Kalberham was not at ease in that discussion and evidently had kept quiet to his young Terrestrial friend about some details.
She began crawling towards the monitor.
«I want to see the armor».
Lokkar raised the cloth that hid the glass case, and Armintala's heirloom was there.
The Terrestrial boy is authorized to exchange. Only two people will accompany him to transport the armor. Besides, nothing will be done unless you come down, Kalberham!»
«I want proof they're alive» said Patrik before she could end the communication.
The queen smiled diabolically. «They are, young Earthman. I can’t do anything if they’re dead».
The monitor darkened and Patrik's expression, of the type we have to talk, came straight to Solyar's Guardian.
*
Marco was almost always holed up inside his room with Kaira.
To occupy the time he tried to invent as many games as possible with her, but this was only partly enough to limit the boredom mixed with the fear that the place aroused.
Maliki had taken his task very seriously and constantly pleaded with the two guests. Even when he and Kaira were walking in the garden of the royal palace she followed them, but at a safe distance.
Marco was always looking at her, trying not to be seen.
On the third day he tried the "food" card to bring her closer.
He was half Italian, if he couldn’t make her melt with something to eat, it would have been practically impossible.
He opened the door and peeked his head. «Look, we've got some pizza, some fries, and some hamburgers here. The girl would be pleased if you joined us».
«What are you talking about?» she asked, taken aback.
«Great Earth food!» he replied in the tone of a television salesman selling gym equipment.
«I'm not hungry» the young Melainian cut him short. Her yellow eyes didn’t promise anything good. She gripped the halberd, from which she was inseparable, and looked away.
Marco closed the door without saying anything else. That woman made him afraid and he didn’t want to understand why.
«Isn’t she coming?» Kaira asked.
He was stunned. Like that little one always seemed distracted but then she heard everything, this still didn’t explain it.
«No. She is not hungry».
The girl took a small tray with a slice of pizza and chips.
«It's useless to try» Marco told her, understanding her intentions. «Miss Sympathy is on a diet».
«Uncle Marco, you still have to learn a lot. Every being in the universe is closely linked to something or someone. It’s all this love that, at the end of our existence, ends up in the Flower of Eta Carinae, and it redistributes it by guaranteeing the cycle of life. I am here because I see it».
Kaira said these things with a disarming naturalness.
Marco looked at her, frowning in disbelief.
«But how old are you, girl?!»
She didn’t answer. She just looked out of the window nearest to her, as if images were running before her eyes.
«Maliki's love is buried under a million tears. They are those that don’t come down to make more noise».
«Really?».
Marco lay down on the bed, giving up the idea of having to deal with a child who could be at most six. «And how are you going to wipe out all these tears?»
«With the only thing that nourishes hope: desire!»
She smiled and left the room.
Maliki heard the girl's steps approach. She didn’t want to deal with her too. Her thoughts were elsewhere and the hassle was anything but necessary.
She decided to treat her with the same firmness with which she had alienated the other Terrestrial.
«I've already told your friend I'm not hungry» she said quickly. «You can tell him that sending a girl will not help him».
Kaira stood there with the plate in her hand.
A tear ran down her face.
«Are you angry with me?».
«No, little Terrestrial. I'm not angry with you, I just want to be left alone».
«I'm not Terrestrial, I'm from Kentaura» Kaira said, wiping her face.
Maliki looked at her curiously. «But you look Terrestrial. And on Kentaura there are no beings from other planets. Didn’t you come here with Patrik and his friends?»
«Patrik Jones found me there, and now they all take care of me. I'm lucky».
«And your parents?».
«They're in the Flower» the girl answered, lowering her eyes.
Lokkar's sister felt her stomach clench. After all, she too had been a child whose parents had failed too soon.
She could understand her very well.
«Maybe I'll taste one of those yellow things. What's their name?»
«French fries» the little girl smiled. «Will you help me get up?»
Maliki took the tray and placed it on the low wall on which she was resting, then helped Kaira. Taking her in the arms, the girl put her hand on her cheek and she felt more serene than she had for so long. A sunny day, wreaths of flowers and her mother calling her from afar.
«But what ... ?!» she asked in a whisper.
«You are beautiful. You look like a doll with dark skin» she told her, taking her hand off her face.
«Thank you» Maliki answered, still dazed by that strange vision.
«You know, even Uncle Marco thinks you're beautiful. He is always there to look at you from afar and sometimes remains still with his mouth open, like a fish».
The young Melainian warrior looked instinctively towards the window of the room where he was, and the sound of a falling chair coupled with a moan of pain came from there. She stared in disbelief and Kaira, with narrow shoulders and her hand in front of her mouth, couldn’t hold back the laughter.
*
«So you know her?!» Patrik thundered as he entered an isolated room in the company of solyarian Guardian.
«It was a long time ago» he replied.
«Well, I'm all ears!»
Kalberham folded his arms and sighed deeply as he looked at the floor. Something from very long ago resurfaced in his mind.
«I was young, chosen by the Code but not yet a Guardian. Relations with the creepers were different then. Acalidi came to Solyar in the company of her mother, the former queen of Vortix. Something was born between us, but I knew it would be a mistake and I broke off almost immediately. Nobody knows about this story and we kept it hidden, but before leaving, she promised me that one day she would break my heart».
«Nice story! Maybe you could even have told me before, what do you think about that?!»
Patrik felt betrayed. Thousands of light years away from his planet, Kalberham was one of the people he trusted most, and now his certainty had ceased to exist.
«Do you think knowing that before would have changed something? He would only have distracted you. She wants the armor, everything else is buried in time».
Patrik approached his interlocutor, pointing his finger at him.
«I trusted you. I followed you and became a Guardian waiting for this moment, risking my life several times. My best friend is in the hands of the Arkassians now. If something goes wrong because of you, I will never forgive you».
Kalberham stiffened. This he didn’t accept.
«Listen, boy, I'm on this ship with you and I'm about to go down to a planet where the ruler has sworn to kill me. Here we are all at risk, don’t forget it. You must not forget the fact that David is also my friend».
«This is something we'll find out soon» Patrik replied as he left the room.
*
Tadiero and Lokkar pushed the armor, which was lifted from the ground thanks to a strange electronic table that made it float in the air.
Patrik and Kalberham preceded them a few meters away.
A handful of soldiers awaited them at the entrance.
After walking for a few minutes inside a huge cave, the three took a
sort of transport that led them more and more underground. A whole world was hidden in the sunlight. Thousands of tunnels and residential settlements surrounded the landscape made of artificial lights and rock.
The vortians silently watched the royal guards accompany the aliens to the royal palace. They could have attacked and killed them in a moment, but wrongdoing to the Lord of Arkass didn’t suit them either.
«But how big is this place?» Patrik asked, looking around at something that was almost impossible even to imagine.
«Place?! This is a world. Some say that a billion Vortians live below, some say a lot more. Now you know why penetrating here without a guide is totally a bad idea». Kalberham said those things in the tone of those who hope to turn back from hell.
«Only the males have their faces covered» Patrik noted after a while.
«This is a society where women rule. They are sacred and very respected because they guarantee the species. That's why they only have the queen».
After about twenty minutes of travel they found themselves in front of a real city. The royal palace, located right in the middle, was flanked by an underground river fed by the waterfalls that came out of the massive rock walls all around.
Eight long towers outlined the perimeter of the building. Sculptures of strange stone animals surrounded them and gave the structure a disquieting appearance.
The wet heat was really intense.
Patrik thought that the guy who was approaching to him was supposed to be the same guy who had answered him from the monitor a few hours earlier.
«Hello. My name is Banka Lax and I will take you to the queen». He must surely be a senior officer in the Vortix army.
They walked for a while inside the fortress.
Unlike the common throne rooms, that of the queen of the underground planet was small and circular. She was still lying on that kind of huge sofa with strange curved shapes.
Only women were admitted in that room and Patrik found it rather odd that they left their queen defenseless with four aliens inside. Then he thought about it better and understood that it couldn’t be so simple to take her life. He had learned not to underestimate anything since he left Earth and hoped he would never understand what defenses were planned in that hall.
«Patrik Jones, the chosen one of Kentaura. There must really be something special in you if Arkassians and Solaryans don’t fight each other for a while».
Her warm, thin voice came from the back of the room, but her face was not yet clearly visible. Then she began to crawl towards them and the diadem surrounding her forehead came out of the gloom.
«As you convinced the gohtarma to give me such a great treasure, it’s even more mysterious. All for the life of two useless males».
The contempt with which he pronounced the word "males" penetrated into the ears of everyone present.
«Does the exchange interest you?» Patrik asked dryly, hoping the prisoners in question would be useless to her.
Four pairs of arms came out of the floor forcing him to get down on his knees. Kalberham waved to the other two to prevent them from doing anything rash.
Here are the famous defenses.
«The boy is nervous» said the queen, amused. Then she approached the armor and looked at it with satisfaction. At that moment he had in the same room two things he had desired for years. This prompted her to conclude the deal quickly.
«Accompany them to the prisoners» she ordered in the direction of Banka Lax, who had remained outside. «Everyone but you, Kalberham. We two need to clarify a small pending issue».
Patrik looked at the Solaryan with panic in his eyes.
«Go and make sure they are all right» he replied without allowing the others to add anything.
Everyone nodded even if reluctantly, and left the armor.They followed Banka Lax.
The stairs that led to the basement of the royal palace were narrow and irregular, and only a few lights illuminated the path.
Patrik regretted how he had treated Kalberham on the ship. Now he risked his life and perhaps how he had addressed him a few hours earlier had been dictated only by anger.
He prayed that nothing would happen to him.
The guards stopped in front of an iron door on which there was only a small window. The stench that the place emanated was inhuman, but Patrik didn’t even notice it.
His father was behind that door. All those years of absence, desire, resignation, and secret moments stolen from watching the fathers of his classmates, had ended up behind that door. After all, it was the dream of every child without a father: "mine is in space fighting like a superhero".
It could even be cool. If only he had a time machine. Make a thousand times, with that awareness, a Christmas tree, a football match or the first bike ride. Struck dumb all those children who reminded him that his father was dead, as if it were an accusation or an indelible mark.
And now he was there, and Patrik felt the fear of not finding a superhero waiting for him, but a simple and common stranger without a cape and a mask.
The lock clicked and the door opened.
The Portiryan, Ottolivi, was slumped on the ground with one arm chained to the wall. He had a suit similar to that of Tadiero and, exhausted from that place, didn’t even raise his head.
The Terrestrial instead was lying on a cot with his face turned towards the wall. The solaryan soldier uniform was all dirty and torn at various points. The beard was very long.
«I have already told you that I have nothing to do with the Arkassians, and if you want me to answer your questions again, I want you to feed my friend» he said without turning to look around.
Tadiero entered the cell and went to his brother. «Ottolivi, wake up. We came to pick you up».
David whirled around, recognizing a friendly voice.
«Tadiero?! How is it possible? What are you doing here?».
«We convinced the queen. Hurry up!» he replied, raising his very weak brother.
Lokkar entered the room to give him a hand and David frowned, stepping back.
«What are you doing with an Arkassian, Tadiero? Tell me you didn’t do something stupid!»
The big Poriryan put his free hand on his shoulder, squeezing it to reassure him.
«Calm down David, I'll explain everything to you as soon as we get out of here».
«Calm, my foot! If in order to free us you endangered the alliance, know that I will split your ugly face».
Patrik couldn’t speak. For a reason that was hard to explain, he liked to hear his father's deep voice arguing with Tadiero. Unfortunately his friend was in the hands of the queen and had to hurry. He swallowed the saliva and entered the cell without thinking.
«So let's hurry up! I would like to remind you that Kalberham may need us».
David didn’t believe his eyes. A few moments ago, as soon as he heard the door open, a Terran was the last of the creatures he would have expected to see that day.
«And who the hell are you?!»
Patrik looked around a bit and then had the courage to look at him.
«My name is Patrik Jones!»
34
The days passed slowly on Arkass and Marco was in pain for his friend and for how it would be going as Patrik met his father. He knew how much this meant for him and he really wanted to be there at that moment.
In all this, Maliki and Kaira seemed to have become great friends after the initial reluctance of the beautiful Melainian. During the long walks around the fortress, he was a bit detached from them while the two were joking and laughing constantly, even about him, judging from how sometimes they turned to look at him.
«I would like to know what you two gossiped about all day» he asked one evening to Kaira after they returned.
«Nothing. She talks to me about her planet, her brother and the partner with whom she will spend the rest of her life».
Marco turned abruptly. «Does Maliki have a partner?!»
The girl put her hands on her hips
and looked at him impatiently with an annoying teacher's air.
«Nooo! She says she is the right age to look for someone and she imagines him as handsome and as strong as his brother».
«Well, his brother’s not so nice» he replied, thinking of Lokkar, heartened by the news.
«Indeed! Today I told her to consider asking you».
«What did you do?!».
«You heard me. I like her a lot and you too. If she became my aunt, she could come with us».
Marco didn’t believe his ears. Kaira paired people as if they were characters from The Sims. She also did it with Patrik and Alannah.
«First of all, who told you that I like her?» now he really wanted to be heard by the baby.
She looked at him with a mischievous smile.
«Certainly she is very pretty, but being a lifetime companion means knowing each other, sharing future interests and projects. I've hardly ever talked with her. You cannot fire Cupid's arrows and hope it will simply work. You could at least have told me before, talked to me about it but instead you behaved like a stupid little girl. I'm very offended by you!»
Kaira lowered her head and wiped a tear away with her hand.
Marco sighed, he could not bear to see her cry. And then he imagined Patrik's face reproaching him for being so harsh with her when she was only a child.
Yes, that’s what she seemed to be!
He sat down and picked her up.
«Don’t cry now, otherwise I'll be sad. You are a good girl and I love you, but the next time you want me to marry at least warn me, so I'll buy a suit».
She hugged him tightly. «Sorry» she sobbed.
«Ok, now it's enough with the tears though. If Patrik finds out that I've made you sad he will give me a big punch in the face. Tell me, do you want me to get a punch in the face?»
«No» she answered, smiling. «I will not tell him».
«Hey, good. Anyway, what did she tell you?»
«Who?».
«What do you think, who?! Maliki, what did she tell you when you asked her to be my partner?»
Patrik Jones and the Code of the Universe Page 32
