Page 25 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

KIRA

I lie awake this morning looking up at the ceiling.

I swear I can sense DaR’s hesitation about leaving.

Unfortunately , the moment he left the house, I could feel it.

It’s like he took a piece of me with him.

I’m torn about my feelings for him. I enjoy his company, and I feel safe with him, but I don’t know if I can move on.

Although the thought of him not coming back to me bothers me too.

Rick’s face flashes before my eyes. I see him reach out for me again, but it’s not his flesh I grab hold of.

The hand is gray with black claws. My heart rate starts to rise, and just as I feel the tears forming, I get this sudden calmness rushing over me from my feet to my head.

It’s like a hot flash in reverse. This is the second time this has happened, now that I’m actually noticing.

Every time I start to get upset, something calms me down, but what could it possibly be ?

My wrist starts to itch right below DaR’s mark.

I raise my arm up and trace the pattern with my finger.

I keep forgetting to ask him if the pattern is supposed to change, because every day extra swirls appear so much so that now they stretch all the way up my arm.

If he’s noticed them, he hasn’t said a word.

I might as well get up, because those flowers aren’t going to plant themselves. I hope I don’t have any unexpected visitors today because DaR’s son just walking in the house really upset me yesterday.

“ SAGE , can you do me a favor?”

“ If possible, Mistress Kira .”

“ I know DaR’s sons are welcome here at any time, but could you please let me know the moment they step onto the property so I’m not shocked and unprepared at their appearance?”

“ I will notify you the moment they arrive.”

“ Thank you! We’ve got a busy day ahead of us, so I’ll get dressed and start unloading the crates.”

I grab the homemade pantsuit out of the drawer and head toward the bathroom. I start to take out the braid that DaR put in my hair last night but stop the moment I see it in the mirror .

I don’t know how he did it, but I don’t have one hair out of place, even after sleeping on it all night. He wove multiple braids throughout it and the total effect is beautiful.

“ Mistress Kira , the sod-bot has been activated and has started the outline of the northeast bed.”

“ Am I supposed to know what that is, SAGE ?”

“ Did you not have harvester and planter AIs on Earth ?”

“ Not that I know of. I mean, we have machines, of course, but we still did most of that work ourselves.”

“ Your culture never fails to amaze me. I am sure you will find the extra set of hands helpful. I have prepared your first meal and await your orders.”

Eating quickly, I head out toward the backyard, excited to have something to do. XuL has stacked the crates up against the far wall.

I start to lift off the netting on the first crate and a small machine floats up into the air in front of me. “ I await your orders,” it says to me. I back away from it and its sharp little drill-like hands. “ Umm … SAGE , I could use some help here.”

“ Kira , this is the planter-bot. I will operate it remotely. It will help you with the lifting of the crates and once you decide where you want the plants, it will plant them accordingly. ”

I look toward the wall and the location I have planned for the birdbath.

The grass has already been cleared and leveled for its installation, but there is no way I can lift it by myself, so I decide to start next to the patio that SAGE installed within the last few days.

We had gone back and forth about the location and how much it was going to be used.

For a computer, she sure is opinionated.

I pull out flats of flowers in all different colors and start placing them on the ground. I have no idea what any of them are called, so I just place them in the beds according to the height chart listed on each one.

Reaching down, I run my fingers through the newly tilled soil, and even though it’s black in color, it seems grainy, almost like sand. “ SAGE are you for sure these flowers will grow here? The soil seems, I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s not sticking together well.”

“ I am having the planter-bot install an irrigation system as the flowers are inserted into the soil. That way I can put the nutrients that are needed into the ground.”

“ Do you mean you’re going to fertilize them after they’re planted?”

“ Yes , Mistress Kira , that I believe is the right term.”

I get to the bottom flat and some of the flowers look like they’ve been eaten or broken off. “ SAGE , I think some of these on the bottom got damaged so let’s put them toward the back.”

I just get the first bed all laid out and watch the little planter insert them into the soil.

Of course, it isn’t doing it to suit me, so I wait until it gets out of the way.

Then I start re-applying the soil so that it covers the roots properly.

I’m on my hands and knees, leaning toward the flowers against the wall when something cuts me.

“ Damnit !” Jerking my hand back, I grasp it as blood drips from the ends of my fingers. “ SAGE , I’m gonna need a dang band-aid. I broke a nail and cut my hand on something.” I stand up and turn around only to run right into DaR .

“ Oomph , where in the hell did you come from? I thought you were going to be gone for days?” I watch his eyes turn jet black and then flash silver when he sees I’m injured.

“ I sent SoL in my place.” He grabs my hand and growls down at me. “ What is it with you wanting to damage yourself constantly? And what have you done to your dress? Anyone could have seen you bent over like that.”

I try to pull my hand away, but his grip is too firm.

“ Look , it wasn’t like I intentionally cut myself.

I was covering the flowers up properly when something in the soil cut me.

I know, I should’ve had gloves on to protect my nails and skin, but I didn’t think about it.

And I couldn’t work very well in the yard on my hands and knees with a dress on.

I asked for pants and was told no. I sewed this myself, so I could work in the yard without my ass hanging out. ”

“ Come with me! SAGE , you are to make sure from this point on that Kira has any and all clothing needed for whatever task she is performing.”

We enter the bathroom together and I head over toward the cleanser, but DaR stops me. He runs his fingers over my forehead, wiping the sweat away.

“ What is this moisture on your skin?”

“ You mean sweat? Lord , how do I explain this; it’s the natural way for our bodies to cool down. I’ve been working outside for a while now and apparently, I got hot. It’s totally normal.”

He stands back looking at me like this is the first time he’s ever seen me.

“ I will be honest, Kira . I am very confused by your species. Your skin rips easily and your claws fall off from very little pressure or resistance. Your body releases the fluids it needs to survive, and your muscles are soft, which in turn makes you very fragile. Your eyes leak when you are sad or upset, but you still smile like you are fine. Sometimes your spirit seems broken, then other times very strong. I am extremely confused by you.”

“ Boy , that’s calling the kettle black, honey.”

“ I have no idea what that means and you know it. Give me your hand so I can assess the damage. It will scar if not treated promptly. ”

“ The scars may be gone from the outside, DaR , but they’ll always remain on the inside.” I hold my hand out under the ionic cleanser and I’m shocked it doesn’t sting.

“ It looked much worse outside than it does now, and it appears as if the cut is older than just a few moments ago. Did you cut yourself here recently?”

“ No , this is the first time I’ve been hurt here, that I know of anyway. How weird, my nail looks like it’s already grown past the quick. I could’ve sworn I broke it off lower than that, so why isn’t it bleeding?”

A single drop of blood pools on the end of my finger and before I can wipe it away, he licks it off.

“ Eww , yuck! Don’t you know you can catch all kinds of nasties like that, DaR ? You don’t lick people’s blood.”

“ Your blood smells and tastes like a plant our entire planet loves, the Blood Beet . You would be a very nice snack if the wrong people found out about this.”

“ I don’t plan on … as you would say, leaking out in public, so we should be good. But no more licking the blood from the human, got it? I have enough issues right now without you turning into a vampire on me.”

“ What is a vampire?”

“ It’s a long story and I still have crates to unpack. Would you like to help me for a few minutes? I could sure use those muscles of yours?”

He has a look of pure horror on his face. “ You want me to help you dig in the ground?”

“ Oh my, that’s so priceless and I wish you could see your face right now. No , I need your help to put the birdbath in place. I can’t lift it.”

“ Let me spray your hand first, then I will be your willing servant.”

DaR sprays a clear coating over the cuts on my hand, and we head back outside. “ The birdbath is in the last crate over there in three pieces. One of those little robots cleared the spot for it and then inserted the levelers, but it’s too heavy for them to place.”

He breaks the crates apart and lifts each section out, laying them on the ground. I watch in complete awe as the muscles in his back and arms flex from their weight. “ Damn , that man is pretty,” I whisper to myself.

“ Where do you want it placed and what is the purpose of this? We have no birds that need bathing.”

I can’t help but laugh at him when he says things like this. “ DaR , honey, it’s just a pretty for the backyard; you know, a familiar. Now , back on Earth we did have small birds that would use these to bathe in, but I haven’t seen a single bird since I came here. ”