“Excuse me, but I doubt the Zone will take offense to me calling it the AZOK. It doesn’t have feelings for God's sake,” Kiya complained in defense.
“I like it. It has a nice ring to it. Catchy, even. To answer your question though, as young children they work to open their mind to the possibility that it even exists. We find the earlier the better because they have bigger imaginations and accept the impossible far more easily. During puberty they are given a mentor to guide them through the complexity of the...the AZOK. It takes a while to learn the intricacies of how to form your questions, so that the answers you seek are available. It takes years to master,” replied the Hindu goddess in a soft, gentle tone.
It was the first time Aarik had heard any of the Hindus speak and her tone was very soothing to the ear. It was almost melodic in nature, making it easy to believe how so many worshipped them as if they were gods. Her pale blue skin shimmered with some kind of glitter and made her look like she was glowing in the light, only enhancing the godly persona she presented. Processing her statement, Aarik frowned. Years? From the very first, accessing the AZOK had felt like coming home. It was second nature and made him start to question the validity of their claims.
Reeling from everything being thrown at him at once, Aarik opted to check out for a moment to process the new information. Leaving the conglomerate to stare at his still body for as long as necessary he took a large breath to center his thoughts. He entered the AZOK with the sole purpose of delving further into what it had to say about reincarnation and was prepared for any backlash he received for his rudeness. His sanity depended on it. Aarik could hear Kiya pick up the conversation and was thankful for the cover her questions brought.
“I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name,” Kiya asked the Hindu woman directly.
“My name is Radha, although my friends call me Ra. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” answered Ra with a head curtsey.
“You said you start them young, but what if that didn’t happen? Is there a crash course you put them through? Are there any circumstances where someone couldn’t access the AZOK...I mean Realm of Enlightenment?” Kiya asked the table with concern.
“There have been a few documented cases of that happening, but it is very rare and only those who are very closed-minded and not accepting of the supernatural. I think you have nothing to fear, Kiya. In fact we can begin yours during our time on Zyntese if you would like,” Thad replied gingerly.
Aarik winced at the thought of Kiya fighting and regretted the diversion it caused in his search on reincarnation. Instantly the links to spells that would allow him to imprison Kiya in a variety of fashions were made available. While the spells might prove useful in the future, he swiped them away with his hand and doubled down his focus on the topic of reincarnation. Once he was positive it happened on a regular basis, he massaged his query and asked the AZOK how to connect with the original soul. When a golden key appeared in front of him like it was a quest in a video game, Aarik grabbed it and repeated the chant it contained verbatim. Just as he was about to claim victory and tell the group about his discovery, a silhouette of a man appeared in his vision. The moment the apparition solidified in what looked like flesh and blood he said, “Oh there you are. Took you long enough!”
Chapter Eleven
Kiya
“I didn’t realize; you expect us to go with you to the convocation?” Kiya inquired with surprise.
“Normally I wouldn’t insist on it, but I believe you guys will have a better chance garnering votes if you are present,” Thad replied, and then held up his hand as an Ah’naki man dressed in a white jumpsuit walked towards the table anxiously. He waited until Thad signaled it was okay to approach and said, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but news from the palace has arrived and needs your attention immediately.”
“We are among friends, Dar’nex. What news do you bring?” encouraged Thad as he gestured to those gathered around the table.
“Two things: The king has called a meeting with his allies. Something big is up sir, but it is very close-lipped and Ashryn is worried by the time she is able to decipher what, it will be too late. She begs you send a couple more spies to help her uncover the purpose of the meeting as soon as possible,” pleaded Dar’nex, rubbing his hands together nervously.
“And the other thing…” asked Thad slowly.
“They have moved up the transformation ceremony and the king is positive she will not survive it,” added Dar’nex sheepishly, embarrassed he had to be asked.
“The second part is actually helpful to us. We can concentrate our efforts on why he’s calling in support from his allies,” Thor interjected with a smile.
“Transformation ceremony? Who...who are they talking about?” asked Kiya, as a feeling of hopelessness rocked her body.
“The sight seer,” replied Thad and then added, “Are you feeling alright? You look pasty white all of the sudden.”
“Did they say when?” Kiya asked Dar’nex in a rush.
“Tomorrow night, miss,” Dar answered with unease.
“Why do you ask?” questioned Thad, worry evident in his brow.
Kiya ignored her grandfather and turned to Aarik with every intention of pulling him out of the AZOK screaming if she had to. She needed him and nothing short of now would suffice. I hope you found what you were looking for in there because I need to talk to you now! She prayed he could hear her and gasped out loud when two voices responded in almost complete unison, What is it? Are you ok?
Holy shit! That’s not who I think it is...is it? How? Kiya responded in shock as she briefly forgot what was so urgent.
“That would be a yes, but we can discuss my problems later. I’m more interested in knowing what was important enough for you to interrupt me,” replied Aarik with concern, as he stroked her cheek. Kiya felt Aarik’s need to delay facing the reality of being reincarnated and decided she’d let him pretend as long as he needed. They had enough on their hands and could use a break from the abnormal.
Swallowing around the lump in her throat she said, “They plan on killing Grams. You have to help me rescue her.”
“That can’t be right. Wouldn’t that negate the pact she made with Th’ael?” replied Aarik with a frown.
“Wait, are you saying you’re related to the sight seer, Kiya?” asked Prometheus and then added, “Oh this just keeps getting better and better.”
“Oh shut it, Prome,” Isis hissed and then added, “I guess this means the seer is related to you as well Thad. Does that indicate we’re going back in? Because if it does, I’d like to go this time, in place of Morri and Dag. They had their chance even though their mess up came with an added bonus.” Isis swept her hand towards Aarik with a flourish before she added, “Someone else should go this time.” Flipping her hair off her shoulder, she smiled at Aarik and Kiya apologetically.
“And just how do you propose to get in without one of my people? I’d love to see you try and waltz in through the front door and see how far you’d get,” retorted Morri, as she stared Isis down and gripped the table to prevent herself from lunging at the woman across from her.
“Enough, you two! The bickering among us makes me wonder how we have worked together so well for so long.” Thad said forcefully and turned to Kiya and asked gently, “Is the seer your grandmother?”
“Yes. Although, I wouldn’t call her a seer, per se. She doesn’t always have control of what she sees, but I guess she always knows what’s about to happen. Like a telephone call or someone showing up unannounced for a visit. Little things mostly. Her rescue was one of the reasons I agreed to come to this planet. She was like a mother to me and it’s about time I gave back 1/10th of what she bestowed upon me during my lifetime,” answered Kiya with determination. They needed to see her Grams as a good woman; one worthy and deserving of a rescue, not an assassination.
“How did your grandmother end up with Th’ael?” asked Prometheus in a concerned voice that didn’t match his giddy expression. It was
like this new piece of gossip was a gold mine of information that he couldn’t wait to spread.
Glaring at Prometheus, in recognition of his two-sidedness, she addressed her grandfather, “We were facing off against Th’ael and his men at the origin portal and she must have seen we were going to lose because she gave herself up and saved us. She put on a theatrical performance and claimed to want nothing to do with us, but I know it was only for show. Her love was palpable as she crossed through the portal.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t her love for power you were feeling? Making a pact with the devil doesn’t seem like it would be in your best interest. Sounds more like a plea to save herself. Perhaps she only saw her immediate escape and was willing to take her chances on what the future would bring,” replied Isis coldly.
“I don’t have time to explain to you how far away you are from the truth. Instead, I’d like to focus on developing a plan to rescue her. Because, with or without your assistance, I will be making a go at it tonight. I have to,” finished Kiya with a crack in her voice. She refused to cry and was determined to not show how scared she was to attempt it alone as she blinked over and over again to force the tears back down.
Aarik cleared his throat loudly and said, “You mean WE will be making a go at it! You don’t think I’d let you do something so dangerous by yourself, do you?”
“I was willing to make an ass of you and me, if that answers your question!” Kiya said incredulously.
“Perfect assumption. Where you go, I go,” Aarik reminded her as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Just as long as you remember it goes both ways. No hero crap or hiding me from danger,” answered Kiya sternly leaning into his hand before he pulled it away.
Pulling her into him he rested his chin on her head and addressed Thad, “What do you say? Are we in this together? Or do we need to start making our own plans?”
“We never leave one of our own behind, but I must warn you, an Ah’naki pact is impossible to break. We might need to remove your grandmother by force, but first let’s head to the war room to discuss specifics,” replied Thad, as he stood up from the table and ushered Dar’nex forward with his hand. Leaning over he whispered something to Dar. When they were finished, Dar bowed low and hurried off to carry out his orders.
Kiya followed suit and got up to accompany her grandfather to the war room. The severity of their situation seemed more dire when the discussions took place in a room dedicated to war. As they all filed out into the hallway, Kiya looked forward to seeing more of the city. When their trek stopped at the following door she tried not to show her disappointment. She was further confused when the room turned out to be nothing more than an access tunnel with stairs at the end, which Kiya assumed led to the surface.
As the last of everyone from the table gathered at the bottom of the metal rungs Thad raised his hand for silence and said, “To give you a perspective of where we are, I’ve decided to take the long way. Try keeping it down while we pass. I will cloak us while we cross the tarmac.”
“Where is this war room?” Kiya asked out of curiosity. She couldn’t help but wonder why they needed to leave the facility.
“Why, in our ship of course,” replied Isis proudly.
“How does someone not notice an extra ship hanging out on the tarmac?” Aarik asked the group with a frown.
“Because it used to be one of theirs before we stole it,” answered Thor, as if the answer was obvious.
“Um...I’m not quite sure if I follow your logic. If it you stole it, but left it in the same location what is stopping them from taking it back?” Kiya asked in confusion.
“They could try, but Isis is a whiz at security systems and rewired the ship to only our voices. They’ll think it is out of commission, but since they rarely use the war ships it hasn’t been discovered yet,” replied Thor with a smirk.
“Please hold the rest of your questions until we are safely inside the hull and the outer doors are closed. Time is of the essence if we expect to pull this off by tonight,” interrupted Thad, with a finger to his lips for emphasis, before he scurried up the ladder rungs and opened the upper hatch.
Chapter Twelve
Taylor
“Has there been any news of Aarik and Kiya’s return yet?” Taylor asked Anna, with his head in his left hand while flipping mindlessly through a book dating back over ten thousand years. He never thought he’d be bored sorting through ancient manuscripts and documents, but he had to admit, ever since facing off with the Ah’naki, his boring lifestyle was itching for some action.
“Nothing as of this morning when I talked to my father,” stated Anna, looking up absentmindedly from the stack of scrolls she was buried in. Puffing her hair out of her eyes she pulled it back into a bun, securing it with a pencil while she eyed his twitchy hand and said, “What is up with you? You’ve been distracted all day. We have a job to do and you seem to be a million miles away. I thought you lived for this stuff. Wanna tell me what’s on your mind?”
Taylor straightened up at her accusation, pushed away from their makeshift table, and replied, “Just worried about our friends, I guess.” Running his hands through his hair, he scratched his scalp to imply his frustration.
Anna didn’t buy his act for one second and called him on it, “We both are, but this is the stuff we were made for and you are acting like it is yesterday's news!”
Taylor chuckled in spite of his mood at her unintended pun and couldn’t help himself when he said, “Well, technically it is.”
“No, technically it isn’t. Yesterday’s news would imply everyone is aware of this library and its ancient contents! So technically speaking my use of the phrase was appropriate. It can’t be yesterday’s news unless people know about it in the first place,” Anna spit out with exasperation.
If Taylor was willing to risk her wrath he would have pushed the topic further, but instead decided to agree and then promptly change the subject, “I was only kidding around. What seems to be bothering you so much? It’s not like you to bite my head off from a little lite banter.”
With a large sigh Anna said, “This is taking forever and was not what I had in mind when I pictured myself going on an adventure. In the last two days I’ve had more success at getting paper cuts and taking more antihistamine than recommended by physicians, then I have had of making heads or tails on a lead to the weapons my father sent us here for. I don’t know what I was thinking, but if we don’t find something soon, I’m going to go bat shit crazy. AND to top it off I’ve got sand everywhere!”
“I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling restless, but now who’s going to be the responsible one and get us back to work?” responded Taylor with a wink, and then ducked when Anna moved to smack him. “No reason to resort to violence,” he added with a chuckle, as he got up and twirled around with his hands in the air. He looked at the mountain of documents they were faced with reviewing and cringed. It was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Taylor wasn’t sure how Rh’ael expected them to find anything useful in such a short amount of time with only a small description and no leads on their last location. When Taylor requested reinforcements to ramp up their search efforts he was denied, with some lame excuse about not having anyone available. Taylor started to wonder if the weapons really did exist or if it was just a ploy to get his daughter out of harm’s way.
“I can still keep us on track. It’s called multitasking and I happen to be an expert. How else do you think I managed six doctorate degrees at my ripe young age,” teased Anna as she approached Taylor in a prowl.
Backing up playfully Taylor held his hands out in front of him and said, “Now, now, temptress. You need to dial down your sexy come hither look, because I can tell you from experience it’s not going to help me concentrate.”
Ignoring his remark, Anna pounced, knocking Taylor over as she straddled him on the ground. Holding him down with both hands on his chest, she leaned over and brush
ed her lips against his before she said, “On the contrary. I’ve heard pent up sexual frustration can cause a lack of concentration. Maybe if we acted on those desires, we’d both be able to think!”
“You could be onto something, but there is a nagging worry that when we go down that road I’ll never be able to do or think about anything else again,” admitted Taylor, staring up at her with a goofy smile he hoped distracted her from his uneasiness. It wasn’t that he wasn’t extremely attracted to Anna, but having never been with a woman so intimately, he wanted his first time to be more than a romp on the sand floor. He wanted it to mean something.
Anna growled and ground against him in frustration before she said, “Argh! You have the willpower of a saint! I’ll have you know when the time is finally right, you’re going to have a tigress on your hands and I have no plans on holding back.” Backing up off him slowly, she held out her hand to help him up and said, “Since you didn’t like my idea of passing the time...What do you have in mind?”
Scrambling to make sense of her words, after the kick start she gave his libido, was a challenge. He looked at her proffered hand longingly before he cleared his throat, grabbed it tenderly and said, “We’ve searched through countless books on weapons and war and have seen no mention of Nae’derium weapons of any kind.” Getting to his feet he pulled his hand free and wiped the sand from his jeans. Taylor paced between two rows of books while trying to think and huffed out, “I think we’re looking in the right era. I’m not sure what else they might fall under in this vast room.”
“Room is an inappropriate description. More like warehouse or a large repository. Come on, you should give yourself SOME credit. In less than two days you were able to decipher their Dewey decimal-type system and locate the books on weapons and war. If it was anyone else, they’d still be working out the filing system. Maybe we need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture,” replied Anna, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up short.
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