by Dale Furse
‘What makes you say that? Of course I'm your father, and,’ he nodded towards the older girl, ‘I am also Dar-Seldra's brother.’
Dar-Seldra smiled and looked amused as her eyes danced from Nell to Sam.
‘And I am Cay-Meka.’
The whine would be a more appropriate name, Nell decided silently.
The girl stepped forward. ‘Dar-Seldra's daughter, Dar-tern's niece and your cousin.’ Again, she narrowed her eyes at Nell.
Nell mirrored Cay-Meka's countenance. No matter how sick she felt, she wasn’t going to let the whine bully her. ‘Hooray for you.’ She snapped her head away and faced her father. ‘Dar-tern?’
‘Yes, that is my Phib name. I am Dar-tern, from the family of Dar and you, Nell, are also of the family, Dar. Our home world is Linque.’
Nell was dizzy and she thought she would faint. ‘Phib … Dar … Linque?’ She frowned and tried to get her head around this information. ‘You are all Phibs and live on a planet called Linque – or was that Dar?’
‘I know it's a lot for you to take in,’ he said. ‘Try looking at it this way. Just as Humans reside on Earth, Phibs reside on a planet called Linque. Our family name is Dar like our adopted Earth surname is Grant.’
‘But you all look Human,’ she said.
‘We don’t know where we came from before we found Linque. Our writings tell us, our ancestors found their way to Linque, but there is no reference to how they got there or where they came from.’
‘So you could be from Earth?’
‘I don’t know about that, love. Phibs, Wintars and Humans are very different in other ways. Whether we have all evolved from the same gene pool or entirely separate but similar gene pools we do not know.’ He smiled and gave a slight shrug. ‘That is for the scientists of the future to work out.’
‘So where is Linque?’ she said, trying to stay calm. Good luck with that, a small voice said in her mind.
‘There are habitable planets closer to Earth than astronomers think. Linque is much like Earth. However, instead of large landmasses and expansive oceans, Linque is a planet of islands surrounded by seawater.’
That wasn’t what Nell wanted to know; she wanted to know how far away her family’s planet was and how they travelled to Earth and back. A wave of nausea washed over her at the thought of space travel. She looked at them again and decided she’d rather not know. ‘Like Mum, I don't look like a Phib, do I?’ She guessed all Phibs were fair-haired and dark-skinned.
‘No, Nell,’ Dar-Seldra said gently. ‘Your mother was from a different world and yes, you resemble her.’
Cay-Meka sneered. ‘You are a Wintar.’
‘That will be enough.’ Nell’s father scowled at Cay-Meka.
Although sick to her stomach, Nell liked seeing the brat put in her place. ‘What's a Wintar?’
‘Wintars are a fair-skinned, dark-haired people.’ Her father had a far-away look in his eyes. ‘None were as beautiful as your mother.’
All this information gave Nell a headache but she tried to make sense of what she had been told. And although she had many questions she knew her brain couldn’t cope with any more information. ‘I don't understand any of this,’ she cried to her father. Her brain was as dull as it was when she couldn’t comprehend a mathematical problem.
‘That is why we have to prepare you for the coming of your birthday,’ he said.
‘Why is my birthday so important?’
‘It is when we learn which family line you will simulate and what traits, if any, you will inherit.’
Nell glanced at Sam who sat with his back against the bookshelves. He gave a small shake of his head as if to tell her not to look at him.
Cay-Meka must have noticed. ‘Dar-tern, shouldn’t the Human leave?’
Irritation washed over her father’s face and Nell wondered if it was because of Cay-Meka or Sam.
Sam stood up and stepped forward. ‘The Human has a name.’
Nell shot him a ‘be-quiet’ look. It wasn’t the time to be rude. Who knew what they could do?
‘Sam has already heard enough,’ her father interrupted with a look that silenced his niece and Sam. ‘We can’t expect him not to be curious.’
Stopping herself from poking her tongue out at Cay-Meka, Nell settled for a, ‘ha-ha’, look. Sam and his parents were as much family as they were. Way more so.
Her father continued. ‘I expect Nell would tell you everything anyway. You will keep what you hear to yourself.’
Sam stared at him and nodded.
‘Now where was I? Each race has different abilities and you will gain Phib, my line, or Wintar, your mother’s kinsfolk. You could follow either lineage. Sometimes mixed children gain neither.’
‘Is that me? A mixed child?’
‘Yes.’
Nell refused to look in Cay-Meka’s direction. Her cousin was obviously not okay with that. She had never really thought about races. Oh, she knew about racism from movies and books, but she’d never witnessed anything like it first hand. At least, not before now. She shot Cay-Meka a narrowed-eyed glance. Yep. That’s what it looks like. Huh, at least she was in good company. Sam was half his dad and half his mum too. Her mind switched to the other thing her father had said. Abilities? She thought about the crocodile, her horse and her heightened feelings when people touched her. ‘Like powers?’
‘To a Human’s way of thinking,’ her father replied.
Sam looked stunned. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but closed it again.
She thought again how she knew what Sam’s thoughts were when he pushed her away from the falling coconut. ‘Will I be able to read minds?’ she asked her father.
‘If the other party connects with you and if you inherit Phib abilities, you will attain minimal telepathic abilities.’ He gazed at Nell. ‘That, and much more.’
‘More?’ She looked at her three relatives. They looked Human, not aliens with weird powers.
‘Bloody hell,’ interrupted Sam, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
‘I can only think of one way to tell you much of what you need to know in a short time,’ Nell's father said.
When he tightened his grip on her hands, she flinched.
‘No need to fret. You will understand in a moment.’ Facing the other occupants of the room, he said, ‘This won't take long. Remain silent.’
Dar-Seldra nodded and Cay-Meka turned her attention to the many books. Sam, eyes wide, sat on the arm of the chair and stared at them with unrestrained curiosity.
‘Close your eyes and relax,’ Nell's father said softly.
Nell did as she was told. She gave a start as his voice entered her mind.
‘Don't be frightened. Your questions will be answered.’
At first, she wasn't sure what her first question should be. Her first thought was of her mother. ‘I want to know about Mum.’ She thought the words as loud as she could.
‘You don't have to yell.’
Nell heard the smile in his voice.
‘Try to think your thoughts softly. What would you like to know about your mother?’
She took a deep breath. ‘Everything.’
A second later, she stood in a small room. A woman was on a bed holding a baby. Nell moved closer. The woman gazed lovingly down at the red, wrinkly face. Nell thought the baby was ugly. The woman had to be its mother.
A familiar voice sounded behind Nell. She turned her head and saw her father. He didn't look any different. ‘May I hold my daughter?’
Nell realised the woman was her mother. She was pretty when Nell first saw her, but at that moment, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. No. In the universe. Her hair was as black and curly as Nell's, except her mother’s hair appeared softer and her curls cascaded neatly over her shoulders. Her hands were smooth and small, and her well-manicured nails were painted bright pink.
The woman kissed the baby and handed it, Nell, to Nell’s father.
‘Hello, beautif
ul,’ he said.
Wow, Nell thought, love really is blind.
Her father continued talking to baby Nell. ‘You came into the world squealing so loud, you drowned out the biggest thunderstorm Corl had ever experienced.’ He smiled at the woman watching them adoringly. ‘I'm sure it's not ominous. So, my Asisa, what are we going to name this screamer?’
‘I thought … Nellen.’ Her smile was playful. ‘It is the Wintar name for Storm Princess.’
Nell's father gazed at the baby thoughtfully. ‘Like a storm,’ he said. ‘Our world will be turned upside down by this princess.’ He chortled. ‘We like it, don't we?’ Nuzzling the baby's cheek, he gazed at his wife. ‘You are exhausted, my love.’ He scanned the room, adjusted his hold on Nell, and pulled a blue chair close to the bed and sat down. ‘Go to sleep. We will be right here waiting for you.’
Asisa didn't have to be told twice. She immediately closed her eyes and slept.
Nell approached her mother and reached out to touch her face, but before her hand made contact, she was swept to the bottom of a mountain. Asisa was lying down, holding baby Nell. Her tears mixed with the earth on her face as she looked up at her husband.
‘Please, Dar-tern, you must take our Nellen somewhere safe.’
‘You are coming with me.’ He took Asisa into his arms.
Asisa's voice was weak. ‘How could Brarb hate so? Nell is his kin.’
‘Be still, my love,’ Dar-tern said. ‘We'll look after you first and then I will find him.’
Asisa closed her eyes and her body went limp.
Dar-tern scooped up the baby with one arm and held it close to his chest, unwilling to release his wife's lifeless body with the other. ‘Asisa!’ he sobbed into her neck. ‘Your cousin will pay. Brarb will pay with his life.’
Nell thought her heart would burst with his pain when someone else spoke. ‘You must come with me, Dar-tern. I will show you a world where the child will be safe.’
That voice was familiar; the same voice had spoken in the house earlier that day. Kandar.
With no hood covering his features, he was definitely alien. He wasn’t wearing the green cap he wore when he was in the foyer but his cape and strange uniform was the same. His skin was green with what appeared to be large scales. He was almost lizard-like. On closer inspection, Nell realised his skin was actually smooth. A mosaic of fine dark lines gave the impression of scales. His round emerald-green eyes were slightly sunken; there were no eyebrows, no body hair anywhere she could see and he had a tiny nose. A lipless mouth grimaced without showing any teeth as he put his gloved hand under her father's arm.
‘I will not leave her, Kandar.’ Dar-tern pressed his lips to Asisa's forehead.
‘She is gone.’ Kandar helped Dar-tern to his feet. ‘I'm sorry, my friend, but you must think of the child. We will look after Asisa.’
Nell noticed two similar, but brown and orange, aliens stood to the side of Kandar.
‘She will go through her next phase unhindered,’ Kandar continued. ‘We will find the culprit, have no doubt. You are not safe here.’
‘It was Brarb,’ Dar-tern said. His voice had a strange coldness to it as if all his emotions had died with Asisa.
Kandar nodded, flicked his wrist and they vanished.
Nell opened her eyes and she was back in her library.
‘Oh, Dad!’ she cried, and flung herself against her father. All at once she knew her mother had been murdered – by her own cousin. She knew, too, the dart that hit Asisa was meant for baby Nell. Her mother, seeing the danger, had moved quickly and put herself between the dart blower and her family.
She realised her father was breathing heavily and moved away so she could see his face. His eyes were closed and his usually bronze skin, pale. ‘Are you all right?’ He didn't answer. ‘Dad?’
He motioned with his hand for her to wait.
Dar-Seldra stepped towards the sofa. ‘He's a little weak. Give him some time to regain his strength.’
After a moment, colour returned to Nell's father's face and when he opened his eyes, they were wet with tears.
‘I'm fine,’ he said with a faint smile. ‘I didn’t mean to let you see that. I suppose it is my strongest memory of your mother.’
‘Why … why did Mum’s cousin want to kill me?’
He was silent for a moment as if he tried to make up his mind about something. ‘He didn’t want a mixed child, as he saw you, to ruin the pure family line.’
‘But why?’
‘No more questions. I must leave for Corl.’
The phone on the corner of the desk rang and Nell jumped.
Her father picked up the handpiece and, after a brief, hushed conversation, slowly replaced the receiver.
He spoke to Dar-Seldra. ‘Carl, Sam's father, has observed two men on this side of the mountain. By his description, they could be Wintar.’ He paused for a moment. ‘They could be Asisa's relatives. Kandar suggested they might be looking for Nell.’
‘Do you believe they want to take Nell to Gramlax?’ Dar-Seldra asked.
‘Why would they want to take me there?’ Nell wanted to know.
Cay-Meka smiled a small mean smile. ‘Wintars believe if a mixed child looks Wintar, they have to be educated by Wintars. And that means on Gramlax.’
Nell’s heart jumped. She didn’t want to even meet her mother’s murderous family let alone live with them
‘Don’t worry,’ her father said. ‘Brarb is imprisoned and Kandar has organised protection over the house and surrounding area. From the southern mangroves to north of the Frederick's property, we are temporarily hidden.’
‘Hidden?’ Sam asked.
‘Yes, a spell-binder friend blanketed the area with a spell. No one can see or hear anything in the protected region.’
‘You lot can do bloody spells too?’
Nell’s father laughed. ‘No, but my friend can. He is from a different world. Now, I must go.’
‘Why do you have to go to Corl?’ How could he just leave Nell after everything that had happened?
Her father put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face up. ‘I have to stand before the Three World Council to answer some questions, and I want to find out who is looking for you. I won’t be gone long.’
‘No. I don’t want you to go.’
Deep lines again creased her father’s forehead. He sighed, long and deep. ‘I’m sorry, but it is the law.’ He eyed each in turn. ‘Dar-Seldra, you and Cay-Meka stay with Nell, and don't let her go far from the house. Sam, tell your father I'll speak with him soon.’ He held his arms out to Nell.
She stiffened but let him hug her.
‘You stay close to Dar-Seldra, do you hear?’
‘I'm scared.’
‘I will be back by tomorrow at the latest. Just stay close to the house and the protection will keep you safe.’
She tightened her lips and frowned. ‘You don't think I'm safe?’
‘Of course you are. We don't even know for certain if Wintars are here, but I will find out.’
He kissed her forehead. As he passed Dar-Seldra, he placed his hand on her shoulder. ‘Don't take your eyes off her.’
‘I won't.’
‘Cay-Meka, heed your mother.’
‘Yes, Uncle Dar-tern.’
‘How's he going to go?’ Sam asked, as soon as Nell’s father left the room. ‘In a spaceship?’
‘Yes,’ Dar-Seldra said simply.
‘Of course!’ Sam hit the side of his head with his hand.
Nell heard the words of their conversation, but their voices sounded far away.
CHAPTER SIX
‘WHY DON'T WE LEAVE NELL ALONE FOR A while and prepare something to eat?’ Dar-Seldra said.
‘Sure, I'll show you where the kitchen is.’ Sam beamed at the mention of food and headed out of the door.
Cay-Meka followed Sam out of the library. Patting Nell’s shoulder once, Dar-Seldra left the room and quietly closed the door.
Nell was
alone. Tears stung her eyes as she gazed around the room. She was unable to focus but after a minute the walls of books appeared menacing. She half expected them to fly from the shelves and attack her. At that moment, she wouldn't have been surprised if they had.
With her arms wrapped around her aching chest, she sat on the coffee table. She’d never felt so alone. Her father had left her with strangers and Sam didn’t seem to care how she was or that she wasn’t coping with everything. Silent tears fell at first but as she thought about everything her family had told her, sobs racked her body. She didn’t care that her nose ran as she rocked backwards and forwards. ‘Daddy, Da-addy.’
She didn’t know how long she sat there before her tears dried and she stopped rocking. As still as the bronze statue on the desk, she sat for a while longer trying to collect her thoughts.
Straightening her back, she stared hard at nothing and mumbled aloud, ‘Dad doesn’t care. He tells me I'm some sort of alien then abandons me. I'm just supposed to accept it all.’ She huffed. With an aunt and a cousin and she didn’t know what other relatives. Rubbing her wet nose, she looked at the ceiling. ‘I need Dad.’
Sniffing noisily, she felt behind her for the tissue box, and again wished her mother was still alive.
Numerous questions filled her mind. Her father should have stayed and explained what might happen to her. He treated her like a baby.
She couldn't believe how calm Sam was. He not only accepted that aliens lived on the beach but he actually seemed to love the idea.
After long moments of wrestling with all she had learned, the tips of her fingers began to tingle and a tiny wave of excitement passed through her body. What sort of abilities might she gain? Even though she hoped she was one of the mixed children who didn’t inherit any abilities, deep down she knew that wouldn’t be the case. She thought again about her horse, the crocodile and Sam, now certain she had touched each mind. While she didn't look like her father or her new family members, she was definitely gaining Phib traits. A least her new extended family should be pleased. They obviously didn’t like Wintars. Tears filled her eyes again as she thought about her mother. She was a Wintar and Nell looked like her. Would it be so bad if she was exactly like her?
