Caressa Moon (Princess X) Read online

Michyle recognized his tall wife next to the petite Chara as soon as they stepped from the restroom.

  “Cover me!” He shouted to Realon without explanation.

  He stayed low but kept his eyes on Caressa and Chara as they hurried across the flight deck and out of the doors. He closed the gap between them as quickly as he could. Just as he was almost in shouting distance, a vehicle pulled directly in front of the women and the door opened.

  “Are you Caressa?” A mysterious feminine voice came from the vehicle.

  “Peshra?” Caressa asked.

  “No, I am her servant Magla.” Magla pulled out what looked like a weapon and quickly shot Caressa.

  “What the..!” Chara jumped to cover Caressa in protection but was stunned by the electric field that covered Caressa. “What did you do?”

  “There is no time. She is not …” Magla was stopped short as Michyle fired on the vehicle to protect Caressa.

  “Caressa!” He shouted.

  Caressa turned, unhurt by the field that encased her.

  “No!” She shouted. “It’s alright!”

  Michyle came close and paused as he watched the electrical currents run over Caressa’s body.

  “There is no time!” Magla said as she saw traces of the war on the flight deck begin to emerge into the streets.

  “Caressa?” Michyle was confused.

  “They were not after your work.” He watched helplessly as tears spilled from her eyes. “They are after me, and they will not stop.”

  “I will protect you.” Michyle promised.

  “It’s too dangerous.” She said.

  Michyle reached to touch her and jumped back with the intensity of the shock that came from her protective cover.

  “They can hide and protect me.” Caressa said pointing to the vehicle. “I wish I could explain but, I can’t. As long as I am with you, we are in all danger. Let me protect you, the way you wanted to protect me, and our child.” Caressa rested a hand on her stomach, puffed with the tissues that Chara had stuffed her with.

  “Child? Caressa please! Don’t do this.” Michyle pleaded. “Whatever it is, we can handle it together.”

  “Forgive me.” Caressa said and pushed Chara in the vehicle before jumping in herself.

  The door slammed shut and the vehicle pulled away. Michyle felt an unfathomable sense of desperation as he began to chase the vehicle. He ran for as long as he could, before both his legs and his lungs gave out. He walked the streets long after the vehicle was out of sight, hopeful to just get a glimpse of them. But, as the hours passed, he knew they were gone, hidden in the population. He finally turned back to return to the flight deck, with no concern for the war zone that he would return to.

  He opened the doors to the flight deck to find half of his security wounded, but no casualties. Realon had captured the leader, and the rest of his team had surrendered. Michyle’s frustration boiled over dangerously and he lurched at the man he knew was responsible for his loss. It took four of his own security to restrain him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Realon finally asked.

  “They were not after the documents.” Michyle explained. “They were after her. They wanted Caressa.”

  “What? Why?” Realon asked.

  “That is what I intend to find out.” Michyle promised.

  Caressa rode in the vehicle, keeping her tears in check.

  “He must really love you.” Magla said.

  “He must.” Caressa agreed.

  “It’s better this way.” Magla assured her. “He could not be able to protect you for long. The hunters have the backing of the Universal, who see our kind as a threat to humanity. There are so few of us left, less than two hundred at last count.”

  “Why do they fear us?” Caressa wondered.

  “We do hold great powers within us, but we need humanity to survive. It is the classic reason though, man fears what he cannot understand. They have tried for generations, but they have yet to understand the source and reason for our powers. ”Magla said.

  “What powers?” Caressa asked.

  “You will see.” Magla promised. “Peshra will teach you. She will explain all.”

  “Who is Peshra?” Chara asked.

  “She is the first of us, immortal. We are all her servants, and her children.” Magla explained.

  Chapter Ten

  Michyle sat in the flight deck across from Jobarus, a tall and lean man with large gray eyes and an olive complexion. He looked at the official Universal badge that Joborus had provided in utter confusion.

  “You were after my wife?” Michyle asked angrily. “Why? What did she do?”

  Michyle watched as Jobarus shrugged and reached for his badge.

  “She didn’t do anything, yet.” Jobarus said.

  “Then what is this about?”

  “She is the third one I’ve tracked in the last five years.”

  “Third one?” Michyle felt himself turning homicidal. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Tracking them is never hard to do, it is usually the easy part. Each one before now would walk right into my grasp and look at me with a wide-eyed innocence that would usually turn my stomach.”

  Jobarus took a seat and yawned. “When I was first given this assignment, I thought I would be hunting monstrous beings. Not these angel-esque women that the Universal has refused to officially declare enemies.”

  Michyle was not sure if Jobarus was talking to him or himself.

  “They usually don’t know what they are, but this one did, didn’t she?”

  Michyle didn’t answer.

  “Yes, she must have. Or else she would not have run.”

  Michyle watched as Jobarus searched his face for confirmation and smiled.

  “You didn’t know until now, did you?” Jobarus seemed to chuckle. “Of course not. Come on. I’ll show you all of the information I have on them.”

  Jobarus stood and began to walk away. Michyle was not sure if he wanted to know what Jobarus had to show him. But he followed, propelled by a need to make sense of it all. He needed to understand why he’d lost the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  Michyle sat behind his desk later that night, exhausted. He could not go back to their room. He knew the emptiness would crush him. He had looked over the documents and paperwork that Jobarus had on board his ship. They dated back centuries, when man first tried terra forming other planets.

  There were native beings with no name, living in the stars, with no physical form. One came down against the wishes of her people and helped man terra form the first of other planets. Then she became like any other human and introduced herself as Peshra.

  The first colonists accepted her as she took the form of a beautiful woman. She seduced many men over the course of many years, giving birth to almost one thousand children. In the beginning they were more human than immortal, living and dying, unrecognizable as anything else, until a few generations passed and the first one was able to commune with her deceased children, who could commune with their living progeny, all female.

  They were undetected until a young woman in love revealed her secret to a young soldier in the Universal. Not knowing what else to do, he reported her to his senior commander. The young woman was tortured for information and then experimented on until she finally committed suicide.

  Michyle sifted through hundreds of files, until he came to the image of a women that bore a remarkable resemblance to Caressa. A chill ran down his spine as he observed the stamp that was pressed across it, “Terminated.”

  “Where will they take her?” Michyle had asked Jobarus.

  “We don’t know. Once they are in the fold, there is no getting to them, unless we happen to see one we recognize. They’ve learned to cloak their signal. This is how we track them. It is extremely rare for us to see one.” Jobarus explained. “The ones we found did not even realize what they were, forgotten orphans who decided to move from some remote village to the mainstream Univers
al society.”

  “But, somehow she knew, she found out…” Michyle puzzled out loud.

  “She must have found a way to contact her lineage.” Jobarus said. “It’s the only way, unless she knew before.” Jobarus offered.

  Michyle shook his head. “What have any these people done?”

  “Nothing yet.” Jobarus admitted. “But, with each passing generation they get stronger and stronger.”

  “How can that be, she is almost blind.” Michyle reasoned.

  “It does not matter. The power comes from those before her, in her lineage.” Jobarus explained.

  “But, not one of them has done anything dangerous or even slightly illegal.” Michyle reasoned out loud. “How can you condemn an entire race of people who have done nothing wrong?”

  “I just follow orders.” Jobarus reasoned.

  “And that makes it alright?” Michyle asked.

  “What do you think the technology that you have uncovered does?” Jobarus asked. “Don’t tell me you think the Universal stopped at making high speed cookers and flight engines? You know that same technology goes into weapons.”

  “Never once did I try to track down an innocent blind woman in order to hand her over for eventual torture and termination. “ Michyle pointed out.

  “When they catch her, whose technology do you think they will use to eventually torture and terminate her? Nanophysics makes everything so much easier.” Jobarus countered.

  “So long as there is a breath in my body, you will never touch one hair on her head.” Michyle promised.

  “We shall see.” Jobarus answered.

  Michyle stared at his desk as despair threatened to eat him alive. He was hit by the possibility that less than twelve hours ago, he’d held his wife in his arms for the last time. He banged hard on the desk before flinging all of its contents to the floor.

  Caressa stood in the middle of an immaculate cave, made of onyx and marble. Through her lenses the smooth coolness of the walls appeared gray and white. Peshra appeared before her, and though to everyone else, Peshra was in human form; Caressa saw her as she really was, a mass of energy and light, with no beginning or ending. The colors changed, fading in brightness, and sharpening in intensity.

  “Welcome, daughter.” Peshra’s voice seemed to come from everywhere and echoed against the walls of the cave. “You are very fortunate to have made it to us. Here you are cloaked from the reach of the Universal. You and your daughter will be safe.”

  “I thank you very much, Peshra for your protection.” Caressa started and paused as she thought of Michyle, and his effort to follow her in the vehicle.

  “But…” Peshra sensed her hesitation and prodded her forward.

  “My husband,” Caressa continued. “Is there any way…”

  “No.” Peshra cut her off. “There is a war outside of these walls. You are allowed outside, for no more than two weeks at a time, when you are ready to have another child. Then you must find a mate and return.”

  “But, I found my mate…” Caressa started.

  “You must forget the scientist.” Peshra urged her. “Love is not an option for our kind.”

  Caressa bowed her head, knowing that she could not fight this sort of thinking. Not so long as she was pregnant and needed Peshra’s protection, if only for the sake of her child.

  “I can heal your eyes.” Peshra offered. “You will be able to see as the humans do.

  “Alright. But I am accustomed to my vision now, is there any way for me to switch between the two?” Caressa asked.

  “Of course.” Peshra agreed. “I will give you the power to choose.” Peshra extended the light of her energy towards Caressa and her vision was made whole.

  She took in forms and real people for the first time and smiled. Her eyes rested on Chara.

  “Chara?” She asked as she looked at the woman who stood at least a head shorter than everyone else.

  “Yes.” She said with half a smile.

  “Now, it is time for you to take rest.” Peshra interrupted. “You’ve had a long day. Your quarters await you.” Peshra walked away and Magla escorted her and Chara to their quarters, a suite of white marble walled rooms.

  “This was my mother’s room.” Caressa said out loud.

  “Yes, it was.” Magla looked around the room with a hint of sadness.

  “You knew my mother?” Caressa asked.

  “She was…” Magla paused for a moment. “She was my best friend.”

  “How old was she when she left?” Caressa asked.

  Magla shook her head as if visibly pushing bad thoughts away. “Take rest. I will come back at dinnertime to escort you around.” Magla left without another word.

  Caressa took a seat on the bed and took in the cold walls and minimal decorations. There were no pictures or decorations that made the room warm or inviting. Chara sat next to her.

  “I guess we’re stuck here.” Chara said out loud.

  “Maybe they will let you out.” Caressa said.

  “It’s doubtful.” Chara countered. “I should be fully honest with you.”

  Caressa looked at the small woman with concern.

  “Okay.”

  “I’m a spy with the rebellion. Those thieves that Michyle caught were my companions.”

  “Oh.” Caressa said with half a smile. “That explains how you were able to take charge and help me escape.”

  “Yes, it is also how I know they will not just let me leave. Not any time soon.”

  Caressa heard a deeper sadness in Chara’s words.

  “The other rebels were close to you?” Caressa asked.

  “Justun is my husband.” Chara admitted as tears rose to her eyes. “I don’t know what Michyle will do to him…”

  “Oh, Chara.” Caressa put an arm over her shoulders. “Michyle told me that he was going to release those boys as soon as they reached the colony. He told them to schedule a meeting and could discuss their needs civilly.”

  “He… he did?” Chara asked.

  “Of course.” Caressa said. “And I want to thank you for helping me get away. It may take some time, but I promise I will get you back to your husband.”

  “And I will help you get back to yours.” Chara agreed.

  Caressa felt a strong sense of fatigue overtake her.

  “I just need to rest for now.” Caressa said.

  Chara stood. “I’m going to look around. Get some rest.”

  Chara left the room and Caressa stretched out on the bed resting her head against the pillow and smiled at the smell of orange lilies.

  “Mother.” She whispered. In an instant she was standing before her at the lake. She smiled. “All these years, I wanted you. All I had to do was call for you.”

  “Had I lived, I would have taught you all of this.” Lania assured her. “But, we are together again, at last.”

  “What will happen to us here?” Caressa asked.

  “You will be cared for and protected. Peshra will let no harm come to you or your baby.” Lania promised. “As long as you stay here, you will be safe.”

  “Why did you leave, mother?” Caressa asked. “If this place is so wonderful, why didn’t you stay?”

  “I will tell you at another time.” Lania promised. “Now it is time for you to rest. You’ve had a long day. Sleep now, and when you awake, Peshra will introduce you to the rest of your family, and we will teach you what powers we hold.” Caressa felt herself suddenly become even more exhausted and fell into a deep sleep that seemed to last longer than normal.

  Chapter Eleven

  Michyle felt the frustration of the passing months overwhelm him in one moment of deep anguish and despair. She had to be on that planet. He searched every colony and rustic village of Venus that he came across. He tried to picture her with a swollen belly. He wondered if she would have that glow that people talked about concerning pregnant women. He thought about her eyes, he wondered if she would still be able to recognize him by voice. He wondered if she
still felt as strongly for him as he did for her.

  How could she be away from him for so long and not send word that she was all right, or of the child that grew inside of her? It was not fair. He was not sure what he would say to her if he found her. He was not sure what it was that drove him forward.

  It was frightening, the obsession of the search. He’d abandoned everything else, his parents, his research and even the Universal. Most of the crew from his ship had quit, not willing to work for a man who seemed to be going mad. Kopha and Merda stayed. He was sure that a sense of guilt kept them on the ship, a guilt they hoped to eradicate by finding her.

  Two of the boys had stayed, the spies, Justun and Carvin. Michyle had told them to go home on the same day he’d lost Caressa, but they refused. Having lost someone as well, they were as determined to find Chara as he was to find Caressa. He’d directed all of his frustrations on them in the first few days of the search. But Justun finally stood up to him.

  “We’re sorry!” Justun yelled in the middle of Michyle’s tirade. “We should never have come aboard. We should have stayed home and been happy with what we had. You are not the only one to lose someone you love!”

  Michyle realized he was right. They were all in this together.

  Caressa spent the first few months in hiding learning more and more about the power of her people. Even though they lived in a marble and onyx environment, Peshra had created an underground paradise for them surrounding a naturally occurring underground body of water that flowed through the cave. There were flowers and animals. She watched as the other women showed her how they could bend the laws of nature and physics. Levitation, telepathy, harnessing fire and water, controlling the temperature, and even disappearing were only a few of the skills they displayed.

  Peshra tried to work with Caressa to teach her how to access these abilities. However, as time moved on, they began to think that perhaps Caressa wouldn’t be able to because she was too old to learn. Caressa didn’t feel too disappointed by this. She focused her energy on staying healthy for the baby that grew bigger and bigger inside of her. She held onto the hope of both of them reuniting with Michyle.