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  “What kind of favour?” Okil asked, suspicious now.

  “She told me she had a son. That she was running from the father and could I look after him for a few days.” Tikki remembered it well, remembered the hunted look on Sienna’s once-beautiful face. She knew she should have said no, but her friend was standing there with a little boy whom she said needed protecting. Events afterward proved she was telling the truth.

  “What happened, Tikki?” he asked, seeing the sadness on her face and putting a hand on her to comfort her. She closed her eyes and let the sensations envelope her before she carried on.

  “I didn’t hear from her again.” She gave a shuddering sigh, as she fought to hold back her tears. “And then five days ago, her body was found in the canal. They say it was an accident…”

  “I’m so sorry,” Okil said. “I should have been here for you.”

  “I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t. I promised her I would look after Charlie. Keep him safe.”

  “You still have the child?”

  “Yes. So you see now why I can’t go to Karal. I can’t let him go back to his father. I promised her … and now she’s dead.”

  Chapter Three – Okil

  Okil felt the room spin around him. He clung to her, not wanting to let her go. This couldn’t be happening. Not now.

  “How old is he?” Okil asked. He could wait a couple of years, maybe three; he would still be in his prime.

  “Five. I never even knew she had a child. It appears there was a lot I didn’t know about her.”

  “Can’t you find someone else to look after him?” Okil had to ask, but he knew the answer, and also knew he would not want Tikki to be any other way.

  “No. There is no one I trust. And I promised her. I can’t go back on my word. He’s settled here with me. There is no way I can expect him to move again. It’s bad enough that he lost his mom, I can’t let him lose me too.”

  “But you didn’t know him before.” Okil hated himself for trying to persuade her to give up the boy.

  “No. I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t bonded with me. I don’t think he had a good life before.” She looked away from him, not knowing if he would understand what she said next. “I think my friend was a prostitute. She sold her body to pents. In return, she breathed their air and ate their food. Charlie was a dirty secret she wanted to keep hidden, and then the father found out and came after what was his.”

  He placed his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. Looking into her eyes, he knew he had to find a way to be with this woman. She was everything to him. He leaned forward and kissed her, letting his colours flow over his skin. When he released her, he said, “I have nothing against your friend for selling her body. It is what we ask, and expect, human females to do. Isn’t it?”

  “I never thought of it like that,” she said, her eyes searching his. “Probably because I have never thought of us being together in that context. We are lovers, Okil, nothing less.”

  He smiled at her, his fingers stroking her cheek. “Nothing less. But so much more.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, placing her head on his chest and holding him tight. For Tikki this was goodbye; he could sense that now. She fully expected him to walk out of her life and never come back.

  “What if I could find a way of smuggling Charlie onto Karal?” It was the most absurd idea he had ever had. However, he was determined they would be together on Karal.

  “And then what? He spends his life in hiding? That is no life for a little boy.”

  “I know. But I just cannot accept that our dream is over. The Hier Council wants me to work on Karal with the new arrivals. Once the lottery goes to a daily draw, there will be a huge influx of females who will have to be cared for. I have been asked to organise everything, including the choosing of the females who will go on the deep space missions.”

  “And that is what you must do, Okil; this is more important than us. The fact that the human race has a chance of survival because of the Karal is one of the most wonderful things imaginable. You have given us hope.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

  “And what of my hopes? What of our dreams?”

  “There are so many other women on Earth. You will find one that is so much better than me, you will wonder what you ever saw in me.” And then she erupted into tears. “I’m so torn, Okil. But I can’t leave him alone. I just can’t.”

  “I will find a solution,” he said, but there was none that he could see. The only way would be to take the child on the cruiser after the draw in two days’ time. That was the last of the monthly draws. One week later, the cruiser would be carrying two or three females at once. There would be no way to stow him away; the cruisers were too small. No, if this was to be done, it had to be now.

  “Promise me you will not risk your life for us. We will survive here. I have so far.” He heard her words but knew he couldn’t leave it like that; his life had more meaning when she was in it. And yet his loyalty to Karal forbade him breaking its laws for his own selfish needs.

  “I know you will survive. But you were so happy to finally be able to travel to Karal, for us to be together and for you to see your sister again.”

  “I am just glad we decided to keep it a secret from Elissa. At least this way she won’t be let down.” Tikki lifted her head. She placed one hand on either side of Okil’s face and kissed him as though she were branding him with her lips.

  “I love you, Tikki,” he whispered.

  “And I love you, Okil, with all of my heart.”

  Pulling away from her, he said, “I should go.” He had to get his emotions under control before he met with the President, and he couldn’t do that here. At that moment his skin lit up like one of those Christmas trees humans used to put up to celebrate the season of giving gifts.

  “I will never forget you,” she said.

  As he opened the door to leave, he turned to her and said, “This is not the end, Tikki.”

  “I hope not,” she said, but the look on her face mirrored the feeling in his soul. There was no solution to this problem, short of getting the Hier Council to change the law on humans living on Karal.

  At present they only allowed a small amount of human females. Males were explicitly banned from their world, no allowances were made, and even the Earth’s President had not been allowed to travel to the planet Karal. The furthest he had got was the space station. He had insisted on visiting there to make sure what the Karal had told him about their species was true.

  He had been somewhat disgruntled at not being able to make a short visit to the planet itself. But Lytril was adamant that no human male would ever be welcome on Karal. The President had to be content with a gift of food: fresh fruit was delivered to his house each time a lottery draw took place.

  Okil was sure the food was never distributed amongst the people, not even his staff. Humans could be selfish in so many ways. And then he thought of Tikki, and his love for humans returned. The ordinary people of Earth were the reason he worked tirelessly to help the human race survive.

  Chapter Four – Tikki

  Tikki walked to fetch Charlie from the family who had agreed to look after him while she worked. It cost a third of her small wage, making things even tighter for her budget, but there was no alternative. She couldn’t carry on like this, though; in two months time she wouldn’t be able to make her rent, and she couldn’t afford to be evicted.

  Her mind wandered off to Okil and everything they had planned, the places he had told her about on Karal, places he intended to take her. They had dreamed of sharing a life together on his planet for months. Ever since he had visited her after Elissa had won the lottery, when he brought her some fresh food and had given her news of her sister’s happiness.

  He had been so warm, so intrigued by her humanness, and she had fallen for him. His soft eyes, the way a burst of blue shot across his face when he laughed. Her throat contracted as tears
welled in her eyes. There was no point dwelling on the past. And right now, Okil belonged firmly in the past.

  Instead, she switched her thoughts to Charlie. He was such a sweet kid, but Mrs. Drummond, the mother who looked after him, had voiced her concern at how little he spoke. Tikki hadn’t realised it, not until she saw him next to Bobbi Drummond, who was a child of similar age. It had set her thinking. Was there something was wrong with Charlie? And that had turned to worry about med bills if he needed drugs or stims of some kind. However, within the short time he had spent with Tikki, and with the Drummonds, his vocabulary and confidence had grown. It all made Tikki wonder about the life he’d led with his mom Sienna.

  Nearly at the Drummond’s house, she crossed the street, her eye drawn to the StreamScreen above her head. It was advertising the lottery—not that they needed to, enough women entered it anyway. Tikki put her hand on her neck, feeling for the tag there. It was buried under her skin, so of course she couldn’t feel it, but it reminded her of how excited she had been, knowing she was old enough to enter the lottery and to be Okil’s mate. All that was gone. Thanks to an old friend and a small child.

  And that small child, clutching his teddy in its usual place under his arm, was waiting for her at the door, holding hands with Mrs. Drummond and looking down the street. He smiled, his little teeth white against red lips, his skin pale. Her heart had a weird fluttering it did when she saw him, a kind of love that was different to that she felt for Okil. She never thought she would have a maternal side, but Charlie bought it out in her; she would do anything to keep him safe and happy. She would also do anything to protect him.

  It made her sad to think she would never experience the same emotions with her own child, because she had already realised that after being with Okil, there would never be another man for her. He was her world, and Charlie had shattered it.

  “Hi there, Charlie boy,” she said waving.

  “Tikki Mommy,” he said, lifting his arms for her to pick him up. She did, lifting him up and tickling him. He giggled beautifully, the sound making her laugh; even Mrs. Drummond smiled, not a thing that happened very often. With four children under eight, things were very tight in the Drummond household, which was the only reason she had offered to look after Charlie; they needed the money.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Drummond, same time on Friday?” Tikki asked, resting Charlie on her hip.

  “Same time. And if you are this late again, I will have to charge you for another hour.”

  “I’m only …” She was going to say she was only five minutes late, and that was because the street down to the canal had been closed—some fool had gone walkabout down there in the night and fallen in. A common occurrence in the last few weeks. No, don’t think of Sienna’s bloated body, of seeing her lying there cold and lifeless on a slab. “I’m only sorry I couldn’t get here on time,” Tikki said in the end, knowing that she could not afford to lose Mrs. Drummond as a babysitter.

  “Hmm, well, next time it will cost you five extra coins.” With that she went inside and slammed the door shut.

  “A good day to you too,” Tikki said. Charlie just laughed.

  “Good day,” he mimicked. “Good day, Tikki Mommy.”

  “You know, you could just call me Tikki,” she said to him, putting him down on the ground and holding his small hand in hers. Tikki often wondered if Charlie found it as comforting as she did to hold hands.

  “I like Tikki Mommy,” Charlie said firmly.

  “I know you do. But it is a little long and I am not your mommy.” They had had the same conversation many times, but he always carried on saying it. She ought to get used to it. But although she loved him, she didn’t feel ready to be a Mommy. Couldn’t she just pretend to be his big sister instead?

  “I like it,” he said and that seemed to be the end to it.

  “Let’s go home and get some dinner,” she said, glancing at the big screen once more. Charlie looked up too; he was always fascinated by the colours. Only this time he stopped on the street, staring up at the screen.

  “Funny Daddy,” he said.

  She nearly loosed his hand as she carried on walking, but she held on to the tips of his fingers, looking up at the screen to see if there was a cartoon hero on it. But the face of the man who had drowned in the canal still looked down on them.

  “Does he look like your daddy?” Tikki asked. She had no idea who Charlie’s father was.

  “Funny Daddy is like Tikki Mommy.”

  “You mean he isn’t your real daddy, but looked after you? Like I am looking after you?”

  “Yes.” Charlie was still staring at the screen, and Tikki suddenly had the overwhelming urge to pick him up and run. If the man staring back at them had any connection to Charlie, that was bad news. It surely couldn’t be a coincidence that two people so closely connected to Charlie had fallen into the canal.

  “Come on, Charlie, let’s go eat. I bet I can find you a cookie,” she said, hoping she could live up to her promise, but there were still a few luxuries left in her apartment from Okil’s last visit. All she wanted to do was get out of here and hide. Suddenly everyone around her on the crowded street was a potential murderer, come to take back Charlie and give him to back to his real father. A father who had now murdered twice.

  “Chocolate cookie?” Charlie asked excitedly.

  “Might be, we’ll have to go and have a look. Coming?” She pulled him forward and he followed, trusting her, smiling at the thought of the cookie.

  Tikki looked around as they walked, but none of the faces jumped out at her; no one looked like a murderer. She thought of Okil, and wished he was a human from Earth so she could call him and ask him what she should do. But there was no way to contact Okil, even if he was still on Earth. No, she was on her own and would be from now on.

  “Reja,” she said quietly, and instead of heading straight home, she went in the direction of the hair salon where her friend worked.

  “Aren’t we going home?” Charlie asked.

  “Soon, Charlie, we are just going to visit Auntie Reja first.”

  “Will she have a cookie?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure, but if she doesn’t, there is still one waiting for you at home.” She turned down a side alley and they walked about half a mile to a small shop in a back street. Reja liked to impress people by calling the place she worked a salon, but in fact it was a pitiful place. Women with long hair came here and had it cut off to sell to the wigmakers who catered to the pents and the StreamStars. Tikki had seen grown women cry over having to sell their dignity for the price of a loaf of bread. But long hair was no comfort to hungry children. Tikki opened the door of the shop. There were no customers in there, only Reja picking over the long strands, cleaning them and packaging them ready for collection.

  “You aren’t so desperate that you need me to cut your hair are you, Tikki?” Reja asked, smiling at her friend and then waving at Charlie. “Hello there, young man. Shall I see if I have a special treat for you?”

  “Yes please,” Charlie said, happy now they had taken a detour to come here.

  Reja disappeared into the back room and came out with a small box. She opened the lid and there sat six chocolates. Not simchoc: no, this was the real thing. Tikki’s mouth watered just to look at them.

  “They are beautiful,” Tikki said quietly.

  “I know. A client bought them in as a thank-you. She said I had the best quality hair in the city.”

  “And she gave you chocolates.”

  “Yes. I would rather she told all her friends to come here instead, I certainly could do with the uptick in business, but I can’t remember the last time I had real chocolate, so I’m not complaining.

  “Are you sure? About letting Charlie have one?”

  “Yes, I am. You are the sweetest boy I know, so here, Charlie, take your pick.”

  Charlie took one, choosing one with a squiggly pattern of white chocolate over a sumptuous-looking rich, dark velvety truffle
, not realising quite what a precious thing he held in his hand. “Thank you, Reja.”

  “You are welcome, little man,” Reja said, smiling as he bit into the chocolate, licking her lips as if she could taste it herself.

  While Charlie ate his chocolate, Tikki asked Reja, “Did you see the image of the man who drowned in the canal last night?”

  “Yes. I saw it on the StreamScreen at lunchtime. What a waste, he slipped in the dark and fell into the water. Couldn’t swim. Or so they say.”

  “What do you mean or so they say? Do you think he was murdered?”

  Reja laughed. “You have a hyperactive imagination. I didn’t mean he was murdered. I meant they say he drowned and not that he died of poisoning. Do you have any idea what is in that water? I expect there are enough pollutants in there to burn the flesh from your body.”

  “Oh,” Tikki said.

  “What? Do you know something I don’t?” She stared at Tikki. “Oh my goodness! Do you think he was murdered?”

  “No,” Tikki protested. “I don’t know what I think. I don’t even know who he was.”

  “He was one of the StreamStars who worked on the Karal Project.”

  “The Karal Project?” Tikki asked. She had never heard of it.

  “Well, you should watch more then just the RealityStarStreams. That way you might learn something. The Karal Project is a franchise set up to prove that the Karalians have something more sinister in mind other than simply wanting females to breed with.”

  Tikki began to feel a little sick; this was worse than she thought. “And you think the aliens killed him? Why, because he found something out about the Karal they didn’t want the world to know?”

  “I can’t imagine Okil killing anyone,” Tikki added quietly.

  “But your Okil is the only alien you really know. There are hundreds, thousands of them.” Reja watched Tikki’s face drop, and then said, “Hey, it might not even be the Karal. And I know it wouldn’t be Okil.”