To the west and the south, the forest stretched as far as the moonlight could reveal. The air was crisp and smelled of hearth fires and cooking food. My stomach growled but didn’t seem as loud as my pounding heart. I looked forward to seeing Enra again.
An older woman walked toward us, keeping a wary eye on the vrak. I recognized her from the last time I’d been in the village. She pointed at Skrew and wore a concerned expression as she spoke quietly with Timo-Ran. They spoke for a moment, and in the end, the woman’s face relaxed. Seeming satisfied with his answer, she excitedly asked him another question, then approached me.
“Jacob?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said.
No sooner had I confirmed who I was than the gray-haired woman pivoted and ran to a smaller home nearby. She tried to open the door, but it was barred, so she pounded on it with her small fist.
The door opened, and a beautiful face peeked out.
“What is it?” Enra asked.
The older woman whispered and pointed in my direction.
Enra leaned out, made eye contact with me, and started to cry as she brushed past the woman and ran. Her tightly braided hair glowed in the moonlight, and her soft skin nearly matched it. I also broke into a run, caught her in my arms, and lifted her from the ground. We kissed, laughed, and embraced for several minutes before I put her down again.
“What took you so long?” She wore a wry smile as she held onto me. “I’m glad you’ve returned.”
“I’m glad, too.”
Enra wrapped both her hands around the back of my head and drew me close. I thought she was going to kiss me again until she leaned her head to one side and whispered in my ear.
“I’m told you brought a slaver with you. Is this true?”
“He is a vrak,” I whispered, “but he is not a slaver. He’s never been a slaver. He’s my friend, and I trust him.”
“Are you sure? The slavers lie, Jacob. They are tricky. Are you sure you can trust him?”
“I’m sure.”
She loosened her hold and leaned back far enough to look me directly in the eyes. “Since you trust him, I will trust him. What is his name?”
“Skrew.”
“And the others?”
“They are Yaltu, Beatrix, and Reaver. Reaver is part of my team, I told you about her, how I wanted to find her. She’s from my planet, and we think there are more of us on this planet.”
I wasn’t sure how the meeting would go. Some women could be jealous of others, but when Enra introduced herself and gave and received hugs from the other women, I knew everything was going to be fine.
Soon, one, then two, then five heads popped out of other doorways. More women from the village poured out of nearby buildings. After being reassured that Skrew was harmless, they gathered around Yaltu, Reaver, and Beatrix, who seemed the least comfortable of the three.
The women were curious about her tentacle hair, her armor, and here muscular form. They wanted to touch everything. She smiled, but besides showing her teeth, the expression didn’t travel past her lips. When she turned to me and saw my genuine smile, she frowned but allowed herself to be dragged away by the gaggle of giggling, touching, chatting women.
I rested my cheek on Enra’s head. She hadn’t let go of me since I’d arrived.
“So, your name is Skrew?” Timo-Ran asked the vrak, who seemed to whither under the giant man’s gaze.
“Yes,” Skrew whispered as he wrang his hands together.
“Do you eat?”
“Yes,” he said again, confusion in his tone.
“Do you like fish?”
At that, Skrew stood up straight and stopped wringing his hands. “Skrew likes fish much!”
“Follow me,” Timo-Ran said. “I have a lot of fish and not enough stomach to eat it all. Maybe you can help me.”
“Yes,” Skrew said, all fear and trepidation left behind. “Skrew is much helpful. So helpful. Make fish go disappear. Like it, yes. Eat it, yes.”
I watched as Skrew jabbered and silently thanked Timo-Ran. He’d have his hands full with that one. I returned my attention to Enra. She didn’t deserve to live in fear and distress. Nobody did, except the slavers, but even they could be saved if they changed their ways.
The Xeno were another story, though. They deserved everything terrible and painful I could bring to bear. They felt no guilt, and they deserved no mercy. If there were more Xeno here, then I’d kill them and find a way to exterminate them from the entire galaxy.
You will know peace.
I heard the words in my mind only. The Lakunae were still watching. They still wanted me to complete their mission, and though I didn’t fully trust their intentions, I knew what their tech could do, and I needed it to destroy my enemies. My sword and the battery-like Fex were just two examples of such technology.
“We’ll gather in the longhouse,” Enra whispered. “Tonight is a time for celebration. We’re glad you’ve returned, Jacob. We’ll celebrate. We’ll eat, and drink, and dance. Will you come?”
She made doe eyes at me, batted her eyelashes a few times, and stuck her bottom lip out a little. If I hadn’t intended on going, I would have changed my mind at that moment.
“Of course.” I pulled her tightly against me as I savored the feeling of her breasts against my chest.
A half-hour later, I was sitting on a padded mat around a trough-like hearth in the middle of the longhouse. I’d found a spot where I could lean up against a pillar so that Enra could rest against my torso with one of my legs on each side of her.
Yaltu leaned against me from my left, slowly sipping mead from a wooden cup. I could feel her hips moving a little in time with the drum beat. We’d all bathed briefly before entering the longhouse, and she now smelled of flowers. She seemed more at peace
