Death Waltz

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Hello Arastas.”

  “Well, Alaricus, what brings you all the way up here?”

  Jurek introduced him to Liasare and explained the reason for their visit.

  “My Queen,” Arastas said as he bowed low to the ground. Liasare was afraid the poor man would topple over onto the floor. She looked at Jurek anxiously, but he only shook his head. Then Arastas stood up and hobbled over to a wooden table and offered them both a seat. As they sat there, he set a kettle of water on the stove to boil and then made a pot of tea. All the while he was doing this, Liasare wanted to hop up and assist him, but Jurek wouldn’t let her. When he brought the tray laden with the teapot and rattling cups to the table, Liasare was surprised to see none of them had broken because his hands shook so badly from the weight. She let the breath she’d been holding in go when he finally set the tray down. Both men looked at her and she gave them a bit of a smile.

  Then when Arastas began pouring the tea, Liasare had to sit on her hands to prevent herself from grabbing the teapot away from him. His aim was so poor that each cup only received a quarter of the intended amount. Jurek watched Liasare and covered up his laugh with a cough. When Arastas finally sat down, Liasare looked at Jurek and they both had to suppress their laughter this time.

  “So, tell me, what brings the two of you up here? I doubt it’s to tell me of the babe in your mate’s belly.”

  Liasare spit out her tea. Jurek laughed this time.

  “No, Arastas, it isn’t. Though I’m happy to see you noticed.”

  “Tis hard not to. She’s quite large.”

  Liasare’s hands went straight to her bulge and didn’t know if Arastas was referring only to it, or if he thought she was fat.

  “Liasare needs to hear the Prophecy of Thul in its entirety so she can write it down. Times are dark, Arastas, and evil descends upon us. Liasare has been chosen to fight him. She believes there are clues hidden within it.”

  Arastas turned his eyes to Liasare’s and stared. His gaze penetrated hers and suddenly she was plunged into a dark pool, so dark she couldn’t see. Movement wasn’t possible either. All thoughts were removed. This was a strange and powerful being invading her mind. But then a light turned on and words began appearing in her mind. Words as if they were written on ancient parchment.

  The Prophecy of Thul

  Hope is tattered and faith is lost

  When the darkness falls across all lands;

  Beasts rule and shatter dreams

  There is but one to disturb their plans.

  As sons shall rise against the dark

  Only one remains who must join the sons;

  Forever forced to bond against the evil seeking destruction.

  She comes to you in sun and light

  With strength, hope and faith;

  A bond will form when unity occurs

  And pure power is born in its wake.

  The Dark shall seek the Light and try to take what is not his

  The Key to both has power to wield;

  But power of Light may be stolen, beware.

  The Key is the answer when the sons will rise

  Shadows deepen, trust destroyed

  Power is a beguiling tool;

  Be wary for The Dark plays true and death will call

  The Light will suffer though power will rule.

  Betrayal, scorn, love and hate will lead the Light and Dark,

  The Key must be the one to intercede and overcome the Dark.

  And only then will true power emerge giving Light its rightful place.

  Light will grow, bursting forth, spreading power in her wake;

  Nurturing her young and race and building faith once again.

  Liasare sucked in her breath as she opened her eyes. “He transferred it to my brain. It’s there.” She stared at Arastas in amazement.

  “Recite it for me,” Jurek demanded.

  And she did. “You had something wrong, though. You always talked about when the suns will rise. That’s incorrect. It’s not suns, as in stars. It’s sons, as in offspring.”

  “You were right to want to see the whole thing, written. We have to break this apart because there has to be more inside of this we’re not seeing right now.”

  “Agreed.”

  Liasare turned to Arastas and said, “Thank you.” Then she kissed both of his cheeks. “You have helped us more than we can say.”

  “I wish you Godspeed then, my Queen. And the best to your babe as well.”

  They flashed back home and were chatting the whole way.

  “There are no other sons, Liasare. I’m the only one. I’m it.”

  “Then what could it mean? It has to mean something! ‘Sons’ is plural. You clearly are singular.”

  Jurek ground his teeth in frustration. She was correct. There were no other sons in his lineage.

  “Unless it speaks of Smidgen.”

  “But that can’t be. This is happening now. Smidgen can’t do anything yet. He’s not even out in this cruel universe. Wait, what about other sons?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean non-Praestani sons? Such as Vesturions?”

  “As in The Guardians?”

  “Well, yeah, but the Yarristers, specifically.”

  Jurek’s mind raced, but he didn’t like what he kept coming up with. “They lack true power.”

  “Why does that matter? If they want the same things we do? If they’re willing to fight against the Dark?”

  “Too much at risk.”

  “At this point, we have to take what we can get. They’re already against the Xanthians. They’re fighting the same cause already.”

  “Abaddon would have a field day with them.”

  “They could keep his other assets occupied while we go in for the kill. They could be the distraction and we could be the main firepower.”

  Jurek wrapped himself around her. “I hate the thought of anything happening to them and leaving their mates alone.”

  “What’s happened to you?”

  “I understand love.”

  “Listen to me. If we don’t do this, none of us, that means you and I, will be here to even worry about that anyway.”

  Jurek looked down at her. She was so damn right. And he hated it. “Lets call a meeting then. Here on Praestan. With only the Yarristers. Bring their families too because I don’t want their mates and children left behind without protection.”

  “It’s the only way.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Planet Xanthus

  January Yarrister lay in a state of suspended unconsciousness. The man entered her chamber and watched her for a few moments. His conscience bothered him briefly, but then it fled as he thought of his purpose to all of this. She looked peaceful enough, though he knew better. Her mind was being tortured with all sorts of images ... images of what was being done to each of her children and of what her mate was experiencing right now. It was all a sham, but she didn’t know it. If things didn’t change soon, the pretense would turn into reality and she would die.

  The man left the chamber and joined the two Xanthian officers. Gods he hated those fuckers. The stench alone made him want to gag, but that wasn’t all. They were the ugliest creatures in the universe. Their large stumpy bodies made them appear awkward and uncoordinated. They were, however, anything but that. They possessed quick reflexes and had tremendous strength. Their large heads had scale like formations projecting from the top with scraggly hair shooting out behind and around them. Huge noses occupied most of their faces and the fact that they were red and bulbous didn’t help any. Their yellow teeth were oftentimes large and misshapen, making their speech difficult to understand at times. Socially, they were inept, not adhering to any rules and invading your space constantly. Their spittle would fly out of their mouths when they spoke and one had to dodge getting hit with it. Altogether, he would rather tangle with a heptamorg, a venomous eight-tentacled beast that was quite deadly when engaged, than converse with
a Xanthian.

  “Ssso, what issh the plan?” the first officer asked.

  “Keep her as such. My orders are to infuse her mind with the images. We need her alive as long as our plans go as we think they will.”

  “If they don’t, will you give her to usssth?” They asked as they laughed.

  He shuddered, just thinking about what they would do to her. “Perhaps. Time will tell.”

  “What of her young? Will they be placcced with usssth too?”

  “No! Not them. Abaddon keeps them. Always!”

  “Yesss, sssir.”

  “This one is our bargaining chip. Now go and start running your mouths about her on Earth. We need to get the word out.”

  “Yesss, sssir.”

  “And Nurg, if anything at all happens to her, Abaddon will have your head. Or rather his dark creatures will. Understand?”

  “Yesss, sssir.”

  The man watched the two officers leave. He wondered how this would all go down in the end. Would January sacrifice herself? Of course she would. Why did he even ask himself that question? He almost rubbed his hands together at the thought of Liasare seeing all of this. He couldn’t wait for when the whole plot came together. Jurek would get his due and it couldn’t come soon enough for him.

  ***

  The Planet Praestan

  All were present: Jurek, Liasare, Tommy, Xarrid, Rayn (the oldest of the Yarrister siblings), Rykerian, and Tesslar. Rowan, the father of the Yarristers also was there, along with Maddie, the mate of Rayn, and Saylan the mate of Xarrid. Naroo, Tak, Marik, and Ludo were present, too.

  Jurek began, “We all know why we’re here. According to Praestani legend, a prophecy exists. We believe Liasare is who the prophecy was written about.” Jurek went on to explain the story and than had Liasare recite the Prophecy of Thul.

  “All this time, we thought it meant suns as in stars, but when I finally saw it the way it was written, we realized it meant, sons as in offspring. We think, that perhaps, you, too, are part of this. You are the sons to whom it refers,” she finished.

  All the Yarristers looked at each other and then at the Praestani present. Then they nodded at Xarrid.

  “What do you need from us?” Xarrid asked.

  “This is the tricky part. We don’t really know at this point. We’ve been told that the activity on Xanthus has increased. We think the Xanthians have something planned and we’re almost positive Abaddon is the driving force behind it. We also believe that’s where January is, as you’re aware,” Jurek stated.

  “What we don’t understand is that your species is virtually indestructible. Why don’t you just go in and take over?”

  Jurek looked at Liasare and his men, and then back at Xarrid. “Would you excuse us for a moment?”

  The Praestani left the room and met as a group out in the hall. Their conversation was strictly telepathic.

  “You can’t be serious? You’ll be in violation of every Praestani law that ever existed if you tell them,” Tak said.

  “Don’t you think I’m aware of that? But these are dire circumstances. I trust them; Liasare trusts them and they will uphold our secrets. Our weaknesses will not be revealed to anyone. They will take those secrets to their graves if it comes to that,” Jurek shot back.

  “You don’t know that. That’s pure supposition.” Tak stared at Jurek, willing him to argue back.

  “I know it, Tak. You forget that I was raised with these men. I know how honorable and loyal they are. They won’t ever betray our trust,” Liasare said. “Besides, we don’t have any other option.”

  “You’re going to tell them everything, aren’t you?”

  “If they’re willing to put their lives at risk, they need to know why we can’t protect the universe. They need to understand that we aren’t invincible.”

  “Bloody fools, that’s what you are.”

  “Tak, do you have any other options for us?”

  Tak was silent as he stared at the two of them. Jurek looked at Marik, Ludo, and Naroo, and sent his question to them.

  “Do any of you have objections to this?”

  Marik, the one who normally kept his thoughts to himself was the one who shared his this time. “It’s not ideal, but I agree with you. We have no other option.”

  Jurek nodded. “Naroo? Ludo?”

  They shook their heads.

  “Then it’s done.”

  They walked back into the room and took their seats.

  Jurek began, “For the most part, the Praestani people are invincible. But not one hundred percent. There are ways to destroy us, and Abaddon knows how. Before I tell you any of this, we need your solemn oath that what you hear in this room, stays in this room for the rest of your lives, and that you promise never to share it with anyone, not for any reason whatsoever.”

  They all agreed.

  Jurek looked around the room and delved into each of their minds. Once he was satisfied he had their honest commitments, he continued.

  “I apologize for the mind invasion, but you must understand my position. In telling you this, I’m breaking the most sacred of Praestani laws. Therefore, I had to be sure. I hope you understand.”

  “We do, and I speak for every one of the Yarristers,” Rayn said.

  Jurek took a deep breath and plunged in. “We are weak only unto each other. Only a Praestani can kill another Praestani. However, if a Praestani has forged his weapon using his power, then that weapon can destroy a Praestani, even if that weapon falls into the wrong hands. So if I take Liasare’s sword, I can kill Tak with it. But, if I steal Tak’s sword and try to use it against him, his power will recognize him and the sword will not harm him. An annihilator can destroy us if we don’t move fast enough. It’s only our shifting power that allows us to evade its blast. And finally, we can be imprisoned, but it must be done using Praestani power. The power must be used to keep us contained within a cell. That is quite difficult, by the way, because the power would have to be continuous. It would be easy, obviously, on Praestan, but not anywhere else where there wouldn’t be a great number of Praestani.

  “There is one other thing.” Jurek paused for a second and glanced at Liasare. The love that radiated from his eyes made her heart stammer. Her hand reached for his and their fingers tangled together. “Some of you know that Liasare is expecting our child. Unfortunately for the Praestani, childbirth is an extremely risky event. Approximately ninety percent of Praestani women die shortly after the birth of the child.” He explained the dangers and when he ended, the room became very silent.

  Liasare knew she was not going to die. She and Smidgen discussed it all the time. She didn’t want this to turn into a Liasare pity party, so she decided to intervene.

  “I know that I’m part of the prophecy to change all of this too. I’m going to make childbirth a more normal event for the Praestani women and this is the beginning of bringing the species back to the way it used to be.”

  Her comment startled everyone, including the Praestani, most of all her mate. But she continued, “In the prophecy, there’s a phrase that states, ‘A bond will form when unity occurs and pure power is born in its wake.’ That’s my pregnancy it refers to. Smidgen and I have already decided that I will be the one to save the species and Smidgen is going to help.”

  Twelve sets of curious eyes stared at her. One set looked at her like she’d gone plain crazy without a doubt this time.

  Jurek was quick to cover up his look, but she caught it nevertheless.

  “Sweetheart, yes, you are the prophecy, but I don’t think it’s about you and Smidgen.”

  “Who’s Smidgen?” someone asked.

  “That’s what she calls the little one,” Xarrid answered.

  “You knew?” Saylan asked Xarrid.

  “Well, yeah,” he answered and she elbowed him in the ribs.

  She leaned in and mumbled, “Can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”

  He only shrugged.

  “I know you don’t t
hink that Alaric, but Smidgen and I know it’s the case. And Lexus told us too.”

  Another voice asked, “Who’s Alaric and Lexus.”

  Xarrid answered again, “Alaric is Jurek and Lexus is his mother.”

  “But isn’t she dead?” another voice piped in.

  “Yeah, but she visits Liasare in her dreams,” Jurek answered.

  “Anyway,” Liasare clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention again, “as I was saying, I’m totally part of this and so is Smidgen. So, in order for us to defeat Abaddon, I have to live long enough to give birth to Smidge and see him walk. At least that’s as far as my visions take me. I don’t know if it’s because that’s where I die, or if it’s because that’s where the prophecy ends.”

  Liasare certainly felt like the gray elephant in the room, but she didn’t care. It needed to be said so Jurek could move past his fear of losing her.

  Jurek was dumbfounded. Liasare had kept all of this from him. He turned to her and said, “May I speak with you? Privately?”

  “Yeah.” They excused themselves and returned to the hall.

  “This is not turning out quite how I imagined. Why haven’t you told me any of this?”

  Liasare didn’t answer immediately. She really didn’t have a good response. “I don’t know. I think it’s because it’s come to me piecemeal. Smidgen has always spoken to me. Well, ever since I figured out I was pregnant. But then after I saw the prophecy and that part I read to you just now kept repeating itself to me, we decided that’s what it meant. Then Lexus came to us and pretty much confirmed it.”

  “Us?”

  “Smidgen and me.”

  “You really are serious about this, aren’t you?”

  She framed his face with her hands and looked him in the eyes. “My mind is open to you Alaric. See for yourself.”

  And he did. She watched his emotions play across his face as she felt his mind probe hers and the light in his gaze was an amazing thing to witness. But when he communicated with their son, Liasare couldn’t prevent the moisture that ran down her cheeks. She’d never anticipated the pleasure and joy Jurek would feel from it.