Quicksilver Dreams(153)
Ryder and his father had locked horns. There was anger and sorrow swirling through Talon, but he was refusing to acknowledge it. It was as though he’d made a deal with himself that if he didn’t think about it, it wouldn’t be there. By turning off his heart, he’d not only blocked out his daughter’s death, but the joy of remembering her and of sharing a full life with the rest of his family. He kept his focus on trying to bring his son to heel. In turn, Ryder’s bone-deep resentment radiated from him.
The emotions in the room were overpowering.
Sorrow that I had a hand in this weighed heavily. I wished I could have just shut up, backed down, left the room. I didn’t want to cause more pain for Miara or any of them. These were Ryder’s parents, his family, and I was forever going to damage their view of me, but this was no small thing. It was a man’s life, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I knew I hadn’t done everything I could to stop this madness from plowing forward without thought or care.
The energy flow surging through me steadily grew in strength. It was dizzying. The mental door whispered open, briefly, in my mind again. The all-knowing, overwhelming energy that had come to me in the marketplace returned. In the same way I’d known the terrorists needed to be stopped, I knew that this moment in the timeline of Sunan was crucial. Feeling as though a sudden burst of freezing wind whipped my face, I saw the future unfold into two potential branches, all in a fraction of a second, in my mind’s eye. I gasped with the clarity of the vision.
One way would lead to bloodier warfare than either the Sunan or the Brausahad ever seen or could predict. They would both have access to Earth’s technology, and combining it with their own would lead to a war the likes of which could shake the very foundation of human sustainability. The shrieks of pain and terror from that reality had barely faded before I peered down the other possible path, which showed a cautious truce between the two peoples that had the potential to lead toward peace.
The Brausiian warrior was the key. He was of great importance to his people. To kill him would set in motion events the likes of which could destroy the fabric of both societies. The power of the vision left me breathing heavily, sweat breaking out on my brow and upper lip. What did this all mean?
As though no time had passed for him, Talon spoke to me. “We’ve experienced horrors the likes of which you will never understand, which is why we’ve had to develop a system that may seem harsh and unjust, but which keeps us alive.”
On a shaky note, I asked, “But at what expense? You’re just going to execute the man?”
“It’s the least of what he deserves,” Talon ground out.
“This will lead to war! I’ve seen it!”
Miara frowned at this.
“We welcome the opportunity to exterminate their pestilence for all time!” Talon shouted.
“You can’t! This is wrong!” My voice took on a shrill note. The door whispered closed after sharing the terrifying vision, leaving me tired and fragile. At a gut level, this was making me ill, and I turned away, holding a hand to my stomach to calm the roiling nausea, but the anger continued between Ryder and his father.
“We don’t allow outsiders to come to Sunan,” Talon intoned sharply. “There’s a reason for strict discipline and obedience. Things happen when we don’t meet expectations and rules of governance!”
Where had I heard that before, the talk about discipline and obedience? About rules and following them or something? I opened my mind and tried to peer into my memory, but I found myself inundated with the emotions swirling around us all—the rage, the sorrow and the deep familial love and loyalty that was leaving them all conflicted and confused.