The Falcon Prince

Chapter 3

“He told me he was an alien from another planet,” Ria explained to Heath.

Heath gave an exasperated sigh, but before he could open his mouth, Ria hurried on.

“And no, I don’t think he’s an alien, but I do think he’s certifiable, and he’s renting my old room from my parents. He could murder them in the middle of the night. I want you to lock him up. Put him in the state hospital…something.”

“How about if I just talk to him for now?”

Just talk? That was all? He was a threat to her parents and possibly the whole community. She opened her mouth to tell him she wanted him to do more, but his expression said that was all he would do for now. It was a start, she supposed. “Fine. You’ll see. The guy is off his rocker.”

Heath scanned the park.

“There he is,” she said, pointing Kristor out. He was looking quite unconcerned that he was about to be carted off to the loony bin. The guy probably didn’t even know he was crazy. Heath would help rectify the situation, she was sure.

Heath started toward Kristor, or whatever his name was. It could be an alias for all she knew. Ria stayed right on Heath’s heels.

He stopped, studying her for a moment. “Wait here.”

“Wait here? But…but…” Of course. It made sense. Heath had a gun and everything, and if there was a tussle, he couldn’t concentrate on taking the stranger down if he was worried she’d get hurt.

“Okay, but be careful. He’s pretty big.”

“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” Heath said, without much conviction.

And Kristor was big. The guy had some serious muscles. Sexy muscles. Not that she was even remotely attracted to him. The guy was a nut case. The outside package tempted her, she wouldn’t deny that. It was the inside that scared the hell out of her.

Ria tugged on the hem of her shorts, then twisted the material around her finger. If anything happened to Heath, her parents would disown her, the townspeople would probably kill her, and she was pretty sure Ruffles wouldn’t like her, either.

Not that the cat had much to do with her now. The cat had always seemed fond of Heath, though. Most men actually. Ria had adopted a slutty cat.

But if the stranger hurt Heath, Ria would feel so guilty. Heath was practically an uncle. He’d given Ria her driving test. She frowned. Her first speeding ticket, too.

“You look deep in thought,” Donald Evans said as he came to stand beside her.

She jumped, then quickly smoothed the hem of her shorts and stood straighter. She hadn’t heard his approach.

Donald was looking as handsome as ever. They’d dated for a while. Nothing serious, although Donald would’ve liked to take it to the next level. But when it came to sleeping with him, she drew the line. Maybe she still secretly harbored a grudge because he’d told on her about the whoopee cushion.

But he was handsome, she couldn’t deny that, and it was the reason she’d first started dating him. He was very GQ, with his thick blond hair and blue eyes.

She’d been on a self-improvement quest that month and thought dating him would help. It hadn’t. She’d felt worse about herself. Nothing she had done was right. He always seemed to find fault.

And that coming from a man who didn’t sweat. There was something really strange about a guy who didn’t sweat.

Maybe she was being just as critical as Donald. He had a membership to the local gym, so she was pretty sure he sweated when he worked out. She’d just never seen him looking anything but perfect, and that bothered her.

“So, are you going to tell me what you’re thinking so seriously about?” His gaze followed where she had been looking. His lips formed a straight, irritated line. “Or maybe I should say whom, rather than what.”

“His name is Kristor, he’s renting my old room, and the guy is certifiable.”

His expression relaxed. “Is he the alien you saw?”

For a brief moment, she had a vision of herself screaming at the top of her lungs and pulling at her hair. The only thing stopping her from following through was the fact she didn’t want to be in the same car as the one that would be taking the once naked man, who claimed to be an alien, off to the state hospital.

“I didn’t see an alien,” she ground out. “He told me he was an alien.”

“Ahh…” He still looked skeptical.

Why should he believe her now? He never had in the past.

“I just want him out of my parents’ house.”

“Doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.” Donald nodded toward the two men.

Heath shook the stranger’s hand as though Kristor had just told Heath that he’d won the Texas lottery. What the hell? Heath was grinning when he started back toward her.

“Did he tell you he was an alien?” she asked when he joined them again.

“You must have misunderstood. He’s from another country. Kris is a really great guy. He even agreed to play in the flag football game this afternoon. Good thing—we were short a man, and would’ve had to cancel.” Heath cast a sour look in Donald’s direction.

What?

No, no, no!

“Let me get this straight,” Ria began as calmly as she could. “He won you over because he agreed to play in a stupid football game? And you’re not taking him to the state hospital, not even after the game?”

Heath frowned. “It’s not a stupid game, and I can’t very well lock him up just because he’s a foreigner. How would that look?”

“He said he wanted me to go to his planet, and he would take me there in his spaceship.”

Heath chuckled. “Maybe that was his way of sweet-talking you?”

Beside her, Donald went rigor mortis. Sheesh, it wasn’t as if they were still dating. He didn’t own her. Then again, he could just be concerned the guy was a stranger. Doubtful, though. Donald still acted as if they were an item.

Her attention turned to Kristor. He was helping the Widow Simmons up a steep slope, and she was grinning like a young girl. Good Lord, she was at least eighty-five.

“You could do worse.” Heath glanced at Donald again, then back to her. “And you’re not getting any younger.”

Ria bristled. “Twenty-eight is not that old.”

Donald slipped his arm around Ria’s shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll check this new man out, Deputy. After all, it would be a shame if he was indeed a lunatic. I would rather believe one of our own, than someone you’ve known all of two minutes.”

Heath squared his shoulders. “I’d already planned to do that, since it’s my job. I don’t think you have to worry that I don’t know procedure. I signed on to protect the citizens, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.” He tugged on the end of his hat, then turned and left.

“You can move your arm now,” Ria told him. The heavy weight was like an anchor.

He took his time moving it. “Have lunch with me.”

Donald had inherited the running of his parents’ restaurant when they retired to Florida. It was a good place to eat. Not that they had many choices. It was either the restaurant, the Dairy Queen, or Sonic.

“I’m going to grab Carly a burger, and see how she’s feeling.” It was best not to start something else up with Donald. It had taken her too long to break free of his tight rein the last time.

“I’ll have the cook fix her something special,” he said.

“Donald, I…”

He smiled. “As old friends, nothing more. Carly would much rather have something from the restaurant, I’m sure.”

She didn’t see anything in his expression that would tell her otherwise, and it wasn’t as though she hadn’t known him all her life. “Okay, but I can’t stay long.”

He grinned, taking her hand in his. She looked across the park and caught Kristor watching her. He wore a dark scowl. She had a feeling he didn’t care for Donald’s touching her. What? Did he think she was his property? He might have fooled the deputy, but he didn’t fool her for a second. She stepped closer to Donald just to prove she didn’t belong to Kristor, either. Donald smiled down at her.

“I used to love it when you wore your hair down. It made you look more like a grown woman and less like a ragamuffin. I wish you’d wear it down more often.”

For a moment she’d forgotten exactly what it was about Donald that irritated her. She was so glad he’d reminded her. “Then isn’t it a good thing we’re not dating because I love my hair up. It’s so much cooler.” She smiled.

“Stubborn woman.” He laughed, but it sounded brittle.

“You’re not the first person who’s told me that,” she said. Except when Kristor had said it, it hadn’t sounded quite as condescending.

Lunch went by fairly quickly, mainly because Donald kept getting called away. His irritation was clearly visible. When he had to see about a malfunctioning dishwasher, she took the opportunity to escape.

Carly didn’t live very far away. No one in town lived very far away, though. Ria could cross town in peak traffic, with the light red, and still be at Carly’s in under five. They only had one red light, and a blinking caution light, and a few stop signs that people sort of stopped at.

She climbed the stairs to Carly’s second-floor apartment and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door was opened by a bad imitation of her friend. Carly sported a red nose, and watery, red-rimmed eyes.

“Oh, sweetie, you look awful.”

Carly opened the door wider, then covered her mouth with a tissue when she began to cough. “I feel awful.”

“I brought sustenance.” She raised the white carton.

Carly puffed her cheeks out. “Blah. Food.”

“You have to eat.”

“I’d rather lie down and die.” She moved to the sofa and collapsed on it. “How was the parade?”

Ria took the carton to the kitchen and put it in the fridge for later. “My alien was there,” she said over her shoulder.

Carly sat up with a start, then grabbed her head, and lay back down. “I can’t believe you sprang that on me.”

“Sorry.” Ria went back to the living room and curled up on the chair, keeping a safe distance from any germs floating in the air.

“This was the naked guy you saw in the woods? What happened? I want all the details.”

She had already told Carly everything. Ria had known she could count on her friend to believe her. Now, she quickly related what happened in the park, what Kristor had told Ria about her parents, and then the lies he’d told Heath.

“I take it that you don’t think he’s using a new line to come on to women?”

Ria shook her head. “I think the guy is crazy. Mom doesn’t though.” She grimaced. “You should’ve seen her gush when she talked about him. You’d think he was a god or something. Apparently, he’s casting a spell over the town. Well, at least my parents and Heath. I know why Heath thinks he’s great. He agreed to play in their flag football game this afternoon. But my mom? She should know better.”

“She’ll come to her senses when the newness wears off.”

“If she’s still alive.”

“So what are you going to do?”

Ria sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Know thy enemy.”

“Huh?”

“Go to the football game.”

Ria’s stomach twisted in knots. “I have to. Remember? I’m a cheerleader.” It was Mary Ann Proctor’s fault. That, and the fact Ria had turned down a post on the Women’s League board, which meant if she missed a meeting, she got volunteered for whatever everyone else didn’t want to do. Drat, how could she have forgotten about the football game? It was a community event, and therefore, the league was obliged to participate.

Carly clutched her chest as deep hacking coughs wracked her body again. Ria’s chest ached just watching her.

Carly waved her hand. “Go away before you catch my cold.”

Ria hated leaving Carly, but she probably needed more rest anyway. After making sure Carly had a hot cup of soup, a glass of 7-Up over ice, and a new box of tissues, Ria left. Carly might be right. She was sure she could point out enough faults that people would start to despise Kristor. She nodded. It might just work.

Kristor looked around the locker room. Benches sat low to the floor making his back and legs ache, so he had chosen to stand. A distinct odor hung thick in the air, as though something had died, and they’d forgotten to bury the carcass. Not that he expected a room that housed warriors to smell sweet. He’d been around men long enough to know their body odor was not always pleasant.

That was something else that bothered him. These men did not look like warriors. Heath maybe, although he had gray running through his hair. His reflexes were sharp, though. When someone had tossed him an oddly-shaped, brown ball, he’d caught it.

And there was the man called Neil. He was younger. Heath said he was a deputy. Kristor understood most of the language and knew that probably meant second in charge.

But the others. He shook his head. They had let their bodies go. How did they expect to win a battle? Unless the ones they would battle were in worse condition.

These men came in different shapes and sizes: tall, skinny, short, fat. One man bent to tie the strings on his shoes and when he rose, his face was red, and he could barely draw in a deep breath. No, Kristor couldn’t imagine them winning a battle.

“I want to introduce y’all to Kris. He’ll be taking Smiley Wilson’s place, since Smiley has that bug going around,” Heath said.

“You ever play football?” a short, balding man asked.

“Play? I thought we were here to win a battle?” Kristor turned to Heath.

“Yeah! That’s the kind of attitude we want on this team,” another man yelled.

Kristor relaxed. Heath hadn’t lied. He did not come to play, but to fight. He was a warrior.

“We’re the shirtless team this year, guys, so take ’em off,” Neil told them.

“Anybody bring sunblock?” a pale man asked.

“I got plenty,” another answered.

Maybe they had powers since they could block the sun.

The men began to remove their shirts. They must be braver than he’d first thought if they planned to go out on the field without armor. They earned a measure of his respect for their act of courage.

“Y’all ready to win?” someone called out.

“Yes.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes!” echoed through the room.

“Yes!” Kristor jerked his shirt open, buttons flying, material ripping, growling from the energy that burst from him. “Fight, kill, destroy!” He threw his shirt on the floor, raising his fists in the air and shaking them.

The men stilled.

It got deathly quiet.

“Can I put my shirt back on?” a scrawny man squeaked.

“Good Lord, man. I ain’t never seen muscles like that. What do you lift?”

“Lift?” Kristor thought for a moment. “Anything I want.”

The room exploded into laughter. Heath clapped him on the back. “I would imagine so.”

Heath quickly explained the rules of football. Kristor was disappointed to hear they couldn’t do anything more than steal a flag. A game of wits and speed. His brothers had often engaged in such sports.

This would at least pass the hours until he could convince Rianna it was time to go home to New Symtaria. The Queen Mother would be proud that he wasn’t using force—yet.