Starcrossed (3 page)

“Sure, that’ll be grand.” Her smile seemed to be for both of us. Like her brother, she had only a slight Irish accent.

“Later, then.” I returned her smile. “I hope you have a good first day.”

She nodded, still looking a little stunned.
 

We went back to our table to wolf down our lunches before the bell rang, then headed to History class with Bri and Deb.

“So, does she seem nice?” Bri asked.
 

I shrugged. “We only talked for a sec, but yeah, I guess.”
 

Rigel didn’t answer, which left me wondering what he thought of her. I’d ask him later.

As it turned out, Molly and Sean were both in our U.S. History class. They arrived together just before class started and looked around for empty seats after checking in with the teacher. Again I took pity on Molly and motioned her over to a desk near mine. Her face brightened, making her even prettier, and she hurried to join us, while Sean sat with a couple of jocks near the door.
 

“Thanks,” she whispered.
 

I quickly introduced Bri and Deb and we all promised to hang out together soon. Rigel and I would have to find a way to talk privately with Molly and Sean before everybody got too chummy, just in case there was some reason not to.
 

I hoped there wouldn’t be, though, and not only for my own safety. Because, it occurred to me, it would be really nice to have a girlfriend I didn’t have to lie to.

Echtran
(EK-tran):
person of Martian birth or descent living on Earth; expatriate

Rigel and I didn’t get the chance we’d—well, I’d—hoped for until after school. Molly had been in my French class, too, but hadn’t been able to sit near me, so all we’d managed to do was smile at each other. But after my final class (during which Trina and her pals went on and on . . . and on . . . about Sean), I saw not only Rigel, but Sean and Molly waiting by my locker.
 

“Hey.” Rigel greeted me with a quick kiss on the cheek that inexplicably made both Sean and Molly frown. “We ran into each other a couple minutes ago and Sean says he doesn’t have practice today.”
 

Sean quickly switched to a charming smile, though his sister’s frown was slower to fade. “Yeah, Coach said I could have a day or two to settle in before starting. Mum’s picking us up, but she’s running late, so this seemed like a good chance to talk. She can drop you both off after.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “Where’s a good place? It’ll be chilly outside, but probably more private.”

“Courtyard?” Rigel suggested. “No wind and we’ll see anyone coming before they can hear us.”

Still weirded out by that zing Sean had given me, I kept my distance as we walked—but tried not to be obvious about it. We all talked about everyday school stuff until we were in the courtyard with the door closed.

“So, what’s the sitch?” Rigel asked without preamble. “What are you guys doing here, really?”

Sean and Molly exchanged a look that I thought wasn’t so much confused as trying to
look
confused.
 

“Um, going to school?” Sean suggested.

“Right.” I didn’t try to hide my skepticism. “But why here and why now? You’re not really going to tell us it’s pure coincidence that four Martians from three different families just happened to end up in Jewel, Indiana, of all places?”

Sean looked back and forth between us. “But it
is
coincidence that both of
you
just happen to be here?”

“Not exactly,” Rigel allowed, “but we can talk about that later. So?”

There was a brief, tense silence. To my surprise, it was Molly who broke it.
 

“It’s not like we can keep it a secret, Sean,” she said to her brother. Then, looking directly at me, “We’re here because of you, of course. Our parents have been heading up the resistance for years, trying to get rid of that
unbaen
, uh, dictator, Faxon. It’s why we had to leave Mars. But now you’ve been found . . .”

“How long ago did you leave Mars?” I interrupted. “And why, exactly?” It still felt strange to talk about this sci-fi stuff so matter-of-factly.

“Over a year ago,” Sean answered. “Faxon’s thugs raided a resistance meeting and got their hands on files incriminating our family. We—most of us—were lucky to escape.” Both of their faces turned bleak.
 

I was almost afraid to ask. “What happened?”

“Our sister Elana.” Sean’s voice held anger as well as sorrow. “She was captured, maybe even killed. We still don’t know, though we’ve been trying to find out ever since.”

Molly nodded mutely, her beautiful blue-gray eyes tragic.
 

“So Faxon’s thugs even drag off kids now?” Rigel was clearly aghast.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Sean said, “but Elana was—is—nearly forty.”

“I’m sorry.” I meant it, though the huge spread in ages between some Martian siblings still boggled me a little. I’d recently learned Rigel’s father had a brother
forty-five
years older than he was.

“That doesn’t explain why you’re
here
,” Rigel pointed out. “How is M supposed to help? Or is that even what you have in mind?”

Molly found her voice again. “Of course she can help—eventually. Meanwhile, our . . . family wanted to be here, where we can help protect her and make sure she gets the instruction she’ll need to eventually take her place as our leader. It’s really important that everyone—
Echtrans
and especially Nuathans back on Mars—know that’s happening.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the direction this conversation was taking. “Why?” I asked. “How can it make a difference now, when I’m only fifteen?”

“Faxon’s grip is slipping.” Sean’s intensity was understandable, considering what had happened to his family. “Even before we left, some of his original supporters were joining the resistance—sick of the corruption and how he was screwing up a system that’s worked for centuries. Now that word’s got back to Mars about you, our dad says the resistance has exploded—more than quadrupled in size. But some still aren’t sure a return to the monarchy is the way to go, even if they hate Faxon. They need convincing. Hearing that you’re getting the training and forming the alliances that everyone expects of a Sovereign will help do that.”

“Alliances?” Rigel echoed. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Sean’s ears reddened but he shrugged. “Political stuff. My folks can explain it better than I can.”

“But I thought—” Molly began. Her brother shook his head and she broke off, frowning at him suspiciously.
 

“So, is it true Faxon actually sent people here to try to kill you?” Sean’s abrupt question was a blatant attempt to change the subject but I played along.
 

“Yeah, this guy Boyne Morven, Faxon’s head nasty on Earth, was controlling a bunch of
Echtrans
with an Ossian Sphere. He brought a couple dozen of them to Jewel, along with the sphere, to get rid of me. But Rigel’s grandfather, Shim, called in his own people and we, um, won,” I ended lamely, realizing that the whole story would take way too long. Especially since I wanted more answers.

They both nodded. “That’s about what MARSTAR reported, but we wondered if they told us everything,” Sean said. “How did—“
 

He broke off to reach into his pocket and pull out a cell phone. Something I
still
didn’t have. Not that I was bitter.

“Hey, Mum, yeah. Be right there. Um, do you mind a couple of extra passengers? (pause) Rigel Stuart and . . . Princess Emileia.” There was a long pause and I heard a suddenly high-pitched voice talking very fast. “Yeah.”

He turned to us. “Mum’s out front. We can talk more in the car.”

We all left the courtyard, my mind still teeming with questions. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that these two had actually grown up in Nuath, the colony on Mars, and had lived there until so recently. What was it like now? Did I maybe have relatives there? There was so much I didn’t know, so much they might be able to tell me.
 

So much I couldn’t ask inside the school, where we might be overheard.

I settled for a question I could ask. “Where did you live in Ireland?”

“Where all the—I mean, a little village on the coast, nowhere near anything else,” Sean said. “Bailerealta.”

The Martian village I’d heard about. Cool.
 

“How many people live there? Is it as big as Jewel?”

They both laughed. “Hardly,” Molly said. “I think at last count there were not quite four hundred people living there full time. Four less, now we’ve left.”
 

“A whole town the size of this school?” I marveled. “And I thought Jewel was the middle of nowhere.”

Sean chuckled and shook his head. “You have no idea. Oh, there’s our mum.”

 
We’d reached the front doors and he pointed at a rather battered maroon minivan with rust spots along the wheel wells. A far cry from the shiny Audi and SUV Rigel’s parents drove. But then, Rigel’s parents had been on Earth for seventy-five years, plus his mom was a doctor and his dad a computer consultant.
 

The O’Garas might have had to leave Mars with nothing, for all I knew. I felt a surge of sympathy since I knew what it was like to be one of the have-nots in school.

Sean opened the front passenger door for me. “Mum, this is . . . M. That’s what people call her here.”

Their mom looked about the same age as Rigel’s folks—meaning not old enough to have teenaged kids. Not to mention a forty-year old daughter! She was a little on the plump side, but very pretty, with red hair bordering on orange and eyes as bright blue as Sean’s.
 

“Hi,” I said cautiously. Careful not to touch Sean, I climbed in next to her.

“Oh, my,” she almost squeaked. “I mean, it’s such an honor, Excellency. I hope these two scamps haven’t taken any liberties.”

“Um, liberties?” Confused, I glanced into the back seat, where the other three were buckling their seatbelts.
 

“I mean, I hope they’ve shown you the proper respect,” she clarified.

“Oh, um, yeah, they’ve been fine. Er, I should tell you, Mrs. O’Gara, that nobody around here knows who I am except Rigel and his folks. So I’m not used to being treated special or anything. I’m just M, and that’s fine.”

Clearly startled, she stared at me for a long moment before suddenly relaxing into a smile. “Of course. How silly of me. You didn’t even know who you were until quite recently did you, luv?”

“Not till a couple months ago, no. But Sean and Molly said you guys moved here because of me? I’m still a little confused about why.” Maybe she’d be more forthcoming with reasons than they’d been.

She put the car in drive and pulled her gaze away to watch the road. “It was . . . thought that we could be of the most use here.”
 

So she was going to be evasive, too. I started getting nervous again, though it was hard to imagine this warm, motherly woman having a sinister motive.

“Thought by who?” I prodded, hoping to shake loose more information.

“It was the consensus of quite a few people, actually. And, of course, we felt it would be good for Sean—and Molly—to get to know you, given our political connections. No doubt you can learn from them, as well.”

Again with the politics. “Was there anyone
specific
who asked you to come here?” I was getting tired of the runaround.

She hesitated so long I thought she wasn’t going to answer. Several fields of corn stubble went by my window before she finally said, “Well, yes. In fact, I believe you’ve met him once or twice. Allister is pleased that you’re adjusting so well to your new status, but wants to be sure nothing, er, interferes with your continued progress.”

“Allister?” Rigel asked sharply from behind me. “Allister Adair?”

“Aye, that’s right, dear,” Mrs. O’Gara replied, never taking her eyes from the road. I thought her expression looked a little tense.

“But . . . he’s staying at our house right now. And he never mentioned anything about another Martian family moving to Jewel.” Suspicion rang in his voice.
 

I gauged how fast the car was going, wondering how much it would hurt if I jumped out at this speed. If these people were all lying, there was no knowing what they really intended. They could even be another group sent to kill me. What if—

“Our house is a bit small for guests, you see, especially with all the boxes and clutter, as we’re just moving in. I’m sure he felt he’d be more comfortable with you. As for not mentioning us, he, er, implied he isn’t precisely your favorite person, Excellency. He may have wanted you to meet us without any preconceptions.”

I relaxed slightly. Much as I disliked Allister, I was pretty sure he didn’t want me dead. Just practically in prison.
 

“In fact,” she continued, “I probably shouldn’t have mentioned the connection at all just yet. I do hope he won’t be put out with me.”

“What connection, exactly?” If Allister had specifically sent for them—

She turned onto my street, making me wonder how she knew where I lived. Or did all the Martians know that now? I hoped not, but she pulled right into my driveway without me giving her any directions. She stopped the car and turned to face me, her expression anxious, which lessened my own fear a little.

“Allister Adair is my brother, Princess. Uncle to Sean and Molly.”

Duchas
(doo-kas):
normal Earth humans

A whole different fear assailed me. “Wait. You mean, he moved you all to Jewel to . . . indoctrinate me or something?” I demanded.

“It’s not like that,” Sean said from behind me.
 

I turned around to glare at him and noticed Rigel wasn’t looking happy, either. “So what
is
it like?”
 

Molly answered me. “He—we—thought you should get to know other Martians. Besides the Stuarts, I mean. You haven’t had a chance to meet many, especially our age. And it will be important later for you to have . . . friends.” I could tell she’d almost used a different word.