Alien Protector: Sci-Fi Alien Invasion Paranormal Romance (5 page)

Presea waited for him to say something, giving him a neutral expression that he couldn’t really read.

“Are there any museums?” he asked finally. “I’d like to learn a bit about Earth’s history.”

She smiled again, somehow managing to look threatening. It was the teeth, he was sure of it. “You’re looking to get your hands on the Cillidan Artifact that the humans have found, aren’t you?” she said.

Taken aback, Draco stared. “You know about the Artifacts?”

“I know my history. They were scattered over two centuries ago and no one has held all three since then. And I watch the news here on Earth, so I saw that one of them was found here.”

“More like three centuries,” Draco corrected. “Fine. Yes. I’d like to go see it for myself.”

“More than see it, I’d wager,” Presea said, arching a thin eyebrow.

It was hard to read from her expression what her feelings on this were and if she planned to try and stop him. Her smiles were just as frightening as any threats she might have thrown his way, and Draco was beginning to see what Plintos had meant about this being dangerous to do alone.

“Perhaps,” he allowed after a moment.

“You’re going to have your work cut out for you. Earth isn’t as primitive as people off planet would have you think. You won’t be able to just walk up and take it.”

“I assumed they’d have some security in place,” Draco replied. “Just because they don’t know the significance of it doesn’t mean that they won’t see it as valuable.”

“Just so,” Presea said with a nod. “I’ll take you there tomorrow and you can see for yourself.”

“Thank you,” Draco said, feeling uncertain. At least it was a place to start. He’d need to familiarize himself with the building and the security and see for himself what he was working with before he could come up with a plan. And if Presea proved to be a problem, well. He’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
If
he came to it.

The next morning found him dressed in smart clothes that Presea had in the house. She’d stood in front of him and smiled at his appearance, telling him that the jeans and shirt looked good on him and then explaining why the fabric of the jeans was so rough. They were nothing like the soft pants he was used to wearing when he was home, or the leather pants he wore when he was exploring, and he was already anticipating being hot and uncomfortable when they stepped out of the house to go to the museum.

To his surprise, the weather was much cooler in the morning, and the mist that clung to everything gave it all a much needed chill.

It was a lovely morning, and he relished the walk to the museum, nodding when Presea had explained that she didn’t think anyone would give her license to drive a car when she looked like she did.

Her horns were hidden under a hat with a wide brim that also shaded her face, and he noticed that she was careful not to open her mouth too widely when she spoke.

It was probably harder for her to blend in here than it was for him. Other than the scales going down his back, he was indistinguishable from everyone else around them, and it made him relax just a bit.

“I’m not going in there,” Presea said once they reached the museum.

“No?”

“No. It’s going to be too quiet and people will stare. I’ll meet you here in a couple of hours.”

Draco shook his head. “There’s no need. I was paying attention, and I can find my way back.”

She regarded him for a moment and then nodded, waving over her shoulder as she turned to head back the way they came. Draco watched her for a moment and then turned to walk up the stairs to the large double doors.

It was even nicer inside the museum, quiet and cool, and Draco could see pockets of people milling around and looking at the exhibits. There were various cases holding things that looked old and fragile and people wearing blue vests going between each group answering questions and pointing things out.

At first glance, he couldn’t see the blade anywhere, so he sighed and resigned himself to having to ask someone.

It had been at the very least a week since they’d announced their find, but that didn’t mean it was on display yet. Draco didn’t know how human museums worked, but on Aldara something like that wouldn’t even be put out for other people to see. Hence why Plintos kept all of his old treasures in a room that only he and sometimes Draco were allowed in. Even the servants didn’t get to go in.

Not wanting to draw too much attention to himself, Draco wandered around for a bit, looking at the things on display. There were other weapons, rusted through and dull with age, and Draco wondered if these were all human things or if there was some way that they had made their way to Earth like the blade he was looking for.

“Can I help you with something?” asked a voice, and Draco turned to see a woman standing behind him, a smile on her face.

His first thought was that she was very pretty. Her hair was a reddish blonde, and her eyes were bright as she stood there, waiting for his response. She was several inches shorter than him, but she had a presence about her that automatically assured Draco that if anyone would know how to help him it would be her.

Curious.

“Maybe,” he said. “I...saw on the...news that you had found a blade of some kind, and I was interested to see it.” There. Hopefully that was good enough that he’d get the answers he wanted without arousing any suspicions that he definitely meant to make off with the Artifact.

The woman smiled at him, but this time it was apologetic. “I’m afraid it’s not on display yet,” she said. “Still more work to be done.”

“Work?” Draco asked, alarmed. “What kind of work?”

“Oh nothing that would damage the integrity of the blade, I promise,” she replied. “We’re just trying to find out all we can about it, and it’s kind of giving us some trouble. We wouldn’t want to put it out before we had any information on it.”

Draco nodded because that made sense. It was likely that they’d never seen or dealt with anything like a blade made centuries ago on another planet. “What sort of things are you trying to find out?”

“Anything really,” she said. “As of right now we’re still trying to find out what it’s made of. The head of our research team seems to think it’s some kind of silver, but the fact is people just weren’t making things out of silver back in the day. It was expensive. But then, this isn’t just a run of the mill blade. Did you see the runes on it? On the news?”

“Yes,” Draco said. “I saw those.”

“No one knows what to make of them. We’ve been comparing them with all sorts of different pictographic characters to find somewhere to start with deciphering them, but we’re just stumped. Either it’s a language we’ve never even seen before, or they’re just random symbols that don’t mean anything. Either way, the implications are fascinating.”

“You sound like you know a lot about this sort of thing,” Draco said carefully.

She nodded. “I guess so, yeah. I mean, I work here, and I’m working on a Master’s degree in history. I love this stuff. Finding out just how old something is or where it came from. What it was made for. It’s all so interesting to me.” Her face flooded with color after a second and she cringed. “Sorry. I’m sure you didn’t come here today to listen to me ramble on.”

He hadn’t, but he found he was interested in what she had to say. “So you’ve seen the blade, then,” he said.

“Yep. Got a first-hand look at it. It’s…” She hesitated and then rushed on. “I’m going to tell you this because you seem like you’re interested, but it’s definitely unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. And I’ve seen some things, let me tell you. It’s got this...weird energy to it. Like it’s
powerful
or it could be if we knew what we were supposed to do with it. I know that doesn’t make much sense considering it's an inanimate piece of strange metal, but.” She shrugged.

On the contrary, it made more sense than she knew, and Draco felt a rush of excitement followed immediately by bafflement. He hadn’t thought that humans would be able to feel the power exuded by one of the Artifacts.

Of course, he hadn’t expected a human to find one either, and there they were all the same. He knew that his earlier thought was right and that this woman was going to end up being necessary to him getting the Artifact back to Plintos. For all she was bright and bubbly, Draco wasn’t foolish enough to think that meant that she was stupid or easy to fool. She clearly had a strong mind and a keen eye, and he was going to have to play this carefully.

“It sounds like it’s very special,” he said. “I can’t wait to see it.”

“Hopefully we’ll be getting somewhere soon,” she replied. “I don’t think a lot of people are interested in it like I am or like you seem to be, but it’s a discovery that deserves to be shared, you know?”

“Of course,” Draco said. “Can I ask your name?”

“Oh!” She looked surprised and then embarrassed. “I’m Stephanie.”

“Draco,” he offered, holding out his hand for her to shake like he’d seen others do on feeds from Earth. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Her cheeks colored a soft pink and she shook his hand. “Likewise. That’s not a name I hear a lot.”

“I’m...not from around here,” he said, and it wasn’t even a lie, really. “Just visiting, and I thought it would be nice to stop in and see some things before I have to return home.”

Stephanie nodded and released his hand. “Well, I can show you some other things if you’d like a tour. I’m sorry the thing you really wanted to see isn’t ready yet. Hopefully it’ll be out before you have to go home.”

“Hopefully,” Draco agreed. “And I’d like that very much.”

Her answering smile was bright, and he let her lead him in the direction of some of the other weapons they had on display, listening as she explained what era they were from and what they might have been used for.

It turned out that she had a pleasant voice to listen to, and while he had been planning to tune her out and try to think of how he was going to get her to show him the blade even though it wasn’t on display, Draco found himself listening intently to her words and asking questions that he hoped didn’t make him sound too ignorant about the way humans lived.

Plintos would like her, Draco knew that for a fact. She was intelligent and had the same passion for history that he did, even if it was the history of a completely different world. He could already picture them held up in the tower room looking at the treasures that Draco would bring them to discuss and coo over.

And then he blinked, wondering where that thought had come from. It wasn’t like him to think about things like that.

Not that he was immune to the charms of a pretty female. No, as Plintos’ right hand for the most part, he’d had his fair share of dalliances. More than, really. Of course, none of them had been human, and he hadn’t been planning to steal something right from under their noses either, so he supposed the comparison didn’t really work all the way, but still.

For a moment there, he’d had such a clear image of himself taking things for her to study and being the recipient of that bright smile of hers.

Creators. Where had that even come from?

Draco listened to the rest of her spiel and then thanked her, telling her that he would see her again soon but he had somewhere he needed to be. He could feel her eyes on him as he made his way to the door and he drew in a deep breath as he stepped outside, instantly regretting it when he coughed from how smoggy the air was.

And there was another thing about humans. They had no notion of how to take care of their planet. Honestly, the sooner he was away from this planet, the better.

Of course as soon as he made it back to the house, he stripped out of his jeans and put on the looser pants he preferred, checking his comm device to see that he had missed three messages from Plintos.

Draco rolled his eyes at that. How did he expect him to stay in constant contact and get the job done at the same time.

Sitting down in one of the squashy (and rather comfortable) chairs, he called his friend back.

“Well?” Plintos asked, his eager face filling the screen of the device. “Did you see it?”

“Hello to you to,” Draco replied with a sigh. “Yes, I made it here safely. So nice of you to ask.”

Plintos sighed right back, the sound crackly with static because of the distance. “Alright, alright, I take your point. Hello, I am glad you got there safely. Now, did you see it?”

“No,” Draco said. “I didn’t. It’s there, though, but according to Stephanie they won’t be putting it on display yet.”

“Who is Stephanie?”

“The human girl who works at the museum,” Draco explained. “She said they want to know more about it before they put it out, but from how she described the blade, I think it’s definitely the Artifact.”

“Hmm,” Plintos mused. “That might actually work in your favor. They’ll miss it when it’s gone, obviously, but they won’t have to worry about replacing it if it wasn’t on display.”

“Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that easy,” Draco said. He thought about telling Plintos about how the girl had been able to feel the power in the blade, but ultimately decided against it. It would honestly probably only agitate his friend, and that was the last thing he wanted to do just then. Instead he promised that he was going to make more progress soon and signed off, slumping back in the chair to think.