––––––––
"You're looking tired, Lauren. Are you feeling all right?"
Kate Hemsworth's question broke into Olivia's inner turmoil. She straightened up in her seat and rearranged the napkin in her lap. It was hard not to correct her new friend, but no one else knew her real identity but Moreau and his family. The rest of Clan Alpha and their mail-order brides were clueless. It was safer that way.
"I'm fine, fine." She picked up the ladle-like spoon beside her bowl of soup-stew and began eating. "Mmm, ‘s good."
"Really? Can't say I'm enamored of the food here myself." The middle-aged librarian picked at the pieces of BloodDark vegetables swimming in her bowl, eyeing them with caution. "I suppose you get used to it."
"You do." Olivia gulped hard. "I mean, I assume you do. Just give it some time. It doesn't remind you of English cuisine at all? Thought you all liked your mashed turnip and mushy peas and stuff."
"Our cuisine has come a long way since then, but at least the mash is recognizable." Kate pointed to a mound glopped on her side plate. "Purple mash." She stuck out her tongue. "What sort of vegetable is in this dish? I wonder."
"A cross between a potato and a grape?" Olivia smiled. "The original potatoes came in all colors from purple to red to brown. I suspect the original specimen was taken from the Andes long before Columbus stumbled upon the New World."
Kate took a small bite of the purple substance and shrugged. "Yeah, it's potato-like. I could get used to it."
"That's the spirit." Olivia wondered if Kate was suffering from a bad case of homesickness. If so, it probably wouldn’t take much for her friend to entice Mahvet to return with her to England.
"How interesting to discover we've had contact with the Pure Bloods for so long," Kate said as she managed small sips of soup. "Our ancestors certainly did a great job keeping it a secret."
Olivia nodded. "I think it was the other way around. The Pure Bloods disguised themselves as vampires, demi-gods and demons. They kept very low profiles while on Earth and departed with their... captives... before they could be reported to the larger community."
Kate sighed. "It's sad they did so because of how we'd react to their need for our blood."
Olivia blinked. Kate wasn't under any illusion about the Pure Bloods' need for a continuous influx of new DNA, or her own role in providing it. "Uh, yeah, I think it was obvious from the onset most human beings weren't going to take too kindly to sharing their blood with strangers from another world. You can't blame the Pure Bloods for coming up with cover stories."
"No, I don't blame them at all."
Kate gazed across the dining hall and caught the eye of her intended, Mahvet. They nodded to each other and smiled. Kate blushed.
"We all do what we must to survive," Kate continued. "Now is the time to come clean and to confess the secrets of our past, I feel, for the good of both our peoples." She rose. "If you'll excuse me, I need to talk with the professor for a moment."
"Please do." Olivia couldn't help but grin at Kate's back as the petite woman in somber gray tweed made her way over to the table where most of the Alphan males sat during meal hour. Why Mahvet and Kate hadn't had a pairing ceremony yet was a mystery to her. They appeared ideal for each other—an academic and a researcher—very much like her own parents.
Her parents. She must finish her mission and return to them. So why was she so fascinated with the notion of matchmaking humans and Pure Bloods?
You said it yourself, Ollie girl: Human beings weren't going to take too kindly to sharing their blood with strangers from another world. You can't blame the Pure Bloods for coming up with cover stories. They had to make themselves the “bad guys” because that’s how’d they be seen, anyway.
Or was she coming up with "cover stories" and excuses for Moreau and his kind? Sure, the Pure Bloods she'd met weren't all as arrogant and condescending as he. At times, some were quite charming—like Kate's professor and many other scientists and academics. They had less time for putting on airs, preferring to spend their days learning about Earth and coming up with strategies the new BloodDark government could use to establish good relations with its humans, thereby allowing all of the planet's inhabitants to thrive.
Olivia realized now her time stuck in the Clan Alpha House hadn't been wasted. She'd learned a lot about what she'd thought were the native humans' and Quadsangs' common enemy. She understood now the Pure Bloods couldn't all be painted with the same brush. Some wanted to live in peace. They all survived using the methods they'd learned and perfected for centuries. To read evil intent into every Pure Blood's motives wasn't fair.
Still, not being upfront about their intentions and smuggling BloodDark's artworks to Earth to make money and connections behind the new ruling council's back... There were definitely some members of the Alphan leadership whose actions needed looking into.
Olivia sensed Moreau and his family were at the heart of it all. She glanced over at the patriarch's table and caught a glimpse of her intended sitting at his proper place beside his father. No, she was certain Moreau and his family were smuggling art. The inhuman straightness of Moreau's posture, the gleam of confidence in his cold, dark-blue eyes, the hard edges to his smile....
She sniffed. Her heightened sense of smell detected an unusual scent emanating from Moreau's direction. It triggered another troubling thought. Like father, like son. Together they gave off an air of superiority and invincibility, taunting others, daring them to catch them in the act. They were untouchable. Neither the laws of their society nor those of humankind applied to them—would never apply to them.
They are gods. Olivia swallowed hard. To deny their reality was an offense against them and the natural order of things. They'd do anything to protect and preserve what was theirs by divine right.
A horrible thought popped into her head: Would she become more and more like these sinister gods every day she spent in their presence?
A sudden disturbance at the adult males’ table jerked her out of her reverie.
"No, Kate, please don't go!"
Mahvet’s voice cut through the chatter, but Kate didn’t stop as she rushed from the room. Where was she storming off to? Had Mahvet said something to upset her? The other men at the table seemed to be restraining him, preventing him from following her.
Olivia sprang to her feet. Without hesitation, she ran after her friend and caught up with her in the dormitory.
"What happened back there?" Winded, Olivia flopped on the bed besides Kate's to catch her breath. "Did you and the professor have a misunderstanding? Oh, no... don't tell me you guys are breaking up."
"The latter." Kate pulled out her suitcase from under her bed and opened her nightstand drawers to pack. "They're sending me back to Earth with the next scheduled Portal transport session in a few hours." She turned her face away from Olivia and sucked in a shuddering breath. "It's all for the best." She began to sob.
Olivia jumped up and put her arm about her friend's shoulders. "It can’t be. You two are perfect for each other. I see how he looks at you during our classes. He adores you. You adore him."
"It's not enough," Kate managed in between sobs. "I can't serve his basic needs, and the clan will not waste resources on a human who can't fulfill her purpose toward them. It's either go home to Earth or be sent to the farms to work off my room and board like an indentured servant."
Olivia frowned. "No, they won't do it. You'll serve his needs fine. You guys are both eggheads who love history. I half-expect you’ll start your own college with full exchange-student privileges with Earth schools." She held her friend closer. "So what if you're too old to have children? I don't think Mahvet cares much to be a father at this point in his life, does he?"
Kate took a deep breath and pulled away. "No, it's not the 'should we have children' question—although some in the clan harbor strong opinions on the topic. They feel it's worthless for older clan members like Mahvet to marry if they refuse to propagate." She looked down at her hands as she wrung them. "I can't supply him with a fresh blood on a regular basis. I have a rare blood disorder which makes my DNA unacceptable."
"So what?" Olivia shook her head. Another piece was missing in this puzzle. "Obviously, Mahvet gets his blood transfusions elsewhere when he needs them. There's more to a Pure Blood marriage than just being a blood bank, isn't there?"
"Not in the eyes of the Clan Alpha leadership. We human brides are expected to pull our own weight, and I lied on my application. I only told Mahvet about my blood disorder recently when he wanted to..." Kate sighed and closed her eyes. "I want to help him, but I can't."
"Mahvet didn't tell anyone else about your blood disorder, though. Did he?"
Kate shook her head. "No, he didn't. He's been covering for me for over a week now. They've been on him for not announcing our pair-bonding sooner, but in order to do so, he'd have to partake of my blood in the ceremony in front of the priestess and his family so I'd become a part of..." She took a deep breath. "You know what I mean."
Olivia forced a smile. She could barely recall what happened to her. Kate seemed more knowledgeable, so Olivia assumed her friend must understand the psychic link that came with pair-bonding.
"If Mahvet and I can't be together, then it's better if we're separated by a few billion miles. There’ll be more mail-order brides. He'll forget about me in time." Kate folded a blouse and deposited it in her open suitcase, sighing. "It won't be easy for me to forget about my time here."
Something still felt wrong to Olivia. Why would Clan Alpha dismiss Kate so abruptly? Olivia couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she didn't want to cause her friend pain by asking more questions. She sat with Kate and said little as they packed the Englishwoman’s bag and straightened up her area, waiting for the escorts to come and take her to the Portal.
"Thank you, Lauren." Kate patted Olivia's hand. "You've been a real source of strength through this trying time."
"You're welcome. Thank you for your friendship. I enjoyed learning about British history from your comments in our history class. You made us realize how our individual cultures shape our perspective on life and each other. It got me thinking—a lot."
"Thinking?" Kate raised a graying eyebrow. They both chuckled. "Thinking is good. What did it make you think about?"
Thinking—an activity I'm having some trouble with lately. Olivia struggled to get the words out. "Well... You wonder why with all their technological and genetic advancement... why the Pure Bloods didn't learn how to cure various blood diseases rather than giving up on those humans with them. It's a poor excuse to reject you. Maybe there's another reason behind your leaving?"
You know there is another reason, Olivia. The voice of Moreau flooded her thoughts. You can't say this out loud. It will hurt your friend's feelings to know she is special. We can't have special humans like her around. They could end up like Valori, and one of her is enough for our purposes...
"Valori!" Olivia cried as she sprang to her feet and then lost consciousness.
*****
"Lauren? Are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Olivia blinked rapidly and attempted to sit up, but her head throbbed and she fell backward into the bedclothes, rubbing her temples. Who was hammering a red-hot metal spike through her skull and why?
"There now. Take it easy," Kate said in hushed tones as she straightened the blankets and resettled Olivia's head against the pillows. "I'm here. In fact, I might be here for another week or so since I missed the routine Portal transport." She smiled. "You've got your own personal nurse in the meantime."
"Where am I?" Olivia squinted. The dim lighting looked extra-bright somehow, and she could barely make out Kate's face. "I'm not in the dormitory?"
"No, they moved you to your private quarters—and what nice quarters you have. It appears being engaged to someone with as high a rank as Moreau has its privileges."
Privileges and punishments. Olivia was certain the sudden, great pain in her head was to teach her a lesson, to keep her silent about anything which could incriminate the family. Is this what being part of a mobster family was like?
"Rank? Thought we'd been taught they had a ruling council and all Pure Bloods were created equal." With some more equal than others. She pulled herself up to her elbows and focused on a point on the wall behind Kate until the spinning stopped. "How long have I been out? I sure am thirsty."
"A few hours." Kate poured her a glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand. "You turned pale and appeared to be in a lot of pain. It scared me, so I ran and got help right away. The Pure Blood healers aren't quite as versed in human illnesses, so they called for a human medic. She took a quick look at you and told us to keep you warm and comfortable. She'll come by tomorrow to check up on you, but she said she didn't think it was anything to worry about. Happens all the time when humans and Pure Bloods bond, or so she says."
"What happens all the time?" Olivia found it hard to concentrate on their conversation. There was something important she wanted to remember... She needed to remember it right away. It was vital. "Kate, did I say anything before I fainted?"
Kate bit her lip. "You said you'd been thinking about why I was asked to leave. You said it didn't seem a very strong reason, particularly since the Pure Bloods possess such advanced technology and genetic techniques. You called out a name right before you fainted."
"A name? Can you recall exactly what I said?"
Kate nodded. "Valori. You called for 'Valori.' Is she a friend or family member back home?"
"Valori? She is my friend...my friend from this world." Olivia grimaced as another stabbing pain flooded her head. "Whenever I try to picture her, I get the worst headache."
"From this world?" Kate glanced about the room and lowered her voice. "Have you visited BloodDark before?"
Olivia fought hard to keep conscious. "Not as Lauren. I am.... My name is Olivia. I’m a spy."
"So that's why Moreau called you 'Olivia' once without realizing it. I did wonder." Kate frowned. "Oh, I wish they'd given me something more to ease your pain." She placed a cool compress on Olivia's brow. "Do you think they're poisoning you?"
"Mind control. To stop me from remembering what I've seen and heard."
"Then this mail-order bride business isn't all it appears to be?" Olivia nodded. Kate growled under her breath as she freshened the compress. "I'm glad they rejected me now—almost. Mahvet seems a decent sort, surrounded by some not-so-nice types."
"He is... maybe. Moreau's family...not at all." Olivia took a deep breath and held it, then released it. "I remember now. I need Annara to come and rescue me. Tell the medic to bring Annara—Annara from the council."
"Annara? Another friend from BloodDark?"
Before Olivia could make her mouth form the word "yes" she fainted.