Lawked Flame (36 page)

*.*.*

The next morning, Royce’s team had completed the
first phase of the mission and waited for Benicke’s larger team to
arrive so the next phase could engage. Meeting with the next team,
he gave them their instructions in the same manner he had the first
team, and then sent them through the portal.

As he watched the second team get in position,
Clotho requested an audience. Her timing was poor since the battle
for the capital was about to begin in earnest.

After a moment’s hesitation, he granted her
permission to enter, and sealed the room. It wasn’t that he didn’t
trust her. He simply planned to keep his strategy between his Kee
and himself.

She entered silently and waited across the room,
unable to see or hear the battle on his screen. Without looking up,
he waved her into a nearby seat as the fight to reclaim his planet
ensued. Benicke fought as a man possessed, tearing through Geleet
scales as though they were made of tissue. The Geleet were no match
for Lawkes operating at full power. The carcasses of his enemies
littered the ground.

He sent a mental command to Royce and Benicke
as they walked around the city.
Report
injuries
.

Benicke responded first, and Khayden zeroed in
on him kneeling next to a fallen Lawke.
So
far, I have one down and a few hurt.

Identify him.

Turk, he was second under
Smythe
. Benicke identified another team leader who
remained behind.

Khayden searched within himself for the fallen
Lawke’s energy hoping to find it before it winked out. He caught it
and shot it a boost of his own. Minutes later, the Lawke rolled
over coughing as Benicke slapped him on the back.

Royce, where’s your report?

I have only found injured, none
lost
.

Khayden released a breath and fortified the town. No
one would be able to enter or leave until the next phase. So far
his strategy had paid off. The Geleet in the other areas would know
the Lawkmerians had returned and would be expecting an attack. He
had something better planned.

In a much better frame of mind with the success of
the mission to this point, he turned to his Gramier and froze.
There was a dimness, a sadness rolling off her that immediately
concerned him. “Are you in good health?”

She offered a poor imitation of a smile and nodded.
Inhaling deeply, she straightened and looked at him as though the
weight of her words sank her spirits. Confused he sat back,
wondering what could have caused her this type of distress.

“
I have just returned from my meeting with the
Good Mother.”

Instantly, he tensed. He had forgotten. With all
that was going on he had forgotten she went to discuss the new
rules with human interaction. Whatever she had to say, he knew it
would displease him.

“
Go on.”

She cleared her throat and looked at his desk.
Something she had never done before.

“
Clotho.”

Her head lifted, but she still refused to meet his
eyes.

“
No matter what you have to say, you are still
my head Gramier. Nothing will change that. Look at me when you
speak.”

She nodded and met his eyes. Hers looked
suspiciously glassy, but he refrained from saying anything
else.

“
The Good Mother has relaxed some of the
rulings on dealing with humans, especially since there are human
Kees, many of whom have families. Families that may need
protection, and that will be permitted. Also, Lawkes can enter
human towns and live amongst the humans while they locate their
Kees. Although the Lawkmerian gene will dominate any children from
those unions.”

He nodded, thinking the gene issue was a given. Most
of those proclamations would not matter since they would be leaving
soon, although it was a nice gesture. There had to be more for her
to be this upset, so he waited for her to continue.

“
She is most grateful the Geleet have been
destroyed, but she said there are still some roaming about and they
have the ability to multiply.”

Again he nodded. They had done their part, more than
their fair share in his mind. If the rogue Geleet were on Earth,
they were no longer his problem. Nature’s Mother could find another
army to fight her battles. But he kept his thoughts to himself.

“
Regarding the healing of Tina.” She
paused.

Dread inched down his spine even though he did not
move or blink. This was it. This was the thing that was causing her
so much distress.

“
She was incensed that you, or we, interfered
with the normal course of her world. She believes the scales of
justice were swayed, throwing things out of order.”

“
What? How? How is it justice to allow someone
to die from a horrible disease? I saw those cells. They were like
vultures eating everything in their paths. If we saw a human on the
side of the road, she would want us to assist them. How is what I
did any different?” The Good Mother’s rationale often times made
little sense to him and now was no different.

Clotho shrugged. “I agree, we debated her position
until she refused to discuss it further.”

He pummeled down his anger, it would not benefit
anyone. “So she would have preferred Tina died?”

“
She does not know Tina, so it was not
personal for her. It is the principle of interfering in the course
of life set for an individual. In her mind, once Tina’s life was
extended, other changes took place that have not yet been revealed
or, of course, the consequences of that change.”

His brow rose in confusion. “What?”

“
If Alayna’s mother were not with the Murlins,
healing from the treatment, then her father would never have gone
to the hospital.”

Khayden’s stomach dropped. It was a valid point.
There would have been no reason for him to go and he would still be
alive.

“
Not only that, I understand he was brutalized
and suffered before he perished. That did not help our case. The
Good Mother demands we stay out of those types of
affairs.”

Feeling sick to his stomach, he could only imagine
how this would impact Alayna. He waved off Clotho’s comments. He
was ready to leave this jaded world. “Okay, we will leave them here
with all of their suffering. I promise we will not lift a finger to
assist them.” He knew his remark teetered the line of
disrespectful, but it disturbed him how this entire situation had
been made larger than the intent.

“
That is not all.”

He looked at her pull her lower lip between her
teeth, which was so out of character for her. He decided right then
that no matter what she said; he would remain calm, for her
sake.

“
Because of the interference, she is refusing
to allow any of the human Kees to depart for Lawkmeria.” It took a
moment for the import of her statement to settle. His eyes pinned
Clotho’s and she dropped them.

“
My Kee? Are you saying she refuses to allow
any Kee, including Alayna, to leave this…this place?” he asked,
knowing he misunderstood. There had to be some mistake…he and his
Kee were one. If he left then she would …he would…

“
Yes, Master Khayden.”

His palm slammed on top his desk. Clotho jumped.
“How can she stop us from leaving?” he roared, forgetting his
decision to remain calm. “I control the portal. It has no ties to
this planet.”

Clotho swallowed and glanced at him before lowering
her eyes. This time he did not rebuke her. “The only one she has
control over is Mistress Kee and she refuses to allow her to leave.
She feels the Mistress must pay the debt owed for her mother’s
life. She will remain until her mother dies of natural causes.”

With each word, anger mounted at the audacity of
their hostess. Jaw clenched, he responded. “But it was my decision,
not Alayna’s.”

“
It was her request,” she
whispered.

Silence filled the room at her answer. His eyes
heated and he knew they blazed green fire. Clotho sat shaking as a
leaf in front of him. His voice dropped. “And how does she know
your Mistress made that request?”

“
I informed her.” The moment the last word
left her mouth, she grabbed her throat, struggling to breathe. Her
face reddened as he stripped her of her energy.

Khayden, you are angry, what is
happening
? Alayna’s voice pierced through his
murdering rage. His Gramier betrayed him. Unbelievable.

Open the door. You have sealed the
room, now open the damn door before I blow it up
,
Alayna screamed through their link. He released the seal but not
his grip on Clotho.

His Kee walked in, looked at the two occupants, and
resealed the room. “What happened?”

“
She betrayed us.”

Alayna scoffed. “No, she didn’t. She’s not like
that.”

He turned slowly and stared at her.
I am telling you she did. Do you think I would
kill my loyal friends for no reason? I assure you I would
not
.

She sat in the chair next to Clotho. “Good point.
Hold up on the killing her thing until you tell me what she has
done, and then we’ll make a decision together.”

His anger simmered and spiked every time he thought
of the betrayal to his people. She had bargained to bring the
humans into their midst. Yes, that is how you found your Kee. But
he wanted to go home. You can go home. No Lawke can survive without
his Kee and his people could not survive without him.

Slowly, he released Clotho. She gasped large amounts
of air and shook in her seat. Khayden repeated the conversation.
Afterward no one spoke.

“
Why did you tell her what happened?” Alayna
asked Clotho.

She swallowed hard, trying to speak.

Alayna frowned at him and laid her hand on the older
woman’s throat.

“
Thank you Mistress. When she asked the
question of what happened, it is similar to when Master Khayden
asks. There can be no deceit. One must speak
truthfully.”

“
So you had no choice but to tell her the
truth.”

His Kee glared at him, but he did not believe
Clotho.
She has been acting guilty since
she walked in. There is more to this
.

“
What else happened, Clotho?” Alayna
asked.

“
She, the Good Mother, wishes me to stay as a
representative for the Lawkmerians.”

His palm slammed down. “No.” There was no way this
woman would represent his people in anything, her loyalties were
split. She would be lucky to return to Lawkmeria alive.

Khayden
.

He turned to Alayna.
No. I do not trust her
.

This is happening because of me.
She literally saved my mom from the Geleet’s
poison
.

He knew she would take this position and she
was right.
It is because she saved your
mother’s life that she now lives. I will not have anyone serve me
whom I cannot trust.

Okay, okay, I get that, but she is
hurting behind this. Let’s find out what’s really going
down
.

He frowned.
Going
down? What…?

What’s
happening
.

She turned to Clotho. “I’m sorry, but that probably
won’t happen right now. Things are a little shaky with everyone
preparing to return to Lawkmeria. What I don’t understand is what
exactly Mother Nature hopes to accomplish by making me stay. I
mean, Khayden can travel back and forth, our connection won’t be
broken. What’s this really about?”

Amazed by her logic, he realized he had not thought
past the point that his Kee had to remain Earthbound for a few more
years. She was right to wonder what was the underlying factor of
all this.

“
She knew I would object to leaving my Kee
behind, so I will be bound to this place as long as Alayna is here.
Is this a hostage situation?” he asked Clotho.

Lines formed across her forehead as she thought of
her answer. He was tempted to ravage her mind to gain access to her
memories, but restrained himself.

“
It is possible, Master Khayden, although I
did not see it at the time. She spoke more of a partnership,
working with our world to make each place better.” She looked at
him. “She knew you could not leave Mistress Kee. Remember, she was
instrumental in creating the human Kees?”

Alayna jumped in. “That’s a conversation you
and I definitely will have another time, but let’s stay focused
right now on your recent conversation with the
Good
Mother. You were saying she wants some type
of partnership…continue.”

He chuckled at the emphasis his Kee placed on the
word Good. She was growing as weary as he at the constant
manipulation.

“
I am not sure exactly how she intends a
partnership to work, but I suspect she will continue to supply Kees
for the Lawkes—”

“
To keep Lawkmerians tied to her apron
strings. Not bad if you know all of that upfront. But I bet she
never told you that I would come with a price tag that would
inevitably split a Lawke and Kee, did she?” Alayna
asked.

He could tell she was getting pissed and was not
sure how he felt about that.

Without waiting for Clotho to answer, Alayna
continued, “No, because if she had told you that, no Lawkmerian
would have accepted the deal. Right, honey?” She looked at him.