by Matt Ryan
Copyright 2016 © Matt Ryan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance
to real people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Regina Wamba | www.maeidesign.com
Edited by Victoria Schmitz | Crimson Tide Editorial
Book design by Nadège Richards | www.inkstainformatting.com
The Preston Six series:
Rise of the Six
Call of the Six
Fall of the Six
Break of the Six
Fury of the Six
End of the Six
Alchemist Academy series:
Book one
Book two
Book three
For the latest information about releases, or if you have questions for me, visit me at: www.authormattryan.com or www.facebook.com/authormattryan
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EVELYN KNELT NEXT TO THE Alius stone and typed in the code. It’d taken her more time than she’d like to admit, but all it’d taken was one careless person conducting maintenance in a tower on Hector’s world. What a hapless fool; entering the code out of routine, not checking for any bystanders.
Taking a deep breath, she clicked her shield on and readied herself to slow time. The stone hummed and the Preston forest turned. Gone were the oak trees, replaced with towering pines and a smattering of ferns. The smell hit her stronger than the sight. Pine needles, mixed with recent rain, and maybe a hint of ocean air.
She closed her eyes and slowed time. Recently, she felt she’d spent more time in slow-mo, as her mom called it, than she did in regular time. But with so much to learn, to prepare, and to find . . . regular time would take a millennium. Interesting enough, she didn’t age while in her state of near suspended time. How many months would equate to a day for her? Not knowing the answer niggled at her mind. Other things took higher priority, she supposed.
She opened her eyes and spotted a trail; worn, with two deep ruts, leading into the woods. On either side of it, sat two large guns mounted on steel frames, the kind that sat atop old battleships. They had pivot points and were most likely autonomous, with every intention of killing her, yet they stood still. She’d expected something, but this seemed a bit on the crude side for such a high level race as the purge people. She slid her hand over the gun’s gray metal as she passed them.
A few more guns peppered the forest as she scanned her surroundings. Maybe they weren’t as prepared as she’d thought. The forest didn’t have a single bullet mark and the ferns had grown up to the bases of the guns. Rust ran down some of the bolts.
She whistled as she skipped down the dirt path and spotted the asphalt road, overgrown with weeds. She sighed and hoped this wasn’t some abandoned planet. She’d hate for the trail to go cold again. She didn’t have the time.
Jogging down the road, she spotted the first series of houses and, to her relief, a group of humans.
The first few people didn’t have embers hovering over their heads like the purge people always had. Yet the place seemed typical of the purge camps, with large vats of liquid sitting over fires, each one being attended to by at least one person. Steam trails hung frozen above. She’d seen a few camps like these—barbaric conditions. She hadn’t given them much thought, but maybe she should. This would be the fourth such camp she’d encountered.
Passing through the camp, she popped her head through a broken window; just a couple of men eating from a can. She pulled away and wished the smells would fade, but in the slow-mo world, they hung on like smoke from a burning tire.
Evelyn was disappointed with this location and ready to leave, when she spotted it. A man’s embers danced above him, floating into the sky. It reminded her of the orange bits of light that would run up into the dark night after stoking a fire. It didn’t matter what speed she was in, they flowed the same, always in motion.
Her heart raced, looking at the scruffy man. He looked so normal, but he wasn’t. Of all the worlds and all the people she’d encountered, the purge people had a different genetic makeup—a magic all their own. For Evelyn, these embers were their call sign.
Creeping behind a shack, she released time and the sounds of conversations, wind in the trees, and the distant crash of the ocean came to life. She enjoyed the silence, but the vibrations of the living world were much more fascinating.
One of the few benefits of looking like a seven-year-old girl, meant no one took you seriously. If she kept her face simple and seemed to not have a care in the world, almost every society ignored her. She skipped past a few people and made her way near the scruffy purge man. He licked his dirty fingers and tossed a chicken bone to the pine needle-covered forest floor.
After a couple of agonizing hours, the man finally made his way to a shack, and came back out with a satchel tied to his belt. She’d seen these among them, but hadn’t procured one yet. She thought about slowing down time and taking this man, but she wanted to see where he’d lead her.
After a thirty-minute stop at an outhouse, the man made his way toward the stone. She kept her distance, and the man didn’t appear to care if someone was watching him. The anticipation of getting somewhere with one of these purge people excited her so much she felt her heart pounding.
The man slapped the guns as he passed them, then knelt next to the stone.
Evelyn slowed time down and moved in right behind him. She released and watched him type in the code and then slowed time down again just as he was turning around. He’d take it for a gust of wind, or whatever else his imagination might come up with to rationalize what he felt.
Behind a pine tree, she waited for the distinct sound of the stone working and then quieting. But it didn’t hum. She peeked around the tree and the man’s grimy hand closed around her neck.
He squeezed and growled. “Who are you, little girl. Why are you following me?”
Evelyn tried to speak, but the man’s hand seized around her throat. She couldn’t slow time, or even speak. How could this man have gotten his hand on her?
He let go of her neck and picked her up with both hands, shaking her by the shoulders. “You working with the daughter? She send you?”
Daughter? “I was just curious. Wondering what this place is. People disappear here.”
The man laughed and set her down. “Even the daughter wouldn’t send such a child. Go back to the village and remind those people to keep working, or they’ll get a visit from the queen.”
“Yes, sir.”
He nodded. “Go on. Get.”
Evelyn ran down the path. She had the code. It didn’t matter what the man did or where he went. She knew the next place to go, and she couldn’t stop the grin on her face.
She waited a half hour before returning to the stone.
Rubbing her neck, she thought of the man. It wasn’t the first time someone had manhandled her, and each time she’d been violated, a tinge of guilt seeped into her. Evelyn couldn’t fail her people, and making stupid mistakes could quickly turn into catastrophic outcomes.
She typed in the code. Shield on, she counted in her head the precise time the stone would jump, and the nanosecond before it finished, she slowed down time. She had a bad feeling about this man on the other side.
The inside of an opulent house blinked into existence; she was surrounded by people pointing guns at her. Their brown and green clothes contrasted the white walls and shiny floor around the stone. Evelyn had never seen such a manmade surface molded right up to the stone. Even the Alius stone looked different, with smoother edges, a shiny surface, and three lines running down the side. What did it mean?
One thing of interest were the embers floating above each of the people. A few held small, round stones in their hands, ready to throw them. They had fear in their eyes.
Could this be the queen’s house? After searching for so long, had she finally found her? This one person was the sole being behind all of the purge activities. She had created these terrible factories of ruin. And from what Evelyn understood, with the queen gone, the others would have no reason to continue.
Walking past the frozen men and women, she again resisted the urge to inspect them. Even she had limitations in slow-mo. An internal clock ticked away. She took the stairs, feeling as if the queen would be in the higher rooms, looking down on her world.
When she reached the top of the stairs, she stopped and glanced at the group below. All their connections were so strong, and their special embers floated up and swirled in a maelstrom above. Beautiful. What a unique race.
Past the stairs and down a large hallway, she encountered several more people, running away from the circle. Her arrival must have set off an alarm. She smelled fear on them as she passed.
Another staircase, covered in gray marble with red stripes running up them, led her to the next floor. Her breath stopped at the sight of robotic guns pointing at her. A flash erupted from one barrel, and then the next. Soon, all of the guns had flashed. These ones apparently worked. Thankfully, bullets traveled way slower. They hadn’t even left the barrel yet and the sound wave spread out from them. The barrel did look rather large. What kind of bullets were they shooting?
At the end of the room, stood a set of twins holding stones. They were holding hands. The connections between twins were always fascinating and these two in particular had a strong connection. Their embers coalesced and mingled above. She didn’t know why, but she thought this made them stronger in some way.
Evelyn stepped carefully around the twins and stood at the carved wooden door with symbols and diagrams around the edge. She took one of the twins and pulled him by the back of his shirt, until he fell into the door. It sent out an electrical bolt and struck the twin, transferring the bolt to his brother. She hoped it hadn’t killed them, but was thankful they’d unwittingly dismantled the trap set for the door. She kicked the door in the rest of the way, spotting the queen.
Brilliance, amazement, and fear filled Evelyn as she took in the woman floating a few feet above the floor. Her golden connections shot out from her in all directions, as if the entire world loved her and she loved them back. It swirled around the center of her chest, instead of the top of the head, like everyone else. All of that was nothing compared to her fire. Other’s had embers floating, but this woman had a bright flame, blasting from her head and shoulders, straight through the ceiling. This woman must command the heavens.
Tears fell from Evelyn’s eyes and froze in the air as they left her cheek. How could she kill such beauty? She pulled out her mother’s dagger and picked a spot to stab. She decided on her left eye.
The woman moved, lowering to the ground.
Evelyn thought she released time, and looked back to the twins to confirm she hadn’t. Turning back around, she found the queen smiling, like a cat might with a cornered mouse. How is this possible?
“How did you do that? You don’t have our gift,” her angelic voice said, freezing Evelyn in her presence. Her gaze washed over her whole body. “You have more of it than any person I’ve ever seen in my life. You would create a soul stone worth millions, maybe billions of people. Who are you?”
Evelyn couldn’t catch her breath. No one but her father had ever been in her time, and this woman’s entrance into her space felt like the biggest violation imaginable. Her words glossed over her and her mouth moved, trying to find the words, like a preverbal child.
“Cat got your tongue?” The woman asked and walked closer. “I’ve seen the worlds, yet I have never come across a soul like you. Where did you come from?”
Evelyn thought about slowing time down again, yet there was nowhere to go, and no time left to slow. The woman had her in her clutches, all she had to do was squeeze. She’d made a terrible miscalculation about this queen. Attempting to gain control over the situation, Evelyn calmed herself and focused on the air around her. When all was quiet, the queen’s intentions became clear; bits and pieces of her thoughts floated to her.
This woman felt an amusement and a curiosity, but mostly a hunger. She wanted Evelyn. She wanted to devour her. With more of her wits about her, Evelyn set to take what she wanted from the queen. She concentrated on getting into the woman’s mind, her thoughts, and memories—anything she could pull from it before dispensing with her.
The queen tilted her head, feeling the intrusion—Evelyn didn’t have time to hide it, and could possibly even damage her. The queen’s thoughts poured into her. Secrets and desires. Regrets and determination. She hid something of great value. Evelyn grabbed the location of this before moving onto the one thing she’d searched all the worlds for. In a matter of a millisecond, she found it . . . sitting in the mind of this very woman.
It came as such a shock to finally have this information, Evelyn gasped and the queen took advantage of the momentary lapse, pushing her out of her mind with brute force. Evelyn screamed and grabbed her head. The woman had such strength, it made Evelyn feel like her mind was ripping in half.
The queen moved next to her in a flash, as if she’d moved through time and popped into Evelyn’s space. Her gloved hand touched Evelyn’s and they watched as the stone melted into her skin. Her shield did nothing to stop it and she braced for death. What came next, felt worse than death.
Evelyn’s eyes went wide and she stared straight forward. Not able to control her body, or her mouth.
“You think you can get into my head?” The queen raged. “Now tell me, where are you from?”
“Earth.” The word spilled uncontrollably from her mouth.
“Are there more like you there?”
“One more.” Again, the answer spewed from her without her consent. She tried to control herself, but the commands wouldn’t work.
What have you done to me? Evelyn wanted to ask, but she was no longer the master of herself and this woman played with her like a puppet.
“Two of you. Interesting. Show me the code to your Earth, tap it into my arm.” The queen extended her arm.
Evelyn complied, even as she shook inside at the total loss of control. She wanted to scream and run from this woman before she answered another question.
“Is there another planet you know of, one I might want?”
“Vanar.”
“Show me.”
Evelyn showed her the code.
“Do you know how special you are?”
“Yes.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you do. What are you, ten?”
“One.”
She laughed again. “One year old? Remarkable. You and this other one might just be enough . . . I could go through a hundred planets and not get what you offer.”
Evelyn screamed in her head and something snapped. She felt herself getting closer to her consciousness. She grabbed at the strands and yanked them.
“It’s almost a pity to do this to you; like destroying a fine piece of art. Be happy in the knowledge you are serving a greater good. You are helping more than you can ever know.” She held out both hands, each one holding a stone.
Evelyn knew if those stones touched her, she’d be dead. She screamed at herself, and while it didn’t reach her lips, her finger moved. Then she flexed a muscle in her leg. With a newfound confidence, she dug deep into her soul and found the strength. Screaming loud
er than she ever knew possible, her voice erupted outward, sending a shockwave bursting from her. The sheer force collided with the queen’s chest and sent her flying backward. As the queen slipped back into real time, Evelyn held her still in slow-mo.
Turning around, she ran toward the door. Jumping over the twins at the doorway, and past the guns. The same kind of round stones hung about a foot out of the gun now. Then down the stairs toward the Alius stone.
The group still stood around it, pointing their guns and stones to the center of the circle. She shoved each person to the ground and kicked away their guns. She glanced up, half expecting the queen to float down and suck her away to some terrible tower. But she never showed.
Evelyn typed in the code for Ryjack. She’d bounce around to a few locations to cover her tracks. She gave one last scan of the people laying on the ground and released time. The men and women scrambled to their feet and grabbed their weapons. The stone hummed. One large man, quicker than the rest, fired his gun. A black round stone flew out and struck her shield, deflecting and striking another man. He fell to the floor as the room changed.
A brisk breeze blew past her, carrying with it the terrible smell of a nearby grinner. She knelt, put in another code and jumped again, landing back in Preston.
She fell to the ground and looked up at the oak tree canopy stretching high above the Alius stone. Blood trickled from her nose, as the weight of her catastrophic mistake weighed heavily on her. The queen of the purge people still lived. She not only knew where they were, but she’d be coming. Evelyn saw many things in the woman’s mind; nothing eclipsed her hunger for more. She wouldn’t stop.
There had to be a way to fix this. First, she needed to warn Travis and tell him most of the truth. With her mom, she’d change how it happened. She didn’t want her knowing she’d traveled to all these worlds. She had enough to worry about.
Either way, her encounter with the queen was meant to be . . . because she held the one thing Evelyn had been searching for her whole life.