Davin's Quest (4 page)

Mick held his hand up to Jane and she placed hers within it, starting when he squeezed as the monitor registered a jump in the frequencies the alien had shown him. He let go and the lines on the monitor stilled. He grasped her hand again and they jumped and he laughed outright as he tried it again and again in different ways.

“I’ll be damned,” Mick finally said, turning to the alien. “You can hear this?”

Davin nodded. “You may test the range of my hearing, if you wish.”

Mick smiled at the offer. “I would definitely like to do that. I’ve tested Harry, of course,” he said to the woman who still stood by his side, “but I had no idea!”

“Who is Harry?” Davin asked as they turned back to him.

Mick laughed. “If you think Caleb is protective of our daughter Callie, he’s got nothing on her brother Harry.”

Jane motioned for Davin to sit as she resumed her seat at Mick’s side. “Harry is the son of Justin and one of your scientists, Mara 12.”

Jane felt Davin’s shock. “I’d heard rumors,” he said softly, “but I didn’t dare believe.”

Jane grew concerned. “Why is the existence of Hara DNA on Earth such a big deal to your people?”

“You are definitely of the line of Hara?” His breathing quickened in excitement.

“Not me,” she said, watching him carefully. “Caleb, Justin and Mick have the Hara DNA, as do our children.”

Davin slid into a chair as his emotions swelled in a way Jane felt he was unprepared to handle. Mick came over, ready to assist with his medical training, but Davin held up a hand to fend him off.

“I’m all right. Blessed Hara! I can’t believe it!”

“I think he’s just overwhelmed,” Jane said, battling to keep the alien man’s emotions from battering her.

“This is really important to him, Mick. He felt a huge burst of hope when we started talking about Hara.”

She moved beside him. “Why is this so important to you, Davin?”

He held her gaze as if it were a lifeline. “Hara was like me. He had emotions. He lived before the geneticists were able to completely rid our people of them. He and his explorers found ways to avoid the madness that is coming for me. He was the greatest of us and he was lost to us, but now…” He looked over at Mick. “Now he’s reborn in you and your family. It’s a miracle and a hope for the future that you cannot comprehend. I doubt even my people can understand what the reintroduction of Hara DNA will do to us.”

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He seemed happy, so Jane figured he was no threat to any of the Hara descendants on the place. If she were any judge, in fact, she’d bet he would only redouble his efforts to protect them all now that he knew.

“And you say Harry is the son of your brother Justin and Mara 12?” He shook his head as if in disbelief.

“Does he have emotions? Does he have your mental powers?”

Jane beamed, feeling the awe and respect in the other man. “Yes to both. Harry is…well, he’s just the greatest.”

“And he is brother to Callie. By the First Crystal! She is a descendant of Hara!” He seemed stunned by the realization. “If we Hum…” He trailed off, contemplating the enormity of his thoughts, Jane realized with some satisfaction. Here was a man who would value her daughter…as long as they “Hummed”.

“So after the Hum, what are the other tests?” Mick asked in a skeptical tone.

Davin started at the question. “Next there’s the Kiss.”

“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Mick said darkly.

“It’s not as intimate as it sounds. If your equipment is still on, I can show you.” Davin stood up and moved toward the computer, reaching into his pocket for a small crystal that he placed on the desk in front of the small microphone pickup. “Stand here.” He motioned to both of them and they complied with raised eyebrows. “Now raise your hands and let your palms kiss.” Immediately the Hum registered on the monitors. “Good, now bend your lips to hers,” he instructed Mick, who complied with a grin.

When Mick’s lips touched hers the familiar fire blossomed in her gut, even after the years they’d been free to explore their passion for each other. She responded to his kiss, losing herself in the moment until she heard a sigh of satisfaction from off to her side. She raised her eyelids to find Davin nodding at them with more than a bit of envy.

“The crystal glows, the Hum escalates. You are true mates, I am certain. But the next test will tell for sure.”

Jane looked down at the crystal, which indeed was glowing with an orangey red light from within, and the lines on the monitors had increased dramatically.

“What’s the next test?” Mick wanted to know, his breath a little bit ragged.

“The Embrace,” Davin said. Jane could feel he wasn’t unaffected by watching them, his envy vying with his yearning and his own lust as he educated them in the ancient ways of his people. “Take her in your arms, kiss her and fit your body to hers. This test is best done with as few clothes as possible between you, but you’ll get the idea, I think, when you see what the monitors and the crystal do.”

Mick didn’t need to be told twice, though Jane was a little shy around the Alvian. Still, she went willingly into Mick’s tight embrace, feeling his cock stir against the juncture of her thighs as he lifted her off her feet and kissed her deeply. The room was suddenly glowing with bright yellow light and Jane realized it was coming from the crystal. Mick broke the kiss long enough to check the monitors and she was able to see the lines waving crazily as the Hum increased exponentially.

She also felt the waves of lust coming from the alien man and it made her a little uncomfortable. He was
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undoubtedly older than both she and Mick, and had seen plenty in his lifetime as an interstellar traveler, but he’d never seen two beings with emotions behave so intimately in front of him, she would bet. And then she remembered he was showing them these things so he could try them out on her little girl.

“You’re not going to grab Callie like that, are you? She’s very innocent, Davin. You could scare her half to death. You’re so much older and worldlier than she is.”

Jane was touched by the immediate compassion she felt from him. “If we do not Hum, there’s no need for further tests, Jane. Don’t worry.”

“Is there more after the Embrace?” Mick asked.

Davin sighed. “Only the Joining. But that is a formality. If the crystal glows as the sun, then you are truly mates. The Joining will only make it shine with the light of a thousand stars.”

Mick released Jane, allowing her to catch her breath. “What sort of crystal is it?”

Davin picked up the clear pointed object and handed it to Mick for inspection. “It’s quartz, but tuned.

The fact that your planet had so much raw quartz made it ideal for us. It only needed the introduction of our home crystal to tune it to our needs. Now your Earth sings with our tones and your quartz is tuning all over your world to the new frequencies. It is something we need to survive and we use the tuned crystal in many diverse ways. It powers our cities and our machinery. It also heals us and renews us. I am a crystal engineer, by training and temperament. It is very satisfying work, but the thought of how we brought your planet’s crystal deposits to life pains me at every turn. Had I known our reports of primitive life on this planet were so very wrong, I never would have helped put the crystal seeding plan into action.”

Jane watched him, feeling his deep remorse. “We all have some guilt to bear in our lives,” she said softly, surprising him, she could tell. He’d probably expected nothing but condemnation for his admission about taking part in the destruction of their way of life and the deaths of millions of innocent people. “What’s important is that we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat or compound them.”

Davin nodded at her with respect. “You are wise indeed, Jane O’Hara.”

She smiled. “I hope you’ll still think so when I ask you to give my daughter Callie some space. She’s very young and innocent. And very empathic.”

“I’ll do my best not to let my emotions influence her. But you must realize that if we Hum, I will want to test her further to see if we are true mates or not. At that point, my emotions and her empathy will have little to do with what must be between us. For each male there is only one true mate, or so the legends say. If it is meant to be, then she will be mine.”

“Only one?” Jane asked, her face crumpling in a way that made Davin feel guilty.

“So it is written. Although there have been a few notable exceptions in our history.”

“But…” Jane moved her stricken gaze to Mick as he stroked her cheek.

“It doesn’t apply to us, Jane.”

Not understanding, Davin moved closer. “But it does. You Hum and you make the crystal glow. You
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are true mates.” Jane was on the verge of tears now, and still he didn’t understand how his words were hurting her.

“Davin, after your people destroyed our world, there were few women left,” Mick said softly. “Jane was already married to my older brother, Caleb.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You haven’t met Caleb yet because he’s in your city being studied by Mara 12 right now, but Caleb is our leader, our guide. He has the gift of foresight and everything we’ve built here, we did because of his visions. He gave us time to prepare before your people’s attacks on the Earth began.” Davin was staggered by the thought of the older brother’s power and how it had saved his family. “Caleb also foresaw the coming of Mara and how we had to stand united in order to survive. Justin and I…” Mick trailed off, seemingly embarrassed.

“What he’s trying to say is that Caleb and I expanded our marriage to include Justin and Mick when he foresaw there were no mates in their future. He knew unless they were able to express the love we all share, none of us would survive. You see, I grew up with the O’Hara brothers. They’ve protected me and nurtured me all my life and I love each one of them with all my heart.” She smiled softly, touching his own fragile heart. “It’s not conventional¾or it wouldn’t have been in the old world¾but all three of them are my mates. I’m willing to bet if we performed your tests, all three of them would make that crystal glow.”

Davin simply shook his head at this small woman’s generosity of spirit. “It’s true that when you touched Justin I heard the Hum, but I thought I must have been wrong. I don’t pretend to understand it, but then yours is a very unique situation I will admit. What my people did to the Earth and to your people is criminal. Perhaps this is a manifestation of the Divine’s work to aid you in rebuilding your world and your people.”

Further discussion halted when the door opened and Justin walked in. Mick turned away to study his computers, his expression closed while Jane just looked nervous. But she was definitely willing to dare, extending her hand to the other man and beckoning him forward.

“Justin, we’ve just been discussing Davin’s people and their traditions.”

“Anything interesting?” he asked idly, taking his woman’s hand and Davin immediately heard the Hum.

Mick noted it too on the computer and turned to show the others. He explained shortly about the Hum Davin heard, not going into full detail as Jane took the experiment to the next step. Mick replaced the crystal on the desk as she placed her palms over Justin’s, beckoning him down for a kiss. He complied with a bemused expression, but didn’t ask too many questions.

Davin was surprised to see the crystal glow red orange and the Hum increase. Jane didn’t waste time deepening the Kiss into a full Embrace, not giving Justin a moment to think. Davin watched as the tall man aligned her supple body with his, plundering her mouth and delving deep within. It made him hot to watch this raw emotion and he only prayed he found a woman as compatible with him as this one was with her chosen mates. The crystal was glowing like the sun now and the Hum had increased in pitch.

Jane looked relieved when Justin set her down and she smiled at them all.

“Now what was that all about?” Justin demanded, a small quirk of his mouth showing that he knew something was going on, but was willing to indulge his woman.

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“Just testing a theory,” Jane said with a saucy smile. “Apparently only a true mate can make the crystal glow, according to Davin’s cultural traditions. I’m happy to report that both you and Mick are my true mates.”

Justin tugged her close for a quick hug and peck on the cheek. “Hell, I could’ve told you that even without his fancy parlor tricks. You were born for us, Janie. You are our salvation.”

“You have to go back soon, don’t you?” Jane asked as she bit delicately into a sandwich as she shared lunch with Davin a few days later.

Davin nodded. “Tomorrow night, actually. But, if you permit…” he felt greatly daring as he approached the woman who could undoubtedly feel how important his next words were to him, “…I would like to come back.”

Jane nodded and smiled. “I think I’d like that. But I may have to convince Justin and Mick a bit. Mick says you’ve been working hard on the exercises he’s given you.”

It was Davin’s turn to nod. “Yes, and I will continue to do so. This way, when I return, perhaps I’ll be able to shield my emotions more completely from your daughter. I still want very much to know her.”

Jane sighed. “She’s only fifteen, Davin.”

“I understand your objections. But I really need to know.”

“Why is this so important to you? Even if you do Hum and make the crystals glow, she’s too young.

She’s still a child, Davin. Still a little girl in so many ways.”

Davin cursed silently. “Knowing that I have a mate, even if she is too young to claim right now could be the difference between sanity and death for me, Jane. They monitor me all the time, and though I’m too important to dispose of right now, at the first sign of madness I will be put down, discarded and forgotten like so much rubbish.”

“That’s awful!”

“That’s the truth.”

Jane stood to go, pausing by the door as if coming to some decision while Davin held his breath. So much rested with this one compassionate woman.

“I’ll send Callie to you with dinner. You won’t be alone, but perhaps you can manage to test your theories about whether or not you Hum if you touch her.” She turned wide, scared eyes on him, driving home how hard this was for her. “But please don’t let her know what you’re about. She won’t be able to hear the Hum. Please don’t tell her. Give her time to grow into the woman who could possibly be your mate. If she’s meant for you, she’ll come to you on her own terms, not because of some resonance tests your people have. She’s human, Davin. Not Alvian.”

Davin bowed his head. “She is at least part Alvian, my lady. As are you.” He didn’t want to correct her, but he knew this point was important.

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Jane nodded. “Okay. I accept that. But she’s more human. She doesn’t understand your traditions.