Vontaura

by James C. Dunn

  ‘I didn’t know.’

  ‘Ignorance is the defence of a fool,’ Noah said. ‘But I think you can redeem yourself. You know who took Raj and Shree. Where are they?’

  ‘I do not know what will have happened to them. Your word you won’t kill me and I’ll help.’

  Dimal played with her holstered blaster. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’

  ‘No one’s going to kill you,’ Justus said. ‘Help us get our friends back.’

  ‘We have a plan.’ Dimal walked over to the muddled bookshelf and pressed the recording Vortan had set up. A deep voice began to speak.

  ‘. . . My Order has made contact with the Crilshan generals to negotiate Earth’s safety. No Crilshan vessel will pass within the orbit of Mars. The Alignment war will remain within the Alignment. Earth will go on . . .’

  ‘This is the voice of the man known as Marrak Malizar,’ Noah said. ‘Up until a week ago he called himself Viticus. Von Viticus. He’s the leader of the Order of the Allied Moon. That’s right, Von, I’ve done my research. Malizar has, for the past three years, been the Von’s ambassador to the Systemal Alignment. It appears he is now preparing his own assembly, launching his own claim for Vontaura.’

  ‘What’s Vontaura?’ Aíron asked from deep in her corner.

  ‘I’ll let the Von explain.’ Noah gestured to Vortan, who moved awkwardly in his seat. ‘Go on.’

  ‘The Vontaura,’ Vortan said, ‘put simply, is one of the most significant changes this Earth knows. Vontaura can be translated in the language of Áluna as “Von follower”, or the successors of the Von.’

  ‘And the most powerful group on Earth,’ Noah interrupted. ‘It’s worse than you could think, Captain.’

  ‘How?’ Justus attempted to put the pieces together, failing miserably.

  ‘It’s happening now,’ he said. ‘The new leaders of Earth will soon be chosen. By the people of the Seven Rivers.’

  ‘And Viticus, well, Malizar, is extremely popular,’ Vortan continued. ‘No one can stop him, politically or in any way, really. No one can stop him getting what he wants.’

  Justus sighed. Everything was such a mess. But Peter Marx had known. What was taking place on Erebus did not begin there. Is this what Peter had planned for him? Was he to take on Malizar, the Córonat? Was that the reason he had been given the echo?

  After a moment of silence Justus said, ‘Okay. One problem at a time. Vortan, you’re going to help us. Dimal, Noah, you say you have a plan?’

  Noah nodded. ‘Malizar achieved his popularity as a member of the Von. He no longer refers to himself as Von Viticus. But he has only just revealed his Order to the Rivers. Lucky for us, he’s to have an exclusive gathering at the end of the week to celebrate the Allied Moon’s launch.’

  ‘How do you know that?’ Vortan asked.

  ‘Because,’ Dimal said, lifting a small metal card from her jacket, ‘you received your invitation three days ago.’

  Vortan lay back in the chair, defeated. ‘Your friends. I can help. They will have been taken to Malizar’s estate, I think. He has a room. A prison of his own. The estate is on the other side of Avaris City’s confines.’

  ‘In three days’ time,’ Noah said, ‘the entire Order will meet on Malizar’s estate.’

  ‘Three days,’ Justus said.

  Noah nodded. ‘And we take Raj and Shree back.’

  TWENTY-SIX

  THE DOOR TO the Berenguer apartment slammed shut. The external bolt on the outside locked, its echo the only sound. Anna and Gílana sat upon the sofa, speechless. Callista remained standing, eyes closed. They were locked in their home. Their possession had been taken: their books and photos, food and clothes. They were prisoners, hostages in their own home.

  ‘Don’t any of you dare start crying now,’ the old woman snapped. She rested her hand on the table top, propping herself up.

  ‘Come and sit down,’ Anna told her.

  ‘I will not lose hope.’

  ‘Neither will we. Come on.’ She forced her to sit down. ‘We just have to think. There must be something we can do.’

  ‘There is nothing we can do.’ Callista leaned into her hands.

  ‘Because of Gílana’s condition?’

  ‘Because Titan belongs to Crilshar.’

  ‘Someone will do something.’

  She leaned back up. ‘Keep that thought, Anna. Both of you, keep that thought.’

  The three remained together that night upon the large sofa. Nobody spoke. They each tried to sleep, but only Gílana managed a few hours. Anna’s thoughts stayed with her uncle. She prayed he was all right, out there, somewhere. Someone will do something. Keep that thought. Keep it close.

  Anna woke to darkness the next morning. She had slept an hour or so, but no more. Gílana and Callista remained asleep beside her, so she stood and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. It was still dark.

  ‘Get used to it,’ Callista said behind her. She rose and moved to stand beside her. ‘It will be like this as long as we are here.’

  Anna sighed, rubbed her heavy eyes. ‘I need to ask you something.’

  ‘Ask.’

  ‘You saw the woman yesterday. The scarred woman.’

  ‘Mistress Sudana, yes, I did. I’m glad you brought her up.’

  ‘She’s a Iástron, isn’t she?’

  Callista nodded.

  ‘Her echo, I don’t understand what it is. She did something. A sort of probe. She was in my head.’

  ‘She is indeed very powerful,’ Callista said. ‘The silver diary, it spoke of this. She is the one Xerin Kramer warned us of. The one that wiped the minds of your father’s crew on the Novastream. That woman . . . she was a girl beneath Europa. A student, having only just received her echo from Peter.’

  ‘So she was taken? One of the Iástron children. Are you sure?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I taught her.’

  Anna almost choked. ‘What if she recognised you?’

  ‘She didn’t. I’m quite certain. It has been fifty years, don’t forget. Peter sent me right here, to Titan, after the base beneath Europa was destroyed. Nobody knew I was alive. Sudana crept through my mind back in the office, stealing and shattering whatever she could sink her claws into. But I have one-hundred and twenty years of memories. I guided her probing as best I could. My secret is safe. Having said that, she is powerful. If she really wants to get inside your head, she will.’

  ‘I think I resisted her too,’ Anna said. ‘She made me see things. In my head. I think it did something to her.’

  ‘We must be careful, child. Having extracted memories from the others I imagine Mistress Sudana already knows of Erebus, the Zinn, and Peter’s . . . death. If she sees you again, think of the lightning planet, Tempest-Beta, and focus only on that. She must know only of that. If she discovers my origin or your echo then I don’t know what will happen.’

  After a short while they took careful hold of a sleeping Gílana and carried her up to Anna’s bed. Worry flooded through her. What chance would a newborn child have in the Systems, controlled by the dark race? As Anna tucked her sister in, Callista fetched several purple candles from the room opposite and lit them silently. They smelt so good.

  The two then headed back to the room within which Callista was staying. It was once her Uncle Ruben’s room. Inside they lit some more candles and the two sat without a sound.

  ‘You’ve waited all this time,’ Callista said eventually. ‘Your uncle and I were preparing you to follow in his footsteps, to join the Guard and maintain the strength and confidence of our System-renowned civilization.’

  ‘But that’s not going to happen now,’ Anna said.

  ‘No. No, it’s not. The Guard now fight for the Dishan and for Crilshar. Which makes our fight all the more important. You’ve waited all this time, and now I’m going to teach you everything I promised I would.’

  ‘Right now?’

  ‘Why not? Sudana does not wait.’
<
br />   ‘All right.’ Anna breathed in and out slowly, the smell of the candles taking away all concentration, urging her to lose herself.

  Callista clicked her fingers. ‘You hear me? Good. Now, you already know that a Iástron’s power comes from Peter Marx.’

  ‘The echo.’

  ‘Yes, the echo. This power, you may be surprised to hear, is far more prevalent in the Systems than any know.’

  ‘You’re talking about ultimatter again?’

  ‘Ultimatter. The last piece of the puzzle, or the first in a much wider game. The ultimate form of matter. A long time ago Peter gave part of his gift to the technology surrounding antimatter vessels. Whether by mistake or intention, only he will ever know. But the power itself was then stolen, and exploited, and used for means beyond what Peter intended. Much of the technology the human race now takes for granted comes from these earlier experiments with Peter’s miracle creation.’

  ‘What type of technology?’

  ‘The very thing that is keeping you alive, child.’

  Anna thought for a moment, before it became obvious. ‘The surrogate sun.’

  ‘Yes. Along with all interstellar crafts, including many now kept in museums. Ultimatt power is also the reason humanity communicates on an interstellar basis. The communication devices in orbit around every single colony and upon all outposts are charged with the same power as our interstellar crafts. So there really isn’t a single person, living or dead, that has not been affected in some way by Peter’s gift.’

  Anna listened, and with one hand stroked her black-banded wrist.

  ‘Though the technology has made humanity so powerful and ever more advanced, Peter still considers the Iástrons to be his proudest accomplishment.’

  ‘He must have felt like a god,’ Anna said. ‘Like the old, all-powerful stories of life and the universe.’

  ‘I don’t think anyone can imagine the responsibility,’ said the old woman. ‘Nor the pressure on him to look out for so many lives. He overestimated how far humanity had come when he decided to share his gift with other human beings. But perhaps there will always be that part of them that shuns those that are different. If he were still here I don’t think he’d make the same mistake twice. It almost drove him insane, seeing his people, his creations, tortured and hunted.’

  ‘Our people,’ Anna said.

  Callista paused and stared at her. ‘You consider yourself one of my people already?’

  ‘I think, in some small way, I always have.’

  Callista smiled. ‘You have been touched by Peter Marx. You bear his echo and his light, but you are not a Iástron yet. And this brings us to your training. You must understand both what it means to be a Iástron, and what it means to be human, before you become one of my people, before you can master your echo.’

  Anna had never heard her speak of her people before, but as the old woman did, the sorrow and frailty in her voice became so much plainer.

  ‘Echoes,’ she said, ‘were divided into what was known as Canons. There were four Canons, four categories of power. Like the four elements they existed alone, separate, never touching or combining.

  ‘The first Canon was Spirituality. Forces which we cannot see. Most often they were life giving and life bearing. The ability to heal oneself from injury, both physical and mental, as well as the power to heal others. I once knew a man who was immortal.’

  ‘Like Peter?’

  ‘Quite like Peter. Only, immortals can still die – as paradoxical as that may sound – if the body or mind be destroyed before it can heal properly.

  ‘The second Canon was called Reality, as those with such an echo were able to see things others could not. The future. The past. And some could affect others’ perceptions of the past, present, and future.’

  ‘Your dream diaries,’ Anna said. ‘That means that you . . .’

  ‘Yes, Anna. My echo is that of Reality. Something I appear to share with Mistress Sudana. Only where I see the future, she sees the past. Which is more dangerous, I have yet to decide.

  ‘After Spirituality and Reality, the third Canon was Vitality. Physical strength or mental vigour. Those with echoes of Vitality enjoyed an unrivalled capacity for survival. The fourth, however, was always deemed the greatest, and the most perilous. It was the echo of Authority.’

  ‘I can guess.’

  Callista nodded gravely. ‘The fewest number of Iástrons fell into this category. As the echo suggests, Authority meant having power over and affecting the structure of the world around us. Those Iástrons were able to manipulate the very matter that binds the universe together. It was for that reason they merited Peter’s closest attention.’

  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘I won’t lie to you, Anna. You may never experience anything more demanding. Only through utmost focus and unrivalled determination will you achieve your echo and discover where your place is. Succeed and we may be able to fight. Fail . . . and everything burns.’

  Anna remained silent for a few moments, looking down at her dark, veined bracelet, before looking back up to her mentor. She was frowning. ‘What is it, Callista?’

  ‘Sudana is not here because of Crilshar,’ she said. ‘Mistress Sudana represents somebody else.’

  ‘The man from the diary? The man you told me about?’

  ‘Yes. And there is something you must know about him.’

  ‘He was a Iástron?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Responsible for the fall of Europa?’

  ‘You remember I told you the four Canons existed separately, never touching?’

  Anna nodded.

  ‘I lied, child. Only one ever presented symptoms of all echoes. Spirituality, Reality, Vitality, and Authority. How and why, nobody ever knew. But that particular Iástron was so dangerous. That particular Iástron is now known among the Systems as the Córonat. Marrak Malizar.’

  Mistress Sudana knelt beside her desk, waiting for the image of her master to appear. She did not wait long. He was always on time.

  ‘Mistress,’ Lord Malizar said, his image projected into the middle of the office. ‘I trust all is well on Titan.’

  ‘Yes,’ she said.

  ‘You have news for me?’

  ‘Extraordinary news, my lord.’

  ‘Speak.’

  ‘It appears that your time really has come.’

  ‘Explain.’

  ‘Peter Marx is gone. He was there, upon Erebus.’

  ‘Lesper found the right man?’

  ‘Constantine Lesper is also dead. Xerin Kramer provided me with most of this information. The majority is corroborated by the other survivors. The threat of Erebus. The alien existence . . . is confirmed.’

  ‘Then our task must press on. With Peter gone I can now reveal myself as leader of the Allied Moon.’

  ‘Yes, my lord. Peter Marx will not be coming for you anymore.’

  Malizar breathed out. Sudana felt a cold wind stroke past her spine.

  ‘Your gathering tonight is still to go ahead?’ she asked.

  ‘It is. The Allied Moon’s call for Vontaura has begun. And with news of Peter Marx, this is beginning to feel all the more like destiny with every passing day.’

  ‘Earth will choose you, and then humanity will be strong again.’

  ‘Strength is needed, now more than ever.’

  ‘May I ask one question?’

  ‘You may.’

  ‘The Order has been dispatched. What did they find of Erebus?’

  ‘Later!’ he said abruptly, and dismissed the word in a single motion. ‘That is for another time. I thank you for the news. But you must continue with what you have started there. Keep the Crilshans under control, and utilize the Titanese people. Multiply our forces. You may return to Earth soon, once you have done what we planned.’

  ‘You are wise as ever, my master.’ She bowed again as the image disappeared. She returned to her seat. ‘The command is well,’ she said to herself, ‘as I have found something
to interest me here for now.’

  Sudana sat back and crossed her legs, brought up an image on the screen within her pine desk. The image of a young girl. The image of a young girl with long brown hair. A young girl who, just a few short hours ago, had fought against her echo like no other before.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  THE VAN PULLED along the driveway, across the rocky piazza, and into the shadow of the entrance to the estate. Through a wrought iron fence, Antal Justus entered the underworld. He leaned out of the vehicle’s window and looked up ahead. Trees bordered the roadside. A cold breeze slammed into his face, howling broke upon the back of the wind. Inside sat Vortan, well-dressed in a black suit and red cape; he crossed his legs and stayed silent.

  Justus adjusted his own black and red attire and looked back to his step-father-turned-stranger. ‘What?’

  ‘You still choose not to believe me?’ Vortan asked.

  ‘You don’t give me a choice when you refuse to answer my questions.’

  ‘I told you, I can’t.’

  ‘No. You won’t.’

  The van reached the end of the driveway and stopped. At the head of the estate lay a mansion, four levels tall, once pure white, now faded rotten grey. Four pillars supported the entrance, stretching up to the triangular roof, with balconies all along the higher levels. Justus observed that lights were on inside, though no movement could be seen.

  A towering chimney stood on its own nearby, thrice the height of the decaying mansion roof. Another was visible in the backdrop, and another at the back of the estate.

  Justus and Vortan stepped out to be greeted by similarly-dressed men, who proceeded to guide them into the building. It was much larger than it had appeared on the reconnaissance trips. Cosmic arches created pathways into another world. It was dark. Ethereal. Chilling. A shiver ran down his spine. He looked to Vortan, whose head was held high with lips pursed and hands behind his back. Both of their capes flowed down the corridor behind them.

  It was cold, with a slight wind, like breath on his neck. Portraits, covered in dust, watched as they passed through, into the pressing bowels of Malizar’s house. Shadows darted around his feet, creeping along his legs, reminding him of the crushing labyrinth within Erebus.

  Between the convoluted corridors and the dark energy now sapping his strength, Justus realised that any possibility of a quick escape was certainly not going to take place – not through the way he’d entered at any rate.