Page 5 of Heart's Keeper

Lana froze mid-stride.

"You know me?" Her eyes flitted over the vrisha woman with confusion. No, she never met her. Very few knew her full name. Some didn't even know her first name, most calling her Risa.

"I know of you," the woman corrected. She placed a hand to her chest. "My name is Xilya. I was part of the mission to find and help destroy the parasite that took over so many worlds. I was captured by a large multi-planet civilization. I've met humans within their territories. Shall we talk inside?"

Lana blinked at her, trying to process everything she just said. She became very aware of the heat, the sun now at its peak. Sweat was already breaking along her brow and between her breasts as her skin grew hot.

"I—yes, let's go inside." Lana was still in shock at the information the woman had just dumped on her as she turned back for the tunnel. A large, advanced civilization was no longer anything she was surprised by. But humans in another alien's territory? How? and why?"

The woman, Xilya, followed her back down into the home. When they reached the central chamber, Xerus was there talking with another housekin. When they saw Lana enter, the housekin bowed to Xerus and left. Xerus turned and locked eyes with Lana first before glancing behind her to the vrisha female. The pair stood several feet away from one another, and Lana allowed them to size each other up and display their status. A common vrisha greeting between strangers. Xilya kept her head slightly bent, studying Xerus calmly while Xerus kept his head tilted back, his tail swaying indifferently behind him. Their nostrils flared, and their eyes dropped to the ground before Xilya finally hissed and bowed her head.

"Predomis. Risa," Xilya said. "I have been trying to get a hold of you for some time." She made a gesture toward the inner circle of seats and fire pit. "May we sit?"

Lana glanced at Xerus and nodded her head. "Yes, let's."

As they sat, with Xilya taking a seat opposite them, the fire at the center grew larger, and the room's light dimmed. Xerus eyed Xilya across the fire, the woman returning his stare.

"It so happens I just received a message from my brothers about you," Xerus said to Xilya. He tilted his head. "They said you have been trying to contact us for a long time. But you would not say why."

"Yes," Xilya said. "Specifically trying to meet with Dr. Hart."

Xerus was very still as he regarded her, only his tail brushing against Lana's leg in a protective caress. His eyes narrowed on Xilya with suspicion. "It is odd for you to involve my brothers instead of seeking the head council in order to send such a message out."

Xilya's tail twitched behind her. "I did try the council and they refused my request."

Lana's eyes widened. "Refused you? To only send a mere message to us?"

Xilya's gaze turned to her. "They thought it would compromise your mission."

Both Lana and Xerus were taken aback.

Lana recalled what she said to her moments ago outside the shipbed. "Because it involves my kind?"

Xerus looked at her in surprise, and Xilya dipped her head. "They thought if you knew of the situation involving your people, you would not be able to focus and ultimately complete your recent mission." She let out an irritated hiss and rubbed at her neck. "If there was ever one time I truly loathed vrisha customs, it has been these last several cycles. A vrisha's mission is always of the utmost importance as you both well know. It cannot go uncompleted. I spent many years away trying to finish mine, thinking I had failed. By Rikasha, we cannot even return if a loved one falls ill, we must continue on. I was fully aware and accepting of this law until very recently. I knew even if I got a message out, you still would not be able to return. But I believed you had the right to know at the very least." Xilya dropped her hand and reclined back. "But the council saw it as a problem best left till you returned. I had no choice but to wait." From a small pocket sewn into the hide of her kelva pants, Xilya revealed a slender oval-shaped device. "Much has happened since you left." She set the oval device above the fire and there it floated until it began to glow as if burning hot. The orange glow took over the room until beads of light appeared around the chamber, like floating bits of embers. An outsider might just think it was a pretty light effect, but Lana knew it now as a map showing a specific part of their universe. One particular set of lights lay in a cluster above them, growing larger.

"For several years, I was imprisoned within a mining planet run and owned by the empire known as Xolis," Xilya said. "There, I became friends with one of the ruling class of this empire who had been exiled. They are known as the nillium."

From there, Xilya told them everything she could about this large, multi-system empire known as Xolis, and the nillium and of the various races that called this empire home. When asked if anyone had ever heard of such a place, Xilya said, "There might be veterans who have heard mention of such a place, but it is otherwise outside our scope of knowledge. I was tasked to find the parasite past the known sphere of where it was found, to make sure it was not lurking in the farther reaches of our map's sight. Xolis was just a little way beyond the farthest any vrisha has gone. I was found by enforcers of Xolis on one of their planets. There were too many for me to fight alone and so with shame I was forced into servitude. But some years spent within the mines lead to the discovery of a ship. From there, I and the nillium Ryziel and a native of the mines called Nar worked to fix the ship." Xilya's gaze fell to Lana. "And a couple of cycles after, we met the pack of humans."

Lana leaned forward, hand sliding to Xerus' thigh. He took her hand, slipping it into his own, rubbing his fingers over her palm. "How did they get there?"

Xilya told them about Grayhart and the group of explorers who'd traveled too far for their own good. About their capture, then being saved and housed in a Xolis facility before being taken to the mining city—Lethe Maws. She told them about the men who died and the women who were stolen away. About the nilliums’ desperate attempt to repopulate and how the human women played an important role. Lana sat silently listening, growing cold at the tale Xilya told.

When Xilya finished, Lana cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, glancing at Xerus for a brief second before returning to the vrisha female. "But they did get out, right? All the women?"

"Correct," Xilya replied. "I returned several of them to a lone human base at the edge of their territory where they contacted their organization known as Grayhart. Then returned here to speak with you—only to find you already gone on your mission."

"Several...but not all?"

"Not all." Xilya shook her head. "Two decided to stay with my nillium friend on a planet hidden from Xolis, home to an ancient race. They are safe there despite all that has and is happening now within the empire."

"And what is happening there exactly?" Xerus asked.

Xilya turned her eyes to him. "Based on the information I've been sent by my friends, the nillium rulers have been fighting for power. The first appointed after the prince's death was assassinated, and from there, fights and deaths have been many. But their issues are nothing yet for us to be concerned about. What is concerning are the hunters who've been searching for human women."

Lana sat up straight. "The nillium are still looking for them?"

Xilya tilted her head in a shrug. "More or less. Though recently, their focus has been swayed by the change in power and the struggle to keep the foundations of their empire intact. It is a man named Vesra who has been aggressively sending out hunters in search of your kind in hopes of gaining power and wealth over the nillium. I received a message from my Xolis friends only a little after I arrived back on Tryth that this Vesra had deployed some of his best hunters to go looking for Earth women. There was little I could do at the time save meet with the council and try to persuade them to bring you home. As a mere scout, I did not have the power to leave and set off for human territory myself or bring others to give aid. But as queen, you would have that ability to make such a decision."

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