Invaded (Alienated, #2)(73)
“Aliens?” Cara asked. “Like the Aribol?”
“Maybe. It could have been any species. The Way had uncovered alien genetic material on a primitive blood-crusted weapon, and scientists salvaged just enough usable DNA to fill in the missing genetic code from the ancients.”
“How long ago was this?” she asked.
Larish darted a quick gaze at the ceiling to crunch the numbers. “About twenty years ago, if I’m not mistaken.” Shaking his head, he corrected, “No. I’d just relocated to the new barracks, so it would have been twenty-two years ago.”
Which would make the first alien hybrid twenty-one, like Jaxen. Aelyx was right when he’d said the oldest clones were barely twenty. Jaxen wasn’t a true clone. The geneticists must have used him as a guinea pig before they created Aisly.
“What about the fetus?” Cara asked. “Do you think they tried to clone it?”
Larish waved a dismissive hand. “If they did, I can’t imagine they were successful. The embryonic tissue would have decayed beyond use.”
If that were the case, then Aisly wasn’t Jaxen’s sister. In another life, thousands of years ago, she’d been his queen and the mother of his unborn child. They were probably l’ihans now. Cara recalled the day she’d sat beside Jaxen in his room. When she’d asked about his partner, he had said the girl was his perfect match. It had to be Aisly.
But wait.
What if there were more of these Super Ancients running around? On L’eihr, they’d never stand out if they used cosmetic drops, and on Earth, they’d blend into the blue-eyed population with no more than a trendy haircut and a change of clothes.
“Do you know how many hybrids the labs tried to create?” Cara chilled at the idea of a whole generation of mindbenders loosed upon the galaxy.
“I have no idea.” Larish retrieved his mug and took a leisurely sip. “Assuming the project existed, it would’ve been kept highly classified, which means the lead geneticists would have lived sequestered from the general populace.”
Cara started to ask why, but then the answer came. “Ah. So the scientists didn’t accidentally leak information through Silent Speech.”
“Exactly.” Larish gave her that proud-teacher smile. “You’re very intelligent, Cah-ra.”
She waited for him to add the disclaimer for a human, but he never did. Her heart swelled with pride. “That means a lot coming from you.”
She decided that Larish was pretty awesome—for anyone, not just a L’eihr.
Chapter Eighteen
SATURDAY, APRIL 12
Homeward bound!
Everyone knows there’s no place like home, and if you listen closely, you just might hear the click-click-click of my booted heels as I make like a wizard and fly.
Ever the multitasker, I’m posting from the spaceport while I wait to board the transport to Earth. If all goes according to plan, I’ll arrive at the customs checkpoint in Manhattan within a week, then spend the day catching up with Aelyx before heading to Midtown for a weekend with my family and friends. After that, it’s back to New York for the alliance ceremony. I hope you’ll turn out to celebrate the marriage of our worlds. L’eihrs and humans have a lot to offer each other, and I’d love to see a show of support from my fellow earthlings.
I’m not granting any interviews at this time, but if you see me, make sure to say hello. It should be easy to spot me. I’ll be the one double-fisting Reese’s Cups with a chocolate malt chaser. (Shh…don’t tell my nutrition counselor.)
Posted by Cara Sweeney
Cara waited for her post to upload to the satellite before shutting down her laptop and tucking it inside her shoulder bag. With her blog updated, she stood and scanned the bustling terminal to gauge how much time she had before boarding.
The luggage carts had vanished since she’d sat down to type her post, along with the dozen or so crates bearing the nanotechnology to neutralize Earth’s prolific algae blooms—a long-awaited Happy Alliance Day! gift to mankind. Crew members worked in near-perfect unison to fit passengers with travel bands and haul supplies through the tunnel leading to the cargo hold.
When the metal-grated ramp descended from the boarding corridor, Cara knew it wouldn’t be much longer before her travel band started buzzing. The crew was probably waiting for The Way’s private shuttle to arrive. The head Elders always boarded first, kind of like business-class-elite passengers back home.
That was fine by Cara. Let them go ahead of her. She was in no hurry to entomb herself inside a hotel-size tin can and hurtle through invisible wormholes. Light speed made Cara toss her cookies—or l’arun, as it were.
A flicker of sunlight from the nearest spaceport window caught Cara’s eye, and she strode toward the thick glass pane for one last look at L’eihr. How had three months flown by so quickly? She still remembered the thrill she’d felt when shuttling down, the wonderment of glimpsing this alien world for the first time. She’d been so desperate to capture more of the landscape’s beauty that she hadn’t blinked. It was stunning now, even from a distance—the planet a muted cornflower blue with swirls of caramel and cream.
But the exchange had taught her that beauty wasn’t enough. Cara hadn’t told anyone, but she was 99 percent sure she wasn’t coming back.