by Maree Dry
“That’s just weird.” It would also explain why Zurian touched hers whenever he got the chance.
Julia shared breakfast with Natalie. Then they went outside and stopped when she saw the warriors looking ready for battle.
It felt good to be outside. Her head still throbbed but if she said anything, Zurian might make her stay in bed another day. “What’s all the excitement about?”
“Oh, I haven’t told you.”
“Told me what?”
“They think they found the agent in a camp not far from here. The Zyrgins are checking their weapons now. I think there’s something wrong with them.”
“With their weapons?”
“I think so.”
“Zurian didn’t tell me.” He might be meticulous in taking care of her but he never discussed their plans with her. Even news about Sarah she had to draw out of him.
“They only heard this morning. You were probably still--”
The TC in her pocket bleeped and they both jumped.
Julia took it out and frowned at it. “That’s, strange. It’s supposed to be blocked.”
A shadow fell over her and she looked up into Zurian’s furious eyes. “You should be resting.” He swung around and grated something at Azagor who came over. Zurian took the TC from her. She grabbed for it and he held it high out of her reach. “Hey, that’s mine.”
He gave it to Azagor who studied it. They grated something at each other and Zacar joined them as well.
“I wonder what got them this upset,” Julia said to Natalie.
“They’re pretty upset already over the problem with the equipment.”
Zurian handed the TC to her. “Answer on audio only. It is your cousin, find out what he knows and what he wants.”
She held it in her palm but no caller ID showed on the screen. “Activate,” she said. The TC hummed. “Who is this?” she asked.
“Julia, it’s Jack.”
“What do you want?”
She tried to sound confident and not scared out of her mind. She would never forget seeing her parents beaten. Jack might have guaranteed their safety but she didn’t know who he had become since she left the family. And seeing the aliens so spooked freaked her out. Somehow, she’d come to think of them as being invincible.
“I believe you are acquainted with a group of people I would--”
“Disconnect,” Zurian grated.
She frowned up at him. “Why did you disconnect?”
He led her to the cave. “We will speak to him on our terms.”
Chapter 20
Several of the warriors were busy in the main cave. Natalie and Zacar followed Zurian and Julia inside.
“Remember,” Zurian said. “He cannot see or hear us.”
“All right. Where’s my TC?”
He’d taken it and she would need it to answer the call. Maybe afterward she could casually slip it in her pocket.
“You do not need your primitive device. Simply speak.”
Julia and Natalie made brief eye contact.
Julia fidgeted. “This reminds me of going to the principal’s office,” she mumbled.
She didn’t want to do this. Didn’t want to have to confront her feelings for her parents. If Jack would keep his word and keep her parents safe, she could pretend to herself they were merely too far away to have regular contact with.
“I want to see him on visual.”
“Why?”
“I have to make sure my parents are all right. I haven’t talked to them since my uncle hurt them.”
Zurian nodded. Azagor set a silver gadget next to her and pressed a button.
“What does it do?” she asked, fascinated by the strange oblong shape.
Was this their equivalent of a TC or some kind of anti-listening device?
“You do not talk to him,” Zurian said and, taking her chin gently in his hand, turned her to look away from Azagor.
She noticed Azagor took two steps away from her. “What?”
“You are my breeder, not his.”
“What? Are you twelve?”
“No two hundred and eighty,” he said seriously.
She heard Natalie giggle.
“I don’t date old guys,” she said but he showed no reaction. Could he really be that old? How long did they live? “Activate, visual,” she said and crossed her arms. She simply couldn’t think about that now.
Jack hovered in front of her. This time his image was solid and life size as if he stood in the room with them.
Mentally, Jack was a throwback to their ancestors who came from the Dominican Republic. They started out as fierce gangs in the twenty-second century, famous for beheading their enemy by panga.
Unlike Jack’s father, physically she and Jack both resembled some Nordic forefathers that married into the family a few decades ago. Except that he got the tall gene, while she stopped growing at five feet, four inches.
He sat back in his chair and regarded her with blue eyes almost exactly like hers, only his were darker and shrewder. A coldness glittered in his that she hoped she never developed. The road he and her parents chose would never be for her.
“I won’t have any kind of discussion with you until I know my parents are safe.”
Jack leaned forward, staring intently into her eyes. “I have guaranteed their safety.”
“Yes you have.”
He might be a criminal but he always kept his word. Still, that didn’t mean she could trust him.
“They are right here, ready to talk to you. I’ll leave them alone to spend time with you but we need to talk afterward.”
Julia nodded. “Thank you.”
He stood up and pinned her in place with those cold eyes, so much like hers. “I’ll give you as long as you need. Use it wisely.”
She nodded again. He would not understand how conflicted her relationship with her parents was. He’d embraced the family and all it entailed.
Her mother walked into view and sat down in a chair Julia’s father held for her. For a moment, they seemed to be right there and not holo images.
As a child, she’d always been aware of their love for her and each other. Her friends’ parents divorced and had affairs while hers flirted with each other and acted as if they were involved with the affair of a lifetime. She’d always dreamed of finding a man she loved like that. Even now, they held hands. They’d been perfect parents. Until she realized who they really were, how black their souls. She fought back the tears. They both still looked bruised and battered from the beatings. And still they preferred to stay within the family. Even now, when they had the opportunity to leave that world behind they chose the family over her.
“Are you both all right?” she asked them.
Her parents were the worst kind of parasites, living off the misery of innocent people. She shouldn’t feel concern for them. As always, she had trouble reconciling the loving parents who raised her with these thugs.
Her mother blinked frantically and smiled shakily. “Look at you. You’re all grown up.”
“Shouldn’t have to wait five years to see my daughter,” her father said in his gruff voice. The voice that used to comfort her. Until that terrible day.
“I couldn’t. You know I couldn’t contact you before.”
She didn’t know what else to say to them. They raised her, should know her better than anyone else, but she was more at home among the aliens than with them. And even this might not be the home for her. Zurian had killed ever since they met. Showed absolutely no remorse. If she couldn’t convince him to at least acknowledge that killing was wrong, they were doomed.
“We’re both fine. Jack assured us it’ll never happen again. We are working ag--” Her mother stopped talking, looking uncomfortable.
Julia jumped up. “I’m glad you’re both all right. I have to go now, we’ll talk again soon.”
“Please, Julia, we haven’t seen you for five years. Couldn’t you at least talk to us now?”
Julia t
urned back to them. Her mother stood with her hands outstretched.
“Of course, what should we talk about? The children you are selling. Dad have you beaten anyone to death lately?”
They recoiled. She should have been able to deal with what they did for a living. Separate it, somehow, from their role as parents but she couldn’t. Selling people, beating people to death would never be acceptable to her.
“I guess we don’t have anything to talk about anymore,” her father said heavily and stood up. “I love you, Julia.” He walked away, his shoulders stooped.
Her mother looked at her, openly crying. “I loved you since the day you were conceived.” She held her hand out toward Julia. “I tried to be a good mother. Wasn’t I a good mother to you?”
Julia swallowed tears, reached out, then dropped her hand. “The best, Mom. But I can’t--the things you do, I just can’t accept it.”
Crying harder, her mother nodded and walked away as well.
Jack walked into sensor range. “That could have gone better.”
Julia rubbed her wrists and shifted. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Are you satisfied your parents are all right?” he asked.
“Yes, but I would want periodic proof that they stay all right.” She might not be able to have a relationship with them, but she didn’t want them hurt.
“I will allow them to call you every month.”
Did he realize how arrogant that was? Most parents didn’t have to be allowed to talk to their children. No, she could never go home.
“That will not be necessary.”
She knew Jack would keep his word. And she could use the probes to make sure they’re all right. Tiredness dragged at her, she wanted this conversation over.
“Julia, this rift between you has broken your mother. Take it from me, my father was an asshole and I never loved him. Still, his death does not sit well on my shoulders.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. I should have said it earlier.” She was sleeping with the man who killed her uncle. What did that make her?
He ignored her words. “Make your peace with your parents before it’s too late.”
“I’ll think about it.”
He’d never understand her feelings on this. He might not be as sadistic as his father, but he also had no problem killing anyone who stood in his way. She’d kept up with news in Denver, mostly through Margaret, who’d had a strange fascination for anything involving organized crime. Through Margaret, Julia heard that Jack had been clashing a lot with his father lately.
“Don’t take too long, Julia. Your parents won’t live forever. This black and white view you have of right and wrong will bite you in the ass one day.”
“I said I’ll think about it.” She had another concern. “You won’t force me to come back.”
Zurian was confident he could protect her, but she’d seen how relentlessly her family went after defectors.
“I have no interest in making you come back to the family.”
“And no one will try to find me and mete out justice?” she asked with the skepticism of experience. Her family was not big on freedom. They made examples out of defectors like her.
“I give you my word, you won’t be harmed or executed by me or my people.”
She noticed he didn’t say our people. He might not be as evil as his father but he was ten times more dangerous. He had a kind of cunning and intelligence, coupled with a charisma he used to manipulate people. If he didn’t want her back, he had a good reason for allowing her to stay outside the fold.
“I know you’ll keep your word, but why? We both know you can’t afford to be seen as soft.”
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t. People trying to leave the family always turn up dead. Why would you risk being seen as soft by letting me go?”
He leaned forward. “You fell in with the faction that killed the raiders.”
She hid her dismay. “What do you mean? It was the army that killed the Raiders.”
“Come, Julia, don’t take me for a fool. The army couldn’t even take on a small Raider camp and win. There’s a new faction at play and, somehow, you’re in the thick of it.” He stared into her eyes. “I want in.”
She pressed back against Zurian who stood camouflaged behind her. “What do you mean you want in?” She wished she could look at Zurian. He’d give her an indication of what to do.
“I want an alliance. A piece of the cake they’re carving out all over the country.”
“I don’t know this new faction you’re speaking of.” How had he found out it wasn’t the army destroying the camps? What else did he know?
“Stop denying it, Julia. You’ve been gone a long time but you can’t have forgotten that we keep tabs on everything.”
“If you’d kept tabs on me, you would’ve had me dragged home years ago.”
“We only found you recently and quite by accident. Much to my surprise, our little business deal with the reverend brought me my lost cousin.”
“How can you live with yourself? Buying and selling people like animals is wrong.”
“If it will speed things along, I’ll promise to never buy and sell people again.”
He looked deadly serious. One thing she knew about Jack was that he was fanatic about keeping his word. Unlike his father.
“Why would you promise that?”
“Julia, look around you at what’s happening. The human race is falling apart. If we don’t take measures now, pretty soon we’ll be fighting for survival and not a better way of life.”
“How exactly do you think to save the world by having a piece of this new faction’s pie?”
“They have technology we could use to build a better world.”
“You mean technology that can enrich you and allow you to dominate new territories.”
“That too,” he admitted and sat back with his legs sprawled apart, his arm hooked over the back of his chair, his cold eyes unblinking on hers.
“How can you be so sure this new faction has better technology?”
“I see your image and only your image. I suspect even if someone stood right next to you and spoke, I wouldn’t see or hear anything. That can only be done by impressive equipment.”
“You know I won’t help you with any criminal activities.” She moved slightly, trying to relieve the ache in her spine. Zurian put his hands on her back and gently massaged.
“I know you have contact with aliens through your friend Natalie.”
She would’ve fallen if Zurian hadn’t caught her. It felt as if little TC chips, too small to see with the naked eye, burned through her veins. She couldn’t look at Zurian but dangerous vibes emanated from behind her.
She laughed but it sounded forced even to her ears. “Where did you get such a crazy idea? Next you’ll tell me you think you’ve been kidnapped and experimented on by aliens.” She resisted the urge to ask how he knew Natalie. Showing any concern for her friend would be exposing a weakness.
“I have informants everywhere, so don’t bother denying it.”
“I am denying it.”
The Zyrgins would have noticed anyone lurking around. So his claim of having informants there couldn’t be true.
“I need access to their technology. In exchange for that, I will become their ally.”
“Why would you think the technology of these mythical aliens is more advanced than ours?” It was scary how much he knew.
“We couldn’t go to their planet,” he said.
With those simple words, he demonstrated the difference between Zyrgin and human development. There was a time when you could travel anywhere in the world relatively cheaply. Now only the very rich did it.
“I don’t know what to say about your delusions.”
“Delusions?” He balled his hands, losing his relaxed pose. He was a Benzoni, all right. “Let me show you something,” he said and touched the TC on his desk, moved it so the image hovered in front of her.
“Look at this.”
A huge dome-like shield covered what looked like a very large area. Strange plants, exotically colorful, grew in a lush forest. They seemed to be made up of Earth and alien plant life. As if some scientist had spliced the two species and put them together again. Large animals, the likes of which she’d never seen before, walked around the forest. As she watched, a blue bear walked into the hologram and caught a deer.
“What is that?” Even as she asked she knew.
“Eduki,” Zurian murmured behind her.
“That is an unpopulated area of Colorado. I believe the aliens introduced some of their plant and animal life. It’s very well contained but the sheer technology to do that puts everything into perspective.” He smiled wryly, looking deceptively handsome and almost boyish at that moment. “My scientists tell me it is called terraforming.”
Julia drew in a deep, soundless breath. She couldn’t look at Zurian or the fury and betrayal on her face would be clearly seen by Jack.
Zurian had said they were on Earth for conquest but she hadn’t taken it seriously. They would need vast numbers to take on all the forces on Earth. Or so she’d thought. Terraforming told a whole new story.
“I can’t promise anything, but I can try to find these aliens you are so convinced exist.”
“We both know they are with you right now. Probably standing next to you.”
Julia shrugged. They both knew she was with the aliens but she didn’t have to admit to it.
“Do I need to make this unpleasant, Julia?”
“No need,” Zurian said from right next to her.
He leaned forward and she saw a human male with gold-blond hair staring at Jack.
“Clever disguise, alien,” Jack said. “But I know you are an alien in disguise.”
Julia saw Jack recoil and stare at Zurian and, when she looked at him, his eyes blazed red out of the strange human face he wore--blazing red eyes he never showed to her. Zurian’s eyes turned blue and Julia knew that he’d shown his red eyes to Jack on purpose. Like a declaration of war.
“You do not approach my breeder.”
“All right. I’m not interested--” Jack stopped talking and smirked. “Breeder?”
Julia had to resist the urge to show him a very rude sign. She touched her head. A dull headache throbbed behind her eyes.
