Zynathian rocked back and forth, cradling him, already having given up.
“Daddy, save him!”
Zynathian looked up with a blank stare. He had heard what his daughter said, but he hadn’t actually heard her. Then, from somewhere within, Zynathian heard that voice speaking to him. She rebuked him in the tone that she always used when he was under an immeasurable amount of pressure, which rendered him unable to think.
What do you think you’re doing? I did not give you such talent for you to become a coward when your gift is most needed! There is still life in him, and it is not my intention to call Khyeryn up now! So don’t be a fool, act now while you still can. “Protect and nurture your children…” Isn’t that part of your motto, or am I mistaken?
Lyn saw a sudden flare in her father’s eyes, and she stepped back to give him room, so he could bolt to his lab. Zynathian curled his arms around Khye, hoisted him up to chest level, and began sprinting to the back end of the house.
“Lyn Sha, follow me…we must give your brother some of your blood!”
Upon arriving, Lyn quickly undressed and sat on a cushioned table in the middle of the room, worried as her father performed doctor’s acts that were unfamiliar to her. Zynathian had just poured a white powder solution over each of Khyeryn’s wounds. He was especially thorough where Khyeryn’s arm had been…
…bitten?
Yes, bitten off. Now that Khyeryn’s clothes were removed, Zynathian could see large teeth marks surrounding the area where the arm had been severed. He put the tip of his dropper into a bowl of blue liquid and squeezed the soft rubber end. After the solution was sucked into the tiny glass tube, he quickly shot the liquid into the wound.
Whoooooooof!
An intense blue flame ensued. Khyeryn’s body violently convulsed, nearly shaking itself from the table. Lyn Sha was traumatized.
“Daddy, you’re hurting him!” she cried.
“Hush, child! I’m only cauterizing the wounds, should they start bleeding again!”
Lyn quieted, knowing that her father hated to be disturbed, much less startled, when he was working.
He’d finished lighting his son afire now. Throughout Zynathian’s life, this crude method of cauterization had proven to be more immediate and effective than the documented, scholarly process. It was no less a success now, and he was glad of it, drumming his fingers along the operating table, deep in thought.
Butterflies swam about in Zynathian’s belly, as he contemplated the remainder of the operation. He needed to get some blood into Khyeryn’s system now, but he was disturbed by the fact that it had to come from Lyn. Not only was human-to-human blood a more simple operation, but also, he would’ve never been able to get Jalum back into such a small room. Though his lab was larger than any other in the world, a beast as enormous as Jalum made this fact meaningless.
…And I can’t give him my blood. How can I perform such an intensive operation if I’m fatigued and ill? Alas, it must be Lyn. But she’s so small! Taking enough blood from her to get Khyeryn running again just might...
As Zynathian paced back and forth, Lyn got off the table, walked over, and wrapped her hand around his index finger.
“I’m ready when you are, Daddy.”
He was overwhelmed at the sight of such bravery from a ten-year-old. Zynathian knelt over and hugged Lyn Sha.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“I trust you, Daddy,” she said, seeing Zynathian hit the ‘On’ switch of the machine that would put her under.
She sat atop the table next to Khye, and her father slipped a soft, plastic mask over her face. As she leaned back to rest her head on the pillow, tears ran down the sides of her face. She looked over at Khyeryn, imagining they were down on the earth, playing It. Only Khyeryn was too fast for her—just like always! She grinned, thinking that it would always be that way, having no idea that she was so wrong. Things were about to change. After this operation, her body would never be the same again.
As Lyn Sha’s eyes closed, she dreamt herself away into her fantasy world with Khyeryn. There was no house in the clouds. There was only space. As far as the eye could see, there were long blades of grass and trees, swaying in the wind. The hum of the warm dusk air could be heard as it wisped in and out of the crevices near the trees and rocks. The sunset was beautiful with an enduring reddish-orange hue in the sky. Lyn Sha and Khyeryn played in their normal world like normal people, but in another world it was their last day as normal human beings.
IV
The Reunion and a Birthday
It was twelve days later that Lyn Sha and Khyeryn both opened their eyes. Zynathian, who’d been sleeping like someone in a coma for the last ten hours, was on a cot a few feet away from the children. He finished operating the night before, and all he wanted now was rest. It was mid morning and, normally, time for breakfast.
Khyeryn’s stomach growled as he lay awake, but he ignored his hunger due to his disorientation. What day was it? What time was it? Why was he naked when he always slept in his pajamas? Most importantly, why was he lying on a cold, uncomfortable table in his father’s lab?
Khyeryn sat up and yawned, stretching. This is strange, he thought.
His upper body felt so strong. Of course, he was no bigger, but for some reason Khyeryn felt extremely powerful…especially in his right arm.
He got off the table and wrapped the lower half of himself in the blanket he was covered with, standing idle as he perused over his torso. Yes, something was different. Khyeryn walked to the window and drew the curtains to get a better look at his arm. It felt so good—like it had a mind of its own, or a purpose.
Then he heard movement behind him. It was Lynnie, yawning.
“Lyn Sha…”
She looked over her shoulder and began to cry. Khyeryn quickly ran to the table and embraced her.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re better now…Daddy fixed you—I knew he could do it. You had me so worried, being all torn up and bloody. Promise you won’t get hurt again, please!” she begged, beating on his chest with anger and relief.
As Lyn’s tears ran down his chest, Khye held her in shock, trying to make sense of everything she’d said. Suddenly he froze, recalling everything vividly. He remembered the very reason he was down below without Lyn anyway.
“Happy birthday, Lyn Sha,” Zynathian said, stealing the words from Khyeryn’s mouth.
They both turned around to see their father sitting awake in his cot. Lyn covered herself in her blanket, and they ran and hugged him. Zynathian looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“Hey, sport…didn’t know if you were going to stay with us or not.”
Khyeryn saw the curiosity on his father’s face, knowing that he’d go berserk when he shared the details. He had to tell him, even though he hated the idea of ruining Lyn Sha’s birthday.
“Dad…it was Phyllamon.”
V
Khyeryn’s Escape
Twelve days ago, Khyeryn had risen early to go find a birthday present for Lyn. He easily got out of bed although they’d only retired two hours previous from a fun night with their father.
Though he was quite reserved with his feelings (going red in the face and breathing heavily every time his deep emotions were called upon) Khyeryn adored his family, especially Lyn Sha. He always took her birthday seriously, and this year was no exception. So, he’d risen early to embark on his task.
He quickly washed and put on his thick, red cotton suit. After slipping on his boots and putting on his warm fur cap, he grabbed an empty canvas sack from the edge of his bed and opened his window.
Whenever he and Lyn Sha played hide-n-go-seek, Khyeryn loved to elude her by jumping out of his window. This time he decided against it, for it had been a cold night and the stones on the deck would be frosty. He could badly hurt himself or wake everyone with the sound of his landing, foiling his escape.
Being so anxious to get moving, Khyeryn
had broken one of the biggest house rules and absentmindedly left his window open. Tiptoeing through the house, he made his way to the long hallway that led out to the balcony. Arriving at the end of the hall, he hit a green button, and the airlocks hissed as the shield, which opened up to the patio, slid aside. Khyeryn could only pray that neither Lyn nor his father was roused from their sleep with the noise, which seemed to echo all throughout the complex.
Once outside, he walked over to where Jalum rested in his huge nest, gently running his fingers along Jay’s feathers to wake him.
Jalum batted at Khyeryn with one of his wings, as he didn’t like being bothered so early on cold mornings—that was when he slept the best. But Khye was persistent. Now irritated, Jalum sat up in his nest and squawked as loud as he could. Khyeryn was hit with a huge blast of hot breath and fell on his bottom.
Jalum was raising hell.
“Shut up, Jay…you’ll wake them!”
Khyeryn quickly got up and wrapped both his arms around the beak of the beast and squeezed with all of his might, muffling the sound. Jalum swung him about in the air with ease, and when he saw that there was no changing Khyeryn’s mind, he let him down and listened.
“This is important! I have to go and get a present for Lyn, and you have to help me. I know it’s early, and I’m sorry about that, but it’s not like I can go down without you—I don’t know how to use the hover! …And dad says I’m too young to fly the car all by myself. C’mon, take me, pleaaaase. It’ll be fun…I promise I’ll get you a treat when we get down there,” Khyeryn said with a huge smile on his face.
Jalum shook his head with annoyance and climbed out of his nest. His clawed feet made slight crackling sounds as they moved on the frosty, stone deck of the castle. Then he sat down long enough for Khyeryn to saddle him and waited.
Soon Khyeryn was upon his back and strapped in. Jalum walked slowly to the edge of the balcony and stood there for a moment. Meanwhile, Khye held the reins and cringed with excitement as Jay prepared to take off. Suddenly, the winged beast leapt vertically and sent them skyrocketing one hundred feet into the air.
“Whhhhooooooooooaaaaaaaaah!”
When Jalum reached his peak, he let himself fall freely. Khyeryn squealed like a child on a ride at one of the amusement parks below. After descending a couple of thousand feet or so beneath the castle, Jalum extended his wings and soared.
Khyeryn was panting with exhilaration, having kept his eyes open through every second of the drop. Jalum looked back over his wing and squawked lightly at him, snapping Khyeryn out of his daze.
“Jay, head for Bahzee’s,” he said, as he relaxed to enjoy the rest of the ride.
VI
Poisoned Tea, A Wet Bed, and Sing’s Escape from an Erect Penis
1
A dwarf-sized boy, fourteen-winters-old, sat staring into a clear glass tank and angrily slammed his fist upon the table as he watched the two creatures within run about in a nonsensical fashion. They were black and lizard-like, several inches in length with large eyes that spun slowly round due to their state.
In frenzy, the creatures clawed at one another and continuously ran into the glass walls. They were doing any and everything except what the boy wanted. Normally, a failed experiment like this would have been quite amusing to him, but on this particular day he had something special in mind, and his failure would only put a damper on his plans.
“Bloody hell, why won’t you two die? Blast!”
In a swearing fit, the boy stormed about his quarters in the cottage. Had his parents been home, he’d have received a severe tongue lashing for his antics, for they did not tolerate his potty mouth. They’d gone out for the day, but they were soon due back. Knowing he was pressed for time frustrated him all the more, for if this didn’t work, he’d have to abandon his plan for another day.
He left his room and ran outside through an incessant spell of hard, freezing rain, which had begun that morning. Drenched, he made his way to the shed and began digging through his father’s farming supplies.
The boy dug in a box and tossed aside any item he hadn’t yet tested, going straight for the chemicals he was used to. Until today, he’d only used his newest creation on plants and bugs, and therefore thought that he might need a much stronger dose for animals or the like.
He’d begun testing a year ago and started with the simplest of elements. Rat poison. That was the base for his homemade killer. It was this, combined with many different insecticide pellets, ground to a fine powder, and then finally doused with moderate amounts of hydrogen cyanide, that became the most ambitious and lethal accomplishment of anyone his age.
Though he was just a boy, he’d been self-aware for some time now. He enjoyed reading everything he could on scientific matters and discovered he could borrow the ideas of another and easily apply them to his own projects with remarkable results. He was not an innovator by any means, but an exceptional imitator.
Along with the disposable syringes he kept on his person at all times (stolen property of his father’s), the boy now had all he needed and meant to get back to the attic—the place that his folks assumed was merely a spot in which he liked to read. It was, but aside from that small detail, it was also a miniature laboratory where he tested his chemicals on the house vermin and other small creatures. (The lizards now in his bedroom tank had been up here, being injected, not long ago.)
The boy stuffed the items in a burlap sack and turned to exit the shed only to face a most unpleasant surprise.
“What you doing, boy?” the man said with accusatory eyes.
“Nothing, Papa…just digging around for a few things.”
“Bloody hell! What you be needin’ with all me chemicals, boy? I knew I wasn’t crazy…thought me supplies was running short quicker than necessary!”
The boy’s father leered at him and snatched the sack, examining the contents.
“Do you know what you got in here, boy? These ain’t no blasted toys, fool! Enough of this stuff here will kill a man!”
A feeling of eeriness interrupted the father in his tongue-lashing, as he could’ve sworn that he saw his son grin at his last remark. Dismissing the possibility of something so absurd, the man grabbed his son by the arm, rushing him to the house.
“Wait’ll you see what your son was playing with in me shed!” he said to his wife, who’d just come running up the muddy hill. She followed them indoors.
Murlach’s father pushed him down firmly in a chair at the kitchen table. Then he watched his parents exit only to return minutes later, changed out of their clothes, robed and towel drying their heads.
“What’s this your father says about you playing with the farming chemicals?” his mother asked, hands on her hips.
“Well, I wasn’t really playing, mother,” he said, grimacing with anger.
Murlach hated the fact that his intellect was so far ahead of his parents that they hadn’t the slightest clue as to what he was: brilliant. He could hardly stomach them thinking his interest in these chemicals was just childish fun. And if they weren’t getting on his nerves with this, they were constantly pestering him to help with the crops…as if he was in mind to follow in their footsteps and completely waste his intellect, growing cabbages! The fools, what did they take him for?
“I told you, it’s all them blasted books he been reading, making him funny in the head, ya know?” His father tapped his index finger on his temple several times. “That’s where he’s been getting the idea that it’s okay to play with me chems!”
“The word is ‘CHEMICALS,’ father, and it just so happens that I understand them and all they can do much more than you!” Murlach growled. “So please do not try to lecture me on how dangerous they are! You’ll only hurt yourself!”
Murlach stalked off to his quarters, while his folks just stood there dumbfounded. Being that they’d never witnessed this level of direct disrespect from him, they were unsure of how to punish him. In the past, if they ever laid a hand on Murlach
for anything it was merely because they may have overheard him swearing or the like. And even then the extent of their discipline was a whack on the back of the head and grounding him for a weekend. However, due to the fact that his heart was in his work, Murlach never left the house anyway, so their efforts were pointless.
Flustered, they each uttered the first chastisement that came to mind, whether they actually meant to live up to their word or not.
“…And you’ll bloody stay in there, you will, until you’ve learned some manners, boy!” his mother snapped.
“Yeah, and…no…er…ummm…no supper for you. In fact, I don’t even want to see you tonight, as I just may loosen me belt and tan your ass!” the father yelled, scratching his head, wondering if he’d sounded convincing. “There’s a first time for everything, boy!” he added in a harsher tone, not stumbling over his words this time.
Murlach, throwing them obscene gestures from behind his bedroom door, was about to retort when he noticed that the lizards were no longer making a racket. He turned to inspect the matter and was more than pleased at what he found.
Excellent! he thought, clasping his hands over his mouth, holding in a hysterically wicked laugh that nearly escaped. He calmed himself.
Now all he needed to do was wait and see.
**
A few hours passed, and he’d paced his room the entire time. Sure enough, like clockwork, as soon as the timers hit nine hours past midday, he heard the rap at is door.
“Lights out, boy,” his father said, “And we gon’ talk about that lip o’ yours tomorrow!”
Murlach could hear his father walking away, heading to bed with his mother. Their door echoed as it slammed shut, and with that sound Murlach lay back on his bed, wondering what the night would bring.
The Gift of Volkeye Page 5
