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  First up she met Aylmer, Irena’s father. What a peculiar man. It soon became apparent he refused to believe his daughter was dead. His suspicions were more forthright. He kept hinting she’d taken over Irena’s body or mind or something. It was eerie. He looked too much like the President of the United States too, which made it even weirder.

  "I can assure you our technology on Earth hasn’t reached the stage yet where we can transform ourselves into another," she had to tell him in the end, not sure if he really believed her or not. Never had she been so glad to get out of someone’s company.

  Lilius watched her closely too, as if waiting for her to make a slip and expose herself. Still, when compared to what a reception Amaryllisans would get on Earth, she had to admit they had grounds for suspicions. If the positions were reversed, Melanie had no doubt by now the aliens would be subjected to all sorts of tests and examinations. But of course they would be invisible on Earth, so it didn’t come into calculations. Earth scientists wouldn’t be able to examine what they couldn’t see. How many alien craft had landed on Earth over the centuries and been undetected?

  ~ * ~

  "Thank you for taking me," Melanie said, when the tour was over. "It was really interesting to see how your crops are cultivated and your food and rations are allocated." It had been more than interesting. It had been a revelation. "No one starves or goes short of food here, do they?" What an incredible state of affairs. Everyone was of equal status and with no money or likewise to barter with the need for competition was ruled out.

  "What would be the point? Do your people lack proper sustenance on Earth?" Lilius asked as if in amazement.

  "Some do, yes." Melanie wasn’t about to disclose just how many people on Earth went without a decent meal sometimes for weeks on end. Or how some died of malnutrition and starvation.

  These people were certainly very civilized and had it all worked out. If only they didn’t seem to be sanitized and without too much emotion, except for Aylmer, who was odd, and Alexia, who was certainly jealous of Melanie. It was clear the woman saw herself as next in line in Reve’s life, and on more than once occasion Melanie had caught her looking at her with undisguised loathing.

  ~ * ~

  Glad to see the back of Alexia, Melanie breathed a sigh when Alexia and Bettrys left. With a glass of juice in her hand, she sat in Reve’s home and contemplated her future. What would happen when she returned to Earth? How would she get on, living in a world without friends, without Chris?

  Without Reve? It didn’t bear thinking about.

  "You do not have to endure a life without me," her lover’s voice drawled. "You can stay here and make a life for yourself with my people."

  Melanie shot out of her seat and placed the glass aside when she threatened to drop it. Reve stood just inside the door, his stance wary.

  "My God! I wish you wouldn’t do that." Melanie pushed her hair back as her face heated. "Are you sure you aren’t half cat as well as part fish? I’ve never known anyone who could move so soundlessly. And you’re poking your nose into my head again."

  "I rather thought I was reading your thoughts, not using my sense of smell at all." He strolled over and put his hand on her shoulder and smiled as he rubbed noses with her until her eyes crossed. Melanie gulped, loving the playful action. How he’d changed within such a short space of time. It was almost incredible to believe someone could alter to such an extent. God! Could this be an act?

  "I am what you see," he said, as if that cleared it all up satisfactorily.

  "I doubt it, Reve. We’ve already established you are totally different to the image I see when I look at you. I wish I could see the real you beneath the camouflage."

  "All in good time. And I was talking of character, not looks. How did you enjoy your trip to dietary planning office?" With his hands on her waist he gave her a little shake. "And what of your meeting with Lilius and Aylmer? It went well?"

  "I’m surprised you need to ask," she said tartly. "Just probe my mind and all will reveal itself." Rather than look into his probing eyes, she glanced over his shoulder. "And as for staying here, I couldn’t possibly. Anyway." She shrugged. "If I did, Alexia would probably do me in. She sees herself as Irena’s successor you know, Reve."

  "I care not what she sees for herself." He lifted his huge shoulders in an indolent movement that spoke volumes. "The woman has too much arrogance and not enough charm. Besides, do you really think her opinion would sway me? I care not for women who like to manipulate."

  "She manipulates all right." Melanie caught the inside of her lip in her teeth. "The woman hates the sight of me."

  Reve sat on the couch and pulled her down beside him, so close their thighs touched. "It is because she sees how I desire you." He ran his thumb over her knuckle and caused her skin to quiver with awareness. His eyes grew dark and molten.

  "You only desire me because I’m unusual. You’re like most men back on Earth. It seems males are the same the universe over. They like what is unique. You’ll grow tired of me once the novelty wears off, believe me." What a gross thought. He’d become like a drug, one she could perish without if she didn’t get her daily dose.

  "You think so? You do not have a high opinion of my integrity, Mel-aanie." Getting up, he went to the staircase and halfway up, he turned. "I wish to refresh myself. How would you like to join me in the cleansing chamber? Perhaps I can convince you I will not soon tire of you, Mel-aanie Ross."

  The wicked smile he was learning to cultivate curved his mouth and she was lost. She followed him up the stairs like a lamb off to play with the wolf.

  Fourteen

  Melanie was getting to like it on Amaryllis far too much. After four days spent here she was getting too used to having an attractive, attentive lover, attuned to her every need.

  Of course, Melanie wasn’t so stupid she didn’t realize the chief attraction was a man who satisfied her every desire, sated her every sensuous need, and left her feeling as if she’d never lived until she’d come into his orbit.

  But was it all a fantasy? Some surreal world created by an ingenuous mind to keep her trapped in the web of ecstasy he continually wrapped her in?

  Melanie sighed. No use worrying over it. Once she got back to Earth--not an attractive prospect when put side by side with this dreamlike existence she was living at the moment--all this would have to be put into perspective. At times she felt as if she was living in a cocoon, where pleasure ruled.

  A small beep signaled someone was outside wishing to enter. Melanie got rid of the plate and glass she’d been using through the commodities supplier and walked over to press the button to open the door.

  Alexia stood there. Melanie fixed a smile on her face, which the other woman must have known was false. Alexia was the only Amaryllisan she couldn’t abide. Was the only one, in fact, who showed her blatant hostility. Most still showed mild curiosity, some even nodded to her now when she was with Reve.

  "What can I do for you, Alexia?" Melanie did nothing to disguise her animosity. It would be pointless, when the woman could read almost every thought in her head. If only she could learn to do the same. Reve was the only one whose thoughts she was beginning to decipher, but still only when he gave her access to his convoluted mind. There were still times, almost always in fact, when she met a blank wall if she tried to find out what he thought.

  "I am here to take you to Reve," Alexia said.

  Melanie frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

  Alexia wandered about the room like a sniffer dog and glanced in every direction, as if expecting to find something that shouldn’t be there. "He is involved with one of the inspectors at the main mine site," she said, as she came back to stand in front of Melanie.

  "Reve asked you…? Melanie eyed her with suspicion. "Why would he ask you? He only has to get onto the intercommunicater." She looked at the screen, which was blank. Reve had appeared there once or twice when he’d been unable to get back as soon as he’d promised. "I don’t understan
d."

  Alexia stared at her blankly. "Ask him when you see him." Once again she wandered off. Alexia was also the only Amaryllisan who came close to being a fidget. All the others were so sedate and calm. "He said you do not like traveling in confined spaces, so asked if I would be good enough to accompany you. This is all I know."

  Melanie looked hard at the woman. "But why does he want me to join him?" It seemed fishy. He hadn’t mentioned he might expect this when he’d left her earlier. But then he always seemed to have other things on his mind when they were together. Her cheeks heated at the thought of those other things. "This is most puzzling."

  Alexia gave her a probing look as she came back to stand near her again, and Melanie tried to clear her mind of the erotic pictures blooming there. "You are very suspicious, Earth woman. What is it you fear? I am only taking you to meet Reve. He asked me. If you do not wish to go…"

  "No, it’s not that…" Melanie rubbed her hands together. What was there to fear? Alexia was right. She was being silly. It was just that she’d seldom gone out in the past few days, and only with Bettrys if not Reve. She was growing far too dependent on him. Making up her mind, she walked to the door. "Come on then. Let’s go."

  Alexia allowed a small cat-like smile to curve her mouth. Melanie shook her head. The woman looked so much like a drama queen who’d been on TV recently. Would she ever get used to seeing soapie and movie star look-alikes? And would Reve ever let her see these people and him as they really were?

  By now she was so enamored of him she doubted he could repulse her, even if she found he had three eyes, no nose, and an extra mouth.

  Now there was something to ponder. She chuckled as she followed Alexia out. His one mouth was enough for any woman to cope with.

  ~ * ~

  Where the hell was she? Melanie grimaced, swallowing an awful taste. Her mouth felt as if she’d taken a drink of sour milk. She pressed her fingers to her closed eyelids as she tried to work out in her fuzzy brain just what had happened.

  Then a vague memory surfaced. Right, she’d been in a hovercraft skimming across towards Tepiri. Alexia had assured her Reve was waiting there, which had puzzled her more than him sending Alexia to fetch her.

  Alexia! Where was the woman?

  Melanie slowly opened her eyes. They felt as if someone had thrown sand at her face and she blinked a few times to clear them. Then a scream bubbled up from her throat. It was as black as hell.

  God! She was blind!

  No. Be sensible, Melanie, she chided, trying to keep a level head when what she really wanted was let the panic free. Breathing deeply a few times, she tried to work out where she was.

  This must be a darkened room. How the hell had she got here though? Right, Alexia had brought her. The realization hit her as surely as the fear engulfing her when she reached out her hand and touched a slimy surface. Pulling back sharply, she stifled another scream. What had possessed her to trust that creature?

  "Alexia!" Her shout echoed about inside her head, and about the walls, and proved she was in a large space, a cavern. This thought only bought a smidgen of respite from the panic, for she hated the dark almost as much as she hated to be enclosed and confined in small areas. The two combined made her feel faint with terror.

  Why hadn’t she used a bit of common sense and gone along with her instincts? She’d distrusted the bitch from the first. The Amaryllisan tramp had dropped her down a hole. Or locked her up in this pitch-black prison.

  "Reve," she whispered, her hand at her throat. At least she wasn’t bound or trussed up in any way, a small bonus.

  Fighting to quell the nausea threatening to overwhelm her, Melanie tried to remember what had happened after she’d got into the watercraft. They’d been the only two on the craft. Alexia pointed to a sea creature swimming nearby. It resembled a giant turtle with stripes across its broad back. In fascination Melanie put her nose to the window.

  Something had then pressed on her nape as if a cold compress had been placed there. Some sort of drug. Whatever it was it must have knocked her out cold. But how would Alexia have moved her off the craft? If she’d been a dead weight, Alexia would have had to carry Melanie and surely this would have evoked someone’s suspicions. But would they offer help? No one up here trusted her enough to involve themselves in her problems.

  God! Surely Reve would look for her. Deep down he had no conception of love. Knew only about desire and the senses. But he would not let her just vanish without a trace. No, he would find her. She had to believe this or go mad. She was well on the way to going crazy anyway by just being in this cold dark hole.

  A strange slithery noise made her jump. She sat up straight with a jerk. Wherever she was it was probable she was locked in. But where?

  A small scream burst from her when a throbbing, like the thump of a distant pile driver, began. It seemed to be coming from below, from beneath the ground. Melanie whimpered, as the air about her seemed to vibrate with the continual thump, thump, sending those vibrations right through her. Some sort of heavy machinery was drilling.

  The mine. It hit her like a sledgehammer in the gut. She was down the mine. No! Alexia must have thrown her down a mineshaft. But why? The question soon answered itself. Alexia wanted Melanie out of the way so she could get her hands on Reve. So, the Amaryllisans, or at least one of them, shared the Earth people’s emotion of jealousy.

  A greater fear now wound itself about her innards, far outweighing her terror of the dark and enclosed space.

  The sluns.

  Reve had told her the miners were forced to wear protective clothing as the bug the sluns carried could penetrate the skin. It was fatal to Amaryllisans, so what would it do to an Earth person?

  "Help me. Reve, please help me," she moaned, now too terrified to move for fear of coming up against one of the creatures. She had no idea of their size, or whether they walked, slithered, or hopped--had not felt the need to know when Reve told her about them. If only she’d gone into it more and asked what they actually did. At least then she’d know what she was up against.

  God, how was she to escape from something she didn’t even know how to evade? If she started to inch her way in any direction it was likely she would come up against one of the things. With a sob of hopelessness she sat with her legs bent, her hands clasped about them, her face pressed on her knees. Please don’t let it end this way. She moaned the prayer, over and over.

  ~ * ~

  "Mel-aanie?" Reve entered his home and knew instantly it was empty. Not only empty, but bereft.

  The woman who filled his every waking thought and most of his sleeping ones too, was not here. He searched with his mind and knew Mel-aanie was nowhere nearby.

  Where could she have gone? After going to the screen, he pressed the code for Bettrys’ quarters.

  "Yes, commander?" she answered immediately.

  "Where is Mel-aanie? Have you been escorting her this day?" he barked. Her face on the screen showed her surprise.

  "No. I have not been asked to attend on her."

  "Then where is she, and who is she with?" Melanie would not venture out alone. She was not comfortable enough with her surroundings yet to dare to do so.

  Bettrys looked confused. "The Earth woman was seen with Alexia, commander, boarding a craft. The robot at the port asked their destination and was told they were going to Mount Tolus. I was informed, but presumed you ordered it, so took no further notice."

  "Tolus? Why would they be going there?" Reve punched his fist into his other palm.

  "I have no idea, commander. Alexia has authority over me, I have no right to query her actions." Reve could hear the dislike for Alexia in her tone. "The Earth woman seemed to be with her of her own free will."

  "By the great Bodka!" Reve muttered a few curses. "What is Alexia up to?"

  Without another word he disconnected and strode to the door. Why would Alexia take Mel-aanie to the mountain? He had picked up her intense dislike and jealousy of the Earth woman inst
antly. The hatred in her thoughts had been blatant. She reckoned on becoming his partner when Irena failed to return. But he had never held any regard or desire for her, and made his intentions and feelings clear.

  And since knowing Mel-aanie he had not the slightest urge to seek out any other mate.

  It hit him with the force of a blow to his mid section. The feelings he held for the woman from Earth bordered on obsession. Could this be the emotion she was always thinking about when they were together? Love. A totally unknown emotion to Amaryllisans. Until now.

  His fear drove him on. Fear, and anger at Alexia. With haste he boarded a craft and made his way to Tolus. Why had she chosen the smaller mountain? Obviously because it was less populated than Tepiri.

  "Mel-aanie?" He began to call, to search out her whereabouts with his senses. Alexia must be going insane to think he would just leave his woman to perish.

  A faint sound came into his mind. Mel-aanie called for him. Reve heaved a sigh. "Soon I will be with you," he assured her. "I am on my way. Are you all right?" He got no answering response, so kept repeating her name.

  ~ * ~

  It seemed to take an eternity to reach the mountain’s docking platform, but was in fact no time at all. "Did an Amaryllisan female come through the terminal with the Earth woman?" he asked the robot on duty.

  "Yes, the Earth person was under a demoralizing trance. She gave no response to my query as to her duties on Tolus. The Amaryllisan said they were going to await you at the mine-head. I questioned the Earth woman’s intentions with main control and was told she had no inhibitors placed on her, so allowed her access."

  Reve was already striding away. Jumping aboard a ski, he set it to full speed and in a short time reached the mine-head. The second period workers, all wearing their protective suits, were just going on duty as he entered the building. The robots waited alongside for the elevator to take them to the lower level.

  "Wait." Reve boarded the elevator with the first batch and they began the descent. "Who is the supervisor of this group?" As the elevator traveled, Reve pulled on one of the two protective suits he’d picked up.