by Seven Steps
She’d brought sunlight into his darkened world. He couldn’t imagine going a day without her.
He couldn’t.
He wouldn’t.
He would not.
“Are you going to send me back to Dry Creek?” she asked.
He heard her fear. Her unasked questions. Would she have to go back to her life of misery and abuse? To marry Pren, who would beat her? To spend every day wishing for death? No. It would never happen. He wouldn’t allow it.
“No,” he whispered, kissing away the tears that had fallen on to her cheek. She was shaking, her body tense, but he couldn’t let her go now. “Never. I’ll never let that happen.”
“But your father. He said that I had to go.”
“I’ll think of something. I’ll keep you here.”
She sniffled, and pulled back to look at him. The vulnerability so evident in her eyes tore at his heart. He couldn’t allow her to go. He had to find a way to make her stay? But how? How could he convince his father to allow her to continue living there?
“Do you promise?”
Her plumb, pink lower lip quivered. A temptation he couldn’t resist. He bent down to kiss it, tasting the salty tears and the fear. Cementing his resolve to protect her.
“I promise that I will take care of you. Always.”
Chapter 3
It was the beginning of the six night months of sunshine on Cyreen in the Eminence dimension. Much like Leilu’s home of Dry Creek, the sun rose for six months out of the year before disappearing again for the remaining six months. Unlike Dry Creek, however, the Eminence on Cyreen had long ago built high powered solar lanterns that provided alternative sunshine throughout the six dark months.
Cyreen was a planet in the Staray System. It orbited one yellow dwarf sun along with three other planets. There was no moon, leaving plenty of room for stars in the sky. Stars that were invisible now. Not that the people of Cyreen cared too much about that. Though the sun’s arrival was marked, it was not celebrated. It was just another thing that happened in their busy lives full of learning and labor. The grand mountains of the north, the shimmering oceans of the west, and the beautiful purple trees of the south beautified the planet. Still, they did not allow the beauty to touch them too deeply. There was no time for that. Just as there was no time for art or music or singing and dancing. Cyreen was beautiful in appearance, full of knowledge, and empty in its soul.
Phineas crept into his father’s room long, dark from the drawn, heavy curtains.
Ever since he and his father’s last meeting, his mind had been whirling.
How could he keep Leilu there with him after his father’s clear direction? If she was still there at breakfast, then Thomas Zorg was sure to drag her out by her hair, throw her on a spaceship, and send her away into the furthest reaches of space. He couldn’t let that happen, but there were only a few hours left. There was only one way forward.
One terrible way forward.
In one hand, he held a silver laser gun that his father had given him several years ago. He said that it would help Phineas feel powerful; to become more of a man. In his other hand, Phineas held a pillow.
His steps were silent over the white carpet. The smell of musk and ash from his father’s smoking sticks permeated the room. The overly large four post wooden bed grew in the middle of the room like four mighty oak trees. And in the center of the bed, lying on a mattress that cost more than what some people on the planet made in a year, was Thomas Zorg, CEO of Mega-Corp and one of the most powerful men in the fuel industry.
Phineas’s hand shook, making the gun clatter on his thigh.
Think of Leilu, he thought. Just think of her and this will all make sense.
Visions of his father patting him on his head after his primary school graduation crossed his mind. The way his father beamed when he’d graduated secondary school at the top of his class. The way he introduced Phineas to his friends as ‘My Son, Phineas, the next CEO of Mega-Corp’. The way he called him Phinny. Thomas Zorg was hard-nosed, tyrannical, and set in his ways, but there was no doubt that he loved his son, even adored him from time to time. The fact that he wanted Phineas to succeed, to be happy, and to take the company into the stratosphere was without question.
And Phineas loved his father, too. He looked up to him. Aspired to be like him. It killed him that their paths had drifted apart. He wanted to be everything his father wanted him to be. He craved to live up to the legend that was Thomas Zorg.
Sweat pooled in his palms and dripped down his back. His heart raced and his breathing came out in pants. The room turned overwhelmingly hot.
If only he would reconsider.
Thomas knew many things about Phineas, but he didn’t know how deeply his son felt for Leilu. If he did, he wouldn’t have threatened her with expulsion. If he did, he would have thought twice about speaking about her so unkindly.
How could he know that I would kill to keep her? Even if it meant killing the only other person in the universe that I love.
He stepped next to the bed, watching his father’s still body snoring softly. He looked so peaceful. So content. So calm.
Dots of water fell to the bed, and Phineas was surprised to discover that he was crying.
He clutched the pillow to his chest and closed his eyes, imagining Leilu’s beautiful face. He thought of what it would cost him to lose her, even if just for a moment.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
In one fluid motion, he covered his father’s face with the pillow; watched as his father’s body twitched in surprise, his arms and legs shooting straight up in to the air.
“I love you, Father.”
He swung his gun down, shoved it into the pillow, and fired.
The white of the pillow stained crimson, spreading like a blooming rose. Small dots of pink lightened the red on the spots were Phineas’s tears fell.
“Goodbye, Father.”
Cold fingers of guilt squeezed his spine as red filled his vision.
How had he turned from a doting son to a murderer? When did that happen? Who was he now? What type of person did that make him?
Voices sounded in the hallway, coming closer.
Phineas shook his head, attempting to clear it. He had to do something. Anything. People were coming. He had to move.
He ran to the window, pushed aside the curtains, and pushed the glass open. He then went to the stash of cash that his father kept in a drawer next to this night stand, and scattered it between the bed and the window. He’d just finished shoving his gun into his waistband and pulling his shirt down over it when the first of the security agents burst into the room.
The short, balding, muscular man, Esther Jorge, looked from the blood splattered sheets to Phineas, his eyes wide, questioning.
“There was a break-in,” Phineas said, pointing one finger to the window. It vaguely surprised him how numb he felt. There was no sadness. No anger. There was just him, in a room with his father’s dead body, telling lies as if they were truths.
Who am I?
Esther jogged to the window and looked out, one hand on his laser gun, the other hand pushing the window further open.
“No sign of anyone,” he said, turning to Phineas.
Phineas kept still under Esther’s scrutiny. The man was just a security guard, low on the totem pole of the planet. Even if he had suspicions, he wouldn’t dare voice them without proof. And, even if he did voice them, who would believe him over the son of Thomas Zorg?
“I’ll set up a perimeter,” he said.
Phineas nodded. “Yes. I want whoever did this captured immediately and brought to trial. My father’s blood screams out for justice.”
How is my voice so steady? When did I become such a good liar?
“Yes, sir.”
“And convene the board. We’ll have to announce a new CEO as soon as possible.”
Esther didn’t respond right away. His mouth opened and closed, like a fish gasping for air.
&
nbsp; “Go!”
Phineas’s voice echoed through the bedroom, making the man jump and scurry from the room.
His mind seemed to be at a standstill, no coherent thoughts making it in or out. He could only confirm what he already knew as he walked from his father’s room.
My name is Phineas Zorg. I am a murderer. I killed my father. My name is Phineas Zorg.
The single thought played in his mind over and over again as he wandered through the halls of his father’s mansion. He vaguely registered people talking to him, asking him questions, asking for information, but he couldn’t form the words to answer them. His mind had shut down.
“Phineas.”
That voice. He knew that voice.
“Phin, are you alright?”
Two warm hands touched his face. Large blue eyes gazed at him in concern. The sweet smell of flowers overtook him. The expensive perfume he’d brought her when she arrived.
Leilu.
“Phin?”
Her arms came around him, infusing warmth into his icy soul. His mind rebooted.
What have I done?
He fell to his knees before her, pressing his tear streaked face into her belly and wrapping his arms around her.
He’d become exactly what his father had warned him against. Weak. Blubbering at a woman’s feet like a child. Shame, anger, confusion, grief, and dread gripped him tight in beautiful ropes of red, yellow, blue, and black. Binding him until he felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“Phin, what have you done?” she whispered, running her slim fingers through his blonde hair.
He pulled his face back, their two blue eyes meeting.
Seeing her there, feeling her in his arms, peace washed over them. They could be together now. There was nothing holding them back. They could be together.
“I’ve taken care of you,” he said softly. “No one is going to send you away now. I’ve taken care of you.”
He returned his face to her belly, relishing in her touch as she continued to stroke his light hair.
Nothing can come between us now.
“I’ve taken care of you.”
Chapter 4
Phineas handed Leilu through the portal before he stepped through it. The last several days had whirled past, stealing Phineas’s breath, his heart, and his mind.
In the last five days, eighteen year old Phineas Zorg had been named the new CEO of Mega-Corp. The following day, he and Leilu had been married. The day after that was Thomas Zorg’s funeral. Phineas had locked himself in his room for two days after that, refusing everyone and everything from entering. Even his new wife.
He needed time to grieve for his father. Time to grieve for himself. To find out who he was now, and the best way forward. Time for his numbness to congeal into guilt and gloom. Time to remember his wife, the reason for his heavy load. A load he’d gladly bared for her.
Recently he’d emerged from his room, his body cleaned, his mind clear.
It was time to get to work.
What was done was done. There would be no bringing back Thomas Zorg. All he could do was grow the Zorg legacy, and he knew exactly how he was going to do it.
He gathered his new wife, given her what he’d come to call Jumper Juice—a liquid that would allow her to pass through dimensions—and brought her there. The place where their love affair started.
Dry Creek, in the Nadir—the lower dimension of Cyreen. The place she’d called Gof.
Somewhere above them, back in their Eminence dimension, his father’s body was cold in the ground. The thought chilled him as he stepped into the warm sunshine that heated the forest, newly blooming with green foliage and white flower bushes.
Though the planet housed two different dimensions, they shared some characteristics. The same sunshine heated them; the same starlight rained down upon them.
Phineas and Leilu silently walked through the forest, arm in arm. The spicy scent of forest teased their nostrils, tinted with the oily smell of rotting from the nearby lake. In silence, they passed the graveyard, where the grave keeper eyed them curiously.
And why shouldn’t he? Phineas had insisted that they dress in their best. Leilu’s long, white, sleeveless dress grew dusty as the garments train trailed behind her. The heels of her buckled, white boots made her nearly three inches taller. Her blonde hair was brushed and styled in an elaborate braid. Phineas wore a stylist, slim cut white suit, a crisp white shirt, and an elaborately tied red cravat. His boots were shined, and his hair was combed and tied back in a neat ponytail.
They walked through the graveyard, and down the dirt strewn path that led to the middle of town.
With each step, Phineas felt Leilu grow more and more tense. Her shoulders slumped, her breathing increased, color rose in her cheeks. He felt her increased pulse pounding against his fingers and squeezed them tight.
“No need to be afraid, my love. These people are no more than the dirt beneath your feet. Remember that.”
“I spent most of my life here, Phin. I knew these people. Grew up with them. I know what they are capable of.”
“By the end of the day, these people will call you a Goddess. Their Goddess.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look at him quizzically. He looked back at her, giving her a reassuring smile.
“They will call you a Goddess.”
He brushed a kiss across her knuckles, and felt her relax beneath his touch. It gave him joy to know that he could ease her fears. That he could soothe her as she had soothed him so many times before. She was a balm to his soul, and a light to his eyes. Any sacrifice at her alter was worth it.
She was worth everything.
They walked through the center of town and directly up to town hall, next to the church.
He handed her to the top step and stood next to her, looking out over the people who she’d once ran from. A crumbling, worn down people, dressed in dirty rags and holed boots. The women wore bruises like badges across their skin. The bearded men sported mangled knuckles, probably related to the women’s bruises. An orange tint had settled over the land from the risen sun, turning the town the same color as the dirt that blew through it.
“People of Dry Creek!” Phineas shouted.
The few people who’d gathered to gawk at the newcomers quickly turned into a muttering crowd.
“My name is Phineas Zorg. This is my wife, Leilu Zorg.”
More mutters. A shout from several men.
“She comes from you, and now look at her. A fine lady, wouldn’t you say?”
He turned his eyes to Leilu, allowing his raw desire to show in them. She blushed and relaxed a little.
“Leilu has learned the secret to success. Fuel. Beautiful, beautiful fuel that will transport glorious ships from this galaxy to the ends of the universe, and Dry Creek has the honor, nay, the privilege to be at the forefront of the revolution. It lies here, in the oily depths of your lake. What you call the Death Lake.”
The mummers grew.
“Death Lake?”
“Near the graveyard?”
“And I am here,” Phineas continued, “to commit to paying each of you well over a thousand credits if you will let me mine that lake.”
The mummers almost drowned Phineas out.
“Ten thousand credits?”
“That amount of money could last us a lifetime.”
“Did he say ten thousand each?”
“That is ten thousand credits,” Phineas said. “Not per household nor per adult, but per person. Every man, woman, and child would be privy to that money, free of tax or obligation. And all you have to do is sign this contract stating that you allow me to drain your lake.”
The mummers turned to shouts. Each of the greedy town folk poured over each other, anxious to be the one to sign on the dotted line first.
Phineas looked at Leilu, who managed to look both shocked and impressed.
Phineas was neither.
Every Nadir was full of places like that. Small mic
rocosms of life, isolated and backward. Dry Creek was just the first. He was sure that after he’d perfected his formula, he could move from planet to planet, from Nadir to Nadir, filling their pockets with counterfeit money while he mined their dead to power his ships.
The plan was perfect and, even better, it would take Mega-Corp into the stratosphere.
Chapter 5
Phineas fanned himself with his straw sun hat. He’d left Leilu in town at the dress makers so that he could come back and oversee the construction crew by the lake.
Over the last week, he’d given several trusted men jumper juice—the same concoction that he’d given his wife—so that they could help him build a pipeline that would run from Death Lake back to his labs. It had been tricky to get the pipe to appear on the other side of the dimension portal. At first, he’d stood next to the pipe and kept his hands on it. After two days of that, he’d poured some jumper juice on it, and it worked just as well. Better than baking his hand on a scolding hot pipe all day.
As he watched the oil flow through the pipe, he swelled with pride. The oil would be his legacy. Completely renewable, long lasting, clean burning, and efficient. Judging from his initial test, the fuel would outpace the currently used fuel by miles, sending his company’s profit margins to a level that his father had never dreamed about.
But what would your father say if he knew where the fuel came from? his conscience asked him. Would he approve?
He shook away the thought. After all, it wasn’t how they arrived at their destination. It was that they arrived at all. Hadn’t his father said that, too?
“Mr. Zorg. A word, please.”
He turned around to see two bearded men staring at him, their beady eyes narrowed, their stance tense, as if ready to pounce.
He didn’t know who they were. All of the people looked alike to him. Even if he had heard their names, he was sure that he wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
“Yes.”
“We came here to give back your money.”
