Changing of the Glads (25 page)

CHAPTER 27

Max turned and looked back at the bunker Vitus constructed to remain hidden from the prying eyes of Selestia.  The door Karaticus ushered him out of stood in the midst of a solid slab of red stone, rising hundreds of feet into the air and shimmering in the heat.  The rest of Empire City spread out from the sheer stark wall.

Hurrying to the nearest alley, Max slumped against the scorching brick.  His son, the third strongest mind on Selestia, had turned evil just like Mantus.  That left only one who could change things here.

Zalphia. 

How would she accomplish that when she had no idea she could do the same things with her mind that Vitus could?  Was she strong enough?  Would she be able to escape on her own?

The obvious answer was no. 

What had he done?  Max peeked around the corner at the cliff.  He had to go back. 

Karaticus was wrong.  He could not protect Zalphia from Vitus when his own family’s lives hung in the balance. 

Max’s shoulders slumped. 

Damn it.

Zalphia couldn’t use her powers without his mind to lend her strength.  He had to be there for her no matter what it cost him.

And what about their child?  The child they created on the night they’d joined again as husband and wife.  A child created from a love that spanned two lifetimes.  What would Vitus do to it?

Max straightened, squared his shoulders, and retraced his steps.  He had to save her.  Had to put everything on the line for the one he loved.  Without her, there was no life.  No need to save this planet or any other.  He would get her out if it killed him.  As long as Zalphia needed him, he would never again run the other way.  If the great God above decreed that their mission should fail, then they would fail together, side by side.

He reached the door where Karaticus had ushered him into the streets just moments before, balled his fists, and pounded against the cold steel which now separated him and his wife.

Why had he left?  What in the world was he thinking leaving Zalphia behind when he went to such lengths to stay near her? 

He pounded again.  Longer.  Harder.

Still no answer.

Visions of Zalphia suffering some of the many tortures he’d witnessed since joining the staff at the arena haunted him.  He couldn’t let that happen.  He couldn’t leave her to face this challenge alone.  He knew now how far up the ladder the corruption went.  It stopped right at the top with their eldest son.  How could this have happened?  The two brothers should have set up the new government and returned to Selestia.

This wasn’t the Vitus Max remembered.  Something had changed him.  But what? 

Max pounded harder.  Surely someone could hear him.  Why didn’t they open the door?  Couldn’t they see he was one of them, a guard of the Empire?

“Come on, blast it.  Let me in.”

A gentle hand settled on his shoulder, pulling him from his frantic knocking.  Max glanced back then spun around.

“Simeon?”

Simeon’s blue eyes sent waves of calm washing over Max.  “Hello, Son.”

Max grabbed Simeon’s arm.  “What are you doing here?  They will see you.”

“Will they?”  Simeon chuckled.  “You know well the ways of Selestia.”

“But the emperor is Vitus.  He can –”

“I know what he can and cannot do.  But that is not why I am here.”

Max’s brow furrowed.  “Why are you here?”

“To guide you, just as I always have.”  Simeon rested his arm across Max’s shoulders.  “Come, I must speak with you.”  He glanced at the door.  “Away from here.”

“No!” Max shrugged the arm off and turned back to the door.  “Why should I trust you?  You have been less than honest with me.”

“How so?”  Simeon’s eyebrows arched.

“You told me that Zalphia and I were sent here to change things.  That we would combine and bring down the one who has devastated this planet.”

“And has that not occurred?”

“What?”

Simeon motioned for Max to follow him.  “Come.  I will explain everything.”

“No, I will not leave Zalphia at the mercy of our evil son.”

“You have no choice.”

“But I do.  I need to get back in there and save my wife.”  Max turned back to the door and began pounding once more.

A gentle hand touched Max’s shoulder.  “Son, this will get you nowhere.  They,” Simeon motioned to the door, “will never let you in.  Therefore, all your pounding will not bring the desired result.  However, if you will accompany me, I will reveal all to you.”

Max whirled around.  “Like you have in the past?” he said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

A slight smile curved Simeon’s lips.  “If you had known at the apex of your meeting Zalphia, you would have responded differently, and the cause would have been lost.”

The words shot like an arrow straight into Max’s heart.  That was exactly what he said to Zalphia.  He had kept things from her so that she wouldn’t reject him.  Now, Simeon was using his own words against him.

“You could have told me.”

Simeon shook his head.  “No, ‘tis not so.  You would never have put Zalphia in danger to save this planet.  Since I sent you to the arena, you have felt that you could control how far her involvement went.  You believed you could keep her safe."

“And you are saying that I cannot. That she is safer stuck in there with those who wish to destroy her?”

“Not at all.  She will never be safe until our enemies are conquered.  But your part now is to stand back and let Zalphia learn of her powers.”

“She cannot use them, not without the strength of our minds being combined.”

The wry smile crossed Simeon’s face.  “Really?”

Max gasped.  “What do you mean?” 

“I believe you know.”

“No, I do not.  What are you saying?”

Simeon raised his eyebrows. 

Max slumped against the door.  “I think I know where you are going with this.”

“You should.  Come.  Let us find a place to talk.”

Max followed the Elder from the palace.  He glanced back once as they turned the corner two streets down. 

I am sorry, my love.  If you can hear me, know that I will do all in my power to rescue you.
 
Find the strength within yourself to survive until we can be together again.

***

Simeon slid onto a bench at the tavern, leaned his elbows on the table, and folded his hands.  He motioned with his head for Max to sit opposite him.  Max complied.

“I know this is hard for you,” Simeon said.  “But you must understand.”

Max slid down in the seat and rested his head against the back of the bench.  “You have no idea how I feel.”

“Do I not?”

“How could you?”  Max sat forward and leaned his forearms on the table, his eyes searching Simeon’s face.  “Exactly how could you know what I am feeling?”

Simeon huffed a small chuckle.  “Do you think you are the first to be sent to save a planet such as this?”

“What?”  Max’s brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed to mere slits as he studied his mentor.  “What are you saying?”

“Come now, Maximillion.  I have taught you how to retrieve the memories of your life on Selestia.  Look back.  Search those memories.”

Max slid his arms from the table and leaned against the back of the bench.  Had he missed something from his past?

No.  Simeon had walked Max through his life with Zalphia all those years ago.  Max remembered nothing from those times except Zalphia and their sons.  So what more was there?

“Further back.”  Simeon now crossed his arms.  “Back to when you were a child.  Before your life with Zalphia.”

Max closed his eyes and concentrated.  He never tried to look past his time with Zalphia and their sons.  What could be important about his earlier childhood?  He breathed slow and rhythmic, letting his mind fall into another life, another place.  The blackness seemed thick, tough, like a membrane which needed to be pierced.  He shoved against it, struggling to break through to the light and answers that would lie beyond.  The fight sapped his strength.  

His head tipped forward until his chin rested against his chest.  Shaking from the effort, he finally burst through into the brilliance beyond. 

Max gasped.

The scene before him spread like softened butter across a hot piece of toast.  He saw his brothers, his mother, and...

Max’s eyes flew open. 

“You are my...”

“Yes, exactly.  In each generation, there are two born who together make a Selestial pair.  Two, who combined, have the power to rule Selestia and physically change things on the lower planets.”

Max shook his head. 
It could not be.  He would have felt a connection.  Wouldn’t he?

“You are my father.”

Simeon closed his eyes for a moment.  “Yes, Maximillion.”

Max sank down in his seat.  Disbelief covered him like a shade cloth torn loose in the arena.

“Why did I not recognize you?”

Simeon met Max’s gaze.  “You had to learn from your experiences here, just as I have learned from mine.  I was chosen to provide one from the next generation to take my place while my brother bore the other half.  However, when Mantus was stripped of his powers, the sister of my wife stood forward to produce the next heir for Mantus.”

“I do not understand.”  Max felt the blood drain from his face. 

Zalphia and he were cousins?  Two from the same royal family on Selestia?
 

He ran a hand across his face.  “How could my aunt bear a child with powers if she herself didn’t have them?”

“Do you not believe that the great God above can do as he pleases?”

“Of course.”

Simeon sighed.  “When Mantus was stripped of his powers, they were conferred upon her for the time she carried Zalphia.  However, she gave her own life to bear that burden.”

Simeon’s deep sense of guilt tightened Max’s chest.   How could Simeon hope to control his brother?  That wasn’t his responsibility, was it? 

“And what about before you and Mantus?”

“My mother and father both carried the gift.”

Max saw a shadow pass across Simeon’s face.  “And what happened to them?”

“My mother was lost in a struggle much as you and Zalphia face here.”

Max gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles a vivid white. 

Zalphia could die?

His heart hammered, sweat popped out on his brow, and his mind screamed at him to run back to the palace as fast as he could.

A lump almost took his breath away, but he managed to swallow.  “So... so... failure is...?”

“A possibility?  Yes.  It always is.  We must fight for the right.  And if it requires a sacrifice of life to turn the tide, then we must be willing to lay even that on the line to save a world.”

Max folded his arms on the table and let his head fall onto them. 

Oh, Zalphia.  I never should have left you. 

He couldn’t do this.  Zalphia carried his child.  They could not expect him to stand by and allow her to forfeit not only her life, but their child’s as well?

His head popped up and he banged his fists against the table.  “No.  I will not let her die!”

All talking ceased, and everyone turned to look.

Raising one hand, Simeon nodded.  “It is all right.  Just making a point.”

A few raised their glasses in toast, and the rest returned to their conversations.

Simeon laid a hand on Max’s fist.  “The choice is not yours.  It is Zalphia’s.”

Max jerked his hand away.  “I do not care.  I am the strong one.  I will take her place.  Zalphia and our child will not be subjected to the horrors I have witnessed.  I will not stand for it.  Do you hear me?”

Simeon sat back, his hands folded on the table.  “I know how you feel, Son.  But you know as well as I do that those like us only lend power to those like Zalphia... and, well, we can only do so much.  Only one who can physically change things can choose to sacrifice to save a world.  My mother did it, and my wife’s sister chose the same path.  It is up to Zalphia how this ends.  And you can do nothing to change how things must be.”

“No!” Max’s hands shook as he again grasped the table.  “Let me take her place.  I will do anything.  Please, do not let this happen.”

Simeon shook his head.  “I have no control over this.  Zalphia, and Zalphia alone, can decide what will be.  She may choose to save herself and the child.  Or she may choose to leave this planet and all on it to destruction.  But if she decides she will do all in her power to save the humans here, then only when it comes down to the last moment will we know what will be required.”

“Can I not –?”

“Take her place?”  Simeon glanced down at his folded hands.   “No.  I am afraid not.”