Chapter 5
Talon was furious. He was so mad that when snowflakes landed on him, they evaporated with a hiss. He got angrier with every step he took away from Cat. These damned human women. Did they always have to second-guess everything? Couldn’t they, for once, just accept something? Grudgingly he realised that he hadn’t exactly expected overflowing gratitude, because he suspected that Cat didn’t appreciate it when things were decided without her input. He snorted. Who did like that, anyway, but sometimes, you just have to bite your tongue and show a little patience. These humans were just not rational enough. Their emotional decisions and “gut feelings”, as they called them, were really starting to get on his nerves. The worst part, he realised, was that her behavior was starting to rub off on him. Every day he spent on the blue planet was making him more sentimental. He cursed quietly, and then more loudly. It felt good! The throbbing in his temples faded to a dull headache.
By now, Cat should have understood that he definitely hadn’t evoked the rite between the two of them to make her angry, or to patronize her. The women from Earth were always afraid of being told what to do. He understood that. He didn’t need any special powers of observation for that. He had spent a few days unobserved in one of their big cities, and had turned away from the human women in disgust. They were always focused on proving how strong they were. Every one of them needed to be just as strong and just as clever as a man. Why did they want to do something that wasn’t in their nature? He wasn’t talking about cleverness here – not at all. Intelligence didn’t come with just one gender. He had experienced women who revealed themselves as masters of diabolic intrigue, who easily put any man’s understanding to shame. He just didn’t understand why the women here were always worried about losing their position, when they were inferior to any man physically. He made a face. Good God, they didn’t even need to prove that they were basically the stronger sex. Every man who had ever witnessed a birth, bowed humbly to this indestructible courage.
He could feel that Cat was just as furious as he was. This made Talon smile, against his will. Here they were, both stomping through the snow, cursing away, when all they really wanted was to be together. He stopped, looked around and listened. He couldn’t hear a thing. Not a single step or breath. Where was Cat? It should have been easy for her to follow his tracks. Even though he had been furious, he had made sure to break branches and to leave deep footprints.
But Cat wasn’t there. She must have made a wrong turn somewhere. His anger evaporated and was replaced by worry. It was true, this suburb was deserted, and there were hardly ever any mercenaries or looters around, but still – anything could have happened to her. He had to find her. Maybe she would come to her senses, he thought, and turn around.
While he was running, he tried to gauge her feelings. He had felt the switch from anger to love, and knew instinctively that her mood had changed to the opposite. That was just more proof that human women changed their minds all the time. He much preferred the Cat who was in love to the angry one, although a Cat who showed her claws and gave him everything she had, definitely had her charms. His mood improved with every foot he covered in her direction. This is how the bond worked – you just felt incomplete without the partner you had chosen for the rest of your life. Something was missing, pulling at your consciousness, until you were reunited with your partner. He was sure that he and Cat would be able to build a future together. He had seen instances where a rushed decision had overshadowed the rest of people’s lives. Two people had already committed themselves to each other before their maturing ceremony. Her sharp tongue and his hot temper ensured that they came to hate each other over the years – but they still couldn’t live without each other. This would not happen to him and Cat, Talon swore to himself silently. He just knew it. His predator rumbled in agreement, and Talon relaxed a little. If the cat, who had exceptional instincts, agreed with him, then he couldn’t be wrong.
He reached the spot where Cat had taken the wrong turn. He could see the tracks she had left behind clearly. Even a toddler could have followed her, he thought, and decided to teach her the art of walking without leaving a trail next. Talon stopped when a huge gust of wind hit him. He looked up at the sky, searching. It looked like a massive storm was brewing. Enough dawdling, he decided and broke into a run. It felt good to move, and it warmed him up. He felt good, even though the temperature was falling. He had a job to do, and he was moving. The long wait, sitting around in the dusty library, had made him crazy, and when he thought about having to spend a few more days there, his hair stood on end.
Suddenly, he smelled a strange odor. Without making a conscious decision, he hid behind a snow-covered bush, although this was hardly necessary in the now heavy snow. The wind stirred the snow up in front of him, and when the wet stuff hit him in the face, he felt a wave of reluctance. The temperatures on Earth were another reason to get out of here as soon as possible. The cold air did have one advantage, however – it carried scents better. It was easy to perceive strange odors in the cold, even when the wind was blowing as hard as it was now. He clenched his teeth when he smelled the unmistakable scent of a Sethari.
What was this despicable creature doing here on Earth? Maybe he had been wrong. He smelled again. No, it was definitely a Sethari, but one who had lived here for a long time. Over the typical and always slightly musty Sethari odor, he could also smell the typical human scent. Talon frowned. If he remembered correctly, the Sethari had been chased from Earth over two decades ago, after they had subdued its inhabitants for a long time and had literally sucked them dry. Those who had not died in the battle, had either fled or been killed by the surviving humans. So, what was this Sethari doing here?
He snuck closer, looking for protection behind bushes and trees along the way. He could smell Cat now, too. She must have gone a different way, or Talon would have been able to smell her much sooner. She was halfway between him and the Sethari, but what was she doing?
Talon watched as Cat stood still for what seemed like an eternity. She seemed to have noticed the alien as well, although he was difficult to make out in the distance with his gray skin. She swayed back and forth. The strength he had given her seemed to be waning. Talon wondered if he should send her another boost of energy. The other option was to run up to where she was, grab her, and run away. Even though he was sure that he could easily defeat the Sethari, he also needed to consider Cat’s safety. Humans were emotional and also very vulnerable. Her thin skin would be easy to injure with one swipe of a claw – or, in this case, with a Sethari’s barbed sucking snout. If the energy vampire was hungry, then he would attack Cat.
No, there was only one way, and that was a surprise attack. In his imagination, he saw himself carefully approaching Cat until he could reach her with one powerful jump. He saw himself landing on the ground, reaching for his companion, throwing her over his shoulder and fleeing. Leaving the Sethari unharmed didn’t sit well with him, but Talon knew that his options were limited.
He snuck closer. He stepped carefully, making sure he didn’t snap a branch and give himself away. Cat had stopped swaying, and she had taken a few steps towards him. Come on, he thought and imagined being able to call to her in his thoughts just like she could. The closer they were to each other, the more stilted her steps became, and finally, she fell to her knees. Were those tears glistening on her cheeks?
For a moment, Talon admired the perfection in the liquid diamonds that were leaving frozen tracks on her cheeks.
Then he jumped.