Waiting for the Sun (2 page)

We reached the shack, stepping out of the dense jungle growth into a small clearing, and the moment I walked out of the bush, the first thing I saw was a tall, rangy figure in a long coat that may have at one time been white or pale grey. He was leaning over the railing with the barrel of the most insanely large rifle I had ever seen pointed straight at my head. It was at least six feet long, lean and black, and the barrel had to be over an inch in diameter. It looked vaguely like a cross between a rifle and a rocket launcher. I froze in cold terror, which is quite a feat in a steaming jungle. Tiff was oblivious. He just waved and said something, and Draephus lowered the weapon. As he was setting it aside, I took hold of Tiff's arm.

"What is that thing?"

"It's my cousin."

I rolled my eyes. "The thing he was holding."

"Oh! That is a long-muzzled night stalker gun. Draephus has a few. He's very good with them. They're not terribly subtle but they do the job they were designed for."

"And what is that?" I asked.

Tiff gestured at something I had yet to notice. "Killing night stalkers," he said simply, and walked toward the shack to greet Draephus.

I looking in the direction he had indicated, and felt my eyes grow large at the sight of the rotting remains of an enormous machine. It looked at first like a gigantic wolf spider; in fact, it lay rather like one, on its back, legs curled, hydraulics and wires exposed as small jungle creatures picked the carcass clean of anything useable or shiny.

I slowly approached it, walking over to the dead thing, reaching out to touch it. The machine lay where it had fallen years ago, three enormous holes blown through it. In what would be the thorax was a cockpit. I had heard of night stalkers, but until now I hadn't realized how terrifying they must have been. Spiders are renowned for getting into places people would prefer they didn't, and that was what the machine was designed for: infiltrating underground bases. The night stalker would creep through the jungle, delicate and highly sophisticated sensors listening for the sound of a human heart beating in terror, scenting the fear of its victims. It would then either release toxic gasses that would kill everything in a three mile radius, or simply hunker down and wait for reinforcements. It was a monster in every sense of the word, and I couldn't help but be glad it was dead.

"Sebastian!"

I turned in the direction of Tiff's voice, and saw that he was motioning me to come to him. My immediate reaction was to look up, because almost every time he calls me it's because the sky is about to explode.

"It's not raining," I said.

Permit me to digress here a moment. Actually, it
was
raining. The rain never stops, but after you have lived here eight years you begin to start thinking in the Sferkkaan definitions of raining. Allow me to explain the variances:

Not raining/sunny = High cloud cover, fine misting rain.

Damp = Slightly denser cloud cover, light rain, some fog.

A bit wet = Vancouver in January.

Raining = Black skies, rain hammering down, occasional mud slides.

Storming a little = You round up the animals, I'll start building the ark.

We should probably stay in = Was that ocean there when we went to bed?

"Just come over here."

I did, crossing the clearing through the low plants and grasses and going onto the small porch. I had to walk past Draephus to reach Tiff, and I have to say it was not a comfortable feeling. Draephus was a very big guy, well over six feet, and he had the gun in one hand and a cigarette in the other, a pair of shades on his face. When I first came to Sferkkaa I didn't understand why everyone wore sunglasses on a sunless world, but I do now. On days when the cloud cover is high and the ground is steaming, the air takes on a strange over-bright glare. I'm not sure what creates it, but it can definitely cause something very similar to snow-blindness. It doesn't bother me too badly, but for delicate Sferkkaan eyes used to dim light, it can be damned painful.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked.

Draephus was standing just to my right, looking up at the sky. "The sun."

He had my full attention.

"The sun? I thought it never shone here!"

"It only does once every century or so," said Draephus. "I've never seen it. But they have." He pointed into the jungle at things I could not see. "Fayla is a sunlit planet. And they know when it is coming. Watch."

I did, my eyes searching the dark green foliage, until at last I saw something move. A lean red body went up a tree, heading for the highest point it could reach and sitting there. This was a large Faylan, and he had a heavy collar around his neck, decorated with hematite.

"That's Wrath," said Draephus. "He's an alpha. He lets everybody else know if it's clear. There's his little mate, Bird."

I watched the little form flit through the branches of the tree, reaching the limb where Wrath was perched.

"He's cute," I said.

"He's a little monster," said Draephus. He showed me a forearm wrapped with bloody bandages. "He's what we call a bad breeder. The moment he gets pregnant he picks fights with anything and everything, then he ends up miscarrying because all he does is fight. He's too territorial. It's a bad trait, and it's causing trouble."

"Can you do anything about it?" I asked.

"Well I am, as far as they are concerned, the head of the pack. They do what I say. I'm waiting for his next heat cycle, then I'll go out and put him in his place. If the pack leader takes exception to a member of the pack who is in a receptive state, then others take that as a sign there is something not right and they shouldn't breed with him. As far as they're concerned I can mate with anybody I want to." Draephus smiled faintly. "I... prefer not to."

"Get any offers?" I asked, tremendously amused by all this.

"Daily. Especially at this time of year. Here's my unrequited love now." He pointed out a small Faylan creeping toward us, moving on all fours along the railing, approaching Draephus and crawling into his arms. He was very little, with a streak of black in his hair. Draephus held the little creature, a faint smile on his face. "This is Theyrie. That means 'streak' in case you're wondering. The others don't like him because he's too small and he's a funny colour. You do see black occasionally in the arboreal Faylans, but it's rare. I'm going to take him north with me when I go. I've got another arboreal at home who will adore him, and he won't get picked on."

I reached out to touch him, but the small Faylan gave me a strange look, and he began rolling his eyes back in his head.

"Careful," said Draephus. "He'll bite, and those teeth go through flesh like knives."

I withdrew my hand, then once more looked toward Wrath and Bird. More Faylans had joined them, spreading out in the yard, and the clearing was filling fast. The Faylans were seated in the deep grass, swaying, their faces pointed toward the sky.

"Why are they swaying?" I asked.

"Sun worship."

My heard turned so fast I heard my neck crack. I looked at Draephus in astonishment.

"Sun worship? Do you mean as in they enjoy the sun or...?"

"I mean as in sun worship. Watch them. They line up in ranks, see? They do this on days when the cloud cover is at its thinnest. New mothers there with the babies, the old warriors there, elders in the middle...."

I was astounded. "So they're not animals."

"No," said Draephus. "They're Faylans. People always expect intelligent life to look and act like us, and if it doesn't then we say it isn't human and we treat it like a lower life form. These guys are on our branch of the life tree. I'm not sure where they fit in, exactly. I'm thinking they may have something in common with the lemurs you have on Earth. But simple as they may be, they're definitely not animals."

Theyrie suddenly leapt out of Draephus' arms and made his way to the edge of the pack, taking a place near the young adults. Then suddenly the entire pack of forty froze into place and stared up.

"Here it comes," said Draephus.

I'm not sure what I was expecting. A gradual opening of the clouds, perhaps, but no, it was as if the hand of some god waved, and the clouds opened, swirling away and leaving nothing but clear blue with a ball of purest molten gold in the middle. It had been so long since I had seen it. I didn't even realize I was crying.

I stepped off the porch and walked over to the pack, taking a place near the back beside Theyrie, seating myself on the wet grass and looking up. It was so warm on my face, and the entire clearing lit up with a thousand colors I hadn't seen when I first arrived. The drops of rain were suddenly blazing diamonds, and every hue and nuance of the jungle flowers showed up in painfully vibrant detail.

It was all so damned beautiful.

For a full hour the Sferkkaan sun shone, and for a full hour I sat in it, rejoicing in its presence. Gradually the clouds came and hid it away, putting the golden toy of the gods back in the box for another century. The Faylans went back to their normal business. Theyrie bounded over to Draephus, allowing himself to be carried inside, and I walked onto the porch, where Tiff was waiting for me.

"Did you know the sun was going to shine today?" I asked, putting my arms around his solid little body.

"No," he said. "I honestly didn't. But I'm glad it did, and you enjoyed it."

I kissed him. "I loved it. This place is so beautiful, I wouldn't leave if I could."

He smiled, and we turned and walked into the cabin. It was pitch black inside, my eyes still adjusting to the dim lighting. There was a man in front of me, but I could only vaguely make out his shape. Then he turned toward me and there were those
DAMNED FREAKY GLOWING BLUE EYES! AUGH!

I screamed. Raski screamed. Raski ran to Draephus for protection, and Theyrie cleared the entire room including the kitchen table in a single bound and sank his teeth into my face. It took fifty-one stitches to close the wounds.

I have decided to leave the Faylan research to Draephus and just stick with frogs.

End.

If you liked this book you might like: A Strange Place in Time, The Thunder-Horse, Road trip, A Christmas for Vice, Sleep Walk With me, and Life Out There.

Waiting for the Sun

Copyright (c) 2011 by Alyx Shaw

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Printed in the United States of America.

Torquere Press, Inc.: Sips electronic edition / April 2011

Torquere Press eBooks are published by Torquere Press, Inc., PO Box 2545, Round Rock, TX 78680