Destiny's Kingdom: Legend of the Chosen (15 page)

"Turn around, Quade! Turn around and go home!"

"Not until you talk to me! You have information that I need, Clea. Information on this place…"

Don't say it, she thought to herself. Don't say it out loud.

Quade paused, but the channel stayed open.

"He's requesting visual."

She merely shook her head.

"Clea, are you alone?"

"What if I'm not, Quade? Then what?" Another pause.

"Then what? Then you've got a ghost, that's what. I need to talk to you, and if you won't talk now, then I'll follow you all the way to where you're going. You may be a better pilot than me but I know these stars. And I'd wager you don't want a shadow following you into Tal-Min Vista."

Gannet raised his brow but remained silent and Clea fisted her hand against her mouth, shaking her head. "Damn," she muttered again.

"Come on Clea. You wouldn't want Ryder to think that you faltered on your big deal…"

"Dock with him." Clea rose out of her seat but paused at the cockpit hatch. "And Gannet…"

Gannet swiveled around in his chair, looked directly to her and put his finger over his lips. Through the gesture, he gave her a reassuring smile, and Clea knew he understood.

Space dock was something that Duplicity rarely did; there was almost never a reason, as nearly all cargo was loaded from a planet's surface rather than between two ships in open space. There was too much room for error, too many possibilities of something slipping by undetected, so Clea made it a point to never accept any cargo ship-to-ship. And doing it for a conversation was, well, ridiculous. Why, when there was two-way visuals and voice, why, when there were transferable data relays? Why but for the reason which was becoming all too real, which had already confirmed itself too clearly for her comfort.

The docking hatch was on the starboard side of Duplicity, and the port side of Quade's smaller ship. She watched the sequence of light above the connecting entries mesh and engage, seal and lock. Clea stood right against the connection portal and as soon as the lights showed a secure connection had been made she tripped the opening, jumped through onto Quade's ship and sealed the door behind her. She didn't want to chance him getting onto her ship for fear that if he were able to get on he may not leave. Since Quade had to control the first part of the docking sequence, he was just walking down the corridor as she shut the hatch behind her.

"What is this!" she demanded, furious now that she was on his ship and off of hers, furious now that this was real. "The most important contract of my life and you do… this!"

"Tell me about P'cadia Clea! Everything you know, tell me!" “

"How do you know about P'cadia, Quade? And how can you be asking me this?"

"Dreams, Clea. I've had dreams…" Quade paused, as if not sure to continue. "Other things as well. Something's happening…I don't know what exactly but something…something very bad… I need to know anything you can tell me, please! The importance of this…"

"Importance?" Clea began to walk back toward the hatch, nearing the end of her tolerance. "Important that I explain some childhood story, some fanciful legend? No! Importance is that I have to go, I have a delivery to do and I'm leaving now. So good bye Quade." She stood with her fingers wrapped around the handle that would trip the door, allow her access back to her ship. She squeezed it, and to her surprise, it opened. He hadn't locked her in.
 

"Clea… please." Quade's voice was scared and desperate, and through her own desperation it tore at her. How can this be happening? She looked to the ground, her jaw set in a furious lock, shaking her head.

"I can't believe this is actually happening, that I'm actually going to say these words…"

"Please Clea, tell me anything that you know."

"There is a riddle…"

"A riddle?" She nodded, and finally looked up to him as she spoke.
 

"A place forgotten but rediscovered

With shimmering seas and liquid sun

P'cadia lost, P'cadia found

In desperate times seek here, the Avè"

"That's it, Quade. That's how the riddle goes. And it's all that I know."

"Seek the Avè?" Quade asked. "Who am I to seek the Avè?"

"I don't know Quade. Who are you to seek the Avè?" Clea turned from him, hopping through the connection portal and back onto her ship. "But then, who are you to be having dreams of P'cadia?"

"I don't even know where P'cadia is, Clea. Or what it is for that matter."

"If you truly are what you appear to be, then the riddle I told you is all you need to find it. Goodbye Quade. And good luck." She said it without warmth, without interest.

"Clea, wait…how do you know all this? And what else can you tell me?"

"There's no more to tell! I will not be a part of this, Quade! Fulfill your destiny if this is it, but leave me to choose my own!" And with that, the hatch slid shut behind her and as quickly as they were docked they were released and Duplicity was traveling at top speed toward the Bet/Den nexus before Quade could even get back to his cockpit.

CHAPTER 10

T
he Keystone had only ever known success in his endeavors. He worked hard, probably harder than he actually needed to, for the rightful outcome of every debate, every disagreement, every dispute. And though his power of influence came to him effortlessly, he rarely found need to use it. His care and concern ran so deeply through him that he usually was able to persuade planets and systems to work toward a common good, by logic and empathy alone and invariably they would understand when compromise was necessary. He was the Keystone after all, and was respected and trusted as the end-all outside force of reason.
 

A tone chimed in from the cockpit and Aushlin heard his pilot's voice, sounding strangely concerned. "Keystone… there seems to be something unusual happening to the May/Bet nexus point." Aushlin stood and reached to the observation room's relay panel pulling up a grid which showed their position in space and how it related to the nexus point in question. Upon analyzing the readout, he moved to the opposite viewport where he could see the nexus point that his ship was coursed to jump into. His eyes narrowed in puzzled study of what he saw. The nexus point seemed to pulse and glow with an abnormal energy, its usual serene green glow somehow affected, somehow harsh and unnatural. The Keystone couldn’t see the blackness that spilt forth into open space, couldn’t see the entity that made its way languidly toward his ship.

"What is that, Remy?" He asked, pressing the button to open a channel to the cockpit. "Have you ever seen a nexus point look like that before?"

"No, never Keystone. What orders? Shall I set another course?"

Suddenly, the lights on the Keystone's starship went ominously dim. From deep within the ship's hull, Aushlin could hear a drain of energy on the systems, the steady hum of the ship dulling for a moment. As he looked to the ceiling and glanced about his surroundings, he could feel an unusual sensation around him, like a strong magnet had infused the air. A zinging tickle made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, his spine rippled through with a sickening undulation, and his eyes went blurry for several seconds. His thoughts were hazy and convoluted, and he could not focus on anything in particular, grabbed the edge of the relay panel to steady himself. Was there a voice from the cockpit again, something about the ship's systems? He wasn't sure. His breath was sucked from his lungs and he gasped to bring air back into his body, and then all at once, his vision unclouded and his mind cleared itself. Without any evidence of what he'd just experienced, the Keystone had forgotten about the strange feeling he'd experienced.

"Keystone, look!" The pilot's voice chimed in again. "The nexus point…do you see? It looks fine now. And the ship's systems are back to normal, a disruption of only five-point-two seconds. What do you suppose that was?"

"Probably nothing.” The Keystone’s voice was flat, emotionless. “Sometimes space can be unpredictable. Not worthy of any concern, I'm sure."

"Shall I continue on course, Keystone?"

"Yes, pilot. Continue on as scheduled."

Aushlin stared blankly out the viewport, and felt the weightless drop as the ship entered the May/Bet nexus point bound for home. He began thinking on his speech for the Twilight Bloom, and decided he'd try a new direction this year. He was the Keystone of Bethel after all; the most influential and trusted leader in the galaxy.

CHAPTER 11

Q
uade stood at the southwest corner of the castle, below Trina's bedroom windows, facing the wild flower garden. He leaned back against the cold, solid stone of the wall and closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet fragrance of the night air, the gentle perfume of the pregnant blossoms clear evidence of the season. The shuffling measure of footsteps made him open his eyes just as Trina rounded the corner, her form a billowing shadow from the cape she wore around her shoulders. She was clad in all black for the occasion, and the moonlight reflected brightly off her light hair.

"Hey," she whispered. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Ten minutes or so," he replied. "Trouble getting past Aazrio?"

"A little." Trina looked up at Quade's face and lifted a finger to his temple, tenderly tucking back a stray lock of hair. "Have I ever told you the moonlight suits you Quade?" she asked, winding her arms about his waist.

He smiled then looked skyward, consideration playing over his features.

"If you have, I must have forgotten, so you should probably tell me again."

"The moonlight suits you, Quade." The sudden graze of her lips on his jaw brought his focus back down and as he squeezed her tight against him, she laughed, and pushed him gently away. "Come on, we should go before it gets any later. He may be asleep as it is."

Trina led the way from the Castle of Sighs and toward the stables, where two horses, one black and one chestnut, were already saddled and waiting patiently, as if they knew they would be taken out for a moonlight ride. A lantern and a sizeable rucksack were securely attached to one of the horses, and Quade could easily imagine what was inside; supplies, food, whatever comforts Trina saw fit to deliver. As they each led their mount from the stalls Lunette, Trina's more usual riding horse whinnied from her post in protest. Trina reached a reassuring hand out to stroke the white mare's neck and quietly whispered, "shhh," as they passed, the sound of eight hooves clopping steadily on the clay floor. As soon as they cleared the stable door, Trina sprung lightly into her saddle, and Quade did the same. This wasn't the first time he'd been on a midnight excursion for some cause that Trina was championing, though it had been quite awhile since the last time they'd snuck out at this late hour.
 

Quade watched as Trina turned her horse in the direction of the north wood, sitting tall in the saddle, her black cloak swirling around as the wind caught its underside. In a flash her horse broke into a steady gallop, and Quade followed her lead, watching the black garment as it flowed out behind her and the moonlight glinted off her hair.