Page 26 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

“ SAGE’s protective dome keeps most animals out.”

I put my hand over my eyes, blocking out the suns and look up, trying to see the dome. “ I had no idea we had a dome over us. Why can’t I see it?”

“ It is more of a force field and nothing comes in or out of it without SAGE knowing.”

“ I learn something new every day.” I see him struggling with the design of the birdbath and tell him, “ The biggest part goes on the bottom and then the hose reaches up through the middle of the other two pieces for water to flow through. I’m assuming the instructions are on the crate, but I can’t read them.

If you don’t need me, I’m going to finish this bed.

The flowers are starting to look puny the longer they’re in the crates. ”

I have to force myself to look away from him as he starts to place the pieces together. His features are so perfect, it’s like watching a sculpture move.

The very last crate is a mess, and the flowers are torn all to pieces.

Trying to pick out the best ones, I reach back into the corner and there lies the cutest little black lizard ever.

With a mouthful of colored blooms sticking out of his mouth, the colors are the only reason I even see him.

“ SAGE knows everything huh, but guess what? We have a stowaway!”

I reach under his little belly and pick him up gently. “ I see that you’re enjoying yourself, cutie. Do you have a particular color you like best, little one?” He puffs his neck out, trying to look bigger. “ Oh , my goodness, aren’t you just ferocious?”

As he tilts his little head sideways like a baby dinosaur would, his black and silver scales glisten in the sun. “ Come on, let’s find you a snack that’s not my new flowers.”

I turn with him in my arms, when DaR yells at me. He throws the piece in his hand down and marches toward me.

“ Kira , frack, put that down now! I swear woman, you have a death wish.”

“ He’s just a baby!” I pull him in closer to me and he wiggles out of my hands and scrambles up behind my hair and onto my neck.

“ That baby can kill you with one swipe of his tail. Stand still and I will try to get him off of you.”

“ He isn’t going to hurt me, he’s just hungry. I reach up under my hair and pull him back down. “ Here , little one, which one do you want?” I pick a few petals off the remaining flowers.

He grabs the pink one and then rubs his face on my arm affectionately. “ You’re going to need a name, so let me think. ‘ Ickis ’, Yep , that’s the perfect name for you. SAGE , do you have anything leafy in the replicator he can eat?”

“ Kira , I am being serious … that Uana is dangerous! They spit poison if threatened and their tails are known to cut their prey in half. He is by no means something you would keep around as a pet.”

“ Really DaR , look at how little he is. I’m not going to take him into the house, but there’s nothing wrong with him being in the yard. Ickis knows I’m not going to hurt him. And you better hope you didn’t break the top of that birdbath when you threw it down.”

DaR starts to reach for him and Ickis curls his tail up in a striking position, spikes out, ready to smack him if he gets any closer.

“ Well , apparently he doesn’t care too much for you.”

“ Kira !”

I get that growl again. “ Yes , yes, I know he will kill me and all that, damn near everything else on this planet. I’ll get him some food then put him down. If he takes off, then I won’t bother him again, but if he stays, you have to let me keep him.”

“ We will see.”

He watches me as I go inside and get the greens and fruit out of the replicator that SAGE has produced for me.

I sit down on the ground and put Ickis in my lap.

He curls around and around until he gets comfortable, like a cat would, then he looks up at me with those pretty eyes.

He reminds me of an iguana I saw at the zoo when I was little, but so much livelier .

“ Would you like this?” I hold out the greens and he gently takes them out of my hand and chews lazily. After a few more snacks, he lays his head down and closes his eyes.

I see DaR put the last of the birdbath together, then he comes over and sits down on the other side of me. “ He did not leave the premises.

“ Nope , and I think he’s asleep now.”

“ No , he has an eye open. He is comfortable with you, but not with me. So he will not sleep until I move away. Only you could tame a Uana , Kira . They do not even reside in the mountains, so he came from the wetlands on the lower level.”

“ So , he’s lost just like me, huh?”

I watch DaR open and close his mouth. I know my mood swings are hard for him to adapt to.

“ I’m sorry DaR , but sometimes reality hits me in the face and it’s not an easy pill to swallow.” I reach down and gently rub the little lizard’s back and watch the floating city move around above us. “ I hate to imagine what would’ve happened to me if you hadn’t taken me off that stage.”

“ The Lord of Light sent me to you that day, Kira . I know that in my heart. If I had not intervened, you would have been sent to a brothel and as small as your body is, even the creams the madams provide could not have kept them from tearing you apart. You would not have lived through a single rotation. ”

I shudder at the very thought. “ You speak of this Lord of Light often. Is he your deity, or your God ?”

“ In Darverius , there are many religions and many deities, or Gods as you call them. The Lord of Light is who guides us through this world. His Love and Light show you your way if you know what to look for. My father was a firm believer and taught me the signs. The Lord never puts more on us than we can handle as long as we believe.”

“ That’s beautiful, DaR . So , he’s the light in the darkness leading you forward.

Thank you for sharing that with me. It helps me understand you a little better.

” I start to lift Ickis up to put him on the ground, but he squirms out of my hands and lands on the ground in front of me.

He lifts his little head up and stretches, much like a cat would.

Then , without warning, he turns, leaps on my shoulder, only to curl around the back of my neck underneath my hair.

“ Well , I reckon he plans on staying there for a little while. He’s tangled up in my hair, so he isn’t going to fall out. Let’s go look at the bird bath, then you can tell me what you like and dislike about the yard so far.”

“ You know, he will grow very quickly and they get rather large. As a matter of fact, he will probably be as long as you are tall. And to be honest, I have no opinion one way or another about the yard, as long as you are happy. I will say though, that it smells very nice, and the colors are attractive. ”

We walk around the yard, and I notice DaR keeps his hands behind his back at all times.

I can sense his restraint in trying to keep his hands to himself.

Every time I touch his arm or brush against him, I feel a pull I don’t truly understand.

My wrist itches again and I start to ask DaR about it, but as soon as it enters my mind, it’s gone.

“ How strange, what was I gonna ask him?”

“ What is it, Kira ?”

“ I was going to ask you something, but it slipped my mind. Oh well, it must not have been important anyway. Did I tell you I’m going to have some chaise lounges put out here so we can relax in the evenings after dinner?”

“ That sounds pleasant. Is this also a familiar for you; a place to relax outside the dwelling?”

“ Actually , yes it is.”

“ The evening dinner will be served shortly,” SAGE announces. “ Would you like it to be prepared and delivered to the patio?”

“ Please , SAGE , and thank you.”

“ I will get cleaned up and meet you in a moment for dinner.”

I watch him walk away with a tenseness that never leaves his shoulders. I want to make a place for DaR where he can let his guard down, a place he can look forward to coming to at the end of the day. Damn , I’m making him a home .

“ Come on Ickis , let’s go get cleaned up too. What mean old DaR doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?” I walk with him on my shoulder into my room and then unwrap him from my hair to lay him on the bed. He opens his eyes and looks up at me. “ You stay there until I get cleaned up.”

As I’m getting dressed, I hear DaR outside my room and Ickis raises his head up and puffs up his jaws.

I shoo him under the pillow. He takes his tail and folds it over his head, completely covering his body in spikes.

“ Well hell, ain’t anyone getting through that.

Stay here, cutie. I’ll be back in a little while. ”

I rush out of the room and make sure the door closes behind me. I let out a little shriek when DaR appears right out of the shadows.

“ Shit , I hate it when you do that.”

“ Where is the Uana ?”

I shrug; if I don’t actually say the lie, then I’m not guilty. I grab his hand and pull him with me. “ Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”