Chapter 3
THREE
Samantha glanced behind her to see four aliens approaching. She only knew the species of one of them—a reptilian ilthurii. They were all dressed in dark clothing with glowing, electric blue accents; and the two aliens who had hair sported the same color within it.
Sam faced forward and quickened her pace. Clamping her jaw shut, she struggled to remain calm, but she was terrified.
Almost there. Almost home.
But it wasn’t really home, was it? She’d lost her real home, her only home, to time and space. Why had she thought Arthos would be safer than Earth? She’d only been here two days and had already been threatened, knocked down, nearly trampled, and now…
Her chest constricted as her fear solidified, making it difficult to breathe.
Now…
A hand clasped her upper arm and brought her to a halt.
Samantha spun and swung her fist. She hit the alien in the face, and something crunched against her knuckles .
The alien cursed as his head snapped back, dark green blood running from his nostrils to stain his bared teeth—jagged, pointed teeth that could put a shark’s to shame. He had no lips to conceal them. Raising a hand to his face, he wiped the blood away from his leathery skin.
Samantha stared in horror as he narrowed his beady eyes on her. She backpedaled quickly, turned, and ran right into a living wall—the ilthurii.
He wrapped his arms around her, lifted her off her feet, and chuckled. “Looks like this pretty little thing is mine. You’re too weak for her, Jurgol.”
“I demand the first taste, Te’shek!” Jurgol snarled, grasping a fistful of her shirt.
“Let me go!” She fought Te’shek’s hold, her breaths so quick and strained that black spots danced in her vision.
No! Not this, not here! Please!
“I’m really not in the mood to kill anyone tonight, so please let go of the female and leave,” said a familiar voice.
Samantha looked toward its source to see Alkorin standing at the entrance of a dark alley. She stilled. Had he followed her? Why? And why would he place himself in danger for her? What could he hope to do against four people?
She thrust her questions aside; they didn’t matter. She didn’t give a damn about his reasons—she was immensely grateful that he’d followed her home.
One of the other aliens snickered.
Jurgol spat blood on the ground and tightened his grip on her shirt. “You’ll have to find your own pretty. This one is ours.”
Alkorin stepped out of the alley and walked toward the aliens at a casual pace, empty hands in full display. “While I’d hate to disappoint you, I have to make it clear that the female is under my protection. Let go and walk on. ”
Te’shek snorted. “You are terrible at your job, sedhi.” He moved his scaly face closer to Sam’s, and she cringed when he extended his long, thin tongue to lick her cheek. “Next time you ought to tell your ji’tas to watch themselves in our territory.”
Alkorin stopped a few meters away from the group, his stance startlingly nonchalant. He sighed. “Last chance, my friends.”
“Fuck off, sedhi,” one of the aliens said. “This ji’tas is in our territory now.”
Raising his arms, Alkorin rolled back the sleeves of his robe, revealing the sleek, charcoal-colored metal, which was run through with yellow highlights matching his tattoos. The armor on his right forearm was bulkier, as though it were reinforced.
“Should’ve taken a moment to stretch,” Alkorin muttered as he splayed his fingers and curled them into fists. “I’m not quite as spry as I used to be.”
“Deal with him already,” Te’shek snapped.
“Don’t tell me what to fucking do,” Jurgol growled as he and the other two aliens stepped toward Alkorin.
The fear coiling through Samantha’s insides knotted, making her stomach churn. These aliens were all big and rough-looking—not that Alkorin was small, but he seemed so refined compared to them, like a pampered movie star facing down three street-hardened thugs.
One of the thugs lunged, and everything seemed to blast into light speed.
Sam barely saw Alkorin move as he slammed his fist into the side of the attacking alien’s face with a meaty thwap . The alien was knocked aside with the impact, spinning as he fell. Something clattered to the ground at Sam’s feet; she glanced down to see a pair of bloody, cracked teeth on the concrete.
Jurgol took a swing. Alkorin blocked the blow with his forearm. Sam heard bone crack before the alien yowled in pain. Alkorin twisted his hips and kneed the alien in the gut, the sides of his robe fluttering apart to reveal what appeared to be a thigh-high armored boot on his leg.
Eyes bulging, Jurgol doubled over and crumpled to the ground.
Te’shek threw Sam aside. She gasped as her hip took the brunt of her heavy landing. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up on her elbows and watched the reptilian alien charge toward Alkorin.
The ilthurii and the other alien still on his feet drew weapons from their coats. At the touch of a button, pulsing energy blades formed from the hilts in their hands. Alkorin backed away, dodging their swings as both aliens attacked simultaneously.
“I said I didn’t want to kill anyone.” Alkorin raised his right arm as one of the blades sped toward him in a downward arc. The bulky armor piece on his forearm lit up, and a round, segmented shield formed in the air above it, comprised of a translucent yellow material; it took Sam a moment to realize the seemingly crystalline substance was hardlight.
The energy sword struck the shield with a flash. Alkorin deflected it to his right, twisted his arm to grab the alien’s extended wrist, and hammered his left fist into the alien’s elbow. The joint snapped inward, bending the alien’s arm in the wrong direction.
The alien dropped his weapon and stumbled aside. Screaming in pain, he grasped his broken arm and fell to the ground.
Te’shek pressed his attack, swinging wildly. Alkorin danced backward, swaying to avoid the sword, and swept his tail forward between his legs. It wrapped around the ilthurii’s ankle and pulled .
As his leg was lifted high by Alkorin’s tail, the ilthurii threw out his arms and fought for balance, but his struggle was in vain; he crashed onto his back. Before he could recover, Alkorin swung his right arm. The shield darted forward and struck Te’shek in the face, knocking his head back against the concrete.
The ilthurii went limp.
Releasing Te’shek’s leg, Alkorin straightened. The shield dissipated, and he rolled his sleeves down. His third eye fell upon Sam before he turned toward her fully. She stared in stunned silence as he hurried over to her.
He crouched in front of her and offered a hand. “Are you all right, Samantha?”
She glanced at the aliens; two were unmoving, while the other two were on the ground, writhing and groaning in pain. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in Alkorin’s and looked up at him. “You…followed me?”
As he rose, he drew her upright in a smooth, effortless motion. “I did.”
Sam searched his face, meeting his third eye briefly. “Why?”
Alkorin held her gaze—and her hand. “I saw them tailing you. This city isn’t the safest place for your kind, little terran. You’re considered an exotic race, so I assumed their interest in you was neither passing nor innocent.”
Something in his gaze suggested that his interest in her wasn’t passing or innocent, either, and part of her thrilled in that.
Despite that thrill, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “If it’s so unsafe, then why…why would the UTF pay to send me here?”
He shrugged. “Who can guess at the motives of governmental organizations?” His gaze dipped, roving over her from head to toe. “Now answer honestly—are you hurt?”
Sam tugged her hand free from his. “Just a few more scrapes and bruises. Nothing serious…thanks to you. Again.”
He lifted his now empty hand and swept back a few strands of his straight, black hair, tucking them behind his pointed ear. “As understandably reluctant as you must be to trust anyone in Arthos right now, I insist on walking you home. Your day has been difficult, I imagine, and I’d like to spare you further terrible experiences. This city isn’t all bad, but it seems you’ve stumbled into a lot of it, anyway.”
Samantha looked at the ground; her hair fell into her face, shielding the tears welling in her eyes. She tugged her sleeves down to cover her wounded palms and curled her fingers into the fabric.
This city isn’t all bad.
Alkorin was the first good she’d experienced in the Infinite City, and it wasn’t quite enough to change how weak, defeated, and miserable she felt. Her entire body felt like one big bruise; that was a sadly familiar sensation, one she’d hoped to never feel again. She wished she could just disappear, wished she could leave all this suffering behind.
Even if she couldn’t bring herself to believe there was more good to be found out there, Alkorin was right about one thing—she didn’t trust anyone here. She had a neighbor who wanted to do questionable things to her, she had been snubbed, looked down upon, and nearly killed. And then there was whatever these thugs had wanted to do. Sam didn’t want to even spend the mental energy to speculate.
Alkorin was it; a single shining beacon of kindness in the vast darkness.
He’d saved her twice in a single evening—twice in an hour . Either time, he could’ve easily walked away, could’ve decided she wasn’t worth the effort and just walked on. But, despite the risk to himself, he’d chosen to help her.
Even if he hadn’t saved her twice, she would’ve found herself wanting to trust him—he had that smooth, friendly demeanor, and a casually arrogant air that was surprisingly disarming. She felt safe standing here with him. And, if he hadn’t been there for her today…
It was confirmation of her weakness, of just how ill-prepared she was for life in Arthos. She’d come here with nothing and no one; how could she have thought she’d survive on her own? How could she have thought she’d be safe? She couldn’t even leave her apartment without psyching herself up. And apparently being a terran made her some kind of exotic attraction.
Samantha sniffled loudly. Tears streaked down her cheeks and fell to the concrete beneath her feet.
Through the curtain of her hair, she saw Alkorin lift his hands to waist level and hesitate, fingers partly bent. She couldn’t blame him—she was a mess, and she’d have been hesitant in his position, too. This was the moment when he’d lower his hands, back away, and leave her alone and crying in the middle of an alien street. That’s how most people back on Earth had acted—like they couldn’t see her bruises, her black eyes, her split lips. They either ignored her because they didn’t want to get involved, or they just turned up their noses and walked on like she had been the bad one. Like she’d asked for what she had received.
She drew in a shuddering breath when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, cradling the back of her head with one of his hands. Her cheek settled against his warm chest, and her tears flowed over his muscled torso and onto his silken robe. Alkorin didn’t seem to care .
“You’re all right, Samantha,” he said, his voice soft. “I have you.”
Samantha squeezed her eyes shut, slipped her arms around his waist, and slid her hands up his back, clutching him as though he were her lifeline. Fresh, hot tears spilled down her face.
When was the last time someone had held her and told her everything would be okay? Her father had died five years ago, but he’d always had a hard time showing physical affection. Her elderly grandmother—who’d passed away two years before Samantha’s father—had been the only one to regularly hug her.
She breathed in, and Alkorin’s heady scent filled her nose. She pretended that was all she could smell, that his warmth was all she could feel, that his gentle voice was all she could hear.
Sam remained against Alkorin, holding him close—being held close—until her crying eased. Embarrassment and exhaustion quickly swept in.
What am I doing ?
She abruptly stepped back, horrified to see what her tears had wrought. Alkorin’s robe was soaked and wrinkled, and his dark gray skin shone with moisture from her tears. She hurriedly wiped her face with her palms and winced when the salt burned her scrapes.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have—”
“You don’t need to apologize, Samantha,” he said, raising a hand to brush stray strands of hair out of her face. He glanced at the alien thugs; the conscious pair were struggling to their feet. Alkorin moved to stand beside Sam and placed a hand on her lower back. “Come. We should be on our way before they feel well enough to call their friends. I would feel bad if I had to rough up an entire street gang tonight. I can only imagine what it’d do to their reputation. ”
Samantha let out a soft, airy laugh then nodded and began walking at his gentle guidance. Sniffling again, she peeked up at him; his center eye was staring down at her. She quickly averted her gaze.
It was so… weird .
He chuckled and shifted his hand to her hip, drawing her against him.
She should’ve resisted, should’ve pushed away and put distance between them, but at that moment, she didn’t want to move away. After all he’d done for her, after the way he’d fought, she felt like the safest place in the universe was here at his side.
“One of them called you sedhi . Is…that what you are?” she asked.
“Yes. That is what my people are called.”
Taking a deep breath, she blurted, “What’s it like seeing out of three eyes?”
His laugh was full and genuine. “You’re the second terran to ask me that, and I’ve only met two of you.”
Her cheeks heated even as his laughter coaxed a little smile onto her lips. “I’m sorry. That was rude, wasn’t it?”
“It doesn’t bother me. I’m just as curious about what it’s like for you to see out of two eyes. Do you have a blind spot between them?”
“No, there’s no blind spot.”
“Hmm. I wonder, then, what’s the point of my third eye?” He turned it toward her again and smirked. “Apart from being hypnotic and intriguing, anyway.”
Her blush deepened.
Intriguing is putting it mildly.
“Alkorin, are you a professional fighter or something?”
“No, I’m not. I was , some years ago, but I’ve left that behind me. I’m in…document verification these days. It’s a relatively safer line of work.”
Samantha shifted her eyes to his legs, which were encased in those tall, armored boots. “But not so safe that you don’t have to wear armor?”
He glanced down, and his hold on her tightened for an instant. “I’m afraid that’s not armor, Samantha.”
She looked up to find his eyes on her. “It’s not?”
“These”—he lifted his free hand and turned it slowly—“are the result of an unfortunate accident.”
“Oh. Oh !” Way to go, Sam. “They’re…prosthetics?”
“They are. But the accident was a long time ago, and they’ve served me well enough.”
His tone, paired with the vagueness of his answer, suggested he didn’t want to speak on it any further. Samantha understood his reluctance; she could only imagine how traumatic it must’ve been to have lost all his limbs in an accident. Besides, she was a stranger. He had no obligation to share anything with her, especially something that must’ve been so devastating.
He lapsed into silence for a time before asking, “What were you doing out in the city today?”
Sam frowned; his question reminded her how much of a failure she was. “I was looking for work.”
“Looking for a particular type of work or just work in general?”
“Something, anything—wait, no, not anything . Almost anything.” She was not going to sell her body. She had nothing against sex workers, but that profession was just not for her. “I don’t mind labor. I just… The Consortium gives new immigrants housing for a year, and my homeworld is paying me a monthly wage for the same amount of time. I just wanted to…to get ahead for a change, I guess. I figured if I work ed during this first year, I could save the extra because my necessities would be covered, and that would leave me in a better position to move somewhere nicer, someplace safer.”
Samantha pressed her lips together. She’d been rambling like a fool. Fortunately, when she looked ahead, her apartment complex was in sight, offering her a means of escape before she embarrassed herself more than she already had.
She slipped out of his hold and stepped away. “Um, this is me. My building, I mean.”
Alkorin looked at the building and furrowed his brow before returning his glowing yellow gaze to her. “I would be more than happy to pay for a hotel room in a nicer sector of the city, Samantha. It would be safer for you, and likely more comfortable.”
His offer floored her. Her lips parted, the word yes perched on the tip of her tongue, but she snapped her mouth shut and shook her head.
Alkorin was a complete stranger! Why was she contemplating saying yes for even a moment?
And one night wouldn’t make a difference, anyway. She’d still have to come back here tomorrow. “I can’t ask that of you or accept it. But thank you—for the offer, and for all your help today.”
He frowned, but he didn’t argue. Stepping closer, he reached out and gently took hold of her left wrist, laying his warm metal fingers along its underside and guiding her arm up. His touch sent soft electric currents through her; she gasped at the pleasantness of the sensation.
His thumb curled around her wrist, brushing lightly over her skin, until it touched the activation button on her holocom. When the holographic projection screen appeared, Alkorin dipped his chin. “Unlock it. ”
Samantha raised her free hand, and though she hesitated, she did as he’d commanded.
The fingers of his left hand flicked through the menus rapidly, almost too fast for her to see what he was doing, as he went into her contacts and added new information. There were only a few entries there, none of which were personal.
Except for the new one listed as Alk .
He dismissed the screen and took her hand between both of his. “If you need anything, Samantha, do not hesitate to contact me.” His fingertips trailed lightly over the underside of her wrist; it seemed innocent on the surface, but it sent a thrill straight to her core. “ Anything .”
Samantha shifted on her feet, squeezing her thighs together as an entirely new sensation flooded her.
“Why?” she asked breathlessly. “Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because I know what it’s like to go through difficult times,” he said, his gaze slowly running up her arm until his eyes met hers. The yellow markings on his face pulsed brightly and his voice grew huskier when he continued. “But don’t mistake me for a hero; I’ve not acted selflessly tonight.” He raised his other hand and ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. “You’re beautiful, Samantha, and I find myself eager to be in your company.”