Cursed

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Welcome,” it said. “To the Pillar of the Heart. How may I help you become one?”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Stavros disengaged hastily. Though he hated to pull out of Charlotte so quickly, he wasn’t completely sure that whoever was on the other side of the golden pillar was friendly. He wanted to be ready to defend his female if necessary and he couldn’t do that while he was still thrust balls-deep inside her.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, rising and pulling on his sleep trousers hastily. He had been under the impression that the Heart of Love was an inert artifact kept locked away in the golden pillar. So who in the Seven Hells was speaking?

  “It is I, T’dai al J’Lorgon,” the voice replied. “Come in and let us speak.”

  “Should we go in?” Charlotte was also scrambling to get dressed as the crack widened into a kind of doorway.

  Stavros nodded. “I think we should. But stay behind me.”

  He walked carefully through the glowing aperture and into the inner sanctum of the Heart of Love with Charlotte close behind him. As soon as his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he saw the source of the pinkish-golden glow.

  In the center of the room inside the Pillar of the Heart was a cleansing pool. As with the other pool he had seen, it appeared to be made of flowing, swirling liquid which he knew was actually plasma. But instead of turquoise, this plasma was a warm rose-gold. It rose in a vast, round, translucent column from the floor up into the darkness to some invisible ceiling above.

  The being who was speaking to them-- T’dai al J’Lorgon himself if he was to be believed—was standing in the center of this pink column and staring at them with ancient eyes. He was old—so old it was hard to tell what species he was though Stav knew he was supposed to be Syntharian. His skin was wrinkled and his hair and beard, which floated gently in the plasma, was pure, snowy white.

  “Greetings.” He bowed to them. “Forgive me for not leaving the healing plasma—it is all that keeps me alive.”

  “Of course.” Stavros bowed and Charlotte copied him. “It is an honor to meet you,” he said, straightening. “We did not know you still lived.”

  “I live…I live…” The old male made a cackling sound Stav assumed was a laugh. “Though mostly I sleep. In fact, if what the plasma is telling me is correct, I have been asleep for five hundred cycles this time. Your attempt at oneness is what woke me.”

  From the corner of his eye, Stavros could see Charlotte blushing.

  “We’re, uh, sorry if we woke you up from your nap,” she said, reaching down to straighten her robes which were on a bit crooked.

  “Not at all, not at all.” J’lorgan nodded genially. “I do not mind. I rise to the surface of wakefulness from time to time—mostly whenever a new couple attempts to achieve oneness together. But the two of you woke me completely. Truly, your love and desire for each other must be unquenchable to have brought me completely awake.”

  “Oh, uh…” Stavros cleared his throat, not sure what to say. It was true that he had foolishly declared his love for Charlotte right before the pillar split, but he was certain she didn’t feel anything for him. The old male must be confused about what had wakened him.

  “We’re here to learn about the Heart of Love,” Charlotte said at last, breaking the awkward silence. “We’ve heard so much about it. Where is it, please? Can we…could we see it?”

  “The Heart of Love?” To Stavros’s consternation, the old male burst out laughing. “Why, my dear—this is the heart—the center of the entire place.” He gestured around him, indicating the pink pillar of plasma.

  “Where?” Charlotte asked. “You don’t mean your pink and gold swimming pool, there do you?”

  “That is exactly what I mean. When I constructed this resort, many cycles before, I envisioned it with a place where couples could come together in the light of love and since this is the center or heart of the entire resort, it was called The Heart of Love.” He smiled. “Now, I, of course, am the mind. That is why it is called J’lorgan’s Mind. I am able to command and control all of it right here, from inside my plasma pool. Though I mostly leave it to others now.”

  “You might want to look into what kind of others you’re leaving it to,” Charlotte said tartly. “The Joined Ones in charge right now are sadistic assholes.”

  J’lorgan frowned.

  “Joined Ones—what do you mean? I left Ye’ha and Na’ho in charge—a loving pair of Hossans which I trained myself. Their oneness was almost complete which was why I felt confident enough to let myself slip into unconsciousness.” He sighed. “I am well over two thousand cycles old, after all, Such age weighs heavily on a male.”

  “Ye’ha and Na’ho have fused together into Ye’he’Na’ho. Facilitated, I think, by the other plasma pool—the cleansing pool,” Stavros told him. “They share a body and even their heads are conjoined though they still have separate faces. Their joining seems to have affected their minds.”

  “It’s made ‘em crazier than a couple of shit house rats,” Charlotte said bluntly. “They gave me licks with a fire whip for talking about the past and also put both of us in the Temple of Regrets.”

  “The Temple of what? There was no such place here at the resort the last time I was awake. And a fire whip? But I have never condoned any kind of corporal punishment! It is strictly against my beliefs!” J’lorgan was growing agitated. “Wait a moment,” he said, waving both hands excitedly. “Give me a moment to verify all you are saying.”

  Closing his eyes, he spread out both arms and floated upward, disappearing into the top of the vast cylinder of plasma.

  Charlotte turned to Stav.

  “Think we should’ve told him?”

  He shrugged. “If he is awake it seems he would have found out sooner or later anyway. The real question is, what are we going to do about the Heart?”

  “I don’t know.” Charlotte sounded despairing. “I thought it was something we could pick up and take home in our pocket.” She reached out and stroked her fingertips over the surface of the plasma but quickly drew back. “Oh—it tingles!”

  “We had better not touch it,” Stavros said darkly. “There is no telling how it might affect us.”

  “You’re right.” Charlotte wiped her palm down the side of her robe. “But do you think it would be possible to transport any of this stuff home? And how would we use it when we got there? Put it in a bomb and shoot it at the Dark Kindred?”

  “I don’t know if something like this can be weaponized,” Stavros said thoughtfully, looking at the golden pink glowing pillar. “If I understood J’lorgan correctly, it is the embodiment of pure love. Or at least, some kind of pure emotion. How would exploding a bomb like that stop our enemies?”

  “Well, I know they don’t have emotions but I’m not sure.” Charlotte looked down at the metal floor. “Speaking of love—it’s weird how we woke him up, huh? I know you were just, you know, shouting out stuff in heat of the moment. When you…when you said you loved me, I mean. But I guess the pillar thought you really meant it.”

  “Charlotte, I did m—” Stavros began but just then a familiar voice interrupted him.

  “So you do care for each other after all.”

  Turning quickly, he and Charlotte found themselves face to face to face to face with Ye’ha’Na’ho.

  The Joined one was frowning at them with both faces.

  “What’s this? The pillar not only split but completely open?” the female face asked, eyes widening. “This has not happened in over five hundred cycles!”

  “Where is J’lorgan?” the male face demanded. “What have you done with him?”

  “Perhaps the old fool has finally dissolved inside his pool of plasma,” the female face said hopefully. “If so, we are now in position to take complete control.”

  “You will do no such thing!” Suddenly J’lorgan himself descended from the top of the plasma cylinder looking like an avenging angel.

  “Master?” both faces of the
Joined One spoke as one. They wore identical looks of shock.

  “I was your Master—I was Master to two promising pupils by the names of Ya’he and Na’ho.” J’lorgan shook his head sadly. “What have you done to yourselves and why did you do it?”

  “What? But, Master—we only did as you instructed,” the female face protested.

  “We have finally achieved oneness,” the male face declared. “We are together and can never be separated.”

  “No, no, no!” J’lorgan wrung his wrinkled hands. “This is not what I meant by oneness at all! I spoke of a spiritual bond—not a physical one! Of a mental connection, not a literal one!” He pointed at the Joined One. “Just look at you—the two of you. Or rather, the one of you! You are bound to each other with chains of flesh instead of bonds of love. No wonder your minds have been affected.”

  “We are of sound mind as well as sound body,” the male face said frowning.

  “Then why have you been using corporeal punishment on the pilgrims who come here to seek guidance?” the old male demanded. “Why have you allowed an emotion-sucker to take up residence on the premises in that abomination you built, the Temple of Regrets?”

  “The temple was necessary,” the female face exclaimed shrilly. “We had to make the pilgrims fear their past too much to speak of it, so that they could move on and look to the future as you taught.”

  “I never said that they must fear their past or never speak of it,” J’lorgan responded. “I said they must face it and then move on—into their future together. And I never would have condoned bringing such a dark and evil creature into the resort. You must get rid of it at once. And then the two of you shall be banished from the premises.”

  “What?” the female face demanded. “But you cannot do that to us! We cannot be separated from the cleansing pool—it is what helps us in our Joining.”

  “This ‘joining’ of yours is an abomination,” J’lorgan said harshly. “It should never have come to pass in the first place. When I spoke of oneness I meant an emotional bond, not a physical one.”

  “You mean the kind the Kindred have with their mates?” Stavros asked quietly. “The soul bond they form when they bond a female to them?”

  “Exactly!” J’lorgon exclaimed. “That is what I hoped to achieve when I harnessed the sentient plasma and brought it here to the resort! Do you know,” he continued, looking at Stavros. “That the only other species in the known universe capable of forming such a perfect love bond with their mates are the Havoc males of Xander Prime? But that is only because they are distant cousins to the Kindred. And even though they can bond, they mostly choose not to. It is most tragic, truly.”

  “This male claims to be a Havoc,” the male face of the Joined One said as it pointed at Stavros. “But we now have proof that he is not. Bring them forward,” it barked.

  At once several armed Hossan guards brought two prisoners forward. One was a tall Kindred male with dark hair and steel gray eyes whom Stavros recognized as Six, the Dark Kindred male who had defected to the Mother Ship. The other was bride, a petite girl from Earth with long black hair whose name escaped him. Both of them were heavily shackled.

  “Mei-Li!” Charlotte blurted out, her eyes widening. “And Six, right?” She looked at the tall Dark Kindred who nodded shortly. “What are the two of you doing here?”

  “We came to warn you.” Mei-Li shook her head. “But we were attacked and boarded by these guys before we could get a transmission out to you.”

  “You see?” The male face of the Joined One looked at J’lorgan triumphantly. “They know each other! They are in league against us.”

  J’lorgan frowned. “My dear Na’ho—I am beginning to believe that you think everyone is in league against you. The joining of your mind and body to Ya’he’s has made you paranoid and more than a little mad.”

  “No, we speak the truth! These spies have come to steal the Heart of Love!” the female face protested.

  “Now, Ya’he—how can they steal that which cannot be stolen?” J’lorgan shook his head and looked at the guards. “Please escort this…creature who used to be Ya’he and Na’ho from my presence and see that it is secured until I can decide what to do with it.” He sighed. “I had thought to banish it but now I see that I must look into the matter further. But first I must deal with you.” He pointed at Stavros and Charlotte. “Tell me the true reason you are here and be quick about it.”

  As the Joined One was escorted from the Heart of Love, Stavros took a deep breath and began to talk.

  “It is true I am not a Havoc and Charlotte is not truly my bride,” he began. “But we had good reason to come here and pretense seemed the only way in. You see, Charlotte’s home world, Earth, is under attack by the Dark Kindred. We are outmanned and outgunned and we had but one hope—the Goddess has given us a prophesy...”

  “Ah, the Goddess. Yes…yes.” The old male nodded thoughtfully. “I know of her. A wise and kindly deity—she cares greatly for her children. You may proceed—what is this prophesy?”

  Six stepped forward. “It was given through me. I will recite it.”

  “Please do.” J’lorgan nodded respectfully.

  Six took a deep breath.

  “Cursed to find an early grave

  Will be the one the Light to Save

  The Pain of others he must feel

  The wounds of others he can heal

  To stop the evil he must find

  The Heart of Love in J’lorgon’s Mind

  To bring it to the void and cold

  And cast it in, he must be bold.

  For when the Dark is burned to ash

  Only then will danger pass

  But when it does…”

  “When it does, what?” Stav asked. “Commander Sylvan told me there were people looking to find the missing stanza. That seems to be part of it but what is the rest?”

  “There is more,” Six said heavily. “But I feel I must reveal it to you alone, Stavros. You are the one it concerns.”

  “You may reveal it later,” J’lorgan said, frowning. “For it makes no difference. As you see, the Heart of Love is not an object you can bring with you anywhere. It is pure emotion—pure love and kindness and understanding.” He motioned to the glowing plasma around him. “It took me cycles and cycles to refine and purify it. It is everything positive but it is emotion—it cannot be held in the hand or transported in any way.”

  “Well can it be bottled somehow?” Charlotte asked desperately. “Maybe put in a Tupperware container for later?”

  J’lorgan shrugged. “Try to hold some of it. Go on—it is very concentrated but it will not hurt you to touch it for a moment.”

  Charlotte reached out hesitantly and stuck her hand into the plasma. Stavros watched as she tried to pull some of it out. It was like trying to catch water or air. Her hand moved freely into it but when she pulled it out, there was nothing there. She tried again and again with no success.

  “It is no good, my dear,” J’lorgan said gently. “It simply cannot be done.”

  “But…but please, Sir—it’s my home planet we’re talking about here!” Charlotte looked at him pleadingly in a way that wrung Stav’s heart. “The Dark Kindred are going to take over and either kill or enslave everybody and that’s only after they suck out all their emotions!”

  “They’re not just going too—they’ve already begun,” Six said grimly. “Several of Earth’s largest cities have already been harvested despite all the best efforts of the Kindred of the Mother Ship.”

  “What?” Charlotte’s eyes grew wide. “You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding!”

  “Tokyo, Rome, Paris…” Mei’-Li shook her head, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Gone. Or at least, all the people who live there are gone. They’ve been taken by the Dark Kindred. The Earth leaders are finally beginning to listen to us when we say the Kindred of the Mother Ship are trying to help but I’m afraid it’s going to be too late if we can’t stop
the Dark Kindred soon.”

  “Oh my God!” Charlotte stumbled and would have fallen if Stav hadn’t caught her. “God,” she whispered again. “I just…I can’t believe it.” She looked up at J’lorgan. “You see what we’re up against? Can’t you please help us somehow? Please?”

  J’lorgan shook his head sorrowfully, his long white hair floating in the plasma currents. “I am sorry, child. But unless you have a living organism which can absorb the emotion of the plasma it into its very body, none of it can be carried away.”

  “But we do—I can do that.” Stavros stepped forward.

  “Can you?” J’lorgan looked interested. “But how?”

  Rapidly, Stav explained about the parasite which caused his Mark.

  “So you feel only the pain of others?” J’lorgan asked, frowning. “But there is no pain in the Heart. Only love and joy and fulfillment.”

  “Mostly all I feel is the pain of others,” Stavros said. “Except…except with Charlotte.” He cast a glance at her, remembering the waves of pleasure he’d felt coming from her as he tasted her this last time. Of the intense sensation she’d been having when he filled her with his seed. “With her…I sometimes feel pleasure as well,” he murmured.

  “Well then…that changes things.” J’lorgan nodded. “I suppose this Mark of yours might be able to absorb and transport positive emotion—at least for a little while. But it would be very taxing to you physically and I am not at all certain how you will use it even if you did manage to collect some of the Heart into yourself.”

  “I’m not sure either,” Stav said grimly. “But we have to do something. I’m certain the Goddess wouldn’t have sent us here to the Heart of Love unless there was some way to use it to defeat the Dark Kindred.”

  “Then if you truly wish to, you may come into the plasma with me.” J’lorgan beckoned to him. “But I warn you, immersion in the special concentrated plasma can be quite overwhelming. I hope you are in good health with a strong heart.”