Chapter 29
– Kenz’ox –
“Yes,” I state loudly. “I do.”
The Envoy asks Dorie the same question, calling her “Theodora Reyes” instead of Dorie. But she has explained to me that that is her full name and that I can still call her Dorie.
“I do,” she replies.
“Then by the power vested in me by the two of you, I hereby declare you married. Husband and wife,” the Envoy says with its unpleasant voice. “That concludes the ceremony.”
“You can kiss me,” Dorie says softly, dark eyes shiny as she looks up at me.
I bend down and place a light kiss on her soft lips, because this doesn’t seem to be the time to kiss her in the way I really want, deeply and fully.
“So now we’re married?” I ask, for certainty.
“As married as anyone can be on Xren,” Dorie says. “The women in the Borok tribe are married, too. By a shaman in their tribe, but Dex is better. Have you recorded it all, Dex?”
“I recorded it in infrared, visible light, and with full audio,” the Envoy says, using some alien words I don’t know. “The visible-light one might be blurry, but the infrared recording should be clear.”
“That’s all we ask,” Dorie says with satisfaction. “An infrared recording of the vows is tradition.”
I’m somewhat confused, but I’m also very happy. “Ah. Yes, of course.”
We chose to simply do it the next day, after we had gathered our wits and rested after our deadly adventures.
We both wanted it, and there was no reason to wait.
The Envoy was willing to act as shaman, and then we were ready.
Apparently the Envoy is something called a ‘drone’, which is an alien thing that’s both alive and not.
In the same way Dorie claimed that the ocean was both a lake and not. It’s a very alien way to state it.
I look around the clearing. Does it feel a little brighter? Is the jungle more colorful? Is the air fresher? Yes, definitely. “Being married is wonderful.”
“I like it so far,” Dorie says. “Mostly because I’m married to you.”
“And you always will be,” I tell her as I embrace her.
She hugs me back. “That’s the idea.”
“I wonder,” the Envoy says from the rock we’ve placed it on, “if this is the time for some talk about recent events. I ask because I’m not at all sure what’s happened. For one thing, there should be several women here, not just one. Can I ask you to please explain?”
Dorie looks up at me and shrugs.
“I suppose this is as good a time as any,” I reply. “Before we begin, I will just ask you to speak as little as possible with that voice, or as softly as you can. Aker’iz doesn’t like the sound.”
The baby is busy in her playpen, trying to ram a stick through the mesh of the woven walls while talking her mysterious language to herself.
“Of course,” the Envoy says in a lower and much less grating voice. “Thank you for the hint.”
I sit down on the ground, and Dorie sits sideways on my lap. She’s wearing the same dress she wore when she left to look for Callie, although she did talk about wanting a “wedding dress,” which I think is tradition, too.
“This is why I’m the only woman here…” Dorie explains her life on the beach since the beginning, often using her alien language, which the Envoy also speaks. I already knew most of it, but it’s a gripping tale, fit for the campfire of any tribe.
I nuzzle her hair through the end of the story, which ends with yesterday’s battle.
“You’ll always be safe now.” I touch the hilt of my new sword.
Frant’ex took good care of his weapon, but it’s too short for my scabbard.
One day I will reforge it and make it longer.
For now, it will do. “Envoy, why did we suddenly meet the whole Tratena tribe in the jungle?”
“What they told you was mostly true,” the Envoy says.
“I heard all their discussions. They were shocked that you left with Aker’iz and killed three men.
The tribe was dazed for a while. Then the shaman suggested that someone follow you to see where you went.
It was understood that you would find a good place to settle, being the most skilled jungle man and hunter they knew.
They needed a new turf. So they sent three men ahead to track you while the trail was fresh, and then the whole tribe packed up and went after them.
The three left a clear trail. The tribe was only a few days behind. ”
“I met those three,” I admit. “It was their grilled skarn I took.”
Dorie turns toward me, surprised. “That was them? You met those three while hunting?”
“They let me have the skarn too easily,” I mutter. “They were too relaxed about having their dinner stolen. I knew they had something in mind, but I didn’t think it would be important. It didn’t cross my mind that they were waiting for the whole tribe to arrive.”
“Then, some days ago, the tribe met those three and sent them out again, along with three more,” the Envoy goes on. “They were ordered to kill you but leave the baby alive. Nobody believed that she was dead. They could not imagine Kenz’ox letting that happen.”
Dorie squeezes my arm. “They were right. They know you better than you think. Dex, were they going to kill Aker’iz?”
“In the village, you mean? After she was taken out of the Lifegiver and revealed to be female? Oh yes, very much so. Both the shaman and the chief were deeply repulsed and offended by her obvious femininity. They wanted her gone. I advised against it, but by that time I had little credibility in the tribe. I was relieved when Kenz’ox saved her, despite the heavy toll it took on both him and the tribe.
But they soon changed their minds when he was gone. ”
I look over at the playpen, where my Aker’iz is babbling softly. The old anger surges in me. “And then? What were their plans with her now?”
“Their most recent plan was to kill you, Kenz’ox, take Aker’iz, and raise her until she was ready to Mate.
Then she would… I will try to express this in a neutral way.
Hmm. She would become their common property, in a sense.
A living Lifegiver, so to speak. I suspect the chief really planned to keep her to himself entirely.
She would have had no choice in any of this, I should add. ”
A growl starts deep in my throat. “Those honorless wretches!”
Dorie squeezes me. “It’s all right, my love. We won. They will never get her.”
“Where are they now?” I snarl. “I’ll finish them off. One by one.”
“They fled from the saucer’s weapons,” the Envoy says.
“I would be surprised if they stopped less than three days’ march from here.
I made the weapons display as impressive as I could.
Most of the tribesmen will have burns on their bodies.
Painful, but not fatal. Except in one or two cases, perhaps.
Though I hope not. I estimate that they will stay far away from here for a long time. ”
“But not forever,” Dorie says softly. “Someday they’ll return.”
“I predict the same.”
“I will kill them,” I growl. “I will go and cut them into pieces.”
“Is there anything special about this spot?” Dorie asks. “Or is it a random place where we landed?”
“It’s random,” the Envoy says. “I lost control of the saucer in the upper atmosphere and simply had to get it down somewhere. If it is your intention to have the saucer fly somewhere else, it may be possible. I would not recommend leaving the atmosphere.”
“Admusfur,” I repeat the alien word. “We won’t leave, then. And I don’t want that honorless tribe to chase us away from here. It’s our turf now.”
“Maybe we can search for Callie with the saucer,” Dorie ponders. “It’s easier than searching on foot.”
“If it flies properly, that would be possible,” the Envoy agrees. “Though the canopy of leaves is so dense, it’s hard to see what’s below them. Even my infrared vision will struggle in a jungle as full of life as this one.”
Callie wriggles her sweet butt in my lap. “Dex, can the saucer record things? The way you can? Remembering them for later?”
“You wonder if it recorded Callie’s possible abduction,” the Envoy states.
“The saucer has been turned almost completely off for years. I can’t find any sign that it recorded anything.
But the tech is very alien, and most of the saucer’s functions are still outside my understanding. I will keep working on it.”
“All right,” Dorie says and gets up from my lap. “Maybe you can start now? I’ll begin making your new propellers later today. Thank you for the wedding ceremony.” She grabs the Envoy and puts him under one arm.
“It was my pleasure and honor,” the Envoy says. “I sincerely never thought I’d ever do anything like that. It was a fine experience. Even… beautiful.”
Dorie carries him into the ship and returns. “Now, my husband. It is our wedding day. We should not spend it talking about serious things. Now we should have some fun.” She walks over to the playpen.
Aker’iz squeals with joy when Dorie lifts her and carries her back to me. “This little chief also wants to be part of our big day. Right, Aker’iz? You’re now a witness to our wedding. Don’t forget it.”
Dorie takes my hand, the other arm cradling Aker’iz against her shoulder as naturally as if the baby had always belonged there.
We walk toward the beach through the thin patch of jungle. The sun hits us with its warmth and light, unhindered by leaves and branches.
The air smells of clean ocean, salt, and the richness of the jungle. No Bigs move anywhere, and when I look up at the sky, I only see thin clouds and no circling irox.
I keep waiting for the world to return to normal after all the battles and fear, but I hope it never will.
Everything feels new and peaceful, as if the Ancestors themselves smoothed the path for us.
Despite me claiming that Aker’iz was dead, they must have forgiven me for that.
But it was nearly true. I shudder at the thought.
When we reach the sand, Dorie kicks off her munbuts and wiggles her toes, laughing under her breath.
“Wedding gift from planet Xren,” she says as a warm breeze comes in from the water. Aker’iz fusses, and Dorie shifts her gently, pressing a kiss to her soft hair before she even seems to realize she’s doing it. The baby calms instantly, and her tiny hands grab at Dorie’s dress.
Dorie catches me watching and shrugs. “She’s comfortable,” she mutters, but she doesn’t put the baby down or give her to me. My heart goes warm.
We walk along the surf until the sun kisses the horizon, turning the waves gold.
Dorie leans against me, resting her head on my shoulder. “We’re really doing this,” she whispers. “A life. A home. The three of us.” She looks up at me with that fierce, brave tenderness that first made me love her.
I wrap my arm around both her and Aker’iz, holding them close as the day grows brighter. “Yes,” I say. “This is our turf. Our family. And no one will ever take it from us.”
The waves hush against the shore like a whispered promise.