Time of Treason

by Susan M. MacDonald

  A minute passed and Alec saw no one who might be anything of significance. No obvious Tyon Operative in dull grey overalls, or blank-eyed puppet of the Others. As for the trio he’d only briefly glimpsed while on the tour bus, not a sign. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned a little closer to the window. Why did this odd sensation he was being watched persist? Who was out there?

  “Excuse me, young man.” A hand came down on his shoulder. Alec leapt a foot off the ground. He whirled around.

  The saleswoman was middle aged with bright blue stripes in her hair and nearly purple lipstick. She had a half annoyed and half amused expression on her face. “May I help you find something?”

  Alec cleared his throat. “I just…,” he started to say as he glanced past the woman to the store beyond her. There were racks of filmy lace and shelf after shelf of satin. His face flushed a brilliant crimson as realization hit him.

  “No, I er, just made a…” He stepped back and bumped into the mannequin. His eyes rolled over the scantily clad all-too-realistic dummy and his throat closed. He didn’t finish his sentence. With a strangled gasp, he bolted from the store.

  18

  Deborah placed the steaming mug of tea on a coaster in front of Riley’s better arm without taking her eyes off Darius.

  “Sure I can’t get you anything?” she simpered while eyeing him like a starving vulture.

  “No, thanks, I’m fine,” he replied with the kind of smile that made Riley’s heart flip over. Inwardly she groaned. Despite the fact that his current lover was seated across from him on an armchair looking as if she’d like nothing better than to smack the stupid grin off Deborah’s face, Darius was flirting outrageously.

  Riley shivered. So far Darius and Anna had been the soul of polite company, solicitous about her welfare, but something about it was wrong.

  She felt like a total failure. She’d been on the run for what, six hours? And she’d been found at the first place she’d hidden, had completely forgotten to warn her sister not to tell anyone she was there, and had her entire body bitten by a savage guard dog. Not to mention, she’d lost her orb. What had happened to the cool and implacable young woman who’d faced not one, but two attempts on her life and barely blinked? Alec would laugh his head off when he heard about this. If he heard. If Darius blabbed about this, she’d kill him.

  “I was, like, really surprised when Riley and Patrick showed up here.” Deborah was batting her unnaturally thick eyelashes and pouting prettily as if auditioning for a Marilyn Monroe look-alike calendar.

  “It’s Peter,” Riley interrupted.

  “Yeah, sorry. I was, like, what are you doing here? It’s still exams. Riley is really into school, you know. Me, I’m finished. Just the occasional acting class. Not that I need them. I’m a natural actress.”

  “I’m sure you’re very good,” Darius crooned. Anna stiffened almost imperceptively. Riley sunk lower in her seat.

  “I’ve done tons of modeling. Petites and catalogue mostly. I’ve done six commercials and an infomercial. Lionel says that he’s got a TV pilot that I’d be perfect for.” Deborah leaned forward even further and licked her lower lip.

  Riley was about to mutter, “Get a room,” when Anna held up her orb and said firmly, “Sleep.” There was a slight flash of pale bluish light and Deborah keeled over in her chair. Riley gave a brief struggle to move towards her sister but Darius pushed her gently back into the soft cushions of the sofa and his grip on her shoulder tightened.

  “Finally, peace and quiet.” Anna leaned forward to peer down at the draped body. The ever-present chain around her neck threatened to spill out but with an unconscious movement, she tucked the pendant below her collar. Her orb was still in her hand and she was frowning. She glanced up at Riley. “Have some of the tea and swallow the tablets. You will feel less pain if you do.”

  Riley looked at the two white ovals lying on the coaster next to her mug. What kind of drug were they going to give her to keep her under control?

  “It’s a common muscle relaxant. Your sister had them in the bathroom cabinet. I’m assuming they’re safe,” Darius said.

  Riley squirmed a bit to dislodge his hand and slowly picked up the tablets with her good arm and inspected them. They certainly looked normal, and even with Darius working on healing the bites, the pain was pretty bad. Taking a deep breath she popped them in her mouth and took a large swallow of tea to wash them down. Darius resumed the contact with her shoulder immediately. He held his glowing orb in his right hand as he directed the healing energy.

  “Care to explain yourself?” Anna crossed her arms.

  “We’ve been worried sick,” Darius interjected, a bit too quickly.

  Riley turned and looked him in the eye. Darius was the most accomplished liar she’d ever met and she had no way of knowing what was really on his mind. She wished she could believe him but the odds were against it.

  “Riley?” Anna prompted.

  “You’re after Alec, aren’t you? You want him to die.”

  Anna’s pale brows rose into her fringe but other than that there was no change of expression. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

  Riley looked from Anna to Darius and back again. Did she know everything or had Darius managed to keep her in the dark? Had she made a huge mistake? “You were yelling at us,” she began carefully, “and I thought that you were mad or something and I just panicked.”

  Anna’s head cocked slightly to one side. “Why would you ascertain that I would harm you in any way, when our acquaintance has been so limited?”

  Good question. Think.

  “Well, I know that you’re an alien. I watch a lot of television. Guess I put two and two together and came up with five. Sorry.” Inwardly Riley cringed. No one was that stupid.

  “Riley, Anna knows. You can quit with the excuses,” Darius said, giving her shoulder a slight squeeze. “You think fast on your feet, but it isn’t necessary.” Riley winced with the pressure. “Sorry. Forgot.”

  “You were leading me on,” Riley accused. Was Anna on their side or not?

  “She is,” Darius answered out loud. “I’ve told her everything. The past, the future, all of it. Anna has agreed to help us.” He smiled warmly at Anna.

  Riley swallowed her disappointment. The last person in the world she wanted on their team, snuggling up to her and Darius, was the Ice Queen. “You were yelling and running towards us. Why?”

  “There was a truck veering towards the camper. It had swerved several times and we both thought it would hit your vehicle and subsequently injure the three of you.” Anna’s gaze didn’t waver. Darius was nodding in agreement.

  Riley thought it over. “We didn’t hear it.”

  “I think you were, um, otherwise preoccupied.” Darius was smiling broadly and clearly trying not to smirk.

  Angrily, Riley changed tactic. “She’ll tell Logan. She’s more loyal to him than you, Dare. Aren’t you?” Riley turned to face Anna. There was no need to beat around the bush any longer. If Darius had thrown them to the proverbial wolves, then she might as well lay all her cards on the table. And stop thinking in metaphors.

  “I must maintain some loyalty to the Collective and my commander. However, if I deem a situation to be exceptional, I may, within reason, act on my own volition. I have assessed the situation regarding Alec and have agreed to keep Alec hidden and not inform the Collective and the Council.”

  It was quite the speech and Riley didn’t believe a word of it. Darius was in love with her and Anna would use it to her advantage. And yet, in the future that was no longer, she’d died rather than kill Darius, Alec, and herself. Riley ground her teeth and remained silent. She didn’t know what to believe: her intuition or her reasoning.

  “So you know that Alec has a special ability and you also know that everyone who finds out about this is going to want him dead,” Riley said. “There’ll probably be a huge reward, maybe a commendation. And you’re trying to tell me that, hey, that’s
okay, you’ll give it all up for love. Puhleese. Try someone else.”

  Anna cocked her head “You did warn me about her,” she said to Darius.

  “See why we all adore her?” Darius replied.

  “What?” Riley demanded.

  “Although our interactions have been limited in this reality, Darius informs me that we have never seen eye to eye on any subject and that your emotional response to me has been more negative than positive.”

  “True.”

  “Then perhaps we should declare a truce. We both care for Darius. Your feelings are quite obvious to me and, as you know, I have affection for him, despite his Terran birth.

  This should be enough to establish a sense of rapport and bonding. In addition we are both concerned for the life of your companion, Alec. He is in considerable danger, as much from himself as from the Council. The power he wields is formidable and he has limited training and is prone to negative emotions. I am informed that he opened the first rip and allowed the Others to maintain a connection. We cannot permit that to happen again.”

  “Alec didn’t know about Rhozan last time. He’s on his guard now,” Riley reasoned.

  “True. He is forewarned. But he is still an untrained adolescent and prone to serious mood swings.”

  Riley hadn’t thought about that. The whole business with the Intergalactic Council and Logan breathing down their necks had totally preoccupied her. She hated to admit it but Anna was right. Rhozan hadn’t been defeated, merely postponed. And Alec—impulsive, headstrong Alec—was out there, alone and undefended.

  19

  Alec lay on the wide bed and stared at the massive plasma-screen TV with rapt enjoyment. The remains of his delivered meal was spread across the plush brocade bedspread beside him and on the nightstand two empty cans of beer made wet rings on the polished wood surface. He slung another satin pillow under his head.

  This was the life.

  He hadn’t had the feeling for the rest of the night that he was being watched or followed, even when he used an ATM to get enough cash for supper and the hotel.

  The meal at the swanky hotel overlooking the Thames hadn’t been quite as much fun as he’d thought it would be—there were too many forks and he could tell that the snotty waiters were just waiting for him to use the wrong utensil and snigger. The boutique hotel staff was better. Used to actors and music industry types, no one batted an eye when Alec used a fake name or objected to buying him beer and a pizza when he called down later.

  He glanced at the clock radio on the low glass table. It was late evening at home. His mom would probably be pacing the halls with worry. She might even have called the police.

  Decision made, he pulled the phone off the night table beside him, knocking both cans to the floor. He leaned over woozily. A small amount of beer soaked into the plush carpet with a slight fizzing. Alec stifled the giggle and sat up again. He squinted at the phone, then at the rather complicated instructions for international calls on the bedside table. It took five tries before his fingers stabbed the correct numbers in the correct sequence and the ringing indicated the call had gone through.

  “Hello?” His mom sounded frantic. A stab of guilt coursed through his chest. Better mail those earrings first thing in the morning.

  “Mom? It’s me, Alec. I’m fine.”

  “Where on earth are you?” The panic was subsiding and replaced with anger. “Is Peter with you? Are you two okay?”

  “Mom, I—”

  “The school’s left a message that you’d missed your exam. Alec, what in the world is going on with you?”

  Alec took a deep breath. “I can’t tell you where I am right now. I’m just calling to let you know I’m okay.”

  “Are you with Chin?” she continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You know that boy is trouble.”

  “No, I’m not.” The searing memory of Chin dying in the previous future flashed across Alec’s mind and he forcibly pushed it away.

  “Well, I want you and your brother home in the next hour. Do you hear me?”

  “Yeah. I do. I mean, I hear you but I can’t come home right now. But I will. Soon. I promise.” Alec’s throat ached. He dropped the receiver into the cradle before he could change his mind. For a long time he didn’t move, then he crawled off the bed and headed for the marble bathroom and the fancy steam bath.

  Alec woke the next morning with a nasty headache and a feeling of doom hanging over his head. For several minutes he lay back on the huge bed, nested in a pile of cushions and pillows, and stared at the high ceiling and the exposed pipes that crisscrossed above him like the tangled pathways of his life and those of his family and new companions. Only a few weeks ago the most difficult things in his life were his failing grades in French and social studies and managing to stay on the provincial soccer team, despite not having the money for the out-of-town tournaments. How had he ever thought his life sucked back then? Now he was on the run from everyone. He couldn’t go home again. Power to destroy everything he knew bubbled constantly under his skin. And the one person who could guide him through all of this, Darius Finn, might now be working for Anna and out to get him. He couldn’t take the chance of contacting him or Riley. He’d have to go it alone.

  He stared at the room as if seeing it for the first time. The black gauze drapes with the lightproof backing were haphazardly pulled to meet only partway over the massive window. The wildly patterned carpet made him slightly nauseated with its unrelenting multicoloured zigzags. It was a sterile loneliness Alec hadn’t noticed last night and suddenly couldn’t stand. He’d check out and find something else, he decided. Something homier.

  Head pounding dully, he showered, finagled a couple of headache tablets from the sympathetic desk clerk and went to the hotel restaurant for a late breakfast. The service was slow and the prices ridiculous. However, the food was hot and very tasty when it arrived. The morning paper was filled with reports of fights, arrests, and at least three incidents of arson. Alec shook his head and tossed the paper to an empty seat. The last thing he needed to read about were other people’s problems and London’s soaring crime rates. There hadn’t been anything but a short paragraph about the elevator crash at Harrod’s and absolutely nothing in that report about him.

  Feeling somewhat better with a full stomach, he headed back towards his room. He’d grab his new jacket and the tourist map and head out on the town. Probably hit an ATM first before checking out the London Dungeon.

  He pressed the third-floor button in the lift and leaned back against the shiny black-mirrored walls. It gave a slight lurch before starting its quiet trek upwards and Alec’s heart did the same thing. It was a wonder he could even get into an elevator after yesterday. He forced his mind away from the death and destruction Rhozan had wrought.

  He could get quite used to having this kind of money, he mused. People calling you “sir,” getting you whatever you wanted. He could just hear Riley’s scathing comments. Mind you, it would have been pretty nice to have her with him, teasing aside. They could have watched pay-per-view movies for hours, ordered room service and got increasingly more, well, relaxed.

  Lost in this progressively interesting train of thought, Alec barely noticed as the elevator came to a gentle halt and the gilded doors slid silently open. Grinning slightly foolishly, he stepped out and headed down the narrow hall towards his room. He almost walked in through the open door without thinking. At the last second, he jerked out of his daydream with the horrible realization that someone was in his room.

  “Time to play the game, Alec,” said a female voice.

  Not again. Alec turned and bolted down the hall without a second’s hesitation. With a burst of speed he zipped around the corner into a secondary hallway and flung open the fire door to the stairs. He headed upwards one floor before exiting the stairwell. He pulled the door silently closed behind him and ran as fast as he could down the hall, slowing only as he grasped each consecutive door handle and attempted to open them. No good�
��they were all locked. There wasn’t much else to do. Grimacing, he chose a door at random and grabbed his orb, focusing his attention on the lock.

  The lock clicked and the knob turned. He leapt inside then closed the door as quietly as possible. He instantly pocketed the orb and kept his hand away from it. Trembling, he stood still. There was no outraged shout and after ten seconds he was able to penetrate the gloom enough to tell that the previous occupants had likely long gone. The drapes were pulled tightly shut against the summer sunshine but there was enough to see the unmade bed, the scattered newspaper, and a heap of soggy towels by the foot of the bed.

  Alec leaned against the door and listened. Sure enough, pounding feet approached from the elevator end of the hallway. Alec peered through the peephole. He had a momentary glimpse of a short, dark-skinned woman in a maid’s uniform, brandishing a mop and a blank expression. For a horrible second the woman paused, right outside his door and stared at the peephole. Alec held his breath. Then without a sound, she continued down the hallway.

  Alec blew the breath out of his pursed lips and leaned his forehead against the door in relief. It took a minute before the trembling in his legs stopped. That had been too close. His hand must have brushed up against his crystal when he put his hand in his pocket. How incredibly stupid to be so lost in thought he hadn’t even noticed. He’d have to be constantly on his guard now.

  “Who are you and how did you acquire an orb?”

  The deep and familiar voice startled Alec almost out of his skin. He whirled around, heart in his mouth, his hand automatically going to the orb in his pocket. Ohmygod.

  Logan.

  20

  Riley sat on the edge of the bunk and thought black thoughts. She was back in the bunker in Toronto. Her orb was gone. She was covered in half-healed dog bites. Her sister was still in a deep sleep in her Vancouver living room, maybe to never wake up. Peter was presumably in Australia, but she hoped he’d missed and landed in Antarctica. Alec was on the run and nobody seemed to have any idea where he was.