Star Rising: Heartless (5 page)

Unable to form any more words, he remained quiet as the ship landed and its engines turned off. The door slid open, and Xalen’s jaw almost dropped. The ship had landed in the middle of a large field. At their side were countless other ships of different shapes and sizes. A path of polished stone spread before them in a straight line. There was a large red gate that seemed to reach to the clear skies. It had a golden, snake-like rim running through the top. It shined brightly under the light of the blue sun. Two massive open doors were at the center of the gate.

“Wait until you see the inside,” said Reave, motioning for Xalen to follow.

Their footsteps crunched softly as they walked down the straight path of white stones. Moments later, when they reached Zizor’s gate, Xalen’s mouth opened even wider. He had spent so many years living within the dull walls of the orphanage, that he had to rub his eyes to make sure they weren’t being deceived.

The sight within the walls was not only large, but beautiful. Palm trees rose from the lush green grass. Large gray stones were spread around the garden, many occupied by groups of chattering students. A crystal-clear lake encompassed the entirety of the interior’s southwest corner. Some sort of black-feathered birds rested on long leaves that floated in the water. He mused they had to be native to the moon. But by far, the most impressive thing of all had to be the breathtaking pagoda that dominated the end of the garden. The more he saw it, the more he realized that pagoda wasn’t the right word. It was more like a castle with dozens of pagodas stacked over each other. Thick red pillars held up the dozens of jade rooftops that rose in different parts of the temple. The walls were an even mix of black and crimson colors. Dozens of what he could only assume were students of different species, walked in and out of the temple. None of them wore the same expression of awe that Xalen was certain was plastered across his own face. It was as if the years they had spent in this place had washed away the awe of the spectacle before them.

“Ready to go?” asked Reave. It was more of an order than a question. Xalen followed, trying his best to take a mental picture of everything he was experiencing. The cheery blossoms by the lake, the scent of the honeyed flowers that were growing around the palms, the chatter of the students as they … Xalen suddenly realized that the babble of voices had given way to an awkward silence, followed by a series of stares and hushed whispers.

“It’s him,” said a boy with thick lips. His eyes sparkled with admiration.

A Cestia female craned her neck behind her books. Her four pointy ears perked up and her five eyes, which were aligned in a straight line under her brows, blinked rapidly. “Oh my, gosh. See that scar?” She tapped the human girl beside her. Xalen instinctively reached to the part of his shirt that concealed the scar over the empty void in his chest. “Wait until my family back on Xender hear about this.”

“Out of the way,” came another murmur. “I want to see him too.”

Xalen felt naked and exposed in front of these strangers. They didn’t know him; yet they were already passing judgment on him. He was about to give them a piece of his mind, when he realized that the gazes were not directed at him. They were meant for the man beside him.

Reave continued to walk without the slightest concern for the commotion he’d stirred. As if getting this reaction was an everyday occurrence. The realization that he knew next to nothing of the Alioth made Xalen feel uneasy.
Who is this man, anyway?

“Reave,” called a frail voice.

Pushing his question aside, Xalen turned his attention to the source of the voice. A woman who walked with a limp and the help of a cane, emerged from within the temple. She had a squared jaw. Her features were nearly obstructed by the countless wrinkles that etched her saggy skin. She wore a long blue robe and a golden ring on each of her shaky fingers.

Reave stood rigid at the temple’s entrance, bowing deeply. “Alpha Sensei Kayos. It is good to see you again.” He held his bow for the eternity it took the gray-haired woman to reach them.

“Please, my friend,” Kayos said, embracing the man. “There is no need for such formalities.” She was so small that she was almost lost in the frame of the larger man.

“Look down when you greet the sensei,” said Reave, stepping back and facing Xalen.

“S…sorry,” mumbled Xalen. He faced the fine marble floor. A trembling hand settled on his shoulder.

A voice he recognized as that of Kayos spoke. “Let me see you, boy.”
Sheesh, first they say look down. Now look up. Make up your mind already!
Despite his little internal rant, Xalen did as instructed. Kayos had kind eyes, like those he had pictured many times on his imaginary grandmother. “You’re Xalen, right?

Xalen nodded.

“Good to have you here. I’ve heard so much about you from Reave.” For a split second Kayos’s eyes traveled to where Xalen’s heart should have been. “I find that stories never do reality justice. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“Likewise, ma’am,” said Xalen, lost at the sensei’s words.
Why had Reave told Kayos about him?
It wasn’t as if he were anyone special.

Kayos motioned them to follow her. “Come to my office, Reave. We have much to discuss.”

“Of course, Sensei.”

Xalen took off after them.

The scarred man held up his hand. “Not you, Xalen.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Wait here and stay out of trouble.”

Stay out of trouble. Yup, sounds easy enough.
He watched the two warriors trudge through the doors and head up a flight of stairs. From the corner of his eye, he felt dozens of cold stares etching into his back.
I can do that....

Chapter 3

A dark figure moved over the barren land. His boots thumping softly, contrary to his heart, which was beating ever quicker. He wore a sleeveless tunic, exposing a muscular arm on his left side, and a metal arm on his right. He perked his pointed ears, straining to hear anything out of the norm. There shouldn’t be anyone here, but one could never be too careful. Scavengers weren’t known to be picky about who they attacked.

Fumes of smoke rose ten feet into the air from the many vents scattered across the red plains of Planet K’lech. Amlaidh moved aside, sidestepping yet another gush of hot air. He wiped the sweat from his brow. His hand came to a stop over the small piece of bone that protruded on the side of his forehead. He had two such pieces of bones. They were a testament of his mixed birth to a human female and a Zander male.

Far in the distance, he made out the hazy black mountains. Amlaidh mumbled a curse under his breath as he swatted another flea aside. K’lech’s stuffy heat and its proliferation of hungry fleas, arid land, and volcanoes made it one of the least populated planets in the galaxy. Which made it the perfect place to hold the secret meeting he was headed to. Nonetheless, Amlaidh couldn’t help but feel a wave of anger at being summoned here. Hadn’t he always followed his orders to the letter? Hadn’t he proved he was capable after all these years?

Yet, he’d been summoned here like a child. As if a simple message would have been too much for him to comprehend.

“Get lost!” yelled Amlaidh. He brought up his metal hand. It glowed a bright purple as he powered it up. A second later, a violet mass of plasma shot out from the hand cannon. He could have changed the shape of the energy into many forms, but he stuck with the classic jet of power. The thick mass of energy slammed into the dark flea, incinerating it in a blink of an eye. “That will teach you!”

He gritted his teeth as three fleas, even larger than the first one, took the place of their fallen comrade. Breathing heavily, he lumbered on, ignoring the pests.

Not until he reached the entrance to the cave did the fleas finally scatter. Amlaidh was not surprised. Even the basest creations of nature knew to fear the cold dread emanating from deep within the cave. It was a fear he had felt many times in his nineteen star-cycles; it was a dread that he hoped one day to imitate.

His steps echoed off the walls as he descended deeper into the humid cave. Hundreds of different sized stalactites hung above him. Amlaidh made it a point to walk around each time he was directly below a large one. He was probably being a bit paranoid, but he kept on imagining one of them falling and impaling him to the rocky ground. He wondered what the man he was about to meet would say if he saw him now. He’d probably get a speech about how dishonorable it was to cower before a mere piece of rock.

He shook his head.
Focus.
Amlaidh straightened and narrowed his eyes. He was nearing the end of the cave, which meant he would have to be at his absolute best in order to not disappoint his contact.

The domed room of the cave wasn’t terribly large. It was barely large enough to hold the vertical pipe standing against the back wall. Nonetheless, when he spoke, his voice echoed as if they were in a large interior.

“I have come as requested,” said Amlaidh, bowing slightly.

“It is good to see you again,” greeted a deep voice. Amlaidh fought the urge to gag at the stench coming from the end of the cave. He knew that the man wasn’t well. In fact, he was not even a man, at least not in the traditional sense. The being before him had lost most of what made him a Zander long ago. He’d had to resort to living inside a hazy tube that kept him alive by pumping foul-smelling plasma through his veins. He could leave the tube only once every few cycles, and even then he was barely strong enough to do anything beyond walk. “I was afraid that you would not show yourself, Amlaidh. Few would venture to such a planet as this.”

Amlaidh gritted his teeth under his closed lips. Did he think him a coward? “Of course I came. For you, I would traverse the entire universe if need be.”

The voice from within the tube reverberated through the cave. “That is good to hear. Because I have a mission for you. One that will prove to be your most challenging one yet. Do you think yourself ready?”

“I’m more than ready for any task you have for me.” Amlaidh stared at the tube, wishing the frame within it wasn’t so blurry. It was impossible to gauge the man’s reactions within the murkiness.

“Let us hope you are, because my future, your destiny, and the course of the universe hinges on your success.” There was a long pause. “We wouldn’t want another failure again like the one in Nimue.”

“That was out of my contro—” He bit his tongue. The man before him cared nothing for excuses. The only thing that registered with him were results. “Allow me to prove my worth to you.”

There was a long silence, followed by a series of sickly coughs. Amlaidh waited without uttering a word. Pumping plasma into one’s veins was not natural, and this occasional loud outburst was just one of the side effects. Hearing the ruckus made the irony of the situation even more vivid. The man lived on the brink of death, a shell of his former self. Yet, every time Amlaidh stood before him, he felt unworthy and exposed, as if he were the one who had resorted to such a pathetic form of living.

“Amlaidh!” called the man quite suddenly. “You’re to travel to the one of the moons of the Celtia system, Chas. There you’ll find a boy living with the Alioths, one who is known as Xalen. You will bring him to me. Alive.”

A boy from the Alioths? Amlaidh had always been able to take tidbits of information and see the bigger picture, but the need for a nobody Alioth was something that he had no answer for.

“Is there a problem, Amlaidh?”

“No. No problem. I will do as you have requested.” He took a breath, forming the words as he’d rehearsed them back in the ship. “There was one other matter I wished to speak about.”

“I’m listening.”

“It’s about the Deargs. They appear and kill people all over the universe, many who are innocent. Isn’t there something you could do to put an end to this? Destroying an army base or a Bastion embassy I understand. I see no use in killing women and children.”

“Are you questioning my authority?” The white tube grew a crimson red.

Amlaidh staggered back. It wasn’t out of fear of harm that he retreated, he knew the man had no power to harm him, not directly at least. It was the fear of disappointing him, just like he had all those years ago. “No…no, sir. I simply thought—”

“Leave the thinking to me. I’m Yashvir, The beginning and end of this universe. I will not be questioned.”

Amlaidh understood that the conversation was over. “I will do as you have commanded.” He bowed slightly and turned, walking quickly out of the cave. He had a target to capture, a target that would prove to the man that he was a worthy successor.
I won’t fail you. I promise, Father.

ΩΩΩ

“Get back down, Beatrix,” said her mother. “The guards will see you.”

“I don’t care,” said the blue-eyed girl, she ran her hand through her brown hair and hopped atop a large rock. From there she had a clear view of the entire tribe, from old lady Magnes to her childhood friend Lista. They, along with the other members of her small tribe, were spread across the green field, packing the last of their belongings in the dark cases the Bastion had provided.

“People of Palek!” she screamed. “My entire life I’ve heard of the great deeds we’ve accomplished. It was our people who first colonized this planet when it was deemed uninhabitable. It was our ancestors who defended it against the ravenous storms and turned the land into one that is prosperous. It was our men who went to war against the destroyer of world’s and fought bravely for the Bastion, taking out more of Yashvir’s creatures than any other battalion our size.” A few people stopped what they were doing to give her a quick glance, but most continued with their task.
I have to get through to them
. “Are we now simply supposed to stand aside while our land is stolen by the Bastion? People of Palek,” she raised her fist into the air, “join me. We must fight for our land!”

Beatrix breathed heavily, waiting for her people to rally behind her and fight against the injustice that was being committed against them. But instead, they gazed at the ground as they continued to fill the leather cases with the few possessions they could carry.

“Get down, Beatrix!” hissed her mother through her teeth. “The guards will—”

“What do we have here?” asked a Bastion guard in a loud snort. He walked with long strides, stopping to look at the girl. He pulled on his long mustache with one hand, and rubbed his oversized belly with the other. “Another Palek insurgent looking to stir up trouble?”

Beatrix’s mother, a short, slim woman with a myriad of wrinkles across her tired face stepped in front of the guard. “She’s not looking to start any trouble, sir.”

“What nonsense is she spewing? From where I was standing it sounded as if she was trying to start an uprising.”

“What if I was? Don’t—” began Beatrix.

The older lady pulled her daughter behind her. “She means nothing by it. She has a big mouth, but she means well.”

“I’ll be merciful just this once. But you best keep her under control.” He glanced hungrily down Beatrix’s low-cut blouse and licked his cracked lips. “I wouldn’t want to come back to pay your luscious daughter a
personal
visit.”

“I will.” The woman spoke rapidly. It was the way her voice always got when she was nervous.

The guard turned, leaving behind a red-faced Beatrix. “Why did you stop me, Mom? Someone has to put an end to this.”

“Shhhhh …” the woman brought her finger to her lips. “Don’t you love me?”

Beatrix’s features softened. “Of course I do. Why would you ask something like that?”

“Because you know I’ve lost everything. Your father and my brother both died trying to keep our land from the Bastion. In fact…” She motioned to the people around them folding their tents into neat, thick rectangles. “There is no one from our tribe who has not lost someone. All our men have been killed, and now you would have me lose you as well?”

Beatrix stiffened.
Why did her mother always have to make her feel guilty?
“I love you, just like I love our people. That is why I’m trying to fix this injustice!”

The woman shook her head. “So headstrong.” The way she said it made it sound as if it was a negative attribute. “Your father and uncle were the same way. It did them no good, did it?”

Scowling, Beatrix said, “At least they didn’t stand by while our land was being stolen from under our very noses. They died defending us. Defending you!”

“Enough!” The woman’s usually kind eyes turned vicious. “Ever since you were a little girl you’ve been trying to fix every wrong, but the world doesn’t work that way, Beatrix. You’ve only lived seventeen cycles, I don’t expect you to understand, but I do expect my daughter to obey my command. You will keep quiet and pack your things!”

Wordless and shaking, Beatrix turned her back on her mother, sprinting away from the helpless sheep her people had become. She ran and ran, not stopping until she reached the tall pine tree that rose on the outskirts of the prairie. A tear dripped from her eyes as she ran her finger over the carving her father and she had etched into the tree all those cycles ago. Her eyes closed.

This is our home
, muttered her father. She was that little girl all over again. She coughed as his father’s strong aroma after a day’s work at the fields filled her nostrils. With his strong hands, he threw Beatrix over his shoulder, talking as he walked.
It is where my father’s father, and his father’s father lived out their life. And it is where you will one day raise your family. We must cherish it and protect it.

Her eyes opened. There was no father. No more scent of mud. No strong arms to cradle her safely. All that was left was anguish, dark and bleak. Anguish at having lost her father and uncle. Anguish at having been unable to protect their land. Hours later, as she boarded the Bastion ship relocating them to another moon, that anguished turned into an icy fury.

Her mother rested a hand on her shoulder, Beatrix’s rage was replaced by a look of defeat. It was the same look that was shared by every woman, child, and elder who surrounded her.

As the ship rose into the sky, ready to take them to their new home, Beatrix stared at the steel floor. She had no desire to look out the window as the Bastion architects scoured Palek, deciding where they would defile the land by erecting their steel buildings. The young girl’s knuckles turned white as she balled her hand into a fist. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming.