by D. N. Leo
The woman rushed out of the light beam and darted toward Caedmon.
“Stop! Don’t touch him, or I’ll shoot!” Alyna shouted.
“Don’t shoot. I’m Lorcan, and that’s my wife, Orla. Caedmon called us Uncle and Aunty. We’re not blood-related, but we’re really close. He called us just a few minutes ago to give his last words to his family before he died. We just want to take him home.”
“What? No, he’s not dead.”
“But he’s dying,” Lorcan said. “In case you don’t know, we’re from another universe. Caedmon has supernatural power, but he has a weak point on his chest. He said it was attacked by a virus in the lake—and that it’s fatal.”
“I can fix him!” Orla said. Tears rolled down her face, and her eyes were red.
“No, Orla, no. I know he wouldn’t allow you to do that. If you use dark magic on him, he’ll resent you for the rest of his life.”
“Surviving with dark magic is better than being dead. You’re a living example, Lorcan.”
“It was different back then, Orla. Remember the price we paid for using dark magic? You don’t want that for him.”
“I don’t want him dead, either.”
“Before I brought you here, you promised me you wouldn’t do anything drastic, Orla!”
“If I didn’t tell you that, would you have taken me with you? Did you think I just wanted to come here to collect his body? Do you really think that, Lorcan?”
“Save your domestic disputes for home. He’s not dead yet. You are in my home, and he is my guest. Now get away from him, or I will shoot you.” Alyna brandished her gun.
Lorcan pulled Orla away from Caedmon. “We just want to bring him home. He has a mother and a father and two sisters. They deserve to know where he is and what happened.”
“Let me repeat, he’s my guest, he’s not dead, and I didn’t invite you into in my home. Now go!”
Orla looked at her. She had never seen a woman so beautiful and exotically mysterious. “I’m a sorceress. I can bring him back now. Please let me!”
“Using dark magic? I wouldn’t want that if I were him,” Alyna said.
Orla shook her head. “But you hardly know him. His wife was a mage. He is open to magic.”
“Where is she then? If she’s a mage, why isn’t she doing anything for him?”
“She died,” Orla said.
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“Caedmon might be open to magical creatures because Sedna is a mage. But he was never open to sorcery,” Lorcan said.
“I’ll fix him. Please go. You’re wasting my time,” Alyna said.
“How will you fix him?” Orla asked.
“Not with sorcery. That’s all you need to know.”
“Are you a mage?” Orla asked.
“No, but I know what I’m doing. Now you really need to go. There’s one thing I cannot do—I can’t bring him back from death.”
“If you turned him into something other than what he is now, his family might object to it,” Lorcan said.
“My name is Alyna McCabe. I am the leader of Amaraq. I will save his life and will use whatever means I deem acceptable and necessary. If his family has any objections, you know where to find me.” She fired into the wall next to where Orla stood. “Now please go before I cause some real damage.”
“If you can’t save him and he dies, we reserve the right to take his body back home. He won’t be buried on Earth.”
“We aren’t burying anyone here. Trust me.”
Lorcan and Oral withdrew to the light beam, and they, along with the beam, vanished.
36
A lyna darted back to Caedmon. His body had grown colder, and his lips had turned purple. She stroked his forehead, brushing a stray lock of hair aside. “You can hate me for doing this, Caedmon. But you’ll have to be alive to do so.”
Lazi walked back and forth, hissing again. His fur stood on end as if jolted by an electric current. Alyna looked at the cat.
“Is the Teacher here?” she asked. “I guess that’s a yes from you.”
She held Caedmon’s hand and squeezed it lightly. She knew he would feel her presence. Then she said, “Teacher, I’m calling you. You gave me one privilege. I’m taking it now. Please come to me.”
The light in the room darkened a shade. And then the Teacher’s voice, distant, said, “I’ve been watching you. I know what you want to do.”
“Then please save him, Teacher.”
“He has to give consent, just the way you did when I saved you from the car crash.”
“He’s in no condition to consent to anything right now. But I am giving consent on his behalf.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Alyna. I don’t do anything for nothing. If I save him, and he then says he never asked for the privilege, it won’t be good for me. I must profit from each soul I trade.”
“Take my soul. Take it as my trade. This privilege will be my debt to you. You can call on me for anything in the future.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“He doesn’t have much time left. He fought for the mage tribe at the temple, and he saved me when we were complete strangers.”
“You are still strangers now! Do you really know him at all? Do you know his family other than by reputation?”
“He is a compassionate man. I’m sure it will be worthwhile for you do this. Please!”
“He might object to what he will become for this second chance at life. He might not like the creature I turn him into. This action cannot be reversed.”
“Do you know what you’ll turn him into?”
“No, not yet. It depends on his make and his willingness to accept the new form. Given that he can’t demonstrate his willingness, I’ll take your word instead. What do you think he would want to be turned into?”
“I don’t even know what you have made me. If I’m allowed to make a request for him, can you make him into the same kind of creature you’ve made me?”
“You’re a very special kind of shapeshifter, Alyna. He certainly has the make for it. But do you think he would want that?”
“Anything is better than death, Teacher.”
“Okay. But do you know how strong he is? He’s even stronger than you are. You’re saving him and facing a lifetime of debt for him. But if, later on, you and he part ways for any reason, and you’re on opposing sides, you will lose to him in battle.”
“I’ll kill him before he has a chance to become my opponent, Teacher.”
“That’s my student! I knew you were the right one when I chose you. Now turn around, and close your eyes.”
She obeyed.
She felt a warmth on her skin and heard the gentle sound of chanting in the distance, as if echoing in from the darkness. But she knew her Teacher never used dark magic.
It was the right decision. She was sure of it.
The chanting subsided.
“It’s done. Remember, you owe me for this one, Alyna.”
Then the light vanished.
Alyna turned around and saw Lazi staring at her. “What?”
The cat said nothing, which didn’t surprise her. He stood up on all fours, sauntered over to the sofa, jumped up, and started licking Caedmon’s face.
Caedmon winced. “Get that rough tongue away from my face!”
She rushed over and sat on the sofa next to him. “Hey, stranger!”
“What happened?” he asked.
“You tell me.”
He sat up. “We fought at the temple. I went into the lake. It was cold beyond imagination. I terminated the robot, Tomkin. Then…”
“Then what? You don’t remember?”
“Then it was cold.”
“You said that.”
He squeezed his temples.
“All right, let me help. The old leaders provided the energy to warm you up because you were nearly frozen. Then you passed out. I took you home.”
“You took me home? You mean, you carried me?”
“Yeah, on my shoulders. I’m very strong. Wanna try me?” She stood, patting her shoulders and tilting her body as if she could carry him piggyback.
He laughed. “No way.”
She smiled. “We called a cab, of course, you silly. You slept for a while. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, perfect actually. So what will happen next month? We organize the real deal at the temple?”
“Yes, but we have to be careful. The older leaders think Ethesus isn’t likely to send robots. So in that case, we’re dealing with an unknown enemy.”
Caedmon nodded. “I told you I met Nathan. He didn’t look like the kind of guy who would use robots. But he didn’t look like he was into spooky elusive matter, either.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, things like magic and magical creatures. I don’t do well with paranormal things. I can handle technology, but when it comes to vampires, werewolves, and angels, I’m at a loss.”
“But you wanted to take over a mage operating business. I thought you were open to those things.”
“Just because I’m open to them doesn’t mean I want to deal with them or approve of the way they operate. My sister is different. She’s curious about the paranormal world. She studies it. But not me.”
She chuckled. “What if you turned into a werewolf one day?”
He laughed. “That’s not possible. Vampires bite people and turn them into vampires. Same with werewolves, I think.”
“They do it with consent. Same with mages. You have to give consent to receive the light.”
“But it’s totally unnatural. You’re either born to be something, or you’re not. Turning into something paranormal is off limits for me.”
Lazi purred and climbed onto Caedmon’s lap. “Why are you suddenly liking me so much, furry buddy?” He scratched the cat’s neck. It closed its eyes and purred louder.
“Traitor! He wanted me to do that for him yesterday,” Alyna said and stood. “I’m starving. I’m going to grab something to eat.”
“Yes, please. I feel like meat. Something raw.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I just said that. I don’t like raw meat. But I’ll go with you.” He put the cat down on the floor.
“Let’s go,” he said, opening the door for her like a gentleman. “You never know, I might grow some fangs tomorrow.”
“Not funny.”
“What? Now you’re sharing my odd feelings about the paranormal?”
THE END
LIGHT OF DEMON - BLOODSTONE TRILOGY - BOOK 1
BONUS MATERIAL NEXT >>
BLOODSTONE TRILOGY
BLOODSTONE TRILOGY
by D.N Leo
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Prequel: ASH OF SCORPIO
Book 1: LIGHT OF DEMON
Book 2: SHADOW OF ANGEL
Book 3: SHADE OF DARKNESS
CAEDMON - BONUS CHAPTER
THE EPILOGUE IN ASH OF SCORPIO
I t had been a year since they had been married, and today he had received the best news ever: he was going to be a father.
In front of a control panel inside his private chamber, he glanced at the report of the seven stations he was handling as part of the practice his father had assigned him in preparation for his commander role.
He chuckled to himself. His father had been conceived during the Red Stage of the Daimon Gate and had lived his whole life under the pressure of being the best creature in the multiverse. Caedmon had also been conceived during the Red Stage. It was worse for him, however, because on top of his biological and ontological make, he had his father to live up to.
No matter how much his father tried to lessen the pressure, Caedmon always felt it whenever anyone in the multiverse laid eyes on him. And in those unfortunate encounters, he had promised himself a thousand times over that he would never make his children go through what he had been through.
Now it was time to prove he could keep his promises.
Father! Imagining the word rolling off the tongue of his child, he smiled.
He closed the report on the screen and switched to a plantation station nearby. He wasn’t in charge of that station, but he had a friend living there, and he had been working on a very special kind of flower for Sedna. The flowers hadn’t blossomed yet, but he would harvest them now as a present for her. He sent his friend a message and was about to leave when he saw a red flag at a gateway on the screen.
“No!” He opened the gateway’s log and disliked what he saw before he could even see it clearly. Sedna had broken the seal, passed the time traveling gate, which she didn’t have permission to do, and traveled to the past.
He called her communicator. “What are you doing, Sedna? Where are you going?” The signal bounced. He shook his head. She had passed the gate and had obviously turned off her communication unit. She didn’t want to be tracked.
“Come on, come on!”
His fingers flew over the keyboard, accessing more data, and there it was. On the screen was her last message to his father.
“Request access to Ciaran LeBlanc. Matter: private. Priority: code red - urgent. Content: Meet me at Ice Station with the Scorpio key. Now. Your time.”
He stormed out of the control room and charged toward the time traveling chamber. The technology was new and needed improvement, but he’d have to take his chances. He triangulated the time stamp of the message, the time in Eudaiz, and the current time in Iilos and figured out the time and place to which Sedna had traveled. Math had never been his friend, but he hoped his calculations were accurate. He had no choice but to trust they were.
He made a prediction and entered commands into the machine. It shuddered, and the engine came to life. In no time, he walked out into the middle of the Ice Station.
The chill breeze blasted at his face. This was part of the transitional zone of the multiverse. It belonged to no one. No authority. No governance. And of course, no justice system.
In the distance, he saw a couple of shadows on the icy white surface. On Earth, the white stuff would have been snow. He wasn’t sure what it was here, but Sedna had chosen this location for a reason.
“Sedna!” he called out.
Sedna and Ciaran looked at him. Then, when his father was turned toward him, Sedna hit him in the head with what looked like the Scorpio key. As Ciaran toppled to the ground, Sedna turned around and ran away.
He had many talents. But flying wasn’t one of them. Caedmon ran as fast as he could over the icy ground. In the meantime, Ciaran had groggily risen to his feet and was chasing after Sedna.
Sedna had grown up in the snow. She had told him many stories about her homeland. As much as he loved her, those stories were too much like fairy tales to him. He hadn’t accepted them as hard facts.
Snow and ice. What had she said about them?
He kept running, but he couldn’t close the distance enough to have a conversation with his father. Ciaran kept running after Sedna, and she kept darting away, remaining just out of reach.
Caedmon came to a skidding halt as he remembered the twisted version of Snow White Sedna had told him. Snow White knew the apple was poisoned, but she took it so that the evil queen couldn’t hurt anyone else.
Sedna was running away with the Scorpio key. He could think of only one reason right now why she was doing this, and he had to act on it. He used his strongest talent and willed a mind blade. With the blade, he cut into the piece of ice in front of his father to stop him from following Sedna.
Ciaran turned and looked at him. Sedna stopped running, looked at him one last time, and then jumped into a dimensional gateway of an ice oblivion hole. A massive explosion erupted from the hole, blowing Ciaran backward and sending him sliding across the ice.
Caedmon scrambled toward his father. Ciaran wasn’t conscious. He tossed him over his shoulders and charged toward a flying capsule. Shortly, they arrived at Tower Three, an exclusive area of the king Sciphil healing chamber. The computer shouted for the access code, and he pla
ced his father’s palmprint on the control panel to gain access.
Once inside, he placed his father into the chamber. A computer voice intoned, “You are injured, Sciphil Three. The healing process will commence immediately.”
The round glass door shut, and the healing chamber spun like a small tornado.
Ciaran stirred and regained consciousness then ordered the chamber to stop and signaled Caedmon to come in.
“Father, the healing process hasn’t finished. It’s taxing to stop it midway.”
“Caedmon, come here.”
“No, I have to reactivate this. Will it take my command?”
“Caedmon.”
“Yes, Father?”
“Come here.”
He did as his father asked and sat down next to the raised bench where Ciaran lay.
“I’m sorry about Sedna,” Ciaran said.
The emotion hit Caedmon like a storm. He buried his head in his hands and let it all out. He felt Ciaran’s hand on his head, but it gave him no comfort. He would never be able to control his emotions like his father. He knew crying was weak. But he couldn’t stop himself.
After a while, he looked up and found Ciaran looking at him, waiting. “It’s unlikely Sedna would survive the blast,” his father said. “I’m sorry, Caedmon. She said the key was fake and that she wanted you to find the real one. I didn’t expect the blast, and I don’t understand why she said it was her fault.”
“She’s a mage. She knows many things we don’t. If I go back to Earth and fix this, do you think it will change anything?”
“You have already manipulated the past to get the key, and that’s what caused the unfortunate incident just now. I don’t think you can do it twice. But if Sedna wants us to find the real key, then we will.”
“She didn’t say we, did she? She wanted me to do it. So I’ll find the real key. I’ll find the reason behind all this. And I will kill whoever caused this.”