Invaded (13 page)

A
elyx never expected to become so good at cheating death. As a child, he’d resented
his assignment as translator, a seemingly dull
occupation. He’d wanted a position in the genetics labs, or perhaps aboard the voyager
shuttles, cataloguing new planets and unfamiliar species. He’d craved adventure and
discovery. Who
would’ve guessed that his job manipulating mere words would result in so many assassination
attempts?

The most recent attack had been rather creative. After the bomb squad had swept and
secured the building, Aelyx and his pseudo-family had returned to their suite and
settled at the dining room
table for supper. Syrine had abandoned her interest in cooking—thank gods—so they’d
resumed their habit of ordering takeout. She’d just brought a spring roll to her lips
when David stopped her and asked who’d ordered the meal.

Syrine had assumed Aelyx placed the order. Aelyx figured it’d been Syrine. The ambassador
insisted he hadn’t called for delivery—he didn’t even like Szechuan. David boxed
up the dinner and sent it to a government facility, where it’d tested positive for
strychnine. Since then, Aelyx had taken it upon himself to learn how to cook.

Again, Stepha had reported the crime to Alona, and again, she’d pardoned the act,
citing
no harm, no foul
. It was as if she didn’t care whether Aelyx lived or died.
She’d even gone a step further, insisting they double their efforts to reform his
and Syrine’s reputations and endear them to HALO members. Now Aelyx had a government-appointed
crisis
communications specialist and an image consultant named Blaze.

An image consultant! As if a trendy haircut would fix everything.

But strangest of all, HALO continued to deny responsibility for the attempts on his
life. Nothing made sense anymore. It was as if he’d fallen down the rabbit hole in
that popular
children’s story and landed in an alternate dimension…in which he had an image consultant.

“Damn, I’m good,” Blaze said as she added a dollop of sticky goop to his hair. She
had one of those faces that made it impossible to guess her age, but she pinched his
cheek
like a grandmother. “Of course, it’s not hard making you pretty, is it, hon?”

Gods, kill me now.

“Are we done?” Aelyx gestured toward the living room, where his next interview was
set to begin. This time the government had flown Cara’s parents to Kansas City to
participate. Or at least that’s where Aelyx thought he was. He tended to lose track
these days.

Blaze patted his chest. “Knock ’em dead, hot stuff.”

On his way to the living room, Aelyx crossed paths with Sharon Taylor, the journalist
who’d conducted his exchange program interviews in the fall. Clad in her signature
pink suit, she
devoured him with her gaze while a predatory grin curved her mouth.

“Aelyx,” she practically purred. “You look delish, honey.” She twirled one finger
toward his head. “Love what you did with the hair. The ponytail was hot, but this
is edgier. My audience is going to eat you up with a spoon and fight each other to
lick the bowl.”

He tried to hide his annoyance. “Thanks for accommodating us on such short notice.”

“Oh, please!” she cried with a wave of her red-tipped fingers. “I should be thanking
you
.” She indicated for him to sit on the sofa with Bill and Eileen Sweeney
while she picked her way over wires and around crew members to the adjacent armchair.

Eileen threw her arms around Aelyx’s neck before his backside had met the sofa. She
brought with her the scent of lilacs and a warmth that he’d missed more than he had
realized. She
took his face between her palms. “It’s so good to see—”

“Hands off,” Sharon interrupted. “You’ll make his skin shiny.”

Eileen obediently released him while Bill extended a hand for a firm shake. If the
man harbored any ill will against Aelyx for stealing Cara away from her home, he didn’t
let it show.
Bill’s eyes gleamed with the respect Aelyx had regularly seen there, even if he hadn’t
always deserved it.

“We miss having you at the house,” Bill said. “Now that you’re gone, there’s no one
to organize the canned vegetables by dietary fiber content.”

“Or rearrange the plates in the dishwasher,” Eileen added.

Aelyx had missed them, too. When he’d lived with the Sweeneys, it was the first time
he’d felt like he belonged to a family. “I’m glad we have this chance
to—”

Sharon cut him off with a clap. “Everyone ready?” She pulled a gold pen from her breast
pocket and pointed it at them. “I have dinner reservations at six.”

“Charming as always,” Bill muttered under his breath.

When the cameraman flashed the signal, Sharon began. “Good evening, America. I promised
you an interview with a special guest, and, boy, am I about to deliver! I’m joined
tonight by
our favorite L’eihr exchange student, and my sixth sense tells me he has big news
to share.” Crossing her legs at the ankles, she angled her body toward Aelyx. “So
tell me: does
this big news involve a secret wedding?”

Aelyx played the part of a reluctant celebrity, relaxing his posture and favoring
Sharon with a good-natured chuckle. “Now, Ms. Taylor, you know humans and L’eihrs
can’t
legally wed.”

“Besides,” Bill coolly interjected, “Cara’s too young to get married.”

“But not too young for interplanetary travel.” Sharon arched a brow. “An unaccompanied
minor jetting off to a foreign galaxy? Not many parents would approve of that.”

Aelyx didn’t say so, but Cara’s parents
hadn’t
approved. In the wake of Eron’s death, The Way had given them no say in the matter.

“She wasn’t unaccompanied,” Eileen said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Her
brother was with her, and Aelyx’s leaders. We knew they would take care
of our little girl.”

“Mmm.” In that one simple utterance, Sharon made her judgment clear. “You’re very
trusting, aren’t you?”

Bill ground his teeth but nodded with a grin. The PR specialist had explained that
parts of the interview had to appear harsh, or it wouldn’t seem genuine. Sharon would
ask a few
uncomfortable questions, but when the hour was done, she’d surrender her footage to
the government, who would edit the material in their favor.

“And Aelyx,” Sharon went on, “there’s some negative chatter about you and the other
two exchange students. Wasn’t it discovered that Eron”—she touched
her chest—“God rest his soul, tampered with the water supply? When they searched his
bedroom, they found contaminated water samples and all kinds of strange equipment.”

“That’s not true,” Aelyx said. “Those analytics were sanctioned by your government.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what
is
true?”

He hesitated, wanting desperately to do what she’d asked. But The Way still hadn’t
responded to his request. Without their approval, he was compelled to remain quiet.

“Oh, come on,” she crooned. “I can tell it’s weighing on you. Go ahead and get it
off your chest.” Smiling in anticipation, she tapped her pen against one knee.
“Confession does wonders for the soul.”

Even if Aelyx believed in souls, he would doubt that Sharon Taylor possessed one.
However, he began to take her suggestion seriously. The first step in earning forgiveness
was honesty, and he
couldn’t mend human-L’eihr relations by continuing to lie. If the PR specialists disagreed,
they would simply cut the footage later. Stepha wasn’t here, so there was no one to
stop him.

“A confession,” he said. “All right. My friends and I have been accused of many things—among
them, blighting local crops and poisoning the water supply.” Taking a
deep breath, he leaned forward and rested both forearms against his thighs. “One of
those allegations is true.”

Sharon’s eyes brightened and she nearly dropped her pen. “Which one?”

“The first. We used parasitic seedlings to stunt the crop growth in Midtown, Bordeaux,
and Lanzhou.”

Eileen gasped beside him while Bill’s lips parted. Aelyx offered an apologetic glance
before dropping his gaze to the carpet.

“Why would you do that?” Sharon asked.

“Because humans and L’eihrs have more in common than you think,” Aelyx said. “Stubbornness,
prejudice, fear of the unfamiliar—my generation feels these emotions,
too. We couldn’t understand why the Elders wanted to ally with humans. And because
we opposed the alliance, we contrived to sabotage it.” The admission felt good, as
if an invisible
weight had lifted from his shoulders. “It was a decision we made together in secret,
but we agree now it was a terrible mistake. We were wrong about mankind.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Basically, I came to know humans on a personal level. The more time I spent here,
the more I learned that the criminals dominating your news stories are a misrepresentation
of your
kind.” Aelyx dipped his head and glanced into the camera. “And I fell in love. I wasn’t
expecting that.”

“Ah, yes,” Sharon said, drawing out the words. “With Cara Sweeney, your host student.
I saw sparks fly at every interview, but you both denied the rumors.” She paused as
if waiting for a response.

“We wanted to keep our private lives to ourselves.”

“Hmm.” She shook her head and pointed that damned pen at him. “So many lies, Aelyx.
So many secrets. How do we know you’re telling the truth now?”

“Because I have no reason to lie. I want to make up for what I’ve done—to help repair
the damage I’ve caused so we can join together and—”

“Where is Cara?” Sharon interrupted.

Aelyx stared at her for a few beats, trying to discern her motive behind the asinine
question. Sharon knew full well where Cara was. The whole world knew. “At this very
moment? I imagine
she’s in her cot, dreaming of hot fudge sundaes and debate tournaments.”

“Isn’t it true,” Sharon asked coldly, “that the other two human exchange students
refused to leave Earth because they feel threatened?”

“I haven’t spoken with them, so I can’t say. But breaking the contract was their prerogative.
The Elders would never force—”

“Cara was valedictorian of her class,” Sharon cut in. “Why would she leave now, four
months before the end of the school year?” Sharon’s assistant handed her a
piece of paper. She glanced at it and set it facedown on the sofa. “My records show
that she failed to earn the credits she needed to graduate. I find it odd that such
a dedicated student
would simply walk away from her diploma, especially since her exchange wasn’t scheduled
to begin until next fall.”

Aelyx fought to maintain a calm expression. “You’re forgetting an important detail.”

“Which is?”

“Cara and I fled her home because a riotous mob stormed the property—hours after the
Patriots of Earth tortured and killed my best friend. We escaped in my shuttle and
joined the
main transport while her father stayed behind to distract the crowd.” Aelyx nodded
toward the man. “He barely survived the attack.”

Bill spoke up from the other end of the sofa. “He’s right. Where are you going with
this?”

Sharon ignored him. “But why not send Cara home the next day? It didn’t take long
for the military to end the riots.”

Aelyx didn’t have an answer for that. In truth, Cara
had
wanted to return to Earth, but The Way insisted on sending her to L’eihr to punish
him. It was one of their
nonnegotiable conditions for continuing alliance talks in the wake of Eron’s murder.

“Isn’t it true,” Sharon went on, “that you kidnapped Cara to avenge your friend’s
death—an eye for an eye, a life for a life? Maybe she refused to serve out
the exchange, and you couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. There’s a thin line
between love and obsession. Did you force her to leave with you?”

Aelyx sat bolt upright. “Of course not! I could summon her on my com-sphere right
now and she’d tell you herself.”

“It’s true,” Eileen said. “We talk to her almost every—”

“Maybe,” Sharon interrupted. “But I imagine she’d say anything if she were scared
enough.”

“This is ridiculous, even for you.” Aelyx should have known better than to listen
to this relentless shrew. “Cara will visit Earth in the spring. Until then, the topic
is
closed.”

A chilling smile uncurled across Sharon’s lips. “Not quite.” She pointed her pen at
the television. “A new witness has come forward. I think we deserve to hear his side
of the story.”

One of the production assistants angled the television toward Aelyx and began attaching
various cords to it. Then, like an image from a nightmare, Marcus Johnson’s smug face
appeared
onscreen, the caption below claiming,
MIDTOWN ATTACK VICTIM TO SUE L
’
EIHRS FOR DAMAGES
.

Aelyx’s body tensed and flashed white-hot. Victim? The last time he’d seen Marcus,
the boy had broken half of Cara’s ribs and fractured her skull. Marcus was no victim,
though
Aelyx would welcome the opportunity to rectify that.

“Marcus,” Sharon said, “you were the last person to see Cara Sweeney before she disappeared.
Tell us what happened.”

Marcus pressed his lips together and raked a hand through his shaggy brown hair as
if traumatized. “I was patrolling the woods with my girlfriend and my buddy Eric.
We saw the alien
dragging Cara toward his ship. She tried fighting him off, but then he stunned her
with this laser thing, and she just kind of froze up, like this.” He grimaced, tongue
lolling aside, looking
every bit like the imbecile he was. “Then we jumped in to help her.”

“And that’s when Aelyx attacked you?” Sharon asked.

Marcus hung his head and nodded. “He grabbed my shotgun and used it to bust my knee.
The doctors say I’ll never get full use back. I lost my lacrosse scholarship—that’s
why I’m suing the L’eihrs. They should have to pay for what he did.” Marcus seemed
to remember the other characters in his lie. “He shot Eric. Brandi got away, but
she’s real shook up. She might need therapy.”