Chapter Fifty Six part two
The Gold District - Council Meeting Room
Previously.....
Sebastian walked into the council meeting room to stand behind Isaiah. "Orchid has new information that she believes will save her life once again."
Jacob turned and stared at Sebastian in disbelief, "Are you serious."
Sebastian handed Isaiah Orchid's device before he sent Kevin a puzzled frown. "Oscar gave her some very interesting images and now we have them."
Isaiah nodded as he placed the device on the reader, "What could she possible have -?" Isaiah mouth fell open as he watched the images go by on the screen. "Kevin," whispered Isaiah as he stared at the screen in disbelief.
Malcolm tapped his chin as his frowned at the images, "Where exactly were these pictures taken?"
Kaelen mouth fell open as he stared at the background of one of the images, "T-that's impossible."
"What," asked Pharris.
"I gave Xara a print of that same background," whispered Kaelen amazed. "When I purchased it the lady assured me it was from a collection found in the outlands." Kaelen turned to look at both Lucas and Jacob, "Those buildings are from the ancient civilization! That water and the shore are exactly the same as well!"
Acadia slapped the table and rose, "You have to be fucking shitting me!"
Pharris fist clenched as he stare at Kevin in disgust, "Those picture are proof that you are some type of monster. The son of an angel and placed here to damn us all!"
Kevin scowled across the table at Pharris, "Sit down! Do you even really know what an angel is?"
"I will not sit down," yelled Pharris anxiously. "That image," Pharris pointed* (surreal landscape shown to the side) toward the image that showed an alien landscape. "That image," repeated Pharris, "Where exactly in the universe did you pose for that picture?" Pharris waved his hand, "What the hell is that? Are those trees just floating around?"
Kevin chuckled while he leaned back in his chair, "It's obvious those images have been manipulated. There is no place in this universe where those pictures could have been taken."
"Manipulated," scoffed Pharris as he pointed to one with three young men. "So those two men in the picture with you, in that one," Pharris index finger jabbed at the image, "that is also manipulated."
Kevin shoulders rose and fell while he presented Pharris and the table with a smile full of humor, "No those two men are my oldest and dearest friends."
"And where are they," asked Isaiah. "Where are those two men right now?"
"That one," whispered Lucas as he zoomed in on the image, "that one looks a lot like me."
"Does he," asked Kevin bored. "You think my friend looks like you?"
"I need the room cleared," announced Acadia. Her hand swiped through the air in a display that showed she wanted no arguments. "Only the top three seats need to be here."
Malcolm rose with a shrug, "Come on Kevin; you and I are out of here."
"Sit both your asses down," snapped Acadia with a glare. "You know what the Hades I meant!"
Malcolm pouted, "But I'm not one of the top three chairs."
"Malcolm," whispered Acadia with an angry undertone, "sit your ass down before I permanently attach that chair to your ass."
"And I'm sitting," pouted Malcolm.
Acadia gaze swept the full table, "Did I stutter when I said for you to leave."
Pharris rose, doubt written on his face as he stared at Malcolm. "I don't trust this," mumbled Pharris. "The council wishes to hide too many things even from those of us on the council."
"Pharris," snapped Acadia. "I grow weary of your insubordination. You question -."
"Everything you people do should be questioned," exclaimed Pharris angrily. "Those idiots," Pharris pointed to the other empty seats, "may follow your dictates happy they are special enough to have been chosen to round off the council but I will not -."
"Sit down," growled Isaiah frustrated. "Just sit down and be quiet!" Isaiah glared at Malcolm. "I have no idea why you wanted your irritating cousin on the council or why I agreed but for the love of the goddess," snapped Isaiah as he pinned Pharris with an irate stare. "You are just as annoying as you were in primary and secondary school."
Pharris smirked, "It's a gift."
"Whatever," scoffed Isaiah as he glared at Acadia. "Acadia enough! Kevin," growled Isaiah "explain and for the sake of my sanity please don't claim that these pictures were digitally altered."
Kevin threw his hands in the air and frowned, "The only other option would be for me to be well, over what, two thousand years old."
Joshua brow crinkled as he looked into Kevin's hazel eyes. "Hearing you say it does make it sound insane."
"It's true," whispered Jacob as he stared at Kevin thoughtfully. "You are well over two thousand years old."
"Jacob," scoffed Acadia, "when I was a child Jacob was around sixteen years old. There is no way he could be that old. Ah'Taria and the known universe didn't even exist. "
Malcolm nodded, "When I was a kid he was -." Malcolm mouth fell open and he stared at Kevin, "Around sixteen years old."
"When Mia and I met you in the outlands," frowned Kaelen,"you were around sixteen years old."
"Really," laughed Kevin as he waved his hands around. "We all know Ah'Tarians are long lived. Plus when I met you and Mia I only looked that young."
"You have always looked that young," thought Isaiah out loud. "Malcolm is the oldest of us and Acadia the youngest. I remember you also liked around sixteen when I was a kid." Isaiah tapped his finger to his chin, "I vaguely remember you aging but...."
Celeste gaped as she looked at Kevin. "You stated that those shots would make Lucas and Jacob like you and Kaelen. We never really asked you what that meant," stated Celeste. "We assumed that just meant stronger, faster, and harder to kill."
Kevin nodded, "That's exactly what it means."
"No," whispered Jacob as his face fell. "There's more." Jacob pointed toward the picture of a Kevin that looked too much like him and of a blond haired man that resembled Lucas too much for comfort. "Kevin what did you do?"
"Is my son your clone," asked Acadia. "Did you experiment on me? You weren't here when he was born that I remember but you could have easily made me and Joshua forget."
"Of course not," sighed Kevin. "I didn't need to experiment on any of you."
"What does that mean," asked Isaiah. "And why is the Sinclair family the head of the Alliance when it is obvious that the person we were created from is encased in -." Isaiah waved his hand at the image of a man suspended in crystal. "Kevin -?"
"Stop saying my name as if I'm some type of monster," yelled Kevin while he stood up. "I didn't do anything to any of you!" Kevin waved a hand at the screen, "The Sinclair's and Nobles come from my best friends, my brothers, the two people I couldn't live without! It didn't take a lot of manipulation to splice our DNA into some willing einge*."
"Ang'gah," asked Kaelen. "Can you tell us what ang'gah means?"
Kevin ran his hair through his black hair as he looked around the room. "We were lonely," whispered Kevin. "They'd lost their families eons ago and wanted them back." Kevin sat down heavily and shook his head, "and I wanted Damon and Tyrese back. I was-."
"So," asked Acadia. "What did you do?"
Kevin sighed and shook his head, "I did what I had to do."
Kaelen lips pressed together as he looked around the room, "You made clones of yourself and your friends?"
"No," laughed Kevin humorlessly. "I engineered relatives. I made them a family. I spliced their genetic makeup with several willing einge. Because of the curse the woman were only able to have one child and the man only children with other einge. Everything was going well so I decided to create a Lawson line." Kevin looked at Acadia with a shadow of a smile, "I was going to leave after Acadia was born but she was so precious so I stayed." Kevin rested his hands on his head, "I wasn't supposed to stay for so long." Kevin twisted his lips, "But soon the bloody wars started -."
"Those were started because you killed a woman -," began Pharris with a confused expression.
Kevin glared at Pharris, "That was just an excuse used to cover the real reason behind the war. My parents and I -."
"Oh my goddess," whispered Acadia. "Your parents must be beyond ancient." Acadia's forehead wrinkled, "Wait! Are they really your parents or are they just some poor people that to made think they were your parents."
Kevin waved away her comment and chuckled, "As insane as they are, they are most definitely my real parents and I'll make sure I tell them what you thought the next I see them."
"That's not necessary," replied Acadia while she waved her hands in front of her.
Kevin clicked his tongue while he looked around the table, "I've just realized something. This whole conversation was unnecessary." Kevin stood up and smirked, "I shouldn't have to explain myself to any of you. This doesn't actually help but only cause you to question everything."
"Kevin," whispered Acadia as she rose too. "Did you plan to leave us in the dark forever?"
"Of course not," sighed Kevin. He tilted his head to the side and smiled at Acadia. "But I would rather have told you at my leisure."
"Your leisure," repeated Lucas as he stared at Kevin.
"Yes," Kevin's eyes turned deep red as he stared at them. "So I want you all to forget."
"Wait," exclaimed Acadia. "Where are the two men in the image? Where is the planet where you took a picture with them on...what are those?" Acadia's face scrunched up as she stared at the picture. "Floating islands?"
Kevin turned to stare blankly at Malcolm, "I'll answer both those questions. The answer to the second is simple..." Kevin waved at the picture. "If I tell you you'd never believe me." Kevin wagged his finger at Pharris as he opened his mouth, "I'm telling you. You wouldn't believe me and I need them two to prove it."
Kevin gave Acadia a smile that could melt ice, "And to the first question. While I was away from Ashton someone at this table threw a temper tantrum and made a whole planet uninhabitable." Kevin eyes narrowed on Malcolm, "Yes even to me before you ask."
Malcolm raised his hands and smirked, "If I remember correctly years of investigation showed it was an asteroid that changed course at the last minute and hit the planet leaving it with no atmosphere."
"I'm sure," drawled Kevin. Kevin raised a hand and the images on the screen changed to show a small blue planet with one silver land mass, "Ashton was a beautiful planet with an abundance of natural resources. A lot of humans and einge decided to settle on it because of the tropical and welcoming environment."
Kevin fluttered his fingers and the image slowly changed, the blue waters started to turn black and the silver terrain slow began to sink into the swirling black waters. After several minutes the planet was a black orb with blue rings.* (youtube video shows what Ashton looks like now) "But after an unnatural catastrophe the planet became like this and the Ashtians fled to Ah'Taria."
"So they are gone," asked Lucas with a puzzled frown. "They died in the crash or were crushed by the force of the planet's new terrain?"
Kevin chuckled, "Right now they are just misplaced."
"Misplaced," repeated Pharris with a frown. "This happened over 300 years ago there's no way those things," Pharris waved a hand and the picture of the two crystals reappeared, "could have survived."
"I made those sarcophagus," frowned Kevin. "They would survive a universe imploding." Kevin stood up and looked around the table, "So they definitely survived that." Kevin leaned his hands on the table and glanced around at the nine people that sat at the table. "Right now I'm waiting for a wonderfully gifted seer to tell me exactly where those crystals are so I can call for them."
"You will bring them here," gasped Celeste. "Are they as powerful as you?"
Kevin amused gaze landed on Celeste, "No one as powerful as me." Kevin stepped away from the table. "I am Kevin Jacob Lawson," and proceeded to trip over a box
"Ah," nodded Celeste while she fought not to giggle. "And if they decide they don't want us as family will you protect them or us?"
Jacob rolled his eyes, "He'd protect them." Jacob pressed his lips together, "But here's a question. I see the Nobles and Sinclair line. You are the Lawson line so where exactly does the Ward line fit?"
Kevin turned to look at Kaelen, his lips curved upward and pride shown in his eyes, "That is all me." Kevin rocked back on his heels and chuckled, "This was a wonderful history lesson but for right now -." Kevin paused while his eyes turned red, "I want you all to forget."
****
Kevin watched as everyone's eyes glazed over before he reached for Orchid's device on the reader and deleted the images that Sebastian had brought. He hurried and sat down in his chair and gazed at Sebastian with a smile. "So what did Orchid tell you?"
Sebastian blinked several times, his fingers lightly touched his head and he sighed, "Where did the rest of the council go?"
"Oh," frowned Kevin as he looked at the empty seats. "They all had somewhere else to be."
Lucas scratched his head as he turned met Jacob and Kaelen's eyes. Did either of you forget?
No, responded Jacob as he shifted in his seat and pretended to listen to Sebastian's report that omitted Orchid's device. I didn't forget.
Kaelen met Kevin's eyes next to him and tried to smile, He knows I didn't forget. You two pretend like you did there's no telling what he'll do if you say something before he's done doing whatever it is he's doing.
I don't get it though, frowned Jacob while he nodded at his mother. He claimed he didn't wish to stay on Ah'Taria.
Lucas eyed Kevin wearily before he pretended to give his full attention to Acadia as she spoke, What changed his mind?
Xara's pregnant, responded Kaelen.
That can't be all of it, sighed Lucas. He sent Kevin a jaunty wave and turned his device toward him to show the time. There's more.
I for one would rather not find out what else there is, drawled Jacob. "So the meeting is over and we all know what we need to do," smirked Jacob to the table. "Lucas, Kaelen and I are on it."
"On what," asked Kevin with an interested smile.
"We are going to search for Ans and the person that she works for," replied Jacob off handedly.
"So you were listening," asked Kevin as he cupped his chin in his hand. "And I thought you Kaelen and Lucas were talking about something else."
"Don't do that," laughed Lucas as he rose. "It makes you seem creepy."
"Does it," drawled Kevin.
"Yes," nodded Kaelen as he rose. "I'm assuming you want us to take Dion since he rounds out the original top three."
"What," asked Malcolm confused. "The original top three?"
Kaelen frowned at Kevin, "It would appear that I'm some type of loose thread."
"Nonsense," smirked Kevin as he rose and stared fondly at Kaelen. "You are -." Kevin stopped as if he were considering something.
"I am," asked Kaelen with a frown.
"You are my greatest achievement," smiled Kevin. "You and Mia."
"Great," drawled Lucas with an expression that belied his words. "I sometimes forget that Kayla is part of -." Lucas cut himself off and sighed.
Kevin nodded and clapped his hands, "Now that we have finished discussing what Orchid knows I wanted to make sure the council is alerted to something wonderful."
"We need to start our search," drawled Jacob.
"Oh okay but I would have thought Kaelen would want to announce the wonderful new," smirked Kevin.
Kaelen tilted his head to the side staring daggers at Kevin, "No I wanted to wait to announce my joyous news."
"No time like the present," enthused Kevin.
"Not now," warned Kaelen. "I'll do it when the others are here."
"Okay," clapped Kevin. "So raise your hand if you remember anything that you're not supposed to." He chuckled when everyone at the table stared at him baffled. "It was a joke, a joke."