Where Nothing Ill Can Dwell

Chapter 13 - Caliban

I sensed the approaching storm long before it made its presence known. The humans saw this planet as something dead for them to scavenge, but I knew it was alive. The air sang to me, and the ground whispered in my ear with each step I took. They would tell me which way I should go, what lay ahead, and—most important—what lay behind me, waiting to strike.

Prospero and her little orb didn't bother to follow me when I left the complex. They were too preoccupied with chasing after Miranda and the visitor who'd crashed nearby. They'd dismissed the larger vessels and left them open for me to exploit.

This was my chance to gain allies and use them to overthrow the tyrant who'd turned me into a slave. It would be easy to recruit them to my cause. All I would have to do is tell them she was responsible for their crash. They would thirst for revenge as much as I did, and then Prospero would be the one who was punished. Perhaps they would even kill her.

And then her daughter would be all mine.

I envisioned the outcome as I traveled through the dense tress and snarled vines. I let it lull me to sleep that night and rouse me from my dreams the next morning. I would no longer suffer Prospero's torments. The mysterious voices that reminded me I was always under her watch. The stinging shocks of the collar when I angered her. The names and insults she hurled at me because she considered me to be a primitive lifeform below her. All of these would vanish once I destroyed her. I would rule this planet again, the last of the warriors of Argiers, with Miranda as my queen.

As soon as my thoughts shifted to Miranda, the familiar heat of the mating call filled my mind. The urge grew stronger every day. I needed to claim her, to make her the mother of my offspring, to ensure that my race would not end with me. Everything around me heightened that urge. It was as though the planet itself fueled my desire to mate with her. It knew what needed to be done. It whispered in my ear that she would thank me for filling her with my seed, for saving my species and this planet with which the warriors of Argiers were so entwined. One fed the other, and if I died without an heir, so would this planet.

I would not let that happen.

Green lightning snaked overhead, illuminating the purple clouds that gathered and blocked out the light of the sun. The winds would frighten the puny humans, but they only propelled me forward on my mission. The first splatters of rain did not deter me. The rolling thunder did not cause me to quiver with fear.

The strange shadow ahead, however, made me halt and dive behind a bush. I listened to discover if it was a friend or a foe.

"Saints preserve me, I should've never wandered away," the figure said in the same language as Prospero.

I curled up into a smaller ball, the hard plates on my back forming a shield from any possible attack. For all I knew, it could be in league with Prospero.

"I've never seen such an ominous sky," the figure continued as it wrung its hands and stumbled closer.

The voice was deeper than the tyrant's, and I wondered if it was a male of the human species. The glimpses I got with each lightning strike seemed to confirm it. His features were similar, although his clothing appeared brighter and stranger than what Prospero wore.

"I've heard tales from Earth of such storms, ones that would fry a man with their lightning bolts and then drown him in their downpours, but I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd witness one."

He paused and crossed his arms over his chest, his brows furrowed in concentration. "Now, what would the Admiral do in this situation? Oh, I know." He pointed in my direction, even though I was certain he didn't see me, and said in a deeper, more authoritative voice. "You there—find me a shelter. And if you can't find it, make it."