finished the meal, the king insisted we stay at the castle. Not wanting to remain, I tried to tell him it wasn’t necessary, but he said there was a curfew on aircraft. It was conveniently too late for us to leave now. We were shown to a single room—the king obviously deciding we were a couple—and bid ‘goodnight’ by a servant.
Tigg went over and sat down on the large bed that dominated the small space. “Is it just me or does this place give you the creeps?”
I went over and sat down beside him. “No, it’s not just you.” His arm came up around my shoulders and he pulled me close against his chest. Like a child I nestled up to him, inhaling his familiar scent and drawing strength from his nearness. “First thing tomorrow, we need to get out of here. We can head for Eithur, the village my dad grew up in. He said it was decent there.”
“Think they have an inn or someplace we can stay?”
“I dunno. Money is a problem though. We don’t have any.”
“I can work. Maybe I can get a job?” Tigg said. I could feel his eyes on me. “You seem extraordinarily concerned.”
“If they find out I’m half-human I’m afraid what they might do,” I whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
“What if they’re listening? Someone could be shrunk down and hiding in a crack in the floor right now.”
Tigg looked around guardedly. “You think they’d spy on us?” His voice was lowered to a whisper now too.
“I dunno. The king seemed to be unusually accommodating for some reason. I think he’s suspicious of us—or at least of me.”
“Even if you are only half Ventillian, you’re still partially one of them. That should count for something.”
“I suppose,” I agreed. “But, my father was drafted at fifteen into the Malenea army. Once he’d served his mandatory tenure he decided to leave Ventillia altogether. That was practically unheard of, so he was mocked and treated like an outcast. Though the king says he doesn’t recall his name, he could be lying.”
“Why?”
“To lull me into a false sense of security so I may slip up and reveal something.”
“Like what your parents were working on?” Tigg guessed.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand.”
I put my lips to his ear. “The cure would mean a great deal to Ventillia. Have you noticed that no one seems to be shifting here?”
“I did notice,” Tigg agreed.
“That’s because they can control it here. Probably lots of other places too. The only place for sure that I know they can’t control it is on Earth.”
“Really? That’s fascinating.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why, but that little glitch is probably what saved Earth from being completely run over by Ventillian’s.”
“I don’t know anything about the war,” Tigg said.
Keeping my voice low and my eyes wary of any signs of movement in the room—tiny though it might be—I told him what I knew. “Ventillia greeted a small ship of humans over twenty years ago unaware they had been on Earth’s radar for some time. Earth had been checking out Ventillia because of its ideal atmosphere for human habitation. They tossed the idea around about colonizing, thinking it was a vacant planet, but the closer they looked, they noticed it was inhabited. The medieval appearance was appealing because they figured the planet was primitive and could be conquered easily. When they got here, however, they saw that they were wrong. Ventillia’s technology rivaled Earth’s, and the Ventillians, though hospitable enough, made it clear they would not welcome an invasion. The humans weren’t aware of the Ventillians’ ability to shift from man to spider. So when the ship returned to Earth, they unknowingly brought along a few castaways. The Ventillians, not trusting of humans, had decided to see what they were up against. While on board they learned the humans planned to return with force and take over Ventillia. The Ventillians didn’t plan on being exposed on their stealth
Tigg went over and sat down on the large bed that dominated the small space. “Is it just me or does this place give you the creeps?”
I went over and sat down beside him. “No, it’s not just you.” His arm came up around my shoulders and he pulled me close against his chest. Like a child I nestled up to him, inhaling his familiar scent and drawing strength from his nearness. “First thing tomorrow, we need to get out of here. We can head for Eithur, the village my dad grew up in. He said it was decent there.”
“Think they have an inn or someplace we can stay?”
“I dunno. Money is a problem though. We don’t have any.”
“I can work. Maybe I can get a job?” Tigg said. I could feel his eyes on me. “You seem extraordinarily concerned.”
“If they find out I’m half-human I’m afraid what they might do,” I whispered.
“Why are you whispering?”
“What if they’re listening? Someone could be shrunk down and hiding in a crack in the floor right now.”
Tigg looked around guardedly. “You think they’d spy on us?” His voice was lowered to a whisper now too.
“I dunno. The king seemed to be unusually accommodating for some reason. I think he’s suspicious of us—or at least of me.”
“Even if you are only half Ventillian, you’re still partially one of them. That should count for something.”
“I suppose,” I agreed. “But, my father was drafted at fifteen into the Malenea army. Once he’d served his mandatory tenure he decided to leave Ventillia altogether. That was practically unheard of, so he was mocked and treated like an outcast. Though the king says he doesn’t recall his name, he could be lying.”
“Why?”
“To lull me into a false sense of security so I may slip up and reveal something.”
“Like what your parents were working on?” Tigg guessed.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand.”
I put my lips to his ear. “The cure would mean a great deal to Ventillia. Have you noticed that no one seems to be shifting here?”
“I did notice,” Tigg agreed.
“That’s because they can control it here. Probably lots of other places too. The only place for sure that I know they can’t control it is on Earth.”
“Really? That’s fascinating.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why, but that little glitch is probably what saved Earth from being completely run over by Ventillian’s.”
“I don’t know anything about the war,” Tigg said.
Keeping my voice low and my eyes wary of any signs of movement in the room—tiny though it might be—I told him what I knew. “Ventillia greeted a small ship of humans over twenty years ago unaware they had been on Earth’s radar for some time. Earth had been checking out Ventillia because of its ideal atmosphere for human habitation. They tossed the idea around about colonizing, thinking it was a vacant planet, but the closer they looked, they noticed it was inhabited. The medieval appearance was appealing because they figured the planet was primitive and could be conquered easily. When they got here, however, they saw that they were wrong. Ventillia’s technology rivaled Earth’s, and the Ventillians, though hospitable enough, made it clear they would not welcome an invasion. The humans weren’t aware of the Ventillians’ ability to shift from man to spider. So when the ship returned to Earth, they unknowingly brought along a few castaways. The Ventillians, not trusting of humans, had decided to see what they were up against. While on board they learned the humans planned to return with force and take over Ventillia. The Ventillians didn’t plan on being exposed on their stealth
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