127 CHAPTER 126 THE SUMMON

"Something is not right here." Kira said but lowered her voice to a whisper when she remembered the Vudga's messenger standing by the doorway, "How can Lord Vudga send for you? Why now, Clare? This is not right. Maybe he knows our plan already?"

"That's impossible," Ham said. 

He walked towards the two women, voice lowered. His arms were slagging and his eyes looked as if they would bulge out of his skull any moment. It was hard to tell what the boy had gone through, but Clare was certain of the vision.

She had seen him raising out from the sand, with the yellow face of the sun shining brilliantly behind him. The people of Miens had surrounded him, calling out his name with joy and happiness that has never been seen or heard of in the entire land. He was their messiah, and the one to stand against Lord Vortex. He must be. 

He should be.

"I don't know," Clare said weakly, picking up her walking stick which hung on the stand right next to the chair she had sat on earlier. She watched Ham from the corner of her eyes again, trying to convince herself that she was right with what she had seen. Doubt was setting in, but she tried to kick off the unbelief. Ham would save them from Lord Vortex. He would save the world from chaos.

"You don't know?" 

Kira babbled as she picked up her pipe. She studied the object as if it were her first time of seeing them. Her expression was bleak, cold, and dull. Maybe it was the weather or the long days without rest, Clare could not place a hand on the reason behind the rigid looks. 

"But," Kira continued, returning her pipe to her pocket, "You are supposed to know everything. You are a seer after all."

"That's it, my dear. I am a seer and not a God. Know the difference." 

Making sure the red light on the walking stick was on, Clare made her way to the door. She could feel the eyes hanging on her shoulders, but she paid no mind to either of the two watching her.

"What are we supposed to do while you are away?" It was Ham who spoke.

"What you must do," Clare muttered. She met Kira's eyes but looked away when the question in the girl's expression became obvious. When will she ever learn? 

The messenger bowed low—but not too deep—when he saw Clare. He took the lead almost immediately, tracing his way towards the most direct route to Vugda's palace. 

Clare was not surprised by the slim features and the bones threatening to bulge out of the guard's skin. Getting food was scared, and almost impossible. If some people were not sacrificing their lives, flying out of space every day to gather food metals, she doubts the reverse would have been the case. And why do you care? You are the seer, after all. Clare shook off the thought as soon as it formed.

She had been a seer for as long as she can remember. It was hereditary, and she had gotten the gift from her father, who also got the gift from the father before him. Her mother, on the other hand, was a bag of guns and knives. She had joined the Founders and had helped in the great fight with Lord Vortex, keeping her and her father safe, but risking her own life for the people she loved. While Clare wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, the promise she made kept her bound. A promise she had made to her mother, to remain within the community and assist her father with his work, despite how odd they may seem. 

"This way please," The guard gestured as they walked into a huge door. 

This was one part of the seer which Clare hated very much. The people always summoned her at will or whenever they had troubles. Sometimes she would be made to stay in a laboratory, assisting the others in growing metal food. Those experiments were always futile, and she wonders why the government would bother.

The thought made her want to pick something and throw. Throw? She smiled at the sound of that. Her mother threw knives and had taught her the tricks too. It was one thing she had learned and now she was perfect at it and could throw a knife at a target, even with her eyes closed.

They stopped at the front of a white door, and the guard pushed the button on the right. He waited for the door which slides upwards, revealing the face of Vudga and two other people whom Clare knew so well. 

"Thank you for coming in short notice, Seer. I believe you are a very busy woman and I apologize for disturbing you." Lord Vudga said as he hurried to greet her.

Like you mean those words. Clare thought. She took his extended hands and shook them gently. The door behind them hummed as they closed, leaving the messenger at the other side of the room.

"Who died this time?" Clare asked as the Lord released her hands. 

Without speaking, he gestured to the empty seat, but Clare refused to take it. She had other things to do than to seat with this evil man. Boze and Xerta were seated too, with that calm expression on their faces. Those two are never up to anything good. 

"It is well with the people and nobody is dead," Vudga said.

Well, with the people? Clare shook her head. She would not try to hide the smirk on her face, however disrespectful it may seem. How can Vudga relax in the comfort of his home while the people are having frowns and sighing as bread for food?

"Why did you summon me then?" 

The smile on Vudga's face made Clare's stomach rumble. If she had her way, she would tie him on a stake and scourge the foolishness out of his soul.

"There is something rather pressing that we think you should be aware of, as the village seer." Boze was the one who spoke. He was exchanging a knowing glance with the other two, but Clare could not guess what it was.

"Well," Clare shrugged, "I don't have all day."

With a nod from Vudga, Xerta stood up and disappeared to the right side of the room, just where a dark door stood. Must have taken hours of waiting before he finally returned, and behind him was someone who had a different skin tone from the pink color of the Miens.

"Another human?" Clare exclaimed with a wide mouth.

"What do you mean by another human?" Boze asked, narrowing those eyes of his.

Realizing her mistake, Clare tried to fumble back on track.

"Yes. I mean another human on our planet after the great war?" She said.

Boze's face straightened out. Clare was glad they did. She hated the man. The only thing he does that has good in them was nothing. And his lackey, Xerta, standing next to him now, was as bad as Boze. Both were the sharp ends of a double-edged sword. They could cut their way through anything, so long it benefited them and added money to their pockets.

"Do you know what this means, Seer?" Vudga stood up. 

His face was tightened with worries now. Not worries for the people, no, Clare knew him too well. He was worried about his throne and position. He was afraid that neither of the two would be at his feet after the world has been turned. 

"I know perfectly well," Clare responded, looking away from the lord to the boy before her.

He had blond hair, unlike Ham, who had black. He had not spoken, and the distrustful looks on his face said that he would not speak for a very long time.

"So it is true. This prophecy about Lord Vortex, coming out from his prison is true?" Vudga hissed.

Clare's gray eyes followed him as he disappeared into the dark door and came back almost immediately with a bottle of urine colored wine. Frustration, that was the only word fit enough to qualify Vudga's behavior. He rarely never drinks unless he was angry or disturbed about something. They had grown up together and even though Vudga had ascended the throne after his father's death, he still had that mundane attitude that showed how insecure and insignificant he was, despite the powers he claims to wield.

"We are doomed," Boze panicked.

You are doomed. Clare said in her thoughts as she turned a sharp stare to the Miens. "I must carry out some test." She said firmly, drawing the attention back to herself.

"Test?" They all screamed simultaneously.

"Yes, test," Clare said and remained silent for a while as if letting the words to digest. When it was obvious that they had gotten the point, she continued, "I must carry out a test on him. I must find out if what the book really said is true."

"No way," The human boy shook his head, speaking up for the first time, "I will not let you tie me up in some laboratory and stick needles on me. Go find a lab rat."

"And who said you have a choice here?" Clare snapped, "You were supposed to keep calm when Miens are talking. Pathetic human, don't you know your kind used to be our slave."

"What?" The boy exclaimed, jaws dropping low. Clare ignored him and turned back to Lord Vudga.

"These tests need to be done. We have to be sure so that we can get ready"

"Very well," Vudga nodded, "Do what you must."

"But how can a test in the laboratory prove anything?" Boze asked, looking worried and concerned.

"There is only one way to find out, Boze." Clare said as the corner of her lips parted with a small smile of triumph.