by Dani Hoots
And it felt great.
Never had I thought that having so much power over a person could feel good. I always thought power was stupid, that it was the reason there were so many problems in the universe. Never did I realize it could also bring strength to the universe, that if there was enough power held in one spot, one could stop all the nonsense that happened around them. Peace could be achievable.
But that wasn’t what I needed to focus on. Right now, I needed to figure out how to be able to communicate to Jack as he was on a different planet at the moment. We needed to stay in touch without having to worry about being overheard.
And the only way to achieve that was to get Nygard to trust me enough to tell me things which he hasn’t told me before. I had an idea how that would be accomplished and Jack was not going to like it, at least if he ever found out.
It was during our sleeping cycle that I went to Nygard’s quarters. Jack was out like a light, he was surprisingly a very heavy sleeper for someone always on the alert. Say if I pulled out a knife or gun on him, he would respond within a fraction of a second by aiming a gun straight back at me. I never figured out if he was awake or not, never got far enough to figure that part out.
Nygard answered his door. It was strange looking at him now. He didn’t seem like the same idiotic man that I once knew him as. He was powerful, more powerful than I could ever imagine. And he was my father. A father I never knew yet heard stories about. My life was definitely messed up.
“It’s late, Myra, what is it?” he asked.
I took a deep breath. “I had a question for you, about training. I didn’t want to ask you when Jack was awake in case he overheard us talking.”
“Please come in,” he waved me inside the quarters. His room was the same as every other room. Grey, bleak, and the only furnishing was a bed and chair.
“So now that I know who you are,” I began. “I’m curious about what Joss has told you about me.”
He let out a brief laugh. “He doesn’t trust you, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t know why, I did everything he has ever ordered of me.”
“You also tried to kill him a few times, he has mentioned that.”
“He killed my father. Well, my step-father I guess now. He also tried to kill the person I loved. Yet I killed so many under him and he still doesn’t trust me.”
“I think it has to do with you loving another man. He never got over the fact you were never 100 percent his.”
I didn’t really want to know what Nygard meant by that. “Either way, he must have had plenty of stories to tell you.”
“That he did. All of which I am surprised by. I would think you would take after your mother more than me. You are much stronger than her, and the heart she possessed is lacking in you as well.”
“But you loved her, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “I did. Until she betrayed me and took you far away from me. I never thought I would see you again.”
“What happened?” I asked.
He sighed and sat down. “It’s a long story, one that I will tell you on another day. As for now, you wanted to ask me something, right? Something that not even Jack can hear.”
I looked down at my hands, wondering if I would regret my decision. “I was wondering if it was possible to communicate long distances with some kind of spell. Through the mind, of course.”
He stared at me for a bit, as if thinking of why I would ask such a thing. “Why do you want to learn that?”
“It was you who put the location of where Jack was in my mind, wasn’t it? So that I would find him. You have been leading me the way I need to go, teaching me things so I can grow stronger. I think this way we would be able to communicate in situations where you can’t physically be with me, in case I need help.”
He rubbed the scruff on his face. “Are you sure? If you willingly do this, it will destroy any spell your mother put on your mind to block it from me.”
“She hasn’t been there for me when I needed her, she wouldn’t teach me the things I needed to grow stronger. So yes, I am sure.”
“What did she teach you?”
I was debating whether or not to answer that. She had warned me about Nygard, everyone had warned me about Nygard, but now that I was face to face with him, I didn’t understand how he could be the same guy. He couldn’t be the person that everyone made him out to be. “Only how to block people out of my mind, but other than that, nothing.”
“Well that will change. You have extraordinary power to be able to stop all of them like you did on Anosira. You didn’t even know how you did it, do you?”
“I presumed I thought about time freezing, everything stopping and with such passion I was able to be stronger. I… liked that feeling, of having such power. I want to learn more and I think a communication spell would be helpful in that case.”
He grinned. “That’s what I like to hear. There is a way for two people to contact using their mind. Only one person needs to be an Illusionist.” He gestured to take a seat as he pulled out a candle. “Stuff like this was banned on Sanshli. They didn’t want us to gain power to overthrow them. A lot of the spells were lost in the war.”
“But you found the book.”
“Yes, I did. With it, I was able to learn many more spells. Ones that weren’t illusions. There were beings before us, called the Ancestors. I was able to bring back the original fear that the other Sanshlians had of our kind.” He placed the candle on the table. “Let me see your hands.”
I held out my hands. He pulled out a knife and pierced both of my middle fingers. Blood dripped down from the wounds. I didn’t even flinch. He brought my hands and with each wound, brought my blood from his ear and traced it down to the edges of his mouth, chanting.
“Quvk vkuh rbaaf, u taccitv eay va pe pucf, pe hayb.”
I memorized what he said for when I would perform this with Jack. I had to do it exactly like he did, I knew. There probably wouldn’t be a second chance at this.
He brought his bloodied fingers and traced lines from my ears to my mouth. It was interesting how blood was used in this ceremony where as the rest of the powers I had been using were simply in my mind. I wondered how many other spells used blood and to what extent.
“Ha vkov qi poe tappycutovi vkgaymkay vupi ocf hsoti.”
He let drops of blood fall from my finger into the candle light. It sizzled as the liquid touched the flame. “Arcadia, repeat after me, ‘oc aovk u qubb omgii ysac ycvub u fui’.”
“Oc aovk u qubb omgii ysac ycvub u fui.”
The flame grew up and it felt as if something inside of me turned on. A passage, a connection. I gasped.
I knew I could still hide thoughts from him, of what Jack and I were doing, but it was hard and it scared me. It scared me where he could wander. I didn’t let the fear show but I knew he knew. I could feel it, like a river as he entered my mind.
And his thoughts entered mine. I could see Violet, and how much Nygard had loved her. He would give anything to be with her, that is until she had betrayed him. I didn’t know what to feel about that, as his hatred was beyond anything I have ever felt. Hatred? Maybe it was more like remorse and pain. On top of that, I could see myself as a child. He cherished me more than his own life, that I could feel.
So when Violet took me away, it made him even more angry.
He destroyed so many lives, blood covering everything the eye could see. Even in all my years of being the Emperor’s Shadow, I had never seen so much blood. Was this just a glimpse at the power Nygard had? And better question, having seen everything he had gone through, was it justified? Did such a betrayal between Violet leaving him and how his people were treated justify his revenge?
I didn’t know what to feel.
Nygard closed the connection.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
I nodded slowly. “Yeah I’m fine. It was just,” I paused. “Interesting.”
“I can only connect with you if you w
ant me to. Remember that.”
“Okay, that’s good to hear.”
“Did I frighten you?”
I shook my head. “No, it was just different. I’m not afraid of you.”
“I don’t know why, but I don’t believe that. But either way, I want you to feel safe. I will not read your mind unless you want me to. And my mind is always open to you. You don’t have to worry about me keeping secrets from you. I am an open book, if you will allow it.”
I studied him closely, not sure if he was lying or if he really meant what he said. I knew after we landed, after Jack left, I would talk to him about everything that happened. I would find out the truth of what had happened all those years ago. Then I would compare it to the stories I’d been told throughout my life.
“Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For everything. For being honest with me and for teaching me what I need to know. I want to become powerful. I can’t stand being weak like I am right now. I can’t let people like Tim beat me.”
He nodded. “Yes. I will teach you everything you need to know. You will be powerful, just as I hoped you would want to become.”
How long had he been waiting for me to say that? How long had he wondered if his daughter would be like him? Was that why Violet wanted me away from him? Because he was powerful and wanted me to be as well?
What was so wrong with being powerful?
I didn’t understand why she didn’t teach me these things, why she couldn’t be the one if she wanted me to defeat Nygard. It didn’t make sense, not to mention I hadn’t seen her in a long time. How was I supposed to find her on my own? Everything was unclear and all I knew right now was that my father was offering me power like I couldn’t imagine, power to always be ahead of my enemy.
“I should be getting back, before Jack notices I’m gone.”
“You love him, don’t you?”
Another question I wondered if I should be honest about, though after everything it should have been obvious. I nodded. “Yes, I do. I would do anything for him.”
“That’s what I used to think of your mother. Until she betrayed me. Be careful, Myra, love can blind one’s self. I don’t want you to suffer the same fate that I had.”
“Jack would never hurt me, he would never betray me like that.”
He went to open the door for me. As his back was turned, I quickly grabbed a candle to use for the spell. As I stepped out of the room, Nygard looked at me. “That’s what I thought as well. Just be careful, okay?”
I thought about what he said as I walked back to my room where Jack was. Would Jack ever betray me? I really doubted it. But after our fight about Nygard, I wasn’t sure if he would stay on my side or betray me.
But there was only one way to find out.
CHAPTER 27
“Did you do it?” Jack asked as I stepped back into the room. I guess he was a lighter sleeper than I thought he was. We were only a few hours from Anosira now, though. It was now or never. If we wanted to be able to communicate without worry, we would have to perform the ceremony at once.
“Yes.” I pulled out the candle that I had stolen from Nygard’s room. “Sit down.”
He sat down in front of me. “How did you get him to tell you?”
I didn’t answerbecause I knew what he would say. But honestly, it was the only way. I had to do it. “Give me your hands.”
He held out his hands. “You let him perform it with you didn’t you?”
I still didn’t answer. I pierced his fingers and mine and traced the blood along our cheeks.
“Quvk vkuh rbaaf, u taccitv eay va pe pucf, pe hayb, ha vkov qi poe tappycutovi vkgaymkay vupi ocf hsoti.”
Dropping a few drops into the flame of the candle, I had Jack say the same words Nygard told me to say.
“Oc aovk u qubb omgii ysac ycvub u fui.” Jack actually didn’t butcher it with his Recarian accent. I was quite surprised but I didn’t show it. The same lucid connection opened up between us. Jack shot up out of his chair. He had a look of fear on his face.
I jumped up as well. “Are you alright?” For all I knew, it could have been because he wasn’t an illusionist. It could have hurt him and I just didn’t realize it.
“I...” he paused. “I’m fine. Just a weird feeling.”
I studied him for a moment longer. “As long as you’re okay.”
“Yeah, this will work great, Cadi.” He grinned with the same grin he always gave when he was hiding something. I wasn’t sure what that would be, but I decided to not push further. It was apparent he wasn’t going to tell me.
“So we communicate through this connection. You let me know when you get off this planet and head towards Valle, you got me? Then you get them all to register for the races.”
“Of course. I can’t wait to cream you on the course.”
“I would like to see you try.”
“You know how you are going to distract the rest.”
I nodded. “Yes. I know what I need to do.”
***
We finally landed. The moment we could get off the ship, Joss grabbed me and pulled me into the palace.
“Now where is it?!” he demanded. I just smiled.
“Just wait, it’s not going anywhere.” I looked at Jack. Stay in the back, I will take them while you venture off to get a ship. I should be able to make them all still see you, like an after image or a photograph so you can slip away. Let me know when you are ready and are leaving.
Just as planned? he asked.
Just as planned, I agreed. “I will take you to it. Just follow me.” I spun around on my heels and headed down towards the prison cells. It was the furthest point from where Jack would leave. They wouldn’t be able to stop him.
As we approached the lifts, as planned, no one noticed that Jack slipped away. And how could they? I had made it so none of them saw it, so none of them noticed that the real Jack had been replaced by a thought in my mind. They believed he was still there. On top of that, they were too focused on me. I was the only one who knew where the gem was, or at least that was what they thought. In actuality, the gem was on Recar and Jack knew where it was.
Well, he knew what room it was. I had switched it into the third-place trophy, just to make sure I would retrieve it and not Jack. I was sneaky that way and I couldn’t wait to see his face when he realized it.
Even if Jack betrayed me, if he was somehow persuaded to team up with Wes and give him the gem, Wes would have been able to get it out of the trophy. He could control rock and the base of the statue was made from granite. He could manipulate it to spit out the gem. Easy as that, other than the fact they wouldn’t have the correct trophy.
The elevator finally stopped and I realized it had definitely been a long time since I was down here. The last time it had even when my brother was kidnapped for an assassination attempt on the Emperor and I was interrogating him, ready to put a bullet in my head.
It was where all this chaos had started.
I guess that wasn’t completely true, as the Emperor would have made me go to Sanshli someday anyways. But he needed the clues and only my brother and I were capable of finding them, as Father, my Garvnerian Father, had left the clues for us. And Violet.
We made it to the room that I had seen my brother tortured in. Honestly, I would like to see him returned here. He was being an idiot and needed to learn a few more lessons.
“Well?” Joss glanced around. “Where is it?”
Almost out of atmo, Cadi, good luck and I love you. Jack said through our link.
I love you too, Jack. Have fun talking to Wes, your best bet is going through Lance.
And why would that be? Should I tell him you send your love and then punch him in the face?
Of course, he makes such statements as that when we were trying to accomplish a mission. Shut up and leave.
“Myra, what are you planning?” Nygard watched me closely. I wondered if he too was going to try and open the lin
k between our minds, but I felt nothing.
“Planning?” I smiled. “You mean executing?”
The image I had made in everyone’s mind of Jack disappeared. They all searched around for him but they wouldn’t be finding him anywhere near here.
“Myra, where is Jack?” Joss asked.
“Gone,” I stated. “On his way to Wes.”
“Oh, for your sake, he better not have the gem.” Joss got angrier, his face now red. He really didn’t know how to handle himself around me. I wondered if it had to do now with the fact he didn’t have to suck up, he didn’t have to worry because I was no longer the key of getting Nygard.
Though I was Nygard’s daughter. It wasn’t like he could do anything to me without getting in trouble, I now realized. I kind of liked that thought, though it did mean Nygard was my father. That part I didn’t really care for.
“He doesn’t,” I said. “I wouldn’t give the gem to Wes, are you nuts?”
“Then where is it?” Joss persisted.
I couldn’t help but smile. “On Recar.”
Joss looked as if he was going to strangle me. So did his generals, especially Logan. Actually, I think they had already devised a plan to hold me down and beat the living daylights out of me.
Yet that just made me want to laugh all the more. Maybe I had lost my sanity after all.
“Damn you!” Joss shouted. “Damn you to the underworld and back!”
“Then we need to head back,” Tim commented. “Get to Recar before Jack takes Wes there.”
I shook my head. “We don’t need to, not right away.”
“What do you mean?” Joss asked.
“The gem is in the races’ trophy. Only way to get it is to win the races.”
“The Recarian races? The same ones I ordered you to win at to get close to Jack?” Joss rubbed his forehead. “Are you serious?”
“Yup. It’s a race for the gem. It’s in the first-place trophy and if I’m correct, Jack will be telling my brother and the others about it as well. So it will indeed be a race.” I grinned.
I’m pretty sure Joss was about to strangle me and the only reason he didn’t was because my father was standing right there. I figured Nygard would have been pissed, that he too would have punishment in store for me for lying.