by Casey Wyatt
“Why for now?” A shudder jerked my shoulders.
“Well, we have to study it, don’t we?”
Ian pointed at Jay. “No one, and I mean no one, goes near the dome.” He touched his temple. “I can feel that thing trying to get into my head.”
Harmony looked pained. “Yes. We best move away.”
“I don’t feel anything,” Jay said.
“Neither do I,” added Louis.
“That’s because you’re both young fools. Let’s get everyone out of here. Now move!” Ian didn’t waste another moment. He moved among the lingering colonists, barking commands. In short order, they piled into their vehicles and sped toward home.
We weren’t far behind them. Only when we neared the caverns did my husband breathe a sigh of relief.
Not me. I’d seen the orb, dead and inert. I knew whatever had been unleashed was somehow my fault.
We arrived, the last speeder in the bay. Ian flagged the nearest worker and ordered the doors sealed. We couldn’t close the entrance to the outside, but we could seal the bay from the interior.
“Come on, luv,” he said, handing me Vala. “We need to warn everyone.”
Words escaped me. Rather, they were strangled by my guilt. “Ian, there’s something—”
“Hold that thought,” he said, rushing forward to meet Philip.
I cuddled Vala. “Everything’s okay, baby.”
Ian was by my side again. “I want you to go with Philip. We need to get you both away from here.”
“Why?” I gripped my baby, holding her closer. “What is going on?”
A revenant coalesced, but hung back well away from us. Dark lines covered his skin. He said one word before collapsing to the floor.
“Plague.”
Chapter Six
Time Trippin’
If you’ve lived enough lifetimes, there are words that instantly cause bone-deep fear. Plague ranks up there with the worst of them. I’d lived to see the effects of the Great Influenza and the ongoing AIDs epidemic. Millions and millions of people died.
I can only imagine what Ian had witnessed. He didn’t waste a moment moving us away from the fallen revenant. As coldhearted as that sounded, I couldn’t blame him.
We made it to Kyrene’s lake. We’d chosen her cavern because it was remote and hardly anyone visited.
Kyrene was nowhere to be seen. Again.
“What’s happening?” I asked even though I had a good idea already thanks to the vision. I turned to Philip. “How many of my Family are affected?”
“The revenants are dropping the fastest.” Philip handed me a vid-screen tablet. It was tuned to one of the smaller chambers off the Great Hall.
The room was packed. Colonists lay on the floor, some covered in blankets, others curled in balls. I recognized members of my Family among them. Nina rushed from person to person. Harmony, Jay, and Joan were similarly buzzing around. The view screen focused on a revenant, Henry. He worked at the spaceport. Dark ominous lines were etched into his skin, giving him the appearance of crinkled parchment.
The same cracks I’d seen in my vision.
“I don’t understand how this could move so fast.” I shook my head. It didn’t make any sense.
“Good thing you weren’t there,” Ian said to Philip, one of Ian’s Rogues. “That should buy us some time.”
“Maybe they won’t be affected.” I knew the Rogues would remain vigilant for as long as they could. For once I was grateful. If worse came to worst, at least there would be someone to care for Vala.
Ian handed Vala to Philip. “Let me see your skin. And you check mine.”
I didn’t hesitate to drop my clothes and neither did Ian. Once we were satisfied that neither of us had been infected, we dressed.
“Could it be the cuffs?” I ventured, taking Vala back into my arms. They were protective of us, preventing physical attacks so why not internal ones as well?
“I don’t know.” Ian’s mouth hardened into a grim line. I could sense what was coming next.
“Don’t say it. I’m not leaving my Family.” As much as it pained me, I handed Vala back to Philip. “Take her to the greenhouse. If you can, escape to Kasia’s ship. Go!”
To his credit, Philip didn’t look at Ian. He looked me in the eye. “I will protect her with my life.”
Then he was gone.
Ian turned to me, anger in his eyes. “You’re going with him.”
“No. I can’t run. That’s not what a Sire does. We die if needed. Now let’s not waste time arguing. What do we know?”
Ian changed the view on the tablet’s screen to Harmony’s dome. “The entity appears to be trapped.”
If it was still there, what was happening to the colonists? “I doubt this is a coincidence. That thing is unleashed and suddenly people are sick.”
“I agree with your assessment.” Herne appeared behind my left shoulder. Before I could respond, Ian reacted.
“What have you done?” Ian tackled Herne to the rough ground, landing them with a sharp crack.
Herne winced in pain, surprise clear on his face. I don’t know why he’d been dumb enough to appear with Ian nearby. It was like the guy wanted to be punished.
“I’d start talking.” I glared at him. “If these people die because of you—”
“You’ll do what?” He barked out a harsh laugh as Ian squeezed him tighter. “My life is already over.”
Ian growled. “If you want to continue to exist, start talking sense.”
Herne licked his lips. Pain contorted his face. “I . . . I . . . you. . . you. . . Cure!”
I placed my hand on Ian’s biceps. “Maybe don’t squeeze him so hard.”
“I’m not,” Ian said through gritted teeth. “Believe me. I want to.”
“Ch-ch-ch . . . Cherry!” Herne blurted. “Si . . . ssssss.”
Again, with the stuttering. I remained silent hoping he’d get a grip. Instead, he closed his eyes and slammed his head back against the rocks with a sickening thud. Ian didn’t let him go.
After a moment, Herne’s lips moved while the rest of him remained slack. “The song must be sung. The lost must be found.”
Herne faded away, leaving Ian holding air. Ian said, “What the fuck was he talking about? A song? The lost?”
“A puppet for someone else’s voice,” Kyrene said, rising from the lake’s waters.
I turned to face her. “Where have you been?”
“My former whereabouts is not important,” she said.
While I begged to differ, we had a much larger problem to address. “Do you know what is happening to everyone?”
“Perhaps.” Kyrene lifted her arms. Vid-screens rose from the water. Louis, Jay, and Nina appeared on each panel, individually. “There. Now we can speak together.”
Kyrene gave the others a rundown of what had transpired with Herne and Ian, right down to the “what the fuck” moment. Under normal circumstances it would have been amusing.
“I heard mention of a lost ship,” Jay said.
“The Lost Ship.” Louis rubbed his chin. “There are legends among my kind about the three ships.”
“Yes. I’ve heard the story,” I said.
“But not like this.” Louis looked to Ian, waiting for his approval.
“I’m standing right here, gentleman.” I crossed my arms, stopping short of tapping my foot. Nothing irked me more than when they started exchanging secret bro-code glances especially over vid-screens.
Louis at least looked somewhat embarrassed. “Long ago a meteor fell from the sky. The sky stone carried a goddess who brought everlasting life to those she deemed worthy. The All-Mother started the first undead pod, bestowing her immortal kiss. Those who survived became her Firsts. Or Founders, going on to spread the undead races. She spoke of two other ships, lost to time or space. The versions vary on this point.”
“The vampires have a similar story. Only it was a god.” Ian added, “And there was only the one ship.”
Ian harrumphed. “Your ignorance is showing, luv. Many of the Celtic tribes were matriarchal.”
“Until the Romans came along and wiped them all out.” Ian may have been there, but he didn’t get to claim to be a champion of female power as long as Louis looked to him first for permission to speak to me.
“The zombies are matriarchal,” Louis said. I’m sure he thought he was helping.
“While the history lesson is fascinating, what does it have to do with our present situation?” I crossed my arms.
“We don’t know the cause yet,” Louis said. “We do know everyone affected has become lethargic. The cracks don’t appear to be caused by any known disease or virus. So far, no one has succumbed.”
And by “succumbed,” he meant the true death. The permanent kind.
I hadn’t told anyone about my vision. I couldn’t. It was like tempting the unthinkable to happen.
Kyrene moved over the lake, hovering an inch above the water. “It is the Great Calamity. Again.”
Well, that didn’t sound good.
“Explain,” Ian said.
“Long ago, your forebears, in a desperate attempt to stave off climate change, tried to alter the environment. When the effort failed, they looked toward themselves.”
Jay spoke first. “They altered their genetic code.”
“Yes.”
“And, I take it, it didn’t work out as planned?” I locked eyes with Ian. He’d been frowning at me since we’d entered the room. I hadn’t asked what his problem was even though I had an idea.
Guilt surfaced. I washed it away by concentrating on Kyrene’s and Jay’s discussion about genetics.
“This seems to work like a virus. Invading the system and spreading,” Nina piped in.
Sometimes I forgot she had a medical background. She’d served as a battlefield nurse. And since coming to Mars, she’d spent time on her own studying medicine. The fact that she’d done so on behalf of my baby, in case she came out human and not undead, was touching.
“The Eliade’s solution was incomplete. Rumors surfaced that a scientist had found a cure and was en route to the planet when the ship disappeared,” Kyrene said.
“Yes. The genetic code of the Ancients is rewriting the afflicted’s own cells.” Kyrene frowned. “I had hoped to never see this happen again. I have grown fond of the company.”
“Is there a cure?” Ian asked.
Kyrene’s image flickered then reformed. “No.”
Shocked silence held us hostage for a long moment.
Finally, Jay spoke. “What will happen to them?”
“It is best to make them comfortable.”
And, on that cheerful note, we ended the meeting. After Kyrene vanished to wherever avatars go in their spare time, Ian pulled me aside. Once we were alone, he faced me. The cranky expression wasn’t a good sign.
“Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“I’m not a child, Ian. Please do not talk to me like one.” Yea, my peevish response didn’t say, guilty conscience.
“Apologies, luv. I can feel your turmoil. What ails you? Did we not take vows to rely on one another?”
Fiddlesticks. I could trust Ian. I’d always known that. It was time to be honest. “I feel like somehow this is all my fault. If I had done what Herne wanted, maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Oh. And I thought this might not have happened if you’d left that damn orb in the sand,” he said.
“That’s not fair! I didn’t bring it to the dome. And I sure as hell didn’t unleash whatever was inside it.”
“Ah, so you do admit to taking it.” His disappointment came through loud and clear.
“I had to. For Vala’s sake! Being ignorant is never a good plan. Trust me. I’m an expert. How long have you known?”
“Since the day you took it.”
I paced the damp shore. My footsteps like wet slaps directed at me. “I don’t appreciate being made the bad guy here.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t sneak around and then lie about it.” Ian turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” I didn’t want him to go away angry.
“I have a colony to attend to. In the meantime, Vala misses her mother.” The icy tone served as a warning not to pursue him.
My own guilt froze me in place. He’d all but said, “Stand in the corner and think about what you’ve done.”
I resented it, but I couldn’t disagree. Ian had stopped short of blaming me for the plague, but I didn’t have that comfort.
This was my fault, and I needed to find a way to solve it before the entire colony turned to dust.
I LOCATED VALA AND Philip inside the greenhouse. They looked adorable together, in a gentle giant kind of way. There was something about a large man holding a tiny baby that was endearing. Too bad circumstances prevented me from enjoying the moment.
“Ah, there is your mama,” Philip crooned. Seeing his normally stern face crack a smile was nice.
Ugh. He must have known my shame too.
“So, Ian told you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a totally neutral face. Typical. I’d be more successful coaxing an admission from a rock.
I held out my arms and accepted Vala from Philip. “How’s my girl?”
“She’s curious like her mother.”
“You can tell already?”
“Indeed.” He relaxed into an at-ease pose.
“Let me guess, you’re to stick by my side.”
“Yes.” Philip was a vampire of few words.
One of Vala’s tiny arms punched free from the blanket. Her face scrunched, crimson washing her cheeks. “Looks like I arrived in the nick of time.”
I made my way to the cozy office tucked in the greenhouse’s corner. As I put my beautiful baby to my breast, the enormity of the situation settled, confining me like a ton of bricks. Tears spilled from the corners of my eyes. Before long, a full-blown crying jag was on.
“What are you crying for?” Philip asked with the roughness of a coach telling his team to do another round of pushups.
I told him what we’d learned so far. About the genetic plague. My stupidity. Everything. “If I had only left the orb alone, then—”
“Bullshit.” His iron stare locked my teeth together, daring me to say another word. “That’s some ego you have, princess. Do you honestly think that you alone have the power to fuck up this whole planet? Whatever is happening now was set in motion a million years ago. Feeling sorry for yourself is another way of quitting. The Cherry I know, she would fight to the ends of the universe to save her Family. From where I’m standing, I’d say you need to get busy.”
His challenge hung between us, a call to action I couldn’t ignore.
I swallowed hard, then smiled. “Wow. I didn’t know you cared.”
“Ah, there she is.” He folded his arms, tucking his palms under his armpits. “Yeah. Well, don’t let it get out. You’ll ruin my reputation as a badass.”
“We wouldn’t want that.” Vala detached, leaving my poor nipple feeling sore. I traced her rosebud mouth with the tip of my finger. Heavens, she was precious. I would kill for her safety.
I would die to protect her.
Philip was right. Time to pull myself together.
The only problem, I had no idea how to save the colony.
Unsure of where to go, I bundled Vala into a hovercraft and drove around. She dozed contentedly in my arms, oblivious to my turmoil. With everyone in the makeshift sick bay and the nasty purple cloud lurking in Harmony’s dome, it didn’t seem like there was any place safe to go with a newborn.
Philip hadn’t tried to stop me. Because arguing with me would be futile, and because we both knew he would shadow us from a distance. Which was fine with me.
The vast Martian plane stretched out befo
re us. Rocks and more rocks. Dust and more dust. We sped along for I don’t know how long.
I may have even dozed a bit because before I knew it, Olympus Mons rose before me, dominating the sky.
Supposedly the biggest volcano in the solar system, it stretched so high I was surprised it didn’t jut into space. Jay had once told me the caldera was wide enough to fit the Hawaiian Islands.
Needless to say, it was freaking humongous. And the last place I should be. I was too far from home. And Philip hadn’t intercepted me. I stopped the vehicle and opened the protective dome.
“Philip!” I called a few times. No response. Unease twisted my gut.
“He can’t help you out here,” Jonathan said from the passenger seat.
I shrieked and lashed out. “Stop doing that!”
Vala snuffled and opened her eyes with rebuke. Like I was the bad guy in the situation. I ignored Jonathan’s ghost or whatever it was and reassured my baby.
When the cold shoulder didn’t work, I glared at him. “Why are you here?”
“There’s something you need to see.”
“Nope. I am not that dumb.”
“Don’t you want to help save our Family?” Jonathan’s specter looked truly baffled. Like that was the hardest thing to believe in this scenario.
“Have you forgotten? You are dead. Go away.” I pressed the control panel to initiate startup. The hovercraft whirred to life, then abruptly died. “Great! Did you do this?”
“No. I think you ran the battery out.” Jonathan crossed his arms, a frown darkening his face. Right. Like I was the one inconveniencing him.
“It doesn’t run on conventional batteries.” I stopped since I didn’t remember how it worked. I’m sure I’d been told but had filed the information away under “Don’t Care.” My bad.
“I’m still waiting for you to tell me what you want,” I said.
“Uh, Cherry.” Jonathan turned his seat to face the rear of the craft.
I tapped the controls again. “Come on, stupid thing.”
“Cherry!” He sounded a bit panicked.
Vala squealed and thrashed her blanket. I turned. “Holy fuck!”
The purple cloud rode low on the horizon, swirling and roiling with purpose.