TWO

Rixavox stepped off the Luxirian war vessel, feeling something release inside him as a result of returning to his home planet of Luxiria.  Tension rose from him like curling red smoke from tevvax, a pleasure drug he’d taken on more than one occasion.

As one of the Prime Leader’s war generals and as an Ambassador to one of six outposts spread across Luxiria, he had been sent to retaliate against the Jetutians for an attack they’d waged against them while transporting the human females from their captivity.  His attack had been successful, but now that he was home, he wished to finish his duty in the Golden City quickly so that he could return to his outpost, to his home.  Once there, he would find a willing pleasure partner and bury himself within her for at least a few span as a proper homecoming.

Or perhaps two pleasure partners, he thought before striking down the fantasy.  Unmated Luxirian females were hard to come by even in the Golden City, which was easily ten times as populated as his outpost in the cold, silver frosted northern lands.  Maybe he shouldn’t be so greedy.

Rixavox chortled and stepped out of the docking bay, giving his last orders to the Luxirian warriors that had accompanied him on the mission, before jumping aboard his hovercraft.  He engaged the thrusters and then shot off the docking bay cliff, hurtling towards the Golden City, their capital that was carved out from the facev, the mountain.  It was a city of levels, with the lower levels used for food stalls and merchants, and the higher levels as housing.  The Luxirian suns had just peaked high in the sky, bathing the facev in their golden light.

He had a dwelling he used whenever he returned to the Golden City.  It was situated towards the top of the facev, on the terrace below Vaxa’an’s, their Prime Leader’s, residence.  But he knew that he would be needed at the command center, to brief Vaxa’an, the rest of the Ambassadors, and the elder council on his battle with the Jetutians.

The command center was a steel compound, tucked into the base of the facev, and near the research labs.  It was unbreachable, constructed from the strongest of metals mined on their planet, engineered by Kirov, one of their best technology advisors and a fellow Ambassador and friend.

And since it was one of the safest places in all of Luxiria, it was where Vaxa’an had ordered the human females to be kept until they made other arrangements.  Rixavox had not seen the females yet since he hadn’t been on their rescue mission and even though his curiosity was strong, their Prime Leader wanted limited access, in case a Luxirian male’s Instinct was triggered.

Because a mated male was dangerous…because he would most likely never let the human female go.  The male would cherish her and breed her until the end of their spans together.  It was the Luxirian way.

The Ambassadors, council elders, and Vaxa’an were all waiting for his arrival in the war room.

The doors swooshed closed behind him and he straightened.  Rixavox hoped to make this quick so that he could go take a long needed soak, find an eager pleasure partner for the night to release some of the tension that had been building during his time off planet, and get some rest.

He could think of no better way to spend his night.

*     *     *

Cecelia found herself back at those damned labs again, sitting on a chilly examination table, her legs dangling over the side, as Privanax calibrated some equipment.

“What…what exactly do you think you can do for me?” she asked, her voice sounding slightly breathy and…hopeful?  No, she didn’t want to get her hopes up, but the thought of possibly curing her cancer…well, perhaps this alien race actually had that ability.

He didn’t look at her as he tinkered with a slim, white device in his hands.  “What I discovered in your blood is something Luxirians experience called hellixaxava.  It happens occasionally in our youth, but is treatable.”

Cecelia’s heart stuttered.  “But…I’m not like you.  I’m human.  You’re Luxirian.”  God, it felt weird saying that.  “How do you know that it will even effect me?”

Privanax looked up at her and his blue eyes pinned her in place.  Cecelia held her breath as he spoke, “We do tests.”

“Experiments, you mean,” she whispered, shaking her head.  “There’s no guarantee.”

“We are not so different,” Privanax said, returning to his instruments.  He crossed the room to another table and picked up a tool she recognized…the one that had drawn her blood when she’d first been there.  “Or else we could not procreate.”

Her whole body jerked.  “What?”

Surely she hadn’t heard him right.

“The lavrix’an is heavy with the Prime Leader’s offspring.  She is from your planet.”

Cecelia shook her head, her brows furrowing.  “You’re not making any sense.  What are you talking about?”

Privanax let out a huff of impatience but said, “She will visit you soon enough and she will explain.  For now, I need more samples of your blood.  It will take time, to make sure our way of curing hellixaxava is safe for you, but I believe that the Fates will see you healed.”

As Privanax approached her with his tool, Cecelia thought of the group of women, thought of Lainey confronting the guards every time they entered their room.  This might be her chance to get some answers.  Some real answers.  “And what about after?  What is going to happen to us?  No one has told us anything.”

“That is for the Prime Leader to address,” Privanax said, his expression stoic and unchanging.  He grabbed her arm and Cecelia felt a prick as it drew her blood.

Still, she pressed on, “But surely you’ve heard?  Please.  You don’t know how nerve-wracking it is, just sitting in that room all day and not knowing what will happen to us.”

“Nerve-wracking?” Privanax repeated slowly, his mouth moving around the words awkwardly.

“We’re scared,” Cecelia admitted, watching the vial fill with her red blood.

Privanax went quiet and waited until the vial was full.  He removed his instrument and then walked back to the table, placing the vial in a machine that filled with blue light.  A humming sound echoed around the room.

Finally, he said, “Vaxa’an has ordered your return to your home planet, but only after I have treated you.  You do not need to fear, female.  You may tell the others that all who wish it will go home shortly.”

Cecelia’s heart jumped and her lips parted.  “Really?”

“Tev,” Privanax said, jerking his head in what Cecelia guessed was a Luxirian version of a nod.  He approached her with another tool, this one she didn’t recognize.  “Now stand.  I need to scan.”

Cecelia did as he asked in a hopeful daze.  As he waved the tool up and down her body, reading results on something that resembled a tablet, Cecelia couldn’t help but wonder if it was possible to cure her cancer and be delivered home safely.  It seemed…far-fetched.  But what else could she hope for?  If Privanax was convinced that there was a cure, if the Luxirian medicines worked on her, perhaps she would be free of her disease.  Finally.

She frowned.  But what had Privanax meant when he mentioned something about a woman from her planet?  Was it possible that there was another human on this planet?

One thing at a time, she told herself silently, letting out a breath.  Her skin felt hot, even in the cool research laboratories and she suddenly felt very, very tired.  She wondered if she could manage to sleep a little that afternoon.

Privanax kept her there for what seemed like a couple hours.  She’d been pricked and prodded and he’d taken a few more blood samples to run his tests.  Finally, just when she was reaching her limit, he told her that he would escort her back to the ‘command center’ and she figured that was where they were being kept.

They’d flown to the labs on a hovercraft and as Privanax led her to one, she was too tired to remember being frightened of heights.

“So, what’s the diagnosis, Doc?” she murmured, slouching down on the floor of the hovercraft as Privanax started it up.  The floor hummed to life and Cecelia drew in a deep, gasping breath.  It was so damned hot on Luxiria.  The heat and humidity was so stifling that it was hard to breathe.  And she was pretty certain that she was already running a slight fever.

Privanax looked down at her pathetic form.  “Diagnosis?” he repeated.

“Do you think you can cure me?”

The hovercraft lurched forward into flight and Privanax steered towards the steel compound built into the side of a dark mountain…the command center, she now knew.  “Tev.  It will be easy enough.  But there is a process.”

Cecelia sucked in a breath.  “What’s the process?”

“First, we must cleanse you.  The Fates demand it.”

“Cleanse me?” Cecelia said softly, wiping her forearm over her forehead.  “Like…take a bath?”

Privanax snorted.  “Of a sort.  You will wash in a sacred place, blessed by the Fates.  It will draw toxins from your body so that our medicines will have an easier battle and a surer success.  You must bathe every span for a short period of time and only then can we begin your treatment.”

“Okay,” she said slowly.  “Look, Doc, I’ll do whatever you want me to if there’s a chance that this will work, okay?  You just tell me where and when.”

“Where and when,” he repeated, glancing back down at her, understanding her meaning.  They were closer to the command center now.  “The ‘where’ will be in the northern lands.  There are many sacred pools scattered across Luxiria, but your body does not adjust to our heat very well, especially here in the Golden City.  The northern lands are cooler, more agreeable with your human temperature, tev?”

Cecelia nodded slightly.  “Cooler sounds nice.”

“One of our Ambassadors has an outpost in the northern lands.  I will request permission from our Prime Leader for your transport and then Ambassador Rixavox will accompany you.  He will act as your guide.”

More sweat beaded on her forehead.  She was actually longing for the labs at this point, even though they were frightening in a clinical way.  They reminded her too much of her chemotherapy sessions, of the quiet stillness as her body was being pumped with chemicals.

“As for the ‘when,’” Privanax continued, “it is possible that you can depart this next span.  I will speak with the Prime Leader once he is done with the council.”

“The sooner the better, I suppose,” Cecelia said softly, but she didn’t think that Privanax heard her over the rushing hot wind.  Her skin felt stretched too tight as they landed in front of the command center and disembarked.  There were guards posted at the door and they greeted Privanax in Luxirian, a guttural yet flowing language, as they passed through the doors.  They both gave her curious looks, but didn’t seem overly shocked to see a human roaming about.

As the doors shut behind them, Cecelia gave a sigh of relief as the cooler air enveloped her.  It was still warm.  The Luxirians seemed to like their heat, probably due to the scale-y nature of their skin, but it was significantly better than the outside.  She put her hand on the metal wall for a moment to catch her breath.  As she did so, she was aware of movement and voices on the other end of the hall.

There were two Luxirians approaching, their heavy footsteps echoing around the empty, darkened space.  Both were incredibly tall.  The Luxirian on the left had dark black horns and even darker hair that was loose, hanging down to the middle of his back.  He wore a tunic, made of the same material of the shirt she was wearing, and he had golden bands around his biceps.

But the one on the right…

As they came into view, she could see him better.  Just as tall as the one on the left, he had the same granite black horns, but with a thread of silver running from the tips to the widened base.  His hair was braided down his back and she could see the ends swishing behind him with every powerful step he took.  Unlike his companion, he was shirtless.  Hardened pecs and chiseled abdomen muscles popped underneath the lighting, his skin glimmering a faint blue.  His nipples were hard with a metal bar running through them, which she guessed was common among Luxirians since she’d seen her fair share of pierced nipples since arriving.  And he had scars…a multitude of them crossing his skin like lashes, some looking deeper than others.

Cecelia was so shocked that she actually heard herself gasp.  The hallway seemed to grow even quieter and it seemed like her entire being completely focused in on the Luxirian male.  The world slowed as her heart rate increased to an alarming speed.

What…what in the world is happening? she wondered, in a daze, unable to keep her gaze off the alien male…who was just so male.

It was then that she discovered his eyes were a glowing, electric blue.  And she only knew that because she found them focused on her.

Cecelia grew lightheaded, the command center around her beginning to sway.  Still, she could not look away.

And that was when everything went dark.