"Black Fire"
part six
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Chapter Thirty-Four
~*~
The first thing that Renee became aware of was the press of
a large and very warm body curled around her smaller frame almost protectively.
Slumbering against her naked skin. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and
her back nestled up against his chest. The second thing was the scent of the
potent mixture of his unique pheromones and the musk of their mating. Still
clinging to their skin.
Forcing her eyes to crack open, she realized that there was
a faint light shining in her quarters. Blinking carefully, she stared through
the sheer curtains hanging around her bed from just a few inches away from her
nose at the clock resting on a small end-table.
The reason why there was a faint glow in her room, was
because the lighting system was programmed to mimic natural daylight back in
her previous time-zone on Earth.
Which was about seven in the morning.
Letting her eyes fall back shut, she snuggled back down into
the plush bedclothes. Pushing her body closer into his. She didn’t want to
think. Didn’t want to wake up. She would have been perfectly content to have
remained in that bed for the rest of her existence and never would have
complained.
For the first time since the Spa, that constant needling
desire for contact with Howlyn had been quieted. It wasn’t gone. Not by a long
shot. She could still feel it curled up just beneath the surface like a very
big, very sated feline. But at least now she didn’t feel like an aching,
hormonal mess ready to jump his bones every time she found herself in a
situation that even hinted at his presence.
Reluctantly sensing that he was alert, and had been since
the first moment that she had stirred, she turned over on her back, the thin
sheet that was her only covering sliding across her upper torso as she did so.
She met Howlyn’s serious gaze with her own and swallowed
carefully.
“How long have I been asleep?”
His dark eyes glittered slightly as he studied her face.
Black curls framing the sides of his shadowed features.
“About eight of your hours.”
Renee’s eyes widened slightly and her mouth thinned. Not
happy that she had been passed out for that long.
Howlyn’s lips curved almost mockingly then. Making her body
do funny things. “You were very tired.”
“Apparently.” she retorted sardonically. Stifling a yawn
with her upraised palm.
Her hand dropped back down to her side and they continued to
study each other from just a few inches away.
Finally, Renee broke the silence. “What exactly just
happened here?”
All humor that may have been present on his face melted
away. Leaving nothing behind but primal shadows dancing in the depths of those
potent eyes. She shivered slightly and told herself it was from the sudden
chill chasing through her room, but knowing it was a lie.
“That was as true an Atavus mating ritual than anything else
that we have experienced together thus far, and what both of our souls have
called out for since the very first time we met.”
Renee nodded. Having figured as much. She frowned though, as
she reached out her hand to push back his hair from his right shoulder.
Revealing the near perfect imprint of her teeth deep in his skin. Completely
healed, but still showing a faint scar. The only scar present anywhere on his
body.
Her fingertips traced the crescent out-line and watched out
of the corner of her eyes as his briefly closed his eyes at the sensation.
She took a moment to wipe her thumb over a small streak of
dried blood that had stained his shoulder before letting her hand fall back to
rest on her abdomen.
“What about that?”
Howlyn answered without any inflection to his voice. At odds
with that look she had just seen burning in his eyes when she had touched him
and the aggressive, primal press of his body against her side.
“That marked the end to what began between us at the Health
Spa. It is a mark that is only shared between a destined couple. Something that
can only be given and received through a genuine melding of auras.”
“Why is it necessary for you to…” Renee paused. Uncertain as
to how to continue.
“Go ahead and say it.” he coaxed.
“Why do you have to… make contact with that mark on my neck
in order for me to, uh…” she trailed off again. Growing uncomfortable. She
could have sworn she saw a flicker of humor dancing in his eyes before he hid
it once more. Cutting her some slack and answering her unfinished question.
“It is a gift shared only through the rare true melding of
the souls that I have found with you. It is the mark of our relationship that
proves what we are to one another. That what we share goes far beyond simple
desire or the instinct to procreate.”
“But why was it necessary for me to bite you in return, even
after all this time?”
“Because the ritual was not complete, Renee. I began it all
that time ago, and we have suffered the physically agony of it becoming caught
up within your ignorant resistance. The dreams, the desires, the almost
mindless needs. All of that would only have grown worse as time went on. I had
already claimed your body, but our union was not sealed until tonight, when you
placed your own mark upon me.”
Renee tried to push aside her rising ire, but was
unsuccessful. “If you already knew how difficult that it was going to be for
both of us till this… ceremony thing had come full circle, why
did you set it all in motion back on Earth? Especially when you knew I wasn’t
ready to complete it?”
He growled.
the Spa. In all honesty that place would have been my last choice in which to
consummate our desire with one another for the first time.”
Okay, now she was getting pissed. “You sure as hell weren’t
complaining then!”
His lips twisted mockingly with an expression that didn’t
quite reach his black eyes. “I admit your… surrender at that time
was quite unexpected. I was not prepared for such an outcome. But no, I was not
complaining. Do you honestly think I would have after having desired your body
and soul finally joining with mine after three million years?”
Something about the erotic twist to his question stole away
any potential anger that Renee was harboring, and she was left speechless.
Quieted. Seeing the raw emotions suddenly flickering unveiled across the
surface of his possessive, heated gaze.
He let out a breath. Regaining control of his wayward thoughts
on the subject. “As far as not initiating the beginning of our mating union,
that would have been like denying life. As I’m sure you remember, completion
and gratification was none forth coming until my teeth found their way into
your skin.”
Renee felt her face grow hot as she flushed at the blatant
reminder. Still, she stubbornly clung to her questions.
“But… when I bit you, it was like a hunger. An urge that I
couldn’t fight. I knew exactly what to do. Where to bite and when and how hard.
It wasn’t so much as a compulsion as an instinct. And that instinct wasn’t
human.”
He tilted his head to the side. Gaze still locked with hers.
“Are you so sure of that?”
She didn’t know how to respond to that.
Howlyn angled his head the other way contemplatively. “You
are right, in a sense. Part of that instinct, just like with the others that
you’ve felt in my arms, is the result of our connection. One that up until
ours, was only shared amongst the rarest of Atavus mates. So, in part, your
instincts are surfacing from that.”
She looked at him warily. Knowing that he had chosen his
words all too carefully.
“And the other part?”
He smiled down at her. It was a smile she didn’t think she
liked very much at the moment.
“The other part is because of our child.”
Renee didn’t even blink. She didn’t dare. “What do you
mean?”
For the first time, Howlyn broke away from her gaze and
turned his eyes downward to flicker over her stomach where her palm still
rested. His very different hand came up and he placed it on top of her human
one. Covering their child.
The muscles in Renee’s back tensed slightly, but she didn’t
pull away.
“Howlyn? What did you mean by that?”
His gaze finally came back up to meet her searching one.
“It means, Renee, that you share your blood with this baby.
Her energy is, in a way, yours, and she is a part of me. Therefore, in a small
way, you are part Atavus as long as she is nestled within y
bod
body. Not in the sense that you are a carbon-based life-form that needs to feed
on others to survive, or even a hybrid. But in the sense that you now have
traces of the instincts, the strengths, and the passions of one of my species.”
Renee blinked, and Howlyn’s hand came up off of her gently
rounded stomach to brush a lock of hair out of her eyes.
“That is why you’ve shown in increase of strength over the
last couple of months. Especially since being back within my presence again, as
my nature is instinctively calling that part of you to the surface. It is why
you were able to fight the Jaridians as well as you did. How you were able to
match my strength back in the Med Deck when you trapped me… And it was what
drove you to respond the way you did to our shared hunt.”
Renee’s brow furrowed. “What was happening
there? Why did I feel so out of control when you came to me after killing those
Jaridians?”
“It is the tradition of all Atavus mates to join with one
another on a hunt. It is a preliminary to their own union finally being sealed.
Marking the end of their search for one another. It is a highly erotic
experience for our kind, and one that you experienced to the fullest extent.”
“Experienced it as what, though? Your mate or the He changed position then. Coming up on all fours. Palms Renee’s eyes darkened as her lips parted slightly. Watching He never took his eyes off of her as he paused over her Renee finally broke his gaze as her eyes closed and her head “Both.” he whispered. His word stroking her senses like Their eyes met and held for a brief moment, before his lips This time, when he pressed his lips to her lower stomach, Renee let out a gasp as he explored the expanse of skin over Instinctively, Renee halted him with a restraining hand “Wh-what are you doing?” Her words came out in a hoarse He didn’t answer her, and Renee’s mouth suddenly went dry at Shifting his weight, he slid both of his palms down the His other hand sed bed between her legs. Fingers massaging Unable to keep watching his seductive display, her head fell She was left completely vulnerable to him, and that was what Her own body. She felt his lips trail up the line of her inner thigh, Suddenly he chuckled, and Renee realized that she had said “You say that as if it is a bad thing.” His heated words “It is.” Renee assured him. Voice rasping with arousal in But as his mouth suddenly reached its goal, robbing her of Like all the good little addicts, she would always come back And he would always be there to gladly supply her with what ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter Thirty-Five ~*~ The days over the course of the following week hardly Those days she never even saw Howlyn. Neither did Ra-jel or She knew that Howlyn had, however, conversed with Yulyn… And At first it had unnerved her… not knowing where he was, but Just as she became accustomed to sharing her quarters with She had asked him a few nights past, right before falling
mother-to-be of a part Atavus child?”
settling on the mattress on either side of her face as he quickly swung one
thigh over to straddle her. His movements fluid and almost unnatural. As if he
had muscles in different places than a human male would. He probably did.
him as he slowly slunk down the line of her body. His shadow the only aspect of
him caressing her length. Always keeping a few inches between his body and
hers. <
<
stomach and slowly dropped his face closer till his long black hair fell about
his features, hiding it behind a curtain of darkness that contrasted sharply
with the whiteness of the sheet still covering her lithe form.
dropped back onto the pillow as she felt the warmth of his mouth even through
the thin cloth as he pressed his lips to the gentle swell.
coarse velvet. He pulled himself back up till his face was just a few inches
away from hers.
dropped down to run over the line of her throat, causing her to shiver at the
contact. He grasped the edge of the sheet resting just above her breasts with
his teeth, and started to tug it down. Not stopping till he reached the gentle
curve of her hips and her naked torso was revealed to his hungry gaze.
nothing separated the touch of his mouth from the pale satin finish of her
sensitive skin.
her womb. Soon though, he left that area of interest and began to trail even
lower.
buried in his hair. He looked up at her. Unblinking. Expression unwavering in
its sense of primal knowledge.
breath as he slowly rubbed his chin back and forth just barely under the edge
of the sheet. Inching it even lower on her hips, even as his eyes remained on
hers.
the almost drugging dark intensity in that glittering black gaze.
mattress till they rested on either side of her hips. He took one hand and
reached up to detangle her suddenly nerveless fingers from his hair and brought
it back down to the mattress. Holding it there firmly. The strength in his
grasp apparent even as he held it carefully.
her inner thigh.
back again once more as she stared up into the shadowed darkness of the ceiling
above her. Her still free hand clenching reflexively on the mattress as she
felt him suddenly pull the sheet free from her lower body and the sensation of
the silken heat that was his naked skin replacing that of the cool, slightly
coarse fabric.
he had wanted. To see if she would trust him enough for this particular unique
brand of receiving pleasure. To know without a doubt in his mind whether or not
she would willingly give up control over the one aspect of her life that she had
always held on to with such rigid control… Especially around him.
following the path that his hand had first initiated, and her eyes closed. Body
coiling erotically in anticipation. Damn it, he was addicting.
that part out loud.
whispered across her body. Lips still teasing her sensitized skin.
contradiction.
her voice and sending her body arching off the mattress at the unbelievable
contact, he deftly pointed out to her with no words and just the talent of his
lips, tongue, and teeth that although her growing addiction to his touch may
have been a very bad thing indeed, she still had no intent of
giving him up. Not after having finally admitted her weakness.
for more…
she apparently would never stop hungering for.
registered with Renee, as she spent her days working on the Mothership,
repairing the minor damage caused by their bout with the Jaridians, and the
nearly constant maintenance of the Atavus stasis chambers. She was relieved
that it wouldn’t take them much longer to arrive at their destination of the
original home world of Howlyn’s species, as she didn’t believe that the pods
would have made it much longer without severe enough repercussions that would
have cost some of those that had been dwelling within them for over 3 million
years their lives.
Liam, for which she was oddly thankful. Ra-jel she wasn’t concerned about, but
Liam… she’d just rather those two stay as far away from one another as
possible. It made things a whole hell of a lot easier on her without having to
worry about separating them.
although Yulyn – and Howlyn – chose not to disclose any of the facts with her,
she sensed no anxiety when she was with Howlyn’s son. She hoped that those two
had made their peace. Or, at least Howlyn had. Yulyn had apparently never held
a grudge against his sire.
when it became apparent that he was indeed behaving himself, she began to
relax. Falling into a routine where she didn’t flinch at every shadow or jump
every time anyone began to speak to her. She became comfortable with the idea
of him being around but not within her sight...
him when her shift was over, and her nights were claimed by him.
asleep in his arms, why he wasn’t more involved with what was going on onboard
the Mothership, as she would have expected from him. His reply was something
along the lines of, why should he be involved, when he had obviously been taken
along for ride against his will?
choice in the removal of what was left of his species – and himself – from
Earth and being sent back to the home they had left so long ago, everything was
going fairly smoothly, and for that, Renee was grateful. Incredibly surprised,
but grateful.
So she was even more so, when Liam paged her from Command.
Requesting that she join him immediately up on Deck.
“What is it?” she asked as she sauntered on in. The doors
remaining open behind her as she crossed over to where Liam stood on the
slightly raised platform with his back to her.
He turned to look at her over his shoulder, and that
familiar crooked grin spread across his lips. He jerked his head towards the
large viewing panel screen in front of him.
Renee frowned at him. Unable to see what it was he was
studying so closely, as his body obstructed her view.
Stepping up beside him, her eyes slid from the satisfied
smirk on his expression to what held his attention so strongly out in the
star-filled blackness of space.
And began to grin helplessly herself. Knowing without even
asking what it was she was looking at.
Studying the view for a moment, she turned to glance at
Ra-jel sitting so serenely at Controls, and caught silent but familiar movement
out of the corner of her eye. Reaching her hand out to him, her smile broadened
as Yulyn came up to stand beside her. She watched him as his face lit up as he
saw his home planet for the first time since his departure, and he grinned
brightly back at her as arm arm circled his slender shoulders. Hugging him to
her side briefly before releasing him.
“We did it.”
“Yes, we did.” Liam agreed. Letting out a breath. “But now
the real work begins.”
Renee turned back to look at him. Brushing her loose hair
out of her eyes even as she did so. “What do you mean?”
“This planet has not had a sentient species present on its
surface in a very long time. I doubt if even any of the strongest
built structures are still standing. Everything will probably have to be built
from the ground up. Starting fromatchatch.”
“I believe you are sorely underestimating the craftsmanship
of my species, Kincaid. The Palace of my ancestors was already hundreds of
thousands of years old the day that I finally departed for the last time from
within its walls. And it was no more deteriorated then than it was the day it
was built. So you can only imagine how our structures improved with the passage
of time.”
Renee’s throat tightened as she heard Howlyn’s arrogant
words from behind them. She turned around to look at him as he slowly slunk
onto the Deck. Shadows catching and playing upon his features till she couldn’t
make them out clearly enough to know what he was thinking. Her heart slammed
deep in her chest, not from nervousness or tension, but the simple pleasure of
seeing him. That was the way it always was when she saw him for the first time
after them being apart for any length of time.
The memory just wasn’t as potent as the real thing. The same
went for that voice.
Liam grew very still at her side, and she could feel the
tension boiling to surface and arcing between the two of them as it would
between two dominate males. Instinctively viewing one her her as possible
adversaries.
“Oh really? As I recall, the architecture of your own
structures on Earth didn’t stand up to the passage of time that
impressively.”
There was a faint growl of warning to Howlyn’s words when he
replied. “Their eventual total destruction had a little bit of assistance from
an asteroid shower and a planet whose constantly shifting lands and
incompatible alien climates wiped out everything on Earth.”
“Except your ship.” Renee pointed out quietly.
Howlyn turned his glittering gaze in her direction. “Except
my ship.” He conceded softly. His expression still unreadable as he looked at
her.
Renee turned back to look at Liam. Brow raised sardonically.
“Whether we like it or not, he may have a point, Liam. Their unique
architecture is a lot more advanced then anything that Earth has
created thus far. That ship withstood over 3 million years just beneath the
surface of a changing world. It’s logical to assume that some of their
structures might still be standing.”
Her eyes slid from Liam as she looked back out into space at
the planet in question. She took in the different hues of blue, green, and
browns that chased across its surface, the two smaller white orbs that were its
moon, and the large burning intensity of the crescent that was its sun, and let
out a deep breath in preparation.
“And this ris really only one way to know for sure.” she
finished quietly. More to herself even though everyone present still heard her
words. Words that described a sentient that was already on each of their minds.
Scans from the Taelon Mothership would only tell them so
much... would only go so far.
The only way they would know if there were any truly
hospitable structures still present would be to go down to the surface of the
planet and search them out personally.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Thirty-Six
~*~
When Renee boarded the ID shuttle along with Liam and
Howlyn, and began to finally explore the world that she would now
be calling home, she knew she could admit, with all honesty, that it was not
what she had imagined. She wasn’t exactly sure what she had
imagined, but she knew it hadn’t been this.
Scans from the Mothership had shown that most of the exposed
land was either desert or jungle… but maybe those were the wrong words. The
deserts of Earth were a hot, dry, and an extremely uncomfortable climate. But
here… they weren’t.
Oh, it was still hot, but not the
hot… And despite its close to 105 degree temperature, the sun was not as
intense, which reminded Renee of the Atavus’ sensitivity to light. Even the
actual sand was different. More like a fine powder rather than the grit she was
familiar with.
There were also immense rock structures. Reaching up into
the cloudless sky and plunging down into the dark earth literally for miles.
Sheer hanging cliffs, and sharp drop-offs sunk into huge craters and caverns.
Some you could see the bottom of… others you couldn’t.
Earth, except maybe with the huge mountain chains that lay below sea level in
the deepest parts of the ocean, and the trenches there that were several miles
wide, and seven to nine miles deep. So close to the Earth’s core, that as the
steas ras released, the water for miles around boiled at well over 350 degrees.
Nothing except that even came close to the extreme
geological structures that she was seeing now. This time on dry land. It made
the
pot-hole on a concrete freeway.
Upon hovering close above one such drop-off in the ID
Shuttlecraft, and looking down into what must have been at least four miles
below ground level into a chiasm in which the bottom was lost in the blackest
of shadows... Permanently untouched by light, and just one of the many such
frightening fascinations on this alien world, she was reminded yet again of the
fact that she was definitely no longer in Kansas.
Howlyn had come up beside her then as she had piloted the
small craft. Bringing it down about half a mile into the crater, as per Liam’s
request as he took scans of their surroundings. She followed it a little ways,
unable to help her own sense of wonderment over such incredible and massive
formations.
He told her a tale about the journeys that most Atavus
youths, including himself, made to the bottom of such chiasms for the simple
sport of it. Using nothing but their own hands and feet to get them there.
Renee had blanched at such an idea, especially when Howlyn
had murmured in the shell of her ear how much he was looking forward to sharing
such a journey for the first time with their daughter when she came of age.
Just as he had with Yulyn once upon a time.
Finally having to speak around her threats of bodily harm if
he even so much as thought about such an endeavor with her child,
he had tmindmind her rather pointedly of his species’ ability to scale even
completely smooth surfaces upside down. An ability that he was sure their
daughter would possess. Despite being part human.
Renee had grudgingly quieted. Muttering in finality that
they would just have to wand snd see if she did indeed have such an ability, before
being allowed to play suicidal cliffhanger.
Howlyn had just smiled in private amusement and dark
pleasure at her dangerous temper stemming from her strengthening maternal
instincts, and didn’t bring it up again.
They had then departed the dangerous playground that was
this planets’ deserts and relocated to its jungles in an attempt to reach the
only structure on this entire world that might have survived the past 3 million
years intact enough to house the lives of the remnants of an entire species…
And the same place that Howlyn had called home once upon a time...
The place where he had grown up as the supreme Heir of the
Atavus Empire…
And hopefully, if all went well, the place where their
daughter would be born and raised.
~*~
The closest thing she could compare the jungles of this
world to was Howlyn’s personal Deck onboard the Mothership. The place where he
had attempted to seduce her all those months ago, and had nearly succeeded if
Ra-jel had not interfered.
This jungle was similar in that it had such alien looking
plants, trees, and foliage… but while the replica on board the Mothership
carried a sense of imitation, this place felt a whole lot more real. And a hell
of a lot more dangerous.
To look at it was to automatically think of the jungles on
Earth… but to look closer, one realized that there was nothing there to compare
this to. For although pretty much the same principapplipplied, it was still
completely alien in its presentation.
Vines curled around the massive trees – all reaching
thousands upon thousands of feet into the air – and hung in thick ropes down to
the ground. An abundance of strange and intoxicating flowers cascaded over
every surface imaginable, and added splashes of incredible hues everywhere they
graced. Growing up the trunks of the trees, and spilling over rocks. A variety
of creatures large and small added yet more vivid colors to their surroundings
as they scampered, slithered, and hopped away from their small procession
directly through the heart of the immense jungle.
The air around them was heavy with moisture, the scent of
the earth beneath their feet, the unique scent that the trees gave off, and the
overwhelming array of fragrances emitting from the alien blooms.
Renee had instantly wanted to wrap herself up in it like a
cloak, roll around in its charismatic musk till it filled every part of her and
never left.
Ducking underneath a particular low-hanging vine and
cautiously watching her footing as they cut through the alien jungle, she
turned her body towards Liam who was standing a few feet away. The cloth of his
shirt stretching over his shoulders was soaked with perspiration as he studied
the scans on his portal.
“We should be coming upon the Palace pretty soon. The
readings show that we’re standing practically right on top of it.” They had
been unable to reach it by ID Shuttle. Only able to go so far, before having to
erseerse the rest on foot.
Renee rubbed the back of her tense, damp neck. Wincing as
she did so. “I don’t know how we’re going to be able to find anything. The
foliage is so thick, and you can’t even see the skies through the canopy that
the trees form.”
That had been another surprise to her. Apparently the
jungle’s daylight was like the faintest dusk back on Earth. She didn’t know how
most of the flora and fauna surrounding them could survive with practically no
sunlight, or better yet, how they could be as colorful as they were, but as
Howlyn had already pointed out to her, the life on this planet wasn’t as
dependent on the sun for survival as it was on hers.
“Even if we do find it, and even if it is still standing
after all this time, wouldn’t it be a complete wreck? Jungles back on Earth
have a way of reclaiming their territory if it is left to its own devices for
any extended period of time. The entire structure is probably nothing more than
one huge Chia pet.”
Liam grinned tiredly at her sarcastic words. Still not
taking his eyes off of his map.
Howlyn stepped up beside and and she turned her gaze to
him. He had been unusually quiet since arriving on this planet except for the
occasional comment. She figured that that might have more to do with Liam’s
presence than anything else. It was quite clear that he did not care to be
around her ex-partner. But she had still felt the change in him when they had
first disembarked from the ID Shuttle and stepped foot on his old home world...
It had been subtle, like the glimmer of a knife blade in almost complete
darkness was subtle…
Where before it had felt like there were slight
undercurrents thrumming under the surface, being near him now felt like a live
wire. Running strong with that magnetism and erotic, feral grace. The
requirements that his species needed to sustain a non-parasitic existence on
this world had changed very little in three million years. She was still having
a hard time graspihat,hat, but when she had discussed it with Ra-jel, all he
would say was that every planet in the universe was going to vary at least a
little bit from all the others.
Obviously it was true, because she had never
seen Howlyn this jazzed… not even after numerous feedings.
She was pleased on one hand, because it meant that they had
been successful, and that for the first time in the last year, something had
finally gone right. But on the other, she would have been lying to herself if
she said that it didn’t make her a tiny bit nervous.
She had only thought she had known what the Atavus were like
at full capacity. But having Howlyn back here where he belonged… she was seeing
a difference in him, an increase in his strength and senses. He even moved
differently. More stealthily. Skin rolling like water over muscle and bone.
Actually, she suddenly acknowledged to herself, that was the
way he had always moved. He was still the same as he had always been…
He was just more of it.
“The jungles of my world will not have claimed the Palace.
Not as long as it stands, anyway.” he stated simply. A slight hiss to his
words. He’d been doing that a lot lately, she was noticing. He had always been
vocal. Making sounds that only his species could make… but she hadn’t realized
until just the last couple of days how he had struggled to control those
impulses previously in order not to give her any more reasons to try and fight
their connection. It reminded her of the way he would almost play human in the
beginning of their… acquaintance. Being careful not to move too fast, or put
too much of that coarse purr into his words. Those times when he had hunted
her, using every method at his disposal to try and capture her. Seduce her.
He’d become good at that. But now he was slowly releasing
that control. A little bit more and more with each passing day. He watched her
carefully, to see what her response was. And even though he now knew that she
knew what he was doing, he didn’t stop. And she didn’t think she wanted him to.
“What makes you so certain?”
He moved in behind her and his hands grazed her hipbones as
he pressed his body up against the heated line of her back. Making one of those
strange vocalizations yet again deep in his throat.
Her lips parted as she felt his body lean into hers and his
breath caress the nape of her neck. Bared because of her upswept hairstyle. He
didn’t try to hold on to her. Leaving it up to her on whether or not she wanted
to remain there with him in such a fashion.
He rubbed his chin over her collarbone as he pressed his
face into the curve of her throat. Hissing sharply with the intake of breath
through his mouth. Tasting her scent. He bit down gently on her exposed skin.
Not hard enough to break through, or even to leave a mark, but just enough that
she could feel his teeth. It was the perfect example of their entire
relationship. The slight tinge of erotic pain wrapped up in exquisite pleasure.
Renee’s lips curved slightly. She had always enjoyed his
reactions to her. But it was only in the last week that she had become
comfortable with her enjoying him thus.
“The material in which the Palace was constructed of
naturally repels the forest’s foliage. For if it did not, my ancestors could
not have survived within its walls for very long.”
Renee frowned. Suddenly not liking the sound of that. She
turned her head slightly, impulsively rubbing her cheek against his neck in a
way she knew he liked. “What do you mean by that?”
“Look around you, Renee… What do you see?”
“Jungle. An alien jungle, to be precise.”
“Exactly.”
Renee’s frown didn’t get any better. “Uh, I know you are
trying to tell me something Howlyn, but I’m really not getting it.”
“The jungles here make the ones on your planet look harmless
in comparison. The trees, plants, and vines here can grow at an astonishing
rate, and would completely regenerate as soon as they were cut.”
Having stepped away from her while he was talking, he
released one set of cleaves and slashed downward. Cutting through a thick vine
that drifted down from thousands of feet above in the towering canopy comprised
of the tops of the funny looking trees. Damn. She didn’t think anything as tall
as those wizened trees existed in the jungles of her world.
Renee watched as the severed piece of vine fell to the earth
at Howlyn’s feet… and then promptly took a few steps back, eyes widening in
shock as she watched what was left of the original vine begin to grow right in
front of her eyes.
Within thirty seconds, the exact length of the cut away
portion was re-grown on the vine. Plus an additional few inches. That would
explain Howlyn’s people not wanting to do anything with them. If they
regenerated more than was cut, enough tampering with them could produce a
gigantic concern.
“H-how did you know it would do that?”
Howlyn turned to look at her. Lips curving in that dangerous
smile of his. “Like its already been said… nothing appears to have changed all
that much since my departure.”
“Apparently.” Renee looked around warily. “What else can
they do?”
“There are some types that are more like animals than
plants. They sense movement and will strike out reflexively. Their tentacles
have small but highly toxic barbs to them. More than one foolish Atavus youth
has lost their lives to them.” His lips curled up in a slight snarl. “And some
adults.”
Renee wasn’t about to touch that one.
“So what do they look like?”
He pointed in a location that was over her shoulder. She
turned to see what he was pointing at. Her eyes widened, as she took in the
thick harmless-looking bluish green fern-like plant that was only as tall as
her knees and that sported some strange but highly fragrant indigo colored
blossoms.
She whirled back to look at him. “That?!” she pointed behind
her as well for emphasis. “But we’ve passed hundreds of those since landing in
this portion of your planet. Thousands! What the hell has kept them from
harming us?”
“I’ve been… warning them off. They’ve chosen to respect my
presence.”
Renee blinked. Howlyn just watched her.
“You’re not going to tell me what you mean by that, are
you?” she finally asked. Breaking her slightly stunned silence.
He cocked his head to the side. Eyes filled with dark humor…
and a few other things. “No, I don’t believe I will.”
“If you two are done with the biology lesion…” Liam drawled
from about a hundred feet in front of them. “I’ve got something you might want
to see.”
Renee flushed at doubdouble innuendo and turned slowly to
look in his direction. Eyes having to search the expanse in front of her for a
moment before finally catching sight of him partially hidden by a large boulder
covered in some type of brightly colored moss. She was surprised that he had
moved so far off, but he had probably started tastefully walking away when
Howlyn had begun rubbing his face – and other things – against her body.
“Coming.” Renee groused. Carefully climbing over the
protruding roots at her feet as she made her way towards him. Constantly
pushing those twisted limbs and vines out of her way, and keeping an eye out
for those serial killer ferns, even though Howlyn was supposedly ‘warning’ them
to be good. After seeing his little example, and hearing his stories, she’d
have given just about anything right then to have had a spray can of Round-Up.
“What is it?”
Liam just pointed.
Renee looked in the direction that Liam was beckoning
towards, and her breath escaped her. Hardly believing what she was seeing… For
what she was looking at, couldn’t possibly exist in reality.
Again, there was nothing on Earth that could even compare…
And probably nothing else in the entire universe either.
The design was similar to what she remembered of the alien
skyscrapers that Howlyn had erected on Earth, three million years back… But
those were still nothing more than Legos next to the sheer size of this one
building.
It reflected the mulighlight on its dark shell like ripples
on shimmering liquid onyx. Reaching up into the sky, it cut through the light
layering of clouds till the view of the top was obstructed, but somehow she
knew it continued on even farther than that.
Its width spanned at least two miles.
It wasn’t just a Palace... It was an entire city.
It was an overwhelming sight. And judging by Liam’s
readings, they were still standing a few miles away from it.
“Couldn’t find it from the Mothership, huh?” she asked
sarcastically. Glaring at Liam.
“What, and miss all this fun exploring by foot? Never. I
don’t know about you, but I still plan on continuing to study alien planets all
over the universe. This just happens to be the first stop.”
Renee rolled her eyes, and then turned to Howlyn, who was
once again standing by her side. That seductive/annoying as hell grin firmly in
place.
“How is this possible?”
“My species have always been gifted… even back when this had
been created. We are capable of accomplishing many things.”
She believed him. Oh, did she believe him. And she counted
her lucky stars that she had managed to stop him from taking over Earth when
she did. If it had been any longer, his hold on Earth and its rising population
of hybrids would have become far too strong for her to break.
Turning back to the expanse in front of her, she allowed
herself to take in the structure’s surroundings… And their own.
They were standing almost on the edge of a clearing that led
the way to the immense palace. Howlyn had been right… It appeared that for
almost half a mile all the way around the towering structure, the greedy jungle
had been forced back… Held away from confiscating such an architectural wonder
with its unforgiving foliage.
“Too bad Yulyn isn’t here to see this.” Renee remarked. A
smile curving her lips when she thought of what the Atavus youth’s expressions
would be like once he once he saw his old home. They had all thought it best
that he remain on the Mothership with the rest of his brethren locked awa
st
stasis until they had made certain that the planet was stable, and that the
structure in front of them was still sound. If something were to go wrong…
well, it wouldn’t do to lose the son as well as the father if all hell were to
break loose.
“He will see it soon enough.” Howlyn replied. Turning to
look at her.
Renee’s gaze reluctantly slid away from the view to meet
his, and the next thing she knew, he had pulled her hard up against him. Lips
seeking hers out hungrily. Ravenously.
She laughed into his mouth and he growled back playfully in
response. Teeth nipping gently at her bottom lip. Renee brought her hand up to
the back of his neck. Holding him down to her as she kissed him back just as
eagerly. Reveling in the intoxicating wildness of his taste, and the total
abandonment of her inhibitions when she was with him.
And the sudden knowledge that there was no other place she
would rather be.
~*~*~*~*~*~