Starkissed. Part 6

He stared at her, unblinking.

She clicked it on and aimed the laser eye at the residue in the bottom of her cup, reading the results. "It's water, H-2-O. According to this, nothing toxic to humans. It doesn't a.n.a.lyze for xeno-physiology."

He nodded.

"How is your knee?"

"There isss ssstill sssome pain and ssstiffnesss, but the bandage and ssstaff have helped."

"Good."

She found a few more items in the jacket including a compa.s.s, which she tucked into her trouser pocket, and a knife. The Commander took the knife from her and pulled it from its sheath. Its keen edge gleamed in the shadowed sunlight. "I will keep thisss," he said and clipped it to his belt.

She put everything else into the flightpack as the Commander, using his crutch, thoroughly scattered the remains of the fire. Leith sat back on her heels and watched him.

"I suppose we do have to leave." She glanced around the perfect campsite and sighed regretfully.

"We mussst find water."

"I know, but this place is safe and familiar." She nodded in a general direction. "We don't know what's out there."

"We will find out."

Leith stood and tied her jacket around her hips. She converted the flightpack to a backpack and pulled it over her shoulders. She retrieved the compa.s.s and rested it in the flattened palm of her hand. The needle spun jerkily, one way then the other. The Commander limped closer and peered at it.

"Thisss planet doesss not have a magnetic pole."

"Or there is a strong magnetic field in this area."

"Or large deposssitsss of iron."

"Whatever the cause, it's useless." She put it back in her pocket and looked at him. "We should head for the equator, but-"

"But I am unable to travel fa.s.sst enough," he finished quickly, as if admitting his own weakness somehow minimized its impact on the situation.

"No. I was going to say that we don't know which way to go. We don't know which hemisphere we're in or the rotational direction of this planet. On Earth, the sun rises in the east so we would know in which direction to move toward the equator, but Paradise's sun could very well rise in the west."

She thought his face darkened a shade, but he turned away before she could be certain.

"Besides," she added, "if you were at your peak physical capacity, I would be the one slowing us down. With your injury, I would say we're about even. So, which way do we go?"

Leith spoke the truth, but she also hoped her words soothed his wounded pride. Human or Zi, a male was a male.

"The mountainsss."

"Any particular reason?"

"We ssshould have a better chance of finding water-a ssstream or ssspring." He looked up at the trees. "Have you noticed how many of the leavesss are dying?"

Her eyes followed his. She estimated about a third of the leaves on the twisted trees were brown and withered. A high breeze rustled the tops of the trees and some of the dead leaves broke free and fluttered down.

"Autumn," Leith murmured. "That means-"

"Winter isss near. The nightsss have already begun to turn cold." He struck the side of his leg in exasperation. "I will build a lair for usss."

His amber eyes grew wide and his mouth became a tight, straight slash across his face. He looked, Leith concluded, surprised.

"No, Commander," she said gently, not understanding but reluctant to ask. "There isn't time to build anything, just as there isn't time to travel toward the equator even if we knew which way to go."

He nodded, blinking rapidly. "Of courssse. We have to find ssshelter now and prepare for winter. The mountainsss ssshould have cavesss."

A lair, Leith thought, as she fell into step beside the Commander. Under other circ.u.mstances, the word would sound-well, romantic. Back home, there was a lodge called Shade's Lair, a sprawling building of cedar logs. Students from the university used it as a getaway-to relax, to party, or to enjoy intimate liaisons. Leith had been there once.

She had dated another student for a while. Khris-what was his last name? She found a certain satisfaction in not remembering. Khris heard about a big party planned at the Lair, and she agreed to go although it didn't really interest her. She did, however, fall in love with the lodge itself. She spent her time studying the rustic decor while Khris indulged in every recreational drug available. By the time she was ready to leave, Khris was ready to lead her upstairs. She declined as gracefully as possible. Khris insisted and became incensed at her refusal.

Up until that night, he had seemed to understand. He had broached the subject of s.e.x during their short relationship, and each time she had explained her reasons for saying no. Each time he said he understood, but he really didn't. That night, high on drugs and alcohol, he called her many things, loud enough for the world to hear, including frigid. The same word Steve had used.

Embarra.s.sed, Leith had fled the lodge. She was comfortable with her decision not to give in to the meaningless temptation of casual s.e.x. She wanted to fall in love first, and she certainly hadn't loved Khris.

She had never been in love, never even thought she was in love. There were men she found physically appealing and some of them she had dated, but she'd never met a man who had taken her breath away, made her heart race with a glance, consumed her thoughts day and night. She'd never met a man- She glanced at the Commander, who concentrated on placing his makeshift crutch securely before taking a step. Her one regret should have been never having experienced intimacy with a man, but it wasn 't. She regretted that the life she'd chosen and enjoyed had been s.n.a.t.c.hed away from her. And she regretted that she hadn't taken more interest in McClure Shipping. If she had, things would be different now.

If she had, she would have been by her parents' side, instead of Steve, learning the business. She would have made the trips with her father to Arreis. She would have met the Commander anyway. If, in this case, would not have changed the fact that they would have met, as they were destined to meet. They would have met sooner, been able to develop a normal relationship. Whatever a "normal relationship" with a Zi meant. They would have grown to know one another before- Before what? she chided herself. Before he swept you off your feet and carried you away to his vine-covered lair and made a woman of you? She wanted to laugh at this flight of fancy, but then he would want to know what she found "amusssing". Would he be embarra.s.sed, insulted, or appalled to know she thought of him this way?

She sighed. Besides, he wasn't the type. Too prim and proper, too dignified to let his libido overrule propriety. Too stuffy, Steve had said, and for once he'd been right. The Commander would have met with them, concluded his business, went on his mirthless way, and never given her another thought. She would have dreamed of him and created elaborate fantasies as she usually did with men she found attractive. Dreams and fantasies were much safer than reality.

Ultimately, she would have been crushed by his reality. A wife and sssix younglingsss back at the lair, she could hear him explain. Besssidesss, I find humansss repulsssive, all that hair...and he would shudder.

"Sa'aloh!" the Commander called out at the same moment the ground moved beneath her foot.

Leith looked down. A brown snake, as thick as her arm and nearly as long, coiled up around her ankle. She screamed and jerked her foot, trying to shake it free. She lost her balance and grabbed the Commander's arm to keep from falling backward. He held them both upright as Leith shook her foot a few more times. The creature fell, landing on the ground with a plop.

It remained curled up. The Commander poked it with his crutch, and it wriggled into an even tighter knot. She could now see it had a segmented body. She got down on her knees and, using a stick, prodded it again and again until she saw the head was a darker brown spot. No eyes, no mouth, no fangs.

"My G.o.d, it's a worm! I thought it was a snake. I've never seen a worm that big."

"Ussse your a.n.a.lyzer."

"It didn't bite me."

"Find out if it isss toxic."

"Commander, I said it didn't bite me."

"That isss not why we need to know if it isss toxic. We need to know if it isss edible."

"What?" Leith leaped to her feet, away from the giant worm. She shook her head, and it turned into a full body shudder. "I am not eating a giant slimy worm. I don't eat Chinese noodles because they look like worms. I'l starve first!"

The Commander sniffed disapprovingly. "You may do jussst that, sa'aloh."

She shook her head again, refusing to retract her statement. There were cultures on Earth that survived on diets of grubworms, tarantulas, and insects of all kinds. They boiled them, steamed them, and battered and deep-fried them. Knowing that didn't make the worm any more appetizing to her. She flatly refused to eat anything that remotely resembled a worm. Or spider. Or insect.

"A p'ha'al of that sssize would make a ta.s.ssty pie," he said and sighed regretfully. Using the crutch, he gently rolled it out of their path.

Now, she stared at him, unblinking. "You eat worms?"

"Yesss, sa'aloh. We call them p'ha'al, but they are much sssmaller than thisss. The mountain wormsss have a better ta.s.sste and texture, but are more difficult to find. The desert wormsss are ea.s.ssier to locate, but do not ta.s.sste a.s.ss good."

"You eat worms," she repeated. "Well, maybe you had better bring this one along. We might not come across anything else-uh, edible soon."

"I have ssseen quite a few. They are plentiful."

She hadn't been paying attention. She had let her mind wander to other things. What else had she missed? Something she would consider edible but the Commander wouldn't? Lost in thought, she could have pa.s.sed by a taco stand and not noticed. And the Commander wouldn't have said anything because the menu didn't include worms.

The thought of a taco made her mouth water and stomach rumble. A taco supreme and a milkshake, her favorite fast-food meal. She never should have thought of a milkshake.

"I would kill for a chocolate milkshake right now."

The Commander eyed her with disdain.

"It's a figure of speech! It shows how much I want a milkshake." She glanced at the worm again. "Tell you what, I'l kill the felafel-"

"P'ha'al."

"Whatever-to get my milkshake and you can have the pahapel."

"P'ha'al."

"Worm."

The Commander stalked off, and Leith had to run to catch up to him.

The forest gradually changed from the twisted trees to trees with smooth trunks and feathery fern-like leaves. Some of the fern leaves had turned brown, and the limbs were heavy with seeded cones. Leith plucked a few and a.n.a.lyzed them as they walked. Non-toxic. She broke away the seed covering. The seed itself was almond-shaped but smaller and smooth, pale yellow in color. She popped it in her mouth and chewed. It was almost tasteless, but should be filling. She finished deseeding one cone and handed them to the Commander.

"This is much better than worms," she said and began cracking the seed coverings on the other cone. "And they're high in protein and fat."

The Commander shook a few into his mouth. "Not a.s.ss good a.s.ss p'ha'al, but it will do."

When she finished her cone nuts she picked as many as she could stuff in the flightpack. Then she plucked another from a tree and deseeded as they walked. She stored the nuts in a pocket of her jacket. The task kept her hands busy and her mind occupied. She had no time to think of the life she was forced to leave behind. No time to think of what could have been or even what might be. She broke off another cone and proceeded to deseed it. Time to think of food that did not curl up around her ankle when she stepped on it.

By then she had seen several of the giant brown worms, but had not pointed them out to the Commander. She desperately hoped they would not be forced to rely on them for nourishment, although the Commander would undoubtedly consider them a delicacy. She supposed she would eat them if nothing else was available, but all around them the forest teemed with life. She could hear the chittering of what she thought might be squirrel-like creatures, but she had yet to see one. Birds flew here and there amid the branches-brown, dull blue, vibrant yellow. They weren't much different from Terran birds. Now, if only she could find the Paradisian version of a chicken, there would be eggs for breakfast!

The slope of the ground increased, but the Commander compensated easily. She was almost glad he was injured. With his long legs and tireless stride, he would have left her behind long ago. She had difficulty keeping up with him now, and he limped and used a crutch.

The forest thinned somewhat, and the Commander suggested they stop to rest and drink. She was thirsty, especially after the cone nuts, and she was tired. She brought out the canteen and cups and poured each half full. They drank in silence.

Leith stretched out full length beneath the shade of a fern tree. The Commander chose a sunny spot and eased himself down, his back against a large rock. She watched him as he rubbed his knee.

"If it's bothering you too much, maybe we should wait a few days. I have a feeling a few days won't make any difference."

"No, sa'aloh. It doesss not hurt-much. The ssswelling ha.s.ss gone down, but the bandage ha.s.ss come loossse. We need to keep moving to find water and ssshelter."

She watched as he rolled up his trouser leg, easing it over the bandaged knee. His fingers fumbled with the length of elasticized cloth. He tried to tighten it without first completely unwrapping it. Leith shook her head. For someone so efficient, so competent, he could be impossibly clumsy at times. Then a picture came to mind-his taloned fingers deftly untying the intricate knot on the bag of Zi jewels. She would be just as clumsy trying that.

Afraid she might fall if she tried to stand, she crawled to him. "Let me do that."

"You need to ressst. I can manage, sa'aloh."

"I'm sure you can. But I-I want to."

His amber eyes glittered in the sunlight. Then he nodded and withdrew his hands. He leaned back against the warm rock, but his eyes remained on her hands as she finished unwrapping the bandage.

His knee appeared less puffy than the day before, but she really had no idea what an uninjured Zi knee looked like. She thought of asking him if she could uncover his other knee so she could compare the two. Why stop there? She might as well ask him to completely undress so she could compare him to the human male physique. The Commander would be shocked, of course, especially if his culture was at a point where the nude body was taboo.

On Earth, nudity was natural in many environs, such as swimming pools and the beach, and the norm in vids and advertising. The male body was not unknown to her. Cleanliness, weather, and abrasive surfaces necessitated clothes, but many fashions revealed more than concealed. Leith had worn her share on numerous occasions, but she had no desire to bare certain parts of her anatomy while merely shopping or attending cla.s.s or visiting another world such as Arreis.

"It isss an odd thing."

"What?" she asked since his remark seemed to coincide with her thoughts.

"Thisss bandage."

"Oh. Don't you have bandages on Zi?"

"Yesss, but not like thisss. Our medical technology lagsss far behind our martial technology sssince the Cruciansss began their warsss with usss."

She let all of her fingers and the palms of her hands slide over the soft scaling of his skin. His leg jerked.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"You did not, sa'aloh," he replied. His voice was huskier than usual, like dry leaves rustling in the wind.

She began to wrap the bandage firmly. "The Crucians claim you started the war."

"Do they? Yesss, they would."

"Your government ought to reconsider joining the Galactic Alliance."

"Sss't, we have no time for politicsss! Every day isss a challenge to our very sssurvival. Each day we sssurvive isss a day of victory."

"If what you say is true, then your side needs to be told. The Crucians-"

"If? If what I sssay isss true? What rea.s.sson would I have to ssspeak falsssely now, sa'aloh?" He spat out a string of Zi as he brushed her hands aside and rolled down his trouser leg. "We are ssstranded on thisss planet, void of sssentient life sssave our own, with no hope of ressscue. Why ssshould I lie to you? Why ssshould I ever lie to you?"

"You shouldn't- You wouldn't- It's just a figure of speech." Fl.u.s.tered by his reaction, she didn't know how to make amends. "I'm sorry, Commander. I didn't mean-"

He lurched to his feet, and she rolled out of his way so he would have room to maneuver. He towered over her, his slitted amber eyes boring into hers, delving into what lay beyond, seeking something in her that she was afraid he wouldn't find.

"I command no one. I am J'Qhir Zha'an Gha'na'ameht'h Rhilh meh Bh'rin'gha T'hagh'qohp' nij vuh Dhi'if'qha'al."