GalacticFlame (11 page)

The cat’s pointed ears flicked back and forward as nervous
tension radiated from its starved body. Hunger won over fear. It limped
forward, biting down on the rim of the bowl and dragging it a couple more yards
from her before it wolfed the leaves down as though they were the most
succulent chicken breast.

She smiled, relieved she’d helped the creature, at least for
a little while. She only hoped she hadn’t just prolonged its suffering.

She turned and grabbed one of the water bottles, before
uncapping it and pouring some of the precious liquid into the other bowl. This
time she placed the bowl just inside her
donya
, but stayed near so that
the shield door remained partly open.

Scraping up the last leaf, the cat lifted its head and
peered intently at the other bowl, its nostrils flared.

“It’s okay, little one,” she murmured encouragingly, “I
won’t hurt you and I won’t touch you unless you let me.”

She really needed to take a good look at his wound and treat
it with some of the healing plants.

Seemed the catlike creature trusted her enough after filling
its belly to also quench its thirst. It slunk forward in a weird three-legged
gait, its injured front paw dragging a little in the sand, before it dropped
its head and lapped at the water until it had licked the bowl clean.

She shook her head, “Easy does it, I need to stretch out my
supplies.”

The sound of
bolishtas
approaching from the direction
of the mountain had her catch her breath and clamber to her feet.
Shit
.
Had Trasean and Auron already found her sister—their supposed intended? Had
they learned of her deceit?

She swallowed back fear and lifted her chin a little before
she walked outside, only then aware the little cat had escaped, clearly scared
off by the intrusion.

It wasn’t the two males she’d imagined. Three of the
unattached males rode their
bolishtas
toward her, but it was Simon
following behind at a slow and obviously painful gait, that got all her
attention.

“You saved him!” she shouted, clapping her hands over her
mouth with joyous wonder at the sight of her mount who’d obeyed her unquestionably.

The first of the three males nodded. “
Sheehar
. He
isn’t yet fully healed, but a
mera
or two of rest and he’ll be back to
normal.”

She nodded, grinning. “Thank you.” She turned to the other
two, “All of you. Simon means a lot to me.”

The men’s stern faces broke into smiles at her praise…or for
calling the
bolishta
Simon. Perhaps both. Their eyes crinkled at the
corners. “We were glad to assist,” one of the other two acknowledged.

Except she was already running to Simon, checking out his
still healing wounds before scratching him between the ears, much to his
delight. His lower lip quivered and he snorted, showering her with snotty
appreciation.

“Simon, yuk!” she half scolded, before rubbing him harder
between the ears as he lowered his head, his lip wobbling uncontrollably. “The
natural medicines on this planet are amazing. I really thought you were going
to die.”

Scratching his head a little longer before kissing him on
top of his muzzle, she watched as he hobbled slowly back to his herd, his tail
swishing and ears pointed eagerly forward as each
bolishta
trotted
toward him in greeting.

But all the while she was aware of the alien men in her
peripheral. They exchanged awkward glances and stared at her lone
donya
.

Clearly they knew nothing of her punishment.

She faced them with a sigh and explained, “I’ve been evicted
for half a
mera
for scaling the mountain alone.”

The lead rider pursed his lips with disapproval, whether at
her obvious betrayal or Genesis’ decision, she wasn’t sure. He nodded. “Then we
shouldn’t be here. Goodbye,
Sheehar
…and good luck.”

Chapter Ten

Estimated one Earth week later…

Eden sat cross-legged in the opening of her
donya
,
the hanging shield hovering open and causing her to wonder halfheartedly if
shields used energy. If so, she was probably depleting hers.

She blew out a breath, fanning her too-hot face. She knew so
little of this new world and was keen to learn everything she could about the
people, the animals…the plants. And everything in-between.

Though she missed Genesis unbearably and thoughts of her
family constantly plagued her, at least she’d used her time well. She’d pored
over the plant book Genesis had gifted her with and memorized much of the
information. She’d experimented with the edible plants to make different dishes.
With the medicinal-only plants she’d concocted healing gels and applied them to
Simon and her newest, odd friend, Colin.

The catlike creature climbed out from under her
caltronian
pelt—the same place she’d discovered him hiding after the
unattached males had left. He stretched, his paw a little twisted but as close
to healed as she could get it.

“Hi Colin,” she murmured, running a hand over the
rough-textured fur of his head and gaining a rumbling growl-like purr in
response.

He’d put on weight and looked sleek and halfway healthy. But
between her feeding him and sharing out small portions to the
sylak
, she
knew she’d lost quite a bit of her own weight. She could only be grateful her
dress had shrunk with her.

Colin butted his head against her nearest hip, wanting her
full attention—or just as likely, another meal.

“Okay, okay,” she laughed. “I get the hint.” But before
she’d moved to collect the bowl she used for gathering, her attention was
caught by the restlessness of the
bolishta
herd. She’d never seem them
so edgy.

A shiver of unease skittered up and down her spine. Were the
animals sensing a
caltronian
? She eyed the weapon beside her, somehow
feeling little safety in its presence. But there was no use worrying over what
might happen. She’d already learned that the hard way. Besides, the herd was
still here so clearly she was safe enough for the moment.

It was time to feed Colin and herself and maybe stockpile
some plants for eating and for healing in case a
caltronian
did make an
appearance.

Colin followed her as she made her way to the garden with
the
erfos
slung over a shoulder. His fear of her had soon faded with her
feeding him, and he’d stayed in range constantly, never letting her out of his
sight and unashamedly basking in her attention.

She was only glad she had a companion to keep her company.

She frowned when she saw him sniff the air suspiciously.
There really was something wrong.

No. You’ve been alone too long, you’re letting your
imagination run riot.

Still, she found herself looking back at the
bolishtas
.
They were grazing and seemed to have settled down. The sight didn’t fill her
with any sense of relief and she hurried to find the plants she wanted to
harvest.

She discovered even more of the plants she’d studied in the
book and carefully picked and collected different parts of each species for her
different requirements, ensuring none of the innumerable antlike critters
remained in her pile as she had no way of knowing if they were noxious or not.

She picked a whole heap of the meaty flavored, green and red
streaked leaves that Colin and the
sylak
seemed to most enjoy, and which
she’d learned was called
nepsh
. The berries she picked for herself to
help stave off the hunger that had started to gnaw at her belly. And lastly she
picked a variety of salad leaves to help vary her diet.

Her gaze slipped to the plant that reminded her of Earth’s
aloe vera. She might soon have no choice but to suck on the jellied sap of the
fimordh
.
Sharing with Colin had seen her water run dangerously low. She had maybe two
days’ supply left.

With a sigh, she snapped off a stalk. She’d suck on the
stalk for a bit and save what water she could. If she had just a little at a
time she might not lose her vision.

She swiped her wet brow, feeling unbearably hot. She’d almost
gotten used to the steadily rising temperature, which caused strands of her
hair to constantly stick to her nape. But damn, the heat was getting beyond
oppressive! If she’d known better she would have pleaded for a
panka lamora
so she would have been cool at least in her
donya
.

She pivoted as the
bolishtas
abruptly took off
running, a galloping stampede toward the mountain that caused dust to fan
upward.

Her eyes widened as her gaze followed the dust into the sky.
Holy shit.
The herd hadn’t been nervous about a
caltronian
,
they’d sensed an approaching storm.

She straightened, the bowl clutched in her hands as her eyes
scanned the roiling, blood-red storm clouds. She swallowed, throat drying. The
sight was beyond magnificent, if only she wasn’t scared as hell.

She’d lived through her share of storms on Earth, had long
ago learned to be in awe of their power. She’d seen how flash flooding or hail
could wipe out whole crops.

She glanced back at the
bolishta
herd. They had
settled, albeit restlessly, on higher ground, but still far below the threat of
caltronians
who lived on the mountain. Their ears lay flat to their skulls,
their flared nostrils a sharp pink even from a distance. Simon stood a little
apart from the herd, stamping one of his front hooves and swinging his head, as
though in warning.

But it was only when Colin blinked at her with big, alarmed
eyes that she hurried toward the
donya
. Already the wind was picking up,
sand swirling around her ankles and sending up choking clouds of dust.

Shit.
She hadn’t even realized it rained on this
planet, otherwise she would have made the connection between the hot, moist
heat and the still, heavy air. She would have read the signs by the way the
animals around her had been acting, perceived that the never before seen
antlike insects had evidently been foraging before the rains.

Colin pressed close to her legs and peered up at her through
the dust cloud, seemingly urging her back to the
donya
.

“You knew this was coming, didn’t you?”

She strode faster, shielding her eyes with one hand from the
sting of coarse sand and fine dust; inwardly swearing as many of her much
needed leaves fluttered from the bowl. She screwed her eyes half-shut and
pressed a hand over her bowl.

She had no idea how long these storms would last, or how
dangerous they were, and she and Colin needed all the food they could get.

She scrambled into the
donya
with Colin just as the
deluge hit, a heavy, relentless downpour that was matched in its fury only by
the screaming wind. As the hanging shield closed, she was amazed and relieved
when it all but sealed itself into the
donya
fabric, enclosing her
safely.

She glanced at her empty bottles. Her store of water was
even more precious than her food supply. She tipped the remaining leaves into
the smaller bowl, and with the larger bowl in hand she strode back to the
hanging shields. As the doorway cracked open she plunked the bowl outside the
donya
and prayed it would fill with water before it was blasted away in the wind.

Colin trotted over to her, snuffling low in his throat and
looking pitiful in his distress. She stepped away from the doorway, allowing
the hanging shields to close before she bent and stroked Colin’s long back.
“It’s okay, I know how you feel.”

Though Genesis had said
donyas
lasted as long as an
Earth home, she had no idea how strong the fabric of one was in a severe storm.
The wind was making a hell of a noise, shaking the
donya
as though a rag
doll, the rain hammering down as if a stampede of
bolishtas
.

She chewed her bottom lip. The
bolishtas
had galloped
to higher ground. Was it possible it would flood?

She’d never once experienced cold on
Carèche
, but a
chill settled over her body that had little to do with the drop in temperature.
She bent her head close to Colin’s as the
donya
shook and shuddered. “I
think we might have to get out of here.”

And go where? Sit on the mountain with the bolishtas,
getting lashed by wind and rain?

She waited it out, alert and listening intently to the world
outside her
donya
, ready to make a dash for the mountain if need be.
With the rain still pelting down, she had no idea how long it’d been before she
realized the wind had at last ceased much of its violence. She was only glad it
was one less threat to worry about from Mother Nature’s arsenal.

“Eden!”

Through the din of rain she sat up, eyes wide and ears
straining. Someone had called her name…she was hearing things, surely?

“Genesis?” she croaked.

Only when Colin dived under the pelt for cover and the
hanging shields unsealed from the fabric and cracked open, did she realize it
really was her intended.

Genesis pushed through the shield, filling the
donya
with strength and purpose and a whole lot of dominance. Wet and windblown,
she’d never seen a more glorious sight.

“Thank the Gods you’re all right,” he rasped, crouching low
and taking her into his arms to hold her tight.

“I’m…fine.” Even wet his body warmed her through, stripping
away all her fears. She curled her hands over his shoulders, her emotions
almost overwhelming. “You came back for me.”

“I couldn’t stay away,” he conceded gruffly. “I didn’t count
on an unseasonal storm to hit while you were here. Nothing in this world—or
yours—could have kept me away from you.”

She stared up at him, weakness suffusing her body that had
little to do with her meager diet. The cold settled into her bones again. If he
only knew there really was something—someone—in the world who’d soon have him
change his mind. He just didn’t know it yet.

“You’re shivering,” he said huskily. “Come, let’s get you
under the pelt and make you warm.”

She glanced at the barely noticeable lump that was Colin at
the far end of the pelt. She shook her head. “No. I’m fine, really—”

But Genesis had already stalked to the fur, lifting it to
wrap around her. He froze. “What the—?”

Before she could react, Genesis dropped the pelt and pushed
her further back, simultaneously reaching for the
erfos
,his big
body fluid grace in motion. Only as he aimed it at a cowering and hissing Colin
did she shriek, “Genesis, no!”

The barrel pulsed green as he growled, “This is no Earth
cat, Princess, it’s a
zadmet
.”

Her eyes widened as his hand clenched over the barrel, his
knuckles white and his jaw clenched, inflexible. She stepped forward, tone
pleading, “Please. He’s harmless.”

“His massive claws contain shock cells that could easily
kill you in one strike. Hell Eden, even a
caltronian
fears them.”

The apparently massive claws explained the size of Colin’s
paws. Yet he’d never once unsheathed them, even when he’d felt threatened. Even
now. She curled a hand around the
erfos
barrel and pushed it downward.
“He hasn’t once tried to hurt me.”

Genesis cast her an incredulous look. “Give him time and
he’ll—”

“He’s been with me almost right from the start.”

His breath hitched sharply. “I should never have left you alone.”
He cast a dark glance Colin’s way
.
“
Zadmets
can’t be trusted.”

How ironic. Colin wasn’t the one he needed to worry about.
“Maybe you should give him a chance to prove himself,” she said softly,
speaking as much for herself as the
zadmet
.

Genesis’ nostrils flared distrust. “When the storm breaks
I’m taking you home with me, away from here.”

She shook her head. “No. This is my sentence and I want to
serve it.” It’s the least she deserved. “No favors. No shortcuts.”

His eyes glittered. “And if I commanded that you return with
me?”

“I’d fight you every step of the way back.”

Colin slunk around Genesis until he was beside her, growling
low in his throat at the obvious undercurrents between them. Genesis stared at
her, lips whitening and a muscle jerking to life in his jaw. But he also seemed
transfixed by her defiant stance—as much by the sight of a
zadmet
protecting her.

She released a little breath before resting a hand on
Colin’s head. “See, he’s defending me…not attacking.”

Genesis’ mouth abruptly curled into a disbelieving grin, a
laugh bursting free. “You have a way with animals,
Sheehar
.”

No, that is my sister’s gift.

“And your flame-red hair is clearly matched only by your
fierce loyalty.” His eyes became slumberous. “My
Sheehar
, you’re
remarkable.”

She shriveled a little inside. Her only remarkable feat was
developing a penchant for deception. The possessive glint in his stare steeled
her spine. Maybe she needed to stop dwelling on what had become her negative
qualities and focus on her positive.

She raised her chin. “Thank you. I guess we’re quite the
match.”

His face darkened, desire seemingly tempered only by his
consideration. “We are.”

Colin was apparently satisfied the danger had passed and
moved away from them to flop onto the floor, watching them with large,
unblinking amber eyes.

Genesis returned the
erfos
on the floor near the
hanging shield doorway. When he straightened he conceded gruffly, “At least now
I know you’ll be relatively safe.” He eyed off the
zadmet
. “Though I’m
not sure I completely trust him.”