Invaded (Alienated, #2)(51)

A delicious idea came to mind.

Nobody knew she was here. If she snuck away and got a head start, she might be able to reach the object before The Way sent a shuttle to retrieve it. She didn’t waste another second pondering her next move.

After tiptoeing out of sight, she sprinted in the direction of the burning trail, hurtling over fallen logs and ducking beneath low branches. The whistle grew louder as she ran onward, and soon a crash boomed in the distance, followed by a thin plume of smoke. She increased her speed, barreling toward the black wisps that clouded the air.

In minutes, she’d reached the source of the impact—a slight crater in the forest floor with steam wafting up from within, smelling slightly of sulfur. Cara made her way to the site with tentative steps, then crouched down to peer inside the hole.

That thing was man-made, all right.

It was slightly smaller than she remembered, more like a baseball than a softball, but she recognized the twinkling lights scattered in haphazard increments across the orb’s brassy surface. Each light flashed independently of the others in no discernible pattern. Cara couldn’t imagine what the sphere could be. Maybe an intergalactic message in a bottle?

“What are you?” she asked the object.

That’s when it replied.

Cara gasped and scrambled backward, flailing to remain on her feet. Holy crap, had that thing actually beeped at her? She neared the crater and peered inside again just in time to watch the orb wriggle free from the ground and drift slowly upward until it hovered in the air with a barely perceptible hum. Another sound caught her attention, coming from the sky. The shuttle was almost here.

Cara acted quickly, reaching behind her neck to see if she still had her towel. Luckily, she hadn’t lost it during the sprint. She inched forward and threw her towel over the twinkling orb, then wrapped it up to protect her hands from its heat and jogged back the way she’d come. If the capital guards had any sense—which they did—it was only a matter of time before they saw her boot prints and tracked them to the Aegis. Then they’d sweep the building and she’d have to surrender her prize.

She had an hour, maybe two, to figure out what this thing was.





Chapter Thirteen


Aelyx had never seen anything like it. The golden orb didn’t appear L’eihr-made, but perhaps The Way had invented something new and was testing its functionality above the atmosphere. If that were the case, maybe a few defective units had fallen to the ground.

“Speak to it in L’eihr,” Aelyx suggested. “Give it a command and let’s see if it responds.”

“Good idea.” Cara cupped one hand around the floating sphere and drew it nearer to her face. “Reveal your message.” She spoke with a heavy American accent, but clearly enough to understand.

Lights flashed once in unison, and after an audible hum, a distorted computerized voice responded in a series of garbled words Aelyx didn’t recognize. Cara’s wide eyes reflected his own shock. Neither of them had expected the gadget to attempt verbal communication. He wondered what it meant.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Cara asked it in L’eihr. “I don’t understand.”

The voice slowed and took on a feminine tone, then spoke another series of words. Aelyx still didn’t recognize the language, but it was obviously different from the first. When Cara didn’t answer it, a series of clicks emanated from the orb, followed by a few guttural utterances that sounded like bastardized Latin. It seemed the sphere was going through a database of languages in an effort to connect with Cara.

Only one kind of device would do that.

A lump of dread rose in Aelyx’s throat, but he maintained a calm facade. “I think I know what it is.”

“Really?” she asked over the sphere’s increasingly rapid discourse. “What?”

“Before I say, I want to get a second opinion from Syrine. Be right back.”

He found Syrine sitting cross-legged on the living room rug playing a game of backgammon with David, who lay stretched out on his side, propped on one elbow. They both wore easy smiles as they baited each other with what David referred to as “trash talk.” Aelyx had to call Syrine’s name twice before she noticed him. When she threw a quick glance in his direction, he waved her over.

“Just a minute,” Syrine said. “I’ve almost got him beat.”

“In your dreams.” David rolled the dice and gave a victory whoop. “I’m catching up.”

“Not quickly enough,” she taunted.

“Sy-rine!” Aelyx shouted.

Now he had her attention. What is it? she asked privately.

I need you to see something, he told her. It’s important.

She nodded vigorously and turned to David, pointing at their game. “I’ve memorized the board, so I’ll know if you’ve moved any pieces while I’m gone.”

David flashed a mischievous grin. “I’m going to take you down, firecracker. And when I do, it’ll be fully legit.”

She pushed to standing and hurried to Aelyx’s side, two spots of pink rising high on her cheeks. Aelyx led her into his bedroom and closed the door behind her, then pointed to Cara’s hologram. The sphere was orbiting Cara’s head now, continuing to spew undecipherable messages and flashing brighter than the ball he’d seen in Times Square last month.