GalacticFlame (5 page)

Eden felt the watchful eyes of the three men on her and
realized they’d kill to protect what was theirs. In just the same way she had
no doubt Genesis would kill for her.

She shivered a little. It was a somber yet somehow
titillating thought.

She brushed her fingertips along the baby’s soft, downy
cheeks, wishing the little cherub was awake. “How old is she?”

“Five weeks,” Madge said with a smile. “Born while your
intended was searching for you.”

“We’ve been blessed,” one of Madge’s males said in a deep
voice, a hand touching Madge’s waist as the other two males nodded agreement.

“So you’re…happy?” she asked Madge softly.

The other woman lifted a brow. “Of course.” She leaned forward,
as though telling her something confidentially, though all could hear. “I was a
nothing, a nobody on Earth. Alone and terrified. Here, I’m everything. And I’ve
never been more content.”

Madge’s three husbands each crossed their arms over their
torsos, hands clasping opposite shoulders before they inclined their heads in
the gap of their arms. “
Mau’et zet sa Sheehar.”

“Love to our princess,” Genesis translated, though Eden
understood their words.

As Madge, her baby and three husbands moved aside, she met
five more alien males who were unattached. Like the first three, these were
tall and starkly handsome with Genesis’ longish, sandy-colored hair and vivid
blue eyes.

So she was surprised when the next Earth woman was
introduced.

“This is Sala,” Genesis said. The pretty dark-haired woman
nodded, but instead of friendship, her brown eyes flashed barely disguised ill
will. “Unfortunately, her intended was attacked and killed by a
caltronian
.
She is free now to choose another,” he added gently.

Eden’s focus returned to Genesis. The telling glance he gave
Sala only established what she’d already guessed. Sala had feelings for him
that were unrequited.

The other woman’s smile was brittle as she gave a
mockery-tainted bow of respect, her pulled back, long black hair sliding over a
shoulder before she straightened.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Eden managed drily.

It was a hollow lie at best, but one Sala would recognize.
Her brown gaze clinging to Genesis, the other woman stepped stiffly aside while
the last two Earth women approached with their men.

Katy, a tall and voluptuous brunette, proudly indicated her
four husbands and her two children, whom she announced were aged seven and
five. The other Earth woman, Michelle, showed off her three husbands and one
toddler, lying asleep in one of his alien dad’s arms, sucking a thumb and
looking every inch like his blonde-haired mum.

Like Aline.

A sick sensation washed through Eden’s belly. This could
have been the life her sister had if Eden hadn’t pretended to be her. Given half
a chance, Aline might have had a horde of blonde-headed children and been
deliriously happy.

In trying to protect her sister, had she’d instead taken
away her one chance of being a mother? A wife?

Being loved by her alien intended.

“Are you okay,
Sheehar
?” Genesis asked, stepping in
front of her and pulling her close so that his bulk shielded her from the
others.

“I’m fine,” she lied, voice muffled by the broad expanse of
skin.

She’d never had to deal with issues of guilt before, but
what little she did know of emotions was that they couldn’t be controlled. They
could only be concealed.

“A feast is being prepared in your honor,” he murmured, “but
in the meantime perhaps I can distract you with something…a surprise.”

She looked up, and in her peripheral caught the flash of
anger in Sala’s gaze, her features drawing tight.

“Come,” Genesis beckoned.

She nodded, biting back a little shriek as he swung her into
his arms and strode to the
cercanne
, before placing her on its seat, his
eyes only for her. She smiled at him, experiencing more than a little
satisfaction knowing he was so smitten. It was an odd sensation, one she never
thought she’d experience.

The bike rose a little before takeoff, and as he helped
place her feet into the stirrups, she turned and met Sala’s venomous gaze. A
shiver brushed down her spine. Eden was a novice in the art of fighting for a
man.

But if that’s the way Sala wanted to play it…

With a bright smile, she moved closer still to Genesis,
wrapping her arms around him and pressing close, his warmth counteracting the
chill boring into her back.

As the bike took off in a cloud of red dust, Eden realized
she could never let anyone guess her real identity, especially if they matched
Sala’s nastiness. If she had any hope of making a good life here, she had to
keep her secret safe.

All negative thoughts disappeared right along with the dust
as Genesis pointed out the group of animals surging into flight and racing
alongside the
cercanne
. She stared. The creatures were beautiful,
perhaps more so even than Earth’s horses.

“Bolishtas,”
he yelled out, enlightening her.

Five of them ran—galloped?—beside them, just yards away.
Their long, muscular legs tapered down to huge round discs for hooves, clearly
all the better for travelling over sand. Long red fur appeared to be flecked
with a burnished gold, while their thick, tangled manes and tails were a creamy
yellow.

The leader swiveled its long, arched face her way. Black,
intelligent eyes peered at her, seemingly sizing her up. With a toss of its head
and a high-pitched keening cry, much the same as a doco she’d watched on Earth
television about the sounds of whales, it wheeled away, the small herd
following.

All too soon the beasts merged into the red desert sands, as
though a part of the landscape. But even as she wished they’d not gone as fast
as they’d appeared, she was soon drawn to the mountain looming ever larger
ahead.

Her pulse thudded. Was this the surprise where Genesis was
taking her?

The peak appeared to soar right through the heavens, too
high surely to climb?

Genesis abruptly topped a rise. Maneuvering the bike down
the incline with its spiked wheels kicking up what would easily be knee-deep
sand, they as quickly leveled out. Ahead, the ground appeared to be perfectly
flat, hard-packed red sand, with the mountain far ahead rearing upward like
some preternatural giant.

He opened the bike up until the surroundings blurred into
iridescent scarlet. Beautiful. Magnificent. Dramatic.

She pressed her face into his back once again, scrunching
her eyes closed and taking short, sharp breaths of the heavy, honeyed air that
seemingly blew past without getting a chance to fill her lungs.

In that moment she realized if it wasn’t for the fact she’d
left her loved ones behind, she could really have been happy here. Oh she’d
been satisfied in many ways on Earth. But being with Genesis, even after such a
short time, took her to another place, and not just physically. Excitement,
passion and fulfillment were no longer emotions to imagine, they were real.

Muscles flexed along the length of his spine as he leaned
forward, his hair flailing in the wind.

She smiled, for a moment allowing happiness to surge. She
could so easily fall in love with him.

Her heart stuttered. Perhaps she was already a little in
love with him.

Her arms tightened instinctively around him. Impossible
though it seemed, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

She could never tell him who she really was. She couldn’t
take the risk.

She couldn’t lose him.

Chapter Five

She wasn’t sure exactly when the surroundings began to
change, but the ground wasn’t as vibrant a red, especially with the bleached
grasses and straggly shrubs dotted here and there.

A flock of tiny crimson birds, their disproportionately long
tails that appeared to be a knot of twisted, hanging feathers, flew past,
headed to what was probably the safety of the mountaintop, or more likely its
fresh water.

Genesis slowed the
cercanne
to little more than
walking pace as she peered over his shoulder. Another herd of
bolishtas
with their red coats and yellowish manes were grazing on the grasses ahead,
seemingly oblivious to their presence.

She put a hand to her mouth as she looked past the animals.
She must be seeing things? Plants couldn’t grow out here, surely? But behind
the herd, rows upon rows of lush plants in varying colors and heights stood out
in stark relief against the endless red backdrop of mountain and sand.

“You have gardens here?” she breathed. At his nod she added
huskily, “Plants are—were—my passion back on Earth.”

He turned to her, his eyes darkening as though he’d guessed
that tidbit of information already and he wasn’t happy she’d used the past
tense. “These plants were the surprise I wanted to show you. I don’t think
there’s any reason you can’t keep your passion alive and well here on
Carèche
.”

Her stare fell back on the plants. Excitement thudded
through her veins. She could learn so much about the flora on this planet; take
her knowledge to a whole new level.

She glanced back at Genesis, moved by the surprise he’d given
her, but even more touched that he’d even noticed her passion for all things
plants. Someone interested in her interests was a rare novelty to be cherished
and appreciated.

“The
bolishta
don’t eat the gardens?”

“Their stomachs have trouble digesting anything more than
the grasses they’re fond of eating.” He inclined his head toward the red-gold
mountain, “The base of
Mount Heamington
is where almost all our food is
grown.”

Her excitement plummeted as her gaze travelled from the base
of the mountain to the lofty mountain peak where the transmitter to find other
Earth women would be located. She needed to forget about the gardens and think
about saving her sister!

She clasped his hard forearms, forcing a casual tone as she
asked, “Is it possible to go to the top of the mountain?”

He arched a brow. “You’d need five Earth hours and the speed
and strength of a
bolishta
for that journey. But once the
caltronian
mating cycle is finished I will take you. Otherwise it’s far too dangerous to
travel to the summit.”

Her gaze swung to the
bolishtas
they approached as
she tried to push aside bitter disappointment at how inaccessible the
transmitter was. “Oh?’

He stopped the bike beside the herd of ten. “Though they’re
much the same as your Earth horses to look at,
bolishtas
are immensely
strong and can extend hundreds of sharp, hooklike talons, which are retracted
beneath their hooves. They’re one of the few big animals who can scale almost
vertically.”

“That’s awesome,” she breathed, looking at the animals in a
whole new light.

He nodded, humor sparking in his eyes as he glanced back at
her. “Yes. I guess it’s to our benefit they’re a gentle beast and don’t use
their talons even for self-defense. Unfortunately it leaves them vulnerable to
a
caltronian
attack, which is why they roam freely around our camps and
our gardens, choosing to stay nearby for our protection.”

They were flight animals much the same as horses.

“In return for our aid, the
bolishtas
take us where
the
cercannes
can’t.” He pointed to the mountain. “Mostly steep
terrain.”

She pulled her feet free from the stirrups. Wrapping her
legs around his hips, she tilted her head to the side as she took in the
graceful animals. “If I could walk on the hot sand I’d get closer to those
bolishtas
.
I’d love to check them out properly.”

“You will have that opportunity soon,” he said huskily, as
though he too wasn’t immune to the awareness between them. “I sent one of my
men to the central province to acquire some special footwear that will shape to
your feet and protect them.”

She smiled thanks. “I noticed the Earth women wearing them
today.”

“Yes. Theirs were made in advance. I shouldn’t have assumed
you wouldn’t need them too.”

She frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“The children born here who are of mixed blood like you and
me have the thicker-soled feet of the
Carèche
people. I foolishly
assumed you’d be the same.”

“Perhaps it’s nature’s evolution? I was born on Earth and
didn’t need the thicker-skinned feet that the children did of this planet?”

His eyes glinted. “Beautiful and smart. How’d I get so
lucky?”

A flash of pleasure filled her to the brim. She pulled a
face in an attempt to disguise the emotion, uncertain just yet if she wanted
him to know how he affected her. “If only it wasn’t for my feet…?”

“Your feet are perfect,
Sheehar
,” he said gently,
clearly seeing right through her bluff. “And even if they weren’t, it’d be just
another thing for me to love about you.”

She sucked in a breath. “Love?”

He dismounted with the grace of much practice and stood
facing her. “You are my intended. I loved you from the moment I saw you. My
love is irrefutable, undeniable.”

Oh, God.

Noxious guilt swirled thickly within. Unlike her, he didn’t
see the need to hide his true feelings. Unlike her he wasn’t carrying a secret
that could destroy everything.

She swallowed hard. She needed to change the subject fast,
before she blurted out something foolish. She jerked a nod toward the
bolishtas
.“Would you mind taking me to see them?”

His eyelids swept low, though she perceived his astute gaze
studied her face. After long seconds he relented with a nod. “Of course.”
Gathering her in his arms, he carried her to the herd that showed no sign of
fear, the creatures turning large, trusting eyes their way.

An arm around Genesis’ shoulders, she reached out her free
hand and touched the bowed, velvety nose of one
bolishta
, causing its
rubbery, whiskered lips to tremble.

“They adore affection,” Genesis said with a smile.

Her hand slid up the creature’s graceful curving face and
between its large, V-shaped ears. “They’re so big, much bigger than horses.”
She scratched between its ears, grinning as its lips continued to quiver.

At least its comical expression distracted her from Genesis’
bare chest that had the hard musculature of a warrior and musky scent of male.

She turned to him. “Are they all trained to be ridden?”

“They are.” He faced the
bolishta
getting all the
attention and commanded,
“Karsh.”

The animal grunted, its head dropping as it all but
collapsed onto its knees. Genesis lifted her onto its back then climbed behind
her, his arms encircling her from behind.

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” She swallowed.
“Where’s the bridle and saddle?”

“We need none of those things,” he reassured. “As you can
probably feel, their coats are soft, even a little spongy.”

She wriggled a little. He was right. It was much the same as
the memory foam cushion she’d owned on Earth, imprinting her favorite position.

“As for a bridle…we simply look to where we want to go and
that’s where the
bolishta
heads. Everything else is voice control and
their sensitivity to our emotions.”

She bit her bottom lip. If she had any hope to one day
destroy the airwave device on the tower, she needed to learn how to ride these
creatures. “Sounds…easy enough.”

“Unct.”
At his command the
bolishta
clambered
to its feet, making the ground seem a long way down. Genesis’ arms tightened
around her as he murmured, “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Merdee.”
His next command had the
bolishta’s
long-legged stride take them closer to the mountain base, where plants of all
descriptions grew. A few of them she recognized, but there were many others she
didn’t.

Soon enough she forgot her nerves, her focus instead zoning
in on each new plant. She pointed to one with blue and red striped leaves.
“What is that one?”

“It’s a
xenz
. Its ground up and dried leaves make
incomparable pain relief. Its roots are highly toxic, as is its fresh
sap—though taken in small doses it counteracts the bacteria found in a
caltronian
bite or claws—if you’re lucky enough to survive the attack.”

“And those?” she asked as they rode past the odd looking
rows of what appeared to be arm-length pieces of jagged, burnt-orange bark
stuck in the ground.

His arms stiffened around her, causing the
bolishta
to nervously toss its head. Talking to the animal in his own tongue, he finally
answered her question, his tone stark. “We call it
gratzi
. It was
brought here after the crew on the mothership discovered an unmapped planet, on
its way back from Earth.”

“Oh?” She peered at the
gratzi
with even more
interest, imagining it growing wild on some undoubtedly inhospitable planet.

“Once its outer woody shell is infused in water for a day or
more, it triggers the body—alien or human—to produce millions of antibodies, far
more than we’d need to fight off the worst virus or bacteria.”

Realization shuddered through her. “So…this,” she swept out
a goose-pimpled arm, her voice quavering with heartfelt emotion, “would have
saved our races from the virus had it been discovered earlier?”

“Yes.”

His one word expressed enough bitter regret for the both of
them and her vision blurred as she took in the unassuming wooded plant that
could have easily changed the fate of two great worlds.

“Selfish bastard that I am, I’m almost glad it wasn’t
found,” he said hoarsely. His arms tightened. “I’d never have met you.”

“I’m…glad too,” she admitted in a small voice. “I just wish
there could have been another reason for our worlds to unite and that we’d met
in other circumstances.”

Moving the loosened strands of her hair aside, he kissed her
nape, his lips and tongue and breath causing her belly to flutter while longing
curled as though smoke deep inside. “What’s done is done,” he said. “Let’s not
dwell on it.”

“You’re right.” She leaned back a little more as she said
huskily, “There’s nothing that can be done to change the past. But our future
is a whole lot brighter.”

“Agreed,
Sheehar
.” Clearly changing the subject he
pointed to the thick, jelly-looking stalks that reminded her of aloe vera. “Those
are an excellent tonic against our endless daylight.”

She frowned, intrigued and puzzled all at once. “Oh?”

“When a person sucks the plant’s jellied sap, it darkens
vision. The more one drinks the darker the surroundings become.” He offhandedly
added, “It also substitutes for water in a pinch.”

He showed her a dozen more plants, each with amazing
capabilities. She leaned against him fully, absorbing his strength of will
before allowing her awed gaze to travel over the extensively planted gardens.
“Why are the gardens here? Why not have them closer to where you live?”

He swept out a hand. “The mountain gives off enough
naturally occurring underground moisture and nutrients to keep all the plants
alive and healthy, without any help from us once we’ve planted the seeds.”

So the water from here was nontoxic, unlike the lake water.
The mountain suddenly took on a whole new perspective, the desert not quite the
inhospitable terrain she’d once thought. “So why don’t you and your people stay
here too?”

“Aside from the fact it’s near impossible to syphon the
moisture from underground to use as drinking water, the
caltronians
prefer to hunt when the suns are at their weakest—about the same time our body
clock tells us to sleep.”

“Weakest point?”

He nodded. “The suns follow the perimeter of our far
horizons. It’s coolest when all three are on the horizon opposite the
mountain.”

“Do all the bears
—caltronians—
live on the mountain?”

“Almost exclusively,” he said, “though occasionally a rogue
male will be chased into the desert by his competition in the mating cycle,
which is bad news for the rogue if it isn’t able to return with a few days at
most. Its only source of pure, drinkable water is what little there is that
runs off the cliff face up high.”

She shivered, no longer so eager to climb off the
bolishta’s
back and carefully examine each and every plant. She never wanted to be in the
vicinity of such a dangerous animal.

Not even for your sister?

Genesis’ warm breath tickled her ear as he laughed from
behind. “You’re safe with me,
Sheehar
. I won’t let anything or anyone
hurt you. The
bolishtas
have amazing hearing and senses, they would have
been spooked long ago if a
caltronian
was near.”

“So they’re like an alarm?”

“Yes, I guess they are. Nature’s own warning system.”

She gave the beast they were riding a pat on the neck,
thankful for its company.

Genesis’ arms tightened around her in an oddly proud but
possessive gesture as he informed, “In a day or so your footwear will arrive
and I’ll bring you back here so that you can have a better look at the plants.”

“Thank you, I’d love that.”

He turned the
bolishta
back in the direction of the
cercanne
.
She craned her head upward to peer at the seemingly endless mountain, trying
not to think about the predators that might well be lying in wait.