Beyond (11 page)

"I was him once,” she whispered introspectively, “but I learned."

"Do people come to listen to you play on Earth?"

Aimee snorted. "No. Just my parents, but that's because they have to."

He did not meet her eyes and instead looked up into the stars as they wove their way through the endless passageways of vegetation.

"How big is this place?" she wondered out loud.

"There are 2340 unique forms of plant life. Fifty-two exclusive warm-blooded creatures—"

"Fifty-two?" she croaked and instinctively sought to
distance herself from the dirt embankments flanking the walkway. Her motion brushed her against Zak's arm.

"Most are harmless."

"Most?" she squeaked.

Zak chuckled.
"Most."

Aimee inched away far enough that she was not touching him, but she still remained tight in his orbit. Searching the shadows between the exotic trees, only once did she detect a patch of something on the prowl.

"Has anyone ever been attacked in here?"

"I could lie to make you feel better."

Aimee stopped and gaped at him. "Please do. Please lie."

He laughed and she thought the sound suited him. The intensity was gone. He looked less like a warrior.

A semi-circle of light suddenly pooled around her feet, followed by a rush of chilled air. Aimee jumped at the kinetic sound of the wall evaporating to expose
the harsh illumination of the outside corridor. A single silhouette stood framed by the
back light.

Aimee swung her glance from that ominous profile to look at Zak. His
smile had vanished. The warrior had returned.

The figure stepped forward from the shadows.

It was Salvan.

"What are you doing in here...with
her
?" Salvan barked at Zak.

At her side, there was only silence. Zak's face was void of expression, but his stance was rigid with disdain.

"Aimee," Salvan smiled at her. She could tell the gesture was forced. "You should be back in the labs with Raja.
She
can
escort you around."

Aimee found it interesting that Zak didn't state the obvious...that Vodu himself had placed her under Zak's care. Instead, Zak crossed his arms and offered quietly, "I was just leaving."

He stepped towards the light.

"But—" she called out.

She saw him hesitate. He turned to look at her and the rush of adrenaline produced by that heavy glance pumped through her.

"Aimee?"
Salvan's high voice pierced the air. "I'm about to do some tests. Do you want to join me and see what some of our scientific processes are?"

Aimee had not released Zak's eyes. He stood tall and stoic and did not break that connection. She felt the animosity between the men like a thick blanket of sludge.

Without glancing away, she answered, "No, um, Vodu told Zak to bring me back to the deck."

There was silence. Zak did not even blink at her assessment, but he did look away...finally. She felt inexplicably lost without that link.

"Oh really?"
Salvan's acrid tone cut into her thoughts. "Well then, you must not keep the old man waiting."

Feeling his eyes on her back, Aimee jogged through the portal.
As it closed, the last thing she saw was Salvan's scornful sneer aimed at Zak.

Troubled by that obvious friction, she stumbled backwards and knocked into a floating JOH. She glanced at Zak. "You two don't like each other very much, do you?"

Zak
smirked. "No. We don't like each other very much."

He left it at that and started off down the hall, heedless of whether she followed.

"Hey, wait."

"Aimee," his long stride stalled. "I told you that I have to get ready. You should have stayed with Salvan. He would have time to show you the atrium in greater detail. He could do exactly what he said...explain the testing that goes on there.
The methods in which he dissects every living creature.
He can entertain you with tales of his scientific prowess."

"You mean he could explain why he plucked me from my home without my consent?" she added bitterly.

Zak's lip jerked back in a brief grin. "I would have enjoyed seeing him explain that." He gave her a sideward glance. "Something makes me think you would see past his illusions."

"Damn right I would." She had her hands on her hips, but surrendered to Zak's emerging smile with one of her own.

"You lied," he challenged.

"He looked so smug. Like he thinks he's better than you. I wanted to show him that Vodu entrusted
you
. I don't know why you didn't do it yourself—so no, I didn't lie."

Zak said nothing.

"He's not better than you," she pressed the issue.

"And how exactly would you know that?"

"Instinct."

It was true. She had shared an equal amount of time with each man, but instinct told her who to trust.
Granted, Zak was from a planet other than the people of the Horus. His attractive shell could very easily conceal a demon.

His eyes held hers and it seemed that he was trying to analyze her as well.

"I have to get going." He broke the spell.

Again, Aimee jogged to keep up.

"Can you tell me something?" she called from a half step behind.

"What?"

"How do you find your way around here? All I see are long white walls. You seem to know what to walk up to and wave your hand at. What if you abandoned me right here and I had to find my way back to the main deck...what would I do?"

His pace did not let up. He jerked his head at a floating computer. "You'd ask JOH."

That didn't pacify her. "Alright, well let's just call me old-fashioned and say that I didn't want to rely on a computer. That I wanted to find my way around on my own."

Zak halted and she nearly collided with him.

"Look at this." He cupped her shoulder and inched her towards the wall. She tried to take her mind off of his touch and focus on his demonstration.

"What do you see?" he quizzed.

"A solid white wall.
One of a million around here."

"No." He shook his head.

His hair, which she had thought was dark, hosted a thousand different shades of brown and gold. With such highlights and the glint of tan on his face, she would have guessed that he spent a lot of time in the sun.

"Trust your instinct. Look at the wall, Aimee. Relax and just look at it. What do you
see
?"

Aimee took a deep breath, still aware of the warmth of his hand. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them to stare at the bare surface. It had texture, almost like cloth. She reached out to touch it and it felt like rubber. She jabbed her finger into it and it yielded to the pressure. But it was still a blank canvas.
Nothing more.

"Look again," he encouraged with a soft voice.

Aimee drew in another deep breath and relaxed. She focused on the wall, noticing
a phosphorescent glow she had not even
considered before. It was subtle, but the barrier was definitely no longer simply white. It was an understated version of the
body suit she wore, loaded with complex pastel molecules. In trying to identify all those hues she began to see a pattern. It was like looking at a whiteboard that someone had just erased. Residue from a blue marker blurred into cryptic shadows. She had thought the shadows were byproducts of the omnipresent light above, but now they developed into something substantial. In a swirl of blue and pink tones she began to discern symbols. Reluctant to leave his touch, but needing a better perspective, she retreated from
Zak's hand.

"Do you see it?" He grinned as if she were suddenly in on a great conspiracy.

"I see something."

She
squinted.
When they abducted her they could have at least thought to grab her glasses from the dresser as well. "I see letters, or symbols."

"No,
think bigger than that. Look at the whole wall and try to relax."

"If I was any more relaxed you'd think I was in a hammock on the beach."

That comment earned her a frown
from Zak. He crossed his arms and she
tried not to stare at the contours the gesture made. She focused on the wall and took another
deep breath...to
relax
.

There!
Now it seemed so obvious she wondered how she ever missed it. Zak must have read the realization on her face because
she caught a flash of white teeth when he smiled.

"What do you see?"

"I see a—room. I see the room behind this wall?" she asked,
witnessing the diaphanous image of a
wide chamber with a vaulted ceiling and windows filled with a spider web of stars.
A man sat at a desk, his head hunkered over whatever he was working on.

"Yes.
Now on the other side."

She spun around and was amazed that she had only noticed a white barrier before. Now the wall was merely a thin veil, like a satin curtain. Behind it she perceived a huge chamber filled with tables and activity. People bearing trays moved about. There had to be
a hundred of them.

"This is one of the
eating facilities," Zak explained. "It's small.
Less formal."

Eager now, Aimee
started down the hall, inspecting room after room, some so beautiful she gasped at the display. Glancing up and down the
corridor she was assaulted
by the complexity. It was hard to even recall the original stark corridor. This view teemed with highlights.

"How?" she gaped at Zak.

"It takes a while. You are so used to looking with your eyes. They get in the way. If you relax and look with your mind, it's all here for you to see."

"It's amazing, but—" she looked back at the man hunched over his desk, "isn't
this an
invasion of privacy?"

"Come here." Zak cocked his head in the direction of their original path.

Aimee followed him and noticed the change even before he pointed it out. Several yards ahead the wall was blank again. She tried to relax, but could only discern a faint line that possibly represented a doorway. She took a few more steps and was able to see into the next room, but as soon as she
retreated, the wall before her was barren. She frowned at it. The engineer hungered for answers.

"What just happened?"

"Rooms can be cloaked by the people inside, if desired.
To offer privacy."

"That line that I see. Is it a door? Do you just wave your hand at it to open it?"

"Not if it is cloaked. You would have to touch the door and a signal will go to the people inside to uncloak it."

"I want to find a door that I can open myself." Suddenly she was desperate for this one liberty.

Zak pointed to the next chamber. As she stepped up towards it she was amazed at how she could have missed this view. Though it was like looking through a fogged-up window, the interior of the ship was no longer a mystery. She searched the frame and located the rectangular entryway. She waved her hand, but nothing happened. She reached out to touch the panel, thinking that it was so transparent that her hand could pass right through it. But as flimsy as it may appear, it was a solid barrier. She knocked her fist against it and looked back over her shoulder at Zak, who leaned against the wall behind her.

"How?"
The thirst for knowledge consumed her.

Using his shoulder, he hefted off the wall to join her. He swiveled his wrist and the door evaporated. She reached out and stuck her hand through the open space.

"What did you do different than me?"

He chuckled at her petulance. With another flick of his wrist the door was back in place.

Aimee all but stamped her foot with impatience.

"You're just waving your hand around in the air like you're trying to catch a Monawk," he said.

"A Monawk?"

"A bird."

He reached over and put his hand on top of hers. Her hand felt so small beneath his. His palm was rough, with a patch of callouses as if he had spent a lot of time working outdoors...or battling Korons. The friction elicited a shiver, but she concentrated on what he was doing. He lifted her hand and pointed at the left side of the door. He then swung her hand to the right side of the door and the barricade disappeared. Next, he pulled her hand from the right side back over to the left and the door closed again.

"It's like turning a page in a book," he explained.

She wanted to try, but again she didn't want to sever this contact. He broke the moment by releasing her and nodding. "You do it."