Chapter Eight
Lucy:
Lucifer’s Daughter:
You were given that name to mark you. I’m sure by now you’ve found that out. There is no place you can hide with a name like that, correct? Every job application, every doctor’s office, every organization you sign up for will think twice upon hearing your name.
It will spread like wildfire. The entire world will know who and where you are.
So, there’s no point in hiding, is there? Out yourself, or I’ll do it for you. Naturally I can’t have the likes of you out in the world. Show yourself, coward.
I read the article in the want ads of the newspaper three times, yet I’ve read it a hundred times before this. I’ve had plenty of time, having been off work for an entire week. The rafters in the old church finally rotted and fell, thankfully it was at night and no one was hurt. In fact, it happened on a night I was supposed to clean. I’d used the church phone to call Isabel’s boss, and fled without them seeing me.
But I know exactly who the article refers to. There are five people in the world who know my given name.
Me. Sam. My birth father, her uncle. And his sister, Sam’s mother. Now Isabel, though she’s not even on this planet.
And yes, he’s correct. If I had to apply for a job on my own, there would be no way to hide a hideous name like that. It would stand out and would be whispered among everyone, would spread like wildfire.
What has she, or her mother, done to warrant such a name?
The letters have been coming out in the want ads—apparently with enough money, they’ll take any type ad—since I was released from the home. Normally, a person leaves the home on their own two feet six months after their eighteenth birthday. Unless they have someone who comes for them, of course.
That person can claim them on the day they turn eighteen, which is when Sam did it. On my birthday. Her parents had been traveling and it was the perfect opportunity for her to sneak me into the basement.
Apparently, someone had been searching for me six months later, expecting me to walk from the home on my own. Except I’d been long gone and the records to sign me out? Gone also. There was no point in keeping duplicate paperwork past thirty days of my release. I would never be allowed back in the home after aging out, so they were automatically destroyed. A small point in my favor.
That someone had waited too long to seek me out and was probably kicking himself right now. He’d grown cocky over the last sixteen years and never suspected that I’d leave before the six months were up. I mean, why would anyone? When you’re offered free room and board but able to come and go as you please—a benefit the sponsored weren’t able to claim before—in order to find work and save our paychecks? Every person takes advantage of it. I would have been no different.
Except I had Sam.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d used her own earnings to encourage her parents to get away for a vacation, though she’d never said.
This was the first letter, one I should have showed Skiden. One I would have shown him, had I not become such a moody bitch over it. It was my fault he grew so angry and I can’t blame him. I handled it so badly and regret hit me as soon as the words left my mouth. I was so disgusted with myself but I couldn’t pull them back and go back in time.
God, his face. He looked so… betrayed. Exactly the way I’ve been betrayed by humans my entire life, and I did that to him. I showed him how humans behave.
What would I have told him if I could? We could have sat here, on this couch, the very next day and thumbed through these saved articles together. Then, maybe with someone understanding, I could have been brave enough to open that rolled up paper for the newest one. In fact, we would have had plenty of time. I’ve been home an entire week from work because of a construction accident. It happened during the day time, someone noticed a cracked beam and so the church has been closed for construction. I guess it means that much more work for me to clean when I get the call to return.
I pick up another article.
Lucifer’s Daughter,
With a name like that, it might not be what you’ve done, but what you will do. That name tells the good people of this world that evil grows inside you. What will you become? A serial killer? A jezebel, luring innocent, God-fearing men to their deaths? Will you work as a neonatal nurse and maim helpless and precious infants, which are already rare among honest people?
Underneath each message were a slew of comments from other readers posted through the month. Messages of fear and hatred and sometimes even violence toward me—a person who has never hurt or harmed anyone. But drama attracted attention to the paper and now they were more than willing to post the seeker’s letters, knowing the comments that would be stirred up during the month, views would be elevated and papers would be sold.
Security was ramped up in birth wards. Women my age were scrutinized thoroughly when they applied for nursing schools. Men started to demand birth certificates from their wives when they were courting—just in case a woman used a different name from that she was born with.
I didn’t know any of this until I moved in with Isabel and started to get the county paper. The very first time I saw my name entered in the sharp, horrifying font, I’d cried and cried. Isabel requested a ride from Sam—who’d stopped working as a chauffeur—but Isabel pretended she didn’t know that when she called the number, and Sam immediately knew something was up. She came over as soon as it was safe and I knew then why she’d always been so careful. Why she didn’t come over to Isabel’s at any time she wanted but waited for nightfall, or sometimes met one of us inside the grounds of the commune.
There was no way Isabel’s father would ever set foot inside the commune so being on the outskirts of it was a safe haven for us.
But that also marked the day when Sam and I came up with our code phrases.
That was the day the fifth person became aware of my name. Isabel would never say anything about it and I knew that. We’d become fast friends since that day.
She didn’t need to ask who my father was because it didn’t matter. There was evil in the world; hell, she knew that from her own father who’d shunned her so his friend couldn’t be convicted of molestation when she’d given birth. And of course, with the infant missing, it was probably likely that Isabel wouldn’t have been believed anyway.
So, if anyone understood how I felt, it was those two women who lived in my hell with me.
With Lucifer’s Daughter.
And part of me can’t understand why Sam called to say she’s bringing two more Bronian males to my home in the wee hours of the morning while the rest of the world sleeps. She knows this is a difficult day for me because another paper came out today, and I still haven’t been able to bring myself to read the last one. The one I’ve been holding since Skiden’s departure.
She taps on the sliding doors and I slide them wide open, letting them all in before the sun rises all the way.
The two new guys have varying purple shades to their skin, interspersed with grays and blacks. They’re as large as Skiden, even though they’re nowhere near as attractive.
A box of food appeared on my back porch last night, so the Britonians must be aware I’d be receiving visitors.
After all, they were aware of the small accidents starting to happen around the commune. None had happened where I worked, so I think it’s someone feeling the waters, trying to see if they can scare Isabel, not exactly sure where she’s at.
“Luce, meet Kalrian and Mejak. They were dispatched a few weeks after Skiden left,” she explains. “Because the accident at the church where the rafters fell? No one thinks that was an accident.”
A different accident that we’d already discussed when it happened and she’s probably bringing it up again for these two to understand.
“I know. It was probably Isabel’s father who suspected where she worked.”
“Or… it could be they’re trying to flush you out, sweetie,” Sam says. “Not Isabel.” I know who she means. Duke, my birth father, who is also Isabel’s father’s partner. Not a coincidence that they’re working together, it’s how Sam met Isabel. She’d given her a ride home knowing she was Steve’s daughter and that he’d shunned her for getting pregnant with River. So maybe I was focused on the wrong person. Maybe it wasn’t Isabel’s father trying to flush her out, but mine trying to get me?
While I’m glad to see a Bronian, I’m also a little disappointed to see one because it’s just a reminder of the fight Skiden and I had before he left. That obviously he doesn’t want to come back or these two wouldn’t be here in his place. It makes me sad to face that, but it’s my own fault.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I murmur, and push the two cushioned foot stools across from the sofa so that they can sit opposite of Samantha and me. I remember it was easier for Skiden to sit on a chair that was backless so his tentacles could spread out.
And is it me or does Sam seem a little prettier than usual? Her cheeks are pink and her eyes have a brightness to them. Her hair is curled. It’s not in its usual straight, sleek style but decidedly more feminine. I’ll definitely question her when these two leave and we’re alone. Could she be interested in one? Maybe it’s the first one. He seems a little like her, used to taking charge. But then again, Kalrian might be the opposite personality she needs.
“You said Mikhail sent you?” I ask Mejak.
“Yes,” he says. “There’s a political uprising here that we’re trying to learn about. The new party wants to replace First Lady Lilaina. They’re saying a first lady shouldn’t rule, that it should be a male president.”
“That’s bull,” I scoff. Politics is one thing I loved studying in school. “There is nothing in the books that claims a first lady can’t rule. However, it is written that a president can’t be female, which is probably why the Britonians put a first lady in charge instead of a president.”
“Lucy would know,” Samantha brags. “She had her high school diploma by fifteen. And at eighteen when she left the home? She had just completed her bachelors.”
Of course, those time frames and my degree means nothing to the aliens, but Kalrian manages to look suitably impressed, while Mejak just looks at her tenderly. Interesting. Maybe they both vie for her attention.
“Does her father know of her education?” Mejak asks.
Samantha blinks. “Well, yes,” she says. “It’s public information.”
“Though I can’t imagine he’d care,” I point out. “He’s not father material. Obviously.”
“It makes you dangerous,” Kalrian says softly. “That’s one thing we all know about Earth females. Your males wish to keep you under their thumb. To do that they encourage you to have as many children as possible. Not to repopulate the planet like they claim, but to prevent you from having the time to educate yourselves. Your days are filled with caring for others, not thinking about what you want from life. That doesn’t leave a lot of time left over for studies, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Sam says softly and looks at me with new eyes.
Bet she’s feeling guilty that she was the one who encouraged me to study hard. Maybe she didn’t mean for me to go above and beyond and actually gain a bachelor’s degree before leaving the home, but I took advantage of the fact that she had pointed out, back when I was eight, that the schooling would be free for me as long as I was under the government’s care. Something they’d forgotten about. Something that enabled me to obtain a bachelor’s for free. If it wasn’t for my name, I’d easily be able to get a job that would pay to send me off for a master’s.
In the beginning, after the world wars, when the planet was so overpopulated by females, families were encouraged to put extra daughters in homes. They were promised that their daughters would have access to free education. Then they could focus on trying to birth males. Things didn’t work out that way. For some reason male offspring were few and far between after the wars. And over the years, people forgot a benefit to giving up your children was for free education because women became too busy for education. We were encouraged to focus on making a good marriage, finding a quality man, finding a marriage where we could get along with the other wives in our wealth hierarchy. And only those born privileged, born to old family money, had the options of continuing their schooling to become doctors, scientists, engineers. The vast majority of the population focused on family because we were told to. The statistics are right there in black and white in school, but that’s knowledge the average woman doesn’t have access to.
What she does have access to is the life experience that benefits a man. Once a month, women are encouraged to donate time to the milk farms. A place where males can come in and have their seed expelled to keep their sperm fresh and at optimum health. The women are taught techniques to jack a man off pleasurably, basically. It’s incredible what we’ve come to expect as normal.
“So it’s possible that it’s either Isabel’s patron looking for her, or Lucy’s looking for her.”
I nod. “Exactly. What makes it tricky is the two know each other. They’re partners. But they have no idea that Isabel and I know each other.”
“The paper’s out,” Sam says flatly and picks up the piece I’d grabbed this morning that’s on the coffee table. She unrolls it to get to the want ads, then begins to read.
Lucifer’s Daughter,
It’s been over five years now you’ve been in hiding, but are you really? What makes you think we can’t guess where you are? Because no soul so dark can hide from the light. And, Lucifer’s Daughter, a spotlight shines on you.
Pray that we don’t find you before the Lord, Our God.
She drops the paper. “My God. He knows. He knows you’re affiliated with the commune! Why else would he suddenly start speaking religiously?”
I shake my head. “No. No, he’s just trying to scare us. To flush us out, Sam. If he knew, he’d be at that door right now.”
“Wait. What is Lucifer’s Daughter?” Kalrian asks, his brow knotted.
“It’s Lucy’s real name. They changed it to that when she was two right before giving her to the home. We didn’t find out what her legal name was until she was released.” Then Sam turns to me and sucks in a ragged breath. “How do you explain the accidents hitting the church?”
“Just Isabel’s dad trying to flush her out. That’s all. It has nothing to do with me.” But I cling to that thought out of desperation. Please, please, please let it be Isabel’s dad and not mine. “They never happen at night when she—I—am working. They happen during the day or at events put on by the religious sect.”
“The Britonian leader sent Kalrian and Mejak here to be sure. He’s looking into how to get you safely to Pimeon, but like we suspected, to register you means to expose you and your name.”
“I really don’t think this means anything. I think we’re reading too much into it. The accident at work was a fluke, nothing more. If another one happens, and another one? Okay, you’re right. But it was once, Sam.”
“There was more than once.”
“Those don’t count. They didn’t happen to me, or the church. It’s just various buildings getting old and flukes happen. If the accidents had been more harmful or targeted to the buildings I clean, I’d be the first to admit something’s up. But they’re too random.”
Sam bites her lip. “Maybe you’re right.”
“You know I’m right. And I love that you’re scared for me. But I think we’re okay.”
Mejak clears his throat. “Skiden hasn’t been the same since he returned home.”
I freeze. Oh, God. Did our fight distract him? Did he get injured—perhaps in an accident? I’m aware of everyone’s eyes on me. “Is—is he okay?”
“He’s been a beast,” Kalrian says. “Angry at the world. Which, even though you’ve only met him once, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen is completely unlike him.”
I nod. “He’s an easy-going guy.”
“He works behind the scenes. He’s the buffer between his brothers. Between his parents. He’s always kept things running smooth, even when his brother Bronan was being trained to lead the clan. He kept Bronan on point when their patron tried to sabotage his relationship with Tiran, the middle sibling from another patron.”
“We’re guessing something happened here,” Kalrian says and all six eyes are fixed on me.
“Well, uh, I—yes,” I admit. “We had a fight and I asked him to leave.” Threw him out is more like it.
“What?” Sam says. “Why? You guys were getting along great when I left! Did he make a move on you that wasn’t appreciated?” She scowls and I can feel my cheeks warm.
“No, no, not that.” Not unappreciated, anyway. “I, uh, asked him to match with you. In the program.”
Her mouth drops.
“Lucy!” she says when she recovers. “Surely you saw that he had a crush on you?”
“Well, yes. I know that. But I also know that you leaving could keep you safe from Duke’s clutches. And I’m safe, hidden the way I am. You’re out in the open—”
“No wonder Skiden got pissed.” She cringes. “Maybe he thought we planned it.”
“No, no!” I assure her. “Skiden’s not like that. He just—” Well, now I’ve done it. Now I have to go into more detail. “To be honest, he and I hit it off.” I’m sure my cheeks are about as red as cherries. “Like really hit it off. But I love you so much and I was worried and made it clear that I couldn’t enter the Match Program when he asked. So, I asked him to take you instead and of course, he found that really insulting after what we shared.”
There’s an awkward moment.
“Oh, honey,” Sam says softly. “You like him.”
I nod frantically, knotting my brows to keep my emotions in check. “I wanted to say I’m sorry, but I can’t even reach him.”
Kalrian clears his throat at the sudden silence. “We can tell him for you. We’re going back in a few days before Samantha’s parents return from their cruise.”
“Would you?” I ask.
“Of course. We’re tired of his moping too.” Kalrian grins. “We volunteered to come to another planet.”
“And we have to follow him around to make sure he’s safe. Going hunting by himself and getting the largest kills possible. If his brothers weren’t so wrapped up in their mates, they’d have noticed how fishy he’s been acting,” Mejak says.
“While we’re on the subject of Lucy liking Skiden, how do you feel about me, Samantha?” Kalrian asks.
I swear my cousin goes gray and her eyes shoot to Mejak.
Awkward.
“Um, you’re a great guy…”
“Great like me?” Mejak asks.
Now her eyes fly over to Kalrian.
Oooh… this is even more awkward. Did my beautiful, self-assured cousin dabble with both of them? Sort of testing out the waters? What the hell?
“Yes,” she chokes out. “You’re great also.”
I can’t help the cough that almost strangles me as I realize she didn’t have time to try one, then the other. “Oh. Wait a minute. All three of you?” How the hell did I miss that?
And Sam’s blush is full on now.
“Yes,” she snaps.
Then Kalrian leans back, satisfied. “Just making sure everything’s out in the open since we now know about Lucy and Skiden getting it on.”
Sam glares at him, knowing full well that he just pushed her into revealing their relationship to me.
Just like these two pushed me into revealing what was going on with me and Skiden to her.
“You’re both a sneaky sort, aren’t you?” I ask.
Mejak grins. “Learned it from your lover.”