‘My pleasure, princess.’ Zeven kissed her forehead, before he and Mythric joined the others at the bottom of the stairs.
Thurayya turned to Satomi, picked up the container piled with jewellery and handed it to her. ‘Return each item individually, with all the love and good intention you have. And do not be distracted from your vigil by anything.’
When Taren arrived back on board AMIE, she landed in a dark room, but there was a lot of moaning going on. ‘Swithin?’
‘Shit!’ Swithin and Amie were heard to cry at once.
‘Taren?’ Swithin recognised her voice. ‘What the fuck? You’re supposed to be at a family gathering?’
A scuffle was heard and the lights came on. Swithin was wrapped in a pool towel and Amie waved from under the bedclothes.
‘Don’t do that!’ he insisted, loudly.
‘I need you, right now.’ Taren couldn’t keep the stress tremor out of her voice.
‘Right now?’ He couldn’t believe it.
‘Right now,’ Taren said with determination and apology.
‘No dead person is going to be much worse off in fifteen minutes time!’ reasoned Swithin.
‘Aw, honey.’ Amie sounded disappointed that was all the time he was allotting their romp. ‘Better that you come back.’
‘So sorry,’ Taren apologised to Amie. ‘Thank you.’
‘Well, let me get my pants on,’ Swithin appealed, as it looked like the women had things all arranged and when he looked again his clothes were on.
‘Now.’ Taren grabbed his arm.
‘Is this a fresh kill?’ Swithin queried, concerned.
‘It surely will be.’ She returned her mind to the Pit of the Obstinate on Phemoria, and her body and Swithin’s followed that thought.
Lucian had the oddest feeling as he watched Satomi returning the jewellery to the pit; the feeling was panic — something wasn’t right. Lucian looked to those in his company on the bottom of the stairs and they too seemed restless; the foreboding feeling was coming from the Juju stone, therefore everyone present must have been feeling it.
You have betrayed us, Thurayya. The spirits who had begun rising from the pit accused the young girl.
‘I have not betrayed you,’ she answered the accusation that only Lucian and the girl heard. ‘I am here to lead you home.’ Without a second’s hesitation, Thurayya manifested a blade in her hand, slit her own throat and dropped into the pit.
‘No!’ Zeven was up the stairs in seconds and with his hand held out before him, he raised his daughter’s lifeless body up to float above the pit and brought her over to rest on the altar. Aurora had reached Zeven and collapsed into a flood of tears, seeing Thurayya’s tiny body bleeding from the throat.
Struggling as she was, Satomi did not pause from her vigil.
Zeven turned to Telmo, who was at the bottom of the stairs in shock. ‘Did you know this was going to happen?’
Telmo was horrified by the query. ‘No! I swear to you.’
Taren spoke up. ‘I knew.’
Lucian breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing her arrive with Swithin.
‘You brought Swithin.’ Zeven was suddenly filled with hope and so was Aurora.
‘Praise the heavens.’ She could breathe again.
‘Hey, everyone.’ Swithin waved, and then nodded a few times as he passed Anselm and the queen at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Highnesses.’
‘Come on, Swithin!’ Zeven implored him to forget the pleasantries.
‘What’s the bloody hurry?’ Swithin wanted to know, until he saw the child’s body, bleeding rivers down the sacrificial altar. ‘Damn,’ Swithin’s voice went husky. ‘Sorry. I’ll get on.’ He placed a hand on Aurora’s shoulder, and she nodded and forced a smile to express her appreciation. Swithin took a seat on the altar slab and reached out to place his hands on the girl.
Stop them, captain!
Lucian saw a mighty warrior woman rising from the pit. ‘Thurayya?’
The ghostly femme fatale nodded. Tell them they must wait, I am not done.
‘Wait!’ Lucian called out to his brother. ‘Thurayya says to wait, she’s not done yet.’
‘What!’ both her parents cried.
Order them, captain.
‘She wants me to order you to refrain.’ Lucian backed up a few steps, even though Zeven in his fury was a staircase away from him.
‘It must be important,’ Aurora highlighted to Zeven.
‘Why?’ Zeven demanded.
But Lucian was distracted by the sight of the spirit of Queen Thurayya, summoning up her foremothers from the pit. ‘Shhh!’ Lucian warded off his kinsfolk’s protests to focus fully on the celestial spectacular erupting before them. The atmosphere of hate and fear had gone, and had been replaced by excitement — and with every piece of jewellery that was returned to the pit the more excited the spirits became. When at last Satomi cast the final item into the pit, individual ghosts began to emerge from the excited light and shoot away into the heavens.
Our job here is done, ladies, time to move on. The ghost of Thurayya encouraged the tortured souls to rise up and flee. Gentlemen, you are also free to repent your trespasses in life and depart this earthly prison. The last group of spirits took the form of men, whose spirits rose up to confront Thurayya. Lucian feared the moment might turn ugly until the spirits bowed to the queen and departed, save one. Lucian could only assume this was the last King of Phemoria — Thurayya’s own husband and father to Chironjivi.
I underestimated you, wife, said the king, sadly.
I missed you, husband, she confessed and embraced him.
It’s history now, Thurayya, her king told her and she nodded.
But there is one more little amendment to be seen to. Thurayya looked back to Lucian. Captain, have Chironjivi’s remains brought to us, and Ringbalin Malachi.
‘Lucian.’ Zeven grabbed hold of him and was in his face. ‘What the fuck is going on?’
‘Thurayya’s ghost is leading the trapped souls out of here.’ Lucian looked back to the spectacle rather glamoured by it. ‘She wants Chironjivi’s ashes brought here, and Ringbalin.’
‘Ringbalin?’ Zeven wondered. ‘Why Ringbalin?’
Taren manifested the said item containing the remains of Chironjivi, and passed them to Lucian. ‘I think I know why,’ Taren told Zeven. ‘Back in a tick.’
‘I don’t like this one bit,’ Zeven stated for the record.
‘I’m just the messenger,’ Lucian pointed out, as Taren returned with Ringbalin.
Taren retrieved the canister containing Chironjivi from Lucian and gave it to the botanist. ‘I want you to focus on killing the contents of this container.’
‘What’s in here?’ Ringbalin was alarmed at first.
‘Just ash,’ she replied.
‘Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but ash is already dead.’ Ringbalin pushed his glasses back up on his nose.
‘Not this ash.’ Taren grinned. ‘Swithin accidentally gave it life, and now I need you to take it away.’
‘Sorry about that,’ Swithin owned his error.
‘But I can only kill when I am very angry,’ Ringbalin explained why he couldn’t possibly.
‘Okay.’ Taren grabbed his hand and led him up to the platform, and when he laid eyes upon Ray dead on the altar, his mood darkened and he let Taren’s hand go. ‘We cannot fix this until your deed is done.’
‘Move away,’ Ringbalin requested, quietly seething.
Everyone backed away from him as he turned his focus and anger toward the canister in his hands. In a few seconds it imploded and popped its top. Ash rained down into the pit before Ringbalin, and he cast the canister in after it.
But Lucian saw a spirit rise from the pit to join the king and queen and he was crying in grief — grief that he’d no doubt had been cast upon him by Ringbalin. I have been very, very bad, he told them, ashamed.
Well, look at your parents, his father proffered.
Is it any wonder? Thura
yya opened her arms to invite Chironjivi’s embrace, and he flew to her for comfort.
‘Now what’s happening?’ Zeven implored Lucian for an update.
Thank you, captain. Thurayya’s ghost waved to him and turned to follow the others.
‘Wait a minute, where are you going?’ Lucian called to her, ignoring Zeven, but Zeven got the gist of it.
‘But how are we to bring her back if her spirit leaves?’ Zeven shook the captain to get his attention.
I was just visiting, she explained to Lucian. It will be all right. Thurayya smiled, turned her sights heavenward and was gone.
‘What?’ Zeven got so exasperated he shoved Lucian.
The captain held his head a little dazed and very worried.
‘Oh, forget it!’ Zeven looked back to Swithin. ‘Bring my baby girl back!’ Zeven ran back up to be by his wife and daughter’s side.
Lucian took deep breaths, sick with worry that he’d made the wrong call regarding the child’s welfare.
Satomi was a mess, having completed her rite, knowing what was unfolding around her and being unable to do anything about it.
‘It will be all right.’ Mythric hugged her close. ‘You’ve been through this yourself and it wasn’t so bad.’
‘Only you could make me smile at a moment like this.’ She kissed him, and then her smile and Mythric’s were gone.
‘Stand back, everyone!’ Swithin felt crowded, and everyone stepped away to allow him to work his magic.
Hands cupped together he focused inward a moment, and in the dark it was easy to see the light force that began to build between his palms. He reached out and placed the life force over her heart and holding both his hands there, the force was absorbed into her body and she began to breathe. Ringbalin moved in to heal Thurayya’s wound.
When Thurayya moved, the entire gathering gave a huge sigh of relief, but no one more so than Lucian.
Swithin and Ringbalin backed out of the way as Aurora and Zeven moved in to comfort their child.
‘Are you all right, baby?’ Zeven asked, as her eyes wavered open. He wiped hair and blood from her face.
‘How’d we get outside?’ she asked, rubbing her eyes.
‘You don’t remember?’ Aurora found that rather incredible.
Thurayya frowned and shook her head. ‘I remember dessert!’ She smiled. ‘Can we have some more?’
‘Absolutely!’ the queen assured, as both Ray’s parents were silently counting their blessings. ‘Well, that would seem to conclude our family field trip for this evening. Anyone else for more dessert?’
Lucian’s heart had only just started beating again, and Mythric laughed at him still frozen in shock. ‘Now you’ve seen something of what we’re like, welcome to the family.’ He slapped Lucian on the back to get him moving.
With the departure of the Phemoray from Phemoria, all the women living and growing in an unconscious state beneath Tonissia awoke — some joined their physical bodies for the first time in their lives. They had no choice but to brave the land of the living once more, for the Phemoray had sustained the fabric of their celestial city and when they moved on, the etheric city had crumbled and the souls therein awoke in their physical forms. Like it or not, it was as life intended, so Taren could only feel they’d done the right thing. Telmo had performed a clearing ritual that Taliesin had learnt in the Dark Ages of Celtic Briton, for the ghosts of the females slaughtered at Dead Man Downs, and released their tortured souls from the site of their death.
‘What are you worrying about now?’ Lucian kissed Taren’s forehead ahead of climbing out of their sleeping pod.
‘Sermetica and Phemoria,’ she mumbled, still gazing out into space.
‘But I thought Maladaan and Oceane were the focus at present?’ He headed for the shower.
‘They are,’ she confirmed, raising herself off the bed.
‘Have you seen the monitoring system Kalayna and Telmo have been putting together for Oceane?’
‘Ah … yes. One of their mini remote control satellites went rogue on them on yesterday and nearly knocked me flying,’ Taren quipped. ‘It’s a good thing I have PK, that’s all I can say.’
‘But have you seen the actual monitoring system they’ve put together for it?’ Lucian yelled from the bathroom.
‘No, I haven’t got there yet, should I?’ Taren scooped up yesterday’s clothes from the floor.
‘You’ll be amazed!’ he replied, as the shower turned on.
‘Okay, then.’ She dumped the dirty clothes down the wash vent, and found herself some clean ones. ‘Let’s go see what the Time Lord and the Thaumaturge have been up to.’
Still half asleep, Taren wandered round the main corridor in Module A and into the thoroughfare through to Module B. Kalayna and Telmo had cleared themselves a large work area in the middle of the maintenance storage room — nice and close to the cafeteria. Taren dropped by the kitchen and got herself a juice. After the vitamin hit, she felt more ready to process information, so she headed across and back up the corridor to maintenance. Not wanting to be hit by any flying machinery as she came through the door, she knocked first. ‘Is it safe to enter?’
‘Yes, it is,’ replied Telmo cheerfully. ‘We are not having sex.’
His comment made Kalayna giggle and hit him, and Taren was a little shocked until she figured it out. ‘Swithin told you about that, ha. I need an advance warning system or something?’
‘It wouldn’t bother me.’ Telmo shrugged.
‘Me either,’ Kalayna concurred.
Taren was frowning and yet she was tickled as well. ‘You’re not very much like the Taliesin I remember.’ She suppressed a laugh. ‘I don’t think he ever had sex.’
‘Thankfully, I am not Taliesin, I just have his memories. Much as you are not Tory, but you still carry her traits, her tendencies, her passions,’ Telmo explained whilst running systems tests on his work station.
‘I see,’ Taren said. ‘We’ll not expect any strict code of celibacy from you then?’
‘Ha!’ Kalayna found that premise very amusing.
‘Ah, no,’ Telmo stated for the record.
‘The captain tells me that your monitoring system for the Oceane satellite is quite some … thing —’ Taren laid eyes on the large floor-to-ceiling structure that was hexagonal in shape. It was solid in colour closer to the floor and then from knee height, large glass screens extended to the roof on all six sides. ‘Taliesin had one of these?’ she asked, having a flashback to Kila where she’d seen the Merlin’s room of hexagons in a memory orb. This technology, beside conveying real-time images of a location, could also form a holographic image of the target area.
‘Oh, but this one is much improved on that old antique,’ Telmo waved off the comparison. ‘And it has a much better receiving range.’
‘Where is the controller?’ Taren looked about for the smaller accompanying hexagon.
‘Telepathically controlled,’ Telmo explained.
‘We’ve already been training Leal up on it,’ Kalayna advised. ‘He’s pretty good.’
‘And when it is not in use, AMIE’s systems monitor it,’ Telmo concluded with a grin. ‘I can also control it from this work station … we’re not living in the dark ages anymore.’
‘Thank God!’ Taren joked with Telmo, who found the comment very funny.
‘Who is God?’ Kalayna wondered, left out of the joke, which Telmo found even more amusing.
‘That was very much the big debate,’ he told her, and Kalayna seemed appeased although still very much in the dark.
‘I could call Leal up if you care for a demo?’ Telmo offered.
‘I, um, caught one of your demos yesterday.’ She grinned and waved off the offer, as it was quite early and Leal was probably still sleeping. ‘Right now I’m more interested in what we are doing about Maladaan?’
‘Right then.’ Kalayna put down the small satellite camera she was tinkering with and picked up the photon-camera Amie had acquired from Kha
lid many years ago. ‘You can destroy all these cameras with a thought,’ Kalayna pointed out.
Taren nodded. ‘But they will only make more.’
‘Exactly,’ Kalayna agreed, ‘and they can only do that by referring to their design technology adapted from your original photonics chamber.’
‘Are you suggesting we steal the blueprints?’ Taren felt the pro-psychic movement going on in the United Systems at present would surely end up with the blame.
‘I’m suggesting we alter the blueprints and create a design flaw that is undetectable,’ Kalayna explained. ‘A flaw that say, makes everyone’s light-body appear normal.’
‘That’s rather brilliant,’ Taren responded.
‘I can also design a flaw for you to install in all the photon-cameras currently in circulation,’ Kalayna added, ‘to make them burn out after a certain amount of use and that way it looks like —’
‘— a manufacturing flaw.’ Taren smiled. ‘Of course if we alter my original blueprints, no one else will be able to get the photonics chamber to work. How do I explain why the design suddenly doesn’t function as efficiently as before?’
‘Refuse to consult with Maladaan for political reasons,’ Kalayna pointed out, ‘and everybody else.’ She shrugged. ‘You can deal with it on a case by case basis when and if they notice.’
This plan meant no all-out war to ban the use of the photon-cameras on Maladaan; the rest of the United Systems would not have to become involved. As nothing was being stolen, there was no visible crime being committed or anyone to prosecute.
Taren nodded, fairly impressed. ‘Have I mentioned how great it is to have you both on our crew?’
Kalayna and Telmo served each other a satisfied smile. ‘So the plan is a goer?’
‘It most certainly is,’ Taren affirmed.
‘The best news is that, as with the inter-system gateway job, we should be able to execute this mission without ever leaving AMIE,’ Kalayna concluded.
‘They cannot catch a thief that was never there.’ Taren grinned.
‘Precisely.’
‘How long until the satellite tracking system for Oceane is ready to launch?’ Taren looked back to Telmo.