by Mikayla Lane
Lanie was sitting between the two men and slowly moved closer to the wall, taking her wine glass and bottle. She took a sip and looked at Cin over the rim to see what he would do or say.
Cin sighed and went into the kitchen, going straight to the liquor cabinet. “Robbie, there’s so damn much I can’t tell you. And before you flip out, I say that to protect you and this town. If it makes you feel better about what I did, I can show you the proof of the Senator and her family's extensive links to human and drug trafficking, collusion with foreign governments, and a plethora of other offenses that would never make the national news. Justice would have never been served.”
Robbie looked sick to his stomach and stared at the floor for a minute. “Cin, I don’t doubt what you have on them. The Senator was a nationally hated woman and her corrupt family as well. The problem is this whole mercenary shit you got going on in the middle of my damn town!”
Lanie snorted and shook her head, causing both men to look at her.
“What?” Lanie asked. “That’s the problem right now. Everyone saying ‘not my town.’ Whose town is good enough or bad enough for it to happen in? Who else would you wish this on?”
Neither man spoke, Cin from shock and the Sheriff from embarrassment.
Lanie looked at Robbie. “Cin and his mercenary ways aren’t the problems here. The problem is there isn’t more of him. We need more digital and citizen heroes these days. From all over the damn world, not just in America.”
Robbie threw his hands in the air, then grabbed the bottle of wine Cin pulled from the cabinet. “Great, now I got two of you here!”
Cin got another bottle from the cabinet and patted Robbie on the shoulder with his other hand. “The feds are gone, the situation is over, and I have no intention of ever doing anything similar in this town again.”
“He only did it for me,” Lanie interjected, smiling at Cin, who sat beside her at the counter.
“The biggest issue you have right now is those valves,” Cin stated, hoping to change the subject. “We’re near winter, and they all have to come out.”
Robbie ran a hand down his face then took a swig of the wine. “I know. Our city engineers verified the degradation of the metal with the ATF and other feds. We got it all shut down right now, and about a thousand people are without gas for cooking or heating. The engineers and city are scrambling to set up portable tanks for those who are the most vulnerable.”
Cin walked over to the fireplace mantle and pulled something from the top. Moving back to the counter, Cin sat back down beside Lanie and handed it to Robbie.
“What’s this?” the Sheriff’s brow furrowed, and he turned the key over in his hand.
“It’s the key to the warehouse holding the new valves I bought a week ago when I found out the others were substandard and dangerous. I was going to tell you about the bad valves when the new ones came in, but things went sideways. Besides, I wanted to make sure when you were ready to replace them that they’d be available.” Cin shrugged and took a sip of wine.
“Are you serious?” Robbie choked out in gratitude before a thought occurred to him. “It’ll still take our city crews until next year to replace them all, but this is beyond generous, Cindrac. Thank you so much.”
“I have hired crews on standby to help and made an anonymous donation to the city to cover any overtime for the city crews.” Cin manifested a business card in his hand and gave it to Robbie. “Call them when you’re ready to start.”
“Damn it, Cin!” Robbie snapped, squeezing the card in his fist. “I hate it when you do this shit! You make me rip my fucking hair out for days! Sweating blood and bourbon until the feds leave, and swearing I’m gonna kill you myself this time. Then you do something like this for the town. I hate you, man. But I love you more.”
Blinking away the tears in his eyes, the burly sheriff popped a few snacks in his mouth and walked out the front door with the wine bottle gripped in his hand. When it slammed shut behind him, Cin turned to Lanie with a smile.
“So, what were we talking about?”
Lanie just stared at Cin in surprise. “That was a wonderful thing you did for the town. What are the odds that I came here, where the valves were being used, and brought the people responsible with me? Life is crazy.”
Cin shrugged. “People scoff at it, but there is a higher being that does work behind the scenes in our lives. But to answer your question, the odds were pretty good that you and the valves would eventually land in the same town. You spent a decade running to the smaller places to blend in better and avoid the proliferation of CCTV and facial recognition software. The valves were being marketed nearly exclusively for smaller towns with tighter budgets so that the cheaper valves would be more attractive to them.”
“That’s what I get for being fanciful,” Lanie said with a snort. “I’m still thankful that I ended up in your town.”
Cin reached over and squeezed her hand. “I am too.”
Lanie stood and stretched before taking her empty wineglass to the sink and rinsing it.
“The Sheriff killed your desire to get your drunk on?” Cin joked.
“Yeah, he did.” Lanie turned and leaned against the sink. “The way the Sheriff was thinking really is part of the problem. It’s one thing to stay out of your neighbor’s business and another to let their business burn down because you’re either afraid to get involved. Or choose not to because you think they deserve it because the elite told you they did. That’s why we’re in this mess, and the elite keep pushing us against each other. We can’t win if we’re divided, and I don’t just mean here in America either.”
Cin sighed, wishing he had some magic words to make Lanie feel better, but he wouldn’t lie to her either.
“I’m sorry, Lanie,” Cin said. “I swear I’m doing all I can to prevent my future from happening. This problem isn’t something that can just be fixed and handed back to the people. If they don’t fight for themselves now, there is no future for anyone. The elite will keep trying until it finally works if the people don’t see it and stop it for good.”
Lanie shook her head and came over to where he was sitting at the bar. “I know that, Cin. You’re a one-man hero this world doesn’t deserve. But the people desperately need a million more of you to fight for us. Good night, my hero, and thank you for everything. I’m going to say it every day for the people who have no clue what you’re doing for them and their future.”
Lanie reached up and placed a gentle kiss on Cin’s cheek before turning and going into her bedroom. Sensing her movement, Bob woke from his bed on the couch and followed her into the room.
Cin shook his head at Lanie’s words, feeling more like a failure than a hero. Robbie was right. What he’d done regarding the Senator, so close to his own home, was reckless and could have caused a catastrophic butterfly effect of problems.
Cin was still filtering the ramifications and calculating the future probabilities of what he’d done. Nothing popped up as a warning, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be unexpected consequences or Mandela Effects discovered further down the road.
Turning on the TV with a wave of his hand, Cin sifted through the elite’s few personal communications with each other. Like the Consortium, the bastards didn’t like leaving any electronic means that could be hacked or discovered, so there wasn’t much to review.
Finding nothing of value in their child-like code-worded and vain filled chatter, Cin activated dozens of nanite bots he’d created in another time and place and replicated for use in this one.
It only took seconds for Cin to pull up the entire career history of Agent Alan Gregory Johns and Agent David Paul Mackey. As expected, nearly everything they’d done in their jobs was cover-up crimes of the elite and their minions and frame their enemies.
Anyone who got close to the truth and tried to spread it was in the last category and subjected to federal intimidation techniques that made the mafia look like schoolyard bullies.
Like hu
ndreds of others in the US Intelligence community and their counterparts worldwide, the two agents' entire job was to create narratives of a false enemy to keep the people fighting one another and not the elite overlords and their minions.
Smiling at the two agents' hefty bank accounts, Cin proceeded to hack into their investment accounts. Once everything was negative, Cin worked on siphoning their money into charities across the globe. He routed everything through so many false relays it would take dedicated teams of accountants decades to discover it.
To keep the two agents from suspecting his involvement, Cin did the same thing to a dozen other agents working for the elite. Within hours, the fools would be freaking out over who knew of their treacherous and illegal behavior and wondering how to get their money back.
It would undoubtedly be enough excitement to keep the agents from thinking about little old Laurel Springs and the dead Senator for quite a while.
Pouring himself another glass of wine, Cin checked his forums and posted more proof of fraud, corruption, and truths for the readers to consume and spread. Information was vital right now, and getting it out to the people was his most important job.
Hours passed with Cin working tirelessly until his nanites warned him of a change in the environment. He prepared his armor and readied his weapons when Cin saw Kace's shimmering gold energy form on the back deck.
Checking Lanie to make sure she was still sleeping, Cin headed out the door to the deck and bowed in respect to the Madean. “What brings you here?”
“A warning and a favor,” Kace smiled at his friend and fellow warrior cleric of the Dominion.
“Now, that sounds interesting.” Cin was curious. “Go ahead.”
“What we did on Raider’s Moon has created a large shift in the energy of the universe and is causing panic and anger to rule the minds of the Consortium leaders,” Kace warned. “They know we were there and are vowing to destroy you and all you hold dear. That same energy will cause chaos among all evil denizens of our universe. Be vigilant. This change will greatly impact what is happening in your world.”
Cin already knew of the rumors regarding the Consortium and nodded his thanks for the confirmation. “What favor do you ask?”
The Madean’s energy form stepped closer to Cin. “In your quest to save your world, do not forget the vows you’ve made to the Dominion Order. Remain steadfast in your honor, oath, and loyalty to a higher authority than yourself. You’re not in this alone and must stop reacting as if you are.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” Cin agreed.
He had gone recklessly off the rails when Lanie was taken and again when Cin saw and shared his friend’s anger over the theft of the sacred and magical relics. He knew better than to let his emotions overrule his mind.
Kace placed his hand on Cin’s shoulder and sent him a burst of energy that Cin felt throughout his body. “I am always here if you need me, and if you come across anything that falls under the jurisdiction of the Dominion, know that your brother and sister clerics and I will fight by your side. Until then, we will await the return of the Host when we will join your battle at His command.”
“Thank you, Madean. I’m honored to have your friendship and guidance,” Cin replied with a nod of respect.
Kace looked up, and Cin knew that the Madean saw Lanie standing in the doorway to the deck behind him. Stepping away from Cin, Kace nodded and made several beautiful and intricate hand gestures that left trails of light in the air for several seconds.
“My blessings to you both,” Kace nodded and blinked out.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Lanie hoped she hadn’t chased the holy man off.
“You didn’t. Kace likes to act mysteriously,” Cin said with a chuckle.
Lanie moved out to the deck and sat to wait for the sunrise in an hour or so. Like Cin, she was becoming enamored with seeing the beauty of another day beginning now that she wasn’t hunted any longer.
“I started a pot of coffee. Maybe you could tell me how you met the Madean? Or the elves and elementals?” Lanie asked.
She was dying to learn more about all the strange beings she’d met and fought beside. Even with the elven made pendant around her neck, Lanie still had to pinch herself as a reminder it was all real and not a delusion.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The coffee pot beeped that it was done, and Cin was grateful for an excuse to think of a way to explain Kace and the Dominion to Lanie. Moving into the kitchen, he filled two cups and brought them outside.
Lanie took the offered cup and smiled shyly. “You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to talk about it. Your privacy doesn’t end where my curiosity begins.”
Cin sat on the railing and looked at the sunrise on the horizon. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I’m just not sure where to begin. Depending on how you calculate time, I’ve lived for nearly a millennia and through seven different future scenarios before restarting everything. Explaining one particular event without including the context of what led me there can make it confusing.”
“Holy crap, you couldn’t just tell me it’s a long story?” Lanie laughed.
Cin chuckled and shook his head. “See, there’s no easy answer. Let’s just say that during one of those times I was helping a friend, I ran into Kace and a small group of his warriors. At some point, I was initiated into the Dominion Order and became a warrior cleric.”
“Wow,” Lanie breathed out. “You’re a priest?”
“No!” Cin rushed to say. “Not in the sense that you’re thinking. The Dominion doesn’t have much in common with any religion on Earth. What they connect with is the purest form of energy I’ve ever felt. It’s incomparable to anything else. Besides, my contributions are generally through information or physical battle.”
“Is that how you met the elves and elementals?” Lanie was hoping he’d tell her more.
“To be completely honest, I’ve probably met and befriended someone from nearly every sentient planet in the universe throughout my travels,” Cin admitted with a smile of remembrance.
“Do you have a favorite place?” Lanie could only dream of the places and things he’d seen.
Cin lit upon an idea and smiled. “Do you trust me?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Lanie couldn’t believe he felt the need to ask.
“Go dress in something warm.” Cin had barely finished speaking before Lanie shot out of her chair and ran inside.
In less than ten minutes, Lanie was running back out to the deck in a long sweater, leggings, boots, scarf, knit hat, and down jacket. Cin smiled in approval before kneeling in front of Bob.
“Take care of the place and warn me if anyone comes by. We’ll be back in a little while,” Cin promised his friend.
Without hesitation, Cin created a portal and held his hand out to Lanie, who immediately took it. He led them into the shimmering disc, and Lanie gasped when they came out on the other side.
“Oh, my God!” Lanie held so tightly to Cin’s hand it hurt as she looked around at the marvel surrounding them. “Where is this? What is this?”
“Creation,” Cin whispered.
The sight never failed to instill a sense of awe in him. It was the one place in the universe where Cin felt as small and inconsequential as a spec of sand.
Lanie looked around with wide eyes at what could only be described as island-sized chunks of earth hanging suspended in space. Like the one they were standing on, each of the pieces was covered in lush grasses, trees, and pools of water. Various waterfalls dropped water into the vastness of space beneath them and disappeared.
There were dozens of pieces that hovered around one another within what looked like a planet-sized shimmering gold halo surrounding them all. Some had ponds or lakes on them and mountains that extended as far above the grass and trees as it did below the flat prairies.
While Lanie watched in fascination, a small meteorite was sucked into the shimmering shield and j
oined millions of others floating around the landmasses. A giant sun beamed down on it all from a distance, and when Lanie spun in a circle, she saw two moons and another planet nearby.
“How is this possible?” Lanie whispered, awe-struck that she could even breathe the air within the fragile-looking golden halo.
“Intelligent design.” Cin smiled, thrilled that Lanie seemed to love it as much as he did. “Gravity helps, and oxygen, of course.”
“Is it safe to walk around?” Lanie asked.
She looked warily at the beautiful prairie and the waterfall not far in the distance before taking in the sight of the jagged edges on their little sky island, leading to nothing below. It was breathtaking and terrifying.
“Yes, but watch where you step,” Cin warned and pointed to a hole in the ground leading to the nothingness below.
Lanie tightly held Cin’s hand and let him lead her across the prairie to the waterfall pool, where she knelt at the edge. Lanie hesitantly put her hand in the water and was thrilled that it felt the same as earth. Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, she looked up and gasped.
A large, boulder-sized piece of rock floated slowly towards one of the mountains and became stuck. Lanie could see the pressure around them, almost fusing them. It was like watching a world puzzle being put together right before her eyes.
“Is this how everything was created? Earth too?” Lanie whispered in wonder.
“No, just this one,” Cin admitted. “Each one is unique, like the people, flora, and fauna that eventually inhabit them. This one is just so incredible to watch. I was here when there were only small rocks bobbling together, and now, it’s become more beautiful with each visit.”
“Where do all the pieces come from?” Lanie looked at the expanse of space around them and the other floating rocks.