Tara The Great [Nuworld 2] by Lorie O'Claire Page A

had been involved in Tara and
    Darius’ capture. She also looked as jumpy as a rabbit, which might make her not think
    as clearly, and slip information that Brev felt Tara and Darius shouldn’t know. This
    might be the best time to probe for some answers.
     
    “How long have you been on Nuworld?” Tara began.
     
    Polva jumped at the sound of the words. “I’m sorry?”
     
    “Did you just arrive here?”
     
    “Uh, yes, but we’re from here. Earth is our home.” Polva emphasized the word
    earth.
     
    “Earth is dead,” Darius said. “Your home no longer exists. This planet is called
    Nuworld now.”
     
    Polva stiffened and opened her mouth to respond, then seemed to stop herself and
    remained silent. Tara wondered what it was Polva felt reluctant to say.
     
    “That is exactly why we have sought you out,” Brev said as he entered the room.
     
    All three turned to look at him. Tara caught his face in time to see a cold stare
    directed to his wife. It faded quickly and he smiled politely at Tara and Darius.
     
    It dawned on Tara that she judged a warrior’s ability, sight unseen, by the
    appearance of his or her body. This man was pale with little muscle tone. Therefore, her
    initial impression had been that he was no threat. But as Brev stood there before them,
    she felt a wave of caution pass through her that she couldn’t identify.
     
    While Brev couldn’t harm them in physical combat, a threat of some sort definitely
    existed.
     

 
    Chapter Eight
     
     
     
    Brev took his place at the head of the table and picked up a flat control device. He
    pushed several buttons and a white, opaque screen lowered from the ceiling at the end
    of the room. “It is my great honor to moderate this meeting,” Brev began, looking at no
    one. “In one moment we will be joined by Mr. Toulon, our President and a great
    leader.”
     
    Bright lights flashed from the white screen and all heads turned toward it. Colors
    began to appear. The image of a man from the chest up came into focus.
     
    “Communication may begin,” a voice from an unknown source said.
     
    “Greetings, Tara of the Blood Circle Clan and Lord Darius of Gothman. It is a
    pleasure to be meeting with you at last. I am Dav Toulon, President of New America.”
    The man speaking to them sat behind a large dark, square desk. His hands were folded
    confidently on top of it. A small smile didn’t fade as he spoke.
     
    Tara studied the man. He was balding and somewhat heavyset. His skin showed
    the paleness of his people and his eyes were the familiar washed-out blue. He spoke his
    words as if he’d memorized them. The reception on the screen went out of focus for a
    minute then fine-tuned once again as he continued.
     
    “We are the people of Earth. We’re descendants of a colony that settled here
    hundreds of years ago as space travel with NASA progressed. When Earth became
    uninhabitable, our forefathers believed they were stranded. Several generations ago, we
    discovered humans had not become extinct on our planet, but instead had migrated
    underground. We began to watch the planet as life slowly returned to the surface. We
    now feel our return to Earth is possible and have decided to make contact with you
    prior to doing so.”
     
    He paused at this point and Tara assumed he was waiting for a comment of some
    kind from either one of them. She didn’t look at Darius or anyone else in the room but
    instead watched the man’s face. Something about his small smile made Tara uneasy.
    His speech seemed too well-rehearsed. His voice inflection never changed from the
    pleasant tone of a friend. But his body remained rigid, not relaxed, and his hands, with
    fingers interlocked, never moved a muscle or twitched. Tara watched the man as he
    stared blankly, not giving any indication that he was excited about the possibility of
    moving his people to a new home.
     
    “What do you want from us?” Darius finally asked.
     
    “At this point, I don’t