Chapter 43 The Secret to Keep

The thought makes me smile, and I even let that smile light up my face. The imprint is within the reach. I can imagine their surprise when I interface with the ship and take them for a ride! Or should I leave them here? Hehehe!

“I don’t understand what’s going on, but… The ship has disappeared…” Kamen looks at the screen, perplexed.

Arileot14 is gone! There is nothing there anymore, but the amber-yellow desert as far as the eye can see. The tension mounts, as Gemea shakes his head in disbelief.

Ok, whatever. That does not make any difference. I inch towards the dashboard a little more.

“It was a trap, sir!” Yells Kamen, pressing some buttons on the screen.

“I don’t care! We have Leozarit!” Moro runs up, and pushes him away.

“Actually, my name is Olga. Glad to see the grandson of famous Ari.” The woman’s eyes are fixed on me, and then she steps out of sight to the hall.

“Good afternoon, or whatever it is on Ram!”

We all turn back to be equally and deeply shocked to see Kallitris and at least ten Kom kribers with guns, walking up to us.

“How is this possible…” Moro goes pale, staring at the unexplainable sight of my friends.

“The oldest trick in the book. The ship was a hologram. The lady was nice enough to pose as Leozarit, as you idiots never knew how the real Leozarit looked like.” Kallitris is tall and handsome, as always, still bearing the human appearance, albeit with his dazzling amethyst-colored wings behind his back.

“But how did you know that we were flying here?” Moro seems to be more upset at losing “Leozarit” than anything, and Gemea still stands there with a strip of fake Leozarit’s skin cells in his hands.

“I know! The flying machine you used has a transmitter in it! Moro, I told you!” I begin to laugh. Who is the loser now? “Why would you ever use Kallitris’s machines?”

“It’s not my fault your friend bombed us back into Stone Age! We have none of our technology left! I ordered to find his machines that were shot down by us. We restored them to the working condition!” Moro is so angry, he can barely contain himself.

All of a sudden Iris, my sweet dear husband walks from around Kallitris’s big fluttering wings and gives me the strongest hug in the world.

“I did not think I was ever going to see you again, when a transmitter’s signal from one of Kallitris’s machines came to us from Crumbling Rose, and this old sheirer devised a plan to deceive Moro into flying here. We got you out! I can’t believe we got you out! You are free, let’s go!”

We’re both overjoyed, and kiss each other passionately.

“You are not going to kill us, are you?” Moro asks both Kallitris, and several menacing-looking kribers. He is still astonished and embarrassed at how easily he had been fooled.

I recognize Pieris as one of the gun brandishing kribers, and he gives me a crooked smile. This is so cool!

“I don’t care about you. Just go home! Enjoy my old ship!” Kallitris laughs, swings with his wing at Moro, making him wince, and gives me his hand.

Iris is not letting me go, still hugging, and crying. I missed him so! I missed his smell, his attentive love, his luminous personality! This is a good, peaceful ending! I’m about to reunite with my dear friends, when I hear Immaul’s voice.

“Demi, I have decoded the message from Zumi. Here it is: “I’m pregnant. It is your child. Having a child from an alien is punishable by death. Yasen will probably not do it, but he will expel me from the council and exile from the planet. If Moro finds out, he will kill me. Wherever you are, please come back. I have no one else to turn to.”

This stuns me so bad I freeze in my tracks about to give my hand to Kallitris.

‘Come on!” He urges. “I know, it’s hard to believe you’re free!”

There was so much extraordinary pain and intense fear in that message that the burden of it weighs my mind down to the point where I get dizzy with entrancing images of possible horrible things about to happen to Zumi.

The black stone still covers all my thoughts from everyone, including Moro and Kallitris.

“I can’t go.” I say very quietly. I can’t believe I said it. Am I going back? Just like that? But what choice do I have?!

“What?” Kallitris snaps, visibly disturbed.

He is searching my mind, but the dark veil is not letting him through.

“Domiarn, you can’t leave me now!” Iris whispers, his long hair flowing down to his shoulders, framing his concerned face.

He has a much softer disposition and a loving, understanding heart. Maybe that’s why the dark veil suddenly opens up, letting him into my mind. My husband immediately finds the message from Zumi and gasps in horror.

“Please keep my secret.” I whisper to him, choking back tears.

“We must go.” Iris turns to Kallitris.

Then my husband squeezes my hand in a heartfelt supportive gesture, and walks out without saying anything else.

I’m so grateful to him, and I can’t bear to see him go.

“Come on! You must leave Domiarn now!” He yells to Kallitris, as he exits the ship.

‘What the heck, do you realize how hard it was to get here?” My boyfriend grabs me by my shoulders, and shakes.

I cry, and close my eyes.

When I open them, they all are gone. Kallitris, Iris, the woman and the kribers. They even closed the door behind them.

Moro looks at me as if I’m totally, utmostly insane.

“The only explanation to your behavior is that you like me so much, that you decided I’m better than your stinky buddies. Well, I’m not going to elevate you to the level of my partner, but I’ll let you be my slave!” The ederi grins and walks up to the dashboard.

I put my hand into the imprint before he can say a word to the ship.

“You are under arrest for treason. Your punishment will be determined by the council. We’re going back to Crumbling Rose. Full speed.”

Frankly, I’m not vindictive and I don’t really care about his treason. But I need to do everything in my power to keep Moro as far as possible from Zumi.

The ship enters my mind as a fuzzy feeling of a foreign but friendly presence. It follows my orders quickly and exactly.

Moro and Gemea lunge at me, and knock me off my feet, but it is too late. We’re back to Crumbling Rose at the speed of thought they did not seem to know the ship had. I grew up on one of these. Do not underestimate Domiarn Gidealis.

The next thing is as surprising for me, as it is for them. The door opens and Yasen walks in with four more ederi.

“Thank you, Demi.” Says Yasen. “We were alerted by the Chronicler. You can go now. Moro, I’m charging you with attempted murder of Izumrud, the member of the council, and attempted kidnapping of Leozarit’s son. You will be escorted to prison until we figure out what to do with you!”

As I walk out, Yasen stops me.

“Are you OK?” He whispers with a smile.

“Yes, sir!” My voice breaks down, and I leave quickly.

I do not know if the black stone is still protecting my thoughts, or not. I’m carrying the secret no one is supposed to know.

“Do not worry.” I suddenly hear in my mind. “I am protecting the Prophecy. That’s why I’m here. That’s why you’re on Crumbling Rose. Do not be despondent. A day will come and you will return to your family on Ashtarma. But now I need you to take care of Zumi. He carries the child, the key to rebuilding this civilization.”

I shudder at the thought of what could be talking to me in this weird place.

“Who are you?” I ask the voice, as I walk among the trees to the familiar dome in the distance.

“I am what they call here the black stone. And I’m what everyone else calls Leot.”