Close Encounters (19 page)

When the music trailed off with a few discordant notes, I stumbled, caught myself, and then checked to see what everyone was looking at. Elder and Auntie Em stood solemnly in front of the pool, the last rays of the sun creating long shadows that stretched eastward. He held a cloth-covered tray bearing several objects I couldn’t make out, she held another tray on which three cups rested.

The Buri silently gathered around them in a half circle, taking me with them. When everyone in the village was accounted for, Elder motioned Junior forward. He went nervously, and stood, shifting his weight from one foot to another, in front of them.

Elder eyed him for a second, then barked a command. Instantly, Junior snapped to attention, head up, back rigid. The older Buri nodded in satisfaction. With a smile, Auntie Em lifted a cup from her tray and handed it to Junior. Holding it in both hands, he tilted it to his lips and drank deeply, not stopping until the cup was empty. He blinked twice, swayed, and then pulled himself together enough to resume his stance.

Auntie Em retrieved the cup from his grasp and put it back on the tray while Elder stepped forward. He lifted an object from the white cloth and handed the tray to another Buri, who was positioned near his elbow. After a few words, the older Buri reached up, grasped Junior’s right earlobe, and punctured it twice. Junior didn’t so much as flinch when the needle pierced his flesh, but when the two black-stoned earrings were pushed through the holes, his eyes closed and his knees buckled.

Apparently, his reaction was expected. Brownie and Dusty caught him before he hit the ground, and half carried, half dragged him into one of the huts. A few minutes later, Dusty returned alone and took up his former position.

Somehow, I knew it was my turn. Without waiting for Auntie Em to beckon, I moved forward. Thor stayed at my side, waves of pride and excitement pouring from him. My skin felt hypersensitive, the silky softness of the kechic almost painfully abrasive as it swung around my legs.

Auntie Em, looking pleased at my initiative, handed me one of the remaining cups and gave the other to Thor. We shifted to face each other, and I slowly lifted the cup. The fruity aroma that assailed my nose was familiar, and I recognized it as the concoction that Auntie Em and Churka had made from the roots.

“Kiera! Wait!” Max’s voice had overtones of panic. “The liquid has unknown properties. We don’t know how it will affect you. Don’t drink it.”

“I have to,” I told him with a certainty that sent a tingle of surprise through me. “It will cure my headache.”

He was still protesting when the rim touched my lips. As Junior had done, I drained the cup, lowering it at the same instant Thor lowered his. The liquid had a smooth, musky taste, not at all unpleasant. It slid down my throat and pooled in my empty stomach to generate a warm glow.

Max had fallen silent, but he was scanning me continuously as I waited for something else to happen. It didn’t take long.

Abruptly, the warm glow inside me exploded, heat lightning streaking along my nerves to encompass every molecule of my body. Behind my unconsciously closed eyelids, fireworks erupted, and I swayed before forcing myself still again.

Someone called out my name, and I opened my eyes. Thor’s image wavered in front of me, obscured by the detonation of lights occurring in my head, lights that were reaching, seeking.

There was a movement to my left, and a small stinging sensation in my earlobe. But instead of taking an earring from his tray, Elder moved to Thor’s side and removed one of his.

Understanding how quickly I healed, the older Buri hurried back to my side and thrust the earring through my lobe.

And the lights finally found what they were searching for.

Images spun through my mind, too rapidly for me to grasp as the light coalesced around the black stone, shot across the space that separated me from Thor, and bound us together with a vibrant black cord of radiance.

With the last of my consciousness, I felt two strong arms close around me and lift, cradle me close to a warm muscular chest as one word with very masculine overtones reverberated in my head.

“Mine
.”

I
came to as I was being lowered onto a sleeping platform, a feeling of lethargy pervading my senses. Where the hell was I, and what was going on? And why did my ear feel funny?

You wear my rellanti.

Rellanti? An image of the earring with the black stone floated through my mind. Oh, that was right. Elder had pierced my ear.

Something tugged on my kechic, pulled the belt loose, and I forced my heavy eyelids to rise enough that I could see what was happening. There was a vague sense of disorientation when I realized I was inside my adobe hut. And an even greater one when I realized it was Thor removing my kechic.

Now wasn’t this just wonderful? He finally decides to make whoopee, and I was too damn tired to move.

Male amusement touched my mind.
It is not required that you move.

“But I’m trained at this stuff,” I told him. “Really, I could make your eyes roll back in your head. Just let me…” A frown furrowed my brow as I tried to lift a hand to assist him. My arm felt like it weighted a ton. “Am I drunk? What
was
that stuff Auntie Em gave me?”

It is given to facilitate the forming of the bond.

“Okay.” Still frowning, I tried to force my fuzzy brain to function. “Does that mean we aren’t going to make love?”

Penetration must be achieved for the completion of the bond.

“So you’re going to handle the penetration and I don’t have to move?”

Correct.

Huh, so I could relax and enjoy. This should be a novel experience. I’m usually the one who does all the work.

Thor’s big callused hand skimmed slowly down my body, pulling a purr of delight from deep inside my chest. The sound seemed to spur him on, because suddenly his weight covered me. There was a brief feeling of pressure between my legs, and then nothing.

Kiera.

I snapped awake, heart pounding, mouth dry, and stared around at a lush green paradise. It was my dream again, and I turned, already knowing what I’d see. A black hexagonal building made from crystal, floating just above the ground.

Well, hell. Thor was probably boffing my brains out back in the real world, and I was sleeping through it. But if I had to miss the fun and games, I was damn well going to get inside that building, and this time, nothing would stop me.

Back straight and chin lifted, I moved forward, the hip-high grass brushing my bare skin as I walked, the sweet scent of growing things perfuming the air. Disturbed by my passage, thousands of yellow butterflies rose to flutter around me, their delicate wings tickling my arms and shoulders like fairy’s breath. Enthralled by their beauty, I lifted a hand and several lit on my fingers, clinging briefly before rejoining the others to dance along the rays of warm sunlight.

Distracted by their joyful gyrations, I reached the hexagon sooner than expected. It loomed over me, prisms of color sparking from its many facets. An ache of longing filled me, so intense my eyes welled with moisture as I stared at the crystalline surface. It was mine, created just for me, and I wanted it the way I’d never wanted anything before.

What if it vanished again, or I woke up too soon? The thought sent a shaft of fear straight through my middle.

Trembling inside, hands shaking, I reached to touch it. But instead of resting on a cool, solid surface, my hand passed through the crystal as if there were nothing there. Startled, I yanked back, wiggling my fingers to make sure they still worked. Everything seemed to be in order. And this was, after all, just in my head. Nothing here could hurt me.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped up and forward, into the crystal. Immediately, the buzzing in my head rose to a crescendo, a billion wind chimes pealing a rhapsodic welcome. A feeling of such peace settled over me that I staggered my way through the stygian darkness and stumbled out the other side, tears streaking my cheeks. And came to rest in a place that couldn’t possibly exist on Orpheus Two, a place I’d never seen before. It was like being caught in a snow globe, a scene of wondrous beauty contained within the confines of the crystal.

Giant, oddly shaped conifers rimed in ice surrounded me. High in the sky hung a huge red sun, its pale rays casting brownish shadows on the snow-covered ground. In the distance rose a magnificent castle, its towers and minarets reaching into the heavens. The chilly breeze that lifted my hair and brushed my bare skin carried the crisp scent of winter, and yet I felt no cold.

“Why do you weep?”

I turned to look at Thor. He was sitting on the ground, one knee drawn up, his back resting against a massive trunk.

Slowly, I shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve never…” Again, I shook my head. “I’m not sure I
can
explain.” I paused. “What is this place?”

His gaze swept the horizon before returning to me. “All that I am.”

“It’s so beautiful.” Another tear made its way down my cheek and I reached up to swipe it away.

“This is why you weep? From the beauty?” His voice was deep and dusky, the gruff overtones giving it a resonance that vibrated deep inside me.

“Partly. But there are other reasons too.”

“Come.” He held out a hand. “Tell me these reasons so I might understand.”

What the heck. It wasn’t like I’d be sharing my innermost yearnings with a real person. This was dream Thor. I could safely tell him anything I wanted.

When I took his hand, he pulled me down onto his lap and curled one arm around my waist. I snuggled until the fit was right, and then faced him. The tenderness in his ebony eyes damn near did me in. No one had ever looked at me that way before, and my explanation froze on my lips.

“Tell me.” A lock of hair had escaped my braid, and his strong fingers gently brushed it away from my face.

I swallowed hard, and forced myself to speak about what I’d never shared with another living creature. “I’ve been alone my whole life. There’s no other like me, and there never will be again.” I looked down, unable to meet his gaze. “I’ve never belonged before. Until now. Here, in this place, inside the crystal, I feel like I’ve found something I didn’t even know I was searching for. A part of me that was missing. It’s as if this place was created just for me, to make me whole.”

He was silent for so long that I finally looked up to gauge his reaction. His expression was thoughtful, but not fearful, and I knew he hadn’t understood. How could he when I barely understood myself? I had to try again.

“There are two kinds of humans, Thor. Naturals and GEPs. Naturals are people who are born of two parents, a male and a female. GEPs are created in a lab. DNA is taken from any number of Naturals based on their superior talents and intellect, and then it’s patched together and improvements are made. The end result is a human that’s stronger, faster and smarter than a Natural.”

A frown wrinkled his brow. “You are one of these ‘made’ people?”

“More so than most GEPs.” I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and continued. “There are very strict laws that govern the creation of GEPs. For instance, a GEP can’t be created unless they’ve been commissioned by a government-sanctioned business or institution. That’s why I was made. The Bureau of Alien Affairs paid an extremely high price for my creation because they wanted a special agent, one who was an empath. A GEP with psi abilities had never been made before, and the geneticist who fashioned me went a little overboard.”

I picked up the end of my braid and toyed with it so I wouldn’t have to look at him during this next part. “Instead of taking DNA from Naturals as he should have, Dr. Gertz, the geneticist, illegally took it from other GEPs. And then he manipulated that DNA in ways only the Goddess knows. As a result, the Bureau got more than they bargained for. They got me. A fully functional female with a psi ability, who’s faster and stronger than any GEP ever created, with a metabolism capable of healing near fatal wounds in record time.

“The boss was furious when he realized what Gertz had done. He went after him. But Gertz knew he’d been caught, and he killed himself before the boss could arrest him.” I shrugged. “Unfortunately, Gertz destroyed all his records, so no one else knows precisely what he did to me. You see, I’m not a Natural, but I’m not exactly a normal GEP either. Neither the boss nor I know what I am, or what I’m capable of.”

Thor’s hand moved in slow stroking motions on my skin, and when he spoke I heard puzzlement in his voice. “This is bad, to be better?”

“It’s not bad to be better, it’s bad to be different. And I was…am. Even the other GEPs in my crèche sensed it somehow, though I tried very hard to hide it.”

“I am different from you. Does this make me bad?”

“No, of course not.” I looked up at him earnestly. “You’re exactly what nature intended you to be. Strong, beautiful and healthy.”

“You are strong and beautiful and healthy,” he said. “Does the way it happened matter so very much when the results are the same?”

With a sigh, I leaned against his chest and let my head rest on his shoulder. “You sound like the boss. He keeps telling me that I’m probably what humans will evolve into, given time. But neither of you can grasp how it feels to know that you’re the only member of your species, that you’ll never look into another face and find traces of yourself there, because no other exists. Or know what it’s like to be so alone among thousands of other people and races.”

“I know what it is like to be alone.” He rested his chin on the top of my head and rubbed it gently back and forth.

“You? You aren’t alone. You have your clan, your sibling.”

“Yes, but there are ways of being alone even among others. I am their…”

The word he spoke was in Buri, and I frowned. That was certainly odd. This was my dream and I didn’t speak Buri. Shouldn’t my dream Thor speak only Galactic Standard? I pushed away from him so I could see his face. “You’re their what? Leader?”

He seemed to struggle with the word for a moment, then nodded. “Their leader. Each day I make decisions that affect the welfare of my people. They trust me to protect them, to do what is necessary even when they don’t like or agree with my decisions. It is my responsibility, and no one can take it from my shoulders. This has held me separate from my people, and so I, too, know what it is to be alone. Until now.” He put a finger under my chin and lifted until our eyes met. “Now, neither of us will ever be alone again.”

“We won’t?” My voice came out in a wistful puff of air, and his lips curved in a smile.

“Never again.”

“It sounds so wonderful. I only wish it were real.”

His smile faded abruptly. “Why should it not be real?”

“Because this is a dream.” I lifted a hand to cup his cheek.

“And because I’m not free. The Bureau needs me. I’m the best agent they have, plus they own my indenture. Until it’s paid off, I go where they tell me to go, and do what they tell me to do.”

He looked horrified, and I rushed to clarify what I’d said. “The Bureau doesn’t own
me
, Thor. Not in the sense you’re thinking. I have the same rights as any other citizen. But they did invest a lot of money in my creation. I have a moral and legal obligation to repay that debt. But that’s not the only reason.”

I hesitated, then spoke again. “This is what I was created for. Without my job, I have no purpose, no reason for being.”

The concept of a “job” seemed to give him problems for a second, and I studied him in perplexity. If this were a dream, he should know everything I did. Unless my subconscious didn’t want him to know for some weird reason. Maybe I should go along with it and see where it led me.

“This ‘job’ is why you came here?”

“Yes.”

“Explain to me your purpose.”

I rested against his upraised knee and hooked one arm around his thickly muscled thigh. “The other humans who are here work for a trade company called Dynatec. They want to claim this planet as their own so they can derive material gain from its resources. Our laws allow them to do this if the planet isn’t occupied by a sentient species, or if the sentient species in residence is dying out. That last one is what they’re claiming about your people. There are only a few of you left, and your birthrate is almost nonexistent. Dynatec believes that in a hundred cycles, none of your people will be left.”

“But you do not work for these humans.” He had the most inscrutable look on his face I’d ever seen, almost as if he knew something I didn’t.

“No, I work for our government. It’s my job to protect species from companies like Dynatec, to make sure they aren’t taken advantage of. And if a company breaks the law, I see to it they’re brought to justice. But that’s only part of what I do. The main reason I’m here is to find out why your clan is dwindling away, and hopefully, reverse it.”

He stared at me, his gaze hooded. “I see. And when this ‘job’ is done, when you’ve saved my people, you will leave.”

“Yes.”

Ice-covered branches tinkled in the breeze as he turned his head to look at the distant castle. “How long will this take?”

“I’m not having much luck so far. There doesn’t seem to be any physical reason for your low birthrate. Unfortunately, by law, I only have two months to complete my mission and render a decision.”

“Why only two months?” His gaze shifted back to me.

“Because the people who wrote the law never envisioned a scenario quite like this one. Normally an entire team of specialists would have cycles to study the problem before I was called in.”

Another second ticked by in silence, then he precipitously changed the subject. “Why do you call me this name, Thor? It is very small.”

“Unlike you?” I grinned. “It’s because you remind me of him. On Old Earth, the planet where my species originated, Thor was the Norse god of thunder. He was second only to Odin, his father. He has a beard like yours, and a hammer called Mjolnir that he uses to create the thunder. He was known for his immense strength.”

He stretched out his leg, depriving me of my backrest, and then lowered me gently to the ground before coming to rest at my side. “I like this
Thor
. It is a good name. You may continue to use it.”