Order of Swans (The Blue Swan Duology #1)

Prologue

Twenty-six years ago

Jobi was on the ship, going through space, and headed toward home. But before he got into the pod to sleep for the long journey, he wanted matters settled with Graceen. She was sleeping on the bed behind him, and it would be quite some time before she woke up. On the far side of the room was a shelf with small things she’d collected during her year on Earth. Beside a dried sunflower was a pretty rock that Jeff had given her. Jobi smiled at what he’d heard called a “spark plug.” Common on Earth but strange on Bellis, their home planet. Half a dozen photos were in pretty frames. In one, Jeff and Graceen were sitting on the grass and laughing. Graceen’s belly was already big, but then, Earth people did produce extraordinarily large babies.

He picked up a photo of all of them. Graceen, Jeff and his parents, who’d been so welcoming. At the end was Jobi. They’d taken him into their family and shared their lives with him.

Behind him, Graceen made a sound like a groan. He put the picture down and turned to her. Please don’t wake up , he silently pleaded. When she did wake, he was going to have to tell her what he’d done.

What was that Earth saying? For the greater good. He had foreseen that what he’d done was the only way. Would she believe him? Maybe so, but she’d still hate him. She was here, starting the long trip back to Bellis, while her husband and child were left behind on Earth.

He thought back to Graceen’s pregnancy. Every day, he’d talked to the child she carried, explaining what was to be done. He told her unborn daughter who she was, where she was from and what he’d foreseen that she was to do—not that he knew the details. He didn’t know if any of his knowledge reached the unborn infant.

Jobi was glad he’d been able to foresee the exact time of the birth. It was earlier than the Earth doctor predicted. He invited Graceen to go on a walk in a forest with him, and he did his best to quiet his nerves. He’d certainly never before delivered a child! His insight made him believe it would be all right, but he wasn’t sure .

To his great relief, as he’d hoped, the birth went well. A grassy meadow, a breeze in the trees in pretty rural Kansas, and the child popped out into his waiting hands.

She was an active baby, moving and fussing—until Jobi started telling her a story. Like the Recorder her mother was, she grew quiet and listened. Her eyes were brown like her father’s. How different from Bellis , Jobi thought.

Graceen raised her arms to hold her daughter and he handed her over. They didn’t leave until the sunlight began to fade. He knew the Earth protocol so he took them to a hospital. Papers were filled out and examinations of mother and child were performed.

When Jeff and his parents showed up at the hospital, Jobi stepped aside.

He gave them three days together.

Jeff and Graceen named the baby Kaley, not a Bellisan name, but that wouldn’t matter. On the second day, Jobi embedded the chip into Kaley’s left forearm. It left a tiny mark and he hoped Jeff wouldn’t notice. Graceen would see it and know what it was. The chip would allow Jobi to keep track of the child. It would let him know when she was ready for what she was meant to do. That is, if she responded to her birthright and to all that Jobi had tried to teach her.

By the time they had to leave, Jobi had almost given up hope that his teaching had reached the child. He’d seen nothing about her that wasn’t like every other earthling. But when he entered their house on that last day, he heard little Kaley crying. Jeff was holding her, looking frustrated and helpless. “She’s been fed and changed. I don’t know what else to do.”

To Jobi’s great joy, he could “hear” her, feel what her problem was. “She misses the dog,” he said. Jeff opened the door, the dog entered and instantly, Kaley stopped crying.

Jobi was so pleased that he turned away to hide his smile. One of the things he’d tried to instill in the unborn baby was a connection with animals. He wasn’t clear how it would be needed in the future, but it would be. He was relieved that he’d succeeded in reaching her mind.

It was an hour later that he did what he had to do.

He put the drops in a cup of water, lifted Graceen from the bed and she drank it. When it was done, he left the house, leaving her husband to find her. Jobi didn’t want to hear Jeff’s cries of anguish when he found his wife unresponsive, and seemingly dead.

When it was over, Jobi returned to take care of it all, meaning that he’d taken Graceen away and lied about what had happened. He’d encouraged Jeff to stay on his parents’ farm and run his auto shop. He strongly suggested homeschooling for the child, as he knew she would be “different.” Jeff nodded, but Jobi wasn’t sure if he’d heard him or not.

It had worked out as he’d envisioned, and now Graceen, still sleeping, was on the ship headed toward home, while her grieving family was on Earth. Jobi had told Jeff that Graceen’s rich, powerful relatives—whom he’d never met—had taken her body home. In a way, it was true.

On the ship, Jobi lied even harder. He told the officers that the Earth child had died. Long ago, there’d been repercussions for leaving behind half-lights, as the children of Bellisans and earthlings were called. Sometimes they had unusual abilities. In the far past, those children had not been treated well. Superstition had caused great turmoil. But now unusual children stirred the interest of earthlings. They started asking why and how. Whatever abilities Kaley had, he didn’t want them to make people dig deeper to find out more. It was imperative that earthlings didn’t find out too much as it could cause great distress. Jobi hoped that the chip in her arm would allow him to keep oddities about her under control.

As he lied to the officers on the ship, Jobi had to quieten the pounding of his heart. If anyone knew the truth, that the danger from this child was not to earthlings but to his world, they would destroy the child.

Again, Graceen made a sound. She was waking up—and Jobi was going to have to tell her that her family had been taken from her. She’d believed that she was going to be allowed to stay with them on Earth.

Jobi let his breath out slowly. He’d foreseen that something was going to happen on Earth in their future. His vision didn’t clearly show what it was, but he knew that it would allow him to spend time alone with Kaley. That was when he’d return to Earth. She’d be a young woman by then and he’d need to start training her.

For a moment, he looked skyward. How could he train her for a task, yet tell her nothing about it? How would he get her to agree to leave her family, her home and her planet without telling her why? Suddenly, the twenty-plus years he would have to find answers seemed very short.

When Graceen opened her eyes, Jobi went to her. After he told her the truth, they would go to their pods where they would lie down and be attached to wires. Their brains and bodies would be fed, exercised and healed of any medical issues during the long time it took to go home. He hoped that the time would mellow what was sure to be her hatred directed at him.