House of Leights Page 5

  I ran toward my mom; she stood to greet me. She was smaller than me, barely topping five foot. In my heels I had to bend down to wrap my arms around her.

  “Little one,” she said, squeezing me tightly. She was strong; her hugs always made me feel special. “I have been so worried about you.”

  My mom had no accent, having been tutored by Americans. Her parents had wanted her to integrate in every way possible while still maintaining their Japanese values. When we finally pulled apart, she led me to a chair next to the one she’d been sitting in. With a relieved sigh, I sank down and tried to shrug off everything that had happened that night.

  Easier said than done, unfortunately. It was too big to just bury.

  Brad and my father took two chairs on the opposite side of the table to us, and then my dad leaned forward. “Maya, it’s time for you to learn what we do here,” he said, before gesturing to an older, gray-haired man at the head of the table. “This is Peter Mattinson. He’s the head of our division.”

  I examined Peter, wondering if I’d seen him at the house before. His face wasn’t familiar, but there was no hiding he was government. From the well-fitted and expensive dark suit to the face completely devoid of all emotions, the high-up government officials always appeared the same: efficient, controlled, and sticklers for rules.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lewis,” Peter said smoothly. “As your father said, I’m the director of this sector. We deal in Daelighter and Human relations.” He pressed his fingertips together in front of him like a steeple. “Sorry to drag you in here like this, Ms. Lewis, but there have been some breaches in our sector, so for your safety, there was no other option.”

  Okay, then… “What exactly does Daelighter and Human relations refer to?”

  I didn’t like the use of “human” in that title, because that made me think Daelighter was something non-human. There was a beat of silence. None of the other members of the team spoke either.

  Peter straightened, his hands coming down to rest flat against the wood desk. “I can’t say anything until we get clearance on your friend. You have already been vetted, but we are waiting on Mr. Thornton.”

  All eyes turned to Brad. His face was devoid of expression. He didn’t seem surprised by what was going on. Meanwhile I thought I was going to burst not knowing what this sector of the government dealt with. And how it all involved me.

  Brad’s clearance took two hours. Apparently it had to be vetted by the Secretary of Defense or someone high up in the Oval Office. While we waited, I contacted Gracie, assuring her I was fine, and mentioned that my parents had gotten me and were taking me on their next trip. I could tell she thought this was strange, but after speaking with Mom and Dad, she seemed to accept it without too much fuss. My father suggested she take that holiday back home, with full pay, and for once she didn’t argue with us.

  During the wait I also had a chance to change my clothes – my parents luckily had some of my stuff in their cars. I was now in jeans, a white shirt that hung long over my pants, and my Converse. Casual with style, as I called it.

  By the time we retook our place around the long table, I was munching on a sandwich and feeling somewhat more normal. “I can’t believe you were so close to being taken,” my mom said for the tenth time, before she reached out and grasped my hand tightly. “We should never have let it go so long without filling you in. We just wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible.”

  Using my free hand, I shoved the last of the peanut butter bread in my mouth before leaning forward to hug her. “I know you were just looking out for me, and while it was really scary tonight, I’m happy to finally be learning more about your world…”

  I was cut off when Peter breezed through the door announcing that Brad’s clearance was through. Within thirty seconds, the rest of the suits were back as well, all of them taking the same seats as before.

  “This is going to be difficult for you to believe, what we have to tell you,” Peter started, his eyes locked on mine. “But … aliens are real.” He let that statement hang in the air for a beat. “They exist, and some of them walk among us on Earth.”

  It felt like I stared at him for ten hours while I tried to process my thoughts. I was a big fan of sci-fi. It was my go-to in books and movies, and while the concept of aliens was something Brad and I had discussed ad nauseum, I wasn’t sure I’d ever actually believed they “walked among us.” Hearing him confirm it so bluntly, the very real fact that we were not alone, hit me hard in the chest. I braced myself against the table, knuckles white as I clutched the side.

  I knew my parents were watching me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away from the director. “Sources are murky,” he continued, “on the date that Daelighters first started to explore our world, but we believe they have been coming here in peace for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”

  In peace. Two of the best words I’d heard in a long time. But … I’d been attacked. My father said we were in danger. Someone wasn’t in on the “peace” thing.

  “In 1875 we formed a mutually-beneficial treaty with the Daelighters. They needed energy from Earth to power Overworld, their planet, and we needed something – a stone from their world – to calm Earth’s unstable weather. It was a crisis point for both of us.”

  “That was over a hundred years ago,” I said slowly. “What has changed now? Why are we being attacked? Do they want their stone back?”

  My mother made a small sound next to me, and I turned to find her staring down at her hands.

  “Yes,” Peter replied, and it took me a beat to remember what he was answering.

  “They want the stone back?” I breathed. “Why?”

  He leaned closer to me, his dark eyes glinting in the illumination of the fluorescent lighting. “There is a rogue Daelighter, one who’s managed to amass power and followers. He’s the one leading this mission to get their stone back.”

  “Can we just give it to them?” I asked. Yes, I was stating the obvious, but it was my opinion that sometimes the government liked to “win” for the sake of it. “Do we know our weather is going to spiral out of control again? It might have stabilized on its own.”

  Surely they had a million scientists looking into this. I mean, it was the simplest and easiest of solutions.

  He nodded. “There is a possibility that we could survive without the stone. But it’s only a possibility. More importantly, we don’t know where the stone is, even if we wanted to return it to them.”

  My face furrowed as I wrinkled my nose in his direction. “You don’t know where it is? You lost it!”

  Of course they would lose it. Morons.

  Brad flashed me a grin from across the table, followed by an eye roll. Yeah, we weren’t the biggest fans of the government. They pretty much stole all of our parents’ attention and time. All the while making really bad decisions for the average American citizen.

  “We didn’t lose it.” Peter sounded slightly defensive. “Part of the initial security when the treaty was formed was that neither Daelighter nor human would know of its location. Except for four secret keepers. Human children chosen from a select group of one hundred families who were in on the initial treaty. All sworn to secrecy. All part of this sector of government.”

  My father spoke for the first time in ages: “My family was one of the originals who dealt with the treaty. So, when your mother was pregnant and they called out through our group for any who would have a child born in 1999, we answered the call.”

  I was on my feet now, staring between my father, mother, and Peter. “Explain everything to me right now,” I bit out.

  “You’re one of the four secret keepers,” my mom said in her soft voice, confirming my fears. “I never knew anything until I married your father, and then I had to be initiated into their world. You’re the third keeper, born in Overworld, in the waters of House of Leights. Your blood holds energy that could lead the rogue Daelighters to the starslight stone, a power
ful object, that in the wrong hand could destroy everything.”

  “House of Leights is one of the four lands of the Daelighter people,” my father added.

  I stumbled and almost fell back into my seat. Brad grabbed my hand, but I shook him off. “I need some air. I need…”

  I dashed toward the door. I knew where the bathroom was, so I ended up in there, staring at myself in the mirror, breathing in deep gulps. The words born in Overworld continued to run through my head, over and over, taunting me with the fact that I was connected to these aliens – to aliens who were trying to kill me.

  I was a secret keeper? That didn’t feel right. It didn’t make any sense to me. I was an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl. School and cheer and stupid boy drama. I had no qualifications to be part of something that could destroy Earth and … Overworld. I couldn’t even choose a damn college!

  Panic clawed at my chest and I knew I was very close to hyperventilating. Scrabbling for the tap, I turned on the cold water, dropping my hands under the stream. Splashing my face a few times helped calm me.

  I turned at a light knock against the door. “Maya, little one, can I come in?”

  My mother would never think to barge in on me when I needed privacy. “Yeah, Mom, you can come in.” I managed to keep my tumultuous feelings out of my voice.

  She pushed the door open and crossed the room without making a single sound. She was so graceful, which I was thankful to inherit, even though I’d never achieve her level.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said as she reached my side. “You deserved to know the truth long ago, but I knew that the moment you did, your life would cease to be normal. I didn’t want the same responsibilities for you that we have. Not until you absolutely had to deal with the reality.”

  I lowered my eyes, staring at my black Converse. “This is why you’ve been gone so much through my life. Dealing with these Daelighters?”

  She took a moment to reply. I lifted my head, and when my eyes met hers she let out a sigh. “Yes. For the most part they exist among us in peace, but there are always incidents. We also deal with their business ventures and liaise when they cross over to Earth.”

  Sucking in more deep breaths, I forced myself not to act like a petulant teenager, even though I was angry that I’d missed out on so much of their lives because of these aliens. Mom must have seen some of that in my expression, because she hurried on to say: “Mostly, it was to keep you safe. Being here allowed us to be at the forefront of every piece of information coming in from Overworld. You’re one of four secret keepers, and until today, only your father and I knew how special you are. We hid you in plain sight, as close to the headquarters of our sector as possible.”

  I should be appreciative of all the years I’d had being normal, but part of me felt like it had been too normal for me. How would I adjust to this new reality? I wasn’t prepared for it. I couldn’t handle it.

  “You can handle this,” my mom said, and I realized I’d spoken the last part out loud. “You’re one of the strongest people I know. You’re more than capable of handling anything that comes your way.”

  I wanted to believe that, but it sure as heck didn’t feel that way right now. Maybe if I had more information, it would make more sense to me. “If I’m the third secret keeper, and they’re after me now, that means the first two are…”

  Please don’t say dead.

  5

  Mom shook her head and immense relief hit me. “They’re not dead,” she told me. “But the rogue – Laous – has taken the secrets from their blood. Secrets that will lead him to you. We can’t let that happen. We can’t let the stone fall into his hands.”

  I was still far from being okay with everything I’d learned here today, but I felt some of my natural resilience reasserting itself.

  “I’m ready to go back,” I told my mom, and she linked her arm through mine.

  We left the bathroom, rejoining the room of suits and my family. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked the moment my butt hit the seat. “How are we going to stop him from getting his hands on me?”

  Peter blinked, and it almost looked like I’d taken him by surprise. His forehead even crinkled slightly. “We’re transferring you and your family to a more secure safe house. You’ll be under the protection of very powerful Daelighters. Leaders of their houses.”

  I tried not to show how much that shook me, knowing I’d be seeing these Daelighters soon … it was a lot. I couldn’t even imagine what they looked like, I mean, surely they weren’t little green men. They had to look like us. Otherwise they’d never blend in with the human population.

  Peter was still talking: “…they’re going to try and use your blood to find the final secret keeper. If we can find her first, we should be able to find the stone.”

  “And move it before this Laous gets his hands on it,” I finished.

  He nodded. “We’ll move and protect it. The old way is flawed, as we’ve all come to realize, so it’s time to rework the treaty and make it even more secure. But we need to find it first.”

  “Wouldn’t her parents be part of this government organization? I know that it’s secret and all, but couldn’t you just round up all one hundred families and inform them of what has happened. She will come forward then…”

  Peter nodded, but his expression wasn’t as positive. “It’s true that all secret keepers and their families are part of our government sector, but they were given the option to fall off the grid. To hide. Your family were the only ones to stay close and active. As for the others, we had only one way to track them, with a stone that was entrusted to the first secret keeper…”

  “And Laous has it now?” I guessed.

  He nodded, confirming my thoughts.

  “How would you have found the first, then, if she fell off the grid?”

  Probably all useless information, but I needed the entire picture. I wanted to know it all.

  “I knew who the first was,” my father said, startling me. I was sad to see his eyes so tired and puffy. It had been a long night for us all. “I volunteered to hold that information, because I wanted to know if the first was compromised. If she was compromised, then I knew you would soon be after. Somehow, though, I missed the signs. We grew complacent…”

  His voice broke. Peter quickly added, “All of the families were required to check in on occasion through a secure, encrypted phone line. But none made the last call.”

  Slumping back into my chair, I let this information roll over me. Movement from across the table caught my eye and I realized it was Brad, staring at me like he’d never seen me before. “Why did you let Brad hear all of this?” I asked, sounding disconnected. “Now he has no choice but to be part of this.”

  “They’ve seen him,” Peter said simply. “He’s been compromised. Until we can sort this situation out, it’s safer for him to be part of it. He’ll be going with you to the safe house.”

  I’m sorry, I mouthed to him, and some of the shock cleared from his face as he fiercely shook his head.

  “I chose this,” he said to me, ignoring everyone else. “You gave me the option to stay behind. This was my decision.”

  Yeah, but he’d had no idea what he was getting into. That sticking with me might turn out to be utterly life changing for him. I was pretty thankful, though, that Gracie hadn’t been with me. She might go on to live a normal life, no matter what happened here.

  Brad asked the next question: “Will I be able to talk to my parents, at least let them know I’m okay?”

  “They’ve already been informed,” the director told him as he got to his feet. “Your transport will be here in twenty minutes. Only a select few will know your new location. It’s not going through the normal channels, so you should be safe there. I’ll be in touch.”

  With those final words he left the room, not looking back. The other suits followed; none of them had spoken a word during the entire meeting, and I wondered what the point of them had been. Probably they were the
ones behind the scenes organizing things.

  When it was just my parents, Brad, and me, we all sat in silence. I was exhausted, scared, and confused, wondering if I’d stumbled into some sort of alternate reality. Or maybe I was dreaming.

  Like I’d be that lucky.

  “I owe you the hugest of apologies,” my dad said to me. His eyes were red, and he seemed smaller than normal. “When the first call went out in our group, I was so proud that I had a child to provide for the cause. But that was before you were born, before I knew the vibrant, funny, clever child who should be free to go out into the world and leave her mark on it.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry that I never took into consideration how it might affect you. Your life. It was selfish of me.”

  Pushing myself up, I moved around the table to hug him. “It’s okay, Dad,” I mumbled against his chest. “Things have been fine for the first eighteen years. I’ve had more than most kids get.” And the truth was, I’d never felt “normal,” I’d always been empty and searching. I’d thought it was because of my absent parents, but maybe it had been more to do with the world I was born in but never knew about.

  As we went to leave, Dad stopped and spoke to a few of the suits. Brad wrapped an arm around me, offering comfort. When we started moving, he half-carried me all the way to the elevator. Once we were back on the street level, a black SUV – waiting out the front – took us to a nearby airfield. A helicopter was already powered up and ready to go, blades rotating and sending strong air currents across the tarmac.

  My father helped us in, handing us all noise-canceling headphones. The pilot, who I didn’t recognize, took off as soon as we were buckled in. The chopper moved so fast that for a second I was afraid we were being chased, but there didn’t look to be anyone on the ground below.

  I’d never flown in a helicopter; it was far louder and rougher than I had expected. Eventually I got used to it, and watched with fascination as the city passed below. It was early morning, the sun rising in the sky, washing the world in low, golden light. I couldn’t talk to my family without everyone hearing through the headsets we wore, but as familiar landmarks disappeared, I really wanted to ask if we’d ever see our home again. I literally had nothing except the clothes on my back and my bag that had two credit cards and my school ID in it.