The sea glittered in the moonlight while the crickets chirped back to him that now there was an alien called Janux who wanted his help. He was ready to. He finished the last of his tea, went inside and slid back between the sheets. In only a few hours he and his new client would go to the Onyx property and be screened for the Changeover Day celebrations.
CHAPTER 7
Curtis was up early, and dressed in shorts, a white polo-shirt and sandals. He didn’t want a repeat of the discomfort of being overdressed like on his last visit. A quick phone call to Siegfried confirmed there was still no news of Jack.
Curtis advised Siegfried to sit tight and say nothing to anyone, apart from Detective Soubert - although it was quite possible the detective would opt out of giving help once he learned it was a Ryxin kidnapping. Government rules were non-involvement in such undertakings but given the nature of the crime and having no firm evidence as to who was responsible the detective would have a duty to act until proof of Ryxin involvement emerged. Especially since it was the Mayor’s grandson who was the victim. But Curtis suspected that would make no difference once Ryxin involvement was clear. Rules were rules no matter whose grandson Jack was.
Janux was sitting on a wooden seat outside the library. Curtis reached across and flung open the passenger side door for her and she climbed in.
“What are we going to do when we get there?” she said, her face flushed with excitement - or perhaps it was anxiety.
“Say we want to attend the Changeover Day celebrations, I guess. Then if we’re accepted we can go along together and try to find out who killed Roscoe and why. Someone must know and they will want to tell someone, believe me.”
“They won’t tell us though.”
“No, but we may hear something that gives us a clue.”
Curtis parked on the road, and as they approached the Onyx house once again Mistle called out, “I see you’ve come back with your new woman, isn’t it?”
They saw her sitting on a swing chair on the long verandah. She was holding a life-sized baby doll and rocking it to and fro. “My husband’s inside having a meeting with an important businesswoman, isn’t it?” Mistle said. “Youse can wait here - he won’t be long.”
This is my friend, Janux,” Curtis said. “She also wishes to come to the celebrations.”
“Why not? She is one of us, hasn’t she?” Mistle said, looking at Janux’s hands.
“Thank you,” Janux smiled.
They both sat down on a bench near Mistle and waited. A murmur of voices came from inside, and now and again a woman’s laughter interspersed with a man’s. Mistle talked softly to her doll and seemed to forget they were there. Suddenly a door burst open and Sly Onyx emerged, followed by a pretty young woman who looked to be about nineteen or twenty. Sly was a big man, over six feet tall and thick-set with bulging arm and shoulder muscles.
“Come back on the eighteenth,” Sly said to the woman, winking at her, and his lustful eyes followed her as she walked away. Only then did he seem to notice Curtis and Janux.
“Who are our visitors?” he demanded gruffly of Mistle.
“They want to join us on the eighteenth, isn’t it?” Mistle said, “Mr McCoy and Janux, his friend.”
Sly leered at Janux. “I knows you, woman. Why you want to come?”
“To accompany my friend, Curtis,” Janux replied politely. Curtis was impressed by her restraint.
“Your man - I’m sorry about his accident.” Sly beckoning them to follow. “Mistle, get our visitors whatever they want. Hurry, girl.”
Mistle put the doll down, and obediently followed them in. “What may I get you, won’t it?” she asked. “We have all kindsa hot drinks and all kindsa alcohol, isn’t it?”
“Coffee is fine,” Curtis said. “Thank you, Mistle.”
“Me too, thanks,” Janux said before following Sly to an office-like room.
“Let me see your hands,” he demanded of Janux. “Lay them down here.” He pointed to a glass topped table.
Sly inspected her fingers slowly, even touching them with his large, plump right hand.
“You can come to our party, woman, but what about your friend?”
“He’s okay - he’s Ryxin,” Janux said.
“I’ll decide that, woman. Come over here, fellah, and stand under this light.”
“Yes, Master,” Curtis replied, remembering Mistle’s instructions. A bright purple light came on and for an instant all Curtis’s bones glowed yellow.
“You pass,” Sly said. “Now you can tell me why you want to come. I need to know, you see. I don’t want any friends of the Flim-Flams coming. Do you understand me?”
“Of course, Master.” Curtis bowed in Sly’s direction. “My desire to come is for the betterment of our beautiful Ryxin heritage.”
“In that case would you be prepared to help increase our youngsters by impregnating one of the young girls who will make themselves available for such purposes?”
Curtis hesitated, feeling shocked at the illegality of Sly’s demand. But he wanted to appease him. Then a picture of Marzy pregnant came to mind and he found himself thinking of revenge. “Yes, my master, if I was asked to.”
“Then I’m asking you to when the day comes. I’m counting on you, see. You won’t let me down, will you?”
“No, I won’t let you down.” Curtis bowed again.
“And you, woman. You’re a widow now. Do you wish to be impregnated by a Ryxin male and have a child of your own for the Ryxin race?”
“No,” Janux said emphatically. “I have no wish for an illegal child.”
Sly leered at her. “Then you will be left alone. Welcome to the Changeover Day party. I am giving you permission to attend. Now both of you come and enjoy your refreshments.”
They followed him back to the lounge. “Sit here,” he said. “Mistle, where are you? Hurry up with the coffees for our guests.”
In a few moments Mistle came out carrying a wooden tray.
“Serve our guests, Mistle, and talk to them. I’m going out. Goodbye, folk. I’ll see you on the eighteenth.”
“Goodbye, sir,” Curtis said.
They sat while Mistle fussed around them, pouring their coffee and waiting on them. Once Sly had driven away in his truck Mistle seemed more relaxed. “He’s gone until late tonight,” she said. “I can do what I like now.”
She went outside and came back cradling her doll again, rocking it and murmuring motherly words to it. Curtis and Janux looked at each other and drank their coffees. Oblivious to them, Mistle continued to rock her doll, singing a low, murmuring lullaby.
Curtis had never felt such empathy for anyone. He wondered if this was what the upcoming Changeover Day celebrations were all about. Especially after what Sly had asked him to do as if it were his duty as a Ryxin male to impregnate a Ryxin girl like a business deal. He now felt degraded for having agreed to. He was beginning to realise how desperate some Ryxins must be to mate with their own kind no matter what the Flim-Flam laws stated and no matter what the cost. Perhaps there was an uprising coming.
CHAPTER 8
Curtis sat out on his back porch going over the events of the day while sipping a glass of lightly chilled Beaujolais. As he looked out at the bay he could see a mist forming above the sea, almost like fine rain. He thought about Sly’s question and knew he’d been testing him. If Curtis had said no he was almost certain he wouldn’t have been permitted to attend the party. Nor did he approve of the way the party organisers were going about the process of increasing their numbers.
He surmised that the young woman he’d seen leaving the Onyx house was one of those who were making themselves available for the cause. From the way Sly had been looking at her, he was probably looking forward to taking his pick of the available teenagers.
It was becoming apparent to Curtis that something major was going to happen on Changeover Day, and wondered if this was a normal occurrence at these yearly events. The repressed Ryxins, forbidden from breeding with t
heir husbands and wives unless one was Human, had finally had enough. Obviously there were plenty of Ryxins who were angry and desperate enough to openly revolt against Flim-Flam law. And now Curtis himself had been roped in. Maybe the breeding females would be available to several Ryxin men on Changeover Day, thereby increasing their chances of pregnancy. Curtis figured that in the long run the Ryxin authorities wouldn’t be concerned as to who the fathers of the children were. The idea must be to increase the purity of the Ryxin population and build up their gene pool.
The forced assimilation with Humans for breeding purposes was going to cause outright rebellion one of these days. Even many Humans hated the idea, as Curtis had found out when he was refused the right to give his wife a child.
As he sat watching the darkness close in and the myriad of stars show themselves, Curtis began to feel better. Of course there was the other side of being offered a young woman which appealed to him as a man. It had been over two years now since he’d slept with Marzy and he’d had no desire to sleep with anyone else since then. But now that he was being asked to fulfil the act as a duty he began to feel good about it, and even found himself looking forward to it. His Ryxin manhood in this situation was highly valued and he wasn’t averse to showing a woman what he could do if asked.
As the phone in his study rang shrilly he stepped through the open sliding doors to answer it.
“Hi. Claudette Peace here, dear. How’s everything?” she chirped cheerfully.
Curtis was jolted back to reality. “I’m okay. What about you? Are you in the area?”
“No, but tomorrow I’ll be down in the village. Can I meet you?”
“Come to my house,” he said, remembering she usually hired a rental car when she came to Muritai to finish one of her many romance novels.
“Lovely. About ten o’clock?”
“Sure, I look forward to it,” he said, feeling genuinely glad. Although Claudette was a friend of Marzy, he knew she’d never mention her unless Curtis himself enquired of her.
“See you then.”
She hung up and by then he was ready for sleep. He wondered if Claudette was planning on leaving Muritai soon. Or did she have something to tell him?
Next morning when he answered the door, Claudette stood there smiling broadly. Curtis embraced her briefly. “Come inside and I’ll make us some coffee.”
“Good and strong for me,” she said. “It’s nice on this island. I’ve got so much work done. But you know, before I leave on April nineteenth I’ve been invited to a Ryxin party.”
Curtis was surprised, knowing Claudette wasn’t Ryxin.
“I can see you’re in mild shock, dear, but apparently a man who has high position in their ranks is permitted to invite a Human female to accompany him if he chooses.”
“I’m so glad you’re coming - I’m going too, and taking a client of mine called Janux. I presume it’s the Ngahere Road party at Sly Onyx’s place?”
“Yes, that’s the one. I’ll be the partner of a very nice gentleman called Vandy.”
Curtis read in the paper that the Changeover Day parties around the island began at midnight and went to the following midnight, but Janux and Curtis weren’t planning on arriving until around 6 p.m. on the second day. They reckoned six hours of celebration would be enough to try and find out all they could about Roscoe’s murder and the disappearance of Jack.
He wondered if Claudette knew what she was getting into. “Have you ever been to any of these Changeover Day parties before?” he asked.
“No, this will be my first one. I’m looking forward to it. What about you?”
“It’s my first one too. Marzy was never keen on me going but now I’m curious.”
“Of course, dear - it’s significant for you.”
“I’ve heard that this year’s parties may get a bit wilder than usual. Just be careful.”
“Don’t worry - Vandy assures me he’ll look after me.”
That evening after a long phone conversation with Siegfried, Curtis decided to turn in early. He was planning on spending the next day doing the rounds of local acquaintances and finding out as much as he could about Sly and Mistle Onyx, and the upcoming celebrations. What was the local gossip about the event?
At The Deer’s Antlers he stopped in for a beer about 1 p.m. There he knew the barman and a couple of locals though they probably wouldn’t be here yet.
“A handle of bitter please, Harry,” he said and sat at the bar.
“Sure. How’s it going for yuh? Settled in yet?”
“Yep, pretty much. I guess you’ll be busy tomorrow. There’ll be parties all over the place and plenty of drinking all around.”
“Ha, ha. My people like tuh knock it back on Changeover Day, that’s for sure.”
Curtis had thought Harry was Ryxin but now it was confirmed he felt more confident. “Going to be partying yourself?” he asked.
“No, workin’ here all night, but wish I wuz. Got a nice offer for the night. Know what I mean?”
“I know our people like you do - plenty of grog tomorrow.”
“I was talking about somethin’ else. Tuh do with young girls, yuh know?”
Curtis did know but he wanted Harry to spell it out. “Yes. Nice to have a young girl on your arm.”
“And the rest.”
“So what’s going on then?”
“They want more kids, mate - of the Ryxin kind. I wuz asked tuh oblige.”
“So they want you to get one of the girls pregnant?”
“Come on, mate. I wouldn’t put it like that. But, yes, I guess that’s it. I wuz offered a girl and got told they wanted me tuh get on with it and tuh hell with the law.”
“So what about when the girl gets pregnant? You’re looking at twenty years in the slammer.”
“I don’t think so. It’s all one-night stand stuff - no strings attached. Just do the business and move on.”
“So you can’t be traced?”
“That’s it. Yuh get a number, I wuz told, and yuh go with another number. No names. Just get on wiv it then bugger off.”
“What about the girls - are they willing?”
“Course. Hey I shouldn’t be telling you all this. Show me yuh eyes.”
“Don’t worry.” Curtis thought of something that made him feel angry so his eyes would glow red and prove his Ryxin heritage. It took a few moments but when Harry saw his eyes he smiled.
“Thanks - we don’t want the Flim-Flams carting us off. Hey, are yuh gunna party?”
“Sure. I had an offer too and had to agree to having a girl so I could get permission to attend.”
“What? They musta been worried about yuh, being a newcomer, eh?”
“Yeah, I suppose. It was Sly Onyx I had to see.”
Harry’s face went pale. “So he checked yuh out?”
“Yep, I went to his place to get screened. Saw his wife, Mistle, first and then went back the next day.”
“Just be careful. That’s all I can say. Be very careful.”
“Do you mean around Sly?”
Harry leaned towards him and lowered his voice. “Don’t ever cross that man - I’ve heard what can happen if yuh do. He has a lot of power, yuh know.”
“It’s just a party.”
“Watch yuh back anyway, even when you’re with the girl.”
“Yep, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. And watch what yuh say to her - they’re all under his control. He has a breeding programme. The girls have no say.”
“What? They’re forced into it?”
“Not at first, but once they’ve slept with a Ryxin they can’t get out. They have tuh keep breeding. They’re used as breeding cows.”
“They’re Ryxin breeding cows?”
“Yeah, mate. Believe me, they’re like Sly’s slaves. He even gets some of ’em preggers hisself. He enjoys it, mate, him and his little harem. Not allowed to get the wife preggers, yuh see. Yuh’ll only get a g
irl who’s not a favourite of his. They have tuh sleep with whoever he wants them tuh. Until they get preggers they’re there for any Ryxin male who wants a woman and they can’t leave the programme until they canna breed no more. There are secret houses on the mainland especially fuh makin’ Ryxin babies. Apparently he’s upping the numbers. They’re on the verge of turnin’ against Flim-Flam law. I’ve heard that any man who goes tuh one of Sly’s parties is expected tuh do his duty with a girl. Know what I’m saying?”
“What about Human females who attend?”
“They’re okay - they don’t get touched. They’re only show ponies, mate.”
That evening Curtis received a telepathic message from Janux. “I’ll be ready by five.”
He sent one back. “Arriving at five-fifteen.” He planned to warn her to be careful then.
CHAPTER 9
Curtis had been researching Ryxin history since Marzy had forcibly reminded him of his Ryxin heritage. He had also studied some Ryxin history when he enrolled for the Ryxin PI programme. And now that he was investigating a murder he needed to fill in the gaps of his knowledge.
He’d discovered how when the Ryxin immigrants first arrived on Earth in 1905, ten couples were hand-picked by the first Oro Garvey to breed only with each other to ensure the purity of their race continued. Curtis’s father had alluded to such things, but as a boy, Curtis hadn’t been impressed with the history of his people. He could always think up different ways of doing things and wondered why they hadn’t. Besides, his father told him very little, as the emphasis then was adapting to the Human world and not being especially noticed for their Ryxin differences.
For example, Curtis wondered why only ten couples were chosen. These breeding pairs were known thereafter as The Ten and took the names of the men, Garvey, Applen, Werven, Hurzy, Tretze, Lavenox, Kurlty, Pentezek, Logopex and Yanly. Those who hadn’t been chosen were ordered to blend in and move away from each other to different parts of Ireland and eventually the world. For women who were very young and afraid of venturing out alone, a male helper went too - to watch over and help her when necessary but not to mate with. Apart from the ten specially chosen pairs, all others were commanded to find Human partners to mate with. They already knew and had planned that male babies would retain full Ryxin powers while female babies’ traits were halved when their Ryxin parent mated with a Human. Whether male or female married a Human, the traits were programmed to be inherited by their children. Curtis wondered why female babies of such unions were not born with full Ryxin traits like their male counterparts. He suspected that the subservience of women was already so ingrained in Ryxin society that their traits were only there to mark them out as full or half-bloods. This meant that if a pure-blood Ryxin male wanted a mate, he could still choose which kind of woman he wanted. The pure-blood woman would have full traits and the half-bloods half. Or was their reasoning more to make the female babies less different for the purposes of integration into the Human race?
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