by Shona Husk
“Well, we live in modern times in case you haven’t noticed.” Tavor laughed and a few of his friends joined in.
There was a definite split in the clan, but there were some who weren’t on either side. They were waiting.
“Yes, if anything, we live in a new age. We now share space with Humans as well as Metas, and everyone is trying to work out how we all fit together.” He paused. “Except us. We are becoming anachronisms from another time. We cling to the wheel as a modern invention when everyone else has wings.” He lifted his hands, glad to see they weren’t betraying his nerves by shaking. “We’re in a giant experiment. We should be making the most of it.
“I’m not suggesting that we go out and create orgies and fights—but I am suggesting that we look beyond ourselves. When you go out to feed, do more than feed. Talk, listen. Bring ideas about how we can make ourselves a place, because if we don’t there may be no place for us.” His heart was racing, even though he was standing still. he hoped he got better at giving speeches and the anxiety at standing before his clan faded.
Silence. Some were nodding, some were scowling. Kearn let himself glance at Tavor.
Tavor shook his head. “That is foolhardy and dangerous. We are only strong together. Tradition—
“Is what you have picked. You didn’t want to come here. We all know that. And I think you wanted to make sure no one else wanted to be here, so you filled people’s heads with fear. Humans are no worse or better than Metas.”
“They can see us,” Tavor hissed.
“And? That may be a good thing. Think about it. They are immune because of the device. They can’t be affected by our power, so they have nothing to fear from us. Other Metas grew up fearing us because we could manipulate them.”
“Because we use them as hosts,” someone said.
“Yes, we need hosts. But that has been solved with the registry. And I think calling it surrogacy is a better fit these days. Plenty of people use surrogates. It’s respectable.” He made himself smile. But Phoebe’s admission was lodged in his mind like a metal splinter he couldn’t dig out, and it hurt. “Because we didn’t ask, we didn’t get a registry in the Complex. We didn’t ask because our leader at the time didn’t want to be here in the first place.”
He paused to let that sink in. Perhaps Tavor liked tradition a little too much. Had he enjoyed manipulating someone’s desire? Had he told them before or after the deed was done? The idea was chilling…but was he any better when he hadn’t clarified with Phoebe what she was volunteering for? He’d just assumed that she had all the facts, when clearly she hadn’t.
“I can’t force you to socialize, but I allow it.” That was it. He had formally overturned one of Tavor’s first rules. They had to work with other Metas and Humans—there was nothing that could be done about that—but Tavor had forbidden socializing, claiming that it would weaken the clan if they were out there instead of in here. “Go and meet some other people. Be cautious, but be brave and then tell us about it. This is an experiment. In a little over a year, it will be over. We have to use that time to try out new things before we go home. What do you want to be able to tell others? That you did nothing, or that you tried? I know what I will be doing.”
“You have always liked mixing with others too much. That is what got you into trouble the first time.”
Kearn didn’t see who’d spoken. He smiled as though unbothered by the accusation. “No, I was experimenting. It got out of hand. I know that. How many here know there is a tipping point?” A few of the older Incubi nodded. “That when you have a crowd hyped up on lust, that it can be in control one breath and then its own living beast the next? I didn’t. No one had ever told me. We are told to elevate the mood just enough to skim off the top. Very practical, very safe.
“Have you thought about what we could offer? Crowd control at events. We can be valuable members of a society—and not just because we have regular jobs. But most of us take jobs where we have little contact with others. Myself included. We limit ourselves because of fear.”
“I want to be a doctor,” one teen blurted.
“No one wants to be treated by an Incubi. I feel their fear when they see me in uniform. They hate us.” Tavor had stood. Then he seemed to realize he was no longer leader and he sat.
Kearn shrugged. “Some will. Some will be curious. That’s why I said to be careful. But let’s make the most of the time that is left, and see what we can learn and let others know about us.” He walked away before there could be more opposition. His insides were quaking and he wanted to sit, but he had to act calm.
He’d known that Tavor would argue with him. But Kearn had made his first big decision for the clan. He walked through the corridors and stopped at his room. He was tired, but he didn’t want to spend the evening in there.
No, he’d get changed and go out. He’d go to the gym for a little. Maybe take someone with him, then he changed his mind, not this time. He’d go alone and see his non Incubus friends.
As he changed there was a knock on the door. “Who is it?”
“Alroi.”
Kearn blew out a breath. “Come in.”
He finished lacing his shoes and stood as Alroi entered.
“Taking your own advice. I see.”
“Yeah.” What would Alroi say about his speech? “I want to thank my instructor for training me.” Without his help, Kearn knew he would’ve never won.
“I think we should all thank him.” Alroi embraced Kearn. “You are doing the right thing, and there are many of us who are breathing for the first time. He drew back. You aren’t the only one who has been breaking Tavor’s rule about socializing. But you are the one we protected.”
“What?”
“You didn’t hide your activities from him on your own. When we realized what you were doing, we decided to make sure you weren’t caught, and that you got your chance to win.”
For several heartbeats Kearn was speechless.
“I didn’t know.” He clasped the older man’s hand in gratitude. There had been people looking out for him, backing him when he’d thought he was on his own. “Thank you. I was afraid of getting caught every time I went out.”
“He’d have banned you from fighting if he’d known. But you weren’t supposed to know you were being watched either. If you’d suddenly gained allies as the lowest, it would have been odd. We all played our parts.”
They’d put a lot of faith in his ability to fight. And to win.
“Last night went well?”
“Yes.” But Kearn’s slight pause was enough to make Alroi frown. “I’m not sharing the details.” Kearn forced a smile.
If Phoebe hadn’t told him she couldn’t get pregnant, then he wouldn’t be any the wiser, and he might have found an excuse to talk to her again and get to know her better.
He’d still like to find that excuse.
7
It had to be food poisoning. Or maybe an allergic reaction to sleeping with a Selkie. He’d seemed safe enough and Phoebe been trying to scrub memories of Kearn from her mind by swimming deeper into the pool of Metas.
It totally wasn’t working. It had been two weeks, or four one night stands, since she’d seen him. This was day two of feeling like crud scraped off the floor of the club. She waited for the nausea to pass before she got up from the bathroom floor. She hadn’t thrown up yet, but it was better to be safe and make less mess than stay in bed.
Phoebe called up the Uni Sip Three and told them she was still sick. She was never sick. This is what she got for swallowing after giving head. She never swallowed. Then she made a call and got herself an appointment to see a doctor.
Now she had to get herself dressed and get there. Maybe it would have been better to just stay home and wait for it to pass. The tide in her tummy swelled up her throat, then subsided. This had to stop. She had a life to get on with. There must be a shot or something the doctor could give her.
But she was dreading the conversation.
An hour lat
er, she was dressed and had survived the ride to the nearest medical center. She was starting to feel better. Maybe it was nothing and she was overreacting. But as she walked through the doors of the medical center she wanted to hurl on the potted plant.
She didn’t, but it was close. She was blaming the strong smell of disinfectant.
After a few minutes of waiting she was called in.
“What can I do for you today?” The doctor smiled and was super perky.
Had she done the right thing in asking for a Human doctor? Would a Human doctor know if there was any incompatibilities between Humans and Metas? If they knew, surely someone would’ve said something? There would’ve been a warning or something. Wouldn’t there? Unless they really didn’t expect Humans to start experimenting with Meta lovers.
“I’m not feeling well. Nausea mostly.”
The doctor nodded. “When did it start?”
“Yesterday. I think I feel better and then it crashes into me again.” Phoebe glanced away. “Could it be caused by sleeping with a Meta?”
“I don’t think so. Let me check the database. Which Meta?”
Phoebe’s cheeks burned. “Well, I’ve been playing around.”
The doctor smiled. “You wouldn’t be the first. Start with the most recent.”
Phoebe gave a silent thank you that she wasn’t the biggest slut in the Complex. “I only just got brave enough to step outside dating Humans.” She rattled off the species of her most recent one night stands. “But it started with an Incubus.”
If not for Kearn, she may never have started messing around with Metas.
The doctor got a strange look on her face. “Incubus? Are you sure? They only have sex once a year.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure. It was on that night.” She’d actually liked him. He was smart and interesting, and completely alien, literally. She might be the only person that he slept with his whole life. She still couldn’t imagine only having sex once.
“Right.” The doctor typed something into her computer.
“I can’t get pregnant. I’m not pregnant.” Was she pregnant? No, it wasn’t possible. Her eggs were duds and her uterus was there for bloody decoration.
The doctor turned the screen. “This is an Incubus life cycle.”
It looked much like a Human one, except there was a woman who was neatly labeled: “host.”
“He told me about that.” She was staring at the life cycle, not sure what revelation she was supposed to be having. “I can’t get pregnant.”
“It has nothing to do with you. As long as you have a womb—your records say you do—you can be impregnated by an Incubus. You are the host. The baby will be Incubi, an almost perfect clone of the father.”
“So, when he came, there was already a baby in there?”
“No, not a baby, just some cell clusters that would have died without a host. That’s why they have the desperate need to have sex.” The doctor looked at her. “Why don’t you do a pregnancy test to be sure?”
“But, I’m just the host, not pregnant.”
“Well, as soon as the blastocyst implanted, it would have fooled your body. The blastocyst will have taken in some of your DNA, that’s why it’s not a perfect clone, and it prevent your body from rejecting it. Your body now thinks you’re pregnant.”
She looked down at her stupid traitorous uterus. It couldn’t do anything for her when she was married, but one night with an Incubus, and it rolls out the red carpet. “Do I have to be the host?”
“No. If he didn’t tell you before, you have every right to terminate and charge him.”
“Charge him with what?”
“Unlawful impregnation.”
A thousand different things went through Phoebe’s head. She didn’t want to get him in trouble, even though he hadn’t told her. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to be pregnant either. She’d spent years coming to terms with the idea that she couldn’t get pregnant and now she was.
Phoebe shook her head. “He told me. I just thought it couldn’t happen.”
“You don’t have to decide right now. You’ve got another four weeks. But after that, you have to keep it.”
“Why only four weeks?” She’d only be six weeks pregnant.
“Because it’s only a six month gestation. You’re the first the Human host. This is very exciting.”
No, no it wasn’t. “What about the nausea?”
“That will fade in a few weeks as your body accepts the parasite.”
The doctor made it sound like she was pregnant with a tapeworm.
Maybe it was like a tapeworm. She was growing a tapeworm in her uterus for six months. She imagined giving birth to a giant tapeworm in six months’ time and promptly threw up on the doctor’s floor.
Kearn walked into the club. The music was loud and rattled through him. Tonight he didn’t really want to be here. Not like last time. He worked his way through the crowd, occasionally brushing his hand over bare skin and feeding off the amped up mood. There was lust here, and he could have played with it, but he didn’t want to.
He’d felt lust. Had experienced the way it tumbled through his veins and sidetracked his thoughts until he could only think of one thing. Sex. Since that night, he hadn’t thought about sex once…that wasn’t exactly true. He’d thought about it plenty, and Phoebe. But he hadn’t wanted it. His phallus was still oversized, but not like it had been. His body was his own, not fuelled by hormones and an alien need. Sometimes he thought he might’ve liked to fight again, the rest of the time he figured he was better off walking away as leader and retaining the high status.
That would be the smart thing to do. Not that it mattered now. He wouldn’t get the opportunity to fight again.
He made his way to the bar.
Being here wasn’t the smart thing. He shouldn’t be looking for her, and yet he needed to. In his heart, he knew they had unfinished business. There was an itch he couldn’t scratch. Maybe he was still under the influence of the mating hormones, and his body wanted to make sure she was pregnant, even though he knew it was impossible.
He glanced at the bartenders, but didn’t see her. He ordered a beer and sipped it as he thought about what to do next. He knew where she lived, but she may not appreciate him turning up. He could always ask one of the staff if she was here.
What was he going to say to her when he did see her again?
He didn’t know. All he knew was that he wanted to see her. He wanted to hold her. He curled his fingers, remembering the feel of her skin, the taste of her. But that couldn’t happen. Incubi didn’t have bed mates outside of the clan.
No, he corrected himself, traditionally they didn’t. But there was no reason they couldn’t. Was there? Would being around him slowly suck the life out of a partner? He glanced around the club at the dancing couples, and the groups of friends.
He tried to imagine the Incubi going out en masse. It was another thing that they didn’t do. Next time he went out, he was bringing Levit and a few others with him. He put his half drank beer down and turned to the bartender. “When does Phoebe work?”
“Days. She’s the manager.”
Right…he remembered her saying that now. “Cheers.”
The man nodded.
Kearn walked away, feeling like he’d wasted his evening. As he left the club, he felt someone fall in behind him. He kept walking, pretending that he was unaware, but at the same time reaching out with his senses to get a feel for who they were and what their mood was. It was an Incubus.
Kearn turned and Tavor stopped a few yards away. There were few people around. The zipper stop was a few minutes’ walk away. “Why are you following me?”
“Just wanted to see how our leader socialized with the others.”
“Nightclubs. I like the music.”
Tavor smiled. “Clubs have always been your weakness. Is that club where you met your host?”
Kearn shrugged. He didn’t want Tavor anywhere near Phoebe. “Or it might have been
that one.” He pointed down the road. “Or maybe my other favorite a bit further that way.” He pointed off to his left. “It was a big night…I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.” Kearn gave Tavor a grin.
Tavor didn’t return the smile. “You got lucky, now you think you can walk in and change everything so that you aren’t breaking any laws.”
“I’m not breaking any laws.” And he wasn’t changing any either. He was just easing Tavor’s stranglehold on the clan’s behavior.
“Not yet, but you are happy to break every rule that has kept us safe for all of time. Now you want to erase those rules and leave us vulnerable.”
“I want us to be part of this experiment. We need to maximize this opportunity. If you don’t want to socialize, don’t. But those who want to shouldn’t be punished.” Hiding wasn’t going to save the Incubi. It might’ve long ago, before everyone knew they existed and had learned what power they had over groups of people.
Tavor took a step closer. “I don’t think you’ve thought this experiment through. We all start socializing, some will start to form bonds with other Metas. And then they will want to move away.”
“I had thought of that. But this isn’t just about us, it’s about all Metas and Humans living together.”
Tavor shook his head. “There is no getting on together. I see the crime. If we aren’t together we are vulnerable.”
“I refuse to see every other species as a threat.”
“Then you are naïve. We stay together and protect each other. I know you have a bond with Levit. Would you really leave him for some other species? This experiment will end, and then what? We have to go back to how it was.”
“No one is talking about leaving the clan, but we can open up and have friends beyond ourselves. We don’t have to cling to the old rules. We can change and adapt.”
Tavor laughed. “You will not win again. I will take back my position.”
“It’s not your position. It never was. You are just the man who has occupied it for the last six years. Tell me, why was our clan forced to go? I can’t imagine you volunteering.” That wiped the smile from Tavor’s face. “I might be new to this, but new ideas aren’t always bad ideas. This is my year to lead, and I will do it my way.”
