Alien Colony

by Anna Lewis

  “Where are we?” She asked him. He shrugged.

  “It’s another place between places,” he said simply.

  “You’re amazing,” she said, leaning in and kissing him again. She could feel her own powers mingling with his as they kissed. When she pulled away, she looked at him. He was studying her, as if she might run away at any moment. She had never been so drawn to a person so immediately before. Their surroundings began to fade away, and they were sitting in the darkness of the tower room again.

  “Charlie, put your hands on me,” she said. He frowned.

  “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Don’t you see? You can’t,” she said. “We’re evenly matched.” Charlie sighed sadly. He began to pull his gloves back on, one at a time. He kept his gaze on the floor in between them.

  “I can’t risk it, Nessa,” he said. “Not when so much is at stake.”

  “Charlie, look at me,” she said. He raised his eyes to her. “It’s okay. I understand.” He nodded. Nessa reached forward, kissing him again. That same spark of electricity was there. She pulled away.

  “Were we really there, Charlie?” She asked him. He nodded.

  “Yes.”

  “Did she see us?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. She needs to know that we’re coming.”

  ***

  The next day, one of the palace servants drove Nessa back to the university to pick up her things. Her friend, Glo, met her in her tiny student apartment. Nessa loved her apartment. It was super tiny, but it held all of her books, her teacups, and her papers. She began to pack things as she split a bottle of wine with Glo.

  “So, you can take over my Intro classes?” Nessa asked.

  “Oh, yeah, no problem,” Glo replied, taking a sip of wine. They were drinking out of thick ceramic coffee mugs.

  “Thanks,” Nessa said. “You want my bamboo plant? I won’t be around to water it once every three months. I don’t know how long this is going to take.”

  “Sure thing,” Glo said, waving it off. “So, tell me about the princes! Are they super cute?” Nessa smiled, placing a hand on her hip.

  “Yeah,” she said. “They’re not exactly identical, I mean, there are definite differences. But yeah, cute for sure.”

  “Which one do you like the best?” Glo asked, giving her a knowing look. “Can I have the other one?” Nessa laughed.

  “I can’t like either of them,” she said, not telling Glo about the kiss with Charlie. “The queen has personally threatened me against it.”

  “Ah,” Glo said. “That sucks.”

  “Not really,” Nessa replied. “We have to work together. I have to save my parents’ souls, and we all need to save the country from attack from this Necromancer.”

  “Who is she?”

  “No idea. I mean, I saw her in one of Charlie’s visions,” Nessa said, throwing a couple of her books into a bag. “Her face is covered by a skull mask.”

  “That’s super helpful,” Glo said.

  “Exactly,” Nessa replied, placing some of her clothes into the bag with her books.

  “Well,” Glo said, hugging Nessa. “Good luck. If you need anything, let me know.”

  “Of course,” Nessa said.

  “And whichever prince you don’t fall for,” Glo said, looking Nessa in the eyes. “Give him my number.” Nessa laughed and shook her head.

  “You’re incorrigible, my dear.”

  “If I don’t, then who will be?” Glo gave her a grin. Nessa paused, smiling at her friend. She thought about both princes—the way that Ra looked at her while they danced, the way that the world literally fell away when she kissed Charlie. She realized—I like both of them. At the same time, she recalled their mother’s stern face and dire warning—Don’t get caught in between two princes. They already have each other. You’ll never come first. Nessa’s blood ran cold.

  ***

  “Are you ready?” Charlie was standing at the door to her room. Nessa had left it open when she had returned. She was folding her clothes and placing them within the massive mahogany chest of drawers. She smiled.

  “Yes. For what?” She asked.

  “Well,” he said, glancing around at her bags of books and clothing. “I was thinking that we could look into the past. If we see how she killed my father, and took your parents, then we could figure out a way to trap her.”

  “We could even see what demon she has allowed to possess her,” Nessa said. Charlie nodded. They stood there, grinning at each other.

  “Are you nervous?” Charlie asked, clearly nervous himself.

  “Not at all,” Nessa replied. “Let’s do it.” She followed him up to his tower room. On the wooden table in the center of it, there was a potion cooling. It was a strange purplish-blue color, and it seemed iridescent.

  “It will help to focus the vision,” Charlie explained. “It is set to bring us into the past.” Nessa nodded.

  “Will you be able to control it?” She asked.

  “Of course,” he replied. “I have long practiced control. When I was younger, I would have no choice as to what I would see. The other night, I was able to take you to them. And to… to the garden.” He flushed red. Nessa smiled. She loved how sweet Charlie was. She walked over to him. She placed her hand on his cheek. She brushed her lips against his, feeling the strength of his power. It was over the surface of his skin, as though it were oozing from his pores. When she pulled away, he was smiling.

  “Let’s do this,” she said. Charlie nodded, then split the potion in half into a set of clear glasses. He handed one to her.

  “At the same time?” He asked. Nessa nodded. They clinked their glasses together, then downed the liquid. It was sweet and acrid at the same time. Nessa coughed. Charlie removed his gloves, reaching out for Nessa’s hands. She could feel herself being pulled away. It was like a wave hit her when she touched Charlie’s hands. She could feel the shock of it—he had clearly been holding it back before. With the potion, he had no control. The force of it was concussive.

  They were back in the awful throne room. Nessa could see her parents, standing beside a golden dragon. They faced off with the Necromancer. She was already bearing the Death’s Head mask that marked her as taken by the demon. The dragon reared back, opening his bright golden wings and his great fanged maw, letting out great gouts of fire. The Necromancer held up her hand, and it formed an invisible shield against the fire. Nessa’s parents were both weaving spells, sending legions of the Dead at the Necromancer, but she raised her hand, and the Dead turned, taking her parents. The Necromancer pulled out a flaming sword. She held it above her head, plunging it into the dragon’s heart. A humanoid figure stepped out from behind the Necromancer.

  The figure was dark—not really a body, but a shadow, a void with vague definition. Nessa could feel its attention on her and Charlie. She gripped his hand in hers. This figure was old, almost ancient. It was strong, too. It reached out as it neared them. Nessa looked beside her at Charlie, whose face was frozen. The figure’s hand reached out toward him, its hand sliding through Charlie’s skin easily. Nessa screamed as Charlie’s eyes slid upwards in their sockets. She looked toward the Necromancer, who was watching them. She waved her hand over the Death’s Head mask. The Death’s Head mask began to fade, but just before it revealed who the Necromancer was, Nessa felt herself being pulled out of the vision.

  She opened her eyes to chaos. Ra was yelling, and Charlie was writhing in convulsions. His eyes were open, showing only the whites, and he was foaming at the mouth. His mouth was open, as if he were screaming silently.

  “What happened?” Nessa yelled.

  “What did he take?” Ra yelled back in panic.

  “Some potion,” Nessa replied in confusion. “He said it would help to focus the vision.”

  “You went too far in!” Ra was shouting. “It just amplified his powers.” He began an incantation, his eyes turning golden, his irises changing into reptilian slits. He leaned in,
whispering the end of the spell in his brother’s ear. Slowly, Charlie’s body began to relax, the convulsions slowing, his mouth going slack. His eyes closed. He did not wake up. Nessa knelt beside Charlie, unsure of what to do. She felt helpless.

  “Your Majesty?” A man yelled from the door by the stairs.

  “Get the royal healer,” Ra yelled, his eyes never leaving his brother’s face. “Come on, Charlie, wake up.” Charlie’s eyes opened. He seemed confused, unsure of where he was. Nessa ran to him, grabbing his hand. She could feel the electricity, but fought it off.

  “Charlie,” she said. “Did you see her face?”

  “We’re in trouble,” he mumbled in slurred syllables, right before he lost consciousness again.

  “What did you see?” Ra asked her. His eyes were wide.

  “She already had the Death’s Head mask when she killed your father and took my parents,” she explained. “She had already joined with the same demon from the 1880’s. He’s back. He is incarnating as a shadow. I can’t tell what he is. I am guessing that the Necromancer has an incarnation on this plane as well as the other. She also… she had a sword. It was flaming. That’s how she killed your father.” Ra frowned.

  “The Phoenix Blade. It’s the only sword that can kill a dragon,” he said. “Only a human can wield it.”

  “I think Charlie saw more,” Nessa said. “The demon reached inside of him. I was pushed out when the seizures started.” Ra nodded, his forehead creased in concern.

  “The healer can take care of him. You and I need to figure out how to get to her.”

  “What about Charlie?” Nessa asked. “Can we do this without him?”

  “To go in again might kill him, Nessa,” Ra said. “The visions have just been getting stronger. He’s losing his control on them. Taking that potion was suicidal, and he knew it.” He paused, then looked her in the eyes. “I can’t lose my brother, Nessa.” Nessa nodded.

  “What can we do?” she asked. Ra sighed.

  “The Death’s Head signifies that the demon Belial has come to Earth again,” he said. “The first time that he was stopped, Arcturus Spot was able to trap him somewhere in the spirit plane. The Necromancer has clearly freed him. If they have gotten a hold of the Phoenix Blade, then my powers as a dragon shifter are no match for him or the Necromancer.”

  “So, it’s up to me,” Nessa said, her heart pounding. “Necromancer against Necromancer.” Ra nodded. “Who is going to stand against the demon, though?” Ra shook his head.

  “I don’t know. We should start with you. You’re the one piece of the puzzle that we do hold. We need to make you a weapon that will go against the Phoenix Blade,” he said. They both looked down at Charlie, whose breathing was beginning to ease into the calm, soft breaths of someone who was sleeping soundly and comfortably.

  “Of the two of us,” Ra said. “He’s the good one.”

  “Yeah,” Nessa said, looking at him sassily. “I know.” Ra laughed.

  “I mean it,” he said.

  “So did I.”

  ***

  Charlie was taken to the healer’s chambers. Nessa and Ra stood over the table in Charlie’s room, where he had left many books on spirit magic open and scattered about. Nessa read over the book that was closest to her. It was written in lines of symbols—triangles with different lines and configurations. She had seen this before—long ago, in a book that she had long believed that she wasn’t meant to have seen.

  “Can we imbue something with power?” she asked Ra.

  “No,” he said. “It will have to be an incantation. Words are the only thing that you will be able to bring across the planes.”

  “What about the Phoenix Blade?” she asked. “It was made in this plane.”

  “That’s for fighting Dragons,” he replied. “Magical weapons forged by master craftsmen using materials from other planes defy the laws which govern materials. We need something that fights Necromancers.”

  “What about a blade imbued with spirit magic?” She asked, picking up a breadknife that sat on the table among the mass of books and papers. He looked at her with his princely disdain.

  “Have you ever forged a sword, professor?”

  “No,” she said. “But I could try.”

  “We need something that will be definite,” he said sharply. “We can’t roll the dice here. Charlie almost died today looking into the past. That was merely an echo of what we will be going up against.” He was so certain. Nessa bit her lip as she thought. She looked at the books which were open.

  “Did Charlie tell you about any of this?” She asked.

  “No,” Ra replied. “He often waits until he’s solved it to tell anyone anything.” Nessa let out a sigh. This was going to take a while.

  “We should figure out what he was putting together,” she said, picking up a book. It was a spell book of spirit magic incantations. “This page is on binding spells.”

  “We can’t just bind her,” Ra said. “We have to destroy her… and the demon. Complete obliteration this time. We have to succeed where Arcturus Spot failed.”

  “Well, we’ll need to bind the demon in order to attack it,” Nessa reasoned. “He’ll be near impossible to attack on his home plane. A demon is not solid. That one, whatever it is, appears to be nothing more than a shadow.” Ra said nothing, just nodded.

  “If it’s the one from 1887, then the incantation used then did not work,” he said. Nessa leaned against the wooden table.

  “What binding spell did Arcturus Spot use then?”

  “He was no adept at spirit magic,” he replied. “All he used was a simple binding spell. All the demon did was wait. Then this Necromancer went to that plane and harnessed his powers, freeing him. She is attacking us from that plane. If she has any more time, she will bring him back to this plane.” Nessa squinted.

  “How were you alerted of this?”

  “Charlie’s visions,” Ra said softly. His eyes were on the book in front of him, but they were unfocused. “He’s been seeing the demon’s plans for years now. Lately, they’ve been more insistent, more detailed. We think that the demon is sharing these things directly with Charlie because he wants to use Charlie’s powers.”

  “Oh,” Nessa gasped.

  “He’s been seeing himself taken over.” Ra looked up at her. “That’s what we’re most afraid of. Charlie’s powers in the wrong hands would be catastrophic.”

  “How strong is Charlie?” she asked.

  “He could destroy worlds if he chose,” Ra said. “If he wanted, he could take my crown as easily as he could fork a bite of pie.” He looked away. “He doesn’t want it, though. The power. He’s too good. That’s what worries me the most. That the demon could drain all of his goodness. That the visions could send him into a seizure that he can’t come back from. I couldn’t stand my brother being taken. I don’t know if I could live through that.” Ra looked terrified. He was letting her behind his normally confident and suave façade. Nessa nodded.

  “Don’t worry,” she said, reaching out and placing her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll save Charlie.” Ra nodded, half-smiling at her. He placed his hand on top of hers. They looked at each other for a moment. They both turned away. Now was not the time. Not when Charlie lay incapacitated in the infirmary. They got to work, fashioning an incantation that would first bind the demon and the Necromancer. They then began work on an incantation that would destroy them. They worked in the ancient language that was used to shape the mountains, the seas, and the first dragons. Nessa could feel the power in the words that they linked together like tiny golden chains. The night passed, the darkness outside of the large windows fading into a blue-gray as the birds began to waken.

  “Come on,” Ra said. He had dark circles pressed up underneath his eyes. He still looked every bit as attractive as he usually did. He grabbed Nessa’s hand, pulling her out onto the stone balcony of Charlie’s tower. The sun was rising, gold against the blue of the horizon. Nessa felt the warmth of its rays o
n her face. Ra placed his hand on her shoulder, wrapping his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “Is Charlie going to be okay?” she asked. Her body ached from exhaustion. She felt as though she desperately needed a shower and some sleep. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She had a pen stuck in her hair. Her eyes felt dry, and she covered them with her hands.

  “For a little while,” Ra replied. “I think that the strength of his power is going to consume him.”

  “He told me about a girl, who touched his hands—”

  “He had a crush on her. It was cute,” Ra said, rubbing the back of his head in a manner that was entirely reminiscent of his brother. “She talked him into touching hands with her. She was an unmitigated flirt. But she wasn’t a mage. She had no gift whatsoever. When she touched his hands, it was more than she could bear. He’s too strong. Charlie never forgave himself.”

  “That’s sad,” Nessa said. Ra nodded.

  “He’s learned control, but he’s like a conduit,” Ra said. “If it flares up…” He trailed off and shrugged. “But it’s been good for him, having you here. You’re strong enough of a mage to handle his touch.” Nessa nodded grimly.

  “You know, when this is over, you could stay,” Ra said, looking at her. Nessa smiled.

  “What for? I have my post at the university,” she said. He placed his fingers under her chin.

  “You are so much more than that,” Ra said, looking at her deeply. She shook her head. He leaned in, his lips brushing hers. Her heart was pounding, and her mind rushing in confusion. She pulled away, and he frowned. Obviously, crown princes always got what they wanted.

  “Ra,” she said. “I like you. But I think that my heart is with Charlie.”

  “Like?” He asked, deflated. “I thought…I felt…” He exhaled. He tilted his head to the side, frowning. “I thought it was me. Are you not attracted to me? At all?” He reached out, placing his hand on her cheek. Her heart was beating wildly. She wanted him to kiss her again, but she couldn’t help but think of Charlie.