Tagan's Child (9 page)

I struggled but
it made no difference. Negotiation was the only thing I had left in
my rather pathetic armoury.

“Look,” I said.
“If it’s money you’re after, I can get money, just please don’t
hurt the boy.” I was starting to feel desperate; I didn’t care if I
was harmed. “Please don’t hurt Toby.” My voice broke.

Ahran released
my hands and turned me around. I found myself sobbing into his
chest, for the second time that night.

“Please believe
me Sophie, I have no intention of hurting you or Toby, I’ve been
sent here to protect you.”

I pulled back
and looked up into his face, his expression was wary. “Then what
are you?” I said in a quiet voice, taking a step backward. Ahran
hesitated, obviously testing the water to see if I was going to
lash out at him again. When he seemed satisfied that I had calmed
down enough not to go in for a second strike, he relaxed.

“Sit down,” he
said.

Suddenly, I
felt too exhausted to argue and did as he said. He came and sat in
the chair opposite me.

“I’m different
to you,” he explained.

What did he
mean different? He looked like any normal human being, okay, not
normal, his looks were extraordinary but he had the usual outward
attributes of a human being.

“Like some kind
of alien?” I asked. Was I really having this conversation?

Ahran frowned.
“No, I am human but I have certain...advantages.”

I looked at the
bent poker lying on the floor. “Well, you’re strong, I’ll give you
that,” I said, eying the mangled piece of metal.

“Strength is
one of them,” he confirmed.

I thought back
over the last few minutes. “And fast,” I added.

“Much faster
than any athlete. I also have heightened senses: sight; smell;
hearing and taste.”

“So you are
some kind of superhuman?” Now that my fear had subsided, my
interest increased.

“Yes,” he
replied, looking relieved I was now listening to him.

“And you really
come from another world?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I sat there
unembarrassed, staring at his beautiful face for a while, trying to
take in what he had just told me.

“How is this at
all possible? Why have I never met anyone like you before? It’s
like…like something out of a film, like Superman or Star Wars and
that stuff is just made up,” I babbled.

“Well,
unfortunately I can’t fly,” he said with a hint of a smile.

“How did you
get like this?” I said, gesturing towards him.

He chuckled. “I
was born like it. The origins of my race are human but we are more
evolved than you.” He didn’t say this as if he was gloating, just a
statement of fact.

My mind buzzed
with questions. “So Toby’s father was like you?”

“Yes, Toby is
half Ramian,” he answered, following my line of enquiry. Things
were starting to click into place. It explained so much. Why Toby
was so good at sport, why he could identify a bird in the sky a
hundred metres away and why he could hear a car approaching way
before I could. I’d never really questioned it before, he was just
Toby and like any doting aunt, I adored him. “He’s hardly had a
day’s sick in his life,” I mused out loud.

“It is rare
that we are sick. We are resistant to most bacteria and viruses and
if we are injured we heal quickly.”

“Are you
immortal?” My mind was starting to go into overdrive.

Ahran laughed.
“No, although our life span is longer than yours, typically we live
to about two hundred although some have lived to nearly two twenty,
but only if they have lived entirely in Ramia. We age much quicker
on Earth, it’s to do with atmospherics. Our atmosphere has a higher
concentration of oxygen and is much cleaner. Your atmosphere is
full of toxins,” he said, sounding slightly judgemental.

“How many are
there of you here?”

“It varies, not
all Ramians are allowed to travel here, you need to gain special
permission, but there could be up to several thousand Ramians on
Earth at any one time.”

My eyebrows
shot up. “Several thousand?! How come no one knows about you
all?”

“It’s our best
kept secret. There is much in our world that would be very precious
and beneficial to your kind and we would be in danger if Sapiens
discovered us and our planet.”

“So does
everyone look like you?” I gazed at his perfect features. What I
really wanted to ask was, ‘Are all Ramians as attractive as you
are?’

“We are
generally taller than your kind but other than that we don’t look
any different.”

“Oh right,” I
nodded somewhat relieved.

“How old are
you?”

“Sixty
five.”

I snorted and
laughed. “Well, I have to say, you look good on it,” I said, my
eyes scanning up his body.

“I am still a
relatively young adult where I come from.”

“So if I lived
in your world I would live longer?” This presented
possibilities.

“Yes, although
not as long as a Ramian.” He hesitated. “You must keep what I’ve
just told you to yourself for Toby’s sake, if anyone ever found out
that he is half Sapien, half Ramian he would be of great interest
to your scientists and government. Could you imagine how powerful
it would make this country if they found the DNA answer to a
superior human being?”

I looked at him
blankly. Dr Who or no Dr Who this was the stuff of Science
Fiction.

“You must have
heard of cloning?” he asked.

“Oh yes,
right,” I said nodding. It was so much to take in I felt punch
drunk. I yawned feeling brain and bone weary.

“You are tired.
This is difficult for you to take in on top of an already traumatic
day, why don’t you go to bed. We can talk more in the morning.”

I sat there
letting what he had told me percolate. His eyes really were a
lovely shade of blue and his face was beautiful yet masculine. “You
can’t read minds can you?”

“No. I wish.
You just look exhausted.” His face softened a fraction.

Thank God for
that!

“Now that you
mention it I feel wrung out.” My mind drifted to poor Audrey lying
in a hospital bed battered and bruised; it seemed an age ago that I
was sat in the waiting room unaware of any of this. “Well, this
certainly has been an education,” I said, shaking my head in
disbelief.

“You must
understand that Bazeera and her soldiers are dangerous people and
you would not stand a chance against them.” His tone had become
more business like once again.

“I can see that
now,” I said wearily and yawned again. “I’m sorry I really need to
go to bed.” Although, there was a part of me that questioned how I
was ever going to be able to sleep after finding out about other
worlds and superhumans.

“Yes of
course,” he said, standing up.

I got to my
feet. “The spare room bed is made up. It’s the second door on the
right. There are towels in the airing cupboard in the bathroom.
Please make yourself at home.”

I felt shaky
and wobbly.

Ahran grabbed
my arm and held me steady. A funny expression flickered across his
face. He was not an easy person to read. One minute he was cool,
brusque, almost hostile, the next minute he was gentle and
compassionate. I struggled to keep up.

“I’m
fine...stood up too quickly...head rush,” I explained, although his
closeness wasn’t helping matters. “Night then,” I said, stepping
away from him.

“Goodnight
Sophie,” he said quietly.

I walked into
the kitchen in a state of disbelief. I leant against the counter
whilst waiting for Mungo to do his business outside and rubbed my
eyes. Well, it had been quite an evening. I can honestly say I
would never have guessed any of it in a million years. Toby is half
superhuman! Even now it sounded ridiculous. I shook my head again.
Not only did I need to digest everything Ahran had told me, but I
had to contend with him sleeping in the room next to me. The odds
of getting a decent night’s sleep tonight were definitely stacked
against me.

Mungo started
howling like he was some very important link in the local dog
telegraph and I opened the back door. “Mungo! No one is interested
in what you’ve got to say,” I said sharply and he trotted in. He
had the decency to look sheepish. I gave him a biscuit and he
curled up in his bed.

Ahran had
already gone up to his room. I switched off the lights downstairs
except for the lamp in the hallway and headed upstairs myself. I
caught sight of myself in the bathroom mirror. I was pale, my eyes
looked puffy and my lips were slightly swollen. That always
happened when I cried. I pictured Elaya. I must seem pretty
mediocre if she was the type of woman Ahran was used to.

What the hell
was I thinking? Good looking or not, he ran hot and cold and wasn’t
even from this planet. I really needed my head seeing to.

I took my phone
out of my back pocket. There were three missed calls from
Marcus.

Bugger!

I cowardly
chose to send him a text.

Sorry I missed
your calls, my phone was on silent. I met a neighbour at the
hospital and she gave me a lift home, thanks for the offer anyway.
Sx.

I cringed as I
sent it, he deserved better than that, but then it wasn’t every day
you find out your nephew is half superhuman. Somehow I would make
it up to him.

I went in and
checked on Toby. He was lying on top of his duvet and I carefully
tucked him back in. I stood and watched him sleeping for a minute
or two. He had no idea who he was and the legacy his father had
left him. What did the future hold for him? I wished I could feel
some of the optimism I had felt a couple of days ago but what Ahran
had told me this evening had changed everything. Our lives were
never going to be the same again. So much for trying to lead a
normal life.

I prayed that
the morning had brought an improvement in Audrey’s condition. I got
up and opened the curtains and heard movement in the spare room
next door. I glanced at myself in the dressing table mirror. After
only a few hours’ sleep my eyes still looked puffy. Maybe a shower
would help.

I opened my
bedroom door and came face to face with my half-naked house guest.
He’d obviously had the same idea if the towel under his arm was
anything to go by. “Oh, um morning.” I was caught off-guard,
distracted by his spectacular bare chest. My gaze travelled down
the most magnificent body I had ever had the good fortune to come
across in the flesh. His chest was broad, like an Olympic swimmer’s
and every muscle in both his chest and abdomen were clearly
defined. His skin was a natural bronze and there was a smattering
of fuzzy dark blonde hair that dipped down into his boxer shorts.
Before my eyes could betray me any further, I forced myself to look
up into his face. I knew I was blushing, I could feel the heat
spreading up my neck and across my cheeks which only made me blush
more.

“Morning,” he
replied. There was that look again, as if I was a source of
irritation.

I cleared my
throat. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” he said
in a clipped tone, his expression closed. Great! We were back to
frosty again.

“Good, good.
I’m just going to jump in the shower,” I said breezily.

Before he could
answer I dashed into the bathroom. I should have offered him the
bathroom first but his state of undress was too distracting and I
wasn’t quite sure how to handle his unnerving mood swings. It
seemed a good idea to remove myself as quickly as possible before I
said anything stupid.

I was thankful
for the sanctuary of the bathroom, but felt a surge of anger as I
leant up against the closed door. I was angry at myself for acting
like a naive virgin who had never seen a semi-naked male body
before, but I was angrier at him. He had come here and delivered
several bombshells of atomic proportions, the least he could do was
be a bit nicer. The compassion he had shown last night had
obviously been an act because in the cold light of day he was back
to being cold and aloof. Frankly, I felt I deserved more. He had no
idea what it was like to be told that there were other universes
and extra-terrestrials who travelled undetected to and fro between
your world and theirs. And then, to top it all, that your dear,
precious little nephew, who was your reason for existing, was one
of them.

I took a few
deep breaths to compose myself. I was going to have to develop a
thicker skin and get used to him being around, because for the time
being, Toby and I needed him. I switched the shower on and got in
welcoming the almost scalding heat.

When I had
finished and my skin was hot and red, I wrapped myself in a towel
and cracked the bathroom door open to see if the coast was clear.
Fortunately, his door was shut and I dashed back to my room. I was
going to call out to him and tell him that the bathroom was free
but then I thought with his superhuman hearing he would probably
know that already. I sat in front of the mirror and dried my hair.
I would have to offer Toby some kind of explanation as to who Ahran
was; it wasn’t as if I was in the habit of having men stay over. I
decided I would just say he was a friend from London who had
dropped in unexpectedly.

For once my
hair actually behaved itself and it hung in soft waves below my
shoulders. I wriggled into a pair of Levi’s, a fitted white t-shirt
and a cerise pink, V-neck, lamb’s wool sweater that clung in all
the right places. I always felt good in it, the colour suited me. I
quickly applied some mascara and some tinted lip gloss and gave
myself the once over in the full-length mirror. I didn’t usually
put this much effort into my appearance for the school run, but
this morning I felt the need to try a bit harder. I forced a smile
at myself before going into Toby’s room to open his curtains. “Time
to get up sweetheart.” I stared at his little, sleeping,
half-superhuman form. He was fast asleep and completely oblivious
to how his life was about to change.