Invaded (16 page)

After pricking Dahla’s finger with a handheld machine, Elle frowned at the screen.
“She has poison in her blood, a neurotoxin from the
h’urr
blossom. She’ll be
all right, but we’ll have to cleanse her system.”

Odom pointed at Cara and loudly announced, “The human put something in Dahla’s food.
We all saw her.”

Cara froze.

Everyone at that table confirmed it, and without bothering to ask for Cara’s side
of the story, the supervisor ordered her to report to the headmaster’s office. Her
first instinct
was to stay and defend herself, but Troy tugged her elbow.

“Come on,” he whispered. “You don’t want to be here if things go south.”

When Cara glanced around and noticed all the hostile glares, she understood. She was
a scapegoat, and with emotions running high, it wouldn’t take much for her classmates
to turn on her.
Probably best to hang out with the headmaster and wait for tempers to cool.

They’d barely taken a dozen steps when Aisly intercepted them in the lobby.

“Where are you going?” Aisly asked, gesturing toward Cara’s room. “You’re supposed
to report to your quarters so I can fetch you for our outing.”

“What outing?”

The girl grinned and leaned in as if sharing a secret. “Jaxen will be back momentarily
with our shuttle. Then we have a surprise for you.” Her chrome eyes twinkled and she
bounced on
her toes, reminding Cara of a child eager to present a gift to her parents.

There was something odd about Aisly. On the outside, she resembled the other clones,
maybe a few inches shorter than most of the girls. However, much like Jaxen, she seemed
almost human, but
with an icy edge that made her every bit L’eihr. Cara sensed another difference in
the siblings, but the answer lingered just beyond her grasp, making her wonder for
the hundredth time what
gifts they possessed that had earned their positions in The Way.

“I can’t go. I’m in trouble,” Cara said. Or at least she thought she was. She kept
forgetting that Jaxen and Aisly trumped the headmaster by about a thousand steps on
the
hierarchical ladder. “Maybe you can talk to the headmaster for me.”

“What did you do?” Aisly asked.

Cara explained everything, making sure to mention all the times Dahla had bullied
her. “I didn’t put anything in her breakfast. As much as she hates me, I wouldn’t
be surprised
if she poisoned herself to make me look guilty. It’s easily cured, so she wasn’t risking
anything.”

“I’d believe that,” Troy said.

Aisly studied him for a moment, then abruptly asked, “Did you poison her?”

“What?”
he cried, hand flying to his chest. “Me? Why would I do that?”

She shrugged. “To avenge your sister.”

“I had nothing to do with it,” Troy told Aisly. “I wouldn’t poison anyone, especially
in a place
like this
.” His last words were charged with contempt.

Aisly picked up on it, defensively folding her arms. “A place like what, exactly?”

“A place where the punishment could get me whipped or killed.”

Aisly peered at them both as if trying to see inside their heads.

“I. Didn’t. Do it,” Troy forced out through gritted teeth.

“He’s telling the truth,” Cara said. “Troy didn’t touch her food. Besides, it’s possible
the toxin got into her system some other way.”

Aisly didn’t appear convinced, but she told Cara to wait for Jaxen at the courtyard
landing pad while she stayed behind to resolve the incident with the headmaster. “I’ll
meet
you there shortly,” she added before striding toward the administrative offices.

“What a bitch,” Troy muttered under his breath after Aisly had moved out of earshot.
“Wherever it is they’re taking you, I’m going, too. I didn’t get an
invite, but I don’t care.”

“Fine by me.”

On their way toward the front doors, Vero crossed Cara’s path and gave her the animal
equivalent of the evil eye.
Aaaeee-oooo
, Vero howled, pumping his tiny raccoonish paw in the
air. Indecipherable as it was, Cara knew his impassioned rant reflected the sentiment
of nearly everyone on the planet.

“Yeah,” she said, striding out the front door. “I hate you, too.”

Cara squinted against the sun’s glittering reflection as she jetted over the sea at
speeds so fast she could barely lean forward in her seat. As it turned out, her big
surprise was a visit to the colony, a sneak peek of sorts to help her explain the
lifestyle to prospective humans who might settle there.

To her left, Jaxen piloted the small four-person shuttle, while Troy and Aisly sat
together in the back. Judging by the charged silence filling the rear of the craft,
neither was thrilled with
the seating arrangements, but Jaxen had insisted Cara take the copilot position because
it offered the best view.

And, boy, was he right.

“Look there,” Jaxen said, slowing down and pointing out Cara’s window. “A pod of
maru
.”

She pressed her fingertips to the glass and gazed at a family of shimmery white whale-like
creatures slicing through the water by using their oversize flippers as wings. She
thought she spotted
a baby among them, but the shuttle sped past in a flash, and they were gone.

“Wow.” She tried to turn in her seat to face Troy, but velocity held her still. “I
wish you could see this,” she called to him. “It’s amazing.”

He answered with a grunt.

“I could slow down,” Jaxen offered, “but I don’t want to lose daylight. It’ll be nearly
dusk when we arrive at the colony.”

“What’s the time difference between the colony and the main continent?” Cara asked.

“About six hours.” Jaxen pointed out her window again. “There’s
Allahn
, one of our ancient societies.”

“Oh!” This was Cara’s favorite part of their journey. She loved catching glimpses
of the L’eihrs’ ancient ruins.

She turned her gaze to the island, trying to form a mental snapshot of its crumbling
temple. The sandy stonework reminded her of a cross between the Parthenon and the
pyramids of Giza.
She’d learned in humanities class that the ancients had occupied these islands before
discovering the continent. Here, they’d battled over trade routes and fertile fishing
waters, even
invading one another to impound slaves, much as humans had done. Jaxen explained that
without weather controls in place, storms would have eroded the structures several
millennia ago.

“And their greatest foes,” Jaxen said as the shuttle approached a larger island, “the
Ellohi
. They were a terrifying force. If they perceived a threat, however slight,
they launched a preemptive attack. Very proactive.”

“I’ve read about them.” If Cara’s memory served, the
Ellohi
were relentless warriors who’d sought to dominate the sea, Roman Empire–style.
“According to your legends, they’re the ones who were supposedly abducted by aliens
and scattered across the universe, right?”

“Yes, if you believe that.”

She slanted a glance at him. “I don’t.”

“That’s right,” he said with a smile. “You’re a fan of Larish’s theory—that our ancients
were abducted from Earth and transplanted here.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” she told him. “First of all, our people have
to be related, because the odds of two genetically identical species existing in this
universe are zero.”

“Agreed,” he said.

“Okay. So now that we’ve established that, why would anyone think ancient L’eihrs
brought blue eyes to Earth when brown-eyed humans existed for thousands of years before
that
mutation? Where do they think brown-eyed humans came from? And as for L’eihr mono-ethnicity,
I assumed it was because your people had been around longer, but really, I think it
had to do with
your ancestors being abducted from a single nation.”

Jaxen glanced at her with a grin. “You don’t need to convince me,
Cah
-ra. I realized Larish’s thesis was valid before he’d even written it. You and I are
descended from ancient humans, as are countless other societies throughout galaxies
we’ve yet to discover.”

His concession surprised her. According to Aelyx, only a handful of L’eihrs believed
they were related to mankind. “But Aelyx said—”

“Gods on fire,” Jaxen swore. “I’m tired of hearing about the nonsense Aelyx told you.”

She thought she heard Troy snickering from the backseat.

Cara quietly cleared her throat. “But aren’t most L’eihrs ashamed to admit their connection
to Earth?”

“I don’t see why,” Jaxen said. “If anything, our shared lineage proves the superiority
of the L’eihr race. We’re younger than mankind, and yet we’ve
managed to evolve beyond you.”

Cara suppressed an eye roll. “You’re leaving out one key piece of information.”

“And what’s that?”

“Larish wrote that the abducting aliens probably gave technology to your ancients
when they left them on L’eihr.” While the human race was still mastering written communication
and domesticating animals, the L’eihrs were beginning to experiment with solar power.
The rest of their advances were achieved through organized breeding, which the aliens
had probably helped
with, too. “You had a head start.”

Jaxen gave a haughty laugh. “I admire your competitive spirit,
Cah
-ra. You and I are alike in that way.”

“It’s not a contest or anything,” she said with a shrug. She just didn’t like the
L’eihrs acting superior all the time. “But it explains a lot.”

He took his eyes off the controls and watched her for a long moment, the way a dieter
stares at the last cookie. “I do love mankind. Despite their shortcomings, they’ve
managed to
produce a few fine specimens. Quite fine.”

After that, the mood shifted. Cara stared out her window and took in the aquatic sights,
but Jaxen tainted the experience. He felt too near, his knee resting inches from hers,
his elbow brushing
her sleeve, and she couldn’t wait to get off the shuttle and away from him.

When they arrived at the colony an hour later, Jaxen smiled as if nothing had happened.
“Behold—your future home!”

He slowed the shuttle and circled the island so Cara could take in the entire settlement.
She glanced out the window, heart fluttering as her spirits lifted.

The miniature town was adorable, reminiscent of a theme park in the way narrow streets
and pathways connected each structure, all compacted within the span of a hundred
acres. An ancient temple
crumbled near the beach, but instead of the sandy-colored rubble, they had imported
blocks of gray stone from the continent, so the buildings within town resembled those
at the capital. Cara
imagined they’d done so for the clones’ benefit, to make them feel at home.

“It’s still a work in progress,” Jaxen said, drawing Cara’s attention to empty plots
and slabs of slate. “Think of this as the skeleton. We’ll flesh it out
later with landscaping and recreational areas.” He pointed to a flat expanse of land
in the distance. “And we’ll plant the first season’s crops for you.”

Crops. That probably meant The Way intended for the colony to sustain itself. Cara
didn’t know the first thing about agriculture, but that was okay. They’d recruit people
with a
broad range of talents. She liked the idea of existing independently of the continent.

“What kind of animal is that?” she asked, pointing to the north beach, where hundreds
of small creatures dragged their bodies onto the sand. They had sleek tan skin and
flippers with
a single talon at the end, which they used to gain traction. Cute, in a freaky-deaky
sort of way.

Jaxen leaned aside to peer out her window. “Ah, the
mahlay
. They come here to lay their eggs because the rich soil beneath the sand keeps the
ground a few degrees warmer than
other islands. Don’t worry. They won’t bother you.”

Cara turned her attention to a cluster of apartment-style buildings that resembled
the Aegis. The grouping sat at the center of town, with each road and pathway leading
back to it. “And
what’s that?”

“We call that the Living Center,” he said, hovering above one of the buildings to
give her a closer look. “We tried to blend human and L’eihr cultures, so colonists
will
reside in family units as opposed to occupational barracks. Each unit will contain
basic sleeping quarters and a living room, but you’ll dine together in the main hall
and share communal
washrooms.”

“Family units?” Cara asked. “Does that mean children will live with their parents?”

“Yes. Younglings will spend their evenings in the family unit and their days in the
Aegis, to ensure developmental consistency.”

Cara released a breath. “That’s good. Otherwise, you won’t get many humans here.”

“We understand your attachment to your offspring.”

There wasn’t room to land the shuttle in town, so Jaxen touched down on the beach.
Once the thrusters died, Cara exited the craft and stretched her stiff back and legs.
She’d become
unaccustomed to sitting still for so long, thanks to Satan’s PE class.

Right away, she noticed a dampness in the air that made her skin feel sticky, and
it seemed several degrees warmer here than on the continent. She supposed the temperature
difference made sense,
considering the island’s position near the equator. L’eihrs only controlled their
weather systems enough to prevent destructive storms.

Troy hopped down from the backseat and pointed to a thicket of tall taupe trees and
leafy underbrush. “Be right back,” he whispered. “Gotta drain the lizard.”

Laughing, Cara faced the softly crashing waves and let the ocean breeze caress her
face. She shielded her eyes from the sun, which hung low on the horizon. Beautiful
as the L’eihr sunset
was—with smudges of salmon and gold contrasted against a slate sky—it couldn’t compete
with Earth’s cotton candy dusk. But the air here smelled sweeter than the beaches
of
home—an unpolluted mixture of salt, sun, and a scent that reminded her of pine. Sharp-beaked
winged animals dove, kamikaze-style, into the surf to spear fish. That, at least,
was
familiar.