Alien Freak - Calista Skye Page 0,85
you leave me no choice,” IruBex says. “I must end this here and get any points I can for you.”
He heaves the gun to his shoulder, aiming at Zaroc.
Time stands still. I stare at the Gurandu hunter’s head, focus destructive intent on it, and know with every fiber in my body that he has to die now.
There is no hate. There is only cold determination and the absolute knowledge that it has to be this way. That it will be this way.
It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.
And again, nothing happens.
As in, really nothing.
IruBex never fires the gun, just stays in that position, aiming straight at Zaroc.
Zaroc finally takes a quick step to the side, to get out of the line of fire. The gun doesn’t follow to track him.
My huge, red alien walks up to the hunter and grabs the gun, but it’s as if it’s frozen and doesn’t budge. “Huh.”
Then he runs over to me, lifts the rock off my trapped hand and carefully examines it, apparently finding nothing wrong. He scoops me up carries me away from the fallen rocks and the Bululg and the harmless Gurandu hunter. Some of the monks follow us with their flickering torches, the others spread out to secure the area.
Zaroc sits down on the grass and gently places me on his lap, my head resting on his chest.
“I can only say I’m sorry,” he begins, then chokes on the words and just rocks me.
“Uh-huh,” I manage, as the sight of IruBex incapacitated gives me unknown strength and lets me regain control of my tongue, more or less. “You’ve goth shome exhplaining tho dho.”
He gives me a chaste kiss on the forehead. “I don’t expect you to… to like me much after the things I said. Not a word of it was true. I just had to get away from you. Being around me would kill you. Of course, you were never a burden. I said that to make sure you wouldn’t try to seek me out again. It’s just that I attract death, and I couldn’t bear the thought of bringing you into harm’s way.”
“Didn’th workh,” I point out.
“It really didn’t. You and I only work properly when we’re together. It took me too long to realize that. But that’s less important to me now. The only thing that matters is that I can’t live without you.”
“My noshe itches.”
He bends down and gently places a tiny kiss on the tip of my nose. “Together, we’re unpredictable. You’re the least predictable person in the universe. Chaos follows you. You even surprise IruBex, and that’s something I never thought was possible.”
I adjust my position, power finally returning to my limbs. “I surprise IruBex, and you surprise the Bululg. Feels like there’s a clue to something there.”
“A clue to the fact that we should never be apart again? Because we can only be safe together? I accept that you can’t feel the same about me as do about you. After the… after what I said.”
“Do you really think of me as a ton of sweet-smelling iron?”
He winces. “i can’t believe I said that. Or the other things.”
“Safe together, huh? You may be onto something. Now my mouth is itchy.”
He kisses me, just lightly, full, warm lips on mine, with deadly fangs right behind them. They are not deadly to me, of course.
He looks at me with eyes that are clearly sky blue, even in this darkness. “Averie.”
“Mhm?”
“I can’t stand being apart from you. It crushes my soul.”
“Oh. Yes, I know what you mean.”
“I want us to be together forever.”
“Right.” I meet his intense gaze without any problems. Yes, definitely sky blue. Or is it more azure?
“I have a strong urge to protect you. I can’t do that from a distance.”
“Makes sense.”
“So I’ll just ask, showing you how unpredictable I can be: will you marry me?”
- - -
“No, that won’t do at all.”
The abbot frowns with his one eye, which I realize is quite a strange thing to look at.
“It will not be the same. When we rebuild, it will be different. Thinner, perhaps. Even taller! Or we will make a one-story building that covers a million square feet. Two million! It will be the wonder of the planet, just like the tower was. Or we’ll make it circular! Spherical! A parallelogram! Anyway, it will take millennia. Which is wonderful. We needed a good project about now.”
“All right,” I reply, not sure if he’s being serious. “Then no harm done, I guess? Except for your