Zonaton (10 page)

           
They are always under watch. Sometimes three of us. Sometimes two. If you wish, I will remain at the site until you call for me.

            She gave his neck another squeeze. "Thank you. Maybe I can talk him into bringing my brother with him next time." A brightness shone within her, and she leaned back to show him her smile. "I have a brother, Zon."

           
I am delighted as well.

           
"I want to talk to him. I want to find out if he's...if Mommy treats him..."

            He gently ran his talons through her thick hair.
I felt no darkness within him, Emmala. Maybe because he is a male, he has been spared her atrocities.

           
"I hope so." She pressed a kiss to the side of his huge, curved beak. "I love you, Zon."

            Instead of replying, Zonaton ran his hand down her back. She responded by cuddling closer. The heat from the fire behind him was cooling, but the fire in his belly became fiercer, forcing him to clamp down harder on his emotions. This moment was too precious to let go of her. Swiveling his head, he sent a single weak energy pulse at the rock. Gradually, the cave grew warmer to the point where he could release her.

           
You need to finish your meal, and I need to finish mine, or else my rumbling stomach will keep us both awake all night.

           
Emmala laughed, gave his beak a second kiss, and returned to her bowl of stew. He watched her for another minute, then went back to his haunch. Nothing more was said that evening about the council, the villagers, her mother, or making another trip to the berry field. But later, when they lay down together on the pallet to sleep, he couldn't help himself, and held her close to his heart.

            He had allayed her fears. Now he had to fight his own. He had told her the truth, but there was much he hadn't said. The last thing he could admit to her was the demons he now fought on nearly a daily basis, ever since that moment he noticed her not as a little girl, but as a fully-fleshed woman. Only time would tell if they would continue to be Paired, or if he would be ordered to let her go.

            And if the moment came when he could no longer be with her, Zonaton knew his existence as a geron would be over.

Chapter Thirteen

The Plan

            She was waiting for him when he arrived at the house.

            "Well?"

            "Yeah, I talked to her."

            "Did you tell her what that monster did to me?"
            "Yes, I did."

            "What did she say?"

            "She called you a liar."

            The woman became livid. Stomping across the room, she paused in front of a wall, facing away from him. Seconds passed. Her heavy breathing calmed. When she finally turned around, Hawse was taken aback by the expression on her face. Before he could comment, or take a step toward the door to leave, she jerked her sleeves up.

            "I'm lying? She says I'm lying? You tell me. Is
this
a
lie
?"

            He stared at the livid red marks on the woman's arms. The nearly foot-long scratches ran from her wrists to her elbows. Hawse frowned.

            "Why are they so red? They look fresh."

            "I don't know! That thing must have infected me. There's no telling what kinds of diseases those animals carry."

            "Have you gone to the clinic?"

            "They did what they could do, but there's so much about this planet we don't know about. There are probably spores and all kinds of dangerous and poisonous life out there we don't know about, and never will because those creatures are keeping us prisoners here."

            She sounded panicked and afraid. More than that, she sounded angry.

            "That monster attacked me because I wanted my Emmala to come home. I wanted my own flesh-and-blood daughter home with us, her real family, where she belongs. She belongs with us, not with that alien!"

            He could feel her anger gather within himself. Felt it spread from his center outward, infusing heat into his blood, until he was forced to grit his teeth. She was right about that. Emmala belonged with her own kind.

            "She wants to see me again," he told the woman. The comment seemed to placate her.

            "She does? That's good. When?"

            "I have to keep an eye on the sky. She's going to get Zonaton―"

            "Don't say that name in this house!" the woman almost screamed.

            Hawse took a deep breath. "She's going to ask the geron to take her back to the berry field again."

            "
When?
"
Kell repeated, eyes narrowed.

            "Soon. It'll have to be soon. The plunderberries only stay ripe for a short amount of time."

            Emmala's mother smiled, but there no warmth in it. "That's right. They have a short season." Pulling down her sleeves, she took several steps toward the young man. "You did well. Thank you, Hawse. Hopefully, you'll help me convince my daughter to return to us. Remember." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Do whatever you must. Say whatever you think you must tell her."

            "What if I can't?"

            The grip on his shoulder tightened until it was nearly too painful to bear. He winced, but the woman's fingers continued to dig into skin and muscle. Hawse shrugged to try and break her hold, but her nails bit deeper. He wondered if she would draw blood.

            "You must. There's no other way. She won't listen to me or her father. That monster has her under his control. Probably has her hypnotized, or something. You're our last chance. Our last hope."

            The comment reminded him of what Emmala had said about communicating with the geron. It was very possible the young woman was being held under some kind of mind control. "But I thought the councilmen were going to demand she be returned."

            Kell grimaced. "Ferrus is there now, trying to come up with some sort of plan, but we expect those aliens won't listen to us, much less do what we ask. They're too big and too powerful, and they outnumber us." Finally releasing his shoulder, she gently patted Hawse on the cheek. "Was she happy to see you?"

            "Yeah." He tried to rub the numbness out of his arm. "She didn't recognize me at first. Not until I told her who I was. Then she hugged me."

            The woman appeared surprised. "She did? That's good to hear." Emmala's mother smiled again, and this time it was genuine. "My daughter's grown into a beautiful young woman, in spite of what that monster's done to her."

            "Done to her? Like what?" Hawse stared at Kell. This woman frightened him. She could run hot or cold at the snap of her fingers. Although he was horrified and incensed like the rest of the villagers after the geron attacked her, this whole scenario she was cooking up to get everyone to defy the aliens just to get Emmala back felt wrong. He couldn't explain why, but somehow some things felt out of place, as if several pieces were missing from the overall puzzle. But like most of the townsfolk, he hated the restrictions placed on them by the creatures. That's why he had joined the Alliance, to find a way to stop the gerons from dominating the villages and keeping the inhabitants virtual prisoners, as they had for more than three generations.

            Fortunately, Kell didn't answer, which was almost a relief. Hawse glanced at the front door, anxious to leave the house and this situation, which had suddenly and inexplicably become very unpleasant.

            "I think I need to get back home before my folks start worrying about me."

            The woman nodded and gave him a little wave with the back of her hand. "You're right. Go. We don't want anyone becoming suspicious. Otherwise, this plan may not work."

            Hawse paused again. The plan may not work? What plan? Was she talking about the council's decision to approach the geron Elders? Or was there something else? Why would Kell make such a comment that it would make others suspicious? When she had first approached him about trying to make contact with Emmala, and convince the girl to come home, he had seen nothing wrong with the idea. In fact, it sounded like a very reasonable suggestion from a mother who missed her child.

            Now, he wasn't so sure. And that doubt made him very uncomfortable.

            Bidding the woman a good evening, Hawse hurried away from the house, and realized for the first time that in all the conversations he'd had with Emmala's mother, not once had Ferrus, Emmala's father, been present. It made him wonder if that was coincidence. Or arranged.

            Regardless, it only increased his uneasiness.

Chapter Fourteen

The Conversation

            "Zon?"

           
Yes?

            She saw the geron pause in his grooming to look at her, giving her his whole attention. It was one of many reasons that endeared him to her. He was willing to focus solely on her, rather than give her a portion of his time while he did something else.

            "Why didn't you ever take a mate? Or have children of your own?"

           
I never encountered a female I cared to keep.

            Emmala knew there were female gerons, but they normally kept to the mountains and tended to the young. Only the males interacted with the settlers.

            "Would you have Paired with me if you'd had a mate?"

           
No.

           
"Why not?"

           
Only the unattached are allowed to guard the settlers.

           
She worked her fingers through her tangled wet hair. It was an annoyance after cleaning it, but if she waited until it was dry, her hair would be impossible to comb. "Bet you were lonely a lot."

           
There were times,
he admitted. Cocking his head, he peered at her.
Why are you asking?

            Emmala paused from trying to remove a particularly troublesome knot. Zonaton took a step toward her. He was concerned, and it emanated from him like a visible wall.

           
Are you lonely, Emmala? Do you wish for other companionship?

            He was asking her if she wanted to be with someone who was more like her. Someone human. Someone who could give her what he couldn't. He had broached the topic before, but as she had in the past, she shook her head, lowering her eyes.

            "You're all the companionship I want."

            Something flashed in his eyes. She couldn't read the expression, but she got the feeling he was relieved by what she said. He continued to watch her, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, he assumed their conversation was over and went back to preening his wings. She watched his meticulous movements.

            "Sometimes I wish I was a geron."

            Her remarked surprised him.

           
Why?

           
Because then I could love you the way gerons love.
The answer remained unspoken and unheard, kept locked inside her heart and mind where he couldn't hear it. Instead, she gave a little shrug of her shoulders. "Because I would love to fly."

           
I take you flying every day.

            "It's not the same thing." She gave him an impish grin. "You know what I mean."

           
Yes, I do. But having wings and being able to fly is serious. It is not always meant for fun.

            "Really? You're telling me you've never flown just for the pure enjoyment of it?" she teased. Her remark was on target. There had been many instances in the past where they had traversed mountain tops and skimmed plateaus or low-lying areas on the planet simply to sightsee.

           
Well...maybe once.

            "And I wish I had scales like you."

           
Oh?

            She sighed dramatically. "Clothes can be a hindrance. You're always having to repair or replace them. But scales grow naturally. They overlap so the rain doesn't make your skin wet and cold. And if you lose one, another grows in its place. Plus, they cover your secret places." Holding out a lock of her long hair, she arranged it so it covered the tip of one round breast. "Maybe I can use my hair instead of wearing clothes, and save them for when I need to go into the village."

           
Hair is not effective when the wind blows. Nor will it protect you from the cold and wet.

           
She flipped the long strands over one shoulder. "Yeah. You're right. But you have to admit that there is one thing about being a geron that is the best part."

           
Which is?

            "It's when you make fire come out of your mouth."

           
More correctly, it comes from the back of my throat. And before it gets to my throat, I must belch it up from my stomach.

            "Plus, don't forget you're strong."

           
As are our females.

            She cocked her head at him. "So male and female gerons are the same?"

           
To a point. They cannot make the fire.

            That part she didn't know. "But other than that, you're alike?"

            Zonaton mentally smiled at her.
They bear children. Our males cannot do that.

           
He had her there, and Emmala laughed. The score was even.