He assessed the room methodically, stopping to look with disgust at each of his men littered about the floor before his eyes came to a rest on the crystal under Tashina’s foot and said, “Well, it appears we seem to be at a stand still...or are we? The only reason I can think of that would keep you from destroying the crystal is you want to strike a deal. Am I right? What could you possibly have besides the crystal that would be useful to me?” Th’ael drawled out before adding in his multi-layered voice, “Bring me the crystal, old woman.”
“That doesn’t work on me and I’m far more useful to you alive then dead,” bated Tashina.
“Oh and why is that?” asked Th’ael, with a tinge of curiosity in his voice.
“I have the sight and know you could use someone with my abilities in the coming war. So here’s my proposition. I’ll open the Portal and relay to you any visions I see regarding the coming war and once we get to your home planet I want to go through the immortality process. I’m growing tired of this old body as you called it and would like to be young again,” offered Tashina coldly.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
KIYA
Kiya wasn’t quite sure if she had heard her grandmother correctly until she felt Aarik tighten his hold on her and say, “What is she thinking?!”
Pushing against him with all her might, she growled, “Let me go! I need to see her!” When Aarik loosened his hold, she flipped around in his arms and studied her Grams. There was no way her Grams would turn against them. Th’ael studied Tashina closely and said, “Prove it. Prove to me you have the sight.”
“What do you want to know?” answered Tashina, leaning over slowly to pick up the crystal, only removing her foot when she had the crystal firmly grasped in her weathered hand.
“Will I kill the Ah’naki female, standing next to you, for failing like the others around her?” asked Th’ael, as he stared at the aforementioned female, daring her to challenge him.
Tashina smirked and said, “Yes, and I could tell you how, but that would spoil the surprise. Don’t you think?”
Th’ael laughed out loud before he appeared with lightning speed behind the Ah’naki female and snapped her neck in the next second. Releasing her just as quickly, he stepped over her dead body and said, “I didn’t expect you to have an evil streak, old woman, you could prove useful after all. Hand over the origin crystal and I will consider your proposal.”
Kiya waited with bated breath for her Grams to do something spectacular, but instead she walked toward the back wall and hovered her hand over the empty chamber in the crystal wall and said, “Not before we have an agreement. You have my word. Do I have yours?”
Kiya couldn’t stop herself from crying out, “Grams. What are you doing? How is this supposed to be helping us?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m choosing the winning side and making a deal for my immortality. I’m done helping you. You have been nothing but a burden to me since the day you killed my daughter.” replied Tashina snidely, before she turned towards Th’ael and said, “I want to hear the words and not just any words. Give me the Ah’naki oath.”
Th’ael look surprised at Tashina’s demand, but with a nod he agreed, “Only if you return the favor. You must know how the oath works or you wouldn’t have demanded it.”
Kiya, still reeling from her grandmother’s cutting remark, didn’t want to believe the loving woman who raised her could be so harsh. She replayed the statement over and over in her mind and couldn’t help but wonder how she didn’t pick up on her Gram’s resentment sooner. She tried to keep in her mind their last conversation where she told her to ignore what she heard and saw, but felt there must be some truth in the statement. Otherwise how would she have come up with it in the first place? Dwelling further on it would have to wait as Kiya watched her Grams hold out her hand and say, “I’m prepared. I offer my hand willingly to you.”
Th’ael approached Tashina and studied her eyes before he clasped her hand in his and said, “Repeat after me. Me eribu annu mamitu mina, willingly we enter this oath. Ni kad za-e, I bind you. Za’e kad ni, you bind me. Tamu ina ag, I swear through fire. Tamu ina kia, I swear through earth. Tamu ina anna, I swear through air. Tamu ina adur, I swear through water. Tamu ina zi, I swear through spirit. Adi adannu u lu mitu, until the appointed time or death.”
Tashina repeated the oath line for line and only paused for a moment before uttering the last statement with a slight quiver to her voice, tying herself to the man in front of her until they each fulfilled their end of the bargain. The air around them glowed for a brief moment when she finished, sealing her fate, for better or worse. Kiya stood in a daze as she tried to process what had happened before her very eyes and, as she watched her grandmother slide the crystal into place, she couldn’t deny the betrayal any further.
The moment Tashina inserted the amethyst, the one her family had protected from the beginning, into the wall, it powered to life, lighting up the gems next to it one by one. When the last crystal sparked to life, an arc of electricity jetted from the center of the wall out towards the obelisks at the entrance to the room. At the point of contact, the obelisks crackled with electricity as tendrils of electricity danced on the surface, producing a rainbow of colors up and down the structures causing them to hum with energy.
Plasma filaments from each of the obelisks discharged into the surrounding air, causing the hair all over Kiya’s body to rise in response. The electric buzz the energy in the room produced grew until everyone in the room moved to cover their ears from the intensity of the vibrations. Th’ael dropped her grandmother's hand and raising both of his arms in the air he uttered a command causing the sound to die down to a low hum as he lowered his arms.
Th’ael looked over at Kiya with a smile and said, “Even though this day didn’t end as I expected, with the two of you dead, I believe I won this round. It really must sting to have your very own flesh and blood stab you in the back like this. Of all of the things I’ve imagined doing to you, to make you pay for angering me, something like this never crossed my mind. I feel like it’s a fitting punishment...For now, I’ll take pleasure in knowing you’ll spend time dwelling on how the person who raised you actually abhorred you. All those memories from your childhood were a lie. You will weaken your resolve in this war, making things easier on me in the end and, if you don’t, I’ll have your grandmother to keep me apprised of anything I need to be made aware of.”
If Aarik hadn’t been holding Kiya, she would have collapsed to the ground with the weight of her grief. She studied her grandmother for any kind of sign the last five minutes were just an act, but when their eyes met there was no kindness to be found. Feeling devastated, Kiya struggled to maintain her composure as she faced Th’ael and said, “You’re right, losing her this way makes it hard, but I’ll live….because of the woman standing next to you. Every time I find myself dwelling on this day, I’ll push myself to remember the loving grandmother who raised me as her own. She instilled in me a strong sense of right and wrong and helped me be the independent woman I am today. When she leaves this world, the woman I know will be dead to me and I will mourn her passing.”
Keeping a stern face proved futile as a single tear escaped from the corner of her right eye, but instead of wiping it away she let it fall and imagined it burning into her flesh. Turning her pain into anger, she chocked back the lump in her throat and braced herself for another attack, be it verbal or physical. Aarik pulled her in tighter and, bringing his mouth to her ear said, “This is far from over. Remember everything happens for a reason and I’ll be damned if I let you forget it.” Tightening her hold on Aarik when words failed her, she hoped it relayed how much it meant to her that he was there in her time of need.
“That’s excellent advice, Aarik. In time everything will be as it should be...Although...among my people, we have a slightly different take on fate. You see, whenever possible, we find it’s beneficial to cheat. We cheated death when my species developed technology
to manipulate the telomeres of our DNA, allowing us to become immortal. We cheated planetary annihilation when we conquered other worlds after our own planet's resources were exhausted. Some would call it cheating when we destroy whatever progress has been made by the planet incumbents, pushing them back to the dark ages every so often, but it keeps us at an advantage. I’m disappointed and sad my brother was unsuccessful in accomplishing this very mission, but I know he looks down at me from the cosmos and is proud that I succeeded where he failed,” touted Th’ael in an arrogant tone.
“You might have succeeded in returning home, but you are far from winning this war. I’ll instruct my men to destroy the Portal, sealing you from this world forever,” spit Sorr from the floor as she struggled against the ropes binding her and tried, unsuccessfully, to stand up.
“You think that would stop us? How do you think we got here in the first place?” inquired Th’ael, turning to study the small woman in greater detail.
“No, but it should buy us enough time to further advance ourselves technologically. Giving the human race a fighting chance to beat you the next time we meet on the battlefield,” answered Sorr with a sneer.
Th’ael laughed maniacally before he replied, “So naïve, which just proves you are nowhere near as ready as you think you are. Destroying the Origin would only inhibit your advancement. This device can send you anywhere not just my planet but it’s not the only way here. There are wormholes everywhere. How do you think we got here in the first place? Go ahead and destroy it, I like the fact that you would be stranding yourselves to this primitive world. Isolating yourselves from other advanced civilizations.”
“I’m an educated woman and using reverse psychology on me is not going to work. I will make it my personal mission to ensure you and your people are stopped once and for all,” argued Sorr, as she tried to blow the hair out of her eyes so she could stare him down with her beady eyes.
Th’ael’s smile faded and, when he began murmuring under his breath, Kiya felt Aarik stiffen. Fearful Th’ael’s voice could somehow get past the barrier, Kiya started singing Lazy Daisy as loud as possible and when Aarik joined in she stepped out of his hold, turned to the group and encouraged them to sing along. Kiya glanced at Sorr, expecting her to be singing as well, but instead found her rocking back and forth to the music with a blank look in her eyes, as if no one was home anymore.
“She’ll have a hard time following through on that promise when she can’t remember her own name,” Th’ael commented, before he grasped a hold of Tashina’s hand and said, “Although it’s been fun. It’s time for us to go home. Are you ready, Tashina?” Kiya flipped around to see her grandmother’s response.
“More than you will ever know,” Tashina replied, before glancing one last time in Kiya’s direction. Kiya held her gaze for a brief second and thought for a moment she saw regret flash through her eyes, before it vanished to be replaced with a look of extreme determination. Aarik must have sensed her need, because he moved behind her once again and put his hand on her shoulder in comfort.
Th’ael brought his hands over his head and pushed them together into a steeple. Holding them in place, he started chanting using his multi-layered voice. Pushing apart his hands, he shoved them towards the spiral design, inlaid into the stone floor, and held them out forcefully. His voice rose and fell with the chant and when the last syllable left his lips the metal spiral arms of the inlaid design moved apart. They began to spiral around the gem at the center, producing a mechanical whirring sound as the parts moved against each other after centuries of disuse. Increasing in speed, the arms moved so fast they appeared to merge into one as they rotated around the center.
When the arms reached maximum speed, they generated a low vibration which traveled through the room in barely visible waves. The moment the vibrations connected with the crystal wall and obelisks, they each released a bolt of electricity into the amethyst at the center of the swirling arms on the floor. The energy beams converged on the gem, filling it with light until it glowed so brightly it almost hurt to look at. Squinting her eyes, Kiya stood speechless as she watched an electrical bolt shoot up out of the amethyst, ripping the very fabric of space-time on its way up. Shielding her eyes from the resulting flash, she slowly peeked through her fingers and watched in amazement as the hole widened, revealing a Portal to Th’ael’s home world.
Everyone behind the protective shield responded in kind and when Anna approached the protective shield to get a closer look, Kiya looked over her shoulder at Aarik and said, “Does your shield keep people in as well as out?”
Aarik looked down at Kiya and with pride replied, “Nobody is getting through that wall. If she touches it she’ll not like the consequences.”
“Good, cause we’re going to need everyone possible if we plan on having a better outcome next time we face the Ah’naki,” Kiya said with a sigh.
Aarik motioned to get Taylor’s attention and nodded his head toward Anna before he said, “Anna, I have the shield set to stun so, unless you care for a headache, you shouldn’t touch it.”
Taylor walked up next to Anna and grabbed her hand, gently tugging on it, he said, “You’ll have a chance to study it when they are gone. Please do me a favor and step away from the barrier. I need you safe and free from harm.”
“Did you see that? We’re looking at a wormhole, an actual rift in space-time!” Anna rambled as she let Taylor lead her away from the barrier before she looked over at Kiya and whispered, “Your Grams is an excellent actress. Don’t believe a word he says. I know she loves you!”
Ignoring everyone behind the barrier, Th’ael instructed the remaining Ah’naki, lucky enough to have arrived with him, to stay behind and only follow after him when the Portal began to deconstruct on itself. “Since we don’t want this group following after us, I only powered the Portal for a minute. I want it guarded until the last second. I doubt Aarik will be strong enough to follow suit, after expending so much energy protecting his useless friends. I’ll inform the royal families to increase the number of guards at every entrance, the moment we arrive, just in case,” proclaimed Th’ael, spinning around dramatically, his robe flared behind him as he led Tashina to the Portal and said, “There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. Just step forward and before you know it, you’ll have crossed millions of miles by the time you take your next breath.”
Kiya’s grandmother didn’t hesitate and, without giving her another look, stepped through the rift without Th’ael, disappearing into nothingness. Th’ael paused before following suit and said, “She should have waited. In my day, every entrance was guarded, and we didn’t take kindly to unannounced strangers. I’ll know if she was telling the truth about her gift if she is still alive when I cross.” Looking at Kiya one more time, he sneered and said, “Until next time.”
“You bastard,” bit out Kiya, under her breath, stepping forward in anger as she watched Th’ael disappear into the Portal.
Aarik tightened his hold on her shoulder and said, “Wait.”
As the last Ah’naki entered through the rift, the tattered edges of the Portal seamed to stitch themselves back together until the only thing left behind, to indicate something had just happened, was the sound of the metallic whir slowing down and the smell of ozone in the air. Aarik dropped the shield when the spiral arms came to a stop and said, “Don’t think I could have kept that up much longer. In fact, could someone tie up Sorr’s men before I lose them as well?”
Taylor and Anna followed behind Sorr’s men as Aarik instructed them with the last of his strength, to sit next to their comatose boss. As Sorr stared off into space, Anna untied her so they could lasso everyone together. Taylor made quick work of the rope, while Anna shoved pieces of her cardigan into their mouth to keep them quiet. When they finished, Taylor stood up, wiped his hands on his jeans and said, “Not enough rope for my liking to perform a proper Hojōjutsu restraint, but the handcuff knot should hold them. I hate to say we have Th’ael to thank for an
ything, but not having to worry about Sorr is one less worry. What are we going to do with the others? If we leave them here they could starve to death.”
Aarik dropped to his knees and holding his head said, “We might have to. We can’t let them go and I don’t want to take the chance of causing permanent damage by messing with their minds like Th’ael did. Let’s see how amenable they are to switching sides after I release them. They were probably just following orders and could be reasonable.”
“Leave that up to me,” boomed a deep voice from beyond the hallway, just before a man dressed in an impeccable suit entered the room, who looked eerily similar to Th’ael; just an older, more distinguished version.
CHAPTER TWENTY
AARIK
At the unexpected sound of another intruder, Aarik dropped the hold he had over Sorr’s men and attempted to erect another protective barrier.
“That won’t be necessary. Allow me to introduce myself,” announced the newcomer. He stopped his advancement into the room and looked around at all the mayhem before his eyes landed on the glowing crystal wall and said, “My name is Commander Rh’ael Rais and I’m in charge of this operation. Jones get these men out of here, I’d like a chance to speak with Dr. Landon and his team alone.”
His men must have been just outside the door, awaiting directions from the big guy, because Jones and a team of twenty filed in from the hallway, appearing out of nowhere. Working together, they removed all evidence of their earlier fight. Placing Sorr’s men in handcuffs, Jones looked at the unresponsive director with pity before he said, “What do you want me to do with her, Commander? She doesn’t seem to be in there.”
“Let me see her. I’ll see if I can determine what’s been done to her,” responded Rais, dismissing Jones in his next breath, “Thank you, Jones. Please wait in the hallway.”
Rais waited until they were alone in the room before he knelt in front of Sorr and said, “Let’s see what you’ve been up to.” Placing his fingers on her forehead, he closed his eyes and when he opened them he tsked at her and said, “I am very disappointed, Madeline. You had direct instructions to contact me as soon as you knew who was in possession of the origin crystal. I let my brother erase your memories because I planned on removing you from your position and would have had to do it myself anyway. He saved me the time.” Raising his voice he added, “Jones, take Ms. Sorr to the helicopter. I’ll deal with her later.”
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