Chapter 2
Talon was relieved that he and Cat finally had a protective roof over their heads. He hadn’t liked the color of her cheeks and swaying walk at all, and had watched her on the whole way back for any sign of weakness. In the presence of this dubious Sethari, he resisted the urge to belittle his Cat with exaggerated attention. She should not appear weaker than she was. On the other hand, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for him to underestimate Cat. He snorted softly to himself when the Sethari passed him on the way further into the library. He ignored the seductive smell of the dwindling stores that was hitting his nose. Instead, he kept an eye on the Sethari.
Why he was wearing human clothing was just as much a mystery as his behavior, which was extremely peaceable for a Sethari. It could be, of course, that he was trying to lull Cat into a false sense of security, so he could attack even more treacherously. Maybe Shazuul had been on Earth so long that the people’s mentality had rubbed off on him. That was called assimilation, he thought. Or, more closely, attempted assimilation, because he stuck out from a crowd of humans much like a festering boil did. He snorted again, louder this time and with more disdain. It was all well and good that the Sethari seemed to be peaceable, but what did he feed on, anyway? Talon knew all too well, from experience, that the energy vampires literally walked over dead bodies to feed. Just like any other race, he thought. Even so, the Sethari lifestyle was something that repulsed him to his very core.
Whatever. The most important thing right now was for Cat to get the information she thought she needed so urgently. He understood why she felt that way, but in some ways, it was still a mystery to him. The Kantharians were a people who valued only their own accomplishments, and not the things that their parents or grandparents had achieved. Of course, he thought bitterly, with one exception. The Royal House. It was no wonder that Ferthoris had deteriorated into a degenerate version of a man. When had he ever had to fight for anything using his own strength, just like every single man and woman of his people did? You could almost feel sorry for the king.
Talon shook his head, trying to rid himself of this odd thought. It looked like his stay on Earth was making him not only emotional, but also soft. The sooner they finally left this damned planet, the better! He debated whether he should tackle that problem while Cat dealt with the Sethari. Inside, the urge to protect her from everything was fighting with his sense of everything practical. It would not be an easy task to find a ship that would enable them to leave Earth, especially since Cat had to stay below the authorities’ radar. She had told him that she had received a large sum of money from the poker company, but he was beginning to like the idea of using that money to finance the beginning of their new life together, less and less.
However, he did like the hidden irony that the king would be making a new beginning possible for both of them. On the other hand, he was old-fashioned enough not to want to have to rely on another man’s money, especially since it had made Cat his property in a semi-legal fashion. The best solution, if it were up to him, would have been to pay the money back. Damn, why did everything always have to be so complicated? Or was it the weird atmosphere on Earth that made everything appear so complicated to him? There had been a time before Cat, when he would never even have thought of looking at another man’s wife, let alone desiring her.
He looked over at the Sethari. He had made himself comfortable in a corner of the room. He seemed to be waiting patiently for Cat to join him. Talon had no illusions. At best, he was an embellishment to the Sethari. Nothing that really mattered. All he cared about was Cat, and if he didn’t speak up soon and explain why he cared so much, then…
“Talon,” Cat interrupted his thoughts, “is everything okay? Where were you in your thoughts?” She looked at him with her large eyes, and as always, he was overcome with the need to fold her into his arms, and to feel her. To really feel her. If they didn’t find some time alone soon, he was sure to explode. When he had made her his companion, the intimacy of that act had been like a foretaste of the act of making love itself. He could only imagine too well what her soft and smooth skin would feel like beneath his, and what she would look like as she came close to reaching her climax. He swallowed. Another one of these stupid side effects of Earth’s atmosphere, was that it was becoming more difficult for him to concentrate. The air, or whatever it was that was changing him, was confusing his priorities.
“We need to talk, and I mean really talk,” he growled more brusquely than he had intended. “You and I are skidding from one danger to another, and if we don’t start making a plan for getting out of here, then…”
Cat raised her hand and laid it on his cheek. “I know.” She closed her eyes for a second, and when she looked at him, tears were shimmering on her eyes. “I am deeply sorry,” she whispered and snuggled up to his chest. This was the first moment of real and deep peace they had experienced in forever, despite the sadness. “If I hadn’t…”
Now it was he who interrupted her. “Don’t you dare even think such a thing,” he said threateningly. He was completely serious. “Meeting you might have been the most complicated thing that could have happened to me, but it is also the best.”
Instead of answering, Cat pressed herself against him even harder, and Talon understood what she was trying to tell him. Even as risky and unstructured as everything they were experiencing was, the danger was worth every second they were able to spend together. He held her out at arm’s length. “Go to the Sethari, find out what he knows, and then we’ll talk.” She glanced over at the corner where they could still see the pitiful remainder of their stores. “In the meantime, I will hunt and get something for us to eat. I don’t need to tell you to be careful, do I?”
He was rewarded with a hesitant smile. “Thank you.” Their eyes sank into each other, and he knew that Cat suspected how hard it was for him to leave her alone with the Sethari. The relief he saw in her eyes hurt him, but he also understood that this was something she needed to do on her own. The Sethari had known her parents and had information about her missing brother. When she was ready, she would tell him what she had learned.
He turned around without a word and left.