by Stella Sky
“As much as they could on half a dose,” I said, leading Ali to the row of suits. I watched her closely as she put it on over her clothing. When she turned to face me again, I couldn’t help but laugh. She was dwarfed by the huge helmet, and the arms and legs hung down much too far. She was small, even by human standards, while I and the rest of the Verian men were large by nature.
“What are you laughing at?” Ali asked.
Her voice was serious, but when I peered into the mask to look at her face, I could tell that she knew just how ridiculous she must have looked. She had a good sense of humor, but as soon as I smiled, the lightness in the human’s face disappeared, and her expression grew cold.
“Let’s get out of here. I have to cleanse you to protect you from the dangers of Helna’s atmosphere,” I said, sighing heavily and pushing through the huge double doors that led from the landing docks to the kitchen of the palace.
“Brother!” Grod exclaimed. “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon!”
I cringed as Grod made his way toward me, his stomach knotting.
“The army is 700 strong,” I said, hoping that with the report in hand, Grod would let me go.
That was all I wanted to say to Grod, who had allowed me to go to Earth and nearly lose my life because of his drunken stupor. I shouldn’t have gone at all. That would have been easier. I could deal with Grod’s temper tantrums. At least if I had stood up for myself against my big bully of an older brother, I wouldn’t have to worry about what I was supposed to be doing with the human.
“An army of 700? That’s nothing,” Grod said, clearly heartened by the news. “The supersoldiers will wipe them out in no time at all.”
“They’ve been trained in the standard fighting style.”
Grod nodded. “And this must be your human.”
I winced at the implication of ownership, but before I could speak, Ali, not recognizing Grod as the doyan, spoke for me.
“I don’t belong to anybody,” she said, staring at Grod with eyes narrowed behind the glass of her hazmat helmet.
“And listen to that. She thinks she can just talk to me like we’re equals or something. You sure have terrible taste, brother.”
Grod cackled in laughter, clearly expecting me to follow suit. I managed to crack a smile, but frankly, I didn’t see any humor in the situation whatsoever. It was more dangerous having the girl there with Grod than it would have been to leave her in Zone 70. I would have to be on high alert.
“All right, well, you ought to get her cleansed. You know what this place can do to a human. What did you bring her around for anyway? They didn’t say.”
“I just get lonely in that big house sometimes. And I’m so busy I can hardly keep up with the housework.”
“Whatever. If you spawn any supersoldiers, they’re mine.”
Ali took a step forward, probably nearly ready to bite Grod’s head off with that sharp tongue of hers, but I intercepted her.
“Goodbye, Grod.”
“Doyan Grod!” my brother exclaimed, clearly flustered. “There are others present!”
I nodded. “Dershalga. Farewell, Doyan.”
This was good enough for Grod, and soon we were heading outside the palace, to my thuse.
“All right, human,” I said, sighing heavily. “Let’s go.”
***
“There’s no way.”
I rolled my eyes. “You must. It is ritual.”
“Not my ritual,” Ali exclaimed. “I’m not taking my clothes off in front of you, or anyone else for that matter. Human or alien. You and your rituals can go to hell.”
I leaned back against the wall and pinched the bridge of my nose. If I had known just how difficult it would be to have brought the human to Helna with me, I probably would have just let her return back to Zone 70, whether it was doomed or not.
“You are going to regret speaking that way,” I growled. The human jumped, startled by the sudden rage of my temper, but she held her ground.
“I’m not participating in any of your rituals. I am a human, not a Verian. I will never conform to your customs.”
“Well, you are at least going to take that ridiculous suit off.”
“All right,” the human said, the good nature briefly back in her voice. But it didn’t last long, and soon she sighed, removing the helmet.
I was startled by the round, sincere eyes that met mine; the innocence of her features, the strength and sensuality of her expression. A sudden longing to claim her consumed me; I wanted to make her mine. After all, I had abducted her and brought her to my world. Technically, according to all the laws and customs, she was mine now. I was responsible for her, and I wanted to be the one to keep her safe.
But a claim like this also had other implications. Things I was entitled to, according to the laws of my people. Ali’s beauty was staggering, and I was curious to the depths of my being about what hidden treasures getting to know this human would reveal.
Frankly, I had never been so close to a female that stirred these kinds of desires within me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. It seemed in bad taste to act on my impulses when she was so clearly unhappy. It dampened my spirits, watered down my desire for her. Wasn’t there a way for me to get her to change her mind?
I couldn’t let myself give into my feelings. Not yet. And besides, there was so much left for me to do to further the cause against Earth that dwelling in this inappropriate desire would just get in the way. I had to stay focused. We were living in crucial times, and if I wasn’t going to be able to focus, then there was no way I would be fit to lead. And ensuring a Verian victory was much more important than the human I had so thoughtlessly brought to my planet and my home.
“Yul Curad! Welcome home!”
“Kera, greetings.”
“Who is this?” Kera asked, eyeing the human suspiciously from behind the long brown hair that covered the faces of all Pelin.
“You can talk to me yourself, you know,” the human said huffily. “My name is Dr. Ali Monroe.”
“She’s from Zone 70. She saved my life.”
Both Ali and the Pelin shot me strange looks. Ali seemed surprised at my candidness, while the Pelin was probably more astonished that I had been in a position of vulnerability in the first place.
“Is that so?” Kera asked, looking from me to the human.
Ali refused to speak anymore, and I nodded. “Doyan Grod sent me to Earth without enough Vari-X. It nearly killed me.”
“What nearly killed you was stumbling into a giant hole,” the human muttered.
I frowned, partly embarrassed but mostly angry.
“I was weak because I didn’t have a proper dosage of my medicine. And while I appreciate your helping me, I would watch the way you speak to me from now on. Especially in my own house.”
The human held my gaze, unintimidated, but she also held her tongue. I doubted whether she was doing so out of respect or fear, because the steel in her eyes told a story that the rest of her appearance could not.
“Well then,” the Pelin said, sensing the tension between us and smiling nervously. “Shall we get on with the cleansing so that she may enter the home uninhibited by the contaminants of space?”
I glared at the human and turned my eyes to the Pelin. “Yes. You take care of that. I have other matters to attend to.”
“Are you sure about that?” the Pelin asked, his eyes wide. “I’ve never dealt with a human before.”
“I trust you, Kera. You will deal with the human much more kindly than I would right now.”
A look creased the female’s face, one I almost dared to perceive as hurt, but what she was feeling didn’t matter. Not now. I had other things to worry about.
The Pelin nodded, wringing his hands nervously, and I turned my back on them and left the room.
The human had a special way of trying my patience. I was a little bit nervous about spending any time alone with her, considering just how close I was to losin
g my temper. The combination of her bad attitude with my unprecedented lust was making me feel agitated. I wanted nothing to do with the vile human race. They were responsible for so much pain; including, but not limited to, the disease that had nearly cost me my life on more than one occasion.
No, I wasn’t going to let myself grow weak. The feelings I had were insubstantial; just simple feelings. They meant nothing. I would have to focus on the mission at hand or risk losing everything. I may not have agreed with everything my brother did, but he was the leader of my race, and we were going to work together for the good of our people, snarky human females be damned.
Chapter 4
Dr. Ali Monroe
“Come, human. Before you do any more damage.”
The Pelin didn’t say this unkindly. In fact, he seemed more concerned for my well-being than anything else, as I could tell when his gentle hands nudged me forward. I followed the little man; he reached about the height of my kneecap and walked with a jaunty step.
“The contaminants of space travel can be very risky for human and Verian alike. Fortunately, the Pelin are well-equipped to deal with such trials.”
He pointed to the long brown hair, which obscured any defining features of his face. I had never seen a Pelin up close before, and took my chance now. The man’s nose was just a small suggestion in the middle of his round torso, and his long legs and arms fanned out into large hands and feet, very humanoid, except that they were missing two digits, leaving them with three fingers and toes on each hand and foot instead of five.
“What is he going to do with me?” I said, my voice shaking.
It was the question I had been asking myself over and over again. But every time I asked, I had no answer. I didn’t even have a ballpark of an answer. All I had was fear and speculation. Most women brought to the planet Helna were bred and discarded once they reached menopause, their bodies used and either dumped back on Earth, where the resources to care for them were plentiful, or slaughtered. There was a small camp of human slaves allowed to live on Helna, but most Verian people didn’t want aging humans around them. Would I end up in one of these three disturbing categories? I could only pray that I wouldn’t.
“Who? Commander Curad?” the Pelin asked, casting a look at me that, because of the hair in front of his face, I couldn’t read.
“Who else?”
“Well, let’s just say it’s lucky you ended up with him and not his brother. The Doyan is not a very kind man. There’s no telling what would happen to you, or what will happen if you don’t mind your temper.”
I glowered down at the ground, my blood pressure spiking noticeably. My temper wasn’t the problem. The fact that I had been betrayed and abducted from my home planet after stupidly helping an enemy was the problem. The fact that the man who would have died were it not for my assistance had the nerve to tell me to keep myself in check under his roof when I should have been under my own roof that very minute. Who did he think he was? And why was the Pelin so blind to my plight?
“And anyway,” the Pelin continued, “it’s for your own good for you to be here. The army is planning a massive strike against Zone 70. Pretty soon, there will be no home left for you to go back to. Perhaps the commander was just trying to return the favor.”
I hadn’t heard anything about Zone 70 being in danger. Was the Pelin speaking the truth? Would the commander truly want to return the favor and protect my life during the attack?
We continued walking in silence as I contemplated the possibility. If Commander Curad was actually looking after my well-being, that would be one thing. And even if that was true, it didn’t excuse him for abducting me from my home. I was making great progress on the superweapon that was going to put the war in the human’s favor. And without me there, it wouldn’t be finished in time to save Zone 70 against the strike. Sure, part of that was the fault of the stubborn and sexist Dr. Cranston. But more than anything, it was due to the fact that I had made a horrible choice and helped an enemy. An enemy who was bound and determined to remain my enemy. And so he would, as far as I was concerned. I would never forgive him for this.
“Here, please step inside, human. There is much to do.”
I hesitated when the Pelin halted outside a dark doorway, but when he pushed through the door and flipped a switch, the room was filled with a beautiful golden light, and I couldn’t help but venture inside, intrigued by its ethereal glow.
“What is this place?” I breathed, my eyes roaming the high, sloped ceilings, the brilliant architecture, and the altar across the room. In the middle of the room was a large tub, and the Pelin walked briskly forward and began to fill it with steaming hot water.
“This is the altar room,” he said, not looking at me from his task. “I am going to have to ask you to bathe here tonight, human, and dress in clean robes. I will have your clothing laundered and returned to you, and perhaps in the morning we can browse the catalog and have some new garments delivered to you. After all, you have found yourself in the home of the second most powerful Verian on the planet Helna.”
I was stunned by the news. I knew he was strong, but I’d had no idea of his status. Somehow it hadn’t registered that being the brother of the doyan might coincide with a huge amount of power. But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.
When the tub was full, the Pelin stood straight and headed for the door. “If you should need anything, I will be outside the door awaiting your departure. Please, place your clothing in the bag to the right of the tub. Peace to you.”
With that, the Pelin disappeared, leaving me alone to marvel at the wonders of the room. But when I was finished stripping, carefully doing as the little man had asked of me, and putting my clothing in the bag, I slipped into the tub, and my chest tightened. I hadn’t realized that Commander Curad was quite so powerful. I still didn’t even know his first name, and here I was, captive in his home, for who knew how long. And I still had little faith in his good will.
As much as I wanted to believe that he had brought me here for my own good, and as attractive and unbelievably powerful as he might be, I was being held against my will. And I was going to do whatever was in my power to find a way back to Earth.
***
“Wake up, human!”
I was startled out of my fitful slumber by the sound of the commander’s deep, powerful voice.
“What?” I exclaimed, sitting up with my heart pounding hard in my chest.
“A package has arrived for you. The Pelin took the courtesy of ordering you new clothing.”
“Did you seriously have to wake me up like that over clothes?” I grumbled, stepping out of bed. “I could have gotten them when I woke up on my own.”
Our eyes met, and for a moment, I had the disconcerting temptation to reach out and touch him. I looked away quickly, glancing back up after taking a deep breath. When I did, I was surprised to find that the commander’s handsome face looked lost.
“Dershalga, human. But it is time for your meal, and I will not be back to see you for quite some time. I have matters to attend to. I had hoped to dine with you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that your brother is the doyan?” I asked.
He looked at me then, his brow quirked and face pensive.
“I wasn’t aware it was any of your business who my relations happen to be.”
“I…it’s not. The Pelin told me. Is that why you brought me here? Does it have something to do with the Doyan?”
“No,” the commander said, growing rigid. “It just happened as it happened.”
“All right,” I said quietly.
There was an odd tension between us now; we could barely meet each other’s eyes. I was reminded again of the way his strong hands had felt on my wrists when he had tugged me out of the prison cell. My heart had been in my throat then, unsure whether to punch him or reach out and touch his face.
“Your food is ready, Yula. And there is nothing worse than cold oka, so I recommend you com
e as soon as possible.”
The commander turned his back and began to leave.
“Wait!”
My plea startled us both, and he turned to face me, his expression impossible to read.
“What’s your name?” I asked, embarrassed that I had blurted such a familiar question. I hadn’t even known I cared enough to ask.
He hesitated, and then his handsome face broke out into a broad smile.
“Pax,” he said. And then he left me alone.
***
The first few nights in his home, I was left alone. Pax was a busy man, and with access to his Vari-X dosages, he was a whirlwind of activity. He barely acknowledged me when he was home, but when he did, his eyes were dark, brooding, and intense. He seemed to have words buried deep within him that he had to struggle to keep contained, because whenever he looked away from me, he seemed anguished, and maybe a little bit angry.
It scared me in a way, so I learned to stay clear of him when I knew he would be around. My only ally in the place was the Pelin, but I was wary of the strange little man, as it was clear he was loyal to a fault to Commander Curad. Anytime I expressed my displeasure at my situation, Kera jumped to Pax’s defense, his little voice wavering with devotion. He believed that Pax had brought me here for my own good, and seemed determined to convince me of the same.
I refused to believe it though, until one day something I heard made me question it.
I had just finished up my evening meal and was readying myself for bed by bathing. I was barely out of the tub, slipping on one of the hyper-comfortable robes made of a special, silky Verian material, when I heard the door of Pax’s home slam shut.
I jumped despite myself (being abducted had left me feeling very on edge) and then leaned against the door with my heart pounding hard in my chest.
“Can you believe the nerve?” Pax exclaimed. “He was going to keep this from me! My own brother! The krocha!”
“What’s wrong, Commander?” the Pelin’s voice asked. There was a notable change between the deep, masculine voice of Pax and the tweedy, higher-pitched voice of the small Pelin man.
