“I saved my money for eight months to buy the ticket to come today. I couldn’t afford the three-day pass, but that’s okay. I got here right when the doors opened. There’s a lot to see, so I’m going to stay until they close,” said Cassie, as they walked along.
Valerie looked over at her, watching her take in the exhibits of the booths they passed along the way. She had the coltish figure of someone who wasn’t fully-grown. Wavy, shoulder-length black hair, pushed away from her face with a headband, olive toned skin and pale gray eyes with a dark rim. In fact, except for the hair - Valerie’s was black too, but straight as a board - the girl could have been her in her teenage years.
She didn’t know how old the girl was, as she acted by turns young and then mature. When they reached the café, she went to the counter. Turning to Cassie, Valerie asked, “How about some hot chocolate and a pumpkin scone? This will be my treat.”
“Really? Thank you, I’d like that,” Cassie said.
She had been looking at the prices and trying to figure out what she could afford.
After ordering, they found a table for two at the back of the large café and placed the upright card with their order number on it in the middle of the table.
“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” asked Valerie.
“I read your first book when I was eight. I spend a lot of time in the library and my mom lets me borrow as many books as I want. That first book was really hard for me to read but I really wanted to because of the symbol that was on the cover,” said Cassie.
She then pulled down the neckline on her turtleneck shirt and showed Valerie the Nephilim birthmark on the left front of her neck.
Valerie leaned in to look. She was surprised to see that Cassie’s birthmark was the same as her own: black, silvery gray and yellow gold.
“What’s really weird is the subject seemed really familiar to me. I have been having dreams about people like in your books for as long as I can remember. Only your books take place a long time ago - or they did - and my dreams are all about today or tomorrow,” Cassie said earnestly.
Valerie was in shock. Luckily, the server arrived just then with their order, so she picked up her latte to cover her reaction. She didn’t want to scare this young girl away.
“How old are you, Cassie?” she asked
“I’m sixteen,” she said.
“And you say that your dreams are more modern than my stories?”
“Well,” said Cassie, blushing, “they were, up until your last book. You know the one where the Nephilim come back and try to rescue the Nam-Nin, Tamiel, and then make the lady from Earth the new Queen?”
At Valerie’s nod, she continued, “Well, before that book came out, I dreamt of a lady finding the ship, just like in your books. Only sometimes, she died and sometimes she didn’t. I was happy to see that you had her live. It made a much nicer story. The weird thing is, in my dreams, this time they have different names than in your book. Usually the names are the same.”
Valerie was receiving one shock after another. This young woman was a Seer, just like her, only she was a Future Seer. All those possible futures - it had to be really tough - much harder than having her own gift.
“Are you still having these dreams, Cassie?” she asked.
“Yes, and that’s why I’m scared. I can’t talk to my parents about this; they wouldn’t understand. I had been dreaming about the Queen’s sister and how she was a police detective working to bring down a big Mafia crime family. Then the other day, my dad said something about a trial starting this Monday, and how a female detective brought down this big Mafia crime family almost single-handedly.”
Seeing the shock in Valerie’s eyes, she spoke more rapidly, wanting to get the whole story out.
“And now I’m dreaming about women from Earth going to HeVan - and the bad Regent - and people are dying - and there’s a war. Other times, I dream about the new Queen overcoming the Regent and bringing peace and happiness.
“And babies - lots of girl babies. The dreams keep changing and it’s really confusing. I’m hoping you can tell me what you’re going to write next. That usually helps the dreams calm down. I won’t tell anyone else if it’s a secret - honest. I’m not crazy, am I?” she asked.
“Cassie, I can guarantee you’re not crazy. I’ve also been having dreams all my life, just like you. Only mine are a little different. I want to show you something.”
Valerie turned in her chair and swept her hair to the side with her left hand. Using her right hand, she pulled down the collar of her blouse to reveal her own birthmark. She heard Cassie gasp.
“Are we related, since we have the same birthmark?” she asked.
“I think we must be,” Valerie said, turning back around.
“Does your mother have a mark like this? It’s passed through the female line. I know that much,” Valerie said.
“I never knew who my birth mother was. All I know about her is that she was raped and got pregnant. She gave the baby up for adoption because she didn’t want the reminder of that horrible experience. I was adopted when I was an infant. The birthmark didn’t actually start showing up until I was three or four years old.”
She gave Valerie a grin. “My mom’s been dressing me in turtlenecks ever since.”
Valerie laughed, “I guess I was lucky mine is where it is. My friend Addie has hers on her forehead.”
Then her expression turned serious. “I’m not your birth mother, Cassie. I don’t know anyone in my family who could be. I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t think you were. My mom and dad are great, you know. I would not want to replace them. So you mean your friend has a mark like the Queen? Did you use the birthmarks because you and your friend both had one?” Cassie asked, before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.
She had not paid any attention to the food; she had been too nervous. Now that Ms. Hudson was being so nice, she relaxed and started eating.
“It’s like that old question, which came first - the chicken or the egg, if you know what I mean. So do you want to see the entire Convention or would you like to spend some time helping me in my booth? I’ll pay you minimum wage for the day, if you want to work,” said Valerie.
“And call me Valerie, okay?”
Cassie blushed and then gave Valerie a big smile, “I’d much rather work with you, if that’s okay. You don’t have to pay me, though.”
“If you work, you get paid, those are the rules,” said Valerie.
“Okay,” said Cassie, smiling at the way things were going.
She’d felt like such a misfit her whole life and now she knew there were at least two others with the same birthmark.
They talked a little more about the books, Cassie rambling on about her favorite parts.
Valerie’s mind was racing. A Future Seer would be invaluable to Addie, and Cassie’s dreams of a possible war were very disturbing. However, she was a minor with loving parents who weren’t Nephilim. Could they be made to understand?
As they were walking back to the booth, Valerie decided to test the waters. “Cassie, there are actually more than two other people who have birthmarks like ours. I’m having a dinner event tonight at seven. Do you think your parents would come and chaperone you? I’m afraid that, as a minor, you can’t come without them.”
“My dad dropped me off this morning; he’s a sci-fi buff, too. He had to work at the shop but he said he’d meet me at five. I don’t know if my mom could make it. Saturday is her big day at the hair salon. Would it be okay if it were just my dad?” she asked.
“I’m sure that would be fine. You’ll need to go home and change though; it’s going to be a dressy event. I’ll leave tickets for you and your dad at the will-call office. The doors will open at six-thirty and dinner will be served at seven. Does that give you enough time to go home and get back?”
“Oh, sure, we’ll have plenty of time. My dad is going to be so stoked. He and mom love your books, too. At first th
ey were shocked I was reading them, you know, because of the sex?” she said in a low voice.
“But we worked it out. Mom sat down with me and we talked about it. She asked me if I had any questions - you know how moms are.”
Cassie continued to ramble all the way back to the booth. When they arrived, she clammed up again. Valerie finally got a word in edgewise.
“Let me introduce you to Natalie. She’s working the booth this morning, and then at one o’clock, Jennifer takes over until five. Someone from my publisher’s office is manning the booth after five.”
When they returned to the booth, Valerie introduced Cassie to Natalie. She gave Natalie a sign to let her know that Cassie wasn’t in on the secret.
“Natalie, this is Cassie. She’s going to be your slave for the day,” Valerie said with a grin.
“Slave, huh? She’s a little skinny for a slave,” said Natalie with a big smile.
“I’m really strong for my size,” said Cassie earnestly.
“That’s okay, Hon. I’m just joking with you. My cousins are around here somewhere. They’re tall so Valerie hired them to help out, too. We’ll let them shift all these boxes of books as we need them.”
She leaned over and in a conspiratorial whisper, said, “They’re Nephilim, here on Earth looking for the female they’re destined to Join with,” she said with a wink and handed her a HeVan Needs Women button.
“Okay, that’s great, I can’t wait to meet them,” said Cassie.
“Well, you’ll soon get your chance,” said Natalie. “They should be coming back to the booth soon. They and the other guys are supposed to walk around to be seen. It’s a great marketing ploy.”
“Natalie, the hordes are descending so I have to go to the book-signing room. Will you make sure to get Cassie’s full name, address, and phone number for our files? I tried offering her books, but it looks like we’ll be paying her in real money. She’s a shrewd bargainer,” said Valerie, as she turned to walk away again.
“Sure thing, Boss,” Natalie replied, while Cassie just giggled at Valerie’s nonsense.
Valerie was running late. She took off to the signing room at a trot. There were other writers signing their books. They had put them in a separate room to accommodate the lines of people. Looking up ahead, she spotted Laura Jo Phillips and S. E. Smith going into the room together. She loved their writing and hoped to spend some time talking shop with them.
As she sat down at her table, she sent a quick text message to Addie and Miranda. She turned off her phone, turning her full attention to her fans.
Chapter Sixteen
Both Miranda and Addie were shocked to get Valerie’s text message. When they tried to call, it went straight to voicemail. Miranda called Addie.
“What do you think we should do?” she asked Addie.
“I think we should get to the Convention Center early, if at all possible, prior to her father’s arrival. I want them to know about us, but let me be clear on one point. At no time is anyone to put any pressure whatsoever on this girl to emigrate to HeVan. It has to come from her. And even if she wishes it, the final decision will belong to her parents,” said Addie.
“I agree. We have to start as we mean to go on. Stomping all over someone’s personal liberties is not the way. This may be a matriarchal monarchy, but you’re not planning on acting like a bad dictator in a third-world country,” said Miranda.
The two of them activated the call tree so those who needed to know, were informed of the change in plans. Addie thought it best they not scare a young impressionable girl with the plural husband phenomena.
Books were one thing; this was real life. Real life took some getting used to. She planned on introducing Arjun as her husband. After all, if the wedding on Sunday had gone as planned, he would have been.
However, every minute she stayed on Earth, the ring of fertility spread wider and wider. She needed to leave tonight, before someone got suspicious and really looked into the situation.
They left the hotel at three in the afternoon. Addie felt strange in the get-up she was wearing. People were staring. She supposed she should try to get used to it, since people were going to be staring at her like this for the rest of her life. They’d had time to have the local costume shop, Fantasy Costumes, make up custom clothing to match the historical record.
She had them add a white cotton panel in the front, because in her opinion, historical accuracy went down the tubes when it came to flashing her boobs. She also insisted on proper support, as she’d grown two-cup sizes in the last two months.
Addie thought she looked like a cross between an Egyptian queen and a Japanese Samurai. Then there was her scepter and crown. Her hair was done up in a style reminiscent of Eliza Doolittle dressed for the ball in ‘My Fair Lady,’ except for the swoop of hair hanging over her brow, effectively hiding her birthmark. She was eating six or seven small meals a day now and growing in all directions.
Her Ankida and guards were also decked out in full regalia. They wore ceremonial swords and staffs that had come down with the men, in addition to their more modern stun sticks. At Arjun’s command, only non-lethal weapons were allowed down on Earth. Moreover, all technology was matched to the user’s DNA. If a device fell into the wrong hands, it would self-destruct within three to ten hours, if not reset by the owner. The longer times were for when they were sleeping.
They loaded up into a long Hummer limousine because it was taller than most and made it easier to maneuver with the costumes. Addie and her crew arrived at the same time as Miranda and Johanna. They arrived together at the lower level parking garage section reserved for exhibitors.
“Where’s Catherine?” asked Addie, “I’ve been looking forward to meeting her.”
“They wanted to check out the rest of the booths, they came down this morning,” said Johanna.
“What do you think of this girl? Is she for real? Do you know her name?” asked Miranda.
“You know what we know because Valerie turned off her phone. She won’t be finished in the signing room for another hour. Then she has to change for tonight. It’s up to us to hold down the fort,” said Addie.
“Speaking of which, we need to get you guys set up on the third floor. You’ve all got two hours of Diorama time in the Real Fan Room,” said Johanna, as they all trooped to the large freight elevators at the back of the Center.
“When the Convention Center found out about our event, they wanted to do something on a bigger scale for all the non-Nephilim fans. The Diorama Room was born. They decorated several smaller ballrooms to replicate scenes in the authors’ books or movies. The other Nephilim have been in and out of our room all day. My understanding is that it’s been made to look like the Queen’s Throne Room on HeVan,” Johanna finished.
“So my job is to sit there and look regal, right?” asked Addie.
“Act like everyone who enters the room is there for an audience. Your guards and courtiers will sort them out and allow them to approach.”
“I remember now. We were going to have the guards and courtiers make suggestions to the visitors as to why they should be there, right? I think they should not make any comments regarding fertility. It’s too much in the news right now,” said Addie.
“I’ll make a note to speak with several of the men,” said Arjun, exchanging looks and getting nods from the other men.
“Okay, we’ll go straight to the Diorama Room,” said Addie.
Addie turned to Johanna and said, “See if you can track down the skinny on this girl.”
Turning to Miranda, Addie asked, “Miranda, you’re meeting Becky at the Event Room, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be meeting her there, as well as Grace and her Ankida. They’re going to be organizing the security and smooth running of the event checkin. We don’t want any gate crashers,” said Miranda.
“True. But you planned on extras, right?” Addie asked.
“Yes. We have extra tables and chairs ready for quick set-up, enough to
seat an additional sixty guests, if necessary.”
“What about the women who aren’t matched? Do we have a way of handling angry women when they see other women getting two or more guys?” Addie wanted to know. She was worried about inebriated women starting a catfight.
Miranda looked thoughtful. “They’ve all read the books, they know that’s standard for Nephilim. We’ll say the matched women are winners, and have been matched by me. They’ll think we had a drawing or something and won’t realize I actually matched them until we’re ready to tell them.
“By the way, we set up a last-minute surprise for you in the Diorama Room. Think of it as a dress rehearsal,” Miranda said with a grin, as she got off on the first floor.
The elevator doors closed and they felt that subtle shift under their feet as it slowly groaned its way up to the third floor. They exited the freight elevator. The men arranged themselves around Addie and her Ankida as if this were a corridor of the Palace.
As soon as they rounded the corner and came into the main hallway, they would be on. Luckily, the main hallway was built as a sitting and spillover area. It was easily fifteen feet wide. There was plenty of room for them to pass by without mowing down the tourists.
They silently walked down and around the corner. Almost instantly, Addie could hear exclamations and see flashbulbs going off all around. She wondered what Miranda had set up as her surprise. As they neared the assigned room, she could see two Nephilim standing guard at the door.
When her procession drew up, they crossed staffs and blocked the door. They were Hakor and Makor, Natalie’s cousins. She could see them shoot Arjun a pleading look before they said, “State your name and your business before you approach the Throne of the Regent, Princess Malpha.”
Addie reached up and gently touched the shoulders of Arjun and Rune, who were standing just in front and to either side of her. Kylan stood behind her.
This is a dress rehearsal, indeed, she thought, silently thanking Miranda.
She stepped forward and in perfect HeVanian, stated, “Aditya Marie Azazyel. I am Nam-Nin, Supreme Queen of HeVan and all it holds.”
Lucy Kelly Page 16