start with someone a bit more peaceful and easy to handle.
Someone less… intimate.
Frank leaned his head towards her, as if he was telling her a secret.
“Sis, I love you and I really miss you. We had some good times, didn’t we? But I know all about having toys, and he is spunky, I’ll give him that. Come see me the second you get tired of him, okay?”
I love you too, but right now you have to leave.
Kicking something and screaming to release her frustration would be excellent, but she couldn’t afford to. Her object, for the moment, was to get these two men as far apart as possible before Stephan got hurt or died.
“Okay Frank. I love you too, you know that. Go find a nice little war somewhere and do take care.”
She wasn’t prepared for his next move. He pulled her into a bear-hug, called, “Remember, I’ll be keeping my eyes on you,” to Stephan over her shoulder, smacked a kiss on her cheek, threw a fireball towards a nearby tree for good measure, and vanished.
Maria stood still for a few seconds, staring into nothingness and blinking a couple of times.
This seems suspiciously easy. I’m sure he’ll return to create some new innovative disaster.
Nothing happened, except the weight of the world wanting to push her into the ground. She rubbed her forehead and turned back towards Stephan, making a helpless gesture.
“That’s my brother.”
He still held his arms crossed and his face could have been carved from stone.
“That’s your brother? He sure doesn’t act like a brother would.”
It’s complicated.
Every step seemed like too much work to be worth the effort. Sometimes, a human body could be a drag.
“Well, half-brother, we have different mothers. Frank is a pure-blood, not a hybrid.”
She wanted to wrap her hands around his arm, but for the first time, he resisted.
Something valuable and fragile was breaking between them, something difficult to mend, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
Goddess's Saga 1: Touch of the Goddess Page 10
