by D. N. Leo
“No, no. Don’t. It has nothing to do with his antidote. I’m not in pain.” He turned over to lie on his stomach and banged his head on the bench.
“Well, keep doing that and you’ll soon have real pain in the head.”
Tadgh sat up. She looked into his beautiful gray eyes, and all she saw there was pain. He reached over and brushed her face with his fingers.
Why did he do that? Then she turned and caught a glimpse of her face in a mirror on the door of a lab cabinet. Her eyes were red and swollen on her pale face. “All right. I must have wept a bit. But you scared the hell out of me. What’s the big deal?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “When I . . . whatever just happened now . . .”
“Like, you stopped breathing!”
“Yeah, whatever. Well, I was kinda like floating into darkness. I felt nothing. And then when I came back, I saw a glimpse of light. Sparks. Shapes. Voices.” He looked at her now. “It’s not the light that I saw, Jo. I saw your emotions.”
“Right . . . so I was scared.”
He shook his head. “Not just current emotions. Memories of emotions—and the results of them. I’m sorry, Jo. I didn’t mean to peek into your privacy.”
“No! Wait . . . no. You mean, you can see what’s in my head? What I felt and what happened?” Tears came now. She couldn’t control them. She’d never felt so violated.
She started to run out of the lab, but Tadgh grabbed her from behind. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I had no right to invade your privacy. But there is a part of your emotions that I am involved in. And to that extent, I’m entitled to discuss it with you.”
Tadgh was too strong for her. Regardless of how much she struggled, she couldn’t free herself from his grip.
“You love me, Jo. Let’s face it.”
“Let go of me. I have nothing to talk to you about.”
“You have to love someone someday, Jo. If not me, it has to be someone.”
“Let go!”
“I could see your feelings for me, loud and clear. I could see your fear. Your regrets. Your shame.”
She wriggled around and punched at his chest.
“It could see your pain when it raped you. I saw the residual of its satisfaction after it was done with you. It’s not human, Jo, and it wasn’t your fault. I could smell the disgusting metallic stench of its satisfaction. It lived in you, and you let it—”
She broke free, turned around, and slapped him across the face.
“I’ll find out what it is, and I’ll kill it, Jo. . . ” he snarled as she stormed out of the lab.
Chapter 24
The helicopter landed at the back of the villa. Ciaran and Madeline rushed to the house. Lucien was waiting for them at the door.
"Is Richard around?" Ciaran asked.
"Not now, but he will be soon."
Ciaran went straight to the computer room. Madeline knew that he deliberately did not look at the countdown clock. The number had been reduced significantly, and he didn’t want to see it.
Ciaran slid the disk into the computer.
The monitor flashed:
New disk inserted. Print verification required.
Ciaran pressed his palm against the verification panel.
* * *
The monitor flashed:
Print verified.
Ciaran LeBlanc.
Biological age: 32295.24X
Born on Earth.
Citizen of the United Kingdom.
Successor of Sciphil Three—Bran LeBlanc.
* * *
“You’re 32,295 years old!” Madeline said.
“No. They exaggerated. I’m only thirty thousand years old.” He smiled. “They must have used a different numerical reference system. The computer is trying to convert it into something we can understand,” Ciaran said while working on the commands for the program.
“Well, it’s not doing a very good job. That’s totally confusing!” Madeline said. “I verified before. Why did it report my Earth age?”
Ciaran paused. Then he glanced back at the computer. “The only difference I could think of is that Ayana has put a seal on my successor position, but Richard hasn’t put a seal on yours.”
The discussion was going in a direction she didn’t care for. Madeline steered him away. “Ayana mentioned Bran is the king Sciphil, but she didn’t mention he has the same surname as you. Are you related?”
Ciaran shook his head. “Unless I’m totally missing a branch of our family tree, there isn’t a Bran in my family.”
He executed the disk and inputted the codes into the system. Finishing the last lot of codes, he hit the “execute” button. The countdown number flashed once. Then it stopped counting down.
He nodded with satisfaction. They waited through five humming seconds. Nothing happened.
"Could you please call Richard?" Ciaran asked Madeline.
Before Madeline had a chance to call, a holocast appeared, and Richard’s hologram paced back and forth in the room. He puzzled at the machine.
“I’m expecting a confirmation that the elimination has been canceled. What’s happening in Eudaiz?” Ciaran asked.
“I don’t know. At least it stopped,” Richard said.
“That’s not good enough,” Ciaran muttered. “It looks as if the program paused the elimination process. But I’m not sure how long it will hold."
Richard shook his head. “I think you have to terminate the program from the source.”
“How?” Madeline asked. “Didn’t you say Juliette is reforming in her tower, and no one except the king Sciphil has access?”
“But you’re a computer genius, aren’t you? Juliette said so herself. Can you hack into her system?” he asked Ciaran.
“You want Ciaran to hack a multiversal computer system from here? I know next to nothing about computers, but that’s just not possible," Madeline said.
"What exactly do I need to do to access Juliette's system?” Ciaran asked.
The computer hummed and let out a short beep. Then the countdown number started up again.
“The antidote didn’t work,” Ciaran muttered and mumbled some profanity.
Madeline could see Ciaran sweating with anxiety. She could feel the weight of the responsibility he’d put on his shoulders. No matter how much she tried to convince him otherwise, Madeline knew he would still take on that responsibility.
"Juliette must have used her verification code somewhere that you can hack . . .” Richard said.
“In theory, but it will take time.”
The faint smell of burning electrical wiring filled the room. They looked at the computer. It looked fine. A holocast beam appeared, and the hologram of Ayana stepped forward. A corner of her long white robe had been burned off, and blood stains dampened the hem. She turned to Richard.
“Some of the Sciphils protect Eudaiz while some just take a vacation!”
"The Black Rock attacked your district because your defense is weak. Why blame me, Ayana? We're busy here. And you might not have to worry about protecting anyone in Eudaiz soon." Richard's face started to turn red.
"What do you mean?" Ayana asked. She looked at Madeline and Ciaran. "Juliette has been detained to her tower, or so I am told."
"Not just detained—they killed her presence. Now she will reform and be invincible. At the moment, she uses one of the programs to contaminate the food supply system, killing thousands per second,” Richard said.
The color drained out of Ayana’s face. “Only the king Sciphil can terminate Juliette. We can get Ciaran there, but that process will take a long time.”
“That is if he passes the Daimon Gate alive,” Richard said.
Ciaran suddenly grabbed his head and grunted in pain. “I can’t hear you. Your signals are going to blow my brain out. Can you use the system?”
The control panel flashed new signals, and a line of text appeared. "Welcome, Ciaran. We are finally connected."
"Who are you?" Ciaran
asked.
The monitor flashed: "I am Sciphil Three."
Ayana gasped. Madeline glanced over and saw tears gleaming in her eyes.
"Bran LeBlanc? I don't recognize your name from our family," Ciaran said.
The monitor flashed: "I am Bran LeBlanc. Consult Jennifer for the alteration of your family tree."
“Don’t drag my mother into this,” Ciaran snarled.
“She’s already in. Go through the Daimon Gate and find out for yourself."
“Bullshit.”
Ayana spoke, “Juliette is reforming in her tower and has been causing us tremendous problems. You need to terminate her, Bran.”
The monitor flashed: "Can I borrow some of your energy to make contact, Ciaran?"
Ciaran was about to respond when Madeline pulled his arm.
"What exactly do you mean by borrowing his energy?” Madeline asked.
The monitor flashed: "I cannot make a physical appearance on Earth without borrowing some energy from Ciaran because he’s my successor. My energy source has been disconnected."
From the back, Ayana said, "It's true. That’s why he’s been unable to communicate with us in the last thirty-three years. We didn't know that this connection was possible. Please help us, Ciaran."
Ayana trembled. Tears rolled down her face.
Ciaran contemplated and held his eyes briefly on Madeline. “All right, Bran.”
The air thickened. A beam of light and an image appeared. This was not a hologram. This was a physical appearance from an advanced holocast. This was similar to what Juliette had used before.
Bran LeBlanc was a tall man with a kind face, white hair, and very intense gray eyes—the strongest resemblance shared in the LeBlanc family.
Madeline approached Ciaran. She wrapped her arms around his waist and could feel the energy leaking out of him in waves.
Chapter 25
Ciaran staggered back a few steps and then regained his stance. The appearance of Bran had sucked up a significant amount of energy from Ciaran. Madeline could feel his body weakening by the second. He was finding a point of support. She braced her body against his.
Ayana cried out loud as soon as she saw Bran. Bran gave Ayana a nod of acknowledgment. Richard stood in shock and gave Bran a stern stare. Bran was about to say something to the two Sciphils, but Madeline cut him off.
"With respect to your reunion, sir, whatever you’re here to do with the borrowed energy from Ciaran, could you please do it quickly?"
Bran stepped closer to Ciaran and Madeline. He smiled. He had a genuinely kind smile, Madeline thought. The kind of smile that made her want to call him Uncle Bran.
"She's my successor. My granddaughter," Richard spoke up from the corner.
Bran’s eyes brightened. "You’re Madeline. You’ve grown up to be a beautiful young woman. It was worth it, wasn't it?"
Ciaran shifted his stance. A drop of blood trickled from his nose. Madeline tightened her grip.
"Why are you here? What can you do to stop the program?" Madeline asked.
Bran glanced at Ciaran. "You're strong, Ciaran. You resisted my full training. I hope you don’t live to regret it."
"What do you need from me to stop that program?" Ciaran asked, wiping off the blood.
"You think you're responsible for what Juliette did. You hold yourself responsible for too much of what you cannot control. That's your weakness, Ciaran."
"He didn't lend you the energy to give him a lecture. So be quick, Uncle Bran." Madeline couldn't believe that had slipped out of her mouth. She’d called him uncle. A flash of a smile came across Bran's face when he heard it. He let it go.
"This is a very temporary solution. With your human energy, I can only cancel the program in Juliette's tower. The energy will not be enough for me to perform any other function. Do you understand that?"
Ciaran nodded.
Bran continued, "I know Juliette has turned against Eudaiz, and I need to end her existence. But I can no longer do it myself. Thus, you, as my successor, have to do it. To take my role as Sciphil Three and King of Eudaiz, you have to go through the Daimon Gate. I authorize Ayana to give you the induction and take you through the opening. You will not take commands from anyone but me. Am I understood?"
"And what if I fail to go through the Daimon Gate?"
Bran looked at Ciaran. "You know you won't fail. Why ask such a question?"
Ciaran nodded. He was leaning fifty percent of his weight on Madeline now, without showing the others. Madeline was glad she was tall enough to support him.
"You are using your human energy to support me to go to Eudaiz and cancel the program Juliette is running. You might not be able to recover from that loss of energy. Do you understand what you’re agreeing to?"
Ciaran nodded.
"You're a brave man, Ciaran. I am pleased. This will only take ten seconds."
Bran nodded at Ayana and Richard and beamed off. As soon as he swooped out of the room, all six foot three inches of Ciaran collapsed to the floor.
Tears rolled down Madeline's face.
Ciaran looked at her. "Come on, darling. I'm not hurt. I just don't have any strength at the moment. Don't cry. I can't even wipe the tears off your pretty face." He smiled.
Madeline brushed away her tears and forced a smile. "I'll keep a lookout and make sure no one comes to beat you up now."
Madeline removed a strand of hair from Ciaran's face. “Promise me you won't agree to anything else?"
"Okay."
The ten seconds went past. Bran came back to the room.
"Successful?" Madeline asked.
"Trivial. I canceled Juliette's program. And I had a quick look around before I left. Her reform is progressing very fast."
"How fast? How long before we need to cut off her energy source?" Ayana asked.
Bran crouched down next to Ciaran. "You understand that you will take on the Sciphil Three position and that you will be the one who ends Juliette?"
"Yes."
"We won't have much time. Two weeks top before she regains her form. Ciaran has to pass the gate before that. When and where is your next opening, Ayana?" Bran asked.
"Australia. In ten days, Earth time," Ayana said.
"Why?"
"My successor is Zach Flynn. He's an Australian."
Bran nodded. "Fair enough. Good successors are hard to come by. I trust your judgment."
"He's strong, fair, and talented," Ayana responded.
Bran spoke to Ciaran next. "Ayana's gate will be yours, Ciaran. Before I go, there is one last thing I would like you to consider."
Madeline's body tensed up. This couldn’t be good news.
"And that is?" Ciaran asked.
"The chemical in your body, the Golden Life, it was not meant to be there. Your mother put it in there. I know that. But you are better off without it."
Madeline raised her voice. "No, no, you don't understand Bran. He died. Ciaran died in front of me. If Jennifer hadn’t injected him with that chemical, he would have been gone. I saw it with my own eyes . . .”
"He can survive . . .”
"No, I said no. Whatever you’re suggesting, the answer is no. Now, you piss off and go back to where you came from. Give Ciaran his energy back."
"What are you suggesting?" Ciaran asked.
"No, Ciaran, you promised me. You didn't see yourself dying. I did. I won't go through it again. You go away, Bran. No more talking. You saved the people of Eudaiz. Please leave."
"What are you talking about, Bran?" Ciaran asked again.
"I won't forgive you, Ciaran, for doing this to me again. I swear to you." Tears streamed down Madeline's face. She knew what was coming. She knew she couldn’t stop it.
Bran looked at Madeline, and then he looked at Ciaran. "I can purify that chemical out of your body. Nobody else can do this for you. You’re strong. You can survive without it. This way, you don't owe anything to anyone."
"No, he can't. He was shot. He died in my arms!"
Madeline cried.
"You have a very strong will. You can survive. If I go now, you will not have the energy to get me back here to perform that function for you. It will be in your body forever. You will owe Juliette forever . . .”
"If you do this, I will not forgive you whether you survive it or not, Ciaran," Madeline said in tears.
"Then get rid of it,” Ciaran said to Bran.
Madeline sobbed.
"This is an equivalent to level one of the Daimon Gate. The purification process is not a big deal. You can pass it easily. But this procedure will return you to the stage just before the time you received the chemical. You will be very weak. Another risk is that I have to use your energy now to perform that function. It will weaken you even further. I think you are strong. But the risks cannot be ignored. Are you sure this is what you want?"
Madeline scrambled to leave the room.
"Madeline!” Ciaran called out. “Please stay with me.”
Nasty son-of-a-bitch, she cursed silently as she sat down next to him.
"I'll take my chances, Bran. Do it," Ciaran said.
"Remember what you promised me when you refused my training, Ciaran. I am holding you to it.”
Ciaran nodded.
Bran grabbed Ciaran's wrists. Ciaran's body jerked up as if he had been electrocuted. His body glowed and gradually turned almost transparent. Then it returned to a solid state.
In front of a devastated Madeline, Ciaran fell flat on the floor. He was no longer conscious. A satisfied smile crossed Bran's face. He turned around and disappeared the way he had come.
Madeline dumped the contents of her purse looking for the phone. She grabbed the phone and shouted into it, "Doctor Thomas!"
Chapter 26
“Jo! Come back!” Tadgh yelled after Jo. She had called the taxi and had cleared her way out of Mon Ciel. The door slid open, not for Jo to go out but for Doctor Thomas’s car to come in. In the sky, the helicopter hovered and landed in the front garden.
“Trouble,” Jo muttered. “When can I get the hell out of here?” She turned back and saw that Tadgh had rushed over to the helicopter transporting Madeline and Ciaran.