Chapter 21 The Shadow of Ari

Taken aback by the prophet’s reaction I glance at Eva, standing there very calmly.

“I told you to kill them, Demi, not send them running!” Sada is distraught, and she leans on the counter, shaking.

“I did that. But this turned out to be even better – it’s shamefully hilarious! They ran with their tails between their legs… hehehe!”

“Wait, these are not your species? They had tails?” Eva is visibly confused.

“For God’s sake, doctor, get on with the program!” I laugh and pretend to slap Ari’s girlfriend on the back. My hand goes straight through.

With that Iris, still on the floor, opens his eyes.

“You idiot, they will regroup and come back!” Sada is beside herself with anger.

“No. They will not.” Eva approaches Sada, and embraces her, as much as it is possible in her position. “Forgive me. I had to override your order to kill. The reason to use the Star was to stop the war. The war is stopped. They all received the message never to come back. And they won’t. You can rest easy.”

Sada does not answer, and I understand her frustration. For months she was tormented by the visions of the invasion, and not killing the invaders feels foolish and dangerous to her.

Iris gets up, and studies the screen, still showing the field, where now the citizens are helping the soldiers take all fallen and wounded into the city.

Suddenly I hear the footsteps in one of the two passage halls. There is no one else in here. Or is there? Startled, I walk cautiously to take a better look. The passage is lit with soft light, and it is empty… This spaceship is still keeping all its secrets I’m yet to discover.

This old intergalactic machine, it is playing with me, teasing me with its mysteries, making me almost hear Ari’s footsteps, and whatever rustling noise Leot might had been making crawling along this very passage only to climb on Ari’s back and feel very happy at that.

The air behind me vibrates and gets chilly only a little. Enough for me to turn around and find myself face to face with Eva. Her eyes are wet with tears, if at all possible in a ghost.

“This ship is calibrated to Ari’s mind as its captain. It sees you as Ari. It is trying to communicate. I, too, feel Ari in you. This ship is your inheritance. I love you as much as I loved him.” She runs her hand across my cheek, and it feels eerie.

“Let’s get our horses, take Henessada home and then fly to Deikeren.” I say, losing myself in her sparkling eyes.

Several weeks pass and the autumn is in its full swing. Ever since Iris and I had moved to this abandoned castle on the hill, I do not see my father as much, and we don’t squabble as before. The city below looks picturesque in all the beauty the fall can bring.

A lot of things happened in the last fifteen years. Old Per Taonur died, and I had put Gidealis senior as the governor of Deikeren province. I could do that because I discovered the copper deposits in the North, and started the first ore enrichment facility in the country.

That made me wealthy and powerful enough to ask the king for just about anything. I asked him to give me Deikeren. He had no choice but to agree. Now I have everything I need, but for one thing. A painful childhood memory never let me go. Whatever happened to that priest, whose sermons I saved that fateful night? Was he killed, imprisoned? Exiled?

I walk to the table and put my hand on the stack of papers. Here they are, his sermons - deep, insightful, intelligent. I learned all of them by heart. But where is their author and owner?

The door creaks behind me. I turn around and watch Iris come in.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asks, smiling.

“Because I find you breathlessly gorgeous.” I answer.

He comes to me, puts his hands on my shoulders and kisses me ever so passionately. There is unfamiliar fragrance around him.

“Running your errands is a full time job, I’ll have you know. And yes, I went to a shop and bought a new perfume. It’s called ‘Spring Lilac”, want to try it?” Baron Leo reads my mind, because he cares. Then he gives me a loving glance and walks across the room in his graceful manner.

“Did you find out what I asked you to?” I, on the other hand, am more demanding than caring. Darn that. I just can’t seem to get rid of this desire to order everyone around. Even with my husband.

“Yes. I searched all records. No one under a name of “Lynn Relemill” was ever booked into the city prison. Do you want to go look up records in nearby cities?”

Might not be a bad idea. I look out of the window. It’s getting cold. The sunset is red and golden. The colors vibrate in the fresh autumn air. What a tragedy it was to lose this extraordinary man to the aggressive political intrigues. His trail grew cold so many years ago. What if I never find him?

The feeling of an imminent action directed at me washes over my mind, and I’m suddenly right by Kallitris in what looks like a small flying vessel. We sit side by side in front of a dashboard full of lights and buttons.

“Stop teleporting me in the middle of my life!” I’m really upset, and a bit shaken.

The sheirer is ever-so charming. He smiles and leans over to kiss me.

“Please calm down, my sweet Domiarn. I’m here to help! Welcome to my destroyer. Sorry, it stinks. It runs on cycloalkene fuel.”

I can’t believe the speed we’re flying with over the river and Deikeren fields. Then in a moment we’re over what I believe is Antein, Reienkeren province. The white walls of the neighboring city get blurry in front of my eyes, as we fly so fast in what he called a “destroyer”. And what about the fuel? I frown, as I don’t know the word he mentioned.

“Hydrocarbon, my boy. You’re not bad for a medieval chemist.”

“I know what you’re going to do!” I suddenly erupt. ”You’re going to distract me, or sweet-talk me into submission to get to the Faith Star again!”

“Don’t be so resentful because others had poisoned you against me.” Kallitris studies me with utmost love in his now agate-black eyes. “You are looking for the priest, and I know where he is.”

We’re now over the ocean. The breezy flight makes my head spin. Sheirer puts his hand on my knee, and rubs it just a little.

I can’t resist him to begin with, and now he knows where Relemill is.

“Is he alive?”

“Barely.” Kallitris pushes a button on a dashboard, and we fly straight up. “I hope you don’t mind to put on a couple of G’s. I know you are an old model, but Leot does build sturdy critters.”

The maneuver puts me straight back into the seat with immeasurable force. What’s with me being an “old model”?!

“Where is Relemill? Why are we over the Sanatona shores?” I scream, looking at the strip of white sand growing smaller and smaller as we shoot into the sky.

As a matter of fact, the ride is not that bad at all. Somewhat noisy but exciting, with Kallitris grinning all the way. This is a promising grin, but I need to know more.

“Just taking you for a ride!”

We turn around in the deep blue air. The wide windows of the destroyer allow for a breathtaking panoramic view with seemingly endless horizons all around. Then, in the distance, there is a chain of jagged peaks. Did we dart from West to East across the country so fast? Are these Kardiren Mountains?

“Yes, they are.” Kallitris answers my thoughts. He reads my mind as effortlessly as Iris. Men, who care about me – they are always so attentive. Do I deserve it?

“There is a passage in the mountains with a large platform right by the edge of a deep abyss. I can land there and safely leave the ship, so we can get down.” With these words sheirer presses a button on the dashboard and we begin to descend.