Lord of Capra (9 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Drake awoke to the
sound of the stream playing a merry tune he didn’t recognize. He opened his
eyes to daylight, of sorts, since there wasn’t an actual sun he could see. Now
that it was no longer night, he saw far into the distance. A vast countryside
spread out in all but one direction before him. Last night the thought to use
his night vision had never occurred to him. No matter. It was better seeing Evana’s
personal space this way.

Many trees of
various shapes and shades of green, grass-covered meadows with interspersed
flowers blooming in a kaleidoscope of colors and more streams merging into a
large river in the distance that appeared to meander its way around distant
hills, perhaps emptying into a faraway sea, all seemed too real for him to
fathom. The sheer vastness of the space was unbelievable. No, he realized. That
was an optical illusion. He was just seeing it with more visual acuteness. In
addition, if there’d been animals, birds or insects, he would’ve heard them
too. Only the stream, fountains and breeze made sounds. He concentrated a bit
harder. He was able to hear his own breathing and heart beating. Without
looking, he also knew the flame in the stream was extinguished for the moment.

He gazed down the
path that led to the exit before shifting his attention in the direction Evana
had taken last evening to fetch the wine. Ah, yes, the wine and relaxing pool,
he mused. They were probably both from a planet far away. He gave the pool and
empty glass a suspicious look, thinking for a moment they most likely came from
the planet Ambien.

No, he didn’t feel as
if he’d awoken from a drugged sleep. In fact, he felt incredible. He rubbed his
chin, feeling the same amount of stubble growth he’d had last night. It was
odd. Maybe he’d only slept for a few hours. He decided to explore the dwelling
Evana had mentioned. Maybe a shower and shave would be nice before he went on a
search for her, or Nemesis. Thinking of the latter, he hoped to find some more
clothes too as his had apparently disappeared.

Evana had been
correct. He found everything he needed at the dwelling. Refreshed after shaving
and showering, he also discovered some clothes laid out for him to wear. They’d
appeared on the countertop along with a huge towel before he’d stepped from the
stone enclosed shower area. Well, maybe clothes was too generous a term for
what he actually felt like he was wearing.

The sleeveless
tunic and calf-length pants reminded him of a karate uniform, only of a lighter
weight material with a snug fit. The clothing allowed for total freedom of
movement. He refused to think of them as tights, and since they were obviously
too large for Evana, he had to assume they were meant for him. He didn’t find
any shoes. He studied his bare feet and guessed he could get used to traveling
in outer space without any. Giving it more thought, he imagined if he were a
living ship, he might not want anyone stomping around inside him with hard-soled
boots either.

 He left the bath
area intent on exploring the rest of the dwelling. He snooped around, thinking
it looked more like what he might have called a bath house on Earth. He
discovered a few odd shaped bottles in a cabinet. Wine, he guessed. Maybe this
was the kitchen area, he figured, but there were no signs of appliances or food
anywhere. Drake thought about asking out loud for a cold beer just to see if it’d
appear. He changed his mind almost immediately. He really didn’t want one, and
all at once, the whole idea just seemed juvenile.

Not seeing anything
else to interest him, he stepped out the door and returned to the lounge where
he’d spent what was left of last night. It suddenly occurred to him that he
didn’t have a clue as to what time it was or exactly how long he’d slept. He decided
to change his plan of action, turned and took the path he hoped led to the
door.

No opening
appeared. “Evana?” No answer and no opening. He shouted her name. Nothing.
Hoping he was doing the right thing, he tried something different. “Nemesis?”

“Drake, I am
pleased you are awake. I have been waiting for you.”

Oh shit.
Not sure what she
meant by “waiting for him” and even less certain in which direction to ask
another question, Drake answered hesitantly, “Waiting for me?”

“Yes. While Evana
is occupied this is a good time for us to talk. Do you require anything?”

“No!” he blurted,
then said more evenly, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

In an attempt to
make up for any bad impression he might be guilty of, he stammered, “And, uh,
thank you for the, um…clothes.” He grimaced. This was not going well.

“Please be at ease.
I am here to assist you. Ask me any questions you wish.”

Now that he had a
chance to speak to Nemesis, he wondered where to begin. Perhaps the beginning,
he decided. He wasn’t sure exactly how to start.

“Who or what are
you?”

“Who I am requires
a lengthy explanation. What I am is best understood by most sentient life as a
living form of dark energy and matter. Those of my kind were born the instant
after the great beginning of light, what you refer to as the Big Bang. Over
many eons, we have evolved to our present state. After studying your literature
during this visit to Earth, I think you would find it easier to think of me as
an invisible spaceship that explores your galaxy and also defends it when
necessary.”
Nemesis
stopped speaking.

Invisible spaceship
from the Big Bang, Drake repeated the words over and over in his mind. Okay.
The “who” she was could wait, he eventually decided.

“And what is Evana?”

“She is my pilot.
Through the exchange of energy between us, we reach speeds far in excess of
what you call light speed. My kind all have pilots now. We call this period of
time the Eon of Evolution and the present age is the Age of Pilots.
I
chose to remain in your galaxy. The rest of my kind spread out across the
universe to explore other galaxies.”

“Not all of them
have gone, have they?”

“They were all
gone. Now at least one has returned. Do not concern yourself about the wraith.
I will destroy him.”

“And his pilot?”

“When the wraith
dies, the pilot dies with him, always.”

“Good info,” Drake
mumbled. He wandered back to the lounge and sat. Not wanting to even
contemplate the fate in store for any pilot, he changed the subject.

“Have you always
called yourself Nemesis?”

“No. I chose that
name for myself during the Age of Consciousness, in the Eon of Awareness, which
was long before the Eon of Evolution—”

“Sorry,” Drake
interrupted her. “Wrong question, I think.”

“Evana does not
like to hear much of the history either.”

He could almost
swear he heard her laugh. Drake chuckled, and asked, “Do you think of yourself
as a wraith or something else?”

“
From the beginning,
we’ve thought of ourselves as That Which Is Not Light. In this eon, we divided
our numbers to become
Legion, Colony, Fleet, Horde and Tribe. As you
already know, I was part of Tribe until I chose to go alone. During my time
with Tribe
,
the sentient life forms we came in contact with have called
us by many names, some of which translate as phantoms, wraiths, ghosts, demons,
black fleet, creators and gods. On your Earth, my name was given to a goddess
from Evana’s time. Ghost ship is how she prefers to call my kind, and I prefer
the term also. However, I think of all invaders as wraiths and do not tolerate
them in this galaxy.” Nemesis paused, as if waiting for him to respond.

Drake remained
silent for several moments, lost in thought. It was unimaginable to think of a
being as old as Nemesis. Just knowing Evana was from a time over two thousand
years before his was hard enough. She must’ve been alive before or near the
time of Alexander the Great, if his memory of ancient history was correct. How
incredible, he marveled. But what now? And why?

“Nemesis, Evana
said you chose me for her. Why?”

“Yes. She was
lonely. You are perfect for her, are you not?”

“Lonely?” Drake
wasn’t
sure if he felt flattered or used somehow. “So your pilot gets lonely and you
go out and find me? I’m her perfect playmate now?”

“How is it you find
insult by this, Drake?”
Before he could defend his position, Nemesis continued
sternly. “Evana is my most beloved pilot, and has been with me longer than any
other. Together we are more powerful than any ghost ship I have ever known or
encountered. This galaxy and your Earth have reaped the benefit of our
protection for many centuries. Protection from not just the wraiths but other
star-faring life forms who populate this galaxy and would have enslaved your
backward planet if given the chance, and you take insult at being her mate?
Now?”

“No! I love her,”
he blurted.

Drake sucked in a
deep shaky breath, and said, “I’m sorry, Nemesis. I meant no insult.” He felt
properly chastised. Trying to explain further, he added, “I’m a man. We have
this ego thing that gets in the way of our better judgment sometimes.” He fell
silent.

Nemesis did not
answer right away, and he feared she hadn’t listened to him, that maybe she
hadn’t heard his apology. All of a sudden, his reason for being there didn’t
matter at all anymore. He was more concerned about staying.

“I am most pleased
you have acknowledged your love for my pilot, Drake. I believe she is very
fortunate to have you as her mate.”

 She paused, and
Drake released a great sigh of relief.

 “Nemesis was the
goddess of righteous indignation, wasn’t she?” He was starting to remember some
of his ancient history. He wondered if it was another side effect of Evana’s
blood.

“And justice and
vengeance.”

Well, the Greeks
got that goddess pegged, he decided.

“And the ego thing
you spoke of is only bad if you allow it to rule you. I believe it is closely
related to false pride.”

Drake smiled wryly.
“I think you take great pride in your pilot, Nemesis.”

“Yes. I would
appreciate it if you would not tell her.”

“Your secret is
safe with me,” he promised, then whispered softly to himself. “Women.”

“Would you like to
know why I selected you?”

Drake considered if
he truly wanted to know. If it wasn’t for his good looks and charm, did he
really want to hear about why she picked him?

Risking another
blow to his already bruised ego, he said, “Yes, go ahead and tell me, Nemesis.”
Please be gentle
, he pleaded silently.

“I narrowed my
search to candidates who had the proper qualifications. They had to be alone,
no immediate family, and they had to be dying or dissatisfied with their lives.”

“You know it’s not
very flattering to be part of that group,” he grumbled.

“Eventually, I narrowed
it down to you and one other male from the country of Italy.”

“An Italian?” He
really wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear why Nemesis had chosen him now. As
usual, his curiosity overrode his reluctance. “How did he make your list?”

“He was a physician
who was dying of a disease you call cancer.”

No, he didn’t need
to hear about that. “You chose me over a doctor for Evana? Why would you do
that?”

“Evana does not
need a doctor. My pilot has need of a warrior at certain times. You are a
trained fighter, a judicious killer, but you have a few qualities all the
others lacked. I sensed an aura of innate honor about you that equals Evana’s.
Also your energies are very close to identical. If I were in need of another pilot
and could choose a male, I would choose you. You were the only choice, the
perfect mate.”

Drake was somewhat
relieved and it dawned on him that, in her own way, Nemesis had just given him
a compliment. “So, I guess that means you like me too?”

“Yes, I like you.”
Nemesis
added, “For Evana.”

Thinking it best
not to press his luck anymore with this particular lady, he elected to change
the subject. He needed more information about the “mating thing” Evana seemed
so worried about. To be honest, he was willing to take his chances when it came
to the living or dying part of it. However, he’d like to know how to increase
his odds in favor of living.

 “Nemesis, Evana is
afraid she might kill me during this…um…our mating.” Drake fumbled for words,
not too comfortable talking to Nemesis about something so personal.

“She has expressed
her concerns.”

“So do you think
she’ll be able to stop herself?”

“No.”

“No?”
Unbelievable.
“Nemesis, you went through all the trouble of finding me for her and now she’s
going to kill me? That’s senseless, don’t you think?”

“Only if you do not
stop her.”

“Me? Stop her? No
possible way.” He looked at the fake sky, and implored, “How can I possibly do
that when she’s stronger?”