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"Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids…"

"Rocket Man" - Elton John

Eventually, I got tired of going around in circles, even on a carousel. It was late afternoon when I called Star and asked him to meet me - somewhere private. I knew he was puzzled, but he agreed, and we arranged the details mind-to-mind, because I had read enough detective novels to know about wire-tapping, and I was feeling awfully paranoid.

The beach was chill and foggy that afternoon, with only a few hardy souls braving the surf. I was sitting on an old driftwood log when I felt him walk up. He stopped and sat down, a few feet away.

"Evan, is something wrong?"

"Tell me about Suria and Ravin," I said.

He hesitated a moment. "They got married a few months ago."

"What else?"

"What else do you want to know? Suria is pregnant."

"I know that. I went to visit her this morning. He was there, and he all but threw me out."

I felt his gaze intensify. "What? Why?"

"I ran into him at the Affair last night, and I guess he took a dislike to me."

"Please, tell me exactly what happened."

"That doesn't matter, Star. What matters is that Suria has another baby, this one growing in an incubator in her lab. She says you know all about it… do you?"

"Oh, dear," he said, sighing. "That is not my story to tell, Evan. The baby is something very personal and private. I am privy to the details, but I cannot share them with anyone - not even you."

I was hurt at that. I admit it. But if it wasn't his secret then it made sense - I supposed. "All right, I'll forget about the baby thing, but that Ravin… he's insane, do you know that too?"

"I know that Phillip Drackett worked very hard to save him, to help and calm and train him, and that he continues to monitor his behavior. He would not have been released on his own if he and the other vampires did not think him responsible. It is vampire business, and I trust Phillip's judgment."

Star moved closer to me, until I could feel his body heat warming the air around us. "Evan, I know you do not like Suria, but she is only doing what she judges best. I do not find it necessary to interfere with her experiments."

"Star, she's always taking samples of your blood and tissue, even that of the twins. What do you think she's doing with all that?"

Why did this seem so wrong to me and so ordinary to Star?

He put one hand on my arm. "Suria only takes samples for study, so that she can learn more about what I am and how my characteristics have affected the children. Lecurela has a right to that knowledge - they created me… us." His eyes were so sincere, he almost convinced me by that alone.

But not completely. "Star, I don't owe Lecurela anything. They would have killed me just for being who I am - you haven't forgotten that? And what about Vahlee and Rahlee?" The plight of Star's and my former playmates, marooned on Lecurela and unable to leave, had been on my mind ever since I'd gone to see them.

"Yes, their situation is… unfortunate. I hope that one day we will be able to help them to live normal lives. I am not sure what Lecurela's position is, regarding you. Until we know for sure, it is undoubtedly best that you stay away from there." He was nodding to himself, as though it all made perfect sense. Perhaps it did… to him.

I sighed. "All right, I guess I overreacted. It was just creepy to see that fetus floating there in her lab."

Star nodded, his hand still warm against me. "I know. I was incubated in just such a lab until I was developed enough to be born."

I turned to stare at him. "You were?" I had been born to a woman who was not my real mother, only a surrogate chosen to bear a child put together in a test tube. She had not treated me in a very "motherly" way afterward, and I seldom saw her, growing up in the palace, but at least I was gestated in the ordinary fashion.

"Yes. My mother and father were created so each would have half of the desired traits, and I was conceived normally. Then my father died, and my mother followed him soon after. I remember it quite clearly, the abrupt transition from her womb into a gestation chamber."

I took a deep breath of the damp air. I'd always thought it strange not to have real parents, but Star had started out with a family. Why had they died? "Do you know what happened to your parents?"

He shook his head, his expression blank. "I was told that my father perished in an accident. I suppose that my mother did not want to live without him."

Not even for her child? "I'm so sorry, Star. I didn't know."

"How could you?" A small smile came to his face. "So, you see why I do not find an incubator too dreadful."

"I can't believe that you remember things from before you were born."

"I remember everything, beginning at perhaps halfway through my gestation… don't you?"

"No. I don't remember much at all until I was maybe a year old."

He smiled again, more relaxed. "How odd that we can be so much alike and yet so different." He moved to put an arm around my shoulders.

"Please, come home to dinner with me. Vaira will be glad to see you - the twins will too."

"All right, thanks." I nodded. "I'd like that." The change from vacation to back-home routine had obviously upset me more than I thought. It would undoubtedly take a while for Star and Vai and I to decide just what our relationship was to be like in our everyday lives on Earth. But, however things developed between us, I would remain Star's friend. I couldn't do otherwise.

* * *

We had a nice dinner, and good three-way sex after the twins went to sleep. Before that, I played with the little guys while they bounced around like blond kangaroos. I realized I had missed the boys a lot and resolved to spend time with them, as I had before-if Vaira was willing.

* * *

A couple of days went by, and I was practicing with "Sharptooth," the new name of the Affair's house band, formerly known as the Grave Diggers. I hadn't yet decided if the change was an improvement. André, Mr. D's major domo, came and said I had a phone call. Lo and behold, it was Ravin.

* * *

I walked around the outside of Suria's building, entering the little central plaza by the side door. The table and chairs that Star and I had used were still there, next to the fountain, and a pitcher and glasses were set up as well.

I almost didn't recognize Ravin when he appeared. He wore a tan shirt with brown slacks and loafers. His black hair was neatly combed, and all signs of strain were gone from his face. He was still on the lean side, but it didn't seem so startling. The change was crowned by the rather apologetic smile he aimed my way.

"Please, come in," he said. "I'm so glad you could make it."

I hesitated a moment, then walked closer. He put out a hand. "I'm Allene t'Kyan - some have called me Ravin. I know we've met before, but Suria tells me that I wasn't… myself then."

I nodded and shook the cool dry hand. "Evan Black, but I suppose you know that." I couldn't stop staring at him; it was like meeting a different man.

"Please," he said. "Sit down. I made some lemonade, but we have soft drinks or coffee if you'd rather…."

"Lemonade would be fine," I said, sitting gingerly on the edge of my chair. As far as I could tell, the pitcher contained only lemon juice, water, sugar, and a mint leaf.

"Shall I call you Ravin, or do you prefer Allene?" I asked, not sure exactly how to proceed. The voice on the phone had sounded pleasant enough, but voices can be misleading. In Suria I'd met Dr. Frankenstein, and now here before me was Dr. Allene Jekyll. I much preferred him to Ravin Hyde.

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I was born Allene, but, after my transformation, my people called me Ravin."

"On Mars, you mean."

"Yes. I'm told I did dreadful things there, but-" He leaned toward me. "-I honestly don't remember." His face worked, dark eyes blinking rapidly, and he looked down at the table. "You are not the only person I must apologize to, but my people… they won't communicate with me at all." He looked up at me again. "Can you ever forgive my rudeness?"

It crossed my mind to reach out and step into his thoughts, but there was no justification for that kind of intrusion. The open honesty in his face was sincere. What the hell was going on with this guy?

"No harm done; you're forgiven," I said. "But I must confess that I don't understand the change in you."

His head drooped again and I thought he might cry, then he straightened up and looked me in the eyes. "Mr. Drackett tells me that I was a raving lunatic when my people sent me to him. I know he and his friends kept me safe and secure and fed me a great deal of blood - more than the usual young vampire needs, I guess. The word Ravin is very old - it means 'he who hungers after blood'. Then one day, I woke up, and I could think again. Before that, everything is a red haze."

Okay, considering what the vampires had told me, I could buy that. But I thought he was over it. "Why were you so angry with me the other day? Was it our meeting at the Affair?"

He took a breath, his brown eyes going thoughtful and sad. "Suria tells me that I still have… spells. She knows a great deal about medicine and believes she can help me fight against them. Perhaps, if all goes well, she can cure me. It can't be easy for her, having a husband who is mentally ill." He smiled softly. "She must love me a great deal."

Caution or not, I couldn't help but smile back. If I had met this man a few days ago, I would have seen him as a potential friend. Now - I didn't know what to think.

He poured the lemonade, and it was good. We went from there to discussing cooking, and he knew a lot about it, much more than I did. After a while, I asked about Mars, instantly fearing that I'd mentioned a sore subject, but he seemed glad to tell me about his life there. Although the planet was inhospitable to most humanoid life forms, the Martians eked out a living in their underground farms, even venturing out onto the surface for brief periods.

"I'd always wanted to visit Earth, though," he said with boyish enthusiasm. Then his face fell. "But not like this…." He stifled a sob.

I watched him pull himself together again. It took a while, but he managed it.

"I am grateful, you know. I have a new life here, on this wet and fertile planet. And there's Suria and the baby… I have nothing to complain about."

"What do you plan to do now that you're here?"

"Oh, I don't know anything but Martian ecology. I suppose I'll have to go back to school. For now, Suria can use my help with her projects. Growing things on Mars takes a good knowledge of chemistry and biology, and she says I learn quickly." He smiled.

"Well, I wish you all the best," I said. "I suppose I should be going. Thanks for the lemonade." We shook hands again, and he had a nice, strong grip, though I doubted it was a Martian custom.

After that, I made a quick get-away. Suria hadn't shown up at all, and that suited me just fine.

* * *

I jumped back to my rooms at the Affair and lay down on the bed. After a while, I got up and dressed for my performance with the band. Star had been right - when wasn't he right? Everything was going to be fine.