The TWILIGHT OF THE GODS -- Chap. 10

A Story of Mantra and Black September

By Aladdin and Christopher Leeson

Posted 09-16-24

“It's true that nothing in this world makes us so necessary to others as the affection we have for them.”

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
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THE BIG SISTER

Chapter 10

"Brandon," said my adopted daughter, "our mother had no sister. Didn't you know that?"

"Of course, I knew, but it might have frightened Jamie if she learned the real story," her stepfather answered.

“What’s the truth!” Evie demanded.

“That's something for your...aunt to tell you," Warstrike replied.

At that, father and daughter left the room, with the guards trailing after. If ever there had been a time when two people needed privacy, this was it!

"What is the truth?” my daughter repeated, her jaw jutting defiantly, her expression bewildered.

“I truly am Eden Blake, but I’m not exactly your mother. I come from an alternate dimension.”

“What?!”

“I'm trying to say that I’m a version of your mother from an alternate world. It’s complex. Do you see why I didn't want to explain to your preschool sister where I come from?"

“Are you talking about alternate dimensions like in science fiction books?”

“Yes. Your stepfather believes me and it would be nice if you would, too.”

“If you're telling the truth, why are you here?”

“I have a job to do. 'Ultra stuff,' as you used to call it. I've not only had to travel here from another timeline, but I've also had to come about nine years into the future. When I left my own Evie and Gus, they were still in elementary school. Just by looking at you, I'll know what my little girl will look like when she’s almost grown up."

Her brow furrowed. “You look exactly the way I remember you – her."

The teen’s face suddenly filled with so much hurt that I felt like taking her into my arms.

Evie shook her head. "I dreamed a thousand times about you not being dead. But if you're not my real mom, the dream hasn't come true. I guess it never will."

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to meet you on this trip because I knew it would hurt you when I had to go away again.”

She pulled back and looked away from me. "Have you come to help us with the war and the hunger?” she asked.

"No. I came for another reason. Until today, I didn’t know this world existed, or how bad the situation would be here."

“So, why did you come at all?”

"I'm looking for the Flaming Woman, the one Jamie keeps dreaming about?"

“That’s just a dream.”

"No. Jamie has an ultra-power similar to Brandon's. If the Flaming Woman comes, she might be able to help us save untold billions of lives, not only on Earth but on other planets, too."

"Will she save our lives here?” Evie asked.

“I’m not sure.”

Sometimes I think that most lies are told to be kind. There was nothing anyone could do to save her world. The Nemesis power had already flooded this timeline and its destructive effects could no longer be staved off. The Time Gem had delayed the timeline’s annihilation, but its power was nearly exhausted. There was no hope for this world, but I still hoped to save millions of others.

“Was there a super-volcano in the world where you came from?” Evie asked.

“No, not yet. If there’s a chance to stop it, I'll do everything possible.”

“How can you help so many others, but not help us?”

“There's a big difference in preventing something from happening and changing something that's already happened. I have no power that can rebuild all the wreckage in this world.”

She looked away, depressed.

"How bad have things been for you here?"

She shook her head without looking back. "I think the rebels will attack the castle soon. They've wanted to kill Warstrike and Necromantra for years. Maybe they'll kill all the rest of us, too. I don't know."

"So you think that your – stepdad – is going to lose the fight?"

She nodded. "I think he will."

I stepped up behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders. I had been expecting my daughter to grow up in a happier world than this one and be in love with living. But this reality was a bizarre parody of my world. It had nothing to offer except wreckage, fear, violence, and death.

"I'm going to talk to the rebels. Maybe that will do some good," I said. "But I've been wondering, how has Warstrike been treating you?"

"He's been okay. I think he cares about us because he loved our mother. It must be torture for him to look at you knowing that she hasn't really come back."

"Have you been able to keep up with your studies?" I asked.

She turned suddenly and incredulously. "How can something like that matter to you?"

I forced a smile. “I don’t want any dimensional version of Evie Blake to grow up a dummy."

"I can read and write and do arithmetic. Brandon finds us tutors. Anyone with something worth teaching us can get better eating if he helps us rather than living in the streets."

"Knowing that makes me like my old friend even better than I already do. What kind of a king has he been?" I asked.

She glanced at the door nervously.

"Are you afraid that someone is listening?" I asked.

"I – I don't know," she replied haltingly. "Everybody’s always spying. If Dad doesn't do it, Necromantra will."

The sound of that bitch’s name spoiled my mood.

"I’ve been wondering about Necromantra. How has seen been treating you?"

Evie shuddered. "I hate her! She killed my mother."

It was true. Necromantra had murdered the real Eden Blake. "Yes," I said, "but has she tried to harm you?" In my timeline, the witch had tried to drain Evie's magical potential into herself. That was a dangerous operation, especially if carried out by the crude methods that came naturally to Necromantra.

"She keeps her distance," said Evie. "It's horrible having the murderer of your mother living in the same house with you!"

"I'd agree. Why does your stepdad put up with her?"

“I’m not sure. Maybe it's because Necromantra is so powerful. She likes to fight, and there is plenty of fighting to do. But I don’t know why they thought they had to get married.”

"How do they behave with each other?"

Looking perplexed, she said, “I don't think Brandon trusts her, but she fascinates him somehow." Evie lowered her voice. "It's crazy, especially since there's talk that she used to be a man."

"Does she act like a man?" I replied evasively.

"Not that I can see."

I smiled. "Well, maybe the rumors aren't true then."

But instead of smiling, Evie's expression intensified.

"Mom – Mantra, I mean, are you like my mother? She told me that she had the ghost of a man inside her, like people say Marinna does." She carefully watched my expression.

"I hoped that by the time you grew up, you'd have forgotten what I said," I told her gently.

"I almost did. I tried to. I couldn't understand how a stranger, especially a man, could talk and behave so much like my real mother and still not be her. After a while, I tried not to think about it at all. A lot of the time, I pretended that you really were my mother."

I knew the reason that Evie had come away so confused. I'd never explained that the two of us hadn't met for the first time on the day of her mother's murder. I'd already been in her mother’s body for more than a year. That was why she didn't see any abrupt change in my behavior and how, from the first day, I appeared to know so much about the everyday life of the Blake family.

“Are you exactly like the real Mantra?” Evie suddenly asked.

I smiled. “I’ve always thought of myself as the real Mantra. I never knew your mother existed until today. But I think I must be almost the same as your mother was ten years ago -- before the volcano happened.”

“You almost make me feel like my mother has come back. Do you have to leave?” she asked.

“Yes, I do. I don’t have any choice about that. Too many people on too many worlds need the help the Flaming Woman against a terrible enemy.”

"Then tell me something ugly about yourself, so I won't have to miss you when you go!”

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you're an awful person, tell me about it, so I won't be sorry that you're gone! Like, were you really a man? What kind of a man were you? An outlaw?"

In fact, I'd done plenty of things to be sorry for. It wouldn't be hard to make Evie hate and despise me.

But I couldn't bring myself to destroy my daughter's regard for me, even if it gave her closure. "Evie, I was a man in love with your mother and we both wanted to get married. I already loved you and your brother and I wanted to be your new father. I've made mistakes, but I always thought I was doing the right thing. I'm not perfect, but I'm not a deliberate monster, either. After I go, please remember that you're not alone. Your mother exists in millions of different timelines, and all of us love you."

Suddenly, she looked like she wanted to be held. I pulled her close and she hugged me back, sniffling. We held on to one another for a minute until I drew away. "I have to get ready for the Flaming Woman's arrival," I told her. "Be strong and be wise, Evie. And take care of the others. They need you much more than you realize."

Evie nodded, wiping her eyes. "I'll try. Goodbye...Mom."

I felt that parting as if it were a physical ache. I hurried out the door, reminding myself that my own happiness didn't matter. I had a vital mission, and there was little time left to bring it off.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER ELEVEN