"Step off." The girls pouted but slinked reluctantly away, knowing it was no use. Zan was either interested or he wasn't. They never had to guess if the party was over before it began.

As his watchful eyes moved around the dim room barely illuminated by tiny wildly flashing lights and filled with music loud enough to melt his ears, Zan contemplated the summons they received yesterday and two days before that. All these years with no word from "home" and all of a sudden the E.T.s want the teenaged Royal Four, who were still clueless as far as he was concerned, to represent at some meeting. On top of that they wanted to do something to him, the nature of which was as of yet unexplained, to make sure he was the king. They must be nuts! He saw that it was time to get Rath who was wearing that sick anticipatory look, signaling impending mayhem. "Yo, lets go."

Rath grinned at him and turned to his companions. "Hold up a minute." To Zan, "Yo, you want in on this? They're talking cah-ray-zay and I'm getting ready to stomp 'em good." "We gotta go." "Go? Go where? We don't gotta go nowhere, man. Why you always so uptight?" "'Cause you never are. Why you always want to show off what we are?" Rath got loud. "It don't even matter if you don't answer the summons."

Zan stepped close to him, putting an arm around his neck, and spoke succinctly. "It matters 'cause I say it does. Let's go." Rath wanted to argue him down but he learned a long time ago how near impossible that was. And since he'd taken that little sip of beer, he wasn't up to the attempt anyway. So he turned to the beefy squares. "Gentlemen, some other time if you're lucky. Peace out." Outside, they found Lonnie waiting for them against the wall far away from the light. "What do yous get in there besides STDs? Free meals?" "Ooo, waiting for me, baby?" After she nudged Rath away when he tried to kiss her, he added, "Come on, you know we can't get sick. And that's perfect 'cause some of them mucky twat hoes are tight." Lonnie smacked his lingering hand away from her. "And 'cause you just a nasty freak bastard. What's up with yous? Yous been coming here every friggin night for a week." Her lips twisted mockingly. "Hm. Is this where the summit's gonna be, Zan? What are yous doing in there?" "Dayummm! She's definitely your sister, man. Why don't you check it out yourself instead of ball bustin'? You don't want me to have no fun and you won't answer the summons. What the f*ck do yous want??" "Chinese," Zan said. "Where's Ava?" "Chick is home sulking. You must not be handling your biz, brother." Zan was preoccupied with watching for something - he didn't know what - when he answered, "Sounds like you worrying about it more than me." His sixth sense - or whatever - had been pricked on and off since that morning, a totally different feeling from the one he'd had in the club. All these friggin unexplained sensations were getting on his nerves. Something was coming. Good or bad, he couldn't tell which. But since Zan disliked the unknown it was bad by default. Let the boogieman jump out so they could stomp him already, damn. Lonnie stepped close to him. "I worry about a lot of things, brother. I'm just concerned that you don't. I'm not spending my life stuck in the sewers of a primitive planet when I was made to cream." Rath massaged her neck with one hand. "That's what I'm saying. Zan, if you don't represent at the summit we'll never get any answers." Zan smirked. "Why not? We got that protector you love so much." Rath jumped in front of him. "Man, why you playing? This ain't no joke. I'm sick of stealing just to eat, and I'm sick of living like a rat. Some Royal Four we are! Living in sh*t!" Lonnie picked at her nails, looking bored. "Cut the drama. Let's just chill 'til we eat. I'm mad hungry." Zan said nothing while Rath tried to stare him down for a few seconds. They went underground and Zan paid their fares as a sub approached. Lonnie clucked her tongue. "Check you out - putting tokens in the little slot. Aww! Where'd you take them from?" "I bought 'em." That caught Rath's disgusted attention. "You bought 'em?" "I bet it's worse than that," Lonnie said. "You sold another paintin' that you actually painted, didn't you? Psh! Why you insist on acting all limited like a human is beyond me - really beyond me, brother." Rath shook his head. "Man, that is sick." Zan ignored all their little barbs. He didn't have time for their bullsh*t; he needed to stay alert. In Chinatown they bought food with money Lonnie stole yesterday. They ate there and Zan brought some back to the pod chamber for Ava, who snatched the bag without speaking and plopped down in a corner with her back to them. Rath laughed, going over to lean on her, singing in a falsetto voice, " 'After the love is gone! What used to be right is wrong!' "

"Get off me, fool!"

Lonnie's pupils rolled even farther up into her head as she stared at the shorter girl before turning to Zan. "We need to talk about the summit." He sat down on the plush, if tattered, armchair and closed his eyes, wishing he could just bail. "So talk." Rath came back over and on and on they hammered at him. Zan figured he should let them get it all out because he was about to end the discussion once and for all. He opened his eyes. "Okay, my turn. We don't know enough to go to no summit. And friggin Korn ain't made an appearance for like two months, not that he'd make a difference anyway. How did they know how to contact us? Why does Kivar, of all people, basically know exactly where we are? Aren't we supposed to be a secret from our enemies? I mean, who are these people, things, whatever? What is really going down on Antar? Let's face it. We don't know sh*t about sh*t. And I ain't gonna be moved around like a chessboard king about to get checkmated. And neither are yous. F*ck that! And this, my royal peeps, is the end of the discussion. Peace out." He turned to Ava and said, "Let's walk."

She shrugged, getting up, while Rath barked out his indignation. "I don't believe you, man! We been talking 'til we blue and that's all you got to say? That you're afraid? Naw, it's more than that. You don't want things to change. You want the friggin sewers. You don't want to go home! What the h*ll kind of king are you, Zan??" As Zan walked away, taking Ava by the arm, Rath said to Lonnie, "It can't be him, man. I'm the friggin king!" Feeling a jolt of adrenalin, Zan stopped and without turning around held up a hand. A green bubble surrounded Rath where he sat and carried him suspended about a foot in the air to the other side of the room. Lonnie slowly stood up, gaping at the sight. "Man, stop playing!" Rath exclaimed. "What the h*ll is this?" Zan put his hand down and the bubble disappeared, dropping Rath to the floor in front of him. "This is I don't want you to get confused, brother. Know this. I am the man. I'm the man!" He put a finger to his temple. "The proof is I think with a cool head. Are we on the same page?" Rath looked mutinously above his head. "I said are we on the same page?" "Yeah, man, we are. Whatever." Ava was smirking at Rath as she followed Zan out. Rath breathed deeply. "We gotta do something about him." "Chill, yo. Let me think." "Why didn't he tell us he could do that? Why hasn't he taught us?" "Who knows why Zan does what he does these days?" "Well, that's your brother, Lonnie. You don't know how to put him in check?" Lonnie sat back down, unperturbed. "Don't worry, Number Two. We're getting off this lame planet soon."

----- ----- -----

The hairs on Syndara Morgan's neck rose, when she felt the dingy green aggressively bathing her left side.

"Ay, Dawdek! Man, where you been? I know you ran out of chucky beads before now," exclaimed her brother Mack, standing on the cash register's side of the counter. "You're not the only game in town." "But the best one which is why you're back." The other guy smiled rather gruesomely and said, "Ten bucks, right?" "For some weak sh*t, sure man." Dawdek handed over fifteen dollars and received a small pouch without change. "How's about throwing this little girl in with it? I could get these for nine at the Talisman." "Don't be crude, man. This is my sister." "Whatever." Mack's blond good looks froze. "See you 'round, Dawdek." It was a dismissal. Syndara shuddered inside at the dull red emanating from Hanson Dawdek to mix with the slimy green. He glared at Mack and then raked his eyes over her. Immediately the ugly colors faded with his exit. "His shade of green is so disgusting! Why do you hang out with that creep, Mack?" "I don't. But I ain't gonna stop him from spending his money here. Anyway, I notice you see that green with any guy who's ugly and broke. And Dawdek ain't got two pots to piss in."

"I'm not kidding. It's not just ugliness. He's bad news, and this is a sick job you got. I can't believe you." She made a face, looking all around the store. "I'm helping you get another one asap 'cause I'm never coming in this motha again."

"Give it a rest. You coming home for Thanksgiving or what?" "I've only been away a few months." "So? They want to see you." "I need to be away from the parents, all right? I can give thanks for my blessings and theirs right here." "You can't still be mad about the divorce." Syn looked down, turning a jar of wheat germ over and over in her hands. "It's not right," she murmured in a low voice. "I gotta take these boxes in the back." She slowly followed him into the storage room. "Not everybody believes what you do, Syndara. Not everybody thinks they'll go to hell if they don't deny every earthly pleasure known to man, woman, and dog." "Don't even try to front, Mack. You were an altar boy for as long as I can remember until you graduated and then you spent two friggin years in the seminary. So please. Don't pretend you've seen the light of hedonism." "Okay, Sister Michael Margaret Mary. I just have one question. Is that your order's new habit or did someone accidentally cut your skirt too tight and ten inches above the knee before piercing your bottom lip? All this while you were performing devotions, oblivious to world, of course." "Screw you, Mackenzee." "What's screwed is you sulking like a brat and trying to punish two grown people for minding their own business. That's what the divorce was. Just like your decision to travel half way across the USA to live on your own at age eighteen. Granted, you picked the city I lived in - " "Lucia and Wheat live here, too." " - but I know you don't think that was the hit of the year. Anyway, your alcoholic father, anorexic mother, and even your seminarian-turned-occult-shop-manager brother were amazingly supportive. Now you pull this sh*t. You should be ashamed. Move. This is heavy." He brushed past her, carrying two hefty boxes full of ouija boards and bicolored black and white wigs. "You can keep your wheat germ. I'll buy my own," she called down after him indignantly. "Whatever." Syn stomped out of the store, taking the jar with her anyway.

----- ----- -----