Zeven was tempted to burst into a fit of rage.
‘This is about learning to put the good of others before your own needs, Zaman,’ Maiara stressed. ‘And if you don’t comprehend that, you may as well go back to the desert and die there!’
The one thing having Power had taught Zeven was how to control his emotions and after a few deep breaths he’d reeled them in. ‘Is Zaman my name, or do you just have a strange accent?’ He wondered if she was trying to say Starman.
The duchess burst into laughter. ‘No, no, child,’ she quelled her merriment to explain, ‘Zaman is your birth name, it means “time” in ancient Sermetic.’
‘So, my name, Zaman Vidor, actually means —’ Zeven tried out his real name for size, rather proud of it now that he knew what it meant.
‘— Time Warrior,’ his great grandmother concluded, raising both brows to empathise with Zeven’s wonder. ‘Appropriate, don’t you think?’
He had to agree that it was.
For twenty long years Mythric had been running from the night that was now playing out over and over in his mind …
He stirs to the sound of his child screaming, as never before — an attack from behind had left him unconscious. The knowledge causes a panicked feeling in the pit of his stomach. They have been in hiding for over a year — have one of their enemies finally found them?
Upstairs, laying defiled and murdered in a pool of her own blood, is the Princess Satomi — his charge and lover. Grief, like an avalanche of rocks, bombards his emotional being and he is tempted to collapse beside her, yet his son’s cries compel him to the nursery in the room beyond and he is there in a thought.
A masked assailant looms over the crib and, upon the intrusion, thrusts a dagger into the crying infant and his screams cease.
Grief turns to rage, and he overpowers the attacker before he can withdraw the dagger. Under threat of being unmasked, the offender vanishes into thin air and he is left astonished to discover that there is another with his ability to teleport.
His sight turns to his son’s crib and loath to view the desecration, he finds that only bloodied covers remain — the tiny body of Zaman Vidor is gone!
Mythric teleported the dead body of his beloved to the House of Vidor, where he recounted the night’s events to the head of the house, and asked why his all-seeing grandmother did not foresee this tragedy.
‘Only as the sad events unfolded were they made known to me … the evil intent was somehow shielded from my sight until the time of their execution. But once events are brought into play in the physical world there is no shielding them,’ Maiara explained. ‘It was I who retrieved the child and spirited him to a healer. However,’ the dowager duchess was sad to advise, ‘my action did not prove swift enough to save the child’s life.’ Maiara was no longer a young woman, even then, and the effort to teleport had clearly drained her dry of energy and physical strength, but that fact did not detract from Mythric’s anger.
‘Am I supposed to thank you? You and your bloody prophecy!’ He blamed her for bringing the curse of Khalid upon his family. ‘You know as well as I, that there are a precious few in any of the ancient royal lines who possess my talent.’ He cut to the heart of the matter. ‘And even fewer who can hide their intent from you! Admit it, that monster you raised is more powerful than you imagined!’
‘I did not know what he was! We still don’t know,’ the duchess said in her own defence. ‘And you were supposed to be protecting Satomi, not seducing her.’
‘Don’t pretend you didn’t know we had fallen in love!’ Mythric accused. ‘Or that the Great Houses of Vidor and Anselm, didn’t want to lay their hands on the product of a union between Sermetica and Phemoria! Well, he’s dead now! And that bloody monster you let leech his way into our family is responsible!’
‘We cannot be certain it was Khalid; there are agents on Phemoria who could have done this —’
‘That was no woman I struggled with; I don’t have to be a seer to tell you who it was!’ he roared. ‘And I am going to tear his heart out.’
‘If you do, then we shall never discover who, or what, is protecting him. His true nature is shielded from psychic sight, that is true,’ she warranted, ‘but as we don’t know how or why —’
Mythric felt she was defending the dark sheep of the family. ‘Next you will tell me that because I have no proof he murdered my lover and child, that you intend to let him continue to walk among us,’ he challenged. ‘I hear he has political aspirations now.’
‘Keep your friends close and your enemies —’
‘I know you want to see him dead as much as I do! Either you give me leave to kill that thing, or I will leave this house and never set foot in it again!’
‘You won’t kill it,’ Maiara stated surely. ‘It will kill you.’
‘I’ll take that as a no, shall I, Grand Mai?’ Mythric cast off the family jewels and the weapons he’d been using until now to protect the princess and their son. ‘This family is poison! I want no part in your lies and secrets anymore!’
‘How else do we protect ourselves?’
‘Change the laws pertaining to the persecution of psychics!’
‘And have the general populous turn against us? Their suspicions that there are still psychics being born into the royal houses would be confirmed!’ She gave the same old argument and Mythric waved it off, fed up. ‘If you leave, it is going to appear to the authorities that you killed your family, Spyridon.’
Shock overwhelmed him and his loss took hold, flooding his eyes with tears as he gazed at the bloodied body of the Princess Satomi. ‘Do you really think that I give a damn what anyone thinks of me anymore?’ He looked to his grandmother, pain tainting his voice. ‘You can bury Spyridon Vidor with his lover and child.’
He had vanished from the House of Vidor, not to return until today.
Just the memory of the sheer hatred he’d felt at that time made Mythric sick to his stomach. Yet the reality was Maiara had saved his son’s life and kept him safe all the way through to manhood, and that may not have been the case had she told him the truth at the time.
All the years of Zaman’s life that he’d missed sent a pang of remorse through Mythric’s heart — but then he hadn’t missed everything. The vision of Zeven zooming off a cliff and flipping his all-terrain bike made him much prouder suddenly, as did the memory of his son being seduced by Aurora on the dance floor.
‘I’m so sorry, Spyridon.’ Maiara approached along the garden path behind him. ‘I was afraid of losing you both, if I didn’t separate you.’
‘That was not your choice to make,’ Mythric replied, his voice firm but no longer spiteful. ‘And stop calling me that — my name is Mythric now.’
‘Of course it wasn’t my call to make,’ she agreed. ‘But you were a mess following Satomi’s death. How would you have taken care of a young baby, especially this young baby?’
When Mythric looked back on the hazy alcohol-fuelled months that had followed the death of Satomi and their child, he could see some sense in what Maiara was saying. ‘It might not have been so bad, had I thought I had something to live for,’ he said in his own defence, knowing now what he’d always suspected. ‘You knew where I was all this time, didn’t you?’
‘I know where all the lost children of our house are in hiding, even Maladaan is not beyond the scope of my seeing,’ the duchess confirmed.
‘All but Khalid,’ he taunted.
‘All but he,’ she concurred. ‘Yet in one short conversation with your son, I have learnt how Mansur has been shielding himself from us.’
Mythric, whose attention had wandered, looked back to his grandmother, stunned.
‘So you see, my prophecy still stands.’
‘Damn your soothsaying, old woman.’ Mythric was perturbed. ‘Neither of us would be in hiding had you not been so keen to make amends to our family —’ He stopped himself returning to the arguments of yesteryear.
‘You think I faked that pro
phecy to make amends for fostering Khalid?’ She rose up, appearing rather furious. ‘I’ve fostered and helped to hide hundreds just like him; how was I to know he was a dark horse when not a trace of it was apparent on his tiny infant body? I feel no guilt. I was betrayed and deceived too, Spyridon, Mythic, or whatever you call yourself these days!’
‘Mythric,’ he repeated.
‘Mythric.’ She drew a deep breath to maintain her civil tone. ‘I would never, on my honour as a Vidor, fake a prophecy.’
‘I apologise,’ Mythric conceded. ‘But I still believe I could have protected him … given a second chance.’ He openly admitted to his prior failure that would have contributed to Maiara’s decision to take Zaman’s wellbeing out of his father’s hands.
‘Now is your time,’ Maiara said. ‘Zaman is dead to all, and he must remain that way. Without his Powers and the protection of his Grigorian, if Khalid gets an inkling of his existence, he can find him with a thought and —’
‘I get the picture.’ Mythric nodded. ‘Where is he now?’
‘In the grand hall, admiring the pictures of his mother.’ She smiled, as her grandson appeared bemused about that. ‘I believe he is feeling a little guilty for judging his biological parents so harshly since his lineage came to light.’
‘Well, who can blame him?’ Mythric understood completely and moving to head back toward the house, a thought waylaid him. ‘How did you save him? A knife wound such as he had would surely have damaged several vital organs.’
Maiara smiled. ‘As I said before, many gifted children have been under my protection over the course of my life. At that dire time, destiny had seen fit to place a young angel of a boy in my charge. His parents had reached their wit’s end, for he had the power to project his emotions onto others. His love and approval could heal anything, but his disapproval and hatred could kill.’
Mythric boggled at controlling such an infant, and for the first time in his life he wondered at Maiara’s patience and compassion.
‘Fortunately for us, he was by nature a very compassionate little fellow, and when he saw the bloodied babe, still struggling to live despite its awful wound, he healed him good as new in an instant.’
‘Did the child have a name?’ Mythric wanted to know the name of the man he had to thank for saving his son’s life.
‘We called him Quanah at the time, which in the old tongue of the Phemorians meant “fragrant”, because he made flowers bloom everywhere he went. That was his name before he was adopted, but his foster parents would since have changed it.’
‘Well, there cannot be many men who make flowers bloom everywhere they go,’ Mythric commented, and then loitered to say his piece. ‘As much as I hate you for keeping us apart all this while … I thank you for bringing us back together.’
‘May the Grigori watch and guide you both, until next we meet.’ She smiled, content. ‘I hope it will not be so long between visits next time. Zaman knows what is expected of him, if he is to reclaim his destiny.’
‘And if he does not succeed?’ Mythric posed.
‘Then …’ She raised both brows and gave a heavy sigh. ‘May the universe help us all.’
It felt strange to be sitting eyeing off the pictures fading in and out on the huge screen before him; the woman was very young and beautiful, and it was difficult to perceive her as a mother figure.
She was not as tall as your average Phemorian and was slight of build. She also had ample breasts — Zeven noted, suddenly feeling quite deprived of his birth right to breastfeed. Her hair was long, fair and straight, so Zeven obviously got his colouring from his father. Satomi’s skin was fair and her eyes were the colour of Taren’s. My mother is Taren’s aunt … we are cousins! He was both happy and sad about that. Well at least I am not Khalid’s bastard. He found a silver lining.
‘The Princess Satomi Clarona.’
Zeven snapped from his enchantment and turned about to find Mythric, his father, standing behind his lounge, quietly admiring the images also. ‘I can see the attraction …’ Zeven couldn’t blame Mythric for seducing her. ‘She’s hot — I mean, beautiful.’
‘Her name meant “lovely … lovely, in the morning”,’ Mythric advised, ‘but Satomi was lovely all the time.’
‘She escaped Phemoria before they could crown her,’ Zeven recounted the little he’d learnt from the duchess, hoping to learn more.
‘She did,’ Mythric obliged. ‘Her mother, the queen, had been going slowly mad for twenty years, and Satomi suspected that the Phemoray, who had been running the country through the queen, were looking to instate someone younger, saner and easier to deal with.’
‘So she knew her mother had been cursed by the Phemoray?’
Mythric nodded. ‘Satomi remained in hiding outside of Phemoria for many years before she finally sought the help of the House of Vidor.’
‘Did her mother’s insanity have something to do with Khalid?’ Zeven wondered how Khalid Mansur had ever been birthed into the Phemorian royal family.
‘No one really knows.’ Mythric was very curious about the query. ‘But the timing of her descent into lunacy would more or less coincide with Khalid’s coming into the world. You don’t think the late Queen of Phemoria birthed him, do you?’
‘That’s what Khalid claimed, and the Qusay-Sabah Clarona confessed to knowing he was her half-brother,’ Zeven stated.
Mythric was taken aback. ‘You never mentioned to me that you’d encountered Khalid before.’
‘He’s the whole reason I had to die testing the Hunzo yesterday. Anselm and I suspected he was onto me.’ Zeven gave half a laugh. ‘I’ve already kicked Khalid’s arse, twice!’ He held two fingers high to emphasise. ‘But that was in another time line.’ Zeven was suddenly deflated. ‘And I had power and protection then, which of course, I now don’t!’
‘You’ve got me,’ Mythric proffered, light-heartedly. ‘And your girl still loves you —’
‘Aurora!’ Zeven jumped to his feet upon remembering he hadn’t thanked her for saving him, and Mythric appeared to regret raising the subject.
‘She can’t know where you are.’ Mythric was shaking his head.
‘But she’s not going to love me if she thinks I’m dead! I need to let her know I’m okay,’ he argued, suddenly dying to see her.
‘She knows that already,’ Mythric insisted, ‘and if Khalid is already onto you, she’ll be under surveillance for years!’
‘Oh, come on,’ Zeven said. ‘I’m going into isolation for only my over-soul knows how long. You’ve got to let me see her!’
‘There’s no way in the universe that I’m going to take you anywhere near her.’ Mythric put his foot down.
Zeven begged to differ, as he put on his best sad eyes. ‘Please, Father?’
Two days had passed since Aurora had met with Mythric, and neither he nor Starman had returned to their apartment or made contact. President Anselm’s office was not returning her calls, and not even Tyra at his private office could tell Rory where any of the men she was seeking were.
Out of the sheer frustration of wanting to speak with someone who would take her call, Aurora rang Zanthie, who completely freaked out.
‘We’ve got a gig tonight, and you missed a major test yesterday! Where are you?’
‘I’m at my new apartment.’ Rory passed her bloodshot eyes over her luxurious surrounds, wondering how long it would be before the government kicked her out. ‘I’d invite you over, but I don’t have a pass.’
‘You’re in the government sector?’ Zanthie was pissed. ‘You promised you wouldn’t use that bloody pass again! Have you been arrested? Is that what this is about?’
‘No!’ Aurora insisted, but then was not so sure. ‘Not exactly. But I’m afraid to leave where I am, in case I get locked out, or I miss something.’
‘Where is Starman?’
Aurora drew a deep breath, and her gut instinct was to lie. ‘He’s been killed, Zanth.’ She let her emotions flow out — if any of her
lover’s enemies were listening in, she would give them a good show.
‘Holy shit, Rory!’ Zanthie was panicked. ‘What the fuck happened?’
A chime from Starman’s door bell made Rory jump. ‘Zanth, I gotta go, there’s someone at the door.’
‘Girl, listen to me, I’m real worried about you,’ Zanthie continued, as the door bell chimed again. ‘Tell me what happened?’
‘I can’t tell you over a communicator,’ Aurora insisted to speed things along, and made to see who was at the door. ‘I’m going to try to make it to the gig —’
‘What do you mean try?’
‘Later, Zanth, love you.’ Aurora hung up, as she spied the twins awaiting entry.
‘We were worried about you!’ Rada got straight to the point, when Aurora dispensed with the barrier.
‘So we brought you a basket of goodies …’ Rebi lifted the lid on her basket to show Aurora that there was a letter bearing the presidential seal inside. ‘To make you feel more at ease.’
‘I’m really glad you were thinking of me.’ She stepped aside to allow them in. ‘I haven’t known what to do with myself.’ The girls entered and she closed the door behind them. ‘What is the news?’ Aurora asked for the envelope and Rebi handed it over. From the stony serious looks on the girls’ faces, Rory feared the worst. She sat on the lounge, broke the seal on the president’s communication and read.
Miss DeCadie,
It is my regret to inform you that the man you knew as Starman is no longer in existence, and for obvious reasons that is for the best for the time being. You would do well by him right now if you were to burst into tears of grief, so that those who have you under surveillance will believe he truly has perished.
Aurora gasped on her relief and shock, then burst into tears as advised.
‘You already knew he couldn’t have survived.’ Rebi sympathised with Aurora’s loss.
‘What does the president say?’ Rada sniffled back her tears.
Aurora held up a finger to beg their patience and then continued to read.