Breeding Ground Part 18

Oh s.h.i.+t. "I see." Alex cleared her throat. "And what happened to the women who claimed to be this great messiah? I mean, after it was discovered they were liars?"

"They were declared heretics and offered to the xandor beast as a sacrifice to Aleeda. By sacrificing them to the same belly it was prophesized the true queen of our people would be birthed from, we knew that Aleeda would reward us."

This was just terrific. In so far as Alex could tell, one of two things would result from this morning's trek to the Temple of the Dead Prophets-she would either be branded a heretic and murdered, or she would be declared Alexandria the Great...the queen of a people she had no desire to lead.

She had promised Peac.o.c.k they'd move on and take their morality and life ways with them. And that is exactly what she would do no matter what.

It would pain her something awful to take Fija's life, but n.o.body was killing her off. Her crew needed her. Patting her side to make sure her Laser-5 was ready to detonate, Alex made her way to the base of the statue-the statue that was a dead ringer for her. She still couldn't get past the striking similarities.

Similarities or not, she knew it couldn't be her. Alex was one of the best commanders NASA had ever known, but a queen she was not.

She stilled as she reached the base. Her eyes rounded in shock. The "hand impression" she was staring at was a three-dimensional DNA identifier NASA required of all crewmembers. And that particular identifier, she realized on a rough swallow, was undoubtedly hers.

Oh. My. G.o.d.

"This can't be," Alex breathed out.

"Place your hand on the impression."

Alex blinked, snapping back to reality. She turned her head to look at the Amazon-a woman of unwaveringly grim appearance who had...tears in her eyes? "Fija?" she murmured.

"You are the one," Fija whispered. "I know you are." She batted back the tears. "I've been searching for you my entire life," she rasped, "oft trekking to the black waters in hopes of finding you."

Alex closed her eyes against the heartfelt words. She didn't want to disappoint Fija, but their dead prophets had been wrong. She was n.o.body's queen, let alone the sole hope of what was left of the human race.

"Place your hand on the impression," Fija reiterated. "I needs must know."

Alex's eyes flew open. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she placed her shaking right hand on the DNA identifier.

A perfect fit.

The automated voice Alex had known she would hear startled Fija who held her weapon up and prepared to battle. "Good morning from NASA, Commander Alexandria Frazier."

"It's okay," Alex said softly. "It's just a computer."

Fija's eyes were rounder than Alex's. "It knows your name."

"Yes. It was programmed to."

"What is a computer?"

"Hmmm...hard to explain. Synthetic technology. Much like your translation device."

The Amazon visibly relaxed. "I don't have a care for disembodied voices."

Alex would have smiled, but the next thing she knew, Fija had dropped to her knees before her. "You are the one," she announced with reverence, awe, and unmistakable hope. "I have found you. I scarce believe it, but I have fulfilled my destiny and found you."

Chapter Ten.

Asleep for over a thousand years, air rushed into the lungs of Malik Ahmose. Fangs exploded from his gums. He hissed, serpentine-gold eyes flying open on an expelling of air. Nearby, a young female servant fell to her knees, her eyes closing from the power of the moment.

The king had awoken.

Flying up to her feet, she shakily ran from the sanctuary, screaming out the news to all within earshot. The shock and wonder evident on the buzzing crowd's faces as they followed her back into the sanctuary radiated the young girl's feelings precisely.

The prophecy had been fulfilled. He had arisen.

Perspiration soaked the king's hairline. He looked to be in pain, his face scrunched up as he shook and roared.

"She is near," Malik ground out. Slowly, he turned his head from where he lay in the coffin fas.h.i.+oned of pure gold. His intense gaze met that of the wors.h.i.+pful crowd, honing in on the warriors nearest to his position. "Bring her to me."

Alex walked from the temple with Fija in silence. The events of the last hour left her feeling confused, dazed, and uncertain as to what she should do or say. A queen! Her? The Takuri expected their prophesied "one" to free them from the Xandi-the predator peoples. How could a woman who'd never even seen a Xandi do for them what they had been unable to do for themselves?

What's worse, Fija planned to announce Alex as Alexandria the Great to her key warriors at the noon meal today. Word would spread throughout Zala by evening. And then Alex's life would change forever.

"Fija?"

"Yes, my queen?"

She sighed. The only good she could see coming of this was being able to wear her body plate to the noon meal. She figured a queen could do what she wanted. "Your Book of the Dead Prophets...who wrote it?"

"The three scrolls which comprise the sacred text were written by three different prophets. Two were Takuri seers, women gifted of the third eye, the second sight. The first scroll was written by an unknown prophet. Our people do not know from when he heralds. But it was he-a male prophet-who warned the Takuri of what befalls humans under male rule."

"What do you mean?"

She cleared her throat and recited a verse from the first scroll. "'Mankind is perverse in its plundering and greed. In the quest for knowledge and power, we have destroyed our own people.'"

Alex's teeth sank into her lower lip. "Mankind" had been a generic term in her day, one that referred to all people, male and female alike. She decided that now was not the time to point that out. "This prophet...you don't know from when he heralds, but do you know from where he heralds?"

Fija shrugged as she took long strides, more interested in getting to the noon meal and making her announcement than in explaining things she could talk about later. "He was born in a place called Zutair-"

Chills coursed down Alex's spine.

"-but none know where this Zutair was."

Alex's mouth went bone dry. She did know where it was. The area that once was Houston, Texas.

Of course! Suddenly things made sense. Alex didn't know the Zutairan man's name either, but he would have been one of the few to know about the possibility of the Methuselah reaching Earth intact...and that Dr. Alexandria Frazier was its captain and commander. He was probably the same person who had somehow managed to leave behind her NASA DNA identifier. The mission was top-secret. Very few knew about it. But he would have.

That explained one "prophet". He wasn't a prophet at all, just a scientist. But what of the other two, the seers? It was harder to explain those two away, scientifically speaking.

"Fija, we need to talk. I-"

A shrill scream pierced the air, inducing both women to whip around. And then there was another scream. And another. And another.

"What the...?"