PART THIRTY SEVEN

Max stormed from one end of their small bedroom to the other, raking his hand through his hair in obvious agitation. It wasn’t storming, exactly, Liz thought as she watched his movement, more like he was stalking back and forth. It was a rare event for him to be quite this angry with her, especially since it represented such a wild pendulum swing from their earlier lovemaking out in the woods.

She guessed that his body still coursed with energy from their earlier joining, since her own certainly did. Her skin tingled and she thrummed with the alien power Max had left resident deep inside of her. She even burned a bit low in her abdomen, which she couldn’t recall happening quite so distinctly in their previous mating seasons.

Something had definitely been different about this union, not least because of the impending battle. It had been more than that, as if they’d pressed to a deeper place within their relationship, their bond. Afterwards, they’d lain breathlessly on the large rock, just staring into one another’s eyes, and she’d thought she might never be able to break from the moment. But then Max had nestled his face against her breast, sighing so heavily, her heart had ached with the sound. And she’d known that like she, he wished they could remain just like that, in one another’s arms, shutting the world out forever. Denying the existence of their enemies, the battles…Khivar.

Now all their earlier intimacy had dissolved in the face of their current argument about whether she’d accompany them on tonight’s mission. But Liz couldn’t back down because as she watched Max’s jaw twitch in anger, she realized something more was at stake here. It wasn’t just his unwillingness to let her accompany them. He was holding onto her as if her very life depended on it.

"Max, look, I know you’re just trying to protect me," she began and he raised his hand to silence her.

He stopped pacing just in front of her, his amber eyes flashing hot with anger. "Liz, no way," he blurted. "I’ve thought about this long enough. You’re staying here."

"I am not!" She cried defiantly, clinching her fists by her sides.

"Are you going to just…slap me in the face like this?" He demanded, stepping even closer to where she sat on the edge of their bed.

"I’m not slapping you in the face at all," she exclaimed in frustration. "I’m trying to do my job here, Max."

"Which is to stay back from the thick of things," he concluded hotly.

Liz jumped to her feet, and moved away from him. "No, it isn’t. It’s to fight along with the rest of our unit."

"You’re not part of the unit."

Liz’s entire body stiffened, her head snapping in his direction. She saw him bristle visibly, almost as if he knew what irretrievable words he’d just uttered.

"Excuse me?" She asked with forced calm, moving to where he now stood facing away from her. "You didn’t just say what I think you did, Max Evans."

She noticed that his hands still shook with tiny tremors, and recognized that part of their problem were all the hormones and alien urges still careening through their bodies. It had left each of them tense, on edge. But also ready to fight.

"You heard me," he ground out, spinning to face her. "And if it keeps you from getting killed, I don’t care if it hurts."

"Max," she laughed sarcastically, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I’m as much a part of this unit as you are. There were five of us."

"You were only sent as my wife."

"Fuck you." The words were quiet, but smoldered in intensity. "Absolutely fuck you, Max."

He didn’t flinch, and folded his arms smugly across his chest. "Go ask Serena if you don’t believe me."

"No thank you," she declared bitterly. "I know who I am, and what you would have said about my place at any other time."

"You’re not going, Liz, and that’s final," he announced quietly.

"I don’t have to listen to you."

"Yes, you do," he said, his voice hushed in its intensity. "I’m the king."

"Fuck you again!" This time she shouted it, and didn’t care if the words echoed through the entire house. "I will not be dominated by you, Max, just so you can get your way on this. You may be king to the rest of this household, to a whole planet or whatever. But you’re husband to me, and you’re not going to order me around!"

He stared at her for one endless moment, his chest heaving with uneven breaths, and Liz tipped her chin upward defiantly, never allowing her gaze to waver from his eyes. Finally, a hopeless sigh escaped his lips as he sank onto the edge of the bed, burying his face in his hands. "I can’t lose you," he admitted in a heavy voice. "God, please just don’t come tonight, Liz."

The anger and harshness instantly dissolved from around Liz’s heart. Her soulmate had crumpled before her eyes, and she wasn’t sure, but she feared he might be crying.

"Max," she whispered softly, settling right beside him on the bed. "You can’t hold onto me like this, otherwise I’m your downfall. Don’t you see that? If you keep me here, you weaken the unit."

He was silent for a long moment, and an expectant hush fell over them both. Liz wondered if he would still try to deny what she was to them all, just to win with her—or if he’d acknowledge what he would ordinarily admit quite readily.

"You’re our fifth." His statement was simple, matter of fact, as he dropped his hands away from his face. "You complete our unit, but more than that, you’re their leader, too. I was out of line, Liz."

"You’re scared."

"Only for you. When we made love, everything else faded. I’m ready…but not to lose you, Liz."

"We’re in this together, Max," Liz encouraged quietly, slipping her arm around his shoulders. "We always have been."

He nodded silently, placing his hand on her thigh. She felt his hand trembling, and eased her own on top of it. "You’re still…shaky," she observed.

"And horny as hell," he corrected, with a faint smile, yet his eyes still showed strain.

"Well, see, my husband and king, let’s go win this battle together, and then come home and perform Antarian mating rituals all night long."

Max laughed softly, nodding in acquiescence. "That’s the best plan I’ve heard all night."

"Just think how… tight you’ll be afterwards," she coaxed, running her fingers through the hair along his nape. "How much you’ll want to lose yourself." She pressed a soft, lingering kiss on his neck and was surprised by the fiery warmth of his skin. He was still in the thick of the mating urge, that much was evident from the heat of his skin and the soft tremors shaking his body.

"It won’t distract me," he explained, answering her unspoken question. "Being…in season."

"How’d you know what I was thinking, Max?" She asked, running her palm down the length of his back. "We’re not connected…" Her voice faded, since she didn’t have the heart to discuss their absent bond at the moment.

He shrugged lightly. "I just knew, Liz. I don’t need the connection to know your heart. Never have."

"I love you, Max," she whispered, turning his face to kiss him fully on the lips. "You will defeat our enemies tonight. I know it. And…I also know you’re not distracted by me."

Max nodded, cupping her face within his palms, as he deepened the kiss. Finally, he bowed his head, leaning his forehead against hers as he gasped for air. "No, love, I’m empowered by you…by this."

They sat like that, breathing heavily, trembling against one another in silence for several moments. Finally, Max pressed a soft kiss against Liz’s cheek and whispered, "Come, my lovely queen. Come with me…complete me, empower me…" Liz’s heart thundered as he murmured the soft declarations of love, uttered even as he led her into war. "Fight with me…beside me."

"Yes," she agreed softly, nestling her face against his neck. "Together."

"And when we return," he sighed in her ear, sending light shivers across her skin. "Make love to me, complete me, empower me again."

Liz closed her eyes and memorized his words, allowed them to etch across her spirit. And tried to ignore her own fears for her husband and king as they prepared to enter the heart of the enemy’s lair.

*****

Serena sat in the back cab of the Suburban, staring out the rear window with keen eyes. It was her job to make sure they weren’t followed by anyone, since they were the secondary vehicle, following closely behind the first team.

In her Suburban rode Max, Riley, Anna, Tess, Isabel, Maria and Michael, and in the first car rode all the others. She’d wrestled for months now about involving the humans, about their place in this revolution, but in the end she had to admit that they’d all trained as hard as the rest of the two units—sometimes more so.

Kyle, for instance, had shown himself incredibly adept at the weaponry, which apparently came from a lifetime of exposure to guns--whereas Michael was far too impatient, and tended to resort to his powers rather than weather the arduous training and discipline necessary to master the M-16. Well, and he was also very fond of the K-12 Luminators and the ease with which they tore into any target.

That had led to her decision within the past week to form a third unit, one comprised solely of humans, as they’d prepared for this confrontation. She’d placed Kyle in charge of what she now referred to as Unit Three, and the choice had not been without risk, given how he tended to chafe against orders and command. But she’d trusted her instinct and not regretted the decision, as he’d pulled the other humans together quickly tonight, rising with ease to the position she’d placed him in.

The other Suburban rode just ahead of them, and her only unease about that was not having Liz under her own careful watch. Yet splitting the royal couple had been the only condition under which she could allow them both into the fray, otherwise it was too risky. If by some horrible twist Max should fall tonight, it would be imperative that Liz survive. And vice versa. So she’d separated them immediately, placing one in each Suburban.

Tess sat just beside her, shifting a bit uncomfortably and Serena cast a quick glance in her direction. Her golden hair hung in a thick braid down her back, and Serena ran her hand down the length of it in quick gesture. Tess looked at her in surprise, as the golden color shifted instantly to black.

"What?" Tess asked, tugging at her braid. "Is something wrong?"

"Only the color," Serena explained quietly, waving a hand over her own hair. "Blonde is too visible at night…shows up on the night vision goggles. Now you have black."

Tess touched her hair tentatively and Serena noticed that her large blue eyes were even more luminous against the dark color. "Like Marco’s," Serena added with a soft smile, and Tess dropped her eyes instantly. Serena didn’t miss that a shadow passed over her features at the mention of Marco’s name, and she knew Tess worried for him.

Serena surveyed the other soldiers within the automobile, just as any good general would. Not that she was that by a long shot—no, that had been her husband’s role, not her own—yet circumstances had placed her in something of that position while here on Earth. And now her unit had trained years for this night, she thought as she watched Riley slip a bulletproof vest over his head. If only their enemies’ weapons were mostly human, not alien in origin, she thought apprehensively, as her eyes drifted shut for a passing moment.

"Riley," she called quietly, and he glanced over his shoulder. "Hair," she prompted, tapping a light hand against her own darkened braid. In one easy gesture, his hair transformed from its usual sunny gold to a dark ebony.

Serena exhaled heavily, her gaze sweeping around the vehicle for any other forgotten details, anything they might have overlooked. The hardest part about tonight was her fear for them all, her overwhelming desire to protect them from what lay ahead.

And like Tess, she couldn’t help worrying for Marco, despite her efforts to center her energy. She felt concern for Riley, of course, but there was something unsettling about Marco that she couldn’t dismiss. Something that kept bringing the death of her son Rasme to mind, even after all these years.

Serena shook her head, wishing she could clear away those haunting memories from the past, and reached low around her waist to strap on her K-12 Luminator. Rasme had been as different from Marco as Antar was from Earth. Where Marco was careful and methodical in his warfare, Rasme had been wild and unrestrained. Before his death, Rasme’s own father had ceased speaking to him because of the reckless compulsion that had advanced him so quickly through the Antarian military ranks.

So why had Marco always brought Rasme to mind, Serena reflected, slipping a pistol into her holster .

Because he’s more like your son than any of the others, even more than Riley, a soft voice answered. Because his heart is so gentle, even though it resides within a mighty warrior.

Serena grew perfectly still at the realization, even as her eyes searched the darkened terrain beyond the Suburban’s back window. How could she have only just now understood? After so many years?

Rasme had been just that way—wild and unrestrained in his warfare perhaps, but in his quiet moments, he’d possessed such a surprising gentleness. Even as alien as his black eyes had been, sometimes she saw something of them in Marco’s dark human ones. Something similar and deep flashing in their moody depths.

She refused to believe that any harm would befall Marco tonight. She wouldn’t lose another son to Khivar, wouldn’t watch as he struck another of her beloved down, even if she had to give her life to prevent it. Not Riley, not Marco—nor any of those she’d been sent to protect for all these years.

Serena rubbed her eyes, tossing her long braid over her shoulder as she surveyed the others around her. Everyone was in full battle gear, dressed completely in black, with weapons at their sides. The air around them was literally shimmering with electric expectation, and had been ever since Marco had given the go-ahead for the attack through his communication with Tess earlier in the evening. He’d confirmed their suspicions—that Khivar would be in camp late tonight, and so now was the time to strike.

This was the window of opportunity that she’d anticipated for more than sixty years. That the resistance had.

It was time for war.

****

Marco lifted his night vision glasses and surveyed the terrain behind the train tracks. He’d been patrolling for more than an hour, and for most of that time, had battled the unshakeable sensation that someone was watching him. An enemy, not his own people.

He’d been assigned, rather randomly, to guard the area along the railroad tracks tonight, which was his least favorite perimeter to patrol. The landscape was eerie, littered with the shells of abandoned automobiles and equipment, and winding far off into the darkened night. It was the sort of place where one might easily vanish, even in the most peaceful of worlds--might simply disappear only to be found further down the tracks, days or even months later…lifeless.

And it was worst when the trains came careening through, their shrill whistles keening like banshees in the winter night. That’s when he hated it the most, felt unsettled down to his marrow. At those times he focused on Tess. Kept his senses clear, his eyes open, and thought of his soulmate. Otherwise, the sensations threatened to overrun his spirit, his mind—so he used his lifelong trick for mastering his empathy, forbade it from making him feel edgy and unstable.

Control was always his key, had been for years now. So long as he mastered his gifts, they would never control him.

And tonight was an ideal chance to perfect his discipline, Marco reflected dryly, as the sensations kept pressing heavily on his spirit. Someone was out there watching, someone who wished him harm, and he felt it tugging at him like a deathly undertow, seductive, tempting. But he couldn’t succumb to the feel of it, had to remain the one in control of the sensations…until he discovered the location of his invisible adversary.

He paced the length of the tracks, feeling around him with his intuition like so many tendrils into the darkened winter night. But the impressions circled him, closing in on him…more than one enemy, he thought, as he lifted the night vision glasses again.

Nothing, so he began his pacing again, feeling the stiff crunch of frozen earth beneath his hiking boots. His own unit wasn’t due for hours, so he knew he wasn’t sensing their presence, mistaking them as his own enemy. No, his intuition told him that something sinister was heavily in the air around him and not just Khivar’s eminent arrival.

This was the danger he’d sensed all day, what Tess had tried to warn him about—and now he feared it had come upon him.

He heard the distant squeal of metal against tracks, as a quiet rumble began low in his chest. He could see just the barest pinpoint of light form a long funnel in his direction. It was strange that he should hate these night trains so much, when he and Riley had always loved the trains that tore through Santa Fe. The two of them had made a hobby of pressing pennies along the railroad tracks there, keeping the flattened copper pieces in a small shoebox that Serena had given him.

But these night trains were different, left him feeling as unsettled as their high pitch screams, he thought, as the sound of the engine neared.

Enemy, closer now…closer, his heart hammered with the train, warning him. Marco searched the darkness around him frantically, spinning around as a white hot flash of light exploded before his eyes--right before it ripped straight through his chest, piercing him as he collapsed to the frozen ground. Everything moved in slow motion as he fumbled desperately for his M-16. His arms flailed at the air, and there was another white flash, tinged with blue as more shrill pain tore into his heart.

Marco screamed, but it was a noiseless sound, muffled by the hammering train that thundered only a few feet away. He collapsed backwards, hitting the ground hard as he raised his M-16 with trembling fingers, hoping to get a round off before he was hit again.

The enemy appeared. Not one, but four advanced upon him from the velvet night, and he fired until the white light exploded through his body yet again.

Ayanna, he cried out noiselessly. Ayanna…

And then the darkness enfolded him, fading to an even deeper black.

****

Serena dropped the night vision glasses when she heard a muffled cry beside her. She turned quickly to find Tess clawing at her chest with both hands, her eyes wide with terror. Her whole body was taut like a rope, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

"Tess!" She cried, scrambling to her side. "What’s wrong?"

Tess didn’t respond, just kept staring at some unseen place ahead of her, grasping desperately at her chest. A small cry escaped her lips, but otherwise she struggled soundlessly. "Tess!" Serena cried again, clasping at her hands where they were drawn tightly over her heart.
Just ahead of them Riley scrambled over the seat into the back of the cab, landing nearly on top of them both with a thud. Yet in all that time, Tess’s wide blue eyes never focused, never turned toward any of them.

"Should I pull over?" Anna shouted from her position in the driver’s seat.

"No!" Serena called, clasping Tess’s face within her palms. "Keep going!"

"Tess, please," Serena reasoned quietly, trying to get her to focus. "What’s wrong. Tell us."

"I’m coming back there," Max cried from the front, and Serena knew that they needed him. Tess seemed to be in some sort of cardiac arrest, or perhaps worse. Max struggled over the tops of seats, moving their way, yet Tess remained completely catatonic.

Her clear blue eyes watered and she began shaking uncontrollably, and Serena knew she’d never seen anything quite like this, not in all her years with the resistance. Why now, now that they were entering the thick of the battle? It made no sense… unless.

"Tess, is it Marco?" Serena asked, her voice tight with tension. "Is something wrong with him?"

Tess’s mouth opened momentarily, and a soft whimper escaped her lips as her eyes watered a bit more, yet no reply came. Max landed practically on top of them all as he catapulted across the back seat.

"Let me try healing her…" he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

Serena stroked Tess’s arm, wanting to comfort her. "It’s her heart…I think," Serena instructed uncertainly, and Max placed his palm squarely over her small hands, where they were drawn tight across her chest.

Instantly, as if in response, Tess’s entire body stiffened, her head arching backward. Her lovely blue eyes suddenly widened even more, then rolled backwards into her head as she clutched wildly at her chest.

And then she crumpled to the floor of the cab, utterly lifeless.