Fourteen

In full blown bitch mode, I marched up to Molev and grabbed the iPod out of his hands.  The battery icon blinked in the corner.  How long had he been listening?  I flipped through the list of previous books and cringed.  All romance novels.  I wanted to swear.

“You didn’t have permission,” I said.

“I apologize.  I was returning the clothes that Grio and Limar washed and was curious about you and your world and looked at your things.  I meant no harm.  When I accidently turned this on, my curiosity only grew stronger.  I’m glad I found it and learned your language, though.  I have many questions for you, Mya.”

His calm sincerity and lack of any perverseness defused my anger. However, the pulse of my headache grew more pronounced.

“I’ll answer what I can,” I said, placing the iPod back in the bag and digging out the first aid kit.  The sight of two foil pain reliever packets comforted me.  Both men watched as I ripped one of the packets open and downed the pills.  Setting the bottle of water aside, I got cozy on the blankets and looked up at Molev.

“What’s your first question?”

Drav sat beside me and began to soothingly rub my back and shoulders.  I loved him touching me.  It was both a reassurance and a comfort.  I couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

Molev resumed his relaxed position by the entrance and studied us for a moment.

“When you went to the source, it didn’t give you a life crystal, but something else.  Tell me, what did you see?”

I repeated the story of the history I’d been shown, and how the deer coming back to life started it all.  When I finished, Molev nodded slowly.

“We are connected with the magic here.  Phusty’s death proved that.”

“Connected, but should you be?  I think the magic here changed you.  Your skin.  Your eyes.  I’m not saying it’s bad, just that you’ve had to adapt to live in a place you maybe weren’t meant to live.”

“From what Kerr has told me while you were away, the surface does not sound like a better place to be.”

“That’s because you didn’t know it before the earthquakes and the hellhounds and the infected.”

“Tell me what it was like before.”

I thought of the woods by the cabin and the peaceful sound of the birds and the wind.  Before I could open my mouth to tell him about all the quiet beauty, other thoughts intruded.  Pollution.  Prejudices.  War.  Our world did have beauty, but it had a lot of ugly, too.  Well, it had beauty.  How much remained now?

With my sorrow, the ache in my head consumed my thoughts.

“Can we talk some more later?  My head is really hurting.”

“Of course.  Rest.” He stood and moved toward the entrance.

“Can you take some of these lanterns with you?  I think the light’s making it worse.”

Molev nodded, took several, and walked out.

“Can I get you anything, Mya?” Drav asked.

“No.  Can you just keep rubbing me until I fall asleep?”

I closed my eyes and let the gentle swipe of his hand lull me into a slumber where I dreamed I lived with Drav in his underground world forever and eventually forgot about my brother and parents.

When I opened my eyes, the complete darkness puzzled me as did the brush of fingers over my bare breast.  When the fingers reached the peak, they gently pinched my nipple, explaining the growing ache between my legs.

“Drav?”

“Yes.  I am here.  Does your head still hurt?” His fingers continued their slow assault.

“No, not really.  Why is it so dark in here?”

“The light seemed to bother you, even in your sleep, so I removed the lanterns and used some of the material to block the rest of the light.”

His hand covered my whole breast and gave it a kneading squeeze before moving to the other side.  I licked my lips and struggled to focus on my next question.

“Okay.  Do I want to know why I’m naked?”

“You undressed.”

“I did?” I said, breathlessly.  I was brilliant even in my sleep.

“Yes.  You threw the clothes across the room, but I don’t think you really woke up.  I wasn’t going to touch you, but you put my hand here.”

His fingers circled the circumference of my breast, then skimmed over my pebbled nipple.  Unable to help myself, I arched into the touch.

“You’ve slept a long time.”

“And you’ve been touching me the whole while?”

His fingers stilled.

“Was that wrong?”

“No,” I said quickly, not wanting him to stop. “It’s okay.  I’m just thinking your arm must be tired.  I’m sorry I—”

His mouth crashed down on mine, searing me with his unrestrained kiss.  My head swam and the tingle of need burned hotter, igniting the aching flesh between my legs.  With a groan, I tore my mouth from his.  The intention to demand he ditch his clothes, too, died when he kissed his way down to my breast.  The heat of his lips and the brush of his tongue tore a gasp from me.

He lifted his head.

“Mya?”

“Don’t stop,” I panted, grabbing his head and guiding him back.  My fingers brushed the long tips of his ears.  He groaned and kissed his way to my other breast.

“Drav,” a voice called just before dim light flooded the room.

“Shit.” I grabbed the nearest bit of cloth, which turned out to be Drav’s shirt.  Not caring, I yanked him over me for cover.

“Are you fucking?” Molev asked in a calm, curious tone.

“Oh, come on!” I buried my face in Drav’s shoulder, appreciating the irony of my current wish to disappear in a deep, dark hole.

“That is not what this is.” My words were muffled.

“Then what were you doing?  Were those your breasts?  What do they taste like, Drav?”

“Kill me now,” I mumbled.

Drav growled fiercely and tensed over me.

“No one will kill you.”

“Not literally,” I said.

He relaxed slightly.

“What do you need, Molev?”

“Solin has just returned.  More are on their way from the old orchard hole.  Fyllo came back while you slept and said the rest of his group has passed through the gap near the black lake.  I would like you both to be there when everyone arrives.”

“We will,” Drav said.

The light left the room.  Neither Drav nor I moved.

“No one will kill you,” he repeated with quiet ferocity.

“That’s not what I meant.  I was just embarrassed he’d seen us making out.”

Drav shifted slightly, his weight settling a bit more firmly between my legs.  His lips skimmed mine.

“I would like to do more.”

“I bet you would, but one interruption is enough.  I’d like to get dressed and go figure out when we get to leave.”

With a sigh, he rolled off me.  Before I could find a replacement cover, light flared in the room.  I turned my head and saw Drav standing just inside the entrance, holding a lantern.  His wistful gaze swept over me, and I could feel myself start to blush.  I sat up and crossed an arm over my breasts.

“Can you turn around?  I can’t get dress with you watching.”

“I don’t understand why that makes you uncomfortable.  I watched you at the lake.”

The lake where we’d been the only two people.  Not a tree crawling with men who didn’t know how to knock.

“The way you move and the pretty paleness of your skin is so pleasing to me.  I would watch you for hours if you let me.”

Drav studied me with such intensity that it reminded me of when we first met.  Before I was terrified of his reptilian eyes but now I felt pretty, wanted.  The raw desire in his expression had me throwing aside my caution, dropping the blanket, and standing.  He didn’t move from his position near the door as I picked up my underwear.  He did, however, make a slight noise when I stepped into them.

His focus never wavered as I dressed piece by piece, in a slow show that would have felt embarrassing with anyone else.  The complete fascination in his gaze had me doing things I didn’t normally do to get dressed…like smoothing my hands over my breasts and down my sides.

By the time I finished, he looked pained, probably due to the massive erection tenting his pants.  He crossed the room and pulled me close.

“When we return, will you take your clothes off again?” he asked, kissing my temple then nuzzling the place below my ear.

“I’ll think about it,” I said with a small grin, already knowing I would.

I craved his attention more than I cared to acknowledge.

Drav carried me down to the communal table where many men had already gathered.  I’d thought there’d been a lot of them before.  Their numbers had easily doubled.  Men crowded into the lantern strewn clearing, the throng of muscular bodies filling the stump area and spilling over into the surrounding undergrowth.

“Is this everyone?” I asked softly.

“This is more than half, but not all.”

Nearby men noticed our arrival and conversation slowly quieted, drawing the attention of Molev, who stood near the communal table.  He started our way, his eyes never leaving me.

“If he mentions what he saw, I’m punching him,” I said under my breath.  Drav grunted.

“Hello, Mya,” Molev said when he reached us. “Thank you for joining us.  Come.  We will eat while we wait.”

Relieved, I followed him through the crowd to the three empty stumps near the center.  He motioned for me to sit.  He and Drav took seats on either side of me.  A bald man approached with a leaf stacked with cabbage rolls.  He held out the leaf to me first.

“Oh, I’m not falling for this again.  Last time I helped myself, people got hurt.”

“That won’t happen again,” Molev assured me. “Eat.”

I glanced at Drav, who nodded, before helping myself to two rolls.

“Thanks,” I said to the man.

“You’re welcome.” He turned and offered the rolls to Molev then Drav.

“Thank you, Limar,” Molev said.

I did a double take at the man as he walked away.

“Is he being punished?  Is that why he’s serving dinner?”

“The lowest serve and train until they prove themselves worthy of more,” Molev said. “It is not punishment, but protection for them and us.”

As I munched, other men brought food to the communal table.  Once offerings heaped the surface, Molev stood and turned to me.

“There is more to eat.  Come choose,” he said.

Drav nudged me until I stood and picked a few things from the table.  Molev grabbed some food, then Drav.  One by one, the men approached, and I began to notice a slow change in their general appearance.  By the time the last bald man helped himself from the picked over remains, I understood the length of their hair related to their social standing.  Drav’s reaction when I’d put my hair up back home took on a whole different meaning.

A commotion near the far side of the clearing drew my attention.  The men stood aside, making it possible to see the new arrivals, who stood out starkly from the rest.  Dust coated their grey skin and dark hair, and several of the men had rips or scorch marks on their clothes.

With a weary droop to their shoulders, the travel worn group progressed to the center of the circle where they hungrily helped themselves to what remained of the food.  I felt a surge of pity for them and what they’d likely endured on the surface.  It conflicted with my impatience to hear the news they brought so we could be on our own way.

A few of the new arrivals noticed me and stared, catching the attention of the rest.

“Tell us what you learned,” Molev said, without addressing their curiosity.

Since only Drav and Molev spoke English, I sat between the two of them and listened to the gibberish pouring out of each speaker’s mouth.  Sometimes, Drav would translate or Molev would ask a question in English so I would get an idea of what was being said.

The men had come from the old orchard and told stories of unintelligent beings who craved flesh and of birds whose shit destroyed anything in a flood of flames.  That description of planes, by far, won as my favorite.  The men produced different items, explaining their purposes.  One man showed a broken cell phone that he said used to glow.  Another showed a lighter, which he’d actually figured out how to operate.  My amusement ended, though, with the guy who dumped a bag full of canned food on the feast table.

He picked one up and squeezed it, popping the top right off and causing a mass of brown to come squishing out.  He brought a finger full to his mouth and, after eating it, explained that he had seen some intelligent beings above who didn’t crave flesh.  They had eaten what the cans provided.

Drav stood and took one of the cans, which he brought to me.

“Eat,” he said.

I looked down at the can of dog food I held, a feeling of devastation overwhelming me.  While I safely hid underground, people were up there struggling to survive.

“What happened to the people?  The ones eating this?” I asked in a tight voice.

Drav translated the man’s answer.

“He killed them and took the cans.”

My silent tears fell onto the label.

“I’m sorry, Mya,” Drav said softly.

“Tell them what happens when our heads are ripped off.  Tell them we don’t resurrect from the dead.  Tell them they are taking away our lives forever.”

Getting angry, I looked up and glared at everyone.

“Those unintelligent people were once like me.  But when the hounds came to the surface and started attacking, people got sick.  Those uninfected, healthy people you killed were scared and just trying to survive, and you killed them so you can bring fucking dog food down here for show and tell.” I threw the can, almost hitting one of the bystanders.  It didn’t appease my anger.

“I thought this was about sharing real news.  All of this is a waste of time.  You want real news that won’t be at the expense of some innocent person’s life?  We’re just as fucking important as you are.  You had no right.”

Tears tried to clog my throat.

“No right to kill them, and no right to keep me down here where I’m no help to anyone.”

The tears won.