by Leyton, Bisi
Felip’s skin looked unusually pale and his face was a mess of bruises from a recent altercation with a Dy’obeth.
“Why does that Dog still address me directly?” High Father’s face contorted into a grimace.
“Felip, you are never, ever to talk to High Father,” Bach’s mother advised. “Leave us.”
Maniko stormed up to him. “You are not supposed to even be in here. This meeting is for Dy’obeths, not for—you.”
A Dy’obeth male stepped out of the shadows and grabbed Felip, tossing him out of the room and preceded to pummel Felip in the chest and face.
Bach smiled as Felip screamed. You want to see him die, don’t you? Kill him for us, the darkness told him. He wanted to after everything Felip did to him. Knowing he remained alive unsettled him.
“His whines are disturbing me.” High Father waved his hand.
Moving across the room, Lluc shut the door, but not before smirking at his whimpering cousin.
“Do not let them hurt me Bach,” Felip cried out to him. “I can help you. You need me.”
“Shall I dispose of him?” Maniko glanced at Bach’s mother. “Or does Coia still want her pet here?”
“We still need his help for setting the remaining brethren free,” Bach’s mother explained. “That is all he means to me.”
“Fine, but if I ever see him again, I’ll handle him myself,” High Father promised. “And he will die once we have released the last of the brethren. I’m tired of him. Thank you Maniko for your offer.”
“It’s my honor to serve you.” The girl glanced at Bach and whispered, “Perhaps you’ll let me serve you too.”
“Coia, why is he the one who opens the thresholds? It makes no sense for us to trust a filthy Dog with something so important,” Beraz spoke up.
The room chorused in agreement.
His mother moved toward Beraz and struck him across the face. “How dare you question me? You were locked up for thousands of years and failed to find a way for High Father to escape. You have no right to open your fat mouth and question me.”
Beraz collapsed as she hit him again.
“Coia, stop,” commanded High Father. “No one here is challenging what you have done.”
“That is not what it sounded like.” She scowled at Beraz.
“We need to concentrate on keeping our appointment with the Seven Elders. We shouldn’t keep them waiting,” High Father said.
“Very well.” She moved to a dusty cracked dark glass threshold and ran her hand over the control orb.
The glass vibrated violently and then shattered, but the dark glass held in place.
“You will need obsidian coral to journey through,” Bach reminded her. “Otherwise, the threshold will rip you apart.”
“Obsidian coral?” High Father looked over at Bach.
“The obsidian coral was required for the Family to be able to journey through,” his mother explained.
Peering down at his Rhodium wristband, Bach clenched his fist. “Should we not at least send a Famila through first to ensure the threshold is calibrated?”
“That was something the Family did because they were cowards. We are not,” High Father remarked.
“This is going to be awesome.” Maniko laughed. “I so want to see those Dogs groveling at my feet.”
“Enough talk Maniko, we need to leave.” High Father stepped up to the threshold, thick, silvery glass seeped out covering his arms and his entire body then sucked him into the darkness.
Bach’s mother followed.
One by one, the Dy’obeths went into the dark threshold.
Bach then stepped into the freezing darkness, emerging in a gold and honey colored hall lined with stone and golden statues of the Family’s dead Sens. Looking around, he noticed ridges carved into the sides of the wall slanting upwards like seats around a theatre. It was the throne room of Trogia Palace and the most sacred location in the Family’s home realm. It was where the Seven Elders met, passed judgment, made laws or debated the finer points of the Family’s philosophy. More than once, Bach sat among the thousands of people who watched the open sessions.
A circular black table stood in the center of the throne room. Seated around it, were the seven elders dressed in white robes, trimmed with the individual colors of their various Pillars. The Seven Elders were the Six Sens who led the Six Pillars of the Family, plus the new Lord of Jarthan.
“What is this?” Bach’s father, Sen Aleix of the Third Pillar rose and stormed toward them when he saw the Dy’obeths emerge from their threshold. “This is a private meeting. How dare you interrupt?”
Bach’s blood boiled at the sight of the man who’d ordered an empiric to stab him. Clenching his fists, he recalled how vile and hateful his father had been when he’d learned Bach loved a human. He wanted nothing more than to wallop the man into the ground.
“This insolence will be atoned for. I swear it,” 302-year-old Pere, Sen of the Sixth Pillar, rasped. He pointed his black staff at the Dy’obeths. “Sentinels.”
“That is enough,” High Father seethed.
“You should—” Bach’s father started.
“Silence.” Karvas marched toward him, smashing Bach father’s face and he fell to the ground. “We don’t engage with Dogs.”
The remaining Six Elders huddled closer to the table as the Dy’obeths surrounded him.
Bach’s father stood up. “What are you?”
“Are you deaf? I don’t talk to your kind.” Grabbing Bach’s father, Karvas tossed him a few feet away from the Elders. “I’m going to enjoy picking the flesh off your bones.”
“Do not touch him yet.” Bach’s mother stepped out from behind High Father.
For the first time, Bach’s father saw her. “Coia?” He looked bewildered. “You were dead. The Terrans killed you.”
She laughed. “No Aleix, you left me for dead.”
“Don’t tell me you pity your lowly husband?” Karvas seethed. “This is the second Dog you have protected.”
“No.” Bach’s mother stared coldly at her one time husband and pointed to High Father. “As High Father of the Dy’obeths, he is supposed to have first blood.”
“High Father of the what?” Rasping, Bach’s father forced himself up. “Are you all crazy? You have done this because of a fairy tale of blood thirsties?”
“Fairy tale?” Seizing Bach’s father’s neck, Beraz lifted him off his feet. “Do I look like a fairy tale?”
“Karvas, my mother is right. High Father has first blood here.” Bach heard himself say. Why he remember this? Once he has, then we can take our first blood.
High Father strolled toward the quivering Elders. “You and yours taught your children that we are nothing, but stories.”
Pere the Elderly Sen shook his head. “You—you—are insane. Obviously, Coia must have given you some medication that changed your eyes yellow and twisted your minds. There are no more Dy’obeths.”
“No more?” High Father struck Pere across his face repeatedly until his fist was covered with blood from the Sen’s face. “Do I feel real to you now?”
The old man groaned. “Yes.”
“I can see the fear in your eyes. You know me,” High Father sneered.
“I—I—do not. Please.” Sobbing Pere fell to the ground, urine pooled beneath his feet. “Do not hurt me.”
Calmly, High Father drew out a chair from the stone table and gestured for Sen Pere to sit. “Fine, let’s...talk.”
Wobbling, Pere got to his feet. “I will stand.”
High Father’s eyes darkened as he peered down at Pere. “Sit or I will make you.”
Immediately, Pere complied.
“You remind me of one of my old Drones, probably one of your ancestors. He reeked of weakness, clearly, you’ve inherited that from him,” High Father remarked.
“My great-great-great grandfather was never a servant,” Pere maintained.
“Keep on lying to me and I will spill the remainder of your
blood,” promised High Father.
“He—my father said the Family worked with your people—before you left,” Pere said.
“Worked with us like equals? No, the Family were our servants and served us in the same way the Thayns now serve you,” High Father said.
“No—” Pere protested.
“The difference was we did not demean ourselves by allowing Rats into our homes as I have heard you do,” Beraz added. “I cannot imagine the humiliation of living among Terrans.”
“Only Thayns live amongst us,” Pere muttered. “We do not keep free minded Terrans,”
“A Rat is a Rat, no matter how you train them,” High Father sneered. “Their putrid stench clings to you all like rotting skin. It amazes me you chose to remain with them.”
“Our ancestors tried to release you High Father,” Pere pleaded. “For three hundred years the Elders searched for a way to set you free. They could not find how.”
“Lies. I was here. Your ancestor celebrated the removal of the Dy’obeths and worked with the First Pillar to ensure my brethren never came back,” Bach’s mother remarked angrily.
“No, that is not the way it happened,” Pere implored.
“I remember what happened. Your milk-hearted ancestors conspired with the Terrans against us,” High Father noted. “When all we were doing was improving your people.”
“What is this madness?” Bach’s father demanded. “Coia, what is going on?”
“Lady Coia,” Bach corrected. “And you speak to a Dy’obeth when spoken to.”
Bach’s father turned his gaze to him. “Why am I not surprised to see you among these lunatics?”
“You never engage royalty unless spoken to.” Bach stormed forward. “High Father, can I kill him now? We have no use for lower beings who think they are Sens.” Yes, demand our first blood.
“We are the Sens. This is our realm,” Bach’s father insisted.
Beraz struck him across the face, sending him careening across the room and smashing into the stone doors. “Please, High Father, let me at least kill that one?”
The doors opened and forty of the sentinels who guarded the Elders, dressed in grey uniforms, burst in the room. They were armed with pulse disrupters, which were metallic bands on their right knuckles. This increased the strength of a sentinel’s pulse almost ten times.
“In the name of the Seven Elders,” the Lead Sentinel declared. “You are under arrest.”
“Beraz, end this,” High Father commanded.
The Dy’obeth raced toward the sentinels and the sentinels fired their deep blue pulses at Beraz. Every bolt of the blue lightening missed. In seconds, Beraz disarmed the sentinels and their weapons were smashed to pieces across the ground.
“High Father, please stop this,” Pere implored. “I will tell them to stand down.”
“Why?” High Father smirked. “My brethren are entitled to first blood too.”
When Beraz was done, the sentinels lay either unconscious or semi-conscious on the floor around the Seven Elders.
The remaining Dy’obeths laughed and jeered.
“End them.” High Father gestured in the direction of sentinels.
“No,” Aleix gasped in disbelief.
Beraz drew out two daggers and one by one, the bodies of the guards were rendered lifeless.
Bach felt strangely pleased, but also horrified to see this happen. Confused he turned to Lluc.
“I cannot wait until we do this to Didan.” Lluc smiled. “He will be my first blood for what he did to you.”
“What about us, High Father? Don’t we get first blood too?” Maniko pouted at High Father. “It isn’t fair that only Beraz can have fun.”
“There are over three hundred Dogs and eight Rats in this castle,” High Father announced to all the Dy’obeths around him. “They are yours to take your first blood. Go, do what is right.” He turned to the Sens. “And if you want to live, swear loyalty to me.”
“It is never going to happen,” Bach’s father glowered at his sons. “I cannot swear loyalty to a bunch of freaks.” He stood. “Do your worst.”
“You think you are being noble? You are nothing, but a coward who terrorizes the weak,” Bach almost growled the words out. “You do not—”
“Get down on your knees or my father will rip your limbs apart,” his mother simpered.
“Why?” Bach’s father replied. “I am dead either way.”
“Please, High Father, let me kill him?” Karvas begged. “This dog deserves to—”
“Karvas, if anyone’s going to end Aleix’s useless life it will be Bach.” His mother pointed across the hall to where Bach stood. “And no one else.”
The rowdy Dy’obeths became quiet.
“Your boy cannot kill his own father.” High Father shook his head.
“Oh, I can and I want to.” Bach stomped toward the cohort of Dy’obeths.
“No, that is not the way things are done,” High Father replied.
“But this time it is different. Aleix tried to have him killed,” his mother added.
“I said no. Karvas, take care of this fake Sen,” High Father commanded.
“Father.” She moved to block Karvas’ path. “Aleix’s life belongs to Bach alone.”
“Coia, you can do what you like to Aleix. Decide if that is what you want.” High Father drew her away from Karvas. “But no Dy’obeth should kill his own father. We do not do things that way.”
“No, father—” His mother grabbed High Father’s arm.
“Do not question me, woman.” High Father’s eyes darkened. “Ever.”
Becoming pale, she meekly stepped away from him. “Forgive me High Father.”
A few of the surrounding Dy’obeth laughed, but stopped when High Father shot them a deathly glance.
“I will handle Aleix.” His mother forced a smile at Bach as if to say she understood how much he needed to have his revenge.
“You should do this.” Bach stood unemotionally, so as not to portray how cheated he felt.
“Use my knife.” Lluc held a seven-inch dagger or danor, which he offered to his mother.
“But swear it will be long and painful,” Bach added. It won’t be the same. We need to be the one who avenges everything this Dog did to us, the dark hissed, or he will die believing we are soft and milk-hearted.
“Bach, stop this—” his father stuttered. “This—is not you.”
“What do you know about who I am?” Bach fumed. “You never knew me, Aleix. I deluded myself by calling you father.”
“I am your father,” Aleix maintained.
“Once you were, but your genetic imperfections have been corrected and purged from me,” Bach said. “I am perfect now.”
“I will always be your father,” Sen Aleix insisted. “Nothing you do can change the truth. This is why even the Dy’obeth imposters here will not let you hurt me. They see I am your true father. You are no more Dy’obeth than those psychopaths.”
“Shut up.” High Father punched Aleix in the face. “You do not deserve an honorable death.” High Father sat at the seat that been vacated by the elderly Pere. “Bach, you can have a concession. There will be a crimson moon in three weeks, kill him then and you will keep your honor.”
“Really?” Bach’s mother beamed.
High Father nodded.
“Thank you, High Father.” Bach smiled.
“Whatever you do, you will always be my son.” Bach’s father groaned and then turned to High Father. “As for you, High Father or whatever you call yourself, you will never be a Sen. The Family will never follow you.”
“They will or they’ll become Drones, so I do not need anyone to like me.” High Father grinned as he sat up in his chair. “Karvas, Beraz, remove these Dogs from my sight. Since they haven’t sworn loyalty, imprison them in the bridewell below.”
Chapter Ten
This is not what I need
Bach, Karvas and Maniko ascended Sable Mountain, the ancestral home of the
Third Pillar. While they made their way through the snow, he spotted the white castle where Bach’s father used to live. Now Aleix had been arrested, Beraz was enthroned as the Sen of the Third Pillar and given the castle.
Bach had limited encounters with Beraz since they fought in the crypt and he aimed to keep it that way. On the other hand, Karvas had warmed up to Bach and Lluc after being beaten for some reason.
The once bustling mountain roads now stood empty as the Family received the message to stay clear of Dy’obeths. As the sun went down, the gas powered streetlights turned on.
“I never thought I’d miss the sight of our realm at night.” Maniko grabbed Bach’s arm suddenly.
“Please, do not touch me.” He shook her off.
“What’s your problem? You should be relieved to be with a proper woman after spending so much time with Dogs and Rats,” she whispered and licked the top of his ear.
“The humans are not Rats,” Bach corrected. “They should have never been involved in our people’s business in the first place.”
“You sound like a Jaga lover.” Maniko frowned.
“He’s right Maniko,” Karvas piped in. “We should have never polluted our world with them.”
“That does not stop them from being Rats.” Maniko nodded.
“Yeah, but if they were left in their realm then they’d never be treated like Rats,” Karvas added.
“That does not make sense.” She pouted. “But the sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can get the Family back in line. Thankfully, High Father is rounding up all the Thayns and putting them out of their misery for that very reason.” Maniko shook her head. “I thought you were trying to say something profound.”
“Rounding them up how?” Bach asked.
“High Father commanded the Dogs to send their Thayns the cleansing centers,” Karvas informed him. “They have almost half-a-million Thayns in the Third Pillar alone.”
“I want to be sick. How can they have that many Rats here?” Maniko gagged.
When they passed a block of five hundred year-old stone apartments, a green glimmer caught his eye. Glancing up at one of the stained glass windows on the twentieth floor, he saw a man duck down.