Against the Fallen

by Devin Lee Carlson

  “It’s not too late. Locate the first neutralizer, take it into the portal, and leave it on your least favorite planet. Find another for the second bomb or take both to the same planet at once.” That meant Brian had to hack the other’s location, a dead end seeing as Wayde had no idea it even existed. Sabree studied his reaction.

  Frown lines formed under Brian’s unruly bangs. He rubbed his scalp. “I still have no idea where Farian hid the first weapon never mind the second. What if they’re set to go off together?”

  Sabree noticed the all-too-familiar blank stare. “Then we fail. But, if I know my father, the second is probably a failsafe.” Brian’s hair made Sabree aware of his own. He shook his head to swing the stray wisps from his eyes.

  “Enough about Farian and his toys. Did you find Zoe?”

  Sabree swallowed to suppress the rude comments from slipping out and failed before he could stop himself. “No. What about you? You’re the one who can zip around like a seagull on speed. Can’t you find her between hacking computers. Heck, back on K2, you bragged about being in three places at once. Grab both bombs and leap into space.”

  The blank stare turned to one of anger as a red-orange glow encircled Brian’s darkening gaze. “Not fair,” he snarled. “Out of the eight locations on the hacked list, all of them bogus, I sped to Antarctica, Patagonia, the South Pole, Siberia, the Sahara, and found nothing. Bloody hell, it shouldn’t be that hard to locate a two-foot fluorescent-green capsule. All dead ends.”

  Brian sucked in a breath and waved his arm in a wide arc. “I also scoured the entire complex for Zoe—every cabin, the main building, and lower levels. Can’t sense her anywhere. Either she escaped or she’s inside one of those lead-titanium security units. Can’t locate Ariane either.” Brian palm-slapped his forehead. “Wait. No one except me can detect Zoe if she morphs into a human. I wasn’t looking for her as a human.”

  Hope flowed into the hollow ache that of late inhabited Sabree’s two hearts. Brian might be onto something, but that didn’t explain why his A-factor-loaded friend couldn’t detect her right now.

  A shotgun rang outside, followed by raised voices.

  Sabree dashed for the window and bumped into Brian who beat him there. He peered out the window beyond the complex fence and noticed a cardinal perched on top of a blue spruce. A second shot thundered. The cardinal exploded into a burst of feathers. Red splotches dripped down the snow-patched branches.

  His hearts squeezed as realization sank in. He spun around and grabbed Brian by the shoulders. “What if someone tries to kill Zoeree while she is morphed into something else? Remember how we worried what would happen to Ariane if one of us accidently squashed her like a bug.”

  “Aye, what brought this on?” Brian glanced at the window first, then at Sabree. His brow deepened. He leaned against the glass. “Some guy’s out there patrolling the area. Explains the gunshot.” When the guard picked up the dead cardinal and dropped it into a bag, Brian’s gaze turned to Sabree. “Why would some idiot shoot a wee bird?”

  Sabree clutched his chest and sank to his knees. Slumped over, he choked on the rasping sobs that caught his breath.

  “Oh my God, no,” Brian whispered, his breath constricted. “Zoe?”

  A rushing breeze chilled Sabree. Eyes blurred by tears, he rose and glanced out the window in time to see a streak rocket toward the guard. The flash ripped the bag from his grasp and hurled the human over the fence into a thicket of conifers fifty feet away. In its wake, Brian stood with his shoulders hunched as he studied the contents of the bag. He gently closed it and looked at the cabin. Eyes full of sorrow, Brian shook his head.

  Grief from realization that the bird might be his daughter reeled Sabree into chaos. The fatal wound, nonlethal to the Fallen, might prevent her from morphing back into her own body. Sabree wanted to rip the guard’s throat wide open. Instead, a wave of dizziness swirled inside his head. He collapsed onto the floor and rolled into a fetal position.

  3 3 3

  Outside the fence, a hawk materialized into a woman. Ariane snatched the bag from Brian’s grasp. “This isn’t Zoeree,” she whispered. “I saw her escape. My daughter escaped.” Brian had sent her a telepathic plea about Zoe’s possible fate the moment he sped from Sabree’s cabin without realizing she was already inside the complex.

  “I believe you.” Brian removed his parka and covered her shoulders. “Did you ever foresee this outcome?”

  Her brother meant the different deaths she had admitted to envisioning for Zoeree. But she refused to answer, sensing his heartache. Her shaky fingers fondled the bag. Helplessness combined with grief numbed her all over. She glanced inside and snapped it shut. Her gaze rested on him, her eyes burning with emotion ready to erupt. Fury encompassed angst. Every muscle in her body tensed, bracing for the grief-stricken scream that would slice her brother’s eardrums. Ariane let loose a wail across the entire compound.

  Rattled birds squawked and fluttered away from nearby brush. When Brian stepped closer to pull her into an embrace, she shoved him away. His feet left the ground, flying upward until he crashed into the complex fence. His skull smacked against metal. Good thing her brother was super immortal.

  He shook his head to ward off unconsciousness and climbed to his feet.

  Turning into a hawk, she took flight, swoop down to grab his jacket in her talons, and glided toward the cabin. She ignored the telepathic pleas he aimed at her mind only.

  Driven by guilt, Ariane paused when the door creaked. She opened it a bit more until she saw Sabree inside, lying curled up on the floor. She rushed to his side.

  “Don’t touch me!” Between wrenching sobs, he said, “Fate plotted Zoeree’s demise the moment she was conceived. Greed not love drove you! Just to outwit your brother. It’s your fault she’s dead. You might as well have pulled the trigger yourself.”

  Her breath caught. Ariane wanted to embrace him and give him hope, but he rolled away against the couch. His glare warned her not to come closer. She wrapped Brian’s bomber jacket tighter around her torso. “Zoeree escaped. She flew toward the hotel. I saw her.” Ariane purposely left out the small detail of Zoeree’s ghostlike body.

  Out of habit, a newer one, Sabree rolled the kinks from his shoulders.

  Ariane stood still as though someone had nailed her feet to the floor. She wished he’d rant, blame her, but not hate her from here on. “I explained the hazards to Zoeree hundreds of times, but she’s a child and children don’t always listen. I prayed she would be a mister like you.”

  “The A-factor rules over our genetic makeup. Makes Brian right. He’s always right, and I should’ve listened to him. He should have dusted the entire lot. Mission accomplished.”

  Ariane had no idea how to respond. One wrong word and she would set him off like a volcano or send him misting away to God knows where. The Teachers never prepared her for this scenario—the death of a child—her daughter. She held out the bag cupped in her palms as if she was handing a peace offering to the gods. “Do you want to keep this?” She yelped when he jumped to his feet and ripped the bag from her grasp, just as she had done to Brian.

  “I’ll take it to the estate, clean the bird, and freeze it until we are sure it is or isn’t Zoeree. For God’s sake, how will we ever know for sure?”

  “Ask Brian to take it to Athorsis. The archangel will know.” Ariane refused to refer to the dead bird as her daughter. Not until she had proof. “Maybe Zoeree is back at the hotel waiting for me. I will be able to sense her once she turns back into herself.”

  Sabree glanced out the window. “Where did Brian go?”

  “Not sure. I launched him into the fence. Hurt his pride more than anything. Probably giving us some space.” Ariane’s nervous giggles made her cringe. “This is nuts. Someday, in the near future, we will all laugh about this.” She pointed at the bag in his hands. “I refuse to believe that dead bird is our daughter.” Tears stung her eyes. She blinked and took a step toward him and stopped when h
e held out a free hand. “So, this is how you’re going to treat me? By pushing me away?”

  “You should have watched her like a hawk.” He slipped by her and opened the door. “Go back to the hotel. Brian will keep you posted.”

  Funny thing, Ariane did watch her like a hawk, the genuine article, but it wasn’t good enough. “The insect world is more sympathetic than you,” she said between sobs. “I hate you!” Ariane turned into the same hawk and burst into flight through the doorway.

  51

  SOMETHING’S ROTTEN IN SCOTLAND

  T he cruel remarks Sabree and Ariane exchanged iced the blood in my veins, which in turn, chilled me to the core. What caused the animosity between them? Did remnants of hostility from her earlier mistakes still plague him? Did the migraines tax his normally congenial disposition? The gut-wrenching loss would blow the mission for certain. But I couldn’t let that happen, not if it meant the end of Earth and humanity.

  Although her parents threatened to ground Zoe for a year if she returned to the complex, no one had taken the time to caution her about the risks her newfound gift entailed. In its wake, a rift wider than the Grand Canyon tore apart the two people I loved most, the adoration they shared no longer within reach.

  How could I undo the damage without traveling back in time to prevent Zoe’s death as I did for Sabree? My first and final mistake. Athorsis promised he’d make me suffer if I broke the time travel code again. What could the archangel do to me besides damage those I love? Aye, never again.

  If Ariane tried to convince me to seek Athorsis for the truth about Zoe, the trip would most likely waste our time. Doubted he would come forward with a solution. The A-factor empowered me to sense the dead bird as my dear niece, but only part of her. This might explain why my sister saw Zoe’s ghostlike body floating away. I had no idea how to explain the ambiguity of it all.

  Too soon to face Sabree, I gathered Azrian, his mission as a spy aborted after the bastards shot Zoe and sped back to the mansion. “Jesse will be back soon so wait here for him. Please.”

  “Something’s gone wrong, huh, Pop?” He glanced at the bag in my grasp. “Where’s Zoe?”

  “Jesse is waiting to bring her home,” I lied. “Stay in the mansion until he or I return. I’m close to finding out where the neutralizers are hidden.” Desperate, I lied again. Not bloody close at all. I squeezed his arm. “Be safe.”

  Leaving Azrian alone in his room, I dashed to the lab to place the cardinal in Ariane’s cold storage unit. The little bird on ice, I squeezed my eyes shut and JLS-ed to the library. Fortune had it that I appeared in front of the liquor cabinet—a favorite launching and landing point. Nowhere near as majestic as the crags, numbing alcohol would drive away the grief; whereas, an astounding view would only soothe the soul. A few shots of booze won over scenery. Out of habit, I grabbed empty air, my favorite bottle gone. Blast my luck. Someone had already emptied the bar. No scotch, rum, or tequila. Wait…

  As if the heavens opened up to shine upon me, which I seriously doubted, visions of Duncan’s private stash brought a slight smirk to my parched soul. Why let excellent liquor stockpile any longer? Who’d be around to savor it after the apocalypse? Eager to restock the bar, I turned into the hallway that led to the office and gripped the doorframe as a surge of vertigo rushed over me.

  Spinning revolutions that only one man, besides myself, could create, beckoned me back into the library. Recognition set in, the red Scots plaid hard to miss—Tim. E Traveler. I spun around and yelped when my backside smacked into the door that slammed shut on its own.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Jesse said as he held on to Tim. “We’re here to set you straight.”

  “Something’s rotten in Scotland.” Never saw these two together. Why now? A quick glance made me wonder if my eyes played tricks on me. I scratched my scalp. The remark setting me straight would normally be taken as a threat unless coming from either one. “I didn’t expect to see you, Jesse. Thought you were waiting at the hotel for Zoe.” Damn it, Sabree hasn’t told him yet. “How’d you—” My gaze narrowed to study the time traveler. “Did you bring him here?”

  “Aye, we’re together.”

  My glare shot back to Jesse. “You’re working with him?”

  “No time to explain,” Jesse said. “But know this…Tim and I are on the same side—your side. We’re desperate. Too many attempts to help you find the neutralizer in time have failed. If Athorsis has his way again, we will forever be stuck in his vicious loop. Every time the bomb goes off, he sends you and Ariane back to square one. Back to the day you were born. Over and over again.” Jesse turned to Tim. “Got anything to add?”

  Before Tim could respond, my arm knocked a vase off its stand. The ceramic splintered into hundreds of pieces. Sabree’s favorite, I’d pay for the damage and not with cash. The damned collector treasured too many knickknacks. I puffed my chest out to face Tim. “You’d better have something to add, because Jesse pretty much said squat.”

  Tim bowed slightly, whipping his kilt aside to express civility.

  Again, the time traveler flaunted his ancient warrior antics over-the-top. I could outmatch him, especially now that my temper soared a notch higher. “Forget the pomp. You don’t impress me. Neither of you.”

  Unruffled by my insolence, Tim cocked his head as if he harbored a secret no one else knew. His palm polished the bronze broach attached to the sash. His gaze narrowed. “Things are different this time. A second bomb will activate ten minutes after the first. Before the blast reaches Edinburgh, you must time travel back to the Halloween party. Bring only Azrian. Leave Sabree and Ariane behind. They’re damaged goods.”

  “What the hell?” Such a heartless remark. How could the future me be so indifferent to my sister’s and friend’s fates? I shrugged. No need to hear the bitter truth that stared me in the face. Sabree’s soul decayed from day to day. Ariane continued to doubt herself and now grief would eat her soul alive. But worse yet... “Athorsis threatened to destroy me if I traveled back in time. More than once.”

  “That he did.” Tim stared at me with cold, hard eyes. “Do as the archangel orders and be lost in his reset loop for all eternity. Do as I ask, and you may succeed at breaking the vicious cycle.”

  Unbelievable. Would traveling back in time change me into an uncaring monster like Tim? My voice hitched when I tried to speak, all emotions abandoning me. “As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. I had come to that conclusion on day one of this mission. Just couldn’t bear to admit it out loud.”

  “Athorsis keeps granting you a do-over,” Jesse said. “To earn my archangel-ship per se, I’ve been his tool all along.”

  “Tool? You think?” Jesse was smarter than most, but Athorsis had ruthlessly played him about becoming an archangel. “You’re daft if you think he’s going to hand you a pair of wings and promote you to his level of infinite power. Last I heard, the elite club allows only thirteen Lighted Ones, no more, no less.” The plot thickened. I rubbed my chin. Athorsis would never promote Jesse, a mere human, to archangel-hood. It didn’t work that way and I doubted Athorsis possessed such powers. Even I had little chance of upgrading to an archangel. But negativity wouldn’t stop me from trying.

  “Yes,” Jesse muttered, “Tim has set me straight. Bogus bullshit steered me wrong. Things are different this time. A sneeze could have changed things. Never before had Tim showed up to help us. Never before had Farian placed a backup bomb. These variances are the secret to our—your—success. To you beating Athorsis at his own game. This is your thirty-third try. Enough already, take control!”

  Somehow Athorsis had conned the delusional fledgling into believing the impossible. Arms folded over my chest, my skeptical gaze scrutinized Jesse and then Tim as he sped around the room while centering Jesse in the middle with me. The last time we met in Farian’s office, Tim explained how excessive speed placed time in a standstill to keep Athorsis from detecting our encounters and hearing our tactics. “So,
if I travel back to the Halloween party after I secure the first bomb, the time loops that Athorsis resets will end?”

  “We hope so.” Jesse shot a quick glance at his partner. “According to Tim, yes.” His gaze returned to me. A glimmer outlined his pupils. “I hear you collect stones.” He handed me a Zuni wolf fetish carved out of Picasso Marble. Black etched lines mapped the gray rock. “Gray Wolf’s wife, my grandmother, carved this for me. She was Zuni. Take it for luck. You need Gray Wolf’s spirit and strength more than me.”

  My fingers fondled the wolf carving as I admired the turquoise arrowhead wrapped with sinew around the wolf’s back. “I will treasure it always.” When Jesse’s lips stretched thin, my mouth mimicked his frown. “What else?”

  “Beat Athorsis.” He laughed at my expression. “It’s been a fun ride.” Jesse winked as he backed up to get swept up by Tim. “Seriously though, do as we say. Ten minutes to detonation, no more, no less, dispose neutralizer one on some far-off planet. Return before neutralizer two goes off. Gather Azrian and return to the past. Be vigilant as to how you correct past mistakes. Above all, ignore Athorsis. Do the exact opposite of what he orders.” Jesse faded alongside Tim.

  Damn it, I was right. The two just confirmed the ugly truth that Farian had armed two neutralizers. The one Wayde didn’t know anything about. “Why can’t we escape to another world? Wait!” I lunged into their personal space, unable to grab hold of either one. If they left without answering, maybe their current would pull me along. I yelped when an electric bolt shot me into the wall.

  “No time,” the two chanted together. “No time.”

  “Bugger! I’m the king of time. I can make it work.” My head throbbed as I stared at empty space. Jesse and Tim had to expend heaps of energy to warn me without alerting the archangel. Both had warped together in volatile space—an alternate dimension not their own. I slumped lower, letting the wall support my despair. If this was our last shot, it meant no room for error. Earth depended on me to get it right this, and only this one, time. “I hate being me.”