Reeve stared at himself in the mirror, looking over his host body before he dressed it in the flashy uniform Nallah had given him.
Harryx Parokk was almost Kindred tall—around 6’6” Reeve estimated, which was only a few inches shorter than he was himself. He had dark blond hair which he wore short, pale blue eyes, and tan skin several shades lighter than Reeve’s own bronze color. His body was heavily muscled and felt strong, as though he worked out regularly which was also nice. It was good to be inside a host who took care of himself.
For a moment he pressed all the way forward and watched as his eyes changed from the pale blue of Harryx Parokk to his own midnight black. Someone had once said the eyes were the windows to the soul and they had been correct. The only way to tell if someone had been taken over by a snatcher was to study the eyes—if and when he chose to come all the way forward, their color would change to the one of the soul controlling the body. But for now, Reeve decided, he needed to keep a low profile.
He took a step back and nodded at himself in the mirror, watching as his host’s head nodded back.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Compared with some of the hosts he’d inhabited in the past, Harryx Parokk was in pretty good shape. And the fact that he was still deep asleep in the back of his own mind and not bothering Reeve a bit was an added bonus. This job was going to be both easy and enjoyable, he was certain. As well as much shorter than Commander Sylvan had seemed to think.
Wonder what time it is? Maybe I can get over to the Hascion military headquarters and get this done today—right away.
But a glance at the chronometer on the wall revealed it was past six in the evening. So much for that, unless the Hascions had the kind of culture that worked until it got dark or something like that.
Also, wouldn’t it look suspicious for him to go running straight from the med unit right to work? Even the most hard core officer might be expected to take at least one night at home after being in a coma before heading back to the office.
Reluctantly, Reeve decided he had better do just that. Go home with Nallah—he hoped he could find the directions in Harryx’s memory banks—get a good night’s sleep, and go to work bright and early tomorrow morning.
All right—one night spent on this planet wouldn’t kill him. As long as Harryx didn’t wake up—which seemed unlikely—he could stay as long as he wanted to. He would just have to deal with the mission tomorrow. Tonight, he could spend establishing himself and getting comfortable in his host’s skin.
With that goal in mind, he finished putting on the fancy uniform—ending with the ridiculous gem-encrusted boots—and went out to find his “wife.”
Nallah was sitting quietly in the same chair she’d been occupying when he first came into Harryx’s body but when she saw him emerge from the fresher, she immediately jumped up and bowed her head deeply.
“Oh my husband,” she said formally, her soft voice somewhat breathy. “It is so good to see you are feeling well again. Please forgive me that I didn’t comment on it earlier.”
Reeve frowned. Did she feel the need to apologize for everything?
“It’s fine,” he said shortly. “Come on—let’s get out of here. Is our uh…” He had to pause a moment to access Harryx’s memory banks. “Is our hovercar parked somewhere nearby?”
“Regrettably no.” She looked up at him, her golden eyes fearful. “But there is a pub trans station not far from here.”
“Okay, good.” Reeve nodded. “We can take the pub trans then.”
“Oh no, my husband.” Nallah looked shocked. “I cannot ride the transit vehicle!”
“You can’t? Why not?” Reeve frowned at her which seemed to make Nallah shrink back into herself.
“Why…because women are not allowed on the pub trans. Surely you remember that, my husband?”
“Oh, uh, certainly,” Reeve said quickly, hoping to correct his error. But he couldn’t help wondering why females weren’t allowed on the public transport. It didn’t seem to make any sense.
“You can take the transit and I will walk, of course.” Nallah looked out the window at the dying yellow light. It lit up her hair and eyes like molten gold, Reeve couldn’t help noticing. “I think I can get back to the domicile before the Punishers come out.” Her voice was strained and anxious. “If I hurry and take only the shortest footways.”
“What? You want me to ride while you walk home alone in the dark?” Reeve shook his head. “That’s crazy, sweetheart. If you really can’t ride the public transport, we’ll walk together.”
“Walk…together?” Nallah was looking at him as though the idea of walking together was a foreign concept. “You would…walk with me?”
“Why not?” Reeve shrugged. “We’re married, right?”
“Well…yes.” She nodded hesitantly. “But…”
“All right then.” He patted his host’s stomach which was suddenly growling. “I’m starving. Let’s get home and get something to eat.”
“Of course.” But she still didn’t move.
Impatiently, Reeve held out a hand for her.
“Well? Let’s go.”
She looked at his hand uncertainly and then took it timidly in her own, much smaller hand.
“Great.” Reeve intertwined their fingers and gave her a friendly, reassuring squeeze. “Come on—let’s get out of here.”
* * * * *
The walk home was the strangest Nallah had ever had. She had never had a man walk the footways with her before—they were usually used exclusively by women. Oh, she knew some doting husbands or fathers who would escort their wives or daughters when it was getting late and the gangs of Punishers might be coming out, but mostly men rode the pub trans and women walked—that was the way things were done.
Also, Harryx had never offered to hold her hand before. And he was still being nice. He had even called her “sweetheart” again. What was going on with him? Could it be that the blow he had taken to the head had somehow changed his personality?
More likely he’s waiting until we get home to let his temper loose, a little voice in her head whispered darkly. Don’t get too excited just yet, Nallah. Wait and see how he acts in private, when no one is around.
She kept this thought in mind and held her silence as they walked over the footways which led to their domicile. It was a longish journey—one Nallah had been making almost every day ever since Harryx had been injured. She usually started when the sun was just up and got to the House of Healing by around noon. If she didn’t leave by a certain time in the afternoon, she had to stay the night in the uncomfortable upright chair by the side of his bed.
Nallah preferred going home to staying the night but she had to stay at least every second or third night to show proper grief and concern for her injured husband. There would have been talk otherwise and Harryx would have demanded to know what she was doing on the nights she didn’t spend in the hospital if he ever woke up.
Except now he’s awake, she thought and wondered uneasily how long it would be before the question arose. Would he accuse her of spending her nights whoring with other men? This was the reason she was no longer allowed to go to the market unsupervised. Harryx had the idea that she would prostitute herself to any strange man at the least provocation. Although she had never given him reason to doubt her fidelity, he constantly questioned her virtue and beat her for crimes he imagined she committed or dreamed of committing when he wasn’t there to watch her like a lanna watching a flisk.
“Long walk,” Harryx remarked, breaking into her guilty thoughts.
“Yes, my husband,” Nallah murmured. She hoped he wouldn’t be upset with her for the length of time it took to get home using the footways. She hadn’t asked him to walk with her but of course, that wouldn’t stop him from getting enraged with her if he decided it was her fault they weren’t home yet. “I will cook your favorite dinner as soon as we get home,” she added, hoping to defuse the situation.
“Oh. Um, thank you.” He didn’t sound angry, Nallah thought. Just preoccupied.
She was feeling preoccupied herself. They were approaching a part of the footway she always dreaded—a long stretch that ran through an alleyway between tall buildings. Most of the time the female footways ran directly along the main roads but in this instance, the engineers had apparently decided to divert the path because of the heavy flow of traffic. So while the well-lighted road continued on apace, the footway wound to the side and disappeared into the alley.
This is where Gemmah was first punished, Nallah couldn’t help thinking, as she always did when she passed this way. She avoided it if she could but it was the fastest way home from the House of Healing and she was afraid that Harryx would get angry if his dinner was delayed much longer.
As they entered the dark alley, she tried to take comfort from the fact that her husband was with her, but no comfort came. Harryx was a big male and hopefully a deterrent to the Punishment gangs who hung around this area but if it looked like there were too many males to take on at once, he might just leave her to her fate. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d heard of such a thing happening.
It would be no great loss to Harryx—he was in the Inner Circle, after all. He could easily buy himself another wife. In fact, it was possible that he had come this way with her specifically to dispose of her and get himself a new bride. Men did such things from time to time when they were ready for a change.
The dismal, frightening thoughts swirled around her head until dread constricted Nallah’s lungs and she could hardly breathe.
What if he wants to get rid of me? What if he woke up and decided he’s tired of me? Maybe he wants a fresh start and that’s why he’s been so nice to me—to lure me out here and let the Punishment gangs take me.
She was nearly ready to faint with fear by now but they were nearing the end of the alley and nothing had happened. Maybe the gangs weren’t out yet. Maybe they had moved on to other territory. Maybe she was just being foolish and scared for no reason.
It’s all right, she tried to tell herself. Stop being so silly. There’s no one here to hurt you. Everything is going to be all r—
And that was when a dark shadow stepped into the light at the narrow end of the alley.
“Well, well,” said a deep, rough voice, hungry with lust. “What have we here? A woman in need of punishment?”