Luminary (Expanded Edition)

  Chapter 13: Disfavored

  Nostrils flaring he breathed in a whiff of the savory sight that awaited him. It was wonderful. Wicus smiled.

  "Ah...Waxine... Just what I need. Thank you," he expressed his gratitude before heading over to the table by his desk. He was famished, mentally and physically.

  A tray piled with food and drink awaited him. Sitting down, his mind was focused on the task of fixing himself a plate.

  "How’d it go?"

  Her question halted his movements. He didn’t want to talk about the night’s gaffes. But her eyes were on him.

  "There was progress," he stated guardedly.

  His eyes held steady on hers, searching. How much had his companion seen? Would she have noticed the mistake? Was she asking about progress in general or about the blunder?

  "That's not much of an update."

  “Greedy for news, uh?”

  “Yes!” she admitted.

  He blew out a breath, some of his anxiety going with it.

  Adding another spoonful of potatoes to the plate, his stomach began to rumble. Sniffing again, mindful of the anticipated meal, he was torn. He’d rather eat than talk so it took a moment before he responded. Being fully aware that she had probably watched him all night without closing the portal. She was just as capable of putting a skim on one to make it invisible-- as he was. The old gal didn't like being left out of the action.

  His mouth quirked. "How long did you watch?"

  Waxine turned away in apparent surprise and gave him a sideways look before rolling her eyes. She twitched her nose impatiently over pursed lips as though considering her answer.

  "What makes you think I wasted my time floating here while you pounded the crap out of two human souls?" she replied in a huff. A look of embarrassment on her face.

  He'd guessed correctly what she’d been up to.

  "Because I know you Waxine... better than you know yourself. First, you'd want to see what was happening. Find out the progress I was making... Then..." Wicus softened his tone, "Then, you'd want to see that the candidates were okay."

  His tone turned teasing again, "And last but not least... You'd want to figure out how close I was to finishing so you could whip up this delicious meal."

  "Okay...okay... so maybe I watched for a little while….Am I really that predictable?”

  Wicus chuckled and began eating. Watching her as she turned toward the two profiles that looked back from the screen in the office. The E-N-D updated in real time without any external input.

  "I see that both of Josh's markers are changed, but none of his hallmarks are."

  "Yes," Wicus mumbled and paused as he swallowed, "Josh's emotional ties to his first wife are unusually strong. I've cut several of the physical links from his brain to his soul...I won't be able to begin altering his hallmarks until they're all severed."

  "You didn't spend as much time with Charlie tonight."

  "I didn't have it to spend. But he is coming along, his hallmarks were easy. I need only focus on his remaining markers now."

  His gaze returned to the plate in front of him. Picking the fork up again, he speared a chunk of meat. Instead of plopping it in his mouth he stared at it. Insecure thoughts again circulating in his mind. Were his skills up to the task? There was much work that needed to be done on both men. He couldn’t have any more slip-ups.

  The action didn’t go unnoticed.

  Her eyes narrowed with a hint of suspicion. “What? You suddenly don’t like the food? Or am I missing something? What happened?”

  “Not much… C’mon Waxine. Don’t make me rehash the whole night,” he said simply, feeling intensely private. He didn’t want to review each groove or design while eating.

  “Fair enough,” she allowed, giving him some space. She was quiet for several moments. "Do you think Charlie will be finished first?"

  “I dunno... but pretty soon they'll be the best candidates that I can make them. I want Emily Wren to have the best soul mate possible.” If he did the job right, this should work, he thought. Had he? Doubt rearing it’s ugly head in his thoughts again.

  Plug uncoiled from the candelabra’s base and tugged at Waxine. The pronged attachment was floating in front of her, looking intently at the screen, examining something on the panel.

  "What?" she asked her attachment.

  Waxine leaned forward examining the same area under the pictures of the candidates. “That wasn’t there a second ago…it’s like the E-N-D unit automatically updated itself,” she muttered.

  Wicus speared another chunk of steak only half listening. He would need to be more diligent. Double-check his work each night. Sinking his teeth into the meat he wondered, what had she put on this? It’s really good.

  Leaning closer to the screen, Waxine mumbled, “Does that belong to one of the profiles? That’s odd...the other side doesn’t have one….That doesn't seem to belong to either.”

  "What's that?" she asked aloud.

  Wicus looked up and managed a, "What," still chewing, distracted by his meal.

  The display had remained in place since the day he, Aaron and Al had selected the candidates. It exhibited their profiles in his office for all this time. He knew the E-N-D would not close down until Emily was properly mated. He'd seen it so often, he could recite the details of each candidate without looking.

  With a flick of its cord, Plug touched the screen. The blinking dot grew into a dash unfolding until it turned into letters which formed a name and slowly more details began to populate the screen.

  Waxine called to Wicus without looking at him. "Wicus... Who is David Bowen?" she asked, reading the new profile.

  Wicus nearly choked on a mouthful of food. Not him again. He sputtered, grabbing a goblet, hastily draining its contents in order to speak.

  Evidently unaware of his startled reaction, she recited the details on the screen. "A war veteran...awarded the Medal of Honor... Present at the death of his primary soul mate," she continued to read, "Wait, never mated... No he shouldn't be here."

  "It’s a glitch," managed Wicus, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

  "Is that normal? A glitch in your magic?"

  "No it’s not...this shouldn't be happening... He definitely should not be in the pool of candidates."

  Why did the E-N-D keep defying him? Wicus pondered. Did the magical device have the gall to think it knew better than him? The prospect putting him in a foul temperament.

  Waxine looked surprised, clearly detecting the anger in his voice. "Do you have a beef with him or something?"

  He snorted briefly.

  It wasn't proper for a Paragon to dislike any of his people...especially an unmated one, Wicus knew. But this one gave him good reason.

  "He has no drive, no ambition, no consistency," he answered, allowing censure in his tone as he rose from the table and approached the screen.

  "What has that got to do with his soul?"

  "He's a glutton... a coward...and there's a recessive gene... his ancestry is questionable." Wicus ran a hand through his curls, exasperated. Pulling it free, he shook his head at the idea. Talk about an unlikely candidate!

  "It says he was decorated for valor....or is that another glitch?" Waxine asked.

  He gave an obliging grunt and lapsed into silence.

  Plug tapped the screen again and more details came up.

  Oh, now here comes trouble, he mused.

  Waxine’s curious gaze was back on the panel clearly unaware of how closely Wicus watched her. He didn’t like where this was headed.

  Curiosity transformed into absolute shock on her face. Her jaw dropped. "OH. MY. GOD. Wicus, is that?”

  "No it is not!" he assured her adamantly. Here was yet another reason why the Bowen kid bugged him. Hands doubling into fists at his sides in his aggravation.

  Waxine was studying him, her burnished eyes narrow. “Hmmph,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with my vision. This is unbelievable.”
br />   Wicus’ raised his eyebrows, offended. Why didn’t she believe him?

  She glanced back to the new photo on the screen and the face that stared back was none other than his.

  “David Bowen’s got the same black curls, the same high square forehead… the same full lips. He’d got your cleft in the chin…the same benign smile. Look at how muscular his arms are…why he’s the same height and build. The only difference that I can see are his eyes…they’re human and cyan blue. He’s got the same long lashes and dark thick brows as you do too.” Finished with her description, she blinked several times like her mind was unable to process what her eyes saw.

  Wicus tried his best to look as innocent as possible. His posture aided by the fact that he was certain of it. This was his home and he belonged here but at the moment he rather wished that he didn’t.

  Standing next to the screen didn’t help.

  "How is this possible?" she turned to Wicus. “Seeing you right there beside the photo makes it all the more uncanny. There’s no difference except for your eyes.” She chewed her lower lip for a moment and seemed to be pondering something. Her burnished gaze blinked again as if a realization had struck, "He could be your son."

  Wicus snorted in disagreement.

  "That's not possible," he defended himself. Drawing up to his full height in indignation. He glared at her for a moment. Of all the nonsense to suggest.

  "You have been with me for centuries. Have you ever seen me with a human.... I mean aside from the ones I introduce to their soul mates? I have never been with a human."

  "So you say... But how can you explain this?" challenged Waxine, the flames of her invisible candles rising higher. Jealousy plain in her tone.

  “And you of all beings must have an explanation for any mystery,” he added with a certain sardonic tone. Far be it from him to challenge her about keeping secrets. Not that this was any sort of thing.

  Paragons were asexual beings -- his kind did not reproduce. There were no children in this realm. And she very well knew that, he mused. Still…the evidence of the screen was apparently more compelling to her than his word.

  He grimaced. Annoyed with his companion.

  Waxine glared right back at him. “This man could practically be your twin. If I had a foot -- right now I’d stomp it.” Her flames shot higher.

  Wicus noticed the temper spike.

  "Waxine, you know me... You know my kind doesn't do that," he assured her with a level gaze. They were not geared for such activities. Why wouldn’t she believe him? He stared at her-- silently pleading for a moment.

  Wicus glanced at the fiery display over her head with caution. He took a small step away. He didn’t like confrontations and this was heading in that direction.

  She was glaring at him clearly still angry.

  Eyes darting back to her burning halo, he tried to be more diplomatic. “Please,” he said. He waited as Waxine lowered her flames indicating that she was calming down.

  The sight of David Bowen had raised questions in his mind for as long as he could remember, questions that even he -- with all of his resources could not answer in a satisfying manner. And not for lack of trying.

  "... I've done some checking and his questionable gene is diluted....which means it’s from a distant ancestor... and he is not of Paragon blood."

  "Not of Paragon blood.... Wait... You knew about him...and didn't tell me?"

  "Of course I knew about him, he's a soul under my protection. That's also how I know that he is a coward who squandered his primary because he is unreliable," he admitted, allowing his disapproval to drip like venom from his tongue.

  "I think you'd better start from the beginning."

  "It’s not a long story to tell," offered Wicus, "And you already know part of it....remember six years ago...the soldier who was to meet his soul mate in Turkmenistan. He was late and she died in that convoy attack? You remember how angry I was... You had recently come back from visiting your friend in the Great Hall... when she organized that celebration?"

  "This is THAT soldier?"

  Wicus nodded.

  The primary's designated time to meet David had popped up out of the blue as every so often happens. Soul minders try to orchestrate meetings well in advance, sometimes life interferes-- if something changes their fate -- and it becomes a rush job. It should have been a simple match up. But war has a way of messing up even the best laid plans.

  “I remember you told me about the debacle after the fact…but I never saw his face.” She shook her head ruefully, glancing back at the screen before looking again at Wicus. “You were fit to be tied that day…Looking at you now, it seems like you still are.”

  "He squandered a primary! Just like that...because he was too drunk from partying the night before...I even sent in reinforcements to help him...but it didn't matter... He was late and his soul mate died," he spat out the words bluntly. Scowling with the recalled agitation.

  Wicus craved order and reliability, he hated it when something or SOMEONE sidetracked his plans. That's when he got angry. That day, he certainly was.

  "Okay, I get why you are angry about that….How do you know he’s not of Paragon blood?"

  "Do you think I wasn't shocked the first time I saw him too?"

  Wicus thought back to his first recollection of David Bowen.

  The sheer volume of souls that he mated made it impossible for him to watch everyone of them 24/7 as they grew up, he only checked on them randomly during their formative years. David was at least 10-years-old the first time he appeared on Wicus' radar, even then the similarities in his appearance were striking.

  "When I noticed how much he looked like me, I investigated... even got a blood sample to test...that's how I know about the recessive gene."

  With a look of mild alarm, Waxine asked, "What did you do Wicus?"

  "Relax, Waxine. You know I would never hurt a soul. You know that when children grow up they get bumps, bruises, skinned knees... etcetera....it wasn't hard to get a blood sample."

  "What did the blood sample tell you?"

  "One of his ancestors is an immortal."

  "Immortal?"

  "Yes, an immortal....I don't know which one."

  Waxine’s eyes turned thoughtful. She was staring at Bowen’s photograph on the display, yet her metallic gaze seemed to be viewing something with repugnant detachment from another time.

  He wondered briefly if she was thinking about her life among the immortals. Would she ever tell him about it? His mind swirling with questions. Namely did she want to go back? In the end he resisted mentioning it.

  She asked something that surprised him, "Do you think this immortal could be a relative of yours?"

  “Ha," Wicus chuckled as the question caught him off guard, "What a ridiculous idea... Paragons and immortals do not share the same blood," he added condescendingly. His kind were superior, he thought smugly.

  "So you believe, but how else can you explain the resemblance? I mean come on Wicus... He’s your twin," she said.

  Plug pointed to the screen for added emphasis like an electrical Vanna White indicating a Wheel of Fortune puzzle.

  "I have no explanation. Like I said...I don’t know," Wicus complained with a wry twist of his lips. The lad might look like him, but that was all. David didn’t share any other similarities.

  Her metallic eyes stared at him keen with interest.

  "Wicus, do you remember nothing of your life before you were a Paragon?"

  "No."

  Waxine pursed her lips. The distant look returned to her eyes and a small line formed between her metallic brows.

  He watched her cautiously. Her flames were low now. The change of topic was to a well-worn one that bored him. He had no secrets. That couldn’t be said of his kind.

  There was no rational explanation for where Paragons came from. New Paragons, fully-grown, arrived mysteriously into this world with no memory of themselves. Naked and per
fect with blue flamed eyes. Each bore the simple scar around one forearm or wrist, although some Paragons had the same scar on each arm. While the prospect of amnesia might freak out a human, Paragons were especially suited for it. He didn’t question where he came from. It never entered his mind to be curious about it. He’d been eager to move forward and begin a new live of service.

  "What's the first thing you do remember?" Waxine asked.

  He paused for a moment stroking his chin with his hand then sighed. Not this again.

  The candelabra hovered quietly, waiting for him to begin.

  When he did, he spoke haltingly. "Uh...my oldest memory... It’s not real clear... I'm not sure it is a memory or simply a fantasy... I think I was outside the doors of the Great Hall... Or maybe I'm only remembering the first time I saw them." He screwed his lips in a knot for a second, finished, before jutting his jaw out in rebellion.

  Waxine shook her head, the flames over her invisible candles swaying with the movement. "Then he could be a distant relative--"

  "Waxine..." Wicus interrupted, his tone firm.

  He was not willing to consider that option. It’s simply preposterous, he thought, frostily. The idea that a Paragon was kin to mere mortals offended his dignity.

  "No... Wicus...listen to me... You don't know your own history... So it is possible."

  "Doubtful...besides he shouldn't even be on he list. He has a secondary left to meet... in fifteen or twenty years."

  "Fifteen or twenty years? Why so late with his secondary?"

  "David was a little boy when his original secondary died of influenza as a baby. His primary was still alive... there was plenty of time before they were slated to meet...so the council deemed that a replacement soul mate could be designed from scratch."

  He turned from Waxine to look at the display.

  She did the same.

  "So he's like Emily... he's lost his primary and his secondary," observed Waxine thoughtfully examining David's profile.

  "NO... He's nothing like Emily…” Wicus said crossly, growing irritated again. “He has a secondary who will grow up and meet him one day."

  "Why are you so against David Bowen... Is it simply the botched meeting...the gene or something more? Is it because he looks like you?"

  Her eyes narrowed.

  Giving her a sidelong glance, he reassembled his face into what he hoped was an unreadable mask. He blew out a long breath. Patience running thin.

  Wicus hoped they would soon exhaust this discussion. He wanted to go back to his meal. And truth be told, he wanted time to consider all aspects of the internal monologue going on in his mind about this David Bowen.

  Why did he keep reappearing on the panel? David’s an unmated soul. The locks protecting his soul from retrofitting were still in place. And he had the recessive gene of an immortal, meaning one of his ancestors was one.

  Wicus didn't know what any of this could mean for Emily. That troubled him.

  "Emily's special... She has a special kind of magic. I want her to have her best shot at happiness... Her best chance for bringing that magic into the world. That's all."

  "And you're sure that has nothing to do with him looking like your illegitimate son?" Waxine's flames were burning a bright blue, teasing.

  He decided rather than get angry, that two could play this game. Amusement now winning the tug-of-war with his mouth, giving her a slight smile.

  "Do you have any?" he asked, turning the tables.

  "Any what?"

  "Illegitimate candle sticks running loose in the human world?"

  "Are you daft?"

  "As secretive as you are... You could have...I don't know much of your history."

  "Now you're just being an ass."

  “No, I'm not," he objected charmingly.

  The Luminary grunted with obvious suspicion, “Mmphm...Fine, since you asked...NO I don't. Unless that is... " she paused, looking at Wicus expectantly then showering him with a broad smile, "If you don't count that annoying Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast."

  Both corners of his lips twitched involuntarily, broadening into a real smile. The tension waned as Wicus erupted into laughter.

  His stomach rumbled reminding him of the abandoned feast. Suddenly recalling that prawns were on the menu too. He began stepping back toward the table.

  Amid the mirth and his hunger, a stray worry invaded his thoughts, not about prawns but pawns. It was normal in a game of chess to sacrifice pieces to gain a tactical advantage.

  It occurred to him that the people killed in the culling might be pawns. Were his new candidates in danger? he mused yet again.