Close Obsession (34 page)

“So is that what happened to Leslie’s brother? I’m not sure I fully get it . . .”

“No, it works differently for humans. Your species gets addicted to the substance in our saliva, but any Krinar’s saliva would work. I don’t exactly know what happened to Leslie’s brother, but I can venture a guess. It sounds like he might’ve been involved in some of the early x-clubs –”

“X-clubs?”

“X-clubs, xeno-clubs – that’s your slang term for nightclubs where humans go to interact with our kind.”

Mia blinked. “I’ve never heard of this before. Is it like the websites where humans advertise to have sex with Ks?”

He looked vaguely amused. “Pretty much. The websites are usually for those who are just curious. Very few people posting there would consider actually going through with their fantasy. The ones who are serious about it go to x-clubs.”

“Really?” Mia was amazed that she’d never come across this before. “Where are these clubs located? Are there some in New York City?”

“No, they’re actually close to our Centers – we generally don’t like going to major cities. That’s probably why you don’t know about them. There are a few in Costa Rica, some in New Mexico and Arizona, some in Thailand and the Philippines . . .”

“And Ks actually go to these places?”

Korum nodded. “Some do, especially those who are otherwise reluctant to venture outside of the Centers. I’ve never gone myself, because I don’t have a problem spending time in human cities and towns. Many Krinar do, though; they can’t stand the crowds or the pollution, so the clubs are a convenient way for them to enter into sexual relations with humans.”

“So you think Leslie’s brother might’ve gone to an x-club?”

“It’s a likely possibility. In the last couple of years, these places have become more strictly regulated. Now a particular human is only allowed in twice a week, and the Krinar who go there are warned against sharing that human for the night. However, in the early days, everything was much more disorganized, and some humans got carried away. They would hook up with one or more Krinar per night and have their blood taken much too frequently.”

Mia wrinkled her nose, disturbed at the thought. When Korum took her blood, it was such a transcendent experience that she couldn’t imagine sharing it with anyone else. Of course, she couldn’t imagine having sex with anyone else either, so it probably wasn’t a fair comparison. “I see.”

“My guess is that Leslie’s brother became seriously addicted. Why he died, I have no idea. Perhaps he became violent and tried to force one of the Krinar women – that’s been known to happen and could be one reason why he would’ve been killed –”

“A human forcing a Krinar?”

“I didn’t say he would’ve succeeded. Our women are much weaker than Krinar men, but they are still stronger than humans. However, an attempt would’ve been sufficient to earn him a death sentence. No sane human would try such a thing, of course, but some of these addicts are not rational, particularly when they’ve been deprived for a while.”

Mia shuddered. The whole thing sounded awful. “Is there a cure?” she asked, trying to imagine how desperate those poor people must be.

“Not yet. As far as I know, it’s still in the experimental stages.”

“When did you learn about this? The addiction, I mean? Was it before or after you came here?”

“We’ve known about it for a few thousand years, but it wasn’t regarded as a real problem until we came here. It mostly happened with charl and their cheren, and it was considered to be part of the bond between the couple. And since those relationships were exceedingly rare, nobody really thought anything of it. Of course, now that we’re living among humans, it’s very different.”

“I see . . .” Mia looked out the window, trying to understand the implications. Something didn’t quite make sense to her, but she couldn’t place her finger on it right now.

And then it hit her.

Turning back to look at him, she frowned in puzzlement. “Korum, what would happen when the charl passed away? To the Krinar, I mean? If they were addicted to that specific human, how did they go on?”

For a second, Korum didn’t answer. Then he said softly, “The charl wouldn’t pass away, Mia.”

Stunned, Mia stared at him. “What do you mean?” she whispered, unsure if she had heard him right.

He was silent again, and she could see the tightening of the muscles in his jaw. All of a sudden, he swerved into the right lane and headed for the exit, disregarding the sound of screeching brakes and the outraged honking from the drivers he cut off. Startled, Mia gripped the door handle with her right hand, trying to hang on. A minute later, he pulled into the parking lot of Comfort Inn and put the car into “park” mode.

Turning to her, he said quietly, “We don’t let the humans we love die, my sweet. You, Maria, Delia – you’re all as close to immortal as a biological being can get. You won’t age, you won’t get sick, and any injuries you get – as long as they’re not beyond repair – will heal quickly, as they do for me.”

Chapter 23

For a few seconds, Mia could only gape at him in shock. Was this a joke? “B-but h-how?” she stammered. “I’m not Krinar –”

“No, you’re definitely not Krinar,” Korum agreed. “You’re human, just as you’ve always been.”

“So then how?” Mia could barely process what he was telling her. “How is this possible?”

“Have you noticed that you’ve been healing quicker? Maybe feeling better, more energetic?”

Mia nodded, her heart galloping in her chest.

“And you’ve never wondered how that’s possible? How your arm healed so quickly yesterday?”

“I thought you gave me something,” Mia whispered. “That pill yesterday . . .”

“The pill was a painkiller; it didn’t have the ability to heal you like that. For that, I would’ve needed specialized equipment similar to the devices I’ve used on you before. No, my darling, your arm mended so well because there are now millions of highly advanced and complex nanocytes in your body, and their sole function is to keep you healthy by repairing any damage – whether it’s on a cellular or DNA level.”

“What?” Dark spots swam in front of her vision, and she inhaled deeply, realizing that she’d stopped breathing for a second. “What do you mean? How would they have gotten into my body?”

“Ellet implanted them at my request the first night after you arrived in Lenkarda,” he explained, studying her with a watchful amber gaze. “I brought you to her lab, and she performed the procedure.”

Mia’s head was spinning, and she couldn’t seem to wrap her brain around what he’d just told her. “Y-you brought me to Ellet’s lab? While I was sleeping? You did this to me over t-two weeks ago?”

“Yes,” he said, his eyes slowly turning more golden. “I didn’t want to chance something happening to you by delaying it any further.”

She stared at him, utterly bewildered. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you ask me before you did it?”

“I couldn’t take a chance that you’d refuse,” he said simply. “You were still too angry, too resentful when I had first brought you there. And frankly, my darling, I was too angry with you – too hurt and angry to offer this to you at the time and have an entire discussion on this topic. Your betrayal wounded me, Mia. Logically, I understood why you did it, but it still hurt me more than anything anyone had ever done . . .”

Mia swallowed, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m sorry . . . I really am so sorry about that –”

“And later on,” Korum continued, his gaze holding hers, “after the procedure was done, I delayed telling you because I wanted to see how our relationship would develop, whether you would grow to feel as strongly about me as I felt about you . . .”

“You were testing me?”

He nodded. “In a way. I know how much immortality would mean to most humans. I wanted you to love
me
– and not just the long life I could give you. I was going to tell you when we came back to Lenkarda, but the topic kept coming up, and I didn’t want to lie to you.”

Her thoughts racing a mile a minute, Mia reached for the door, her hand scrambling to find the handle in the unfamiliar vehicle.

“What are you doing?” he asked sharply, his eyes narrowing.

“I . . . I need a minute,” she said tremulously, her arm shaking as she pushed open the door. She felt violated and invaded, and the realization that the man she loved had done that to her was making her sick. “I just need a minute –”

Before she could get out of the car, he was already there, looming over the passenger side. “Stop it, Mia. You’re not going anywhere.”

Feeling like she was hyperventilating, Mia scrambled out of the car, ignoring his order. She needed some distance between them right now, needed to find a way to come to terms with everything she’d just learned.

He grabbed her arm as she tried to slide past him. “Stop acting like this. You said you loved me – you even risked your life yesterday to save me – and you’re upset about the fact that we can be together long term?”

Mia frantically shook her head, trying to yank her arm away – a futile attempt, of course. “No, of course not!” She could hear the edge of hysteria in her own voice. “But you didn’t even ask me! How could you do something this big without asking me?”

“Do what?” His tone was ice-cold, and his expression hard. “Give you perfect health? A long life?”

Mia felt like her head would explode. “Implant something into my body! Perform a medical procedure on me without my knowledge or consent!”

“I gave you a gift, Mia.” His eyes were almost purely yellow at this point. “It’s not like I stole your kidney –”

“You stole my free will!” Mia was vaguely aware that she was yelling, but she didn’t care right now. Her vision was hazy with rage, and she could feel herself trembling with the force of her emotions. All the frustration of the past few weeks boiled to the surface. “You stole my ability to make any decisions in my life! Yes, I love you, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a possession. Don’t you understand, Korum? Don’t you realize how that makes me feel, knowing that you can do something like that to me?”

He stared at her, and she could see the muscle pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw. “I did what was best for you. I gave you immortality, Mia. Wasn’t that what you were worrying about? Our future together?”

“The future where I’m treated like a slave for centuries to come? The future where I don’t have any say over my own body, my own life? That kind of future?” Mia asked bitterly, too furious to think about what she was saying.

She heard him inhale sharply. “Get in the car, Mia,” he ordered, his voice low and cold. “You’re being irrational.”

“Or what?” she said defiantly. “You’re going to force me in? You’re going to make me?”

“If I have to. Now get in.”

Shaking with helpless anger, Mia got in and watched as he shut the passenger door and walked over to the driver’s side.

“We’re going back to the house,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot with the sound of squealing tires. “I don’t think a theme park is the best idea right now.”

* * *

The ride home passed in tense silence, with Mia looking out the window and Korum concentrating on driving. It took less than thirty minutes to make the drive back, with the speedometer pushing a hundred-and-thirty. Thankfully, they weren’t stopped by the police. Mia had a strong suspicion that any state trooper unfortunate enough to confront Korum in this mood wouldn’t have fared well.

As much as she’d wanted to have some time to herself, the silent drive accomplished nearly the same thing, giving her time to think. With her temper slowly cooling, the full implications of what he’d just told her dawned on her. He’d made her immortal – or at least as close to immortal as a biological being could get, she mentally corrected herself. She could still die if her body was damaged beyond repair, just as Korum could – but not from aging or disease, like the rest of humanity.

Did that mean that she would now live for thousands of years? She couldn’t begin to comprehend that length of time. She was only twenty-one now, and even thirty seemed far away. A thousand years? It was like something out of a fairy tale. Never aging, never getting sick . . . He was right; it was every human’s dream come true. It was
her
dream come true.

But the way he’d done it . . . Mia stared at her palms, where she still had tracking devices implanted from the time he’d shined her. Why had she been so surprised that he would do something else to her? He obviously regarded her as “his” – his charl, his to do with as he pleased. Yes, he’d given her an impossible, priceless gift, but he had also taken from her any semblance of an illusion about the true nature of their relationship. He wasn’t her boyfriend or her lover; he was her master. She didn’t have any say when it came to her own body, her own life, and he clearly saw nothing wrong with doing whatever he wanted to her.

For the past couple of weeks, she’d lived in a dream world, reveling in being with him, in the phenomenal opportunity he’d given her, in the way he’d interacted so well with her family . . . And all this time, she hadn’t known that he had fundamentally changed her, that she was no longer the same Mia she had always been.