Oh my, I
thought. Lisa wasn’t my only competition. Not that I would
challenge her, ever. But if she were to leave him....who knew?
“Thank you to
everyone for being here. I’ve called this meeting to give notice of
my decision, as was agreed by the Rulers of the galaxies in
accordance with stellar legislation.”
Even the tables
paid attention, he spoke with such sway to his voice.
“There is no
other option but to vote for the next Ruler of the Milky Way.”
The audience
went wild. Alex let them shout their protests for a moment or two,
and then raised his hand.
“Calm down,
please.”
Everyone fell
silent.
“I am not here
to argue. I have full authority on this matter and will enforce my
decision if necessary,” he said, sounding cross. Then he added, a
little more softly. “Artemis will be punished by death for his acts
of threatening Earth. I will call up a surge of power from my star
to kill the moon Ambassador. It is the best of all the alternative
solutions as it will endanger Earth the least”
It didn’t make
sense to me. “Why do we need a new Ruler then, Dad?” I
whispered.
“Alex will
exceed the capacity of his link and his human body cannot survive
that. Opening up a surge of energy from a star...” he answered.
“I still don’t
understand, dad. It’s only the moon? Surely Duncan can be killed
easily?”
“No, dear, the
moon is strong because it is so close. It’s much closer than the
sun.”
I recalled what
Alex and Benjamin had told me about exceeding the capacity of a
link.
I didn’t hear
one word further for the rest of the proceedings. I don’t know who
was there or what we ate or how I got down from the mountain. All I
knew was that Alex was going to let himself be killed in order to
save Earth. And he was willing to do it to spare me from killing
Duncan. I wouldn’t get killed, as my link was the strongest.
But I wasn’t
going to allow it.
I’d have to do
it myself.
I’d have to
kill Duncan.
***
Chapter 15 –
Still natured
The week at my
parents didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Instead of relaxing, I
couldn’t get my brain to switch off for one second. I also couldn’t
think of a reason to tell them why I had to leave home in the
middle of a vacation.
I wanted with
all my might to go and find Duncan. It wouldn’t be easy, killing
him. But I would do it for Alex, as he had asked me that day: now I
actually understood what he had meant when he had asked me to kill
Duncan.
The first two
days I spent in the house, walking around like a bear with a sore
tooth, irritated and frustrated, completely impossible to be with.
It was only after my dad hinted at my difficult mood that I
realised quite how badly I had been behaving. So instead of being
frustrated all the time, I decided to go out into the veldt and
awaken my powers. I was uncertain about doing it, about testing it,
but it was high time and it was an emergency.
I climbed over
the back wall and walked deep into the veldt at the back of my
parents’ house. It was quiet, except for some night birds and a
cricket. I sat down on the rocky ground and listened. I wasn’t sure
how I would hear the earth, whether I had to wait for a voice or
what. But I was determined to listen.
Then, after I
had almost fallen asleep, I figured that it might help if I made
the contact area between myself and the earth bigger, so I lay back
and stretched my arms and legs out to touch the ground. I closed my
eyes again, and I listened. I concentrated on the wind, to hear if
I could make out a voice; then to the birds and even to the little
cricket.
I fell asleep
more than once, and only gave up when my roaring stomach
overwhelmed the sounds of the bush around me. I’d try again the
following day.
The next day, I
decided to talk to the Earth. Maybe I had to tell her that I was
there or ask her a question? I mean, I wouldn’t necessarily know
that someone wanted to talk to me just because they sat silently in
the same room as me, would I?
So I greeted
her. “Hello, Earth.”
Silence.
Birds.
“It’s me,
Valerie.”
Silence.
Birds.
“I want to have
a conversation with you. Would you mind saying something?”
Nothing. It
wasn’t working. And I felt like a moron talking to a stone.
I sat down on
the ground again. I had to try a different approach. Maybe it had
something to do with my emotions. Benjamin had said that the glow
worked like that, brighter with strong emotions. The healing had
happened when I was afraid and hurt.
I closed my
eyes and concentrated. I thought of how I felt about betraying my
friends. It was still a sore point and compunction clasped its
hands around my heart.
I had almost
forgotten about Earth and our attempted conversation when I felt
the ground tremble beneath me, slightly but definitely. My heart
raced excitedly, it was working! It wasn’t my imagination, I was
sure. Emotions were the key to this. Earth responded to my
emotions.
Then I imagined
how I’d hate Duncan if he managed to kill Alex. I tried my best and
visualised myself into the situation, seeing Alex’s lifeless body
and Duncan standing over him.
The earth
trembled again and the wind blew stronger.
This time, I
was over the top with joy. I wanted to scream out to the world how
magical it was, the feeling of being connected to this wonderful
planet, being able to hear her and have her respond to me.
Obsessed with
experimenting, I practised until the sun set. The reaction became
stronger and stronger. By the time I left for home, the area around
me was clear, with only bare ground remaining. The wind had taken
out all of the grass, rocks and trees around me, as if a small
hurricane had swept through.
Dad approved of
the practising. That was the only way to sharpen my sword, polish
my shield and prevent people like Duncan from killing me with a
forceful transfer, he said.
But the next
day I left a little later even though I burned to go out. My mom
didn’t like me going out in the bush so much, and I guessed she
wanted to spend time with me. She made me breakfast as she always
did, and then asked if I wanted to go shopping with her. I agreed,
especially because I had neglected her: the vacation was only for
one short week and it was Wednesday already. So we were off to our
local town mall, a few minutes’ drive away, in their old new
BMW.
“Valerie, tell
me about varsity, dear? There have been so many
things
going
on, that it must be difficult to keep up with the normal side?”
I smiled. So
many things had happened that it was difficult to separate my life
from the
things
. Even my friends and my study material
revolved around the
things
.
“Mom, to be
honest, the most normal thing about my first three months of
varsity was the initiations. They actually left us alone; they only
attacked when we irritated them or didn’t follow their silly rules.
Like poor Betty.”
I told her
about the incident with Betty and the statue and Mom seemed to
enjoy the story. Then she turned bitter, suddenly. It wasn’t like
her at all.
“You know,
Valerie, I have prayed throughout my entire life for you to be
spared this... this nonsense. I consider myself an open person, but
really, this is too much. It was difficult for me to accept your
Dad’s issues, but now it’s you too. Don’t get me wrong, I love you
very much. But I wish I could take a knife and cut your link from
you,” she said heatedly.
I felt shocked
and hurt by her words.
“How can you
say that? It’s nothing less than holy, being a part of the universe
in such a unique way.”
Her hands went
up from the steering wheel and she started to say something, and
then stopped.
“Any boyfriends
on the horizon?” she changed the subject.
I didn’t take
the bait. “Why do you hate it so much, mom?”
She was close
to tears. “Long story.”
“No, tell me,
please?” I really wanted to understand her point of view.
She swallowed
before she started. “Apart from the initial shock, I was okay. I
was getting used to it and accepting it day by day. But the day
they called your father up to be the Ruler,” she said with rolling
eyes, “was the day that everything changed.”
“Dad was the
Ruler
?” I asked astounded.
“Up until two
years back, yes, he was the Ruler of the Galaxy,” she said
scornfully.
“But what’s the
matter with that?”
“Every single
time there is a possible threat, we have to pack up and leave. But
that didn’t bother me so much. The problem was the dangers
involved. Do you have any idea how it feels to constantly worry
about the safety and wellbeing of your husband? To know that
anything can happen anytime?”
“Were there so
many fights?” I asked, astounded.
“No, dear.
There weren’t that many fights. Ambassadors get jealous. Rulers
have authority. And authority can bring you everything from wealth
to... well, you can even call up an army and take over the world.
Your dad had a bounty on his head for a long time.”
It made sense
to me. It was an aspect that I hadn’t thought of before.
“I felt so
bitter the day we came to visit you in hospital, when Dad noticed
your glow for the first time. I couldn’t stay there and... and look
at you. I can’t see the glow at all, but just knowing it was there
was the worst thing. It’s bad for a mother’s heart, knowing her
little girl is a part of this dangerous mad world.”
“And now Alex
has that bounty on his head.” I said thinking out loud.
“Old Alex, he
is such a good boy. I felt sad when he took over from Dad, you
know. He had so much to learn still, he was passionate and excited,
but so green,” she sounded nostalgic. “I urged them to wait with
the inauguration, but they wouldn’t listen. He had the strongest
link of all on Earth and it only made sense to them to crown
him.”
I thought about
how he had admitted to making mistakes the other day in the safe
house. Alex wasn’t blind to his own weaknesses, that I knew.
“How do you
know Alex, mom?”
“Alex’s father
was Ruler before your father. They attended meetings together every
now and then. Your father had a similar role as the Reds
today.”
I could see
that, my dad being the army/bodyguard guru, sneaking around during
meetings.
“Anyway, Alex’s
father died in a car accident. We believe he was murdered, but we
couldn’t find the murderer. He may still be in our midst.”
It was a scary
thought, and I immediately started to think about all the possible
suspects. There had been hundreds of people at the meeting on the
mountain the other day and any one of them could be guilty.
“Dad insisted
that Alex attend meetings, so he always picked him up and they went
together.”
It was a
strange thought, Alex and my dad having such a strong bond.
We turned into
the underground parking lot at the mall. We struggled to find a
parking. It was busy, as the school and varsity vacations always
were during the same time of year. The movie cinema had discounts
for the school children during these vacations and that meant they
were there constantly. I know, I movied myself during holidays
until I couldn’t sit anymore.
We dodged our
way through herds of children to the grocery store. It took a long
time, as my mom had to stop every now and then to greet the little
ones who knew her from school. She clearly loved them. And I knew
that she loved her job as well.
We finally
reached the grocery store, poorer than before, as she bought one
little herd a round of movie tickets. It was odd, since she’d never
done that before. But I figured it was because she either missed me
or used them to replace me. I was concerned about the money though,
if there were enough left for groceries.
“Mom, if dad
was Ruler, and you said they have access to wealth, why did we
always live on the breadline?”
“You know your
father. He believes that earning an honest penny makes the world go
round. And I agree completely. A leader has to set the example, be
fair, consistent, steady, caring. And I’m proud to say that your
father was all of these.”
Yes, that was
my father, exactly that. I felt extremely proud of him for the
person he was.
If only
normal humans selected leaders
based on character traits instead of the ability to talk
straight
through the public’s head,
I thought.
We did the
grocery shopping and I had to admit, it was good being normal and
around my mom. On our way back to the car, my mom started her
questions again.
“So, any
boyfriends on the horizon?” she asked.
This time, I
couldn’t simply ignore her.
“Not really. I
had a terrible blind date, but it didn’t work out. Now it’s
only.... I have a crush on someone,” I admitted.
She grinned
widely. “And?”
“And nothing.
He’s taken,” I answered abruptly.
“Okay....But
don’t give up yet. They’re not taken until they’re married.”
“Guess so.” I
didn’t want to reveal too much; she knew Alex and I wouldn’t want
him to know whilst he was in a relationship with Lisa.
We reached the
car and packed everything into the trunk.
They way home
was easier, the radio was turned up and we listened to music. I
still felt conflicted about my mom hating the strange side of me.
It was fun being around her today, but it felt as if she only loved
one part of me.
When I finally
slipped away after tea, I felt excited to see what the afternoon
was going to hold. I was fluent already with the wind and the
trembling, but surely there was more.