Vrehx's Quest Read online

  “No,” I blurted, clutching my belly protectively. I immediately snapped my mouth shut and sighed. “I’m sorry, Evie. I just don’t trust anyone else to look after my own health, let alone the health of the baby.”

  Never in my life had I considered myself the maternal type, yet here I was snapping at my trusted doctor and friend like an overprotective Larkin brood mother.

  “If you trust me, then you already know I’d never send you to someone who’d put you or the baby in danger,” Evie had reasoned with me. “Besides, you can always use your mind powers to figure out if you trust the baby doctor or not.”

  “That’s not at all how my empath abilities work,” I snorted. “I sense the feelings of others, not their medical qualifications.”

  “Remind me to run those brain tests after you’ve stopped breastfeeding,” Evie said offhandedly. “I want to do a research paper on your abilities, if that’s okay with you.”

  “Breastfeeding?” I blurted.

  “Are you planning to bottle feed instead?” Evie asked.

  “How do I know if I even can? I’m not sure if I even have the right kind of milk.”

  “Of course, you do. You’re the baby’s mother.”

  “The baby is only half human,” I pointed out as if anyone could forget.

  “This is exactly why I’m sending you to the planet’s most qualified obstetrician. She can answer those kinds of questions,” Evie beamed.

  “They can tell me what kind of breastmilk my half-alien baby will want?” I arched one brow.

  “Maybe not that specific,” Evie laughed. “This is going to be a new experience for everyone. You and Vrehx aren’t just changing history, you’re changing the human genome.”

  “As if being a first-time mother wasn’t enough.”

  “Just go to the obstetrician,” Evie had urged me. “You’ll feel much better when you do.”

  Those words rang in my ears now as I sat in an uncomfortable chair in the obstetrician’s waiting room. When I first walked in, the other waiting mothers smiled at me. Out of curiosity, I used my empath abilities on them. I didn’t feel anything unexpected. Excitement, love, hope, and, of course, a tinge of fear. I felt many of the same things myself.

  “How far along are you?” A mother with a waterfall of red curls and a glowing complexion asked me as she rubbed her protruding belly.

  “I-” my words caught in my throat. I didn’t know how to answer that. The human gestation period might not apply to me. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact date that Vrehx and I conceived our child. In my panic, I just sputtered.

  “Don’t worry about it,” the expecting mother smiled. “I bet it’s your first time here.”

  I nodded.

  “Dr. Calibas is the best,” she gushed. “She’ll tell you everything you need to know. Are you here by yourself today?”

  “My husband should be coming shortly,” I whispered. I looked around at the human men smiling at their human partners, rubbing and talking to their baby bumps with looks of utter bliss plastered on their faces.

  “Is he excited?” the mother gushed. “Stupid question, of course he’s excited! Mine nearly jumped out of his skin when I told him. He wanted to come today but he had to work. You know how it is.”

  “Very well,” I nodded.

  “What does your husband do?” She asked.

  “Security,” I stammered. It wasn’t a lie, but with all of the anti-alien hullabaloo, I didn’t want to go around broadcasting what Vrehx did for a living.

  Or what I did, for that matter. Not that I’d been working much. The little Skotan nugget inside me sucked up all my energy day and night. I was exhausted after a few hours on my feet.

  “Here in Nyheim?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  “Wow! He must have his hands full with all that’s going on.”

  “Absolutely,” I agreed. “But we still make time for each other. He’s going to take time off when the baby comes.”

  “So is mine,” the mother gushed. “I can’t wait for the three of us to spend all day every day together.”

  At that moment, Vrehx strode into the waiting room. The mother I’d been talking to, as well as the other mothers and their husbands, looked up in confusion.

  “I wonder what’s going on,” the mother whispered to me. “I’ve never seen one of them in this part of town.”

  “There you are, darling,” Vrehx said when he spotted me. Despite the tension in the room, I smiled and tipped my face up to receive his kiss. “This place is a labyrinth. I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “It’s all right. The doctor is running behind,” I explained.

  “Why is it that all human doctors run behind schedule?” Vrehx mused.

  “It’s all that bedside manner,” I joked.

  “This is your husband?” the mother I’d been speaking to asked in a halting voice.

  “Yes,” I smiled. “This is Vrehx.”

  “Good to meet you,” Vrehx said amiably.

  The mother wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she stared at my baby bump.

  “So, your child is his?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.”

  I could tell she was uncomfortable.

  Part of me didn’t blame her. At times, I was uncomfortable with it, too. Although, that was mostly because the little Skotan inside me liked to practice unsheathing its armored scales in the middle of the night. Very uncomfortable.

  But most of me wanted to shake the ignorance and prejudice out of her.

  Instead, I practiced the deep-breathing exercises Evie had suggested for my temper.

  “Excuse me for just a moment.” Vrehx stood up and walked away, talking quietly into his comm unit.

  I glanced around at the other people in the waiting room, who were pretending like they hadn’t been staring at me or Vrehx. The mother next to me looked like she was trying to come up with something to say.

  A nurse stuck her head into the waiting room.

  “Ambrosia Lott?”

  “Oh, thank goodness,” the mother next to me sighed. She gathered her things and quickly stood up. “Good luck,” she said to me before disappearing through the door.

  Vrehx returned a few moments later.

  “You had to take the call right at that moment?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Vrehx replied. “You know how it is.”

  “I know. But does General Rouhr know where you are today?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I think he’ll be understanding if you don’t answer your comm unit for a little while.”

  “Something could happen,” Vrehx replied. “I want to be informed so I can best advise my team of how to act in my absence.”

  “They’re highly trained and smarter than you give them credit for.”

  “Even Axtin?”

  “Okay, maybe not Axtin,” I chuckled. “Don’t try to get me off subject by making me laugh.”

  “It was worth a shot.” Vrehx made himself comfortable in the waiting room chair and pulled out a datapad.

  “What are you doing now?” I whispered.

  “Intel reports. I have to read them and give my recommendations for new aerial tactics.”

  “And you absolutely have to do that now?” I pressed.

  “We’re in a waiting room. Nothing’s going to happen until we’re called in.”

  “Something’s happening right now,” I told him.

  “What?” Vrehx gave me a blank look.

  “Your wife is nervous about seeing a new doctor for the planet’s first hybrid pregnancy,” I replied. “I’m a little stressed at the moment, if you can imagine it.”

  Vrehx’s expression softened.

  “You’re right. Of course, you’re feeling overwhelmed. But I’m right here next to you and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Until you get an important call,” I scoffed.

  “You and I both have a job to do right now. It’s your job to ensure a safe environment in ther
e,” he placed a hand on my stomach, “for our child. It’s my job to ensure a safe environment out there. The more I do now, the less I’ll have to do when the baby comes.”

  He had a point.

  A damn good one, at that.

  Even if I didn’t like it.

  I took a deep breath to settle my racing heart.

  “You’re right. Thank you for everything you’re doing,” I said. “Our baby is lucky to have such a dedicated father.”

  “Our baby is lucky to have such a caring mother.” Vrehx leaned over to kiss my forehead before returning to his datapad.

  A wave of exhaustion swept over me, not an uncommon occurrence nowadays. I rested my head on Vrehx’s shoulder and waited for the doctor to call us.

  Four

  Jeneva

  Vrehx took our conversation at the doctor’s office to heart. The next day, he stayed home from work.

  Then he stayed home the day after that and the day after that and the day after that. He’d transformed into the most attentive, loving future father that ever was.

  Ever.

  Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, maybe it was my natural independence, but I quickly learned that I preferred it when he went to work during the day.

  Vrehx wasn’t letting me do anything for myself.

  He even tied my boot laces when I wanted to go for a walk around the block. He then proceeded to hold my hand for the duration of the seven-minute walk. It wasn’t a loving we’re-a-couple-so-we’re-holding-hands type of thing.

  If anything, I felt like an unruly toddler he was charged with keeping in line.

  On top of that, the house was a mess!

  Vrehx wouldn’t let me lift a finger to clean, but his idea of clean was not up to scratch. I guess that was a universal male trait, no matter the species.

  Crabby, restless, and at my wit's end, I excused myself to take a bath.

  “I’ll come with you. You might need help getting in and out of the tub.” Vrehx got to his feet but I lifted a hand to stop him, barely keeping in a hiss.

  “I’ll be fine. I promise. You’ve already installed that handrail, remember? Give me a chance to test it out.”

  “All right,” Vrehx said skeptically. He didn’t sit back down.

  I walked through the bedroom, expecting to hear him following me at any moment. I grabbed my comm unit from the bedside table and took it into the bathroom with me. While I let the bath water run, I made a call.

  “Hello?”

  Hearing Renna’s voice put me at ease immediately.

  “Hi, Renna. It’s Jeneva.”

  “Jeneva! How are you, dearest? How’s the baby?”

  Renna was my one link to civilization when I lived alone out in the forest. She sold the extracts and poisons I collected on my behalf. I always wondered how fate had aligned so perfectly to bring her into my life, then I found out she was my grandmother.

  She shared my empathic abilities, though hers had dulled considerably with age. She rarely used them.

  At least, that’s what she said.

  “The baby’s fine. I’m about to lose my mind, though.”

  “Vrehx,” Renna said knowingly.

  “I can’t get a moment alone!” I sighed. “I thought it was what I wanted. He’s been so great, but I can tie my own shoes.”

  “Independence runs in our family,” Renna chuckled. “I can get him out of the house if you want. There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you but I haven’t had the time to make the trek.”

  “I can have Vrehx send one of his team members to pick you up. It’s no big deal,” I told Renna for the hundredth time.

  “I’m old, not an invalid. I can make the walk myself,” Renna said dismissively.

  “Renna, no one makes that walk. Ever.”

  “I’m not just anyone,” she tutted. “Do you want Vrehx to pick up a special herb mixture for you or not?”

  “I do!” I said quickly. “Absolutely.”

  A knock at the door interrupted our conversation.

  “Just making sure you’re alright, darling,” Vrehx called. I walked across the bathroom and opened the door.

  “Just fine.” My smile was tight. “I’m chatting with Renna. She has something for me. An herb mixture that helps with pregnancy.”

  “Hello, Vrehxie!” Renna called through the comm unit. I bit back a laugh.

  Vrehx hated being called Vrehxie.

  I couldn’t imagine anyone else even trying it.

  I suspected Renna got her kicks from calling him that at every opportunity. It was one of her ways of showing affection.

  At least, that’s what I keep telling him.

  “Hi, Renna,” Vrehx replied. “You’ve got something for Jeneva?”

  “Yes, but I need you to come to my cottage. I want to make sure all of the herbs react positively with your Skotan blood and skin and whatnot.”

  “Oh,” Vrehx brightened. “That’s an excellent idea. When would you like me to come?”

  “Can you make it out today? This is the most beneficial time window in Jeneva’s pregnancy for herbal boosts.”

  “Will you be all right, Jeneva?” Vrehx asked.

  “Of course! I’ll just take a nap and catch up on some notes from work,” I assured him.

  Excited, Vrehx hurriedly put on his boots and arranged for an aerial unit to take him to Renna’s little cottage. I gave him an extra-long kiss before he left. When the door closed, I took in the silence and solitude with a happy sigh.

  “Thank you, Renna,” I said to the still connected comm unit.

  “You’re welcome, dearie. Men always get so strange with pregnant women.”

  “I’ve never seen him like this,” I sighed.

  “I’ve always believed it’s because the men know the women are doing the hardest part and are desperate to make up for it,” Renna reasoned. “My husband, your granddad, tried to carry me everywhere when I was pregnant with your mother.”

  “Vrehx is at that point,” I laughed.

  “Just wait until that baby is born. I’ll let you enjoy your solitude. I’ve got some herbs to prepare.”

  “Bye, Renna.”

  The hot water from my bath was still steaming when I walked back into the bathroom. According to my obstetrician, and a few Skotan soldiers who had children of their own, Skotan babies liked hot water. When I lowered myself into the tub, I felt an appreciative wiggle.

  “Do you like that?” I laughed.

  Another wiggle.

  “I like it, too. Carrying you around is hell on my back, you know?” I placed a hand on my swollen belly and sighed. “You’re only getting bigger so I better get used to it. Would you think I’m completely uncool if I got some compression socks for my ankles?”

  No wiggle.

  “Fine. No compression socks. I’ll just let my ankles balloon out.”

  I soaked in the hot water until my back stopped aching and goosebumps appeared on my skin.

  The handrail Vrehx had anchored into the wall actually came in handy when I needed to haul myself out.

  “Remind me to tell your father how useful the handrail is,” I told the baby inside me. “I think it’ll make him feel nice. Did you hear great-grandma talking about how your father might feel inadequate? Any thoughts on that?”

  Wiggle. Wiggle. Wiggle. Kick.

  “Well, you’re half Skotan, so you’d know better than me,” I chuckled. “You haven’t been born yet and you’re already smarter than me. How many parents can say that?”

  Kick.

  “No, I’m not turning into one of those mothers that brag over their child’s every breath,” I countered. “Remember, you’re changing history. I’m allowed to brag about that.”

  Wiggle.

  “When your brain develops a little more, I’m going to try my empath abilities on you. I think that’ll be a more efficient way of communicating. I only get the gist of things when you kick my bladder.”

  Kickkickkickkickkick.

 
“I know what that means, even without using my abilities. Want a stardew fruit?”

  One hard kick was my answer.

  I walked to the kitchen and sliced up one of the vibrant pink fruits. I personally hated the things but the baby loved them.

  I cleaned off the knife in the sink.

  “Might as well do the dishes,” I reasoned. Within an hour, I’d scrubbed the kitchen from top to bottom.

  “Does the carpet look a little gray to you?” I asked the baby.

  No response.

  “I know you can’t see but can you humor me, kid?”

  Kick.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  The baby and I worked hard all afternoon until our home was spotless. It felt good to use my body. I think the baby appreciated the exercise as well. By the time I felt satisfied with the cleaning, the baby was asleep and I was exhausted.

  Like I’d promised Vrehx, I went into the bedroom to take a nap. While I slept, I dreamed of a huge garden filled with every medicinal plant in the forest. My baby knew every one of their names.

  Five

  Vrehx

  The transport shuttle zoomed over the forest, cutting through the tatters of clouds that drifted aimlessly across a blue sky. I looked out the window, taking in the vibrant green that stretched underneath me. The trees reached up high into the air, carpeting hills and valleys, and their canopies were so dense I couldn't even make out the ground underneath them.

  A small smile spread across my lips as I remembered my first couple of hours on this planet. It had all seemed so new back then. Barely did I know that this place would eventually become home.

  "Alright, now where's that clearing?" I muttered under my breath, carefully lowering the hovercraft's speed. The engine’s growl turned into a purr and I started making my descent, the altitude sensors beeping as the shuttle flew dangerously close to the top of the trees. I kept my eyes peeled for the clearing where I would meet Renna and, not seeing it, turned my attention to the control panel.

  I checked the coordinates on the dashboard and, once I was sure they were right, I trusted the navigation instruments and lowered the altitude some more. Finally spotting a gap in the forest's green tapestry, I guided the shuttle there and engaged the landing pad. The landing was a smooth one, the exact opposite of how the Vengeance had crashed here, and the clearing I was in brought all those memories back to the surface. I smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic about it. It all seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago, and to a different version of me.