Close Obsession (32 page)

For about a minute, they stayed like that, their bodies joined together as their breathing returned to normal and their heartbeats slowed. Mia had never felt so connected to another person in her life. It was as though they had ceased to be separate individuals, as though the sexual act had linked them together in some way that went beyond the physical. She could feel his heart beating in tune with her own, the heat and scent of his body surrounding her, cocooning her as he held her in his embrace, his weight pleasantly heavy on top of her.

After a while, he rolled off her and gathered her toward him, letting her lie on top of his chest. She knew that she should get up and clean herself, that they had to leave soon for the lunch with her parents, that there was still a lot they needed to discuss – but in this particular moment, she just wanted to lie there with him, shutting out the rest of the world.

She loved him, and he loved her, and that was all that mattered right now.

* * *

The guardians arrived a few minutes later, their ship landing soundlessly on the beach near the house. Zipping his still-intact jeans and dropping a kiss on her forehead, Korum went to greet them, leaving Mia to freshen up before their lunch.

Getting up, Mia noted wryly that her legs were still trembling a bit and her genitals throbbing subtly in the aftermath of their passionate encounter. She had no idea what sex would be like with another man, with a human man, but she strongly suspected that what she experienced every night – and frequently during the day – was far from typical. Maybe in the future, when they’d been together longer, their insatiable desire for each other would ease a little, but for now, no amount of sex seemed enough. Was this what Korum had meant by their unusual chemistry? Had he known it would be like this from the very beginning?

Going to the bathroom, she splashed some water on her face and tried to smooth her curls into a more presentable state. Underneath the paleness of her skin, her face glowed with subtle color, and her lips were fuller, swollen a little from his kisses. She looked happy and satisfied, a far cry from the traumatized mess she’d been earlier in the day. She also looked and smelled like she’d just had sex. Another quick shower was clearly in order.

Ten minutes later, she was clean and dressed in a different outfit. It was almost time for them to drive to St. Augustine, so she went to look for Korum.

She found him in the pool area, talking to three Krinar males who were dressed in what looked like light grey uniforms. She remembered seeing similar uniforms on the Ks who had apprehended the Keiths two weeks ago.

These had to be the guardians Korum had mentioned.

One of the guardians held Leslie, who was now conscious and looked like she had a bad headache, or maybe a concussion. Mia felt hugely relieved. She hadn’t killed her after all, nor did it seem like she’d caused any permanent damage. However, Leslie did look terrified to have been captured by the creatures she regarded as real-life monsters, and Mia almost felt bad for her, remembering how scared she’d been of Korum in the beginning. Almost – because she couldn’t forget the fact that the girl had held her at the gun point and conspired to kill Korum.

Now that she could think again, Mia wondered why Saur wanted Leslie to keep her – Mia – alive and out of the way. Did he think she would somehow be of use to the Resistance? Or did he want something else from her? And why was Korum his target? None of it made any sense.

Suddenly, something occurred to her. The memory loss of the Keiths! If Saur had access to some of the lab’s technology and enough knowledge, he might’ve been the one to erase their memories. In fact, Adam once mentioned that Saur had worked on mind manipulation.

Excited, Mia approached Korum and the guardians. Giving him a huge smile, she said, “I just realized something . . . If Saur worked in Saret’s lab –”

Korum nodded approvingly. He had obviously figured it out already. “Exactly. This would explain quite a bit – though I still don’t really understand his motivations.”

Leslie observed their exchange with a bitter expression on her pain-twisted face. “Xeno bitch,” she muttered, shooting Mia a hate-filled look.

“Keep your mouth shut,” Korum said coldly, staring at the girl with a contemptuous look on his face. “You should thank whatever pathetic deity you pray to that Mia didn’t get hurt today – and that the gun was not loaded. If anything had happened to her, you and all your Resistance buddies would have learned the true meaning of suffering. Do you understand me?”

The fighter visibly gulped, but refused to look away. Mia reluctantly admired her courage; had Korum said that to
her
, she would’ve been scared out of her wits. Maybe Leslie was too, but she had a pretty good poker face.

Mia wondered what was going to happen to the girl. Did the Ks intend to let her go after embedding surveillance devices in her, as they’d done to the Resistance fighters who had attacked them? She determined to ask Korum about that later, when they were alone. Despite everything, she still hoped that Leslie wouldn’t be punished too severely for her actions; the fighter didn’t seem like a bad person – just very misguided in her hatred for the Ks.

Two more guardians came in through the gate. “It’s done,” one of them said in Krinar. “All the evidence has been recorded and removed.”

“Good,” Korum told them. “Thank you for coming out here so quickly.”

The guardian who had just spoken nodded. “Of course. If you think of anything else relating to this attack, just contact us.”

Korum promised to do so and the guardians left, taking Leslie with them.

“What are they going to do to her?” Mia asked, observing the look of panic on the girl’s face as a guardian carried her away in the direction of the beach.

“She’ll undergo some rehabilitation,” Korum said. “She’s caused too much trouble at this point, and we’ll give her the same treatment that we gave the other Resistance leaders we’ve captured thus far.”

“A rehabilitation?”

Now that Mia had spent some time in Saret’s lab, she knew that influencing someone’s mind to that degree was a very complex and delicate process. It was easy to cause irreparable damage, and every brain was highly unique – what worked for one person might not work for another. Mind-tampering was the most advanced branch of Krinar neuroscience – and even Saret admitted that it was still very imperfect.

“Not the same kind of rehabilitation as for the Keiths,” Korum said. “A much milder version. It doesn’t take as much effort with humans; she might simply walk away with a small memory loss.”

Mia had thought of something else in the meanwhile. “Korum,” she asked slowly, “you’re not going to be in trouble, are you? Because of what happened on the beach?” Because of the Krinar he’d torn apart – but she couldn’t quite bring herself to say that.

He gave her a reassuring smile. “No. It was a very clear case of self-defense, and I have recordings to prove it.”

“Recordings?”

He lifted his hand, showing her his palm. “Having embedded technology is very handy. Also, if we need to go even further, we can get some images from the satellites we have in Earth’s orbit. What happens on a public beach like that is never a secret. There might be an investigation, just to follow protocol, but there won’t be a trial.”

Mia exhaled a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad.” Stepping toward him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, inhaling his warm, familiar scent. He hugged her back, pressing her against him with one hand and stroking her hair with another. They stood like that for a minute, simply enjoying each other’s nearness, letting the horror of the day dissipate in the warmth of their embrace.

Chapter 21

Mia’s parents met them for lunch in St. Augustine at a small, quaint restaurant called The Present Moment Cafe. Before K-Day, it was one of the few vegan restaurants in the area, showcasing various exotic ingredients and unusual raw dishes. These days, such places were much more common – diners and steakhouses were now the rarity – but the cafe still enjoyed the reputation of being one of the best at gourmet plant-based food.

Korum again insisted on paying for the meal, and her parents acquiesced after a few half-hearted protests. During the lunch, he entertained them with some stories about his initial visit to Earth seven hundred years ago and how different Europe was at that time. Mia could see that her parents were absolutely fascinated – and so was she, to be honest – and time passed by very quickly.

Looking at him interacting so easily with her family, Mia marveled at Korum’s incredible composure – or maybe it was simply good acting skills. He laughed and joked with her parents as though nothing had happened, as though he hadn’t just killed a fellow K with his bare hands. She tried not to think about that, to move past this morning’s events, but she couldn’t help the disturbing images that kept flashing into her mind.

Although Mia knew that violence had been a big part of Krinar history and culture, it didn’t seem like it was anymore. At least, Mia hadn’t run into anything of the sort during her two-week sojourn in Lenkarda. She knew that Korum’s favorite sport consisted of fighting – and she knew about the Arena challenges. But that was a far cry from killing someone on the beach. Was Korum bothered by his actions at all, or did he not care? Was the man she loved – and who apparently loved her back – a remorseless killer? And if he was, did
she
care?

After a couple of hours, they said goodbye to her parents and drove to the Alligator Farm, one of St. Augustine’s most popular attractions. Korum seemed very interested in seeing the cold-blooded creatures, explaining that they were quite different from anything they had on Krina.

As they wandered through the paths, studying the various species of alligators and crocodiles, Mia decided to bring up something that had been on her mind since this morning.

“Have you killed before?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing.

Korum stopped and looked at her. “I was wondering when you’d get around to that,” he said softly, and there was an unreadable expression on his face. “What would you like me to tell you, my sweet? That I’ve never been in any other situation where I’ve had to defend myself and others? That I’ve managed to live for two thousand years without ever having to take a life?”

Mia swallowed, staring up at him. “I see.”

“Do you?” His mouth twisted slightly. “Do you really? I know you’ve lived a very sheltered life, my darling, and I’m glad for you. If I could’ve spared you what you saw this morning, believe me, I would have.”

“How many?” Mia knew she should stop, but she couldn’t help herself. “How many people – Krinar or human – have you killed in your life?”

He sighed. “Not as many as you’re probably thinking right now. When I was young, I was very hot-headed and got into a few fights over matters that now seem quite trivial. Several of my opponents challenged me to the Arena, and I accepted their challenge. And once we were in the Arena . . . Well, you might not understand this, but it’s very hard for us to stop once the first blood gets spilled. In the heat of battle, we operate purely on instinct – and our instinct is to destroy the enemy at all costs. That’s why the Arena fights are so dangerous and so rare these days, because the outcome is often quite deadly –”

“Why hasn’t your government outlawed it, then?” Mia interrupted, trying to understand this peculiar quirk of Krinar culture. “Why not get rid of such a barbaric custom? Your society is so advanced in every other way . . .”

“Because the violence is more contained this way – better controlled, if you will,” he explained calmly, watching her with those amber eyes. “If someone has a problem with me, they can just challenge me in the Arena instead of going after my family. Vendettas still happen occasionally, but they’re much more rare than in the past – and our society is much more peaceful as a result. Technically, it’s illegal to kill someone in the Arena, but nobody has ever been prosecuted for getting carried away in a fair fight.”

“Is that what happened today? You got carried away during the fight?”

He nodded, his mouth tightening. “I did . . . but my only regret is that I didn’t get a chance to question him, to find out why he did what he did. He hurt you – he could’ve easily killed you – and he deserved exactly what he got.”

Mia looked away, not really knowing what to say. He had killed to protect her – and she probably would’ve done the same for him – but she still found it frightening, knowing that he was capable of taking someone’s life with so little compunction.

“What about humans?” she asked as they walked further, thinking of all the rumors she’d heard about K brutality during the Great Panic months. “Have you killed many humans?”

He didn’t answer for a few moments. “Why are you doing this, Mia?” he said quietly as they stopped in front of a large alligator pen. “Why do you ask questions to which you don’t want to know the answer?”

“I don’t know,” Mia told him honestly. “In some ways, you’re still such a mystery to me. I love you, yet I feel like I barely know you . . .”

He gazed down into the water with seeming fascination, watching the alligators gliding smoothly through the water. The tourists gave the spot where they were standing a wide berth; like most humans, they had correctly deduced that the K among them was by far the most dangerous creature in the vicinity. Mia was now so used to this that she barely paid attention. Whenever they went somewhere in public, Korum’s presence inevitably attracted frightened stares and whispers among the human population.