home schooling to my parents, when Sean’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Can you focus for a minute here? Do you understand that your House and mine are Sworn Enemies? A treaty between them requires that if any of the members meet, that their life energy be released to the universe. We have to see your shaman right away.”
“What are you babbling about?” I asked, impatient with his interrupting my thoughts with nonsense about shamans and houses. “Are you crazy?”
“Probably. You don’t know anything, do you? At the very least, has your shaman talked to you?”
“I don’t have a shaman. Though probably about now I could use one.”
“Yes, you have a shaman. We both do.” Sean looked up and down the hallway again to make sure we were alone. “What I’m going to tell you is going to sound really off the wall, but I want you to hear me out.” He exhaled loudly. “The two of us were created by a species of aliens who live below the surface of Earth in a place they call Geminay. I met them last May when they abducted me while I was out riding my horse. They kept me in their palace. That’s how I know about us being Sworn Enemies.”
“Aliens?” Sean’s words were just ludicrous enough to distract me from the matters at hand. “Aliens who live below the surface of the Earth? Really? Is their spaceship in the shop?”
“Oh, that’s nice. Sarcasm. And while you’re at it, explain the diamonds in our eyes and what just happened in there and what happened with Martin.”
Sean crossed his arms over his chest while he waited for me to answer back.
I grew somber. “I can’t explain what happened to Martin. No matter what you may have heard, I didn’t drug him.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“How?”
“Because you’re a Sworn Asset and you drained his life energy,” Sean said flatly. “Martin is lucky to be alive.”
I narrowed my eyes at Sean. While I liked the fact that someone believed me, I didn’t buy his explanation for what had happened. “What you’re saying is not even possible. Human beings can’t just drain off each other’s energy.”
“Human beings can’t.”
“Oh, that’s great. If I’m not human, what am I? Some kind of mutant chimpanzee?”
“Your shaman should have explained this to you.” Sean wore an expression of exaggerated patience. “We’re hybrid humans created by a species of aliens who live below the surface because they come from a planet that has a small red sun and our yellow sun is too much for them. They have cat’s eyes with gold pupils because of the low light on their home planet. That’s why our eyes are like this. We’ve been modified so we can live on the surface with humans.”
His story was just ridiculous enough to entertain me. “So you expect me to believe that we’re, like, part alien? Can you prove one single thing you just said?”
“If you want proof, look in the mirror. Or ask your shaman. Ask the one who gave you that jewelry.”
My heart skipped a beat. I bit my lip.
“Your shaman is missing, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “All I know is that the neighbor lady who sold Mom the jewelry has vanished. After her garage sale, Mom didn’t see any lights on in her house and newspapers were piling up on her front door, so she called the police to do a welfare check. They found the house empty. She’s nowhere to be found.”
Sean rubbed his temples. “This is bad. If you are the Sworn Asset from the House of Beck, you and I were never supposed to meet. Our shamans were supposed to keep us apart. Did this woman tell you anything?”
“No. She was Mom’s friend, not mine.” I became defiant. I wasn’t going to say anything that would have the police come for me like they had for Jonathan. “And I don’t believe a word you’re saying about aliens who think they can tell us what to do.”
“They’re our creators. They think they have the right.” Sean became dead serious. “Our houses are Sworn Enemies. The
“Can you focus for a minute here? Do you understand that your House and mine are Sworn Enemies? A treaty between them requires that if any of the members meet, that their life energy be released to the universe. We have to see your shaman right away.”
“What are you babbling about?” I asked, impatient with his interrupting my thoughts with nonsense about shamans and houses. “Are you crazy?”
“Probably. You don’t know anything, do you? At the very least, has your shaman talked to you?”
“I don’t have a shaman. Though probably about now I could use one.”
“Yes, you have a shaman. We both do.” Sean looked up and down the hallway again to make sure we were alone. “What I’m going to tell you is going to sound really off the wall, but I want you to hear me out.” He exhaled loudly. “The two of us were created by a species of aliens who live below the surface of Earth in a place they call Geminay. I met them last May when they abducted me while I was out riding my horse. They kept me in their palace. That’s how I know about us being Sworn Enemies.”
“Aliens?” Sean’s words were just ludicrous enough to distract me from the matters at hand. “Aliens who live below the surface of the Earth? Really? Is their spaceship in the shop?”
“Oh, that’s nice. Sarcasm. And while you’re at it, explain the diamonds in our eyes and what just happened in there and what happened with Martin.”
Sean crossed his arms over his chest while he waited for me to answer back.
I grew somber. “I can’t explain what happened to Martin. No matter what you may have heard, I didn’t drug him.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“How?”
“Because you’re a Sworn Asset and you drained his life energy,” Sean said flatly. “Martin is lucky to be alive.”
I narrowed my eyes at Sean. While I liked the fact that someone believed me, I didn’t buy his explanation for what had happened. “What you’re saying is not even possible. Human beings can’t just drain off each other’s energy.”
“Human beings can’t.”
“Oh, that’s great. If I’m not human, what am I? Some kind of mutant chimpanzee?”
“Your shaman should have explained this to you.” Sean wore an expression of exaggerated patience. “We’re hybrid humans created by a species of aliens who live below the surface because they come from a planet that has a small red sun and our yellow sun is too much for them. They have cat’s eyes with gold pupils because of the low light on their home planet. That’s why our eyes are like this. We’ve been modified so we can live on the surface with humans.”
His story was just ridiculous enough to entertain me. “So you expect me to believe that we’re, like, part alien? Can you prove one single thing you just said?”
“If you want proof, look in the mirror. Or ask your shaman. Ask the one who gave you that jewelry.”
My heart skipped a beat. I bit my lip.
“Your shaman is missing, isn’t she?”
I nodded. “All I know is that the neighbor lady who sold Mom the jewelry has vanished. After her garage sale, Mom didn’t see any lights on in her house and newspapers were piling up on her front door, so she called the police to do a welfare check. They found the house empty. She’s nowhere to be found.”
Sean rubbed his temples. “This is bad. If you are the Sworn Asset from the House of Beck, you and I were never supposed to meet. Our shamans were supposed to keep us apart. Did this woman tell you anything?”
“No. She was Mom’s friend, not mine.” I became defiant. I wasn’t going to say anything that would have the police come for me like they had for Jonathan. “And I don’t believe a word you’re saying about aliens who think they can tell us what to do.”
“They’re our creators. They think they have the right.” Sean became dead serious. “Our houses are Sworn Enemies. The
Similar Books
You Should Have Known
Jean Hanff Korelitz
Sister Mother Husband Dog: (Etc.)
Delia Ephron
Partnership
Anne McCaffrey, Margaret Ball
Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer
Brian Lumley
Red Lines
T.A. Foster
Instant Gratification
Jill Shalvis
The Boss
Monica Belle
Deadline
Simon Kernick
Buttertea at Sunrise
Britta Das