by Azza Sumner
Chapter 10
After following the coast road north for just over two hours they finally reached their destination. The institute was hard to miss with it’s high security fence and military guard post at the front. Nothing could be seen of the institute itself because of a dense line of trees just beyond the fence. As they approached the gate two armed men emerged from the small guard hut and stopped the car. They wore Australian army uniforms. Adam leaned out the window and said “Adam Winters and three companions. Ambassador Ellan Elore is expecting us.” The men circled the car suspiciously. One carried a mirror on a stick to check underneath the car while the other checked the passengers carefully comparing them to a data tablet he held. As soon as they were done a soldier returned to the car window and said “No worries mate. The car park is just through the trees. A scout will meet you there. Don’t leave your vehicle until they arrive. All visitors must be escorted. You must also wear these.” The man ordered holing out four photo identity tags. Adam passed out the tags to the girls curious how they already had their pictures. He guessed they had been printed out from a biod’s memory because they looked to have been taken just after the raid on Khall’s lab.
Adam drove forward as soon as the boom gate lifted. It was only a short distance to the car park. Gem and another Lorene woman were already waiting in the small car park surrounded by trees. As they all climbed out of the car he noticed the woman with Gem was wearing cat ears in her flaming red hair. Felicity instantly ran towards her for a closer look. The woman smiled in a friendly manner as she inspected Felicity’s ears in return. The two seemed to bond instantly. Gem waved them over and introduced her companion to them all saying “This is my sister Kitty. Defence trainer. Excuse the ears they are sentimental to her. A gift from an old friend. She rarely takes them off and believes they also help distract opponents. Now was the first time he had seen Gem without some kind of head covering over her long blue hair. Her ears were pointed just like Fay’s. He looked at Kitty and noticed her ears were the same as well. Gem noticed him looking and said. “You are about to witness a lot of things that may seem very strange to you. There is no need to fear. Mother will explain it all.” She motioned for them all to follow.
As they emerged from the trees the group had to stop as they saw the institute. It looked more like a modern version of a fairy tale village. There was a large grassy park area in front of them. It was covered in lush green grass and gardens with a single road passing through the middle. Everything was clean and well looked after. The gardens and various trees were beautiful. Along the north and south side of the area were long rows of two story units that appeared to be for residential use. Every building was a gleaming white. At the far side of the garden area and bordering the beach were several two story buildings and a large shed that looked like an airport hanger. Every person they saw seemed short like Gem and Kitty, but none were as short as Fay, nor could they see any that had the extra arms on their backs. They all had the same pointy ears and beautiful petite appearance. Most of them had flowing white hair, but a few had coloured their hair in various bright colours. They all looked friendly, happy and peaceful. “Is this heaven?” Alicia asked. “No.” Kitty laughed “It is more of a refugee camp as well as our science institute and embassy. It was a caravan park once, but the government purchased it along with some of the land around it on our behalf.”
Alicia grabbed Adams’s hand telling him to look. She pointed to a small group of tiny children near a cherry tree. They were silently listening to a woman dressed as an angel reading to them. She had long golden hair and wore large white wings. Tracy seemed transfixed by the woman. Gem explained “You met my sister Angel once before when you attacked Fay. We only have a few children here, all under three years old. They like to hear the stories she reads to them when she wears that outfit. She is eager to become their teacher in time.” Adam couldn’t help but to ask “What’s with all the cosplay.” Gem smiled as she reflected. “When we first arrived on this beach, the man who cared for us was a big fan of your animes. His home was much like your home Adam and his tastes very similar. We knew nothing of your culture and some of us had no names. We all grew close to him and when he asked my sisters to choose a name they looked at his posters and shows for inspiration. They had all watched a few of his shows to learn more of your culture and they each had favourite characters or styles they related to. Fay and I already had names, but the others chose to adopt names and appearances inspired by characters that appealed to them. Kitty liked cat girl characters, Angel liked angelic characters and their wing styles appealed to her. Monica liked the demonic type girls so adopted a look like them, but she is dead now.” Adam felt bad for reminding Gem of her dead sister and said “Sorry about your lost sister. I shouldn’t have bought it up.” Gem replied “She died a hero saving billions of lives. It is not a bad thing to remember her or her sacrifice.” Adam decided not to ask any more questions.
“G’day.” they heard a woman’s voice yell. When they turned around they saw an attractive woman with long wavy bright pink hair approaching with two white haired toddlers in tow. “Just wanted to welcome you all.” she said. She was a stunning woman in her early twenties. She looked nothing like the others. For one thing she was not as short as the other people here and her ears were normal. The pointy eared toddler girl with her reached out her arms toward Gem calling excitedly “Mummy.” Gem picked her up saying “This is my baby girl, Sapphire.” She motioned to the pink haired woman saying “This is Emma. A close friend of the institute and her son Danny.” Adam noted the young boy holding Emma’s hand had normal ears despite the white hair. Emma shook their hands saying “Don’t want to hold you up. Just felt like saying hi. If you need anything, or just want a chat, my house is on the block just through the north gate.”
Gem handed her daughter back to Emma telling the child “Just stay with Aunt Emma a little longer and then we can play at the beach with daddy.” Alicia asked curiously “Aunt? Is Emma your sister too?” Gem chuckled, “Not really, but we have been like sisters since we met. It was her and the original Aidan that looked after me when Aidan rescued me from drowning. They were always kind.” That just left Alicia muttering confusedly “Original Aidan? I don’t think I’ll ask any more.”
As they began to move on Adam noticed that Tracy was still standing far behind staring at Angel. He asked Alicia “What was wrong with Tracy? Do you think all this is too much for her?” Alicia grinned and winked, “I’ll explain later ok.” He called to Tracy and she seemed to wake from her daze and catch up to the group. As they continued it all just seemed unbelievable. The people seemed so nice and everything was beautifully maintained. As they entered what looked like the main building another man stopped to greet them politely. He looked just like most of the people here with long white hair, blue eyes and a petite build. Gem introduced him saying “This is Alec. He will be working with you in the future. He is developing new servos and actuators at the moment for cybernetic applications.” They shook hands and exchanged greetings. Adam was very interested in seeing his work. He imagined that any servos designed here would be far better than the cheap ones littering his desk at home.
After he walked away Adam asked Gem “What did you mean by ‘Working with’? ” Gem looked trouble and tried to explain “I am afraid that you attacked Khall’s lab and killed dozens of people. You are viewed as vigilantes by the government. Criminals no matter what the reason. You took it upon yourselves to judge and execute them all. As justified as it was, and even though you rescued all those who would become his next victims, it was also mass murder. You had no government sanction or authority. Mother has defended you, but to keep your government happy, she has had to make certain arrangements. She will explain.” Adam and the girls all stopped and looked at each other in horror. They had just done what seemed right at the time to protect the girl’s lives. They attacked Khall so he wouldn’t hunt them down. They had never considered the l
egality of it all. Gem looked at them all and said “Do not be concerned. We all know you did the right thing and we support your actions. We did not want the matter dragged into the judicial system though.” She opened a door just ahead and said “Please follow. This is mother’s office. She will be with you shortly. They all took a seat in the plain looking office silently deep in thought. Felicity was still holding Kitty’s hand so she offered “She can play with me for a while if you like. We’ll just be outside in the garden.” Adam thought that was a good idea and thanked her. Felicity seemed to be fine to stay with the other strange cat girl.
Ellan entered only moments later. She looked to be an attractive white haired woman in her early thirties. Her eyes were a bright purple and her long lavender dress was elegant and simple. She wore fine basic jewellery but not enough to be considered gaudy or overstated. They all shook her delicate hand before retaking there seats. Ellan took a deep breath. This was always a hard conversion to have and difficult for people to absorb. As the leader of her people here it was her duty though.
She sat at her desk and introduced herself in a soft girlish voice saying “Welcome. I am Ambassador Ellan Elore, or Director or Chief Engineer. Most here just call me mother. Congratulations on taking out Khall before he could build a larger army or sell his research. I am sincerely sorry that I could not organise approval for our own forces to act sooner. I did my best. If we had of attacked without approval and under the eye of the task force, relations with both the Australian government and the United Nations would crumble. This encampment would be raided and our technology taken. It would have a major impact on an unprepared world if the release of our technology was not monitored carefully. Even just our basic power cells for example would destroy your mining industry, and thus your economy. It is a very delicate situation.”
Adam replied saying “We just did the only thing that seemed available to us to protect the girls. We saw no other option other than a life of running and fear. We were lucky.” He paused for a moment to look at Ellan’s eyes. She seemed genuine, not like a politician. He asked “May we finally ask about this institute and it’s people now?”
Ellan replied “I will do my best. I understand it may all seem unbelievable. I am Ellan Elore. I am a full blooded naturally born Lorene. I was born two hundred and ninety two years ago in a large city that explored our universe gathering renewable resources and searching for answers to the great mysteries it held. We researched the creation of the universe and pondered the similarities of humanoid life on inhabited worlds. I was a chief engineer in genetic and neural sciences. I was the one who accidentally learnt how to create life in a dead body when I was designing the interface for the third generation biods. Previous biods were nothing more than puppets. Their organic bodies were created full grown with interfaces. They had no life. Fay was the first of the third generation. Her and her sisters are only three years old. Because the mind is full grown, they mature fast and have an AI with modules on behaviour. Their maturity is accelerated. Actually Fay may not be the best example, she has some odd quirks, but I am sure you know what I mean.”
Adam nodded in agreement and asked “If you don’t mind me asking, is Fay the only one with extra arms? ” Ellan looked surprised and responded “Oh, I guess you noticed the wing controllers. We have anti-gravity devices including a biod harness. They simply provide lift. The arms were my genetic modification to control artificial wings that provided manoeuvrability. Angel is the only other one surviving with them as well. I no longer have the resources to make more biods.”
Adam seemed satisfied with the brief explanation so Ellan continued saying “As we were in the vicinity of earth three years ago Gem and her sisters came here. Without dragging out all the details we were attacked by one of our own. An outcast called a darkened. In our arrogance we had minimal security in the city. There were no races that challenged us seriously so we felt no need to maintain high security. A single intelligent woman took control and killed three quarters of our people. My daughter Monica and Emma’s first partner Aidan were killed freeing the city and saving this planet. I choose to follow my daughters and abandon the city with eighty five of the second generation biods that had been upgraded and were now alive. Most of the biods were happy to remain in the city when it departed, but some of them sought a fresh start to go along with their new life. I had given them the freedom to choose.”
Ellan paused for a moment expecting questions but there was none. She continued her story and explained “We eventually formed a relationship with your government and they agreed that our existence would be best keep secret for now. In time we would slowly merge with the general populous. A special task force was set up with the Australian military and United Nations guidance to assist and monitor us. We had a level of technology that made us a target and in the wrong hands could be very dangerous to your society. Our people had a strict policy of not sharing our technology. We would not interfere in the development of lesser races. It was not our right, but with the help of people like Doctor Kingsworth, we have been slowly and carefully integrating some of our technology with yours under strict guidelines.”
Alicia interrupted to ask “If it’s your policy not to share, why are you sharing it now?” Ellan replied “For one reason, I have grown to see flaws in our traditional way of thinking. It was one of our people that almost destroyed this world. That and their initial attitude to my discovery made me realise that our race were not infallible. I feel now it is our duty to protect the other races. The second reason is that the Lorene were already integrated with the humans long ago anyway.” The group listening to Ellan looked mystified as they looked at each other confused. She tried to elaborate saying “Have you ever wondered where the fair hair and blue eyes came from in your genetics?” Tracy replied “It was something to do with environmental conditions in Europe just after the last ice age wasn’t it?” Ellan shook her head saying “I am not certain of this, but I do know there was a Lorene colony in the north west region of Europe some seven to eight thousand years ago. Our ancestors were more golden haired than us and most were blue eyed. They had forsaken the technology of our people to live within the nature of that region. We do not know what ever became of them, but it is my theory that they integrated with your society. It is just a theory I am working on. Even many of your myths follow ours, so they must have socialised at least. We do know that our races are not just genetically similar, but genetically compatible as well. Actually most of the dominant races across the universe are humanoid, which further prompted the Lorene to investigate and respect the suspected grand scheme of things.”
Ellan looked up at them expecting a shocked reaction, but they seemed to be absorbing it all well. She asked Adam “You don’t seem overly surprised by all of this?” Adam shrugged and replied “I’ve been watching anime, playing games and reading science fiction for years. I guess I’m kind of de-sensitised to the idea. I always wanted to be a part of it somehow. I had a rough idea when I saw Fay’s extra arms anyway.“ Tracy added “Yes, same for me. I was kind of a geek when I was young. This isn’t shocking so much as a dream come true.” She turned to Alicia expectantly for her take on the situation. Alicia chuckled “Well I died and came back to life. Then we fought an army of super zombies. Not much is going to surprise me now. Anyway I have my Adam with me so I know everything will always be ok.” She leaned closer to Adam to snuggle against him. Ellan seemed surprised. She remarked “I wish it was always this easy. Most people refuse to believe at first or demand proof. It comes as a great shock for them to learn that aliens are not only true, but also probably part of your human heritage.”
Adam thought for a moment and asked “Now we know basically who you are, what’s this about us being labelled as murderers? What happens to us now? ” Ellan smiled and replied “It is true that your government in all fairness can not condone your actions in hind sight. You are an unmonitored dangerous rogue element. It is unlikely, but we can not know for cert
ain if you may be discovered one day and be placed in danger again. Next time you may kill innocent people without meaning to. We have however reached an agreement. They will not purse matters if you agree to come under my wing.”
Adam asked in a concerned tone “Does that mean we are prisoners?“ Ellan reassured him quickly “No of course not. You will just be under my authority. You can come and go as you wish as long as we are aware of your approximate location. Officially you will all cease to exist. The raid will be handled as an action of the task force. You must understand they can not allow you to go on taking the laws into your own hands. I think it was easier for them to place you in my care rather than dealing with complications arising from human biod involvement. It was a complicated situation and we did eventually gain approval to conduct the raid ourselves, however you beat us to the punch. It is my plan to offer you all employment and accommodation here with my family.”
Tracy was the first to eagerly speak up saying “Count me in. I studied nursing for a while if that’s any help.” Ellan nodded and replied “We do have a small infirmary. It would be nice to have a regular staff member in attendance. We can teach you how to use our repair kits. We are also designing a hospital for humans across from this institute.” Adam looked to Alicia. He wanted to jump at the chance to be part of this world but she was more important then living out this fantasy. She was deep in thought.
When Adam and Alicia failed to reply Ellan spoke up offering “We can monitor Felicity better here and our cybernetics program could benefit from Adam’s input. Not only are we designing limbs for humans here, but we have been asked to make some prototype androids. We have agreed to look into it as long as they can only ever serve peaceful roles and not increase levels of unemployment. I could also benefit from having a human liaison officer to assistant occasionally. My workload is very heavy.” This tempted Adam greatly. He had little interest in politics other than protecting the girls, but he loved the idea of tinkering in their technology. He wanted to accept immediately, but it was up to Alicia. He leaned over to ask her “What do you think? I will go along with whatever you choose.” Ellan could see Alicia’s hesitation and said to her “We have many roles Alicia can try until she finds one she likes. I often need assistance dealing with humans, Emma may like assistance with her fashion designs and writing or integration classes. We are setting up a school to teach children and there are.…” Ellan stopped as Alicia stood up saying “That’s not it.” She silently walked around and whispered something in Ellan’s ear. Ellan smiled and exclaimed “That is wonderful. Not a problem at all. Actually I am not surprised.” Alicia smiled excitedly and turned to Adam saying “I’m in as long as you agree. I can’t think of anywhere better for us, but ultimately I will happily go anywhere as long as we are together.” Adam grinned as he let out a long sigh of relief and said “Well it’s a dream come true for me. I’m in too.”
Ellan seemed relieved. She was hopeful she could convince them to take over some of her less important duties in time. She told them “I am very happy. I have set aside two of the larger three bedroom duplex units for you with an adjoining door. I hope it will be to your liking. They are not furnished yet I am afraid. I can have someone take you for a look now if you like.” Adam nodded thanking Ellan for generosity. She pressed a button on her desk and said “Oh I almost forgot. We have a small troop of scouts. You can join them in training and missions if you choose, but it is not expected. I just thought you may be interested.” They all looked at each other again and Tracy said “I like to keep fit. I’d like to at least train with them sometimes.” Adam was about to volunteer as well but Alicia quickly placed a hand over his mouth saying “We’ll think about it.”
After the meeting Kitty lead the group to their new quarters. Each unit had a bedroom downstairs and two bedrooms upstairs. They were huge compared to Adam’s little flat. A single door downstairs joined the two units together. From the balcony of the upstairs bedroom they had a beautiful view of the gardens and the ocean beyond the hanger. Alicia was jubilant. She dragged Adam around pointing out all her plans for decorating. Felicity choose the downstairs bedroom and curled up for a nap on the floor. They figured she had claimed that room.
Adam returned to the balcony to appreciate the view again while Alicia continued her explorations and planning. He was surprised by Tracy’s voice from the neighbouring balcony. Tracy said “This is incredible isn’t it? I love it, but it’s too big. Do you think we should turn my downstairs room into a shared computer room or movie theatre? We can leave the door open and all share it.” “How about a spa room?” Adam suggested jokingly. “Brilliant idea.” Tracy replied as she ran back inside. It was good to see them all so elated.
Soon Alicia joined him on the balcony and placed her arm around him saying “I love it here already. A permanent honeymoon.” Adam hugged her lovingly and said “Thank you for agreeing. I had my fingers crossed you would say yes, but I would have turned it down readily if you didn’t support the idea as well.” Alicia kissed him saying “I know you were dying to agree. I was too. A new start for our wedded life in a beautiful place like this. This is paradise. What more could I ask for?“ Adam looked confused and asked “So what was all the hesitation about?” Alicia just grinned excitedly and made a check sign in the air with her finger. It took Adam a moment to realise what she meant. He was in a state of disbelief as he asked “You’re not? Are you? “ “I am.” she replied “That’s what I whispered to Ellan. I wouldn’t feel right accepting her generosity if she wasn’t aware. She deserved to know I would need some time off from my assigned role to care for our baby.” Adam didn’t know what to say. He had always wanted to be a father some day, but never dared believe it may actually happen. He hugged his wife tightly saying “I love you so much Alicia.”
That afternoon they all gathered downstairs. Tracy had just removed the door between the units. Adam asked her “Are you sure you want to do that?“ Tracy nodded and replied “It’s just a trial period. I have to keep an eye on my little sis and Felicity. Besides that I kind of, like the idea of us all staying a team. I know you’re only a guy, but you’re.….kind of family now. In a way that is.” Adam smiled saying “Thanks Tracy, I think of us all as a family too, but what do you have against guys?“ Tracy looked at him curiously and replied “Nothing really. I guess the others didn’t tell you. Guys are ok I suppose, but not my preference if you know what I mean. They just don’t do it for me. I told the others that night we were all drunk at the motel.” “Oh.” Adam replied adding ”I didn’t realise sorry.” Tracy explained further feeling the need to and said “Yeah it kind of contributed to my original personality disorder. It wasn’t easy to come to terms with as a teenager. People condemned me like it was a concious choice I had made rather than realise I was just admitting to what was natural for me.” Adam placed a hand on her shoulder and said “It’s all good. Doesn’t bother me. I can respect it.” Tracy smiled and hugged him for accepting so quickly.
That afternoon Kitty agreed to watch over Felicity while the others returned to the flat. When they got back to their home town Adam hired a rental truck and Tracy felt confident to drive the little car, at least for today. It was early afternoon when they entered the old flat. Adam began rolling his favourite anime posters that weren’t too ripped and Alicia asked “Why are you rolling them up? They aren’t going on the walls in the new place.” “I’ll take them for our computer room.” Tracy interjected winking at Adam. He was happy with that. He started boxing up all the computer gear and electronics while Alicia packed what little of the kitchenware she planned on keeping. Tracy bagged up all the clothes and linen. Soon there was only the furniture left. Adam soon realised the hire truck was too big for his needs. The place was always messy and looked crowded with junk, but now it was all packed in boxes, the flat looked bigger than he ever remembered it.
He had a fridge, a bed with side table, a small lounge and a desk with a chair. That was al
l furniture wise. He sat on the lounge to look at it wondering if it was even worth keeping the rest. He called out to Alicia “I might leave the rest here for the next person. It might be a student or something with no money. Maybe they can use it.” “That’s a nice idea.” she replied before saying “We’re keeping the bed though.” “Why?” Adam asked. Alicia stood in front of him and scowled explaining “Because it’s where we first made love idiot.” They immediately heard Tracy’s voice saying “Eww.…You can move that on your own. I’m not touching it.” Adam went and lifted the mattress to drag it out to the truck. He noticed the two old porno mags still laying underneath. He picked them up amusedly and quickly flicked through them. The appeal was gone. The women he once fantasised over were nothing compared to the woman he had married. The pictures he once viewed as magical perfection were just dirty and flawed now. Their shine was gone so he tossed them in a garbage bag.
Once the truck was loaded he took a last look around his old flat. So much had changed in such a short time. It was hard to accept this was no longer home. He was getting sentimental about the old dump but Tracy soon grabbed him and dragged him out slamming the door and telling him “No time for sentimental crap. Just move on. A better future awaits.” He had to agree. When they pulled up out front of Tracy’s apartment she told them to wait. A few minutes later she returned with two bags of clothes and a large box. “That’s it.” she said tossing them into the truck.
It was dark by the time they returned to their new home and unloaded the truck. Ellan had sent over some portable cots and linen for them along with a large bag of food. After setting up Felicity’s cot and making it Alicia cooked everyone a simple meal that went down well. Tracy returned to her side of the duplex while Felicity watched the TV set up on the floor. Adam decided it was now a good chance to enjoy a long hot bubble bath in peace. He hadn’t been there long when Alicia joined him and lay with her back against his chest. She guided his hand to her stomach and held it there while she relaxed. There was no bump yet and normal girls without access to a Lorene repair kit wouldn’t even know they were pregnant so soon. It was nice to imagine the tiny life now inside her that was half him and half her. It was a miracle. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world.” he whispered to Alicia who just smiled saying “We’re both lucky.”
When he awoke the next morning Adam still had Alicia asleep in his arms. He felt something on his feet and looked down to find Felicity in her usual place, curled up in a ball wearing her fake ears. Her ignorance of the past was a new peace for Felicity and she probably was better off never knowing. He vowed never to tell her the full story. They would watch over her as she matured again and he would try to be a good father figure. He would keep on eye on any odd behaviour. There were so many things he had seen in her that concerned him as to what might lurk inside her. There was something very strong and dangerous about her that scared him a little. Her trauma seemed to build up like stored energy wanting to escape. In the end it was her ability to maintain control and follow her plan that had saved them both. He had seen her savour the slow kill and hack into people without even cringing at the gore. Before she felt cared for she attacked instinctively ignoring the risk. He hoped the new her would be different. She deserved some peace. For now she was unburdened, loved and happy. Tracy seemed happy with her new adopted family that accepted her instead of judging her or forcing their own ideals on her. Alicia looked content smiling in her sleep upon his arm. It was funny to think that just days ago she believed she was just an artificial being with a short amount of time to fulfil her dreams. She had done all that now and more. She accepted she was a real girl now and was going to become a mother. Adam wondered what the child would be like. He smiled contentedly as he realised that he couldn’t feel any happier or fulfilled..
Afterwards
Two white winged women sat below the lighthouse overlooking Emma’s little house and the Lorene Institute just beyond that. Nita commented “The new handler has done well watching over her. I’m glad all our pieces are in the one place now. It should allow us to monitor them better and more often.” Allanah replied “It was close though. We almost lost her. She was about ready to turn to darkness. It was calling to her. Who knew the demons were also aware of her potential and exercising her power by controlling that Khall creep. In the end though remembering the handler’s words helped her keep the power capped inside. He has connected deep within her heart. I think we have a few years grace now.” She paused for a moment and asked “I trust you are making sure your new handler remains ours.” Nita responded “Yes. I inspired his programming simply with a picture of myself to use as a goal and a few tweaks to his perverted dreams. I set him up to meet the Kingsworth girl as a trial and bring him in closer. He encountered our girl way before we expected, but it all worked out well thankfully. After all she has been through it is about time she felt a little love.”
Allanah grinned and added “By the way, her father met a very gruesome end. I made sure vengeance was served thoroughly.” Nita stopped her saying “Please say no more. You know my kind don’t have your stomach for violence, justified or not.” Nita looked over the area and asked “Can you feel it? Can you feel the boiling hatred and envy focused on this patch of land and those that dwell here?” Allanah replied sombrely “Yes. At first I thought I was imagining it. I do feel incredible dark power massing and desiring something here. Like a wave gathering to form. I also feel this is where we will say goodbye to this world, but I don’t understand why.” Nita replied “Maybe the old man was wrong. He himself admits he is far from perfect. Maybe there is such a thing as destiny, and that’s why he and his kind are drawn here.”
Shrugging her shoulders Allanah said “Who knows. We have done all we can. It is all up to the girl now. Her power is almost ripe. This world will be her responsibility soon enough to do with as she sees fit.” Nita nodded and said “It will be nice to finally rest. Until then perhaps we should make the best of what little time we have left.” Allanah grinned and suggested “Another wine tasting tour?” Nita nodded and rose into the air with Allanah close behind her.