Page 86 of Guardian's Destiny

"The other women were already there. The Ohrurs bought them at auctions and from the Moggadesh. Some had already been there for years. Carrying various embryos for the Ohrur."

My hate for this despicable species grew by the moment.

"Do you know with what… how… they were inseminated?" At least, I hoped they had been inseminated. Not that it mattered; the whole act of forcing an unwanted pregnancy on a woman was appalling.

"They are trying to breed more Space Guardians. As far as I know, they're using Space Guardians genes and eggs from various sources, including us."

Automatically, my hand reached forward, but she pulled hers back. "Did they… did they do that to you?"

"You and Zapharos came just in time. All they did to me was take my blood to find out when… I would be fertile."

I knew the last thing this woman wanted was pity, but it was an emotion walling up in me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"So, is that how they've always bred Space Guardians?" I asked after a moment when I realized she would prefer to keep this conversation clinical.

"They are desperate. They're trying every which way they can think of. Gene manipulation, test tube, cloning, you name it." Ella rose, indicating she was done with our conversation.

She left without as much as a good-night, and I sat at the table for a while longer mulling over this latest piece of the puzzle she threw at me. At some point, Vraax came looking for me, and I filled him in on what Ella had told me.

He was subdued and quiet when we returned to our quarters, but over the next couple of days, he slowly came to terms with this newest development. Now and then, he stared at his hands, moving them as if wondering where they came from.

My heart went out to him, but all I could do was reassure him of my love. Especially at night when we were alone and in bed. He was still the same man to me he had been before, but he seemed to be questioning his existence, and that worried me.

Both nights, he woke up sweaty from the middle of a dream; last night's was even harder than the first. It took me several minutes to bring him back to the present. He called me Solaana, a name he had mentioned before, and that was oddly comforting. I didn't mind that he thought I was another woman, because… because… I had no explanation for it. I just didn't.

"These dreams," he looked at me, finally seeing me again, "these Soulweb Glyphs," he rotated his arm, "these are not the results of test tube breeding, Sloane, they can't be."

"Alright." I put my hand on his cheek. We had stopped the regression sessions a while ago, but maybe it was time to try it again. I suggested it, and he nodded.

"One more time," he leaned back as I climbed into a sitting position with my back against the wall and him in my lap. My legs were wrapped around him as were my arms. The healing wand lay within reach just in case his headache became unbearable. Our arms were interlinked, our Soulweb Glyphs aligned, sending prickling sensations through me, but for once, they weren't sexual.

"You're safe, Vraax. You are just an observer, okay?"

"Safe," he took a deep breath in, and I felt his body relax in my grip.

I gave him a few minutes to fully empty his mind before I asked, "Remember the dark tunnel you moved through before?" His affirmation came in the form of a small grunt. "I want you to keep going back there, but I want you to go even farther back, alright?"

Again, I gave him time to prepare himself. "I want you to find that forest again. The one you were happy in." I pushed.

"Trees, lots of trees," he mumbled, with, if I read the tone of his voice right, a smile on his face.

"So peaceful."

"Good. Look around and describe to me what you see."

"A purple sun, trees, gnarly trees with blossoms that smell so good. And large mushrooms. Big enough to find shelter under."

I felt myself relaxing; even though he was describing it in a typical male way, it sounded nice. Like a place I wanted to see. I closed my eyes and, startled, ripped them open again. What the hell?

For a moment, a vision of the place Vraax was describing had been right in front of me, but that couldn't be, could it? Impossible. And yet… I closed my eyes again.

Shit.

I was in the middle of what definitely was an alien forest. The trees were gnarly, just like Vraax had said, but also mesmerizing in their beauty. Roots, long roots, mixed in a green and blue color, grew out of large stems, or maybe they made up the stems; it was hard to say. But even the branches seemed to be made up from them, or several smaller branches intertwining with each other. At their ends grew the crowns, reminding me of bushes with green leaves. Something that looked like Spanish Moss hung down from some of the branches, giving the entire forest a magic atmosphere. The trees were large, the size of a skyscraper, easily. In some places, it even looked as if several trees had grown together.

In between, the ground was dotted with fern-like plants in green, red, and orange, and looked dark red and moist. I could even smell it. It was the strong scent of wet wood, mushrooms, even pines. At the same time, it was crisp and fresh. A yearning moved through me, a yearning so strong and overwhelming that it hurt. I wanted to be there. I wanted to step into that forest. No, it was more than want and yearning. It was something I had never ever experienced before. Since my parents had uprooted me every three or four years, I never had a chance to experience that particular emotion, but I did then. So strong that tears rolled down my cheeks.

I was homesick.

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