Heritage (Under Revision)

Chapter 59: Leon

“You’re looking for something, I can feel it. Tell me what it is,”

“Is this some sort of test? I’m not looking for anything,”

“Oh, trust me Leon, you really are,” Valak says to me, putting his hands out as if he’s holding something.

Before my eyes I see something materialize in them. A sword forms and he holds it out to me, an ancient sword.

“What is this?” I ask, taking the blade in my hands.

“This, my good boy, is the thing that will free my sister from her dwelling place,”

With those words I cast the sword aside.

“How many times do I have to tell you Valak, I didn’t agree to anything yet,”

“And that is the key word, isn’t it? Yet,”

“I’m tired of these mind games the both of you keep playing with me. Send me back, I’m done here,”

“My dear boy you are much too confident for your own breeches. You will leave when I say you will leave,”

“Why do you even care about all of this? This would all mean that your magnum opus would be destroyed and possibly the rest of the galaxy,”

“Because I have a hope. A wish if you will about the conclusion of this,”

Valak walks over to me and places a hand on my shoulder, a more serious expression in place of his usual smug one.

“You don’t understand what it is like to be a creature like us my boy. Our parents are the Celestials: Beings of such magnitude and power that your little mind wouldn’t even be able to comprehend it. They are the raw ingredients that make up us, the Cosmics. We were all bred to fulfill one purpose in this universe. Maintain the balance and nothing else. None of us dared to stray away for fear of the punishment we might receive. You have no idea what it’s like to live an eternity with free will and only serving the one purpose you were given at birth. Even the angels in heaven may choose their path as long as it is righteous. Why can’t we? My hope for my sister is that she will finally be the proof my kind needs to no longer be afraid to choose for themselves. My hope is that you will heal that dark heart inside of her and free her from the pain she feels. What our parents hid...,”

“Hid from whom?”

“Who do you think? Your people have endless names for Him. God, Allah, Adonai, take your pick,”

“Wait...are you telling me that God created all of you Valak?”

“No. I’m saying that He created those who spawned us. God would not have been so cruel about it,”

“What did they do? What did they hide, Valak?”

“It is a fact that a Cosmic is created through the procreation of two Celestials and for whatever reason we are almost always born in pairs. Though we are born as the representations of opposites of the balance, we are still born pure just as any other child. But you see, the All-Father tasked our parents with keeping the balance of the universe in check. The Celestials took that as a very black and white task. So, when we were born they took it upon themselves to burn the essence we represented in to our very souls. For those of us that represented the positive aspects of creation, it wasn’t so bad, although still painful. But for those like Crinza...to watch that kind of agony pained me so...the All-Father was none the wiser and all I wanted to do was cry out to Him. They made my sister’s soul black as night. That’s why she enjoys taking life, Leon. It’s not just her purpose, they made it her passion,” Valak finishes.

I see that green tears are streaming down the Cosmic’s eyes. All I can do is stare down at the black, empty floor; A guilt starts to wrack my mind. A responsibility that’s not mine tugs at me.

“Where’s the sword?” I ask bluntly.

“What did you say?” Valak says not quite able to believe my question.

“Tell me where it is Valak,”

A grateful smile creeps across his lips.

“You’re a good man, Leon,”

Without another word, Valak walks up to me and places both hands on the sides of my head, placing his thumbs on either temple.

“This might be a little jarring. It will most certainly break your mental connection with me. Be sure to catch yourself when you come to this time,”

With a flash, a sea of images swarms my memories. They all start to come together like a movie reel playing, revealing the full image of the location of the sword of Kal’Za, the catalyst to Crinza’s release. The key that keeps her chains bound. As the knowledge sears into my synapses, I feel a break in our link as I wake up, once again, jettisoned in to the air. I catch myself this time.

That conversation took place nearly a month and a half ago. The memory I was given showed me that the sword was being held not in a palace, nor in a temple, but in one of the very few Sekrid museums on the planet. And here I stand, directly in front of it.

It took some convincing, and some very angry looks, but I persuaded Tal to bring me here so I could have a chance to take the blade. She still finds it extremely hard to believe that I had conversed with the Green, but I know she trusts me. I just need to make sure I don’t screw her over with that trust.

“I hope you have a plan, Leon,” Tal says, breaking my thoughts.

I look at her confidently “Don’t worry Tal, I got this,” I say as we walk up the staircase to the entrance.

“How do you know the sword is the key?” Tal asks me as we enter the doors.

“Valak told me so,”

“Besides that. The story doesn’t say that Kal’Za’s sword was the key to sealing Crinza away,”

“Valak’s vision showed me that there was a piece removed from the story so that no one would ever know that there was a way to release her should the knowledge of her existence get out,”

“And you trust him?”

I give Tal a confused look.

“Do you really doubt your own god right now, Tal?”

“This is all very confusing, Leon. I thought Crinza was the only beast of her kind in existence. Now you tell me that there’s many of them scattered across the universe,”

“I know that it’s hard to grasp Tal. I’m still having trouble believing it myself. But I know what I’ve seen, and I’m going to hold on to that. The faster we can make this sword safe from the UEDF and anyone else that wants it, the better,”

Tal and I walk through the large museum that is, unsurprisingly, dedicated entirely to the achievements of the Sekrid people in war. The entire building is like warehouse of display cases with fancy tiling. As we traverse the many rooms, I’m pretty sure we pass through a room that has the entire evolution of Sekrid weaponry in chronological order.

The sheer number of preserved items within this place is astonishing and it shows me just how dedicated to their roots the Sekrid are, regardless of how far they’ve strayed from their original path. As we walk through the halls, we reach a staircase that I suddenly recognize.

“Tal, wait,” I say.

Tal stops and looks over her shoulder.

“Up here. The sword is up here,”

Tal walks over to the staircase and looks up them.

“Are you sure this is the path?” She asks me.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well if it is, then we have a bigger problem than originally thought. This staircase leads directly to the owner of this museum. He’s not someone we want to have a conflict with, regardless of the criminal ramifications. He was known for being particularly brutal in war,”

“Maybe I should go up by myself then,”

Tal gives me the indignant look of a proud soldier.

I put a hand up “That’s not what I mean Tal. I just mean that if I were to get caught it’s going to be less of a problem than if it were you. I could just be a human prisoner who got away. Sure, you’ll get in trouble for me escaping, but it won’t be an instant death sentence,”

Tal sighs deep, giving me that same look she has been lately.

“Make it quick. If he shows up, leave immediately,” She says shortly.

I give a quick nod and give a quick scan around the area before quietly hurrying up the steps towards a heavy metal door at the top. Oddly enough, this door doesn’t have an electronic lock on it and is operated by a deadbolt lock and doorknob. I look in between the space of the door and the doorframe, noticing that the deadbolt isn’t set. Sweat is starting drip down my face as the nervousness hits me.

With a hesitant motion, I grab the doorknob and slowly turn it, cracking the door open and peeking inside. To my extreme relief, this mysterious Sekrid Tal told me about is nowhere to be found. I release the breath that I was holding and step into the room, closing the door behind me.

I quietly move around the room, searching the numerous private display cases that are placed in there. The sword is nowhere to be found. I look around the room in frustration, confused at the fact that the sword is not there. I walk to the desk that is placed near the back of the room and run my hands through the drawers and underneath it.

My hand finally crosses paths with a button that I gladly press.

“My curiosity isn’t such a bad thing now, is it dad?” I mumble to myself as a door on the back-wall glides open to reveal a hidden room.

On the back wall, set on a rack on top of a fine wooden display shelf lays my prize. I give a satisfied grin and step towards the blade. I stand in front of it for a moment, taking in my victory before taking it from the rack. The sword is extremely light to my surprise.

I walk back out towards the desk when I notice the door begin to open. My heart stops mid beat as the owner begins to enter. I hear a voice from below the stairs that causes the Sekrid to turn back towards it, closing the door back over slightly. I quickly press the button beneath his desk and hide underneath it as the door silently glides back closed.

I hear as he finally steps in to the office, closing the door hard and making loud foot falls with heavy boots. They echo closer and closer to the desk until I see them directly in front of me. My heart stops again. With a hope and a prayer, I press the button under the desk again, opening the hidden vault once more.

Instead of looking under the desk, he turns around towards the vault as I hoped he would. He notices the missing sword and runs in to the room. I press the button once more, closing him inside so that he’s unable to see the thief that stole his prized possession.

After the vault closes completely, I quickly scramble out from under the desk and hurry to the door. By the time I reach it, I can hear the sound of screeching metal as his hands press through the seam of the vault doors, beginning to spread them a part.

My movements become even faster after that as I exit the door and rush down the stairs.

With a whispered yell I get Tal’s attention “We need to go now!” I say jumping down the stairs passed her and running for the nearest exit.

To our fortune, there’s an exit just in the next room that’s empty. Tal and I rush out before our luck is squandered, running to her vehicle. Tal is ahead of me at this point and I see her push a button on a device that opens the doors on the vehicle.

Both of us nearly jump into the passenger side door. She slides over to the driver’s side and starts it up, accelerating fast. It seems we had made it out unscathed and we both breathe a deep sigh of relief as we slow down to cruising speed.

I look at Tal and she looks at me.

We both begin to laugh hysterically at the adrenaline rush of the situation. The laughter ends and we both decide it best to sit in silence as Tal drives me back to the cabin.

When we arrive there, she follows me in. After setting the sword in a safe place I turn around and am surprised to see that she’s still standing there.

I raise an eyebrow “Something up,”

“Well...” Tal says taking a book out of a satchel that she’s carrying.

“I told you I would show you the writings. As much as I dislike it, I gave you my word,”

I give a wide smile in gratitude as I remove my military jacket.

“Do you mind if I take the uniform shirt off? As flashy as they are, they really aren’t all that comfortable. No worries, there’s a t-shirt underneath,”

Tal gives an approving nod and I take off the shirt before taking a seat at the small table in the cabin. Tal decides to remove her jacket as well and takes a seat next to me after placing the jacket on the back of her chair. She opens the book and I must admit she was right in what she was saying. There are drawings all over, extremely detailed, depicting brutal acts of various kinds. They’re images of things you only want to see in your nightmares.

The writing is of a very crude nature, almost scribbled on to the pages. Tal’Vira begins translating the various letters for me and what is revealed is a very different picture than the one Valak created for me.

The book is originally written by a Sekrid who is only known as the Mad Sage. He tells the story of how, in his travels, he stumbled upon a cavern that held a black mirror within. When he touched the mirror, many things were revealed to him, the Cosmics drawn within were part of it.

The book doesn’t explain why, but the sage seemed to be more intrigued with the Cosmics than anything else he saw. At one point, he said he had touched the mirror a second time, only to have it try to draw him within. He explained that the mirror was able to pull him in up to his head. What he saw on the other side were horrors he could not even begin to explain.

During the brief time he saw on the other side, the sage writes that he was told six names: Murich, Nalesh, Tol, Proch, Forn, and Quesh. What these Cosmics represented, he did not dare investigate.

After tearing himself from the mirror, the sage took a large stone and smashed it to pieces and left the cavern, documenting everything he saw during his experience. Throughout the book, his writing becomes more and more erratic and paranoid. The Mad Sage constantly reiterated three words: something’s watching me. Sometimes it would be written in during a thought. Other times it would be written in the corner of the page. This continued until, eventually, the journal simply ceases mid-sentence.

Hours pass as we read through the journal and by the time we’re finished, both of us sit back in our chairs disturbed by what we read. Tal stands from the chair, closing the book.

“I should probably be going now,” She says.

I stand up as well “Thank you Tal, I know you didn’t want to do this. It means a lot to me,”

“There is nothing to thank me for,” Tal says in an almost dismissive manner.

She places the book back in her satchel and grabs her jacket, slinging it over one shoulder. She begins to leave. I grab her hand and she stops moving. She looks back and down at our touching hands, then trails her eyes up to my face.

“What are you doing?” She asks me.

I tug on her hand, and with less resistance than the first time I tried, she turns back to me, inches from my face.

“What are you doing?” She repeats with more emphasis.

“I can’t fight this anymore Tal...” I respond, staring into her crimson eyes.

I place a hand on her face. Tal almost shudders at my touch. She closes her eyes, trying hard not to give in to her own feelings.

“We can’t...” She says quietly.

“Crinza does not control my fate, Tal’Vira. I do. And I choose you,”

Tal doesn’t resist as I lean in and kiss her. She’s timid at first, but slowly comes around and begins to kiss me deeper and more passionately. Tal wraps her arms around my neck and I lift her up, carrying her to the bed. Her legs are wrapped around me as I sit down on it so that she’s now straddling me. We stop kissing each other at that moment, our foreheads resting on each other’s, breathing heavily, keeping our eyes closed.

In this moment we know each other completely, opening our eyes at the same time. I become lost in her stare, mesmerized by all the colorful subtleties that accent her vibrant red eyes. We stare into each other’s gaze until we can’t stand it anymore and begin to kiss again.

I start to feel that electricity between our lips once more as my thoughts and feelings transfer to her. This time, however, her thoughts and feelings transfer to me as well. The influx of it all is nearly a mental overload, but the feeling of finally being able to touch her and kiss her overrides my mind as Tal starts to grind on me and squeeze my body in to hers.

She runs her hands down my back until she finds the edge of my t-shirt and stops kissing me to remove it and I take the opportunity to unbutton hers. I don’t take my eyes off of hers until her shirt is completely unbuttoned. I slowly trail my eyes down her face to the narrow path her open shirt has created, exposing a portion of her chest and stomach. I run my hand, my real hand, up this narrow passage, taking in her sounds of pleasure. I slowly move my hand left, exposing one side fully, then do the same to the other. I stare at her now completely exposed chest, taking in every small detail of her toned body.

I look back up into Tal’s eyes that are now staring back at me in wanting. Wanting me to touch and kiss her, to make love to her. I lean in and start to kiss her chest. Tal moans louder as she runs fingers through my hair, tugging on it, causing just a little bit of pain to mix in with the pleasure. Tal pulls my head away from her, looking at me with an intensity in her eyes and biting her lip.

She then stands up and walks backwards several feet across the room, never removing her eyes from mine. Tal slowly slides her shirt off of her shoulders and lets it drop to the floor. I watch her hands run down to the clasp on her pants and unbutton them. I can’t help but feel that she’s being intentional about it as she slowly slides her pants down her legs, turning to the side to accentuate her assets.

After removing her pants and boots in one motion, she stands in front of me, as if waiting for me to do something.

“I think you need to some back over here,” I say to her.

She gives a playful grin “And why is that?” She asks rhetorically.

All I can do is smile as she slowly steps back towards me. My patience runs thin and when she’s close enough, I pull her on top of me and we share a laugh before meeting our lips again.

The love I felt with her that night was immeasurable. There aren’t any words I can possibly place on it that would properly allow me to describe it. Some moments were intense and passionate, other times we would laugh for a minute or two over an awkward movement.

Crinza was right about one thing, that night, the burning fire within my heart was tamed. Everything went away and the only thing that mattered was Tal and I. Somewhere deep inside of me, I knew Stella didn’t want me anymore. Call it intuition, a sixth sense, or what have you, but I just knew in my heart that she wasn’t mine anymore. With as much as that broke my heart, it seemed that fate decided to give me another. And I would never let her go after this night.

Not even if it killed me.

The early hours are cold as I wake to a bed that’s one person short. I groggily look around the room, searching for that missing warmth. Tal is nowhere to be found and I make the conclusion that she had to leave early for some Sekrid military duties that I have no idea about.

I decide to get up, shower, and get dressed for the day. Judging from the time, I assume that she’d be here any minute to take me to another fine adventure on planet Argalia. My heart fluttered at the thought of seeing her again.

After finishing up in the shower I get dressed and ensure to make sure everything is correct in the mirror. I catch my own eyes in the mirror and stop to examine myself for a moment. I can’t help but allow a smile to form on my face.

We’re going to get through this, I think.

There’s a knock at the door as I exit the bathroom and I excitedly hurry over to answer it. I open the door with a smile and see Tal standing there, not quite as pleasant. My smile becomes deflated as concern enters my mind. My brain finally processes that there are two other Sekrid soldiers standing behind her. I become confused.

“What’s...going on...Tal?” I ask as fear starts to tighten in my chest.

She can’t look me in the eyes as she ignores my question entirely. I notice a single tear run down the side of her face, tracing a silver line on her cheek.

“This prisoner has been making unsavory advances towards me,”

My mouth drops and I freeze in place as she speaks. The realization finally hitting me as to what she’s done.

“I deem it best that he spends the rest of his capture within a cell,”

My stomach churns and my heart aches. I stumble backwards, barely able to stand as the knives of her words pierce me. I feel the wetness of tears start to fall from my face as the two soldiers step into the cabin.

My body goes limp as they take me by the arms and drag me outside towards a prisoner vehicle. I feel the brush of Tal’s hand against mine one last time. One last memory of her warmth as I’m thrown hard into the vehicle and driven away to a dark cell, made darker by the depths of my loneliness in that moment.