Chariots of Heaven by R.T. Edwins
* * *
As Kira expected, Kaya was still sulking in her room when she returned. After revealing the news about their father’s health her spirits seemed to brighten, but it was nothing compared to her excitement at the chance to go home.
“Are you serious?! You better not be playing a trick on me!” Kaya scolded.
“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Kira declared, making a cross over her chest with her fingers. The news elicited the highest-pitched shriek Kira had ever heard as Kaya jumped up and down on her bed in excitement. “Shhh! Keep it down,” Kira warned. “We’re not really supposed to be going, but Aithos found a way to sneak us back for the night.”
Kaya stopped the shrieking but continued to jump on the bed as she asked, “When are we going?”
“I don’t know,” Kira shrugged apologetically. “He said he would let me know what we needed to do.”
“Well how is he going to…” Kaya started before being interrupted by the chime of the door. Kira smiled and went to see who it was, but was surprised to find the stoop empty. No one was in the hall either, but looking around she discovered a folded piece of paper lying on the ground. Picking it up, she read:
“Meet me in the hangar right after sunset. Try not to be seen.
-A friend”
Kira folded the paper and put it inside of her armor next to her holodisk. Checking the hall once more and finding no one, she went back inside the apartment.
“Who was it?” Kaya asked, looking puzzled.
“No one, but I know when we are supposed to meet Aithos.”
Kaya’s expression lit up with excitement again, “When?”
“After sunset, we need to go to the hangar.” Kira smiled.
“And then what?” Kaya asked as she started jumping on the bed again.
“I don’t know, the note didn’t say.” Kira shrugged.
The several hours that remained before sunset seemed to drag on, until they were interrupted with a visit by Thanatos. He apologized for not making the council meeting, explaining that he’d been given a task by Velion that he couldn’t elaborate on.
“As an apology, I decided to swipe a few of these.” He explained, grinning mischievously as he presented the girls with four sweet rolls from palace kitchen. Kaya cheered and thanked him, snatching a roll from the plate and taking it out on the veranda. Kira also thanked him for the rolls before explaining what he missed from the council.
“Hadius was there? That’s odd. He hasn’t been around for a long time. I knew Velion was working with him on the situation with the militants, but I can’t recall the last time he was actually on Tython.”
“What do you know about him?” Kira inquired.
“Well, he’s sort of an enigma, honestly. It’s hard to tell when he’s being genuine and when he isn’t but as far as I can tell he’s loyal to the kingdom,” Thanatos shrugged.
“You said he hadn’t been on Tython for a long time, where does he normally stay?” Kira asked, taking a bite out of one of the sweet rolls.
“He lives on a planet called Draco. It’s in the lower kingdom and is the furthest planet from the center of the galaxy; a very inhospitable place.” With a sigh, Thanatos walked over to the couch and sat down.
Following him, Kira sat on the couch across from him and asked, “How is it inhospitable?”
Thanatos frowned and said, “For one, it’s a prison planet where all of the worst criminals are sent for hard labor. Second, it’s a primordial planet littered with volcanoes and lava. As far as I know there is no natural life on Draco, except for the prisoners and Hadius’s servants.”
“Why would he want to live there with prisoners?” Kira asked in amazement.
“I honestly don’t know, but that is where he stays. As for the prisoners I don’t think it was his choice to make it a prison planet, but when Velion took over for Kronus that’s where he decided to put them.”
“That seems kind of mean, doesn’t it? Why would Velion put them there when he knew his brother was living there?” Kira asked, sensing that there was more to the story.
“I don’t know the whole reason, but when the three brothers overthrew Kronus they had a difference of opinion about what to do with him. I don’t know what Hadius suggested, but whatever it was, it earned him the lower kingdoms and the third seat on the council instead of the first or second,” Thanatos explained.
“What’s wrong with the lower kingdoms?” Kira couldn’t recall Master Yu-On ever describing the difference between the three.
“Simply put, the lower kingdom isn’t as nice as the other two are. It has a lot of undeveloped planets that aren’t nearly as rich in resources. In a way, it was a sort of an exile for Hadius, although he never seemed to treat it as such.” Thanatos’s voice drifted off and he finished speaking with a preoccupied look on his face. After a few seconds, he continued, “Well, I still have a lot of things to do for Velion, so I should be going. Try not to spoil your appetite with the sweet rolls.” And with an almost melancholic smile, Thanatos stood to his feet and left the apartment.
Kira watched him as he left, noting that he seemed more down than she had ever seen him. It was almost as if the militant rebellions were getting to him, changing him into a quieter and more reclusive person. She’d hardly seen him since the incident on Gaius 5 and with each passing day he seemed to be around less and less. Was he avoiding her and Kaya? Maybe he thought the warning about them was true? Kira wondered as she finished her sweet roll.
Deciding not to worry about it, she spent the remaining hours before sunset helping Kaya decide what to wear for their trip. In all their time on Tython they had accumulated a decent-sized wardrobe from the many gifts of Velion and the other council members. Although Kira had many outfits of her own, she decided she was just going to stay in her armor. By now it was almost second nature to wear it, and she was looking forward to showing off some of her newfound abilities.