The Soul Spell

by A Y Venona

  I continued to quiz Adrian the designations of his crew, and he gave their names. I showed the pictures of his crew, and he identified them.

  For most people, once the scient was back, the memories of the former life also disappeared. This was why during the Zizu period, they recorded all memories as they came so that the individuals could listen to them. Others remembered tidbits of their past lives. But only the strongest beings could recall both lives. The Alphas in Imperium were one of them. And I was too.

  In Adrian’s case, his was completely different. He was Adrian through and through. It would take time for his scient to come back, Lamek told us. Before we headed here to the dock, I took him to the tower to see the planet Kronos. He was beyond amazed. It was a wonderful feeling that we were both given the gift of finding each other in our second life and seeing the future together.

  “All right, now call them to open the hatch.”

  Adrian put his small communication device near his mouth. But before he gave the command, the ship lowered its loading door. A redhead man with a dark tan skin came out of the loading bay.

  Chuckling, he said, “Captain, you know we’re watching you from the bridge monitor, right? Welcome aboard.”

  I heard a few chuckles reverberating inside the ship.

  * * *

  I would recall this moment every time I needed a good laugh. But seriously, Adrian as the captain of the guardians was a fierce leader and had a commanding presence. But these were no guardians he was leading. This was a spaceship. And though Athos Mardek had been a captain of this ship for a long time, Adrian had no knowledge of how to command one and what the dynamics of the crew was. So when one of his crew started to speak a little too casual for his liking, he put him in his place. In other words, he pulled an alpha tone on him.

  He scared his crew so much that none of them even asked why their captain was sometimes confusing their names and why he would rather ask them information that could easily be provided by their AI, whose name the captain could also not remember.

  The ship was small, but we could not really ask the crew to show us the captain’s quarters. So in the hallway, away from any prying ears, I asked the AI to send the map of the ship to our computers, the small tablets we were carrying. And with it, we navigated our way to the captain’s quarters, which turned out to be smaller than my room in the suite.

  One of the crew informed us earlier that there was a delay in the delivery of the cargo that was supposed to be loaded into the ship, so they had to wait one more day. This meant I had more time to figure out how I could sneak the synthesizer out of my suite and load it into the ship.

  Meanwhile, we were sitting on the large bunk bed. Adrian was studying on his computer reading his own log while I was busy rereading my old messages coming from my parents, who’d sent me to this moon for treatment. I had no memories of their visit, only visual communication. The last message was from my mother, who was happy that the treatment was a success. Lamek told me that my omega gene was fully restored and that I no longer needed any more of the alpha serum. But I needed to monitor my AO1 count. If it started to decrease, I would have to inject myself with the serum.

  “Hey, do you know what the real name of the ship is?” Adrian said.

  “I thought it’s C5AS,” I replied, looking at his handsome face.

  “That’s the call name of the ship. Its real name came from a city that sank into the water when the omicrons invaded the planet. No survivors were found. His parents…” He grimaced. “Rather my parents were among those who died. To honor them, Athos called the ship Atlantis.”

  “Atlantis,” I whispered, remembering the moment I’d first heard it in my head. But how did I, Eli who belonged in the past, learn about it? “Adrian, did it say soul parents? Like not the flesh. We can have many flesh parents but only one set of soul parents.”

  “It says Shi’ila.”

  “It means the soul bearer that can also be used to mean the mother of the soul.”

  In that case…

  I glanced at Adrian, who stared at me with a frown.

  “Does that mean this is not our second life…that we had had a few reincarnations?”

  “And I don’t remember any of them?” he replied.

  Neither did I.

  I returned to what I was doing, trying not to think hard about it. I only had eternity to solve this puzzle. A few minutes later, I felt Adrian’s lips on my neck.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, but I tilted my neck sideways to give him more skin to kiss.

  “I’m bored,” he answered as he gently pushed me on my back.

  And that was how we spent our first day on our new ship.

  * * *

  “Stop,” I said, throwing the pillow at him. “You’re messing up my recording.”

  Adrian was lying on the bunk, while I was sitting at my desk. He was still holding the tablet he used to access information about his ship and their past transactions.

  “All right, all right,” he said. “You may continue. I promise not to interrupt.”

  “You do that, or else I will do the same when it’s your turn to record your own past life.” Adrian snorted at that. I turned back to the small tablet in front of me. “Where was I?”

  “Start over again.”

  “That’s a good idea.” I pushed the button of the computer. “I was Elian Gustan. Was and had been. And now? I still am. But different. In a community full of faes, I didn’t have the porcelain skin to pass myself off as one of their own; and with my face not perfectly carved and not delicately smooth, my jaws sharp and angular and a cleft chin to boot…”

  On the bed, Adrian burst out laughing. Again. “Cleft chin to boot!”

  “I do have a cleft chin!”

  “You wish!”

  But I wouldn’t be deterred this time. I turned around with my whole back to him and continued with my story.

  The End

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  About the Author

  A.Y. Venona has an MA in Literature and a teaching license endorsed in both English and Science. She lives in Virginia with her husband who now possesses deep understanding of alpha and omega universe.

  You can add her on facebook at ayvenona. Or sign up for the newsletter to receive freebies and updates on her upcoming projects.