Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  He nodded, seemingly unperturbed by this.

  I thought back to when the girl at the desk was checking our papers. I’d had no idea anyone was watching us. “What should we do?”

  “Nothing, just carry on as normal.” Ahran took another bite of his baguette.

  I had lost my appetite. It was clear that acting normal was going to be a challenge for me. I already felt the urge to keep checking over my shoulder. “What do you think they are up to?” I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he had.

  “They are tracking us and will be reporting back to Bazeera I expect,” he said, after swallowing his mouthful.

  “You don’t seem too worried about this.”

  He shook his head slightly. “I’m not. We’ve just got to lose them.”

  “And how do we do that?”

  “Not sure yet, I’ll think of something.”

  I felt like I had inadvertently stepped into a Bond movie, the unhelpful voice in my head reminded me that people frequently got killed in those films. Now, I not only felt frightened for Toby, but also a good deal more concerned for my own safety.

  “Should we still get on the plane?” I whispered, feeling completely unprepared for all of this.

  “Yes, of course, it would take us forever to get to Zanzin any other way,” he replied.

  “But what if those men get on the plane with us?” The thought of being stuck on a plane knowing that there were two potential assassins watching our every move was unnerving to say the least.

  “You ask a lot of questions don’t you?” he said.

  I detected a slight smile and shrugged. “It’s not every day I find myself being followed.”

  “Fair point,” he conceded. “Suicide bombing is not Bazeera’s style, nor is public murder, so it’s unlikely they will try anything.”

  She’d had the audacity to kidnap Toby in the cold light of day and from under everyone’s noses, so I could be forgiven for not trusting his reassurance that she was the cautious type.

  “Go back to the palace Sophie,” Ahran said, drawing his own conclusions from my silence. “I can’t promise we are not in danger and I would understand if you are having second thoughts.” His expression was sympathetic and I almost weakened but the thought of what Toby was going through strengthened my resolve. In some perverse way, being involved in his search, even if it meant risking my own life, seemed an appropriate penance for not taking the necessary precautions that would have prevented all of this from happening in the first place.

  I raised my chin stubbornly. “I’m not going to change my mind, I have to do this.”

  Ahran’s look was doubtful. It galvanised my resolve even more.

  “You think I’m weak and pathetic, but I will prove to you that I am not,” I said defiantly. Having got the distinct impression that Ahran didn’t hold Sapiens in particularly high regard, I felt it was a good opportunity to champion my race. I may not have superhuman abilities but I would do my upmost to show him I had other strengths. The only problem was, I wasn’t sure what these were yet.

  Ahran went to say something but shrugged his shoulders. “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “We need to go.”

  He pointed to my untouched baguette. “You haven’t eaten anything,” he said, expressing his disapproval.

  “I’m not hungry,” I said, wrapping the baguette in a napkin and putting it in my bag. “I’ll eat it on the plane.” If I was going to show him I was up to what was ahead of us I couldn’t afford to give him any reason to think I might be a burden to him.

  We arrived at our gate in silence. As casually as I could I scanned the queue for the guy in the dark clothes. He didn’t appear to be here.

  After a minute or two we were called to board. I took one last look behind me as we went through the boarding gate, everyone looked like legitimate passengers to me and I relaxed a fraction. We walked along the elevated walkway and boarded the plane.

  I began to follow the rest of the passengers towards the main bulk of seats but Ahran grabbed my arm. “Our seats are this way,” he said, pointing towards the front of the aircraft.

  “Oh, okay,” I said and followed him. Our seats were in first class. I felt a frisson of excitement. I’d never been in first class before.

  ‘Clarin’ a female flight attendant standing at the doorway led us into the area that was reserved for the more affluent traveller. Her eyes raked over Ahran appreciatively and she gave him a million watt smile. I would have to get used to the female attention he attracted. It hadn’t taken me long to realise that even in Ramia he was exceptionally attractive.

  She showed us to our seats.

  “Do you want to sit by the window?” Ahran asked.

  “Yes, thank you.” The seats were as large as armchairs and I sunk into mine.

  “Well, this is a new experience,” I said, unable to hide my excitement. “I’ve never been in first class before.” I grinned.

  He smiled at me. “Enjoy it while it lasts, it’s unlikely that all our travel will be as comfortable as this.” He sat down next to me and I tried not to let his words dampen my first experience of luxury air travel.

  I settled back into my seat and Ahran showed me how to operate the T.V. glasses so I could watch the safety video. When it had finished, I took the glasses off and leant towards Ahran. “I don’t think anyone followed us on board,” I whispered.

  “You’re right,” he said, a smile tugging at his lips. “Although they have probably already reported back that we are heading to Zanzin.” He seemed unruffled by this, but it caused my uneasiness to return.

  Without warning he reached around my waist and clipped my seatbelt together. I froze, taken back by his sudden invasion of my personal space. I tried not to inhale his smell but it was too late. It was citrus, sun, and Ahran. It made me feel light headed.

  “You need that on. The take-off is fast,” he said unapologetically.

  I didn’t reply. I wasn’t confident I could manage any more than a whimper, so I just nodded instead. What was wrong with me? I’d turned into a quivering heap of hormones the moment he was in my air space. I’d never reacted like that to a man.

  My attention was momentarily distracted from the Ahran effect when the plane started to taxi down the run way and began to pick up speed alarmingly. My eyes couldn’t focus on anything outside and I clutched Ahran’s arm before I was aware of what I was doing. The speed of the plane forced me back into my seat. I glanced up at him nervously and he took my hand in his. He began to trace circles with his thumb in the palm of my hand in an attempt to soothe me. My heart rate doubled.

  The blurry landscape outside was now the least of my problems as the shockwaves of his touch chased up my arm. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly going dry. I was dimly aware that we were quickly gaining altitude and I leant back and closed my eyes. The trouble was, this seemed to intensify the effect his touch was having on me. God, he was only touching my hand and I reacted like this, imagine the effect of his touch on other parts of my body? My breath began to match my heartbeat. He had certainly succeeded in taking my mind off the speed. I opened my eyes and turned to look at him. His eyes were hooded and his pupils dilated. I withdrew my hand. Hand holding was another thing I had to add to the ‘Ahran and Sophie List of Things to Avoid’.

  “Thanks I feel better now we are actually in the air.” Dammit, my voice sounded husky even to my own ears.

  The sun was beginning to fade and the dimness in the plane made it feel more intimate. We were in our own private bay. I reached up and flicked the overhead light on in an attempt to kill the mood. We were cruising now, the engines were quiet and the ride was completely smooth.

  I caught Ahran looking at me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

  Not quite sure whether he was referring to my reaction to the speed or his touch, I plumped for the former. “It’s amazing, you wouldn’t think we were in the air at all.”
r />   His head was inclined towards me, his face expressionless but there was a softness in his eyes. Oh hell! It was so much easier when he was being prickly.

  “Well, we’ve got five hours to kill. Tell me more about yourself.”

  His directness surprised me. “I’m not sure we should get to know each other any better,” I replied.

  He chuckled. “We are going to be in each other’s company for a while, it’s going to be difficult to remain strangers,” he argued.

  There was a hint of a challenge in his eyes. Okay, if he could keep his emotions in check so could I. Couldn’t I?

  “What do you want to know?” I asked.

  “Who was your first crush?”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. I pummelled down the feelings this stirred in me and tried to summon a light-heartedness of my own.

  “A boy called James Gardiner who lived down my road.”

  “Did you ever do anything about it?” he quizzed.

  “No, he barely knew I existed. He was five years older than me and I was too shy to pluck up the courage to speak to him,” I confessed.

  “His loss.”

  I smiled philosophically. “That’s what I like to think, although he is a successful corporate lawyer now with a three million pound house, a wife and four children.”

  “Sounds like a lucky escape,” he said good-humouredly.

  I laughed. “Who was yours?” I asked, tucking my ankle under my bottom so I could face him. I was beginning to enjoy myself.

  “Petrula Lassiva.”

  I tried to hide my smirk. She sounded like some seventies Eurovision Song contestant.

  “What?” he said, trying to sound offended but couldn’t prevent a smile from creeping across his own features.

  “Nothing. So, who was she?”

  “She was…is,” he corrected, “A very beautiful movie star in Ramia, most men have a crush on her.”

  I pictured a sultry film star dressed in a floaty Kaftan, seductively draped over a chaise.

  “Have you ever met her?” I asked.

  “No,” he laughed, as if it was the most ridiculous suggestion ever. “Petrula is a goddess among women, she rarely lets mortal men near her.”

  He had absolutely no idea that there was nothing remotely mortal about him. I sent up a little silent prayer and thanked the lord that they hadn’t met. Petrula wouldn’t have been able to resist him any more than the rest of us.

  I started to relax. We were on our way to find Toby and I was happy about that. There was nothing more we could do other than kill time and try and bring our association back onto a more even keel.

  “So judging by your conversation with Halsan earlier you’ve bought a farm? You don’t seem like the farmer type, all flat caps and sheep dogs,” I teased.

  He chuckled. “Cows are more my thing, sheep have a habit of dying.”

  “Do you come from a farming background?” I asked intrigued.

  He laughed at his own private joke. “No, my father is a politician and my mother was a teacher,” he explained.

  I nodded encouragingly.

  “I did a business degree,” he continued, “and then a veterinarian degree but I’ve always been interested in farming in a sustainable, animal centred way. Farming has a much better reputation here than it has on Earth, Ramians value their local food producers much more. Here, we understand what damage cheap food, transported thousands of miles does to the planet.”

  The Ramian ethos was impressive. “Your people seem to have really got it sussed when it comes to looking after their world.”

  “It is one of the fundamental building blocks of our society.”

  I reflected on what he said for a moment.

  “So where do you think we’ve gone wrong?” I asked interested to get his take on the failings of mankind.

  “It’s simple. Greed,” he declared.

  “Aren’t Ramians greedy?” I queried.

  “Yes but not at the expense of the world they live in, maybe it’s because we live longer and live to see the effects of our actions. That’s where Sapiens go wrong. They think that whatever happens in a hundred years’ time is irrelevant to them, they seem to care little about how their actions might affect their ascendants.”

  I knew that everything he said was depressingly true and didn’t want to dwell on how we were wrecking our planet, so I changed the subject. “Where is your farm?”

  “It’s about an hour’s drive from the palace.”

  “So is Talina looking forward to becoming a farmer’s wife?” It came out before I had a chance to filter. I couldn’t quite imagine the immaculately turned out Talina slugging around in wellies.

  Ahran hesitated. “Talina is more of a city girl.”

  “That’s going to make married life difficult for her isn’t it?” I knew I should stop but I couldn’t help myself, it was like I had turned into a rubbernecker morbidly watching the outcome of a car crash.

  He shrugged in a way that didn’t encourage any further probing. As far as I could see, it was a recipe for disaster, or was I just hoping that was the case?

  “How about you? What has your life been like?” Ahran said, expertly changing the subject. I had to chuckle at his turn of phrase. Most of the time he spoke English like a native but every now and then what he said didn’t sound quite right.

  “It’s not that interesting, although I suppose that’s changed in the last week.” I grimaced. “I grew up in Hatherley, did an English Literature degree at UCL. Before Katie died I had a marketing job in London but after her death it was kind of a relief to have a good reason to go back home. I no longer had to prove myself in the city.

  “Why did you work in London if you hated it so much?” Ahran asked.

  “I really wanted to be a writer and after temping at a PR firm after my degree they offered me a permanent position. I couldn’t turn it down. I had student loans and rent to pay and so my writing career never really got off the ground.” I shrugged.

  “Do you miss anything about city life?”

  “I was never a high flyer. Even before Katie’s death, I couldn’t keep up with the lifestyle and looked forward to my weekends back home too much.” I took a sip of the drink the overly attentive ‘Clarin’ had just given us. “I like green. Green trees, green fields. You don’t get much of that in London. Going back to Hatherley was like putting an oxygen mask on.” I paused. “I keep in touch with a couple of friends there and visit once or twice a year and that seems to satisfy any yearning I have for a faster pace of life.” I looked across at him. “How about you, have you ever lived in the city?” I asked

  “Yes, although our cities aren’t like yours,” he pointed out. “After I completed my military service, I studied in Dortaan for my business degree. It’s one of the largest cities in Dinara but it is very beautiful with lots of open green spaces. It was no hardship living there. Then I did veterinary at Harla.”

  “You have to do military service here?” I asked.

  “Yes, everyone has to do it for at least three years at some point between the ages of thirty and seventy.”

  “Really? What, even women?”

  He nodded. “Women aren’t expected to get married or start a family until they have been in the army, navy or air force. It’s very much frowned upon if they do and their families are liable for a heavy fine.”

  “God, that sounds archaic. I thought Ramia was a progressive place.”

  “It is, but it helps to reduce the number of girls having babies too young.”

  “And increases the number of back street abortions,” I snorted.

  Ahran looked philosophical. “Maybe.”

  I was beginning to get the impression that Ramia wasn’t as perfect as I had first thought.

  “And after your military service you did two degrees?” I raised my eyebrows

  “I am a little older than you,” he said with a wry twist of his lips.

  “Even so, they’re demanding degrees.”


  He actually looked slightly embarrassed, it wasn’t a look I was familiar with, he always seemed so self-assured. “It’s not unusual to do more than one degree here,” he explained.

  “So why did you go back into the army and not go into business or become a vet?”

  “Because I liked it and I was good at it,” he said unashamedly. “It was dangerous and exciting. I’d had a restrained upbringing and the army provided me with boundaries that I was used to and the freedom to take risks, and I suppose, the opportunity to go a bit crazy at times.”

  I raised my eyebrows willing him to expand. I couldn’t imagine Ahran going crazy. He seemed so in control, restrained even. “Go on,” I encouraged.

  “Maybe I’ll tell you another time. It’s not good for me to share my deepest darkest secrets with you,” he said with a wicked smile. “Didn’t you say we shouldn’t get to know each other too well?” he said, throwing my earlier comment back at me.

  Dammit, I was dying to know.

  “Didn’t you have a particularly happy childhood then?” I asked, picking up on his comment about having a restrained upbringing.

  He paused for a moment. “Let’s just say my father was very controlling in a ‘hands off’ kind of way.” He didn’t elaborate any further.

  I wasn’t quite sure what he meant but I shelved it for the time being. I couldn’t help it but I was being drawn in, the more he told me, the more I wanted to know. It was a dangerous game to play.

  “Why the Special Force?” I asked

  He took a sip of his drink. “I impressed them enough to be offered a position. To be asked is a great honour and I wasn’t ready to go home.”

  “And that’s where you worked alongside Tagan?”

  “Yes, from time to time. We were on a Special Force covert mission when he was killed.” A dark shadow swept across his face. It was plain to see that the memories were still painful. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, to reach up and stroke away the troubled look on his face but all of a sudden he seemed closed off.

  After a moment or two he continued, his dark expression carefully replaced by a mask of indifference. “Tagan liked the strategic side of things whereas I always preferred Reconnaissance.”