EARLY THE NEXT morning as I'm heading out to meet Xerxion for my first official training session, I pass Jacob's room—which is right next to mine—and am surprised to find that his door is ajar and there is the dim light of a computer shining through the cracks.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion. Jacob is typically a late sleeper, especially during summers. There's no way in hell he'd be up this early.
Knocking on the door lightly to alert him of my presence, I wait until I hear him softly tell me it's okay to come in.
His room is a mess, loitered with clothes, soda bottles, candy wrappers and potato chip bags. His computer set up is like something from a hacking scene in a movie, complete with three computer screens all of which are tuned into all the latest conspiracy forums. At the moment, his back is to me and he's typing furiously and now I understand exactly why he is awake so early: he must have found a new conspiracy that truly interested him. I should have guessed that.
Still, I say, "You're up early."
He grunts in acknowledgment.
"Any news?"
His hands pause over the keys and the sudden silence in the room after the gentle clicking of the keys is almost deafening. He spins his chair around to face me, eyes alight.
"I'm glad you asked me, Rania," he murmurs, leaning back in his seat. "Last night the LAPD found three men near one of those wooded highways. The three men had each done prison sentences for sexual assaults and rape. The men were in a comatose state when the feds showed up."
There is a knot in my stomach as Jacob turns swiftly, types in something and on the computer screen located to his right, three familiar faces showed up. It was dark when I saw them, but somehow when I see their pictures I know. The mugshots of the men from last night are staring at me blankly, one of them is smiling tauntingly, his eyes devoid of all humor.
Jacob turns back to look at me before I can fully compose myself, but he doesn't seem to notice that my sanity is slowly slipping away from me. He continues talking, clearly enjoying himself.
"The LAPD's official statement is that the three "had too much to drink and that was all that had happened there.'" Jacob laughed but that laugh was mingled with a scoff. "Please. I've been talking to a trusted source within the government and... has Lari already told you about the conspiracy with the alien woman who came to Earth seventeen years ago?"
I nod woodenly, my mind here and far away at the same time.
"Okay well, according to my source, in the same area where the men were found, the folks at the Pentagon started getting readings like crazy. My source says the government has been on high alert ever since two alien spacecrafts crashed in the Sahara Desert. The last time that there was energy that powerful, it was when the alien woman landed on our planet." Jacob leans forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "The source says the government has been looking for her for seventeen years. See, her energy has been growing increasingly strong, especially these last couple of weeks. They've been able to pin down the fact that she lives here. In Los Angeles."
Jacob laughs in glee, spinning around in his chair, head angled up toward the ceiling as he laughs.
"Can you believe it? A real-life alien living among us?" He sighs. "Apparently, after the CIA found her, they took a few pictures. Kept under lock and key, of course, no one's getting to those. Anyway, the source said she was like, this great beauty. Otherworldly. Alien, in other words." He grins. "The Pentagon and the people above the Pentagon took one look at her and wanted her found ASAP. It was almost like they were enticed by her." Jacob looks at me, his brown eyes serious. "Kind of like you, Rania."
I freeze. Lari and Ty may be observant, but Jacob's observation skills are on a whole different level. Perhaps it's the fact that he is always looking for a conspiracy, but he will not believe lies easily. Jacob is shrewd and can sense a lie the way a shark can smell blood.
"What do you mean?" I wonder, working to keep my voice from trembling.
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," he replies, eyes narrowing slightly. "For as long as I've known you, people either want to worship you as a goddess or run away from you as fast as they can. You're a queen in the eyes of some and a complete freak in the eyes of others. The reaction people have to you is almost...unnatural."
I shrug my shoulders. "What can I say? People are strange." It's a complete struggle to keep my tone light.
I see it in his eyes at that moment. The way his lips tighten with mistrust, the way his eyes sparkle with curiosity. I know in this moment, Jacob will find out my secret because he suspects my secret already. I know now that it's only a matter of time.
"You went out jogging last night, right? Lari said you were out later than usual, where were you?"
"I met up with a... friend. Look," I say, cutting him off as he opens his mouth to ask more questions. "I have work at nine and I really need to get this jog in, so that I can make it back here to shower and eat breakfast and manage to not be completely late."
And then I'm haul-assing out of the room, practically running. I'm moving so fast, you'd swear the devil himself was on my ass.
Xerxion is standing exactly where he said he would be last night. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his jeans and he's looking at the ground. He's got that look on his face I recall from the memories Rania of the Cosmos left with me. The look he has when he's worried about something. His eyebrows are drawn together, his mouth is turned downward in a grimace.
Sensing my presence, he turns in my direction. Apparently, my face is as frozen as it feels because Xerxion takes one look at my face and his hands come out of his pockets and he's hovering over me worriedly, his warm hands gripping my shoulders.
"Rania, are you okay? What's wrong?" There's a slight twinge of panic in his voice.
"I'm fine," I say, taking in a deep breath. My body starts to calm down as his scent fills my nose and suddenly, I'm not just saying I'm fine to keep him from worrying, I really mean it. Now that he is here, I am fine. "One of my kids, Jacob, he's a conspiracy theorist."
Xerxion's head tilts to one side in confusion.
"Conspiracy theorist?"
"Yeah, like Illuminati, aliens, that kind of thing," I elaborate, slightly amused. Xerxion's English is so good and he seems so human that sometimes it's easy to forget Earth is not his home and that "conspiracy theories" aren't a thing on Niburu.
"I see." His gaze is watchful. "And that's what has you looking like you've stepped into the lair of the Six-Horned Beast?"
"Yesterday, when I was attacked by those men..." I trail off. Hearing of those men causes Xerxion to stiffen, but he listens anyway. "I told you about how this blue light just shot out of me, right?" He nods so I go on. "Jacob just told me that they found the men in the same spot I left them, comatose. I... I saw when the light hit them that they went really still, but I was in such shock, I didn't even register it. Jacob said the government is close to finding out my location. That my energy gets stronger every day." My voice trails off and it's all I can do to not whimper. "If my kids find out..." I trail off, biting my lip.
What would I do if Lari, Ty, Ava, Jacob, and Noah suddenly started looking at me the way my other foster siblings did? Just imagining it sends lances of pain straight through my heart.
"Not to mention when I was running away, I think I dropped my cell phone." I pull at my hair which is tied up in a messy bun. "If the CIA has it, it's not going to take them long to realize it's mine. Then they'll know I was there and—"
I'm interrupted by the sight of Xerxion reaching into his pocket and pulling out the lost cell phone, holding it out to me somewhat sheepishly.
"I went back, trying to see if I could find the men who hurt you. Or the woman who wanted you hurt." His eyes harden once more. "The reports are right. They were comatose when I got there, too. Which was better than they deserved. I saw your cell phone lying there, picked it up. I heard the sound of helicopters getting closer, so I went to take cover. That place was swarmed within seconds. Scientists studying the men's bodies and taking the men back to labs to see the effect your abilities had on the men." He drops my phone into my hand. In my shock, the weight of my phone is surprisingly heavy and it's a struggle to keep from dropping it.
"I have... powers." The words feel foreign coming out of my mouth.
"As a member of the royal family, Rania had abilities," Xerxion admits. "As the bearer of her soul, it's only natural that you might inherit said abilities."
"I need to train now more than ever," I say, my voice heavy with determination. "That mystery woman... Ithuriel and now the government. They're all going to be coming for me. I want to be able to protect myself when that time comes." I look at him expectantly.
Xerxion's lips quirk up into a little smile that makes my heart dance and he says, "Welcome to your first lesson of Niburuian defense techniques, Rania of Earth."