Chapter Four
A dark-haired man roamed the halls of a palace. The entire building was made of some kind of shiny material. Marble? Quartz maybe. She couldn't quite tell.
She could start to make out more details about the man now. He was tall and muscular. He walked with confidence even though it was obvious he had no idea where he was going but it didn't appear he was looking for any room in particular - just looking. She noticed five dots; each connected by an unbroken line to form a V shape, embroidered on the breast of his fine, blue silk robe. Somehow she knew it was a symbol of royalty.
She had never seen this man before and yet....she knew him somehow. As her view shifted to give her a better view of his face, she gasped.
The chiseled facial features, the lines of worry marring what was an otherwise youthful face, the sad, soulful eyes.
It was Max!
While there were some differences, it was him. She knew it.
He walked down the flight of stairs around the corner he had just turned. He knew where he was now. He had ended up just where he'd wanted to be - even if he did take a round about way of getting there.
He could hear the sound of mining through the iron grate looking into the room at the bottom of the staircase. He also heard and smelled things very unpleasing to him: the sounds of whips cutting into flesh and the scent of sweat and waste.
He came here every time he was forced to meet his hated rival for political purposes even though it turned his stomach to do so. He wanted to remind himself of what evil was. Surrounded by the beauty of his own sector and by people who insisted he not worry over such trivial things, he needed reminded.
He looked through the grate, sorrow filling his heart. One day he would bring a stop to this. He would see to it personally. A sharp cry - a woman's cry - drew his attention to the left of the room. He instantly saw where the cry had come from. It was almost like a magnet drew his eyes straight to the scene.
The man's heart stopped beating in his heart for several seconds. The woman who had cried out was the most beautiful creature he'd ever layed eyes on. He had to force himself not to run to her rescue.
The woman was being dragged toward the door by two guards. She struggled for several seconds until she realized it was useless. The guards exchanged knowing glances, smiling and shaking their heads as if they went through this regularly and wasn't surprised at the fuss.
Stepping aside as they opened the door, the man watched as they brought the woman through and escorted her up the stairs. "Can I help you, Dhelmanex, sir?", came a voice from his elbow.
One of his rival's pompous attendents had snuck up on him like they always seemed to do. "Who is that?", Dhelmanex asked, nodding to the girl.
The attendent smiled. "That is Lilith Iola Zerius, your lordship. She is Lord Rhoul's entertainment for the night - as she is almost every night."
Liz had been watching all this from an almost third person point of view. Her eyes had seen everything as if she had been standing beside the man, Dhelmanex, but she had felt everything he had, as if she had been inside his head, his heart, his soul.
She hadn't been able to see the woman who had brought out such intense feelings from this man who she took to be a powerful king.
She saw the woman now as she turned her dirty, tear-stained face to look at Dhelmanex as she was being led off and Liz's legs turned to water. Her stomach twisted around her spine. Only with sheer will did she remain standing.
She was staring into her own face!
The swirling gases returned, obscuring her vision once again. It didn't stay long. When it parted, night had fallen inside the orb. Like last time, it knew what it wanted to show her. Cutting around corners, over gates and through walls, it searched.
She could tell it was still inside Rhoul's kingdom. She had the feeling more than a day had passed since her earlier look. The first words spoken confirmed her speculation.
"Six months.", Liz heard Lilith say. "We've been sneaking around behind Rhoul's back for six months. We have to stop this, Dhel. I'll bring war upon you if he learns we're seeing each other."
Liz finally saw the orb's destination. She could see two shapes standing in the darkest shadow of the city. Dhel pulled Lilith close to him. "You will do nothing of the sort.", he told her firmly. "I will be the cause if we get caught."
"I'm just a slave.", Lilith said. "Why do you risk everything to be with me? I'm nothing but Rhoul's whore. Everyone knows. I'm--"
Dhel pressed his finger to her lips. "I risk everything because it's you. You're the one for me. I know it and I'll risk the universe ten times over for you."
Pulling her even closer, feeling her body against his, he kissed her. All thoughts of everything else vanished.
Liz felt everything. She knew how they felt. This was her life. Her's and Max's. She didn't understand why she had to see this. What was the point?
Breaking the kiss, Dhel knew it was that time again. She needed to be back in her cell before the guards made their nightly rounds. "In one week I will return and then I will pay whatever Rhoul wants and I will take you home and we will get married I swear it."
"I wish there were some way to remove this stupid collar so we could just run away right now. Rhoul may not release me", Lilith said.
Dhel smiled. "I'll be ready for that too."
Giving her one last kiss, he motioned for the guard he'd been paying handsomely for his help. He watched in agony as the guard led her around the corner. He then turned and crept slowly away, making his final plans for war in case it came to that.
He never saw the guard vanish in a ball of brilliant white light or hear Lilith's scream.
Liz did.
In one second she was in a panic, wondering what had happened, in the next she was on her knees, crying out in pain, her trembling hands clutching the orb in a death-like grip. "Max!"
"Max!"
The cry of pain jolted Max from the deep sleep he had drifted into not half an hour before, causing him to sit straight up. There was no mistaking that voice. He had started to think he was crazy earlier. She was in danger this time. Forcing himself to his feet, he started off down the corridor again.
"I'm coming, Liz!", he yelled back.
Liz had never been in so much pain in her life.
Her throat was raw. It felt like someone had taken a wire brush and stuck it down her throat and pulled it back out fifty times. Her butt felt bruised. Her stomach felt like it was on the Roller Coaster From Hell. Other parts of her hurt as well, parts that shouldn't.
A sickening thought made it's way through her brain. It was impossible but the feeling didn't disappear. She'd been raped! She had been abused and violated. She didn't know how but that's what her brain told her.
No. she thought. Not me. Lilith! Rising up to look back into the orb, she saw Lilith lying on a floor, curled into a ball in the corner, shaking like a leaf.
"What happened?", Liz demanded.
The orb showed her quick snapshots of what had transpired: Rhoul telling Lilith he'd know about her meetings with Dhel for weeks, his anger over her not returning his love for her, the horrible things he'd done to her and the pleasure Rhoul took in his twisted game of show and tell with Dhel. He had forced Dhel to watch some of the horrible things he'd done to her.
Dhel had invaded that very week. She could hear the fighting now. The door to the room swung open. She curled up tighter, fearing Rhoul had come back for more. She felt herself being lifted up off the floor by her arms. "What's happening?", came her question through dry, cracked lips.
"We're here to take you away from here - by King Dhelmanex's orders.", one of her rescuers said.
"Where-" Her vocal cords no longer chose to cooperate.
"He's dead, ma'am.", the same guard said. "He didn't expect to win. He ordered us to save you - no matter what."
The wave of grief that swept over Lilith was more than Liz could take. Sobs began to tear Liz's body apart. She hoped there was no more to see. She needed to rest, to collapse, to cry more.
But there was more. The next sequences happened fast. It was almost as if The Powers That Be realized she'd had as much as she could take. She saw Lilith being sent to Earth, using the power of the Granolith, and a series of faces, many of which Liz didn't recognize, starting with Lilith and ending with Grandma Claudia. She felt like she did know them though - like family.
A face appeared before her. It, like Lilith's, resembled Liz's. Next, Liz saw the same woman lying dead with Naesado kneeling over her, a silver handprint on her stomach.
"What does all this mean?", Liz asked, still sobbing.
"Your guide will know."
A dark-haired man roamed the halls of a palace. The entire building was made of some kind of shiny material. Marble? Quartz maybe. She couldn't quite tell.
She could start to make out more details about the man now. He was tall and muscular. He walked with confidence even though it was obvious he had no idea where he was going but it didn't appear he was looking for any room in particular - just looking. She noticed five dots; each connected by an unbroken line to form a V shape, embroidered on the breast of his fine, blue silk robe. Somehow she knew it was a symbol of royalty.
She had never seen this man before and yet....she knew him somehow. As her view shifted to give her a better view of his face, she gasped.
The chiseled facial features, the lines of worry marring what was an otherwise youthful face, the sad, soulful eyes.
It was Max!
While there were some differences, it was him. She knew it.
He walked down the flight of stairs around the corner he had just turned. He knew where he was now. He had ended up just where he'd wanted to be - even if he did take a round about way of getting there.
He could hear the sound of mining through the iron grate looking into the room at the bottom of the staircase. He also heard and smelled things very unpleasing to him: the sounds of whips cutting into flesh and the scent of sweat and waste.
He came here every time he was forced to meet his hated rival for political purposes even though it turned his stomach to do so. He wanted to remind himself of what evil was. Surrounded by the beauty of his own sector and by people who insisted he not worry over such trivial things, he needed reminded.
He looked through the grate, sorrow filling his heart. One day he would bring a stop to this. He would see to it personally. A sharp cry - a woman's cry - drew his attention to the left of the room. He instantly saw where the cry had come from. It was almost like a magnet drew his eyes straight to the scene.
The man's heart stopped beating in his heart for several seconds. The woman who had cried out was the most beautiful creature he'd ever layed eyes on. He had to force himself not to run to her rescue.
The woman was being dragged toward the door by two guards. She struggled for several seconds until she realized it was useless. The guards exchanged knowing glances, smiling and shaking their heads as if they went through this regularly and wasn't surprised at the fuss.
Stepping aside as they opened the door, the man watched as they brought the woman through and escorted her up the stairs. "Can I help you, Dhelmanex, sir?", came a voice from his elbow.
One of his rival's pompous attendents had snuck up on him like they always seemed to do. "Who is that?", Dhelmanex asked, nodding to the girl.
The attendent smiled. "That is Lilith Iola Zerius, your lordship. She is Lord Rhoul's entertainment for the night - as she is almost every night."
Liz had been watching all this from an almost third person point of view. Her eyes had seen everything as if she had been standing beside the man, Dhelmanex, but she had felt everything he had, as if she had been inside his head, his heart, his soul.
She hadn't been able to see the woman who had brought out such intense feelings from this man who she took to be a powerful king.
She saw the woman now as she turned her dirty, tear-stained face to look at Dhelmanex as she was being led off and Liz's legs turned to water. Her stomach twisted around her spine. Only with sheer will did she remain standing.
She was staring into her own face!
The swirling gases returned, obscuring her vision once again. It didn't stay long. When it parted, night had fallen inside the orb. Like last time, it knew what it wanted to show her. Cutting around corners, over gates and through walls, it searched.
She could tell it was still inside Rhoul's kingdom. She had the feeling more than a day had passed since her earlier look. The first words spoken confirmed her speculation.
"Six months.", Liz heard Lilith say. "We've been sneaking around behind Rhoul's back for six months. We have to stop this, Dhel. I'll bring war upon you if he learns we're seeing each other."
Liz finally saw the orb's destination. She could see two shapes standing in the darkest shadow of the city. Dhel pulled Lilith close to him. "You will do nothing of the sort.", he told her firmly. "I will be the cause if we get caught."
"I'm just a slave.", Lilith said. "Why do you risk everything to be with me? I'm nothing but Rhoul's whore. Everyone knows. I'm--"
Dhel pressed his finger to her lips. "I risk everything because it's you. You're the one for me. I know it and I'll risk the universe ten times over for you."
Pulling her even closer, feeling her body against his, he kissed her. All thoughts of everything else vanished.
Liz felt everything. She knew how they felt. This was her life. Her's and Max's. She didn't understand why she had to see this. What was the point?
Breaking the kiss, Dhel knew it was that time again. She needed to be back in her cell before the guards made their nightly rounds. "In one week I will return and then I will pay whatever Rhoul wants and I will take you home and we will get married I swear it."
"I wish there were some way to remove this stupid collar so we could just run away right now. Rhoul may not release me", Lilith said.
Dhel smiled. "I'll be ready for that too."
Giving her one last kiss, he motioned for the guard he'd been paying handsomely for his help. He watched in agony as the guard led her around the corner. He then turned and crept slowly away, making his final plans for war in case it came to that.
He never saw the guard vanish in a ball of brilliant white light or hear Lilith's scream.
Liz did.
In one second she was in a panic, wondering what had happened, in the next she was on her knees, crying out in pain, her trembling hands clutching the orb in a death-like grip. "Max!"
"Max!"
The cry of pain jolted Max from the deep sleep he had drifted into not half an hour before, causing him to sit straight up. There was no mistaking that voice. He had started to think he was crazy earlier. She was in danger this time. Forcing himself to his feet, he started off down the corridor again.
"I'm coming, Liz!", he yelled back.
Liz had never been in so much pain in her life.
Her throat was raw. It felt like someone had taken a wire brush and stuck it down her throat and pulled it back out fifty times. Her butt felt bruised. Her stomach felt like it was on the Roller Coaster From Hell. Other parts of her hurt as well, parts that shouldn't.
A sickening thought made it's way through her brain. It was impossible but the feeling didn't disappear. She'd been raped! She had been abused and violated. She didn't know how but that's what her brain told her.
No. she thought. Not me. Lilith! Rising up to look back into the orb, she saw Lilith lying on a floor, curled into a ball in the corner, shaking like a leaf.
"What happened?", Liz demanded.
The orb showed her quick snapshots of what had transpired: Rhoul telling Lilith he'd know about her meetings with Dhel for weeks, his anger over her not returning his love for her, the horrible things he'd done to her and the pleasure Rhoul took in his twisted game of show and tell with Dhel. He had forced Dhel to watch some of the horrible things he'd done to her.
Dhel had invaded that very week. She could hear the fighting now. The door to the room swung open. She curled up tighter, fearing Rhoul had come back for more. She felt herself being lifted up off the floor by her arms. "What's happening?", came her question through dry, cracked lips.
"We're here to take you away from here - by King Dhelmanex's orders.", one of her rescuers said.
"Where-" Her vocal cords no longer chose to cooperate.
"He's dead, ma'am.", the same guard said. "He didn't expect to win. He ordered us to save you - no matter what."
The wave of grief that swept over Lilith was more than Liz could take. Sobs began to tear Liz's body apart. She hoped there was no more to see. She needed to rest, to collapse, to cry more.
But there was more. The next sequences happened fast. It was almost as if The Powers That Be realized she'd had as much as she could take. She saw Lilith being sent to Earth, using the power of the Granolith, and a series of faces, many of which Liz didn't recognize, starting with Lilith and ending with Grandma Claudia. She felt like she did know them though - like family.
A face appeared before her. It, like Lilith's, resembled Liz's. Next, Liz saw the same woman lying dead with Naesado kneeling over her, a silver handprint on her stomach.
"What does all this mean?", Liz asked, still sobbing.
"Your guide will know."