CHANGELING: Book Two in the Weaver Series

by Vaun Murphrey

  At my temporary guardian’s sinuous head bob she directed her next comment to us. Her eyes were just as dark as any others we’d seen but they pulled at us like a black hole.

  “May Annis bless your dreams and guide your path.”

  The fingers of Sil’s hand moved from our shoulder to our bicep and he began to tap our arm as if he was keeping the beat to music only he could hear. Fid Tal shooed us away with a graceful flick of her wrist.

  Cass took one last look around the Judgment Chamber. It really was magnificent, surely meant to cow or strike awe in its visitors. The ceiling stretched twenty feet upward, shrouded in the gloom of gathered shadows, a startling contrast to the rainbow of lights flickering around the walls and floor. Now that our vision was settled down we could appreciate it.

  Sil nudged one of our bare feet with the toe of his soft shoe. “Are you ready to return with me?”

  Pez manifested from the wall, letting the light he had wrapped about himself dissolve and swirl away like multi-colored sand in a desert storm. How many other invisible bystanders stood in witness of this meeting? Was Kal watching us, too? The blue of Pez’s kaftan set his nutmeg skin to glowing. For such an unpleasant personality he had an attractive countenance.

  Cass lobbed a mental remark, “Pretty is as pretty does though, right?”

  I lifted the corner of our mouth in answer and nodded to Sil that we were ready.

  This time Cass took the lead and I followed. I was struggling not to overstep and make her feel invaded. She closed our eyes and ushered us to the placid silent lake. Logically I knew the motionless body of water was imagined but the utter static quality of it was slightly off-putting. In my mind liquids were associated with movement and what body of water had no life in it? Where were the bugs to skate across the surface or the fish to swish in its depths? Why did this place contradict itself but make us feel so composed?

  My twin hissed like the release air valve of a tire. “Don’t pick, Silver, just be. We are the lake. We shouldn’t exist either.”

  Cass opened our eyes to the gray expanse of the lab. The back of an instrument waved over our face and my twin jerked our head back in startled annoyance. I could feel our brows knotted over the bridge of our nose and the burn of the contracted muscles at the base of our skull.

  Zik’s face replaced the black rectangular tool and he immediately put three fingers to his forehead to mumble, “Many apologies. I did not mean to alarm you. Sil required a reading immediately.”

  Cass kept the frown in place as she asked, “Have we been standing here long?”

  The muscles around our joints felt relaxed, not taxed as if we hadn’t been frozen in place off in some la-la land of our own creation for any length of time. Cass craved the outside confirmation though. I couldn’t begrudge her the need.

  He hesitated and turned his face to the side. “A few moments, no more.”

  The rich brown of Hershey’s cheek sprang into microscopic view again and we could count the tiny facial hairs in his pores. Sil’s voice came from somewhere off to our right but we couldn’t get our eyes back into regular focus to see him.

  “Do not worry. Your body is trying to adapt to a skill it did not formerly possess. Let it do its work. Axsian physiology took many thousands of years to evolve just as your own planet’s sentient life has. Apparently Annis is impatient for you to learn and grow so she has chosen an accelerated path for you. I would call it a blessing but you might feel differently right this moment.” His warm laugh followed that long explanation.

  I snapped out, irritated at our over focused sight because it made us blind to the rest of our surroundings, “Well can somebody guide us to a chair? All we can see right now is a close-up of Zik’s face. As fresh and blackhead-free as his complexion is, it’s messing with our equilibrium.”

  A sharp intake of breath followed that request and then Hershey’s cheek disappeared to be replaced by a too close scrutiny of the expansive ceiling. Not having anything near seemed to help Cass blink our iris back to normal.

  Someone set tentative palms to our upper arms and steered us to a chair near Sil’s work space. The alien in question was hunched over staring at the screen of one of his handheld tablet-looking thingies in fascination. Could we technically call anyone here an alien when we were the visitor from another solar system in a whole other galaxy?

  Usually my twin and I nicknamed our acquaintances and friends, sometimes based on a second’s long first impression. Sil was just Sil. His mind seemed eager to absorb everything and anything. He knew no fear in the pursuit of knowledge. I thought of science as the natural need in intelligent life to understand, period. All science was the furtherance of understanding. Sil was a true scientist. Zik got Hershey from the pigment of his skin and I imagined the other two lab assistants as the Igors.

  Our vision had cleared enough to feel stable for the moment so Cass tapped a finger on the desktop lightly until Sil’s head rose. Without a discernible pupil it was difficult to tell when his attention was on us or something else.

  He cocked his head and leaned closer. “Yes?”

  “If we’re absorbing genetic material through touch then is it possible we transmit it as well? Silver and I have used touch to heal. Will everyone we’ve been in contact with have…side effects?”

  Sil perked up out of his forward hunch, energized by our question. “It is possible. Am I correct in assuming that you did not intentionally seek to develop the ability to bend light?”

  Cass pushed back our dark hair with both hands and lifted it off of our clammy neck as if she needed time to think. She let our locks drift out of a loosened grip to settle back around our shoulders before she answered. “Yes.”

  Leaning back in his seat Sil adopted a similarly relaxed posture as if he were settling in for a deep discussion. “Just exactly how and whom did you heal on your home world?”

  My sister sucked the slippery tender lining of our mouth between our teeth and bit down for just a second. “Silver should probably discuss that with you since I have an outsiders view, in a way.”

  What followed was a rapid retelling of our adventures at the compound. Sil broke in occasionally to ask questions but for the most part he listened intently. He was particularly interested in my tinkering episode with Kara’s DNA. A good hour must have passed before Cass started to complain internally about a potty break and something to drink. Our tongue was feeling thick and pasty behind our front teeth, much like a salt covered snail without a shell we imagined.

  I had one more thing to say before Cass took over the captain’s chair. “You might run some tests on anyone we touched while we’ve been here. I’ve got the tally at three—Kal, Pez and you, Sil. Zik didn’t have skin to skin contact so we think he’s safe.”

  With that my twin took over and marched us to the potty cupboard for a second round with the igloo volcano toilet. When we emerged Kal was perched stiffly in the chair next to Sil’s work station and they were murmuring back and forth. They both looked up at the same time, Sil with thoughtful scrutiny and Kal with his normal closed off mask of aloofness.

  Cass looked down and fiddled with the makeshift sash around our waist and then stopped when it made her think of Pez and his nervous tick. Our chin rose as she dropped our arms to our sides. “Back so soon, Kal? Is that good or bad?” My sister’s tone had an expectant edge.

  One didn’t notice our guardian’s shorter stature until he was next to another Axsian. At just over seven feet, Kal was almost a foot shorter than Sil and it was obvious even though they were sitting. In fact his skin was the lightest of anyone we’d yet met here. Did any of that play into Fid Tal’s contemptuous treatment of Kal? We didn’t know, but his differences certainly didn’t bother Sil.

  Kal stretched out his legs then stood to tug on the lapels of his careworn duster. “I would say the Judgment was neither good nor bad. It is my decision how I interpret the consequences of my decisions. Are you ready to accompany me to our living quarters?
”

  Excitement fluttered low in our gut.

  Our life hadn’t really begun here yet, and now it would. What new experiences awaited us? Who else would cross our path? Would the attackers that had fled ever come to silence us since we knew their identity? This was so foreign yet so familiar. Navigating the unknown wasn’t new. We only had to hope we could survive any mistakes we made.

  Chapter Six: Nowhere to Go but Down

  Our first glimpse of the subterranean city, Bleo, took our breath away. It was organized around a giant skylight and the bright rays of daytime shone down to create a pyrogenic atmosphere as if multi-colored lava were smeared around the many tiers of civilization. The labs could have been anywhere in relation to where we’d teleported, about midway on an open ledge overlooking a jungle-like area that reminded us of Central Park. Although nature was huddled in the core of a civilization, the foliage was nothing like the stately trees and open grass of the groomed New York landmark. Great orange-brown branches with fat waxy leaves reached higher than any redwood on Earth. If we hadn’t been afraid of falling we might have reached out to touch the bark.

  Dark vaguely human shapes danced and disappeared in the open gaps of the swaying foliage though there was no wind. Our eyes focused in abruptly and we realized there really were men and women jumping, dodging and teleporting amongst the massive vegetation. As we watched, a vine detached from the trunk of a tree and made a grab for a lone female who laughed and dove into the open air only to reappear on another branch further down. They were playing a joyous game of cat and mouse with the questing thorny tendrils.

  Kal secured our forearm and ‘ported us down to the bottom. Weak light filtered through the canopy and the undergrowth was shorter and less robust. The soil was a rich black and our bare feet sunk into it. Fecund natural earthy smells assaulted or nostrils. The lowest levels weren’t barren. A ring of cave-like openings encircled an area that stretched on farther than even our newly enhanced vision could see. We turned our arm in Kal’s grip to grab his freed hand in reaction. The shadowed depths struck fear in us instantly, as if a monster would leap from the roots of the hungry jungle and drag us screaming to our death under the suffocating tenebrous dirt.

  Each gloomy arch filled with curious bodies, all with the same lighter skin shade of Kal and none of them standing over six feet. Their clothing was more closely fitted to their limbs and had a functional not fashionable look to it. Not one person silently observing us wore shoes. All of the women had wraps around their hair like Aunt Jemima in bright colors and the same closely fitted pants and shirts as the men. It was hard to judge the colors they wore based on the little bits and pieces of bodies that flashed in and out of the shadows. A younger girl dashed forward with abandon about three openings down. She was running so hard the material on her head tilted sideways and a slender hand pushed it back in place just as Kal caught her in his arms for a quick embrace.

  “Uncle!”

  Kal placed a steadying hand on each of her slim shoulders as he pushed the gangly girl away. “Lil, what would my sister think of your unseemly show of emotion? You have your headdress now.”

  His words were harsh, even unwelcoming but Lil flashed a grin so wide it became apparent her dimples could double as two extra toothless mouths. Impenetrable glistening eyes took us in and her face grew serious.

  “What would my mother think of your guest, Uncle?” She wiggled out of his hold easily to stand with her arms crossed and her feet spread outward. “I would say you are in more trouble than I am.”

  I focused in on Lil’s tightly fitted tunic and trousers. They had the texture of butter soft leather. The color reminded us of dusky gray elephant hide.

  As if her mention had caused her to appear, a dour faced older squared off version of Lil burst from an arch with short sharp movements. A taller reed-thin male followed with a pleading expression on his face and an arm extended in entreaty.

  The closer Kal’s sister got the more obvious it became she was less than pleased to see her sibling. She was carefully controlled loathing cake with an icing of distaste and a filling of fury. The tips of her ears were tucked into the fold of her headdress and the creased deep blue fabric looked precise and secure. Nothing dared wobble as she drew even with Lil. Her lips were thin with displeasure as she yanked her daughter out of the way to stand toe to toe with Kal.

  “What trouble do you bring now, Brother?”

  Lil’s mother looked to have had the joy wrung from her being by life. Surely she must have been happy once? Her face gave the impression that nothing pleased her.

  “I bring myself and a special guest…nothing else, Sister.”

  Flat and cold, her response cut through the gloom like an arrow of blackness. “You are trouble. Take your guest higher. The Imini have no vacancies.”

  Cass didn’t want to get involved in a family squabble. I was running out of patience and the tangled Stygian roots of the massive carnivorous trees made my nerves on edge. Unwisely I snapped, “No one here has particularly impressed us with their manners. Fid Tal called us an ‘it’ then attempted to wipe our memory and two people already tried to kill us. Kal can’t go higher, he’s not allowed. Can we come in or not?”

  Lil and the thin man we assumed to be her father almost swallowed their tongues. Kal hung his head and closed his eyes then swiped a palm from forehead to chin. His sister placed her hands on her rounded hips and her head gave that same bob and weave that Sil had done earlier but somehow it was more expressive.

  “Not allowed?”

  In for a dime, in for a dollar, I replied, “He got in trouble for bringing us back without permission. We had to testify in the Judgment Chamber and Fid Tal said he had to live down here where he’s always belonged. We get to stay and be studied…” My words died as her face darkened.

  “You will be the death of our people, Kal. Chaos follows your steps. A soul without a place and a mind split between two worlds. Annis was cruel at your birth.”

  Kal’s jaw twitched at her hissed condemnation.

  I opened our mouth to defend him and he pulled a hank of our hair so hard the roots burned in our scalp. “Owwww!”

  The thin man turned a grave sympathetic expression our way reminding me for some reason of Abraham Lincoln. Dark hair a shade right before black curled around his ears and nape. Lines bracketed his mouth like a wrinkle hug and tiny depressions hinted at who had gifted Lil with her dimples. Polished turquoise stones circled his cinnamon throat held together by a delicate looking silvery chain.

  “Annis is not as cruel as the family who closes its doors to need, Jaz.” His soft spoken words were almost lost in the air.

  Lil spoke, voice just as hard and implacable as her mother’s. “You shame our family, Mother. The Codes of Annis do not guide us to hate and recrimination. I would not turn our Uncle away no matter the consequences.”

  Jaz made a motion as if she were flinging mud off an arm at Kal and Lil gasped.

  “That is enough, Mother!”

  A crowd of the curious had spilled out onto the soft dirt to stare at us in fascination. Movement in our peripheral vision caused Cass to turn in the direction of the tree roots. Vines were slithering down all of the trunks like a nest of writhing snakes. The ground began to ripple as several bystanders raised their arms over their heads at the threat. A wall of granite sprung up between the questing hungry vines and the gathered Imini. It felt like our body dropped half a foot. Quietly, with soft unhurried steps everyone walked toward an entrance. Why weren’t they running?

  We were the closest to the hastily constructed wall and Lil pulled us toward her impatiently by our sleeve to follow the rest of the families to safety. A great crack, like thunder, made our sternum vibrate and we darted a quick glance backward. The hungry tentacles tore a chunk of the barrier down and crumbled it to sandy bits. Kal brought up the rear and Jaz was on Lil’s heels. The damaged section collapsed and a mass of fast moving vines shot in our direction. We were almost to
an arch. I could see some of the tunnels were sealing shut after all the Imini were inside. Hopefully we would make it.

  A female scream of terror made adrenaline flood our bloodstream. Jaz dangled upside down by her left ankle, brilliant fiery hair free of its headdress and whipping side to side as if her head were an inverted candle. Kal closed his eyes and his sister was in his arms where she promptly threw up all over the shoulder of his duster. Lil tugged us into the relative safety of the tunnel’s gray stone arch and the entrance began to seal closed.

  Cass twisted our face in panic, pushing at Lil violently to yell, “What are you doing? They’re still out there!”

  In the next second Kal appeared with an unconscious Jaz nearly on top of us. A sour expression flashed across Lil’s face in our direction before she completely sealed us in. There was a boom that made us jump as our frustrated veggie predator slammed against the other side.

  The thin man rushed forward to cradle Jaz against his chest.

  Kal’s face was closed down and pale as he said, “I think the venom got through, Vel. How long have the flora been this aggressive?”

  Lil answered, “The Elders have not been feeding the trees. They no longer lower the caldera shield because of the rebel attacks. The vines cannot hunt the sky so they search other places for sustenance when dark falls. Before you ask, we have already reported events like these to no avail. We are the farthest from the light and considered less than nothing in their schemes.” Her tone was dead and hollow with defeat.

  A stricken Vel laid Jaz on the hard tunnel floor and gingerly pulled her left trouser leg toward her knee. The exposed skin was already swollen and purple looking. Angry red streaks followed the path of Jaz’s veins from her toes, which were turning black, all the way to the start of her thigh. It progressed like hungry hydra heads even as we watched.