The Guardian of Bhuvar

We were going out? That was great, it would give me the opportunity to ask him questions about the passageway in Bhuvar. I picked one of the shirts Dave had ordered for me and swapped it with the one I was wearing. It was a plain marine blue shirt with a boat neck and it fit perfectly. It made me wonder how he was able to get such an accurate measure.

'Do you see these hands?' I heard him say just outside the room, where he had lifted his hands up shoulder-level, the palms facing me. 'They remembered your size.'

Why was he constantly reminding me of that moment of intimacy to rekindle the passion and then the next minute he was as cool as a block of ice?

He had already changed into a dark green polo shirt and blue jeans. He looked a bit more like the Dave I was used to seeing on Earth, more relaxed.

'Are you ready?' he asked and I nodded, still a bit unsure about how to react around him.

We went down the stairs together and as we reached the central door, Martha came to see us off.

'We'll be back for dinner, Martha.'

'Have a nice trip, Mr Dawn and Miss...Ash.'

Dave raised one of his eyebrows at the familiarity, but didn't say anything. There was a new car in the driveway, but as Dave got in and I took the passenger seat, I saw that it was not a driverless pod. He would be driving it himself.

At my unasked question, he looked at me and said,

'I like the feel of the steering wheel between my hands. I can control the vehicle.'

I looked at his hands with the tapered fingers and recalled that his hands had indeed been quite capable and in control on the eve, my inner thighs clenching in tune with this memory.

'Where are we going?' I asked before cursing myself for the silliness of this question. As if I would recognize the place he would tell me.

'It's not far from here. Enjoy the view.

Instead of the outside view, I found that I preferred to look at the way Dave's hands were on the steering wheel and the gearshift, they looked so competent, but I wondered why someone would choose to drive when the driverless pods were so secure.

'They can be very convenient for sure, but they keep track of where you go,' he said.

I really must try to shield my thoughts.

'You mean like a GPS tracker?' I asked with curiosity.

'More advanced than the system you have on Earth. Most people choose such types of vehicles because it saves them a lot of hassle, but they are not aware that by using these vehicles, they are being monitored.'

'By whom?'

'By the security department and the authorities.' I was confused to hear that as from what I had read, Bhuvar was supposed to be a world where enlightened people came, people who had no or little attachment to wordly affairs.

'You are right in what you're thinking, but you're describing the old Bhuvar. In the past, vampires or other individuals were merely concerned with attaining salvation or gaining more knowledge. However, when they kept being attacked by visitors from other worlds, they decided that they had set up a governing body which would be responsible for the safety of those on Bhuvar.'

While he was talking, we had already reached our destination. He had stopped the car by the side of a muddy track which seemed to lead god knows where. I liked hiking, but I liked knowing where I was going as well. I hadn't even noticed in which direction he had been driving as his voice had such a seductive quality to it that I was completely captivated by what he had to tell me.

Dave got down the car and waited for me to reach his side. He noticed my apprehension.

'Are you frightened, Ash?' When I looked at him, his eyes had taken on a red tint and his fangs were partly visible. My first reaction was fear, fear for my life, but it was immediately followed by a feeling of lethargy which took me by surprise. People are usually frightened when they have something worth losing, but in the past months, I had lost everything which was precious to me. So, it served nothing to be afraid.

'No,' I simply said and surprise lit his eyes. I pushed past him and started walking on the path. It was relatively flat except for a few pebbles rolling here and there. I heard Dave's footsteps behind, reassuring me that I was going in the right direction. After barely five minutes of walk, the path opened onto a clearing. A vibrant green field stretched in front of me, before abruptly stopping. The scent of honeysuckle and geranium leaves welcomed me. I walked ahead to pause again at the sight in front of me. The field actually gave way to a deep cliff in front. But what held my attention was the wide expanse of greenery that seemed to go on and on.

'This is one of my favorite viewpoints. You get to see the whole valley from here. Beautiful, isn't it?'

I could only agree with him and it pleased me to know that he also loved open spaces like these.

He pointed to a wooden bench that fit so well in the background that I hadn't even noticed it and invited me to join him there. He waited for me to sit, then he did the same, stretching his legs in front of him and leaning back his head to gaze at the sky.

'What is it that you wanted to ask?'

I was glad of the opening but a bit wary as well as I wondered what other thoughts of mine he had intercepted.

'There are ways for you to shield your thoughts,' he said with a little smile.

'But of course, you're not going to share them with me, are you?'

'Ask Martha to help you. She's good at it. In fact, she's the one who taught me when I was young.'

I was intrigued by his words as I didn't know anything about his childhood and I waited for more confidences, but they didn't come.

'How do you know about the monitoring of the pods?' I started with an easy enough question. I was starting to feel relaxed in this environment and I also leaned back slightly.

'Cause I'm part of that system, Ash.'

I looked at him surprised, at the back of my mind remembering something about his mother being the Head of security. Was it part of that governing body he had been talking?

'Yes, I'm part of that group in charge of that monitoring.'

So, it meant that he must be having the knowledge of the passageways and their guardians. This was the information that I had been seeking and now that I was close to getting it, I was thrilled.

Dave opened one of his eyes and peeked at me. 'That's all?'

I took a deep breath and asked, 'You must be knowing about the passageways on Bhuvar, right? So, do you think I can meet one of the guardians?'

I waited breathlessly for his answer. I didn't know how he was going to react. Would he be angry? Bothered? Fed up? However, his behaviour baffled me. He sat up straight and started laughing. He laughed and laughed until tears came to his eyes. I pulled away from him and sat at the other extreme of the bench, staring at him, vexed. I didn't see what was funny about my question.

Finally, he wiped his tears and stopped laughing. He slid next to me in one smooth move and caught both my hands in his.

'Ash, why are you looking for a guardian when you have one right in front of you?'