Halfblood Heritage Read online

  She grinned, “Will do. I know just what section of the zoo to look in.”

  They both turned when they heard a knock at the door. A tall man walked in, dressed like Lena and sharing her eyes and dark hair. He was taller than her, though…just under six feet, which made him tall for a human but still shorter than the average Kin. He said, reaching his hand out to Scythe, “Sorry I’m late. My name is Ian Young. I’m Lena’s brother.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, Scythe shook his hand. Ian's grip was strong but not tight, and he brought his second hand around to cover Scythe's warmly. The youth nodded awkwardly, unfamiliar with the hearty greeting.

  “I’m working with Lena on this assignment. Or, rather, this assignment is working us over. We’ve got nothing but rumors to go on and no way of checking what information we do have, since the channels for communicating with the Kin are heavily regulated by our government.”

  “I thought you were the government.”

  His eyes widened, surprised and clearly amused by Scythe’s simple question. Then he said with a quick laugh, “So did I.” He handed Lena a piece of paper, saying, “Three more last night.” Turning to Mr. Glasses, he asked, “Got it?” The man pulled the monitor back around and checked it. He nodded and began reviewing the information.

  When Lena finished reading the alert, she cursed under her breath. “This is so frustrating. West Hill. That’s a repeat, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, the brothers from two weeks ago.”

  “Ok, let’s head out there.”

  “Nothing here, then?” Ian asked, glancing at Scythe.

  “I don’t think so. Good idea though.” She turned to Scythe and said, “Sorry, Simon, I’d love to hang out here and count stuff with you, but I’ve got to go protect my kin. Later.”

  His mouth slipped open a crack and he stared at her. Then she knocked him further off balance by smacking him on the shoulder on her way to the door. He could still feel the sting of it when Ian shook his hand again and turned to go.

  Watching Ian’s back as he walked away made something in Scythe shift slightly. He said, “I think I saw this once on some bad programming.”

  Ian asked, “What?” He stopped and turned his body all the way around to face him. His relaxed, attentive expression told Scythe that he was genuinely interested in whatever the boy had to say.

  That was it, the thing that had been making him feel slightly...not dizzy, but something similar...ever since Lena had come in the room. Ian and his sister didn’t just look at him. They tried to see him.

  He blinked, and his thoughts caught up to him, “Uh, the good cop, bad cop thing.”

  Ian looked over at the agents behind the desk, one of whom shifted in his seat and stared pointedly at the screen in front of him. The other was ignoring them. “Are they the bad cops?”

  “That would make you the good cops.”

  He smiled, “Yes it would. You decide, Simon.”

  “The thing is...in the show...they were both bad cops.”

  “Well, this isn’t a show so you’re going to have to get to know us better if you really want to see what kind of people we are. The same goes for the penguins there. It was nice to meet you, Scythe.” He smiled and left the room.

  Scythe stared after him. He hadn’t heard his name spoken aloud in over a year. Disoriented. That’s what the feeling was. Dis...oriented.

  The man with the glasses finished entering data in his computer and looked up at Scythe. “Is there anything else you can think of that might help us out?”

  “No.”

  “Did you ever hear about experiments?”

  “Experiments? What kind of experiments?”

  The second man interrupted, “I think that’s about all we need.”

  “Okay, well, thank you, Simon. We’ll be in contact with you...”

  Scythe got up and walked to the door but when he twisted the handle, he found that it was locked. He turned to his right, looking impatiently at a large section of the wall. It was nearly impossible to distinguish the screen from the rest of the panels that made up the wall, but it was betrayed by a faint humming he doubted was detectable by Human ears. After a second, the lock clicked; he opened the door and stepped into the hall. Behind him, before the door shut, he heard the man standing behind the desk ask, “How did he know?”

  “Idiots,” he whispered. He looked right and left, deciding. On a whim, he turned right, following a certain scent and ignoring the frantic wave and a call of “Simon!” from his personal assistant. Passing the door to the hidden room, he saluted through another invisible window without turning his head.

  He increased his pace, knowing that his keeper would never do anything as inappropriate as run outside of an immaculately designed exercise spa. Without pausing, he took several turns, winding through the maze of halls and rooms effortlessly, following the trail: a floral perfume, shampoo, some spicy condiment, detergent, woman, and seven other scents that distinguished her from everyone else in the place, one of which was hers only. He didn’t react to the gasps, stares and whispers of people seeing a Kin up close for the first time, or the numerous security people casually positioned in nearly every room, confirming his movements by tapping lightly on their sleeves. When one woman came through a door and then jumped back with a screech, he rolled his eyes in disgust without slowing down.

  Finally, he stopped, considering, in front of a door. He looked around and took a seat at one of the tables in what appeared to be a small break room. After a minute, Lena stepped out, talking to another woman who was buttoning up a sweater. Lena stopped, taken aback at seeing Scythe alone in the room, and then smiled appreciatively for the second time.

  “Hey, tell me the rest later, will ya, Darlene?”

  The woman turned to Lena with a fearful expression and whispered, “Will you be okay?”

  Lena made a frustrated growl, “Just go, jeez.” She gave her friend a little push down the hall and walked over to the table. She let drop a large, heavy duffel bag which had several zippers that were only partially closed; a piece of cloth was jammed in the teeth of one. Smiling, she observed, “Well, didn’t you turn out to be a surprise? Bet you got them in a tizzy.”

  “Scampering like rats for the cheese.”

  She didn’t expect that, and he didn’t expect her to throw her head back and laugh with gusto. “You’ve never seen a rat! Not in this city.” He jumped when she slammed her hand on the table and declared, “Damn, you are so much fun.”

  Scythe just stared at her, entranced, his heart racing.

  She sat down across from him and tilted her head, inquiring when he didn’t speak, “What?”

  He answered candidly, “I’ve never met a Human like you. You’re...I don’t even know what.”

  She leaned back and looked him over. “You’re, what? Sixteen years old?”

  “Thirteen.”

  Her eyes widened, “You’re so big.”

  It was true, he had just finished a growth spurt that had given him another few inches on his already tall Kin-like body. Where the Kin tended to be thin, though, he had inherited the wider girth of his Human mother’s people, so he was both long and filled out. The result was that he looked much older than he was. If he hadn’t been bulky, he still would have been taller than her, though.

  “You’re just small.”

  “Punk kid. Watch it or I’ll put you on your ass.”

  He shook his head in bemusement, “No one talks like that.”

  “What? Rude?”

  “Yeah, rude, funny...honestly.”

  “Sure they do.”

  He shook his head. No one he had met did.

  “So...What?...People have been lying to you a lot?”

  “This whole place is a lie.”

  She sobered, and her lips pinched together slightly for a moment before she spoke. “What makes you say that?”

  He thought that there was a good chance that she already knew the answer to that. Besides, it would have
taken him way too long to lay it all out, so he didn’t bother. Instead he asked his own question, “What’s with the bogus map?” He nodded his head toward a large map of the world on the wall next to them. It showed the earth with shining blue oceans and brown continents. Eight stars marked the Human cities and small silver blotches radiating from them indicated their regions of influence.

  “What about it?”

  “There are only eight Human cities.”

  “That’s because there are only eight Human cities.”

  Scythe shook his head, “I just finished a course in geography, and there are over thirty Human settlements...”

  “That’s historical geography; it’s been over two hundred years since there were thirty. Almost all those settlements are long abandoned or destroyed.”

  Scythe was appalled, “Eight cities...that’s it?”

  “And the surrounding bordertowns, yes. Pathetic, isn’t it?”

  “But...don’t people know?” How could he have had three years of private tutoring at his level and not know that? He knew he wouldn’t have forgotten something like that, which meant that it was purposefully left out.

  “Sure, but they don’t like to think about it. I mean, it’s scary how close we are to extinction. So, you won’t see any maps around, because it ‘disturbs people’s sense of security.’”

  Scythe looked back at the map. “Where are the Kin?”

  Lena laughed, “Trust me, if this bugs you, you don’t want to see the Kin distribution.” Despite her words, she waited, anticipating.

  “Well?” he prompted impatiently.

  She shook her head, somehow sorry and gleeful at the same time, “See the brown?”

  “What, the background color?”

  “That’s not background color.”

  Scythe’s eyes roamed over the map disbelievingly.

  “In this city, you have to really go out of your way to find an accurate map that identifies the Kin population centers and their territories,” she explained, her cheerful mood almost gone.

  They both took another long look at the map.

  Finally, Scythe sighed disappointedly, “The zookeeper is almost here. Must be feeding time or something.”

  Lena glanced at the hallway, and, seeing no one, turned back to him. “So? What now?”

  “If you can get me out of this madhouse, I’ll help you if I can.”

  Her eyes brightened instantly and a wide smile spread across her face. Scythe stilled, soaking it up. She seemed to notice his reaction, because she made an effort to tone down her enthusiasm when she said, “That would be a huge help to us, Simon. Can I call you Scythe?”

  Just like that, he was thrown off again. It was like talking to some other life form. “Sure, if you want.”

  “Thanks. That’s better anyway, don’t you think? Now to just get approval… I’ll have to get a release from your mom...” She stopped when she saw his exasperated look, “You’re right, we’ll have to get around that somehow...I’ll probably have to fill out a zillion forms...Whatever, I can make it happen.”

  The tapping of high heels rushing down the hall became loud enough for her to hear.

  “I bet you can. But, listen, I won’t do anything or help anyone do anything that harms the Kin. I won’t sit by and watch, either. You need to understand that right up front.”

  She nodded solemnly, “I do. For my part, I will stand by you in that. However, I want to be up front with you, too. The majority of people here are not out to protect the Kin. This is a military company whose sole function is to eliminate any threat to bordertown Humans by the Kin. So, you are going to see a ton of distrust, fear and aggression towards them. I’ll do what I can to prevent violence, but the truth is that I’m not the one calling the shots around here and I can’t make any guarantees about those who do.”

  His last comment suddenly caught up to her and she scoffed, before mimicking him playfully, “'And I won’t sit by and watch, either.’ That’s cute.”

  “What?” Scythe asked.

  “‘What?’” she mocked him again. “Seriously, you are adorable.”

  The tapping suddenly transformed from a frantic clambering to a casual saunter, and both of them turned to see Scythe’s personal assistant smoothly turn the corner, a relaxed smile on her face. Her eyes sparkled when they touched on the pair. “There you are! I knew I’d find you eventually. Are you enjoying your visit?”

  Lena looked over at Scythe. “Wow, that is something else,” she said, and she was only half joking.

  Scythe did something then that life in Menelaus had taught him not to do. He let some of his desperation show when he said, “They are all like that, nurses, tutors, housekeepers, all of them.”

  “And your friends?”

  Scythe stared at her without answering, amazed she had even asked. He knew that she could see what he was; that alone made her question completely unnecessary. However, she stood there waiting for an answer as if it weren’t ridiculous to her. Did she even live in the city? Or…was she making fun of him?

  She swallowed as the truth sank in, and then looked up at the fashionably dressed woman who had just arrived at their table. “This is it, huh? That is damn scary.”

  The woman’s eyebrows creased slightly, “What?”

  “Isn’t Scythe allowed to have friends?” Lena grinned when the woman cringed slightly at the use of Scythe’s name.

  The woman’s mouth opened in a beautiful “O” of surprise before her eyes found Scythe and lightly reprimanded him. “Of course he has friends! Simon has a lovely play group that he meets with three times a week for social interaction. They play sports...”

  Deliberately emphasizing his name, Lena interrupted, “Scythe has a play group?” She looked across at Scythe for an explanation, but he showed no reaction as the assistant continued, oblivious.

  “They talk, play games, there are fabulous field trips to cultural centers, privately led by hand picked docents...”

  Lena stood and cut her off. “You’re right, it sounds fantastic; it’s just what a kid like Scythe needs. Okay, I’ve got some people to see...immediately, so I’ll be going. It was extremely enlightening to meet you.” She turned to point at Scythe, “I’ll be seeing you very soon, zooboy.” Not waiting for an answer, she turned, scooped up her bag, and jogged down the hall.

  Scythe stared after her, wondering what it was that made him feel like she was taking something important away with her. The room felt empty with just the two of them in it.

  “Well, it’s about time we headed out,” his assistant said, moving toward the hallway. “It’s too bad that you had to be put through all of this. It must have been very trying for you to revisit those difficult days.” She paused and waited for his response.

  The truth was that it had been the most interesting thing he had done in months. He was about to say as much, even though he knew it would disturb her, when she continued speaking.

  “Well, don’t let it bother you, Simon. You shouldn’t be needed by them again. By tomorrow, you will have forgotten the whole business and everything will be back to normal.”

  He walked next to her and nodded, thinking that she was probably right but hoping fervently that she wasn’t.

  Chapter 2

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this. My husband would go crazy if he knew.”

  “You are really helping me out a ton, Margie. The poor boy is just so lonely, cooped up in his apartment all the tim, and his mother is a complete vegetable, you know. It breaks my heart...”

  “I know, but...just...well, look at him. Are you sure its safe? I’m trusting you a lot here.”

  “I would never endanger my nieces. You should know that, Margie. Besides, his security guards are all over the place every time he goes out, which isn’t very often. Anyway, he’s not going to do anything. He’s a good boy.”

  “Well, I guess he looks harmless enough...just don’t tell Rico, ever.”

  Scythe pretended that he couldn�
��t hear, like he always did, because it was obvious that his housekeeper, Sara, and her sister were sharing private words. The Humans still didn’t get that he could hear them all the time, although he had informed them of it repeatedly. Eventually, he had accepted that it was their nature. They didn’t hear him because they didn’t want to know that he was different in any way. As long as he acted Human, most of them could pretend that he was Human, with a few unfortunate physical deformities. Even though it was degrading, he had decided long ago to just play along with them; it was easier that way for everyone involved.

  He closed his eyes, shutting his book, and turned to face the sun. He enjoyed the warmth, the wind on his skin, the smells of dew, leaves, earth, and even the smell of Human. Anything was better than the recycled air and odor of chemical cleaner that he got at home. Most of all, he valued the gentle sounds of the park: the creaking of the tree trunks, the playful rustling of leaves, the scampering of what few creatures managed to survive in such a manicured “outdoor” environment.

  Here, the incessant sounds of Human technology didn’t press on him, constantly humming or chirping or wailing at the high pitches that his earplugs just couldn’t keep out. He had taken to disabling the devices in their apartment that he didn’t use, which was almost everything. The entertainment unit he sometimes watched, but he could only stand the pain it caused at the back of his head for a short amount of time before he had to unplug it; he preferred reading history books and novels to the crazy shows that monopolized the Human network anyway. Because of his extensive personal tutoring, his independent studies and his constant reading, he was as literate as Humans years older than he was, despite having only learned to read and write the their language a handful of years ago. But then, he had been a good student in his old life.