Kyle: The plan of death

If Avner could be so lighthearted about this why couldn’t he? He couldn’t waste time like a heart broken fool, crying the whole day. He had things to do. God, how was he going to survive another three hours in the field without showing the pressure he was in or worse changing to a woman again in front of all his students?, Kyle wondered dismally.

All the time he was in the field he wondered why Avner smiled when he first saw him. Did he think he would forgive him so easily? He just couldn’t stop thinking it. The pressure was soon getting to him. When it was about thirty minutes to finishing time, he realized he couldn’t muster enough lumini or stability of mind to change to his neferati form. Instead of giving him away, he chose to change the regular routine and do some warm down exercises and send them off sooner.

By the time he sent them off and walked to his room he was a woman again. He looked at himself in dismay. He didn’t think the pain in his heart could ever go away. He gravitated towards the window looking at the darkening sky. Lately all he wanted to do was escape the misery of life. He wanted to fly till he dropped. What did he have at all in Plutonia? He wondered. Dien was his only family left and he had just lost his best friend. He was sick of fighting for acceptance, he had been sick of ogling Avner from far away for so long. Things had appeared to change. But how wrong he was!

A message clicked in “Kyle. Please talk to me. I have to talk to you, Kyle. I am sorry. I know you are there. Answer me.”

Kyle ignored it. There was a pause in the other end before someone started talking to Avner.

Obviously ignoring the person, Avner said quickly “Please Kyle. I love you. Does our friendship have to suffer because of our love? I wasn’t wrong in assuming you love me, was I? Kyle?” Then in an irritated tone “yeah, I am coming.”

And he said hastily “I don’t care what you say. I will always be your friend Kyle and I will always love you. But if you really want me to stay away from you, I will do that, because I love you enough to respect your wishes. I’ll see you soon. Just give me one last chance to talk to you Kyle. I am sorry I have to cut off now. Kyle?” there was a heart felt sigh and he could hear someone going nuts beside Avner asking him to start some meeting.

Kyle stared numbly thinking about what Avner was saying. Why was he saying that when he said something else in the letter? Something wasn’t right. Or was it his pathetic heart that was conjuring up this message? At the last minute all he wanted was to talk to Avner.

“Av?” he asked tentatively and heard that he had cut off just a second earlier.

He wondered if he should go to Avner. He decided he should. He wanted to hear his excuses and see again if there was anything salvageable in their friendship. Why was he saying he loved him, now? Was it a ploy to get him back to be friends with him? If it was, he would never forgive Avner. He laughed at that. Never forgive? What was he talking about? He had already thought he’ll never forgive Avner over that letter and yet he was ready to listen to his excuses.

At 8.20 in the Uranian Gordon Park

Kyle looked at his watch. It sure was 8.00. Where was Avner? Did he decide not to turn up? He had an important function to attend at 8.30, Kyle knew. Kyle looked around the park agitatedly. Suddenly someone threw a black sack over his head. Instinctively he pushed back the person and just like any bird would do, started fluttering and trying to get out of the huge black sack. Some one grabbed him again pulling him down on the grass. Two other people grabbed his legs and tightened the sack around him. What was going on? Kyle wondered wildly. Surely this wasn’t a Jupiterian plot at killing him? He didn’t even look like his normal self.

At 8.30 in the Uranian Zalz festivities compound.

Avner looked as the zalz festivities started as he pushed the button for the fireworks to start welcoming everyone to the zalz festivities. Every year it was a special time for the zalz. He, being the strongest zalz was the special guest for the occasion. Avner smiled and shook hands with kids, men and women and waved at people who called him from too far away to reach.

The music was blaring over the compound. He knew he was expected to participate in some events and talk to the kids. But he really wasn’t in the mood for it. Being the special guest sucks, he thought with a sigh even though outwardly he maintained his composure for the plutonian zalz’s. There were kids awed by him, the great hero Commander Avner, asking for his autograph looking at him with wide reverent eyes. He smiled at them as he signed autographs.

As the night dragged on he started feeling faint. He looked at his hands. They have gone white. What was Kyle doing taking this much lumini from him? Talking about Kyle, he didn’t know what to do and he was seriously bugged that he had no idea what had made Kyle so mad at him. Now what was he doing? Flying full throttle at 6000km per hour? Seriously this was too much. Suddenly another sickening thought occurred to him. Was Kyle in danger? His mouth went dry as he tried contacting Kyle and couldn’t reach him.

Suddenly his head buzzed and he blinked hard trying to focus. It was Armedien trying to reach him.

Armedien’s voice sounded alarmed “Av, is Kyle with you?”

Avner was more alarmed than ever. Armedien had not called him like this in three hundred years. Something was wrong. “Dien, what is wrong? Are you getting any signals that Kyle is in danger?”

Armedien paused for a while and said sighing “Yes, I feel he is in grave danger. Do you know where he is?”

Avner’s eyes widened. This wasn’t happening. At the time when everything between them was at its worst fates were testing them by putting Kyle in danger. He was starting to feel like he was suffocating as he broke into a sweat “Dien, can you say Kyle is in Plutonia?”

“No. He isn’t. I don’t sense him here and I couldn’t contact him. He is not in his place according to the tower guards and they told me he left to Uranian grounds at about 7.30. I assumed he was with you. Av, be careful. It’s not just Kyle for whom I sense danger. It’s for you too. Don’t run into a trap. I’ll be with you soon. Keep the tag on me, so I can follow where you are.”

Avner looked at his assistant Zinkal and said gravely “Commander Kyle is in danger. When was the last time you saw him Zinkal? You were in his class weren’t you?”

Zinkal looked at him strangely and said “I assumed he went to talk to you. He dismissed us early when he received your letter sir.”

Avner stared at him “My letter? I didn’t send any letters to Kyle.”

Zinkal looked up with consternation and flushed “I was pretty sure at the time sir, that the guard said it was a missive from you. I am sorry. Maybe I heard it wrong.”

“Tell me which guard brought this letter”

“The man named Nigel at the gate. He usually does tower guard duty sir.”

“I want to talk to him. Call him up.”

They connected with him in no time.

“Nigel, did you give my letter to Kyle?” Avner asked looking carefully to see any betrayals.

“Yes sir. I took the purple flowers too.” He replied earnestly.

“Who gave you the letter Nigel?” he asked now seeing the guard had no idea security has been breached.

“Your fiancé sir.” He replied.

“Isabel gave you the letter?” Avner asked with surprise.

“Yes, sir” Nigel replied. “Is something wrong sir?”

Avner didn’t answer. Instead he asked Zinkal to bring Isabel to him. He had met Isabel earlier in the festival and told her about canceling the betrothal.

In a while Zinkal dragged along a sulky looking Isabel beside him.

“Let go of me you big oaf” she said venomously at Zinkal and glared at Avner.

“You have more to say about our broken engagement?” she asked him haughtily.

Avner asked Zinkal to leave him and Isabel alone knowing this confrontation could get ugly.

Without any preliminaries Avner asked “Where is Kyle, Isabel?”

Isabel raised her nose in the air “How would I know where he is?”

Avner gritted his teeth “You dared to send him a letter in my name. Where is he Isabel?”

Isabel looked uneasily at him and then screamed “You should never have chosen that hermaphrodite over me Avner.”

Avner was grabbing her neck and dangling her in the air before she even finished the sentence and took a breath “Don’t dare call Kyle that. You want to know why he is that important to me? I love him Isabel. Someone selfish like you might not understand what that means but for your information Kyle is also bonded to me. Armedien wouldn’t take it lightly that you conspired to kill Kyle and me. I need to know where he is, now.”

Avner gave her one strong shake and pushed her away from him. She grabbed her neck coughing and looking at him startled “You are bonded to him? When did you think you’d tell me? After we were married?”. She glared at him and saw the answer there. He would never have told her if he had married her. Another thought more horrific thought made her eyes widen in horror. “I didn’t know. Oh god!”

Avner looked at her warily “I tried to give a shot at marriage as I told you from the beginning to get a kid. I couldn’t let my line die and I remember telling you specifically that you are not going to pry into my life or ask any questions at all about me or what I do. You agreed because the position of being my wife appealed to you, not to mention being a heiress from being able to marry me. I thought we were very clear on that. So you have no right to know anything about Kyle and me according to our agreement and I was right not to trust you because you sure would have got us both killed. Now, tell me where Kyle is”

“I am not sure if he is alive now” she said weakly.

“What?” Avner thundered.

“I got some venutian witches to remove the spirit of Dymian from Kyle so that he would be exposed as what he really is. Finnigan said that was the best way to expose him, that Armedien didn’t know he was a woman. So, we decided to sell him to some men who fantasize over him. In cyberspace they go under the name the den. They bid people there, Finnigan said. He would be weak fighting them and then the witches would take his spirit. Believe me, this was all Finnigan’s idea.”

“Who the hell is Finnigan?” He snapped angrily.

Isabel stepped back “He is the tower watch guard. Believe me, there is a guy named Finnigan Gelwader.”

“Gelwader?” He asked faintly sensing something was seriously wrong as he recognized the name. This was not just some little thing. He had a feeling this was a conspiracy of the Jupiterians.

Avner looked contemptuously at her. “You bitch, he would die without his spirit. What did you do to take Kyle to the den?”

She swallowed nervously “I wrote the letter in your name, using your typing robot, asking him to come to Gordon Park. The rest was done by Finnigan. I don’t know what happened after that. Finnigan hasn’t spoken to me.”

“How did you access my typing robot?” he asked with a frown.

“I had a key to your room that Finnigan provided me. Getting into your room, being your fiancé wasn’t difficult. But your robot was hard to crack. Still they aren’t fool proof and I do conveniently happen to specialize in robot programming.” She answered as if she thought she was very smart.

“When did you and this Finnigan plan all this?” he asked angrily.

“When?” she laughed.

“When you told that bitch you love her. When you did all those disgusting things with him. Yes, I saw it all because Finnigan put a camera in Kyle’s room. He told me what you intended and showed me your betrayal.”

“There never was anything between us to betray and if something happens to Kyle tonight you’d wish you weren’t alive, believe me.” He said gravely.

He turned away from the woman he had thought was good enough to bear his children, with a muted curse. Unceremoniously Avner heard jubilant laughter and fireworks around him. He had a feeling this night would be historic. He gathered the warriors and asked if they knew a place called the den. Surprisingly one of them knew the place.

He didn’t waste time getting there telling Dien where he was heading, saying he would explain everything later.

In the den.

Kyle woke up feeling disoriented. Someone had injected a strong sedative into her. The place spinned around her. She closed her eyes as quickly as she had opened it. She heard laughter “Finally, sleeping beauty has waken up.”

A man jutted his face so close to her face she could smell his stinking breath. “Isn’t she a pretty little thing?” he asked.

One man said coldly “Pretty if you like the short haired types.”

“She smells good.” Another man said.

“Twenty thousand juans for her” one man exclaimed.

“Twenty one thousand.” Another man shouted.

Dizzily Kyle realized she was the one offered on bid. She opened her eyes again blearily and found that she was really thirsty.

“Water” she rasped.

No one seemed to care. The bid seemed to be going up to crazy limits. She shook her head trying to focus. Gradually, she started making out people. To her surprise all of them were plutonians. Most of them her own students.

“What the hell?” she muttered.

“Fifty thousand one, fifty thousand two, fifty thousand three... the slave goes to Anvil Armedien.”

Anvil the second and last living son of Armedien came forward and grabbed her. Reflexively Kyle dislodged his hand twisting it.

Anvil hit her with his foot. Suddenly all of Anvil’s friends were trying to fight her at once. Years of practice kicked in instinctively and she fought fiercely knocking down anyone who came into her fighting circle.

“She is strong and looks like she is trained too” One man mused.

Anvil came over to her and asked “Tell me where you learned to fight like that ”

She gave him a cold look “what matter is that to you? All you need to know is if you cause me harm your father will not forgive you and you are badly mistaken if you think I could be your slave even for a second.”

“You have no proof that my father values you.” Anvil said with a laugh.

Kyle tore off the sleeve of her left arm and showed ancient scrollings in grey similar to the ancient scrollings on Armedien’s left arm.

Some people gasped.

“That’s a fake” One man shouted.

“That’s the same stuff as I saw in commander Kyle’s left arm.” One man exclaimed.

They all looked at her warily and she said “Let me go and I will make sure no harm befalls you.”

Anvil laughed. “You will not tell father we are having a human bidding place here? I don’t believe you.”

Kyle didn’t say anything to that as she felt a strong pull on her spirit. It was as if a big magnet was placed before her when her body carried all iron pieces. Gasping she fell. Everyone looked surprised at her as her body immediately changed to her full neferati form. There were gasps everywhere as people recognized the golden warrior bird “Commander Kyle”

Crazily, that only made the mob more eager to have him. “I want commander Kyle first.”

Someone tried to grab him. Kyle didn’t care anymore. The blinding pain in her head was crippling her.

“Aargh” she screamed in anguish and pain, her body twisting. People seemed to be touching her everywhere. She took a sword from one of the big oaf’s waist and cut off his hands. Soon, every one was charging at her with swords. What was wrong with them?

Anvil said now “What a surprise! So Slimy wasn’t lying in chat last night when he said Commander Kyle was a woman. Is Avner a woman too, Kyle?” He taunted.

Another man beside Anvil said “We have to kill him. If he is released your father would know what had happened. He would never tolerate someone touching his precious Kyle. Take what you want from him and kill him.”

Everyone screamed their consent. Kyle didn’t know what to do. Her arms felt like lead and she couldn’t carry her sword any longer she thought as she fell on her knees. Someone slashed her arm. She couldn’t see what was happening anymore. Was she dying fighting the very people she had wanted to save all her life?

Suddenly she heard a bellow of rage and then everyone let go of her. Some one grabbed her after what seemed like ages.

“Kyle” he said in a choked voice sitting beside her.

“Av” Kyle murmered not having the power to even see his beloved face. “Am I dying Av?” she asked as she touched his face trying to feel his warmth through the coldness that was enveloping her.

“No. You will not die. I love you Kyle. I never wrote that dratted letter. I love you Kyle. Can you hear me?”

Her eyes started closing but she opened it with great effort and looked at him. Kyle saw only the outline of his face. She touched his face and realized Avner was crying. “Don’t cry for me Av. I love you too. I suppose I knew you could never write that horrible letter. You would never hurt me. I am sorry Av. But, but I can’t see Av. It’s very suffocating and I feel weak. Forgive me for all the hurting things I have said. Just remember I love you too and you will always be my best friend. Av, I don’t think I can hold on any longer. ” Her body spasmed as if an electric shock had been delivered to her and she started going limp. Avner looked desperately at Kyle’s unseeing tormented eyes.

“Oh no, you will live Kyle. Tell me you’ll live for me. We’ve survived worse Kyle. Don’t die on me” He sobbed holding her closer and kissing her face. Then not so unexpectedly Avner bit him.

In the hut behind the den

“Esmeralda, pull out the spirit. Increase the pace of the chant Greta. We are so close.” The witch Hilda rasped.

“There is someone else holding onto Kyle’s spirit Hilda. Aargh. He is too strong and that Kyle boy is fighting to live.” The old witch Greta collapsed unable to hold onto the spirit of Kyle.

Hilda, being the oldest witch alive, looked with horror at the boiling cauldron and the white waspish spirit of Kyle they were trying to hold. Something really strong seemed to be pulling it back.

She said now “We can’t allow the spirit to go back. If it becomes too much to hold him, release him. Let whoever is trying to hold him fight the pull of nature and die in the process.”

In a while it became obvious that they couldn’t hold Kyle’s spirit, so despite instructions on the contrary from the Jupiterian Council, they released Kyle’s spirit making it loose to find its next target or rest in peace. This spirit hunting had been more difficult than anything she had done so far. At first she had thought the spirit of Kyle was weaker than Dymian and done a chant to pull out Dymians spirit out of Kyle. It hadn’t worked. That was when she realized the boy was more powerful than the great Dymian. Kyle’s spirit had dominated the spirit of Dymian. That made things a lot more complicated and she had to reverse the chant to pull the spirit of Kyle instead of Dymian’s spirit out of his body.

This whole thing had been going wrong from the beginning and still even if it looked like she was succeeding she was having a horrible premonition that death awaited them and her premonitions were never wrong as she was the oldest seer in the universe at the time. As she looked at the boiling cauldron again she saw her next surprise, the three headed dragon. Avner it appears had the power of the three headed dragon. Why had he never appeared as the three headed dragon before then? She knew the power of the three headed dragon was in Avner’s family but none of them was able to obtain that power until they were atleast seven hundred years and then even they didn’t live longer than ten years to use their power. How Avner got the power at such a young age was something she couldn’t understand.

She was getting used to the unpleasant surprises the night was bringing upon her, when a chill came over the whole group and she realized Armedien has arrived on the site. Suddenly like a bomb blast the cauldron exploded and with an ominous pulsing sound the hut blew apart shards of wood flying everywhere.

Unbelievably she and her companions were still alive. She looked with horror as Armedien touched Avner’s body and pitted his strength alongside Avner’s three headed dragon, in an effort to save Avner and Kyle. With a deep rumbling thunder like sound their tag on Kyle’s spirit broke and Kyle’s spirit was set free. If not for Armedien, Avner would have followed but he saved Avner and with a deep suction sound Avner’s three headed dragon settled in him, although he was unconscious. Things were suddenly pin-drop silent. But, Hilda knew it was yet far from over. She couldn’t even say for sure if she had accomplished her mission of killing Kyle because the signals were so unclear in her mind. Instead she saw a looming darkness of what awaited her as she met the eyes of the enraged Armedien.