by Erica Rue
“What’s up? Did you come here to help?” She smiled at him, and he quickly pushed the look of confusion from his face to smile back. She almost sighed with relief. She was afraid this might be the moment he brought it up. “I’m sorting the clothes based on size.”
“I’m going to the Vale Temple,” he said. He picked up a shirt, checked its size, and folded it before setting it on the top of the medium stack.
“I know, I was at the meeting,” Bel said.
“I’m going to stay there, I mean. I know they plan to offer Colm as collateral, but I’m going to volunteer.”
Bel’s pulse quickened. “But why would you do that?”
“I dug up some spare parts. Based on what I’ve learned from Brian and Evy, I think I can fix some of their tech. Their Artifacts are broken, right? What if those Artifacts can help us fight against the Vens? They might not even know what they have.”
“I think the sentiment is nice,” Bel started, “but it’s not safe. I don’t trust the Aratians. I don’t even really trust the Ficarans.”
“We don’t have a lot of options.”
“It’s too risky. Wait until they’ve reached an agreement, at least.”
“Sometimes we have to take risks, and this is a risk worth taking.”
His voice gave him away. He wasn’t talking about becoming an Aratian prisoner anymore. He was looking directly in her eyes. He was talking about her. Before she realized what was happening, Zane leaned in and gave her a short kiss on the lips.
He looked at her expectantly, like the kiss had been a question, and he was looking for the answer. Was the answer supposed to be another kiss? Bel had no idea. She had never kissed anyone before. She had never wanted to kiss anyone before.
That’s how she had figured it out. While all the other girls were talking about dating boys, she had been searching for new additions to her bug collection. It had almost been a point of pride for her to be above their obsession. It wasn’t until she came to StellAcademy, and even the most brilliant girls, like Dione, still let themselves get distracted, that she began to realize that she was different.
“Zane, I… I don’t… I’m sorry—” she began.
She hadn’t finished her thought, or figured out what to say, but Zane already looked defeated.
“It’s okay, I shouldn’t have—”
“I care about you, Zane. A lot. But there’s something you need to know about me,” Bel said. Her chest ached with everything she had been holding back. “I’m asexual. I can’t be your girlfriend. Or a proper girlfriend anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Zane said, confusion again furrowing his brow.
“I mean, I’m not interested in sex or other stuff like that.” She felt like a freak. Here she was admitting that she was completely indifferent to the things teenagers were supposed to think about constantly.
“How do you know? Have you ever?”
“That was my first kiss, and I just know.”
“But when you hugged me just now, I thought… I’m sorry, I misunderstood. I didn’t mean to—”
“I’m asexual, not aromantic. I still want relationships, and hugging, and maybe even kissing. I don’t know. I’m still figuring out my boundaries. I just don’t want to lead you on.”
Zane thought for a minute. “Wait, are you saying that you like me?”
“Of course I like you. As more than a friend.”
“Then let’s figure this out,” he said. He held her hand, but tentatively, still uncertain.
“You did hear me when I said sex was off the table, right?”
“Yes, and I can’t promise that will never be an issue, but for now, it doesn’t matter. You matter, Belen, and if you’re willing, I want to give this a try. If it doesn’t work out, at least we’ll know.”
Bel was still terrified. She had expected her words to make him back away and grow distant. “I’m still figuring things out myself.”
“Let me know things as you figure them out, then. Bel, I think you’re amazing. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attracted to you, but the physical is only one aspect.”
Zane pulled her in for another hug, and this time, she relaxed completely. The closeness of their bodies, his warmth, his breath on the top of her head, all of it was perfect. Despite everything, for that moment, she felt safe.
She smiled at him. “Are you still going to volunteer?”
“Yes. The sooner we solve this Ven problem, the sooner we can figure out how to get out of here. I was thinking about it, and I know a way off the planet, once this is over.”
Bel arched her eyebrows. “How?”
“What if we could figure out how to fly their ship? I’ve been working on a translation program for the Ven language. Not the spoken stuff. I created a program that will run with a holo interface so we can read the Ven symbols in real time. It’s not all of them, and I don’t know if it will work…”
“Wait, the professor banned holo interfaces for the trip,” Bel said.
Zane shrugged. “Oberon brought his own.”
A light bulb went off for Bel. “Would your program work on the information stored in a Ven datacore?” The Ven datacore would give them all the information they needed about Ven rituals, their home world, and if they had any predators.
“It could be modified to read a core,” he replied. “The hard part is getting it to work with a holo interface, but that wouldn’t be necessary for translating a datacore. It should be easier.”
Bel smiled. “So how did you put the program together?”
“It’s incomplete,” Zane admitted. “At first, it only had the language information that was in the public archives.”
“That’s not much,” Bel said. She would know. She’d combed through every piece of data about the Vens after the attack on her home, looking for answers.
“You’re right, but the language we do have skews toward the text we encounter most often. There’s a higher percentage of ship language in the database. With what we have, you can’t introduce yourself and order lunch, but we just might be able to identify ship systems and get them working.”
“How can it be enough? There’s hardly any Ven language available. I’ve looked.”
“When I was using the Alliance access portal to find all those planet coordinates for Lithia, I got what info about Ven language I could. There’s a lot they’re keeping classified.”
There was one thing Bel still didn’t understand. “Why were you looking into the Vens?”
Zane blushed. “I knew how important it was to you. I thought if I could help…”
Bel smiled and squeezed his hand.
It was insane. Even as she did a happy dance on the inside, she feared that Oberon wouldn’t allow it. Trying to steal, much less fly a Ven ship? She could imagine him calmly explaining the million reasons it would never work.
None of that mattered, though. There was a way to get off Kepos and prove her Ven hypothesis. All she needed was a Ven datacore.
“Why do you want the datacore?” Zane asked, as though reading her thoughts.
“I want to know the truth about the Vens. You know about my hypothesis. I think that some other creature hunted them, and I want to know everything about it so that we can finally stop the Vens.”
“Don’t you think the Alliance already has this information? They’ve taken Ven ships before.”
“They’re hiding things from us. Like all of the language data you got from their archives. Why hide that? There’s something they’re not telling us,” Bel said.
Zane checked his manumed. “I need to meet Lithia and Dione at the shuttle, but I’ll be back.” He hesitated, like he was thinking about kissing her again, but thought better of it and gave her a short, solid hug. He turned to smile at her before he left.
As she watched him go, Bel felt happy but uncertain. She didn’t like having something to lose, especially with the Vens around, but Kepos would not be a repeat of her old home. She wouldn’t let that happen.
25. LITHIA
The flight from the mountain was a short one, though the landscapes below were so hilly, Lithia couldn’t believe Cora had taken an ATV all the way back home. The Aratian settlement looked even brighter from above, and she imagined she could smell the spice and citrus of the open market. Lithia was looking for an open area to land when she realized there were no meandering people to avoid. The streets were empty. Dione, looking at one of the camera readouts, was the first to notice where all the Aratians were.
“What are they doing?” she asked.
Lithia pulled up the external camera feed and saw a crowd of people seated on blankets on the ground in front of a stage. On the stage were people, mostly girls, covered in garlands of flowers. Everything from the blankets, to the flowers, to the curtains at the back of the stage were blue, pink, and orange.
“What’s going on? Some kind of talent show?” Lithia said.
Colm growled. He surprised her by replying, “It’s the Matching, a barbaric festival that dehumanizes everyone involved. Of course, we’d come on the day of the Matching.”
Lithia’s dislike of Colm softened, just a little. His loose brown clothes were a stark contrast to their fitted blue and white StellAcademy uniforms. He had a handgun holstered at his hip and a rifle slung across his back. Lithia hated to admit it, but she was glad that he was well armed. She didn’t trust him, but then again, she didn’t trust the Aratians either.
“Can you land in that open space behind the stage?” he said.
“If we land that close, we’ll probably blow the curtains down,” Dione said.
“Good,” Colm replied.
Lithia lowered them to the surface, and as expected, a few of the curtains fluttered to the ground, sending the girls on stage scrambling out of the way. So much for a quiet entrance.
Colm and Dione exited the craft first, followed by Zane and Evy. Lithia, stun rifle in hand, came last, but made her way to the front. She, Colm, and Zane had not raised their weapons, but they were ready. They stood, blocking the entrance to the back of the shuttle, until a few guards carrying batons showed up. Between Colm’s large gun and Evy’s presence, they looked nervous.
“Don’t move,” one of the guards commanded. “Put down your weapons.”
No one put down their weapons.
“We’re here to speak with Michael and Benjamin,” Lithia said.
The guards exchanged looks, but none moved. They seemed unable to decide what to do about Evy. Just moments later, that decision was made for them.
Benjamin Bram hurried down the steps from the stage, looking relieved. “Evy,” he said. In the moment, he looked like a father, rather than the First Geneticist.
“Father!” Evy rushed toward him, and he stooped to hug her.
He said nothing, but kissed the frizzy curls on top of her head. Amelia arrived shortly after, wrapping Evy in her own embrace.
Lithia stepped forward and lowered her stun rifle. Zane followed her lead, but Colm kept his weapon raised. Time to give this a try.
“Benjamin, we’re here to talk. We don’t want trouble,” Lithia said.
“He looks ready for trouble.” Benjamin nodded to Colm.
“Listen to them. Please,” Evy said. “They are trustworthy.”
“They kidnapped you,” Amelia said, pulling Evy back to her, unwilling to let her child step out of reach.
Lithia couldn’t blame her.
“We didn’t kidnap her. She wanted to stay with us, and as soon as she asked to come home, we brought her,” Lithia said.
“It’s true,” Evy said. She held up her bug container. “Their friend gave me a dragonfly. Look!”
Benjamin Bram looked at his daughter, half angry, half amazed. “We will speak about this later, Evy,” he said. One nod to his wife, and she was leading their daughter away into the Temple. Evy didn’t resist, but she did look at Lithia over her shoulder and smile.
“Thank you for returning my daughter. For this, I will let you leave unchallenged.” He motioned to the guards, who took a step back.
Lithia turned to signal Dione, but she was already moving forward.
“We can’t leave just yet. Where’s Michael? We need to speak with him,” she said.
“He took the cavalry to respond to the raid on the Hub,” Benjamin said, “so you should leave before I change my mind.”
“Did you see the ships that landed here a few nights ago?”
Benjamin frowned. “Yes.”
“Those ships are full of an alien race called Venatorians, or Vens. You call them demons. They have already devastated the Field Temple. The Ficarans have relocated to the Mountain Base.”
“That is not our problem,” Benjamin said.
“The Vens won’t stop after destroying the Ficaran settlement. They’re coming here next,” Dione said.
“The cavalry is already dealing with them as we speak,” he said.
Dione turned back to exchange a look with Lithia.
“That won’t be enough. Over two hundred Vens landed on this planet. Your cavalry alone won’t be enough. You’ll need Ficaran help.” The First Geneticist opened his mouth to cut her off, but to Lithia’s surprise, Dione kept going. “Benjamin, I know your people value genetic diversity. That is what this entire festival is about, right? Well, hundreds of Ficarans are dead. Erased from the gene pool, and the Vens are probably on their way as we speak. I doubt your people can absorb that kind of loss easily.”
“I have faith in the Regnator and the cavalry’s abilities,” he said.
“Have you seen one of these demons with your own eyes?” It was Colm who spoke.
Benjamin frowned. “No.”
“Then you have no idea what you’re up against,” Colm replied. “We have a Ven body at the base you can examine. Even with our weapons, we were overrun. With the Flyers, we barely escaped. I have no love for you and your disgusting rituals, but unless you meet with Victoria, all of our people will die, yours and mine.”
“Meet with Victoria? Where is she?” He peered behind them into the shuttle.
“She’s at the Mountain Base.”
Benjamin’s eyes widened in surprise. “You thought I would agree to go with you? You were probably at Victoria’s side while our Hub was attacked and emptied. What happened to you is justice.”
Colm bristled, and Lithia was about to step in when a woman with chin-length blond hair marched over. Lithia hadn’t noticed her waiting nearby, but she recognized her from Cora’s tour: Moira, the plant lady.
“Benjamin, you’re going, and I’m coming with you,” the woman said. Moira looked the group over and focused her gaze on Lithia.
“It’s the little thief,” she said. Moira apparently remembered her, too. Lithia didn’t have a chance to deny the accusation because Moira kept talking, cutting Benjamin off.
“They’ve got one of these creatures, and I want to study it. They also have the anti-parasitics, and I’ll need them back. I never had the chance to replicate the medicine, and some of our men are showing signs of infection. This can’t wait.”
“Then you can go. I’ll grant you permission,” Benjamin said.
“No, we both go. I talked to those boys who are sick and glowing green, and I’m worried these strangers are right. These… Venatorians are a more powerful enemy than we imagined.”
Benjamin frowned at Moira, but Lithia saw respect there. He addressed Dione. “Leave a hostage here. An exchange. If I’m not back by nightfall, their life is forfeit,” Benjamin said.
Colm stepped forward without hesitation. “I’m Victoria’s brother and second-in-command. She will honor this deal.” Apparently he had been planning this all along.
“Two of us are leaving, so two of you must stay,” Benjamin said. Lithia scoffed, about to tell Benjamin off, but Zane spoke first.
“I will,” he said.
Lithia’s eyes widened. Well, you picked a hell of a time to speak up.
“Zane—” she began.
<
br /> He brushed her off. “They need you at the talks. Plus, I might be of use here. I brought along some spare components, and I wanted to look at some of their broken equipment, just to see if I can help.”
Dione handed Zane the bag of communicators. “These might help, too,” she said.
“What are those?” Benjamin asked.
“Communicators. You can even stay in contact with your people while you’re gone,” Dione said.
Benjamin looked amazed, even though there were only two dozen communicators. The Ficarans had the rest. Benjamin tested one with a nearby guard. It worked perfectly.
“Where did you get these?” he asked.
“The Mountain Base where Jameson hid them from you,” Lithia replied. “Come on, time to go.”
Benjamin turned and spoke quietly to the guards, who nodded. Colm handed over his guns to Dione, and so did Zane. She looked uncomfortable under the weight of so many weapons.
“Be sure to show them the Field Temple on your way,” Colm said. Lithia nodded.
As they returned to the Flyer, she had a good idea of why Colm wanted her to do that, but it didn’t make it any easier. The Field Temple was a fresh grave. She could still smell the blood on the stairs and see the lifeless faces of dead Ficarans when she closed her eyes. The black Ven crept into her thoughts, too, the one who seemed to be in charge of the Vens. He had almost killed her. What if he was still there? Could she escape another encounter with him?
Lithia tightened her grip on the controls to steady her hands and took them into the air.
26. CORA
Those wretched outsiders had to ruin her day. Nothing else would do. Now, instead of overseeing the Matching, her uncle was off talking to those liars. Cora took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself. Even though the ceremony had been interrupted, she would still be matched with Will, and that was all that really mattered.
Her uncle had bade the ceremony go on without him. There were still several other girls before her, and she watched their faces as they got matched. They looked nervous. Unsettled. She couldn’t blame them after what just happened. Lithia and the others had come just to create chaos on this special day.
