The Yanti

  Then he turned and, not opening his eyes, lifted the case and kissed his goddess as well. The decision was not his, he realized. Ages ago, it seemed, the kiss had been set in stone—that the flesh of a mortal and an immortal should touch in such an intimate way.

  Ra stood back and waited. Both of them waited for a miracle.

  Geea’s eyes fluttered open. She looked up at him and smiled.

  “Why did you stop?” she asked.

  CHAPTER

  12

  Queen Geea did not speak again, until she slowly stood from the glass case, and systematically stretched each of her limbs, as if waking from a long sleep. She was not shy—she even stretched the muscles of her face, her jaw, and the skin around her mouth. All the while she drew in extraordinarily deep breaths. Each inhalation lasted a minute; and each exhalation was twice that in length.

  She shook her head and ran her fingers through her long red hair. It blazed with its own light. All of her did—she was a living flame. Her robe could hardly contain her magnificence. Ra had thought Ali powerful, but Geea radiated ten times her strength.

  Finally she glanced at Ra, and with a wave of her hand a black hatch slid down over the entrance. The room began to fill with rich warm oxygenated air.

  “Better?” she said to him, with a voice that only slightly matched Ali’s. It was more resonant—filled with harmony and peace. Ironically, although it was deeper than a normal human voice, it was very feminine. The Hollywood agents would have clamored for her. Besides her overwhelming beauty, Geea sounded sexy.

  “Thank you, yes,” Ra said as he began to stop shaking. Color returned to his skin. The first thing he did with it was blush. He couldn’t believe he’d kissed such a being! He felt shame. Geea, however, was anxious to put him at ease. Coming near, she hugged the two of them close.

  “It’s you two I must thank,” she said, with a sigh that was as joyous as it was profound. That was the mystery of her voice—with its rich tones, it conveyed so many things at once. She hardly needed words to communicate. Geea added, “I’ve dreamed of this day for thirteen years.”

  Ali stared at her in awe. “You were conscious all that time?”

  Geea nodded. “Conscious of you, all those around you, and of many things in this world as well.” She paused, added, “I never lost sight of Doren.”

  “On the Isle of Greesh, I saw what became of her,” Ali said softly.

  Ra did not understand the remark. When had she seen this?

  “Doren was a fool to listen . . .” Then she added quietly, “I was a coward not to.”

  “Had you gone in with Jira, you would have been trapped,” Ali replied. “Back then, I doubt Father was in a position to help you.”

  Geea nodded. “Perhaps. It doesn’t take away from the fact that you dared what I feared to do. For that alone, I admire you more than you know.”

  “But she is you,” Ra said, confused.

  Geea nodded. “And her own person as well.” She patted Ra on the back, a head taller than he. “For keeping my better half safe, I owe you many lifetimes of allegiance.”

  He kept wanting to bow to her. “I’m just grateful for the day I met Ali.” Which had only been fours days ago, hard to believe . . .

  Ali’s clear eye burned. “I also dreamed about this day.”

  Geea gently wiped away her tears. “You went through so much to get here . . . the fire . . . the Entity.”

  Ali forced a smile. “Hard to say which was worse.”

  Again, Geea hugged her. “I know, I was there. At each step, I felt what you felt. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry I was such a fool to use the Yanti as a weapon.”

  Geea let her go. “It was never intended to destroy, only to heal.”

  Ali nodded. “Try telling that to Sheri.”

  “She wants it to shoot down missiles? She’d just end up shooting herself!”

  They laughed together, and shared another hug, and Ra felt more confused than ever about who was who. He wondered if Geea would always have to know everything he did with Ali. That could make their relationship kind of . . . sticky.

  “Do you know what she has planned on the Earth side?” Ali asked.

  Geea shrugged. “Only what you know. You must return, dig deeper into her past, discover her plan. But I agree that Hector is her Achilles’ heel.”

  Ra was not following any of this. Who was Hector?

  “Hector is Tulas, right?” Ali asked.

  “Yes. The greatest lies the Entity uses are usually the ones that are the most truthful. The Entity had Lucy born beside him, both to keep its word to her, and to use him as a lever over her.” Geea glanced at Ra. “Don’t worry, Ra, I’ll explain all of this to you later, after Ali leaves.”

  “You’re sending her back to Earth?” he asked.

  “Yes. And I would like you to stay here with me.”

  “Couldn’t I help Ali more on Earth?” he asked.

  “To dishearten Ali, Sheri Smith would find a way to kill you the instant you returned to the yellow world,” Geea explained. “Here, I can protect you.”

  “You just want him for yourself because he’s cute,” Ali said.

  “I hate it when I can read my own mind,” Geea replied.

  “But I cannot really read yours,” Ali said seriously.

  Geea waved a hand. “The human brain cannot absorb the experiences stored inside me. They go back a million years. Why, I remember every birth you’ve taken as a human being. You do not know this, Ali, but history knows you.”

  “Was I Cleopatra?” Ali asked hopefully.

  Geea laughed, such a sweet sound. “No! Ali, you have always been—we have always been—against those who crave power for power’s sake. You spoke to the Entity. You must know it would have immediately recruited a Cleopatra.”

  “I just always liked her,” Ali muttered.

  “You mean, you liked the fun she had. Trust me, that didn’t last long.”

  “What is this Entity?” Ra asked.

  “The force behind the Shaktra,” Ali said, before turning back to Geea. “Was it something in the Internet that caused Hector to drive off the road and into that tree?”

  Geea nodded. “The accident that burned Lucy Pillar was planned.”

  “It was like Tulas, just another lever to force her to move in a certain direction,” Ali said.

  Geea tapped Ali on the top of the head. “My human half is perceptive. Yes, the Entity has stored a portion of its consciousness in the most complex neural network Earth possesses—the Internet. Sheri Smith serves the Entity by creating software that has a subliminal effect on those who play her games. In a sense, the Entity had been preparing your youth for years about this invasion. Not just your youth—all humans subconsciously feel the end is near. It’s because a monster has invaded Earth that can’t even be seen.” Geea added, “It was Father who first recognized this.”

  “Is Nemi in the future? Or the past?” Ali asked.

  “Clearly, if he wanted you to know, he would tell you,” Geea said.

  “Do you know?” Ali asked.

  Geea just laughed. “He swore me to secrecy.”

  “Back to Doren and Tulas,” Ali said. “The Entity used Tulas’s death to leverage Doren to turn evil in this world.”

  “True. But the Entity saw that Doren already craved power. They just played on her weakness.”

  “I remember. But when Lucy Pillar was a teenager on Earth, she seemed like such a nice girl. And she had Hector with her. She had her love back.”

  Geea nodded. “But when you’re burned over the majority of your body, and someone approaches you and says they can make you beautiful again . . . Well, that’s an awfully big temptation right there. What young girl could turn that down?”

  “Who approached Lucy?” Ali asked.

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. It was an agent of the Entity.”

  “Whoever it was, they demanded a sacrifice in return,” Ali said grimly. “A yea
r later she burned down half the town.”

  Geea nodded. “You forced the Entity to reveal more about itself than it wanted to when you confronted it about the opposite of love being fear. It doesn’t merely feed off power and control. It feeds off of fear and pain. That gives it the deepest satisfaction.”

  “Yet it sounded so reasonable when it spoke of how the Earth was destroying itself. And how it could prevent its destruction,” Ali said.

  “From its perspective, it is reasonable,” Geea said.

  Ali was confused, but not half as much as Ra.

  “But it’s evil,” Ali countered.

  Geea explained. “We consider it evil. We want nothing to do with it. The path the Entity has chosen—it has no love, no laughter, no joy. But from its side, it feels it’s highly successful. It survives, it expands, it grows in power. Remember what I said—the truths it tells—those are its most damaging weapons. The Earth is in serious trouble, and when Father, Tulas, and Doren first contacted the Entity, they were overjoyed. Here was an intelligence that understood all of Earth’s problems. The green world’s problems as well. And it offered insightful solutions to each and every problem.”

  “Before it tried to take over,” Ali said.

  “It did not state its ultimate purpose at first. Even Father was fooled, and he does not fool easily.”

  “What alerted him?”

  “Their lack of warmth. Here was an obviously superior race, very ancient, yet they emanated nothing but facts and figures. He grew suspicious.”

  “And did what?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps Doren does.”

  Ali pressed her palms together, thinking deeply. “If the Entity has infiltrated the Internet, then it has its hands on everything. We have to figure out a way to destroy it.”

  Geea took a step away from them, put her palm on the glass case that held the fifth and final fairy. The smallest one, who cast the brightest light. “No,” she replied. “That is not our task.”

  Ali appeared shocked. “But we have to stop it!”

  Geea turned and faced Ali. “Father and Nira will tackle the Entity. It is beyond our powers. Our job is to stop the Shaktra—in this world, and on Earth.”

  “But the Entity is behind it all!” Ali complained.

  “True. But what is also true is an army approaches Tutor from the east and will invade Earth in the next twenty-four hours. I took birth in the yellow world—as you—so that I might have a weapon to meet such a threat to the Earth. I’ve waited here—for you to awaken me—so I could meet the threat to my world.”

  “Why was I allowed to awaken you?” Ali asked. “I hoped, since you were able to rescue me from the burning car, over a year ago, that you would be able to rise. Yet the last words I heard Doren speak to the Entity were, ‘It’s not allowed for us to be awake at the same time.’ ”

  Geea spoke. “I was not even sure if it was feasible. But I spoke to Nira before I went to sleep here, and took birth as you, and she felt that because the Entity had violated the laws of evolution of our worlds, then a power above Nira would allow us to balance out the violation. Nira journeyed to a place beyond Anglar—I cannot say where—and prayed that such a gift be granted. And it apparently was.”

  “So Nira was behind the plan from the start?” Ali asked.

  “Yes. You mustn’t underestimate that child.”

  “Did Nira enter the white world?” Ali asked.

  “I cannot say,” Geea said.

  “And here I thought my kiss was the real miracle,” Ra muttered.

  They laughed together. Then Geea grew serious again, spoke to Ali. “We each have our tasks to complete. It’s important we accept our individual roles. The threat of the Entity itself—we have to leave that to Nira and Father.”

  Ra was surprised to see Ali pout. “Why?” she asked.

  Geea gestured to the final fairy’s glass case. “See the light she bathes in? How divine it is? Does it not remind you of something?”

  Ali hesitated. “The violet door.”

  Geea nodded. “That’s where she is from. That’s where Father is from. They have entered this world and yours to complete a job we’re not equipped to handle. You knew from the instant you met Nira that she was more powerful than you. Admit it.”

  Ali nodded. “Yet she’s marked, under the control of the Shaktra.”

  “She’s only marked because Sheri Smith got to her so young,” Geea said.

  “I don’t understand. Why did Sheri give birth to Nira?”

  Geea nodded. “There are two possibilities. She wanted to have her, mark her young, then control her immense power. Or else she simply disobeyed the powers above her and had a daughter because she wanted one.”

  “Out of love? I doubt that,” Ali said.

  “I wouldn’t dismiss the idea out of hand. Doren may not be completely under their control. Remember, I know her well. How she must balk at the restrictions they place on her! And clearly she wanted the Yanti to gain some control over whoever is dictating her orders. But I respect your remark about her lack of love. I wouldn’t count on her good nature to save you. Remember her cruelty. Remember your mother and Steve.”

  Ali lowered her head. “How can I forget?”

  Geea stepped near. “Father gave you a riddle before you fled the Entity’s chamber. It dealt with the Shaktra’s markings. Repeat it please.”

  Ali hesitated. “ ‘The races that make up the Entity are ancient, but not creative. They won’t understand what I am about to tell you. Listen closely to my riddle. The original species that started the expansion of the Entity across the galaxy had six fingers—three on each hand. But they did not have lockers like you do at school. When they locked things, they had a tendency to do it backward from the way we do. Take a number, say six-zero-two, and go play with it.’ ” Ali paused. “Know what it means?”

  Geea frowned. “Let us consider. The original species that started the Entity had six fingers . . .” She let the words trail off.

  Finally Ra felt as if he might be of some help. “Human beings have ten fingers. For that reason, our counting system is based on ten. A species with six fingers would probably be based on a system of six.”

  Geea nodded. “Logical.”

  “You mean six represents ten in their system?” Ali asked him.

  “Not exactly,” Ra replied. “In our system, when we count to ten, then we start to count over—in a sense. Eleven corresponds to one. Of course, it is not the same as one. Do you understand?”

  Ali nodded. Geea spoke. “The boy is smart as well as cute.”

  Ra blushed. “So in their system, when they get to six, they would start to count over. Seven would be our eleven, but it would still only be seven. They’re using what mathematicians would call base-six.”

  “Why didn’t Father just say that?” Ali asked.

  “He didn’t want them to understand what was being said,” Geea said.

  Ali spoke. “Father made a reference to our school lockers. We use three numbers to open them. They’re dialed in a sequence: clockwise, counterclockwise, clockwise.”

  Ra nodded. “It’s an interesting coincidence that he gave you three numbers.”

  “Yes!” Ali said, excited. “He said use the code backward! So all we have to do is take six-zero-two and put it in backward, or else turn the dial . . .”

  Ra held up his hand. “Sorry, Ali, you’re forgetting what is backward to them. We still have to deal with the fact that they use a base-six system. To them, the opposite of six is zero.”

  Ali blinked. “Really?”

  “I thought you were supposed to be good at math,” Geea said.

  “Obviously Kutus are superior,” Ali said, with a bow in Ra’s direction. “Please continue Mr. Know-It-All.”

  Ra had to laugh. “The opposite of zero would therefore be six. And the opposite of two would be four. Because two and four add up to six.”

  “So the answer to the riddle is zero-six-four?” Ali asked.


  Ra hesitated. “There might be another step. Your father made a subtle reference to turning a locker dial. Perhaps to remove the mark, the order of numbers must be used opposite the way you open your locker at school.”

  Ali was doubtful. “How do we dial numbers into a person’s head?”

  Yet Geea jumped on the solution. “Ra is right. Just take your thumb and dial them into Nira’s forehead.”

  “I don’t understand,” Ali said.

  “Do it with intent and focus, you’ll see,” Geea explained. “I know this type of spell. Demons often use numeric codes to implant spells.”

  “So those that make up the Entity are demons?” Ali asked.

  Geea nodded. “And those of the violet ray are gods.”

  “And I thought it was pretty cool finding out I was an elf,” Ra muttered.

  Geea’s eyes shone with pride. “You would be special to me if you were a troll.”

  Ra smiled. “I don’t know if that was a compliment or an insult.”

  “It was both,” Ali assured him. “It’s going to be great to have Nira free. Will she be able to talk right away?”

  Geea was amused. “You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

  “And Amma?” Ali asked. “I want to be there when . . .”

  Geea interrupted sharply. “I’ll take care of Amma.”

  Ali was stunned. “You mean, I don’t get to see her before I go back?”

  “No. You’re to leave here in a few minutes.”

  “But . . .” Ali began.

  “There’s no time,” Geea repeated.

  “But Ali needs to be healed before she returns home,” Ra said firmly. “Can you do that now?”

  “Yes. Ali, lie down in the case where I rested.”

  Ali hesitated, then did as she was told. “Do you need the Yanti?”

  “When you or Nira hold it, I hold it.” Geea put her hands over Ali’s head and heart. “Now close your eyes and relax. It won’t take long.”

  Ra had watched Ali heal before, but never got over the miraculous nature of the power. He felt the heat and magnetism in the room, flowing from Geea’s hands, and he saw, much to his relief, the scars receding from her arms and torso and face. Even her hair began to grow, at a lightning speed, and Ra clapped with pleasure.