by Sarah Carter
Furrowing his eyebrows, Kayla’s dad replies, “I have no idea. That’s really weird. William Caster only had a son.”
“Yeah, Gregory,” Damien says in return. “He’s the head of the family now. He has three daughters; none of them are blonde, which this guy was, blond hair, and blue eyes.”
“He made me nervous,” Kayla whispers, shuffling her feet.
Damien put his hand on her shoulder. “You won’t go there alone until you can block people out.” Kayla nods. Damien looks at her father. “The whole situation bothers me. I haven’t lied or hidden anything from Kayla, so I don’t know what his motives are.”
Her father shrugs. “I have no idea. We just need to be mindful of what she’s doing.”
“I’ll do that from now on.” Damien sighs. “We need to get her some more Kiej. There are some brownies in the kitchen. Come on.” He takes Kayla’s hand and leads her there.
“What are your plans for her training, Master Damien,” her father asks.
Kayla turns around. “Master what?”
“You don’t need to talk to me so formally,” Damien declares. “Damien is fine.”
“Fine, Damien,” her father corrects himself.
“She needs to control her shifting before she can go back to school. Kayla’s learning fast, so I don’t think that will take long. Also, Jackson will be with her there; he’ll be able to help.”
Kayla grins. “Shifting is so much fun! Can you turn into everything dad?”
He shakes his head. “No, I can do a lot, but not everything. That is why you are so special. Since you’re a girl, you will pass that down to your children and then your daughters will transfer it down, and so on and so forth.”
Damien hands Kayla the brownies. She takes one and eats it. With her mouth half full, she asks her mom, “What about you?”
“I am very limited,” her mother replies with a smirk. “There are three forms I prefer, and I usually don’t shift into anything else.”
“What are those?” Kayla murmurs in between bites.
“Panther, deer, and bear,” her mom answers.
Half choking on her food, Kayla says, “Two predators and…a deer.”
“It’s fun to just frolic through the woods,” her mom retorts somewhat defensively.
Kayla looks at Damien. He has the biggest smile on his face. “Don’t make fun of her. I’ve been a deer before and a moose and an elk.”
“Okay,” Kayla says, swallowing. “Can anyone turn into birds?”
“Jackson and I do,” Damien replies.
A wicked grin creeps across Kayla’s face. “I want to do that.”
“Way, way, way in the future. You are nowhere near close to that. You have to pick a pretty big bird. Small birds get hit by stuff.”
Thinking for a minute, Kayla says, “So you really don’t want to turn into a rabbit because you could get eaten?”
“Yeah,” her father replies. “Bad idea, unless you need to get into someplace small.”
“Duly noted,” Kayla says. “Want a brownie? They’re delicious.”
Her parents hold up their hands. “We’ll pass,” her dad says.
With a shrug, Kayla eats another one. “I haven’t asked yet, but what do you call us?”
“What do you mean? Like our race?” Kayla nods. “Neturu,” her father answers. “Our planet was Jiub.”
“Wow. I will never be able to pronounce that. You would think since I was part of an alien race, I would be able to understand other languages, but no. Where is our planet?”
“Far, far away. I would have to blow up a map to show you the star.”
Looking at her dad, Kayla says, “We came here on ships?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Where are those ships?” Kayla asks. “They have to be huge.”
Damien interjects, “They’re hidden for obvious reasons.”
“So humans don’t know about us?”
He shakes his head. “We help the human race as much as we can.”
“How?”
“We are all doctors, scientists, and such,” her dad replies. “We don’t want what happened to our race to happen to humans, though at the rate they’re going, we won’t be able to do much.”
Kayla puts her finger up. “Hold on, I need some water.” She walks over and opens the cupboard. “Does anyone else want some?”
“I do, but I can get it.” Damien steps beside her. He gives her a soft smile and she smiles back.
After she has the water, Kayla turns back to her dad. “So what did you mean by what happened to our race?”
Her dad sighs. “On our planet there were two races, our race and the Kenga. The Neturu are the shapeshifters, and the Kenga are telekinetic.”
“Whoa, they could move things with their minds?”
“Yeah,” her father says. “Not to boast, but the Neturu are a far more superior race. We are extremely intelligent. The Neturu had all the technology and exceeded the Kenga. We shared our technology as much as we could, but they didn’t quite understand it. Trying to help them led to our downfall. The Kenga grew bitter about what we were capable of, so they did what they could to retaliate. They found out what hurt us and used it to try to kill us off.”
“How?”
“Biological warfare. They tried to wipe out our species, but by doing that, they started to kill the planet. The Neturu are a peaceful species, and the council refused to start a war. Since the Kenga wanted us gone, and they were killing the planet in the process, we left.”
Kayla frowns. “Did they follow us?”
“No, they didn’t have the knowledge on how to build and fly the ships. We gave them what they wanted. We left and never went back. It took a while before we found Earth.”
“How long have we been here?”
“For about 300 years; intellectually, we were so beyond the human race, we had to hide. The major advances that the human race has had are mostly because of us.”
With a snort, Kayla says, “Way to take credit.”
“It’s the truth,” Damien interjects. “The doctors use their knowledge to help find cures. The scientists use their skills to advance the human race. Everyone has a reason for what they do.”
Kayla smiles. “And as botanists, what’s your contribution?”
“There are a few of us that have a wide knowledge of the plants that help humans, but we also help the Neturu. We only have a few native plants from our planet. Kiej being one of them,” her father answers. “We don’t generally get sick, but there are plants that help sustain us.”
“So Kiej is poisonous to humans?”
Her dad nods. “Yes.”
“Interesting. This is a lot to take.”
“That’s understandable,” her mom says.
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hendrickson,” a voice says from behind them. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Everyone turns to see Jackson walk into the room. Kayla instantly smiles. He looks at her and smirks back.
“Jackson, it’s wonderful to see you again,” Kayla’s mom says.
“You too,” Jackson replies. “Kayla, I have your homework.”
“Thanks.”
Pointing at Kayla, Jackson says, “Can I borrow her for a minute? I have something I want to show her.”
“What’s that?” Damien asks.
“Just a minute, something between the two of us. You can come if you want, Damien, since I doubt you’ll stay behind,” Jackson retorts with an annoyed tone.
Kayla looks at her parents. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, honey,” her mom says.
Jackson nudges his head and Kayla follows him out of the kitchen. “Come on, it’s in my room.”
“I bet it’s in your room,” Damien snaps sarcastically from behind them. Jackson just rolls his eyes.
“Okay, what’s up?” Kayla asks when they enter his room.
Grabbing two manila envelopes off his bed, Jackson replies, “We got our papers back.”
> “Oh, you cheat! You looked, didn’t you?”
“Nope,” Jackson replies. “I had the teacher put them in the envelopes. I wanted to do this fairly.”
She sticks her hand out. “Give me yours.”
“Okay, but you can’t open it until I say so,” Jackson states as he hands it to her.
Kayla leaps toward him. “I want to see it.”
“What are you going to do when I win?” Jackson inquires snidely.
“Nothing, you’re going to be my slave when I win,” Kayla declares.
Holding his envelope out, Jackson says, “On the count of three. One, two…three.”
Giddily, Kayla rips hers open and takes out the paper. She looks at it and frowns. “Holy crap, Jackson.”
“No, no, no, you have to read it first, and then we’ll share scores.”
Kayla smirks and sits down on one of the chairs. With a sigh, she reads his paper. When she’s finished, Kayla groans. “I can almost bet that you beat me.”
“I don’t know; this is a really good paper. You got a pretty high score.”
“What was it?”
Jackson walks over to her. “Okay, you show me mine and I’ll show you yours.”
“Okay,” Kayla replies, standing up. “Ready…one…two…three.” She flips the pages over. When her eyes fall on her score, her jaw drops. “I did it. I beat you!”
“Crap, you did.” Jackson laughs.
Leaping, Kayla jumps into his arms. “I won! Hahahaha, you have to be my slave!”
“You beat me by one point,” Jackson murmurs in her ear. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Uh-uh,” Kayla retorts, looking at him. “I won, fair and square. You are my SSSLLLAAAVVVEEE.”
He chuckles against her. “All right, I will be your slave for one day. You have to pick the day.”
“Oh, I’m going to save it for something epic.” Kayla giggles as she pulls away from him, though she doesn’t leave his arms. “Epic.”
“All right, all right,” Damien interjects. “Enough about him being your slave. I willingly volunteer to be your servant whenever you want.”
Kayla laughs lightly and steps away from Jackson. “It’s not as much fun then.”
“Yeah, I can’t wait to see what you make me do.” Jackson sighs. “Okay, let’s go back to your parents.”
Kayla skips to the doorway. Turning around, she yells, “I am the champion. I am officially smarter than you!”
“Oh really?” Jackson murmurs mischievously. “I say we haul out trivial pursuit and see who comes out on top.”
“That would be me,” Damien snips. “It wouldn’t be fair to play against you guys.”
Jackson looks at Kayla. “That sounds like a challenge. What do you think? Think he could take us?”
“Let me say this,” Damien inserts. “I will let you two be on a team against me. That sounds fair.”
Kayla crosses her arms. “I will school both of you. So why don’t you team up.”
Damien laughs. “My dear, you will be mad at me if I beat you. That’s not nice.”
She cocks her eyebrow. “Oh, it’s on! Dinner, my parents can ask the questions. Wait, I hope you own trivial pursuit.”
“Yup,” Jackson replies. “What does the winner get?”
“The losers have to answer a question. The winner can ask anything,” Kayla offers as an idea. She grins.
Damien smirks. “Oh, I like that.”
“That may end up blowing up in our faces,” Jackson mutters.
“No, I think it’s an excellent idea,” Damien chirps.
Nodding, Kayla agrees. “Me too.”
Finally giving in, Jackson says, “All right, I’ll get the game. What are we doing for dinner, anyway?”
“Pizza! Come on, board games and pizza. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay.” Jackson chuckles.
Snapping his fingers, Damien declares, “I’m going to check what her parents want on their pizza and then order it. Meet you guys in the dining room.”
“Sounds great!” Kayla cheers. Damien turns and leaves the room. Kayla turns to Jackson. “I beat you. You know that right?”
“Yes,” he groans. “You had a better paper.”
Kayla dances around the room. “I am going to make you serve me breakfast in bed…paint my toes. Oh, and you’re going to have to give me a massage. Yup, damn it, I love massages.”
Jackson’s eyes widen. “Don’t you think Damien may have a problem with that?”
“But see, if he did it, it would turn all sexual, and I know you will keep it platonic. Besides, it’s not like he’s my boyfriend.”
“Do you want him to be?”
Kayla stops dead in her tracks. “I don’t know. It’s a little soon to say that, but…I did just let him buy me a car. I mean, technically it was his dad, but still.”
“HE WHAT!”
“Bought me a car,” Kayla whispers. “It’s an electric car. He remembered I wanted an eco-friendly vehicle.”
His eyes don’t move from her. “Kayla, what did you do today?”
All humor leaves Kayla’s face. “We kind of went for a drive.”
Bringing his hand up, Jackson covers his face. “Those brownies were to keep you from shifting so he could take you somewhere.”
“Maybe.”
“Okay, well, I’m glad it didn’t blow up in his face. That’s good, but Kayla, you aren’t impressed with guys that throw money around.”
She bites her lip. “No, not usually, but his dad wanted to do it, and you have no idea how much I want it. It’s so cool!”
“Whatever,” Jackson mumbles. “That’s between you two. Let’s go.”
“Are you mad?” Kayla asks quietly.
With a heavy sigh, Jackson replies, “Yes, I’m furious. Damien should never have taken you out of the house. It was stupid and reckless, especially over something like a car. You can’t even drive right now.”
“I know. I guess it was a bad idea.”
“Kayla, I don’t want anything to happen to you. Do you understand that? Your safety is my number one concern right now,” Jackson states with pleading eyes.
“Thank you.” She looks at him for a minute and then says, “I was fine. I didn’t get hurt or anything. Had a creepy guy pop in on me when I was in Shima, but other than that everything went fine.”
Shaking his head, Jackson retorts, “What? What about a creepy guy?”
“I was in Shima and this dude appeared, had to have been around twenty-one, blond hair, blue eyes. He said his name was William Caster. He said horrible things about Damien. He said he knew who you were too, and that your parents must have hidden motives about getting you and me together. I didn’t want to say I agreed with him, but anyway...”
“Where was Damien?” Jackson snaps.
Kayla looks down. “He was signing papers for the car. I was in his car and safe. The guy didn’t hurt me; he just creeped me out.”
“He shouldn’t have let you go to Shima alone,” Jackson growls, clenching his fists.
“Damien isn’t going to anymore,” Kayla tries to reassure him. “The next thing he’s going to do is teach me how to shut people out. I promise, either you or Damien will be there with me. I won’t go alone.”
Jackson wraps his arms around her. “Please, just be careful. I don’t like the sound of this guy.”
“Neither do I,” Kayla mumbles into his shirt. Kayla rests her head on his chest as he holds her. “I think in some weird twisted way he was trying to proposition me.”
“For what, sex?”
Kayla laughs. “No, for marriage. He kept going on about how there were more options out there for me. This whole getting married and having babies thing is a little much to digest at the age of seventeen. I mean, really? I want to go to college and live my life. I want kids, but not now. It’s like I’m suddenly being thrust into this adult life. I’m a teenager; I want to do teenager things.”
“Like stay out past curfew?”
“Yes.” Kayla giggles. “I guess it doesn’t matter. As long as you or Damien are there with me I’ll feel safe.”
Pressing his lips against her head, Jackson murmurs, “We’ll protect you.”
“Yeah, but who’s going to protect you?”
“From what?”
Getting a wicked smile, Kayla says, “Who’s going to protect you guys from the thorough mental ass kicking I am about to unleash on you?”
“Ass kicking,” Jackson snorts. “Sister, you don’t stand a chance.”
“I have to think of the best question to ask you. It has to be something really private and embarrassing.”
“Whatever.” Jackson laughs. “You will have to answer my question, and I will make it super embarrassing. It will be so embarrassing your parents can’t be around.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Let’s get the game, so I can rejoice at your failure.”
“Oh, you are going down,” Jackson retorts, walking to his closet. “I’ll give you a tissue when you’re tearing up in shame.”
“We’ll see who comes out on top.”
Jackson turns around and gives her a look. “Why, Kayla, I like being on top, but if you want to give it a try, I won’t stop you.”
Kayla gapes back at him. Jackson laughs and grabs the game.
Chapter 14
“Okay,” Kayla’s mom says. “If you get this question right, Kayla, you get a piece and tie with the boys.”
Kayla claps her hands and rubs them together. “Bring it.”
“All right, the category is people and places. What natural wonder did the Navajo call the house of stone and light?”
“Oh, that’s easy, the Grand Canyon.”
“That’s like the easiest question,” Damien scoffs.
She sticks her tongue out at him. “It was a fair question. I still get a piece.” Kayla puts a wedge in her circle. “Now, I have all six pieces, you know what that means.”
“Whatever.” Damien laughs. “You still have to get to the center and answer that question right.”
“Watch me,” Kayla retorts. She nudges him with her shoulder since he’s sitting next to her. He nudges back. Kayla picks up the dice and rolls. Moving her piece, she says, “History.”
