The Realms of Ethair (16 page)

“The Commander of the Black Guard has called
me twice in the afternoon and just before you woke. He said to
remind you of your appointment.” She stared pointedly at him. “Oh!”
she exclaimed. “Sara wanted you to have this.”

From her sleeve’s pocket, Kala produced a
fully energized
pálon
. She held
it out to him, saying: “Sara won’t reprimand you this time. Someone
else has done a good job of it for her.” She glanced at Karina.
“The high priestess would like to have the empty
pálon
returned as soon as you
may.”

“I will.” Arturion initiated his Merkaba. The
high piercing note rang in his ears and the white glare temporarily
blinded him. He felt Kristina reach out to keep him in Merleina and
finish their discussion. It was too late.

His Merkaba had already transported Arturion
to his bedroom in the third dimension. He hurriedly took a shower
and a change of clothes, unsure of when he will have another
opportunity to do such a trivial task. Reno, at times, brought
Arturion to his office and stayed there overnight when necessary.
He was taken aback when he saw the Commander flipping pancakes in
his kitchen at nine in the morning. The third and fourth
dimension’s timeframe did not match; either it was a few days ahead
or behind of the other. Thus, the side effect of using Markaba can
be compared to jetlag.

Reno pushed a plate stacked with pancakes on
the stainless table in his direction. There was already a table set
for two, complete with coffee, water, butter and honey. The
Commander was in a reflective mood. He always did mundane
activities when he was deep in thought. It was better to keep
silent and let Reno start the conversation.

They ate breakfast in comfortable silence.
Arturion’s annoyance with his friend vanished. He had overreacted
earlier. If he had let his initial reaction overrule his judgment,
Reno’s pride would have been hurt.

“
The Liyanna is improving,” the Commander
spoke after filling his second cup of black coffee.

Arturion bobbed his head in agreement. In
spite of Karina’s acquisition of superficial injuries, she was not
suffering from an abnormal amount of energy.

“
She has talent. When she completes
training, Karina would be a formidable opponent in the field.”
Arturion’s mug halted inches from his lips. “I plan to recruit her
after the peak of her
ascension
has run its course.”

“
She is a Liyanna,” he reminded the
Commander.

“
In name only. She hasn’t accepted the
position yet,” Reno said confidently.

“You’ll be hard-pressed trying to convince
the Devatas of that notion. They value the Liyanna more than we do.
Her acceptance of the title is merely a formality.”

“Liyanna is Liyanna, a creature of light and
so forth. They can have what they want from her. Abundance, is it
not? Either way, I want her in my Order.”

“She knows.”

“Will she accept it?”

“
I don’t know.”
She wasn’t in her best disposition
when she spoke of it
,
Arturion thought. “She was ambivalent when she mentioned
it.”

“Nothing is settled then.” Reno shrugged
offhandedly. He collected the dishes and washed it in the sink.
“What did you do that pissed her off? You have this look written
all over you.”

“A misunderstanding.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“We’ve straightened it out.” Arturion didn’t
want to discuss it. He had no desire of repeating an episode in
which he had to explain his actions. Moreover, the conversation was
too personal for his taste. “Where are we going, anyway?”

Reno turned from the sink, drying his hand
with a towel.

“We’ll be driving around Makati with someone.
You wouldn’t mind, would you?” The Commander looked sheepish for a
moment.

“
Family?” Reno’s human mother had kept her
blood ties intact by attending family functions. She was clever in
avoiding her relations’ queries about their personal
lives.

“A distant relative.”

“That’s alright.”

They went to the driveway and got inside a
custom-made yellow Wrangler jeep. Its interior was spacious with
ample legroom for Merleinans, their average height being six feet.
In ancient times, their people were as tall as ten feet; but as
generations passed, they became more compact to adapt to the
constantly changing world.

The vehicle’s exterior was impressive. It was
made of solid metal, designed to withstand collisions and abuse.
Reno’s jeep would leave a car accident unscathed. Hence, cars and
public utility vehicles like jeepneys gave it a wide berth.

The Commander had apparently put a lot of
effort to be allowed to operate the vehicle in the field. The
engine under the hood looked ordinary. Underneath its casing,
fourth dimensional technology has been installed. It was green
technology capable of running without gas and battery. The coil at
the heart of the engine absorbed energy from the
ley
lines
, invisible lines
of energy covering the entire earth’s surface. At the wrong hands,
the coil could be used to blow up half of the Philippines. It was
one of the reasons the Council discouraged travelers and Gate
Keepers from bringing advanced apparatuses in the third
dimension.

Reno had taken pains to make the vehicle
blend in with the human-manufactured ones to have the Elders
finally give their approval.

Arturion couldn’t help but appreciate
Reno’s driving skills. They could have been riding a limousine and
he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. He had to engage his
friend in a conversation before it lulled him to sleep.

“Who are we meeting?”

“You’ll see.” The jeep pulled over in a
friendly neighborhood. The person they came for exited from the
house behind them. She walked over to the driver’s side.

“
Hi, Uncle. Thanks for freeing your
schedule for me.” The woman’s face was partly concealed by Reno’s
profile. Her long hair was pin-straight. Arturion could hardly
recognize who was in front of him.

“Arty?” Her brows shot upwards when she saw
him.

“
Hi. Mindy.” Arturion managed a weak
smile.

Mindy’s eyes darted from her uncle, at
him, and back.

“
You know each other?” Mindy and Reno spoke
simultaneously. The Commander was feigning innocence.

“Hah! Small world.” Reno grinned. “At least,
I don’t have to make introductions. Get in. We can swap stories on
the way.”

The niece rode behind the driver’s seat.

You could have told me,
Arturion told his friend
telepathically.

I needed you to act
surprised,
Reno
replied.

If Kristina was still alive, Mindy would have
asked her
to be her
shopping companion. Her friend had needed a break from being a
struggling writer. Moreover, the exercise would have done her a lot
of good. Kristina had never been ill when they were in high school
and college. Her decline in health could be attributed to stress
after months of looking after her mother, Aunt Ana.

The findings from the investigation had
concluded that the source of the fire was a gas leak. Kristina’s
death was a huge blow to their batch and a rude awakening for
Mindy. Her whole outlook changed as she realized how short life is.
One could never know when someone will die; so, she determined to
live to the fullest. Mindy missed her friend terribly in the days
that followed after the funeral. Four months had passed and the
loss eased gradually to a dull ache.

Mindy, with Nica’s encouragement, had a
makeover. She had her hair straightened; replaced glasses with
contact lenses; and wore nail art. Her parents had accepted it as a
phase she was going through and didn’t dare comment. The staff at
the office and people who knew her before didn’t recognize her at
once until she spoke. They were surprised and at times complimented
her new appearance.

The two men in front of her didn’t have
the same reaction as the others. Mindy had thought to surprise
Uncle Reno, who she hadn’t seen in a while, except during the
funeral. It was weird to see him there. They hadn’t had the chance
to talk then when Aly made a scene.

As they were still on the road, Mindy
explained how Arty became part of their group before they left
college. She learned then that Reno and Arty had attended the same
schools ever since they were children although the former was five
years older. The men lost contact from each other in the early
years of their career. Their most recent case had reunited them as
the firms they worked for were hired for a joint
project.

“What is it about?” Mindy asked.

“
A conspiracy,” Reno replied
unhelpfully.

“Sounds intriguing. Is it a murder case?”

Reno steered the jeep into a parking
space.

“
It’s confidential. It would be a breach in
our contract. Right, Art?”

“Sorry, Mindy.” Arty met her gaze in the
rearview mirror.

He wasn’t at the
funeral
, she thought.
Aly had said that Arty had called to say he was dropping by the
house the afternoon before it went up in flames.

It wasn’t the right time to ask him. She
would have to phrase her question carefully, as well,
without
it sounding like
an accusation.

She leaped out of the vehicle while her two
companions alighted in a more sedate manner.

At the mall, several people stared after
the trio as they passed. Mindy couldn’t help imagining how the
strangers viewed the men walking behind her. Alone in a huge crowd,
they could blend in seamlessly. As a pair, they were too
conspicuous. Arty could be a model gracing magazine covers and TV
commercials. Her uncle, on the other hand, could be the
intimidating and dangerous bodyguard. He looked like the bad boy
type some girls would go crazy for. Not exactly brooding, there was
an air of recklessness about him, especially when he grinned. She
would see it in the times he talked excitedly about a case he’s
working on.

Mindy had called Reno weeks ago to get him
to hang out with her. It was difficult to get in touch with her
Uncle and his family, let alone take him out to have
fun.

She was six years old when her parents
brought her to the annual family reunion and met Reno. His mother,
Aunt Teresa, and him attended these gatherings religiously. They
made small talk but gave little information about themselves. His
father, Uncle Gary, an antiques dealer and art collector, was
always away on business trips for weeks or months at a time. The
profit they made from their business seemed more than enough to
have enrolled Reno in a boarding school. Mindy, young and
impressionable then, thought his whole situation lonely that she
started approaching him during these functions; mostly to play with
her and the other children or tell them stories. As time passed, it
changed to discussions about topics they were both interested in.
He didn’t have a clue about showbiz celebrities, movies and TV
series, but he was updated with news around the world and the
latest technology. It felt like he was the older brother she never
had.

Seeing Reno with Arty; the easy manner
they conducted themselves; the tolerance of each other’s attitude;
and the unnerving way they predicted one another’s next move
indicated that their friendship was deeper than they claimed it to
be. In fact, they were more like twins than childhood friends. She
found it hard to believe they had lost communication for
years.

Reno have always been reserved around
their relatives, but he was more open to her that it was safe to
say that she knew more about him than most. Despite that, there was
something about his behavior that she hadn’t noticed before. It was
almost intangible that she wouldn’t have seen it if not for Arty’s
presence.

Her uncle was more generous in giving
compliments and smiled more often than his friend, but the
invisible wall they put up, separating them from the rest of
society, was ever present. They even have the same keen awareness –
a sixth sense, which bordered on eerie when it frequently turns out
right. Still, Reno would always be her favorite Uncle. They come
from the same family with the added bonus of having the same
swarthy complexion and almost black eyes. So, why did it feel like
she was the outsider in this group instead of Arty?

Why did
Uncle Reno bring him here
anyway?
she thought,
glaring at no one in particular. Mindy rushed to the entrance of
the department store leaving them trailing far behind.

Several boutiques had been visited until
Mindy’s annoyance disappeared entirely. She had bought herself a
body-hugging dress and a pair of pumps to wear for the Christmas
party at the office.

“Isn’t it too early to buy a party dress?”
Reno asked. He popped a sushi into his mouth.

It was two o’clock pm. They were taking a
late lunch. Both men have been good humored the whole morning as
she dragged them everywhere and asked their opinion on the dresses
she had tried on. She hadn’t noticed the time until she saw Arty
nodding off on the couch. By then, she was deciding whether to buy
the pumps or the sandals. Reno had discreetly informed her that
Arty had been flying back and forth across continents. The poor man
had arrived early morning before they came to fetch her.