Bones in the Sand by Julie Steimle (books to read to get smarter txt) 📕

Jafarr shook his head.

Glancing at Kyle for a second, Agent Sicamore's eyes narrowed suspiciously.  

"I'm saying if Zormna had really intended to kill anyone, she would have easily succeeded." Jafarr then shot Kyle a deadly look. "However, if she were being attacked, I dare say she would also succeed in disarming her attacker."

The crowd rumbled dissonantly, all against Jafarr of course. By this time Agent Palmer, Zormna, and Janelle made it down the hill where they joined the group.

"Keep her away from me!" Kyle shrieked, jumping back from Zormna the second he set eyes on her.

"I should say the same about you," Zormna snapped back. She was not as scarred and bruised as he was, which made her look all the guiltier. And yet...there was something in the way she stood, the look in her eye that said she knew she was not in the wrong.

"So who was trying to kill whom?" Agent Powell asked his partner as he looked from one to the other.

"He was trying to kill her," Agent Palmer said. He handed Agent Sicamore the meat fork and the spatula. "You'll find that Zormna has a scratch on her left shoulder, and there is blood on the meat fork. I'm sure if you tested it you would see that it is hers."

The crowd reacted with more exclamations and protest.

"That's a lie!" Professor Pratte said, raising his voice. His face flushed. "Kyle Smith wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Jafarr smirked at him. "No, probably not. But he might kill a Tarrn."

This time the FBI agents drew in breaths. Their eyes whipped to Kyle who backed away. He could read in their looks that the FBI knew a lot more than they ought. Kyle glared fiercely at Jafarr as he protested. "I don't have any idea what you are talking about."

"Sure," Jafarr replied, stepping toward him, "and that's what every guilty person says when they are about to get caught. Normally I wouldn't fink on the likes of you, but you attacked Zormna - and that is unacceptable." He turned to Agent Sicamore. "He's a High Class member. He saw Zormna's brand mark from over there. And he went up the hill to make sure it was real. When he knew it was, on impulse he tried to kill her - not really thinking about the repercussions, I'm sure."

"That's a lie!" Kyle yelled, spitting now. His eyes were wild, looking at the agents as he stepped back from them all. "She tried to kill me!"

Zormna walked toward the group and rolled up her right sleeve. "Is this a lie?"

Her white skin bare, everyone saw the mark on her shoulder. About as big as an Oreo, and just as round, the plainest symbol was branded into her skin. A circle in a circle in a circle in a circle, all meeting at one point at the bottom. The same exact symbol that was on the helmet, only upside down. Kyle's eyes flamed wide at the sight of the mark. His anger was unmistakable.

Agent Palmer walked up to the man to check Kyle's arm, grabbing at his right sleeve.

"No. It's the left arm for a High Class man," Jafarr said.

The agent nodded, eyeing Jafarr that he would be so open about such a secret, and reached over to expose Kyle's shoulder.

"Get away! I have nothing to prove!" Kyle barked, retreating from Palmer's reach.

Propping his hands on his hips, Jafarr looked too smug. "If you have nothing to prove, then why don't you roll up your own sleeve and show us you have nothing to hide?"

Kyle spat at Jafarr. But the pale boy did not budge, even as the slime rolled down the side of his scarred nose.

"Oh, leave Kyle alone," Janelle said, growing severely distressed. "He doesn't have a brand mark on his left shoulder, just a tattoo, like anybody."

But everyone who would have chimed in that Janelle gave perfect proof saw that the FBI looked immediately convinced Jafarr's accusation was right.  Agent Palmer, accompanied by Agent Powell now, reached over to force Kyle to expose his shoulder. Kyle struggled as he pulled back harshly to get away through the crowd. Everyone pushed against them to stop the assault. He probably would have been tackled, cuffed and pinned before they could reveal his shoulder, but Agent Sicamore shot two bullets into the air.

"Enough!" the head FBI agent said. He pointed his gun at Kyle. "Now you had better show us your left shoulder right now, young man, or I will have to shoot you for the murder - "

"But I didn't do anything!" Kyle protested.

" - For the murder," Agent Sicamore continued, "of Zormna's great aunt, who was killed over two years ago."

The desert stood in silence, staring at Mr. James Sicamore and his gun.

"Now cooperate," Sicamore said.

Kyle let, however grudgingly, Agent Palmer roll up his left sleeve.

There was a tattoo alright. Thing was, true to Jafarr's former statement, resting in the center of fancy filigree and leaves, was the very symbol that sat on the ten thousand year old helmet and branded on Zormna's right shoulder.

Professor Pratte stepped away from him, paling.

Kyle angrily rolled his sleeve down. He couldn't meet anyone's eyes.

Janelle blinked. She had seen that tattoo a number of times, but not until then did she notice the symbol in the center. "How?"

"Tattoo?" Jafarr responded casually, leaning near her. "You see, they have these electric needles and pigment, and they - "

She slapped Jafarr and ran away from the group, crying.

The others stayed, staring at Kyle. A different kind of fear entered the group. After all, they had thought they had known him.

Jafarr rubbed his cheek and walked to Zormna. He pulled her right sleeve down then stood between her and Kyle, his eyes saying 'Your move.'

"So," Agent Sicamore broke the silence, thinking carefully with peeks to Jafarr. "Do you want to change your story?" He then looked to Kyle.

With a glare for Sicamore first, the young man then turned his hate-filled looks on Zormna and Jafarr. He thrust his finger toward the two. "That girl is evil."

Jafarr shook his head, groaning.  

"She tried to kill me," Kyle continued.

"What for?" Jafarr returned, "She didn't even know you before this week. Neither of us did. So why in the world would Zormna want to incur your wrath by attacking you? Beside, as I said, if she wanted to kill you she would have succeeded."

Murmurs rumbled through the crowd, though the FBI agents shook their heads, knowing Jafarr was egging Kyle on. There was distaste in Jafarr's voice they had only heard a few times, and it intrigued them. Everyone was now pulling back to watch this unearthly exchange. Yet, the voices of the professors woke up along with those of the other college students.

"You are one of them?" Professor Pratte stared at Kyle like he had been pathetically duped.

Kyle shook his head. "It's not what it looks like. I got this tattoo at a shop in Reno. How was I supposed to know some Martian put their symbol on it?"

Yet the man avoided meeting the eyes of the FBI. He looked pale and sweaty.

"Van Reno?" Jafarr said in his native tongue, smirking. "Stra'kai pres ray pravar stez kaink sa, nooj'ra. Sha FBI hal'eem oomtor'om nee za torr'zabnel - nee zakar shrazh ar'kall-ma'nel be'bel,[1]"

Zormna laughed, nodding.

Kyle fumed. "Those two have concocted some ridiculous story about me that isn't true! Professor, you have to believe me."

"Zhar nas'op ne'em verret'om ray yav'akra kak neem? Ooedel'ra Palmer hal'eem veed'el neem hreen'el Zormna d sha kel'farrsk leefalk. O're rel sha lak nooa tell'el al'm trii maisa'en Zormna,[2]" Jafarr continued, nearly laughing at the college man while glancing at the FBI agents as if waiting for them to catch on.

Kyle glared daggers at him but continued his tirade. "They are probably getting more of their biker pals to come in and ruin the dig. This morning was only a test to see how far they could get."

"Kai'op rein em tollk kliiz'om sor gunnfliishak rras, Jafarr?" Zormna cut in irritably to Jafarr, glancing at Kyle. "Al' oomal'orn al'ee Sicamore gen'op gand'or eme,[3]"

"Spasp'kai!" Kyle yelled back at Zormna, spitting flying. "Nee mrrez'ova Tarrn zhmeka! Al' nas an'thorb'orn neem fa iidii nee's posme'la'karmelee nas an'za'om vovam'narr![4]"

The crowd drew in a collective breath.

He had spoken their language.

Professor Pratte stepped back from him. He peeked at Zormna and Jafarr who both looked smug.

Zormna remarked, leaning back, "Stupid. You can't hide now."

"It was his own fault," Jafarr said.

Seeing what he had done, Kyle went ash white. Then, dropping all pretenses, he threw himself at Zormna again, hands like claws.

But Jafarr jumped in the way and Zormna stepped out of it. Before the man could get to her, Jafarr wrestled Kyle to the ground. The crowd around them widened, screaming as the teenager lay Kyle flat.

Both Agents Palmer and Powell drew their guns and placed them at both boys' heads.

"Cease this fighting," Agent Powell ordered.

Both stopped wrestling. Jeff looked up keenly.

Zormna marched directly to Sicamore, grabbing his tie and pulling on it. "What are you pointing a gun at him for? Jafarr was just defending me! Let him go!"

 Agent Sicamore met her gaze, hissing. "Let go of my tie."

She whispered back, "This is me asking nicely."

Stiffly, Agent Sicamore nodded to his two agents. Agent Powell moved his gun to Kyle's head.

Jafarr stood up, glaring once at Powell. "A little gun happy?" He stepped back to Zormna's side.

"Why are you choosing their side?" Kyle cried out, weeping now from his lost position.

"Let him up," Sicamore ordered his two operatives.

They lifted their guns.

Kyle trembled, turning to see if they were still going to shoot. He glanced around then stared at Agent Sicamore. "Why are you choosing their side? You have got to have some idea of what they are. You have been afraid of them coming this entire time. You must know."

Nodding tiredly while peeking at the two dangerous teenagers, Agent Sicamore stared wanly at Kyle. "I think I know more about them than you do. You may be their countryman, but you don't know the power those two hold."

Kyle gazed at Zormna, confused.

Jafarr and Zormna shared wan looks, saying nothing.

"But don't think I am choosing their side," Agent Sicamore said, especially shooting Jafarr looks.

"We don't imagine that," Jafarr replied with a wave.

Glowering at him specifically, Agent Sicamore then said to them all, "I recommend you remain far away from these two for the remainder of the excavation." The FBI agent glared at Kyle for a good while then walked away to the silver trailer, muttering to himself.

Palmer and Powell stayed behind, watching Kyle like two secret service men protecting a pair of foreign dignitaries. Everyone slowly dispersed once Jafarr and Zormna turned toward each other and he murmured to her over her cuts, inspecting them carefully. Kyle fumed, watching them

However, he immediately stormed off, hands in his pockets, going to the edge of the camp with sullen grumbles. A few of his classmates followed him. But most stared as if they were still recovering from electro-shock. Some remained to listen in as the two agents finally nodded to Jafarr before leaving themselves.

"Will you be all right?" Agent Palmer asked Zormna.

She glanced at Jafarr and nodded. "I'll be just fine."

Meeting her gaze, Jafarr smirked. Normally she would have made some remark about him being a lousy protector. He then gazed to where Kyle had gone. He didn't like suspecting every redhead he saw, so this was unfortunate... especially for Kyle if the idiot had realized it.

"So, do you think my charm will be able to get them to put the bones in the box now?" Zormna asked, cocking her head while looking at Jafarr sideways.

Laughing, he still nodded. "No doubt now more than ever. Once they find out you're royalty, it's in the bag."

She punched him in the side, but not as hard as she usually did. She nodded to herself. He