If humans were so easily fooled into selling themselves to the Pure Bloods, what other things were the Pure Bloods purchasing from men like Grundfest? Nuclear weapons? Biological weapons? Earth's oceans? Olivia knew for a price anything could be bought and sold. Hadn't a large multinational bottled water manufacturer claimed a small town in Maine didn't even have a right to their own drinking water? The townspeople's water could be bought out from beneath them without their permission and sold back to them at an obscene profit.
Greed and selfishness knows no bounds, her mother always said. Olivia knew Grundfest and his kind had no qualms about destroying her home world by denying climate change, polluting it with impunity and exploiting Earth's natural resources for quick profits. Why should these billionaires care if they sold the bulk of humanity to aliens for a profit? They lived to make their fortunes greater yet.
As long as they have their yachts and mansions and plenty of food, the rest of us are expendable. It's always been that way, or so it seems. History has an awful way of repeating itself on both Earth and BloodDark. We've got to stop it.
I'm going to stop it. Somehow, someway it's going to be stopped.
Hernando's pacing ceased. Olivia rose from the table and went to put an arm around him, but he resisted her touch. "I've failed as an ambassador for BloodDark, haven't I?" The pain in his voice was palpable. "I should have known these wealthy and powerful individuals who've invited me to their parties and events didn't care about the well-being of our world. They were trying to trick me into giving into their self-seeking plans. How blind I've been!"
Olivia opened her mouth to say, No, you're only human, but thought better of it. Part of Hernando wasn't human, and his home world was being threatened by humans. The idea he might have played unwittingly into a scenario, which could lead to the end of their ruling council and BloodDark's destruction, haunted him. How could she comfort him?
I can make things right is how I can comfort him. Annara and I have been discussing the problem of the vampire brides for some time. We both think we could infiltrate and destroy their system from within. Whatever I do, I won't involve Hernando. His reputation won't be at risk. I swear I'll protect him at all costs.
Olivia shook her head. "You haven't failed—it's me. I've failed you, Hernando, and I've failed to protect BloodDark." She reached out and lightly stroked his shoulders. "I should have warned you about how the amassing of great material wealth plays a factor in our society, but I wanted you to kiss up to the powers-that-be so I could watch you pull the switch and drop the crystal ball in Times Square on New Year's Eve. I confess—I'm greedy, too."
Hernando narrowed his eyes as he considered her remorse, but he didn't push her hands away. "No, you're not to blame. It was my decision to allow the sale of art from BloodDark on Earth in the first place. I thought it would allow Earth people to see us as fellow intelligent beings with similar cultures. Now I admit it—I was wrong. It's being used to finance evil intentions. It reminds me of what I've learned about the second world war of Earth's last century. The Nazis stole art and gold from their victims and sold the items to finance their unjust conflict." He shrugged off her touch and began pacing again.
Olivia knew what had to be done. "Well, we can stop art sales from here on out. Can't we, Caveman?"
Caveman scratched his chin in thought. "We could try. I will propose it to the ruling council and give the reasons, but some are going to oppose it. They've enjoyed great profits from art sales as well. Penumbra City is really pushing for more exports of art, of everything, really."
"I don't think it's a bad thing, so long as it's new work," Hernando said. "Keeping artisans employed is good. We need to keep them on our side." He paused, frowning. "Caveman, remind me. Have there not also been sales of human artwork from the ancient refuge cities on the sunlit side?"
Caveman nodded. "Yes, and that's a real bone of contention."
"I thought we were going to keep the things discovered here as a reminder of how our ancestors adapted and thrived on BloodDark in spite of hostile conditions."
"Refuge cities?" Olivia had wondered if earlier generations of humans had run away from their masters and built remote communities of their own.
Caveman nodded. "Yeah. Legends of settlements built by those fleeing the Pure Bloods have circulated for centuries. I always thought there was some truth at the heart of it all. A few months back I commandeered a couple of Pure Blood landships and sent an expedition out to explore a promising region on the Day Side. They found two ruined places, all covered by drifted sand. Excavations turned up a tidy haul of artwork and other artifacts." He glanced at Hernando. "There are traces of another settlement not far from the first two."
Olivia frowned. Perhaps climate change had caused the desertification of the sunlit side she'd witnessed. Maybe the blowing sands had buried all evidence of humanity's creative instincts on BloodDark until at last they were forgotten? "So the majority of the people think the historical artworks should remain here."
"Oh yes. They are proud of their heritage. We'd discussed gathering the artifacts for a museum display, but many claim since they belonged to their human clans they should have the right to dispose of them as they willed." Caveman shrugged. "What's done is done now. We can at least stop this influx of the bloodsuckers' brides from Earth. I'll get on drafting a bill right away to present to the council."
Caveman strode from the room, a man on a mission. Olivia felt confident the ruling council would pass good laws, but would Earth's governments, under the control of their corporate paymasters, allow them to take effect? Wouldn't Earthmen pick and choose what they wanted to follow from BloodDark's legislation to make as much profit as possible?
Olivia had learned enough history to know making slavery illegal in much of the United States in the nineteenth century didn't end it overnight—the compromises had only led to a bloody civil war. Seldom did people consider the morality of a situation, only its economic impact. Worse yet, those who profited most from an immoral activity worked hard to maintain and rationalize it, no matter its costs to others.
Why are human beings so damn selfish? Why can't they see they're hurting others? What can I do to stop this mess once and for all?
Hernando had settled into a chair near a great fireplace at the end of the chamber, his brow furrowed, deep in thought. Undoubtedly he still feeling the effects of the Portal transport. Olivia decided not to disturb him. She tiptoed through the door Caveman had used to exit the room. She needed to find out what had happened to Annara and to check on Valori's condition.
Olivia asked one of the milling staff members in the ante-chamber what was happening elsewhere in the ruling council chambers. Annara was still conversing with the security committee she was told, so she'd have to wait to talk to her about their slowly evolving plan. Valori, she learned, wasn't resting in a medical clinic but at the main house of Clan Alpha.
"I don't know all the details," said a pretty, thin south Asian woman with long brown-black hair and dark eyes, along with the notable Quadsang feature of sharp teeth, "but it was thought best she see a Pure Blood healer rather than a human healer."
"Really? I thought us lowly servants had to go to our own medics?"
"Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't. Valori is closer genetically to the Overseer caste possibly?"
From what Olivia knew of the BloodDark caste system, if Valori could be called Overseer it made her more than an ordinary servant, and more like a respected aide. Valori had told them she had once taken care of her mistress's children. Did her role indicate she was a cherished family retainer? Perhaps her former mistress upon hearing of Valori's illness insisted Valori be treated by only the best doctors?
Olivia nodded as she was given the directions to the Alphan healer's address. She knew exactly where it was. The last time she had been inside the main Alphan clan house, it had been during the Resistance's takeover of the city.
"Would you like an escort?" the aide asked
.
"Oh, no. I know the way." Olivia remembered her first ill-fated walk in the mechanized suit of armor borrowed from the Pure Bloods' arsenal. "I won't get lost, but thanks all the same."
Walking along the dark streets, the dwarf star dominant in the sky brought Olivia's fuzzy brain back into sharp focus. I'm really back on BloodDark. I'm billions of miles from home. Valori isn't a Quadsang like she told me but an Overseer? What other surprises will I find here?
The Gothic-styled architecture and rat maze of streets which dominated BloodDark City hadn't changed since her return to Earth, but Olivia sensed its culture had. She smiled at a bazaar of small shops and restaurants catering to humans and other non-Pure Bloods which had sprung up not far from the ruling council's chambers. These were signs and posters and other indications the former slaves had taken the initiative and achieved an independence only dreamed of by the generations before them.
She had missed the deep blackness of the shadows in the city and how light reflecting from the huge gas giant outlined the tall and imposing brick structures of the Pure Bloods' enclave in a reddish, blood-like light. Had they become dependent on the blood and D.N.A. of humans because of the shadows and lack of sunlight? Would humans have resisted the need to change, mutate, and experiment with their genetic code to survive on just such a world?
Do not judge us by outward appearances, an oddly captivating voice lectured. The need to survive is great. Sometimes it supersedes the need to practice humility, and that is its biggest failing...
"Valori?"
Olivia froze in place, and then spun around. She stood alone on the sidewalk. She scanned the area only to notice how little traffic there was in this particular neighborhood. Humans had claimed the outer sections of the city and opened shops and built homes there, leaving the oldest, most formidable buildings in the center of town to their former masters. Olivia realized she was drawing near to her destination. Could it explain the apparent mental contact with her friend?
She closed her eyes and concentrated her thoughts. Valori, is that you? It's me, Olivia. I'm coming to visit, to see how you're doing.
We are not, Valori, but please, come to us, become a part of us. We need you, Olivia of the Clan Brown. We need fresh ideas. We need fresh blood...
Olivia startled from her trance and quickened her pace. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"
The narrow cobblestone street eventually widened into a large square in front of the Clan Alpha house. The flat-faced facade of black stone gave no clue to its occupants' tastes. A siege-proofed medieval castle would have appeared friendlier. It stood functional and aloof, daring her to knock upon its massive double doors by lifting one of the extra-large-pizza-sized doorknockers.
The running of Clan Alpha businesses and important social functions took place in this main building. It truly was the BloodDark equivalent of a palace or castle. She gulped hard and tried to ignore the frisson of terror she felt upon entering the lair of the Pure Bloods, instead concentrating on why she was there—Valori. With two hands she grasped a hold of one of the gargantuan doorknockers and knocked once.
The dull thud echoed in the square and no doubt within the massive entrance hall, reverberating numerous times. She knew better than to knock again. Several minutes later the door opened a thin crack, revealing a doughy-faced doorman. Olivia remembered him from the festival she'd been the guest of honor of, before she, Valori and Hernando had been sentenced to work on the Alphan farm and taken away to the perpetually-lighted side of the planet. It appeared some slaves didn't leave their posts even after they'd been liberated.
"State your business," the doorman barked. He didn't seem to be in a good mood, or perhaps the wrinkled forehead and permanent scowl were part of his ordinary expression?
"I've come to see Valori. I was told she was being taken care of by an Alphan medic."
"Oh. The mistress's former maid receiving treatment?" He quirked a silver-gray eyebrow. "Come this way."
He spun around on his heels and torpedoed across the chasm of the formal entrance chamber with Olivia close behind. The stone floor amplified the sound of his heels clicking as it echoed from the practically empty room. She noted some of the furniture and objet d'art which once filled the massive hall had vanished. Sold to finance their mail-order bride business perhaps?
"Down this hall," the doorman instructed leading her into a hidden alcove at the far end which must have been used exclusively by servants. Olivia spied the outlines of a narrow passage behind a narrow tapestry. He gestured for her to continue on without him.
"Aren't you going to show me where to go?" she asked.
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so. Down the hallway, turn right, and it's the third door on the left. I'm sure even a human can figure out those simple directions?" His arrogant tone, beaky nose thrust into the air, along with the tell-tale pointed incisors, left no doubt he cared little for those without Pure Blood genes.
"Thanks for your help."
She muffled a disgusted sigh as he spun around and departed to parts unknown. No use standing around where bloodsuckers could catch wind of her, Olivia darted under the tapestry and briskly walked the length of the hallway, turned right and then knocked on the non-descript third door on the left.
"Come in," Valori called out. Olivia smiled and turned the doorknob. Her voice sounded strong. Thank heavens. She must be feeling better.
"Hi, Valori, it's me Olivia, and I wanted to see how you were do..." The words froze on her lips when she caught sight of her dear friend's treatment. She took a shaky breath and tried to compose herself, but it was difficult. "Is that—is that blood?"
The intravenous drip snaking into the older woman's left arm glowed bright crimson. Valori sat up straighter on the lounging couch and smoothed down her dress. "Olivia, it's good to see you. Please, come in and sit down."
Valori pointed toward a small ottoman to the side of the couch. Olivia closed the door and made her way over to the round stool. She lowered herself to rest beside her friend, trying hard not to stare at the vivid, ruby-colored liquid dripping into Valori's veins. She found it difficult to ignore, considering how large the container of blood was.
"I was confused about why they took you to the Clan Alpha House for help, but I suppose this is the reason?" Olivia tried to smile and lowered her voice. "You're not an Overseer, are you?"
Valori tilted her head and shrugged, her loosened silver-gray hair brushing her shoulders. "No, I'm not. I wasn't always certain of my parentage, though. The woman I thought was my human mother was really a foster mother I discovered many years after her death. My biological mother might have been a Quadsang or even an Overseer. My father was..."
The sins of the fathers. Is Valori like many American slaves who worked in the homes of their biological parent and yet held no rights to his estate or his name—or even his freedom?
Valori closed her eyes and hung her head. Whatever her parentage Valori wasn't to blame. Olivia took Valori's nearest hand in hers and squeezed it. "It's all right. You don't have to tell me if it's painful."
Valori's eyes flashed open. A different light had come into them, something dark, something almost blood-thirsty. "My father was the chief priest of the Clan Alpha. I, as his only living heir, inherited the gift of the second sight and of mental manipulation of matter. I shall be clan priestess one day."
Okay... This is freaky. This is not the Valori I know and love. Can one blood transfusion on BloodDark do this to a person? Olivia edged away from the couch, but Valori would not let go of her hand.
"Do not worry, my child." Valori's soft tone implied strength and determination. "Your kind will never be at risk from the likes of me. I know my place in the Pure Blood order. They will never allow anyone with even the tiniest drop of human blood to become their priestess. I will have to fight to gain my rightful position."
Olivia gulped. Could egomania be an inherited Pure Blood trait? There was so little anyone knew for
certain of what they must have been like originally, before they started tampering with their own genetics. Anything was possible.
"Drucinda the high priestess would never allow you to take her job and you know it." Olivia managed to release Valori's grasp of her hand and kept her rising fear in check. She stood and kicked the ottoman away from the couch.
"Valori, you've been a seamstress, herbalist and nanny all your life," she continued in a calm tone. "The Alphans are the worst snobs ever. You know they are. Find your humanity and fight off this... this whatever it is you're going through. I know my good friend is in there somewhere."
At the sound of Olivia's calm plea, the harsh, alien light faded from Valori's eyes. She blinked twice and her gray-blue orbs radiated her usual friendliness. "I—I'm so sorry for my outburst. Olivia dear, please believe me I wouldn't harm you or anyone ever. They did warn me the treatment might bring on some unwanted side effects."
"Here I thought breaking out in itchy splotches from an antibiotic cream I used once was a bad side effect." Olivia forced a chuckle. "Delusions of grandeur are much more interesting."
Valori turned her face away. "I'm ashamed of myself for scaring you. I've kept my true heritage a secret from others for many years, hoping it would come to no consequence, but it seems late in life it wishes to manifest itself fully. I don't blame you if you never wish to converse with me again."
"Of course I'll want to speak with you. You're one of my closest friends on BloodDark—in the entire universe, for that matter." Olivia came to her friend's side and dragged the ottoman back beside the couch. "Forgive me for reacting the way I did when I came into the room."
"You are forgiven, my child. I sensed your surprise and horror at the sight of my treatment. It wasn't what you expected."
"I suppose the trip to Earth might have triggered your...metamorphosis?" Olivia raised an eyebrow at Valori's nod of confirmation. "I'm really glad we transported to BloodDark now. The medics here knew exactly what kind of help you needed to feel better. Will the transfusion help?"
Olivia's Return Page 8