Awakening on Orbis (11 page)

I shook my head. “You’re just trying to scare me,” I said.

“I know you want to live your own life, but believe me when I tell you that your sister
needs
you. I do not trust the Council. Do it for your sister, Ketheria, not for the Scion.”

That was a dirty trick. “Fine,” I said. “But since I’m not trained as a Space Jumper, I don’t know what I’ll do if anything happens at the Witnessing.”

“Presentation will be our best defense.” Hach said, and stood up, pushing his chair back. “People fear the Tonat,” he called out as he left the room. “Use that.”

The Cycle of Witnessing was sort of like Ketheria’s coming-out party. Anyone who had heard rumors about the Scion was now allowed to see her firsthand (if they paid the fee, of course). I stood back and watched as the corridors of Hach’s newly created temple buzzed with gossip and the workers scrambled about under Queykay’s precise, military-like instruction. He oversaw every detail, including the new robes he ordered us to wear. It was clear that the Trading Council wanted everyone to know that they were in charge of the Scion.

The new cream-colored robes were detailed with a broad, deep red collar marked with the OIO symbol. My outfit was different, though. Instead of a robe, I was given bloodred pants that matched the collars on everyone’s robe. My pants flared behind my legs, leaving a short train of fabric as I walked. I wore a belt marked with the OIO symbol and a long, double-breasted jacket lined with gold buttons, each one sporting the Orbis emblem.

“I think you look . . . great!” Max exclaimed, tugging at the jacket as I got dressed in my room.

“I look ridiculous,” I complained.

“No, you don’t. In fact, you look impressive.”

Max put her arms around me and kissed me.

“What’s that for?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, blushing. “Just because.”

“Well, your robe looks very nice, too. You wear it . . . well,” I said, searching for the proper word.

“You think?” Max said, rubbing her hands over the material. It was so hard for me to compliment her without sounding like a malf. Did I tell her how much I liked the way the material stretched over her legs as she walked? Or the way it clung to her waist? It sounded stupid in my head. I couldn’t imagine saying it out loud. I was staring at her and she saw me. Max kissed me again. “Thanks,” she whispered in my ear.

Theodore charged into my room. “Have you seen all the people out there?” he exclaimed. “The place is already full, and it doesn’t start until the next spoke. No wonder the Trading Council wants to charge for this.” He turned to Max. “Queykay also wants us to hand these out among the crowds.”

Theodore held up four huge sacks filled with more taps. The bags were three times as big as anything we had ever handed out in Murat.

“Wow!” Max remarked. “Where is he, anyway?”

“Not a clue. These were left outside my door with a note.”

“We better get going. It will take all the time we have to hand them out,” Theodore said.

“Queykay left me a note with my clothes. He asked me to stay with Ketheria,” I told them.

Max frowned. “Aw, come with us. Please. I was getting used to you in your new clothes.”

“Yeah, that’s way more golden than what we have to wear,” Theodore added.

I looked at Max and Theodore, with those huge bags of taps. “What can it hurt?” I said. I’d get to the stage in time. No one was going to carve up Ketheria and feed her to the Citizens. I would much rather be with Max than stand around like some stupid trophy. My stomach reacted to my thoughts, turning over once before settling. “Let me grab something, and then we’ll drop by Ketheria’s room before I help you with the taps.”

I made sure not to let Max see me chug Tic’s drink from the chow synth. The liquid’s effect on my stomach was instant, and I was thankful for my encounter with the Belaran even though her warning about Max crept back into my head.
I
will
resist their genetic tampering,
I said to myself.
I don’t care what they’re trying to do. I will live my own life, and right now I want to be with Max.

Theodore handed off two of the sacks, one to Grace and one to Dante (I think that’s what he was calling himself at the moment). Then we stepped outside with the remaining bags. I stopped when I saw the crowd outside waiting to see Ketheria. I think every alien from all four rings was standing in the open courtyard. I looked out and saw more aliens pouring over the concrete walls and stuffing themselves into the walkway leading to the building. Over the farthest points of the audience, huge O-dats floated in the sky as everyone was straining to see the platform extending from the roof and over the crowd.

“How many people do you think are here?” Max wondered aloud.

“More than I ever imagined,” I mumbled.

I walked next to Theodore while he handed out the taps to aliens thrusting their hands toward him. No one pushed or grabbed at Theodore, but you could tell they were anxious to get any information they could. As I walked through the crowd, people whispered and moved out of my way. Max stayed at my side, scooping taps from her sack and handing them to anyone who wanted them. Theodore then fell in behind.

“We’re going to need more than this,” Theodore declared.

“Can’t they share?” I asked.

“I don’t think they want to. They keep these taps like souvenirs.”

I tried to read the faces. Some immediately averted their eyes when I looked at them, and I even caught the odd daring sneer. What did they think I was going to do? Chop
them
all up and eat them? I imagined parents threatening their unruly offspring with horrible stories about the Tonat. Would I ever live up to those fears?
Impossible,
I thought. I mean, look at the outfit I was wearing. Who would be afraid of me?

A Choi stepped in front of me and grabbed my hand with her scaly paw. The familiar knobby stumps poking out from her shoulder blades reminded me of Weegin, our first Guarantor. The alien rubbed my hand along her face, mumbling something I couldn’t understand, an odd display of affection by a Citizen over a knudnik. Did they realize I was still a knudnik? I stopped and looked at Max.
What do I do now?
my eyes pleaded, but Max only shrugged. With my other hand, I stroked the top of the Choi’s bumpy head. Others, seeing my reaction, poured in around us as if by invitation. They pawed at my shoulders, my hair, and even my legs. A sea of hands engulfed Max and me, reaching out to touch any part they could reach. There was no way to move.

“Stop!” I shouted.

The aliens pulled back as if I had used some sort of invisible battering ram. The Choi in front of me started crying. Dirty yellow tears puddled at my feet, and I moved around her to get away. I had no idea what to do.

“This is creepy,” Max whispered.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said.

“What about Theodore?”

“He’ll understand.” I turned to him and called out, “Theodore, we’ll be back in a bit. We’ll meet near the right side of the platform when Ketheria comes out.”

“Hey!” Theodore tried to protest, but the aliens reaching for their taps closed in and smothered him. Max and I slipped into the crowd.

“I feel bad leaving him like that,” Max said.

“He’ll be fine,” I assured her, straining to locate a private spot among the throng of aliens. I grabbed Max’s hand and pulled her along as the crowd parted for us.

“Where are we going to go?” she asked.

“Anywhere,” I replied.

Beneath one of the huge O-dats floating over the crowd, I found a tower holding speakers and smaller O-dats; it was draped in some sort of black material. I poked my head under the cloth. Nothing but the metal frame.
Perfect,
I thought. I lifted the cloth and motioned Max to get under. She laughed and looked over her shoulder. It felt good to be doing something I wanted to do.

Inside, the light barely penetrated the thick material. “I can hardly see you,” I whispered, but Max only chuckled in response.

“Use your hands then,” she said, and placed mine on her face. I ran my fingers around the edges of her face, across her cheeks, and along her lips. We were silent as I explored her face, but I swear I could have started a fire in the space between my fingers and her soft skin. Her warm breath seemed to quicken against the palm of my hand and then I cupped the back of her neck.

“Kiss me,” she said, and I obliged.

We remained tangled in each other’s arms, invisible to the pageantry that surrounded us. I felt happy, truly happy. This was all I wanted — to be alone with Max. We could have been hidden under those drapes for a parsec or an entire light-year. I had no idea. Time was not relevant at that moment; I just wanted more of it.

Without warning I felt like a Neewalker had dug his claws into me and ripped out my stomach. I pushed away from Max and doubled over in the dark.

“What’s wrong?” Max cried.

“I don’t know,” I croaked. I could hardly breathe.

“JT! Are you sick again?”

Clawing at the fabric, I dug my way into fresh air. The light slammed into my eyes with a searing bolt of pain to my brain, and I screamed. Or maybe Max did — I couldn’t tell. I stared into the crowd and a found a Neewalker, directly in front of me, setting up a long-range plasma rifle. I cried out, lunging toward the creature, but found myself with my hands wrapped around the throat of a terrified knudnik, scrambling to get away from me. I spun around, but the Neewalker was gone.
What’s happening to me?

“JT! What are you doing?” Max cried.

The pain seized my brain again and squeezed mercilessly. Another flash, as if someone pointed the sun directly into my eyes, but this time I saw Queykay running along the rooftop.

“Queykay!” I screamed, and pushed through the crowd, stumbling toward him.

Max was at my side. “JT, Queykay’s not here. Talk to me. What’s happening?”

I looked at the roof. She was right. Queykay was gone. Then another flash. More pain.

“JT! Talk to me. Please!”

I turned to Max and saw a wormhole pirate standing behind her. Max saw me staring and spun around. Then I saw another and another. The pirates revealed weapons cloaked at their hip.

“Max, something’s wrong!” I yelled.

“I see that.” She grabbed me by the shoulders. “Look at me, JT. Tell me what’s happening to you.”

“I’m seeing things. It has something to do with Ketheria — I’m certain of it.”

And as I spoke her name, my sister stepped out onto the rooftop platform.

“I have to get to her, Max!”

I lunged forward as the crowd around me broke free like a solar flare. The sound was deafening. A wave of people pushed toward the platform, and Max was swallowed up in the rush.

“JT!”

But I couldn’t respond. Another bolt of pain stabbed at my head, and this time I saw another alien remove a strange-looking device from under his emerald-colored cape. The device was electric of some sort, its long barrel crackling from some unknown power source. I blinked and he disappeared.

I spun toward the platform. I could see my sister waving to the crowd.

“Welcome,” her voice echoed through the loudspeakers. “I know some of you have traveled far, and I thank you.”

“Ketheria!” I screamed.

And then I heard it. I knew instantly.

A sting ripped over the crowd, like an electrical cable had been cut free. There was a short pause followed by a crack. I looked up and saw Queykay moving away from Ketheria, just as I had envisioned earlier. Then I saw Ketheria fall. The crowd gasped and fell silent. I heard nothing but the sound of Ketheria’s body hitting the platform before the air was gobbled up with mayhem. As some screamed, others began to run. Instantly, more than a dozen Space Jumpers appeared on the platform.

That’s when I felt it.

I didn’t try to jump. It was as if someone was
making
me jump. My mind and my body struggled to gain control while some psychic tether yanked me through space and time.

For a nanosecond, the world about me appeared frozen before I was torn from my current moment in time and placed next to my sister on the platform without lapse. The chaos and pandemonium roared back in as the universe caught up with me. Four Nagool masters moved toward my sister, and I spotted Drapling running across the platform. I turned to see where Queykay had gone, but I could not find him. Then four Jumpers closed in around me. Each one grabbed onto Ketheria, and then they were gone, my sister with them. All of this happened within a single breath.

“Wait! Where are they taking her?” I screamed, staring at the spot where they had just been. I ran to the next Jumper, but he disappeared before I even got close. Each Jumper followed, one by one. “Where are you taking her?” I screamed at them.

With Ketheria gone, my head felt like it was going to crack open and its contents spill out on the platform. I was drowning in a wave of nausea as I tried to focus, to unlock some hidden link to the Space Jumpers or to Ketheria herself. Surely the Trust had wired me with something like that. I fixated on being with Ketheria, being off this platform, being next to her. Precious seconds slipped away.
Where are they?
Then my mind unhinged and I pushed myself forward, not from where I was standing but rather through space and time. Instead of darkness, my mind exploded with pure light, and I felt relief as I slipped away from the here and now. I let the Universe guide me and prepared myself for what was to come. I even welcomed the sickly scent of smelly feet.