by J. Naomi Ay
I had retrieved it from the coffers at the Temple while Hannah lay in front of the fire, anxiously waiting my return.
“Is this all you’ve got?” She turned up her nose. “I hate that stuff. It’s overly sweet, and it tastes like candy. Surely, you’ve got something more suitable for adults to drink.”
“I don’t drink, Hannah,” I reminded while offering her a filled mug.
“Sacramental wine in crockery,” she snorted. “Kari-fa, Tuman. How I suffer for you.”
“And our child.”
I reached for her hand, bringing it playfully to my lips, kissing her open palm, and then, licking the soft, delicate skin of her wrist. My lips and tongue crawled all the way up her arm, and from there to her neck, and lastly, to her face where I kissed her long scar.
“You are my wine, Hannah. You are all I need. You are more intoxicating than any drug, any drink.”
“Have some of this and I’ll taste even better,” she teased, holding the mug to my lips.
For the first time in many years, I tasted the venomous syrup, its sweet, bitter flavor crossed my lips.
“I shouldn’t,” I murmured, as my tongue already cried out for more. “You are corrupting me, first with the Barkuti, and now this.”
“First with my love,” she corrected, pulling me down against her. “I am insatiable, Tuman. Are you man enough for me?”
Was I? I was stoned. My head was swimming with visions, not all of them sweet, but my body was present, and demanding more.
“Come on,” she coaxed, her voice husky and bold, the wine from the mug dripping like dark blood from her lips.
I licked it away, and then reaching for the bottle, I finished every last drop down to the dregs. It emboldened me, and gave me courage. It made me take her with a fierceness that made her scream. It fooled me, and made me believe, I could walk away afterward, and not desire anything more.
The next morning, or later, for I had lost track of time, Hannah roused me from my slumber before the hearth. My mouth was dry, and my head was pounding, but my soul felt like it had found an old friend. For the first time in years, I was again myself.
“Let’s go get your brother’s speeder,” she said, tossing my trousers at me. “Hurry up. I am anxious to depart.”
She was already dressed and dancing about the room in her long cloak. She looked like an angel spinning circles. My own head spun, as I tried to watch her, to memorize her beauty. She was a vision, and in that moment, she owned my heart and soul.
“I’m coming,” I laughed giddily, stumbling to my feet, tripping over my trousers, and crashing upon the floor.
“Kari-fa,” I heard her snap. “Tuman, you can be such a fool. After all this time, you are so little changed.”
“You make me this way. Your beauty leaves me senseless. If you were not in such a hurry to depart, I’d fuck you again.”
“Later,” she hissed and made for the door, while I, somehow, slipped on my leggings and vest. “I hate this village. I hate everyone in it. I hate your father, and your grandmother, and the way they look at me.”
“You will learn to like it,” I assured her, donning my own cloak, and shutting the lights off in my little house. “When we return as man and wife, you’ll be the High Priest’s consort. They’ll all have to bow in your presence.”
“I’ll make them grovel,” she sneered, kicking the empty wine bottle. It rolled across the floor.
“We’ll make them kiss your feet,” I insisted while considering how many more bottles I had in storage. The coffers in the Temple held quite a few. Before heading to my brother, I would snatch myself enough to entertain us all the way to Mishnah.
“If they do, I shall kick them in the mouth.” Hannah laughed, grasping my arm as we hurried off the porch.
Above us, in the trees, an eagle called our names, his voice a threatening screech that echoed through the forest. Hannah pulled up short. She grasped my arm tighter as she gazed up at the peaks of the great firs.
“Where is he?” She whispered. “Where is that evil bird who follows me? I want him to see that in this round, I have won.”
“Ignore him,” I scoffed as a pair of dark wings circled overhead. “He is just a bird, and nothing more. Ay yah!” I called to him. “Look at us. We are free!”
“Indeed we are,” Hannah declared. “Hurry, Tuman. I am anxious for us to be wed.”
Stopping first at the Temple, where I retrieved several bottles, as well as good portion of Barkuti, we headed to my brother, Lehot's farm.
"He's out with the goats," his wife declared, glaring at Hannah as if she were a demon. "Tuman, what is wrong with you? You are acting quite strange. Have you read something in the Holy Books which has upset you?"
"Books?"
"Books," Hannah scoffed. "Who's got time to read that ancient crap?"
Again, my sister-in-law stared at Hannah, her nose high, her mouth thin. "What has happened to you, Hannah de Shrotru? Your face has been scarred beyond recognition. Your beauty has been destroyed, and I do not speak of that which our eyes appear to see."
"Kari-ka le te-hira," Hannah spat, to which my sister slammed the door. "Now, I understand why your brother prefers the company of his goats. Where are these beasts which he tends instead of his wife?"
"Across the field, and in the barn. That is also where he keeps his speeder, away from my father's prying eyes. My father is of the old school, when Karupatani would have nothing of Mishnah amongst us. My brother likes to go fast and fly. He takes better care of his speeder than his wife or goats."
As we strolled across the field, my tongue grew extraordinarily dry, and my throat parched, so I opened a bottle and drank soundly from the top. I told myself this was just for today. I was celebrating my bride and my impending fatherhood. I need not fear the drink again. Tomorrow, I would have no more. Tomorrow, I would be myself again without the aid of the drink.
Curiously, the raptor followed us across the barren ground. He soared high on the currents above our heads, calling our names from the brilliantly blue, winter sky.
"Go to hell!" Hannah yelled, raising her fist. "May the wind come upon you, and toss you into the sea."
"Such vitriol," I chided her. "For a poor defenseless bird."
"Defenseless," she scoffed, as we came upon my brother's barn.
Shoving open the large gate, I stood aside for my love to pass. The light inside was dim. Shining only from the windows near the roofline, it illuminated clouds of dust, fur, and hay. The stench was of animal wastes, as well as the fresh sweet smell of hay, a mixture, while familiar, had never been pleasing to me.
"Ay yah, Tuman!" My brother waved from a pen where a she-goat was nursing her kids. "Have you come to see my new babes? Look, my doe has given us twins. Have you got a blessing for this miracle before us?"
"A blessing? I shall think of one." Taking a long swig from my bottle to mask the unpleasant odor of the barn, I began to recite a prayer appropriate for goats. "May The Lord look with favor upon your beasts, and let Him bless the meats they shall become."
"Tuman!" Hannah hissed, knocking my shoulder with her hand.
"That's a ridiculous prayer," my brother remarked, rolling his eyes. “Surely, you could think of something to pray for beyond their demise.”
"Really? I thought it rather clever."
"Ask him," Hannah demanded, impatiently as she had no interest in the goats. "Remember the speeder. This is why we have come. Ask him so we may go."
"Ay yah! Lehot!" I stumbled forward. "Brother, might we borrow your speeder for a night or two? We have business in Mishnah. I promise we shall return it forthwith, clean, undamaged, and fueled."
"Why?" Lehot narrowed his eyes, and glared at Hannah in the same accusatory manner that his wife had done. "Brother, are you drunk? Your voice sounds as if it were thick from wine. Why now do you drink this poison?"
"It is no concern of yours," Hannah snapped. "We seek only to borrow your car. If you fear for his condition, I
assure you, I shall drive. As you can see, I am quite sober, and clear of mind. I drove speeders all the time when I lived in Mishnah."
"No," my brother said. "I fear not for my machine, but for my brother. Tuman, go home now and sleep this off. Tomorrow, if you are sober, you may ask this favor of me again. Brother, do not destroy all that you have achieved, especially for a woman such as her."
"Kari-fa!" I swore at Lehot for he insulted the love of my life, the mother of my unborn son, the woman who would lie at my side in life and in death.
"How dare you?" Hannah cried. "You are nothing but an ignorant fool. Where is the speeder, Tuman? You said it is in this barn. If you wish to marry me, you'll need to find it and take it."
"Don't do this, brother," Lehot warned.
Hannah’s love was at stake, and at that moment, far more important than Lehot’s wrath. And, knowing my brother, he’d get over his anger in a day or two, so I glanced around the barn until I located the correct stall. It was in the back near the set of double doors, and covered by a burlap tarp. The key was hanging from a ring near the axe, and behind the oxen's yoke and harness. Hannah followed my gaze and discovered it for herself.
"Is that it?" She pointed, racing across the barn.
"No, I say you shall not," my brother declared, leaving the goat pen to follow after her.
I was taking another swig of my drink, finishing the bottle. It was almost gone, and now, I would have one less. I cannot say with certainty what happened next. I thought Hannah had grabbed the key, but instead, she took the axe.
"Hurry up, Tuman!" She ordered, as she swung at my brother, slicing him in the belly with his tool. She slashed a few more times until my brother laying dying on the barn floor, his wounds spilling vast quantities of his blood.
I watched in my intoxicated state as if I were somewhere else. I floated above him like the dust particles and bits of hay. I danced in the sunlight shining through the window pane, not comprehending nor caring what I saw.
As we drove from the barn, and took to the skies above Karupatani, my mind was already far off in space. I rolled myself a joint of Barkuti, and deeply inhaled. In less than a day, my life had forever changed.
All I wanted was Hannah, and to feel as high as I did then. The secrets of the Holy Books and the rituals I had obeyed were now nothing to me, merely obstacles in my way.
"I don't want to go back there," Hannah declared, as we reached the ocean, soaring above the dark water, and foam caped waves.
"I don't either," I decided, inhaling deeply the pungent, and delicious smoke. "Let's go to space, and never return to this planet. Let's travel to the edge of this galaxy and beyond."
"We have to return." Hannah spoke as if I were the ignorant one. "Marik, or this babe will become the next Rehnorian king."
"Whatever you say, my love. It shall be as you wish."
I was oblivious to the angry glare, and the new bitterness in her eyes when she gazed at me. I was oblivious to my sister-in-law's keening cries, to my father's curses, and to my village's horror. I could no longer see the precipice from which I had so precariously stood, and from which I had just plummeted down.
Chapter 16
Dave
"I am very confused," I admitted both out loud and to myself.
In a few short hours, my life had been completely rearranged. My simple, peaceful existence minding an RV park filled with geriatric tourists, apparently, was over for the time being. Instead, I found myself back in outer space with none other than the girl, who long ago had stolen my heart.
Of course, she wasn't a girl anymore, and unfortunately, she still wasn't interested in me. It appeared her gun still held more charm than I. In fact, she was bestowing upon it all sorts of love and kisses, whispering to it as if it were her lover.
"I'm going to kill him," she declared softly, so only the gun and I could hear. “He’s lying about everything he says.”
"Are you planning to do that now?" I asked, upon hearing the cockpit door swish shut after that strange silver-haired fellow disappeared through it. While I wasn’t particularly fond of him either, murder seemed a tad bit strong of a response, but then, I was never the one to start a fight. “How exactly are we going to go about that?”
I nodded toward the locked, and sealed compartment door. Did she expect us to rush up to it, and break it open? Unlike her, I was unarmed, and I had never been a particularly good fighter, not even when I was young, and in good shape.
As everyone in Spaceforce was required to learn a defensive technique, I had tried martial arts, but found the yelling, and rhythms too confusing.
Boxing had been even worse, especially after I took that punch in the face. Despite several surgeries, my nose still listed to one side.
Wrestling was an unmitigated disaster, even in the welterweight competition. I always lost to a guy half my size.
In any case, that was years ago, and although I considered myself in good shape, as of late, my sciatica had been acting up.
"Can you still shoot, Dave?" Red, or rather, Katie asked, lifting up her pant leg to reveal a second gun, a laser. “I never go anywhere without two, and sometimes, three.”
"Sorry, no," I apologized. "I haven’t touched a gun since the Academy. Although, I do have one at home back in my camper."
I didn't tell her that it was merely an old shotgun, a Remington, which my ancestors had used in the second Civil War. That made it several centuries old, although I kept it cleaned, well oiled, and in good repair.
I hadn’t ever used it. I was always afraid it would injure my weak shoulder. However, I did once purchase ammunition appropriate for hunting water fowl. I wasn't sure how well it would have fared against the fish people, or this strange man.
“Unfortunately, that's not going to help us now," Katie replied, checking the sights on both guns. They clicked as she loaded a round into each chamber. "I just can't believe any of this. This man has to be spouting lies. I’m sorry I ever got you into this, Dave. I wish for your sake, you could have stayed at home."
“Oh, don’t worry,” I immediately responded, and chuckled as if I wasn't concerned. “It’s no bother at all. I had nothing better to do in any case.”
It was only after the words were out, I realized how foolish thing that was to say. Of course, it was a bother. My entire life was at stake. After all, I had been kidnapped by a man, who, for some reason, claimed to intimately know her, albeit in another lifetime, or two.
"Exactly how many husbands have you had?" I asked, as she set both guns down in her lap.
She sighed heavily while stroking them as if they were a pair of cats. "I don't know. It’s all so complicated and confusing. Regardless, we’ve got to figure out how to escape. I don't know about you, but I'm not particularly keen on visiting the Black Eye Galaxy."
"Why do you think he's taking us there anyway?"
"It’s obvious,” she snapped, now jumping to her feet. “I'm bait. He's trying to smoke out my husband."
Restlessly, she began to examine the doors, and windows of the cabin, stepping into the galley, and then coming back out.
"Which husband?” I inquired, for I was still completely and thoroughly confused. “The Empero, or that traitorous fellow, Mika?”
“Oh Dave.” She sighed again, shaking her head in that way she always had, except now, the curls she tossed about were red instead of blonde. “There's some kind of intergalactic rivalry going on. Senya left several months ago after Rosso, who is really Luka, had Lumineria III destroyed. They’re searching for each other, and now, you and I are caught in the middle. I get the feeling this isn’t the first time I’ve been there.”
"It is for me."
Intergalactic politics were never my thing. I preferred to hide in the ship's basement, and analyze statistics. However, it occurred to me, as an innocent bystander, my own position could become a bit precarious. At some point in the future, Rosso, or rather, Luka might decide I was extra, uninvited baggage. I may find myse
lf jettisoned out into space, only to explode into particles right next to the window.
Alternatively, I might float around in a frozen garbage pod, never ever to be defrosted, or appropriately buried. Luka might leave me deep within the Black Eye Galaxy on a planet run by apes, or inhabited by small creatures which lived beneath the ground.
He may just kill me with a magical wave of his hand, and then, eat my rotting body for breakfast. The likelihood of these scenarios was probably higher than the probability he would let me live.
“Are you alright, Dave?” Katie asked. “Your face is looking a little pale. You’re not getting spacesick, are you?”
“No, no, not at all,” I insisted. “I’m actually having a bit of fun. I am enjoying the presence of your company again, dear Captain Katie.”
“Good. We’re going to have to pool our resources and figure out what we need to do next. I wonder if there is an escape pod somewhere on this plane.”
“An escape pod?” I repeated, as she bolted down the hall, heading to the aft through a dark corridor of empty walls. "Surely, there are doors somewhere amongst them, cleverly hidden by the outer nanotechnic fabric layer. It is, after all, required safety equipment, along with life jackets, flares, and a transponder. This plane appears well equipped for long range space travel. It would be logical to conclude that a pod or two would be aboard."
“It would be,” she agreed, tracing her hand along the walls, occasionally tapping, and listening for a response. In one spot, we noticed a distinctive difference in the reverberation. “Something’s in there. Now, all we need to do is find the latch.”
More diligently than before, I scanned the wall, searching for any variation in the fabric. A small indention would be all that was required to hide a microscopic lever, or alternatively, a button.
“Looking for something, my love?” Luka interrupted, startling us as he come upon our search.
“I am not your love,” I remarked. “At least, I hope I’m not, although if that means I am to be jettisoned out, I’ll take that back.”
“I’m not speaking to you, you idiot,” he replied, reaching for Katie’s hand, and drawing it to his lips to plant a kiss.
