Secret Santa Surprise (Kindred Tales)

“That’s fascinating.” Melanie nodded. “I’m going to put that into the docu-vid I’m making, if you don’t mind.”

“I’d love for you to,” Clear told her. “Actually, I was discussing your vid with my brother and he had some suggestions you might want to consider adding in as well.”

“Come tell me about it while you show me how to work the wave,” Melanie suggested. She gave a little laugh. “We’ve just been standing here talking since you got here.”

“Do you mind?” Clear asked, following her into the kitchen.

“Oh, no!” Melanie shook her head. “It’s nice to meet a guy who’s willing to have a conversation. My ex was so taciturn, there at the end that half the time I felt like I was just talking to myself when we—” She stopped herself. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring him up again.”

“You can if you want to,” Clear offered. “I don’t mind hearing about your former mate. I consider it a cautionary tale—a list of things that human women dislike. Or at least, things that you dislike.”

“Oh, no…” Melanie said, frowning. “You’re never supposed to talk about past relationships during a date. Er…” She stopped abruptly. “I mean, not that this is a date, or anything. You’re just helping me learn to use my crazy Kindred appliances…” She tried to laugh and it came out sounding false and embarrassed. God, why had she said that? She felt like a fool.

“Do you want this to be a date? Part of a courtship ritual?”

The sound of Clear’s deep voice was so hopeful that she couldn’t help looking up to see the expression on his face. His green eyes seemed filled with yearning…unless, Melanie thought, she was just deceiving herself.

“Do you want it to be a date?” she countered uncertainly. “I mean, I know I’m way too old for you…”

“That is what my brother said too,” Clear said sadly.

“What?” Melanie frowned. “You told him you were coming to see me and he said I was too old?”

“Strong said that the two of us, who each have barely five years of experience in our respective professions, didn’t have a hope of attracting a lovely, mature Elite who was at the top of her career like you,” Clear explained. “I know we’re too young, but I had hoped…”

“Wait…” Melanie shook her head. “You think…” She frowned. “I’m not sure I understand what you think. But let’s table it for now,” she added, holding up a hand when he started to explain. “Things are getting…confusing. So how about if you show me how to use my wave before this frozen pizza melts?”

She nodded to the now rather limp and soggy looking pizza which was wilting sadly on the cardboard disk it had come on.

“Of course.” Clear nodded. “Well, first put the, uh, item on the bottom surface of the wave.”

Melanie smiled.

“You have no idea what this is, do you?” she asked, nodding down at the pepperoni pizza.

The big Kindred shook his head.

“I’m afraid not—some kind of food disk, I assume.”

“Food disk?” Melanie tried not to laugh.

The Light Twin nodded seriously.

“It looks strange to me, though I suppose it’s not nearly as strange as some of our food would look to you. Grieza worms, for instance.”

“I’ve heard about those from Sonja,” Melanie said, nodding thoughtfully as she arranged the frozen pizza on the bottom of the wave. “She said they look awful but taste amazing. But do you eat them raw?”

“Not quite,” Clear said. “There is a kind of sauce you pour on them that kills them.”

“Ugh…” Melanie picked up some pieces of cheese that had fallen off the pizza and sprinkled them back on. “I’d rather have my worms cook—”

She had been going to say, “I’d rather have my worms cooked, if I’m going to eat any,” but her words cut off in a gasp of pure pain. Because the minute she’d said the word “cook,” the wave immediately cut on and a thousand tiny microfine rays of heat and light shot down onto the pizza…and onto her hand, which was still in the way.

“Melanie!” Clear acted quickly. Grabbing her by the wrist, he yanked her hand away before Melanie could even move it herself. It came away smoking and she saw—to her horror—that the back of her hand was dappled with tiny pinhole sized burns. But even worse was the spot where the microfine heat rays had “clumped together” to form a thicker ray.

In the delicate area between her forefinger and her thumb there was a hole as big as a nickel burned right through the flesh.

Melanie held up her hand, which was trembling, and looked at the hole. No, scratch that—she looked through the hole.

“I can see the kitchen through my hand,” she said numbly and then everything began to spin around her.

Melanie!” Clear exclaimed again. He reached for her and then Melanie felt herself being lifted as he picked her up and cradled her in his muscular arms.