by Enid Titan
She had no ridges on her nose like the others, but her ears were pointed and significantly longer.
“Where are you from?” Poppy asked, now that the differences were becoming clearer.
“Another planet. One of the Devoran sub-planets. I’m from one of the lower castes.”
“I thought Devor had an equal society.”
“No society is equal, especially not one with royalty.”
“Yes, but it’s relatively equal. Better than Earth.”
Jocasta gave her a funny, blank look.
“I don’t know where Earth is. Will you show me how to play hockey?”
“Sure.”
Jocasta asked her then, “How did you decide to come here?”
“I don’t think I had much of a choice.”
“I’ve been applying to the academy since I was fifteen. It’s very prestigious. I’m a tardigrade out of ice.”
“Huh?”
Jocasta smiled and touched Poppy’s arm.
“It’s like a fish out of water,” she said.
“Oh.”
Jocasta’s touch made communicating easier, but Poppy wasn’t used to being touched and having someone enter her mind. Jocasta linked arms with her.
“I heard you’re rooming with Daphne and Hecate.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Lucky, they’re so cool. My roommates are kind of weird.”
They entered the hockey rink for P.E. At the panels, students picked their size hockey skates and sticks.
“I’ve never skated before,” Jocasta admitted.
“Your planet’s made of ice!”
“This one is. But not mine. There's ice some places of course.”
“Oh…”
“Come on. Teach me.”
Their P.E. teacher was a tall, female Devoran named Eugenia. She was strong with muscles bulging from her tunic and ivory hair pinned in an elaborate top knot.
“Students, today I introduce you to the ice. I know not all of you are experts. Today you will play our national sport -- ice hockey. By the end of this year, you will be strong enough to try out for the school team.”
Eugenia reviewed the rules. The game resembled hockey on Earth with one exception. Players could do more than check each other.
Students commonly landed in sickbay with broken bones or fractures. Eugenia reminded them that the Academy sickbay handled all those injuries with ease. The most advanced nurses and doctors worked at the Academy.
Players could use telepathy to move the puck too. Poppy listened in rapt attention to the rules. Finding a rink had become rare on Earth, but she played whenever she could and street hockey with CJ when she couldn't. The game wasn’t just a test of physical strength, flexibility on the ice, or agility, but a test of mental abilities.
Without telepathy or telekinesis, Poppy recognized her distinct disadvantage. She communicated thanks to Hecate but lacked telepathic skills at her peers' level. Eugenia didn't seem the sympathetic type.
“Skates on, enter the rink, first-years!”
Jocasta wobbled as she went out, stabilizing herself on Poppy’s arm. Boys and girls skated and played together. Poppy was smaller than everyone — not necessarily a disadvantage in ice hockey. Every other student towered over her. Poppy skated low, enjoying the agility and speed afforded her due to her height.
She'd be fine as long as she avoided getting hit. Eugenia had a special stick created for her. It only cost Poppy 20 credits.
"You'll break this stick ten times before the year's out," Eugenia informed her.
If Jocasta weren’t so sympathetic, Poppy would have been annoyed by the girl clinging to her arm. She longed to skate faster, to test out her new legs and the lightweight hockey stick. The boys on one end of the ice already had pucks out and passed them back and forth throughout the warmup.
Eugenia rescued Poppy from her clingy new friend. She pulled Jocasta aside with one other boy, Zelus, who hailed from an outer planet and also didn't know how to skate. Poppy hurried to join the rest of the students skating laps around the rink.
Hecate passed her a puck. Poppy caught the puck on her stick and zoomed forward. Her hair whipped around her head, black strands standing out in a sea of blue and white. On the ice, Poppy was free. Laughter churned in her as she tossed the puck back to Hecate who swished her stick and twirled with the puck in tow. Poppy laughed out loud, finding a part of herself she’d nearly forgotten.
11
Icy Kiss?
Poppy eyed her classmates on the ice, picking one to pass on her skates and then passing them swiftly. Eugenia took the pucks off the ice and challenged them to practice speed. Poppy skated faster than many of the boys and a few of the girls. Soon she was in the front of the pack with Daphne, Hecate, Castor, Ajax and Jason. Once she caught up to Hecate, Hecate squealed with delight.
“Come on, let’s go faster.”
Hecate bent her knees and with her white curls whipping behind her, she sped up. Poppy followed her, the icy air cutting her lungs. Their speed instigated the other students to try catching up to them. Jason skated up onto Poppy’s left side and intruded into her thoughts.
«Hey, jazad.»
Poppy bit down on her lower lip, ignoring him. Then Castor skated up onto her righthand side, blocking off Hecate who called out “hey!” as she dropped off behind them. Ajax skated quickly around Poppy and now the three boys surrounded her.
«New girl, think you can keep up?»
«Leave me alone.»
«She’s got an attitude,» Castor chuckled, «Think we should teach her a lesson?»
«Sure…»
Ajax came to a complete halt. Poppy screamed as she lost her balance. Her feet flew up from under her and she smashed into the ice. Castor and Ajax laughed. Jason skated around her asking, “What’s wrong, jazad?”
Hecate skated up between the boys and Poppy.
“Can you assholes quit it? Get out of here!”
Eugenia heard the commotion and glowered from her distant post at the rink entrance. Castor, Jason and Ajax skated away as Hecate helped Poppy to her feet.
“Don’t let those guys get to you.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t,” Poppy grumbled.
Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and yet again, everyone stared. They were such jerks and she couldn’t figure out what she’d done to get them to treat her like this.
“Come on. We’re about to play.”
Eugenia split them up into teams, girls against boys. She made Jocasta the goalie since she was the slowest skater of the class. Poppy was just glad she wasn’t asked to start on the bench. She played forward, Hecate played center for the girls’ team and Daphne played defense.
They played first to five points. The boys scored the first point, then the girls scored the next two. Poppy scrutinized the boy's goalie for a weakness. Ajax lumbered in the goal, big and quick for his size. He also favored his left side. Even Devor had southpaws. That made it easy for Poppy to take advantage of this weakness. Hecate passed the puck to Hemera, another forward. Hemera flipped the puck over her stick telekinetically and passed it to Poppy. As soon as the puck thwacked into Poppy's stick, she flicked the rubber black disk into the net over Ajax's right shoulder.
From the stunned look on his face, he hadn’t expected a jazad to score on him. Poppy grinned. She couldn't celebrate long. Castor's hair fell out of his braids and draped down the front of his tunic. He leaned forward, eyes glowing amber as he flicked the puck over Poppy's stick using a telepathic trick. Poppy found her humility again.
The boys scored and they were back to 2-2. The girls won the game. Hecate scored again, then another girl named Tethys skated off the bench. Hemera twisted her ankle skating backwards after landing her point. Poppy had an assist and Tethys scored for the girls again. Tethys was easily as tall as Castor with turquoise, freckled skin. The force behind her hits doubled any of the boys.
By the end of the game, Eugenia sent the class to their lock
er rooms. Except Poppy.
“You did well on the ice today. But you have to be careful. Our people are not used to handling more fragile aliens.”
“Yes, I can handle it, I think.”
Poppy grinned, invigorated from her point and from the thrill she got skating around out there.
Eugenia smiled, “You were good. If you don’t mind, I’d like you to work with Jocasta. Her skating could use some work.”
“Yes, Eugenia.”
“Good. If you need anything, you come to me. I’ve met the Empress and always wanted to meet someone else from her planet. She’s incredible," Eugenia gushed.
Poppy nodded, uncertain of what to say next. She’d never met the infamous empress of Devor, an earthling who had been captured long before even Uncle Monty had been born. Captured might not have been the right word for it. Poppy forgot the details of their shared history despite the constant reminders.1
After her dismissal, Poppy walked around the outside of the rink, which was larger than an Earth rink to accommodate for the Devorans' size. She turned the corner to the locker rooms and gasped. Ajax, Castor, and Jason blocked the hallways.
“Excuse me,” Poppy muttered.
“Not so fast,” Castor said, sticking out his hockey stick.
“You aren’t going anywhere, jazad,” Jason followed.
“Get out of my way!”
“Hecate told us you wanted to talk to us.”
“I don’t.”
“Liar,” Jason snickered, “We can read your mind, remember.”
“What did she want, Ajax?” Castor asked.
Ajax grinned, crawling inside of Penelope’s mind, and reminding her that there were no secrets with telepaths.
“She wanted help from Jason. Kinda perfect when you think about it.”
“Shut up, Ajax,” Jason grumbled.
Poppy couldn’t deny a sense of relief that for once, Jason appeared uncomfortable. He’d tried to hide it from her, but just for a moment, she sensed his discomfort telepathically.
“Why is it perfect?”
“Idiot,” Jason grumbled.
“Jason sucks at math. So if he helps you, then you have to help him,” Castor said.
“Will you guys stop treating me like shit if I say yes?”
“No,” Castor replied, smiling.
“I won't do it then.”
“We’ll stop treating you like shit if you kiss us,” Ajax suggested.
“What?!”
“Kiss me, then kiss Castor, then kiss Jason.”
“She understands, idiot,” Jason grumbled.
“I’m not going to kiss you!” Poppy protested.
“But you want to,” Ajax said.
“Shut up! Will you three just leave me alone!”
“Why won’t you kiss us? Is it ‘cause we’re…aliens?” Castor stepped closer to her.
Poppy’s legs trembled and she squeezed her hands into fists, knowing she’d regret what was about it happen.
“Fine! I’ll kiss you!”
“Told you she’d say yes,” Jason snickered.
Poppy squeezed her eyes shut, readying herself for her fate…
1 The events that led to the empress of Devor assuming this position are detailed in the book Devor by Enid Titan.
12
Jazad
Poppy had only kissed one boy before. It was CJ, so it didn’t count. In middle school, behind their art class, they came up with the brilliant idea to get their first kisses out of the way. So they kissed. Then CJ told Poppy he was gay immediately after their awkward kiss. Hardly romantic.
Poppy closed her eyes, because that’s what you were supposed to do, wasn’t it? Castor moved in closer to her and Poppy squeezed her eyes shut, praying the kiss would be over soon.
He didn’t kiss her though, not right away. Castor put his hand on her waist and Poppy squirmed uneasily as he squeezed her through her corset. As he squeezed, Poppy shuddered because telepathically he made his fingertips brush up the length of her spine, warm and tingling.
Castor moved in closer, pressing his body against hers. Her chest touched his through her thick layers. Warmth emanated from Castor's chest. Poppy lowered her head, preparing to become a blubbering mess once he finally did it.
He pushed her hair out of her face with his other hand, fingertips brushing against her cheek. He lowered his head to hers, so the ridges on his nose grazed against Poppy’s nose.
His lips were so close the energy vibrating between them parted her lips slightly. Castor's cheeks pressed smooth against hers, so the euphoria wasn’t just in her back and chest, but in her burning cheeks. Then he kissed her, nice and slow. Her lips parted. He stuck his tongue in. Poppy squirmed. He held her firm, preventing her from escaping their liplock.
Poppy stuck her hands out and pushed him off.
“Enough! I said you could kiss me, not shove your tongue down my throat!”
“You liked it,” Castor teased.
Poppy knew her cheeks were mulberry red.
“You’re a pig.”
“Hey, don’t run off yet, jazad.”
Castor winked at Poppy and she squeezed her eyes shut again, just to keep him from looking at her with that ridiculous cocky grin on his face. He stepped back and Jason took his place. Jason flicked his waist-length ivory hair out of his face. He wore elaborate braids like Pallas had, and he had a much straighter nose with deeper ridges in it. When he smirked, Poppy noticed his sharp canines and a lump formed in her throat.
«Don’t worry, jazad. I won’t hurt you.»
«Stop it…»
«They can’t hear me, jazad. Don’t worry. Certain thoughts should be private, shouldn't they?»
Jason didn’t hold her waist. He bent down and pressed his nose to Poppy’s before planting a quick kiss on her lips. He bit down on her lower lip, tugging it between his and then he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Poppy shivered and Jason held onto her shoulders, calm washing over her.
He pulled away before she could push him off and kept smiling.
«Not bad for an alien.»
Poppy scowled. Ajax grabbed Jason’s shoulder and all but pushed him out of the way.
«Hurry up dude, I want to kiss her.»
Ajax was brawnier than the other two. His arms were about the size of Poppy’s waist. His body was thick and muscular, the perfect size for a hockey goalie.
He was so much bigger than Poppy and unlike Castor or Jason, Poppy feared him a bit. He had a gentle-giant vibe going on, which helped. Ajax was so much bigger than any human boy and his hair was thick and curly, even thicker than Hecate's, and long, trailing down to the middle of his back. He wore it wild, like a Viking.
He grabbed Poppy’s shoulders before she could react and planted a big wet kiss on her lips, pulling away before the burning heat between them as he touched her surged through her. When Ajax pulled away, his cheeks flushed, dark blue. He was as nervous as she was.
Poppy folded her arms, desperate to hide the fluttering and twisting in her tummy from the boys who had just kissed her. She wasn't supposed to feel anything for these idiots. They only kissed. That was it.
“Is that it?”
“Yup. Now you’re golden,” Castor grinned.
“Whatever. You idiots suck.”
Unconsciously, Poppy licked her lips. When she did, the small drops of saliva from the three telepaths she’d kissed landed on her tongue and she stumbled, pressing her back against the hallway walls. The world spun out of control and Poppy's legs buckled as her mind transported her into a vision similar to the one she had at the temple.
She recognized the vision from the ocean smell that pervaded the air. No, no, no. Not here. Not in front of them. She struggled against her perceptions to no avail. The boat rocked beneath her. No hockey rink. No boys. She stood there alone, trapped in a telepathic vision of her mind's creation. This time, her father stood with his back to her as she gripped the railing for balance. H
“Daddy!” Sh
e cried, her tongue heavy in her mouth and growing so large she thought it would choke her.
“Daddy, look at me!”
Her father turned around but instead of his familiar kind face, he had the face of a demon -- gray and sallow with lilac eyes and horns protruding from his skull. She leaned back against the railing of the boat and the demon-faced creature rushed her. The boat’s rocking toppled her over board and then she woke up to three confused, blue faces staring down at her.
“I didn’t think it was that good,” Ajax mumbled.
“What should we do, Cas?” Jason asked.
“Help her up, you idiot,” Castor grumbled, reaching down and lifting Poppy back onto her feet.
Her head spun as they hooked her beneath her shoulders. She lost her balance again once the boys let go of her. Poppy braced herself against the wall and Castor reached underneath her armpits to hold her up.
“Jason, get her other side.”
Jason hurried over to Poppy’s right side and propped her up.
“I’m fine…”
“No, you’re not. You went black,” Ajax said, “Like your mind… it was gone.”
“No… I’m fine, I promise.”
“We're walking you back to your room,” Castor insisted, "End of discussion."
“People will talk,” Poppy mumbled.
"About what?" Ajax asked.
She just wanted them to stop touching her. She didn't understand what happened, but she knew that it happened because of them. Their kisses, their telepathy, brought her to that other world, the world where she was supposed to find answers. Her stomach turned and then Poppy murmured, “I think I’m going to be sick.”
She leaned forward, and threw up — everywhere. Poppy fell to her knees, her palms against the cold ground. Ajax wrapped her cloak around her shoulders while Castor and Jason held her long black hair out of the way.
“You should see the school nurse.”