Cloud Rebel (R-D #3)(47)

"Wow. What's the Larentii homeworld like, then?"

"Imagine an Earth with no industry, no shopping, no streets or roads—just wild, with tree-covered mountains and wide, open meadows where falaca graze. The houses they build, well, think of the marble buildings in Rome, with most of the roof open to the sky. They don't need kitchens or bathrooms, so anything in their home is purely for other comforts."

"Television?"

"None. Their version of television is folding space to another world and watching real people. Most of the time, those people don't even know they're there. I wish you could read some of their histories in the Archives—they're written from a neutral standpoint, because there's nothing for the Larentii to gain by slanting the story in one direction or another."

"That's incredible," James breathed. "Wow." He shook his head at the thought of it.

"Val's father is Chief Archivist there. It's scary what he knows and has seen. Val is one of his four sons, all of whom are Assistant Archivists."

"Where do you think you'll go for sunlight?" James asked as we pulled up to a stoplight.

"I don't know. Val likes Hawaii."

"Can I go?" he asked wistfully.

"You know, Nathan probably needs a break, too," I said. "Why don't we take both of you?"

*

"We just decided—we want our wedding here," James floated by in the pool fed by Val's favorite waterfall. He and Nathan were both naked and swimming—or in James' case, floating, while Val and I soaked up sunlight. At Val's insistence, we were both naked and our full, blue selves.

"Hawaii is beautiful," Val agreed. "Of course you should marry where you feel happy and at peace."

"That's as good an excuse as anything we could come up with," Nathan stopped swimming for a moment to tread water and talk.

"I'll make sure it's paid for," I said.

"I still have money in that account you opened for me," James said. "We decided to use that for the wedding."

"Then we're good." I leaned against Val's chest and closed my eyes with a sigh.

"Holy shit," James breathed.

I opened my eyes to see what had happened.

In this case, it was what had arrived.

"I am a who," Kalenegar, Head of the Larentii Council, declared. Ridding himself of his clothing with a thought, he sat beside Val and me. "Continue frolicking," he waved a hand at James and Nathan. "Have sex if you want. Larentii are surprised by nothing."

I clapped a hand over my mouth—it wasn't polite to guffaw. At least I didn't think it was.

"Lean back, close your eyes and rest," Valegar said, pulling me closer. "Kalenegar is here to feed with us."

I opened my eyes again. "You know there are some politicians," I said to Kalenegar, "who think that sharing our sunbeam here will deplete the amount of sunlight available for all of us."

Kal studied me for a moment before his eyes lit with humor and he smiled. "Tell that to the plants," he chuckled and turned his face toward the light.

"His cock is huge," I heard Nathan whisper to James.

I collapsed against Val, laughing.

*

Ilya

"Cabbage?" I found her sitting in the kitchen at the ugly building in Arlington. It was obvious that wherever she'd gone with Valegar, she'd taken James and Nathan with her. Both sat beside her at the island while eating soup and sandwiches from a nearby deli.

"We have some for you, too," she turned and gave me a smile.

"We went to Hawaii," James explained. "I feel so relaxed, now."

"Roast-beef?" I asked, heading for the white paper bags stacked on one end of the island.

"I got two for you," she said. "Plus au jus if you want to dip."

"That sounds wonderful." I opened bags to find dinner. "Do we have anything to drink?"

"Depends on what you want," she said.

"I'll take whatever you have."

"I'll have some, too," Leo Shaw walked into the kitchen. "Everybody here, now?"

"We're all here. I should take Nathan back to Canada later, but that can wait," Corinne said. "You need something?"

"I'll go back to Canada with Nathan, then," Leo said. "I hear things may be a bit strained, there."

"If Finch would stop being an ass," James said.

"Leo, you need to watch Dr. Farrell," Corinne suggested. "I think he's having issues, since he's only now learning that Jen isn't Maye."

"That concerns me," he said. "In fact, it was a call from him that turned my attention back to Canada."

"I'll take you. Call if you need me afterward, too," she offered. "I don't want him stalking Jen or giving anyone she's interested in a hard time."

"Understood. Did you learn anything at the White House, today?"

"Nothing significant," she shrugged.

Taking my sandwich and au jus from a bag, I took the barstool next to Corinne. "Did you decide what you wanted to drink?" she asked while Dr. Shaw rummaged through the bags for a sandwich.