Changing of the Glads

by Joy Spraycar

  Platy nodded and turned to the elevator. You better believe I will, because the woman in that portrait will not live long enough for you to see her again.

  ***

  Zalphia sighed and opened her eyes. How long had she been asleep? Already she felt better than she had in months. Sitting on a table next to the bed sat a tray covered with pastries. Karaticus must have known she’d be hungry.

  She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked around the room. The cheery colors made her smile. A coiled roll drizzled with frosting and red jelly caught her eye. Platy hadn’t allowed any sweets in Zalphia’s diet for years. Her trainer insisted sugar weakened the body. Saliva flowed in her mouth as Zalphia reached for the treat. She studied it before lifting it to her mouth and taking a tiny bite.

  Raspberry and cream burst on her tongue, and she rolled the bread in her mouth until it entirely dissolved. She pulled at her upper lip with her tongue, cleaning every last drop from it before again raising the pastry for another sampling.

  After the third bite, she devoured the rest quickly and reached for another. This one was streaked with yellow. Lemon filling squeezed from inside and dribbled out the corner of her mouth. With her thumb, she slid the sweet but tart substance back into her mouth.

  The door swung open, and Karaticus entered.

  “You’re awake.” He glanced at the half-eaten roll in her hand. “I hope you like them.”

  “It’s wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I had something like this. I had to have been only about eight or nine before Platy no longer allowed such things.” Zalphia chewed the remainder of the roll in her mouth. “Thank you. It’s delicious.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed them. Unfortunately, the time has come for you to meet Vitus.”

  Zalphia dropped the roll back onto the tray. “What does he want from me? Will he kill my baby?”

  Karaticus shook his head. “I don’t know. It all depends on what he senses from the fetus. And, of course, what he thinks will do him the most good.”

  “What will do him the most good? This child alive? Or dead?” Suddenly the pleasure of a few sweets faded. Fear clutched at Zalphia’s heart, and again the dreams from the dungeon plagued her thoughts.

  “I really couldn’t say. Have you felt anything from the baby? Any thoughts? Anything?”

  “No, but I haven’t been able to read anyone’s thoughts since Platy implanted those chips.”

  “What about now? Since you’ve been awake?”

  Zalphia paused, searched for another mind, but felt nothing. She reached out to Karaticus. He, too, was blank to her.

  “I can’t feel anything. Not you. Not the child.”

  He nodded. “You wouldn’t be able to read me. Vitus has made this facility a blank space to all but him. He and I are the only ones who can read minds in here.”

  “Do you sense anything from the baby?”

  Karaticus lifted one eyebrow. “No, I don’t.” He held his hand out to Zalphia. “Come, we mustn’t keep him waiting. I wouldn’t want to make him angry.”

  “What do you think he’ll do?”

  “That depends on what Platy told him. I have a sneaking suspicion that they might try to use this child.”

  “Oh?”

  Zalphia rose and took Karaticus’ hand. If Vitus thought she’d ever let him have her child – let alone use him for evil – he was very much mistaken.

  CHAPTER 25

  Karaticus led the way to the throne room, and two guards followed close behind Zalphia. The stark white of the walls made the floor seem to rock like the deck of a ship. The sweets she’d just consumed threatened to make their way back out.

  Zalphia paused, putting her hand against one wall while she fought the bile rising.

  “You all right?” one of the guards asked.

  “Not feeling so well.” The bumping inside eased the queasiness for a moment, and she managed to walk on.

  Karaticus finally reached an ornately carved door, inlaid with golden accents. Pulling it open, he motioned for the guards to remain and waved Zalphia inside.

  Huge pillars of white were mirrored in the dark marble floor. Three steps up set the middle of the room just higher than where Karaticus and Zalphia stood. Situated in the middle of the raised floor set an oversized lounge chair covered with a variety of velvety pillows, and in the midst of them, lay a man who looked very similar to Max. He wore a crown of burnished gold on his head and robes in the richest colors. Women lay strewn around him like so many charms on a bracelet. As Zalphia entered the room, he sat up.

  “So,” the crowned man said. “This is the famous No Mercy Zalph.”

  Karaticus bowed. “Yes, Vitus.”

  The man with the crown frowned and lifted his hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Karaticus stammered, glancing at the man standing next to the chair. “I mean, Your Highness.”

  Karaticus glanced at Zalphia and motioned for her to bow.

  She bent slightly.

  Vitus rose as she straightened. Immediately, he invaded her mind, rummaging through her thoughts. She lost all control as he pulled forth memories of her training, her matches, and even the day her mother left her with Platy. Emotions boiled to the surface, and she felt each one as vividly as the day she first experienced them. Then he discovered the day she met Max.

  She had carefully placed those memories behind the door that hid her most painful emotions. The same door where her guilt lay hidden. Vitus cracked it open. Zalphia shoved it back. The last thing she needed right now was the guilt and heartache to slip out and overcome her. Besides, her time with Max needed to remain hidden. Vitus exerted more power and pushed at the door while she put all her concentration into keeping it closed. The mental anguish of fighting him drove her to her knees.

  He laughed as he circled her.

  “Don’t fight it, Mother.”

  You know who I am, and you’re still doing this?

  He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her. “I can do whatever I want with you and your mind. You’re not as strong as me.”

  Zalphia fought to break the pathway he had established but was unsuccessful. So she settled on forming a wall of will to keep those most personal emotions safely locked away.

  Vitus’s mind fractured and slithered like snakes, discovering holes in her defenses just big enough to wiggle through. Zalphia rushed about, trying to plug each hole before the slimy tyrant could slip into her carefully guarded room. The effort sapped her strength and caused her eyes to bulge.

  Karaticus stepped between her and his brother. “This is not what you wanted.”

  Vitus’s hand flew out, and the rings adorning his fingers bit into Karaticus’s cheek, laying the skin open. The blow knocked Karaticus to the ground.

  “I’ll do as I please, and you will stay out of it. Do you understand?” Vitus growled.

  Karaticus nodded, one hand holding his bleeding cheek.

  Zalphia took the moment of distraction to fortify the room inside her mind and totally block Vitus’s efforts. Then she sent streamers out, following the slithering pathways into Vitus’s mind.

  He whirled back to her, grabbed her by the throat, and squeezed. “Oh. No. You. Don’t.”

  Zalphia dug her nails into his hands, fighting for air as his fingers tightened around her windpipe.

  He was powerful, not only mentally, but physically as well. Her glimpse into his thoughts showed just how far her eldest son had sunk in his quest for power. He no longer feared Selestia and would do whatever it took to gain the power he desired.

  The people of this planet meant nothing to him. He only saw what they could do, how they worshiped him. He longed to set himself up as the leader of not only this planet, but all of the planets within the realm of Selestia’s influence. If he had his way, her unborn child would be used for his cruel purposes.

  For the first time since learning what the brothers had done to Odette, Zalphia wondered if it might be better to end the life of her child before
it began.

  Vitus was truly evil, but while she lingered in his mind for just that moment, she felt something more. Something. No! Someone! Someone using Vitus’s own aspirations to achieve their purpose. Someone who pulled Vitus’s strings. And he was doing their bidding without even realizing that he was being used.

  Karaticus’s mind was there, too. Zalphia felt his hesitant and unwilling presence, but this was someone different. Someone besides her sons. A mind stealthily guiding Vitus’s thoughts and actions.

  Zalphia had used the tactic this person was using exactly twice before. A hidden thought planted deep inside her opponent’s own thought processes that would emerge at the most opportune time and seem to be that person’s own idea. However, at the time, it made the fight turn to Zalphia’s advantage. It had been difficult, had taken time and extreme concentration, but it was possible.

  This mind was doing the same thing to Vitus.

  “Wait!” Karaticus jumped to his feet. “Remember the child.”

  “You’re right.” Vitus released his hold.

  Zalphia dropped to the floor, coughing and sputtering.

  Vitus glared down at her. “Tell me, Mother. How is Father?”

  Zalphia massaged the finger marks on her throat.

  “Well?” Vitus paced in front of her. “Where is he?”

  Zalphia lifted her chin. “You’re the Emperor. You tell me? What have you done with him?”

  She glanced at Karaticus, who shook his head, his eyes wide.

  “I’ve done exactly as I wanted. You two have conceived a child, and now I will destroy it.”

  Zalphia narrowed her eyes and studied Vitus’s face. She had seen something entirely different when she’d invaded his thoughts.

  “You only think you can read my thoughts.” He glared at her. “I will never allow anyone, including my parents, to best me. If this child is the one these humans believe will save them, then I will destroy it and prove I am the prophesied leader.”

  Zalphia’s hands fell to her sides, and her fingers curled into fists.

  Karaticus shot Zalphia a subtle shake of his head.

  Zalphia stood and faced her eldest son. “Vitus, allow Max and me to return to Selestia with our unborn child. You can have this planet and its depraved people. You deserve each other.”

  She waited as Vitus considered her offer.

  “If only it would end there, I might consider it. But you know as well as I do that the Elders would never allow me just to keep going on as I have. If you and Father lowered yourselves to come here to stop me, then what does that say?”

  “I promise we will leave you alone. And we will convince the Council of Elders to agree. Just change things a bit. You can remain in power. Do away with the Glads. Bring peace, harmony, and kindness back to this planet.”

  Vitus rubbed his chin. “You make a compelling argument, but somehow I don’t think it would help. No, Selestia wishes for these people to govern themselves. Something they’ve never done successfully in all the time they’ve occupied this planet. The Elders would never submit to leaving this place in my hands. I know that, and Karaticus knows it. Don’t you, brother?”

  The younger son nodded.

  “And you should know that.” Vitus put a finger beneath Zalphia’s chin and looked her in the eyes. “You don’t remember anything of your mission, do you?”

  Again, Vitus searched her early memories. Zalphia allowed him to go there while she faithfully guarded the door which stood between him and memories of Max.

  “Hmmm. Interesting.” Vitus rose and returned to his comfortable chair. “You see? Not even the Elders could come up with a way to send someone to stop me. I have known about you for a long time.”

  His lip curled up, and he growled, “I just never expected you to survive in the arena.”

  Now it all made sense. Vitus was the reason she’d be ripped from her life as a small child.

  “I was truly surprised you weren’t eliminated in your first match. I was sure that someone as experienced as Gabriella would crush you like the worm that you are. But you took the blow and still managed to kill her. However, since you did survive, you have succeeded in making my Glad Games the most lucrative way to make a living in this world. It would have taken me many years to accomplish what you did in the first four that you fought. Now, it is one of the most sought after professions there is. So you see, even when you failed to die, you still fulfilled my purposes. Now, I will use you again.” Vitus motioned to his personal guards. “Throw her in the dungeon and bring me my father.”

  It took four guards to drag the struggling Zalphia from the room.

  If Vitus had Max, too, how could she even hope to be freed? But then again, Max said that they needed to see where this led. She had seen. And it led right back to their own family. But who was the other mind? Who pulled their son’s strings?

  “You’ll never get away with it.” Zalphia said. “Someone is using you. In the end, you’ll be the one losing everything.”

  Vitus shook his head. “You really expect me to believe your petty attempts to sway me?” He chuckled. “I will use you, and when Selestia is destroyed, we will see who ends up losing everything.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Zalphia curled into a ball on top of a bare mattress supported by a metal frame. With each movement, the springs squealed and groaned. Soft light shone through the narrow slatted window nestled close to where the ceiling and back wall met. Opposite the bed, a grimy toilet and tiny sink completed the interior of the locked room. The heavy, metal door sported a narrow slot through which an outsider could peek in and check on her solitary existence.

  One hand subconsciously rubbed her belly while Zalphia’s thoughts drifted to Max. What would happen to them now? If he truly was a prisoner, the same as she, how would they ever escape the palace, let alone change what had happened here?

  Her eldest son had become the problem instead of the answer. If she and Max were to turn things around on this planet, they’d have to somehow stop Vitus. But he seemed determined to keep all the power he had acquired.

  Vitus would fight for what he had, even if it cost him his life. He was her son, her child. Could she destroy her own flesh and blood? If Karaticus had been unable to stop his brother, what made her think she stood any chance on her own?

  And what about Max? If he could do anything, he probably would have already, wouldn’t he? She’d only just had her chips removed. Maybe he didn’t realize he could combine his mind with hers now.

  Zalphia closed her eyes.

  It should be fairly easy to find Max. She knew well how it worked so she sent searching fingers out, through the walls and up from her position. Maybe once she linked with him, they could devise a plan to end all this.

  A smile spread across her face. Yes, Max would know what to do, and then the baby she carried would be safe. But what about Vitus? He wouldn’t give up so easily.

  She searched, pouring her mind into corridor after corridor, but found nothing. Her eyes popped open, and she sat up. What? She couldn’t locate a single mind. No guards. None of the many people she’d seen littering the hallways. And not Max. Why couldn’t she sense anyone?

  Closing her eyes again, she concentrated harder, pushing with all her might to locate a person.

  Nothing!

  Not a single mind. No Max. No Karaticus. No Platy. Not even Vitus.

  Her body stiffened.

  What the heck? If she hadn’t just been able to work her way into Vitus’s mind, she would wonder if Platy had taken her abilities from her permanently.

  She fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Damn it.”

  Then she remembered what Karaticus had told her earlier. Vitus made this facility so no one from Selestia could use their mind powers in here. If she couldn’t reach Max, how could they get out of this place? How could she save her unborn baby and herself?

  A single tear slid down her cheek. Vitus had truly thought of everything. Then she reme
mbered what she’d encountered in his mind. Someone was using their powers in here. Someone who had figured out how to get around Vitus’s block.

  “I wonder.” Zalphia closed her eyes again.

  This time she opened her mind and let in the slower vibrations of air, listening for a mind hidden in the subtle sounds emanating from the earth. She’d had to search like this before, but only once.

  She’d encountered a Glad whose mind she couldn’t reach. This girl was from someplace in the high mountains. Her father had been some sort of religious zealot. He’d taught her to calm her mind and lower all her thoughts to the bare vibrations of the earth. The skill had made it nearly impossible for Zalphia to find her opponent’s thoughts, let alone change them. Luckily for Zalphia, the girl had been fairly new to the arena. If she hadn’t been, Zalphia would have lost that match.

  She could now see similarities between the silence she felt inside the palace and the silence in that Glad’s mind. When Zalphia went into Vitus’ mind, she heard that same murmur and recognized it as an outside influence. So there was another mind here. One that used vibrations so low they were not perceivable to Vitus. And Zalphia only recognized them because of her encounter all those years ago.

  The air shimmered slightly, vibrating between the walls of her cell. The tone she’d heard in Vitus’s head was different than what she perceived now. This mind was high-pitched and fast, a quick staccato like the beating of a tiny bird’s wings. It took some doing, but she finally was able to sync to its vibrations.

  Hello?

  The words rushed in. Fast and jumbled like a foreign language, but she could almost make them out.

  Who are you?

  Again, the jumble. Then it slowed.

  I don’t understand.

  Me.

  Who? Where are you?

  Child. Here.

  Where is here?

  You. Me. Child.

  What child? This certainly wasn’t Karaticus. And it wasn’t Vitus.