by CK Dawn
Vladimir sided with Kian.
“But he couldn’t have just vanished from the planet if he’s the one who holds the covenant key. Unless—” Lucienne’s eyes widened in realization “—he has jumped to a quantum plane.”
“Quantum or not, I’ll order the team to retreat in a week,” Kian said.
From Sphinxes, Lucienne watched Nirvana turn bleaker every day. And Ashburn’s fate remained unknown.
Thirteen
Lucienne regarded the sleep-deprived eyes of her decoding team and sighed. She didn’t care if they got along, but it had been a month, and the three of them hadn’t given her anything. Not Dr. Alexander Kubrick, a short-tempered symbologist and mathematician; nor Dr. Susan Cross, a sharp tongued cryptographer; nor Bansi Soni, a genius programming engineer.
They were as obsessed with the half page of numbers, formula, and three looping symbols from the Eye of Time as she was. Maybe the data was beyond the perception of human minds?
“I need more time,” Dr. Kubrick said, “And I need Dr. Cross’ assistance. She’s been holding back information!”
“I’m tired of constantly reminding you, Dr. Kubrick,” Dr. Cross said, “that the symbols might be sacred writings of a lost ancient civilization. Look here, the patterns—”
“I know patterns,” Dr. Kubrick interrupted her. “But how can we decipher—”
“Find their fingerprints! They left codes,” Dr. Cross said.
“You cut me off again, Dr. Cross,” Dr. Kubrick said. “What I meant to say is: how can I decipher them without more time and my team members’ cooperation?”
“Your team?” Dr. Cross narrowed her eyes.
“They’re driving me crazy, these two,” Bansi Soni said in an Indian accent. “They constantly fight. Never peace. They often disrupt me at crucial moments when I am on the verge of new software and crack the codes.” The programmer ignored glares from both Dr. Kubrick and Dr. Cross. “Can you move me to a private research hall, Miss Lam?”
Lucienne was ready to chastise all three of them when the intercom buzzed. “Lucia, please come to the satellite lab,” Vladimir said. “Ashburn Fury has returned.”
Something heavy hit the surface of the river beneath a low cliff and went under. Rain beads splattered like beans. Seconds later, a boy’s face broke the surface. He looked to be around Prince Vladimir’s age. His platinum hair clung to his marble-pale face and ended at the nape of his neck, dripping. His pale blue eyes shone like cold sunlight on ice.
The live streaming in the satellite lab continued with audio.
“The river is located in the western part of Nirvana,” Vladimir said.
“Holy root, I’ve seen plenty of pretty boys, but none this level perfect,” Ziyi cried. “No wonder the red pepper is crazy about him. I’d ogle him, too, and I don’t usually ogle men, not even Vladimir.”
Vladimir shrugged with a mocking smile.
“He does have nice hair,” Lucienne said, and felt Vladimir tense beside her. Fighting a laugh, she continued. “What a pity he’s wheelchair bound. Maybe we can fix him.” She turned to Vladimir, who had relaxed a little. “You said Violet is with him. Where is she? How did she find—?” Before Lucienne could finish her words, Violet’s face surfaced. Ashburn had lifted her above the water.
The girl was gasping and coughing. Holding Violet tight, Ashburn swam her toward the shore under the bombarding rain. The girl’s long, red hair floated on the water.
“For a handicapped boy, he seems to have great strength,” Ziyi said. “But there’s no way he can climb the cliff. Should I page Kian to go fetch them?”
“Not before we see how he overcomes a little inconvenience,” Lucienne said. “Show me the footage of when he first reappeared.”
Another screen replayed the footage.
Violet walked down a rickety bridge that connected the cliff to a mountain. Her face was wet. It was hard to tell where her tears started and where the rain ended. The girl stared down at the wild river running beneath. “You broke your legs to save me three years ago, Ash. I’m coming to you today.” She leapt from the bridge and plunged into the river.
Then the video paused.
“Ziyi!” Lucienne snapped.
“Sorry. I just want to make a quick comment before you see the rest. What happens next is mind-bending.” Ziyi unfroze the frame of Violet’s free fall into the rapids below. “When the dark-matter outburst erupted, like what happened at Hell Gate, our new software immediately picked it up, and we found Ashburn Fury just in time.”
Lucienne’s eyes widened as she saw Ashburn materialize in midair, catch Violet, and fall into the river with her. Lucienne marched forward, her fingers gliding on the screen, replaying the moment when Ashburn materialized.
Ashburn’s image appeared beside Lucienne’s captivated face.
“Computer,” Lucienne commanded. “Analyze the coordinates. Is it a portal to an alternative universe?”
“No portal found,” the computer said. “But sensors detect gamma rays as interacting massive particles collide.”
“Our technology can’t detect time-space yet,” Vladimir reminded Lucienne.
“Time and space must have split for a second at those coordinates and Ashburn must have broken through the barrier,” Lucienne said, switching off the footage.
On the vast main screen, the satellite continued the live feed.
Lucienne gasped as she saw Ashburn stand with Violet on the shore. Did it just happen—Ashburn Fury broke through spacetime and was at once healed?
“Aren’t his legs—” Ziyi found her voice.
Clinging to Ashburn, Violet was laughing and crying. He was a head taller than Violet. He might be six-feet four inches, Lucienne estimated. Violet reached out to touch her friend’s handsome face. Ashburn shifted his attention from the girl, his icy-blue eyes on alert as if he sensed they were being watched.
“Have the team ready,” Lucienne said. “I’m flying BL7 in five minutes.”
“Lucia?” Ziyi looked at Lucienne enthusiastically.
“I need you here,” Lucienne said. “Vladimir Blazek will be in charge in my absence.”
Vladimir wasn’t happy with the arrangement, but he accepted it. One of them—Vladimir, Kian, or Lucienne—should stay on Sphinxes unless an emergency required all three of them to venture off.
Lucienne had her own reason to leave Vladimir behind. Putting certain physical distance between them could do them both good. If the heat between them grew more intense, neither of them could be trusted.
“Be safe,” Vladimir said gently and longingly.
Lucienne smiled and left the lab.
When BL7 gained altitude, Lucienne called Kian from her encrypted Eidolon.
“Blazek filled me in when my men were packing up,” Kian answered.
“Unpack. Contain the target.”
“I’m already on the way to the Fury house.”
“I’ll be there in seventeen minutes.”
“Happy flying, kid.”
Lucienne hung up. She let her hand move to the joystick, willing BL7 faster.
On the monitor above the control panel, a video played with clear audio. The three hidden cameras in the Fury house implanted by Kian’s team while installing basic electricity for the household had paid off.
Lucienne watched Ashburn and Violet sitting across from each other in Ashburn’s basement. They had changed into dry clothes. Ashburn dressed in sweatpants and a white cotton sweater. Violet wore a brown sweater down to her knees and a pair of loose pants, which were obviously Ashburn’s.
The Furys had a light bulb in the kitchen only. The natives had complained that the light provided by the outsiders was like a firebug’s compared to the gods’ light.
“Ungrateful lot,” Kian had said.
Lucienne noticed the lighting in the basement; it didn’t come from candlelight or any man-made bulb.
“Tell me everything, Ash,” Violet said. “I want to know what happened to you.”
So do I, Lucienne thought.
“You always want to know everything.” Ashburn smiled.
He has a stunning smile.
“The fading of the gods’ light is because the system failed,” Ashburn continued.
“System? What’s that?” Violet blinked in confusion. “You talk differently since you’re returned. And you haven’t told me how you’re able to walk. Are you . . . are you still you, Ash?”
“I’m not demon-possessed, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Ashburn sighed. “But something happened to me. I now know words and things I couldn’t imagine I would ever know. I’m even able to know that my parents are drinking rice wine with the neighbors and gossiping about the outsiders at this very moment. No one invited my parents to their homes before I was gone. My mama and papa are finally having the normal life they’ve always wanted. My return will take that away from them again.”
“Your parents are weak. They should have more backbone.”
“Don’t disrespect them, Violet,” warned Ashburn. “You don’t know what kind of burden they’ve been carrying because of me. As their son, I should have given them joy, but all I’ve brought is trouble, sorrow, and . . .” his tone turned bitter, “. . . curse!”
“Ash!” Violet gasped. “You’re never a curse! You’re the brightest and kindest boy in the kingdom. Everyone else is too dumb and snooty to see that.” She stared at Ashburn attentively. “Ash,” she whispered, “have you become a warlock, like the outsider witch queen?”
“She isn’t a witch,” Ashburn said with a dry chuckle.
Lucienne’s heart skipped a beat. How did Ashburn know about her? They hadn’t met yet. “But no, it’s not like that,” Ashburn continued. “What happened to me isn’t magic. It has to do with high physics.”
“Phy . . . what? I don’t understand.”
“It’s a kind of force. The concept is even beyond the outsiders’ understanding of quantum physics. It’s hard to explain in words, but I can use an equation, similar to Einstein’s.” Then, over Violet’s more troubled, confused look, Ashburn sighed, “I shouldn’t bother you with this. I really don’t know why all this crap happened to me.” He put his head in his hands in dismay.
A farm boy from an isolated town knew about Albert Einstein and could write equations of higher math? Lucienne drew a sharp breath. The Eye of Time must have transferred part of its power to him. A stab of jealousy mingled with anger parched her throat dusty. Those powers should have been hers. They were supposed to be hers. Only she was a few hours too late.
“I’m truly a freak now,” Ashburn told his friend.
Violet placed her hand on his shoulder. “No matter what you are or what you’ve become, I’m always on your side.”
“I know.” Ashburn lifted his head and gazed at her, removing the girl’s hand from his shoulder and clasping it in his long fingers. “I couldn’t come back to you earlier. I was trapped in another plane.”
Lucienne’s heart raced. Did he mean Eterne? The rest of Ashburn’s words were a blur. “Long story short: a crazy eye from Hell Gate tricked me, but we’ll get to that later.”
He stole her birthright and lied through his teeth about the Eye of Time choosing him instead of the Siren. Lucienne’s nostrils flared. He had doomed himself to be her enemy.
“When I saw you jump off the bridge,” Ashburn continued, “something awoke in me. It’s like my consciousness moved into full swing. I couldn’t let you die. All of a sudden I could see through time and space. At that moment, I opened a rift between them and dove into the crack before they merged again. It was one of the most terrifying and mesmerizing experiences I’ve ever had. Next thing I knew I caught you and fell with you. I was on this side of the world, and my legs are good as new.”
“You came back for me, Ash.” Violet was full of tears. She reached out to touch Ashburn’s face, but he rose and turned away from her, his eyes scanning the walls.
“Ash?” Violet rose to her feet, too.
Did he see the hidden camera? Lucienne’s body tensed on the pilot seat. Kian had buried it well. No naked eye could spot it.
“We’re being watched,” said Ashburn, his shoulders stiffening.
“Who?” Violet looked around, her hands curled into fists. “Who’s spying on us?” Then a realization came to her eyes. “Gods, the witch queen has a Sky Eye. She turned it on the king and scared the crap out of him.”
“Something is humming here,” Ashburn said, his eyes tracing the wall and settling on the west corner of the ceiling. He kicked a wooden box toward the wall and stood on the box. Ashburn tore the wallpaper off the corner of the ceiling and came face to face with a camera.
Lucienne’s breath hitched as Ashburn looked straight at her through the lens. His eyes turned a shade darker, close to stormy gray. Unwavering, Lucienne stared back. “Like the show?” he asked coldly then slammed his thumb on the lens.
Blackness covered the monitor in BL7. A few seconds later, wavy lines and static danced across the screen.
“Lucia, we’re so busted,” Ziyi’s voice called through the intercom, filling the void. “He also disabled the other cameras in his bedroom and the living room.”
“It’s physically impossible to immobilize three cameras at the same time,” said Vladimir, the intercom capturing his irritation.
“When it comes to Ashburn Fury, we can no longer think in a conventional sense,” Lucienne said. “He just demonstrated a pure mental force.”
“Turn Dragonfly on him, Ziyi, and see how he responds,” Vladimir ordered.
Static filled the monitor.
“Turn Dragonfly somewhere else,” Lucienne said.
“The lens is on Sphinxes,” Ziyi answered.
A red brick house with a vast training ground popped up on the screen.
“Hey, don’t show off my house,” Vladimir said. “It’s as attractive as its owner. I don’t want everyone paying me a visit at night, especially—”
“Girls?” Ziyi asked.
“No girls,” Vladimir said plainly.
She knew he wouldn’t joke about girls when there was a third party present. He only teased her when they were alone, but that was before their relationship had become strained. Vladimir knew how she would react if she felt she were being humiliated and by no means wanted to test her again.
“Turn it back on Nirvana, but not on the Fury house,” Lucienne said.
Static again buzzed from the monitor.
“A membrane. Ashburn has created a sphere above the town. He can block the satellite.” Lucienne drew a harsh breath. “Just like the Eye of Time.”
“He’s become a threat,” Vladimir said.
Fourteen
Lucienne in her rose-red, Francis leather jacket approached the Fury house, accompanied by Orlando and Duncan.
Cam, stationed by the door, saluted Lucienne. Duncan knocked.
Peder answered, a stunned expression on his face—it seemed he hadn’t recovered from the shock of his son’s return.
Strolling beside Peder, Lucienne heard joyful cries and crooning from Clement and high-pitched laughter from Violet. Natural, lukewarm light illuminated the house, comfortable to the eyes without drawing attention from the neighbors. The temperature inside was just perfect.
Quantum energy at work, Lucienne mused. Did the boy produce light and heat with the power of the Eye of Time? She suppressed a mixture of jealousy and amazement. Wearing a sweet smile, she approached the group in the sitting room.
At the sight of Lucienne, Ashburn rose from a chair beside his mother. His intense gaze, though steady and cool, didn’t conceal his astonishment, as if he had déjà vu. As if he had known her from a past life, but was seeing her for the first time.
Lucienne also had a reaction. The moment her gaze met Ashburn’s, the air sucked out of the room. What was happening? What was he doing to her? Was he trying to strangle her by thinning the air she breathed? She gasped for air and threw a frantic look toward Ki
an, wanting him to confirm her suspicion. But for the first time, Kian didn’t understand her look. He stood with the others to pay his respect to her, sending her an assured look—that he had the situation under control.
No one else seemed to be affected by the thin air. Orlando and Duncan looked fine, effectively blending into the background.
“Son,” Peder said, “this is Queen Lucienne. Her Majesty has been good to us.”
“I know who she is, Papa,” Ashburn said with a slight British accent, turning to Lucienne. “Thank you for taking care of my parents.”
The air returned to the room, though it was still a little too thin for her lungs. Why had she overreacted to the presence of this boy? Nothing had ever shaken her quite like this before, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Lucienne gestured for the group to sit and flashed Ashburn one of her winning smiles.
Jed had taught her to use it as a weapon. “A smile can kill,” he had said.
“Don’t be too overwhelmed with gratitude,” Lucienne said to Ashburn, her enchanting smile aimed right for him.
Ashburn smiled back. “You look different in person.”
“Seeing through the glass is never the same as seeing in person,” Lucienne replied.
Ashburn looked gorgeous in the video feed, but it did not do justice to him in the flesh. Vladimir was ruggedly handsome with a blend of refinement and roughness, but Ashburn was of mythical perfection. His pale champagne hair had dried, flowing down his broad shoulders. It would probably feel like silk between her fingers, she thought. But it was his eyes that held her captive, their ice blue deepening to a dark shade, their power drawing her in.
Everyone sat down except for Ashburn, as if he were waiting for her to come to him, until, at last, Lucienne sauntered toward him. As she got closer, a wave of energy expanded, pulsing pleasantly between them. A magnetism, unseen and unbreakable, lured her helplessly toward him. Lucienne, oblivious to the world around her, wanted only to reach Ashburn.