Between Ascension, page 4
part #9 of Levels of Ascension Series
Willian shook his head in negation as he spoke, “I didn’t see anything. Did you, Valentina?”
“No, nothing.” She gently placed her hand on her brother’s forearm and asked, “Do you want to talk about it? Are you sure you’re okay? I’m sorry I even suggested it.”
“How would you know? Besides, it was pretty remarkable. I could feel the energy coursing through me like I was a human conductor. If that was anything like what you and Willian feel when you touch one another, then I wonder why you’d want to try it again!”
“It’s not painful for us.” She looked over to Willian to confirm her statement. When she saw him shake his head, she continued, “It’s more…intense…exhilarating, you might say.” Valentina finally gave up trying to come up with the right way of putting it.
“What did you see?” Willian prompted.
Chapter Five
BEHN RECOUNTED WHAT he had seen and kept his eyes on Willian to see if any of it made sense to him. Maybe it was part of something which occurred on Tuala with which they would be unfamiliar. Even as he finished the story, he could tell Willian was just as confused by the vision as they were.
“That sure sounds interesting. What did the samaras look like?” Willian asked.
“They are clear crystal skulls, seamlessly carved and proportional to a human skull, only smaller. It would comfortably rest in the palm of my hand.”
“Oh, those!” he replied with a grin. “We all know those are just a myth anyway. I remember Jena talking about reading something from the library on Acaim. There’s clearly nothing to what you saw if those things are involved.”
“But…” Behn was about to tell Willian about the samara he had seen on the coffee table at the Stel house when Valentina squeezed her hand on his arm. He changed what he was going to say. “It seemed real at the time. Oh well. It was an interesting experiment. Now back to the business we came here to discuss.”
“I don’t think Willian and I should be left alone together until after we can all sit down with Jena.”
“If then even,” Behn said. “Now don’t get mad at me, Val. Remember what you told me at home about Jon interrupting you.”
Valentina blushed as she recalled her total lack of inhibition when Willian was on top of her and kissing her. She had enjoyed herself immensely and could see what her brother was talking about if she were to have another unchaperoned opportunity. Maybe it was wiser to take precautions until they could figure out if there were a way to harness the impulses when they were touching.
“What did you say?” Willian asked Valentina. He hoped it was something along the same lines as he had been thinking. He felt a thrill of anticipation rise like butterflies in his stomach. Nothing had ever been more important to him than being with Valentina. He could hardly wait until he could be alone with her and see where things would go.
“Never mind,” Valentina hastily replied, blushing even more furiously.
Behn intercepted the awkward moment by saying, “So I can see the feelings between the two of you are entirely mutual.” He turned to Willian and said, “When I brought Jena over here, you seemed content to be with her, but I can see now, that it was nothing like how you feel when you’re with my sister. However, if Jena says she wants to try to work things out with you, are you going to honor the betrothal agreement you have with her?”
A pained expression crossed Willian’s face as he considered a life without Valentina. He supposed it would be the right thing to do, even if his heart broke into a million pieces to be separated from his soul-mate. “I promise to honor Jena’s feelings in this. You have to think about what her life would be like knowing she was married to a man who had his heart elsewhere. It would be kinder to let her go.”
“Even so,” Valentina interrupted, “I think we should find out what Jena wants to do before we make any declarations of intent.” The statement sounded good to her mind even as her heart broke a little just imagining herself without Willian. The notion was so foreign given she had only known him for a few hours. It seemed implausible that she was willing to throw herself at a man after what she had just endured the weekend before and, yet, that was exactly what was happening to her.
“That sounds like a good idea. In the meantime, what are we going to do with the two of you?” Behn was almost teasing but mostly wanted to keep them on notice that they should refrain from physical contact.
“Maybe we could talk on the phone and get to know one another until Jena gets back,” Valentina offered.
“I think that sounds like the best plan for now,” Behn agreed.
Willian nodded. He could feel as though Behn were about to suggest leaving and his mind raced with ideas for keeping them longer. Finally, he asked, “How did you three find yourselves on Earth rather than Tuala? How long have you been here? Valentina did say you were from there.”
Valentina had looked at Behn before she leaned forward to resume eye contact with Willian. “We had some trouble in our village, and our mom somehow sent us here. For her, it was only a year ago, but for us, it was eight years ago.”
Willian’s eyes widened. He realized at that moment how lucky he had been to only lose a couple of weeks when he traveled to Earth without the proper guidance. He could have been as unlucky as these teens who had lost out on so much more time with their mother. “What about your father? Where is he?”
A significant look had passed between the brother and sister before Behn answered, “We don’t know who our father is.” He spoke with such finality in his tone that he hoped Willian would get the idea to leave the subject alone.
Willian was about to pursue the line of questioning further when he saw how uncomfortable Valentina looked. He sighed and answered, “I see. So this problem you were having, has it been resolved?”
Valentina flinched visibly.
Willian wondered what could have caused her reaction and wished he would have read her thoughts just then. It was at that moment he realized he had not tried to read anybody’s mind since arriving on Earth. Back in Tuala, it was frowned upon, yet almost everyone did it at some point during the day. It made discussions much more productive when you knew exactly where everyone stood on the matter.
Behn had missed his sister’s reaction as he had been facing Willian with his back to her. He answered, “Yes. Our mother is now the leader of the community, and the problem has been taken care of.”
“If it’s been resolved, then why don’t you go back home to her?”
“It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, it was only resolved just this week,” Behn said curtly.
“Besides,” Valentina added with more tact, “we owe our lives to the family who we live with now. Without their love and support, I doubt Jon would still be alive. He was very sick when we first came over here. The Wilson’s have been wonderful parents to us. How could we repay them by abandoning them as if their love weren’t enough for us?”
“What about your mother? Don’t you think she needs you, too?”
“We’ve only just found our mother. We’re still getting to know her, and she’s still adjusting to the idea that we’re almost all grown up. She didn’t even have a house of her own until this week, so we really didn’t have much to consider up until now. She understands we want to stay here on Earth until we’re done with school. It’s not too much longer, and it would be expected for us to branch out on our own at that point.”
Selfishly, Willian hated the idea of Valentina remaining even one more day on Earth. With the betrothal customs as they were on Tuala, she would not have continued living with her mother. He would much rather she come home and live with him and his parents as would have been the case if they were betrothed.
Another fluttery feeling appeared in his stomach at the idea of Valentina sleeping in the room across from his own. His thoughts swiftly turned the idea further, and he wondered if Valentina may have a good point in wanting to remain on Earth. He did not want to shame his family with behavior out of their control, even if the feelings were mutual. There were protocols to be followed, after all.
The siblings took Willian’s silence as assent. Behn cleared his throat and said, “I think we should get going.”
Willian’s hand clenched on Pesi’s fur making her growl with displeasure. He immediately uncurled his fingers and patted the spot to relax her again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Petre was uncertain how much time had passed; mostly he recalled the bartender’s face as he handed over one bruskin after another. One day ran into another; only the drink had changed to something stronger, something which would help him forget the fact that he had lost Jinya yet again. There had been a time when he had only wanted her because she was beautiful. As time moved on, he realized he really did have genuine feelings for her. He really wanted to be able to apologize to her and see if he could make an honest go of having a relationship with her.
It seemed as though this were an impossibility since he had no way of tracking her down. Sure, he could approach Captain Ahn and see if he would tell him anything, yet the likelihood of that happening was slim to none. The Harbor Master hated him with a passion which he could hardily understand. No, he was destined to be alone and miserable. Every time he tried to find happiness for himself, he always found a way to mess things up. He picked up his glass, glared at the amber-colored liquor as if it were to blame before he silently toasted to his misery, and he downed the foul liquid with a grimace of distaste. He had changed to the cheaper stuff as he got drunker since he was in no mood to appreciate a finer vintage. This liquor almost tasted like cleaning fluid, and it burned all the way down to his gut.
He set the glass down with a loud bang and raised a finger to the bartender, asking for another round. He stared in disbelief as the man simply shook his head and refused to move. “Get me another drink,” he slurred loudly.
“You’ve had enough.” The man moved out from behind the bar, grabbed a towel, and began wiping down the tables in the restaurant. He wished Petre would take his business elsewhere. Ever since the man had taken a seat at the bar, his regular customers refused to stay for very long.
“I don’t have to take this! I’m a paying customer! I want another drink!” Petre pounded his fist on the bar top with each statement.
“You won’t get another drink from me, Petre. You should go back to your water craft and sober up. Whoever the woman is, she’s long gone. You should look for her elsewhere.”
“You know what? You’re right. I’m going to go look for her. Thanks for the suggestion, man.” Petre slid off of the bar stool and stumbled slightly as the floor was further down than he had guessed. He bounced off of a couple of tables as he wove his way across the room to the entrance. He held onto the doorframe as the bright sunlight suddenly blinded him. Rubbing the moisture from his eyes, he stumbled the rest of the way through the door and ran right into a man who was standing in front of him. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he made to walk around the unmoving man.
“Come with me, Petre, there’s someone who wants to speak with you,” he said as he grabbed Petre’s arm and practically hauled him along with him.
“Who are you? Who wants to see me? Why are you walking so fast? Hey, let go of me and start answering my questions!” Petre attempted to stand his ground and found himself propelled forward against his wishes.
“Shut up, you drunk fool. All of your questions will be answered in due time.” He paused to open the side door of a transport, and then he shoved Petre inside. He stepped inside and over Petre’s body where he had fallen on his way in. After shutting the door, he called up to the pilot, “We’re ready to go back.”
He brushed his hands down his thighs as he took his own seat and fastened his seatbelt. His hands felt dirty after having touched Petre. It was obvious the man had not taken a bath in who knew how long and he smelled abominable. The sooner this assignment was complete, the happier he would be.
Chapter Six
JON STORMED BACK into his room, unable to believe what had just happened in his own home with his sister. The nerve of Willian, coming to their house without an invitation and then taking advantage of Valentina. When Jena came home, he was going to let her know what kind of a boy she was betrothed to. Hopefully, by the time he was done with him, Willian would be returning to Tuala without anyone still wanting to be with him.
After slamming his door and pacing across his room several times, he picked up the phone and called the only person he knew he could count on to take his side. Besides, Sofia was the only other person on Earth who knew who they all were so he could be completely candid and not worry about revealing their truth. With the phone ringing, he continued to stomp through his room from one side and back to the other.
“Hello?” Sofia answered.
“Hey, Sofia, it’s Jon. Can you talk?”
“Sure! Let me go to my bedroom, just a sec.” She almost ran to her room in her haste to hear whatever had just happened. From the sound of Jon’s voice, it must be something big. She shut her door and leaned back against it. “Okay. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“You’re never going to believe who I just punched!”
“Who?”
“Willian!”
“What? Where?”
“In my sister’s bedroom!”
“What was Willian doing in Val’s room?”
“He was practically having sex with her, that’s what! He was lying on top of her, and they were kissing. All I could see was red, and I grabbed him by his shirt, pulled him off of her, and punched him in the gut. He’s such a wuss; he crumpled to the ground in a heap.”
“Jon, you’re not making any sense. What was Willian even doing at your house? Besides, I thought he was betrothed to Jena. Why would he be making out with Val?”
“That’s what I said! Willian came over to talk with Val. She asked him to leave and went to her room. He followed her in and then practically attacked her. I should have done more to him, but Val screamed for me to stop. I shouldn’t have listened to her.”
“Where’s Val now? Is she okay? Does she need me to come over?” Sofia was more than a little confused by Jon’s explanation of what had happened.
“I left her in her room with Behn. For some reason, Behn isn’t nearly as upset about this whole thing as I am. Can you believe the nerve of Willian? What’s Jena going to say about this?”
“For sure. Wow. This is turning into quite the mess. Do you think Jena and Juila are already gone? Maybe we should try to call over to their house.”
“No, I’m sure they’re gone. Juila said they were leaving as soon as they got home from school.”
“Oh,” she replied lamely. “I’m sure there’s more to this story which we don’t know yet. I’m going to come over, okay?”
“Sure, go ahead. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes then.” Without waiting for any further conversation, Jon hung up the phone and dropped it back onto his desk. He flopped backward onto his bed and sighed deeply with exacerbation. It was a good idea for Sofia to come over, maybe she could talk some sense into Val.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Petre felt himself being roughly handled again. He felt sickness rise through him as he was picked up from his prone position into a standing one. He turned his head just in time for all of the liquid contents of his stomach to rise and come out of his mouth and nose with explosive force. He heard a gagging sound beside him as the ground quickly rose to meet his body.
Only then did he realize he had been released from being held and he had fallen back to the ground. It was a strange sensation since he could hardly feel his body. Surely the fall should have hurt, yet somehow it had not. His gaze fixated on a bit of pretzel swimming in the pool of liquid next to his face. He had no idea where he was, nor any recollection of getting to wherever he was.
“Take it easy!” Petre slurred as he felt someone grab the back of his shirt and haul him back to his feet. The sudden motion caused him to be sick again, yet, this time, he managed to remain standing while he bent over and heaved several times and spat the foul taste out of his mouth.
“If you’re quite through, we need to get going. You are so disgusting, Petre! How can you stand your own stench?” The man turned his head away from Petre as he kept his fist holding his shirt to keep him as upright as possible. He could hardly wait to see what was in store for Petre at this meeting. As soon as Petre seemed okay to begin walking, he hauled him forward and kept up a brisk pace despite Petre’s continual stumbling and complaining.
They marched down several long corridors before turning into a darkened chamber. Petre had been scrupulously watching his feet to keep from falling flat on his face again. He looked around curiously when they finally came to a stop. Instantly, the fog lifted from his brain as he realized who had summoned him.
“Lucinden!” Petre swallowed hard before continuing, “How may I serve you?”
“Petre,” Lucinden drawled. “It’s nice to know that even in your debilitated state, you recall where your loyalties should lie.” He shifted his gaze to the man who still had his hand on Petre’s shirt and stated, “Leave us.”
The man reluctantly let go of Petre and bowed his head in submission. “As you wish, Master.” He backed out of the room and shut the double doors as he moved past them. He dared not let Lucinden see how much he wished to remain in the reception room.
Lucinden waited another few seconds before he spoke again. “How the mighty have fallen. Petre, aren’t you ashamed of how you’ve let yourself go? Look at yourself!”
Petre stupidly looked down at his own body and registered how disheveled and unclean his clothes appeared. He plucked at the front of his shirt with his thumb and index finger and replied, “I guess I have.”
“Well, if you aren’t going to do anything about it, then I guess that leaves me.” An instant later, Petre’s clothes were replaced with clean, beige robes. Lucinden smiled as Petre’s shock was apparent. He still did not know why he put so much energy into this man who was obviously a lack-wit. He did have his uses, which brought his mind back to the point of this meeting. The time for fun and games were over; it was time to get down to serious business.
