My Kingdom Come book 1: The Saints We See

666 standard years after the signing of the Alliance

Mik was standing in a corridor of Galor’s ship. He felt a little dizzy.

“Where are we?”

Mik turned. Jonat was standing beside him. “Home. Galor’s ship.”

“Where’s the cockpit?”

“This way.” Mik began to walk the familiar path. He expected to see Galor there, but the cockpit was empty.

Jonat sat in the pilot’s seat and began to type on the computer screen. Mik sat in the copilot’s seat. “Do you want me to file the paperwork for landing?”

“No.” Jonat answered as if he were only half listening. “We’re still a few weeks out.”

“Oh, right.” Mik frowned. Why hadn’t he remembered that?

Jonat worked quietly for a long twenty or thirty minutes, then he sighed deeply. He leaned back in the pilot’s seat and rubbed his forehead. “What other rooms are on the ship?”

“Um, crew’s quarters, the engine room, bathroom, cargo bay, kitchen. There’s an extra cargo storage area that Galor converted into a training room.”

Jonat sat thinking for a moment, his eyes still closed. “Alright. Take me to the main cargo bay.”

“Okay.” Mik got up and began leading the way. Something was making him uneasy. “I don’t remember picking you up. What port did we pick you up in?”

“You know, the port.” Jonat said vaguely.

Mik frowned and turned to look at him. “What? What do you mean ’the port’?”

Jonat smiled tiredly. “That usually works.”

Mik felt dizzy for a moment. He blinked.

“Are you going to take me to the cargo bay?” Jonat asked. “I need to check on my cargo.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Mik turned and began walking towards the cargo bay. Galor was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. Mik’s face lit up. “Ga-” Dizziness hit Mik like a sledgehammer. He turned, his hands blindly seeking the wall for support. He bent double. He was going to throw up. Then, as if seeing Galor and the nausea had only been a waking dream, he was walking down the corridor towards the cargo bay again.

The Jurverian captain that had captured Mik and brought him to Chentzo was casually leaning against the door. He grinned showing his pointed teeth. Mik swallowed. His hands tightened into fists.

“Oh for the gods’ sakes.” A voice muttered behind Mik.

Mik felt dizzy. He swayed.

“It’s all right.” A hand steadied him. Mik opened his eyes. Star was sitting on the floor in front of the cargo door playing a board game. He looked up and smiled at Mik. “Come play!”

“Fuck.” A voice muttered behind Mik.

Mik turned. Jonat was standing there. He looked tired. “Oh! Hi Jonat. What are you doing here?”

“I just need to check on the cargo and let Galor know if it’s gobsninger.”

Mik blinked. “What?”

“I’m checking on the cargo for Galor. Can I get around you and Star?”

“Oh, sure.” Mik turned around. Star was gone. He opened the cargo door and stepped inside.

Mik was standing in the market just outside the docks. Merchants were calling out their wares. Children were running through the market giggling and playing. Mik took a deep breath of the fresh air, savoring the scents of cooking food.

“Of course.” Sighed a nearby voice.

Mik turned. “Jonat! What are you doing here?”

Jonat smiled wanly. “Why not? It worked before.” He took a deep breath. “I’m looking for important and memorable events.”

“Oh, that’s right over here.” Mik lead the way through the market. He stopped at a line of booths. “This is where I keep all my most important memories.”

“Thanks.” Jonat walked up to the nearest booth and started browsing. Mik went over to another booth and started looked through jewelry made of polished stones. He picked up a bracelet made of tiny purple stones and put it on his wrist. He smiled. That was from the planet he had first rooted on after his mother had left. That was when Galor had found out that there was a warrant out for Mik.

Mik heard a crash. A sick feeling went through him. He left the booth with the jewelry and walked past another booth that had nothing but a gaping black hole of emptiness in it. Another booth was enclosed in a tent. The tent had an iron door and Galor was screaming behind it. Mik paused, a shudder ran through him. Another crash sounded, it shook the ground. Mik refocused and walked towards the disturbance. The next time he heard the crash it came from behind him. His chest constricted.

He turned back and stopped at another booth that was enclosed in canvas. The canvas was covered in window shutters. Each shutter opened on a different world that he and Galor had visited in the past. One set of shutters was still open. Mik pushed his head and shoulders though, the rest of him followed. Another crash sounded. He was getting closer. He hurried through the crowded marketplace, slid into the waiting hover car, and sped off. He accelerated through the time it took to travel to the meadow and arrived within a few seconds. He jumped out of the car and racing across the meadow, focused on a particular point of time which brought up the prop he needed; a discarded paper box that had once held a bowl of food lay in the grass. Its fragile sides shuddered as another crash boomed out of it. Mik slid feet first into the side of the small box and was pulled into the graphic printed on it.

He was standing in front of a tall stone wall that had broken glass sticking out of the mortar at the top. Just barely visible on the other side was a brick building. Jonat was also standing there, he drew back his fist and slammed it into the stone wall. This time the resounding crash was accompanied by a loud crack and a spiderweb of fissures split along the wall, running out from where Jonat had hit it.

“No! What are you doing?” Mik ran towards Jonat.

Jonat turned to face him. He was tired and sweating. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t find any other way in.”

Mik shoved Jonat in the chest, Jonat stepped back a step. “Stop! I bricked that up for a reason!”

“I’m sorry. I have to see what’s inside.”

“No.” Mik shook his head and stepped between Jonat and the wall. “It’s mine. Leave it alone.”

Jonat pressed his hand to his eyes and then ran it down his face. He turned to face Mik. “Mik. Please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Mik’s throat constricted. “Don’t call me that.”

“I’m sorry. It’s what you call yourself.”

“No.” Mik shook his head. His hands curled into fists. “Don’t call me that.”

Jonat cocked his head. “Why don’t you want me to call you ‘Mik’?”

“That’s not for you. It’s…” Mik frowned. He felt like he shouldn’t be talking about this. “It’s…my name is, my name is…” A handful of names he had been called over the years flashed through his mind, little one, sunshine, sweetheart, my love, Mikhail, Galorson, Miha, Boy, Mik. He realized Jonat was right, he did call himself Mik. When did he start calling himself Mik?

“Who is it for, Mikhail?” Jonat’s voice was soft and coaxing.

Mik’s fists tightened. “Leave, Jonat. I don’t want you here.”

Jonat swallowed. “If I leave, someone worse will come. I need to- I’m sorry. I have to do this.” He tried to step around Mik.

Mik moved to block him. He shoved Jonat in the chest again, but he didn’t move this time. “I want you to leave.”

“Mikhail, don’t fight me. I don’t want to have to hurt you.” A flash of deep remorse and determination leaked past his emotional barrier.

Mik punched Jonat in the face.

Jonat stumbled back this time. He pressed a hand to his eye. Mik rushed forward, grabbed Jonat’s collar and hooked his ankle around one of Jonat’s legs, but before he could jerk Jonat’s leg out from under him Jonat elbowed him in the face.

Mik stumbled back. He shook his head and rushed back at Jonat. Jonat sank his fist into Mik’s stomach. Mik crumpled to his knees.

“Stay down, Mikhail.”

A wave of dizziness washed over Mik. He couldn’t remember what he was doing exactly, but he knew there was danger and he had to fight. The dizziness was not subsiding, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. Someone was standing over him. He grabbed the front of their shirt and used it to help pull himself up. The sentient slammed their fist into Mik’s face. Mik found himself on the ground again.

“Please, stay down,” a male voice pleaded.

Mik rolled over and pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He crawled towards the sentient, but suddenly they were not there. A hand grabbed Mik by the hair from behind and jerked him up to his knees. Mik slammed his elbow backwards, but it only met empty air. A figure materialized in front of Mik and a flat palm smashed into the side of Mik’s face and ear. Mik whimpered as he collapsed. He was completely disoriented. He tried to get up, but he couldn’t tell if he was moving or not.

A hand gently touched his head. “I’m sorry.” Footsteps crunched across the ground away from him. A loud smashing noise reverberated through the air, shaking the ground. Mik whimpered again as a sharp pain shot through him. I have to stop them. He forced his aching body to move, crawling unsteadily towards the noise and pain. There was another smashing noise and then the sound of tumbling rocks.

“I’m through, Mikhail. You can’t stop me anymore. Just rest here.” Mik lifted his head and tried to open his eyes. Only one of them would open. The sentient was squeezing through the crack they had made in the wall. They disappeared from Mik’s vision. Mik dropped his head and began crawling again.

Behind the wall there was a growl and the man shrieked. There was the sound of the man shouting, the animal roaring. The man cried out in pain.

Jonat. The man is Jonat.

The animal yelped, whimpered. There was silence. “Fuck, Mikhail!” Jonat said loudly. A moment later Mik heard Jonat slam his fist into the wall of the brick building. He hadn’t given the building doors or windows either, Mik remembered. Mik inched along the ground, clawed at the stone wall and pulled himself through the fissure. Jonat’s pounding had already cracked the wall of the building. Pieces of brick were flying everywhere.

“Jonat, please!” Mik cried. “Please, leave it!”

Jonat acted like he hadn’t heard Mik. His fist went through the wall, a shaft of sunlight broke out. Mik laboriously continued on towards Jonat. Jonat worked at widening the hole he’d made. When it was big enough, he slipped through.

Mik could hear trees rustling in the wind, birds singing. He reached the brick house, pushed his shaking body up to its knees and peered through the opening. A fresh breeze wafted over his face. He was looking into a large meadow surrounded by trees. A small boy was running through the meadow chasing a purple butterfly. His mother was rooted into the soil, drinking of the sun and earth. Jonat was walking up and down the meadow, examining everything thoroughly.

Mik dragged his aching body through the crevice in the wall and collapsed in the soft grass. He lay in the sun and watched the little boy chase the butterfly.

Finally Jonat came back and sat next to him. “Why this memory?”

Mik swallowed. He kept his focus on the giggling little boy toddling through the grass. “This was one of my happiest memories. It hurts too much to remember it when I have nothing but slavery and shame to look forward to.”

“No. You have hundreds of memories bricked up like this one, but this is the one you came to protect. Why?”

“It’s one of my happiest memories.” Mik repeated.

Jonat sighed. “I don’t understand. You’ve modified hundreds of thousands of memories. You’ve burned thousands of memories out of your mind. You’ve bricked up memories that have no business being locked away. Why did you do this? How did you do this?”

Mik stubbornly kept his gaze on his younger self. He shrugged. “I’m just trying to survive, Jonat.”

Jonat let out a heavy sigh. “Mikhail, please. Let me help you.”

“You can’t help me. No one can.” Something black fluttered at the corner of Mik’s vision, he tried to ignore it, but it pulled at his attention for a moment. He glanced at it. The butterfly came fluttering towards him. Mik squeezed his eyes shut.

“What’s this?”

It was too late to try to hide it. Mik opened his eyes and looked over. “Please,” he whispered.

The small black butterfly was perched delicately on Jonat’s knuckle. Jonat tilted his head, “what…?” He lifted his other hand and closed it over the butterfly. A puff of smoke exploded out of his fist and the world turned dark.

“I love you, Mik.” The words fanned across his skin, lips moved against his cheek, delicate arms were wrapped around his neck.

Mik was overflowing with devotion, love, and longing. He held the delicate body close to him. “Queen of my heart, all my love belongs to you.” Soft lips kissed his mouth. Mik let out a moan and kissed his lover back.

Mik was laying in the meadow again.

Jonat was gone.

Mik curled in on himself, his breathing was ragged. He squeezed his eyes shut. He had been so sure there was nothing in that memory to betray whoever he had taken such pains to hide. Was I wrong? The little black butterfly landed on his nose. He didn’t reach into the memory hidden inside it again. He just laid still and listened to the joyful sounds of his younger self. A hand touched his shoulder.

“Mikhail, come on, let’s go. I’ll help you brick this back up.”

Mik opened his eyes and looked up at Jonat, his heart beating wildly. Jonat looked haggard. “Did you tell Chentzo?”

Jonat frowned. “What is there to tell? There’s nothing in that memory to connect it to anything or anyone. It seems more like a dream than anything else.”

Mik stared at him, then let out a relieved breath.

“Did you think I had found something?”

Mik began to struggle up off the ground. Jonat offered him a hand and he took it. “I didn’t know. I hoped not.”

Jonat pulled him to his feet. “You certainly went to great lengths to hide this memory.”

“How did you find it so fast?”

“Hm…” Jonat stared at Mik for a moment then cocked his head.

Mik suddenly felt like too much information was pouring into his mind. He could see his whole mind, he could see all the places he tucked his memories away in, but it was…bigger. No, that wasn’t right. There was another dimension. It was like seeing a two dimensional image suddenly jump into three dimensions and he immediately understood how Jonat had found his hidden memories. They stuck much further into this previously unknown dimension than the other things he held in his mind. They were as obvious as a mountain rising above a plain.

The information overload stopped and Mik was standing in the meadow again, dazed, trying to catch his breath. Jonat was holding his shoulders to steady him.

Mik blinked and regained his balance. “You knew where everything was why…why did you ask me questions about where things were?”

Jonat let go of Mik’s shoulders and stepped back. “What I’m doing is very invasive. It can cause massive and irreparable damage. It’s best to find a way to get your permission to go into the places I need to go into, if I can.”

“Things are about to get very bad for me with Chentzo, aren’t they?”

Jonat swallowed. “Yes.”

“Why can’t Chentzo still sell me? I want to be sold, I want to serve a master. I’ll obey them even if I can’t link to them.”

“I know Mikhail. The fact that Chentzo is even considering allowing you to live is a testament to how obedient you are, but he would never be able to convince anyone to buy you. Durweh are too powerful and they are used too harshly by their masters. Without a way to control you absolutely, whoever buys you is taking on too great of a financial and legal risk. Your only hope is to find out who bonded to you and try to break that link.”

Mik gave a sharp shake of the head. “No. I won’t put them in danger. Chentzo can do whatever he wants to me.”

Jonat shook his head. “You don’t even know who you’re protecting Mikhail, or what Chentzo is going to do to you.”

“I don’t know who I’m protecting, but I know I was willing to do anything to keep them safe. I’m not going back on that choice. Even if it means that Chentzo will sell my body as many times as he can to make as much money as he can before I’m not worth keeping alive anymore, I’ll choose that over betraying my…putting them in danger.”

“Mikhail-”

“Do you need to see anything else?”

“What?”

“Do you need to see anything else, or are we done here?”

Jonat let out a soft sigh. “I’m done.”

Mik swallowed and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go back.”

“Mikhail, are you sure? If we work together we might be able to-”

“I’m sure, Jonat.”