Icarus Rising Read Free Page A

conical-
    shaped nests. In between, nestled in the tightly woven
    feathers of their elongated thoraxes, lay a bone-tipped siphon
    which they used to link their bodies permanently to a host.
    Zara swallowed hard and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure
    she could bear to watch the next part of the ritual as Caleb
    prostrated himself in the sand at Jidar's feet. The male
    handlers carried the huge, gray-feathered symbion toward
    Caleb and settled the creature on the back of its future host.
    It only takes a moment , she told herself, clenching her
    fists until her nails dug into her palms. It only takes a
    moment, and Caleb will cease to be completely human .
    Zara waited, blind to the climax of the bonding. It would
    all be over soon, and Caleb would take to the air on his first
    flight.
    "Perfect," Danson whispered. "It looks like—" The
    geneticist's proud comment cut off abruptly when a deep,
    primal scream tore across the beach.
    Every nerve in Caleb's body burned. White hot flames
    seemed to emanate from the point just below the nape of his
    neck where the symbion had plunged its siphon into his spinal
    column.
    This was supposed to be safe and painless! His panicked
    brain supplied only snippets of his conversations with
    Raymond Danson and Arilani.
    17

    Icarus Rising
    by Bernadette Gardner
    The average Icarian is ten years of age when they are
    joined to a symbion. The process takes only a few moments
    and appears to be completely painless. Danson's words
    echoed, mixing with Arilani's assurances.
    The siphon pierces the sheath around the spinal cord of
    the host and creates an instant connection. Within minutes,
    the young Icarian gains control over the symbion wings and
    launches into the sky for his or her virgin flight.
    Through a blurry haze of shock, Caleb registered the feel
    of hands on his body, turning him over, wiping sand from his
    eyes and his lips.
    Someone shouted his name. Danson. Bastard. Caleb
    wanted to wrap his hands around the man's throat and
    choked the life out of him for this. Fortunately for the
    geneticist, Caleb couldn't so much as control his own
    breathing at this moment or he would be homicidal from the
    pain.
    "Don't move him. Let his body and mind adjust." Jidar's
    deep voice cut across the jumble of worried exclamations that
    filled the air. Was that Zara crying? Caleb tried to look for
    her, but all he managed to do was flop his head to one side
    and spit salty liquid into the sand. Blood. Had he bitten his
    tongue? Or were his insides dissolving from the fire racing
    through his veins?
    Vaguely, he registered movement on each side of him. The
    violet-tinged gray wings of his symbion flapped ineffectively,
    throwing wet sand in all directions. A naked Icarian female
    held one of the quivering limbs in her hand and administered
    an injection.
    18

    Icarus Rising
    by Bernadette Gardner
    Caleb felt it. The slim needle pierced flesh and muscle that
    had only moments ago belonged to a separate being. He
    screamed again as ice flowed from the injection site, numbing
    the wing and that entire side of his body.
    Someone sat on his legs, and he couldn't imagine why
    until he began to convulse. His body heaved against the half-
    dozen people now holding him down. Each movement
    stripped his nerves raw as though he were being flayed alive.
    The sand under him felt like a million diamond-hard
    blades. The salt breeze stung his eyes like acid.
    A gentle caress on his thigh brought him instantly aware in
    a different way. A surge of desire spread through him,
    tightening his abdominals as female hands slid over his skin.
    Pain became pleasure so intense he moaned and shifted his
    hips toward the sensual touch. He smelled her arousal, a
    willing mate so close he could see her, yet his eyes refused to
    focus. His brain told him he needed her to complete him. He
    needed her body wrapped around his, eager to receive the
    seed that drew up inside his cock, and pulsed to a shuddering
    orgasm... Hot semen