Close Obsession

Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Three hours later, Mia was lying on the bed, completely absorbed in the story of the early evolution of the Krinar, when Korum walked into the bedroom.

“We’re going to dinner in twenty minutes,” he told her, “so you might want to get ready.”

Startled, Mia looked up at him. “To dinner where?”

“Arman is an acquaintance of mine,” Korum explained, sitting down on the bed next to her and placing his hand on her leg. “He invited us over to his house when I told him about you. He also has a charl, a Costa Rican girl who’s been with him for a couple of years now. She’s very eager to meet you.”

Mia grinned, suddenly very excited. “Oh, I’d love to meet her as well!” She couldn’t wait to talk to another girl in her situation and learn about Ks from the perspective of a human who also knew them intimately—and much longer.

Korum smiled back. “I figured you would. How’s your reading going so far?”

“It’s fascinating,” she told him earnestly. “I had no idea you had also evolved from an ape-like species.”

He nodded. “We did. There were many parallels in our evolution and yours, except there ultimately ended up being two different species on Krina: us and the lonar—that’s the primates I told you about before. We were bigger, stronger, faster, longer-lived, and much more intelligent than the lonar, but we were tied to them because we needed their blood to survive.”

Mia stared at him. She’d just learned all that as well, and she couldn’t get the images of the early Krinar out of her head. The book had gone into some very vivid descriptions of how the ancient Ks had hunted their prey, with each male Krinar staking out his territory around a small group of the lonar and fighting off the other Ks to preserve the blood supply for himself and his mate. Once inside a K’s “territory,” the lonar had very little chance of survival, as they would be constantly weakened by material blood loss and traumatized by the experience of being preyed upon. Ultimately, their numbers had dwindled, and the Krinar were forced to adapt, to learn new strategies of feeding.

At that point, the Krinar were still a primitive species, little more than hunters-gatherers. However, the rapid reduction in the lonar population meant that the Ks had to evolve beyond their territorial roots, to learn to collaborate with one another in order to preserve what remained of their critical blood supply. The next hundred thousand years were a time of rapid progress for the Krinar, marking the birth of science, technology, medicine, culture, and the arts. Instead of hunting the lonar, the Ks began to farm them, creating favorable conditions for them to live and reproduce and doing their best to feed only on those who were deemed to be past their prime reproductive age.

These efforts managed to temporarily arrest the decline in the lonar population, and the Krinar society began to prosper. Even with the low birth rate, their numbers began to grow as fewer Ks perished in violent fights to defend their territories. Innovation began to be highly valued, and the Ks invented space travel shortly thereafter. It was the first Golden Age in Krinar history, a time of tremendous scientific achievement and relatively peaceful coexistence among the different Krinar tribes and regions.

“I just got to the point where the plague began,” Mia told him. It was apparently the event that ended the first Golden Age, nearly wiping out the entire lonar population and plunging the Krinar society into panic and bloody turmoil.

Korum smiled. “You’re making good progress on our history then. What do you think so far?”

“I think it’s very interesting,” Mia answered honestly. It was also a little scary, how savage they had been in the past, but she didn’t want to tell him that. She tried to picture Korum as one of the Krinar primitives, hunting down his prey, and it was a surprisingly easy feat, requiring very little imagination on her part. She could see many of the predatory characteristics still present in his species, from the sinuous way they moved to the territorial traits she’d seen Korum display in regard to her.

“You can continue later,” he said, absentmindedly stroking her thigh. As usual, his touch sent a shiver of pleasure through her body. “We shouldn’t be late to dinner—it’s considered highly insulting to the host.”

“Of course,” Mia said, getting up immediately. The last thing she wanted was to offend someone. “Should I dress up somehow?” She was lounging in the jeans and T-shirt that she’d been wearing when she arrived in Lenkarda yesterday. Somehow, the house had already managed to clean them because she’d found them fresh and folded on the dresser in the bedroom.

Korum was apparently two steps ahead of her because he was already opening the door to the walk-in closet. “I created a wardrobe for you,” he explained, “so you don’t have to rely on me for every outfit. Here, let me show you.”

Curious, Mia walked over to take a look, and her jaw nearly dropped. The closet was filled with beautiful light-colored dresses, shoes ranging from barely-there sandals to soft-looking boots, and various accessories. “You made all of this?”

Korum nodded. “I had Leeta send me all of her fashion designs. Aside from working in my company, she dabbles with clothing creation.”

Leeta was Korum’s distant cousin, and Mia had briefly met her a few times back in New York. She wasn’t the warmest and friendliest individual, in Mia’s opinion, but her clothing designs seemed quite nice.

“You mean you’re not a fashion expert?” Mia pretended to be shocked, comically widening her eyes. He’d certainly been eager to get rid of her entire former wardrobe back in New York.

He laughed. “Far from it. I do know when clothes are being used as a shield, though,” he said pointedly, referring to her tendency to wear ugly but comfortable clothes when left to her own devices.

Mia fought a childish urge to stick out her tongue at him. “Yeah, whatever,” she muttered.

“For tonight, you can wear this,” Korum said, pulling out a delicate-looking light-pink dress.

Mia put it on, secretly pleased by the heat in Korum’s eyes as she changed in front of him, and walked over to look in the mirror. Like all Krinar clothes so far, the dress fit her perfectly, ending just above her knees, and didn’t require any kind of bra underneath. There were no sleeves, and her back was left entirely exposed. However, her shoulders were covered with wide ruffled straps, and the square neckline at the front was surprisingly modest. The color was beautiful, giving her pale cheeks the illusion of a rosy glow.

“I’ve noticed you don’t wear any kind of bright or dark clothing,” Mia commented, wondering about that peculiar fact. “In general, you seem to favor light colors in everything. Is there a particular reason for that?”

Korum smiled, looking at her with a warm glow in his eyes. “There is. Bright or dark colors have historically been associated with violence and vengeance in our culture, and we prefer not to have them around in the normal course of daily life. Of course, when we leave our Centers and interact with humans, we usually wear human clothes—and we don’t care about the colors as much for that. In fact, some of us enjoy clothing that we’d never normally wear here or on Krina—like the bright red dress you saw Leeta wear in New York. If she were to dress like that among the Krinar, everyone would think she’d gone crazy and was planning a vendetta of some kind.”

Something clicked for Mia. “Is that why the Protector was wearing black at the trial? Because he’s on a warpath?”

“Exactly,” Korum said. “He’s making a statement that he believes he’s been wronged and that he intends to seek revenge.”

“Seek revenge how?” Mia wondered, and Korum shrugged, apparently not in the mood to discuss politics right now. Since they didn’t have much time, Mia decided to let it go for now and focus instead on the upcoming dinner.

“Here, you can wear these shoes,” Korum said, handing her a pair of soft ivory booties. Like all K footwear, these seemed to have a flat sole. Apparently, the concept of high-heeled shoes was not as popular among Krinar females as it was among human women.

Mia pulled on the boots—which immediately conformed to her feet and became comfortable—and tried to tame her hair a bit with her fingers. After lounging for hours, she had a serious bedhead look going on, with her long curls tangled and sticking out in all directions. After a couple of minutes, she gave up on the hopeless cause. Even with the regular use of Korum’s wonder shampoo, her hair would never be as straight and sleek as she’d like.

“It looks beautiful, Mia. Leave it,” Korum said, observing her efforts with quiet amusement.

Mia couldn’t help smiling at him. It was one of the things she found peculiar about him: he actually seemed to have a thing for her hair, often touching it and playing with the curls. Since she’d never seen a curly-haired K, she assumed he simply liked it because of the novelty factor. “Okay, then I’m ready, I guess...”

“One more thing,” Korum said, coming up behind her and fastening an unusual iridescent necklace around her neck, his warm fingers brushing against her throat. It was a deceptively simple design, just a tear-shaped pendant on a thin chain, but the shimmery material made it indescribably beautiful. It was as if all colors of the rainbow were gathered around her neck, competing with each other for attention.

“Wow,” Mia breathed, touching the pendant with reverence. “What is it?”

“It’s a genuine shimmer-stone necklace,” Korum explained. “Shimmer-stone occurs naturally only in my region of Krina, and this one has been passed down through generations in my family. It’s just shy of a million years old.”

Mia turned around to stare at him in shock. “And you’re putting it on me? What if I lose or damage it?”

“You won’t,” Korum reassured her, smiling faintly. And offering her his arm, he asked, “Shall we go?”

Speechless, Mia looped her arm through the crook of his elbow and followed him out—with a million-year-old Krinar family heirloom sparkling merrily around her throat.

Five minutes later, they stood before a cream-colored house that looked a lot like Korum’s. The ride to the other end of the colony took less than a minute in the small aircraft Korum had created explicitly for that purpose.

As they approached, the wall of the house disintegrated in front of them, and they walked in.

A tall, lean Krinar male stood in the middle of the room, dressed in the usual light-colored garb. His hair was the lightest shade of brown Mia had ever seen on a K, almost sandy-colored, and his hazel eyes had a greenish undertone that looked particularly exotic with his golden skin. The smile on his narrow, ascetic-looking face was broad and welcoming.

Walking up to Korum, he touched his shoulder with his open palm. “Korum, it’s such an honor to have you here,” he said. His manner was somewhat deferential, and Mia realized that it was probably a big deal for him—having a member of the Council in his house.

Korum smiled back and reciprocated the gesture. “I’m glad to see you too, Arman. Thank you for the invitation.”

While the two Ks were greeting each other, Mia examined her surroundings with a great deal of curiosity. This was the first fully Krinar dwelling she had been to—with the exception of the arena—and she was fascinated by its almost Zen-like aesthetic. There was absolutely no clutter anywhere; in fact, there didn’t seem to be any furniture with the exception of two large floating planks. Mia guessed those were meant to serve as places for the guests to sit. The outside walls were fully transparent, while the rest of the interior was a beautiful shade of cream.

“And you must be Mia,” Arman said, turning and addressing her directly.

Mia smiled at him. “Yes, hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

To her surprise, Mia realized that she liked this K. There was a kind look in his eyes, and something almost gentle in the way he spoke that made her feel very much at ease in his presence.

“Oh, it’s very nice to meet you as well,” Arman said, his smile getting wider. “Maria has been looking forward to meeting you ever since we learned about you yesterday.”

At that moment, a human girl walked into the room. Dressed in a beautiful halter-style white dress that showed off her slim, curvy figure to perfection, she was strikingly pretty and bore a strong resemblance to a young Jennifer Lopez.

Smiling hugely, she swiftly came up to Mia and warmly embraced her, brushing her lips against Mia’s left cheek. Some kind of exotic perfume tickled Mia’s nose. Slightly startled, Mia awkwardly hugged her back.

“Oh my dear, how are you?” she exclaimed in Spanish, pulling back to look at Mia. “I’m Maria, and I’m so glad to see you! What a lovely necklace! How are your first couple of days here? Did Korum show you around already? You poor thing, you must be so overwhelmed with everything right now! I remember I didn’t even know how to use the toilet at first!”

Mia blinked, overwhelmed only by the girl’s enthusiasm. She was like a pretty tornado, sweeping along everything in her path. “I’m good, thanks,” Mia answered in Spanish, inwardly still marveling at her new language abilities. “I haven’t really seen much of the Center yet—I only arrived yesterday.”

“Oh, you haven’t gone to the beach yet? It’s so nice, you really should!” Turning to Korum, she frowned at him, her smooth brow furrowing slightly.

Korum laughed. “Hint taken. I’ll show Mia the beach tomorrow.”

“Maria!” their host exclaimed. “Please be nice to our guests!”

“I’m always nice,” Maria retorted, grinning. “That’s why you love me.” Coming up on tiptoes, she kissed Arman on the cheek, and Mia could almost see him melting on the spot, unable to withstand the potent force of the girl’s charm.

With a big grin on his own face, Arman turned his attention back to Mia and Korum. “She’s incorrigible,” he said, and there was such happiness in his voice that Mia could only gape at him in open-mouthed amazement. “Please ignore her and follow me. The dinner is all ready.”

They followed Arman into another room. In the middle of the room was another large floating plank, oval in shape, surrounded by four floating seats. Why all K furniture seemed to float, Mia had no idea. On the large plank—which Mia assumed functioned as a table—there were about twenty different dishes, ranging from familiar tropical fruits and vegetables to some exotic-looking salads, dips, and stew-like concoctions.

Sitting down on one of the chairs, Mia felt it adjusting to her body and smiled. All K inventions seemed to be designed with a focus on maximum comfort and convenience.

The dinner flew by, dominated by light conversation and amusing stories about the Costa Rican flora and fauna. Mia learned that Arman was an artist, and that he came to Earth to study human culture and the arts. He had met Maria shortly after his arrival. Her family used to own land in the area where the Ks had built their Center, and Arman had been one of the Krinar responsible for making sure that the displaced humans were appropriately compensated. Theirs seemed to be a love at first sight.

“From the moment I saw him, I knew I wanted him,” Maria confided, her dark eyes sparkling. “I didn’t care that he wasn’t human, or that everybody was scared of them. I knew he couldn’t be as bad as they said—he was far too nice for that.” And reaching out, she squeezed his hand, beaming at Arman with a megawatt smile.

Observing the two lovers, Mia felt a strange pressure in her chest that was very much like jealousy. They seemed to be genuinely in love, despite the obstacles Mia had always viewed as insurmountable. And Maria was far too happy for someone who had so few rights in the Krinar society. Clearly, her formal status as a charl had very little bearing on her relationship with Arman. If anything, it seemed that her K lover was quite content to let her take the lead in many things, his own laid-back personality complemented by her outgoing nature.

By the time the dinner ended, Mia found herself forgetting many of her concerns and simply enjoying the company of this likable couple. They were sweet and tender with each other, and Maria didn’t seem intimidated by either of the two Ks. She even reprimanded Korum again for not giving Mia a proper tour of the Center, for which Korum laughingly apologized. It could’ve been a regular double-date, except that two of the participants were from a different galaxy.

Finally, Mia reluctantly said goodbye to them and headed home with Korum, mulling over the strangeness of what she’d just seen, her heart filling with hope for things she rationally knew had to be impossible.

The Krinar replayed the results of his latest experiment, watching the recording over and over again.

Everything seemed to be working as he’d hoped. Soon, he would be able to implement the next part of his plan. It was unfortunate that the Keiths had failed, but it was ultimately just a minor setback.

Now he wanted to look at his enemy again... and that little charl of his.

For some reason, he found those recordings to be particularly fascinating.