The two Human stared at me curiously.
?This is Jodahs, my closest sibling,? Aaor said. ?Without it I would already be dead.? It actually said, ?my closest brother-sister,? because that was the best either of us could do in Spanish. No wonder people like Santos thought we were hermaphroditic.
?These are Javier and Paz,? Aaor said. ?They are already mates.?
They were also close relatives, of course. They looked as much alike as Jesusa and TomAs did, and they looked like Jesusa and TomAs?strong, brown, black-haired, deep-chested people.
Santos and I were given dried fruit, tea, and bread. Javier and Paz seemed most interested in Santos. He was their relative, too, of course.
?Do you feel well, Santos?? Paz asked.
?What do you care?? Santos demanded.
Paz looked at me. ?Why do you want him? Wish him a good day, and he?ll spit on you.?
?He needs more healing than I can give him here,? I said. I turned my head so that he would know I was looking at him. ?He?ll have less reason to spit when I?m finished with him, so maybe he?ll do less spitting. Perhaps then I?ll find mates for him.?
He watched me while I spoke, then let his eyes slide away from me. He stared, unseeing, I think, at the rough wooden table.
?Will others come up here today?? I asked Paz.
?No,? she said. ?Today is still our watch. Juana and Santiago will come tomorrow to relieve us.?
Santos spoke abruptly, urgently. ?Are you really going with them??
?Of course,? Paz said.
?Why? You should be afraid of them. You should be terrified. When we were children they told us the devil had four arms.?
?We?re not children anymore,? Javier said. ?Look at my right hand.? He held it up, pale brown and smooth. ?I have a right hand again. It?s been a frozen claw for years, and now??
?Not enough!?
Javier opened his mouth, his expression suddenly angry. Then, without speaking, he closed his mouth.
?I want to go,? Paz said quietly. ?I?m tired of telling myself lies about this place and watching my children die.? She pushed very long black hair from her face. As she sat at the table, most of her hair hung to the floor behind her. ?Santos, if you had seen our last child before it died, you would thank God for the beauty you had even before your healing.?
Santos looked away from her, shamefaced but stubborn. ?I know all that,? he said. ?I don?t mean to be cruel. I do know. But
we have been taught all our lives that the aliens would destroy us if they found us. Why did our belief and our fear slip away so quickly??
Javier sighed. ?I don?t know.? He looked at Aaor. ?They?re not very fearsome, are they? And they are
very interesting. I don?t know why.? He looked up. ?Santos, do you believe we are building a new people here??
Santos shook his head. ?I?ve never believed it. I have eyes. But that?s no reason for us to consent to go away with people we?ve been taught were evil.?
?Did you consent?? Paz asked
?
yes.?
?What else is there, then??
?Why are they here!? He turned to me. ?Why are you here??
?To get Human mates for Aaor,? I said. ?And now I have to get my own Human mates back. They are??
?Jesusa and TomAs, we know,? Paz said. ?Aaor said they were imprisoned below. We can show you where they?re probably being held but I don?t know how you can get them out.?
?Show us,? I said.
We went outside where the stone village lay below us, spread like a Human-made map. The buildings seemed tiny in the distance, but they could all be seen. The whole flattened ridge was visible.
?See the round building there,? Javier said, pointing.
I didn?t see it at first. So many gray buildings with gray-brown thatched roofs, all tiny in the distance. Then it was clear to me?a stone half-cylinder built against a stone wall.
?There are rooms in it and under it,? Paz said. ?Prisoners are kept there. The elders believe people who travel must be made to spend time alone to be questioned and prove they are who they say they are, and that they have not betrayed the people.? She stopped, looked at Javier. ?They would say that we?ve betrayed the people.?
?We didn?t bring the aliens here,? he said. ?And why do the people need us to produce more dead children??
?They won?t say that if they catch us.?
?What will they do to you?? I asked.
