Page 40 of Caveman Alien's Bride

The fire lights up the giant wall painting, making it come alive. The colors are pale, but each figure is clearly defined. It’s a chaos of different scenes, and it would take months to find all the details. The Borok tribe clearly has a long history, and that is strangely reassuring.

I sigh with relaxation. I can’t remember the last time I felt this safe. It must have been back on Earth. Now, that whole time of my life just feels like a distant dream that doesn’t always seem real.

I lean my head on Korr'ax’s massive shoulder, enjoying the way his body shakes when he laughs at something someone says and the way I tremble all the way through when he speaks.

I wake up as I’m being carried up the stairs to the ‘penthouse’.

“You need more rest,” Korr'ax rumbles. “I think you’ve been living on that beach for too long. Tomorrow we will talk about where you come from.”

“From Earth,” I tell him, not properly awake yet and not planning to be, this side of sunrise. “Far away.”

He puts me on the heap of furs, lights the fire, and kisses my forehead. “I will be back. I still have things to do.”

“Good night,” I tell him in English.

- - -

The sun acts as an alarm clock, the light hitting me right in the face.

Korr'ax is gone, but I know he was here most of the night.

Feeling perfectly rested, I put my sword belt on and hang the big mirror on the back of it. On the other hip I fasten the old makeup kit, just to have it close. I’m thinking of showing Korr'ax the items in there when I tell him about Earth.

I put on the fine fabric skirt I got, but not the long, white sheet. It could easily get dirty, and I haven’t spotted a dry cleaner’s in the village. So I pull my old t-shirt on and walk down to Piper’s cave. “Hey, Piper! Want to practice sword fighting?”

There’s no reply, and I can’t hear any movement.

“Piper!” I try several times, but nothing happens.

I walk down the stairs, wanting to find Korr'ax and get him to bring a ladder so we can see if she’s okay. Halfway down I spot a heap of broken wood and rope on a ledge. It looks a lot like the ladder from Piper’s cave, except taken apart.

I run down the stairs and find Korr'ax by the wall painting, talking to a group of men.

“Where Piper?” I ask urgently. “Bring ladder!”

I don’t think he understands, but he follows me and gets a ladder from another cave.

We put it up against the rock, and I quickly climb up and look inside.

It’s empty.

“Piper not here,” I report, worry rising in me. “Her ladder is broken.”

Korr’ax immediately orders everyone to look for her all through the village, but it soon becomes clear that she’s not here.

“She must have left,” Korr’ax says, puzzled. “But the guards swear they didn’t see her. She’s left no trail outside the gate.”

I spot Dren’in not far away. “Askhewhat he know.”

“Tribesman Dren’in!” Korr’ax calls, and the other man saunters over.

“Chief?”

“Woman Piper has still not been found. What do you know about it?”

“I know no more than anyone else,” Dren’in says with a whiny tone. “Why do you single me out?”

“You kept staring at her last night,” Korr’ax says with a knowing smile. “Perhaps the temptation became too great and you had to act on it. The Ancestors know I won’t blame you, tribesman! I acted on temptation myself, and it got me Bryar. But we simply want to know.”

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