Kelvin whirled around and stared ominously at Nai-Ko.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?” he barked.
Nai-Ko was shocked at the events, and didn’t know what to think of the situation.
He opened his mouth to answer, but Kelvin hurdled the table in one move and crashed into him, sending them both sprawling into the corner of the room. Instantly, both were on their feet again, and Nai-Ko stuck Kelvin in his chest with both hands, driving the larger man away and back over the table with an inhuman force. Kelvin lay on the ground for a moment, dazed, then shook his head and looked up with his eyes aglow. He leapt to his feet and contorted his face into a fierce snarl. At that moment, Nai-Ko felt something he never had before.
Fear.
Suddenly, Syun was upon the table between the two men.
“Enough!” she shouted, her voice echoing around the still room. Nai-Ko panted in one corner and Kelvin stared murderously from the other, but Syun stuck out both arms to try and keep the two separate.
“INSOLENCE!” Nai-Ko barked in his native tongue, but Kelvin didn’t seem fazed. “How DARE you?”
Syun motioned for Nai-Ko to compose himself, then she turned and spoke directly to Kelvin.
“Who are you?! Who sent you?” she demanded.
Kelvin’s eyes shifted toward her, and his look was one of mixed anger and confusion.
“Me? Who the FUCK are you?” he replied angrily. “What’d you do to ’Drey?”
Syun glanced back at Nai-Ko, looking for guidance, and he lowered his defenses for a minute. “What do we say?” she asked in Chinese.
He looked up at Syun and waved her aside, then pointed directly at Kelvin.
“YOU DID THIS!” he barked in English. “You are an Ambrose spy, and you should DIE for your disrespect!”
“FUCK the FUCKIN’ AMBROSE!” Kelvin yelled. “I’M NO SPY! They KILLED my DAD! Didn’t they? DIDN’T THEY?”
Syun spoke up.
“Listen! The answer is yes and no. We know about John Barnes. We can tell you. But please, please, we must know more about you. Who are you? Where do you come from?”
Kelvin looked down at Audrey and back at Syun and Nai-Ko, then back at Audrey again. He immediately knelt at her side and checked for a pulse, then tugged up an eyelid and looked into it. He listened for breath, and then whipped around.
“She’s only fainted,” he said calmly, sounding relieved.
Syun quickly pointed to an adjoining room. “There. That room has a bed. Please, take her there to recuperate. We mean you no harm - either of you.”
Nai-Ko stared at Kelvin, whose eyes met to his. Finally, he flicked his head to the side, indicating Kelvin to go. Kelvin scooped up Audrey’s limp form and carried her into the other room.
Syun came down from the table and got Nai-Ko’s attention.
“Who is he, Ko? The report had nothing about this!”
“I know!” Nai-Ko replied angrily, rubbing his sore shoulder. “He must be with the Ambrose clan...”
Syun bit her lip and looked into the adjacent dark room.
“What do we do now?” she asked softly.
Nai-Ko contemplated the situation. If Kelvin was with the Ambrose, then Syun’s grandiose plan would be over before it started. Unless they handled the situation properly, the Nai and the Ambrose clans might see his actions as a breach of truce and go to war.
That would be catastrophic, Nai-Ko realized.
In a few moments, Kelvin came sauntering out of the room. His face was fallen, and he looked oddly at his hands, as if he were studying them. He slowly looked up at Nai-Ko and Syun.
“What’s happening... what am I?” he asked, clearly lost in his own skin.
Suddenly, the red in his eyes disappeared, replaced with their normal bright green color.
Syun took a seat at the table and asked Nai-Ko to sit down. Nai-Ko looked at her with disdain. He would not sit before this individual did.
“He will sit before me,” he demanded to Syun in Chinese.
Accordingly, Syun turned to Kelvin and beckoned him to sit. Kelvin looked at Nai-Ko again, then at the chair, and pulled it out. He slowly slipped into the seat, never taking his eyes off of Nai-Ko.
Syun finally turned back to him and reiterated her plea. At this, Nai-Ko nodded and took a seat next to her, pausing only to remove the van keys from his pocket and place them upon the table.
The three of them looked at each other before Kelvin spoke.
“Audrey is fine, but she’s unconscious. When I set her on the bed, I saw ... myself ... in the mirror along the wall...”
Nai-Ko smiled at this. He’d placed the mirror in his chamber for his pleasure, and he knew that Syun would enjoy it as well.
“What happened to me?” Kelvin implored to Syun. “Who- what am I?”
Syun went to reply, but Nai-Ko caught her by the arm.
“I will do the talking,” he directed.
He studied the strange young man’s confused face. Whoever he was, whatever he was, his look was genuine. Nai-Ko spoke.
“I am Nai-Ko, and this is my...” he hesitated a moment, “...partner, Syun. We are from the Nai clan. Are you from the Ambrose clan? Yes or no?”
Kelvin looked up at him, then shot a glance at Syun, who prompted him to answer.
“No,” he replied.
“Good. Now-”
“What are you?” interrupted Kelvin.
Nai-Ko stiffened up, and Syun placed her hand upon his knee underneath the table, obviously trying to calm him.
“I am Nai-Ko, son of Nai-Zhou, ruler of the Nai clan...”
Kelvin waved the answer away.
“No, no, no. I mean... WHAT are you? You’re not ... normal.”
Nai-Ko clenched his fists as Syun softly stroked his thigh. He finally gathered himself and looked Kelvin squarely in the eye.
“We don’t refer to ourselves as such, but throughout your history, humans who have had contact with us have called us...”
Nai-Ko didn’t want to say it. It was so demeaning.
“...elves.”
Kelvin looked at Nai-Ko and blinked. He blinked again, and then broke into wild laughter. He looked at Syun and laughed madly again. Nai-Ko was not amused.
“ELVES?” cackled Kelvin, his eyes wide and crazed. “ELVES?! You guys are ELVES?!”
“Silence,” growled Nai-Ko, and even Syun’s seductive hand wasn’t going to restrain him much longer.
“Of course!” guffawed Kelvin, smacking his own head before breaking down into laughter again. “It all makes sooo much sense, don’t it? I ... we ... flew to Australia, to meet ... the ELVES.”
“Please stop saying that, Kelvin,” interjected Syun. “We find that term just as ridiculous as you. It is unfortunate, but we are only trying to explain. Besides, it would appear that you have ... something to explain, yourself.”
Kelvin’s laughter died down immediately, and he rubbed his face into his hands.
“I ... I don’t know what to say,” he said through his spread fingers. He rubbed his temples and moved his hands back to the sides of his head, rubbing along his ears. He slowly looked back up at them.
“We’re you born this way?” he asked curiously.
“Yes,” replied Nai-Ko coldly.
“And you too?” Kelvin asked, looking at Syun.
“Yes, but-” she replied before Nai-Ko cut her off.
“Yes, she was born this way.”
“Well, what about me? I wasn’t born this way!” said Kelvin, pointing at his eyes.
“That is what we want to...” Nai-Ko paused, “find out.”
“Well ... talk. I’m all ears!” Kelvin chortled at the word, rubbing the tips of his own ears.
“We know that you are from Wyoming. John Barnes is your father. But who is your mother?” inquired Nai-Ko.
“Um ... Katie. Katie Barnes. What about her?”
“Tell us about her,” Nai-Ko said.
“Well, I wish the hell I could. She died giving birth to me, so...”
Syun gasped, and Nai-Ko knew why. Concubines often died in childbirth, especially after their second or third progeny. He quickly examined the facts and surmised that Kelvin was the product of John Barnes, who was human, and this mysterious Katie Barnes, who must have been a concubine - presumably one that had escaped from the Ambrose clan. Occasionally, concubines would flee the clans, but they almost never got far before...
He looked at Syun. Nai-Ko realized that she probably thought the same thing as he did. He had to tread lightly, because the subject was distressing to her.
“I see...” he said, pondering.
“What?” demanded Kelvin. “What do you see? Tell me!”
Nai-Ko looked plainly at him, and then at Syun again. He offered her the chance to explain, and she took it.
“Your mother...” said Syun in a slightly trembling voice, “must have been a concubine, from the Ambrose clan. I don’t know how your parents met, but you must be...”
Nai-Ko’s eyes grew wide.
He is a hybrid.
“... a hybrid,” he said in Chinese, cutting off Syun.
Syun looked at him with concerned eyes, and Nai-Ko nodded.
Kelvin blinked a few times, clearly expecting more info.
“What? Clan? Concubine?” he asked wildly. “What the HELL are you talking about?”
Nai-Ko drew Kelvin’s attention.
“Before we say anymore, you must explain yourself. How do you come to be with that girl? Why did you come to Australia? What is your business here?”
Kelvin looked at him and nodded. “Alright. That’s fair. Audrey and I met at school - University of Chicago. I took her back to meet my father, only he was ... he was dead. My dad had a safe house here, so we-”
“Safe house?” probed Nai-Ko.
“Yeah. Well, my dad - and he goes by, I mean, he went by Johnny, by the way - he, um, he bought this house out here. Just in case anything ever went wrong. Which it... did.”
Nai-Ko tried to make sense of it, but he needed more.
“Continue,” he urged.
“Oh, yeah, um, my dad told me to go to Sydney. Australia was the only safe place, in his mind. I don’t know why. So, when I found him... We came here. We think we’re in danger, too.” Kelvin paused, seemed to collect his thoughts, and then added, “I think the Ambrose are after us, or me, or Audrey, or whatever. I don’t know anymore.”
Syun whispered into Nai-Ko’s ear.
“Do you think he is truthful? He sounds-” she asked in Chinese.
Kelvin spoke up. “Hey! Come on! You want answers? I want answers! Don’t do that shit. Talk to ME!”
Nai-Ko looked at him and nodded.
“Alright then. Your turn. Concubines, clans, elves... Spill it! Oh, and how the HELL did you know we were coming?” Kelvin demanded, and his eyes lit up red again. “And how did you know about my dad? What happened?”
Nai-Ko contemplated his response. He needed to explain something, but he still didn’t know what to make of this man. If Kelvin was indeed a hybrid, that meant he was likely more powerful than Nai-Ko himself, and that was a dangerous prospect.
“First, I will explain about your father. All we know is that he was to be questioned. He was not to be killed. Why he was killed is a mystery to us.”
“Who killed him, then? Who wanted him ‘questioned’ and why?” Kelvin interjected.
“He was killed by a man named Hector Graves. Hector was ordered by the Ambrose clan to question Johnny ... about you.”
Kelvin’s eyes widened and turned red again. Syun drew his attention, and his burning eyes subsided.
“The Ambrose clan knew that you were with Audrey,” she said, motioning to the room. “She is their proxy, and they-”
“‘Proxy’? What the hell is it with all these terms?”
Nai-Ko clenched his teeth. He would have to explain more than he wanted to or else Kelvin might become enraged.
“The Ambrose clan uses proxies to control the human populace. Audrey is one of those. They intend for her to reach some influential status within your nation, and, from there, they will direct her actions in accordance with their will.”
“What about, like, the government? The president, Congress...”
“The majority of them are proxies as well. It is this way, worldwide. The clans control the nations, and proxies, like her, are the means.”
“You said you were with the Nai clan?” Kelvin prompted.
“Yes, we WERE,” offered Syun with emphasis.
“You were?”
“We have left the Nai clan. We have come here, to Australia, to establish our own. That is why we knew you were coming, why we knew Audrey was coming. We need a proxy of-”
Nai-Ko cut her off.
“Wait,” said Kelvin. “You came here, for HER?”
“Not exactly,” replied Nai-Ko. “We came here when we left our clan. We learned that a proxy was coming, and we chose to meet with her.”
Kelvin studied him for a moment, and then asked a pointed question.
“WHY did you leave your clan?”
Syun slunk down and Nai-Ko placed his hand upon her shoulder.
“We left for our own reasons. That is not your concern.”
“Well, I figured since we’re bein’ all friendly here, you might just share that info! Why did you leave? What do you want with Audrey?”
Syun spoke without raising her eyes.
“I was a concubine. The clans use us to produce their offspring, and, like your mother, we often die young.” She raised her eyes, looked to Nai-Ko. He could see her tears.
“Nai-Ko loves me, and he left to spare me that fate.”
Nai-Ko smiled at her and nodded lightly.
Well said, he thought, and admired Syun a little more.
“And Audrey?” asked Kelvin, interrupting the moment.
“For obvious reasons,” Nai-Ko said, turning his attention to Kelvin, “we are unable to interact with most humans. Syun and I thought that since she was a proxy, she might be willing to work here, with us.”
“But, why? Why should she do that? If her parents, the Ambrose, were willing to kill my dad-”
“They didn’t want him killed-” Syun interrupted.
“WELL HE’S DEAD AIN’T HE?!” Kelvin yelled.
“SILENCE!” demanded Nai-Ko, his own eyes aflame again. “WE had NOTHING to do with THAT! Do NOT raise your voice to HER!”
Kelvin backed down and rephrased his original question.
“If the Ambrose ... clan ... wanted to know about me, why didn’t they just question me?”
“We do not know. They clearly tried to investigate you and found that you had a fake Social Security Number, so...”
“Come again?” asked Kelvin.
“You didn’t know?”
“No!”
“I see...” Nai-Ko remarked, stroking his chin.
“See what?”
“There is something you must know about Audrey...”
“What about her?” demanded Kelvin.
“Hers is fake as well. She is not who you think she is.”
Kelvin was silent for a moment, and his eyes narrowed to slits. He glanced into the room.
“Who is she?” he said seriously.
Nai-Ko exhaled. “Audrey is special. She is the prototype proxy.” Kelvin rolled his eyes and began to speak, but Nai-Ko stopped him. “She was chosen to be raised from infancy by the Ambrose. Most proxies are chosen in adulthood, but not her.”
“Does that mean ... that she... You mean she is like you?”
Nai-Ko shook his head. “No, Audrey is human. The Ambrose, the ones that raised her - Elian and Trixcia - they are...”
“...like YOU?” exclaimed Kelvin. “They’re ELVES?”
Syun nodded along with Nai-Ko.
“But how ... how could she not... Does she even know?”
“We presumed that she had some knowledge, and that was why we exposed ourselves to you, by showing our eyes. We believed that she DID know. But we knew NOTHING about you, and it appears that SHE did not either.”
“Hey, join the FUCKING CLUB!” Kelvin exclaimed. “So what am I, then?”
“You are ... something else.” Nai-Ko chose his words carefully. “You are like us, clearly, but not entirely.”
“This is ... crazy,” Kelvin moaned, putting his head in his hands. He finally looked up.
“My father warned me about this,” he said with moist eyes. “And I thought HE was crazy.”
“We understand that this is quite a shock to you, and believe me when I say that it is for us as well.” Syun offered. “But the fact remains, we are SAFE here, and we will NOT harm you. We only wish to WORK with Audrey. You ... you were a complete surprise. To everyone.”
Kelvin nodded, wiping his eyes.
Nai-Ko detected some stirring in the other room, and Kelvin turned his head at the same time. He looked back to them and exhaled, then wiped away the last remnants of his tears.
“I ... I think I have some explaining to do,” he said as he rose up from his chair. “Talk amongst yourselves.”
As he left the room, Syun turned to Nai-Ko but he held his hand up for her to be silent. He blocked out all sound and listened to the activity in the adjacent room. He heard Kelvin.
“’Drey... Come on...”
Nai-Ko heard Audrey’s heart beating fast, then a small commotion in the room.
“’Drey, it’s okay... It’s ME, Kelvin.”
“Where am I? What’s going on here?” Audrey asked nervously.
“You... you fainted, ’Drey. You’ve been out for a bit. If I wasn’t a doctor, I would have been concerned...”
“Where are they - the others?”
“It’s alright. After you fainted, we talked - hey, I’m as surprised as YOU, believe me - but after what happened before, they thought it was best that I try and explain ... things.”
“Kelvin, what’s happening? Your eyes...” Audrey asked cautiously.
“Listen to me, ’Drey, this is going to sound crazy - I know ’cause my dad used to talk about this - but those people out there, Syun, Nai-Ko ... those people ... they’re ... they’re ELVES.”
Nai-Ko didn’t like that Kelvin was perpetuating that term, but he did want to know what Audrey thought of the situation.
“Elves,” she said plainly. She paused. “Are you sure?”
“I know it sounds crazy, right? You think, elves, you think little pointy-eared critters in trees and making cookies and toys and shit... but, don’t you see, ’Drey? This... This means my dad WASN’T crazy!”
“But... Kelvin, what happened to him? What happened to YOU?”
“Oh, yes. That’s ... that’s important. My dad ... Johnny... Listen, ’Drey, your family wanted to know about me, and so they sent people to ask questions. ’Drey, YOUR family got him killed. Hector Graves. Do you know that name?”
Nai-Ko didn’t hear Audrey say anything.
“Okay. Well, anyway, as best they can tell, they believe that I, now get this, I am part... part ELF. When the lights went out back there - like the time the guy in the park tried to take your purse - well, I just, I guess the ELF part of me... just took OVER.”
“You’re part ELF?” she asked incredulously. “Kelvin, that’s ridiculous!”
“I... I mean, this is all so new to me... but it explains a lot of what has been happening to me and, please, I don’t wanna frighten you. Please...”
“Listen to me,” said Audrey. “I know that what happened to your dad, Johnny, is terrible, but... this, this is just - crazy. You NEED to see a doctor.”
“Aww, ’Drey, please, just, let’s hear them out, okay? And if you’re uncomfortable, we can just...”
“Just...?” Audrey inquired, as Nai-Ko’s ears perked up.
“Well, we can just leave. Just you and me, ’kay? I promise. Come on.”
Nai-Ko heard Audrey’s heart flutter, and then there was no sound for a moment, but soon the strangers emerged from the room, hand in hand. Audrey looked at Nai-Ko and gulped.