The Price of Discovery (11 page)

“Hey, Jay, it's not a problem. I blew off the day myself. We'll get back in the groove tomorrow.”

Jay nodded. “Yeah, I've got some other stuff to show you when we get back to the office.”

Greg tapped Drakor's shoulder and whispered, “All the way at the end of the aisle. Take your time. I need to chat with Jay for a few minutes.”

Drakor walked away from the trio. He scanned the shelves as he went by. Pain relievers, medicines, vitamins. One bottle caught his attention. It read,
for stronger bones
.

He picked up the container and read the label. Two of its ingredients, Calcium and Vitamin D, aided in keeping bones healthy and strong. Was this the same medicines the Researchers developed on Elliac?
 

He needed to bring this back. If their mission could easily be solved by these pills, then they could return home quickly. Father could be reevaluated and examined by a healer.
 

Drakor followed the aisle to the end. Many colorful condom boxes vied for his purchase. Each had a different name and some unique quality about them, but they all shared the same description.
If used properly, will help reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies and catching or spreading HIV infection (AIDS) and many other sexually transmitted diseases.

Which one of these did Erin fear? Other than the bone crippling disease on Elliac, all other infections and viruses had been eradicated. He could not pass anything on to her. And he certainly didn't believe he could get her pregnant. Not only would she have to be Elliacian for that to happen, she'd have to be his
Mharai
.
 

He could not be convinced that Erin Price was his chosen mate just because her middle name had both of his parents' lineage name sounds in it, or that he craved no other female, or that he felt a mystical sense of contentment when he touched her. She was human. And no Elliacian had found their mate anywhere but home.

Drakor sighed and yanked a small box off the hook. It didn't matter which one he bought. When he could get close enough to her again, when he could complete his duty for this mission, when he could feel the satisfaction his body yearned for, he would
not
be using one of these protective sheaths.

He would just have to find a way to fool her.

Chapter Nine

“I'll have a Coke.”

“You sure you don't want a beer?”

Erin slid Greg a glare. The past few days had been excruciating and as much as she would like to relax, she couldn't afford the luxury. Time was ticking away and her goals and dreams were slipping away with it.

Once Drakor's brother had spun away from her, mumbling something about proving his strength, Erin had not been back to the house. Not that she was afraid to go, she just never had a good enough excuse.

“A Coke, thanks,” she told the waiter. He shrugged and left the table.

Greg closed his menu and shoved it next to the ketchup and BBQ sauce. “This meeting is probably a waste of time, you know.”

The dim hum of voices droned around them. Thank God she hadn't picked a more kid-friendly place. She couldn't handle loud squealing and crying right now.

“Humor me, will you?”

Erin took out her notebook and opened it to an empty page. Not that there were so many pages full of notes. She'd spent the last several days sketching out theories and angles to base her story on. But without any hard evidence what did she have but mere speculation?

“Just tell me anything odd Ankra might have said or done, okay?”

Greg sighed. He leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Let's see…she talked about her father and how he was sick.”

“How is that strange?”

He shot her an annoyed look. “Listen, I'm just going to tell you the things she said and did. You can figure out whether it means something or not.”

“Okay, okay.” Erin took the cap off her pen and started to scribble notes as he talked.

“She said something about friends not being able to walk and being deformed. I didn't really get that part and she didn't elaborate.”

The smell of onion soup made Erin's stomach growl. When was that waiter coming back to take their order?

“So I've got that her dad is ill, which I noticed myself, and people she knows can't walk and are deformed. Did she say how they were deformed? Like skin and facial problems, humps on their backs, what?”

He sniffed the air. “Mmm, something smells good. Like I said, she didn't elaborate and I didn't ask.” He leaned forward and stared at her from across the table. “I've had more important things on my mind when I've spent time with her.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “Yes, screwing her. But you've gone out with her to Blackrock Falls, you've taken her to lunch. So don't give me that line that you spent all your time in bed with her.”

The waiter arrived with their drinks. Once they gave him the dinner order and he disappeared, Greg took several swallows of his beer. Erin watched him, waiting patiently for the alcohol to loosen him up. He'd be much more willing to help out once the beer softened his edges.

When about half the bottle was gone, Erin resumed her questions. “So what did Ankra think of the falls? Of the restaurant you took her to?”

“Well, she was really worried about being outside so much. I asked her if she put on sunscreen and she didn't know what it was. I stopped off at the drugstore and bought some for her. I explained what it was and that it would protect her skin from the sun.”

“Did she feel better afterward?”

He shrugged. “I dunno, but her skin felt real good right then.”

“Come on, Greg. Stay focused, will you? You're like a damn horny rabbit.”

He licked his lips. “Where's my carrot?”

Erin took several sips of her Coke. It was either that or kill him. “Did she like seeing the falls? Once you put the lotion on her?”

“Said she'd never seen one before. Said they have rivers and lakes and mountains and stuff, but she doesn't travel much where she's from.”

Erin's heart kicked up a notch. “Did she say where she's from?”

Greg gulped more beer. “Nope. Just kept saying that the earth was a fascinating place.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” She wrote the statement in her book.

“Dunno.”

“Anything else?”

“Not really.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and took another sip of her Coke. “Anything at all?”

He raised an eyebrow. “To me, the weirdest thing is that she got very upset when I put on the condom.”

“Oh, Greg…”

“You said ‘anything,' Erin, so I'm telling you something. Write it down.”

“I don't want notes on your sex life.”

“It's strange. You should realize that.”

How well she did realize it. Her night with Drakor ended because he didn't have one to put on. Hell, he didn't even know what it was. “Maybe she just didn't realize what it was, Greg.”

“Well, that's odd too, isn't it?”

Oh, yeah… “But maybe she's on the Pill and so she wasn't worried about you getting her pregnant. Or maybe she just doesn't like the way they feel. Can we stop talking about this now?”

He shook his head. “I don't buy it. Not with the hell she was raising over it.”

“So, did you give in to her?”

“Hell, no. I don't care what she says about only being able to get pregnant when she chose to, I'm not risking it. There's no way I'm supporting a baby right now.”

Erin looked up from her notes. “Did she say she could get pregnant when she chose to?”

“Something like that.”

Could Ankra really control her biological functions? No. She must have been referring to contraceptive usage. Either she was on the Pill or used an IUD or diaphragm. That must have been what she meant.

Greg drained his beer. “Not to change the subject, but you do know that her brother really likes you.”

“What makes you say that?” She bit her lip, hoping to stop the erratic heartbeat slamming in her ears.

He gave her a grin. “Men can tell these things. Have you seen him recently?”

“As if it's your business, no, I haven't. Not since that day you took him to the store. I haven't been back over there.”

But she needed to. She never did have that talk with Drakor about Mickey's. Not that she gave a damn about the dance club, but she did need information from him. Or another chance to look around the house. Maybe she could get a hold of that tiny PDA-looking thing under the dresser.

Greg lifted his eyebrows. “I'll bet he's anxious to see you. You should go back over there.”

“What's up? What did he tell you?” She narrowed her eyes. “Where did you go that day?”

He waved the waiter over. “Another beer.” He turned back to her. “Drakor needed some things at the store and he needed a ride.”

“So? What is the big deal? What are you gushing on about?”

“Trust me. If he's anything like his sister, you won't be sorry.”

“You're drunk.”

As much as she wanted to be disgusted at his suggestions, Erin couldn't help the quiver that tickled her stomach. She remembered all too well the skill of Drakor's fingers and tongue. The weight of his body and the firmness of his hard muscles. Hell, she hadn't thought of much else since last Saturday night. Already shivers danced under her skin, tickling her nipples and warming her belly.

“I'm not drunk. I just know when a man is hot for a woman.”

She shook her head and sighed. “Oh, that's great. So he wants to screw me. That doesn't necessarily mean he likes me.”

“Yeah, he's a tricky one, but I think there's more to it than that. I think you should go back over there.”

Erin put the cap back on her pen. She knew she wouldn't get too much more out of her brother tonight. “Even if I did go back there, we couldn't do very much in that house with his whole family there, could we?”

Greg laughed, his blond hair falling into his eyes. “So just pick him up and take him back to your place.”

“What's the matter with you? You think just because you have a new girlfriend, I have to have a boyfriend?” She closed the notebook and shoved it into her overstuffed bag.

Greg leaned across the table and grabbed her wrist. “Erin, you need to get laid more than any person I know.”

She put her nose in the air and yanked her arm away. “I have a story to do. If I go back over there it's to look for evidence.”

“Evidence of what?”

She leveled her gaze at him. “Something out of
Star Trek
. Like a spaceship, perhaps?”

 

“Is this what the Researchers gave you to take?”

Drakor handed the bottle to his father, who stretched across the bed with a cloth on his forehead. Between the vomiting and the headaches, he grew more ill with each passing day. Father hadn't been well enough to even speak to him for the last three.

“Perhaps. They have different names here on Earth.” Father squinted at the words. “Builds and maintains strong bones.”

“So it seems that humans need to have help with this sort of thing too.”

“Yes. But I wonder if their dosage is the same. And since it was on the shelf at a local store, I'm guessing it must be optional.” He lay back again after the effort of speaking.

“Probably because they still carry the gene to process it.”

“Yes, probably so.” Father took the cloth and wiped it over his face. “Will you get your mother for me?”

“Where is she?”

“In with your sisters.”

Drakor turned to go. It was difficult to see his father this way. Wasted and swollen at the same time. His life robbed by the very same drugs supposed to make him healthy. If only they could finish this mission and get back to Elliac. Perhaps the Researchers would discontinue Father's medicines. Perhaps Father would listen to them.

“Drakor?”

“Yes?”

“After you get your mother, go in and speak with Brundor.”

His chest tightened. “Why?”

“He and I talked and he wants to see you.”

Drakor sighed and went to get his mother. Then, he entered the room he shared with Brundor. The lights were off and the room quiet. He could hear a few crickets singing in the distance outside, but nothing else in the room save for Brundor's breathing.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes. Come in and shut the door.”

Drakor pushed the door closed and leaned against a mahogany pole on his four-poster bed. He folded his arms over his chest.

“I have convinced Father to let me go out.”

“It's a mistake.”

“Why won't you believe that I can control myself? You never believe me.” In the gray shadows of the room, Drakor could see Brundor thrust his arm in the air. “Father gave me this.”

“You have a watch. Does it tell you the Earth time?”

“Don't know. Don't care. All I know is that it permits me to leave this house.”

It was a fool's mechanism. Something they used during the Crossing to trick the mind into believing its power. If Brundor believed the watch would give him control, it very well could. “Are you going to leave it on when you come near females?”

“I can control myself around them, you know. I don't even have to have this watch.”

“You can't possibly have the strength it takes to control your urges. Especially with your impatience.”

Brundor sat up, his back to the open window. “I knew you wouldn't believe me. Ask your girlfriend.”

“What did you do to her?” Drakor's stomach clenched. A surge of protectiveness rippled through him, startling him, and he had to grip the pole to hold himself back.

“I didn't do anything. That's my point.”

Drakor's breathing increased to a pant. Adrenaline galloped through his veins. “Tell me what happened, Brundor.”