Runner's Moon: Yarrolam (16 page)

And when she reached her peak, he followed her into their combined pleasure.

It took a couple of minutes for him to reconnect with reality. Cherron panted beneath him, her nails embedded in his upper arms as small tremors continued to race through her in the aftermath. As her pleasure glided down to earth, her channel released its grip on his softening member.

He kissed her sweaty skin. Cherron slid her arms around his neck and drew him closer to snuggle under his chin. Rolling onto his side, Yarrolam pulled her with him, keeping himself buried inside her. Sated, he felt himself beginning to drift off, when there came a tug on his ear. He peeled open one eye to gaze at her.

“It’s almost dark,” she murmured. “If we’re going to get a bite to eat, we need to be going, don’t you think?”

He started to reply, when a sound like several gunshots came from outside. Quickly, Yarrolam rolled backwards, off the bed, dragging her with him down into the narrow space between the bed and the bathroom wall. Cherron gave a little squeak of surprise. Clutching each other, they listened as two more shots were fired. Those sounded farther away. There was a squeal of tires from somewhere nearby. Then all grew quiet. Still, they remained there for a couple more minutes, to be safe.

“On second thought, maybe going out tonight might not be a wise decision,” Cherron quipped.

Releasing her, Yarrolam untangled himself from where they lay and got to his feet. Going over to the window, he checked outside. “You may be right, but we need to eat. It’ll be safer if I go alone. I’ll check to see what’s open and round us up something.”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t we order in a pizza?”

Yarrolam smiled. “Sounds even better.”

Going over to where he’d dropped his pants, he pulled out the cell phone and cash, laying them on the dresser. Cherron watched as he redressed.

“Where are you going? Don’t tell me you’re still leaving!” Her irritation was evident, but her fear blanketed it. He gave her a soothing smile.

“I need to run. I won’t be gone long. I promise. In fact, I’ll probably be back before the pizza arrives.” He took a sniff. “I can smell trees.”

“You smell trees?”

“There must be a park or something nearby. Let me scope out the area, get in a hard run, and I’ll be back before you know it.” He tugged the T-shirt over his head, then strode over to where she was kneeling over the bed, watching him. Bending down, he kissed her and caressed her cheek. “If the pizza arrives before I do, go ahead and eat. Order it any way you like. I’ll take cheese only.”

“All right. But, Liam?”

He paused at the door and glanced back to hear what she wanted to say.

“Be careful,
t’kor.
I…”

His gut tightened in expectation, hoping to hear those words he knew she’d never spoken before.

“I… When you get back, I’ll take out that chip Jeb mentioned.” She waved at the plastic bag sitting on the dresser. “I got what I’ll need at the store. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Yarrolam hid his disappointment. He knew it would take time, but he was willing to wait. Not matter how long it took. In fact, whether she realized it or not, they had the rest of their lives for her to accept this miracle between them. Accept and identify it for what it was.

Nodding, he slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind him, and took off in the direction where the smell of green things beckoned.

Chapter 23

Abandoned

            Cherron awoke with a start. Her heart was thudding wildly in her chest, and she was coated with sweat. The fear was palpable, leaving a hard, metallic taste in her mouth as she sat up in bed and looked around the room.

            The other side of the bed was untouched.

            Liam hadn’t returned.

            Another thought made her heart leap into her throat.
What if he had, but I didn’t hear him knocking on the door?

           
“Liam!”

            She hurriedly crawled out of bed and rushed to the window to peer outside. The motel parking lot was adequately lit, including small porch lights next to each doorway. Other than a street cleaner going down the road, there was no other traffic in sight. In fact…

            “What time is it?”

            She grabbed the phone off the table where she’d set it up to recharge, and punched the button. Another wave of shock ran through her.

            “Four oh three AM? Dear God, Liam, where are you?”

            Her first impulse was to open the door and go search for him, but common sense quickly prevailed. After pulling on her clothes, she returned to the bed and drew her knees up to her chest.

            If Liam had returned while she was either in the shower or asleep, she would have known it. She would have felt it. That connection or bond he’d spoken of was real, because there were too many times an odd sensation swept through her that she knew didn’t come from something she’s seen or heard.

            She debated whether or not to call the police, but that wouldn’t be a smart move, either. Not when they were probably on the lookout for her anyway. If not her, then at least Liam. And not just the police either.

            “How long will that man keep looking for me? Will he ever stop looking for me, and concentrate solely on Aaron? Aaron, where the fuck are you?”

            Her breath caught in her throat. “Damn you, Aaron. Thank God Liam came along when he did, or else, no telling what swampy bayou my body could be floating in at this moment!”

            Her feet were cold. In fact, her whole body felt chilled. Numb. Getting off the bed, she went to hunt for the pack of socks she’d bought, when a bolt of sheer agony hit her in the middle of her back.

            Cherron screamed and fell to her knees on the thin carpet. The pain ghosted away, but it remained in the background like a dog waiting to pounce on her again if she tried to escape.

            Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

            A second, longer session of pain almost fried her nerve endings. She collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath as tears filled her eyes. Whatever was happening to her was happening to Liam, but it was much worse for him. She was feeling the residual burning. The agony he tried to keep her from experiencing. But it was too much and too powerful for him to contain, and his anguish leaked into her.

            Cherron sobbed. Her mind was blank, her body unresponsive. Her fear rose several more notches as she waited for the ungodly torture to hit her again.

            A minute passed. Then two. In the distance, a police car raced by, its sirens wailing.

           
Police.

Sheriff.

            That guy…

           
Crawling over to the table, she reached overhead and snagged the phone. She wiped her nose on her T-shirt and scrolled the recent calls. Finding one from the 207 area code, she hit the redial button. It rang three times before it was answered.

            “Yarrolam?”

            “It’s me. Cherron Greene. Please. You have to help us!”

            “Where’s Yarrolam?” the deep male voice questioned.

            “I don’t know! I’m sorry I’m calling this time of night, but he left to go running, and he never returned!”

            “Where are you?”

            “At a motel in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

            “Cherron, listen carefully, do you know who Yarrolam is?” The man on the other end was guarded, and she understood why. His accent sounded exactly like Liam’s.

            “Yes.” She nodded, even though she knew he wouldn’t be able to see her. “He’s an alien. He calls himself a Ruinos. He’s my
t’kor,
and I—”

            Another bolt of pain slammed into her. She lost all feeling, and nearly lost consciousness as the burning sizzled into her muscles. Picking up the phone from where it had fallen, she couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her as she put it to her ear.

            “Cherron! What happened?”

            “P-pain. So much pain. I think whoever has Liam is torturing him!”

            There was murmuring over the line as she wiped her face on her shirt. But the voice that came back was female.

            “Cherron? My name is Hannah. I’m Jeb’s wife. I’m human, like you. I need to ask you a couple of questions.” The woman’s voice was soothing.

            “Go ahead. What?”

            “Please don’t take this wrong, but I need to know. Have you and Yarrolam made love?”

            “Yes.”

            “In his Ruinos form?”

            “Yes.”

            The woman took a deep breath. “Do you know if he developed a small iridescent marking on his arm afterwards?”

            “You mean the blood line? Yes.”

            There was more murmuring. Cherron couldn’t make out what they were saying. It sounded like a foreign language. The two people on the other end of the line appeared to be arguing about something before Hannah returned.

            “Okay. Cherron, you still there?”

            “Y-yes.”

            “Would you, by any chance, know if Yarrolam had a small implant removed from his arm prior to you two making love?”

            “You’re talking about that chip, aren’t you?”

            “Yes! The chip! Did he have it removed?”

            “Not yet,” Cherron told them. “I was going to remove it tonight when he returned.”

            “
You
were going to remove it?” Hannah asked in disbelief.

            “I’m a Physician’s Assistant at a hospital in Avon, New York. I’m capable enough to remove it. Why?”

            “She’s a Physician’s Assistant at a hospital in Avon, New York,” Hannah repeated to her husband.

            “Ask her if she’s felt anything,” the male voice said.

            “I told you! I feel pain!” Cherron almost yelled. “I’m not hurting, but Liam is! It’s his pain I’m feeling! For God’s sake, he needs your help! Can’t you do anything to help him?”

            “Cherron, where is your next stop?” It was Jeb. Like his wife, he was trying to keep her calm. Hearing the authoritative tone in his voice helped.

            “Uhh, Baltimore. What? You’re not telling me to get on the bus without him, are you? I’m not leaving here without him!”

            “You have to,” he argued. “Get on the first bus heading north out of Charlotte.”

            “No.”

            “Cherron—”

            “Those men have him! They’re doing awful things to him!”

            “Yarrolam isn’t in human hands,” Jeb replied testily. “Humans can’t instill that kind of pain on our kind. The Arra must have him.”

            Seconds ticked by as she tried to swallow what the Ruinos was telling her. “The Arra? How? I thought you got away from them.”

            “They managed to track us here to Earth. They’ve tried to capture us in the past, but we fought them and drove them away, but they keep trying. That chip in Yarrolam’s arm? It’s a homing beacon. We were all fitted with one, but we’ve only recently discovered that it activates when we mate with our one true soul.”

            Cherron bit her thumbnail. “Why then?”

            “Because they want to breed us. They want to capture us and breed us so they can continue to sell us,” Jeb told her with undisguised bitterness.

            “Then why did they take him and not me?”

            “You weren’t with him. The Arra can’t tolerate the sunlight, so they only come out at night. Normally, you and Yarrolam would be together, asleep. It would make it easy for them to track you and capture you. But he’d gone on a run. He’d left you, and that’s why they didn’t get you, too.”

            She stared at the door. “Is that why you want me to leave? So the Arra won’t find me?”

            “What you’re feeling is the Arra torturing him. They want him to tell them where to find you. But he won’t. You’re his
t’korra.
He’ll give his life to protect you, Cherron. That’s why you have to leave Atlanta. Don’t waste his sacrifice.”

            Her breath caught in her chest. “Jeb, I—”

            “You must, Cherron. Simolif lives a few hours away from Baltimore. He’ll meet you when you get to the bus terminal. He’ll protect you and bring you up here to be with us.”

            “But the Arra!”

            “The Arra will not stop searching for you. That’s why you need to be with us where we can keep you safe. Trust me, Cherron. You know it’s what Yarrolam would want you to do.”

            He was right. She remembered how Liam had said almost the same thing. Liam would want her to remain safe. And he trusted the other Ruinos above everyone else. Still, the thought of leaving him behind…

            “Jeb, why can’t you come down here? If I leave—”

            “The Arra will follow you up here. Believe me.”

            “I don’t understand. How? I don’t have a chip in my arm.”

            “No, but you have a connection to him. And you smell of him. They may not know what you look like, but if they get close enough to you, they’ll be able to tell you’re his mate. As long as you stay inside your motel room until daylight, you’ll be safe.”

            “All right. I’ll come. But we have to figure out a way to get him away from the Arra,” she insisted.

            “We will,” Jeb promised. “We’ll figure out something. You watch your back and text me when your bus is due to arrive in Charlotte. Cherron?”

            “What?”

            “He’s alive. If you’re feeling his pain, it means they haven’t broken him. They won’t kill him, but they’ll do everything they can to get him to tell them what they want to know. If you can, send him good vibes. Send him the feeling of hope. Give him hope, Cherron. And let him know how much you love him.”

            Their connection ended, leaving her to stare at the phone.
And let him know how much you love him.