Assistant for the Alien Prince by Tammy Walsh

Zai

Grand Septon Cathwas as old as the temple itself—at least, that was according to the legends.

Most Ev’vat believed there had been many Grand Septons in the past and that they had simply been cycled through as each one passed away.

The theory made everyone feel comfortable that nothing unnatural was taking place, but the truth was that each time I saw her, she looked identical to the last time I was in her presence.

Did all her assistants look the same beneath their hooded cowls?

Were they clones?

Or was the legend true?

I was as likely to get an answer about that as I was to learn the temple’s origins.

After showing us around and answering Jessica’s many questions, the Grand Septon finally bowed and left us.

“She’s quite a character,” Jessica said as she tucked away her notebook and pen.

“She’s always been that way,” I said, smiling after the hobbling figure. “Have you got the answers to the questions you wanted?”

I’d never seen anyone so focused and driven before.

Even the Grand Septon was surprised by Jessica’s detailed questions.

“I think so,” Jessica said. “But there are always more questions. Most of the time, solving one problem creates a bunch of others.”

“Isn’t that what they call life?” I said.

She smiled at me.

“I suppose so.”

We walked in silence back through the glassy rooms.

Jessica paused at the main entrance and turned to look back at the broad open space before us.

She had a faraway smile on her face.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked.

“The ceremony. I can imagine the music now, the sound reflecting off the walls and bouncing down the hallways.”

She pursed her lips.

“Actually, that might be a bit of a problem.”

“Why?”

“The music will echo. It could throw you and your dance partners off your game.”

I watched as she puzzled over the problem, her finger pressed to her lips—seductive lips that I was suddenly desperate to claim.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said.

“No, I do. Otherwise, you won’t find your fated mate. Then your kingdom will decline into civil war. So, although it might not sound like much, it’s pretty darn important!”

I took her by the hand to calm her down.

She started and tugged to remove it from me, but I held firm.

She peered from where I’d touched her and peered up at me.

“Yell,” I said.

“Yell?”

“Shout.”

She stared at me.

“You’ve lost me.”

I threw back my head and bellowed at the top of my lungs.

Jessica started, hopping back in fright.

The sound of my voice died and still, Jessica continued staring at me.

“I think Grand Septon Cath’s madness is catching…” she said.

“Didn’t you hear it?” I said.

“Sure I heard it! Anybody within a hundred miles heard it!”

“Not that. Listen.”

I turned my head away from her and shouted the word:

“Echo!”

My voice hit the glass walls and immediately died.

Jessica listened and finally heard what I was trying to point out to her.

“There’s no echo?”

“Nope.”

She edged toward the glass wall and moved to place a hand to it, before looking back at me, asking for permission.

I moved toward her and placed my hand on the wall.

She did the same, the deep blue of my skin striking beside the cream of hers.

The material the temple was made of might have had the appearance of glass, and might even have felt like it when I pressed my palm to it, but its properties were anything but.

“Why is there no echo?” Jessica wondered aloud.

I shrugged.

“It’s a mystery, remember?”

Jessica threw back her head and barked a laugh.

She snapped a hand over her mouth but she needn’t have bothered.

Her laughter died the moment it hit the wall.

She removed her hand and yelled:

“Hello?”

Once again, the sound dulled without reverberating down the halls.

“So you see, there’s no problem when it comes to acoustics,” I said.

“I suppose not,” Jessica said, beaming like a little girl. “I think that’s the first time a solution to a problem didn’t sprout a bunch more problems!”

“What else can you see?” I asked. “When you look out on this space?”

Jessica turned to face the empty room, pursed her lips, and nodded her head.

“Well normally, I would arrange tables along the edges, with food and drink for the guests to pick at whenever they wished, but I don’t think that suits this place.”

“Why not?”

“Because the temple is so beautiful and putting anything inside it would only detract from it.”

She looked up at me expectantly.

“What do you think?”

“I love it. But doesn’t that make it easier to organize? By having nothing in here?”

Jessica rolled her eyes.

“There’s always a ton to organize. Never worry about that! Sometimes, keeping things simple is the most complicated thing you can do. You have to think more creatively.”

She gnawed on her bottom lip and perched her fists on her hips, gazing out at the space.

I slipped a device from my pocket and raised it to her forehead, but hesitated before placing it there.

I recalled how she’d reacted this morning, how she didn’t like to be touched.

“May I?” I said.

I expected her to ask what I wanted to do, why I was doing it, to question me a thousand different ways the way she had with the Grand Septon, but instead, she just looked at me and nodded.

I placed a small Third Eye device to the center of her forehead.

It had the appearance of a plain glinting opal but it was anything but simple.

“What is it?” Jessica said.

“Tell me about what you see when you think about the Pairing Ceremony.”

“Well, I can see guests—”

She gasped as a man dressed in a sharp suit winked into existence before us.

He was tall, with a pasty complexion, thick lips, and held a martini glass in one hand.

He raised it and arched an eyebrow to begin his toast.

“Who the hell are you?” Jessica snapped.

And just like that, the man winked out of existence as quickly as he’d appeared.

Where him appearing had surprised her, him disappearing again drew an even bigger reaction.

I caught her before she fell on her ass.

“What is it?” she said.

“It’s a Third Eye device,” I said. “It allows the things you imagine to appear before you.”

“The Third Eye?”

“That’s the translation in your language. It’s the latest technology from the ussin. They’re not available to the public yet.”

“Seriously? I have to give this a try!”

Jessica shoved herself away from me and planted her feet.

She shut her eyes, focused, and as she raised a hand and swept it to one side, one figure after another sprouted from the air.

There stood a group of nattering human guests.

There, the live band playing human instruments—they sounded beautiful, but they weren’t playing traditional Ev’vat music.

As she turned, her eyes still closed, she rearranged the items, setting up a pair of figures at the front, who accepted invitations from the arriving guests, and over there, others carried strange silver platters offering food to the guests.

It was a very human-style ceremony.

When Jessica opened her eyes, the figures did not wink out of existence this time and remained firmly in place.

“You’re a quick learner,” I said. “It took me hours to hold things clearly in my mind like that.”

“Maybe you’re not used to multitasking,” she said with a sly wink.

The wink took me by surprise.

She’d never been a playful person before, but the closer I got to her, the more friendly she became.

“This is amazing,” she said. “I wish I had a device like this one when I planned events on Earth!”

“The ceremony looks good. If a little… human.”

Jessica grinned hawkishly.

“Sorry. I guess we imagine what we know best.”

“It’s fine. I wouldn’t expect you to know about our culture—”

In the blink of an eye, the guests melted and morphed into Ev’vat form.

Jessica’s imagination was incredible—especially since each of the guests sported a different look, with their own unique features.

Except… there were clearly similarities that tied them together.

In one way or another, they took after me.

Then as one, the guests faded to dust, leaving just two figures remaining.

The main event.

It was me, dressed in traditional Ev’vat robes, and a female Ev’vat in my arms as we performed the Soul Dance, spinning endlessly.

As I peered closer, I noticed the female didn’t have a face, and instead her features were smudged out.

“I hope my fated mate doesn’t look like that!” I said.

“If she does, you should consider yourself very lucky,” Jessica said.

“Why’s that?”

“Because she can morph into any face you want!”

To show her point, as the dancing pair spun endlessly, the face of the female I was dancing with shifted from one beauty to another.

They spun toward us, then into us, their bodies fading away, until only Jessica and I remained.

“You know, that’s one part of the ceremony you’re going to have to learn pretty soon,” I said.

“What part?”

I raised my arms and took her hands in mine.

“How to dance.”

Her eyes bulged with fear.

“I don’t need to dance! You’re the one that does!”

She fought to escape but I tightened my hold on her and we spun in a circle, around and around, faster and faster.

“Don’t!” Jessica said. “Stop! I’m going to be sick!”

“You’ll be fine. Just relax and go with it. Besides, I need the practice.”

“Oh, God…”

I spun her at greater and greater speeds until her frown cracked and she beamed with happiness.

“Make sure to keep your eyes on me,” I said. “Look anywhere else and you’ll feel sick.”

She did as I said and looked at me.

I looked right back.

The smile disappeared from her face, along with the merriment I took in tormenting her.

Her eyes grew wider, or maybe I was just falling deeper into them.

They were all I could see.

They were all I wanted to see.

Faster yet we spun, the glass walls blinking with light, a magical fairytale setting.

And that’s when I saw it.

A flame—frayed about its edge like it wasn’t fully formed yet.

It spat sparks and hissed before catching fire and imploded, flashing with the brightness of a newborn star.

It almost looked like…

The blood fell from my face.

But it can’t be…

Jessica’s hand slipped from mine and it was all I could do to hold onto her other hand.

She screamed as she sailed toward the floor.

If she struck it at the speed and force she was going, there was no telling how much damage might be done.

I pulled harder on her arm and leaned back to counter her weight.

I ground my teeth as I spread my legs and slammed a heel into the floor.

We slowed gradually until neither of us was moving.

I daren’t let go of her for fear she would lose balance and collapse.

I wrapped her in my arms and shut my eyes to counteract the worst of the spinning.

“It’s all right,” I said. “It’s okay. You’re going to be fine. Sh, sh, sh.”

It took a full ten minutes before we parted and felt steady enough to walk under our own steam.

Jessica held out her hands as if she might fall over anyway.

She braced herself on the wall and pressed her head against it.

We panted for breath, recovering from the dance.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never should have done that. You’re human, not an Ev’vat. You’re not built for it.”

Maybe that was true, but what about the spark of light?

Had it been real?

Or had I imagined it?

The silence that yawned between us formed a deep and impenetrable chasm.

My communicator rang, thankfully filling the silence.

I answered it immediately.

“Yes?”

It was Mother.

I was relieved to hear her voice, less so about the panicked tone it spoke with.

“Calm down,” I said. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”

She told me and I could hardly believe it.

“I-I’ll return home at once,” I heard myself saying as I snapped the communicator shut.

“Was that your mom?” Jessica asked. “Is everything okay?”

“No,” I said bluntly. “She has news about the ceremony.”

“What?”

“It’s the tribe leaders. They received the invitations.”

“And? How many will be attending?”

A lead weight hit the pit of my stomach.

“None.”