Damaged Goods

by Rena Marks

Jason handed her the brunette wig they’d brought along and helped her arrange the coiffed curls draped artfully along her shoulders. Then he draped a sheer blanket over her, the silken fabric smooth to the touch and blatantly screaming their wealth.

  “You’re a lovely lady’s maid,” Amanda snickered, opening opened her medical bag and removed a scanner as if she’d been looking after Lily.

  He sighed. “When I used to beg mom and dad for a sister, I had no idea what I was getting into.”

  “Ladies Anastasia and Danielle Holland at the front door.” The house-computer voice announced.

  “I’ll get it.” Jason went to the door to answer. It almost felt as if Lily and Amanda held their breaths.

  “Good day.”

  “Good day to you, kind sir. I am Lady Ana from the Holland estate and this is my sister, Lady Danielle. We saw that you moved in and wished to introduce ourselves and bring a welcoming gift.”

  “Thank you. I’m Lord Jason Becker. Won’t you come in and meet my wife and sister?”

  Ana’s face fell at the mention of his status.

  The two stepped into the room just as Amanda rose from Lily’s side. Both ladies had perfect manners, executing the perfect curtsy to show their respect for someone else’s home.

  “This is my sister, Dr. Amanda Becker. This is my wife, Lady Lillian Becker.”

  “Good day.” Lily spoke first, as she was the lady of the house. “Please, do sit.”

  “Best wishes,” Amanda said, lowering her eyes as the two sisters took places side by side on the sofa.

  “It is an honor to meet you both,” Danielle said. “A doctor? What a fabulous profession.”

  Amanda smiled demurely. “Thank you.” She moved to a chair to sit.

  “It’s certainly to my benefit to have one of the most prestigious doctors in the nine cities in my own family,” Lily said. “Amanda is at the height of her career.”

  “Oh, stop,” Amanda protested.

  “That is convenient,” Ana said. “We also had a doctor in the family. Well, scientist, really. His studies continued later in life. Our father. Sadly, he’s passed to the next world.”

  With a look from Danielle, Ana clammed immediately.

  “My condolences,” Amanda said. “I imagine that was convenient when you were children.”

  “It was for our sister,” Ana said. “She was an extremely sickly child.” She lowered her head to subtly indicate she was done with the conversation.

  A glow from Lily swept the room as she triggered her Xeno Sapien powers, ensnaring people to her and bending their will to do her bidding. Of course, not expecting anything unusual, the sisters fell under a bemused trance without noticing the glow of her skin.

  “Oh, you have another sister?” Lily asked, prompting them for more. “Why is she not with you?”

  “No, she does not live with us,” Danielle said, her face expressionless. “She works at The Bella Suites and lives on the grounds.”

  “She outgrew her sickly disposition, then?” Jason asked, sitting in the chair next to Lily and picking up her hand.

  “For the most part. She is not quite normal.”

  “What kept her ailing?” Amanda asked.

  “I’m not…sure,” Danielle said. “We were children. But it was something that worried our parents.”

  “Forgive my curiosity.” Amanda smiled. “The doctor in me comes out. Lots of times, illnesses are genetic and they manifest at different times in life for other family members so I hope you will stay healthy.”

  “We’re fine. We’ve never been prone to illness. Neither has our mother. Just Alannah.”

  “And where is your mother?”

  “She should be arriving home shortly. She went for tea with Lord Nolan. He’s our sister’s boyfriend. Mother says he’s going to propose. They should marry within the next year.”

  “Well, that’s real interesting,” Jason said. “Considering Lord Wilson Nolan is underground. No one has seen nor heard from him in over a week.”

  “What? How do you know?” Danielle asked, shaking her head slightly as if to clear the gentle influence of Lily, keeping them calm while Jason explained.

  “We are from Xenia. We have Alannah safe from Lord Nolan, who has put out a death hit on her.”

  “Xenia?” Ana looked confused.

  “What is it with your household that no one watches the news?” he muttered under his breath. “Xenia is a new city created on Earth-Ground.”

  “We watch the news. Is this some sort of confidential information?” Danielle asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Not anymore,” Amanda said. “The world is very aware that a new type of people exist. Humans whose DNA was combined with various other types discovered in the city of Atlantis.”

  Danielle gasped. “And these people are alive today? Walking and talking and breathing?”

  “Yes,” Amanda sighed. “Lily?”

  Lily flung off her wig. “Surprise!” Green, moss-like hair fell down to her shoulders and her skin glowed brighter as she calmed them.

  “Lily has been our spokesperson on various news channels.”

  “And Alannah is there? On your Xenia?” Ana asked.

  “Yes. But she’s ill. We’re trying to figure out why she was purposely kept that way so we thought we’d come to Iota Nine to see if we could talk to your family privately. Not to mention, it was Lord Nolan who ordered her death and yet your mother is meeting him for tea. Isn’t that a bit odd?” Lily asked.

  “I’m sure mother has a reason for keeping privacy,” Ana murmured. “Alannah is on a high dosage of B vitamins to keep her symptoms at bay.”

  “What are the symptoms? The actual illness?” Jason asked.

  “I—I don’t know,” Ana admitted. “She’s always been sickly and our father always took care of her. She’s been on a regimen of his treatments since. She’s never gone to another doctor, not even since his death.”

  “May I scan your DNA to see if there are any clues as to what she may have?” Amanda asked.

  Lily’s glow kept steady.

  “Of course,” Ana said, holding out her arm.

  A quick swipe of her arm, and Amanda frowned. “I’m not seeing a thing.” She looked up at Danielle.

  Danielle held out her arm also.

  “The results are puzzling,” Amanda said. “Inconclusive. Either my equipment is faulty, Alannah’s genetic makeup has been altered, or you’re not related. Third time’s a charm. If I had your mother here…”

  “Mother won’t submit to being tested,” Ana said quickly. “Trust me.”

  “Why not?” Amanda asked. “Surely if one of her daughters is ill…”

  “She’ll refuse,” Danielle said. “But what can we do? No matter what, Alannah is our sister.”

  “Would you like to come to visit? We’ll be leaving within the hour. We can give you a ride to the city. You can stay in the sponsor house for a day or two and return home. The same one that houses Alannah. Especially while we figure out what’s going on with Wilson and your mother.”

  “What if we can get mother to come with us?” Danielle asked. “Surely there’s been some mistake with Lord Nolan. There would be no reason why he’d want Alannah out of the way.”

  “We’d love to have you join us,” Amanda smiled. “Would you like to summon your mother? Or shall we all head over there?”

  Chapter Seven

  Alannah:

  SORRY. I COULDN’T GET away earlier. I’m at the gardens now. Are you here?

  His shadowed form came running from the woods. He was magnificent, sleek muscles shifting across his powerful form. She clutched her blanket closer around herself in the night air.

  She dropped to her knees in the grass and hugged him tightly. “Oh, goddess, you’re so warm. I wish I had fur right now, too,” she laughed. He tipped her over with a nudge of his nose and half-buried her under his huge body. She curled up with him, their blanket under them with one side curled up nearly around
them like an open sleeping bag.

  “I’m so happy around you,” she whispered. “So glad I found you at the edge of the gardens that day. You’ve been my best friend,” she admitted.

  She could feel the love he projected back to her.

  “I’ve never felt this way before. Not around my sisters. Definitely not with my mother. And my boyfriend? Nowhere near this.”

  He nipped her gently at the word boyfriend.

  “Ouch,” she said. “Jealous pup! Stop that.”

  They lay together for a bit, looking up at the dim stars. It wasn’t often they were able to be seen. Well, she looked. He was perfectly content staring at her.

  “I’m glad you got the food I left out for you,” she said. She’d retrieved the empty bowls and washed them without Vien or Potierre ever noticing they were missing from the cabinet.

  “I was raised to behave rather hoity-toity, you know,” she said. “And I didn’t realize how much I hated it until I came here. You can’t imagine how freeing it is to drop the pretentious manners and rituals we follow on Iota Nine. The silly greetings. The pretense that we care. You know what I really care about today? I care about you and Vien and Potierre. You’re my family.”

  His inner thoughts were a bit saddened by this, but it was only because the selfish beast wanted her for himself. She hugged him closer.

  “I love you, too, boy.”

  His possessive feeling invaded her mind. He let out the softest whine and lay with his head on his huge paws. She scratched his forehead and his ears twitched.

  “In a perfect world, I’d have my own home. I’d always leave the door open and you could come inside whenever you pleased.” A thought suddenly struck her. “You know, I think this is a perfect world, here on Earth-Ground. On Xenia, I mean. Because anywhere else, you probably would have eaten me. And instead I saw this magnificent, scary creature who should have terrified me but instead I was thrilled. The first time I wondered what it would be like to run my fingers through your fur. Would it be soft? Would it be coarse? I never even thought that you should probably eat the hand that fed you.”

  He whined again.

  “But that was because I could invade your thoughts. I saw what other people couldn’t. You were just as curious about me and I was safe.”

  They lay in perfect harmony for a minute. Her, staring at the barely twinkling stars and him, staring at her. “I’m going to visit with you every chance I get, you know.”

  He licked her to show his agreement.

  “Tomorrow I’ll get dropped off at the main hub. Robyn wants to talk to me and she says it’s rather urgent. I can’t imagine what’s so important in this place, can you?”

  He rumbled softly.

  “I’ll let you know when I find out.” Her eyebrows knit. “I hope it’s not technical stuff. Like how long I can remain her under sponsorship.” She took a deep breath. “When you showed me those images of Xeno Sapiens and their mates, it worried me. Were some of them sponsored?”

  Yes.

  “So I’m putting one and one together and making two. But I can’t figure out why I’m being sponsored by two Xeno Sapiens, because that makes three.” She wasn’t too worried because Robyn had told her she wasn’t being given to Vien and Potierre and of course, the two of them had never treated her like she was their property. Not like Wilson did.

  Her pet had gone perfectly still, so she rubbed his tummy. “Eh, enough of that pondering. Maybe she’ll tell me there’s an open job in the city. Maybe I can apply. By the time I have to move away, there might be enough money saved to hide me on Earth-Ground nearby. If there’s still a contract on me, no one will expect my changed looks.” She froze. “I can take you with me!”

  His heart thundered in his chest, but he didn’t respond.

  “Oh, that’s foolish thinking,” she chided herself. “There are ruffians and outlaws on Earth-Ground. They’d probably shoot you and ask questions later. Plus, I’d have to sneak you indoors and who knows whether or not that’ll get us both kicked out? No, you’re safer here.”

  He snarled at the mention of ruffians.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe,” she said, not wanting him to think about leaving what he had here. It was a selfish thought anyway, to want to bring him outside to suffer with her. “Besides, we don’t even know what it is Robyn is going to discuss with me. It could be a medical check-up, for all I know. Maybe they want to see how my body is adapting to the sudden loss of the vitamins and if I’m doing well, they’ll take care of the anemia. We’ll see.”

  He licked her and sent her a mental picture of newborn puppies in a basket, huddled together.

  “So perfect,” she breathed. “Are they your pups?”

  He huffed and she giggled. “Okay, so you’re not a daddy. You’d make a great daddy, though. Just sending me cute images to cheer me up? Send away.”

  More images shot through. Baby kittens with tiny mouths that meowed. Adorable baby monkeys, still in the slender stage, with long arms and legs. Baby ducks with their fuzzy softness.

  But then a human baby came through. Not expecting it, she froze. He snatched the image away and whined softly, his thoughts pricking at the hidden secret in the edges of her mind. But she refused to let him in. She didn’t want him to see what was there. Why shouldn’t matter. He was her friend. But it wasn’t something that she’d quite resolved within herself yet and needed time to do so.

  She promptly changed the subject. “One of these days, I’m going to sneak you inside. See if we can get away with it. It’ll give me more time with you until I get stronger and can walk the grounds with you without passing out on the grass and being discovered like a wet sea nymph by Vien and Potierre.” She winced. “My hair must’ve been a fright.”

  He rubbed his face in her breasts.

  She laughed, the movement making her entire chest move up and down.

  “Boys will be boys, no matter the species, huh? You like my breasts, precious?” She pressed a kiss on the top of his head and he projected back a bubble of happiness.

  A bubble of love.

  Chapter Eight

  ALANNAH WAS EXTRA TIRED today and cranky, irritated that the bit of energy she had would be wasted by going all the way to the main hub to visit with Dr. Robyn. It also meant her pet wouldn’t be able to come, as he avoided all people but her. Did it make her feel special? Of course. She couldn’t wait to get back to the wild but intelligent dog who could communicate with her. He’d been avoiding her lately, but it was just because Vien and Potierre were always underfoot. She’d train him to get comfortable with them soon enough and he’d learn to stop avoiding her around them. Silly dog. Sometimes it seemed like he was jealous of Vien and Potierre taking her attention. Those were times when she would give him extra love—rub his tummy, scratch his ears.

  But Vien and Potierre had dropped her off here and had gone on to meet with Amanda, who had just arrived from Iota Nine with news of the visit with her family and was at the front gates.

  Robyn got straight to the point. “We need to get your mother and sisters here to Xenia where we can test their DNA. Amanda was able to test your sisters from a visit they made to Jason and Lily’s vacation home, but your mother was absent. Also, your mother was in contact with Lord Nolan which is highly suspicious since he’s been in hiding. It’s curious that he would come out for her. By the time we got there, he was gone.”

  “My mother? She won’t come here!” Alannah gasped. Her mother. The self-proclaimed most prestigious lady in the highest city would never lower herself to be kind to the misfortunes of others.

  “She doesn’t have much choice. We found out that she was seeing Lord Nolan. What could she possibly be sneaking away to meet him for? Especially when her daughter is in a strange city, alone, because of him. It would look suspicious for her not to come now.”

  “She made the contractual arrangement for me and Wilson. She probably didn’t think he was guilty of any wrongdoing, or he told her it was me
and he was taking the blame.”

  “Perhaps,” Robyn said, and then grinned. “It helped that he mentioned when he got the liquid converted, it was discovered that Alannah’s prescription was way too strong for one person. The company he used wanted to know why. Your mother is a bit worried that Nolan will blab that the prescriptions are combined. She’s willing to come here and pretend to be worried sick about the misunderstanding in lieu of any information that comes out later.”

  “Even at that, my mother won’t be kind when she finds out I’m off my meds. When she…sees what I really look like.”

  “She’ll have to come to grips with it. What’s done is done. We need them here, at least for a day, to explain the situation. And quite frankly, we need to get DNA to test. We need to find why records have been manipulated as to your family history. It’s the biggest part of this mystery.”

  “I’ll need emotional support. Maybe if my dog can be with me the whole time I can deal with them.”

  “Your dog? What dog?”

  “I found him. He comes to me when Vien and Potierre aren’t around.”

  For the first time, Robyn looked puzzled. “There are no dogs in the city.”

  “Of course there is. I’ve been caring for him—met him a few days after I moved in. I saw him at the edge of the gardens and coaxed him in.”

  “Leo?” Robyn called out to her computer. “DNA count, please.”

  “DNA shows no intruders, animal or human.”

  “I swear there’s a large dog.”

  “Leo?”

  “Image of anyone that can be mistaken for a dog,” Leo responded and a picture came across the wall.

  “That’s him,” Alannah said, still bemused that the computer anticipated Robyn’s needs without her having to ask.

  “That’s not a dog,” Robyn breathed. “That’s a wolf.”

  Well, son of a gun. He’d called himself a wolf but she thought he was bragging about being a bigger species. What in the world would a wolf be doing in the city and why was he so tame?

  “Not a wolf,” Amanda corrected, coming into the office with Vien and Potierre behind her. “It’s Kieran. He’s still in his change.”