Changing of the Glads (16 page)

A child?  But Max said
they
were supposed to turn this planet around.

“Oh.” Zalphia’s head dropped back to the table. 

She longed for Max in that moment.  How could she possibly protect a child? If Max had known, would he have freed her from the dungeon? 

Doubtful. 

The physician adjusted the machine and stepped back.  “Lie still now, and let me see what they’ve done to you.”

The whirr of the machine’s moving parts matched the way questions where flying around in Zalphia’s mind.  If she did carry a child, what would happen to it now?  And if Max found out about the baby, would he try to rescue her?  What about this prophecy and the man who seemed to be able to read her thoughts?

The vibrations from the machine slowed and then stopped, leaving silence in their wake.

“Just as I suspected,” the physician said as he guided the machine back into the corner.  He returned to her side, holding his hand out to her.  “I won’t be able to perform the internal scan here.  Your trainer is very cruel.  There are multiple chips.  If I tried to do the test, it might kill you.  We wouldn’t want that, now, would we?”

Zalphia took his hand and rose from the table.

“I’ll have to take you to the palace.  I need my machine there to remove the chips.  Then we can find out about a child.”

He indicated a curtained room. “There is a shower inside.  Please get cleaned up.  You won’t be allowed into the palace dressed like this.  And, well... you smell horrid.”

She couldn’t have agreed more.  Minor odors that didn’t use to bother her now brought bile into her throat. 

She tugged at her hair. “I suppose I do.”  The slime that covered the floor still clung to her legs and side.

“There is a closet in there with clothes.  Please choose something that fits and leave your Glad gear on the floor.”

“All right.”  Zalphia stepped behind the curtain.

This room contained a recessed cubicle completely surrounded by glass.  She stripped off her gear and stepped in.  Water streamed from all sides.  Zalphia rubbed every inch of skin with her hands, wishing she had Max’s strange stone to help clean her.

“There’s a bar of soap on the ledge,” the man’s voice shouted from outside.

Zalphia cocked her head.  Was he watching?  She glanced around.  But seeing no way for that to be possible, she dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. 

Taking the bar from the ledge, she rubbed the slime away.  She then stepped under a stream and ran her hands through her hair, wishing for Max to help her untangle the knots.

“The small bottle on the ledge is shampoo,” his voice rang out again.  “It will help to untangle your hair.”

A cold chill crawled up her spine.  It was as if he could see what she was doing without being in the same room.  Something Max described being able to do. 

This physician had to be from Selestia if he could do that.

She quickly finished and stepped out.  Large lights clicked on, shedding warm air.  Blowers began removing the water from her skin.  In moments, she was dry.  The lights and fans turned off. 

Zalphia opened the closet door, and her breath caught in her throat.  A garment the most brilliant shade of red and gathered at the waist with a golden, silk cord hung from a hook on the door.  Zalphia held it against her.  It reminded her of the garment Max fashioned from skins, but
this was longer.  Must be a dress like Platy wore.  It looked as if it would fit.  On the floor sat a pair of gold sandals and a golden net to match.  Zalphia saw Clubbers wearing similar nets with their hair wound inside. 

This couldn’t be right.  A Glad would never wear such fine clothing.  This sort of attire was reserved for important officials and the very wealthy.

“Yes, that’s for you.”

She jumped and again wondered about the physician.

“Just put it on.  I’ll explain about that also.”

It only took a few moments to slip the dress over her head.  The silky material fluttered like a soft morning breeze against Zalphia’s skin.  The hem reached her calves and flowed like water as she turned.  She ran her fingers through her hair a few times then slid her feet into the golden sandals.  Holding the glittering net in her hands, she stepped from behind the curtain.

“Very nice,” the physician said.  “Here, let me help you with that.”  He took the net from her hand and twisted her hair into a ball.  Slipping the glittering hairpiece over her bun, he attached the clips to the side of her head.  “There.  Perfect.”

“Why am I dressed like this? I could be executed for impersonating a Clubber.”

The physician laughed.  “That dress could never hide the fact that you’re a Glad.”

Zalphia smoothed the red fabric at the front of the dress.  “Maybe not, but I don’t need more trouble.”

“Not to worry.  I’ll be by your side.  Anyway, it’s not like you aren’t known far and wide.”

“What?”

“You’re No Mercy Zalph, one of the most celebrated Glads of all time.  I don’t know anyone that wouldn’t recognize you on sight.  You and Maximillion, that is.”

“Max?  You know Max?”

“I know who he is, just as I know who you are.  And you should know who I am, and who Vitus is.”

“Vitus?”

His brow furrowed.  “But you have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“No.  Who are you?”

Disappointment pulled the corners of his mouth down and his eyes clouded with moisture.  He turned his head to the side for a moment.  Then he met her gaze again.

“Mother.”  He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  “Don’t you recognize me?  I’m your son, Karaticus.”

He did remind her of Max, and there were so many similarities between her own image and his.  Fear, joy, and trepidation all clutched at her chest.  Could it be true?  Max said that their children had been sent here.  But, shouldn’t she feel a connection like she did with Max.  She studied the cloudy eyes and the hopeful face.  But she didn’t recognize him.  Didn’t feel anything.

“No.  I’ve never seen you before.”

Karaticus tipped his head to one side.  Her heart skipped a beat as a memory flashed across her mind.  A boy – her little boy – with that same tousle of dirty-blonde hair, those gray eyes, and slight tip of the head. 

A door inside her mind swung open, and more of her life on Selestia came into view.  She remembered a moment, a flash of her family with Max.  Her two sons.  Their two sons.  But this man standing before her was not a boy.  How could he be her little son?  He was older than she remembered, and her wonderful boy would never fall to the evil that had overtaken this planet.  He would fight until his dying breath.  No, Karaticus would never be on the side she and Max were sent to destroy.

“I know.  It is strange to see me, your youngest son as a man almost twice your age.  It’s odd for me, too.”

Zalphia shook her head, clearing the memory and again examining the physician before her.  “If you are my son... and I’m not saying that I believe you... why would you work for the Empire?  They are the ones responsible for sending this planet down the wrong path.  Max said our sons came to turn things around, not become a part of the problem.”

Karaticus raised an eyebrow.  “I see.  You
do know
something of what was to be.”  He glanced around the room.  “Well, come.  We can’t keep the Emperor waiting.  He gets ever so cross.” 

He held his hand out and led her through the door.  Only the captain of the guard remained. 

“Follow me,” Karaticus said to Zalphia as the captain grabbed her by the arm. “I’ll be taking this prisoner to the palace.  I will also need her trainer.  However, load a cage onto my shuttle in the cargo hold.  Her trainer won’t be able to cause trouble from a cell.  The Emperor has plans for this Glad.”

“It will be done,” the captain said.

In a matter of minutes, they climbed to the top of the Arena Board building where a garden complete with shrubs, trees, and flowers grew.  In the midst of them sat a silvery ship, resembling the one Zalphia rode on to cross the ocean. However, this ship sported no sails and gleamed like a polished sword in the sunlight.

“What is that?” she asked.  “How are we going to get to the palace when your ship sits on dry ground?”

Karaticus laughed.  “This ship sails through the air, not on the water.”

Zalphia shook her head.  She truly had no inkling of what existed outside the Glad arena.

“How many of these ships are there?” she asked.

“There are only two, the Emperor’s and mine.”

“Really?  Why?”

“We are of the Selestial Sphere.  We came to this world in a ship such as this.  Then Vitus had another built just like it.  However, the metal on this planet would never withstand the sort of travel the original ship did, but it does get around this world easily enough.  Only Vitus has the ability to fly them.”

As they approached the massive ship, a strip of the hull appeared to melt from the side, sliding down and forming a gangplank on which to enter.  The captain of the guard let go of Zalphia, and all three walked single file up the ramp.  Once through the door, Karaticus let Zalphia pass but barred the door with his arm, preventing the captain from entering. 

“That will be all,” Karaticus said. 

The captain opened his mouth to protest then shut it again when Karaticus glared at him. 

“We no longer require your services,” Karaticus nodded toward the roof.  “Go make sure the trainer has been loaded.”

“Very well,” the captain said, retreating down the ramp and disappearing behind the ship. 

The plank rose and blended seamlessly into the side.  Running a finger along the metal, Zalphia looked for a crack revealing where it had once been, but she found none.

“I know.  Seems like magic, but it is knowledge far above what the humans on this planet have.  Something you should possess, too.”

Zalphia shook her head.  “I don’t.  Max showed me some of what we had on Selestia, and I’ve remembered flashes, but that’s all.”

“Interesting.  How exactly did you know about coming to change the ways of mankind?”

“Max told me bits and pieces in the short time we were together.”

“I see.  I can’t imagine why you don’t have some memories.  Father clearly remembers Selestia, and he knows what needs to be done.  But you, you have no idea.  I feel your confusion.”

What?  Feel her confusion?  How could that be when Max told her a couple nights before that he was unable to find her mind?

“It is because of my mind being combined with Vitus.  It gives me more strength to reach you.  I’m sure the chips prevented Father from finding you.”  Karaticus waved to a couch.  “Please, sit.”

She complied.  The material covering the seat reminded her of a lion’s fur.  She felt one once as it lay dead in the arena where she waited for her next opponent.

“It’s called crushed velvet.  Nice, isn’t it?  Vitus loves such finery.  Nothing but the best for him.”

“And what about you,” she asked, still curious why they were hailed as the rulers of the land but failed to change things.

Karaticus hung his head.  “I know.  We were supposed to turn things around, but Vitus found he could be something more here.  A ruler.  A god, if you will. And he has done everything he can to keep things that way.”

Zalphia crossed her arms.  “And you helped him?”

“No.  Yes. ” Sorrow flickered across his eyes.  “You don’t understand.”

“You’re right.  I don’t understand.  Why didn’t you change things, the way you were supposed to?  Why would you make them worse than they already were?”

Karaticus slumped onto a chair across the way.  “There was great suffering and a devastating war being fought when we arrived.”

“And?”

“We put an end to that, just as we were meant to.  But then people began to worship Vitus.  He let them believe he was all-powerful.  That he alone changed things.  They begged him to be their leader.  He could have set up a government that would have led this people in the way they were meant to go.  But instead, the praise went to his head.”

Zalphia leaned closer.  “But couldn’t you reason with him?  Remind him of your mission?”

“I tried.  Selestia knows, I tried.”  Karaticus ran a hand through his hair.  “But he ignored me and set up Empire City.  They crowned him Emperor, and now he rules this world.”

“How could you let him do that?”  Zalphia searched his face.  “Surely you could have done something to stop him.”

“I tried to talk to him, but he only got angry with me.  And then...” Karaticus glanced at her.

“Then what?”

“Vitus instituted the Glad matches.  Everyone who sympathized with me was slaughtered.  Using the games as his sword, Vitus squelched all opposition.”

“All but you,” Zalphia said.

“Yes, all but me.  He still needs me.”

“But can’t you stop him?”

His shoulders sagged. “I tried, but failed.  And now you are about to be submitted to the horror that is my brother.  And for that, I’m truly sorry, Mother.”