The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence (63 page)

Darq grinned and raised his glass. Ookami did also, and they clinked the glasses together. ‘To interesting times,’ said Darq.

Darq had intended to speak with Thiede alone concerning certain things that Divozenky had told him, but ultimately decided that Lileem should also be included in the conversation, simply because a lot of what he had to say concerned her. They met at Thiede’s apartment in Phaonica. Thiede had spent a couple of weeks refurbishing the rooms, so as to make a completely new home. Now, it was an airy abode of simplistic design.

Thiede conducted them into his sitting room, where jewel-colored tasseled cushions were arranged upon the floor; they were the only ostentatious touch in an otherwise fairly bare yet elegant chamber. The room was at the back of the palace, so faced the hills rather than the ocean. The day was overcast, so Thiede had drawn down the window blinds. The room was lit by soft lamplight and sandalwood incense filled the air.

Househara brought out hot spiced wine and thin orange-flavored biscuits, which they arranged upon a low table as Thiede’s guests sat down.

‘This is a lovely room,’ Lileem said and then laughed. ‘How many times have I said
that
over the past few days?’

‘You like Immanion?’ Thiede asked, handing her a glass of wine held in a silver casing with a handle.

Lileem accepted the cup. ‘I do. Very much. But then I like Shilalama too. This room wouldn’t be out of place there.’

Thiede smiled. ‘Opalexian and I no doubt share a liking for soothing environments.’ He gestured at Darq. ‘Well, now you’re here and you want to talk, so please, let’s not waste any more time. We can indulge ourselves in small talk later.’

Darq inclined his head. ‘OK.’ He turned to Lileem. ‘I know how long you’ve worked in Shaa Lemul and why you kept doing it. You wanted to know about our origins. It’s something Thiede also wants to know, and now I can tell you what Divozenky revealed to me about it.’

Lileem’s eyes were wide. ‘Go on…’

Darq looked at Thiede. ‘Wraeththu were created deliberately, as you suspected.’

Thiede nodded, but did not interrupt.

‘Opalexian was not the first experiment,’ Darq continued, ‘but she was the first successful attempt, in that she survived, even if she didn’t fulfill all the expectations her creators had had. She
is
unique. You came after her.’

Thiede shifted upon his cushion, rested his chin in one hand. ‘So, the most important question: who created us?’

Darq ducked his head. ‘I’ll explain. The Zehk have always considered humanity to be tainted, because their blood had mingled with the rebel Zehk's. The fact was that humanity’s treatment of this world, through the governments and corporations that were controlled by the descendents of the rebels, was affecting Divozenky’s essence. The Zehk felt they had to act to preserve this realm from further depredation. Divozenky was somewhat affronted by this, because she’s quite capable of taking action herself if things get too bad on her skin, as it were. She felt that humanity, and the Krim Sri too, were simply undergoing a change. It was like puberty; perhaps uncomfortable, but essential. She saw humans as being like stroppy teenagers, belligerent and selfish, because that’s simply part of growing up.

‘But anyway, the Zehk didn’t have her perception or patience. They were concerned only about her resources. It was they who subtly influenced a certain scientist to create a new being, what she supposed would be a kind of super human. Falling fertility levels through pollution meant that something had to be done. Certain animals in the wild were already subject to gender alteration. An agent of the Zehk gave this woman the knowledge to create an androgynous being that would be genetically superior to homo sapiens. She and her team unwittingly created the race that would supplant their own kind. She was intoxicated by the knowledge she’d received, but she didn’t know everything.’

Thiede nodded. ‘It’s what I’ve suspected for a while, almost down to the fine detail.’

Darq drew in his breath, because he wasn’t sure how Thiede would feel about what he would say next. ‘Your father knew what you were, Thiede. The place where you lived as a child, the facility where your father worked was where the idea for Wraeththu was born.’

Thiede frowned. ‘But they took me to doctors and so on. They thought I was a freak.’

‘Your mother did,’ Darq said. ‘She was an unwitting guinea-pig. She thought she simply had fertility treatment, but it was more than that.’

Thiede frowned.  ‘I see. Of course this shouldn’t matter now…’

Lileem reached out to touch Thiede’s arm. ‘You’re allowed to feel something about this,’ she said. ‘It must be a shock.’

‘I don’t know if it’s that,’ Thiede said. He looked at Darq. ‘I ran away, I escaped, so I must have ruined their plans, whoever
they
were.’

Darq shook his head. ‘No, Thiede. You might think that you escaped a life you hated, but in reality you were…
released.
’

‘Like a virus,’ Thiede said. He exhaled slowly. ‘I did their work for them. What an astounding revelation.’

There was a silence, which Lileem eventually broke. ‘What about Kamagrian?’ she asked. ‘If Opalexian wasn’t the complete success that her creators wanted, then why are there so many of us?’

‘That’s because Kamagrian is a Wraeththu tribe,’ Darq said, ‘just like any other.’

Lileem laughed impulsively, then sobered. ‘What do you mean?’

Darq gestured at her. ‘Well, that’s a slight exaggeration. Women can be incepted, by Kamagrian or even hara. I’ve proved that.’

‘But you’re different.’

Darq shrugged. ‘I know, and the first hara clearly were incapable of incepting females, but things are changing. Not that it’s too relevant now, since inceptions have become few. The fact is that an incepted female could turn out to be either har or parage. An incepted male is always har.’

Lileem put her hands to her face. ‘I can’t believe it. All this time we’ve been so wrong. How do we tell the difference?’

Darq poured himself more wine. ‘Kamagrian lean towards a soume aspect,’ he said, ‘and certainly have superior psychic abilities to Wraeththu, but essentially they’re not that different from hara. A lot of it is down to how individuals see themselves. Kamagrian identify with the soume aspect more, not just physically, but in another more spiritual sense. Divozenky told me that if a har or parage leans more towards one aspect, it shouldn’t be seen as wrong, or as being like a human. We’ll never be that. We are what we are, and we should be free to express ourselves as we like. There are different spiritual facets to soume and ouana. The terms male and female don’t accurately apply to them; we just use them for convenience, because that’s what first generation hara understood. It’s our job to expand knowledge and experience, to truly embrace our potential.’

Lileem pursed her lips. ‘This sounds like paradise to me, but we can’t get away from the fact that very strange things happen if a parage takes aruna with a har.’

Darq nodded. ‘We’ll need to undertake our own experiments,’ he said, ‘because Divozenky wouldn’t tell me everything. She said that she’d give us information about the past, but we should discover the future for ourselves. For that, of course, we’ll need Opalexian’s co-operation.’

Lileem groaned.

‘There is always a downside to every miracle,’ Thiede said sardonically. He took a biscuit and bit into it. Darq thought Thiede looked somewhat dazed, which was unusual for him, but perhaps not that surprising, given what he’d heard.

‘Kamagrian are not like Opalexian,’ Darq said. ‘She
is
unique. She’s very strong psychically, but as an androgyne, she can’t procreate. That was why she was a failure and Thiede wasn’t.’ He gestured at Thiede. ‘Well, I know you haven’t actually had harlings yourself, but those you incepted have.’ He turned back to Lileem. ‘What I’m really glad to tell you is that Kamagrian as a whole are as capable of reproduction as any other har.’

‘Are you sure about that?’ Lileem asked. ‘No parazha have ever had harlings or...’ she grinned, ‘…parazharlings!’

Darq grinned also. ‘I don’t know about that, but I do know that their views of aruna have been influenced by Opalexian, and she’s desired to maintain a certain status quo. Have any of you have actually tried to make pearls?’

Lileem pulled down the corners of her mouth. ‘I really can’t say. I know
I
haven’t thought of it, but that’s just me. I’m not exactly the domestic type.’

‘Well, when you go to Shilalama, it’s something you can discuss with your tribe,’ Darq said.

‘You can be sure that I will!’

Thiede’s expression was thoughtful. ‘There are political implications in this that it’s Wraeththu’s job to address,’ he said. ‘Parazha born to hara shouldn’t be cast out or regarded as unnatural.’ He looked at Darq. ‘This will require education. Hara fear Kamagrian harlings, because they are seen as symbols of reverting to a human state. They’ll need to get over that. If a parage is born to a har, it should be her choice whether she leaves her tribe to become Roselane or stays with them. Do you agree, Lileem?’

‘In principle,’ she said. ‘This information is all too new to make such judgments. As you said, it’ll require education and discussion. But it presents astounding possibilities, to say the least.’

‘Even I can see that it does,’ Darq said, ‘and I have little knowledge or experience of the situation. As far as I see it, Wraeththu and Kamagrian should work towards making hara understand that parazha aren’t freaks but simply a variation.’

Lileem nodded. ‘We still can’t ignore that a har and a parage can cause striking effects on reality, if they come together physically. As you said, this must be studied, but then I’ve always thought that.  What we need is the freedom and openness to do it. We know more about the otherlanes now.’ She sighed. ‘You know, Mima and I always thought we were har. It was just others who told us we weren’t.’  She grimaced. ‘Opalexian isn’t going to like any of this one little bit, Darq.’

‘She’ll have to accept it,’ Thiede said. ‘She can’t hide her head in the sand any longer.’

‘Well,’ Lileem said, ‘she was afraid of her parazha taking aruna with hara and then popping out of existence. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear, really. To give her the benefit of the doubt, I think she was mainly concerned about our safety.’

‘Divozenky spoke to me about you specifically,’ Darq said.

Lileem’s eyebrows went up. ‘Really? What did she say?’

‘Just that you are Kamagrian’s natural leader.’

Lileem blinked a few times. ‘She said that?’

Darq nodded. ‘She said that Opalexian should be like Thiede, a spiritual mentor, the highest of hienamas, but leadership should fall to a parage with the proper understanding and capabilities. That’s you! Congratulations.’

Lileem didn’t react with embarrassment as Darq expected. ‘I know you’re right,’ she said. ‘I
am
the natural archon of Roselane. There were many things I was unhappy with when I lived in Shilalama. I’m not so modest as to pretend I’m not itching to get back there and make changes. But first there’s Opalexian to deal with.’

‘Oh dear,’ Thiede said, smiling, ‘does this mean I have to go and talk to her?’

‘Perhaps you should,’ Lileem said. ‘She looks on you as a brother, despite the fact you’ve always disagreed on things.’ She put a hand on one of Thiede’s arms. ‘Will you help me? I’m not sure Opalexian sees herself as being a distanced mentor for her kind. She was always reclusive, but it was clear who held the reins in Roselane.’

‘Of course I’ll help you,’ Thiede said. ‘It’s about time Opalexian and I overcame our differences. Some fur might fly, but…’

‘I think she already knows how things will be,’ Darq said. ‘Divozenky didn’t imply you’d have a problem. You might be surprised when you get back home, Lileem. Opalexian might simply have been waiting for you to return.’

‘Hmm, I hope you’re right,’ Lileem said. ‘You didn’t see what she was like when I had my little fling with Terez! She’s against the idea of parazha and hara being together. Even if she allowed me to lead, she’d still advocate separatism.’ She raked her fingers through her hair. ‘Well, dealing with her will be part of my job. I can brace myself to confront it. And now I’m armed with information that comes from the greatest source possible; our own world.’

Darquiel felt he was working systematically through a list of jobs that had to be accomplished. He saved the most difficult until last: Loki. They met fairly regularly, which was unavoidable in Phaonica, but did not converse about the one thing they really needed to lay to rest.

Loki wondered if Darq would ever talk about it, and harbored the frightening paranoia that what he’d done would be a monstrous specter hanging between them for the rest of their lives. He could see how much Pellaz loved Darq, and that was difficult to accept. Loki was no longer the golden harling who’d never had cause to say sorry. He knew, from the moment he’d come back to his senses in Thanatep, that life could never be the same for him again. He felt that hara treated him with wariness now. They were always too jovial around him, as if they were humoring him. Cal was still the same, of course, and often tried to initiate a deep discussion, but Loki couldn’t bear the thought of it. He saw the concern in Cal’s eyes and hated it. He didn’t want pity.

The first thing Loki had had to face on his return to Immanion was a series of tests at the Infirmary to make sure the influence of the Aasp no longer remained in his mind. That was humiliating. He
had
let Zikael influence him. He’d done the very thing he’d vowed he’d never do. He had let his family down. It didn’t matter how many times Cal and Caeru reassured him they did not blame him for anything; he blamed himself. Pellaz asked Loki to work for him closely, clearly in an effort to make him feel better, and there were frequent visits to Freygard when he could talk things over with Galdra. But even though Galdra, like Cal, was keen for Loki to open up to him, Loki found it difficult because he felt so ashamed.

Also, Loki could not help but feel he was an insignificant piece of rock in comparison to the blazing sun of harakind that was Darquiel. Maybe his brother was an aberration, as Zikael had insisted, but he was not evil. He was simply a har with greater abilities than most. He could have turned out bad, but he hadn’t.