The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [48]
Later, as she went to sleep, she considered Xan City—untouched, unexplored for decades, if not centuries. Tomorrow the ancient collapsed city would be her playground. There, Aethyr would look upon secrets that no one else on Krypton had the nerve to discover.
CHAPTER 19
During their time together, Lara had seen more of the real Jor-El than anyone else bothered to notice. She learned his fascinations, memorized his changing expressions. Jor-El was unaware of her surreptitious observation, too busy looking at all the things she pointed out to him. Lara was thrilled to have shown him as much as she did.
And at last, Lara knew what to paint on the final obelisk. It was perfect.
After the arrival of the alien spaceship—quite an unusual ending to their date!—Jor-El had not wanted to send her back to the estate by herself, but she gave him no option. “I don’t need a bodyguard or a babysitter. I can take care of myself.”
He had flushed with embarrassment. “I didn’t mean—”
“Jor-El, you have to stay behind and deal with this. It’s too important to leave in the hands of the Council members.” Besides, since she had her inspiration, Lara wanted to get back to the last obelisk so she could surprise him.
Now, engrossed in painting the solitary stone near the corkscrewing tower, Lara didn’t even notice how alone she was on the mysterious estate. Her parents had packed up their scaffolding and materials, ready to return to their Kandor studios. The apprentices had already departed with most of the equipment, like a legendary army retreating from an encampment. Ki-Van had gone back to his classes in the city.
Lara, though, intended to stay until she was done. She implied that Jor-El had given her permission to do so, and she was sure he wouldn’t mind. She also took time to write down her thoughts and impressions of him, documenting what the two of them had done in Kandor, describing the events leading up to the arrival of the alien spaceship. Maybe someday she would write Jor-El’s biography.
At the moment, though, art was her outlet. She painted the obelisk’s background with sweeping colors to imply radical ideas, paradigm shifts, and the wellspring of scientific imagination. This stone would convey a rare and vital aspect of Kryptonian society, a quality that too few people still showed: Genius. And who better to symbolize that concept than Jor-El himself?
She applied another brushstroke and stepped back. She had outdone herself. The heart of the image was just the face of Jor-El—the real Jor-El.
Before he joined the others leaving the work site, her father came up behind her and watched her paint. “Haven’t lost interest yet? You’re putting far more passion into that one painting than I’ve ever seen you apply to any other project.”
She blushed at his knowing smile. “It’s an important project to me.”
“I can see that you’ve paid a great deal of attention to Jor-El himself.” Lor-Van nodded toward the painting.
“I wanted to get the likeness right.” She tried to keep a defensive tone out of her voice. “Not enough people bother to look at Jor-El. They consider him either a crackpot or a slightly sad figure.”
“I can see that in your painting. And yes, your mother and I can also see that you’re attracted to him.”
Lara didn’t deny it. “I think he’s growing fond of me as well.”
“How could he not?” Lor-Van said with a chuckle. “Just look at you.”
“Yes, he has looked at me—and talked to me, and listened to me. It’s probably a new experience for him.” She hesitated, serious now. “Are my excuses to stay here that transparent?”
“Oh, they’re reasonable enough for now. The key will come if Jor-El wants you to stay even after you run out of excuses.”
“He just might.” Smiling, Lara flipped her hair away