The Tale of the Blood Diamond (29 page)

“I…killed more of them today, and I felt nothing. Nothing at all, just like before. One of them was just standing there...”

“Mmmm hmmm, and where did you see it?” Xzion continued to glare at the ceiling.

“He was loitering around the station, of all places. I have no idea how long he’d been there. Initially, I didn’t know it was a Yuledrake. It’s hard to tell.” She paused, then he heard her approaching him, her soft steps along the carpet barely audible.  He surmised she’d already rid her body of her heavy boots and in their place were her toasty brown feet, carrying her right towards him…and there was nowhere else he wanted her to be.

“I’d just released Rizya.”

“From the jail?” He tossed a glance her way, causing her to stop in her tracks. Then he strained and turned away, glaring at the morning sun as it broke the sky wide open. Streaks of pale yellow ran along the pastel blue like a cracked egg, sunny side up.

“I was walking him out, trying to not bring too much attention to myself.”

Xzion nodded, focused back on the ceiling.

“All of a sudden, Rizya went ballistic. His English wasn’t the best, and I couldn’t get him to settle down, no matter what I said. His handcuffed wrists twisted and he struggled. I was certain he was going to break free and bolt.”

“…And he could have, but he was following orders. All of them knew in advance that should they be arrested, they must not fight with any of the human police officers, especially in public
.
We’d take care of it later. Continue on.”

“I followed his eyes and before anything could be said, I did as I was trained, and shot the stranger. I just blew his ass away, Xzion.” He felt her weight compress the bed as she slid close to him. The cinnamon sweet scent of her familiar fragrance filled his nostrils.

He ran his hand along her lower back. “And how do you feel about that? About the fact that you didn’t feel anything when you shot and killed that Yuledrake and all the ones before?”

“That’s just the thing.” She shrugged. “It’s like, I’ve always been this way, Xzion, but it’s worse now. What kind of person can take another person’s life and not care?”

“Me,” he teased, though he was mostly serious.

“Okay, excluding you, most people I’d think would have an issue with it. Now sure, it wasn’t a real person, but he was still a life form and these things are trying to massacre us and enslave the remainder. Yet, even before all of this, I never had that problem. I didn’t understand what people were talking about when they said killing gets easier and easier once you keep at it. No, all my kills feel the same, ya know? I’ve never cared as long as I knew for certain I’d killed a bad person, or in this case, a bad entity. I go to sleep just fine about it. No nightmares or lost appetite, nothing.”

“So basically, my original statement stands. You’re saying you’re like me? Why is that so bad?” He grinned. He knew she was smiling too, but he didn’t look at her to confirm it.

“I just still can’t believe all of this is happening…”

She sighed and lay across his chest as he continued to caress her. He kissed the top of her head, enjoying the moment. Nothing felt better than her warm body against his tired frame.

“Where is Rizya?” he asked.

“In the party warehouse with some of the others. He is getting a couple hours sleep before he goes back out.”

Xzion nodded.

“So, now what?” Jayme ran her finger down the side of his neck.

“We wait, baby…we just wait.”

“But that’s the worse part,” she said softly, gripping his half-unbuttoned black cotton shirt in her palm.

“It is, but waiting is important right now. It’s part of the process. You know I have problems with patience too, Jayme. It’s not easy for me, but in this instance, it can work for us.” He gently stroked her soft hair. “When someone believes you are waiting on them, they feel they have all the power at that moment.” His voice came out gravelly, itchy and dry in his throat. He realized it was just his body settling comfortably against the woman he desired above all else. His muscles were relaxing at last, and his system was gently shutting down. “Whoever controls time controls the mind. As in chess, we made the last move; now we wait for our opponent to take his turn. In that patience, he will either somehow outwit us, or his error will be our gateway to victory.”

Jayme was quiet for a spell. “Yeah, but our lives aren’t a game, Xzion.”

“You’re right, they’re not, but for someone that thinks otherwise, you have to get into their frame of mind — see us how
they
view us. Then, you’ve already won half the battle once you understand the methods and mentality of your opponent. You know, love is kind of the same way.”

She gave a light laugh.

“Yes, I could see that. Interesting comparison, especially coming from you.”

“I’m a witness of this, first hand. When I first saw you, I was, as they say, infatuated with you. That infatuation turned into an obsession. I wasn’t sure why, all I knew was that I had to see you, and I was feeling things for you I didn’t understand.” He paused and cleared his throat. He was drifting into uncomfortable territory, that of expressing himself. He knew she needed it though, now more than ever, so he pushed himself forward. “Deep inside of me, I craved love. I just didn’t know it. It took a special person to bring that forth, to unlock that gate inside of me. Once we began to get to know one another, I realized, I had to understand you in order for you to love me the same way I loved you. Without trust and respect, which is built on acceptance and understanding, there is nothing.”

He ran his hand over his hair and took a deep breath before continuing. He found it intriguing how she didn’t interrupt him, not even once. He soon realized why — just as he suspected, she truly needed to hear this, and she would not clog the communication with comments. The way her body swam against his, the way her eyelashes fluttered against his partially exposed flesh and her small fingertips glided up and down his body…he had all the response from her that he needed.

“So, I tried hard to make you happy, so that you’d understand me and I could understand
you
. I knew I had a slim chance of getting my wish, especially if you found out the truth about what I
really
was…” He choked on the sentence. He’d never been ashamed to be a Zarkstormian or admit that he was, ever; but he’d never forget the look on Jayme’s face when she’d broken into his private lab. He didn’t have a chance to explain and even if he’d tried, at that moment, she simply wouldn’t have comprehended. The memory hurt, as if the tip was sharp and burrowing into his brain. He shook the emotional strain away, and continued on.

“And then, I found out you were pregnant with my child…and, I knew, some way, somehow, he was proof of our love for one another. We created him because…because we loved one another, and we expressed that through intimacy, thus, the seemingly impossible occurred. We created life. Our son was conceived. Zachary was proof that I hadn’t dreamt the whole thing up as I raced around looking for you upon my return.”

“I loved you way before that, Xzion. I left because I was afraid. You know that.  Regardless, I meant everything I said to you during that time.” Her voice was soft and soothing.

He nodded, kissed her forehead and ran his palm down the side of her face.

“I believe I understand now. I was thinking about what you told me yesterday before we met up at the pub.”

“You yelled at me when I told you what I had done.” He smirked.

She chuckled lightly against him, causing his chest to vibrate from her shallow mirth.

“I did, but I understood it. It makes sense. No one else would’ve known that but you. I get it. I’m not mad anymore.” She swallowed. “It’s part of the strategy. You and I worked together so diligently to get those FBI agents off my back, so we could be together and I could be free, and our child safe. Whether you found me by coincidence, which I don’t even believe… Hell, I don’t know, but we fought together, side by side in front of the pub. That’s how I always envisioned us, Xzion. I wanted to work together on this with you, too. I just want us to be a team.”

He swallowed and looked down at her as he clutched her a bit tighter.

“We are. And that’s why I confessed. As far as the pub incident, that we’ve yet to really discuss, I honestly just happened to be in close proximity. I couldn’t believe you were surrounded like that, and I panicked. I was afraid they’d ambush you, since that is what they do. I doubt they even knew who you were; if they did, things may have gotten far more aggressive. Regardless, you handled yourself well and I am so proud of you, baby. I just had to tell you that again.” He squeezed her a bit tighter to his body. “And like I said, we
are
a team, honey.”

“A team, but someone has to be the leader I suppose.” She scratched her nose and closed her eyes, falling into an even rest against him. “It is kind of like I teach my officers. It’s the strategy that matters. How we approach a suspect is more important, most times than not, than what we actually say.”

“That’s exactly right, Jayme. It is in the approach. Every target has to be treated special, as if they are your first and last.  Strategy is for masters…and you’re a master, baby.”

“I’m not, but I try my best.” She swallowed and turned in his grip, looking up into his eyes. “The resilient and patient player wins. The one in a hurry to the finish line to show off and gain their treasures as fast as possible only lives for today, and they end up with no tomorrow and little of nothing to show for it.”

She was speaking to him, as if she were trying to figure it out for herself as well, wading through the muck to get to the core of the issue at hand. All he could see in her eyes was her ache for their child, her need for victory and to survive this underground war the world was clueless about—and more than likely would remain so. He imagined she thought how in this crazy place called Earth, she was in love and married to an alien, sometimes a cold-hearted Warrior. He came from a strange place, twice the size of Earth with less than a quarter of the inhabitants, a planet called Zarkstorm. Regardless, she taught him all he knew about being warm, about being alive, about love…

“Jayme, that’s right…and at the end of the process, it is quality over quantity. Jatorn wants your world’s diamonds, and he wants to control you. But now, the prize is even bigger to him. He wants to destroy me, too. He wants to hurt everyone because that is just who he is. He won’t win, I promise you that. I will die fighting him if I have to…and to believe this all began over diamonds.” He chortled, though he felt beyond disgusted.

“Diamonds? Smoking diamonds like crack.” She laughed sadly and chewed on her short, glossy nail. “Not all that glitters is gold…”

“Not all that shines is diamonds…”

“Not all love is like ours…” She grinned mischievously as she circled his chin with her index finger.

“We’ve got a love like no other. I love you and our son so much, Jayme.”

He ushered her higher onto his body, and before he could land his kiss, her lips pressed heartily into his own as she held his head in place, clutching his head to hers, never letting go. Her grip tight and demanding, she was hungry for the embrace, for his touch, his love. He relaxed, allowing her to take the lead and feed herself what she so desired. Anything he had was hers, so he opened himself further to her, sensing she needed to feel him in more ways than one.

While she kissed him hard and rough, she tugged at his zipper and with one slew maneuver of her fingers, she reached down into his boxer shorts and grabbed his cock in her warm palm.

“Ahhhh….” He sighed, loosening the lip lock as she tightened her grip on his dick. It took no time for him to be worked into his full, lengthy glory. He looked between their slightly parted bodies and watched as she devoured half the damn thing; the quaking head, knobby veins and twists along his length disappeared into her gorgeous mouth. He pumped his hips in response, and gently grabbed the back of her hair, coaxing himself in and out of her wet oral sweetness.

“Ahhh, Jayme…” Falling back to the bed, his eyes rolling, he let her take him away to heaven. He hoped no one interrupted with dire news; he hoped he could just have this moment with her, complete it, and relish in the afterthoughts. As her need grew, so did her sucking. Harder and harder… his knees drawn up, he clutched the sheets with both fists and gritted his teeth as he lost his mind. He wanted to feel her so badly. He had no idea they’d get to make love again so soon, with all of the tension and everything going terribly wrong. But not only could he have her; he was experiencing her in a way that was new to him. Jayme was not typically aggressive in bed.

She was borderline violent with offenders at work. Her personality was as ‘in your face’ as one could get and still teeter over that line of decorum. She was stern and strict with people who repeatedly tested the limits, but still, she did it with love and concern. This was one of the many things he admired about the woman. Her ways at times perplexed him and in that, he found that she, too, could be his teacher. During their intimate moments, however, she was an entirely different person more times than not. She became his feminine feather — a tickle of a sweetheart, flirting about, allowing him to dominate her at will. That was his way, he needed that — he desired to be the one to mount and regulate, to orchestrate the entire thing but to do so non-selfishly with her pleasure always in mind. Now, the tables were turned .The woman was angry. She was a mother who’d lost her child. It didn’t matter much that it was voluntarily or not, or somewhere in the middle.