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After all, it wasn’t as if she had wings and could simply fly to her intended destination with the correct coordinates supplied.
Agor groaned and dropped onto Brydis’s bed as he continued to stare morosely out at the rain.
“I hate this delay. We could be getting answers out of a dock master right now instead of huddled up in this cramped space. If this is anything like the other rainfall patterns, it’s going to last for days.” He shivered. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced rain quite as miserable as this planet has. The cold pierced right through my feathers and skin. I can’t imagine how humans with their thinner skin and minimal natural protections deal with it.”
“They don’t,” Brydis answered drily, dropping on the bed beside him. “You did notice when we made our way to this hotel that there wasn’t a single human on the street? I suspect they all wisely stay indoors when it is raining, just as we do despite being able to tolerate it for short periods. I have little doubt they’ve learned to remain out of it altogether.”
Agor shifted unhappily. “As much as I want to find Jill quickly and wish that she suddenly appeared on the street below, I hope wherever she is that it’s someplace warm and safe from all of this.”
Brydis’s lips thinned as he leaned into his twin, offering him comfort as their wings brushed and folded around each other. He didn’t trust himself with words at that moment, his own doubts rising rapidly to the surface. What if she wasn’t? There was no guarantee that the housing set up for the humans was sufficient. They had never stepped foot inside any of the private residences supplied to the human colonists. Could he really judge by the condition of the hotel?
What if she was shivering in some drafty shelter somewhere while they were there within their room, comfortable enough and warm? He shook his head. In that direction lay nothing but torment and pain. There was little they could do right now, even if they left the hotel to scour the streets. Even if she were cold and miserable, she wouldn’t be out where they would have even a hope of finding her. He had to believe that she was okay. He would wait out the rain while it lasted, but once it let up, there would be no stopping him from locating Jill and seeing for himself that she was well.
Chapter13
Jill was at the window… again. It was exasperating that she couldn’t seem to remain away from it long even with the sheets of rain pouring from the sky blocking out most of the surrounding city lights except those closest to her apartment. Even those that were nearest were reduced to faint, glowing blobs. Aside from the blurred lights, there was absolutely nothing to look at. The buildings were reduced to gray shadows due to the heavy cloud cover and rainfall. She couldn’t even see the dark shadows of the mountains in the distance and somehow that made her insides twist more anxiously than anything else. It was almost as if the lack of visibility cut her off even more and was causing some sort of distress that she didn’t understand.
It didn’t help that her apartment, though it offered every basic comfort thanks to possessing the newest and most up-to-date models in its features, was tiny and didn’t offer anything particularly exciting. With the rain being as bad as it was, comm lines and net were all offline until it let up. There were no vids that she could watch, and she had recently been too distracted to remember to download her favorite programs.
She shook her head. She had to admit that this was getting a little much. She felt like she was losing her mind with no logical reason for it. She didn’t concern herself too much about how quickly her attachment to the twins developed, though she didn’t really understand it, but it was the anxiety that was setting in with the world suddenly being cut off once more that was sending her into an even worse case of anxiety than in the previous months.
That was what concerned her.
She usually passed the time by reading and engaging in some sort of frivolous craft, but for some reason, this time the anxious energy drew her to the window repeatedly. There she stood, every time, just as she was now, staring out into the darkness for long stretches of time..
Jill sighed and wrapped her arms around her chest, hugging her throw blanket tightly around herself. The soft material brushed her neck, drawing an unbidden memory of the graze of feathers against her skin. She shivered in place as a memory of arousal slid through her. She groaned. This was ridiculous. If she was getting turned on from something so small, then she needed to refocus herself on something. Surely there was a book she hadn’t read in a while.
That was exactly what she would do. She would curl up in bed with a novel and pretend like the outside world didn’t exist.
She drew back from the window a pace but paused as a rapidly shifting shadow outside caught the corner of her eye.
What was that?
Frowning, she squinted, straining her eyes against the dim light as she tried to peer through the downpour. The shadow seemed to gain mass as it moved fluidly, weaving through the rain from one sheltered spot to another as it slowly drew closer. Her heart quickened, and she stepped closer to her window, her mouth parting with a tiny gasp. Everything within her stilled.
Was that a Geminidos? But what reason would one have for being out in this weather? Even the Geminidae visiting the city knew to take shelter within the rooms that were available to rent in the parts of Rhapsody that were closest to the port. None of them seemed to make their way intentionally into the outskirts where there were scattered inns, many of questionable reputation, available for settlers who needed an emergency place to crash for the night.
It was unlikely that a Geminidos would be intentionally making their way through the city, much less be out in the weather. Especially not pushing forward through a downpour into the common areas far from the comforts of the business district and high-rises occupied by those who practically ran every aspect of life within the city. On the other hand, she couldn’t imagine what else it could possibly be. There were no flying creatures bred for Ganymede that came nearly close enough to the size of what she was seeing.
Unless…
Dare she even think it? She shivered again, her skin prickling with awareness as she felt a peculiar sensation slide over her in a familiar and pleasing caress. Her breath fogged the cold glass as she leaned closer and placed her hand against it. There was something so familiar about the sensation running over her and more so that, as she watched, she could swear that she could make out long wings flapping, stretching out from either side of the core mass of its body. There was one reason she could think of that would bring a Geminidos out in those conditions, to the roughest part of Rhapsody where its workers lived out their lives. It was Agor or Brydis searching for her. It seemed highly improbable after so long, and terrible timing, but who else would be out in the weather if not to search for something or someone? Searching for her.
She rubbed her eyes, her heart thumping harder with excitement as she worked to make out the figure. She tamped it down, even though she trembled with the nervous energy running through her. She couldn’t afford to allow herself to become excited about the possibility or feel hope without more evidence.
If only it came a little closer to where she could make it out more clearly. The dim lights under the right conditions could flash off the brilliantly hued flesh and feathers of either male, confirming it for her.
“Just a little closer,” she whispered, her voice a harsh, strained rasp in the silence of the room.
The shadow swerved closer to a building a short distance down the street and folded in on itself. Her brow furrowed with disappointment as it remained there, clinging like a dark stain against the side of the wall. It didn’t move for several heartbeats, and she imagined that she saw a head move as if peering all around. The shadow blob that had to be its head turned as if it were looking behind it and she choked back a sound of distress as she realized what that meant. It was considering turning back.
Desperately, she tapped the window with the flat of her hand, praying that she might draw its attention or somehow encourage it to continue despite the icy torrents doubtlessly beating down it. The shadow shifted, and it appeared as if it were shifting the balance of its weight, turning away from her. It didn’t hear the beat of her hand on the window. And part of her recognized that even without the rain, it was unlikely it would have picked up the muffled sound from that distance. That didn’t stop her, however, from striking the window harder even as her heart sank.
“Come on, come on. Don’t give up now. Not yet,” she begged. “Just come a little closer, please.”
The dark shadow stretched and then it dropped. Her breath held suspended and then whooshed out in a disappointed cry. The shadow was leaving. Whatever it had been was moving back toward the port.
She sank in front of her window, slamming her hand against it in frustration. Logically, she knew it could have been anything, even a security drone making its way through the residential district, its image warped by rain and built up further by her imagination.
