Royal Hearts (26 page)

They looked at her as if they were seeing her
for the first time.

Ann sighed. “I don’t have time to explain.
Teresa, can you get this tape on the school announcements this
morning?”

She nodded. “I can slip it in.”

“Can you make a copy before you do?”

Again, she agreed.

“Great. Stacey, your dad works at a local TV
station. Will you take me to the station so we can give him the
tape? Then he can make it digital, and it’ll go viral from there.
It will mean cutting class, but I don’t think we have any other
option. I don’t want to wait too long to get this out to the
world.”

“You really expect this to go out around the
world?” Teresa asked as she rushed to copy the tape.

“Once people see what’s going on, they’ll be
rushing to defend Earth. If there’s one thing we Earthlings are
capable of, it’s defending ourselves in the face of danger.”

Now that Ann had proof, she knew it was time
to act. The sooner they got this out to the public, the better
their chances were of saving everyone on Earth.

***

Six years in the past

Alexander Napoli’s Underground Chamber

United Nations

Planet: Earth

Omin-2 knew the Palers were on their way to
wage war against him. He had picked up on their presence at the far
end of the Average Galaxy an hour ago. In response, he began
ordering out shipments of his chips to every capable Earthling
fighter on the planet. He didn’t intend to be here when the battle
actually occurred, but he needed these humans to be a distraction
for him so the Palers wouldn’t suspect his plan.

For now, he still had some time to spare. He
went over to Second Commander Jaz who lay helplessly on a table,
her body badly bruised and bloody from his punishment.

“Next time I tell you to kill someone, you
will follow through or die,” he whispered in her ear.

She barely made a move.

“Escaping with your life is no way to win a
war. I demand that my servants fight to the death,” he hissed.

He looked down at her in disgust. Had all
Palers grown soft since Omin’s reign? It was pathetic. He glanced
at the two other Palers and the Olympians who stood silently before
him, each waiting for his instructions.

He took a deep breath then said, “There’s a
large fleet of Paler warships heading our way. You are familiar
with their technology and how they wage war, so your job will be to
lead Earth’s defense. Do anything you have to in order to rally the
humans together for this. Tell them whatever you have to, and I
will program them so that those who have already taken my chip will
believe whatever you say.”

“Yes, Leader Omin-2,” they said and
bowed.

Satisfied, he went to work on his next plan
of action.

***

Six years in the past

Hathor’s College

Dayton, Ohio

Planet: Earth

Four hours later, Hathor anxiously paced
around his dorm room. He wanted to be with Ann, to help her. He
knew she was at school. She wouldn’t get out of school until almost
three. He glanced at his watch. It was only noon. He groaned and
sat on his bed. The waiting was agonizing.

An impatient knocking on his door interrupted
his thoughts. He breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it was Ann.
Instead, it was Kent.

“You won’t believe this,” Kent said. “You’ve
got to see it to believe it. Come with me to the Student Union.
There’s something important on TV.”

Curious, he obeyed Kent. He knew Kent wasn’t
one to exaggerate, so this had to be serious.

The Student Union was filled with more
students than usual. Hathor and Kent wove their way through the
crowd, slowly making their way to the TV. Most of the students had
already seen the news broadcast, but they hung around, talking
about what they had just seen.

What could be going on? Why did so many
students seem scared?

“Here we go,” Kent said as they got close to
the TV.

Hathor blinked when he saw Omin’s clone in
true form talking about the chip. He was talking in slow motion,
and the words were different from what he had seen yesterday when
the two students were watching him, disguised as Alexander Napoli,
on the television in the cafeteria.

“You will obey me,” the clone said. “You will
take this chip into your hand. You will give your lives for me and
do whatever I ask of you. Anyone who refuses to take this chip will
die. I will not tolerate any dissenters.”

“They keep playing this tape over and over,”
Kent told him. “Apparently, Alexander Napoli, the leader at the UN,
is really an alien who plans to take over Earth. It’s unreal. I
feel like I just stepped into a movie or something.”

Hathor only nodded. He wasn’t as shocked as
he was curious about how the humans on Earth exposed the Paler’s
plans.

As if he heard his silent question, Kent
said, “You won’t believe who uncovered the alien’s identity and
plan.”

“Who?”

“The girl you’re dating. Ann Kerwin.”

“Really?” He raised his eyebrows, impressed
at her quick thinking. So that was why she was anxious to get to
school. She had a plan to expose Omin’s clone to the world. “Good
for you,” he whispered. She was indeed showing herself to be the
queen of Raz, even if she didn’t remember it.

A colonel of the United States Armed Services
appeared on the screen. “We need to act quickly. Anyone who has
taken the chip must be seized at once and taken into custody until
we can have the chip safely removed from their hand. This procedure
shouldn’t last long but might be uncomfortable. We have just
managed to capture the President and Vice President, but we have
identified other key officials in our nation who have this chip. It
is my understanding that these individuals will wage war on those
of us who do not have the chip. We estimate that approximately one
hundred thousand Americans have the chip right now. We are
searching for those individuals now.”

Kent shook his head. “I still can’t believe
this is happening. I thought Alexander Napoli was a good guy. I was
actually going to take that chip when it became available.”

“I need to see Ann. Can I inconvenience you
for a ride?”

“To take you to her high school?”

“Yes. I was going to wait until after school
to see her, but I don’t know how much time we have now that Omin’s
clone knows she’s uncovered his plans. I’ll explain everything on
our way over there,” he added when he saw Kent’s startled look.

“Okay. I guess I can give you a ride.”

“Before we go though, I need to go back to my
dorm room to get the Book of Spells. I have a feeling that I won’t
be coming back here.”

“You need to get the what?”

“I’ll explain on our way over,” he
promised.

With a nod, Kent followed him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Six Years in the Past

William’s High School

Dayton, Ohio

Planet: Earth

It had been five minutes since the principal
decided to let everyone go home early. There was a sense of panic
in the air regarding the impending invasion of the aliens.

Carson was overwhelmed as he tried to get to
his locker. Students around him were rushing to their cars or the
buses so they could get home. He was sure the panic was worse
outside. He still wasn’t quite sure what was going on, despite the
fact that Lisa had told him what she knew about Ann. How did all
the pieces fit together?

He finally got to his locker. He wondered
what the point of doing his homework was. If there really were
aliens heading to Earth, would humans survive the attack? Would he
even know how to tell which humans took the chip and were working
on the aliens’ side? There were far too many questions and not
enough answers.

He opened his locker, feeling as if he were
going in slow motion. Everything around him was happening so fast.
He almost felt dizzy from all the students rushing past him. After
he got the books he needed for his homework, he shut his locker.
Why was he getting his homework again? He shook his head. It was
hard to think clearly.

He turned to leave the school when he bumped
into someone. Looking up, he was surprised to see it was William,
smiling slyly at him.

“You didn’t succeed,” William sneered.

“Whatever,” he muttered, not caring to talk
to his ex-best friend.

“Listen to me when I talk to you.”

“I don’t have to.”

“Here’s a warning,” William said as he
grabbed his arm.

Carson struggled to get away from him, but
William was stronger.

“Ann will be mine before the day is over, and
one of the first things I’m going to do is make you apologize for
all the things you did to prevent me from being happy.”

“I have nothing to apologize for.”

William pushed Carson against one of the
lockers. “I don’t know what I hate more. Your self-righteous
attitude or your hope to see me miserable.”

One of the football players ran into William,
knocking his backpack off his shoulder. A couple of items fell onto
the floor. Carson saw the same smartphone-looking device that made
William so touchy yesterday, but there was also a chip injector.
William swore as he let go of Carson and bent down to pick them
up.

“What are you going to do with those?” Carson
demanded, suddenly angry.

“None of your business!” William grabbed the
chip injector and quickly stuffed it back into his backpack.

Before he could reach for the other device,
Carson kicked it across the hallway.

“Hey! Don’t mess with my stuff!” William
shouted.

Carson rushed to the other side of the
hallway and picked up the device. This had to be what Ann needed to
get her and Hathor back to the future. He recalled how Lisa had
told him about it. He had to make sure William didn’t get his hands
on it again. As William lunged for him, Carson slipped between
several students and ran out of the school. William might have been
stronger than him, but Carson could run faster.

It took all of his energy to avoid William,
but as soon as he got into his car and drove off, he knew he could
relax, at least for the moment. The traffic was heavy but
manageable. He had to find Ann. He didn’t know where he would find
Hathor, but he knew where he might find Ann. He turned his car so
that it was heading in the direction of her high school.

***

United Nations

Planet: Earth

Omin-2, disguised as Alexander, stood before
the representatives of the various nations around the world. All of
them had the chip, so they would willingly obey him.

“As you know, there is a preposterous lie
being spread about my being an alien who’s trying to control you,”
he said. “These are vicious rumors being spread by people who
oppose the peace I am desperately trying to give to you. They are
enemies of the peace.”

“Enemies of the peace,” the representatives
repeated in unison.

“We must oppose them or risk losing all we
have worked for. Gather the best military fighters from your
nations for this moment. We must come together and either kill them
or implant them with chips so that we can preserve the peace.”

“Preserve the peace,” they mindlessly
repeated.

He introduced Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Ares, and
Guards Falon and Lino, who stood at attention in the front of the
room. “These will be your leaders. You will follow their
orders.”

“Follow their orders.”

“These two leaders, Falon and Lino, are in
the form of the Palers who are coming to destroy us. This way they
can easily slip in with our alien enemies and find their plans for
conquest. Then we can act accordingly,” he said.

“We need to act,” the representatives
replied.

“The set time for the alien attack is in
approximately one hour. We don’t have much time. What you must do,
do it quickly!”

“Quickly!”

Then, as if the spell was broken, they rushed
out of the room, finding a way to inform their countries of the
impending attack.

“You are on stage,” he told the gods and
Palers who stood behind him. “Make your act a good one. Remember,
whoever finds Queen Ann will be greatly rewarded.”

Then, with a smile, Omin-2 left the room.

***

Dayton, Ohio

Planet: Earth

Kent drove Hathor by Ann’s high school.
Hathor groaned when he saw the vacant parking lot.

“Should we go to her house? Many people want
to be with their families right now,” Kent said.

Hathor sighed. “I wish this book would tell
me where she’s at right now, but it won’t because she’s not in any
danger.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes, but it also makes it harder for me to
find her.” He turned to Kent. “Let’s try her home. Here’s her
address. I wrote it down, just in case.” He handed the piece of
paper to Kent.

“I know where that is,” Kent said. “I had a
friend from Xenia in that area. I’m sure if she’s anywhere, she’s
there.”

She might want to tell her parents about her
destiny at this point, Hathor reasoned. He knew she wouldn’t go to
William’s house to find the device without him there to protect
her. That wasn’t something she’d be likely to do considering the
fact that she wasn’t one to take such risks in the time that they
had known each other.

“I still can’t believe you’re from another
planet,” Kent said. “I knew you were different, but it never
occurred to me that you were an alien. A good alien, I mean. I
thought you were Amish or something. Those people don’t do much
with modern technology.”

As Kent continued to drive down the street,
the driver behind them honked his horn several times.