by Adair Hart
Emily nodded.
Dr. Bryson shook Dr. Snowden’s and Evaran’s hands. With V, he shook a claw, and Emily hugged him. He flashed two thumbs up, and with a goofy smile, he said, “And so it begins.”
The group laughed as he entered the Torvatta.
Dan laid a hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulder. “I know you weren’t our Albert, and I would have loved to spend more time with you. I feel like … this is a second chance at life.”
“Enjoy it for all that it is,” said Dr. Snowden. They hugged, and Dan moved to Emily.
“I hope that if we have a daughter, she is every bit like you,” said Dan.
Emily’s eyes misted as they hugged.
“Same goes for me,” said Sarah as she joined them.
Dr. Snowden waved a finger at V and Edev. “I know what you two are thinking.”
Dan laughed as he waved Edev and V over. They joined in the hugging.
Dr. Snowden shook his head.
Sarah hugged him and said, “As Dan said, I know you aren’t our Albert, but you coulda fooled me. I’m better for having known you.”
He nodded as Sarah pulled back. “I just hope you all stay safe.”
“We will,” said Dan. He shook Evaran’s hand, as did Sarah. With a final look around, he gave a two-finger salute, and they entered the Torvatta.
Emily gripped Dr. Snowden’s arm.
He could see she was sad, and he was to, but he also knew the excitement about something that was game changing. He hoped they did not have to go through all the wild life-and-death situations he and Emily had.
Levaran walked over to Dr. Snowden and Emily. “You two will always have a part of me in you. I don’t know how that will manifest, but I’m going to miss you both.”
Dr. Snowden’s chest tightened. In a cracked voice, he said, “We owe you our lives.”
“It is I who owes all of you my second chance. I won’t forget that. Ever,” said Levaran.
“Well, now you have your own crew,” said Emily, sniffling. “I think you’re going to enjoy that experience.”
Levaran nodded as they group hugged. She turned toward Evaran, and they touched hands, palms forward with arms raised. After a moment of looking at each other, they nodded in sync. With one final wave at Dr. Snowden and Emily, she began to walk up the ramp.
“Umm … I’m still here,” said Edev.
Everyone chuckled.
Edev flew around and high-fived each of them. She paused at V. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Analysis. It was my pleasure.”
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “You’re going to be an interesting companion to the others.”
“Thanks!” said Edev as she flew in past Levaran.
Levaran shook her head and waved again before entering the Torvatta.
After a moment, their Torvatta took to the sky.
Emily had wanted to talk a bit with Dr. Snowden, Evaran, and V, but Evaran had insisted they leave immediately per Levaran. The near-death experience still shook her a bit, but the cookout had been a perfect counter for that. At least she got in some good talking time with Dan. The fact that her training meant so little against the Time Warden commander chewed on her mind, even while talking with Dan and the others.
First the predator, then the commander. The Time Wardens were tough, but her new game plan was to step up her training and find ways to beat all of them. Never again would she embarrass herself in front of Evaran, in any form. A part of her yearned for the life she saw at the cookout. The other wanted total destruction of anyone who would threaten her or her friends.
They were now back in their own universe. The Torvatta was stealthed and hovering above Earth. They assembled on the roof.
She was beginning to consider the roof as their post-adventure analysis. It was a good spot to do it since they were usually in space and stealthed, and it was calm and free of distractions. On top of that, they could summon things now. Typically, though, they all leaned on the guardrail. V had joined them in orb mode, and they were all to the right of Evaran.
“Well … that was one heck of a trip to find about your origin,” said Dr. Snowden.
Emily chuckled. “The Evaran origin.” She expected a half smile or a grin from Evaran, but was instead met with taut lips.
Evaran raised his head a bit to look out into the stars.
“Evaran?” she asked. She knew that look. He was struggling with something.
Evaran sighed. “Levaran saved you both. I am eternally grateful to her for that action.” He turned toward them. “Plane forms cannot see their own energy signature. I realized after she gave you her excess re-formation energy that hers had changed.” He extended his hand, and his ring projected a striped bar. The individual segments varied, as did the colors.
Emily remembered that every living thing had an aura-like energy signature, and the various segments she was seeing corresponded to the identification of energies present.
“Wouldn’t it have changed anyways when the excess energy had left after her re-formation stage?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“It would have. In essence, her re-formation stage was shortened. I have seen that signature before,” said Evaran. He clenched his jaw for a moment. “It … took some time, but I was able to match it, along with four other related signatures.”
Emily narrowed her eyes. “And … where did you find the match?”
“In the main rift crystal that we found on the Purifiers planet.”
“What!” said Dr. Snowden.
“Are you saying the female Evaran that was tortured and killed by the overlord is going to be Levaran?” asked Emily.
Evaran drew his lips flat. “I am sure of it. Our past … is her future. She is going to meet the overlord, and then fall in battle. She will not be killed right away. She will be tortured until she is dead, and her energy will be absorbed into the rift crystal.”
“Wait a minute,” said Emily. “I thought the overlord gained the re-formation ability from you.”
Evaran nodded. “He did. It is apparent now that while the overlord may have killed Levaran, he only got some of her energy. The rift crystal absorbed the majority of it. I suspect she disabled her ability to re-form as a precaution.”
Emily shook her head.
“So when she ran into the overlord, she probably realized she was going to die, probably from your sync with her,” said Dr. Snowden. He rubbed his temples. “You said there were other signatures?”
Evaran sighed. “In the crystal, there were other signatures absorbed around the same time. I checked their patterns.” He swiped his finger, causing four other patterns to appear next to Levaran’s. He pointed at the first one. “This is Dr. Bryson’s.” He pointed at the second one. “This one is Dan’s. Their time aboard Levaran’s Torvatta would have altered their energy signature, as this Torvatta has yours. Given the changes I saw in yours, I was able to extrapolate a formula onto theirs, and when applied, it matches. Their energy would have been able to be absorbed by the rift crystal.”
“Oh, no,” said Dr. Snowden with a grimace. “Let me guess, the other two are Sarah and Edev.”
Evaran shook his head. “I am afraid not. Based on my analysis of the patterns, it is two teenagers. Twins. A male and a female. They are related to Sarah and Dan.”
Emily gasped. “Their kids. The Purifier event must have happened much later then.” She swallowed hard. “What about Edev and Sarah?”
“Edev, like V, is special. V’s energy would not be able to be absorbed by the rift crystal since Syrilus is a part of him, and she is raw planar energy. It is most likely that Edev’s inner container was destroyed,” said Evaran. “My working hypothesis on Sarah is that she died sometime prior to that event.”
“That would mean no nanobot version of her,” said Emily.
“Possible. They could have gotten someone else, but the fact that the overlord won would lead me to believe that did not happen. Levaran would have assaulted the Purifiers’ pocket unive
rse with Dan, Edev, and the twins. They would have gone willingly with her to her death.”
“That’s just … just horrible. They didn’t want her to die alone,” said Dr. Snowden. He sighed. “I remember you said a while back when we were fighting the Purifiers that their pocket universe got kicked out of a universe. You think it’s related?”
Evaran nodded. “I do. I think Levaran, knowing she would be defeated and absorbed by the plane, played her last card. In the brief moment when she had enhanced abilities, she destroyed her Torvatta and sent the pocket universe to the place she knew the overlord would be killed. Our universe.”
“She knew that we would defeat him,” said Emily.
Evaran nodded. “She also knew that she had to die in order to complete the time loop.”
Emily cocked her head to the side. “She could have re-formed in her Torvatta, right?”
“Yes. However, she knew it was part of our past. It was a sacrifice she was willing to make. That is part of the danger of knowing your future.”
Dr. Snowden sighed as he leaned back against the guardrail. He ran a hand over his mouth. “We can change things, right? I mean … she saved our lives! By saving us, it made her weaker. We … we can’t let her go out like that!”
Evaran looked down. “It has already happened, and is part of our past now.” He sighed as he gazed out. “I do not know what became of my other plane forms. My main form is gone. Syrilus is gone. The Hoxscarus have gone. I am alone.”
Emily’s eyes reddened as she moved to the side and laid a hand on Evaran’s right shoulder. “No, you’re not.”
Dr. Snowden put his hand on Evaran’s other shoulder. In a choked voice, he said, “Yeah, what she said.”
V flew behind Evaran and placed his claws on Emily’s and Dr. Snowden’s hands. “And what he said.”
Everyone chuckled.
Dr. Snowden wiped his eyes. “We’re not going anywhere.”
“Even death cannot seem to claim you,” said Evaran. He nodded. “I am glad to have you three with me. Unfortunately—”
“Analysis. Everything is as it should be,” said V.
Evaran smiled. “What he said.”
After a good night’s rest, Dr. Snowden had enjoyed breakfast with Emily. He was now in the command area, with everyone in their respective locations. Looking out through the transparent front half of the ship, he could see that they were at Dan’s grave site. A date-and-time panel that hovered on the inside wall showed February 4, 2012, at 1:00 p.m., just ten minutes after he and Emily had arrived in the past to visit it. He knew they would leave at 2:00 p.m., have a late lunch, and then get abducted by the Krotovore a few hours after that, around 6:00 p.m.
His lips drew down when he saw himself and Emily standing by the grave. He remembered being there. The sniffling he heard coming from Emily verified that she did too. Their earlier versions had spent a good hour talking to the grave, so he knew they had time to place the emergency Krotovore beacon on the car.
“V, take us to their car,” said Evaran.
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta landed in the parking lot in an empty slot next to their car.
Evaran stood and held up a small device. “Time for me to place this.” He exited the Torvatta.
Dr. Snowden watched as Evaran placed the beacon on the inside fender of a rear tire. The memory of Evaran pulling something off the side of the car when he had dropped them off after their abduction flashed through his mind. He did not make much of it before, but now he knew it was Evaran who had to do it.
Emily pointed at Evaran. “Look.”
Evaran paused as he put his hand in the air and scanned the sky. After a minute, he returned and took his seat in the command chair. “It is done.”
“What was all the hand-raising stuff?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“I thought … I sensed something. Apparently I was mistaken. Nonetheless, this time loop is completed.”
“But it’s part of a bigger one that involves some future event with the Hoxscarus, right?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“That is correct. It is nested in a larger one, it would seem.”
Emily sighed. “It’s hard to believe all that has happened to me and Uncle Albert started right here and now.”
Dr. Snowden smiled. “At least we know now.” He rubbed his hands together. “Any chance we can stop by our house? I mean … I know we have to go to a time after we began traveling.”
Evaran nodded. “I think it would be good to spend some time on Earth and immerse yourself back into your normal routine prior to traveling with me. It would be a good reminder of your past. Everything is as it should be. V, take us to their house at the designated time.”
“Acknowledged.”
I hope you enjoyed the fifth book in the Evaran Chronicles! Two of the most asked questions up to this point have been who is Evaran and where did he come from. This book is the definitive answer to both questions. The cosmological framework in which Evaran exists is complex, but I wanted to shine a spotlight on the highlights of it in this book. I also wanted to introduce the Time Wardens, one of the bigger threats to Evaran inside a plane. You have not seen the last of them yet!
This book wraps up the first series arc, but there are more coming! If you liked the book, and have the time and inclination, a review would go a long way in helping out this indie author. If you do submit a review, I’ll put in a word to Evaran should you find yourself stuck in a Time Warden siphon tank! Want to be notified about new book releases? If so, you can sign up below.
www.AdairHart.com/MailingList.aspx
I will only send you email about new book releases, major updates, and the occasional newsletter, usually once a month. I dislike getting spammed too, so I will use this sparingly to keep you in the loop.
I have been dreaming about fictional worlds since I was a kid. I devoured anything related to fantasy and science fiction. I developed a setting over the last twenty years and struggled to find a medium I could express it in. Several years ago I discovered I enjoyed writing. It is a passion of mine now, and exploring my setting with it has been an awesome journey.
I work in the information technology field and have my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in it. It has helped me to shape some of the concepts I write about. I also enjoy keeping up on futurology and science in general.
I live in central Ohio and enjoy walking, reading, gaming, learning, listening to music, and trying to keep up on my never-ending list of TV shows and movies to watch. If you want to contact me, you can do so on my website at
www.AdairHart.com
You can also reach me on:
Facebook
Goodreads
[email protected]
To my grandparents, who continue to inspire me. Their impact on my life is immeasurable, and I am thankful I had the chance to learn from them and grow into who I am now.
This was a great journey for me, but I wouldn’t be here without the help of others. I would like to thank, in no particular order,
My awesome editor, Laura Petrella. Once again, she puts me on the right path, and I know that with her looking over my shoulder, everything will be okay. Her work ethic is impressive as always, and I enjoy our communication. This is my sixth book with her, and I am thrilled she is on this journey with me.
My cover artist, Tom Edwards ([email protected]), for another great cover. His ability to transform my mockups into art is a testament to his skill.
My family and friends who helped encourage me along the way.
My proofreaders, Graham, from Fading Street Publishing, and Alexa for providing a fantastic service. They were prompt, efficient, professional, and very easy to work with.
My formatter and interior designer, Colleen Sheehan (www.wdrbookdesign.com/), for making my interior pop. She has been with me for the whole series, and it is always a joy to work with her.
My beta readers, Montzalee Wittman, Dennis Michaels, and Scott Ellenwood,
for taking the time to help me make this book the best it could be.
You can see all the books in the Evaran Chronicles at
www.AdairHart.com/Books/Books.aspx