by Leyton, Bisi
Why did she even try? Wisteria smacked her head. Her mother never volunteered any information? Storming into her cabin, Wisteria kicked the door closed and then kicked it again before sinking on to the bed.
Chapter Three
We are the darkness and we are the good
Twenty-year-old, Bach of the Third Pillar blinked up at the deep orange sky, filled with black storm clouds overhead and wondered where he was. This wasn’t Earth, the air felt different, heavier, plus Earth didn’t have orange skies.
Was this Jarthan? In his life, he’d travelled across three realms: Earth, his home realm and Jarthan that sat between them. Jarthan’s skies were the only ones that were ever orange.
Checking for signs of Jarthan’s Mountains, he saw nothing, just the grey stone walls of a courtyard, which seemed familiar. He’d been here before, but couldn’t place when or why. Sitting up, he was on a stone chair alone in an abandoned stone courtyard, located in some sort of castle. Thinking hard, he tried to remember the events that led him to his place. He’d agreed to leave the Earth town of Franklin with his mother, Coia, for a day.
The cloud in his mind cleared and he recalled Wisteria Kuti, his Mosroc. He’d left and came here to save her life because she’d been bitten by the infected. Did the cure work? “D’cara,” he swore to himself. He’d left her on the tanker in the middle of the ocean with pirates. He needed to get back. Slowly, he attempted to rise, but his mind still seemed groggy. What did his mother do to him? “How did I get out here?”
“You sleepwalked, I guess,” a voice answered.
“Lluc?” Turning back, Bach wasn’t sure whether or not to believe his eyes.
Lluc, his twenty-one year old brother stood behind him in an immaculate grey suit.
Everything Bach went through in the last three weeks—Wisteria becoming infected, Ollie’s death, Radala, his best friend’s girlfriend dying—had been as result of trying to find the man who now stood behind him smirking.
“What happened?” Rising to his feet, Bach touched the black spots running along Lluc’s neck.
“It seems the Mosroc has made you affectionate little brother.” Lluc pushed Bach’s hand away.
“We were searching for you.”
“You should not have bothered. I have been fine all along. Thanks to Felip.”
“Felip. How can you trust him?”
Felip, their cousin, their father’s brother’s son, used every opportunity available to stab Bach in the back.
“He’s an insane manipulator. He made Oleander, my daughter, so twisted, she tried to kill Wisteria.”
“Bach.” Lluc grinned. “Exposing your daughter to Felip was a risk, but he saved my life. When I got to Franklin, Wisteria’s father poisoned me and within hours, I was locked down. Felip got me out.”
“Felip cares about himself. He resents us because we are full-blooded Family and he is part human. Me…he hates most of all for reasons I will never understand.”
“Soon, that will not matter anymore.”
“The Family has always detested humans. Father had me stabbed, because I would not give Wisteria—a human—up. You were there, so what has changed?”
“Mother will explain it to you.” Lluc patted Bach’s shoulders. “First, let me take care of you. How do you feel?”
Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, Bach sprinted a few steps and leapt into the air, landing on one of the courtyard’s walls and then onto a tower overlooking a forest. “I feel great.”
“Amazing huh?” Lluc landed beside him.
“I’ve fully regenerated.” As a member of the Family, Bach possessed the ability to heal himself from most ailments and injuries through a deep sleep called regeneration. “How long did I sleep?”
“An hour and not only are you fully regenerated, you’re almost forty percent stronger.”
“How is that possible? I would need at least a half a day to regenerate myself back to full strength. Did you give me something?” He examined his brother closely. “You’re different somehow.”
Lluc’s black hair shone and his shana, the black spots on his neck, were blacker than Bach ever thought possible. The shana provided an indication of the health of a Famila, and his brother looked in the best shape of his life. However, it was Lluc’s eyes that troubled him. Instead of being green as every healthy Famila man’s eyes were, his pupils were yellow.
“I have changed in more ways than you can imagine. Mother showed me a form of regeneration called the perfection. It greatly increased my strength and agility.” Lluc beamed. “She started using the perfection on you, while you were sleeping, but it has not been completed yet.”
“That’s why I feel so incredible. “ From the higher ground, he got a bird’s eye view of the entire courtyard and a wild forest behind them. There were no people, plants or animals, simply the grey stone. “Where are we?”
“The Forrest of Mirrin in Jarthan. We used to come here with Mother before she disappeared.”
“You’re right.” Bach remembered, Mirrin castle was used by the Lord or Lady of Jarthan for their meditations, studies and or any negotiations they needed to do with bickering Sens. When his mother had been the Lady of Jarthan, she’d forbidden civilians from going to Mirrin, but told no one why. Over time, people stopped going entirely. “Is Nular here?”
Nular was the human woman his brother fell in love with and with whom he’d run away.
“Who?” Lluc asked as they headed to one of the ancient doors.
“Your Thayn.”
Lluc paused, cocking his head to the side. “This way.” Ignoring Bach’s question, he bounded of the tower.
Following him, Bach descended through the air, landing inches behind his brother.
Lluc marched forward into the castle and led Bach through a dark passageway.
Bach grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. “Are you telling me you don’t remember Nular, your pregnant human wife?”
“She is safe now. The Family will not be able to reach her.”
The dark corridor brightened up, lit by candles. Standing at the end, they saw the tall regal woman—his mother, Lady Coia of the Third Pillar. Dressed in her white grown with a blue stripe down the center, her long dark hair swept across the ground as she moved forward. The last time he’d seen her, her skin looked pale almost pure white, but now she glowed with a healthy tan her cheeks a rosy red. Like Lluc, her eyes were yellow.
“Lelurim-Nasa-Rito-Hanish-Carna-Nisdor-Casata-Pateen-Foreh-Hareh-Lasmash.” Her voice echoed through the hallway as she recited part of Lluc’s true name. “Bring your brother.”
Obediently, Lluc shoved Bach forward.
“What’s going on?” Bach seized his arm. “Leave now. Something isn’t right.” He recalled how Radala, his ex-girlfriend died trying to convince him his mother was unstable and Wisteria also expressed a negative instinct about his mother. “We should talk about this first. Sen-Filla Merce can explain this to us.”
“Don’t be afraid.” Malcolm, his half-brother stood at the exit. His eyes were also yellow.
Behind him were several Famila men dressed in grey suits, who stared blankly at Bach.
“Beloved, we are not like the rest of The Family, so Merce and her frauds will be unable to help you.” His mother materialized, inches in front of Bach. “You see, we are as far above them as they are above Malcolm’s Drones.” She pointed to the Famila men who stood motionless behind them. “Or rather, how they think they are over Terrans.”
“They’re humans,” Bach gritted. “Never call them Terrans.”
“Do not worry. I have no fear or hatred of humans. Remember beloved, I bonded with two humans and one of them was Jason and Malcolm’s father.”
“Jason was telling the truth?” Bach realized. “You bonded with two men, but not our father.”
“Yes,” she acknowledged.
“Father knew this?” Bach demanded.
“Only Lord Rafel knew in the end,” she admitted.
&
nbsp; Lord Rafel was the father of Bach’s best friend, Enric. Rafel had been the Lord of Jarthan after his mother vanished, up until his own daughter Alba killed him at the command of Felip.
“Were you aware Felip was going to kill him?” Bach asked.
“Felip did not kill Rafel, Alba did,” his mother corrected.
At one time, he cared a lot about Alba. His father wanted Bach to name Alba as his intended, which meant one day, he’d marry her. Bach probably would’ve if he hadn’t bonded with Wisteria at thirteen. He shuddered while remembering about the evil Alba was. She used to be kind.
“Felip got to her and twisted her mind. She killed her own father for him,” Bach recalled.
“Rafel was a good man.” His mother’s head dropped and her long hair brushed against the floor of the cell.
“And Felip had her murder him,” Bach pointed out.
“He did not. She wanted to murder her father. It takes a special kind of hatred or love to do something so abominable,” she explained.
“Lord Rafel was there for me when you died—were gone.”
“And I am glad for that.” She took his hand. “Your father is a distant man and never understood how to show his love. I didn’t want to leave you at his mercy, but Wisteria sent me away. I swear. I would have never let Didan hurt you.”
“Your sister, Sen-Dra Belem watched it happen and did nothing.”
“Belem was a Drone and not as powerful as you and I. You and your brothers are truly different.” His mother beamed. “Like me. When High Father sees you, he will be amazed that you are half Famila.”
“Half? I’m part human?” Bach was surprised about how much he wanted it to be true.
“No, you, me and your brothers, are what is left of the true Family.” His mother glanced at Lluc, and back at him.
“I don’t understand.”
“Our people came to the Family’s realm and transformed a primitive race of forest dwellers and nut foragers into the quasi-civilized people they now are. We gave them their dialect, their culture, the power and most of their DNA. In return for our gifts, they worshipped us.” His mother’s tanned complexion turned to ash and her white nails grew long and thick. “Until they decided to join with our enemies and suppress our people.”
“What are you?” Bach edged away from her.
“I am a Dy’obeth, like my own father.”
“Dy’obeths are nothing but children’s stories.” Bach shook his head. “They’re like the blood thirsties or Ajana. Fairytales told to children to scare them.”
“I remember the legends of nine foot monsters with scaly skin, double tales and claws powerful enough to cut through steel. Their faces were distorted, horrific and so terrifying that a person seeing one for the first time would be temporarily blinded.” His mother chuckled. “We are not one of them.”
“Again, what are you?” Bach repeated.
“I am a Dy’obeth. Those stories were not true, but the lessons are. The Family must learn again to be afraid of us.”
“What happened to you in the Deep? You’re not well. Let me get you help. Dy’obeths aren’t real.” He recalled the words of Radala. She’d also told him Dy’obeths spent time on Earth. She’d claimed his mother had been trying to resurrect Dy’obeths. At the time, he’d thought Radala had been delirious because she lay dying. He couldn’t imagine why she thought the things she did at the time.
“Beloved, I am not crazy. The Seven Elders hid the truth about the Dy’obeths from everyone…even themselves because they are ashamed. Instead, they spread lies about Dy’obeths being monsters.”
“Ashamed, why?”
“Humiliated that the powerful Family was defeated and imprisoned by the humans of the First Pillar.”
“Humans imprisoned a race of super monsters?” Bach recited. “Mother, you don’t—”
“My father is High Father of the entire Family. He once ruled our Home Realm and the Family served him. His sons were the Sens of the Pillars and not imposters like your father.”
“Okay.” He tried to sound like he believed her.
“You are not convinced. Fine, but wait until High Father is released from Ajana.”
“Ajana? Mother no.” He massaged his temples. Ajana was another mythical place that didn’t exist.
“He has been there for over a millennia,” she continued.
“Mother, they’re stories.”
“Sometimes, everyone can be wrong.” A young man with light brown hair and green eyes stepped out of the shadows. “Good to see you up and about cousin.” Unlike the unresponsive Drones, this person seemed to be in full control of his faculties.
“Felip.” Bach seethed and brushed past his mother, storming toward him. “Why is he here?”
“Wait, I owe him my life, so you will not touch him.” Stepping between them, Lluc held Bach back.
“Felip has been very loyal to me. Like Lluc, I would not be here without his help. Whatever Felip did, he did to save me,” his mother informed him. “You will have to put your differences behind you.”
“Or you could get down on both knees and kiss my butt,” Felip jeered with his familiar cold smile.
“D’cara.” Bach struggled to break free from Lluc’s grip, but found his brother to be stronger than he remembered.
“What happened is in the past.” His mother’s voice rang through the corridor. “It must stay in the past. Bach, you are a Dy’obeth, so focus on allowing me to prove to you who we truly are.”
“Okay.” Nodding, Bach decided right then to get the hell away from all of them. He’d leave his unfinished business with Felip for another day. Right now, he’d go along with his mother’s madness and leave at the end of the day, like she’d agreed. If she didn’t honor her agreement, he’d find a way to escape. “So, how come you didn’t end up in Ajana with the others?”
“When the First Pillar turned on us, I was hidden from them by a friend, but I watched as the Family forced out my people and turned this realm into a place worse than hell.”
“It must have been hard for you,” Bach said.
“It was over a thousand years ago, and it still hurts.”
“One and a half thousand years? How old are you?”
“I am 1,329, but was barely a teenager when my bloodline was banished. Can you imagine the pain of being separated from those you love the most?”
“I do. You were taken and now my Mosroc might be dead.”
“I am sorry I wasn’t here for you. Please Beloved, let me make amends. Once I am finished, nothing will ever be able to separate us.” Studying his eyes, his mother seemed to understand his deep pain.
“By unleashing the rest of the Dy’obeths?”
“I’m not unleashing them, I am setting them free, and ensuring my boys become more, than they imagine.” His mother’s eyes became dark and her face tensed up. “Your father forced me to marry him because he wanted power over Jarthan. He had no idea who or what I was, so he thought he could control me.”
“Belem, attacked father and almost killed him because of you?” Bach released.
“Yes, she was supposed to kill your father. She failed. Do not worry Beloved, soon I will correct Belem’s mistake and your father will suffer for what he did to you.” She spoke as if murdering his father would be like scraping his knee. “Maybe even by your hand.”
“Can I have some time to process all of this?” He backed away then and collided with Lluc who stood unbothered by his mother’s revelation. Luc wasn’t the same and he could see that now. “What did you do to him?
“I perfected him.” Tilting her head up at Lluc, she stroked his hair. “I fixed the gaps in his essence created by your father’s bloodline. Although, he is still part Family, he is now one hundred percent Dy’obeth.”
“Can it be reversed?”
“I will never go back to the nothing I once was,” Lluc stated flatly. “Not after tasting freedom.”
“You call this freedom?” Bach exclaimed. “It is
like you have been brainwashed.”
“It seems strange to you because you have been the Family’s prisoner for so long. It will be different when the first of the Dy’obeths brethren arrive,” she added. “Take the time and process this, because you have just learned the world is round when all your life you thought it was flat.”
“That moment happened the second I discovered you were alive,” Bach admitted.
“Beloved…” She smiled sweetly at him. “I have missed you and I promise if you give me a chance and believe in me, I will never leave you again. When you are perfected, your brothers will bring your mate here. Wisteria will be very safe and comfortable here.”
“Dy’obeths trust humans?” Bach didn’t believe this. “If they hate the Family—then they must loath humans even more.”
“They do, but I do not.” His mother frowned. “How can I loathe a people who designed Jarthan Castle and built the thresholds?”
“How? Our artifacts are much more powerful than their technology or magic. How could they have built the thresholds?”
“The humans who have always lived on Terra are very primitive, but the humans who left Earth and eventually became the First Pillar were very different. The First Pillar created ninety percent of the Family’s artifacts.”
“What happened to the First Pillar?” Bach had to ask; despite believing his mother was indeed crazy.
“They went to war with Dy’obeths and most of them fled. Your mate’s father, Hemlock Zey was the last of the First Pillar’s Sen and was murdered by the empirics, along with his young daughter, Ivy.”
“Which explains why Lara is so disturbed,” Felip chimed in.
Bach shot him a deadly stare.
“All of you leave us now,” his mother commanded. “I want to be alone with Bach.”
Immediately, his cousin scurried out of the hallway along with Bach’s brothers and the Famila Drones.
“Does the thought of having Wisteria here not make you happy?” she asked.
Bach already lost hope that there would be a world where he and Wisteria could ever be together. “It’ll never happen. There’s no way we could ever be together and be happy, if she’s not already gone.” He felt a sharp pain in the pit of his stomach as he thought about her dying.
