Enticed by the Satyr (Kindred Tales)

“I’ll get on it right away,” Baird promised. “I already have a constant watch on the gash that opened by Mars. We’ll start patrolling the rest immediately.”

“What about my people? What about the Monstrum Kindred?” Storn asked. “You heard what the Goddess said. Will you accept us? Will you fight beside us and let us call brides from Earth?”

Sylvan nodded.

“Storn, your people will be welcomed when they come and we will, of course, join the fight against any forces of darkness that may come against our two peoples. But you must give us time to get the humans used to the idea of Monstrum Kindred calling their females as brides.” He took a deep breath. “Which means I must ask you to stay here, aboard the Mother Ship and not go down to Earth for any reason. We’ll need to introduce you and your people slowly and carefully. All right?”

Storn nodded gravely.

“I understand, Commander Sylvan. Thank you. I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable aboard the Mother Ship until you can allow me to go down to Earth and meet the female my mind has aligned with.”

“What?” Baird exclaimed. “You’re already Dream-Sharing with a human female?”

“I believe that I am.” Storn spoke carefully. “If not, then she is the most vivid dream I’ve ever had. But I hope to meet her soon.”

“Just give us some time,” Sylvan told him. “If I allow a Satyr Kindred to go down to Earth, the human media will gobble up the story and vomit out all kinds of falsehoods and lies. They are a very credulous people.”

“He’s right,” Baird agreed. “They can’t see you yet or it could cause a mass panic. I’m sorry, Brother, but you’ll just have to wait.”

Storn nodded again, though more reluctantly this time, Sylvan thought.

“As you say. This is your ‘verse and I will obey your rules.”

“Thank you.” Sylvan nodded gratefully. He was glad he didn’t have to worry about the Monstrum Kindred running off down to Earth and getting the human media “all in a tizzy” as his dear wife Sophia would say. He could just imagine the outcry that would follow if the people of Earth were suddenly informed that the Bride Draft they had agreed to would now also include Kindred who didn’t even look completely humanoid—who in fact, looked like animals or monsters.

No, he thought, looking at the Satyr Kindred’s curling horns and shiny black hooves. The situation must be handled carefully…delicately.

This would be an issue for the Public Relations department, he decided. They needed to find a way to let the humans know about the Monstrum without causing a general panic. He would speak to them immediately.

And in the meantime, Storn must not go down to Earth for any reason. The Satyr Kindred must stay up here, aboard the Mother Ship, and keep away from the small, blue-green planet until the time was right to announce the existence of his kind.

9

Mia was slowly getting to know the Mother Ship. She had spent the first night and day alone in the spare room in Kaylee and Talon’s suite, where her best friend had kindly offered to let her stay. But she realized, soon enough, that her friend and the big warrior were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship—which meant they basically wanted to be all over each other every spare minute. And though they tried really hard to be nice about it, Mia couldn’t help feeling that she was in the way.

So, as soon as she started feeling better from the orbital surgery Dr. Liv had performed on her, she began exploring the vast ship, making sure to be out of Kaylee and Talon’s suite as much as possible.

This wasn’t a hardship for her at all, actually. For years she’d been limited as to where she could go by Hank’s jealous nature. He had only grudgingly let her out to go to play for the high school and the First Baptist Church when Kaylee was around. And after her best friend had left, Mia’s world had shrunk down to just the house. Hank hadn’t even wanted her to go out in the front yard and get the mail from the mailbox. That was how obsessive and controlling he had become.

Now she had the opportunity to explore the enormous Kindred Mother Ship with no fear of her husband beating her for going past the arbitrary boundaries he had set, and Mia reveled in her new freedom. She took the transport that ran from one end of the ship to the other, getting off at random stops along the way to look around.

She saw a vast mountain-shaped fountain where children played in the rainbow rivulets that flowed down the sides and science labs where Kindred scientists worked. There was also a vast hydroponics garden to see, where the self-sufficient Mother Ship grew a lot of its food, which was then cooked by an army of chefs and turned into meal cubes in yet another facility which she was able to tour.