Dark and Light (A Kindred Tales Duet)

Oh God, he came in me! He came in me—what if I’m pregnant?

Alli sat up in bed, running a hand through her disheveled hair. She had to get up—had to take a shower. Not that it would probably do any good, but she needed to wash his come out of herself! She just couldn’t understand why she hadn’t done it the night before.

She had a vague memory of a really intense orgasm which had seemed to go on and on until she was completely worn out, but was that really an excuse for going to bed without at least trying to get his seed out of her?

I don’t think so! What’s wrong with you, Alli? You’re not normally like this! the practical little voice in her head berated her as she got out of bed and found her discarded nightshirt. She slipped it on and started to go for the shower, her mind still churning.

She also wasn’t normally submissive and there was no other word for the way she’d acted last night. Why had she given herself up to the big Kru’ell One so easily? Did she secretly desire to be dominated? Or was she just disorientated by the surreal circumstances?

It must be the latter, she thought uneasily. Surely she didn’t really want to be tied down or blindfolded or anything like that. She had fantasies from time to time, of course—but that was all they were, just fantasies. It wasn’t like she really wanted them to come true. She—

Her inner monologue was interrupted by the silvery tinkling sound again—the same sound that had woken her up in the first place.

Irritated, Alli looked around.

“Where is that coming from?” she said aloud. “It sounds like a bell but I don’t see one anywhere. Where’s the damn bell?”

At once, a little silver bell with a black handled appeared, floating in midair right in front of her, the same way the candelabra had appeared the night before when she had asked for more light.

Alli gasped and took a step back, one hand to her pounding heart. God, she would probably get used to things appearing out of thin air when she asked for them eventually, but for right now it was still really disconcerting.

The bell tinkled briefly and she got the idea that maybe she was supposed to grab it. After all, she had asked for it—sort of. So maybe she needed to take it.

Hesitantly, she reached out and plucked the little silver bell out of the air. It reminded her of the kind of thing you saw in old movies—the kind of bell a lord or lady might use to ring for the servants.

The thought made Alli smile. Holding the bell at an arms-length, she rang it briskly and said,

“I’d like a table laid for one with the finest linen, china, and silverware, please.”

At once, a small table just the right size for one person appeared in the clear area between the bed and the living room where the couch and the viewscreen were located. It was draped in a white linen tablecloth and laid with a pale blue china plate and gleaming, ornate silverware. There was also a crystal goblet, which she hadn’t specifically asked for, though it was a nice touch, she thought.

“Wow,” Alli murmured, walking over to the little table. She knocked on it experimentally with her knuckles—it sounded like solid wood. The snowy table linen felt real too.

By now, she had forgotten all about getting a shower. Looking at the little table with its lovely setting made her think of going to a fancy restaurant back on Earth. Her stomach rumbled at the thought and she realized it had been a long time since she ate anything.

An ornate wooden chair with a plump blue seat cushion had appeared with the table. Alli pulled it out and seated herself. She thought for a moment, then decided to keep up the pretense that she was in a restaurant. It made things seem less weird, somehow.

She rang the bell again and said clearly, “I would like a menu, please.”

Immediately a padded, leather bound book with the word “MENU” in curving gold script appeared in front of her.

Alli plucked it out of the air and opened it, wondering what she would find inside.

The script of the menu looked like English at first and there were the usual headings, Appetizers, Entrees, Soups and Salads, Desserts. There was even a listing for wines and drinks.

But when Alli looked a little closer, she saw that the choices which appeared under the headings, weren’t at all familiar.

Zornk Stew, read one under the Soups and Salads section. Tasty chunks of young Zornk flesh are slow roasted and braised in a Fulk stock with assorted root vegetables.

Fresh Chub Steak, under the Entrees category had a star by it. Best served well done, it read. Management not responsible for Chub ordered rare.