Kyla clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle another scream. Her heart raced. She couldn’t breathe. Her friends ran back to her and David asked, “What happened? Why did you yell?”
“I picked a flower and . . .”
Troy’s forehead creased while examining Kyla’s hand. “Handling plants here could be dangerous. It is possible thousands of lethal plants surround us. Maybe your safety training automatically kicked in and controlled your impulsive behavior.”
Kyla stood frozen in place, staring at her hand. “Impulsive behavior? You just had to say that, didn’t you? No. It’s not that. Something slapped it out of my hand, and said, ‘Don’t touch.’ It’s spooky.”
David, with raised brows exchanged grins with Troy. “Struck your head too hard in the crash. I didn’t hear anything.”
Troy nodded. “He’s right, Kyla. No one is here but us.”
She ignored him as he launched into a technical, long-winded lecture about head trauma. “It is imperative you—”
Kyla’s breathing finally resumed normalcy. “You ziggy fools.” She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. “Not aloud. I heard it in my head.”
She stood, confused when the men ignored her and continued toward the river, Troy still lecturing on and on about head trauma. She huffed, watching them, but then turned her attention back to the flowers. Their beauty and scent drew her, and ignoring the possible consequences, she picked another one. The scent, so unusual, so appealing—
Before she could bring it to her nose, something grasped her wrist. At the same moment, three figures, misty and almost translucent, appeared before her. The beings took her breath away. Had she believed in the fables of the old religious cults of Earth, she would think they were angels. Two figures, at least a foot taller than she, wore gossamer robes flowing from broad shoulders. The third figure, obviously female, was much smaller and so diaphanous, as to appear to float. All three possessed silvery-white hair almost reaching their waists.
She dropped the flower. Her mouth turned to dust. She stepped back and stared. “I . . . uh . . . who are you?” She swallowed hard. In a barely audible whisper, she asked, “Where did you come from?”
Not getting an immediate response, she thought perhaps Troy had been correct about brain damage. Icy chills ran down her spine, and she looked around for her companions. They were too far away to call. She looked back at the figures, and the smaller one’s hands darted like butterflies. Oh, the figure must communicate without sound. The only sounds were from the fluttering wings of a tiny purple bird determined to investigate her face.
We come from the crystal palace. We brought you to us.
Kyla’s mouth dropped open. The tallest figure had spoken to her without sound. She closed her mouth so quickly, her teeth snapped together. She stared at the shimmering figure gliding toward her. Her thoughts tumbled in confusion. At last, able to speak, Kyla asked, “Did I hear you? You brought the rover down? How did you do it? Why?”
We became curious. The three of us used our powers to bring you down.
Who are you?
What are you?
Yes, tell us.
What shall we call you?”
Their voices came rolling together as whispers in her head. It became almost impossible to discern which sentence came first or who spoke, but their meanings were clear.
“I can’t believe I’m talking to someone who doesn’t open his mouth. I must be insane.”
She tried to call out to her shipmates, but nothing emerged from her constricted throat. The tiny bird flitted around her head. Kyla threw up her arms, flailing at it.
The three apparitions laughed, their first audible sound. When they spoke aloud with one another, Kyla mentally shuffled through all the languages she had studied in the past fifteen years. This language was unknown to her, but she discerned a subtle familiarity in the speech. At least, they didn’t communicate through some of the more exotic methods, such as clicking, humming, and body contortions.
The young woman reached out, touched Kyla’s wrist, and spoke aloud. “Please pardon my brothers. May I let our names be known?”
It astounded Kyla to find, although she could not understand the words with her ears, her mind comprehended the message. She nodded while attempting to brush away the determined bird.
The young woman reached out a finger, and the bird settled upon it. “The bird is interested in the little copper chips on your face. Welcome. I’m known as Awel.”
Kyla touched her face in confusion and then realized Awel spoke of her freckles. She smiled at the idea. As a child, she hated the sprinklings of color and was glad they gradually faded. Many instructors had said freckles suited her pale coloration, red hair, and emerald eyes. They became visible, now, only if she turned white from shock.
The younger man stepped forward, touched her wrist, and bowed from the waist. I’m Eiddyl.
He stepped back and the elder of the group stepped forward.
Following Eiddyl, he bowed before Kyla with an added caress to her wrist. I’m Cymry.
Her breasts tingled and her knees pressed together without bidding. Gasping, she wrapped her arms around her chest and looked at him in confusion.
Kyla inhaled and tried to concentrate on speech, but the bird fluttered around her face again. Before she could brush it away, the angelic woman reached out her hand, and the bird settled on a finger. She took a calming breath and returned to considering this new language. The names rang with familiarity, but excited by the method of communications, Kyla couldn’t fathom why. To try the non-verbal way of speaking, she thought as clearly as she could, I’m pleased to meet you. I am Kyla. Would you come and meet my friends?
Expecting them to follow, Kyla turned and ran down the field of flowers, calling to David and Troy. Her excited calls alerted them, and they turned toward her. Both, for differing reasons, were intense men, and it always showed in their expressions; but now she could see they seemed calm, serene.
David said, “This place must agree with you. You’re appearing downright tasty.” He ran a finger down her nose and stopped it on her bottom lip.
She grimaced and slapped his hand away. “Don’t be stupid. Come on. I want to introduce you to . . .” She turned and, to her dismay, no one remained. “They were here a second ago. I talked with them.”
“Are you all right, Kyla? You seem flushed.” Troy grasped her shoulders and turned her around. She felt his long fingers kneading every inch of her scalp, checking for an injury.
She pulled away with a scowl. “Forget it, nothing’s wrong with me. I don’t understand why they disappeared so suddenly. I wanted you to meet them. They’re absolutely magical.”
David shook his head. “She looks okay to me. Why don’t we get a drink from the river? Need to head back to the rover and try to contact the ship again.”
“Don’t ignore me. I know I saw three people, angelic beings of some kind, and they talked with me.”
Troy’s lips pinched together. “I think this atmosphere is affecting all of us. We are not used to such pure oxygen. That is why you are experiencing visions, Kyla. As soon as we adapt to the air, we will lose the euphoric feelings. If too much oxygen enters the blood—”
“Stop it!” She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes. “I saw what I saw, no matter what you think.”
David ran a hand through his hair. “Feeling a little light-headed, myself. Let’s lap up some of this river and get back to the rover. Suppose the water’s safe, Troy?”
“Look at this environment.” Troy held his arms out. “There’s nothing to contaminate the water—it flows direct from the mountains. A perfect large scale filter.” He opened his mouth to continue, but glanced at his friends’ faces and stopped. He pulled a vial from his shoulder pouch and filled it from the river. He dropped a tablet in the water, watched the vial for a minute, then dropped to th
e ground and drank from the river.
After drinking, David shook the water from his face. “Man, it’s cold. It doesn’t have a taste.”
“It has not been recycled. This is how water free of chemicals tastes. It is pure.”
David grinned and wiped his face. “How about fish pee?”
“Oh god, you had to say that before I drank any.” Kyla gave him a hard look.
“Hey, what do you think we drink on the Adventurer? Recycled stuff, worse than fish pee.” He twirled around and sang, “We drink pee, I drink yours, and you drink mine.”
“Oh, gag!”
Troy smiled at her and pointed at the river. “Do not contemplate it, just drink.”
Once all three quenched their thirst, they strolled back to the wooded area. Kyla caught David by the arm. “Don’t you believe I spoke with those people? You know me well enough to know I don’t exaggerate, and I certainly don’t lie.”
Troy glanced at her. “From aerial surveys, techs determined the planet is sparsely populated and backward—I’m afraid it is impossible to meet people who would not either want to kill you or believe you are some kind of god. To think they would speak to you is an unreasonable expectation. We are not even sure they are human.”
Kyla punched him in the shoulder. “Darn it Troy, you always think you know everything. Beings who materialize and vanish at will, speak directly to the mind, and build crystal structures—I say they're more and better than human.” Her face flushed and she spoke between tight lips. “To heck with planetary evaluations.”
“Temper, temper,” David said. “If that’s true, imagine what the inhabitants will do to us if they don’t want us here. Think the sooner we leave the better. Hope the com-link will get through this time. They have to come get us—our rover will never fly again. Everything is pretty much smashed.”
“The angels told me they brought the rover down.”
David laughed. “Kyla, that’s ridiculous and you know it.”
“Maybe, but you said you found no indication of failure on the part of the rover—it simply came down. We need to stay until both of you speak with these people.”
Troy frowned. “I am almost willing to stay, rather than face the captain. He is going to be extremely incensed when he discovers we absconded with his equipment. He may have us shot for destroying it.”
“Incensed?” David wiggled his eyebrows. “Can’t you ever speak plain Standard? As ever, you’re the one for understatements. Think more along the lines of hanging and castration.”
“How can you even joke about this situation?” Kyla sighed. “You make light of everything.” She jerked her head away from David’s hand caressing her neck. What the hell does he think he’s doing? He knows better.
Kyla neared the forest and smiled thinking of the many times on the ship she had wished for more excitement. Well, enough happened today to last a lifetime. She stopped to take a last look around at the peaceful river, meadow, and flowers, then she searched the sky.
“Look!” Kyla pointed to the sky over the mountain of crystal. “What’re those things?”
David followed her finger to a half-dozen birds gliding over the mountains in gentle circles, coming closer. “Screaming asteroids!” He gasped. “First guess is—some kind of carrion birds. Largest I’ve ever seen or heard about.”
Kyla squinted at the sky. “They sure have long tails. They remind me of Earth’s prehistoric flying dinosaurs.”
Troy stared as the birds came closer. “Those avian monstrosities are big enough to pick us up and carry us away. You two can stand here gawking all you want, I am heading for cover.”
Kyla continued to watch. “I might be losing it, but they remind me of dragons. You know, like in old fables.”
Troy stepped behind the protection of a tree. “You accuse me of thinking I know everything? Your studies of ancient fables, histories, and languages often seem to supply answers to everything beyond the realm of scientific probability.”
She ignored his remark and pointed. “Look! Their wings are iridescent. Hey, watch, they use their tails like rudders.” Her heart pounded a timpani of fear in her ears, but she couldn’t stop watching.
Troy clutched Kyla’s arm. “Please, come on, get in the trees. Those creatures are too close for comfort.” He gasped. “They are almost over the river.”
David grunted and rubbed his nose. “Damn things are larger than the rover.”
“I am getting into the protection of the trees.” Troy tugged her arm again. “Please, Kyla, move to the forest—they can’t fly there.”
“For the love of Creation!” Kyla glared at Troy. “We have a chance to watch a creature never seen before, and you want to go hide.”
David cleared his throat. “Okay, they’re circling over the river now and are losing altitude. Let’s go. You’ve seen enough.” He trotted toward Troy. She ignored him and he yelled back, “Damn all, Kyla, you can’t study anything if you’re dead. Move it!”
Caught by the beauty of the creature’s flight, Kyla stood transfixed. Six horrendous roars punished her ears. Within seconds, they were over her. One turned into a dive, claws extended. She ran. Gasping, she looked over her shoulder. I’m not going to make it. Panic gripped her belly. She looked to the men for help, but in the forest, Troy held David from coming to her aid.
The turbulence from the creature’s wings buffeted her. Heat from its maw burned the back of her neck and blew her hair into her face obscuring her sight. She screamed. Her foot dropped into a hole. She went flying, hit the ground and rolled over. The creature passed over, trailing strands of red hair from his claw. Three more followed. Her situation was hopeless. I really don’t want to end my life as a snack for those bad boys.
Chapter Three
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