The True Ruler, page 3
part #5 of Worlds Apart Series
Cassie rose and was once again in her grandfather’s embrace. “Make sure you bring my granddaughter back after the mid-day meal. I have many questions that must be answered.”
She had an evening for the group to come up with believable answers to questions she was certain her grandfather would ask. There were so many stories provided to Jeryl Jarlyn with Shirl, Candy, and JoAnna’s arrivals. Cassie was not sure which questions she was dreading more: the ones about her father or those about her mind control telepathic powers.
Unlike the trip to The Palace, their walk to the Childers’s residence was made at a leisurely pace. The park they had passed earlier was called a gathering place. It was where Troyk citizens, young and old, came to socialize. Her friends were already hatching plans to get her excused from official dinners in order for Cassie and Darden to join the couples and enjoy the second seating at a number of the restaurants. She was not sure what a second seating involved, but she was game.
Things would change once Darden arrived. Cassie imagined her soul mate would be furious when he returned to the Troyk penal colony to find her gone. For far too long, Darden had heeded her father’s concerns about the additional powers Cassie would develop when they finally made love. Darden’s caving to her father’s wishes and not her inherent goodness to control her abilities had driven a wedge between them. If she were honest, Cassie made the decision to come to the Troyk universe partly to spite her soul mate. She knew it was juvenile to think that way, but she was hurt and needed to lash out.
Cassie was startled back to reality when she found herself in front of a wooden door and Koel knocking on it. Lost in her own thoughts, she had not realized they had arrived at their destination. The door suddenly opened and a tall, handsome older woman stood before her.
Leenea Childers brought Cassie into her arms, welcoming her. “Finally, the last of the girls is finally home. Come in. I know another of your friends has been anxious to see you once news of your arrival started to seep through the communal channels.”
Cassie followed Leenea into a giant room dominated by a huge dining table and a large sitting area with numerous sofas and chairs. If possible, the space was larger than her grandfather’s greeting room. Everything in the room from the colors to the furnishings emitted a welcoming ambiance.
A woman with light auburn hair sat on one of the sofas with her back turned to her. She was talking with two men, both with hair as black as coal but one’s was longer. Aware they had company, the woman and the man with the short black hair turned in Cassie’s direction. Cassie stared into the green eyes of Alexandra Mann.
Although Cassie tried not to have favorites between the girls at the orphanage, Alex was always like a sister in the early years. Cassie had begged her father to adopt Alex so they could be true sisters. Benko felt the girls were safer where they were and the visits ceased for their safety.
Alex maneuvered out of the man’s embrace and headed toward Cassie with tears in her eyes. “I’m so glad to see you again, Cassie,” Alex cried. “I just can’t believe you left the safety of the Troyk penal colony.”
Cassie was not sure how to answer her old friend. Perhaps if they were alone she would have confided in Alex, but they were in a room full of people.
Somehow Alex must have sensed her discomfort because she continued talking, filling what might otherwise have been an awkward silence.
“Candy will be back shortly from wherever she was sent,” Alex said. “Then we’ll all be back together again. I know your father must have had his reasons for stopping your visits, but I missed seeing you. First we lost JoJo and then you.”
Her friends had long since stopped calling JoAnna by her childhood name. Cassie had remembered how upset Alex had been about her absent friend. She knew she would cause her the same pain when her father pulled Cassie from the girls’ lives.
“Alex took both your departures badly,” Shirl added. “She became more withdrawn and started to blend into the shadows. It was about that time our telepathic channel opened, but we didn’t know it at the time. We just started finishing each other’s sentences and somehow knew what the other two were thinking.”
Alex initially nodded her agreement to what Shirl said, but then got a strange look on her face. Cassie felt like she was under a magnifying glass based on how Alex was studying her. Her friend’s expression went from confusion to wonderment in a matter of moments.
“Our pathway opened during one of Cassie’s visitations,” Alex claimed. The communication came through a channel that had been long dormant in Cassie’s brain until earlier that afternoon. The small woman with the light auburn hair used a pathway neither Shirl or JoAnna bothered to try before today.
It would be senseless to deny Alex’s words. The girls did not know what had transpired on their first visit together. Cassie knew the pathway opened and that she was responsible. However, she was not ready to divulge the significance of the channel, even if she knew what it was. Her suspicions were negated when Chartail entered their channel when she arrived in the penal world. Cassie later discovered her father’s soul mate had entered the channel while she was still in the Troyk universe.
“Dad did not want the three of you to know you had telepathic abilities,” Cassie admitted. “JoAnna had already used her gift to get adopted. There was too much at risk to reveal any more. What you experienced could easily be explained away as three friends who were as close as any family. People would believe you were so devoted to each other you could almost read each other’s thoughts.”
“You girls can catch-up later,” Leenea said. “Let me show Cassie her room.”
Cassie felt guilty she had been communicating telepathically with her friends and left the rest of the people in the room standing around waiting for them to finish. She had not been introduced to the two black haired men. She assumed the older one, built like a linebacker, was Alex’s soul mate Tarsea. The other had to be Candy’s Tolfer.
Leenea led her down a small hallway. The rest of the group remained in the common room. They entered a small bedroom where several bags sat on the bed. The room was decorated with warm and inviting colors. Several decorative pillows graced the bed. She felt the tension in her shoulders weaken. Cassie had not realized how stressed she was.
“JoAnna was staying here,” Leenea informed her. “When she returned from Gingko Terra with Koel they moved into his apartment. So little time has elapsed, she has not been around to pick up her things. When Shirl communicated through the warrior channel they were bringing you here, I quickly collected JoAnna’s possessions. I am sure the girls will want to go shopping with you, particularly JoAnna and Shirl.”
Leenea did not have to explain to her what the warrior channel was. It was a closed channel for those who were loyal to the True Ruler of the Troyk universe. The telepathic link opened shortly after the soul mate channel opened when she and her father met Darden. Once again, Cassie kept quiet about having access to the pathway.
“Alexandra and Candy do not like shopping?” Cassie asked.
“Sweetheart, you need to call Alexandra either Alex or Alexia,” Leenea corrected her. “For the time being, she is posing as a young woman who was raised in the Starling province by her aunt Norrie. Tarsea and his friends have done a fine job of keeping Alexia from Jeryl Jarlyn’s attention. Alexia’s cousin Solfa is in charge of the Prime Ruler’s intelligence division. It has made things very interesting, particularly since Solfa is one of us.”
Cassie had been made aware of all the fictional stories and relationships when she arrived in the penal colony world. It was totally different keeping the narratives straight now that it was critical she did so. One slip and Cassie could endanger her friends.
Chapter 3
The Troyk Penal Colony World
Darden stepped through the portal into the parallel dimension in which he currently resided. He was returning to Cassie and was anxious and excited to see her. She remained unaware of how difficult it was waiting for his soul mate to grow up. The friction that currently existed between them since he took her to the penal colony world was weighing him down. Her face no longer brightened when she saw him as it once had.
He could still remember the electrical shock to his system when he bumped into the little girl. His life had changed that day, as had his allegiances. The most wanted fugitive in the Troyk universe was before him and he selected to protect his soul mate and her father. Cassie had become his world, his reason for living.
They were soul mates, destined to be together. The fear of what she would evolve into had kept him from consummating their relationship. As soon as they made love, their brains would excrete a hormone that would start the evolutionary change of their telepathic abilities. Darden knew how much he hurt Cassie restraining his ever-growing lust for her.
Cassie had been a promising youth. She developed into a beauty beyond his expectations. Darden knew he was biased, but he did not miss the looks other men gave her. She had no clue how extremely attractive she was. Fortunately, Cassie seemed oblivious to the attention she got from other men.
The mission to find Troyk dissidents in other dimensions kept him away from Cassie too long. There was an emptiness in his soul only she could fill. He was now incomplete without her.
His eyes roamed the crowd that came to meet him. The one face he sought was not present. Cassie must be off sulking. His abstinence brought out the worst in her. It would be wrong of him to blame her dark moods on anyone other than himself.
Darden’s pulse raced once he saw the look on Chartail’s face. The once spoiled beauty had been a pillar of strength and optimism since meeting her soul mate, Benko Jarlyn. Something was terribly wrong.
“What has happened?” Darden asked. “Where is Cassie?”
He held his breath awaiting a response. His mind whirled at all the terrible things that could have occurred to his soul mate. There were still lone insane fugitives who prowled the jungles outside the settlement. Had one of them attacked and harmed his love?
“Cassie is in the Troyk universe,” Benko Jarlyn responded. “Shirl and JoAnna came with news that my father discovered that the identities of Ben and Cassandra Clark were a ruse. The girls believed they were in danger now that part of the truth had been exposed. My daughter voluntarily accompanied them back. They spouted some nonsense of her needing to learn to use her telepathic gift in order for her to grow into the woman she was meant to be.”
“You did not try to stop her?” Darden asked in a condemning tone. Although they were soul mates, Benko Jarlyn had placed numerous obstacles around their ability to be together. He painted frightening scenarios of what a fifth-generation mind control telepath might be able to do. After watching JoAnna evolve her telepathic powers, Darden was no longer as concerned as Benko.
“Obviously, my daughter no longer heeds my advice,” Benko replied. “The girl is now taking her direction from Shirl and JoAnna. I seem to only drive her away.”
Darden knew what Benko said was partially true. To be fair, he was as much to blame for Cassie leaving as her father. Their relationship did not give Cassie the foundation to withstand her need to discover for herself who she was. Shirl and JoAnna had matured and become powerful telepathic beings once they left Gingko Terra. How could his soul mate resist the opportunity? As much as they painted the Troyk universe as being a dangerous temptation, it was also a place her friends had thrived.
“I am going after her,” Darden declared.
He walked in the direction he came and stood before the gateway as his telepathic ability and crystal opened the natural portal. Before he stepped into the event horizon, a hand landed on his shoulder. He shifted his head to see Chartail by his side.
“You cannot re-enter the Troyk universe through the mountain pass,” Chartail warned him. “As soon as you are detected, C.T. Guards will be dispatched to take you in. Jeryl Jarlyn will blame you for keeping his granddaughter away from him. Upon your arrest, you will be put in a cell, never to be seen again. Crystal telepaths were never sent to the penal colony. No one knows what happened after they were convicted of whatever crime they were supposedly guilty of.”
“She is right,” Kelog Potts said. The former C.T. Guard probably had accompanied a convicted crystal telepath to whatever fate was determined by the Prime Ruler. “Although no public trial for desertion will be held, Jeryl Jarlyn will see to your quick conviction and sentencing. It is rumored he has his own private facility where people disappear, particularly if their crime was not visible to the population.”
“Worse,” Chartail continued, “if he discovers you are Cassie’s soul mate, the Prime Ruler will force a mating and take control of molding his granddaughter’s powers. You would be kept alive solely as leverage so Cassie will be afraid to thwart Jeryl’s plans.”
“We know my father is capable of such behavior,” Benko said “He forced Koel and JoAnna to have sex, while holding Koel’s sister hostage. Fortunately, JoAnna was able to control the additional powers she developed and my father slid further into madness.”
“Wait until your crystal has enough power to open a portal into the Childers’s common room or until Shirl returns to this world,” Chartail recommended. “Shirl, JoAnna, and Candy will protect Cassie. Jeryl Jarlyn has been waiting so long for his family to return to the Troyk universe, the last person he will intentionally hurt is his own granddaughter.”
Darden considered everything the people around him had to say. There was nothing he wanted more than to be a hero where his soul mate was concerned. He had to admit everything they said was correct. At this point, following Cassie’s trail would only put her in harm’s way.
He headed for his hut without saying another word. What could he say? His soul mate’s life was in the hands of the four women he brought to the Troyk universe. Each had a telepathic gift to help protect Cassie. It never dawned on him that Cassandra Jarlyn could protect herself.
The stone skipped five times across the lake’s moonlit surface before it fell into its depths. He kept telling Cassie the proper technique was all in the wrist to properly launch a stone across a body of water. Her impatient nature made her want to master the act immediately.
Darden sat on a nearby boulder and watched the light shimmer across the water. It was a beautiful sight and he wished Cassie were there to share it with him, but an impulsive act temporarily took her away from him.
Cassie was not impulsive. She was frustrated. He knew his soul mate better than she knew herself. He should have seen this coming.
He would be lying to himself if he did not acknowledge he was worried sick for her. Jeryl Jarlyn became more unstable with each passing day. Candy, Shirl, and JoAnna would protect her, but it was of little comfort. It was his responsibility to safeguard his soul mate.
“She will be all right,” Benko Jarlyn informed him. The future leader of the Troyk universe stepped off the path leading to the lake and joined him on the large weathered rock. A chill in the air caused the older man to pull his sweater across his chest.
“I should be with her,” Darden murmured.
“In a perfect world, you would be,” Benko replied. “Your presence would only complicate matters. My father will not harm Cassie. She is what he’s waited for his whole life—a fifth-generation mind control telepath. Fortunately, my daughter is too stubborn to be manipulated by him.”
Darden could not help but laugh at that comment. Cassie was a true Leo, as she pointed out numerous times. He knew little about Gingko Terra’s astrological signs, other than what Cassie shared with him. “Leos are stubborn,” she often declared when he commented on her bull doggedness.
“That she is,” Darden said. Then he sighed. “But she is defenseless. We should have trained her how to defend herself. I know Candy will look out for her, but she cannot be with her constantly.”
Darden turned and looked at Benko, only to note the look of surprise on his face. There was obviously something about Cassie he did not know. He raised his left eyebrow, questioning what Benko was thinking.
“When I realized Cassie had telepathic abilities, I did teach her how to manipulate thoughts in case any of my father’s Gatherers found her,” Benko admitted. “She was a natural. I never saw anything like it. We practiced on merchants, encouraging them to lower the cost of things we wanted to purchase. No one ever appeared to experience any adverse effects, either. Whenever we trained, I was there to pull her out of the subject’s mind if I sensed any issues. We only talked about what the differences would be if she was trying to influence a hostile person.”
Darden frowned in confusion at the news. Cassie regularly claimed she did not know how to use the abilities she inherited. Now Benko was claiming he had trained his daughter to protect herself telepathically. He knew Benko was holding something back.
“Shortly before we met you,” Benko continued, “a Gatherer tried to abduct Cassie from our house when she was alone. I was not sure how he found us. When I got home the man was dead on the floor. His head imploded as a result of telepathic powers. Cassie was hiding in her closet, shell-shocked. It appeared she first tried to hold him off physically. She had a black eye and some bruises. Cassie finally was forced to use her telepathic powers against him.”
“She never told me,” Darden said. “What did she say happened?”
“Cassie never talks about it,” Benko answered. “Although I tried to draw the story out of her, she refused to discuss it. My ten-year-old little girl wanted to pretend it was all a bad dream and I let her. I was not in the position where I could have her seek psychological help. The authorities would have asked too many questions. I kept her home until she healed. We had yet another secret to keep. For months she had nightmares and was unusually moody. I was sure she was suffering from some type of post-traumatic stress.”
