Dorange grabbed at the viselike grip of his master, kicked his feet, and tried to speak. “N-No … I know … wh-where Earth’s tablet is located.”
Astonished, Koroan dropped Dorange to the floor. The general coughed and gasped for air. “You know of the golden tablets?”
Dorange struggled to his feet, nodding. “Yes, my Lord. And to prove to you that I am not lying, please read my thoughts,” he said as he reached up and pulled out his inhibitors.
As soon as he did, thoughts began to flood into Koroan’s mind like a tidal wave. Images from Dorange’s past. He saw his eldest daughter Raqel, who had fallen in love with Dorange. He witnessed Dorange’s experiences as a Gnol soldier, but strangely, every memory prior to Dorange rising to power among the Gnols was unreadable. The images were jumbled and didn’t make sense. It was almost as if Dorange had learned how to block him from reading parts of his mind.
He continued to search through the cogs of his general’s convoluted mind. Scanning, he finally found the memory that he had so many questions about. Questions about what really happened to his beloved eldest daughter. Koroan had always suspected that Dorange had kept the whole truth about his daughter’s death from him. But this memory was scrambled as well. Not that it mattered. As the years passed, he was beginning to hate the Gnols that surrounded him more and more, including his own family. Besides, with the kind heart that Raqel had, she probably would have followed her sister and helped the rebels.
Suddenly, within Koroan’s mind, there was an exploding flash of light. And there it was, the memory that confirmed to him that Dorange Gar was indeed telling the truth. Notwithstanding, the memory still didn’t tell Koroan the location of Earth’s golden tablet. All he could read were scrambled images of a tree, a man and a woman, a serpent, and two angels guarding the tree from the man and woman. And then there was a city, a magnificent city, more prestigious and beautiful than he had ever seen. Its streets were paved with gold. Could this be the city where the tablet was located? He tried to delve further into the recesses of Dorange’s mind, but another flash of light broke the link. Dropping to the floor, he grabbed his head in agony and screamed.
After a few minutes, Koroan staggered to his feet. He looked at his general. Dorange had fallen to the floor, unconscious. Gritting his teeth, the brooding savior of the Gnols furiously stepped toward his deplorable general. He pulled the dagger from his belt, raised it, and thrust the blade downward toward Dorange’s heart. He stopped as the emergency signal from his desk activated, indicating that his goddess desired his presence on the top floor of the palace.
With a bellowing scream, he flung his dagger into the wall, with blade piercing the wall all the way to its hilt. “Guards!”
The door to his office slid open and two guards rushed in, giving their lord the customary Gnol salute.
Without looking at them, Koroan stood and looked out his window. “Take General Gar to the brig. Keep him there until I figure out what to do with him.”
The guards grabbed the unconscious general and dragged him out of the office. After they left, Koroan hastily made his way to the elevator that led to the top floor, entered it, and pushed the button that sent it upward. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. The bright white light emanating from his goddess illuminated the room. Her full presence hovered above the floor as she stared at him with anger-filled eyes. “Koroan! Come!”
Koroan, with rage pouring though him as well, stomped like a child about to be scolded to the Omutx pad within the center room. He knelt in defiant reverence. “My Queen,” he muttered angrily.
The goddess spoke with a trembling in her voice that made the entire room quake. “Koroan! You disappoint me!”
Whipping his head upward. Koroan shrieked angry words of his own toward her. “You never told me of a man with untold powers on Earth. How dare you confide in Dorange Gar!”
The goddess’s eyes instantly flashed from their normal shade of bright blue to eye-piercing red. “How dare I! Know your place, mortal!”
A high-pitched, ear-piercing sound began to fill the room. Koroan placed his hands over his ears to keep the wrenching noise out of his head as the crystal chandelier above him exploded into tiny shards of glass, raining down upon him. Falling to the floor, he writhed in inexplicable pain. The slivers of glass scratched and penetrated his body like a million bees stinging him at once. The gold, glowing liquid that pulsated through his veins began to seep out of his ears and nose. Finally, the unbearable sound stopped.
Looking up, he watched as the goddess lowered herself down to him, decreasing her immense presence. She spoke with a softer, gentler voice now. “Koroan, my servant. You know Dorange Gar is imperative to the plan. He must not be killed. We have come so far. Now is not the time for petty jealousies. I have my reasons for entrusting Dorange Gar with such knowledge. But know this, my love, you are the chosen one and no one can replace you.”
With his head still throbbing, and his life-source dripping from his nose and ears, Koroan unsteadily made it to his knees and bowed his head. “Yes, my Queen. Please forgive me. What would you have me do?”
The goddess placed her hand under Koroan’s chin. Even though she was pure energy, he could feel the push of her hand forcing him to look at her. Her eyes had changed back to bright blue. “You will release Dorange. Command him to stay and command your forces here on Terrest while you are away on Gnolom. When you return, send him back to Earth discretely to recover the Earth’s golden tablet.”
Koroan bowed his head in humility. “Yes, my Queen. Thy will be done.”
CHAPTER 17
Earth Time: 2 days later, July 28, 2042 – Underground Rebel Base, Terrest . . .
As she stared at herself in the full-length mirror within her quarters, butterflies began to flutter within Celeste’s stomach with what was about to happen.
“You look beautiful,” Nichelle said, making her way behind Celeste and placing her hands upon her shoulders.
Celeste placed a hand on her best friend’s hand as she looked back at her through the mirror. Nichelle had done a wonderful job with her hair. Her long black hair had been styled into a traditional Gnol style that had been used by her people in wedding ceremonies for as long as she could remember. Her beautiful, jet-black hair was pulled into a waterfall braid with long spiral curls extending down to just below her shoulders. White flower accents accentuated the style even more.
Smiling, she turned and looked at her dearest friend, whose brunette hair was styled the same way, only Nichelle’s had blue flower accents to match the blue ceremonial gown that she wore. “Thank you, Nichelle. Thank you for everything. You have sacrificed so much to help us. I can never repay you.”
Nichelle held her hand up and shook her head. “No, Celeste, I have gained so much. New friends. A new way of life. These people have even shown us who our true God is. So no, I haven’t sacrificed anything. I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be than celebrating this wonderful day with you.”
Celeste returned Nichelle’s smile and the two friends embraced one another. Nichelle then pulled away, grabbing each one of Celeste’s hands and stepped backwards. “Now then, let’s get a good look at you. Simply gorgeous. That seamstress did an impeccable job on your wedding gown.”
Celeste turned back to look into the mirror. Her sparkling blue eyes seemed to dance off the reflection as she admired the gown that a Terrestrian citizen had volunteered to sew. The simple yet elegant, satin white dress – with lace overlay – was a mix of the traditional gowns from Earth and Gnolom. It fitted perfectly to her body in a mermaid style, and had a v-neck with three-quarter sleeves. The dress accentuated her waist with crisscross ruching and extended all the way past her feet. Flecks of gold – that the seamstress had managed to find – were interwoven throughout the detailing, reflecting the light from the room. Unlike traditional Earth ceremonies, Gnol brides did not have a veil. Instead, a blue cloak, a sign of her Gnol heritage, made from shimmering materi
al, was attached to the shoulders of the dress and extended all the way down past her feet into a long train.
“Turn around,” Nichelle said.
Celeste spun around. As she did, the dress and cape whirled around her. The gold and the material from the cape cast back the light from her room in a dazzling display of flashes.
“Jake is going to be speechless,” said Nichelle as Celeste stopped and looked at her friend.
The mention of Jake’s name brought Celeste back to reality. The butterflies seemed to intensify and her smile faded a bit.
“What is it?” Nichelle asked with concern.
“I can’t believe this is happening, Nichelle. I mean, I always believed that I would get married, but to …”
She couldn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t want to offend Jake or talk about him as if he was beneath her.
“A Gnol? You imagined yourself marrying a Gnol.”
Celeste nodded. The statement stung her. And even though Jake wasn’t in the room, she felt like her thoughts and words had betrayed him.
“Listen, Celeste,” Nichelle said as she stepped forward and grabbed her hands again. “There is not a Gnol in our culture that is worthy of you. Jake is the one. He has more strength and more courage than most of the Gnols we have been associated with. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You do not intimidate him anymore. In fact, I think he sees himself as your protector. His eyes light up every time he sees you. There’s a love between you two that I don’t think could be matched. It’s something special, and the connection you two have … well, it is almost as if you two have known each other forever and were meant to be together.”
Celeste gave her dearest friend a smile and the two embraced again. Nichelle was right. She didn’t have to question her love for Jake. She had never felt this way about anyone. And the connection they had together. It was as if they were truly meant to be together forever. The thoughts made her think back to Skip’s theory about them, and the prophecy of the chosen one. Whether his theory was true or not, it didn’t change how she felt about the man she was about to marry.
“I will leave you alone. I’ll call you when they’re ready,” Nichelle said as she pulled away and began to leave the room.
Celeste watched as the door slid shut and then turned back to the mirror. She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Well, this is it,” she said, not able to contain her smile.
* * * * *
Jake shifted nervously next to the altar that was made for this particular ceremony. The altar was cushioned and adorned in satin white fabric. Two cushions rested on each side of the altar to provide padding for the bride and groom. In traditional Gnol ceremonies, the bride and the groom knelt across the altar from each other and exchanged vows. Once the couple finished exchanging vows, they held their right hands together and wove gold lace around the forearms and hands as a symbol of their eternal love. No one presided over the ceremony, and guests were the witnesses. But in this particular ceremony, Celeste and Jake had agreed to use Earth’s tradition of exchanging rings rather than thread gold lace around their arms. Moreover, General Hauler would preside over the ceremony.
Even though the small room used for religious services in the underground base was cool, he was sweating profusely. Reaching up, he pulled at the high collar of his gray Terrestrian officer’s uniform, which consisted of a suit jacket with gold buttons that buttoned all the way to the base of his neck and long gray trousers with blue trim on the side, extending all the way down to his shoes. His shoes were shined to near perfection as they reflected the lights from the room. Four gold stars were pinned onto the shoulders of his jacket, symbolizing his rank as general. Jake’s father, after all, had used the same insignias used in the Air Force on Earth for the Terrestrian military. Several patches were sewn onto the left pocket of the jacket. His wings, recognizing him as a pilot, were pinned just above the patches. And the new symbol of the Terrestrian Army medallion was pinned snugly on the right pocket. In all, the uniform reminded him of a modernized rebel uniform from the American Civil War.
He looked at his best friend, who stood next to him on his left. Skip was dressed in his officer’s uniform as well, but he didn’t acknowledge Jake. Skip was too busy staring at Ariauna, who was smiling back at him. Ariauna was dressed in the standard black military fatigues, as well as the other civilian guests and noncommissioned officers in attendance.
Leaning forward and to the other side of Skip, Jake then looked at his little brother who had already grown so much from his battles and time as a Gnol slave. General Hauler promoted Bantyr upon his return to the base to that of a major, and Bantyr wore the gold oak leaves pinned on each one of his shoulders with pride. He turned his head and looked at Jake, returning his smile with an enormous one of his own. Jake nodded and then looked toward the crowd.
Anyta, his stepmother, sat in between Lexis and Kylee. The same seamstress that so magnificently put together Celeste’s wedding dress sewed dresses for the three beautiful women. They were in the same style as the wedding gown. Only Anyta’s was black, Kylee’s blue, and Lexis’s red. The seamstress insisted in doing so because they were family.
Family. The word hit Jake like a jab to the stomach. Anyta, Kylee, Bantyr, and Lexis were all that remained of his immediate family. He quickly turned away from their gazes and looked at the floor. A sudden burst of sadness seemed to take over as he thought about his dad. It was just four months ago that he had been reunited with his father. And now, his father was gone, after crashing on one of the moons of Terrest. His thoughts also drifted to his Uncle Kevin, Ashley, and Adam. The pain of not having them here on this special day pained him.
Closing his eyes, he reached up and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index fingers, trying to control the tears from spewing forth.
“Are you okay?” Skip whispered, nudging him with his elbow.
Looking up, Jake nodded. “Yeah, just thinking about my dad and uncle. Wish they were here.”
“I do too,” Skip said sympathetically.
Jake smiled and then moved his gaze to the other officers present. Skyler Green, Peter Sanchez, Sean Gibson, and Commander Nateal Runa sat in the pew behind his family. They too were dressed in their officer’s uniforms. All of them gave him smiles, and Petey gave him a thumbs up. Jake then felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned back around and looked at General Hauler.
“Are you ready, Jake?”
Jake gave the general a nervous nod as his gaze drew behind Scott Hauler and focused upon the painting of Jesus Christ. The feelings of sadness and grief were instantly replaced with gratitude. Even though he had experienced loss in his life, he wasn’t mad at the Lord anymore. Out of the greatest despair come the greatest blessings. He was about to receive that blessing in a few short minutes as Celeste became his wife.
The congregation suddenly fell silent. Jake whipped his head around, and his jaw dropped with stunned wonderment. There, standing in the entrance, was his beautiful bride. She was more beautiful than he had ever seen her before. The golden laden lace of her dress shimmered and the blue diamond hanging from her neck sparkled. Her eyes, accentuated from the blue of her cloak, glimmered with a brightness he could not describe. Her hair, elegant as well, had two small braids pulled from the front of her head and clasped together with a white flower in the back. The rest of her hair hung in spiral curls down past her shoulders in a dizzying display of lavishness. She was stunning – a goddess.
Celeste smiled at him and began to make her way toward the altar. Nichelle walked behind her, carrying the long, blue train from the cloak. As was customary of Gnol culture, the two Gnol females walked in silence to the altar, a sign of respect to the gods.
She arrived at the altar and turned to face Jake, beaming. Butterflies fluttered about in Jake’s stomach as he grinned at her, larger than he ever had before. In fact, he could feel the fatigue of his facial muscles.
General Hauler spoke. “Ladies and gentlemen, today’s ceremony
will be a mix of traditional Gnolom and Earth wedding celebrations.” He then went on to explain how the ceremony would commence, describing both traditions. “You may both kneel before the altar,” he said.
Jake and Celeste knelt across from one another. Nichelle then unstrapped the cloak from Celeste’s shoulders. She took the shimmering cloak and placed it upon the altar as a symbol of their love. The cloak, in Gnol culture, was always worn by the bride and then placed upon the altar by her bridesmaid. It represented the love the couple had for one another and would be used as a blanket for their firstborn child.
Celeste and Jake joined right hands together, and Jake gave his vows first. “Celeste, we come from two different worlds. Two worlds separated by trillions of miles of space. And now, here I kneel to tell you the undying love that I have for you. Only Divine Providence could make this happen. I have lost so much, yet I have gained everything – an eternal companion.
“When I first met you, it was love at first sight. You remember that day. I was a bumbling fool.”
Everyone in the congregation chuckled.
Jake waited for them to finish and chuckled himself as he remembered how foolish he probably looked in front of her. “Even though I had fallen madly in love with you, I never believed that a Gnol and a man such as myself could ever be together. But you proved me wrong. You have given me so much, Celeste. I may not have the abilities you possess, but what you have given me is hope and faith in our future, whatever that may hold. All I can offer you is my never-ending love for you, my respect, and eternal companionship. I love you, Celeste Chast.”
* * * * *
Celeste was doing everything in her power to hold it together as she listened to the words from her soon-to-be husband. The tears were just on the surface, ready to erupt. But she wanted to stay strong.
Worlds Without End: Aftermath (Book 2) Page 29