by Stella Sky
But I couldn’t fault her for that. I was her abductor: a cruel man who had again and again subjected her to conditions that were not safe or comfortable. The least I could do now was help her to heal from the malicious disease that had taken root in her from landing on Helna’s dying surface. I should have been more careful. The next batch of humans to arrive should come shielded. I would report this to the Doyan at once.
At least it would give some merit to my story; the death of the important prisoner, being due to the extremely common poisoning that so often took the lives of small children and old yul and yula. It was getting worse as the planet struggled to take its last breaths, and with the planet’s suffering would come our downfall. Just as would happen on Earth if the Doyan was allowed to continue his reign of terror against the humans.
“Greandol!”
I frowned when the human thrashed in her sleep, tearing her fist away from my light grip. It was a distinctly Verian name, but I was certain she had never encountered anybody of such a name as that during her time on Helna. It was a family name; one that belonged within only a certain clan of Verians with the surname Blu–peacemakers, they had been deemed. One of a small few had disappeared long ago during a mission to Earth. Was it possible that the human had met him somewhere along the way?
But that was impossible. The yul’s name had been Thearsi. Still, it perplexed me enough that I was tempted to wake the human. Thearsi had been a highly valued member of the Council for Peace, and it had always been his belief that the humans and the Verians might one day coexist peacefully together on Earth without the need of violence. Men of this opinion were rare and frequently sought after. The Verian were a warrior race, and anyone inclined toward peace was considered sagely: a wise man.
“Pyre,” Barvaa said, tugging at my robe. I was startled by the sudden presence of the Pelin but looked down with a smile. In a way, it was a relief not to be alone with the human. I was fighting impulses I wasn’t really sure how to handle.
“Yes, Barvaa?” I asked. “What is it?”
“I come with this for the human,” he said, laying a bouquet of fresh oka on the bed. “The scent will purify her insides while she cannot eat.”
“Thank you, Barvaa,” I said, taking the bouquet and placing it near the human’s face. She would breathe much easier with it nearby, this I knew for certain. It was a good thing for the Pelin. They had brought oka as a staple-crop when Helna had labored to produce enough food to feed the ever-growing Verian population. It was miraculous, really, nutritious and healing in many ways.
“Also…”
I arched my brow. I did not like the sound of this “also.”
“Yes?”
The Pelin hesitated before answering. “You are being summoned at the base for questioning in the death of the human. Arke has been sending word to any who will listen that you had a hand in the human’s death, and I’m afraid the Doyan is likely to punish you for it.”
I sighed heavily.
“Do you know when the conference will be held?”
“Tomorrow evening, Yul Pyre.”
I could tell that the Pelin was afraid, as if by delivering the news he would be subject to my wrath. It was a bad habit he had learned from the first Verian man he had worked for, cruel to the bone like Arke and Doyan Yoltaz. But I had never harmed a hair on the tiny man’s head, nor was I likely to.
“All right, Barvaa. Thank you.”
The Pelin hesitated before leaving, a sign that he trusted me more now than he had when he’d first arrived. He used to hurry out of the room as if terrified that I would change my mind and decide to lash out at him.
“Is the human doing well?” he asked, standing on his tip toes to try to see over the bed. The human was sleeping soundly, and, although she was prone to those bizarre visions of the night that humans endured, she seemed to be healing more and more as the hours ticked by.
“I believe she is improving, yes,” I said, smiling down at Barvaa. “It is thanks to you. I hadn’t seen the signs of illness. It could have been too late for her.”
“Well…” the Pelin said, backing away modestly and looking at the floor. “It is good that she is well. And only you could have bathed her in the sacred water. So perhaps we were both able to have a hand in healing her.”
I nodded. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Barvaa lingered a moment longer, and I gave him a knowing smile. “You are dismissed, friend.”
The word friend really seemed to stump him, and I smiled despite myself as the Pelin man rushed out of the room, this time, perhaps worried again that I would change my mind and regret using such a familiar term on someone who, as the human would say, was essentially my slave.
***
“Pyre?”
I woke suddenly, startled from sleep by Ariel’s voice. She was leaning over me, her eyes heavy with an emotion I couldn’t determine.
“I want to go back into my own room.”
I nearly laughed at the absurdity of the human’s request to return to her prison, and couldn’t help but feel mildly insulted that she would rather be locked up than lay with me. Still, it wasn’t for me to be insulted. The yula was sick and tired and angry with me.
“Why?” I asked stupidly. “Aren’t you comfortable here?”
Ariel hesitated to answer, looking sidelong at her hands propped up on my pillow. If I wanted to be assertive, I could taste her lips right then and there. All I had to do was tilt my chin up a little, hold her body against me…
“This is inappropriate. I’m in your bedroom, aren’t I?”
Inappropriate? I did allow myself to smile then.
“Yes, these are my quarters. It doesn’t do well for a sick person to be confined, you know.”
Ariel narrowed her eyes at me.
“I’m a doctor,” she said. “Don’t condescend to me like that.”
“I see,” I said, sitting up slightly. She backed away quickly, as if terrified by our nearness, and I pursed my lips. From the way she acted, one would think that I was repulsive.
“Please, take me back to my room.”
I studied her hard, fighting against my strong impulses to keep her safe, to make sure she was near me at all costs so that the fate I had lied about to the Doyan might not be realized in reality.
“As you wish,” I said, standing up from the bed.
The human followed right on my heels until I had led her back to the cell in the back of my house. Sure, it had been fashioned from an old bedroom so that, if need be, I could keep an eye on prisoners of war, but it was still moderately comfortable. I had never had anyone in it before except an uncle, who had threatened to out the opposition to the Doyan if I didn’t stop working for them at once.
It hadn’t ended well. I would do whatever it took to protect the resources of Earth from nuclear fallout. And my uncle had learned that the hard way.
“All right,” I said, punching in the code for the cell so that the doors swung open. “In you go. The Pelin will be in to look after you through the night.”
The human was about to walk inside the cell, but hesitated.
“It’s cold in here,” she said quietly. “It’s still a little hard to breathe.”
I sighed irritably.
“You are the one who demanded to return to your prison.”
“Well you are the one who is keeping me in a prison in the first place!” she exclaimed. “Don’t you have anywhere else I could sleep that isn’t beside you? You disgust me!”
“Well,” I thought, trying to tame the agitation that was bubbling in my breast. “I suppose we could work out something. But you will be guarded.”
“Where can I escape here? If I go outside, then I will become ill again.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed, grateful that despite her anger, she could see sense in the futility of her actions. “It would not serve you well to try. I do not let anybody get in my way. Not even you, human.”
Ariel’s features grew apprehensive
, maybe even a little hurt, though why I could not even begin to fathom. If I was such a monster to her, then why would she be so surprised when I stood my ground? No matter what I felt toward her, strengthening the opposition was my true passion.
“I’m tired,” she said quietly, and my anger subsided, just a little. I sighed.
“Come then,” I said, leading her past the open kitchen where the Pelin was hard at work. “Barvaa, when you are finished, could you join us in the red room?”
“The red room, Yul Pyre?” the Pelin asked, halting his work to look at me in disbelief. “But…”
“Hush,” I said, clearing my throat. “I will hear no objections. The human requires more comfortable quarters, and I would like to put you in charge of keeping an eye on the illness. It is still a delicate process.”
“Of course, Yul Pyre.”
I nodded formally, and Barvaa did the same. The human watched the exchange silently, her eyes flickering from the Pelin to me. I could tell she sensed some hesitation about the Red Room. It was a special place to me. A place of meditation and healing that I had never let anybody else enter. It was the only other room of the house with a bed and other necessary accommodations.
And besides, I figured if the Red Room could help me to heal, then perhaps it would do the same for the strange human, who resisted me in every way. I contributed the slow degeneration of my strength to the mental prowess that the sanctuary granted me, and perhaps some of the power in that room would be able to help the human as well. It was worth a try.
And if it didn’t work, that would mean that I had desecrated the sacred space and would ultimately end up growing weaker at a faster rate. But I would try to stay positive. She was pure enough. She deserved the same chance at healing as I had. Even if it did somehow desecrate my space.
“In here,” I said, pushing the door of the Red Room open. It was dimly lit, the windows covered by intricate and ancient tapestries that had been passed down through my family for thousands of years. They helped me to center myself and gave me the direction I needed to aim my prayers and mantras.
“This is beautiful,” Ariel whispered, standing at the threshold of the doorway. “I almost feel like I shouldn’t go in there.”
I smiled tiredly at her. “You have given me no other option, Yula,” I said. “Come and find peace in the sanctuary of the Red Room.
Ariel took a small step forward, her eyes roaming the deep maroon of the walls and the golden frieze lining the ceiling. Words of healing had been etched into it, and she read some of them out loud in a hushed whisper.
“Your Verian is very good,” I said, impressed by her fluency.
Ariel nodded.
“I’m a scientist,” she said distractedly as she began making her way around the room. “I have to be good at a lot of things.”
Ariel stopped abruptly in front of an altar, and I turned away, embarrassed to have the human’s eyes upon something so deeply personal to me. On the altar were photographs of my parents, who had been killed long ago in the war, and relics I had found on Earth that I’d thought were beautiful or full of life I couldn’t bear to see extinguished. I’d brought all of them back to Helna to remind myself of life; that healing is possible. Helna’s soil was dead; no life but the oka sprang from its depths. But Earth inspired me. That’s why I worked so hard to protect it and risked my life to head the opposition.
Because of that, it made no sense that I was risking it all just so this human could rest comfortably and heal well. If she tried to escape, would the Pelin even have the strength to stop her? The Pelin were not a warrior race like the Verian. In fact, they were small, almost defenseless, and poetically inclined. They were not the ideal guard of the scientist that could put the war in favor of the opposition.
“You take care not to get too comfortable here,” I said stiffly. “And do not touch anything. The Pelin will report everything to me, even if you consider him an ally. True, he is a caring creature, but he is loyal to myself, and myself alone.”
“You take yourself pretty seriously, don’t you?” Ariel asked. I immediately had the urge to defend myself, and opened my mouth to do so, but when I saw that there was a faint hint of a smile on her face, I couldn’t help but relax.
“Anyway, make yourself comfortable. The Pelin will be in with some oka and to keep an eye on you.”
“Oka…” Ariel’s eyes narrowed. “You guys have to use that for everything?”
“It was a gift to us from the Pelin, and it continues to serve us in many ways. If you have questions about it, ask the Pelin. You interrupted my sleep.”
“Someone’s not a morning person,” Ariel mumbled, crossing the room and settling onto the comfortable bed in the corner. I prickled.
“That’s because you woke me in the middle of the night instead of staying put. Know your place, or I will put you back in your cell. And if you get sick again, next time I don’t have to save you.”
I wished I could stop the harsh words from spilling out of my mouth, but it was too late. They were already out in the room, already reaching the human’s ears. And the same look of anger and contempt froze me where I stood as we stared at each other.
I turned away from her and left the room without another word. I had to stand firm. I was the one in charge here, and she wanted to keep pushing me to see how much she could get away with. like a child!
I could feel the human’s eyes burning a hole into my back as I left, just as the Pelin hurried past me with another bouquet of fresh oka. She was his concern now. Good riddance.
***
“What have you to say for yourself, Commander Juno?”
Inside I was quaking with rage. Looking Doyan Yoltaz in the eye was enough to make any moral and gods-fearing Verian want to vomit. But this was a council meeting. I had to present myself with the utmost dignity lest they find some reason to punish me.
“The human was ill, and as Commander, I did what needed to be done to dispose of the corpse before it could contaminate the site.”
“Is this so?” the Doyan asked, turning his cold eyes onto the Pelin in charge of the crematorium.
“It is true,” the Pelin said.
And as far as he knew, it was. I had managed to get my hands on the corpse of a woman who had been recently killed by the same disease that had nearly taken Ariel. It was she who had been incinerated, and the Pelin had disposed of the remains himself.
“The logs say you left shortly after without proper notification to the other Yul in charge of the human’s care,” the Doyan said, his gaze returning to me.
“That’s right!” Arke exclaimed from across the table. I refused to acknowledge him.
“I had dismissed those gentlemen already. You will find documentation stating the same. They were using abuses on the prisoners that are outlawed.”
“I see,” the Doyan said, looking down at his papers. “These laws are getting outdated, don’t you think, gentlemen?”
The room erupted as most of the men present nodded in agreement. They wanted to do away with anything that prevented unprovoked cruelty. So many Verians were bitter about their inability to conceive and regain their strength. They wanted to be able to take it out on anybody at any time they chose. It chilled me inside.
“However, as of now, the law is still in place, and as Doyan, it is my duty to uphold those laws. I consider this matter settled. Yul Pyre, Yul Arke, you may leave. The Pelin as well.”
Clamor filled the room as everybody stood from the table and began to chatter amongst themselves.
“Don’t think that this is the end. I know you did something with that human, and I will stop at nothing to find out what that is!” Arke growled to me, his bushy eyebrows closely knit together in rage. “You’re not going to get away with this.”
“Yul Arke, I recommend that you keep your violence to yourself,” I said, turning to him and squaring my shoulders. It would do him good to remember that, despite my own affliction, I was still stronger than hi
m or any of his men. That was why I had the position of power that I did, and whether he liked it or not, I would best him in any physical altercation he threw my way.
“You’re not going to get away with this,” Arke grumbled again. I sighed as he pushed past me. I clenched my fists, but this was not the place to settle this disagreement. Despite his bloodthirsty appetite for destruction, Doyan Yoltaz was a man who liked to hide behind the guise of civility when it came to any public demonstration of his authority. It was part of why it was so difficult to convince the Verian people that the man in charge of them was actually a twisted and corrupt being.
The opposition hoped to get footage of his ways before he had a chance to invade Earth with his harmful weaponry, but until that happened, we would all have to sit and wait for the Doyan to make a false move that was public enough to warrant outcry. It was unlikely to happen, and that is why the opposition had begun to infiltrate the council.
I, for one, was high-ranking due to my unlikely physical prowess; but then, I had come from a long line of fierce warriors who had founded much of the rules of war. The Juno were highly skilled men and deeply intelligent women, and I was the result of many generations of the fittest breeding.
Naturally, the Doyan had included me on the council, along with Arke, who was also of a similar background. However, he was older than I when he was stricken with the terrible disease and had half the strength of my immune system regardless.
There were two other men on the council who were members of the opposition. A man named Grew Krechov and Plai Breanal sat on either side of the Doyan, a covert mission to get as much intel from these meetings as possible. So far, their efforts had recovered nothing of use, but there was still time. We hoped.
“Good to see you again, Yul Juno,” Renad Vrean said, approaching me with a broad smile. We knelt to each other in greeting, and I smiled back, despite the anger bubbling just below the surface. Arke knew just how to push my buttons, and he knew it. That was dangerous.
