What had seemed so attractive to her before her recent jump, Kaa’s unification of all the mutie races
against the norms, now seemed utterly wrong to her. For a time she had been ready to spill the blood of every norm, if necessary, to free “her people.” Now she wasn’t Now she was able to measure Kaa’s philosophy through her own perspective.
Sure, mutants had been getting the wrong end of the stick from norms for a long, long time. Sure, mutants outnumbered them. Sure, mutants weren’t inherently evil. But neither were norms. Some of the norms she’d met were capable of compassion, gentleness, decency, honor. In a world peopled by far too few honorable beings, it seemed a criminal waste to chill every norm. After all, mutants decidedly weren’t inherently good, either. Not only that, but there was something twisted in most of them, though not each and every one. In a way they were a danger to the human species and she knew that was the root of the way many norm humans reacted to them. Krysty knew that from her own experience. So why should the bad mutants live while the good norms died?
It made no sense.
In some other situation, in some other place, she might have raised these questions to Kaa. She might have even debated with him, point by point. But here, trapped in his lair, far from her friends if they still lived, sitting so close to him, she had no intention of risking an argument This despite the fact that he had shown no tendency to temper. In fact he seemed quite gentle. Except when he was lost in the throes of a third-eye fit
His politeness and reserve only made the whole situation more confusing for her. If he had been violent and threatening, she could have written him off as just another Death lands thug. But clearly he wasn’t. She could see how that genteel part of him might have been attractive to her, but she couldn’t understand how she could have overlooked the repulsiveness of his physical appearance, how she could have agreed, without a second thought, to mate with him. She deeply regretted that decision now.
“Angelica, you seem distant,” he said. “Are you all right?”
She managed to smile up at him. She was less successful in her attempt to avoid staring at the wiry little creature that was wriggling under the skin of his cheek. “I’m fine,” she said, shifting her gaze to the mossy green shadows that framed his front teem.
“Good,” he said, “then let’s go. Everything is ready downstairs. I can’t stand to wait any longer.”
Offering a hand, he helped her to her feet, then guided her out of the room and down the second-story corridor.
“I wish my friend and sponsor, the owner of this place, was here to witness our wedding,” Kaa said. “Pressing business called him away to another part of Death lands. I know he’ll be disappointed.”
Krysty wasn’t listening. She walked like a pull toy on a string. As they descended the wide, carpeted staircase, the woman saw the audience Kaa had assembled for their wedding. Standing in front of the great
windows of the house were a few do/en stickies, mostly immature ones, some still suckling, and Jak Lauren.
Krysty wanted to break away from Kaa’s grasp, but she didn’t. It was so strange. She was reluctant to hurt his feelings, but ready to chill him if given half the chance.
Jak looked apprehensive as she took her place by the window.
The ceremony was brief and to the point Kaa asked her to be his wife and bear his offspring. She said she would, though she didn’t intend on doing anything of the kind. There was no public kissing to seal the deal; for that, Krysty was thankful. Kaa scooped her up in his massive arms and carried her back up the stairs.
“I know we will be content,” he was saying.
Again she wasn’t listening. She was trying to think of a way to escape before the marriage was consummated.
He carried her into a lavish bedroom suite and gently set her down on the edge of the bed. She noticed that his huge hands were trembling, and that there was a great bulge stretching out the front of his loincloth.