‘Yes,’ Noah agreed, ‘he would have sent you.’
‘Exactly my point!’ Rhun was glad Noah saw that he was the best person for the mission.
‘But now you are governor,’ Noah added, ‘and you must send your best agent.’
‘Are you people mad … making me governor?’
Rhun thought he heard Brian say. ‘I want my uncle back so bad, I’m hearing his voice.’
‘I heard it too,’ Noah concurred, returning Rhun’s stunned expression, whereupon they both headed for the stairs to investigate.
Alone in the quiet of the upstairs bedroom, Lucian sat on the bed, closed his eyes and attempted to block out all outside stimuli. He could hear Taren conversing with someone downstairs, but resisted the distraction to focus his thoughts inward and summon Azazèl.
Immediately Lucian became aware of the presence of light in the room and turning to the source, he did not need to open his eyes to perceive the Grigorian. Lucian saw the entity with his ‘third eye’ vision. Thank you for coming, Lucian conversed with his guardian spirit using his mind.
I am always here, the spirit replied.
Then you are aware of our situation? Lucian asked.
I am.
Then what is our best course of action? Lucian asked what he thought was a straightforward question.
Azazèl seemed disconcerted. The best course of action for you would have been to stay in your own universe.
Then why did you advise Taren to come to this one? Lucian tried to temper his frustration.
Ah … Azazèl got to the heart of the query, … because that was the best course of action for the whole.
Lucian was glad to have that clarified, but at the same time it concerned him that what was for the greater good seemed to conflict with his personal good, and Taren’s. However, Lucian pushed aside the personal concern to pursue the subject of more urgent importance. Then what would be our best course of action to support our desire to return Maladaan to its rightful place in the universe?
It is not for me to imagine, the being replied, as if disappointed in his charges.
You mean you don’t know? Lucian was equally disappointed, and opened his eyes, stunned.
I am not the answers … I just supply the possibilities.
With his eyes open the professor could still see his guardian spirit, superimposed upon his physical reality, but Azazèl appeared more spirit-like to Lucian’s naked eye. Then how can you know that Taren has a part to play in returning Maladaan to its rightful place?
Because that is a possibility, Azazèl concluded, to Lucian’s frustration.
But the professor calmed himself and focused on keeping his queries precise. Taren believes that retrieving her lost memories from the MSS will help beget a solution to the Maladaan situation.
Azazèl nodded. Then you should listen to her, she is your intuition.
Lucian was seeking assurance that was not quite so vague, and Azazèl must have sensed this.
There is experience and knowledge in her past that she would find beneficial to her now … until she knows where she has been, how can she recall where she was going?
When Rhun entered the living area on the middle level of Noah’s lake house to see the dark-haired, younger, rougher persona of his uncle, he was overcome with nostalgia for a moment — for the man appeared much more like a past-life incarnation of Brian Alexander from the Dark Ages of ancient Britain. That man had been Maelgwn Gwynedd’s champion knight, King of Powys and possibly the greatest warrior of all time. ‘Brockwell,’ he uttered, stunned, and Noah had to chuckle for he quite agreed.
‘Hey, I thought I was Brian?’ Zeven was baffled. ‘Who is Brockwell?’
Taren could only laugh, having viewed Noah’s chronicles, but the thought of trying to explain was ludicrous!
‘The likeness is remarkable.’ Noah was upbeat until he spotted his youthful self, standing next to his wife.
Rhun spotted the anomaly also. ‘Good grief!’
‘We can explain.’ Taren was alarmed, as their host appeared to be in shock.
‘No need,’ Noah assured, melting into a calm smile as he approached himself to have a chat.
‘You must be Zeven Gudrun?’ Rhun queried the Brockwell look-alike, having already learnt his identity from Kestler.
‘That’s exactly who I am.’ Zeven shook Rhun’s hand, happy to have his own identity back.
‘What news of Avery?’ Taren interrupted the happy reunion, anxious to learn what had become of the Lord of the Otherworld.
‘Ah!’ Rhun held his head, his brief moment of happiness engulfed by the gravity of his problems.
He conveyed what he’d learnt from Avery about their new adversary and their weapon, before disclosing that Maladaan and the Orions had used the weapon on Avery. ‘I hesitate to send someone to retrieve him, in case the same fate befalls them, and if Avery has been rendered powerless, he cannot return of his own accord.’
‘So?’ Zeven shrugged, not seeing the problem. ‘If you are psychokinetic, which you must be in order to teleport … just will your brother back to you. I do it to my girlfriend all the time … works for me.’
Everyone was stunned to silence by Zeven’s simple logic.
‘What? It does!’ The pilot wondered at the reaction he received.
‘Of course,’ Noah said.
‘It makes perfect sense.’ Rhun wished the solution had twigged earlier, and prayed that his brother had not been killed in the interim, as he focused all his will on bringing Avery back to them.
Under normal circumstances Zeven’s solution would not have worked, as the will of one of the Chosen could not be overruled by another of the Chosen kind — so if Avery had not lost his powers Rhun could not have summoned him forth in this way. But the Chosen could overrule the will of anyone whose genetic make-up was less developed than their own. If Avery was mortal, Rhun’s will would prevail.
Within moments Avery formed in a quivering, battered ball on the floor before them.
‘Holy mother.’ Rhun dropped to his knees beside his brother, who, for the first time in his life, appeared ill. He had a fever, and shivered in a cold sweat. In the short time he’d been gone he’d been beaten to a pulp and his wings had been slashed to bloodied stumps on his shoulders. ‘Get Cadfan,’ Rhun called the order.
‘I’ll go,’ Rebecca volunteered and vanished at once.
‘I should have listened to you,’ Avery gurgled blood to concede.
‘And we would not know what we do now,’ Rhun whispered in response, wanting to make Avery feel he’d accomplished something for his sacrifice. ‘This deed shall be legendary.’
Avery forced a smile to disagree. ‘I’m an idiot.’ He began choking on all the blood he was swallowing and Rhun urged him not to speak. He looked up to see the visitor who was akin to En Noah approach and kneel alongside his brother.
‘I have a gift,’ he said, placing his hands upon Avery, whereupon his brother immediately calmed and ceased to shake — was this man a healer?
When the bruises and cuts upon his brother’s body began to heal and vanish, and new wings sprouted from the bloodied stumps on Avery’s shoulders, Rhun was overawed for the first time in an age. ‘My Goddess!’
The stranger left his brother completely healed and sleeping peacefully on the floor.
‘I have never seen anything like that,’ Rhun announced, ‘and believe me, I’ve seen a lot of miraculous events in my time.’
The healer smiled warmly. ‘I am glad to be of service. Ringbalin Malachi,’ he introduced himself, keeping his hands folded close to his chest. ‘Best not to make contact as my emotional states have a strong influence on others,’ he explained.
‘So I see,’ Rhun commented, looking over his brother’s form. ‘You are an amazing healer.’
‘Actually, I’m a botanist,’ he corrected the misconception.
‘You’ve missed your calling.’ Cadfan stepped forward, having arrived to witness the event.
r /> Balin shook his head to disagree. ‘Where I am from, nature is even more in need of healing than humans, and at least nature appreciates the energy you put into it.’
Cadfan nodded and then looked to Rhun. ‘My apologies, Governor, I came as fast as I could but I see the emergency has passed.’ The healer cast his sights around the room, and seeing people long since departed from their world physically present, his eyes widened with surprise. ‘Should I even bother to ask —’
‘I’d rather you didn’t,’ Rhun declined. ‘Please see to Avery, and I shall explain later.’
‘As you wish, Governor.’ Cadfan knelt down beside Avery and, placing both hands upon his sleeping form, vanished with him.
Rhun breathed a deep sigh of relief, for with their departure to the healing temple, he felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders — time was no longer his enemy. ‘Thank the universe that you good people showed up.’ He referred to Zeven and Ringbalin.
‘I told everyone it was a good idea, and no one believed me.’ Zeven nudged Ringbalin.
‘Okay, so this time you were right,’ the botanist was happy to admit.
‘Did you heal all my brother’s etheric bodies or just his physical body?’
Ringbalin shrugged. ‘I couldn’t tell you for sure as I am not very knowledgeable about such things. I do know that healing the body won’t take the memory of the attack away. So his attitude may have suffered, and in my experience, attitude is everything when it comes to healing.’
‘Well, I greatly appreciate your intervention,’ Rhun said, before looking to Taren, who was being unusually quiet. ‘Are you all right?’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ Taren replied, her emotions unstable. ‘This should never have happened. Those people are animals! What they did to him …’ She shook her head as tears flooded her eyes. ‘I am ashamed to have once called Maladaan home.’
‘It’s not your fault —’ Rhun attempted to calm her, but she was not about to be pacified and stepped away.
‘It is my fault, it’s all my fault!’ she insisted. ‘I used to work for those arseholes! I allowed them to steal the sample that started this whole mess!’
‘Hey,’ Zeven pulled her up, as he fearlessly approached and hugged her. ‘I was the one who actually retrieved that sample, so you had better count me in for some of that blame.’
Taren curbed her emotions but not her determination. ‘I have to do something about righting this.’
‘We,’ Zeven added. ‘I’ve been working for your dad since you left, and I’ve got a pretty good feel for how the secret service operate.’
‘I concur.’ Lucian drew everyone’s attention his way.
‘There you are, Captain.’ Zeven took his hands off Taren.
‘And here you are, Starman.’ Lucian shook his head and grinned. ‘You really know no fear, do you?’
‘No fear in regard to jumping universes, or manhandling your girlfriend?’ Zeven grinned.
‘You said you concur?’ Taren cut through their banter. ‘Did you contact Azazèl?’
‘Yes, I did,’ he confirmed, and both Rhun and Noah gasped, knowing not even Avery had managed to do that.
‘What did he say?’ Rhun was anxious to hear any advice on offer.
‘He said that I should follow my intuition.’ Lucian motioned to Taren and everyone looked her way.
‘I need my memory back.’ Taren voiced her gut instinct and they all nodded in accord.
Rhun was all for anything that got them moving towards a solution. ‘I shall assign my top —’
‘No!’ Taren cut Rhun off, at the risk of seeming rude. ‘Thank you, Governor, you have been more than kind, but no one else from Kila will suffer for our mistake.’
All those from AMIE’s crew nodded.
‘The only thing I really need for this mission, you cannot supply,’ Taren concluded vaguely, her mind already working overtime on the problem.
‘Try me,’ Rhun challenged.
‘I need top-level security clearance to access the MSS mainframe,’ Taren posed.
Rhun mulled over the obstacle only a moment and then smiled. ‘So that’s where Dacre fits into all this.’
‘The temporary envoy from Maladaan?’ Taren didn’t think he’d have a very high level of authorisation.
‘Ronan made him his chief science advisor in the wake of the Maladaan shift.’ Rhun grinned, as did Taren.
‘Top-level clearance,’ they all said at once.
‘Provided that hasn’t been revoked since Chief Ronan’s incarceration?’ Rhun added to put a dampener on things.
‘Ronan has been arrested?’ Taren was stunned.
‘They know he is already loyal to us,’ Rhun told her.
‘No one knows the MSS mainframe like Ronan.’ Taren’s mind was ticking over. ‘But my instinct is not to trust him.’
Rhun drew a deep breath to avoid their difference in opinion on that issue. ‘Well, one thing is for certain, I am not allowing anyone else to leave this planet half cocked. None of you …’ he referred to the visitors, ‘… have been allowed time to rest and gather your wits since arriving. So I am ordering you all to my private chambers within the healing temple, where you can replenish your sensibilities, formulate a plan, and have Cadfan cast his discerning eye over you all, to ensure none on your team is still under MSS control.’
Taren appeared uncertain about a further delay.
‘Even if your people plan to attack us, it will take them weeks, if not months, to manufacture enough of their prototype weapon to attack our city,’ Rhun pointed out.
Rhun took Taren’s silence to mean that she had accepted there was no need to rush off without strategy or forethought. ‘To the healing temple for you all then?’
Taren nodded — it was good idea.
12
MIND MENDING
The governor’s chambers within the healing temple were a complex unto themselves, with their own private gardens, relaxation facilities, and over twenty private rooms. Thus everyone on AMIE’s crew, plus Telmo Dacre, was given their own quarters within the temple.
As Lucian and Taren were looking at each other mournfully, Rhun advised, ‘Some healing is best done alone, but you are not compelled to stay in isolation at all times.’
Taren couldn’t wipe the smile off her face; that was a polite way of saying, sex is not out of the question.
‘That is good news.’ Lucian raised both brows and grinned, catching Rhun’s meaning also.
‘Speaking of not staying in your own room,’ Zeven ventured, ‘are there any women around here?’
Rhun laughed out loud. ‘Sorry, I can’t help it, you’ll never change. Always, your only thought before or after battle was where to find the ladies.’
‘Yep, that’s him,’ Taren agreed with a laugh.
‘But the truth is,’ Rhun advised Zeven, ‘the only woman who’d really interest you departed this world with you, not too long ago.’
Zeven looked disappointed. ‘So the answer is no.’
Rhun nodded. ‘Even if that were not the case, given what I know about you, I would hardly let you loose on the unsuspecting females of my planet.’
All found the humour in the comment, but Zeven wasn’t sure if he was too amused.
Rhun didn’t want to offend his guest and so said, ‘But there are many pictures of your female half around here, if you’re curious to —’
‘I’m not!’ Zeven declined and everyone appeared surprised. ‘That would take all the fun out of looking, don’t you think?’
Ringbalin was far more interested in the garden beyond the windows in the corridor where their rooms were located. ‘May we go outside?’
‘You may,’ Rhun was happy to advise. ‘Security gates will prevent you wandering anywhere you might be seen … although most would just mistake you for En Noah! It’s these three I am more concerned about.’ The governor motioned to Taren, Lucian and Zeven, whereupon Ringbalin immediately made a beeline for the closest door lea
ding outside.
‘Feel free to look around,’ Rhun invited Taren, Lucian, Zeven and Telmo, as he backed up towards the staircase that led upstairs. ‘I’m just going to check on my brother.’ The governor turned and departed to do so.
‘Just my luck that in this universe, I’m a frickin’ spirit.’ Zeven looked to Taren and Lucian. ‘At least you get stuck here together! Damn, I wish Rory was more adventurous.’
‘Are you still an item?’ Taren assumed they were as he kept talking about her being his girlfriend in the present tense.
‘Nope,’ Zeven confessed, exasperated.
‘I’m sorry.’ Taren regretted prying, as the topic made him agitated.
‘It’s not your fault.’ He smiled at her briefly. ‘I’m mad at myself. I knew if I took this trip I’d miss her, and sure enough, I do. She’d really dig all this.’ Through the window he saw Ringbalin wander into the foreign garden, full of the excited fascination that accompanies new discovery. ‘When I return and tell her about this place, Aurora is going to wish she’d come.’
It was clear to Taren that Zeven’s falling out with Aurora had been over him following Lucian and herself into the void. ‘I’m sorry that you were forced to choose.’
‘There was no choice,’ Zeven insisted. ‘At AMIE we are all about discovery, that’s what we signed up for … but Rory?’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know that she has the same lust for it as we do.’
‘She has no “Power” to make her brave,’ Taren pointed out.
‘But I was like this before we crashed on Oceane.’ The memory of Taren and himself alone together on the steamy, virgin planet still made him smile.
‘Yes …’ Taren knew he was thinking about their brief and only encounter as his bad mood suddenly lifted, ‘… but you’re insane.’
‘You are too,’ he bantered back, and Taren saw the admiration in his eyes. ‘If only all women were as adventurous as you.’
‘This is nuts!’ Telmo Dacre, who’d been silent ever since he’d been brought to join their party, suddenly spoke up and everyone looked his way. ‘I know I’ve never met any of you before, but I have all these memories of us — it’s like I’ve known you forever!’