The Universe Parallel

by Traci Harding

  ‘Yes!’ Avery held the little blue suit to his chest and hugged it like the precious omen it was.

  Jahan assumed this was the seer’s way of telling Avery that his wife was expecting their first child — a boy, if her choice of blue fabric was anything to go by. ‘Congratulations, Lord,’ said Jahan, a little uncomfortable with the situation, for clearly the Lord was not taking into consideration the fact that they were just about to alter the recent past! Just as Jahan stood to lose his lover in the pending reality shift, so too did the Lord of the Otherworld now stand to lose his first shot at fatherhood in over a century!

  Avery looked to him, his joyful face filling with worry as reality set in. ‘I need to find the little woman.’

  Zeven sat on the stairs waiting for his ride to AMIE to get out of his meeting, and his stomach was in knots as he pondered his psychic future — or lack thereof.

  He was no scientist, but from what he had learnt this day Zeven suspected that the tundrell from Oceane, still growing in the bio-lab on AMIE, not so much emitted massive amounts of negative ions as required massive amounts of negative ions to thrive. Kestler had said that humid waterfalls and beaches were places in the natural world where negative ions abounded, which explained why humans found these places so inspiring and uplifting. But if one did not have such a natural wonder at one’s disposal, then a shower was a great substitute ioniser — the weather on Oceane had been like standing in one huge warm shower!

  Gaze fixed on the shiny marble floor before him, Zeven became aware that someone had entered the temple and was walking towards him. Zeven was shocked to raise his sights and see Ibis coming his way. ‘Princess!’ He stood to address her.

  ‘When you never came, I thought you might have left.’ She stopped in her tracks some distance from him, to hear why he’d been avoiding her.

  ‘I lost my Power.’ He was mournful to admit it, whereupon Ibis melted into sympathy for him.

  ‘But how?’ She came closer.

  ‘I’m not permitted to say.’ He shrugged apologetically.

  ‘So, that’s why I haven’t seen you?’ she asked timidly — a little fearful of the answer.

  Zeven had to shake his head and be honest. ‘There is a lot going on in my world right now and I’ve had more urgent matters to attend to.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ She sounded disappointed. ‘I rather got the impression that I was an urgent matter.’ She tried a more seductive approach.

  ‘Sometimes you just have to choose the greater good over your own personal desire,’ Zeven argued his position with Taren’s logic, having difficultly sounding committed to the resolve.

  ‘You sound like my father.’ Ibis picked up on his lack of conviction and sought to exploit it. ‘You could belong,’ she invited and, now that they were finally arm’s length from each other, she took hold of Zeven’s hands. ‘I swear to you I have never met anyone who affected me so deeply, so quickly, as you,’ she whispered, leaning forward to a breath away from kissing him. ‘Play with me for a while, Starman, and I shall ensure you never want to leave.’

  It was a very tempting offer, but Zeven knew that time was a precious commodity that he did not have to spare right now. Even an hour might risk his chances of being able to regain his Power; he needed to get back to AMIE. Hence Zeven felt he had to discourage Ibis quickly, lest he be distracted from his destiny and miss it yet again. ‘It’s all about you, isn’t it? You really are a princess.’ Zeven was surprised by his own ability to be cutting, as he gripped both her wrists and urged her back. ‘Believe me, I’ve been at this crossroads before, and if I choose you over my destiny, we will both regret it.’

  Ibis frowned. ‘I will not regret our time together, never,’ she insisted, backing away of her own accord.

  ‘I am not your Chosen other.’ He thought he’d give her some extra incentive to forget him. ‘Cadfan said so.’

  ‘What? He said that?’ Ibis was stunned to a standstill.

  ‘In not so many words … but yes, he did,’ Zeven insisted, wanting to say something kind and comforting, but he knew he’d only cause more damage. ‘Sorry.’ He shrugged in conclusion.

  ‘Didn’t you have your meeting with Cadfan before our afternoon out?’ The princess gulped back her hurt.

  He wasn’t proud of the fact, but Zeven nodded to admit that was true.

  ‘You … really are a bastard.’

  ‘Never regretting me came mighty quick, didn’t it?’ he spat, whereupon Ibis fled as fast as she was able — the princess would not remember him fondly, and that was for the best. Now please learn your bloody lesson and leave that poor girl alone, he scolded himself, as the Lord Avery came shooting down the stairs and passed him, waving a blue garment around in the air.

  ‘I’m going to be a father!’ Lord Avery explained his excitement and, in a rush, did not even stop to be congratulated.

  Zeven looked up to see his lift coming down the stairs and so moved to confront him, eager to put some distance between himself and Kila. ‘Ready to go?’

  ‘I’m not in any real hurry to get home.’ Jahan appeared to be dreading it, in fact.

  ‘Your meeting did not go as planned?’ Zeven sympathised.

  ‘Not really.’ Jahan grimaced.

  ‘A short delay will be welcome then?’ Zeven was upbeat, hoping to inspire his cohort to action.

  ‘Where do you want to go?’ Jahan asked.

  ‘If I create a mental image —’

  ‘No problem.’ Jahan gripped Zeven’s wrist, and the pilot brought to mind the image of the captain’s bridge on AMIE.

  ‘We’re there,’ Jahan advised and willed them both where directed.

  When Zeven saw the bridge of the AMIE, he was in heaven. ‘I’m home!’ He moved quickly to check all the backup systems were still operating, particularly those in bio-containment. ‘Yes!’

  ‘You live here now?’ Jahan was perplexed; this was not what he thought the afterlife would look like. ‘You’re not Brian Alexander, are you?’

  ‘I was, apparently.’ Zeven shrugged and then held out a hand to shake Jahan’s. ‘Zeven Gudrun.’

  ‘Jahan.’

  ‘So you’re Jahan?’ Zeven recalled Ibis speaking of him.

  ‘Yes,’ Jahan confirmed, as he released Zeven’s hand, appearing curious.

  Zeven thought better of mentioning anything more about his connection to Ibis — better to go while the going was good. ‘Well, nice meeting you.’ He began to back up towards bio-containment. ‘Thanks for the hand.’

  Jahan had to laugh. ‘I can’t just leave you here.’

  ‘Sure you can, I’ll be fine,’ Zeven insisted.

  ‘But how will you get back?’

  ‘I don’t need to.’

  Jahan, considering what Jazmay had mentioned of the plan to alter the past, understood and stopped insisting. ‘Have it your way, then.’

  ‘That would be a nice change of pace for me,’ Zeven concurred, with a wave, as he wandered off down the corridor. ‘Have a great life.’

  Jahan stood there a moment, staring out at the planet in the distance that was causing him so much grief. ‘Maladaan,’ he uttered the name. ‘Why couldn’t I have been born there?’ Or had he been? Of course his Chosen memory was of no aid to him, for it only contained the memories of his lifetimes in this universe. Could he trust that what Nin Sybil had told him was true, that he would find his Chosen love one day and that he needed to let Jazmay go to find the incarnation of him that she was meant to be with in this life? ‘It’s a hard ask,’ he decided, but, short of betraying his kindred, he had no choice but to accept the will of fate in this case.

  Although the Lord of the Otherworld was a mere mortal at present, he still attracted nature elementals like bees to honey. He might not have been able to see them or hear them, but he knew his dominions were always watching him and listening to his inner voice.

  In the healing temple garden, Avery sat upon the grass to dangle his feet in the warm water of the pool. He welcome
d the wind in his face and the sun upon his being. Once he’d filled his senses with the life force of nature, the Lord thought about his want to see his wife.

  There was a rush of bubbles over his feet, and Avery felt his ankles clutched as Fallon drew herself up out of the water and between Avery’s legs, to land in his arms. Her soaking form immediately dried, her long wet hair springing into large locks, as she smiled and kissed her husband. ‘Is there something you need, my love?’ She noted the blue jumpsuit in his hand. ‘What is that?’

  ‘It is a gift, to you from Nin Sybil.’ He handed the jumpsuit over.

  Fallon gasped in joy as she viewed it. ‘She is certain?’

  Avery cocked his head to one side as if that were a stupid question, and was overpowered with a hug and many kisses. ‘But there is peril,’ he uttered to calm his wife, and her excitement ebbed.

  ‘What do you mean?’ She pulled away from him to look him in the eyes.

  ‘The past is about to be altered by Taren Lennox and all that has unfolded since Maladaan’s arrival in our universe will be undone,’ he explained.

  The news made Fallon gasp again, and grasp her flat belly. ‘Is your mother’s most recent manifestation truly so powerful?’ Not even Avery could screw around with time.

  ‘The Grigori are behind her,’ Avery stated by way of an explanation, thus Fallon would realise that they could not appeal against the course of action, as it was undisputedly for the higher good.

  ‘How could circumstances be so cruel?’ Fallon was bewildered a moment. ‘We cannot allow —’

  ‘I agree,’ Avery cut short her protest. ‘Which is why you must retreat into the Otherworld, until the time shift has taken place.’

  ‘Without you.’ Fallon knew her husband could not come with her, she was just stating the fact out loud.

  ‘I’m still going to be here when you get back … and it will only be my memory of the past few months that will be affected, it’s not as if I am going to forget you.’ Avery reasoned her to a more positive frame of mind, whereupon Fallon smiled.

  ‘Then I’ll get to tell you about our good news first.’ Fallon liked that idea and became amorous once more.

  ‘Our governor has alternative reasons for sending you to an Otherworldly retreat —’ Avery got a word in, but Fallon had already reasoned the governor’s cause.

  ‘If Maladaan never shifts here, we won’t know about the Orions and their weapon.’ Fallon realised the implications and then groaned. ‘I always loathed science.’

  Avery chuckled at her woe. ‘Don’t stress, you will have back up.’

  There was only one other soul who would escape the reality shift. ‘The time traveller,’ Fallon concluded and he nodded to concur.

  ‘The governor will call a meeting in a few days’ time, before the shift takes place.’

  Fallon nodded to confirm the summons, clearly awash in a sea of different emotions.

  ‘There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.’ Avery took hold of both her shoulders to instil confidence in her, and she summoned a smile to reassure him she had faith. Even without his psychic senses Avery could tell Fallon was far from convinced, and if he was honest, so was he.

  A stay at the lake house, alone, was a dream come true for Lucian and Taren. For the few days it lasted, they got to live their dream — knowing a world of trouble lay between them and this idyllic arrangement happening again.

  ‘I think we should work on the process of freezing time,’ Lucian suggested, as he placed a cup of tea in front of Taren, and sat down beside her with his coffee, in the morning sunshine on the back deck.

  ‘I’ve made a list.’ Taren finished penning a sentence on her notebook screen. ‘Tell me if you think I have forgotten anything?’

  ‘A list of what?’ Lucian accepted it from her.

  ‘Things I have to do when I get back to the past,’ she explained as though she was handing over a shopping list.

  ‘You sound like you are almost looking forward to it,’ Lucian noted.

  ‘Well, there’s no use complaining about it, is there? Best to be constructive.’ She referred him back to her list.

  ‘Number one, stop AMIE taking the sample from Oceane.’ He nodded. ‘Number two, wake Lucian up to Amie and Swithin … what? No.’ Lucian shook his head. ‘Give me the pen,’ he took it from her, and crossed out a few words. ‘This should read, seduce Lucian away from Amie and Swithin.’ He grinned, and made her laugh.

  Swithin was Lucian’s older brother who’d been having an affair with Amie, Lucian’s wife, since before Lucian married her, and the captain didn’t wish to make that same mistake twice. ‘Promise me,’ he insisted. ‘I want you to seduce me. I swear to you that you’ll get away with it.’

  ‘I already did.’ Taren kissed him and it was several hours before they got back to her list; by the time they did, they were comfortably reclining in the upstairs bedroom.

  Points three to seven on the list involved Taren’s parents, her uncle, freeing Fari and Jazmay, and coming back to Kila to warn the governor about the Orion threat. It wasn’t until they got to the last item on the list that they had a minor disagreement.

  ‘Number eight,’ Lucian read, ‘prevent Yasper’s demise.’

  ‘I can’t lie about that.’ Taren shrugged. ‘I would love to do it.’

  ‘Yasper … was that his name?’ Lucian queried, trying desperately not to sound jealous of a dead man, but then if Taren saved him from a bullet, he would no longer be dead. ‘Was he an agent, like you?’

  Taren nodded. ‘You might note, however, that I have a question mark next to that one. The event is further back in time than the moment I am aiming for, so I doubt I’ll be able to fulfil that wish.’

  ‘Then why put it on the list?’ Lucian asked.

  ‘To bring the topic out in the open with you,’ she confessed, taking the notebook from him. ‘Yasper was the entire reason I began studying the possibility of travelling backwards in time. He was a damn fine assassin and had a rather brilliant mind, for a killer. He was also the one man I should never have had an affair with as he was Chief Ronan’s only son.’

  ‘Hence your dislike of the chief and all things MSS, I suspect?’ Lucian concluded, feeling more at ease with the subject matter.

  ‘I did not love Yasper as I love you.’ Taren looked him square in the eyes so that he might see she spoke the truth. ‘I admired him, I desired him,’ she admitted shyly, ‘and he was a very good friend.’ She drew a sudden deep breath to keep her emotions stable. ‘For those reasons I would love to save him, but unfortunately, I have bigger fish to fry now. If I were to go back and save Yasper, it would undo anything I manage to do once I get back to AMIE, and I’d be faced with resolving this entire list again.’

  ‘If Yasper is as proficient an agent as you, it seems to me he’d be far more helpful to your cause than me.’ Lucian had to say it, for he felt it was true.

  Taren was shocked by his reasoning, and climbed on top of him to instil her view. ‘How can you say that after viewing Noah’s chronicles?’

  ‘I was a warrior then and —’

  ‘Maelgwn was a warrior, yes,’ Taren agreed, ‘but that was not what he was famed for. He was famed for his diplomatic skills, which managed, on numerous occasions, to keep his overzealous wife from getting herself killed.’ Lucian couldn’t argue with her reasoning. ‘And that is just as true of this life.’

  ‘I don’t want to go back to being strangers.’ He pulled her naked form down to hug his own. ‘I don’t want to go back to being ignorant and used.’

  ‘Stop worrying about your marriage, I’ll destroy it, I swear to you!’ Taren kissed him to seal the deal, although she still wondered if seduction would be her means, or whether good old exposure would be the best course of action for everyone involved. The last thing she wanted was to attend another memorial service of one of her lovers; please, universe, find me a safe way for us to be together. She wanted that wish more than anything in her life to date, but
in her own experience life seldom gave her that which she desired most.

  For the past ten years Taren had believed that anything was possible and that she controlled her own destiny, when in fact nothing could have been further from the truth! Now, however, she truly did control her destiny and that of everybody she’d ever known or cared about, and bearing that in mind she would do whatever it took to keep Lucian and the AMIE project out of the line of fire.

  ‘You left something off your list,’ Lucian whispered as he held her close. ‘Marry me.’

  Tears of desire choked Taren at the suggestion, and she clung tighter to him.

  ‘Why are you crying?’ Lucian asked. ‘Is the idea of marrying me so awful?’

  ‘No, you know I want that more than anything.’ Taren sat up to regain her senses. ‘It’s just so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on that one.’

  ‘I know.’ Lucian sat up. ‘There’s a million obstacles and things that could go wrong, between here and our ultimate happiness, but you have to believe that the longer the darkness, the more vibrant our dreams will be.’

  The premise made Taren smile. ‘This is what I am really going to miss, your company and wise counsel.’

  He kissed her forehead, appreciating her sentiment. ‘It will never be far away.’

  Taren closed her eyes to pray to the universe that was true.

  D-day came all too soon, whereby Lucian and Taren returned to the healing temple to meet with the governor and the others involved in the Maladaan assignment.

  Taren was surprised to find Jazmay present, and the Phemorian asked to speak with her alone, before the meeting, and so they wandered out into the courtyard.

  ‘I wanted to apologise for yesterday,’ Jazmay began, ‘I know this is not your fault and it was very selfish of me —’

  ‘No, Jazmay, it is my fault,’ Taren admitted. ‘If I had not allowed AMIE to take that sample from Oceane, none of this would have happened.’

  ‘But then I would never have known this happiness, and I would still be rotting in prison,’ Jazmay had realised. ‘I know now that this was but a stolen season in paradise and that I have you to thank for it.’