The Light-Field (42 page)

Shit!
Taren could hardly believe how swiftly they'd been thwarted. Chironjivi had Zeven, and Telmo was the only one with the knowledge to know how to deal with him! Suddenly Telmo's prophecy was making more sense. But surely, it would take years for him to remember all the knowledge he'd obtained during his lifetimes in that parallel universe?
Just do it!
She felt compelled to follow her gut instinct and grabbing hold of Telmo's shirt, she said, ‘Sorry for my means.'

As she kissed him, Taren brought to mind all the adventures with Taliesin she'd re-lived via the telepathic orbs from the library at the Institute of Immortal History on Kila. Taliesin had been the mentor to another incarnation of Taren, Tory Alexander, who'd existed in the universe parallel and originated on planet Earth — where indeed
all the Chosen Ones of Kila had lived out many challenging incarnations. Through history and space this Time Lord had shared Tory's adventures, and was without doubt the most esoterically knowledgeable person she'd ever known.
You know all the stars in the heavens by name, and the history of the universes backward and forward. Every great leader ever born sought your guidance, every warrior your blessing and every scholar your teaching. Once they called you Merlin, but all future rulers shall call you …

Telmo pulled away, appearing giddy until he managed to find his sensibilities. He looked back at Taren appearing pleased and a little awed.

‘Telmo?' She prompted him to say something, but he shook his head.

‘Taliesin,' he replied with a smile. ‘Tory?' he queried, whereupon Taren's smile broadened also.

‘Taren,' she whispered.

‘Ah.' He nodded as if understanding the difference. ‘Ah!' he exclaimed louder, as if suddenly comprehending their predicament. ‘Déjà vu.' He held all ten fingertips to his forehead to think.

‘What just happened?' Kalayna staggered up to standing.

‘Chironjivi just took my associate!' Taren replied.

‘If you are talking about that pile of floating soot, I can take Zeven back from it with this.' Kalayna held up her new weapon. ‘And recapture Khalid.'

‘A handheld psychic neutraliser.' Taren recognised the weapon that Kalayna had developed in the previous time line.

‘How did you guess?' Kalayna was impressed and buzzing from holding Zeven's Juju stone in her other hand.

‘Long story,' Taren dismissed the question. ‘Put that on.' Taren motioned to Zeven's armband. ‘Ask me why later.'

‘We need to find your friend, Brian —' Telmo rethought his words. ‘Ah, Brockwell —'

‘Bob,' Taren helped out.

‘Is that his name?' Telmo, or rather Taliesin, seemed confused; of course he was quite correct, as it wasn't their target's real name.

‘We don't risk using real names in this universe,' Taren said to clear up any confusion.

‘A very wise move,' he replied, appearing grave and lost in thought before he snapped back to attention — he'd spotted the canister under Taren's arm and pulled it from her. ‘This is exactly what we need!' Telmo headed for the lab doors and then turned back to find the girls appearing rather stunned. ‘Well, let's go, we cannot teleport after Bob while Chironjivi's ashes have him, but Khalid will be on the captain's bridge.' He continued on out through the lab doors and turned around just before they closed. ‘You should not be seen.' He pointed to Taren. She nodded that he was right again and he resumed his course.

‘What have you done to Telmo?' Kalayna noted the huge rise in his confidence level, but as she looked back to Taren she witnessed her turn invisible.

‘Whoa.' Kalayna was shocked. ‘Where did she go?'

‘Come on, we'll need that weapon.' Taren's words, from up ahead, startled Kalayna into action.

 

On the bridge, Khalid was on his newly stolen state-of-the-art work station, hacking into MSS and triple S files in an attempt to track down the whereabouts of some of his old sleeper agents and to find some potential new allies. There was only so much conversation with bitterly twisted, long dead and out of touch ghosts that he could stand — especially after five years in prison with only Chironjivi's undermining influence for company. Khalid needed mental stimulation and a greater diversity of Powers.

The slackening of laws against psychics throughout most of the United Systems had completely changed the playing field for espionage. Anselm had done something unheard of since the sexual revolt on Phemoria — he'd brought psychics together under their
own volition to work as a team; Khalid's capture had made him painfully aware of this. Khalid's sleeper agents may have been serving Anselm under duress, but now Khalia could bring them together and openly exploit their power.

A vision suddenly filled his mind, distracting Khalid from his research. This was how his ghostly crew communicated their concerns to him — he saw what they saw — and what he was looking at right now was a ball of light energy that had appeared in the officers' lounge, floating out into the corridor.
One of Anselm's spies?
He observed the light descend two levels to the technology labs.
Definitely!
he answered his own question.
How could they have found me? They didn't locate me,
he observed,
they located the ship!
He was annoyed that his dark defences were not yet foolproof —
one of them must have seen the inside of the
Insurrecto
before.
Clearly, the clean-up was not enough, and an entire reconstruct was in order, or a change of vessel altogether? Still, when Khalid witnessed, in his psychic vision, the light intruder confronted by the ashes of his deceased and supposedly entrapped father, he nearly had a fit.

‘Who, in their fucked-up mind, let him loose!'

In the vision, he saw his father take care of the light intruder. He repelled them and they vanished, along with his perception of the events.

‘So, Father is here to seek his revenge is he?' Khalid was not threatened — he was more powerful than his father last time they met and he would trap him just as easily this time. He was just thinking about how he could improve upon his father's entrapment this time, when once again his ghostly crew drew Khalid's awareness to their perception.

In the lab where his two kidnapped scientists were working there appeared two more light beings, who were more solid in form this time. His ghosts could not get close enough to them to capture an identity, but Miss Zuri graciously provided half a name for one of them.

‘Star —!'

Starman.
The name caused a chill of angst to run down Khalid's spine. He witnessed his father's ashes possess Miss Zuri as she held her hero, whereupon she suddenly stripped him of his light. The ghostly crew got a good look at Starman's face — he was young, fit and handsome — everything Khalid envied and despised in a man. Seconds later the light warrior was completely shrouded by his father's darkness! Meanwhile, the remaining light being kissed Mr Dacre, and he began to fill with light.

‘What did we do, send a forwarding fucking address to the whole bloody cosmos?' Khalid became increasingly agitated, but when he witnessed his father's dark spirit vanish from the room, along with Starman, he knew he was in deep shit. ‘He's got PK!' Khalid jumped up, packed up his work station and took it in hand.

It was the ship they could all locate, not him. And those light freaks were not going to take kindly to his father possessing one of their own — Chironjivi was their problem now. There were other scientists he could steal who would not be so problematic. He knew all he needed to defeat his foe now; all he had to do was find the source of their power and he could destroy them.

‘Time to abandon ship,' he announced to his crew, and the charm around his neck began to burn. ‘I'll take you with me, of course.' His neck brace ceased to pain him and, envisioning the large vat in the Soul Keep, Khalid teleported himself to it.

 

When the dark void of his passage faded into shadow, Khalid found himself before the vat in the Soul Keep, which he had to take with him if he was to secure the continuing services of his ghostly crew. He could have made good his escape and then will this large object to him at his new location, but he didn't want to risk either his father or his light-filled adversaries destroying it. He knew his survival was inextricably connected to the relic containing the dead men's souls.

A hand gripped Khalid's throat from behind and squeezed hard.

‘Imprison my soul in darkness for all eternity, will you?' hissed the harsh voice of Chironjivi.

Khalid could not match the younger man's strength physically, but as his father had removed his victim's psychic protection in order to invade his body, he was no match for Khalid psychically and with a thought, Khalid threw him off. ‘Back off, Father, you can't win this one. I have psychic protection. Your Starman has not.'

‘You think my crew is going to protect you against me, their captain?' he challenged and then had a good laugh about that. ‘It is you who is doomed to lose … does the name Zaman Vidor mean anything to you?'

Khalid dwelt on this, as the grin on his adversary's face broadened.
The son of Spyridon! It couldn't be
… He'd killed the babe of Maiara's prophecy — even Spyridon thought him dead; but shock penetrated Khalid's certainty with fear.
Spyridon is Mythric Zeon, Starman's missing partner.
That seemed painfully obvious now.

‘Say hello to the last face you'll ever see.' The soot-covered, muscle-bound youth focused his intent on killing Khalid.

 

Invisible to human sight, Taren pursued Telmo and Kalayna through the ship, fearing they would not be able to find Zeven in time to stop him being exposed to Khalid by Chironjivi.

‘Wait.' Telmo came to a standstill then turned about, like an animal trying to pick up the scent of another. ‘Khalid isn't in the bridge anymore, he's shifted location. This way.' He headed off down a corridor they had not ventured down before today.

‘So where do you think sooty went with Bob?' Kalayna whispered to Telmo as she trailed him.

‘Oh dear.' Telmo came to a stop as they turned into a wide corridor that had large double doors at one end.

‘What is it?' Kalayna halted alongside him.

‘
This
is a very dark place,' he replied, staring at the doors before
them in a daze, ahead of wincing. ‘A blood pact was made here and the evil curse has not been lifted.'

‘But you know how to lift the curse, right?' Taren prompted.

‘Oh yes, no problem there,' he affirmed, ‘but we must move quickly.' Telmo took off toward the doors, which Taren mentally commanded to open before them. The doors did not comply, and brought their charge to a grinding halt.

‘Never mind. Prepare to duck and run for cover.' Taren took hold of both their hands and willed them to Zeven.

 

When Kalayna and Telmo appeared, Chironjivi turned his attention to the intruders and shot a pulse of repulsive force in their direction. Khalid used the distraction to reach for the huge smelting pot he'd come for.

‘Go!' Taren pushed Kalayna and Telmo down to the ground and toward a bench moulded into the floor. The pulse passed over them and they were able to scramble for cover. The psychic attack had no impact on Taren, but she gasped in horror as she looked up to see Khalid vanish from the scene with the large smelting pot in the centre of the room.

Chironjivi wailed in fury at his treacherous crew, who had aided Khalid to escape his wrath. Without knowing the whereabouts of the smelting pot, Chironjivi had no means to track Khalid down again — nor could anyone, Taren was later to find out.

Kalayna rose to take a shot at Chironjivi, but he suddenly turned about and she was forced to duck down again.

Taren silently joined her. ‘I'll create a distraction.'

‘No,' Kalayna disagreed. ‘You stay hidden … Zeven is in there somewhere, right?'

Taren nodded, as Kalayna handed over her weapon to Telmo. ‘You shoot him,' she instructed him.

Taren took the container Telmo was holding. ‘I'll trap him.'

‘I'll be the diversion,' Kalayna concluded.

Taren was about to insist it was too dangerous, but Kalayna rose straight up from the cover of the bench.

Chironjivi glared at her, his intent to strike apparent.

‘You want a piece of me? I bet I know which piece.' Kalayna suddenly ripped her shirt open to expose her large breasts, and both the man and the demon were momentarily mesmerised.

Telmo fired a direct hit, shocking the ash right off Zeven's body. Taren opened the container in her hands and imagined the offending remains caught up in a whirlpool. She commanded Chironjivi back into his container and locked it closed.

‘Oh my heavenly breasts,' was all Zeven could say, until he processed what had just transpired. ‘Khalid knows who I am. Chironjivi told him I am Zaman Vidor, his predestined executioner.'

‘You're the son of Spyridon Vidor!' Kalayna refastened her shirt. ‘That means that BA is —'

‘Spyridon Vidor,' Zeven concurred.

‘And you are … royalty. I never suspected,' she whispered, stunned. ‘Although I guess I should have, as your average males are never so gallant as you two are.'

‘Khalid still cannot find you with your Juju on,' said Taren, and Kalayna removed it at once and returned it to Zeven.

Taren noted Telmo looked distracted by something. ‘What's the matter, is Khalid still here?'

The lad shook his head. ‘His presence, and all the darkness that was on board this vessel, is gone.'

‘How can you be sure?' Taren wondered — even on Kila, when Telmo's Power had awoken, he'd not been so sure of himself. His ancient memory had only stirred in dreams and fleeting visions. Now, however, it seemed his ancient knowledge had triggered additional sensory skills in him that he'd not possessed before.