Outcast (8 page)

well... you don't want to know what he'll do if he sucks onto your skin with one of those things!"

"I've been hearing that from Jack for ages," Bonnie grumbled. "Why won't anyone tell me?

Everyone else seems to know, but no one will talk about it! Is it really that disgusting?" Then she remembered what Gerna had said about touching the fruit and looked back at Hatul. There was a decidedly mischievous glint in his big, round eyes as he pursed his fishlike lips and smooched at her.

"Hatul," Bonnie said teasingly. "You wouldn't be trying to get off on me while your wife was watching, would you?"

"She likes it," Hatul said, extending his fingers. "Just one little touch..."

Gerna didn't protest, but looked on encouragingly. Zuannis, however, took Bonnie's arm and pulled her out of reach.

"She might not mind it," Zuannis said, " — but it grosses me out."

"Aw, Zuannis, you're no fun at all," Bonnie said, laughing. "Sorry, Hatul!"

Hatul kissed his fingertips and waggled them at her. "Until the next market day, my pretty one!"

Zuannis and Bonnie watched as the pair moved on to another stall. "They are the strangest creatures I've ever seen in my life," Zuannis remarked. "Just plain weird."

"Is it my imagination, or did you just interrupt the closest thing to sex I've had since, well...

probably since I got pregnant?" Bonnie inquired dryly.

"I don't think you would have gotten much out of it," Zuannis said, "but he would have come all over himself."

Since Norludians didn't wear clothing, this would have been noticeable. However, never having seen any obvious genitalia on either of the Norludians, Bonnie wouldn't have known where to look for it. "All over his... what?" she prompted her friend.

A pained expression contorted Zuannis' already bizarre features. "His face, Bonnie," she replied.

"Their tongues are their, um, sex organ — ever notice him flicking it at you? They use those sucker fingers to hold on while they fuck your — "

"Okay," Bonnie said, holding up a hand. "You're right. I don't want to hear any more."

Zuannis smiled and looked at Bonnie appraisingly. "So, how are you?"

"Fine, Bonnie replied. "Drummond finally sent me some help."

"And?"

"He's... a little... different." "How so?"

"Well, he's Zetithian — you know, like Cat and Leo? But — "

"And you said you haven't had sex since when?" Zuannis asked incredulously.

Bonnie wasn't sure just what this had to do with Lynx. "Sylor left a good while back, Zuannis," she said witheringly. "You know that."

"And this guy has been working for you for how\or\g?"

"Just a few days." Bonnie stared at Zuannis curiously, still not sure what she was getting at.

"Older man, is he?" Zuannis suggested, rubbing a finger on her horn, much like a Terran might tap their chin when perplexed.

"No," Bonnie replied. "I'm guessing he's a little younger than Cat and Leo. They aren't that old."

Zuannis nodded. "Zetithians don't age as quickly as humans do," she said informatively. With a curious tilt of her odd head, she went on to ask, "Is he... attractive?"

"Well, he might be if he smiled more and put on a little weight," Bonnie admitted, not even wanting to admit to herself that she considered Lynx to be quite handsome. "He's not nearly as friendly as Cat or Leo — though maybe it's just me he doesn't like."

"I find that hard to believe," Zuannis remarked. "Everyone seems to like you. "

"Well, I don't know about that," Bonnie said doubtfully, "but Lynx is... different. He was all set to get a job in the mines, but wound up working for me instead — which he doesn't seem very happy about. And I get the distinct impression that it isn't just me; he doesn't like women in general — didn't want to work for one, anyway."

Zuannis's big, brown eyes widened, and she drew herself up to her full height. "Uh-uh," she said with a decisive shake of her head. "Couldn't be a Zetithian! Must be something that just looks like one."

"Well, he said he was — and it was on his immigration chip, too, according to Drummond."

Zuannis shook her head again. "There's something wrong with him then." Zuannis then turned to examine the dried plums as she spoke and picked up a bag to put them in. "I'll take these," she said, handing her purchase to Bonnie. "You can stop by my shop later for your bread."

Bonnie stared up at her tall friend in surprise. "You're just going to leave it at that?"

"It'll be better if you don't know everything," Zuannis said with a firm nod, "especially since he's not... right."

"Great!" Bonnie said with a twinge of amusement. "Something else no one will tell me about."

"Believe me, it's for the best," Zuannis assured her.

Bonnie didn't think so, but Zuannis was notoriously stubborn. Bonnie was surprised she'd actually told her about Hatul's sticky fingers — but perhaps it was only to make sure she never let him touch her.

"Well, thanks, Zuannis," she said, bowing to the inevitable. "How's Joachen?"

"Fine," Zuannis replied. "Still feeling a bit touchy about that last fight we had."

Bonnie nodded. Joachen was touchy about a lot of things. "He'll get over it."

"Yes, I suppose so," Zuannis agreed. "He's such a horny little devil. Never can stay standoffish for long." Zuannis laughed, her big earrings jangling. "I can't stay mad at him for long, either. He's such a handsome little thing."

Bonnie didn't exactly share Zuannis's opinion of her husband, and after nodding in a noncommittal fashion, thought it best to change the subject altogether. "Seen Vladen around?" Bonnie asked. "He said he might be here to give me another checkup." As the regional physician, Vladen covered a wide territory, and while he could always be reached by comlink — day or night — he was sometimes a hard man to catch in person.

"Don't think so," Zuannis replied, "but when you do see him, you should have him run a scan on your Zetithian. Might find out why he's behaving so strangely."

Bonnie wasn't sure that Lynx's attitude was the result of a medical condition. "It's probably normal for him," she said with a shrug. "Besides, Vladen has to have run one on him already — immigration requirements, you know."

"I suppose so," Zuannis sighed. "Well, too bad about that." Shaking her head sadly, she lumbered off with a regretful wave, leaving Bonnie to wonder just what in the world she'd been talking about.

Drummond came by later — to buy enock eggs, he said, but Bonnie was pretty sure he only wanted to see how she was doing with her new man.

Feigning disappointment that she had nothing left to sell but chicken eggs, he commented, "That boy I sent you ever show up?"

"He's back at the farm," Bonnie replied. "And thanks for sending him. He's already been a big help."

"Said much yet?"

"No, you were right about him not being talkative — he's not particularly friendly, either."

"Well, if he gives you any trouble, you know who to complain to," Drummond said heartily. "Just say the word, and I'll zap his ass all the way back to that backwater world he came from."

"And what backwater world would that be?" asked Bonnie. "He hasn't told me anything, and the way he acts, I don't think I'll ever ask."

"Place called Paemay," Drummond replied. "One of those worlds where the natives wouldn't have come up with space flight capability on their own, but they did have money — mostly from mining diamonds, I hear. Some technology, of course, but primitive customs — he was a slave, after all.

Not many places hold with that sort of crap anymore, but how a Zetithian would wind up there beats the shit out of me. Though Cat did tell me once that a bunch of guys in his unit were sold as slaves after the war, which is how he knew Leo. Wouldn't be surprised if they knew this one, too."

"Well, Cat and Leo must have had it a lot better than he did," Bonnie said roundly, "because Lynx has got some very strange ways! He's very shy and secretive, and he certainly didn't want to work for me. But like I said, he's already made a big difference at the farm. He probably won't stay on once the mines start hiring again, but I'll hang onto him as long as I can."

"Pretty woman like you shouldn't have any trouble doing that," Drummond remarked with a grin.

"Just in case you haven't noticed, Drummond, I have a really rotten track record when it comes to men," Bonnie said ruefully. "I might be able to grow anything that has seeds, but I don't seem to be capable of finding a good man."

"Well, if what I've heard about Zetithians is true," Drummond said, "I'm surprised you don't have him purring all over you by now."

This was more information than she'd gotten from Zuannis, and Bonnie's eyes widened with interest. Iney can purr/

"Oh, yeah! Never heard one of them do it myself, but Jack says they can — she also said that if other women ever got wind of what else they could do, she'd have to keep Cat locked up on her ship so he wouldn't get stolen."

Judging from Drummond's expression, the "what else" had to be something sexual, which supported what Zuannis had been hinting at.

"Yeah, well, maybe they aren't all alike in that respect, " Bonnie said dismissively. She had a feeling that if there was anything sexual about Lynx, she'd certainly never have any firsthand experience with it and hoped that Drummond would stop before he gave her any more clues as to what she might be missing. She decided she wouldn't ever want to compare notes with Jack or Tisana, either — it would be much too depressing! Perhaps Zuannis was right not to tell her. Changing the subject, she said, "So, did you want anything besides eggs?"

Drummond chuckled. "Don't want to talk about it, eh, Bon-bon?" Noting her grimace at his use of her nickname, he added, "I know you don't like the name, but believe it or not, it did refer to a type of candy at one time — means you're really sweet, doncha know." Abandoning the effort and giving her crates a cursory glance, he asked, "Got any avocados yet?"

Bonnie shook her head, grateful that Drummond had dropped the issue of her name. "Not yet," she replied cheerfully, despite the fact that she'd already answered that question about fifty times. "The trees are blooming, but they're still pretty small. I don't know if they'll bear fruit this year or not."

He nodded. "Well, I want the first crop when you get any," he said. "Pay you anything you want for them." Grumbling, he added, "Haven't had decent guacamole since I left Texas."

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. "If you liked guacamole that much, what'd you leave for?"

"I needed some space!" he replied. "Not enough room left there to breathe! Now I got plenty of space, but no avocados — except what Jack brings once in a blue moon, and they always taste like crap. How was I to know?"

Due to the planetary regulation against importing live plants, Bonnie had had to grow her plants from seed, and since most of the avocado trees on Earth had been grafted, she knew there was no guarantee that hers would taste decent either. She'd learned that avocado trees didn't like wind or frost, and though frost was unheard of in the region, they did have a fair amount of wind. With that in mind, she'd planted them on the leeward side of the equipment shed and hoped it would be enough of a windbreak for them to tolerate it, but she also knew that Drummond didn't want to hear the details; he just wanted his avocados. "You just keep your britches on," she advised. "When I have any, you'll be the first to know."

"Well, just make sure that Zetithian boy doesn't eat them all," he said. "He looked pretty hungry to me."

"I'll keep him fed," she promised. And she silently vowed that she always would — but what she didn't realize was that he wouldn't feed himself.

By the time she returned home, it was late evening, and if there was any food missing out of her pantry, Bonnie certainly couldn't tell. She was bewildered, and also a little put out with Lynx, because she knew she had made it perfectly clear that he could eat all he wanted while she was gone. Thinking that there might have been some sort of Zetithian taboo about entering someone's home without them being there, whether you had permission or not, she went looking for him.

The lights were on in the shed, and she found him in there working on the speeder.

"I'm home," she announced unnecessarily. "Everything go okay today?"

"Yes," he replied, not even looking up.

"Did you get anything to eat after I left?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "I have not... had time."

This was completely ridiculous, because Bonnie had worked the farm all by herself for the past three months, and she had always found time to eat. She started to fuss at him, but decided it was pointless. "Well, I'm hungry as a snarkle myself," she said, "so I'll fix something real quick and bring it out to you."

Lynx didn't say anything or even nod. Bonnie tried not to see this as being impolite, but it was difficult.

"Think you can get that thing running again?" she asked doubtfully. "I've tried, but I couldn't fix it the last time it broke down."

Lynx pointed to a pile of engine parts on the floor beside him. "Those need to be replaced."

"All of those?" she exclaimed incredulously. "Why so many?"

"The parts are worn out," he said shortly. "They last much longer if you keep them lubricated."

Something in the way he said it led Bonnie to suspect that he didn't think much of her ability to maintain machinery. This was true, he didn't, but the repairs had given him something to do while she was gone.

"I did," she said defensively. "But I don't think the previous owner bothered with it. We got it real cheap when we first came here."

What he thought of that, Lynx never said, and having stood there for a moment trying in vain to come up with something else to say, Bonnie finally gave up trying to talk to him and went in to fix dinner.

Lynx hadn't been fibbing when he'd said he was busy, but that he had been too busy to eat was a blatant lie. His stomach was growling so loudly, he was surprised she hadn't heard it. The truth was that he'd approached the house more than once with every intention of entering and getting something to eat, but the feeling that Bonnie had been lying when she told him to help himself to her food prevented him. He'd been trapped into doing stupid things before and had been punished.