Davin's Quest (5 page)

She’s been raised to expect to love the man she ultimately commits her life to, and always thought it would be a human man, or perhaps more than one human man, not one of your kind. There are so few of our women left. She knows this. She’s seen the reality of what I had to do to keep my family together.

All I ask is that you let her get used to the idea of you in our lives as a friend.” She looked out the doorway into the distance. “The only Alvians we’ve had contact with are Mara 12 and the soldiers she brings with her. All we’ve known of your people up until now has been fear. Give Callie time to get used to the idea that you’re different.”

“What you say has merit, my lady. You are truly wise.” Davin sighed. “I’ll do as you wish and you have my word I won’t rush her. Besides,” he smiled at his reluctant hostess, “all this may be for naught. We may not even Hum.” But in his heart of hearts he knew this brave woman’s first-born daughter would be his. They would Hum. He just knew it.

Callie followed Mick into the office later that evening, bearing a tray. Mick was similarly laden, but he motioned to Callie when Davin came forward to help him with his burden. Holding the door wide for the young woman, Davin took the tray from her hands, making sure to brush her skin with his own.

And his heart nearly stopped.

The brief touch of her hand to his brought about a rush of sensation the likes of which he had never known. The air vibrated with the Hum of their energies meeting and meshing, then parting as she moved back from him. It was all he could do to stop himself from reaching out to pull her fully into his embrace, touching her skin and reveling in the Hum that he hadn’t dared hope he would ever hear¾the woman he hadn’t dared hope he would ever find.

Callie looked up at him, her wide, dark eyes bemused as he stood frozen in the doorway. Davin was struck momentarily speechless as he got his first up-close look at the woman who he believed now more than ever had been born for him. Luckily Mick was there to fill in the silence, or Davin’s promise to Jane might have been broken. He wanted so much to tell Callie about his discovery. He wanted to take her with him right this minute, regardless of her youth. She was his!

Or she would be. In a couple of years.

That was the bargain he’d struck. He saw the sense of it in his mind, but his heart was screaming out for him to stake his claim on this woman here and now.

“Come all the way in, girl,” Mick said briskly to his niece.

Callie blushed prettily and ducked under Davin’s outstretched arm, moving fully into the room. She went about setting the platters and plates out, working efficiently and stealing looks at Davin from beneath her lashes when she thought no one was looking.

But Davin had eyes only for her. She was so beautiful, she took his breath away.

“Davin, you haven’t met Callie yet. She’s our oldest daughter.” Mick hauled her close and tickled her ’til she giggled.

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Davin let the door close and put the second tray on the table near her. He braced himself, but their skin didn’t touch a second time and he found himself regretting that even so slight a touch was denied him. He pulled a special purple crystal out of his pocket. It was a perfect amethyst, already tuned to his energies.

He’d tuned it specially as a gift for this girl, the one he hoped would be his resonance mate.

He lifted it in his hand now, holding it to the light to allow the natural facets to pick up and refract the light in a show of splendor. He was happy to see Callie’s eyes follow the glow of the crystal. He saw the expression of awe and wonder on her face. It was touching to see her reaction. Her easy display of emotion was a miracle to him after all the years he’d spent among his own people.

Davin stepped forward. “I think this a fitting gift for so beautiful a young lady.” He took her hand in his, prepared but still surprised by the loudness of the Hum between them. He placed the amethyst in the center of her palm and closed her fingers over it, holding her hand a bit longer than strictly necessary, but he was reveling in the Hum that reverberated through his senses as her eyes locked with his. “Please accept this as a token of my friendship.”

Davin was gladdened by her reaction. She stared back at him as if entranced. Even if she couldn’t hear the Hum on a physical level, it was good to know she felt something inside when they touched. He could see the fascination in her beautiful hazel eyes.

“Thank you,” she breathed, her voice a mere whisper. But still it enchanted him. “It’s beautiful.”

“No more lovely than you.” Davin smiled at her as Mick cleared his throat from across the room.

Looking up, Davin noticed Mick was at his computer, recording the evidence of the Hum, and he was glad. Now the family would have proof of his claim since they couldn’t hear it with their human ears. But he’d made a promise to Jane and he made himself release Callie’s hand. She was still too young to subject to the rest of the tests.

Callie blushed at his compliment, clutching the amethyst to her chest when he released her hand.

“That’s a very special crystal, Callie.” Davin watched her with hungry eyes. “It’s pure. There are no flaws in the structure, even on a molecular level. That’s a rare thing in itself, but I’ve also tuned the crystal to my energy. I think it will be soothing to your senses.”

“You mean like a worry stone?” Callie seemed intrigued and he was pleased by the quick intellect he could sense in her.

“In a way, but this crystal has been prepared to both store and release energy. Should you need it, this crystal will supply you with soothing energy. In times of plenty, it will recharge itself from the world around it. And should you have desperate need, it may help amplify your natural abilities.” Davin looked over at Mick, who’d rejoined them near the table. “I’ve never had the opportunity to test our tuned crystals with Breed abilities, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you could use this crystal to strengthen your telepathy or whatever other gifts you may have.”

Mick looked intrigued, as Davin had hoped. “Can we experiment with this?”

Davin smiled and pulled a similar small quartz crystal from his pocket and tossed it to the other man. “I was hoping you’d be interested. I tuned four crystals as parting gifts for you and your family. I’ve made one for Justin and one for Jane, as well as these for you and Callie. Clear quartz for you and your brother, amethyst for Callie and citrine for Jane. Keep them with you at all times so that they attune to your individual energies. And yes, you should experiment with them, but don’t let Mara or any of the
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other Alvians see them. It would be my death if they knew I’d given them to you.”

Callie reached out and touched his hand, startling him. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

“What my people did to you and your world was wrong, Callie. You have amazing gifts that have meant the difference between life and death for you and your family. If these crystals can help you strengthen those gifts, I’m willing to take the chance.”

He covered her hand with his, pressing lightly to emphasize his point. “I want you to keep that amethyst with you. If ever you need me, touch it and focus your thoughts on me. It should open a secure channel of communication between us.”

“You’re not like the other aliens I’ve seen.”

“No. I’m not like them at all. I have feelings. I’m a genetic throwback. I’m more like my ancestors than my contemporaries.”

Callie nodded, seeming years older than she really was. “Harry told me about that. He thinks he’s kind of like that too, being half-Alvian, yet having such strong emotions.” Her wide eyes softened as her gentle voice lowered. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Don’t. I’m the luckiest man among my people. Most of them will never know the true beauty of a sunset or the magical wonder of dawn. They’ll never feel love or hate or any other emotion. Pity them, not me.”

“You have a wonderful way of looking at things.” She pulled back and he released her. “I’ll keep your amethyst with me always.”

Davin nodded, happy she would take his gift to heart. He’d struggled with what to give these fine people as a parting gift and had settled on the crystals for two reasons. First, he really did want to know if the crystals could enhance Breed abilities. His people weren’t researching this yet and he knew it would be far down the list of things to study about Breeds. But the information could be vital in helping the Breeds hold their own against the Alvian scientists who continued to capture and subject them to all sorts of brutal tests, in their ignorance. The scientific community was trying to understand Breed emotional response with no frame of reference. It was an exercise in futility, as well as cruelty that made Davin angry to even think about.

Second, he wanted to give Callie a way to contact him. He hoped she would initiate contact. He needed to talk with her and know she was safe and happy. The crystal he’d given her was special. It would allow him to monitor her well-being without really spying on her. He considered it insurance. If she got into trouble, he’d know and might be able to help. It was the best he could do for now, until he could claim her and keep her with him always.

Mick examined the clear crystal, his sharp eyes thoughtful. “Thank you, Davin. I’ll do some experimenting and see what we can do with these.”

Davin nodded and Mick sent Callie back to the house. She left with a last long look in Davin’s direction and he couldn’t help the pang of regret at her departure. When they were alone he turned to Mick.

“You saw the proof, didn’t you? She and I Hum.”

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“I saw it. I can’t say I like it, but I saw it. And when the time comes to take this further, I won’t stand in your way.”

“Thank you for that, Mick. I won’t hurt her, but when she’s older, I’ll want to perform the next test. For now, it’s enough to know there’s hope.”

Mick clapped him on the shoulder companionably as they sat down to dinner. “There’s always hope, my friend. Always.”

“Do you have some kind of data storage device that can interface with my computer system?” Mick surprised Davin with the question as he was packing his few meager belongings in preparation for leaving the ranch.

“I think I could rig one of my smaller crystals to do the job. What did you have in mind?”

Mick seemed to be considering his response, looking him over in a way he didn’t quite understand before making his decision.

“A parting gift. I have some digital images of Callie as she grew up. I think you should have a few of them.”

Davin was dumbfounded. He thought all the adult O’Haras were against him pursuing a relationship with their daughter. But perhaps he’d been wrong.

“Why would you do that for me?”

Mick met his eyes with determination. “I was in love with Callie’s mother from almost the moment I met her. She was only about five years old and I was only a little older. I wouldn’t have traded the time we had together growing up for anything. And then I had to put aside my feelings for her forever, I thought, when she married my brother. It wasn’t easy. Neither was resurrecting those feelings when your peoples’

actions left us no alternative. But I’ve come to peace with it for the most part. Still, I think I have a little bit of an understanding of how you may be feeling right now. Callie is too young, but you have hope. In a few years, who knows? In the meantime…” He calmly pushed a few buttons on his keyboard and images of Callie at various ages appeared, entrancing him. “These may help you get through the wait.”

Davin felt a wave of longing as he saw the images of the woman he thought might be his resonance mate.

She was beautiful to him, and so full of life and emotion as she laughed into the camera, so unlike his people. He realized Mick was right. These images would be something to hold against the bleakness of his existence, a ray of hope to cling to as he waited and fought against the madness.

Davin grasped Mick’s hand the way he’d learned humans did, and pulled the other man in for a quick, thankful embrace.

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, Mick.”

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Mick tried to shrug off the moment, turning to the computer and preparing the files he wanted Davin to have. “If she is your resonance mate and you two do get together at some point in the future, I just want your promise that you’ll always treat her with love and respect, and protect her with your life.”

Davin nodded solemnly. “You have my vow, Mick O’Hara.”

Rick St. John had learned survival skills at his father’s knee. There was no better man to learn from than Zachariah St. John, former Army Ranger and medical doctor. He knew how to survive in the worst conditions, how to hide and how to fight. But the day the Alvians finally caught up with him, Rick was not at his best. Sick with a high fever, he wasn’t able to use his gift of healing or his extensive knowledge of either medicine or self-defense. His reaction time was way off and when the soldiers captured him, they took him not to prison, but to a hospital ward where he stayed for the first three weeks of his captivity.

He didn’t make a lot of friends during that time, but he’d used the opportunity to learn more about his new situation. He didn’t let on about the true extent of his psychic talents. As far as they knew, he was a minor telepath. He wasn’t about to become the subject of study when they realized just what he could do. Healing talent as strong as his was rare. He’d be damned if he’d give the Alvians another lab rat.

In the end, it didn’t make any difference. Rick was transported to the pens below the city and stuck in a cell with a few other men. From time to time their jailors would come and take one or a few of them elsewhere for a while to be used in their experiments. Sometimes those experiments were as innocuous as being weighed, measured and given a medical exam. Sometimes they were downright depraved, owing to the fact, Rick believed, that the aliens had absolutely no clue what impact emotions had on their captives’ responses.

He’d become a sort of leader of his small group of cellmates and when the Alvians tested their mettle by throwing a naked girl in with them, nobody moved. The girl couldn’t be more than eleven or twelve and while Rick was as hungry for pussy as the next man, he wouldn’t become subhuman, as their jailors no doubt expected.

Rick tore a sheet off one of the cots as the girl cowered in fear by the door. Approaching slowly, he used his small gift of telepathy to try to calm her, but her thoughts were too chaotic. Calling on memories of his father and the way Zach St. John had been able to tame wild animals with calm movements, words and thoughts, Rick tried to imitate the soothing sounds and motions as he crept forward, holding the sheet out in front of him.

He kept an eye on his cellmates too. They were edgy, but they respected his abilities and let him lead.

Of course, he was ready to fight should one of them forget who was in charge here, but he didn’t think it would come to that. Most of them had learned not to mess with him, and every one of them was what Rick would consider a good guy. He didn’t think they’d stoop to attacking a child. They were hungry, but not yet driven to perversion.

Rick gave the sheet to the girl and wasn’t surprised when she grabbed at it like a wild thing, covering herself as she regarded him with terror. He squatted down a few feet away from her and tried to project calm, but the poor creature was too far gone. The Alvians had essentially thrown this little lamb to the wolves. Rick felt compassion and rage in equal measures—compassion for the poor girl and rage at their captors for the unfeeling use and abuse of such a frightened creature.

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He stood and faced the camera he knew was monitoring their every move.

“It won’t work, you bastards.” His anger burned through his veins. “We’re not animals to be thrown a piece of meat. We won’t cooperate and we won’t hurt her any more than you have already, you unfeeling savages.”

The men in the cell shuffled a bit, but one by one they stepped forward to stand with Rick, facing the camera, turning their back on the shivering girl by the door.

“Does this one answer for all of you, then?” a new voice asked from near the doorway.

Rick spun to find one of the scientists watching them. He was one of the older ones, though guessing the age of Alvians wasn’t easy. The pale man was flanked by two big soldiers, so he was probably one of the more highly ranked aliens. Rick stepped forward as the girl cowered between them.

“We won’t participate in rape. You should be ashamed for what you’ve done to this girl. She already needs psychiatric help. For that matter, your people could use a shrink¾or a beating¾to straighten a few things out. Probably both.”

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact.” Rick walked right up to the man, staring him down. These Alvians were so damned unemotional, it was hard to deal with them on any level. But for the girl’s sake, he had to try to make this one understand.

“And what do you know of medicine, Breed?” The Alvian couldn’t quite carry off a sneer, but Rick felt it all the same.

He didn’t want to give the aliens any ammunition against him, but the girl needed someone to speak for her. It went against his conscience to even talk to the damned cold bastards, but someone had to. The more time he spent in the pens, the less human he felt and he knew the others felt the same.

“Quite a bit, as it happens. My father was a medical doctor, with an interest in psychiatry. He taught me most of what he knew. You’ve traumatized every human in your grasp without the slightest understanding of what you’ve done. Your ignorance is unforgivable. This girl may never be the same after what you’ve done to her. I know you have no feelings, but surely you take an interest in your test subjects? Torture for torture’s sake is not the way of science. At least not any kind of sane science. And from what I’ve seen you people aren’t insane, just intensely misguided.”

The alien picked him apart with his gaze. “Curious.” He turned on his heel and left the room, signaling to the guards to take both the girl and Rick with them.

Rick followed along silently, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. The girl whimpered, but fled the cell eagerly, and followed the Alvian soldier without much prompting. The scientist entered a white room that looked like the medical exam rooms he’d been in when he was first captured and so gravely ill.

The scientist stepped through a portal that lit up as he entered and stood there for a moment before proceeding fully into the room. The guards waited outside, motioning for the girl and Rick to enter the same way the Alvian man had. The implication was clear. The soldiers weren’t entering the room but would be watching all in case Rick got any funny ideas. The threat was not lost on him. Rick was a big
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man, but these guys were even bigger and the odds weren’t in his favor. Rick was smart enough to know this wasn’t the time to make a break for it. He’d pick his time—and better odds—when it came. For now, he had to help the girl.

He felt a slight buzz against his skin as he stepped through the lights. They looked vaguely ultraviolet and Rick spoke before he thought better of it.

“Some kind of sterilization beam?”

The scientist looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Very good, Breed. The sanitizing rays keep our examination rooms, patients and personnel clean during medical procedures.”

Rick shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “Makes sense. And my name is Rick, not Breed.”

“I am Mara 36,” the man answered, surprising Rick with his almost-friendly tone. He then signaled for the girl to take a seat on the exam table.

“Now,” the Alvian turned to Rick again, “will you procreate with this female?”

Rick stepped back, appalled, and unable to hide his horror at the idea. “Not on your life.”

“Is that a negative response?”

“You bet your ass it is.”

“Excuse me?” The scientist displayed only confusion on his pale features.

Rick sighed. “I will not have sex with this girl for your entertainment.”

“It is for scientific purposes, I assure you.”

“The answer is still no.” Rick clenched his fist at his side, wanting badly to plant it in the face of one of the Alvians, but he had to play it cool for the girl’s sake. He noticed she was watching him with wide, frightened eyes as she huddled on the table.

“Why?”

Rick discarded several replies before settling on the most innocuous one. “I prefer willing partners. This girl is clearly frightened and much too young.”

“Age is a factor? She is fertile, according to our observations.”

“Fertility is not the only factor in whether or not humans become sexually active.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Look—” Rick sighed, amazed at how little the aliens knew after all their testing, “—human children go through a period of years called puberty, during which their sexual organs mature and hormone levels rise. Judging by her size, this girl is at the very beginning of this portion of her life. Among rational humans, she would not be considered eligible for mating for several more years until her psyche has time to mature along with her body.”

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“Interesting. We had concluded fertility was the main factor in Breed mating.”

“Your conclusion is wrong. We’re not animals, contrary to the way you treat us. We had an advanced civilization before your people attacked. Society functioned according to rules generally agreed to among civilized people. If you managed to save any of our books or databases, you should look for a title called
The Social Contract
by a fellow named Rousseau. He was just one of our philosophers who articulated the ideals of human society. There were others¾Descartes and Locke to name a few.”

“How do you know of such things? I thought you were too young to have been educated in the time before our people claimed the Earth.”

“I was fifteen when you attacked. I’d been through roughly ten years of schooling and would have studied more advanced subjects and specialties for another five to ten years after that before I was considered fully educated for the profession I wanted as a doctor. But my father was an educated man and he taught me from those books and others. I had a small solar-powered computer unit before I was captured that had the text of hundreds of books on it. I don’t know what happened to it. Maybe it’s still in my last camp.” Rick shrugged, trying not to indicate how deeply the loss of his books had hurt. But then, the aliens probably wouldn’t understand regret any more than they understood fear or emotional pain of any kind.

“If I had the soldiers search for it, would you show us the books?”

Rick wondered at the question. He knew damn well the aliens didn’t need him to show them anything. If they wanted to see the books, with their advanced technology they’d discover a way to download them.

It wasn’t as if they were encrypted or anything. This Mara 36 had to have some motive in asking, but Rick would play along for now. He was curious about these aliens. Perhaps if he learned more about them, he’d discover some weakness and be able to give them a little payback for what they’d done to humanity—or more specifically, for what they’d done to his family.

“Yeah, I’ll show you the books, if that’s what you want. I’d like to read some of them again myself.

There’s not much to do when you’re stuck in a prison cell twenty-four/seven.”

“Twenty-four/seven? What does this mean?”

“It’s an old expression meaning literally all the time. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It’s how we count time. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, etc. All based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun.”

The alien looked startled for a scant second before the usual bland expression reclaimed his face.

“Interesting. Will you discuss this with one of our chronomaticians? I believe they would be interested in the primitive measurements. We use a similar system for each planet we inhabit.”

“I’m not an expert, but I’ll tell you what I know. There are probably some folks in the pens with more knowledge on the topic than me. I know for a fact, there’s a woman named Sadie in the cell across from mine who was an astronomer. She’d be able to explain it all in much more detail.”

Sadie was also sickly and the damp cells—though not dungeon-like, but still subterranean—were not good for her lungs. Rick would be happy if she got a chance to come up here once in a while to breathe less humid air.

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Mara 36 nodded. “A good suggestion. I will pass it along.” He turned abruptly back to the girl. “Now, as for this one. What is your opinion as a medical professional?”

“I never claimed to be a professional, but right off the bat, I can tell you she’s scared.”

“This is something we don’t yet fully understand. Fear is foreign to us.”

Rick felt his anger rise again, but did his best to control it. “That much is obvious from the way you torture some of us. Human women were habitually treated gently in our society. They were to be protected and nurtured so they could in turn nurture their chosen mates and children. Not always, of course. There are exceptions to every rule. But women, generally, were treated as the gentler sex, to be respected and protected.”

“And you still adhere to these ways? My observations have led me to believe that most males will mount any female presented to him.”

Rick wanted to curse, but kept his cool. “Starve a creature and most will turn feral. Men have strong sexual drives and since the destruction of our society, more than a few have become no better than animals. I’m not one of them.”

“Commendable, but impractical for the continuation of your species.”

“Perhaps extinction is the best course for a species that has lost everything. Existing as guinea pigs in your prison is not any kind of existence.”

“What is a guinea pig?” Mara 36 asked.

“A small, furry rodent,” the girl spoke for the first time. Rick looked at her, surprised by the change in her demeanor. She sat up straighter on the table, cloaked in the sheet, holding it around herself with white-knuckled hands. “I had one as a pet once, but my father said they used to be used in experiments.”

“Your dad was right,” Rick said softly, not wanting to scare the girl.