Chapter 51 The Golden Rain

“Maybe because you all know more than I do!” I answer loudly to the child, but no one is surprised.

“Thank you.” Is heard behind us.

I turn around, startled, and it is Yasen, transparent, just like Verba. He addressed his “thank you” to Kallitris. I’m astonished at this turn of events, as if one can get any more astonished with these folks.

This is when the crowd starts yelling and cheering in happy, loud voices. The rain slows down, and then stops altogether.

“What took you so long? Your inner struggles brought on a storm, and freaked out Demi!” Verba smiles.

“Sorry. I could not transfigurate at first, because I was lost in a illusion of self-deception.” Yasen answers. “But the Prophecy child helped me to understand.”

“Does this bastard kid even have a name? And what gender is it, anyway?” Kallitris flaps his wings and rolls his eyes with disdain for all the things ederi, all the culture he never understood to the point he felt like destroying it.

“Imposing a name or a gender on a child is a misconception of others. We allow our children to choose that for themselves, when they are ready.” Zumi sighs and looks up with a smile.

His child puts his hands up in the air and starts laughing. His laugh is melodic and hits the notes no human child could attempt.

This is when I notice a sparkly golden flake landing on my hair. More flakes are falling out of the sky. In the distance the air is filled with golden sparks. The flakes spin in the air and melt. Some linger on the faces and clothing of the ederi crowd until everyone is covered with a lace of shining magic.

“The golden rain is a rare occurrence.” Izumrud comes to me very close. “It is our nature’s reaction to a transfiguration with a jump of consciousness. Yasen realized he was wrong in enforcing the law. Just now he made me a de-facto leader of all the people.”

Then I see my ship, Arileot 14 appearing in the sky in the whirlwind of golden streams.

“Yeah!” Screams Iris at this sight.

The ship lands nearby, and I think that I’ll use it soon. Now, since it’s all over, we can spend some quality time together. That’s why what Zumi says next chills my blood all that much more.

“Run.” He breathes in my ear. “Moro is here.”

I glance behind Zumi and there is a big destroyer in the sky, advancing quickly. I thought Moro was in prison? The eerie feeling of fear and helplessness creeps into my whole being.

“This does not look good.” Kallitris grabs me and Iris and drags us off the slab to the ground.

“Wait! Zumi, you must go with us!”

“Run, love. We will meet again. I have a Crumbling Rose to restore. And I have powerful allies now. Take both of your spacecraft. We will take care of the shield.” Izumrud follows me only to kiss me on my cheek and watch us leave. Verba and Yasen stand by his side, real and supernatural at the same time.

We quickly decide that Kallitris and Iris will fly in the sheirer’s machine, and I will take Arileot14. Scattering should confuse Moro enough for us to escape. As I run, a ramp slides out and touches the ground. Overcome with emotions, I enter it, and take a last, quick look back.

The field is filled with black slabs now all glowing purple, Moro’s destroyer is gaining up on Kallitris’s ship, already flying away, and a crowd around Zumi is watching me in silence.

But what I will remember for a long time after that is the entrancing gaze of the Prophecy child. My child. Half ederi, half human. All new hope for the change. Several golden flakes fall on my hands, and I grab them, hoping to preserve the magic of the ederi. The door of my ship opens and I see Eva. She is transparent, her body enveloped in silvery mist, just her face is clear. She beckons me inside, I jump in, and we run to the bridge.

This is when I have a vision. It is a scary vision of me flying somewhere really fast. I feel that the craft I’m in hits something and bursts in flames. It must be some residual information. This cannot be my future…!

I shake my head, already overwhelmed, and look at the screen. We did confuse Moro, who decided to chase after Kallitris and Iris. He shot a couple of fireballs, probably the only ones still left in the machine since the war. He missed, no more came, and then Kallitris flew out of the atmosphere.

I set the course on Ashtarma, thinking of how painful the parting with Zumi will be, and how risky it was to leave him behind. Moro is out, he is full of anger and desire of revenge. Nice going. Should have shot him to transfigurate and get hit with a healthy dose of enlightenment!

“I have a lot of questions.” I address Eva, zooming in the screen to see the breathtaking view of stars as we leave Crumbling Rose and fly out of Andromeda in the direction of Coma Berenices galaxy. “The first one will be – how did you get here in time and how did you fly the ship, since you can’t do it yourself?”

“A lot happened while Kallitris kept you unconscious for two months.”

I turn around in astonishment, because I know this voice.

“Father Relemill!” I gasp, sizing up the elderly priest, dressed in a black gown of an unknown origin, probably given to him on Kallitris’s base.

“You sure took me for a ride, my boy!”

I smile and we hug. He is just as attractive and courageous, as the day I first saw him in the church in Deikeren, seems like eons ago.

“I had to come and save you. Your sermons were always in my heart, like the sunlight of Earth. Sorry I got caught up in my boyfriend’s affairs.”

“That’s allright. So the answer to your question – As soon as Izumrud knew Moro was on the way to get you, he alerted Eva. I operated the ship. It’s actually pretty easy – all you do is imagine a scale of color and the ship sees it in your mind. Speed is in the tints of green – the darker the faster, and tints of gray is height. The darker – the higher. Piece of cake! Frankly, they were getting ready to take me to Earth in this very ship, when the distress signal came from Crumbling Rose. Then I came to save you to return the favor.”

He says something else, but I keep seeing a blinding explosion, and my hands are burning, because I’m on fire. This fire is so intense, it consumes me very quickly. Me, and someone else by my side. I can’t see his face. Who is it?

“… So after we arrive to Ashtarma, I need to have someone to take me back. Since only a human or a sian can operate this ship, I’d imagine Iris should go… Demi, are you listening to me? What’s wrong?” Relemill pauses with deep concern on his kind, handsome face.

“Nothing… It’s nothing. Yes, of course.” I stutter.

I need to change the subject. I do not want to seem odd. Ashtarma appears on the screen, and we enter the atmosphere. It feels and looks luminous. The horizons are endless, and they turn rusty-colored closer to the dark side of the planet. But even this color looks upbeat and optimistic.

Or, maybe, this extraordinary change is only in my perception, knowing, that we managed to stop the war, and I’m also a free man now. What do I do? Stay with my friends here, or go back to Earth with Relemil? So many possibilities, such bright future. It is bright. It must be bright.

I decide to descend to Komkaran first. Gotta show them that I am their friend, and it’s all good. Pieris will be happy to know that.

“Two more questions, Eva. Why did you tell me that the ederi needed a lesson on love? They seem to have plenty of it! And the second question is how do ederi feed their infants, since they appear to be male?”

Ari’s girlfriend hesitates. She knows so much, and hides so many secrets. She only appears to be on my side. But she is on no one’s side. She died loving Ari, jealous of Leot, and that poisoned her enough to stick around on the abandoned ship. So whatever she says or does is distorted by a prism of an old grudge.