“That is where we are going.”
She dragged her eyes away from the distant trees to where he pointed.
“Oh...” The building was somewhere between a fairy tale castle and a fortress. There were tall thin towers and turrets, all in pale stone that caught what little light there was, making it look like the stone held light in its depths.
But below the ivory stone was dark gray rock, the buildings thick and square, topped by walls that must have been yards wide. The whole thing dwarfed the rest of the city, casting a huge shadow over much of what lay below it.
“How...how do we get down there?” From here she couldn’t see any way down from the sheer cliff. Just looking down gave her vertigo and she took a step back from the unguarded edge. But it was mesmerizing, beyond fantasy.
“There is a passage...this way.” He took her hand, but she couldn’t t turn away from the edge. Behind them, she could hear a few men moving, the Clank of metal. But her eyes were still fixed on the building below them. “What do you think?”
“I can say I’ve never seen anything like it before. Even in New York...”
“You will have to tell me about your city. But we should go. I feel exposed up here. Even though we have guards.”
“Right. Okay.” With one last look she let him lead her away from the edge. Behind the ship was a wall, carved out of the rock, with a metal door that looked like it had been attacked more than once. A guard stood to the side, bowing his head slightly as they approached. He tugged the door, and it opened with a screech of unoiled hinges. She winced.
“No chance of anyone sneaking in with that sound, right?”
Taso glanced down at her, smiled. “One way of looking at it. Or we just don’t notice any longer.”
The passage behind the door was pitch black, but someone lit what looked like a flashlight. At least the beam of white light it gave looked like a flashlight. She thought bears had fairly bad eyesight, but maybe here it was different, that they could see in the dark, as humans and as bears. Or maybe everyone on this planet could see in the dark, and it was just her eyesight that was bad.
“Watch your step.”
The passage was really no more than a landing, and the light in front of her dipped down suddenly, almost disappearing. Taso still held her hand, and she gripped him tightly, disoriented in the darkness. She tugged him into stopping.
“You don’t have a light I could have? I’m lost here.”
“Bensi, give that here.”
A small metal box appeared in front of her. She gripped the handle with her free hand. The box hummed slightly, giving off a slight warmth, but the light was clear and even, and she could see the stone steps heading down to a landing, then disappearing around a corner. They looked like they were carved out of living rock, the sides and ceiling and walls made of the same material.
Taso let her go ahead of him, with a guard several steps below. She walked carefully, feeling her way as much as seeing it. There were no handrails, and she still felt a little clumsy and stiff.
They seemed to go down forever. The landing she could see turned out to be the first of many. The air around her gradually cooled, grew damp, until her hands and nose got cold. She lifted the light, amazed she could see her breath. It startled her that she didn’t feel the cold on her body. The clothes, the armor, must have some kind of insulating ability. She was just as comfortable here as she’d been on the scorching planet with the alien, or on the ship, or outside.
“Here...”
She looked up, startled. There was another door, smaller, set in the stone. It opened quietly, and she decided it probably didn’t matter if the one way back at the top of the stairs screeched. No one would hear it down here.
This door had a lock and the guard—Bensi, she thought—knocked. It seemed archaic, for a society that had developed space travel. There were noises on the other side, then the sound of metal on metal, and the door swung open. If nothing else, she’d learned this was a world of Clanking metal.
She was ushered through the door into a room that she instantly recognized: a locker room. There were men in various stages of undress and for a horrified moment she wondered if, when they weren’t wearing armor, they were always naked. Would she have to either wear armor or be naked as well? A few men—most, in fact—looked at her with lingering gazes, a few with smiling.
But then she looked past the half-dressed men and saw that some were wearing what looked like regular clothes, tunics and pants that looked like cotton, soft grays and blues, a few in dark charcoal black. There were only men, and she turned to Taso.
“Are there no women?”
“Not here. This is a barracks, unmated males only. Women have a separate barracks.”
“Ah, that explains the stares.”
He nodded. The lingering gazes had turned into full-on stares. For a moment she was back in Gus’s gym, irritation on the way to anger filling her, waiting for one of them to nudge the guy next to him, make some half-whispered remark, and then challenge her to a fight of some kind. She swallowed hard, but didn’t look away.
He shot her a side-long glance, with a hint of a smile. “You’d get the same reaction in the female barracks.”
She stared back at him.
“They know perfection when they see it, both genders.” He leaned close, his lips by her ear. “And they are jealous of me. All of them. Because you are with me.”
“You’re kidding, right? Perfection...” He had to be joking. She turned to look up at him. He looked inordinately pleased with himself, not the least bit upset that other men were staring at his mate. He didn’t look like he wanted to punch them for ogling her, or put a protective arm around her, claiming her as his. Whatever her relationship was to him, it was clear to everyone there. And it was clear to her that he was very secure in however he felt toward her.
“Perfection. Come...I want to show you your rooms...our rooms.” The last words were whispered in her ear. She flushed hot for a moment, then turned away from the men in the room, half expecting to hear more whispers and laughter as she walked away. But there was none. They went back to doing whatever they had been. She walked out in stunned silence.
Taso was saying something, but she wasn’t paying attention. He turned back, and she almost ran into him.
“What is wrong? You look...we have a word, but I don’t know your word for it. It means your world is no longer steady under your feet.”
“The phrase turned upside down would work.” She tried to ease the expression on her face,, out of stunned shock into something normal. Since they’d landed, her forehead had been creased with wonder and confusion and bewilderment. It was getting to the point where her face hurt.
“What has turned your world upside down?” They were in a wider hallway, and he fell in step beside her. “I realize this is all new, all different. Is there one thing above others?”
“I’m not sure you’d understand. It has to do with...” She tapped her chest and then her head. “It has to do more with me than it does with your world. How I think...how I see...” She shook her head. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“I had a way of thinking about myself, how I saw myself in my world. And most of that, it seems, was how I looked. How I looked to men, other women...” Her words trailed off. How to explain ego to an alien? There was no way to do that.
“I mean, I’ve always been happy with the way I look… at least since I became an adult and learned not to care so much about how others looked at me. I like my curves, my muscles. I love being a strong woman. But men…we talked about this. They don’t know how to deal with me. Like you said, I think I do scare them somehow. They were attracted to me, I guess… but didn’t know how to approach me, maybe.”
Taso walked in silence beside her, hands clasped behind his back, head down. It struck her that maybe he was really listening, trying to understand what she was saying.
“So when you call me perfect...that you see perfection, that t
hose other men in the barracks would see that too...it just feels different.” He made a questioning sound. “I’m not perfect, I know that, but I’m not ashamed of who I am. I just know that I don’t fit into the mold that others believe to be the idea of beautiful. Does that make sense?” That was followed by a non-committal sound from Taso that could have been agreement or not.
“It’s not just that I’m on a different planet full of alien shifters. That’s hard enough to wrap my head around…but all tied up in that is this...interest you have in me, this personal interest. It’s confusing, and overwhelming. Very overwhelming. In ways, it’s more confusing than seeing you shift, or seeing those big trees outside. Or even this building.”
“You were not appreciated in your world. That will be different here, different for you.” He said that with such finality that she had no argument to offer him.
They went down more steps, another passage, more room, turns. She was hopelessly confused, knew that if she ever tried to find her way back her on her own, she’d be lost within minutes.
Find her way...the only way off this planet was back up those confusing passages and stairs. The ship that could take her back to Earth was up there. The realization that she was traveling further away from any method of escape sent a spear of anxiety through her. Instinctively, she glanced back, willing herself to remember which passage, which turn, how to get back to the surface. Telling herself she was being lulled into some kind of false sense of security. Then Taso closed another door behind them.
“This is home.”
The walls looked the same, rough gray stone, but there were more men, clearly guards in armor, lining the passage. They nodded deferentially at Taso, but cast looks at her from lowered eyes, the same looks the other men had given her. Looks of frank admiration as their eyes traveled over her body.
She noticed they carried no weapons, but each one looked like he could play linebacker on any pro football team. They all had broad shoulders, arms bulging with muscles, legs like tree trunks. She glanced at them, and then gasped in surprise. Not all of them were men. As Taso led her quickly down the hall, she saw women among the guards. Women who met her eye with a raised eyebrow, a flick of a smile. The same looks the men gave her. Acceptance and admiration.
There was yet another door, this one elaborately carved wood, and Taso ushered her through this. It closed with a solid thunk behind them. This room was different, the stones were smooth faced, not so rough. There were fewer guards, but they wore markings on their armor, small beaten silver emblems. Some wore two and three, arranged on their shoulders. Rank of some kind. She wondered what Taso wore, if he had many silver emblems? Or if it was reversed, and the more you had the lower you were on the totem pole? Maybe Taso wore none at all.
“We are almost there. Almost. You may bathe and change clothes, out of armor and into something more comfortable.”
“This stuff isn’t really that bad, for armor.” She ran her fingers over the mesh. “Is this the same stuff that was on the ship?”
“It is. You are very observant. It stretches slowly enough for us to shift, as I’ve said. But if struck...” He reached out and flicked the mesh on her arm. It pinged. “It protects.”
She nodded, thinking this would be another amazing import to Earth.
“Then we can eat.” He cast a glance at her. “Unless you wish to eat first, before you bathe.”
She had the distinct impression he wanted to eat before anything, and she was starving, but she felt sticky and dirty with the dust of three planets on her skin, and in her hair.
“I want a bath first. A long hot bath. You can eat if you want...”
“I will wait. I will eat with you. I think thought, I will be a better companion if I do not smell like a bear.” He gave a small laugh. “I know how I smell after battle. And it is not pleasant.” He glanced at her almost shyly. “I haven’t really worried about how I smell for quite some time. It is…nice to have to think about that again.” He winked, and then chuckled.
The rooms they passed through began to take on the look of living spaces, less like passages and connecting hallways. There were pieces of furniture, benches, tables. Some chairs that looked more comfortable than utilitarian. She had yet to see a room with a window. Every space they passed through was lit with either the small metal boxes, or torches in holders on the walls. The air was tinged with the vague scent of pine, and for a moment she thought of the huge trees outside.
The last door and set of stairs took them up higher and higher in a circle. They must be in one of the turrets, she thought. Finally, Taso slid a thin wooden door aside. The room beyond had windows and was light and airy, compared to the smoke-filled corridors. There were benches and chairs, most covered with cushions. Rugs covered the floor. A small fire burned in a corner fireplace. She’d read a book once, a romance set in England, something with a knight and a castle, and a fair-haired mistress. This room looked for all the world like the sitting room she’d imagined the heroine in the story had, where she received visitors, and the knight in his shining armor.
But the windows drew her, and she walked past Taso to the glass panes. From here she could see sky, although the sky was gray, heavy with clouds. She wondered if it rained her, or if the sun ever shined. Or if there was more than one sun.
“Here...” Taso pointed through another opening in the wall. “There is a place to bathe, change clothes, to rest a bit.”
She peered past him. There was a bathroom, clearly constructed with a man’s taste in mind. There were no flourishes, very few decorations. There was, however, a giant tub of some kind of pale ivory-colored stone, very smooth looking, and something so massive it looked like it must have been carved in place. There was no door that looked large enough to bring it through. The idea of wallowing in hot water up to her nose was very appealing. A window set high in the wall cast subdued light over the tub.
“This is...beyond anything I thought possible.” She walked into the room. “It’s beautiful.”
“You thought we were primitive, and you’d be washing in cold water in a barrel.” He’d followed her into the room, reaching to turn a T-shaped handle that stuck out of the wall beside the tub. From a hidden faucet of spout, water gushed into the tub. It was pale green against the ivory stone, and she wondered if she’d been drinking green water all along.
“There are things there...” He pointed to shelves laden with what she assumed were towels. “And I will have someone bring women’s clothes. I’m afraid all I have here are my things. And those would be far too big.”
“Thank you.” It still seemed strange to thank the man who had taken her from her home, but she was grateful for the bath. And above all else, she was grateful to be alive. Taso held her eyes for a moment, then bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him.
The tub was filling rapidly, steam gathering over the water. It occurred to her she had no idea how to turn off the water, and for a panicked minute she thought about calling out to Taso for help. Instead, she took a breath, reached for the handle twisting it the opposite way that Taso had. The water slowed, then stopped.
She pulled the shirt off over her head. Her arms hurt, her shoulders creaking in protest. It was either the fight with the alien, or Taso, or the long hours of sleep in the cramped bed on Taso’s ship. Her arms were covered in scratches and welts, most of which she couldn’t remember getting. When she tugged down the pants, she gasped. Her thighs were covered with big purple bruises. Belatedly, she wondered if she’d gotten them back at the very beginning of this dreadful adventure, fighting with the mercenaries, if that’s why she’d needed more drugs to keep her quiet.
She reached behind, undoing the tie that held her braid, fingers unwinding the long strands. She shook her head, letting her hair cascade around her shoulders, down her back. A hank of hair came away in her hand, and she stared at it. Then she remembered the sharp-fingered alien grabbing her hair. It must have sheared off some of it in the fight. She cu
rled it on the edge of the windowsill.
Stepping into the tub, she let out an audible sigh. The water was just hot enough to make her wince, but she sank down, the water rising up over her chest, to her chin, welcoming the heat, letting it soak into her muscles, down to her very bones.
She sat back, closing her eyes, only her head was above water. The bottom of the tub seemed to conform to her body, places for her arms and legs to rest, rising up under her knees, somehow carved to cradle her shoulders. Taso was right; she had thought they’d be primitive, backward somehow, but this tub, this was genius. If they could sell these in New York, they’d be millionaires. It had been a mistake to think of this place, and these people, as primitive. Different, certainly. But not primitive.
The water and steam began working its magic, and she closed her eyes, hunger forgotten for a moment. She was just dozing off when someone knocked on the door. She jolted awake, splashing water on the floor.
“Yes?”
The door opened a crack. Veronica expected Taso, and was already covering her breasts with her arms, but the face that appeared was female. A young girl entered, carrying a pile of folded material and a small metal bottle.
“I have brought you clothes. And this...” She set the clothes on a shelf and turned back with the metal bottle. She pulled the stopper off and held it over the water. A thin stream of carmine-colored liquid poured into the water.
“Wait...”
The girl looked at her in surprise, righting the container. “It’s healing liqueur. For your body. Taso said...”
The water had turned a milky pink where the stuff had landed. She sniffed, swirling her hand, dispersing the liquid. “It’s okay. You just startled me.” She nodded and the girl poured the rest of the liquid into the bath.
“I will leave you unless you require something else?”
Veronica shook her head. “I think I’m fine. Tell Taso...” It felt odd to say his name… to say it out loud, to someone else. “Tell him I said thank you.”
Dark Side Of The Moon (BBW Paranormal Were-Bear Shifter Sci-Fi Romance) Page 10
