Title: Mythology

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Author's Note: Please see Author's note at the bottom of the chapter. Italics are dreams. The chapter start pretty much directly where the last one left off, with Khai and Tess talking in Tess' dream. So if you don't remember that, you might want to read the last couple lines of the last chapter.

Oh, and please read and review.

this is the stuff of legends...

Chapter Six: The Terror Swells

Day 6

"Morxan helped me," Khai explained with a grin. "He chartered a trading ship to take textiles from Byor to L'so. It is a long journey, and the ship conveniently had to dock for fueling on an outpost near the trade center of Antar."

Tess accepted this in silence, then asked, "Antar keeps its trading docks open during a war?"

"It has too," Khai replied heavily. "The war has been in existence for decades, if Antar closed down its trade, it would have hit a recession by now."

"So you smuggled in with the ship?" Tess asked. She marveled at the ease in which she asked these questions, and the immediate response they drew. Only a few months ago, she would have been loathe to show her ignorance of Antarian customs, and only a few months ago, Khai would have mocked her lack of knowledge.

So much had changed in those short months.

"Morxan managed to get the ship charted through a colleague of his so that Khivar would not suspect any ulterior motives. I disguised myself as a tradesman, and then slipped away unnoticed once we landed. It will be ages before Khivar realizes what has happened. If he ever actually does…"

"He will," Tess countered glumly. With enough time, there was nothing Khivar and his royal army couldn't do.

"Yes," Khai agreed slowly. "He has already started a full scale war, I believe."

Tess nodded and bit her lip, wondering how to voice her concerns. At last, she said, "Khivar would not have started such a war unless he was sure he could gain something indescribably important from it. It worries me, because we do not know what his end game is."

"Yes, we do," Khivar retorted. "His end game is your son's death."

"Great," Tess muttered. She sighed, knowing that Khai was right. Alex would always be the greatest threat to Khivar's rule, and in a way, she found it funny that a three-month-old child would inspire so much fear.

Funny, but terrifying.

"We will stop him before he ever gets that far," Khai assured her.

"Where are you now?" Tess asked, trying to think, to plan.

"I'm in Eastern Antar. In the province of Qutael," Khai replied. "And I have the Granolith with me."

Tess nodded. "I assumed as much," she replied quietly. "Although, to be honest, until just now, I wasn't even sure if you were alive."

"I'm not an easy person to kill," Khai answered with a trace of smugness. "Now, tell me, how did you end up in the desert? And why?"

"Shalimar and the ship's captain took me there. Through the secret passageway so that Khivar would not know I was here. I have spent the past few months crossing the desert on foot." As she said the words, she found she was suddenly worn out. Just thinking about how far she had come and how far she had left to go left her exhausted and weary.

It was the first time that Tess had ever seen the Antarian General at a complete loss for words.

"Where are you walking to?" he managed at last.

"The Fel Mountains. The Resistance base there. Arya has been contacting me at night, guiding me on my way. Once I reach there, it should only take me a few days to reach the battle site."

Khai thought about this for a moment, considering the different aspects of her plan. Then he said, "And the battle? That is being fought by the capital city?"

"Yes, near the Landra River," Tess replied instantly. "Perhaps it would be best if you went there. Arya could certainly use your help."

Khai contemplated his choices, then shook his head. "I think it would be better if I came to meet you. I could bring you the Granolith, you won't be able to defeat Khivar without it."

Tess lapsed into silence, pondering her options. Finally, she nodded. "If that is what you think it best… How long will it take you to reach the desert?"

"A few days," Khai replied. "I don't need to go on foot, but I don't think I'll take major transportation either. It is better to stay under the radar for now, I don't know who all might be looking for me, and I am a high profile enemy."

"True," Tess rejoined with a smile.

"Alright," Khai instructed. "Keep walking towards the Resistance base. I travel there as well, and meet you as soon as I can. It would probably be best not to tell Arya of my presence, the less people who know, the better."

Tess nodded reluctantly, feeling the control slip from her hands. But part of being a good Queen was knowing when to lead and when to follow, and Khai knew the art of war better than she did. "Fine," she consented. "Get here as soon as you can."

"Ava?" Khai murmured. "Are you…you seem…troubled."

Tess debated telling him about her revelation, that she needed Max, Isabel, and Michael to defeat Khivar, but decided against it. There was nothing he could do, and this was a problem she would have to work out on her own. Instead, she said simply, "I am scared."

"It lingers in the air, doesn't it?" Khai agreed. "The feeling that the end is near?"

Tess drew a deep breath, a smile stretching at the corners of her lips. "Khivar's end," she muttered to herself, but Khai caught the words and grinned. Drawing another breath, she continued, "You had better go. Get here as soon as you can, I hope to reach the Fel in the next several days. We have little time."

"True, my Lady," Khai agreed. "Very true."

"Don't call me that," Tess said suddenly. Khai raised an eyebrow, and she elaborated, "Don't call me 'my Lady.' Call me Ava. I prefer it."

Khai consented with a nod, his eyes questioning that order.

"My strength comes from the two weeks I spent with you and the others on Larek's planet learning how to be a leader, a Queen. You called me Ava then, I need a reminder of it, of all I went through to get here."

"You are a Queen now," Khai objected gently. "You need no reminder."

Tess laughed bitterly. "Of course I do. Every leader needs the reminder that they are no different from every other person on the planet. A reminder that, in the end, all they are is a servant to the good of their people. That is why I fight this battle, why I do not remain on Earth, why I do not hide from danger. The people need me to stop this despot king. " She closed her eyes, willing herself to wake up. As the dream faded away, she whispered, "And I will bring Khivar to his knees."

Arya watched as her soldiers engaged in battle, watched as they fell unceremoniously to the sword. She bit her lip to keep from screaming at how completely pointless this entire battle was. She wished briefly that she knew what Khivar's ultimate plan was, why he was attacking here and now. She wished she knew what the next step in this war would be, she wished she knew how to prepare. She wished she knew what she was supposed to do next.

Ceyla appeared at her side suddenly, and whispered, "It isn't going well."

"We are outnumbered ten to one, if not worse," Arya replied. "I did not expect it to go well."

"We should retreat and stick to night attacks. Guerilla warfare tactics and raids. We can't beat Khivar in an all out battle," Ceyla suggested, worried. She did not like this bloodshed, she did not like seeing needless death. She was not cut out for war.

"We can't," Arya replied grimly. If we don't attack Khivar now, he will destroy the cities around us, and it will ruin whatever hope the planet has. The only reason the Resistance has been able to hold on for so long after the destruction of Larek's planet was because of the rumors about the Queen coming. They are waiting for a hero, but if they think the battle is already lost…" She sighed and pushed her silver hair out of her eyes.

They had spread rumors about the Queen, telling the entire planet of her imminent arrival. Careful to keep out the details, careful to make it seem like she was on another planet, careful to protect the secrets from Khivar's ever prying spies. But the rumors had been spread, and they had boosted the morale of the Resistance, indeed of the entire planet, and if Khivar found a way to crush that hope…

"I know," Ceyla said heavily. "We can't afford to back down from this fight, but if we continue, we will all die. What do we do?"

"Pray for a miracle," Arya muttered.

Khivar stared at the technology before him. It never ceased to amaze him, the brilliance of his scientists. How they had ever created such a device, a mechanism that defied the basic laws of possession, was beyond him. But they had, and with it, he could reach out for anyone in the universe.

Provided he knew where they were.

A small matter, a limitation that frustrated him whenever he thought of the Queen. He could find her and kill her in a heartbeat, if only he knew where she was. What planet, what solar system, what galaxy?

He smiled suddenly. He had found a way around that little flaw. He had discovered the information necessary to track down the Queen. It would take time, a few days, a week, maybe two weeks, but he could do it. Now that the Resistance was so distracted by war, there would be no one to stop him.

It was time to execute the plan.

If he had simply possessed someone within the halls of the Resistance's bases, he would have been seen and killed on the spot. But on a battle field…who would notice one person acting strangely among all the horror of war?

And someone on that field had to know where Shalimar was. Someone of high enough rank. He did not know who it would be, but he could find out. He would find out. And once he had Shalimar, she would lead him to the Queen, to the Heir, and to his eventual complete domination of Antar.

And yet…as he thought that, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. He had everything he wanted…except her.

Except Vilandra.

And even with the entire planet of Antar at his feet, her absence left him empty and lost.

"She what?" Mr. Evans asked quietly, pacing the floor of his study as he watched Jesse's glum face. A silence met those words, long and drawn out.

Isabel watched the scene with growing horror. She did not want to be here, to see this, to know what her father and husband thought she was capable of, but now that she had entered Jesse's dream, she couldn't find the strength to leave.

"Who was Tess?" Jesse asked.

"Tess was… She was a friend of Kyle Valenti's actually. She lived with the Valentis for about a year, then left. I don't know the details of it," Mr. Evans replied.

Isabel glanced over at her father. No, she thought bitterly, he really didn't know the details of it.

"Did she actually leave?" Jesse asked, and Isabel drew her breath in sharply. How could he ever think her capable of… She shook her head, unwilling to think the words.

"I don't believe Isabel or Max could ever…you know…do that to someone," Mr. Evans staunchly defended his children. Isabel smiled, until she saw the doubt in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Jesse asked. Another silence fell, as each thought about the possible courses of action, and Isabel watched in growing concern.

"I'm going to call over to the Valentis'," Mr. Evans said at last, "and ask a few questions about this Tess girl."

"Do you think they know what is going on?" Jesse wanted to know.

"Something weird was happening with the Sheriff…uh, I guess he isn't the sheriff anymore…with Jim around the time Tess left. Jim went on a whole bunch of crazy missions and ended up losing his job. I think the FBI might have been involved, but I don't know."

Isabel ran a hand through her short hair and suddenly found herself wishing that she had left it long and blonde. She had no idea why a thought like that would occur to her now, but it did, and it wouldn't leave her alone. She was almost tempted to use her powers to change it then and there, but Jesse was speaking again, and she turned her attention to him.

"Who's the Sheriff now?"

"One of Valenti's deputies. Hanson, I believe," Mr. Evans replied. "Why don't you talk to him? He might have some answers, and he may be more willing to share them than Jim."

"Or you could just trust us," Isabel muttered under her breath.

"Mr. Evans? What are we going to do if we find something?"

"That," Mr. Evans replied slowly, "depends on what we find."

Isabel started awake and rolled over in bed, fighting back the urge to scream. It was the middle of the night, and she had crashed on Michael's sofa, not wanting to go back to her house. Max usually slept on the sofa, but he had graciously offered it to her, taking the floor instead.

She glanced over at her brother, who was fast asleep in his sleeping bag, then hissed, "Max, wake up!"

Max opened his eyes slowly and glanced blurrily at his sister. His gaze traveled from her fearful eyes to her right hand, to the index finger that was still placed firmly on a picture of Jesse from their wedding.

"What did you see?" he asked quietly, knowing by the paleness of her skin and the slight shaking in her shoulders that she had seen something bad.

"Dad and Jesse think we killed Tess," Isabel breathed slowly. "They think we…we murdered her."

Next Chapter: The Fire Burns

Due: Sunday 2/19

Author's Note: I'd like to take a poll. Would people rather have Max and Isabel convince their parents to leave well enough alone and stop the investigation, or would it be better if they had to eventually tell them the truth? I have ideas for both, but I don't know which one to do, so I'd like to know what other people think.