by Abella Ward
Arazor set up the portable camp. It was fitted with sealed walls made of a gray material that Kara had never seen before. It seemed as if it were almost alive, resembling the skin of a rhino. Their communication system from the rover was connected to the computer system inside their camp so that they could keep tracking their location and send data back to Andromeda 13.
At nightfall, the temperature dropped and it became quite cold. Kara stared from the porthole outside and into the night. The night sky became luminous as countless constellations filled its expanse.
“Who are the inhabitants of this planet?” Kara asked him.
“The race that has occupied this land is tribal and they are known to be merchants,” Arazor said. They had just finished dinner and Arazor was sipping wine as he gazed at her. He was fascinated by this petite woman. He found himself lost in the color of her long dark hair and her intoxicating scent...
“How do they live in such a hostile environment?” she wondered aloud.
“They live in a city protected by a force field,” he explained. “Only vile creatures live out here in the wilderness. They come out when darkness falls. So stay inside.”
Kara was lost in thought. “I hope Nariya is alive when we find her...”
“You’d better get some sleep. You’ll need to be rested tomorrow,” he said.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m not tired,” she responded. He was being bossy again.
“You will need your energy once you get to the city. Go to your sleep chamber now,” he said coldly. Why did she have to question every single thing he said?
“Why don’t you go sleep yourself? I’ll sleep when I feel like it, just like you do,” she said. Once again, he saw that light in her clear brown eyes and was awed by her beauty.
He rose from his seat and strode toward her. She moved back until she was against the wall. He towered over her. Cupping her chin with a strong hand, he gazed deeply into her eyes. “I want to take you right here, right now,” he said in a quiet tone that was both chilling and laced with desire.
“You can take my body, but my heart will never be yours. I will not let you break my spirit,” she said, staring steadily into the piercing gray eyes that were growing darker by the second.
For a fleeting moment, he caught the deep desolation in those beautiful eyes... Something he had failed to see before. She was so young, far younger than he was. He looked about thirty-three, but in Earth years, he was over two hundred years old. Yet, she persistently defied him. He suddenly wanted to kiss her... to protect her.
Arazor, you need to get away from her. Now! The voice in his head screamed at him. He suddenly let go of her and strode out of the room, not looking back.
***
Hours later, Kara checked the tracking system once again for any updates. Nothing new. Her mind drifted again and again toward Arazor. She hadn’t been able to sleep and, to stop herself from thinking about him, she had taken up the task of tracking again. There were still seventy-two Earth hours until sunrise. She wondered whether she could survive the long, long night with Arazor.
She was still tracking when suddenly the signals on her device were disrupted. She frowned. A look out of the porthole showed her that the night was still as a picture. There was no sign of a sandstorm. Puzzled, she entered the common control room. Arazor was nowhere in sight. He must be in his sleep chamber, she assumed.
Holding the comm-pad above her head, she continued to try to reestablish the signal, but the disruption persisted. She checked the main computer’s system which confirmed that the disruption was coming from the north. She suited up and unlocked the door to check the source of the anomaly. It was almost pitch black outside. With dim starlight as her guide, she checked her comm-pad again for a signal and tapped in commands to reset the device. Suddenly, she heard something move to her right.
Kara turned on the small flashlight and followed the sound. She peered around the corner of their camp wall. Nothing. She turned back in the opposite direction. Still nothing. Kara had just decided to go back inside when a strange sound behind her made her stop. She turned, pointed the flashlight in the direction of the sound, and froze.
There, towering over her, was the most horrid creature she had ever laid eyes upon. It had a long snakelike body and neck with multiple spindly legs and milky eyes. Pincers encircled its grotesque head. Adrenaline rushed through Kara’s veins as she screamed and staggered backward. Within a split second, the huge, dark thing pinned her to the ground. Kara tried to shield her face with her arms but it was futile. She could smell the rotten breath of the monster. A sharp pain shot up her shoulder and right arm where something hot burned.
Then, suddenly, the creature retreated as if it had been struck.
The next few moments passed in a haze. The excruciating pain was beginning to blur her vision. She saw the bright glint of a sword striking through the darkness. The slashing sounds of tearing flesh and piercing shrieks filled the night air. She blinked and saw Arazor. Her mind was growing fuzzy. She felt herself rise into the air. She was floating, floating... and then falling as darkness engulfed her.
***
Arazor held her in his arms and carried her back inside, sealing the door behind him. He moved quickly and placed her on the bed inside her chamber and tore open her suit. Her breathing was shallow and she was shivering with a high fever.
The gash on her shoulder was thin but deep and the skin around it was getting dark green. Blue-black veins formed around it, like a spider web. The poison was spreading fast.
Stupid, stupid woman, he cursed her under his breath, clenching his teeth. Without losing another second, he raced to the control room and brought back a small vial with blue liquid: the antidote. He made her drink the whole bottle and spread some on the wound. Then he took out his small knife and cut the palm of his hand and sucked some of his own blood. Then, cupping her head, he opened her mouth and he locked lips with her own, slowly letting his blood fill her mouth. He eased her out of the suit and she lay naked on the bed. He sat on the chair next to her and waited. His breathing had become labored and he had to take a deep breath to calm his agitated nerves. But she would be safe now...
The creature had almost killed her. It was blind but detected its prey by sensing heat signatures. Kara would have died if he hadn’t heard her scream and immediately come to her rescue. His blood, mixed with the antidote, would heal her. He had a rare blood type among his kind, something he had inherited from his mother’s side.
He gazed at her frail form. The poison could paralyze the prey if not treated immediately. Even now, it would take days for her to recover. She would hallucinate if she woke up and could go into a coma if she didn’t...
***
Several hours later, Kara woke up. She was delirious and failed to recognize Arazor. “No, no... Please... Stop... Please, I’ll be careful next time...,” she begged him. Arazor looked at her and clenched his fists. He couldn’t do anything to help her in this pitiful condition.
“Please, Ben... stop it... I’m pregnant!” she cried hysterically and tears streamed down her face. Arazor stared at her, his chest constricting. What was she talking about?
“Stop it now! You’ll hurt the baby... It’s yours!” she screamed, shivering uncontrollably. Arazor took her in his arms and wrapped a warm cloak around her. “No... No! It’s over... I lost the baby... The ba – baby’s gone!” she whimpered and cried in his arms. His jaw clenched once again. This woman was broken inside and, for the first time, he saw her in a different light. She was trying so hard to be brave, to stand up for herself. But here she was, so vulnerable and alone... His chest tightened once more and he wished he could make her pain stop. But he couldn’t.
Chapter Five
“Arazor?” It was almost morning when Kara awoke.
“I’m here. How are you feeling?” he asked her solemnly.
“I–I don’t know... Okay, I guess...,” she answered feebly, her head spinning. She was stil
l weak but her delirium was over. She tried sitting up, then realized she was naked under the covers. Her clothes lay at the foot of the bed.
“Here, drink this.” He offered her a glass. She noticed that there was something different about his manner. He seemed almost kind and gentle with her. She wondered why. What had happened to the Arazor who despised her?
“The poison from your wound would have killed you had I not treated it in time,” he explained. “I have brought you food. You should eat when you feel up to it.”
“Thank you,” she said weakly as she sipped her drink. It tasted bitter, but soothed her nerves. “Arazor... How did you know I was outside? I thought you were sleeping.”
“I heard the door open and followed you,” he said. “I had warned you not to go out and you didn’t listen. Luckily, we don’t need as much sleep as humans do.”
“I–I’m sorry... I couldn’t sleep. I was working and suddenly the signal became disrupted,” she said quietly. “And then that creature attacked me… What happened after the attack? Was I unconscious the whole time?”
“No, you woke up many times, delirious. Hallucinations... a side effect of the poison. You talked a lot and cried a lot,” he said matter-of-factly.
“What did I say?”
“Lots of things... You weren’t making sense,” he said quietly. He gazed at her for some time as she stared at her glass, lost in thought. “Who is Ben, Kara?” he finally asked her.
She stared at him wide-eyed. “My ex-husband... Back on Earth,” she said, sheepishly averting her eyes as color rose to her cheeks.
He looked at her strangely. “Kara, when this is over, I will let you go. You will no longer be bound to me,” he said as he gazed at her, slowly rubbing his thumb over the runes on his wrist.
She didn’t know how to respond. He was one of the most unpredictable people she had ever met.
He got to his feet and she again was struck by how tall he was. “The sun will come up in a few hours. We need to get moving if we want to reach the city. You get dressed while I pack up,” he said, resuming the cold tone she had become accustomed to. Mr. Bossy is back again, she thought.
He turned to leave. She gazed at his back. She could make out the strong muscles rippling beneath his shirt. ““Arazor? Thanks... for saving my life,” she said softly.
“It’s my duty to protect you, Kara,” he said. He gave her a sidelong glance, and then left the chambers without another word, leaving her along with her thoughts.
So he was willing to leave her after they had found Nariya. She wondered what had made him change his mind. Regardless, though, this was exactly what she had wanted, wasn’t it? Then why was she not happy about it? She felt a tug in her heart. Something was definitely wrong with her. She couldn’t stop thinking about him. His intense gray eyes, his strong jaw, and the way he wistfully ran a thumb along the runes etched on his wrist–a reminder that they were bound for life. She looked at her own wrist...
Stop it Kara! Stop being stupid! Be strong and don’t let yourself go there... It would be a mistake you would regret forever…
He was a Vllar, a powerful alien who would never love a weak human like her... He probably thought she was ugly or even repulsive! He wanted to marry Nariya, a beautiful Argarian. Kara didn’t even come close to her. He had only saved her life because he thought it was his duty, not because he cared. How could she be so stupid to fall in love with him?
Her eyes were full to the brim with tears. A throbbing headache began to nag at her temples. She took a deep breath and drank a glass of water that lay on the tray beside her sandwich. Taking a bite, she tried to distract herself from the wayward thoughts that were barreling through her head.
***
Arazor checked the clock on the system. Two hours and twelve minutes until sunrise. He rechecked Nariya’s location. She was still in the same location as before. She had not moved. He started packing up and his mind drifted uncontrollably toward Kara.
In the past several hours, he had seen her quite differently. He just couldn’t forget those big brown eyes wide with fear–the kind of fear he had witnessed only when a victim is being tortured. The way she had begged for it all to stop... His chest constricted terribly at the thought. He wondered what the bastard did to her. He could see that she was vulnerable and sensitive, and her heart was badly wounded. No wonder she didn’t want to marry him or anyone else if given the choice. She was scared, and it was hard for her to trust anyone again. And in that moment when she cried bitterly in his arms, mourning the loss of her baby, something triggered a change in Arazor’s cold heart. She was a smart and brave woman. A woman who had defied him when no other woman in his world would dare refuse him if he chose them for himself. Yet, Kara had stood up for herself.
He had decided to let her go as he didn’t want to force her. She probably thought him to be a cold and brutal warrior, just like the rest of his kind. He wished she could see him differently, see who he really was behind the harsh mask he wore. If she could do that, then she was the one for him. The woman he had always wanted. And if she didn’t, then it didn’t matter anyway. He knew her leaving meant he would never be able to choose another mate. Ever.
***
Arazor drove the rover over the massive sand dunes for hours before they reached the city. They stopped some distance away from the city. All they could see was the huge wall surrounding the city. Arazor hid the rover under the cloaking field while Kara adjusted her robes. She wore a gray linen gown with a hood. She glanced at him. He wore his desert pants and boots with a long cloak. He too pulled the hood over his head and adjusted the sword at his belt. They were disguised as travelers as to not attract attention.
They walked toward the wall and stopped a few yards away from it.
“Don’t go nearer to the wall,” warned Arazor. He bent down and took some sand from the ground in his gloved hand and threw it toward the wall. The sand spread in the air like a cloud of dust. The invisible force field shot sparks everywhere.
Arazor scanned the surrounding area with his field detector. He found an opening in the force field: a fissure a few yards to their left. The opening in the force field led to an opening in the city wall, which was wide enough for both of them.
“Be careful and follow me,” Arazor said.
Kara’s heart skipped a beat as she followed Arazor into the city. They were treading through dangerous territory and they would have to be very cautious.
“Tell me the status of Nariya’s location,” Arazor ordered Kara once they were inside the city.
“It’s toward the north, near those towers up there,” she said, checking her comm-pad.
They walked through a bazaar that reminded her of ancient Babylon. The buildings had sandy white walls and, far beyond, she could see the turrets of a castle. The people looked like the Bedouin of the desert with their white robes and turbans, their skin dark against their sharp green eyes.
“So, what’s the plan?” Kara asked Arazor once they had made their way through the crowded Bazaar.
“That tower is part of the prison. Rezurn must have locked her up in there,” he said, checking his own device and making calculations.
“How do we get in?” she asked him, straining to look in the direction of the tower.
“A friend of mine was once imprisoned here. It was a long time ago, but he said the cells are guarded by the Druzhal. They are vile creatures, ruthless and cunning,” he explained. “I can hold them off. Meanwhile, you must get Nariya out of her cell.”
The sun bore down on them as they made their way up the stone steps toward their destination. “Here, take this,” he said, stopping to take out a small cylindrical device. “When you press the button here, it will help you break the lock. Find the exact location of Nariya’s cell once we’re inside the prison.”
He looked into Kara’s soft brown eyes and saw them fill with raw emotion. She nervously wrung her hands. His chest constricted again, but he tried to focus on the mi
ssion. Her mere presence was becoming a distraction and he didn’t like it. She seemed so innocent and lost that he sometimes felt she shouldn’t be on this dangerous mission at all. Her body was too frail and she was still weak from the attack. “Lastly, keep this for your protection,” he said as gave her a silver dagger.
Kara’s stomach knotted as she took the dagger. With trembling hands, she adjusted her breathing clip and rechecked Nariya’s location. Her mouth went dry and she fumbled in her robes for her water bottle. Her heart thudded in her chest.
They reached the prison and after a while, carefully avoiding any encounters with Druzhal guards and using his device, Arazor found them a secret passage near the foot of the prison wall. The passage was pitch black and it took a few seconds for Kara’s eyes to adjust to the darkness surrounding them. Arazor led the way with a beam of light emitted from the device on his wrist.
“Stay close to me and keep your eyes open,” Arazor said as Kara stepped silently on the stone floor and followed him. She could hardly make out the way. Checking her tab once more, she quickly spotted where Nariya was located.
“Arazor...,” she whispered. “I found her.”
He stopped and took a look at the map. “Good,” he said. “Now...”
But before he could finish, they heard strange whispers inside the stone walls. Kara jumped, unconsciously grabbing Arazor’s arm as fear gripped her.
“Druzhal,” Arazor said quietly, pulling her closer to him. “You need to stay calm, Kara. Otherwise, they will find us in no time. They can smell fear.”
In the dim blue light, Kara nodded and took a deep breath. She tried to focus on her breathing as Arazor gently pried her hand off of his arm. As the whispering continued, they walked on through the passage until they turned a corner. They were met with a circular open space lit by green flaming torches. All around them were cells.
