Read Online Alien Child by Pamela Sargent - Free Book Online Page A

clothes only when the air in the garden was cool. She wondered what Sven looked like without his clothes; she knew his body would be different from hers. It was odd to think of garments as something to hide behind rather than as coverings to protect her from the cold.
    “I had to find out if it was a time for togetherness,” Sven continued. “I almost called out to you once, and then I heard you talking to Llipel in the garden about being alone, wanting a friend like yourself. I knew I’d have to meet you then.”
    Nita realized that she could not predict what the coming days would bring. Sven was something indeterminate, someone whose actions she could not foresee. She trembled slightly, feeling both anticipation and fear.
    “I wish we could stay here for a while,” she said, “but we should go back to our guardians. They’re probably worrying about us by now if they’re awake. Without their authorizations, they can’t even call us over the screens.”
    “You’re right. But don’t give up your authorization. We know their secret now, and we ought to be able to meet when we like. Tell me you’ll meet me again soon.”
    “Of course I will.” She averted her eyes as they stood up. Sven lingered near his chair for a moment, as if reluctant to leave, then walked with her toward the lift.
     
     
    The two cats were prowling the lobby. They bounded toward Nita and Sven as they left the lift. The boy picked up Tanj; Nita followed him with her cat toward the door that led into the garden. Another door, near the exit, was marked SECURITY. She had seen that room on diagrams but had never been told what it contained; the word seemed oddly ominous now as she thought of what Sven had told her about their people.
    Nita set Dusky down near a bush. “I’ll talk to you later over the screen,” Sven said. “Remember—don’t give up your authorization.”
    “I won’t. I’ll tell Llipel it’s our time for togetherness. She’ll have to understand that.”
    The orange cat squirmed in the boy’s arms. Sven began to walk toward the west wing, then looked back. “If they kept this a secret, they may have other secrets, too. I’m beginning to wonder how much they might have kept from us.”  
    She nodded, not wanting to think of that now.
     
     

 
    7
     
    Llipel was tugging at the fur around her mouth as she paced in the hall near the cafeteria. She stiffened when Nita approached her.
    “You are here,” Llipel said. She lowered her arms and stopped pacing. “I am most curious.”
    “Did you talk to Llare?”
    “That was my first action. The screen allowed me to speak to Llare. We were told where you were.” Llipel was slurring her words a bit more than usual.
    “I had to go,” Nita said. “Sven spoke to me over the screen and asked me to meet him in the tower. You knew about him, didn’t you? You were authorized—you had to know.”
    “I knew.”
    “He and I are both authorized now, and we’re going to stay that way, but we brought back the authorizations we took from you and Llare.”
    Llipel tilted her head. Nita pulled one of the chains over her head, then moved toward her guardian, holding out the authorization. Llipel suddenly raised her arms and held her hands in front of her chest, claws out.
    She’s frightened, Nita thought, and then: She’s scared of me now. The defensive gesture dismayed her.
    “What has taken place with the boy?” Llipel asked.
    “I was in the garden with Dusky, and then a door in the west wing opened and she ran inside. I went after her, and then the door closed, so I came back here and tried to call Llare over the screen. That’s when I saw Sven’s image. He asked me to meet him in the tower.”
    “So you went there alone.”
    “Maybe I shouldn’t have taken your authorization, but I had to see him. I didn’t want to wake you, and I was afraid you wouldn’t let me go.”
    “And what came after that?”
    “We talked,” Nita said. “He told me how he learned