The Realms of Ethair (29 page)

“You?!”

Fred grinned and clapped his hands.
“Bravo!”

Security guards near the exit had opened the
doors. People were leaving. The audience was only interested in a
show when it didn’t involve the possibility of one of them getting
hurt. And the last report they had from the main office said that
the main server and its backup had been completely destroyed. They
were upset that one of their investments had gone up in flames and
had rooted for Fred to fix the problem. But they had not
anticipated that she would leave the stage set up for her and turn
up in their ballroom.

“
You’re not the only one who’s clever in
keeping secrets, Alena.” His head snapped to the side at the same
time Liyanna was flung against the wall. “How come you get to keep
your looks and I don’t?” He raised his chin and her feet left the
floor. “I don’t really mind though. I used to hate looking in the
mirror and seeing how much we resemble each other.”

“When did you remember?”

“
I don’t quite recall the exact date. I
believe it was in college. I hitched a ride with Peter when a
drunken truck driver swerved and hit us. It was very disorienting
to have two memories that I accidentally killed two of the best
doctors in the country. And then I met his father. He did a great
job concealing their deaths and helped me understand what was
happening to me and the world.

“It took me a while to realize what was right
under our noses. Alas! Our common friend Arty was from Merleina and
you were Alena. Two thorns persistently stuck in my side. So, I
waited.

“
I had you watched and sent the drone to
finish you. Peter had gone after me knowing that I pilfered the
drone from his father’s laboratory. Yes, poor Peter who was only
doing his father’s bidding by staying at my side, became the
unlucky witness when I burned your house to the ground. You see, I
was so furious with myself for not anticipating Arty being present
at the scene. But now I understand why I didn’t get to kill you
that day.

“
I have a proposition for you,
half-sister.” He moved closer to her. “Surrender and I shall let
your friends go.” The screen flickered and refocused. The scene had
changed. The camera focused on two people kneeling on the floor at
gunpoint. “Fight, you and your friends die.”

“
What did the Zertans offer you?” She
looked at the screen.

“The Zertans offered me power to rule the
world. They still want you, especially now that your friends have
completely destroyed all our research and stole our subjects. They
prefer that I deliver you alive.

“It was easy luring you here when your
boyfriend showed up and I saw what everyone else did not. A bond as
old as yours would reawaken and strengthen, particularly when
nurtured with love. Love was your and father’s downfall and it will
be again – my mistake. You’ve already fallen.” He patted her
cheek.

“
You forgot one thing.” Fred frowned, his
hand stayed on her face. “I’m not Alena. I’m Liyanna.”

They were running away from the building, rather S7
and the Black Guard carrying her on his shoulder. They had gone
after her when they realized she had taken the slip, Mindy couldn’t
believe they were leaving her best friend – their Very Important
Person – their Liyanna – behind to save their asses!

“Put me down!” She thumped the Guard’s back
with her fists and tried more than once to kick him.

“
Hey, wildcat. Stop struggling.” S7 looked
tired and exasperated with her.

She hit the Guard’s back with renewed vigor.
One of her fists clipped S7’s ear.

“Oi, watch it!”

“
I can’t leave
her out there.” She swiped at her eyes.

“
You don’t get it, do you? She left us.” S7
glanced at her. “Besides, she’s a helluva fighter not a harmless
kitten.”

She stopped kicking. Mindy had forgotten
how strong her friend had become. She wished for a sign that
Liyanna was okay.

“What is that?” Mindy pointed at the beam of
light piercing the night sky which seemed to go on forever. No one
answered. Probably the Guard knew but he wasn’t sure. His thoughts
had gone blank just as his mouth sagged at what came next. Strange
red and green lights swarmed around the light and stayed for a
while. When the beam of light vanished, the colored lights began to
disperse. One of these headed in their direction and stopped right
above them. A pillar of light descended. A Being, inhumanly tall
and slender with a body covered in blue scales, carried the limp
and bloodied form of her best friend.

“
Tina!” Mindy squirmed out of her Guard and
fell on the ground. She wanted to run to Liyanna but S7 caught her
arm and wouldn’t let go.

“It’s not human.” S7 was afraid.

The pearly silvery scales on the Being’s
head glowed as he studied Liyanna with big, dark blue pupils. The
tips of his three-fingered hands lit neon blue and spread
throughout Liyanna. Her wounds closed and the glass in her shoulder
eased out and fell on the grass.

Mindy wrenched her arm free and approached
the Being, who gently placed Liyanna in the arms of the
Guard.

Up close, the Being was taller.
Geez, he must be
eight feet tall
, she
thought.

I am both he and she.
The Being’s eyes fell on hers.
There was humor in his/her mental voice.

“
Umm. Thank you for saving her,” Mindy
said.

She is
still needed.
The Being retreated to the pillar of light
and vanished. The lights above moved again and for a while, no one
spoke as it disappeared in the clouds.

“What was that?” S7 asked.

“
Schkwastch of the Galactic Federation,” the Guard
replied. “He came to tell us that the world wouldn’t be seeing this
organization again after tonight. All members, who have an
influence to society, will be placed under the Federation’s
rehabilitation program. The Zertans have lost one of their top
dogs.”

*****

Pellinor the cat leapt onto
Liyanna bed. He circled on a
specific spot, stretched, sat, and started licking a paw. He was
developing the habits of a real cat.

“
How is she?” he asked Mindy, in between
switching paws for cleaning.

“
She’s awake,” Liyanna managed a watery
smile. She had completely recovered three days after infiltrating
enemy territory. Liyanna had told them about Fred, who turned out
to be the reincarnated half-brother of the first Liyanna, and how
he used actors to pose as S7 and Mindy for leverage. Thanks to S7,
Liyanna discovered her ability to reawaken Fred’s humanity by
flooding his darkness with light. The same light Mindy and the
others witnessed which had drawn enough attention for the Galactic
Federation to intervene.

It was after Pellinor had requested a
private audience with Liyanna that she locked herself up in her
room. She wouldn’t speak to anyone until Mindy came to visit and
eventually decided to stay for a week.

Liyanna
revealed that she had unwittingly shared her blood
with S7 when she threw the piece of glass at him in Arturion’s
house. Knowing that it had set off ascension symptoms in him,
Liyanna had asked Sara to help the man adjust to their world. The
high priestess had accepted S7 and sent a letter through Pellinor
regarding Arturion’s return to consciousness with neither memories
of his abduction nor Liyanna. The cause of his amnesia could be the
result of the powerful spell he had cast upon himself before the
abduction; or, severe trauma he received during his
imprisonment.

Liyanna
was quick to cry but she had always picked herself
up and moved forward after a few days. Mindy worried over her as
the days passed and Liyanna was still depressed. Kelor-dan’s
kingdom was also experiencing an unprecedented storm - a reflection
of Liyanna’s emotion, as Pellinor had stated
matter-of-factly.

The Devatas quietly went about their
day-to-day activities. Several came to drop presents for their
beloved Liyanna and ask after her. Gifts continued to pile up that
the dryad Theona had to open another room as storage area. Pellinor
became a permanent fixture in Liyanna’s chambers, frequently
sleeping at the foot of her bed. At some point during the day, the
cat would vanish but Mindy would always find him curled up in bed
in the wee hours of the morning.

Pellinor gazed at Liyanna with narrowed
eyes. Eventually, he said: “Good. The Rituvan has gotten himself in
trouble.”

Liyanna
propped herself up with her elbow.
“Trouble?”

“The Sorceress came to visit the Prince and
bumped into the Rituvan.”

“Your mother saw him?”

“
Bumped – crashed – collided. She banished
him to his country.”

“
They won’t accept him.” Liyanna flung the
blankets off her.

“If word comes out that he left your side,
whatever the circumstances, he will be persecuted.”

“You don’t sound worried.” Her head popped
out behind the divider of her dressing room.

“He is your responsibility, not mine.”

“What kind of trouble is he in?” Mindy asked.
She was getting annoyed with his antics.

A bird of prey screeched outside. Beyond
the door, a falcon burst through the willow’s leaves and into
Liyanna’s bedroom. It perched onto the bed’s headboard. A scar near
its eye made it look fiercer and confirmed the Rituvan’s
identity.

Liyanna
emerged in a warm green dress and walked up to the
large bird.

“
She turned him
,” she said.

“
Don’t look so surprised.” Pellinor said,
bitterly. “The Sorceress promised that if he returned in our realm,
she would change him.” He leaped from the bed and padded toward the
door, his tail swishing behind him. “Call me when you’re
ready.”

“
That cat has issues,” Mindy commented,
hands on her hips. She had a nagging suspicion that Pellinor was
glad of the Rituvan’s situation. It had effectively distracted
Liyanna from her loneliness.

“
It’s been hard for him.” Liyanna smiled,
braiding her hair, while Theona placed her breakfast tray on the
bedside table and helped her lace up her boots.

“
The last few weeks have been for
everyone.”
Especially for you.

The smile slid from her face. Liyanna was
about to push the tray away when she noticed Theona looking sadly
at it.

“They say time heals.” She nibbled on bread
for Theona’s benefit, who happily withdrew to her tree.

“You’re not going back with me, are you?”
Mindy knew the answer to that, but couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t belong in your world anymore, Mindy.
I’ve changed too much.”

“
I know. But you’ll visit, right?” Mindy
sat beside Liyanna and clasped her hand. “You’ll still attend my
birthday party?"

Liyanna
grinned. “Of course, I will.”

“
Umm.” Mindy forehead wrinkled. “Since
you’re supposed to be dead, what should I call you when you show
up? Karina? Liyanna?”

For the first time in days, Liyanna
laughed.

“
Hey! This is serious.” Mindy playfully
punched her arm. She was glad to hear her friend laugh.

“
You can call me any name you want.”
Liyanna pulled her best friend close to her. “I’ll miss
you.”

“
I’ll miss you, too.” Mindy returned the
hug. Her friend may be an all-powerful Liyanna; but to Mindy, she
would always be her best friend.

Log entry #
8:

The Council of Elders
passed jurisdiction over the Order of the Black
Guard yesterday. The mission – the rescue of thirty Merleinans,
including myself – was such a success that they have decided not to
shut down the Order. It will, however, undergo re-evaluation. They
have appointed my foster father Sola to oversee the Black Guard’s
operations. Reno has been suspended from service for five years and
will report directly to Sola for another five. There is a rift
between them though they do not speak of it in front of me. No one
has yet noticed and I hope it will not affect their Orders. I
suspect Sara had been a major influence in the Council’s final
judgment. She told me that our people were dissatisfied on how the
Elders’ addressed the issue regarding the disappearances. Letting
Reno’s Order continue was a political move to regain Merleina’s
support. Whispers of the forest have reached Merleinans. It sung of
Liyanna’s recent deeds. Through her involvement, Devatas and
Merleinans have once again worked together to save our people; a
feat, considering the fact that it has been eons since anything
like this has happened.

I woke two days after I was retrieved from one of
the enemy’s laboratories. Sara had been attending to me that day.
She looked so weary and old. It was the first time I saw her openly
shed tears in front of me and her staff. It was then that I vowed
never to voluntarily place myself in danger. She had called me
Arty, just like my mother used to and a friend whose face remains
shadowed in my muddled memories. That is where my problem lies. Try
as I might, I cannot remember the past three years leading to the
present. Sara reassures me it will come back in time but I sense
her relief that it has not returned. I am keeping more secrets
again, hence this journal. I do not share the dreams that haunt me
at night knowing Sara would fuss if she discovers it. So, when a
particular nightmare keeps me wide awake, I take the path to Sinta,
the Lake of Mirrors.