Elusive Beings--A Shade of Mind--Book 3

by D. N. Leo

  Chapter 31

  Madeline grabbed the water jug on her bedside table and splattered water around the room. In the corner of the room, the water hit the shape of the beast.

  "There!" Madeline yelled and pointed.

  Ciaran shot continuously at the shape with his silenced gun.

  The beast roared. Its shape flashed and glowed and then faded away.

  “I told you—if it has flesh, I’ll make it bleed.”

  Then Ciaran dropped the gun and grabbed his head. He ground his teeth and looked at the corner where the beast had stood before. A vein swelled on his forehead, but he stared steadily at the beast.

  Madeline knew it couldn’t get inside Ciaran’s head. It couldn’t control him. As he said, in this mind game, he had won.

  Madeline dove and grabbed the gun Ciaran had dropped to the floor, but she couldn’t see the beast now. She threw the empty jar at the wall. The shattered glass flew everywhere.

  Some of the pieces of broken glass hit the shape of the beast. Madeline fired off two shots, hoping they would do some damage.

  Another roar.

  Ciaran smiled.

  It seemed that the beast knew it couldn’t get into Ciaran's head. It roared again and slapped at the gun in Madeline's hand. The blow threw Madeline to the wall, and the gun flew away, falling to the floor.

  Ciaran grabbed it and, guessing where the beast would be standing after hitting Madeline, he fired at where its head or vulnerable parts might be.

  A scream filled the room.

  He must have hit it, Madeline thought.

  The noise from the room drew the attention of the medical staff. A nurse rushed inside, but as soon as she entered, her eyes rolled up and she charged at Ciaran. Ciaran said nothing. He stepped forward and hit the nurse in the head. She fell to the floor, unconscious.

  "I'm sorry,” Ciaran said to the nurse and walked over to help Madeline up.

  "You know how this works?" Madeline asked as she rushed out of the room with Ciaran.

  "Classic hologames." Ciaran smiled. They ran down the hallway heading out of the hospital and toward Ciaran's car.

  Ciaran drove the car out of the hospital’s parking lot and headed toward the highway.

  "Do you think there will be any more surprises from the beast before we get to Mon Ciel?" Ciaran asked.

  "I don't know. It's not in the car, thank God. Can Mon Ciel's protective shield stop it?"

  "It works against Sciphils. But I don't know what this thing is. The energy coming from it was similar to what came out of Pete Chandler, Sciphil Nine. I still have to work out the properties of its physical presence—or lack thereof."

  "Yes, Ciaran?" Tadgh's voice asked on the speakerphone.

  "We’re on our way. We’ll be at Mon Ciel soon. Could you call and make arrangements for George to come to Mon Ciel? We'll need his expertise again. We will need all of his lighting gear.”

  A truck sped out from nowhere, aimed straight at Ciaran's car. Ciaran spun the steering wheel, and the car spun and hit a tree.

  Ciaran reached over. "Madeline, are you okay?"

  "Yes." She worked her way out of the tangled airbag.

  Tadgh's voice squeaked out from the phone, dropped somewhere in the car.

  Ciaran helped Madeline out.

  "You're bleeding." Madeline wiped Ciaran's forehead.

  "It's nothing. Let's go."

  They ran toward Mon Ciel.

  From the truck, two men got out. One man’s eyes were rolled up. He ran toward Madeline and Ciaran. The second man trailed behind.

  "Stop, stop! What are you doing, Sam?"

  Then man called Sam kept running toward Madeline and Ciaran. Ciaran pulled out his gun.

  "If he keeps coming at us, I'm going to shoot him,” Ciaran said to the second man.

  The second man dove and tackled Sam. "Come on, man, what are you doing?" The two men wrestled on the ground.

  "You’ll have to knock him out, I'm afraid," Ciaran advised.

  "What?"

  "He won't give up until you knock him out," Madeline added.

  A shadow rushed up from behind Ciaran and hit him with a gun barrel. Ciaran fell to the ground. A large man lifted him up and pointed a gun at his head.

  Sam sat up, looking at his friend, confused about what was going on. They both looked at the large man, who was, at that point, facing Madeline.

  "What the hell are you doing, Dave?" Sam said to the large man.

  Madeline could see that Ciaran was down to about twenty percent of his strength and had been dazed by the hit. Dave croaked at Madeline.

  "Call Richard."

  Madeline hesitated.

  Dave pressed his gun harder at Ciaran's head. “I want to talk to Richard."

  "Yes. Yes. I will. Don't shoot!” Madeline cried out.

  Ciaran used whatever strength he had left to grab the gun. He pivoted and threw Dave to the ground. Dave stood up and roared.

  "Stop there or I'll shoot," Ciaran warned.

  Dave kept charging, his eyes wild. Ciaran shot him in the hip. He fell, screaming in pain. Madeline picked up Ciaran's gun from the ground. They pointed the guns at the other two men.

  "Stay right there," Ciaran said.

  Ciaran and Madeline ran toward Mon Ciel.

  Behind them, a wedge of wind lifted them up and sent them rolling on the ground. When they got up, they saw the beast—a gigantic half-ape and half-wolf creature—coming toward them.

  It was Kyle Wolf in his full form.

  Chapter 32

  Ciaran and Madeline shot at Kyle Wolf. The bullets barely scratched him. Kyle squinted his eyes at Mon Ciel.

  Ciaran caught his look. “He can’t get inside Mon Ciel, Madeline. Can you make a run for it?”

  “I’m not going to run inside and leave you here.”

  Kyle Wolf roared insanely. His eyes sparked red with fury.

  Ciaran pushed Madeline behind him. “We are successors of Sciphils. You’re from Eudaiz, and you cannot harm us.”

  Kyle Wolf stopped.

  Silence.

  Then he roared again and charged at Ciaran.

  Ciaran pushed at Madeline and yelled, "Run!" They moved quickly. But not fast enough.

  Kyle seemed to totally ignore Madeline. His enormous ape arm reached out and snatched Ciaran as if he were a rag doll. Kyle smashed Ciaran's body to the ground as hard as he could then let out an ear-piercing scream.

  All three men from the truck fell on the ground, their liquefied brains leaking from their ears.

  Ciaran spat out blood.

  As soon as Kyle hurt Ciaran, he shrank into a much smaller creature. Ciaran was an official successor, and he could see the effect it had on Kyle.

  Madeline rushed in front of Ciaran. She stared at Kyle, ready to take him on.

  From behind Madeline, Ciaran stood up. He saw that Kyle had shrunken and seemed to be weakened. Taking the opportunity, Ciaran rushed at him. Kyle was still very strong. Ciaran could normally take him on, but he couldn’t now with only twenty percent of his strength left.

  After receiving a few good blows to the head from Ciaran, Kyle kicked Ciaran, sending him rolling away on the ground. "See if Bran can protect you now,” Kyle laughed.

  Madeline stood in front of Ciaran again. Ciaran hoisted himself up from the ground and tried to pull Madeline back. But he didn’t even have enough strength to hold onto her. Madeline knew it was hopeless. If Kyle attacked, she would not stand a chance.

  Kyle got closer to Madeline.

  Just then, they heard the roar of a car engine. The car accelerated, charging at Kyle.

  The hit was brutal. Kyle was split almost in half, and the car was crunched up like a piece of scrap metal. Tadgh and Jo crawled out of the wrecked automobile.

  Kyle didn’t die. He had somehow put his body back together.

  Kyle cast a glance at Jo. Suddenly, his eyes softened. In response, Jo pulled out her gun and fired—without any effect.

  “He’s the
one, isn’t he? He’s the fucking monster that violated you? Tadgh asked. He didn’t wait for an answer. He saw it all in Jo’s eyes. He pulled out his gun and shot.

  Ciaran knew it was hopeless. They couldn’t kill Kyle. The beast now advanced on Tadgh.

  “I’m the successor of the king Sciphil. You might want to negotiate with me before you do anything rash,” Ciaran said.

  Kyle snapped back to reality and turned toward Ciaran and Madeline. Ciaran pushed Madeline backward.

  But he had no idea how to get out of this one.

  He feared this might be the end of them.

  A beam of white and blue holocast slashed down right in front of the beast, preventing it from approaching Madeline and Ciaran. Richard stepped out from the circle of light.

  "This is not just a holocast,” Ciaran said in a low voice. “He’s stepping outside it.”

  Richard drew his sword and charged at Kyle.

  An enormous cylinder of wind, made of blue and white light and filled with the tangled shapes of unrecognizable creatures, spun around Madeline and Ciaran. They were surrounded by a wall of sounds so jarring they made their noses bleed.

  The smell of electricity and melted plastic and metal thickened the air.

  The fight slowed down. From outside the circle of light, they could see that Richard had the current advantage, but both Kyle and Richard had been severely injured.

  Kyle charged at Richard. But instead of blocking him this time, Richard simply opened his arms.

  “No! Grandfather!” Madeline cried as Kyle’s sword pierced through Richard’s body.

  Kyle roared with fury as Richard slumped to the ground.

  “I substitute my life for my granddaughter’s claim of her virtuous soul. She is now more qualified than ever. Eudaizian constitution. Clause 1506. Section two. You killed an undefended Sciphil. Not only you are exiled, you are not to set foot in Eudaiz, and your eudqi can never be reconnected.”

  An inhuman scream split the air. Kyle turned into a creature in werewolf shape and fled. He disappeared into the darkness.

  The wind stopped. On the ground lay Richard. He was no more than a heap of burned flesh and material.

  Madeline scrambled toward him. She picked him up and cradled him in her arms. "Grandfather . . .”

  Richard smiled. For the first time, Madeline saw his smile as a granddaughter looking at her grandfather.

  "I'm sorry I lost you when you were barely a month old. I couldn't protect you. I can't even take you to the gate now. I'm just an old man, you see."

  Madeline wept. Her tears fell on his burned flesh.

  "Nobody has ever shed tears for me, Madeline. You are a good woman. Your sixth sense is your talent. You are a just person. A better Sciphil than I could ever be. You will serve Eudaiz well."

  "Please don't die, Grandfather. You haven't given me any training. I need your guidance."

  "I have authorized Ayana to take you through the gate. Give me your hand.”

  Richard burned a seal on Madeline’s right forearm. Then he closed his eyes for a short moment. He was quickly running out of breath.

  "Promise me you will be a good Sciphil."

  Madeline nodded, her tears raining on Richard's body. Richard glanced toward Ciaran. He had no more strength to call out. But Ciaran understood and came over to crouch beside Madeline. "I trust you will be a just ruler of Eudaiz,” said Richard. “Promise me you will keep my granddaughter safe?"

  Ciaran nodded.

  "Kyle Wolf used to be Sciphil Four. He betrayed Eudaiz for the Black Rock. I knew but had no evidence against him. Bran didn't believe me. Kyle wanted your mother to be his wife—he wanted her innocence. I promised your mother to him only to bide my time. Your mother ran off to marry her true love, your father. When the Black Rock killed your parents, I was too late to save them. When I came back, you were gone. I didn't know Kyle had anything to do with this. Not until yesterday . . .” Richard was fading rapidly. His voice was barely audible.

  "Is there anything I can do for you, Richard?" Ciaran asked.

  "No, my time is up . . . I don't know how Kyle got here. But I know he wants to come back to Eudaiz . . . He'll need the gate opened. I warned Ayana . . . Kyle is evil, and he's invincible . . . Ciaran . . . Promise me you'll protect my granddaughter . . .”

  Richard’s voice trailed off, and he drew in his last breath. His body dissolved into ash and vanished into the air.

  Ciaran pulled Madeline into his arms where she wept for the grandfather she had never known.

  Chapter 33

  Mon Ciel had returned to its elegant quietness. Tadgh looked at the picture of his family in their happy times—his father and mother holding Ciaran and him in their arms. Ciaran and he were mere toddlers at the time, but Tadgh remembered every moment of it.

  He craved that happy time so much. But they hadn’t had that since the day his father died.

  Ciaran would have to go to another universe to fulfill his duty to whoever was out there. But does that mean he has to leave everything behind? Tadgh wondered.

  Tadgh shook his head. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He flopped down onto the day bed and stretched out.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “It’s open.” He didn’t bother to open his eyes. Lindsay and Doctor Thomas had talked about rearranging some of the facilities and equipment inside Mon Ciel. He could feign ignorance, as he usually did, but perhaps it was time for him to take on some of the family responsibilities.

  It was time to grow up.

  The room was strange. Quiet.

  Maybe he should practice his newfound ability. For his first exercise, he channeled his thoughts at Jo. At her emotions. He could again see her feelings. This time, they were as clear as crystal. Pure and directed in one direction—toward him.

  He opened his eyes to find gracious Jo smiling at him.

  He hopped up and grabbed her. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He rushed over to the bed and then gently lay her down. He just wanted to admire her foxy face and her gorgeous green eyes. He played with the raven black hair that fell to grace her fragile shoulders.

  “I lied to you before. I’m a long-term kind of guy.”

  She smiled. “I can tell. But now that you can read my emotions, I don’t have to tell you about my feelings, do I?”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me a chance. I know I’m not your type.” Tadgh grinned.

  “I bet there’s a long list of girls waiting for you who are your type. Why me?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not philosophical about this.”

  Jo smiled and shrieked with pleasure when Tadgh’s hands traveled all over her body. Migi the cat pushed the door open. TJ followed submissively, wearing the sweet puppy look he only used when he asked for treats.

  “Come on! Can we please have some privacy here? I bet you two don’t do that to Ciaran and Madeline,” Tadgh grumbled.

  Jo pulled Tadgh’s face back to her and kissed him. “Let them watch at their own risk.”

  “But TJ is under age. Now, Migi? Take TJ out,” Tadgh directed.

  The gigantic cat wagged her twin tails in disagreement, but then grabbed TJ by the crook of his neck and strode out of the room.

  Tadgh turned back to Jo, but before he could say anything, she flipped him over so that he was on his back. Together, they flew into a heated passion that helped them forget the world around them.

  In Ciaran’s room, Madeline curled into his arms. She traced her finger over the seal burned into his right arm and the tattoo of the key that looked like a crucifix from her angle. “So what does the whole thing make us, Ciaran? What are we?”

  “I hope we’re humans. But that’s inconclusive at this juncture. It doesn’t matter where we were born, it’s our action that determines our humanity. I thought I knew who I was . . . what I was. But now I think I need a lot more information to draw any conclusions.”


  “It seems to me that the Sciphils are humans, judging by the way they recruit people from Earth. But the citizens of Eudaiz seem to be aliens.”

  “By that, I hope you don’t think of them like little green men. What we’re dealing with is not just space travel and different planets. We’re talking about dimensional travel. Different universes. Different worlds. I can’t even tell you how far or how close their proximity is to Earth.”

  “You’re saying space travel is simple?”

  Ciaran chuckled. “Not at all. But you and I will be entering a different world, Madeline. Going through the Daimon Gate to Eudaiz might not be as complicated as what we know as space travel on Earth. It might be as simple as crossing a few dimensions. Maybe that world co-exists with this world, right next to us. Right here.” He reached out his hand and made a grabbing gesture into the air.

  Madeline rolled her eyes. “Well, that seems simple!”

  Ciaran kissed the dimple on her left cheek. “Whatever that world is going to be, as long as we’re together, that’s what matters most to me.”

  “Humm, so you’re going to be the king Sciphil. Will you have a harem?”

  “That’s desirable, of course. But you will be Sciphil One. I’m not sure about the political system of Eudaiz, but it sounds kind of like you will be the first councillor. So you will get to approve of my harem.” He started kissing her lips, and his hands had suddenly become very busy on her body.

  “What if we can’t pass the Daimon Gate? I didn’t receive any training. You did, but not all of it. What if I’m not qualified to be a Sciphil? Will they send me back to Earth? And can we come back to Earth after you and I become Sciphils . . .” she trailed off, moaning in pleasure as his hands attacked all the right spots.

  “Can we worry about that tomorrow? At the moment, I just want to focus on my world, right now and right here, with you.”

  Her body was tensed up like a bow now. “Ayana said it will be only a few days until we have to go through the Daimon Gate . . .”