“We didn’t linger on Sceptrum much longer than that because we wanted to come back here to warn you and everyone else. They could be on their way here now,” Naomi remarked.
“All right, Andre, I want you to . . .” Wesley started issuing orders, however Naomi cut him off.
“Wesley, wait. There is something else we found out.”
“What is it?” Wesley asked somewhat impatiently.
“It’s about Xavier. We noticed that the Solstice was recently docked on Capri. The logs documented that Bryant was there. I’m certain he’s tracking Ava for him. We don’t know where they are now.”
“Bryant doesn’t know about Kyanos. He left us shortly before we planned to explore this part of the galaxy, remember? I doubt he’d even come out this way. I’m not worried about Xavier right now, let’s focus on preparing for Kaden’s attack, which is surely coming,” Wesley concluded authoritatively.
“What about Ava?” Naomi asked.
“We will take precautions. I will tell her about Kaden when she comes home.”
“But Wesley, if Kaden has Draves aboard, he may be able to read any one of our thoughts and if we let it slip about Ava’s existence . . . or Xavier, he could pick up on that. I’m not that concerned about Xavier, but Ava could be in terrible danger if Kaden found out about her,” Naomi explained.
Wesley paused and thought for a moment. He took a deep breath and sighed. “You are right, but we cannot take Ava back to one of the stations, we don’t have time.”
“Where to then?” Naomi asked.
“Ava is strong. I have an idea. I will take her to stay by herself for a while once we pick up on Kaden’s transmissions. I will be the only one of us that knows, so as not to increase the chances of Kaden or Draves finding out about it. She will be all-right, I can block my mind from Draves if I concentrate hard enough. It’s difficult during a fight, but it can be done. We should all start practicing on focusing our thoughts.”
The conversation then became a strategy meeting. They notified Trevor Vance, who arrived with several other officers immediately to join them, and spent a few hours determining what should be done next. They would be armed and ready, both on land and in the sky to face whatever terror Kaden might bring to them. Ash and Mia left early, with their orders on what to do to arm and ready the Principia. A little after three o’clock the sound of the back door opening hushed them all as Ava walked in, back from work early. She set her purse down on the table in the hallway and wandered closer to the group, looking into several concerned faces.
“Welcome back,” Ava greeted Naomi with a hug, which Naomi returned.
“You’re home early, is everything okay?” Wesley asked, looking at her closely to see if there were any signs of distress.
“Oh, well, I had clinic this morning, but then they wanted me to sit through an orientation class after lunch but we got out early. The clinic wasn’t that busy, so Dr. Sullivan said for me to call it a day. I called the driver to pick me up and here I am. Why do you all look so serious, is something wrong?” Ava asked looking from face to face. Wesley shot them all a look telling them not to say anything.
“Just the usual,” Andre said jokingly. “I hear you are officially going to be part of the family soon,” he gave her a bear hug and let go.
“Congratulations Ava, I am so happy for you both!” Naomi gushed, remembering the happy news.
“Thank you, I am pretty excited about it.” Ava’s comment fell a little flat over the note that she had picked up on a somber mood.
“Well, we should go and get started on those things that we talked about,” Andre said hastily, pulling Naomi along with him. Rowan and Justin, along with Vance and the other officers trailed behind them.
“We’ll get together again soon Ava,” Naomi called to her as she left.
“Okay, it was nice seeing you. I’m glad you made it back okay.”Ava watched as everyone filed out the door.
The room fell silent after they had gone. Ava turned to Wesley with a puzzled look on her face. “What’s going on?”
“Ava, we need to talk, now,” his voice conveyed his seriousness. She poured herself a glass of water and sat on the couch as Wesley paced the den and told her about Kaden and the new added threat of Draves. She understood the implications of the new threat and did not question him when he told her that he would soon need to move her to a new location, unknown to the others for her protection.
“You are going to stay with me right?”
“Ava, I can’t. I will be needed here. You will be perfectly safe, I promise,” he reassured her.
“Where will you be taking me?”
“On the other side of Kyanos there is a small un-inhabited continent where the land is pretty much desert. It’s almost like a barren wasteland, with dry, hot sweeping winds, sandstorms and lots of sun. The days are hot and the nights are frigid. We call it ‘Ibis’. We did not settle there because it did not seem like a promising location to start a new community for the obvious reasons. Everyone here has pretty much forgotten about it, it was so long ago. Our plan was to settle this region of Kyanos, and then work on creating decent living structures in Ibis. In the beginning, we set up a small base there in one of the rock formations. It will conceal your presence and keep you safe. No one scanning the planet from above could know you were there or would even think of searching for you in such a terrible location unless you were sending or receiving transmissions of some kind. The base is now empty, but in a few hours, I will go there to power it back up and stock it with supplies, anything that you could possibly need, enough to last you a month or more if necessary. That is what Rowan and Justin are doing now, loading up the Andromeda.”
“Why can’t I stay in one of the bomb shelters with the rest of the people here? I don’t know Wesley, I don’t feel good about being separated from you. I have a bad feeling about it. What if something, heaven forbid, happens to you? Since we won’t be able to communicate with each other after you take me there, who would know to look for me there?”
“If Kaden were to find you here, he would torture you in front of me to make me suffer. I cannot risk that for you. The others do not know where I am planning on taking you. We also have a few other empty bases on this planet, in remote regions. I will write down your location and give it in a sealed envelope to Vance. If something did happen to me, or the others, the humans will come for you. It won’t come to that Ava. You will be safe.”
Ava looked down at the ground, having no choice but to accept his decision. “I know this is not ideal Ava, but it’s the best plan for me to ensure your safety on such short notice.”
“I understand,” Ava said softly, the beginnings of tears filling her eyes. “Wesley, I know something else is bothering you, I can feel it. It’s not just Kaden and this Draves person. Please tell me what it is.”
Wesley took a deep breath. “There is something I need to tell you. I’ve been open with you about every part of my life as an Asterion. However, there is something I haven’t told you about. Unfortunately, another Asterion exists that you should know of . . . his name is James Xavier.”
Chapter 11: Xavier
After hearing about Kaden’s imminent attack, there wasn’t much else that could have shocked Ava, except for what Wesley was about to tell her. She settled back into the sofa to hear what else he had to say.
“Ava, do you remember what I told you about the beginning of my existence?” Wesley watched her carefully, trying to sense her reactions.
“Yes, I believe so. You said you were kind of like a ghost, or a free floating spirit without a form.”
“Yes, that is correct, although there is a little more to it than that. I did not tell you everything, I’m sorry.”
“What do you mean?” Ava’s deep blue eyes grew larger with concern. What else could he possibly say to top his already incredible existence.
“When I became self aware, I was a very large entity, perhaps the largest and most powerful of any
Asterion ever created. Over time my thoughts and desires seemed to conflict one another. I carried on like that for probably thousands of years. Then, one day, I was especially irritated with myself. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I used my essence and controlled my energy to split myself in two and drifted away from the other half peacefully. The separation brought me, and I suspect my other half, much relief.”
“Wait a minute. Your essence was split into two different halves?” She looked him over, unsure what to think of what she had just heard.
“Yes,” he said quietly.
“Why are you telling me this now?” She asked, nervous butterflies beginning to form in her stomach.
“It’s important for you to know Ava, because right now James Xavier is out there somewhere looking for you.” Wesley pointed upwards towards the sky as he spoke.
“What are you saying?” She wondered aloud quietly.
“Xavier . . . is the other half of me. We are the same essence and energy, bonded into two different human bodies.” He closed his eyes, apparently unhappy to be telling her this.
“How would he even know about me? I’ve never met him,” Ava replied, trying to rationalize something she didn’t fully understand.
“We believe that Bryant has informed him and that, from what we can tell by observing his flight patterns, he has been on our trail for some time now.” Wesley’s voice conveyed no emotion.
“Why would Bryant do that? What’s in it for him? Does this Xavier even have a starship?” Ava still felt shocked by what she had heard and asking questions seemed to be the only rational thing to do next.
“Bryant wants revenge on me for his wife’s death. We suspect he located Xavier and told him about your existence to convince him to come and take you away from me so that I would suffer. And, to answer your question, yes, Xavier does have his own starship. He is the lead singer of that band you wanted us to see called Geodesic.”
Ava figured it out quickly. “So that’s why you didn’t want to see them on Orionis. That’s why you wanted to take me away that night.”
“Yes. He did not yet know about you then and I didn’t want to take the chance of him sensing you there, so we took you to see your friend.”
“I don’t believe this, do you know how crazy this sounds?” She felt frustrated with the web of conspiracy among all of these Asterions and all of the new information she was given. “Is there anything else that I should know about you Wesley, or is that pretty much it, because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Ava stood up and marched over to him, looking him straight in the eye.
“There is nothing else, Ava. I didn’t want to tell you because I never believed that I would have to. I never believed that he would find out about you. If it weren’t for Bryant, he wouldn’t have. Xavier likes to be left alone; he and I don’t get along. That’s why we separated in the first place. Since that time, we have encountered each other only a handful of times. Being around each other is . . . awkward to say the least.”
“So you are like the good half, and he is the bad one? Is that why you don’t want him to find me?” Ava asked softly, calming down a little.
“No Ava, it’s not like that. If it were only a matter of me being good and him being evil, then we’d simply hunt him down and kill him and be done with it. He’s not a bad man. I don’t want him to find you because he would take you away from me. You see, you are my match, which means that you are also his match.” He took her hand in his, pulling her closer.
“Oh.” Ava suddenly realized what this meant. If the two of them each only had one match, and it was her, they would fight to the death over her. She leaned her head on his chest. “Does he know about Kyanos? Do you think Bryant would track us all the way out here?”
“It’s unlikely. Bryant left us prior to our discovery of Kyanos. I’m more worried about Kaden than I am of Xavier at the moment.” This comment from him calmed her fears of being kidnapped for the moment, not that an attack by Kaden was a better alternative.
“What’s he like? I mean . . . does he look like you, or have the same abilities that you do?” She suddenly felt curious.
“Xavier’s body is slightly younger than mine and he’s taller than me. He has blue eyes and black hair, at least he did the last time I saw him, which was a little over ten years ago. As far as I know, he has only one ability, but it’s a strong one. He possesses very powerful telekinesis. He can do anything with his mind. If he has any other powers, he has not shown them to me.”
“How many times have you seen him, . . . since the separation?” Ava asked inquisitively.
“Only a few. Like me, he wanted to be human. We have the same mind, the same essence. I wasn’t surprised that he became one after I did. I don’t know what the circumstances were. He isn’t evil Ava, he did save Naomi’s life the last time we saw him.”
“He saved her life? How?” This new information piqued her interest.
“It was after one of our battles with Kaden. At that time we were on Zaniah, one of the most desolate space stations. Naomi was tracking him and opened fire when she thought she had a chance to finish him, but he returned fire and severely injured her. We chased him off and tried to save Naomi, but her injuries were too fatal. I tried to heal her, but as I’ve told you, it’s painful to others and she couldn’t take it, she asked me to stop and wanted us to accept her death. Andre wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and begged me to ask Xavier for his help to save her.”
This story surprised Ava. She never would have thought Naomi could have been in such danger. Wesley continued “I can sense when Xavier is near, particularly when we are on the space stations. It has something to do with the interference in the energy. I suspect we will always be connected in some way. Anyway, by some miracle he was stationed there at the time. I teleported myself over to him and pleaded with him to help us. As you know, we can enter the body of someone who has just died, if the circumstances are right. This is why we needed Xavier.”
Ava looked down, as if she were not sure if she wanted to hear what was coming next. He continued the story. “Xavier reluctantly agreed to help us, though I’m sure it was not for my sake. I feel as though Naomi is sort of a sister to me, Xavier must have felt the same. So, late that night, Andre and I took our dying Naomi to the nearest hospital with Xavier following. We snuck into the hospice ward and located a young blonde woman who was terminally ill from leukemia. She was suffering terribly. We placed them side by side and Xavier used his ability to stop the young woman’s heart. Then, he stopped Naomi’s heart and used his ability to assist her to switch bodies. Her essence and what was left of her energy transferred to the new body and her old one perished. Matches can sometimes transmit energy to each other and Andre gave all that he could to her. The energy cured the cancer, and enabled Naomi to survive, though she was very weak. She still is by our standards and has yet to recover her abilities, but she will. Our energy builds the longer we are in our bodies. After that, Xavier left us that night without saying a word, but I knew his thoughts. He cautioned me to take better care of my family. It’s like our mind almost merges as one when we are that close together. Our energy longs to be re-united. It pulls us towards one another when we are near. He hates it just as much as I do. That’s why we can’t stand being around each other. That was the last time I saw him, about ten years ago.” Wesley looked at Ava to gauge her reaction to his story.
“I’m not sure if that story makes this Xavier a hero or a monster,” Ava commented.
“None of us are perfect Ava. Maybe that’s what makes us more human? The woman that Naomi became was suffering, she wanted it to end. We tried to make the right choice. There are so few of us, it would have been devastating if Naomi had died. Xavier is many things, but so am I. I wouldn’t describe either one of us as a monster. However, I think it would be safer for both of us if he did not discover you,” Wesley said solemnly.
“If he already knows you have met me, do you think he�
�d be angry, especially since it appears you are hiding me from him? Maybe we should just go to him after this thing with Kaden is over and explain to him that I want to be with you? That sounds reasonable based on what you have told me about him,” Ava suggested. What would this Xavier be like if she did meet him? Would he harm her?
“Going to Xavier is not an option Ava. He must never find you. I’m sure he would be angry. I know this because I would be. We are the same, he and I. There’s no telling exactly what he would do.”
“I feel an attachment with you, emotions and a closeness that I can’t even describe. I have since I met you. It’s your energy, it’s like I’m connected to it. I’m not an Asterion, but I am as bonded with you as you are to me. What would happen if I did meet this Xavier? Would I react to him the same way I do to you?”
“I don’t know. This has never happened before to any of us. I hope not.” Wesley looked at the ground, apparently not happy about that possibility.
“Well, we’d best not waste our time worrying about things like Bryant and Xavier that we can’t control right now. Let’s concentrate on Kaden and Draves. I’ll make some dinner for us before you go to the ship and then I’ll get started packing a travel bag so that it will be ready when I need to leave,” Ava offered.
Wesley stopped her before she left for the kitchen. “Ava, I’m sorry that I’ve done nothing but complicate your life. You could have had a normal relationship if you had never met me.”
“That’s not true Wesley. Kaden’s actions are not your fault. I love you and I can’t imagine my life without you. You have no idea how much you have meant to me from the beginning. We’re part of each other now. Your problems are my problems and that’s okay. Whatever happens, I have no regrets. I will always love you.” She kissed him and left for the kitchen, eager to prepare their early dinner, to give Wesley more time to make ready the base which would be her safe house during Kaden’s impending attack.
The Solar Flare Page 10
