Broken Skies (24 page)

Most important thing right now: breathing. If I get that in line the rest should follow. I focus on my breaths. In and out. In and out. Gradually my racing pulses recedes and I feel normal, or at least as normal as I can feel locked in this tiny space with three aliens, all of whom refuse to even acknowledge my presence.

Riding in the pod thing is much different than riding in the truck. It’s smoother, for one and there’s no engine noise. What makes it run? I distract myself with trying to figure out how it might be powered and directed, staring out the window at the ever approaching city. No conclusions come to me. I might be smart, but this is technology I’m sure no human has seen up close and it’s probably much more advanced than anything we had even before the Collapse.

We… I’m still thinking of myself as a human, but I’m really not, at least not entirely. Of course, if I have to identify with one race, I’ve spent much more time with humans and I’m not even sure which of my characteristics stem from my alien heritage. Besides the weird mental stuff, what sets me apart from humans? I don’t have scales. My blood isn’t green. Would anyone even know unless I told them?

The pressure gets to be too much and I drum my fingers on my thigh, tapping out a rhythm to distract my frazzled brain. Still no one talks. I look up from under my brow, darting my gaze around the vehicle. The aliens, Lir included, look almost bored. Even in human clothes, Lir stands apart from the other two. Taller. Leaner. More…something.

The dirt caked under my nails makes me blush. I didn’t even take the time for a bath at Peter’s. Lir has been traveling just as much as I have, hell he was even a prisoner for a while, but he manages to be clean and put together. How did I not even notice this before? I am not either of those things and it makes me feel even more out of place. The creeping sense of unease returns and I have to go back to looking out the window. I wish I had clothes to change into or even a bath would be nice.

The vehicle stops with a gentle deceleration, barely even a bump in the passenger area. We’re in front of one of the larger buildings, a silver monstrosity that’s at least forty stories high. A ship flies past and docks on the roof. I’m busy staring up at it when one of the aliens grabs my arm and pulls me out. “Come on,” he says gruffly.

Lir stops our two escorts at the door. “I will take her from here,” he says. “Notify my parents that I have returned.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Both aliens salute and Lir pulls me up to the door. He presses his
kitu
against a metal square to the right of the door and frowns when nothing happens. A quick glance confirms that our escorts have already disappeared into the pod leaving us stranded out on the sidewalk apparently unable to enter the building. The stiffness in his posture relaxes and he lets out a loud huff.

“Didn’t really think this bit through did you?” I ask. My head tilts down and I keep my voice low.

He chuckles under his breath and glances up and down the empty street. “Not exactly. Would you like to give it a shot?”

“What do you mean?”

“In theory, you should be able to open the door by linking into the system.”

“In theory I should be able to do a lot of things.” I snort.

He shrugs. “It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

“Says the guy who can’t even open the door.” A smile works its way across my face.

“Just put your hand on it or something and link in.”

I roll my eyes. “Just like that, huh? Flick a switch and access my mental super powers? I’m sure—”

Lir’s fingers wrap around my arm and squeeze as his whole body tenses. I look up from my toes to see that one of our escorts has returned and he’s looking between us quizzically.

“Is there a problem, Sir?”

Soldier Lir is back again, shoulders back, looking down his nose at the other alien. “I am unable to link in without my
kitu
. Escort us to my quarters.”

“Yes, Sir.” The alien nods briskly and places his
kitu
against the pad. A moment later, the door slides open and he leads us into the building.

* * * * * * *

We take an elevator to the top floor and, after opening another door the alien salutes and scurries back down the hall. Lir walks through the door and into an open living room filled with a couple chairs and a couch. All in white. I’m barely through the door behind him when a small form comes bounding across the room and throws itself at him. It’s a little girl with sparkling green and gold hair. He catches her with an oomph.

“I’m so glad you’re home! I missed you!” Her voice rises into a squeal.

Lir lifts her from the floor, swinging her in a circle, and pats her back. “I missed you too Stella.” The little sister he told me about. He walks further into the room, leaving me staring after him, not quite sure what to do or say. “Have a seat, Jax.”

I sit, my mind reeling with yet another rapid shift in his persona. He kissed me and stroked my cheek before we got here, then ignored me in the pod, joked with me downstairs and now his demeanor just went from emotionless soldier to adored big brother. Which one is he? The rapid shifts in his persona bring an edge of unease trickling into my body.

I try to sit on the very edge of the starkly white couch, hoping to save it from my dirty clothes. My joints ache with the desire to run, to hide, to escape and I have to clasp my hands together to keep them still.

The child’s chatter echoes from down the hallway and I hear a door open and close. Seconds later, the girl is running back out to the living room, Lirless.

“Hello,” she says, cocking her head to the side. “I like your hair.”

“Um…” How articulate of me. I reach up at pat at my head self-consciously. “Thanks?”

“What family are you from? You’re red like the Revas but they have black too and sometimes yellow. And your eyes don’t match,” she states, mater of factly.

I’m at a loss and I have no idea what she’s asking me, so I just smile, silently screaming at Lir to come rescue me. Almost as if hearing my silent plea, he appears in the hallway. “Stel, please leave our guest alone,” he says. He disappears back down the hallway and I hear the sound of running water.

Stella stares at me, a mischievous glint in her eye. “I don’t care if your eyes don’t match. I think you’re pretty.”

A flush heats my cheeks and I twist my hands in my lap. “Thank you.”

Lir instructed me to keep quiet, but sitting here with the bubbly little girl I’m not sure what to do. If she keeps staring at me, I’m going to crack. Interrogation by child. I lift my eyes and smile at her. She perks up and leans closer to me, as if she’s imparting a secret.

“Do you want to play with me? My brother always hogs the best dolls,” she says. She backs up a little. “You’re not a doll hogger are you?”

I can’t help but laugh. The ride in the transport, the open hostility of the escorts and my doubts about Lir fade into the background. Right now, this little girl has given me just enough normality to make me comfortable. My jittery limbs finally fully relax and I smile at Stella. “No, I’ve never even had a doll to hog.”

Stella gapes at me. “Really? What do you do for fun?”

The sound of a throat clearing brings my eyes up. Lir stands in the hallway watching us, a subtle smile on his face. With that expression, he looks like the guy who kissed me in the truck, the guy who held me while I slept… the beautiful boy I saw in the clearing. It’s nice to see him again. I’m not fond of the icy cold Soldier Lir. He has ditched the jeans and t-shirt and another charcoal colored uniform, like the one he wore when I met him, hugs his frame. Stella’s clothes are the same color. Huh. Must be an alien thing.

Part of Lir’s hair leftover from my pathetic attempt at a haircut hangs over his forehead in wet curls. I would like nothing more than to go tousle them. His eyebrow goes up and I blush. Am I that obvious? But Stella is looking at me strangely too.

“Why do you like my brother’s hair so much?” she asks. “Mine is much prettier.”

My breath catches. How did she know?

Lir’s eyes go wide and the color leaves his face. “Stel,” he says calmly. “Can you go play in your room for a bit? I need to speak with Jax.”

Stella bounds off down the hallway without further question and Lir settles in next to me on the couch. “What was that?”

“You’re asking me? I have no idea. Was she reading my mind? I thought you said you guys couldn’t do that. Though I’m pretty sure there are some worse thoughts in my head she could have gotten, so…” A blush overtakes my face when I realize what that sounds like. “I mean… about the whole half alien thing and Jace… and stuff.”

He smiles softly. “Did you know you were doing it? Were you broadcasting to the others in the transport pod?”

“To the others? You mean the guards? I don’t know.” Another realization dawns on me. “Was I broadcasting to you?”

“A little.”

I run through the trip in the transport pod, desperately trying to remember what I thought about, if I gave anything away. Am I supposed to be policing my thoughts now? I wouldn’t even know where to start with that. Am I doing it now? I don’t have time to figure out the answers to my questions because a tone sounds near the door and Lir jolts to his feet as two more people enter the apartment.

Decked out in clothes the same shade as Lir, the teenage boy and girl stand there for a moment with their mouths gaping before the boy’s mouth climbs up into a grin and the girl rushes across the room and throws her arms around Lir. His arms settle around her waist and she presses her face into his chest. He whispers against her ear and one hand comes up and strokes her long, yellow gold hair. It suddenly feels like someone punched me in the stomach.

It doesn’t get any better when he releases her and she turns around, enabling me to get an even better look. Pure golden perfection from the shining waves of her hair to the perfect matching shade of her luminous eyes. Her lithe body fills out the formfitting uniform…perfectly. There is just too much about her that is perfect.

Acid churns in my stomach and I study my hands in my lap, my filthy hands with ragged, uneven nails. When did I start caring? Better yet, why? Did I really expect… No. No. No. That kiss in the truck is still a bit of a mystery to me and I’m even more mortified that
I
kissed
him
, but it’s not like there’s any chance for…

Lir clears his throat and I look up to meet his eyes. Did it get hot all of a sudden? Heat rises in my face as that single eyebrow goes up. How much of that little freak out did he hear? One side of his mouth curls up. That too? Turn it off. Turn it off. Thankfully the other two don’t seem to notice my embarrassing mental commentary, but the boy glances back and forth between us and what I can only call a mischievous smile takes over his face.

“What the blazes happened to your hair?” His golden eyes stay focused on me even though he directs the question to Lir as if he’s waiting to see a reaction from me.

Lir clears his throat. “Just a poor attempt at a human disguise.” He ruffles his hair forward and turns his head from side to side, posing. “I’ve been told it’s what the humans call a mullet.”

The boy laughs, but the girl scoffs. “Why would you want to look human? It’s not like—” She breaks off and takes a close look at me, her hand rising to cover her mouth as her eyes widen. “Lir…what have you done?”

The boy’s eyes narrow at my face before widening as well and shifting to Lir.

He clears his throat again and runs his hand back through his hair. “Rym,” gesturing to the boy, “Trel,” a hand to the girl, “This is Jax.” Two incredulous pairs of eyes bore into me. “She assisted me in my return. I could not have done it without her.”

Four long strides bring Rym to the couch with his hand out. “Well Jax, let me be the first to formally thank you for returning my cousin to us. Full of himself as he is, we missed him.” He winks. Humor shines from his eyes and it relaxes me enough to accept his hand. He promptly lifts the back of my hand to his lips, waggling his eyebrows at me over my knuckles. “This is how it’s done in the human world, yes?”

I pause at the touch of his mouth on my hand just long enough for my breath to catch in my throat and my limbs to tense before snatching my hand away and offering him a small smile. “Yeah. I guess so.”

If he thinks my actions are strange, he doesn’t comment on it. “You the one that massacred his hair?” At my nod, his smile gets even bigger. “Well, good for you. That wanker was always a bit too pretty with all those curls.”

“Wanker?”

Lir shifts over until he’s standing next to me and rests one hand on my shoulder. “Please just ignore him. My cousin has spent too much time watching the vids from the London team.”
London team?

“They have all the best slang,” says Rym with a chuckle. He springs up and musses Lir’s hair. “At least now I’ve got a chance with the ladies. Do you know how tough it is to be in competition with this guy?” He jerks his thumb at Lir.

Lir just rolls his eyes and Trel is still standing there with a bit of a dumbfounded look on her face watching their interaction.

Really, Rym has nothing to worry about. Although his looks are different than Lir’s, he’s no less attractive. Close cut hair and the same brilliant eyes as his sibling. He’s perfect and golden just like her.