Page 21

21

A Song of Renewal

RIV

T he Sable Riders loaded the Shard onto Glimmer.

The plan was to rendezvous with Phantasm in orbit to transfer the artifact into one of its locked holds.

When Glimmer was cloaked and in stealth mode, Zane worked his psi-wizardry, and the monks rose from their deep slumber. They assembled in groups, sharing the joy of the dreamscape they’d all experienced.

Or thought they had. Zane had wiped their minds of all knowledge of Ankis, the Ka’SH?rd, and the dark tether they’d been held captive to.

Instead, they now believed they had gathered on the dried brine lake for an innocent, fun-filled solstice festival.

They returned to their homes scattered throughout the continents of Devansi with full hearts and overflowing praise for the wonderful time they’d shared.

Cadrin, too, was gifted a new set of memories and renewed purpose.

He was welcomed to a monastery on the edge of Devansi’s snow-bound northern continent.

He would soon lose himself in the ardent craft of carpentry and joinery, none the wiser to his past life as an Ordo Secondo monk.

On board Glimmer, Mirage gave the group a quick update.

Now that the nebula was calm, its distortion of space was gone, and so the AI node onboard the Sable ship had been able to reach Kainan.

‘He’s high-tailing it from Eden II, burning like mad through hyperspace to get here with about thirty gunships from the Sable fleet and the combined Pegasi alliance military,’ the AI informed them.

‘How far is he?’ Riv asked.

‘He says it’ll be a day, maybe even two, but says he has some tricks up his sleeve to contract the fleet’s hyperspace journey to us.’

Zane hissed. ‘That’s cutting it close.’

‘Especially seeing as over two hundred Katánian ships are incoming,’ Riv added.

élisa closed her eyes, trying to control the nausea of panic that threatened to swamp her. ‘That sounds like the entire army, as I remember it. They must be desperate for the hawkstone.’

The Sable AI shifted, peering closer at the holo that showed the advancing battleships. ‘It seems they’ve split their force into two waves. Eighty vessels in the lead and another one hundred twenty about two hours behind the first. Is that to be expected, élisa?’

élisa’s brow furrowed. ‘I’ve never heard of that formation. Then again, remember, I’ve not been privy to any Katánian fleet movements for many years. Whatever battle strategies they’ve developed since are beyond me.’

‘Do the Devansi people have any capabilities to protect themselves?’ Riv asked.

Mirage piped up. ‘No way. They’re semi-industrial, and their towns are clutches of villages, monasteries, and wild tribes. They’ve little in the way of spaceships. Most of what they operate are clunkers used for transport and trade. Not one armed ship exists on the planet. They’ll never be able to fend off the Katánians.’

A silence fell over the group as Glimmer parked itself in Phantasm’s vast hold.

‘Nothing we can do now but wait,’ Zane murmured. ‘Let’s refresh, rest, and take our minds off the coming battle. Obsessing will only wear us down when we need to have our guns ready and blazing. I’m ordering a night of R&R for us all.’

Riv turned to Kisan. ‘Gives us a chance to reacquaint ourselves with old friends.’

The dark-skinned man, who’d been quiet for the most part, taking in the events, nodded. ‘I’ll appreciate that.’

Mirage interjected. ‘I’ve taken the initiative to set up all your quarters for our new guests. I’ll also have a meal ready for you in the captain’s cabin in an hour.’

‘Much appreciated,’ Riv murmured.

The party disembarked.

Zane took charge of Kisan, leading him to the medbay, where he’d be under observation to ensure optimal recovery.

Xion and Ki’Remi branched towards the bridge to check Phantasm’s readiness for the inevitable clash ahead.

Riv led his small family to where they’d bed down during their onboard stay.

He stopped at a sliding door. ‘Killen, this is where you’ll sleep.’

The entry slid open, revealing a lavish room with comfortable furniture and state-of-the-art fittings. A generous sunken bath dominated one corner, while a spacious living area sat across it.

‘It’s more than I need.’ Killen’s quiet, deep voice vibrated through the air. ‘ Sante, Father.’

‘It’s what you deserve,’ Rid growled, hugging the strapping man. ‘Dinner’s not for another two hours. Please rest, and let’s meet up soon in Zane’s cabin. Directions are easy enough, but if you get lost, use the touchpad and punch in your destination. The floor panels in the corridor will light up to lead you.’

The silver-haired young man nodded. ‘Noted. Love you both.’

‘Love you more.’ Riv’s eyes followed their son with pride as he disappeared behind the sliding door.

He turned and gave élisa a small smile. ‘You OK, angel?’

She returned it. ‘More than.’

‘Want to explore my quarters?’

She stepped forward and slid her hands around his waist. ‘ Naam . I need to freshen up. It’s been a long day.’

Riv walked her into his suite, which had similar clean lines and luxurious fittings.

He led her to the bathroom, where a sunken pool waited.

She gaped at its luxury as he touched a button on the taps to fill the oversized bath.

She undressed as he poured salts and scented bubble foam into the swirling water.

His eyes smoldered when he turned to the sight of his naked, lithe woman waiting on the edge.

‘Get in, élisa,’ he rasped, his voice low and rough with need.

She did as commanded, sinking into the warm water and letting out a sigh of bliss.

He soon stripped and joined her, sitting behind her, where he used a soft cloth to wash away her angst and worry.

She arched against his hard length, swirling her hips, making him hiss.

‘ Nada ,’ Riv warned. ‘Not until after dinner, my silver malaíka , when I can make love to you all night without interruption.’

She shivered in anticipation. ‘I can’t wait.’

Later, the group gathered in the captain’s ready room for a sumptuous meal.

The fare was created with Phantasm’s freshest food ingredients from Dunia and Galicia’s farms and markets.

They dived into platters of spiced meats to delectable seafood, braised vegetables, fruits, cheeses, and a selection of fine wines. Salads, breads, rolls, and butter were abundant, as was a galaxy-wide variety of seasonings and condiments.

The meal ended with a rich fruit pie dessert and decadent Tansinian vanilla cream.

‘This is so unusual yet delicious,’ Killen commented as his eyes sparkled, taking in the plentiful bounty.

Tears pricked élisa’s eyes as she thought of how deprived her son had been for much of his life.

‘Mother, don’t,’ he cautioned, without even looking at her. ‘You’ll ruin my current bliss.’

She gave a half laugh and let the matter drop, indulging instead in the fine wine.

Riv kept topping up her glass, and she relaxed, letting her gaze fall on him.

A smile came to her lips at the look in his eyes.

He was always thinking of her, and the assuredness of his care for her was melting away any last walls she’d put up.

Even though she was bracing for the inevitable battle ahead, the one she could hold on to, even to the last feather on her koya, was that Riv was her end-all, be-all.

Her son had his sight, and so did she. She now needed to trust that the journey ahead would work out in their favor.

What she wanted now was Riv’s arms around her, how well their bodies still melded together, even after all these years.

She marveled at how their bond, created by their love, strengthened by the minute.

Tuned into her, Riv leaned and gently kissed her ear. ‘Later, my love, I promise to make all your dreams come true.’

She shuddered in anticipation that lingered after the meal when they left the table and moved in front of the large plex window that dominated the quarters.

Riv sat on a long couch and pulled élisa onto his lap.

‘It’s a stunning vista.’ She lifted her face and gave him a light kiss.

They were looking over the now clear skies above Devansi, packed with glowing meteorites and shooting stars.

‘’Tis. The most gorgeous view, however, is the one next to me.’

His husky rasp deepened, and his adoring eyes ran over her face. His hand trailed into her silver hair and caressed the back of her neck.

She stroked his cheek, feeling its strength and chiseled power underneath her fingertips. ‘I can’t fathom how I existed without your love. During all those cold years, I spent hours imagining you beside me. I tried to recreate your voice, your essence, the touch of your lips. Even though you’re here, I think I’m still in a dream. One where my first love, my young prince, is now the proud, powerful King of my heart, a man beyond measure.’

Riv gave her his half smile, the one she loved so much. ‘Which makes you my Queen, a woman who surpasses all others with grace and elegance unimaginable.’

‘If I’m dreaming, Riv, never wake me up. Because we belong together for the rest of our lives, this dreamscape. You’re the only one I want to lean on when times get rough, the only soul I want to talk with ‘til the sun comes up. I may get salty with you from time to time, but no one else can ever take your place.’

Riv buried his face in her neck as she stroked his hair.

They remained that way until Zane strode into the space.

‘How’s Kisan?’ élisa asked as Riv untangled himself from her.

The sapphire-eyed Rider sat across the couple with a heavy sigh. ‘He’s being examined and insisting on watching holos to understand the full extent of what Ankis was and who he was. He’s shaken from how wretched and twisted he’d become.’

‘What happened to him?’ Riv asked. ‘Has he shared?’

Zane took a breath. ‘Ready for this?’

Xion, who’d been playing cards with Killen and Ki’Remi at the far end of the room, called out. ‘Hell yeah. It’s killing me to know more.’

The three men joined Zane, Riv, and élisa on the long couch, settling in for what Zane had to share.

He faced them with an evident heaviness. ‘It’s a wild tear. Remember when we thought he’d died from his injuries on the crats’ ship and they took away his body? Well, the crats reanimated him and continued their tests on him in secret. Meanwhile, we escaped without him, unaware he was still alive.’

‘He was tortured for a few more years, where they played with entity absorption experiments on his body. They hooked him up to the psi-rene creatures and unknown souls. They utilized immense psionic power to render his body into a single biological vessel for other entities. He was caught in a psionic vice with mortals and a series of unknown entities, where the wills and whims of these dark deities and lords battled to control his mind.’

Xion cursed. ‘How did he leave the crats?’

Zane shook his head. ‘Not sure why they let him go. He may have become too powerful for them to risk his enmity. The Technocracy released him, but only after feeding him lies that his friends had abandoned him. He fled to Rhesia, where he reinvented himself and started plotting his revenge on us. Every attack on us from the Klastsch was his design. He was using them. To accomplish his goals. The rest, you know.’

Riv leaned forward. ‘Talk to me about the evil demi-urges he was infected with? Where are they now?’

Zane jerked his chin at him. ‘The Shard guide claims it eliminated and absorbed them all. They’re gone.’

Xion clucked his tongue. ‘They’d better be. The last thing we need is unleashing more darkness across Pegasi.’

‘Too right, Riv growled.

‘One more thing,’ Zane added. ‘He’s shared that Sax is still alive.

‘What the fokk ?’ Ki’Remi exclaimed. It was unusual for him to swear, but then again, Sax had been his closest friend in the Squad.

When élisa gave Riv a questioning look, he explained. ‘Sax is the last Rider, whom we thought lost to the crats. We’ve never spoken of him again because of how much pain it was to admit he’d passed, or so we thought.’

‘According to Kisan, he was released with him. But they parted ways soon after, unable to handle the trauma between them,’ Zane continued. ‘He’s also the only one who knew that Kisan was alive and was going by the name Ankis. Many years later, Kisan found Sax on Prism XII, where he believes the Rider still resides in a monastery. He tried to get Sax to join his crusade to exact revenge on the Sable Group. Sax refused, and Ankis almost killed him before the Prism cannons drove him away.’

‘What a freakin’ tragedy,’ élisa whispered.

‘We all got had our shit kicked by the crats in a series of devastation,’ Xion drawled. Yet rage laced his casual tone.

‘The crats are the nightmare that keeps giving,’ Ki’Remi added.

A long silence fell over the party as they absorbed the tragic account.

Killen stirred. While Zane had been speaking, he’d risen from his chair and stood at the viewscreen.

He focused outside, his eyes reaching into the expanse, racing past stars and streaking celestial bodies. ‘You’ll hear no more of them.’

The group stared at him, jolted by his quiet, prescient words. Although spoken in a low timbre, they reverberated with a powerful rage.

‘They’re gone.’ He turned around, his silver eyes glittering and his hawkstone glowing brighter. ‘Never to return.’

With that, he stalked to the door of the quarters. ‘Good night, family.’

As he exited, Xion rasped, his face screwed up in confusion. ‘Did he foresee the end of the crats or just make it happen?’

Zane gazed outside and pursed his lips. ‘Not sure. I’d need to send a psi-probe to check, but not tonight. I’m fokkin ’ exhausted after my earlier efforts. That said, Riv, élisa, your son is a perplexity. I don’t think we have any clue just how potent or seismic his abilities are.’

élisa nodded. ‘He’s got a calling on him that we do not yet understand.’

She tracked her son’s departure with a rueful smile, her heart caught between pride and worry. He was becoming the embodiment of a true Kíríga and a King worthy of his hawkstone. Even his shoulders looked much broader as if he was filling out into the intricate mantle they’d been purposed for.

She held back tears as she thought of how she’d soon have to let him go to follow his path.

Riv must have sensed her distress because he reached for her hand and pressed it against his lips. Giving her instant calm as only he could. ‘Time will reveal all, but right now, all time says is that we all need some good night’s sleep.’

élisa met his heavy-lidded gaze, and a shudder of desire arced through her, knowing he had every intention of rocking her into slumber. It was the sensual tonic she needed to comfort her breaking heart.