When Manutaai had presented Talokta with the second stone that was sitting in a small box, he knew he had done well. Gaining Kate’s trust was so easy. She was a trusting soul of sorts.
He had delivered Kate, his stone, and of course, Talokta would have or soon would possess Kate’s stone.
Talokta was pleased. “Yes, you will be very well rewarded. For now, you may go to your quarters and rest. I will see you tomorrow.”
When Talokta had left Kate to have her bath, he had brought Kalvich up to date. Talokta received firm instructions to leave no loose ends, which meant getting rid of Manutaai.
“It would not look good if he was part of my Verone Elite. He has spent time with Kate and once she takes her rightful place, when she sees him, I will lose credibility, you understand. Besides, he knows too much about the stones.”
Talokta voiced a slight reluctance at this. Manutaai was trusted by Sataal’s rebel followers, and they could still use him covertly. Kalvich, who normally did not like his orders being questioned, let it go. Talokta was an exception due to their past experiences and kinship.
“You want me to explain myself, very well. My clever little queen has indeed willingly given Manutaai the second stone and told him to hide it from us on Ahmadeus. What he has given you is a fake one, which she expected him to. However, he has the real one in his possession. He knows you would not be able to tell the difference, as now the stones have been activated no one can handle them except for the Chosen One and me. And he has had forbidden feelings towards the queen.”
Talokta was dumbfounded by this sudden revelation. Who was he to question such a Supreme Being as his master?
The ultimate sin within the Trimadian laws was betrayal. First Sataal, now one of his own men. He felt a black cloud rising through his soul, choking him.
As if sensing this, Kalvich spoke up calmly, explaining. “As I have stated, the tests on Kate Willard you sent me show she possesses the same genetic code as Queen Leah and is therefore the true owner of the stones. When she is in the vicinity of the stones, not necessarily touching them, they perform like a video audio link to her, not too dissimilar from the frequencies we use in our communications. One of the stones’ primary functions is exactly that–as a communication device. One must possess the knowledge or the genetic code to operate them correctly,” he gloated. “Manutaai has neither.”
“When Kate holds the stone, I can ‘see’ her, and I can see what she is seeing. I can ‘feel’ her, and I know what she is feeling. It is not just a one-way communication either, but she will need to learn that, and she will in time. The traitor has his own plans for the second genuine stone. If you check your communication banks, he has recently sent a coded communiqué to a cloaked ship three light years from your position on a disused frequency. I would suggest you intercept him, before he has a chance to escape.”
“Lae Jang! The stupid, naïve fool!” Talokta was beside himself with fury. He would extract his revenge that would make Kalvich proud.
“Now, Lord Talokta,” Kalvich said matter of factly. “Is that enough reason to get rid of him?”