Bound Souls by N.D. Jones

Author:N.D. Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: african american romance, african american science fiction, futuristic, afrofuturism, fantasy
Publisher: Kuumba Publishing
Published: 2017-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Rite of Sephtis

Xavier found an unoccupied prayer room within the temple. He entered, closed the heavy double glass doors behind him and then—for additional privacy—slid the thickly woven black draperies in front of the windows that bordered the doors. Once inside, he dimmed the lights and dropped his exhausted frame onto one of the three purple-and-white sofas, resting his head on a white pillow with thin purple stripes.

He closed his eyes and slowed the cadence of his breathing, contemplating putting himself into a meditative state. But the small, pointy object in his left pants pocket jabbed him physically and emotionally. Shifting, he removed the red quartz from his pocket, palming it in his large hand. It had been almost twenty-four hours since Aunt Sage had given him the data quartz, yet he still hadn't mustered the courage to play the sparkling device.

“Before your father died, he asked me to give you something. He wanted you to have it on the day of his funeral. But, as you know, he went on his fly-about and was never seen again. And your mother, well,” Sage had shrugged, “couldn’t bring herself to say her final farewells, have the funeral due my brother.” She’d lifted and opened his palm, then pressed the quartz within. “Today is that day. This is yours, nephew. I hope it brings you peace.”

He’d been off-world when his father had passed away. At the bull-headed age of nineteen, Xavier had joined the Asiyan Interdimensional Fleet, without his parents’ knowledge. Eager to make a name for himself beyond being the biracial son of a renowned human arbitrator and the Regent of Asiya, Xavier left home in search of self. During his journey, his father had died, leaving Xavier’s mother alone. Light years away, unable to return immediately, his mother had only Aunt Sage to hold her aloft.

His father, a strong man full of laughter and life, Xavier hadn’t truly believed his time with them would be so short. Although he knew of the gift from the Fates of Asiya, a young man’s brain could be quite proficient at deluding himself. So he’d run away from home on a fool’s journey, seeking answers afar when they were found much closer to home. Within myself.

Xavier stared at the quartz and wondered how something so tiny and fragile could drown him emotionally. He had no idea what was on the quartz, and after seven years of lamenting—if not cursing his father—for not allowing him to be there in his final days, the answers may now rest in the palm of his trembling hand. Yet there he sat, afraid, much like the man-child he'd been when he'd finally learned of his father's death.

Xavier's dark eyes swept the room in search of—ah, there. On the mantel above the fireplace, a clear rectangular quartz reader. He stood, and walked to the fireplace, the reader glimmering like a beacon of hope. With care, he inserted the quartz, point down, into the reader before he reclaimed his seat, not too proud to admit that a deathbed message from his father might weaken his knees.

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