The Price of Discovery (24 page)

“Erin.” She looked back at him and he felt an odd tingle at the sadness reflecting in her gaze. “Where is he? I want to take the body back with me.”

She stiffened. “You can't take the body. It's at the coroner's office, locked up.”

Heat flushed his face, burned his ears. “He deserved honor, to be buried among his own kind.”

“I realize you want to bring him back to his family, but you can't just go in there and take the body.”

Frustration roared at his temples. Nothing had gone right on this planet. Nothing. His parents were dead. His sister couldn't get pregnant. His brother was missing. And now his best friend was locked up in some room, unable to return to Elliac.

No. He had to do something. “I'm going to get him back, Erin. He doesn't belong on Earth. This is wrong.”

The compassion in her eyes vanished under a cold glare. “Again, you are insulting me and my planet, as if we aren't good enough.”

“He deserves the honor of a
proper
burial.”

“He's an alien, Drakor! Once someone realizes that, they'll never let him go.”

Fury choked him, blinded him. Pain throbbed inside his skull. Disaster. Everything was spiraling into a disaster.

“Take me to him, Erin.”

Her lips twitched, lips that only moments ago he ached to press against his own. Now helplessness and agony superseded any tender emotions.

“I-I can't, Drakor. You'd have to fill out all kinds of information. Show identification. It would be a huge mistake to take you there. You'd find yourself in deeper trouble.”

Deeper?

Great Sun, he had to get out of here. Rage boiled up inside of him, threatening to destroy the tenuous relationship he had with Erin. If he blew up at her now, it could ruin everything. She could have the government at his door in the morning.

“Sitora! Let's go. Now.”

His sister whined but came forward.

Erin tucked her hair behind her ear. “Drakor, you aren't going to do anything stupid, are you?”

He stared at her, jaw clenched, unable to speak.

She reached her hand out to him then pulled it away. “I'll see what I can do about getting the body released, okay? I'll try.”

He nodded. Right now, it would have to be enough.

Chapter Twenty

Drakor held Sitora tightly as the air swirled around them. He tried to find the most secluded spot he could before taking out his Transmitter and tapping in the code.
 

Within seconds, they stumbled on the ground next to the house. Its brightly colored paint mocked his distress. His family's demise seemed to loom before him like the long shadows of the trees.

“My tummy hurts,” Sitora said in their native language.

He scooped her up in his arms and headed for the front door. It didn't surprise him that the spinning upset his sister's stomach. It took years to get used to. But it was a useful mechanism when needed.

The low throbbing returned to torment the inside of his skull. Was it the Transfer or being away from Erin? He despised the thought that she was the only way to cure his pain. It meant choosing between suffering without her or drawing her in closer.

The only thing that made sense to him right now was to get off this planet as soon as possible.

Drakor pushed open his front door and set Sitora down. Immediately, she scampered upstairs to her room. No doubt she was mad it him for making her leave Erin's side also.

Wishing he had some illegal Rizitzi Root to blot out his headache and dull his senses, Drakor headed instead for the staircase. But a sudden shuffling sound of papers brought his attention to the parlor room.

There, on the flowery couch, sat Brundor, casually flipping through a soft, paper book.

Fury strangled Drakor, flaming the tips of his ears, tightening his lungs. He stormed into the room. “Where have you been?”

Brundor shrugged and didn't look up. “I couldn't stand sitting in this house anymore. So I took a trip around town.”

“You must have my permission, you know that.”

“And what would you have said?”

“You aren't ready to be out there, not in your condition.”

Brundor laughed and pushed his long, messy hair from his face. “Precisely my point. Besides, you're too busy indulging yourself with Erin to pay attention to your family's needs.”

Drakor recoiled as if stung. He paid attention to their needs. Brundor could not handle his impulses around females right now. He knew that. He'd been there once himself.

“Erin has nothing to do with this.”

A sneer lifted Brundor's eyes. “She has everything to do with this. You use her for your needs but deny me mine. You first risked the family's honor by insisting on returning early and now you allow us languish here while you have your fill of her.”

Drakor stood before the fireplace and crossed his arms. “All of you insisted on staying until the mission was complete. And so I took on the responsibility of my family and the duty, sacrificing my own future, to bring honor to us. We cannot go until Ankra is pregnant, did you know that?”

Brundor's shocked face said that he didn't.

“So they kept the secret from you, as well. She is to mate with a human and carry the offspring. That is our real assignment. We are forced to stay on Earth until Ankra is with child.” Drakor swallowed the bitter taste filling his mouth. “My time with Erin is only that—time. I am ready to leave her when the time comes.”

Brundor returned his attentions to the text and pictures on his lap. “Once you realize she is your
Mharai
you won't be so ready to go.”

“She is not my
Mharai
.”
 

His brother shrugged. “I still want to go that dance place, the one you went to before. You said I could find a willing female there.”

“Brundor,” Drakor swallowed the trepidation creeping up his throat, “tell me you did not touch anyone…satisfy any of your…desires while you were gone?”

“It wouldn't matter if I did.”

Drakor sucked in a deep breath. “What do you mean it wouldn't matter? If you assaulted someone, it could mean our capture.”

Brundor gave a cocky laugh. “I am not a fool. I managed to control myself to the best of my ability—”

“Your ability!”

“But you've no need to worry about it.”

The pressure in Drakor's head increased to such a point he felt nausea rising in his gut. He staggered slightly then caught himself against the mantel. “How…how could I not worry?”

“I was invisible, of course.”
 

 

 

Erin drummed her fingers on the wooden table. Greg was late, as usual. Didn't he think she had better things to do with her time?
 

She stirred the ginger ale in her glass with her straw. Okay, well, maybe she was a little grumpy. It didn't help that in the several days she hadn't seen Drakor, she started feeling drained and unnerved. What was it about him? Whenever he stood within a few feet of her she turned into some promiscuous harlot with raging hormones. And now that she had gone the rest of the week without seeing, hearing, or speaking to him, she felt like total crap.

“Sorry I'm late.” Greg dropped into the chair opposite hers. “Hey, you didn't order the Crunchy Rings. We always get that.”

Erin took a sip of her soda. “They didn't sound very appetizing to me right now. What took you so long, anyway?”

“Had to drop off Ankra.”

Something bloomed in Erin's chest, like a tulip opening to the sun. She knew why. Drakor. Why couldn't she forget him?

“So you guys are doing great, huh?”

Her brother's cheeks colored. “Yeah, she's really special.” He grabbed her soda and swallowed a few gulps.

“Um, could you ask next time?”

He ignored her and looked around for the waiter.

“I told him to bring a beer when he saw you here, so don't worry it'll be coming.”

“Thanks. I could use one.”

“What's the latest? Anymore ideas about what's going on at Invasion Shield?”

Greg sighed and sank back in his chair. “I don't know what to do. I've done some research and it seems that the software that I've sent off for a patent is exactly the same as one developed by Securicon.”

“Securicon? Who are they?”

He seemed to shrivel in his seat. “A competitor. A very important one.”

Erin tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “So, did someone from Invasion Shield sell the technology to Securicon?”

The waiter came over and placed the beer in front of Greg. “Any dinner for the two of you?” he asked.

Erin didn't quite feel in the mood but she would eat if Greg ordered something. Fortunately, he shook his head. “Can you just bring out the Crunchy Rings with the special sauce? And I'll probably need another beer soon.”

“Anything for you, madam?”

“No, thank you. Just some water with lemon.”

The waiter left and Greg took a long pull on his beer. When he came up for fresh air, he wiped the bottle across his forehead.

“I could be in some deep shit, Erin.”

“It's not your fault if someone sold information to another company.”

“That isn't what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Securicon had this technology first. They applied for their patent on it well before us.”

Erin shifted in her seat. This wasn't sounding good. “Maybe they were just faster.”

Greg leaned forward, elbows on the table, head in his hands. “No, Erin, somebody stole that information from them and we've claimed it's our own. That's called Patent Infringement.”

Her churning stomach froze. “What are you saying exactly?”

“Someone from my company took Securicon's information and used it to build our software.”

“Who would do that?”

“I don't know but I have a guess.”

There had to be a way to figure this out. “Greg, did anyone in your company work for Securicon before Invasion Shield?”

“Not that I remember.”

She would fix this for him. She had to. “Let's meet soon. Your house or mine, it doesn't matter. But bring your employee files and we'll go through them with a microscope.”

His blue eyes pleaded with her. She had never seen him so distraught, not since their parents died. “I hope we can find something, ‘cause Invasion Shield is in a whole lot of trouble and I'm the one responsible.”

 

 

“I have another one and they won't stop itching.”

Drakor winced as Sitora's whine cut through his fog of pain. He'd not heard from Erin since leaving her apartment that day.
 

He and Sitora took nightly walks to ease their boredom, and now she complained of red bumps on her skin. He tried to look it up in a manual but all that was mentioned was hives, rashes, and the occasional insect bite.

“Last time you scratched so hard you made it bleed,” he told her, pressing a damp cloth across his face.

“I can't help it.”

“What did Ankra say about it? Did she ask Greg for you?”

“She keeps forgetting.” He felt Sitora climb up on the bed next to him. “Please, can't you do something? Mother and Father would have done something for me.”

He moved the cloth and propped up on one elbow. She would be underhanded enough to use their dead parents against him. “You have something you want me do.”

She gave a shrug, her eyes wide with innocence. “You could ask Erin.”

He dropped his head down again. “So that's what this is about. You want to see Erin again.”

“I don't have to go.” She lay next to him and reached her pudgy arm across his chest. She smelled like soap and cookies. “I'll stay here and you can just go over and ask her.”

“Sitora…” What could he say to his sister? He didn't know why Erin stopped coming by to visit. But he did know that he couldn't stop thinking about her. The scent of her hair and softness of her skin haunted him each night. He could not forget her smooth shoulders and creamy white thighs. Especially since he now slept in his parents' room, upon this very bed.

“You'll go, won't you?” his sister asked, then pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Tell her I wanted you to.”

The poor girl had enough disappointment already. “I'll go. Let me just make sure Brundor will stay here this time.”

 

Drakor just reversed the coordinates on the Transmitter and landed behind a clump of trees near Erin's building. He would have preferred to Transfer directly into her home, but it would probably frighten her and give her more fuel for her story.
 

Drakor sucked in a deep breath and knocked on Erin's door.
 

A strong smell filtered out from one of the closed doors, making his mouth water. The odor was strong, pungent, but not necessarily unpleasant. Was he starting to yearn for the Earth food? Had he started to transform into a human?

Great Sun, he needed to get off this planet, even if it meant returning home as an
Unmhar
.

The door opened and his gaze fell upon Erin's surprised face. Her light hair was scattered in all directions, her skin paler than normal and eyes underlined with a lavender hue. She looked unwell, almost as if she somehow had contracted the illness that plagued his father.
 

He took a step inside the door and the heat from her body enveloped him, immediately easing his suffering. But seeing her distress, sensing her weakened state, Drakor felt a trickle of ice slither through his veins. Similar to the frenzied rush that overtook him when he wanted to protect Erin, this cold sensation connected him to her.

His
Mharai
.

No. These feelings, desires, sensations were nothing more than a trick of being on a strange planet. The pull he felt in meeting his first human female. No Elliacians ever found a
Mharai
anywhere but Elliac.