“No, you,” he said. “I insist.”

Her mouth quirked, but she gamely shimmied up the vines, and he tried not to watch as her buttocks flexed beneath thin panties just inches above him. Her legs were long and shapely.

“Don’t get distracted,” she called down.

He gave her a few seconds and followed, reaching her at the window and sliding in behind her, not too close. It was dark inside the building, but he’d brought the flashlight, and it revealed strangely curved walls in a large, airy space, bigger than humans would likely build outside a church. This was a main hall that wrapped around even larger interior spaces, and it connected to massive stairways that led up even further. Avery and Sheridan had to help each other up the stairs, her standing on his shoulders to reach a lip and then holding a hand down for him. It took more work than he had bargained for, but at last they reached a door that spilled out onto the roof. The building seemed to be composed of some sort of thick ceramic, though a ceramic capable of enduring for countless years, and small cracks ran through the material of the roof, some widened by tree roots. Date trees sprouted up in copses all over, waving in a gentle wind.

Getting down on her hands and knees, then her belly, Sheridan wriggled to the edge of the roof. Avery waited for her to call her findings back to him, but when she didn’t he threw himself prostrate and joined her. Together they stared down into the alien city, their elbows nearly touching.

“Wish I had some binoculars,” she muttered.

They could see figures moving below, going about errands of their own, but no details.

“My gods,” Avery said, “there’s so many ...”

There seemed to be thousands of people here, and not just humans, but Nisaar and other non-human species, too, all residents of the general region. Framed against the colossal buildings, the figures seemed like gnats. The activity was mostly concentrated around a large downtown, what might have been the capitol district of the long-vanished race that had erected this city. There were five grand buildings that seemed to be palaces or the like arrayed at equidistant points, like the points of a star, but they did not seem large, as there was another structure in the center of that star pattern, a massive black dome, the very heart of the city, that dwarfed every other building in town. The dome was also the center of something else.

All the vines terminated there.

“You said your people were following the vines,” Sheridan said. “What exactly did they expect to find at the place where they joined?”

He realized he’d said too much. “How exactly are you going to deal with Layanna?” he said. “Without the knife?”

It was her turn not to answer.

He removed the blade and held it out over the lip of the roof. She watched but didn’t tense or move to stop him.

“What would happen if I dropped it?” he asked.

“That would be foolish on your part. Then you wouldn’t have a weapon to use against others of her kind.” She expressed no fear, only stating facts. Of course, she was an accomplished liar.

He slid the knife back into his waistband. She was right, and it would not avail her against Layanna anyway; Layanna would have fed by now, and he would make sure she saw Sheridan coming.

Sheridan drew away from the roof and rested her back against a date tree. After a moment, he joined her, propping himself up against a neighboring tree. With an elaborate gesture, she yawned, rucking her top against her breasts, outlining her nipples clearly. Her well-toned legs adjusted position.

“I don’t know about you,” she said, “but I’m tired. Think I’ll catch some sleep.”

“Shouldn’t we take shifts or something?”

“What’s the point?”

“How will you reacquire your quarry if you’re asleep?”

“How will I reacquire her if I’m exhausted?” She smiled. “Besides, if she does come, I expect there to be some commotion. I’m sure the screams will wake me.”

He excused himself and threaded through the various copses, coming to the other side of the roof, where he hid the knife, then relieved himself, but as he was shaking himself dry his thoughts strayed to Sheridan wriggling toward the lip of the roof, and, to his great annoyance, his member stiffened, standing as rigid as a flag-pole.

He thought about stroking it to relieve the pressure, but he didn’t want to do it while thinking about Sheridan—Layanna was not right about him—so he willed himself flaccid, which took some doing, before returning to her. She had curled up near the tree, already breathing steadily, but there was a half smile on one side of her lips that made him self-conscious.

He laid down some feet away, wishing he had a blanket or some way of keeping warm. Wind blew cold up here, and the night only made it colder. The stars above seemed distant and remote. His flesh prickled.

Despite himself, his eyelids grew heavy, and before he knew it he slept. Some time later he came awake at some change that had taken place, and realized it was simply that Sheridan had come to stretch beside him. Her heat warmed him, and he went back to sleep.

When next he woke, the sun was up, and her face was to him. Her eyes, still drowsy, were open.

“’morning,” he said, hearing the slur in his voice.

“Morning.”

She reached out a hand and caressed his chest, following some pattern, and he realized she was tracing his striations. For a moment he feared that she would be repelled, even though she had seen the markings before, and he chastised himself for worrying what she thought.

“My doctor,” she said, almost sadly, but softly, “a fish man. I don’t think I ever saw the markings under the sun before. It makes them more ...”

“Yes?”

“... colorful.”

He breathed out. “We can’t do this again, Sheridan.”

“‘Sheridan’, now, is it?”

He breathed in. “Jess.”

“Francis.”

Her mouth was very close. One of her legs rubbed up against him, and he became aware of a breast pushing against his arm. He could feel her nipple, tight and hard. Her breast felt very firm, and he knew if he reached over and squeezed it, it would be. He felt himself begin to stiffen, or rather grow stiffer; as usual, he had woken up with a hard-on.

“No,” he said. “Really, we can’t.”

“We can. You can’t finish inside me—I’m not ready for stripes of my own—but there are other ways, like we used in Laisha ...”

She leaned over to kiss him. He pulled away, but as he moved one of his hands found her breast and, as if it had a mind of its own, squeezed. He moaned. She bent forward again, tugging at his bottom lip with her teeth, gently, then rubbing her lips around his. He kissed back, turning sideways, pushing himself against her. His hand moved from her breast, around her back and down, squeezing a muscular buttock. She murmured something into his mouth.

She climbed astride him, ripping her top off, letting her breasts bounce free, and his member, straining against his underwear, rubbed the spot where her legs came together.

He sucked on a breast, licked the nipple, then flipped her over with himself on top, spreading her legs beneath him, and bent to tug down his underwear. It was then, as he popped free, that he looked up at a certain sound and saw Layanna.

*   *   *

Janx and Hildra were just behind her. The three stared agape at Avery and Sheridan, as if unable to figure out what they were looking at. The doorway was framed behind them, and they had obviously only just arrived.

Shock and pain crossed Layanna’s face, and a startled gasp came from her mouth. She turned away.

Avery realized he was still out (Oh dear gods) and tucked himself back in. He rolled off Sheridan and tried to compose himself, as Sheridan rolled back the other way, in the direction of her gun—too late.

Janx, his face a mask of wrath, had closed the distance between himself and the admiral. With his blackened right hand he grabbed her by the throat and hauled her, feet kicking, into the air. If she’d been less distracted and more herself, she might have been able to reach her gun in time, but as it was she was helpless against Janx’s brawn. Her nails dug into his huge hand, not trying to claw him but simply trying to take some of the weight of her body.