Free My Cousin, the Alien by Pamela F. Service

him.”
    “Me.”
    She sighed. “Our fault, really. We had no idea the Gnairt were interested in this planet. It’s rather out of their way. If we’d known there were Gnairt operatives here, we wouldn’t have left you unprotected for so long.”
    Beside me on the ledge, Ethan moaned and shifted slightly. I looked down at him. “So, Ethan’s idea that he’s an alien was just crazy make-believe?”
    “Not crazy, really,” she chuckled. “Wanting to be something special, something different is common enough among any species. But someone like him could never have been our Agent. We choose our Agents carefully and place them with equal care. Your true genetic species has a strong streak of responsibility and protectiveness. And the adoptive parents we found for you are loving and ideally suited to bring out those traits. We need our Agents to grow up happy with themselves, their families, and their lives. Your cousin isn’t like that.”
    “But why did he choose that particular. . . ?“ A memory slammed into me. “Oh. When we were little—the cat. He decided he was an alien
after
we met that cat. It really did talk and have wings?”
    The woman nodded. “A feline Agent sent to check on you. Unfortunately it was attacked by some sort of native carnivore and inadvertently gave itself away—to your cousin, anyway.”
    Pieces were shakily falling into place. But something still wasn’t right. “Then what about the pendant?” I held it out to her. “Ethan had it since he was a baby, and just now I used it as some kind of weapon. That’s no ordinary piece of junk jewelry.”
    The woman looked it over and shook her head. “But it is. The pendant’s ordinary. It’s
you
who aren’t. You were the weapon. The power came from you.”
    The truth jolted through me. “You mean when those alien guys were yelling about not having learned to use the power yet, they were really yelling at
me
? They meant power. . . inside me?”
    “Exactly. That’s another thing we would have taught you when you were old enough. We didn’t think there was any chance of you stumbling upon it accidentally. But kids here on Earth usually don’t face this much stress and danger. That’s what brought it out. You saved all of our lives with that power. But I warn you, don’t even try using it again before you’re properly taught. It can be dangerous to you as well as others.”
    “I can believe that.” The dizziness still hadn’t left me. For a minute, I just stared out at the quarry and its crazy pattern of light and shadow. The pattern of my own life suddenly seemed as crazy. But at least I was beginning to see it.
    I sighed. “So what happens now?”
    “You two return to your families and go about your lives. Forget about being an Agent for a while, just enjoy your life as a human. We’ll start your training earlier than planned, perhaps, but until then you deserve to lead a normal life. Don’t worry, though, we’ll keep much closer watch on things here.”
    The woman stood up. “On the immediate front, let’s get you back to civilization. Your families are going crazy with worry, and several search teams are out.”
    With that, she reached down and scooped Ethan up as if he weighed nothing at all. Then throwing him over her shoulder, she started scrambling up the rock face. I just stood staring.
    Halfway up, she turned and called. “Come on, you can do it. Don’t think about it, just climb.”
    That must have been how I got down to this ledge in the first place. If I’d thought about it, I’d have been too scared.
    All right,
I said to myself.
Alien powers, if you’re there, get on with it!
    Trying not to think, I just climbed the rock. Somehow finding hand and footholds, I moved steadily upward until we were at the top.
    Tangled, shadowy woods sloped away from us. Crickets chirped and an owl called from a distant tree. The breeze hinted of pine and honeysuckle. Forcing our way through bushes and over fallen logs, we