Ethereal Lives: A Romantic Sci-Fi Novel

Chapter 20

"She's waking up."

Ariane forced her eyes to open then quickly closed them again with a groan.

"Ow, who broke my head?" She mumbled as felt around and found a decent sized lump forming.

Ax's voice sounded too loud when he spoke. "Ariane, can you hear me?"

She tried once more to open her eyes, this time; the light didn't hurt quite so much. She was no longer in her seat, but lying on the floor. "Do you have to shout?"

"Sorry," he said in a quieter tone. "Are you okay?"

Trying to sit up, she groaned and grabbed the chair for support. "Oh, I'm great, that hat in the chest of clothes you gave me will fit so much better now I have this lump on my head."

Ax grasped her arm and helped her back into a seat. "I can see your sarcasm is still intact."

She gave a weak smile before looking around the room. "What hit me?"

He followed her gaze. "Not got a clue. The place is a mess."

"Ax, the Xans are landing," Praid interrupted in a worried voice.

"Where are they?" He rushed over to the monitors. "Okay guys, we're going to have company soon, Xan up."

Ariane stared at the men bewildered as they all transformed into Xans. Her head was easing a bit. "Will they believe you're really Xans?"

"No reason for them not to believe it. Hopefully, they'll think they attacked one of their own by mistake."

"What about me?"

Ax turned to her and frowned. "Go to your quarters and hide. If they get hostile, we won't be able to stay in contact with you constantly to hold a Xan image.

She winced when she gave a quick nod and attempted to get to her feet. The room spun.

Ax grabbed her arm to steady her. "Lean on me, I'll help you."

When they arrived at her quarters, she scanned the sparse room. "Where am I supposed to hide? Don't you people believe in wardrobes?"

Ax chuckled. "Do you mean to tell me there's actually something you and all your nosiness didn't find?"

Ariane pouted. "I'm not nosy."

"Yes, you are." He walked over to the right-hand wall and pressed a tile on the floor with his foot.

Ariane gasped as a tall cupboard came up from the floor. "That was not there before."

"I assure you it was."

"Impossible."

"Or you're just not as good as you think you are."

Ariane frowned and opened the door to look inside. It was a wardrobe with plenty of room to stand in.

"Get inside," Ax urged.

She looked at it dubiously. "If I get inside, how will I get out again if it's down there?" She pointed to the floor.

Ax shrugged. "You don't. You just stay down there and rot if we don't come back for you."

Her eyes met his in shock. "But-"

"I'm kidding." He rolled his eyes. "There's a button inside to lower and raise it. Standard safety feature."

He showed her where the button was, and demonstrated it working. "Now stay here until one of us comes to get you, and don't make a sound."