Alpha Centauri

Twenty-Nine - Nizami

The silver Camry roars down the road after the unmarked vehicles. I sit in the passenger side, studying the boy.

"My services aren't entirely free," he says. "So I suggest you spill."

I lean her head back against the upholstered headrest. "Where would you like me to start?"

"How about telling me what the hell happened in that restaurant?"

I can't and don't feel comfortable with this boy. I have no idea who he is and no idea why I decided letting him help me was a wise decision. I try to piece together the whole problem in a way he could understand. I can't just tell him that I'm from a planet outside his solar system on a mission to rescue another alien who's fallen into the hands of the federal government.

So what the hell do I tell him?

"You're about to lie, aren't you? I can see it in your face. Ain't gonna work on me, sunshine."

I let out a heavy sigh. "Someone very important to me is in danger. I have to rescue him and take he and his sister to their rightful home."

"I'm gonna need a little more info if I'm this gets any more illegal."

"Take me where I need to go, and then I'll speak."

The boy laughs.  "So, you got a name?"

"Nizami, protector of the royal twins."

My introduction raises one of his eyebrows, but he says, "Daemon Strauss."

Daemon sets the vehicle on cruise control, and soon I pass out in the passenger seat.

-----

I jolt awake at nine a.m. the next morning. Some classic rock station is playing on the car's radio. Daemon's head is bobbing along to it.

"Where are we?" I demand, whirling around, taking in my surroundings.

"'Morning to you too, sunshine. Just entering Sutherland, Nebraska. Have a nice nap?"

I rub the sleep out of my eyes. I do feel a lot better. There's no telling how long it's been since I last slept. But that nagging, tenacious feeling is still clawing at me.

I watch the landscape pass by.

"Can you please turn that music down?"

"Not a STP fan, I see." He reaches for the dial and turns the volume down. "So, these siblings. Which one is it we're going after?"

"His name is Julian."

"You seem pretty desperate to get him back." He grins.

"Don't you dare insinuate that we—"

"I'm just joking."

I roll my eyes. Daemon is too much like Jaden for my taste.

"Hey, I don't know the guy, but if you want to get him back this badly, my bet is that if he was in your shoes, he'd want to get you back pretty bad, too."

For someone I just met, he's one hell of a guesser.

"Daemon, how old are you?"

"Almost fourteen."

"I'm not surprised. You don't seem like the kind of person to legally operate a vehicle."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I shrug, but mimic his mischievous grin.

We continue down the road after the vehicles, the Stone Temple Pilots filling the silence between us.