by Joy Spraycar
Karaticus’s eyes opened wide. “I can’t. Vitus forbids anyone from going down there. I’ll never make it past the guards.”
A sad smile played across Zalphia’s lips. “On this day, there will be no one left in the palace to stop you.”
“What? Vitus would never leave this place unguarded.”
“Trust me.” Zalphia laid her hands on his knees. “There will be no one left to stop you. You will take the elevator down as far as it goes. There you will find Dameon. You will release him, and take him to where your family is being held.”
“No.” Karaticus put his hands over hers. “He’s evil, even more so than Vitus.”
“Please, listen to me and do what I tell you.”
Karaticus nodded.
“You’ll take Dameon to where your family is being held. Together you will get them out. Then all of you will board the ship.”
“But –”
Zalphia put a finger over his lips, halting his complaint. “Then you will fly over the arena and pick up Max.”
“Vitus will know,” Karaticus said through her gentle pressure.
Zalphia lowered her finger. “He won’t be able to stop you. With Dameon by your side, Vitus doesn’t stand a chance.”
“But why would Dameon trust me? Why would he do anything I say?”
This part of the plan sickened her, but Zalphia knew it had to be. She stood, walked over to the sink, and turned on the water. She cupped her hands, filled them with water, then splashed her face. If only the cool liquid could wash away what she must do to save this planet. Twisting the faucet back to the off position, she rubbed her wet hands across her face. Then she turned and faced her son.
No. This is the only way.
“Karaticus, when you go down to where Dameon is being kept, you will tell him that I will be his other half. I will combine with him.”
Just saying the words aloud turned her stomach.
His face paled, and he shook his head.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Zalphia ran her hand across the back of her neck. “He’ll do anything to get me. However, he must prove to me he’ll save my family first. So he will take you, Max, and your wife and sons back to Selestia. And when he returns to this planet, I will combine with him.”
“You can’t.” Karaticus sprang from the cot. “You mustn’t. Dameon... Mantus will destroy everything once he has joined with you. You can’t do this, Mother.”
Zalphia shook her head. “It is the only way to save those I love. I won’t lose you. I won’t let Max be killed to save this planet. I can’t. Don’t you see? You are my family. I refuse to lose all of you.”
“But if you do this –”
“I know. You let me worry about what happens next. As soon as you are safe on Selestia, then Mantus may return. I’ll know if he doesn’t live up to his part of the bargain. You must let him know I can sense him. That I will know if he has complied with my wishes. That is the only way I will keep my promise. Only if he follows this plan. Do you understand?”
Karaticus trembled. “But how will you endure the evil he’ll force you to do?”
“I will do what I must in order to save my family. Now, promise me, Karaticus.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
“Good. Now go. The day after tomorrow is a big day. I must prepare myself. And you... you must do everything Vitus asks. It is the only way to ensure my plan works. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Zalphia threw her arms around her son. “Go. Be safe. And may the Great God Above watch over you and the rest of your family.”
Karaticus opened the door and looked back, the weight of what she had asked him to do showing on his face.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
The door slowly closed behind him, and Zalphia dropped back on the bed. The brave front she put on for Karaticus slipped away. She hoped as she fell onto her simple cot that her plan would work. Because right now she wasn’t so sure.
CHAPTER 31
Max sagged onto the edge of his bed, all thoughts of food forgotten. The heavy stubble on his chin poked his fingers as he ran them across his jaw. What to do? How could he work his way into the arena?
A knock on the door brought his attention back to the present. “Come.”
A familiar blond head poked through the opening door.
“Taebor?” Max leapt from the bed and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“You’re one of a kind, Gaius, or should I say, Maximillion? Taebor stepped into the room, grabbed Max’s forearm, and returned the shoulder slap.
“Come in, come in.” Max closed the door behind his friend and motioned to a spindly chair in the corner.
“I understand, my friend, that your... wife?”
Max nodded. “Yes, Zalphia and I are married.”
“Well then, all the more reason for me to have come. I understand that your wife will be fighting a match in Empire Arena. An honor, I’d lay odds, you aren’t too happy about.”
“Come,” Max sat back on the bed. “Tell me what you have heard.”
Taebor sank onto the chair, placed his elbow on his knees, and leaned forward. “The Arena General brought me here to oversee the building of all the arena’s lethal traps. I know the Emperor hopes to draw you in.”
I knew it.
Max closed his eyes for a moment. Horrible pictures playing in his head of what they would do to Zalphia.
He opened his eyes and looked at his friend. “What are you saying?”
“That the Emperor assumes you will run to your wife’s aid, and once you do, he will put an end to you both.”
I will not let him harm Zalphia, No matter what I have to do.
“I do not care. My wife will not face this test alone. I will never let the Emperor kill her.”
“She won’t be alone.” Taebor placed a hand on Max’s arm. “I am to oversee the match.” Taebor leaned closer. “I know those from Selestia have, shall I say, certain senses. Is that right?”
Max nodded.
Taebor smiled. “So you see why I’ve come to you. Platy, Zalphia’s trainer, has nothing of the sort. If I can find a way to... to help Zalphia sense where these traps are placed, would that not give her a more equal chance at victory?”
“You are a genius.” A sudden hope surged through Max, and the corner of his lips turned up. If Taebor and he could find a way to make the pitfalls clear to Zalphia, she would not only be able to avoid them, but she would be able to use them to her advantage. But how could they do that?
The smile slipped from his face. “That sounds great, but I am afraid I have no idea how to make Zalphia be able to sense them.”
Taebor’s brow furrowed. “There must be something. Those from Selestia always know things we humans can’t sense. Tell me how your minds work. And together, we will devise a way.”
Max thought back to his teenage years when Simeon had taught him about Selestia, and how the connection between Zalphia and him worked. He and Taebor discussed everything Simeon had taught, but came up with nothing to give Zalphia an advantage.
Taebor’s face brightened. “I’ve got it.”
“You do?”
He clapped Max on the shoulder. “You’ve been with me at Halcion for months. Does anyone at Empire Arena know who you are?”
Max rubbed his chin. “Well, that depends. Will the Emperor be overseeing the construction?”
Taebor rolled his eyes. “No. His time is much too precious for such mundane procedures. I hear that his physician is overseeing the goings on.”
“Perfect. Then no one will know me.”
“Great.” Taebor leapt from the chair. “You’ll help build these traps. Then I will make sure you are there when Zalphia is fighting, and you can use your connection to inform her of all the hidden obstacles.”
That would work. Max would help Taebor. He would be there to lend his wife the strength of
his mind and warn her of the pitfalls. And to hell with what everyone else said, when it cam down to it, he’d give his life to save Zalphia.
***
Sweat poured down Max’s face as he worked side by side with Taebor. They had worked all day, through the night, and were just putting the finishing touches on the arena.
Karaticus grabbed Max’s arm. “Come with me.”
They entered the infirmary, and Karaticus closed the door.
“Father, I was surprised to find you here, but I guess I shouldn’t be. I know what you would do to save Mother. What I don’t understand is why you would help build this death trap?”
Max ran his forearm across his brow, wiping the beads of sweat away. “I am helping build it, so that I know each and every trick Vitus has planned. I will be here come noon to help Zalphia avoid those pitfalls.”
Karaticus nodded. “I see.” He studied the floor for a moment before meeting Max’s gaze again. “What if I asked you to leave?”
Max studied his son’s worried face. “Why would you do that? You know how I feel about your mother.”
“Yes, I know. But what if she wanted you to go? Would you leave her then?”
A shudder ran down Max’s spine. Karaticus couldn’t really be asking him to run from Zalphia again. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He’d promised himself he would never abandon her again.
“No. Even if she wanted me to go, I would not leave. Not again. Never again.”
Karaticus sighed. “She made me promise to take you and my family back to Selestia. Are you going to make me break that promise?”
Max ran a hand across his face. “What in the world would possess you to promise her something like that?”
Karaticus’s eyes darted away. “I don’t know. She has her own plans.”
“What plans? Tell me.”
Karaticus shrugged, but his eyes remains glued to the ground. “I can’t. She didn’t tell me.”
Max’s eyes narrowed. His son was hiding something, but he hesitated to reach into Karaticus’s mind. He couldn’t take the chance that Vitus would discover him, if he hadn’t already.
“Don’t worry,” Karaticus said. “Vitus is busy satisfying himself one last time with his would-be empress. I would never have taken the chance of revealing your presence to him. Not so close to the fight. I’m still trying to do all in my power to end this reign of terror.”
Max placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I know, my son. I know.”
“Mother has her own agenda. I know you feel you need to protect her. But let me propose something.”
“I am listening.”
“I sense a power with Mother that hasn’t been there before. She can do things she shouldn’t be able to.”
“What are you saying?” Max stepped closer.
Karaticus turned away and shrugged Max’s hand from his shoulder. “I’m saying you have to leave when I come for you. You have to let her do what she has planned. You have to return to Selestia with me, or all will be lost.”
Air whooshed from Max’s lungs as if someone had punched him in the gut. He could not leave her. No! He would not leave her. No matter what she wanted or what she had planned, he would not abandon her. He had to be here. Had to keep her safe. Together they would put an end to Vitus’s tyranny on this planet.
“No.” Max spun Karaticus back around. “I will not leave. No matter what Zalphia says I will never leave her again. I let you talk me into it once before. But not this time.” His hand fell back to his side. “Never again. Do you not see? I cannot abandon her.”
Karaticus nodded. “Somehow, I knew you would say that.”
Max shook his head. “Then why bother asking?”
“Because she asked me to take you. She didn’t want you to see the level she must stoop to in order to save this planet.”
“Stoop to?” Max’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“She has promised to combine with Mantus.”
Max’s mind reeled. He leaned against the wall before his knees gave way. “W… What?”
“Mantus is here.”
“But how? Why would she even consider that? He has no powers. He is nothing.”
Karaticus’s brow lifted. “That is not the case. He’s the reason Vitus is acting the way he is. Mother told me she could feel him pulling the strings. He has regained his powers somehow. And he’s using Vitus to accomplish his goals. I am to release him from the prison beneath that palace, and take him with us back to Selestia.”
“The Council will never allow him to return.”
“He won’t be staying, just dropping us off. Then he’ll come back to rule this planet with Mother by his side.”
Max’s heart dropped. “She would never do that. She would not risk everything. Not for him.”
“She told me herself.”
The future Max envisioned for he and Zalphia crashed in on itself. How could she even consider combining with Mantus? Had she lost her mind? If he poisoned Vitus and used him for evil, how much more power would he have with Zalphia by his side?
Mantus will have her over my dead body!
CHAPTER 32
The arena day dawned. Zalphia sat on the cot, her mind swept away in the plans for the match. If Karaticus kept his end of the bargain, then today marked the turn of the tide on this planet. Most of her family would be safe. Karaticus, Max, and Karaticus’s family would be sequestered on Selestia, and she and her baby would remain behind.
Before Mantus returned, her child would be safely hidden. She could then once and for all put an end to this madness.
Zalphia lifted her chin. But first she must win this day, this match.
She took a deep breath and sent the tendrils of her mind out, locating the connection between Vitus and Mantus. This would be the only time she gave her son the choice to end this peacefully.
Vitus?
What do you want, Mother?
Stop this madness. Turn the reins of this planet over to the people. Or I will be forced to kill you and do it myself.
As if you had that kind of power. You will die this day in the arena, and there is nothing you can do to change that. I am the Emperor, Mother. And what I decree is law. You, Father, and all that oppose my reign will die this day. So do your best. But know that nothing you do will change the outcome of this fight.
This is your last chance. Remember who you are. What you promised to do. You are to save this planet. Will you not complete this mission as you were sent to do?
I have saved this planet. And now I will save the rest of the planets in the Selestial Realm. And you can do nothing to stop me.
Zalphia pulled her mind back. Flashes of tears streaming down her face filled her mind, and a single tear slipped down her cheek. “I know, little one. But we had to try.”
Vitus was her son, a once strong and promising mind on Selestia. But now, she must destroy him. Guilt clawed at her. None of the other lives she had taken while being a Glad would haunt her like this. Today she destroyed her own flesh and blood. She was a Glad. A killer.
Zalphia paced her small cell. Why hadn’t Vitus taken the offer? Could he really not feel the futility of his plan? Could he not feel the power she now had? How could he think he would win in the end? Selestia would never allow him to go on, even if he succeeded in killing her.
Of course.
She froze in place. Now it all made sense. The great God above had sent her here and chosen a life where she would obtain the skills needed to save this planet. She would open the door in her mind one last time, stuff the most painful act she would ever commit inside, and then slam that door shut forever.
And from then on, nothing she did would affect her. She would hold her head high and destroy the one being who had forced her hand.
Mantus.
The door of her cell opened, and two guards motioned for her to follow. The time had come.
***
Zalphia shed the silky red dress she had worn since com
ing to Empire city. The guards watched as she donned the familiar leather and cloth of her Glad gear. As she tightened the last buckle at her shoulder, she nodded.
They walked down the alleyway in silence. One guard stood on each side of the cell, and Zalphia stood facing her last entry into a Glad cell.
The heavy metal gate groaned then slid open.
Zalphia took a deep breath and stepped in. The ground shook as the heavy iron returned to its place. No matter how many times she had stood in similar circumstances, she had never felt as lonely as she did at this very moment.
A tiny kick just below her ribs reminded her that she wasn’t truly alone. She had help, a confidant, and an ally. This match would not be won or lost. It was a show of power. A way of destroying the evil which ruled this world. A way for Zalphia to hide her child from Mantus.
If everything went according to plan, this would be the beginning of the end.
Zalphia allowed a smile to creep onto her face. Vitus seemed to think he had the advantage. And she would let him continue to think that until the walls crumbled around him. Leaning against the cool rock of the cell, she watched the Armors and guards scurrying around, finalizing their duties as the stands filled.
What did the crowd expect? If they knew what was about to happen, they would be running in the opposite direction. Why did she care about destroying so many of them?
Something deep inside bubbled to the surface. They were like young children, vulnerable and following blindly someone who should have had their best interests at heart. How could she condemn them when they had fallen victim to stronger Selestial beings?
She couldn’t. They were the reason she had come. The reason Max had followed her. They were hers to save. Hers to free. And free them she would.
This match would be fought at first on the surface, and then in the minds and hearts of the people. This planet would eventually see Mantus for who he truly was, a demon bent on destruction. Then Zalphia would end it.