Close Liaisons (The Krinar Chronicles 1)

“Turned to dust? What kind of weapon can do that?” asked Mia in horrified shock.

“It’s weaponized nanotechnology on a massive scale. It can be programmed with very specific constraints, so we could set it to only destroy Ks within a certain radius and to spare whatever humans may be in the area at the time.”

Mia’s eyes widened, and John continued, “Of course, we still expect some Ks to try to escape from the colonies when they learn of the attack, so we’ll have our fighters stationed all around to capture and contain those – and that could get bloody. We might still end up suffering heavy casualties, but we stand a very real chance of winning here.”

Mia swallowed, feeling nauseous at the thought of any bloodshed. Knowing that something she did led to “heavy casualties” or extermination of thousands of intelligent beings – she didn’t know how she would handle that kind of responsibility.

But there was no choice now, not that there had ever been any for her. Ever since she’d laid eyes on Korum at the park, her fate had been decided. Her only choice had been to meekly accept being his charl or to fight back – and she had chosen to fight. And now that decision might result in the loss of many lives, both human and Krinar.

Mia bitterly wished she’d never gone to the park that day, had never learned about what goes on in the K Centers. If she could somehow turn back the clock and go back to her regular life, knowing next to nothing about the Ks, she would gladly do so – and leave the liberation of Earth to someone better equipped to deal with it. But she knew, and that burden felt unbearably heavy right now as she looked into John’s glowing face and imagined the upcoming bloody battle.

“Mia,” said John, apparently sensing her distress, “please don’t forget: they came to our planet, they imposed their rules on us – and killed thousands of people in the process, until we had no choice but to give in. Do you remember how it was during the Great Panic?”

Mia nodded, thinking of the terrifying chaos and bloody street fights of those dark months.

Satisfied, John continued, “I know that your only exposure to them has been through Korum, and he has probably treated you nicely so far . . . because he thinks of you as his current favorite pet. But they’re not nice at all. They’re predators by nature. They evolved as parasites, as vampires, sustaining themselves by consuming the blood of other species. In fact, they developed humans for that purpose – to satisfy their own perverse urges with us –”

That wasn’t exactly what Korum had told her, but she didn’t feel like arguing that point right now.

“– and they have no regard for our rights. Most of them view us as inferior, and they would not hesitate to enslave us completely if it suited their purposes.”

“I know,” said Mia, rubbing her temples to get rid of the tension. “I know all of that – that’s why I’m helping you, John. I just really wish there was another way . . . some way we could just make them go away without spilling any blood.”

“I wish there was too,” said John, sighing heavily. “But there isn’t. They invaded our planet with force – and now we take it back from them in the same way. And if some lives have to be lost in the process – well, we just have to hope that not too many of them are on our side. It’s war, Mia – the real War of the Worlds.”

John left, and Mia sat down on her bed to digest everything.

How had she – a regular college student – managed to get involved in a war? Spying was something she’d always associated with glamorous secret agents, men and women who’ve had extensive training in everything from martial arts to defusing a bomb. A psychology major from NYU just didn’t fit the bill. Yet here she was, supposedly aiding the Resistance in their most important fight against the Ks.

A terrifying thought occurred to her. Once Korum knew what was happening – that their settlements were being attacked – would he realize that she was the one responsible? Would he make the connection between his carefully guarded blueprints being stolen and the human girl he slept with every night? Because if he did – and he was still in New York at the time – then her days were likely numbered as well.

A tentative knock on her door interrupted her dark musings.

“Yes, come in!” she called out, relieved to have a distraction from that line of thinking.

To her surprise and dismay, it was not Jessie. Instead, Peter stood in her bedroom doorway, his wavy blond hair and blue eyes looking even more angelic in the bright light of the day. There were still black and blue marks on his throat.

“Peter!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you,” he said. “Your roommate told Edgar that you would be home today, and I just wanted to make sure you were all right after what happened that night –”

“Oh gosh, Peter, that’s really nice of you,” said Mia, desperately trying to think of the quickest way to get rid of him. She couldn’t imagine that Korum would be pleased to know that Peter was anywhere near her right now, much less in her bedroom. He probably wouldn’t find out, but she didn’t want to chance it. It was enough that she had almost gotten him killed in that club.

Peter was looking at her with a concerned expression. “What happened that night, Mia? Did that monster hurt you in any way?”

“No, of course not,” she tried to reassure him. “He just got jealous – I never expected him to react like that, believe me. I’m really sorry about everything that happened. I should’ve never danced with you that night. You got hurt because of me –”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal. I was once beaten up in high school because the head quarterback thought I was flirting with his girlfriend. Believe me, this was nothing in comparison.” And he grinned at her, his smile utterly infectious.

Mia smiled back a little. It was good to hear that he didn’t hold a grudge against her. But he still needed to go away for his own safety.

“Listen, Peter, thanks for checking up on me,” she said. “That was really sweet of you. But we now know that my boyfriend is not too keen on our friendship – and it’s really for the best if he doesn’t find out you were here –”

“Mia,” said Peter seriously, his smile completely gone, “are you really dating that creature? I just never pictured you as a xeno –”

“I’m not!”

“You’re not a Krinarian, are you?”