He nodded. “All we have to do is figure out why he’s after us, and then we can nail him on it.”
Kendra’s laugh was dry. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Dan’s sigh echoed through the van. “I didn’t say it would be easy. I said it was what we needed to know.”
A new emotion flowed through Kendra’s thoughts. Panic. Didn’t Dan realize just how final fighting the Herfronite Guardian could be? Instead of running and evading him like the farmer did, Dan wanted to stand and fight. It was all wrong, she was sure. “He’s too powerful. If he wasn’t, the farmer would have continued talking to me.”
“The farmer was scared, honey. He was protecting his family and his way of life. Under the circumstances I’d do the same thing.”
“You?” She shook her head in denial. “I don’t think so. You’d probably take your trusty pitchfork and head toward trouble, ready to defend your home and hearth to the death. Isn’t that what you’re planning to do, anyway?”
Dan’s grin was strained, but at least she’d gotten him to respond. “Not quite, honey. I want to live, not look like an artist’s rendition of a painting in a museum.”
Kendra turned toward him, touching his arm in her effort to impress her own thoughts upon him. “Then let’s run. He may be unable to follow us outside the state. You can go anywhere. You can start again.”
“Let’s get this straight. You’re saying ‘we,’ but what you’re really talking about is running with me until you find a way back to your own planet. Right?”
Kendra winced. The words sounded worse aloud than in thought. She tried to pretend those same words were all right, but it hurt to think of leaving Dan almost as much as it hurt to think of never returning home. Most of all, for her own protection, she had to remain aloof from the emotions that threatened to take hold of her spirit and bind her to the only human who could hold her here.
“Right?” Dan pressed again.
“Right,” she said on a resigned sigh. She hoped he would leave the subject alone, but she knew better.
His own matching sigh echoed through the van and Kendra waited for some kind of outburst or show of anger.
There was silence.
She probed, ever so gently.
There was no thought she could pick up.
“Dan? Are you all right?”
“Fine.” The word was snapped out, curt and short. “We’re being chased by an assassin and I’m fine.”
“Talk to me, Dan,” she pleaded in a low, soft voice. “Let me know what you’re thinking.”
Looking worn-out, Dan ran a hand through his hair. “This whole damn thing isn’t fair. We have to fight to stay alive, and if we win, my reward is that you’ll leave me. If we lose, I get to die with you.”
Tears formed in her throat, clogging her breathing. She swallowed, then touched him again, trying to convey silently just how hard this was for her, too. But he had retired from her words and emotions again.
It was time for plain speaking. “You and I might not like the outcome, but I can’t see it any other way, Dan. We’re from two different planets, for God’s sake! This isn’t a problem that can be solved by seeing a marriage counselor! It’s not something we can say we’ll work out as we go along.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she began, but the words didn’t come. “Because.” She halted again. Thoughts weren’t coming, either. “It would never work.”
“What a profound statement,” Dan countered with disgust. “You’re the mother of my child and I love you so damn much I hurt from it. Why would it never work?”
She stared out the front window, dejected because she couldn’t argue his points, and torn because she knew he was right but she didn’t want to confirm it. “Because you’re looking for something I can’t give you.”
“What? Commitment? Trust? Loyalty?” he asked. “Love?”
“Something like that,” she finally managed, knowing she could give him all that and more.
He grew silent in retaliation.
But angry or sad or disgusted, Dan took her breath away. Until she’d come here and absorbed half of Kendra’s thoughts and wants and desires, it had never dawned on her to want for herself all those intangible things he was talking about. Now, something had gone wrong and she’d filled in the parts that Dan’s wife hadn’t given her. She’d found a personality she didn’t know she had, a personality that demanded she learn herself and fulfill her own needs. Hers alone—not all of Herfron. Now, thanks to a fluke of nature, she wanted all those things. All those things and more....
She wanted to tell Dan how deeply this human emotion called love touched her, wrapping around everything that made her alive and reminding her how precious he was. She wanted to explain all the intricacies of her kind and how their different backgrounds would never mesh. And, she wanted him to tell her just how wrong she was. She needed him to persuade her to rethink her leaving.
She never said a word.
Dan never rebutted.
Stronger and crueler than ever, Cowboy’s probe jabbed at her mind. She cringed, then went into a bland state to block his entrance.
“He found us,” was her only terse comment. Dan must have understood, because she could tell he’d readied himself for the onslaught.
He pressed on the gas pedal and the van jumped into high gear. Instead of going with the flow of traffic, Dan began leading it. He looked in the rearview mirror, his gaze narrowing on a familiar Jeep and driver. “Damn!” he muttered. “He’s stolen my truck!”
Kendra didn’t have to turn around. Cowboy was getting lax; he was allowing her to see small pieces of his own thoughts. It was either that, or while he was trying to maneuver in heavy traffic and still keep up with them, he couldn’t guard his own thoughts. Dan was right: living in the tiny town of Lajitas wasn’t the same as driving in inner-loop Houston traffic. Perhaps he wasn’t a superHerfronite, after all.
A gold and green sign stated that the next exit was the downtown area, and Dan veered into the right-hand lane.
“Where are we going?” Kendra asked, holding on to the door with both hands. Cowboy’s probe jabbed at Kendra again and she cried out. Dan turned the wheel quickly, forcing the van to career to the off-ramp.
“Don’t ask. Don’t think,” he said grimly. “Just hold on.”
She did as she was told. Knowing that Cowboy couldn’t jab at both their minds at one time, she tried to coax him back to her. Dan was right, they were fighting for their lives. If Cowboy’s jabs hurt, it was a small price to pay for being able to live for another day. Maybe there were even a few miracles....
Why? she finally asked her enemy. Why hurt us? What do you have to win by doing this?
The Cowboy answered. If you are allowed to remain on Earth, you will endanger this project. Nothing must be allowed to do that.
How could I do that?
You would be free and carrying a child who is not gene-perfect. If others found out, it would ruin everything.
What others? What is “everything”?
Other Herfronites. I would be called back to Herfron to account for your weaknesses. That will not happen. I won’t let it.
She tried to reason with him. Don’t you miss Herfron?
Of course not.
Everyone misses their home.
If you had the chance, you would stay with that male. I felt it. It is my job to ensure that you return to your planet or are unable to spend your life here. Since you have not done as you are told, it is time to terminate you.
Why not take me and leave him alone? she pleaded. You can erase his memory.
That method doesn’t always work. I will not take a chance on failure.
But it is his life!
So what? It is not mine.
She couldn’t believe it. In some misguided way, Cowboy believed his final words justified his actions.
She began shaking with reaction. Were there others like the farmer still here and happy?
* * *
DOWNTOWN HOUSTON was bright and shiny with more glass buildings than she’d ever seen before. Dan turned the corner between two of them and she grabbed the dash to keep from spilling into his lap. Her seat belt hadn’t been buckled and she reached for it now.
They heard the squeal of tires not far behind them. She looked into the side mirror and saw Dirk’s face. He looked as frustrated and determined as they both felt. It turned her resolve into steel. They would survive. They would!
Dan pulled in front of a building whose sign above the entrance proclaimed The Park.
“Follow me!” Dan yelled, as he opened the van door and ran toward the entrance.
It took her a moment to unsnap the blasted seat belt. Then she was out and right behind Dan. They slipped through the pair of double doors but heard the Cowboy’s tires screech and the Jeep door slam just as they ran into the lobby area.
It took a minute for Kendra to realize Dan was still charging ahead. But the colors and space were fascinating—mesmerizing her into slowing down. She looked around the well-lighted food court that was three stories tall. It was as noisy as a circus, as light-bright as a new hospital, more colorful than a long trail of magician’s scarves.
Dan returned, grabbed her hand and pulled her through the lines forming to get into restaurants. “Come on!”
They ran down the length of the city mall, darting among customers and clients in a mad dash toward...Kendra didn’t know where.
Suddenly a zinging sound echoed in the building, whizzing closely past Kendra’s ear. A display window next to them shattered and crashed to the floor in a thousand pieces. People screamed, a child cried.
Heart racing, her hand clutching Dan’s, Kendra kept running. With a jerk, he pulled her onto a set of stairs that moved downward. “What are these?” she yelled as he continued to pull her toward the bottom.
“Escalator!” he shouted back, pushing an Armani-suited man and a heavyset woman to the right. “Emergency! Make way!”
They ran down the rest of the steps, taking the last several two at a time. Green marble floor ran like a carpet, guiding the way through almost six miles of the tunnel system that connected most of the important office buildings downtown. Tan carpet-covered walls muffled their running steps as they passed others going to and from work. Several women, dressed in office suits and sneakers, momentarily blocked their path as they turned a corner and ran into them headlong.
Dan looked over his shoulder, but the crowd barred his view of Cowboy. Then, a shattering of glass caught his attention. The bagel man standing by his food cart cursed loudly; his silver canvas top had smoke billowing from it. The silver must have deflected Cowboy’s laser because there was also a black spot on the ceiling that lazily billowed smoke.
Heart racing so hard he could hardly hear his own voice, Dan pulled Kendra after him. “Run!”
The rich green-tiled floor turned to a dull brown. Ceiling lights changed from modern bullet insets to large rectangular fluorescents. Dan led her into a drugstore, almost mowing down a screaming toddler attempting to yank away from his mother.
“There’s no exit,” Kendra told him breathlessly.
Panting, he stopped, staring at a blank wall where the outside door should have been. “How did you know?”
“Someone told me.” She looked around even as Dan dragged her up one aisle and down the other, searching for the one who had malked the information. If her emotions hadn’t been so overloaded already, she might have stopped again and tried to reason out what was happening. Instead, she flowed with it and began leading Dan out. Where are you?
I’m shopping with my children, the malker answered. Keep running. He’s just entered the store and is looking down the right aisle by Cosmetics.
Kendra gave a quick glance at the signs posted from the ceiling and found the section Cowboy was in. Then she pulled Dan after her. They slipped through the exit turnstile and continued to run down the hallway.
Another thought was malked to her. I see him coming out of the store. Run and get out of here! Through the bank!
Kendra was stunned by the thought. It wasn’t the same woman who was in the drugstore, but another female Herfronite somewhere in the tunnel. Where’s the bank? she asked, but the answer wasn’t quite clear.
Farther down.
What are you doing here? she asked frantically as she ran down the hall.
Same thing you are—living, came the answer. There are more.
Kendra didn’t have time to reply. Dan had taken the lead again and turned down a corridor toward an empty copy shop. They could hear their own footsteps as the noisy crowd was left behind. They turned down another hallway and one more. Then they stopped. It dead ended in a small square area with several doors and an elevator.
Their heavy breathing bounced against the walls and floor, sounding like an echo chamber.
Dan jabbed at the elevator button several times but there was no whirring sound that proclaimed a moving car. Kendra looked around. There were two rest rooms, a door without anything written on it and a set of double doors. A loud dull hum generated from the room beyond.
Letting go of her hand, Dan ran from one door to another, rattling the knobs. Nothing opened.
A scream echoed eerily from somewhere down the main corridor. Dan turned again to the double doors. With all his strength he shook and pulled on them until they popped open, exposing an air-conditioning and heating utility room. It was a long room, filled with round pipes big enough for men to climb through. Painted in various crayon colors, the insulated pipes lined the floor, crawled up the walls to the ceiling, then jutted off in every direction.
“Damn,” Dan muttered, knowing he had no place to turn. This would be the showdown site. He pushed Kendra down on the floor between two pipes. “Stay there and keep your head down! And don’t let him see you, no matter what!” he ordered. Then he closed the doors to the lobby area, shutting them inside. He moved to the side area, and stood with his back to the wall.
He tried to keep his breathing light, but the sound, along with his heartbeat, echoed in Kendra’s ears. She wanted to hold him, reach out and stroke him into calmness, but she couldn’t. If she distracted him now, it would be the end of the only slim chance they had.
Cowboy hadn’t probed her or Dan since they began this hide-and-seek game, and the only reason Kendra could figure was that he wasn’t used to chasing someone down and malking at the same time. It was difficult, but for someone who wasn’t used to the hustle and confusion of a large city, it would be almost impossible. At least she had the advantage of having Dan lead her so she didn’t have to think about every move.
Soon, however, Cowboy would stop and try to search their thoughts for them. They had little chance of hiding forever; after all, he knew where Dan lived.
No, they had to let Cowboy find them now, when they had the advantage. Knowing Dan wasn’t as good at blocking as she was, she decided to pretend she wasn’t with him. Let Cowboy think she went in another direction. He’d come after Dan and maybe she could somehow distract him long enough to give Dan the edge he needed.
She took a deep breath, cleansed her mind and stared at the pipes in front of her. Tucked under one of the ducts was one of those silver-bullet beer cans that Dan had shown her in Lajitas. Automatically, she reached out for it and clamped it close to her.
Dan’s breathing finally slowed. He leaned his head against the wall, grimaced and closed his eyes. Tension was so high they both wished it was already over, no matter what the outcome.
Then Dan frowned, holding his head in his hands in obvious pain.
Cowboy had found them.
The doors opened slowly, cautiously. Cowboy stood, half-in, half-out of the room, partially shielded by the door. Making a high-pitched keening sound, Kendra focused on sending it to his mind. His gaze traveled around the room, unable to see her right away. Guessing she was somewhere inside, Cowboy raised his hand and aimed the laser toward the ce
nter of the room. Trying to draw her out, he malked Dan’s name and imagined the cruelties he would enjoy inflicting on the human.
It was just the distraction Dan needed. He stepped toward Cowboy’s outstretched hands. Raising his arm up, Dan chopped down at the lanky man’s arm. But Dan was too slow. Dirk saw the movement and was able to avoid a direct hit, but the chopping motion still had an impact.
The Herfronite yelped, took another step into the room, stumbled, pulled his arm away and regained his balance. A smile framed his mouth as he aimed the laser toward Dan. “Where is she?”
“Gone.”
Dirk sent a knife-sharp pain straight to Dan’s head. “Where is she?” he repeated.
Dan gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, barely able to contain the pounding in his brain. “Nowhere you can get a hold of her, you son of a—”
Kendra heard Dan’s cry of pain even before she raised her head to look. Bright red blood was quickly spreading into a large dark stain that dampened his jeans-clad thigh.
Anger flooded every pore in her body and she could taste her desire for revenge. Acting on instinct, Kendra stood in defiance, clenching nothing in her fist to fight the man but a banged-up beer can.
Dirk had shot a defenseless man—the man she loved. She faced Cowboy, hatred on her face.
“Kendra! No!” Dan yelled. Everything he felt for her was in his eyes as he frantically tried to protect her with his own body. He took a step forward to come between them, but stumbled over the pipes.
Overwhelming fury surged through Kendra. Cowboy had hurt Dan. He’d hurt Dan! She wanted to strike back, to hurt Dirk. She wanted to kill him.
Cowboy turned toward her, his mouth the wicked semblance of a smile. “Ready?” he asked, in a conversational tone. “Pleasant dreams.”
Then he aimed his laser at Kendra.
“No way!” she cried, holding the can out in front of her just as he flipped the switch on the laser.
The shiny aluminum can deflected the laser back to the doorway, just as it had done on the bagel man’s umbrella.
Quickly, Cowboy shot again.
Forms of Love Page 14
