A Man For Darial Read online

A Man For Darial

  By

  Beth Sadler

  Copyright Beth Sadler 2013

  This book is written in Australian English.

  Cover Copyright 2013 Beth Sadler

  Chapter 1

  Darial Tarkon felt the cold chill of horror ice her body. Her feet lost all ability to move, freezing her in place and making escape impossible. Her long, elegant fingers tightened desperately around the pole that was all she had for protection from the evil that was becoming slowly visible before her eyes. Fear choked the breath in her throat, leaving her feeling dizzy and nauseous. Hail Hera, why had she come here to this alien place?

  The massive jaws of the prehistoric monster gaped wide, surging closer and closer; its seventeen foot long body driving it straight up out of its watery home with the power and inevitability of a freight train. No mercy showed in its small predatory eyes, no fear slowed its thundering approach, only the inevitability of its superior right to this food source that it held in its sight.

  The strength and power of its scaly green body was terrifying, as, back feet and tail pushing, it drove ever upwards towards Darial. A rotting, hot, fetid smell blasted from the open maw that displayed sixty eight killing teeth; all of which were used to tear the dead chicken from the end of the pole. With a bone jarring “clunk,” the monster slammed its jaws closed over its prey, then, slowly sank back down into its cool, wet, refuge.

  Enthusiastic applause and excited conversation broke out from the crowd around the enclosure. The giant crocodile at Currumbin Wildlife Park had once more been fed for the day, to the thrill and entertainment of its spectators.

  Darial unclenched her fingers from the feeding pole, handing it back to the keeper standing next to her with a whispered, “Thank you.” She slowly turned away from the feeding platform as the blood once again seemed to warm and move through her veins, freeing her to walk and talk.

  The fear that had overtaken her, as the monster had risen from the deep slowly began to fade from her mind. Hail Hera, she thought. What an experience. She wondered why everyone had considered her lucky to be chosen to feed the crocodile. Her body gave one last shudder, before letting go of the tension and returning to its usual calm, efficient state. An Interplanetary Research Officer from Teeron had to learn to overcome fear.

  The husky, athletic young man, who was in charge of the feeding, grinned admiringly into her eyes.

  “Hey! You did great. Most people back away and I have to stand behind them and steady the pole, but, you stood solid as a rock.”

  “Yes, well, absolute terror has that affect on me.” She smiled back.

  “My bad luck, I was looking forward to holding you steady.” He grinned cheekily. “How do you feel about having a coffee with me to help ease my injured pride?”

  Darial laughed happily as the last of the tension and fear finally left her body.

  “It would be my pleasure to take coffee with you. Is that how you say it in English?” She asked hesitantly.

  “Hey, however you want to say yes, is fine by me, as long as I get to share some time with you. I’m looking forward to finding out where that intriguing accent comes from. He pointed at the bucket that had held the dead chickens. “I’ll just clean up this feeding station then we can head to the coffee shop here in the park. OK?” Darial glanced at the name badge on his shirt pocket.

  “OK Jason, I will share a little time with you at the” she searched her mind for the words Jason had used. “Uh--coffee shop?” Darial held out her hand as she had been taught. “My name is Darial and it is good to meet you. Please excuse my English; I have little need to use it so am not very fluent.”

  “Hey, your English is fine. Where are you from?”

  “I’m here on business from Iceland. I only have three days here and so I gave myself today as a small holiday.” Jason’s grin faded away when he realised that his time was going to be short with this intriguing woman.

  “Ah! That’s too bad. I would have loved to have given you a guided tour of the Gold Coast over the next few days.”

  “Unfortunately I will not have time to enjoy my stay here on this trip, but, I have the rest of today?” Darial offered with a shy smile.

  Jason’s good humour returned immediately, too bad that their time would be short but, he could enjoy her company for what remained of the day. With a cheerful determination he led Darial to a wooden bench under a shade tree.

  “Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be back in a shake.” he laughed when he saw the confused look on her face. “I’ll explain the Australian slang to you while we have our coffee and you can tell me all about your plans for the next couple of days.” Jason quickly left to store the bucket and rod.

  Once Jason was out of sight Darial let her mind drift back over her, (up until the crocodile feeding) lovely day. She had fed the beautiful exotically coloured parrots, fed the wallabies and rode on the miniature train around the park. She wasn’t going to dwell on feeding the crocodile but, it had after all, been a new experience. She had cuddled a koala and even got the photo to prove it to her friends back home on Teeron. It had been nice to have a whole free day to take in some of the local sights. Now, she was going to finish off her day in the company of a pleasant young man.

  Thirty minutes later Darial and Jason were happily relaxed, drinking coffee and swapping information on their lives. Darial tried to stick as closely to the truth as she could but, several times she had to cross her finger behind her back. Jason had assumed that she had been born and raised in Iceland so, she let that little bit of fiction stand, along with how she had arrived here on the coast. No way could she explain about Teeron and the transporter ship.

  Jason was a local and proud of his heritage. “Nowhere like the Gold Coast Darial. You really ought to think about moving here and getting away from the cold,” he laughed hopefully.

  Darial shuddered, if Jason only knew how much she hated and feared her time in the frozen north he would realise he already had a convert.

  “What brings you ‘Down Under’ for only a couple of days anyway,” he asked, curious as to why anyone would make such a huge journey for only few days stay.

  Smiling reminiscently, she tried to explain without having to lie too much.

  “I’ve got an Australian friend, who asked me to do her a favour while I was in this area. I’ve been attending a conference near here so I was happy to help.”

  Fingers once again crossed behind her back, Darial continued. “I must contact my friend’s brother tomorrow and give him a list of goods that she requires to be delivered to my homeland. The problem is that her brother speaks only English and I will have trouble communicating with him I think.”

  “I don’t see why—you’re communicating fine with me,” reassured Jason.

  “Do you really mean that?” Darial asked anxiously.

  “Sure, your English is perfect, you just need to learn a bit of the local idiom and you’ll be one of us,” he grinned at her in approval.

  Darial laughed out loud in relief then, happily let go of her worry. “Thank you Jason, I hope you are correct but, that is for tomorrow. Today I drink coffee with you.”

  Laughing cheerfully they clinked coffee cups in a toast to their fortuitous meeting.

  Several hours later, as they parted company outside Jupiters Casino, Darial thanked Jason profusely for his time and gave him a friendly kiss and hug goodbye. They had enjoyed a casual, friendly few hours together that had left Darial feeling relaxed and happy. It was a shame that she would never see him again or that he would never know that he’d had dinner with an alien; all-be-it a friendly alien.

  After coffee at the Wildlife Sanctuary Jason had suggested dinner and playing the poker machines at the Casino. A
s this would be her only time to have a little fun, Darial had grabbed the offer with enthusiasm. Truth to tell, her poor language skills were a massive barrier to completing the task before her. Tomorrow her special mission on Earth began.

  She was here on the Gold Coast to do a favour for her Commander and his wife. She owed them both her life so, she was taking her task seriously. Darial had braved the cold of Iceland to be part of this latest research mission to Earth, a mission that had three free days factored into it for the Icelandic team.

  The three days would be needed to try and talk her commander’s brother-in-law into returning with them to Teeron. After nearly dying the last time she had been stationed in the Arctic, it had taken immense courage for her to face the frozen north again in order to qualify for this free time.

  Darial had flown the rest of the Icelandic team to their chosen holiday destinations before arriving here. The transporter was parked in a nearby hanger waiting to be loaded with Halli’s building materials and hopefully, her brother. Callem would pick up the rest of the team when his conference finished, before they all rendezvoused in two days at Seeker 5, the Interplanetary Research Pod.