Interlude

Chapter 2

Lila

Brannock shudders as the two of us drain his sorrow and grief, freeing him from the horrible burden. We don’t remove it completely, but enough for him to be able to continue his story.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Eric says, and when I look around the room, I notice that all the others are affected, except for the two who are still frozen.

“What happened to your child?” William asks gently. “Did it survive?”

Xavier and I release Brannock, and he shakes himself but doesn’t sit down as Xavier and I return to our seats.

“Yes, she did, and she was born looking perfectly human, if not a little small.” He smiles with a parent’s love that is blinding.

“So that’s why Aura and Xane didn’t know you were Aaz’axian. I did wonder about that. They acted like they had never seen you before,” Xavier says, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair.

“That’s because they hadn’t. I always appeared in my Vilaxian glamour. They questioned how I could handle the Las Vegas heat and where I got my blood from, but I told them I mostly stayed inside and had a couple of other aliens that I knew who regularly donated.”

“This didn’t make them suspicious?” I ask skeptically, and it’s John who answers.

“Probably not. At any given time, there are hundreds of aliens living normal lives in the United States. Smith made it seem like they were always deporting people, but they really weren’t. Before they were killed, Marcus and Alina facilitated a blood service for any aliens who needed it. There were many willing volunteers happy to help out. Someone else took that on when they passed.”

Brannock nods. “John’s right. If you know where to look, you can find anything. Earth is set up to cater to the needs of extraterrestrials, because then there is less chance of them getting caught.”

“So your daughter is human?” Link asks, leaning forward. He’s dying for knowledge.

“She was perfectly human for the first three years, but then, one day, not long after her third birthday, she was frightened, and it triggered her Aaz’axian genes and she changed forms. I’m assuming her human form was just a glamour she had been born with. It was hard to explain to a curious little girl about what she actually was and that no one could know about it. Up until then, I hadn’t shown her my real form either. If she was going to be completely human, I wasn’t going to bother, and I couldn’t have Savannah do any tests because then they would know I wasn’t from Vilax like I claimed.”

“God, that must have been so incredibly lonely for you.” My mouth drops open at Cas’s words. Instead of focusing on how he betrayed us, he’s choosing to understand why he did. Everyone is taking this so much better than I thought. I’m almost tempted to have Xavier unfreeze the two terrors, but I’ll wait until we get to the orb part of the story. Saxon would probably be okay now that he heard about Brannock’s child, since he would do anything for ours, but Tirrian still might turn him into Aaz’axian BBQ.

“Unfortunately when Chloe changed forms, it was in a shopping mall. Although I wasn’t a hundred percent certain anyone noticed, I was quick to cover her up. I decided I wasn’t risking the EAA catching wind of it, so I sold my place and bought a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness, and we moved there. There wasn’t a soul around, and the only way we could get supplies was via float plane so I could hear them coming a mile away. There, she was free to just be, and I was able to teach her how to glamour. I didn’t learn to until I was in my teens, since there was no need, but I knew she would need to know sooner rather than later.”

“What happened?” Maxsim asks, completely engrossed with the tale.

“Her changing didn’t go unnoticed, but it took them a while to figure out where I moved to. You don’t spend seven hundred years changing identities without learning a thing or two, but it was much easier when technology was nonexistent on Earth. It got a lot harder the last thirty years. It was about eighteen months after we moved to Alaska, and I guess I had become complacent. I was invited to Vegas for a meet-up with the men from my old unit. It was something we did every year, but I hadn’t been since Chloe was born, and they were starting to get suspicious. Instead of blowing it off, we went. I stressed to Chloe how important it was to stay in her glamour, and she understood and was really good at holding it. I thought we’d be safe. I booked us a room at a hotel and hired a babysitter for the night. Chloe was going to bed, and the sitter was just going to be there in case she woke up.”

“You can hold your glamour in your sleep?” Xavier asks, and Brannock nods.

“Yeah. It’s easy to do, and we practiced for weeks. It’s only alcohol and extreme emotions that affect it, so I went to the bar and all hell broke loose. Betrayed by my own teammate, I was tranqued, and when I came to, they had Chloe and I had that collar on. There was nothing I could do but cooperate so they didn”t hurt her, including deporting me so I could look for the orb. If I don”t find it, they will start experimenting on her. In fact I wouldn’t put it past them to already be doing that now that I’m not on Earth to demand to see her.”

His anguish is bitter and unpleasant, and I wrinkle my nose, trying not to gag. Xavier waves a hand and frees our two frozen friends. Saxon immediately backs off, but smoke still continues to blow from Tirrian’s nose in agitation.

“You should have told us immediately.” He points a finger at Brannock.

“Yes, maybe then we could have helped you rescue your daughter immediately,” William agrees.

“You’ll have to forgive me for not thinking clearly. They have my child, and I knew nothing about any of you. For all I knew, you could have been as bad as they were.” Brannock’s form flashes, his body changing color, the normal opalescent shimmer bleeding to green while his shoulders, spikes, and head turn red.

“Whoa, settle down.” Eric leaps to his feet and holds out his hands. “It’s okay,” he reassures the angry alien. “We’re on your side.”

“Sit down, Tirrian,” Xavier orders. “You are setting off his berserker mode.”

I watch with fascination as Brannock’s body shudders, and his color flashes back and forth. Silac slowly slides us backward out of firing range, but Brannock manages to get himself under control, and his body changes back to normal. Silac relaxes slightly underneath me and moves me back to the table.

“Did Smith say why he thought we had the orb?” John has stayed relatively calm this whole time, tossing everything we learned around in his mind.

“Yes. Smith said the Syndicate had credible information from a source. When I questioned the reliability of the source, he bragged that it came directly from an Adams.”

A rush of fear flows through the room, and I see my grandpas’ faces turn ashen.

“Lily?” William asks, and Brannock shrugs.

“I’m assuming, but I can’t confirm either way. Smith said it took a long time for them to crack her, which is why they only had this information for the last few months.”

“God!” John gasps, horrified. “What have they done to her?”

“Why keep her alive and in stasis then? I would think they would dispose of her now that they have the information they need,” Tirrian asks without tact, but he’s not wrong.

“They didn’t want to risk the Adams brothers dying before they could locate the orb and in case they needed a hostage to exchange,” Brannock explains.

“You knew all this before we even went to Rilu?” Cas is the one who asks this, and I feel like I’ve been hit over the head. Did he know?

Brannock is quick to shake his head. “No, I was instructed to contact Smith while we were on Z68, before Lila’s meeting with the halla harvester. I demanded answers during the conversation. I told him I wanted to know why they think it’s on the ship, because I haven’t been able to feel or see any sign of it, and he was happy to gloat. He also provided my weekly check-in with Chloe so I know she’s still alive to encourage me to continue seeking the orb. I knew it was time to tell you all everything though. I’ve seen how you work so hard to help one another, and you’ve been nothing but kind to me.”

“Of course we will help you,” John replies, but he still looks distracted.

“Is it true?” Max suddenly breaks the silence, looking at my three grandpas.

“Is what true?” William hedges.

“Is the orb with the circus?”

John and William start to deny it, but Eric scoffs and holds up a hand. “Enough. People’s lives are on the line. It was different when it was just a rumor, but now we need to go into damage control.” He turns his attention to Xavier.

“Can you make it so nobody can talk about it, even under torture?” He looks green as he asks this. He must be thinking about what my grandma had been subjected to. I don’t know much about the galaxy yet, but I’m certain torture is a common and disturbingly creative process.

“Yes, absolutely.” He waves his hand in the air, a couple of my former marks lighting up on his body. He weaves a spell in front of us, one way more complicated than I know. Suddenly, he claps his hands together, and a blast of lavender light blasts out from the impact, the shockwave rolling through the dining room and covering everyone before pulsing through the walls. “That will carry to Echo, Ghosie, and the children, as well as Broderick,” Xavier assures my grandpas.

“Yes, we control the orb of power. We have since the Una’s disappeared. Their final act was giving the Adams family control. It is why the circus was founded. Although the orb is contained by a special barrier, which they promised us would keep its power signature safe, they recommended we never stay in one place for a permanent amount of time,” he tells the four who weren’t already in the know.

Various looks cross their faces, but it’s Maxsim’s low growl that has me worried.

“What’s wrong?” I ask the alpha.

“We are never going to be safe as long as that orb exists,” he snarls. “Even if we take care of the Syndicate, now that the rumor is out there, It’s not contained any longer. My omegas and our babies are in danger.”

Of course that’s his first thought. I feel the same way about my own children, but I have no other suggestions. I brace myself and make him an offer that I really don’t want to, but I’m not selfish enough to keep him in danger.

“If you and Echo would like to return to Iceen for the time being, I would understand,” I tell him.

“No, Lila,” Cas protests, but Link nods his agreement, knowing it’s only going to get more dangerous from here on.

“Will you come with us?” Maxsim asks, and I blink with shock. “You are part of our streak. We won’t leave you in danger,” he growls like he’s insulted I suggested it, and I melt a little.

I wriggle in Silac’s grip. He’s been mostly quiet since he calmed, and I’m worried he’s one wrong word away from striking Brannock down, but he stays where he is while I hurry over to give my alpha a hug.

“You know I can’t. I have to stay here,” I tell him, running my hands through the fur on his back as he grips me tightly. His worry and anxiety are almost as bad as Brannock’s now. “But I promise to be careful.”

“Then we will stay too,” he declares, his own arms tightening around me before he releases me. “I will help deal with the Syndicate so it will be safe for our family.”

“I’m not sure we’re ever going to be safe. I think it’s time we considered a new home for the orb. If we could destroy it, we would have already,” William tells us.

“What about dropping it in one of the volcanoes on Fluxx?” Tirrian suggests, an occasional puff of smoke still billowing from his nose.

“It would only blow up the planet, and the orb would survive,” John tells him, shaking his head.

“What about in the cavern where we got the flamegem from?” Link asks, but it’s Xavier who shakes his head this time.

“No, we already know that there are ways in and out of it. They proved that with Liliana.”

I’ve been listening half-heartedly to their suggestions and have an idea of my own. “What about the warlock home world?” I ask my husband. “That isn’t even on our plane. Nobody would know it was there, and nobody could access it. Only people bonding with their intimate and you and your parents can ever go there. Let’s face it, intimate bonding is enough of a distraction that nobody will be thinking about the orb.”

My grandpas’ eyes widen with the promise of a solution, but Xavier shakes his head.

“No, there is still a warlock race that lives on that planet, and we wouldn’t want them getting their hands on the ultimate power. Warlocks are power hungry, so I can’t imagine what the originals are like. We would be giving another plane of existence our problem.”

“How do you destroy it?” Silac asks quietly. “Can we do that?”

Eric shakes his head. “Not without wiping out a good portion of our galaxy. It’s why it was never destroyed in the first place. The Una’s were remorseful that their experimentation created such unlimited but unusable power.”

“Why is it unusable though?” I ask, not entirely sure why. “If it’s an unlimited source of energy, then why not make it available to everyone?”

“Because if it was manipulated in the wrong way, it would become a power vacuum with the ability to destroy planets in the blink of an eye,” John explains, but I feel confused.

“But how?”

“Kind of like the Death Star.” Eric uses terms I can understand. “A focused beam of laser through the orb increases the power a million times, which will destroy planets. It’s what started the war. Originally, the Una’s gave the power to planets throughout the galaxy. They placed a spark from the orb in a centralized location on each planet, and it produced unlimited energy, powering everything, such as vehicles, homes, machines, and technology as well as making crops abundant and keeping animals and plants healthy. Even the beings on the planets were healthy. It had godlike powers. Planets and realms thrived, but of course some races couldn’t leave it at that. They wanted to know what else they could do with the spark, so they started experimenting.”

“And that’s how our leaders discovered that if you concentrated a laser beam through the spark that you could destroy a planet. They experimented on one at the far edges of the galaxy—an uninhabited moon. They tried to keep it a secret, but not everyone involved with the project was interested in subjugation, and word got out,” Brannock explains, his firsthand knowledge invaluable. “The Una’s gathered the sparks and returned them to the mother orb, declaring it was too dangerous. Most of the galaxy agreed, but the leaders of my people were not happy, and we went to war. It was five years of hell, but unbeknownst to us, our leadership had prepared for such an occasion. Every Aaz’axian was implanted with a control chip at birth, a gift from some cyborg entrepreneur who was enamored with one of the Aaz’axian kings. Either we fought or died.”

“God, that is barbaric.” Saxon scowls. “Vilaxians are a warrior race too, but we would never force our people. Once you’ve done your two years of mandated service, you can do whatever you choose.”

“Is that still a possibility? You being activated?” Link asks, and Brannock shrugs.

“I guess. I don’t know what happened to our leadership. As far as I know, they were all killed, and I’m assuming that technology was lost, but someone could very well have it in case any of us reappear.”

“And Smith knows about you. This is a problem,” Xavier points out.

“I will scan him and see if we can remove that chip,” Link offers.

“I would appreciate it.” Brannock nods his thanks. “When they did it, we were told it wasn’t possible, but it was a long time ago, so hopefully something has advanced enough to be able to.”

“Well, I guess that means we will be returning to Earth sooner rather than later.” William stands up, stretching.

“Oshan said he had an Una partner. I think we need to speak to them and revisit our options about dealing with the orb. I refuse to put our family at risk any longer,” John suggests, and from the murmuring around the table, I think we are all in agreement.

“Okay, but first, Grandma. It’s late, and we need to be at Z68 for the harvester recruiters. How about we all try to get some sleep?” I suggest. “We have a lot on our plate, and we need to tackle everything one at a time, otherwise, we are going to get overwhelmed.”

“Agreed,” Cas says, getting to his feet. This cues a mass movement from everyone. “Shall we meet back here at six in the morning?”

“Sounds good, we can finalize the plan for Husadavia.”

“I will offer to give Broderick a break. We still need to get this ship to Husadavia as well, so we are ready to send Ghosie when you get where you need to go,” Saxon says.

“Aren’t you tired? Do you need some blood?” I ask my mate, and he shakes his head.

“I’m fine. I require less sleep than most. I also won’t take your blood just before you go on a dangerous mission, and I am still full from Link,” he replies, reminding me of what they were doing to maintain their cover.

“But I don’t know how long I will be gone,” I argue.

“I am happy to offer up my neck again,” Link says quickly, and Cas chuckles.

“I will help out as well if he needs it. Are you going to be okay only being able to feed from Xavier?” he asks, biting his lip with concern.

“I would gladly offer up my vein for Lila,” Brannock volunteers, blushing slightly, “so that she doesn’t weaken the warlock.”

I feel a rush of warmth at the thought of drinking from this gorgeous creature despite him keeping secrets. Xavier chuckles quietly, obviously able to feel my emotions.

“Thank you, that would be appreciated by both of us,” he replies.

“I will be observing from above if you have need of me as well,” Tirrian reminds us gruffly, crossing his arms.

“Yes, we know you will, dragon, but you still have some ass kissing to do,” Xavier reminds him, and it’s my turn to blush. We haven’t really discussed what’s happening between us, but once again, that’s a future Lila problem.

Tirrian grumbles but doesn’t argue with my warlock.

“Okay then, we will see you in the morning.” John comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t wait for you to meet your grandma.”

“She’s going to love you,” Eric says as he gives me a quick hug.

William approaches. “Get some rest,” he suggests before grimacing, “and everything else you need to be in tip-top shape tomorrow. We don’t know how long you’re going to be on Husadavia, and not only is it dangerous, but you’re going to have to use your mimic powers a lot, so you need to be at full strength, because you’ll only have Xavier to pull energy from if you need it.”

His reminder has me freezing. Fuck, my mimic forms are powered by sex, and I will only have one of my mates with me if I need to power up. I think about whether I can take any of the others, but there’s no option. Saxon is a possibility, since he has the skills to be an asset, but he will require blood as well. Cas and Link aren’t fighters, Maxsim won’t be useful in the temperature, and both Nikos and Echo are completely out. Silac would possibly be an asset, but he isn’t my mate, and we can’t do anything about it until he resolves things with his fiancée.

“Ah, yeah, sure,” I stammer, not wanting to look at my grandpa, but my eyes slide to the dragon. He claims I am his mate, but he doesn’t want it. I can’t force it just so I’ll survive our journey. I want him to want it. I straighten my spine and hug William. “I’ll be fine. I’m getting stronger every day, and if I don’t have to mimic too often, everything will be okay. Hopefully the being is willing to help us,” I say, and he looks as doubtful as I feel, but we have no other choice.

They take their leave, and a weird silence falls over us all. Thankfully, my cyborg is ready to come to my rescue. “Why don’t you go down and check on Nikos before going to bed?” he suggests, and I jump at the idea.

“Yes! Good thinking,” I blurt out, and Xavier, the shit, snickers, feeling everything I am—anticipation at seeing my can of tuna, unrequited lust for the dragon, my longing for the snake, and my curiosity about Brannock. I have to face the fact that my mimic self wants them all, and my Lila self is not opposed to being a Pokémon keeper either, even if I won’t admit it out loud.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” I say to the three men who won’t be in my suite tonight, and then I give each of my present mates a kiss before hurrying out of the dining room in the direction of the pool.

A swim to cool off sounds pretty damn good.