by Amy DuBoff
Wil sat down on the couch opposite Marie. “All right, so you had the resources you needed and got the child you always wanted. When did things change?”
“Well, everything was great at first. With the money from Jason, I was able to move into a nice two-bedroom apartment in a better neighborhood, and I quit my job so I could care for him full-time.” She stared at her hands. “Then, when he was six, representatives from the Priesthood came. They said that Ryan would have abilities and he’d need to be closely monitored so he wouldn’t hurt himself or others.”
“Abilities don’t emerge until the teenage years,” Wil pointed out.
“I’d heard that, too,” Marie replied, “but they insisted it was what was best for him. I didn’t want to give him up, but I wanted him to have the best life. They said I’d be able to visit him every weekend. Before I’d had time to think it through, they took him away.”
“Did they tell you where they took him?” questioned Cris.
Marie shook her head. “And the weekend visitations never came. I tried to get in touch and they pretended like Ryan had never existed. I spent all the remaining money trying to find him. I even reached out to Jason at the TSS for help, even though he’d told me not to, but I wasn’t able to get in touch.”
Cris eased into the chair across from Marie. “I’m sorry to tell you, but Jason died many years ago in the line of duty. Based on Ryan’s birthdate, it was only a few months after he met you.”
Marie’s face drained. “He died?”
“He was a good man,” Wil said. “He gave his life protecting us.”
“That’s why he never got back to me…” she trailed off.
“We never knew he had a child,” Cris explained. “We would have helped you, had we known.”
She wiped a tear from her eye. “I had a child with forged parental credentials—there was nothing anyone could have done.”
“I ended up a Ward with the Sietinen Dynasty,” Ryan said. “I haven’t ever talked with the Priesthood, as far as I know.”
Marie suddenly looked at Cris and Wil with fresh eyes. “Stars! You’re…” She dropped her head. “My lords, there was something familiar about you, but—”
“We’re here now as TSS Agents and friends of Jason,” Cris told her.
Wil nodded. “We’ll take good care of your son.”
“I’m joining the TSS with them,” Ryan said.
“Just like your father.” Marie gazed at him lovingly. “I’m so glad you found me so now I know you’re safe.”
“I’m afraid this has to be a one-time visit for now,” Wil said. We need to keep a low profile. As it is, the Priesthood may already know we’re here.
“While you’re training, of course,” Marie acknowledged.
Maybe we can bring her into the fold later, but not until we’re ready to make our move. Wil grabbed the holopainting of the red flower so he could extract the memory chip—not larger than the head of a pin. He yanked it out telekinetically and placed it in the slot on the side of his handheld. “We’ll give you a few minutes to yourselves.”
“I’ll be right out,” Ryan said.
* * *
Standing alone in his mother’s presence, Ryan had no idea what to say.
“I still can’t believe you’re here after all this time,” Marine murmured.
Ryan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I know you were just trying to do what was best for me.”
“Can you ever forgive me for letting you go?”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” Ryan said, leaning against the entryway wall. “I barely remember you. Growing up as a Ward was the only life I knew.”
His mother reached out and took his left hand. “That’s not what I wanted for you.”
“Things don’t always go the way we hope.”
“No, they don’t.”
“Not everything unexpected is bad, though.” Raena and the TSS… This is a new start.
Marie nodded. “You seem happy.”
“I’ve had ups and downs, but I’m hopeful now.”
“Then I guess everything worked out okay.”
There are still so many unknowns. “Look… Mom,” the title felt strange to say, “I’d like to get to know you, but the next few years are going to be… strange.”
Marie tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t get into it. I think I’m going to be okay, though.”
She released his hand and crossed her arms. “The Sietinens have always been kind. If you’re in their favor, then I’m sure you will be just fine.”
“You should lay low, okay?” Ryan cautioned her.
“Me? I’ve always kept to myself.”
“Good. Just… be careful.” He paused. “I don’t want to lose you now.”
Marie smiled, stepping forward to embrace him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He savored her warm embrace as it brought back buried memories from his youth. He’d loved her more than anything else, and she him.
She released him and looked into his eyes. “I want you to have something.”
“What?”
Marie walked over to the end table by the couch and picked up the holopainting of the flower. “My mother gave this to me, and now I’d like to give it to you.” She came back over to him, hand outstretched with the painting.
He took it from her. “Thank you.”
She embraced him again. “I’ve never stopped loving you.”
Ryan’s chest constricted. “I’ll come back and see you when I can.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
* * *
Cris and Wil paced on the front breezeway while they waited for Ryan.
Meeting the mother of Banks’ son had affected Cris more deeply than he anticipated. For the entire time he’d been friends with Banks, he’d never known him to have many personal attachments. To realize that Banks had been on the cusp of having a family—something that had brought Cris such fulfillment in his own life—made his sudden death that much more poignant.
“I feel guilty keeping Ryan apart from his mother like this,” Wil said telepathically, pulling Cris from his thoughts.
“Me too, but it’ll be safer for both of them this way.”
“Do you think the Priesthood is watching us here?” Wil pondered.
Cris shrugged. “Maybe. Probably. But if they were going to hurt Marie or Ryan, they would have done it already.”
“What do you think they’re after?”
“A High Dynasty bloodline is valuable—especially when the people don’t even know their own worth. But maybe Banks figured out something we don’t know yet. We’ll look at the recording as soon as we’re back in a secure room.”
Wil nodded his agreement.
After several minutes, Ryan exited from the apartment, looking like he might break down in tears at any moment. He carried the holopainting of the red flower.
Wil placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be able to see her again later, if you want to.”
Ryan nodded. “I think I’d like that.”
“Good.” Wil headed toward the exit. “Now, let’s go find out what you dad had to say.”
Cris sat in quiet contemplation on the car ride home. Whatever information Banks had been hiding would likely change their understanding of the Priesthood’s motives. That had the potential to help them in their mission to bring down the organization, but there was also the chance it would uncover an even darker truth—something Cris wasn’t sure he was ready to know.
Despite his apprehension, Cris practically leaped out of the car as soon as they pulled up at the Sietinen estate. “Conference room,” he said to Wil.
“You can join us,” Wil offered Ryan.
“I don’t think I can take any more revelations at the moment,” Ryan replied. “If it’s okay, I just need some time alone.”
“Of course,” Wil acknowledged. “We’ll pass on whatever we learn later, if there’s anything relevant.”
Cris rushed inside to the conference room where they had met earlier in the day. The exterior shutters were still closed.
Wil sealed the door then placed his handheld on the conference table to access the memory chip. Only a single data packet appeared to be on the chip.
“What breadcrumb did he leave…?” Cris mused and tapped on the holographic representation of the file.
Words illuminated in midair: “Find Cristoph Sietinen.”
Cris glanced at Wil and then back at the message. “Subtle.”
“Is there more?” Wil asked.
Cris dug into the file. “Looks like there’s an encryption here. A combination of TSS login credentials and Dynastic ID.” He entered in his information and the screen morphed into a display of genetic profiles.
“Stars!” Wil breathed. “This is it. This is the key to breaking the Generation Cycle. That’s what he meant.”
“What?”
“Raena,” Wil clarified. “Rather, Banks left me a message, encouraging me to have a daughter. He knew about Ryan and the Sietinen-Dainetris match.”
“And you think this combination will do it—break the Cycle?”
Wil let out a slow breath. “They’re only 11th Generation so we won’t know for sure, but based on this and what the Aesir told me, I think there’s a chance.”
Banks, you really did spend too much time with the Priesthood if you were devious enough to mastermind this. Cris returned his attention to the files and noticed that there was another file separate from the genetic profiles. He opened it. “These are instructions. I think it’s referencing those encrypted files on the Mainframe that I was never able to crack.”
“It must be the information about Ryan,” Wil suggested.
“Must be.” Sure enough, the key to the encryption was Ryan’s genetic code—a combination no one would be able to guess.
Wil smiled faintly. “He knew we’d know what to do.”
Cris’ mouth felt dry. “I checked the timestamps on the sealed files on the Mainframe. He locked them within minutes of his death. This message here was for Ryan to find, but the rest was a last-second act of desperation. He entrusted us with his legacy.”
“We’ll make him proud.”
* * *
Feeling sleepy after a day in the sun and with an hour to kill before dinner, Raena wandered into the common room adjacent to the guest wing. Across the room, she spotted Ryan standing by the window.
“I didn’t expect you back already,” she called out to him.
“There wasn’t a lot to discuss there,” he replied, not turning from the window. “Your father and grandfather got a key to some files, but I had little to say to my mother.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Raena murmured. She walked up next to him at the window. “I thought maybe you’d have a chance to talk to her about why she gave you up.”
“We did,” Ryan replied. “It just wasn’t a very satisfactory explanation.”
“What did she say?”
“The Priesthood told her I was ‘gifted’ and needed to be monitored for my own good.”
“It seems that the Priesthood is good at forcing people’s hands.”
Ryan turned to her, revealing reddened eyes. “But she let them take me!”
“My maternal grandmother was apparently faced with a similar choice.”
Ryan returned his attention out the window to the lake in the distance. “My life doesn’t feel like my own.”
“I’m feeling pretty lost myself. Just a week ago I was on Earth without any knowledge of the Taran civilization.”
“It’s really surprising to me that your parents would keep your identities from you.”
“They had their reasons.”
“But what?” Ryan pressed.
“They said they wanted us to see what life was like for a normal person—no abilities, no social standing, no authority. Just a commonplace existence.”
“Is living on Earth really a good analogy for the average Taran citizen?”
Raena shrugged. “Based on what I’ve seen so far, doubtfully. However, I’ve also come to realize that my parents are very well-known. I don’t think they could have gone to any Taran world without being recognized. Earth was probably the only place where they could assume an identity in one place and give my brother and me any chance at the normal childhood they wanted us to have.”
Ryan scowled. “I think normalcy is overrated.”
“Says the secret heir,” Raena shot back with a smirk. “My mom pulled me aside and filled me in while you were away.”
“Okay, fair enough. But I was raised without any knowledge of that ancestry.”
“As was I,” Raena pointed out. “We do have that in common.”
He was silent for several moments. “I can’t help but wonder how it would be—two people from our backgrounds in positions of absolute power.”
“I don’t feel remotely ready to be any kind of leader.”
“You have a presence,” he replied. “I’ve seen how others look at you. You’re a natural.”
“Yeah, right,” she laughed.
“That combined with your humility—maybe that’s what your parents were trying to cultivate. I think that’s the kind of leader Tararia needs now.”
Raena stared down at the gardens below. “I dunno. Maybe.”
Ryan inched closer to her. “Just remember, you’re not the only one trying to figure out your place in all this craziness. We can help each other out.”
“Thank you.” She took his hand. “I’m glad we’re in this together.”
“Yeah, I guess we are.”
“Hey,” Raena said, “do you have dinner plans yet?”
“Huh, I guess I hadn’t thought about that part. I moved to a room up here, but I guess I won’t be eating down in the servants’ mess hall anymore…”
“Come with us,” Raena suggested.
“Really? That wouldn’t be strange?”
“Sure, why not? It’ll just be my parents and grandparents tonight.”
Ryan was silent as he considered the offer. “I’d be honored to join you.”
Raena smiled. “Good.”
They waited in the common room for fifty minutes, exchanging small-talk and getting to know each other better. Raena was glad for the chance to hear more about Ryan’s experience on Tararia as a child, which gave her insight into the culture that she wouldn’t see otherwise. Hearing about the stark contrast between workers and the ruling elite, she once again realized what her parents had done by raising her and her brother on Earth where such distinctions were blurred. She found herself wondering if she’d even have given Ryan a chance had she grown up on Tararia—instead seeing him only as a servant rather than having an open mind and heart.
Ten minutes before the scheduled dinnertime, Wil and Saera walked past the common room on their way from their quarters. They spotted Ryan and Raena.
“I imagine Raena already invited you to dinner?” Wil asked Ryan.
“She did, if you don’t mind,” he replied.
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Saera said. “We’re on our way down now.”
Raena gave Ryan a reassuring nod and they followed her parents to a dining room on the lower level overlooking the garden.
Cris and Kate were already seated at the table when the group arrived.
“It looks like we have an extra joining us,” Kate commented.
“So we do.” Cris waved his hand and the two chairs on one side along the long end of the table spread apart to allow room for a third, and the extra glided across the floor into place.
Raena stared at him, mouth agape.
“Oh, right… We’re not supposed to use telekinesis around here. Don’t tell anyone.” He flashed a devious grin and beckoned for them to join him and his wife at the table.
As Raena sat down at the ornate wooden table on the alien world in a house that looked like it was out of a fantasy book, she realized that she w
as surrounded by loved ones. Even on that foreign world, that made her feel right at home.
CHAPTER 18
The family dinner turned into an early night to bed for Wil and Saera. After the events with Ryan earlier in the day and the revelation about Banks, he needed quiet time to let his mind settle.
He drifted off to a deep and untroubled sleep for three hours, but then he was roused from his slumber.
Something isn’t right. He bolted upright in bed.
“Is everything okay?” Saera asked, propping up on her elbows next to him.
“No. Don’t you feel it?”
She lay still for a moment. “You’re right. There’s someone here.”
They jumped out of bed, quickly pulling on some clothes. Wil only slipped on a pair of pants before running into the living room. He grabbed a show sword from above the fireplace.
“That’s useless compared to telekinesis,” Saera commented from the bedroom doorway as she put on her tank top.
“But it makes for great intimidation factor,” Wil replied.
He rushed toward the door, sword still in hand.
“What’s your plan?” his wife asked.
“We need to get everyone secure until we identify the intruder.”
Wil telekinetically swung open the main door to the hallway and peered out into the dim light. No one was there yet—whoever was coming for them hadn’t entered the wing.
“Get Jason, Raena, and Ryan and bring them to my grandparents’ quarters. That will be the most secure place for now,” he instructed.
Sounds of a door opening caused Wil to tense. He readied a telekinetic shield but relaxed when he saw his parents coming out from their bedroom.
His father evaluated him. “You felt it, too.”
“There’s definitely someone unknown with abilities nearby,” Wil confirmed.
“Aesir?” Cris asked.
Wil shook his head. “It doesn’t feel like them. I’m not sure what to think yet.”
Saera and Kate ran to the twins’ doors and pressed the buzzers, then Kate went down the hall to Ryan’s.
Wil kept watch while they waited for the teenagers to groggily answer their doors.
“What’s going on?” Raena asked, suppressing a yawn.
“We think there’s an intruder,” Wil replied. “Stay together and go to Reinen and Alana. We’ll come get you there.”
