“You’re speaking English--”
“Yes, it is a simple language to learn,” Commander Voor said.
“I thought maybe Gehenna was letting me understand you, but… you talked to the guard so… ah! My head!” Jace put his hands to his head.
Everything grew dark for a moment, but then came back into focus. Commander Voor’s face filled his vision. The alien’s furrowed brow and frown told Jace that he was going to get Jace “help” and that would put an end to him getting to Gehenna, who was the only thing he needed.
“Gehenna is here. On the base. I can--can feel her,” Jace told him. “I need to get to her. She can… uhm, fix this.”
He gestured to the blood that still dripped from his nose before dabbing it with the gauze.
“You are very certain of this.” It was a statement and not a question.
Jace began to nod, but the corkscrewing pain in his neck stopped him. “Yes, I know it to be true. I have to get to her, but I can’t--can’t do it myself.”
“And you want my help?” Commander Voor’s voice was soft. “Even though it is likely against your military’s rules and your parents’ wishes?”
“Because it is. My parents care for me. They can’t think logically about this,” Jace told him.
Commander Voor nodded. “That is true. They are ruled by their Xi for you are their only child.”
“Yeah, exactly. But you--you want to know what’s going on and Gehenna knows that,” Jace guessed. It wasn’t that big of a leap considering what Khoth had said to his father. “So… will you help me?”
Commander Voor was silent. His gaze was distant. He was clearly weighing the risks versus the rewards. Finally, he focused on Jace’s face. “I will help you.”
“Great. Okay, we need a wheelchair and--oh! Hey!” Jace cried out.
Commander Voor had lifted Jace up in his arms as if Jace weighed nothing at all. “Carrying you is faster. Tell me where this Gehenna is and I will take you there.”
Escape
It was strange to be so close to a human. Jace weighed practically nothing in Khoth’s arms. He was very slender and had delicate but masculine features. His hair was the color of a Haseon sunrise. Jace’s lips were full and sensual, indicating a passionate nature, though they were pressed together now in a grimace as he fought back pain.
Jace’s gray eyes were also filled with silent suffering, but a kind of wonder, too, as he gazed up at Khoth’s face as if memorizing his features. To be so scrutinized was strange as well. The humans Khoth had met so far had tried to act as if he were no different than them. But Jace did not hide what looked to be a sense of wonder.
Khoth would have liked to have scrutinized the young male human with as much openness as Jace did him, but it filled Khoth with uneasiness somehow to gaze into eyes the color of storms. He did not know why. Perhaps it was because humans were so filled with Xi and always seemingly in an unbalanced state that it naturally affected those who weren’t. As it was, he had to drag his gaze away from Jace’s face.
“Can I… Can I touch your face?” Jace asked.
Khoth frowned. “Why?”
Color rose on the human’s cheeks and his eyes immediately became downcast. “Because I’ve never… ah, seen someone like you. Oh, forget it. It was a stupid idea anyways. Probably rude and against the rule book of dealing with another species.”
“I believe your species has developed some kind of code of conduct with Alliance personnel, but as I have not seen it, I cannot say if you have violated it,” Khoth told him.
Jace looked up at him through dark eyelashes. “But did I offend you by asking?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s good,” Jace answered with a weak smile. “Sorry, it's just you’re so much like I imagined an alien would be and nothing at all. The blue skin is really… interesting. And--and beautiful! I don’t mean interesting in a bad way.”
“So your desire to touch me is for scientific inquiry?” Khoth asked as he adjusted Jace in his arms so he was cradling the human and allowing for Jace to rest his head against Khoth’s shoulder.
“Scientific--uhm, sure?” Jace sounded like he was asking a question. “I’m just curious really. I don’t need to touch you. I just… wanted to. Want to.
“Then you may. But tell me where I should go once we leave this room,” Khoth stated simply.
“Right. Okay. You’re going to want to take a left and head down the hall,” Jace told him as his right hand hesitantly rose and his fingertips lightly down Khoth’s left cheek. “Wow, your skin is so smooth. Why is that? And these beads in your hair, what do they mean? And the tattoo--”
