 
### Emergence

### Book One of Archsussa Melissa

### By Adrienne Gordon

### Published By Adrienne Gordon at Smashwords

### Copyright 2011 Adrienne Gordon

Through the rubble and ruin of the last levitating city Melissa Drusciana scurried, hunched over, darting in and out of narrow crawlspaces and slime-ridden, foul-smelling igra tunnels, cursing her long, red hair as it kept getting snagged along the way. Her left arm was badly singed -- almost up to her shoulder -- yet still she held fast to the thick leather satchel which contained the heavy glass orb known as the Centric Sphere.

An explosion rocked the firmament, slamming her meager frame into unyielding stone. The dust made her sneeze, and she slouched down, tired and beaten, wondering if she should press on.

_I've lost so much; my home, my little huffoi -- and all my friends_. She wept bitter tears, thinking on all her friends at school. All she had seen was the building collapse, but heard nothing about their fate. _Where are you Rachel?_

A brief tremor brought down a wall near her. She screamed, wishing, hoping there was someone that could help.

_But there's no one now, except me. I must do it now . . . I must!_ She placed her hands on the cold surface of the Sphere, and in a harsh whisper spoke the words her brother Toby gave her long ago. "Ti dioma farra Darian!"

The Sphere remained dark, and she sobbed quietly. For a minute she thought on her fourteenth birthday celebration, which was to be in two weeks. She may not have had family, but she had a plethora of friends who were planning something special.

I guess I'll never know what it was.

"You're not even remotely strong enough to summon back the dead, dear child!" yelled the Freilux, his booming voice echoing through the broken halls of the Levitating City called Imathrin. "Where are you, my sweet treat? The time for running is over; submit to my will, dear one, return the Sphere and death shall be quick!"

She knew his lies. He had been lying to her and the world since she was barely twelve, when her father fell gravely ill and relinquished all responsibilities to him. So often the Freilux would praise her in public, only to corner her in private with leering eyes and a disgusting firmness between his leviathan legs.

_There would be no death for me_ , she thought. _He would keep me chained, and do what he has sought to do to me since my father died_. She tightly closed the satchel, pulling hard on the thin leather cord, and pressed it close into her chest. _One day, I will possess the skill to bring you back, father_. She wrapped the fabric of the satchel tightly around her wrist, so it hung close to her arm. It hurt, but she didn't wince or cry out.

"Dear one . . ," cooed the Freilux gently, "food and bath wait for you. All it takes is but a word, and your running can come to an end. Don't make me release the igra!"

Her eyes darted to a nearby igra tunnel. She had only seen dead ones in her travels, but even they were fearsome to look at. Thick skinned, the size of a boy, with yawning chasms for mouths that were ringed with talons for teeth, she heard of the fire they could channel out of their eyes, and their terrible speed.

_No. I must move on. My father may have given up, but I will not_.

Out onto the field of Xuil ran Melissa, wishing she could pause to soak in the light of the brilliant sun. She could remember playing so many games there, learning the fundamentals of the game of nuvia from instructor after instructor. She side-stepped a large boulder she had tripped over countless times before, and instinctively glanced back to see if anyone was gaining on her.

It's not a game this time, and I can't quit running just because I'm tired.

She was beyond tired, wearing a thin pink tattered dressing gown. When the Second Apocalypse ripped across the Levitating Cities, she didn't have time to think about how to dress. She only followed her brother's instructions, grabbed the Sphere, and ran.

_Yet where are you, brother?_ Slowly, she came to a stop, closed her eyes, and stretched out her hands, trying to feel for something. "Toby," she yelled, "where are you? I'm here -- I need you to help me!"

A rumble came from whence she came; the sound of debris pushed aside by hundreds of angry claws.

"Toby," she screamed desperately, "you said you'd be here, you said you'd help me!" She opened her eyes, crying. _Was it all just a dream? The things you told me to learn, your need for me to steal the Sphere?_

Her heart sunk low, as she despaired. The thought of dying alone filled her mind, and she dearly wished to see her friends again. She began to cry, wondering what fate befell them.

I hope they died quickly. I hope I get to see them when --

_"Melissa -- over here!_ "

"Toby!" she cried with glee.

_"You're almost to the portal_ ," said her brother mentally. Melissa was terrified, but felt and immense relief hearing his voice after so long. " _Now do as I told you; dim your sight, and search for the ribbon of white_."

"Dim your sight, search for the white," she intoned. Behind her -- seemingly all around her, the thundering of hooves could be heard. Though she was no longer a child, her childish fears forced her eyes fully open, and she could see a wide ring of igra bounding across the scorched field towards her. They had broken through the rubble and were whipped into a frenzy by an unseen force. The air around her grew hot and reeked of sulfur as their hateful gaze was focused on her.

_"Melissa!_ " yelled Toby, " _forget about them and focus on the portal. You can see it, you can smell it, you can taste it_."

_I . . . can taste it . ._ . It tasted bitter on her tongue, like medicine her mother once gave her. _I can smell it . . ._ it was acrid, almost like the smoke from the burning of dheppa leaves.

_"Raise your hand_ ," said Toby calmly, " _and push aside the curtains of the world_."

She did, anxious at first as she felt nothing, but after a few seconds air rippled like the surface of a running stream. The burning was also getting stronger, as well as the rumble of the igra. They started to shriek like tortured infants, manifesting a painful sound that buzzed like static though her thoughts.

Suddenly, something pressed just behind her.

"My sweet treat," cooed the Freilux, "you've made it so easy for me to find you."

_"Come on, Melissa!_ " yelled Toby.

"I'm trying," she whimpered, as the Freilux's form coalesced. She could smell the stench of his ancient bloated body, made pungent within his rolls of fat, and could hear him licking his lips as if preparing for a feast. She pressed forward even harder, trying to part the ribbon so she could press through.

"I can see your hand," said Toby, "now follow it through. Calmly, and confidently, like you have done this a thousand times before."

"But this is only my _second time_ ," she moaned, as the crunch of grass could be heard behind her. The Freilux's shadow was growing darker, and she swore she could even hear his breathing.

"Just stand still, my dear one," whispered the Freilux, "and I will make it all better . . ."

She pressed forward, moving her right leg into the ribbon. It was cold and felt wet, like going into a pool that wasn't yet heated by firespheres. Almost half her body was inside, but not the half which held the Centric Sphere. And it was on that left arm that she felt the Freilux's grasp settle.

"It's so good to feel you again. Am I really that bad, that repulsive?" The Freilux ran his rough, calloused hand up and down her forearm. For a second she felt a pain, as if he touched a newly-formed bruise, but she saw no blemish. "Perhaps I am! I love the corpulence of my body; delight in the rolling landscape that is me! For my power, my title forces me on those I wish, and they must submit." He grabbed her arm tightly, making her wince with pain, and she knew he had made it completely through. "I don't break people; I make them break themselves. And when they are broken, I delight in forcing myself on them, reveling in their disgust."

Toby's hand grabbed onto her right hand, and began to pull. "You must come though now!"

His strength pulled her mostly through, but the Freilux still had a grasp on her left hand, which held the Sphere. If she released it, she would make it through, but if she held on, she knew the Freilux would be able to bring her back.

"Toby, I can't lose it!" she cried. "It's the only way I can see father again."

Toby's face solidified in front of hers and she had forgotten how handsome he was, how resolute and confident his gaze was. His blue eyes were as a sea of calm, cooling the fires of anxiety within her. Around him swirled clean, fresh air, filled with the promise of repose.

"Hold onto it tight," he said, with a strong voice she was overjoyed to hear, "and pull with all your might."

She tightened her grasp, and tried to squeeze through the opening with it, but the Freilux's grasp was too strong. She heard him laugh as he squeezed her burned forearm.

"It hurts, Toby -- it hurts!" she screamed.

"We need the Sphere, Melissa -- you know that!"

She tried to pull, but her strength was fading and the pain was too much.

"I . . . can't, Toby. I'm sorry."

She let go, and fell forward into his waiting arms, crying.

"Melissa . . ."

"I'm sorry, Toby!" She clutched onto him frantically, her face buried in his chest, unable to meet a gaze she had waited so long to see. "I just couldn't! I'm not that strong . . ."

She could feel him sigh, then his hand smoothing her hair. "Lissa, I'm glad you're alright. We can always steal back the Sphere later." She felt his hand gently lift her face up, and finally, through a veil of tears, she saw his kind face again.

"Toby!"

As she cried his name, they could hear the Freilux laugh hysterically.

"One day, we'll be laughing over him," said Toby. "One day, my sister, one day . . ."

She glanced around; looking at the shadow world she had escaped to, and despaired.
Chapter 2

She felt relieved and hopeful, being next to her brother again. It had been over a year since she held his hand, two years since the death of their father, and it brought her to tears to think on how much she missed.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you, Toby." She gazed up once again into eyes that lost the warmth she had remembered. They were still steel-blue, but clouded with wrinkles, though he was only twenty-two. His hair, though mostly red, betrayed several shocks of grey, and his face wore a stubbly beard. Sadly, he reminded her of how her father looked in his last days.

The world around her was a grey one, with no horizon line and no sun. She could make out that Toby wore a thick ermine-patterned cloak that covered a black jacket embroidered with gold trim, but had trouble seeing much else clearly, and it was in that moment she realized they weren't anywhere real. "Are we on a city?"

"No, we are in the void between. I brought you here so I could mask our final destination from the Freilux."

She leaned heavily into his arms, feeling the weight of the past few hours settle on her. "I . . . I need to get some sleep."

"Sleep? Haven't you been following the training methodology I gave you? You can't sleep, not if you want to see any increases in your skill."

"But I'm so tired," she pouted, doing her best performance of an expression that in her youth would always get what she wanted from him.

Toby smiled, and ruffled her hair with his calloused fingers. "I never could say no to you, little Lissa. We have an encampment on the surface."

"The surface? Can we actually survive down there?"

"It's tough, but anything is preferable than living under the Freilux." Gingerly, he lifted her left arm to examine the burns. "You still don't know how to heal yourself?"

"No, I . . ."

"You haven't done _any_ of the training," he snapped, bruising her feelings. She watched as he squinted, and felt the burns recede into nothingness on her skin. It felt warm and fuzzy, and she could faintly smell blooming hrrana petals as he finished. Yet she could still feel something remained, some echo of a vicious wound, though nothing was visible. For an instant she saw his eyes cloud with doubt and anxiety, and wondered what it was. "You've been complacent, lying in your plush bed, playing with your effete friends." He shook his head in disappointment. "Much time has been wasted, and we have too little left. Now stand still as I shift us to the surface."

She waited as he closed his eyes, and felt the pull as they moved out of the temporary grey world and onto the surface of the world of Iqui, and in an instant Melissa understood why all lived in levitating cities. It was a harsh, barren landscape, with howling winds filled with biting snow that whipped about them. Several dozen tents could be seen partially covered by snow. Glowing firespheres pulsed erratically in-between them, keeping hundreds of dark figures huddled close for warmth. She clutched even tighter on Toby's arm, and he smoothed her shoulder in response.

"Sometimes, I wonder how long they'd last without me," he said with a tired sigh. "At least it keeps them servile." He extended his hand, and instantly the firespheres surged brighter, now maintaining an even glow. Cheers went up from the soldiers surrounding them, with a few even raising their hand in thanks to Toby.

Melissa felt conspicuous in her sheer ruffled dress, as it afforded no protection from the elements and left too much skin exposed.

"I . . . I think I need some new clothes."

"In there you'll find some warm ones," he said, gesturing to a small tent. "Also a firesphere to warm you. I have a comfortable bed, though I hardly use it. Sleep as much as you want."

She embraced him tightly, her head coming just up to his chest. "I love you, dear brother."

"And I you, Lissa."

Drifting in and out of sleep, she heard more soldiers pour into the encampment as Toby greeted their leaders nearby. Several times she started at the antics of some of the younger soldiers, and crawled to the entrance of her tent to see if she could recognize anyone. She felt if she could just find someone from school, someone she knew, that she could relax, and believe everything would be alright. But each time she was disappointed, as the armies came from every part of the ovoid but hers.

She was fully woken once by much laughing, followed by shouting that included her name. She crawled just outside her tent, where she had a view of a large gathering of men and women in dress uniforms.

"You mean your sister couldn't be entrusted with something as simple as a glass sphere?" yelled a thin, arrogant-looking man, with eyes that glowed in green. "How are we to move forward? How can we bring back the fifteen cities destroyed and all their people?"

"It was only a guess that we could use the Centric Sphere like that anyway," replied Toby. "No one has ever been able to conjur a physical manifestation of power from the Sphere."

"And yet your father hung onto it like it was his own flesh and blood."

_"Yes_ ," grudgingly admitted Toby, as he took another bite from the leg of valla he had at his side. It was then Melissa finally acknowledged that not only had Toby grown older, but had grown fatter. His countenance wasn't the genial one she remembered; rather it was mean, sharp, and devoid of pity. "We will get the Sphere back -- just have faith. Besides, the Freilux isn't as strong as . . ." She could feel Toby's gaze pierce the darkness and haze, divining that she was awake. "He isn't as strong as he needs to be. We have nothing to worry for the moment."

_What was he about to say?_ she thought, as she slipped back into sleep, with her dreams haunted by scores of igra chasing her and the Freilux's laugh rumbling through the dark landscape of her mind.
Chapter 3

In the morning, Melissa came to be introduced to Generals. Of course, it was less like an introduction than it was a presentation, for they scanned her from top to bottom, with a few even daring to scan her mind. Her mother taught her long ago how to rebuff such scans, but it took a little while before she could remember how to do it effectively, and by then her fear and indecision was plain for all to see.

Toby and a few others manipulated rock to create several low structures to shelter the newly arrived troops, igniting a warming sphere in each. By the end of the day, Melissa saw Toby was exhausted, and lay without sleeping on a rough bed, wrapped in a thick canvas cloak with red stains along its hem. She thought he looked like a flying leviathan caught in a net, one whose bulk proved to be its undoing.

"Brother, you've grown fat."

"What else is one to do when one is awake all the time?" he snapped angrily. "I could never have made this city if not for my sacrifice."

Melissa sat back against a wall, pulling her legs in tightly.

"Are you still cold? Here," he said, sitting up. "Let me fabricate another sphere."

"No," she said, rushing to him, holding his hands down. "You have sacrificed so much already. I can manage." She sat next to him, and they both huddled together for warmth around the lone firesphere. Melissa's very soul was warmed by his presence as remembrance of her great love for him came flooding back. Images of their late nights spent staying up and talking came back, as well as the silly pranks they would play on the courtiers of father's court.

"What happened to you?" she meekly asked. "When you left, so many thought you . . . ran away."

"I know, and though I couldn't care a whit what they thought, I did regret leaving you without a word. The Freilux . . . well . . ."

"What brother? You can tell me anything."

Toby sat for a moment in thought, then asked; "did you ever tell me of the Freilux's roving eyes, his attempts at seduction on you?"

Melissa blushed. "How did you know?"

"Your mind isn't trained sufficiently to conceal even something that embarrassing from me."

"So . . . what did he do to you?" she asked meekly.

He took a deep breath, like he was about to take a deep and dangerous plunge. "You know the Freilux went to school with our father. They were close friends, from what I'm told, though I believe he always envied the fact that father would one day rule not only Imathrin, but the entire world as well. He was always a small man who envied those with power, even cursing them openly to try to make himself important. He soon became father's chief critic, questioning his every policy, persuading nobles of the court to conduct inquiries into father's dealings and policies. At every council session he would propose that father relinquish his power in favor of a parliamentary system, where many would rule instead of one."

"So when father fell ill," continued Toby, "and could no longer run the affairs of state, the Freilux was nominated to run them for him. When father died, we were given over to the Freilux, as by the code at the time, I would inherit father's title when I came of age and was pronounced a Provni Archsussa. But the Freilux hated me and everything I stood for. He beat me mercilessly, slamming my head into walls, breaking my bones on the marble floor, only to heal them a few minutes later, so he could break them again. He was determined to keep me weak, so I would never become an Archsussa, and father's title would fall to him."

Melissa grasped his hand and squeezed, shedding a tear. "I'm so sorry."

Toby shook his head, and smiled, himself holding back tears. "At first, I wasn't skilled enough to even make a firesphere. But little by little I learned, in secret, the ability to manipulate sussa, until I got to a point where I could make my own ribbon and escape. When I did, when I first stood in that grey void, I had a dual vision of apocalypse; in one of which all was laid waste and you were dead, in another all was laid waste, and you were alive, with me, and we commanded scores of men to stand against the Freilux. I knew I had made the right decision, because only if I left could I grow stronger, and marshal the forces necessary to break the Freilux."

She kissed him tenderly on the cheek. "I love you, Toby. Never leave me again."

He kissed her back, softly on her lips. "I never will, sweet Lissa."

Wiping away a tear, she asked; "so . . . what happens next? Do we attack the Freilux?"

Toby flopped back and sighed. "I haven't had a vision since I was near the Sphere. The Sphere somehow channels one's power, focusing it. Without its presence, I have had to concentrate every hour of every day to increase my dexterity."

"Nemesnik!" shouted an aide outside. "Nemesnik, come quickly -- there is a transmission!"

"Nemesnik?" asked Melissa, as they both scrambled to their feet.

"One must have a title," answered Toby. "One can't go around being called 'Toby' by the rabble who follow him."

She followed him out, disturbed by how much the usage of 'Nemesnik' reminded her of 'Freilux.'

They gathered inside a large tent around a small, glowing bulb which hung by a thin reed-like stalk. The grey-uniformed Generals huddled close, with their aides conferring at the perimeter. Suddenly, a small, translucent figure appeared beneath the bulb; the Freilux.

"He looks . . . thinner," said Melissa. "What happened to him?"

"The Sphere -- its effects on a skilled Archsussa can be quick and dramatic," grumbled Toby. "Now listen."

_"I, the Freilux, announce to all in range of my voice, that the apocalypse is over! Despite predictions of decimation and devastation, Imathrin has survived. I have assumed the title of Provni Archsussa, and work to restore our capital city to its former glory_."

_"I am aware of the many refugees condemned to harsh life on the surface, but even now I send out legions of ships to bring you all back! The Centric Sphere has been restored to the Cup of Allkthea, and with it I have stabilized Imathrin. We are recalling Archsussa from all across the ovoid to assist in the resurrection of the cities we lost_."

_"I promise, people of Iqui, that within three months time, you shall be restored to living in the skies, away from the frigid wasteland of the surface. The future is secure; we have weathered the storm, and it is time to sow crops and harvest our good fortune!_ "

"What is he doing?" asked Melissa, as the Freilux's image faded. "This is so . . . benevolent."

"He means to pacify and mollify our people with warmth," replied Toby, with a crestfallen face, "kindness and sweetness, dull their wits and blunt their blades, so none would ever again stand against him."

"It is the most insidious kind of warfare," added the arrogant-looking red-eyed General, whose name Melissa learned was Ruger. "No intelligent person would refuse the Freilux's help, nor relocation back onto Imathrin. And once they have food in their belly, music in their ears, they will forget how the Apocalypse came to be in the first place." Ruger glanced skeptically at Melissa. "And yet, we can do nothing without a third Archsussa. How long before she is ready?"

"That is none of your concern!" snapped Toby, as his eyes lit with red fire. "You prepare your troops, and I will prepare my sister."

Ruger bolted to his feet. "We are all in this together, Toby, and I --"

Toby motioned with his hands, twisting them in the air, and Melissa suddenly felt a pull like a whirlpool. Ruger's aide was at the center of it, and as they looked on, his body collapsed in on itself until nothing remained but a bloody, foul-smelling smear on the ground.

"I am the Nemesnik, and you will never challenge my word again!"

Melissa could tell Ruger was a proud man who had fought in many battles, proved himself against formidable foes, but who also had the prudence and patience of a seasoned Battlemaster. For an instant she saw the fire light in his eyes, only to be dimmed a second later. Ruger hastily bowed low, and with the other Generals and their aides, swiftly departed.

"What are you doing?!" screamed Melissa, beating on Toby's chest with her small, bony fists. "Who have you become?"

"I am doing what needs to be done. War is not the province of the boy, with an immature mind and vacillating commitment. It is only for men, who press on no matter the obstacle, until victory is obtained." He grabbed her fists and pulled her close. " _That_ is what is needed from you; to finally emerge from this life of a dilettante and take your rightful place in this world as a woman and Archsussa."

Melissa yanked away and sat down, her stomach in knots, confused about what must be done. She had never seen her brother kill -- not even father killed in her presence. But she had seen the Freilux kill many times, and their growing similarity scared her.

Toby knelt by her side, his expression changed.

"Lissa, I'm sorry you had to see that. But if I don't act with strength, then others will seek to control me. We must think of father and his resurrection, before --"

"Do you really want father back?"

Toby recoiled at her words, cringing at their strength. "Father was a great man, and --"

"He knew the Second Apocalypse was coming," pressed Melissa, "and did nothing. He didn't prepare me; he didn't siphon off the Freilux's power. He sat in his chair, growing thinner and older and stupider day by day, until he finally gave it all up to the one person who should never have gotten it. He could have stood up to the council, but he chose not to. And we want to bring this man back?"

"Father may have gotten . . . weak, in the end, but he was a great leader for much of his life. He knew answers to problems I couldn't dare try to solve. No, we must have him back, restored to his youthful glory, if we are ever to bring our world any semblance of balance." He smiled, and kissed Melissa on the cheek. "Now get a good night's sleep tonight -- it will be the last you'll have for a very long time. Tomorrow we begin your training."

As he rose to leave, Melissa asked one last question; "who is the other Archsussa?"

"You'll meet her tomorrow," he said, as he walked out. "Her name is Yllinae, and she is my wife."

Melissa fell asleep, but it was filled with rivers of tears at the loss of her one true love.

Yllinae was a short, rotund woman with a fat pock-marked face and a pale, thick hide for skin. She said she came from the levitating city called Ghunab, a small settlement close to the equator. Melissa thought she looked like something out of one of the zoos.

Melissa was afraid and anxious about how she would be treated, but Yllinae surprised her by sitting her down, first thing, and speaking to her as if she were her mother.

_"Melissa, I tell you this now because it is the most important thing. You think you see Toby, and I, and other Archsussa, but you haven't yet emerged. You still have the eyes of a commoner, and cannot divine our true form. For that reason, you must remember and follow what I say; never wound yourself purposefully. Never take a spike, or a blade, and draw it across your skin for the purpose of hurting yourself. We Archsussa can survive a lot, but when we draw our own blood, we place ourselves in mortal danger. Do you understand? I hope you do, because it is the most important thing I can tell you_."

Yllinae was a strict taskmaster, and already had a training regimen created for Melissa that stretched over ten weeks. Each night had her scheduled to get less and less sleep, until finally she would only sleep one hour every four days.

At night, after the first day, Melissa wept horribly in her bed. She cried near the opening of the tent, like she used to when she was younger and Toby's room was just down the hall. But he didn't come to hold her tightly and sing her a lullaby; instead she could hear him laughing with Yllinae in a tent up the hill. Further down the hill, voices of young boys could be heard singing a fighting song, and thoughts of boys and their charms filled her mind. A few weeks before the Second Apocalypse Melissa had caught the attention of Marcus, a nuvia player. She was even thinking of asking him out, as few boys approached her because of her title. So, eager for a little fun, Melissa wiped her eyes and scurried back in, settling before a small mirror. Quickly she gathered and arranged her long hair, and adjusted the clothing Toby had given her. It was a thick jacket and pant set, with little revealing or form-fitting. She was just beginning to fill out her dresses in a way boys would notice, and desperately wanted to capitalize on it. She worked to unbutton the jacket, and drew her hair down in front, along the sides of her face, in echo of how her mother would wear it. As she was about to leave, a tall figure loomed in the doorway.

"May I come in?"

She pulled aside the curtain, and found it was Ruger. She bristled at his presence, but felt she could not deny him.

"Yes -- come in and sit down."

He carried himself solemnly, with dignity, dressed in an immaculately crisp and clean blue uniform, festooned with pewter medals and brilliant yellow and red jewels of distinction. She couldn't begin to fathom how he managed to keep his uniform so pressed and clean out in the frigid wilderness, but it bespoke of his resourcefulness and devotion to detail. While she hated the things he said, she could see nobility about him that her father used to have before he fell ill. Sitting at a nearby chair, he asked; "why were you crying earlier?"

Melissa dearly wanted to vent about her misfortune and would do anything, including lie to herself to see it accomplished. In her mind, she could see some vestige of compassion behind his stern expression, and let loose her floodgates of despair. "I . . . I just have a very difficult training regimen! My brother is different, I hate Yllinae, and I'm not allowed to sleep." She exhaled, and wiped a few errant tears from her flushed cheeks.

"Do you know how many people died in the Second Apocalypse?" rebuked Ruger. " _Ten million_ perished in those fifteen cities. We, as a people, were almost wiped out. You sit in a camp full of people dedicated to restoring a balanced government to the survivors, willing to risk their lives to do so, and you complain over a lack of sleep? You are well fed, are with family, and when all is said and done, will be part of the ruling class. As for me, I lost one of my most trusted men when your brother capriciously demonstrated his power, and when this war is over, I will earn little for myself. I think between the two of us, I should be the one who is crying."

Melissa cowered into herself, mortified.

"A suggestion is being floated that you wed the Freilux," continued Ruger. "This would bring your brother back into the ruling house, and give you great power in terms of governance. I strongly suggest you commit to this proposal."

"No!" she hissed, pounding her little fists on the thin mattress. "All he ever wanted to do was touch and feel me. I'll _never_ share a bed with him!"

"Again; you would live a luxurious life, save many lives and improve the welfare of others, in exchange for an hour out of your day pleasing a man you despise." Ruger got to his feet, and straightened the crisp uniform that she now hated. "I think it is a very fair exchange. A very fair exchange indeed."
Chapter 4

As Toby conferred with his Generals in the early morning, Melissa stole quietly out of camp. She wrapped herself in as many layers as she could -- even wrapping one of Toby's oversized ermine cloaks around her -- and packed a good-sized sack with small but dense foods that she figured would last her for a while. For a moment she paused in front of the tent filled with the young soldiers she noticed the night before, and wished she could live a normal girl's life filled with parties, boys, good girlfriends, pretty clothes and makeup.

Why do I need to be here? Why can't I just go home?

She lingered a while longer, her gaze settling on a young, stubble-faced brown-haired boy. He looked to be a couple of years older than her, but at his side lay a long, angry-looking weapon. A few of her friends had already started kissing boys, and up until the Apocalypse she had hoped she would be next.

_I might die out there -- why can't I just have a little fun? Why do I always have to be this title?_ She pulled her eyes away, and quietly followed the narrow path out of the camp. _If I stay, then they'll wed me to the Freilux, and no amount of kissing that boy will make that any better._

Melissa wept bitter tears as she stood in a snow-covered valley, looking back at her brother's camp. All hope of ever seeing her friends again lay back there, and any hope of sharing Toby's company. Still part of her thought it could all be over in an instant, and she would be back home with her huffoi, sleeping in bed. Even now it was difficult for her to reconcile this new vision of Toby with the brother she knew before, and hoped it could all be some mistake. He was always the kindest, gentlest person in her life, playing with her endlessly as the long afternoons turned into night.

Absently her hand went to the invisible wound on her arm, and it focused her back to reality. She turned and pressed on as a biting wind whipped around her.

She hoped Ruger would pay, and in her mind she fantasized of her brother discovering her absence and finding out Ruger told her to marry the Freilux. She was warmed by the thought of her vengeful brother devouring Ruger in another whirlpool of gravity.

The snow was thick, wet, and rose almost to her hips. Down into a low valley she half walked, half slid, slowly becoming more and more scared at the sheet of ice lurking beneath the snow. Twice she lost her footing and slid down, deep under the snow, her vision obscured by frigid whiteness. The valley yawned in all directions, and she worried if she slipped, that she could drown in an ocean of snow.

_Isn't this what I wanted to have happen?_ she thought, standing in the white wilderness, unsure of where to place her foot. _Where did I think I'd go? No one lives on the surface, and the settlers that did have surely been taken back to Imathrin._ She grit her teeth, struggling not to cry. _Why can't I just go home? I just want to go somewhere safe, where I can laugh and play again._ At that moment the storm abated, and in the distance on the other side of the valley a dark figure could be seen waving their hand high in the air.

_Could it be people actually live down here?_ She glanced back once more from whence she came. _Would it really be that bad to go back?_ All it took was one memory of the Freilux cornering her outside her bedroom for Melissa to move swiftly on to the figure.

Doubling back, she tried to walk on the outskirts of the valley in a path to where the figure was. Her legs were thin, and though she exercised regularly, it would be a difficult trek for even the most experienced of hikers and her small muscles weren't quite up to the task. The valley appeared like a giant crater in the ground, the result of some massive impact. Carefully she tread; placing her feet with precision, trying to balance herself on the sheet of ice underfoot and against the increasing wind that drove pellets of ice into her coat.

"You're almost here," said a familiar woman's voice through the howling wind, "just keep moving!"

As Melissa looked up at the figure, she lost her footing and slipped down into the crater. The snow enveloped her like a beast devouring its prey, and no matter how she clawed or kicked to try to get traction, she kept falling down the sheet of ice and into the center of the crater.

Damn!

Down she slid for what seemed like an eternity, gathering speed despite her attempts to claw onto the ice. The white snow soon turned dark, and she knew she was a long way from the top. When she finally came to a stop, she could only curl into a ball and cry.

She was buried under limitless snow for hours, whimpering and urinating in her pants.

_No one will come for me -- no one will find me!_ she thought to herself. _It's so cold, and I'm so scared_.

It was only then she realized how immature she was in running away. She always thought Toby ran, but in truth he withdrew to build a force so he could return and fight.

_I had no plans of returning -- I had no plans for anything! I was faced with something difficult to do, and ran away_.

In the middle of her despair, she remembered the brief lesson Yllinae gave her. The lesson began with a history of the power of sussa they shared, and quickly progressed to creating Ribbons of Transit in the air. Melissa had asked about the grey void where Toby had taken her.

_"If you know where you're going, and have a point of reference to center on, you can open a ribbon in the air itself, and pass through. I know you have done this before, but what you didn't know is you can also access this in-between world as a place of safety. This is what your brother did this when he rescued you from the Freilux, and you can do this too. You may not be able to move forward, and after a time you will be forced back from whence you came if you have no definite destination, but at least it gives a temporary shelter. If a battle were going poorly, or you were being hunted, it is to there you would run_."

Melissa tried to calm herself, and focus like she did with her brother. The fear of death had a terrible hold on her mind, but she forced herself past it. In a few moments, she could smell the tear in the space in front of her. She slipped one hand, then her arm through, until after a few moments, her whole body was through the ribbon and into that grey void.

"Hello Lissa."

"Toby!"

She ran to embrace him, and though she found his body to be a spectral one, it warmed her heart to be close to him once again.

"I was hoping you would remember Yllinae's lesson, and kept this echo of myself here for you. Wait while . . . while . . ." Toby's body shimmered, and coalesced into something more substantial. "I'm here, Lissa. I'm happy you're alright, but why did you run from me? Where did you think you'd go?"

"You want me to marry the Freilux!" she cried. "How could you?"

Toby curled his lip, obviously irritated Melissa discovered his plan. "Yes, to lull him into a false sense of security, so I could kill him later."

"You . . . you would use me like that?" she demanded. "What if he wanted to bed me? What if he . . . what if he wanted a child?"

"Then you'll give it to him," he answered plainly, "and I'll kill it later on."

"No, no -- I won't! This is horrid, utterly monstrous. How can you be so cold?"

"Lissa, I don't have time for this, and neither do you. You can't stay in this place forever, and you won't survive long on the surface -- at least not with your undeveloped knowledge of sussa. Come with me now."

She knew she was acting like a petulant little girl, but all those noble intentions of a few minutes ago vanished in the immediacy of the moment. "No! No . . ."

"Then where will you go?"

"She'll come with me," said a woman's voice.

A figure materialized near them, one that Melissa recognized as who waved to her in the snow. The voice was a familiar one, and as the figure drew closer, she squealed with joy.

"Mother!"

She ran and held fast to her mother while Toby folded his arms and glared.

"How -- why are you here Esoica?" he asked.

"To take care of my children."

"You ran out on us. Ran away and hid. I heard you were even killed."

Melissa looked up, never before seeing her brother confront her mother. "And what did you do?" asked Esoica. "I heard you ran away as well."

"I saw the future, and prepared."

Esoica ran her hands through Melissa's hair. "And so did I, though we each had a markedly different way of doing so. Come, my dear Lissa; I have a safe place you can go to."

Melissa was loathe to move, as it meant giving up on her brother. He looked worn and tired, and she knew that despite Yllinae's company, he enjoyed being back with her as much as she enjoyed being with him. "What . . . what about you, Toby -- what will you do?"

"I'll fight, even without you, though with you both we'd have a better chance of succeeding -- a much better chance of resurrecting father."

"Darian?" harrumphed her mother. "I never want to see him again. It's his fault things are as they are."
Part II

Chapter 5

Melissa had never felt such an immediate emotional and physical transformation in all her life. One moment she was cold and desperate, facing grim choices about her future, and the next she stood in a warm room being embraced by her mother. She couldn't help but weep tears of gratitude and joy.

Esoica brought her to a narrow window, and it was then Melissa discovered they were on a small levitating platform which overlooked the crater she almost died in. On the ridge Toby's encampment could be seen, and it cheered Melissa even more, knowing not only was she with her mother, but could keep an eye on Toby.

"That is the crater of the First Apocalypse," said Esoica. "Three thousand years ago, something hit our world. It hit it so hard, that it knocked our world out of its orbit around the sun and changed the sphere into an ovoid."

"And that's why it's so cold?"

"Yes. So many people died," she said softly, as if she was witness to the event. "But there would be no Archsussa if not for that catastrophe. It is near that impact crater that the Centric Sphere was discovered, almost two thousand years ago."

Melissa lingered at the window as her mother sat near her. She felt suddenly self-conscious as her mother examined her.

"You've grown," said Esoica with a smile.

"It's been three _years_ ," she stressed, giggling. "What did you expect?"

"I thought Toby would have stayed with you. I thought your father would have somehow passed his title to Toby, and that you and he would be in power."

Melissa sat near her mother on a short, worn couch that reminded her of something that used to be in her home. Though she was overjoyed to be with her mother, she was unsure how to proceed. It was almost like speaking to a stranger, as so many things had happened since last they were together. "Why did you say father was responsible for everything?"

"It wasn't his fault the Second Apocalypse happened," said Esoica, lazily leaning back on her hands, revealing a small yet firm belly. She wore an oversized knit sweater that looked hand-knit, and Melisssa wondered if she knit it herself. "But it was his fault that all the people on the cities plunged to their deaths. While there are many Archsussa, there could have been many more. It is _we_ that powered the Levitating Cities, _we_ that kept our people warm. Darian hoarded power for fear an army of Archsussa would overthrow him. If we had more Archsussa, then they could have deflected the devastation wrought and safeguarded those cities."

As they sat together, in a small room that smelled of wet wood, Melissa was finally able to relax and absorb the sensation of being back with her mother. Under the blue and green sweater Esoica wore a soft purple dress that looked like crepe yet felt like softest silk. She was a hardy woman, with developed muscles and a lean figure, bordering on being gaunt. Her cheeks were sunken in, but her hair was still luscious and full, and it crowned a warm gaze. Melissa always loved her mother's lavender hair, and was disappointed to see her own still couldn't compare.

Melissa also saw her mother still wore thick-stoned jewelry like she used to, though she was surprised to see a common piece was missing. It was a thin necklace with a large blue ralon setting, and she remembered that she was never without it before.

"It seems as though much has been hidden from me," said Melissa, confused about how she should think of her father. "I . . . I don't know what to think -- I don't know what's right."

Esoica threw her arms around Melissa and hugged her close. "Oh dear Lissa! The world is shades of grey; almost never are people or choices or ideas rendered in stark contrast. We all make mistakes and choose the wrong sides or the wrong beliefs; all we can do is keep an open mind, and change if our assumptions are proved false."

"So you won't hate me if I don't hate father?"

Melissa watched as her mother shed a tear. "I couldn't have raised you alone, dear child. You are the wonderful woman because of both of us -- not just me. I still love him for that, and with that love, can understand yours."

Melissa hugged her mother tightly, and felt her wince under the strain. As Esoica stood, Melissa saw it was with difficulty, and that her breathing was labored and accompanied with a rumbling cough. Off to the side, near a desk, was a wastebasket overflowing with used tissue, and almost a dozen healing stones littered the top of a nearby cabinet. A weathered wooden cane leaned nearby, and it all made Melissa anxious about her mother's health, and what was corrupting her frame.

"What . . . what have you been doing?" asked Melissa. "Why are you living here, in this small hovel?"

"Let me show you."

As the sun set and a violet dusk swaddled the frigid landscape, Melissa followed her mother to a wide, open window in what looked to be the living room. Her mother bade her sit on a small, soft, peach-colored sofa as she opened the windows.

Melissa wrapped herself in a thick, stout cloak lying nearby. "What are you doing?"

"Watch and see, my precious."

Esoica flung open her arms, and intoned a long series of words Melissa couldn't quite understand. A long ribbon opened in the sky, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other. As it opened, the dusk was pierced by the brilliance of daylight.

Melissa got to her feet. "I . . . I can't believe it!"

The ribbon opened wide to reveal the great city of Imathrin in opulent splendor, hanging like a jewel in the sky. Melissa gazed rapturously on crystal buildings she knew from her childhood that were lost in the Apocalypse.

"How?"

"This is the past, dear child, and I am here to deliver a message." She watched as her mother closed her eyes, and their small platform drifted through the opening in the sky and closer to the city. Up and in-between the buildings it sailed, until finally it came to rest just outside a large bay window near the top of a thin, glass-clad structure.

"But, I know where we are!" cried Melissa, coming to Esoica's side. "That's . . . home . . ." she said dreamily. "Our old suite."

"Yes. This is where we once lived, and where I met myself."

Melissa stared, dumbfounded, as a younger version of her mother came to the window. She opened it, and Melissa could smell the decadent warm scent of ghuxa cookies waft in.

"I cannot maintain this for long," said the older Esoica, "but I needed to tell you that the apocalypse is coming. You aren't strong enough yet to do what I am doing, but it must be done if you are to save Melissa."

Melissa watched as the younger version of her mother gazed on her, and wanted to run through the ribbon to embrace her. She looked so full and vibrant, with eyes that twinkled and skin that was soft and supple. And around her neck Melissa saw the ralon necklace, and knew all was right.

"I understand," said the younger Esoica. "How long?"

"Six years. In this place where the First Apocalypse occurred the Second shall also, and only Imathrin shall survive. You must learn enough to make this small levitating platform, to help your daughter escape to freedom." The older Esoica knelt down, losing strength, and Melissa came to support her. "You may pay for it with your life, but it must be done."

"I shall. What of Toby?"

The older Esoica managed to stand once again. "No matter what, he must follow his own path. Resist your motherly inclinations, and let him be."

Melissa watched as the ribbon drew closed, and the glittering city of Imathrin faded from view. As it did, something out of the corner of Melissa's eye caught her attention. It was only for the briefest of instants, but before she could think on it, her mother collapsed. Melissa grew fearful and anxious, as her mind raced trying to figure out what to do.

"What is it?"

"I . . . am spent. To cross distances in a portal is one thing, but to cross through time is quite another." She reached up to touch Melissa's cheek. "Yet I would do it all over again, just for you."

Melissa frantically scanned the room, unsure of what do to, anxious about her mother's fate. She felt suddenly weak and unsure, and wished there was someone she could call for help. "But what am I to do?"

"Learn," she said, waving her hand at the thousands of books stacked behind her, "and quickly. This small platform will continue to hover for only a few more weeks without my presence -- I was able to store sussa in three containment vessels under this house. But you need to learn what is necessary if it is to survive. If you . . . if you . . ." Before she could finish, her body slumped softly back into Melissa's arms.

Melissa sat with her mouth open in shock. For so long she thought her mother dead, and to be reunited for only such a brief instant seemed terribly cruel to her. She pulled her mother close into her small chest and screamed as loud as she could.

"Mother," she cried, "don't leave me -- there's too much to do!"

Somehow, her mother returned. Melissa almost dropped her head out of shock. And while she was overjoyed, Melissa saw her mother's aspect was slightly changed, and the woman who looked at her now was not the same as before.

"Are you really my daughter?" she asked warily.

"Yes!" cried Melissa desperately, "I'm here for you."

Her mother sagged. "Mmm . . . I have never known my daughter to be so kind. In any event, you are alone in this world, dear child -- in more ways than you can realize. I have never taught you in the ways of men," and as she said that, Melissa blushed, "but the right man can give you great companionship. Learn what you can, become strong and wise, but you must attain a balance that none before you have been able to. You must find a way, for war with the Freilux is suicide . . ."

Melissa watched as her mother closed her eyes for the last time, and wept on her chest as dusk turned to night.
Chapter 6

After a few days of grieving, the reality of the situation forced Melissa to do as her mother suggested, and begin to learn. She walked back and forth, surveying the multitude of thick, dusty tomes before her, wondering where to begin. She now wore her mother's sweater, and while she sobbed often as memories flooded forth during the cruel cradle of night, it gave her comfort during the day.

"Why didn't you tell me where to start?" she said aloud. "I can't even read the titles of these books, much less hope to absorb what's inside them." Suddenly, she stopped before a thin, golden book with an inscription she thought she recognized. It looked to be in her father's handwriting, and after a few moments, she knew what it said.

_Begin here_.

She opened it, and found the pages inside were a crisp, unblemished white parchment, on which were handwritten notes.

_"First -- it ever you get the chance to possess the Centric Sphere_ ," said her mother's voice in her mind, " _don't bring me back. Not under any circumstance. No matter how much you might miss me, I have no desire to overstay my welcome. I made many mistakes in my life, but I had you, and you have redeemed all my failings. To live longer, increases the likelihood I would mess something else up, so let me be. And if you're smart, you'll let your father be as well. He was a good man but a fool, and fools should only live once._ "

_"Secondly, these words are enhanced, which is how you hear my voice inside your head as if I were with you. Others can hone in on the usage of such things, so you need to shield yourself and quick! Do you remember the words I taught you when you were young, to protect your mind from strangers peering in?_ "

"Yes, I do."

_"Good,"_ was written in the book, as if she was having one last conversation _. "It is half of a full shield. Here are the rest. Speak them after you speak the first words_."

Melissa sat back, trying to remember the words properly. She had only used it a few times, but she remembered them because of their lyrical quality.

"Onimaya, y uliana . . . what was the last word?"

_"Lissa . ._ ."

She could hear the Freilux's voice in her mind, and could feel his presence grow near.

"Onimaya, y uliana . . . Goshi xi Cuulaaga!"

_"But I've changed, dear one. I only want to help . ._ ."

"Never, you foul old man," she said, as her shield grew stronger and the Freilux's presence faded. "I would never lay with you even if my life depended on it."

As she read on in the book, she could hear cackling laughter diminish in her mind.

At night, Melissa's dreams were at once magnificent and terrifying. The city of Imathrin sprawled in her mind, as she flew through it on a wisp of vapor, darting in-between the golden spires she loved. And yet, the image of her mother in that other room haunted her mind, for in it she could see herself looking back.

What?!

She bolted awake as the image resolved in her dream. She knew that a younger version of herself looked back from the shadows, but yet she knew it wasn't really her. Melissa had led a carefree youth, filled with capricious indulgences of toys and baubles. The girl that looked back from behind her mother was nothing like that. She was serious and focused, with malice behind her eyes. Most certainly she was steeped in great power, and absolutely certain about herself.

_I can't think about who I might have been. I must focus on who I shall become_.

She picked up a book -- the first one her mother directed her to read, and sat in one of the wide chairs that faced the main window. It was an exercise in opulence, made of hard redwood gently bowed into an exquisite latticework of arcs and curves that supported two full and firm cushions. She pulled her knees up under the sweater and propped the book up on them, absently thumbing through the pages.

_No, I've got to read this -- I've got to learn! If not, this platform will fall, and I'll have to take a portal back to my brother_.

So she endeavored to read the book, a tome called The Principles of Intermediate Sussa Direction. It was a densely written and dry, full of formulaic prose that she found difficult to decipher. She felt like she was back in school, except none of her friends were around to distract her. A mental key given by Esoica unlocked words as she read, and while she knew she would get used to it, for now it sat on her thoughts like thickest gauze. After only a quarter of a page she found herself gazing longingly out the window on the massive, snow-covered crater, and after a few more lines she had drifted off into a light, lovely sleep.

When she woke, she found the book was still turned to where she left off.

_Why isn't there someone to give me any help?_ she asked herself, as she put the book face-down on the table. _There has always been someone to help me; when my riding lessons got tough, good old Stavi would help me get the hang of things. And when I couldn't pass my formula studies that nice Gerrlia wrote down all I would need to know_. She leaned her head against the cold windowpane. _Why didn't mother write down the formula I would need to stabilize this thing? She knows who I am . . . I just want to go home, but the funny thing is that this is home._

Her mind began playing tricks on her. Every fifteen minutes she would gaze out the window, swearing the cloud bank was higher than it was before, even though her mother said it would be weeks before her small platform would fall. So, after almost two days of restless worrying, and being unable to find anything to distract her, she determinedly plunged into the tome her mother instructed her to learn.

She read about the foundation of sussa and of the ability to reveal a Ribbon of Transit. She learned how Archsussa didn't exist before the First Apocalypse, and how only those within a certain radius of the crater were endowed with sussa. She learned that as it was passed down from generation to generation it grew stronger; while mothers might have only been able to make a weak warming sphere their daughters were able to construct a small ribbon.

The book took her through dozens of exercises, all of which she followed dutifully but could not successfully execute. The words began to run together the lower the sun fell, until finally she set the book down, only having made it one-third through.

_How will I ever read all these books?_ She sat back, distressed, almost resigned to failure. Bored, she picked up a picture of her mother that sat on the desk. Her mother's body lay wrapped in two blankets in an outdoor storage shed, and the thought of it made Melissa cringe with emotional pain.

_Was it all for me, in the long run?_ She ran her hands over the picture, and was intrigued by the pose. It had her mother seeming to lean in sympathy, as if there was something or someone next to her. She pulled the picture out of its frame, and discovered it had been ripped to conceal the identity of who she was with.

Melissa got up and hurriedly rummaged through the tabletops and drawers, searching for more images, feeling as if this might be a key to explain her younger, distant self. She found many taken of her and her mother, but none below a certain age. She could find none before she was twelve and no infant pictures at all.

_Why? You who were more sentimental than even I, wouldn't have taken any of them with you when you ran?_ She stood and surveyed the devastation she had wrought on the tiny room. Paper littered the floor, and drawers sat on their side. She laughed to herself. _You'd kill me if you found your room like this_. Once more, her eyes were drawn to the wide bookshelves. _Somehow, you managed to take all these books with you -- none of these could be bought on the open market. You must have had your journey planned for quite a while. Perhaps you squirreled these out a few at time_. She ran her fingers along the weathered spines. _These are what were most important to you. They defined you as an Archsussa and you knew they would define me too. We have no need to reread texts -- all that is important stays within our minds, and becomes a part of us. So these are all for me . . ._ She walked midway down, feeling drawn to one in particular. Her fingers stopped on a thin volume, with a tan spine with a faded inscription. She pulled it out, and suddenly was overwhelmed by the smell of old paper and dust.

_This is what I was meant to find_. She ran her fingers along the leather cover, noting how there was extreme wear on the corners _. This book holds no sussa. This is older than sussa_. She turned the book to open it, yet couldn't make her fingers push open the covers.

_"Let your intuition be your guide_ ," said one of the opening passages in her educational texts. " _Your sussa enhances your intuition, and the more you trust it, the more successful you shall be_."

_I was meant to find this, and somehow, I know it will all be different when I see what's inside_. She sat with the book in her lap, her expression blank, unsure of how to proceed. _I can't be afraid anymore. Toby won't come for me, and mother's gone. I need to face this_.

She opened the book, and found a ripped photo stuck in the spine before the first page. She pulled it out, turned it over, and saw the same girl she saw standing next to the younger version of her mother.

_This is me . . . yet it is not me_.

While appearing to be no more than ten, she could see the girl in the picture possessed the wisdom of an ancient. There was a fire in her eyes that crossed the landscape of time and still burned even though it was in a picture.

Is she . . . me? Am I an idelfada; a copy of this girl who was? Or was she a copy of me?

It was in that moment that clues left throughout her life put themselves together. _I always felt like Toby, father -- even my mother, knew of this girl. So many half-finished sentences, so many veiled references to someone of terrible power_. She looked down at the picture again. _I must be some echo of her. Was Toby going to train me to be like her?_ She put down the picture, and looked at the books around her. _I was made to do something, and once done, to be discarded. I feel it to be true as if it were told me. No one expects me to become powerful like this girl, merely adequate enough to perform some function_.

She got to her feet and pulled open the curtains to look down on the crater below. Toby's camp could just be made out through the thick snow, and it appeared as if his troops were massing for an offensive.

_Am I alone in this world? If I am, then I have two choices; die as a pawn, or survive. I need to learn everything in these books, so if and when the times come that they try to make me go away, I can resist them. Only then can I find my own future_.

An image of the girl next to her mother of the past came back into her, and finally she understood why her expression disturbed her so.

She had eyes of murder, of matricide. But how could that be, as my mother's body lies in the next room?
Chapter 7

While Melissa had a renewed imperative, she still was only fourteen, and the long days of isolation soon took their toll. Sleepless nights could turn terrifying in an instant, when an overactive mind exaggerates the smallest sound or flash of light. She needed something to keep her company, to keep her mind from consuming itself in manufactured anxieties and fears.

She found the books on idelfada creation, studied them all, and in a way began to understand herself. The idelfada were among the first that Archsussa created, and they were all animals. Great flying harria to swoop down on enemies; legions of gruga and igra to rip the limbs off one's foes in the many wars that dominated the Rule of Ionio and Murraghion; ancient Provni Archsussas. War soon became the province of the Archsussa, and they waged it with idelfada. Not for many centuries was a human idelfada attempted, and as she read, all early attempts were disastrous.

She learned human idelfada were always made with a specific purpose in mind, as they could only be copies of one who is or has existed. Human idelfada were used as stand-ins for rulers, as recreations of skilled craftsmen. As Archsussa became corrupted, they made human idelfada in images of people their clients desired to mate with or to kill. It was one of the only selfless acts of the Council of Archsussa that human idelfada creation was banned, as the long-term corruption of society was thought of.

But she felt she didn't need a human companion -- something small and furry would do. A Book of Species was in her mother's collection, and after reviewing it, she decided on trying to create a small aogh.

Late in the day, under the dimming light of the suns, Melissa sat at a broad table and tried to relax herself. Slowly, she conjured in her mind the details of the picture of the aogh. It had blunt teeth, a plump head containing three wide, golden eyes, and a long, thick bushy tail with four squat legs. When she was younger she saw a couple of them, carried around eternally as pets by pampered, rich girls who deigned to look down on even her.

How I envied them!

She focused hard, and tendrils of sussa extended from her illuminated fingertips. Carefully she coaxed them out, and began to weave them into the rough shape of an aogh. Slowly they bound together, and as they did, the form grew brighter and pulsed as if it had a heartbeat. She kept her focus on the picture of the aogh and the kind of animal she imagined it to be; sweet, kind, a little rambunctious and trusting. It taxed her strength, but eventually the tendrils of sussa disappeared, revealing a small furry animal with its eyes closed. She leaned back, tired beyond belief.

I can't believe how much that drained me. But I've got to finish this quickly. Alright . . . here goes.

She bent over it, and opened its mouth a little. She blew into its mouth, while imagining its eyes open and alive.

"Oh my!"

It chirped, and opened two of its eyes groggily. She held it up and stroked its long, thin fur.

"You're alive! I actually made something." She held it in front of her face, and found all three of its eyes were open. It yawned, and reached out a tiny tan paw to touch her. She put a finger in it, and it gently held on.

"I'll call you . . . Nuri, and I'll take care of you just as if you were real." She sat back down, cradling Nuri in her lap. "Of course, I'm probably not even real." She gazed over the books as doubt surfaced in her mind. "Why should I even bother? I'll bet Toby isn't even really my brother." She sighed. "But he feels like he is." She glanced down, and Nuri had fallen asleep in her lap. She stroked its back and wept a little, happy for the company.

Nuri was what she needed for a while -- a silent companion to vent all her troubles to. And as she cried a little over what had befallen her, the aogh sat in her lap, chirping now and again as if on cue.

Melissa stretched out her knowledge of sussa, playing with the little creature in creative ways. She could invisibly lift Nuri high in the air, or fly it outside the house, warmed by her power. While sweet for the first few weeks, Nuri was still a little boy, and needed to play and fight in the mornings, when Melissa was at her most irritable. Much to her chagrin, she began to use sussa to restrain her little pet, and tired of its antics. Nuri's creation was a catalyst to read more, to discover more tricks. In time though she grew restless, and felt like she needed a new challenge.

She also needed true companionship; a person to speak to her, to advise her on the right way to go. She often thought of moving the platform which she could now control down over the surface of Iqui, and sneaking back into Toby's camp, to speak to one of the soldier-boys she had seen before, but decided against the risk. Instead the lure of creating a human idelfada preyed on her thoughts, presenting a challenge she could not refuse. It was a way she could understand more what a human idelfada was, and make a boy who would love her and distract her from the terminal boredom she endured.

For days and days she paced, reading the books over and over again -- determined not to make a mistake. Nuri didn't make it easy, as he was constantly nipping at her feet or pouncing on her legs. But her ability to focus improved, and without noticing she had begun training in earnest, sleeping for less than an hour each night. She also began to eat more, as it improved her mood tremendously and helped to keep her mind focused as she sat and read. She found she put on her pants less and less, and took to walking around in a long robe underneath her mother's sweater.

Melissa oscillated between believing she could make it without a companion, and wanting to make him instantly. Finally, just before sunrise one morning she decided the time had come.

She brought her small levitating platform down to rest on the snow-covered surface, as she knew not how much sussa it would take to create him, and knew if she felt fatigued after creating something as small as an aogh, she might lose consciousness after creating another human being. Melissa stepped out the door, and breathed in deeply the crisp, clean air.

_I hope I'm doing the right thing. I hope he doesn't turn out wrong_.

She went back in and cleared a space in the study, even pulling the rug off the old hardwood floor. Nuri ran and cavorted around her, and Melissa opted to lock him in the small bathroom, so he wouldn't be hurt or distract her. Slowly, she then knelt in the center of the room and pressed her palms on the floor. Using her sussa, she extended upwards into a handstand, then levitated a few feet off the ground. She began to slowly rotate, her hands pressed together, pointing downwards, spinning perfectly. That is, until her robe unceremoniously fell down and covered her head.

"How ridiculous!" she cried, and for a moment her body started to oscillate out of its perfect rotation. "I can't be distracted, but I won't look like a fool." She extended her sussa to push the fabric up, and managed to gather it between her legs.

"Ocha mada, grunxa oyo," she chanted, over and over, as her body began to spin. She could feel the power building within her; felt the tendrils of sussa get caught on her spinning body like webs of a spider. It was as if she was divining power from the planet itself, drilling down into its depths to extract what she needed. Before long, she was cocooned in those tendrils, her body spinning at a feverish rate. Her mind raced over all the parameters, all the warnings she read about.

_I must come up with a form now! The time is near when my power will be at its maximum_.

She relaxed her mind, as the books told her, and let the image of a man come. She could see a lean, muscular form, thick, black hair, and golden eyes that twinkled mischievously. Once his face was in the forefront of her thoughts, she instantly stopped her spinning and stretched out her arms.

"Now appear before me; I command it!"

As she pulled apart her arms, she rotated lengthwise in the air, so she was once again upright, though still several feet off the floor. The sussa that was gathered around her gravitated upwards into a rapidly spinning sphere that glowed with intense heat and light. Melissa felt her arms were burning, but knew she must press on.

"Appear, boy; I demand it!"

The spinning sphere slowly moved out from between her hands, and settled on the floor a few feet in front of her. It continued to spin, but it also stretched upwards into an ovoid. When it was the height of a young man, Melissa gathered her remaining strength and said;

"I . . . demand . . . it!"

The sussa coalesced instantly into a humanoid form, and as it did, she collapsed from the strain.

She knew not how long she was unconscious, but when she woke the room was frigid. _I'm glad I set this place down -- I probably would have died if it fell while I was out_. Slowly, she got to her feet, and conjured several warming spheres. To her amazement, she actually felt stronger, and it took a visual check to see that she had absently raised her platform high above the clouds.

But her attention was distracted for only a moment, as what she had waited for was now in existence. She walked slowly around a young boy, who stood without clothes. She averted her eyes from his privates, but admired the strength of his shoulders and chest, the proud sculpted brow he wore. He had long, black hair, deep rich sienna skin, and a curious aspect that in one light seemed compassionate and kind, and in another ruthless and determined. Finally, she stopped in front of him, knowing what must come next.

_Now, the kiss. I've never kissed a boy before. At least he's asleep_.

She stood on her tiptoes and tilted his head down. She pressed her lips against his, pushed them open, and gently breathed into his mouth. After a few seconds, she felt his lips move, felt his arms grasp her shoulders.

"No!"

She pushed back, finding the boy alive.

"What is your wish, dearest one?" he asked softly, in a lyrical baritone she found tremendously appealing. "I am here to serve you."

"Dearest one? You don't even know me yet."

"And yet, I know you created me." He gracefully knelt before her and gently held her hands. "I know that I am yours, and will do anything to please you."

Suddenly it all felt very 'adult' to Melissa. He was still nude after all, and she could tell that he was eager to please. And while she knew she must do the right thing, his broad strong shoulders and shadowed brow were starting to convince her otherwise.

"First, you need to put some clothes on." It was in that moment that she cursed herself, as the only clothes around fit her or her mother. She ran into the bedroom and grabbed a thick blanket. "Put this around you." He did, but she could still see his arousal. "Just . . . sit down," she said, exasperated. "Let me think for a while."

"By your word," he said, taking a seat.

She went over to the window and leaned heavily on the sill. Once again, she shifted the platform so she could look on Toby's camp. At least once a day she would watch the miniscule figures walking to and fro, drawing comfort that one of them was Toby. As she watched, soldiers could be seen running back and forth as Archsussa threw great plumes of sussa.

_Wargames_ , she thought to herself. _He must be getting ready. And here I am playing with a naked boy_.

She turned around to face her new responsibility. "So, what shall we name you?"

"What is your name?"

"Melissa."

"What a beautiful name!" he exclaimed, making Melissa blush. "How I love to say it. Melissa . . ." The boy leaned back, rolling her name over his tongue. "But if you just created me, how is it I know how to speak at all? How do I understand your words, and have knowledge of how to use tools?"

"It is part of the creation process," explained Melissa. "I imbued you with a large segment of what I know."

He got on the floor and knelt before her. "Thank you, great Melissa! How I love you . . ."

"Enough of that!" she cried, bringing him back into the chair and bringing back up his blanket. "Now, what shall we call you? Do you have any preference?"

"Whatever my Melissa wishes, I shall endeavor to accomplish."

"Well your Melissa wishes you to have an independent spirit. I wish you to think for yourself, and make decisions on your own. I need a companion who can help me to move forward, and not agree with everything I say. I wish you to name yourself."

The boy sat back, vexed. "If you wish it, so shall it be. I name myself . . . Asil."

"Asil?" Her mind raced, trying to figure out where he got the name. "Ahh -- Melissa reversed, and truncated." She nodded. "Very good -- at least we can begin."

"If my nakedness causes you discomfort, then may I have some clothes, Melissa?"

"Of course."

Suddenly she recalled some lessons she read about material creation. She went into the closet, and pulled out clothes she had no taste for. Putting them in a pile, she used her sussa to break down the garments and reconfigure them into three outfits Asil could wear.

"Thank you," he said, as he dropped the blanket to the floor. "Let me try these on."

Melissa hurriedly covered her eyes. "Have you no shame?"

"Not in front of you -- you created me," he said perplexedly.

"Well, then I wish you to have shame. To be modest, and cover your nakedness."

Asil sighed. "As you wish."

As he gathered the clothes and went into an adjacent room to change, Melissa sat down, relieved to be rid of him for a short time.

This is going to be harder than I thought. I see why people made idelfada with no knowledge - they would be like mannequins of flesh, poseable and malleable. But with intellect, and a mind, how should I proceed?

He came out, dressed in tan slacks and an open white shirt. He cradled Nuri in his strong hands, and while at first she thought it to be the most precious thing she had ever seen, his brow seemed sad, as if the weight of the world hung on his newborn shoulders. His aspect has a ominous, foreboding quality to it, as if despite all her good intentions, he was still a boy, with a man's spirit that would prove difficult to understand and impossible to control.

"What's its name?" he asked quietly.

"Nuri."

"Nuri." Asil nodded, stroking its fur. "Did you make him also?"

"Yes."

"And when he didn't comfort you as you needed, you made me?"

His honesty and straightforwardness surprised Melissa, but she opted to indulge him with equally blunt replies. "Yes."

Asil was silent for a moment. "What is it like to be real, to have been born rather than manufactured?"

Melissa went back to the window, and gazed longingly on the limitless snow. "I wouldn't know, Asil. Now, you have just been made, and I have much to read about and learn. Will you take a seat while I read?"

"By your word, Melissa."

So they both sat; she behind a table full of books, and he in a large chair nearby, and she read on as he silently sat, stroking Nuri who slept on his lap. She thought it a little idyllic, even if his continual gaze of adoration was a little distracting.
Chapter 8

Two weeks went by, and for the first time Melissa learned what it was like to continually share her life with someone other than family. Asil was the first person she saw when she woke, and the last before she went to sleep. They ate together, gazed on the massive crater together. She felt embarrassed when she needed to go to the bathroom, and vexed when he hinted that she needed to bathe. He sat nearby while she studied and practiced sussa, she taught him to cook and tend to other household duties. Rarely were they apart, and soon they fell to petty bickering.

"Could you pass the hula beans?"

Asil roughly pushed Nuri off the kitchen table and slid the bowl in front of Melissa, who dumped a heaping portion on her already full plate. "Haven't you had enough?" he asked.

She stuffed her mouth, and rolled her eyes at him. "When you go a full two weeks with only one hour sleep, then show me how little you eat. I'm awake more, so I gotta eat more. Damn," she spat, as some black sauce spilled on her already soiled sweater. "You made it too hot again."

Asil nodded tacitly, and began to clear some dishes off the table.

"And get me some more fula juice -- this lofa is too dry."

With a mannered, deliberate hand he retrieved the pitcher of juice out of the storage and placed it in front of her. "Anything else?"

Melissa paused from her feasting to look up at him. He was still the perfect specimen of masculinity, and in that instant of admiring him she suddenly felt ugly and fat.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her mouth clean with two separate napkins, "I guess it's just frustrating to learn all that I have and not be able to put it to good use."

"You float Nuri about very well, and keep our platform levitated and warm."

"Yes, yes, but that requires so little effort now," she said, with a dismissive wave. "Ever since I created you, I feel more powerful. I want to stretch myself, test my power, but I don't want to go out and attract attention to myself by obliterating mountainsides."

"Why don't you make a menagerie?"

"A what?" asked Melissa, reluctantly pushing the food away.

"More pets, like Nuri, but who have limited intelligence and can keep us company. Smaller, dwarf-like creatures \-- I read about them in your histories."

Melissa thought on his words. "I like that." She got to her feet, and paced around the main living room, thinking on all she studied. Believing herself to be an idelfada, she had read all she could on the subject, and could instantly recall all that was necessary.

"So not quite human, but not quite animal?" she asked.

"Yes, like little dolls or playthings."

"Mmm . . ." said Melissa, as she conjured tendrils of sussa from her fingertips. "Perhaps like distant cousins of Nuri, with higher reasoning." She barely had to outstretch her arms to manifest four balls of sussa, spinning furiously before her. Nuri scampered into another room, and Asil knelt in a nearby hallway, content to watch from a distance. "I've seen drawings in children's books of funny little creatures," she said, as the balls spun faster and stretched into small ovoids. "I can see the detail in my mind, Asil! Oh, the power I have!"

She flung her hands down, and four little beings of differing sex and hue appeared before her. And as they stood lifeless, she conjured eight more balls of sussa, and spun them into ovoids as well. She felt a little weak as she brought all eight of them to term, but could feel the books she studied integrating into her mind, becoming wisdom from which she could draw.

"Appear!" she yelled, flinging her arms down again. The balls of sussa coalesced into small humanoids, standing lifeless next to their earlier cousins.

"Impressive," said Asil, as he slowly walked between them all. They were large, round-eyed beings with small, furry ears that drooped, hanging low beside rosy cherubic cheeks. They were hardy creatures with pale, white skin and thick muscle on their arms and legs. Their hands and feet looked similar, with each having three thick digits instead of five. Their teeth were few and low and smooth; made for grinding and drinking rather than chewing.

"Help me open their mouths."

She and Asil pulled open their mouths, and Melissa hurriedly moved from one creature to another breathing in them the breath of life. Barely a minute passed before they sprung to life with a cacophony of chirps, whoops and hollers. Melissa couldn't help but break out in a delicious wide grin, and Asil came beside her and laughed as well.

For almost two hours they watched as their small menagerie cavorted and played in the living room. For the first time in quite a while, all thoughts of sussa, Toby and Esoica were taken out of Melissa's mind. She not only had something else to care for, but something that gave her joy. In the back of her mind she wondered why Asil wasn't able to give this to her, but decided not to ruin the mood with unproductive musings.

When they became fatigued, the tallest of the menagerie came in front of Melissa.

"Who are you?"

"I am Melissa, and this is Asil."

The others came and gathered around Melissa and Asil, dropping on their wide bottoms to have a seat.

"Who are we?" asked another.

"You are . . . hlenna; a race of our creation."

"You both created us?"

"Well . . ." began Asil, until he was cut off by Melissa. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "We both thought long and hard, and brought you all into existence to keep us company."

"Ooof," said one of the hlenna, "my belly hurts!"

"You are hungry," said Asil. "We need to feed you." He whispered into Melissa's ear; "what did you decide they would eat?"

Melissa thought for a moment. "You all eat the rough fern that grows in patches on the surface. While this platform may be our home, it is good to remember we are but a small speck on the surface of this world, and we should venture out regularly to remind ourselves of that fact."

Asil nodded with approval. "So it's a trip to the surface!"

Melissa brought the levitating platform down slowly, far away from where Toby and his troops were stationed, near one of the few patches of green to be seen on the surface of Iqui, near a spitting volcano that melted the snow for almost a mile around.

The hlenna ran headlong through the white wilderness, and while they were oblivious to the cold or freezing wind, Asil shivered as soon as they stepped out. Melissa bundled him in a thick coat of furs, and for herself she learned to conjur hundreds of miniscule firespheres that she kept in a tight orbit around her. As the hlenna explored, she and Asil walked for a while.

"Why don't we live on the surface, instead of on these floating platforms?" he asked.

"It's too cold. On the levitating cities, we're closer to the sun. The sky acts as some perverted magnifying glass, warming the upper climes and distorting the light as it reaches the ground."

"How do you know all this?"

"It was told to me -- part of our history, passed down from those who lived long ago. Before sussa, people lived exclusively on the surface. Supposedly it was difficult, and few survived. Back then they used 'science' to detail their observations and understand their world. They were a very serious, very disciplined people."

"And then sussa?" asked Asil.

"Yes, then the Archsussa, who was able to conjur warmth with a finger-snap, able to break off great tracts of land and suspend them high in the sky. Able to part the clouds to bring warmth, able to manifest a whirlpool of water from the frigid seas up to a levitating city. The cities had rich crops because of the Archsussa and plentiful livestock. As long as sussa was passed down from generation to generation, no other person had reason to want."

Asil stopped at the summit of a small hill. Before them sprawled snowdunes for as far as the eye could see. Melissa watched him, wondering how he learned to stand so nobly. Only in that moment did she realize she was coming to love him. She had always thought that pure subservience was the key to love, but was amazed to find it was Asil's recent bouts of aggression and even defiance that made her respect and desire him more.

As they stood on top of the snowdune, reflecting on the cold, pristine beauty of the surface, Asil asked; "what caused the Second Apocalypse?"

"I don't know. It might have been an accident, or it could have been the Freilux breaking our people to get more power."

"I don't think it was an accident. I think scientists still exist, Lissa, and I think they want all you Archsussa to die, so they can take control of the people once again. While I am unable to read most of your books, I am able to read some of the histories, and from what I've read they were a disgusting, ignoble people who sought to control nature -- even the world itself by chemical and machine. And from what I learned of the First Apocalypse, it is too coincidental that all the damage this time was limited to the Levitating Cities."

As she watched him climb back down and head back to their small abode, despite the new theory he offered all she could think on was; _how did he know to call me Lissa?_

After a long while of playing in the snow, the hlenna hurried back to Melissa complaining of the cold. She smiled, amused at their simple natures, and conjured several small firespheres to warm them. She even cleared away a large tract of snow so they could sit on solid rock, and when she did that, she uncovered something unexpected.

"What is that?"

They all knelt by a large shell of metal, buried deep under the snow. Its radius implied it was a massive object, smooth, with white, chipped paint along its length.

"What do you suppose it is?"

"Let's find out!" chirped one of the hlenna. "We can get shovels, and dig it out."

Melissa pulled up her sleeves, and began to manipulate sussa in her hands. "Or, you could all stand back, and I can melt the rest of the snow around it." She was about to thaw the snow, but saw the expression of the hlenna had become downcast. "What is it?"

"They wanted to do this for themselves," whispered Asil in her ear. "Don't deprive them of the journey of discovery."

"But . . . what else is my power for, if not to make life easier for others?"

Asil shook his head in frustration. "Do you remember when people thought of you as having little or no value? How did it make you feel? Did you want to learn anything new, or become better than you were?"

Melissa nodded, suitably chastised. "I see what you mean. Come on, little hlenna -- I think there's shovels in the house!"

A great cheer went up, and back into the house they trudged. Melissa fabricated a dozen shovels inside a storage closet for them to discover, and before long they were busy uncovering the metal artifact while Melissa conjured more firespheres above to provide warmth.

"What do you think it is?" asked Asil.

"I don't know. I know people once lived on the surface, but I thought they lived in caves and did little more than hunt and sleep."

"Perhaps the truth hasn't been passed down like you had hoped."

Eventually, the hlenna grew tired as they were small creatures with limited metabolisms. They uncovered a great portion of the leviathan metal beast, and Melissa said they should be proud of themselves for all they had done.

But if it were left overnight, they ran the chance of having snow undo all their work. So Melissa helped them the final way, though she made a point of saying they could have done it all themselves if not for the snow, and they made it much easier on her by uncovering as much as they did.

She raised her hands, projecting millions of white-hot tendrils of sussa, and the snow crept away like the receding tide, revealing the perimeter of the object. Almost as long as a building was tall, it was wide and cylindrical, with two small stubs of wings attached near the rear and a few windows running its length.

"What was this," asked Asil, as he tried to peer in, "and how long has it been here?"

"Let's go in and find out."

She used sussa to pull open the door, and ignited several firespheres outside. She created a vortex of warmth that extruded all the frigid air and circulated dry air back in so when they stepped in, not a bit of ice remained. It still smelled damp, but it was comfortably warm.

"Handy to have one of you Archsussa around," remarked Asil. "Also convenient how beautiful you are."

Melissa blushed, as she herded the hlenna inside. "Come on and see!"

It was like a long room, filled with chairs and the floor upholstered in some artificial material. Small glass windows were inset into metal housings that opened into black nothingness. Melissa sat in one of the chairs and touched the glass.

"What were these for?" asked Melissa.

Asil touched the screen himself, to no effect. "Can you find out?"

Melissa sat back, thinking on what her mother had done, opening a ribbon to go back in time. She had read some about time travel in the books, but still had many to go before she absorbed all the knowledge within them all.

"I . . . I can't do that now. I could lift this plane up, but I know not how to search into the past to find where it came from."

"Well, at least you know your limitations," abruptly remarked Asil. "Come on, little hlenna, it's time to go back home. It's nearly supper, and we still have to gather those roots . . ."

Melissa sat for a few more minutes in the damp chair, her pride stung.

Damned him -- I made him! Who does he think he is? So I haven't read every book -- I got us inside here, didn't I?
Chapter 9

After they returned to the platform, Melissa devoted herself to completing her training, secluding herself for large periods each day to finish reading the remaining volumes in her mother's library. Determined, she pushed through the long nights without sleep, turning more and more to the virtues of copious amounts of food to console her. And while Asil never chastised her on gaining weight, she became more and more irritated at the absence of any and all kind words about her appearance.

In a month and a half, with no fanfare, Melissa turned fifteen. Only after the sun set did she even remember the occasion, a few hours before midnight. She paused from her studies to think on the lavish parties her father threw for her when she turned twelve and thirteen, before he began to grow infirm and distant. There was a parade down the Aisle of Ghent, with fifty Archsussa hailing from every Levitating City, creating dazzling displays in the heavens for all to see. Toby would give her a chaste kiss on the cheek, after which she always blushed. Yet in the midst of all that celebration, when she searched for her mother, she was nowhere to be found. At the end of the festivities, she would eventually find her, sitting in the shadows, watching with wary eyes.

But . . . it wasn't the real me then, was it? Which memories are mine, and which are of the girl who once was me -- who wore such an evil aspect? And what did they think of the change?

When she lay down to sleep that night -- her own personal birthday gift, she was haunted by terrible dreams; echoes of nightmares that had been growing in intensity for the past several months.

Melissa bolted awake, and Asil ran in to hold her.

"What is it dear Lissa?"

"I . . . I had a dream; a bad omen."

Asil tried to comfort her, putting his arm around her shoulders, but Melissa pushed him away, disgusted by his sentimental softness.

"What was it?" he asked, resigning to sit beside her with his hands in his lap.

"I . . . I dreamt of a time in the future when I was extremely powerful. When I could move the whole of Iqui with my sussa. I moved the planet through the sparkling darkness, closer to the light of life, so the whole world would be warm. I watched as the snow turned into water and that water stretched as far as the eye could see. I brought down all the Levitating Cities, and they sat on that water, unified."

Asil nodded, absorbed in the dream. "That sounds wonderful."

"It was, until I landed on one of those cities, and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I was so fat! I was old, and wrinkled, and there was hatred in my eyes. I accomplished all that good, yet all I felt was hate. I had made a contract with every living person, and after I moved that world, it was on them to pay it off."

"How?"

"I don't know, but it was something vile and disgusting." Melissa sighed. "I have gotten so fat and so powerful, and even with you and the hlenna, I feel this anger building inside me." She opened her fist, disbursing the tendrils of sussa. "I know I can obliterate whole mountainsides, Asil, without a trace of fatigue. I could even defeat the Freilux, break his body and burn it for all to see!"

"Is that what you really want?"

She sighed. "When I see myself doing that, I also see my brother looking back." She grit her teeth, stifling a cry. "I can't be like him, like that," she said bitterly, "killing without remorse, having some pompous title and making people bow down before me -- he kills without thinking. He attaches so little value to life."

Asil grabbed and held her hand tightly, giving her some space, and she moaned over and over again, her eyes like bags filled with tears she refused to release. "You will never become like him," he said softly, "because you see that path and work to avoid it. Tell me, why do you never sleep? I mean I know it's supposed to enhance your power, but don't you think it's time for you to have a real rest?"

"I . . . I don't know," she replied. "All I know is that every powerful Archsussa has given up sleep. It is written again and again that without the Centric Sphere, an Archsussa must mull over all they have learned for as many waking moments as possible to truly become and stay powerful."

"But what of your _sanity_?" he pressed. "You need to find a balance, so sussa won't control you. You might not be as powerful, but what is power?"

She got up, and stood by the window. "I can feel the anger burning inside me, Asil. I feel so powerful, and while I know I could overthrow the Freilux, I also know I could take over this world." Absently she clenched her hands tightly as tendrils of sussa appeared and swirled like twin firestorms around them. "I could make it so that everyone lives in peace -- a peace I impose. I can power whole cities, ignite hundreds of thousands of firespheres, all without straining myself." She gazed down on the valley below, opened her hand, and pushed away the snow to reveal the metal bird they had discovered. "I am so powerful, I can scarce believe it!"

"And what of everyone else?"

"What of them?" sneered Melissa. "People follow who is strongest. They would follow me."

"Like the hlenna?"

"Yes, like them." She watched as Asil moved away, turning to face a dark corner.

"I . . . I love you, but I don't like you now. I want to please you, to bring you joy, but not like this."

His mood infuriated her, as she was growing tired of his independence. She had come to feel he was sitting in judgment of her, criticizing her decisions, when she made him to keep her company. She conjured tendrils of sussa to turn him around. When he tried to avert his gaze, she forced him to face her.

"Who are you to refuse me, or question what I think? You always seem to think you know best, always question my decisions, and I am sick of it! I made you, Asil, and you will do what I say. Perhaps it is time I became a woman, and you a man."

She began to undress him with the sussa, but his stoic demeanor incensed her to no end.

"Is this how you imagined it would be?" he asked.

"Perhaps," she snapped. "Perhaps it's what you really want."

She had taken off all but his underclothes, and still he refused to squirm or beg her to stop.

"Perhaps this is how the Freilux would want you," he said simply.

"Damned the Freilux -- I'm _nothing_ like him!" she screamed. "Toby's the one calling himself Nemesnik, waging war, killing." Her words tumbled over each other, as she paced around the room. "I'm nothing like the Freilux. You just can't accept your place in the world. I created you; you are _mine_. You are meant to do my will. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have clothes to cover your nakedness. Without me, you would have no intelligence, no foundation from which to pretend to sit in judgment of me! You don't learn, you don't create -- you couldn't even defend yourself if the Freilux came here. You would cry out, beg me to fight him, to defend you. And here you can't even feign interest in this bloated body, after all I've done for you." Melissa flopped back into a chair, letting loose a torrent of tears she had held in for far too long. "I've never been more powerful, yet I've never hated myself more." She felt a weight lift off her, as if she finally came up for air from the murky depths. "I . . . hate myself, Asil. Have I become what I despise? Would I really have forced you to love me?"

Asil stood over her, and she couldn't meet his noble gaze. "Power can not only give you much, but with it you can take what you don't have. Ultimately, there are some things that can never be stolen away."

Melissa curled into a ball. "Don't look at me," she said, crying. "How can I face you?"

"I don't know. As you said; you are the creator. Though you have given me much of your wisdom, you still know best. How shall we proceed?"

She sat for many minutes with her head hung low, thinking. Finally, she said; "call the hlenna in."

Asil went in the next room as Melissa gathered herself and wiped her face. The hlenna came in slowly, following Asil.

"Are you two fighting?" asked one of them. "We're scared."

"No need to be scared, my precious joys," said Melissa cheerfully, putting on her bravest face. "It's just that I've decided to leave on a trip."

"No!" they all cried, "what will happen to us?"

She took a deep breath, and managed to look at them all, save Asil. "You need to find yourselves, as I need to find out who and what I really am. I will miss you all, and will be back as soon as I can."

She got to her feet, and gathered her things quickly with the aid of sussa. She slung a small backpack over her shoulder, and went out the main door.

"Won't you be cold?" asked Asil.

"Thank you for thinking of me, but I have learned enough to take care of myself." She managed a sideways glance at him, and said; "I have charged the storage tanks for the platform with sussa, and it should last for many months. In the event I'm not back before then, the platform will seek out Imathrin, and deposit you all there." She sighed deeply. "Take care of yourself, Asil. Forgive me, if you can."

She leapt off the platform and flew along the rushing currents of air, which quickly carried her far away from her mother's home.
Part III

Chapter 10

Flying above the snow-covered surface of the world, Melissa wandered aimlessly through the frigid skies, kicking up massive plumes of white powder in her wake. Her thin blue robe billowed under her sweater as dozens of firespheres spun constantly around her creating a tunnel of warmth. Across snowdunes and through mountain passes she darted, randomly incinerating immense tracts of landscape with white-hot tendrils of sussa, bemoaning the mistakes she made. For while she was able to filter water for drinking and manipulate rough roots into something edible, though she was warm and never felt more powerful, her soul ached with remembrance of what she had almost done.

In her travels she came across several more of the metal relics she and her hlenna had found, and paused to excavate and explore inside. The metal beasts were grey and black constructs \-- quite unlike the faded white ship she found with Asil -- with many small dark windows set into metal boxes and many sticks and levers set into the walls. She felt they were weapons of war, and wondered what it was that could have defeated them. Faded dusty footprints inside the vessels warned that she wasn't the first explorer, making her wonder if anyone alive knew what exactly the vessels were.

As she left the third vessel, having slung her sac of supplies over her back, a dozen figures dressed in thick white clothing carrying grey metal sticks with handles stood in the snow, waiting. They stood soundlessly, and she was amazed that she didn't hear their approach.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Kill it -- quick!" shouted one of the men.

One of them raised their stick, pulled something, and expelled a brilliant flash of light. Melissa instinctually deflected the bolt, but could feel a small degree of pain.

"Why do you do this?" she demanded, becoming incensed. "Explain yourselves quickly, or feel the wrath of an Archsussa!"

Melissa crouched down, trying to focus her mind. It was the first time she would use sussa in an offensive capability, and was conflicted about how far to go.

Could I really kill someone -- even if it was in the protection of my own life?

"I knew it!" yelled one of the figures. "Turn it on!"

One of the figures pressed into a small grey box he was carrying and suddenly all Melissa's senses felt distant. She could still breathe and think, but the world was suddenly dark and cold. The cold felt close and sharp, and her legs began to buckle under her weight.

"What have you done?" she whimpered, as she found she was unable to use sussa to warm herself. "I . . . I can't conjur a firesphere! I can't warm myself. What are you?"

One of the figures confidently approached and pulled open his thick, fur-lined white hood, revealing a wrinkled, leathery face with piercing blue eyes. She felt like she was looking into the face of a man like Ruger; one battle hardened and without mercy or pity. She cringed, trying to crawl away, but he snatched up her face in his hands and squeezed, as the others behind him laughed.

"I am Ocin, and we are the scientists; those who would snatch the world back from heathen like you."

They marched her through the snow into a biting, frigid wind. A collar and chain was put around her neck, kept by Ocin. Though she pulled her sweater close around her, it afforded little protection as the soft falling snow had turned into a biting hail.

"Don't you have anything warm I could wear?" she meekly begged. They all carried large pacs on their backs, and Melissa knew they must have spare clothes.

"You should have been prepared," rebuked one of the men. "It is the arrogance of your kind that will be your downfall. Besides, you have a very pretty sweater," he said sarcastically, to the laughter of the other men.

They walked a little more, and Melissa fell into the snow as her head swooned from lack of food.

"Don't you have any food? I'm so hungry."

Her whimpering was met with raucous laughter.

"You have enough blubber on you to last days and days, my leviathan princess!" She started to cry at Ocin's insulting words, but was yanked by the chain around her neck close to his pitiless face. "Your tears do nothing for me, little girl. We can resist the power of sussa and the power of feminine sentiment. You would do well to use your mind rather than your emotion, for it is the only thing that will save you out here."

Melissa stopped her tears, and forced herself to move on, knowing that she would need to depend on those people for her life.

Where are you Asil? Can you ever forgive me? Will I ever see you again?

They pressed her on in a grueling march through the snow, and Melissa thought she had never exerted so much in her life. Her underarms were drenched with sweat, while her eyebrows were covered with ice. Down through a wide valley with hip-deep snow they travelled, being whipped on with expletives and cruel laughter. A hundred times she swore she would kill them all if she got free, and a thousand times she begged to be released.

Once through the valley, a tall mountain stood as lone sentinel, surrounded by low, grey homes. On the side of the mountain a patch of snow shimmered. It made Melissa dizzy to look at it, and she swooned at its effect.

"It did that to me, the first time I looked on it," said a tall, thin youth that had been walking silently next to her for most of the trip. Whenever she stumbled after her first fall, he steadied her, and something about his presence made her feel less terrified. "It's best if you look sideways at it, and only then will the entrance be revealed."

She did as he said, and was awestruck at what was revealed. A mammoth metal ship, like ones she had seen earlier, was merged with the mountain itself. Though partially covered in snow, both halves of the ship were visible, peeking out from both sides of the mountain. She felt dwarfed by its presence, as never before had she seen a singular structure so massive.

"It's something, isn't it?" remarked the youth.

"Yeah," was all Melissa could manage.

The youth pulled down his white hood, revealing a baby's face that had adult scars. As young as Melissa, he had warm, dark-grey eyes, and long, unruly black hair that hung about his gaunt face. Though his gaze was precise and clinical, Melissa felt compassion lay slumbering behind it. She noticed for the first time that he wore furs about his neck, and while others wore white jackets, his was tan, and the others seemed to afford him some respect. "To think, one day it flew in the sky, like the levitating cities."

Melissa shook her head in disbelief. "What kind of Archsussa could have powered it?"

"No sussa powered that ship," sneered the youth. "Science was its only power!"

"Come on, Richard," said Ocin, "we need to get under cover."

Melissa was led through a small village at the base of the mountain, filled with low homes made of wood and cleared, dirt roads. The rough sound of charaks could be heard, and as they passed through the center, large pens could be seen housing them.

"Do you use them for battle, or sport?" asked Melissa.

"They draw our sleds, so we can cross the snow plains while light remains in the sky."

They walked up a path roughly-paved with large stones. A thick cheet of ice glazed over the stones, making it a treacherous route for all involved -- especially Melissa, whose feet were almost numb with frost. The thin leather sandals she started out with broke long ago, and the pain from her feet terrified her. Worried she might end up losing her feet, she began to cry.

"I'm in so much pain!" she moaned.

Laughter from most of the group was her only reply, and though she met the youth's gaze, it returned no compassion or pity.

The path led to just under the massive ship, and as they approached a panel slid open. Two guards holding more black weapons came out.

"Don't tell me you finally caught one, Richard," said one of the guards roughly.

"Yeah, finally," answered Richard. "It was only a matter of time."

Ocin gathered Melissa's long hair into a ball and yanked her head up. "And it was an easy capture too! What a pathetic waste this thing is."

The other guard added; "must be one stupid heretic to be caught in the open snow."

It was too much for Melissa. She dropped to her knees and cried, bawling in the snow. She had never felt so ugly and stupid in all her life. He refused to let go of her hair, even with her crying, instead laughing with the guards. Melissa struggled, but his hold was too firm. She was shocked to see Richard calmly pull the man's hand from her hair.

"Ocin, she's a heathen, but we can act better than that."

Ocin backed away, grumbling, as Melissa pulled her hair back and nodded gratefully to Richard. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, heretic," he replied with a sneer. "I act with courtesy towards you because it's the rational thing to do. You will be of no use to use bawling on the floor."

She was led up through the bowels of the metal ship to the second level. The structure rest at a downward angle, and all had to hold onto a wooden rail affixed to the wall to guide them down. The lighting came from small glowing bulbs positioned at equidistant intervals on the walls that emitted a faint hum. Melissa couldn't help but stop to examine one.

"What is this?"

"It is a torch that isn't of fire, and not powered by a heathen Archsussa."

"Then what keeps it lit?"

"Science," said Richard, his voice full of reverence. "Science enables us to use all kinds of fuel to illuminate our surroundings, cook our food, keep us warm at night. And when we wake up, we aren't obligated to give thanks to an Archsussa. We merely thank ourselves for the ingenuity to live by our own means."

She hated his arrogance, but he still acted as a gentleman, steadying her through the corridors. His gaze was always stern yet warm, and she didn't know if his words or his physical acts represented who he really was.

Into a large room Richard led her, bidding her to sit at a wide table. Food was finally brought along with a tall glass of warm xuno. It was meager, offensive-smelling fare, appearing to be leftovers from leftovers. The food sat on a dirty plate, and no napkin or eating utensils were placed with it. Despite her hunger, Melissa balked at eating it, anxious as to its source.

"It can be taken away, and given to someone much more deserving," rebuked one of the guards.

Melissa quickly picked some up with her hands, and she consumed with relish, finally drawing a little comfort from something familiar. As she ate, Richard sat across from her, now dressed in tan slacks and a tan shirt, which seemed to be a uniform to Melissa. He was thin, but with strong shoulders and arms, and his thick, long hair was drawn back into a ponytail. He wasn't particularly handsome, but his clinical gaze was intriguing to Melissa, and no matter how hungry she was, her eyes kept straying back to his.

A few minutes after Richard sat down, a short, thin old woman with dark glasses hung over her eyes joined them. Slowly the old woman pulled her glasses off, revealing a burnt scar where her left eye should be. Melissa couldn't help but stare, as she had never seen anyone who wasn't healed and perfect.

"Do you like the work of your Freilux?" asked Richard scornfully. "And yet, she sees better than most on this world."

"I have no love for the Freilux," retorted Melissa, washing down her food with a gulp of xuno. "He stole power from my father, Darian, who rightfully ruled our world."

"No Archsussa should ever rule over us!" yelled Richard, slamming his fist onto the table. "You are all bastard, forsaken creations!"

"Enough," said the old woman quietly. "Sit back Richard -- this will do us no good." Her singular gaze turned on Melissa. "I'll bet you thought no one lived on the surface, eh my little heretic?"

"Honestly, no," she replied in-between chews of food. "Did you come here after the apocalypse?"

"No, no," said the woman, as she came close. Melissa could feel her eyes inspecting every fold of her skin, and was starting to lose her appetite.

"Why do you examine me?"

"A good choice of words, for a young girl. I am examining you, because I have never been this close to an Archsussa for this long a period of time. Oh, I've met the Freilux and Provni Darian when he was alive, but those were both fleeting meetings. What is your name, young child?"

"I only tell my name to those who are my friends, and you distinctly are _not_."

"We will get it out of you," threatened Richard, "along with anything else we want to know!"

"Aren't you scared of what I might do?" asked Melissa. "How are you able to restrain my sussa manipulation anyway?"

The old woman sat back, yielding to Richard.

"We are scientists, and have been studying 'sussa' as you call it for many generations. Do you think it is some coincidence that sussa appeared just after the First Apocalypse? That science has all but disappeared as your kind took control?"

"Why do we need science?" asked Melissa. "An Archsussa can take care of an entire levitating city."

"Yes, but the cost to feed an Archsussa's ego is too much to bear. One must have independence. Sussa is a bastardization of the word 'science.'"

_That sounds like what my Asil said_ , she thought. "So what will you do with me?"

"Dissect you," answered the old woman simply, without an ounce of pity, "to find out what makes you different."

Melissa felt her heart drop, and looked to Richard, hoping to find some support or doubt in his eyes, but he had turned away.

"You . . . would kill me?" asked Melissa weakly, her voice breaking.  
"Your kind has killed the progress of countless generations!" shouted Richard with another loud thump of his fist on the table. "How many died in the Second Apocalypse, all because of the arrogance of an Archsussa?"

"What do you mean?" asked Melissa.

"Do you know how many times we begged Darian to allow scientific inquiry into the Apocalypse and into sussa?" asked the old woman. "Yet each time he refused us, saying no one need worry as he could divert the effects if there were another Apocalypse. Liar! He wanted to keep control over the people, and look at what was the result. There is nothing more devastating than the Archsussa's arrogance, and we have had enough. You seem like a pretty, innocent little thing, but I have learned those even with a face like yours can be perverted to evil by the effects of sussa."

Melissa watched desperately as the old woman stood, and Richard with her. "We operate first thing in the morning. Alert the doctors to be prepared. Have the guards take her to a cell."

"No!" she screamed, as Richard ordered two guards to take her. "How can you do this? Are you a bunch of butchers? _Murderers_?" She writhed in their clutches, trying to extricate herself but their hold was too strong. "Let me go -- I haven't hurt anyone!"

"Your kind has hurt plenty," rebuked Richard as she was lead down the hallway. "Perhaps now we can learn how to hurt back."

Down through the vessel she was led, through corridors that seemed unending. It felt like she was back in a levitating city, except that the air was close and dank, and she had a terrible sense of claustrophobia. She knew they must be a third of the way inside the mountain, and any accident would be a terminal one.

Many of the corridors were filled with residences. Graffiti littered the walls, but not of simple names scrawled with paint. They were more like murals, or quilting squares, depicting whole lines of families, names of relatives long past and the meager accomplishments they made. Part of her was cheered to see life still flourished after the Second Apocalypse, until the inhabitants realized who she was.

"Sinful Archusssa!" yelled a tall man with a long grey beard. "They should've killed you out in the wastes!"

"Heathen!" yelled another. "Heathen!" soon yelled many men, women and children, as they gathered at their doors to watch her pass.

"Looks like you've made some friends," jeered one of the guards leading her.

"Die heathen die! Die heathen!" they cried, throwing scraps of garbage at her. She slipped and fell from one, and to her consternation, instead of being helped up by the guards, they let her lie in filth as a crowd gathered to pelt her more.

"Please," she pleaded, whimpering, "help me!"

The guards laughed more, and only after most had their fun throwing garbage in her face, did they pull her up and press her on. Eventually they got to a lift, and Melissa felt relief as the thick metal door closed, silencing the deafening cries for her extermination.

"God, does she stink," said one of the guards.

"It's all that blubber," said the other. "I think that sussa stuff make's 'em smell even worse."

The lift stopped, and the doors opened onto a dark, damp level. They pulled her down midway, and threw her in a small room.

"Looks like you just won yourself a quick weight-loss program," sneered one of the guards as he closed the door. "One meal, once-a-day, and you just missed yours. Maybe you should've eaten some of the shit they threw at you."

Melissa sat back and cried as they turned out the lights and filled the darkness with howling laughter.
Chapter 11

The darkness enveloped Melissa, smothering her senses like a thick wet burlap bag that had no chance of relief or reprieve. In her childhood, the nighttime was when all the bad dreams came. For months one dream would repeat over and over as if it were stuck in an eternal loop. In it she was chased down a wide courtyard of marble steps, running with a flowing red gown she wore trailing behind her. She could never tell who she was running from, but they gained strength with each passing moment. She would turn to fight, but find she could manifest no sussa. Her hands hung impotent in front of her as a dark cloud came ever closer. She cursed it, forbade it to come any closer but it was all for naught. She would feel it consume her, stuffing itself down her throat and blotting the light from her eyes. And that was how she woke, screaming, thinking the darkness in her bedroom was the blackness that consumed her in the dream.

Over the years Melissa forgot the dream. It faded as most childhood terrors do, becoming blurred with the passage of time. But in that pitch-black room, she remembered it with full clarity, and while the darkness sought to claim her yet again, drown her sanity in a sea of fears, she net it with a clinical precision worthy of Richard.

_That isn't me -- it probably happened she who was me._ She took a deep breath. _Darkness holds no hold over me. I am different, I am myself; I am I, and if I want to survive I must think_.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. Back over all she had read she flew, trying to remember any mention of being deprived of the use of sussa, but the old woman was right; the Archsussa was an arrogant thing. Not once was there ever a mention of being caught, of facing a foe that could negate the power of sussa.

She scanned her prison, looking for any opportunity. There were no windows -- whatever room it once was, it must have served a similar purpose. The only air and light came from three holes cut in the thick metal door no larger than a woman's fist.

She slumped back. _With my sussa, I could rip open the door and kill them all. I could blow a hole in the side of this vessel and fly out of here_. She sighed. _I need to sleep, but if I lie down, I will lose some of my power. But I just can't think clearly_. She lay back on the cot in the room, feeling her eyelids getting heavy. _Just a few hours, so I can clear my head_.

It was as she closed her eyes that she heard Toby's voice.

Toby?

She bolted off the cot and scrambled next to the door, putting her ear against one of the holes. She could hear Toby speaking with Richard.

"We will attack the Freilux in three weeks; we would be much stronger with your forces with us."

"I have spoken to Desli may times about this, Nemesnik, but our feelings about sussa still stand; we want a world where a normal human is in control."

"And how would you levitate the cities? How would you extract water from the ground?"

"We manage to live here," answered Richard with pride in his voice.

"In metal caves that are cold, dark and damp? Where the only light you get is this false imitation set in glass? I have promised you several times and I make the promise again; if and when you help me overthrow the Freilux, I will allow open 'scientific' investigations. You will no longer be forced to be a fringe -- you will be a part of mainstream society."

"We have heard your pledge, and agree it is a magnanimous one. But we also know our weakness. A few of us might stay true to our values, and spend the days researching. But many of us would probably grow accustomed to the easy living the Archsussa provides, and in time forget all about science. No, for us as a people, as a world to move forward, it has to be without the likes of you and your kind."

Melissa waited, wondering what Toby would do. _He's too headstrong to take that kind of insult_.

"You know, I could take great offence to something like that -- especially after all I've offered. It wouldn't even strain myself to obliterate this place."

"The last thing we are is stupid, Nemesnik," countered Richard with venom. "Believe it or not, we are capable of negating your power. If you raised your hand against us, in here, it would be the last time you raised it."

Their voices were silent again, and Melissa screamed with all her might; "Toby!"

"Some Archsussa might succumb to your science, Richard. But we who are steeped in the power for many years, know ways around certain things. The box you hold at your side, enables you to pull a voice over great distances, true?"

"Yes."

"Well, my father may have died ignobly, but in the early days of his reign he was a strong and wise Archsussa. He discovered ways to pull our power over long distances, to affect things halfway across the world. He created a web which supports us all in time of need."

"Toby!" screamed Melissa again, "Toby!"

"I think you're bluffing."

"And I you," said Toby, "but neither of us would want to find out. I'll take my leave of you, and leave you in peace, but remember; I am at the peak of my powers, and it would be folly to challenge me. If you want to rid this world of the Archsussa, you best wait until I am long dead."

"Toby, don't leave me . . . please!"

She could hear several doors slam, and knew they had gone.

_Why couldn't they hear me?_ She heard footsteps coming to the door, and when she backed away, a tall guard opened it.

"Your screaming won't do you any good, little heretic. What you heard was over our radio. They were meeting several floors above. How do you know the Nemesnik anyway?"

Melissa sighed, feeling defeated. "He's my brother."

The guard nodded with approval. "Well, at least you got to hear him once more, before you die."

After he closed the door, Melissa began to feel hopeful.

_An invisible web from which I could access sussa?_ She went back though what she had read, but could find no mention of such a thing. _Was my brother bluffing? Or was it kept secret, as an emergency failsafe in case of something like this?_ She sat down again, relaxed, and began to concentrate. She opened her mind more than ever before, trying to feel the slightest hint of sussa.

Through the night she focused, not moving, not thinking of what awaited her in the morning. Though her body wanted to collapse from fatigue she pressed her mind on, scanning around her. She began to sweat and shake, so hard was she focusing on finding the sussa.

_Am I being too straightforward? If this web was hidden, then perhaps the content itself is also hidden, so no one but an expert could find it._ She pressed down, as if she were opening a ribbon, searching within the folds of existence. Finally, she felt something powerful pull her.

Is this it?

It was as if she discovered a narrow vein of gold hidden in a rockface. She touched it with her mind, and instantly was able to conjur a small firesphere.

"Power!" she cried, utterly relieved, "at last I have power again."

She stood -- slowly, as her body was exhausted. Yet as she stood, the firesphere vanished.

I can't manipulate this source properly -- it feels as if I would need months or years to properly adapt to it. Toby has had the time, but I haven't.

She focused on the door. _But I don't need a lot of power to escape_. She silently broke the lock in the door and opened it, seeing one guard at the end of the hallway.

_I should kill you_ , she thought to herself, _but I don't need to_. She reached out to his mind and rendered him unconscious. Slowly she staggered to the small metal room that moved, got inside, and pressed a button she hoped would take her to the surface.

The lift moved up for a few moments, opening its doors onto a long white corridor. Melissa moved quickly but quietly down it, looking in several windows at people preparing food. She was desperately hungry, and fought with herself at every whiff of food about staying and stealing and eating or just moving quickly out. Somehow she resisted, finding an airshaft at the end of the corridor that she hoped would lead her to the surface.

She climbed for what seemed to be an eternity. Never had she felt more scared, or more fat. She barely fit in the shaft, and it was difficult pulling herself up the thin metal rungs. _I never thought climbing would be this difficult. Or maybe it's that I never thought I was this . . . pathetic_. She stopped in the middle, catching her breath, feeling the chill of cold air sweep down inside. _If I get out of here, I can't go the way of Toby. I can't stay this fat -- I need to sleep, and find balance in my life. I . . . I hate myself_.

For the first time she had an epiphany about her emotional state. No matter what was being done to her by the community of the scientists, she was wreaking more havoc upon herself. _It doesn't help they are so thin – I feel fat in front of them. Those people could have thrown anything at me, but they threw food. They dared me to pick up the scraps and eat in front of them for their amusement. I don't know if they hated more that I use sussa, or that I'm fat_. She sighed heavily. _I never even thought I would call myself 'fat.'_

Up ahead she could hear the sound of wind screaming through a crack, and she pressed herself on, reaching a small hatch left slightly open. With all her might she pushed it open, revealing a vista of limitless white snow. For the first time since coming across the scientists she laughed, and managed to smile.

_I just need to get far enough away, and I'll be able to use my sussa_.

She clambered out, and began to quickly wade through the snow drifts.

"Stop right there!"

She turned, and found ten men pointing black metal weapons at her.

"If you try to run anymore," said one of them, "we will shoot."

"Enough of this!"

She focused all the sussa she could on them, breaking the mechanism that fired projectiles in six of the guns and knocking eight of them unconscious. But the other two managed to hold their ground and fire, with one shot wounding Melissa in the arm.

_What was that?_ she thought, as she fell to the ground. _How it hurts!_

The nulling field, though weak, was still in place, leaving her unable to muster anymore strength. She lay in the snow, bleeding, and the two men came to stand over her.

"You fat, stinking heretic." He held up his weapon and aimed it at Melissa's head. "I should shoot you here and now."

Melissa wanted to cry, wanted to beg for mercy, but a switch flipped inside her. She could feel rage, red hot, coursing through her veins. Through the pain, she drew on sussa through the invisible network, and twisted the gun in his hands. He threw it into the snow and it boiled through, issuing a cloud if steam in its wake.

"Enough!"

She turned to find Richard standing over her. The last thing she saw was him shoving the butt of one of the weapons into her head.

Melissa woke in another small, white room. It was cold; from the metal chair she sat on, to the thick, smooth panels that made up the walls, she felt like she was buried again in the snow, surrounded by unyielding frigid white. Her arm was sore, and she saw a thick bandage where the bullet grazed her. Richard and Sliona sat across from her, with Richard anxiously fidgeting with a small grey pistol. She opened her mouth to speak, but all she could feel was pain.

Melissa felt mentally disconnected, as if she was peering through a pinhole to her body. She could tell they exchanged words about her, but they were garbled and faint. Richard pressed a few buttons on a console before him, and slowly Melissa could understand their words.

Sliona brushed back a strand of grey hair and said; "so, the Nemesnik wasn't bluffing."

"No. She clearly was able to access sussa, even with our nulling field," said Richard. "But she wasn't very powerful."

"She was strong enough -- a few more minutes, and she would have incapacitated all our guards." Sliona examined her quizzically. "But she didn't kill them. Why is that, child?"

Melissa moved her mouth, but was unsure if words came out.

"You feel the effects of the 'stabilizer;' a piece of technology we were able to salvage from one of the wrecked ships. While it is as effective as the portable device Richard has, it works in a fundamentally different way. It isn't geared to affect Archsussa specially, just any mind we focus it on. We are able to, with other salvaged technology, scan your mind and get a unique print of it. With that, we can target you with this device, and sit here in perfect comfort. I'll turn it down a little so you may speak, but be warned; we have three guns trained on your head, so even a hint of sussa will result in your death."

Melissa felt the discomfort ease, and she was able to put together thoughts more coherently.

"Is this all you do; play with technology?"

Richard harrumphed. "One could argue that all you do is play with sussa."

"So how are we any different?"

"All can learn of science," said Richard proudly, "few can learn of sussa."

"That's a lie Richard, and you know it," rebuked Sliona. "I may hate sussa, but science is a skill that few can master. You forget how special you are."

He bowed slightly. "I am sorry, honored elder."

"That's all right, child. Now girl; why didn't you kill my guards?"

"I . . . hate killing. My father killed, and my brother now kills, but I cannot."

The old woman nodded with approval. "You look like an Archsussa, with all that fat, but you certainly seem to have a mind of your own. I can't blame you for trying to escape. Tell me; where would you have escaped to?"

Melissa sighed. "I don't know. I lived in the home of my dead mother, with a man I created. I grew arrogant, and mistreated him, and I decided to leave, so I might change myself."

"See! Just another arrogant Archsussa!" cried Richard.

Sliona slammed her wrinkled hand on the table. "Do you listen, child? One day I'll be dead, and there'll be no one to correct you." She began to cough, doubling over as Richard patted her back. Melissa hadn't seen anyone that sick besides her mother, and wondered why they forsook the aid of an Archsussa even when their most important was ill. Sliona recovered after a few moments, wiping her mouth with a blood-stained cloth. "I heard you. You are different; you have felt the temptation to become arrogant and domineering, but have rejected it. You have seen others of your family kill, and you reject it. The question is; what path will you follow?"

"I . . . I don't know. Why don't you let an Archsussa heal you?"

"Haven't you heard anything," spat Richard, "we despise your kind!"

"But you would let your most important person die, from an illness we could cure?"

"You would cure me," asked Sliona, "even as a captive, even though we probably would keep you as one?"

Melissa thought for a moment. "Yes, I would."  
The old woman leaned back with a gentle smile, taking a wheezing, deep breath. "Dear Melissa, I think we might be friends."

"How did you know my name?"

Melissa waited for a response, but all she got was Sliona examining her again with her penetrating steel-blue eyes. "Your brother mentioned his sister was missing, and said your name. Now, Richard, show Melissa some kindness. Ask Daria to show her to the toilet, and find some clean, warm clothes. And give her some food -- not too much, for it is about time she lost some of that weight."

Melissa nodded, and shed a tear, unable to hold it in. "Thank you."

Sliona squeezed her hand. "You're welcome. There will be no dissection; it was merely a ploy to see if the Nemesnik was bluffing. But if you truly do hate the Freilux, consider helping us find a way to defeat him."

Suddenly the door opened and a boy that seemed to be a mirror image of Richard came through. But instead of a serious brow, he had only joy in his eyes. In fact the first thing of him Melissa noticed was his affable smile.

"Sorry to bother you brother, but you said you'd join us for a game of nuvia."

"You play nuvia?" asked Melissa, perking up. "I used to be pretty good at it!"

Richard's brother smiled at her and for the first time Melissa felt like someone wasn't looking at how fat she was. "You're that new girl, that Archsussa, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Who are --"

"Enough of this!" shouted Richard, bolting to his feet. "We're in the middle of something important, Vincent. Can't it wait?"

_"Sorry_ ," said Vincent snidely. "Don't worry about him," said Vincent to Melissa, "he's just drunk with what little power they give him."

"Out! Out!" yelled Richard, pushing him back through the door. "I've had enough of you."

Melissa couldn't help but smile, and relaxed a little in her chair. Even Sliona's withered lips curled into a kind smile.

"Now you know what I go through."

Richard sat back down, his cheeks blushed. Melissa took pity on him.

"Why wouldn't you join with my brother against him?" she asked. "He commands a sizeable army."

"An army of _Archsussa_ ," stressed Richard, eager to regain the foothold he lost. "While we desire to overthrow the Freilux, we would never replace him with another Archsussa. Your kind has ruled our world for far too long."

Sliona shook her head. "While my young friend may be a bit crude, he speaks the truth for our people. Now; have you seen any wrecks of great metal ships, like this one?"

Melissa paused, debating about whether or not to tell them. "Well . . ."

Sliona's eyes opened, and they both leaned forward. "Speak up, child!"

"I came across several on my journey, but they all looked as if someone had been in before me. Only one ship I came across was untouched, and it lies near my home."

"You lie," spat Richard. "You just want us to take you home."

"Be calm, child," rebuked Sliona. "What was in it?"

"It had several glass panels set in metal boxes, and it had an immense hole in its side."

"We need to go there as quickly as possible," said Richard to Sliona.

"Why?" asked Melissa, "what is so important?"

"Not now. Get cleaned, dressed and fed, and we shall talk in the morning." Sliona got to her feet, and Melissa felt immensely relieved. "Oh, and hopefully I don't need to say that you would be much better off if you tried not to escape. We could turn the stabilizer back on to full for all your waking moments, and you would go insane."

"I understand. And my offer was sincere; I could heal you."

Sliona paused for a moment, leaning heavily on Richard's shoulder. "If Richard were as sick as I, I would order him taken to a Levitating City, so he might be healed. But for me, the woman who leads, I cannot show such weakness. One day hopefully you will understand; the temptation of sussa is strong, and corrupts us as it does you. The only way to remain pure, to remain free, is not to use it or take advantage of one who does. That is our mantra, our firm belief."
Chapter 12

The morning brought a hard rap at the door, and a guard's voice yelling; "make yourself decent, we're throwing in some warm clothes."

She scrambled to cover herself, and in a minute the bolts slid open and in was thrown a thick pair of fur-lined pants and a thick white jacket.

"What's this for?"

"You said you would show us where the vessel was, didn't you?" asked Richard.

"Why should I?"

"We could threaten you. We could turn the machine on to full. Or you could just realize that staying here would be interminably boring, and choose to do this for us. Your conditions would improve immensely if you helped us in this."

She picked up the pants thrown at her, which reeked of a foul, musky odor. "Fine, I'll do it. Can someone at least wash these clothes?"

The door was slammed shut, and Richard's faint voice could be heard saying; "the arrogance of an Archsussa knows no bounds."

Just as the first sun crept over the distant horizon line, Melissa set out on her first sled-ride. A pack of ten charaks pulled two sleds over an ocean of shifting white. They were smelly creatures, who panted and growled as they pulled their cargo over steep hills and down low mist-shrouded valleys. A few complained about their stench, particularly after hard exertion, but Melissa found it warm and quaint, a welcome change from the clinical nature of the ship of the scientists.

Richard led the group, and with them rode Daria, three guards and Vincent. Melissa gathered Vincent was a late addition, and only after a prolonged argument with Richard was he allowed to join them. As for Daria, Melissa learned Daria was the closest thing Richard had for a friend. She prattled on as they rode about how he was such a precocious youth, how the many technological advancements he discovered allowed them to live in relative comfort.

Daria was tall – taller than Richard. She had pale skin with a lot of acne on her face, and long, stringy brown hair that looked as if it hadn't been washed in several weeks. Her teeth were yellow, her cheeks puffy and her eyes wide apart and Melissa knew if she lived on the levitating cities she would be one of the uglier girls around. But out there, in the cold wilderness, Melissa could appreciate her sparking personality, and thought she was prettier and prettier with each moment spent.

As she listened to Daria, she also felt a twinge of jealousy. When she lived on Imathrin, she had a crush on a neighbor's boy who was also smart and intelligent, and suddenly she felt an extreme longing to see Asil.

"So what do you think of Richard?" asked Daria, as they waited for the charaks that pulled their sleds to be fed and rested. Melissa smiled as she understood why they were called ' charaks,' as after every bite of food they would utter 'charak, charak.' It was unseasonably warm, allowing them to sit unprotected around a small fire to talk.

"Well, seeing as I'm his captive, I have a rather low opinion of him."

"Ouch -- that's kinda harsh!" cried Daria. "I mean, I heard they were a little rough with you at first, but you're out here now, aren't you?" She took a deep breath of air, and nodded with approval. "Free to lean back and drink in the fresh cool air."

Melissa couldn't help but smile. "You're different than the others."

"Yeah, well, they all take themselves a little too seriously. I mean, life can't always be about studying and crap like that." She pointed to Richard, who was tinkering with a small metallic device. "Just look at him -- don't you wanna just push him up against a wall, and plant a big one right on him?"

"No!" squealed Melissa. "Besides, I don't think he'd know what to do."

"Exactly -- that's why you'd do it!" cried Daria, as she pushed back the thick tan hood to reveal more of her face. She was very light-skinned, and Melissa noticed for the first time the dozens of red freckles that clustered around her mouth, nose and eyes. "He'd go all red, and you'd finally wipe that insufferably smug smile off his face."

Melissa nodded, relaxing a little, happy to talk like she did when she still lived on Imathrin, with nothing to worry or upset her.

"You ever kiss him?" asked Melissa.

"No -- almost," she said dreamily. "About a year ago, when we were out exploring the metal ships, we got trapped in a shaft for a few minutes. We said a few things, and just as we almost got close enough . . . bam! The door slid open, my dad hugged me and helped me out, and that was that."

"You never did anything since?"

"No," she said with a sigh. "And I've tried every trick! When my father got sick, and I was upset, I purposefully cried a little more in front of him to try to get him to hug me and spend time alone with me."

"You didn't?" cried Melissa with glee.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it's lame, but it almost worked. He hugged me, and it was one of those long hugs, when I could even feel his heartbeat." Daria sighed. "I tried a couple of more things like that, but none of them worked. He's too important now, too focused on all the discoveries he made. Sometimes . . ."

"What?" asked Melissa.

"Sometimes I hate science. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends and where I live. But I can understand why so many people for so long have let you Archsussa do all the hard work. I mean, to be freed of so much work, so many worries? I'll bet if Richard and I had grown up in a world like that, we would've been together a long time ago."

"Yeah, well, after the Second Apocalypse, you two might alo be dead."

"But wouldn't it be glorious to die together?"

Melissa was about to respond, as Daria's tone worried her, when Vincent came and plopped himself down next to Melissa. She suddenly stopped caring about Daria, and started brushing back her hair and sitting up a little straighter for Vincent.

"You talking 'bout Richard again?" he asked, obviously irritated.

"No -- don't be jealous!" squealed Daria. "What's it to you, anyway?"

"I dunno. You sure you won't try some glleli when we get back?"

Daria wrinkled up her nose. "You know I don't go for that sort of stuff."

"What's glleli?" asked Melissa.

"You can't have not tried it?" asked Vincent arrogantly, affecting airs. "I mean, you have _schools_ up there in those levitating cities, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"And what do you do when you just want to get away, but you can't go anywhere? When you just want to forget?"

Melissa was confused for a moment, then ventured; "we have sussa. It can give comfort, for times like that."

Vincent sneered. "Well, we only have _science_. Snow and science! And there are sometimes you just want to feel warm and safe, sometimes when you don't have a friend and you just want to feel like you belong. When we get back, and if they let you out, look me up, and I'll let you try some."

"She doesn't want any of that stuff!" yelled Daria, pushing him.

"She just lost everything she knew, and is stuck with us, out here, looking at the wrong ends of a lot of guns." Vincent laid a soft hand on Melissa's knee. "If you ever want to feel like you're back at home, safe, then try what I've got."

"Come on, everyone!" yelled Richard. "Time to get going again -- we've got a long way to go."

Vincent got to his feet, and extended a hand to Melissa. "Well, come on my Archsussa, can't let our lord and master be kept waiting too long."

It took a full hour to harness the charaks back into the sleds, but Melissa enjoyed the hard work. Though strong, with vicious teeth and intimidating eyes, the charaks were actually docile creatures who liked to have their lone ear massaged and scratched. Daria showed her how, and Melissa quickly got the hang of it, making one of them coo with delight. As she worked with the charak, Melissa noticed Richard's eyes kept straying to her.

"I think he notices you," said Daria.

"I think he worries I'll get free. I see how he speaks to you -- he always lowers his voice, and it's always softer and less harsh."

"Maybe," shrugged Daria, as they got back into the sled. "Maybe it isn't too late for us after all."

"What about Vincent; what's his deal?"

Daria shook his head. "He's the younger brother, and lives in Richard's shadow. I think all the attention focused on Richard has made Vincent bitter. He was never into glleli when we were younger."

"Is he . . . is he seeing anyone?"

Daria grinned from ear to ear, and Melissa blushed. "You like him, don't you! Well get in line -- he's got a lot of girls hunting for him. It's just none of them ever caught him."

They rode on, pressing the charaks hard, crossing over dozens of dunes. More than once Daria commented on how long it was, and was amazed Melissa covered all that distance on her own in such a short span of time.

Melissa herself was amazed at how long it took, but instead of reveling in her strength, she was impressed by the dedication of Richard and his scientists. _No matter how cold or tired they get, they still press on_. _And they do it not for more power or wealth, but simply to learn more, to understand more. I can see why they prefer to live alone, and why they would never ally themselves with Toby. Daria can't be the only one who has dreams of the life on the Levitating Cities_.

Finally they arrived at the spot Melissa knew to be the resting place of the first vessel she explored. Only a small hump of metal could be seen, as the snow had once again smothered its form. Melissa offered to move it with her sussa, but Richard smiled wryly, and said; "I think science can do it just as well."

As Richard rifled through the supplies, Melissa couldn't help but scan the skies for her mother's platform. Daria came beside her.

"I heard you have your own platform. Can you see it?"

"No," said Melissa wistfully, "and I'm kind of glad I can't."

"Why?"

"Because it would make it all the harder to leave it again. Richard isn't going to let me go. He's going to squeeze every last bit of worth out of me, then throw me in a cell and lose the key."

Daria squeezed Melissa's hand. "I'll see what I can do. Sometimes I can change his mind."

Richard came back with a bright-copper metal tool. He fiddled with some buttons on the top, and aimed it at the buried vessel.

"Witness my latest invention!"

"Oh great," said Vincent snidely, coming beside Daria, "another wonderful invention from the glorious mind of my brother. Oh, please show us your intellectual magnificence."

"Why'd you even come along?" demanded Richard, lowering the tool. "I mean, you have no interest in these planes -- no interest in science at all!"

"Maybe I want to be around to see you finally look the fool."

"The fool?" demanded Richard.

"This cute Archsussa showing you something you've never seen. I think it's hilarious."

Melissa blushed, as all she heard was that Vincent thought she was cute.

"Can we get on with it?" yelled Daria. "It's too cold and we're too far from base for this kind of bickering."

"Fine," spat Richard. "Now stand back!"

A beam of cloudy yellow light fanned out from his tool, almost to the exact width of the vessel. The snow melted quickly where it touched, becoming white vapor. After a few minutes, most of the vessel was revealed, and Richard turned it off.

"That's amazing," said Daria, as she came to his side to examine the device. "How did you come up with something like this?"

"I knew at some point we would need to quickly excavate one of these vessels, and wouldn't have the manpower to do it." He walked to the side of the ship, where in large black letters was written: _Arial_. "At least we know the name of this ship. Let's go inside, and see what our heathen has led us to. Guards; establish a perimeter, and radio me if anyone comes near."

"Yes sir!"

"Come on, Daria. Let's take a look."

"Oh I'll just wait out here," yelled Vincent with scorn.

"Come on," said Melissa, grabbing his hand. "No need to be the outcast."

The four of them went inside the ship, and Melissa remembered it well. In her mind, she could see the hlenna spinning in the chairs, laughing uncontrollably. And she remembered sitting at the terminal with Asil at her side.

"Do you think we can turn them on?" asked Daria.

Richard pressed a few switches. "No, looks like there's no power-flow." He hooked a wire from the large metal box into a port under one of the screens. "This should do the trick though."

The screens came to life, and Melissa cooed with delight. "You made it work! What can it do?"

"It can teach us. _Arial_ ; state your name."

"A . . ." said a voice faintly from somewhere around them. " _Ari . . . Arial_."

Melissa suddenly became scared, but Daria calmed her down. "It's like our radios, except this is a machine mimicking a human's voice."

"And each ship had its own name for its system," said Richard. "Now, _Arial_ ; where are you from?"

_"This ship was built in the Curungghal shipyards, orbiting the moon Mankla_."

Richard nodded, impressed. "None of the other systems I've come across have been able to say this much. Their mechanisms had deteriorated too greatly."

"What will you ask it?" asked Daria coming closer to him.

Richard thought. "Why are you here?"

_"The Arial was damaged, and crashed_."

"Why were you near this planet? State your mission objectives."

In an instant, the screen changed, as several images flashed as the Arial spoke.

"Mission objectives: travel back in time to destroy Novan. This is to be accomplished with the three Buiron Devices. Detonation of only one will merely cause global devastation and knock Novan off-axis. Detonation of all three will obliterate Novan entirely. Target coordinates should place reentry at one-thousand years before any significant technological development, to minimize risk."

"In the event of Overman interference, a failsafe can be activated that will shift the devices back further in time to a random point, to minimize the possibility of discovery. Once shifted, they will immediately detonate. There is a risk that the temporal field generated will encompass nearby ships and maroon their crews in the distant past of Novan, possibly even to a point where the world was called 'Iqui.' The failsafe should only be used as a last resort, when all other options have failed."

Melissa stewed in her chair, confused, watching as Richard leaned back, digesting what he heard.

"What did that all mean?" she asked. "'Novan?' 'Overlord?' It all seems like some fairy tale."

"We've seen those words before," said Richard excitedly, "but never had the proper context to put them in! Now, so much makes sense. The First Apocalypse, 'sussa,' even the climate that now controls this world."

"Then tell me," begged Melissa.

"Tell us," said Daria with a wide smile, "I'd love to know too!"

Richard sat back, taking obvious pleasure in being the purveyor of knowledge, while Vincent, despite his disgust with his brother, leaned forward with the rest, intrigued. "These ships are warships, built to fight a foe that must have, or will be, terrible and beyond our conception of powerful. The Centric Spheres were constructed to explode in some way, and destroy this world. But before it could be accomplished, they were attacked, and the Spheres were sent back further in time. Something must have happened, because only one of them exploded, and that explosion was the First Apocalypse."

"And sussa?" asked Vincent. "How does this explain sussa?"

Richard shrugged. "I don't know. The Sphere is a unique thing, and whatever is inside must have contaminated our ancestors when it exploded."

"Contaminated?" asked Melissa, feeling a little stupid, as she didn't understand any of the words Richard said, and hated to ask more, but she could feel this was vitally important.

"It's as if what was inside the sphere rained on people around where it exploded, like a storm. Those droplets of whatever was inside changed the people it fell on, hence your ancestors being different than mine."

_Then what is the Centric Sphere?_ thought Melissa. _Is it an unexploded 'Buiron Device'? And where is the third?_ Melissa sighed, and felt depressed. "I feel so . . . useless. I feel so stupid. There's so much here you two know, but I just don't understand."

"Don't be sad," said Daria. "I'm sure if you explained to us the many things you've learned to be an Archsussa, we'd feel stupid too."

"Then set me _free_ ," begged Melissa, turning to Richard. "Trust me, I won't hurt you, but I need to feel whole."

Richard sneered. "How will that help us? It'll only help you, and they would think less of me if you escaped."

Melissa sighed. "But I need to understand -- I can help you, but I need to know."

"And your sussa will help you do this?" asked Daria.

"Yes. I've read many things, and I believe so."

"Come on, big brother -- give her a chance," said Vincent.

Daria grasped Richard's hands and squeezed. "Trust her a little. You can keep your hand on the device, but she led us here, and this ship has a great deal to give us."

Richard sighed. "I never could say 'no' to you. Very well." He held up the box. "If this is a trick, you'll pay for it."

_"Trust me_ ," pressed Melissa. "Take a chance on me."

"Alright. You've given us much information by leading us here." He pressed a button. "Can you feel it?"

In an instant, she ignited a firesphere. "Yes, I can." She focused on his mind, and felt she could do more than ever before. "Hold still, Richard."

She held up her hand, and extended tendrils of sussa to his head. She worked them inside his dense, complicated mind, reading his thoughts. In an instant, she understood about science, and what the voice in the machine was speaking of.

"What did you just do?" he asked, as Daria sat in awe. "What just happened?"

Melissa leaned back, aghast. "You . . . liar . . ."

Richard leaned back, crestfallen. "Somehow, you have seen inside my mind. You have seen all I have hidden."

"What could you have hidden?" asked Daria.

"You haven't learned all you claim to have," said Melissa. "You discovered something in wreckage, when you were twelve, and it was nearly perfect?"

"I knew it!" screamed Vincent. "All these years, lording over us little people and you were a liar!"

"Shut up, Vincent. Let him speak."

Richard flashed a hateful glance at his brother, but quickly cooled. "Yes, I discovered something. It apparently was the toy of a being who lived on one of those ships. It was a learning tool, and the concepts that were meant for someone around fifteen years of age advanced our scientific understand immensely. Year after year, I would introduce them to my people, by understanding a new piece of equipment found or explaining the concepts behind a device. This box," he said, holding up the device that nulled her sussa, "wouldn't have existed if not for what I found."

"Why did you do it, rather than share it with us?" asked Daria, beginning to cry. "I believed in you!"

"I wanted _power_ ," pleaded Richard. "I was tired of living in the cramped underbelly of that damaged ship -- I wanted to taste the food and the sweet air of the upper decks! I wanted to have girls like you look up to me, instead of down at me cleaning the lower decks."

"You little _shit_ ," spat Vincent. "All this time, feeling like nothing next to you, all this time having people look at me like I was the stupid one, like Holis skipped over me, and here you were lying to everyone?" Melissa looked on in amazement, and Vincent began to cry. "What happened to us, brother? What happened to our friendship?"

"I wanted this more."

Vincent stormed out, without responding.

They all sat in silence for a while, then Daria said; "what you did to Richard, do you think you could also do to that machine?"

Melissa looked at the screen with images on it. "I don't know -- I might damage it. But, it also might save a great deal of time."

"Sussa again," spat Richard. "It only gets us into trouble!" He pulled up the box. "I should just shut you down and leave it on."

"No!" yelled Daria, as she slapped the box out of his hand. "Don't punish her just 'cause she caught _you_ in a lie. Try and access this ship, Melissa. I have faith you'll share everything with both of us."

She nodded. "I will." She extended the tendrils again, and worked them into the fabric of the machine. Slowly, the lights inside the ship turned on, and faint whirring sound could be heard. Melissa began to absorb the information contained in the machine, learning it was called a 'computer,' and that she was reading it's 'databanks.'

So much . . . so many things . . .

It was badly corrupted, for it had been lying damaged and dormant since the First Apocalypse. But she could see the foe they fought, the race of gods called 'Overmen.' She could see this ship flying through what they called the 'void,' could see from whence it came.

She absorbed all she could, and pulled out. For several moments she sat and contemplated all she had learned, as Richard and Daria looked on.

"Something tells me _we're_ gonna feel stupid," said Daria.

She laughed, suddenly in awe of all they had learned. "So much of what you have deduced is correct, my scientists. You and your friends are truly remarkable people."

Richard bowed. "Thank you. So . . . tell us what you know."

"I will do better than that. Let's go outside."

"What is it?" asked Richard, as his finger went to the metal box.

"Have faith in something other than your science. Come on."
Chapter 13

Melissa felt a surge of pride, in knowing more than Richard or Daria. It was the first time in her life that she was able to take pride in her knowledge and share it with others. While she learned much with Asil, he never gave her the adulation she needed. In Richard's eyes, she could see the seeds of that adulation, and in light of his confession she knew she would be able to bend him to her will.

As they walked out, the three guards on duty trained their weapons on her, sensing in an instant that she had full use of her sussa. Richard waved them down, and said;

"I'm giving you a great deal of trust, heretic. I hope you know that."

"I do, Richard. Hopefully when this is done, you will call me by my name. Now hold my hand."

She extended her open hand, and Richard looked at it, for a moment, before grasping it. She squeezed tightly, and cried; "hold on!"

As if caught in a tornado, they flew up into the air in a shot. Daria laughed for a moment, before realizing she was being left behind.

"What about me?!" cried Daria, as she waved her hands and ran in circles.

"I have only the strength to bring one along!" shouted Melissa. As they ascended higher into the sky, she could still see Daria's pouting face, and it gave her some pleasure to see her jealous.

"Where are we going?" asked Richard nervously.

"To where and when this all began."

Upwards they ascended, eventually leaving the confines of Iqui. Through thick banks of clouds they flew, feeling the cool mist brush against their faces and bodies. The air grew thin, and Melissa refreshed it, keeping a pocket of air around them as they ascended out of the atmosphere.

"This is . . . magnificent," said Richard, looking down on his planet for the first time. Iqui was a white world with pockets of blue surrounded in thick, swirling clouds. "I never imagined!"

"Now aren't you glad you didn't dissect me?"

"You know we never would have done that," answered Richard anxiously.

"What I do know is how I was treated, when I was vulnerable and weak. Remember that now, up here, as the tables are turned."

As she flew up, her body felt different. No longer did she feel clumsy or heavy, for in the freedom afforded by the clouds she only felt nimble and graceful. She could spin and twist in the air, confident and secure in her movements, while Richard looked the stumbling fool.

"Are you just playing with me," he shouted, over the rush of air, "or are we going somewhere?"

She had pity on him and flew up an onwards, though in her heart she doubted he would return the favor in a similar situation.

Onwards and outwards she flew, into space, coming to the coordinates of where the _Arial_ suffered its mortal blow. As she was about to open a ribbon, Richard stayed her hand.

"Is this where the battle occurred?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then perhaps we should watch from a discreet distance."

Melissa nodded, impressed. "Good idea."

She moved almost a full planet-length away and paused in space, reconsidering what she was about to do. _Opening a ribbon through time killed my mother, though she was sick and weak. What will happen if I lose my strength up here? We'll both die, and what we might learn will be for nothing_.

"What are you thinking about, Melissa?" asked Richard. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

It warmed her to finally hear her name from his lips, though she wasn't sure if it was concern for her or greed for knowledge that lay behind his words. "I'll be fine."

She concentrated, focusing on the ribbon of white that lay beneath the fabric of creation. Carefully, she spoke the words she heard her mother use, focusing all her power with each syllable. From the farthest corners of their eyes, a thin line appeared, slowly opening to reveal the past. As it opened like a great eyelid, they passed through, and bore witness to what appeared to be gods fighting each other.

Three figures hung in space, as Melissa did. Ten ships darted around them, hurling great plumes of energy Melissa never imagined could have existed. Even from their faraway vantage point, the space around them burned and Melissa had to create a shield.

"Those must be . . . Overmen."

The ships put up a valiant fight, struggling to keep the Overmen off-balance. They launched not only great bursts of energy, but brilliant rods of metal that flew faster than the eye could see. The bolts struck the Overmen through their bodies, and it was the only thing that seemed to bring them pain. But the Overmen eventually brushed them off, and together they fatally damaged the ships, sending them listing in space, venting plasma. In a wink the vessels vanished, racing back through time as a result of their failsafe devices.

"We should leave now," said Richard anxiously. "I wouldn't want to face them."

Melissa knew she should leave, but against her better judgment remained. In an instant the Overmen saw her, and came near.

"Melissa . . ."

"Be silent, Richard. Let me handle this."

They orbited Melissa, examining her up and down. They were dark beings, obviously humanoid, but with bodies that shifted under the dim light of the void. Their eyes were at once blue, then red, and they all seethed with unimaginable power. She could feel something scan her mind, and though she was stronger and wiser than ever before, she still could not prevent it.

"What a curious aberration," said one.

"Yes indeed," said another. "Even we can have ramifications on our timeline."

"Back off!" shouted Melissa. "I can defend myself."

They both laughed. "Oh my, you are a willful thing, aren't you? Well, don't worry. We have no desire to eliminate such an integral key to our past."

One drifted close to her and said; "once you figure out what you are, then you have a hope of finding out what you will be." He opened his hand, and Melissa felt herself being pushed back through the ribbon with Richard. "Now back to where you came from. Never again dare to venture this far into your future, or we will kill you, ancestor or not."

After their return to their proper time, Melissa hung in space for a while, high above the Iquitian sky, looking down on a world with a new perspective. Richard clung to her waist, though his grasp was softer then it was before. For the first time since they left, Melissa was aware of how close they were. She could smell his thick, musky scent, and feel his heart beating at her side.

"I never imagined that one day I would see our world like this."

"Nor I, Richard."

He pulled himself level with her, and said; "I was so wrong about you, Melissa. Wrong about you and sussa."

"Oh, Richard . . ."

He kissed her, and she kissed him back, feeling only tremendous warmth in the cold vacuum of space. Tenderness and passion suffused his touch, rendering his cold and clinical demeanor.

"Shall we return?" she asked, disappointed they needed to return, as the pocket of air she kept around them was dwindling fast.

"Yes but . . . let me do this."

Richard threw the box he held far away from them, down towards the planet. After a few seconds it grew white-hot, before exploding in the upper atmosphere.

"I'm sorry, for how we treated you," he said. "Will you stay with us, and be our Archsussa?"

Melissa was shocked. "Why this change?"

"I am looking down on the world for the first time in my life, and it is not with the help of science. The mighty beings we saw, these Overmen, seem to function with a kind of sussa. If it is they who eventually dominate all of creation, then why shouldn't we work together now?" He kissed her again, on the lips. "You have done what Toby never could; made me have faith in an Archsussa."

As Melissa led them back down to the surface, a great part of her felt vindicated, while a small part felt anxious and concerned. A great deal of responsibility was being thrust on her for the first time in her life, and she was unsure of how to feel. And as much joy she felt at being in Richard's arms, feeling his lips on hers, it somehow felt hollow. When they returned, Daria seemed to echo her concern in her dour expression.

"Did you two have a good time?" she asked pointedly, her arms crossed about her chest.

"Yes!" cried Richard. "Wait 'till you hear all that we saw -- it was utterly amazing."

As Richard led Daria off, she looked back at Melissa with sadness and anger. Melissa couldn't help but sigh, as things were getting very complicated for her. As they moved further away, they could be heard to bicker, and Melissa sat down in the snow and wished things had gone differently.

_Why did I leave her behind? Why do I need to steal Richard from her?_ The fatigue from opening the portal was taking its toll, and she had to sit in the snow. She could only conjur a small firesphere to keep herself warm, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it going for long. _Because I can. Because I am more powerful than they are, and I should take what I want_.

"So, was it really all that wonderful?"

She looked behind her and Vincent stood, tall and proud. She was surprised that she didn't even hear his footsteps.

"It was . . . enlightening."

He sat down beside her, and absently made a few snowballs. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just tired. I probably shouldn't have done that." The firesphere dissolved, as she could no longer maintain it.

Vincent sighed. "I guess he'll be the hero again when we get back. No matter all his lying, he's come through for our people again."

"Why are you so jealous of him?"

"Jealous?" scoffed Vincent. "I've got more girls than he could ever dream of, done things he can't even imagine."

Melissa thought for a moment, watching him as he threw the snowballs against the side of the ship. Part of her understood how Vincent felt, for she was probably just an idelfada; a copy of someone who had done great things. She knew she couldn't tell him all about herself, but she felt sad.

"Maybe you just need to find your own path," she ventured carefully, "try to make your own mark on --"

"Never mind," he said dismissively with an angry wave of his hand, "don't worry about me. Besides, this is time for you to be happy. I'll bet they won't be locking you up when we get back." He got back to his feet, his fists clenched as he gazed out at his brother. "We should have a fête when we get back."

"A fête?"

"Yeah -- with some music and song, where we all get together, all of us the same age, and forget about all the crap we put up with." He relaxed her hands, and gazed down at her with warm eyes. "I guess you'll be our guest of honor."

"Oh . . . thanks!"

"Don't thank me yet -- we've got to pull those two apart so we can head back, and not freeze out here."

Melissa watched as he ran off, wondering if she had chosen the right brother.
Chapter 14

It was a struggle for her to make it back to the ship of the scientists. She had thought herself to be powerful, but opening the ribbon into the past, going above Iqui drained her to a point that she could barely breathe. She cursed herself for ignoring how it killed her mother, just so she could show off for Richard.

_A boy made me this stupid?_ she thought as she lay in a cramped litter, pulled by a couple of charaks and guided by one of the guards. _But he actually kissed me . . . Looking like this, as heavy as I am, he actually kissed me. I felt his heart next to mine, and for a few brief moments, it was just him and I. And I felt so light in space!_

It was the memory of his kiss that kept her going until they returned. Richard came beside her often during the journey, holding her hand, asking if she was alright. And as much as she loved that, and was beginning to love him, she felt sad at the friendship she lost with Daria.

Once back, she was taken to a quiet room with a small window, a plate of food, and a large bed. As much as she wanted to eat, sleep beckoned her like never before. And no matter her training or the voice inside her mind telling her to stay awake so she could become a better Archsussa, she fell instantly asleep.

It seemed like she was asleep for only a few moments, when shouting woke her up.

"Damned you, Richard!" she could hear from just outside the door. She could tell it was Daria, and slowly she crept out of bed and closer to her door. It sounded as if they had a suite not far from hers and they were arguing with the door open. "Why do you want to use her powers now? What happened to your commitment to science?"

"What happened to your love of the Archsussa?" he countered.

"I liked them fine, until you fell in love with one."

Melissa's heart fluttered, her spirit danced on the ether, kept aloft by the warm thought of him. She almost squealed with glee. _He really likes me_ , she thought. _A real man, not one whom I created, loves me_.

"So what if I like her? She can help us advance our scientific understanding in weeks rather than decades. What she has shown us already answers so many questions."

They argued back and forth, becoming more heated as Melissa sat back against the door. _All I have to do is go out and claim him_. She got up, and found a basin to wash her face. As she surfaced from the ablution, she was confronted by her reflection. Admittedly it was made harsh by the artificial light in her suite, but it still was truth. She had bags under her eyes, fat, doughy cheeks, and a jowl under her chin.

_I look nothing like Daria -- she is thin, and healthy, and beautiful_. They joy in her face disappeared in an instant, replaced by abject sadness. _I am so ugly! How any boy could like me, let alone kiss me . . . But he did kiss me, didn't he? And he held my hand on the way back, making me laugh._ She shook her head and pulled herself away from the mirror, out of its seductively depressing grip that threatened to consume her whole. _I'm too tired for this._

She lay back down, and fell instantly asleep. As she slept, her mind spun furiously over what she culled from Richard's mind. When first she reached out to him, she understood some basic concepts like what a computer was or how the images appeared on it. But his mind was filled with chemical formulas and mathematical equations, and it was too much to instantly absorb. But now that she slept, her mind processed that information, reconciling advanced theorems with basic knowledge. It was as if sussa enabled her to be schooled in math and science at a terrifically fast rate. When she woke some time later, it was with a vastly superior intellect that no Archsussa ever had before.

The next morning brought a summons from the governing council. Melissa in fact had no idea there was a governing council, and was surprised that the scientists were that organized. As Richard led her to the Council Hall, he explained that the ship they lived in was in fact the capital of a Daїra. Ten similar communities existed in a rough circle around this one, separated by wide mountains and snow, but linked by ancient underground tunnels through which they ferried people and supplies. He warned her that though Sliona may have expressed some semblance of friendship that she and the other councilors were merciless and pitiless, which is how their community was able to survive for so long.

"The only advantage you may have," he said, as they walked through the corridors, "is that I've spread word of your help, and it is traveling fast. Your discovery has answered questions that have lingered for generations, and nothing is more valuable to a scientist than answers."

As they stood in front of the council doors, she looked up into his deep violet eyes, hoping that he would hold her again.

"Thank you for all your support."

"It's the least I owe you," he said gently, "after all you've done."

She watched as he reached over and opened the door, her heart sagging as he refrained from touching her.

"Be strong, Melissa," he said as they walked in. "Be deferential, but show no fear."

Melissa stood not just in front of Sliona, but in front of fifteen wilāya of the Daїra who sat behind a long, weathered desk, wearing frowns. Behind her was a restless audience of over a hundred, and she was told a microphone relayed this conference to the other scientist-cities.

"Who do you think you are?" demanded one of the wilāya, a tall, broad-shouldered man who reminded her of Ghaja, one of her old instructors.

"How do we even think of harboring an Archsussa?" yelled a thin, bony old hag with glistening golden eyes. She leveled a long finger at Melissa. "Your people are responsible for all the death visited on the Levitating Cities. And while we frowned on how they lived, we sit aghast at the way they died!"

Murmurs of approval echoed through the hall. Melissa felt scared, but not terrified, as there was no device now that could mute her sussa. Richard sat behind her, with Daria next to him.

They were up arguing all night. I hate what I've done to her, but . . . to think, he's mine!

"She has provided considerable assistance to our scientific endeavors," ventured Richard, standing up. "Without her, we –"

"When your testimony is needed, it will be asked for," rebuked the same golden-eyed woman. "We appreciate your contributions, but please remain silent until asked to speak!"

Richard quietly sat down, and a part of Melissa sunk, wondering if she would have no defenders.

"So who are you, exactly?" asked the broad-shouldered wilāya.

"I am Melissa Drusciana, last survivor of the Drusciana Order. I am an Archsussa."

"No, you're not an Archsussa _yet_ ," sneered a young, blonde-haired woman seated next to Sliona. "Do you even know what it means to be an Archsussa?"

Melissa felt cornered. Se felt like this was the last place she should assert her knowledge and power, but she hated to be belittled by anyone.

"I . . . I think I do, that is, I'm learning what I can and can't do with my power."

She harrumphed. "When you learn what you should and shouldn't do with your power, then perhaps you will be an Archsussa. Of all people, of all those gifted with your talents, _you_ should know."

Melissa watched as the woman sat back, feeling something eerie had transpired. The wilāyas continued, seemingly oblivious to the exchange.

They went on for several hours, asking about her background, her motives for exploring the ancient ships, her reasons for trying to escape. Few broached the subject of her voyage back through time and into space, and Melissa thought it might play too much in her favor.

_I wish there was someone here to help me_ , she thought. _Sliona barely asks a question – I can see she supports me, but she does nothing to help me_.

"How do we know you're not an agent of the Nemesnik? You are his sister, after all."

"Toby – uh, the Nemesnik is my brother, but we disagree about how to live. That is why I ran from him, and why your people captured me." She couldn't help by cry. "I've told so many people that over and over and yet no one seems to want to believe me!"

"Hysterics will get you nowhere little girl," rebuked the golden-eyed wilāya. "Only facts, pure and simple! We are a community of scientists and educators; men and women of the logical mind. Your 'sussa' is almost a manifestation of violent, errant emotions, and we will have none of either here!"

"Agreed!" shouted most of the other wilāyas.

"This has gone on long enough. I recommend we banish this heretic from all our communities! She has no place among us."

"Agreed!" yelled one.

"Agreed!" yelled another.

"Exactly what brand of fools are you?" yelled a voice from the back of the room. Melissa whirled and found it was Vincent, who strutted down the aisle with a darkened brow.

"You have no leave to speak!" shouted the broad-shouldered wilāya, jumping from his seat.

"Your ignorance demands I speak. You would banish her; would you banish all she has revealed to us? Like it or not, this world is divided. Half follow our teachings; the principles of scientific enquiry, while the rest follow the path of the Archsussa. Would you kill all them off? Or would you try to build a bridge?"

"She is the heir apparent," continued Vincent, "the _rightful_ heir and she is voluntarily working with us. The second Richard turned off the suppression device she could have flown off, or leveled our entire compound. Instead she sits meekly before you, submitting herself to your judgment. Are you so bitter at the wrongs others have committed against you, that you would exact vengeance upon her, an innocent? There is a time for war, and a time for reconciliation. After so much devastation, so much pain, it doesn't take a fool to know what is right, right now!"

The audience erupted into spontaneous applause, and the council members sat back in their chairs, watching the mood of the people turn. Melissa saw a slight smile creep over Sliona's wrinkled lips, giving her some hope.

"Have you entered into evidence the great good she has done for us?" pressed Vincent, his eyes full of passionate fire. Melissa had never seen him so animated, so alive. "Do all our communities know of the mysteries she has solved? And make no mistake; she did it with sussa. Without sussa we would still be in the dark."

"We would have come to the solution; we would have found that ship!" scoffed one of the wilāyas.

"When?" demanded Vincent. "In a hundred years? Three hundred? A thousand? You of your generation may have the patience of a melting snowdune, to sit calmly and wait for the sun to do its work, but my generation is tired of waiting! Tired of hating. We want to move forward, and use every bit of technology to help us, whether it is of science or sussa. Stop thinking of sussa as some abomination, and think of it as another use of the mind. Have faith in our people that they won't try to turn their cities into imitations of the decadent Levitating Cities; have faith that they will use sussa to explore where we have never gone before, learn what would have taken us too long before!"

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause, and it was then Melissa noticed most of them were near her age. _Somehow, someone stacked the deck in my favor. Do I have Richard, or Vincent to thank?_

As the wilāyas conversed among themselves, Sliona rose to her feet. All in the room grew silent as she spoke.

"I, like most of you, hated the Archsussa, and in my heart have been determined to eradicate them from the face of Iqui. Melissa though, has changed my mind. She –"

As Sliona spoke, Melissa couldn't help but look back at Vincent, who stood proudly in the center aisle, his gaze unwavering on the wilāyas. She had thought him weak before, embittered by what Richard had done, but now she saw fire in his eyes. With his arms folded over his chest, he reminded her of how her father looked in his prime. Perhaps it was that memory that moved her gaze from him, and onto Richard.

"—so we may be scientists, but we cannot govern without pity. I vote that we allow Melissa to be a free citizen, a _protected_ citizen; a part of our community!"

The crowd again jumped to their feel in support of Melissa, chanting her name and cheering. The broad-shouldered wilāya banged his gavel ten times before quiet was once again restored.

"Against all our laws," he said slowly, "we make an exception; Melissa Drusciana is given safe harbor amongst us, and equal status!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, and Melissa couldn't help but cry. She turned to Vincent, who nodded back at her with a thin smile.

After the trial, she couldn't help it; she was still fatigued. But this time her hunger won, and she asked for food to be delivered to her room. Heaping plates of steaming food were delivered by men and women beaming with smiles. All of them thanked her, and Melissa couldn't help but cry, she felt so appreciated.

Everything looked so good, she didn't know where to start. Several plates of different kinds of meat beckoned to her, cradled with sprouts and boiled roots. But it was the sinful sugary smell of two towering cakes that called to her the most.

_I've gone through so much; I deserve it_.

She cut a big slice -- something her mother would never have let her done, and plunged in. She thought she had never tasted anything so utterly delicious in her life. And just as she put the second bite in her mouth, there was a knock at the door.

More food?

She opened the door, and saw the last person she expected to see.

"Daria?"

"What are you doing, eating?" she asked with a mischievous grin, pulling at her robe. "You need to come down with me – we're having a fête!"

"But I'm not dressed," pouted Melissa. "And I haven't eaten in days! Why don't you join me?"

"Okay."

Daria sat across from her and Melissa pushed aside her cake, loading a meager plate with meat and vegetables. Daria put a few sprouts and roots on her plate, and it made Melissa utterly depressed to see how happy she was with so little. Melissa tried to make her meager portion last, but she was too hungry.

"Is that really all you're gonna eat?"

"Well, yeah," answered Daria. "Sometimes I go a whole day without eating a thing, there's so much work to do around here."

Melissa sighed, debating what to do. "Well, I need to eat! I still feel weak after opening that ribbon."

Daria reached over and squeezed her hand. "Go ahead \-- I don't mind."

Melissa was about to pull over a platter, but couldn't. "Daria . . . I'm sorry . . . about Richard."

"Don't be," she snapped with a quick shake of her head and wipe of her eye. "Richard couldn't commit to me. I tried and tried, but he's exhausted me. Maybe you'll have better luck with him. I told you; I've tried everything to make him like me, to make him show some affection towards me. Maybe . . ."

"Maybe what?" asked Melissa.

"Maybe he wanted something dangerous, _someone_ dangerous. I mean, you're forbidden fruit," she said with a wide smile.

"Never been called that before," she muttered, taking another bite.

For almost an hour they sat and talked as Melissa finally got to feel full. Each told the other about their childhoods, and they were surprised at how much they had in common. Daria had a father that was lost in an avalanche, and a brother who lived in another community, ostracized by those he grew up with and banished by the council.

"So, now that you're full, come on and get ready! We have a fête to go to." She stood back, and examined Melissa from head to toe. "You do need some new clothes, but I don't think I have anything that fits you."

In an instant Melissa was reminded of how much weight she gained, and she slowly cut another slice of cake. "No, that's alright. I should just stay in."

Daria came in and sat down on the small cot. "You need to go – this is for you! Besides, there'll be so many cute boys there. I know Vincent will be there, and probably Richard."

"You sure you're alright with . . . us?"

"Yeah," said Daria with a quick wave of the hand, "don't worry about it."

Melissa sighed. "But what about my clothes? I can't go around wearing the same thing day after day."

"Aren't you an 'Archsussa'? Can't you just whip something up?"

Melissa grinned, as she had completely forgotten. "You're absolutely right. Let me try something. It shouldn't take too much energy."

Slowly, she focused her mind, and thought back to some of the parties she had seen when she was younger. Thousands of tendrils of sussa manifested from all along her limbs, enveloping her in a pinkish hue.

"Lissa," asked Daria quietly, "what would you do if you knew you had six months to live?"

"What do you mean?" asked Melissa, a little worried. "Is everything alright with you?"

"Yeah, yeah -- I'm fine. But I mean, if you knew that you would die in six months, would you fight to try to stop it, or would you just accept it, and let it be?"

Melissa paused from fabricating clothes, and said; "I would fight it! Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't anyone?"

"I don't know," said Daria with a shrug. She put her hands in her lap, and gazed dreamily at the ceiling. "There's so much about living, about all the trials and tribulations we go through. Sometimes I think being done with it all might be a good thing. I mean, it might be better to know exactly when it would happen, instead of not knowing."

"Yeah, but --"

A loud thump was heard on the door, then a boy's voice said; "When you comin', Daria?" Daria jumped up, and Melissa hid behind her bedroom door.

"In a minute, guys! Damn, just wait."

"It's gonna start without us – we'll meet you there!"

_"Fine_ ," spat Daria, "act like that."

"New boyfriend?" asked Melissa.

"Maybe, but he's too impatient – for everything. And he's so thin, he can almost fit inside my pants."

"Mmmm . . . I like thin boys."

Daria wrinkled her brow, but remained silent.

"I might be a little thick, but that doesn't mean I want a heavy boy!" cried Melissa.

They both giggled, and Melissa knew she had a friend she could depend on. Melissa though about asking her about the question she posed about dying, but didn't want to ruin the mood of the evening. Instead she finished weaving a new dress, and Daria cooed with approval.

"Wow – you look pretty! Come look in the mirror."

Melissa glanced quickly at herself in the mirror, spinning, then headed for the door. "Yeah, it looks good."

"Come on, Lissa – you barely looked at yourself! Look at the detail work along your leg."

"Yeah, I'm sure it turned out good."

"Why don't you want to see what you made?" asked Daria, puzzled.

Melissa fidgeted, wondering whether to answer honestly. "I . . . I don't like to look in the mirror. I've gained so much weight!" she said emphatically, taking a deep breath. "I know I wouldn't fit into any of my old clothes. I don't even know why Richard likes me."

"Well, you might think you're heavy, but I'm too tall. I'm even taller than Richard!" Daria came next to her, and in the mirror Melissa could see she towered over her by almost a foot. "And look at my skin," she said, running her hands over her pock-marked face, full of blackheads. "No matter what I do, no matter what kinds of food I eat or don't eat, they just won't go away."

Melissa grinned. "Let me do this for you?"

"You mean?"

"Just wait."

Melissa turned Daria to face her, and put her hands under her chin. Carefully she extended thin, wispy tendrils of sussa up from her palms, as if she was growing leaves of grass. They tenderly cradled Daria's face, making her giggle.

"It tickles!"

"I'm almost done."

After a few more minutes, Melissa dissipated the sussa, and turned Daria to the mirror.

"I . . . I can't believe it," said Daria, admiring her face. She put up her hands to touch her cheeks, but was afraid to touch them. Melissa helped her, pressing her hands onto her cheeks.

"Don't worry – it won't fade. You might get one or two later, but that's it."

"You know, you might be a little heavier than I, but you sure have filled out in your chest."

Melissa dared to look again, and her words were true; she actually had some cleavage. She pushed up her bra, and pulled her dress a little lower. She glanced over at Daria, who seemed positively flat in comparison.

"Now come on Lissa; the boys won't know what hit 'em!"

The path down was narrow and treacherous – the corridors were poorly heated, and water leaked from rusted pipes, leaving a thick coat of ice that threatened to detour one's journey to the infirmary. At first Melissa conjured several firespheres, but Daria shook her head.

"This is part of the fun! Sometimes sussa should just take a back seat to the real thing."

So Melissa indulged her, and slipped and slid down three levels, laughing all the way. They even caught up with Daria's friends, who had stopped to smoke some foul-smelling plant.

"Want some?" asked a pale-skinned, chunky red-haired boy with glowing tattoos on his cheeks.

"You know I don't do that stuff," scolded Daria.

"Wasn't asking _you_ ," he sneered. "Maybe the 'sussa wants some."

"My name is _Melissa_ and . . . maybe later," she said with a burst of giggles, and Daria pushed her on.

"Mmm . . . lovely Lissa the 'sussa," said the red-haired boy. "I'll see you at the fête!"

"Don't humor them," pressed Daria. "They keep on after you, until you take some."

"Why?"

"I dunno . . . Because it's their way of trying to control things. They want everyone to get on their stuff, so everyone will give up."

"Why didn't they go up to the Levitating Cities?"

Daria laughed. "'Cause they're too lazy."

Finally they entered a large cavern made of rock, which appeared to be under the ship. Melissa couldn't tell when they exited the metal beast, but it was colder and damper, with only a few lights strung along the cavern walls. A few dozen teens hung out, on the rocks or on small chairs they brought with them, gathered around a group of musicians playing what looked to be very old instruments. Daria motioned Melissa over to where her friends were sitting, and they joined them, listening quietly as the band finished an ornately beautiful song.

The audience responded with muted applause.

"How do you like it?" asked Daria, obviously excited. "It's so good to hear 'music' once in a while."

Melissa was unsure how to respond. She wanted to say how pathetically lame it was, but didn't want to hurt Daria's feelings.

"I don't know . . . you mean, there's no other music?"

"Well, up in the ship, there are a few recordings that can be heard on some speakers in the control room. But other than those, we have to make our own music."

Melissa sat forward, feeling mischievous. "Let me try something . . ."

Daria anxiously started in her chair. "What are you going to do, Lissa?"

"Let's liven things up a bit."

She extended her sussa into the ship's computer, searching through its files until she found some more active music ones, using a search parameter that segregated the music in terms of the potential age of the listener. For a few more minutes, she thought on what she wanted to do, then she got up and said;

"Attention everyone; those of you in the far corner come out and stand back! I'm gonna show you how we in the levitating cities party!"

The people scurried out, and Melissa transformed the rock into a large cone. She fed the music from the ship down through the cone, and the cavern was filled with a thick, loud bass beat.

"Oh wow!" squealed Daria. "I've heard this before, just never this loud!"

The others started to nod their heads and smile, getting off their feet. The musicians reluctantly put their instruments away, and after a short while, everyone stood in the center, reservedly bouncing back and forth.

"This is great!" shouted Daria's friends to Melissa.

Daria pulled Melissa out in the middle, and together they moved to the beat and the lyrics.

"Down, down, down, down, we fallin' now

Down, down, down, down, we lyin now

In the wide clouds, we feel the heat

Down the great valley, we feel the heat

Baby-child I got my hooks into you

Flash my sexy girly-body, into you

Nowhere to run nobody to save, you,

_All alone in my arms, my hooks into you_."

"Look!" yelled Daria, pointing to the entrance. "They finally got here."

Richard stood at the entrance, scanning the group, with Vincent next to him. Richard looked the same, still dressed in the tan uniform most of the adults wore, but Vincent was dressed in black, with thick spiky hair. At first Melissa giggled, but soon she kind of liked how it all looked on him.

"Over here!" she yelled, waving. "Richard! Vincent!"

Richard, still trying to look disinterested, pressed through the throng towards them.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," answered Melissa. "You look nice."

"Thanks."

"Well, you gonna dance, or just stand there looking sad?"

"Fine."

He twisted and turned next to Melissa, and while she wished he was more involved, her mind lingered on the kiss they shared, and hoped they could repeat it later on. But as she looked around, she realized what was missing.

"You ready for something?" she asked Richard, leaning in close.

"What? More sussa?"

"We call it the 'sussafloor!'"

Gradually, everyone rose into the air while they danced, supported by thousands of transparent tendrils of sussa. They all cheered. Those that danced harder, rose higher into the cavern. Much to Melissa's chagrin, she and Richard were stuck near the bottom, but it allowed her to see what everyone was doing.

Why won't he dance close to me? All I want to do is hold him, but I'm not going to grab him. Why can't he act like a man and hold me?

They danced around and around, everyone on different levels. Melissa felt heated, and though she could use sussa to cool herself down, she reveled in the sensation. She danced closer and closer to Richard, but to her chagrin, he kept his distance. Up above, several couples became entwined, dancing seductively.

"That looks nice," she said, pointing at them. "You ever try that?"

"No," he answered quickly, "I'm usually working. So . . . I thought tomorrow, after we do some research, maybe I'd take you down to the training field for nuria players. They have a good workout, and they're a great bunch of guys -- Vincent even knows a few of them."

"I don't know . . . I probably should be training to apply the concept I've learned."

"Yeah, well, you should also think about getting some exercise. I mean, people might think of it as cheating, when you use your sussa to do your daily chores. And you can't eat more than anyone else, no matter if you're special. It's probably about time you thought about . . . losing some of the weight you put on. I mean, what would happen if you lost your sussa? You'd be unprepared to take care of yourself."

Melissa sighed heavily. "Oh, just hold me Richard."

He gently pushed her away. "No, not now, not in front of all these people," he said, glancing around.

They danced a little more, with Melissa becoming depressed and sad. "Do you like my dress?" she asked weakly.

"Yeah, it's alright. I'll bet Daria would look really good in it. Maybe it's a little too revealing for you. What happened to that big sweater you used to wear? That seemed to cover you pretty well."

Melissa kept dancing, but her heart sunk like a rock in the ocean of her soul. And though a large part of her wanted to skulk off somewhere and cry, the power she felt using sussa commuted her misery into fury.

"Is this what you're all about?" she shouted, as the music stopped and slowly everyone sunk back to the floor. "You can accept me as a heretic, as an Archsussa, use my talents, but oh no, when I get close to you I'm too fat for you? You _stinking liar_!" she shouted, starting to cry. "You lied to everyone, but I can see past that, and I've only been truthful to you, and helped you, but you can't see past this," she said, gesturing to her stomach. "Well this is _me_ , Richard; as much as my sussa is me, as much as my hair is me, _this is me!_ And it's too bad you can't accept me for who I am, when I can accept you for who you are."

She ran out of the cavern, and back up along one of the passageways. Daria tried to follow her, but Melissa gestured her to leave her alone. On a rock she sat, crying.

How could I be so stupid? I'm so fat, no one wants to be with me. Why couldn't I be like I was before, thin, and small? Why do I have to be an Archsussa; why do I have to be fat?

"Sorry about him."

Melissa starts, and saw Vincent leaning against the wall nearby. She pulled her dress closer, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

_"Whatever_."

"No, really, I'm sorry," he said softly, sitting down next to her. "I don't know why all the girls like him, but they do, and that's what they get when the find out what's under that big brain of his."

"He's just a liar."

"Yeah," agreed Vincent with a slight smile. "You deserve better."

Melissa sighed, and wiped her eyes. "Maybe he'll change."

"Open your eyes!" he shouted. "All Richard cares about is _Richard_. He is all about his image and his standing in the community -- even over his own family. He's put me down so many times, just so he could look good." Vincent put a hand on her knee. "Even if you were thin or something, he would find something else wrong with you. Look at Daria! He's led her along for years now."

Melissa felt better. "Thanks. "

Vincent squeezed her knee. "You should be with someone who wants you, for you."

Suddenly Melissa looked up into Vincent's eyes, and saw only truth and sincerity. She suddenly felt not just warm, but hot, as the pit of her stomach tightened. His face came closer to hers, and in an instant she felt an animal attraction to him. Clumsily she threw her arms around him, and kissed him, and much to her surprise, he kissed her back.

"I was wondering if you'd let me do that," he said softly.

"Why do you like me?" She regretted asking the question as soon as she uttered it. "Never mind -- don't answer."

"No, I want to answer. You are so strong, Melissa, to stand up to my people, to help all of us when all we wanted to do was hurt you. Your whole world has been devastated, all your friends lost, and yet here you are, making music for us!"

"Oh!" she squealed, "that reminds me." She extended her sussa, and the music thumped back into existence, to the joyful squeals of those inside. She could hear them chant;

"Lissa! Lissa!"

She couldn't help but laugh, and that was when he kissed her again. Except this time it was deeper and fuller, filled with an intricate dance of their tongues. As they kissed, he wiped the tears from her face with his hands, and ran his hands through her hair. For the first time, she wanted to feel her hand on a man's chest, feel his heart thump against hers.

"Do you want to try something with me?" he asked cautiously.

"Anything."

"Are you sure?" he asked carefully.

Melissa nodded, her eyes locked in his. She felt warm inside; felt the thrill from the opportunity for danger. "Anything you want."

"I know Daria gave you a bad impression of glleli, but it really is sweet. Not only can it change how one person feels, but when shared, it makes two people seem as one." He stopped, and smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "Do you want to share this with me? Do you want to be one with me?"

"Yeah," she answered eagerly, "more than anything."

She felt stupid again, but couldn't help it. After Richard's rejection, Vincent acted the perfect gentleman, and she felt as if she was in a dream. He brought out a small packet of blue leaves from his pocket, along with a small knife.

"What's that for?"

"This is so our fluids can intermingle." He cut a small slit on his forearm, a few inches long, and put a small cluster of the tiny leaves on the opening. "Now hold out your forearm, and do like I did."

Melissa pulled up her sleeve, and extended her arm. In her mind, a dim memory surfaced of pain exactly where she was about to cut. Faintly, she could recall the Freilux exploiting just that same spot.

"Hurry up, Lissa! I'm gonna stop bleeding any second now."

"Oh . . . okay," she said, looking back up into his deep, warm eyes. She reached out to take the small knife, and as she did, Yllinae's voice screamed in her mind.

Never cut yourself! Never inflict bodily harm upon yourself! It is a fatal mistake!

Melissa knew it was wrong, but was desperate. Seeing all Daria's friends dancing close and being intimate with one another made her jealous, and she knew she might not ever get another opportunity like this.

_She was probably exaggerating things_ , thought Melissa, as she took Vincent's knife. _It's just a little cut -- how bad could it be?_

She pressed the blade against her skin, hesitating for a minute.

"Don't think about it, Melissa," said Vincent softly. "Just draw it quickly across, and you won't feel a thing."

She took a deep breath, and sliced across the skin, making a small cut, from which oozed a little blood.

"See, that wasn't so bad! Now let me put these leaves on you, and we'll press our openings together."

Melissa held up her arm, laughing at her own worries, as Vincent pressed his arm against hers.

"Now just relax Melissa, and let the glleli do its work."

She did, but began to feel extremely weak. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and she felt like she was falling over. She tried to grab onto something, but couldn't close her hands or make a fist. Her heart thumped loudly and heavily, so much that she was worried Vincent would hear it. The center of her body felt warm, and the sensation was utterly intoxicating. Backward and backwards she fell into an invisible void, as Vincent's face grew more and more sinister.

"What a stupid Archsussa you are," he hissed. Suddenly his eyes were of red fire, and his skin pulsed beneath his clothes. Through the shadows, Melissa could see his body change, his limbs looking more like slate, and two immense thick black wings spread out from behind his shoulders.

Is this . . . is this what an Archsussa really looks like?

"So soon after you did so much, after opening a temporal portal, you do these silly antics for these children? You have no reserves to fight me; nothing left to resist me!"

To Melissa, she existed in an eternity of pain, both physical and emotional. Not only was her body dying, but she had been betrayed; had lowered her defenses, and the first time she did, she suffered.

"The Freilux will be so happy to have you back."

"Why?" she screamed through a wall of tears. "I trusted you! I believed in you!"

"Your father made my father suffer, and I will revenge myself upon his daughter. Oh, the arrogance of the Archsussa knows no bounds!"

Melissa struggled to keep her consciousness afloat in the limitless void it was thrust into. "You sound just like your brother."

"I am nothing like him!" he yelled, "nothing at all!"

"And I am nothing like my father," she said weakly. "Where he only wanted to hurt, and to hoard power, I only want to heal, and make things right." She moaned in pain. "Don't do this, please . . ."

Chapter 15

Melissa felt she was conscious, but was genuinely scared to open her eyes. She lay somewhere, on something soft, but other than that she didn't know what happened to her.

Am I alive?

A sharp pang of hunger was her answer.

_Yup_.

She sat up and opened her eyes, and found she was in her room. Daria sat beside her, along with Richard and Vincent.

"You're awake!" cried Daria. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah . . . what happened?"

"When the music went out, I went looking for you," said Vincent. "I found you had collapsed, and had that cut on your arm."

Melissa stared intently at Vincent, trying to figure out what his game was. _Is he going to pretend like all that didn't happen? Is he really going to protect me, instead of turning me over to the Freilux?_

"Yeah," said Melissa slowly, "I tripped on something and fell down -- I must have cut my arm on some rock or metal."

"Well, as long as you're alright -- you gave everyone quite a scare."

"Sorry. I feel like such a fool! Was the whole party ruined?"

"No!" cried Daria, "That was the best time any of us ever had!"

Daria got up, and motioned Richard to do the same. "If you're up for it, come down and join us for lunch. They're making something special for you . . ."

Daria opened the door to leave, but Richard stood there, a woefully pathetic expression on his face that made Melissa want to laugh.

"I'm . . . sorry, Melissa, for what I said last night."

"Apologize all you want brother," snapped Vincent, getting to his feet, "your lies don't mean anything."

"Fuck you!"

Richard shoved Vincent hard, so he fell off the bed. Vincent got up, grabbed him, and slammed him against the wall. While Richard was older, Vincent was stronger, and Melissa knew now he harbored some terrible power underneath his sheep's clothing. "You fuck with me, I fuck you up!" he yelled.

"Vincent -- no," said Melissa, as she sat on the edge of the bed. "It's alright -- just leave him alone."

Vincent roughly let him go, and Richard pushed him away, but before Vincent could respond, Daria got between them.

"Come on, Richard, let's leave them alone."

Vincent slammed the door behind them once they had left. He still hadn't looked at Melissa, and even now, he leaned against the wall and centered his gaze on a piece of broken tile on the floor.

"Why did you let me go?"

He shrugged. "Dunno."

"Are you an Archsussa too?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. I feel like I'm something in-between human and Archsussa. What I do know, for certain, is that like you, I am idelfada."

"A creation of the Freilux?"

For the first time, he met her gaze and said; "yes."

"Of whom?" asked Melissa, worried yet interested. "You said my father hurt and killed your father?"

"I am a resurrection of his son. More accurately, I am a copy of that resurrection. The Freilux could only maintain his body for a few seconds, but in that time, he made an idelfada. And that idelfada is me."

He must have used the Centric Sphere! But who knew he possessed that skill, that power?

"So we're the same?"

"Yeah," said Vincent. "Maybe that's why I let you go. How's your arm?"

"Better." She peeled away the bandage, and saw a long, purple bruise. She tried to use sussa to heal herself, but it only thinned the bruise. "I can't heal fully."

"You never will. Didn't anyone tell you never to cut yourself? An Archsussa can live for a very long time, by healing and rejuvenating themselves. But they always have the option to die, as a self-inflicted wound cannot be fully healed. If ever you face the Freilux, it is a weakness he will exploit."

"I think he already has."

"What do you mean?" asked Vicnent.

"Nothing. Well . . . I felt this bruise a long time ago. It's as if my body knew it would be here!"

Vincent nodded. "I learned a long time ago that sussa enhances your intuition. You should never ignore your intuition."

Melissa stood and came close to Vincent. Unlike Richard, he didn't move away. She could feel his heat, and memories of his other form, made of black shale with massive wings, made him immensely dangerous and utterly irresistible to her.

"What kind of power do you have?"

"I . . . can do things you might not have tried yet," he said, running his hand along her forearm. "The Freilux schooled me well in the arts of sussa." He grasped her right hand, and pulled her forearm up to his lips. She tried to pull away, but he said; "if I wanted to hurt you, I would have finished things back then."

He slowly kissed where the bruise was, and she instantly felt weak. It was as if her very soul was slipping out, through that bruise, and into Vincent's lips.

"It is said Archsussa long ago practiced unique forms of lovemaking. Some of it involved physical pain, before pleasure."

She pulled him against her, and kissed along his forehead, running her hands through his thick hair.

"What about you . . . and me? What does your intuition tell you?"

He pushed her away. "What am I doing? I can't be with the daughter of Darian! I might have spared you, but that's it!"

He rushed out the door, slamming it behind him, and Melissa fell back on the bed, crying.

When she finally managed to make it down to the dining hall, after washing up and a change of clothes, she was greeted by loud cheering. A veritable banquet was set out for her, and she was grateful for it. Even the adults on the periphery smiled at her, with many waving as she glanced at them.

What have I become to them?

It was then she saw Richard, sitting with a group of adult scientists. He met her gaze, and managed a limp wave.

_Why can't I keep my eyes off him? He so stupid, so arrogant, so mean, but I just can't look away. I hate him! Why can't he just like me for who I am? I know I could change him. I know my sussa could change him, but I don't want him that way. I don't want him to be like . . . Asil_.

It was the first time in a long while she thought of her creation. It was as if she was hit with a hammer, as the memories of her time with Asil and the hlenna came flooding back. She suddenly felt that she had shirked an immense responsibility.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Daria, who sat down next to her. Melissa turned to look at her, and thought;

These people have learned a great deal over a number of years; what will my effect be to them? Will they stop learning, when I can divine things in an instant? Will they stop making their machines, when I can protect them or transport them without strain?

"I don't know."

"Vincent?"

Melissa moaned. "Why are boys so damned difficult?"

"Because they're boys!" cried Daria.

They both laughed, and Daria gave her a long, tight hug.

"Besides, what fun would it be if things were easy?" asked Daria. "Sometimes I think I'd like to be with Richard, but other times I see the other boys at school, and . . . well . . ."

"I miss school. Never thought I'd say that."

"Oh yeah, I never think about all you must have left behind. Did you ever try to find out if your friends survived?"

"That would mean going back to Imathrin, and the Freilux. I guess that's another reason to fight; so I can see my friends again."

"Well, you can always got o school with us!" cried Daria, getting excited. "Classes start up again in a week. I mean, now that you're a citizen, and one of us, why not do as we do? You can always make new friends, and --"

Melissa took a deep breath, and said; "Daria, there is something you still don't know about me; like there was something you didn't know about Richard." Daria set down her fork, and Melissa felt her intense gaze. "I . . . I'm not real."

Daria looked at her quizzically.

"I . . . I am a creation of another. For most of my life, I thought I was Melissa. But after the fall of the Levitating Cities, after I ran from the Freilux and set out on my own, I learned that I am merely a copy of another. I am an echo, Daria, and when Richard or anyone else finds out, no matter what scientific secrets I could help uncover, no one will ever want to be with me. Your people could accept an Archsussa, but I doubt they could accept an idelfada; a creation of another."

She could see a small degree of relief spread over Daria's face, and it only made her feel sick.

"Thank you for telling me. Why did you? You could keep it a secret, and no one would ever know."

"Richard and Sliona were right all along," explained Melissa, "about the temptation of the Archsussa. Look at what I've done! You showed me your fête, and I changed it to what I like, with a blink of the eye. While I see happiness on everyone's face, I also see expectation; what will I do next, and whom will I do it for? Your people's uniqueness would dissolve in less than a month on a Levitating City, and if I stayed this might as well become one. All your individuality would be lost, and with it all your desire to learn more and better yourselves. I need to leave; I have worn out my welcome."

Daria put her hand gently on Melissa's. "Don't go. I'm sorry about what happened with Richard, but don't make that the reason you leave. I really do like having you as a friend, and perhaps you give us too little credit; we have lived this long in isolation, perhaps we will adapt to you and you to us, and we can live in some kind of balance."

"No," replied Melissa, her mind now firmly decided. "Thank you, but no. I am still so greedy. I wouldn't survive as your Archsussa; the power I wield would be my undoing. I must go back, to my home, back to my brother, back to face the Freilux. I feel like I just got a warning, about how powerful and insidious the Freilux is."

"Lissa . . . this scares you, doesn't it?" asked Daria, concerned. "After all you have done, facing us, taking Richard back through time, standing up to the Overmen you described, you're still anxious?"

Melissa finally broke down, letting loose the floodgates of tears. "You just don't know, Daria. I am scared at every turn; I feel my death or dishonor stalks me, and with one misstep it will claim me. I have struggled against the Freilux, struggled to learn after my mother died, struggled to escape from you when I thought you would dissect me, and struggled to get back my ability to use sussa." She took a deep breath. "I have survived, but fear walks with me, it covers me like a blanket when I sleep and like a bitter vapor while awake."

Daria held her hand and said; "in life, it is not enough to merely survive; one must thrive, and triumph. Perhaps that is why I will stand by Richard's side, no matter what he has done. He may have cheated, but he also hungers for a better life, strives to conquer what is thrown against him. You must do the same, Archsussa. Conquer what stands before you, no matter how you must do it, no matter the cost. It will be better than if you merely endured it, and accepted the unbearable pressure of living."

"Sometimes I think you might yield to that pressure," whispered Melissa.

The smile vanished from Daria's face, and she propped her elbows on the table and hung her head in-between, her long hair covering her face. "I just get sad sometimes. It can be either really boring here, or really painful. It's always cold, there is always snow, and Richard is always distant." Melissa saw a few drops of fluid fall from Daria's face. "I just get _tired_. I mean, I love my mother and father, but they're so distant too. Before you came, I felt all alone."

Melissa held her hand. "Before I met you, I _was_ all alone."

Daria abruptly flung back her head, wiped off the tears, and plastered on a big smile. "But you're _going_ , now, and I have to be happy for you. I have to hope you'll win, and come back, so we can be friends again. But . . . what if you win? Will you live on Imathrin again?"

"I don't know. Life is very good up there, but I like being here now. Would you come up with me, and live up there?"

"My parents would probably hate me if I did." Daria slapped her hand on the table. "Listen, _whatever_. Don't worry about me -- you have enough to worry about. Just . . . I hope you come back."

Melissa got up from the table. "I will; I promise."

"Good," said Daria, with a gentle nod.
Part IV

Chapter 16

Melissa took her leave quickly from the scientists, bringing an impassioned plea from Sliona to stay. She brought Melissa to an impromptu meeting with some of the wilāyas. At it, each begged to hear why she was leaving, and when Melissa expressed her concerns about the effect her power would have on their people, Sliona shed a tear.

"You truly are something different," she said, giving Melissa a long hug. "You are going now to fight the Freilux?"

"Yes. I must stand by my brother, and fight for all the people the Freilux has made suffer."

Sliona took her aside. "Can I be honest with you? I may despise how our planet is ruled by the Archsussa, but you don't have the people's hearts in this fight. Your father is widely perceived to have been a tyrant who refused to spread power, and as a result left your cities unprepared for the Second Apocalypse. The Freilux has rescued all the refugees from across the ovoid, and is working tirelessly to restore the fallen cities. You may hate to hear this, but people won't cheer if you are victorious."

"Will you?"

Sliona clasped Melissa's hands. "For my part, and that of my people, we will. No one has extended such a hand of friendship to us before, and in light of what we put you through, we will never forget you."

"Then let me do this one thing for you."

Sliona was about to speak, when Melissa extended tendrils of sussa around her body. Sliona smiled, and closed her eye, as she was lifted into the air. The other wilāyas drew near, and when Melissa finished, they gasped with surprise.

Sliona rubbed her eyes, and opened them both. "I can see!" She extended her arms and stretched her legs. "I haven't felt this goods in decades, child!"

For the first time, Melissa saw how beautiful she was. She stood tall and proud, with muscled limbs and fiery red hair. Her gaze was one of command, and she knew she could inspire armies with her words.

"Thank you for taking my gift. I must leave, now."

Sliona grasped her hand. "You may not believe it, but we have made much progress. I have heard of Richard's confession, but understand, he is a gifted child. This ship you stand in may look broken and beaten, but if you wish it, it can sail once more, to support your cause."

"I could never ask that," said Melissa. "This isn't your fight; it's mine. I'm just glad to know there's somewhere I could come to, and be accepted."

"It is because you could never ask it, that it will be done. You will always be welcome here."

With that, Melissa took to the skies, heading back to her mother's home. And as she looked back, from deep within the clouds, she could see a dark presence hovering above the ship behind her, and she knew Vincent was watching.

The small levitating platform that was her mother's home hung low, only a few dozen meters off the ground. The windows were dark, and no smoke issued from the chimney.

_Are they still there?_ she wondered, growing anxious as she flew closer. _Could something have happened to them? Why didn't it go to Imathrin?_

She landed on the entranceway, and pushed open the door.

"Hello?" The passageways were empty, with only beams of sunlight straying within. She crept cautiously through the living room, keeping a tight ball of sussa lightly conjured in her hands.

"Asil? Asil -- are you here?"

She turned to look into the kitchen, and found the first body.

"Oh my!" The sussa disappeared from her hands, and she rushed to kneel beside one of the hlenna. It lay face down next to the stove, curled against it as if huddled for warmth. She cried uncontrollably, her body wracked with heaving sobs. "How did you die? I left enough food -- I charged the batteries with my sussa. Where did it all go?"

"We were fine, for a while," said a voice behind her that she knew to be Asil's. She couldn't turn to face him -- she remained kneeling by the hlenna. "We had warmth, and food. But then one day, it grew dark. The platform shook, and the firespheres dimmed."

"How long ago?"

"About two months."

"Two months . . . two months . . . wait! That was when I was imprisoned, and used Toby's network to summon sussa. Could I have drawn it from this battery?"

"Does it matter?" said Asil, coming to stand over her. "Only two hlenna are still alive -- barely."

With a flick of her wrist, firespheres ignited throughout the platform, which itself rose speedily into the air. With another motion of her hand, the bodies of the fallen hlenna were gathered and placed in the small room where her mother lay. Finally, with her sussa she reached out and pulled roots and tubers from the ground below, cooked them, and placed steaming bowls of it on a small table. The hlenna came running in.

"Melissa -- is it really you?!" they cried with glee. "Oh Melissa -- we're so glad you're back!"

They rushed past the food and clung to her for dear life, squeezing her and laughing. Melissa couldn't help but laugh, and finally managed to look Asil in his eyes, who distinctly wasn't laughing. He knelt where the dead hlenna had lay, and reached out his hand, as if he could still touch them.

"It's a shame not everything can be fixed with a flick of the wrist."
Chapter 17

"Are you ashamed of me?" asked Asil.

He asked that question after they had all eaten, and the hlenna had shared stories of their long, cold wait. Melissa returned the favor, sharing with them her journey, leaving nothing out.

Melissa turned away, reluctant to answer. "What do you mean?"

"Are you ashamed of the fact that I was made by you? Do you look on me as less than a person?"

She sat down. "I think of myself as less than a person. What does that make you?"

He sat next to her.

"Why was I created, Asil -- why?"

"Do you really need to know?"

"You did -- it was one of the first questions to come out of your mouth."

She watched as he leaned back, and knew he was perturbed. She was amazed at how well she could read him.

"Perhaps you were made to keep someone company," he suggested.

"Not many Archsussa can make an idelfada, much less one that has a full range of emotions and is capable of learning. I only know of one that has been able to accomplish that feat, and I truly hope I wasn't made by the Freilux."

"Almost every living being asks why they were created, and what their purpose is in the world."

Melissa shook her head. "Except my creator might be walking around somewhere as we speak."

"Is it that you're afraid of what you might have been created for, or who might have created you?"

Melissa nodded, acknowledging doubts and anxieties that had been welling within her ever since Vincent revealed who and what he was. _What if the Freilux created me to be his little pet, and I got out of hand?_ She sighed. "Do you know what I want? Do you want to know what I _really_ want? I want to go home. I want to go to a place that I know instinctively and truly is mine, and find unique comfort and solace. I was created, formed from the shape of another with the memories of another. And now that I have become someone different, someone unique, I find that I have no root. I exist nowhere."

"But you live here," explained Asil. "And isn't this your home?"

"I might _live_ here," she said, "but that doesn't mean that I feel safe here. I can't describe it, Asil; it's a feeling down in the core of me, a yearning for this one, perfect, safe place. If I were born then I probably would wish for the home of my childhood. But I wasn't. I was created out of the ether, and I feel I will roam for the rest of my days, unable to rest, unable to make a nest and move forward with my life."

"I . . . I couldn't begin to answer you."

"I know, and it would be unfair to think you could. Right now, I just need to rest."

Asil's expression perked up. "Are you sleeping now?"

Melissa sighed, realizing it for the first time herself. "I . . . I can't become like Toby. I don't know if I'll lose my knowledge, my power, but never again can I treat you the way I did, or allow myself to follow the path I almost did with the scientists. I need balance, and sleep is the only way to achieve it."

He came to her, and kissed her on her forehead, and she thought it the tenderest thing anyone had ever done to her. While Vincent had shown strength, and Richard intelligence, Asil was by far the most compassionate man she had known. "Then have a pleasant rest; I will keep the hlenna quiet."

She lay down and slept for several days, entering into a lush dreamland she had never before seen. On a wide landscape of dunes, made of a hot, dusty material, she staggered under a burning sun. Never before had she felt so hot, so dehydrated. The world seemed utterly alien to her, yet familiar. In the distance mountains of metal rose and fell, as if a hundred Imathrins were joined together.

Her attention was drawn to the surface around her, which was now covered with books, Thick books, thin books, with old, dusty covers and ornately written titles all clamored for her attention by the thousands, opening and closing their covers as if they were animals begging to be fed. Many she recognized as books she read to learn of sussa, and she wondered why they were behaving so. They screeched loudly, and it became like a static that erased lines learned from her mind.

I must leave -- I understand why Archsussa sleep so little! But then what's the answer? I can't go on like this -- I need balance, clarity, yet I also need the power of sussa.

She sat down in the middle of a wide tract of arid land, hard with visible cracks through the surface. The books flapped and stirred up billowing dust clouds, obscuring their titles and blotting out the words.

_I am not afraid any longer. I will not run for you, or anyone else._ She wanted to hit the books, beat them into submission. Suddenly, a voice could be heard over the terrible din of the books.

_"There is a time to fight, and a time to heal_."

"Who are you?" asked Melissa. "Show yourself!"

_"There is a time to fight, a time to heal. A time to listen and a time to act. The secret of life is knowing when those times begin, and when they end_."

"Who are you?" she asked softly. "Please."

_"I am he who has lost more than any other; he who is almost beyond redemption. You will see me many times though the sight will give you no pleasure. One day, near the end of all your days, you may see me yet again. And it will be a time of great joy, and unending sadness_."

Melissa knelt in the sand, her vision blurred by the dust storm generated by the books. _How can I fight the wisdom I have learned? Is there anything more futile?_ She sat back on the heels of her feet, and lowered her head. Often as a child she had seen her mother practice this form of exercise/relaxation, and it always seemed to center her mind. Melissa echoed those movements, pressing her hands together, then opening them as if they were petals of a flower waiting to be nourished.

She did this several times, chanting a sacred word her mother taught her. After a time, the beating subsided, the screeching abated. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw the myriad of books lying on the ground, slowly opening and closing their covers as if breathing. She got the impression they were tired, and needed to be fed. Instinctually, she walked over to one, and opened her mouth over it. The book pulsed back to life, the words etched on its pages glowing with an iridescent blue hue. She did the same to the others, reviving the books, and when she finished, she found she had an even greater understanding of what she had read. For a moment, the entirety of creation yawned before her, and she saw her relation to it. But it was fleeting, and vanished, leaving her in a black void.

A light ignited in the distance, and she ran towards it. Pulses of light dispelled the darkness of the void, and as she drew near their source, she understood. She stood above the surface of Iqui, watching as Toby led his army into battle with the Freilux. They fought in the skies surrounding Imathrin, trading great plumes of white fire. Six Archsussa fought alongside Toby, and for a time it seemed as though he would prevail. But the Freilux, now thin and strong, surged forward, with one hooded Archsussa whose body shifted in the light like Vincent's. His power was incredible, and with one blow that dark Archsussa shattered the skulls of three of Toby's Archsussa. They exploded in great fireballs, and Toby's forces stumbled in their advance. As the Freilux unleashed a hoard of Igra, Toby turned to face Melissa directly.

"Help me, dear Lissa . . . help me!"

She bolted awake at his plea, knowing he was just now uttering those words.

_No matter what he has done, what he would do, he is still my brother, and I have lost too much of my family already_.

She threw on her clothes and bolted to the door. As she was about to manifest a ribbon, she remembered the tan book. While she had read every other book from cover to cover, she couldn't seem to decipher the language of the tan book. It was deceptively thin and small, and something told her the words written held some unimaginable power.

I must take this with me -- for some reason, I think I might need it.

"Where are you going?!" shouted Asil, who stood in the living room clad in a blue robe. "How can you leave in the middle of the night like this?"

"The time has come. My brother calls for me -- even now, he fights the Freilux, and is losing."

"And what does it matter?" he asked. "He isn't your true brother."

"You're not truly a man, yet I love you just the same."

A heavy silence hung between them, as she finally had spoken what was never dared mentioned.

"You . . . love me?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I do."

"Then why won't you let me stand with you?"

Melissa sighed. "Because . . ."

"Because I'm not an Archsussa? And yet you'll call on the scientists to help you, won't you?"

"Yes," admitted Melissa. "We could use all the help we can get."

Asil came close, and held her hands. "Then find a way that I might help you. You say you love me? Then I tell you I wouldn't want to live if you perished."

Melissa began to weep, and Asil wiped her eyes.

"I have had a long time to think about you," said Asil. "You mentioned earlier that you wish you had a home? Well this is mine -- it is all I've ever known, and you're all I've ever known. I'm sure I could live on a levitating city and none would know who or what I was, but I know it wouldn't be home to me. This is my home, and you are my Lissa."

She kissed him on the cheek. "And you are my Asil. I think I know a way you can join me in battle. We will leave in an hour -- prepare the hlenna."
Chapter 18

A great thick cloud of white enveloped the levitating city of Imathrin, as the heavy snowfall turned to mist from the intense exchange of sussa. The armies of the Freilux and the Nemesnik fought on a wasteland for a battlefield; for a ten-square span everything was razed, burned or broken to its base elements and covered with a slick coat of flesh and blood.

Melissa hovered high above in her small platform, scrutinizing what lay below. It was a grizzly scene, as hoards of Igra swarmed over what remained of Toby's army. She could see the Freilux had Toby and his Archsussa pinned down, surrounded by a thick dampening field. Never before had she seen Toby's face so wrinkled and devoid of hope, nor the Freilux looking so healthy.

_Am I really ready for this? There are so many there, and I am . . . just one_.

She had sent a message to Sliona about the attack, and received a reply that she would receive help. But it was a short message with little content, and Melissa worried about Richard trying to get that old ship to fly once more.

"Are you ready, Asil?"

Asil stood at a small command console near the front door. The house no longer had walls of wood and stone, rather they now appeared as great circuit panels. The buzzing of current could be heard, and the air was filled with the smell of metal and ash. Melissa had charged the main battery below to almost overflow, and every room pulsed with a bluish brilliance.

"I'm ready. You look . . . utterly beautiful."

"I still feel so fat."

Asil came from behind the console, and embraced her. "No, you are beautiful. You have come through so much, to stand by your brother in his time of need. It would have been so easy to forget about him, and us, and remain with the scientists. But here you are, and I am happy."

She went over to the open door and clenched her fist, feeling the power surge within, her eyes glowing fire-red. "I have waited for this moment for so long. Today, I will avenge my mother, and my father."

"Just be careful, my Lissa. These people not only have power, but cunning and guile. They have orchestrated something over these long years -- I can feel it."

She turned once again to face the battlefield. "No matter what it is, I have friends to support me, and guide me through my tough times." She faced him, and ran her hand along his cheek. "Isn't that true?"

Asil nodded shedding a few tears. "Yes it is, my love."

"Then let us fight!"

In an instant she leapt from her platform, and descended quickly through the clouds. A few soldiers below glanced up, and when they did, she focused her energy into a percussive blast directed at the Freilux. The impact knocked him to the ground and he lay there, motionless.

_I . . . I killed him?_ she wondered, hovering in the air. _I couldn't have – what have I done?_

_"Melissa?_ " asked Toby, mentally, " _Is that you_?"

_"Toby! What . . . what should I do? I've killed \--_."

_"You couldn't have even hurt him, Lissa! He's playing with you!_ "

The Freilux laughed, and sat up. "He's right, my dear Lissa. Oh, I can tell you've been studying. But you still have no conception of what an Archsussa really is. Show her, my Strumbrion!"

From behind him came a tall thin figure draped in a long, silvery robe. Melissa cringed with fear, as she could feel the being's power.

"This is my idelfada, Lissa; my _Strumbrion_!" shouted the Freilux proudly. "Across the ovoid, he has left a trail of fire and death as he crushed my enemies. He is irresistible, and I pray you surrender before you learn that fact firsthand."

"Well, this is _my_ idelfada," said Melissa, gesturing to her descending platform, "and he may not have a pretentious name like yours, but he ignites a fire within me. Set Toby free, Asil!"

The small platform descended quickly, glowing like a sun. Plasma swirled around the structure, and from its surface erupted a thick column of sussa. It detonated just above the battlefield, causing a massive quake that knocked many down to the ground. The Strumbrion, unaffected, made several motions with its hands, and a large portal opened underneath Melissa.

What are you planning?

In an instant, the portal opened into the sun itself, and the intense heat from the surface of the sun could be felt. The concrete under her cracked and buckled -- incinerating from the intense heat. Melissa struggled against the extreme heat and radiation, erecting a thick shield to counter the effects so she could still function. The Strumbrion then opened a portal above her of gravitationally intense blackness, and Melissa now struggled against the heat and a whirlpool of gravity.

He has more experience than I – how can I possibly win? I thought I was so strong, but . . . wait, I have learned science!

Melissa concentrated, and bent the fabric of space-time around her, so the portals became interconnected, the whirlpool feeding off the sun's energy. Now out of danger, she turned her power to the Strumbrion.

I can't give up now . . . I just can't!

She brought her hands back, and quickly brought them together in front of her. As she did, the atmosphere echoed her motions, and within the air rocks coalesced. The Strumbrion now struggled against a mighty gale-force wind that rained rock and stone. As Melissa intensified the assault he succumbed, collapsing to the ground.

She could see Asil firing more eruptions at those holding Toby and his Archsussa, and in a few moments, Toby broke free and ran through the wasteland.

Yes!

"Not so fast, dear friend," said the Freilux. Melissa watched as a spectral web ensnared Toby, dragging him first down to the ground, then back to the Freilux's side.

"Let him go!" screamed Melissa. "Face me!"

"Are you really ready for me?" wryly asked the Freilux. "Why don't you finish playing with my toys? Oh wait, you've only met one of them . . ."

Out of the clouds descended two more Strumbrion, their cloaks billowing like silver fire. Sussa whirled like wildfire around their fists, and in an instant they landed next to their fallen comrade. They helped him up, and now they stood tall, radiating intense power.

Now, the true test begins.

They each hurled mighty bolts of power against her, which she deflected with relative ease. In turn, she remembered some scientific principles, and applied them against her enemies. She manifested a glowing sphere that rotated with terrible speed. It soon created its own gravity, and helplessly the three figures plunged towards it. As they drew near each other, Melissa hurled her own bolt of power to detonate the sphere. The Strumbrion were cast down many hundreds of meters from Imathrin, unable to move.

_They won't be so quick to attack me again_ , she thought. _They realize I know what I'm doing. Their next attack will be --_

Before she could finish her thought, hundreds of igra materialized around her, one on top of another. They were a squirming, roaring mass of teeth and flesh, and they all sought to rip her apart. Melissa felt a thick childhood fear grip her, and no matter how many she threw off with sussa, three more materialized in their place.

"Do you like my pets?" jovially asked the Freilux. "They have grown bored with their current feast, so I give them to you!"

They began to sink their teeth into her, and she felt real pain. Though she could heal herself quickly with sussa, it was a terrible drain on her strength to fend them off and keep healing herself. She was getting frantic, her mind racing on what she could do but coming up with no answers.

_What was I thinking? He's been studying sussa all his life -- how can I beat him?_ Through the mass of the igra, she could see her small platform firing blast after blast at the Strumbrion, trying to break them. _Asil doesn't give up . . . and neither should I._

Suddenly a solution came to her. She reached out thousands of tendrils of sussa, wrapping them around the beasts, cocooning them in her own energy. Their roars dulled and faded, as their bodies were transmuted by her will.

Now, let's see!

The cocoons dissolved, revealing thousands upon thousands of small blue amoebic creatures. They rained through the air, almost like petals of some magnificent flower, falling on the Strumbrion. They didn't know what to do, as they appeared harmless.

"Science and sussa, my friends," roared Melissa, "it can be a terrible combination!"

Melissa opened the clouds and diverted a typhoon of snow. The amoebic petals absorbed the water and began to grow in size, pulsing and suckling on the Strumbrion. No matter how fast they brushed one off, another would grow in size and siphon off their energy.

She couldn't help but laugh. "What terrible Archsussa you are! One must learn more than what is in the sacred texts!"

The Strumbrion screamed, opened a ribbon, and vanished within.

Melissa turned to the Freilux. "Your pets have abandoned you -- you should surrender!"

The Freilux nodded with approval. "You have certainly learned quickly and thoroughly, dear Lissa. Perhaps what you don't know is one can open a ribbon onto the surface of time itself. Every minute you waste, preening before me, is a year in which they develop their skills. When next they appear," he said, as the hooded figures re-entered the sky, "they will be exponentially more powerful and deadly."

Melissa turned to look as they reappeared, and sure enough, their aspect was different. They seemed steeped in knowledge in power, as if they were elder Archsussa.

_I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut_.

Before she could blink, the Strumbrion hurled bolts of sussa at her, one after another. While she could deflect them or absorb their energy, she could feel her strength beginning to wane. She tried to fire back, tried to muster the strength to counter their assault, but she was overwhelmed.

I need to turn the tables, and quickly.

She raised her arms, and manipulated tendrils of sussa to divert the snowstorms around Imathrin into a massive funnel. Higher and higher she commanded it rise into the sky, until its terminus lay just above the Strumbrion.

Melissa twisted her hands, and the spinning vortex of snow turned from white to a cloudy grey, issuing great plumes of steam. She brought her arms down violently, and the whirlpool emptied itself on idelfada, inundating them with deca-liters of boiling water.

They screamed and roared with pain, falling back through the sky. Rather than wait, she pressed her advantage, hurling bolts of power. Two succumbed to the onslaught, but the other winked out of existence.

_Damn! When he gets back, he'll be even stronger than I_. " _How can they do this, Toby? Why did you never teach me this?_ "

_"Because it's wrong, Lissa. When you do as they have, and wink out of existence, the time spent in the void will not only make you stronger but it will drive you insane. Think about how we suffer with lack of sleep? They spend all that time utterly alone. The more times one does that, the farther from their humanity they go_."

She turned to the Freilux. " _Then I must break him now, before they return_."

Like lightning she advanced on the Freilux, and he threw up a spectral shield. She threw all her strength against it, hitting it over and over with fists enhanced with sussa, trying to force her way through. She got to within a few meters of the Freilux, only to find him standing relaxed and confident.

"Look behind you."

She whirled around, to find the two Strumbrion had recovered and were speeding towards her. They flanked her, and she could feel some kind of tension linking them together.

_Whatever this is, it won't be easy_.

Suddenly, Asil's platform descended out of the sky, firing energy bolts at the Strumbrion.

Melissa cringed. "No, Asil -- no!"

One of the Strumbrion fired a sickly plume of violet smoke, and it enveloped the house, smothering the fire that swirled around it. The platform turned dark, devoid of sussa, and plunged out of the sky. Melissa tried to reach out to it, to cushion its fall, but the Strumbrion exerted a dampening field. It crashed hard on the ground, and Melissa screamed.

"Asil!"

As she blinked, the Strumbrion disappeared, only to reappear directly around her. They grabbed onto her, and she could feel their power. Their hands seemed to go down deep into her flesh, siphoning off her strength. Melissa tried to shake them off, sending off wave after wave of explosive energy, but they were indefatigable in their resolve.

"Soon it'll be over, dear one," said the Freilux. "Just relax, and accept your fate."

The two Strumbrion twisted her back and forth, and she felt her body would be torn asunder. Somehow she managed the strength to entangle one of the Strumbrion in sussa and toss him down through the clouds to the ground. But the other grabbed her arm where the unhealed wound was.

"What have you done to yourself?" jeered the Freilux. "Let my personal physician take a look."

The Strumbrion pressed its finger into the wound, and it grew inside and opened again, revealing her flesh. She screamed in pain, crying and wailing trying to shake the creature off but it was stronger and in control. She could feel her very soul fracturing, and though Toby screamed in her head to press on, she felt a final blackness begin to creep upon her sight.

"Lissa!"

She knew whose voice it was in an instant.

"Vincent! Help me!"

A thunderous explosion sent a shockwave through the battlefield, as the ship of the scientists materialized up above. Beside it flew Vincent, and he appeared as an immense black bird with wings of slate.

"Let her go!"

A bolt was fired from the ship, one unlike anything seen before. It flew with the speed of sussa, but it was a solid projectile, fired with the forces of magnetism. Melissa couldn't see it fire, but heard the sound of the explosion, and saw a long, metal rod suddenly appear within the Strumbrion. It fell back, losing its grip on her, down through the clouds.

Melissa could hold on no longer. She fell down to Imathrin, writing in pain. Vincent swooped down and landed next to her, as the ship continued to fire on the Freilux's forces.

"Are you alright?"

"No!" she cried. "It hurts, Vincent, it hurts! And I can't heal myself. I can't lose now; I won't let my brother die! And my Asil is gone -- it can't be for nothing."

"It won't be." He held his hand over her wound, and it closed, leaving a long black and blue blemish. "This will hold for now. Rest -- you should recover your strength in a few minutes."

Melissa clung to him with all her strength. "Thank you for coming."

Vincent ran his hand along her cheek, and bent his head down to kiss her, long and hard. "I would never desert . . . my love."

Melissa almost collapsed with joy to hear his words.

"Oh my, how lovely!" roared the Freilux. "The prodigal son has returned and bit the hand that created him. Well, how can I blame you? Lissa is a lovely little thing."

"You are done, Freilux!" yelled Vincent with great fury as he got to his feet. He clenched his fists and steam issued from his form, as heat swirled like a vortex about him. Melissa had never seen an Archsussa so focused on violence and war. _He must be something different, like I am something different_. "Your minions are broken, and my allies surge! Surrender, and I will let you live."

"Let _me_ live?" scoffed the Freilux. "I think you need to get your eyes checked by your scientists."

It was then Melissa and Vincent could feel it coming. The last Strumbrion was returning from the void.

But . . . it is so powerful!

"Get away Melissa," shouted Toby, "run!"

"I can't run Toby, I just can't -- I'm finished running. I . . . I know what I am. I am idelfada."

"But you don't know who that is."

The Strumbrion pulsed back into existence, its form radiating intense energy. All across the battlefield, both soldiers of Toby and the Freilux paused to witness its arrival, as all were blinded by its dark light. For a few moments the air was still, devoid of current and moisture, as it seemed the forces of nature stood breathless. And under its undulating, silvery cloak, a visage gleamed darkly, as if a jewel made of jade or ebony and through its facets peered out a deathly yellow light.

"Reveal yourself to her, my pet," said the Freilux. "Show her whom she fights!"

The idelfada slowly pulled back his hood, and Melissa almost lost consciousness at the sight. Weakness corrupted her limbs as doubt lay siege against her reasoning.

"Father?"

"Your father was quite a competent warrior in his prime," yelled the Freilux. "I figured; why not bring him back, as an idelfada?"

"Finally, I can fight Darian!" roared Vincent, spreading his wings wide. "Come dark creature; let us dance!"

"No Vincent!" cried Melissa, as he ascended into the sky. "He's my father . . ."

But all she could do was watch as they fought each other. In fact, all anyone did was stop and watch as they fought, so brilliant were the skies lit by their exchange. The air grew hot as Vincent threw attack after attack against the Strumbrion, while over and over again he merely deflected and did not attack. After a while, Melissa divined what was happening.

"He's wearing you down," she shouted. "Watch out!"

And as Vincent paused to regroup, the Strumbrion struck with three massive blows the shockwave of which shook Imathrin itself. Vincent fell back through the sky, trailing blood.

"Vincent!" she cried, as she watched him fall through the sky. " _Vincent!_ "

In an instant Vincent recovered, a long distance from the Strumbrion. Melissa saw him make a motion with his hands, and knew what would happen next.

"Don't do it, Vincent -- please!"

"I must go into the void, and learn."

"But you'll lose your mind!" she cried desperately. "I can't lose you, not now."

"If I don't, he will destroy me. Goodbye, Lissa."

_"No!_ " she yelled, as he disappeared through a ribbon. "Stop it," she yelled at the Freilux, "stop it now!"

"Me, stop? When you and your little Toby started it? I can't pull back my pets once their released. And look -- you even have a chance for a real family reunion."

The Strumbrion descended rapidly towards her, its fists glowing with sussa. Melissa got to her feet, and tried to summon the strength to face him.

_But he's my father! He must have some of his memories within him -- he can't just be a mindless slave_.

As he drew closer, she saw the ship of the scientists arc towards him. It fired three massive bolts, but quicker than she could see, the Strumbrion broke them all in his hands.

"Get out of there!" she yelled to the ship. "Run!"

The ship tried to come around again, but the Strumbrion was too quick. He brought his hands back and released a mighty surge of power that went straight through the ship. Down through the clouds it fell, leaving three massive explosions in its wake, trailing a fatal plume of smoke and plasma.

Who was on that ship? Sliona? Richard? I can't have lost them -- not with Asil!

She lay back on the ground, her will broken. The Strumbrion descended quickly in front of her, and pummeled her with bolts of sussa. She survived only because of a shield the instinctively threw up. But with each blow, she began to lose the will to live.

_"Don't give up now, Lissa!_ " cried Toby in her mind. " _Please -- try to fight_."

_Maybe Daria was right. This life can be too much sometimes_. " _I can't, Toby. I don't even know what I'm fighting for. I need . . . I need to do what Vincent did; go into the void, and learn_."

_"Don't Lissa. You are on the right path. You hated what I became, and I can't blame you. I went into the void, after I ran away from father. It changed me, made me colder. I would give anything to take that back, if only so I could be the brother you remembered me to be_."

_"Oh Toby_."

Her father pressed harder, digging through her shield, beginning to impact her body.

_"It hurts Toby, it hurts!_ "

_"Lissa!_ "

It was then she remembered the network of sussa she accessed when imprisoned by the scientists.

_I can draw on the battery of Imathrin itself! I just need some breathing room_.

She pushed back against her father, forcing him momentarily take a breath to refocus his assault. In that moment, she connected to the battery of Imathrin. But in doing so, she could also sense the batteries of all the other levitating cities still existed, and were still charged. She accessed their power, but felt it would take time to recover it all. As she tried, her father resumed his assault.
Chapter 19

In-between the blasts of sussa, she could see Toby's forces regroup behind him, and press on against the Freilux, who in turn sent the igra back against them. Except the Freilux evolved the igra, so they no longer ran on four legs, but scurried on two, skipping along as their hands lightly touched the ground. They could leap high in the air, and sink their claws deep into flesh. Bolts of sussa proved to be of little deterrent, as their hides absorbed lesser blasts. And once they gripped onto a foe, no amount of shaking or beating could push them off. They opened their mouths, and sunk their three rows of vicious teeth deep into bone, bringing forth fountains of blood.

Melissa looked back up at the face of the Strumbrion, the face of her father; a face that she had seen so many times smile or laugh with her, a face she loved above all others. A face now blank and expressionless, almost serving as a mask for whatever lay within.

"Don't you remember me?" she whispered. "You sang at my birthday; you stroked my hair when I cried, you caught me when I fell. Do none of those memories remain within you?"

Her father still mechanically attacked her, his arms moving with eerie precision, yet in her mind, he said;

_"I am not who I once was, and neither are you. There is no blood-bond between us, and you need to act that way_."

She could feel the power from the batteries, but her heart would not let her use it.

"I . . . I can't fight you, father. I love you."

The Strumbrion paused its assault, its hood blown back, fully revealing the wizened old face of her father.

"You . . . you love me?"

"Yes," she said crying. "And our love reaches across time, reaches across death itself. Remember my love, father!"

"Me . . . Melissa? My dear, little Lissa?"

It was at that moment that Vincent reappeared. He pulsed back into existence like a dark star, radiating death.

"Come and face me Darian; meet your fate!"

The Strumbrion leaned down and kissed Melissa on her cheek, and whispered; "it is folly to fight the Freilux."

He whirled and raced into the sky to meet Vincent. Melissa got to her feet, and shouted; "don't do it Vincent! He isn't a Strumbrion, he's my father!"

"Then I can have true revenge!"

The battle was painful for Melissa to watch, as the two men she loved fought each other. Vincent was relentless, and soon gained the upper hand. She could see her father try to disappear through a portal, but Vincent held onto him, and brought a fist up high.

"In the memory of my father, I exact vengeance upon you!"

His fist glowed like a dark sun, and as he brought I down, Darian was consumed whole.

Melissa fell to her knees, her heart broken. As Vincent gloated over her father's death, her head swooned.

"This war is over!" yelled Vincent triumphantly, and with a sweeping motion, he conjured a wave of superheated plasma, and rolled it across the landscape, burning the evolved igra to grey dust. Toby's army roared with joy, and ran headlong towards the Freilux, who returned their fury with a frenzied sneer.

The Freilux roared and threw his arms up high. "You pathetic whelps -- I draw on the power of the Sphere!" He made his hands into one fist, and struck down at the ground, splitting it into chasms that raced towards the army. They stumbled over each other, trying to halt their advance and retreat, but the fissures were too fast and wide. Hundreds of thousands fell within, plunging to their deaths.

"Freilux," said Vincent, "I beat your Strumbrion; I can defeat you as well!"

The Freilux stood tall and proud. "Really? It was because of me that you were able to accomplish your revenge. Why are you still fighting? Surely it can't be for that pathetic little girl. I'll bet she doesn't even like you anymore."

Vincent turned to face her. "Is this true?"

"You . . . you killed my father. How can I be with you?"

"Why can't you let this go? He was just an idelfada, controlled by the Freilux?"

"I am an idelfada!" cried Melissa. "You are an idelfada who was controlled by the Freilux. But you found a way to become yourself, instead of a pawn of others."

"This is different, he was a Strumbrion; a warrior of old. They always are loyal to their masters."

"But I saw my father's eyes!" pleaded Melissa. "He told me he loved me. He stayed his hand from killing me! Could a Strumbrion have done that?"

"I forgave you, for being born by that butcher," sneered Vincent. "It is pathetic you can't do the same. I won't fight you, Freilux, but I can't join you either. And I certainly won't waste anymore of my time or strength on that pathetic little waste of an Archsussa."

Melissa got back to her feet, and reached out her hands towards him. "Vincent! Don't leave me -- not like this!"

"Whatever. Bye."

"Vincent!" screamed Melissa as she watched him dive down through the clouds. While she grieved over the loss of her father, part of her heart still ached to hold him.

"You thought you could beat me?" jeered the Freilux, as he once again secured Toby in bonds. "Perhaps you'd like some of your friends at your side while you do so." The Freilux motioned to his soldiers, who brought out the last two of Melissa's hlenna from a small cage. "Look what they found, dear Lissa -- your little toys!" They were bound and gagged, with their limbs somehow deformed so they had to crawl on the floor. "You have gotten quite good at making pets, but you need to learn how to have fun with them. Take this one, for example."

He motioned to his guards, and Asil was brought before him. For an instant she was overjoyed to see him still alive, but then he stood next to the Freilux and she despaired, for Melissa thought it was another Freilux. He was now dressed exactly like the Freilux, but it was more than that. Melissa never noticed how much Asil favored the Freilux -- almost appearing as a younger iteration.

"My, my, my," said the Freilux, walking around Asil. "So let me get the picture straight; here you are, alone in your mother's house, needing a companion, and out of all the possibilities you summon _me_ into existence!" He threw an arm around Asil. "Tell me, have you seen her naked? Have you two done anything interesting?"

Melissa felt the anger boil inside her like a volcano. In an instant, she remembered how the Overmen were able to push her back through the ribbon. So she created a small ribbon, but extended it through the fabric of space. With all her strength, she limited the event horizon to the Freilux.

"What is this?" he demanded, looking anxious.

"A little something I learned."

The Freilux struggled, trying to extend tendrils of sussa to grasp onto something, anything, but the pull was too strong. Everything fell into the small ribbon, and despite his best efforts, his body began to distort in sympathy with the immense gravitational pull.

"You cannot win, Melissa -- you cannot!"

The Freilux vanished, and in an instant appeared in front of her.

"Oh Melissa, how wonderfully-one-dimensionally you think -- it's really quite quaint. You think to overwhelm me with more and more power, opening portals to gravity whirlpools. I admit, you've shown a few glimmers of originality, but you still have so long to go. Perhaps if you faded into the void for a while and honed your powers, you might stand a chance of fighting me properly.

She threw up a shield to protect her. "I will never become like you! I . . ."

She wanted to continue, yell at him, demand accountability for all his crimes, but was taken aback by how changed the Freilux was. He was now a tall, powerful man, with broad, muscular shoulders and a lean physique. His eyes sparkled with a confident fire, devoid of the perversion she saw before. Unconsciously she dissolved her shield and took a step forward, as if the act of embracing him was a familiar one.

"What . . . what is this?" she said, pulling herself back. "I hate you!"

"Melissa, you don't hate me, you barely understand me." He grasped her hand, and held it tenderly. "Sussa can change a person tremendously, without the balancing effects of the Centric Sphere. This is who I truly am; not the monster your brother and his allies have portrayed me, but a patriot who wants nothing but good for his people."

"Who . . . who was I? What were we?"

The Freilux smiled wryly. "So you've figured it all out?"

Melissa staggered back, confused. She felt like a marionette, and the Freilux was pulling the strings.

"Get out of there, Lissa!" yelled Toby. "Run!"

"But I'm done running." Suddenly, words her mother said came back to her. " _War with the Freilux is suicide." She knew now the right path to follow. I may be strong, but his experience and strength will wear me down. I must get what I came here for_.

Quickly she conjured a ribbon which opened in a chamber deep inside the palace. She could feel waves of conjured barriers, either working psychologically or physically to deter her progress. She knew how to counter them, though it was difficult. Up through the levels she progressed, until she finally stood in a wide, circular room with white marble tiles called the Hall of Allkthea. So many memories' came flooding back, of all the ceremonies she attended with her father in front of the Sphere and of when she was able to steal it after the Second Apocalypse.

_And here I am again, trying to do the same thing. Except I feel immensely stronger and wiser_. The Centric Sphere sat in the Cup of Allkthea; an ornate gilt pedestal with sculpted figured forming three arms that reached up, supporting the Sphere. For the first time, it no longer was a mysterious object to her; after all, she had journeyed through time and understood how it came to be. Quickly she advanced on it, feeling the Freilux was coming.

"Leaving so soon?" asked the Freilux in her mind. She could feel him try to open a portal, but she blocked it. She came and knelt by the Centric Sphere.

But what now? No one has managed to bring someone back from the dead for any period of time. And even if I could, who do I bring back? My mother didn't want to return, and my father . . .

"Enough of these games!" roared the Freilux, as he finally overpowered Melissa and materialized in the chamber. Melissa knocked him back with a wall of force.

"I'm not the little girl you cornered outside her bedchambers. I have learned a thing or two."

"You have learned that you are merely a construct; a fiction, a reminder of a girl who was! You have no real purpose, no real destiny!"

"You are lying," spat Melissa. "Too many people have struggled to help me live, help me succeed!"

"And yet, you are but a shadow of who you were. Xisa Drusciana, she whom you were, was a mighty girl, the most powerful of the Archsussa ever to be born. It was a battle between her and I that caused the Second Apocalypse, and her refusal to admit defeat that engineered your creation. You are like some afterimage of a being who refuses to die."

"I'm just an idelfada -- is that it?" scoffed Melissa, generating balls of sussa in her hands. "Well, perhaps I'll bring back my original, and together we will destroy you."

The Freilux threw up his hands. "You don't ever want to see her again -- trust me. I'm sure even Toby would agree with me. Tell her, whelp!" In an instant, Toby materialized in front of the Freilux, his hands and feet in bonds. "Tell her it's wrong to bring back Xisa -- tell her!"

Toby staggered to his feet. "Why would you bring _her_ back?" He glanced quizzically over at the Freilux, then, with an impassioned plea, said; "I don't know what lies he's been filling you with, what half-truths, but you must understand that Xisa should never be brought back. She is nothing like you. She is . . ." He sat back on his legs. "She is a lot like me, and would \--"

A bound appeared on his mouth.

"That's enough of that from you," said the Freilux. "So, you've heard it from your brother, and from me. Don't bring her back."

Part of her still oscillated at the decision she was about to make. The aspect of Xisa in the photograph, her hateful gaze in the past next to her mother, made her think she would bring no good. But too much of her wanted to do this, so she erected a shield and grasped the Sphere. As soon as she lifted it, the whole of Imathrin began to rumble. The three arms of the Cup of Allkthea ignited in blue flame, and all those in the streets and homes of Imathrin fell to their knees. She raised it up, held tightly in her hands.

"Ti dioma farra Xisa!" she shouted. "Ti dioma farra Xisa!"

The ground shook more violently and the atmosphere grew thin. Lightning flashed in a now darkened sky, as tendrils of power extended from the Sphere to Melissa and back again. The scent of sulfur and death intermingled in toxic quantities, making the air thick and difficult to breathe. Those around her, the Freilux included, sank to their knees with fear. Melissa could feel her strength evaporate, as a column of light appeared around the Sphere. It slowly moved off, pulsed once, and faded, revealing a very familiar-looking young girl with a sneer for a smile.

"Xisa?" asked Melissa, taking a tentative step towards her. It was like looking into a temporal mirror, for it reflected a younger version of herself. She had the same red hair, the upturned brow, but was slightly smaller, with thinner limbs. "Is that . . ." Melissa fell to the ground, as she no longer had the strength to stand.

The Freilux rose, and spread his arms wide. "Welcome back, love."

Xisa ran into the Freilux's arms and they embraced and kissed each other deeply. Melissa sunk within herself, dreading what was to come, but somehow, she felt different. It was as if the act of creating Xisa expanded her knowledge and her consciousness. She felt more than she had been ever before, but still didn't know what to do with the power.

"Is it any wonder I couldn't keep away from you, dear Melissa?" asked the Freilux.

Xisa's presence was stifling to Melissa, who gasped not only for air, but for identity. Xisa was so confident, so complete, that Melissa felt unworthy to even be alive. But she kept up a brave front, knowing too many people's lives depended on her strength.

_And too many people have died so I might survive_.

"What an amazing thing this idelfada is," said Xisa, as she slowly examined Melissa from head to toe. Xisa was dressed in a thick black robe with ornate golden lettering in a tongue Melissa couldn't decipher. Her long hair danced on its own accord, becoming wound into a ball in one moment, flowing back behind her head in another. Melissa could see traces of slate in the corners of her eye as she looked on Xisa, and behind her hung the shadow of what were probably immense black wings. "She played her part perfectly, bringing me back at the right moment, pulling Toby and the rebels out when we wanted."

The Freilux nodded. "I still am in awe that you predicted that an innocent soul was needed to use the full powers of the Sphere."

Xisa haughtily laughed. "To think, there is a version of me that is actually innocent."

"How could you do this?" demanded Melissa, with a voice that suddenly seemed weak and squeaky. "Why are you with him?"

"You dim little girl -- I am the cause of the Second Apocalypse!" cried Xisa. "I killed all those Archsussa, at father's insistence."

"But . . . why?" begged Melissa, still wondering how they could be the same person, when she was so thoroughly evil. "How could you kill mother; how could you do this?!"

"I have seen the future, and tried to make it real today. I saw not just Levitating Cities, but an entire shell of a world spinning around another. I saw layers of civilization living on top of one another, all because of the joys of living, cold metal. Metal that could talk and walk -- even sex like us. It is called 'science,' and one day it displaces sussa. One day it shifts the entire world back out of the cold, one day it renames this word as 'Novan.'"

"I have met the scientists of this world," said Melissa, "and they are good people, much like us. They possess power few can understand, except I feel they might be better at governance than us. Why not just let the future be?"

Xisa paused for a moment, betraying a malicious grin. "Call it vanity, call it what you will, but I endeavor to break this world's destiny, and bend it to my will. For the first time, what was seen shall not be, and it will be because of me. I, born mortal, shall break the plan and the will of Holis." She raised a hand. "All that's left is your disillusionment."

Xisa raised her hands, and Melissa could feel she was steeped in great power and experience. The tendrils of sussa that emanated from her fingertips were fine and detailed, appearing as vines that twisted and pulsed with life. Her eyes pulsed with blue power, and a mist formed around her lips. Her manipulation of sussa made her stunningly beautiful, and for a moment, Melissa was transfixed by her power, even though it was bent on her destruction.

"Wake up, Lissa!" shouted Toby.

She roused to life, and threw up a shield, which proved to be of little use. Xisa easily brushed past it, with the tendrils now coiling around Melissa's limbs.

_Do I want this, or have I decided to live, on my own terms_.

Melissa reached out to the batteries of sussa from all Levitating Cities across the ovoid. She reached into Imathrin itself, draining its power, determined to rebuff Xisa's assault. Though ensnared in Xisa's sussa, Melissa held her own, channeling all her strength into pushing them out and away from her body.

"Perhaps I made you too well," said Xisa, as she began to show signs of strain. "But you cannot resist me; I am your root!"

"You may have spawned me, but I shall rise above you, stronger than you, better than you!"

For a moment it appeared as if they were caught in a stalemate; Xisa could tighten her bonds no more, and Melissa was unable to extricate herself. Then in an instant, Melissa let out a primal cry and brought her fists down, breaking through the bonds of sussa and knocking Xisa far back into the chamber wall.

Xisa flailed about in the rubble, unable to stand. "How can this be?" she asked, aghast.

"Accept it; it is. Besides, who are you to decide if I am to exist?"

"I am the original, and I will suffer no copy to exist whist I live and breathe." Xisa tried to get back on her feet, but was still too weak. "How are you as strong as I?"

The Freilux knelt beside her. "You have just woken, love, and she is fresh from learning." Slowly he stood, and came over to Melissa, who still pulsed with power. "There is a place for you, here, at my side -- well, my other side," he said with a leer. "Otherwise, we'll just have to banish you from our fair city."

"I am not as strong as you, I am stronger!" Melissa turned the air surrounding Xisa to rock, and struck the Freilux to the ground with a thunderbolt. She still drew on the batteries of the combined Levitating Cities, and it began to cloud her judgment. "You have used me, used all those people, to bring yourself back from the dead?" She bent over Xisa, looking deep into her hateful eyes with a piercing gaze. "You killed mother!"

"So what?" she managed, pressing her face above the rock that entombed the rest of her body. "She was weak, and deserved to die."

Melissa stepped back. "Then . . . it was an idelfada that rescued me? Whose body I wept over?"

Xisa laughed. "Wish I had been there to see that."

Melissa grew angry, for the first time in her life she felt the desire for vengeance return, and knew she could easily take Xisa's life. In her hands manifest two great fireballs, and she lifted them high over her head.

"Die, Xisa; let the original die!"

"Lissa, wait," managed Toby. "You are so different from Xisa -- don't become like her. You still have the Sphere, and with it, power beyond dream. Use it!"

"What . . . what would I use to for? I brought back Xisa, and look what it's done."

Toby struggled in his bonds to come closer to Melissa. " _Look deep within yourself_ ," he said mentally. " _What do you need, what do you want more than anything?_ "

_What do I want more than anything? Who do I want more than anything? I made my own man, seduced another woman's man, but neither made me very happy._ She began to softly sob _. I just want my mother_. She took a deep breath, and said; "Ti dioma farra Esoica."

"No!" screamed Xisa, struggling to break through the stone. "Don't you dare bring that harpy back. Don't you _dare_!"

Melissa summoned all her remaining strength, as she could feel the Centric Sphere build in power. The ground rumbled once more, bringing chunks of stone down around them.

"Ti dioma farra Esoica!"

Another surge of light blinded Melissa, knocking her back flat on the floor. Her strength sapped, she was about to pass out, when the figure of her mother solidified before her.

"Mother!"

Melissa fell to blackness, elated to see her mother's face one more time.
Chapter 20

Melissa awoke in her mother's bed on the small platform. She rubbed her eyes, and walked out to see her mother bent over her idelfada.

"I'm sorry, dear one," said Esoica. "I only had strength enough to save you."

"Toby? Asil?"

She solemnly shook her head. "The Freilux had recovered when you passed out, and worked to free Xisa. I only had strength to pull you through a ribbon -- no more."

Melissa leaned back and moaned. "So many people lost, and dead, for failure?"

"Is it failure?" Esoica knelt by her side, and kissed her softly on her cheek. "Sometimes a victory is achieved by gaining knowledge; knowledge that may be used to ultimately win the war."

"But . . . I am so done with fighting, and killing." She threw her arms around Esoica. "I just want to feel safe."

Esoica hugged her back strongly, and wept into her shoulder. "You are safe, my love."

Melissa leaned back on the pillow, for the first time in a long time feeling utterly relieved and calm.

Her mother sat back and asked; "was she a lot like me; my idelfada?"

"Yes, for the brief time I knew her. Xisa imbued her skillfully."

Melissa watched as her mother levitated the body, and cast it off the platform.

"I used to think all idelfada were evil, until I met you. You are what I wish my true daughter had become."

Melissa was overcome with sentiment, and began to cry. Esoica embraced her, and wiped her eyes.

"Do you think there is any hope for her?"

Esoica sighed deeply. "I don't know." She held the thin, tan book in her hands. "I see you held onto this book."

"Yes. Somehow, I felt I was meant to keep it, and though I can't read it, I feel like it will be important to me."

"It already is. Xisa needed to train you, so she instructed my idelfada to have all those books for you to read, and to give you a reason to read them. This book," she said, holding it up, "is my doing. When you and my idelfada visited me, I could tell immediately you both were idelfada. For that to be, both of us must die, and while I can accept death, I was beginning to understand that Xisa was something different and darker. So, I parceled aside a kernel of my memory, and hid this book in it. If my memories were copied and inserted into an idelfada, I wanted to see in an imperative would go with it. Your possession of this book confirms that."

Applause came from the living room.

"What's that?"

Esoica sighed. "The end of something good."

Esoica helped Melissa into the living room, where they sat on a couch in front of a visual stalk. An image of the Freilux preened under it with Xisa at his side and Toby in bonds, and thousands upon thousands of Imathrins standing behind, cheering. Asil knelt nearby in chains, next to the two hlenna. Melissa buried her head in her hands, wailing.

"We must rescue them!"

"We can't, now. Your original is too powerful, and the Freilux still holds the Sphere."

_"For the crime of insurrection_ ," cried the Freilux with glee, " _I sentence this man do death!_ "

Melissa and her mother watched as Toby was executed to the cheers of the crowd. When Xisa reached up to kiss the Freilux, Esoica turned it off.

Melissa moaned and cried, and Esoica held her tightly long into the night. They had a small memorial for Toby, and once Melissa was calm again, they sat at the small kitchen table, looking out the window onto where Toby once trained with his soldiers.  
"Is this all my family is?" muttered Esoica. "How did it all go wrong?"

Melissa took a deep breath and held back tears, feeling anger replace the unending sadness. "One day, we will bring Toby back. I will get Asil back. One day, we will kill the Freilux, and perhaps without his influence, Xisa will remember how much she loves her mother."

Her mother scoffed. "How do you know she loves me?"

"Because I do," said Melissa, as she kissed Esoica's cheek.

THE END

