Deeper than the Night - By Amanda Ashley Page 0,60

and souls melded into one.

Natayah. . .

She heard his voice in her mind, an exultant cry as she shuddered to completion beneath him.

Kara, ah, Kara . . .

She felt his warmth spill into her, filling her, and then he buried his face against her shoulder, his body trembling convulsively.

"I love you, Alex." She whispered the words as she stroked his hair. "I love you so."

Much later, after a leisurely soak in the hot spring, they lay side by side in the moonlight. Kara gazed up at the stars, wondering again which one was his. There was so much about him she didn't know.

"You're very quiet," Alex remarked. "Is anything wrong?"

"No. I was just wondering . . . do your people believe in God?"

"Of course."

Turning on her side, she raised herself on her elbow so she could see his face. "Tell me what you believe."

"Our beliefs are much like yours. We believe in one God, a superior Being who created the universe. It is against our laws to steal, to kill, to lie."

"Do you have churches?"

"Yes."

"Do you have more than one religion?"

"No. In that, my people are different from yours.

Every race of people I've ever encountered believes in a Supreme Being, but it is the same God, Kara. It doesn't matter whether you call him Wakan Tonka,Elohim, or Allah. He is the same. Omnipotent. Eternal. Without beginning of days or end of years."

Kara nodded. What he said was what she had always believed. She remembered a scripture she had read once that had stuck in her mind: "Worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose . . . For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away . . . And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them . . . ."

"Were you . . . are you a religious man?"

Alex nodded, the burden of killing Rell pricking his conscience. But he did not regret killing the man; he would do it again even though he knew it was wrong.

"Have you been to other planets?"

Alex turned on his side to face her. "Some. People are the same wherever you find them, Kara. They're all humanoid. One head, two arms, two legs. There might be minor differences in skin or hair texture, but none of them look like the ridiculous creatures depicted in your books or movies. They don't fly around the galaxy abducting people and subjecting them to bizarre experiments. Most are too busy living their own lives to worry overmuch about life in another part of the galaxy."

"I always thought that if we found people on other planets, they'd be just like us," Kara remarked. "I mean, my Bible tells me that God created man in His own image." She shrugged. "I always thought if that was true, then people would be the same all over. It's kind of nice to know I was right. Do they I mean, have any of the people from other planets . . . You know what I mean. Have any of the people from your planet had children with other races?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Never?"

"I don't know, Kara. I only know that, among my people, it's forbidden to mate with those from other worlds. I can't help but think there must be a good reason behind such a strict directive."

Knowing he was probably right made her feel suddenly alone. She didn't want to think about it anymore. He'd told her that people were alike all over, and yet it seemed they weren't exactly alike, after all.

She stretched out on the ground again, her arms folded behind her head as she stared up at the stars. Thoughts of Gail and Nana crowded her mind.

"I wonder how things are going at home," she remarked, anxious to change the subject. "I've got to call Gail."

He nodded slowly. He understood what she was feeling, knew she needed to assure herself that she wasn't cut off from everyone and everything she loved. It was a feeling he knew well.

"Who did you call last time?"

"Mrs. Zimmermann next door."

"All right. Tomorrow night, we'll call Mrs. Zimmermann."
Chapter Seventeen
They drove down the mountain at dusk. Kara could hardly sit still, so anxious was she at the prospect of calling home.

They pulled into the first gas station they saw to make the call. Kara fidgeted nervously while she dialed the number. The phone seemed to ring