by D. N. Leo
The dot stopped moving. A small ice panel in the column slid open, revealing a button. The skin of the column became transparent, and inside, Ciaran could see a box placed at head height.
Everyone approached, looking at it.
"There it is,” Kyle said.
He reached his hand out and punched the button.
"Wait!" Ciaran yelled. But it was too late.
The column broke apart. At the same time, the floor cracked and broke away into shards of ice. The column sunk down into the ice water, taking the box with it.
Everyone fled the sinking floor and ran to the rock edges.
The broken floor was now a pond of dark, icy water.
Jo looked at the sinking box. She dove into the water. Ciaran dived in after her. As soon as they disappeared below the surface, the ice sealed over.
Madeline was hanging onto a rock. She had seen this scenario before. She knew exactly what to do. She grabbed as many rocks as she could and slid to the middle of the icy crust to break the surface so that they could escape.
From under the dark water, Ciaran saw the ice closing in. He grabbed Jo to pull her up. She shrugged him off and followed the box down farther. It had slipped away from the broken column and lay at the very bottom. She picked it up. Ciaran grabbed for her again, and they both resurfaced.
Madeline and others had broken the ice and pulled Ciaran and Jo out of the freezing water.
Their bodies were numb. They did not speak.
Madeline held Ciaran. She wrapped her body around him and used whatever she had to give him some warmth. Tadgh darted toward Jo and did the same. He held her in his arms. She grabbed him. Her body shook.
Minutes passed, and Ciaran and Jo finally began to regain some body heat. The color slowly came back into their almost translucent faces. They looked toward each other and then toward the box that was sitting on the floor between them.
Kyle picked up the box. Ciaran slowly brought himself to a standing position. The two men gave each other a measured glance. Tadgh helped Jo to her feet.
Ciaran raised an eyebrow when Kyle gave him the box. He took it. On the lid was a liquid screen and a square panel that said, "Print verification required."
Ciaran smiled. That was why Kyle and Jo had needed him. Jo was a gate-crasher, and Kyle was an exiled Sciphil. Even if they had been able to retrieve the box, they wouldn’t have been able to open it.
Ciaran put his palm on the panel to verify. The lid clicked open. Inside the box were two rectangular blocks—one red and one blue. The two blocks were lit up, but Ciaran could not identify what they were made of. A grail was engraved on the red block, and a key was engraved on the blue one.
"The red one is the privilege, and the blue is the invitation,” Ciaran said. He turned the box toward Kyle.
Kyle reached out for the red block.
From the corner of Ciaran's eyes, he saw it. Jo raised her arm and slid out her spear while Tadgh watched Ciaran and Kyle.
"Look out, Tadgh!” Ciaran yelled.
It was too late for Tadgh.
Jo pierced her spear right through his heart. She drew it back out.
Tadgh's body slumped to the ground. Ciaran ran toward his brother.
Tadgh was dead.
Chapter 33
Jo swung her rope and grabbed the box.
"I want both." That was the first time she had spoken since they had been reunited. What came out was not a voice but the sound of a devil from hell.
She turned and ran with the box.
Ciaran locked his eyes on her back as she fled. He took a stance and threw his dagger.
The dagger hit her right in the back of her head. She slumped down and melted into a pool of black liquid.
"That's not Jo,” Ciaran said. He turned around. Kyle had disappeared.
Ciaran dashed toward the box and grabbed it. Then he scrambled back to where Tadgh lay. He crouched next to Tadgh's dead body and opened the box.
He took out the red block—the privilege. On top of the block was another panel. Ciaran pressed his palm against it. A tiny screen appeared on the surface of the block next to the panel. On the screen, the face of a woman appeared. She smiled kindly at him.
“Congratulations. You have gained a privilege. What would you like?"
"My brother has suffered a fatal injury. I want him healed,” Ciaran said briskly.
"What is the injury?"
"A stab wound."
"Where?"
“To the heart."
"That is beyond the level of—”
"I don't give a fuck. I gained your privilege. It's supposed to fix anything inside the gate,” Ciaran snarled.
"Conditional to—”
"Don’t quote terms and conditions to me. I have the invitation as well. I will talk to your Host and will make rest of your life miserable, whoever and wherever you are!"
“But—”
“You offered the privilege. You are required to keep your end of the deal. The Daimon Gate does not break a promise. I want my brother healed. Now!”
"I will consult with my superior." The screen went blank for a long moment. Then a man’s face appeared.
"Who is the injured guest?"
"Tadgh LeBlanc."
The man nodded. "He has previously received eudqi from his Sciphil. He is lucky. He will be fine. Step aside please."
Ciaran stepped aside.
A curtain of light poured down around Tadgh. They could not see him anymore.
Ciaran turned around. Madeline knew he was looking for her. She pulled him into her arms. Ciaran clung to her. He held on tight. He buried his head against her shoulder, and she felt the heat of his tears.
Madeline said nothing. She just embraced him.
After a long while, the light curtain vanished. Tadgh lay motionless on the floor and then opened his eyes. He looked around to gain his bearings.
Ciaran scrambled toward him. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
Tadgh winced and looked down at his chest. His shirt was still open, revealing a rapidly healing wound. Ciaran helped him up.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Ciaran said.
At the entrance of the cave, Ciaran sat Tadgh down on a rock. He pointed to the top of the hill, where the light reflection looked like a rainbow.
“That’s the exit out of the Daimon Gate,” Ciaran said.
“Kyle!”
In the distance, they could see Kyle charging toward the exit. He was carrying a large box nearly the size of a coffin on his shoulder as if it was a toy.
“I’ll cut him into pieces,” Ciaran growled.
Kyle seemed to be annoyed and threw the box to the ground. He pulled Jo out of it.
“That’s the real Jo. I can read her. I can see her mind,” Madeline gasped.
Tadgh frowned. “It’s her. She’s scared and angry,” he whispered and quickly ran out of breath just by voicing that short sentence. He could see Jo’s emotions now, but he couldn’t go and get her.
Ciaran watched Kyle dragging Jo toward the exit. He could send in a blade and cut Kyle into pieces right now. He wanted to kill him so badly.
Jo kicked, screamed, and wriggled out of Kyle’s grip. She turned around and pulled out the knife she’d hidden in her secret pocket, the one she had stolen from the zombie gangster on Earth. She stabbed Kyle. The small knife didn’t do much damage, but it distracted him and stopped him from dragging her further toward the exit.
Ciaran clenched his fists. He could feel his fury coming to the surface. If he sent in the blade, it would kill both Kyle and Jo. If he let Kyle go, there would be consequences when he fled to the other universes.
Tadgh was too weak to make a run for Jo. Ciaran knew Tadgh wouldn’t ask him to hold back on this important decision, but he knew how important Jo was to his brother.
The devastation in Tadgh’s eyes cut at him. He had almost lost his brother. He couldn’t give Tadgh another hit by killing Jo right in front of him.
Cia
ran withheld the blade.
Jo ran down the hill.
Kyle fled through the exit.
Jo hurried toward Tadgh. She grabbed him and stared at the wound on his chest. “You’re hurt. Oh, my God. Did Kyle do this to you?” Tears rolled down her face. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“I’m okay. Everything is fine now.” He wiped the tears from her face and pulled her into his arms.
“I know it’s useless to ask you to leave the gate before I do. But I have one thing to see to before we leave. Could you wait for me here?” Ciaran said.
“You’re going back in for Bran, aren’t you?” Madeline asked.
Ciaran nodded. “It shouldn’t take long. And it’s neither hard nor dangerous. During his last trip, Bran became lost and has been trapped in the oblivion for a long time. This invitation will help me navigate to him, and I’ll get him out. I promised him this. Okay? There won’t be any fighting or struggles.”
“Is that all?” Madeline asked.
“That’s all. I’ll get him out, and he’ll tell me where Mother is. That’s the deal. That’s it.”
Tadgh tried to say something. Ciaran bent down. He shook Tadgh’s shoulders gently and looked into his brother’s eyes, the feature with the strongest resemblance between them.
“I can’t handle another episode from you, Tadgh. Please stay here. Leave with them if you must.”
Tadgh nodded and closed his eyes, leaning against the rock to rest.
Chapter 34
Ciaran went back into the cave. He pulled out the blue block. It lit up in the dark. He walked slowly. The light would be strongest when heading in the right direction. That was what Bran had told him. He went deeper and deeper into the cave.
The stone had gone from white to black. The temperature increased. The sound of water dripping somewhere between the rocks sang like music.
Ciaran entered a wide grand hall where he found a black rock arch. He touched the rocks. A wave of strange current pulsed out like electricity. Ciaran reached his hand out into the empty space on the other side of the arched rocks.
His hand disappeared in front of him. He withdrew his hand.
The dimensional gate to the oblivion, he thought. That was where Bran was.
Ciaran pushed the blue block through the gateway to the other side, and unlike his hand which seemed to vanish, he could still see the illuminated block.
Ciaran nodded to himself and was happy with the compass he had in his hand. He walked through the archway.
He was immediately transferred to a peaceful green meadow. He shrugged. Oblivion didn’t look bad at all. In the distance, a small cottage blended nicely into the setting. It was like a live painting of the countryside in England, Ciaran thought.
In front of the cottage, Bran stood like a farmer, a shovel in one hand and a bucket in the other.
Ciaran approached. “Bran.”
“Ciaran. I knew you would make it. Having you as a successor was the best decision I ever made.”
“It’s my honor. We should leave now. People are waiting.”
Bran nodded. “Let me get out of this farmer gear and get my stuff. Come on in.”
They entered the door of the so-called cottage. The door was so small that Ciaran had to bend down to squeeze through.
Inside the tiny cottage was a gigantic space station. Ciaran turned around. He could still see the meadow through the door. How is this even possible? he thought.
Ciaran pointed toward the door. “Is that a dimensional gate?”
Bran laughed. “You certainly don’t disappoint. It is, indeed.” Bran gestured widely. “And this is my dimension. I created it.”
“You created a dimension? How?”
“You have a lot to learn, Ciaran. But now you should have some confidence in the impact of what I asked you to do. You should know how significant your role will be in the history of the multiverse. And you should appreciate what I have given you from Eudaiz.”
Bran entered a series of commands into computer units that were as large as the wall of the space station. He pointed to the flashing light on a control panel.
Ciaran approached. The monitor asked for print verification. He pressed his palm to the square panel. A burning sensation ran up his arm and his spine and shocked his brain.
Ciaran grunted and passed out on the floor.
When he came to, Bran was working on a computer.
“You’re very strong Ciaran. We are good to go now.”
Ciaran stood up, looking at his hand. There was no mark on his palm. He didn’t feel any different.
“What did you do to me?”
“Nothing really. I just helped you out with your task. The information I asked you to collect would be a lot to remember using an ordinary human brain. I simply added more memory capacity to yours. That’s all.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Just a few seconds.”
He pushed up from his chair and led the way out of the cottage.
“You’re not taking anything? Your equipment?”
“No, I loaded everything into you. I trust you.” Bran patted Ciaran’s shoulder.
Moments later, they were using the blue block to navigate their way back to the black stone arch. Ciaran pointed to it. “That’s a dimensional gate. That’s why you got lost.”
“I wasn’t lost.”
“What?”
“I knew it was a dimensional gate. Kyle stabbed me through it. He snatched Madeline from her cot and ran through the Daimon Gate. I chased him to get the baby back. We fought. I wounded him badly, but when he pushed the baby in front of me, I hesitated. That’s how he got me. Then the dimension shifted. Without a navigator, I couldn’t get back out.”
Ciaran nodded. “Well, you got yourself a good Sciphil One now, thanks to Kyle.”
They walked through the gate and returned to the entrance of the cave.
Madeline rushed toward Ciaran. Everything in her body and mind told her that things were not going well.
“Darling, are you okay?” Ciaran asked.
“We need to leave. We should leave right now, Ciaran.”
“Yes, of course.” He held Madeline and felt her body shaking.
“Why don’t you sit down for a moment?” Ciaran said.
“No, no. We have to leave. Right now.”
“She’s been like this for ten minutes. We can leave now, Madeline,” Jo said. She turned around to help Tadgh, who was still weak and dazed.
“Ciaran needs to say goodbye to the Host before we leave, Madeline. It would be very inappropriate if he didn’t do so,” Bran said.
“What? No, no. We are leaving right now!” Madeline insisted.
“Madeline, I just need to say goodbye. I have the invitation. It will only take five minutes. Then we’ll leave. You’ll have Bran here with you. If Kyle comes back—”
“No, no, not Kyle. It’s not Kyle. It’s something else. Something is really wrong. Please don’t go in again,” Madeline cried.
“Bran.” Ciaran looked at Bran.
“You have to, Ciaran. Don’t you want to find out about your mother?”
“She—” Ciaran looked at Madeline.
“You’ve just been through the Daimon Gate. It’s a lot to take in. I’d be surprised if she weren’t emotional. Let’s finish this quickly. I want to leave, too,” Bran said.
“If anything—”
“Nothing will happen to you. But yes, I will take care of everyone. I have the power to keep the promise. I am the current king of Eudaiz, remember?” Bran said.
Ciaran hesitated.
“Look, Jo can’t exit the gate without getting killed because she didn’t have an invitation to enter. As the current king of Eudaiz, I can give her the invitation now.” Bran grabbed Jo’s hand and pressed his thumbprint to it. “This is a temporary entry for guests. She will be fine. I keep my promises. I hope you keep yours, Ciaran.”
Madeline wrapped her arms around Ciaran. She
knew she could not make him stay.
Her body ached. Her heart ached. She could not explain her feelings to him. She could not find a reason for him to stay. She reached up and kissed him as if it would be their last kiss.
She looked at Ciaran going back into the cave. Her knees buckled, and Zach caught her. He carried her to the edge of the rock where she was violently ill.
Chapter 35
Ciaran walked along the white stone hall to an entrance. He followed the signal on the blue block. A panel slid open. He inserted the block, and a wall-sized door opened widely, revealing a grand reception room.
Ciaran had butterflies in his stomach.
The room arrangement and decoration closely resembled that of Mon Ciel. An automatic voice echoed across the room, “Welcome Ciaran Leblanc. The Host invites you to take a tour of the EYE before meeting in the Great Reception.”
Even the name of the room was the same as Mon Ciel. He wouldn’t be surprised to find his mother here. But he let go of that speculation for the moment and focused on the task at hand.
All he had to do was to go to the EYE, the most sophisticated computer system in the cosmos, and download the data for Bran. Once he completed that task, anything else would be a bonus. If he met his mother here, great. If not, Bran would tell him where she was.
A steel door in front of him slid open. Ciaran entered an eye-shaped room. The walls were covered with monitors, each flashing with images. It was like an enormous cinema that showed thousands of movies at the same time.
The control panel flashed for print verification. Ciaran pressed his palm on the panel, and text appeared.
* * *
Ciaran LeBlanc.
One invitation: Available.
One privilege: Claimed.
Data access: FULL.
* * *
Ciaran nodded. As Bran had predicted, he had full access to the data. He walked around the room and glanced at the panels. He recognized the faces of the prince and the princess at the Red Castle. He touched the screen. Text appeared.