Earthborn Alliance

by Matthew DeVore

  In an instant, Traven was standing on a landing platform just outside the High Councilman’s palace on Earth. It was the dead of night, and a transport was just landing.

  Traven turned to find Kalma standing at his side. The ship’s door opened, and the old man walked down the ramp carrying a weapon’s satchel.

  “Leave your stuff on the ship. You can’t stay here,” Kalma said.

  The man sat his bag down and continued down the ramp. Upon reaching the end, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. “Your Highness,” the man said.

  Traven moved to take two steps back, but instead found himself crouched over the older man in Council Guard armor, his hand against the man’s cheek.

  “You mind telling me what just happened?” Wren asked.

  “Not here. Not like this.”

  Releasing his second side arm from its compartment, Traven ended the man quickly.

  “Why’d you do that? He hadn’t told us anything,” Wren snapped.

  He secured his pistol and unlatched his rifle from his back. “He told me enough—too much. He was a dead man, and so were we if we let him go.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Not here,” he repeated. “Let’s just finish the mission.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Coming to his senses, Ethan ran to catch up with Aleena. “Hey, wait,” he called after her in the hallway. She didn’t slow, just kept walking.

  Reaching her side, he matched her pace. “Maybe we should talk.”

  “I don’t see why,” Aleena said flatly. All playfulness in her demeanor was gone.

  “I… never mind.” Ethan was at a loss.

  They were quiet for the rest of the walk to the kitchen. When they got there, they found everyone else sitting around the center bench, polishing off the last few bites of some kind of sandwich. Allison smiled and waved Ethan to her side. She was sitting awfully close to Conner, and a pang of jealousy ran through him.

  Ethan rounded the end of the counter and walked to her side. Allison stood and kissed him. “I told you not to get hurt.”

  Ethan shrugged. “It’s not that bad.”

  “That’s not what Conner tells me.”

  He tilted his head to see past his girlfriend and found Conner beaming.

  “Sorry, bro,” Conner said. “It looked pretty painful to me.”

  Ethan glared, which only made Conner start to laugh.

  “Really, it’s no big deal. I’ll be fine,” he assured her.

  “So,” Aleena said, taking the seat across the table, “you and Conner looked cozy.”

  Allison’s head spun. “No… what? We… we were just chatting.”

  Ethan let his arms drop from around her. What is happening? Has the whole world gone crazy? None of this made sense to him. He shook it off and grabbed a plate from the end of the counter.

  Meghan moved to sit by Aleena. “This morning was awesome.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Aleena said, staring at Allison with a smug grin on her face.

  “What kind of sandwich do you want?” Rayland asked Aleena. “We’ve got turkey, ham, or I can make a killer Reuben.”

  “I’ll try the Reuben,” Aleena answered.

  “What about you, Ethan?” Rayland asked.

  He was just putting the top slice of bread on a plain ham and cheese. “I’m good, but thanks.”

  “Are you sure? It’s the least I can do after this morning.”

  Ethan took his plate and sat next to Allison. “I’m sure.”

  “Suit yourself. It’s your loss.” Rayland disappeared into the pantry.

  Taking a bite of his sandwich, Ethan closed his eyes. It tasted wonderful. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until right then.

  “I can’t wait until this afternoon,” Meghan said.

  “What’s this afternoon?” Allison asked.

  The girl bounced up and down on her seat. “Valaan is going to start teaching us magic. Eeeek.”

  “Don’t you already know magic, being part Elven?” Allison asked.

  “Oh no. Not much, anyway. We’re not supposed to use it.”

  “Well, some of us don’t follow the rules as much as others,” Conner said mischievously. “Rayland and I have been practicing for a while.”

  Meghan scoffed at her brother, “I don’t think moving a pencil across the table without touching it is what Valaan has in mind.”

  Conner’s eyes narrowed, and Meghan stuck her tongue out at him.

  Ethan was amused by their antics. He didn’t have any siblings of his own, so he never had the joy of arguing with a little sister.

  “That’s enough, children,” Rayland chided, emerging from the pantry with the ingredients for Aleena’s sandwich. “We have more important things to discuss.”

  “And what’s that?” Conner asked.

  “The item in the underground.”

  “How do you know what’s in the underground?” Meghan asked disapprovingly.

  “I’ve been there.”

  “You have not,” Conner jumped in.

  “Have too. Our dads have a stash of weapons, several pretty sweet-looking computers, and… you’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

  “How’d you get in?” Conner asked excitedly.

  “I memorized my dad’s passcode,” Rayland answered.

  “That’s it?” Meghan asked. “There wasn’t any other protection?”

  Rayland shook his head. “Nah, it’s all broken. Either the Royals didn’t think the safe house was in danger before the Urlowens arrived, or no one actually knows how to fix it. Like most of the Elven tech.”

  Ethan looked across the table to Aleena. It sounded intriguing enough to him. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go down there.”

  “I agree,” Allison said. “We’re not doing much good sitting around here.” She turned toward Meghan. “Sorry, but we’ve all lost too much to sit back and watch the Urlowens finish off humanity. We have to keep fighting.”

  Memories flared in Ethan’s mind. Allison was crying next to him on a couch. They’d just lost everyone they considered friends, and she’d just lost her parents.

  Bringing his mind back to the present, he wrapped his fingers in hers. “She’s right. We need to get back out there.”

  Aleena was clearly staring at their clasped hands. Slowly her eyes lifted until she was looking straight at Ethan. “We need to meet these Royals. We need to find some allies in this war.”

  Rayland slid a hot Reuben in front of Aleena, put his elbows on the counter, and leaned in. “I don’t know about allies, but I think I can help you with the first part, at least.”

  Beep. Beep. Ethan’s eyes bolted open. He anxiously waited for another sound. A minute later, a single beep emanated from the bottom dresser drawer.

  “Wha… what was that?” Allison said sleepily as she rolled toward him in bed. “Is it time?”

  The sounds made Ethan completely forget about the night’s plans. He glanced over at the clock. “No, not yet. Go back to sleep.” He pulled the comforter over her shoulders and kissed her forehead, then waited for her to fall back asleep.

  When he was certain she was out, he slid his feet from the covers and gently placed them on the huge, overly plush area rug that covered the hardwood bedroom floor. Turning to Allison, he sighed with relief. He hadn’t woken her. This was perhaps the biggest secret he’d kept from her—from everyone. Not by choice, of course; it was part of their plan.

  Tiptoeing to the dresser, he slowly inched the bottom drawer out. Pushing aside the clothes he’d managed to convince Conner to give him, a small black cell phone lay still against the bottom of the drawer.

  After checking for the second time that Allison was sleeping, he grabbed the phone and snuck into the hallway. Even that felt too exposed. Conner’s and Rayland’s rooms were down the hall to the right, and Aleena’s room was around the corner. Carefully he crept past the boys’ bedrooms, took a left turn, and went down a flight of st
airs to a sitting room at the end of the hall.

  Peeking into the green-embroidered room, he was relieved that no one was there. Hiding things from Aleena and Allison made him nervous.

  He shut the door behind him, a little more relaxed, then walked to an oversized chair and sank into its cushions. He placed his thumb on the center of the screen and made sure the other four fingers were on the back. The screen asked for his personal identification number, which he entered.

  He waited a moment for the device to signal an active connection. When it lit up, he raised it to his ear. “Grant, you there?”

  “Hey, Ethan. This is Leon.”

  “Leon? How’d you get this QueSet?”

  “Grant told me about it a couple months ago, but that’s not really important at the moment. There’s been a development.”

  The crack in Leon’s voice made Ethan’s heart sink. “What happened?”

  “There was an explosion in the regiment barracks.”

  “What do you mean, an explosion?” Ethan’s heart began racing. “Why are you contacting me? Where’s Grant?”

  “It’s all right, just calm down,” Leon pleaded, though it didn’t settle Ethan in the least.

  “Leon, tell me everything.”

  “We don’t know a lot. It’s been confirmed that the explosion was an Urlowen device. We don’t know how they managed to get it inside Eric’s room.”

  “Eric and Grant are roommates,” Ethan said.

  “Grant’s alive,” Leon assured him. “He wasn’t in the compound when it went off.”

  “Then why are you contacting me?” Ethan pushed.

  “Because Grant was injured. He was just outside the building when it went up. Got tossed twenty or thirty yards and was hit by a lot of debris.”

  Ethan took in a deep breath.

  “The medics think he’ll make it.”

  “They think he’ll make it?”

  “I’m sorry, Ethan. No one can be sure.”

  “I’m going to have to tell Aleena,” Ethan said reluctantly.

  “So you are with the Elves.”

  “I thought you said Grant told you everything.”

  “No, I said Grant told me about the QueSet. He told me he was keeping you apprised of the Alliance’s situation and asked me to trust him.”

  Ethan didn’t respond.

  “Frankly, I’m glad he did. You know this is a big risk you two are taking. If the wrong people found out, he could get into serious trouble. It could even be construed as treason, giving you military information. Especially since you’re with them.”

  “That’s why I haven’t told them anything, to protect them in case we got caught. You can’t tell the Alliance, Leon. We only want to help. I needed a way to get in contact with the Alliance in case we’re successful.”

  “In case you’re successful doing what?”

  “I can’t tell you that. It’d be too dangerous for you. You’re going to have to trust me. There still might be a way to win this war.”

  That time it was Leon who was silent. Finally, he said, “Look, I owe those Elves my life. Hell, all of the Madison City Resistance does. I trust you. But it goes both ways. You have to trust me too.”

  “And I’ll tell you everything when the time is right,” Ethan replied. “But this changes things. Aleena should know Grant was injured.”

  “Why?” Leon asked.

  Ethan didn’t want to acknowledge it out loud but did it anyway. “I think she likes him. They sorta had a thing going before we left.”

  “They were together?”

  “I don’t think it was quite that far yet. What else has happened?” Ethan asked, trying to shift the subject away from Aleena and Grant.

  “It’s bad here.” Leon sounded defeated. “The Resistance regiment was cut in half by that explosion. It got Micah.”

  “No,” Ethan exclaimed. Realizing his mistake, he jumped to his feet and cracked the door. It would take a minute for someone to make it to the hallway if they’d heard him.

  “Yeah, he was sleeping in his room,” Leon continued. “We’re being recalled to San Fridas. It’s the last Alliance-controlled major city. It’ll be our last stand. They’re sending everyone.”

  “How long do you have?”

  “I’m not sure. A few weeks at most.”

  Ethan sighed. “All right, keep me updated.”

  “And you me,” Leon demanded.

  Ethan shut the door. No one was coming. “Stay safe, Leon.”

  “You too.”

  The line went dead, and Ethan stared at the phone.

  Micah’s gone. He couldn’t believe it. He thought if anyone survived this crazy war it’d be him. The old spy had kept the Resistance alive in Madison City. The man seemed untouchable.

  He sank back into the fluffy armchair near the center of the room as guilt washed over him. His friends were fighting and dying while he hid with the two most powerful beings on the planet in a cushy mansion. He felt sick to his stomach. They had to get in this fight. Part of him recognized the importance of their self-imposed mission, but part of him just wanted to kill Urlowens and help his friends.

  He searched for the pool of magic inside himself and examined his feelings. His premonitions had left him; he hadn’t felt a thing since the Alliance had rescued them from Madison City. Not that he could control the feelings previously, but they happened frequently enough that he didn’t feel lost. I’ll have to ask Valaan about it.

  Time passed slowly as he sat in the chair. Suddenly, the door crept open. Ethan spun around to find Allison standing in the doorway.

  “I found him,” she whispered down the hall behind her, then turned back to him. “Ethan, what are you doing? It’s time. We’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Ethan glanced down at the phone in his hand and she paused.

  “Is that a QueSet?”

  “Yeah. I’ve had it since we left the Alliance base.”

  Allison’s shoulders dropped. “What happened?”

  “Not now.” He stood and walked to the door, slipping the phone in the pocket of his black athletic shorts. “I’ll tell you later.” He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

  Allison returned the embrace. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Ethan released her. “Let’s see what Rayland has up his sleeve.”

  The two of them caught up to Conner, who was farther down the hallway. “Everyone’s waiting for us by the entrance,” he shared.

  The three of them wound through the mansion until they came to a back hall one floor below ground level. In the center of the plain corridor, a huge solid steel door was positioned directly next to a number pad.

  Aleena, Meghan, and Rayland were all waiting by the door in their pj’s. “Where were you?” Aleena asked.

  Ethan bit his tongue. “I’ll tell you later.” He wasn’t looking forward to the conversation. How do you break news like this?

  Rayland moved to the keypad, entered a string of numbers, and then pushed on the door. It crept forward, its hinges creaking loudly.

  Behind the door was another short hall leading to an elevator, which they all piled in. There were only two buttons, an arrow pointing down and one pointing up. Rayland pushed the downward-facing arrow and the elevator started moving. It didn’t take long for the ride to end. The doors slid open, and they stepped onto a catwalk in a large underground hangar.

  Above the center of the room, a crack ran through the ceiling. “That,” Rayland said, “is where I think the roof opens. We should be under the clearing behind the house.” His arm trailed down to a large tarp covering something sitting on the concrete floor just below. “And that is our ride.”

  “What is it?” Allison asked.

  “Follow me and I’ll show you.”

  They made their way across the catwalk to a set of stairs leading to the main floor. Off the large room were several smaller ones that looked mostly empty.r />
  “The first room on the left here is the office,” Rayland explained. “Inside, our dads have several computer consoles and loads of maps. The next room down is the armory, at least that’s what I like to call it. They’d ground me for life if they ever find out I’ve been down here.”

  Although he was listening, Ethan was focused on the huge mass in the middle of the room. “Where did they find a tarp that big?”

  “You know, I’ve never thought of that,” Rayland said, raising a hand to his chin. “Oh well. Doesn’t really matter, if you ask me. All right, everyone, give me hand.”

  Ethan took ten paces to the right of Allison and grabbed the bottom of the tarp. Everyone else spread out along one side of the object and did the same, pulling together.

  “What the—”

  “Ethan, language,” Allison interrupted.

  “Right, sorry.”

  Though everyone seemed to have the same expression on their faces—except for Rayland, of course. He looked immensely satisfied with their reactions.

  “How did they get it here?” Conner asked.

  “The first or second generation must’ve flown it here. I think this place was some sort of hidden makeshift bunker. I’m guessing they built the mansion on this spot because of it.”

  “Do you think Dad can fly it?” Meghan asked.

  “No way,” Rayland answered. “Look at all the dust on this tarp. This thing hasn’t been moved for a long, long time.”

  “Do you think it even works?” Ethan asked.

  Rayland shrugged. “Beats me. I was hoping she would know.”

  Ethan turned to Aleena, who was staring at the cockpit. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Aleena didn’t respond as she twisted and turned looking for something. Ethan figured she must’ve found it, because she sprinted across the room, returning with a stepladder. Opening the ladder and placing it just below the cockpit window, she climbed up.

  Ethan, along with everyone else, circled the ladder, looking up to see what had so completely stolen her attention.

  She used the silk sleeve of her pajamas to rub dirt off some partially exposed writing just below the windscreen. Once the Elvish script was exposed, Aleena leaned her head against the metal and began to laugh.