The War for Mare (The Fall of Man Book 3) (10 page)

“Making love and being intimate can be a
wonderful experience when it is with someone you care about. Think
about when he kisses you. How does that make you feel?”

My mind went back to the time Iry did kiss
me. It was my first kiss, and I hated to admit that I enjoyed it.
There was something about it that made me feel as if I were on
route to some sort of better plateau.

“I ... like it.”

“Then that’s a start. I know how you feel. I
was married once and I was innocent too when I got married. I
didn’t know anything.”

“How did you learn?”

“My husband was patient, he talked to me. I
watched movies. And… wine helps.”

“Oh, I’ll remember that, thank you,” I
said.

“You do know, married to an Ancient, a bond
was placed on you by the court, chances are, one time and you will
conceive.”

“Oh, I can deal with one time. You have been
so helpful.” I leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll
let you get back to work.”

“No problem, any time. What was your name
again?”

“Vala. And you are Maggie, the fruit drink
street vendor.”

“Just Maggie will be fine and here…” She
handed me a tall, orange beverage. “This will help you relax.”

Maggie was a kind and generous woman who not
only gave me great advice, she gave me a beverage that I knew would
calm my nerves. Conceiving a child was a serious commitment, but if
the Savages indeed were invading in masses, then it was a
commitment I had to make.

My fruit drink in hand, I headed back home.
I had a lot to think about.

“Are you always
so angry?” Brea asked while we gathered our things preparing to
leave. “You seem like you’re always upset about something.”

“He is,” Snake answered before I could.

“Snake,” I snapped. “No. I mean, I have a
lot on my mind,” I told her.

“Did you want to talk about it?”

“That…” Snake said, “is a good idea. I’m
gonna go get some coffee.”

I grunted.

“There you go again,” she said. “Now, tell
me what’s up?”

My hand dropped to the bag in frustration.
“I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, okay, short version of the story.
Vala, a girl from the Straits, arrived in Angeles City. She wanted
to be part of the rebellion.”

“So you like this Vala?”

“No, yes, I mean… she has this gift. She is
something called a Mare.”

“That’s a myth.”

“No, it’s real,” I said. “She can do things
like you wouldn’t believe. Travel with her mind, see things, fight
Savage after Savage without breaking a sweat.”

“Wow. Sounds like the perfect girl.”

“Yeah, the perfect girl decided the best way
to beat the Ancients was to infiltrate them. Plus, she was
threatened by Nito. Nito said she’d kill me if Vala didn’t return
to be chosen. You know what that is?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Her educator had a thing for her and told
her if she returned he’d choose her before Nito could.”

“Of course, because Nito wants a Mare.”

“Exactly. So Vala…
poof,
took off for
her home. This was after the Day Stalkers hit us. All brought by
Nito. Vala goes, her home is hit by Savages, her mother is killed
and her sister is turned into an Ancient. Because Vala couldn’t
leave her little sister, she ended up marrying the educator.’

“Ouch. I’m sorry,” Brea said. “Really? So
she married the guy to be able to watch her sister?”

“Yes. I went to find her to tell her I
located the Savage camp and to come back to help defeat them. But
she isn’t coming back because of her sister. Now… I find out that
the king can turn back her sister.”

“And you want to go there?”

“I do. But I also feel I need to go home
because Nito is there.”

“This makes sense. You want my advice or
not?” Brea asked.

“I’ll take your advice.”

“If this girl was really into you, she would
have brought her sister to Angeles City with you. Even if she
didn’t see that as an option, you, Tanner, strike me as a young man
with a cause. Your cause is to return humanity back to where it
was.”

“It is.”

“Then follow your cause. Your fight is not
in Ancient City, it is in Angeles City, in the form of Nito. Vala
will still be there when it is all said and done.”

“But what if… what if she isn’t there for me
anymore?”

“Then you need to examine if she was ever
there in the first place.”

I stared at Brea for the longest time. It
had been a while since I actually talked and listened to someone my
own age. She was untainted by everything, she had no foreknowledge,
and she barely knew me. Her advice came from listening.

After a moment, I nodded, and then zipped up
my bag. “Thanks,”

“Decision made?”

“Decision made.” I grabbed my bag. “I’m
going to Angeles City.”

I have never
appreciated the sight of the moon as much as I did the night
before. Staring out as it reflected off of a huge body of water,
for some reason I wasn’t frightened of it any longer, I was in a
different form.

Davis played his musical instrument and
stayed by my side. He was charming and witty. There was something
about him that made me forget why I was even in Angeles City.

Lost in thought, in awe of the human man, I
searched for my original motivation. I was supposed to be getting
back into the good graces of my father. But why send me to human
form? He could have sent me back to the Starvation age or even
Egypt. But he didn’t. He made me human. The only reason I could
think of was because I was never good to humans. I believed I was
until I lived among them and saw them for who they were.

Listening to Davis sing, to humans laughing,
watching the moon, I reflected on a lot of things that I had done
to humans. To Davis’s own people. I wasn’t sure, but I believed I
felt an inkling of guilt.

Did my own father truly want to cause the
demise of the human race? No. Ancients needed the humans, and in my
selfishness, I didn’t see that. If it was my father’s intention to
banish me to human form to appreciate them and be good to them, it
was working. I just wish it came without the leakage of substances
from my body.

“So this is what you do at night?” I asked
the evening before sitting on the sand.

“Typically,” Davis said. “But something
isn’t right. There are no Savages.”

“Do they come every night?”

“Yeah, or every other night. They haven’t
been around. I thought we’d get hit big tonight.”

“Maybe they moved on.”

He laughed. “They need to eat. They didn’t
move on.”

Davis was right. It was strange that the
Savages had disappeared. There was an explanation, I knew. I wanted
to dive into that more, but I couldn’t because I didn’t want to
give away that I knew a lot about them.

“Thank you for the life jacket.”

“You’re welcome. You look good.” He
continued to play his musical instrument.

“I shall treasure this token,” I told him.
“In return, if you like, I’ll let you see these breasts.”

Davis stopped playing. “Um, maybe
later.”

“They are in good shape for a body of this
age.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said and
continued again, playing. “It’s been a while since I have been with
a woman.”

“Yes, I have heard,” I told him. “But at
least you are gay, right?”

His eyes widened and his hand slipped
sloppily down the strings of his instrument. “You think I’m
gay?”

“You seem it to me. Or is it a front?”

“Oh, you’re probably just reading me
wrong.”

It made me sad to hear, and I knew he masked
his loneliness well, making others believe he was merry and gay. I
would change that, he was inviting me to.

I stayed on the beach until I fell asleep,
something else I was still getting used to. When I woke, I was
covered with a blanket and was surprised to see a woman standing
above me.

“Madge?” she said. “Are you Madge, the new
lady.”

I squinted. She was a shadow with the sun
behind her. “I am. Who are you? Where is Davis?”

“Davis had to work, he said to get you. My
name is Jenny.” She held out her hand. “I’m your new
housemate.”

“Oh, Jenny, very nice to meet you.” I took
her hand and she helped me to stand.

“Do you want coffee? There’s some on the
boardwalk.”

“Yes.” I had grown fond of that
beverage.

Jenny was a nice woman. She looked younger
than me, though her name did not suit her at all. Her blonde hair
was cut to the shoulders and her body was toned, as if she were a
fighter.

“So we are housemates?” I asked.

“We are. Um… Amanda told me about you.”

“Oh, Amanda, lovely girl.”

“Yes, she is. She said you and I could be
friends,” Jenny said.

“Yes!” I said excitedly. “You are the one
that she told me about. I would love to be your friend. Back in the
day I always surrounded myself with beautiful women. You are
beautiful,”

“Aw, thank you. You are too.”

“Jenny, you need not return the compliment,
but thank you. You make me blush.”

“I look forward to getting to know you
better. Amanda said you’re a little odd, but I like odd. Come on,
I’ll show you to our house and around after we get you coffee.
And…” Jenny stopped walking and pointed to the life jacket, “you
can take that off.”

“No, that would be rude. Davis gave this to
me. It is a token of his intentions.”

“I see.” Jenny nodded. “I guess that’s one
of those odd things Amanda mentioned.”

I smiled politely. I didn’t think it was an
odd thing to treasure a token of affection. Perhaps Jenny hadn’t
experienced anything quite like it. I made a promise to myself
that, while I wouldn’t take off Davis’ life jacket, I also wouldn’t
boast about it either. Although it was kind of bulky and hard to
hide. The orange item just screamed, ‘I am taken by Davis!’.

For the first time
in days I didn’t dream, and it was nice. However, when I opened my
eyes, my head was pounding, my body felt as if it had been thrown
from a horse, and then I realized that, not only was I naked, but
Iry was on his side, staring at me.

“Morning,” he said with a smile.

I shrieked and pulled the covers up. “I feel
horrible.”

“As you should.”

“Is this normal.”

“Does your head hurt? Is your stomach queasy
and your body achy?”

“Yes.”

“Normal.”

“Oh my Gods.” I closed my eyes tightly.
“This is the aftereffects?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I’m sorry, Iry, I shall never do this
again, if this is how it feels.”

“You just overdid it.”

“What?” I asked in shock.

“You had too much.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Oh, sure,” he replied. “This is your body’s
way of telling you that you went overboard.”

“Why don’t I recall anything? Is that part
of it?”

“Yeah, when you do too much.”

“I wouldn’t think I’d be the type to
overindulge.”

“You did.”

“Did it work?” I asked. “Am I with
child?”

“No.” “Are we sure?”

“Positive.”

“Then I don’t know if I can do it again,
especially knowing that I feel this way. I’m sorry, Iry.”

“Not a problem.”

“I know I am your wife.”

“Vala…” He placed his finger to my lips. “I
told you from the start, you need not do anything. That is not why
I married you. It is my hope, my selfish hope, that one day you
will feel enough for me that it won’t be a worry, but until
then….”

“But last night...”

“Vala, nothing happened last night.”

“I am naked.”

Iry raised his eyebrows a few times. “Yep,
you are.”

“How did that happen?”

“You took your clothes off.”

“If I took off my clothes, then how did
nothing happen?”

“Because you were drunk,” Iry said. “I did
not wish to take advantage of you. I’m glad now, because after you
did that seduction dance and discarded your clothes, you passed
right out.”

“How did my nude body get into bed?”

“I am your husband.”

I gasped.

“Vala, there is juice on the dresser. Drink
some. Get hydrated, take a shower, you will feel much better. I
promise.”

“I’m sorry, Iry. I didn’t mean to get drunk.
Those beverages form Maggie were wonderful and refreshing.”

“It’s fine, Vala, I’m sorry you felt the
need to get intoxicated to be with me.”

“It was nerves. I was nervous.”

“It wasn’t distaste in me?” Iry asked.

“Iry…”

“Don’t answer. I thought…” He lowered his
head. “I thought when we first kissed that you felt something. That
you had feelings for me.”

“Iry, did… did we kiss last night?”

“Yeah, Vala, we did. You started it. And I
kissed you back.”

“I don’t remember. I’m sorry. How did I
respond to your kisses?”

“Like this…” Iry leaned down, softly placing
his lips to mine. There was the slightest bit of pressure as he
parted my lips with his. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. My
stomach fluttered and my heart was beating out of control. I didn’t
understand why that was or what exactly was happening to me.

He trailed his finger over my bare shoulder
and down my arm, slowly, ever so slowly, matching the pressure and
intensity of his kiss. Both soft, teasing. He didn’t move, but I
did. I found myself drawing him in, wanting his kisses to increase,
wanting his lips to press harder.

What was happening? All the pain and aches I
woke to suddenly dispersed and I felt as if I were cast in a pool
of softness, my body floating toward something against my will. My
focus was on the feeling, swept away, until I realized I was
leading the kiss, my hand had moved to his lower back. Upon that
revelation, I suddenly pulled back. “Stop.”