Somewhere in the Middle (21 page)

They exchanged a long stare until Roone deliberately flicked a glance
at the spacecraft.

Naturally we all looked in that direction. I saw nothing new.

Wait.

Was that...?

Trees edging the field swayed as if in the wind; a couple actually
uprooted and crashed, taking out even more. Before our eyes, the ground
beneath the craft began trembling ominously and then rolled, waves of
motion that formed a vortex and sucked in the dirt and grass. As it
widened, the spacecraft shuddered and slowly began to sink, creating a
ripple effect that threatened to knock us off our feet. I heard the
muffled cries of Teo's men. I watched the flyer vanish into the earth
until only the tip of it could be seen.

With a roar of rage, Teo knocked me aside and tossed his weapon. He
charged Roone. Both fought the field's motion, but they still crashed
together furiously, throwing punches like pissed-off Earth guys.

But only for a second.

Then Teo slipped into martial arts mode, which put Roone on the
defensive. The Mongolian got the upper hand quickly even though the guy I
loved had a million muscles and enough psychic skills to control cosmic
portals.

So why wasn't he using them on Teo?

As baffled as I was desperate to help, I peeled Eli off me and rushed
forward. But what could I really do? Teo fumbled for something. A short
sword. Grasping it, he faced Roone. As they circled each other, I
crouched slightly, ready to tackle Teo from behind.

"Stay, Everly!"

If Roone thought his warning would make Teo look back he was wrong.
Our enemy did not take the bait. That left me no choice but to attack.
Teo tossed me off like a ratty old coat and turned, brutally thrusting
the sword at me. It nicked my flesh just as Roone caught him in a
one-armed headlock. When Teo tried to stab him, Roone twisted the guy's arm
until the bones snapped. My stomach lurched when one jutted through the
skin, which gushed blood. Teo dropped the sword with a shriek of
pain.

Roone added his other arm to the headlock, catching his own wrist to
tighten his hold. Teo desperately tried to break it, but impaired as he
was, couldn't. With my hands pressed to my lips in horror, I watched
Teo's face turn red and then purple. Finally he slumped, but Roone still
didn't let him go. Flushed, bloody, and livid, he was way past the point
of self-control.

I knew it was up to me. "Stop, Roone! You're killing him."

My boyfriend closed his eyes, breaths ragged, but didn't let go.

"Did you hear me?"

Furious hazel eyes locked with mine.

"Roone!"

He blinked.

"Let. Him. Go."

With a growl of disgust, Roone released Teo, who crumpled to the
ground.

I knelt and put my ear to Teo's heart.
Thump. Thump.
Weak with
relief, I went straight to Roone, who threw his arms around me. We hugged
each other really hard.

"Is he dead?" he finally asked, peering over the top of my head.

"No."

"Shit."

I smiled into his shirt, very glad he hadn't murdered Teo, but just as
glad he'd tried.

Roone caught my chin and lifted so I'd look at him. "I told you to
stay. Why didn't you just stay?"

"How could I when he was kicking your tail?"

Roone released me. "Is that what you thought?"

"Of course." I touch his battered face. "Just look at you."

"I'm fine, and just so you know, Teo wasn't kicking my tail."

"But--"

"I was stalling, okay?"

At that moment, Eli crashed into us. Roone hoisted him into his arms.
"Hey, dude. You okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Now
I
made
Roone
look at me. "You were stalling?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

He just grinned.

I gave up and glanced back at Teo, who hadn't moved a muscle. "What do
we do now?"

"Tie him up. I need your belt." He set Eli on his feet and began to
tug his own through the loops on his jeans. I did the same and handed
mine over. Roone secured Teo's hands behind his back and his ankles
together, using the sword's tip to punch new holes in the leather.

I could do nothing more than stand there wondering why he'd been
stalling. As if hearing my unasked question, Roone took my hand in one of
his and offered the other to Eli, who clasped it. Roone tipped his head
back, gazing raptly at the sky. "I'm starting the countdown, Leif."

"What?" I looked where Roone looked, but saw nothing extraordinary.
Eli's rapt attention never shifted from his hero. Clearly he waited
eagerly for whatever amazing thing might come next.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

A bolt of lightning came from nowhere, piercing the ground. Another
snaked down. And then a third. Sparks danced outward from each strike
point in a spidery web that the wet weeds quickly ensnared and smothered.
Eli began jumping as if he had springs under his feet.

"Seven, six, five..."

A sudden blast of wintry air might've lifted me off my feet if Roone
hadn't had me. My hair whipped around my face. He pulled both me and my
brother closer, anchoring us with his body.

"Four, three, two, one..."

The ground trembled anew beneath our feet and began to stretch forward
and rise, reaching for the sky even as the sky reached back. When they
touched they connected and blurred, creating a brilliant and colorful new
landscape that slowly reformed into a swirling mass.

"Now!"

A luminescent flyer shot from the ever-widening opening and gently
coasted to a stop over the glowing field. Smaller than Teo's, it hovered
there as if suspended by invisible wires from heaven. A ramp dropped from
it. I instinctively recoiled, but Roone gave me a reassuring kiss,
clearly not in the least concerned.

A guy who looked shockingly like him disembarked and began striding
toward us. Dressed in tight pants, a shirt, and a vest, and with a weapon
at his hip, he had a roguish air that reminded me of Han Solo, though his
physical characteristics were way different. Golden-blond hair cut short,
scruffy jaw line, and muscles. Lots of muscles.

Had to be Leif Thorsen.

Behind him other passengers were getting off the craft, all of them
similarly dressed, but none with the bulk of the first. One was a slender
young woman, who caught up to Leif, her long platinum hair blowing freely
in the air current kicked up by the flyer. She had to be pushing six feet
tall, with legs that went on forever, something five-three me would never
know. Roone moved to meet them. I scooped up Eli and followed.

"You did it, brother! Exactly as planned. How many are on the flyer?"
Leif had his gaze glued to Teo, still out cold on the ground.

Roone glanced at what could be seen of it. "Six."

"I heard there'd be ten."

"Then four wussed out." Roone stepped forward and gave his brother a
one-armed hug. Leif returned it and then pushed him away so he could give
him a good onceover.

"Please tell me the other guy looks worse."

Roone laughed. "Leif, Everly and Eli. Everly and Eli, Leif. And this
is his wife Tyra."

Leif playfully punched Roone's arm, though his eye was now on me.
"This pretty little thing blew your cover?"

"No," Roone told him with a heavy sigh. "I did that all by myself.
Just one of the things I'm gonna catch hell for when I see Dad
again."

"Well, you won't have to wait long. And there's Jon, too." Leif waved
to someone behind us.

Roone pivoted to look, as did I. "Damn."

From the corner of my eye, I caught Leif signaling his companions to
load up Teo. Then he swiftly sidestepped us and headed toward his family,
both of them now climbing out of Thorsen's quad-cab at the road.

Roone's eyes narrowed. "Who's that with my dad?"

I tried to see. "Is that...? It is!
My
dad. And Cory, too. Why
are they here?" I asked even though I was thrilled to see them. Eli, way
past thrilled and into ecstatic, squirmed to be free. I set him on his
feet so he could race to his daddy.

"My dad must've called yours when he found my note. Your number's in
the phone book, right?"

"We don't have a home phone anymore. He could've used my cell, I
guess. Teo left it at your house."

"That works. Um...can your father handle the unexplained?"

"If anyone can make sense of the craziness we've just witnessed, it'll
be my down-to-earth dad."

"Actually, I'm not so sure that 'down-to-earth' is what's needed
here."

I realized he had a point. "Well, he's all about facts, and it's not
like he can't see that something very strange is happening." Wondering
why the air suddenly felt so damp, I glanced around and saw that a cloud
had settled over the field.

Roone answered my unasked question. "Camouflage. Can't have every
redneck in Alabama posting the lightshow on
YouTube
." He caught
Tyra's eye. "The boys?"

"They're safe with my parents."

"And the recovery?"

"You might as well call it what is it, Roone--a rebellion. Qing is
imprisoned. We were able to infiltrate the stronghold in complete
surprise and with minimal injury. Those in his army who didn't run are
now confined, as well. Johansen will decide what to do with them."

"So she's
Ledare
again?"

"Yes, and she won't be so quickly unseated if there's a next time.
She's already appointed a military committee and promised to form an army
of rebels willing to protect us. There are many."

Roone's obvious sadness made my heart ache. "Holmstrand will never be
the same."

Tyra smiled and briefly hugged him. "But it will still be home. I know
you've missed it."

"Everly!" Dad, Eli in his arms, closed the remaining distance between
us and swept me up a hug that told me how worried he'd been. "Are you all
right?"

"Yeah, thanks to Roone."

"But you've been hurt."

I glanced to where he pointed and found my blood on my hoodie. Had
Teo's sword done that? It wasn't hurting. "I'm okay."

"You seem to be making a habit of saving my daughter." Dad released me
to affectionately mess up Roone's hair as he'd clearly just done to
Eli's. Roone grinned.

"This is some freakin' awesome shit." Cory had his eye on the flyer
still hovering just ahead of us. Beyond it lay the
kobling
, its
light making the night scene as bright and colorful as midday. Thank
goodness a dome of clouds hid us from the rest of the world.

Dad clearly agreed. "Yeah. Wouldn't believe any of it if I weren't
seeing everything with my own eyes, even though Bo tried to prepare us
all the way here."

"How long do we have?" asked Thorsen, who'd also gotten to us. He was
watching Leif's companions hitch the buried craft to theirs.

"I can keep it open seven more minutes, eight tops," Roone told
him.

"Then say your goodbyes, son. It's time to go home."

I gasped and whirled on Roone.
"You're leaving me?"

Thorsen answered for him. "Of course he is. We only came here as a
last resort to keep my son safe. Now that there's no threat, Roone can
return to Början, where he has family and friends and a much better
life."

Roone's cheeks stained bright red. "Dad, there's something I need to
te--"

Thorsen briefly touched a finger to Roone's lips to hush him.
"Everly's friendship has made your life bearable while you've been stuck
here. I get it. I do. And I sincerely thank her for that." He briefly
nodded at me. "But now it's time for us to return to Början."
Thorsen caught Dad's eye. "Pardon my honesty, but Earth is pandemonium
compared to our home--pollution, poverty, disease, wars. I don't know how
you--"

"Listen, Dad," said Roone, cutting him off. "More Govil soldiers could
be here. Leif heard there'd be ten in the posse plus Teo, but we've only
seen six tonight."

"Bad intel. And even if there were that many here, there are only four
now since we're taking Teo with us. Anyone left behind will soon realize
their mission is lost. They'll be forced to assimilate, to blend in to
survive."

"Exactly what I'm afraid of. There's already so much bad on this
planet. Do we really want to be responsible for adding more? I can't
leave Everly unprotected. Or Earth, either, for that matter. Govils are
brutal when it comes to getting what they want."

Thorsen wasn't having it. "Everly has a very capable father to take
care of her. As for Earth... It's not ready for the likes of you or for the
truth of Början. NASA's chilly response to my paper proves
that."

Leif and Jon exchanged quick glances. Leif cleared his throat. "Er,
Dad, Roone might have a point. Maybe he could--"

"What...?" Thorsen practically growled at his oldest son. "Live in that
big house all by himself? He's still a minor."

"Not here, I'm not," said Roone. "I could finish out the year at
McAlister High."

"Why? You're way past the nonsense they're teaching there."

Nonsense? Really? My accusing gaze clashed with my boyfriend's. "You
never needed help with physics, did you?"

He winced and began to study his boots. "Not really, no."

"Then why did you--?"

Roone's gaze clashed with mine. "Why do you think?"

I couldn't hide my instant smile of pleasure.

Frowning at both of us, Thorsen forced his son's resisting body into a
brief man hug. "Remember how miserable you were when we got here. You and
Jon both. Begging to go back home."

"So we could be part of the recovery effort, Dad. I don't have a
problem with Earth, and all that was before Everly anyway. Things are
different now.
I'm
different."

I saw Thorsen's eyes fill up with tears that didn't match his gruff
exterior. Of course my heart broke. If protecting me was the only reason
Roone was abandoning his family, I had to let him off the hook. I had no
right to come between a father and son, especially when I suspected that
son was trying to do what he considered the noble thing instead of the
smart thing.