Excelsior (11 page)

“What the hell was that?” yelled Jason, shielding his eyes.

“Do you have a basement here? They're going to materialize on the bottom floor.” There was a crash, then the shaking stopped.

“It's, uh, this way.” Jason answered as he opened a door in the kitchen, revealing a staircase that led to the basement and a cloud of dust. “Why the basement?”

Katherine walked past Jason and started down the stairs. “That's where I landed when I came here.”

*   *   *

Jason gasped at the sight of four large, leather-clad men in his cellar. They sprawled among fallen paint cans and garden tools, old baby clothes and cardboard boxes labeled “Shred ASAP.” Everything had a thick layer of dust, including the men.

“So good to see you, Radifen,” Katherine said, hugging an older man with long, graying hair. When she stepped away from him, he bent his head and touched his heart. She turned to a larger man whose sleeveless tunic showed off his impressive arms.

“Dear Grannik!”

He genuflected then embraced her. “It will be a pleasure working with you again, Elder Klierra.”

“And I see you have brought Karini and Zorribis. It is so good to see all of you.” The two younger men stood and brushed themselves off and repeated the gesture.

“How did these bikers get in my basement?” Jason asked in disbelief.

“They were the balls of light that we saw in the kitchen,” Klierra replied.

Jason studied the men. Their gear reminded him of Renaissance Fair meets Hell's Angels. The faded embroidery on the edges of their jackets looked like the LED display on the microwave. And the biggest guy, Grannik, looked familiar.

“Do I know you from some place?” he asked, studying his face.

“Do you know me?” asked Karini smiling as he stepped out of the pile of dusty boxes. “I can't begin to tell you what an honor it is to meet you, Sir. I've heard the most wonderful stories about how you led our people into prosperity and how you defeated Nocterar.”

Klierra tapped him on his shoulder. “Karini.”

“What wonderful stories my clanmother used to tell about you when I was small. Is this the right word? Clanmother?”

“Grandmother,” corrected Klierra.

“Oh, forgive me, grandmother. My grandmother used to tell us about the time…”

“Karini, that's not him.”

“What?”

“That’s not him.”

Karini’s smile disappeared. “Oh. Then who is he?”

“He's a relative. Don’t worry, the young man who holds Excelsior's lifeforce is in the building, but he's upstairs. This is Jason Peters.”

Karini’s shoulders straightened and he held out his hand. “My name is Karini. Over there is my friend Zorribis.” As Jason reached out his hand, Karini grabbed his wrist and slapped his forearm smartly with his other hand. Zorribis laid down his pack and offered his hand. Jason winced from his stinging arm as Karini continued the introductions. “The big one is Grannik and the old man is Radifen.”

“How many times has this old man saved your life?” Radifen asked.

“You're still old,” Karini laughed.

Radifen turned to Klierra, “Where is the young man now?”

“He’s up in his room,” she replied.

“I’d better see if he’s OK. Things were falling down in the commotion as you… landed?” Jason said.

Radifen nodded. “Landed is as good a word as any.” Jason noticed he had the same slight accent as Klierra.

“Do you mind if I join you?” asked Klierra.

Jason nodded. They headed up the stairs.

“Elder Klierra,” Radifen interjected. “I apologize for troubling you with this, but would this man by any chance have rations for us? It was a long journey and we have not eaten for two cycles.”

Klierra looked at Jason. “I am so sorry, but may we trouble you?”

Halfway up the stairs, Jason turned back toward the Denarians. “Well... tonight is pizza night. I could get a few more from
Palermo
’s. You guys eat pizza?”

Zorribis looked at Radifen. “What's peet-za?”

*   *   *

“Matthew? Matthew?” Jason knocked for the fifth time. He pushed his nephew's bedroom door open and saw an empty room, an empty desk and a bed providing the only furniture. “Matt, you in here?”

Jason and Klierra walked inside the bedroom and looked around. Pieces of tape with shreds of paper stuck to walls that used to hold Matthew’s carefully constructed timeline and sketches. Klierra pointed to the wastebasket beside Matthew's desk. It overflowed with papers, some crushed into tight balls, others torn and jammed inside.

“Oh, geez…” Jason rubbed his face with both hands.

Klierra picked up two torn pieces that had fallen out of the basket and put them together. She smiled in recognition at the simple sketch.

“It’s Acerus.”

Jason looked at the picture she was holding, then at her. He picked up one of the crushed balls and uncrumpled it. The blue pushpin he had moved the other night remained stuck to the paper. “What did you tell him?” Jason asked Klierra. “He wouldn't act like this just on a whim.”

“I tried to help him understand the power that resides within him. I am not here to hurt Matthew. Please let me talk to him. I can help him understand.”

“I’ll be outside. If I hear Matt raise his voice, I’m coming in.”

Klierra nodded. “I understand. Mr. Peters, I know this must all seem crazy to you but please allow me to earn your trust by earning Matthew’s trust.”

Jason ran a hand through his hair. “Well, all right.” He glanced toward Matthew's closet door, which was cracked open. “He must be in there.”

Klierra walked up to the closet and lightly knocked on the door. “Matthew? May I open the door?” There was no answer. Klierra pulled the door out a bit and peeked inside. She saw Matthew sitting at a small desk, his clothes pushed to the other side of the closet, his knees poking up almost comically. For a moment she recalled hiding with her son in the caves of Denab as she observed the hunched figure in the tiny space.

Matthew looked up. His eyes were red and puffy, the defiant sparkle she saw outside the school cafeteria gone. His voice was a rasp.

“When I was a kid, I used to sit in here and write and draw. It was a good way to keep out of everyone's way and just be alone, you know. After the field trip to the museum, I was in here almost all night with these visions going through my head. I couldn't stop drawing them and then writing out what I was seeing. I was inspired. I knew I had something really special.” His eyes grew shiny as tears spilled onto his face. “What a waste, huh? I really thought I had something.” He dropped his face into his hands.

Klierra pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently pulled Matthew’s hands away from his face. She blotted his tears. “Matthew, please don't think like this. The stories you created are a wonderful thing. The power of Excelsior cannot just be given to someone at random. Otherwise it would have been transferred to the person who discovered the sword in
Greenland
. This is a gift and the person who inherits Excelsior's lifeforce has to have it within them to carry on his legacy. Do you understand?”

Matthew shook his head and pushed away her hand. “I don't understand any of this. Why me?”

Klierra knelt down on the floor and placed a gentle hand on Matthew's shoulder, suddenly remembering a gray-eyed youth named Semminex looking at her just this way. “There is something inside you that Excelsior recognized. And you revealed that element of yourself when you stood up to that larger student."

"I still don't understand how that happened. It didn't even feel like I was in control of my own body. It wouldn't stop walking up to Nick."

"But you wanted to do it, didn't you?" Klierra asked. Matthew just nodded and the Denarian saw fear, confusion and anger colliding in his eyes. "Despite what you may think, you possess within you an inner strength and a yearning to lead. When Denab IV was in its infancy and Valertus first found the sword, he was already known as a great warrior. The lifeforce of Excelsior enhanced his gift for leadership and inspired his ability as a pacesetter for our culture. Semminex also had the gift of leadership but Excelsior's lifeforce enhanced that gift and helped him become a great warrior and innovator.”

Matthew wiped his face with the back of his sleeve as Klierra continued. “You are not a puppet that is being directed by an outside force. You are a talented young man whose gift for innovation is expressed in your drive to take Excelsior's memories and turn them into a wonderful creation. I believe it is not only your inborn gift for creativity and innovation that attracted Excelsior's lifeforce. He also felt your strength and leadership.” She held out the handkerchief.

Matthew stared at it a moment, then took it and wiped his face. “Really?”

“Yes, and it is your innovation, combined with your strength and leadership, that brought me to you. If you did not write and draw this comic, we would not have found you and we would not be able to reunite Excelsior’s memories with his spirit energy.”

Matthew gave Klierra a long look. “What do you mean?”

Klierra moved closer. “We need your help, Matthew. You have it within you to become Excelsior and we need him desperately. Both Denab IV and Earth are in great peril. I'm sure you are aware of Nocterar and Danaak.” Matthew slowly nodded. “A team of excavators has uncovered Danaak's remains and brought his body here to
New York City
. It has been well preserved by the jewel he stole from Nocterar after Excelsior defeated him. Excelsior's last act on our planet was to lure Danaak through the Leap of Faith, which sent them both here to Earth.”

Matthew finished Klierra's thought. “And the jewel is going to regenerate Danaak.”

“Exactly,” she responded, “and we've received word from High Elder Acerus that Nocterar has returned.”

Matthew's eyes widened. “But I thought…”

“I know. It is incomprehensible that he managed to arise, but you can see how desperate the situation is. The only one who can save us is Excelsior. The only one who can save us is you.” For a moment, Klierra considered telling Matthew about her missing sister, but she could still feel the connection with her so she remained silent.

Matthew straightened his narrow shoulders. “What do I have to do?”

CHAPTER 6

The delightful aroma of freshly baked New York-style pizza filled the room as Jason opened the first of eight boxes. The four Denarian men that stood around the table inhaled and carefully studied the food. “So how exactly do you eat this?” Karini asked.

“Oh, sorry,” Jason said. He reached down, tucked his fingers underneath the slice closest to him and slowly moved the slice onto his plate. Careful to not allow the cheese from sliding onto the cardboard box, he folded the slice and took his first bite.

Suddenly, his eyes opened wide and he tried to blow on the chunk of pizza from within his mouth, saying with his mouth full, “Ow! Hot!” Once Jason fought the heat of the all-too-fresh pizza, he swallowed and could feel the food scalding his throat as it made its way to his stomach. “I'd give it another minute before you guys have your slices. Let it cool for a bit.”

Each Denarian picked up their pieces as instructed and let their slices sit on their plates for several moments. Zorribis opened one of the boxes and pointed at the toppings. “What are these?”

Jason looked at the other open box and quickly answered. “That's ground beef.”

“What?” It wasn't the reply Jason expected.

“Ummmm.... it's, well, it's meat. Same kind of meat that's used for burgers.”

“Burgers?”

Jason quickly scrambled for an explanation. “On Denab IV, are there, uh, beasts of some kind that are hunted for food?”

Grannik looked up from his plate when he heard the question. “We have the hordes of Throngar.”

Zorribis nodded and repeated, “We have the hordes of Throngar.”

Jason nodded. “Okay. Those.”

Grannik tried to get a grasp on this explanation. “So whomever made this peet-za hunted down the animal to make this, as you said, ground beef?”

“No. No, they just purchased the beef.”

The heavily muscled Denarian shook his head. “You have a very lazy culture.”

Jason could only shrug his shoulders and then tried to change the subject. “So, uh, tell me about you guys. Grannik, are you a hunter? You chased down the… hordes of Throngar?”

Grannik nodded and then took a bite of his pizza. Immediately his eyes widened and he nodded his head. “Excellent rations, Jason.”

Jason smiled with pride. “
New York
style. Nothing like it in the galaxy. So what about the rest of you? What kind of people make up Denab IV? Are there farmers along with hunters?”

Radifen, who stood apart from everyone else to get a better look at his surroundings, answered. “Farmers and hunters alike, standing side by side with the technicians who sought to advance the technology introduced to the first generation of Denarians by Excelsior himself. It was he who encouraged our race to not only keep our planet the jewel that it was, but also to constantly open ourselves up to other planets and other cultures in the hope that they will follow our influence.”