Riley swung her legs off the sofa and padded over to the stainless-steel refrigerator and opened the door. She pulled out a container of pineapple juice and went searching for a glass.
She was licking the center icing out of a cookie when Kerry wandered out of the bedroom. He was on his cellphone and talking quietly. He looked up, gave her a roll of his eyes and carried on. “Of course Normie is here, Estelle. He’s asleep and pining for you as we speak.” Riley heard the strident tones across the living room as Kerry held the phone away from his head until the high-pitched yakking paused. “No, Ashley isn’t here tonight. The only person who’s here is my…,” Kerry gave Riley a quick grin, “my new girlfriend.” His grin widened with Riley’s outraged snort. “You have to stop worrying. He’s practically on the ceiling with despair that you’ve dumped him. And besides, who else would be interested in him?” Another pause. “Come by after work tomorrow and tell him yourself.” He turned off the phone and tossed it onto the kitchen table.
“Who’s Ashley?” Riley heard herself ask.
Kerry leaned over and picked up a framed photo on the side table. A sunburned, smiling, arm-entwined couple stared back; the gorgeous Ashley and equally gorgeous Kerry.
“So, you date beautiful girls.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized she’d said them. She tried not to cringe.
Kerry laughed. “All women are beautiful to me,” he said cheerily. “Estelle thinks every female on the planet is in competition with her. And besides, you are beautiful, when you’re not scowling at everyone and acting so tough.”
“I don’t—” she began to say but never got any further. Kerry’s hands had cupped her face and his mouth lowered to hers. His lips were surprisingly soft and pleasantly warm. The kiss was really nice, as kisses went. Who ever said that science geeks couldn’t kiss?
He stepped back and gave her a lopsided look. “You’re really crazy for the guy Anna took with her, aren’t you?”
There was no point in lying. “And he doesn’t know I’m alive.” Riley stared at his chin. “He’s in love with Anna, the idiot. How could anyone compete with that?” She turned away and walked over to the kitchen table. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Above her, Normie was still flailing about but whatever Anna had done to his voice still held firm.
“It’s classic.” Kerry took the seat opposite her. “Typical love triangle. They happen all the time.”
“Easy for you to say,” she muttered.
“Happens to everyone, mate. Trust me, I know.” Kerry’s face broke into a lopsided grin. “Bet there’s someone who likes you and you don’t return the affection. Isn’t there?”
Riley shrugged a shoulder. This was a stupid subject and she wasn’t going to discuss it.
“The state of human existence,” Kerry continued. Eagerness practically oozed from him. “We always want what we cannot have. Me, I’ll give up anything to go with you guys, see the universe, learn all the stuff I’ve always wanted to. But your Anna says, no, we don’t take civilians along for the ride.”
“I’m sorry,” Riley sighed. “I’d do anything to go home again, have this whole thing never happen.”
“Would you really?”
Riley paused. If she could move back in time, like Alec did, would she really want this entire experience to have never happened? No weird women after her in Halifax? No Darius Finn grinning at her in the train station and offering coffee? No hug from Alec in the pizza store when she’d really, really needed one? Home Base, the rip, Kerry’s apartment—all never seen or known?
“It was worth it to me,” Kerry continued. “Even knowing that I can’t follow you any further or see the things I’ve always wanted to see, it was worth meeting you. Ignorance is not bliss. Don’t believe it.”
Riley felt her lips curl into the beginnings of a smile.
“See, that’s my girl. You get rid of the raccoon eyes and the piercings and the Estelle’s of the world will spit in your general direction.”
Riley tried to smother her laugh. Kerry was right. It had been worth it, just to meet him. And Alec. And Darius. Anna and Peter she could well have done without, but these three were definitely worth the effort.
The sudden flash of brilliant light hit all of them with the force of a barrelling transport truck. Riley might have screamed, she didn’t know. One second she was reaching for another cookie, the next, she was on the floor, her left hand grabbing at her eyes and her right, scrambling for her orb. She distantly heard Kerry’s grunt of pain and the sound of a chair toppling to the ground. Blinded, she tugged furiously at her pocket but the button refused to pass through the hole.
Two hands grabbed her upper arms from behind. She was hauled upright to her feet. Waves of nausea and a searing pain threatened to cut her head in two. She didn’t know where her legs were. She couldn’t reach her orb. She was pulled backwards, against the firm chest of whoever held her arms. Sickened, she couldn’t even manage to struggle.
A man’s voice harshly spoke behind her. Riley had no idea what he said. The words were garbled and strange and didn’t sound like any language she’d ever heard before. She still couldn’t see. Tears streamed down her face and dripped off her chin. She blinked furiously. Who had broken in? What did they want? If only she could see.
There was a resounding crash and a painful cry as someone fell to the ground. More shouts, still in the unknown language. The pain was easing. Everything had gone from brilliant white to grey in front of her. She shook her head, willing her eyes to start working again but it only made the nausea worse.
“Hey, leave us alone!”
That was Kerry, Riley realized as her gut clenched. He sounded in terrible pain. There was another scream, this time male and close by. More shouting. The sickening sound of flesh pummelling flesh. Kerry’s groans.
“Stop!” Riley yelled at the top of her lungs.
One of the hands that held her arms let go for a second and slapped across her mouth, preventing further sound. The skin was dry and wrinkled against her lips. The other arm wrapped around her, pulling her directly off the ground, pinning both arms to her side.
Riley could almost see now. The room was taking on definition. There were several dark shapes, tall and imposing, interspersed around the kitchen. The table had been knocked over. Normie lay spread-eagled on the floor by the stairway. There was a huge dark mound on the floor at her feet. It took a moment for her to discern that the mound was in fact several people. Two figures swathed in dark fabric were hitting Kerry, who was curled into a ball, his hands clasping his head in feeble protection. Riley kicked backwards. Her heel came in contact with something hard but her attacker didn’t flinch. Kerry stopped moving and his attackers straightened up.
One stepped over Kerry and came towards Riley. He was unnaturally tall, wearing what seemed to be a winding bandage of dark material all over his body. His head was draped with fabric, like a hood, leaving only a dark, shadowed space where the face was hidden. Riley didn’t see any weapons. She stopped struggling. There was no point. Terrified and furiously angry she stared at the dark spot under the cowl, willing the idiot who’d beaten Kerry to a pulp to show his face. If it was Logan she was gonna kick him so hard he’d be a soprano forever.
The hooded figure stepped closer. It leaned over her. A peculiar sickening smell drifted closer. She froze.
The shadowed face was the most horrible thing she’d ever seen. It had grey mottled skin and features that were only the barest semblance of humanoid. No lips, just a slash where a mouth would be and three large and protuberant eyeballs dangling on the end of short fleshy stalks. It smelled like something sweet that had been in the sun for way too long.
She jerked her face away from the hand that covered her mouth. Just the thought of that grey, disgusting skin touching hers gave her the serious willies. “Breathe on someone else, jerk face,” she hissed.
The alien didn’t respond. It merely stood far too close and stared at her. Behind it, one of
its companions was picking Kerry up under the arms and hoisting him to his feet. Kerry groaned but his eyes didn’t open. Another was pulling Normie upright. Blood trickled from Normie’s nose and from his left ear. His eyes were partly open but Riley had the impression he wasn’t seeing anything. He was deathly pale.
There was another, less bright flash of light.
Riley jerked her head away to shield her eyes but wasn’t quite fast enough. For the second time in minutes she was temporarily blinded. When her sight cleared she realized someone else had joined the group.
A small man, not much taller than herself, stood by the stairs, surveying the situation with the type of nonchalance that made her think instantly of hidden guns. He had wispy, greying hair combed over his high forehead and sad, monkey eyes that cut like lasers when he directed his gaze in her direction. The man cocked his head to one side and stared at her for a long moment. Riley resisted the urge to make a scathing comment. He spoke directly to her but the words were gibberish. He paused then tried again, this time in what must be another language altogether.
“Might help if you spoke English,” she said.
“Ah,” the man nodded slowly. The smile did not reach his eyes. “No translator,” he replied in accent-less English, similar in cadence to Anna and the Tyons. He tapped his head with one finger, just behind his right ear.
“Nope,” Riley answered.
“I will speak to you in your native tongue,” the man continued, “as it is important you understand me. Who are your companions?”
“Normie’s over there. I forget his last name.” Riley nodded towards Kerry. “This one is Kerry Darling. He owns this apartment.”
As if on cue, Kerry groaned and raised his head. Blood dripped from his nose and his left eye was swelling but other than that he didn’t look too bad. His one good eye opened a fraction and glanced around. He frowned, closed both tightly and gave his head a short shake.
“Tell your zombie friend here to let go of me,” Riley said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“True,” the man replied. “You are not.”
“Who are you?” Kerry had twisted his head and was squinting at the small man. “How’d you get into my place?”
“I can go wherever I wish, young Terran. Your paltry defenses do not apply to me.”
Kerry swallowed. He turned back to Riley, incredulity in his slurring voice, accompanying the pain. “Is he..?”
“Yep,” Riley said. “An alien.”
“Whoa,” Kerry breathed.
The grey-haired commander raised three fingers and made a complicated gesture. Instantly, the hooded figure holding her released his pressure and she was able to shrug free of the tight embrace. She moved away, trying not to shiver with revulsion. Kerry, she noted, was staring under the fabric layers of her former captor in a mixture of horror and amazement. She watched his Adam’s apple bob.
The man took several slow and deliberate steps towards them. Riley began to back up then stopped herself. She was not going to give the creepy alien the satisfaction of showing just how unnerved he made her. She crossed her arms. “So, who are you?”
“My name would be unpronounceable. You may use the term Councilor. It is an approximation of my function, but one you would understand.”
“Okay,” Riley began slowly. “What’s with the rough stuff?”
It took a moment before the Councilor’s face cleared with comprehension. “Your colloquial speech is amusing but delays information transfer. Please continue any conversation with the most direct references,” he instructed.
“Why did you hit us?”
“The use of force is required in the initial meeting in order to set the tone of further interactions.”
“We’ll behave if you whip our ass the first time we meet,” Riley paraphrased.
The councilor inclined his head. “We prefer rapid capitulation of the inferior species rather than protracted negotiations and pointless altercations.”
“I don’t know who you guys are or what you want with us,” Riley said. She gave a quick glance at Kerry to see if he was taking any of this in. Kerry’s one open eye was darting back and forth from her to the Councilor. She could only hope he was ready to help her the minute she thought of a plan.
“I belong to the Enforcement division of the Intergalactic Council. I see from your reaction that you have heard of us.”
“Only rumours. I have no idea what you guys actually do,” Riley said.
The Councilor didn’t look overly pleased. “Even in this little backwater of the Galaxy our mandate and mission should be fully understood by your population. However, if it is not, that can be rectified. The Council is charged with intergalactic control, if you will. We make the rules and you and your fellow inhabitants of this quadrant follow them. My companions are Thktas, warriors of a planet much closer to the center of this galaxy. They provide a policing function.”
“They’re good at it,” Riley said. “Had us captured in seconds. Mind you, we were totally off guard.”
“The element of surprise is often the key to a short battle,” the Councilor concurred. He turned to his left and raised his right hand towards Normie. There was a slight flash of light from the center of his palm. He shrugged as he dropped his hand to his side and faced Riley. “This Terran male is severely injured.”
“What?” Riley took a step forward but was immediately grabbed by the Thkta closest to her. “Let me go,” she struggled. “He’s hurt.”
The Councilor gave a brief shrug. “Internal bleeding in the brain. Multiple skull fractures. Generally untreatable.”
“Let me call an ambulance.” Riley spoke in her most reasonable tone. Intracranial bleeding was really bad and needed attention immediately. “They’ll come and take him to the hospital, you know, the place where we treat sick people. The rest of us will wait out of sight until they’ve come and gone. No one will see you.”
The councilor’s facial expression didn’t change. He stared at her implacably as if her concerns were totally beneath his interest.
“Please,” Riley pleaded. “I don’t want him to die.”
“We are wasting time. This Terran is of no use to us,” the Councilor said. He made a brief movement with one hand to the closest Thkta. The swathed figure didn’t hesitate. He bent over, grasped Normie’s head with both his huge long-fingered hands and rapidly twisted. There was a horrible cracking pop. The Thkta dropped Normie to the floor. His face now pointed completely the wrong way.
Riley couldn’t help it. She screamed.
28
Alec held his breath. Waited. Prayed.
Logan raised his orb. Kellin didn’t move.
“What are you doing with this Potential, Logan?”
Alec’s knees nearly buckled with Kholar’s words. He turned to the source of the voice. Kholar and Dean stood side by side, expressions of polite interest across their faces. Alec didn’t hesitate. Stumbling, he launched himself at Dean, reaching his side with three strides. Logan would have to pry him away.
Logan’s fist dropped back to his side. The flame in his eyes dialed down to a flicker. “As Commander of this base it is my duty to protect the members of my unit from dangers without and within. I am doing so.”
“Did I hear you state that this Terran boy is to be terminated?” Kholar asked. He could have been inquiring about the weather.
“He has been interrogated. There was a witness.”
Kholar glanced from Logan to Kellin and back again. His face was impassive. “What were the charges?”
“Treason,” Logan replied Kholar raised one eyebrow. “Evidence?”
“The boy had an orb and had been trained to use it. He is in collusion with the Others.” Logan faced his superior with the same cold demeanor he had used with Alec.
“I found the marble in the subway station,” Alec interjected before Logan could stop him. “I had no idea it was useful. I told him that. I only realized later that it was somehow helping me ge
t money out of the ATMs. I didn’t use it on purpose.”
Kholar stared at Alec for a moment then transferred his implacable gaze at Logan. “Are you a traitor, boy?” Kholar reached out and grabbed Alec’s upper arm as he spoke the words. He was holding his orb in his free hand.
Alec felt the probe but it wasn’t painful. His answer was too quick and reflexive to be a lie. “No. I’m not.”
Kholar gave him a long interested look before turning his attention back to Logan. As he spoke, his free hand reached up to absently stroke a small crystal on a chain around his neck. “He is telling the truth. I sensed it. I also sensed a deep fear of you, Logan, and true worry that you will kill him for personal reasons. We do not kill innocents unless there is no other choice.”
Logan’s jaw tightened. “I observed the Others contacting this Terran. They spoke directly to him and knew who he was. There is only one explanation. The Others have formed a link with this boy and will employ his Tyon abilities against us.”
Kholar frowned. “The Others have no history of utilizing local inhabitants to resist the Tyon Collective.”
“There have been possibilities. You received my report on this some time ago.”
“Just so,” Kholar replied. His face was expressionless but something about his eyes made Alec feel that the contents of that report had angered him. Regardless, he kept all emotion from his voice. “However, there was no corroborating evidence to prove your conjecture. Until there is, I cannot act on the belief that the Others are employing more sophisticated campaigns than they have in the past.”
Time of Treason Page 17
