“All in favor of offensive action?” Vi’den inquired without preface.
Hands lifted around the room, mine included. Rex remained still in his seat, glaring furiously at the floor in front of him, and I noticed that Ma’ris, too, kept his hand firmly in his lap. The majority of the others, however, had their hands raised like I did.
Vi’den, who also had not voted in favor, pursed his lips slightly and said, “It has been ruled.”
2
Emily
The air was humid and sticky, which was rare for Las Vegas and even rarer inside the air-conditioned shop. I plucked the hem of my shirt from my back and fluttered it like a butterfly’s wing to cool off my sweat-soaked skin. With my other hand, I fanned my face feverishly. Unfortunately, I only succeeded in growing warmer from the physical exertion. Grumbling with frustration, I dropped my head into my hands and considered ducking into the bathroom to splash cold water onto my cheeks.
“Chin up, darling!” Madame Dubreaux called across the series of mismatched shelves that cluttered the room. “We are open, you know!”
Madame Dubreaux owned the shop, which she’d rather self-servingly named Madame Dubreaux’s Mysticisms & Mysteries. It was an eccentric place full of herbs, crystals, and totems located conveniently just four blocks from the Vegas strip. Books dedicated to dream interpretation, tea reading, palmistry, astrology, and other questionable sciences were displayed from floor to ceiling on every wall. The back corner of the dimly-lit shop hosted a small, rickety table with a purple silk cloth and a crystal ball for Madame Dubreaux to perform psychic readings. She was an odd woman in her mid-fifties with a thick New Orleans accent and a penchant for wearing long skirts even in the dead of summer.
I raised my head again, blinking my eyes blearily and choking on the thick smoke of incense that permeated the room. Madame Dubreaux insisted that incense, balanced chakras, and positive thinking solved everything—except for stifling heat. Luckily for me, she was in the middle of menopause and permitted me to keep the air conditioning at full blast. I imagined that, when the menopause ended, she would try to convince me sweat was the soul’s expulsion of evil or something similarly ridiculous.
Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and I swung my head to the left. Through the large plate glass window, I saw two women meandering toward the storefront. They seemed to be about my age, twenty-five and were talking animatedly.
“Heads up, Madame Dubreaux. We’ve got some live ones,” I said with false enthusiasm.
The bells hanging from the top of the doorjamb jingled when the women entered the shop, and I saw the top of Madame Dubreaux’s head peering over one of the shelves. “Good afternoon, ladies,” she greeted, her voice becoming low and ominous. It was the same voice she used during her psychic readings when she wanted to create a mystical atmosphere. I found it amusing because it was clearly an act; when she spoke to her ex-husband on the phone, she sounded more like a pissed-off cat.
“Hello,” both women replied with mild disinterest. They began perusing the items for sale while chattering amongst one another, and I quickly found myself delving into boredom again.
Truthfully, I didn’t like my job. Madame Dubreaux was nice enough, but the shop didn’t see many customers, so much of my day was spent breathing too much incense and counting the divots in the ceiling panels. When people actually did make the trip in, they tended to be intent on proving they were open-minded and supernaturally gifted. Otherwise, they were the kind of creepy that made my skin crawl and reiterated why I needed to lock my doors at night. I just wasn’t a people person, and the job required a particular brand of customer service I simply wasn’t suited for.
My passion was painting. I’d attended college for two years in pursuit of a degree in fine arts, but I’d dropped out after realizing the establishment only intended to make clones rather than encourage individualism. A year passed in which I painted my heart out, and then I’d taken all of my work to art shows around the country. I lived off of a small inheritance from my grandfather. However, I’d learned the hard way that it took more than a few paintings and small-town culture festivals to make it as an artist, and, in a fit of desperation, I’d taken the job at Madame Dubreaux’s. Four years later, I was still working in the psychic shop day by day to keep my bills paid, engulfing myself in paint and canvas at night to perfect my craft.
“I don’t know,” one of the girls said. She was standing with her friend by the selection of geodes, running her fingers over a bright purple stone. “It makes me nervous. We don’t know what the aliens are capable of.”
Immediately, my ears pricked with interest. I’d been channel-surfing one night before going to bed when I’d happened across the news. On the screen, there had been a strict-looking man with lines by his eyes and a buzzcut. “…the United States government feels it is the people’s right to know what’s out there. Alien life is no longer just a speculation. They exist, and the testimonies of Epitome crewmembers provide the detailed information. We need to make decisions for the safety of our planet,” he’d said. I’d been hooked on the story ever since, tirelessly watching the news, scouring the internet for any word on the aliens our astronauts had encountered. Now, as the women discussed it, I found myself listening intently.
“Yeah, but it’s better there’s at least going to be protection now,” the other avowed. “Plus, we’re not alone. They said in the press conference that Russia and China are joining in.”
“Who knows if that’ll actually happen, though?” the first asked. She picked up the purple geode and rolled it idly between her fingers. “I mean, the conference ended an hour ago. There’s plenty of time for them to back out.”
“I don’t think they would. This isn’t just an American problem. This affects the whole world!” her friend exclaimed.
The one with the stone in her hand shrugged. “I guess. But what’s the point in sending a bunch of troops into space and setting up a perimeter around the galaxy if we don’t even know what the aliens can do? They could have bombs or something and just blow all of our ships into splinters with the push of a button. Then, when they land, we have half a military left to protect us.”
“Charlene, do you really think they have magic bombs like that?”
“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me,” Charlene retorted. “We have nukes and stuff; why wouldn’t they have their own versions of those?”
The friend bit her lip, and I could see the nervousness spreading over her face at the thought. I knew I was staring at them, but I couldn’t force myself to look away or stop eavesdropping. Finally, the friend said hopefully, “Maybe they won’t come here.”
“Maybe,” Charlene replied dubiously. She set the geode back down onto the table and plucked an amber-colored one from the display instead. “But I know I’d be thinking we’re a threat if I were them.”
“Well, if that’s the case, maybe they’re setting up a perimeter too,” the friend laughed, sounding a little forced.
“We can only hope,” Charlene said. She wrapped the amber geode in her hand and turned around. “Let’s go. Now I need a drink.”
They approached the counter, and Charlene placed the stone in front of me. I punched in the total and, as she dug her credit card from her wallet, I said, “These are excellent for protection.”
“I know,” she said rather arrogantly. “That’s why I’m getting it.”
I slid her card through the machine, waited for the payment to be approved, and handed it back to her. As I slipped the geode in a small, purple bag, both girls waited with impatient expressions on their faces. I handed Charlene the bag, told her to have a good day, and they spun on their heels to the door, leaving only the sound of jingling bells in their wake.
Once they were gone, I plopped myself down onto the wobbly stool that stayed behind the counter. My mind was reeling. I had set up my DVR to record the press conference and intended to watch it when I got off of my shift, but hearing bi
ts and pieces about it now without the full information left me with more questions. Russia and China were joining forces with the US? They were going to set up a perimeter of troops around the Milky Way? Were they expecting some sort of confrontation with the aliens? Had they learned something new we didn’t previously know?
Madame Dubreaux appeared next to me without a sound, making me jump violently in surprise. Her droopy eyes were fixed on me, and her eyebrows were lifted slightly.
“You are worried?” she asked.
“What?”
“About the aliens,” she clarified. “You are worried?”
“Oh.” I shrugged and looked around the store, trying to appear casual. “Not really.”
It was the truth; I wasn’t worried, at least not overwhelmingly. I thought of the aliens much as I thought of dinosaurs; fascinating and awesome, but not necessarily something I yearned to meet face-to-face. My itch to know as much about them as I could, bloomed from thirsty curiosity about things I didn’t understand and creative imaginings that left me inspired. However, I didn’t want Madame Dubreaux to discover my interest in them. Mainly because I didn’t want a lecture on what combination of herbs would best draw them to me.
“Perhaps that is wise,” she said thoughtfully, pressing a finger into the dent in her chin and looking up at the ceiling. “Fear in the face of danger is helpful to only a precious few.”
I looked at her in surprise. “You think they’re dangerous?” I asked, taken aback. Madame Dubreaux seldom paid mind to things in the real world, as she preferred the goings-on of alternate realities.
She turned her face back down to mine, and her eyes became round and wide. It was an expression I was familiar with seeing when she read tarot cards and tea leaves to clients, just one feature of her dramatic psychic show. I was startled to see it directed at me, though.
“I have seen what is to come,” she said. Her voice had returned to that low, perilous tone, and her mouth hung open slightly after she spoke each word. “These aliens will bring death and destruction. We will soon be at war.”
My first reaction was to drop my head to hide my cynical expression. I didn’t want to be rude, though, so I forced myself to continue looking at her. My second reaction was the one I wasn’t expecting; dread. Her words seemed to sink into the pit of my stomach and gather there in an unpleasant lump. A bad feeling started to creep up my spine, and I found myself clenching my fingers into my palms.
“How do you know that’s the aliens?” I asked, attempting to sound offbeat and unconcerned. “It could just be regular people. If history teaches us anything, it’s that we kind of have a thing for causing death, destruction, and war.”
“I saw them,” she breathed. She closed her eyes as if retreating into her mind. I expected her to elaborate, but her mouth just hung open, and she said nothing more.
Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I murmured, “Right.” I’d never believed Madame Dubreaux was a true psychic. In fact, I’d never believed in psychics at all. For some reason, however, the things she was telling me about her visions of the aliens had me shaken, and I had a horrible feeling in my gut that she wasn’t wrong about them. I didn’t necessarily think she had seen them as she claimed, but it seemed perfectly reasonable to me that she had an instinct about them. Instincts, I believed in.
Suddenly, Madame Dubreaux’s eyes sprang back open, and she smiled down at me as though we’d just shared a pleasant conversation about the weather. “I’m expecting a shipment of patchouli oil sometime today. Keep your eyes out, won’t you, darling?”
“Sure,” I said, unnerved. She bustled off into the back room, and I was left alone with my thoughts.
After years of being a skeptic, I couldn’t reconcile the idea that Madame Dubreaux may have actually seen the future with the aliens. Nevertheless, something inside me was rattled by what she had said. I wanted to believe that the government was trying to encourage fear and panic amongst the people because it offered them a measure of control they otherwise didn’t have, but I had to admit that part of me had wondered things about the aliens very similar to what Madame Dubreaux had “prophesized.”
There was one thing I knew for sure; the moment my shift was over, I was going to go home and watch that press conference.
3
Duke
I had spent several long weeks running my warriors through drills, tests, and training. All had done exceptionally well, of course, but it did nothing to loosen the knot I’d felt in my stomach since the terrible dream I’d had. Dane had volunteered to join the ranks of those who would be venturing to Earth to decimate the humans, and I couldn’t shake the awful feeling that what had only been a dream would soon become a reality.
My warriors were not the only ones going through intense examination. After the last Forum, all Elders were gathering the best fighters, pilots, and hunters in their kingdoms. We were assembling a fleet unlike any other in the A’li-uud history. Our ships would consist of assassins intent on killing humans. There had even been talks of freeing Torik from his prison because his bloodlust would be of service to this mission, but the idea had thankfully been shot down.
“They seem ready.”
Dane’s voice startled me, making me whirl around with my sword drawn. He lifted his hands in front of him, palms facing me, as a show of innocence, and I lowered my weapon back to my waist. Not many A’li-uud could sneak up on me, but Dane had always been one of the few who could.
“Yes,” I agreed, turning my eyes back to the troops before me. They were sparring with one another, their movements both graceful and fatal. “I only hope it is enough.”
“Do you doubt our abilities, brother?” Dane asked with a quirk of his brow.
I shook my head solemnly. “It is not our abilities I question. It is the humans’ will to live I am unable to measure. Their history has proven them to be deadliest when faced with demise.”
“Indeed,” Dane said slowly. “However, their history has also proven them to be self-destructive, has it not?”
“It has. I only hope it will be their undoing.”
Silence fell between us, and we watched the warriors practicing their combat techniques without exchanging a word. Were the circumstances not so dire, it actually would have been quite beautiful to watch. Blades soared through the air seamlessly, bodies bending and contracting with calculated rhythm, pale azure faces set with unshakeable concentration. It was a dance of war, but an inconsequential misstep now could be the last step taken when the opponents were not tribesmen. I looked around at each of my warriors with awe in my heart. Every single one was willing to put his life on the line for the safety of his kind without a thought for himself. It was a devotion I had felt myself throughout my life, but, this time, it moved me.
“I am coming with you,” I said aloud.
For a moment, Dane remained unresponsive. Then, he turned toward me with an expression of uncertainty, as though he didn’t believe he had heard me correctly. “Sorry?”
“I am coming with you,” I repeated firmly. I kept my eyes fixed on the troops in front of me, but I could feel Dane’s gaze pressing into my temple.
“Brother, you are an Elder,” he said pointedly. “You have no obligation to fight, only to delegate.”
“I know,” I replied, looking back at him stonily.
“You are more valuable than any of us here,” he continued. He spoke as if I was unaware of these things, which irritated me, but I let him go on anyway. “For you to be captured, or, worse, killed by the humans would be detrimental to us all.”
With a hardened expression, I said slowly and clearly, “I will not ask my tribesmen to put themselves in danger, potentially leaving their children without fathers and their wives without husbands, while I remain in the comfort of my palace. I did not exchange my courage for Elderhood, brother, and I will fight alongside my warriors.”
Dane looked back at me with a mix of admiration and disapproval. “You always did prefer the battle
over the sidelines,” he said with a mild chuckle. “Do you anticipate support from the other Elders?”
“No,” I answered truthfully. “However, it is not their decision to make, nor is it a matter that requires the Council’s approval.”
He nodded slowly in understanding, then cracked a grin and slapped me on the shoulder. “I just hope you won’t slow us down. You have not been a warrior for many years now.”
I had been to space on only one occasion before, and it had been during my warrior training as a young A’li-uud. As we rocketed through the universe now, I found myself amazed at the vastness around us. I had spent much of the trip simply staring out the window at the sea of stars and blackness that seemed to swallow us up. Luckily, I was not such the dreamer that I was distracted from my captaining duties.
“Fierce One, we are entering the Milky Way galaxy,” said my navigator, Ei’tan. He was one of my warriors, but he was more the intellect than the fighter, which made him an ideal choice for my crew.
“Thank you,” I said to him. “Maintain speed.”
“Yes, Captain,” he responded.
Dane nudged me with his elbow. There was a grin on his face that seemed much too cheerful for the dangerous battle ahead. “You have done a lot of things in your life, brother, but I am certain you never expected you would be going to Earth, did you?”
“No,” I admitted. “I cannot say I ever wanted to go to Earth, either.”
“We are well-trained for this. I do not expect we will be there long,” he said confidently. “We will be back in the mountains of Montemba before you even know—”
Suddenly, there was a massive bang, and bright orange light, just like the streaks in my dream exploded in front of my eyes. I realized it was one of the other ships in our fleet, though I couldn’t tell which one. Shrapnel flew in every direction at top speed until the pieces slowed to a near stop in mid-air, simply floating about in space like idle leaves on a light, breezy day. Where our sister spacecraft had been, now lingered only a ball of thick, dark smoke and mangled ship remnants.
Duke: A Paranormal Scifi Alien Romance: Albaterra Mates Book 2 Page 2
