by Yvette Hines
“Then get us off this icicle, lovely lady.”
Eboni giggled at his flattery. Since she was only a voice, the only true loveliness to her was her digital ability, and that was a marvelous asset to Kesh.
“By your command.” Eboni had the engines blasting, the doors and cargo bay double secured and the captain’s chair reclined back with safety straps in place.
“Now you’re just showing off.” He stroked a hand along the thick straps. She knew he would have put them on himself, especially with the speed they would be going.
There was a chiming sound before they lifted off and disappeared in light speed.
You won’t hide from me long, fugitive, I will find you. Kesh T’en always succeeds in the hunt.
Chapter Three
“Ripe fresh vegetables. Herbs for cooking and potions.” Cyran called out to people up early in the market. Before the sun on this planet hit its zenith for the day the open market would be closed up. It gave her plenty of time to tend to her boss’s gardens and play in the soil.
“I will have a fistful of sassafras and a bag full of anise.”
The woman smiled at her as she stepped closer to the stand Cyran managed.
“Coming right up.” Cyran squeezed through the narrow aisle between the herb boxes to get the items the woman requested. It wasn’t easy with the heavy curve of her hips and thighs.
“You haven’t been in Magic long,” the woman said, no hint of question in her words.
Glancing up, Cyran saw the twinkle in the older woman’s eyes and the confidence of her mannerisms. Not wanting to hold the lady’s gaze, especially in a city like Magic, New Mexico. While she’d been there for a few Earth months, she’d discovered that nothing and no one were as they seemed. Cyran wasn’t the only outer galaxy inhabitant there among even odder people.
“Um, no. Not long.” After getting the sassafras into a mesh pouch, she moved around to the next box.
“I’ve heard there is something special about David Blanel’s produce and herbs since you have come aboard.” The woman picked up various herbs and gave them a slow sniff before putting them back down, but Cyran could feel she never took her gaze away from her.
“I don’t know about that. I just grow what the owner tells me to.”
“Mmhmm.” The woman tilted her head and assessed her as Cyran handed her the items.
“That will be seven dollars. Because of the rare strain of sassafras,” Cyran explained.
“I don’t mind paying well for exceptional products. My potions are very precious.” Opening her bag, the woman extracted some Earth bills. It had taken Cyran a few weeks to understand the currency.
Cyran removed the zippered pouch from her apron and added in the money the woman handed her. “Potions?”
The older woman leaned close to her and lowered her voice. “I’m just one of a few resident witches here.” Extending her hand, she spoke louder again, “I’m Topper. My shop is down the road if you ever need anything.”
“Good to know.” Cyran smiled. She didn’t have but a few friends here. Not because the place wasn’t as friendly as it was odd, but she spent most of her time in the fields and gardens instead of around people.
Topper tilted her head the other way, still holding Cyran’s hand and slowly lifted an eyebrow. “You have a very strong core source within you.” The other eyebrow rose to match the first. “A building.”
Using extra strength Cyran pulled her hand back away from the other woman. A tingle ran up her arm at the contact with the woman. Baffled by the feeling and the mysterious words of the woman, Cyran stepped back. “Well, Topper, it was nice to meet you. I need to see about these two other customers that just walked up.”
“Understandable. Have a prosperous day.” Topper winked at her and seemed to glide away through the center of the market, not even glancing at another stand.
Cyran knew she was an oddity in a town of the strange, especially since she’d just shown up in town. The passenger vessel had landed in the center of Mr. Blanel’s field. Thankfully it had been at night and only David had seen the ship or her. He’d given her a small apartment above his garage. He’d also told her he needed an assistant to help out when he traveled to Los Vegas for his shows.
The Earth inhabitants believed him to be an illusionist, someone affluent at prestidigitation. Cyran was one of the few that knew that he was a space folder. He could reach into nothing and pull out something from anywhere on the planet. Earth had not been his planet of birth.
The next morning when he’d caught her out in the field before dawn with her hands in his soil and the vegetables that had been crushed by the passenger vessel raising up again from the ground even more plump and colorful than they had been before, he’d given her a job. Never once had he asked her why she was on Earth.
She didn’t know why she’d chosen Earth as her destination either, except it was the furthest galaxy on the other side of the keyhole. The need to get away and never be found was her only aim.
An hour later, she had her stand packed up and loaded in the back of her boss’s truck. As she moved to the door, a searing flame licked from her core down her limbs and caused them to buckle. She was thankful she caught the side of the vehicle. Gasping, she sucked in a large breath and held it as she rode out the sensation. Once she was able to stand again, beads of sweat were on her forehead.
With a shaky hand, she wiped her brow and continued a slower progression to the driver’s side door.
For a moment, she wondered if it was a left over affect from the drugs that had been forced into her system on Vorhal. By the time she had left their solar system, it had been out of her system.
“So why now?” She started the truck and drove away from the city center. As she did every day at Blanel’s request, she took all the unsold items to a warehouse at the end of the city where they gathered food for those hungry around New Mexico.
The energy within her caused things to grow, fertilize at a rapid rate and the farm had more than enough on a daily basis not to bring back leftovers from the market.
Even though the pain had receded, Cyran could feel the low hum of warmth still in her core. It baffled her. Tending to the princess for so long, she was familiar with the reported effects and feelings surrounding a calori series, but it wasn’t something that happened to her, ever. Cyran couldn’t see it being sparked away from her planet and with everyone deceased.
Pushing the issue away as she pulled up before the Thompson Food Source building, she stopped the truck just as Greg Thompson was coming out the front.
“Hello, Cyran. Good day to you. How was the market flow this morning?”
“Hectic. Greg, so a good day.” Cyran smiled at him through the window before she opened the door and slid to the ground. Her boots hit the dirt as she extended a hand to the man. “But, I’ve still got plenty for your giving foundation.”
“There are family’s that truly appreciate the generosity of David. Please, offer my thanks when you get back to the farm.”
“I always do.” At the truck bed, she lowered the door so they could get at the boxes.
“Pixel, can you and Jim come out and help with the Blanel donation?” Greg spoke into a walkie talkie he pulled from his belt.
The foreign communication devices on Earth still baffled her. She wasn’t sure if or when she would get used to the prehistoric devices like tablets and cell phones a lot of the visitors to town practically had glued to their hands and faces.
It didn’t take but a few minutes for two men to come out the wide roller door as she and Greg unloaded the items and set them on the ground.
“Well, you’ve brought us quite the haul once again.” Greg thanked her.
“Our pleasure. See you tomorrow.” She went and got back behind the wheel and pulled away. With a hand out the window she waved at the charity coordinator.
As she drove away and she thought about the heat that was now throbbing low in her core. Topper had stated she m
ade potions. As a witch, Cyran was sure the older woman could whip up something to alleviate the ache.
“Maybe I will visit her tomorrow if it doesn’t go away by morning.” She turned off the main road that would have led back into town and started her journey to the farm and her new home.
This is nothing to concern yourself with. She repeated all the way home with one hand on the steering wheel and the other over her stomach.
~YH~
“Welcome to Magic.”
Kesh turned at the sound of the strong male voice behind him. He’d been busy walking along the main street and glancing in one shop window after another. In search of his quarry.
Staring at the man, Kesh attempted to determine if the uniformed man would be ally or enemy. His features appeared kind, but he would wait to see.
“I’m Sheriff Theo.” He held his hand out toward him. “Who are you, stranger?”
Not wanting to start any problems, Kesh accepted the man’s greeting. “Kesh T’en.”
“Can you understand my language?”
“I have in a language device.” Kesh tapped the space behind one ear.
“Good. Welcome to the Milky Way and Earth.” Pulling his hand back he rested his fists on his hips. “Seems with the portal we’ve been getting more than our normal share of outer galaxy visitors.” The lawman gave him a hard look. “I hope you’re here on a peaceful expedition.”
Kesh didn’t miss the warning in his tone. “I don’t aim to cause your planet any problems.” He left off that he would do whatever it took to get his job completed.
“Why don’t we go down to my office for a more private chat.”
It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Kesh that the two of them seemed to be drawing a crowd of sorts and gawkers from within shops and stores.
“I prefer not to have my time delayed.” Kesh declared.
“I’m sure you don’t, however, seeing this is my city I’m going to have to insist on at least a brief chat.”
Kesh stifled a growl. It was always his desire to obey the law of a planet he arrived on. Finding himself shackled or incarcerated on a planet for lawbreaking would surely lead to his target absconding.
“Lead the way.”
Theo gave a brisk nod before escorting Kesh down to an office that had SHERIFF on the door. “One thing about Magic, I don’t like trouble. Especially of the intergalactic nature.” Theo sat on the edge of his desk, but offered Kesh a chair before it.
Kesh chose to remain standing. “I don’t plan to bring problems here. Just retrieve something that’s lost.”
“You want to tell me what that is? Maybe I can help…put out a search.” Theo clasped his hands on his elevated knee.
Folding his arms over his chest, Kesh shook his head. “No. This is a private matter and it will be best if I handle it myself.”
Their gazes locked and held for a moment.
Finally, Theo gave a sharp nod. “Fine. However, if Magic citizens are threatened or any of them end up hurt I will come for you.”
Good luck with that. “I’ve heard your words lawman. Now, I must be on my way.” Without waiting for the other man to agree, Kesh left the office.
Kesh continued his search through the town. When he got to an area where there were multiple booths and awnings as if there had been a previous set up that appeared to be possibly a trade station he began to get a tingle that ran from the back of his head down along his spine. The first thing he did was turn and see if someone was behind him, if perhaps the Sheriff had sent someone to spy on him. No one was there.
The only people still in the area was a dealer who was loading various types of items in his car that had a sign on it that claimed cheese was better with Magic. He wondered if the man meant to say in Magic. Kesh wasn’t sure what cheese was or even what people did with it. There were odors and smells around the ones moving it that made his mouth water and some that caused him to turn up his nose. Turning back around, Kesh continued on. The closer he got to the end of the tented area, the more his spin tingled and tightened. His back seemed to vibrate with tension and the tingling encircled his torso and settled in his stomach.
He shook his head and tried to do away with the experience. It lessened but stayed present enough for him to recognize it was with him. At the last booth a scent caught his attention. Moving closer he didn’t see much of anything except various kinds of leaves scattered around. Reaching down he picked up a green crinkled leaf and smelled it. It was nice, but not what drew him. He dropped that one and lifted another from a different shelf. This one was flat with curved sides and had a point opposite the stem he held. The plants were so rare for him to touch and hold, his planet didn’t have substances like this. As it was a dry wasteland.
Wondering if it was edible, he opted not to try anything he picked up. This world was strange to him and he wasn’t sure what was good or bad. He’d learned in his travels that sometimes the most poisonous items masqueraded as sweet and appetizing. Before he left if there was time he would discover if there were items he could barter to have and take back to his home.
He moved from one shelf to the next and inhaled deep. Whatever the warm sweet scent was, it didn’t come from any of the plant scraps. For a moment, he was practically paralyzed in one spot and he could not help but breath and take in all that he could of the body warming aroma. Everything in him seemed to come awake for the briefest of time. He wanted to ignore it, but something told him that it was a clue somehow. As a tracker, he never disregarded a clue. Even if he didn’t understand it.
When the last few tendrils faded into the air and he felt more like himself he lifted his wrist unit, and spoke into it. “Eboni, there wasn’t any information on the runaway’s home planet besides it being destroyed. Run a search on the planet and discover what it consisted of…the type of people that inhabited it as well.
“Running it now, Kesh.”
Continuing on, he headed to a business that had a few different travel vehicles before it. All of them with two wheels and no doors.
“Good day, sir. I’m Landon, how can I help you.” A female with short curly blue hair, orange eyes and pointy ears wove her way through the vehicles as she approached.
“What are these things? Can they get me around?”
She stood before him, extremely short in stature and elfin. He’d seen her kind before on his travels. Her planet was more woodland and he wondered how she ended up in such a dry desert area. Not wanting to reveal his own business he didn’t ask.
“Ah, a newcomer to Magic.” She smiled and ruffled her own hair as she assessed him. “These are called motorcycles and yes they are meant to get people around the city.”
Kesh realized that he could not walk the whole area, especially if he located Cyran and had to whisk her back to his vessel. The items reminded him of a rocket glider he had when he was younger, but these didn’t hover.
“I will take one. Tell me your price,” Kesh demanded. Normally, he was more courteous to females, but since being in that area filled with vegetation he felt on edge. He should have had Eboni do a diagnostic on him, had the smells done something to his mind and body—altered him? There was a sense of urgency in his blood.
She let him know the price and he removed the money he’d gotten from the currency exchange on Zenmir when he refueled before taking the keyhole mere galaxy minutes before it closed. Peeling away the bills required he handed them to the woman.
“I desire that purple one there.” He pointed to a motorcycle on the other side of the lot. It seemed to be bigger than some of the ones around him and could handle his size.
“Absolutely, sir. I’ll get the keys.” In shoes that kept her on her toes, she turned and headed into the business.
He met her at the vehicle when she came back out with the key.
Once he got on, he allowed her to give him a quick tutorial on where the key went and how to make it go, stop and the importance of shutting off the ignition when he was ready to get off. “E
njoy your ride, sir.”
“Where can I find a coordinance guide for the city?” The motorcycle vibrated and roared between his thighs and he felt the power of the big beast.
“We have some inside. One moment, sir.” She hustled away, but was back quickly. “When you look at it, the front is all Magic, but the back goes out further through the state of New Mexico and beyond.”
“Thank you.” He placed it in the inside pocket of his vest. Everything in his calculations told him that she was in Magic. When he landed and saw both Earthlings, aliens and other interesting people that he didn’t completely understand he knew it was the perfect place for a runaway to hide out.
As he rode away from the dealer, he had to take back his thoughts that the instrument was anything like his hover bike on his home world, it was better. Much better. For the first ten miles all he did was enjoy the warm breeze as it blew across his face and body, whipping his hair back.
After his delight in the new Earth toy calmed he pulled to the side of the road and reviewed the map. “Eboni can you scan this and eliminate any areas where there are no inhabitants but animals or barrenness. The female’s planet was lush and I could not see her surviving in the wild with nothing of comfort. Although most of this place I see is dry and hot.”
He held his wrist unit up long enough for the laser scan to travel along the map.
“I have it, Kesh, adding alerts to your unit that will let you know which roads not to take.”
Lifting his feet from the ground he settled into the seat again and began a more serious and methodical search.
~YH~
“So, how was your trip?” Cyran asked David, her employer, as they sat a dinner in his home.
“Well. Four theatrical shows and ten shirt shows recorded. Now I have a few months before me to be home.”
“Good, I’m sure you need the rest. It has to be exhausting.”
The man before her looked tired. His light brown hair was slicked back as he liked it, but his eyes that were usually more luminous seemed dull and sunk in.
