The Tale of the Blood Diamond (11 page)

“The difference is…
you
need us.”

“Yes, I do, but please don’t believe I can’t find an alternative, Vex.”

“No one can preserve them the same way we can, to do your bidding. I would be delighted to participate, but I need a valued payment.” The fiend ran his scaly hands together.

Jatorn swallowed, gripped his arms and pursed his lips. “Speak. What did you have in mind?” he finally asked.

“I want the antidote to their cure.”

Jatorn burst out laughing.

“Now
how
would I have that, Vex? It took much persuasion for them to supply the elixir in the first place and trust me, we’ve tried to find out what’s in it. Then, when we
did
obtain it, it did nothing but make us even more nauseous than we were previously.”

“You’re not thinking ahead.” Vex drew closer to Jatorn, his form moving seamlessly, as if floating across the floor. “I don’t have the ability to decode the formula…but
you
do. Tell me what’s in it; tell me what can cancel it out. For every action, there is a reaction. For every up, there is a down.” The demon pointed to the slate black floor.  “For every disease, there is a cure, and for every cure, there is a reversal. These are the laws of all the worlds.”

Jatorn turned away in disgust. “Who cares, Vex! You wish to discuss torturing the Zarkstormians, I suppose? You can’t! Even if you had, uh…” he waved his hand around in the air, his frustration now at a fever pitch at the valuable time being lost, “…even if you had what you speak of, they would
still
destroy you!”

“Everything can be annihilated. We all have an ‘off button.’”

“Yuledrakes have studied Zarkstormians for centuries, Vex. With all due respect, you do not know of which you speak. All you and so many others see is their intelligence and might. They are also cunning and deadly; we must take them seriously and any threats they give, they mean to deliver. Like me,” he pointed to his chest proudly, “they mean what they say, and say what they mean. I don’t want to tangle with them unnecessarily. It is bad enough they are there… well, Xzion is…and once he gets wind of our plans, we know the end result. Thus, we need to address him and his location, first. It is not ideal, but it is important to this operation. This mission is not about Zarkstormian cures and antidotes. Though yes, that is of curiosity to me, but that is not the task at hand right at this moment. That process could take a lengthy period of time. We have to deal with what is going on, right
now
, this second! Your thought process is off balance.”

“And why would you believe that?”

“Xzion needs to be addressed currently! Running around trying to find an antidote to their cure could surpass all of our lifetimes!” He pounded his fist against the table. “I have no time or desire to sit down and break apart the complicated blood formula. The Zarkstormians keep away from matters that do not concern them as a rule. Their continued interest in Earth is based on the fact that they’ve obviously found the cure there, for their ailment, but coincidentally, it appears to not have required any more slayings. They now appear to be working as a cohesive unit — at least Xzion is. That is where our problem lies. If he sounds an alarm, they will come for us, and they will come hard. We have to be tactical about this, and the timing is imperative. The hell with their anti-cure!”

“Jatorn you are missing the point! If they are dead, it wouldn’t matter! We could stop them in their tracks!”

“Vex, you enjoy killing simply for the fun of it. Please.” Jatorn raised his hand leisurely and waved the man away. “I am not in judgment of you. However, for this mission, it would be foolhardy.” Jatorn realized Vex had a gnawing obsession with this cure and antidote business, and it was driving him mad. “Do you honestly believe I’d care if they are all wiped out?” He grinned. “I don’t — but again, timing is critical. If there is a reversal for their new-found cure, it may take centuries to discover.”

I need Xzion…I need him badly. You could never understand!

“Have you seen their new army?” Jatorn continued, wanting to drive his point home. “Are you even remotely aware, Vex, of their population, now?!” Jatorn yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls. “You know they grow fast. Over fifty percent of their women, the ones of child-bearing age, are now pregnant! Some of the offspring will be warriors and they will be immediately trained, from a young age, to destroy you.” He pointed his long silver-nailed finger in Vex’s direction. “They are not a force to tangle with unnecessarily.”

“You seem to be their biggest cheerleader this evening…” Vex said with a twisted smirk.

“No. I just know my enemy; something you failed to take the time to do. I am astounded that for someone of your intelligence would think this was remotely plausible,” he lied. He didn’t find Vex intelligent at all, but that didn’t matter. Vex was fucking scary…all Morphitians were, but he held the golden crown.

“I tell you what.” A hint of a grin was once again in the trickster’s tone. “You and I both know you could work out such an arrangement, but I will let this go, for now. Instead, let’s go for something else…”

“And what would
that
be?” Jatorn put his hands on his narrow hips.

“I want a piece of Earth, real estate, if you will. A playground, just as you stated. A place where we can be ourselves, and enjoy our captives at will. No more delving into the darkness and popping out only once the night draws near. I want a place for my people to entertain and develop.”

Jatorn’s thoughts tossed and turned as he danced with the proposal, the swirling possibilities in his mind tangling until he’d drawn a conclusion

“Consider it done…”

*
***

Jayme pushed her sore ass into the oak chair beside a table with barely enough room to set a glass of water. The eclectic, sticky menu took up the entire space, and all she could do was read the same damn things over and over, trying to make a decision on her lunch before her brother Jayson arrived.

“If I get the burger, I might feel sleepy,” she murmured as she continued to peruse the list. “Hmmm, maybe the chicken salad sandwich. Wait? Doesn’t that put people to sleep, too? No, that’s turkey,” she rambled on under her breath.

“Whew, I’m so sorry.” Her brother’s deep voice busted through her concentration as he swiftly moved past her, set a shiny white shopping bag down on the ground and took his seat. “Traffic was mad serious. Damn.” He picked up his Potbelly Sandwich Shop menu and flipped the pages as if nothing on the thing was good enough for his liking.

“What do you have in the bag? Did you buy me something?” she teased, picking up her glass of water, careful to not spill any of the contents on her uniform.

“No, I didn’t.” A smile crept in his tone, though he tried to sound solemn. “This actually is that new leather coat, the brown one I was eyeing at Macy’s.”

Jayme’s mouth dropped. “You didn’t!”

She snatched the bag from the floor and peered inside, jealousy swarming through her veins.

“I did, and it’s a beaut. So, what are you getting and what did I do that was so bad or so great, that you wanted me to meet you for lunch?” He scanned the menu a bit closer, his eyes narrowing as if he needed glasses.

“I think I’m going to get the chicken salad sandwich, some chips, you know, nothing too fancy. I still have to go back to work.”

“And?”

“And what?” She looked up at him from over the dessert descriptions, knowing she had no business wandering into the calorie and fat laden land of chocolate and caramel.

“Why did you invite me to lunch? I know you, Jayme. What’s going on?” He set his menu down, crossed his hands and ankles and leaned back in his seat.

“Well.” She sighed. “I’d like to spend more time with you is all.” She kept having a tug of war with herself. She wanted so desperately to explain to her brother what really happened during her captive state with Xzion. She wanted to tell him about Zarkstorm, about her son, his nephew being half alien, but it sounded so ridiculous every time she rehearsed it in her mind. So, she did all she could at that moment. She stalled.

Jayson shot her a suspicious eye and scratched his low-cropped hair with his meticulously cut side-burns.

“Mmmm hmmmm.” He looked back down at his menu, making it more than clear he didn’t believe a word she’d uttered. Moments later, a waitress arrived and took their order.

“And I’d like an unsweetened iced tea to go with my Mediterranean sandwich and yeah, do you all have Splenda because I only see sweet ’nd low here at the table.” He pointed to a small container, stuffed full of pink and blue packets.

“I believe so. I can bring you out some.”

“Thank you so much!” he said extra chipper as he passed his menu to the woman before she turned on her heels and walked away.

“So now that we’re done bullshittin’, Jayme, why am I
really
here?” He leaned across the table, eye-balling her with his piercing, dark eyes. Today he was clean-shaven, revealing his cleft chin, smooth brown skin and amazing good looks. He made it so damn hard to be deceptive.

“You know how Xzion is, or
was
…” She looked around the restaurant before focusing back on him, “…the ‘XXX’ Killer?” she whispered.

“How could I forget?” His face balled up like used Kleenex.

“Well.” She took a deep breath. “You’re going to think I’m crazy!”

“Just spit it out, Jayme. You’d be surprised what I believe after all that has taken place.”

“He…he was a hired hit man, so to speak. It wasn’t what you thought.”

“Hmmmm.” He tapped his fingers against the table. “That is mighty interesting. Why would I think you are crazy? You know I’m all about conspiracies.”

“Well, I’m not finished.”

“Do tell…” He sat back and took a deep breath.

“He…isn’t from here.”

“I know. You told me your husband is from Colombia. He looks Hispanic; he sounds it, a little. Why would that be a problem?”

“Well, he is actually from a place a bit farther than that…”

“I am not a geography expert, but wherever he is from, it doesn’t really matter, Jayme. He’s still a person, and you still love him. I don’t pretend to understand what is goin’ on with you and him, or how the relationship started. All I know is that you love him, and he appears to love you, too. He kept his word to me…and for that, I feel I can trust him. At least a little bit.”

The waitress returned to hand Jayson his sweet tea.

He’s still a person?… Well, not quite…

“Uh, well, that is where things get a little strange.”

“How so?”

“Jayson, Xzion is…Xzion is from another planet. He is an alien.”

If ‘silence is a virtue’ and ‘bitch stop lyin’ were married, they would have had a child that looked just like Jayson’s face right at that moment. There was no way out of this shit. She’d put it out there, and now the man looked as if he wanted to pull out his phone and call her employer, demanding she have a psych evaluation, STAT.

“Uh, come again?”

“Yes, he is from a planet called Zarkstorm.” She rolled her eyes, more at herself, that she was even admitting this mess, versus his reaction.

“Jayme, you are either fucking with me big time, or you have lost your
complete
mind! Tell me, is his mother’s name Storm? Is his father Wolverine?”

“Jayson! Come on, it took a lot for me to come out and tell you this. You’re…you’re my best friend, well, besides Xzion. Think about it …” She moved her glass out of the way as their sandwiches were set down in front of them. She waited for the waitress to leave before continuing. “You even said it seemed humanly impossible that he never got caught. Remember all that ice you told me about him eating at your place when he was looking for me? Well, their brains overheat, so they need the ice to cool down. That’s over with though, because they found a cure. Well, Xzion found a cure and it is in Zachary’s blood.” She rambled on and on, unable to stop herself. The look in her brother’s eyes made her feel like a damned fool and then, she realized, she had to find an out, and fast! Things were not going well; it was time to pull the plug.

“Boy, I’m just messin’ with you!” She laughed heartily, forcing the giggles to the max. His face remained stern, and then, his expression finally relaxed.

He burst out laughing and took a bite of his sandwich. “Jayme, I thought I was going to have to call the mental hospital, your job and children’s services on your ass. I was sure you’d flown the chicken coop! Playin’ like that…you need to stop.” He laughed a bit louder, and then took a sip of his tea.

Jayme smiled and took a nervous bite out of her sandwich, chewed it well and good, then tried to swallow the mess she’d made. She conceded this was something she was going to have to take to her grave. She’d tried to tell the man, for more reasons than just needing someone to confide in. Some awful shit was about to go down, she could just feel it, and a part of her wanted him to be prepared, to be aware. But what good was it? He couldn’t even believe the basics, let alone the suggestion there’d be an alien invasion.