Chapter 13
Melissa felt a surge of pride, in knowing more than Richard or Daria. It was the first time in her life that she was able to take pride in her knowledge and share it with others. While she learned much with Asil, he never gave her the adulation she needed. In Richard’s eyes, she could see the seeds of that adulation, and in light of his confession she knew she would be able to bend him to her will.
As they walked out, the three guards on duty trained their weapons on her, sensing in an instant that she had full use of her sussa. Richard waved them down, and said;
“I’m giving you a great deal of trust, heretic. I hope you know that.”
“I do, Richard. Hopefully when this is done, you will call me by my name. Now hold my hand.”
She extended her open hand, and Richard looked at it, for a moment, before grasping it. She squeezed tightly, and cried; “hold on!”
As if caught in a tornado, they flew up into the air in a shot. Daria laughed for a moment, before realizing she was being left behind.
“What about me?!” cried Daria, as she waved her hands and ran in circles.
“I have only the strength to bring one along!” shouted Melissa. As they ascended higher into the sky, she could still see Daria’s pouting face, and it gave her some pleasure to see her jealous.
“Where are we going?” asked Richard nervously.
“To where and when this all began.”
Upwards they ascended, eventually leaving the confines of Iqui. Through thick banks of clouds they flew, feeling the cool mist brush against their faces and bodies. The air grew thin, and Melissa refreshed it, keeping a pocket of air around them as they ascended out of the atmosphere.
“This is . . . magnificent,” said Richard, looking down on his planet for the first time. Iqui was a white world with pockets of blue surrounded in thick, swirling clouds. “I never imagined!”
“Now aren’t you glad you didn’t dissect me?”
“You know we never would have done that,” answered Richard anxiously.
“What I do know is how I was treated, when I was vulnerable and weak. Remember that now, up here, as the tables are turned.”
As she flew up, her body felt different. No longer did she feel clumsy or heavy, for in the freedom afforded by the clouds she only felt nimble and graceful. She could spin and twist in the air, confident and secure in her movements, while Richard looked the stumbling fool.
“Are you just playing with me,” he shouted, over the rush of air, “or are we going somewhere?”
She had pity on him and flew up an onwards, though in her heart she doubted he would return the favor in a similar situation.
Onwards and outwards she flew, into space, coming to the coordinates of where the Arial suffered its mortal blow. As she was about to open a ribbon, Richard stayed her hand.
“Is this where the battle occurred?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Then perhaps we should watch from a discreet distance.”
Melissa nodded, impressed. “Good idea.”
She moved almost a full planet-length away and paused in space, reconsidering what she was about to do. Opening a ribbon through time killed my mother, though she was sick and weak. What will happen if I lose my strength up here? We’ll both die, and what we might learn will be for nothing.
“What are you thinking about, Melissa?” asked Richard. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
It warmed her to finally hear her name from his lips, though she wasn’t sure if it was concern for her or greed for knowledge that lay behind his words. “I’ll be fine.”
She concentrated, focusing on the ribbon of white that lay beneath the fabric of creation. Carefully, she spoke the words she heard her mother use, focusing all her power with each syllable. From the farthest corners of their eyes, a thin line appeared, slowly opening to reveal the past. As it opened like a great eyelid, they passed through, and bore witness to what appeared to be gods fighting each other.
Three figures hung in space, as Melissa did. Ten ships darted around them, hurling great plumes of energy Melissa never imagined could have existed. Even from their faraway vantage point, the space around them burned and Melissa had to create a shield.
“Those must be . . . Overmen.”
The ships put up a valiant fight, struggling to keep the Overmen off-balance. They launched not only great bursts of energy, but brilliant rods of metal that flew faster than the eye could see. The bolts struck the Overmen through their bodies, and it was the only thing that seemed to bring them pain. But the Overmen eventually brushed them off, and together they fatally damaged the ships, sending them listing in space, venting plasma. In a wink the vessels vanished, racing back through time as a result of their failsafe devices.
“We should leave now,” said Richard anxiously. “I wouldn’t want to face them.”
Melissa knew she should leave, but against her better judgment remained. In an instant the Overmen saw her, and came near.
“Melissa . . .”
“Be silent, Richard. Let me handle this.”
They orbited Melissa, examining her up and down. They were dark beings, obviously humanoid, but with bodies that shifted under the dim light of the void. Their eyes were at once blue, then red, and they all seethed with unimaginable power. She could feel something scan her mind, and though she was stronger and wiser than ever before, she still could not prevent it.
“What a curious aberration,” said one.
“Yes indeed,” said another. “Even we can have ramifications on our timeline.”
“Back off!” shouted Melissa. “I can defend myself.”
They both laughed. “Oh my, you are a willful thing, aren’t you? Well, don’t worry. We have no desire to eliminate such an integral key to our past.”
One drifted close to her and said; “once you figure out what you are, then you have a hope of finding out what you will be.” He opened his hand, and Melissa felt herself being pushed back through the ribbon with Richard. “Now back to where you came from. Never again dare to venture this far into your future, or we will kill you, ancestor or not.”
After their return to their proper time, Melissa hung in space for a while, high above the Iquitian sky, looking down on a world with a new perspective. Richard clung to her waist, though his grasp was softer then it was before. For the first time since they left, Melissa was aware of how close they were. She could smell his thick, musky scent, and feel his heart beating at her side.
“I never imagined that one day I would see our world like this.”
“Nor I, Richard.”
He pulled himself level with her, and said; “I was so wrong about you, Melissa. Wrong about you and sussa.”
“Oh, Richard . . .”
He kissed her, and she kissed him back, feeling only tremendous warmth in the cold vacuum of space. Tenderness and passion suffused his touch, rendering his cold and clinical demeanor.
“Shall we return?” she asked, disappointed they needed to return, as the pocket of air she kept around them was dwindling fast.
“Yes but . . . let me do this.”
Richard threw the box he held far away from them, down towards the planet. After a few seconds it grew white-hot, before exploding in the upper atmosphere.
“I’m sorry, for how we treated you,” he said. “Will you stay with us, and be our Archsussa?”
Melissa was shocked. “Why this change?”
“I am looking down on the world for the first time in my life, and it is not with the help of science. The mighty beings we saw, these Overmen, seem to function with a kind of sussa. If it is they who eventually dominate all of creation, then why shouldn’t we work together now?” He kissed her again, on the lips. “You have done what Toby never could; made me have faith in an Archsussa.”
As Melissa led them back down to the surface, a great part of her felt vindicated, while a small part felt anxious and concerned. A great deal of
responsibility was being thrust on her for the first time in her life, and she was unsure of how to feel. And as much joy she felt at being in Richard’s arms, feeling his lips on hers, it somehow felt hollow. When they returned, Daria seemed to echo her concern in her dour expression.
“Did you two have a good time?” she asked pointedly, her arms crossed about her chest.
“Yes!” cried Richard. “Wait ‘till you hear all that we saw -- it was utterly amazing.”
As Richard led Daria off, she looked back at Melissa with sadness and anger. Melissa couldn’t help but sigh, as things were getting very complicated for her. As they moved further away, they could be heard to bicker, and Melissa sat down in the snow and wished things had gone differently.
Why did I leave her behind? Why do I need to steal Richard from her? The fatigue from opening the portal was taking its toll, and she had to sit in the snow. She could only conjur a small firesphere to keep herself warm, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it going for long. Because I can. Because I am more powerful than they are, and I should take what I want.
“So, was it really all that wonderful?”
She looked behind her and Vincent stood, tall and proud. She was surprised that she didn’t even hear his footsteps.
“It was . . . enlightening.”
He sat down beside her, and absently made a few snowballs. “You alright?”
“Yeah, just tired. I probably shouldn’t have done that.” The firesphere dissolved, as she could no longer maintain it.
Vincent sighed. “I guess he’ll be the hero again when we get back. No matter all his lying, he’s come through for our people again.”
“Why are you so jealous of him?”
“Jealous?” scoffed Vincent. “I’ve got more girls than he could ever dream of, done things he can’t even imagine.”
Melissa thought for a moment, watching him as he threw the snowballs against the side of the ship. Part of her understood how Vincent felt, for she was probably just an idelfada; a copy of someone who had done great things. She knew she couldn’t tell him all about herself, but she felt sad.
“Maybe you just need to find your own path,” she ventured carefully, “try to make your own mark on --”
“Never mind,” he said dismissively with an angry wave of his hand, “don’t worry about me. Besides, this is time for you to be happy. I’ll bet they won’t be locking you up when we get back.” He got back to his feet, his fists clenched as he gazed out at his brother. “We should have a fête when we get back.”
“A fête?”
“Yeah -- with some music and song, where we all get together, all of us the same age, and forget about all the crap we put up with.” He relaxed her hands, and gazed down at her with warm eyes. “I guess you’ll be our guest of honor.”
“Oh . . . thanks!”
“Don’t thank me yet -- we’ve got to pull those two apart so we can head back, and not freeze out here.”
Melissa watched as he ran off, wondering if she had chosen the right brother.