Remembrance Read online

  “We understand. Thank you for everything you’ve done, Jexxa. It is appreciated,” Raiden whispered softly, his words echoing off the cavern walls. A small, genuine smile flit over her face as she nodded. Jexxa turned, placing one hand against the cave wall. Vivid blue lines flowed outward from where her palm lay flat against the stone wall, like small surges of electricity or lightning contained within the glowing wall. The air trembled around them, shimmering much like it did when she’d noticed it around the settlement, but larger. Raiden squeezed her hand, his eyes widening as the air began to take on a golden, wavy sheen.

  “Are you ready?” Jexxa asked, stepping towards the glow. Without uttering a word, Raiden nodded. He stepped forward, Gwelle shuffling after him. They watched as Jexxa motioned them to follow her before she stepped directly into the light then disappeared.

  “I’m right here,” Gwelle whispered. Raiden smiled, as he stepped forward not releasing her hand. She watched as one second he was there, then not. Where their hands met, nothing but tingles. Closing her eyes, Gwelle drew in a shaky breath. She stepped through the light after Raiden, feeling the weight of his hand in hers. Her eyes fluttered open, blinking a moment before the fog around her cleared. Gwelle stumbled backwards, a gasp escaping her lips.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The Eather Plane

  The air was thin around Gwelle. With each breath she drew in, a dizzy euphoria filled her, and her mind, her body, everything, felt lighter as she stepped one foot in front of the other. Gravity had no bearing here, lessening and growing heavier at the same time. Just ahead, Raiden stood, awe etched on his handsome features. They stood in what looked like the forests of Varax, but everything was bigger, more vibrant, and vivid in the bright moonlight.

  Colors shimmered in the air like a rainbow of oil on the surface of water, wafting around and away as the wind blew. In the trees were some type of pods, houses, she supposed. The light-colored, domed buildings perched in the branches high above the ground for as far as she could see. She turned in a circle, her eyes darting around the clearing they now stood in. There was no sign of the cave, only a shimmering in the air which shrank to nothing as she watched.

  Raiden whispered something beneath his breath, but her mind was too light, too full of colors and shapes for her to make out what it was. She stumbled forward another step before she noticed Jexxa standing in front of them, or who she assumed was Jexxa. She was thinner, slightly taller. Her arms and legs were longer, leaner, willowy. That was the word she was searching for. Her fair hair, now almost silver, gleamed in the moonlight as did her skin. It shimmered, pasty and pale, shining with an aura of its own. But she was still Jexxa. Her features were still familiar, just different somehow. She floated in front of them as she led them through the clearing, the alien princess’ feet not quite resting on the ground. Jexxa walked through the shimmering landscape towards a tree holding a pod larger than the rest.

  That’s when she noticed them staring out from the pods, from behind the trees around the clearing. It was the Zanareen, Jexxa’s people, shimmering in the bright light of Varax’s twin moons, gaping at them as they followed close behind the princess. There was little movement around the settlement, despite the stares they were getting. She attributed it to the lateness. A small shudder slipped through her. She didn’t want to think about how busy it would be during waking hours. The few people standing around favored Jexxa, their silvery hair long, while lean bodies stood tall and stiff while they passed.

  “This will feel… strange. But don’t worry. It won’t hurt.” Gwelle barely had time to register Jexxa’s words before her body lifted from the ground. Panic seized her as she watched the ground grow further away. She and Raiden gaped at each other across the small distance separating them, and just as fast as they started rising, they now stood on the small porch surrounding the large pod. Her legs trembled like jelly for a moment as she stepped away from the edge. Jexxa ducked her head as she entered through a small arched opening with a thick fabric covering for a door, which she held aside waiting for Raiden and Gwelle to pass under.

  Jexxa clapped her hands, light filling the room, a light that was nowhere and everywhere at the same time. After a few moments, Gwelle gave up trying to find its source and instead looked around the main room they stood in. This must be an eating and living area. A wooden table sat in the center, surrounded by chairs, very similar to their own back in Nova-Zera. They were simple but efficient in design. But on the opposite side of the room sat what she imagined was seating. Large, voluminous fluffs of fabric, filled with something you could sink into, maybe feathers, filled the other areas of the large room. The oversized cushions looked comfortable but odd, having never seen anything like them before. Like the outside, the inside of the pod was light, a creamy white color. No bright colors were found anywhere she looked. Everything around her was in shades of white, grey, or brown.

  “Where are we?” Raiden said. “I mean, in relation to before…” His voice faded as he observed the shimmering in the air around them, even inside the little house-like structure. Although he’d stumbled over his words, Jexxa understood what he’d meant.

  “We are on what my people call the Eather plane. Here, we can be ourselves, compared to the surface where your settlement is. When we travel to the surface, we must tether ourselves in a more… solid form.” Gwelle blinked, taking in the strange words. Solid form… tether… surface. It was all so new.

  “You mean, you can change shape or form at will?” she asked Jexxa, who motioned for them to be seated.

  “I know it’s hard to understand, but that’s not what matters at the moment. I will be back shortly with your uncle. We mustn’t linger. Time moves… differently here.” Gwelle heard the hesitation in Jexxa’s voice, whether it was from not wanting to divulge too many secrets of the Eather plane, or just not knowing how to explain this odd world, she wasn’t sure. The girl turned and moved swift towards one of the doors on the side of the room. The door didn’t open, rather, she vanished through it as if she were made of mists instead of flesh and bone. Raiden turned to Gwelle, his mouth hanging open.

  “This place. It’s making me… dizzy,” he whispered.

  “I know. My mind hasn’t stopped spinning since we arrived.”

  “What do you think of it, of her people?”

  “I don’t know. I want to believe they mean us no harm, but after...” Gwelle paused, shaking her head to clear the fog that swirled in it, before continuing, “after seeing them, I’m not so sure. Look at what they’re capable of.” Gwelle’s words trailed off as Raiden moved to one of the chairs. Rather than sitting, he placed his hands on its back closing his eyes as he took a deep breath in.

  She followed, hovering a step away, not sure if she were there to comfort him, support him, or beg for answers. She’d promised herself she’d not ask. She’d simply trust him. But, from the moment she ran towards him by the fence, she knew she’d never stop wondering what really happened. Why was he on that surveillance footage? Now was not the time, she reminded herself in the now-too-quiet room. Raiden looked up and caught her brown eyes roving over his features. If he read the questions in her eyes, she wasn’t sure. He simply smiled. The small action disarmed her from her thoughts until she saw the sadness in the depths of his emerald eyes.

  “Why?” The word slipped from her lips before she could stop it. She watched as a flash of pain flit across Raiden’s face. “I mean…”

  “It’s alright. I know you want answers. I’m surprised you didn’t demand them before following me here.” Gwelle flinched at his words. Demand. That did sound like her. Demanding. Pushing. Rushing. She was always headstrong and rarely stopped to think things through before barreling straight into whatever she wanted to do or what she wanted to know. But he hadn’t said it in a mean or condemning way. There was actually a gleam of unwarranted pride in his eyes. It was pride that she didn’t deserve, she thought as he continued.

  “But first, why did you
help me escape? Surely you watched the evidence, or at least, your mom told you.” He stared at her, daring her to lay open her heart, her mind. Her tongue darted across her lips while she tried to find the words to answer. This place caused her to want to open up, to share every emotion, and every feeling flooding her. Her lungs constricted at the same time her feet wanted to lift from the floor and let her float away. Maybe it wasn’t the wisest time to have this talk.

  “I did watch the footage,” she whispered, blinking up at him. “But… it wasn’t you. They fixed it, doctored it, somehow. You wouldn’t…” She shook her head clearing the jumble of words she wasn’t sure made sense as they tumbled out. Looking up, Raiden’s green eyes bore into her. A frown set deep on his handsome face.

  “It was me, Gwelle. I was there.” The room spun around her. And not because of the Zanareen’s strange homeland. What was he saying? Her mouth dropped open as he continued. “But I didn’t hurt Kana. She was still very much alive when I left.”

  “Then why did you go there?”

  “I couldn’t shake the guilt they lay there because of me. I don’t know. Maybe just seeing them would somehow miraculously fill in the gaps, give us a clue, or…”

  “Ease your pain.”

  “Yes.” He looked down at where his hands gripped the chair, his knuckles white against the dark wood.

  “Raiden, you did nothing wrong.”

  “I left them. Alone.”

  “You saved us. You saved me.” Gwelle stepped closer, tugging his face towards her with one hand. “I am forever grateful for that.” A small, sad smile flickered at his lips. He leaned his head forward against hers, neither speaking for a moment.

  “Thank you for believing in me.”

  “It’s the least I could do. Believe in you for a day while you believed in me for years.” A chuckle rumbled deep in his chest at the truth of her words. “Why did you leave so quick? What happened?” She changed the subject back to the images she’d watched.

  “I heard something, someone, and suddenly wasn’t so sure being there in the middle of the night was a good idea. But if I’d stayed, maybe she’d still be alive.”

  “Or maybe you’d be dead,” Gwelle whispered. “When we get back, we need to get the rest of the footage. Whoever came in after you is who we’ve been looking for.”

  “True. But I have a feeling we won’t find anything. They wanted me framed.”

  “You mean Corsin wanted you framed.”

  “It’s hard to imagine. But he’s the only one who makes sense to blame with all this. That’s why I’m here. I’ve got to find out for sure who was with your dad and my uncle on that mission.” Just as Raiden finished speaking the door on the far side of the room creaked open as if rarely used. Gwelle took a quick step back as Jexxa entered the room. She wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like she and Raiden had been caught doing something wrong. Maybe the private nature of their conversation left her feeling a bit vulnerable in this strange place.

  The colors shifted around the room as Jexxa held open the same door she’d simply disappeared through a few minutes before. Uncle Jefferson walked through the doorway. His lips turning up in a bright smile at the sight of Raiden and Gwelle standing in the room. She watched as he shuffled over, the same loose, light colored clothes the Zanareen wore hanging from his body. He looked so much older than he did in the cave, possibly due to the bright lighting of the room. She could now see the myriad of fine lines around his eyes and mouth. His once jet-black hair, like his nephew’s, was now greyer than any other color.

  “Raiden! You’ve gotten so big.” Jefferson pulled Raiden into a tight hug as his nephew awkwardly looked over his uncle’s shoulder towards Jexxa. She stood off to one side of the room providing a semblance of privacy despite the space being small.

  “He doesn’t remember,” the native princess whispered, so soft Gwelle wasn’t sure Raiden heard her.

  “I’ve missed you too, Uncle Jeff. Are you safe? Happy?” Jefferson pulled back at his nephew’s words, looking over to Jexxa then Gwelle and back to the young man who’d been a boy the last time Jefferson Beckham remembered seeing him. A flicker of something deeper shimmered in the older man’s eyes as his brow scrunched a moment.

  “I’m safe. It’s… it’s strange here. But peaceful. So peaceful.” He looked off in the distance, stepping away from Raiden a moment. “You know, I told him no. It wasn’t right,” he mumbled, more to himself than to either young person who now stood at alert waiting to hear what Uncle Jefferson had to say.

  “Seeing you again has awoke long buried memories. He’s never spoke of the incident that brought him here in all the years he’s been our guest,” Jexxa said softly as they waited for the older man to continue. A tense silent-filled minute passed. Questions sprang to life in Gwelle’s mind, but she bit her tongue. She’d let Raiden question his uncle, at least at first. Raiden cleared his throat catching the older man’s attention. Jefferson blinked a moment before mumbling a few words under his breath.

  “What did you say, Uncle?”

  “Told the chief no, but he was in charge. Said… he said…” Jefferson raised a hand to his brow, rubbing his temple as if it would make his rambling thoughts clearer.

  “Who? Who said no?” Raiden asked, his voice was deceptively calm, quiet even. He knew what was riding on this information. Despite the nerves that had to be rampaging through him over the events of the past day, he remained the epitome of patience taking his uncle by the hand and leading him to a chair. Jefferson sat down, smiling over at Gwelle as if he’d just forgotten the words he’d been speaking seconds before.

  An ache panged through her chest remembering Jefferson the way he’d been before. The man who sat before them was only a shell, a ghost, of who he was when she was a child. Between him, her father, and Corsin, she’d never lacked for a role model, for a hero. She’d looked up to all of them and now her father was dead, Jefferson was an empty shell, and Corsin… Corsin had betrayed them all.

  A knot formed in her throat as she blinked tears back. Tears she never thought she’d shed over men who all left her in some way or another. No wonder Corsin distanced himself after her father’s death. Had the guilt bothered him in the beginning, she wondered swiping a hand over her eyes? She blinked the thoughts away turning back to Raiden who was still coaxing his uncle from the daze he now sat in.

  “I tried stopping him, Gwelle. He was so angry. Irrational.” Jefferson looked straight at her, a clarity in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Startled, she leaned forward, glanced at Raiden and back before opening her mouth.

  “I know you tried. I know you did your best to stop him. You were always a protector first, above all else.” Gwelle wasn’t sure where the words came from, but the peaceful look which crossed Jefferson’s face spoke volumes. He nodded along with each word she spoke.

  “It wasn’t right. They said no, so Neill and I voted to leave. There were other ways. It was the right thing.”

  Gwelle reached across the table and took the older man’s hand, squeezing it for reassurance. Reassurance not just for the man trying to shift through foggy memories but for the little girl she’d been when she’d lost both him and her dad. He’d not just been her father’s best friend, or Raiden’s uncle, Jefferson had been her uncle as well, or as close as one could be without being blood-relations. So much hurt had crippled her young heart that she hadn’t been able to see how much both she and Raiden had lost. Maybe if she had, she’d never have blamed him for something he wasn’t responsible for and lost two years with the boy she loved.

  “You always did do the right thing, Uncle Jeff,” Raiden said as a sad smile tugged on his lips.

  “Her people said no. The commander couldn’t see that. He said it was the only way. It felt wrong standing up to him, but we did. We said no…” Jefferson startled as a loud voice called from outside the pod. Gwelle jumped not expecting the interruption just as it seemed they were getting somewhere with the confused man. Jexxa e
xcused herself, stepping outside into the night.

  When Raiden and Gwelle turned back to their uncle, the man they’d just been talking to was gone. In his place sat the confused man from earlier. Angry voices rose outside the pod as Jefferson closed himself off from reality again. Several minutes passed as they questioned him, calmly trying to get him to speak once more. Try as they might they never pulled him from his stupor again. They gave each other a knowing look. Jefferson hadn’t said a name, but he had said enough to confirm their suspicions.

  Not able to tune out the rising voices any longer, Raiden walked around the table, laying a hand on her shoulder. The simple gesture should have been enough to calm her nerves as she listened to Jexxa and some unknown Zanareen’s speak in an unknown language just outside, but it wasn’t. Maybe coming here wasn’t the smartest move now. Her fears were multiplied when Jexxa flitted back inside, her shimmering skin glowing as she frowned from Raiden to Gwelle.

  “I need you two to come with me. An issue has arisen that we must attend before you can leave.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chosen

  Gwelle glanced at Jefferson who sat cowering across the table at Jexxa’s announcement, then to Raiden. The younger of the two looked ready to fight his way out of this unknown realm should the occasion call for it. His stiffness abated slightly when the alien princess spoke again.

  “Jefferson will be escorted safely back to his home. All will be right. I will let no harm come to any of you.”

  Gwelle laid a hand on Raiden’s tense arm. Looking down at her, she gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She couldn’t let him overcompensate for the guilt he felt over Kana and Rix. Not now. Too much was riding on them being here, finding out the information they needed, and returning to put a stop to the maniac trying to destroy the new life they had on Varax. And not just them, but all the settlers. There was too much at stake for Raiden to suddenly play hero, not that she didn’t appreciate him. She understood where he was coming from. She’d been overcompensating for all her pain these past few years and nothing good came of it. She’d not let him make the same mistake when so much depended on them forming relations with Jexxa’s people.