Broken Skies

My eyes are pulled from the beauty of the city ahead to a shimmer in the air. I gasp at the wall of—energy?— blocking the road and any further progress forward. So that’s the barrier that has kept humans out all these years. It’s situated around a mile out from the first building and rises upward into the air quite a ways before curving over toward the city. I guess calling it a thingy was understating it a bit.

Lir stops the truck a good distance from the barrier and clenches his jaw before speaking. “I have not had the time to prepare you like I would have liked to, especially considering...” He shakes his head softly and then continues. “You have to trust that I will get you through this. In a way what you are will make this easier, but there are those that are not going to like that I brought a human into our city and until I can get my father to call a Council meeting, that is what you need to be, a simple human. No matter what happens, know that I am on your side and I am doing what I can to get you to your brother.”

I nod slowly. His green eyes search my face, as if memorizing it. Leaning forward, Lir presses his forehead against mine. “It won’t be easy. There are procedures, rules, expectations…I will need to abide by those as much as possible. Keep your head down and your mouth shut as much as possible, especially around any others.”

Irritation fills me. “I know how to handle myself. You don’t have to protect me.”

“Yes. I do.” He brushes his hand down my cheek and then straightens his shoulders and steps out of the truck.

I nod silently and exit behind him.

As we draw closer, two E’rikon move up to meet us, their kitus glinting in the sunlight. Both are dressed in uniforms similar to the other aliens in the clearing, form-fitting gray pants and high-collared jackets with tall boots. “State your business,” says the shorter one.

Shoulders back and with an arrogant tilt to his head, Lir manages to look every inch the soldier he was when I first met him. “Steliro Vestra reporting in.” Steliro?

A quiver of shock rolls through them. “Vestra?”

“Yes.” Lir’s short simple words manage to convey an authority I didn’t think possible.

They snap to attention and salute with their cuffed arms. “Sir.” They relax with a nod from Lir. What is he, some sort of alien big shot? Does this make my rescue mission more or less difficult? Does he have enough power to just order Jace to be released?

“I need entry and transport immediately. My kitu is not currently functional.”

“Yes Sir.” One of the guards steps forward and through the wall of energy shimmering in the air. He lightly grasps Lir’s upper arm and steps back through.

The three of them turn to walk away. My mouth opens in protest and I’m about to ask Lir what the hell is going on when he speaks. “And the girl. Bring her.”

The other alien steps through the wall, grabs me and yanks me through. Electricity zips along my nerve endings and tingles in my fingers. The sensation isn’t exactly unpleasant, more uncomfortable, but I don’t think my experience is normal. On the other side, the alien pauses, tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me for a second before shaking his head and continuing, never letting go of my arm. When his fingers dig in a little too hard, I inhale sharply.

“Do not get overzealous. She is not to be harmed,” Lir says, without even looking back at me. A brief sense of betrayal fills my belly, but I calm myself. What could I expect? Certainly not that he’d fawn all over me in front of these two after what he just told me. His disregard still stings though.

The walk isn’t long, maybe a hundred yards, before we reach a shining transport vehicle. It’s more of a pod than a car, bright silver with expansive windows. The interior seats face each other and I assume it operates on some kind of autopilot as there’s no steering wheel or anything else that I can recognize. Lir enters the vehicle first and I’m pushed in after him. I don’t slide into the seat next to Lir, instead I sit on the bench seat across from him, huddling as far into the corner as I can get. The two guards pile in, one next to me still holding my arm and the other across from me. When my knees brush his, he sneers a little and adjusts his legs to avoid touching mine.

The air in the vehicle is thick with tension. I keep my eyes downcast and stay silent, but my mind is racing. This is nothing like I expected. Despite the warning— if you could call it that—Lir’s sudden stoicism u

Most important thing right now: breathing. If I get that in line the rest should follow. I focus on my breaths. In and out. In and out. Gradually my racing pulses recedes and I feel normal, or at least as normal as I can feel locked in this tiny space with three aliens, all of whom refuse to even acknowledge my presence.

Riding in the pod thing is much different than riding in the truck. It’s smoother, for one and there’s no engine noise. What makes it run? I distract myself with trying to figure out how it might be powered and directed, staring out the window at the ever approaching city. No conclusions come to me. I might be smart, but this is technology I’m sure no human has seen up close and it’s probably much more advanced than anything we had even before the Collapse.

We… I’m still thinking of myself as a human, but I’m really not, at least not entirely. Of course, if I have to identify with one race, I’ve spent much more time with humans and I’m not even sure which of my characteristics stem from my alien heritage. Besides the weird mental stuff, what sets me apart from humans? I don’t have scales. My blood isn’t green. Would anyone even know unless I told them?

The pressure gets to be too much and I drum my fingers on my thigh, tapping out a rhythm to distract my frazzled brain. Still no one talks. I look up from under my brow, darting my gaze around the vehicle. The aliens, Lir included, look almost bored. Even in human clothes, Lir stands apart from the other two. Taller. Leaner. More…something.

The dirt caked under my nails makes me blush. I didn’t even take the time for a bath at Peter’s. Lir has been traveling just as much as I have, hell he was even a prisoner for a while, but he manages to be clean and put together. How did I not even notice this before? I am not either of those things and it makes me feel even more out of place. The creeping sense of unease returns and I have to go back to looking out the window. I wish I had clothes to change into or even a bath would be nice.

The vehicle stops with a gentle deceleration, barely even a bump in the passenger area. We’re in front of one of the larger buildings, a silver monstrosity that’s at least forty stories high. A ship flies past and docks on the roof. I’m busy staring up at it when one of the aliens grabs my arm and pulls me out. “Come on,” he says gruffly.

Lir stops our two escorts at the door. “I will take her from here,” he says. “Notify my parents that I have returned.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Both aliens salute and Lir pulls me up to the door. He presses his kitu against a metal square to the right of the door and frowns when nothing happens. A quick glance confirms that our escorts have already disappeared into the pod leaving us stranded out on the sidewalk apparently unable to enter the building. The stiffness in his posture relaxes and he lets out a loud huff.

“Didn’t really think this bit through did you?” I ask. My head tilts down and I keep my voice low.