by Nina Bangs
He glanced at her. “You don’t follow directions too well, do you?” Mede held up his hand to stop her retort. “Not complaining. It felt good to know someone had my back.”
She leaned close to hiss in his ear. “I’ve always had your back. And I don’t take orders from anyone.”
“What the hell did that kid do?” Mistral sounded impressed.
Bourne looked pleased to know something they didn’t. His temper tantrum seemed over.
“This is Kylo Ren Teven, Prince of the house of Teven and protector of the Sacred Pair.” Bourne gestured at the new boy.
“Kylo Ren?” Mede frowned. “Star Wars?”
“The Force Awakens.” Mistral slumped onto the floor near the door. “Not much of an alien name. It should have at least twenty letters along with a few apostrophes and grunts thrown in. I’ll have a long talk with him once we can communicate. And you didn’t answer my question about the levitating and teleporting.”
Mede interrupted. “Forget the name. Explain the prince and Sacred Pair stuff.”
“I’ll keep it simple for now. Kylo Ren will someday rule his planet, and the Sacred Pair are the two yellow animals. His people worship the Sacred Pair as gods. I’d say right about now there’s a very angry king gathering his army as he tries to open a portal to this world. If he succeeds, a good time will be had by all.”
Silence followed his words. Holgarth said nothing as he walked to the window facing the street. After a few minutes, he returned to his chair. “The police are there. I assume the crowd is giving them an earful. That doesn’t bother me as much as those who took photos and are probably loading them onto YouTube even as we sit here doing nothing.” He looked at Jill. “Perhaps you can visit the dreams of those who saw what happened and change their memories.”
Jill looked overwhelmed. “All of them? I’ll have to find them first.” She stood and headed for the door. “I don’t think any of them saw our faces. It was too dark and we were too far away. I’ll go out and mingle so I can recognize them later.” Then she was gone.
Mede had remained silent. Finally, he spoke. “I need to speak with you alone, Bourne.”
The Big Boss nodded. He and Mede left the room. Sparkle started to follow them. They weren’t about to shut her out with their secret guy stuff. She paused before leaving the parlor. “Mistral, maybe you can whip up a meal for everyone. Holgarth, try to settle everyone down.” She nodded specifically toward Kylo Ren. The prince was looking a little freaked out.
The three of them sat at the table on the back deck. Bourne and Mede wisely didn’t try to send her away. Sparkle forced herself to ignore the noise of the crowd coming from the beach.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” Mede paused to think. “Not that you could’ve done it. I’ve got crazy skills.”
Bourne glanced away. “There were extenuating circumstances.”
“Our creator?” Mede leaned forward. “You don’t usually give a damn about excuses.”
Bourne shrugged.
Mede nodded as though Bourne had just confirmed something for him. “While I was trying to stay alive, I had a few moments to think over your reaction to the story about my maker. You weren’t surprised.”
Sparkle frowned. What was this about?
“No.” Bourne’s expression remained neutral.
“I’m thinking that you knew all about him before I told you.”
Sparkle could feel the tension stretching between the two men. She held her breath.
Bourne took a long time to answer. He met Mede’s gaze. “I know him.”
11
Not I know about your maker, but instead I know him. Uh-oh. Sparkle watched Mede’s eyes narrow to angry amber slits. She put her hand over his as he clenched and unclenched it. “Control it, Mede.”
Bourne stood. “I’ll be back later to discuss the situation. I have a truck-load of Girl Scout cookies to clear off the front porch.” He ran down the steps and headed around the side of the house.
Mede jumped to his feet. “Coward. Forget the freaking cookies. Explain yourself. Now!”
Sparkle made soothing sounds. “We don’t want another round of flaming cannonballs.”
He sank back onto his chair. “Put away Girl Scout cookies? How weak is that?” Mede looked at her. “How did Amaya even get those cookies? Did she knock over a cookie warehouse?”
“Not important. Just be thankful everyone survived Bourne’s visit.” Mede survived. If Bourne had destroyed him, she would’ve tried her best to kill the Big Boss. That wouldn’t have ended well. She and Mede both would’ve floated out on the evening tide. Sparkle tapped her finger on the table as she thought. She glanced at the nail. Chipped. Symbolic of her whole life right now. “We have to talk with our students. You didn’t tell me Jerry could suck away air.”
Mede shrugged. “We haven’t had time to discuss the kids. Let’s go inside and get to know them better while we wait for the Cookie Monster to get back.”
But before they could stand, Kylo Ren and Blue joined them on the deck. Each of them carried one of the Sacred Pair. They sat down opposite Mede and Sparkle then placed the yellow animals on the table in front of them.
Blue pushed strands of hair from her face. “Ky has something to—”
Sparkle didn’t give her a chance to say any more. “I thought I saw huge tentacles out in the Gulf. What was that?”
Blue shrugged. “It was something from…another place. I shut the door before it could get in.”
Mede leaned forward. “Can’t you control what creatures you call to you?”
“Not yet.” Blue cast him a defiant glance. “I haven’t had much practice. I’ll get better. The others are trying to help me.” She lifted her chin to glare at him. “Isn’t teaching me control your job? Besides, it looked as though you needed a hand—or tentacle—no matter where it came from.”
“On-the-job training. Wonderful. We’re dead,” Mede muttered. “And I didn’t need any help. I had everything under control.”
Blue looked dubious. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Sparkle decided that Blue would be her evil Alice in Wonderland, all long golden hair and big amber eyes. Sparkle smiled. “I like you. You look petite and delicate, but you have attitude, Blue.”
“Blue?” She frowned. “You left off the Bunny.” She sounded offended.
“Blue is beautiful and evocative.” Sparkle sighed. “Bunny is just too soft and squishy.”
Blue glared.
“I understand names and their power, believe me.” Sparkle didn’t care if Blue believed her or not. She would never utter the names Blue and Bunny together. The child would have to deal with that.
“You have a steel undercoat, though.” Mede tried to make things better.
Sparkle nodded. “Exactly right for a troublemaker. I can work with you, enhance your appeal. Enemies will underestimate you. That’s a good thing.”
Sparkle shifted her attention from Blue’s sulky expression to the prince. “You’re glorious, Ky. By the way, I like the shortened version of your name. And, no, I’m not going to call you by any title. We’re all equals here.” She glanced at a glowering Mede. “Maybe some are more equal than others.” She shrugged. “I love the long black robe. Great contrast with your yellow hair. I think we might dye the hair, soften it a little. We’ll keep it long to hide your pointed ears, though. I find them adorable, but we don’t want to freak out the human population. I’d suggest colored contacts to make your eyes less yellow. Don’t get me wrong, the yellow ringed by black is striking, but again humans are rarely accepting of the truly different among them.”
Ky blinked. Sparkle looked at Blue. “He didn’t understand a word I said, did he?”
“I understood you perfectly.”
Startled, Sparkle switched her gaze back to the prince. His smile looked tentative, but behind it she sensed fear and wariness. She didn’t get a chance to reply before Mede spoke.
“How?” Mede leaned forward, eyes narrowed,
suspicion roughening his voice.
Everyone not named Sparkle leaned away from Mede, and that included the two animals.
Sparkle controlled her urge to sigh. “That’s no way to welcome a guest to our world.” What would Mede do without her to soften his razor edges? Probably terrify every poor visitor to Earth. Aliens would never get to utter, “We come in peace,” before he blasted them back to their own planet. She offered Ky her brightest smile and watched his eyes widen and then sort of glaze over. Yes, she was that good. “We’re happy to have you.” A slight untruth, but it would put the boy at ease. “I’m amazed that you speak English. Tell us about yourself.” She watched him relax a little.
“The civilization that came before ours, the one my father destroyed, had ways of monitoring your world. They also had a portal to your planet, but it was lost because my father decreed that no one could ever enter or leave our land. Anyone caught trying to open a portal would be sentenced to death.” He stroked his animal. His hand shook. “I’m sure he is furious that I escaped with the Sacred Pair.”
Mede couldn’t keep quiet. “Why doesn’t your father want anyone to leave?”
Ky grabbed the animal as it made a break for freedom. Then he held it close. A shield. “Our religion teaches that all things outside our world are evil and must be avoided. The priests make sure no one dares defy them.”
“And yet you’ve learned English.” Clever boy. Sparkle nodded her approval.
The prince allowed himself a twist of his lips that passed for a smile. “The priests control the ordinary citizens, but they aren’t powerful enough to dictate to the royal family. My father agrees that no one should escape his rule, but he loves your movies and TV shows. So we have used the devices left by the old civilization to learn about you.”
Mede leaned back, but his gaze never wavered from Ky. “I’d bet the king is a fan of Star Wars.”
Ky nodded. His smile was real this time. “My brother is named Anakin.”
Sparkle nodded at the yellow animals. “Do they have names?”
“This is Momo.” He pointed at his animal. “The other one is Tuna.”
“Tuna?” Mede started to smile.
Sparkle jumped in to stop whatever comment he was about to make. “You mentioned that you escaped with them. Why would you need to escape?”
Mede’s smile widened. “Can’t I make even one comment about salads, or maybe sandwiches?”
Sparkle refused to acknowledge his thought. She concentrated on Ky. “And why are they called the Sacred Pair?”
For the first time, the prince looked the part of His Royal Highness. He lifted his chin and gave her a glare worthy of a monarch. “The Sacred Pair are my people’s gods. Yellow is a blessed color, and they are the only two of their kind left in my world. I was fleeing the temple when your portal opened. Food has become scarce, and my father decreed that the priests should sacrifice Momo and Tuna to appease the higher gods.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I chose not to allow them to become burnt offerings so the peasants could grow more leafy greens.” When he opened his eyes, he was once again a scared teen. “I can’t go back. The king frowns on anyone defying him.”
Mede looked thoughtful. “What will he do now?”
“He’ll tell the priests they have to find a way to open the portal so he can reclaim the Sacred Pair.”
“And you?” Sparkle added.
“He would open no portals for me.”
That shut even Mede up for a moment. Before Sparkle could ask another question, Mistral poked his head out the door.
“Food’s ready.” Without waiting for a response, he left.
Everyone stood. They all followed Mistral inside except for Ganymede. He waved Sparkle away as she hesitated on the doorstep. She nodded then disappeared inside.
Ganymede wandered to the edge of the deck. He hadn’t gotten a chance to find out the extent of Ky’s powers. They couldn’t allow the kid to stay, though, because a pissed off king looking for his yellow gods would definitely play hell with Ganymede’s plans for his creator. He gazed out over the garden. Even in the dark he could see the flowers, smell them. Peaceful.
His thoughts were anything but peaceful.
How had things gotten so out of control? He’d had a simple plan. First, he’d collect as many newbies as possible because they’d be the easiest to mold into a team loyal only to him. They wouldn’t fight their maker—that was Ganymede’s job—but they could do the footwork for him. They could track down spies, because their creator needed eyes in this world to report back to him.
His team could feed the spies stories guaranteed to irritate the bastard enough to eventually force him to visit Earth himself. Ganymede’s newbies might even discover answers to some of the questions he had. Why did their creator keep dumping troublemakers onto Earth? What did he expect them to do beyond causing chaos? There had to be something more. And why didn’t he come here to do his own dirty work?
Ganymede smiled. Once on Earth, his maker would never go home if Ganymede had anything to say about it.
His smile faded. Too bad his simple plan was shot to hell. Now he had Mistral in his kitchen, Holgarth bossing everyone around, Lucinda whining about everything, Amaya ready to dump a bunch of forms on him, not to mention Kylo Ren, Tuna, and Momo. Oh, and he couldn’t forget the Big Boss who knew a lot more about their creator than he’d ever admitted.
Then there was Sparkle. He wanted to send her packing back to the Castle of Dark Dreams. She’d be safe there. Everyone close to him would be in danger once his maker landed on Earth. But she wanted to stay here with him, even though she knew the dangers. Didn’t she have the right to live the life she chose? God knew he wanted her with him till the end, whenever that might be.
He didn’t know. He really didn’t know.
Ganymede reminded himself that he still had his bolt-hole, a place he could disappear to where no one would ever find him, where all his stresses would disappear. He swept the thought away. That would be a coward’s escape.
Finally, he abandoned the night and the yard to go inside. He had some questions to ask his students.
Everyone except for Mistral and Jill was seated at the huge dining room table when he entered. The shifter stood near the kitchen. Momo and Tuna crouched under the table, ready to grab anything that fell their way. Ganymede didn’t see Jill anywhere. Sparkle sat at one end of the table and the chair at the other end had been kept empty for him. He sat. They all watched him. “What? Why isn’t everyone eating?”
“You are the master in this house.” Holgarth paused to sneer. “It was only proper that we waited until you joined us. Perhaps next time you’ll spend less time contemplating the meaning of life while we all starve.” He sniffed his contempt of Ganymede.
“Ignore him. We haven’t been waiting that long.” Mistral returned to the kitchen before Ganymede could comment.
Sparkle smiled at him from the other end of the table. “Look. Lucinda insisted we use the good china and silverware. Fancy. I could get used to this.”
Ganymede glanced around just as Jill entered the dining room with a tray of covered dishes. Once all the food was on the table and everyone was eating, he could see the humor in the scene. A table set for royalty and they were chowing down on hamburgers, fries, and a salad.
Mistral stopping eating long enough to comment, “You know, I think I’ll buy a grill for the deck. We could cook up a batch of ribs, chicken, and hamburgers. Everything tastes better grilled outside.”
Ganymede noted the newbies’ smiles. He felt an unfamiliar tug at his emotions. They were just kids. This was the first time all of them—except for Jerry, who remembered before—were experiencing a family feeling. Family. He glanced at Sparkle. She watched him with a slightly bemused expression. When she realized he was looking at her, she glanced away.
They’d never had a family. Not even close. Was he being too selfish to think that maybe… He shook his head. Get real. His creator would try to
end him. Ganymede shouldn’t think beyond that.
He waited until everyone had finished the ice cream Mistral had served for dessert before getting to the important stuff. “Okay, guys, we’re going to talk about powers for a while. I’ve learned a little of what you can do, but there are some things you’ve probably discovered about yourselves I don’t know.” Ganymede leaned back in his chair, so full he didn’t even want another dish of ice cream.
Jill volunteered first. She met his gaze directly. “You already know I bring nightmares. But I’ve discovered that I can manipulate ordinary dreams. I can be anyone I want in them.” She smiled. “And guess what? I can touch people’s thoughts and change their memories. Oh, and I identified all the ones who saw us on the beach. There weren’t too many. I’ll visit their dreams tonight. By tomorrow they won’t remember seeing anything strange.”
For just a moment, Ganymede felt something skim his mind, leaving the image of Sparkle smiling at that blasted Viking, inviting him into her—” He slammed the door shut on his thoughts and glared at Jill. “Don’t ever do that again.”
Jill’s eyes widened. He could feel her panic. “I didn’t mean… I just wanted to show you what I could do. I didn’t expect to find…” Her words faded away as she avoided his gaze.
Sparkle looked suspicious, but she didn’t question the exchange. Ganymede knew she’d want all the details once they were alone. For right now, she focused on Jill.
“You’re perfect, Jill. You’ll be my warrior queen. Tall with glorious red hair. We’ll keep your hair short. It suits you. You’ll wear leather and boots and look so dangerous that men will fight to kneel at your feet.” She gave a satisfied sigh then pointed at Orion. “Let’s hear from you.”
Orion shrugged. “I move earth. I think I could move mountains, but I can also…” He raised his hand, and a planter by the window spewed its plant along with the soil high into the air. “I can cause a small volcano if you want me to prove—”
Everyone at the table yelled, “No” at the same time. Orion subsided into disappointed silence.