The Twisted Vine

by Alyce Caswell

‘What do you need me for?’ Finara asked once she’d turned back to her brother.

  Kuja sighed and shrank further inside the coat. ‘Right now Fei is over on Gerasnin, inviting her mother to visit us for the birth of our son. I imagine Berale, Fei’s mother, will ask all sorts of questions that I am not prepared to answer.’

  ‘You want someone else on your team, someone to even out the lasball court and help you field those questions,’ Finara said, nodding. ‘I’ll do it.’

  ‘You’ll do it? Just like that?’ Kuja was stunned. They might have been siblings but they’d never been particularly close, even after she had tended to him following his fight with Fayay. That had been more from guilt than anything else.

  Shadows fell across Finara’s face. ‘I’ve been trying so hard to figure out how to deal with mortals, Kuja. Lava, firestorms, bushfires — those make sense to me. But the people who live in my domain are frustrating, you know? They ask me to stop volcanoes erupting but that’s impossible to do for more than a few minutes. And they get so cranky when I don’t force nature to go against itself.’

  Kuja stared at her, thrown by the change of topic, but he didn’t interrupt. He felt that this was important to her.

  ‘I want the mortals to remember me when things aren’t erupting or going bad for them,’ Finara went on, waving a hand towards the nearest knot of tourists. ‘I guess what I’m saying is — I need to learn from you. Yeah. That’s why I’m helping you. To learn about mortals and how to make them listen to me. This is a trade, pure and simple.’

  Kuja smiled. ‘Of course it is.’

  ‘One last thing.’ Finara’s flaming eyes narrowed. ‘If Fei decides to punch you for lying to her, I’m pinning you down so she can have a decent crack at it.’

  ‘I’d probably deserve that,’ Kuja muttered.

  ‘You sure would.’

  • • •

  When the door opened, Fei stayed as still as a statue, mirroring her mother’s stance. Shorter and plumper than her, Berale Neron would normally have launched into an enthusiastic hug, but she simply stood there. Fei wondered if Lilon was making Berale so miserable that she had forgotten how to interact with people who didn’t treat her terribly.

  Berale’s hazel eyes slowly crept to Fei’s swollen stomach, a full eight months in the making.

  Fei self-consciously rested a hand there. ‘Maybe I should have mentioned something before now. Mum, I…I’m sorry I haven’t called you lately. I just couldn’t stand the thought of Lilon being here and that…that was selfish of me.’ Berale remained silent, so Fei set her bag down on the townhouse’s white porch and pushed on, ‘I’m married. And pregnant. Well, I guess that’s obvious.’

  ‘Are you done?’ Lilon demanded, stepping into the doorway. ‘You’ll have us die of old age before you finish filling your mouth with nonsense.’

  Fei clenched her fists in response and was pleased when her father stepped back a pace, apparently expecting an attack. She hadn’t needed to use Bagara’s powers since the conference, but she still felt them sometimes, as though she had vines tightening beneath her skin instead of veins.

  Fei gave Lilon what she hoped was an infuriating smile. ‘I’ll talk as much as I starking well want to. You can’t stop me, Chipper. And it’s sad that you’re only here to punish me, not because you love either of us. But I can probably make you leave, if Mum asks me to use my powers on you.’

  ‘Fei,’ Berale gasped.

  ‘Yes. That’s my name. Not something that could have changed overnight.’ The laugh escaped Fei before she could clamp down on it. ‘Well. Actually it did. I married Kuja Rforine and I’m much prouder to wear his name than the one I was born with. So…I’m Feiscina Rforine now.’

  The three of them remained frozen for a time, like a static image thrown up on a vidscreen. Water slapped the stones nearby, disturbed by some swell further out at sea. Whereas the oceans back on Enoc spoke in gentle whispers, here there was nothing natural about the sound of the waves going to war with the marble in their way.

  Fei picked up her bag and shouldered her way into the townhouse.

  By the time she returned from putting her things away in her old room, Lilon was ensconced on the couch in the living area, dwarfed by a blaring vidscreen. Free of his gaze at last, Berale surged forward, arms outstretched, and delivered the hug that Fei had desperately wanted.

  ‘You look happy,’ Berale said, setting her at arm’s length.

  ‘You don’t,’ Fei returned.

  Berale made a face. ‘I was going to say that one day you might understand, but you’ve obviously found a far more superior husband than I did. Now tell me — is this Kuja a Bagara worshipper too?’

  ‘Why do you ask?’ Fei demanded, her eyebrows scrunching down low over her eyes.

  Berale gently patted Fei’s cheek. ‘I don’t want my future grandchild confused about which faith they’re supposed to be adhering to now, do I?’

  ‘I got plenty confused about my faith even with you and Lilon both following the Creator God.’ Fei smirked when she saw her father’s head jerk in her direction, though it didn’t quite make it far enough around for him to show the glare he was no doubt sporting. ‘And it doesn’t matter. My son can choose whatever religion he wants. Kuja and I will always support his decisions.’

  Lilon grunted.

  Ignoring him, Berale embraced Fei again. ‘Oh, Fei, your Kuja sounds so much better than Zareth. Running off to GLEA, never to be heard from again. Mind you, it’s better when they do that…’

  Fei’s lips twitched when she saw her mother shoot an aggravated look over at Lilon.

  ‘Should we go out for lunch?’ Fei suggested. ‘It’s been a really long time since I was on Gerasnin.’

  Berale brightened. ‘I know just the place. They make the most fabulous coffein! And they do tea as well, don’t pout. It’s — ’

  ‘Don’t say anything else,’ Fei said, narrowing her eyes at the back of Lilon’s head. She could tell he wasn’t paying attention to the docovid he was watching about the low-tech life of people living on Alnia, a world some weeks from Gerasnin. ‘I’d rather not find myself surrounded by Chippers when I’m trying to eat.’

  ‘He wouldn’t do that,’ Berale said sternly. ‘Would you, Lilon?’

  He remained silent.

  Scowling, Berale took Fei’s hand and stormed out the door.

  • • •

  When Fei woke later that night, she knew immediately that the figure by the window was not some image of Kuja inserted into her room to set her at ease. She sat up and pointed at the empty doorway. ‘Lilon. Get out.’

  ‘These powers of yours are unnatural and must be dealt with,’ Lilon told her. ‘You must be with dealt with.’

  If she’d harboured any warm feelings for the man who had used her and her mother when it best suited him, those words would have caused them to disintegrate faster than magnesium held to a flame. Fei waved a hand over the sensor beside her bed, activating the room’s light. The harsh beams it threw down from the ceiling revealed her father standing in his full GLEA regalia, the golden strokes on the shoulders of the purple jumpsuit carefully straightened. He even had his shielding device and lasgun clipped to his belt.

  ‘The Creator God is silent so it is up to me to interpret his will and carry it out,’ Lilon continued. There was a darkness in his eyes that not even the light could dispel. ‘No abnormalities should be allowed to besmirch his grand design.’

  ‘If I’m not in his grand design, then why did he make me in the first place?’ Fei demanded. ‘And why does he allow the sub-level gods to exist, to reign, to dole out their powers?’

  ‘It should be me!’ Lilon exploded.

  Fei peeled back the covers and swung her feet to the side. The thin nightie she’d taken to wearing since becoming pregnant fell to her ankles but didn’t offer much protection. She was going to need to use Bagara’s powers.

  She lifted her chin, smiling as vines began to creep down her arms. ‘Of c
ourse it’s about you, Lilon. You’re jealous that I got powers naturally and you had to put a chip in your head. Makes you wonder who the Creator God actually wants looking after his people.’

  Her feet slid into her boots. She considered calling out for her mother.

  But even if Berale was conscious, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything to help Fei against the pack of GLEA agents that suddenly swarmed into the tiny bedroom. Fei thrust out her hands, but she wasn’t quick enough — the Chippers combined their powers into a large, potent forcefield that encased her and dragged her through the air, writhing and screaming.

  She did manage to kick the side of Lilon’s head, but this only caused the Chippers to shrink the forcefield until she couldn’t so much as breathe. Again Fei tried reaching for the abilities given to her by Bagara, the abilities she so desperately needed, but they skittered away. She just couldn’t concentrate when she had to focus on forcing air into her lungs.

  Fei held back the whimper of despair.

  Her father was now standing beside her, making shhh-shhh sounds as he grazed Fei’s arm with a hyponeedle. Its tip punched in and out of her skin in less than a heartbeat.

  Cold oblivion rushed up to meet her.

  Kuja! was the last thought Fei could manage.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  They took his wife into the largest temple in the galaxy, one staffed by no less than a thousand agents. He could sense all of their lifesigns, their energy, their power. It was overwhelming, even to a god.

  Kuja remained invisible, hiding his presence behind a small potted plant that was resting on the table beside Fei’s head. He could teleport her away within moments — she was no stranger to Bagara moving her around the galaxy in that manner. And, if he wanted, he could even attack the Chippers without physically appearing.

  I need to show myself to them, Kuja thought grimly. So they know who they’re dealing with. So they know to never again come after my followers — or anyone else under my protection, for that matter.

  But if he took human form and attacked the Chippers, they would use his father’s powers against him. Fayay had been just one enemy; here there were several. And since Kuja lacked telekinesis or the ability to manipulate energy the way the Chippers could, he would be at a disadvantage. But their fear and surprise might slow them down — he was willing to bet they’d never been attacked by a god before.

  You’ll reveal yourself to her if you do this, a voice piped up at the back of his head. And she’ll leave you.

  Not if I do it right.

  She will find out eventually, his inner voice taunted.

  I know that! I know that, stark it! Kuja snapped. But if she wants to leave, to use her free will… Agony lanced through his very being. Then that is her right. I cannot refuse her that.

  A stray tendril reached for Kuja, distracting him from his thoughts, and he immediately traced it back to his wife.

  I will never leave you, Kuja promised his son.

  Emotions and wordless demands crashed against Kuja’s mind. The boy was scared for his mother. The boy wanted the scary people to go away. Why wasn’t his father doing anything?

  Kuja was asking himself the same question.

  • • •

  The first thing Fei noticed when she woke up was that her bed was ringed by men and women garbed in purple, most of them with golden slashes on their shoulders, betraying them as high-ranking members of GLEA. Fei eased her way into a sitting position, using the wall behind her pillow for support. She still felt groggy from whatever sedative they’d used on her and her mouth was as dry and gritty as the surface of Yalsa 5.

  ‘We can get some water for you if you’d like,’ Head General Huw Hunslow offered. No slashes for him. He wore the stars of his rank.

  Fei spitted a glare at Hunslow and didn’t let up, not even when the illusion providing his human face flickered, revealing the scales beneath.

  ‘Um, no,’ she finally said. ‘I wouldn’t trust anything you’d bring me. Obviously you still see me as a threat given that there are fifteen of you in here and only one of me.’

  ‘You are a threat to the Creator God’s grand design,’ Lilon Neron declared, standing far too close for comfort.

  Fei snorted. ‘No, I’m a threat to your self importance. I did nothing to any of you! Well, I mean, except for ensuring that you’ll never set foot on Yalsa 5 again. But that doesn’t justify kidnapping me. The mediaists will rip you to shreds for this. And I’m pregnant, if that wasn’t obvious. This is just going to make you look even worse.’

  ‘Your father informed us of your situation,’ Huw Hunslow said, a hand outstretched and creeping towards Fei’s stomach. ‘Your child will be raised within this temple and taught to honour the Creator God.’

  A vine shot out of Fei’s palm and slapped Hunslow’s hand back to his side. Fei breathed deeply as the vine disintegrated, fighting the heady rush that came from using Bagara’s powers.

  ‘Don’t even try to touch me,’ Fei warned, flinging her eyes around the room. Most of the agents looked at the floor rather than try to meet her gaze.

  Her father’s frown was unwavering, however. ‘Surely you must realise that you and your child should remain here, so that we can use the both of you for the good of the galaxy and the glory of the Creator God.’

  ‘Or,’ said a very different voice, ‘Fei has already done enough for the Creator God and she can return home whenever she wants to.’

  ‘Kuja — how?’ Fei whispered as he entered the room from the corridor outside.

  His green eyes were soft when he glanced at her. I can’t explain. Don’t ask me to. Just accept.

  Then he raised his hands. The Chippers began to respond but he was quicker. Gnarled roots swept across the floor, tripping the agents in their way, then scrambled up the walls, cracking apart plaster and plexiglass as they went. Fei stared in wonder as Kuja stood on a bridge of vines above the chaos, letting the Chippers see how superior he was to them.

  He was saying something to the agents, Fei realised, but he wasn’t using his mouth. When she reached for his mind, to listen in, he withdrew from her, his fear as potent as the power he was wielding. Whatever he’d said to the Chippers, it was enough to send them running for the door. Not even Lilon or the Head General were willing to take Kuja on.

  His face twisting beneath a grim smile, Kuja moved towards Fei and pulled her into his arms. When she pried her face away from his chest to ask him if he was alright, since he was still so afraid, she realised they were back in their hut in Bagath, surrounded by their things.

  ‘So I’m not the only one Bagara has blessed,’ Fei said, awed.

  Kuja winced. ‘I don’t think you have powers, Fei. Not really.’

  Fei held out her hand and a miniature tree grew out of her palm, no bigger than her tallest finger. She arched an eyebrow at her husband. ‘See? I do have powers.’

  ‘Those are our son’s powers,’ Kuja said, reaching over to brush her florid orange hair off her face. ‘He inherited them from me and I believe you’ve been accessing them.’

  ‘But Bagara…’ she insisted, her heart skating to the edge of a cliff.

  ‘Bagara is there for you, he is, but these powers are from me,’ Kuja told her.

  Her heart leapt and fell, crushed onto the rocks below by a raging waterfall that sought to bury her hopes and dreams.

  Fei drew a shaky breath. ‘But…but what does this mean? If he hasn’t given me these powers and I only have them because…oh my God, this isn’t fair! You’re saying Bagara gave powers to my son and not me? Why?’ The sob lodged in her throat until she spat it out. ‘No! I don’t believe you! I have powers and — and Bagara loves me!’

  Kuja visibly deflated. ‘I do love you.’

  ‘I meant Bagar…’ Fei trailed off. Her mind whirred. ‘Tell me what’s inside that chest in your mind, Kuja.’

  He began to turn away so she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

  ‘You already
know what’s in there,’ Kuja said quietly.

  ‘I want to hear you say it. Say it!’

  His green eyes filled with tears. ‘I am Bagara.’

  ‘That’s impossible,’ Fei said, dropping his chin and taking a step back. ‘You’re human. I mean, your name doesn’t show up in the Galactic Database…but that doesn’t mean anything. Plenty of people don’t have the names they were born with.’

  ‘You looked me up?’ His smile lasted for several seconds before it faded away.

  Fei threw up her hands in exasperation. ‘Of course I did. I’m not completely stupid. At least now I know why you made me wear those gloves. Ala and Bock know what the scars mean, don’t they? You didn’t want them outing you! So how come they knew and I didn’t? Don’t you think this is something you should tell a woman before you marry her?’

  ‘Callista, my brother’s wife, seems to have told Bock and Ala about Sandsa and myself.’ Kuja looked pained. ‘I wish she hadn’t.’

  ‘I bet you wish you hadn’t needed to turn up and save me,’ Fei said bitterly. ‘Then you could go on pretending you were a man.’

  Kuja surged forward, arms outstretched. ‘Fei! I will always protect you! I should have said something, I know, but I was afraid that you would hate me and leave.’

  ‘I might not hate you so much if you’d warned me not to start fawning over you as a god,’ she snapped and darted aside, avoiding his embrace.

  ‘It’s…hard to explain.’ Kuja wrung his hands. ‘I’ll open the chest in my mind. You’ll see. You’ll understand why.’

  Fei backed further away from him, until she hit the door. ‘It’s not the same! I shouldn’t have to read your mind to know who you are. I just want you to tell me. I tell you everything. Everything. And all you’ve ever done was lie to me.’

  He pressed his lips together instead of defending himself. Fei could read from him that he’d told some truths, but not nearly enough. He knew that. And he was so very sorry, especially when she found that last awful secret in his mind.

  Fei looked down at her hands, tracing the lines on her palms. ‘The scars. They transferred your immortality to me. Just how permanent is this binding?’