Kniam: A Terraneu Novel (17 page)

After they had
appeared on the portal to Antilles, the cheering and backslapping had started.
The council and the Antillean leader had been happy for their success. Everyone
pressed forward to see what Kniam was holding. When they got a good look at the
sickly female, most just gave a respectful bow and returned to their excited
chatter. Everyone was going on about the six-month wait until there would be
more females.

 
Knollig for some reason had stayed staring at
the sickly figure he held. Mairi had her eyes open, and was weakly looking
around. Kniam had told Knollig that due to her sickness, he was sure that she
didn’t really “see” anything. Her grandfather said she was delirious and
un-aware of her surroundings. Knollig looked deeply at the female, and put his
fingertips against the sunken pits of her cheeks. Gently he traced upward, over
her sharp cheekbones to the crows feet at the corners of her eyes.

Kniam was shocked
when his brother said, “If she will have me, I want her as my mate.”
 
With a gently grip he lifted the female out
of his arms.

Amber had been
listening, and gently took off the Celtic trinity necklace around Mairi’s neck.
At Knolligs glare she hastily reassured him, “We need to send something back
before the portal closes that lets her grandfather know she is ok.”

Knollig held Mairi
close to his chest in a fierce hug, and said over his shoulder as he turned,
“Fine. I will make sure she has the medical treatment.” With that he ran off
toward the portal to Terraneu.

Amber had given
Kniam the necklace, which he in turn placed on the portal. Pushed the required
buttons, and it disappeared.

 
Turning back to the Antillean leader Kniam
knew it was time to negotiate with Zerxix. They were a very simple race and
their needs few. The only thing Kniam had to bargain with was a certain cane
plant that grew on Terraneu. It seems the plant gave them extra stores of food
and energy so that Zerxix’s people were envied among his kind. It made for
easier bartering because the plant was all that Zerxix wanted. It was going to
be a matter of how much they would need, in order to accomplish what Kniam was
going to be asking.

Bargaining was going
to take all night, so Amber had gone to their tent to get some rest. They need
to establish a semi-permanent camp here on Antilles until such times as they
shut the portal off. Kniam had looked his fill on the Internet about Earth.
What he saw made him shudder to think about Kneus being stuck there. The
fighting, the diseases, and the sheer number of people…the list just went on
and on. As leader he had approved leaving his brother there for the good of the
community. As a brother, he didn’t know if he would ever forgive himself.

When the
negotiations were complete, he returned to the tent he was sharing with his
little female.
 
She was asleep on her
side with the braid of her hair tucked over her shoulder and between her
breasts. Just looking at her was having an effect on him, and he decided to
wake her up in his favorite way. Gently easing the thin blanket up to reveal
her creamy thigh, he gently pressed against her hip to move her slowly until
she was turning over. She stirred in her sleep, moving slightly until she was
fully on her back. Just what he was hoping for! Now with his hands on her
thighs, he softly pushed them apart until he had enough room to access her
body.

Going on his knees
next to the mat, it creaked slightly when he pressed his upper body in the
space between Ambers’ legs. Without any thought but the pleasure he could give
his little female, he proceeded to feast on his favorite midnight snack. She
woke with a groan, and it wasn’t long before they were both in the throes of
passion.

“I love you
Kniam…” Amber gasped out, when she could catch her breath.

“I have the same
feeling of love for you too my little female. Even though I may not be like the
Earth men and say it or show it like you want. I do have the feelings for you.”

Amber just gave
him a brilliant smile and threw herself into his arms. He held her close, she
was the most perfect thing in the universe to him.

Even though Amber
hadn’t agreed to have a baby with him…yet, he knew they would have offspring
eventually. Also, they only had two females from Earth on Terraneu, but Kniam
felt certain that they would be successful in getting more in six months. The
desolate future that his people had once faced had been replaced with one of
promise and unlimited possibilities.

~*~*~*

Knollig

(Terraneu
Series, Book Two)

Mairi McPherson knew she was dying. She wasn’t a
doctor but it didn’t take a degree to recognize the symptoms. She knew death
when it was knocking at the door…and it was knocking at hers.

She had been losing touch with reality more and more
lately, so she wasn’t positive but she could have sworn she had seen her
grandfather earlier. He had visited her as often as possible through her
ordeal, telling her things like:
 
“
Ye keep oan fightin' lassie!”
and “Ye ur gonnae beat thes.” Today she could have sworn he had told her
something different, something about her going on an adventure? Well she
supposed dying would be the ultimate trip.

 
She loved her grandfather with
all of her heart, the “auld Scottish cit!” It was a shame that she was going to
die and leave him all alone. Her grandmother had passed away so long ago, Mairi
was ashamed to say she couldn’t remember much about her. She had been a little
girl, so she could excuse the lapse on that. Her own mother was gone too,
having abused drugs and alcohol in an effort to forget the man that had left
her when he found out she was pregnant. The only family she had ever known was
Callum McMpherson. The
most gentle, loving, stubborn…solid influence in
her life.

Mairi felt her body being jostled, and figured they
must be turning her over to help with the sores she had developed all over her
small frame. She could feel forward motion, and struggled to wake up through
the morphine they had been giving her. When she opened her eyes, she saw the
inside of an ambulance. They must be moving her somewhere. With a tired sigh,
she closed her eyes. She would try to think about where they might be taking
her later.

She could hear a female voice, “We don’t have any
more time to lose. We need some type of vehicle that can get us to the fork in
the path.” This statement didn’t make any sense. So she kept listening.

“Ye can tak’ th’ four wheeler.” That was her
grandfather’s voice. “
We
will follaw tae say uir good-byes
.” Where was he going and who was he
saying good-bye to? Mairi struggled to stay awake, was something wrong with her
grandfather? Suddenly she was being held against a warm chest. Then the forward
motion started again. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know she was outside.
She could tell by the warmth on her face, and the breeze rustling the leaves.
She had always loved being outdoors, and she lifted her face to the suns rays.
They felt so comforting, like a physical caress against her skin. The sound of a
motor running broke into the tranquility, then the lights and shadows were
flashing quickly across her eyelids.

When she opened her eyes the next time, she wasn’t
going forward anymore. She was in a small clearing. From the voices she heard
there were others here with her. Then her grandfather was hovering over here, “
Mairi lassie, ah will see ye
suin! Ah ken ye can make it, dae 'at fur me!” He bent down giving her gentle
kisses on the forehead, “Ah loove ye lassie!”

The female spoke again, “If we have enough time once we are through, we
will try to send a message back that it worked. That way you won’t worry for
the next six months. What does she have that you would recognize as a sign?”

“Th' necklace she is wearin'. When she went aff tae college in America,
Ah gae it tae 'er tae
remin' 'er ay haem
.”
Her grandfather was talking about her necklace! She
remembered it now. When she had left for schooling in America, he had been
against it. They had argued and in the end he had sadly agreed to let her go.
She could have gone to school anywhere, but she chose the States as a form of
rebellion. She thought it was a case of being independent, she knew a few
therapist friends that would love to get a hold of her! She had ended up liking
it in the States and stayed longer than she should have. She couldn’t get any
of that time back now, if it was possible to go back in time she would have
stayed close to her grandfather. She hadn’t taken the necklace off since she
had been diagnosed to remind herself that life was short, and second chances
were few. If you loved someone, you should show them every day how much they
meant to you.

“Thank you for everything! It is going to work out, I just know it
will.” The female sounded excited and scared at the same time.

There was some faint mumbling around her, she
couldn’t make what was being said. Then the person holding her moved and she
was closer to the female she had heard talking earlier. They were still for a
few moments, then she felt an awful pulling sensation. Lights were flashing
around here, she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Thankfully she blacked out.

~*~*~*

When Mairi opened her eyes next, she had awoken to
the strangest sight! There were a bunch of really good looking men, a
supermodel gorgeous woman, and some kind of ant thing all standing around
staring at her. She really did have an active imagination. She wondered briefly
what her subconscious was trying to tell her.

After a moment the others moved off, and she was
left looking into the eyes of the most breathtaking man she had ever seen. His
purple eyes were looking so deeply into hers she thought he must have been
trying to see into her soul. She was so focused on his perfect face that she
missed his hand moving. She couldn’t miss the silken touch as his fingers traced
her sunken cheeks and upward to the crows feet at the corner of her eyes.

He said something to the man holding her, words she
didn’t understand, there was suddenly a tug-of-war and she ended up in his
arms. As he turned to walk away, the female said something. Her necklace was
suddenly removed from around her neck, she struggled to get it back but she was
too weak and the effort exhausted her. She was struck by how hard it was to
breathe and knew that this must be the end. She must be facing a test or something
before she could go through the gates. Everything she was seeing must be
something from her subconscious, trying to tell her something. The supermodel
gorgeous woman must be a warning against vanity. The super hot men…that was
easy, temptation and lust. The ant creature, she wasn’t sure about that one.
Maybe a warning about being nice to creatures big and small? Or in that
creatures case a small thing made big! She worried for a moment, then
remembered who was holding her. She felt herself instantly relaxed. For some
reason she felt safe with the Angel assigned to take her to Heaven, she somehow
knew that he would keep her safe.

He turned and started running, moving toward the
gates perhaps? They walked through a sheer curtain, then he stood still.
Concern etched on his features. She smiled weakly up at him, she was ready.

“Baqu un purka rurashar!” he said urgently.

“I don’t understand what you are saying.” She
replied weakly, “I am ready to go to Heaven with you, you don’t have to
re-assure me. It’s ok.”

There was the awful pulling sensation again, she
thought about what she would have changed about her life in those moments as
she flew toward Heaven. Her number one regret was her grandfather. She should
have stayed closer to Scotland, and been a better granddaughter! She also
should have spent less time at work, and more time on having a lasting
relationship. She had gone through boyfriends and taken lovers…but never anyone
she would spend any amount of effort on. She should have been a better friend.
She should have developed hobbies. Given a second chance she would have been a
more rounded person. Not physically, because she had been plenty round before
she had gotten ill. There wasn’t anything American’s wouldn’t deep fry in oil,
and she had tried most of it. To the detriment of her waistline! Coming back to
Scotland these last years, she had started to walk off some of her indulgences
but then she had gotten the diagnosis that changed her life. The “C” word…she
had it, and it was terminal. All the “should have done” and “would have done”
meant nothing now. Quite simply put, her time had run out.

I am a forty something American diet disaster, and I
love it. I have reached the age where I just don’t mind that I’m not a teen-age
dream anymore. Maybe it’s because I have my own “Kniam” making me feel happy
and sexy for the last 22 years. It could also be that I love to laugh! I might
have read somewhere that laughter and sex can take years off your life, so it
must be true!

 
I am a
mother of two daughters, which I hope I have raised with a bit of Amber in
them. So when they fall through the rabbit hole, they will be open to the
experience! Because just living every day is a bit of a crazy ride, and you
will enjoy it more if you try to control it less!

I hope you enjoyed this book and will send your thoughts my way at
[email protected]
I always
enjoy hearing from other readers, writers, and connoisseurs of life!

Bring on the coffee, extra Irish Creamer…

”The Final Countdown!” Amber was trying to sing in the shower, is by the
band Europe if you are interesting in hearing the song!