In
the central desert of the planet Tetra, two days after the battle
on A'ya's ship
The nose of the Sabre swung over the sand through a slowing turn
on its nosewheel as the turbines spun down. A rapid application
of the brakes made the nose of the battered craft bob a little,
but the dampners soon stopped that undesired movement. Facing
the craft was a snarling and barking blue dog who wasn't shy about
showing her disapproval of strangers coming too close to the habitat.
Her teeth were bared and the deep blue fur on her back raised
fully. Flare stood her ground angrily until a familiar voice shouted
to her from an open side window of the cockpit.
"FLARE, YOU JUGHEAD, GET THE HELL OUTTA THE WAY!"
Flare froze with her ears straight up. That voice sounded so familiar!
The voice returned.
"DAMMIT, FLARE, MOVE!!"
There was no longer any doubt in her mind that her Master had
returned in this strange looking metal thing. Her tail swung so
hard and so rapidly that her large rump oscillated as well. Crooning
her desire for William to come out, Flare ran in circles as she
bobbed and jumped, getting completely carried away with excitement.
Unfortunately, Flare was still performing her antics in the way
of the taxiing Sabre. William finally could only shut down the
engines with a quick curse. He would have to carry Lillith the
last quarter of a mile.
It had taken two long days to fly back to Tetra. In all that time,
Lillith remained silently strapped in her seat without moving
or taking a breath. Her bruises darkened, particularly a large
area along her right side which had become so terribly blackened
that William wondered if it were gangrenous. He didn't even know
if that was possible or even what he could have done about it
if it were. William had never seen her in such a condition before,
but he did remember the boastful warnings of A'ya concerning Supremis
death. "It's in the eyes", she had said. So he had tenderly
raised one of Lillith's eyelids to see for himself and it was
there that he saw the indication of a life still present. A tiny
luminescent helix danced merrily within her pupil. To William,
its meaning didn't go beyond a sign that his lover hadn't been
killed. Whatever else it meant beyond that, he didn't care. She
was alive, although barely so.
It was, he soon recalled, a last connection with the Matrix of
the Universe. She was in a Supremis Coma, a deep comatose state
of energy management where her body shut down when there was too
much damage for it to regenerate itself normally. Nearly overwhelmed
with the devastating destruction to her body, it now fought against
giving in to that destruction, putting all of its energies and
resources into emergency repairs so that she might live. He knew
that there was still a chance that her injuries might be too severe
for her body to cope with, even in this extreme state. If that
were the case, then she would quietly die. No grand pronouncement,
no dramatic moment, just a subtle change in a still body from
living to dead.
It was hard for him, seeing her like that and being unable to
do anything about it. He fought against grieving; fought against
even the thought that she might have already died just a brief
moment before he checked her yet again. A silly thought kept repeating
to his mind. A thought that told him that she wouldn't dare die
without his permission. That was a promise they had made to each
other and Lillith always kept her word. Always.
Inside of her was a battle over whether her wounds would heal
or whether they were too overwhelming for her system to deal with.
It was that simple and that complex and William could do nothing
but wait to see the outcome.
The rear hatch of the Sabre swung noisily to the side and the
ladder deployed with a loud scraping sound. The noises told William
that there probably wasn't a drop of lubricant on the whole damn
ship, but he would deal with that later. Now he gently carried
Lillith's motionless body in his arms, down the ladder while he
kept an eye on an overenthusiastic blue dog.
Flare seemed to sense something about the situation and calmed
immediately. William stopped for a moment when his boots crunched
the Tetra sand to let Flare sniff along Lillith's arm. Nudging
the same arm once, the dog watched it swing with only dead weight
to move it. Golden eyes looked up at William, filled with new
concern. There's something wrong here, they seemed to say,
please, please make it right again. Doing what she could,
Flare's huge tongue slathered repeatedly along the dangling arm.
"Alright, alright, Flare. That's enough", William said
calmly. He understood how this was affecting the dog. Flare immediately
stopped and waited for her master to tell her what she could do
to please him.
"Where's Phil?" His voice had a touch of excitement
to it to encourage her. "Go get Phil", he called out.
Flare's ears perked straight up just before she galloped off in
the direction of the habitat to find him. William looked down
at Lillith and nodded once. "Alright, honey, let's get you
home."
A blur raised tall columns of sandspray as it wove through the
nests and rocks of the Tetra desert. Tetrites turned to look at
the phenomenon that covered the quarter of a mile between the
battered spacecraft and the Protector's habitat in less than three
seconds. They knew.
The Protector and her mate were home.
The
bedroom of the habitat, that evening
Lillith was lying on her back, her head supported by large pillows
and her body covered with a single white sheet. All around her
were her favorite small, satin tourist pillows, the multicolored
pride of her collection. An ancient oil lamp burned brightly on
the table next to the bed, the only source of light in the darkened
room. She didn't move. She didn't breathe.
At the side of the bed, William rested his head in his hands as
he supported himself on his elbows. He leaned forward on the bed.
Sighing a bit, William reached across the bed to pat a damp rag
lightly over her forehead. Setting the rag down on the table,
he took up her hand, cupping it between his own hands. He kissed
the side of her little finger tenderly as his eyes searched her
face.
"You know, kitten", he spoke quietly, as if trying to
caress her with his voice. "You know, I must have told you
that I love you a hundred times, maybe a thousand. I don't know.
But there's something that I need to tell you now. I should have
said something sooner, but it's all a bit silly. I guess I just
felt funny about saying this to you." William shifted forward
a bit. Lillith remained still. "Lillith? I don't know if
you can hear me, honey, but I want to tell you. I want you to
know that you're the finest....." William's emotions were
catching up with him, the words choking away in his throat. He
took a moment before trying again, his voice filled with respect.
"You came for me without a moment's hesitation, didn't you.
You did what you did for me. You could have been killed out there,
I know that. You could have been killed but still you came for
me. What have I ever done to deserve that? What have I ever done
to deserve you? Lillith, of all the beings I've ever known...."
Again, his voice caught in his throat, his eyes swelling with
tears. Try as he might, he just could not force such a deeply
held emotion out for her to hear. He finally lowered his head
to her side to bury his words away in a smaller, more private
world among the satin pillows.
"Oh, God, Lillith, I wish I were even half the person you
are."
Near
the habitat, two days later
Mina was not an uncommon name for a young Tetrite female. A lot
of little females were named Mina. Over the years, everyone forgot
what it was shortened from, but it didn't really matter. Mina
was a fine name as it was. A fine and common name. Even for an
uncommon little female, like Mina.
Mina was about the size of a softball, not including her legs.
Covered with dark brown fur, Mina was as inconspicuous a Tetrite
as any Tetrite could be. To put it simply, Mina looked like hundreds
of other Tetrite youngsters. The thing that set this Mina apart
from the others was that she was, well, to be polite about it,
curious in a rather bold way.
"I REQUIRE INFORMATION!"
Phil nearly stumbled from surprise at being hailed so loudly on
the path to the habitat, Mina's little pixie-like voice was still
quite capable of sounding rather demanding as this small, frantic
ball of fur scampered right up to Phil as if she were being chased.
Almost stumbling into him, Mina let loose with a frantic monologue
to a stunned and very confused Phil.
"I simply must know about the condition of the Mother of
Us All! I have received a great deal of information concerning
her that doesn't make sense to me because this information is
different from that information and it simply won't do because
something must be invalid and invalid information is never welcome
and I thought that you might be able to help me know about the
Protector and..."
"Mina, MINA!", Phil calmly interrupted. "The Mistress
is still comatose. Nothing has changed."
Mina blinked once. "I am particularly concerned for the William!"
Phil nodded. "As are we all, Mina. He remains at her side,
never leaving it except to tend to his young."
Mina nodded her approval. "He is nice!"
"Yes, most admirable behavior. Our Protector chose her mate
well." Phil turned to continue on his way, but Mina followed.
"I think the William needs my help now." Mina was not
asking. Her words sounded more like an announcement. Phil stopped
and turned back to her as she walked directly into him.
"And what...oh, my goodness, Mina, watch where you are going....And
what do you base this assumption on?"
Mina never skipped a beat. "Because he does not have my help
now!"
Phil thought a moment, but couldn't find a way to argue the point
without feeling silly. He merely sighed and resumed his original
course. Mina, of course, was at his side. The two Tetrites crested
the hill as Mina looked up at Phil with another thought.
"You need more legs."
Phil sighed and nodded.
In
the bedroom of the habitat, that evening
William had put his daughter to bed and took up his nightly vigil
at Lillith's bedside. The bruises seemed to be fading now, particularly
the largest of them along her side. William was starting to feel
that maybe the worst was over. Still, he'd feel a lot better about
the whole thing if she'd just....
Suddenly, Lillith lurched upward violently into a steep arch,
gulping for air with loud wheezing sounds. William was so startled
that he fell backward on his chair, tumbling to the floor with
a bang. Lillith continued to flail on the bed, her mouth wide
open, sounding like someone who nearly drowned but who had somehow
just made it to the surface in time. Her hands gripped the sheets
tightly, pulling them up from the mattress of the bed.
William had just recovered and reached the bed when her eyes flung
open wide, her body still struggling wildly. Then, just as suddenly
as she had started, she dropped limply back onto the bed. She
now panted rapidly, out of breath. Her eyes darted quickly around
as if she didn't know where she was. Then she saw William.
"Will'm? Will'm, I..." She barely got her weak words
out before William took her hand and leaned close, smiling.
"Yes, dear, yes, I'm here!" His broad smile widened
even more. She was back!
Lillith returned a weak smile to him just before her eyes moved
quickly around the room again. She shook her head just a bit as
if she didn't believe what she was seeing.
"Will'm? Am I... am I dead?" William laughed as he kissed
her fingers.
"No, kitten. You're home with me. You're fine."
Lillith's blue eyes closed as if in a prayer of thanks, but simply
said, "Good."
William squeezed her hand. "That's what I think too, honey",
he said. "How do you feel?"
Lillith slowly opened her eyes again. "I feel fine, I guess.
Just a little sore. Just a little sore's all. The baby. Where's
the baby?!" William soothed her with a light caress and pleasant
shush.
"She's fine, honey, she fine. She sleeping right over there.
See her?"
Lillith turned her head in the direction that William had nodded.
A glint of blue flashed momentarily in her eyes before she smiled.
The walls were no barrier to her sight.
"Aw, my baby", she whispered. "My little Mara."
"Would you like to hold her, Lillith?"
"No, not now." Lillith momentarily closed her eyes as
she slowly shook her head. "No, let her sleep. I'd hate to
wake her. I think I'll get up though."
William stood back, still holding her hand as he helped her out
of bed. The bruises were all completely gone now. He noticed that
she looked somehow different, a little more buffed, maybe even
a bit more powerful looking. She rose to her feet and slipped
forward in one swift movement to wrap her arms around his neck.
She nibbled along his neck playfully until she could whisper into
his ear. There was an emotion to her voice that raised goosebumps
everywhere on William's body.
"I have you back", she purred. "I have you back
and I will protect you always. I promise. Oh, darling, I promise!"
She held him tightly, as if in doing so affirmed her promise to
him. They remained like that in silence, holding each other, thankful
that they could, until William broke the spell.
"Lillith, are you hungry, honey?" A rapid, silent nod
could be felt along his neck. "Want me to make you some waffles?"
Again the silent nod was felt, this time with a light kiss as
a nice addition. William smiled. "You want me to carry you,
don't you." A muffled giggle preceded a third silent nod.
William slipped his hand under her firm, contoured butt to hold
her. "Okay, honey. Gear up."
Supported by her arms still tightly around his neck, Lillith slowly
raised her legs and wrapped them around William's lower waist.
The heels of her cupped feet pressed firmly into the opposite
sides of his ass. Deep within him, William loved when she held
on to him in this way. Even without him saying a word about it,
she knew how much he enjoyed it too.
So it always was between these lovers on Tetra. For the other,
always for the other. Everything else, they knew, came from that
and always took care of itself.
As he walked out of the bedroom on the way to the kitchen, William
remarked, "I spoil you, don't I." The blonde head buried
in his neck nodded rapidly as Lillith's muffled giggling made
him laugh too.
William heated the ancient waffle iron with his heat vision to
prepare it to make another pair of waffles. At the table, Lillith
rapidly filled her cheeks with the bits from the stack of waffles
already set before her. William thought it wise to slow her down.
"Easy, Lillith, I can't make them as fast as you eat them."
"Yumph ungy!"
"Yes, Lillith", he insisted, "I know you're hungry
but slow down anyway. You don't want Mara to see you eating like
that, do you?"
William received a very apologetic look from a face whose cheeks
were now so overloaded with waffle bits that the lips of that
face were reduced to a mere pucker. It was obvious that the face
was unable to support communication until the rapid chewing now
underway eased the pressure on the mouth a bit more. William shook
his head in dismay.
"And to think it was your charm that first attracted me to
you."
"Whoovies!" said Lillith with great difficulty as she
waved her fork back and forth across her chest. William nodded.
"Yes, dear, your boobies too. Those attracted me too."
William moved behind her and kissed her on the shoulder. "And
your eyes, and your hair, and your smile, and...."
Lillith had a twinkle in her eye as William listed every part
of her anatomy from top to bottom, each identified as the particular
component that first attracted him to her. He finally finished
the list just as she swallowed the last of the waffle bits. She
gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving a trace of syrup.
He turned his face toward hers, only an inch away, and whispered.
"More waffles?"
Just then, the sound of a baby came from upstairs. Not a full
cry yet, but unmistakable sounds that Mara was awakening. The
full cry was about to happen at any moment. Lillith sprung to
her feet, nearly upending William.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Mara's up! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"
She appeared to run lightly on her toes as she scampered from
the kitchen, nearly running over Phil and Mina as they came in.
A quick sidestep by Phil prevented any problem. On seeing her
pass by, Phil called out to her.
"The warmest of good evenings, Mistress! It is good to see
you conscious!"
"Hi-eee, Phil!" she called back as she retreated quickly
up the stairs. "Be right back!"
Phil continued his original course into the kitchen where William
was saving what he could of the waffle batter.
"Hi,ya, Phil", William said. "Want some waffles?"
"I have information that waffles are traditionally eaten
in the morning, sir."
William shook his head. "Not around here. Want some?"
"Indeed, sir. Will you join me?"
"Sure, might as well finish this stuff up. I think Lillith's
done. How about your friend?"
"My what, sir?"
Lillith lit the oil lamp in the
room with her eyes before gently raising her daughter from the
crib. The large blue eyes of the tiny baby fixed on her mother's
face as Lillith spoke to her gently. A subtle smile would come
and go from time to time as Mara watched her mother's face smile
too. A contented coo, ah, or ah-boo would
come from Mara's mouth, while Lillith was a bit more articulate.
"Hello, my little precious one! Mommy's here! You're so cute,
yes you are! Teekoo, teekoo!" The Velorian word for `tickle'
always made Mara smile, especially when it was accompanied by
the light touch of a finger under her chin. "Mommy missed
you, precious one. Did you miss Mommy?" A series of vowel
sounds came from Mara, as if she were saying "You bet, Mom!
I really missed you!", at least that was how Lillith took
them to mean. The smile on Lillith's face grew wide, her nose
scrunching a bit. "I love you, velorina. Mommy loves you
so much!"
The baby began to make suckling motions with her mouth, so Lillith
turned the baby to guide her to her mother's breast. The feel
of the baby nursing on her nipple again filled Lillith with such
a warmth of contentment that...
A bright light flashed once and Lillith found herself suddenly
standing on a jagged ledge of black volcanic rock on the edge
of a huge lava pit. The lava glowed white hot in places, the rest
of it a cherry-red as it boiled angrily beneath her. Lillith stumbled
immediately, almost falling in, but caught her balance in time.
Mara wasn't in her arms and Lillith instantly looked all around
herself in panic! No! she thought, not into the pit!
Nearby, the hooded figure from an old dream stood silently, his
head bowed to hide his face.
"YOU!" Lillith screamed as she charged at the lone figure.
With the slight raising of his bony hand, Lillith was repulsed
by an energy screen. Falling hard on her back, Lillith raised
herself up a bit to scream out at him again.
"Where's my baby? WHERE'S MY BABY!!!"
"How many mothers will be asking that question tonight?",
the figure growled at her. "Yours lives; theirs dies. What
does any of that matter to you? If it were the other way around,
what would that matter to them?"
Lillith was on her feet again, resenting everything that was happening.
"It matters! It all matters!", she said angrily.
Another white flash occurred and Lillith was standing in the middle
of a dark, gray wasteland. Skeletons were strewn everywhere across
a bleak, dead landscape. The daylight sky was black from the fires
that burned in small and large places around them. Nothing there
moved; everything was dead. Behind her, the familiar rough voice
returned.
"The Fallen grows ever more demented and ever more to be
feared. Do you fear?"
Lillith swung around angrily. "I fought A'ya! She took my
mate and threatened my child! I..." The figure raised a hand,
silencing her.
"Do you know this place?" the figure asked calmly. Lillith
looked around again nervously.
"No, I don't think so."
"Do you not? Walk with me."
The figure led the way a few steps ahead of Lillith as they quietly
walked through the carnage. In some places, fresh bodies covered
the bones of the old. This was a place of death. Everything was
destroyed. Not a single tree still had a leaf. There were no dwellings
and no one to live in them if there were. Only the wind made a
sound here as it whipped through the flames and tossed the dark
dust senselessly around in circles. The figure stopped and pointed.
"There life still exists, such as it is."
Huddled beneath a shroud of a torn metal sheet for shelter, a
humanoid mother cradled her baby in her arms as she rocked continuously
before a dim candle. The mother stared straight ahead blankly,
with tombstones for eyes. A song was muttered without melody from
dry lips as she rocked and rocked and rocked. The baby didn't
move nor made any sound at all.
Lillith's eyes flashed blue for an instant as she scanned both
the mother and the baby. She sighed.
"The poor little baby is dead. I should tell the mother."
Just as Lillith took a step, the figure stopped her.
"She knows. Do not disturb her mourning for she too will
be dead soon. That part she does not know."
Lillith felt terrible at what she was seeing. That mother could
have been her, the child could easily have been Mara. It was unforgivable
that it had to be any mother or child anywhere at all. Lillith's
sadness deepened and she could only mutter the question, "Where
is this place?"
The figure turned and began to walk slowly away. "You still
do not know? Come then. Come and leave them. We have other business
here."
Lillith followed, looking back toward the dim candlelight under
the metal shell until they were out of sight. A chill touched
her as the darkness surrounded them. There was an eerie feel to
this place; an ominous, strangeness about it all. A familiarity
that she couldn't quite place. The figure stopped and turned toward
her. His voice croaked terribly as the words escaped.
"Tetra is your planet, but your home is the Universe. If
someone were to come into your home to do harm to it, would you
not stop them?"
Lillith resented what he was suggesting. "I told you! I fought
A'ya already! She was just too much for me, I guess! I dunno!
Where is my baby!"
The figure shook his head within the rags of his hood. "You
care for your own, Protector, and that is good. It is only your
ability to know who of the Universe is truly your own that I put
to the question. Worry not for your baby, for your baby lives.
Worry not for your mate, for your mate awaits your return."
The figure took a step toward her and lowered his voice.
"Worry instead for the full family of the Universe around
you, Protector. Worry and fear for their safety as deeply as you
fear for your daughter's. For your single confrontation with the
Fallen means nothing until the Universe no longer needs to fear.
The fear still exists and death finds more each minute. Your single
combat means nothing, do you hear? It means nothing because nothing
ends with it. You are the key to the ending of it all, Protector.
It is to you whom the Universe turns to for that ending. The fear
rests only on your shoulders since the fate of all in harm's way
cradles in your arms like your baby's sleeping form. Do you fear
what I say to you, Protector? Do you fear my words or do you fear
the Fallen?"
Lillith thought about her encounter with A'ya. She dreaded ever
meeting up with that woman again. She had William and Mara safe
at home now and that was exactly where she wanted to remain. Home,
safe, with those whom she loved so deeply. Her pride made it difficult
to say, but now she had to admit to the question that this hooded
apparition kept putting to her.
"Yes", she murmured, "Yes, I do fear the Fallen
one. She is capable of hurting those I love, so I fear! Is that
what you wanted to know?"
The figure raised his head enough for Lillith to see a small part
of his sneer. "Yes", he said. "That is what I wished
to hear from so great a Protector. So you are capable of fear
after all."
Lillith looked at him as if he were crazy as she waved a hand
in response.
"Of course I can feel fear! Who doesn't? There's all kinds
of creepy stuff around and every time I have to do something to
protect Tetra from something, I'm scared to death! I'm scared
someone will get hurt. I'm scared that I'll have to kill some
big Arion or something. I don't want to hurt anyone but I can't
let anyone hurt the Tetrites or my family! It's just what I do!
I'm not a goddess or something, I'm just me!"
"And that is enough?" The hooded figure sounded incredulous
as Lillith immediately quieted down and looked down as if she
were embarrassed.
"It has to be", she said meekly. "I'm all I am."
The figure reached out, placing his leathery hand under her chin
to raise her face upward.
"Now you know why", he said calmly. "Now you know
why you were chosen. You must fear to know courage. If you do
not know fear, you will never know the wisdom needed to overcome
it. All that is needed is within you, Protector. You are the key."
"I only wish to return home", Lillith pleaded, but the
figure shook his head as he turned away.
"Home? Where does the heart of the Universe call home? Call
anywhere home, Protector, but you will not be able to safely return
to it until this thing is done. Only when all may return to their
homes in safety, will you find your own way home. For if you turn
your back on your Universe to return to your warm, safe home,
then know the consequences."
The figure stepped back from Lillith and pointed at a nearby pile
of debris that instantly burst into flames. The firelight illuminated
them both and a nearby tree in a macabre light.
"Behold, Protector." The hand of the figure raised and
swept upward in a wide arc, guiding her eyes up until she saw
and her mouth fell open with a gasp.
Swinging slowly in the breeze from a creaking branch of the dead
tree, the lifeless and devastated body of Carpathia, Protector
of Tolan, hung by her own cape that was tied tightly around her
neck and to the tree branch. Something or someone, some powerful
force, had literally destroyed her, beat her terribly to death,
and then hung her corpse as a warning or, possibly, just as a
trophy. The sight of her dearest friend hanging dead from a tree
made Lillith collapse to her knees with grief!
"Oh, Carpie!" she cried out as her face distorted into
tears. "Oh, Skietra, Carpie, NO! Oh, nooooo!"
The hooded figure stepped forward.
"You know this place now, do you not? It is all that will
remain of Tolan and so many other worlds. The Fallen awaits, Protector."
"NOOOOO!" Lillith screamed. "NOOOOOO!!!!!"
"Lillith! LILLITH!" William's voice finally broke through
to her conscious mind as he shook her shoulders. Lillith blinked
as if she had just awakened from a bad dream, a look of confusion
filled her eyes. In her arms, Mara suckled hungrily at her breast,
just as she had been doing before she had seemingly been swept
away from her mother's arms. Immediately in front of Lillith,
a very worried William spoke nervously.
"What is it, Lillith? You were yelling! What's wrong?"
Lillith slowly raised her wide eyes to meet his. Her lip trembled
a bit, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I have to go."
The
Fallen continues....
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