Chapter Nine

Maxim watched as Eden wrapped his injured hand with a bandage. The warmth from the healing that she had administered was still making its way through his veins and he could already feel the ointments that she had placed over the cut taking away the pain.

“Do you have any other injuries?” she asked. “Anything else that I can heal for you?”

Maxim shook his head.

“No. I’m alright. I need to help the other men. They are in far worse condition than I am.”

He climbed down off of the table that had been converted into a treatment bed and walked into the other room where some of the other men were being treated. A hybrid man sat on the floor, his back against the wall as he gripped a deep wound in his thigh. Blood bubbled up between his fingers and his eyes were closed against the pain, but he was making no sound. He was confused and nearly overwhelmed by the sudden presence of so many more people in the compound. Though he had been expecting the Denynso and some of the others that they had with them, he was taken off-guard by the strange species that were with them and the hybrids that they brought along with the wounded.

“Who is that?” he demanded, grabbing ahold of Gyyx’s arm and gesturing toward the hybrid man.

“I don’t know,” Gyyx said. “They don’t have names.”

“They?”

“The hybrids that came from Earth with us,” the warrior explained.

“I don’t understand,” Maxim said. “You brought some of the hybrid army with you?”

“They were where we found your father,” Gyyx said. “They were in very bad condition.”

“But weren’t they fighting you there?”

“You need to talk to Pyra,” Gyyx said. “He’ll explain everything to you.”

“I need to be here,” Maxim protested. “I need to help the wounded.”

“You’ve done enough. They are being well cared-for by Ciyrs, Elianna, and Eden. For now, you need to take care of yourself. Get something to eat. Rest.”

Maxim nodded and backed out of the room. He knew that Gyyx was right. As much as he wanted to help take care of the wounded or to help those who had just arrived from Earth, he could feel the effects of days of not eating or sleeping enough starting to pull down on him. Though his mind felt like it was moving even faster than it had been when he was on the battlefield, his body was dragging and he knew that soon he wouldn’t be able to do anything if he didn’t stop to rest and eat.

The scent of rich, fulfilling food drew him from the building across the open courtyard toward the flickering of the fires. The energy in this area of the compound was different. While the makeshift infirmary was tense, almost frantic, things were calmer and more relaxed here. People roamed around eating, gathered in tight groups to talk, and lay on the ground staring up at the stars. There was the clear sense of peacefulness here and Maxim spent a few moments just enjoying the feeling.

One of the women approached him and held out what looked like a large chunk of bread. He accepted it and saw that the center of the bread had been carved out and filled with thick stew. She had toasted the leftover bread and handed that to him by way of a spoon.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “We ran out of utensils.”

“It’s alright,” Maxim said. “This looks delicious. Thank you.”

She offered a smile and walked away, returning to the fire to create another of the meals. He dipped the bread into the stew and took his first savory bite. The rich flavors ignited his hunger even further and Maxim hurried to eat more of the stew. He was taking the final bite of the gravy-soaked bread bowl when he turned and saw his father standing several yards away. He was staring at him without emotion, unmoving, as if he wasn’t sure if he should approach him.

Suddenly Maxim didn’t know how he was supposed to feel or what he was supposed to think. He was overwhelmed with emotion that he didn’t know how to process. His chest felt like it was crushing and each breath was harder to draw into his lungs. He had to get away. He couldn’t keep standing there, just wondering what either of them was supposed to do. Not paying attention to where he was going, Maxim started running. He needed to break out of the tension and get somewhere where he felt he could breathe.

Before he realized where he was, Maxim had run beyond the wall of the compound and was standing out in the dark sand away from the warmth and reassurance that the surrounding wall provided. He paused, trying to pull himself back under control. He hated feeling like this. He hated the sense that he couldn’t manage his emotions and the thoughts that were running through his head. The feeling of someone behind him made him turn and he saw Aegeus approaching him.

“I always wondered how fast you would be when you grew up,” he said.

Maxim’s muscles tightened as his father’s voice touched his ears for the first time since he was a small child.

“I guess you never thought that you would know,” Maxim said.

“You’re right,” Aegeus told him. “I didn’t.” There was a high, chilling scream somewhere in the distance and Aegeus took another step closer. “You can’t be out here, Maxim. It’s too dangerous.”

Maxim didn’t understand why, but something snapped inside him and a rush of painful emotion filled his chest.

“Suddenly you want to be my father and worry about what’s happening to me?”

He felt guilty as soon as the words came out of his mouth, but Maxim didn’t know what to do. He looked away, his hands planted on his hips. Aegeus backed up a few steps and without saying anything, Maxim started following him. They walked back to the compound and Aegeus led him to a quiet place away from the busyness of the center courtyard. Maxim stood with his back against the wall of one of the empty buildings and stared ahead of him, not trusting himself to look at Aegeus. Several long, silent seconds passed between them before the older man spoke.

“Do you hate me?”

The words cut through Maxim and his eyes closed against them. His head hung and he shook it.

“No,” he said. “Of course I don’t hate you. I couldn’t hate you. I just don’t know what I’m supposed to think or do.” He finally brought himself to turn and look at him. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. Even when I thought that you were dead, I dreamed of what it would be like if I got to see you again. What I would do. What I would say. I always had so much that I wanted to tell you. Now that it’s finally here, though, I don’t know how I’m supposed to handle it.”

“What do you mean?” Aegeus asked. “It’s just me. I know it’s been a long time and that you had to grow up without me, and I’m so sorry for that, but I’m still your papa.”

Maxim slid down the wall so that he sat in the warm sand. He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on them.

“I’m worried that you will be disappointed in me,” he admitted. “Or that you will think that I haven’t done what I should have in life. I never got to know everything that you dreamed of for me, or who you wanted me to be, and I don’t know if I lived up to any of it.”

Aegeus shook his head.

“Maxim, there is nothing that you could do that would make me disappointed in you. I never wanted anything more from you than for you to be yourself and to be a good man. I can see that you are. I’ve heard what these other men say about you and the way they look when they talk about you. It is obvious that they trust and respect you. How could I ever not think that you aren’t everything that I could ever want for my son?” He hesitated. “I’m worried that you will be disappointed in me.”

“How could I be disappointed in you?” Maxim asked.

“I was captured when you were so young. Any memories that you might have of me are through the lens of a child. I can’t possibly live up to what you thought of me. Especially now that you know what I went through.”

Maxim tilted his head.

“All I know is that Ryan held you captive in the laboratory on Earth. I don’t know anything else.”

Aegeus looked pained, as though there was something that he didn’t want to admit to Maxim but he knew that he didn’t have a choice.

“I was Klimnu, Maxim,” he said. “He held me for a time and then he mutated me and I’ve been Klimnu for several years.”

“Fully Klimnu?” Maxim asked.

“As much as he was able to change me,” Aegeus said. “He couldn’t change my heart or my mind, but he totally changed my body. I spent more of the time that I have been away from you as that horrifying creature than I spent as I was before I left. The only reason that I am this way again is because of the efforts of the Denynso healers. Even though I look like this again, though, I know what I’ve been. I’m worried that now that you know, you, your brother, and your mother won’t be able to look at me the same way, much less be able to love me.”

Maxim hated the look of pain on his father’s face and the slight tremor in his voice as he spoke. He knew now more than he had before that his father being away from him wasn’t his choice. He had been trapped in a way that was far more severe than just the captivity of his body. Maxim stood and stepped up closer to his father so that he could see his face in the pale light of the moon. His face was different. It was worn and tired, and the years had etched themselves across his skin in lines around his eyes and the corners of his mouth. None of it mattered, though. This was still his father. Still the man he had always wished that he would see again.

“I still see the father that I saw when I was a child. You are no different than the man I said goodbye to that last day. Nothing that you went through is your fault.”

“Thank you,” Aegeus said.

He hesitated and then opened his arms to Maxim. Maxim stepped into them and felt his father gather him close.

“Papa,” he whispered.

“My son,” Aegeus whispered back. “My son.” He took Maxim by his shoulders and guided him back, looking into his eyes. “Where is your brother? Is he here with you?”

Maxim shook his head.

“No. He was wounded before the rest of you got here and had to be brought back to Uoria with some of the crew.”

“Is he alright?”

“I’m sure he is. He was doing well when he left. I just wanted to make sure that he got the treatment that he needed. It’s too dangerous for him here.”

“And your mother?” Aegeus asked.

His voice sounded like the question was painful to ask, but Maxim completely understood. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if he was kept from Ivy for so many years and finally had the opportunity to potentially be with her again. There would be so much fear and anxiety that would keep him from being entirely happy about the situation.

“She’s fine,” Maxim said. “She has been. At least, as much as anyone could expect.”

“Has she…” his voice trailed off.

“She hasn’t remarried,” Maxim said quickly, wanting to reassure him. “She never forgot about you. I promise that she has thought of you every single day since the day that you left.”

“And I’ve thought of all of you.”