“Come with me. Take my sister and Lady Trinity back to the manor and alert the doctor he is needed.”
“Yes, my lord,” the royal guardsman replied.
Returning to Dyla’s side, Darius helped her get Trinity to her feet. The young woman was shaking uncontrollably and looked like she would collapse again at any moment. One of the burly guardsmen picked her up.
“Dyla, get Trinity settled. I’ll see what I can find out here.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I’ll be there shortly. I want to see what I can find out about what happened. Someone must know something. I’ll be safe. I’ll keep my personal guard with me.”
Dyla nodded and rest of the guards escorted the two women away from the crowd.
Darius struggled to grasp the full impact of Ty’s words. Their glorious day of celebration had turned into a nightmare. How could something like this happen on the grounds of the Otharian Institute? Who would want to kill his aunt and uncle? Ty is now the ruling duke? So many questions swirled around his mind and his emotions were raw as he headed for the reception hall. This couldn’t be happening again.
Once inside, Darius spotted Grand Duke Vogdo talking with Duke Marek Dalcon. If anyone knew anything, it would be the Grand Duke and he quickly walked over to them. Grand Duke Vogdo, the highest-ranking member of the Grand Council, would certainly have more information about this tragedy.
“My Lord,” Darius said, trying to control his emotions. “I was hoping that you had some details concerning the Persing murders.”
Grand Duke Vogdo turned and stared at Darius. He was impressed with the young man’s courage to address him directly.
“Lord Darius, I’m in a state of shock myself. I must say this is a despicable and cowardly act of treachery. I am appalled that it has happened within my duchy.”
Darius continued to press the Grand Duke. Having witnessed his cousin covered in blood, he needed answers.
“Lord Vogdo, please tell me. Do you know anything more about this travesty? Are there any suspects?”
Vogdo raised his eyebrow at Darius’s boldness, but directed his remark to Duke Marek.
“Ah, the impetuousness of youth. I remember it well.”
Marek nodded his head, but said nothing.
“I’m sorry Darius, but I can tell you only the barest of details,” Vogdo said. “Apparently, Duke Rylee and the duchess never showed for the graduation ceremony. Tyrian went to look for them, and found them in their rooms gruesomely murdered. Unfortunately, his younger sister had followed him into the room and before anyone could stop her, the little girl had thrown herself at her mother’s dead body.”
Darius blanched at the thought of Kiara seeing her parents like that. No wonder the child was sobbing hysterically when he saw her.
“Who would have done such a thing?”
“I’m afraid you know as much as I do at the moment. The Council investigators are looking into the matter as we speak. We should have more information soon, but we’ll have to wait for their report.”
There was nothing more for Darius to do, and an air of defeat engulfed him. Obviously, if the Grand Duke knew anything more, he wasn’t willing to share it with him at this time.
“Thank you, my lord, for sharing what information you had.”
Darius bowed to the Grand Duke, turned and walked to the far side of the room. He sat down at an empty table hoping to hear more information soon.
“A bold young man,” Duke Marek said. “One worth watching.”
“Indeed,” Vogdo answered.
A gray pallor descended over the earlier celebration. Darius slumped in a chair and was lost to his own thoughts. His guards, never more than a few paces away from him, stood behind his chair watching the crowd for any danger to their future duke. Darius was rudely interrupted by the arrival of Avikar, who took the liberty of sitting down at the table without an invitation.
“I can’t believe this news,” Avikar said. “I was talking with the other lords and everyone is stunned.”
“Have you learned anything more?”
“More than what? If I don’t know what you’ve already heard, how could I possibly tell you anything more?”
Darius reached across the table, grabbed Avikar by the front of his jacket, and pulled him out of his seat until they were nose to nose.
“Avikar, do you know anything besides the fact that my aunt and uncle were murdered this morning?”
“No need to use that tone of voice with me, Darius. I didn’t kill them. Now release me.”
Darius released the little man and sank heavily back into his chair.
Avikar adjusted his jacket before sitting back down. He was annoyed that Darius had grabbed him and took the opportunity to taunt him further.
“You may be interested to know that there is talk that Tyrian won’t be able to compete in the Grand Competition.”
“What?”
“Oh, come now, Darius. Clearly, you understand that he’s now the ruling duke. There’ll be no time for him to compete in any silly competition.”
Darius pounded his fist on the table.
“Silly competition? What are you talking about? This competition is critical to the welfare of our duchy.”
“I know that, but that doesn’t really matter now, does it? Tyrian won’t be able to compete, which means you and Dyla won’t be able to compete either.”
Darius glared at Avikar. In a matter of hours his whole world had been ripped apart again. Worrying about Ty and the murder of his parents had completely obscured the fact that they were now one team member short for the competition. Without a telekinetic, they could not compete. His quest was ended before it had begun. Instead of today being the crowning achievement of his young life, it was a catastrophe and he could endure no more.
Without a word to Avikar, he got up and left the reception hall, heading back to the Telkur manor to check on Dyla and Trinity, his guards one step behind him.
Avikar watched Darius leave the hall. A smug smile creased his face. The plan was working better than he could have ever expected. Although he hadn’t known about the Persing murders before hand, it was the perfect way to keep the twins from competing. With this setback, there would be no way that Darius could raise the money to pay off the duchy’s debts before he turned eighteen and inherited the throne.
Avikar stood up. The hall was buzzing with conversations about the murders. He walked to the nearest group eagerly awaiting further news.
Excerpt from The Chronicles of Otharia during the reign of the First Vacancy:
Division II – The PSI Potential
Subsection III – Empathy
Most common of the PSI manifestations is empathy. The empath’s power centers on their ability to concentrate and expand their awareness, through a crystal, to “touch” every other living thing’s awareness within a given radius. This power gives the empath a unique insight into the “feelings” of others and allows them to read what others are feeling. The ability also transcends itself into the awareness of all the life that exists within a frame of reference as well, giving the empath a sense that someone or something co-exists with them in a particular area. A strong empath with advanced training could easily see through most subterfuge, which the average layman tries to perpetrate by reading through the surface feeling being forced, and to the true feelings that are being hidden.
Chapter 10 - Dyla
Dyla stared across the lake as the water shuttle skimmed along the surface. A gentle breeze lifted the wisps of raven hair that had broken free from her braid. This would be her last journey to the Otharian Institute. With the tragedy of the Persing murders, the celebration that followed graduation had been cancelled and all the students dismissed. The school would remain open for another week in order to allow students the opportunity to collect their belongings.
In the distance, she could see the grand stone building dominating the hillside. Its recent expansion, modeled after the Grand Du
ke’s own castle, was a subtle reminder that the best of the best were trained within his domain.
It was hard for Dyla to comprehend that she would never see her Aunt Katelle and Uncle Rylee again, and she felt especially vulnerable. Losing both her mother and her aunt so closely together left her alone, without a female mentor in the family to provide guidance with her empathic powers. The aching hurt within her never eased and she could only learn to manage it as best she could.
Dyla glanced at her brother standing stoically at the front of the shuttle. When Darius had returned to the manor last night, he told her of Avikar’s news that they would be disqualified from the competition. Without Ty, they were a man short and would not be allowed to complete. Darius had ranted and raved all night about the unfairness of it all. This morning, he was brooding and sullen. She had to shake him out of his despair before it took root. There was nothing they could do to help Ty at the moment. No one was allowed to get near him, not even his cousins. The only thing they could do was focus on the competition. It was their only hope of saving their own duchy from ruin.
She had a plan.
The water shuttle glided into the dock, and Dyla moved to her brother’s side as they prepared to disembark.
“Darius, one final sprint to the top?”
Darius shrugged his shoulders as they walked down the gangplank.
Dyla took off running up the hill and called over her shoulder. “Suit yourself. You know you can’t beat me in a sprint.”
The challenge had its desired effect and shook Darius from his doldrums.
“Hey, that’s not fair.”
The twins ran swiftly up the hill, around the main Institute building, past the parade grounds and to the dormitories. Darius had nearly overtaken his sister, but her lithe build and lightning speed had kept her firmly in first place.
When they reached Darius’ room, he plopped down on his bunk while Dyla slowly paced to quiet her racing heartbeat.
“Good to see you can still run,” she said.
“It’s easy to win when you have a head start.”
“I had to wake you up somehow and I know you can’t resist a challenge.”
Darius gave his sister a weak smile, the recent devastating news clearly written on his face.
“Dyla, I know life isn’t always fair, but this latest twist feels as if fate itself is conspiring against us.”
“I know.”
“Who would do something like this? Poor Ty. I wish there was something we could do to help him through all this. We know what it’s like to lose our parents, but his guards won’t let us through to comfort him.”
“Darius, I would give anything to help him, but I think the only way to help any of us get past this grief is to concentrate on what we can control, and not dwell on things we cannot. There are days when it still overwhelms me, but we can’t give in to our despair. The competition has been our sole focus for the last year and we can’t abandon it now.”
“What can we do? I’ve been racking my brain all night to think of something, but the fact is, we’re down one team member, and we can’t compete.”
In such close proximity to her brother, Dyla felt his pain twofold. It was a living thing, a constrictor wrapped around her chest, squeezing and suffocating the life from her. She watched him, lying dejected on his bunk, and knew she must stir him out of his mood before she could tell him of her plan.
She turned and stared out the window, looking across to the parade grounds. They had drilled on that field every day for years.
“We’re not going to quit,” Dyla said, trying to sound positive.
“I don’t want to, but I don’t know how we can overcome this.”
“Certainly nothing is going to happen by wishing for it. We can complain all we want about how unfair life has become, but in the end, it won’t make a bit of difference. We need to make something happen.”
Darius jumped off his bunk.
“What do you think I’ve been doing? I spent all night going over the competition rules, looking for a loophole or another precedent for an injured teammate. There isn’t one. I also thought maybe Ty could just show up at the start and we could take it from there. That’s not allowed either. We have about two weeks to figure this out and I don’t have a clue of where else to look.”
“That’s a start: at least you’re standing.”
“Very funny.”
“We need to think of something. Everything and everyone depends on us.”
Darius started pacing the tiny confines of his room.
“You don’t need to remind me. Without that winning purse, the duchy goes bankrupt and we lose everything. I’m trying to figure this all out, but I feel like something is conspiring against us.”
Dyla could feel the anxiety rolling off Darius in waves.
“It doesn’t matter if anything is against us or not. We have to keep going; we have to succeed.”
She looked out the window again.
“Darius, you keep saying we can’t compete? Why can’t we?”
Darius stopped pacing and stared at his sister.
“Why can’t we what? Compete? I just told you, the rules require each team to have three participating members in all events. There are only two of us and we need a third, and a telekinetic to boot. I’ve studied the rules so much I know them by heart. ‘Each team will consist of three members, one from each power. All team members are required to actively participate in all events. All events will be monitored by selected competition officials to ensure compliance. Additionally, each member of a team will be required to register their crystals at the beginning and end of each competition event.’ Simple, three team members with three powers, all participating.”
Dyla stood still while her brother recited the rules she already knew by heart.
“That’s exactly what I am talking about. I mean, why can’t we find someone else? Ty is gone, so we have to get someone to replace him. It’s that or give up.”
“Listen, I thought of that first, but the fact is, we can’t replace him. We simply don’t have enough time to find and train someone to be part of our team. Teams train for years to get ready for the competition and Ty has been training with us for more than a year. We have about two weeks. Besides, Ty devoted himself to the training like it was his own family in jeopardy instead of ours. This competition would have been hard enough to win with him, but without him I’m not sure we have a chance. So how do you replace that kind of dedication and commitment?”
Dyla turned from the window with a mischievous smile.
“Not exactly replace him. That’s not what I mean. I’ve been thinking about this all morning.”
“I’m listening.”
Dyla moved off the wall.
“I know we can’t replace Ty, but why can’t we find a telekinetic to fill in? We pick a nobody, someone that is a good-enough athlete, but who won’t interfere with us running the events the way we want to run them; someone who has decent telekinetic power, and can take orders from us. We’ll plan the strategy and he’ll be along for the ride to fill the requirement. If we win, we can work out a fair division of the prize money.”
Darius, thoughtful for a moment, smiled for the first time in two days.
“That’s not bad, not bad at all. It might work. Who do you have in mind?”
“What makes you think I have anyone in mind?”
“Because I know you. Who is he? Stop the suspense and tell me!”
Dyla walked back to the window and pointed.
“Him.”
Darius walked over to the window. The parade grounds were empty, except for a few stragglers. In the middle stood the lone figure of a gangly, blonde-haired youth. An air of defeat permeated his stance.
Darius turned and stared, slack-jawed, at his sister.
“You’re kidding, right? Eclair! Come on Dyla, have we sunk that low? Are we truly that desperate?”
“Desperate? No, not desperate at all, but smart. Think ab
out it. Look at him. He looks pathetic standing there alone, yet he’s the top telekinetic in the school. He’s a loner and an introvert. He’s perfect. Someone with more then sufficient skills who’ll follow our lead.”
“I don’t know. He seems worse than useless. I think he’ll do more harm than good. Let’s think of someone else.”
“Don’t worry. Between the two of us, we’ll handle him. Now, we have to get him to agree to join our team.”
“That may be difficult. Eclair and I don’t exactly see eye-to-eye. Maybe you can charm him with that dazzling smile of yours.”
“No, I’m not even going to try. I’m going to try something else; I’ll tell him the truth.”
“Great. I hope that works real well for you.”
“Wait, you’ll see.”
Dyla walked out of the dorm room and headed towards the parade grounds.
“Wait a minute. You mean now? You’re going to ask him now?”
Dyla didn’t stop walking. Darius ran to catch up with his sister.
“Yes, Darius now, and I’m going to invite him back to the house for the next two weeks. We’ll need every minute for training. I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Dyla knew that even if Eclair agreed to join the team, it would be a near-impossible task to teach him everything he needed to know in such a short time. Somehow, the three of them would have to learn to work together if they had any hope of finishing the competition. It was a tall order, but she wasn’t willing to give up on competing, at least not yet.
Excerpt from The Chronicles of Otharia during the reign of the First Vacancy:
Division II – The PSI Potential
Subsection IV – Telekinesis
The physical act of moving an object requires a force of energy to be exerted on it for the object to have a reaction. The telekinetic has the ability to concentrate his awareness through a crystal and affect the static fields surrounding the object. The object continues to be excited and moved for the duration of the concentration or until it travels beyond the telekinetic influence. Portals were discovered by the act of manipulating the actual space between and surrounding two locations. In essence, the telekinetic merges two distinct and separate locations as if pinching two sides of a balloon together. The pinch actually occurs in sub-space and has no “relative” effect on normal space except to open a portal. The portal collapses once the telekinetic ceases to apply his concentration on it.
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