Legends of Amacia Heart of Darkness
Chapter 40: Ursine Messenger

In the Harem, Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer watched as Selina communed with Hanna telepathically. With a relieved sigh, Selina opened her eyes and sat up, looking around at first Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer, and then the rest of the Harem. “You just talked to her, didn’t you?” Myra asked.

Selina smiled and said, “Yes, I did. She’s gravely injured, but still alive and was able to show me how she escaped.” This greatly interested everyone and Selina motioned for the four of them to come closer. “Do you know of a feline Xenian called Magnus?” Selina asked.

Both Tasha and Jennifer said, “No.”

Myra, on the other hand, answered, “Yes, I know of Magnus. He was one of the four prototype Xenians created by the Cadre. Despite his fierce exterior, he’s a gentle soul.”

“Well, apparently he’s the one who helped Hanna escape from the Arena after she killed Hades. He’s presently taking her out of the city and back to our friends,” Selina whispered to the four women. They gasped with delight, knowing that an escape from the Black Fortress and Amacia would prove beyond any doubt that Hanna/Hannibal was the Prophesied One...the Last Caverias.

“You mean she’s really escaping?” Tasha whispered; afraid she may jinx Hanna’s escape if she asked the question too loudly.

Selina nodded knowingly with a serious look on her face. “She also said Nemesis is my guardian angel,” she reported. “He’s going to watch out for me and us while she’s gone.”

Myra’s jaw dropped open and breathed, “Nemesis is your guardian angel? That means he’s one of those who engineered Hanna’s escape.”

Apparently,” Selina whispered. “But don’t say anything to anyone except Izanami about it. I don’t want to jeopardize his position. We need all the allies we can get. Hanna also said that she would come for me, and anyone else who wishes to leave this place of death.” Those words hit Myra, Tasha, Sakura, and Jennifer like a hammer. Tasha began to bubble with excitement.

“I knew it! She’s the one!” Tasha cried softly. Taking hold of Myra’s arms trying to contain her joy and excitement, she crowed, “Myra. Don’t you see? Our time here is coming to an end! Our captivity will soon be over! She’s the One, Myra! Hanna’s the One!”

Myra looked Tasha in the eye and saw the great hope that had welled up in her. Nodding, Myra said sternly, “Control yourself sister. We’re not out of here yet. It’s at this point that we must be extra careful.”

“You’re right, sister,” Selina agreed. “We must hold this very close to our chests. Only tell the others enough to keep their hopes alive, but not enough to give away our position.”

Myra cocked her head slightly to one side with intrigue and said, “You’re a very wise woman, Selina...princess of the stars. We would be wise to heed your advice.”

Just then, a noise on the wall nearby attracted the attention of everyone. In the matter of ten seconds, a secret panel slid open and an eleven-foot cyborg bear stepped out of the hole. The women came forward to the bear as he scanned the Harem for Selina. Myra rose and stepped forward, calling out, “Nemesis...how kind of you to pay us a visit in this dark hour. What brings you here?”

Nemesis stepped forward as the women whispered and murmured about the giant Xenian. “Ah, Myra; you’re looking good today,” Nemesis growled pleasantly as he walked up. He stopped in front of Myra and held out his hand to her. She reached out to touch it and immediately saw the slice on it.

“You’re hurt. Sisters…fetch some water and a clean cloth, quickly,” Myra ordered.

Nemesis half ignored her as his eyes fell upon Selina as she sat on her cushion. He squatted down in front of her with a smile. “I’m pleased to see that you are in one piece after the Arena, Selina. How are you feeling?” he inquired.

“Okay, I suppose,” Selina replied, “...except for this throbbing headache and muscle soreness brought on by the Emperor slapping me around and electrocuting me for knocking him down while he attacked Hanna with that infernal power of his.”

“Oh, this will not do,” Nemesis murmured. “Let me relieve your pain.” He touched her on the arm with his machine finger, delivering some painkillers into her arm. It had an instant effect, quieting Selina’s pounding headache and sore muscles.

“Thank you, my friend,” Selina replied as Jasmine and Hitomi returned with some water and bandages for Nemesis’ hand. She then noticed the slice on his hand and asked, “You made the covenant with Hanna?”

“That I did. She will come for you. Until then, you’re in my charge, princess,” Nemesis stated.

“I know,” Selina replied. “She told me so. But beware; the Emperor is looking for anyone who might have aided in his escape. Magnus’ life is already forfeit because of what he’s done.”

“That’s why he’s taking Hanna out of the city,” Nemesis declared. “I sincerely hope they make it and replace a way to reverse the mutation on her.”

Selina nodded and said, “Me too. It’s a bit confusing thinking of her as both a sister and my husband, but that’s been the luck of the draw. Until Hanna replaces a way to reverse the Emperor’s handiwork, she’ll just have to remain my sister while my husband is MIA.”

Nemesis looked down at Selina and couldn’t help but feel a brotherly affinity for her. Even in her chained, restrained state, she still had the air of nobility about her. “That’s what I figured,” Nemesis said mildly as Myra cleaned his hand and wrapped it. “Hanna seems to be just as much male as she is female and it’s increasing her ability to cope. It’s a marvel because I’ve seen men changed like that before and they just go insane almost immediately, not being able to cope with the change. But Hanna has successfully adapted to her new status, to the Emperor’s utter dismay. I sincerely hope as you do that she replaces a way to reverse the curse she’s under so you and Hannibal can be together as it’s supposed to be. I just thought I’d drop by to tell you that she’s okay for now and on her way out of the city.”

“There you go, my friend. All better?” Myra asked.

Nemesis smiled and said, “Sure, Myra. You always have been so kind to me.” He reached out and gently brushed the side of her face with the back of his organic hand.

Myra briefly held on to it, and then let go, saying, “You’d better go before they replace you here.”

Nemesis smiled, showing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, saying, “All right. Selina; don’t fret. You have a powerful ally in this place. I’ll be back from time to time to check on you. If you need me, Myra and I have a telepathic connection she can use to contact me if something comes up.”

“Thank you, Nemesis,” Selina replied. “I do appreciate that.” At that, Nemesis turned and slowly walked back to the secret panel, letting the women touch him as he moved by. In moments, he was gone and the panel closed.

Everyone gathered around Selina as Izanami walked up, sitting beside her. The word was on everyone’s lips: the great warrior...the Prophesied One had escaped the Arena and was about to escape Amacia. “Looks like there is little point in what I said earlier. Nemesis let the proverbial cat out of the bag,” Selina said with a soft chuckle. “But I didn’t realize you and he had a telepathic link, Myra. Would you mind if I could see it?”

“Not at all,” Myra replied.

Selina touched Myra on the temple, immediately seeing a well-developed, but small telepathic potential that was tied directly to Nemesis. As she let go of Myra, Selina murmured, “Ahh, that’s how you called him when Chizu was in distress. I also assume that he’s not supposed to come in here either.”

Myra put her hand on Selina’s leather-covered leg, saying pleasantly, “That’s it, sister. I can call him when we need help in here, but as you surmised, he’s not supposed to come in here. The Emperor doesn’t know that he comes in here and we don’t tell him. Nemesis is our friend and protector. He seems to have now taken a special interest in you.”

Selina looked Myra in the eye and asked, “What do you know about him? I saw the way you acted around him and I could sense your feelings toward him when I touched your mind. He’s a close personal friend of yours, isn’t he?”

Myra blushed and asked, “Was it that obvious?”

Selina nodded with a smile. “It was kind of hard to miss,” she admitted.

“Nemesis is a very close friend of mine,” Myra stated, “...as he is to many other sisters here. But we have a special connection, as you saw. He has saved my life on several occasions, as he has to nearly everyone here, right sisters?” The crowd rumbled a yes and Myra continued, “He’s been here longer than I have and even longer than sister Izanami. About all I know is that he was the first successful prototype Xenian ever created by the Cadre. A totally wicked and evil bunch, the wizards of the Cadre are. In a way, they’re worse than the Emperor. Many are taken to them and are never seen again. The first time I saw Nemesis, he rescued me and several other sisters from a tarok attack while we were on a picnic with Kronos and several of the Emperor’s top aids. He was one of the guards that day. That was before they enhanced him with the machinery. We were taken to the Plains of Blood near the city of Arcopolis and had a pleasant picnic with them. It was one of the few times the Emperor was gracious enough to allow us outside of the fortress. Kronos is actually a somewhat decent man. He has always treated us justly and with respect, unlike most of the other people who have used us as sex objects. Anyway, we were having a pleasant time, being outside and enjoying the place when a tarok suddenly appeared out of the city and attacked. It killed thirteen of the guards who tried to defend us while we escaped into the city. We were cornered. Nemesis and the remaining guards, including Kronos, attacked the beast. But it was Nemesis who dealt the fatal blow to the tarok as it was about to feast upon Kronos. The tarok bit off Nemesis’ arm at the shoulder, but not before he plunged his sword into the beast’s heart.”

Myra’s face fell a bit as she reminisced about the incident. “We were heavily guarded when we went out there: twenty guards, including Nemesis for just five of us, including Kronos,” she reported. “By time the tarok was killed, there were only seven guards left alive, four of which were wounded to various degrees by the beast. Naturally, we were brought back here right away and I didn’t see Nemesis again for almost two cycles. The next time anyone saw him, he was in his present form. But he has always watched out for us. Over time, he has become a very close friend to most of us. Who he really is and where he originally came from remains a mystery. The only thing we really know about him is that he was one of the original Xenians from which all the rest were engineered. He’s very mysterious, surrounded by a strange aura of power that seems to cause everyone to shun him. I venture to say that next to the Emperor, he’s the most powerful being in all of Amacia.”

Selina sat, listening to the tale about Nemesis. When Myra finished telling the tale, Selina said, “That’s a most interesting account. From what I observed while he was here before and this time, I believe that you’re right in your assessment about him. He’s a very powerful and mysterious figure. I can usually sense things about people. Take you for instance. I could sense your feelings for Nemesis when he was here, but from him, I could sense absolutely nothing from his mind. It is almost as if his mind has been sealed off somehow. I’ve seen something similar in only one other person: Amelia. She had her memories sealed off apparently by the Cadre. I sensed something similar with Nemesis, except it was much broader and much more pronounced than Amelia. He has something that prevents any kind of outside telepathic contact with him and I know it’s engineered. However, seeing him in person showed me that it may not be a bad thing. He seems to be hiding his thoughts and intentions from everyone, including the Emperor. That may be why he hasn’t been discovered yet.”

“You seem to know quite a bit about telepathy,” Jennifer commented. “How is it that you know such things?”

“That’s because she is an extraordinarily powerful telepath, sister,” Izanami stated. “I sensed it when she was first brought here.”

Selina smiled. “Izanami is right,” she stated. “I’ve been telepathic since the day I was born. However, in order for you to truly understand it, I need to demonstrate it. Would you permit me to demonstrate it with you?”

Selina could see and sense Jennifer’s fear about telepathy. “Well, I’m not sure,” Jennifer replied hesitantly.

Selina reached out and touched Jennifer’s hand, reassuring her by saying, “I won’t look at anything you don’t want me to. I promise. Trust me, Jennifer. Remember, we’re sisters and anything I see I’ll keep in the strictest confidence unless you say it’s okay to talk about it.”

Jennifer nodded saying, “Okay sister.”

Everyone paid close attention as Selina looked deep in Jennifer’s eyes, concentrating on a simple mind-to-mind contact with the idea of just conversing with her. Can you hear me, Jennifer? Selina asked her telepathically upon making contact with Jennifer’s mind. Upon contact, Selina immediately saw raw potential in Jennifer that had never been touched. You have great potential, Jennifer. I can see it, she added telepathically.

Jennifer’s face lit up with astonishment. It literally glowed with wonder as her telepathic abilities were stirred just enough for her to reply in kind. I don’t believe it, Jennifer replied telepathically. I’m hearing and speaking to you without hearing or speaking. What kind of magic is this?

Selina smiled and broke contact, saying, “It’s no magic, sister. It’s a rare and wondrous gift of the Almighty. He doesn’t give this kind of ability to just anyone: only those who will use it properly within His will are ever allowed to have and exercise this gift. You have this gift, but have never utilized it, probably because you never realized you had it at all. I, on the other hand, was born with it, and have nurtured and used it all my life. But be warned of one thing: it’s not an ability to be used lightly or frivolously. It carries with it a very serious responsibility because the Almighty will demand an account of its use: good or bad. If the gift is abused and misused, He can and will take it away. That’s why I’m very careful about its use. I realize what a great responsibility it is to have such a wondrous gift. You have a choice to make now. Will you or will you not use it. If you choose to exercise this gift, you must nurture it and use it for good only. Moreover, if you can replace someone who already has the gift, and mastered it, he or she can help you master it. I, for example, learned from my mother, who was a powerful telepath, until she passed away, and then I learned from my father, who helped me to control my impulses and will. If you decide to take that path, don’t expect to master it right away. You must grow in it as a child grows into an adult. There will be many hardships and trials because of it to prove you, to see whether you are worthy of it.”

Jennifer looked at her with hesitation and asked, “Is it worth it, all of the problems and troubles you claim come with being a telepath?”

Selina sighed, knowing it was a legitimate question, and thought about it for a moment. “Being a telepath can be both a blessing and a curse,” she admitted. “A lot of the times, you’ll be able to sense things about people you wish you didn’t have to see or know. However, under the right circumstances and in the right place, being a telepath can be a tremendous blessing to everyone around you. For years, I despised the fact that I was telepathic. That is until I met Hannibal. On the morning after our wedding, I realized then how much of a blessing it was to be a telepath. You see, we’re kindred spirits, soul mates and as such, we can do what I call merging. It’s a meeting of minds in such an intimate way that we can share each other’s most intimate memories. It binds us together in such a way that nothing can put us asunder. This can only happen between soul mates that happen to be telepathic in nature. That morning when we woke, Hannibal asked what other abilities I had besides being able to talk to animals. It was then that I discovered what a blessing it was to be telepathic.”

“You can talk to animals?” Tasha asked with amazement.

“Yes,” Selina answered, smiling. “Animals talk; however, unlike us, who use speech as the primary form of communication, animals use everything at their disposal to communicate, not just sound. Every gesture and movement has meaning. As a Lynxian, I know how to understand and respond to them. I proved it to Hannibal when we were at the Temple by talking to a tiger that happened to walk up on us while we were showing his friends around outside.”

“Incredible,” Myra cried. “I would like to see that someday.”

Many of the other women agreed and Selina said, “Maybe you will someday. But anyway, that morning after he asked me about what I could do, I made my first telepathic contact with him just like I just did with you, Jennifer. It was then that I immediately saw that he had the potential to be an even more powerful telepath than I was. He responded very reluctantly to me, just as you did a minute ago, Jennifer. When I probed his memory, I realized then how wounded and vulnerable he was because of his days as a dark wizard. He tried to keep me out, but my ability was more than his at the time and I looked anyway.” The women listened with fascination as Selina told them of her initial telepathic contact with Hannibal.

“Mind you, all of this happened nearly a month after his encounter with the teaching machine in the Archive that nearly killed him,” Selina continued. “Anyway, as a dark wizard, he had tremendous psychic powers. Telepathy was just one of them. When he converted and became a servant of the most High Ancient of Days, he lost all of those powers because demon spirits bestowed them upon him, including the telepathic ability. That’s why he was very reluctant to let me see those memories. After seeing what a torment he suffered under those demons, I broke down and showed him my deepest hurts. It was a very hard thing for me to do. Because he wasn’t skilled like I was, I had to lead him into my memories to show him. We shared something that morning that no physical contact could ever hope to surpass. Our minds mated and we healed each other’s hurts by the grace and mercy of the Almighty. It’s something that I wouldn’t trade for anything.” Selina’s face softened as she began to weep softly. “Our love for each other and for our God is a gift given to us by our God. Our souls are fused together because of it,” she said, choked with emotion. “I love him more than life itself and would instantly give my life for him. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that our ability to link telepathically was fused permanently because of what the teaching machine did to him. Since then, I haven’t been able to break contact with him and on occasion, it has been a very painful experience because we have shared everything since that time, including physical, mental, and emotional pain. You all have seen this. But is it worth it you ask, all of the pains and troubles that come from being a telepath? Several cycles ago, my answer would have been no. But now, my answer is definitely yes; without a doubt and unequivocally yes. The mating of our minds that morning made it worth it: all the pain and suffering that I have endured as a skilled telepath. Does that answer your question?”

Jennifer sat there in a stupor, overwhelmed by Selina’s explanation. It fascinated everyone who listened.

Izanami touched Selina on the arm, asking, “Did this telepathic fusion you speak of remain when the Emperor mutated him into Hanna?”

“It did,” Selina replied. “Even though Hanna is female on the outside, Hannibal as a man lives on within that body. You saw it when we helped to create Hanna’s new identity. It does make it a bit confusing at times because, as you know. Hannibal had to merge with that female component to keep from going insane.”

“Indeed, I do,” Izanami stated. “Hanna truly is an enigma that has confounded the Emperor. Only now, I suspect the Emperor is realizing that your husband’s power was never in him being a man. It’s always been in his faith.”

“That’s a very astute observation, sister,” Selina declared, “Even worse for the Emperor, Hannibal has now merged his male and female parts because of this mutation and it’s made him and Hanna a complete soul with the power of both sexes. The Emperor truly messed up when he mutated Hannibal.”

“That’s an understatement,” Myra stated. “If Hanna replaces a way to reverse the mutation and become Hannibal again, I suspect Hannibal’s power will become unstoppable.”

“Could be,” Selina murmured. “But for now, sisters; if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, I would appreciate it if no one else found out about what I’ve just shared with you. The Emperor and his cronies don’t need any more information on me or Hannibal.”

Izanami looked around at the other women and said with authority, “We won’t say anything; will we, sisters?” They all swore on their graves to keep what Selina shared secret.

“We know how to keep secrets,” Myra added and they agreed.

Selina smiled, saying, “I appreciate that. So Jennifer, what do you think?”

Jennifer shook her head slowly and said, “You have given me much to think about. I’m going to have think about this a while, maybe pray about it. From what you say, it’s an awesome responsibility to have and use that gift. It’s just too big of a decision to make in such a short period of time.”

Selina nodded knowingly. “That’s a wise decision,” she agreed. “Think about it; pray about it. You have a choice as to whether to activate the gift. I did not. I was given my ability the moment I was born and was trained as soon as I was old enough to know that I was different from everyone else. Just think about it. If the Almighty really wants you to use that gift, He’ll open the doors for you do so. He’ll even put the desire in your spirit to use it.”

Jennifer looked Selina in the eye and said, “Thank you for not pushing me into it. I’m not sure at the moment what to do. But if I decide to use it, you’ll be the first to know.”

Selina patted Jennifer on the knee. “That’ll be all right, sister,” she replied. “If and when you decide that you want to exercise it, I’ll be here to help you if the Emperor hasn’t spirited me away again.” Jennifer nodded with a smile, relieved that she didn’t have to make a decision on it right away.

“You’re just full of surprises Selina, just like Hanna,” Myra commented. “I hope that they get away safely.”

Selina smiled confidently, saying, “They’ll make it. The Lord has arranged the escape and if the Lord does it, how can it fail?”