The Paramount Dimension

by Joseph Calev

“Enough, Mordriss,” Revis shouted.

  I was stunned. How could they know this? No one here had ever met my father. I glanced at Algard, who had appeared from the shadows and was calmly avoiding my gaze.

  “Do you deny it?” Revis demanded.

  I shook my head and winced in anticipation of a hundred resonations.

  “He’s not that Mordriss,” Raynee pleaded. “That one’s from a different time line.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Revis said. “We have proof.”

  Henry stepped forward. “They managed to orasate some of the bodies in Heskera. It took them awhile, but one of them blew off your mask. They saw you, Mordriss.”

  I paused while wondering how that could possibly be. I’d been nowhere near Heskera. And then it came to me.

  “Someone just changed the orasations. The grand master did that when I orasated him to find the school.”

  “Impossible!” came isolated replies. “He’s just making that up!”

  “Isn’t that true, Algard?” I boomed.

  That was a poor decision. After tweaking his mustache, he looked away, then answered. “No. No one can orasate an image into someone else. The math doesn’t lie.”

  He now had his revenge. Raynee and Sareya jumped in front of me, and a hundred students prepared for an assault. Not far away, I knew, was the actual Mordriss, waiting to finish us off.

  “He didn’t do it!” Sareya yelled, and for a moment they held back.

  That was the last time a six-year-old girl would be able to save me. Whatever the reasons, Mordriss wanted to destroy me. The massacre at Heskera had been planned solely for that purpose. I looked down at the bright, blue-eyed wonder who stood two feet shorter than her foes but was still ready to take their best. They were not our worst foe. The real Mordriss was waiting.

  “You need to go,” I whispered to her.

  Raynee turned suddenly, but my eyes said it all. This was for her own good. Sareya needed to survive.

  “Not happening,” Sareya answered, and stomped her foot.

  “I’m sorry,” Raynee said with sorrowful eyes, “but he’s right.”

  While Sareya kicked and screamed, Raynee resonated her into the air and gently dropped her behind the crowd. As a temporary truce, the crowd watched her pass, then once two students locked her in a force field to hold her, their gaze returned.

  “You, too, Raynee,” I said with a tear. “This is on me now.”

  “I’m not Sareya, so, not happening. And you’re not making me.”

  We had no more opportunities for discussion. Immediately, my arms spread wide, my lungs grew tight, and I was thrust twenty feet into the air. Raynee, for her part, screamed while she struggled to resist dozens of resonations. Yet as strong as she was, after a minute of fight, she, too, was hovering next to me, completely immobilized.

  I didn’t resist. Any attempt to would only make me appear guiltier. With the two of us on display, Revis lifted his arm and let out a war cry. The entire student body roared back. As he approached, I wondered what the plan was. Only Mordriss knew how to kill, and there were no prisons. Eventually, they would have to release us, and then maybe we could have a discussion. Perhaps on that realization, my body slowly returned to the ground.

  This was not intentional. A hundred clenched teeth growled around me. They were frantically trying to prevent it, but someone was resonating me down, someone more powerful than the group combined.

  Revis collapsed. Against my best efforts, my arm extended toward him while Raynee looked on helplessly above. My mouth was shut while Revis hovered, then was slammed against the asphalt. Mordriss was controlling me. He wanted witnesses to my first murder.

  With every bit of strength, I attempted to pull back my arm, but it was useless. Mordriss waved my arm across, and a shock wave toppled the crowd with ease. Raynee fell back and there were groans everywhere, while I continued to torture poor Revis.

  He cried and begged for mercy while Mordriss slowly bent his leg in half. Every student tried to resonate me in place, but it didn’t matter. The bone took too long to snap, and when it did, I sensed a desperation in my fellow students. There was nothing anyone could do. Revis was going to die, by my hand.

  Raynee was now struggling to knock me away, and my fears turned to her. She knew of course that Mordriss was controlling me, but what if his gaze turned to her? He could easily make me rip her apart, or Sareya. I had to stop this.

  A dozen students poured between me and Revis, but they were no match for Mordriss. Within seconds, they, too, were sprawled across the ground, screaming in agony while their fingers broke one-by-one. He was toying with us.

  Just as Revis’ right arm was about to snap, a planet whizzed by my head and a blast knocked me back. With those brief seconds I circled to find my controller, but there was nothing but groaning students and Darstan, standing before me and wielding a maelstrom of a universe.

  “Help!” was all I had the opportunity to say before the professor went flying and my arm reached out to finish Revis.

  “You have to control it!” Raynee yelled, and my heart sank.

  Slowly my arm pulled back from torturing Revis, then turned to a different foe. A single tear flowed down across her perfect skin, and with all my might I held myself back. I tried to open my mouth, scream at her to run, essonate away, get out of here, but she wouldn’t have obliged. She knew.

  There was another blast from the recovered Darstan, and my arm held in place from the combined efforts of the other teachers minus Algard, who had for some reason disappeared. Finally, with Mordriss’s attention toward them, I managed to scream.

  “Stop this!”

  There was no response. And then it occurred to me. This would never work. I had to change my tone.

  “What do you want?”

  The power flew from me like a breeze, then my hands and legs flayed apart from the professors’ combined efforts. It felt like my entire body was to be ripped in half, but once they felt satisfied that I was immobile, they released the pressure slightly.

  “So Mordriss was with us the entire time,” Algard announced, who reappeared suddenly.

  There were murmurs from the students, but I noticed Darstan’s glance turn. He wasn’t buying it. Raynee was beside me again, though twenty hands were pointed her way just in case.

  “It’s time for a little chat,” Algard decreed.

  “Are you sure that’s prudent?” Fantasa asked, who seemed more than a little smug at my predicament. “We couldn’t restrain him.”

  “Until I helped,” he responded with confidence.

  Against Raynee’s pleading, Algard waved his hands and darkness overcame me. When I awoke, we were back in Fantasa’s classroom, filled with a vague emptiness now. I stood at the front, as if ready to provide the lesson, while Algard and the Halloween decoration that was Fantasa were seated. A hole from our recent battle had already been patched.

  “Admirably done, boy,” Algard said.

  I shook my head and struggled to move, but they weren’t taking any chances. My feet and hands were glued together. My mouth moved. I could talk again.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Come now,” Algard said. “You can’t believe us that daft. It’s obvious that Mordriss was controlling you.”

  Instantly my thoughts turned to Sareya and Raynee. I twitched my neck toward the door.

  “Ahh, don’t worry about them. Farlan and Darstan are still out there. If Mordriss shows up, they can handle him.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Yes, yes. I presume the meeting with your father was fruitful. I was a bit of a weakling back then. You know, I toyed with you and your little girl. Trust me. I can be far more fearsome now. There’s a reason Mordriss hasn’t shown himself here yet.”

  “Then why don’t you find him, and end this?”

  “In due time, in due time.” Algard lowered his hands. “First, I need to know some things.”

  “My father figured it out. But
he said you were right. It’s possible for people to go back. That’s what Mordriss did.”

  “Yes, that’s what I so recently feared.” He stood. “I must apologize for sending you on a false errand. While I was correct that Avarus is your father, I didn’t tie Mordriss into the equation until you left.”

  “You mean, you figured out that we’re the same person?”

  Fantasa’s eyes popped open.

  “Well, first, you’re not the same person. As you know, he’s from a different time line. He grew up under completely different circumstances. In no way should you bear guilt for his atrocities.”

  “Then why didn’t you help me back there? You let them attack me.”

  Algard sighed. “There’s no way to reason with a mob mentality. Unfortunately, I was unable to filter the news from Heskera. When crowds are involved, the simplest answer is too often assumed to be the truth. Have patience. Once they calm down, I’ll explain everything.”

  As friendly as Algard was being, this still made no sense. If he had the ability to stop Mordriss, why hadn’t he done so long ago? I longed for Raynee. She would have seen what I was missing.

  “So.” I gave him my friendliest smile. “You have some questions for me?”

  Fantasa leaned forward in her chair. Her gaunt face provided little emotion, but I sensed curiosity in those eyes. She was as confused as I.

  “Well,” Algard said. “Yes, I do.” He turned to Fantasa. “Ask away.”

  She sat there for an uncomfortable moment, as she returned glances between me and Algard. Finally, she spoke in her ghostly tone. “I have to agree with Jason. Finish Mordriss, then tell the truth.”

  “The truth is, you’ve never liked Jason much,” Algard said.

  She stood and her palms moved slightly to her sides.

  “From the very first day. I mean, the kid couldn’t breathe. It was his first day in our school and you had not an ounce of compassion.”

  She drew back with a frightened look, and he turned to me.

  “Fine, since she doesn’t have a question, I’ll ask. I have only a single important one. Did you screw her?”

  This time I jumped. “Screw who?” I glanced at the gaunt Fantasa and nearly threw up.

  “This old hag?” Algard laughed while Fantasa cautiously moved toward the wall. “No one in his right mind would do her. No, I mean Raynee.”

  Was Algard actually asking this? Fantasa was ready to resonate into the next room, until Algard gently waved his finger. She scowled, then with one flourish created a portal and attempted to jump. It was all over in a second.

  Blood splattered across my shirt as Fantasa’s throat burst, then her frail body collapsed to the floor. Algard calmly wiped his hands, then destroyed her portal. That’s when I knew.

  “Damn it!” he shouted. “Here I’d hoped to monologue her, tell her how horrible she was and how much she deserved this. Now look at this mess!” He placed several fingers gently over what was left of Fantasa’s head.

  “You’re orasating her, so everyone will think it was me,” I said.

  “Very perceptive.”

  “And you killed Algard long ago. Didn’t you . . . Mordriss.”

  The person I’d previously known as Algard gave a devious smile.

  “I knew you weren’t that stupid. Father always spoke about Algard the asshole, who terminated him from the university despite being the inferior. I expected you to be happier, but then, you never knew the original Algard. He would never have let you study here.”

  He stood and turned to me. He waved one hand, and I was facing my mirror image in thirty years. His eyes were sunken from years of hate, and I felt very unsafe when he grinned.

  “Answer my question, Young Mordriss,” he said.

  “I love Raynee.” I held out my chest and expected the worst.

  “Of course, you love her. I loved her, but I think she always suspected me. Always kept me at a fair distance. So, since we’re talking about your dearly beloved here, I’ll dispense with the vulgar terms. Did she give herself to you?”

  I strongly considered my response. One wrong word and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

  “No. She didn’t.”

  He seemed to chuckle lightly, and I was amazed by how much of an asshole I was going to be.

  “So, what now?” I asked.

  “My! I’m continually amazed by how much of a chickenshit this version of me is. What the hell did they do to you on Earth?”

  “They improved me. Had I been born here, I would’ve been like you.”

  My throat shrank and the air to my lungs ceased. I felt my knees collapse to the floor while the room began to spin.

  “How dare you!” he hissed, then calmed himself. “You still think there’s an opportunity for you here? You think it was a miraculous fate that got you this far? I could’ve easily finished you many times.”

  He leaned down and forced my head up and my eyes open to stare into that menacing face, which was so familiar yet completely unknown.

  “You’ve done exactly what I needed.” He tossed me to the ceiling.

  When my body slammed, his gaze drifted for just a second. It was my only chance. With my thoughts on Raynee, I cenosated a whirlwind of a universe and pounded him with it. After a snap of his fingers, it was gone.

  “How quaint. You try to compensate your poor ass resonance for cenosance.” His eyes narrowed. “I would’ve never thought of that.”

  My entire world went black, then a massive burst blinded me before my body felt ripped apart by the expanding universe.

  “You see,” Mordriss shouted from the darkness, “I’m the better you in every respect.”

  Each galaxy was like a needle piercing straight through me, and after a few seconds I could only scream while my body felt ready to burst apart. Then the room was bright.

  “You disappoint me.” He lifted his arms for what I presumed was the end.

  The room jolted and a beam of light blasted Mordriss to the wall. Another force held him there as he struggled to push back. I could barely move, but managed to turn my head. It was Darstan and Farlan.

  Though Mordriss managed to dispel Darstan’s universe after a few seconds, Farlan proved the tougher foe. As much as he struggled with his teeth clenched, Mordriss couldn’t break through Farlan’s shield. Raynee appeared behind them. She ran to me.

  The very essence of the room wobbled, and Mordriss snapped free from the trap.

  “Very impressive, Farlan. I always took you for an idiot.”

  Farlan blasted another wave, but this one Mordriss deflected.

  Raynee knelt next to me. “Let’s end this,” she whispered.

  Sareya appeared at the doorway, and Raynee let go a single tear.

  Mordriss noticed. “How fitting.” He lifted his hand toward those bright blue eyes.

  Raynee grabbed my arm and together we jumped at the startled Mordriss. The moment we touched, there was nothing but streaks of light amid the darkness.

  It was the last trick Raynee had ever learned from her brother Val. Given just the right balance of resonance and essonance, it was possible to carry multiple people light years away. Since it destroyed all worm holes, it remained an arcane piece of knowledge. Yet in this case it was most effective, and she had delivered a far more powerful dose than Val had ever dreamed.

  The three of us were now a hundred light years away, which meant a hundred years in the future.

  And there was no way to get back.

  28

  Giant rocks tumbled through the reaches of space. We were spinning in this alien landscape, an endless flow of brown asteroids jostling together in a thick mass of debris. By second nature now, I avalated enough air to breathe in this desolate world.

  Raynee still held my hand. Her eyes were wide, but her breathing normal, while she stared at the grinning Mordriss. We had saved them, but doomed ourselves. It no longer mattered what Mordriss did to us. There was no escape from time. Whoever survived this enc
ounter would die of old age before coming across anyone else.

  He floated away, and an asteroid briefly rolled between us. When our view returned, he was smiling.

  “Val taught you well. But there’s so much you don’t understand, my love.”

  “Go ahead and kill us, you asshole,” Raynee snarled back. “You’ll never hurt them again. And no, I don’t love you.”

  He drew closer, but did not attack us just yet.

  “But you did once.” Then he was gone in a flash of light.

  “What the hell!” Raynee cried as we floated among the debris. She looked around. “What even is this place?”

  We both scanned the rocks, but Mordriss was gone. He had simply disappeared. What was more, the landscape made no sense. Our entire universe consisted of a single land mass. There were no asteroids or debris. Someone had done this.

  I moved to create a portal, but Raynee shook her head.

  “Didn’t you hear him? There’s something we don’t know. We have to find him, just in case there’s a way back.”

  Our hands were drifting apart in this mess. Why had he seemed so smug? The longer we stayed here, the more he could do. I glanced at Raynee, with her fiery brown eyes. A single sun illuminated this part of the paramount dimension, and for a brief moment a beam poured between the rocks and illuminated her face. She turned to me and the light twinkled from a small marble just above her bosom. It was my first universe.

  “Do you remember what Darstan said about time correlation?” I asked.

  Raynee shook her head violently. She’d already guessed where I was going.

  “My father mentioned something similar.”

  “We have no idea how to do that. It would be crazy. Who knows what could happen if we got it wrong?”

  “But don’t you see? That’s the hidden piece! That’s how Mordriss gets around so easy! He time travels, using time correlated universes.”

  “But this one’s only a few weeks old. So, it will only buy us maybe a week.”

  “And I think he used it.”

  She stared back at me with disapproving eyes.

  “What if he anticipated this? What if he placed other universes around, with different time correlations? He could get back. Maybe a week is all he needs for now.”