by Tim Kaiver
"Tackle him?" Schaefer whispered.
"No!" Emmit spoke, and fled. Ehli wondered if he'd used his telepathy to advantage. And she'd thought raising a twelve-year-old was hard....
As soon as she stepped through their door, she smelled the aroma of cooking bacon wafting from upstairs. Before she reached the first stair, Schaefer slipped his fingers between hers and gripped his palm in hers, stopping her.
"Whatever happens today, I love you." Schaefer brought her hand up and kissed it. "I'm glad you're safe. That's good enough for me. I will do anything I can to keep you and our son that way."
Ehli smiled, held her breath, and gave him a quick peck on the lips. When she straightened, and could breathe again, she added, "Thank you for everything you did to get us here. Forgive me for the time I'll need to adjust."
"No forgiveness needed," he said with a wink, and tugged on her hand to head up the stairs.
At the kitchen table, Emmit drank orange juice through a mouthful of something else. Plates waited, stacked with food she hadn't seen in too long: eggs with yellow yolks ready to burst; strips of stiff bacon, the perfect color of cooked; toast softened with running butter; and a sugar-topped blueberry muffin, sliced open with steam rising from its kiss of two butter patties slowly melting into the center.
Cullen's mother watched on with a smile from the sink. "I'm not sure which one of us enjoyed that more. Please. Help yourselves. There's more."
As Ehli and Schaefer scooted up to their plates, Grace set a glass down for each of them. Straws dangled out of the frothy green drinks. "Thank you," Ehli said.
Grace moved a skillet to the other side of the stove, set a lid, and grinned a slight curtsy as she made her way out. "You folks enjoy your breakfast."
It tasted better than advertised.
"Mom," Emmit asked with a somber look, "this isn't our last meal, is it?"
The question broke Ehli's heart. Poor boy's head still needed deprogramming from their days in prison. He wasn't alone. She climbed off her chair, walked over and, stroking a hand through his hair, kissed his head. "No, sweet boy. We're not prisoners anymore."
"We're ultras," he said, almost asking, and still not opening his eyes.
"Yes," she said, absorbing the sober reminder of the Cipher and the war its prophetic keys alluded to. "Yes, we are."
"Are you done yet?" Adi asked, poking his head up past the wall to spy on them.
"Adi!" Emmit threw up his arms, and his friend ran in to hug him. "Did you get some of this bacon?"
"I did. Earthquaked my brain."
"Me too."
"Where's Dy?" Adi asked, looking around Emmit's neck for his pet gecko.
"I let him sleep in the garden. Let's go see." The kids rushed out of the kitchen, with Emmit calling out from the stairwell, "I'm gonna pee outside."
"Emmit!"
Schaefer chuckled. "He learned that from you?"
"Come on." Ehli stood to pile up the dishes just as Grace returned.
"Oh no, I'll take care of those. They're waiting for you in the den."
What Grace called a "den" looked like a one-room cabin where holoscreens, humming computer towers, and various conversations filled the room with a buzz of activity.
"Mrs. Orson," the general said as he looked up from one of the holoscreens near the sliding doors. "Dr. Orson. Good to see you both up and looking rested." He smiled, then returned to his work.
Ehli felt uncomfortable. What was she supposed to do? She was just the telepath guinea pig... and then she remembered. But she kept it blocked. There needed to be privacy among friends. Since she'd woken, she hadn't felt that wake up, but now that it came to mind, she had to concentrate on not reading the Star General's thoughts.
Ocia waved them over.
General Re didn't flinch at their passing, his eyes squinting at the Veltuk writing. "We're getting close," he said as they made their way between him and a fan-blowing computer tower.
Jolnes and Torek waved from their work—what looked like maps and plane schematics.
Chester and Cullen were engaged in a discussion about someone Cullen had had military training with, and something about missions into the Spirit Realm.
As she passed the other side of the wide screen they studied, Ehli smiled. None of what they were saying made any sense to her.
When Ehli reached Ocia, she stopped. He was busy at a screen with blocks of text. "General Re, Chester, and Brinoway have been up almost all-night translating," Ocia told her, "but we haven't unlocked the Cipher yet. We thought you could use your telepathy to read our thoughts and see if you can untie anything we might be missing."
Ehli was thankful for the good night's sleep, but didn't know if she was up to all that. She had the beloved mother level-up bonus to use, but couldn't tie together how a mother's love was supposed to help, if that was even how she should use it. "I'm a believer, but my knowledge of the texts is nothing like Schaefer's, or theirs."
"I'll help," her husband said.
She narrowed her gaze at his cheeky grin, letting him know he hadn't won yet.
General Re caught her gaze. "It isn’t just that we think you can help us. I believe your participation in this is critical to the blessing taking place. If you would indulge my curiosity, please."
The urgency of war prodded against her desire to take a short cut, encouraging her to avoid comfort to further their cause in protecting not only their world, but her family. Maybe that's how. She nodded, holding the bonus for the right time.
*Mission to compile texts– Activated.*
Okay, Cipher. We've come this far….
"Thank you, sweetheart." Schaefer raised a pen to the screen. "Since it's been a while since we covered the high points of the views on the Cipher, I'll summarize them so we have easy terms to represent the different schools of interpretation."
I can't wait, she thought. "Okay, smart guy. Show me what you got."
He gave her a look like she was part fire, part roller coaster, and he was ready, if she was, for both. "One of the themes of the texts that discuss the Cipher is that Shephka would grant it in response to faith. Our theory is that the Cipher may unlock as we hear—or read—His words in faith. Until we translate them accurately, though, it is hard for us to receive them in faith. One of our problems is, we come from different schools of thought about what the Cipher is. We have writings that have never been collected by a panel of readers. Not all our interpretations can be right, so the challenge is to let the text speak for itself. You are a neutral party.
"The hope," he continued, "is that the text will speak with a clear truth that will produce the faith we need to wake the Cipher."
No pressure, she thought. "I'm ready."
Three panels covered the wide wall. Over the left column, he wrote: Majority – King. "Most believe the Cipher to refer to a king, that the power of the Cipher will be given to him so that, in wisdom and vigor, he will build a nation able to defeat the Osuna."
In the middle panel he wrote: Middle – Returners. "This group believes that, if they can collect enough professing believers in the Cipher into one place, it will appear and transport them back to their homeworld, which Shephka has rid of evil in their absence."
That sounded familiar. "That's your view?"
"It is, but I think it is only partly right." He rolled his pen. "Let's keep going."
In the right column he wrote: Minority – People Power. "This view sees the Cipher awakening as a blessing of Shephka, starting with a family of ultras and spreading. It is a supernatural power and can be utilized, spiritually, by both light and dark."
"Part of the difference in interpretation stems from a phrase that all our texts have, which translates 'ultras' as either: family, strong nation, or lineage."
"What key texts support each view?" she asked.
"Brinoway holds the majority view, possibly because—"
"I can speak for myself," Brinoway said. "Sure, I like the idea of a king to challenge the Osuna Emperor, but I al
so see a single man who will lead the city. Cusaugh's text has a passage that says: 'The windwalker will return prior to the dawn of a new age. The Age of the City will be restored to signal the last great war.'"
Ehli pulled thoughts from the group about the word "windwalker"... its form in various languages... which of their translation insights was best read as "one who walks by wind," and General Re’s and Chester's beliefs that this referred to Cullen, who had walked on wind over the gorge, so to speak. He was also a primary evidence for their support of the minority view—that people would be empowered by the Cipher, as opposed to a king or a nation.
Ehli read the next verse that rose in Cullen's mind—and in General Re's, with slight differences: "The family of three will ride the windwalker to tragedy." "Family" was General Re's interpretation, as the minority view. Nation of three, or king who ruled by three, were how the other two views translated it.
Ehli couldn't deny how she, Schaefer, and Emmit had ridden in Cullen's ship—if he was the windwalker. And they had brought tragedy with them in the form of Willo. She didn't assume the course of that tragedy to be anywhere near its conclusion.
Cusaugh's writings were challenged because of his apparent betrayal of his people. Ehli let Brinoway's knowledge of the events play through her mind. But if one were to interpret them as inspired by Shephka—his final words, noted in secret by a faithful scribe…:
"From the council of eleven shall shine a light that will bless the stars and repel as well as attract the wrath of darkness."
Ehli let Brin's understanding of the interpretation read through each symbol and word slowly. She directed General Re, Chester, and Schaefer to the verse. Schaefer had yet to read it.
He stuck on "eleven," while General Re pinpointed on the word for power, and the inclusion of light and darkness.
Schaefer admitted that "eleven" would be difficult to interpret as nation, since eight was the typical number representing the children of their most famous king. One would be the obvious number for king, though perhaps he could have a council... Brinoway added.
Ehli thought of how many were in the safe house; including herself, there was Schaefer, Emmit, Adi, Cullen, Torek, Jolnes, Chester, General Re, Grace... and Brinoway. Eleven. She expanded her awareness to those outside the room using her Telescope skill. Cullen and the pilots were drinking in the kitchen and going over territory maps. Emmit and Adi were in the garden, playing with Dy.
She shared this last verse, piecing together the last of Cullen's keys:
Thus says Shephka: "From the council of eleven shall shine a light that will bless the stars and repel as well as attract the wrath of darkness."
As she shared, a fear grew like poison within her soul. What if the light isn't enough?
Shephka had left before. Thousands of years had passed since Hilayniia fell. She'd been left to stink in a prison for six years, afraid for her son's safety every day and night.
"But Shephka kept you and Em safe," her husband thought.
"What if he doesn't?" Emmit thought.
One by one, Ehli felt the fears of the group feeding off hers: Cullen wondered whether he had enough faith to stay in the light after having spent so much time content in the darkness; Torek felt like the last one invited to the party and that Cullen and this group would get to a point where only Rucien were needed, or chosen, to lead their people's fight in this war…. Everyone feared their past repeating, eyes inward on their prior failings and how they tied to the actions of others who'd rejected them.
Her heart clenched like a fist threatening to squeeze the life out of her. She empathized with their fears. No one deserved to be here; and yet, they were. They were all like children, brought into a family without choice or merit, but loved regardless of their actions. Salin ineofon, she thought. Love them. Like a mother. How?
Memories filled her thoughts with the many nights in Setuk when Emmit had sobbed himself to sleep, head on her chest as she repeated over and over, "I love you, Son," because she could think of no other truth that mattered. They had sobbed together most nights, but as she looked back, in spite of being imprisoned and living without hope for strength in the day to come, or even surviving the night, those memories returned to her with joy and gratitude. She loved that she had been there to love her son through that time.
Bitterness had driven her thoughts and strength most of the time surviving on Setuk, but in those moments with Emmit, love for her son had overcome her fear and anger. Every repeated "I love you" had been a cleansing, fueling, and demanding process where she refused to let anyone or anything stop her from impressing upon her son that he was loved.
Ehli was afraid now too, but questioned whether love could save her now as it had in that cold, dark cell on Setuk.
A mother would remind family of family and promise them their strength to survive.
We are the council, she told them, pulsing energy trembling through her. We shine Shephka's light to the stars. May He bless us to repel and destroy the darkness in his path. Nothing can stop this family. We will survive.
As one, they trusted in Shephka's blessing and the bond of their willpower to remain as one, embracing the war to come with only victory in view.
*Mission to compile texts– Complete.*
*Quest to unlock the Cipher – Complete.*
+100 XP to group.
+50 XP bonus to Ehli – used level-up bonus to love the council and the universe with the power to come.
Full access granted. Character transformation activated…
The ground shook.
Ehli reached for Schaefer, but the violent tremor kept her hand from gripping his. Whatever the Cipher was doing in her body made it harder to reach him. He swept his arm behind her, and together they staggered out of the room. Emmit!
40
Cullen sensed Ehli's mental grip release soon after the ground shook. He woke to darkness in the kitchen. Glasses and plates crashed and shattered.
*Quest to unlock the Cipher – Complete.*
+100 XP to group.
Full access granted. Character transformation activated…
A shiver ran through Cullen, quite like the rush of pullspace filling his veins with inhuman power. His eyes blinked as the supercharged force made it hard to read the lines of notifications. As the buzz faded, he scrolled past health stats and character points to the next main alert:
*Mission to get Emmit and Adi to safety – Activated.*
He knew they were in the garden. He swiped the curtains aside to see Emmit and Adi on the ground, eyes and mouths wide in terror.
The ceiling cracked and the walls split as the floor swayed. Tiles snapped under his feet and ripped open to expose the downstairs. This thing's going down! His dad would take care of the main group. Cullen grabbed Torek's arm. "Help me get the kids."
They passed carefully through the doorway and turned for the stairwell. The intensity of the quake shook dust from the cracks in the ceiling. Cullen bounced off both sides of the hallway whenever the ground bounced.
His first step on the spiral staircase to the basement landed well. His next didn't. A jolt threw him headlong into the wall. He hit his shoulder and tucked his head in time to land on his back. He slid down several stairs, then the ground popped and he flew up into the air on a trajectory heading over the stair railing. He shifted and swung his legs free, but his momentum carried his feet too far right.
The quake's rumble deafened the orchestra of destruction. As he fell, light from outside reflected on the shards of glass from the destroyed patio door. He thanked Shephka he was fully dressed, crossed his arms, and rolled as he fell. Glass crunched and cut a gash in his forearm and jaw. He rolled to a stop and sprang to his feet. Adi and Emmit spotted him.
"Help them!" Ehli 'pathed as he kicked a wide pane of ragged glass from the door frame.
I will. Take—
The wall surrounding the garden buckled and tipped toward the kids, its top high enough to crush them.
Emmit looked up and spotted the threat.
In the corner of his eye, Cullen saw Torek a stride behind him. He pointed to Emmit and veered left toward Adi. Torek would have to spring out once he got Emmit. Cullen waved Adi away from the falling bricks, but the kid didn't move. Lowered his center mass, he extended his arm in a burst of speed. Wrapping his arm around Adi's waist, he leapt backwards, spinning out and away. The wall slapped the ground in a bloom of dust. Adi shouted as Cullen landed on his side and rolled off.
The ground shook harder, tipping him forward. He released a crying Adi and planted a hand to halt his fall. Behind him, Torek lay on his side, reaching for the mass of bricks covering his leg. Emmit was free but had not risen to his feet.
A rivulet burst up through the concrete beside Emmit's hand. The gash spread like a tree root from under the house to the other side of the patio. Concrete collapsed in and under as the ground pulled in opposite directions.
Dirt and darkness opened up in the yawning space between.
Cullen crawled to Adi as the concrete beside him cracked and fell into the hole, threatening to take Adi with it. Cullen lunged, and though he landed on his cut arm, he caught the boy's arm in both hands. He pulled backward as the boy screamed and new chunks broke off.
A great pop from the direction of the house drew his attention. As he watched, the building split and caved in.
"Mom!" Emmit shouted.
Torek lifted him and hobbled over fallen bricks toward the now-visible front yard.
Cullen adjusted his grip on Adi to a fireman's carry and aimed for the flattest section of debris he could see. Three steps and a sudden shock threw him off balance. He dropped Adi and fell beside him. This time the boy ran. Cullen pushed up and started after him. Adi fell again. Cullen helped him back onto his feet. Behind them, the gorge yawned at ten meters wide and growing as both sides crumbled.
Adi slipped from his hand. Cullen turned to watch him clear the rubble of the wall and head for Emmit and Torek.
