“By that, you mean being married to Vinia? What if she didn’t agree with your timing?”
“I told her I would take as much time as she needed, but I’d be ready the moment she said go!” Ozian laughed out loud as he thought about his future with Vinia. She brought him so much joy, and he merely wanted to get moving forward with his new life on Tuala.
Elder Daven had been reading Ozian’s thoughts, even though it was considered rude. Because Ozian was from another world, he had to be extra cautious when it came to his decision with Vinia. He did not want to be responsible for bringing harm to their community or his District by being rash; this was not the time or situation for proper channels. The thoughts he read remained just as he had suspected: genuine and full of love for Vinia, and surprisingly, for Danika as well.
“What about your age difference?”
“Vinia said the same thing! Is there really such a problem with that here on Tuala?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you had considered it and what it would mean as Vinia got older. If you want to have children of your own, she may not be able to have more, or even want more as she already has four of her own.”
Ozian nodded as he considered the Elder’s words. He did want to have a family of his own, but if Vinia told him no, then he would have to be content with Danika. She was young enough to know him as her father, and that would probably be good enough if it came right down to it. “I can work with that, whatever Vinia decides.”
“You say that now, but are you sure you won’t grow to resent Vinia over time? Maybe you’ll even call her selfish for denying you children of your own?”
“That’s not how things are done on Heliok, Elder Daven. We respect our women and treat them very well. They are responsible for their own bodies, and they decide when children are going to be a part of the family. I will accept whatever Vinia decides.”
Daven nodded as he felt the truth behind Ozian’s words. He also saw the conversation regarding his name change and asked, “Are you okay with your name being modified to Ozian?”
“I don’t want to disgrace Vinia or the village. It seems like a small sacrifice for such a big reward. I will gladly do it if Vinia agrees to have me.”
They moved along the overgrown path for several seconds in silence. Daven finally asked the question he most wondered about. “What about your feelings for Juila? You seemed pretty infatuated with her when you first arrived on Earth.”
Ozian actually blushed at the memory of how he had behaved. “Well, that’s because she’s an amazing girl and I was intrigued by her intelligence. I’d never met anyone who was so self-confident in her abilities. The women on Heliok aren’t encouraged to go to school or learn any advanced technology.”
“What makes you think you’d be content on settling for Vinia then? You don’t have much experience with our culture; maybe you won’t find it to your liking here.”
Ozian shook his head in denial. “I’ve never agreed with the customs on my home planet. Juila is the perfect example of why; she has ideas and contributions to the world. On Heliok, our planet is dying because the leaders don’t allow free thinking and use all available resources.
“Juila was the first girl I had ever really spoken with from outside of my world. Granted, we had the other women and children held captive by Viceroy Blair, but they behaved just as cowed and timid as the women from home. I had no idea there was anything different until Juila began talking with me. I wanted to go to her world to find someone for myself.
“At first I thought it might be her until I met Vinia. When she took over the community, I saw her strength and wisdom and I knew she was the right woman for me. I don’t have any other way to put it, but I know Vinia’s the one I’m supposed to marry. Age is irrelevant if we both love one another.”
“Do you think she feels the same way then?”
“I do, or she wouldn’t have asked you to come and talk to her, don’t you think?”
Daven smiled at Ozian’s reasoning and had to agree he was probably correct. He clapped him on the shoulder and said, “You are wise beyond your years. Can you make sure I have some private time with Vinia so we can talk about you and your prospects on Tuala?”
“Are you saying I’m allowed to stay then? Do I have future prospects here?”
“Yes, I believe you do.”
They turned the last corner on the trail and arrived at Vinia’s cabin. Ozian nodded his head in respect as he continued walking toward his own home, all the while wishing he could stay and hear their conversation. Daven knocked on the door and went inside after Vinia let him in.
“Thank you for taking the time to see me,” Vinia said as she gestured for them to sit at the only table in the room. “Can I get you anything?”
“You’re welcome, and no, I just want to talk with you for a while. I hope now is a good time.”
“Perfect. After your last visit, there’s been quite a bit of talk about the kids. I even heard people talking about me getting married although Ozian insists he hasn’t told anyone. I can’t imagine how it got out then, but I guess it’s inevitable in a town this small.”
Daven nodded agreement as he watched Vinia carefully. She seemed nervous, and she was prattling on as if she were avoiding what was really troubling her. “What did you want to ask, Vinia?”
“Are the kids going to be okay? It was pretty tense around here when you left.”
“Yes, I think everything has worked out beautifully. I hope you won’t mind your daughter marrying the Elder’s heir.”
Vinia scoffed incredulously at the idea and chuckled nervously. “I never dreamt of such a future for any of my children. I want them to be happy, and if Willian is the one to do that for her, then she has my blessing.”
Daven nodded his approval of her assessment of the situation. Although he imagined she probably did not quite understand the scope of the relationship and added, “Valentina didn’t really have a choice in the matter. When her life-line joined with Willian’s, it took the choice away from both of them.”
“That sounds terrible! Will they resent it as time goes on?” Vinia suddenly feared for her daughter’s prospects.
“No, as soon as she accepts it, she will only feel perfect contentment, love, and peace.”
“And if she doesn’t accept it?”
“She’ll never find love in that case.”
“Oh.” Vinia was disheartened by the Elder’s proclamation. This was more serious than she had given it credit for when they were all here in her home. At the time, she was more concerned about the problem of dissolving the betrothal and what that would mean for both of them involved. Now it really did impact her daughter and her future happiness.
“They have time to work it out. I came here to talk about your future with Ozian. Will you be happy with him?”
“Of course, but don’t you think it’s rather sudden? What if he decides he wants to return to his homeworld? I can’t go with him, and I can’t worry about what it’d do to Danika if he decided to leave.”
Thinking about how Vinia viewed Ozian caused Daven to understand more about how her life had played out in her past. She had never had a stable relationship, and it was valid for her to be concerned for her children. Given the fact that Nealan had been taken off-world did not help her to form any other opinion of foreign men, either.
“I’ve discussed this matter with him at length. He has no desire to return to a world where women are not revered. His planet is dying, and there would be nothing to go home to in any event. He wants his future with you here on Tuala. He has pledged his devotion to you in my presence, and I am convinced of his sincerity. Would you release your fear for that outcome based on my knowledge in this situation?”
Vinia thought about it a moment before she nodded her agreement. “I can do that.”
“Do you have any other objections to Ozian’s marriage proposal?
“Only concerns for how he’ll treat Danika and my other children.
I need to keep them safe.”
“Absolutely. Ozian will raise Danika as his own if you’d let him. Would you object to that?”
“No! I’d love for her to have a father who can be a good role model for her. This whole village needs good role-models, for that matter. We need another dozen Ozian’s for the rest of the broken families!”
Daven laughed out loud and replied, “I’ll see what I can do about that!”
Vinia joined him with her own laughter. It felt good to be able to smile and relax for a few minutes. Danika began to fuss in her crib with the added noise. Vinia went over and picked her up. She looked her in the face and quietly asked her, “What do you think about me getting married to Ozian? Would you like to have him here all of the time?”
Danika cooed contentedly at her mother. She could tell her mom was relaxed and it reflected onto herself. She nuzzled close, hoping it was time to eat. When the meal was offered, Danika eagerly latched on and immediately forgot everything else in the room as she closed her eyes with the single-mindedness of hunger.
Vinia draped a cloth over the breastfeeding child and returned to the table to finish her conversation with Elder Daven. This discussion had helped her come to her decision. “I will marry Ozian if you will officiate it, Elder Daven. I want the village to know it has been sanctioned and I want them all to witness it. There has been enough strife in our community, and I don’t want this marriage to add anything other than happiness and harmony. This marriage can be a sign of hope for all of our futures here in Roanoke.”
“Well said, Vinia. Tell me when you’d like me to do the honors, and I’ll be here.”
“I’ll let you know.” Her mind was already racing with plans. She wanted it to be a proper ceremony so nobody could say it was rushed or inappropriately handled.
Chapter Thirty-Three
PETRE FELT SOME sense returning and wondered why he was being jostled. What was most confusing was that he was sitting upright yet he was moving down the hallway without any motion on his part. A man dressed in white stepped beside him and reached up to knock on the door they had stopped in front of. He then reached forward and swung the door wide open, moved back behind him, and rolled him into the office where a man sat behind a large, dark desk.
Immediately Petre was reminded of the time he had met with Elder Debbon, and it set his nerves on edge. He did not like the smug expression on the old man’s face anymore than he had enjoyed the one on the Elder’s. His chair was stopped on the opposite side of the desk, and he heard the attendant leave and shut the door behind him.
“Petre, it’s nice to see you awake. I hope you’ve had a good rest.”
“It wasn’t very restful. Who are you?”
“I’m sorry, how rude of me. My name is Dr. Stephen Gascon, and I will be personally handling your case. Can you tell me where you’re from, Petre?” Dr. Gascon leaned forward and rested his chin on his steepled fingers.
Without any resistance, Petre was horrified to hear himself answer honestly. “I’m from Tuala.”
“And you say Tuala is another planet?”
“No, it’s the same planet, just a different dimension.”
“I see.” Dr. Gascon wrote something down on his notepad and then tapped his pen a couple of times on the papers before he asked, “How long have you been here on Earth, Petre?”
“Since Jumat.”
“That word doesn’t mean anything to me. Do you know the translation for it in English?”
“I don’t know your word for it; I only know it as Jumat.” Petre’s eyes rounded as he snapped his mouth shut. How could this man force him to answer questions when he had no desire to answer him? What kinds of powers did these people from Earth possess? They seemed more powerful even than the Elders themselves. No wonder the Elders were afraid of the old souls coming over to Tuala.
“I see.” A few more scratches of his pen on the paper as he doodled then he looked up and asked, “How long were you on Earth before you came to this hospital?”
“I came here on my fourth day visiting. I spent the first two nights on a bus and the last night in a room in a tall building.”
“Okay, then four days and three nights. I calculate you arrived on a Friday then. So we can say Jumat means Friday. Today is also Friday, Petre. You’ve been visiting Earth for one week then. Is that what you’d say as well?”
“Yes.”
Dr. Gascon wrote: not smart enough to come up with a different term for the word week. “What do you call a month?”
“I don’t know.” He wondered what this man was getting at with his strange questions. He was swiftly losing interest and patience with him.
“Do you have another term for what comes after a week?”
“Mesan.”
“How many weeks are in a mesan?”
“Four.”
“Interesting.”
“Is there a point to these questions? I’m really hungry, and I have yet to be fed a meal since I’ve arrived here. How long have I been here?”
“This is your fifth day. I’m sorry to hear you haven’t enjoyed your stay so far.”
“Enjoyed!” Petre sputtered and laughed out loud. “The burly man who brought me in has given me pills which made me sleep. When I refused to take more, he stabbed me in the butt with something, and it made me sleep. All I’ve done is sleep since I came here.”
“Why did you come here? I see you admitted yourself; you must want help.”
The direct question unlocked Petre’s foggy mind, and he remembered exactly why he had come. He looked directly at the doctor and said, “I was sent by Lucinden to speak with Stephen Gascon. That’s you, right?”
Dr. Gascon looked shaken at hearing the name Lucinden. Only once in his life had he encountered a man by that name and he hoped never again to repeat it. When he was a little boy, he had been kidnapped by a man who called himself Lucinden. While the police had found Stephen later that same day, he had been scared so badly he needed a psychiatrist to help him through the trauma. It had changed him profoundly, and it was also the reason he had entered the field of study in which he found his life’s work.
Petre watched in fascination as the self-possessed man across from him turned into a shell of himself. His fear was evident, and it gave Petre great pleasure to have some measure of power back. He took advantage of the momentary silence to press his control. “Lucinden says it’s been a long time since he’s contacted you.”
“Yes, it has been,” Stephen whispered.
Even as Stephen’s confidence slipped further, Petre found himself gaining strength both physically and mentally as his mission was being accomplished. He recalled Lucinden’s exact phrasing as he said, “It’s time to give back the gift you were given. If you do not do as you are told, then Lucinden will come to see you again.”
An involuntary shudder passed through Stephen. He glanced anxiously over at the wall of shelves and then back to Petre across from him. He did not want to lose the one tie to finding and repaying Lucinden for his childhood terror. He shook his head in denial of Petre’s statement. No longer was he a terrified child; he was a grown man with power of his own. All of his years as the Director of Psychiatry had not left him without resources of his own. “I think I’ll wait to answer his request. There are still many things I need to learn from you first, Petre.”
“Lucinden was pretty vague in his details with me. What happened the first time between you and Lucinden, Stephen?”
“None of your damned business! I’ll be asking the questions here, Petre, or you’ll pay for your insolence!”
“You’re making a mistake if you don’t do as Lucinden asks. Don’t you know who he is?”
“Yes, he’s a sadistic bastard, and we aren’t going to be discussing him anymore!”
“He may be that, but he’s also powerful enough to snuff out your life where you sit right now. He’s given you the opportunity to live, and I suggest you take it.”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shu
t up!” Petre’s words were like knives stabbing into him, causing him more pain than he knew he could still feel. Again he looked over at the object on the shelf and wondered if it were worth keeping. This pain would stop if he would just hand over the thing and get this man out of his hospital. It could all be so simple, yet he would be giving up his power, and that was unacceptable.
Petre caught his repeated glance across the office and turned to see what kept distracting Stephen during their conversation. For several seconds he simply stared in disbelief. Not more than ten feet away from him, there was a samara sitting out in the open for anyone to see or steal. How could this man be so careless with the priceless treasure?
Suddenly it all made sense; Petre had been sent to retrieve the lost samara to replace his own which had been stolen when he had been arrested. He was being tested by Lucinden, and the samara was his payment. It was perfect, and it was his. No longer did he have to muddle through life without the power source backing up his every deal. Wealth would be his again along with a future with Jinya. Once he had this samara in his possession, nothing would stop him from finding his lost love and making her be his bride.
Regaining some composure, Dr. Gascon leaned forward and spoke in a nasty tone to the harbinger of bad news. “I will keep you here, drugged into a stupor, until I find out everything I ever wanted to know about Lucinden and Tuala and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!” He sat back with a satisfied, smug grin and felt his power returning to him. He began reviewing all of the things he would do to this patient, ignoring him entirely during his ruminations.
The disclosure of the drug gave Petre exactly what he needed. Straining himself greatly, Petre sluggishly summoned elemy from the earth and sent over a tendril to the samara. If it were a fake, then he would only be tired from his trying. If it were real, then he would use its power to augment his own. At first touch, the power from the crystal skull became evident, and Petre was able to use the strengthened elemy to flush his system of the drugs which were clouding his mind.
In an instant, he had transformed from doped up and sluggish to more powerful than he had ever been. He rose from his chair, much to the chagrin of his interviewer, and he turned to the bookshelf. “I’ll be taking this with me,” he announced as he walked away from the desk.
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 51
