Chapter Nineteen

The Mind Games

The person you trust with your life can destroy you in the blink of an eye

Earth (The Small Sea) EarthYear 999

The Small Sea was engulfed in a storm. Graham, a young sailor who had just turned twenty, rushed towards his captain while their vessel was getting tossed around by giant waves. "Captain, the sea looks hellbent on devouring us."

Desmond Spores could almost hear Graham's heart beating out of his chest. He held firmly onto the fence looking at the Small Sea that was acting way out of its character. These kinds of waves were found in the legends of the Great Ocean. Nobody knew what lay in the Great Ocean or beyond it, because those who dared to find out, never returned. But this wasn't that hungry ocean, this was the gentle Small Sea. Desmond had taken passengers across it hundreds of times but had never faced an angry wave. This sea was forever calm and gentle, and this two-day journey always passed like a breeze. But things were different today.

Desmond remembered Father Baelor's sermons. He had been emphasizing that dark forces were trying to take over the Earth. The Five HighPriests had been sent back from the Valley of Reckoning as Pente Potens to warn people about the danger that was awaiting them.

Certainly, some dark forces were at work here. Desmond removed the Holy Star of Faith tucked under his shirt and performed the Holy gesture. Only the Angels of Almighty could save them from this danger.

Desmond could see the lights of Middleton. They were almost there. The shore was within touching distance. There were more than eighty passengers on his ship, men, women, and children. He clutched tightly onto his five-pointed star and prayed to the Supremes to save the lives of his passengers.

A large wave hit the ship and flipped it on its side. The water gushed towards its hull. Women and children screamed for help. Men desperately tried to save their dear ones from the clutches of death. Desmond made one last desperate appeal to his angels. The storm began to grow weak, but the ship was already doomed.

***

Tri

Earth (The Mainland) EarthYear 1998

Alexander was massaging his head while switching between the news channels when the Potens entered his office. Headlines on American news channels ranged from simply informative to utterly repulsive.

America is under Attack.

The Mainland butcher massacres hundreds of innocents.

The Demons of the Mainland reveal their lust for American blood.

"Honestly, the American press has let their imaginations run wild," Tri said glancing at the screen. "I read some pretty nasty ones on the way too. Like Greed and Gore, the Mantra of a Monster's success."

Brendon was having a field day. This was a sad day for humanity but Brendon found a dark pleasure seeing Mysha under the pump. "My favorite's an editorial article. Alexander, A Murderous Ogre born from a blood-sucking witch."

Mysha scorched Brendon with her flashlights. "For God's sake, can you keep your silly jokes for some another day? We are in the middle of a serious crisis."

"Hmm Alexy, how did he pull this off?" Tri asked Alexander.

"We found Fairfax's body floating in the strait. A Hubbert took his avatar to fire those missiles."

"So one Hubbert was provokin' people while another was plannin' to shoot'em. Jeez, that's quite a partnership. That's just two Hubberts workin' in tandem, imagine what twenty of them'd do together."

"Not two but four," Alexander corrected Brendon. "There was another Fairfax at the Sherwin Bridge Command room and another Hubbert addressing the rally on that side. They simultaneously pulled off two spectacular heists."

"Seriously? You don't have Anti-Soulment checks at the army headquarters?" Tri asked rolling her eyes.

"Tell me who will stop the Commander of the Holy Army for a security check? And besides that, Fairfax was known for a bad temper and no one dared to needle him."

"Well, how bad is the situation?" Mysha asked.

"Hundreds killed, the exact counting is still going on, and many more injured. My name will be etched in the books for overseeing the biggest human disaster in the written history of Earth after the War of Reckoning. Alexander, the Monster King," Alexander added reading another headline from the screen.

"Didn't the Solomon's Uprising against the Pieteous kill thousands?" Max asked.

"Uprisings are more like legends than history. They are not documented and your revered ancestor Jonathan Rightheart is responsible for that. He burned all the records of Solomon's uprising and banned people from even talking about it. Those who told the stories were charged with treason. The same tradition followed in the later uprisings."

"Tell me, why such extreme steps?"

"A personal grudge. Legends say Jonathan lost someone very close to his heart in the uprising."

"For God's sake, can we have these history classes on some other day?" Mysha was livid with Max and his son. "Right now we need to worry about the future."

"Okay, okay. Mysha, calm down, take a deep breath. Alex, where do we stand with America now?" He asked Alexander in hope but he knew the answer.

"For starters, you can forget about the scheduled bilateral talk."

"But why? Shouldn't that be kind of the topmost priority? We have to stop these Hubberts before they create any more chaos."

"Don't you get it Mysha? The Windsters think I carried out these attacks to quash the protests. They think I, the greedy son of the gluttonous queen who wanted to rule the whole world, want to take over America and this massacre is a show of strength. Right now, I will do extraordinarily well if I somehow avoid a full-fledged war between the two most powerful armies on Earth."

"Holy Angels, why don't you tell them that this was done by Soulments and not you?"

"And they will just believe me. Ryan, trust is a rare commodity these days."

"Good Heavens, you can show them the footage of two Fairfaxes and two Hubberts at the same time in two different places."

"We can do that only when they are ready to listen. No calls, no messages, no diplomatic channels. A total blackout. They have shut down both bridges. Relationship between us was hanging by a thread, thanks to my mother's highhanded diplomacy, and these Hubberts just severed that thread."

"For God's sake, even this is now on me?" Mysha said through clenched teeth.

"Sins of the past, sweetie, sins of the past," Brendon muttered with an ungainly expression that looked as if he was choking.

"Honestly, Hubbert is quite a strategist," Tri said staring at the chandelier hanging in the king's office. "He shot down two birds with a single arrow. Got hundreds of recruits for his army and ensured that the Scions don't join forces against him."

"Please tell me that we at least got lucky with the Hardhommes," Max asked Alexander with another hopeful glance at him.

"They don't want to hear from us either. Windsters and Hardhommes are always one."

"Strewth, we're royally screwed. Rather than fightin' the enemies, we've got to clean up this unholy mess. Now, how're we gonna appease these royals?"

"Seriously? Why are we even trying to get the attention of the rulers?" Tri's eyes were again rolled skywards. "We must directly reach out to the ones who control the Armies of Unseens. Scions will understand the situation better than these idiot rulers."

Alexander sighed aloud. "Aren't you listening? We can only reach their Holy Army through proper diplomatic channels and those are closed."

Tri gave him a long look. "I can't believe this Alexy! I thought you had more brains than Brendon but alas. Believe me, there are other channels for reaching out. I just need some information about exactly whom we are supposed to reach out to and where."

Alexander furrowed his brows at Tri's absolute disregard for his Royal Status but decided to ignore it for now. "Generally the true Commander of the Holy Army remains under the shadows but luckily during my last visit across the strait, their commander sought my help over increasing demon attacks in America. I also visited his house, a top-secret meeting kept away from the media's glare. I can give you some decent information about him."

"Hmm, do you have his photo?"

"Yes, we clicked a few pics together." Alexander took out his phone to search through it. He came up with a photo of himself with a man who looked the same age as him.

"Perfect. Where does he live?"

"New York."

"Seriously? Our wretched luck continues. Of all the places, this person has to stay in the farthest American city from here. If your useless discussions are done can we do some work? Alexy, find us a safe location near the Strait. At least we can decrease the distance on our side of the border."

"The castle where that demon attacked you is kind of close to the strait, right?" Mysha asked Alexander.

"Yes, Balmoral castle. I will arrange to send you there tomorrow."

"Thank God. Alexy, you have finally stopped being useless."

Alexander had had enough now. "Tri, don't you think my age, if not my status, commands a little respect?"

Tri shrugged. "You are Mysha's son and this is how I talk to my friend's son. Honestly, thank your stars that I am not pulling your cheeks my dear little Alexy." It was hard to beat Tri's nonchalance for things that may seem a lot to others. "Mysha, I will need your amplifying powers to reach that far corner of America so we better start practicing that mind-syncing gimmick."

***

David Windster was standing on the beach that had a spectacular view of the historic bridge of Vasilias the Savior. A pleasant breeze from the sea was comforting his nerves but some unnecessary commotion around him was ruining the experience. People were screaming, shouting slogans, and raising placards. The soothing breeze suddenly turned into a chilly wind. A tall and muscular guy, standing on a car's bonnet, was addressing the crowd through a megaphone. Their eyes met. David got sucked into the whirlpool of those deep green eyes and was transported to some other world.

Volcanoes. Barren lands. The whole world covered by a dark shadow. Sick people bleeding, crying, writhing in pain. Blood. Gore. Gloom. Dark Soulments. A large monster made of thick smoke. Demons running amock. Despair and misery. David felt as if his soul was getting crushed under a mountain.

And then the connection broke. The person standing on the car's bonnet vanished in thin air. A young girl with a pretty face now stood in front of him. She was dressed in a long saffron cloth draped around her body and her hair was tied neatly above her head in a bun. She moved her lips, but he couldn't hear her voice. She waved her hands and pointed to the sky. David looked up and saw fireballs raining from above. Before he could react, there was a loud explosion and he was thrown off his feet. David screamed and woke up drenched in sweat.

The same nightmare had haunted him for three consecutive nights. The guy's deep green eyes and those visions of gloom had shaken him to the core, but tonight, this mysterious girl was a welcome addition to these visions. She tried to warn him about the impending danger. She brought warmth amidst the chill. She felt like a torch in the gloom.

The backdrop of these dreams, the recent tragedy at the Vasilias Bridge, was evident. David knew enough about the paranormal to figure out that these weren't just dreams. There was something more to it and the girl in the weird dress was the key to unlocking this mystery.

***

"Ouch." Tri felt an electric shock course through her veins as she let go of Mysha's hands and snapped the connection. She was panting, and so was Mysha. "Hmm, I was successful in projecting myself in the scene of the tragedy on the third attempt. Finally, he saw me."

"Don't ya think ya're a little too dressed up for this occasion?" Brendon asked through pursed lips. "Heavily embroidered bright saffron saree. Are ya tryin' to catch 'is attention or turn 'im on? Mind ya, he's too old to date."

Tri looked skywards. "I can't believe this. Boys and their insecurity. Minus two runs for another stupid comment. Oh, but you don't have any runs left on the board to deduct from."

"Jeez, girls n their habit of showin' off. Can't stop themselves from flauntin' their thin's even in an old man's dreams."

"Seriously? When will you find the key to unlock your rotting brain? I had to dress up because I wanted to stand out amongst the crowd inside his brain."

"Zounds, then ya should've gone without any dress at all. Ya would've stood out like a beacon in the dark."

"Brendon at his pervy worst. Believe me, someday I will break into that guttery brain of yours, and then all your dreamgirls' feet will be twisted from their ankles and their heads will rotate 360 degrees."

"Jeez, what kind of girls are these?"

"Witches from the Indian Legends."

"Well, why don't you both go to the bedroom to finish your cute little squabble." Mysha clearly wasn't impressed by the lovebirds' little chit-chat. "I don't think you two remember that we all are still here."

"I can't believe this. Now even Mysha is trying her hand at bedroom jokes. Brendon, you are a bad influence."

"Ya're forgettin' we've got a special bond, me n Mysha."

"Mysha, this idiot always veers me off the course," Tri said brushing Brendon aside. "Please ask Alexy to air that conference we recorded earlier."

"Max has already told him to go ahead with that."

"Hmm, now we sit tight and wait for him to connect the dots."

"Bless the Souls, you are sure he will be able to do that?" Ryan asked Tri.

"If he knows his things, he will. If he doesn't we will invade his mind again. Honestly, I am enjoying this mind invasion. Mysha you were awesome."

"Well, you did everything. I just provided you with a kind of extra push."

"The energy that flowed through you was extraordinary. Believe me, I felt I could reach any corner of the world and connect with whoever I wanted. And once I entered David's mind, I felt I could show him whatever I liked."

"Okay okay, so what did you show him?" Max was curious, as always.

"Scenes from the tragedy at the bridge and a glimpse of what I saw when I looked into Hubbert's eyes."

"But why'd ya show 'im all those gory scenes?"

"Honestly, the gloom will haunt him and he won't be able to sleep till he finds us. And for the first time, I was able to show things that weren't there. I inserted my imagination into these projections. Believe me, Mysha, that was an absolute wow."

"Jeez, it's nice to see ya both bondin' like a gel."

"Believe me, I have never felt such a wide reach for my powers before. Mysha our time together is doing us some real good."

Olivia, dressed in a black gown Jennifer Lawrence had worn for an award function last month, shed some light on this topic. "Girls, this bond is in your genes, or rather souls. Remember Vasilias and Theoreous were best friends, Soulmates in their true meaning. They shared an everlasting bond that must have carried down the generations. The spark between you two is a mutual attraction of Souls."

"N how does this attraction of souls affect bodies?" Brendon asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Seriously? Brendon you jerk! Vasilias and Theoreous were straight and so are Mysha and I. Honestly, can your mind only think of one kind of bond?"

"Sweetie, thanks for clearin' that," Brendon said with a sigh of relief. "Even Max had started to worry. Two of us losin' our girls at the same time would've been a disaster."

"Your girl? I can't believe this. You are not getting any closer to me until you score a century and right now you are sitting on some minus runs."

Olivia chuckled. "The hormones of young humans. Reminds me of my days when I was in love." A flush rose to her already pink cheeks and then drained away in a moment. Her sing-song voice suddenly turned hoarse. "I was saying that you two were destined to bond like your forefathers. The more you believe in each other the more wonders you can do."

Lately, Harbux was keeping his distance from most conversations. Here too, he was silent and when he spoke there was some real venom in his voice. "With all these fairy tales of love and bonding, the damsel forgot to mention that the so-called everlasting bond didn't even last their lifetimes. Theoreous walked out on Vasilias, never to see his face again."

"The circumstances of their fallout are unknown but the chemistry between these two is the evidence of their unbreakable bond. Harbux, you know things that others don't but why don't you have the guts to share them?" Olivia fired a shot at Harbux.

Harbux was in no mood to start another fight with Olivia. "Miss Mysha, Vasilias's story ended in a grave betrayal. Beware of blindly trusting a person who could lead you down the path of destruction," Harbux said casting a furtive glance at Tri.

Tri had heard enough. She stomped towards Harbux and stabbed a finger in his smoky avatar. "Seriously? Why are you hellbent on creating a barrier between us?"

"You crossed the limit today. You shouldn't have done that. Harbux will never trust you again."

"Are you afraid of what I saw inside you? Tell us Harbux, what are you hiding there?"

"A thousand years of misery," Harbux roared. "No matter how strong you are no human is capable of bearing its weight. It is not about what you saw, it is about breaching someone's trust. You betrayed Mysha and Harbux by breaking into us."

"I can't believe this. Aren't we all supposed to become one? Connect our minds. Know each other inside out."

"Harbux feels something about you isn't right. You are reaching a little too far. Doing things that don't concern you. Harbux doesn't like you."

"Don't worry Harbux, our loathing is pretty mutual."

Harbux turned to Mysha and spoke in a voice that rang like a warning bell, "Miss Mysha, The person you trust with your life can destroy you in the blink of an eye. Don't let anyone do that to you. And remember you are hearing this from a person who has suffered such fate."

***

Joseph Windster was holding an important meeting with his ministers when David asked to meet him. A Scion's request overwrote all other priorities.

"Come on David. We are facing war and you are fussing about some weird dreams," Joseph exclaimed when David told him about his vision.

"These are not dreams, Jos. I know these things. Someone is trying to reach out to us."

"So how are we supposed to respond?"

David sighed. "I am still trying to figure that out."

Joseph was about to say something when his intercom rang. "How many times do I have to say I don't want to be disturbed," He shouted after picking up the mouthpiece. "Okay. Thank you." Joseph grabbed the remote and turned on the television in his office.

"Alexander is addressing a press conference regarding the America situation," Joseph said to his dearest friend cum cousin cum associate.

"Hasn't he reached out to you?"

"He has tried but I have blocked him. I will give him a strong answer before we sit down across a table to talk. I am just biding time to prepare our forces."

Alexander was reading out a statement on the screen. He claimed that the attack was a result of a mistake by an army commander and the Mainland government was willing to reach an amicable solution with their American counterparts. However, David wasn't listening to a word of what Alexander was saying. His eyes were fixed on a girl on the screen.

"There she is," David said pointing to the girl. "Standing right behind Alexander, wearing the same weird saffron dress."

That girl had also caught Joseph's attention. "Yes, she is sticking out like a sore thumb."

"It is clear they are reaching out to us via her."

"When all diplomatic channels failed they are using these cheap mind games."

"Jos, I am not a mind-bender, but I certainly know that reaching out this far and breaking into a person's brain whom you have never seen or met, requires some exceptional skills. We need to see her."

"This could just be another trap."

"Think rationally, Jos. Yes, Alexander is the son of that old witch, but we know he is different. He has helped us in some tight situations. He unconditionally lent us his Soulments during the demon attacks. What does he gain from this genocide?"

"Suppress the voices against him."

"Your administration had already assured him that they will take care of these protests. There was no reason for him to unnecessarily irk a strong ally."

Joseph leaned back in his chair steepling his fingers. "Maybe he just wanted to show off his strengths. His mother wanted to rule the whole world, maybe he is living his mother's dream."

"Invade America? Even a child knows that any war between the Mainland and America would be a disaster for both. He is no fool. There is no logical motive for these attacks. We need to hear them out before we take any foolish steps. Jos, killing more people will only increase our main problem, the rogue Soulments."

"Okay, we can talk to him."

"Not on the phone, face to face. I want to see this girl. She has piqued my interest. She clearly isn't from Alexander's family, but she has those deep green eyes and some unmistakable aura around her. I need to see what she has got."

Joseph picked up his intercom. "Contact the Mainland administration. Tell them, my cousin, David Windster would be traveling there as my special envoy."

***

The weather wasn't ideal for swimming in the sea but Tri enjoyed lounging under the starry skies. She had her newfound BFF Mysha for company.

Mysha had a few vague memories of this place. She used to regularly come here on vacation with her husband and kids. On one such trip, a rogue Soulment attacked Alex. Elizabeth annihilated that Soulment, but this episode left an everlasting impression on her son's mind. This incident was the beginning of the cold war between humans and Soulments, a war that was now fast approaching a grisly climax.

"Did you really break into Harbux?" Mysha asked Tri.

"Once I was done with David, I let myself drift a little. Wanted to explore the horizons of my abilities. I was fluttering from mind to mind like a free bird when I got pulled down in some dark gorge. Barren, gloomy, crushing down on me, totally unbearable. Some despairing voices called out to me. I tried to pull myself away but got stuck. That is when I felt a current surge through my body and it broke the connection."

"Harbux broke the connection. That dark gorge was Harbux, right?"

Tri nodded. "Believe me, I didn't intend to go there but I got sucked in. There were a lot of dark memories bubbling there. A mixed bag of pain, despair, anguish, and hatred, a lot of hatred."

"Soulments have minds? Memories?"

"Mysha, Soulment is a fractured part of a Soul. Our souls store all our memories. This is the first time I got a peek into a Soulment. It was all blurry and dark and painful."

"Well, Harbux won't tell us his sad story. And although Olivia hates him, she too won't reveal his secret."

"Hate? Seriously Mysha? You can surely do better than this. Harbux and Olivia are head over heels in love. And you don't need to be a mind reader to see that."

"I too kind of believed that. But they can't withstand each other even for a second."

"Believe me, they are a couple who had a bitter breakup but still can't help loving one another. Their minds may have fallen apart but their hearts are woven in the eternal chain of love."

Mysha smiled. "Well, I have to accept the word of an expert who has read thousands of minds."

"Honestly Mysha, this is no fun. Sometimes I feel like throwing up. Men hungrily ogling at my body, imagining all despicable things they want to do with me, despite knowing that I am reading their minds."

Mysha chuckled. "Men will be men. Their brains are stuck in their pants."

"Hmm, I used to lose my temper when I saw such things, and I still do sometimes, but then I learned to ignore it and go beyond. Believe me, most minds have more dark alleys than bright horizons. Greed and lust, anguish and hatred, pain and suffering. Sometimes to find a single ray of light I had to dive so deep that I feared I would drown there."

"I have heard you trying to rise from those depths. Well, you do a lot of blabbering before you scream and wake up. I get up well before your nightmares reach their climax."

"I am sorry. I assume it is no fun sleeping alongside me."

"Well, that is not true. There are people, right here in this castle, dying to sleep with you," Mysha said with a Brendonesque wink. "Why do you treat Brendon so harshly? Isn't he a good person?"

"He is a rare type of person who speaks his heart. No dark alleys, just a deep blue sea. There is some obscene vulgar crap there, but it is mostly harmless."

Mysha covered his mouth with her palms. "You broke into him? You are kidding, right?"

"Brendon was shattered the night Swati died. When I asked him to look into my eyes to calm him down, he was like an open book. I got a pretty decent look at that book. I also turned a few pages there, to help him quickly overcome the shock."

"I also inadvertently broke into Max's mind, twice, but it wasn't such a great experience. I am kind of confused. Poten's powers don't work on each other, right? So how did that happen?"

Tri shrugged. "Honestly, we are supposed to know each other inside out, and this just helps us do that. So, this doesn't count like working against one another but more like working towards our goal."

"Maybe that is true. Harbux says that we need to sync our minds and talk without talking. To do that I think we all will have to open our minds to you and you will have to kind of fine-tune them like walkie-talkies."

Tri grabbed a fistful of white sand and then squeezed her fist to watch the sand fall on her lap. "Will you believe me if I say I felt guilty about entering Brendon without him knowing?"

"Well, I think he would be thrilled to know that you were inside him, in any way or any form."

"Rather than me inside him, don't you think he wants the other way around?" Both the girls burst out laughing.

"Why don't you allow him to come close?"

Tri threw a small pebble into the sea and watched it bounce a couple of times before sinking. "Mysha, believe me, these feelings could be a massive distraction. We can't let emotions cloud our thinking."

"Love can be our strength, it can help us bond better."

"Mysha, Hubbert shook me to the core. Not because of the gory nature of the scenes he showed me, but because of the absolute calm he displayed while showing them. He was like an immovable rock in the eye of a storm. Firm, composed, without a crease on his forehead. He knew his goal and didn't give a damn about the consequences. Believe me, his clarity of thought, his sense of purpose sent a chill down my spine."

"Ryan felt something similar when he came face to face with him."

"Honestly, the last thing we want is extreme emotions messing up our brains. We don't even know what will be left of us by the time this is over."

"Well, so there is no room for feelings in our lives?"

Tri put her finger to her lips. She closed her eyes for a second and then called out. "Brendon, come out."

Brendon hesitantly walked out from a bush behind their backs.

"I can't believe this. Didn't someone teach you it is bad manners to eavesdrop on girls?"

"How'd ya know I'm here?"

"A warning alarm goes off inside me whenever your dirty mind comes within the range. What are you doing there?"

"Just came to check on ya girls."

"Hmm, and in which position did you imagine finding us?"

Mysha recoiled. "For God's sake, Tri! That is gross!"

Tri gave a light tap on Brendon's head. "You don't know the kind of crap that is filled here. Don't take Brendon's guttery brain lightly. Believe me, if we two keep hanging out like this even Max might start getting some ideas."

"Max is not like that."

"Sweetie, I'd like to correct ya on that," Brendon said with his trademark wink. "It's Max who sent me to check on yous."

"Max is a dead man," Mysha hissed.

"Before I forget why I'm here lemme tell ya that ya son called. An envoy from America is comin' to meet us tomorrow. Ya trick worked."