Zinc 01 - Altors, page 25
part #1 of Zinc Series
He wasn't long, flopping down onto the couch, his head in my lap as he looked up at me with his blue eyes.
"You are going to tell me about those nightmares now." He gripped my chin, making sure I couldn’t look away. "I realize you don't look forward to it, but if we're going to be the mushy couple we seem to be becoming, then I'm going to need to know what is going on when you wake up screaming next to me."
"It's no biggie." My voice was stiff.
"No biggie, my ass." His words clipped. "I don't like pressuring you but I think this is something I need to know." I looked away from him, crossing my arms stubbornly over my chest as my emotions suddenly sprang to life. I'd only talked about this two times. Lupinus and Calycanthus. They were the only ones who knew what had taken place all those years ago; that horrible memory that had managed to mute me.
"They're about the night my parents were murdered. I was there." Glad he didn't make any sort of reaction, I inhaled deeply before I continued. "My father had done something wrong, he angered some people that I can now identify as the Regius." I had no idea why they had been murdered, everything was much too unclear in my head to figure out some kind of reason. "My mother woke me, she was crying and my father kept shouting at her that she should hide me because they were coming, that she had to believe him when he said he’d seen them coming." Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my head to peek at Galax who seemed to be frozen in place. Cali had looked the same.
"She hid me underneath the sink in the kitchen. You see, that is where she put all the cleaning products so she had put a lock on those cabinets." How long ago that seemed now. Galax sat up, hesitantly pulling me against him so I could fall against his chest. "She locked me inside and slid the key under the cabinet door. She told me to hold onto it and only slide it back through when she or my father would ask for it." My forehead was wrinkled in a deep frown, my eyes squeezed shut as I could feel small tears starting to gather in the corners. "She never came back." I murmured. "The noises were awful, Galax. I didn't see what happened but I could hear everything. There was a struggle and I could hear their screams." My lungs were acting up as they tried to force me to keep breathing. Galax's arms had tightened around me, trying to comfort as best he could. "I was stuck in the cabinet for two days, wondering where my mum was and why my father wasn't answering me." Galax opened his mouth to say something, probably to say he was sorry, but it wasn't his fault so I placed my palm onto his mouth.
"People came. It took them awhile to figure out where I was." I paused and frowned. "The man that brought me to Acacia and Lupinus, he was Altor. He had blue hair, but tanned skin and grey eyes, a very stern face and he wore a long black coat." I remembered him well. Or at least, I remember what he looked like. "When he finally convinced me to give him the key, I burst out and ran to find my parents." My blood ran cold. "I saw the 'crime scene'." I frowned up at Galax who looked absolutely horrified. "I'm not sure whether it was a good or a bad thing to see." I stuttered, swallowing nervously. "I went mute after that and I've had nightmares about it ever since. Cali came to the boarding house a year later. He's the one who managed to get me to talk again. He brought me back to life, so to speak, made me whole thanks to his friendship." Unfortunately, that was the most prominent memory I had of my parents and my childhood.
Silence reigned over the room and Galax didn't reply or speak his mind; he probably didn't know what to say and I didn't expect him to find the words. I appreciated the silent comfort he was giving me instead of trying to dig his way through verbally. In the end, there were no words. You couldn't offer an apology because it was no one's fault. Condolences was such an odd word, it seemed wrong to use.
Tilting my head, I placed my lips against his cheek, letting my fingers trail softly up and down his spine.
"Pieris Saxton." He whispered.
"The Altor Elder? What about him?"
"The man you saw was Pieris." He trailed off, looking strangely at me.
"What?" I pressed.
"Well, besides the Regius, Altors, Palliums and Civilians, there used to be another kind of race roaming Zinc. Their numbers were never large and they divided into two clans. You said that your father told your mother that he’d seen them coming and that she had to believe him.”
I shrugged. “The house had windows.”
“But every Altor is registered at birth. You clearly weren't because it took them days to find you. It’s illegal to bypass that.” Galax pointed out. “It’s for safety reasons so it wouldn’t make sense for a parent to ignore the registration.”
“What are you getting at?” I puffed out.
Galax grinned at my frustration. “Keeping your identity hidden? Your father being hunted by the Regius? Your recurring nightmares?” He paused. "Years ago Sage terminated all the Seers with the exception of herself." He breathed in, obvious excitement visible as he if he had just realized something big. "Sage descends from the seer clan that sided with the Regius. She felt threatened by the other clan and had them all killed." His licked his lips. "Your father didn’t do anything wrong, not intentionally anyway. He was hard pressed to hide you because you, like him, are Seer. It's why he saw them coming. If she could have seen through the window, he wouldn't have asked her to believe him.”
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"No, your eyes." He trailed of with a frown. "They don't look gold like Vervaine's though." He muttered, making me laugh in surprise as he placed his thumbs on my eyelids, pressing them up so he could take a good look. "I thought the yellow meant you were part Civilian and because Vervaine and Sage are the only known Seers in Zinc, I didn't go there. But the color is unusual for someone that has Altor in them." He smiled. "You don't have the gift though, you were aggressive during the trigger."
"Excuse me?"
He chuckled. "Vervaine is Sage's daughter." When my eyes widened at that, he shook his head. "Her dad is an Altor and she grew up amongst the soldiers with a strict lifestyle that is supposed to help keep the gift under control and stop her from being manipulated by her mother. Due to her Altor side, when Vervaine was triggered she entered a stage of delirium, then she fell asleep rather than attacking like everybody else."
“Calycanthus!” I exclaimed.
“What?”
I elaborated quickly. “He must be part seer as well as his eyes are the same color as mine.”
“I think we should start looking into your family tree.”
“Why didn’t you before?”
“I thought you were part Civilian and part Altor. Since you needed the trigger, I knew the Altor parent you had must have been a soldier themselves, thus making the blue blood cell strong enough to require the change. But,” He shrugged. “Civilians and Altors mix more often than one may think. It creates very tense situations as the Altor must keep the secret of the war from their partner. If I wasn’t surprised you ended up in a boarding house, it’s because often the marriages that include an Altor and Civilian are ended by the Regius. It’s much easier for a Blue Blood to take hold over an Altor soldier when their partner doesn’t have the strength to fight back.” Pulling away, he said, "I planned on surprising you, but..." One of my eyebrows raised upwards in question, remaining silent as I patiently waited for him to explain what he was talking about.
"I got us boat tickets for Copper Town. We leave with the next ferry, which is in a week." He smiled broadly as my lips parted in shock, my eyes widening as I didn't know how to react.
So many things had happened these last couple of days. I'd been chased, nearly killed, I'd participated in a war, I'd seen my boyfriend naked, apparently I was part magical and now he topped it all off by getting us tickets. Goosebumps broke out over my skin as I gasped, sitting up and Galax did as well to give me some space. He was bringing me to Calycanthus. He was getting me to Cali!
I threw my hands up in the air and squealed loudly, bouncing up and down as I was still gaping at him in complete shock. Screaming in joy, I tackled him, making us fall back roughly onto the floor as we slipped off the edge of the couch. He didn't seem to mind though as he laughed while I covered his face with numerous, hundreds, millions of small kisses, thanking him in between each.
* * * *
Those who'd needed to recover had recovered; the wounded were healing after having been taken care off and the Palliums were slowly getting back to their daily routine. Although the castle could have seen worse, it had been hit quite severely and needed to be rebuilt in certain areas. This meant the garage was a bit less crowded than it usually was as a quarter of the Palliums were lending a hand to Flux, Conium and Galax, putting the fallen bricks back in place. Palliums residing in Cobalt City had come up in the sand mountains to help around, as well.
Thankfully the glove had done the trick and my hand hadn't been more damaged throughout the battle. It was still strained, but I wasn't doing any heavy lifting anyway. My muscles were back in order thanks to the many hours of sleep and the couple of days off Flux had given to all of us so we could recover properly before getting back to work. Galaxi and I had become much closer. I suppose spending hours fighting side by side did that.
We'd been finishing the last details on the vehicle I had been putting together since I'd first gotten here. It was ready to go to the Altors in Serenium. Galaxi just needed to check up on some last details.
I remember that I'd wanted to hide inside the car, transporting me to Serenium along with the vehicle so I could get there sooner. Obviously such dramatic actions weren't necessary anymore. The excitement I was feeling over finally being able to go to Serenium was there constantly. It kept me smiling and I nearly felt bad for it as everyone was still getting over the attack. I couldn't help it though. Finally. I was going to see Calycanthus again. That idea alone brightened my day.
I'd be traveling to the Altor Coliseum with Galax by my side. He was pretty certain the Altors knew where we could find Cali. The fact that he was coming with me made everything perfect and he seemed pretty determined to figure out my lineage. He was curious to find out how the Seers that had once sided with the Altors, had resurfaced after having been believed dead. Apparently a soldier in training named Jatrop Jansen could possibly help Galax figure it out.
My head tilted skywards and I smiled up at the warm sun while standing beside the car, absently assisting Galaxi as she was programming the computer in the dashboard, setting it to 'live'.
"Have you got the locator?" She asked, her voice muffled as I was standing outside of the car and she was sitting inside. I hmm'd in reply, letting her know I had it as I fingered the plastic bag containing the locator nestled in one of my pockets.
"Will the Altors be able to install it?"
She laughed. "At first glance they are a trifle stoic, but they aren't complete idiots when it comes to computers." She assured as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Do you think I'll meet Vervaine?" I suddenly asked, figuring she'd know the Seer. Galaxi eyed me curiously, wiping her hands with a cloth as she threw the door closed.
"You know you're part Seer, then?" Nodding my head, I felt confused.
She explained. "Flux's orders. I wasn't allowed to reveal this bit of info to you."
"Why would Flux keep this from me? And how did he know?" I was bewildered.
She shrugged. "Papa knows everything and nothing, can't explain how, he just always has. As for why he kept it from you..." She trailed off, seemingly reluctant to tell me. I narrowed my eyes.
"What do you know and why aren't you allowed to say?"
"Look, Solenum," She sighed heavily, giving me a careful look. "This has nothing to do with me. I'm an innocent bystander who happened to have overheard a conversation I wasn't supposed to." When I grimaced in irritation, she placed her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring smile. "Ask Flux. He's the one who deserves to be on the receiving end of your wrath." Pursing my lips, I nodded, knowing she wouldn't tell me even if I tried forcing it out of her.
Decided, I walked off in direction of the garage's exit, hoping I could find Galax first, because there was no way I'd face Flux on my own.
* * * *
Like always, Flux was standing in the middle of the control room, surrounded by computers and Palliums typing away furiously on their respective keyboards. Computers had been added, more people were searching through data to find anything that could lead them to the Regius' hidden base.
"Galax! Memor!" His shout resonated through the room as he marched up to us. Galax tensed beside me, concern flooding me as Flux getting angry at Galax was rare. He didn't shy away, surprising me as he too, spoke in Pallium, even if I was here and couldn't understand everything.
"Vestri ira sicco in mihi!" Galax didn't lack emotion, far from it, but he had a habit of keeping his angry side in check, fearful that if he gave into it, he might awaken whatever it was that made the Blue Bloods so cruel. So seeing him angry was strange as even in battle he was composed.
"Vos erant ut tener!" Flux roared in reply, making me look nervously in Galax's direction, my breath hitching at the pain I saw on his face. Fist clenching, I pinned the Pallium leader under my narrowed, anger filled eyes, making him blink and break his eye contact with Galax as I stood protectively in front of my boyfriend.
"Knock it off!" I ground out. Flux pursed his lips, his posture relaxing. "Whatever you want from Galax, he'll give you." That much I had understood. "If he doesn't, it's because he can't, not because he won't." Galax stepped closer to my side, his hand resting on my shoulder.
"Thank you." He whispered. Flux eyed us curiously. He didn't know? "Solenum has got a question for you."
"Why didn't you tell me you knew I am part Seer?" There was a moment of silence that followed, just the sound of fingers tapping away.
Flux grimaced. "Lupinus' orders." He finally said and my mouth dropped open.
"Lupinus’ orders?! What do you mean?" I shouted.
"I should have known something was up when you agreed to give Solenum a job so quickly." Galax murmured behind me.
Flux laughed humorlessly. "Didcha really think you could get away from Lupinus so easily?"
Ignoring his question, I continued our argument with another. "What were his orders?" My teeth gritted as I felt cold envelope me.
"I was to send Conium to LV to go getcha, but you'd already run away. Luckily, we were able to retrieve you."
“That’s why you were so hell bent on sending me out in the desert that day?” Galax growled.
Flux ignored him. "Look kid, Lupinus is only trying to protect you and Esquivel. You are as safe as you can be here while Calycanthus is as safe as he can be at the Altor Coliseum. Putting you together in one place is dangerous."
"But why?!" I screamed, taking a step away from him. "How does separating us make a difference?!"
"Not only are you part Seer, descending from the clan that didn't side with the Regius, putting you on Sage’s list of people she wants dead, but you are a direct connection to Acacia. Acacia offed Xen, Digitalis offed Acacia, leaving you and Lupinus. Esquivel is a different matter, doesn't change the fact that the Regius want him dead as well. The bottom line is, by separating the three of you, it throws them off track. More places they need to look."
"Who is Acacia to me?" My whisper firm enough to show Flux I demanded an answer to that and he better give it.
"Acacia Greenwich was her name before she married Lupinus." That name sounded familiar. "I am the only one who knows yours and Calycanthus' exact origin besides Acacia, Lupinus and another Altor soldier, because I've helped both your parents in the past." Flux sighed heavily, rubbing his face. "Aster Greenwich before she married your father and became Aster Everhart." My mouth parted in shock. "Acacia is your aunt. Lupinus is your uncle through marriage." He paused. "The reason we made sure nobody knew where Aster had gone, helping her, your father and you get off grid, is because your father, Leann Everhart, was Seer. Sage had been hunting him and his sister for years and your mother ran into your father and helped him get away from Sage." I stared numbly up at the Pallium leader, feeling the need to sit down.
"How does Calycanthus get thrown in the mix?" Galax asked, leading me to look up at him gratefully as I couldn't even form a question in my head.
"The other Altor soldier that knows about yours and Esquivel's origin is Kalmia Esquivel, Calycanthus' father. He fell off grid before meeting Cali's mother. He had a short lived relationship with Sage, a child came from it, but something happened to force Kalmia to abandon his child and run for his life." Sage was becoming uglier with each word Flux spoke. "Linn, your father's sister, used her gift to help Kalmia. They had Calycanthus together."
"Cali is my cousin?!" I screamed, everyone in the room freezing in shock, the noise of typing dying out. I realized something then. "Are they alive? Can he have his family back?" Flux pressed his lips tightly together, apologetically shaking his head. Lifting a hand, I frowned sadly back at the Pallium Leader.
"Hey, breathe." Galax stood before me, framing my face. "It's a lot to take in, I know, but you will be okay." He was wrong, I was freaking out. Grabbing his wrists tightly, I tried to convey I didn't know what to do with myself.
He pulled me into his arms. "I'm bringing you to Calycanthus tomorrow, remember? We know where he is now and you will be able to talk together." He was right. I would be able to tell Cali all of this tomorrow. We could freak out together and it would all be fine.
Flux had a different idea on the matter though. "Because you think I'm gonna let you leave? Out of the question!" He shouted, making Galax and me look up at him in surprise. "Lupinus' orders, you hear? I haven't gone through this much trouble keeping both your parents and your own personal asses safe all these years to just let you walk into a trap with my permission." He shook his head stubbornly. "I will lock you up in my cells. And if that doesn't scare you, I will have Cypress put you in his cells. Try talking sense into an Altor; impossible I tell you!"
