The Mystic Saga Omnibus (Books 1 - 5)

by Scott McElhaney

  “Now there’s where you’re wrong, Rodney,” I said, approaching him quickly, “You see… you just tried to kill me and all the evidence points to the fact that I was up here fighting for my life. What would anyone think if I killed you in an attempt to save my life?”

  “You-”

  I grabbed him by the throat and pressed his body to the wall.

  “How will you tell the police what you witnessed when you’re not even able to talk?” I asked.

  “P-please?” he choked out, “D-don’t kill m-me.”

  “I never said I was going to kill you,” I grinned, sliding my hand up his neck and taking a hold of his jaw, “I only said you wouldn’t be able to talk when the police arrived.”

  With that, I crushed his jawbone and dropped the screaming man to the floor.

  . . .

  Two hours and four written statements later, I was left as a homeless man in the living room of the McHales. My room above the barn was cordoned off with two strips of yellow police tape. John and Maisy sat opposite me on the other sofa, their features highlighted in orange from two flickering oil lamps on the mantle.

  “Officer Wilde said they don’t typically tape off a room where a murder hadn’t occurred, but they’re not sure if Rodney will survive his injuries,” John said, sipping a glass of milk.

  “It’s just a broken jaw,” I said, “Unfortunately for everyone, I think he’ll live.”

  “It wouldn’t be murder anyway,” Maisy said, shaking her head, “It was a simple case of self-defense.”

  We sat there in the silence for a few more minutes before Evie returned with a tray of butter cookies.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered as she took a seat on the floor near her mother.

  “You’ve said that ten times tonight,” I said, reaching for a cookie from the coffee table, “And ten times later, your apology still makes no sense.”

  “I’m sorry for ignoring my mother when she told me he was friends with the Cartwrights and for ignoring my dad when he told me that Rodney looked at me like a hungry animal. I’m sorry for the fact that you keep getting attacked because of my stupidity. I’m sorry for-”

  “You’re sorry for trying to love someone that couldn’t have loved you in return? How can you apologize for loving someone?” I asked, “Even if that ‘someone’ was a bad person. You don’t need to apologize to anyone for offering your heart to someone. You gave him something he didn’t deserve and thankfully, you were smart enough to send him packing before he ever had a chance to truly hurt you.”

  “I love you, Steine,” Rewan muttered in my head, “Seriously.”

  “That’s it, I want out of this machine,” Drexil said.

  “I’m sorry, Cyan,” Maisy muttered.

  “What?” I asked, confused by her statement, “You’re going to start with the apologies too?”

  “I love you too, Rewan,” I replied, “I really don’t know a whole lot about you, but I hear your every thought, so I can safely say that I love you too.”

  “I seriously want out,” Drexil insisted, “I saw her first. She’s supposed to be mine.”

  “I love you, Drexil,” I said.

  “What?” he said.

  “I know your thoughts too. In a completely heterosexual ordinary way, I love you,” I said, “And I don’t have a problem saying that.”

  “You’re a weirdo, Steine,” he said, “Get away from me.”

  “You’re stuck with me, Drex, and I love you,” I said.

  “You know what? I love you too, Drex,” Rewan said, “You have a lot of perverted thoughts, but when you rake those all away, you find a really nice guy beneath it all. It just requires a lot of raking, though. A lot.”

  “Are you two short-circuiting?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” I replied.

  “Definitely,” she added, “But even so, I love you both.”

  “Then let’s have a threesome when we…” he started.

  “Too bad I didn’t love you both back when we had bodies,” she teased, “All those perverted thoughts are for naught.”

  I think we both sighed or groaned at the exact same time. I wasn’t quite sure how to define that sound, but it was a sound that fully defined a lifetime of want.

  “I’m sorry for judging you before I knew who you really were,” Maisy said, “I’ve spent every moment since you’ve been here wishing more and more that I could meet your parents.”

  “My parents?” I asked.

  Evie snickered and grabbed a cookie from the tray.

  “I think my mother is saying that you don’t act anything like the people around here. Your parents must have raised you in a cage or in a magical commune,” Evie said.

  I shook my head. John laughed at me, then nudged his wife.

  “That’s exactly what we’re talking about, Cyan,” John said, “You seem to think you’re completely normal when in reality, you’re about the nicest guy I’d ever met. And when someone pays you or your parents a compliment, you still don’t get it. It’s like you’re from another planet or something.”

  “Oh my god!” Drexil yelled.

  “We messed up!” Rewan added, “Everyone knows! We’ve been called an alien a dozen times since the last sunrise!”

  “But what did I do?” I asked my alter identities, “All I’m doing is working, eating, and saving this family from some creep.”

  “I don’t know, but apparently we didn’t do enough research.” Drexil said, “We’re making too many mistakes.”

  “I’m not from another planet,” I muttered aloud.

  “Well, that’s good to know,” Evie laughed.

  “Scratch the ‘Martian’ excuse. So then I guess that means it’s your parent’s fault,” John said.

  “They were joking about the alien thing,” Drexil said.

  “We’ve got a lot to learn about these people,” I replied.

  “It’s my parent’s fault, sir,” I said, “They were very good people and they taught me a lot. They also taught me that when you meet a beautiful ‘someone’ that you’d really like to know more about, well, it’s proper to ask the permission of the parents. I guess I’m taking advantage of the current situation of not being hated, and if your daughter is willing, would you mind if I...”

  “I’m searching the language banks!” Rewan said, “Act like you’re thinking.”

  “Court! Seriously, I looked up all the words you might need to use in this particular field,” Drexil said, “Don’t use the word ‘date’ because you don’t have a car and you don’t have any money to take her on a date. Say it now before John falls asleep waiting for the rest of your question!”

  “Would you mind if I courted your daughter?” I asked, worried suddenly how they would reply to this, “I don’t carry guns or knives and I… I’m nothing like Rodney. I swear to you, you’ll never wish me dead.”

  John laughed that trademark laugh of his.

  “I never expected those kind of words from a farmhand,” he said, repeating my statement, “‘I swear to you, you’ll never wish me dead’.”

  Evie was looking at me with an expression that I could only define as “fear with a little splash of confusion.” Maisy’s expression nothing short of “heart attack with a pinch of shock.” And John’s expression was simply his typical trademark grin.

  “Well, if no one is going to say anything, I guess Evie is put on the spot,” John said.

  I glanced over at her, watching the glow of the oil lamps dance across her perfect features.

  “Of course!” Evie said.

  “Of course?” John asked.

  “Of course I want…” she started, then ducked her head shyly, “Of course I’d like to be courted by Cyan.”

  “Of course,” John said, blowing out whatever breath he’d been holding.

  “Of course,” Maisy muttered.

  LEGACY

  210 AfEl (After Elix)

  “This is not a decision to be taken lightly,” he said, pacing before the
table upon which rested a large yellow ball, “We could be talking about a million lives – maybe even a billion for all we know.”

  “Understood, sir,” Steine said.

  “But do you really?” he asked, bringing his pacing to a sudden halt in front of the table.

  He turned to the three people seated on the other side of the table.

  “We’re talking about the fate of more than a just a single planet as far as I’m concerned, sir,” Steine replied, “I know you don’t agree with me, but I still believe that if we destroy their star, it could have a negative effect on star systems within their local group. Our verdict could quite possibly inflict an unknown amount of damage to life that exists in the three to four star systems surround that particular system.”

  “But you mustn’t base an important decision on the unknown since you’re dealing with just a theory,” he replied, “You must focus your thoughts only on their planet and their immediate vicinity.”

  “I think our decision would be the same either way,” Rewan stated.

  “Yes, but we don’t want any unnecessary theories to cloud your decision. If you find a planet full of murderous, incestuous, hideous beings, you need to make a decision based on that alone. We mustn’t concern ourselves with the effects of electromagnetic waves or gamma radiation waves on any other star systems.”

  “Again, sir, our decision would be the same either way,” she said.

  He lifted the yellow ball from the table and examined it as though it were truly a star. Then he lifted the small model of the Reaction Disruptor.

  “I just wanted to make sure you fully understood the position you three will be put in. The satellites you bring with you will be looking for three things. They will look for the ‘go ahead’ order from you; they will look for the ‘stand down’ order from you; or they will look for your extermination which will be viewed as an act of aggression on the part of their world,” he said, “Only one thing will prevent the destruction of their world and that is a unanimous order from you to stand down. This direction must be given within a five-year period and it must be accompanied by three separate reports from all three of you. Are we a hundred percent clear on this?”

  “We’ve been clear on this for the past four meetings, sir. We’ve said the same things over and over again,” Drexil stated.

  “I have to agree with Drex, sir. We’re getting kind of tired of repeating ourselves.” Steine added.

  “Yes, but this is the last communication you will be receiving from us. You are being sent out with a standing order that has a default of planetary destruction,” he said, “Basically, if we hear nothing back from you within five years of your initial landing signal, the star system will be destroyed. This is no small verdict that we’re delivering on a race of living beings.”

  “Understood, sir,” Rewan said.

  Love

  “John is the coolest guy on either of our planets,” Drexil said, “I’d kiss his cheek if you allowed me to control our body.”

  “I’m living vicariously through Evie, so I have to agree for the first time ever with Drex,” Rewan said.

  Maisy handed me the picnic basket, but for some reason, she maintained an expression that I could only decipher as a look of anger. She then handed me a rolled up blanket, but paused a moment with her hand on mine.

  “I love her and she’s all I got in this world besides John,” she said.

  “I can’t imagine a safer place for your daughter to spend the day than with me, ma’am, and I’m saying that sincerely,” I replied, “All I want to do is to get to know her. I want to know her the way you do and if that happens… well, then I guess you can imagine the way I’d feel about her afterward.”

  She gasped, then drew her hand away.

  “What’s wrong,” I asked.

  “The things you say… while I understand what you’re getting at, you just have a way of defining things in a way that no one else does,” she said.

  “Is this bad, ma’am?” I asked.

  “No, I suppose it’s not,” she replied, “I’m just not quite ready for a man to tell me that he loves my daughter with the same depth of love that I have. It’s not… just please don’t rush things, Cyan.”

  “I think I can understand that,” I said, “And I’m in no hurry, ma’am. I’m just taking the vacation day you’ve offered me and I’m accompanying your daughter to the river for a nice picnic lunch. Between you and me, this is truly all I’m doing.”

  She gave me something of a forced smile which I returned with interest.

  “Keep an eye out for poison ivy along the trails. I don’t think those trails have been tended to very much in the past couple years,” she said almost as an afterthought.

  “Just nod, Steine,” Rewan said, “It’s hopefully a plant that Evie will recognize.”

  I nodded just as Evie drifted past her mother into the kitchen.

  “Why are you and Dad giving the new farmhand a day off?” Evie asked as she floated toward me and tugged at my collar, “That looks like one of my dad’s shirts.”

  “I believe it is,” I said, “Your mother said that my knife-wound-shirt was getting old.”

  “It was,” Maisy said, “And we’re giving him a day off because everyday that he works here, someone tries to kill him. We’re getting a little tired of it.”

  I lifted the picnic basket and the rolled blanket from the table. I didn’t even realize that Maisy had already left the room by the time I prepared myself for our journey.

  “I’m not sure I even recognize her anymore,” Evie said, tucking her arm under my own.

  “Attempted murder can do that to someone, I guess,” I said, allowing her to lead me to the back porch, “So how far is it to this river you told me about?”

  She stole all my attention when I braved a glance at that beautiful smile that she displayed so casually. The morning sun was dancing a shimmering spectacle in the gemstones she claimed as eyes. I didn’t quite understand how a melting heart felt to a typical human, but I believed mine felt about three times more powerful since I was quite certain all three of our hearts melted in that moment.

  “Almost a half mile, I’d guess,” she said, “But that’s just an estimate.”

  “What would happen if we reported back already?” Drexil asked as we headed toward the cornfield.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I mean, we were sent here to evaluate this race of people and to see if they are all a bunch of heartless savages,” Drexil said, “Other than our little buddy Rodney, these people are definitely not savages.”

  “We couldn’t report back right now even if we wanted to,” Rewan said, “I tried twice to make contact with the lower satellite and it’s not responding in any way.”

  “What do you mean ‘no response’?” I asked.

  “I think our communication link is disrupted by something atmospheric. I’m sure it’s temporary,” she replied.

  “Umm, it better be temporary!” I gasped, “If we can’t communicate, we can’t call off the default follow-up mission.”

  “We have a secondary satellite,” Drexil said, “We have a program inside our banks with directions on how to build an emergency relay to communicate with the secondary satellite should we lose the primary. But I don’t think this is necessary. It’s probably weather related.”

  “Did you serve in Japan before we dropped the bomb?” Evie asked.

  It took me a moment to return my thoughts to the world before me. I muttered a quick request for Rewan to continue trying to contact the primary satellite as I turned to Evie.

  “The bomb?” I asked.

  She grinned, then lifted her chin toward a dirt path that began next to the cornfield. I followed the direction of her stare.

  “Come on – the bomb?” she said with a laugh, “The atomic bomb that we dropped on Japan.”

  “Atomic?” I sputtered only a millisecond before I realized what she might have been referring to, “A weapon
… created by releasing the energy inside an atom?”

  “You’re silly,” she laughed, nudging me, “I can carry the blanket if you want since it keeps looking like it’s about to fall off the basket.”

  She took the blanket from the top of the picnic basket before I could protest, then tossed it over her shoulder.

  “Ask more about this bomb,” Drexil said, “I might be revoking my previous statement about wanting to report back so suddenly.”

  “I doubt they would use such a weapon on a whole village,” Rewan said, “A weapon like that guarantees the deaths of innocents as well as the deaths of the intended enemy targets.”

  “The word they use for micro-orbitals is ‘atom’ and she called it an atomic bomb,” Drexil said.

  “But we don’t know the details, and let’s face it, we have plenty of time to return a verdict,” Rewan added, “We’re in no hurry.”

  “I was injured shortly before I left the Army,” I said, “I didn’t really want to say anything because I didn’t want it to hinder your dad’s decision to hire me on at the farm. It was a significant head injury, but I’m basically normal outside of a large portion of memory loss.”

  “Nice!” Rewan inserted, “Something that can explain a lot of our mistakes.”

  “What happened?” she asked, shifting the rolled blanket across the back of her neck.

  The path forked up ahead, offering us the option of going left into the woods or going right toward the wheat field. She nodded to the left and I took that as instruction enough.

  “Let’s not talk about me,” I said, “My time in the Army was clouded with a lot of pain and bad memories. What about you? What about the interview you had? How’d it go?”

  “You remembered I had an interview?” she asked, kicking a branch off the path.

  “It’s what you prayed about at dinner,” I said, “I imagine it must have been something important.”

  “Important,” she repeated, “Then would you believe neither of my parents asked me how it went?”

  A small animal dared across the path, immediately followed by another one of equal size and speed. These playful rodents reminded me to keep an eye on the possibilities of a poison plant I knew nothing about.