“Father, please. Lower him?”
The king groans and presses
some buttons. Jakson puddles to the ground, rubbing his shoulders.
“Is that a little better?”
I whisper to Jakson. He nods. “Would you rather a chair?” He shook his head no
and sat on the floor. I pull up a chair right in front of him and sit.
“Begin whenever you wish,
Isabella. I’ll sit behind you. I will handle the remote.”
“I am Princess Isabella of
Robesson,” I wink at him and mouth a kiss. “I will be conducting this, uh,
interview today. I know you will be very truthful with me because you’ve been
double dosed with truth serum. Do not speak unless I ask you to or you will be
shocked. My father, King Frederick, can bypass the shock device with the remote
in his hand. Do you understand?” Jaks nods.
“Are you ready for me to
begin questioning you?” He nods again, staring at me intently.
“Okay. Is your name Jakson
Blake?” I hold my breath.
Jakson’s eyes are wide and
wet. He seems frozen in fear. I only asked his name. I thought that would be
the easiest question of all. I rephrase the question.
“Are you my Jaks?” He
breathed a sigh of relief. He nods with a tiny smile.
“And are you also known on
this planet as Tarek Ikari?” He nods.
“And nobody around here
notices you speak with a British accent? Please explain.” She looked at her
father who held down the bypass button.
“They don’t hear it,” he
whispers. “They perceive it as nothing more than a regional dialect. From the
poor, disadvantaged side of town.”
“Can you explain the
doorway to me?”
“Yes. Our scientists were
working on a way to travel great distances in short periods of time. They
developed a chemical that could fold the layers of space into a portal. But
instead of only liquefying the membrane on this planet, it also worked between
other livable parallel worlds. At first, it was painted over a plain interior
wall, and looked like an old mirror. The liquid could open a portal, or a
doorway between two worlds. Of course, we had no idea there were so many
parallel worlds out there, and that a doorway once painted open could be
accessed from either side, over and over again. It was later we discovered we
could actually pick a specific portal by using a translocation disc.”
“Father, you were aware of
this technology?”
“Yes, yes, of course we
are, Bella. That’s how I sent you to Demby. But, unlike the Galts, we don’t
jump back and forth through the damn thing. We use it only in extreme
emergencies. It’s rather creepy. And I believe it jangles up one’s brainwaves. Too
many trips through the mirror transport and you could end up in a vegetative state.”
I roll my eyes.
“Are you the best tracker
the Galts have, the best on the planet?” I ask him. He shrugs his shoulders.
“Father, I want to hear
his explanation.” King Frederick nods.
“They SAY so, I don’t
really know,” Jaks says modestly. “I know I’m good, I don’t know if I’m the
best. I can sense body signals. And I can communicate with the animals and
plants on most planets. That gives me a definite edge. I’m a tracker,” Jaks
looks directly at the king, “but I am NOT a killer.” He edges closer to me.
“Sam, baby, get out of
here,” Jaks whispers. “Go home. Find the portal and get out of here. If I know
you’re home safe and waiting for me, I can survive this and I’ll get back home
to you as soon as I can,” he whispers. I nod, noticing he looked so terrible. I
need to get him out of here. How, how…
“What’s all this
whispering about?” croaks the king, rearming the device.
“This will be over soon,”
I say. “Do you need some water?” He shakes his head no.
