Then there was a white house. Her house. The house she shared with Omin. And Omin was her husband.
She almost willed the images back beneath the surface, but she had to confront them. For the sake of her world and Raz, she had to remember. Closing her eyes, she let the memories come back.
She walked into the house where Omin was talking to five Palers, three males and two females. They were huddled around a table, examining a map of their galaxy.
“Jaz, come on in,” Omin told her when he noticed her.
She set the basket of fruits and vegetables down and approached them. “What’s going on?”
“You know that plan we talked about?” he asked, his eyes glistening with excitement.
She nodded.
“Well, the wait is almost over.” He slipped his arm around her waist and motioned to the map. “By this time next year, we will have control of Pale.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible,” she replied. “I thought it was going to take at least ten years to convince the others that we need someone like you to be our main leader.”
“It won’t take that long if we build the Great Prison. But, instead of using it to reform prisoners so they’ll be productive members of society, we can use it to brainwash Palers so they’ll do whatever we want. There’s a field in the Alpha Quarter that’s a perfect location for it. Nil already bought it.”
She glanced at Nil and the others who all seemed excited about the plan.
“All we have to do is buy the materials to build the Great Prison,” Omin continued. “Once the Palers go in there, they’ll come out and follow us. And the best part is, it won’t even hurt them.”
Jaz shook her head. “What’s wrong with the original plan? The Great Prison can be used to change the neurons in the brain so criminals will no longer be a threat to society. Once the public understands this, they will be more willing to vote for us.”
“But that can take years. This way, it won’t take more than a few months.”
“Some things take time, Omin. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s best to convince the public by showing them that our ideas work. We...” She glanced at the map again and suddenly realized it wasn’t a map of their galaxy as she’d originally thought. “What do we need with that map?”
“Planet Lax is in the Technical Galaxy. It’s full of short blue creatures who reproduce at a fast rate,” Nil spoke up. “They only need air to survive. I propose we destroy their planet and bring them here.”
“For what purpose?” she asked.
“When we get rid of the vegetation on this planet, we’ll need a food supply,” Omin replied.
“We’ll need a what?” Jaz asked, hoping she hadn’t heard them right.
“The Laxes are lazy. They won’t resist us,” Nil said.
“He’s right,” Omin agreed. “Their planet is their source of energy and strength. No other creature we’ve searched for has the unique characteristic of inborn laziness. When Palers have no food, they’ll look to us for a solution.”
“There’s vegetation on other planets,” Jaz protested. “Your plan won’t work.”
“It will when we change the Paler physiology,” Xari replied.
Jaz studied all of the Palers—her friends—and realized they were all serious about this. They fully intended to destroy another world, bring the creatures here as a food source, and change Palers’ digestive systems so they wouldn’t be able to eat anything else.
“No,” Jaz said. “It’s wrong. Even if you set aside the moral argument, our bodies aren’t made to eat other creatures. We’re vegetarian by nature. Who knows what consequence tampering with our bodies will bring?”
“Jaz, let’s go into the other room,” Omin softly told her as he led her to the kitchen. Once they were alone, he lowered his voice and smiled at her. “If you’re worried about our comrades in the other room, don’t. They won’t rule with us.”
“They agreed to that?”
“Not exactly. They just won’t be with us when we rule.”
His meaning dawned on her and she gasped. “But they’re our friends. Nil is your brother.”
“So?”
“So?”
“Part of establishing a rule is getting rid of the competition.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to get rid of me, too?”
“Of course not. You’re my wife. I love you. We’ll be equal leaders.”
She crossed her arms. “No, Omin. I won’t go along with it. I will only be your partner if you go with the plan we all agreed on to begin with. We’re not murderers.”
“Jaz, listen to reason. In order to rule without opposition, we need to eliminate anyone who is a threat.”
As he continued talking, she realized he was going to go through with this whether she liked it or not. There was a determined gleam in his eye that frightened her. She knew when it was pointless to continue arguing with him, and this was one of those times. Finally, she pretended to agree with him.
She tried to warn the current political party in Beta Central, but Omin had followed her and stopped her. He kept her imprisoned in their basement so she couldn’t warn anyone. In the months to come, Omin and their five friends ruined the vegetation on Pale. Then they brought Laxes to Pale, and when the starving Palers sought something to eat, Omin told them if they went through the treatment at the Great Prison, they would be able to eat. But the Great Prison did more than change their digestion. It changed their attitudes, their beliefs, and their memories.
And once everything was complete, Omin took Jaz out of the basement. When she gained consciousness, she realized he was carrying her down a long unfamiliar hallway.
“Where are you taking me?” she demanded as she struggled to get away from him.
“I’m going to reform you, my dear,” he said kindly, as if he meant to help her.
“Where are the others who were supposed to rule with us?”
“I got rid of them.”
“You actually went through with it and killed them?” Catching a glimpse of a Paler, she screamed for him to help her, but the Paler only stared at her as if watching Palers coming through here, kicking and screaming was perfectly normal. “What’s wrong with you?” she yelled, renewing her efforts to get away from Omin. Though he dropped her at one point, his grip remained strong, and he ended up dragging her to her destination. “How can you stand there when someone’s asking for your help?” she yelled at the Paler.
“Everyone on this planet is under my control,” Omin told her. “I have created the perfect planet. And soon, my dear, you will be perfect, too.”
A prison guard opened the entrance to the Great Prison.
Jaz made one more attempt to get away, but Omin grabbed her around the waist and brought her up against him, restraining her.
He gripped her chin and forced her head still so he could kiss her. “Don’t worry. I won’t kill you like I killed the others.”
He shoved her into the prison then the door slammed behind her.
Jaz opened her eyes and looked at Riles’ corpse. What a shame. So many deaths. So many years of wasted misery.
She heard someone coming up behind her and spun around in time to see Omin.
He went over to Riles and his expression turned dark. “I thought that was Seta.”
“You got Riles instead,” she replied, pretending Riles’ death didn’t bother her. “It’s an understandable mistake. Seta was originally the one who replicated Ann Kerwin’s form.” Then, an idea came to her, and she forced her voice to soften. “It’s been a long time…husband.”
“So your memory has returned,” he said.
She nodded and didn’t back away when he approached her. If she was going to do this, she couldn’t let him detect any weakness in her. It was her weakness that got her in trouble in the past. “It’s been two hundred and nineteen years since we last knew each other as husband and wife.” She closed the gap between them. “I can’t help but
think in all those years, Palers had peace. Then Seta took over, and it’s been chaos ever since. If there was ever a time for you to show the Palers they need you, it’s now.”
He brushed her cheek with his fingers. “What is Seta planning to do?”
“She plans to go to the Dark Castle to retrieve a diamond crown. The one who gets the crown will determine the fate of all the creatures on this world. If Seta gets it, Raz dies. If Ann gets it, Raz lives. But,” she wrapped her hand around his and gave him a meaningful look, “if you get it, Raz will die and you’ll set Pale back in order.”
The corner of his deformed mouth twitched up.
“Here’s the map to the Dark Castle,” she said as she handed it to him. “You shouldn’t have any trouble finding it. I must get back to Pale before Seta suspects something.”
“Come with me,” he whispered. “Let’s be together as we were meant to be.”
She kissed him but shook her head. “Not yet. If I go with you, Seta will figure out what’s going on. Hurry and get the crown before Ann does. She’s on her way there as we speak.”
With a nod, he studied the map then rolled it up. She waited until he was heading down the path before she transported herself back to Pale.
Once in her office, she grabbed her telecommunicator and pressed the button. “Seta, we need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ann’s Bedroom
Planet: Earth
Ann rolled over in her sleep. Her dreams made no sense, and though she struggled to wake up, she couldn’t. There was a boat sailing along a calm sea. There was a lion that leapt over a great chasm. There were slender, tall white creatures who were chasing her. There was a cave that was crumbling around her. There was a palace with two suns setting behind it. But more than all that was an attractive young man who she thought was supposed to mean something to her.
When she finally woke up, she wasn’t in the bedchamber she expected to be in. She was in her bedroom in Ohio. The same weird sensation she had at the miniature golf course came back to her. She didn’t belong here. Not anymore.
Sitting up, she rubbed her forehead as if doing so would help her remember something she needed to know. But like the previous evening, whatever it was faded, and all she was left with was the underlying feeling that something was wrong. Yes, she was seventeen. Yes, she was in high school. Yes, she lived in Ohio. Yes, she would soon be moving to Florida. When she looked at her bedroom, everything seemed to be in place. The house smelled and sounded just like she expected.
But something was…off.
After she got out of bed, she took a shower and got dressed. She examined her reflection in the mirror. She should be older, shouldn’t she? She glanced at her t-shirt and jeans. Something didn’t seem right about them either. She searched through her closet, not sure what she expected to find in there, but she didn’t see what she was looking for.
The phone in her room rang, and she picked it up. “Hathor?”
“Who’s Hathor?” William’s familiar voice asked.
She blinked in surprise. “I don’t know.” But she should. And that was absolutely disturbing. She couldn’t recall anyone she’d ever met by that name.
William chuckled. “It’s probably something you dreamed.”
“Yeah, maybe.” There had been that blond-haired man in her dreams.
“Anyway,” William continued, “are you ready to go to the park then see a movie I just bought?”
She glanced around the room, wondering what she needed to do in order to remember the thing she kept forgetting. Whatever the answer was, it wasn’t here. “Alright,” she told him. “What time will you come here?”
“Thirty minutes?”
“Sounds good. I’ll be waiting.”
She hung up the phone and paused. Should she be more excited about the prospect of seeing him? She used to be, didn’t she?
With a sigh, she left the bedroom and found her mother reading a book in the living room. She stopped. She should’ve expected her mother to be here. And yet, she hadn’t. Then she remembered her parents had been asleep by the time she returned from her date with William. Maybe that was why seeing her mother shocked her.
“Are you okay?” her mother asked, looking up from her book.
“Um, I think so,” she slowly replied and stepped further into the living room. “Is Dad here?”
“No, he went to the hardware store.”
She went to the couch and sat down. Why did she have the depressing thought that her parents wouldn’t be alive in two years? Shivering it off, she got comfortable. She didn’t want to think about her parents dying. It was much better to think of other things.
She turned her attention to the room and carefully noted everything in it. The furniture was right. The pictures on the walls were the ones she expected to see. The bookcase held the books her mother loved to read. Even seeing her mother in her favorite chair was familiar. Everything was just as it should be. Nothing was out of place.
Maybe, just maybe, she was the one who was wrong. What if she didn’t belong here?
“Is something wrong, sweetie?” her mother asked, once again looking at her.
She thought about answering, but something held her back. She couldn’t say anything that might possibly upset the delicate balance of time. Upset the delicate balance of time? Where in the world did that thought come from?
With a hesitant smile, she said, “I’m fine. So, tell me about your book.”
As her mother obliged her, she gave herself permission to enjoy her time with her mother.
***
Ivory Palace
Planet: Olympia
At long last, Paff, Cem, and Halima reached the doors of the ivory palace.
“I can’t believe it took so long to get here,” Paff said, gasping for breath. He thought he had great stamina, but he was wiped out. Of course, it probably would have been better if they hadn’t jogged up most of the mountain.
Cem knocked on the door then morphed into a Lax. “The point is, we’re here and will soon get the next queen safely back to Raz.”
True. Paff glanced at Halima who smiled at him. His face warmed as he returned her smile.
The door opened, and Athena narrowed her eyes at them. “What are you doing here?”
“We represent the Laxy Rebellion on Pale,” Cem told her. “Ann Kerwin has been sent back to Earth and needs your help getting home.”
Athena studied them for a moment then nodded. “Come in. Apollo will be able to tell if you speak the truth. If so, we will choose our course with great care.”
Good, Paff thought. Maybe now they could get somewhere. He hated to think of how much more devastation was going to occur on Pale before all was finally settled. At last count, half the Palers had died, and unless something stopped the upheaval, it would get worse. He followed Cem and Halima into the palace.
Athena led them to a large circular balcony where ten gods and goddesses were talking to a Sphinx. Paff had limited knowledge of the creatures on this planet, but he recognized Zeus by the symbol of the thunderbolt etched into his crown.
“What are they doing here?” Zeus demanded, rising to his feet.
“They say the next queen of Raz is in danger,” Athena explained. “I need Apollo to verify if what they say is true.”
When she gestured to the blond god, Cem said, “Leader Seta and First Commander Jaz have sent her to Earth, and the only way to bring her back is if you get her.”
The others looked expectantly at Apollo.
Apollo waited for a long moment, probably enjoying the suspense, before saying, “They speak the truth.”
Zeus relaxed and beckoned for Cem, Paff, and Halima to sit. “When was she sent to Earth?”
“About fourteen hours ago,” Cem replied.
“Any magic she began to acquire wouldn’t have lasted more than twelve hours once she left Raz,” Athena told Zeus. “We will need to intervene.”
“I will go to Earth
,” the Sphinx spoke up.
“I could use a spaceship,” Zeus said.
“While that’s true,” the Sphinx allowed, “I’m much faster. I’m not trapped to the laws of space travel like you are. Besides, she did me a great favor when she was here. Because of her, we are preparing my new palace. I wish to repay her for her kindness.”
“The sooner she returns to Raz, the better,” Cem said. “We have no way of knowing how close Leader Seta is to getting the crown in the Dark Castle. If she gets it before Ann does, it won’t bode well for Raz.”
Apollo’s eyebrows rose. “Why do you care so much about Raz?”
“My friends and I,” Cem motioned to Paff and Halima, “are part of the Laxy Rebellion. We oppose the leader and what she’s trying to do. We are hoping to establish a new system on Pale where Palers don’t feed on Laxes anymore. Also, we’d like to make Raz our ally.”
The others looked at Apollo who offered a nod. “They tell us the truth. These are members of the Laxy Rebellion, though the one who has taken the form of a Lax isn’t what he appears to be.”
“No, I’m not a Lax,” Cem replied. “I am Scorpio. My alliance is with the Laxes. I am here to represent them.”
“Yes,” Apollo told the others. “He speaks the truth.”
“That being the case,” the Sphinx said, “there’s not a moment to lose. I will leave at once.”
“Will you let me go with you?” Cem asked. “I met the next queen. She should remember me.”
The Sphinx agreed and let him climb onto her back.
Athena left the balcony for a moment then returned with a magic ruby that she tied around the Sphinx’s neck. “This will give you her location.”
Cem glanced over at Paff. “I urge you to return to Zak and tell him everything that’s happened. Let him know the end to the Laxes’ suffering is close. After we have pick up the next queen, I will return to my world.”
“Will I see you again?” Paff asked him.
“Zak’s work has just begun, but mine is over,” Cem said. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths at some point, but it won’t be in relation to Raz.”
A Royal Engagement (Enchanted Galaxy Series Book 1) Page 20
