Chapter 7
I couldn’t believe it. Homes and larger buildings with several levels were built directly onto the sheer cliff, dozens if not hundreds of feet from the ground. Walkways arched between them, though more vorpyr flew than walked.
The architecture reminded me of ancient East Asia architecture, with tiles adorning hip and gable combination style roofs, having many sharp arches.
The colors of the homes were vibrant, and many had their sliding doors open, sheer curtains fluttering in the breeze.
It was magical. Or it would be if not for the beast gripping my shoulder hard enough I feared he would either forget his claws and skewer me or break a bone.
A glance at my companions proved that Tatiana had gotten control of herself, most likely thanks in part to the gentleness of the male who’d taken over as her guard. I wished Emerald Eyes would take a lesson from him.
Jaron was pushed along none too gently. Blood matted his hair, but he was no longer actively bleeding.
Relief caused the tightness in my chest to loosen a bit.
Until we got to the edge of the stone landing bay.
I jerked back at the sheer height we were at.
My back met unyielding flesh as I scrambled to get away from the edge.
My captor’s arms came around, holding me in place, facing the drop, his heat engulfing me. “It’s good to know you dislike heights so much, little human. Maybe we’ll go flying when I question you.”
My breathing grew shallow.
Stairs descended from the docking bay but the vorpyr with us didn’t use them.
Instead, we were jerked back into their arms—Jaron let out a frustrated curse at that—and they spread their wings, taking to the air.
I couldn’t help myself when I clung to the male.
It was my sense of self-preservation and the desire not to fall hundreds of feet to a bloody death that had me locked around him with all my strength.
I released him the moment he landed, not wanting him to mention me with my clothes off again.
Concern constricted my chest when I looked around. I was on a small, square ledge, and Jaron and Tatiana weren’t in sight. “Where are they?” I should have played it cool, but I wasn’t military or a spy, and I couldn’t help the fear taking over.
His gaze was hard and he didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped off the ledge and activated some form of energy fence that crisscrossed to form a dome around the ledge before disappearing.
“Wait!” I stepped as close to the edge as possible, without getting zapped by the barrier that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
He waited, gaze impassive. Fear tightened my vocal cords, and all I wanted was to hide from him.
I pictured Jaron and Tatiana and cleared my throat.
“It’s my fault that we’re here. I agreed to the Consortium’s offer of coming to study what they said were abandoned vorpyr grounds.
” I held his gaze, mine tight. “This is on me and no one else.” Except the Consortium, but those assholes weren’t here, I was, with the two people I cared about more than anyone else.
He said nothing, just watched me with those mesmerizing eyes. I wondered if he could hear the painful thumping of my heart. Without a word he pulled his wings in, dropped, and then spread his wings, swooping away from me.
I allowed my trembling legs to give out.
From my seat on the ledge I studied the marvelous buildings on the other cliff, a maze of interconnecting buildings, walkways, and steep stairs without railings.
Vorpyr flew or walked here and there in a way that made it seem like a bustling city.
A cliff city. There were even large open areas that looked like parks. Hundreds of feet above the ground.
I identified what might be supermarkets as vorpyr came out carrying tall, round baskets. I wished I had a notebook, but the lack of it didn’t stop me from mentally cataloging what I was seeing.
Time passed, what felt like hours, and sweat slid down my spine as the sun bore down mercilessly. There was nothing to give me shade or protect me from the elements and I desperately wished for some water. Did vorpyr drink water?
Sweat continued to slither down my skin, and my muscles started to ache. I rubbed my chest, why was my heart rate so high? I watched the other cliff with drooping eyelids.
Eventually I got to my feet, swaying a few times before catching myself, and stepped to the edge. If vorpyr could fly, I could leave, too. The drop below the ledge blurred in my vision, and I struggled to take in air. Yes, I could do it. The buildings on this side would catch me.
I tried to step off toward those beautiful buildings, but pain jarred me and sent me stumbling back. A flash of what looked like golden netting shown before my eyes, then disappeared. What the…It didn’t matter. I was tired. So very tired.
I laid down and closed my eyes.
Consciousness returned slowly. I swallowed. My throat was parched and my eyelids were too heavy to lift just yet. I felt like I was floating. Where was I?
Clarity returned in stacks of images that paraded through my mind. That’s right, I was a captive. I mentally frowned, too tired to do it physically. Wait, did I try to jump off the ledge?
A smell wafted to me, half spicy, half tangy. I couldn’t quite place it, I hadn’t ever smelled anything quite like it. Something touched my hand. Something velvety but with…claws? My eyes snapped open.
“Eek!” The smaller of two vorpyr children darted away from me and scrambled behind a sheer curtain, clutching it in front of him. The other froze and stared at me with wide red eyes.
I blinked blurry eyes and sat up, trying to ascertain where I was. My right wrist was bound to the bed, but I was otherwise free. I was in one of the homes—no, not a home. I could see a rectangular main room though the open doorway, and other rooms like mine led off it. An infirmary?
I noticed with alarm that I’d had my clothes changed. I’d been stripped completely bare and now only sported a white shift dress. The thought of a stranger undressing me made me wince. Not the thing to focus on right now, I reminded myself.
When I collected myself and looked back at the two staring children, I softened my features as much as I could. “Hello,” I said in the intergalactic language, keeping my voice gentle.
The one not hiding cocked his head to the side and said something in his language.
Great, I would get no information from these two.
Still, I smiled gently. This seemed to intrigue him and he crept forward, looking at my teeth.
He curled a lip over his upper teeth in an intimidating snarl and pointed at a fang, then at me, and said something.
Ah. It made sense that the children of this closed-off species would be curious about someone who didn't look like them.
I put a hand on my chest, “human.” I gestured at him, “vorpyr.” I did it once more, and he nodded, eyes shining.
He turned his head and said something to the other child, who had stuck his head around the curtain to watch us.
I smiled at him and he too seemed to think that was fascinating. Of all the things.
The older one, though still quite young, perched on the edge of the bed and pointed at his chest with a clawed finger. “Axar.” Then he pointed at me and waited.
“Jacqueline.”
“Juk-eln-en” he said, then frowned and pointed.
“Jacqueline.” I said it slower and this time he got it right. I beamed when he did. He puffed up.
It was then that I noticed the other one had crept closer.
He studied my eyes when I looked at him and reached out a hand.
I tried not to flinch, but those claws looked no less sharp on the children.
He paused and looked at the other kid uncertainly.
They both looked at me and the little one touched his face, then pointed at mine.
I nodded once, then realized they might not know what that meant, so I carefully, slowly, touched his cheek, then pointed at mine.
He eagerly reached a hand forward, and I closed my eyes to avoid losing one to his grappling claws.
But his touch was gentle, his skin smooth despite how hard it looked, and I opened my eyes again to see him staring at me in wonder, touching my hair, tapping my lips so I smiled and he could study my teeth.
It differed only slightly from human cultures exploring each other for the first time.
Vorpyr had hair themselves, draping around their horns, but it was possible none had the light color of mine because they seemed interested in it.
They became more animated as I engaged with them, and soon the smaller one, who indicated he was called Alryv, crawled up on the bed with me, sitting in the crook of the arm that wasn’t bound as I rested against the headboard.
I quickly caught on that they had an exclamation that I could equate with “wow” or maybe “cool” and the structure of their childish basic sentences as they spoke to each other started to reveal itself as I listened intently.
A whooshing sound had all three of us at attention. I turned toward the entrance stiffly, unable to move farther thanks to my bound hand, and suddenly I realized how vulnerable I was. Not that I hadn’t been before, even with both my hands free.
Smoldering eyes met mine and I forced myself not to shrink back.
Another male stood next to him and both boys scrambled to their feet, standing at attention.
They each clapped their wings together once.
Some part of my brain, the part that wasn’t absolutely terrified, cataloged the action as something like a solute or respectful motion to a superior or perhaps it was age related, where those younger did it to those older.