Kiera's Moon

Chapter Two

Soon after confirming she was asleep, the two large men who had emptied the house of boxes returned for her. They ignored her studio and its contents. One placed a sleep patch on her ear to prevent her from waking and scooped her up while the other grabbed the last suitcase out of her bedroom. They left the row house for the park across the street, where a small spacecraft awaited them.

Settling Kiera on a grey slab bench, the first man straightened and motioned the other over.

“Not like our women,” he said as the other warrior joined him. “Very small.”

“Like a doll,” the second agreed. “Pretty for so small a creature.”

“You have no mate. Ask for her band.”

The second snorted and strode into the cockpit, followed by the first.

“She will mate with no one like us. Her sister is mated to the second son of our ruler. This one is too exquisite. She must be intended for Kisolm,” he replied.

“You brought all her belongings?”

“Everything, as Romas said, except the pictures. Not a noble pastime for one who will wed our next ruler,” the second said with a frown. “Only Anshan barbarians would use their hands to create pictures.”

“I think the pictures are too advanced for Anshan-kind,” the first said with a chuckle. “If they didn’t own the ore mines, they’d be using rocks to fight.”

The second chuckled as he ordered the computer to rendezvous with the massive grey spaceship awaiting them outside the planet’s atmosphere. The small woman’s soft snores filled the transport ship.

* * * * * 

Evelyn stood in the dark grey room of the spaceship with its cozy, dim lighting and the soft purr of hidden machines. She didn’t really care what the dark grey walls, floors, and ceilings were made of or why the floor felt like carpet and looked like gun metal. The room was vacant except for a metal slab that served as a bed and the six-legged, cat-like creature sitting on the edge of the bed watching its sleeping occupant.

She leaned against the wall, pensive. Her plan, while brilliant when plotted the past month, didn’t seem quite so wonderful right now. Kiera hadn’t wanted to come, even for the proposed week. Evelyn knew—and Romas assured her—Kiera would be fine. She could paint anywhere, and her life was otherwise so unfulfilling, Evelyn didn’t know how she could stand it. She wanted her friend to be happy, and Romas thought this was the best way. She had few instincts, unlike Kiera’s hyperactive intuition, but she felt a definite tingling. She had to bring Kiera with her. It was meant to be.

And then she ran into several of the cat-like creatures roaming the ship. They were furry and about knee-height full grown with similar triangular ears and a tail. The rest of their bodies were unlike cats. They had six legs with little pads for feet instead of toes and claws, a delicate snout not quite the length of an anteater’s lined with fine hairs and tiny teeth used to vacuum up mold, dust, and dirt that was its main food source, and an odd habit of climbing walls with hidden suckers in its padded feet. From what Romas said, every household on his planet had at least one or two of the critters to keep things clean.

One sat perched on Kiera’s bed, watching her sleep. Its legs were jointed outwards like a spider’s, and its ability to climb walls resembled that of a spider. It didn’t spin webs and looked more to Evelyn like a mutated cat, but the moment she recalled Kiera’s fear, she also realized that the cat-like creature would easily pass as a large spider.

Therein lies the rub, Evelyn contemplated. Kiera would freak when she saw the cats.

She grabbed the sitting creature. It twisted its odd little face to look at her and sniffed at her arm with its small trunk. It didn’t purr like a cat but growled. Turning away, she missed the movement behind her as another of the creatures appeared from beneath the bed. She tucked the creature in her hands under one arm and left the small room for a long corridor in similar dark grey which glowed more brightly from indistinguishable light sources. She trailed her fingers down a wall, smiling when she saw soft glimmers light up beneath her touch, trail her fingers a short distance, and blink out.