Artificial Light (Evolution of Angels Book 3)

by Wall, Nathan

  “It is not just human nature if we are equally capable.” She leaned closer to him, looking at his lips.

  “That’s right. You aren’t technically human.” He didn’t move his head, remaining still. Their armors flared as they leaned closer to one another. “So, we should just call it...”

  “How about primal nature?” She moved over him, pressing her lips against his. Her hand stroked his arm and then moved to his chest. His aurascales reversed their flow and moved onto her fingers. After all, the aurascales Jarrod wore came from Maya and belonged to the Western Corner. They preferred Athena’s DNA.

  She’s playing you. The voice in his head snapped him out of the trance his aurascales had over him.

  “What are you doing?” He pulled his head back and twisted her wrist. His elbow forced her away and knocked her into the sand. Jarrod stood with his fists balled up. “You take me for a fool?”

  She does. I’m all you really have.

  “It is not like that.” She flinched, covering her face when he stepped forward. He walked up the hill. She lowered her guard and pulled her knees to her chest. “It’s not like that at all.”

  “Excuse me,” Claire said, meeting him at the top of the slope, just outside the entrance to the Progeny Lounge. “I hope I’m not getting in the middle of anything.”

  “Claire. No.” He tried to take her hand but she jerked away. She turned her head and covered her eyes, shaking. “Look, sweetie…”

  “Shut up,” she growled at him. When she uncovered her face, her eyes were filled with fury. “I get it. Really, I do.”

  “There’s nothing to get…”

  “Not anymore there isn’t.” Claire shoved him away and ran off, slamming the door behind her.

  Athena was standing at the bottom of the hill watching on. The aurascales slid over Jarrod’s face to hide his embarrassment. This cemented why he needed to separate from the group. The longer he stuck around the harder it’d be, and the more dangerous it would become for them. If only he had the wings to fly away.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lian IV

  Madame Patricia hugged the wall, stroking her hand across the grooves of the wood. Her eyes gazed longingly at her surroundings. She was moping. It could’ve been for show, but although it was hard to tell, Lian knew there really was something wrong. Initially she wanted to lend a friendly ear to help console the woman who’d long protected Jaden. Then again, what would she really get out of it? Madame Patricia seemed just as self-serving as everyone else they’d come across. Let her suffer.

  Austin and Lian had regrouping to do. They were going to find and recruit Lian’s kind before Ra could get his hands on them. Athena had agreed earlier to go with them. It was unfortunate Jarrod was going his own way, but that was probably for the best. The one thing she agreed with Madame Patricia about was him being a time bomb. Friendly or not, explosions are unforgiving to all in proximity.

  She was exhausted. The group hadn’t gotten any real sleep in days. The time lag didn’t help. Whoever was out there on Earth, stealing kids away in the dark, was working at an advantage. Every second put Lian and her friends further behind. Even though they couldn’t keep from yawning every three minutes, and their bodies ached just breathing, they had to push forward.

  The candlelight to Lian’s left reflected hues of orange and yellow off Madame Patricia’s face and hair. It was obvious she wasn’t going away until they said something. Lian nudged Austin. He shook himself from his sleep and propped himself against a sofa.

  “Socks and undies,” he said in a half-asleep stupor. He’d been drooling.

  “Can I help you?” Lian asked Madame Patricia, shaking her head at Austin.

  “I just wanted to make sure the accommodations are acceptable,” Madame Patricia replied. “You don’t have to leave so soon, you know.”

  “We’re not rocking back and forth, and my stomach isn’t upside down. This is the most comfortable I’ve been in weeks.” Lian took a contemplative breath, thinking twice before allowing her question to find its way out. Her powers scintillated with her brother and Madame Patricia so close. “Do you plan on keeping Jaden?”

  “You’re his last remaining kin. The decision should be yours. I just want you to make an informed choice.”

  That was a surprising response. Completely counter to their previous argument. She must want… no, she needed something. But what? Lian approached with caution.

  “I’m taking him with us. You know that, right? He’s not staying.” Lian stood to reinforce her position. She swore there was a mental signal coming from somewhere. She was inside someone else’s thoughts. It wasn’t Austin.

  “If, after everything you’ve learned, that is the choice you make, I will honor and stand by it.” Madame Patricia gave a conceding nod. “However, if you determine the most suitable place for him is by my side, I will honor your wishes just as I’ve done Sanderson’s all these years. He isn’t experienced like you are.”

  “Why would he want us separated? There wasn’t much Sanderson couldn’t conceal,” Lian said, stepping forward. Madame Patricia quickly held a hand up, stepping back apprehensively. Lian furrowed her brow line, shaking her head. “Are you scared of me?”

  “Not of you.” Madame Patricia grabbed the door knob and attempted to close it.

  “Excuse me,” Claire said, barging into the room. She sat next to Austin’s things and covered her eyes. While the attention was focused on her, Madame Patricia slipped away. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here.”

  “Oh, girl-talk. I’m out.” Austin practically jumped from his back and gingerly tip-toed to the door.

  Get back here. Lian said, entering his mind. Like a dejected puppy, Austin hung his head and turned around. He sat next to Lian and she rubbed his head, boasting a large smile.

  “I get it. I’m a dog. Good boy.” He squinted at her, folding his arms. “Don’t push it,” he whispered. She quickly retracted her hand.

  “I thought maybe we were headed in the right direction again, but I saw him with her.” Claire pressed her head into her palms and spoke in a rapid, high-pitched whine. “I see you two and how you’re able to just comfort each other with a simple look and I want so badly to just be that anchor for him... At first I thought he was just shutting me out to protect me, but what if this isn’t really what he wants anymore?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t follow,” Austin said bewilderedly, pointing at Claire. “Did you catch that? Was that a frequency only girls can hear? I mean, I’ve got enhanced senses and all that still went right above my head.”

  “I’m sure it’s not what you think,” Lian replied while shoving her elbow into Austin’s ribs.

  “How can it not be?” Claire asked, still speaking at a frequency beyond male comprehension. “He was touching her face and it looked sincere.”

  “Seriously. Are you reading her mind to get this?” Austin asked.

  Go away. Lian slammed the words into his head. Austin breathed a sigh of relief and left the room. Lian rubbed Claire’s arm tenderly. “I’m gonna say something, and I don’t want you to get offended, but man up. If you don’t want to be seen as the powerless and needy one, then don’t fit the stereotype. Austin and I are not you and Jarrod. You guys have a history far beyond what anyone else has so quit being a damn martyr and just talk to him. We’re all going through stuff, and if he isn’t strong enough to deal with his and yours, then maybe it’s all for the best. But for the love of god don’t come in here again and pine about shit you should be taking care of alone when my man and I are tired and getting ready to wear ourselves out even further. Sheesh.”

  “Tell me how you really feel,” Claire said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  “Believe me, you don’t want that.” Lian uncrossed her arms and relaxed her shoulders. She took pity on Claire and stood up to give her a hug. “You’re great in your own right. Everyone knows that.”

  “I do,” Jarrod said. The girls turned their att
ention his way. He looked pitiful. Lian remembered the first time she and Jarrod really met. They were in the situation room at the Afghanistan complex, watching Austin and his group attempt to infiltrate Maya’s forces. He looked helpless and lost as his best friend was seemingly murdered. The depression in his eyes and body now looked far more devastating than on that day.

  “I’m going to give y’all some time.” Lian squeezed Claire’s hand and carefully inspected Jarrod as she walked by him.

  “I’m solid.” He nodded, obviously thankful Lian was being so careful with him.

  She left the two behind. They had issues to work out. Actually, everyone did. The fact they were all willing to acknowledge those flaws gave Lian a sense of hope. Maybe at the end of all this, there would be a rainbow. Something, anything, to latch onto and offer hope for a brighter future where they could live peacefully.

  She watched Austin and Jaden playing with each other and laughing up a storm. A storm; that’s a weird way to put it. Storms brew when opposite forces mesh together in a sudden and drastic fashion. While those who came out of the storm were cleansed, it left the air forever changed. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach said they wouldn’t all make it.

  It was then that Madame Patricia’s cautioning started to make sense. Jaden wasn’t prepared like the others. If someone wasn’t going to make it out of the ordeal, he’d be the logical choice. And if they were really going to use Lian as bait for Ra, it wouldn’t work with Jaden around.

  The pain ripped at her like a heart attack. He was so happy and just now getting used to her again. She wanted to take that away from him? Were these the types of emotions Sanderson had to contend with? When all the choices were bad choices, the only option was the one that minimized the damage. Feelings were better to damage than someone’s life.

  “What is it?” Austin asked her, smiling while he sat over Jaden and tickled him.

  Her younger brother’s soft, boyish giggle could melt ice. It was a sound she’d not heard since her family’s last summer vacation together. Even then, it was barely a memory. There were times when Lian struggled to remember her mother’s face, or the sound of her father’s voice when he’d read to her at bedtime.

  “Lian?” Austin persisted.

  “Nothing.” Lian feigned a smile. She didn’t need to steal a thought from him to know he could see through that. It was no use denying it. “I think he should stay with Madame Patricia. She’s right. It’s what’s safest.”

  “Are you sure?” Austin continued to wrestle with Jaden but kept his eyes squarely on his girlfriend. “If it’s an issue of keeping track of him while we’re out there, know he won’t leave my sight.”

  “It’s not.” She shook her head and watched them play from a distance. Getting closer at this point and hugging Jaden would just make it harder to do what needed to be done. How in hell did Sanderson keep up his façade without cracking? Well, that was a stupid question. Scotch was the answer. “I need a drink.”

  “You don’t drink,” Austin said with a laugh, rolling onto his back as Jaden hopped on top of him.

  “It’s a good time to start.” Lian smiled. Madame Patricia seemed to emerge from oblivion with two glasses of wine in hand.

  “Someone said they needed a drink.” She smirked Lian’s direction, but seemed to have enough sense to keep her head straight and pointed away. It was a nice way of saying she knew she was right without rubbing it in. “I’ll continue to guard him as if he were my own blood.”

  “I know you will.” Lian took a sip of the wine. Hot damn was it bad. Her tongue curled and her throat burned. How could people put themselves through that? She tried again, and to her surprise it went down much smoother the second time. Perhaps she could get used to it. “It would be easiest with your help.”

  “It wouldn’t.” Madame Patricia seemed sure. “He’d feel my presence right away. The one thing you have in your favor—the element of surprise—would be wasted. The advantage you gain with me in tow wouldn’t outweigh that. Get your kind back to me, and then I’ll be my most useful.”

  “Feel your presence?” Jarrod laughed. He and Claire had entered the room but weren’t holding hands. There was an obvious distance between them. “Like a Jedi? You’re the Luke to his Vadar?”

  “What is a Jedi?” Athena asked.

  “Never mind.” Jarrod slapped his forehead.

  Lian and Jarrod exchanged looks. He must’ve been curious about the drink in her hand, while she wanted to know if he was with them. If he was with them, was he all in and able to cope? The best thing to do would be to keep him on the sideline until it was absolutely essential to bring him into the game. He nodded at Lian, as if reading her mind.

  “Where will you go?” Lian asked Madame Patricia, turning to finally acknowledge her. Madame Patricia returned the favor in kind.

  “There are ways to slip through the cracks unnoticed.” Madame Patricia looked at Jaden like his mom used to look at Lian. “Obviously we can’t stay here. But Jaden and I are ready.”

  “So are the rest of us,” Athena said, stepping into the middle of the group.

  Were they really? Lian had come around to Madame Patricia’s way of seeing things, but she was still uneasy about it all. The storm was raging over warm waters and about to make landfall.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Anubis II

  Could someone please shutoff the ringing in his head? Maybe his brains were mush. His jaw—was it still there? He couldn’t feel it. Only one eye opened to take in the scene around him. There it was: the flickering jolt of sensation coming back to his face. It burned like the lashing he’d once received at the hands of Khnum. No. It was much worse. Anubis just wanted someone to put him out of his misery. Anything would do. Take the point of a blade and drive it through the temple.

  “Are you lucid?” Khnum laughed, pushing Anubis’ head up and back. “This is far worse than the beating I gave you. Do you remember it?”

  Every day. Anubis couldn’t even groan. His bones felt like sand.

  “Let our guest be.” Shiva sat in the commander’s chair watching the slaves of the Southern Corner guide the Armada Cruiser through the vast emptiness of space.

  Khnum acted as Shiva’s de facto lieutenant by yelling obscenities at the people who were once his family. When one of them was deemed to be lagging behind on their duties, he quickly struck them to demand compliance.

  “Why have we not opened the rift?” Shiva asked politely, yet didn’t bother to look up from the piece of fruit he was delicately slicing. He slit the round fruit from pole-to-pole and then around the equator as if it brought him serenity. Anubis’ jaw ached just from watching Shiva chew.

  Khnum swallowed, noticeably shaken. Copious amounts of sweat soaked his back. “The systems haven’t been used in ages – the programs must be rewritten. It helps not that we sustained large amounts of damage while leaving the event horizon.”

  “Excuses.” Shiva stood. Khnum froze. Shiva walked past the nervous slaves and fiddled with the computer. Skanda, his son, entered. Shiva rolled his eyes at the presence of the new arrival to the bridge. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “Mother lies in the infirmary awaiting your arrival.” Skanda stood to Shiva’s six with his arms folded bashfully. His face was long and humble, yet held a reserved sadness, as if expecting this behavior from his father. “Could it be my fault she is in her condition? I should’ve gotten there sooner to deal with that old bastard.”

  “The fault is hers alone.” Shiva kept swiping away at the light panel. His eyes didn’t budge from their position, proving what Skanda must’ve already known: he didn’t care. “Had she more skill and tenacity, Isis would’ve been captured or eliminated. Instead, she allowed herself to be maimed and Isis to jump across creation. If she expects me to act like a husband, she must earn it.”

  “Yet we allow the one who did that to her to live,” Skanda said through his teeth.

  Uncle lives? Anubis’ breath
ing sped up. He was relieved to know he wasn’t the only one left.

  “Because you failed to retrieve the piece of the Forge from Horus,” Shiva replied in a mocking tone.

  “You let him get away first,” Skanda barked back. Shiva drove a fist across his son’s face, knocking Skanda to all fours. The Angel-born held an arm up to shield his face and closed his eyes. “Forgive me for my tone.”

  “Never forget your place. In the field, you are no better or higher than the rest under my command.” Shiva pulled Skanda to his feet by the hair. “Respect and results are my only rules, and you’ve already broken one of them.” His nose pressed against Skanda’s cheek while he spoke calmly. “Don’t push your luck by getting blasé with the other.”

  “Yes sir.” Skanda nodded. Shiva released his son and turned his attention back to the viewing screen. Skanda looked over at Anubis and shoved a finger into his face. He growled. “What do you think you’re looking at?”

  “Skanda,” Shiva said, causing his son to flinch. “You’ve no more warnings. I suggest you take leave. Stay by your mother’s side like a good nurse.”

  A few of those from the Southern Corner chuckled. Shiva cleared his throat. Those laughing quickly muted themselves and returned to their work. Skanda looked around, snarling. Sobek was escorted into the bridge carrying a noticeable limp. Skanda reluctantly stomped out of the room, heeding Shiva’s intense glare.

  “What do we need with him?” Khnum asked. He bowed his head when approaching Shiva to make sure everyone knew he was humble. “A riveting example can be made of Sobek. Your son has a point, though he’s unaware of it. We have Horus’ cousin. Aside from Isis, there is none he values more.”

  “Perhaps a showcase will be made in due time,” Shiva said. “As for now, Sobek can assist us by changing the codes.”