“What do you want?” I’m not in the mood to beat around the bush.
“I came to explain some things to you and to give you Sabin’s mark.”
“Sabin’s mark? Why can’t he do it?”
Edge looks at me, then glances at his feet. “It’s not that he couldn’t. I asked if I could. I think …” he looks up at me and again I’m struck by the glory of his eyes. It’s hard to pull my gaze off of his irises. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Not at all.”
He takes a seat on the side of the bed. This is odd. “Come.” He points to the spot next to him. “Sabin has done you a great honor.”
“Sabin has insulted me.”
“How so?”
“He thinks I’m incapable of assisting the team.”
“And you are.”
When I begin to object, Edge stops me. “Hear me out, Serena. You can’t possibly understand the situation we are about to face. You’ve only had a mere taste of what we do, and you saw what Sabin looked like when he came back here.”
“Your magic wand healed him.” I’m prickly as I sit next to him, my hand fidgeting with the hem of my shirt.
“The truth is, he would’ve healed on his own without the wand. It would’ve taken days, but he would’ve survived. That is the difference between you and us. Our bodies have experienced evolutionary changes yours hasn’t. We are stronger. You are weak. So to make a flimsy comparison, we are more similar to homo sapiens and you are more like the Neanderthal. Even our brains are more fully developed, more compact. We have an additional cerebellum, we have an extra lobe in our cerebrum, our brain stem is more sensitive to information but also better protected, and our meninges are almost impenetrable. Even the soft tissues in our body are more difficult to injure by the sheer virtue of their density. It’s not just the magic wand. You, Serena, are a much more fragile species than we are.”
He waits for me to digest this information.
“Why didn’t Sabin tell me this? He’s such an asshole sometimes.”
Edge chuckles. “Sabin is Sabin. And there is no other like him. The fact that he has claimed you, and you not being his equal is an amazement.”
I bristle at his words. “What exactly do you mean by me not being his equal?”
“Not what you’re thinking. It’s only that you are
not
his equal. For the reasons I just explained to you. He will always have to worry about you, because of your fragility.”
“Why should he worry about that?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Now I’m confused. He must be able to see it because he gives me an odd look.
“Damn, woman, you’re as hard headed as he is. He cares for you. If he didn’t he would never have claimed you. Sabin could have his pick of any woman he’d choose. But he chose you. There’s a reason for that.”
“He said it was for my protection.”
“Trust me, Serena. We’ve had to watch over and protect many women. Never once has Sabin come close to claiming one, nor have I scented him on them. Until you.”
I chew on this for a while. “He wants to take me away from here.”
“To safety. To his home. We all live there and you’ll love it. It’s magnificent.”
“You all live in his home? Like some commune or something?”
Edge tilts his head as if he’s calculating what I said. Then I get my answer. “Yes, like a commune. The Seven don’t separate. We remain together for the most part, at all times.”
This is one weird group of men.
“Not weird. We have to remain together because of what we do. We are entrusted with the safety of Paradox.”
I poke him in the chest with my index finger. “Stay out of my head. It’s rude.”
“It’s the way we are, Serena. Part of our evolutionary process.”
“Call it what you will. I say it’s rude.”
“Very well.” He dismisses my comment. “There is sound reason we stay together. Sometimes we have to leave quickly to hunt our threat. If we are separated, it makes it difficult to do that.”
The idea of living with seven men isn’t my notion of fun. Then a thought strikes me. “Are any of you married?”
He laughs. “Marriage is not very common among our species. Claiming is preferred.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Calm down. Our species doesn’t consider marriage necessary. We consider claiming to be adequate.”
This is not good. “Are you telling me that I am tied to Sabin, much like being married to him?”
“Exactly. But not as ritualistic.”
My body freezes. This is not what I expected him to say. In a small voice, I say, “But I don’t want to be married. I never wanted to be married.”
“And you’re not. You are claimed. It is an honor. You should be happy. Ecstatic even.”
I face him head on. “This is not an honor. It was forced on me.”
He laughs! Of all the nerve. “Let me guess. Sabin asked you in … shall I say a passionate moment?”
My mouth falls open and I’m sure I appear ridiculous. Then I’m pissed off. “Oh, is this how he usually operates?”
“Not that I am aware of. It is how
I
would claim a woman though, if there would be one I would desire to the point of going to that end. Serena, listen to me. Claiming is not to be taken lightly. Sabin will face … how can I say this? There will be ramifications for claiming you. According to our Council, you are beneath him and he will pay the price. He has taken an unimaginable risk.”
“Why did he have to claim me in the first place?”
“He didn’t. But if he hadn’t, anyone could have when we take you back to our home. And it would have put you in great danger. Wearing his mark will protect you. But don’t mistake his actions. Danger or no, Sabin also did it because he cares for you. He would not chance anything unpleasant happening to you.”
Edge’s comments create more questions than answers for me. In fact, my belly is a mess of wadded knots. “If Sabin is taking me to his home to be safe, why is it dangerous?”
When the words leave my mouth, Edge locks me out. My open book of enlightenment slams shut before me. “I cannot say. You will have to ask Sabin that. Now give me your wrist, please.”
When I do, Edge uses a device that places a black mark resembling a tattoo on it. It’s a circle with unusual script in the center.
“That didn’t hurt at all.”
“Oh, no. I should’ve told you it wouldn’t.”
“What does it mean?”
“It’s the symbol for Sabin’s name. It will identify you as his.”
“Is this permanent?”
“As long as you are with Sabin, it will remain on your wrist.”
Edge stands and I stop him, moving between him and the door.
“You’re not walking out like this. I still want to know what’s so bad that you can’t tell me? The danger?”
He’s avoids my eyes when he responds. “As I stated, you will have to seek your answers from Sabin.”
Stepping up to him, I grab a handful of his shirt. “Edge? Tell me. Please.”
His hand covers mine and he forces me to let go. “Serena, I can’t. It’s not my place. Ask Sabin. I will tell you this. He will not let anything happen to you. He will guard you with his life.”
I watch him turn and walk out the door. The revelation is frightening, yet interesting. I know he will guard me with his life if Judgment Day is at stake, but this is different. He is willing to do the same, even without the necklace. And my inference from what Edge is saying is that he isn’t talking about protecting me from the Shaurok. But then who would want to harm me? I don’t know anyone where Sabin lives.
My head spins with Edge’s information. But I’m also scared to death of this place I will journey to. Oh shit! This is space travel. I’ll be going to a different planet. I’ll be leaving Earth behind. Everything I know. My legs go numb and I sink to the floor. What will I do? Like Edge said, I will be the outsider, the inferior one. I can’t read minds, can’t fight, can’t do anything but SCUBA dive, really. Oh, hell, my mom was right all along. My arms wrap around my stomach and I rock back and forth, thinking about all those awful things she said. A cashier at the zippy mart would’ve been much safer than this. Or a job as a waitress.
The door crashes open and I scream.
“What happened? What’s wrong? Why are you so upset?” Sabin bellows.
“Merciful heavens, you scared the bejesus out of me!” By now I’m on my hands and knees, wheezing.
He picks me up as if I weigh nothing at all, and sets me down on the bed. Then some weird words, interspersed with English, start spewing out of his mouth. It’s bizarre and I know I’m looking at him like he’s as crazed as I am.
“What the heck are you saying?” It’s so odd, I almost want to laugh. He gives his head a firm shake and then slaps it. What the heck is he doing?
“I said, I heard your thoughts as though,” and then he launches into that weird language again in it sounds like, “Narish amad bray naran atu yestudish!”
“What? You’re talking in tongues.”
Again, he shakes his head, and barks, “VERUS!”
I jump about a foot off the bed. Damn his voice is loud. “Can you get any louder? I swear you’re going to rupture my tympanic membrane.”
“Bishtan stu bre esrubia vetu bara due.”
“I give up. You’re speaking Russian.”
“VERUS!”
Verus rushes in the door, asking, “What’s up?”
Sabin looks at him and says, “My translator is malfunctioning.” He says it in flawless English.
“You sound fine to me.”
Now I pipe in, “Yeah, but a minute ago, he was speaking perfect Russian.”
“Why the hell were you speaking Russian?”
Sabin’s rigid posture lets me know he’s too pissed for Verus’ questions. But he answers anyway. “It wasn’t Russian, it was Nyan’truan.”
“Why were you speaking that?”
“What’s Neeuntrun?” I ask.
They both turn to me. Sabin answers and it’s gibberish again. He turns back to Verus and says, “See what I mean?”
“What language is that?”
Verus looks at Sabin and Sabin nods. “It is the language of our home,” Verus answers.
That drives the alien thing in even deeper. Neeuntrun. Jesus. No wonder it was a bunch of gibberish. My hands lock onto each other to keep them from trembling.
“Let me run a scan on your MSI to see if everything’s okay,” Verus says.
Verus takes out this tiny device (how many of these damn devices do they have?) that looks like a miniature cell phone, and holds it next to Sabin’s head. All of a sudden an image of Sabin’s brain leaps out. Holy smokes. It looks like a true brain. I’ve taken anatomy and physiology, so I have a rudimentary knowledge of what a brain looks like. I hop off the bed and walk up to it. Then I put my arm through it. How cool is that? But Edge was right. It has an extra lobe, and it’s definitely different than a human’s. I look underneath it as it floats in the air and that’s when I see it. The MSI. And it’s not a chip. It’s some kind of an activated thing that’s attached to his brain stem. And it’s moving around in there.
“Oh, oh, oh god. That’s not good. That thing in there? What exactly does it do?”
Neither of them answers me. But it creeps me out.
Verus pulls up various charts. They pop up exactly like Sabin’s brain does and both men read the charts. I can’t because they are in Neeuntrun. I don’t understand them.
Verus declares, “Everything checks out fine. Your MSI is perfect.”
“Then why the fuck can I not talk to her?”
“Let me watch it while you try to converse with her.”
Sabin looks at me, and says, “What upset you so?”
“This upsets me. All this … this funky shit in your head. And the fact that I’m leaving Earth. How the hell will that even happen? I’m freaking out!”
He moves in front of me and his eyes soften. He wants to calm me, I can feel it. His large hand covers my cheek and he says, “I know you’re scared, but tremun eur brai, araeen laurist morriit.”
Verus announces, “Your emotional impulses are overriding the translator.”
Sabin turns to Verus and yells, “What? That’s impossible!”
“Apparently not,” Verus counters. “I just watched it.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Sabin asks.
“Let me work on it. In the meantime, pack.” Verus leaves.
Sabin’s hand tugs his hair. Then he gestures at his clothing. I have no idea what he means. He starts disrobing. Does he want to get naked? But when he moves toward the bathroom, I think I understand. He wants to shower. And when I inspect his discarded clothes, they’re sweaty, like he’s been working out. I realize I’m going to be living with a man I can’t communicate with. Alien charades anyone?
When he exits the bathroom, he looks and smells yummy. But we need to talk. I need to talk.
“I know you can’t speak English, but can you understand it?”
His head moves up and down.
“Edge came to see me. Why didn’t you tell me all about this claiming stuff?”
He approaches me and holds his hands in front of him. “Atu …” then he stops. His hands fist at his side, he closes his eyes and drops his head back. He stands before me naked, and I am amazed at how flawless he is. Now would be a good time for me to read minds, but I have to wonder if I could comprehend it. It would probably be in his native language.