Finding the Jewel

  They were not thick, crunchy, cylindrical potato chips as Chloe had been imagining—they were some kind of giant bug—a cross between a grasshopper and a Palmetto bug—the giant roaches that lived all over her home state of Florida. These bugs were dark grayish-blue and they had been fried crisp and sprinkled with some kind of bright red seasoning salt.

  “Oh my God,” she said unsteadily, staring down at the “food.” “Oh my God! We ate that! We ate fried eyeball sandwiches and crispy bugs! Oh my God.”

  “As I said, it was not meant for you,” Monk Taroni said shortly. “However, the good news is it should not harm you.”

  “Not harm us? I ate eyeballs and bugs—freaking bugs!” Chloe exclaimed. “The psychological damage alone is enough to put me in therapy for the rest of my natural life! Ugh! Can’t you make it disappear again?” She gestured at the gruesome remains of their “lunch,” grimacing.

  “I will take it with me when I go.” Monk Taroni put the lid back on the tray, mercifully hiding the awful sight, and nodded his head at them. “I am afraid I will be busy attending to my apprentice, Zaroni for some time. But the two of you are cleared to attend the advanced Couple’s Class on Oneness this evening. Enjoy yourselves and I will speak to you tomorrow.”

  He left, taking the floating cart with him, but Chloe still felt sick to her stomach. She swore silently to herself that as long as she lived, she would never eat another piece of invisible food again!

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Oh my God, is it really all the way up there?” Chloe was looking with dismay at the top of the stone ramp they had climbed the night before—or rather, Tark had climbed it while carrying her.

  “Yes,” he said mildly. “It is r-rather h-high up.”

  “Rather high up?” she demanded. “It’s taller than a good-sized building! And you climbed up it in the dark last night while you were carrying me!”

  Tark shrugged. He really didn’t see the problem.

  “I th-thought it would b-be safer than l-letting you walk since you can’t see in the d-dark,” he explained.

  “I don’t think there’s any safe way to get up there.” Chloe looked at the narrow ramp mistrustfully. “It can’t be more than two feet wide and there aren’t even any safety rails!”

  “Does it upset you?” Tark asked. “D-do y-you not like heights?”

  “I hate them,” she admitted. Her face was pale. “I fell off the top of a tall slide when I was a kid and broke my arm. That was it for me—I’ve been scared of heights ever since.” She looked up at him sheepishly. “Sorry to be such a wimp.”

  “Y-you can’t help what y-you fear,” Tark told her gravely. “I w-would rather go into b-b-battle with no weapons than st-stand in front of a group and s-speak.”

  She grinned a little.

  “You know, I have heard that some people fear public speaking more than death. Talking in front of people doesn’t bother me but the idea of climbing up there really does.” She shook her head. “I mean, if I fall off from that height, I could break way more than my arm—I could break my neck.”

  “Let me c-carry you then,” Tark suggested. Before she could answer, he swept her up into his arms and headed for the foot of the ramp.

  “Tark, no!” she protested. “Look how steep it is! It’s not fair to ask you to tote me all the way up there!”

  “I d-did it last night,” he pointed out. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I w-want to, Chloe,” he murmured, for her ears alone. “P-please let me carry you.”

  “Well…” She squirmed restlessly in his arms for a moment before finally sighing and nodding. “All right—if you really don’t mind.”

  “I w-want to,” Tark repeated. He got her settled more securely in his arms and began the steep ascent, which was considerably easier with brighter light to navigate by.

  There were other couples climbing the ramp to the Cavern of Precious Treasures too, he noticed as they went. Most of them looked more or less humanoid but there were a few which were different enough to stand out.

  A couple of Yandi went by, their long blue, telescoping necks swaying gracefully like the Earth creatures called giraffes. Their large black oval eyes were augmented by a third eye—a vertical slit—in the center of their foreheads.

  “Who are they? I mean, what kind of people are they?” Chloe whispered to him, pointing.

  “Yandi,” Tark murmured back softly. “W-with their th-third eye they are said to s-see all wisdom and all f-foolishness.”

  “And those?” She pointed at a trio of bipedal people with greenish-gray skin and long red tongues hanging out of their mouths. They each had three arms—two on the sides and one in the back, between their shoulder blades. They were using their dorsal arm to hold hands as they climbed the ramp, Tark noticed.

  “Those are the Raz-puts,” he told her. “The people whose lunch we ate.”

  “Ugh! Don’t remind me of that,” she begged. “I would never have eaten that stuff if I could have seen it!”

  “W-worse than the protein p-pellets the Commercians w-were feeding you?” he asked, arching one eyebrow at her.

  “Yes, definitely,” Chloe said firmly. “At least the protein pellets weren’t made of bugs and eyes. Or if they were, I didn’t know about it. Ugh!” She shivered.

  Tark thought about telling her he had eaten worse when marooned in space once, when his ship had broken down, but decided not to. Chloe had tender sensibilities and had been extremely upset over what they had eaten. He didn’t want to make her even more upset, especially when they were hopefully nearing the end of their quest.

  If I can just find the jewel, he thought, looking longingly up the ramp. If I can just find it…

  But if he found it and was completely cured, he would have no excuse to keep Chloe with him anymore. He would have to take her back to her home planet of Earth, as he had promised.

  The thought made Tark ache with loss. He loved holding her, touching her, tasting her… his curvy little Elite. He never wanted to let her go! He held her a little tighter to his chest, wishing he could keep her close always.

  He thought of the candid way they had spoken earlier—how he had told her of his past and she had listened without interruption or judgment. Then he thought of tasting her…of the sweet, salty flavor of her honey…her warm, secret scent…the way she had cried out his name and pulled his hair as she came on his tongue…

  Was she only with him because she felt she owed him a favor…or was it possible that there could be more between them?

  The thought woke a hope in him he was almost afraid to allow. It was like a tiny candle flame which might take over him and burn him to ashes with its ferocity. Would Chloe consider being his mate for real instead of just pretending?

  Once I get the jewel, I’ll ask her, he promised himself. I’ll gather my courage and ask if she will stay with me. I know we haven’t known each other long but there’s something between us—a connection neither of us can deny. I’m sure of it.

  It helped to know that she found him attractive and thought he was a good lover. She had said that on her home planet, he would be considered the ideal male. Would she think he was ideal for her? Would she agree to stay with him and let the feeling between them grow…to see where it led them?

  “Oh, look,” Chloe murmured, breaking his train of thought. “There’s Monk Aaroni. Wow—Monk Taroni was right, he really is old.”

  “Oh th-that’s right—you were unable to s-see him last night,” Tark said. “Yes—he does look ancient.”

  But though he looked old and weary, the wrinkled and seamed face of the monk who had founded the Resort of Resonant Oneness was wreathed with smiles as Tark reached the top of the ramp and they came towards him.

  “Ah, my children,” he exclaimed, smiling up at them. “I’m very glad to have you in my advanced Oneness class. Do go in and find yourselves a cubby.”

  “Thank you for having us,” Chloe said politely. “We’re really lookin
g forward to, uh, working on our Oneness.”

  “And so you shall, my dear!” Monk Aaroni said heartily. “Do go in.”

  Tark carried her towards the Cavern of Precious Treasures where the huge, heavy iron door which was now standing open. But before they reached it, Chloe smiled up at him and murmured,

  “You can, uh, put me down now, if you want.”

  “I d-don’t mind holding you,” Tark told her. “In fact, I like it.”

  “Oh, well…” She blushed and looked away. “That’s sweet but I should really walk now. I still don’t see how you climbed that whole ramp carrying me in your arms without getting out of breath. You must be in massively good shape.”

  He shrugged and set her gently…and rather regretfully…on her feet.

  “Y-you’re not h-heavy.”

  “I think Mr. Scale back at the Commercians’ weight loss dungeon would beg to differ,” Chloe said dryly. “But thank you, Tark. That’s very sweet of you. And thank you for carrying me.”

  She stood on her tiptoes and drew him down for a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek which seemed to linger much longer than a simple thank-you gesture should have.

  Tark felt his heart thud painfully in his chest and he had to fight the urge to gather her into his arms and crush her to him in a much more passionate embrace. Gods, how he wanted her!

  But now wasn’t the time to declare his love, he reminded himself. He needed to find the jewel. Once he could speak without stuttering, he would be worthy of having an Elite like Chloe for his bride. He could ask her with confidence to stay with him and hopefully she would say yes.

  “Well, well—getting sstarted a bit early on the exercisess, are you?” a high voice hissed in his ear.

  Chloe released her hold on him and Tark turned sharply to see one of the three Raz-puts leering at them. His—(or her, who could tell?)—mates had already gone into the Cavern of Precious Treasures but this one lingered outside, its long, red tongue lolling from its mouth.

  “I was just…just thanking my mate for carrying me safely up the ramp,” Chloe said, a bit stiffly.

  The Raz-put frowned at them, its compound eyes narrowing.

  “You two are jusst down the corridor from uss. You’re the oness who ate our deliciouss stega-eye wrapss and gerdi bug cruncherss! While we had nothing but your disgusting fukkin cakin!”

  Chloe looked slightly green.

  “I promise you, that was a mistake. We would never have touched your, uh, food if we could have seen it…and known it was for someone else,” she added quickly.

  The Raz-put made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a hiss—clearly it didn’t believe her. Tark was ready to step forward protectively if it threatened Chloe but it simply turned away.

  “Enjoy your Onenesss,” it threw over one scaly shoulder. “I’m told you have to work hard to achieve it in this classs.”

  It made a rude hand gesture with the dorsal arm hanging from between its shoulder blades as it slipped into the Cavern of Precious Treasures and was gone.

  “I wonder what that means?” Chloe murmured, looking up at Tark.

  He shrugged but he had to admit the Raz-put’s words made him uneasy. What exactly would they have to do in this class? Their hope was that he could spot the jewel and they could sneak off with it before it even started. But what if they couldn’t?

  He would be more than happy to taste Chloe again but he didn’t want to push her boundaries too far by doing something to her that she wasn’t comfortable with. He would have to be careful with her and not go too far, he told himself.

  Very fucking careful.

  * * * * *

  Chloe wasn’t sure what the old monk had meant when he told them to find a “cubby” but when they walked into the Cavern of Precious Treasures, it became immediately apparent.

  The cavern was huge but it was filled with small room-like structures without roofs. The structures were made of stone and had high walls for privacy. Already some of the other couples—or threesomes in the case of the weird-looking Raz-puts—were going into the cubbies. Each had a door and once it was shut, a bright red light came on over it—maybe to indicate it was occupied, Chloe speculated.

  At the front of the cavern was a tall lectern with a podium where a lecturer-presumably Monk Aaroni—could stand and speak.

  Although how we’re going to hear him and see him if we’re all shut up in private stone rooms, I don’t know, Chloe thought skeptically.

  Beside her, Tark was scanning the ceiling and the walls of the large cavern eagerly. Clearly he was looking for the jewel.

  That’s right—that’s what we’re here to look for! Chloe reminded herself. Then something bright and twinkly inside one of the unoccupied cubbies caught her eye.

  “Tark,” she breathed, tugging him towards the cubby. “Come look—in here.”

  The moment they got inside the cubby, Chloe knew they had found what they were looking for. Embedded in the corner, where two of the walls met and just out of reach—well, out of her reach, anyway—was a huge, glittering diamond as big as her fist. At least, Chloe thought it was a diamond—it had what seemed to be thousands of facets which flashed rainbow light, even in the dimness of the shadowy stone cubby.

  “There,” she breathed, pointing at it. “There, Tark—that has to be it!”

  “Yes.” He nodded in agreement and his golden eyes glowed with excitement.

  Chloe bit her lip. “But…can you get it? It looks like it’s kind of embedded in the stone wall.”

  In answer, Tark reached out and took hold of the fist-sized diamond. He was using the hand with the metal glove on it, Chloe saw. His jaw clenched and she saw every muscle in his body strain—for a moment she was certain he would never get it free.

  Then, with a scraping sound, the huge jewel popped out and lay in the palm of his hand, glittering and perfect.

  “Ohhhh…” Chloe breathed, bending over his hand to get a closer look. She had been to the Smithsonian as a kid and had seen the Hope Diamond in its rotating case and had thought it was beautiful. But the jewel in Tark’s hand made it look like a flat, dull pebble in comparison. It was stunning.

  “Wow,” Chloe remarked at last, in a reverent whisper. “Imagine putting that in an engagement ring. You couldn’t even lift your hand.”

  “W-we have it. L-let’s go,” Tark growled softly. He closed his big hand around the glittering jewel, just barely managing to conceal it. But as they were turning to leave the cubby, a loud, echoing boom reverberated through the vast cavern.

  “What was that?”

  Chloe poked her head out and saw that the huge metal door was shut tight—the boom must have been the sound of it closing. And Monk Aaroni was headed their way.

  “Quick,” she hissed, ducking back inside. “Put it back—put it back! The door is closed and he’s coming towards us.”

  Tark did as she said but he was frowning.

  “I h-had thought we w-would just g-get the jewel and g-go,” he said in a low voice.

  “Well we can’t take it now—we’ll just have to do the class,” Chloe whispered. “We thought we might have to anyway.”

  “Yes…” But he looked worried. Chloe was kind of worried herself. What were they going to have to do? She looked around the tiny stone cubby for clues and what she saw wasn’t very reassuring—the only piece of furniture was a thick, clear mattress, over a meter high, that seemed to be filled with some kind of gel. She kicked it lightly with her foot and it jiggled like Jell-O.

  Great, they were stuck in an advanced sex class with a monk who had cloned himself multiple times and a mattress filled with Jell-O. Could things get any weirder?

  And then they did.

  “My children,” came the echoing voice of Monk Aaroni. “You will see me now, but you will not see each other.”

  Suddenly, the stone walls of the cubby went completely transparent. Chloe gasped as she found herself staring out into the Cavern of Precious Treasures. She couldn’t see
any of the other cubbies or their occupants—she could only see Monk Aaroni standing in front of the lectern and speaking.

  It might have been a trick of perspective but it seemed as though the ancient, wrinkled monk was staring right at her and Tark. Could he really see them or were the walls of their cubby like one-way glass, where they could see out but no one else could see in?

  “I can, of course, see you,” Aaroni said, as though in answer to her question. “It is necessary for me to judge your efforts and correct your technique. But rest assured if you are loving each other as you should, I will not cause your gellas to take a hand in your love-making.”

  Uh…gellas? Love making? Chloe was beginning to get a nervous, squirmy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t help remembering how big Tark’s shaft was…and then there was that extra ridge of flesh at the bottom, the part that was somehow supposed to go in too, and then tie you together for hours and hours…It was a really scary thought.

  She felt close to the big Kindred—incredibly close. In fact, she might be well on the way to loving him, she admitted to herself. But she wasn’t ready to take that huge thing inside her yet. He would tear her in two if he tried to put it in! The very thought was enough to scare her to death.

  “Ch-Chloe? Are you all r-right?” Tark murmured in her ear. “You’re so p-p-pale.”

  “Me? Oh, I’m fine.” She tried to laugh but then she noticed that the hem and edging of her robe-dress had turned black, calling out her lie.

  Tark looked at the evidence of her untruth pointedly and frowned.

  “N-no you’re not.”

  “I’m scared, okay?” Chloe whispered back. “You…you’re amazing Tark. So sweet and kind and incredibly hot but you’re also really, really big. Uh…down there, I mean.” She pointed to his crotch and bit her lip. “I haven’t even been with a guy in over a year. Hell, it’s closer to two years to be honest. I’m practically a virgin all over again and I, well…I just don’t know if I could handle you.”

  “Chloe, I—” he began but she wasn’t done. The words were pouring out of her now in a rushed and frantic whisper but she couldn’t seem to stop them.