Chapter Two
When the man finally set her down, she got a better look at him. He was even bigger up close than he was from afar. He wore only what looked like a skirt, which was riding low on his hips to just above the knee, and a pendant that dangled from his neck. A huge, curved sword hung from his belt on one side, and various devices on the other side. A gun was strapped across his back. He wore no shoes or boots, and his toes ended in curved claws. The black tattoos were vivid against his red skin.
Despite her terror of him, Lisa couldn't help but think he was utterly beautiful. She was fascinated, like a rabbit awed by the bear that was about to devour it.
"Do you have a name?" he asked, taking a small cylinder from his belt. He pointed it at the cuffs, and a red laser shot out, slicing the metal neatly in half.
"Lisa," she managed to say, stuttering. "Who are you?"
"My name is Zon."
He contemplated her for a moment. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hide her naked body. Her face burned as she stared back at him. His gaze traced her curves–too many of them, according to her last boyfriend, although she didn't care what this red alien thought of her body. She just wanted him to look away.
Zon took his necklace off and slipped it over her head, slapping it hard enough between her large breasts that she stumbled backwards. Her eyes widened as scales of metal extended from it, gliding over her body. It ran like liquid over her curves, forming itself to her shape. Within a few seconds, she was covered by tiny scales of armor which bent with her like cotton. She didn't even feel like she was wearing anything. The armor didn't do anything to hide her shape, either, but at least everything wasn't hanging out for everybody to see.
With a nod, Zon walked away.
Lisa hesitated a moment, but in the end, she wasn't sure what else she could do but follow after him. He didn't speak as he led her through various buildings. Everything was built in curves, ending in sharp angles like the tattoos on Zon's chest. Fences made of the same energy barriers that she had been caged in surrounded these buildings, and she saw various species inside them. To her surprise, most were humanoid. A few had extra limbs or disproportionate facial features, but all looked more or less like technicolored humans.
"Where am I?" she finally asked, regaining her wits about her.
"Senett."
Lisa waited a beat, but when nothing more was forthcoming, she pressed on. "Senett?"
Zon grunted.
"Where is—"
"In the Hysap system."
A planet then, not the name of this city. Lisa rubbed the spot behind her left ear that stung every time he spoke. That must be where they had put the translator. His lips didn't match the words she was hearing. It was disconcerting, like a badly dubbed foreign-language movie. One of her foster dads had been obsessed with Chinese films, and wouldn't let her and Tom watch anything else.
"Where are we going?"
Zon pointed. Between two buildings, one red and rocky-looking, the other curled over like a frozen wave, was a sleek vessel. It reflected back what was around it without mirroring the light, which made Lisa almost miss it at first. Her mouth made an 'o' as they got closer. Despite the situation, she found herself fascinated by the material. When she peered into it, she could see the buildings reflected back at her, but not her own face.
"What is this?" she asked, touching it. It felt like water under her fingers and she scratched at the surface.
Zon grabbed her hand and pulled her away. "Haven't you ever seen a car before?"
It was bizarre to think of the sleek, hovering vessel as a car, but Lisa supposed that it was the closest word in her language to what it was. She also noticed just how much stronger that alluring, bitter scent was when she was closer to Zon. It made her stomach clench.
"Cars look different on my planet," she muttered. "They don't… reflect like that."
"You don't have cameo-skins?"
Lisa shook her head.
Zon grunted. "Get in."
Lisa stared stupidly at the vessel, not seeing any sort of door until Zon picked her up and put her inside. He climbed in on the other side, standing rather than sitting as she did. There was no sound of an engine starting, but suddenly they were moving. The buildings zipped by so quickly that Lisa had to close her eyes to avoid being sick.
Suddenly she remembered what the auctioneer had said about her. She swallowed hard and peeked up at Zon, taking in the bulk of his body. "What are you going to do with me?"
He ignored her. Lisa wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to imagine being chopped up and made into stew. The bitter scent grew stronger as she thought, instead, about being a 'companion' to this giant, beautiful alien. To her surprise, the idea sent shivers of excitement through her.
It's the shock, she insisted. And he saved me. Endorphins giving me a sense of euphoria.
They stopped in the middle of a jungle. At least, that was the best word Lisa had for it. All around where trees, with their familiar shapes of trunks and branches climbing to the sky. Broad leaves and giant flowers reminded her of the amazon jungle. The difference was that everything was in shades of red, yellow and orange. Lisa gaped as she stared around herself. With the heat beating down on her, she felt like she was in the middle of a fire. It was terrifying.
It was beautiful.
What made the plants here red instead of green? Did they operate on photosynthesis? Was the star that fueled the planet a different color than Earth's sun? Or was it something in the soil? Lisa reached for her pockets before remembering she didn't have any. Disappointment rippled through her. She would have liked to have taken a sample of the soil and a plant or two back to Earth with her, so she could run tests on the chemical makeup.
"Stay here," Zon told her. "I have business to take care of before I attend to you."
The image of her lying back on one of these wide, red leaves came to mind, the heat and bird cries surrounding her as she cried out in pleasure while her legs wrapped around Zon's hips. Her eyes widened as her body responded to her imagination.
What is wrong with me? I should be terrified of that, not aroused!
Zon jumped out of the car, striding away through the bush. Lisa sat still, twisting her hands in her lap, until she realized what this meant. He was gone, leaving her alone. If ever there was a time when she could escape him and get back to Earth, it was now.
She slid over to where he had been standing, putting her hands on the console like he had. No response. She tried pressing her fingers in different ways, tried to control it telepathically. Nothing. Maybe it was keyed to his genetics. She gritted her teeth in frustration before jumping out of the car. Well, she wasn't going to just wait around for him to return!
Picking a direction, Lisa began to run. They couldn't be that far into the jungle, and once she was back in the city, she could find the shipyard and hopefully there would be someone who would be sympathetic to her—
The air was knocked out of her lungs as something collided with her. She rolled several times before she got a look at her attacker. Her heart stopped. It was a creature that looked vaguely cat-like, but its body was covered by a hard shell, and two compound eyes stared out at her. A forked tongue flickered from its mouth, a long, whip-like tail lashing back and forth behind it.
It leaped forward. Sharp teeth flashed. She screamed as they clamped on her arm. Claws as long as scythes tore at her, skittering over her armor.
Lisa screamed again.
Somewhere over the creature's snarling, she heard a mighty roar. The creature howled in pain, whirling. Lisa scrambled to her feet to see Zon gripping his sword tightly, driving it into the creature's compound eye. It swiped at him; graceful as a dancer he avoided the claws, pulling the sword out to sink into the other eye. Another scream and Zon sliced open its neck. It screamed and writhed, blood splattering everywhere.
Zon ignored the dying creature as he marched over to her. He grabbed her arm roughly and shook her. "Next time you disobey me, I’ll let the beast kill you."
He dropped her arm and walked away, clearly expecting her to follow. Lisa cast one glance at the creature, which was twitching erratically now, and hurried after him.
"What is that thing?" she asked.
"You've never seen a hacot before?"
Lisa shook her head. "Are they… common?"
Zon hoisted her back into the car. "The only more common species in the galaxy are rats. You're lucky it didn't bite you. You'd be dead within the hour if it had."
"That thing was venomous?" Lisa shook her head. "Is there anything else out there that wants to kill us?"
"Many things."
Great, Lisa thought bitterly. We’re going into a jungle full of creatures that want to eat us. At least we're fast food, maybe they won't catch us.
***
What felt like hours later, Zon parked the car at the base of a giant tree and told Lisa to climb onto his back.
"You have to be kidding me."
His brow furrowed. "It will be night in a few hours, and we need to be off the ground before dusk."
Lisa hesitated, but as Zon crouched in front of her, she scrambled up onto his back. He made sure she was holding tightly before he began climbing. They scaled the tree remarkably fast, his hands finding holds in the bark, the claws on his feet digging in to secure his ascent. When the ground was no longer visible, he walked along a thick branch to the edge, where smaller, leaf-covered limbs extended.
Lisa watched with fascination as he used his hands and feet to weave a nest out of the living branches. The scientist in her longed to know what sort of evolutionary process allowed him to manipulate his limbs so effectively. Had his species evolved in the trees?
The thought sobered her quickly. What was she doing, admiring the way he worked? The way he had killed the toad back at the auction… this was not a gentle man. He was a savage, and she did not want to stick around to find out what he was going to do with her.
"I need to return to my home."
Zon ignored her.
"Did you hear me?"
"Yes."
Lisa put her hands on her hips. "So are you going to take me home or not?"
"What for?" Zon glanced at her as he settled in the nest.
"I have friends, family—"
"You were found traveling in a ship at light speed. Don't you know what that means?"
Lisa's brow furrowed. She opened her mouth to tell him that it didn't matter and that she was abducted, but then she remembered. Her face blanched and she suddenly felt dizzy. Einstein's theory of relativity. There was temporal distortion associated with light speed travel. What could have been months for her on that ship might have been years back on Earth.
"I… I can't have been in there that long," she gasped. "I need to go home!"
"Forget home." Zon patted the space beside him. "You are from an unregistered species acquired in unclaimed space, and sold under the accords of the Scavenger Act. You belong to me, and there is no returning."
"I don't belong to anybody."
Zon smiled at her. "You belong to me. But don't be frightened. There are plenty worse people who could have bought you."
Lisa thought of the toad and privately agreed, though she stood her ground. "I am a sentient being and—"
"Just come here and sleep." Zon's gaze softened a little. "You have had a trying day and I'm afraid you will collapse on the spot. I did not intend on making a purchase today, but since I have you, I would like to have your companionship."
Lisa tensed. So he did mean to use her for sex. She hesitated a moment longer, knowing the idea should be terrifying, knowing she should be at least more repelled than she was. There was a part of her that was, but another part whispered that, for science's sake, she had to learn exactly how similar their species were…
"Parallel evolution," she blurted, not moving closer to him.
A brow arched. "Excuse me?"
"That's why our species look so similar. With the arms and the legs and the faces." Why was she babbling? "Parallel evolution. It's when two unrelated species evolve similar attributes due to filling the same niche in an environment. Like red pandas and raccoons. They look so similar, but they're not at all related."
Zon stared at her like she was crazy. She felt her cheeks flushing but couldn't move her eyes away from the strong musculature over his chest. His pecs were so perfectly formed, she wanted to squeeze them and kiss them. She wanted him to use her, just so she would know what it was like…
For the sake of science, of course. She could use the DNA she collected in her studies once she returned to Earth.
"Ah." Zon's voice was soft.
"Ah?" Lisa repeated. Her throat was dry.
"The auctioneer said that you were compatible with most species. It appears that you are highly receptive to androstanol."
Androstanol. A pheromone produced in fresh, non-oxidized male sweat, proven to be highly attractive to females. Lisa's face heated further.
Zon ran his hand over his face, then his gaze focused on her. It ran over her, caressing every curve. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. His gaze darkened as he came for her. A thrill of panic shot through her, but she found herself frozen, unable to think about fighting against him, her eyes already on his lips… but when he came close he just walked past her.
By the time Lisa had regained her senses and turned, Zon was pounding his fists into the tree. She gaped, too stupefied to move. The alien's shoulders bunched and corded as he pounded again and again and again. When he finally stopped, there were streaks of blood on the bark.
He turned back to her, panting. "Please don't look at me like that."
"Like… what?"
"Like you expect me to throw you down and force myself on you. I'm a mature T'shav, I can handle my musth."
"Your… what?"
He stared at her. "You really don't know?"
Lisa shook her head.
Zon pinched the back of his neck, shaking his head. "Of course not. Lightspeed technology. You haven't had any interaction with species outside of your own planet, have you?"
"We don't have light speed technology. I was taken from my home."
"Really? You're more primitive than I thought."
Lisa flushed. "Hey, at least we have actual guns and don't go around swinging swords. They’re highly inefficient."
"We have guns." Zon smiled. "I just prefer to make sure that the men I kill are actually dead."
How many people had he killed?
"But as I was saying, the males of my species have a cycle that they enter every standard year. We call it musth. It's a time when our hormones run rampant, resulting in a drive to mate. If we do not have regular sex, we can become… unpredictable. More violent than usual. We also produce a cocktail of pheromones that arouse females."
"Oh." Oh. That explained it all, then. Why she was feeling so… She swallowed hard. He needed sex to regulate his hormones. Once again the image of them twined together occurred to her, but this time, she knew why the heat was building in her. "So when you bought me, you wanted—"
A sharp zinging sound interrupted her. Something struck the side of the tree, inches from where she stood, and it burst into flames.