Release

  Rinzal pulled away from her then.

  “I am part of the Team Tiegal.”

  Tiegal gasped. She wanted to scream.

  “What? You set me up?” she shouted.

  “Shhh, please. No, I didn’t set you up. I meant what I said. I came here to help you. Look, today is the anniversary of when you disappeared and came back. Atla is obsessed with it. You must realise that by now. That’s why he keeps you in here like this. I don’t know the details, but I think he is planning to use this day to see what he can generate from you. He plans to manipulate your emotions, to show others what these kind of old world longings can do to someone.”

  He paused then, as though not sure whether to say any more. But she heard him anyway.

  “He is planning to use Zeno, to get to me?” she asked.

  “Yes! And me too. He thinks that it was your connection with me that created the big release.”

  Tiegal felt a wave of panic knock her off her feet. Rinzal grabbed her to prevent her fall.

  “Tiegal! Stay strong now. This is your chance. To get out of here! Now you are fully armoured. You can hide your thoughts now and still access the thoughts others think they have hidden. You have all the mind power now and that hidden energy too. They can’t win. You can!”

  Rinzal turned away to head to the door. He stopped to look at her straight in the eye, flashing his pupils at her to let her know he wanted her to read him:

  I will tell Zeno what you are now capable of. We are on your side Tiegal. It won’t seem like it when you see us at first, but I can assure you that we are. You must use the mind barrier ability now that you have it. Play Atla at his games, but do it better, and then find your escape. You have done it before. You can do it again. Follow your dreams and go find him Tiegal. Find the male from the other world. Find your destiny!

  13.Power

  Rinzal had tried to prepare her. The Team arrived only an hour after he left, but no amount of warning could have prepared her for the way they stormed into her cabin, all grimace-faced, ready to cause humiliation and pain. They were not usually so brutal in their handling of her, but they had almost yanked her arms out of their sockets in their efforts to move her from the cabin to this stark, industrial-looking room.

  Rinzal had said she had all the power and yet she had never felt so weak. Her screaming sobs of rage and panic must have frightened the kimberlings on the nearby camps. They had been forced to drag her, kicking and fighting, across the rose gardens as they led her towards a corridor at the back of Atlas’ Estate.

  And now she was here - strapped on this cold, hard slab of metal - she was struggling to find any reserves of strength at all. All she wanted in this moment was to sleep. To disappear into the euphoric bliss of her dreams.

  But there was a lingering odour taunting her nostrils. It made her want to vomit everything inside; to release her from anything they were planning to extract from her.

  Zeno had just arrived. And she had brought a scent of danger with her. Even though Rinzal had promised that she was a secret ally, Tiegal couldn’t hide the obvious body tremble, because she just couldn’t shake the feeling that her oldest friend was not really on her side.

  Zeno’s diamond pupils were flickering extreme bright light, responding like automatic torches to sudden darkness. This was the first thing that alarmed Tiegal. This experimentation room was the opposite of darkness. Zeno’s eye-light was far more intense than needed for a room with such a strong electric light source.

  “I have come to show you something. Are you able to sit up a little?” Zeno’s question was delivered with an unfamiliar curtness.

  She spoke with superiority, showing none of the gentleness in their friendship before.

  Zeno loosened the belts that contained her and stood back. Tiegal nodded at her and pushed her hands down on the cold metal underneath her so that she could rest her back on the wall behind. The pressure forced her left arm to unbalance. Her elbow gave way causing her body to bang hard against the side wall. She slammed her head into the concrete with one quick blow.

  “It’s no good pretending to be weak Tiegal. We know you have more to give.” Zeno paused, flashing her eye light more furiously towards Tiegal. Her sockets were all brightness, not a hint of the darkness normally seen around the pupil.

  “You know, I did want to help you Tiegal. We shared some useful connections before. I always appreciated your atypical ways. I even considered that it helped me connect to a higher intelligence, just by being near you.”

  Tiegal stared at Zeno, willing her to stop playing this charade; hoping it was all an act, and that she was still the ally she remembered her to be. They had shared so many memories. They had been friends.

  Surely Zeno could not really be so changed?

  “You can change a lot Tiegal. And you did!”

  Tiegal gasped. Zeno could still hear her deeper thoughts, which meant Tiegal was no longer armoured. Zeno laughed; an uncomfortable snigger. It didn’t fit the scene; it wasn’t a match to her obvious anger.

  “Of course, I can hear what you are thinking. You are still an open book for all to see. I can’t understand why they are all so afraid of you!”

  Tiegal didn’t respond. She needed to think about this, yet she didn’t dare to think about it – or anything else. This was power; one that Zeno had over her right now.

  Empty my thoughts. Put them somewhere else.

  “Oh no, you don’t want to do that Tiegal. There is nothing you can do to prevent me from accessing your thoughts. There is no off button for this with you. You always pledged to develop a barrier that would enable control over who could read your mind. That was always your plan. You told me many times, even in your sleep. But it’s just not in your power!”

  Tiegal managed a weak smile.

  “Yes, I guess I am the odd one out! I never did manage to work out how to do that. I always hoped you would help me find the barriers Zeno. You were always the smart one.”

  “YOU put the barriers around yourself. You created a storm when you disappeared the way you did,” Zeno spat back.

  So, this was the problem. Her suspicions were confirmed. Her energy release had disrupted the peace. She had raised the bar, made them want more, to connect the way she had with Rinzal. At least, that’s what they all seemed to have assumed; that it was Rinzal who created her big release.

  “Yes Tiegal. Now you are thinking again. Too many others saw how your colours blended with Rinzal in the water. It was intense, powerful, and dangerous; all of those things. And, not only that, they all heard your vulgar thoughts about connecting physically with a male too. Your dirty desires!

  “It’s caused chaos here. Almost a quarter of the engineering compound have displayed changes in their colours in the last year and have started spending more time exchanging with only one other – like a form of monogamy, as it used to be – and some…some have even tried a bit of the physical intimacy…kissing…and other disgusting things!”

  Tiegal watched her old friend - she still wanted to think of her that way, despite how unkindly she was behaving towards her now – and she saw her, the real essence of her.

  The trace of colour around Zeno’s frame was no longer pure blue. The mist of particles that seeped out of her Derado had changed colour. Even the diamond in the pendant had transformed too. It looked more like the one she wore. It was pink! Zeno was feeling more, she was deepening.

  “And you asked for it Tiegal! You brought it upon yourself! I told you not to yearn for more. We all told you this love connection they used to practice only brings you darkness, that it will just drain you, that it would douse your fire. But you never listened!”

  Zeno grumbled these last words. It wasn’t an angry noise, more helpless frustration.

  “You willed a perfect love match and you got him! Pronto!” Zeno shouted at her.

  It was this last word that got Tiegal’s attention: Pronto – that was their secret word, when they were younger, as little k
imberlings sneaking out on their camp decking together, to marvel at the stars and share secrets. It was Zeno who came up with it. A trigger word she could use to kick-start Tiegal into using her powers when she forgot she had them, on the days when she was too tired to remember the special things contained inside her.

  Listen to me Tiegal. Come on, you are stronger than this. You need to hear me. Dig deeper!

  Tiegal heard this loud and clear. And, at the same time, she felt her fingers spark with jolts at the fingertips. She could feel and hear the beat of Rinzal’s heart inside of them. She was ready to be powerful again. It was time.

  She flashed her eye light at Zeno, to let her know she was armoured again. Zeno nodded, her shoulders relaxed in relief.

  You took your time Tiegal. Listen, Atla is on his way. You need to keep the rhythm going that Rinzal gave to you. It’s your only way to make sure you are always one step ahead of everyone else. Zeno communicated.

  What is he planning? Tiegal channelled her response between the light of their pupils.

  I’m not one hundred percent sure Tiegal. All I know is that I was ordered to come in here and make you feel drained by showing you my anger and resentment at how you have affected everyone. Of course, you know I don’t feel that way. I just have to pretend I do. But there is not much time and I don’t know who is watching us. I think you should pretend you’re tired again and close your eyes for a few seconds, so that it looks like I am actually draining your energy. They won’t give you your Derado if they think you have anything left inside you.

  Tiegal flashed a ‘yes’ response with her eyes. She then closed her lids. As she counted to ten in her head, she concentrated on the rhythm of the throbbing beats in her finger tips, relieved to know her reserves of energy were building up inside them. She reached ten and turned her focus back to Zeno, who was facing her. She had more to communicate:

  Okay, good, see the long mirror behind me?

  Tiegal flashed a yes with her pupils.

  There are nearly fifty Tandroans watching you from behind there. Atla has placed them there as both a punishment and a warning. They are all being kept in isolation because of how they responded to your transportation; because they engaged in physical intimacy. Today is Release Day, as you know, but they have all had their Derados taken away or have been denied their day to receive one. Atla wants to use this day to show them the darkness you have brought them with your emotional release last year.

  The sound of footsteps nearby quickened the beat of Tiegals’ heart, distracting her from Zeno’s communication. She willed herself to hear the last words before they were interrupted by a new presence in the room.

  It’s time Tiegal. Whatever happens next, please know that you will always be my friend. I am only playing the game he wants me to play. But remember, you have the upper hand. You just have to use it!

  The foul odour of durian fruit filled the room in one heady burst: Atla.

  Tiegal fingers sparked in response. She rolled onto her side, burying them into the sheet the Team had wrapped around her naked frame when they strapped her in earlier.

  “Release Tiegal Eureka!” Atla ordered two male Team members, who stood the required two feet behind him at all times. Zeno had moved herself out of Tiegal’s eye line, but she could still smell her. She was no longer the scent of fear. Now, Zeno released her familiar scent: morning dew; the smell of promise, and hope – of more innocent times when they were younger.

  Atla approached the metal table, his arms folded as he waited for two male Tandroans to unclasp the buckles that constrained Tiegal. As soon as she felt her arms were free, she swivelled herself around, so that she could hide her hands under her bottom. The sparks were burning at her fingertips. She could not afford to let Atla see what was building inside her. Not as he was just about to place her Derado around her neck. She dared herself a lingering glance into his strange eyes – dark brown irises with black pupils, the identifying marker that connected him to the older world - as he clasped the rose gold collar around her neck.

  She could hear his excitement inside him. He was planning to build her up into an emotional frenzy, for the spectators behind the mirror to watch and learn from. He wanted them to see how she was an abomination to their evolution. And there was more – an indecision. He had also not yet decided whether he would let her live through it!

  This knowledge should have frightened her - that she could be facing imminent death – but she felt a strange sense of acceptance settle her breathing.

  “What superior being do you think you are Tiegal Eureka? Do you think you can corrupt over a hundred years of order? My Team have reported their findings to me. How you have tried to manipulate them into believing that we will get more energy from the old ways. Two of them have suffered the consequences of this already.”

  Atla squeezed his hands around her throat. She could feel his breath panting with venomous anger on her hair. He spattered his words out with such rage they pricked at the skin on her shoulders, like the tips of daggers that threatened to lunge deeper with each contact.

  “We did value your power Tiegal. That is why we have kept you in isolation this past year. To allow you to recover from your energy transportation and to see what else you could offer. But you have only tried to manipulate some of our greatest minds like Zeno here. Whatever you were conversing about just now, it was not good for her. I could see how her Derado colours changed to that emotional colour of yours. I cannot accept this kind of control you seem intent on acquiring,” Atla declared.

  It was a judgment; a resolution. Í cannot accept. Atla had come to a decision. Tiegal, and her energy, must be eradicated. It was clarity of the purest kind. Her life would soon be ended. She would vibrate no more. Her fire would no longer burn.

  As if on cue, Atla yanked her arm so that she had no choice but to cower in a crouch on the floor. He then grabbed a bucket from one of the male members of his Team and chucked the entire contents of it over her.

  “There! See how you like it when your fire is extinguished. Because that’s what your energy does Tiegal. You douse everyone’s fire with your vile thoughts!”

  Tiegal jerked as the icy cold water hit her but she did not say a word in response. Instead, she closed her eyes and waited. For him to resort to such a strange, almost immature act, suggested to her that he had gone off script. Which could only mean one thing: she really was in danger of reaching her demise.

  And no one knew how Atla ordered the end of disruptive beings. The modern ways had never been revealed. The older ways were quite simple and quick; beheading, strangulation, hanging. She had a feeling, from the way he was holding her down, her knees on the floor, that he would opt for something clean and quick too.

  But then a new body entered the room. It carried a familiar smell with it. A mix of wood, lime and ginger, followed by the undeniable taste of buttery popcorn in her mouth.

  “Rinzal!” She opened her eyes as she shouted his name, spinning around to confirm he had indeed entered her oxygen space once more.

  It was Rinzal. He shot out desperate warning flickers from his eyes. Orange and red flashes that signalled he was surrounded by danger. Tiegal managed to stand up, only just aware that Atla was no longer holding her down and was now leaning against the wall.

  Why has he let me go?

  It only took a few seconds for her to realise the answer: it was a trick! Atla was very much back on script. He wanted – expected - her to fall apart with emotion at the sight of her energy match.

  He really has underestimated me then. And…grossly misunderstood me too!

  Stealing a glance over her shoulder, she clocked Atla’s body language: arms clasped across his puffed-out chest. It was clear he was waiting to see how her reunion with the male from the Pyramid unfolded.

  I have more power now! Your aides can’t hear all my thoughts! Not now that Rinzal has shown me what to do!

  Her fingers sparked underneath her body where she still hid them. A
nd it was Rinzals’ words who came to her mind - one of his theories he had shared with her during their earlier days on the teaching camp:

  If you try to fight power with power, you give it power. The only way to reduce the strength of another’s power is to withdraw from where it wills you to go!

  Tiegal processed this carefully, quickly calculating how this theory applied to her conflict with Atla. The ruler always wore purple and black. His energy assumed he was right, that his power was the only way for good, even if that meant oppressing the energy of others. It granted him a narcissistic allowance to take energy from whoever he wanted, without replacing it with his own. He didn’t exchange. He simply took. Aggression, oppression, intimidation were his weapons; like the blood sucking vampires of stories told in the older days, before the new rule. He was an energy vampire - the secret nickname that Rinzal had given him.

  If only she could speak directly with Rinzal now - without anyone else hearing - and ask him for answers to survive the danger she now faced. How do you fight a vampire? That would be her first question. She knew they had written about this, in lifetimes before, when imagination – that wonderful concept, fantasy – had been encouraged.

  Tiegal could feel her control slipping away. She was losing the strength she needed to connect with Rinzal’s beats for much longer. The members of the Team who stood close by were trying to access her thoughts. Atla was getting impatient.

  “What is she concocting in that devious head of hers now then?” she heard him say.

  Time was running out. If she was going to survive, she needed to give him something.

  What if I choose not to fight it? This energy game Atla wants to play with me? What if I let him take some of it, my fear? I can’t hide that. It is too easy to extract what smoulders on the surface.

  This was another one of the insights Rinzal had shared, one she remembered now:

  Fear is like a gullible food source for energy vampires.

  It had sounded so ridiculous before. Now – it was a lifeline.