Page 39 of Pandora: Alien Games

“Can I take your hand?”

I offered him my hand. What did I had to lose?

Hecla used the tips of his fingers to touch my palm. Cool currents streamed through me.

“Have a sip of tea first.”

I did as he said. The hot liquid touched my lips.

“Swallow the flower if you want. It will warm your soul forever.”

“Hm.... I don’t know.”

“Let me see you.” Hecla leaned closer to my hand. His bracelets made clinking noises.

I was confused as by what he meant by see me. I was in the full light and he saw me perfectly.

His long fingers touched mine and a shiver run through me when his skin touched mine. His skin felt like polymer, not human but not unpleasant either. Hecla took my hand in his and held it softly, caressing the palm of my open hand. As he touched me, the scratches from my fall disappeared.

“How?”

“It’s the tea. It heals your body and opens your soul. An open door is always a two-way thing.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well, imagine it that way. If you open a door to enter, someone can use the same door to escape. Energy always goes both ways. It is never one way.”

The calm of Hecla’s entire being was contagious. It radiated toward me in waves. He was not a warrior like the Anubis or a cat-like creature that moves with the calm of a silent hunter like the Bastet. He was something entirely different and still incredibly powerful.

“I understand. Hecla, what if I’m not the girl from the prophecy? What if I’m just here by accident. I’ve already been told a few times I’m going to get killed.”

“Death is just the beginning. I died already, hundreds of times. Believe. It is not as bad as you believe it could be. You are from a young civilization that contacted our world when this world was still young and wild. We know better now. Part of our blood flows into your veins, Pandora Sky.”

“Can you tell me something about Van, my friend who that was in the shuttle with me? Did he escape? Is he on this planet?”

Hecla moved his head from side to side, studying my palm and using his dark claws to draw small patterns on it.

“I’m sorry. Not that I can tell. I feel his energy but can’t locate it.”

I exhaled. Sadness filled me once again. I wish I could have known what happened to Van. Was he alive? Was he floating out there in space? Did he die a gruesome death? What happened?

I took another sip of tea. It took the edge off my sadness and fears.

Ashok gave me the feeling that everything would be okay, that I had a future on this planet. And now… now I made a deal with the princess. It wasn’t fair for them to die because I didn’t want to jump into the Games. I kept asking myself what the Games were.

“Hecla, what exactly are the Games?”

“The Games, my beauty, are something different for each of us. That’s all I can tell you.”

“Fuck. This isn’t really helping me.”

“The Games degenerated over the years. Initially, they were meant as a rite of passage, to help the young ones sharpen their minds and prove their courage. The Games were not meant to be deadly. They were meant to bring joy and hope that someone could connect to the lost years of our civilization. I feel for you. I feel your fear. But, if you let your fear control you, you are going to get yourself killed.”

I bit my lips. That wasn’t useful either.

“Let me heal you.” Hecla moved his palm close to the points where Hass scratched me on my neck and the wounds on my knees. His lips hovered over mine. All I felt was energy and warmth. It was one of those moments when I didn’t want to think about anything. I just wanted to melt away in the moment, be with this beautiful creature who looked even more alien than the Anubis and Bastet.

Hecla’s soft lips touched mine.

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