“I’ll bet ya’ Pete can figure this one out,” Rio said. “I’ll go and get ’im.”
Rio hurried out of the room, returning with Pete.
“Any luck with that door so far?” Kiara asked as Pete started scanning the desk with his encoder.
“None yet,” Pete shook his head. “But I think I can handle this one.”
Pete placed the encoder on the desk, lit the keyboard, and got to work.
“Almost there…” he said after a couple of minutes, his fingers zooming rapidly across the keyboard.
“How does he do that?” Suriel marveled. “This code was written by the Rai themselves.”
“Leave it to Pete, and don’t ask questions,” Rio smirked. “That’s what I’ve learned to do.”
“And…we’re in.”
The patterns on the screen vanished, replaced by a new picture. The four of them huddled in to take a look. It was a hierarchy of squares and circles connected by lines, with a single word scribbled upon each shape. Some of the shapes were lit up, while others were slightly faded.
“These are the names of the ancient Rai,” Suriel said, reading the words. “It looks like a family tree. Banai, Roko, Kasia, Azarai, Alia…I’ve actually never heard of that last one.”
He touched the circle containing Alia’s name. Suddenly, a light projected down from the ceiling beside the desk, displaying the hologram of a woman.
She’s dressed in Earth clothes, like Raiden the day we found him, Kiara thought to herself.
A monotonous, female voice projected out from the desk.
“Alia, second daughter of Kasia. Current health status: alive. Current location: Earth. Specifications unknown.”
“A Rai, alive on Earth?” Suriel asked in wonder.
“Seems like Banai was keepin’ tabs on everyone,” Pete said, looking at the screen. “I think the lighter ones are alive, and the darker ones are goners.” He clicked on one of the dimmer names.
“Roko, son of Banai. Current health status: deceased.”
“Who killed him?” Pete asked, testing to see if he could interact with the system.
“Roko was killed by Master Banai, on planet Earth.”
“Why did Banai kill his own son?” Kiara asked.
“Roko would not disclose the location of his sister and her daughter,” the voice answered.
“Harsh punishment,” Rio muttered. He clicked on Banai’s square, which was still lit.
“Master Banai. Current health status: alive. Current location: planet Earth. Alternate identity: Jimmy Roko. Other specifications unknown.”
“Sentimental type, eh?” Rio shook his head. “Masqueradin’ around with his kid’s name after he murdered him.”
“How could Banai have gotten to Earth?” Kiara asked.
“Same way his children did,” Rio answered. “He descended.”
“Descended?”
“The Rai each have a secondary ability similar to one of those that the Enlai possess,” Suriel explained. “When the Creator made Earth, he decreed that if any Rai were to venture there, they would be forced to give up their Rai abilities and enter as just an Enlai. He wanted to ensure the Rai could never meddle in the affairs of his creations. We were all supposed to get to Earth one day, not just the humans.”
“But our ancestors stayed to fight and didn’t make it back before Agius destroyed our side of The Nexus Mirror,” Kiara recalled from Jaaro’s lessons.
“This is all fascinatin’, but it doesn’t get us out’a here,” Pete said, calling everyone back into focus. He walked over to the bed and scanned it with his encoder.
“There’s definitely tech here, but I can’t translate it,” he said.
Suddenly, a piercing cry echoed from a distance, sending a chill running down each of their spines.
“The damn creature got out,” Pete muttered slowly with dread. “Time’s out, let’s make for that door!”
They sprinted back out to the hallway and ran for the red doorway. Pete pulled open the glass sliding door, exposing the smoky, red substance behind it.
“Anyone else wanna go first?” he gulped, hesitating. His eyes widened as a menacing, ghastly figure approached from the end of the hall.
“Never mind,” he said quickly and stepped into the light, only to be knocked back onto the floor by some invisible force.
“Dammit!” he cursed, scrambling to his feet.
Heart racing and desperate, Kiara took a deep breath and charged the entrance. To Pete’s surprise, her body passed almost entirely through, only to be thrown out as well.
The Decrepit picked up its speed and shrieked with hunger, only seconds away from its prey.
“Back to the bedroom!” Rio shouted, making a run for it. They slammed open the door to the sustenance chamber and raced across to the bedroom, the Decrepit on their tail.
“Close the door!” Rio barked as they dove into the bedroom. The last one through, Kiara grabbed the handle and swung around, but her hand slipped, and she found herself face to face with the hideous creature, their heads only inches apart. She stood frozen in terror, her heart pounding from her chest. Kiara stared wide-eyed at the creature before her as if gazing at death itself. The Decrepit hovered silently at the doorway, unnervingly calm.
“Close the bloody door!” Rio yelled.
Knocked back into focus, Kiara shut the door and leaned against the wall, panting in relief.
“Why didn’t it come in?” she asked.
“Seems like it can’t enter the bedroom,” Pete said.
“Maybe the Rai made it so that the angels can’t enter without their permission, for privacy,” Suriel proposed. “I have a theory that these Decrepit are the angels of old.”
“That thing is not an angel,” Kiara answered. “A demon, maybe.”
“They were, once,” Rio said, sighing. “Angels, I mean.”
All eyes turned towards him, puzzled by the surety of his reaction. Rio looked up, suddenly aware of all the attention he’d drawn.
“What?” he shrugged. “It makes sense. They prance around this hellhole like it’s their home, but they sure ain’t the angels I heard about from the stories, so somethin’ must’ve changed ‘em.”
“I think I understand,” Pete’s voice interrupted them from the platform in the middle of the room. The others watched as he climbed out from under the bed.
“What did you find, Pete?” Rio asked.
“There’s some kind’a scanning tech under there,” Pete explained excitedly. “It’s startin’ to make sense to me, the quote from the door. ‘Rest upon the sacred bed, to pass on through the door of red.’ When I tried passin’ through the door, I was knocked back straight away. But the fine lady here,” he pointed to Kiara, “she made it partway in. I reckon the red door works on some sort’a molecular scanning. When Kiara laid on the bed, it began scanning her molecular patterns and inputtin’ them into the system. Our molecular patterns change every moment, so I reckon the bed needs to scan long enough to account for variances. A good night’s sleep should do.”
“So, we just need to sleep?” Kiara shrugged. “Could be worse.”
“Wait there just a second,” Rio said. “Do we need’a take our clothes off again? I’m not gettin’ in that bed with the four of ya’. No way in hell.”
“Actually, I’d say the opposite,” Pete answered. “You gotta sleep in exactly what you wanna wear to pass through the door. Otherwise, it’ll reject your clothes.”
“So, the Rai never wore pajamas?” Kiara asked.
Pete laughed at the question. “Either they slept in their clothes, or they walked around naked,” he smirked. “There’s another problem, though. I reckon we gotta split up. I’m not sure the sensor is designed to scan four bodies at once, and anyway, we don’t all fit on one bed. Two of us gotta hit the sack in the other room.”
“I’ve had enough intimacy with His Majesty for one day,” Rio said. “I’m with Pete.”
Kiara and Suriel exchanged a
silent, awkward glance.
Well, I’d rather him than the others, she thought. And we should probably take the first room. If anyone’s gonna see that holographic video again, it should be Suriel.
“How will Suriel and I even get to the other room past the Decrepit?” Kiara asked, accepting Rio’s arrangement.
“Opening floor schematics,” a robotic voice responded to Kiara’s question, emanating from the desk on command.
Kiara turned in surprise, then approached the desk as its screen flickered and changed to display what seemed to be a map. The others joined around her, peering over her shoulder.
“Can you show us a map of the entire palace?” Pete asked, crossing his fingers.
“Unable to comply. Violation of security protocol.”
“Darnit,” Pete sighed. “Worth a try.”
“This is interestin’,” Rio said, pointy a stubby finger on the map. “Seems like there’s a second passageway leadin’ from here straight to the second bedroom.”
“Why would Banai and Agius’s bedrooms be connected?” Pete asked curiously.
“Because it wasn’t always Agius’s bedroom,” Suriel replied, reading the labels on the bedrooms. “According to this blueprint, the first bedroom was originally a nursery for Banai’s children, Roko and Kasia. Once they grew up, I guess they sealed the passageway and gave the room to Agius.”
“Maybe the passageway is still here somewhere,” Kiara said. She studied where the entrance was marked on the map, then turned to the corresponding area of the room.
“Over there,” Kiara muttered, hurrying to one of the black, stained glass bookshelves against the wall. She began to empty it, throwing the books onto the floor.
“What are you doing?” Suriel asked.
“Emptying this bookcase so I can move it,” Kiara replied as she worked.
Suriel joined her, and they pulled out book after book until every shelf was empty. Once they’d finished, they shook the bookcase violently until its nails loosened from the wall, then they knocked it to the ground, revealing a dirty, blank wall.
“Well, that was useless,” Kiara sighed.
“We’re not done yet,” Rio grunted as he approached them, lifting his hands towards the wall.
“Move back.”
Suriel and Kiara complied as the wall began to rumble and shake. A drop of sweat fell down Rio’s brow as he pushed with all his might until finally, the plaster crumbled outwards in a cloud of rubble and dust.
“You did it!” Kiara exclaimed as the dust cleared, revealing a secret passageway behind the wall. Its metal seal had been torn open by Rio’s power. One by one, a procession of bright lights blinked and ignited, illuminating the tunnel’s tiled walls and floor panels.
“Wow,” Kiara gaped.
“So, we are sure this leads to the first bedroom?” Suriel asked.
“Why don’t the two of you go find out while Rio and I take a nap,” Pete winked. He climbed the platform to the bed and collapsed back onto it. “Goodnight.”
Rio turned to Suriel and shrugged. “If you run into trouble, just come back over. You know where to find us.”
Kiara and Suriel glanced at one another, then nodded.
“You take care of yourselves now,” Rio added.
“You too,” Kiara said with a smile. “I hope Pete doesn’t snore.”
Rio laughed heartily, then headed for the bed while Kiara and Suriel ventured into the tunnel.
Kiara looked up at Suriel as he strode quietly, staring straight ahead. The silence hung heavily, as they had grown accustomed to being in a group of four. Trying to adjust to the new dynamic, Kiara cleared her throat and spoke.
“You think this really leads to the other bedroom?”
“I hope so,” Suriel answered quickly, thankful the awkward silence had been broken. “It does make sense for the family to have a private hallway connecting the children to the parents.”
Kiara tried to think of something else to say, but for some reason, her mind felt plugged, and she found herself feeling slightly nervous.
“Regarding Rio and Pete,” Suriel said after another long minute of silence, “I am beginning to feel that perhaps we misjudged them. Rio did kill Keith, and he is undoubtedly hiding information about himself, but he saved my life.”
“He isn’t the only one hiding information about himself,” Kiara shot back, her tone growing quickly and unexpectedly aggravated. “On the one hand, I feel like I can trust and rely on you. I feel comfortable around you, and we get along like a team. But when I think about it, you won’t even tell me what kind of Enlai you are!” Kiara turned away from Suriel, her expression flustered.
“Kiara,” Suriel said in a gentle, apologetic tone. “I did not mean to hurt you. The subject is a very delicate one for me. I did not wish to expose myself to a group of strangers. But you do not feel like a stranger to me.”
Kiara looked at him, her anger subsiding.
“So you’ll tell me, then?”
Suriel nodded. “This may sound hard to believe, but the truth is, I was born without a power.”
Kiara’s eyebrows rose as if surprised, but for some reason, deep down, she had been expecting that answer.
“You can see why it would be dangerous for the Prince to expose such a weakness,” Suriel continued timidly, embarrassed by the subject.
“Are you human?” Kiara asked, trying to figure out how that would be possible.
“There have been no humans on our planet since the great war,” Suriel said. “I am not a human. Both my parents were Surgers. I am simply a mutant. My father made me swear never to reveal this to anyone, because…” Suriel sighed sadly. “Well, it is disgraceful.”
“Do you believe in destiny?” Kiara asked out of the blue.
“What?” Suriel asked, puzzled.
“All those stories of the angels and the Rai and the prophecies.”
“As Prince, it is my duty to believe them.”
“Well, there’s something you need to see in the bedroom. I think it might make you think differently about your ‘mutation.’”
“Oh?” Suriel looked at her curiously, raising an eyebrow.
They neared the end of the tunnel, where they noticed a hatch on the ceiling with a staircase leading up to it. A red button dangled from loose wires beside the stairs. Suriel pressed the button, and a faint friction rub sounded from above the hatch. Once the sound stopped, Suriel pushed open the hatch. He lifted himself up and peaked out the hole, finding himself in the first bedroom, emerging from an opening on the floor.
“It leads back to Agius’s bedroom,” Suriel reported to Kiara.
Kiara nodded. Suriel’s arm and chest muscles clenched as he pulled himself out of the tunnel, then helped Kiara out after him into the beautiful room.
“Now we can finally rest,” Suriel yawned, walking to the bed.
“I think I might wash myself off first,” Kiara said. “I think I saw a washroom connected to the closet.” Although she had changed her clothes, Kiara felt the sweat and filth underneath them, and she could smell her pungent scent. She was embarrassed to sleep beside Suriel in such a state.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to show me something?” Suriel asked.
“When I come back,” Kiara answered, and she ventured through the giant closet into a luxurious, white-tiled bathroom, hosting a grand, ivory bathtub with golden faucets and tall, glistening mirrors hung behind marble countertops. She turned on the faucets and undressed, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
I’m a mess, she thought, gazing upon her scarred and bruised skin, covered in a mixture of soot and dried blood. Her once combed and braided hair was now a disheveled clump of red. Her eyes drooped with fatigue, and although she had always been thin, it showed more than usual. She ran her hands down her chest and stomach, inspecting her wounds. And then it struck her, plain and simple.
My old life is over. This is my life now.
She bent over and grasped the marble c
ountertop with unnecessary force, struggling to keep herself from breaking down.
I can’t, I can’t, she thought. Not until I get out of here!
A tear ran down her bony cheek.
But I’m so hungry. And I’ll never taste Mamma’s soups again.
Another tear followed, and then another, rolling down the sink and into the drain. The muscles in her neck tensed as she grimaced and sniffled, fighting desperately to keep her heart from shattering.
I need to keep going, she thought. Mamma would want me to survive. After everything she did for me, all the love she gave me…I can’t let that go to waste.
She groaned fiercely and cleared her throat, wiping the tears away. She turned around and stepped into the bathtub, her eyes closing as the hot water touched her skin. She winced as the water brushed over her wounds, but it only burned for an instant. She brushed her hands over her arms, and then down her thighs and legs, clearing away the blood and soot. Her skin became smooth again as the filth washed away, forming murky clouds in the water. Her muscles relaxed, and her anguish was alleviated if just a tiny bit by the sight and feeling of cleanliness.
I should probably hurry, Kiara thought. I could use all the sleep I can get.
She sighed, then stood up from the warm comfort of the water. As the cold air tickled her skin, her body tightened.
Time to get in bed with a stranger.
Her mind toughened at the thought, suppressing all emotion as a defense mechanism. She got dressed and headed back to the bedroom, where Suriel lay waiting, already under the covers.
“You look nice,” he complimented her.
“Don’t make this more awkward than it already is,” Kiara bit back stiffly.
“I was trying to lighten the mood.”
“I don’t sleep well in the light.”
Suriel stared at her, trying to figure out why she was acting so cold.
“Listen, this is not easy for me either.”
“Really?” Kiara asked sarcastically. “Because from what I’ve heard, the handsome Prince sleeps with a different woman every night.”
Kiara regretted the words as soon as they’d slipped from her mouth. Suriel’s face grew red with anger, but quickly softened to an expression of hurt.
The Chamber of Genesis Page 15
