Lauren refused to be sidetracked. “Xairn, I wish I could bake you a special cupcake to thank you for what you’ve done.”
“What have I done but capture and imprison you?” he demanded.
“You’ve given me more to eat when I asked for it. You gave me your cloak.” She nodded down at the thick black fabric which kept her from freezing in the cold and lonely cell. “And you’ve given me your time and attention when I needed to talk and to hear someone’s voice. I don’t feel so alone because of you.”
He scowled. “You don’t mean that—any of it.”
“Yes, I do,” Lauren protested. “Please don’t be angry. I’m just trying to get to know you.”
Xairn seemed to loosen up a little bit—at least some of the tension went out of his broad shoulders. He really was huge, Lauren reflected. Every bit as big as the Kindred warriors who came to Earth now and then to call their brides. “What do you want to know?” he asked.
“I don’t know…what are your hobbies? What are your dreams?”
He shook his head. “I have neither. I was born on the Fathership and I will most likely die here. I do not aspire to anything else.”
“That’s so sad,” Lauren blurted. “I mean, to never have any hopes or dreams.”
“I have work that must be accomplished or I will be punished,” he offered.
She shook her head. “Uh-uh, work doesn’t count. What do you do for fun? You know, for enjoyment?”
Xairn shook his head again. “Nothing. I told you, we have no pleasures here.”
“Nothing at all?” She leaned forward eagerly. “You don’t play games or read books or watch vids? Don’t you have any pets?”
But she seemed to have said the exact wrong thing. Suddenly his face, which had been almost open to her, closed, and he stood up abruptly. “None of what you mention is permitted here. I must go.”
“Wait!” She reached for him, upset at the sudden change when everything had been going to so well. “Please don’t go—I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”
Xairn looked at her, his eyes narrowed to black and crimson slits. “Cover yourself,” he said coldly. “I have no desire to see your flesh.”
Looking down at herself, Lauren realized that his cloak was gaping open, showing her bare breasts. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, pulling it closed quickly. “It was an accident. I…I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“I must go,” he repeated. At the door, he turned to look at her, his face impassive. “Eat your nutra-wafers. They may not be as good as your cupcakes but they will keep you strong until the AllFather sends for you.”
And then he was gone.
Lauren watched the heavy metal door close and heard the muted sound of the locking sequence being keyed in from the other side. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Tears of frustration rose in her eyes and she sobbed aloud before she could stop herself. So close! She’d been so close to making a connection with him—she could feel it. And then…nothing. What did I do? What did I say that upset him? That drove him away?
She sobbed again and then blotted her tears with the corner of his cloak which still carried a warm hint of his scent. It wasn’t just the lost chance that upset her—she genuinely didn’t want him to go. He was the only person she ever saw, the only one who would talk to her. Her only link to the outside world in this claustrophobic metal prison. Watch it girl—you’re stuck on an alien ship, a prisoner of the Scourge—the ultimate bad guys. The last thing you need is a bad case of Stockholm syndrome on top of everything else, she warned herself.
Lauren knew it was true but she couldn’t help herself. Xairn was the only one she had to talk to. She missed him when he was gone.
* * * * *
Xairn stood outside the heavy plasti-steel door and listened to her sob. He told himself that he felt nothing but it wasn’t entirely true. For some reason he wanted to open the door again and go to her. And then he would…What? What would you do?
He didn’t have the faintest idea.
It was a foolish thought, anyway. Better to keep your mind on your duties.
Yes. He had much work to accomplish if he didn’t wish to be punished. And just because the AllFather was no longer able to feed off him didn’t mean he couldn’t devise some cruel and cunning physical penalties. He could have Xairn thrown in the drowning tank, for instance, as he had when Xairn was young. Just the memory of that made him cringe inside. After all these years, he still feared deep water, though he knew how to swim.