Lumen let go of Keira and gave James a big hug, her cuffs clinking together where they met behind James’s back. Then she turned to face Keira. “I’ve got something I have to tell you, and you’re not going to believe me.”
“What is it?”
“That kid Alexander is your brother.”
“What?” Keira asked, dumbfounded. “How do you know that?”
“He said his mother works here at Fort Bragg, Karen Darkfeather.”
“My mother is here?” Keira asked, her hazel eyes wide. “I never thought that I’d meet her. That’s been my dream since I was a little girl at the orphanage. And she’s been here all this time, and I haven’t seen her at all?”
“Maybe she works downstairs in the underground levels,” James guessed.
“But she must know I’m here,” Keira said quickly. “That both of her kids are here.”
“Maybe they don’t want her to know,” Lumen said. “Maybe they need to control her or they’re afraid she’ll try to escape with you guys?”
James interrupted. “How did Alexander change himself into Asmodeus?”
“I guess that’s one of his powers now,” Lumen replied. “He’s sort of the opposite of Keira. She amplifies our power, and Alexander absorbs or blocks our powers. She has the power of alchemy, changing one thing into another, and he has the power of illusion.”
“That’s deep!” Paul said as he walked up to the conversation.
“Paul,” Lumen said and hugged him.
“James, Dr. Quan is looking for you. Did you skip a test to be here this morning?”
“Yeah, so what?” James asked.
“You shouldn’t do that. Elizabeth won’t like it,” Paul said and brushed back his black hair dramatically with his right hand. He let his hand rest for a moment there and twisted his unadorned wrist, just so James could see it.
“What happened to your cuffs?” James asked. “Does Dr. Albion know?”
“Elizabeth said I don’t have to wear them anymore,” Paul said proudly and grinned like the cat who ate the canary.
“Why are you calling her Elizabeth?” Keira asked.
“Because that’s her name. We’re friends now. She and I had a long talk and now we both see eye to eye.”
“What do you mean?” James asked, his voice shaking a little bit.
“I’ve been telling you guys for months—we’re gods. We should be treated like gods. Elizabeth agrees. I can be shot and not die. I can walk through fire and come out alive. I can give my healing ability to others. I’m her prized possession now. She’s moved me over to the officer’s quarters. Now I don’t have to share anything in those gross dorms with anyone ever again.”
“Are you kidding?” James asked. “That woman is pure evil. How could you let her do this to you?”
“Do this to me? James, you’re not seeing the big picture. Either we can be on the run from the government for the rest of our lives, or we can work with them and be gods among men. I know what my choice is,” Paul said and flexed his arm muscles.
“You can’t be serious,” Lumen said.
“So, what’s your choice going to be?” Paul asked James.
“I won’t help them. I don’t ever want to be part of this,” James said coldly. “What’s gotten into you? Have you forgotten all the horrible things they did to us?”
“I haven’t forgotten. That’s why my choice was easy. That stuff won’t ever happen to me again.”
“I can’t do this, Paul. Don’t make me make this choice.”
“It sounds like you already have,” Paul said coldly. “What about you two?”
“We’re with James,” Lumen replied. “If you go and help Albion, you go alone.”
“Is that your final decision?” Paul asked.
The girls nodded. James stood silently as the tears began to fall. He couldn’t look at Paul. His best friend in the world had betrayed him. Is this really happening? I can’t believe he’d do this to me. After all the stuff Paul and I have been through. I don’t even know him anymore. How could he do this? Paul was now part of Paragon and Project Jedi, one of the terrible people who held James, Keira, and Lumen prisoner and tortured them into using their powers whenever they wanted. James turned without speaking and ran toward the dorms as fast as he could.
“James, come back!” Keira called after him.
“Look what you’ve done!” Lumen said to Paul. “I should’ve put some kindness into that pea-sized brain of yours a long time ago and put a stop to this whole thing.”
“Too late,” Paul said. “I’m already on the pill that protects my mind from your power. Everyone on the base takes them. No need for those stupid helmets to keep you out. I don’t need your kindness.”
“You go to hell!” Keira said.
“Oooo! Kitten has claws!” Paul hissed. “You’re the ones in hell. You have no idea the terrible things they’re going to do to you in the coming weeks. Elizabeth already told me. They may have canceled the cloning program, but they’re still going to try to remove your powers surgically. I understand that they can’t use anesthetic during the operation. That should be agony for you.”
Lumen said nothing. She took Keira’s hand, and the two of them ran off after James, leaving Paul all by himself in the deserted quad.
“I CAN’T believe it,” James said as he sat on his green Army bunk. “What did we do to Paul? Why does he hate us so much?”
“We didn’t do anything,” Keira said as she sat down next to James and put her arm around his shoulders.
“But it must have been something. Did we spend too much time with Tenzing? Or maybe he felt like we let him down after Holcomb kidnapped him?”
“It’s not that, I’m sure,” Keira said. “We’re the ones who rescued him.”
“Well, not exactly,” James said.
“You, Keira, and I animated those mannequins and sent them to get Paul. That was us rescuing him.”
“You know what I mean,” James said as he wiped away a fresh tear. “We didn’t actually do it ourselves.”
“Did he get away or not?” Lumen asked.
“I know,” James said as he sighed and sank back. “I’m just thinking aloud. There has to be some reason Paul would do this.”
“I hate to break the news to you, James, but Paul is a huge narcissist. Like big-time. He only thinks about himself. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone else—not even you, apparently,” Lumen said.
“Thanks! That doesn’t make me feel any better,” James said as he wiped another tear from his cheek. He stopped, midwipe. Something strange was stuck on the back of his hand, something fuzzy. He examined it. Golden hairs. Short golden hairs were sprouting in a one-inch circle on the back of his hand. Exactly where Falling Star had kissed him. “What the hell?”
“What is that?” Lumen asked.
“There are like these weird golden hairs growing out of the back of my hand!”
“What?” Keira asked.
“Look,” James said and extended his right hand.
“That’s the same color as the prince’s hair,” Keira said.
“What prince?” Lumen asked as she leaned forward to look.
“I rescued this Bigfoot guy a week ago. They were doing experimental surgery on him,” James said. “He’s all covered with golden fur. He said he was a prince, and he’s going to go to Harvard.”
“What?” Lumen started laughing. She tried to hide the huge grin with her hand. “I’m sorry. I know it’s really hard right now about Paul, but that is totally random!”
“I swear that’s what he said,” James replied, a little bit angry.
“He was super adorable,” Keira continued. “Like a big teddy bear.”
“Oh God, I hope this isn’t some sort of werewolf thing,” James said suddenly looking down at his trembling hand.
“Did he bite you?” Lumen asked.
James blushed. “Not exactly.”
“Not exactly?” Lumen asked.
; “He kissed my hand.”
“You didn’t say he kissed you,” Keira said. “You totally left that part out. That changes everything.”
“Well, he did and now I’m probably going to turn into one of those big hairy beasts like him,” James said with a little bit of fear in his voice.
“It doesn’t look like it’s growing any longer. Maybe it will stay short like that forever?” Keira said.
“He marked me,” James said. “For some reason, Falling Star marked me.”
“Is that his name?” Lumen asked.
“He told me to call him that.”
“Maybe that mark makes it easier for him to find you,” Lumen said. “Maybe he’s coming back for you?”
“I haven’t seen him since that day we set him free. I don’t know if he’s here on the base or if he got away somehow. No one has said anything in the labs. You’d think a big hairy man-beast roaming the base would be something everyone would be talking about.”
“Maybe they caught him again,” Lumen said. “Or worse.”
“I don’t want to think about that. I’m still so upset about Paul,” James said and pulled his legs up onto the cot to sit cross-legged.
“If something happened to Falling Star, I’m sure we would have heard,” Keira said as she patted James on the back. “No news is good news.”
“Should I go see the medic?” James asked. “What if it’s contagious?”
“No,” Lumen warned. “They’ll want to study it. That would be more problems.”
“Just keep an eye on it,” Keira suggested. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s bizarre because when I touch it, it feels like I’m touching someone else. Like I’m touching him.”
“Maybe you are,” Lumen said. “Here, let’s try something.” Lumen walked over to the dressing table and picked up a safety pin from a button jar. “Show me your hand.”
“What? I’m not going to let you poke me with that.”
“But you can’t feel it, right?” Lumen said. “It will be poking him.”
“I don’t see what good that will do,” James answered and reluctantly held out his right hand. “We don’t know where he is anyway.”
“Let’s try it,” Keira said.
“Are you ready?” Lumen asked as she opened the safety pin and slowly guided the tip into James’s hand.
“Owww!” The closet door exploded open in an avalanche of jumpsuits, socks, boxes, and shoes, followed by Falling Star, who leaped out into the room. “Why did you do that?” he asked in an angry voice.
The three teens on the bunk jumped back and gasped. No one said a word for a few moments.
“What are you doing in here!” James shouted. “How long have you been in the closet?”
“I asked my question first,” Falling Star said as he walked over to the huddled teenagers. He seemed really angry as he stared down at them. The golden prince looked disheveled, like he’d been on the run outside for some time. His hair was messed up and tangled in places. Even his handlebar mustache was crooked.
“We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Lumen said as she looked up at the menacing presence. “We weren’t trying to hurt you.”
“The sunahara gaanth was for James Kerr to figure out.”
“What?” James said.
“It is a gift from me to you,” Falling Star explained as he glanced down at James. “Anytime you need me, just tug on the hairs, and I’ll come running.”
“I thought I was turning into… into one of you.”
Falling Star laughed a deep laugh. His hair danced all over his body. “Your people call it ‘True Love’s Kiss.’”
Keira and Lumen looked at James.
“But you don’t even know me.”
“It was foretold by our oracle, Hoshiyaar, many seasons ago when I was a still boy. She said I would be betrothed to one who rides the lightning when I turned seventeen. And that is now, and the one who rides the lightning is you, James Kerr.”
Silence fell over the group. James’s mind spun. What’s happening to me? First Paul betrays me, and a week later I’ve got someone else chasing after me? This is all happening so quickly. The universe sure has a funny way of doing things. “You know, you don’t have to call me by both names,” James said, shifting on the bunk.
“What?”
“You can call me James. You don’t have to use my last name.”
“Oh, I see,” Falling Star said and paused. “I thought it was a hyphenated name, like Jim-Bob.”
The three teenagers were silent for a moment again, and then they all burst out laughing at the same time. Falling Star smiled and started laughing too. Then the golden creature sat down on the floor and looked up at James.
James blushed beet red. “I don’t even know you. I literally just broke up with my boyfriend, and now you’re saying you like me? You seem like a nice guy and everything, but this is happening way too fast for me—” James stopped in midsentence as a thought occurred to him. “But listen, that doesn’t matter right now. We should hide you. They must be looking all over the base for you.”
“I’ve been in your closet for a week now,” Falling Star said matter-of-factly.
“What?” James asked and made a disbelieving face. “No, you haven’t. I’ve gone into my closet every day and you weren’t in there.”
“But I was there.”
“How come they didn’t see you on the camera over there?” Keira asked and pointed to the corner.
“I leave in the early morning before you wake up and return midmorning when they test you in the labs. They must not be paying much attention to your dorm room. I’m always here at night watching you sleep, making sure you’re safe.”
“That’s all kinds of weird, dude,” Keira said. “Super creepy.”
“It is,” Lumen agreed.
“So, you watched me sleeping this whole week?” James asked, starting to get concerned.
“Yes,” the golden prince said. “You sleep with no clothes on.”
“Oh my God!” James said as he jumped up off the cot. “You are totally stalking me! That is not cool!”
“What? What did I say?” Falling Star asked innocently, his deep black eyes full and wide. “Are you embarrassed by your body?”
“No, that’s not it,” James said emphatically. “It’s just that I didn’t know you were in there. You didn’t have my permission to spy on me.”
“But you are so cute when you are sleeping. You’re like a little fawn.”
“That’s not the point,” Lumen added from behind James.
“Right, that’s not the point. I get to choose who sees me naked, that’s all.”
“But I don’t wear clothes,” Falling Star said. “Everyone can see me.”
“Yeah, but maybe they don’t want to!” James said and covered his eyes and then shook his head. “You need to learn about human customs, dude.”
Falling Star smiled again.
“I thought you said you went to Harvard,” Keira said.
“I will next semester. They want me to wear clothes to my classes there too, especially underwear. I’ve tried wearing it. But I don’t like it. It’s too tight for me,” Falling Star said and crossed his legs.
“How is it possible that you could go to Harvard?” Lumen asked. “How are they going to hide you from the other students?”
“Maybe they don’t want to hide me. Maybe my people can finally come out into the open and live among you? Maybe the government will let us be free?”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Lumen said.
“General Hesslop assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. They’ve done it before.”
“Do you mind if I try something?”
“Not at all,” Falling Star answered.
“I’m going to put my hand on your arm for second, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Here goes,” Lumen said and began to probe Falling Star’s mind. “The US Government had rooms set up behi
nd one-way mirrors in the classrooms over the years. They were created so celebrities, film stars, and presidents’ kids, could go to class. Falling Star’s professors would only know him by his student ID number. He’d never meet his classmates. The US Secret Service would escort him everywhere. There are special underground passageways beneath Harvard’s campus too. That’s how they hide everyone.
“Also, the Saesq’ec People don’t show up in photographs. They have a natural form of invisibility. The Saesq’ec can blend into their backgrounds so well they disappear completely. They are masters of camouflage. That’s why they haven’t seen him roaming around the base, or here in James’s room—he’s invisible to their cameras.”
“I’m really bad with selfies,” Falling Star said. “I tried to set up an Instagram account, but it was a complete waste of time.”
Lumen looked deeper. “Falling Star is a prisoner of the US Government, just like us. They were holding him to use his people’s land and keep them from interacting with human beings. He’s their crowned prince and rightful heir of their kingdom. Weird—the Saesq’ec People have basically the same DNA as humans with one major difference. There’s no ‘stop’ codons in their amino acid sequences, so they have unlimited regenerative powers like Paul.”
“That creep,” Keira said.
James’s stomach turned at the mention of Paul’s name. Stop thinking about him. You don’t have to do this now. Sit on your feelings, James told himself.
Lumen reached over to Keira and touched her shoulder, spreading the information to her, and, through her, to James. Falling Star shared his memories with them all. Then Lumen saw something else. Generations of Saesq’ec People, not just Falling Star, were being manipulated into submitting to tests by the US Government. Project Jedi was harvesting DNA, sperm and ova, organs and glands, and using them for biological research. Just like they had been doing to Lumen, James, Paul, and Keira.
“How can you let them do that to you?” Lumen asked when she had finished and moved back onto the cot.
“What can I do?” Falling Star replied and held up his huge hands.
“You could run away,” James said.
“They’d catch me and bring me back again,” Falling Star said sadly.
“Then why are they letting you go away to college?” Keira asked.
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