“We’ve found some kind of female creature,” Ayron explained. “She’s obviously humanoid, but she doesn’t look like us, and she seems unable to speak or understand us. I thought you could take her back to the caves, clean her up, get her food and water. I don’t know how long she’s been out here or how much radiation exposure she’s had.”
Eva moved closer, taking the female’s face in her hands. The captive jerked her head away, staring down at Eva with a look of cool disdain.
“You’ve found a feisty one, that’s for certain.” Eva turned to Nazery and Khan. “Hold her.”
She struggled wildly, but they spread the female’s arms wide, keeping her in place. Eva opened the cloak, shielded the female’s body from view, and looked her over. Their captive shrank back and lowered her eyes, exhibiting distress at being exposed.
Mother Eva waved a hand and the men released the female. She yanked the edges of the cloak from Eva’s hands and wrapped it tightly around herself.
“She does have the body of a human. But we must be careful. There are still dangerous creatures lurking in the Outlands. Many years ago, when I was just a girl, our Tryb took in a mutant male the hunters found. The creature was barely alive. We nursed it back to health, fed and cared for it. We kept it tied up but let it sleep and eat in the cave as though it was one of us.”
She lowered her voice, so only the hunters around her could hear. “One morning, we found the creature covered in blood, feasting on the raw flesh of the boy in charge of bringing it water. I didn’t blame the mutant. It was a wild creature that didn’t know right from wrong. It was only doing what it had always done to survive. Mother Vana, our matriarch at the time, killed the beast herself. Afterward, we burned its remains and scattered them to the wind, lest its spirit remain and enter the body of one of our unborn offspring.”
While she spoke, the female stood motionless, as though taking in every word. Her eyes darted warily from Mother Eva to the hunters.
“I will deal with this one myself,” Eva declared. She scanned the faces of the men clustered around her and made her decision. “Ayron and Khan, you will accompany me. She may be slender, but she looks strong. Who knows what harm she is capable of doing?” Eva smiled ruefully, shaking her head. “Long before any of you were born, I hunted alongside the men. But I can no longer wield a sword the way I did when I was young. I may have need of your skills. ”
Eva took Khan’s arm, leaving Ayron to walk beside the female as they joined the line of workers hauling the carcass back to the caves.
He suffered a pang of guilt at walking unencumbered when he passed fellow Tryb members struggling under their heavy burdens. The female stumbled along wearily, barely able to stay upright. She didn’t look dangerous. But if the creature was only pretending to be weak and suddenly went on the attack, it was up to him to spring to the defense of the others. He couldn’t do that with a chunk of narliphant bone strapped to his back.
Chapter Four
Lexi shuffled along in a daze. If not for the pain stabbing her head with every step, she’d have sworn she was dreaming — or unconscious.
It had taken everything she had to pull herself together when she realized she’d been dumped into the deserted wasteland of Iridia. Once she got past her fit of hysteria, she’d taken stock of the situation. Things could have been worse. First off, she was alive. Second, she was uninjured, except for a mild concussion. She recognized the symptoms. Nausea. Dizziness. And that throbbing headache. With any luck, her fellow scientists had discovered what happened and were preparing to send out a search party.
Don’t be naïve. No one is coming for you. They can’t possibly recreate whatever anomaly it was that transported you here instead of Neodyma. Angrily, she shook off the demon of doubt whispering in her ear and gave herself a pep talk.I’m alive. And where there’s life, there’s hope.I just have to find shelter — and water.Survive until someone comes forme.
The twin suns had disappeared over the horizon. It would be dark soon. Lexi struggled to her feet and set off toward a distant outcropping of enormous boulders, hoping she’d find a small cranny to wedge herself into and get some rest.
Every step was an effort, more than she could attribute to the effects of her head injury.The pull of gravity must be stronger here than it was back home on Earth.Lexi called on her training, sending her mind far away, separating it from the signals of pain and weariness her body was sending out. Still, she had to stop every twenty or thirty steps to catch her breath.
She reached the first giant outcropping of rock, but its smooth surface provided no shelter. Blinking back tears of frustration and weariness, she forced herself to go another fifty feet to the next boulder.
She heard the harsh sound a millisecond before she slammed face down onto the ground. Lexi tried to move, but she was trapped, pinned there by something heavy lying on top of her.
Lexi froze. What kind of hideous creature could survive on the barren planet?
The pressure on her eased. The creature flipped her over — and Lexi found herself staring into a pair of glowing green eyes with unusually large dark pupils. They stared back, mirroring the shock she was certain her own eyes held.
The creature pinning her down was no bizarre freak of nature. It was a man. An exceptionally well-built man. Bare chested, with sleek muscles that rippled under his deep-bronze skin.
He wore thick gold bracelets on both wrists. A glowing stone on a leather thong around his neck nearly matched the brilliant green of his eyes. He’d tossed a cloak made of animal skin over his shoulders and wore a garment slung low round his hips, ending just above the knees straddling her body.
Another strip of leather tied around his forehead held back a long flowing mane of dark hair, shot through with strands of gray. Her genetic training automatically catalogued his features, giving her a clue to his origins.
Lexi knew that, like Neodyma, Iridia had been colonized thousands of years ago by one or more ancient civilizations that had vanished mysteriously from Earth. Judging from the sculpted planes in his face, the high cheekbones and strong jawline, he might be descended from the Anasazi. The nearly mythical Indian tribe abandoned their homes and disappeared without a trace from the American Southwest after creating a thriving culture that endured for over a thousand years.
All thoughts flew out of her mind, replaced by panic when he tried to rip off her helmet. She’d die without the oxygen rebreather. Lexi struggled fiercely, but she was no match for his strength. He pulled the helmet off.
She held her breath as long as she could. Suddenly, the realization hit. He had no source of oxygen, yet he was alive. Tentatively, she took a sniff. The air was thick and heavy and left a strange metallic taste in the back of her throat. But she could breathe it.
Shouts rang out. Lexi fought back another wave of panic when four more men appeared. They looked like the savage barbarians from ancient times she’d learned about in school. One had his face tattooed to look like a fierce jungle cat. When he opened his mouth to speak, she saw his teeth were sharpened into fangs.
The man next to him wore a full suit of body armor, made of metallic stone plates pierced with holes in the corners and strung together with thick gray wire. He said something and poked her hip with the tip of a sword. Her captor shoved the sword away, responding angrily in a guttural language she couldn’t yet understand. Lexi hoped her Tellex chip would begin working soon.
Another had skin so black he blended into the growing darkness. Except for his eyes, glowing brilliant gold around huge black pupils.
