And when he woke up, he was still Emerald. Sunlight was streaming through the window.

And he needed a plan to make sure he wasn’t forced into another duel. There had been a large element of luck in the opportunity he had discovered in his fight yesterday. He couldn’t count on it happening again. He didn’t think he would survive the death of another host so soon after his last one.

And Joey certainly wouldn’t.

The best way would be to make sure there were no more claimants for the role of Green Sword Honor representative on Earth. Normally there shouldn’t be, but it had happened once already. It was dangerous for an Elder to travel by portal to a planet where there was no receiving portal. Of course there were great rewards for those who made successful first contacts – especially for the faction leaders. Even so, this sort of conflict for precedence was very unusual. Usually only one or two elders of each faction joined the first phase of a Contact, and they would be chosen as a team that worked well together. What had happened here?

Hopefully there were no more elders from Green Sword Honor on Earth. Unfortunately, his own senses were still muted. He couldn’t really sense or communicate with any of the other Elders around him. He just had a vague feeling that the humans who hosted an Elder were different.

Hopefully the senses of his elder energy form would soon return. It seemed unwise to wait passively for them to return. He should talk to the members of his own alliance besides Diopside. Support from even one of them would have changed the result of yesterday’s vote.

He went downstairs. Emerald hadn’t realized how hungry the human body was until he saw the dining room table loaded with breakfast foods. His mouth began to water even before he got close enough to smell the food. He was already filling a plate with scrambled eggs and hash browns when he began to consider the other occupant of the table.

Brandy, the host of Serpentine. He was so closely tied in with Joey’s brain that he noticed immediately that although she wasn’t as dressed up or made up as last night, she still filled out her blouse very nicely.

“Good Morning Serpentine,” he said. A human greeting for a discussion in a human language.

The other did not respond, did not look at him, just kept eating as if he weren’t there.

He continued addressing Serpentine directly. He didn’t think she experienced being directly in control of Brandy’s body the way he did with Joey, but she would know what Brandy heard and pass along any response. It was traditional for elders to address each other directly even when using their hosts to communicate.

“I wish you’d tell me why you hate me so much.”

This time she replied. “You murdered one of the humans. Two now.”

For an instant he was angered by the unfairness of the accusation. Then he recalled that he could not in fact remember anything about his previous duel. Diopside had said that Serpentine was too involved with her host – but now that sounded so cold. In theory they were here to help humanity, to bring them the benefits of Eightfold knowledge and technology. In practice those who took the risks often hoped for huge benefits, power and position in the new world they had opened to the Eightfold.

All this had come back in an instant, yet he could not remember the first duel, when Latimer had been his host. And he didn’t trust her enough to admit it either, and show his vulnerability.

He didn’t think he was a cold blooded killer, although of course humans weren’t Eightfold anyway. And Diopside had already suggested that Serpentine was too involved with her host.

As Emerald struggled to find a way to get her to see reason, Joey spoke in his mind. “Call me. I got this.”

Emerald resisted the idea a moment, then shrugged internally. “Like you said to me before, call me back.”

There was no point making more specific demands, such as a time frame. Either they could trust each other or they couldn’t.

Emerald thought about what the human might know or be able to do that would help, knowing that the thought would turn him into …

Joey.

Joey looked directly at Brandy, even though she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He said, “You’re so beautiful, and you hated me from the instant you saw me. I wish I understood why. Of course you might never have liked me anyway, but I wish I had a chance.”