<p>Previous chapters: <a href="http://www.squidge.org/peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?sid=37198&warning=FRM">http://www.squidge.org/peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?sid=37198&warning=FRM</a></p><p></p><p>CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT<br>
<br>Dalton's sapphire eyes, burning bright with fever, suddenly snapped open. "I came for you, Adric," he whispered, freezing Adric and Paris where they stood by the door.<br><br>"Yes," Adric said softly. "I know."<br>
<br>Dalton lowered his eyes. "I've murdered so many. So many."<br><br>Adric moved swiftly back to the bed and laid a gentle hand on Dalton's arm. "Your killings were clean, my friend."<br><br>
"Talk. Talk. Talk is all you ever do," Dalton chanted in a childish sing-song voice. "Damn idealist. Going to get us all killed before it's all said and done."<br><br>"I sure hope not," Paris breathed.<br>
<br>Dalton snickered, his eyes darting between the two of them. "I don't believe in ghosts. Why don't you go away? Vanish and leave me in peace." He closed his eyes. "I don't believe in you."<br>
<br>"He thinks we're dead," Paris shuddered. "Adric, he thinks we're dead."<br><br>"I heard."<br><br>"Of course you're dead." Dalton opened one glassy eye. "I killed you, didn't I?" The second eye popped open and he stared at Paris coldly. "Tossed you out an airlock. Stuffed you in and whoosh. All gone." He chuckled briefly and then sighed. "All gone."<br>
<br>"Dalton, listen...." Adric began.<br><br>"And you." Dalton pointed a shaking hand at Adric. "I didn't want to kill you, haurride, but you betrayed me. You left me without any choice. You caused your death. Not me." He waved a dismissive hand. "Go haunt yourself."<br>
<br>"Dalton," Adric said firmly. "Focus on my voice. Do you hear me? Listen to what I'm saying."<br><br>Dalton groaned, closing his eyes. "Why must I watch all I care for die?"<br><br>
Adric shook his head. "It's no use. He's not getting what we're saying."<br><br>Paris patted Dalton's arm. "Rest, Dal," he whispered, then tugged Adric aside. "Adric, this is not the man I know. This man, I don't begin to recognize."<br>
<br>"No, I don't suppose you would," Adric said. "But Yessenia recognized this part of him. She even went so far as to give it a name."<br><br>"I think my brain must be furring up."<br><br>
"We're seeing his human side," Adric said softly, as if voicing his thoughts aloud might be sacrilegious. "But don't feel bad. I don't think even he'd recognize that side of himself. It's buried too deep."<br>
<br>"Well, let's hope it gets buried again. Soon. I don't like it. Not one little bit."<br><br>Adric glanced over his shoulder at the restless man. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Let's get out of here. Unless I miss my guess, Dalton won't be thrilled if he remembers we witnessed this."<br>
<br>"Adric," Dalton snapped, his voice firm. He leaned up on his elbows, staring coldly at them through eyes that said Dalton was back.<br><br>"Yeah?"<br><br>"Be careful. You're in danger. Grave danger, haurride."<br>
<br>The sudden burst of strength that had allowed him to give his warning flooded out of him and he slumped back down on the bed into a deep, troubled sleep.<br><br>* * * * * * * * <br>
<br>Dalton hunkered down beside the well-tended grave with his free hand resting on the weathered headstone. "I brought you something, Grandmere," he said softly as his eyes traced the delicate sprig of white jasmine cradled in his right hand. <br>
<br>On impulse, he brushed the fragile blossoms over his lips and inhaled the tart fragrance that had been, for her, a bittersweet reminder of the home world she had fled so many years ago.<br><br>The heady, floral aroma swept through him, carrying strictly forbidden memories of the maternal love only she had given him.<br>
<br>"Always alert, aren't you?" a sarcastic voice said behind him.<br><br>Stung back into the barren reality of his life, he dropped the blossoms as if they'd burned his fingers. His lean features grew remote as he watched the flowers drift to rest on the gently mounded earth.<br>
<br>Sneering, Cheska kicked at the fragile blossoms. "How very touching. You're still bringing flowers for the old woman." Her dainty slipper ground the blossoms into a honeyed powder. "But what's this? What tribute have you brought for your father?"<br>
<br>His hot glare clashed with her calculating gaze, before he suppressed the dangerous emotions and gifted her with a chilled smile. "Father? I never had a father. What I had was a man who sired me and a woman whose body served as an incubator. Nothing more."<br>
<br>"Yet you show sentiment for the old woman? You give her respect."<br><br>Dalton's razor sharp stare cut through her. "Grandmother deserves my respect. She allowed me some remnant of humanity. Unlike you."<br>
<br>"She disregarded your training. Made you soft."<br><br>"Am I soft, then, Cheska?"<br><br>"As cotton. If it had been possible, once that interfering woman had passed, I would have attempted to create a second son."<br>
<br>"And me? What would you have done with me?"<br><br>She shrugged. "You were born for one purpose."<br><br>"So, you would have killed me if it had been possible to recreate another untarnished child?"<br>
<br>"I believe this old woman may have seriously endangered your ability to do what you must."<br><br>He shoved to his feet, towering head and shoulders above her. "Say the words, Cheska. You would have had me killed if you could have had another son by my father."<br>
<br>"Yes, I would have terminated you with my own hands."<br><br>A sardonic smile touched his lips. "Then, it is a great pity my father's precious cells and sperm were lost to you, isn't it?" He turned on his heel and strode off toward the house.<br>
<br>Cheska ran after him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to acknowledge her. "I would speak with you."<br><br>Scowling, Dalton stared down his aristocratic nose at her. "What could you say that would interest me?"<br>
<br>Her sudden overly bright smile mocked him and he tensed under her grasping fingers, bracing for her verbal assault. "Your transport," she said, waving a limp hand toward the shuttle in front of the geodesic dome that had been his home for most of his life. "It has arrived. You leave for Earth within the hour."<br>
<br>"Earth? I'm going to Earth today? You couldn't have informed me of this before? Given me some time to arrange my affairs?" he demanded, somehow managing to keep his voice steady while hot blood pounded in his ears.<br>
<br>She waved his concern aside. "Your personal affairs are unimportant.<br>I simply want your assurance."<br><br>"My assurance?"<br><br>"You understand what is required? You are prepared to get close to our enemies?"<br>
<br>Grimacing, he shook off her clinging fingers. "I am."<br><br>"And you will do as instructed?"<br><br>"It's the reason I was conceived, is it not?" His long fingers raked through black shoulder-length hair. "Yes, I understand what you require."<br>
<br>"But you don't like it. You'd sooner find your own path."<br><br>Yes, if it were possible, he would ignore her insane demands. He would escape his evil birthright and make a place of peace for himself. Unfortunately, his family had too many enemies with long reaching power. He shrugged. "I do what I must to survive."<br>
<br>Cheska smiled, nodding. "The post I've procured for you brings you close to your targets. Luckily, both men were recently assigned to the same out-reach office."<br><br>Dalton listened in silence while she gave him an up-dated rundown on the unsuspecting men he was expected to exterminate, his granite gaze fixed on the shuttle, giving away none of his tortured thoughts.<br>
<br>When she was finished, Cheska touched his cheek, drawing his startled eyes. "Dalton, you must take care in their termination. No one must trace your hand in the tragedy."<br><br>He snorted, watching her narrowly. "Do I detect concern in your voice, Cheska? Are you worried about me? No. More likely you fear for yourself, hm?"<br>
<br>Her face went blank. "You're my only son. I don't want you dead."<br><br>"Don't you?" His lips curled mockingly. "Then what, pray, do you want for me, Cheska? Do you anticipate a happy reunion after I've been properly blooded? Shall I bathe in my victims' blood to prove myself? Is that what you require?"<br>
<br>"I demand the execution of your father's murders. Only that. If it's in your mind to bathe in their blood, then I commend your enthusiasm." Her expression turned skeptical. "But it is hardly what I expected from you."<br>
<br>"Perhaps you don't give me enough credit," he sighed, turning to walk away.<br><br>Cheska doggedly fell into step with him. "You'll return here immediately it's finished."<br><br>"No."<br>
<br>"No?"<br><br>"I won't be coming back."<br><br>"But of course you will. Together we will build you a future of..."<br><br>His gaze, like hard spun crystal, lashed her. "I have no future. Have you no concept of what I'm doing? I forfeit my life once I've done what you demand."<br>
<br>"Nonsense," she scoffed. "You are a St Moritz. Your family has personified the rebellion from the first strike. The rebels who pledged themselves to your ancestors are prepared to follow you.<br>With the commissioners out of our way, we need only take the government stronghold to bring you to power on this planet, just as your father would have done."<br>
<br>"No." Cruel fingers bit into her arms and his brittle hate-filled glare drilled through her, making her tremble. "I don't want government power. Do you understand? I'm not my father. I don't exist to follow his path. No, I don't. I don't breathe revenge with every breath. Do you hear me?" He flung her aside, dispassionately watching her collapse into a heap in the dirt. "I will not return. Do you understand me?"<br>
<br>She reached a trembling hand toward him, tears glistening in her faded blue eyes. "Then, what will happen to me?"<br><br>"You?" Vile contempt darkened his pale face. "Oh, you'll survive. If for no other reason than to spite me. You'll live so you can continue to haunt my every waking moment no matter where I go. Of that I have no doubt."<br>
<br>"I'm your mother," she wailed, struggling to her feet.<br><br>"Yes," he said, turning on his heel. "More's the pity."<br><br>Cheska caught at his arm. "You'll kill them, Dalton? You promised. You'll do it?"<br>
<br>Dalton paused, staring at the shuttle waiting in the yard. He could refuse. He could climb in that craft and never look back, but his family's enemies would never allow him to live in peace. As long as they lived he would forever be looking over his shoulder, afraid of the shadows that raced after him? <br>
<br>"Mother, have you ever, for one fleeting moment, not regretted my existence?" he whispered, needing to hear her answer. Knowing it would set him free. "Was there ever a time when you delighted in my birth?"<br>
<br>Confusion flooded her worn features. "You are your father's son. I adored him. Isn't that enough?"<br><br>"I will do what you ask, but then it's over. I expect never to see or hear from you once it's finished. That's the payment I demand." He disengaged her clutching fingers and shoved her away. "I acknowledge no family from this day."<br>
<br>Giving her his back, he strode toward the waiting craft, taking nothing of the past with him.<br><br>Her words had sealed his destiny.<br><br>* * * * *<br><br>The fever broke in a rush, drenching his body with a heavy sheen of sweat, releasing him from the misery of the dreams.<br>
<br>And the healing began.<br><br>END PART 28<br><br><br></p><p>Please review. </p><p><br clear="all"></p><br>-- <br>PEJA<br>The wwomb archive <a href="http://www.squidge.org/~peja/cgi-bin/index.php">http://www.squidge.org/~peja/cgi-bin/index.php</a> accepts all fandoms, all genres. Come create your personal page with us<br>
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