Banished To Earth Book Two King Davin (47)

The sparkling water off to his right, a vast undulating sheet that touched the distant sky, only stretched his smile tighter, an image from his past that always soothed his mind.

      Were they on Earth? He dug his fingernails deep into the flesh of his left arm. It took a moment for them to pierce his Hunter skin. Bright red lines of blood soon ran down his arm and dribbled from his elbow. Pain and blood, sea and sky, the Earth breathing her sweet breath down on him, finally convincing him he was here.

   “Davin!” Pry ran to him. “What are you doing?”

        He drew back and let his body drop butt first on the window seat. “Just being crazy for a moment.”

   She plopped down beside him and slid her right hand over his wound, which had already healed.

   “Hey! What are you doing?” He asked her, a bit shocked.

    “Cleaning up your mess,” she said as her skin soaked up every drop of blood. “Why did you….”

   He just looked at her, then smiled out the open window, letting the breeze tousle his hair.

     “We are not dreaming, Davin. I can tell.”

    “Oh, can you now?” he leaned over, cupped her face and kissed her mouth. She jerked back, clearly annoyed.

    “The spirit of Phastanar may have left me, but it also left its mark. The air, the wild are still part of me. I know my element.”

   “So how does my blood feel? That was a first, you know.”

     “Your blood, your heart and mind, your spirit are Alisar, just as I am Alisar. It feels right, just as it should. Now go clean yourself. We have company. I smell your breath. It is quite unpleasant.”

   “You love my blood but can’t stand my breath. You really are a vampire.”

   “Davin, that was silly and a bit hurtful.”

   “I’m happy, stupid happy. Tryin’ really hard not to be but…”

   She smiled and tilted her head as if she were rearranging her thoughts. “Huh, that may well keep them safe a little while longer.”…

       Feeling guilty for being delighted by their new home. They padded downstairs on soft carpeted stair steps.

    “Yeah, they read my mind,” Davin said as they stepped off the bottom step of the spiral staircase that corkscrewed from the second floor into a spacious, brightly lit white-walled room.

    Off to their left was a wall of sliding glass doors affording them a panoramic view of a huge deck overlooking the beach. The deck was fully furnished with thickly cushioned lounge chairs neatly arranged around a large fire pit.

      White carpet covered the living room floor. A half-circle couch with beige cushions faced the ocean. Beige recliners sat at either end of the couch. A heavy coffee table hewn from driftwood stood at the center. The couch divided the living room from the dining area.

      A large oval dining table sat several feet from the couch. A long bar with six stools stood several feet from the table, separating it from a fully furnished kitchen. 

     “You like your new home?” Rebecca asked from the kitchen, as she busied herself with breakfast.

    “Yeah,” Davin said as they walked toward her and sat down at the bar.  

“You ah, work for us?” He asked.

    She drew in a deep breath; they weren’t sure why. “I, we do not work. We serve the Urgis.”

    “There’s a difference?” Davin asked. He heard a slight tremor in her voice. “I mean are you our maid or something, ‘cause we can cook our own meals….”

    She turned off the electric stove and emptied a pan of scrambled eggs into a glass bowl sitting on the counter by her right elbow.

  Facing them, her features clenched, she spoke. “We all serve the Urgis, including you. They know their appearance troubles you. I am pretty.” She paused. “I didn’t use to be. They know Earth people’s tastes and weaknesses. My appearance, like me, serves their purpose. I am here to help you embrace your new world. I serve as their liaison and your guide. You have something they want. I’m here to help them get it.”

   “Okay.” Davin said, “And what? They’re going to nice it out of us.”

    A puzzled look clouded Rebecca’s face. “Your happiness is important to them. Your friends are important to them. We…”

    “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that they want us to feel free, safe and secure, safe enough for our unchanged friends to come out-come out, from wherever they are. The thing is we don’t know where they are, and if they ever do come out, we all know what’s going to happen. It’s not going to be nice!”

     “You are repeating yourself. Why? Do you doubt yourself or your assessment of the Urgis.”

   “It sounds like you are.” Davin accused.

    Rebecca’s eyes darted away from his penetrating gaze. “Much time has passed. The Urgis have been learning, possibly changing. Growth does that. I feel safe. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. There must be a reason.”

“Yeah, drugs, lies or implanted emotions- take your pick. I don’t trust them and I don’t want to forget my friends. But I will if that’s the only way to keep them safe. All this…”

 She interrupted him. “Your eggs are going to get cold. Don’t worry, that’s the last thing they want you to do.”

   Davin whipped around. Silhouette and Tucker had just stepped out on the deck.