by D. N. Leo
Ciaran had recovered a hundred percent now, based on what he and his painkillers said. The LeBlancs do worship their medicine, Madeline thought with a sigh. But still, he was a man without supernatural energy at this point in time. He accepted that and let her go out to survey the scene before the Aries key event that night.
The most important reason she wanted to be there, though, was that she hoped Doris would come back.
Ciaran believed that if she came back, it would be for him.
But for some strange reason, Madeline’s instincts told her Doris would be there, and that she should be on alert.
“What you have achieved is very impressive, Madeline LeBlanc.” The throaty female voice came from behind her.
Madeline turned around, and she knew she was looking at Doris. The woman stared at her with a smile on her face.
“Any ordinary mother and wife would do what I do. There’s nothing special about that, Doris. But I don’t think you came back here to say something nice to me.”
“I have to give it to you. First councillor of one of the most prosperous universes, wife of a king without ever asking for the title of queen, and mother of the most desirable twins in the multiverse. All that, and you still manage to have a human child.”
Her blood ran cold, and she reached for the dagger inside her jacket.
“Don’t worry, Madeline. I mean well.”
“I doubt that.”
“I admire you, really. I don’t have the means to time travel like you and Ciaran. But I do have friends who can. Based on a future fact that I have knowledge of, I think we can help each other out. We can be allies. There’s no need to fight.”
“You’re overconfident, Doris. You can’t time travel. You can’t cross worlds. Yes, you might be able to find out information about us, but that gives you no power.”
Doris chuckled. “Oh, I do have some power. Little. But some. I’m sure Ciaran has told you.”
“What do you want?”
“I heard you came here to look for me. And of course I can’t get any information about myself and what I will do in the future that might cause you to come here for me, but I can certainly get information about those you both care for. Your third child, for example.”
Madeline pulled out her dagger. “She died. There’s no way you can use her to gain an advantage on us.”
“See, now you can see my power. I’m sure you remember the creature that attacked you and caused Ciaran to terminate your daughter. I fixed that for you. I’ve sent my people to kill that creature before it attacks you. You see, I’ve shown you my good intention. So if you could just go back to your happy future and let things here run smoothly, you can have a family of five.”
“What do you want from me?”
“What I just said, and a small token gift.”
“Naturally.”
“The bag of cards that Ziva left for Ciaran. I want it. Bring it to the temple tonight, and you’ll have your daughter.”
“What do you mean?”
Doris pulled out a card and flashed it in front of Madeline so that she could see the large print that said Freyja LeBlanc. “Come tonight with the other cards, and I will give you this card for safekeeping. Or even better, I can erase the name in front of you.”
“Marked souls cannot be erased.”
“Oh, so Ciaran didn’t tell you? That’s true for lower ranking deities and soul traders. But not for me. I’ve already erased a name he requested.”
She didn’t need to ask. She knew he couldn’t help but ask for Juliette’s name to be deleted. He hadn’t promised her anything, but she was damn disappointed.
“Well, Sam Donovan might not be important to you, and maybe that’s why he didn’t mention it. But I did demonstrate my power to him.”
“What name did Ciaran ask you to erase?”
“Sam Donovan… But look, the point here is that I can erase your daughter’s name. Her soul was expensive, but I have managed to negotiate with her guardian. Now do you want your daughter or not?”
Madeline nodded.
“Then be at the temple with the cards. And it would be wise not to bring anyone with you. That’s my best and most friendly advice.” As quickly as she had come, Doris turned and vanished into a dimensional gateway.
Chapter 47
Madeline would never be able to tell this was a crowded temple from the outside. The Aries key event seemed to be like any other ritual event for the temple and the monks. She guessed none of the monks would have seen something like this in their lifetime. They had been told it was a significant event, but they have no idea what to expect.
The stone temple, with its massive dome ceiling, was impressive. In the public area, monks and worshipers gathered—some prayed, some read, and some just meditated. Madeline walked through the common area without incident.
She switched on her eudqi—the Eudaizian energy that elevated her senses. It would also allow her to move super-fast, and more importantly, to switch dimensions between the ordinary world and the supernatural world. In this way, she would be able to see supernatural creatures.
It was truly a supernatural event.
Supernatural creatures were everywhere. In magical dimensions, they walked among the humans without being detected. She recognized Xiilok creatures by their eyes with wormy irises, and she could identify the creatures from the magical world by the halos around them and the shape of angel wings.
Why did this Aries key mean so much to these creatures?
She had retrieved the Virgo key with Ciaran. They’d had their commanders retrieve other keys from across the multiverse. But none of the keys was as ceremonial as this one.
There it was—the main supernal hall filled with the key players. In front of her stood the statue of a god that reached to the ceiling. Creatures of all kinds gathered at the feet of the magnificent statue, which looked nothing like the symbol for the Aries sign that she knew—a ram.
“Hello, god, sorry to intrude,” she mumbled to herself because she wanted to appear as if she was praying, an activity in which she didn’t usually participate.
The creatures took turns showing off scores on their scorecards. The scorecards came in all shapes and forms. She didn’t care how the scores were calculated, or who won. She just kept her eyes on Doris, who seemed to be moving farther and farther up the line. It looked like she was winning the round and getting closer.
A bunch of magical creatures scooted out of the room after the first few rounds of showing off and counting the scores. She had no sympathy for them. They looked like angels of some sort, and she thought they should stick to their angel business.
Soon, the room was emptied out, and Doris was one of the two remaining. The other was a tall human-shaped creature with glowing eyes. Madeline couldn’t make out what he was.
Doris saw Madeline and excused herself momentarily. Madeline held up the bag of cards and reached her hand out for her daughter’s card. Doris smiled, grabbed the bag, and handed over the golden card with Freyja’s name on it.
Madeline wanted to kill Doris right then and there to eliminate the fact that she would mark Ciaran and her in the future. But she thought better of it and let go of the idea. She and Ciaran could take care of the problem later. Freyja came first. She had lost her daughter once. She would not make that mistake again.
She put the card in her jacket pocket and zipped it up securely.
Inside the room, the statue glowed in a crimson shade. It appeared that crunch time had approached, so she let Doris go back inside with the bag of cards.
As Madeline turned around to exit the room, she heard the eerie sound of an ancient chant. She glanced back and saw that the god statue had split in half. From the base of the statue, a second statue of a large bird rose. She knew she wasn’t meant to be there, so she hurried toward the exit.
“No!”
Madeline heard Doris screaming. She didn’t look back but ran toward the door. The floor to ceiling double steel
doors slammed shut in front of her.
“Damn.” She turned to find another way out and saw that the body of the man with the glowing eyes had been torn into pieces. Doris’s eyes were bloodshot, and then her head exploded as she stared at the bird statue, which at the moment looked very much alive.
It was a giant hawk with deep red eyes. From the bird, an ancient male voice cried out, “You can see me, Madeline. You have won. You are mine.”
“There must be a mistake. I’m not interested in this. I don’t have a score for you. I need to go. Can you please open the door?”
“Your heart is gold. Your love for your family is unconditional and pure. Out of all those who brought their scores to me, your heart is the most virtuous and precious. You and your love are what I want.”
The giant hawk lifted from the stone base and flew at her.
One of her most important talents was her precognition. But she hadn’t foreseen this. At the moment, she was reduced to her human instincts and her feelings, and both were telling her she was finished.
Chapter 48
“Why are we waiting here, Alex? What exactly did Madeline tell you?” Ciaran asked Alex for the second time.
They were waiting at the edge of the forest where he had caused the crack in the ground the night before. It wasn’t on high ground as he’d wanted, and it certainly wasn’t the strategic position he’d hoped for.
Why did Madeline want him to wait here? And what did she want in the market that is taking so long? he wondered.
“Even your dog is saying you’re withholding information from me, and I don’t care for it, Alex.” He pointed to the edge of the forest. “All of my men are in there. The Aries event is at the temple. If we’re going to get any soul trader who wants the Aries key, it won’t be here. Why didn’t Madeline talk to me?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t she take her phone with her?”
Alex shook his head.
“This position doesn’t give us an advantage. We can’t attack or withdraw quickly. What does Madeline need from the market that will help us fight the supernatural?”
Alex said nothing. He sat down on a large rock and buried his head in his hands.
“All right, I’m going to the temple …” Ciaran’s voice trailed off when he found that the box where he’d put the cards to trade with Doris was empty.
“Alex!” he growled.
Alex still said nothing.
Ciaran grabbed his gun. “She’s in the temple, isn’t she?” he asked and walked away.
With vampire speed, Alex darted after him and held him back.
“I promised Madeline to keep you here and wait for her signal.”
“Why?”
“Doris came to her this morning. She’d marked your third child on a card. She wanted all of Ziva’s cards at the temple in exchange for your daughter’s return.”
“Freyja? Madeline told me our daughter died in the future. How can Doris mark a child who doesn’t exist in her time?”
“Doris claimed she sent someone to the future to kill the creature before it attacked and killed your daughter. So, effectively, she saved your daughter’s life.”
“Nothing is that easy with that sadistic soul trader. I’m going to the temple.” Ciaran pulled out his silver dagger. “Don’t come near me. I will kill you if I must.”
Ciaran had taken only a few steps when the ground began to shake. Then there was the sound of an explosion from the temple. The haunting sound of people crying and moaning hovered in the air and was carried by the wind down to the valley and the market. Smoke and debris launched into the sky from the top of the mountain. From a distance, it looked as if a volcano had erupted.
Ciaran charged in the direction of the temple, but Alex pulled him back. “She’s alive, Ciaran. I can feel her heart beating. I can hear her. Trust me.”
“Let go of me.”
“Kill me if you must. But if something happened at the temple, you’re too late for that. I promised Madeline I’d keep you alive and get you back to her children.”
“Are you crazy? If she’s alive and in the temple, I have to get her out of there.” He kicked Alex away.
Ciaran saw a giant hawk fly up from the temple and head into the distance.
Something had happened to Madeline. Something terrible. He could feel it.
Ciaran’s knees weakened. “She’s finished. That’s the spirit animal of Aries. It took her.”
“What are you saying? It’s not possible. I can still feel her.” A tear of blood rolled down Alex’s cheek as he spoke.
“I don’t know, Alex. We’re too late.”
It felt as if his soul had been vacuumed out of him, leaving a giant gap, an empty hole. He couldn’t see a future without Madeline. Nothing he did seemed to make sense. Nothing had a purpose.
That bird was the totem of Aries. He knew that. He should protect her. They were soulmates. She had come here from the future to save him. And he had failed her.
He was numb, and emptiness was all around him.
“It’s impossible,” Alex growled and strode ahead toward the temple.
“Stop, Alex! Stop! I can’t let this happen. I will fix this. You stay right there.”
Alex stopped in his tracks.
Ciaran darted toward his equipment to connect to Jo. In no time, Jo appeared in a holocast. He took one look at her and knew she had seen the direness of the situation.
If Madeline died now, their future was ruined.
“We need to take action right now, Jo. You can see what’s happening.”
“How? Ciaran, how? I don’t know how to fix this.” Jo wiped away the tears that rolled down her face.
“I need you to send me back to this morning. Just a few hours before now.”
“You’ve changed so many things, Ciaran. There will be consequences.”
“I can accept all consequences but this one. I cannot let Madeline die. You must do this.”
“Ciaran, I don’t know how. You created the time funnel we used. You coded the program. I don’t know how to control it to triple the time traveling.”
“Just open it. I’ll give you instructions.”
Jo nodded and did as he asked.
And in mere minutes, Ciaran and Alex were back at the mini canyon he’d created, and Madeline was surveying the ground. Ciaran and Alex approached her. She turned around and looked at them.
“Ciaran, you should be resting. What are you doing here?”
“I told you I’ve recovered.” He held up the bags of the cards from Ziva and shouted out, “Doris, I know you’re here and you want these cards. You can have them. Come out.”
Doris appeared on the other side of the cliff. “What do you want in return, Ciaran?”
“The card with our daughter’s name on it. I know you have it.”
“What are you talking about, Ciaran?” Madeline asked. Ciaran motioned for her to keep quiet.
Doris smiled and pulled out a card. She held it up so they could see. “Do you need to come over here and check?”
“No, I like the distance.”
Ciaran dropped the bag of cards on the ground. He concentrated and summoned all the strength of the fury he had in his mind. He knew he had only one hit. And he gave it his all. This time, his mind blade hit the soul trader. Her body exploded into thousands of pieces.
Chapter 49
Oxford city, England
Madeline kept trying although she knew it was unlikely that she would be successful. She tried to read Ciaran’s mind. It seemed as if Ciaran and Alex had secretly agreed to not talk to her. They were silent for the entire trip back to England, and now to Oxford.
Something had happened in the mountain. She had been preparing for them to go to the Aries event. Then out of the blue, Ciaran killed Doris. And the next thing she knew, he was rushing everyone onto his family’s private jet. And now, here they were. It was like a giant glitch in her memory.
Madeline peeked
into Alex’s mind. The signal bounced. Ciaran must have warned him so that he could block her out, too.
Ciaran stopped the car at the street corner just before the LeBlancs’ exclusive car park. “Please get out. We don’t have much time.”
“Ciaran—”
“Please, Madeline. We’ll talk later.”
She stepped out of the car and went to the driver’s side. Ciaran pulled out a wrist unit. Not just any unit—it was hers. He controlled that piece of Eudaizian technology as if he had done it forever. Then he rolled the window down and handed it to her.
“I’ve called Jo. She’ll be here in a few minutes. I’ll drive the car to that corner of the street, and from there, we’ll have a couple of minutes to talk things out.”
She tried to say something, but he cut in.
“There are no other options, Madeline. See you at the end of the street.” And that was all he said. He started the car and then drove it straight into the lamp post at the end of the street. He hit it so hard all the airbags went off.
Madeline rushed over. Alex was right behind her.
Ciaran disentangled himself from the inflated airbag, unbuckled his seat belt, and opened the driver’s door. But he still sat in the car.
“The accident triggered the alarm system. My family will be here in a couple of minutes.” He pulled out a white wristband and snapped it onto his wrist.
“No, Ciaran.” She reached for it, but he pulled his hand away. The wristband glowed, and she could see the needles that had plunged into his veins.
“That’s the Mind Eraser, Ciaran. It’s not even at the beta version! Damn it, Jo.”
“I asked her to give it to me. Don’t blame her, Madeline. Alex will explain to you what happened in the mountain. You can have that information. But I have to forget everything that connects this part of my life and our future life. I have to live this connecting life as naturally as possible. When I wake, I will forget what happened during this trip. When I meet you again, it will be for the first time.”