The Antithesis- The Complete Pentalogy

by Terra Whiteman

  Bitch. “So what exactly is a scholar?”

  “We’re multiversal mentors. When our services are requested and the job seems interesting enough, we aid other beings in whatever task requires our knowledge.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want to be here.”

  Leid hesitated, looking out the window again. “This job wasn’t my choice. I was assigned here by someone else.”

  “One second,” I said, raising a hand. I needed to concentrate on landing my craft. The Parliament’s flight dock was almost too narrow, and my formal complaint about it had been ignored. Maybe my nerves were shot this morning because I crashed the tail end of the craft into a cargo dock, knocking over a pile of packages. Leid and I jolted forward on impact.

  “Fuck me,” I sighed, massaging my head. This was exactly what I needed.

  Leid grinned. “Doesn’t seem like it’s your day, Commandant.”

  I shot her a look and got out of the craft, ignoring the muttering laborers hovering around the scattered packages. One of the Parliament liaisons was approaching me with a questioning gaze.

  I threw my keys at him. “Park this thing. I don’t have time for it.”

  Leid joined me as I walked through the glass hall of the Parliament Bridge. “So, the Eye of Akul hired you to follow me around to make snide remarks?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Somehow, that seems typical of them.”

  “On the contrary,” she replied. “My charm is simply a bonus.”

  I laughed. She was a real piece of work. The thought of her constant presence made me want to leap off the bridge.

  As I stormed by the secretary guarding the council room, he stood to protest. “Commandant, the Council is busy—”

  “Sitting there doing nothing, I know,” I muttered, exploding through the door.

  The Eye of Akul were expecting me. It was a little unsettling to realize I was that predictable.

  “Qaira, just in time,” greeted Isa, seated behind the center podium. There was a collection of papers in front of her. “I hope you’ve brought a pen.”

  I pointed at Leid. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  “The scholar has introduced herself, hasn’t she?” Isa asked, evading my question.

  “She says you’ve hired her to advise me.”

  Kanar nodded. He was seated third from the center. “Yes, we have.”

  “Advise me on what?”

  “The Archaean conflict. What else?”

  It was getting pretty hard to keep my cool. “I don’t need an advisor. I’m handling the situation just fine.”

  “He doesn’t seem to like me very much,” Leid said, amused. “Perhaps you might explain to Qaira why you chose me to advise him?”

  “The scholar has extensive information on the Archaeans,” Isa said. “She knows about their technology and their combat strategy. She’s an invaluable asset, and you are going to welcome her to Sanctum whether you like it or not.”

  I looked down at her. She was five foot nothing and barely made it to my shoulder. “How do you know about the Archaeans?”

  “We’ve been contracted to the Archaeans numerous times on Felor,” she said.

  I was shocked. “Are you saying that you’ve worked for our enemy?”

  “I haven’t, but others have and we share notes.”

  I looked back at the council. “We can’t trust her. She’s too neutral.”

  “Neutral?” Kanar repeated.

  “We need someone with passion; not a brains-for-hire who might harbor empathy for her past clients.”

  Leid’s amusement vanished. She gave me an irritated frown. “We have no interest in affairs outside of our contracts. I’m here to do exactly as I’m instructed. I don’t care whether this planet goes up in my flames or the Archaeans get blown out of the sky. I hold no biases. I just do my job. And believe me,” her eyes narrowed, cutting through my soul like a piece of broken glass, “I have empathy for no one.”

  I was speechless. All I could do was look away, running a hand through my hair.

  “I’ll be useful to you,” Leid pressed. “If you’ll let me.”

  “All you’ve done so far is distracted me.”

  “I’m sorry, Qaira, but it isn’t your decision,” Isa said.

  “Isn’t it? You get to decide what I do? I’m technically the Regent!”

  “Are you putting your pride before the prospect of Sanctum’s victory?” asked Shev, giving me a disappointed look.

  My jaw clenched. I was cornered.

  “I want a construction team assembled to make that landing dock wider.”

  Isa blinked. “What?”

  “The Parliament dock is too narrow. If I’m going to sign my life away to a little girl, then you need to at least give me that.”

  Beside me, Leid smiled.

  “Agreed. I’d like you to get the scholar acquainted with Parliament and Sanctum. She’ll be by your side during all working hours until the contract expires.”

  “About that contract,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’d like to see the terms.”

  “Ah yes, I almost forgot.” Isa handed me the papers from her desk. I took them.

  DECLARATION OF AID FROM THE COURT OF ENIGMUS

  It is hereby announced that Scholar Leid Koseling of the Court of Enigmus shall be sent to The Atrium to serve as council to the Regent and the Eye of Akul in their escalating conflict with the Archaeans. The parties involved must read the terms of agreement and sign their names should they find the following terms suitable:

  1) The Scholar will serve as aid to Sanctum for exactly ten years, or until the conflict has been resolved. The means of payment requested by the Scholar should be delivered no later than ten days after the contract expires.

  2) The Scholar is not permitted to aid Sanctum in any form of physical combat. If this should happen, the contract will be voided and both the Scholar and those that paid for their services will be punished accordingly.

  3) The Scholar is not permitted to help design or construct objects that might sway the fate of the conflict. The Scholar is allowed to educate the Regent and the Council so that they will acquire the knowledge necessary to design or construct said objects on their own.

  4) The Scholar should act as a companion to the Regent and the Council, but it is not their duty to protect them from harm. The Scholar is solely responsible for offering aid in verbal form.

  5) The Scholar must be protected from harm by Sanctum. The Regent and the Council will make it a priority to keep the Scholar safe from any danger. The death of a Scholar is seen as negligence by the Court of Enigmus, and punishment will be severe.

  6) The identities of the Scholar and the Court of Enigmus will not be disclosed to anyone outside of the parties involved.

  There were numerous signatures at the bottom of the page, as well as an empty line. I looked at the tiny print under the line. It was my name.

  After reading this, it was like Leid was nothing more than a piece of rental property. What was the Court of Enigmus?

  “Ten years,” I recited, letting that sink in.

  “I don’t think it’ll be long enough,” Leid said.

  “Oh really?”

  She nodded. “Sanctum has many obstacles to overcome.”

  “We’ve been handling it fine so far,” I said, icily. “We’ve managed to stave them back for half a century.”

  “Commander Raith is not looking to kill you,” said Leid. “If he was, you would have been dead a long time ago.” She looked at the council. “How much do you know about angel technology?”

  “That’s where we need your services the most, Leid,” Kanar said. “Several days ago, Qaira managed to secure one of their combat crafts after an assault on Eroqam, but it’s left our research scientists baffled.”

  Leid tapped her chin. “Well, I suppose that’s a good start. When can I see it?”

  “Your eagerness is appreciated,” Isa began, “but for the rest of the day I think yo
u and Qaira should get a little more acquainted with one another. Perhaps you could find a way to quell his doubts about you.”

  The scholar glanced at the papers in my hand. “I can’t do anything until he signs that.”

  I signed the contract, smirking to myself. Leid didn’t realize how much blood there was going to be. The violence we faced on a day to day basis was too much for most of us to handle, let alone a little alien girl. I’d give it less than a year before she’d break.

  I handed the contract back to Isa and she said, “Sanctum welcomes you, Leid Koseling.”

  “I hope I bring your city and its people victory,” said Leid.

  I was already walking out. It wasn’t long before Leid caught up to me. We climbed the stairs and traversed the hallway to my office. As I opened the door, I paused. “What’s your repayment?”

  “Pardon?”

  “What are we giving you in return for your services?”

  “My payment isn’t of any concern to you.”

  My stare hardened. “Isn’t it?”

  “No. I assure you, Qaira, that what I am getting isn’t anything remotely valuable to Sanctum.”

  “Okay then.” I opened the door and stood aside. “After you, scholar.”

  “Thank you,” Leid said. As she stepped inside, I stared daggers at the back of her head. Sure, I’d agreed to work with her—;

  But nowhere in the contract did it state that I had to like her.

  V

  POLARITY

  MY EYES FLUTTERED OPEN, GAZING ahead in a confused fog. At first I had no idea where I was but then my gaze settled on the alarm clock that I’d forgotten to set the night before. The fog cleared and I realized I only had fifteen minutes to get ready for work.

  Shit.

  I jumped out of bed and near-sprinted to the shower. Somehow I managed to bathe, dress and shoot up in only ten minutes. I was planning to skip breakfast but my stomach was already growling. If I didn’t eat now, I’d have a stomach ache all day. Leaving it empty for hours on end tended to do that to me.

  Ara and Tae were at the dining table. My father never woke up this early, so Epa always saved him a plate to take to his room later on.

  Leid was reading a news periodical, sitting in my seat again. She didn’t even glance up when I exploded in, fumbling with my tie. I shot her a look when I noticed where she’d chosen to sit, but was too preoccupied with my tie to get angry. I wasn’t going to use the chair anyway.

  I threw a pastry on my plate and reached for the kettle on the tray. Then I froze, holding the kettle, glaring at Leid. Still, she didn’t look at me.

  “How many cups did you have?” I asked, shaking the empty kettle for emphasis.

  She turned a page of her periodical. “Three.”

  “You drank it all,” I said. “You know I have a cup every morning.”

  “Perhaps if you hadn’t slept so late you might have gotten here in time to have some.”

  Tae and Ara exchanged looks of dread. They knew what was about to happen; the same thing that had happened countless times since Leid moved in two weeks ago.

  “I can make you some more,” offered my sister.

  I didn’t answer her, still glaring at Leid. “I’m not late. And it’s none of your business what I do outside of work. If I sleep in a little later than normal, that’s my right.”

  “Well, it’s also my right to drink as many cups of tea as I want.”

  “Okay, you listen to me you fu—” I caught myself, counting to four in my head.

  “The world doesn’t wait for you, Qaira. You should stop expecting it to.” Leid threw on her coat, flashing me a smile. “You didn’t go to bed until two o’clock this morning. Sleeping less than four hours a night affects your work performance.”

  “… Are you implying that you don’t think I’m doing my job well enough?”

  Ara scoffed, covering his mouth.

  Leid moved by me, heading into the hall. “Now you’re late.”

  I watched her disappear toward the port, fuming. My siblings could practically see the steam coming from my ears. Tae acted uncomfortable, while Ara was beaming. He seemed to enjoy watching Leid’s treatment of me. Karmic justice, he’d said.

  “Remember to show up for the briefing this afternoon,” I muttered, heading for the hall as well.

  “Roger,” my brother said to my back. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  * * *

  Traffic was horrible.

  You’d think the Regent’s son and the Commandant of the Enforcers would get some bonuses, like having a special lane in which he could bypass all the normal people on their way to their less important jobs. But my only bonuses were chauffeuring Leid around and putting up with the council’s bullshit.

  I was still pissed about breakfast and didn’t say anything to Leid on the way to Parliament. My only saving grace was that she was nice to look at. It was kind of annoying that I found her so attractive, given the fact that she wasn’t even a part of my species and I couldn’t help but feel like I was partaking in some kind of bestiality fetish whenever I thought about her.

  She wasn’t really my type, either. Leid was thin and her breasts weren’t nearly as large as I’d have liked them to be, but there was a certain allure to her that I couldn’t put my finger on. Too bad it was ruined whenever she opened her mouth.

  We had been sitting in a traffic jam for fifteen minutes, and when we finally reached Parliament I’d forgotten that the landing port construction started today. Now I had to go all the way to the front and try to find parking there.

  “Fucking beautiful,” I muttered, glaring at the NO PARKING SIGN.

  Leid grinned. “How ironic.”

  I turned the craft, jerking the wheel hard enough to throw her against the passenger seat window. She stared angrily at me, and now I was grinning.

  Twenty minutes later we were in Parliament, and I ducked by Isa and Shev while they were speaking to my receptionist. Maybe the council wouldn’t notice I was late.

  Things were pretty quiet since the attack on Eroqam. I spent most of the day handling matters my father was no longer capable of, like budgeting, law-mediating and delegating with the higher-ups who worked for the city. A Regent’s day only lasted from seven to three, but I was also the Commandant and would go directly to Eroqam’s military wing after my desk job. Needless to say, work days sometimes lasted well into the early morning.

  And they only seemed longer with Leid as my shadow.

  I tried to stay afloat amid the sea of paperwork that had been waiting on my desk when I’d arrived. Leid paced behind my desk, analyzing my weekly schedule.

  “You double-booked a meeting with Upper Sanctum’s Chancellor and the Sanctum Education Director,” she noted.

  I didn’t respond, signing a budget report.

  “Would you like me to change it?”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  I heard her flipping through my schedule. “The only other opening you have is at three-thirty.”

  “Guess that’ll have to do.”

  “You leave at three.”

  “Guess I won’t today.”

  “Would you like me to postpone the meeting until the next day?”

  “Leid,” I sighed, massaging my head, “just schedule whatever you think is best and let me know. You’re going to do that anyway.”

  I didn’t need to turn around to know that she was smiling. “As you wish, Commandant.”

  Several hours later I had completed most of the work that had deadlines for tomorrow. I took a moment to stretch and noticed Leid was sitting on the leather armchair across from my desk, staring at me.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I want to see the Archaean aero-craft.”

  I blinked. “Right now?”

  “No, after the briefing tonight.”

  “That’s fine. I was waiting until our research scientists could give us anything conclusive, but they’re still at a loss.”

&
nbsp; Leid reclined across the arm, smiling. “I’m sure I could fill in some blanks.”

  “You’re quit sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Says the flesh and blood epitome of arrogance.”

  I sighed and returned to my work. Despite her cue to shut up, Leid kept talking.

  “Do you have the outline for your briefing?”

  My eyes rose from the report, settling on her. “Why?”

  “I’d like to see it.”

  “Why?”

  “To make sure it’s a good plan?”

  I smirked, looking back at my report. “Thanks, but I don’t need your advice on military tactics.”

  “Because I’m a woman?”

  “Among other things.”

  “It’s very unfortunate that the soon-to-be Regent of Sanctum is an ignorant, chauvinistic pig.”

  I put my pen down and stared at her. She met my irritated frown with an icy smile.

  “Is there somewhere you can go for a while?” I asked through my teeth. “There isn’t anything productive about you hovering over me all morning.”

  She looked at the door. “Is there somewhere that I can get food?”

  “The cafeteria is on the first floor; take a left down the stairs. What, all of my tea and three pastries weren’t enough for you?”

  Leid ignored my jab. “What do you usually get when you’re there?”

  “Why would that matter?”

  “I don’t know much about Nehelian food, and most of it gives me indigestion.”

  Charming. “Their leriza sandwiches are pretty good.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, slipping out of my office.

  I sighed in relief, reclining in my seat. Relishing this moment of peace, I closed my eyes. My exhaustion gave me a floaty, dizzy feeling, and since Leid ruined breakfast my empty stomach was churning bile up my throat.

  I glanced at the clock; two more hours until I could go to lunch. I had another dozen budget reports to sift through. It was going to be the most painful two hours of my life. But at least I was alone now.