Page 16 of HaL

“No, we are not. I just saw one … he was holding me down.”

“Little Roja, that was me. I was simply trying to keep you from hurting yourself.”

He tries to lay me back down, but I press my face into the thick fur on his shoulder, refusing to let go, only for me to feel the pressure of a smaller hand on my back. Then a woman’s voice.

“Little human, you are safe here. No one would ever dare harm you, but we need to get you well, and right now, you are in danger of tearing out the healing ports I so have carefully put in.”

I feel his head move, and then they are talking over me.

“Troza, she is afraid.”

“I know, HaL. It will take time for her mind to realize she is safe.”

He doesn’t force me to let go, only stands there holding me at this odd angle. After a few minutes, I ease back and slowly look over my shoulder, only to find a female yeti … snowman … woman, person.

She’s older and her hair is not as thick as HaL’s, as I can see her pale blue skin in places. Even though she’s smaller than HaL, she is tall and broad-shouldered, and will still be much larger than I am. She carries the same features as Hal, with a slightly flattened nose and silver eyes…

“You have beautiful eyelashes.” I have no idea why that slips out of my mouth.

“Thank you … your name is Dawn, is that correct?”

“Yes. Dawn Elenor Higgins.” I still have a death grip on HaL, who is so warm he feels like a furnace all around me.

“Do you know where you are?”

“No, ma’am.”

Her kind, silver eyes have me relaxing slightly, and I don’t resist this time when HaL lays me back down, but I do grab onto his hand so that he can’t leave.

“Dawn, you are on Hallister … I am Troza and, thankfully, it seems like you already know HaL. You crash-landed a few risings ago. HaL found you and brought you back here.”

I grasp HaL’s hand tighter, pulling him closer without meaning to. “Did they get away? The … what did it call itself… a Korgon … Did the man who helped me out of my cell get them?”

“Yes, SiN, along with a few others, disabled their ship, and the Korgons on board were destroyed. You are safe; no one knows you are here, Dawn.”

“Safe … that’s a deceptive word HaL, no matter how many times one is told so. Why do you look like you’re sweating?” My mind seems to be shifting from one subject to another.

“It’s quite warm in here for Troza and me, but we were trying to make it as comfortable as possible for you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. If you want to get me some more blankets, you can turn the temperature down. I’m used to being uncomfortable. I’ve spent most of my life that way, especially with all my allergies.”

A growl leaves Hal’s lips, and I flinch and lean away from him, only to feel bad when I swear the expression on his hairy face looks like I just hurt his feelings.

“Forgive me, Little Roja. There are sounds I cannot control that are simply natural to this form, and the thought of you being uncomfortable is unacceptable to my beast.”

“Who is this beast that you’re referring to, HaL? You act as if there are two of you.”

I don’t resist when he steps away from the bed.

Lying back, I let my eyes wander over him, taking in all the things I had found so compelling the first time I saw him on ANDI. HaL had always possessed a strange kind of beauty, even when I could barely see the man beneath the creature he called his beast. Now, with nothing hiding him, I finally understand why I’ve been so drawn to him.

His body is unmistakably humanoid, with high cheekbones, a strong jaw, a slightly flattened nose, and soft, pale lips. But his eyes are unlike anything I have ever seen. They are a piercing silver, almost luminous in the dim room, as though some light exists inside him rather than around him.

But if I hadn’t witnessed this for myself, I would never have believed it possible. The thick hair that had become so familiar to me begins to recede before my eyes. It doesn’t fall away. It seems to sink into him, as though his body is absorbing every strand. His silhouette changes with it, narrowing, becoming leaner and more defined. For one breathless moment, I think he’s shrinking. Then I realize it isn’t his size that’s changing; it’s everything surrounding him.

The fur that has covered him from head to toe disappears, revealing pale silverish blue skin beneath. He is still hairy in places, but not enough to obscure the man underneath. And that man is still enormous.

Six and a half feet of him, at least.