Aloitus Cloch’h (Supreme Leader of the Thressl’n)
To say I awoke at dawn would be a lie, as I had hardly had enough time to sleep by the time it was the hour of leaving. Melinda had no idea what was going on, but there was to be no safe place to explain the reality to her. I was taking her to meet the Old Ones, who had been excited to meet the human of the highest nobility on Jenal’k.
In truth, I had been putting it off. I hadn’t wanted to spend any time alone with the human after all of the angst we had been sharing lately, but after speaking to Peko, I realized how dishonorable my procrastination truly was. If anybody was going to help me defend Jenal’k with their all, it would be them. Only they would be able to relate to my sacrifice. And frankly, I needed that.
“Human! Greet the morning! It is time to leave!”
I waited outside the female’s door, anxious to get moving. The Old Ones were notoriously impatient people, and it seemed difficult to fathom their patience for lateness, especially after waiting so long to finally be introduced to the female that had been stolen from the hands of the Vellreq. In a sense, she was the catalyst; the beginning of the end, or the beginning of the beginning. She had no idea how much was riding on her shoulders. If anything happened to me, she would be sent to stay with the Old Ones until somebody was able to take her to Kalron for safe-keeping.
“Human!”
“My name…is…Melinda!” she growled from inside the room. She was putting forth an obvious effort to dress herself in the gown that Peko had chosen for her meeting with the Old Ones, and I sighed, wondering where the Peko had gotten off to. It was cruel to leave a human alone to put on ceremonial attire. It was difficult enough to put on with the help of a native Thressl’n. I knew from many experiences.
“I’m coming in,” I stated, punching in the code to the door and ducking inside.
Melinda’s face turned red, and I gaped at the beauty of her half-naked body, barely concealed by the thin gossamer fabrics of the ceremonial clothing.
“I am going to help you. We cannot be late to this meeting.”
“Where are we going?” Melinda asked, squirming as I lifted the robes and began draping them gently over her body. She refused to meet my eyes, which was a mercy for both of us. The situation was excruciatingly awkward enough.
“We are going to meet some very important natives of Jenal’k.”
“Why are they important?”
Although most of the time, Melinda’s constant questioning could seem incessant and annoying, for once I was actually relieved to have something to focus on other than the alluring curves of her body and my nearness to it.
“The Thressl’n are descended from them. We are a separate evolutionary strain. We evolved to thrive under the sunlight, while they dwell in the darkness of caves and receive a large majority of their sustenance from the soil.”
“They eat dirt?” Melinda asked, wrinkling her nose.
I chuckled despite myself, draping on of the sleeves over her delicate shoulders. She shivered at my touch, and I swallowed involuntarily.
“No, they do not eat dirt. The minerals are absorbed into their skin, and they thrive that way. They do not have to eat much of anything, truth be told.”
“They’re really self-sustainable then,” Melinda said thoughtfully. “Unlike the Thressl’n. You guys have to eat all the time!”
“Yes,” I said with a sigh. “We are less water-based creatures than you humans. I’m sure you find it quite a flaw.”
Melinda smiled at me, and my hearts thudded hard in my chest. She was so beautiful.
“Not any more than eating dirt,” she said.
“Actually the Thressl’n body does its own magic with the sunlight. We receive much nourishment that way. We only eat to maintain our muscle mass.”
“I assumed,” Melinda said, looking down at the floor. Her cheeks turned pink, and I studied her, remembering the way her face had flushed much the same color during our tryst at the rivers of Mount Zennith.
We fell quiet until I finished wrapping the ceremonial robes around Melinda’s body. She stood back and admired herself in the mirror.
“Wow,” she said quietly. “I was way off.”
“I’ll say,” I said, laughing despite myself. “You had the arm where the rear should be.”
She grinned, and another tremor shook my hearts. Why couldn’t things with her always be easy like this? She consumed my thoughts so much of the time, but whenever we were alone for too long, things turned hostile. Couldn’t we get along for one whole day?
“I’m ready,” Melinda said decidedly, primping her hair briefly. “How do I look? Very official?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out. The truth was that she looked completely stunning. The ceremonial robes had always been meant to represent purity of heart and soul, and often looked clunky and cumbersome. But on Melinda’s slight body, the robes wrapped around her were astonishingly beautiful.
“Yes,” I managed to stammer. “Let us go before we are late for the meeting.”
Melinda nodded and followed me out of the room.
I breathed deeply when we were back in the spacious halls of the palace, and led Melinda through the corridors and to my hovercraft.
“Are we going to go back to Mount Zennith?” she asked.
“No,” I answered, putting the craft into drive and lifting off into the air. “They live in an area you have never seen. A spot the suns rarely hit. It will take the better part of a day to reach the caves of the Old Ones. We will stop for a meal on the road and then have our final meal with them.”
“Not dirt, I hope,” Melinda said, her face deadpan.
I did my best not to smile and kept my eyes straight ahead. “Not dirt.”
We fell into a comfortable silence, both of us just seeming to enjoy the company of the other. How did we manage to fall into such a pleasant coexistence? I couldn’t tell, but I was grateful for it. If I had to spend all day fighting with Melinda after having so little sleep, I was afraid of what might happen. It was better to say nothing than to risk saying the wrong thing.
And so we drove all afternoon, Melinda staring out her window at the small Thressl’n world below and me secretly staring at her. It was probably the closest we would ever be again, and I was determined to relish it.
Because once the war began, there was no guarantee what would happen to either of us from that point forward. It was better to try to live in harmony. I wanted to die honorably, with no guilt in my heart. And the only way to do that was to be patient with the woman who knew better than anybody just how to push my buttons.
***
“Melinda,” I said softly, touching her shoulder and rocking it gently. “We’ve arrived.”
Melinda had fallen asleep during the late afternoon, after we had stopped at a diner out in the middle of nowhere run by a couple of Thressl’n who had taken to treating tourists with a visit to one of the more scenic areas of the sunsets of Jenal’k. I was still chuckling at Melinda’s excitement upon finding a life-sized model of the suns, where you could stick your face and have a postcard printed with a message in your native tongue stating that you were the center of the universe. She was still clinging to hers when she had fallen asleep.
“What?” Melinda asked sleepily, sitting up in a daze. “Are you all right? You look so tired.”
Melinda touched my face without seeming to think twice about it as she roused herself. She seemed confused by the piece of paper she was gripping and squinted at it before a beautiful peal of laughter escaped her lips.
“Look at your face,” she said quietly, pointing at me in the background of the photo. I was looking at her, a mixture of amusement and disapproval on my face as she stuck her head gleefully in the hole.
“You know how many types of germs there could be in there?” I asked. “People all over the universe take pictures in there. And children! They’re the worst.”
“I like kids,” Melinda said, smiling shyly at me. “I wanted to have one or two one day.”
I opened and closed my mouth, unsure of what to say, and she laughed softly. “Aren’t they expecting us in there?”
I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, please, let us go.”
I got out of the hovercraft and walked around to help Melinda down.
“The Old Ones may not look just the same as we Thressl’n do, but they are revered on our planet. They handed us ancient texts that have formed our ceremonies and celebrations, and they are owed the utmost respect. Please, bow your head to them deeply and do not rise until they say it is all right. I will be right alongside you. And please, do not be afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“I was…the first time I met them. Most Thressl’n never do. Just those chosen to serve them, such as the Supreme Leaders and the Second in Command. They send messengers out if there is a need for something. They rarely, if ever, leave the comfort of their underground world.”
“So we will be meeting underground then,” Melinda said, taking a deep breath.
“Yes,” I said, closing my eyes. The first time I had met the Old Ones had been one of the scariest experiences of my life. I had grown up with crippling claustrophobia that had rendered it difficult for me to be in hovercrafts or spaceships very long. And so going into the dark black tunnels to meet the Old Ones, who seemed more reptilian than anything, had been quite difficult for me.
“Is there anything else I should do?” Melinda asked. “Like…to honor them? I don’t want to do anything wrong and make you look bad.”
“No, just follow my lead and be yourself. These are the Old Ones. We do not have to pretend in front of them. They are wise; tapped into a stream of consciousness that our kind evolved out of. But they have never steered us wrong before.”
“All right,” Melinda said. I could feel her relax beside me and cast her a comforting smile.
“It’s going to be fine.”
We continued walking quietly until finally, I saw the large tree that marked the tunnel that would lead to the city below the surface of Jenal’k.
“All right,” I said, inhaling deeply. It was still difficult for me to go into these caves, but I had been putting it off long enough. “It is time.”
***
“Greetings to you, Leader of the Thressl’n. Greetings to you, human.”
I bowed and nudged Melinda, pleased to find she was already bowing. It was still taking some time for our eyes to adjust to the dark. It would probably take my eyes much longer, as the Thressl’n had terrible night vision. I probably should have mentioned the darkness to Melinda, but she seemed to be taking everything in stride.
“You may rise.”
We stood into the cave, and I was shocked when a small blue lantern was lit in the vast tunnel where we were standing.
“For the human’s benefit,” one of the Old Ones explained.
“Thanks to you,” Melinda said with another deep bow.
“It is our pleasure. Quite an honor to meet a human at last!”
I was both thankful for the light and bitter that the human was shown special favor. What good a light would have done for me that first time visiting!
But it was the Old Ones who had insisted on the dark visits and who had cured me of the overwhelming claustrophobia that had taken hold of me early in life. It had been quite a learning experience, and it was because of that difficult journey that I’d been entrusted with some of the teachings of the ancient scrolls.
“It is an honor to meet you as well,” Melinda said.
I had never seen an Old One in the light, and studied them curiously now in the blue glow of the lantern. They had distinct Thressl’n features, broad and muscular, but their eyes were much smaller, and the cool, metallic colors were difficult to make out in the dark. But their eyes glittered in the light, giving them an eerie appearance that I hoped wouldn’t startle Melinda.
There were Old Ones of all ages, all crowded around the small tunnel to view Melinda.
“Now tell me, Aloitus, how are things progressing?”
“As expected,” I said, reluctant to speak too freely in front of Melinda. She still didn’t know just how extreme the situation was, and I couldn’t bear to take a moment of peace from her mind.
“That is good news, is it not?”
“Yes. I am hoping to have our head engineer work on a project that will turn tides in our favor.”
“Jora Lollo?” the leader of the Old Ones asked, his withered nose wrinkled in distaste.
“No. The man Jora’s family stole the title from. Laike Ostra’ki.”
The Old One smiled, a toothless but delightful sight.
“Ah, so you’ve figured it out at last.”
“Not entirely,” I admitted. “But I do know enough. If I…if all goes well, I am demoting Jora. His family will be shamed for their dishonor.”
“They have been dishonorable for generations,” the Old One said dismissively. “It wouldn’t be the first time they were forced to take accountability for their actions. Somehow, they always manage to come out looking like the victims though. It is their fate to tempt vengeance.”
“I see,” I said. If it was vengeance they wanted, then pay they would.
“So, human, what do you think of Jenal’k?” the leader of the Old Ones asked, fixing his charming, toothless smile upon Melinda.
“And don’t bother lying to spare their feelings,” I said. “They will see right through it.”
Melinda laughed, a sound that seemed to delight everybody in the tunnel. A comfortable clamor sounded through the tunnel and soon quieted down so that Melinda could answer.
“It is quite beautiful here,” Melinda said softly. “I enjoy the Thressl’n people and customs a lot.”
I was shocked to hear this. I had assumed that she hated everything about the Thressl’n and Jenal’k. Perhaps I had been missing something.
“But?” the leader of the Old Ones prompted.
“But this is not my home. I do not like the idea of never being able to return home.”
“Have you not informed her?” the Old One asked me accusingly.
“No, Old One,” I said, feeling mildly ashamed of myself. But the fact was that I was doing what I felt was best.
“I see,” the Old One said, thankfully letting the issue go. “I suppose that is one way to do it.”
Melinda looked at me, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. I shifted uncomfortably before the Old One continued speaking.
“Well, in that case, human, I hope you will be able to enjoy the whole of Jenal’k while you have the chance.”
“Aloitus mentioned I might be able to be stationed back on Earth at some point.”
“Yes, this is the fact,” the Old One said, glancing at me curiously. “Would that be your wish?”
I expected Melinda to shout yes to the rooftops with such a force that nobody would ever doubt her distaste for me and the world I had stolen her away to, but to my surprise, she hesitated. I had found that it was always very difficult, if not impossible, to lie to the Old Ones, and if you did, they were quick to ask you to dig deeper into the truth of your intentions.
“I…don’t really know,” Melinda admitted, surprising me deeply. “There isn’t anything for me on Earth. But I resent being brought here against my will.”
The Old One cast me a look that implied he knew something that I didn’t. An annoying, knowing look that made me second-guess everything I had been doing thus far. If I had simply told the human of her importance from the get go, would she still be so reluctant to spend time with me and enjoy the beauty of Jenal’k before it was potentially destroyed? Was it too late to tell her now?
“You fear the Vellreq,” the Old One said.
Melinda furrowed her brow and nodded, and I was stricken by her vulnerability. I wished I could go to her, hold her close to my body and let her know that I would do anything to remove the threat they posed to her and the people of Earth.
But I had doomed myself with my dedication to secrecy. And besides that, she would not want me near her. Not after so many of my tired outbursts. I didn’t deserve the time of day, and I would not pressure her to give it to me. Besides, if she did still enjoy my company, she might very well be loving a dead man.
“There is hope,” the Old One said, as if he had been able to hear my thoughts. He was speaking to Melinda, but his eyes were fixed on me. So many of their messages had double meanings. But the Thressl’n were the lower life forms. Our ability to read between the lines was as limited as our night vision.
“Yes, there is hope,” another Old One repeated. Until all of the Old Ones surrounding us were chanting it. It was strange, and surreal, and overwhelming, and suddenly I felt light-headed. I reached out to grip the wall to steady myself, but I found only more darkness. I let out a little cry of surprise when my body grew heavy, and the world became suddenly dark. I felt my legs give way to the weight of my torso and soon I was on the ground, blacked out.