by Susan Bohnet
“I think it’s time we leave Earth, Kai. There was already talk among Masters of our Influencing efforts being needed on other planets, planets more receptive to them, and now it’s clear that Trebladores are in terrible danger here.” He sighed, laying his arms over his knees and linking his fingers together. “All it takes is another Lincoln to stir things up, or other hybrids we didn’t catch. We have to test each of the Trebladores now, make sure they are not hybrids. We won’t be sure without DNA tests and that will take some time. But we can do it on the ships, when they are already unconscious and won’t know we’re testing them.”
Kai felt a fissure of fear run down his spine. He was a hybrid. They already knew that. What would they do to him? How would they take care of him? Make sure he could never, ever harm another human or Trebladore again? There was only one way to do that.
“How long have you known that I was a hybrid?” Kai asked.
Jessip raised his head and looked over Kai’s head as he answered. “I suspected shortly before you came to me about Beth. I could tell that you were much more taken with that human than was normal for a Trebladore. Kai,” he said, his eyes now resting on the young man beside him, “Trebladores become attached to humans all the time. It happens. But when the human moves away, when the break is made, Trebladores don’t get that upset. They understand the reasons and a part of them expected that something, or someone, would break them up. They know in their minds that the relationship was not going to go forward.”
“But I was different, wasn’t I?” Kai said. “I didn’t give up like the others do. I questioned, I fought, I continued despite the fact that I knew it was impossible.” Kai sat silent for a moment, looking at the still form lying on the couch. He felt the pull toward her, even now. “I responded with my heart, my emotions. Why didn’t you do something then?”
“Because of your parents, Kai. Your father was a masterful Influencer who worked tirelessly to help the human race. He was my best friend. How could I do that to his son? How could I even think such a thing of your mother? If I believed that you were a hybrid I had to suspect that she had been unfaithful to your father. And I knew she couldn’t have done such a thing. You knew what they were like together, Kai. They had one of the strongest partnerships I have ever seen. The kind that goes down in legend.”
Silence settled between them again. Kai felt his pulse begin to slow, the tired numbness that protects from shock slowly creep through his body. “But, still, you suspected,” said Kai.
“Yes. I suspected but I turned a blind eye. You were a Trebladore. You had the gold fleck, the height, the Trebladore good looks. You were everything we could hope for in a Trebladore and you had a father and mother that had given you a strong, solid model. How could you be a hybrid? We believed that hybrids don’t have flecks.”
“There must be others.”
“I know. And we will take care of those others. We will remove them from Earth; take them back to Treblane. We came here in peace and we wanted to bring prosperity to the humans who lived here. We cannot leave them in danger now.”
“And I am that danger. I am a hybrid and I can kill with my mind,” Kai said. He couldn’t stay here. No matter what Jessip’s history with his father, Kai was in danger. Beth was gone … gone forever this time. He stood in one graceful motion. He looked down at Jessip, seeing that the other man was truly tired. Jessip didn’t meet his eyes, keeping his gaze on Beth lying on the couch. Kai followed his stare, his eyes misting despite his efforts to stop them. He turned to Jessip and said. “I can’t let you take care of me, Jessip.”
Jessip looked at him then, his dark green eyes meeting Kai’s bright ones without reservation. “I know, Kai.” He whispered. “I know.”
Chapter Sixty
The day was cool, deep gray clouds hung heavy in the sky, and the air hummed with energy. Kai pulled his jacket closer around his torso and suppressed a shiver. He was cold, had been cold for some time now. The sun had disappeared the day Beth died and had not come out since. It, too, was mourning.
Kai stood on the street in front of Aunt Jean’s house, watching the movements inside. She passed one window, then the next in hurried movements. He knew what she was doing and he wasn’t emotionally prepared for it.
She stepped out the front door, one small bag flung carelessly over her shoulder like a sack of flour on a string. “Kai,” she said, surprised to see him. He smiled. She had always been such a contradiction. Carefully planning things one moment and then flying by the seat of her pants the next. Apparently she had decided to take the attitude of devil-may-care as if this was a new adventure she was embarking on. She was traveling light.
“Aunt Jean,” he answered when she stopped in front of him. “I see you are ready to go.”
“Oh, Kai,” she whispered, dropping the bag down on the grass and throwing her arms around him. “I can’t do anything to stop this exodus and I’ve been putting it off as long as possible.” She held him away from her, both hands firmly planted on his shoulders. “I do wish you were coming back to Treblane with us, Kai. I’m worried about you.”
“You know I can’t go back there, Aunt Jean. I’m a hybrid and I don’t know what they have planned for us there. Besides, if there are Trebladore-looking hybrids that survived undetected, then it stands to reason that there are human-looking hybrids, too. I can’t leave this world to the mercy of those hybrids that are stumbling around trying to understand what is happening to them. Someone needs to stay here and find them, bring them together and teach them how to handle the deadly abilities they harbor.”
Aunt Jean smiled at him, releasing her hold and stepping back. “I still can’t believe we are leaving. Trebladores have been on this planet for over three thousand years and now we are abandoning it. Just packing up our people, filling up the ships, and flying out of here.”
“They must be almost finished now.” Kai said, hunching his shoulders as the breeze cut into his skin, “You must be one of the last to go.”
“Yes. I’m on the last ship leaving Earth. All the other countries in the world have been evacuated and this is the last region to go. Jessip and the other Masters have gathered in Headquarters and are also on the last ship.”
Kai swallowed, his eyes flicking to the ground and then back to meet hers. She did not flinch, her gaze remaining steady on his. She’s not afraid of me, he thought. It was something. She knew what he was and the danger he was to a Trebladore, but she trusted him … with her life.
“Kai,” she whispered, “I can see why you want to stay, what you hope to accomplish. I know how important it is. I just wish you weren’t staying here alone. You don’t even have Beth anymore.” She could have been voicing his own thoughts. Tears gathered in her eyes.
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine, Aunt Jean. Really, I will,” he promised.
“I know you are a courageous, resourceful young man,” she said. Her hand was warm on his palm and he felt the sudden coolness of something metal. He looked down and saw that he held the key to the door Aunt Jean had just locked. “The back door is unlocked in case you came around, but here’s the key.”
Over Aunt Jean’s shoulder, a car was coming down the street. It was one of the dark blue sedans from headquarters. “They’re coming,” he whispered.
“They are picking me up. But they can’t see you!”
Maybe nothing bad would come from joining his people. Yes, they would take him prisoner, take him back to Treblane to be ‘neutralized’ along with the other hybrids they had discovered, but at least he wouldn’t have this all-encompassing loneliness coursing through him every second.
“How many of us have they found so far, Aunt Jean?” he asked. “How many hybrids have they transported back to Treblane?”
Aunt Jean watched him with her deep, blue eyes and he noticed the gold fleck as it flickered in her iris. “Jessip says that in all the Trebladores they h
ave removed from Earth, only five were hybrids. And they were young enough that they didn’t know they had any powers.”
Kai glanced again at the car. It was only a couple of blocks away now. “What do you really think they will do with them?” he asked. “I know Jessip said they would be neutralized, but what does he mean by that? How can they be stopped? How can a Trebladore make a hybrid non-lethal without killing them?”
Aunt Jean grimaced and glanced behind her. “I don’t know, Kai. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Jessip and the Masters have been lying to us. Hiding the horrible things they were doing. I know they thought they did it for our good. I know they did it to protect us.” Her eyes met his again. “I just don’t know if I can trust their judgment. And I don’t know what exactly is planned for the hybrids we found among the Trebladores. I’m scared for them … and that is why I’m willing to let you stay here on Earth. It might be worse for you on Treblane … you might not even survive the trip.”
The car was only a block away now. It wasn’t safe to go with his race. Besides, Earth needed him. His courage rose to replace the loneliness. He gave Aunt Jean another quick hug and this time tears gathered in his eyes. He wiped them away and smiled at her. There was a tremor in his lips and he tried to still it.
“I just don’t know how you are going to be able to do any good here, Kai.” She said as she stepped back from him and stooped to pick up her bag from the grass. “How will you find the hybrids? But most importantly, how are you going to live? You can stay in the house, but how will you manage to pay for the utilities? Buy food? Support yourself? Will you get a job with the humans?”
Kai smiled again, this time with certainty. “Oh, don’t worry about that, Aunt Jean. I have access to all the wealth and information the Trebladores are leaving behind.”
“What? How can that be?”
“I have the access codes for everything.”
“But how, Kai, how could you get that?” Aunt Jean whispered.
“Jessip gave them to me,” he said. Then he leaned forward, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and disappeared behind the bushes that bordered the sidewalk. Kai watched as Aunt Jean walked up to the blue sedan that pulled to the curb in front of her house a few seconds later. A smile played at the corner of her lips. She opened the door and glanced in his direction. “No one. Just a neighbor,” she said as she got in.
He waited until the car disappeared around a corner, and then he looked at the key in his hand and sighed. At least I’ll be warm tonight, he thought. And as he entered the house, he couldn’t help wondering if she had left any food in the fridge.
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About the Authors
Susan Bohnet has an Associate Degree in Arts and Letters with a major in psychology from Ricks College, and a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Human Resource Development from Brigham Young University. She lives in Alberta with her husband, five children, and a cute (but rather naughty) Yorkshire terrier. She is the author of the young adult novels My Life as a Troll and Mosaic, has written a newspaper column called Family Frenzi for 18 years, and has had two short stories published. Lethal Influence is her first novel for adults.
Visit Susan online at:
http://susanbohnet.com
K L Webster has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Calgary majoring in History with an English minor. She lives on an acreage in Alberta, Canada with her husband, three daughters, three horses, eleven cats and one crazy dog. Lethal Influence is her first collaboration attempt.
Visit Karen online at:
http://karenlwebster.com
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