Alien Me (10 page)

I opened my mouth to shout my refusal, but Sean put his hand on mine. “Being assigned a spouse is standard policy in Geminay. All the Sworn Assets get assigned a spouse.”

I gave him a sharp look. “Including you?”

“Including me.”

I recalled the pretty words of a minute earlier. “You didn’t think to mention that?”

“It got lost in the fuss this morning in the flash of glass knives and the commotion on the battlefield,” Sean said softly.

“Why do they get to choose who we marry?” I cried.

“We’re their creations, remember? The First Shaman of the House of Picard told me that Lord Ramsey and Lady Lesley were my parents because they ordered my design. He said that all on its own gives them the right.”

“These two are not my parents,” I shot back as I pointed at Sylvan and Naomi. “They don’t even seem to care one way or another whether we live. We owe them nothing.”

Sean’s eyes hardened with warning. “Be that as it may, we are in their palace and they need us to make sure that the next generation of Sworn Assets is successful.”

“And that’s our problem?”

“If we’re one of them, then it is. They need us to survive.”

“Are we one of them?” I asked, pointing toward Sylvan and Naomi and the highborn. “I’m not exactly feeling the love.”

“This is unacceptable,” Sylvan said sharply to Naomi. “Lady Darcy is too attached to him. It may mean they’ve exchanged too much energy. She may be compromised.”

“I may be what?” I asked.

Naomi looked concerned for the first time. Her eyes scanned my entire body as if I were a slab of meat held out for purchase. “If Lady Darcy is infertile, that will be another damage that the Picards will have to amend. I’m sure that will be a great relief to you, Judah.”

Judah kept his face carefully neutral.

“Both might be infertile, and the Picards will allege that Lady Darcy ruined their Asset,” Sylvan said.

“If they’re infertile, this will be another failure of the shamans and the Mechanics.”

“If I’m infertile, then do I get to choose my own husband?” I asked, outraged by their presumptuousness. Did they see me as some kind of prize mare?

Naomi’s lip twitched slightly. “My dear, your reproduction will be determined by what is best for the House of Beck. You will come to understand that your relationship with this House is symbiotic and you need us the way we need you.”

“Symbiotic? Is that what you call appropriating my life to serve your purpose?” I asked, as I grew reckless.

Naomi became frosty. “We can’t appropriate that which is already ours. And don’t forget that when we created you, we gifted you our enhanced color and night vision. You see sparkles and auras and heat. Your brain is different from a human brain in that you are much more sensitive to electric signals. We have made you better than a human and we ask little in return.”

“You ask that my life and children be for your use.”

“The highborn serve their Houses, and the Houses serve Geminay,” Sylvan said. “That is the way of all the Original People. Our lives are dedicated to duty and survival.”

Naomi gave me a long, thoughtful look. “My lady, right now you are too young to appreciate the benefits of being a Sworn Asset. On Earth we will provide you with enough material wealth that you will never need to labor in human society. Here you will be given housing and servants befitting your rank. In return we impose only three Sworn Duties on our Sworn Assets. You will bring us energy, keep our world hidden from the humans, and assist in the creation of your replacements. And none of those is more important than the other.”

Sean touched my arm, stopping the protests that had bubbled up to my lips. “They told me the same thing at the House of Picard. And now because we touched, we’re the only Sworn Assets left in our two Houses. Without us the plants won’t grow and the people will weaken and die. It would be nothing less than a catastrophe.”

“Perhaps if someone showed the Lady Darcy our world, she will better understand her role.” Sylvan kept his gaze on Sean as he spoke. “Let her be taken to her quarters. She stinks of petroleum and there are no words to describe the repulsiveness of her raggedy and filthy clothing. And Lord Sean should be shown to the Sworn Assets’ guest quarters. Have maids and footmen been assigned? Lady Darcy is in dire need of at least two lady’s maids.”

“If I were the sensitive type, I might take offense at that,” I snapped.

Judah dragged his eyes off of me. “I’ve already informed the housekeeper to choose the maids and footmen, my lord. Word has reached my ears that some of the Discards became ill from terror when they learned that Lady Darcy is a missusan. Three have released their energy to the universe. One asked to meet the lava.”

“Discards are so fragile,” Sylvan said with a sigh. “Tell the housekeeper to create a list of maids and footmen to replace the ones that Lady Darcy releases to the universe.”

“Hopefully the lady’s maid should be able to do something lovely with Darcy’s hair,” Naomi said. “At least it’s long, not cropped off.”

“If Lady Darcy doesn’t extinguish her first,” Sylvan said.

“Are you really saying that you think I will be killing the maids?” I asked coldly.

“My dear lady, there’s been precedent,” Naomi said. “On Earth you extinguished three missusans who were armed and ready for your touch. Another body has been found on the battlefield and that’s been attributed to you. There’s no telling what you will do to the Discards.”

“I don’t hurt random people.”

“Don’t you?” Naomi’s voice changed. Clearly she wasn’t used to people talking back to her. “Then maybe you will show us how well controlled you are. Touch your betrothed—your bare flesh on his. Lord Judah, take Lady Darcy’s hand so she may demonstrate how she doesn’t kill random people.”

“Yes, do,” Sylvan said. “The staff will be much comforted.”

My heart sank. I could see Judah’s fixed expression, the movement of his throat muscles as he swallowed hard. As if from a distance, I could hear Sean saying that this wasn’t necessary, that I had never hurt him, that my touch healed not harmed. The lord and lady were unmoved. Slowly Judah made his way toward me, one step in front of the other. Each foot seemed to weigh twenty pounds. When he finally reached me, his face set and diamond pupils dilated with fear, he held out a trembling hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the lords and ladies looking away from him, their bodies stiff with fear. One pretty young lady in particular trembled in dread.

“Lady Darcy hasn’t had the benefit of the training a shaman would give her,” Sean was saying. “She’s too powerful. This places Lord Judah at an unacceptable risk.”

Naomi gave a thin smile and tipped her head to the side, as if puzzled. “But the Lady Darcy seems so sure.”

“Judah, you don’t have to do this,” Sean cried.

“Actually, he does,” Sylvan said with a nod to his wife.

Sean made a sound of exasperation before turning to me and grabbing my arm. A jolt of energy buzzed through my veins. The sensation reminded me of a powerful engine, low but full of potential.

“Look into my eyes,” Sean said. “Feel what is coming through your fingers. You have to feel it before you can control it. Judah here is just an ordinary guy. Command your energy not to hurt him. He’s not trying to hurt you. He’s just a guy.”

Sean released me and I took a deep breath to steady myself. When I looked at Judah, the terror showed only in the tight corners of his mouth. As Judah’s fingers moved within inches of mine, I felt the panicked pulsing of his heart, as if he were reaching into open flame. I could hear Sean’s voice urging me on. I marshaled all my concentration on energy that felt cool and pink, the color of growth and beauty. I felt the tingling energy surging through my fingers toward Judah and fought to drag it back. I willed my fingers to be gentle, as if I were touching the fragile wings of a butterfly.

Ever so tenderly Judah set his fingers in my palm. I felt the slightest pressure of his flesh and my heart tumbled in my chest. His fear was a wild animal trying to claw its way out of his body. The emotion transferred to me, and I wanted to blast him and his terrible horror away from me. Fighting for control, I concentrated on keeping my hand cold. An energy bubble, first as a sparkle, then like a snowflake, formed over our clutched hands. First it was green and then blue. Then it sank as it encircled my hand and Judah’s. As I watched, tendrils of energy, like streamers, came from the orb and began moving up my arm and around Judah’s. I looked up and saw Judah’s diamond pupils fixed on mine.

“That’s enough,” Sean said suddenly and plunged his hand into the orb, bursting it like a soap bubble.

The tendrils wafted away in pretty stripes like rainbows as they reabsorbed into my skin. The spell broken, Judah stepped back and blinked hard several times. Then he bowed slightly and returned to his place with the others. His color had changed to a more pale shade of blue, and his chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths. His face registered no strain.

Naomi turned to Judah. “What did you feel of her energy, my lord?”

He tipped his head toward Sean. “He is all through her. So are the missusans and a soldier from the field. Her strength is indescribable.”

“If she drained three missusans, then she has energy from all the Great Houses.” Sylvan’s boredom had been replaced with something like consternation. “Lord Sean, you will come away with Lord Judah. Lady Arlee, you will stay here with Lady Darcy until you receive word to take her to her quarters.”

Sean turned to me. “Will you be all right?”

“No problem.” My pride answered for me. Sean had stayed in Geminay all by himself for what felt like a month. I should be able to handle this room for a little while.

Sylvan and Naomi left first. The rest followed, leaving behind Lady Arlee, a tall strawberry blonde with blue cat’s eyes. She wore a purple tunic, knee-length and fitted over her slender form. Her hair was ornately curled and braided, with one long lock lying over one shoulder. Her complexion was healthy, only slightly blue, and her gaze lingered on Judah as he exited the room. Her face didn’t betray any emotion, but my skin was picking up a vibration of sadness and loss.

“Who is Judah to you?” I asked, acting on a hunch.

Her reply was flat and resigned. “We were betrothed until he was selected to marry you, my lady.”

Her words were accompanied with a wave of grief. “I’m sorry about that. I really am. You must know that I didn’t ask for this.”

Arlee inclined her head at me to acknowledge my reply, but she couldn’t look at me.

“You don’t have to stay.” Being in my presence must be torture. “I’ll be fine by myself.”

“I am sure that is true, my lady, but in Geminay it is customary for the former betrothed to be assigned to the Sworn Asset who replaces him or her. It reinforces the fact that our first duty is to Geminay and not to matters of emotion. The Original People believe that it results in enhanced integrity building.”

The notion baffled me. “This doesn’t seem like adding insult to injury?”

Arlee tipped her head. “How is it insulting to do one’s duty to family and society, my lady?”

“I didn’t mean that being around me was insulting. What I meant is that I don’t want to be the stick used to beat down your heart.”

“Are you ordering me out of your sight, my lady?” she asked with a catch in her voice.

I sensed her fear and thought there had to be more to this. “If I were to, what would happen to you?”

Arlee became very solemn. “I would face punishment for my lack of character and discretion at putting my vulgar desires ahead of the needs of the Original People.”

“Then I’ll try not to make this worse for you.” For Arlee there was no upside, just loss all around. She bit her trembling lip, as if to hold it still. Her shoulders slumped, and I could feel her anxiety, her indecision.

“Is there a specific reason why the two of us are waiting in here?” I asked after an awkward silence. “Couldn’t we go to my quarters?”

“I believe your apartment is being made ready now, my lady. And I won’t be allowed in your quarters. Only Sworn Assets and their staff ever enter the Sworn Assets’ building.”

We were still standing together, stiff and formal, like girlfriend number one and girlfriend number two in the locker room at school after a PE class. “Then at least you won’t have to see me around.”

“Part of my role, my lady, is to be your companion here in Geminay, much like that of your friends on Earth, Parisa, Cosette, and Gail, the ones who received the Approvals.” Arlee swallowed hard and hugged herself. “This time we’re spending together now is giving me an opportunity decide whether to become one of your companions or to meet the lava.”

“Those are your two options? Meeting the lava or hanging around me? That’s the punishment you would get if we didn’t get along?”

“Yes, my lady, but it rarely comes to that. We are a cooperative people who understand how to function in a complex world.”

“That’s good. What are the Approvals that you mentioned earlier?” I asked, curious about how my being a Sworn Asset affected Parisa, Cosette, and Gail.

“It is a program of mind improvement designed to give correct thoughts and actions. People who receive the Approvals behave in an acceptable manner. Maybe your ladyship has noticed what excellent friends Gail, Parisa, and Cosette are and how they’re a credit to their families.”

I stared at Arlee. “They all got the Approvals?”

“Of course, otherwise Gail might have become an alcoholic wastrel like her brother and Cosette a lazy slattern like her sister. Gail’s and Cosette’s minds needed much adjustment, but Parisa’s needed very little. Your three friends were much improved by our efforts.”

I didn’t want to think about that anymore. “And what is it to meet the lava?”

“The Mechanics have a pit that’s open to the lava, my lady. Those who wish to extinguish themselves can meet the lava there.”

I closed my eyes tightly, not wanting the image of people throwing themselves into molten rock. Worse, I didn’t really want to think that lava would be preferable to my company, even though I had gotten Arlee’s fiancé. “You must hate me for this.”