Chapter Five #3
After one last look at her, he closed his eyes and summoned a soft mattress with blankets and pillows, using as little psychic energy as possible to conserve his strength. Once that was done, he swept Toni into his arms and took her to the sleeping pad.
She startled, looking at him with unfocused eyes.
“Come, hebat,” he coaxed. “Time for you to sleep.”
With a winsome smile, she nodded and yawned. “Yeah, good idea.” She lay on the bed and curled into a ball on her side, facing him.
Azazel chuckled when she fell fast asleep.
“JR14, would you keep a vigilant eye on us while we sleep?” he asked the spider-bot resting on his shoulder.
JR14 shifted his small front metallic legs with a faint click as he processed the request. His iridescent wings twitched under his back plates before he spoke.
“Affirmative,” the droid replied with a hint of sarcasm as the faint blue glow of his optics brightened.
“I shall ensure the perimeter remains uncompromised during your biologically mandated period of unconsciousness.” The tiny spider-bot skittered down Azazel’s arm and flew to rest on a nearby crystal tower.
There, he adjusted his position to get a full view of the surroundings, his back against the wall.
He tapped his front claws against the polished surface.
“You may sleep undisturbed,” JR14 added, turning his gleaming red-and-gold body toward Azazel.
“Though I am perplexed why you require my surveillance when your psychic field is already attuned to this environment. Should anything occur here, I calculate a 96.7 percent probability you would already be aware of it.”
Trust the darn android’s penchant for overanalyzing.
“Just in case, JR14, I’d feel better with your added monitoring.”
JR14’s front limbs twitched.
Azazel interpreted that as a bot shrug.
“As you wish. But when you awaken, I expect acknowledgment for maintaining the highest standard of vigilance. Anything less would be, in my estimation, unjust.”
With that announcement, JR14 settled into his watchful stance.
“Rest well, Azazel, along with the human female Antonia. I shall guard your serenity with unparalleled efficiency.”
Azazel chuckled. “Thank you, my friend.”
From his perch, JR14 muttered, “Calling me your friend will not improve your survival odds. However, your designation is noted.”
Letting the bot have the last word, Azazel crawled into the bed with Toni.
He decided to keep the suit on and nestled beside her, pulling the light comforter over them.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he brought her close and inhaled her sweet scent.
His nose twitched as he imagined that her musky aroma was a combination of amber wrapped in a slight bouquet of jasmine, which was ridiculous since she couldn’t be wearing any perfume.
Maybe the suit she wore amplified who she was on a basic level.
While he didn’t consider the garment in any way sentient like the Krystalii suggested, he could appreciate how it adapted effortlessly to his bodily needs.
It was a marvel of ingenuity. The suit didn’t just regulate his internal body temperature.
It handled all his basic needs, like nutrition and elimination of waste, without alerting the wearer, extracting nutrients and water from existing atmosphere to fuel his body and removing waste on a microscopic level.
What an excellent tool it would be when going into any long-term endeavor, like exploration.
Or battle.
He only wished he’d thought of creating something like this for himself and his brothers to use when they were slaves of the Akurns.
But the suit was the least of his concerns.
While analyzing it would be a worthwhile venture, what he’d rather do was analyze the strong, undeniable attraction he felt for Toni.
He adored her sharp wit and unadulterated ability to see things in a surprisingly different way.
Oh, he could have entered her consciousness without her knowing to uncover whatever he wanted about her.
The anticipation of letting it all unfold naturally kept him in suspense.
To uncover what her interests were, how she grew up, and what mattered most to her would be a tantalizing experience.
Why, for instance, did she leave Earth to join the alien exchange?
That had to mean she didn’t have a man in her life.
If so, why not? She had to be one of the most attractive women he’d ever seen.
Not that he overindulged in feminine company like some of his brothers did.
While he explored various aspects of his sexuality, it wasn’t something he focused on.
So much had happened in the seven thousand years since he arrived in the future.
He’d been eager to uncover it all, especially humanity’s growth and evolution.
What began as curiosity had become a deep passion for history.
Especially the arts, which included writings and the priceless paintings and sculptures created throughout the centuries.
Azazel yawned so hard his jaw cracked. Enough lying here wishing things were different.
Closing his eyes, he focused his psychic energy to slumber…
to be at rest. In the ensuing quiet, the hum of the ship faded until it became the gentle rhythm of waves lapping against a distant shore.
It took him a moment to recognize he was no longer on the Nyrlith. At least not mentally.
Azazel exhaled and embraced the strands of a Dreamwalk his subconscious must have created.
Opening his eyes, he saw the woman of his dreams in the distance, shimmering into existence.
Her soft edges slowly sharpened into reality the closer she came.
Standing in front of him, she watched him with her head tilted, her full lips pursed as if ready to ask him something.
Even though he hadn’t intended to create this experience, he had no problem taking control of the situation.
He held out his hand. “Come with me, Toni,” he reassured her when her beautiful blue eyes widened.
“I want to take you somewhere—somewhere safe and beautiful so we can spend time getting to know one another.”
Toni glanced at his outstretched hand, her brow furrowed.
Azazel waited until she reached out. When their hands touched, a flare zapped through him.
The feeling reminded him of those sparklers he watched the humans play with during their national holiday.
The background flickered, bending and melting away as if reality itself dissolved into a pool of liquid light.
He pulled her close, and she gasped as the world reformed around them.
When the image coalesced, they stood on the veranda of a beach house situated in a lush, organic landscape.
Soft golden sand stretched in either direction, meeting a turquoise sea that glistened beneath a yellow sun just beginning to set.
The air was warm, caressing them with a silken breeze.
It brought with it a faint, briny scent of the ocean mixed with the sweet aroma of blooming beach pea flowers from a nearby vine that curled up the house’s wooden beams.
The house itself was an open, airy structure with walls of polished driftwood and large glass panels that invited the outside in.
Gauzy curtains fluttered in the gentle wind, and the interior glowed with the amber light of the setting sun.
Inside, a plush, cream-colored sofa nestled near a low table adorned with fresh fruit and flowers.
The soft melody of wind chimes danced on the breeze, their sound mingling with the distant call of seabirds.
Toni’s breath caught, her eyes wide as she turned in a slow circle, taking it all in. “Azazel… this is…” Her voice trailed off. “What is this?” She shook her head. “This doesn’t look like we’re on the Nyrlith.”
His grip on her hand tightened, and he gave her a soft smile.
“I assure you, we are still on the Krystalii ship,” he explained.
“But this is a place I crafted in our dreams for us to get to know one another better. This—” He waved his other hand.
“—is called a Dreamwalk. It’s a private sanctuary that exists only in our minds. ”
Toni let go of his hand and stepped off the edge of the veranda, watching her bare feet sink into the giving sand. “This feels… real,” she murmured, bending to let the grains slip through her fingers. “The sand, the air… even the smell of the ocean.” She stood and took a deep breath.
It was then he noticed she wasn’t wearing the battle suit. Instead, she had on a blue two-piece bikini that matched the color of her eyes. Wrapped around her trim waist was a multi-colored gossamer sarong.
Clearing his throat, Azazel focused on her face instead of her glorious body. “It’s real because you and I share a bond.” He joined her at the railing. “It’s as real as reality can be.” He ran a finger in a light caress over the top of her hand. “It’s real because you’re here to share it with me.”
She turned to face him, her expression soft as her eyes searched his. “You did this… for me?”
“For us.” He reached out and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I’m drawn to you in a way I’ve never experienced with anyone before.
And I was hoping—” He took her hand and brought it to his mouth.
“—you would feel the same way. That you’d like to get to know me better, too.
” He kissed her soft skin, never taking his eyes from hers.