Read Sullivan Saga 2: Sullivan's Wrath Online
Authors: Michael K. Rose
Tags: #Science Fiction, #Fantasy
Sullivan Saga 2: Sullivan's Wrath (22 page)
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Sullivan said. “And you’ll make good use of it, I’m sure. With your new interest in Stoicism, you’re following quite closely in his footsteps.”
Kate kissed him lightly on the cheek. “And I know you enjoy it when I read to you from Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius.”
“I must admit that I do find it interesting. I’ve never been much of an academic, though. I’ve always enjoyed learning, but I suppose I’ve never really had the time.”
“Now you do. Now you can do what you want to do, not what others want you to do.”
Sullivan smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I do feel… freer. I only wish Frank was here. Then everything would be perfect.”
“I miss him, too,” Kate said. “I wish things had been different.”
“I feel like there was something else I could have done. I was right there with him. Why didn’t I try harder to change his mind?”
“What could you do? Whatever the Liz entity did to him, you couldn’t have fought it. And you told me he was fully under her control again. He believed that he truly wanted that. You couldn’t have made him change his mind.”
Sullivan broke their embrace and moved to the window. The back of their new home faced a pleasant, well-manicured woodland area. Even though most of Faris had been kept native and wild, several hundred acres of land running along one edge of their neighborhood had been converted into an Earth-style forest, with plants and animals from the home planet. As he watched, a white-tail deer carefully made its way through the underbrush. He shook his head and turned back to Kate. “I still feel like I could have done something.”
Kate reached over and put her hand on his chest. “Rick, you did do something. You were with your friend when he passed. You let him go peacefully and—whatever the reason he wanted it—you let him go on his own terms. You didn’t give him any undue stress. You respected his wishes.”
“But they were her wishes.”
Kate sighed and hugged him. “You did right by Frank. He knew that. Even if he was under the entity’s influence, some part of him had to be conscious of what was really happening. Some part of him was still free. And that part knew that you were true to the end.”
“It’s just… I didn’t want any of this to happen, Kate. And neither did Frank. It seems like the hyperspace entities stole him away from us. I used to think that I could deal with anything, but this whole experience has made me feel so helpless. I literally cannot fight them, Kate. I hate the idea that whatever they decide to do, I just have to submit to it.”
“Remember the passages from Epictetus we were reading yesterday? ‘Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish, but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life.’ Things will be the way they will be. If you can’t change them, there is no use in worrying about it.”
“I agree with the sentiment of that,” said Sullivan, “but what if I could have done something? Something I didn’t see, something that I should have seen?”
“The past is the past. I’m here with you now, in the present.” She leaned in and kissed him. “You’re done with the entities now, Rick.”
“I hope so. They could decide to use me at any time, though. They could threaten you if I refuse. And I still can’t shake the feeling that they were up to something other than just trying to stop those aliens from invading that other Earth. I’m missing a piece of the puzzle.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She put her hand on his stomach. “Are you hungry?”
“A bit.”
“I’ll go make lunch, then.”
Sullivan watched her leave the room then leaned against the windowsill. He imagined the room made up like Benjamin Alexander’s study. It would be a comfortable room, a room for quiet afternoons with Kate by his side.
“Rick?”
Sullivan turned around and looked for Kate. Had she called him from the kitchen?
“Rick.”
No. It wasn’t her voice. It was a male voice. A shadow moved in the corner. Sullivan slowly stepped from the window and approached the dark figure. When he was a meter away, its features came into focus.
“Frank?”
“It’s me, Rick.”
“Christ, Frank! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
Allen held up his hand. “I don’t have a lot of time, but you need to listen to me.”
“What is it?”
“You were right, Rick. Liz, the entities. They’re up to something. They’ve been around me almost constantly, but I’m alone right now. I was able to slip away.”
“What are they doing?”
Frank’s eyes saddened. “They have something horrible planned, Rick.”
“What?”
“You have to get to Earth. You have to tell everyone there all about the entities, what we did on the parallel Earth, about the alien creatures we encountered. And you have to tell them that the entities can take different forms, they can make people think they’re seeing things that aren’t real. Soon the news will arrive about what’s happening on Earth. Then you’ll understand.”
“What? Tell me!”
“The entities have been….” Allen’s face twisted in pain.
“What, Frank?” Sullivan reached out to his friend, but by the time his hands reached him, Allen had faded away.
“Frank!” Sullivan yelled. “What’s happening?”
Another figure began to form in front of him. Sullivan stepped back as he saw the image of Liz Wagner take shape. Sullivan balled his fists and held back the urge to strike out at her.
“What the hell is this?” he said, shaking with rage.
Liz wagged a finger. “Just wait, Rick. Just wait.” She smiled at him cruelly, sent a draft of frigid air in his direction and then was gone.
Whenever I begin to write one of these acknowledgement sections, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the task. There are simply far too many people who have helped me for a list to ever be comprehensive, and I hate the idea of inadvertently leaving someone out. So I have a clever solution: to all of you who have supported me, promoted me, encouraged me, laughed with me, commiserated with me or simply just read my books: thank you.
Thanks also to my family for helping me make this wild dream possible. And thank you to my friends who read through
Sullivan’s Wrath
, gave me their honest assessments and kept me from disappointing the rest of you. I’ll try to get the first draft right next time.
ALSO AVAILABLE
The Sullivan Saga:
Sullivan’s War
(Book 1 of The Sullivan Saga)
Sullivan’s Watch
(Book 3 of The Sullivan Saga)
The Sullivan Omnibus
(Collecting Books 1-3)
Sullivan's Realm Stories:
Jilly of Earth:
“One Big Rock” (Jilly of Earth #1)
“The Abduction Blues” (Jilly of Earth #2)
For more information, please visit:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael K. Rose works primarily in the science fiction genre but has written horror, fantasy and paranormal fiction as well.
His first major work,
Sullivan’s War
, has been called “… a sci-fi thriller that definitely delivers!” His second novel,
Chrysopteron
, has been hailed as a “… gem of a novel…” and “a masterpiece.”
Michael graduated from Maine's Gould Academy in 1997. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Arizona State University.
Michael currently resides in the Phoenix area and enjoys chess, tabletop gaming and classical music. He blogs at
myriadspheres.blogspot.com
. You can also connect with him on
Twitter
and
Facebook
.
