The price of magic can be high, but I never really understood
until I saw what it could do to someone. I have always known
that my parents were special, different from anyone else. How
different could be said in what they did for a living or in the case
of mother, what she was. Father had taken the chief Bureaucrat
position at the ISU when it was still in the infant stages. Mother,
she is a whole different bird though. I love her dearly, and my
talent for music and getting into trouble both come from her.
How do I explain this so that it don't seem like I need to be
placed in a straight jacket or locked up in some little white room?
Okay, I will just say it. She is a vampire. She has lived for several
thousand years and drinks blood. It's funny, though. All the time
I was growing up I never thought I was too different. Yes, I had
RMS: a condition that causes a child to reach the physical
appearance of a sixteen year old in two years. There are a lot of
Sagan kids that have RMS. No one knows why, only that it
became obvious after the great plague.
When I was small, I went to work with either Dad or Mom
till I was old enough to go to school. Then I attended a school for
gifted children or kids that had RMS. I learned everything
everyone else did, I was normal. Or so I thought. I just never
realized that what I called normal was really actually far from it. I
really have two talents: music, which is my passion; and the one
that makes me the most money the quickest is the other. I am able
to manipulate the Sagan virus, well, any virus actually. I can't
create a new virus, but I can alter any living viral organism.
Enough though about me. I am writing this because my music
just won't help with the feelings I have about my parents and
what happened. From what I understand, this is the final result of
some idiot named Karrulta. He had a real problem with Dad and
wanted to get the vengeance he was denied. This started way
before I was born and finished with why Dad is in the basement
floating in a tube of biometric gel.
It began with Dad being on a diplomatic mission to the
Sauralla home world. They were hosting the big ecological
conference, and he was going to be there. I was actually going
along. I was going to perform for the delegates. I had won the
honor in a large contest that had participants from all the member
worlds. The conference never happened though thanks to
Karrulta.
Mother has magic, actually it really isn't magic at all. It is the
power of creation. Grandmother gave it to Father too, mostly as a
defense though. My father has the soul of one of the greatest
mages that could have ever been. Martouf though never learned
to use his magic before he suicided. He had done so that mother
could learn the meaning of love. She did with the help of Salem
and a few others, and when the time was right my father came
back into her life. At first he had no idea of his previous
connection with Mom. By the time I was born, he was well aware
of it, and on occasion Martouf would even sing to me to get me to
go to sleep. The magic that Grandmother gave Father he never
fully learned to control. From what I understand, magic for the
most part is very ritualistic. The Lavender, as Mom calls it, is far
from that. Naya says it's like having hot lava poured into your
veins while you are standing on one foot at the edge of a cliff
trying to scream opera. For Mom, it is as easy as breathing, if a
little taxing. She uses her will to force it into the shape she wants
and, well, poof. She pays a price for it, though. She can burn out
from using it too much or from doing it too often without feeding.
Naya says it is that way because she is mortal and that it burns
her resources like conventional spells. I have to take her word for
it because, well, she is a Mage and does it for a living. I guess it is
kind of like when I am on stage and have the munchies afterwards
or if I am in the lab and tank on a bottle of go juice afterward. For
Dad, the price is higher, much high then we ever thought. We all
knew that it burned him out to use the magic because he, well,
was never really a mage. What we didn't know was that he was
literally burning out his body and his soul.
After the Sauralla and the Euruder joined the ISU everything
was going well. I had won the contest. Dad was on the transport
ship with the rest of the council. I was going to be riding with
mom on Harper, she was leaving two days after Dad. I was with
her when the accident happened and for the premonition that was
seconds before.
We were at the house and Dad was about eight hours
from the Sauralla home world. She was in the kitchen standing up
to put her favorite tea cup in the sink. Her eyes became wide, her
irises nearly disappearing as she screamed, a sound filled with all
the pain in the universe, "Beloved, NO!!!". She dropped the cup
and grabbed the sink to keep from falling.
"Salem, I need you now before .. Seph where is the
Isabella at this exact moment?" The cat that was mother's familiar
and partner appeared in battle form. "The Isabella is on course
and will be arriving in Se'lante city in approximately The ship
has just vanished from my.." Persephone trailed off, which was
extremely odd behavior from her. Mother looked as though she
wanted to die right at that moment. It was what Seph said next
that floored us all. "Ma'am, the entire complement of the Isabella
is standing on the front lawn of the ISU complex."
She looked at Salem, then they were gone. I concentrated for
a moment to change myself enough to take Allison's teleportation
ability, then went to the site also. [I can alter the Sagan virus in
me to 'borrow' the abilities of any Sagan I have ever touched.]
What we found was a large group of confused people. They
were all there, the crew and the delegates. I think all were in
shock. I know I would be. Security personnel were coming and
getting people out of the snow that was still falling from the
winter blizzard that was in full swing. I thought the sound my
mother had produced was unbearable in those first few seconds.
What I heard will haunt me, as it will haunt everyone that ever
heard it. I followed the sound. I was the only one left standing as
what seemed an earthquake started, then stopped.
They had cleared a circle around my father- what was left of
him, that is. He looked like a poster child for anorexia. Mother
was holding him tight, tears streaming down her face. I could hear
her talking in Sumerian, "No, beloved, you mustn't leave me."
I think that was when I saw Jade standing in the crowd. She
walked over to our mother. That was when Adrian walked over to
the rest of us. Mother looked at Adrian and said something I will
never really understand I think. "Must I lose him now?"
That is when something happened. I can't really explain it,
only that we were in another place. Father was still on the floor,
Adrian bent over him with tears in his eyes. Jade was holding her
hand over Father's head, a look that was frightening to me
coming over her face. Jade even at her angriest had never turned
to stone the way she was now. I could almost feel the temperature
drop in the hall. It may have, for all I know.
It was then that Karrulta made his presence known. He stood
there, smiling down on my father's form. "I am finally avenged"
he yelled, the triumph ringing in his voice. Mother was sitting
there weeping, unable to stop. That was when a man and woman
came out from behind a column.
"So, you are finally avenged, is it, Karrulta?" came the man's
voice, filled with something that was not going to be pleasant.
"Oh, no. I mean my people are avenged "
"Grandmother, he lies!" Jade's voice rang like a bell. "He
wanted vengeance on both Mother and Father. He knew that he
could not directly kill Father, but he could make him suffer. The
device he planted was not supposed to have the reaction it did,
that was an accident. Father using his magic to save them was
what he did not count on."
I just stood there looking at all of them. I knew where we
were, I could feel this place. I knew that I could have been a pure
born had I chosen to, but I had not. That did not mean I was not
allowed to come to this place. "Grandmother, Father's soul is in
ribbons. It will take time to mend it." Jade said.
That was when Karrulta screamed at the top of his lungs,
"NO!! This must not be allowed! He is in this because of his
own doing, she even admitted it! I claim precedence on this!
Why should her mate take favor over my entire species? What
makes her so special??"
Mother then spoke. "You did this because I sent you to
places where you could not exact your desires. He is dead. The
only thing now is to collect his soul. Is that what you want? Are
you so petty that you could only be happy if he was dead "
"Yes." was all he said.
"He is dead now. Leave here." Mother's voice was strained.
I still can't believe what the asshole did next. "No! I will not
leave until his soul has been placed in the well and accounted. I
will not be cheated by her again. I only did this to punish her
for her insolence! I am a god!!!
I could only stand there stunned, wondering what would
happen next. It was the man that spoke next. "Halea, is that the
proof you needed?"
"Yes, Uncle, it is. He admits he was punishing Mother."
Grandmother then chose to speak "When we talked, it was
agreed that you could not kill her mate. It was also agreed that
if she caught you, she could deal with you as long as she did
not kill you. You have gotten what you wanted, he is dead. But
you have no claim on his soul.
"Halea, for your mothers cruelty in dealing with Karrulta,
her punishment is to be to live without him for one standard
Earth year. I have spoken, let it be carried out. In that time his
soul will mend, and what ever time it takes for his body to heal
is not of my concern. But this ends here and now!!!" she
declared sternly.
Karrulta looked at my mother sitting on the floor, clearly
proud of his accomplishments. He then looked at Halea. "Well, it
is over. Where are my people?" he asked in a real condescending
tone. I would have loved to smash him one in the chops then.
Halea then smiled in a fashion that made me wince. "Where
you will be next." she said with a sweetness that was deadly.
Simply put, they are waiting for you in the recycle bin, where you
are going now."
I heard him scream, "But they were supposed to be reborn!"
Adrian then looked at Halea. "Are you sure he will not
remember?"
"Yes, I am sure. I am wiping him now to make sure." Halea
said. Mother was still sitting inconsolable on the floor.
Grandmother then held out her hand to Mom. "I did what I
did because I could not allow this to continue He was a flawed
soul. He would never learn. I am sorry, but I have to keep with
my rules." she said.
Mother then looked up at her. "I know. If I am to be mortal
then both of us must play by that section of the book. I will have
to survive this, is all. I won't be taking any short cuts. I owe it to
him and all he went through." she choked out.
We left that place then. I don't really know if I was meant to
witness the whole thing or not, but I was not about to ask. We
returned to the instant we left, Mother still in tears over him. The
medical teams were transporting in, along with additional
security. She stood there holding his hand the whole time.
He was dead, they were trying to declare him as such. Her
words hung like the ice on the windows. "Place him on life
support. I will take full responsibility."
Mr. Montoya then walked up. "Senora Somers, we still do
not know what happened. What will we tell the delegations?" he
asked in his accented English.
"Tell them that a fail safe spell brought them here and that
Chris was injured from being near the explosion that destroyed
the ship. He will be taking an extended recuperation." she said.
She had Ethan and Bradley come to bring him back to the
house. They were getting ready to leave when she walked over to
me. "Jordan, please stay with me while they take care of your
father." she asked tearfully.
We transported to the house. Grandpa was waiting there,
along with Guardian. "Anna, is there anything we can do?" he
asked Mother.
"Answer a question, Father. Will his body respond to the
tube as mine does?" she asked. He didn't answer, not then.
We all walked down the stairs to the sanctuary that was
Mother's pit. Nikki was already there- he had started prepping
the tube. Stephen, Allison, Remmy and Tim were all there.
Guardian walked over to Father and closed her eyes for a
moment. When she opened them there were tears in her eyes.
Jade and Adrian then walked in at the same time. Adrian looked
at Grandpa and said something I am not really sure about. "His
matrix has been changed."
Grandpa then looked at the rest. "Tube him." was all he said.
Mother's face was hollow and she clearly was somewhere
else for most of the preparations. She walked over just before
they closed the pod and once again held my fathers hand. She
bent over him, whispering into his ear "Sleep well, my midnight
angel."
That was a little over seventeen months ago. Dad began to
have a heartbeat after a year and a day. It took him nearly four
months to come out of the coma though. Five weeks ago, they
brought him out of the tank and began physical therapy even
while he was unconscious. I am part of that group. At first it was
like he had a massive stroke. He is showing real improvement
though. Tim says it will be a month before he will be fit for work.
I am sitting here while he takes a nap. He tires easily, but did well
in the pool. Thirty laps is more then even I could do. I just worry
about Mom. She still has not told him that she is ill. When she
was poisoned, she refused treatment because she didn't want to
deprive the family of her too.
Well, at least there haven't been any dramatic changes except
for me breaking my leg. Never trust a hundred year old stage.
Allison has put the bone knitters in place. I will be sore for a
week, but it was worth it. I wish that the conference had gone off.
The music would have done a lot of people good, including both
Mom and Dad. Maybe someday I will write a song about what
happened and how we all changed, but not yet. Not till we are all
whole.