The Impossible Future: Complete set Frank Kennedy (freenovel24 .TXT) 📖

my lifetime. Perrone says twenty, but I never talked to Father about it.”

“Was life good there?”

“Above the clouds? Honestly, you don’t even realize the difference unless you open a portal. I had everything I needed. Or, most everything. A few childhood friends lived in landings near us, but most lived here in the city. Especially my kwin-sho partners. Without them, I never would have joined the Guard.”

“But he objected to you joining, right?”

Valentin nodded. During the hours of conversations that built their bond, James heard only a brief reference to the disagreement. Valentin still harbored anger.

“I thought he’d use his influence to block my admission.”

“Why didn’t he?”

“Mother. She hated the idea as well, but she also knew they couldn’t afford to lose me. Now I realize why.” He sighed. “I stopped loving Mother before I was ten. Father at least I respected. But she … you’ll see, James.”

James swept his eyes from SkyTower to his brother. He remembered his own early disconnect from Marlena Sheridan, the woman he grew up assuming was his mother.

“Tell me, Valentin.”

“It’s hard to put into words. I don’t know what Father ever saw in her. James, you’ve met enough Chancellors to realize we are not tender creatures. We keep our hearts locked away. But Mother is something else. All she knows is strategy. Relationships are necessary only to fulfill the design.” He gazed upon the city, his eyes shining with water. “I cannot remember the last time she allowed me to touch her. When you meet Frances, you’ll understand.”

James had no words of comfort but sufficient empathy. He blinked and returned to Ignatius Horne.

“I need to ask you about the man whose name you took.”

They were walking through a library, its roof and two walls having disappeared. Books lay strewn and shredded amid ash and rubble. Raindrops fell in steady beats.

“What of him, James?”

“How deeply did he love? Was he like other Chancellors?”

Ignatius smiled. “At the end, he loved with all his heart. It allowed him to make the necessary sacrifice.”

“The wife and daughter you mentioned before?”

“Indeed.”

“What was his daughter’s name?”

“May-La.”

“Is she still alive?”

“I assume. She was alive before they assimilated me into you.”

“Why am I blocked from knowing about Ignatius and his history?”

“Because you are not the man he was at the end. Therefore, you would not understand or appreciate the choices he made. I will say this much: Ignatius, in a previous life, was as vicious a killer as you seem destined to become.”

“What changed?”

Ignatius thumbed through the pages of a tattered book.

“Ah. Therein lies the crux. James, I have given you everything else you asked. Allow me this small treasure. Ignatius died thirty-five standard years ago. Leave this alone for now. When you reach the place of desolation where Ignatius found himself, I will tell you the rest of the story. Yes?”

James blinked away, unsatisfied and also nervous. He suspected Ignatius was withholding the truth in expectation of James making a devastating error. When Ignatius first came to him, he vowed never to manipulate James the way Lydia did during those eight terrifying hours. The promise appeared to be crumbling.

James resumed his conversation with Valentin.

“You’re saying my mother wants me dead as much as my father?”

“She won’t say it, but I’m sure she does.” He laid a hand on James. “I won’t let it happen, brother. If I have to choose between them and you …” He choked up. “It’s a strange thing to admit, but my heart is no longer locked away. You are my brother, and I will fight for you.”

James’s heart buoyed and his shoulders firmed. “At least you won’t have to worry about dying for me.”

After an awkward pause, they shared a laugh.

When Rayna joined them a moment later, she interrupted with a bold declaration, pointing to SkyTower.

“You are planning attack without me,” she said. “Admiral knows I am essential part of success. You will share all with me.”

“Trust me, we were only talking as brothers,” Valentin said. “No more. The admiral already discussed operational details.”

She jumped inside James’s mind.

- You are very close to brother. I understand. You just met, no?

- Yes. We have many lost years to make up for.

- Da. I wished also for brother or sister, but I have nothing. All are gone now. This brother is distraction. You and I must be alone. I wish to be with you for very long time. You wish same. No?

She did not understand. Even being in the same room with her rose his temperature. James fought every instinct to appear level-headed. Still, the heartbeat they shared grew stronger.

- Soon, Rayna. We’ll have our time. I promise.

He felt her break away, leaving a playful itch inside his mind.

She cut a warrior’s figure in her new, black-and-violet ensemble, which contained wraps and pouches more esoteric than most Chancellors dared to wear, but in which she felt comfortable.

She pointed to SkyTower. “I think little of this temple you assholes have created.” She focused her dark, searching eyes on Valentin. “I hope you do not mind being called asshole because you are Chancellor. I hear this word years ago when Christian missionary come to my village. He was calm and beautiful man until there was accident and he burned hand. Then he became angry and called us assholes. I never asked for meaning. I assumed.”

Valentin grinned. “No offense taken. Many of us fit the word. Tell me, what is it you dislike about SkyTower?”

“It is very big. Yes, very big. But it is made by people who think themselves bigger than universe. Da? It rises forever, as if it is reaching for God. I know of this story from Bible.”

He turned to James and frowned. “Bible?”

“Religious book. Scripture. From my Earth