Tagan's Child Page 7

  “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.

  Chapter 7

  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.

  I left him to come round and went downstairs. Even though I still hadn’t come to terms with going to Ramia with Toby, I began to think about all the things I would have to do if we did. Audrey usually had Mungo if we went away but she wasn’t going to be able to help in her current condition, and what would I do about the shop?

  And then it hit me. This wasn’t just some trip abroad for a bit of sun, sea and sand, we were going to another bloody universe! Well, I assumed we were, unless Ahran’s family had some kind of set up here on Earth. This was a fundamental piece of information that Ahran had, as yet, neglected to tell me, although admittedly, I hadn’t asked either. Bennie would have gone mad if she’d known. I switched the kettle on and tried to think about how one might travel to another universe. Unfortunately, my lukewarm liking of futuristic films had left me severely lacking, all I could come up with was a round spaceship with blue flashing lights. Great! I had found myself in the starring role of the sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I didn’t like flying at the best of times but the thought of travelling in some kind of flying saucer took my anxiety to a whole new level. Wasn’t there a decent risk of burning up as you left the Earth’s atmosphere? Please let Ahran’s family have some kind of second home somewhere on Earth. Now, if it was a palatial villa in the Seychelles, I could be more easily persuaded.

  The hot water system fired up and interrupted my flow of thoughts. I quickly blocked the image of rivulets of water running down Ahran’s naked body and put the breakfast things out on the table. I really needed to have sex with Marcus. Having had such a long period without it was making my imagination run wild. Funny that I hadn’t felt like this until Ahran had turned up though.

  I didn’t feel particularly hungry but put some bread in the toaster anyway. Mungo hadn’t moved from his bed and I absentmindedly wondered how long he would go without having a pee if I didn’t force him out of the back door. “You need to go out,” I said. He just about managed to open his eyes and looked at me as if to say ‘It’s freezing out there are you out of your mind?’

  “Mungo!”

  He got up slowly, had his usual stretch and trotted out the back door ignoring me as I stood there holding it open for him. “I thought Weimaraners were supposed to be lively,” I muttered to myself.

  Now, what do superhumans eat for breakfast? I scanned the cereal cupboard. The phone rang and I glanced at the clock. Surely it was too early to be the hospital, unless something dreadful had happened over night. My heart skipped a beat. I snatched up the cordless phone from the windowsill.

  “Hello?” I answered anxiously.

  “You were supposed to phone me last night,” said a groggy, slightly disgruntled voice on the other end.

  I took a deep breath and relaxed. “I’m sorry Ben, a lot happened yesterday.” I cradled the phone between my ear and shoulder and buttered my toast. “Audrey was attacked in the coffee shop and I spent most of the evening in the hospital.”

  “Jesus! Is she alright?”

  “We don’t know yet, in fact I thought you might be the hospital phoning to give me an update. When I left last night they had just moved her into intensive care. She’s had a stroke and is unconscious. Hopefully, they should know more this morning.”

  “Oh God Sophe, I’m so sorry, is there anything I can do?” she offered.

  “Thanks but there’s nothing you can do at the moment, we’ll just have to wait and see how she is when she comes round.”

  “Bloody hell. I can’t believe it. Give her a big hug from me. I’ll send some flowers or something.”

  “I’m sure she’d appreciate that, thanks Ben.”

  She paused. “So you didn’t see the mysterious Ahran Elessar last night then?” she asked.

  I contemplated lying but I knew she would suss me out. “He met me at the hospital and brought me home.”

  Just at that moment Ahran walked into the kitchen looking fresh faced and gorgeous, in a dark navy shirt and dark jeans. Oh dear Lord!

  I smiled at him and pointed to the phone as if it wasn’t obvious what I was doing.

  He stood in the doorway looking at me, his head cocked to one side, an unreadable expression on his face.

  I put my hand over the phone. “Help yourself to breakfast.”

  “He’s still there?!” Bennie’s high pitch
ed voice screeched from the other end of the line.

  “Yes,” I said, irritated by the conclusions that I knew she was drawing and feeling embarrassed knowing that Ahran could probably hear her.

  It was too awkward putting Bennie straight in front of him and so I opted to say nothing. I would have to tell her an edited version of what happened last night, later. Was that a smile I saw on his face?

  I picked up my breakfast and moved into the lounge for some privacy. I lowered my voice and wondered just how good his hearing was. “Unfortunately, everything he told me about Toby being in danger is true. He seems to think the person who attacked Audrey was after me.” I bit off a mouthful of toast.

  “Oh my God Sophie! What did the police say?”

  “I haven’t spoken to the police yet although I expect I’ll see them this morning.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet. Look, I’m going to have to go, I need to get Toby up and off to school, can I call you later?”

  “Okay, but make sure you do,” she insisted.

  “Yeah of course. Bye hun.” We both hung up.

  I went back into the kitchen and tipped the remainder of my breakfast in the bin. Ahran was buttering six pieces of toast. I suppose it didn’t come as much of a surprise that he had a big appetite. “Did you find everything you need?” I asked.

  “Yes, thanks,” he replied and carried his plate and a glass of milk over to the table.

  “Good, um, I’m just going upstairs to get Toby up,” I said when I realised I was staring at him. “He and I need to have a little chat before he comes down.” I refrained from saying that Toby wasn’t used to seeing men here. “You know, try and give him an explanation as to why you’re here.”

  He nodded and took a sip of his milk.

  I climbed the stairs and went into Toby’s room. He had managed to drag himself out of bed and was getting dressed. I sat on the chair by his desk. “Toby, there is a man downstairs, his name is Ahran and he is going to be staying with us for a little while.”