By the time the tall foreigner was led into the governor’s office, Rhun, Rhiannon and Avery had been briefed by Robin about the violent incident that had transpired during KEPA’s rescue attempt. So far the governor had to admit that circumstance was not painting a very good impression of their new neighbours.
‘Ah … Miss Cardea.’ Rhun rose from his seat behind his desk to acknowledge her entry; he had been warned that she was easy on the eye, but her extraordinary beauty was heart stopping! He had already been advised against shaking her hand and so did not approach, but rather motioned her to the free seat facing his desk, next to those occupied by Rhiannon and Avery, who had also risen to greet their guest.
Rhiannon noted that the new arrival appeared rather taken aback when she looked their way, and turning about she saw Avery was still sporting his wings. ‘My Lord.’ She nudged him and indicated to the point of contention between his shoulder blades.
‘Whoops.’ Avery immediately assumed a fully human form. ‘Sorry, I forgot I had them out.’
Jazmay cracked a smile, she couldn’t help it; she’d never walked freely among so many psychics at once, nor been regarded so politely — it was liberating. ‘Don’t apologise,’ Jazmay replied — as a shape-shifter she was full of admiration. ‘I have always wanted to see if I could sprout wings and fly.’
‘You can, and so much more!’ Avery assured before they’d even been introduced.
‘How do you know?’ She was confused by the positive energy these men exuded.
‘Because I am the Lord of the Otherworld —’ Avery bowed to her, ‘— and I know everything.’
‘Otherworld?’ she queried, having never heard of such a place.
‘It is the realm of super nature, where elementals reside,’ Avery explained.
‘Whoa.’ Jazmay was wide-eyed, she’d never thought to be intrigued by life again, but she felt like a child among real adults — for a change.
‘Jazmay.’ Robin used first names to make this meeting as informal and relaxed as possible, and merely motioned to those present, who nodded in greeting. ‘This is our Governor, Rhun. His sister and head of our environmental protection agency, Rhiannon, and their brother, Avery, whom, as already stated, sees to Otherworldly affairs —’
‘— such as the mysterious appearance of your planet in our universe,’ Avery concluded, and Jazmay gasped.
‘You know about Maladaan?’ she asked, and then wanted to hit herself. ‘Of course you do, you —’
‘— know everything,’ Avery echoed his prior claim with a grin.
‘That was a very hostile attack your people made on you this morning.’ Rhun took a seat, and motioned for everyone to do the same.
Normally Jazmay would have insisted on standing to defend herself, but she lowered herself to a seat to be polite — she’d never been polite! ‘Maladaan is not my home planet and therefore they are not my people. I was captured by the MSS while on a covert mission for my government and have been imprisoned on Maladaan for four years. I escaped during a power outage and stole an MSS aircraft to fly Fari and myself out of there … Vadik invited himself along. I had planned on heading straight to Phemoria but … surprise, surprise, there was no inter-system gateway, no anything that I recognised. So I headed off around the sun, hoping to find a deep space vessel or a port —’
‘And you found us,’ Robin concluded happily. ‘Are the MSS always so brutal when trapping escapees?’
‘Vadik, the hurricane, was the most notorious of us … psychics,’ she explained. ‘The MSS would have been looking for an excuse to exterminate him, and today they got it. I did not know him well,’ she continued before her hosts began offering their sympathies.
Rhun was deep in thought at this point, but surfaced from his contemplation to reassure Jazmay. ‘I am granting you asylum here on Kila. Rhiannon and Robin will see you and the boy to some living quarters here in the central city.’
Jazmay was completely overwhelmed; she’d been expecting to be thrown in jail, or interrogated at least! ‘I … I am stunned, sir. You are very gracious.’
‘I may need to consult with you once I make contact with Maladaan. Would you be agreeable to that arrangement?’ Rhun wanted Jazmay to know that board here was not entirely free.
‘I would find that greatly preferable to being tortured for information, Governor, which is how it would be done on Maladaan,’ Jazmay concurred.
‘Do you have wilful control of your power?’ Rhun asked and Jazmay nodded.
‘It is my choice whose identity I steal,’ she confessed. ‘I can make skin contact without incident.’
‘I think it goes without saying that I would prefer you did not steal the DNA blueprints of any of my people, as that would be considered treason,’ Rhun added, ever so politely.
‘The MSS could learn a lot from your style of management,’ Jazmay said, ‘and yes, that does seem to go without saying, thank you.’
‘I’ll get you settled in.’ Rhiannon could tell her brother was ready to wind up this meeting.
‘What will you tell the MSS?’ Jazmay wondered out loud. ‘They will want us back.’
‘Then they shall have to get past Kila’s defences first,’ Rhun assured her. ‘And I will consider any attempt to retrieve you an act of war.’
‘You would start a war over two strangers, branded criminals … are you mad?’
‘Just cocky.’ Avery added his view on his brother’s stance.
‘There will be no war. You have committed no crime against my people, have you?’ the governor queried her, and she shook her head. ‘Then enjoy your freedom, Jazmay, and let us worry about the MSS.’ Rhun stood, and everyone else in the room followed suit.
Jazmay couldn’t wipe the smile off her face; being around people who were so polite was a little nerve-racking, she didn’t know how to react. She feared it was all an act that would come to some horrible end. Still, she was so at ease in their company that she knew in her gut that these amazing people were for real. ‘We shall savour every second, Governor,’ she assured him. ‘Thank you, all of you.’
Rhiannon and Robin led Jazmay back out of the office, and as they passed through Sybil’s reception area Robin excused himself.
‘I’ll see you back at base.’ He waved to Rhiannon. ‘I hope you enjoy your new home, Jazmay.’
Jazmay hazarded a smile in response to his fair tidings, whereupon Robin vanished and before Jazmay turned back to follow her remaining guide, Sybil rose from her desk to advise Jazmay, ‘Don’t be alarmed.’
‘By what?’ Jazmay queried and Sybil pointed down the corridor, where there were a couple of the local men herding a group of MSS agents towards the governor’s office. Despite the warning, Jazmay’s automatic reaction was to panic, until she noted that none of the MSS agents even registered her presence; she looked back to Sybil for an explanation.
‘See?’ said Sybil. ‘We have everything under control.’ She moved to greet the younger and fairer of the local men, who turned out to be the governor’s son, Asher.
The other local fellow locked eyes with Rhiannon. ‘Excuse us,’ he requested of Jazmay, ‘the vice-governor really needs to speak to his head of environmental protection.’
‘I know what’s on your mind and it has nothing to do with conversation.’ Rhiannon took great delight in side-stepping the vice-governor’s delay.
‘But as vice-governor I outrank you now.’ He reached out and touched one of her fingertips and this was enough to turn her around and regain her full attention. The look of adoration that passed between the pair told Jazmay that they were lovers.
The vice-governor was taller than the governor with hair just as dark, but his locks curled like Jahan’s. He certainly appeared a fit fellow and more of a warrior figure than any of the Chosen that Jazmay had met thus far.
‘As chief justice you outranked me before,’ Rhiannon teased, ‘and that didn’t aid you to exert your will over me.’ She let her touch slip and walked on.
The vice-governor glanced ahead and noted his party entering the governor’s office. ‘See you at lunch?’
Rhiannon looked back with a large smile on her face. ‘You certainly will.’
The vice-governor was overjoyed by this news and delayed his entry to the governor’s office to watch Rhiannon walk down the corridor.
As Jazmay moved past him to follow her guide, the vice-governor snapped out of his daze, and smiled briefly as he moved on to his duties. Jazmay was a little stunned by this as most men would at least do a double-take when they saw her, but she may as well not have been in the room.
‘What next?’ Avery looked to Rhun, who motioned towards the door.
Sybil entered to announce, ‘Asher and Cadwallon are here with the hostiles that attacked our KEPA operatives this morning.’
‘Show them in,’ Rhun said, as he came around his desk to make ready to greet his son, Asher, and Vice-Governor Cadwallon, Rhun’s lifelong best friend.
The looks of the Dragon line ran stronger in Cadwallon than in Asher, who had inherited Sybil’s fair colouring and her magnificent blue eyes. Still, like Rhun, Asher was not exceedingly tall for one of his clan, but was just as good-looking, smart and confident as the rest of his kindred.
The governor was rather surprised when he noted his chief justice and his head of defence had restrained their captive pilots with outlawed Nerguz modules, which relinquished the will of the prisoner to whomever had locked the module onto their wrist.
‘Gentlemen.’ He embraced his son and then shook Cadwallon’s hand. ‘These measures seem a little extreme?’ He gestured to their four prisoners, who stood in a nice neat line just as their captors would have it.
‘They forced our hand,’ Asher defended light-heartedly. ‘When they worked out they couldn’t kill us, they tried to take their own lives and we couldn’t have that.’
‘What are those?’ Rhun motioned to another electronic brace around their ankles.
‘They call them psychic wave neutralisers.’ Cadwallon had already queried this. ‘Apparently they scramble your magnetic field and this renders any psychic talent useless.’
Now Rhun was very confused. ‘So you are psychics who are hunting other psychics?’
All four men appeared ashamed and when none spoke up Cadwallon exerted his will over the prisoners. ‘Answer the governor.’
‘If we do not hunt, then we become the hunted ourselves,’ one explained spitefully.
Rhun raised both eyesbrows in response, sympathising with their dilemma, ‘Well, I can offer you asylum, which you might find preferable to suicide or self-repression.’
‘In exchange for what?’ queried the squad commander.
‘Your loyalty and information about your association with the MSS,’ Rhun replied.
‘And if we refuse?’
‘We’ll send you back home,’ Rhun replied.
‘Alive?’ the agent clarified, thinking there must be a catch.
‘Just as you are now,’ Rhun assured — it was a long time since he’d met people so fearful and suspicious. ‘But your weapons systems will be immobilised for your flight home, so you can cause no more damage to Kila.’
‘And if we stay we would have psychic freedom?’ The agent had noted that his hosts were not shy about showing off their own talents.
‘My good man —’ Rhun had to smile, ‘— provided you use your gifts for the greater good of all, we shall help you develop your skills.’
The agent seemed well-disposed towards the offer.
‘We’ll give you a moment to consult.’ Rhun and his officials put a little space between themselves and their captives.
As they waited for the men to decide their fate, Avery noted the thought band recorder sitting upon the governor’s desk. ‘What’s this?’
‘Kestler’s memories of before he landed here,’ Rhun answered.
Avery took the band in hand. ‘May I?’ he requested.
‘Go right ahead,’ Rhun encouraged, nodding. ‘I haven’t had time to view it yet.’
Avery found himself a quiet corner and, taking a seat, he placed the thought recorder on his head to absorb the information.
When the captured operatives returned to their line formation, the squad commander announced, ‘Three of us would like to accept your offer of asylum, but Juna here —’ he motioned to the youngest of the captives, ‘— has family on Maladaan and so he feels he must return for their sake.’
‘I see.’ Rhun considered this might be fortunate. ‘Well, Juna, you are still welcome to take up the offer, which I can extend to your family. For if I were to charge you with taking a message to your superiors, perhaps you might come up with the means to bring your family back with you when you return to Kila with Maladaan’s response?’
Juna, who had been frowning, smiled upon being offered a solution to his problem. ‘I feel sure I could, Governor.’
Rhun was pleased. ‘That’s settled then —’
‘Actually, I have a better idea,’ Avery spoke up, having learnt a thing or two from the thought band recorder he now held in his hand. ‘Let me go with our young friend here, as I can speed things up somewhat, talk to his people on your behalf and ensure that he gets his family out safely.’
‘You have a target then?’ Rhun assumed Avery had seen someone worth questioning in regard to the Maladaan situation while viewing Kestler’s thoughts.
Avery named his target. ‘Zelimir Ronan.’
‘That’s the Chief of the MSS,’ the squad commander confirmed, marvelling at their speed and means of obtaining information. ‘You guys are elite.’
‘And they haven’t even tortured anyone,’ Juna noted and then thought to add, ‘yet.’
‘They don’t need to,’ the squad commander summed up, and Rhun nodded to agree this was quite true.
‘I have also granted asylum to Jazmay Cardea and Fari Doon,’ he advised them all, which amazed their captives yet again. ‘Will any of you gentlemen have a problem respecting their peace and freedom?’
‘No, Governor,’ said the squad commander, ‘for their defiance of the MSS, they are secretly admired by all psychics … they may have a problem with us, however.’
‘I shall ensure Miss Cardea is advised about this arrangement and your respectful intentions,’ Rhun concluded with a clap of his hands. ‘That’s settled then?’ The governor looked to Avery to see he had nothing further to add, to his other associates, and lastly to their new recruits, who all waved in decline. ‘Wonderful, let’s eat.’
The squad commander was amused by this. ‘I’d pictured a lot of things that you might be doing to us this afternoon, but taking us to lunch wasn’t one of them.’
‘Reality is only what you dreamt was possible yesterday,’ Rhun replied. ‘Have you all not dreamt of a world where psychic talent is not chastised, but encouraged?’
All four men smiled as they nodded to admit this was true.
‘There you go, and here you are,’ the governor concluded, motioning to the balcony where lunch was to be served, and all were happy to follow his direction. ‘Oh, and Asher —’ Rhun gained his son’s full attention, ‘— I think we can do without all those restraining devices.’
‘Sure thing,’ Asher agreed, causing both the Nerguz modules and the MSS restraining devices to fall from their prisoners’ wrists and ankles. The captives all froze a moment in disbelief, and were amazed as they retrieved the defunct modules from the floor.
‘All hail the Governor,’ said the squad commander, whereupon his men replied with an ‘all hail,’ and, crossing one arm across their chests, they bowed to Rhun.
Rhun had not seen this kind of devotion since he was High King in ancient Britain; his kindred were much more casual, but he graciously accepted their praise. ‘You are all most welcome. Now, go and eat, that’s an order.’
‘Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!’ They all filed out onto the veranda.
Sybil entered the office upon foreseeing Rhun needed to speak with her, although she already knew what his request was. ‘I’ll have Rhiannon escort Miss Cardea and Master Doon to lunch with you, as soon as they have refreshed themselves.’
Rhun smiled, pleased that she was always one step ahead of him. ‘Have I told you today?’
Sybil approached and kissed her husband. ‘You don’t have to, I know you know I’m the best.’ She slipped away from him, but he was reluctant to let her depart.
‘I’m truly amazed that any work gets done in this office,’ commented Cadwallon from the doorway. ‘Which reminds me, I have other plans for lunch.’
‘Of course you do.’ Rhun held up a finger to waylay his vice-governor and released Sybil to get her opinion. ‘We are sending Avery to speak with our new neighbours.’
Sybil dwelt on this a moment and then smiled. ‘If he plans to strike the fear of God into these people, it might interest him to know they have no concept of what God is.’
‘None?’ Rhun’s mind boggled. ‘So what do they believe in?’
‘Science,’ Sybil said. ‘Hence their fear of all things psychic and unexplainable. These people wouldn’t know the difference between a Grigorian angel and a conjuring hag … so only the Goddess knows what they will make of Avery. But next to you and our good vice-governor,’ Sybil smiled at Cadwallon, still awaiting Rhun’s leave at the door, ‘Avery is the best of us, and can be very persuasive and charming when he wants to be … I believe the Lord of the Otherworld will make the right impression to keep the peace.’
Sybil’s nod was good enough for the governor and his second in command.
When Jazmay saw her beautifully appointed apartment, she was too overwhelmed to explore it straightaway, yet Fari was quick to run about and investigate. ‘Are you sure you don’t have our accommodation confused with that of some visiting dignitary?’ Jazmay inquired of Rhiannon.
‘No,’ Rhiannon replied with a grin, ‘a visiting dignitary is exactly what you are now … or did you misunderstand our governor’s proposal?’
Jazmay gave a shy smile and shook her head, venturing towards the lounge room that had double doors on the far wall. ‘I am just stunned by your hospitality.’
‘Jaz, Jaz, there’s a small pool in our bathroom!’ Fari cried with excitement from another room, which delayed Jazmay from opening the doors before her. Hearing a large splash, she winced at her flatmate’s lack of decorum.
‘It can get rather hot in Chailida in the summer.’ Rhiannon dismissed Jazmay’s frown with her cheery explanation. ‘And it is much easier on the water supply, from both a consumption and pollution viewpoint.’ Rhiannon passed Jazmay without stopping to open the double doors, which vanished to reveal a balcony with a splendid view of a grand central garden in full bloom.
Jazmay gasped at the technology and then the view as she beheld the majesty of the city.
‘We hope you’ll be happy here,’ Rhiannon concluded, admiring the view herself. The large smile on her face was a firm indication that she was certainly happy here.
‘Well everyone else on Kila seems to be … you especially,’ Jazmay ventured. ‘The vice-governor is very smitten with you, I think.’
Rhiannon gave half a laugh to confirm this. ‘Yes, he is … and so he should be, as he has been my husband for over a century!’
‘No.’ Jazmay was surprised to hear this. ‘In my experience only young lovers regard each other with such intense affection; how have you kept your marriage so vibrant for so long?’
‘Cadwallon is more than just my husband, or my lover … he is my soul-mate,’ Rhiannon explained, but Jazmay only frowned. ‘He’s my male split-apart, twin-flame, my Chosen other.’ Rhiannon tried other terminology but Jazmay was still perplexed.
‘What is a soul?’ Jazmay struggled to understand and the question took Rhiannon totally by surprise.
‘Oh dear, that’s a rather expansive question.’ Rhiannon moved to take a seat and invited Jazmay to do the same. Jazmay complied quickly, curious to be more informed as the Chosen obviously had far more knowledge of the cosmos than any civilisation Jazmay had previously come into contact with. ‘We Chosen understand the soul to be the neutral centre within our bodies through which consciousness passes. It is a vehicle for your higher consciousness, or spirit, to work through … much as this physical body is only a vehicle for your soul, which in turn carries all the creativity, talent, knowledge and emotions that your higher self has accumulated over its many lives lived within the multiverse. Your soul is that part of you that is deathless and immortal, that keeps you connected with all there is.’
‘But if you have this wonderful connection with all there is, what do you need a male soul-mate for?’ The way Jazmay asked the question made it very clear she was not well-disposed towards men.
‘Ah, well …’ Rhiannon held up a finger to stress this was important. ‘To understand that, you need to know a little more about the journey of spirit into matter, and in order to explain that, I’ll need to enter your mind, if that is agreeable to you.’
Jazmay was wary, but intrigued by the proposal. ‘You have my permission.’
‘Then close your eyes and relax,’ Rhiannon instructed, and when Jazmay conformed, Rhiannon began to telepathically convey her cosmology lesson.
In her mind’s eye Jazmay saw a bright circular rainbow, which appeared not unlike a galaxy spiralling outward. White at the centre, the rainbow progressed through many shades of sparkling colours into indigo, violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and then at the edges all colour faded into darkness. As Jazmay’s consciousness was swept down into the white centre of the circular mass, Rhiannon said, ‘In the beginning there is the Logos, the source of all cosmic light which is the eternal fire, that is to our spirit what sunlight is to our physical being.’
Once inside the calming, harmonious white centre, Jazmay heard a beautiful, high-pitched note coming from behind her.
‘Through sonic vibration cosmic light penetrates into darkness …’
The celestial note created a wave and on the crest of this Jazmay’s consciousness was pushed outward, the white light around her shattering into sparkling silver and black.
‘… and the Logos forged its way through many levels of awareness still unfathomable to us.’
Jazmay’s surrounds turned deep sparkling blue, then pure silver, gold and finally violet.
‘And it is here that our understanding of the scheme of the soul begins, where cosmic light creates space, by separating into many different pockets of creative consciousness, all working in cooperation to create the multiverse.’
Jazmay’s consciousness was drawn upwards to see that she was now, in fact, within only one of billions of spiralling universes.
‘Galaxies within universes, stars and planets within them …’
Jazmay’s perception returned to her individual spiralling universe, where galaxies, stars and planets abounded.
‘Atoms within molecules, protons and neutrons within them, from the macrocosm to the microcosm, we are the same.’
The galaxy before Jazmay grew and expanded around her until her perception had increased to the point where she could perceive the molecular world of cosmic light particles that bound everything together, and it was a wonder to behold, for it appeared just like a small universe.
‘Our soul group continues to expand and divide into smaller groups of consciousness, still working in cooperation to explore creation, each one step closer to physical manifestation, each more and more specialised to one area of the multiverse, yet all still in contact with our cosmic soul source through our higher soul group connections.’
‘Yes. I see,’ Jazmay whispered, in awe of her comprehension.
‘But in order to fully merge with our creation, spirit must form bodies to withstand the various planes of awareness it must pass through to reach the lowest sonic vibration that is physical manifestation. From the divine architect that is our soul-mind we split into the silent watchers to oversee our creations.’
The molecules around Jazmay were attracted to her as her consciousness again expanded and she saw herself as a formless light being, observing a small portion of a universe — at least, it seemed tiny in comparison to her awareness.
‘As silent watchers we are still purely observers. We form lower causal bodies to act as a conduit between us and the many consciousnesses that will split from us and stream further into matter.’
Jazmay felt her consciousness splinter apart but her awareness stayed with just one fragment of her previous self, infinitely smaller than her silent watcher, but no longer formless; there was a vague human shape to her celestial being.
‘These lower causal beings are known to us as the Grigori. Neither male nor female, but through the experiences of their incarnations here in the physical universes they have become the perfect blend of both. We chose to split our soul-mind to such a polarity as it was the ultimate separation and only through cooperation between man and woman could mankind as a whole survive.’
Again Jazmay felt her awareness split in two, and she remained with just a female consciousness, yet she felt another presence moving down through awareness alongside her.
‘This split half of us has shared the scary journey down through the planes of evolution, forming a mental body, an emotional body and finally physical form in which to experience many lives and lessons in time, space and reality with us. And, along with the rest of our soul group, that soul-mate will share the journey back to our soul source again.’
Up until this point, Jazmay had been really enjoying the mental journey Rhiannon had taken her on. Still, as her female manifestation turned to meet her split-apart, Jazmay gasped on the shock of recognising him.
‘Men make my skin crawl.’ The Phemorian stood to break the spell Rhiannon had on her mind.
Rhiannon was clearly concerned by Jazmay’s adverse reaction, although not entirely surprised.
‘Not all loving couples are male and female,’ Jazmay protested the implication that she should ever fall in love with a man.
‘True,’ Rhiannon conceded, ‘even among the Chosen there are same-sex pairings, but it’s not due to the hatred of the other sex, but rather a greater love of their own. Hatred stems from fear and inside every fear is a secret wish, Jazmay.’
‘What is that supposed to mean?’ Jazmay placed her hands on her hips, annoyed, and yet she had to suppress her smile. ‘Why did you plant that image of your kinsman in my mind?’
Rhiannon, clearly perplexed, grinned. ‘Which one of my kinsmen would you be referring to?’
Jazmay blocked the image from her mind as Rhiannon was clearly a very good telepath. ‘Forget I mentioned it.’
Thankfully, Rhiannon was distracted by some other thought and respectfully requested that Jazmay hush. After a moment, Rhiannon emerged from her trance to advise, ‘Our governor has invited Fari and yourself to join him for lunch.’
Anything that got her away from this conversation was a welcome development. ‘We would be honoured.’ Jazmay breathed a silent sigh of relief.
In a closed meeting in the presidential office on Maladaan, Zelimir Ronan briefed his president on all the intelligence gathered on their planet’s unprecedented predicament and, quite frankly, the information raised more questions than it answered. Unfortunately for the chief of the MSS, he was not being blamed for what had transpired and so remained in charge of the investigation.
‘You were following Khalid Mansur’s instructions, so I’d say the United Systems Secret Service has a lot to answer for, once we re-establish communications with the US,’ President Woodford Tallak stated at last. He was no longer a young man and it seemed that he hadn’t entirely grasped what he’d been told; he was too focused on trying to separate himself from any blame to realise that there was no authority higher than himself any more.
‘That was my conclusion also, President Tallak, but with all due respect, if our planet has been displaced in space and time as we suspect, chances are we will never re-establish contact with the US.’ Ronan tried to nudge the near catatonic leader back towards reality, although he had to admit he was still having difficulty wrapping his head around their predicament himself. ‘What we need to do is establish a line of communication with the planet that has taken our craft captive and find out what their intentions are.’
The president, although overwhelmed by the situation, nodded. ‘You are right, we need —’ Tallak’s eyes became fixed on a spot behind Ronan and he paled in fear.
The chief turned quickly to find one of his lost agents and another young man, strangely clad in trousers, a vest and little else — not even shoes — had somehow found their way into the closed meeting.
‘MSS Agent Juna reporting.’ Juna stepped forward to address Ronan directly. ‘With an envoy from planet Kila, who wishes to speak with you, Chief … Mr President.’ Juna acknowledged them both and stepped back to a place beside the envoy.
‘I am Avery,’ said the tall, fair stranger. ‘I am Lord of the Otherworld and brother to the Governor of Kila. I speak on his behalf, as ruler of Kila and of all the planets within the inter-planetary alliance, to welcome Maladaan to our solar system, Esh-mah, which, in the tongue of the Ancients who first named our system, means, “the divine inside place”.’
Ronan was in utter shock for a moment: did this stranger know something about what had happened to Maladaan? The being’s aura was utterly bedazzling and extended way beyond that of anyone else around him. There were no dark patches on his glistening silver light-body which appeared to have large wings sprouting from between the shoulder blades — these would not have been noted by the naked eye — perhaps he was a shape-shifter?
‘How did you get in here?’ The president was beside himself with fear. ‘Psychism,’ he accused with disdain.
‘Please, Mr President, calm down,’ Ronan appealed — if this man had knowledge of their predicament then he was a godsend, psychic or no.
The look on his president’s face was sinister.
Ronan knew there was a silent alarm beneath the president’s desk and the envoy could well be an impostor — Cardea, the shape-shifting Phemorian, could assume any form — so Ronan knew his appeal for restraint would fall on deaf ears.
The double doors to the president’s office swung open and two armed agents opened fire upon the intruders.
Ronan gasped as the bullets halted in midair and froze, as if imbedded in an invisible wall, several feet in front of the stranger and Agent Juna, separating them from the gunmen. When the agents stopped firing, the suspended bullets all dropped to the floor at once.
‘Seriously.’ The envoy from Kila turned to the mystified president and Ronan, refraining from laughing as he shook his head. ‘I am immortal and a psychic …’
The news was utterly shocking to Ronan and his president, but instead of inciting hatred and fear in Ronan, as such news normally would, the chief felt a glimmer of hope for Maladaan and himself.
‘… so killing me because you fear I might do you harm, isn’t really an option.’ With a flick of his wrist, their visitor closed the exit doors and locked the gunmen out. ‘You’re just going to have to trust me.’
‘What do you want?’ The president sank back into his seat, as if to distance himself from the intruder as much as possible.
‘An excellent question,’ the envoy from Kila said. ‘I am here to assure you that your agents and your two surviving prisoners have been picked up by our authorities and are in fine health, as Agent Juna can confirm.’
‘I confirm.’ Juna grinned, greatly enjoying seeing his president and the chief of the MSS put in their place. ‘Actually, I’d say we are in better shape than when we left Maladaan.’ He referred to his liberated ankle.
‘My governor has offered your people asylum and all have accepted,’ the barefooted envoy was happy to advise.
‘How do we know you haven’t killed them all and brainwashed him!’ Ronan found it difficult to believe that his agents had been turned from their duty so easily.
‘You can see for yourself.’ Kila’s envoy referred him to Agent Juna, who used the communicator on his wristband to request an audio-visual chat with his commander.
‘Commander, the chief would like a word,’ Juno advised before extending his arm towards the chief.
On the small screen Ronan perceived his agents enjoying a lavish lunch with some citizens of Kila. ‘Commander, I order you to return to base at once!’ The chief was outraged by the scene.
‘Sorry, Chief.’ The commander grinned. ‘The truth is I never wanted to be an ordinary person —’
‘Hear, hear!’ His men cut him off as they cheered.
There were a couple of other people seated at the table with his men that Ronan recognised. ‘Are those the prisoners Cardea and Doon there with you?’ the chief queried, shocked beyond belief, as the escapees waved at him.
‘They are not prisoners here, Ronan,’ replied the commander, ‘and neither are we, you son-of-a—’
Avery passed his hand over Agent Juna’s wristband to end the communication before it turned nasty.
‘They will betray your kindness, sir,’ Ronan warned.
‘Then they will lose the liberties that have been awarded them, and I don’t think they are willing to risk that,’ the envoy from Kila reasoned, ‘our capital city, Chailida, is very inviting.’
‘Are the rest of your people like you?’ President Tallak asked.
‘If you mean, are they immortal and psychic then, yes, all are like me.’ The envoy made that perfectly clear. ‘So if you have a mind to covet our fair planet, think again: our psychic expertise, esoteric knowledge and technological capabilities far exceed your own. I am here to help you; I have already helped you by finding a galaxy similar to your own in which your planet may reside until such time as we figure out how to return it to its rightful universe and system.’
Ronan was shocked to the core by the envoy’s words. ‘You had something to do with the misplacement?’
‘Oh no …’ the young visitor said with a cheeky air.
He was reading Ronan’s mind, the chief was sure of it.
‘Your planet was ripped from its rightful place in the universal scheme, when your people —’ the stranger pointed directly at Ronan, certain of his involvement, ‘— entrapped part of an arupa-deva that was in the process of making a quantum jump from one universal scheme to another. Because this being was physically attached to your planet at the time, Maladaan was dragged through the fabric of time and space into this universe, leaving a gaping tear between the two.’
‘Are you saying that gas sample was a being of some sort?’ Ronan was intrigued.
‘A very advanced being,’ their visitor emphasised. ‘Kestler warned you that the gas may have been drawing energy from a larger entity.’ The envoy raised both eyebrows in conclusion.
How did he know so much? ‘You’ve spoken with Kestler,’ Ronan concluded.
‘He disclosed his memory of events to us, yes,’ Kila’s representative clarified.
Although Ronan had never trusted anyone in his life, the Governor of Kila had pardoned psychics, criminal and soldier alike, and now that Ronan was displaying psychic talent he was no longer safe on Maladaan; he needed a good excuse to meet with Kila’s governor.
The president was not convinced and scoffed out loud. ‘With such psychic expertise and technological capability as you claim to have, it seems far more likely that this whole catastrophe is nothing but a mass hallucination you are employing in a bid to seize our fine planet.’
The envoy from Kila was amused by the accusation. ‘Your fine planet?’ He contained his amusement. ‘Your fine planet is nothing but a mass of steel construction over a resource-exhausted dead skeleton of a globe, choked by pollution. What would Kila stand to gain from the acquisition besides a few billion more mouths to feed?’
Ronan had to stifle his own amusement as the envoy was absolutely right. ‘So you think it may be possible to rectify our planet’s displacement?’
‘In my experience, there is nothing that has been done that cannot be undone,’ Avery replied. ‘Given some time to investigate, I believe a solution will be forthcoming. Until then, as you are so resource-exhausted, Maladaan is going to need aid to feed your people and other supplies to keep your planet operating as normally as possible; Kila can help with this.’
‘You still have not mentioned what you desire in return?’ The president, although wary, was warming towards their visitor who was offering the information and answers that he needed to calm Maladaan’s confused masses.
‘We require you to refrain from all hostility,’ the envoy began. ‘If any of your spacecraft approach Kila without the express permission of our governor, it shall not reflect well on Maladaan. Kila’s interplanetary alliance is six planets strong and our allies will not take kindly to having their capital threatened. The primary objective of our governor’s council is to keep the peace, and keep the peace we shall.’
The president realised the offer was rather generous. ‘And Kila would award Maladaan the same courtesy … no popping in and out unannounced?’
As the envoy saw the humour in the president’s comeback and assured President Tallak that all arrivals from Kila would be announced in future, Ronan could hardly believe the diplomacy skills of the visiting dignitary. True, they really had little choice but to trust his word, but Ronan felt the great weight of what had happened lift from his shoulders and he felt sure his president felt the same way.
‘I shall depart,’ the envoy from Kila concluded. ‘It may take some time to figure out how to get your planet home, but I can at least assure you it will not perish before we can find a solution. I shall use Agent Juna’s communicator to keep in contact.’
‘And when shall we have the honour of making your governor’s acquaintance?’ Tallak inquired.
‘If you would like to travel to Kila …’ the envoy suggested.
‘Not I.’ The president was very uncomfortable with that idea.
‘Allow me, Mr President.’ Ronan snatched up the opportunity he’d been hoping for.
‘No,’ Juna spoke out of turn to advise Kila’s envoy. ‘He is the evilest of men.’
‘I understand your apprehension, Juna,’ the Lord disagreed, ever so politely, ‘but I believe Chief Ronan is seeing things very differently now.’
The comment near winded Ronan with the truth of it, and then the envoy from Kila turned his striking amber eyes the chief’s way and winked at him. He must be telepathic, Ronan concluded, for he had told no one of his visual affliction.
‘I shall inform my governor to expect guests.’ The envoy backed up towards Agent Juna.
President Tallak stood and bowed his head to the envoy. ‘I apologise for my initial scepticism, Lord Avery. Please tell your governor that he is most generous … the citizens of Maladaan are greatly in his debt.’
‘I shall do as you ask. Peace be with you, brothers.’ The envoy gripped Agent Juna around the wrist and promptly vanished with him, leaving the president and the chief gaping in awe.
‘Well, that seems to explain how they got in,’ mumbled the chief at last.
‘We must make them our allies,’ the president decided resolutely. ‘With them as our enemies we would be safe nowhere!’
‘Understood.’ Ronan made a move for the door. ‘I’ll sleep en route.’
‘You do plan on coming back, don’t you, Ronan?’ Tallak waylaid the chief, wary that everyone who had set foot on Kila had defected.
‘Are you kidding?’ Ronan recaptured some of his old gusto. ‘This place would fucking fall apart without me!’
The president seemed reassured by his outburst.
‘I’ll leave Norward in charge,’ Ronan grumbled, ‘but I’ll take my acting science advisor, Dacre, and see if we can find some answers.’
‘I’ll look forward to your report.’ The president dismissed the chief.
Ronan strolled out of the presidential office and then made a beeline for a suitable transport and some much-needed sleep.
Zelimir Ronan awoke with a start, to find his science advisor leaning over him with a cup of coffee.
‘We’re nearly there, Chief.’ Dacre placed the coffee cup in the appropriate inset in the table in front of Ronan.
‘We can’t be nearly there,’ Ronan protested, as the trip to Kila was estimated to take nearly a full day, Maladaan time.
‘You must have needed the sleep,’ the young scientist advised, ‘I know I did.’ He took the seat beside the chief and was silent a few moments. ‘I’ve been feeling a little strange since that blast,’ he commented and Ronan was interested to hear this.
‘Define strange?’ he requested.
Dacre became defensive. ‘I’m fine, really. I’ve just had vivid dreams, that’s all.’
Ronan sighed, realising that as he was head of the MSS, there wasn’t a person alive who would admit to being psychic in his presence, any more than he would admit to having a psychic talent himself. As he didn’t want to distress his science advisor, Ronan changed the subject. ‘Have we made contact with Chailida?’
‘Yes, Chief, we are to be met by Lord Avery upon arrival,’ the lad advised, becoming lost in a daydream. ‘Pretty place,’ Telmo stated and then, snapping out of his daze, he turned to view the aquamarine planet they were approaching to add, ‘I imagine. Are you not apprehensive of walking among so many psychics, Chief? Being that we are defenceless against them?’
Ronan swallowed hard on fifty years of guilt. ‘There comes a time when every man must face his fears and hope for the best.’ He looked aside to Dacre. ‘You seem almost excited.’ The chief felt his new science advisor had more balls than he’d given him credit for.
‘I’m a naturally optimistic person,’ Telmo forced a grin.
The lad’s auric body was extremely clear compared to most in the MSS, Ronan noted on the quiet. ‘Perhaps I should try that some time?’ Ronan reached for the coffee, although his heart was already racing.
What if he was walking straight into a trap? Those who had defected to Kila already certainly held no love for him. The chief sipped at the coffee, considering what the Governor of Kila might have been told of him already and his heart beat faster still. This is pure fear. Zelimir recognised it, although he had not allowed himself to feel it for a long, long time. But now, as he sought mercy himself, all the wrong he’d done by others came flooding back to haunt him. All the emotions he should have felt in every single one of those merciless instances overpowered him at once and he was helpless to stop the explosion of feeling that filled his long-hollow chest. The pain shot up from his heart and wedged in his throat, where he tried to contain it and push it back down. But the regret burned and built to a point that he had to release the evil energy ball or suffocate on the blockage. The pain shot up into his head where it lodged behind his eyes and they moistened with tears. No, this is unacceptable. I am the Chief of the Maladaan Secret Service and I do not cry! Ronan attempted to stop the memories and the tears and pull himself together. He pushed the pain back down through his throat, which sent shooting pain down his left arm and he began to choke once more.
‘Chief?’ Dacre seemed to be yelling to him from some distance away. ‘Are you okay?’
Ronan nodded in response, and focused on pushing the pain down into his chest. The pressure of a lifetime of evil deeds proved too much for his unhealthy heart to take and it stopped dead.
All Zelimir Ronan’s physical senses fell away one by one; his hearing was the last to go. Ronan’s perception of the world soared upwards to where he could see poor Agent Dacre apply emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation while alerting the rest of their diplomatic envoy to the fact their leader had had a heart attack. Ronan’s personal bodyguards were looking over his lifeless carcass shaking their heads as Dacre gave up the fight to bring Ronan back.
Where do you think you’re going?
Ronan’s perception shifted to one side where he was stunned to find Lord Avery. Am I dead?
Not for long. The Lord beckoned with his finger for Ronan to accompany him back down closer to his abandoned form. Your death would prove a political nightmare, so I fear I cannot allow it just yet.
As Ronan was drawn, through no will of his own, back towards his decrepit form, his base human emotions began to surface, like resentment. Who are you that you can deny a man a peaceful demise?
I told you, I am the Lord of the Otherworld. The roguish being grinned. You just never bothered to inquire as to what that meant.
Ronan’s consciousness was expanding rapidly with the revelation that firstly, there was a life after death and secondly, that this being could co-exist in both the world of the deceased and the world of the living. I find this completely perplexing.
Hold that thought … I’ll explain everything when you get back. The Otherworldly Lord directed Ronan towards his defunct form and the chief’s perception hurtled towards his earthly body and into an unconscious state.
It was not easy to be in the shoes of Telmo Dacre at this precise moment. He was scarcely able to breathe for the fear of now being the main envoy on this maiden political visit to an alien planet. He’d been excited when he’d had Chief Ronan to hide behind; now the only advisors he had were two complete meatheads and the flight crew.
‘We have landed,’ the bodyguard prompted Dacre, and handed him Ronan’s communication watch, the call-code of which was known to President Tallak and their contact on Kila. ‘You’d best get out there and greet our hosts.’
Telmo held a hand up to buy a moment and took a deep breath. ‘I am good,’ he decided and moved to precede the bodyguards out the door of their spacecraft, just as the ground crew from Kila were unloading their chief onto a stretcher via the rear door.
‘Don’t be too concerned,’ said the tall, fair Lord who was waiting to greet Telmo as he disembarked. ‘He just needs a little time in our healing temple and he’ll recover.’
Telmo choked back both shock and laughter; shock that someone could recover from death and laughter at the thought of the ruthless Zelimir Ronan in a healing temple. ‘He’s not dead?’ He squeezed out the query. ‘I was sure he’d stopped breathing.’
‘Happily, for the both of us, that is not the case,’ Kila’s official assured Telmo and a massive weight lifted from the scientist’s shoulders.
‘Oh … thank goodness for that.’ Telmo’s relief came blurting out. Realising that he must not be making a very good impression, he calmed down and introduced himself. ‘I am Telmo Dacre, Chief Ronan’s science advisor.’ He looked into the Lord’s amber eyes and felt something stir deep within him.
‘I know who you are.’ The Lord smiled warmly in greeting. ‘Let’s see how long it takes for everybody else to work it out.’
‘Pardon?’ Telmo was enchanted by the Lord’s friendly air and took an instant liking to him.
The Lord winked, as if they were both party to a secret that Telmo didn’t understand, and then held out a hand in greeting, ‘I am Avery —’
‘Lord Avery.’ Telmo recognised the name as their contact on Kila.
The Lord laughed. ‘No, just Avery. Follow me, Telmo, and I’ll show you to the governor. It might be best for your companions to wait with the craft, however, as no weapons are permitted in our fair city.’
It was only now that Telmo even noticed how heavily the guards were armed; it would take ages for them to strip themselves of all their hardware and thus Dacre agreed they should wait with the craft.
Kila’s official led off and then, glancing back at Agent Dacre, he chuckled. ‘Wait until the governor sees you,’ the Lord uttered under his breath, as he led Dacre from the launch deck and indoors.
They entered a large airy departure lounge, containing a few seats and a bathroom. ‘This is the governor’s private landing pad,’ Avery explained as they crossed the splendid foyer towards another large set of glass double doors. The breathtaking garden beyond drew Telmo’s attention until the glass doors before them simply vanished as they approached.
Telmo, as a scientist, was fascinated and stopped inside the doorway to inspect where the doors had gone.
‘It’s particle manipulation, using a sonic trigger to excite the particles of the barrier into a heightened state of vibration, whereby they rise beyond their physical state into a higher plane of existence,’ Avery explained to the scientist.
‘Zero Point Field Technology,’ he mumbled.
‘That’s exactly right,’ Avery said.
‘Whoa …’ breathed Telmo, inspired.
There had been a scientist on Maladaan who had done some research into Zero Point Field Theory, which had fascinated Telmo as a student. Her name was Dr Taren Lennox and although her theories had not been very popular with mainstream academia on Maladaan, it seemed now that she was really onto something.
‘I must introduce you to our head technologist, Floyd,’ Avery stated, ‘I think you’d have a lot to discuss.’
‘Floyd,’ Telmo repeated the name and again he felt a distant memory stir.
An image flashed in his mind, of a blue-eyed, smiling fellow, who was seated before a large array of monitors. Then he saw the same fellow all dressed in a metal suit of armour, bloodied from battle. Then, in the next flash, the same man was in a temple, dressed in long white flowing robes that were girdled with brightly coloured sashes.
The scientist held his head, for the images were incredibly clear.
‘Starting to come back to you now, is it?’ Avery steadied the young man.
‘I’ve been having weird visions ever since the planetary shift happened,’ Telmo confessed, and then gasped on the regret of his openness.
‘Relax, Telmo,’ Avery insisted, ‘I know all about your memories.’
Again, Telmo gasped and took a step away from his host. ‘How could you know?’
‘I am the Lord of the Otherworld,’ Avery said, ‘it is my job to know everything.’
Telmo frowned in his disbelief, as the image of a completely different being filled his mind, along with a query. ‘What happened to Gwyn ap Nudd?’ he asked and then near choked on the shock of realising he did not understand why he’d asked the question. ‘Where did that come from?’
Avery laughed, he couldn’t help it, but he slapped a hand down on the young man’s shoulder to reassure him. ‘I assumed Gwyn ap Nudd’s duties after he ascended with the rest of his kin.’
Telmo was baffled; he didn’t understand the answer any more than he had the question. ‘I have no idea what we are talking about,’ he confessed meekly.
‘I know … but, given time, you will work it out.’ Avery smiled, and placing a hand about the young man’s shoulder, he began guiding him towards their destination, across the lovely gardens of the governor’s complex.
‘I’m psychic, aren’t I?’ Telmo asked as if it were a fatal diagnosis that his doctor was too scared to deliver.
‘As are we all,’ Avery announced grandly.
‘But what kind of psychic talent is this … random visions and utterings about events and people I don’t know anything about?’
‘You have a very great gift,’ Avery assured him, ‘it is what I like to term open akashic memory … a direct line into the universal consciousness of all that was and all that will be.’
Telmo stopped dead in his tracks.
‘Am I scaring you?’ Avery queried.
‘Um.’ Telmo couldn’t decide. ‘It’s a fine line between excitement and fear, don’t you find?’
Avery nodded to agree this was true. ‘But the great thing is that you get to choose which side of the line your energies will fall.’
This was turning out to be quite the day of revelation and tribulation for Telmo, but with a few deep breaths he found his smile. ‘I choose to be excited then.’
‘And so you should be,’ Avery agreed, leading through the colourful garden beds towards a grand curved building of unusual design.
This entire place was like somewhere Telmo had only visited in a dream. Kila was weaving her spell upon the young scientist and he already knew that he never wanted to leave.