Heaven Saga 1: The Lost Hero (26 page)

Delne stood and shrugged off his mental attack. “Now I
know why they warned us about you.”

“The Greys warned you?” he asked as he struggled
against the chains.

“That won’t work my dear Terran. Even a Mylor would
struggle to escape those,” she said as she moved uncomfortably close. She
started poking him lightly with her hands, causing him to move. “You’re quite
sensitive to touch, aren’t you?”

“Why would the Greys tell you anything?” he asked. He
felt uncomfortable.

“They reward loyalty, to a fault as a matter of fact.
Their power is of the mind Brian, something even you can’t fully resist. What I
and many others desire is control. People need to be controlled, or chaos is
the result. The Greys are masters of control and thus will be victorious in the
end,” she said as she ran her hands about him and searched for his sensitive
areas.

“I see. Delne, how old are you?” he asked.

“I don’t know why you would need to know, but I’m two
hundred and four years old.”

“What you fear most is what the
Maigars
spoke
of before being wiped out,” he said. “I think you may know something about why
it happened.”

“What are you talking about? The plague was an
unfortunate incident,” she said.

“Very convenient, don’t you think? When Gaelic Kein
and his allies were on the verge of causing a revolution, they all die. Why?”
he asked.

Delne went to the front of the cell where a table was
set. She pulled out a number of long needles and a rod resembling a cattle
prod. “They would’ve brought chaos to our people. Those who stand in the way of
our ideal future must be destroyed.”

“Even at the cost of your own race!?” he shouted.
“That plague wiped over a hundred billion in two years! How can you call that
victory! What people need is freedom, not control. Control only garners
dissent.”

She licked a needle as she moved next to him once
more. “Not if it’s absolute control my Terran. You’ll soon find being
controlled isn’t bad.” With a wicked smile she drove a needle into his leg,
causing him to scream in pain.

“My, you have a great amount of pain tolerance,” she
said as she drove another needle into his other leg. “Don’t worry; I’m not
going to hit anything vital for now. I want to have some fun with you before
they come to get you.”

* * *

Seles walked into her chambers and removed the dress
she was wearing, putting on her uniform. She slipped the transmitter from her
white glove into her hand. She went to the balcony and looked over the dark
courtyard. Looking at the device, she saw it was an encoded transmitter.

She turned it on and spoke into it. “Brian, please
answer me.”

“Is that you Seles?” Mira asked over the transmitter.

“Mira?” she asked. “Are you in the Mjolnir?”

“He must have given you the transmitter. Yes, I’m on
standby right now,” Mira answered.

“So what’s the plan?” Seles asked.

“Well, the original plan was for us to leave quietly,
but I’ve lost track of Brian’s signal. Seles, I’m worried, could you see if
he’s still in his room?”

“He’s missing?”

“Yes,” Mira answered. “A few minutes ago I lost his
signal. I had to fly the Mjolnir into the jungle and hide because a number of
air and ground troops were surrounding me.”

“Troops attempted to surround you? Could you tell what
unit it was?” Seles asked.

“I’m not sure, but it definitely wasn’t the royal
guard. I’m really worried something’s happened.”

“Alright Mira, I’ll try my best to do something,”
Seles said as she went her door.

When she got to the door she found it popped open. She
peaked outside and saw the two guards sleeping on the floor.
What is going
on?
Seles thought to herself as she took up one of their pulse rifles and
checked the hall.

“Seles, I put them to sleep for a short while. Take
this opportunity to escape.”

“Myden?” she asked as she looked around.

“I’m not with you at the moment.”

“Do you know what happened to Brian?” she asked.

“No, but I’m searching for him. Please hurry.”

Seles looked down both ends of the hall and headed for
Brian’s room. The two guards outside his room were sleeping and the door was
open. She went in and saw no one was in the room. She walked over to the bed
and saw his
rakna
blade far away on the floor. Near the bed there was a
small stain on the floor. She knelt down and touched the liquid.

“Blood,” she whispered, tearing up.
He came here to
save me, but…
She went to his armor and hugged it.

“Seles, what are you doing in here!?” Celestia asked
as she stormed in with a patrol of guards.

“He’s gone mother,” she said with dejection in her
voice. “They’ve taken him.”

Celestia noticed the sadness in her eyes. “What is it
Seles? Why are you crying?”

“You have no idea who he really is, do you?” Seles
asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Brian isn’t the Herald. He came here to free me. And now…”
she trailed off and looked at the
rakna
blade.

“What’re you trying to say?” Celestia asked.

“Brian came by chance over a year ago,” Seles
explained. “I was stranded on a frozen moon for twelve days. Without his help I
would’ve died. He single-handedly fought a troop of Malcovin mercenaries to
protect me. All I want is to see him again mother.”

“Raekar has him now,”
Myden said telepathically as he stepped out of the
shadows. The guards turned their weapons on him before Celestia waved them off.

“Please wait outside,” she commanded her guards. They
left and closed the door behind them. Celestia turned to Myden. “What’s the
truth about him?”

“I’m sorry my Queen, my falsehood was in no way
intended to hurt you,” he said with his raspy voice. “But I had to see him up
close before confirming my suspicions.”

“What suspicions are those?” Celestia asked.

“Unknowingly, my own people brought forth the monster
they feared the most. Now, he has begun to gather the Maidens.” Myden went to
Seles and pointed at her birthmark. “You’re the Maiden of Passion,” he said. He
turned to Celestia, “As are you my Queen. My mission was to protect one of you
from assassination. Now I fear he may be killed soon.”

“You mentioned Raekar,” Celestia said. “What are they
planning?”

“Lady Delne is a master
Kaida
,” he said. “At
this moment she is trying to break him. Her plans are to turn him over to my
people. But a more immediate concern is upon you my Queen. Gather your allies
and be ready for the enemy to strike.”

“Take me to him,” Seles said as she ran to Myden.

“Call for the giant of light and I’ll accompany you.”
Myden turned to Celestia. “The civil war you feared has come. Please, give us
the time we need to save him.”

* * *

Why won’t he break?
Delne thought to herself.
No Kalaidian’s ever withstood this much
pain.
She looked up and saw him laughing.

“Are you mocking me?” she demanded.

“This thing you call the
Kai
, I heard horror
stories about it from your history books.” Brian spit some blood off to the
side. “But this is nothing for one of my kind Kalaidian.”

She placed a hand on his face. “I’ll make you beg
before this night is over.” She closed her eyes and began intruding upon his
mind again. Strangely, she found no resistance from him.

“
Delne Raekar, head of the Raekar family and mother
to seventeen daughters, a respected member of the old nobility. But, I sense
something more, a deep sadness,”
he said to her through their mental link.
She opened her eyes, angry and saddened at the same time.

“How?” she gasped, unable to move away.

He smiled. “Terrans aren’t naturally telepathic, but
once someone’s messing around in there we can fight back. You want to know the
TRUTH Delne? The real reason why this torture of yours is nothing to me? Let me
show you the history of humanity, a history of war, death, terror, and other
evils your kind can only find in their nightmares!”

He closed his eyes and forced the images of human
history into her mind. She stood silently and stared as thousands of images of
war, torture, and evil filled her mind. Eventually, she broke from the chorus
of humanity’s evil and turned away. She held her face inside her hands and
cried.

He laughed. “Now you know. That’s the real reason your
Confederation fears my kind. Humans are especially good at killing, torturing,
and hating each other. Imagine what we could do to other races, especially with
how soft they are.”

She turned to look him in the eye again. “Why?”

“Are you passing judgment upon my kind?” he asked. “I
wouldn’t blame you. But before you do, tell me the truth about the plague that
killed your men. Because that’s an act of genocide on a scale even my people
haven’t committed.”

Delne turned away with tears in her eyes. “It wasn’t
supposed to happen like it did.”

“I know,” he said.

“What?” she asked. She saw sympathy in his eyes.

“You loved him. With all your heart and soul, but he
wouldn’t have you. You prayed day and night, hoping. But Kali never came. You
were filled with despair, a feeling I know all too well. And when you reached
out to their God in desperation, it granted you power. But it took away all
that was Delne Raekar and left behind the walking corpse standing before me.”

She slapped him across the face. “He was the enemy!
All he believed was heresy, everything. On the day I let it loose he was going
to start the rebellion. But the illness stopped the
Maigars
in their
tracks. Their bodies quivered in agony and their songs taken away.”

“You’ve had a hundred and fifty years to save them.”
He spit more blood off to the side. “Can’t you hear their thoughts? Your people
are dying out slowly, watching their power and life diminish. You have control
for now, but my coming has awakened their conscious.”

“Silence!” she shoved another needle into his belly.
He gritted his teeth and refused to scream. Delne cursed him as she left him
bleeding in agony. He was left alone in silence and darkness with his thoughts
as his only companion.

Your feelings betray you Delne. I know the pain of
loving, but not being loved in return. I saw his final tomb. It was your last
act of kindness.

Mira landed the invisible Mjolnir outside the window
of Brian’s room. As she opened the hatch, she saw Seles carrying Brian’s armor
and
rakna
blade, with a cloaked figure behind her. Myden stopped and stared
at Mira.

Seles turned to him. “What is it?”

“Mira Kein? How is this possible?” Myden asked.

“Who are you?” Mira asked as Seles loaded the armor
and sword onboard.

Myden closed his eyes, trying to scan her
telepathically.
I see she’s not the original. It looks like Gaelic’s song
was completed. My telepathy won’t work with her.
“My name is Myden. It’s
been a long time since I last heard you sing.”

Seles turned to them. “Am I missing something, or do
you know her Myden?”

“She’s Mira Kein, daughter of the late Gaelic Kein.
One hundred and fifty six years ago the ship she traveled on was destroyed,” he
explained.

“Could you clarify what he’s talking about?” Seles
asked.

Mira narrowed her eyes. “Long ago, I was a noble. But
I slept in the darkness of space for many years. When I awoke the world I knew
was gone. I’m surprised a strange being like this knows about it.”

Seles motioned for Myden to get onboard. “Come on, if
we don’t get going, Brian’s only going to suffer more.”

“Of course,” he said. He walked onto the craft and
marveled at its beauty.

Mira took the pilot’s seat. “I know you usually do
this Seles, but Brian trusted me with this ship,” she said as she gave Myden a
funny look. “Why don’t you show your face?”

“It’s too disturbing for your kind,” he answered.
“And…it’s too bright in here to me. Now set course for the main palace of Delne
Raekar. There we will find him.”

* * *

Darkness, all I can see is darkness.
Brian stayed chained to the wall, motionless. On the
floor below was a puddle of blood.
I hate this place. If I’d stayed on Earth
this would’ve never happened.
He tried moving and stopped because of the
pain. He sighed and looked around.
I should be happy she didn’t take
anything downstairs, but this sucks. I’ve never felt pain like this ever in my
life. If she hadn’t wounded me I could try forcing my way out of here, but…
He fought off the despair and moved his body.