Chapter 8

Adrik

Since the Dessicans had been spotted on the northern ridge, the next morning I went up with two of my guards—Brull and Granat—to see if there was any evidence of surveillance devices or explosives. It was an ambiguous stretch of land belonging to neither the Dessicans nor us, but we both patrolled it, cautiously taking turns and monitoring each other. One guard stayed with me as we made a slow, meticulous sweep, while the other scouted farther up the rocky ridge to make sure we wouldn’t encounter any enemy guards.

Granat accompanied me frequently. His vision was exceptional and his senses were well-tuned for noticing details that even I missed. So far we’d seen nothing to cause concern. That was a relief, of course, but the constant vigilance was a tiresome, never-ending dance.

“Unless Brull finds something unusual, this expedition is finished. We return to the Thrail,” I said to Granat.

“Yes, Pal-Adrik,” Granat replied. “Dessicans were definitely here, but they don’t appear to have been doing anything.”

“They were observing.” I leaped over a boulder. “Watching. Seeing what the other side is doing. The same thing we do.”

“Then they saw a few extra attack ships on our landing pads.”

“Without doubt,” I grunted. “I hope that one day a peace settlement is brokered so we can cease this endless, pointless game.” I looked out over the sprawling gap between the mountain ridge and the rolling hills to the south. Beyond that, the land was less hospitable. Water was scarce and weather patterns did not bring an abundance of precipitation in the flat, rocky ground that offered no protection from the winds that came through. Those lands were appropriately called the Wasting Plains, but our primary meat source thrived in those challenging parts. I knew the land well and was well aware of how fortunate we were to live in the fertile valley rather than the rocky plains.

I gazed down on the Thrail, busy and thriving, but my thoughts darkened. The Thrail simply would not survive if we could not reproduce with the human females. They voluntarily came to Mitra. They wanted children. The desire for offspring was a condition on coming here, but they could go home at any time. They could leave this Thrail for a new one, if they wished, and there were enough unattached females here to make me worry that they would leave.

When I initially agreed to allow a human journalist to come here in exchange for more Mitran ships to monitor the border we lived on, the fertility problem had not yet come to light. Now that it had, I was very concerned with what Lise would write. She could end up warding all human females from my Thrail, sealing our fate.

Granat pointed to a spot up the river, where valuable tinka flowers were in full bloom. A figure sat among them. Even at this distance, with vision not as sharp as Granat’s, I could see who it was. “Is that not the female you spoke with in the dining hall last night?”

I nodded. “Her name is Lise. She arrived yesterday and is here to write about us.”

“Write about us?” Granat looked puzzled. “Write about what?”

I shrugged. “Her observations. What life is like on Mitra. She is a journalist on Earth.”

“Journalist.” Granat shook his head. “Strange that they would do that. But many things the humans do are strange. My Tessa does things I will never comprehend.” He smiled fondly at the mention of his mate. “I hope Lise does not find out that our human females have been unable to conceive.”

I crossed my arms unhappily. “She knows.”

“She learned this in one day?” Granat looked impressed. “She is astute.”

I let out a grudging grunt of agreement. “She is here and we shall make her welcome.”

Granat raised one knowing eyebrow. “You appeared to make her very welcome last eve.”

“Meaning?”

He held up his hands, immediately contrite. “I mean no disrespect Pal-Adrik. But we have never seen you linger in conversation with a female before. Or anyone, for that matter. There is talk that you find her desirable.”

“I do find her desirable.” I saw no advantage in denying it. If there was “talk,” and my interest had already been observed, I would not hide it from my people. “She appeals to me.”

Granat lowered his head. “Understood. No male will approach this female now that your interest is known.”

“No Mitran male should approach her anyway, or any of these females,” I said. “They choose the male they wish to get to know better, and if that chosen male is foolish enough to rebuff the female, that is his choice. Above all, we leave them alone.” I scowled, because my next words already tasted bitter. “Lise is not here for a mate. She does not belong to me and never will. Her contract puts her on Mitra for six months only. After that she returns to Earth and her life there.”

“That is unfortunate, Pal-Adrik,” said Granat.

My gaze could not move from Lise sitting there in the morning sun, on the riverbed, amongst a sea of flowers. “My only true love will forever be this Thrail and the people who live in it.” But the words came out through a throat dry with need.

I could tell that Granat wanted to say something, but he wisely kept quiet. Instead, he squinted down where Lise was doing something I couldn’t quite make out. “I sincerely hope she doesn’t try to pick a tinka flower.”

I frowned. “Why would she—?”

But she did.

Before I could even get the question out, I saw her pluck one of the long stems and bring the bloom to her nose, as if to smell it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

“Humans like picking flowers,” Granat said as Lise sank, unconscious, to the ground.

We ran along the ridge path, hurrying down the switchbacks beside the downward slope of the river as it made its way down the mountainside to the valley below.

Of course, Lise would have no idea the effect that tinka flowers had when damaged. They were not an Earth species, and apparently none of their flowers caused acute sedative effects. I was well ahead of Granat by the time I raced through the various vegetation growing in this section of the valley and crouched by Lise’s side.

The flower she had picked still sat loosely in a delicate hand. I held my breath, plucked it from her limp fingers and tossed it into the river before I, too, was overcome and fell unconscious.

Her breathing was shallow. Her lips parted. Then, she let out a sharp snore, smacked her lips and attempted to roll over. I suppressed a grin, worked my arms underneath her and lifted her off the ground. The female was sound asleep, but even still, she curled against me, as if seeking warmth and comfort in my arms.

Granat caught up, careful to not step on any of the tinka flowers. Once their stems were snapped, the flowers released a chemical that sent most living things into slumber. “She is not hurt?”

“Just sleeping.” I could not tear my gaze away from her. I didn’t know how I could move from the spot. The soft, curving weight of her was perfection in my arms. The gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath was mesmerizing. She still dressed in the uncomfortable-looking clothes that she had brought with her from Earth. I longed to see her in Mitran garb, designed with flow and comfort, allowing females movement with ease. These fabrics Lise wore were stiff. They did not move with her beautiful body, but rather, they seemed to constrict her. But here she was, in my arms. It was almost too much for my senses to take in.

“Are you all right Pal-Adrik?” Granat asked worriedly. “Did you smell the tinka flower, too?”

“No,” I replied thickly. “It’s just…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I knew the way I looked at her was full of possessive heat. And I couldn’t help it.

Granat nodded knowingly. “Ah. I know that feeling. I will find Brull and report back only if he has found something concerning.”

I was aware that Granat was speaking, but only barely. “Good. Yes. You may go.”

Granat let out a soft chuckle. “Yes, Pal-Adrik.”

And he was gone, leaving me alone in a toxic patch of flowers with the most beautiful female I’d ever beheld in my life. I wasn’t even sure what it was that allured me so much. She was beautiful, but there was more to it than that. She gave off an energy that mine reached for like water in the Wasting Plains.