Alien Me (13 page)

“That might reveal us. If we send too many back to court for a Renewal, His and Her Majesty may guess that we have a Disruptor, and it won’t take them long to see that it’s Lord Sean and Lady Darcy.”

A flash of panic widened Sylvan’s eyes. “That will lead them back to us.”

“So we will make sure that no one knows about them,” Naomi said fiercely, cutting off her husband. “It’s to our benefit that everyone in the palace knows that Darcy is a missusan, and so is Sean, though a weak one. No one will willingly touch them. That will lessen the number of those they Disrupt. And no one will care if any disrupted Discards get sent to join the lava, especially those on their staff. As a matter of fact, they’ll expect that those who work for missusans will be driven mad.”

Sylvan wasn’t convinced. “There are still too many variables, too many details that may be forgotten.”

“I won’t forget anything. Pull in your energy. I can feel your fear from here.”

“How can you expect me not to feel fear?” Sylvan jumped to his feet and started pacing. “This whole incident is such a calamity that I can’t wrap my mind around it. How could years and years of planning suddenly go amiss like this? Nothing was left to chance. We have the best Mechanics and shamans. We made sure that the creation was reared with acceptable Earth tenders. We chose her friends and subjected them to the Approvals. A creation with her power wasn’t supposed to appear for another two human generations.”

“Chance finds its own way, my lord husband,” Naomi said. “Our creation, Darcy, is perfect even if the timing is wrong.”

“Perfect?” Sylvan snapped. “Chance is dangerous. Disruption is dangerous.”

“Not for us,” Naomi said quietly. “We can use a Disruptor to crumble the other Great Houses. Only His and Her Majesty will stand in our way.”

“She’ll bring down our House in the process,” Sylvan cried. “We’ve seen this happen on other planets. Social unrest is perilous. The lowborn don’t know what’s good for them. They’ll make bad choices if they’re set free.”

“But they won’t be set free if we’re smart, if we play this correctly, my lord husband.” Naomi paused. “For now we have to keep Sean here, and to do that we’ll have to pretend to work with the Picards. It will be a sham, of course, and we’ll demand help in finding the ones who killed the shamans and caused Darcy and Sean to meet.”

“You know the Picards won’t let a high-value creation stay here. Nor will the Crown. Together Sean and Darcy can draw the life energy of humans and the yellow sun. With Sworn Assets like that, we could be—”

“Immortal,” Lady Naomi said with a whisper.

“They must die for that to happen.”

“And die they will. We created them. They’re ours to do with as we please.” Naomi pulled Sylvan so close that her breath tickled his lips. “But they can never find out. We will let them fall in love. And we must be very careful. We must hide our plans within plans. We must watch them closely.”

Sylvan’s head jerked. “He’s here.”

The doors to the throne room swung open. The First Shaman, a tall, slightly stooped man named Methany, came in. He smelled of roses and freshly cut grass. Rumor had it that he was over five hundred Earth years old. People whispered that he took so much energy that thousands of children hadn’t been born. No one dared speak such things in his presence. His silver cape was long, down to his ankles, and his face unlined and bare. His robes were splendid, embellished with golden threads and emeralds. His eyes were green, like a cat’s, and he could see in almost total darkness.

“My lord, my lady,” Methany said in a high voice. Even for a shaman he had a high voice, the highest of all, it was said. “How may I be of service?”

“You may start by explaining why the Lady Darcy is a missusan and was able to meet the Sworn Enemy,” Naomi said, not bothering to hide her delight at being able to vent her spleen on someone. “You shamans got this so wrong that I can hardly comprehend your incompetence.”

He put his palms together and held them under his chin so his fingertips rested on his jaw. “My lord, my lady, there are forces at work here.”

“It’s nice to see that you have a firm grasp of the obvious,” Naomi said.

“If Sworn Enemies can fall through together, who’s next? Humans?” Sylvan added.

The beleaguered First Shaman fought to keep his composure. “It seems that the Lady Darcy and the Lord Sean are able to shield each other. I suspect it’s because she saved his life from the court’s missusans. This is unprecedented.”

“Is that your excuse for being so remiss? You should have known the extent of her talents,” Sylvan said.

“We weren’t aware of the extent of Lady Darcy’s talents because her chaperone had disappeared, my lord,” said Methany, his voice higher than usual. “Her shaman had been ordered only to make certain that Lady Darcy’s Earth tenders were doing an adequate job of minding her. To the best of our knowledge, Lady Darcy’s progress has been unremarkable.”

Naomi looked at the shaman as if she hated him. “This unremarkable girl with no training has managed to enter our world and bring the Picards’ Sworn Asset here. She’s killed three assassins, drained one Second Mechanic and two Third Mechanics, and exchanged energy with a Sworn Enemy. And you incompetent fools didn’t see that coming?”

Methany’s full lips thinned at the insult. “My lady, there’s nothing to see before the Sworn Assets reach their sixteenth Earth year. The creations are engineered that way because before then they can’t be trusted to keep silent about our world. Before their sixteenth year, there shouldn’t be anything to see.”

Unwilling to be mollified, Lord Sylvan glared. “What is your opinion about what His and Her Majesty will have to say about all this?”

“Always people in Geminay have whispered about how the manipulation of human and our genetic material will at some point cause Sworn Assets to develop heretofore unknown talents, to become some sort of new being. If His and Her Majesty reckon that the two of them are powerful enough to pose a threat to their rule, then they will try to acquire them.”

Naomi nodded slightly. “What else?”

Methany cleared his throat. “The Picards also conjecture that someone extinguished the shaman chaperones to make sure the Sworn Assets would meet.”

Naomi exchanged a glance with her husband. “Who could be so bold?”

Methany allowed himself a flash of temper. “I will find out, my lady. My sister was Lady Darcy’s chaperon shaman. The first time we ever parted was when she went to the surface to mind Lady Darcy.” The skin on Methany’s neck darkened in wrath. “My sister watched Lady Darcy grow up, and whoever killed my sister robbed her of her greatest triumph. In any case, I have heard that all the remaining Sworn Assets are being brought in as we speak. They have become a rare and precious commodity.”

Naomi cared nothing about the other Great Houses and grew impatient. “His and Her Majesty will undoubtedly blame the shamans for allowing this to happen.”

“They might,” Methany said softly, clearly displeased by the insinuation. “The fact that Lord Sean and Lady Darcy have met and touched has already caused a troubling unsettling of public thought. Our citizens are disturbed by the disorder. Whispers fill the hallways of all the Great Houses. His and Her Majesty aren’t likely to let that go unpunished.”

“But punish whom?” Sylvan said, spitting the words.

“No doubt all the Great Houses for being lax in their supervision of their Sworn Assets. But they aren’t likely to decree fines, my lord and lady,” Methany said soothingly.

“Thank you for that cold comfort,” Naomi replied. “Now do you have anything helpful to say?”

Methany bowed his head. “It may be in the best interest of this House to keep Lord Sean here. The Picards are going to be much more willing to negotiate with us if we have him.”

“Yes, we’ve already thought of that. What else?”

“With your permission, I’d like to go to the court and confer with the Premier Shaman.”

“Do that. And fall through immediately afterward to give us your report.” She scowled. “And send in a footman on your way out.”

“Very good, my lady.” Relief flashed in his eyes at being dismissed. He took three steps back before pivoting and leaving the room.

A moment later a footman sped up the long carpet. He stopped in front of the throne. “Summon the Lord Chamberlain.” Naomi turned to her husband as the footman raced away. “Doubtless all the cabinet members are milling around outside flapping their lips. Let’s meet and hear their counsel. If we’re lucky, they might have something worthwhile to say for a change. We’ll hear them out, dismiss them, and then do with Darcy and Sean what we please.”

The ceilings in my apartment soared twenty feet. The windows were so high that I could stand on the sill and reach up without touching the top. Every wall featured marble and granite reliefs depicting plants and animals from a harsh and bizarre landscape. The floor was tiled in a mosaic of planets and moons. Jewel-toned couches and ottomans of heavy brocade waited around in tasteful arrangements. The arms of the chairs and the legs of the side tables were heavily carved and painted with vines and flowers. Yards of silky curtains sparkling with gold and silver threads fluttered in the ever-present breeze. Everything was indescribably beautiful.

None of this made me happy.

“This whole world is bogus.”

Sean nodded as he sat down. “I said that a million times when I was locked up at the House of Picard, but once I got back on the surface of Earth, I looked around and decided that we humans don’t exactly occupy the high ground where what’s bogus is concerned.”

I knew without question that the servants were listening and wondered if they would carry tales. No expression rippled the still surfaces of their faces. “Are we getting the rock star treatment so we’ll cooperate?”

“Oh, we’ll cooperate all right.” Sean tipped his head toward the servants. “Look what happens to those who don’t.”

I felt the rebellious part of my spirit stir. I knew I was in danger of entering the mood that my sister, Riley, called sullen.

“But Judah said that Sworn Assets aren’t Discarded.”

“We might not be Discarded, but if we don’t bring energy to this world, everyone here will die. They will turn blue and then gray and then dry up and die like potted plants that didn’t get any water. They need us to survive.”

That didn’t help my mood. “So, if we don’t go all alien and do as they ask, everyone here dies?”

“Every person, plant, and animal in Geminay.” Sean looked troubled. “Already we’re getting the blame for all the other Sworn Assets dying.”

“An advanced society like this one that can survive under the surface of the Earth must have some kind of backup plan.”

“If there is, we’ll never hear about it.”

I looked at the four Discards, all wearing beautiful clothes and elaborate hairstyles. They looked no different from the highborn except that they didn’t wear any jewelry. Their expressions were decidedly bland.

“But by bringing them energy, we are tools who let this go on.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “We are part of this whole messed up program.”

“I know.” His mouth tightened. “I figured that out long ago, but right now I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Do you suppose they’re reporting to Sylvan and Naomi about us?” I asked, meaning the Discards.

“Probably. They’ve had the Approvals, and that will make their allegiance to Sylvan and Naomi.” Sean slipped off his shoes and put his feet up on an ottoman. “But you’ll be surprised at how fast you’ll get used to having them around. And they don’t seem to sleep. My theory is because their planet didn’t rotate, they never had to get used to it being night. Without night they never needed to sleep. To them we’re like cats that sleep all the time. Other than not sleeping, the biggest difference between these aliens and us is that in Geminay everyone knows their place in the world.”

“Right about now I almost envy that. This morning I left for school knowing who I was and what I wanted for my life—I mean except for what happened with Martin—and now I’m here, with a guy I just met, in a world I didn’t know existed. And I can kill with a touch.”

Sean picked up a crystal from a bowl and turned it green. “But some of it feels really normal, doesn’t it?”

“Some of it, like this red light. I love red light. Since I was little, I always had red curtains on my bedroom windows and dark pink walls. Last year I put red bulbs in the lamps in my bedroom until my sister, Riley, said my room was decorated in Nouveau Brothel. I changed all those bulbs to regular ones except one. When she was around, I never turned on the lamp with the red bulb. It’s almost like she could see that I didn’t completely belong.”

“And she rubbed it in every chance she got?”

“Yeah. Do you know something about that?” I asked as I recalled how relieved I was when Riley left the house for a college dormitory and how ashamed of myself I was for feeling that way.

Sean averted his eyes. “My older brother used to tease me, but he quit doing that when I was thirteen after an—an incident. His friends were over and they were all laughing at me, and he started in about how I could read in the dark and must be looking at porn. Then I lost it when he got into my face and whinnied and called me a mutant freak. I punched him so hard he had a black eye for almost two weeks. His friends pulled us apart and he was in this frenzy calling me every bad word in the book. Mom came running and they all lied and I got the entire blame for the fight. It caused a complete crisis and I ended up having to see a therapist for a couple of months, you know, for anger management.”

I looked away. “He was kind of right about us being mutants.”

“Are you getting used to how everyone sees us as creations?”

“No.” My voice became very small. “It kind of gives me the creeps how we are what we are. Would our parents love us if they knew we were aliens wearing the flesh of their children?”

Sean didn’t look at me. “I think they would. I think they would, but it would change how they looked at us. For what it’s worth, the Original People don’t see anything wrong with doing whatever it takes to make this society work on Earth.”