Walking Among Humans

Chapter 11

Mona

I open my eyes and look around expecting to find myself in my room. Instead, I find myself standing in the middle of a dark, dirty alley I don't recall seeing before. Overflowing dumpsters line each side of the alley, and the only light is coming from a street lamp half of a block away. I start tiptoeing toward the light.

I am almost to the end of the alley when I hear voices. I stop walking and hide behind one of the dumpsters, wishing I could somehow make them smell like fresh lilies instead of last week's leftovers.

"We've been searching this awful planet for a week, Abaddon. And there's no sign of her, or any other Aaliyah scum for that matter. We don't even know for sure that this girl is your daughter or that she has any real power. I just don't see why we're wasting time hunting her down when we could be at home finishing off the Council."

"I've had enough of your sniveling and complaining! You will do as you're told and you will do it quietly and without question!"

I recognize the voice. It's Abaddon.

"What are we going to do with her if we do find her?"

"That's simple. We will take her back to Talonia with us. She is, after all, my daughter. And when she comes of age I will select a suitable mate for her. And until then she will learn how to behave like a Nukpana, and once we overthrow the Council she will stand beside her chosen mate while we rule over Talonia."

"Why can't we do this without her then? I mean it seems to me that she won't really be doing much, so why is it so important we find her?"

"The Aaliyah only respect power. If we are to have any chance of ruling over both tribes, we need her power. Her mother was very powerful, and my daughter will be as well. She will be the one that unites the two tribes and returns power to our people. Her offspring will be powerful, and she will have many children that will share that power. But enough for now. We need to go back to camp and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. We're getting close, I just know we are."

They all go quiet, and all I can hear are fading footsteps.

I wait several minutes until I'm sure they are gone. I slip out from behind the dumpster and finish walking toward the street lamp. Once I get there, I realize I have been in this neighborhood before. Quite often over the years, in fact. It is the shopping district in downtown Buffalo.

The church bells chime and I look at the clock. It has just struck midnight.

I think for a minute and remember that down the street in the opposite direction is a bank tower that shows the date, time, and temperature, so I turn around to look at it. The time flashes off and the date takes its place. It's today's date, which means within thirty-six hours there is going to be trouble. And for once I know when something is coming. I need to warn John.

A pounding at the door brings me back to reality, and I am back in my room.

"Mona Reigh Lockhart, you open this door right now or I'm going to kick it down!"

I jump off my bed and rush to the door. I open it and am startled to see a furious John and an even more infuriated Ben standing there.

"Before either of you say a word, I can explain."

John is standing in the center of the doorway with his arms folded across his chest. "Oh, you're going to explain, all right! And it better be good too. You've had the entire school in an absolute panic, young lady."

"I'm sorry. Let's go sit down and I'll explain."

I walk to our little fridge, retrieve three bottles of water and return to the couch. I hand Ben and John each a bottle and sit down across from them. I open my water and take a long drink, buying myself a few extra seconds to figure out how to explain myself.