Free Lawked Flame by Erosa Knowles

stared at her and then smiled. A small dimple
appeared in his cheek. “You are correct. I must learn the language
and I ask you to teach me.”
    “ I will. Hang with me buddy and
that smile will be on your face for good.”
    “ Hang? Buddy?” He chuckled and
shook his head. “I will not ask what they mean. I will leave it for
my lessons. The day is long past and you need to rest.”
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 7
     
    Khayden lay on his bed with his arms beneath his
head and stared at the ceiling. According to Aspen, the newest
virus would attack over a half million humans and contaminate water
supplies in third world countries. They were racing to find a way
to contain the spread of the disease, but he feared it would take
more than a few months.
    Thousands would die. No matter
what he and his people did, it never seemed to be enough. He was
running out of answers with mounting frustration. At a time when he
should be focusing on destroying Geleet, the enemy of his people
who were now targeting humans as well, all he could see was a pair
of dark eyes set in a cinnamon toast complexion with a full head of
curly hair. Viciously he pushed away the image.
    His lip curled. A human Kee . If Clotho
was to be believed, the salvation of his people was in the hands of
a human, plus something else, female. An acidic taste coated his
tongue at the thought. Unbridled anger ripped through him. He shot
from the bed and threw the glass from the table next to him,
stopping it just before it hit the wall. Palm opened, he stretched
one arm toward the glass.
    For a few seconds, his anger
boiled at his untenable situation. Once it reached its peak, he
balled his fist. The glass crumbled and fell as tiny shards to the
floor. Unsatisfied, he opened his palm and commanded it to
regenerate. Once it was whole once more, he threw it against the
other wall.
    Unable to sleep, he paced the length of his resting
place, his fury rising. The temperature in the room rose as he
battled to calm down. The last thing he needed was to start a fire
with the furniture. Nature’s Mother had saved his people with the
creation of the Frejyn plant; he realized he owed her a debt.
    But to grant a human the power to unlock him and his
people took repayment to another level. The human would gain powers
and co-rule with him. There were so many unknowns. Did the humans
have gelatal layers? How would he unlock and bind a human to him?
Could she withstand his abilities? Most of his own people could
not.
    It made no sense. He threw another glass against the
wall, and threw up a mental block as it shattered.
    “ Do you need
help? ” Benicke and Royce asked
simultaneously.
    Damn, they must have heard the
noise. This was his private pity party. No one else should be privy
to their leader’s wrath over something he could not change. Worse,
over something in the end he knew he would accept. “No! ”
    Jaw clenched, he tapped down the
scream locked in his throat that threatened to choke him. The
inability to change the situation chafed him. Chest heaving, he
threw himself onto the bed and counted to ten. His heartbeat
slowed. He counted to ten again, slower this time. The red haze of
fury lifted and he could think.
    Through the centuries his people had been patient,
waiting for him to mature and unlock their collective powers so
they could mature. The Gramiers had hoped one of their own Kees
would do the deed. He had met them all and nothing. So it had come
to this, an alien solution in an alien place.
    Rolling to the side, he gazed at
the picture of his parents and wished he remembered more of them.
Shame flashed before his eyes as he wondered what his sire would
say or think. It had been his sire’s will that brought them to this
planet for safekeeping.
    Would he agree with Clotho that human Kees were
better than no Kees at all? Khayden mulled the question for a
moment. Straightening out on the mattress, he exhaled. His sire
would have done anything to save his people,