Artificial Light (Evolution of Angels Book 3)

by Wall, Nathan

  Lian marched with her head down and eyes closed. The masses of people barely missed her as she moved through them with ease, sensing their trajectory as they walked by. Horus and Austin sprinted to keep up, bumping into other pedestrians along the way. Lian’s mind jumped from person to person trying to find tickets to commandeer.

  First, she found a man and his lover on a getaway to Paris while his wife stayed back in Kent with their five children. Lian entered their minds, took their tickets, and then implanted the urge for the man to divorce his wife, giving her everything. “Thank you for the tickets.”

  “You’re just taking their tickets?” Austin was shocked that she would just take from hard working people.

  “Just from the assholes who don’t deserve it,” she replied, giving him the tickets. “Need four more.”

  “There’s a bigger goal to be achieved.” Horus took the tickets from Lian when it was obvious Austin wasn’t going to, nodding at her. “She does what she must.”

  Her consciousness sprang out again and her feet followed. She found three friends leaving for a vacation getaway to the ‘City of Lights’ before travel between borders was halted. They handed her their tickets. “First class. How nice.”

  “One short,” Austin said. “And three more screwed.”

  “You two find the others and get on the train.” Lian insisted, her tone more than signaling her annoyance with her boyfriend. “I’ll find a way on.”

  “No. Not leaving you.” Austin stood firm.

  “I can make you.” She raised an eyebrow, as if wanting him to test her. He lowered his head, steadfastly staring at her. “Fine. That would be wrong. I just need you to trust me.”

  He leaned into her and whispered, “You’re getting mighty liberal with your powers. I don’t like where it’s taking you.”

  “It’s taking us to Paris… where we need to go. I didn’t say a thing when you put us on that rodent infested freight liner. It’s time you trust me.”

  “Come.” Horus tugged on Austin. “Let’s find the others.”

  “Don’t make me tell you again.” Lian didn’t blink, which told Austin she meant serious business. He stood tall, shrugging her off, defying her. “Seriously, Austin, I’ll just compel you to go.”

  “Don’t stop there.” His eyes narrowed. “Just go ahead and wipe everything away. You promised you wouldn’t do that to us, your friends. Much less me, the one closest to you.”

  “You pick now to be self-righteous?” She chuckled, frustrated. “It’s not enough that I’m doing this for us, but the fate of the world hangs in the balance and you get stuck on the principles of how it’s done?”

  “Someone has to. It’s what makes us human. It’s what separates the good from the bad. You don’t fly airplanes into residential apartments just because someone else did it to you. You rise above. Otherwise why stop the genocide of mankind if it has to be corrupt to survive?”

  “Because it survives. Seems pretty cut and dry.”

  “That’s Sanderson talking,” Austin said. She slapped him. He turned back to her with a shining red handprint on his cheek. “Is that because you copied more of him than you think, or because maybe you were more like him all along than you want to admit? What others do or don’t do doesn’t matter. What matters is how we conduct ourselves.”

  “I’m not having this argument now.” Lian turned away, scowling. She couldn’t believe he would suggest that she was anything like Sanderson, even with his good intentions and change of heart toward the end of his life.

  Hershiser, or Elliot, or Beelzebub, whoever the hell he was, didn’t leave her any other choice when it came to Paula. Lian had hidden what she’d done from everyone, but it ate her up nonetheless. If she hadn’t put the bullet through Paula’s head, then Ra would have another gifted in his possession. That was far worse. Right?

  Lian refused to believe that she had behaved like Sanderson. Taking tickets from people who didn’t really need them didn’t mean she was like him, either. She was certain that, if given the choice between a vacation or humankind’s survival, those people would’ve taken the selfless option. Wouldn’t they? That was a stupid argument.

  “That’s fine. We’ll continue this later,” Austin said, following Horus. “But make me or our friends do anything against our will, for whatever reason, and I’m done with you.”

  Lian looked over her shoulder. Austin and Horus were gone. She glanced at the board and panic struck her. She was running low on time.

  Last call for the 11:30 to Paris, Gare du Nord, the loudspeaker boasted.

  Lian hunched against the wall. Maybe Austin’s right. A tear dripped down her cheek. She supposed the line between her morals and Sanderson’s was more blurred than she cared for. It scared her that maybe it was like that before copying his mind. An old lady touched her shoulder.

  “Pardon me, dear, but are you OK?” the lady’s voice croaked. Lian’s head turned up. The woman shook like an earthquake was destroying the city. She reached into her purse and removed a handkerchief for Lian. “Here, dry your tears, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks.” Lian took the cloth and wiped her face.

  “Did you lose your family?” the old woman asked.

  Lian smiled, thinking about the fantastic times she had with her parents while young. Yet her new family waited at the train platform. They made living worthwhile. Austin’s words struck her heart. Even though he’d lost everything, he remained true to his principles.

  However, he was never a slave and prisoner like Lian. A part of his argument was valid, but sacrifices had to be made to ensure the legacy of those she loved. Lian couldn’t let anything get in the way of their mission, or the wellbeing of her family. For that reason, she knew Sanderson’s method was also right.

  “I haven’t yet,” she replied. “Where ya headed?”

  “Paris, though I’m afraid I’m running a bit behind.”

  Lian momentarily thought about compelling the woman to hand over her pass. As if needing to clear her own conscience, she wanted to know why the woman traveled.

  “Do you have family there, or just leisure?” Lian asked.

  “My husband passed on several years ago. He wanted his remains spread on the Seine.” The woman smiled, beaming with joy and flush in the cheeks while recalling a fonder time in her life. “It was where we honeymooned sixty-plus years ago. I’ve been meaning to make this journey for some time, but it can’t wait any longer.”

  The old lady struggled to hold back her emotions. Lian heard them. She closed her eyes and poked inside the woman’s mind to find out what they were. The woman had recently received a terminal prognosis from the doctor. This would indeed be her last chance to carry out her husband wishes. Lian opened her eyes, compelling the woman to remove the ticket from her bag.

  Lian’s hand hesitated. Can I do this? The clock ticked to 11:30 and Lian made up her mind. She took the woman’s bag and first class ticket and sent the old lady on her way.

  While sprinting, Lian removed a few items from the woman’s purse and placed them into her own backpack, discarded the purse, and rounded a corner to find the conductor and Austin waiting.

  “Where’d you find it?” Austin asked.

  “I bartered for it.” Lian showed the conductor her ticket and stepped aboard the train.

  “With what?” he pushed.

  Lian shoved forward, staring at her feet, and spoke where Austin couldn’t hear.

  “My soul.”

  Chapter Forty

  The Observer

  The bullet train zipped through the French countryside. Flat clouds blanketed the faded wheat fields. Small villages popped up sporadically along the rolling hills. Lines of ancient stone walls zigzagged through the crops and alongside the tracks.

  Lian turned her focus back to her cup of espresso. Across from Lian sat Athena with Harold to her right. Austin flanked Lian to the left. His untrusting gaze was fixed on Harold. She attempted to speak but instead dumped more sugar int
o her cup.

  “Could it be any smaller?” she asked sarcastically. “Look at the size of this thing. It cost nearly five dollars.”

  “Five quid.” Harold corrected her. “That’s well more than five measly dollars.”

  “Makes me feel a lot better.” Lian took a sip and jolted in her seat.

  “Packs a punch don’t it?” Harold laughed. “Unlike that watery shit you yanks try and pass off.” Harold noticed Austin’s eyes narrow further. “Care to join me for a drink in the dining car? It’s only two testicles for a pint nowadays. A real bargain.”

  Austin crossed his arms and leaned back. It was obvious he wasn’t budging. Harold stood and Austin snatched his wrist.

  “Where ya going?” Austin’s question sounded more like a strong suggestion to sit down.

  “I’m gonna drain me-self then get a pint of bitters.” Harold tried to pull his arm away, but Austin’s hand grew tighter. “Come now doggy, let’s not make a scene.” Austin let go and Harold adjusted his sleeves. “Very well, old chap.”

  “I can’t sit here.” Austin rubbed his head feverishly, messing up his hair. “You girls hold down the fort.”

  “OK.” Athena nodded.

  “We need to talk.” Lian reached for Austin but was too late. She smiled awkwardly at Athena who gazed back with excitement. “Ever been to Paris?”

  “I’ve only been to earth four times my whole life.” Athena was giddy. “Have you?”

  “No.” Lian set the cup of brew to the side. “Well, this conversation was delightful. Please excuse me.”

  “I would like to remedy whatever hostility there is between our groups,” Athena said as she stepped in front of Lian. “We’ve not been on the same page since Harold and I arrived at the shipwreck to save you.”

  “Save us?” Lian laughed. “If I remember correctly, Jarrod was kicking your ass before I stopped him.”

  “The voice inside his head would have surely butchered the three of you if not for our intervention.” Athena crossed her arms. “Have I caused you offense?”

  “Just… shut up.” Lian stormed off to find Austin, passing Jarrod and Horus as they napped. She pushed Jarrod’s shoulder. “We gotta talk.”

  “What about?” he yawned.

  Lian glared at Horus, who was now awake, and tapped her foot.

  “I think I shall go for a walk,” Horus whispered.

  “That’d be great. Thanks.” She flashed a closed-lipped, wrinkled-faced smile as he left.

  “OK, what’s with the ’tude?” Jarrod stretched, popping his joints.

  “Am I a bitch?”

  “Sorta.” He grinned. The answer just seemed to anger her more. “That’s, uh, not a bad thing… World needs bitches.”

  “So I’m a bitch for doing what’s needed?” She became rather animated. Curious eyes swiveled in her direction.

  “Look, you asked and used the term… I… Not going to win this debate, am I?”

  “Not funny.”

  “It is.” He squeezed her knee. “What’s really going on?”

  “I forced some people to give me their tickets unwillingly.” She plopped her forehead against the window and sighed.

  “That’s not that bad…”

  “One of them was an old widow hoping to spread the remains of her husband in Paris.”

  “That’s a little more…”

  “I shot Paula in the head to keep Ra from getting her.”

  Jarrod bit his knuckles and nodded. “Give me a moment to digest.”

  “Yeah. I’m a bitch.” She slid down in the chair.

  “Not the approach I’d have taken.” Jarrod took a moment to soak in her body language. He wrapped his arm around her. “You’re wondering if the ends justify the means.”

  “Do they?” she asked, desperate.

  “That’s a case by case basis, I suppose…”

  “Do they?” Her voice was firm this time.

  Jarrod hunched over—averted his eyes—rubbing his hands raw. “Context is all I can say. I know you, Lian. Whatever your situation when inside Paula… there must’ve been no other way. There’s no telling if she was even going to live if you let her go. In that light, you did what had to be done to keep someone evil from taking advantage.”

  “And in another light?” she said with a lump in her throat.

  “Don’t concern yourself with option B…”

  You’re going to answer this. “Jarrod?”

  “Any other light would be artificial. What matters is what happened and not what could. We can’t rewrite history.” He squeezed her hand. “My words or beliefs can’t change the way you feel about something. The only person who can justify the means by the ends is you.”

  “And that means…”

  “I... I can’t say for sure.” His apprehensive tone said he was mulling over the possibilities. “Make sure her death isn’t for nothing.”

  “I need to find Austin,” she surmised.

  Jarrod exhaled. “Thank god.”

  As Lian passed through the train on the way to the dining car, Horus and Athena watched her vanish through the door. Horus, leaning down in his seat, appeared relieved Lian didn’t stop.

  “Do arguments make you uncomfortable?” Athena asked, propping her head up with her hands. Horus flashed a perplexed look. “A great look of relief washed over you when she passed.”

  “I’m no stranger to intense debates and squabbling among peers. A woman’s emotional wrath is another thing altogether.” He smiled, nodding. “I’d sooner face a thousand enemies.”

  “Been scorned before?” she giggled, leaning back in her seat. “I’ve never been intertwined with another.”

  “I’ve not been so much spurned as I’ve avoided a suckling trap.” He leaned forward, speaking in low tones. “There’ve been plenty in the past seeking my courtship. I found the distraction cost dearly when a pound of flesh was taken from my cousin. I needed to remain focused. Complete what my father never could. That is what my life has been built for, not sexual games.”

  “Perhaps you never found the time for love because you were swarmed by girls.” Athena smiled. “A true gentleman and warrior such as you needs a woman.”

  “My mother would like you,” Horus chuckled, staring out of the window. His face turned solemn.

  “It’s a shame the events that welcomed us into existence unfolded the way they did.” Athena cupped her palm over his hand. Horus kept his eyes fixed elsewhere. “Do you wonder what it would have been like? I have fleeting glimpses of my mother’s warmth and the rumbling tone with which my father would sing me to sleep.”

  “I never had the privilege to hear my father’s words. I’ve only been regaled with tales of his moral compass and steadfast leadership.” Horus pulled his hand back gently. His lips quivered but his speech didn’t. “I regret the horrible things I’d say about him when I was younger. I must’ve seemed like an entitled brat. I was angry that everyone else had experienced who my father was and that he didn’t try harder to ensure I could know him firsthand.”

  His hands matched the tremor of his face. “Now that our people have fallen under my watch, I too share in his failures. The faults I cursed in my father course through my blood as well. At least the great Osiris saw to the survival of his loved ones. All I did was watch them perish.”

  “Then clear it from the mind and steel your resolve,” Athena said. Her voice was firm, yet gentle and encouraging. “When this is over, we shall see your mother returned to your arms, and the rendezvous refused by the Last Great War shall finally come to fruition.”

  Lian passed through the gangway and stood silently in line for the toilet. It was currently occupied. Austin made his way back in her direction. His firm jaw and narrowed eyes said what his mind screamed. The man occupying the restroom exited and Lian pulled Austin in as soon as he arrived.

  “Why are we in here?” He asked. Lian tore his shirt open, ran her fingers through his hair, and kissed him. Austin pulled back. “That’
s not why I came...”

  “I know.” She pulled him towards her and jumped onto the sink, wrapping her legs around his hips. His hands warmed her body, swaddling her. Suddenly, he jerked back. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Are you making me do this because you knew what I was coming to talk about?” Sweat ran down his sculpted back. His arms bulged with power as he held her up. His lips suggested they wanted to continue.

  “Why would you ask that?” She saw mistrust in his eyes. “I didn’t pull you in here to distract you from your thoughts.”

  “But you kicked the tires in my head anyway?” He turned her chin up to stare in her eyes. She closed them and nodded. He stepped back. “Just more games with you.”

  “It’s not...”

  “Save it.” His fingers covered her lips before stroking her cheek and brushing some hair behind her ears. “This is us now. I’m not just concerned about you relying too much on your powers and forcing people to do your bidding so you can get what you want easier. I’m worried I won’t know when we’re real. Is this real?”

  “You kissed me first.” She grabbed his hands. Her head pressed against his chest. “Your passion saved me from Maya’s spell. That’s not something I thought of. You did.”

  “And what would you do to keep from losing that?” Austin glared at his reflection. His arms hung limp at his sides and not around her.

  “Anything.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about.” His fingers clamped around her shoulders. They connected gazes. “Some things are more important than the individual...”

  “There’s nothing more important.” Lian suppressed a frustrated chuckle, rubbing her face.

  “At the risk of corrupting something pure, just to make sure it stays intact?” Austin leaned over her shoulder, breathing down her neck. “We’re wasting time right now. I don’t trust Harold...”

  “I know.” She rolled her eyes, squinting at him through the mirror.

  “Because you read my thoughts?”

  “Because you wear your heart on your sleeve.” Lian pushed out of the restroom.