Well folks you asked for it so here it is, another chapter to the Son. I do hope you continue to enjoy it and think of stopping by the yahoo group which has this and other stories posted on it. Do take care.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adultwritingworkshop/
After the birth of her first dozen and relatively free willed children, the Mother's birth cycle had changed to producing offspring under a more ridged caste system... workers, warriors, planners, thinkers by the thousands. They were not as interesting as her first children, but the Mother loved them all the same, especially respecting their single minded drive to help with the integration of humanity into the Chimera race.
Trak, the Mother's eldest, remained her favorite. That is why she had interceded in his normal development to prevent him from taking a female mate and face the certain death that would result from it. Nurturing Trak with the milk from her own breasts, the Mother gave gifts to her most favorite of children. She gave him wings with which he could fly and a larger, more complex mind with greater access to the human side of his emotions. With each molting of his exoskeleton his body looked more human, the mustard yellow color of his skin changing to a pale fleshly tone. The once thick tendrils of his white hair thinned out to a more human appearance but still pulsated with a life of their own.
These changes did not go unnoticed by Trak. The more the Mother altered him the more isolated he felt from his fellow Chimera. "Mother why am I so different from my brothers and sisters?"
The Mother extended her hair tendrils and stroked her son's face. "You are to be special my son."
"How am I to be special?"
"The day I lay my final egg I will die, but our people's dream of bringing humanity into the Chimera must not end with my passing. I have chosen you, Trak, to lead the Chimera after I am gone."
"But you have millions of eggs... you won't die any time soon."
"My son... I was the first human to be joined with the Chimera. My transformation was therefore far from perfect. I do have millions of eggs still in my body; but almost all of them are sterile. When I give birth to my last child I will have served my purpose and will die."
"But..." Trak protested.
"Trak... my dearest child... I made you more human so you may better understand them. Unlike your brothers and sisters, you will experience the joy and sadness of human emotions."
"Why?"
"I am almost completely Chimera now, but a small part of me is still human. While I believe deeply in the Chimera cause of bringing all of humanity into their fold, the human part of me is terrified of what I am doing. There are humans I still love and do not want to see hurt in the coming invasion... my brother, Vard, and Joshua to name a few. I want you to find the people who were once dear to me and get them to see that resisting is pointless. Get them to welcome the gift we Chimera are bringing to them."
"But what if they refuse our gift?"
"You must see that they do not. The Prelate and the counterpart are the key to humanity. If you can convince them to join us of their own free will, the rest of humanity will follow. Do not worry my son... I have made you special. Vard and Joshua will be hard pressed to refuse you."
"I will do my best mother."
"And that is all I can ask. Now kiss me and go... I am about to lay my final egg."
"But I don't want to leave you."
"I know... you are almost too human. I don't want you to see me die. I want to spare you that pain."
The Mother's clicking voice began to become slow and labored. "I am Chimera... I must die in the way of our race."
Trak's mandibles trembled in fear. "My brothers and sisters... will they eat you?"
"That is the way it has always been... when the Chimera has served their purpose they surrender their bodies to nourish the younger generations."
"I won't let them eat you mother."
"It is my fate son; do not fight it." The Mother said as her eyes went dull and lifeless.
At the moment of his mother's death, Trak felt hundreds of hungry eyes look in his direction. Even he felt his stomach rumble but his human half was stronger than his Chimera instincts. Instead he grabbed his mother's last egg and ran into one of the caves in the side of the pyramid.
That night he slept with his arms wrapped around the precious egg, whispering promises to it. "I will never let you become like my brothers and sisters."
With their shuttle landing at the port on Earth, Drake and Joshua stepped out onto the thick red carpet that stretched for half a mile to the doors of the Guild
Palace. Along the way tens of thousands of bronze masked, red eyed Protectors knelt on one knee, their faces looking down. As Joshua and Drake passed each man, the Protector would raise a hand in salute before bowing even lower.
"Are you scared papa?" Drake asked. He could almost taste the fear radiating from Joshua as they walked closer to the palace.
"I am, son."
"But Falcon would never hurt you. I've seen it in his heart... he loves you."
"I know... I know he does but my father is not himself. There is another man inside him... a dangerous one."
"Gerick?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry papa."
Joshua stopped walking midstep. "Why do you say that?"
Drake looked up at Joshua with a guilty expression. "You would not have come here if it were not for me."
Joshua lowered his head to rest on Drake's forehead. "I would pass the gates of death itself for you Drake."
"I love you papa." Drake whispered, looking down on the carpeted ground.
"I know Drake."
"No you don't... I really love you, more than anyone."
Joshua placed a light kiss on top of Drake's head before replying. "I know Drake... I've known since you were robbed of your childhood and made a man. I know what you want but now is not the time. If Gerick were ever to suspect how much you care about me, he would use it to try to control us both. Understand?"
"Yes papa." Drake nodded, resting his head on his father's chest.
"And Drake... if everything works out the way I hope, you will not be able to call me papa anymore."
"But..." Drake said as he felt his eyes moisten.
"Drake, if you want what I think you want from me, then one day I will have to stop being your papa."
"No." Drake whimpered. "You will always be my papa."
"And you will always be my son, but from now on I want you to call me Joshua."
"Papa!" Drake protested.
Joshua looked down on Drake sternly "Joshua," he corrected.
"But."
"Joshua."
Drake let out a deep sigh and nodded his head. "Joshua."
Joshua planted another kiss on Drake's forehead, this one lasting longer than the first. "Thank you Drake. I love you."
"I love you too... Joshua."
This time Joshua leaned down and kissed Drake on his lips, ever so tenderly. Drake opened his mouth in surprise and was rewarded by the velvety touch of Joshua's tongue entering him, swirling inside his mouth. Drake leaned forward, letting Joshua's tongue slip deeper inside him. Then it ended. Joshua moved away, his tongue leaving Drake's mouth. Seeing a single tear running down Drake's face, Joshua caught it with the tip of his finger and drew it into his mouth.
"We need to be going now, Drake." Joshua said as he took Drake's hand in his.
"Alright," Drake said still stunned.
As they climbed the steps of the Guild palace Joshua covered Drakes eyes, for standing next to the great door were two crucifixes with two men, men that Joshua knew too well, Tidal and Austin, gagged and nailed to the crosses. Standing between them, the black grinning mask of the Prelate was Falcon, his arms outstretched welcomingly.
"Falcon what have you done."
"Done... I have done what only a sane man would do... punished those who tried to kill him. My brother... my dear, dear brother, popped out of the Void with the help of your talented friend Austin welding this." Falcon said as he took out a long gold dagger.
"The Dagger of Change." Joshua whispered.
"Yes... the Dagger of Change... the one thing that can kill a Prelate without disrupting the Void. Not only did they try and kill me with this blade but they killed Kamp, my most loyal servant, to get their hands on this instrument of destruction.
"So you will now kill your own brother?"
An evil grin grew on Falcon's face. "Only if you make me," he said in Gerick's voice.
"I don't understand, Gerick."
"It is simple Joshua... you broke your promise to never leave me. To find you had the heart of a traitor hurt me greatly. You don't know how hard it has been for me to find a way to forgive you... but I found a way. You see I needed you to feel what I felt when you left me. That is why I had the palace poisoned. That is why I sent the Inquisitors to Wor... killing many of your dear friends. It is why I am having you watch the life bleed out of Austin and Tidal."
"When will you stop?"
"I will when I am sure you have felt the pain and loss you made me endure. But, to show that I have forgiven you Joshua, I will give you two gifts. The first you may have now."
"What is it?" Joshua whispered, his eyes stinging with tears.
"I give you the gift of life and death. You may save the life of one of your friends. In doing so however, understand that you will be sentencing the other man to death. Or... you can decide to make no choice and keep your hands clean of any blood, the deaths of both men placed on me."
"I hate you Gerick."
"But you love your father." Gerick's voice laughed. "So what are you going to do Joshua... what are you going to do."
Joshua let his eyes dart between his two crucified friends. "Let me talk to them."
"No... sorry, I can't allow that. You have to make this choice on your own."
"I can't do this."
"Fine... as I said you don't have to make a choice. Let both men die and keep you innocence."
For Drake the choice was clear. He did not understand why his papa was struggling. Drake did not hate Austin... he thought the man could be funny at times but Austin had never liked him... not like Tidal. Where Austin could be short tempered, Tidal had always shown Drake a great deal of kindness. That is why Drake had gone to the Protector when he had started to feel `the urge'. While Austin would mock him as he asked dozens of questions, Tidal would smile and answer Drake's questions until he ran out of ones to ask. That was how Tidal had become Drake's first lover and mentor. "Papa..."
"I know Drake, I know." Joshua said as tears ran down his face, not bothering to correct his son.
For a while there was silence, Falcon watching Joshua's tormented face with pleasure while Drake became less and less sure that his papa would pick Tidal.
"Please Joshua... please pick Tidal."
Joshua, his face wet with tears looked down at Drake. "If I pick Tidal, Vard will never forgive me. Austin is his oath brother."
"Then let me pick... you can tell Vard that the choice was mine."
"Drake, it is not that easy."
Then Gerick, seeing an opportunity, spoke up. "Drake... it looks like Joshua can't bring himself to make such an important decision. I am starting to think he has not grown up enough to handle such a grown up issue."
"Joshua is a good man."
"Yes he is... but we both know that to get things done one can't always be good, don't we?"
Joshua glared at the Prelate's masked covered face. "Leave my son alone."
"I don't think so Joshua... you had your chance. Now it's Drake's turn. Drake... my son, who would you save."
"Tidal." Drake said easily.
"See Joshua... Drake is not one to become muddled. He knows exactly what he wants and is willing to make sacrifices to get it. You will one day be a great man, my boy."
As two iron masked men removed Tidal from the cross, Joshua walked over to where Austin was crucified, reaching up to touch the dying man's feet. "Please let Austin go too." He begged of Gerick.
"No... I will not. You need to be punished before I can forgive you. Austin will die but thanks to Drake, Tidal will not."
"Please... I beg you. I will do whatever you want."
"You will do whatever I want anyway, unless you wish to see your son share Austin's fate.
"Let me at least talk to him. Remove his gag."
"That is a reasonable request... for a price."
"Name it."
"Kiss me, and tell me you love me." Falcon said in Gerick's voice.
"No." Joshua refused.
"Then you will never hear Austin's final words."
"I will kiss Falcon and tell him I love him but not you Gerick."
"But we are one and the same." Both Falcon and Gerick's voices came from the mask.
"I don't believe that. My father would never do the things you have done."
"Then you never really knew your father. Being a part of him I have come to know all his dark secrets... the men he has killed, the crimes he has committed, the lives he has ruined. You think I am a monster and your father a mere victim. How deluded you are."
"I know my father was not one who has lived his whole life in the light but he would never try to hurt me like you have Gerick."
"True... but without me, Falcon would have died years ago, killed by his own drug addiction. Even now I am all that is keeping him from taking up his old habits."
"Let me talk to Falcon." Joshua insisted.
"So be it." Gerick chuckled, his voice slowly fading away.
Joshua watched as the Prelate became unstable on his feet, collapsing to the ground, his obsidian mask falling off his face. Running over to Falcon, Joshua went down on his knees next to him. "Falcon?"
Falcon, his body ghostly pale, took a shaking hand and touched his son's face. "Forgive me Joshua... forgive me."
"Father?"
"Yes... Gerick is still in control, but he has relaxed his leash enough for me to talk to you without him interfering."
"I've missed you."
"I know son, but it would have been better if you had not come here. With Gerick inside, me I understand why you are terrified by him. If I had only been stronger, I would have been able to expel his leeching soul."
"It's not your fault father."
"Thank you, but I know my own sins and the price I must one day pay for them. This, though, is not the time to talk about forgiveness. I must tell you what you must do... If given the chance you must kill me. It is the only way to end this nightmare for both of us."
"I can't father... I can't."
"You must Joshua."
"There has to be another way."
"There is no other way. The heart of Gerick's soul is inside me. If he dies the members of the Brotherhood possessed by Gerick will be freed. Humanity will be freed."
"I can't kill you Falcon."
"I know... but one day you will have to son. Not for your own sake but Drake's and all the people close to you. Gerick might say he has forgiven you but he still wants you to suffer for leaving him."
"I love you father."
"I love you son. Now keep your promise, and give me a kiss, so you can say goodbye to your friend."
Joshua nodded his head before placing a kiss on Falcon's lips. The moment he felt a strong hand push on the back of his head, Joshua knew Gerick was back.
Joshua slipped away and stood back up. "Keep your end of the bargain."
"And things were just getting interesting." Gerick laughed.
"Keep your promise Gerick!"
Standing on his feet, putting the black mask over his face, Gerick waved over two of his guards. "Very well."
With the gag removed, Austin gasped for air.
"Please forgive me and Drake," Were Joshua first words to his old friend.
"There is nothing to be forgiven Joshua. Do not be fooled into thinking Tidal's life is now safe... the Prelate plans on killing all of us. I am just dying sooner rather than later."
"This is entirely my fault. If you had never met me..."
"Joshua, don't say that. Without you I would have always been a half a man. I would never have been a part of Vard and your lives."
"What would you like me to tell Vard?"
"Tell him... tell him I will be waiting for him in the Void," Austin chuckled painfully.
"I will, Austin," Joshua promised.
For the rest of the time the two men remained silent. The only sound came from Austin struggle to breath. Eventually his muscles gave out, a low gurgle coming from his mouth. His head then slumped down lifelessly.
Drake had watched all of this, confused. He had made a choice; a choice his father could not bring himself to make. If he had not done what he did, than both men would have died. On seeing the hurt on Joshua's face, however, Drake could not free himself from thinking he had made a mistake... that his papa would have picked Austin on his own.
Leaving Tidal's side, Drake went to where his father was crying. "Papa?"
"I told you to call me Joshua." He said emotionlessly.
"I'm sorry Joshua. I thought you were going to let Tidal die."
Joshua closed his eyes, in an attempt to hide the emotions he was feeling. "He means a lot to you."
"Yes."
Joshua opened his eyes and glared at Drake. "And Austin didn't?"
Drake took a step back, his lower lip quivering. He had never seen his papa so angry.
"Papa?"
"I told you to call me Joshua!" he snapped this time.
More than Joshua's words, it was the look of rage on his papa's face that sent Drake into tears. Turning around, he tried to flee from his father's gaze only to run right into Tidal.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." Drake repeated over and over as he cried against Tidal's chest.
Tidal held Drake close while looking at Joshua with deep sympathy. "I'm sorry Joshua... Drake didn't know. Please forgive him."
"Please take Drake inside. I need to be alone for a while," Joshua said, his eyes not leaving Austin's lifeless body.
Tidal took Drake's hand. "Come Drake, we should go."
"But papa?"
"Joshua needs to be alone with Austin."
"I couldn't let you die Tidal. I just couldn't," Drake said as he was being led away.
"I know. Love can make us do strange things, and sometimes not the right thing."
"Was I wrong to pick you?"
Tidal knew the truth would hurt Drake but he needed to know why his father was in such pain. "Yes Drake, you should not have picked me."
"You are saying you wanted to die?" Drake said in disbelief.
"No... no one wants to die, but since the day I became a Protector I have been ready to die for Joshua and those dear to him. Austin was the last of Joshua's friends from Wor... a friend he should not have lost today."
"Is that why papa hates me now?"
"No Drake. I do not think he hates you. He is angry... angry that he could not make what should have been an easy choice. Instead of saving Austin's life he left the choice to you... we both know what happened."
"Will papa ever forgive himself?"
"I don't know. It depends on how Vard handles his oath brother's death. If Vard shows even the slightest hint that he blames his husband for Austin's death... the guilt will haunt Joshua for the rest of his life."
"I will tell Vard that it was my fault," Drake offered.
"If only it were that simple my boy. Joshua lives off Vard's love... if he were to ever think he has lost it..."
"Would he die?"
"No... but you would not recognize the man that would be left."
"This is entirely my fault."
"No Drake... it is only one man's fault... Gerick's."