Chapter Eight

Maxim finished tucking the last of the food that the women had brought him into the corners of his bag and secured the buckle. Tucking his shoulder into the strap, he stood and adjusted the bag on his hip. Beside him Avery was finishing his preparations. They hadn’t asked the other men to return to the ship with them. They had already given their service for the first journey across the desert to rescue those who had been left behind on the ship. Maxim wanted to give them time to rest and for the entire group to connect, bringing together the different elements to create the cohesion that they would need to properly face down the threats that were ahead of them. He and Avery would take this on themselves.

He was turning toward Avery when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over his shoulder and saw Aegeus approaching. He carried a large bag over his shoulder and Maxim noticed a water pouch at his hip.

“Are you ready to leave?” Aegeus asked as he drew closer to them.

Maxim turned to him, looking at him quizzically.

“Papa? What are you doing?”

“I’m coming with you.” Maxim made a hesitant sound, but his father took another step toward him. “Maxim, listen to me. I was on that ship. Not for long, but for as long as any of the others who left to come to the compound. That gives me a little bit of knowledge about it. I can show you the areas of the ship that I visited and what I learned about it in the time that we were traveling between Earth and here. Beyond that, I know Ryan. Better than any of you. Better than anyone, likely. I have been under his control for many years and I have learned about his beliefs, his goals, and what he has been doing. I know what he is capable of in a way that no one else in this group is. Even those who were born into his experiments don’t have the insight that I do because I know him from the outside as much as from the in. I can help.”

Maxim was hesitant to agree to Aegeus going with them. He didn’t want his father to be in any danger. He had just gotten him back in his life. They had just rescued him from the horror that he had been suffering for decades, and he knew that Ryan was infuriated that he was gone. The two of them crossing the desert together could be too much of a lure for the scientist to resist, and without any more backup than just Avery, there was little chance that either of them would survive. What his father had said, though, rang steady and true in his ears. He had spent time on the ship, making him far more familiar with it than either him or Avery. Though the crossing from Earth had not been extremely long, it had given him enough opportunity to learn some about the layout of the ship and the features of it. He could help them to explore it more thoroughly and possibly find the hidden characteristics that had allowed Frederick to disappear from the containment unit.

Maxim didn’t want to think about the other side of his father’s knowledge. Though he knew that he would never be able to deny what Aegeus went through. In a way, he wouldn’t want to. What his father suffered was extreme and unimaginable, but it was also a testament to his strength, both of his mind and his body, and his devotion to all that he believed and loved. It was this determination that had allowed him to not only survive what he had suffered, but to maintain the purity of his mind and identity. To forget that would be to disrespect all that Aegeus had gone through and all that he had accomplished. Though he didn’t want to ever dishonor his father by not acknowledging his time with Ryan, he also didn’t want to dwell on it. He hated what the scientist had put Aegeus through, and even more he hated that he was still alive and posing a threat to so many.

When he looked at his father’s face, Maxim knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop him. Aegeus knew the risk. He understood the danger that he was putting himself in by stepping outside of the barrier of the compound and crossing the desert. That wasn’t going to stop him. He wasn’t afraid of the risk. This was what he had had in mind years before when he had created the war room.

Maxim nodded.

“Thank you,” he said.

The three men stepped out of the arched entrance and onto the desert. The mission ahead of them didn’t seem as intimidating as it had before. He knew that it was not as far as it could be or that it seemed that it should be. When he first considered the ship and the group that it still held, it felt as though it was an impossible distance away. Now, though, he knew that it was accessible as long as he remained strong enough to overcome the heat and physical drain of the walk itself. His only concern was that they wouldn’t have the Meldor with them during this journey. The animal had provided a tremendous amount of comfort and reassurance during the first trip. Though they hadn’t seen even an indication that the hybrid army was nearby or that they were at risk, having the creature nearby had provided an extra level of security knowing that if they were attacked, the Meldor could protect them and give them more of a chance to overcome the threat.

As they started across the desert, Maxim felt the same disquieting feeling of the eyes on him that he had the first time that he stepped out of the ship to confront the hybrid army. He knew that they were there. Whether they confronted them now was still to be seen, but there was no denying that whoever was there on the planet with them knew that they had left the compound and were heading back in the direction of the ship. He worried that this meant that they would encounter something far more horrific on this mission than they had expected, and that that would have a devastating effect on Aegeus.

“I don’t know what we might face out here,” Maxim said. “The army hasn’t attacked recently, but that means that the time is coming. We have no way of knowing what we might find or see.”

Maxim glanced over at his father and saw the look of fierce determination on his face and the steely calm in his eyes. Nothing was impacting him. He wasn’t afraid.

“It doesn’t matter what we encounter, Maxim,” Aegeus said. “No matter what we see, I will be fine. They are not reminders of the terrible things that I went through. They are affirmations of everything that I overcame and how hard I need to continue to work and fight to ensure that my survival over their loss wasn’t in vain.”

****

Ellora rushed up to Mhavrych and reached out toward him. Her hand touched his back and he whipped around to face her, his face looking somewhat panicked. His eyes flickered to either side as if something was distracting him, keeping him from focusing on anything. Ellora couldn’t dwell on it. She couldn’t think of anything but Ivy and the baby, and she knew that Mhavrych was the only person who was going to be able to give them any chance of getting her to Maxim. She understood why Ivy had asked for him. She could still distinctly remember what it had been like when she was laboring with Maxim. Going through that experience with a first baby was a frightening experience and something that she wouldn’t have wanted to go through without Aegeus by her side. Even with the midwives with her, she would have felt completely alone if her husband hadn’t been there. He was reassuring and strengthening, his presence seeming to provide what she needed to get her through the intensity of the birth.

“Mhavrych, I need your help,” she said.

“I can’t help you right now,” Mhavrych said, starting to take a step to walk around her.

Ellora shifted to block his path.

“I know that you know how to get to Penthos quickly,” she said. “And I need you to show me.” He tried to brush her off again, but Ellora wouldn’t let him. “This is an emergency. I need to get to Maxim. Ivy needs him.”

She didn’t know why, but Ellora was starting to feel extremely worried about the safety of the baby and Ivy. Until then she hadn’t linked what was happening with Malcolm and Icelyn with the impending birth of the baby, but now it was all that she could think about. The danger of the Order was an intense presence around them now and she was afraid that Ivy and the baby would be a target. Ellora wanted them with Maxim and away from the Kingdom. Though she knew that the reach of the Order was extensive and that in all reality they likely couldn’t hide from them no matter how far they went, they were at the greatest risk being in the kingdom so close to all those in the Order and the horrifying dungeons that she had learned in her time in the tunnels.

What was even more frightening was the impending delivery itself. Ellora wasn’t expecting the baby to come so soon and the sudden appearance of Ivy’s labor made her feel thrown off and afraid. She wasn’t sure how to handle the process itself, but she knew that the most danger was still to come. Mikana babies were born differently than human babies, and Ellora didn’t honestly know if Ivy’s body could handle a Mikana birth if that was the way that the baby would come. She was terrified that no matter what she did there could be a tragedy. The only hope that Ivy had was to stay calm and be prepared to take on each step of the birth as it came to her, and Ellora knew that that meant that she needed Maxim. He was key to them getting through this and Mhavrych was the only one who could make it happen for them.

She could tell that Mhavrych wanted to get away from her, that his thoughts were somewhere else and that there was something else that he wanted to be doing, but she wasn’t going to let him get away from her. She stood strong in her place, her shoulders squared to him, and kept her eyes trained sternly on his face. Finally, he seemed to relent.

“Where is she?” he asked.

“At Malcolm’s house. Hurry.”

They rushed back to Malcolm’s house and Ellora let him in. Ivy was sitting on the sofa, her head rested against the back as she rubbed the sides of her belly and took long, controlled breaths. Ellora remembered doing the same thing when she was going through labor. It was a natural reaction, as if her body had taken over for her mind and was guiding her through bringing her baby into the world even if she didn’t know what she was doing. When Mhavrych saw her, his face darkened.

“Is the baby coming?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ivy said, finally admitting the truth to herself and to the rest of them as she lifted her head and nodded.

“Maxim is the father?” Mhavrych asked.

Ivy looked briefly offended, but Ellora knew that Mhavrych wasn’t implying anything. He wasn’t a part of them. He wasn’t a member of the kingdom or even their species. She nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “Ivy is Maxim’s partner. This is their first baby. She needs to be with him.”

Mhavrych finally nodded.

“Alright, but there are conditions. I will bring you, but only with the understanding that you cannot tell anybody where I bring you or how we travel. And you are not to ask any questions.”

Ellora’s first instinct was the bristle, to buck against the restrictions, but she knew that if she did, they would lose Mhavrych’s assistance. He was loyal to Aegeus, but to no one else. She knew very well that he felt no connection to any of them and that he wouldn’t hesitate to walk away from them if he didn’t feel that they would go along with his guidelines.

“Fine,” she said. “Now please. We need to hurry. We don’t know how much time we have.”

Mhavrych let out a breath as he looked at Ivy, seeming to evaluate the situation that was ahead of them. He had already used his mysterious ways of travel to rescue her and Athan from the Order tunnels, and she knew that that put all of them and whatever his reasons for being on Uoria at risk. Doing it again could be incredibly dangerous, and she knew that the only reason that he was even as willing to do it as he was, was their connection to Aegeus. He looked around the room briefly.

“Ellora, gather any supplies that you can. Go quickly.”

Ellora rushed around the house gathering clothing, food, and other supplies. She tucked the baby clothing and the blanket that she had made on top of the bag and then felt a thought pop into her mind. She looked at Ivy.

“I will be right back,” she said. “I have to go back to my house. Mhavrych is here with you. I will only be gone for a moment.”

Ivy’s eyes were closed again, and she nodded through another breath that was streaming through her pursed lips. Ellora looked at Mhavrych for confirmation and he gave a slight nod. She rushed out of the house and started running toward her own home. When she arrived, she gathered a few more items and then took the page from the patient file from where she had hidden it in her wardrobe. She tucked it into the bag, ensuring that it was nestled in securely so that it wouldn’t break. She didn’t know why she suddenly felt that she needed to have it with her rather than leaving it hidden, but the compulsion was undeniable. She couldn’t leave the kingdom without that piece of glass.

Ellora got back to Maxim’s house and sat down beside Ivy.

“Can you walk?” she asked.

“She’s going to have to,” Mhavrych said. “She doesn’t have a choice. There’s no other way.”

Ellora looked at him sharply, then turned back to Ivy.

“You’re going to be alright,” she said softly. “I’ll be right here with you the whole time. You can trust Mhavrych.”

Ivy nodded.

“All that I care about is that I will be with Maxim soon. This is the closest that I have been to being with him since I came back here to Uoria and right now it doesn’t matter to me what Mhavrych needs to do. I just need him to bring us back together.”