Chapter Thirty-Nine

Power surged through Travis, and when he yanked on Prometheus's psychic leash, he appeared. Wasting no time, Travis locked him in a cage. Prometheus rattled the bars. "Let me out, or that ass is grass."

"Not a chance. But don't worry. You'll have company soon enough." He flipped off Prometheus and resumed control of his body, coming face-to-face with Co'laf.

"Tanna, you are neg'gi (|neg|' |ghee| okay)?"

"I'm fine," he said, shrugging off Co'laf's hand. "And I'm not your son."

Co'laf froze, his lipless face contorting into a look of disgust. "You're the pagu (|pah||goo|)."

"The what?"

"The . . . vessel."

"Fuck you."

Co'laf and Luscinia argued in Na'iva, and to Travis's annoyance, he only understood one out of ten words. Luscinia told him the gist was Co'laf refused to accept Travis as his son while she'd argued he was every bit their child since he shared Prometheus's DNA. The argument broke out again anew, and Travis had had enough. 

He locked onto Grams' mind and Popped to her. But when he materialized, he was still in the cave.

"What's going on?"

An alarm sounded, drawing Co'laf's and Luscinia's attention.

"Uki(|ooh| |key|| go/leave) jani (no)."

"And why the hell can't I leave?"

"Sleeping, while you--well, you the other -- were, night of last, tests I ran. Dying you are," Luscinia said.   

"No shit, and I'd like to spend my remaining time with my grandmother."

Co'laf huffed.

"There a problem?"

"Jani." 

"Good, then undo whatever's keeping me here." Travis stalked toward the cave entrance.

Luscinia shouted after him. "Wait! You did have to don't ."

Travis stopped at the edge of the cave's opening, looked over his shoulder at her, and arched an eyebrow. "Go on."

She explained his healing factor, though immature, was keeping him alive for the time being. As energy beings, Torins were walking fusion generators. And it was this energy that fueled their abilities. 

They could channel power from their cores (basically a battery) to accelerate the healing process, allowing them to recover from wounds normally fatal to other species like humans.  

But in Travis's case, his core hadn't reached its full potential yet. Thus, his healing factor and abilities weren't as strong as they could be. But were he to tap into his full potential, he'd be healed completely.

Stupid brain, giving me false hope like this. But what if it's true? Then Josh and I could . . . Meh, let's go with it.

"Why didn't you say so before? How do I do that?"

"Do'un (|doh| |oon|)," she said. Training.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Co'laf butted in. "A commoner in fae'li, I refuse to be training."

Luscinia's eyes glowed brightly. "Then shall I."

Co'laf scoffed, folded his arms, and turned away while she reviewed the rules of Circle with him.

While they trained, Travis got flashes of Pro's memories and used them to outmaneuver her. They trained, swapping places every twenty minutes or so, until Travis, covered in sweat, vision blurred, gasping for breath, collapsed. He stood on shaky legs, then vomited tarry, black bile.

She hovered around him. "Tanna, long enough at it we've been. Uren (|oo| |rin|), rest."

 "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

Co'laf laughed. "Your tahi (|tah||he|) be having such strange wordings."

"When I want your opinion, I'll take my chodar (|chi-yo ||dahr|), `dick,' out your mouth."

Co'laf charged him and grabbed his shoulders, his talons digging into Travis's skin. 

He headbutted Co'laf, blasted him with fire, and Popped behind him, kneeing him in the back. Then he kicked him in the side of his head.

Co'laf turned, blasted him with a gale-force wind, knocking Travis off balance. He slammed into the ground. Then Co'laf encased him in an earthen cage. 

He exploded the cage, sending shards of molten rocks at Co'laf.

Travis stood on jelly legs, then collapsed. 

Too weak to continue, he curled into a ball and passed out.

***

He awoke to the sounds of Co'laf pounding on the crystalline ball which now enveloped him. 

That's new.

Blasting the crystalline ball apart, he grabbed two shards and Popped behind Co'laf. He drove the shards into Co'laf's shoulders, laughing at his screams.

"I win."

Co'laf pulled the shards through his shoulders and looked down at them. "Underestimating you, being I. But still unworthy of fae'li learning are you."

"Let's make a deal. I beat you in Circle, and you teach me fae'li."

"Ahi!"

Travis elected to be the Adota, and Co'laf nodded, going on the attack. He threw everything at Travis, even going as far as liquefying the ground, forcing him to hover in the air.

Co'laf smirked. "Uwaro (|ooh| |wha| |row| ). You lose."

"Actually, a circle has three dimensions, and if you notice, I'm still within the boundaries."

"Right he is," Luscinia said and gave a twenty-minute lecture on multidimensional geometry. And by the end of it, Co'laf conceded Travis was right. However, Travis didn't know if it was worth the headache he had. 

According to her, there was an infinite number of dimensions parallel to the standard eleven dimensions humans knew about. Moreover, she and others had postulated that given enough energy and focus, a Torin could teleport to these parallel dimensions.

After eating more sohan and miqua, Travis set out to train more, but Luscinia stopped him. "Rest no. The Torin creation myth, to you, I will tell.

Though he'd rather train, Travis bedded down for the night, thoughts of Josh, Grams, Jenny, and his parents running through his head as he listened to The Tale of the Two Brothers.

***

In the beginning, there was the void, and all was still. Then came the great schism. From the void arose a cataclysmic explosion that created two brothers. The first was Lukarus (|loo| |car| |us|), Lord of Light and Love. And the second was Kamori (|kah| |more| |ee|), the Lord of Darkness and Fear.

 The brothers stared across the event horizon from whence they came and charged forth to do battle. They were evenly matched, so a new contest was designed. 

Lukarus pulled a rib from his body, and from the wound, blood poured forth, creating all the stars in the sky. From his rib, he formed the planets and breathed life into them, thus creating the Torins.

Kamori saw what his brother had done and was jealous. From his chest, he pulled out his heart and flung it into the cosmos. Thus, evil entered the universe.

 Torins believed the first emperor was imbued with his powers by Lukarus and that children from his bloodline would grow stronger with every generation until a child was born with power that rivaled even Lukarus's. This child would lead them into a new age of peace and prosperity. 

 They also believed Kamori would sire a child that would herald the end of all creation, and the fate of the universe would be decided in a titanic battle between the child of light and the child of darkness.

As he drifted off, Travis wondered if he was a child of light or darkness and if Josh would ever forgive him for hurting him.

***

Travis went through the forms for fae'li, trying to keep the moves straight, but he kept thinking about Josh and what he'd done to him. Luscinia watched him, shaking her head. Two weeks had passed since entering the cave, and every day had been the same. They began with Fae'li training, followed by Torin cultural and history lessons, then it was time for language lessons. Travis taught them English while they taught him Na'iva and Na'el. With practice, Travis mastered conjugation and vocab lessons but struggled with syntax. Co'laf, despite his gruff exterior, took an interest in English lessons and was slowly getting the hang of grammar and syntax. Though, he commanded to see Prometheus at every opportunity.

"Urawo!" Luscinia said. "Me, you watch." She spread her legs so they were shoulder-width apart, her feet at forty-five-degree angles, then went through the motions for him.

Co'laf looked on, snickering under his breath.

Travis swore he'd prove that smug bastard wrong. Drumming his fingers on his aching thigh, X gon Give it to Ya by DMX played in his head. Bobbing his head along to the beat, he began the taka (|tah| |kah|), form', again. This time, his movements were more fluid, coming without thought as he sang under his breath. He practiced until his limbs were too sore to lift under the weight of 2g, twice Earth's gravity.

"Better getting, you are," she said.

"Humph. How long before my core matures?"

"Hard to say."

"Then increase the gravity to 3g."

"But -- "

"Do it." He turned, addressing Co'laf. "If you find something funny, why don't you say it to my face?"

Co'laf's eyes glowed. "A challenge, is that ?"

"Yeah, unless you're scared?"

"I'sau (|ee| |sow|)!"

Travis chuckled at the Torin curse word. "Giraida ka (|ghee| |rye| |duh| |kah|), `you mad'?" he retorted.

Co'laf materialized behind Travis, piercing his arms with ice blades, then swept him off his feet. Travis struggled to recover, gasping for breath, sweat cascading down his face, stinging his eyes. Co'laf stood over him, laughing. "Yield."

"Never." The ground rumbled as black energy arced off Travis's body. His hair flickered from black to silver, and his eyes turned red as the sound of screams filled his ears.

He jumped up, and the fight was on. Popping behind Co'laf, he caught him with a right hook to the jaw. Co'laf spun around from the force of the blow. Travis followed up with an energy blast to Co'laf's back.

"Stop," Luscinia shouted, but Travis ignored her, continuing to pommel Co'laf until he collapsed.

***

 He woke up in a cramped room lit up by white lights. Upon closer inspection, the lights were plasma beams similar to lightning bolts. One shot toward him, and he covered himself, wincing at the thought of the pain. When it struck him, it left him feeling better than he ever had. He relaxed, letting the device do whatever its job was. 

He'd drifted off just as an alarm sounded, and the device deactivated. He grumbled as the door opened, revealing Luscinia.

"Quite the scare you gave us," she said.

"I wanna stay in longer."

She shook her head. "a toy the Pueri(|pure| |ee| )'khau isn't."

"The what?" he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Star Chamber. It's meant to increase your abilities by feeding energy directly to your core."

"Oh. How's Co'laf? Not that I care." Travis exited the Star Chamber and cued up dinner in the molecular printer. While he waited, Luscinia told him Co'laf was fine but still mad at him. Though he wouldn't say so explicitly, she'd deduced he was scared of Travis.

"Serves him right."

He ate and then meditated.

Within his Psyche Sanctorum, he visited Pro, who let loose several curses in English and Na'iva. Ignoring him for the moment, Travis visited the well and discovered several cracks in its cover. Golden light shone through the cracks, and he made out the blackbird, its wings free, but its feet and body still bound in chains. 

"You did good, Boss."

"Any pointers on freeing the rest of you?"

"To thine own self be true." 

"Meh. On that note, I bid you adieu."

Travis conjured his puffy chair and lowered his mental barriers. First, he searched out Josh, curious to know how he was doing. Shame and repulsion rose up in him at the thought of his hurting Josh. Even if he'd been stalking him, Travis had no right to attack him like that. 

When Josh came into sight, his arm was bandaged, and he had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was on his bed playing Call Of Duty with David and Jason, but he kept catching his phone.

"Travis, where are you?"

I'm--

Josh looked up, and Travis stopped himself mid-thought. No, he couldn't face Josh yet.

Next, he focused on Grams. She was in her rocker knitting a sweat with a big "T" on it, praying.

"God, if you bring my sweet boy home safe, I'll donate half my fortune to charity."

The scene was too much for him to take. The thought of never seeing her or Josh again cut him deeper than Co'laf's ice blades. Centering himself, Travis decided to check in on his other (?) parents. His mother and father were both in leg and arm casts, while his father wore a neck brace. They were in the same hospital room connected to morphine drips. Though part of him regretted what he'd done to them, Travis still burned with rage at what they allowed the DMRC to do to him. 

When he checked on Jenny, he was shocked to find her looking after the twins, who were crying for their parents. 

"Hush, now," she said, rocking Amber as she sobbed. 

"Damn it, Travis! What were you thinking? If you ever come back, your ass will be under the jail." 

At that moment, a thought struck Travis, This is all my fault. Maybe I shouldn't come back.   

 Shaking his head, he raised his mental barriers and set to work, adding a dungeon and torture chamber to the Psyche Sanctorum. Next, he entered the holding cell and focused on the boxes containing his emotions. He sat there for the longest time, but nothing happened, so he gave up and tried the next day and the next until, at last, he'd done it. 

In the holding cell were five birds, each a different color. He queried them each in turn and learned Wrath was a fiery-red cardinal, Despair was a blue jay, Pride was a green parrot, Love/Hope was a pink flamingo, Body was a Bald Eagle, and Mind was a grey-brown great horned owl.

With his emotions partitioned from him, Travis had super focus and calm, enabling him to train longer and harder. Yet, despite all his gains, he still hadn't freed Spirit or realized his core's full potential, so he tried a new tactic.

"Boss, you don't want to do this," Mind said as Travis strapped him to the torture rack.

"But I do."

It screamed.

Much later, after Travis had pressed, drawn and quartered, beheaded, and ripped Mind limb from limb, he was at a loss for what to do next.

"Have you tried flaying him, then dousing him with vinegar?" Oblivion whispered to him.

"Good idea."

Mind screamed when Travis tore the skin from his body. "Boss, doing this won't get you any closer to mastering me."

He threw a bucket of vinegar on it. "Bored now."

When Travis passed him, Prometheus spoke up. "You one sick mofo."

"I try."

"I can help you."

Travis scoffed. "I don't need or want your help."

"Oh, but you'll listen to the freaking devil?"

"Oblivion has been straight with me from the start. Unlike some people."

"I kept those memories hidden for a good reason."

"This conversation's over."

"I get it. You're scared to let me out `cause ya know I'd whoop that ass."

"Nice try. But that's not going to work."

***

 Travis had been in the cave (called Magova, |ma| |goh| |vuh|) going on a month now and had graduated to sparring with Luscinia and Co'laf simultaneously. Travis dodged Luscinia's nekli (||nay| |clee| ), `fist blade,' blocking it with his own curved wrist blade. He hooked it with his, pulling her close, and jabbed her shoulder with his left nekli. 

Co'laf blocked the attack and dropped under Travis's guard. He made to stab him in the gut, but Travis backflipped in the air, blasting them with ice spears as he tumbled over. Landing, he knocked them off balance with a gust of wind, then surrounded them in a pool of lava.

"Urawo," Co'laf said, making a "T" with his hands.

Travis groaned. "I was just warming up."

"We know," Luscinia said. "Tanni (|tahn|' |knee| `my darling'; used when referring to your significant other) and I have been discussing it, and we feel you've outgrown us."

"Can't you just increase the gravity?"

"Five times your planet's gravity, you're up to," she said, shooting Co'laf a pensive look. "Moreover, much more results, I feel you won't get. Therefore, the next phase of your training, we want you to begin."

Travis cracked his knuckles. "Which is?"

"Far more intense than us, foes and challenges the hologram-trainer can generate." 

"When do you want me to begin?"

"In the morning," Co'laf said, eyeing Travis. "But speak with our son first, we want to."

"Our other son," she added, shooting Co'laf a dirty look.

Inclining his head, Travis eyed them sideways. "What do I get out of this deal?"

Co'laf huffed and crossed his arms. "Stronger you'll become. Isn't that enough?" 

"No. If I agree to this, Luscinia must show me how to use and program the machines."

Co'laf inclined his head. "Done."

"Then tomorrow, you'll speak with him."

"Time for your Torin cultural lesson," Co'laf said. He pointed to the square cushions on the ground floor. Travis sat, folding his legs in his lap, and listened to the story of Pueriel (|pure |ee| |el|), the Golden Child.

***

Long ago, when the world was new and Torins still worshiped the old gods, a plague befell them. The chief consulted the mages, and they said to offer the gods a sacrifice. 

They did, but the plague continued and struck the chief's son, Yahiko (|yah| |he| |koh|, `Summer Child'). He beseeched whoever would listen to save his child. At once, a golden figure appeared.

"I am Lukarus, God of Light and Love. I will save your people on two conditions. Worship me and pay me tribute on this day every cycle. As for your son, I will save him, but he will have a cursed life. As long as he draws breath, he will never know rest from the works of my brother. Do you accept?"

"Yes, my lord!" The chief fell to his knees and kissed Lukarus's flaming feet.

"Then as it is spoken, so it is done." In a flash, he was gone, and the plague ended. The chief's son took the name Pueriel, `Starchild,' and forever was a champion of good.

***

"Interesting story, but doesn't Pueriel also mean light of heaven and God's fire?" Travis asked, juggling fireballs casually.

"Yes, and if you studied your vocabulary more, you'd know the meaning of words in Na'iva is context-sensitive."

"Normally, I'd love learning about languages, but I have more important things to worry about."

"Hi wo Peuriel, `Pueriel's Day,' is the most sacred of Torin holidays, and you'd do well to remember that. Speaking of which, it falls on the . . . 31st day of the tenth month of your calendar."

"That's--"   

"Travis, if you can hear me, come home. Everyone's worried sick about you."

Josh?

"Thank God. Where are? Why haven't you been answering me?"

I'll explain later. Hey. Um. Do you forgive me for . . . you know?

"We can talk about that later. Come home."

"Travis, you paying attention?" Co'laf said. 

He explained the situation to them and asked to leave. Co'laf forbid him, which Luscinia agreed with. Travis plowed ahead, vowing he'd let them speak to Pro whenever they wanted if they let him spend the day with Josh. After a long back and forth, they agreed.

 

Author's note: Chapter 43 is the last chapter and will contain the epilogue. Also, the next book in the series is currently in its second draft. Let me know if any of you would like to beta read it (email: phenix39@yahoo.com).

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