Excelsior (16 page)

“Me?” Hodera lowered her eyes to keep her master from seeing them gleam.

“I want you to feel what this power is like. I want you to experience it for yourself. And you deserve it for the work that your underlings have been finishing as of late.”

Hodera smiled and nodded. “It is almost ready for you, my Lord. We were able to incorporate what Danaak had done before.”

“Excellent,” the Krunation Emperor replied. “At the very least, Danaak had one good idea.”

“Was Danaak ever given this opportunity to sit on the throne?”

“Never,” Nocterar spit out the word. “I knew that if I allowed him to sit on this throne, he would never walk away from it. It is such a nuisance to have to squeeze the life out of a former general. I know you will not make me do that when my powers are restored.”

“You can trust me, my Lord,” Hodera said, trying not to look at the throne.

Suddenly, Nocterar turned toward the hole in the apex of the chamber.

“What is it?” Hodera asked.

“I sense it,” Nocterar hissed. His voice dropped to a low whisper. “The jewel has awakened Danaak, just as it awakened me. Soon he will use its power and I will sense where he is.”

“And you will find him,” Hodera said.

“We will find him and we will destroy him,” Nocterar agreed, his voice building in power. “With the help of our very special guest, the connection I have to the jewel will be enhanced and it will assist me greatly in my weakened state.” Hodera’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the “very special guest.” “You have taken care of her as I instructed?”

Hodera took a deep breath before responding through gritted teeth. “Of course, my Lord.”

“I know you hate them, my dear. I share your contempt for these rodents, but please remember that there are still Denarians with many useful gifts that can only aid in the Krunation cause. And they must be treated as such.”

“I understand, my Lord.”

“Good. You have ensured she is being treated well? And fed well to keep her strength?”

“Yes. Yes, she is very healthy,” Hodera answered, much to her own chagrin.

“A Denarian from the Quarteran clan that also possesses the Enterrand gift is precious. She is of no use to me if she is weak.” Hodera stifled her bitterness and simply nodded.

“With her help, Danaak will be properly punished, the Master’s gift will return to me and the Denarian race will finally be exterminated.” Nocterar stopped. The general thought she saw something in him sag. “But I must rest for now, Hodera. I leave you in command here.” His voice was noticeably diminished in strength. Nocterar turned and was swallowed up by the darkness, leaving Hodera alone.

Hodera slowly ascended the uneven steps toward the throne. She sensed the power emanating from this chair, and cautiously wrapped her hand in her flowing satin cape before wiping a shower of dust particles off the seat and into the icy air. The deep engravings on the magnificent chair gave it a sinister majesty. It would suit her well, but first, she would have it cleaned.

*   *   *

“How is he?” Matthew asked Zorribis in a worried tone as the Denarian shut Jason’s door behind him.

“He’s going to be just fine,” he answered. “Karini’s taking care of him and monitoring his body’s changes. More than anything, he needs to rest. Wait until you see him when he wakes up in the morning. Jason will be a new man.”

“I can believe that. If his changes are half as good as mine…”

Zorribis cut him off. “Oh, yours aren’t done yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“By the time you wake up tomorrow, you’re going to be taller and stronger than you are now. And just wait until you get to hold the sword. You’ll feel all of Excelsior’s lifeforce within you. It’s going to be a great day when he adds his power to yours. Before long, our people on Denab IV will be rejoicing.”

Matthew nodded and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. It wasn’t from the heat. “Sometimes I don’t believe what’s happening.”

“Believe it, my friend. I have only heard of the transformation that Semminex made, but I can see it in your eyes. And seeing what you did earlier, how you changed the settings on the Krephth so that Karini could safely use it on Jason, only someone of Excelsior’s exceptional imagination and innovative abilities could do something like that.”

Matthew gulped down the ball of anxiety that was clogging his airway but still had to struggle to speak. “Can we… can we take a walk outside? I need to get some air.” He put out a hand to steady himself.

“Sure,” Zorribis said as he took Matthew by the arm and led him out of the house. Once outside, Zorribis put a paternal arm around Matthew’s shoulders. “Breathe. Just breathe, in, out, let your chest fill with air.” Zorribis’ powerful abdomen started rising and falling and Matthew tried to match his rhythm.

“Better?” Zorribis asked.

Matthew nodded. There was something solid about Zorribis that had a calming effect. “Thanks. I think I’m a little, uh...”

Zorribis nodded as he held Matthew at arm’s length. “I know. You appear a little better, Matty, but I sense tension is still there.”

Matthew looked into Zorribis’ face and felt a forgotten squeeze of longing for his father. “It’s just that a few days ago I thought I was making up these stories about Denab IV and Excelsior leading his people to ultimate victory and now…”

“And now you’re suddenly living in your own creation?”

“Exactly! Look at me. I’m in high school. How am I supposed to lead the people of Denab IV against the likes of Nocterar and Danaak and…”

“I remember hearing something from your video archives about how some individuals have greatness thrust upon them. Matthew, on Denab IV, there are many who have been called into action before they thought they were ready. I have seen these unready Denarians exceed all expectations and none of them have the gifts you possess even without holding the sword.” Zorribis motioned to the sidewalk. “Come with me, Matty.” Matthew decided to say nothing about the unexpected nickname. No one had called him Matty in years.

They headed down the sidewalk toward
Northern Boulevard
“Were you called before you were ready?” Matthew asked.

“No, I was not... No.” Zorribis fell silent.

Matthew glanced at Zorribis, then changed the subject. “How was it growing up on Denab IV?”

Zorribis smiled. “Well, our culture is very different than yours. I am not even sure I can find parallels.” Two teenage girls dressed in tight T-shirts walked past them. “For example, why do you wish for your young women to look like nursing mothers, but do not allow mothers to nurse in public?”

Warmth rushed into Matthew’s face. “Um... how do you know that?”

“Knowledge and learning are among our prime values. Long ago, the Elders made sure that every clan could educate their children, teach them everything from farming to science to literature to combat. My Uncle Mellatis taught me how to slay large predators and to conjugate verbs. Do you learn these things in your schools?”

“Not really. I don't know about combat or farming and I’m pretty lousy at conjugating verbs. How do you know all of this and not know about pizza?”

“We do that on purpose, no preconceptions regarding food on another planet. It allows us to keep our minds open.”

“I gotcha,” Matthew answered. “Do you have tests over there? I’ve never been a fan of them.”

“Oh yes, we have tests. We have what I think you call challenges or maybe, ‘rights of passage.’ There is one for each of our prime values. For my Challenge of Knowledge I proved the theorems of Elder Tricerus, the great mathematician. For my Challenge of Peace, I ran with the throngar. You must run with them in a way that allows them to accept your presence and remain untroubled.”

“Throngar?” Matthew could have sworn he had heard that word before, but he drew a blank.

“Trust me. Once you see them, you will know why you have to run peacefully with them. Or else you will not be running long.”

They turned onto
Northern Blvd
and walked in silence for a couple of blocks. “Zorribis?”

“Yes, Matty?”

“I get this weird feeling when you talk about Denab IV, like when your parents’ stories become so familiar, you’re not sure if you were there or if you just heard about it so much you imagined you were there.”

“It sounds as though Excelsior’s memories are rising and combining with yours.”

“It’s more than memories. I could see myself as Excelsior earlier today. I was walking with a group of Denarians and I was talking with this boy who said he had lost his mother.”

“That must have been Wilitar. Those who have been lucky enough to know Excelsior often share their stories. Wilitar was so proud of that encounter when Excelsior told him about his potential he told of it often. He is the fifth man on our team, very good with our technology. I think you’ll like him.”

Matthew smiled. “Is he home fighting the Krunations?”

“Yes, he is continuing the battle until we return. We’ve all been trained to defend and to restore. We await the day when Excelsior comes back to us and we’ll be able to rebuild.”

“What’s your family like?”

“My mother and father were…” Zorribis took a deep breath, then continued. “They were executed by General Hodera.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Matthew could say.

Zorribis nodded. “It happened when I was younger. I was welcomed into Karini’s clan. It was with them that I continued my education and I wound up falling in love with his sister, Niterra.”

Matthew smiled. “So there’s a woman in your life?”

“Not just a woman, THE woman. Very brave. She volunteered to spy on a Krunation outpost, but was injured just before we left.”

“You’re lucky to have someone to love,” Matthew said. “All I have is my uncle. My parents are both gone, too. I always thought that if I left tomorrow, nobody would notice me. But that was before I got to help my friend who was getting beaten up. Now all of a sudden, everyone wants to know more about me.”

“You do not have to worry about that place. If our plan goes well, you will leave here tomorrow.”

"Of course," Matthew said as they continued walking along the sidewalk. “Speaking of the plan, how exactly are you guys going to get the sword? I don’t know if Klierra told you, but museums have a lot of security and they don’t like to have their exhibits stolen.”

“Well, it’s a mixture of Denarian technology and my sharpshooting skills.”

Matthew stopped abruptly. “Wait a second. Sharp… SHOOTING? You’re going to shoot something at the sword to get it out? You have to walk me through this. How are you guys going to get the sword?” Matthew’s voice held the same command, a reflection of how he spoke when he confronted Nick and Kelly.

“We have what your history archives call a transporter. We simply call it a ‘flip device.’ The target is shot with a series of flips that activate a field that allows us to break down the matter into a signal, encode it and move it to another point. It was originally developed to remove the Krunations’ arms on the battlefield.”

“And the device is fired out of some kind of gun?”

Zorribis nodded. “I am my team’s finest marksman. The range between the flips and the transporter can be about twenty tronks, so we don’t have to be near the museum to get the sword.”

“You don’t understand. We need to come up with something better than a gun. Trying to steal a priceless artifact is one thing, but you’re gonna be seen by security and tour guides and other people and if you pull out something that looks like a gun and start…” Matthew stopped. “What’s a tronk?”

Zorribis pointed to the end of the block. “See the distance between the start of this walkway and the end right here?” Matthew nodded. “Twenty of those equal about one half of a tronk.”

“Oh, I get it. So forty of them equal one tronk. That helps. But it doesn’t matter what kind of range it has. You can’t shoot it onto the sword.”

“Guns are only allowed for your protection or entertainment. I’m sorry, Matthew, I had forgotten.” Zorribis shook his head.

“Let’s go back to my house. I have an idea,” Matthew said, turning toward home. When they walked through the door, Matthew led the Denarian upstairs to his room.

Once Matthew turned the light on, Zorribis saw the various Excelsior pictures and comic strips that were taped onto the walls. He gasped. “So you have been writing about our lives in these stories?”

“Well, not quite your life or Karini’s life. But I guess you can say it’s a good Denarian history lesson.”

Zorribis walked around the room, reflecting on the drawings on all the walls, and came across a very simple looking design beside Matthew’s bed. No color to the crude drawing. From what Zorribis could see, it looked like someone wearing a helmet that had two high points on the top and two triangles where the eyes were likely peering out. “What’s this?” he asked.

Matthew walked over. “This was the first sketch I ever did of Excelsior. The morning after I touched the sword, I had a vision and started drawing, but this was the best I could do at the time. My drawing’s gotten better over the years, and I wanted to keep a little bit of that original helmet since the character’s changed a lot. So I made some changes to the helmet design and--”