by Frank Carey
"Your father is wise," Vermeer said as he took her arm and led her inside the structure. "Welcome to my humble home for the last two centuries."
"Excuse me, did you say two centuries?"
"Or is it three? I never can remember...," he replied as he led her into a large room. Strewn about were papers, books, notebooks, photographs, and objects which defy description.
"This reminds me of my Aunt Tannith's office." Shenda said, while looking around. "How old are you?"
"Hmmm, good question. I remember hearing about the agreement which formed the League. I was about two hundred years old at the time."
"You're that Vermeer? I thought the stories about you were just that, stories."
"No, it is me, Vermeer. You mentioned your Aunt Tannith. Would that be Professor Tannith Aymar?"
"Yep, my Aunt Tanni. You know her?"
"Yes. We have exchanged correspondence over the years. A remarkably knowledgeable woman considering her youth."
"Youth? She will be so happy when she hears that. What are you looking for?"
"I am researching a being once known as Hereth. Legend has it that Hereth was driven out by its own kind and brought here where it was split into two beings known as..."
"Hernog and Cleth?"
"You know the legend?"
"No, but I do know Cleth, and I've met Hernog."
"What? Impossible. Where? How?" he said, while walking up to stand face to face with her.
"Easy there, Big Guy," she said in a calming voice. "Step back a little, and I'll explain.
"Please forgive me, but this project has now become my life. Please, you must explain how you know these two beings."
She explained, leaving out nary a detail. As she finished her narrative, Vermeer dropped to the floor where he sat, his eyes wide in awe.
"Those animals did this to you and your sister and brothers? They should be roasted alive so their screams may placate the gods."
"Wow. Little protective there, Vermeer? You sure you’re not an elf?"
Vermeer paused for a moment before giving a small laugh. "Yes, my species share many traits with yours, especially our love of children. What do your parents think of all this?"
"They don't know. I only found out because of Cleth."
"And he isn't here now?"
"Do my eyes look normal?"
Vermeer peered into Shenda's eyes, first the right, then the left. "They look human. Is that normal?"
"Yes, I'm half human, an elfling."
"I’ve heard of your kind. Legend has it elflings will save the universe."
"Save it from what?"
"Don't know. The legend is vague at best. Some legends are like that, vague. So, why did Cleth bring you here?"
"To help him rejoin with Hernog. I think he really misses her."
"Understandable. From what I have been able to gather from my discoveries in this structure, those two have been apart for as long as this plateau has existed."
"How long is that?"
"Half a billion years, give or take."
"Plark. That's a long time."
"Not for a non-corporeal eternal life form. Some think they are the source of all life in the universe. Others think they may be from another existence. We have no idea what Hereth is. Hernog and Cleth may only be subsets of the greater whole."
"I need to get him out of me and my sibs. He doesn't belong there," she said as Vermeer got up off the floor and led her to a couple of seats.
As he removed a pile of papers off the two chairs, he asked, "What do you fear, Shenda Aymar?"
"What? I don't fear anything."
"Your voice and skin capillary response say differently."
She sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs. "My father almost died from loneliness and being separated from his twin sister. He spun-off a second personality, Atmar, which was extremely malignant. OffSec Special Projects tried to turn Atmar into an assassin, and Dad tried killing himself to stop them. In the end, Dad lived and the Atmar personality was dealt with."
"So, what do you fear?"
"Losing my mind like my father. Cleth said he would establish a permanent link between my sibs and me."
"What do they think of this?"
"Who?"
"Your sibs? Sokuhl have no psi powers, so we don't know linking from cabbage, but it must be a very personal thing. Are your siblings onboard for something as deeply personal as a permanent link?"
"I... I never asked them?"
"Do they even know about Cleth?"
"I never told them... I..."
"And what effect will this procedure have on them?"
Shenda dropped her head and struggled to hold back the tears. “I don’t know, dammit!"
"And your parents?"
"No."
By now, Shenda was out of her seat and in Vermeer’s arms, hugging him like a lost child. "What have I done?"
"Nothing yet. I have a radio. Perhaps we should call for help in getting you out of here. I'm sure if Cleth was implanted in you and your siblings, he can be removed in a similar fashion. No doubt, he could be returned here..."
"Not going to happen, reptile," Cleth said as he manifested in the chair across the table from the two corporeals. As they watched, a second member of Cleth’s species manifested in the chair next to him. "I would like you both to meet my better half, Hernog." Hernog nodded.
"How is this possible?" Shenda asked. I thought the field kept you two from..."
"It seems being back here attached to an elfling body has returned some of my powers," Cleth said as he levitated a book and dropped it on the table next to Shenda, causing her to jump.
"You will not hurt her, demon," Vermeer said as he raised his neck frill in a threat display.
"Nope, I will not hurt her, or you. I need you both, but I don't need her siblings. If you two don't help Hernog and me, I will terminate those three in a particularly hideous fashion."
"He's not bluffing," Hernog said as she played with her hair. "He's very talented."
"What do you want of us?" Vermeer demanded.
"Nothing too difficult, if my estimate of Shenda's capabilities is correct. I want you to shut down the energy dampening field is all."
"And you'll let my sibs and Vermeer go?"
"Shenda!" Vermeer said, but she raised her hand to stop his protests.
"Yes, no harm will come to them, you have our word," he replied. His smile sent shivers down her spine.
"Fine. Where's the control room, assuming there is a control room?"
"Through that door, make a left, three doors down. The door is unlocked."
"Isn't he dreamy?" Hernog asked unexpectedly.
Shenda shuddered. She got up and headed out the door with Vermeer close behind. Her only thought was how she was going to get herself and Vermeer out of this mess without killing everyone she loved.
###
The LTV Ascendant landed on the roof of Castle Atlantea while a storm raged around it. Nearby, sat a white transport.
"Director, we're down and locked. Castle flight ops requested we sit tight until our escort arrives," Capt. Jason Thurgood said as he unbuckled his harness.
"Thanks," Ciara said as she got up and retrieved her gear. She looked out a porthole in passing and saw the white ship. "Isn't that the Unicorn?" she asked.
"Yep, the LTV Unicorn, Gloria's ship. What's she doing here? I thought she and John were giving a seminar on consciousness storage alternatives at the university."
"I thought so as well. I don't like this. Something must have happened. Can you do a quick scan of the area without raising any eyebrows?"
"Sure... Damn!"
"What's wrong?"
"We're ringed by at least a dozen troops in power armor augmented by a dozen Minotaurs. Did Ventos Prime go on war footing and forget to tell us?"
There was a knock on the starboard side hatch. First giving Ciara a nervous look, Jason thumbed the external intercom switch. "This is Capt. Thurg
ood. Identify yourself."
"Major Eleneer, Elf Marine Expeditionary Force Team Two leader. I miss the scent of sulfur in the morning."
Jason looked at Ciara. "This is Director Devlin. I saw a dragon on the north parapet."
"Countersign is accepted."
Jason thumbed a switch and the hatch opened, admitting six heavily armed elf Marines. "Director! We've been instructed to take you directly to the Queen. Capt. Thurgood, your wife is waiting for you in the archives. You will be escorted there by members of Team Three."
"Nebulon is here?" Jason asked.
"Yes, sir."
"I thought Losira was with Har... Lucien on Vodalorn," Ciara said in confusion as the two of them were led off the ship. She looked over at the Major and saw his weapon was energized with safety off and set to kill.
"She is. You are being taken to see Her Majesty, Queen Mother Lenora."
"What the hell happened?" Jason asked as they entered the building.
"A coup attempt occurred this morning. It was not successful, but Lenora took over as a precaution. We think it has something to do with the kidnapping of Princess Shenda."
"Have Losira and Lucien been informed?"
"They have been made aware of the situation and are dealing with it at their end," Eleneer stopped at an intersection where Team Three stood waiting. "Captain Thurgood, this is Major Sandalwood, Leader of Team Three. He will escort you to the Archives. Director, follow me, please."
With a final look, his eyes filled with worry, Jason was led off down a side hall while Ciara continued down the main corridor. After several twists and turns, Ciara found herself standing in front of a large steel door. On the wall was an intercom. As Eleneer reached to activate the comm, Ciara stopped him and asked, “You seem nervous. What kind of mood is the Queen Mother in?”
"She is on a royal tear," he replied, while activating the device. "Your Majesty, Director Devlin is here."
"Send her in."
Eleneer pressed his gauntleted hand against the door's center. There was a loud click followed by the door partially opening. Frowning, Ciara pushed it open and walked in. When she saw Eleneer wasn't following, she turned and asked, "Coming?"
"Not on your life," he replied as he pulled the door closed behind her.
"Director Devlin, welcome to Ventos Prime."
"Ciara turned and nearly fainted. In front of her stood Lenora, Dowager Queen Mother of Ventos Prime, almost seven feet and of an indeterminable age. Behind her, hanging by chains attached to the ceiling was a tall elf male, bloodied, his clothes torn as if by whips.
Across from her hung another body, this one a Tralaskan male.
Ciara knew him.
"Muntz?"
"Devlin?" he said through blood-crusted eyes. "Welcome to hell."
Ciara turned to the Queen and noticed the whip coiled on the chair next to her while a large sword hung from her belt. Not deterred by this show of force, Ciara demanded, "What is the meaning of this? Dir. Muntz is a citizen of..."
"This creature is under arrest for crimes against Ventos Prime. He kidnapped infant Prince Lucien Irithyl, held him captive, and performed experiments on his royal person with the express purpose of creating an assassin personality we now know as Atmar..."
"Wait, Muntz kidnapped Harm when he was a child?"
"Get with the program, Devlin," Muntz sneered. "My division was given carte blanche by OffSec to develop unconventional weapons to use against the enemies of the League. Irithyl was a perfect platform to develop an assassin. How the hell were we to know he'd spin-off a second personality? Having said that, we watched him while developing a way of separating the two. The suicide thing was just a happy coincidence..."
Ciara slapped him with enough force to kill a human, but he just smiled. "Luckily, my mother is Tralaskan, which means you can't read me."
"I'll rip your heart out myself," Ciara screamed.
Lenora walked over and put her hands on Ciara's shoulders. "I now see why Lucien calls you his second sister. Calm yourself, Ciara. This cretin has something I need. There are less-messy ways of convincing our friend to part with the information we need. Muntz, you weren't satisfied with just having Atmar's personality stored in a synth, so you used Lucien's DNA to create four children which you then infected with a demon, a demon which is killing them as we speak."
"What did you just say?" Ciara asked, shocked by what she thought she heard Lenora say.
"Christa, Bobby, and Torren are in medbeds in Med Lab One. Six hours ago, they were fine, the four of us talking about family matters when, as one, they screamed and fell into a coma. My medics immediately contacted Losira who determined the three were under psychic attack, most likely by the demon Cleth, which is why Dr. Aymar is here with her team from the Cube. She and Lucien have come up with a plan to remove the demon from the three children without it knowing they have done so. All I need is a number from this vile creature and Gloria will be able to proceed."
"A number?"
"She needs the cojoiner frequency we used to implant the Cleth entity in Shenda and her sibs. Without it, removal of Cleth will be fatal for all four siblings," Muntz gurgled from his corner.
"Then give it to her, you moron! End this nightmare."
"Only if she gives me her word she will set me free. A full royal pardon."
"What about me, fool?" the elf yelled from his corner.
"Silence, Lochmor. I will deal with you shortly," Lenora hissed. "Director Devlin, this creature is Lochmor, father of Lortan and Ariana and leader of the insurrection. He attempted a coup today and failed. On Ventos Prime, that crime is punishable by death."
"What does he have to do with Muntz, for God's sake?"
"Muntz hired his son, Lortan, to kidnap Shenda, another offense punishable by death."
"Yeah, so what? Children mean nothing to me except to be a means to my ends."
Lenora snapped her fingers. The wall behind her went transparent to reveal two people standing in two stark, white rooms, separated by a thin wall. One was a young female, maybe twenty standard years of age. The other was a male elf. Ciara looked, then looked again.
"Atmar!" she said in a horrified whisper.
The blood drained from Muntz's face.
"No! Keep that fiend away from her!"
"Ciara, I would like you to meet my two new friends. On the left is Atmar, my son's evil doppelganger. It seems he found a way to clone my son's body, so now he and Lucien are indistinguishable. Say hello, Atmar."
Ciara's blood turned to ice water, as Atmar turned toward them. "Let's finish this. I'm bored."
"Tsk, tsk. Such manners. On the right is Marabel Muntz, Dir. Muntz's granddaughter. She has ten seconds to live. You see, when that partition is removed, Atmar, Director Muntz's creation, will walk over to Marabel and carve out her heart. Five seconds."
Atmar pulled a large, serrated-back knife from the small of his back and tested the blade’s sharpness.
"Three... Two... One..."
"Zulu-three-eight-seven-X-ray-one-nine-two-Yankee-seven-seven-seven.Ciara's head snapped around.
"Gloria, did you get that?" Lenora said into thin air.
"Checking... Got it... We have synch lock... OK, the kids are in the clear and coming around while Cleth is trying slowly to kill a simulation. I'll be up there in a moment." The line went dead.
"Well, that went well," Lenora said, while waving to an unseen video pickup. As Ciara watched, the girl was led out of her room by a smartly dressed attendant while a door opened in the wall, followed by Atmar walking into the room. Gloria took this moment to arrive. Ignoring everyone in the room except for Muntz, she ran over to the ex-director and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground while screaming something in an ancient elf dialect.
After a moment, Lenora walked over and put her hand gently on the enraged woman's shoulder. "Gloria, how are the children?"
Gloria dropped the gasping Muntz and stepped back, shaking with anger, her eyes fil
led with fire. "They're fine. Doc Milena can't find any damage. The three of them remember nothing of the last six hours."
"Ciara?" Lenora asked, looking at the still-angry elf.
"Yeah," Ciara replied as she walked over and led Gloria away from the ex-director. Only then did Gloria see Atmar standing there, watching her with a bemused look on his face.
"Aren't you dead?" Gloria hissed at the clone.
He placed the index and middle fingers of his left hand on his right wrist, checking his pulse. "No, both hearts are still beating. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Hey, we had a deal," Muntz reminded them.
"Yes, yes we did," Lenora said, unlocking his restraints.
"Good. Now, I want..." Muntz never finished the demand. With one fluid motion, Lenora withdrew her sword from its scabbard and used it to separate his head from the rest of his body. As his body hit the ground, his head landed on his stomach and remained there, his dead eyes locked on Atmar.
"Clean this mess up," Lenora said into the air. Four attendants instantly appeared and began cleaning up the grizzly scene. She looked at Ciara, who was noticeably silent considering the death she had just witnessed. "Comment?"
"You did release him. Too bad he had to die from a tragic shaving accident." Ciara looked up at Lochmor. "What about him?"
Lenora walked over to the elf and released his chains. "You and your family are mine now. Obey and you will all live. Cause me even one single iota of trouble and you will join your friend in death. What say you?"
Lochmor knelt on one knee and swore allegiance to House Irithyl.
Lenora nodded then pointed to the door. Leave me, contact those git of yours, and inform them they are to render all aid to Losira and Lucien. I'll take no more of Lortan's insurrectionist crap and neither will my daughter, understand?"
"Yes, milady," he said as he backed out of the room.
When he was gone, Lenora looked at Atmar. "Thank you. Your end of the bargain has been fulfilled. Your payment is up in hanger Roof-twelve. You’re dismissed."
Atmar tipped his non-existent hat to the Queen. "Yes, milady." He then gave Gloria and Ciara a wink before walking out the door behind Lochmor.
Gloria shook off the gesture. "I thought he was taken by Mitrell back at Ith.
