Anxiety played out across Reyes’ features. Seb sighed. “You can come with me. Once I confirm where the parasites came from, I’ll go back to the Shadow Order on my own.”
Still frowning, Reyes drew a breath as if she had an objection, but Seb cut her off. “I’m not offering you a choice. You’ve been following me for this long, you can do it for a few more days.”
“I’ve been what?”
“I’ve felt you following me since I was on Aloo.”
“I’ve not been following you.”
“Then how did you know where I was?”
“We heard of your brother’s suicide. I’m sorry, by the way.”
Seb balled his fists and Reyes looked down at them, adding, “When we heard about that, we thought you might have heard too. We thought maybe we could find you here.”
The grief of watching Davey’s execution wound so tightly within Seb he felt sick. Before he could respond to Reyes, the voice of his mum came through.
Pick your battles, Seb. She’s not trying to antagonise you. Try to see that.
A long inhale, Seb then released a hard breath, his cheeks puffing out with the force of it.
Reyes pulled back as if repelled by the strength of his exhalation.
It helped Seb let go of his rage. He turned to Logan. “Thank you for all your help.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
“Do you have everything you need? Do you have somewhere to stay? I’m not coming back to this house, so it’s yours if you want it.”
Clearly stunned by Seb’s statement, Logan’s eyes widened and he looked Seb up and down. “Really?”
“It’s a shame for it to go to waste. Like Dad’s car, you’ll take better care of it than I will. And like his car, he’ll be happy to know he’s helped you out.”
“Thank you.” Logan said. “I’ve always hated my apartment, and I want to retire soon.” Before Seb could reply, he added, “There’s something I need to tell you. It’s about the prophecy.”
Something in the old man’s kind eyes gave him away and Seb pointed at him. “I thought you knew about it.”
Logan walked out of the front room and called back to Seb, “Come with me, son.”
CHAPTER 35
Logan led the way to the kitchen, talking over his shoulder as he went. “I promised your dad I’d do this when the time was right.”
The anticipation of whatever Logan had to tell him balled nausea in Seb’s stomach. His palms turned clammy and his breathing sped up. “What are you talking about? What have you been hiding from me?”
“Well.” Clearly nervous, Logan pushed the door to the kitchen open, the hinges creaking in response. “I didn’t know if I’d be talking to you or your brother.”
Seb deflated at the words. “Oh. So you had to wait for one of us to die?”
“I might have lied to you before.”
A deep inhale to calm his reply, the dusty room tickled Seb’s throat, forcing him to swallow several times. His eyes watered as he gulped against his need to cough. He finally said, “Clearly.”
“I mean about checking on your dad’s house. I didn’t come by to see if it had been broken into.” He laughed. “I’m not sure many people would choose to live this far out of the way, even squatters.”
Where he’d fixed his gaze on the dried mowgrove fruit in the bowl, Seb then looked out of one of the windows at the expanse of desert. Evening had well and truly settled in, the sky red where the last remnants of Danu’s sun disappeared behind the horizon.
“I kept coming back because I knew this day would come. Your dad hoped it wouldn’t, but if it did, I promised I’d be ready for it.”
“You’re talking in riddles, Logan.”
Logan walked towards the safe Seb had been aware of for so many years but never questioned what it contained. Several quick taps against the keypad and the small metal door swung open.
Seb gasped to watch Logan gain access to it.
When Logan turned around, he had a small disc in each hand. One had Mum written on it, the other one Dad. He handed them both to Seb.
Both of the discs had small red buttons in the centre of them. Seb had seen similar devices before. He only had to press the buttons to get them to work, but his thumbs froze as if disobeying his desires. His hands shook and his words caught in his throat. What would the discs show him? Did he even want to know?
At some point, sooner or later, he would press the buttons. Even if he mulled it over for a day or two, he would press them. So why wait? Seb pressed the Mum one first.
A three-dimensional recorded image of his mum stood up from the disc. About six inches tall, she wore a long red dress and had her hair tied up in a bun. She looked like she’d gone to a lot of effort to make the recording, and she looked younger than he remembered her, like the recording had been done some time ago. A look up at Logan, Seb saw the man’s kind gaze focused on the image, so he looked back down.
“Dear Davey or Seb,” his mum said, “I don’t know who has this disc, but it breaks my heart to know it’s being played. It means only one of you are left. I pray both of you have had long and fulfilling lives.”
Tears itched Seb’s eyes and threatened to blur his view of his mum. He rubbed them hard so he could see every second of the recording.
“I love both of you boys with everything I have in me. Whatever life choices you’ve made, know that I’m proud of you and I will always love you. Whatever’s happened.”
Seb’s grief grew claws and raked at his throat. A shake ran through him and he had to set the disc down so he didn’t drop it.
The image of Seb’s mum sat down on a seat and folded her hands across her lap. “Whichever one of you is watching this, know you have a long and hard journey ahead of you. Your father and I tried to protect you from your fate, but we knew it would be almost impossible, which is why we made these recordings. At some point, everything will catch up with you. I hope you get these messages in time for them to help.”
The door creaked and Seb looked across to see Reyes standing there. She wore a sadness all of her own. The footage of his mum must have triggered her own grief. Moses had said she’d lost her dad.
“The main thing I wanted to say is how much I love you. How much your dad and I love you. How we’re with you every step of the way as you journey through this life. I hope you feel me watching over you.”
“I do,” Seb whispered, his voice breaking.
“But what you need to hear now is much better coming from your father than from me. I love you.”
As Seb watched the image of his mum fade away, his heart broke for her death all over again. Tears gushed from his stinging eyes and the lump in his throat damn near choked him. Aware of the other two in the room, he remained fixed on the small disc, pressing the button repeatedly to try to play it again.
When Logan wrapped a long arm around Seb, he fell against the old frant’s chest as another wave of grief poured out of him. “They can only play once,” Logan said. “What you’re about to learn has been set to erase. Your mum and dad figured that if someone finds out your mum has spoken to you, then they’ll know your dad has spoken to you too. If they’re both gone, there’s no evidence. It might protect you for a little longer.”
“Protect me from what?” Seb said.
Logan moved the disc marked Mum to the side. No more than an empty storage device now. Seb drew a deep and stuttered breath that lifted his chest. He then stared down at the one marked Dad still in his hand. After he’d placed it down, he looked first at Logan and then Reyes. They both cried with him.
“I’m sorry,” Reyes said. “Do you need me to leave?”
A moment’s silence as he thought on it, Seb looked first at Logan and then shook his head. “No. You lost your dad too, right?”
Reyes dropped her gaze.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Logan said to her.
Not aggressive, but clear in her assertion, Reyes stepped away from Logan and shoo
k her head. “Never!”
When both Reyes and Logan looked at him, Seb returned his focus to the disc marked Dad, drew yet another deep breath, and pressed the red button.
CHAPTER 36
As much as Seb felt bad for watching his dad’s image pop up while he still thought about his mum, it didn’t change the fact that unless something else turned up that he knew nothing about, it would be the last time he’d see any new footage of her. At least he had her in his head. Then his dad spoke.
“Son,” Seb’s dad said, already sounding more human than he had in a long time, “only one of you is left, which is why you’re seeing this message. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to support you.”
A glance at Logan, Seb then shrugged. “Who is this man?”
“Just listen,” Logan said.
Seb looked back at the dad he’d never met before. A seemingly kind and compassionate man. “You’re the last remaining superhuman in the galaxy. We’re actually called Trowks, but we resemble the human race so closely, the term superhuman has stuck.”
When his dad paused again, Seb looked back at Logan, who knew more than he did at that moment. “Dad?”
Logan nodded.
“He was the special one?”
“He did his best to hide it,” Logan said. “He didn’t want to tell you because—”
“He thought he knew best?” Seb finished for him.
“Sound familiar?”
Before Seb could continue his conversation with Logan, his dad spoke again. “We’ve lived side by side with humans for centuries. We’ve hidden our skills because we have such a great power. That kind of power sends people crazy in their desire to acquire or destroy it. I didn’t want to give this burden to my boys. But we have one advantage; people might sense we have something about us, but Trowks have been considered extinct for centuries. It’s why this message has to vanish after you’ve watched it.”
When his dad looked up, Seb felt almost as if the small person could see him. Like the digital recording from the past interacted with him at that moment. “I’m sorry for how I was, son. I was petrified and felt like the closer I got to you, the closer I got to revealing the truth about your bloodline. I didn’t want you to live with the burden I have. Even though I could see you both had the gift, I felt it would be less traumatic for you not to know your destiny. It’s been painful to see the disdain you have for me, but please know I was doing what I thought was best for you.”
The air left Seb’s lungs, taking away his ability to speak.
“The bloodline has been so diluted,” Seb’s dad went on, “that only a small amount of it remains within you. You can fight and slow down time. But your ancestors … they could move moons. They could manipulate entire star systems.”
A weakness threatened to take Seb’s legs away from beneath him, so he sat down on the stool by the breakfast bar.
“Davey had other skills to you. He saw the darkness in people. The policeman he killed wasn’t an accident. He didn’t choose to see the man’s filthy secrets, but when he did, he couldn’t cope with someone like that being around. He did the world a favour and kept a lot of child slaves from being taken in by him. But he had to pay the ultimate price to do that. I can see how being in prison—surrounded by degenerates because of the high-security wing they had him in—would have driven him mad. It would drive anyone mad. For that reason, I assume I’m talking to you, Seb.”
Seb nodded as if his dad could see him.
“There’s a darkness spreading through the galaxy,” his dad said. “It’s been growing for a long time, spreading out to every planet it can reach. Soon, it will be ready to rise up and take over. You need to make sure you stop it. Find it before it tightens its grip. You need to cut the head off the organisation. Otherwise, the galaxy will fall to chaos. I hate to put this on you, Seb, but the prophecy is bigger than all of us. It says that when I have one child left, they’ll be forced to rise to the challenge. Almost as if the death of one of you will trigger everything.”
Even being perched on the seat felt like too much at that moment, so Seb gripped the breakfast bar to stop himself falling off.
“Goodbye and good luck, Seb,” the image of his dad said. “I’m sorry I was distant. It was the only way I knew to protect you from the truth. Know that I’ve never stopped loving you.”
Once the image of his dad had faded away, leaving just an empty storage disk behind, Seb slid the device across the work surface in Logan’s direction.
Logan scooped it up and put it in his pocket with the one Seb’s mum had been on. “I need to dispose of these,” the old police officer said.
A look at Logan and Reyes, Seb then rested his elbows on the breakfast bar and his head in his hands. “So it’s all real? The chosen one, the prophecy, the darkness spreading through the galaxy …”
For most of the time she’d stood there, Reyes had said nothing. She remained silent as Logan said, “Yep.”
“I’m not human?”
“No. At least, not entirely human. Your mum was one hundred percent human.”
“That’s why I can slow down time when I fight? Why I can heal people? Why I can hear …” Seb let his next thought trail away. Maybe he couldn’t hear his mum’s voice. Sure, he heard someone’s voice, but the voice he heard sounded so different from the one on the recording he’d just listened to.
Under the watchful eye of Logan and Reyes, Seb went into himself. He’d left them hanging, but they’d deal with it. Mum?
I’m not your mum, Seb.
You’re not?
No.
It suddenly made sense. “My god!” Seb said just as he heard the click of the front door opening. Without thinking, he jumped from the stool, barged past Logan and Reyes, and burst through the kitchen door into the hallway beyond.
CHAPTER 37
The second Seb stepped into the hallway, he saw her standing with the front door still open, the wind tossing her long blonde hair. She fixed him with her bioluminescent gaze.
For the next few seconds, they said nothing to one another. Then SA spoke. I’ve been following you since you escaped the Shadow Order’s base.
Why didn’t you tell me you were there?
I didn’t think you’d want me to be. You left without asking us to come.
So why did you follow me?
I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you were okay.
Seb waited because she sounded like she had more.
Instead of speaking, SA walked up the hallway towards him. Slow steps, she damn near floated with her grace.
Seb had to take steadying breaths to hold onto his heartbeat.
When SA got close, she reached both of her hands out to him. He took them.
For a moment, they stared at one another. The ever confident SA looked to be uncertain of herself. She looked scared. Then she leaned forward.
When their lips touched, Seb breathed in, inhaling every moment of their kiss. Hours could have passed and it still would have ended too soon.
After they’d pulled away from one another, Seb continued to hold SA’s hands, his body electric with their connection. I wanted to tell you I loved you when we were on Carstic.
I know, she said. And I wanted to say it back.
But if you can talk to me through our heads, why have you waited until now?
Guilt and shame sat deep in her azure stare. I didn’t feel ready.
Why?
Can I tell you another time?
A pang twisted through Seb’s chest to hear her say that. To know of the suffering she kept inside. Today had already been too much for him. He nodded. Of course.
And please don’t tell the others what I can do. I’m not ready for that.
Logan knows.
Will he keep it to himself?
Seb nodded. I’ll ask him to.
The sound of shuffling feet at the end of the corridor pulled Seb’s attention behind him. He looked around to see Logan and Reyes staring at them both.
Because they startled him, Seb nearly let go of SA’s hands, but he didn’t have to hide it anymore. She knew how he felt and she felt the same way. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought. To cover up that SA’s voice had pulled him out of the kitchen, Seb said, “I heard the front door open.”
Neither Reyes nor Logan replied.
Then to Logan, he said, “Is that everything from my mum and dad?”
Logan nodded. “Yes. You’re on your own now, son.”
When the tall frant called him son, it took him back to the image of his father. After a moment to centre himself, Seb then looked at Reyes before turning back to SA. “We need to get back to Aloo. I need to find out where that parasite came from. Dad says I have to stop the darkness in the galaxy. I don’t know where else to start but there.”
“I’ll get you to the spaceport,” Logan said. “Will you be able to get away from there?”
The card Owsk had given Seb remained in his back pocket. He felt its outline through the fabric of his trousers and nodded. “Yes. I think we’ll be okay,” and then he added, “for now.”
CHAPTER 38
Seb knew they’d be there because they’d contacted them from Danu, but when he stepped off the ship they’d hitched a ride on, holding hands with SA while Reyes walked out behind them, his grin stretched all the way across his face to see Sparks and Bruke standing amongst the chaos of Aloo’s busy spaceport.
It made Seb’s smile broaden to watch Sparks look at their held hands. The slightest rise of one of her eyebrows, a glowing warmth then shone in her eyes before she looked back down at her small computer.
She didn’t look surprised, SA said.
Seb squeezed her hand in response. I think I’ve always made it obvious how I feel about you. Especially to Sparks.
SA squeezed his hand back.
The sound of Bruke’s excited squeal momentarily silenced the hustle and bustle in his close proximity. Several passers-by looked at him. “What?” he said before charging full tilt at Seb and SA.
Fugitive: A Space Opera: Book Five of The Shadow Order Page 13