He turned now and his expression was dark. Dark and attractive even in condemnation. “You are Salvan’s pet.”
She slammed her hands down on her hips. “I am nobody’s pet. I have seen this Salvan for maybe several minutes since I’ve been on this monstrosity.”
“You were asleep for what you would call a week. In that time, Salvan tested you.”
A chill coursed through her at the thought of being unconscious with that man for such a long period of time. “And?”
“You came up negative as we all suspected. We are certain the cure will come from vegetation. Warm-blooded creatures are merely a vessel for what they eat anyway.”
“I’m not Salvan’s pet.” Aimee couldn’t get past that.
Zak crossed his arms. “He will try to make you into one.”
Before she could rant a response, Zak nodded over her shoulder. “Do you recognize that?” he asked.
Aimee spun around, still angry, but a smile consumed her face at what Zak had pointed out.
“A palm tree!” She ran up to it, feeling the coarse bark. Glancing up into the balmy leaves she laughed when she saw a coconut. “It’s a palm tree!” She grinned over her shoulder, her anger momentarily forgotten.
His morose expression eased. “If you say so.”
“How did you know this was from Earth?”
He tipped his head down at the plaque in the ground. A series of symbols were inscribed on the chrome surface. “It says so.”
“But we don’t have palm trees in North Carolina. Did you make another stop?”
He surprised her by joining her and testing the endurance of the trunk with the palm of his hand. “We stop at all the planets in the path of our metagalactic orbit.”
“Right. Once every five years.” Some of her enthusiasm waned.
Zak’s gaze dropped from the coconut to meet her eyes. His head cocked slightly to the side and he seemed to sense her dispirit. “I like your planet.”
“You’ve actually been on Earth? Did you come down and get me? Did anyone see you?” The questions would have continued to roll from her tongue if the rustle of a Sumpum didn’t startle her. She saw its two rear feet disappear into a thicket of red weeds.
“We don’t often visit the planets personally. Our salvage stream will extract whatever we need to bring back. That ray is very accurate. If we see a seedling this size,” he held up the pot, “the salvage stream will retrieve it. That’s why the accident of picking you up seems suspect to me.”
Indeed. It wasn’t as if she had accidentally jumped into that ray of light. It suddenly appeared around her, and nowhere else.
“Your salvage stream feels weird.”
“I imagine it would, considering you were broken up into about three billion pieces.”
Aimee glanced down at her arms and wiggled her fingers. “I guess they put me back together okay.”
When she looked up, Zak’s eyes lingered on her arms and climbed up to her face where she could feel them tracing over her hair and touching the curve of her cheek before they met hers. “Yes, it looks like they did.” His voice was husky.
Aimee cleared her throat. “So when were you on Earth?”
Stepping off the dirt embankment, Zak strolled over to an empty plot and crouched down to deposit the seedling into a pre-dug hole. Mud wound around the base of the sprout without him touching it. A light emanated from behind the blank plaque in the ground as symbols formed on the chrome surface. The light faded and Zak stood up.
“On our last pass.” His dark eyebrows dipped in recollection. “As a Warrior, we must protect the Horus. There was another ship traveling just outside your galaxy at the time. We suspected it was the Korons. They are nomadic, and always searching for a new place to settle. Earth is the only planet in your universe with mecaws on it, so it’s the only planet worth spending any time visiting. The Korons know that as well, but they are not a peaceful group as you saw in this latest battle. Anyway, I had to track their beam and make sure they weren’t sending some of their own down there.”
“What does a Koron look like? Is it human…ummm…a mecaw?”
Zak chuckled. “No. Not at all. A Koron looks like a—” His fingers went to his forehead in thought. “I’m trying to think of something on your planet to compare. You have something they call a Terracotta?”
“Terracotta?” Aimee glanced one last time at the palm tree and stepped back down to join him. “My mom has terracotta pots on the deck. The Korons look like pots?”
“No, no.” Zak shook his head, frowning. “You have people called terracotta. They are made of rock.”
He was making her head hurt. “Oh! The Chinese Warriors. The Korons look Chinese?”
“No. The rock part.”
“Oh,” she snapped her fingers. “The Korons look like the statues of the terracotta Warriors?”
“Yes. They are rock people and you can’t fight them in hand-to-hand battle. It’s impossible.”
“You’ve tried?” She was horrified at the image of Zak going up against a burly stone soldier. He was a Warrior, and his body might appear to be chiseled from rock, but his flesh was warm to the touch. Aimee caught herself staring and blinked her eyes.
He stared back, which disconcerted her all the more. That connection was finally broken when he spoke. "I reached the surface just as they were coming through. We have superior weapons, but your atmosphere impedes their effect. I had to try a physical assault.”
“Oh my God, what happened?”
“The Korons are formidable, but they have a very substantial weakness. Their greatest foe is water, and your planet was gracious enough to rain on them." She caught his quick grin. "They disintegrated before I even had a chance to draw my star-laser.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“A little girl and a canine.” His grin remained. “Do I look like I’d fit in on your planet?”
How could she answer that? Yes, he was human. He would fit in that respect. But Zak was more attractive than any human male she had ever seen. To think of Corey and how he thought he was the best-looking guy in school. Wow, was he wrong. Granted, Zak was older, but it wasn’t that. It was the dark intensity to him. The feeling that when you were near him you were around something powerful. In his presence you were motivated to better yourself. To achieve more. She wanted to impress this man. Not merely because of his physical attributes, but because she knew he executed his best every moment of the day. No second was left to waste. Even this small task of planting an alien seedling was important, and it was a byproduct of his heroic acquisition of that sapling.
And yes, there were his physical attributes. He was taller than most of the men on the ship. She would venture to guess over six feet. But it wasn't the height so much as the way he carried himself. Always standing erect. Always prepared. The black suit slid across his muscular frame. He was not bulky, like a football player. He was lean and solid, and she guessed that he could probably hold his own in a hand-to-hand combat with a stone rebel.
All these facets aside, the feature so unique to Zak was his eyes. In them she saw the dawn of new horizons—worlds, the likes of which were unimaginable. And each world he entered with assurance, not fear. If she looked hard enough she could travel to those galaxies in one glance from him.
“Aimee?”
And that voice. That husky timbre that made her cheeks grow warm and her stomach tumble.
“You might be able to blend in if you wore sunglasses.”
“Your sun does not hurt my eyes. No sun does.”
Of course not.
“Where did you go?” she asked. “Where on Earth?”
“I’ve been there twice. Once to a place they called, New Jersey. The other was—” He rubbed his fist over his eye, deep in thought. “Shine-ah.”
“China?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“No wonder you knew about the terracotta Warriors.”
Zak hoisted his hand. “Let me show you some
thing,” he said.
She thought he was going to touch her, but he had hefted his hand to point at the nocturnal ceiling. Why did she think of it as night? It was space. It was always going to look like this.
Before he could speak, she asked, “How do the plants in here thrive with no sun to nurture them?”
Zak’s hand dropped, but he looked patient. A faint smile even dusted across his lips. “Most are accustomed to this environment. Your palm tree and some others are nurtured with solar rays from the ground. We emulate your sun with cosmological lamps embedded in the turf.”
“Oh.”
“Now, look up there.” He pointed at the stars.
On instinct, Aimee moved in closer to him to narrow down the direction of his finger. She felt the heat of his body and her shoulder brushed up against his arm.
To hell with the stars.
“There, the green one. Do you see it?”
A jade sphere, the size of a lime, floated within a ring of orbiting bright lassos.
“Yes.”
“We’re going there next.” He brought his hand back to his side and glanced down at her, noticing how close she was. Did she imagine that his eyes flared slightly, or that his lips parted as if to add more, but the words were forgotten.
Reluctantly she dragged her gaze away from his to look up at the celestial roof. “Are you going to retrieve some more plants?”
“That’s our intention.”
The somber ring to his tone drew her eyes back. He was staring up at the planet and a muscle twitched in his jaw.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“It's just that I've never been there before," he explained in a tone that made her shiver. "Every time I enter into a new system…I never know what to expect.”
“Are you afraid?”
“No. I’m not afraid.”
Well, she was.
Chapter Six
“I have to head back.”
Aimee didn’t want to leave here. She didn’t want to say goodbye to this magical vestibule with its crown of stars and its vast forest. She didn't want to leave the funny-looking Sumpums. And she didn't want to leave this enigmatic man. Being with him had given her the first touch of normalcy she had since she walked Ziggy around that pond.
“I understand,” she whispered.
Zak’s gaze dwelled on her again. It was as if he was committing her face to memory. But that was a silly notion.
"I have to start readying the terra angel for the flight tomorrow," he explained.
"Can I see it?" she rushed. "Your terra angel?"
Again his eyes brushed across her face...lingering. One eyebrow arched before he managed a brief nod. "You've never seen one, have you?"
"Honestly, I have no idea what a terra angel is. But it sounds interesting," she beamed.
Some of the intensity left his expression. He didn't go so far as to smile, but he looked less like a lion now.
He started back down the aisle and hesitated, waiting for her to fall in next to him.
"Where did you learn to play the Tak wand so well?" he asked.
The compliment made her feel good. "It's similar to something I play back home."
"You did well today with the young ones."
When she glanced up at him, she detected the shadow of a single dimple carved beside his mouth. "Gordeelum has never been able to do anything but squeak," he observed.
"I was him once,” she mumbled introspectively, “but I learned."
"Do people come to listen to you play on Earth?"
Aimee snorted. "No. Just my parents, but that's because they have to."
Distracted by the stars, he progressed silently as they wove their way through the endless passageways of vegetation.
"How big is this place?" she wondered out loud.
"There are 2340 unique forms of plant life. Fifty-two exclusive warm-blooded creatures—"
"Fifty-two?" she croaked and instinctively sought to distance herself from the dirt embankments flanking the walkway. Her motion brushed her arm against Zak's.
"Most are harmless."
"Most?" she squeaked.
Zak chuckled. "Most."
Aimee inched away, but she still remained tight in his orbit. Searching the shadows between the exotic trees, only once did she detect a patch of something on the prowl.
"Has anyone ever been attacked in here?"
"I could lie to make you feel better."
Aimee stopped and gaped at him. "Please do. Please lie."
He laughed and she thought the sound suited him. The intensity was gone. He looked less like a Warrior.
A semi-circle of light suddenly pooled around her feet, followed by a rush of chilled air. Aimee jumped at the kinetic sound of the wall evaporating to expose the harsh illumination of the outside corridor. A single silhouette stood framed by the back light.
Beside her, she noticed Zak’s smile vanish.
The figure stepped forward from the shadows.
It was Salvan.
"What are you doing in here...with her?" Salvan barked at Zak.
At her side, there was only silence. Zak's face was void of expression, but his stance was rigid with disdain.
"Aimee," Salvan smiled at her. She could tell the gesture was forced. "You should be back in the labs with Raja. She can escort you around."
Aimee found it interesting that Zak didn't state the obvious...that Vodu himself had placed her under Zak's care. Instead, Zak crossed his arms and offered quietly, "I was just leaving."
He stepped towards the light.
"But—" she called out.
She saw him hesitate. He turned to look at her and the rush of adrenaline produced by that heavy glance pumped through her.
"Aimee?" Salvan's high voice pierced the air. "I'm about to do some tests. Do you want to join me and see what some of our scientific processes are?"
Aimee had not released Zak's eyes. He stood tall and stoic and did not break that connection. She felt the animosity between the men like a thick blanket of sludge.
Without glancing away, she answered, "No, um, Vodu told Zak to bring me back to the deck."
There was silence. Zak did not even blink at her assessment, but he did look away...finally. She felt inexplicably lost without that link.
"Oh really?" Salvan's acrid tone cut into her thoughts. "Well then, you must not keep the old man waiting."
Feeling his eyes on her back, Aimee jogged through the portal. As it closed, the last thing she saw was Salvan's scornful sneer aimed at Zak.
Troubled by that obvious friction, she stumbled backwards and knocked into a floating JOH. She glanced at Zak. "You two don't like each other very much, do you?"
Zak smirked. "No. We don't like each other very much."
He left it at that and started off down the hall, heedless of whether she followed.
"Hey, wait."
"Aimee," his long stride stalled. "I told you that I have to get ready. You should have stayed with Salvan. He would have time to show you the atrium in greater detail. He could do exactly what he said...explain the testing that goes on there. The methods in which he dissects every living creature. He can entertain you with tales of his scientific prowess."
"You mean he could explain why he plucked me from my home without my consent?" she added bitterly.
Zak's lip jerked back in a brief grin. "I would have enjoyed hearing him explain that." He gave her a sideward glance. "Something makes me think you would see past his illusions."
"Damn right I would." She had her hands on her hips, but surrendered to Zak's emerging smile with one of her own.
"You lied," he challenged.
"He looked so smug. Like he thinks he's better than you. I wanted to show him that Vodu entrusted you. I don't know why you didn't do it yourself—so no, I didn't lie."
Zak said nothing.
"He's not better than you," she pressed the issue.
"And how exactly would you know that?"
It was true. She had shared an equal amount of time with each man, but instinct told her who to trust. Granted, Zak was from a planet other than the people of the Horus. His attractive shell could very easily conceal a demon.
His eyes held hers and it seemed that he was trying to analyze her as well.
"I have to get going." He broke the spell.
Again, Aimee jogged to keep up.
"Can you tell me something?" she called from a half step behind.
"What?"
"How do you find your way around here? All I see are long white walls. You seem to know what to walk up to and wave your hand at. What if you abandoned me right here and I had to find my way back to the main deck...what would I do?"
His pace did not let up. He jerked his head at a floating computer. "You'd ask JOH."
That didn't pacify her. "Alright, well let's just call me old-fashioned and say that I didn't want to rely on a computer. That I wanted to find my way around on my own."
Zak halted and she nearly collided with him.
"Look at this." He cupped her shoulder and inched her towards the wall. She tried to take her mind off of his touch and focus on his demonstration.
"What do you see?" he quizzed.
"A solid white wall. One of a million around here."
"No." He shook his head.
His hair, which she had thought was dark, hosted a thousand different shades of brown and gold. With such highlights and the glint of tan on his face, she would have guessed that he spent a lot of time in the sun.
"Trust your instinct. Look at the wall, Aimee. Relax and just look at it. What do you see?"
Aimee took a deep breath, still aware of the warmth of his hand. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them to stare at the bare surface. It had texture, almost like cloth. She reached out to touch it and it felt like rubber. She jabbed her finger into it and it yielded to the pressure. But it was still a blank canvas. Nothing more.
"Look again," he encouraged with a soft voice.
Aimee drew in another deep breath and relaxed. She focused on the wall, noticing a phosphorescent glow she had not even considered before. It was subtle, but the barrier was definitely no longer simply white. It was an understated version of the body suit she wore, loaded with complex pastel molecules. In trying to identify all those hues she began to see a pattern. It was like looking at a whiteboard that someone had just erased. Residue from a blue marker blurred into cryptic shadows. She had thought the shadows were byproducts of the omnipresent light above, but now they developed into something substantial. In a swirl of blue and pink tones she began to discern symbols. Reluctant to leave his touch, but needing a better perspective, she retreated from Zak's hand.
Beyond : Series Bundle (9781311505637) Page 7
