02 Quetzals Flock

QUETZAL'S FLOCK
With his remaining strength, Urartu stood. It was time to leave the old carcass
to the consuming flames. He had told the truth on the last visit Quetzal had paid to the
cavern. Urartu would not leave the Cave Of the Wraiths, he would remain until the
floor burst under him and the place would be flooded with molten rock. Urartu would
remain, but he who lived within him. He who had shared his form in recent days,
would not be there to share in that fiery end.
Urartu fumbled with the knot of his Kous, it dropped to the floor and his body
shrank from the impact of the acidic air. He wore only one thing under his Kous.
Something he had carried with him from the time of the journeys between the stars. A
Pentacle gleamed in the flickering light of the brazier.
The ground rocked under him. The ancient plug of the old volcanic system
was rattling loose. It could be only a matter of seconds. Urartu straightened up, his
inner man assumed the ultimate control. He smiled and walked forward to embrace
one of the scalding jets of steam. The agony was brief, the old body arched for a
second and was tossed aside by the surge of gases and then, the ultimate eruption of
molten rock which flooded the cave system.
The inner man was free. He looked for a brief moment, at the ancient form he
had occupied and then moved in space and time through the channels of the Psi,
before coming to rest close to the great Arch, the Psi Gate through which Quetzal and
Eridos had thought to leave. He had no such constraint. He was no longer encumbered
with a physical form. Psi Gates were for those who were. He smiled, he would steal
Quetzal's Flock from under his nose!
He could touch their Mind. It was one of the more impressive creative works
of Zayez, Harma, Hella and Quetzal. It had been part of his creativity also. Now, there
was only the two of them to roam the Empire of Psi. The Lord of Many Names, who
was now Quetzal - and himself, also known by many names. Here, on Jubal, he was
Sharta! He allowed a surge of humour within himself. Quetzal had been so
submerged, so preoccupied with the petty problems his alter ego, Kane Ashford had
created, that he had never suspected the greatest irony of all. His friend Urartu had
housed the eternal enemy.
He focused his mind into the Flock Mind and called to them. He gazed up as
they fled across the sky in a fruitless effort to escape the lethal approach of the White
Dwarf. They could not escape, but he could tune into the instinctive determination
which drove them. He poured a strong counter thought into them.
"I am Sharta, I was one who fabricated your ways. I have come to save you,
for you cannot flee from the coming of the Companion as you have done in the past. I
will give you another way."
The Flock Mind responded.
"Who is Sharta? Sharta is the enemy. Quetzal is the Master of the Flock."
"Sharta is your friend. Has Quetzal spoken to you as I have spoken to you? He
has ignored you and he is soon to abandon you to your fate. I will lead you into safety.
I will be one with you!"
He watched the continued flight across the sky. The Flock Mind was silent. He
waited.
"You say that you are our friend. Quetzal is our friend, you are the enemy."
"I speak to you and offer you safety. Has Quetzal spoken to you, even though
you know he is present and stands close to the Great Arch. He has only thoughts of his
own escape. Touch his mind and see if I tell the truth. I will lead you to safety. There
is little time, you must make your choice."
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