Chapter 35

And time continues to tick away, but at two different rates. Nonetheless, the Dark Coming draws nearer.

###

Ettwanae pulled out of Warren's embrace. "What's next?" she asked everyone.

Phai cocked her head. "We need to proceed to Etxan'Ir. Sentinel Ta'uii, do we have your permission to pass?"

Warren eyed the woman. Her expression was stoic, but instinct said she already knew the answer. One obstacle remained, unless he missed something…like Ztar's death. Would he not have felt that within inter-dimensional space?

"Etxan'Ir will accept the U'larr descendant named Taer. However, the Esha'Aru pair are not bound. The Nexus cannot operate without that requirement in place. It is a parameter which cannot be waived. Esha'Aru Warren is bound to another. The condition must be eliminated."

The death sentence sliced Warren's soul, but his heart pounded with the hope Ta'uii's word also gave. "Ztar's still alive?!"

Black eyes latched onto Phai. "The false bond should have been broken long before now." The blue-skinned Elder eyed her fellow, the deep-blue face filled with instant worry and puzzlement.

Darting eyes back and forth between the Shozen Elders, desperation swirled with Warren. "Phai, you promised we'd keep trying to find another way!" He looked around at what had no face. "Ta'uii! Can't an exception be made?"

"What promise?" Taer's tone grew chilled, as she studied her fellow Shozen. "We are out of time and options. Ztar must die. Why has your Den-neer delayed?"

Phai sighed deeply, closing her eyes as remorse overshadowed flawless features. "The bond will be broken."

###

The assassin had watched as the ruler of the Turzent Empire knelt on the floor of the gazebo, light bouncing off the short-blade in his hand. He had the look of a condemned man. Ztar was one of Phai's proudest achievements. She'd believed in him from the start of his rise to power. Against the advice of several Council members, he became Phai's chosen unifier for a region of Trient'Ir, not the Commonwealth as others had championed. A single voice – an emperor's singular power – to congeal fragmented, warring, disorganized realms and worlds.

Ztar had exceeded even her expectations.

With a little secretive help here and there, of course.

And at a critical moment in history, Den-neer was to ensure the Turzent carried out his final duty.

He listened to the man's outbursts, his pleas. As a genetically-engineered assassin, Den-neer rarely felt sadness or remorse over necessary deaths, but he found himself emotionally moved. It was one thing to take an unwilling life for greater good, quite another to watch someone give it freely for the sake of others. Selfless. Noble.

The kneeling man was a true Emperor…he would surrender his life for his people's. Den-neer believed Ztar would do what he must. But if he did not, Den-neer had studied Turzent anatomy for the quickest kill method – a telekinetic squeeze of the two key vessels would render unconscious in seconds and death shortly thereafter.

That, though, would not be the end the warrior-king deserved.

###

"There are no options." Phai reopened her eyes. "I am sorry, Archangel – more sorry than you may imagine."

Warren didn't care if she was sorry. Ztar couldn't die…he wouldn't let it happen. Yet what could he do?

"There are always options!" he protested desperately, but the clock was ticking. "We just need to find one."

Taer took a step forward. "It is too late," she scolded coldly.

"This is a man's life we're talking about!" he snarled in return, fury building.

"A galaxy is at stake!" the blue-skinned woman shot back. "You two must soulbind. It is the only way."

"There is another way." The Sentinel's voice sliced the tense air, startling the verbal combatants.

His heart skipped a beat. "There is? How?" Warren questioned.

"I can sever the connection."

Four pairs of eyes darted to one another, exchanging dismay and hope.

Warren felt there had to be a catch. "Just like that? Simply snip the umbilical cord?"

"There is nothing simple about manipulation of lifeforce connections, but I am capable of performing the intricate task now that I am fully functional. The procedure is detailed in my memory stores."

"No one gets hurt?" he pressed to be certain.

"Both will survive."

"You've done this before?"

"The need has not arisen until now."

Ettwanae's gaze was glued to Warren's face. She looked as hopeful as he was beginning to allow himself to become.

"Once the connection is severed, Ettwanae and I can soulbind?"

"Correct."

"Then Etxan'Ir will allow us in?"

"Correct."

Warren was confused. "Why didn't you do this during my cleansing?"

"Two wholly different processes."

While far from a thorough explanation, Warren let it go. Saving Ztar and the galaxy was far more important.

"Then let's do it!" He drilled a gaze into Phai's intensely blue eyes. "Do whatever you need to do to stop Ztar's death!"

"No."

It was like a punch to the gut. "No?!"

"Not until we know with certainty that the connection has been broken. If the Sentinel fails…"

Prickliness swept over the quasi-room. "I will not fail."

Phai looked up in a vane attempt to connect visually with what could not be seen.

"Forgive me, Sentinel, but we must be certain. If the procedure is as delicate as you say, we cannot take chances. The bond between Esha'Aru Warren and the other should not have been possible, yet it is. That alone casts doubts on the precise nature of the binding."

"Understood."

Then Phai cast her eyes again to Warren. "Let Ta'uii sever the bond. When you and Ettwanae are soulbound, I will signal that Ztar is to live."

"If it's not too late by then!" he snapped, wanting to protest, yet there was the crux of it – there was no more time to waste. Even knowing time moved more slowly within inter-dimensional space, is passage still felt like a tightening noose around the neck, making Warren was desperate to move things forward. "Let's get this show on the road."

###

Jharda walked the corridor slowly, still amazed at how much her body was changing with pregnancy. Her swollen belly made her slightly off kilter, and she had to be mindful that her center of balance was subtly shifted outward. Other than that, she felt wonderfully alive.

Absentmindedly, her hand rested on the bulge that held the progeny of her and the man she loved. She couldn't fathom loving someone more than she did their unborn child…its intensity almost frightening. And it made her smile. She felt a completeness that she hadn't known existed. She had the man of her dreams and carried his child. What more could a woman want?

Marriage?

Ztar had been pressuring her to do so before the birth. She understood the reasons – a firstborn birthed within the sanctity of legal wedlock had undisputable claim to the throne. She did not argue that they needed to hold the ceremony soon. It was just that she didn't want to rush too much. It would be an important event for not only them, but for the people of the empire, and one chance to do it right. Sukja and company needed time to put all the pieces into place, and she'd give them that. Why push up the date? What would a month matter? Not like the universe would end by waiting a little longer. But his eagerness to wed was heartwarming, and her smile widened.

Yet as she palmed the control to their palace chambers, Jharda considered again the odd feeling there was something more behind Ztar's prodding. What was causing the man to be tense and anxious? Despite gentle prodding, she received the same weak response over and over…one she did not fully believe.

What greeted her as she entered their spacious suite chased away worries – a glorious bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, Ztar…you are the romantic!" Moving quickly to the colorful display of pinks, lavenders, blues, and golden yellows, she smelled deeply. Wonderful! Sweet and spicy; so much like the scent of the palace's far pavilion. That garden retreat was her and Ztar's special place – a spot they could be alone, separate from the weight of ruling an empire, and simply be a couple.

Then she noticed the holo module lying on the table. "And a message, too?"

Excitedly, she positioned the device to project into the middle of the room and then activated it. Ztar's handsome image immediately stood before her. There was a smile on his face, but Jharda's heart clenched. No smile filled the dark brown eyes she knew so well – sadness reigned there.

"My beloved Jharda, do you know how much I love you? You are everything to me. You are what makes life complete. I love you more than life itself." The smile fell away, and dread swamped her. "I have news that will be very…difficult. Please sit, my love."

Everything grew unreal as she pulled a chair from the table. 'Oh, my gods, what has happened?!'

What Ztar revealed next was too much to comprehend. An eternal enemy that could destroy everything. Ancient U'larr. Their descendants and Esserru could save everyone. It was happening now?! Archangel needed to soulbind to an Esserru or all was lost?

Her mind spun trying to grasp the incomprehensible. How could it be true? Had to be a trick – it wasn't Ztar in front of her, but a ruse.

"My love, I understand this comes as an unbelievable shock, but it is truth…a truth in the making for thousands of years while forces unknown to us were struggling to prevent the end of all we know. I have received word from those forces that the end time is upon us. The fight for the right to exist has begun. Archangel is one of the keys. He must bind with the Esserru or our galaxy will be no more."

Jharda shook her head, unable to fathom that she wasn't dreaming – that what her intended husband and her monarch was saying was real. Then she saw the tears in his eyes. There was more? And why was telling her via a holo message? She steeled herself; heart pounding so hard it was making her nauseous. Something else was wrong, or he'd be telling her in person.

"I have told you about the deep connection I have with Archangel. The guardians of our galaxy have explained it to me. A unique bond links our souls that should not have been possible – should never have happened." A sudden flare of fire danced in Ztar's eyes. "But damn the gods, it did! And that bond prevents him from soulbinding to the Esserru. But they must soulbind or the Dark Coming cannot be stopped." Then the fire died and Ztar visibly trembled. Sadness and pain filled the dark eyes and handsome face. "Only one thing breaks a soulbinding, my Jharda. Only one way to allow Archangel to join with someone else. I am so sorry, my love. I am so eternally sorry…"

His voice was anguished. What was he saying? Jharda couldn't breathe – the room whirled. Her mind fought to deny the answer her brain was forming. "No! My gods…it can't be!"

"My beautiful, wondrous, beloved Jharda. My love will always be with you – watching over you and our child. Teach him about me. Tell him-" The man swallowed hard. "Make sure he knows how much I love him." Tears began streaming down the devastated features. "Please, make our quiet place my final resting place. That's where you will find me." Then the face she loved shattered and with it, her heart. Ztar broke down and Jharda collapsed from the chair to her knees.

Looking up at the man that was her world, she screamed. "NO-O-O-O! Please, Ztar! No!"

"I- I w-will…" he caught his breath. "I will love you- for- eternity. Good-bye, my Jharda." Her beloved's image winked out with a coldness that stabbed her soul.

For seconds, she sat in stunned shock looking at the space now void. What Ztar had implied hit full force, and she swayed from the impact. "My gods, please – please don't let this happen! Don't take him! I'll do anything!" she begged the heavens. "Anything!"

Powerful desperation seized her. She had to reach him. Had to stop the unthinkable. Scrambling to her feet, she stumbled to the door, palmed the control, and darted through as it slid aside. Racing down the palace hall, she nearly slipped as she rounded the corner for the shot to the stairs. Warning bells of maternal instinct told her to be careful on the steps, but she silenced them and descended as fast as her feet would move. Voices shouted, but she did not listen.

Jharda couldn't move quickly enough. It was as though she were wading through thick syrup. 'Faster!' she told herself. Bursting through the doors onto the reflecting pool patio, she ran full hilt as palace staff jumped out of her way. More shouted questions. A woman called her name. Someone yelled for security.

Down the garden pathway she sped, her belly bouncing in protest. Their child needed its father. She needed her husband. Galaxies be damn! Nothing else mattered. Nothing, except stopping her world from ending.

###

"Sit," Ta'uii commanded, and the male obeyed. Sensors detected physiological changes as the one called Warren steeled. What the small being did not understand was that one could not prepare for what was about to occur. While the procedure was brought to light in the recently reactivated areas of ancient memory, the Sentinel found no record of performance of Quuhn'mai, which roughly meant 'to carve away part of one's soul.' The U'larr had anticipated an occasional need to sever soulbinding, such as in the case that one partner slips into madness or otherwise becomes unstable. However, Ta'uii's data stores contained no incident of the procedure ever having been used.

The memory nodule carried a firm warning that knowledge the procedure existed had not been shared by the U'larr with their Esha'Aru creation. Soulbinding was to remain a sacred and permanent bond in the minds of the winged species. Quuhn'mai was a tool of last resort.

But the U'larr civilization was no more. Within that new reality, sparing the life of any soulbound was reason enough to evoke a tool of last resort in Ta'uii's judgment, even if that soulbound was not Esha'Aru.

Reaching with seeker particles, the great machine touched the Esha'Aru lifeforce energy. It was strong and pulsed with strength that Ta'uii hadn't detected in recent generations of the species. Penetrating deeper, the lesser lifeforce thread came into focus. The quality of the soul link was odd – like nothing Ta'uii had record of, just as U'larr descendant Phai suspected. Pulling full awareness inward, Ta'uii would spare no attention elsewhere. It would not cause harm from less than complete concentration.

The Sentinel continued to explore the uniqueness of the odd Esha'Aru. Ta'uii revisited a condition that should not have been possible – no species marker. Having been restored, Ta'uii had regained accessed to the vast knowledge stored within the hibernating Etxan'Ir. No answers found. How could such a condition be?

It mattered not. Etxan'Ir would not reject the unique being because of that deficiency…or more appropriately, because of that evolution.

And so with precision and ability almost unfathomable to the young races populating Trient'Ir, Ta'uii began careful separation of the entwined lifeforce threads. The work was meticulous – on a god-like level – but the foreign lifeforce was finally freed from the Esha'Aru's. A Turzent lifeforce…so very amazing, Ta'uii considered. Even in its vast knowledge and complexity, it could still be surprised and left in awe; a rarity it savored for a few attoseconds.

Then with a precisely-tuned particle, Ta'uii severed the lifeforce thread connecting the faraway Turzent from the unique entity named Warren.

###

In the instant he was going to plunge the blade, an agonizing pain gripped deep within. It happened with breathtaking suddenness, leaving the world spinning crazily. Moments felt like eternity. As quickly as it came, pain dissipated. Left in its wake was a sensation Ztar couldn't name – like a painless, gapping wound that had nothing to do with the physical. Was that his soul's death cry already?

Shaken and confused he sat, blade still held to chest with trembling hands. Then it hit him.

"ARCHANGEL!" he screamed in horror.

'By the gods, did I wait too long?' Had he doomed them all because of hesitation?

"Gods of Sat'rey, if you ever heard me, hear me now. Please, let that not be Archangel's death – give him life! Take mine instead!"

Powerful arm muscles tensed a second time for the death plunge.

###

A jolt. A yelp. Piercing pain at an unnamed level. Something had snapped…left…vaporized. Words were inadequate. It was as if part of him was simply no more, and he reeled.

"The procedure is complete."

He shook his head and breathed deeply to clear mind and soul.

"That quick?"

"Yes. The Dark Coming is upon us. You and Esha'Aru Ettwanae must bind."

"Save Ztar! Phai, save him!" he ordered desperately, as the alabaster-skinned woman extended a hand to help him from the floor.

"I will try, but you and Ettwanae must become soulbounds….quickly."

"Time is different here – that's what you said," Ettwanae protested, looking uncomfortably around for an area of privacy.

"But time still passes," Taer pointed out as a dais materialized off to one side.

"Time draws to an end even here."

Warren stood, eying the veils of soft light wavering and shimmering in a circular aurora around the platform. A single opening revealed a bedlike pad on a raised section of floor. He shuddered. Talk about performance under pressure!

Ettwanae grabbed his hand and propelled them toward the makeshift bed.

"What's happening with the barrier? How close is it to failing?"

As they halted next to the veiled stage, Phai waved them inside. "We approach the point of no return."

'Is Ztar okay? Did he feel anything? What will he think has happened?' But there wasn't time for questions or answers. He'd have to trust Phai to save Ztar, if that were even still possible.

Ettwanae dragged him inside the shimmering circle and yanked him down to the softness. It was amazingly like the Ettwanae's bed on Volu – it would cradle her without discomfort to wings.

Regret came to roost as Warren allowed himself a moment's realization their first time would be far from romantic. He shook it off. They had to make hasty love or the galaxy would be no more.

###

Next time…well, let's just say it's a scene we've all been waiting for through two novels.