The Spawning (30 page)

It was like … he had multiple personality disorder, or something! Before he’d decided she’d chosen him for a lover, he’d been downright cold most of the time, and barely civil the rest. Then they’d screwed and he’d disappeared—almost like her last

‘boyfriend’, except he’d come back like a caveman, dragged her to his lair and screwed her brains out and now ….

She didn’t understand
now
, damn it!

He was just acting strange and she didn’t get it!

She was pretty sure he’d just told her he was ok with her dragging Teron, Gerek, and Adar into
his
pod and using
his
bed to screw them, though.

A lump the size of her fist formed in her throat.

So much for thinking he’d decided he just couldn’t live with out her and charged in like her white knight and rescued her from the horrible wilderness! She sniffed a few times, trying to decide if she’d feel better if she squalled for a while or worse. Crying her heart out sounded pretty tempting, but she decided she’d rather find Deborah and the others, see if they’d been similarly abused and, if so, enjoy a bitch fest.

She wasn’t confessing anything, though, until she found out if they’d been

dumped on.

As badly as she wanted somebody to use as a sounding board, it still took a while to get up the nerve to enter the pool. Even when she had, she clung to the edge for a while, reminding herself that it was a very short tunnel. All she had to do was duck outside, take a quick look around and then return if she needed air. It was stupid to panic just because it wasn’t a swimming pool. The same rules applied—hold breath, swim under the water, and then come when she needed air.

Sucking in a few deep breaths, she shot through the tunnel and out the other side, took a quick look around and ducked back in. The ‘village’ looked like a … sandcastle, she decided, more than anything else. She hadn’t stayed outside long enough to really take in a lot of details, and it was gloomy so deep in the sea, but that was the overall impression, towers and spires. The spires, she realized must be the chimney sort of things they used to bring light down into the rooms/apartments, probably circulating air, too. Khan had called it a pod, but that was what it looked like—an apartment building designed like a sandcastle. She’d noticed holes sprinkled here and there and since she THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 134

didn’t think they had windows, she thought those must be entrances to other ‘pods’.

They didn’t seem that far apart. Surely she could swim from one to the next,

duck in and grab a breath of air if she needed to?

Of course, the occupant might not be too happy about an unexpected guest, but

since Khan had left to work, surely the others had, too?

She could try it, she decided. If she met up with anyone that got nasty about her popping into their place, she’d just apologize and leave … and try to remember to avoid that pod the next time. Taking several deep breaths once she’d made up her mind, she ducked through the tunnel, swam toward the next one as fast as she could and went in.

It seemed to be empty. She treaded water for a few minutes until she’d steadied her pulse and caught her breath and then ducked out again, glancing back toward Khan’s entrance and trying to find a point of reference so that she could find her way back. It seemed to be on the end—unless there were others around the corner that she couldn’t see—and fourth down from the top. Ducking back inside for a few more breaths, she checked it again for any other identifying features and finally moved to the next opening.

She’d checked nearly a half dozen and was considering giving up and going back when she broke the surface of a pool and heard a feminine gasp. Swiping the water from her eyes, she apologized a little breathlessly. “Sorry … uh … I was looking for Deborah or Stacy,” she said when she saw a woman curled up on the ‘couch’.

She couldn’t remember her name.

She sniffed. “I don’t know where anybody is,” she said a little tearfully. “Tin
said
he had to go to work—lit out of here like his pants were on fire.”

Miranda studied the woman’s face sympathetically and finally remembered her

name was Beth. “Khan, too. I guess they figured they’d rested enough.”

“I guess,” she mumbled, then brightened a little. “You want company?”

Not particularly. She really wanted to talk to Deborah, but she could see Beth was in just as much need as she was. “It’s kind of scary,” she said warningly. “The entrances are pretty close together, but you have to hold your breath until you get to one and get inside.”

Some of the tension eased from her. “I’m a pretty good swimmer. I won’t

panic.”

“Good,” Miranda said flatly. “Because I’m not that good and if you get into

trouble I can’t rescue you.”

Beth looked a little uneasy, but finally nodded, getting up and heading to the pool.

“I’ve already checked six or seven places. Give me a head start and then follow.”

She paused before she ducked under the water. “It’s hard to tell one from

another—inside or out. You should be sure to look it over carefully when you leave if you want to find your way back.”

By the time they’d checked six more, Miranda had picked up two more followers

and she was too tired to go on without resting for a while. Fortunately, the pod they ducked in to was empty. Feeling like a burglar, Miranda climbed out of the water with an effort and simply sprawled on the floor, struggling for breath. “My
god
I’m out of shape!”

Carol, Beth, and Mary Jane climbed out and sprawled on the floor to rest, as well.

“I guess one thing that’s really nice about living down here is no dust—and no tracking in dirt,” Mary Jane muttered.

THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 135

“It give me the creeps,” Carol said plaintively. “I don’t know why they’d want to build their village down here anyway. If they’d built it in the compound it would’ve been much better.”

Miranda had decided she really didn’t like Carol, but she figured that was alright since it seemed to be mutual. “Because they’re sea people, for one thing. For another, they were imprisoned there and it’s just plain bad memories, I imagine.”

“If I said black was black you’d disagree,” Carol said testily. “I think I’m going back to my place to wait for Merc.”

Mary Jane snickered when she’d disappeared. “You think the idiot can find her way back?”

Miranda shook her head. “She won’t care where she lands. She doesn’t give a

damn about Merc—or any of the others.”

“Do you?”

Miranda swallowed with an effort. “I do—quite a lot, actually.”

Beth burst into tears. “They don’t really care about us, though. At least … I don’t think Tin really likes me. He was talking about my ‘other’ lovers and he didn’t seem the least bit jealous. In fact, he couldn’t seem to get out fast enough.”

Miranda sat up, glanced at Mary Jane, and then studied Beth. “Khan did the same thing … pretty much.”

Beth sniffed and looked at her in surprise. “Really? I thought he was just crazy about you! He could hardly take his eyes off of you if you were anywhere around. He almost fell over a log one day when you bent over at the beach,” she added, giggling at the memory. “It was all I could do not to laugh.”

Something fluttered in Miranda’s belly, but she quelled it. “I guess it was …

screwing he had on his mind. Maybe that’s all it was with any of them. And, you know, that doesn’t make them any different than the men we’re used to—or make them all bad.

“Let’s face it, they haven’t been laid in a while. It’s only natural, I suppose, that they wouldn’t be able to think about anything else.”

“You think that’s why they’re that way about the ‘other lovers’?” Mary Jane

asked.

Miranda shrugged. She’d actually been thinking
exactly
that, but it made her feel like shit. “You mean like they don’t feel right to hoard the only available pussy when their buddies aren’t getting any?”

“Something like that.”

She frowned. “If it was a bunch of our guys, they wouldn’t be sharing.”

“Yes, they would. Back in high school, they did it all the time. They’d just pass the girls around that were willing to sleep with them,” Beth said.

“They’re not immature little twerps looking for notches for their bedposts!”

Miranda said angrily. “They’ve taken care of us.”

“Yes, but … they were expecting to take it out in trade.”

“Maybe,” Miranda said thoughtfully. “Why wait so long, though? Why act like

they weren’t interested at all and then suddenly make a complete turn around?”

“Well, I don’t understand that either!” Mary Jane said testily. “I had a hard enough time trying to figure out men back home. Sometimes, I think they’re just like them and sometimes I don’t think they’re anything at all like them.”

Miranda sighed. “Maybe we should just accept that it’s a strange little quirk of THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 136

theirs? It
seems
to be a custom. I mean, it doesn’t make sense that they’d all have the same attitude if it wasn’t, does it? As many as there are, wouldn’t
some
of them refuse to play the game if it wasn’t something they’d been brought up to think was ‘right’? When Khan claimed me on the beach, Gerek, Teron, and Adar were right there. They looked like they wanted to beat the shit out of him and I thought for several really scary minutes that that was exactly what they were going to do. But Khan said I was his and I’d accepted him. And the others just backed off. They were still angry. I could see that. It wasn’t like they were afraid of Khan. They just accepted his claim. And the night we had the orgy—He said he was glad I’d chosen him as
one
of my lovers, that I was generous hearted.”

“So … you’re suggesting the women chose and the men accept that?”

“That’s what it sounds like to me—not that I actually did—that I was aware of, but I guess that was the way they interpreted the kiss,” Miranda said.

Mary Jane frowned thoughtfully. “You know this sort of reminds me of

something I read one time about Indians—uh—American Indians—I mean Native

Americans, or whatever we’re supposed to call them now—anyway, some of the tribes had matriarchal societies. And I think, in some, they were pretty free with the sex and it wasn’t looked down on. Of course, in others, it was really looked down and they did horrible things if anybody cheated. It isn’t cheating, though, if everybody knows and they agree with it. It’s cheating if you have a agreement not to see anybody else and break it—and I don’t care what anybody says, men are worse about it.”

“What’s a matriarchal?” Beth asked.

“The women. They traced their lines through the women and the women were the

property owners—the tepee or whatever belonged to them, because of the children. The men just owned their horses and hunted.”

“Well … that’s all very well and good, and maybe we’re right and it is their

custom, and maybe not, but it isn’t
our
custom and I’m not really very comfortable with it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guys that decided I’d picked them. They’re cute, and really nice—except for Tin—he’s a little bit of a prick—that boy’s got a corn cob up his ass!—I really don’t much care for Cel’s sense of humor, either—but I like them well enough. It’s just … I really, really like Dirk and I don’t want him to not like me because of this lover thing they have going on. I don’t see how he could get to like me if he knows I sleep around.”

“You don’t think we’re
all
worried about that?” Miranda asked irritably. “The question is, is there any chance anyway? Or are they just going to pass us around regardless? Or would they not like us if we didn’t put out? Maybe they just aren’t used to having families and that’s why they’re like that? And if they aren’t, then they just don’t think that way. How did you end up with Tin, anyway, if you like Dirk the best?”

Beth gave her a look. “Honest to god, Miranda! Did you
miss
the ‘raid’? The wall fell—just collapsed right into the sea, which scared the hell out of everybody and then this
wave
of yellow skinned devils came boiling over it! We didn’t know if it was our Hirachi or some others—but I thought others because they’d just been so …
civilized
right up until then. And everybody started screaming and running in every direction, because there wasn’t any damned place to run to. I was just trying not to get caught, at all. And then Tin caught me and I was so relieved to see it was him, I didn’t think of objecting. I thought he’d rescued me! And I didn’t know it was ‘the spawning’ thing I’d THE SPAWNING Kaitlyn O’Connor 137

heard about anyway. The next thing I knew he was screwing my brains out right there in front of God and everybody and snarling at Dirk and Cel that I was his. I’d
chosen
him.”

Miranda stared at her, but she didn’t actually have any trouble visualizing the

‘raid’ as Beth called it. She’d caught a glimpse of the mayhem herself. “They must have some sort of ritualistic signals,” she said after a moment. “I mean—Khan said pretty much the same thing—and he did the night of the celebration, too. It’s not like I haven’t had guys get mixed signals from me when I didn’t even know they were alive, but these guys seem pretty … disciplined, really orderly about everything they do. The kiss … I hate to say it, because it sounds kind of stupid, but I kissed Khan because I really wanted to and then, when the others gave me gifts, it didn’t seem right to behave any less enthusiastically. I like them. I didn’t want them to feel slighted when I could see they’d worked just as hard to give me something nice.

“The gifts must be part of a ritual for them—they give gifts to the woman they desire. If she spurns it, she spurns them. Seems pretty simple—kind of mean, but that must be it.”

“So … if we hadn’t run around the compound, screaming like sirens, they

wouldn’t have gotten the idea we were ripe for them?”

Miranda uttered a snort of laughter. “Actually, that might really be part of it. I mean, think about it—the Hirachi women are warriors. Do you think they’d react the way we did?”