Sitting back down on thevesha-bench, Kari fiddled with theholo-charmto get it to work. She felt slightly guilty for looking into Dari’s life without the princess’ expressed permission, but ultimately her curiosity won out. “Open up,” she mumbled to herself. “Open—okay here we go.”
The first hologram to pop out was that of Gio and an older man who looked a lot like him. His father before he went all Darth Vader, she presumed? “Name,” Kari ordered the bracelet inTrystonni.
A disembodied voice replied, “High Lord Gio Z’an Tar and King Elian Z’an Tar of Arak.”
Kari harrumphed. Now she knew what evil looked like. If it came down to taking the elder Z’an Tar out at least she’d be able to pick him out of a lineup. Swiping right on theholo-charm, Kari stilled as the next two holograms materialized before her. “No,” she whispered. “This can’t be…”
Her mouth worked up and down, but no words came out as she stared at a warrior she’d never seen and a woman who could have been the twin of her sister Kyra’s best friend Geris. She swallowed against the lump in her throat as she told herself over and over again that this had to be Dari’s mother, not her sister’s best friend, and that her mind was simply tired and performing tricks on her.
Then say the word! Say it out loud!
Kari sat there for what felt like hours, but was likely mere seconds. Her lips worked up and down until her vocal chords came back to life. “Name.”
The disembodied voice spoke words that sent chills racing down her spine. “King Dak Q’an Tal and Queen Geris Q’ana Tal of Ti Q’won.”
“Geris,” Kari gasped. “But how?”
She recognized the question to be a dumb one even as she uttered it to herself. How did anyone from first-dimension earth end up in seventh-dimension Trek Mi Q’an? They justdid.
Beaming from ear to ear, excitement and awe jolted through her body when it at last dawned on her that she’d been travelling the universe with Geris’ daughter—her daughter!By Kari’s standards, and no doubt by Geris’ as well, for all intent and purposes that made the young princess her niece.
Her niece who had been put through hell, she thought grimly as her smile faltered. Her niece who she would die to protect before seeing Geris lose a child. Her niece who, even now, was being deflowered by a gargantuan warrior who believed he was acting by the will of the goddess.
She frowned. Kari hoped like hell that Geris shared Gio’s sentiment or the two Earthling women might have the worst reunion in the history of ever. Hell, Kari conceded, did it matter? She’d take any reunion she could get.
Her hands shaking, Kari accidentally swiped right on theholo-charm. She had meant to keep Geris’ hologram up, not to…
Kari’s eyes rounded to the shape of saucers as the next two holograms appeared. Her hands flew to her head; she grabbed two fistfuls of wine-red curls and tugged. She stood up only to fall to her knees. “Name,” she rasped. She cleared her throat. “Name,” she repeated more distinctly.
“Emperor Zor Q’an Tal and Empress Kyra Q’ana Tal of Trek Mi Q’an Galaxy.”
Kari let go of her hair and grabbed her recoiling belly. She rocked back and forth as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Kyra,” she whispered through her tears. “My beloved sister.”
* * * * *
Meanwhile, also in Zyrus Galaxy…
Nary a sound could be heard in the viewing gallery of thegastrolight-cruiserwhich had nigh unto caught up to the one it chased. All jaws were slack as they watched Kari Gy’at Li sob whilst she put her hand through Kyra’s hologram as if wishing it was real.
She was taking the news as if ‘twas the first time she’d heard it. Mayhap the memory loss she’d spoken of went deeper than first they’d thought.
“I thought you were dead,” Kari gasped. “And you probably think I am too.” Her cries were heart-wrenching to even the most hardened of warlords. “I-I was raising my own niece when she ran from Cam?” She smiled through her tears. “And you named her Kara after me.” Again, she succumbed to tears.
High Lord Death was the first to speak, though he did not look away from Kari in the doing. “She once confided in me that her real name was Kara, but she had to change it to Kari when she arrived on Galis.”
“Because of the Law of Names,” Zor murmured. “’Tis illegal for any within the galaxy to carry the name of a royal hatchling—”
“Yet that very hatchling was named for the woman who had to give up her name,” Death finished. He sighed. “’Tis irony, that.”
Zor swallowed roughly. “Mynee’kawill never forgive me does anything happen to her sister.”
“Forgive you?” Dak snorted. “She would like as not murder you where you stand.”
“I am awares!”
“Then let us catch up to that bedamned ship! We’ve all of us someone to lose in this quest to kill evil!”
“Dari and Gio will never be safe,” Death reminded them, “until the evil one is dead.”
