Illuminata: The Chosen, chapter 1

 

Exhilaration flooded every pore of my being as I hit the six kilometer mark. My legs pumped furiously. It was going to be a new record for me, my birthday present to myself. The sun shone down on me, its rays comfortable and comforting, despite the heat my running generated. A flock of green flapwings plummeted from the pink sky and landed in a stand of trees to my right. It was a glorious day.

“Anya.” Mom’s voice interrupted my moment of glory. “Time to get ready. We don’t want to be late for Cirque.”

I slowed to a walk, and took a few seconds to get my breath. “OK, Mom. I just need to cool down.” I gave myself ten minutes more to enjoy the beautiful day. “End program.” The trees, grass, and sunlit sky disappeared, replaced by an ugly yellow grid in a large, gray room. Time to deal with reality.

My long legs stretched as I bounced up the stairs two at a time, excited to be going to Cirque. The Michi had the best performers in the galaxy. And they were beautiful, even more beautiful than the Illuminata. I had always wanted to go, but they rarely came to Rescur. And now they were here for my fourteenth birthday. Best present ever.

I made a quick circuit through the cleaner and grabbed my hairbrush on the way out of the bathroom. That’s when I made the fatal error. I looked out my bedroom window at the kids heading to the track meet. I’d never taken part in one, and had stopped attending them ages ago. It was too painful. My good mood evaporated as if it had never been.

The popular kids, the normal ones, bunched together as they walked to school, their chatter and laughter loud and unafraid. The less popular ones traveled in smaller groupings, in twos and threes. They were more subdued.

I didn’t fit into either category. I blacked the window and turned away from it, as I tried for the millionth time to convince myself that it didn’t matter. And I wished again that my dad could get a diplomatic posting to a new world, where maybe I could meet new people, make a new beginning.

I sighed as I sat down at my small study desk and pressed a button. The wall immediately behind the desk changed into a mirror. I stared at my own reflection. Brown-flecked, golden eyes stared back at me out of an unnaturally pale face, framed by long, straight, white hair. Tears squeezed out from under the eyelids I had closed so I wouldn’t have to look at myself.

“Same old me.” My fingers knew their way to the button. I pressed it, before opening my eyes to a uniformly cream colored wall.

I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose as I looked around my room, which contained my only friends. Shelves of books, and not a few stuffed toys surrounded me. Even at fourteen, I couldn’t bear to put any of them away. Several lay scattered across my green, flowered bedspread. I sniffed, just as a green and black spotted maurkit lazily rose from the pile of toys and arched its back, stretching from a late afternoon nap.

I smiled through my tears as he flexed his six furry legs and sprang from the bed onto my lap. “At least you love me, Ita.”

As if in response, the maurkit’s huge, almond-brown eyes blinked sideways once, and he reached out his long snout to lick the tears from my cheeks. I buried my face in Ita’s soft fur, breathing in his musky scent.

“Anya, hurry up. We’re going to be late.” My mother’s voice floated upstairs, determinedly cheerful, despite her impatience.

Right. The Cirque. “Coming.” I picked Ita up off my lap and set him on the floor. The maurkit yipped once at me in indignation, before loping out the door to find supper.

“Great.” I looked down at my light blue dress, now covered in green and black fur. “I should have remembered to brush him yesterday.” I stepped back through the cleaner, and when I came out a few seconds later, the dress was clean. The door slammed behind me as I rushed out to run down the stairs. I could just see my dad’s pained expression; he hated it when doors slammed in our house, usually a sign of my own frustration. But I got to the front door before him and when he joined mom and me a minute later, he was all smiles.

I wished, just for a second, that I could go out the door like any normal human being, but then I wasn’t normal, was I? I sighed as I stepped onto a circular pad just to the right of, and inside the doorway. Mechanical arms extended out from the wall to encase me in a white, plastic garment that covered me from head to toe. Only the face cover was clear, so I could see out. The envirosuit had its own air supply, and allowed me to move freely. But it also effectively isolated me from everyone around me. Something else that singled me out as different, a freak. It also kept my skin from burning under the hot Rescur sun.

I tried not to think about the friends I didn’t have. Other kids would have had someone other than just their parents to celebrate their fourteenth with. After all, it was a big birthday; after this I would be a high school student.

Mom must have seen how down I felt. “Come on, sweetheart. It’s going to be a great night. You love the Cirque.”

“No better way to celebrate my girl’s big day.” Dad hugged me through the envirosuit.

I looked at my parents’ nice, normal, brown faces, and tried to share their enthusiasm. The Cirque would be fun, and I had been looking forward to it for months. I smiled back at them. “You’re right. Nothing finer.”

 

 I refused to notice the stares as we walked past the people lined up, waiting to go in to the performance hall. It didn’t matter that we had lived on Rescur for the last ten years, there were always plenty of people who had never seen a girl wandering the streets in an envirosuit. I was so glad that we didn’t have to wait to go in. Because of Dad’s status as a diplomat we got to bypass the line. I did feel a little self-conscious about it, but my parents acted like it was no big deal. We walked past a lot of humans,and quite a few other species. I tried not to stare at the Duende, a tall, otherworldly species that looked a lot like pictures of elves in fairy tales. They appeared fragile, but were known to be fierce warriors. I was more used to seeing the Odla, with their green, leathery skin and frog-like faces. Their ambassador’s daughter was in my class. Even with all her differences, she had friends, and I didn’t. I shook off the reminder and made myself look elsewhere.

 It did surprise me that there were a lot of Illuminata as well, with their pale, rainbow colors. We rarely saw them on Rescur. The colony was too new, too small for them to build an enclave here. We occasionally saw oranges when they came for big criminal trials, but this was the first time I had seen any of the other colors. It was mostly reds with one orange in the middle of them, but quite a few greens, and even a couple of indigos. I had always liked the way their colors stood out against the black of their belted one pieces, though I had mostly only seen pictures of them. I watched them out of the corner of my eye as we passed, and reminded myself of their abilities as we walked. The reds were soldiers, and the greens grew things. I thought that the indigos were illusionists, but couldn’t remember for sure.

“Bianca, don’t be rude.” My dad softened the rebuke with his pet name for me.

“Sorry, Dad. But should the Illuminata be coming to this? I mean, will the Michi even let them in?”

Dad just smiled at me. “Of course they will, honey. This isn’t Overheersing. The performers are just as happy to take Illuminata credits as anyone else’s”

I glanced back at the Illuminata, and couldn’t help thinking that a few of them stared back at me. Oh well, I was the girl in white. But not for long. As soon as we got through the doors I peeled the envirosuit off. I didn’t even try to be careful. By the time we left to go home it would be dark, and I wouldn’t need it. Night time was my favorite time. It meant I could go out without it. Mom and I went into the ladies’ and I flushed it, before joining her at the mirrors, where she insisted on brushing my hair. I started to bounce on the balls of my feet, anxious to get to our seats. Finally she was satisfied and we joined dad. He held out an arm to each of us, and escorted us into the performance hall.

By the time we sat down I was happy again. The stage was gorgeous. It was, of course, all set up for aerial acts. The colors were muted though; it wouldn’t do for the setting to upstage the performers. And when they came out they were stunning. Overheersing must be really hot, because the Michi wear clothing on Rescur, finding it cold here. But onstage they always have their plumage on display. They’re a lot like real birds, with feathers ranging from plain brown to gorgeous, shining colors. It’s hard to believe that a species so beautiful  could ever have been dangerous, but Dad told me that they were once the greatest threat the galaxy had ever known.

The thought stuck in my mind as I studied one especially beautiful woman, with a mix of turquoise on her body and a deeper blue on her legs and arms. Her head was a brilliant yellow, and I could swear that even from across the room she noticed me staring at her, and while she moved, she looked over at me and smiled. When her partner swung her and she practically flew to a bar seven meters away, I caught my breath. I didn’t think even a Michi could make it that far, but she glided like it was nothing. I mean, I know their ancestors flew, but that was millions of years ago.

The evening flew by way too fast, a riot of motion and color as one act flowed into the next in a perfectly choreographed performance. The stage changed into a forest at one point, and an indoor aviary at another. There was even an ocean setting, and the performers dove into the water, coming back up to soar into the air. The Michi looked almost like their ancestors must have, flying through the air, even though they didn’t have really long feathers, or even real wings anymore.

 

Finally the show ended and people started filing out. Dad hated fighting crowds, so he always made us sit until most of the people were gone. That was OK with me. I was happy just to watch the empty stage, reliving the highlights of the show, imagining myself flying through the air, only to be caught by a gorgeous male, while the audience gasped at how beautiful and graceful I was.

I was jolted out of my reverie by a scream somewhere off to my right. I turned, wide eyed, to see a dozen Illuminata and Michi burst out of their seats and run toward us from all different directions. I had no idea what the commotion was all about until something came flying straight for me. I couldn’t see who had thrown it, but it had come from a mixed group of Michi and Illuminata reds, who were fighting one another about ten meters from us. I froze, sure I was going to die right then.

 One of the reds pulled back from the fight and raised his hand, and a knife stopped dead in the air, right in front of my face. I just sat there, too shocked and frightened to move. I couldn’t see anything but the point of the blade an inch from my right eye. The knife dropped into my lap and my eyes took in the whole scene again. Three of the Illuminata reds ran out a side door, and one of them looked back over his shoulder, right at me, before he followed the others out.  The hatred in his eyes made shivers run down my spine. And then I started to shake… and to cry. I didn’t see the end of the fight, distracted by the sudden arrival of an orange Illuminata. I flinched back as he reached out to lift the knife from my lap. Was he going to stab me with it, finish the job? Instead he turned to my father. “Ambassador Aa’Rkaan, may I speak with you privately?”

Dad looked over at the fight, which was almost over, most of the Michi in restraints, and nodded. He squeezed my shoulder, gave Mom a tight smile, and moved out to the far left aisle with the thin, orange-skinned Illuminata.

 Mom stood up and took me into her arms. For once I didn’t mind. I couldn’t stop shaking. Even though they weren’t close, I could still make out Dad arguing with the Truthfinder. The orange admitted that they had known there might be an assassin here tonight, and Dad was saying something about keeping his family safe. I couldn't make out the rest of what they said. Finally they came back over to Mom and me and the Truthfinder said we could go home and he would contact Dad at the embassy in the morning.

 

On the way home Mom and Dad talked about everything but the attack. But all I could think about was that knife flying straight for me. It was no comfort that it had been meant for my dad. Someone had wanted him dead. When we got home I had recovered enough to tell him about the Illuminata I had seen leaving the theater.

“They were part of it, Dad. You should have seen the way one of them looked at you.”

He didn’t want to hear it. “Anya, the Illuminata serve as peace keepers. Didn’t you notice that they took the Michi out in restraints?”

“But why would the Michi want to kill you?”

He hesitated, drew a long breath, and said, “It’s complicated, Bianca. There are rumors that the Michi are consolidating their power base again. But it’s nothing for you to worry about. The Council of Worlds is aware of it.”

“But what does that have to do with you?”

“Nothing that I’m aware of.” Dad’s face was tight, but he made an effort to relax it and give me a smile. “You’d better get to bed, Anya. You have school in the morning.” He kissed my cheek and sent me up the stairs with a gentle push.

 I lay awake for a long time that night, worried that my dad was still in danger. The Michi may have been after him, but the Illuminata were up to something too. I was glad that there weren’t a lot of either species on Rescur.

 

A week later I came home from school to find movers packing up our stuff. “What’s going on?” I skirted around a large box that took up most of the front hallway. I was so stunned, that I forgot to take off my envirosuit until I was already in the kitchen.

“Your father has been transferred. We leave in three days.”

I gaped at her as I peeled the white plastic away from my arms. “You’re kidding? Shouldn’t we have had more notice?”

Mom didn’t quite meet my eyes when she answered. “It’s all part of being a diplomat, sweetheart. You just never know when you’re going to have to move, or how quickly.”

“Well, where are we going? Is it somewhere I’ve heard of?” Suddenly the thought of moving wasn’t so appealing. At least I knew Rescur, knew what to expect here.

“We’re going to Sanning.”

My heart skipped a beat. “That’s the Illuminata home world. Mom…”

She cut me off. “You’ll love it there, Anya. The sun isn’t as strong as Rescur’s. You’ll have to have yearly sunscreen shots, but you won’t have to wear an envirosuit anymore. Just think: you’ll be able to run outdoors. No more sim room.”

I had almost let myself forget about what had happened at the Cirque, but now my mind fixated on it. The Illuminata had been involved in a plot to try to kill my dad, and suddenly he was being transferred to their home world. This was bad, really bad.