Peering cautiously out from behind a neighboring house--and thankful that no one had seen him lurking and called the cops--Michael kept an eagle eye on the front door of Tess Harding's place. He tried to force himself to relax his taut muscles, but didn't get very far. He had to face it--he was completely on edge.
His hand went towards Maria's cell phone, tucked into his jacket pocket, but he forced himself to stop. No use calling anyone. He'd hear from Max on Liz's cell once Nasedo had arrived at their appointed meeting place, and there was no point in calling Isabel and the others until the coast was clear for them to break in. The only one left was Liz, who was running a sort of 'command central' from her room at home, and frankly, he really didn't have anything to say to her.
Who was he kidding? He really didn't have anything to say to anyone. And yet, here he was, about to try and sweet-talk Tess Harding into telling him everything she knew. Or at least into leaving the house for a while.
He used to be better at this stuff. He'd been able to distract that nurse long enough to switch Alex's blood for Max's when the other alien had been in a car accident. It had been easy. And he'd pulled off a successful front of selling candies for charity when he was scoping out the Sheriff's station last year. Of course, either time he hadn't taken much time to think about it; he'd just come up with the scheme and carried it out. But nowadays it seemed like he had a lot more riding on what he did. Things were more important to him now, so he couldn't just rush headlong into action. And he had more time for second, third and fourth thoughts.
Maria's cell phone rang twice, and he jumped, glad there was no one around to notice his startlement. After a brief silence, it rang once more and then stopped. The signal to go.
Frantically trying to remember everything Maria had said in her little 'coaching' session earlier that evening, he ran both hands through his hair, purposely disheveling it even more than usual. Having decided that a friendly approach wasn't going to cut it, and soundly vetoing any action that seemed likely to end up getting Michael hurt, his girlfriend had decided that 'desperation' was the direction to go in. So he'd sat there, listening to her go on and on about what he should do to be convincing, and idly wondering if acting in one school play made everyone want to direct.
As far as he was concerned, how he approached Tess didn't matter. Nothing he did was going to work. Well, maybe chloroform, but he had no idea where to get any. And no idea if it worked on alien-human hybrids either. He certainly wasn't going to ask Max or Isabel to play test subject to find out.
Suddenly realizing he was wasting time, Michael gritted his teeth and headed across the street and up the front walkway. Standing at the front door, he braced himself, and then raised one hand to knock sharply on the door.
He had no idea what he was going to say.
But there was no response to his knock, and his spirits brightened. Maybe he wasn't going to have to say anything. Maybe she wasn't even home. The others could come over and do their bugging thing, and he could keep on the lookout in case either alien returned--
The door swung open and Tess looked up, her blue eyes gazing coolly at him.
Oh, hell. Okay, okay. What had Maria said? Oh yeah, 'Play dumb.' He could manage that. "Is...uh, is he here?"
"He's told me not to talk to you," the small blonde hybrid said.
Dammit. Now what? "I...uh..." he stammered as he tried to come up with something--anything--to convince her to talk with him. When the hell had he become so tongue-tied? Here he was, acting like a total idiot, taking the 'playing dumb' idea way too far.
Without warning, Tess nodded. "I hoped you'd come. Let me get a jacket; we can take a walk, and talk or something."
As she turned to the nearby coat closet, all Michael could do was stare, gape-jawed. How the hell had he managed that?
* * * * *
"Shhhhh! Careful," Maria cautioned loudly as Isabel stepped up to the back door of the Harding house. The statuesque alien gave her a pointed look before placing a hand over the lock and silently turning the tumblers. Maria had the grace to look ashamed. "Oops. Sorry. I'm just nervous, that's all."
"You're only breaking into the home of an untrustworthy, shape-shifting alien. Why worry?" quipped the third member of their breaking-and-entering party as he followed the two girls into the kitchen. Maria gave a disbelieving snort, and Alex continued, "So how do you think Michael got Tess away from the house?"
"Must've laid some of the ol' Michael Guerin charm on her," Maria said absently, eyes scanning the room for anything clue-like. She didn't see anything, other than a suspiciously neat kitchen. Didn't they ever eat? Muffled snickers brought her head back around, and she said defensively, "What? Michael can be charming. Well...sometimes. When he wants to be."
Isabel gave her a wide smile. "You're hung up on him worse than I thought. You're practically besotted."
"Just because I love him doesn't mean I can't see him clearly. I mean he has plenty of faults, but he has all sorts of wonderful qualities, too," Maria pointed out.
"Well, I know that," Isabel returned, smiling again. "I've known him practically forever. And I love him too. He's like my brother."
"Hey, he's like my boyfr--he is my boyfriend!" said Maria with a happy little jig. Isabel's smile turned into a full-fledged grin.
"Ladies, ladies," Alex interrupted, fingering the strap on his backpack. "Can we save this for later? We'll get some ice cream, and you two can bond over the perfection of Michael Guerin. You can go all teenybopper over his 'wonderful qualities' and chant his praises until your vocal chords rupture. I'll even help you. At least with the ice cream. But right now, we have spy stuff to take care of."
Maria let out a giggle. "Oh, yeah."
"Right," added Isabel, her tone more businesslike. "Where do you want to set up the camera?"
"Someplace inconspicuous," Alex decided. "But someplace where there will be a lot of activity."
"Not the kitchen, then. It looks like it's never even been used," commented Maria.
"Let's try the living room, where it was before. Since we're not as rushed as Liz was, we should be able to camouflage it a little better," suggested the alien.
The three trooped out of the kitchen and studied the living room. Maria eyed the buddha statue sitting serenely on the grand piano. It had given them the clue that Tess was an alien. "There's always the statue," she commented. "That's where Liz put it before Nasedo startled her into breaking it."
Alex and Isabel looked at each other; he shrugged and fished in his backpack for the FBI equipment. After carefully inserting it in an opening in the carved wooden base that held the statue, he stood back and studied it. "It's still visible," he complained.
"That's because you know it's there," Maria told him.
Isabel ignored both of them. Placing one finger on the camera, she changed its black casing to a satiny shade of rich brown, to match the wooden base. "There," she said in satisfaction. "Take another look, Alex."
"Good work," he responded, nodding his approval. "If I didn't know it was there, I'd never see it."
"Okay, then. Now for the fun part!" Maria said cheerfully. Taking in their expressions, she asked, "What? You've never snooped around in somebody's house before?" She shook her head. "Well, I'm obviously going to have to take charge of this operation, then. Alex, you start down here; Isabel and I will take the upstairs. Keep your eyes open for anything out of place. And watch for hidden drawers and secret passages and stuff like that," she instructed.
"Somebody's been watching too many old movies," Alex whispered to Isabel, who managed to keep a straight face. "Hopefully we're more Abbott & Costello than Bela Lugosi." Louder, he snapped out briskly, "Sir! Yes Sir, Captain DeLuca, Sir! Any other instructions?"
Maria grinned at him as she added, "Yes. Don't forget to look carefully through the trash. You can usually come across something revealing."
"That's what Michael says," Isabel agreed.
The look on the other girl's face changed from good humor to suspicion. "What? Michael says? Michael says? Just when did he come up with this brilliant observation?" she demanded.
Isabel was taken aback by this response. "Sometime last year, I think. I don't even know why I remember him saying it. Wait--it was after Max's accident, remember? We staked out the FBI agent's motel room, and Michael found Topolsky's phone number in the trash can."
"He found--he--" Maria sputtered. "What exactly did he tell you, Isabel?" Not giving the startled alien a chance to answer her, she seethed, "He took the credit for it didn't he? He didn't bother to mention that searching the trash was my idea, or that I was the one who dialed the number in the first place, did he? God, he wouldn't have found his own butt if he hadn't sat on it! I had to show him everything. Wait'll I get my hands on him...boy, is he going to be sorry!"
Isabel, sorry she'd opened her mouth in the first place, was grateful as Alex chimed in over Maria's rant. "Hello, there--Spy stuff, remember?"
With a growl, Maria stalked over to the stairway, muttering under her breath. Gesturing awkwardly, Alex stood back to allow Isabel--rolling her eyes--to follow the angry girl up the stairs. At that particular moment, he was profoundly grateful that he wasn't Michael.
* * * * *
The object of Maria's ire wasn't having all that great a time, either. He and Tess had started off briskly from her house, an uncomfortable silence between them. They had almost reached the high school when they both turned and began to speak.
"I don't--"
"Did Nasedo--"
Almost in unison, the two aliens stopped and eyed each other warily.
"Go ahead," Michael said roughly.
"No, it's all right. You first."
They stood in the dim recesses of a streetlight, each waiting for the other to start. Finally, Michael bit the bullet.
"So how come you're willing to talk to me?"
"What's going on...it doesn't seem right," Tess said gravely. "I don't understand why Nasedo has changed all of a sudden."
Michael grimaced. Great. So she didn't know either. But he had to keep her away from the house long enough for the others to do their thing. "You...uh, you don't know what's going on either?"
Tess shook her head.
"But you went against your orders, just to speak with someone who's considered to be an enemy."
No reaction from the other alien. Shit. He had known this whole thing was a waste of time.
"Well, as far as you are concerned, I am the enemy. Realize that I think your whole 'Destiny' manifesto is bullshit. I don't care what you were brought up to believe; it ain't gonna happen." All of a sudden the words were pouring out of him. "What you did to Max, and all the trouble it's caused us...well, it really pisses me off. You didn't have any right to come in and screw things up for the rest of us just so we could live up to your version of some fairy tale bedtime story Nasedo told you." He could hear the harshness in his voice, but it didn't bother him in the least. Because this tiny blonde thing--even smaller than Maria or Liz--was the enemy, right? She'd loused things up for everyone he'd cared about, and he didn't trust her or her agenda in the least. "And that doesn't even begin to cover what Nasedo did. Kidnapping Liz, luring Pierce to the Carnival...Max could have died because of him. And where would your precious 'Destiny' even be without Max, huh? Answer me that!"
She was silent for a moment. Then softly, without looking at him, she said, "Nasedo didn't tell bedtime stories."
"What?" he bit out.
"We don't need anything as foolish as that. Only enough to hide what we are, to keep us safe. Anything else would be a waste of time." She met his eyes directly. "What good did your bedtime stories do you?"
He gave a rough laugh. "Boy, are you asking the wrong person. Being. Whatever. Don't get the idea that just because I was raised as a human that everything was all happiness and light. Because that's another fairy tale for you."
She blinked and looked away again. Michael's eyes narrowed. For some reason, this seemed to have surprised her.
"So why the hell are you out here, talking to someone who hates everything you stand for?" he snapped, his frustration really kicking in.
Again with the blinking. But all she said was, "Don't."
"Don't what? Don't talk to you? Or don't hate you? Give me one reason why I shouldn't!"
"Because we're the same. We..."
Michael shook his head vehemently. "We are not the same. We may be the same species, but that's as far as it goes. And that's as far as I want it to go." Part of him was aware that this was not the best way to keep Tess out of the way, but the rest of him, the part that was burning with the anger and injustice he'd managed to suppress for the last several weeks--ever since his last visit to the caves--that part didn't care.
For the first time that evening, a very human expression crossed Tess's face. "I'm sorry if it messed up your perfect little life to have me come along," she cried out, ignoring his bitter reaction. "But everything I told Max, everything in the message from home...that was all true. We were sent here to escape our enemies--our real enemies--until we could go back and rescue our people, Max was the leader, and Isabel his sister. I was his wife, I was, and you--"
"All this is bullshit!" Michael shouted back, interrupting her. "All you've got is what Nasedo has told you!"
"I can prove it. The book."
"Nasedo could have made it. Or even you. Wonderful things, those alien powers," he sniped, not caring that he was standing on a public sidewalk.
"The message from home--" Tess began desperately.
"Isabel told us all about your ability to put visions in people's heads, make them see things that aren't there. You did it to Max, didn't you? And to Isabel and me? So why not a whole mass hallucination, with a loving message from Mommy?"
"You have to trust me," Tess whispered.
His response was swift and cold. "Why should I?"
"Then read me."
He stilled his agitated movements, struck by her quiet desperation. "What?"
"You can do that, can't you? Touch someone, and get a sense of them? You can't lie in that, you can only show the truth."
"The truth--" He'd seen Maria's red sneakers, and that had been true. And Maria had seen some of his horrors--more than he would have liked. And from the one she'd described last night, that was spot on, too. If only there was a way to be sure that it wasn't a trick...He couldn't control what he'd shown Maria; if Tess couldn't control it either, maybe he could learn something from her after all...Michael wavered, tempted.
"Just do it. I won't block you, I promise," Tess assured him, her gaze direct and open.
Years of not trusting anyone made it hard for him to just acquiesce. What if it was a plot, and she would make him think he saw something that really wasn't there? Or what if she got things from him at the same time as he did from her? She could be on an information hunt. After all, that's what he was doing, wasn't it? And what if she saw too much, and found out what the others were up to? He couldn't risk it, not with the others' safety on the line. No matter how much he wanted to know what was really going on...
As he was coming to this decision, Tess was seemingly making one of her own. She took matters--and Michael's clenched fists--into her own hands and began to raise them to her face.
"No." Michael pulled his hands away from her, ignoring the crestfallen look that washed over her face.
"Michael...please."
"Well, well, well. Michael Guerin and Tess Harding," said a dry voice beside them. Turning abruptly, Michael took in the red convertible that had pulled up at the curb next to them.
"Valenti," he said, giving an abrupt nod to its driver.
"Hmmm...Saturday night and the two of you together. Is there something we should know?" Kyle asked acerbically. "Is this a meeting of uh...intergalactic proportions, or did you dump Maria?"
"It's not--" Michael began, only to be interrupted by a horrified Tess.
"He knows?" she gasped.
Turning towards her, the sheriff's son answered. "What, about the whole outer space thing? It's hard to miss the alien activity when you get shot and one of them heals you. You were there, remember?"
"I didn't...I thought you were unconscious," she said, obviously flustered. Michael watched her skeptically.
Kyle grinned. "It's been six months. I've been awake some since then. Plus I've had a few chats with my father, and even Guerin here." He turned to Michael, and his manner became a little less friendly. "So is this something Maria should know about?"
Damn. He couldn't actually say that she already knew about it because it was a plot to remove Tess while they searched her house for clues...And why did Valenti care, anyway? "It doesn't mean anything," he managed, folding his arms across his chest.
"Uh-huh," Kyle said unconvincingly.
Michael watched Tess as she looked back and forth between Kyle and him. She gave a nonchalant smile. "It's nothing. I can talk to Michael anytime I want," she said bravely.
Michael's radar started sending out warning signs. What was going on now? Was she going to try and make trouble between him and Maria? Before he could begin to protest, he caught her next words.
"He's my brother. I think."
His stomach suddenly fell towards his feet. What?
CHAPTER 11
Placing Liz's cell phone back in his coat pocket, Max stepped away from the Jeep and looked out across the desert sand to Ed Harding's car. The shapeshifter stopped about thirty feet away, and climbed out.
"Thanks for meeting me," Max called across to the other alien. Nasedo crossed the sands, his feet light and an affable smile on the Ed Harding face he wore.
"You called. Although I don't know why."
A serious expression crossed Max's face. "Look, I know you're not happy with the whole Michael situation, or that the three of us are sticking together. I was hoping you'd...reconsider and tell me what's going on."
Nasedo looked at him, obviously amused. "Now why would I do that?"
"Because it affects our ability to save our planet. Because it's the right thing to do," Max answered staunchly. "And because, if you didn't want me to know about it, you wouldn't still be hanging around Roswell. You'd be back in Washington."
"Oooh, aren't you the clever one!" Nasedo sing-songed, gently mocking the boy in front of him. "But my reasoning still stands. You need to forget about telling your second. Forget he exists, even. He can't be mixed up in this, or the whole planet you talk so blithely about saving will suffer for it."
"But why? What's he done?" Searching the other alien's face for an answer--any kind of answer--Max came to a sudden realization. "You're afraid of him. You're afraid of Michael," he whispered in shock.
"And you aren't? It's vital that you be very discreet about who and what you are, and your second goes putting himself into the limelight, calling attention to himself? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
Max shook his head. "No. That's not all there is to it. There's something else. What?"
Not acknowledging the question, Nasedo posed one of his own. "Have you noticed anything different about him? Has he changed in any way, even the smallest bit?" he demanded.
Taken aback, Max admitted, "Well, yes and no. He's had a few problems, but they're under control--I told you that the first time you called, weeks ago."
"What kind of problems? Problems with his powers? Has he been unlike himself? Acting rashly?" the shapeshifter pressed.
Acting rashly? That wouldn't be at all unlike Michael. But actually, his reckless streak had lost some of its hold, held back by too many other pressures. Pausing, Max thought back to everything that had happened to his best friend over the last few months. He had been through so much. If there was a reason for it all, and Nasedo knew why...Maybe Michael needed to know, too. That the things that happened to him weren't his own fault, that there was a reason for it...If there was any chance to get some answers for Michael, he had to take it.
And so, ignoring the tiny prick of conscience that told him he was betraying his friend, Max told Nasedo about the mental trauma Michael had suffered, and how he'd locked part of himself into his own mind. He watched the other alien very carefully, hoping to pick up on some clue from his expression, but Nasedo remained calm, the slightest hint of unwavering amusement remaining on his face. Max was about to go on and mention the voices Michael had been hearing, and the blue crystals he'd created, when something--maybe a little rubbed-off remnant of his friend's paranoia--made him stop. Silent now, he waited.
Nasedo eyed him oddly for a moment, then commented, "So it took a human to help get him out of it. Interesting."
"Why?" asked Max. "We were brought up as human. Our whole lives, we've been surrounded by humans. Our lives are intertwined with theirs. It's not that strange that a human should help."
"Yes. Interesting," Nasedo repeated slowly. "I'll have to consider how we can best use the situation--"
"Use the situation?" Max burst out before reining in his temper. Getting angry wasn't going to help Michael, or get them any information. He had to keep control over things... "Tell me what's going on, so I can help. Please."
"You and your sister were born to lead, to serve the planet. Even Tess was raised that way. He, on the other hand...he was not brought to be your second through birth. He was intended--" For a moment, Nasedo looked like he'd said too much. "There are more layers here than you can understand." Turning away from Max, he started back across the sands towards the car he'd arrived in. Halfway there, he looked back at the teenager, standing silently by the Jeep. "Be careful," the shapeshifter warned. "Your second...he is not what you think he is." A sly expression entered his cold eyes. "He's certainly not what he thinks he is."
* * * * *
Michael stared ahead, his mind pulled in several places at once. He was Tess's brother. He had a sister. What he'd always wanted, more than anything, was family--a place where he belonged--and now...the thoughts skipped around in his head, dancing through his mind as lightly as dandelion fluff blown about on a warm summer day. And through this, like the warning sound of a deep bell, rang other thoughts. He couldn't trust her. They already knew she'd lied more than once, and manipulated them. This could be just another trick...But what if it wasn't? A sister...something he'd tried to make Isabel into--he certainly loved her like one, but it wasn't ever quite right. But the idea of it...now that felt right. It felt right that he had a sister. That the hole inside him that Max and Isabel and even Maria hadn't been able to fill belonged to someone, a part of him and who he was before and who he had become...
"Michael." The sound of the voice and the tugging at his jacket sleeve brought him back to the sidewalk with a thud. Tess. And Valenti was sitting there in his red convertible, watching the two of them. Why was he even there? It was too chilly to be riding around with the top down, anyway; the jock was nuts. The tugging on his jacket hadn't stopped, and he looked down again. She was talking excitedly, but his ears weren't really hearing what she was saying.
His sister. Why did the thought hurt so badly? Besides, if Tess were his sister, he'd have known it. The moment he'd first seen her in the Evans's kitchen, he would have known. He wouldn't have spent the last six months barely even thinking about her. There would have been an instant connection, an awareness...
But a sister...somehow it felt so right. And so wrong, at the same time. His stomach began to clench and his throat to burn. Part of him wondered idly if this was what it was like to feel sick, like humans did. He didn't know. It was different than his alien illness, when he'd gotten so out of balance. His head pounded, echoing the thudding in his veins. His sister. His sister. Sister sister sister sistersistersistersister...
Thrusting out a hand, he broke Tess's grip on his jacket sleeve. "No!" he gasped out, his eyes burning. He took a few steps backward, not sure if he was denying her or himself. She put out a beseeching hand...
...and Michael turned and ran.
* * * * *
Shaking his head, Alex let the cushion fall back onto the leather sofa and turned to look around the room. He hadn't had any more luck here than in the kitchen, hall closet, living room, or bathroom. None of them looked at all lived in. It was kind of ironic--no one seemed to be living in the living room, and a family room for a pair of aliens that weren't a family...although he did like the big-screen TV and the top-of-the-line sound system.
He supposed they actually did live in the house, or at least that Tess did. There was a healthy supply of sodas and yogurt cartons in the refrigerator, and plenty of stuff on the shelves in the kitchen; it just all looked so pristine. Of course, his room might be just as neat if he had super alien cleaning powers.
He wondered just why Maria and Isabel were taking so long upstairs, though. He'd gone through the entire downstairs, and there were two of them to cover upstairs. You'd think they'd have been done first. Unless they got caught up in another bonding session over Michael, the lucky dog.
Okay, he admitted it. He was jealous of Michael and his importance in both their lives. Isabel's for obvious reasons, but Maria's too. Not that he had ever felt anything even vaguely romantic for his spitfire friend, but he envied the intensity between her and the rebellious alien. As much as Maria and Michael fought, you could be darn sure that their relationship was never going to be as bland as plain old friendship.
Which seemed to be all that was on the cards for him with Isabel. Sure, she deserved the best, not some goofball computer geek, but wasn't the best someone who would really care about her for who she was, not for the perfect shell she wore on the outside? And if that someone just happened to be a goofball computer geek...
Oh, forget it. He had to stop daydreaming and wind this up before Tess or Nasedo came back. Taking the stairs two at a time, he called, "This must be trash day, Maria, because there wasn't any trash to look through."
A voice answered from the other end of the hall. "What?" Alex strode down the hallway and leaned against the bathroom door.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Nice gloves, DeLuca. When you're done in here, I think we've got some dishes at home that could use a good scrub."
Maria looked up from the medicine cabinet she was searching. "Well, I didn't want to leave fingerprints," she answered reasonably. She pointed one bright yellow rubber glove-clad finger at him. "You shouldn't be taking any chances, either."
"As far as I know, my fingerprints aren't recorded anywhere, so I think I'm safe."
"Not yet," she said darkly, then sighed. "Any luck downstairs?"
"Nope. And there wasn't any trash," he repeated.
"None up here either. I don't get it--how can you not create trash?"
"Maybe they just make it disappear. Or else they have a really good recycling plan," Alex suggested. "I'm done with the first floor. Didn't find anything suspicious."
"Me either," Maria sighed again. "It all looks so normal. Obsessively neat, but normal. And I hate to admit it, but Tess has some really fabulous shoes."
Alex snorted. "Only you would take time from a secret plant-and-search mission to gather fashion tips."
"I had to look in her closet, didn't I? Something could've been hidden in there," Maria protested.
"Was there?"
"Not that I could see," she grumbled. "Maybe Isabel is having better luck."
"Well, she'd better hurry up. We probably don't have much time left."
"We're fine. If either of them were headed back here, we'd hear from Michael or Max. They'll give us time to slip out," Maria reminded him. Closing the cabinet, she said, "All done here. Let's go see if we can give Isabel a hand."
"Sure."
They found the alien pacing in what was probably the master bedroom. It looked like something from a decorating magazine. "I didn't know shapeshifters needed beds. Don't they just melt down and sleep in buckets or something?" Maria commented.
"You've been watching too much Star Trek," Alex answered. "And it might just be camouflage, anyway." He turned to Isabel. "Any luck?"
Isabel stopped counting under her breath and looked at the two humans. "I'm not sure," she said, frowning. "Look at this." She slid open the doors to a walk-in closet.
Maria eyed the rows of boring-looking business suits and sports shirts. "Well, we know where Tess did not get her fashion sense," she muttered.
Ignoring her, Isabel said, "The closet goes to here, see? And over on the other side is the bathroom. It's pretty big, and it should back up against the closet wall, but something's off. The spacing doesn't work out."
"You mean I might have been right?" Maria squeaked in excitement. "There might be a hidden passage there?"
"I don't know. It might just be extra space for the pipes. I'm not a plumber; I don't know how much room all that takes."
"Well, let's find out." Darting forward, Maria grabbed the arrangement of silk flowers and moved it across the room to the nightstand. With a grin, Alex shoved aside the chest of drawers the floral arrangement had been sitting on, and then reached up and removed a geometric painting from the wall.
"It's all yours," he said to Isabel.
She approached the blank expanse of wall hesitantly, reaching out to knock on it. Then, with a shrug, she waved her hand over the off-white paint.
None of them was all that surprised to see the dark handprint that appeared at shoulder-level. Smiling triumphantly, Isabel placed her hand across the marking.
Years later, Maria could still picture what happened next as clearly as if it were projected in slow-motion onto some video screen in her head. One moment, they were standing, intent on their search; and the next, a shockwave of sickly green light burst from the wall, ripping savagely into Isabel. Her clothes, her skin, even her hair took on a chartreuse cast. Alex, standing close behind the alien, was thrown to the floor like a discarded marionette. Across the room, Maria had hardly enough time in the fraction of a second given her to react to brace herself...and the light faded out, still a few feet from her.
She took a shaky breath and looked at the still forms of her friends, crumpled on the floor. "Alex," she whispered. "Isabel?"
CHAPTER 12
"Oh my god. Oh my god," Maria whispered numbly as she stood, frozen. They were dead. Alex and Isabel were dead. The strange alien light had killed them. They--
Snap out of it, DeLuca! She gave herself a mental slap, and was suddenly able to move again. Or rather, her frozen legs buckled and she landed hard on the taupe-colored carpet. Quickly scrambling across the room, she knelt on bruised knees at Alex's side.
Don't let him be dead. Don't let him be dead. Why could she not feel a pulse? With a growl at her own stupidity, she stripped off the rubber gloves she was still wearing and resumed her mantra. Don't let him be dead. Don't let--THERE! Her fingers detected the strong rhythm of his pulse. He was alive and breathing. And Isabel--
Isabel had taken the brunt of the explosion, or attack, or whatever it was. Fumbling for the alien's wrist, Maria tried to find a pulse. It should be there, not much different than a human's if Michael's heartbeat was anything to go by...come on, c'mon...where was it?
Dropping Isabel's hand, Maria placed trembling fingers on the other girl's throat. There was a pulse point, that's why you put perfume there, she thought irrelevantly. She just had to find it, that's all...
A groan from behind her had her quickly turning, although her hands never stopped their search for a heartbeat. Alex was stirring, moving his head groggily from side to side. His eyes remained closed.
"Alex!" Maria called sharply. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah...I think so," he mumbled. "Did you get the license plate of the spaceship that hit me?"
"Listen to me, Alex. Isabel--I can't find a heartbeat," the girl cried out. "And I don't think she's breathing. Get her phone and call Max."
As Alex scrabbled over to find the cell phone, Maria frantically tried to remember everything she'd learned about CPR in health class, and tried less successfully to ignore the clammy, rigid feel of Isabel's green-tinged skin. It would be okay, she just had to hang in there until Max came...
Open an unrestricted airway, wasn't that first? Maria carefully tried to tilt the alien's head back, but it wouldn't move, almost as if it had been frozen in place. Blinking the sudden tears from her eyes, Maria framed Isabel's face with shaking hands and tried to will her to revive. Isabel could do it. She just had to stick with them, or thaw or something already. If she would just start breathing...
Without warning, Maria felt her hands begin to tingle, as if they'd been asleep and now circulation was finally returning. Too intent on the still body in front of her, she didn't even notice at first as her fingers began to glow, but the immediate leaching of the sickly green tint from Isabel's face where she touched her did catch her attention...and then she saw her own hands. "Alex!" she squawked, and the teenager looked up from the phone he was hurriedly dialing.
They both watched, wide-eyed, as a shimmering silver light crept from Maria's palms, surrounding the fallen alien and chasing back her pea-green color. In its place was left rosy, healthy-looking skin. In one instant, Isabel moved and coughed, the glow pulled itself back into Maria's outstretched hands and disappeared, and Maria fell awkwardly over.
She lay there, not moving, even as she heard Alex calling Isabel's name and Isabel--wonderful, alive Isabel blessedly answering. And then Alex was crouched by her side, checking on her much as she'd checked on him moments earlier. She opened her mouth, ready to express her fear and joy and confusion...
"Wow."
"You okay, 'Ria?" Alex asked softly, using Liz's pet name for her.
Maria pushed herself up to a sitting position. "Yeah. You guys?" Her gaze met Isabel's, and suddenly they both burst into shaky--and slightly hysterical--laughter.
"Let's not do that again, okay?" the alien said. "Ever."
"You're on," Maria responded. She looked around the room. "So what happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Alex put in. "How did you--"
The shrill ringing of the cell phone he still held cut him off. He answered it warily.
Maria listened halfheartedly to the brief conversation he held, quickly gathering that it was Max on the other end. Physically she felt fine, but emotionally...she was struck by a sudden urge to see Michael, and her mother, and Liz and Max and the Sheriff and the mailman and that old guy who always came into the Crashdown and sat for hours over one cup of coffee...just to make sure that everyone was okay, that the terrifying few minutes she'd just been through were just a dream and everything was all right.
"Okay. We'll see you there," Alex said, ending the call. He turned to the two girls. "We have to clear out. Nasedo's on his way back."
"Oh god." Taking his outstretched hand, Maria pulled herself to her feet and then helped him haul a shaky Isabel upright. "We've got to put everything back," she said urgently, heading across the room for the floral arrangement she'd moved such a short while ago.
Alex's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Uh...we have a problem." She turned with some trepidation to see Isabel studying the dark handprint which now seemed burnt into the pale wall.
"Can't you make it disappear?" she asked.
"I'm not sure I want to try," the alien admitted. "I didn't really like what happened the last time I touched it."
Oooh. Isabel had a point. But still..."Well, we can't just leave it there!" An idea struck her, and she moved forward to thrust the vase into Isabel's hands. "Move the chest back, Alex," she commanded as she picked up the abstract painting that was leaning against it, unscathed by the burst of light. He shoved it quickly against the wall, and Isabel replaced the floral arrangement on top. Holding the picture out, face down, Maria said, "Isabel, can you manipulate the wire on the back?"
Instantly understanding what Maria had in mind, Isabel placed her hand over the back of the painting. A moment later, the artwork was back on the wall, its newly lengthened wire allowing it to hang just low enough to cover the handprint.
"Hopefully that will hide it, at least for a while," Maria said.
"Come on," Alex hissed. "He'll be back any moment."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." And with one last look around the room, Maria grabbed her rubber gloves and followed them out.
* * * * *
For a long moment, Tess watched Michael fade into the distance before letting her outstretched hand drop. She stood there, feeling strangely abandoned. It was always the same with him. With all three of them, really. Why couldn't he just accept what was? Was his human side getting in the way of his seeing clearly? Was this why Nasedo was so against him?
A raspy voice spoke from behind her. "That was harsh."
Startled, she swung around. She'd forgotten Kyle Valenti was even there. "What do you mean?" she asked crossly.
"Your loving brother," was the snide response. "Taking off like that."
For some reason, she felt the need to explain it. "Well, it wasn't how I hoped he'd take the news. I guess I don't know him well enough to know how he'll react yet."
"Wait a sec--you just told him? Now?" Kyle asked, eyebrows raised. At the alien's calm nod, he continued, "You've been in town--what, seven months?--and when you finally decide to tell him the big news that he's your brother, you don't even tell him? You tell me, in front of him?" He shook his head in amazement. "Man, dumb move. You two make a good pair."
Tess glared at him. How dare he? Didn't he realize what she could do to him, the stupid human?
With a chuckle, Kyle reached for the ignition and shut down the convertible's engine. "Hot but clueless," he mused aloud. Leaning over, he opened the passenger door. "Hop in."
"Why?" she asked suspiciously.
"I'm not going to do anything to you," he assured her. "In fact, you're probably a bigger danger there than I am."
Was he kidding? Why would she even bother with him? He was of no importance in the scheme of things, after all.
"Look, just get in, okay? Let me give you a little advice."
"Advice," she repeated doubtfully.
"Yeah. Words of wisdom from a guy's point of view."
A guy's point of view. Actually, that might be useful. And with Michael evidently reacting from his human side, maybe it wouldn't hurt to get that point of view either. The human one. With mixed trepidation and curiosity Tess approached the car and sat down gingerly, before turning to look at him.
"I'll be the first to admit that I don't know Guerin all that well, but it's pretty obvious that you made a hash of the whole announcement. Somehow I don't think he takes too well to surprises. You know, he gets the whaddayacallit, the fight or flight instinct. So why'd you wait so long?"
Tess looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "I just found out. I didn't know before. I mean, I knew about Max and Isabel, but not Michael. I just knew that he was one of the Royal Four, and second-in-command to my husband."
"Riiight. Your husband," Kyle drawled. "I don't know how things are on your planet, but here on Earth, marriage is 'til death do you part.' Actually, most of the time it doesn't even last that long," he corrected himself, thinking of his own parents, "but even if it did, you died. You're not married any more."
"Max and I aren't from Earth."
"No kidding. I have the non-hole in my chest to prove it. You know, I don't particularly like Max Evans, but I wouldn't wish this whole save-the-planet scenario on anyone. I mean, the guy's seventeen. So are you, for that matter. Isn't it a little bit young to be thinking of marriage?"
"It's the way it is. We four have to bond to be able to save the planet."
"Oh, you have to bond," Kyle repeated with a snicker. "Why? You can't just work together? You know, be equal partners in the whole save-the-world deal? Why get all hung up on the relationship crap?"
"That's the way it is," she repeated firmly.
"Why?"
"It just is." He shook his head, and she demanded, "Why do you care, anyway?"
He actually seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking his head again. "I have absolutely no idea. One day things are normal, the basketball team's winding up a great season, and I'm being hit on by the hot new girl in school. The next thing I know I've been shot, aliens exist, and I owe my life to one. The whole thing sort of sucks you in. You get involved."
"You shouldn't be. There's no place for humans in this."
"Hate to break it to you, Tess, but you're surrounded by humans. You can't expect us not to be involved. And since I am involved, let's get back to that advice I was giving you, shall we?"
* * * * *
When Max entered the abandoned warehouse where they'd once again set up shop, Alex was fussing with the video monitor. "Almost ready," the teenager said, looking up. "Just one more hookup and--Gotcha! Chez Harding."
"I picked Liz up on the way over," Max said rather unnecessarily, since the brunette was right by his side. "How did it go?"
"The camera setup went great," Alex answered. "We have picture--see for yourself." Liz and Max moved around the other side of the table and regarded the empty expanse of the Harding's living room. "No activity yet," Alex added, his fingers working busily. "Or sound."
"And the rest?" Liz asked.
"Not so good," put in Isabel wryly. Max and Liz swung around at the sound of her voice. She and Maria were sitting on the worn couch at the back of the room, a remnant of whoever had last had an office there.
"We may have found something, but it was booby-trapped," the alien said shortly. "And you called, so we had to get out of there."
"What was it?" Max asked, his ears perking up. Maybe his efforts to distract Nasedo had been worthwhile after all.
"A hidden room or something," his sister answered. "Sealed with an alien handprint. It knocked Alex and me out."
"You're all right?" Max demanded, crossing towards her.
"We're fine, thanks to Maria," she answered.
As she listened to the siblings converse, Liz looked in concern at her best friend, who was still sitting on the couch, uncharacteristically silent. Her face was pale, her eyes shadowed.
"Maria?"
The girl started, as if coming back from some far-off galaxy of thought. "Hey, Liz."
"What's wrong?" Liz asked bluntly.
"I'm not sure," Maria answered slowly. "I don't know how I did it, but I did. But it's impossible. Liz, I--"
Alex's voice rang out across the room, cutting her off. "Nasedo's back."
Isabel and Maria stood up, but a very confused Liz put out a hand to stop her friend. "It's all right. We should wait for Michael anyway," Maria said, crossing over to the monitor. Silently they grouped around the table, eyes intent on the small screen.
"It's showtime, buddy," Alex told the flat image on the screen. "And until I can get the sound working on this thing, some visual aids would be nice. Got a scrapbook of your master plan to share with the class?" he encouraged. The only thing it got him were a few sideways glances from his gazing companions. The shapeshifter merely strode from the room and out of camera range.
"Damn," Max muttered.
"Give it some time, Max," Liz advised the dark-haired alien. "It's too much to expect answers in the first five minutes. Wait until he and Tess are both there; we might learn something then."
"I know. It's just hard to wait," Max admitted.
"You sound like Michael," Isabel commented with a smile.
Her brother frowned. "Where is he, anyway? I wouldn't have thought he and Tess had that much to talk about."
"Maybe he took the Desert Prince idea after all," Alex said, trying to lighten the mood. "The Scourge of the Desert rides--"
"Will you cut it out with that joke, Alex?" Maria begged. "He really doesn't like it."
"Sure. Sorry," said the somewhat abashed teen.
But it was as if she didn't even hear. "Something's wrong. He should have called by now. He didn't think he'd be able to keep Tess occupied for two minutes, let alone two hours," she said, beginning to pace across the room. "We've got to go find him."
"Uh, Maria? We don't actually have to look too far," put in a suddenly subdued Alex.
Isabel turned and looked where he was pointing. "Oh my god."
There on the monitor in front of them was Nasedo. He'd come back into camera range without them noticing. And standing in front of him was a very familiar, somewhat disheveled form. Michael.
* * * * *
"There's no point in your being here," the shapeshifter said coolly. "You're of no use to us any more."
Michael was oddly unemotional. Some part of him felt he should be screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to force answers to all his questions from the reticent being in front of him. The rest of him--any part that had ever truly longed for home or felt abandoned and small and helpless--that part was too focused to give a damn what he should or should not be feeling at any particular moment. There was only one thing--one question--that mattered right now.
"I'm not here to be 'of use'," he responded, his voice even.
Nasedo gave a sharp laugh. "So, you're here to make threats. You won't get very far."
Maria caught her breath as the image of the shapeshifter moved. She couldn't tell what they were saying--she was never any good at reading lips--but something about Michael was off. She wasn't sure exactly what. Maybe the way he stood, like he had forgotten himself completely, and only sheer force of will was holding him together...half human or not, for a moment he looked entirely foreign to her. She shivered.
And then the small image on the left put out a hand, palm out, fingers spread. Oh god.
* * * * *
Michael didn't so much as flinch. "Go ahead," he said steadily, and waited for the other alien to blow him away. His voice echoed weirdly in the room, as if the space were bigger than it really was. He idly noted the sound of a passing car, running rather roughly. Somebody needed a tune-up.
For a moment, the shapeshifter didn't move. Then he smiled, a cold, terrible, inhuman smile. "I could kill you right now."
"Go ahead," the boy repeated. "If I'm such a danger to you all, maybe you should."
"You won't get the answers you want from me."
"I only want one answer."
"And you think I'll just give it to you?" Nasedo said, amused by the boy's presumption.
Michael met his gaze without blinking. "I think you'll listen to the question and then decide."
"I will not help you destroy Max's chance to save our planet."
For the first time a hint of emotion appeared in Michael's tone. It was rapidly quashed. "I don't give a damn about the planet. You can do whatever you want with it. Just answer the question."
For once Nasedo seemed startled. "Well, isn't this interesting. This one answer has you so wrought up that you don't care about your own planet or the millions of lives on it?" Lowering his outstretched hand, he looked speculatively at the boy in front of him. "Just how important is the answer? What will you pay for it?"
Michael hesitated, then said hoarsely, "What do you want?"
"I want you out of the picture. I don't want you interfering with Max, Isabel or Tess. Forget about your powers and what you are. Live like one of the humans you seem so fond of."
For one moment, Michael actually considered it. His whole being shouted out for his sister, for family. He had to know.
But no. He couldn't give up Isabel or Max. They wouldn't give up on him. "I can't," he said quietly.
The other alien's voice was sharp. "You mean you won't."
Michael met his eyes squarely. "All right, I won't. I won't run out on Max and Isabel. They've been there for me. I won't do less for them."
"Even if you put them in danger? What happens if you wind up locking part of yourself in your own mind again? What good will it do them to be worrying about you when their enemies approach?"
Michael stared at him, startled. "How did you--"
"Oh yes, Max told me all about your little bout with insanity. Did you think he wouldn't? So let's think about what you have to offer your king. A confused, unwanted lunatic with powers so weak that the least advanced infant on our planet could step on you like an insignificant blade of grass."
"If I'm so insignificant, then why are you so worried about my being around?" Michael countered, a hint of challenge in his voice. He refused to think about the fact that Max had blurted out his private business, stuff he didn't want anyone to know about, let alone Nasedo. Even if in his gut it felt like a betrayal of some sort. Max had a good reason for it. He had to have. Right?
Perhaps the smallest flicker of doubt crossed over Michael's face. Or perhaps Nasedo could read minds. Whatever the reason, he pounced on the opportunity.
"Interesting that your own leader should keep his own secrets so well and yet feel completely at ease spreading yours about."
Just what had Max told Nasedo, anyway? How could he go and blithely expose all of Michael's weaknesses, and to someone they couldn't trust? How--
Wait a minute. "You say I can't be trusted, that I'm not one of them any more. But here you are trying to get me furious with Max. Are you trying to make me into the enemy?"
"You're not as stupid as you look, are you? Then perhaps you're smart enough to take a deal."
"What deal?" Michael asked, his expression guarded.
"I have information you want. I might be persuaded to share it for a few minor considerations."
This was a sudden change of tack. "Which are?"
"You will not share the information with anyone, nor will you act upon it in any way. And you will stay away from the Royal Four--no, I suppose that should be the Royal Three now, shouldn't it?"
"I already told you I won't do that!" Michael burst out.
The shapeshifter continued placidly, "As I was saying, you'll stay away from them for a period of time, say six weeks or so."
"Why? What's going to happen in the next six weeks?" Michael demanded.
"How should I know? I'm a shapeshifter, not a fortune teller. Let's just say that I'm confident that within six weeks I can convince Max that you are a danger to him."
No way. Michael's eyes narrowed. He didn't know what Nasedo had up his shifty sleeve, but he did know Max. And he was pretty damn sure that Max would show him the same support he always did. And to get the opportunity to learn the truth...
"One week."
Nasedo studied him, amused. "Well, you certainly continue to surprise me. Quite the little gambler, aren't you?"
"One week," Michael repeated firmly.
"Four," was Nasedo's counteroffer.
"One."
"You don't seem to realize how this works, Michael."
"One week. Do we have a deal?"
There was a pause, and then the shapeshifter said slyly, "I'll hear the question first, then I'll decide."
"Agreed."
"Then what is this all-fired important question?"
His mask of indifference gone, Michael's voice rang out, urgent and demanding. "Is Tess my sister?"
A moment of silence. When Nasedo spoke, it was slow and almost puzzled. "That's your question?"
"Yeah. So?"
Michael watched as the wheels turned in Nasedo's head. Finally, the shapeshifter nodded decisively and spoke. "Do you really want to know?"
Michael nodded once--a sharp, curt nod.
The strangest look crossed the other alien's face. If he'd been human, it might have been described as compassion, but as it was...One word was spoken. "No."
For a moment, Michael didn't actually take in the answer. Then it hit him, and a rush of relief followed. He'd known it. Tess had lied, like always. He was like he'd always been--alone.
And yet the idea of a sister, of someone connected to him by blood--it had seemed so right. He cursed himself mentally. He'd stupidly kept himself from finding out. If he'd just been a little more careful, asked the question differently, maybe he could have gotten more out of Nasedo...
But he'd made the bargain. The answer had been that important to him; he wouldn't negate its importance now. Even if that answer made him feel more alone than ever.
Somehow the shapeshifter seemed to read past his closed expression. Unprompted, he spoke again, not cruelly, not sympathetically; his voice was matter-of-fact. "You had a sister. You killed her."
continue to chapter 13
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