Invaded (Alienated, #2)(42)
Cara didn’t buy it. What did he think the colonists were going to do, wage war with a few shuttles and a handful of alien coconuts? No, this was a deal breaker. Human beings weren’t wayward children who needed to be managed. She wouldn’t live inside a cage, even if it did resemble one of those fancy resorts her family could never afford to visit.
“Then I’ll have to reconsider my decision to stay here,” Cara said, opening the door for negotiation. “This is a sticking point for me. Can’t you spare a few—”
An earsplitting shriek interrupted her and tore everyone’s attention skyward, where a ball of fire streaked into the atmosphere. Cara recognized it at once—it was identical to the “meteorite” that had crashed her Sh’ovah. This time she narrowed her eyes and focused on the sphere, checking for any detail that might give her a clue to its origin. But all she could discern was flame. It picked up speed and barreled into the ocean with a mighty splash, making her wonder how many other spheres had crashed in these waters. She didn’t care what The Way said; that thing was man-made. The repeat appearance confirmed it.
Troy verbalized what she was thinking. “Was that a satellite? I’ve heard of small ones falling out of orbit.”
Jaxen and Aisly exchanged another loaded glance.
“No,” Aisly said. She strode to Troy’s side and smiled up at him. Staring deeply into his eyes, she crooned, “It was only lightning. There’s a storm coming, don’t you think?”
While Cara scrunched her brows in confusion, Troy’s face went all dopey and he nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” he said, turning his gaze to the cloudless sky. “We should head back to the shuttle before it rains.”
What had just happened?
Jaxen turned to Cara and cupped her cheek in his palm. When she tried backing away, he took her face between both hands and peered at her, softening his focus as if to use Silent Speech.
Oh, God. She had a feeling she’d just discovered the siblings’ hidden talent.
Cara didn’t know if it would work, but she blocked her thoughts the way Elle had taught her during one of their practice sessions. She cleared her mind of everything but her default safe image, which happened to be a red kickball. While Jaxen tried connecting with her consciousness, Cara summoned that ball, envisioning its textured surface, its rubbery scent, the springy feel of it beneath her fingers.
“Cah-ra,” Jaxen said, low and smooth as melted chocolate. “You don’t need to worry. You’ll find happiness here.”
Red ball. She focused with all her might. Bouncy red ball.
Jaxen’s breath stirred against her lips, and for a moment, she feared he might kiss her. But he released her face and stepped back, studying her with a confident grin.
He thinks it worked. Cara decided not to give him any reason to doubt it. She faked a dazed expression to match her brother’s, then lied her ass off.
“I’m not worried.”
Chapter Eleven
“Impossible,” Aelyx said. “Mind control only exists in legends. There has to be a logical explanation.” He hadn’t spent much time with Cara’s brother, but Troy struck him as the less intelligent of the two—by leaps and bounds. “Perhaps Troy really thought a storm was coming.”
Elle dipped her head into view from the top bunk. “That’s what I said.”
“Well, you’re both wrong.” Cara’s eyes narrowed, sending Elle darting out of view. “Troy’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he’s smart enough to know when it’s raining. You weren’t there—I was. And I’m telling you that Aisly used a Jedi mind trick on my brother, and Jaxen tried the same thing with me. You can choose to believe it or not, but that’s what happened. And I’ll tell you another thing—I think The Way knows what they can do, and that’s why they keep them around.”
“I don’t see how it’s scientifically feasible,” Aelyx said.
“Neither do I,” Cara conceded. “But I don’t know how shuttles fly or how transports jump through wormholes, and those things happen. Until I met L’eihrs, I thought telepathy was impossible. If you can communicate with your minds, it’s not that big a stretch to assume you can do other stuff with your minds, too.”
Aelyx supposed she had a point, but he still didn’t believe it. “Does Troy remember anything helpful?”
Cara poked the top bunk to get Elle’s attention. “Tell him what Troy said when we got home last night.”
“I asked where they’d been all day,” Elle said. “Troy told me they’d flown to the colony, but they’d cut short the trip because of rain. He did appear a bit stunned, but he always looks that way when I undress for bed.”
Cara leaned forward, her voice urgent. “But it never rained yesterday—not one drop. Explain that.”
Troy probably needed his head examined, but Aelyx didn’t say so. “Where is he now?”
“In the washroom.”
“Has he shown any odd behavior since then? Experienced hallucinations or—”
“No, he’s fine,” Cara said. “And Jaxen’s pretending that nothing happened, like he never grabbed my face and tried to brain-rape me.”
Aelyx didn’t know what to say. None of it made sense.