DISCLAIMER: The only thing I own is Jaden "Jay" Corbin, I don't even own the words. Only the order in which they were placed.
Sorry for the delay. This was ready to go about 2 weeks ago…you can thank Bell Sympatico for making me order my new internet service three times!
Okay, some notes for this part. Firstly, from now on, unless otherwise stated, the English translations of all Khayanese words/phrases will be in ~ ~
Secondly, I kind of had my way with the genetic stuff, and I'm almost positive I screwed up somewhere, so please don't analyze it, just accept it, lol. It's been awhile since I've touched on that specific area of genetics, so I'm a bit rusty.
Thirdly, I borrowed a small idea from the book, The First Protector (James White), and if you've read that book you can probably figure out what it was. However, I only used it as a beginning, and I have gone beyond it's original context and created my own plot out of it.
Lastly, as you may have noticed, the chapters now have new names. I did that because it was becoming a little confusing, and was just plain annoying me, lol. For the most part the names are permanent, but a couple I may end up changing later.
Okay, enough of that. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 12
Jay kept eye contact and nodded. The others in the room could only watch in stunned silence as the human and the Taelon stared at each other in understanding, beyond belief.
"Yes. Ma'el," the girl answered. "I don't know how he did it, the first Khayana never did either, but somehow he changed us, gave the women incredible mental abilities, and then natural evolution - and I guess you could call it forced selective breeding - over the last two millennia has brought us to this point," she gestured to her own brain. "The same happened with the men, only in a lesser capacity. The main reason the men were given any power at all was so that offspring of two Khayana were guaranteed to have the power."
Liam spoke up. "But even with one parent, couldn't it still be passed on?"
Renee stared ahead, her mind wandering back to high school biology. "The gene for the Khayana ability is sex-linked, isn't it?"
Jay grinned slightly. "Uh huh…. The gene is on the X-chromosome. In order to receive the full ability their must be two genes, found on both X-chromosomes, working together. That's why males are only in limited capacity when it comes to their mental abilities."
Liam watched as the girl explained this last part, and to him she appeared less certain about what she was saying now than she had about anything else she had told them; her voice seemed to hold less confidence than it had previously. He didn't know why, but he knew that for some reason, that was important.
"But could that not restrict your population?" Zo'or asked finally, a hint of genuine curiosity, while skillfully masked, was still present.
All pretense of attitude or sarcasm was noticeable absent when Jay, simply and introspectively, nodded. "Yes. In the case of the males, genetically speaking, they have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the Khayana gene if only the mother had it, since they'd only need one marker. However, in order for a female to have her ability, both parents must have the gene - in the mother's case, she must have at least one X-chromosome marker. But then that also decreases the chances of a female offspring being fully Khayanese, since that same 50/50 chance applies when cellular meiosis takes place - half the mother's ova will contain that gene, and the other half won't. So a daughter with Khayanese ability must have a Khayanese father, and either a full-blooded Khayanese mother or be the offspring of that first half of the mother's ova containing the gene."
As Jay surveyed the others in the room, to say she was met with raised eyebrows and inclined heads would have been an understatement. For the most part they understood what she was saying, but it was strange hearing it from a young girl.
"What? It's in the texts…." Still, they stared. She sighed, muttering, "And they told me Punnet Squares were useless…." The others looked at her, slight irritation showing as she wandered off-topic.
"Anyway," she said, returning her attention back to the others. "It basically means that the only way to guarantee the Khayana line was for my ancestors to mate within their own population. According to what's been written, when your Ma'el…I guess you'd say he created us, he made sure to transform enough people to allow for a self-sustaining population, and made sure those first people knew they had to remain together in order to continue on their legacy, and fulfill their 'destiny'. One passage even mentioned something about a long-awaited prophecy in which the Khayana would play a major role, but it doesn't give any specifics."
Still no one said anything. They continued to stare, either at Jay herself or off into space, contemplating what she was saying, absorbing the information, and contemplating just what it meant in the grand scheme of things. But one thing they didn't need words to convey was their desire for her to continue - the expectant silence in the room did that quite nicely on its own.
Jay took a deep breath, knowing they probably wanted answers that she didn't have. There was only so much more she could tell them about her heritage, and she doubted any of it could help them with their unusual predicament. But she'd try, maybe something would make sense to them.
"And so," she began once more, "After Ma'el had helped a good number of people evolve mentally to achieve this ability - I'm not sure of the exact number, it was never recorded - beginning with Khayana herself, my people formed their group and swore themselves to secrecy. They knew that if word got out about them there would be many who would want to exploit their abilities or, most likely, simply kill them if they considered them a threat.
"That was why they became nomads, they wouldn't stay in once place too long because of the risk of being found out. Eventually they broke themselves down into smaller bands so they would seem less conspicuous, and because it was simply easier to travel that way. The groups would occasionally meet up, exchange information, experiences…even people, as a way to help increase the populations, keep ties, that sort of thing. After a few centuries they had spread themselves all throughout Europe and much of the Middle East, as well as Northern Africa, as I believe I mentioned earlier. From what I've read of my grandmother's notes, our line originated from one of the Mediterranean bands."
Again, she was met with silence as they digested the information. She took note that, despite their expressions of amazement and intrigue, it didn't appear as though any of the human and Taelon group doubted her anymore…or, at least, they didn't show it. The silence extended for a few minutes, and the teenager tried not to let them see the slight anxiousness she was experiencing; she was tense, on edge. She'd never mentioned the Khayana to anyone but a select few, and they had known as much, if not more, than she had, and Jay had never even attempted to describe their history, not even in practice.
"I have a question," Renee began almost timidly, breaking the silence. Jay nodded. "If Ma'el provided enough people with the genetic markers necessary to sustain your population…well, that would have to be a good number. So does that mean your population has been increasing over the years?"
Jay watched the reactions of the others to this question. For the most part the humans simply seemed intrigued, but the Taelons were a different story. The two aliens hid it well, but she could tell the idea that an entire population of essentially enhanced humans could be out there, created by none other than one of their own, concerned them. Sadly, Jay thought to herself, There isn't much for them to be concerned about, not anymore.
Out loud, she told them, "It did, in the beginning. For over a thousand years our population slowly but steadily increased. But as time went on and civilizations sprouted, the nomadic life of my people became understandably undesirable." She said that last part with a hint of sarcasm. "Gradually people began to leave the bands and settle within society. They understood the need to keep the secrecy of the Khayana, but other than that, many of them dropped all customs and traditions of my people…including our 'selective breeding'.
"They thought that our having to compromise our lives on the off chance we might somehow be involved in a prophecy no one was even sure was true, wasn't fair - and they believed that if in truth there was a destiny we were to play out, that fate would intervene. In the meantime, they wanted their own lives. And so, fewer full-blooded Khayana were born, and so on. Today, only about a handful of true Khayana still exist in this world, scattered around. But some of us, we still follow some of the old traditions."
Zo'or looked up. "For instance, keeping your peoples' knowledge in secrecy," he shot.
Jay glared at him. "I'm making an exception. For some reason I was compelled to tell you, and if I've learn anything over the years, it's to trust what's in my head, no matter how strange it might sound."
"This is all well and good," Sandoval intervened, knowing the look on Zo'or's face and knowing what could happen if he didn't change the subject. "But I fail to see the relevance in all of this. We still have no idea what happened to us or how we got here." He looked at the girl with a mask of mild indifference - best not to let her know how much he wanted that very information. "Unless I'm missing something."
Da'an inclined his head. "As much as your explanation has intrigued me," this earned him as close to an exasperated expression as a Taelon could manage from Zo'or, "I can fathom nothing useful to our predicament in what you have said."
Jay shrugged, taking the unintended insult. She didn't really care what they perceived as informative - she'd done what she thought she was supposed to do to help unfold whatever was supposed to happen as a result of her latest vision. "My people adopted the saying from one of the earliest Khayana, Phylatos: All seemingly useless information will play it's part eventually."
As she said this she allowed a meaningful gaze to lock momentarily with Liam, and then Renee, before training her eyes on the group as a whole. No one but the two in question appeared to have noticed anything - she hoped. "Translated, of course," Jay added. "Basically, even the dumbest bit of info can help you somewhere along the line."
"Yes," Zo'or replied, annoyed at being given a life lesson by a young human girl. "However, we need the knowledge that can help us right now."
That said, no one in the room had anything to volunteer.
~~~
The night grew late as the humans and aliens from the future tossed around theories as their 'host' sat in the corner and tried to read, not being able to contribute much to their conversation. But that was all they were - theories. They had narrowed down the list of possibilities and had tentatively agreed that the blast the shuttle had been hit by just before jumping to inter-dimensional had something to do with it, but exactly how it had happened, and how to reverse it, had yet to be explained.
Finally agreeing that, at least for the human members of their group, nothing more could be accomplished unless they could get some sleep, they decided to call it a night. Da'an and Zo'or, while not having access to energy showers, had stated that they would attempt to conserve what energy they had. Jay had told them that if they wanted to, they could browse through the books kept in the adjoining room for something to do. Da'an said his thanks, and both Taelons left the room.
Sandoval and Liam had refused the girl's offer of a bed. They would take turns on watch, just in case, but they would remain in the living room, close to their Companions. Renee accepted, however, and Jay led her up to the second floor, offering her the use of her parents' bed.
Jay herself did not want to sleep. She wanted to keep an eye on her guests, not sure if she could trust them…she wanted to, but something was giving her an unsettling feeling. She also didn't want them to realize that she didn't trust them. Finally, the teenager decided that she would stay in her room and attempt to work through some of the images stored in her brain, hoping that would keep her awake, at least for a little while. She also set her alarm to wake herself up early, just in case….
~~~
Early the next morning, Liam opened his eyes slowly against the bright sun cutting in through the window. He was on the couch with a thin blanket draped over his fully clothed form.
Sitting up slowly, Liam gazed about the room and watched as Sandoval sat on a chair at the far side, looking out the window…just where he had been three hours earlier when they had switched watch duty.
"Morning, Sandoval," he said, a bit groggily, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Major," came the stoic reply. Sandoval did not move from his position.
Swinging his legs over the side of the couch, Liam leaned forward from his sitting position to stretch his back out. As he sat back up, he looked over at Sandoval once more and watched as he brought a mug up to his lips, steam rising from it.
"Coffee?" Liam asked, curious.
Sandoval fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Our 'host' was up early this morning."
"Well," Liam replied, standing up and catching the annoyed tone in his colleague's voice; as he passed his fellow companion, he shot, "How nice of her." He continued on and out the room.
Sandoval gave an inaudible sigh. Only up for a few minutes, and already Kincaid was getting on his nerves.
Liam made his way towards the kitchen of Jay's house, passing the room where the two Taelons had last been. Looking in, he saw both sitting in chairs somewhat awkwardly. Zo'or appeared to be resting, or at least as well as he could without the aid of an energy shower. Da'an was reading a hardcover book, but looked up as Liam passed. The Companion inclined his head in greeting and turned his attention back to the page in front of him. Liam knew very well the reason why Da'an wasn't meditating as his fellow Taelon needed to in order to conserve his energy, but he dare not even think of it in Zo'or's, or any other Taelon's, presence, at the risk of condemning his own Companion.
Liam continued on into the kitchen and, noticing the coffee-maker, complete with several empty mugs sitting beside it, went and poured himself a cup. He wandered to the other end of the room with his beverage to look out the window, noting for the first time how nice it was in this area. The fields of tall grass bordered the backyard, and the yard itself sloped down to form a bit of a ravine before rising back up to form the top of a grassy hill. The trees forming wide borders around the fields were the beginning of the wooded area they had crashed into the previous day.
Turning to look out a side window, he saw a figure - Jay - outside on a relatively flat area of land, exercising. It took him a few seconds to recognize what it was she was doing; as he drank his coffee he watched as the young teenager practiced various martial arts patterns.
Finishing his coffee, he walked to the back door and stepped outside, finding his way over to where she was practicing. He knew Jay noticed his arrival, but she made no acknowledgement, she was too focused on her movements.
After another half a minute or so she finished and, returning to a traditional ready stance, bowed formally. Turning to Liam, slightly out of breath, she said, "Morning."
"Good morning," he answered. "I'm impressed."
She raised her eyebrows. "What, that? Just takes practice."
"Yes, but you've got good discipline, good concentration."
She grinned. "Yeah, that takes a whole lot practice too, believe me." Liam nodded. "You seem to know a bit about Tae Kwon Do," she observed, "Have you studied it before?"
"Um, no, but mother did for a little while when she was younger, and she sort of…taught me what she remembered," he decided for a half-truth. "I think I recognized that last one you did."
Jay nodded. "You might have, that was a less advanced one." An uneasy silence descended. "Did you want me to teach you a pattern or two?"
"Uh, sure," Liam replied. "Maybe I'll remember something."
"Okay, we'll start with the first of the eight Taegeuks…."
~~~
Just over an hour later, nearing 7:45am, Jay and Liam returned inside the house after going over five of the eight patterns.
"You're a quick study," the girl was saying. "Your memory is almost as good as mine."
Liam gave a small smile. "Yes, well I also had a vague idea of the first three you showed me."
"Yeah, but still…."
As they passed the stairs on their way into the house, Renee made her way down, looking like she hadn't slept all that well, which Liam guessed was to be expected - he hadn't had much sleep, either.
"There's coffee, if you want some," Jay offered.
Renee smiled, "Thank you."
"Come on," Liam said, "I'll show you." He nodded in Jay's direction and saw her head up the stairs, presumably to change clothes.
Once around the corner of the kitchen, Liam headed to where the mugs sat on the counter. But before he could reach them, Renee pulled his arm back and stopped him. Before he could ask, she pulled him into a tight embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. After a moment's confusion, he brought his arms up to hug her back, noting her relieved sigh. Something wasn't right.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
It took her a few seconds to respond. "Yeah, I guess so. It's just…."
"What?" he prodded.
"It's stupid, really," she responded. "Just being here was unsettling enough, but I had this really weird, disturbing dream last night."
Liam pulled away slightly so he could look at her, but kept his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Nightmare?"
Renee took a deep breath. "I don't know…not really scary or anything, but definitely disturbing. I guess the combination of our weird situation and my weird dream just got to me, that's all."
Liam looked at her for a long moment. "You want to tell me about it?"
She shrugged, a little uncomfortable. Renee didn't like talking about her dreams or inner thoughts with anyone, she felt they were too personal to share. But looking into Liam's eyes, she realized that he was only trying to understand, to give his support
"Well," Renee began, deciding it couldn't hurt - there hadn't been much actual substance the dream, aside from the undercurrents of anxiousness she'd received when waking, "I was in a park at night, just walking. I thought I was alone, until several hooded figures appeared. They asked for my name, said they needed information. I actually thought they were going to attack me, and when I went for my weapon I realized I didn't have it."
At this point Renee was looking down, trying to remember the details, so she did not see the surprised and concerned look cross Liam's face as she described the very familiar dream. He didn't say anything, though, just listened as she continued on with the dream.
"But before they tried anything," Renee was saying, "Something drew their attention, and they all ran past me. When I looked at what they were going after, I saw a young girl, she couldn't have been more than ten or eleven, standing on a park bench. The men went to surround the bench, and I ran after them, wanting to know what was happening.
"It was obvious she was who they were after, but I don't know why. When I got there they paid no attention to me, they were just circling in, like a pack of wolves, on the little girl." Renee looked up at him, confusion evident. "But, the weirdest thing was, she wasn't scared, or at least she didn't look like it. She stared right at me, ignoring the others, and I saw anger, annoyance, irritation…and acceptance. But no fear."
When she was quiet for a moment, Liam asked, a little too curiously, "What else?"
Renee sighed in thought. "Nothing really, that's where it ended, the hooded figures circling the girl, who was looking at me. I woke up then…. But there was something, it seems kind of odd, though." At Liam's questioning glance, she supplied, "The girl's eyes…they were an unusual shade of blue-gray, they reminded me of clouds. For some reason, they stood out, apart from everything else, even in the dark."
Liam frowned, thinking. It wasn't the same dream, not the one that he'd had regularly for the last several weeks. The one that he had not, thankfully, had last night - it wouldn't have done any good to have bolted awake from a nightmare with Sandoval in the room. But there were too many similarities, especially near the beginning. The hooded figures asking for information, then circling around to attack…but Renee's dream had ended differently than his. They never attacked her, and there was no little girl in his. But despite this, although he couldn't prove it, Liam had a gut feeling that the two dreams were somehow linked.
"…Okay?"
Liam broke from his reverie at the sound of Renee's voice. "Hmm?"
Renee looked a little concerned. "I asked if you were okay."
"Oh, uh, yeah, sorry. Just thinking," he replied. Not wanting to concern her right now, not until some of this strange situation they found themselves in was resolved, he decided not to mention his own dreams of late. "Maybe we should go talk to Sandoval, see what our next step is."
Renee nodded, glad to get away from the subject of her dream. "Yeah, just let me get some coffee first, I don't think I can start off a morning with him without it." Liam just grinned.
~~~
After an hour of discussion that led nowhere once again, the group decided it would be best to go back to the shuttle and do a more thorough assessment, perhaps be able to discover something about whatever brought them to this place.
The two Taelons had been supplied with large, dark blankets to cover themselves with until they arrived at the shuttle to avoid being seen. Once they were near where Liam said the shuttle was, Jay said she wouldn't go any further, believing it would be best for her not to be involved more than she had to. The rest of the group continued on to the shuttle while she headed back towards the road.
Entering the clearing that their crash had created, Liam immediately went to the pilot's seat and activated the power, running a system's check. He then proceeded to download any and all data the shuttle had recorded into his global. The two Taelons followed behind, while Sandoval and Renee walked in opposite directions around the craft.
Liam had just finished the download when Renee and Sandoval entered the craft.
"Well, one good thing," Renee stated, "The ride might be bumpy, but it looks like it'll fly again."
"Good," Liam replied.
"Yes, however," Sandoval interjected, "We should not attempt to go anywhere until we've figured out how to return to our own time, it would only arouse unwanted attention."
"In that case," Da'an began, "Allow Zo'or and myself to work with the sensor information, perhaps we can discover what went wrong during our flight." The humans nodded, and walked outside of the shuttle, allowing the Taelons to work.
Sandoval turned to Liam. "Major, we are even more vulnerable out in the open. Ms. Palmer and I will stay here, I want you to go back the way we came and keep watch near the road, make sure no one comes near this area."
Liam regarded Sandoval, and realized the deeper meaning behind his words. "We can trust her, you know."
Sandoval inclined his head. "Of course, Major. See to it that we can." With that, he left to survey the surrounding area.
Liam turned the Renee and sighed. "See you later."
"Have fun." He nodded and turned to leave.
After several minutes of fast walking, Liam came across Jay not far from the edge of the road that rose up from the woods, separating one side of the forest from the other. She was seated on a fallen log, eyes closed, brow furrowed. Hearing him approach, she opened her eyes and said, "Checking up on me?"
He gave an apologetic smile. "Yes, unfortunately."
She shrugged. "I guess I was expecting it. I'd probably do it myself, in your position."
"Well, I want you to know that it's not me. I want to trust you. It's just--"
"The others," she finished for him. "Don't worry, I understand. I want to trust you guys, too. But it's not so easy, is it?"
Liam looked down at the leaf-strewn ground. "No, I guess it isn't." I looked back up at her. "They don't trust your motives…and as much as I'd like to say that I do, there's just too many unanswered questions. I really do believe that you want to help us…but I can't help but feel that you have another reason, one you're not telling us."
There was a long, uneasy silence. She watched him for several long moments, contemplating her next move. He tried not to fidget under her scrutiny, wondering what was going on in that seemingly complex brain of hers.
Liam was about to ask what she was staring at when Jay spoke up and asked, "Do you need permission from your puppet-masters to take a walk?"
Caught off-guard by her request, he paused and glanced back over his shoulder (despite the fact that he could not see anything but forest cover) then to her once more. He saw the determined look in her eyes - there was something she needed to speak to him about, and as perceptive as she was, she knew it could not be done at the risk of being overheard. With a barely visible nod, he said, "Let's go."
They made their way up to the road and walked for a couple minutes in silence. After they were some distance away from where they had exited the brush, Liam finally glanced at her - she was obviously tense, staring down at the ground, walking like an automaton.
Guessing why she had asked he accompany her, he said, "There's more to your story than you're telling us." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
She nodded absently. "Jaba," she answered. ~Yes~. As Jay continued walking, Liam had stopped short. After a few steps, the young girl turned around to face him, a questioning look in her eyes.
Liam looked down for a minute, a look of consternation momentarily crossing his face. He looked back up and asked, "Coma tana nedjé , cameh lanesh Khayana?" ~Why have you spoken Khayana only to me?~
Jay looked momentarily surprised, but not nearly to the extent she had been before. Switching back to English, she gave a half-hearted grin and said, "You see, how the hell do you do that?" Liam just stared back. She shook her head and began pacing the width of the road slowly.
"I want to know why someone who has apparently never heard of my people before can possibly speak our language. It's not like it's the easiest thing to learn from a book, even if you could get your hands on one, which I seriously doubt you could."
Liam was about to respond when a thought occurred to him. "Well, how can you speak it?"
Jay immediately stopped and whipped her eyes back onto him. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"
"Well," Liam began, knowing there was more to this…a lot more. "You said your grandmother died before she could help you, and your father wants nothing to do with your people…so who taught you? And if another member of your people did teach you, why did you say you've had to learn all your peoples' knowledge on your own?"
The young girl sighed and tipped her head back, eyes closed. "I should have known," she mumbled to herself, "Things were going just a little too smoothly."
She glanced back at her companion, figuring she might as well tell him - she doubted he'd let her get away with changing the topic at this point. "No one had to teach me. All Khayana have the ability to speak our language from birth, but it takes some sort of reminder or stimulation to allow for that process - usually when a young child hears their parents speaking it. However, I didn't begin to understand it until I was older, when I looked at the symbolic Khayana script in a few of the texts."
Liam was quiet for a moment. Finally, he said, "I take it that was Ma'el's doing also?"
Jay just shrugged. "I guess so. No one really knows how we know our language, but that's probably right. I have a feeling there are some things my people are just not meant to understand."
Liam nodded, filling that comment away for later.
"So," Jay said, turning the tables on him, "You never answered my question."
Liam looked hard at her. How much should I tell her? He knew he wouldn't get away with a fake answer, she was perceptive that way. He decided a half-truth would work. "Sort of the same way you do…I just needed to hear you speak something, and it comes to me."
She looked at him, incredulous. "I said one word!"
"You certainly have a good memory." Jay completely ignored the comment and just stared at Liam, who looked a little uncomfortable. "Yes, well…guess that's all it took…."
Jay raised an eyebrow. "Really. Question. How, exactly, are you able to do this?"
"I, uh…" he was using all his control to keep his face neutral at this point, "I can't really get into that at the moment."
Arms crossed, the girl gave him an exhausted look. "Is that so."
"Well, you are the one that said it would be best that we not give you anything that pertains to the future."
"And I suppose that you knowing a completely foreign and uniquely complex language - so complex, in fact, that no one has, to my knowledge, has never been spoken by anyone other than Khayana for the last two thousand years - is the solely the result of a decade or two from now?"
"Yes." Liam did his best to appear convincing. He also knew that he had failed miserably at it.
Jay just shook her head. "Yeah, right. And my mother actually believes I'm going into politics." By the disgusted, fleeting look that crossed her features, Liam realized she detested that idea…but that wasn't what had caught his attention.
Jay had mentioned her mother, and for some reason that stuck in his mind. I was important, something about her mother meant something, something that was just out of his grasp. It was extremely significant…. Suddenly, thanks to his alien heritage, Liam's incredible memory brought up an image, and a voice - Jay's - when she had first began to tell them about herself.
Jay was about to say something more to him when she noticed his eyes going wide in realization as he locked gazes with her. She wasn't sure what it was, but she had a feeling she had just screwed up.
"You're not Khayana either, are you?" he asked, but it was more of a surprised statement than anything else. The girl in front of him had a very confused expression on her face, like she had no idea what he was talking about…but he could also see the smallest hint of nervousness. "At least," Liam continued, "Not completely."
"What do you mean?" Jay asked, but Liam noticed the lack of defense in her voice - she wasn't denying what he was saying. She was testing him, to see if he had it right.
"Your mother," he stated, trying to explain his sudden insight. "She wasn't…. What I mean is, you said your grandmother was the last pure Khayana in your line. So your mother couldn't have been one." He looked at her to gauge her reaction - Jay just stood there, Liam barely caught the short nod.
"So," he continued quietly, her silent revelation almost as shocking to him as his own conclusion, "You're father…he wasn't--"
"No," Jay interrupted, equally quiet. "My father is Khayana. Both my grandmother and grandfather were full Khayana."
"But--"
"What I actually said, earlier," Jay again interrupted, hoping to alleviate his confusion, "Was that my grandmother was the last pure Khayanese woman in my line."
Liam nodded, comprehending. "So, that would make you only half-Khayana?"
"Yep," she replied, voice lacking a single discernable emotion.
"Oh," Liam began, allowing a hint of annoyance to filter into his voice as he narrowed his eyes, "You neglected to mention that part earlier."
Jay allowed a small, amused grin to cross her face, but anyone could tell by looking into her eyes that she was anything but. "No offence to you and your friends, but I must have slipped up at least twice during my whole history lesson. I'm surprised it's taken you this long to figure it out."
Liam conceded that point and remained silent, thinking. Jay did not really want to go into this subject now, but knew instinctively that he wouldn't let it drop.
Liam did not disappoint. "But then…the abilities you claim to have…how is that possible? From what you've said, it--"
"I know what I said," she cut him off, a little quickly. She had moved to lean against the trunk of a tree growing close to the edge of the road, he eyes downcast.
After a few minutes of nothing, Liam was about to insist she explain when she offered, "You're right…I only have one X-chromosome marker. And before you ask…I don't know."
Liam just stared at her, trying to wrap his mind around the contradicting statements she was making. He suddenly remembered the expression on her face the day before, when she was explaining the nature of the Khayanese genetic make-up. If there was any truth to what she was telling him now, the uncertain expression she wore the previous day now made perfect sense - she would be living proof that a key element of her people's beliefs was wrong.
Jay pushed herself off from the tree and started a slow pace, arms crossed in what could only be considered a defensive position. "I, uh…" she started to say, keeping her eyes on the ground, "My grandmother was considered to be very powerful when it came to her abilities. The mother of my best friend, who has been the only one whose been able to help me at all in Khayana-related matters, is one of our most powerful…and, unfortunately, I can say that with confidence because, as I mentioned yesterday, there aren't many of us left."
She paused for a long time before continuing. Stopping, she looked at him, her gaze more piercing than he could ever imagine anyone was capable of. Liam was a little uncomfortable with the stare, but tried not to show it. Finally, she spoke. "They were full-blooded Khayana. I am not. But I am considered as powerful, if not more so, than either of them."
Liam just shook his head, both shocked and amazed. "But…how is that possible?" he repeated.
The girl shook her head slowly. Her face contorted into a look of disgust. "Among my people, I am called…." She looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
"What?" Liam asked gently, realizing that, despite how old she sounded, Jay was still just a young teenaged girl who appeared out of place with her heritage, something he could relate to. "What do they call you?"
Jay looked up at him, compelled by the sincerity in his voice. Realizing that he only wanted to understand her better, and that she wanted him to, for reasons she didn't yet understand, she took a deep breath.
Through clenched teeth, she forced, "Bakano."
Softly, Liam translated, "Anomaly."
~~~
TBC
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Hope you enjoyed it. I've started university now, so I'm not sure when I'll get to post next, and for that I've made this part exceptionally long. I promise not to forget about this fic, and if anyone notices that it's been a (reasonably) long time since I've updated, please feel free to e-mail me and kick my butt for motivation - if I know you're waiting, I'll set aside more time to write.
Okay…it might seem that I've put a little too much detail into some aspects, both in this chapter and in previous ones…but always remember what the Great Phylatos said….