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Chapter Five
Tayla
Setting out from camp, I had hardly expected to find survivors aboard the crashed ship, much less two hulking alien men wrestling on the ground. They were all muscle and mottled pink skin, with yellow eyes that made me uneasy, and a very unusual state of dress. And yet, there was something about one of the men. Maybe it was the way he smirked at me, or the way his eyes seemed to twinkle. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something about him drew me in. Now, I sat on the ground, having a perfectly normal conversation in English as if I hadn’t just pulled a gun on the poor man.
“Tell me your name,” he said as he eyed me curiously.
“Tayla,” I answered. “And yours?”
“I am Adreax, and that’s Herod, if you didn’t catch it earlier.”
“And tell me, Adreax, how did you come to speak my language?”
At my question, Alec stepped forward to hear Adreax’s explanation. He gave Herod a nervous glance, making sure he wouldn’t be a problem, but Herod was more relaxed than before, if still a little testy. I caught the look that passed between Herod and Adreax, and then Adreax turned his attention back to me.
“We are… merchants,” he explained. “We often travel between distant systems, and we meet many people along the way. It behooves us to learn their languages as best we can, in order to make favorable trades.”
“What kind of merchants are you?” Alec interrupted, giving the rusty old ship a doubtful glance.
Again, that meaningful look flew between the two alien men.
“A little of this, a little of that. We trade in whatever we can get our hands on.”
“Do you have anything on your ship now that might interest us?” Alec asked, taking a step toward the hull.
Instantly, Herod leaped into action, wrapping an arm around Alec’s throat and pulling him into a chokehold, his mouth very close to Alec’s ear.
“Don’t you dare touch our ship, human,” Herod growled.
Alec’s eyes were wide with terror and his hands clawed at Herod’s thickly muscled arm, trying to free himself.
“Do something!” I screamed at Adreax, who was watching me closely. “He didn’t mean any harm. It was just a question. I swear, we’re not here to cause any problems for you two. We just wanted to make sure you were okay after we saw your ship go down.”
I was rambling now, trying to buy myself some kind of sympathy from the alien men without giving away how desperate I really was to get back to the safety of our camp and our own ship.
“Let him go, Herod. He is no threat to us.”
Herod sneered, but shoved Alec away. Alec landed on his hands and knees a few feet away from me, rubbing his throat and making exaggerated gasping sounds through his mask.
Before Adreax could say another word, Herod stalked away, letting himself inside their ship and closing the door firmly behind him.
“I apologize, Tayla. Herod and I have had… a difficult day. He will be in a better mood when he’s had some rest and we can begin work on our ship.”
I scoffed. “You really shouldn’t be apologizing to me,” I said, grimacing at the sight of his disheveled ship.
He chortled shortly, and I found I liked the way the corners of his lips turned upward, revealing two little dimples beside the elongated teeth that protruded from his lower lip. Odd, I thought. So very odd. But handsome. Definitely handsome.
Until moments ago, I hadn’t even known that aliens existed, and now I was faced with a stunning example of one. He was strangely familiar, with his humanoid body and elementary grasp of our language. Yet, he also seemed dangerous and volatile, deeply untrusting of me and Alec, despite the fact that it was he who had intruded upon us. My mind was reeling with all the questions I wanted to ask him, but I hardly knew where to begin. Clearly, he knew about humans, but how long had his kind been in touch with Earth? How many other aliens were out there? What kind of relationship did they have with humans? Were we at war, and I didn’t even know it?
“Eh, it’s not all bad. I wasn’t expecting to meet a pretty lady today, so I’ll count that as a win.”
I locked eyes with him, feeling the heat rushing to my face, sure that I was blushing furiously. He found this amusing, too, and his grin grew even wider. Oh lord, those dimples. But after the initial rush of embarrassment, I found myself wondering just who the hell this guy thought he was.
I rose to my feet and looked down at Adreax.
“You’ll excuse us. We have to check on our work, and I’m sure you’d rather be off this planet as soon as you can.”
I turned abruptly and didn’t wait for the man’s response, inwardly seething at his forwardness.
