“I go by Maren Dern,” whispered Maren.
“And I go by Jacey Moon, as I'm sure you've heard.” Jeremy bit his lip.
“Why Jacey Moon?”
“Because–”
“Jacey!” said Ms. Donegall, pulling him back by the shoulder.
Jeremy stumbled and after recovering his balance, he brushed Ms. Donegall's hand off his shoulder. “Relax. She doesn't know about that.” Jeremy fixed his gaze on Maren. “And Maren, I can assure you, is smart enough not to ask about what 'that' is because it's obviously making you uneasy and it's really not necessary to inquire about at this time.” Jeremy turned back to Ms. Donegall. “Maren, of all people, can best understand why I might be incognito without having to know the exact circumstances. I suspect that she is too, which is why, Ms. Donegall, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” He smiled.
Ms. Donegall sighed. She squinted her eyes as she looked Maren up and down, assessing everything from her wardrobe to her hair style to her posture. Maren's long blonde hair fell in perfect ringlets over her shoulders and her pink satin frock clung to her rail thin body. She might have passed as a model if it weren't for her awkward gait and hunched shoulders.
Maren held her breath, and at last said, “It's true, Ms. Donegall. I won't speak a word of anything.”
“Mmhm,” said Ms. Donegall, hardly convinced.
“Hello Ms. Donegall. I hope my daughter Maren's not taking up too much of your time.” Craig and Janet Dern moved in beside Maren, wine glasses in their hands.
“We were looking all over for you, Maren. We're going to head out soon,” said Janet. “And this must be Jacey Moon? A pleasure!” Janet shook Jeremy's hand and Craig did the same.
“Great show tonight, Mr. Moon. I see you've made an impression on our Maren.” Craig smiled and winked at Maren.
Maren blushed. “Janet, Craig, can I just have a moment with Jacey?”
“Sure,” Craig and Janet exchanged glances and laughed.
“I'll be right back with her,” said Jeremy, grinning at a flustered Ms. Donegall.
Jeremy led Maren to his private loft on the top floor. Though the room was small, it was quite large by Manhattan standards, and Maren especially enjoyed the view from the window overlooking Central Park. Everything about the room was decadent, with jewels spilling out of crystal bowls and ornate jewelery displayed on Jeremy's dressers.
“How did you manage to get all this?” said Maren, looking around in awe.
“You're gorgeous,” replied Jeremy. He leaned forward and stroked her cheek.
Maren stepped back. “Um, thanks. But seriously, how did you get this?” Maren felt a hot flash spread across her cheeks and forehead.
Jeremy plopped down on his bed. “Because people like me, Maren. Gifts, they're all gifts." He gestured to the jewels.
“Maren!” mewed Lyrna from behind the dresser. Lyrna raced forward and leapt onto Maren's lap.
“I was wondering when Lyrna would wake up,” said Jeremy, laughing.
“She's gotten so big!” said Maren.
“I still can't believe we've been living so close to one another.” Jeremy gazed intently out his window. “Maren, what happened after I lost you in the Haze?”
“I'm sorry, the Haze?” said Maren, frowning.
“That's what I call the other place. The dead are there, and animals pull them by astral chords. It's purple and black with shades of gray in between. Sometimes there are white patches. It's like swimming through a thick, cool vapor.” Jeremy spread his hands out in front of him as though he were painting a picture in the air.
Maren blinked.
“Okay,” said Jeremy slowly, “so then what do you remember?”
“That Ms. Fritz and the IIU were going to kill me and then there was blackness followed by light. I awoke in the back of an ambulance with an oxygen mask over my face. Apparently I was cold and had blue fingertips. The paramedics said I'd nearly suffocated. Then I find out I'm on Earth!” Maren pulled at her hair. “So crazy! Please tell me you know what happened? Did Ms. Fritz knock us out? How did she get us here?”
“Ms. Fritz didn't get us here, Maren. I brought us here.”
“But then... How?” Maren shook her head.
“The Haze. Nobody can breath in the Haze except for me.” Jeremy sat on his bed deep in thought. “I've tried to go back, but I don't know how to enter or exit properly. I'll get in, but then Lyrna can't breath and I'm afraid she'll die, so I pop back out where I've entered. It just keeps going indefinitely. Besides, there's nothing there but death.” Jeremy quieted as he thought of his mother.
“What?”
“I can go behind the air and it's something like the spirit world. Like I said, it's purple and black and –”
Maren closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. “Wait. Just wait a second.”
“Okay.” Jeremy wrapped his arm around Maren and leaned his head on her shoulder. “I can talk about other things, I just thought this was important.”
“Jeremy!” Maren stood up and stepped away from the bed. “Have you ever heard of personal space?”
“Have you ever heard of prudery?”
“What?” Maren walked over to the dresser. She leaned against it and began to cry.
“I don't know why you're acting so uptight,” said Jeremy.
“Really? I feel like I'm seeing a ghost! I just don't understand.” Maren buried her face in her hands.
“Well maybe I am a ghost.” Jeremy took off his sandals and massaged his feet.
“You were saying something about an angel before we left,” said Maren from behind her hands. She pulled her hands down off her face and stared at Jeremy. She took a deep breath. “That's what you told me before we came to Earth, right? That an angel talked to you?”
“Yes.” Jeremy leaned forward and adjusted his sandals so that they sat perpendicular to the bed.
“And then there's something else.” Maren blushed. “I remember reading your diary once, not much of it. You wrote about the air twitching and how you put your hand behind it. Something...”
“Ah, so you did read my diary!” Jeremy smiled. “I caught you in your naughty act. It was before the Watican Awards Ceremony.”
Maren rubbed her eyes and sniffled, looking out the window. Limos were pulling out of the parking lot in droves.
“Listen, I'll explain later. Right now, I just need some way of contacting you in the future. What's your number and address?” Jeremy grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from his drawer.
Maren wrung her dress with her hands. “212-041-1810, 467 Cardiff Lane, Apt. 11-L, New York, New York. And I know where you–”
“Don't ever come here looking for me,” Jeremy snapped. It had the intended effect and Maren froze like a deer in headlights. “I kid. I've missed you so much.”
There was a knock on the door. Jeremy looked through the peep hole, sighed, and opened the door.
“I'm here to–”
“Yes, yes,” Jeremy waved off the butler. “All right, Maren, it was nice talking with you.”
“So?” Maren collected her pocketbook and gave one last look at Lyrna before Jeremy hurried her out the door. “I guess I'll see you later, Jeremy?”
“Maybe.” Jeremy winked and closed the door in her face.
Chapter 29
Touch Down
Jeremy's father pressed his face against the window of the IIU spaceship. Three years imprisonment aboard the Intergalactic Intelligence Mothership had given him a rugged, disheveled look and he hardly recognized his own reflection. White fluffy clouds gave way to an expansive blue sky. Within seconds, the cloaked spacecraft landed silently in an enormous cornfield on Earth. IIU personal worked quickly to unload the supplies and prisoners, escorting Wantoro, Gillian, and Mateo to a clearing some fifty feet away where the corn stalks already lay withered and trampled. The prisoners watched as IIU personnel effectively disguised the IIU Mothership as a barn and within an hour, the cornfield looked as if it
hadn't been the least bit disturbed.
“Welcome to Earth, Vor Wantoro,” said Ms. Fritz. IIU General Bentley narrowed his lizard-like eyes and jerked Wantoro's chains forward. Wantoro said nothing and scanned the horizon. Ever since being captured, he, Gillian and Mateo had been promised a reunion with their children. This thought alone fueled Wantoro's subservience.
IIU henchmen Jasmine and Drew pointed their guns at Wantoro's back.
“I thought we were past this,” said Wantoro. “Lower your weapons.”
Bentley snickered and called to Ms. Fritz. “You think we'll be there by nightfall?”
“Yes, for sure.” Ms. Fritz led the group over a hill and to an old, rusty windmill.
“Where are our children and when will we see them,” demanded Mateo. The three year journey had stripped him of weight and spirit.
“My dear Mateo,” said Ms. Fritz, grinning. “Have some water.” She handed each of the prisoners bottled water. “You'll see your children as promised. Have we not been civil to you? Bentley, they are quite ungrateful, don't you think?”
“If they only knew,” said Jasmine, “they'd be thankful. Mantel is great. You should be proud to play such a central role in His grand scheme.”
“Hush, Jasmine.” Ms. Fritz examined Wantoro, Gillian, and Mateo. “You'd all be a lot healthier if you'd just stop worrying.”
Gillian glowered at Ms. Fritz and shook her chains. “We'd stop worrying if you'd be forthcoming with us. What business do our children have on Earth?”
Ms. Fritz ran her fingernails across the side of the windmill, sending red paint chips fluttering to the ground. “I'm sorry to say, Gillian, but your child Maren has no business being here. She's only a tag along. It's Jeremy we're interested in.”
Gillian gnashed her teeth.
Ms. Fritz laughed. “Perhaps it's not water you're wanting, Gillian. Should we mix a cocktail for you?”
“I'd like that actually,” snapped Gillian.
“Silence!” Ms. Fritz slicked her hair back. “Bentley, we'll only be taking a few select IIU members with us, so have them ready in ten minutes. Send the rest to the Manor. Mantel's servants await their arrival. As for us,” Ms. Fritz pulled out a map and dangled it in front of the prisoners, “we'll be taking a train to New York City. There's a stop just south of here.”
"We're taking a train?" Mateo gave a weak smile and jabbed his wife in her side.
"Yes, Mateo, an Earthen train. And you won't be walking around in chains, either, but don't get any funny ideas. Stay close and keep quiet if you want to see your children."
Chapter 30
Memories Past
The limo dropped Maren and her Earth parents off in front of their apartment. The crisp night air stung their cheeks as they edged their way closer to the building.
“Some night,” said Craig as he entered the building code into the security system. Maren's adoptive mother, Janet, yawned. Maren remained quiet.
Once they entered the elevators, Janet turned to Maren. “So are you going to tell us about that beautiful boy who swept you off your feet?” She laughed and nudged Maren. "He had amazing eyes."
“Cajjez Jeremy did not sweep me off my feet.” Maren frowned and attempted to read the community notice board just above the elevator buttons.
“Cajjez who?” said Janet, knitting her eyebrows together.
“Jeremy Chikalto.”
“Is he, is Jeremy Chikalto the friend you recognized earlier?”
Maren wanted the elevator doors to open so she could run to apartment 11-L and lock herself in her room. “Yes. I'm really tired.”
“You look upset,” said Craig. “I thought his name was Jacey Moon.”
“Yes well, I mean Jacey Moon.”
Janet exchanged worried glances with Craig. “So he has two names?"
"Stage name, perhaps," said Craig.
"No. Maybe. I don't know."
"Is everything all right? Did he try to do something to you?”
“No! It's not like that, we've known each other since we were kids!” The elevator door opened and Maren ran off towards the apartment. When Craig and Janet caught up, they could see that Maren was visibly shaken. She clenched her purse tightly to her chest and covered her face with her other hand. Once the door to the apartment was opened, Maren sped to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Craig and Janet stared at each other across the dining room table for a long time. Their adopted daughter, Maren, hadn't been able to recall any memories prior to the night the hospital admitted her three years ago. She had been found unconscious on the side of the road in New York City. When Maren regained consciousness, she couldn't account for her whereabouts and there was no record of her name or birth in the social security database. Doctors believed she suffered from amnesia likely caused by a traumatic event. Bruises on her arms and wrists suggested there was a struggle.
“What do you think this means?” Janet reached across the table and clasped Craig's hands. “Do you think she's getting her memories back?”
“I guess so, she said she knew Jacey Moon as a child.”
“But she was calling him Jeremy Chikalto.”
“Jeremy Chikalto,” said Craig slowly, sounding out each letter. “We should contact the doctor. We have to figure out what triggered the memory. We'll put everything in writing that happened this evening.” Craig rose from his seat and began to sift through drawers. He located a pad of paper and a pen.
“Craig, let's calm down. It's been a long evening. We can ask Maren about it in the morning.”
“What if he hurt her? What if that triggered her memory?” Craig scribbled the name “Jeremy Chikalto” down on the pad of paper.
“Okay, and what if we've all had too much to drink. You saw the place, Maren could have gotten alcohol easily. Kids do stupid things. Let's leave her alone tonight and we'll ask her about it in the morning.”
“Janet, you're making excuses. This could be serious. I'm calling the doctor. You know what? I want a background check done on Jeremy Chikalto. I'm calling Steve.”
“Craig, it's two in the morning! This is insane.”
“What if he hurt her? Or, okay, maybe he didn't hurt her, but what if he's connected somehow to Maren's past?” Craig jabbed a finger in the direction of Maren's room. She was wailing. He picked up the phone and was about to dial.
“Tomorrow, Craig.” Janet placed her hand on top of his and guided the phone back to its charger.
Chapter 31
Enchained
There was a knock on the door. Lyrna hissed and ran under the bed. "Jacey, so sorry to interrupt. Ms. Donegall requests a word."
"Of course," said Jeremy. He donned his robe and exited the room.
"Yes, Madame?" said Jeremy as he entered Ms. Donegall's chambers.
"Don't play sweet with me, Jacey!" Ms. Donegall swept past Jeremy and yanked the crystal necklace off his neck. She shoved it into her bra. "Who is this Maren Dern? I've had her checked out and she's had amnesia, too?" She snorted. "Do you know how much I've risked to keep you safe? And this is how you repay me?"
"I told you earlier, she doesn't know about my past."
"Apparently I don't either. I could lose it all, you know! Everything I've worked so hard for, my estate, my career! And all for you. Aiding and abetting a murderer. That's the headline that will ruin me." Ms. Donegall slapped Jeremy's cheek with the back of her hand and then shoved him. He fell back into a love sofa. "Don't associate with anyone from your past. You have all that you need here."
"I barely knew her,” he lied. “I'm just memorable is all."
"Remember what would happen to you in prison. You'll be eaten alive in there. You're too pretty, too special. Too soft."
Jeremy shuddered.
"Sing me to sleep."
"I'll need some water. I'm thirsty."
"Later. Now sing." Ms. Donegall opened the canopy to her bed and climbed in. She put on her night cap, a gray streak of hair falling across her fore
head, and closed her eyes.
Jeremy felt for the absent necklace around his neck and sighed.
The crow wandered in search of a pyre
to make black its icy dread in the moonless air.
And the volcanos alone burned as beacons,
the habitations of the dead,
dwelling deep in the gloom,
burning as the flames of a watchfire.
Jeremy returned to his room and called Lyrna. She crept out from under the bed and sat on his lap. “We could sneak Maren in here.”
“No, we leave,” pleaded Lyrna.
“Maren would love it here. I could get Ms. Donegall to buy me room dividers. She couldn't know, of course, she'd never have it. The place is small, but it's comparable to life in the Farmoore Galaxy.”
“Not.”
“Well, what I mean is, I'm treated like royalty.”
“Like fool.”
“Do fools get jewelry? Anything they want to eat? Clothes?”
“Like slave.”
“A slave? Really? Do slaves get those things?”
“Sing and dance like fool. Whore like slave.”
“Shut up, Lyrna.”
Lyrna jumped down from his lap and ran under the bed. “Buys you.”
“Ms. Donegall protects me. I've killed someone, Lyrna. I could go to prison. It's dirty there. People would hurt me. Don't you care?” Jeremy got down on the floor and peered under the bed.
Lyrna stared.
“I have Maren's address. I'll get her tonight.” Jeremy found a black ski mask in his closet. He bent down, and lifted up a loose floorboard. He pulled out a long rope and fastened it to the heater beside the window. “When I get to the stairs next to the building, pull the rope up. Do it quickly. I'll be back in an hour or so.” Jeremy grabbed the note with Maren's address and a pearl necklace. “She'll like this.”
Chapter 32
At the Gates
“Manhattan,” whispered Wantoro. A business man shoved past him. Wantoro rubbed his broad shoulder and frowned. Even after spending three years as prisoner aboard an IIU spacecraft, he was still unaccustomed to being treated without proper respect.
“That's right, New York City.” Ms. Fritz pointed to the metro exit. “We're just up here. Ms. Donegall's Estate. Excuse me.” Ms. Fritz tapped an older woman's arm. “Do you know where I might find a hot spring in this city?”
The woman looked the party once over with an air of curiosity. “I believe you're looking for Ms. Donegall's, but the Velkin Awards Ceremony is already over.”