by Laurel Night
“Is it true?” She asked softly.
I could have lied. I could have feigned ignorance and pretended to be just as surprised as she was. I considered it briefly. But I’d already hesitated, and now it was obvious I knew something. Her clear gaze assessed my face, reading the emotions as they traveled through me.
“It’s not that simple,” I sighed, glancing up quickly. My mother was answering questions from the stage. Jakob stood off to the side, his arms crossed, smirking at the angry outbursts he had caused.
Lucy’s voice drew my gaze back to her. “I didn’t ask if it was simple, Mick. I asked if it was true.” Her tone turned cold, and I winced at the sharpness in it.
“We don’t know. We don’t even know if it is a ship. There’s a rock out there, drifting this way, that we think will be near this planet in about a hundred years.”
She paused, considering. “So why did he say that? Surely they must have a reason to believe it’s a vimpiri ship?”
“All our sensors can determine is that it is a similar mineral composition to our ship. It could be an asteroid for all we know. It’s not traveling at speeds that show intent. I don’t know why, but Jakob has latched onto this legend of the Lost Warriors and taken this tiny fact to create his own narrative. He is determined to get the Lost Bachelors to wait until we know for sure what this object is, and who may be on it. It sounds reasonable, to paired vimpiri, to wait. What’s a measly hundred human years to the chance for a true brashule? The problem is-”
“That I won’t live that long,” she finished quietly.
“Exactly,” Relieved that she didn’t seem angry, I continued. “So I thought if Todd and I were in this position, perhaps other Lost Bachelors were too. Others that didn’t want to wait, because they had found someone they couldn’t live without.”
I felt the glow behind my irises start as I gazed into her eyes. It was a strange sensation, almost like the prickling that accompanies tears, but more pleasant somehow. I didn’t know, at first, that was what had been happening. I passed it off as a minor irritation, perhaps something in the air I reacted to. Then I realized it was only around Lucy, and only when I felt a particularly strong emotion about her. Once I understood that this feeling was the vimpiri indicator of a mate, I was lost as to how to proceed. Todd and Emily had given me hope we could truly pair, and I wasn’t about to give up now that I’d come this close.
Lucy searched my eyes, trying to extract more facts from the glow. “But what I want to know, Mick, is why you didn’t tell me.”
My tongue felt as if it had glued itself to the roof of my mouth. I was completely lost for words; I had no explanation that sounded reasonable. No matter what I could come up with, it would sound like I didn’t trust her.
“Lucy, I-” my voice cracked, and I cleared my throat to try again. “I don’t believe it. I didn’t think it was important. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You didn’t want me to worry about what? That this was the reason you put me off?”
“No! Well, partially. I just found out a few days ago, and I didn’t find the idea credible at all. It just…” I trailed off. I had nothing else, and I was caught in the stern expression of her eyes.
Typically, when we shared a gaze and my eyes grew active, she seemed to get lost in them. Whether she was trying to figure out what was happening, or it was more like a snake charmer and a cobra, I wasn’t sure. I normally broke off the eye contact because I wanted to avoid a conversation about it.
This time I was helplessly caught in her gaze. Her hazel eyes, mostly jade but with delicate golden brown striations that ringed her pupils, stared into me, demanding answers. My body locked in place, waiting for something to happen.
Finally, she looked away, a sad expression I couldn’t interpret crossing her face before she turned.
“Lucy, I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I should have told you, I have no good excuse for not doing it. Truly, I’m sorry,” I said again.
She didn’t look at me, and when she spoke her tone was cold. “We should go.”
I looked up to discover the room was emptying rapidly, vimpiri exiting the doorway on the other side of the room. Todd and Emily were standing at the end of the row, waiting for us. Lucy rose and walked to them, grabbing Emily’s hand and pulling her ahead. Emily dropped Todd’s hand and glanced at him in apology, then me with a questioning gaze. Todd met my eyes as I approached.
“That’s not good, man,” he commented in his ever-helpful way. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t tell her about the ship,” I sighed. “What happened after Jakob made that little announcement? I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Not what we hoped,” he replied. “We don’t have the Lost Bachelors, Mick. Jakob played a clever little trick, getting most of them to agree we should all wait to know for sure. He worded it in such a way that sounded like anyone who didn’t want to wait didn’t care about their family or the future of the Vimpiri. It became less about having the freedom to choose and more like a ‘with us or against us’ thing. I’m still not even sure how he did it, but he got everyone to vote. There was hardly anyone that raised their hand to allow Lost Bachelors the option to choose.”
“A vote? That’s not our way. Who voted with us? Anyone worth mentioning?”
“Your father did. But Mick…”
“Yeah?”
“Drake voted against.”
Damn it all. This would be harder than I thought.
A SECRET PLOT
MICK
Todd walked with me down the hallway. We were surrounded by other vimpiri, some in their natural form but most appearing human. The vast majority looked like young men, likely Lost Bachelors, and they avoided eye contact with me when I looked in their direction.
Figures. They had all been excited and enthusiastic when I spoke with them before today, explaining how Todd and Emily had worked out, and asking them to come and support our position. Now that they’d all done the opposite, they expected I would be angry.
Truthfully, I was worried. I really believed this overwhelming show of support would be enough to convince my mother and sister, as queen and future queen, of the importance of allowing the Lost Bachelors the option to at least try. Instead, Jakob turned it around. I didn’t blame them for it; I was sure he’d delivered a compelling argument and made it nearly impossible for them to think another way. Jakob was good at twisting things like that.
Todd interrupted my thoughts. “So, now what?” His hands were shoved in his pockets, his elbows tucked against his sides as he attempted to avoid jostling other people in the crowded hallway.
I glanced ahead and verified I could still see Lucy and Emily’s heads in the crowd. “Mother will consult The Records. Likely Shanii will accompany her.”
“But The Records can’t really give advice or predict the future. What good does it do to consult them?”
“They will tell, based on the past and what we know of the circumstances of our departure, if it is likely that Lost Warriors escaped. That information will be enough to hypothesize if the object coming our way is actually a ship and if it could carry enough Lost Warriors to affect our expected population decline.”
Todd raised one eyebrow. “You lost me, man.”
“If they predict that it is actually a ship, it’s still possible it doesn’t carry living females, or enough to make a difference. We need more than a handful to make a real impact on our population. It would have to be nearly enough for every Lost Bachelor to pair to solidify the future of our race. Thus, it would have to be enough to order every Lost Bachelor to wait for eventual pairing with a Lost Warrior.”
“But… I mean forgive me if I’m wrong, but it still sounds like a lot of guessing and ‘what-ifs’. How will that matter?”
A frustrated sigh burst from my lips. “Because if there’s a good chance we can save our race, the queen will feel obligated to require us to wait. This stops being a matter of preference and instead becomes an
issue of duty. The impending arrival of females would make procreation our number one priority. Even if it means waiting nearly one hundred human years, that is nothing in the grand scheme of things for us. We still have many more centuries to live and procreate.”
Todd scratched the back of his neck. “So, where does that leave me? I mean, I am already paired. I can’t change it now.”
“No, they gave you permission to try. There is no reason to punish you now. But they can stop the rest of us.”
We reached the end of the hallway and the throng of bodies around us spilled into the cavern outside the ship. I barely caught sight of Lucy and Emily before they slipped into the hallway that led back to the salt palace and the secret door to apartment 35. Some vimpiri headed that direction, but many more headed for different passageways all around the ship. There were close to two dozen ways to reach the cavern, tucked away in the salt mine in Hall in Tirol. They allowed us to gather without drawing attention. A group of nearly 800 going into one home or shop was bound to draw attention in this tiny town.
Todd and I followed the crowd to the passageway that led back to my apartment, and we walked in silence for a while, each absorbed in his own thoughts. Finally, Todd cleared his throat.
“So, once the queen consults The Records, then what?”
“She will confer with her council, and then a decision will be made. Once she announces that decision, it will be the law.”
“When is she going to consult the records?”
“I imagine she’s headed there now,” I answered.
“And the council?”
“Tonight, if there’s time. Otherwise tomorrow night.”
“Do you think she will announce her decision tomorrow night?”
“I do. There are so many vimpiri in town right now she’ll want to announce it to everyone and make it final.”
“So… are you going to talk to her before then?”
“Why would I? She already knows my opinion on the matter.”
“Because it could be your last chance to tell her how you feel about Lucy.”
I turned on him sharply. “What do you mean, how I feel about Lucy?”
Todd’s hand raised in a defensive posture. “Hey, easy. I don’t mean anything by it, and I don’t know what you’ve said to Shaline. However, I know you feel strongly about Lucy. As someone who has been through it, and the only person in recent history to experience it, I’d say it’s pretty obvious. But it’s up to you to make sure she truly understands.”
“What is there to understand, exactly?” I muttered. “Either I may pair with her, or I may not. We haven’t begun the process yet, so there is no legitimate connection between us. I notified the queen when I desired to pair, and she commanded me to wait. I am her subject, I am beholden to her order.” I worked to keep the bitterness out of my voice; I didn’t have to remind Todd of my position, but sometimes people thought I had a different set of rules than the average vimpiri.
We had reached the secret passageway. The door slid open, revealing the hidden staircases and Todd paused, preventing me from climbing.
“Mick,” he began, his voice thoughtful, “Would you believe me if I told you I knew, before I ever tasted Emily, that I would tie my life to hers?”
I held my breath. We had never discussed this. His obsession became clear, and we worked around it, then eventually through it. But he never told me when he knew it was something different.
“No,” I answered carefully, “we’ve never really talked about it.”
Todd nodded. “Your family… I know they aren’t like mine. My parents are affectionate. They enjoy telling the stories of how they met, when they began pairing, the whole saga. I think they were so nostalgic recently because they believed I’d never get to experience it for myself. I know some families clammed up, refused to talk about the phenomenon they feared would never happen for their child, trying to inhibit the feelings of loss they assumed would accompany it.
However, it was because of my parent’s truth, their honesty, that I knew the moment I saw Emily. I didn’t have to worry about repercussions, as you do. I felt the tingle at the back of my eyes as I gazed on her, and I knew she was special. The thousands of girls I’ve laid eyes on, dancing at my concerts, trying to capture my attention, flaunting their fleeting beauty, not one of them stirred a real response in me. This girl did, and I knew.
“I also knew that, without question, I would sacrifice everything I had for her.
“I know my family is different. I know the constraints you live by are different, the obligations to your family. But as a person who nearly lost everything, I can tell you I’d take the risk again, even if I knew it wouldn’t work. I would give up everything I had, for her.
“That is the look I see on your face, the one I recognize. The craving, the hunger, to be whole. If I’m wrong, tell me now. I won’t bring it up again.
“If I’m right, then I am not the person you need to tell.”
Todd’s eyes were enigmatic, soulful in a way I’d never really seen before. He was speaking the truth, his truth, and I couldn’t refute it, or argue that he was wrong.
He was right. He knew it, and so did I.
***
LUCY
The overwhelming feeling of hurt coursed through my body, radiating out from my chest and working its way to my limbs. Emily held my hand tightly, supporting me wordlessly as we made our way back to Mick’s apartment. She knew I was upset, but she didn’t really know why. I didn’t know what Todd told her — for all I knew, she already knew everything and I was the only one in the dark.
I didn’t like coming back to Mick’s; I wished we had anywhere else to go, but there was nowhere else. It was late enough now that the restaurants in town would be closed, and we definitely didn’t want to be overheard discussing possible incoming alien spacecraft, even if English wasn’t the native language of the locals here. Most of them understood enough to eavesdrop.
Once we exited the hidden staircase and stepped out of the elevator on Mick’s floor, I hesitated.
“What’s wrong?” Emily asked. “Is it locked?”
“Um, honestly I don’t know. I don’t know if Mick used a key or if it is some special vimpiri trickery,” I admitted.
“There’s no trick,” Em answered. “Todd and I have always just walked up and opened it.”
“Oh.” Now I felt foolish. Reaching out, I grasped the sleek steel handle and pushed it down.
It didn’t budge.
“Em, are you sure it’s not locked?” I rattled the handle a few times to prove my point. “It’s definitely not opening now. Maybe they locked up, and we didn’t notice?”
“That doesn’t make any sense…” Em whispered, more to herself than to me. Louder, she asked, “May I?”
I stepped aside to allow her access to the door. Her hand reached out and grabbed the handle, and with a gentle push it turned down until there was an audible ‘click’ and the door swung inward silently, the walls inside lighting up in response to the movement.
“Okay,” I started angrily, “I swear it was locked a second ago when I tried,”
“No, I believe you,” Emily said, her voice distant, her eyes never leaving the handle. She pulled the door closed again, then stepped back. “Try it again.”
I stepped up, determined to open the door this time, and grabbed the handle firmly. I knew immediately it wouldn’t turn; I felt the resistance as soon as I began applying pressure. “See? Locked.”
“Hm, maybe it’s a force thing? Like, since I’m so much stronger now?” Emily hypothesized.
I put my weight behind the push, attempting to force the handle down. It didn’t move. “This is dumb, Em. You open it.”
Once again, as soon as Emily touched the handle it turned smoothly, and the door opened.
“I don’t get it,” I said flatly. “Why the hell would it open for you, but not me? We’re practically the same person-”
“But we’re not!”
Emily said, her voice rising and her tone getting excited. “I’m changed, remember? From pairing? I have vimpiri DNA in me now. It must have some way to test that and allow me in.”
“Great, so it’s designed to keep out humans like me,” I grumbled. “Just another reason to keep me in the dark.” Sighing, I gestured to the open doorway. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
Once we got some wine and settled on the couch, I explained what happened during the meeting to Emily. I went through the entire conversation and his responses to my questions.
“So, he knew about this other ship, and he didn’t tell me. I mean, it’s like he’s always keeping secrets from me. Just when I thought we got back on the same page, and there was nothing keeping us apart anymore, I find out that he’s got stuff like this in his back pocket. How am I supposed to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t trust me?” I slammed my fist half-heartedly against a pillow, then reached for my wine and took another sip.
Emily sipped her wine slowly before turning to look me directly in the eyes. “Lucy, you’re probably not going to like this, but—I don’t blame him for not telling you about that ship/rock/whatever.”
“What? That’s easy for you to say, with a mate who tells you everything. But come on, this is kind of a big secret.”
“Well, he said he didn’t believe it was true, and he didn’t want to worry you, unnecessarily, with something you couldn’t do anything about, right?” Emily’s voice was careful, controlled. Her eyes were bright, her most sincere expression leveled at me.
“Maybe,” I responded, “But even if he didn’t believe it, he should have told me. You saw how people reacted in there when they found out. This is the crux of their argument. If I had known, maybe we could have planned a counter, or just been better prepared for that.”