33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

The great and powerful Tatas.

I paced Command, tail thrashing. I scoured the screens for even the slightest glimpse of Caleb, anything to prove that all was well. Several hours had passed and nothing. Serlotminden had tried to comfort me by saying it would take hours, days even, to search a ship of that size. His words didn’t help. Pest had kept an arm around me until I pushed him away. Dontilvynsan and Monqilcolnen had held their peace, but they both watched me. I ignored them all and everyone else in Command. All that mattered was Caleb, and I didn’t see him.

A console beeped, and I froze.

Commander Bimwoxcol, Dontilvynsan’s second in command, said in a light voice, “Captain, we are receiving a ping from the ship.”

“Put it on the screen.”

A pink blob with swirls of green and purple appeared, and more importantly, Caleb was right beside them.

I rushed forward, ignoring protocol. “Caleb.”

“Sunshine,” he called back, waving.

“Caleb,” Seth whispered.

“He’s there,” I said.

Seth came to my side, mouth open. He pointed. “Caleb, I can see you.”

Caleb beamed. “I know, like the drakcol can understand me in English. It’s the boobaas’s technology.”

A sort of strangled sound came out of Seth that made Caleb wiggle his eyebrows.

“It’s good to see you, man,” Seth said. “You’re wearing an Einstein shirt.”

“I’m kind of a geek. Star Trek fan and all that.”

“ Star Trek ?” Kalvoxrencol asked, coming to his mate’s side. “I love Star Trek .”

“You do?” Caleb asked.

“Are you short or are they tall?” Serlotminden asked before Kalvoxrencol could reply.

“Short,” Caleb replied. “I’m five-two.”

I had no idea what that meant, but Caleb was short. I wasn’t alone in my confusion. Kalvoxrencol stared at Seth, who held up a hand to demonstrate Caleb’s height, I assumed. I readjusted his position because I was intimately familiar with Caleb.

Serlotminden blinked. “You are short.”

“Yep.”

“As much as I like seeing you, mate of my brother, I would like to address the foreign ship in our territory,” Dontilvinsan said in an even voice.

“Ah, yes. Sorry. I was super excited to see everyone. Actually, I was more excited for everyone to see me! I mean, now you all know what I look like, and we can talk. It's so nice.”

“Caleb,” Dontilvynsan interrupted, and I fought a laugh. My mate liked to talk.

“Right. Sorry,” Caleb said before turning to the pink alien with different swirling colors in their depths. “This is Tatas of the Boobaas.”

Seth repeated in a tight voice, “Tatas of the Boobaas.”

Caleb smirked. “Dude, I had the same thought. Like literally the exact same thought.”

The humans chuckled, and the rest of us stared at them, except Dontilvynsan. “Children,” he muttered before facing Tatas. “I am Captain Dontilvynsan of the Drakcol. I am also the second prince of Emperor Kontolmakqilnen and Empress Vyn.”

“Are you the one who claims this spirit?” Tatas asked.

“He is my younger brother’s mate,” Dontilvynsan gestured to me, and I stepped forward.

“I am Prince Zoltilvoxfyn. Caleb is mine.”

Tatas rippled. “Caleb has offered friendship between the boobaas and the drakcol. I am inclined to accept, for he is a soul without guile.”

Dontilvynsan stood. “We do not wish to fight, but what would friendship entail?”

“The exchange of cultural information to start. We are unwilling to have a deeper relationship until more is known about you.” Tatas patted Caleb’s head, and I fought a surge of possessive anger. This being could touch what was mine , and yet I could not. Tatas continued, “This spirit is honorable and true, but we do not know if you are.”

“What about this technology that allows us to see Caleb?” Dontilvynsan asked, and I could have hugged him. My Caleb deserved to be seen and heard whenever he wished.

“We do not share technology.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Dontilvynsan stopped me with a flick of his tail, no doubt hearing my intentions. He offered Tatas his throat. “An understandable rule. We have much the same, though we are a part of the Coalition of Planets.”

Tatas leaned to the side. “What is this Coalition?”

“It is a group of individual planets that have joined together to share resources, technology, and abide by some universal laws, though each planet has its own government and laws.”

“Boobaas have no such interest or need.”

“The offer to join will always be open.” Dontilvynsan glanced at Kalvoxrencol, and I frowned. Was he having an odd idea to help Caleb and me? Kalvoxrencol lifted his palms, and Dontilvynsan gestured to the screen.

Kalvoxrencol was the only recognized adult here and a voting Cohort member, even though he was the youngest of us all.

“I am Prince Kalvoxrencol,” he said, stepping forward. “This is my mate and husband, Seth Harris.” Seth clung to Kalvoxrencol. “As a representative of the Drakcol Empire, I would like to extend an offer of friendship.”

Tatas stared at Seth. “You are not a spirit.”

“No,” he replied, starting.

“You are the same species as Caleb.”

“Yes,” Seth said.

The alien jiggled. “We shall take you as well.”

A roar ripped out of Kalvoxrencol, and he shoved Seth behind him. “You are not taking my mate anywhere.”

“He does not belong here, and we shall return him.”

Kalvoxrencol snarled something unintelligible. Dontilvynsan, Monqilcolnen, and Serlotminden moved to his side, and I was a moment behind them. Seth was one of us. No one was taking him. Also, Kalvoxrencol and Seth were genetically linked; they couldn’t go too far from each other without suffering fatal consequences.

Seth pushed out from behind Kalvoxrencol, ignoring his grasping hands. Staring straight at Tatas, Seth said, “I do belong. I’m mated to Kal and he is mine. I have no interest in leaving.”

“I suppose you can make up your own mind, but I believe your hive shall miss you,” Tatas said.

“Hive?” Seth asked.

Caleb turned to Tatas. “We don’t have hives like boobaas. We have families.”

They tilted. “I do not understand that word.”

“We are born to a group of people who care for us until we reach maturity,” Seth said. “I’m grown. Kal is my family. My hive, I guess.”

Tatas tilted again. “You are an odd species.”

Kalvoxrencol’s low growl was drowned out by mine. Humans were perfectly fine. My Caleb wasn’t odd. Well, not that odd… Alright humans were odd, but I wouldn’t allow anyone to insult them.

Seth covered Kalvoxrencol’s mouth and asked, “Are you going to accept the drakcol’s offer of friendship?”

“Perhaps.”

“Tatas, you said you wanted to be friends,” Caleb said.

“The drakcol are a more aggressive people than I thought. Boobaas are not violent.”

“Neither are we,” Kalvoxrencol said. “But you threatened what is ours. Seth is my husband and mate, and you tried to take him away.”

Tatas’s colors swirled. “What are these words?”

Caleb pointed at them. “They fuck.”

Seth turned bright red, while a snicker came out of my lips at his direct response.

“Copulation?” Tatas asked.

“Yep,” Caleb said.

“Hmm. Drakcol and humans are odd. Perhaps you do belong here, Seth. Boobaas do not copulate. We split. The resulting puddle is mixed with the Great Ooze to forge a new hive member.”

Arms around Seth, Kalvoxrencol said, “We copulate and are very protective of our mates.”

“How interesting. Boobaas do not interact with many species. Our planet is not in phase with yours. It was quite a mistake that landed us here and our ship is damaged. Perhaps friendship is not possible.”

“The offer will stand,” Kalvoxrencol said. “If you mean us no harm, you and your kind may remain in Drakcon space and fix your ship.”

Tatas replied, “We shall accept your offer to fix our ship. Once repairs are complete, we shall leave.”

“Caleb,” I said, “come back now.” I was done having him away from my side. Every instinct in my body demanded he return to where I could see him. Caleb was mine, and I needed him here.

“Aye aye, Sunshine,” he said, lifting his hand to his forehead and performing that gesture I didn’t understand again. “Well, Tatas, it was nice to meet you.” He started to slide through the floor. “Hate to peep and run, but home is calling.”

I signaled Monqilcolnen to come with me, but Tatas spoke, stopping me. “No.” They grabbed Caleb around the wrist and dragged him up. His face scrunched as he fought their hold.

“Release my mate,” I demanded.

“This lost spirit needs to leave this phase, and we shall take him. He will be safer with us, and we may one day return him to where he belongs so he can join the Great Ooze of Beyond.”

Caleb tried to yank out of their grasp. “I'm going to stay with Zoltilvoxfyn.”

“Let him go,” I demanded. “Caleb!”

“Sunshine,” he called, trying to wiggle free.

“We cannot release him. As soon as our ship is ready, we shall depart,” Tatas said, and the screen went blank.

I fought to escape Tatas’s clutch. Sunshine must be frantic. I had to get back to him. “Let me go,” I screamed, kicking them. My foot bounced back at me while their blob-like body rippled.

“Spirit, you are coming apart at your very molecules. If we leave you be, you shall dissipate. We must preserve you by taking you to our home, then eventually to yours,” Tatas replied, not loosening their solid grip.

“I’m coming apart?” I asked, stilling. I’d suspected it, but to have it confirmed was… My poor Sunshine.

“You are losing your vitality and solidity. You must pass on. Relinquish your hold on this plane.”

“My tether.” I swore my heart pounded, though it was softer than I remembered. “Zoltilvoxfyn.” It was like the sun had broken through the clouds on a rainy day. He was my tether. He held me here.

“Your mate.”

“He wasn’t my mate when I died. That was years ago. I don’t even know if he was born when I died. He can’t be my tether.”

“Your soul knew he was out there, so you went searching.”

After I died, I had an inexplicable need to wander. The urge had never disappeared until I saw Fyn. The second I saw him, something had changed. He was the center of my existence. The vibration in my chest grew louder and my fingers curled around something as whispers tickled my ears.

He was my tether. If I let Fyn go, I would pass on.

No. I’d promised to never leave him, and I wouldn’t. I was willing to vanish. I was willing to cease to exist. Fyn needed me, but more than that, I needed him. I refused to live without him.

“No,” I said.

“He is your tie to this plane. You cannot dispute it.”

“He is, but I’m not leaving him.”

“Your time is short. You must go.”

“No,” I said, yanking on my arm. “I am Zoltilvoxfyn’s.”

“To allow a mind to cease to exist is a great crime among my kind. You must rejoin your hive or ours, so the next generations might be blessed with parts of you.”

I didn’t know what they were smoking or how death worked for them, but I wasn’t about to let anyone keep me from Fyn. I scratched my forehead to hide that I was focusing as hard as possible so I would disappear. When I came back, I should reappear at my Sunshine’s side—like last time.

“Stop,” Tatas ordered, pulling me to the door.

I dug my feet in, and I concentrated. The solidity of their tentacle grew by the second, and my fingertips began to turn transparent. It wouldn’t be long now.

Tatas tried to tighten their clutch, but their tentacle slid through my arm. “You must come with us boobaas.”

“I won’t leave him. I will never leave him.”

Darkness crashed over me like a wave, and right before I lost all sense of self, I heard a voice cry, “Come back to me, please.”