by Lizzy Ford
Swiping at the air, A’Ran couldn’t help but feel furious that the Council would protect such civilizations from those that were more advanced out of some sense of fairness while sitting by doing nothing as his planet was overrun and his parents murdered. Despite his hatred for the politics, he knew he needed the Council’s help. His people were starving as the planet died, and soon, the Council would realize the planet produced no ore without its rightful ruler.
Anshan— a chunk of rock in space— was smarter than the entire Council combined, even Jetr, who was content to mediate between him and the Council without truly choosing sides. Jetr had been loyal to his family for generations, and A’Ran respected him, knew the odd-looking man was the only reason the Council hadn’t ceded to the Yirkins’ petitions to claim the planet officially.
And yet, he couldn’t help feeling as if he alone bore the weight of his planet on his back as he struggled to pay for food, water, and weapons. He was running out of ore and other means to barter; he’d need the Council’s mercy soon.
“I am sorry my sister did not please you, A’Ran,” Ne’Rin said as he stepped into the field.
“She pleased me, Ne’Rin, but she is not meant to be my nishani,” he replied.
“What do you wait for?”
A’Ran was quiet. He didn’t know how to explain it and wondered if he should even try with Jetr’s suspicions fresh in his mind. His father said Anshan would tell him, and the feeling would be unmistakable. He hadn’t been on his own planet since his parents were killed, and he wasn’t sure how the planet would choose someone for him when he wasn’t there.
“I’ll know,” he said with more confidence than he felt. “Are the warriors ready for the next campaign?”
“They are.”
“You and I have a different mission. A very unpleasant one.”
“Jetr told me.”
“Ready my personal ship for the flight to Qatwal.”
“Yes, dhjan.”
A’Ran watched him go, sensing the same disappointment and doubt he’d seen in his sister earlier. He wondered if years of disappointment had driven his most trusted friend away as greed did Ne’Rin’s father.
He could do nothing but continue to fight. He swiped at the air again, unable to shake his anger.
CHAPTER TWO
The next two days passed quickly as Kiera helped Evelyn set up her sudden wedding. Evelyn handled it all with cheerfulness while Kiera stressed over the shade of flowers clashing with the décor, and the cake containing nuts, which Romas was allergic to. Evelyn’s wedding was for a hundred invitees in a small chapel by the ocean followed by a reception for over twice that many guests. Most of the guests were Evelyn’s friends and family; Romas’s small party consisted of only a handful of men— cousins, according to Evelyn— looking like an NFL team dressed uncomfortably in their tuxes.
The newlyweds spent the night at a local luxury hotel— also an arrangement made by Kiera— and she was left alone in the row house full of boxes.
Given her first chance to rest in over two days, she sighed, exhausted and irritated at having to dig her own clothing out of a box. The movers had gone crazy and even packed her stuff. Her make-up was smeared from walking through the Monterey mists, her maid-of-honor dress wrinkled from constant sitting and standing. She wove her way to her bathroom through the maze of boxes and took a long shower to ease her tired body. The day had gone beautifully, and the sight of Evelyn’s beaming, glowing face stuck in her head.
Kiera had never seen anyone so happy. Hot water ran over her head and down her body, soothing her. Would she ever be so happy?
Not if it has to do with a man.
She smiled, finished washing, and emerged from the shower. The new necklace she wore that matched the one she bought for Evelyn glimmered in the mirror. Disappointed her friend was leaving for somewhere across the world, she’d bought them matching necklaces featuring whimsical half moons in rose gold with a single, small, sparkling diamond of a star embedded in the moon.
She left the bathroom, pulling on an oversized, soft T-shirt Evelyn had shanghaied from Romas and Kiera had shanghaied from Evelyn.
The boxes were gone. Startled, she looked around twice. She listened but heard no one downstairs to indicate the movers had been through and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was nearly one thirty.
Perplexed as to what kind of movers worked at such an hour, she roamed through the row house from top to bottom. All the boxes were gone. No strangers were in the house, and the doors were bolted. She briefly considered calling Evelyn to ask about her moving arrangements. Evelyn might love her but would probably not welcome a call on her wedding night.
Kiera glanced around again, shook her head, and crawled into bed. Evelyn had a way of ensuring things were done even if she didn’t seem to have time to do them. She probably had a mover scheduled and forgot to mention it.
In the morning, she’d clean up the house and then start working on another painting, the portrait of Evelyn and Romas she wanted to give the two of them as their joint wedding present. Mentally, she started on the portrait.
Although tired, sleep didn’t come. Kiera rose and trotted down to her studio, happy to see the movers had left her studio alone. She flooded the studio with light, then pulled another blank canvas from the closet and perched it on her easel. She sat at her desk and started to sketch the visage of Evelyn in her long wedding dress and Romas in his dark tux on a piece of paper, glancing up occasionally at the blank canvas as she thought of proportions.
Comfortable in the plush office chair, she propped her feet up on her desk and continued to sketch until the picture began to look as she wanted it to. She dozed as she drew, caught herself twice, then dropped into sleep, unaware that those who removed the boxes were coming next for her.
Soon after confirming she was asleep, the two large men who had emptied the house of boxes returned for her. They ignored her studio and its contents. One placed a sleep patch on her ear to prevent her from waking and scooped her up while the other grabbed the last suitcase out of her bedroom. They left the row house for the park across the street, where a small spacecraft awaited them.
Settling Kiera on a grey slab bench, the first man straightened and motioned the other over.
“Not like our women,” he said as the other warrior joined him. “Very small.”
“Like a doll,” the second agreed. “Pretty for so small a creature.”
“You have no mate. Ask for her band.”
The second snorted and strode into the cockpit, followed by the first.
“She will mate with no one like us. Her sister is mated to the second son of our ruler. This one is too exquisite. She must be intended for Kisolm,” he replied.
“You brought all her belongings?”
“Everything, as Romas said, except the pictures. Not a noble pastime for one who will wed our next ruler,” the second said with a frown. “Only Anshan barbarians would use their hands to create pictures.”
“I think the pictures are too advanced for Anshan-kind,” the first said with a chuckle. “If they didn’t own the ore mines, they’d be using rocks to fight.”
The second chuckled as he ordered the computer to rendezvous with the massive grey spaceship awaiting them outside the planet’s atmosphere. The small woman’s soft snores filled the transport ship.
*
Evelyn stood in the dark grey room of the spaceship with its cozy, dim lighting and the soft purr of hidden machines. She didn’t really care what the dark grey walls, floors, and ceilings were made of or why the floor felt like carpet and looked like gun metal. The room was vacant except for a metal slab that served as a bed and the six-legged, cat-like creature sitting on the edge of the bed watching its sleeping occupant.
She leaned against the wall, pensive. Her plan, while brilliant when plotted the past month, didn’t seem quite so wonderful right now. Kiera hadn’t wanted to come, even for the proposed week. Evelyn knew— and Romas a
ssured her— Kiera would be fine. She could paint anywhere, and her life was otherwise so unfulfilling, Evelyn didn’t know how she could stand it. She wanted her friend to be happy, and Romas thought this was the best way. She had few instincts, unlike Kiera’s hyperactive intuition, but she felt a definite tingling. She had to bring Kiera with her. It was meant to be.
And then she ran into several of the cat-like creatures roaming the ship. They were furry and about knee-height full grown with similar triangular ears and a tail. The rest of their bodies were unlike cats. They had six legs with little pads for feet instead of toes and claws, a delicate snout not quite the length of an anteater’s lined with fine hairs and tiny teeth used to vacuum up mold, dust, and dirt that was its main food source, and an odd habit of climbing walls with hidden suckers in its padded feet. From what Romas said, every household on his planet had at least one or two of the critters to keep things clean.
One sat perched on Kiera’s bed, watching her sleep. Its legs were jointed outwards like a spider’s, and its ability to climb walls resembled that of a spider. It didn’t spin webs and looked more to Evelyn like a mutated cat, but the moment she recalled Kiera’s fear, she also realized that the cat-like creature would easily pass as a large spider.
Therein lies the rub, Evelyn contemplated. Kiera would freak when she saw the cats.
She grabbed the sitting creature. It twisted its odd little face to look at her and sniffed at her arm with its small trunk. It didn’t purr like a cat but growled. Turning away, she missed the movement behind her as another of the creatures appeared from beneath the bed. She tucked the creature in her hands under one arm and left the small room for a long corridor in similar dark grey which glowed more brightly from indistinguishable light sources. She trailed her fingers down a wall, smiling when she saw soft glimmers light up beneath her touch, trail her fingers a short distance, and blink out.
The cat-like creature squirmed. She set it down.
“You leave Kiera alone,” she ordered sternly.
The creature loped ahead, darting out of sight down another hall. Evelyn followed leisurely, unconcerned with being lost on the massive ship. If she became turned around, all she needed to do was touch the wall and tell it where she wanted to go, and the glimmers would guide her there. Or Romas would come searching for her.
Evelyn hugged herself before looking down at the massive diamond on her ring finger. Bubbling with happiness, she hummed as she strode through the corridors in search of Romas.
He was in their quarters and stood as she entered. He was naked, as if awaiting her. She smiled and flung herself into his arms. They made love for the umpteenth time since their wedding. Afterwards, she snuggled into his arms, content with the sound of his heartbeat and the feel of his arms around her. Just as she drifted into sleep, the spaceship’s internal communication system awoke her.
“Your woman’s sister needs attending to.”
The male voice came from nowhere and everywhere and disturbed the two naked forms on the dark grey bed. Evelyn raised her head lazily, unable to quell the urge to seek out the source of the voice even knowing she wouldn’t find it.
Your woman. There had been several dozen mistranslations from the small translator attached to her ear lobe. This one was oft repeated and rankled her whenever she heard it.
“She’ll be well,” Romas said. He nuzzled her as she started to sit and pulled her back into his body. She relaxed, his warmth and presence lulling her into comfort she didn’t want to leave.
“Your woman’s sister needs attending to.”
This time, the calm male voice was accompanied by a distinctly feminine wail in the background. She shot up and scrambled for her clothes. Romas followed. If she looked, she feared she might find him amused. After Kiera’s three months of tormenting him, he would find turning the tables satisfying.
“You have to be understanding,” she reminded him again. “You know Kiera well enough. She’s really emotional. You have to be less … you know. You just have to be understanding.”
Romas snorted in response. She hurried from the room without her shoes and tucked in the alien clothing: soft, silky tunic into soft, silky pants that adjusted in size to fit her form. She stepped into the hallway, unwilling to await a purposely slower-moving Romas, and touched the wall.
“Take me to Kiera,” she said. Glimmers lit up along one wall, guiding her through the maze of the ship. She’d been contemplating how to break the news to Kiera. How did you tell your best friend that aliens were real and oh, by the way, I married one and am taking you with me to his planet, for your own good? She was doing what she thought was best for her friend, and Kiera would hate that.
She mulled it over again as she trotted down the corridors. There was no choice now; she had some explaining to do. What would she say? That there was a better chance of her selling art if she painted something no one else on earth could imagine? That Kiera would have her ocean, sky, and grass on the new planet? That they were going to some other planet millions of light years from earth because Romas knew a few good men they’d like to hook her up with?
Her pace slowed as she thought until she was walking, troubled. Romas caught up to her and swept her into his arms for a quick kiss.
“I’ve completely forgotten what I should tell her,” she said.
“I’ll explain things.”
“She’s not going to like hearing it from you.”
Romas said nothing.
“You have to be gentle, Romas.”
They heard her before turning the corner. Kiera was cursing and shouting. The softened expression on Romas’s face— only present for her— hardened as he prepared himself to deal with whichever of his warriors had happened upon Kiera. Romas was all business by the time they rounded the corner; he even released Evelyn’s hand and quickened his step into one that befitted a warrior prince.
Evelyn loved his game face. It was sexy as hell, like everything about him. Having spent enough time on the ship to understand the odd society, she knew better than to charge in and handle what he would consider his duty. She hung back when she reached the other three warriors in the hall watching the scene in the room. Romas strode in unasked, and she cursed quietly as she saw the cat-like critter chasing Kiera.
Kiera was yelling at it, her blue eyes large and wild. She clung to one of the warriors, attempting to climb him as the cat-like critter— convinced it was a game— wagged its tail and chased her around the large man in the center of the room.
Evelyn would’ve laughed had Kiera not appeared so terrified and bewildered. The warriors made no move to corner the critter or even calm Kiera down. They watched instead with curiosity.
Romas snatched the critter with one hand and tossed it to one of the warriors at the door. He grabbed Kiera with the other arm and flung her over his shoulder. She stilled and grew silent, then pushed away from him.
“Evelyn!” she shouted, panicked. “What are you doing here? God, this is a horrible dream! There are monsters and big men with funny …”
At that point her talking became too quick for the translator hooked on Evelyn’s ear to keep up. She removed it, irritated. The warrior Kiera had been attempting to scale addressed Romas. Romas’s response was abrupt and sharp enough to be hostile. Evelyn glanced between them, uneasy at the exchange. The warrior stepped away.
“Kiera, it’s okay, just calm— ”
“Evelyn!”
Kiera was near tears and began to squirm when the six-legged creature came into sight again. Romas strode out of the room and down the hall. Evelyn scrambled after him, jogging to keep pace with his long legs. He didn’t slow until they reached their quarters.
Kiera babbled the entire time, convinced it was a dream. Evelyn listened and cringed, not sure how she would explain everything. They reached their quarters and closed the door.
Romas set Kiera down gently. Kiera bounded away from him and flung her arms around Evelyn, who gave a startled laugh and hugged her b
ack. She met Romas’s eyes over her friend’s head. Romas crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry. Evelyn shook her head.
“K-K!” she cooed, trying to pry Kiera’s grip off her and break through her babbling. “Calm down, Kiera.”
Neither worked, so Evelyn let her talk and hugged her hard. Romas shook his head and stepped forward.
“No, I can— ” she objected.
Romas ignored her and grabbed Kiera, pulled her away to face him, and gave her a stiff shake. She fell silent and stared at him, her striking, large eyes even larger.
“Do you understand me?” Romas demanded.
Kiera blinked.
“Yes or no?”
She nodded.
“Be calm. Do you understand?”
Another nod. Evelyn sighed. She elbowed Romas away to stand before Kiera. The smaller woman was still, as if afraid to move.
“Kiera, I need to explain something to you,” she started. “It’s not going to be easy for you to take, but hear me out, okay?”
Another stiff nod.
“Are you holding your breath?” she asked. Kiera released it. She blinked a few times as tears lined her eyes.
“Romas, can you give us a minute?”
He grunted and left. Kiera’s eyes strayed from Evelyn’s, and she twisted all the way around, taking in everything, before she started to cry. Evelyn was silent, debating what to say. Finally, she asked lamely, “Are you okay?”
Kiera wiped her eyes and gazed at her with a deep frown, then said, “I had a dream once about being sent into outer space.”
“So it’s not as much of a shock?” Evelyn asked hopefully. Kiera’s face skewed again as she started crying once more.
“In my dream … the aliens … took me … to a planet ruled by spiders!”
Evelyn sighed. Kiera was bound to be traumatized until she saw for herself there were no monster-sized spiders on Romas’s home planet. Hopefully, hopefully, that would be the largest obstacle Evelyn faced in explaining the situation to her.
