Gamma Rift

by Kalli Lanford

  The opportunity to save America that plopped into my lap like a hot meteorite, just when I had given up hope, was a complete catastrophe to Lestra, leaving her speechless with her hands on her hips and her shell tense as she sat scowling at me. I didn’t dare mention the second half of my drawn-out plan to dethrone my father and end the abductions. Right now, my focus was on helping America.

  “It’s too risky,” Lestra said. “What if something happens, and you can’t get back to Enestia after you return the human?” Now I regretted inviting her to my quarters.

  “Then I won’t come back—at least not right away. Why return so soon in the first place when my father will be waiting for me with a prison sentence in one of the containment campuses on Regis?” I asked while I turned on my virtual monitor.

  “But you’d have to come straight home. Where would you go? You can’t stay on Earth. To them, you’re the alien.” She was right.

  “I’ll go to Verla Three,” I said boldly. “My father’s powers of extradition are worthless there. I could stay as long as I wanted.”

  The flight codes for Earth appeared on my monitor, and I typed their sequence into a handheld communicator, one number at a time.

  “Your mother’s vacationing on Verla Three.”

  “Exactly. Why do you think she vacations there? If she ever gets up the nerve to leave my insensitive brute of a father, he wouldn’t be able to force her to come back to the throne. Fifty-four, eighteen, seventeen…”

  “Do you think your mother would actually help you?” She pressed her hands against the top of the sitting cube and leaned forward.

  “No, of course not. I’ll have to eventually get a job,” I said quickly. “Shoot.” I deleted the two numbers I transposed and began again.

  Despite her scorn for my father, my mother would never come to my aid and risk losing her station or lavish expense account. Although she lacked my father’s sense of cruelty, in many ways, she was more selfish than the king. Abandoning her children in order to avoid him was a self-seeking trade off. On Verla, she and I could never cross paths.

  “A job? But you’re a prince.”

  “Yes, I am, which means I’m highly educated with skills that surpass most Verlians.” A means of income was more than necessary. I’d need Millennium credits to arm myself and those who’d join me in my fight against my father.

  “But to get a job?”

  “Why not? I’ll need to, once my stashed credits are gone. You, of all people, should understand this. You’re a Timuary. You’re no stranger to hard work. You’ve been working your whole life.”

  Lestra kicked her heel against her sitting cube and gave me a look that could crack shell. “Thanks for reminding me.”

  “There’s no reason to get angry. I’m just making the point that you’re not too proud to work, so why should I be, since I am no better than you, after all.”

  “Garran, you’re a royal.”

  “And you are my protector, right?” I sat down on the cube across from her and set my hand on her knee.

  “But…”

  “But what? I have to save her. Seventy-one, twenty-two, eighty-eight. Please don’t try to stop me, because there’s nothing you can do to make me change my mind.”

  “I won’t stop you, Garran. But I’ll continue to try to talk some sense into that thick-shelled skull of yours. Do you even have a plan?”

  “Of course.”

  Lestra’s shell rattled as she folded her arms across her chest.

  “I mean, kind of. We have to take America out of her cell tonight. From there, I’ll go directly to the hangar, put her on the cruiser, set a course for Earth, and be gone before the suns come up.”

  “Do you really think it’ll be that easy? We can’t become one with the walls once we’re outside the palace or lab. Since the ship is docked outside, taking America there will be extremely dangerous. What if someone sees us?”

  “We’ll dress her in a hooded tunic, leggings, and boots. We’ll walk confidently with America between us and with the hood pulled over her head.” We had to make it as simple as possible. The more complex, the more complications, the more complications, the bigger chance of something going wrong.

  “They’ll have a guard stationed by the ship.”

  “And I’ll deal with that. I’m a prince, remember?” Lestra groaned. “Once America and I are on the cruiser, it’s only a matter of minutes before we take off and break through the Enestian atmosphere. At that point, America and I will be safe. My father wouldn’t dare send a defensive fleet against a ship used for research. That would stir up suspicion in the galaxy, something he wouldn’t want.”

  An armed Enestian vessel using tactical maneuvers in pursuit of an unarmed Enestian research ship? Yeah, right. That would never happen. Even if it meant life or death, my father would rather die than live knowing the citizens of the galaxy realized there was strife among the royals.

  “Are you sure the king won’t try to stop you from reaching Earth?”

  “Positive. Besides, why would he go through that much trouble for a human that’s destined to die in less than a day anyway? He’s examined human specimens before. Remember the twenty-seven piths of human blood? He doesn’t need this human; he only wants her so he can cut her up while she’s alive, something he obviously enjoys doing to helpless creatures. To my father, America is expendable, and…” I dropped my gaze to the floor and shook my head. “And so am I at this point. After defying him like this, he’ll never want me back.”

  Lestra put her hand on my shoulder, making me mistype a number. “Okay, so America and you are expendable, but what about me? You didn’t mention me.” Her voice tapered to a whisper. “Does that mean I’m not going with you?”

  “To Earth? No, you’re not going. Why would you?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. She wanted to be with me even if that meant deserting the only way of life she knew.

  “But you need my help.”

  “Yes, I do. I need you to open the walls for us.”

  “That won’t be enough. You need a backup just in case something happens.” When Lestra looked up at me with her blue and yellow-dotted eyes, it was like I was looking into my own lost soul.

  “I’m not coming back, remember? It’s not like I can drop you off at the lab and take off again. Once I’m gone, that’s it until I can figure out a way to return without being sent to prison, and that may take years. You need to stay here where you belong.”

  Not coming back.

  Until I said those words, the extent of what I was going to do swirled at the edges of my mind, teetering between reality and fantasy, a plan to save a life. But now the thought of losing everything, my title, my home, my family, tightened my chest plates and breathing became difficult.

  “But isn’t this where you belong, too?”

  Was it? Enestia was the only home I’d ever known. My first breath, first steps, and first words took place within these palace walls. At the turn of my fifth year, my father pinned a heritage badge to my tunic in a grand inauguration, and during the royal address, I sat next to him for the first time, my head high, and my heart full of pride.

  How foolish I was then, so eager to please my father, to succumb to his insidious indoctrination, and take his place on the throne. And now every bit of respect I had for him had withered and fallen away like the dried blossom of a ripe quip. I could never rule following his wicked guise, harming the innocent and intimidating the governments of lesser planets.

  “No. Not anymore. Damn! You’re making me mess this up,” I said, deleting the last two numbers. “The codes have to be exact, and I—”

  Before I could react, Lestra leaned forward and seized me around the neck with her arms, drawing herself against my body. Her hard breast pushed against my chest as she kissed first my neck and then under my chin.

  “Lestra, please,” I said, applying a bit of pressure against her shoulders with my palms.

  “Don’t do this again. You know
I don’t—”

  “Please, let me have you before you leave. Just once,” she whispered, her lips wet against my shell.

  “Stop. I don’t want to do this.”

  “But I do. I love you, Garran,” she said with a sigh, her shell hot against my hands. “You know I do.”

  “And you know I don’t feel the same way. Please. Stop before Murelle barges in here and sees us,” I demanded, giving her shoulders another push.

  She let go of me, her arms clacking down to her sides, a tear poised on the rim of her lower eye shell.

  “Lestra, midnight. Please! Meet me here. It has to be done tonight.”

  “I’ll be there, but only because I want that alien out of your life for good.”

  “One more thing. America needs clothes. You have access to the servant wardrobe, so would you please—”

  “Yes, I’ll find the alien something to wear,” she said and shot from my room, her arms swinging stiffly at her sides.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  America

  Blood dripped from my nose, a steady drip I caught in my hand as I ran to the sink. Was this another symptom of whatever was wrong with me, or did the broken blood vessel in my nose simply reopen?

  My stomach stopped rumbling, and although I was hungry, I didn’t dare eat any of the nutritional food blocks that Slaine brought me an hour ago. The weakness in my knees was gone, and besides the empty feeling in my gut, I felt normal again.

  From one campground to another— That’s where I was going. The Ring of Reverence, with its lacework of trees, springy moss, and delicate sculptures was more beautiful than the Laguna Mountains—the place I still wanted to be.

  The Enestian air was warm, and it had been a bit humid. I could deal with that, along with the daily rainfall. I could handle anything as long as Garran came to see me each day, and as long as it led to me eventually going home.

  When was he going to come for me? Time— I’d lost all sense of it. One hour rolled into the other, each minute ticking away as I played a guessing game at whether it was night or day. From boredom, I napped every few hours, so my sleep pattern was off, and with the same types of food blocks delivered three times a day, I couldn’t predict the time based upon whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

  I closed my eyes and imagined the soft carpet of jessom moss, my body naked and Garran pushing against me, filling me, taking my virginity while I took his. It was so perfect. It was making love.

  Garran. I wanted him again. More than before. Like he’d awakened something inside me I didn’t know was there. But as much as I loved the time I spent with him, especially now, the sooner I got home the better. The mystery, the suspicion, the panic, the pain, and the accusations my family and friends suffered would end, and the more time I spent with Garran, the more my feelings for him deepened. Breaking away sooner rather than later would be better for my mom and for Attie.

  And easier on my heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Garran

  After packing a small bag and drinking a mug of warm quip juice and listening to the kind of music my mother listens to—something soft and smooth without vocals—I forced myself into a nap. At midnight, I awoke refreshed and ready for my life on Enestia, as I had known it, to end.

  From prince to commoner—that’s what I’d be in less than a day. I’d spent a good part of the morning making arrangements on Verla, opening a collection account, transferring my Millennium credits to it, and securing a small villa on the Belushire Coast under the name Yarlen Trink and far from my mother, who preferred the warmer and more affluent side of the planet.

  Each finger tap against my communicator brought me closer to my new identity and unfamiliar means of existence. Doubts rose unexpectedly, and I shuffled them aside, knowing that saving America was worth more to me than saving my current persona, something I couldn’t live up to anyway if I stayed on Enestia.

  My nerves were on edge, biting at my confidence and producing a sick feeling deep in my abdomen, and I had to remind myself that discarding my future on this planet also meant saving America and keeping my integrity.

  Lestra met me in the hall, wide awake and shining with shell powder. She smiled and appeared content, no longer angry or jealous. Like a dutiful Timuary, she offered to carry my bag, but I refused, giving her a pat on the shoulder that made her smile even more. But there was something about that smile. Her cheek shells locked like she was keeping a secret that she wanted to tell.

  “You’re in a pleasant mood,” I said as we started toward the wall.

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So, it just seems a bit unusual, considering how you were acting earlier. I mean—”

  “I knew you two were up to something,” Murelle accused after she came around the corner.

  Fuck! The last thing we needed was my sister trying to screw things up. “What are you talking about?” I asked, setting my bag of supplies on the floor behind me.

  “What in the galaxy are the two of you doing out here in the hall? It’s after midnight.” Murelle’s lurch bird, Bell, sat on her shoulder, studying me with its beady, red eyes.

  “Why do you care?” I retorted. “And why are you out here in the hall at midnight? Don’t you have anything better to do than spy on Lestra and me?”

  “No, not really. I told you I’d be keeping my eyes on both of you, that I’d find out what you two have been up to.” Bell squawked and gave a light flap of her shelled wings when Murelle reached forward to stick her finger in my face and then Lestra’s. Lestra took a step backward.

  “Well, you’re wasting your time, because we aren’t up to anything. Tomorrow is my first day working with the research team. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to make some last-minute preparations and pack for my trip tonight instead of tomorrow morning. I asked Lestra to help me.”

  Murelle crossed her arms. Without her treasured shell powder, she looked dull and ashen compared to the opulent palace floor. “You are such a liar!” Her black eyes sparkled. “I know exactly why you two are sneaking around. I know what you’ve been doing. You can’t keep something like this a secret from me. How dare you, Garran. Just wait until our father finds out about this. You’re a disgrace to the entire family.”

  “Shhh. You’re going to wake up everyone in this wing of the palace. Now get out of my way and take your stupid bird with you. You don’t know anything,” I said in a harsh whisper.

  Murelle pulled a nut from a pocket on her robe and handed it to Bell. The bird grasped it with her right claw and lifted it to her hooked beak. “Oh, yes I do. I know everything.”

  “You, do, huh? Then tell us, my noble princess,” I said sarcastically. “Just what are Lestra and I up to?”

  “You’re sneaking off to have sex somewhere.”

  That’s the last thing I expected her to say. “What? You’re crazy. What have you been doing, sniffing shell epoxy?”

  “Hardly. There’s no other explanation. Brother, you have lowered yourself to a level even I thought you wouldn’t dare go.”

  “Yeah, what about you wanting to fuck Slaine?”

  Lestra gasped. Yeah, I guess I forgot to tell her about that one.

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  “Look, sis. If I was going to screw Lestra, I’d do it in my room. We wouldn’t have to sneak off anywhere. I told you, I wanted to pack tonight and—”

  “Garran,” Lestra said abruptly, setting her hand on my shoulder. “She knows, so there’s no point denying it anymore.” Her grip on my shoulder tightened with each word.

  What the…?

  “It’s true,” Lestra continued, hooking her arm around mine. “We’ve been doing it for the last week, but we’ve decided to end it with one last kinky fuck. Tonight we’re going to do it on one of the dissection tables in the lab, and then we’ll pretend like we’ve never done it in the first place.”

  More than shocked, my face plates seized in place, and I couldn’t say anything.

  �
�And we’d appreciate you pretending like this never happened, either,” Lestra continued. I straightened my posture in agreement but kept my eyes away from Murelle.

  “And why would I do that?” asked my sister.

  Lestra bent her arm hard against mine.

  “Because if you don’t and you tell, I’ll deny it and so will Lestra.”

  “So?”

  “So, think about it, sis, our father would rather believe your accusation is false, and even if he did suspect it, he’d push it under the palace rug and order you to quell the rumor. I am a prince. Do you really think this palace maid is the first girl I’ve ever fucked? I have to put in some kind of practice before I meet my bride, and I’m sure Father understands that and will look the other way.”

  Lestra tried to pull her arm away, but I kept it pinned against my shell plates in the crook of my arm. If she wanted me to go along with this lie, then I would do it justice, even if it made me out to be an insensitive user.

  “You make me sick!” Murelle turned on her heels so quickly I thought Bell would fall from her shoulder and crack a wing on the stone floor.

  We watched Murelle storm off into her quarters, and then I backed up against the wall and secretly slipped into its interior when Lestra’s badge illuminated.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” I asked Lestra once we were safely inside the tunnel.

  “I was thinking that we better think of something she’d believe.”

  “But…”

  “Don’t give me any shit,” she snapped. “You enjoyed that.”

  “Enjoyed what?”

  “Talking about me like I was just a casual lay and then telling your sister you’ve been screwing a bunch of other girls, too.” In the glow from the tiny lights on the floor, Lestra’s scowl shadowed.

  “Hey, you started it, and you made me finish it.”

  “I told her that in order to protect you. We had to go along with her hunch about us.”

  “Yeah, and you enjoyed letting her think we were sleeping together.” She didn’t answer. “I didn’t like saying what I did. I have more respect for you than that. I was going to stick to the first lie we told her. Now she thinks I don’t have any respect for myself.”