Olivia's Return

by Cindy Matthews

  "And they are?" Olivia raised an eyebrow and met Dradix's cool stare with one of her own. "Your kind, no doubt?"

  "No doubt." He broke off his look and turned to Caveman and the others. "There is no one else on this world capable of building such a device at this time. The energy spike is difficult to pinpoint, but it is coming from the general area of the city. Of that I am certain."

  "We'll have to do a house by house search." Annara sighed. "But I'm sure their spies will inform them and hide the device before we can catch them with it."

  Dradix nodded. "It would be the most logical path for them to choose. It is what the Deltans would do if they were operating an unauthorized Portal device."

  "You're absolutely certain it's not anyone from your clan, Dradix?" Hernando asked the vampire point blank. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. At least someone else is thinking what I'm thinking.

  "I would be lying to say I was one-hundred percent certain it was not a Deltan, but my instinct tells me otherwise." The scientist slumped slightly, a great burden of responsibility had fallen upon his shoulders. "We've made a pact with the ruling council. There is no reason for us to break our word. We have longed to have our positions at the Portal consoles returned to us after too long in Alphan hands, so we would not do such a foolish thing to jeopardize this opportunity."

  Olivia sensed the inner turmoil lurking beneath Dradix's calm exterior from the slight twitching of his thin lips. Somehow I trust what he's telling us. He seems conflicted. Someone has broken his clan's code of honor. Maybe Pure Blood scientists are more loyal to their profession and clan than their race?

  "Do you have any ideas on who might have built another Portal?" she asked.

  Dradix lowered his voice and took a step forward. "I suspect the Alphans. They have the most Portal technicians outside our clan."

  "And they have the most to gain from selling artworks under the table," Caveman said. "They don't want the new government to collect its export fees and regulate the flow of goods from BloodDark to Earth. They've pretty much said so in council meetings when pressed on the subject."

  "They don't want us to know who they're bringing back from Earth, either," Annara added. Everyone looked at her oddly. "You know what I mean. They want the free flow of humans once again, and they're not going to wait for their mail-order brides, since they know the sentiment both on Earth and BloodDark is against such an arrangement."

  I wouldn't be too sure about it. Olivia thought of how desperate Lauren and others like her were to travel to BloodDark to marry vampires. Their numbers could be enough to sway the U.N. into allowing at least some limited immigration. Perhaps a few valuable Alphan artworks had already changed hands and persuaded the right officials to the rightness of their cause?

  "It makes sense." Hernando wrinkled his brow and rubbed his temples. "What a fool I've been! I've been ignoring the signs for too long."

  Olivia touched his arm and felt the tension in his muscles. Hernando was seriously stressing. "What signs are those?" she asked. "No one can expect you to keep track of everything on two worlds. You're not superhuman."

  "Am I not superhuman?" He arched an eyebrow, the glint of his fangs showing at his lips, and then sighed. "Of course, I'm not. I missed the signs of an illicit flow of BloodDark artifacts going on right under my nose. I'd convinced myself I had misread or misunderstood the manifests when I spotted a few unusual, apparently very old pieces in the museum in Frankfurt a month ago. The German ambassador swore they'd obtained them from one of our authorized contacts."

  "What were these museum pieces?" Caveman frowned. "I don't recall authorizing any antiquities or ancient art sales recently."

  Hernando closed his eyes in thought. "Hmm...I think they're called balits. Small, roundish and carved from dark, almost black stone. I remember seeing some in the Clan Alpha House when I worked there. They have some ceremonial or sentimental purpose?"

  Dradix took a step back. His turquoise eyes flashed his horror. "No... It is not possible. Not even an Alphan would do such a shameful thing."

  Annara made a step toward the technician, but Caveman put out his hand to stop her. "Give him space," he commanded. "I have some idea of what these antiquities are about. It would be an unforgivable breach of etiquette to allow them to leave a clan house, let alone send them to Earth for aliens to handle."

  Dradix silently returned to his console and sat down, his pained expression indicating shock. Olivia's curiosity was piqued. "Sort of like a family heirloom?"

  Caveman shook his head. "More than a simple heirloom—more like stealing the relics of a saint."

  "The balit is placed on a small pedestal in the grand hall on special holidays and treated with great respect and honor, but I never understood its significance," Hernando said in hushed tones. "They're small enough to fit in my hand, but the stone itself is beautiful and smooth, polished like a mirror."

  Just like blood diamonds... a cherished clan memento to sell to some rich type who wants something no one else has or can easily obtain. "Small enough to only need a limited power Portal device to transport to Earth perhaps?"

  "A test of their illegal operations?" Annara nodded her approval. "I think Olivia has the right idea. They want to impress an Earth contact with their secret Portal, but it's not quite strong enough to transport larger items or living things yet."

  "Yes, exactly." Olivia squeezed Hernando's hand. "There's no need to beat yourself up over missing something on the manifests. These balits were never on them in the first place. It seems odd they'd sell them to a public museum, though."

  Hernando flashed a wry grin at her. "Ah-ha! I remember now. The Germans said the balits were on loan to the museum from a distinguished benefactor, a very well known, international benefactor."

  "You don't mean..." Olivia's stomach made a sickening flip-flop at the thought. "Oh, no, you're not saying what I think you're saying. Our friendly hijacker?"

  He nodded. "Yes. The curator told me they were on loan from a private collection owned by a Mr. Roland Grundfest."

  Olivia shook her head in disgust. Was there nothing the billionaire buffoon wouldn't do to make more money or call attention to himself? Was there nothing he wouldn't do to insure the continued flow of goods from BloodDark to keep his earthly fortune and reputation for avarice afloat, including kidnapping the ambassador and his entourage?

  She turned and observed the Deltan technician at his console. He sat with his head in his hands, shoulders slumped. "From the look on poor Dradix's face, I'd say they're worth quite a lot—which explains why Mr. Grundfest didn't value our lives one bit."

  Caveman shook his head. "We need to discuss this outside." He led them out into the antechamber, waiting until each had passed before turning and locking the door. Olivia watched the little motes of ruby light dance into a new pattern within the crystal rod before the locks inside the massive doors clicked. Caveman turned to face them and leaned against the doors, looking grim.

  "Now, Clan Alpha contacted this Grundfest chap somehow. Where would they have met him for the first time?"

  Hernando rubbed his jaw. "It has to be through one of the receptions given on Earth at our embassy when we allowed a handful of the clans' rulers to visit. The Pure Bloods have a way of finding those of a like mind to them. It wouldn't take much for each to see the advantages of dealing with the other. Once first contact was made, they'd be able to use the other Portal to transfer contraband to Grundfest on Earth." He glanced at Olivia. "We saw the size of this airplane hangar. The immense doors shut it off from prying eyes. Grundfest and his allies could use the hanger and any other building like it for their purposes."

  "Sneaky stunts like pirating alien artworks would fit in with his reputation," Olivia agreed. "What can we do to stop the trade?"

  Caveman pushed away from the door and began to walk back the way they'd come. "We need more intelligence about this Grundfest and the Pure Bloods he's dealing with. Then we'll figure out a plan to put them both bac
k in their place."

  Chapter Nine

  Olivia found herself awake before the rising of the smallest moon, the closest she could come in reckoning "morning" on the dark side of the planet. She dressed quickly and made her way from her small room in the council's dormitory wing to Annara's door and knocked.

  "Come in."

  Olivia opened the door as quietly as possible so as to not disturb others sleeping in the small rooms nearby. Annara was dressed and sitting at a small desk with pen and paper at hand. It was odd to think of writing on paper and not using a laptop or tablet. How quickly humans adapted to technology or, in BloodDark's case, learned to live without it.

  "I've been waiting for you to get up. I think I have the details worked out."

  Olivia smiled and shut the door. Annara wasn't one to hesitate when action needed to be taken. Her fellow rebel fighter had accepted the challenge without a word after their meeting with Dradix in the console room. Before retiring they'd both acknowledged it was time to formulate a plan to solve the mystery of the purchased balits.

  "You think you've solved our biggest problem?"

  "How to infiltrate the Alphan's clan house?" Annara put down her pen and turned around on the low stool to face Olivia. She leaned forward and grinned. "Yes. We're going to send in a spy."

  Olivia plopped down on the edge of the bed. "We discussed the spying operation last night, but the how, when, where and who got to be the spy were the big questions."

  Annara picked up her paper. "The how is what I've been working on. I thought introducing a new servant might be too obvious, as the Alphans have always been in the habit of choosing their own from one of their plantations. Even with freedom of movement, they'll prefer to choose a servant they're familiar with, and most likely someone related to a person already on their staff."

  "Okay, no servant. A door-to-door salesperson then?"

  Annara screwed up her face and frowned. "You know, humans have some of the oddest occupations. This salesperson job I've read about makes no sense. You either buy what you need in the market or you don't. No more and no less. No need for arm twisting and emotional manipulation. It's unfair and it's impolite."

  "Remind me not to take you Christmas shopping when we return to Earth." Olivia sighed. Even now she was missing the excitement of the holiday season and shopping for pretty new things. Hernando had said they'd return to Earth in two weeks’ time, enough time for things to settle down over their disappearance and time enough for him to catch up on what was happening on BloodDark. The joyful yuletide music, fun festivities and delicious goodies existed billions of miles away. Oh, what I wouldn't give for some eggnog and Grandma's gingerbread right now after an afternoon of caroling at the senior citizens' center...

  "You haven't asked me how we're going to enter the Alphans' abode with them being none the wiser about our aims."

  Olivia snapped out of her reverie. "Oh. How are we going to do it? Hire James Bond or Austin Powers perhaps?"

  "Who? I'm not familiar with them. Friends of yours?"

  "Not quite." Olivia giggled thinking of how her dad loved to watch old spy capers on TV. She'd saved up her money one Christmas and bought him a complete box set of James Bond DVDs. The look of pure joy on his face... He really was easy to please.

  Why did she somehow think he wasn't? Was it a part of growing up? Learning to accept her parents as they were, not as she wanted them to be?

  Annara passed her the paper and brought her back to the present again. "We're going to send the Alphans a vampire-loving, mail-order bride they can't resist."

  "You can't mean..." Olivia looked at what Annara had written. It read like a classified ad for the lovelorn.

  I am looking for an eternal soul mate to take me from the drudgery of Earth to the moonlit beauty of BloodDark. I can't wait until you take me away to your dark castle and make me the princess of your hearts...

  "Ugh." Olivia shook her head. "They'll never believe it for a moment." She looked at it again and wrinkled her nose. "Hearts?"

  Annara nodded. "They have several for various bio-functions, it is said. Did you not know?"

  "No, but I guess it explains their need for an added liquid diet." She put down the paper. "It's still not going to work."

  "Why not?" Annara sat up straighter and folded her arms across her chest in a defensive fashion. "I thought I'd mimicked their mindset perfectly. It's how these silly Earth women sound to me—all wide-eyed and poetic. They think they'll find a handsome vampire to fall in love with them like in the novel you sent me. It's all a fantasy—a dream to them. They have no idea of the reality of living with aliens."

  "True, they have no idea what they're getting into, but the Pure Bloods know exactly the type of person they want. They want someone who will go along with their every whim without question. Someone easily brainwashed into thinking they're offering her a better life. Someone without the least bit of initiative or in possession of an original idea. A first class moron."

  "Isn't that what I wrote?" Annara furrowed her brow and took the paper back to re-read it. "It's all flattering compliments and desire for a better life. None of it demonstrates any intelligence or independence of will whatsoever."

  "Yes, it's too good to be true. That's what will give this person away as a fraud." Olivia sighed. "An okay idea, but what we really need is a successful applicant's essay. Something written from the...heart of a committed vampire-lover...something like what my friend Jace's sister wrote probably."

  Annara looked askance at her. "Your friend's sister was accepted as one of the mail-order brides?"

  Olivia nodded. "I'm not positive, but I think she was. Lauren's pretty desperate for love and attention. She's already been married and divorced and is feeling like life has passed her by. She's not even thirty yet."

  "I see. It gives me an idea." Annara grinned. "Do you think she'd be willing to work for the ruling council?"

  "Lauren? Nah, she'd be on the bloodsuckers' side. We'd never get her to cooperate with us." Olivia sighed. "To be honest, I don't think any of them would. They wouldn't be so eager to leave Earth if they were happy about the way things were going at home."

  Annara stood and began pacing. "I had thought we could recruit a BloodDark-born human whose loyalty to the new government is without doubt and then send her to Earth for a period and have her apply as a mail-order bride to act as our spy, but I like the idea of borrowing one of these lost souls' applications instead and inserting our own operative. Did the applicants include any visuals? I wonder."

  Olivia scrunched up her nose in thought. "I don't think they did send any visuals. They had to keep it all very low tech since we don't seem to have the DVD player in common."

  "We'd need to find an applicant who hasn't sent them a self picture or given them a description. The more vague the applicant's personal details the better. We'll have the freedom to substitute our agent into her place without anyone the wiser."

  Olivia searched her brain for any scrap of information she had overheard her mother or Jace say about the process. "Knowing Lauren, I doubt she even sent a recent photo of herself. The poor girl has put on some weight and dyed her hair in a hideous fashion. She's super sensitive about her looks, too, Jace tells me. Her ex left her for someone better looking according to him."

  Annara rubbed her hands together. "I think we've found our in with your friend Lauren's application. Now, who to take her place?"

  "It can't be either one of us. The Pure Bloods are familiar with you as you've been keeping a close eye on them here in the city, right? Don't forget Murnau sniffed me out when I was abducted. The Alphans would recognize me straight away."

  Annara stopped and leaned against the wall, carefully considering her friend. "Would they? Would they recognize you, Olivia? Think about it—Murnau is dead. No one else tested your scent, did they? Think hard. Was it only Murnau?"

  Olivia furrowed her brow. "Drucinda sniffed me out before we were sent to the farm. Does she count?"<
br />
  "If she was indisposed for a time period or sent away on a long trip..." Annara shrugged. "If you could get into the clan house and find out what was going on and get out again before she returned..."

  "Those are two 'ifs' too many for my tastes."

  "Yes, it's a risk." Annara threw up her hands. "I'll admit it's risky, but the entire operation is risky. The stakes are high, but then again, the stakes are high if we don't find out about this rogue Portal and what the Alphans are up to. What are our choices?"

  Do I actually want to live in the Alphan's clan house? Olivia felt her heart beat galloping in her ears. No, I can't do it. The chances of her being found out were too high. She'd jeopardize the mission—then what? The Pure Bloods could use it against the ruling council as a political ploy to gain more concessions and things could become worse than they were now, couldn't they?

  But who else could they trust with such an important task? Who else would be willing to become a pawn of the Pure Bloods in order to infiltrate their stronghold? Who wouldn't put her safety above the welfare of all of the people of BloodDark?

  Who else would be able to talk Jace into convincing his sister to stay put while she took Lauren's place?

  Olivia sighed. "You're right. I'm the only logical choice to be the mail-order bride spy. I know what to look out for, and I would hope the ruling council would trust my judgment and discretion."

  "About the ruling council..." Annara bit her lip. "They will not approve of such a plan."

  "They won't?" Olivia frowned. "How do you know until you've asked?"

  "I have asked if we could use espionage techniques to keep an eye on the Pure Bloods before, and the esteemed councilors have declined. They're afraid of causing more trouble with the bloodsuckers than we already have. They want to coddle them into cooperation."