Armageddon (16 page)

“Hoff?”

“And Atton.”

How did Therius even know she was married, let alone to whom? “I don’t understand. How can I be on Avilon and here at the same time?”

“How can you be alive at all? The Sythians shot you twice in the chest. You’ve been cloned, Destra. Haven’t you noticed everyone looking at you strangely? Have you had a chance to catch a glimpse of your reflection yet?”

Destra furrowed her brow as a headache pulsed behind her eyes. She turned to look at the glossy white walls and saw a blurry reflection there. Walking up to the nearest wall, she gasped, suddenly realizing why her own daughter didn’t recognize her. She touched her cheeks to make sure they were really hers. The reflection was faint, but still clear enough. She looked twenty again.

“It takes too long to age clones past maturity, and what would be the point?” Therius explained. “But rest assured, you are still the same woman you’ve always been. The only difference is a physical one.”

“I don’t understand,” Destra repeated. Her gaze fell upon the silver Star of Etherus over Therius’s left breast. “You’re an Etherian disciple. Why would you condone cloning? Don’t you believe in an afterlife?”

“It’s hard to argue with cloning when you are already a clone.”

“Then aren’t you afraid that you no longer have a soul?”

“I believe that clones fit into Etherus’s plans, or else he wouldn’t have allowed us to be cloned in the first place. To believe otherwise is to believe that Omnius could thwart God.”

Destra shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“You will in time. For now all you need to understand is that Etherus has a plan, and we are part of it. The Sythians are not the real enemy; Omnius is, and if we are going to defeat him, then all of us have to stand together and fight. Shallah was also deceived. When he discovered that Omnius had been lying to him, he turned against his master. The truth has that effect on people; it sets them free. Now we have to set everyone else free who is still a captive of Omnius’s lies.”

Destra felt light-headed. Her mouth was so dry that her tongue felt like sandpaper rasping against the roof of her mouth. By contrast, Farah seemed to be following along just fine. Destra saw her bobbing her head as if everything made perfect sense, as if she’d always known. Destra decided to try wrapping her head around one of the smaller mysteries first. “Why go to the trouble of killing us only to clone us back to life?”

Therius regarded her with a smile. “You were still linked to Omnius. Those ties had to be severed. We copied the data from your minds and cloned you in our facilities.”

“But why? You must have brought us back for a reason.” Farah said.

“Of course. You’re going join the fight against Omnius.”

“Where do you come from?” Farah asked.

“I escaped Avilon, and I have been rescuing people from there ever since. We intercept and copy their Lifelink data when they die on Avilon.”

Destra saw Farah’s eyes light up. “There’s a man who came to the Getties before I did. He may have died in orbit around Noctune. Did you… is he still…”

“Alive? You’re talking about Admiral Bretton Hale,” Therius said.

Farah sat suddenly straighter, looking ready to leap from her bed. “He’s alive?”

“Yes, but—”

“Where is he? When can I see him?”

Therius’s eyes darted away, as if he was hiding something, but Farah didn’t appear to notice. “You’ll get to meet him soon.”

“Where are we?” Atta asked.

Therius regarded her with a smile. “I was hoping someone would ask me that.” He walked over to the far wall of the room. Destra noticed that wall was glowing with some kind of internal radiance. Therius waved his hands at the wall, and the source of the radiance became clear. The wall turned from opaque and glowing to transparent and shining with the dazzling light of day. A bright blue sky sprawled overhead. Far below, fields of green grass stretched out to the nearby shore of a lavender-hued lake. Destra saw mountains, jungles, glaciers…

She shivered as goosebumps prickled her skin. Sparks flew inside her brain. She
recognized
this place. But that was impossible. It was just an acute case of déjà vu. So many habitable worlds looked alike that this one must have triggered an old memory from somewhere else.

“Recognize it?” Therius asked, turning Destra’s rationalizations to dust.

“I don’t believe it…” Farah whispered.

“This is Origin,” Therius replied.

“The birthplace of humanity,” Farah added, still whispering.

“Welcome back.” Therius’s gaze traveled around the room, finding each of them in turn and finally settling on Torv. “All of you.”

Chapter 15

“C
eyla, this is Valari Thardris, my aunt and foster mother.”

Valari smiled and held out a hand.

“It’s so great to meet you,” Ceyla said. “Darin has told me a lot about you.”

“Has he now?” Valari replied. Atton saw her arch an eyebrow at him, but Ceyla missed the exchange. “Please, come in,” Valari went on. “Dinner is almost ready.”

Atton waited for Ceyla to go in first. She seemed to be looking everywhere at once. A winding staircase led up from the foyer. High above the sparkling indigo floor hung a lavish crystal chandelier.

“You have a beautiful place, Valari,” Ceyla said as she walked into the penthouse.

“Thank you, dear.”

“What is it you do?” Ceyla asked, looking up at the crystal chandelier and the winding staircase.

Valari waved her hand dismissively. “Nothing really. It’s all inherited,” she said.

“Oh.”

Valari turned and led the way to the dining room, her flowing white evening gown shimmering as she walked.

Atton placed a hand at the small of Ceyla’s back, urging her forward. As they walked, she leaned over and whispered, “You didn’t mention your aunt was so wealthy.”

“I didn’t think it mattered,” he replied.

They walked through a lavish living room with high, tray ceilings, recessed lighting and plush white carpets to cover the sparkling indigo floor. Then they came to the dining room—a long white table with Valari’s black arachnoid chandelier hanging overhead.

Valari sat at the head of the table, while Atton and Ceyla sat beside one another in the middle, facing the view. Atton watched the shining rivers of air traffic, allowing his eyes to drift out of focus.

Then came a
clanking
sound and a distinctive
whirring
of mechanical parts. Atton’s head snapped up and his eyes darted to find a pair of drones emerging from Valari’s kitchen, one carrying glasses, the other, two bottles of wine.

Beside him, Ceyla tensed and turned to him, her eyes full of alarm. Atton’s cheeks were already bulging with his next lie when Valari explained for him.

“Don’t worry. They’re Null-made.”

Ceyla turned to their host and then glanced back at the pair of drones. “They look very…
similar
to Omnius’s drones,” Ceyla replied.

“Yes, that’s by design. I find they inspire more fear than human bodyguards. They are more competent, too.”

Ceyla frowned as if she didn’t understand.

“Surely you know that former Etherians such as myself are targets for lowlifes here in the Null Zone? Eternal youth and beauty are just a few of the genetic advantages that Omnius’s fallen children have over Null-born citizens, and down here we are resented for those advantages.”

“That must be hard,” Ceyla said.

The drones came by and asked them what they’d like to drink, speaking in soft, soothing tones. Ceyla selected a lavender wine, while Atton selected a dark amber one. He marveled at the rare vintages, and he realized that Valari was showing off even more than usual.

Once the drones finished pouring, he risked a sip of his wine. It was dry and bitter, but somehow soft and silky smooth at the same time. His head swam with an immediate buzz. He set his glass back down, suddenly suspicious that Valari was trying to get him drunk—or drug him. Bliss could be concealed in any beverage. Who better to give him his first taste than the Null Zone’s one and only supplier?

“Tell me about yourself, Ceyla,” Valari purred. “Darin tells me that you’ve been dating for the past seven months. He also told me that you’re engaged.” She raised her own wine glass and nodded to them. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you. As for me, well, there’s not much to tell,” Ceyla said.

“Oh, I doubt that. It must take a very special lady to win such devotion from my Darin.”

Ceyla laughed lightly and her cheeks flushed. She sent Atton a dreamy look before continuing. “I’m an orphan from the war. I came to Avilon aboard the
Intrepid
looking for reinforcements to help Dark Space fight the Sythians.”

Atton nodded, listening to Ceyla recount the tale of how she’d come to Avilon. She didn’t know that they’d come together. She’d been a pilot in
his
Nova squadron. He was her first love and she was his.

“That’s quite the story,” Valari said when Ceyla finished. “But that only tells me where you came from, not who you are or what you care about.”

“Well, I care about Darin, obviously,” Ceyla said, flashing a crooked smile at him.

Valari nodded. “Obviously. But I am curious about something. Why did you become a Null?”

Atton frowned, wondering if Valari was taking this foster mother act too far. She was meant to make Ceyla feel welcome, and to substantiate the lie that he was who he said he was—not interrogate her the whole night.

“I chose to become a Null because I believe that we go to a better place when we die, and I don’t want to miss out on that because I chose to become immortal in this life.”

Valari’s smile grew. “So you believe that you have a soul.”

“Yes,” Ceyla replied.

Atton cleared his throat, not liking the controversial turn the dinner conversation was taking.

Valari caught his eye and held his gaze for a long moment. Then she shrugged and said, “Optimists do live longer, so I suppose you won’t go unrewarded for your beliefs.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have no proof of what you believe,” Valari explained.

“I don’t need it.”

“Exactly. That makes you an unreasoning optimist at best, and at worst… well, let’s leave it at that, shall we?”

“Yes, I think we’d better,” Ceyla said, shaking her head and looking out the windows.

Atton grimaced and went back to staring at the rivers of traffic flowing by below Valari’s penthouse. “Nice view,” he said, taking another sip of his wine.

“It is, isn’t it?”

The silence returned, lasting for several minutes this time. Then dinner arrived, brought in by the drones who had served them their wine. They all ate quietly, and Atton feared that Ceyla really had offended Valari.

“The food is delicious,” Ceyla said.

“Mmmm?” Valari inquired, looking up from her food with eyebrows raised, as if she hadn’t been paying any attention. “Oh, the food—no, it’s nothing special, but I’m glad you like it. Simple tastes for simple people, I suppose.”

Ceyla managed a strained laugh at her own expense, and Atton’s frown deepened.

The rest of the evening went much the same way, with plenty of awkward silences and paper thin smiles. Right after dessert, Atton excused them from the table, saying that they needed to catch up on their sleep.

Valari stopped him, asking to speak with him privately before they left. He looked to Ceyla, and she nodded, giving her permission.

“Interesting,” Valari said, her eyes on Ceyla. “I didn’t realize they made leashes that short. Don’t worry; we won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you need,” Ceyla replied.

Atton could feel his blood boiling, the steam hissing out his ears. He could barely think he was so furious. Valari led Atton into her office, and the door slid shut behind them.

“What the frek was that?” Atton demanded. “You’re supposed to make her feel welcomed to the family, not make fun of her beliefs and make snide comments all night long!”

“Relax,” Valari said. “I’ve done you a favor. You asked me to play a part, and I have. I played it so well, in fact, that you won’t have to ask me for the same favor again soon. Ceyla won’t be in a hurry to see me again after tonight, so you’re off the hook little fish.”

Atton scowled, but he had to admit there was a certain amount of genius to that thinking. “You could have warned me.”

Valari shrugged. “This way your outrage was genuine, so Ceyla won’t be angry with you, too.”

Atton sighed. “Well, in the interests of supporting my fiancée, I think we should probably still get going.”

“Not so fast. I did you a favor. Now you owe me one.”

Atton’s eyes narrowed swiftly. “You didn’t mention that when I asked you.”

“I didn’t have to. Reciprocity is implied by our friendship.”

“So we’re friends now?” Atton asked.

Valari’s lips curved into a sly grin. “Well, I wouldn’t like to think that we’re enemies, would you?”

“What do you want?

“That’s a good question… what
do
I want?”

“Well?” Atton prompted.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something. Don’t worry, I never forget a favor.”