Light Speed, Arkadie, L. [free ebooks for android txt] 📗

But there’s daylight here so I gaze up tosee the sun hidden behind a dense veil of bulging, pallid cloudsthat dart rapidly across the sky. The speed with which they move isso spectacular that I can’t peel my eyes away. I have never seensuch a thing.

“What universe is this?” I ask, observing itin a heightened state of awe. I turn to look at Exgesis because hetakes too long to reply.

“This is Rnv,” he eventually mutters. Heclears his throat. “Of the Mtknv.

“Mtknv,” I repeat, musing. “I never heard ofthis species. Are they hostile?” I’m curious to know.

He’s glaring at me while maintaining thatsame hostile expression. “Yes,” he huffs.

That look on his face makes me shudder. Igulp. “And are we here because this species of creatures are theones holding my sister captive?”

“Yes,” he snaps, short on patience. He isdefinitely irritated by my questions.

“But why?” I press on, refusing to let himintimidate me.

“How would I know that?” he booms.

I pin my eyes on him as silence fallsbetween us. I fight the urge to argue with him. His demeanorincites such a drive within me.

Suddenly I look up to the sky because I feeldrops of water pelt my skin. I glance at Exgesis and he’s lookingupward too.

“We should take cover,” he mutters.

I agree. There’s energy up there somewhereand it knows we’re here. We trot off into the forest at a regularhuman’s speed. We are shaded by lofty, grim trees with branchesthat flop over lazily like the Earth’s weeping willows. The sheernumber of them makes for a ghostly sight. The green is a continuousweb, connecting one tree to the next, forming a vast dark planethat threatens to swallow us whole.

Yes, it’s dark. And the deeper we go, thebleaker it turns. Our pace is so slow and the shoes on my feet arecaving in around my toes. It’s the most uncomfortable sensation.The friction burns the skin of my toes and heels. I’ve never feltsuch pain.

“What is it?” Lario Exgesis asks. He heardme wince.

“My feet hurt,” I grunt.

I want to remove the shoes but I don’t wantto walk barefoot in the dank mud. Each step brings pure misery, butI grit my teeth and bear it until Exgesis comes to a stop andkneels down on one leg.

“Come on; hop onto my back,” he says.

The discomfort is so severe that I don’thesitate to deliberate. I straddle his back and he easily hoists mesecurely on top. He stands up and I wrap my arms around his neck.After I’ve safely mounted him, he slides a shoe off one foot andthen the other, and carries them for me.

“Thank you,” I reply properly to hissequence of gestures.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbles.

Off we go, journeying one step at a time. Iam not accustomed to traveling at such a slow pace for longjourneys. Exgesis doesn’t walk us down a clear trail but he seemssure of every step he takes. It’s eerily silent as we go. Neitherone of us is breathing. The drooping leaves of the trees don’trustle or sway. The wind doesn’t whistle or howl because, eventhough the clouds race across the sky, the movement stirs nobreeze. And if my senses are correct, we are moving along adecline. I tilt my head back to gaze upward. Thousands of floppybranches twist and turn, wild and out of sorts, encaging us. Theway the wood encrusts the bark of the trees makes them look as ifthey are wearing faces with drooping eyes, noses, and mouths,mouths with lips that zigzag. They are the dreariest trees I’veever seen. They need care and happiness.

Slowly I begin to hum the first verse of theHymn of Gratitude to them. Exgesis quickly turns his head andpresses a finger against his lips, urging me to quiet down, but thetrees are responding. Their stringy limbs sway in harmony with themelody. The breeze they conjure cools my damp skin.

On the contrary, instead of quieting down, Iincrease my volume. All of a sudden, I’m being whipped through theair and the wind is almost knocked out of me when Exgesis pins myback against a trunk of a tree.

“Be. Silent!” he growls demandingly. Histeeth are gritted and his jaw clenched.

“I don’t understand,” I wheeze. What sort ofcreature has such a hostile reaction to the Hymn of Gratitude?Certainly one who is wicked!

“Two simple things we have to do when goingthrough Rnv: stay quiet and go slow. Simple. Can you do that?”

“But the trees, they welcome the hymn,” Itry to make him understand.

Once again we’re staring at each other. Fora moment he looks just as puzzled as I do. And then he startslaughing—it’s a low guttural sound. It endears me to him and repelsme at the same time.

“Humph,” he grunts as he simmers down. Heleans his face toward mine to put his mouth close to mine. “You’reall wet,” he whispers.

I follow his eyes to the front of my pal’k,wondering what he finds so fascinating. The skin of my body showsthrough the wet material. The condensation must be sweat. It musthave occurred when we first entered this universe. I’ve neverperspired in my whole life. His eyes ravish me; they veer up frombetween my hips to my breasts until they lock on my eyes. Mynakedness has never affected Tryst or any of the mank’taks likethis.

I do not understand why I can hardlybreathe, why this happens when he regards me in such a way?

“Very nice,” he whispers.

I can’t say a word. I can only swallow theknot that has formed in my throat.

“All I can think about is your beautifulbody in that dress. All I want to do is throw you down on theground and…” he releases a brisk breath.

Like he did in my dream? Or was it real? Hadhe already invaded my mind and my body?

He’s staring into my eyes. His breaths areheavy. His instrument of sex is firm against the top part of mypubic bone and he’s rubbing it up and down against it. I can feelsomething changing inside of me. A tingling sensation is formingand a breath escapes my parted lips as it builds.

“Your body responds so easily to this,” hewhispers.

Suddenly we’re pelted