Alien Love (6 page)

Anji walked out
in the middle of Orlen’s pitiful explanation, and headed for the spa.

She had a contact there, the alien receptionist Cee. If Kiele had stepped inside the spa, Cee would know. The public transport station just down the block was set up like every transport on every planet in this part of the galaxy.

She got off at the spa stop and ran as soon as she cleared the crowds, skidding to a halt when she entered the spa. Cee wasn’t behind the desk. A human woman, blonde and tan and gorgeous, flashed Anji a white, perfect smile.

“Welcome to Taurea Spa. How may I relax you?”

“Is Cee here?”

The blonde’s equally perfect nose wrinkled. “She left her post. I was ordered—ˮ She caught herself and smiled again. “I was happy to fill in until her return. May I take a message for her?”

“No need, Christina.” Cee’s voice turned Anji around. “I am here.”

Thank God.
“Cee—can I ask you a few questions? About a friend?”

“Of course. Come with me.”

Anji rushed to keep up with the taller alien’s strides, and almost ran into her when she stopped in front of a small door on the other side of the huge lobby.

“Sorry—not expecting to stop here.”

“I was not expecting to see you.”

“My friend was here earlier, and we are due to leave soon. He’s a T’An, tall, dark hair, green eyes…” Her voice faded when Cee started shaking her head.

“I am sorry, Anji. I am so sorry.” She actually did sound sorry. When Anji looked down, saw the small pistol aimed at her stomach, she understood why they hadn’t heard anything from Kiele. “I need you to come with me.”

“What did you do with him, Cee?”

She bared her teeth again, but Anj guessed this wasn’t a smile. “I wanted nothing to do with this, but when the T’An scientists approached me, I was desperate to keep the spa open. Their money allowed me to do so.”

“Blood money. Where is he?”

“I—ˮ

“Welcome to Taurea Spa.” Christina’s cheery voice spun Cee around. “How may I relax—ˮ

Pern shoved a pistol in her face—and Orlen sprinted straight at Cee, his lean, muscled body slamming her into the wall before she could aim her pistol.

“All right, Anji?”

“Yeah.” Embarrassed, but all right.

Orlen pressed his laser pistol against the soft, vulnerable scales of Cee’s throat. “You will tell me where Commander Suun is, Karth. Now.”

“They took him to the underwater city. I did not want to be part of this—ˮ

“But the money was too good,” Anji said. Orlen raised his eyebrows. “They bought her silence, and obviously, her cooperation.”

“Pern.”

“Almost done, sir.” He voice floated out from behind the tall reception desk, and he appeared a second later, the bound and gagged Christina in his grip. “What are we doing with her?”

“Lock the doors. Bring her with us.”

Christina’s eyes widened, and she tried to talk through her gag as Pern hauled her after him to the glass doors.

“Orlen.” Anji moved to him. “We can’t—ˮ

“Who is she?” He addressed the question to Cee.

“My director of spa activities.”

“So she knows the spa, where to find the entrance to the underwater city.”

“Of course—wait—ˮ Cee realized she had just sealed her fate. “Please—ˮ

“Turn around.” Orlen already had magnetic restraints in his free hand, and snapped them on one wrist. He held on to the second bracelet as Cee obeyed, trapped her arms behind her, and leaned in. “Now tell me how to open the door.”

“It is a retina lock.” She glared at him over her shoulder. “All of the locks are.”

“Is your spa director able to open them?”

Cee closed her eyes briefly. “Yes.”

Pern joined them, the blonde no longer struggling. Instead, she seemed to be appraising Pern, her blue eyes taking in his handsome, angular face, and the thin line of iridescent blue scales that traced his hairline, marked him a T’An.

Orlen took her from him. “Open the door.”

Anji touched his arm. “Her name is Christina, and you’ll treat her with respect, Orlen. She’s as much a victim as Kiele.”

He raised an eyebrow, but his voice softened when he spoke again. “We need your assistance, Christina. Are you willing?” She nodded, and leaned in until the retina scan flared out and read her eye. The lock disengaged, and Orlen pulled the door open. “Inside, Karth.” Cee snarled at him, but she obeyed. Orlen kept himself between her and Anji, handing Christina back to Pern. “Keep hold of her until we are certain of her loyalties.”

“Sir.”

“Stay behind me, Anji. If I tell you to run, you—ˮ

“Run. I got it. Thanks for following me.”

A smile tugged at his mouth. “When you bolted, I guessed you had a way into the spa. Pern and I decided we could—assist you, if your plan did not work out.”

“Right. Thanks for sparing my ego. Now let’s go find him.”

***

Orlen locked Cee
in a maintenance closet, close enough to the main activity of the spa that she would be found. Eventually. Gagging her and attaching her restraints to a heavy shelf at the back of the closet gave them more time.

With head motions and grunts, Christina led them to the pool room. Anji started to remove her gag.

“Anji—ˮ

“It’s time, Orlen. If you’re planning to take her down with us, she will have to lose the gag.”

He aimed the laser pistol at Christina, his eyes narrowed. When Anji eased the wet cloth out of her mouth, Christina started coughing.

“Thanks,” she said, once she could talk. “Your T’An—is he Commander Suun?”

Orlen grabbed her arm and jerked her forward. “What do you know?”

“That Dr. Sonia, the head of the lab I’m not supposed to know about, put a notice out to watch for him, bring him to her if he showed. I was doing inventory earlier, so I didn’t see him come in, but when Cee called and ordered me to cover the desk, I caught a glimpse of a tall, dark haired man being led through the same door we came through. Look,” she met Orlen’s eyes, almost as tall. “I hate what they’re doing down there, but I’m not supposed to know, so I can’t tell anyone in authority. I passed what information I could to a friend in the city, who has been trying to put together some kind of plan to drive them out, expose them.”

“Nathan?”

Christina blinked at Anji, surprise on her face. “Yes. How—ˮ

“I’ll tell you later. We need to go.” Now that Christina had confirmed seeing Kiele, Anji needed to—

She let out a raw cry and dropped to her knees. Pain shot through her—not her pain. Kiele. God—Kiele was hurt—

“Anji.” Orlen crouched in front of her. “What do you feel?” He didn’t look surprised.

“Kiele’s hurt.”

He stood and faced Christina. “Where are the breathers for humans?”

She pointed her chin at the wall behind him. “I want to come with you.”

Orlen stalked over to the wall and pulled two familiar portable breathers off a shelf. When he returned he slid a long, wicked knife out of the sheath on his belt. To her credit, Christina didn’t even flinch. He moved behind her and cut her wrists free, handing her a breather.

“Betray us, and I will kill you.”

“Got it.” She knelt next to Anji, helped her stand. “Can you swim?”

“Yeah.” The pain had eased. It was more of a warning, and, she guessed, part of the connection between them, stronger than even Kiele had expected it to be. “Let’s go.”

Orlen moved to the steps leading down into the clear water. “Pern—ˮ

“I will stand guard, sir. I am aware I will be a hindrance.” He gestured to his right arm, still tucked in a sling. “I will follow only if you need to be warned. Bring the Commander back.”

“I will not return without him. You,” he pointed at Christina. “You will stay at my side.”

“Yes, sir.” She flashed a smile at Pern, stepped out of her heels, and joined Orlen.

“Anji.”

“Coming.” She slipped the breather on and adjusted it, then toed out of her own shoes, stepping into the surprisingly warm water. “After you.”

Orlen touched her shoulder, then executed a graceful dive and disappeared.

Christina winked at Pern. “You really are beautiful specimens of male.”

Before he could sputter an answer she dove into the water, almost more graceful than Orlen. Anji waved at the flushed and embarrassed T’An, pushed aside her fear, and followed them under.

***

Orlen waited for
Anji when she surfaced, and held out a hand to help her climb the stairs. He had obviously seen her close to panic halfway down; the memory of her last time in the water was still too fresh.

“All right?”

“Better,” she said, grateful for his subtle help. Christina stood next to him, just as gorgeous soaking wet, her curves outlined by the wet dress. Anji knew she looked like a nearly drowned rat. “Do you know—ˮ

“This way. Sonia would stay close to the pool, in the most ostentatious—there.”

He pointed to a mansion on the far side of a huge, crowded square. Every single T’An stared at them as Orlen stalked through the crowd. Christina took Anji’s hand, her confidence faltering in the face of so many aliens. Orlen glanced back, then held out his left hand. His right held the laser pistol, pressed against his leg, but ready at a moment’s notice.

“Stay close. Very few here will have ventured above, and the sight of a human is rare. Especially in their city.”

“You think?”

A smile threatened at Anji’s comment. It faded when they reached the mansion. “Stay behind me, Anji. Do not move ahead, even if you see Kiele, until I give you the signal that the area is clear.”

“Fine.” She knew he’d stand here all day waiting for her consent.

His pistol aimed, he pushed the door open and eased inside, keeping his back to the wall. After endless seconds he waved at her and strode forward.

She stepped inside—and sprinted when she spotted Kiele, halfway across the huge main room, sprawled on the floor. A blood trail marked his path. Her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat, Anji crouched next to him, terrified that they were too late.

“Kiele.”

He let out a raw breath and lifted his head. “Anji,” he whispered. “How—ˮ

“With help, Commander.” Orlen crouched next to her. “Where?”

“Left side. Sonia—poison—ˮ

“What kind?” Orlen’s calm voice penetrated the panic threatening to drown her.

“
Rutha
,” he whispered.

“How long? Kiele—how long?”

“Not—long. Still burning.”

“Anji.” Orlen turned to her. “I need you to find the kitchen and gather the following: garlic, bitter herbs—ˮ

“Oil and white vinegar.” She stood. “I know what she used. We call it something else.”

She ran toward the closest exit, her bare feet slapping the stone floor. When she reached it, she stopped, faced with a hall going right, and another going left. The smell of herbs came from her left, and she headed that way, finding the enormous kitchen at the end of the hall.

Servants froze when she burst through the doorway.

“I need to find some ingredients. One of your people is dying out there.”

A tall, thin T’An female approached. “Tell me what you need.”

“Lili,” another of the servants hissed. “You cannot assist! The mistress—ˮ

“Most likely is the cause. Come, tell me what you need.”

Anji followed her, rattling off the ingredients. Lili gathered them in a basket, and added a bowl and marble pestle to crush the herbs.

“Thank you.”

“This is for
rutha
poisoning. I can help.”

“He’s in the front room.”

Lili ran ahead of her, long legs giving her speed Anji would never have. She caught up in time to see Lili on her knees next to Kiele, bent over the basket. Orlen had his pistol aimed at her, but he obviously knew what she intended, because she was smashing the herbs and oil together in the small bowl.

Anji moved to Kiele’s other side and took his hand. He was stretched out on his stomach, his shirt pulled up to reveal the small, bloody wound. His body trembled from the effort of fighting the poison, of staying conscious.

“Hey,” she said, trying to hide her shock at how much he had deteriorated in the few minutes she’d been gone. “It looks like Sonia doesn’t have many fans. Lili offered to help almost before I finished asking.”

“Not—the most pleasant of my—family.”

“God—she’s family?”

“His aunt,” Orlen said, his voice tight with anger. “Stop talking, Kiele. You are using what little strength you have.”

Lili lifted the bowl. “It is ready.”