Dark Solar Complete Trilogy: Oleander - Wolfsbane - Maikoa

by D. N. Leo

  “Yes,” Malachi said weakly. “But to take me back to Eudaiz, you both have to wear the bracelets.”

  17

  Dinah coughed out the wet grass, leaves, and dirt she had unintentionally swallowed when she landed roughly on the ground.

  “Damn it! A soft landing would’ve been nice, Arik.”

  She propped herself up on her elbows then scrambled to her feet. She didn’t recognize her surroundings and didn’t know where they were, but she was sure it wasn’t the creek down the hill at Henley-on-Thames, where they’d departed.

  She seemed to be standing on soft grass. Judging by the slope of the ground, they might have landed on a hillside. The fog surrounding them was so thick she could barely see Ciaran and Madeline, who were sitting up about ten feet away. They looked around, getting their bearings. They looked to be alive, for now, so she turned to look for Arik.

  Arik pulled himself up from the ground and glanced around groggily. Dinah knew he lost memories and was always disoriented after time traveling, but she had never before seen him in such poor condition. His eyes were bloodshot, and blood trickled from his nose and over his lips.

  She rushed over, brushing a stray hair from his forehead. “You okay? Tell me you’re fine, Arik.”

  He nodded.

  She wiped the blood off his face and helped him stand. He swayed, towering over her. “All right, easy, easy. Why don’t you just lie down for a bit?” She eased him back down to the ground.

  “I’m fine. It was just a hard bump.” He tried to sit up, but she gently pushed him down again.

  Ciaran stood up and rushed toward his wife. “Are you okay, Madeline?” he asked. “I thought we fell into the water at the creek. Why aren’t we wet?”

  Dinah smiled down at Arik. “It looks like our Ciaran is missing a chapter!”

  “It’s about damn time he missed something,” Arik muttered.

  Dinah grinned. “I don’t know where or when we are now, but if you remember what happened just before this, you’re one up on Ciaran,” she said.

  “I have no desire to even the score with him.”

  “All right, but do you remember?”

  “Yes.”

  “Really? What do you remember?”

  “Okay, it was 1864, Abraham Lincoln’s time. John Wilkes Booth was about to shoot Ciaran, thinking he was Robert Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s eldest son. Madeline was thought to be Lucy Hale, maybe the love interest of both John and Robert. But our Madeline’s mind wasn’t affected the way Ciaran’s was, so she was well aware of the situation. Her ingenious solution was to jump into the crossfire to cop the bullet. That forced me to initiate my time travel to save the day. I jumped in, grabbing them both before the bullet hit Madeline. How do I score on this history test?”

  She grinned. “You are now able to activate your time travel—and remember what happened afterward. You seem to be in total control of your mind now. Pertaining to the time traveling, I mean. So what we did before has at least some benefit.”

  “Benefit? You know what, Dinah? Things might be different in your universe, but in this world, when you combine sexual activity with benefit, it’s called prostitution. You’re making me feel like a male whore.”

  He sat up and stared straight into her eyes. His soft green eyes grew intense and made her stomach quiver. Then he got to his feet and walked toward Madeline and Ciaran.

  She frowned. What did he just say? A male whore? But before she could ponder any further, her wrist unit emitted a happy ping. “Great, my technology is back. Thank the multiversal god of technology!” she muttered, wondering if there was such a god. She turned around to talk to Ciaran, but before she could say a word, the hill shook with the impact of what felt like an explosion, throwing everyone to the ground.

  Dinah planted her face in the grass again, lying still for a moment before jumping back up to her feet.

  “That’s them! They’re the ones who bumped us down here!” Arik shouted and pointed to the other hill.

  Near the top of the hill, a dome of light shone, illuminating a group of three people who were struggling to regain their footing after landing. The heat from the light cleared the fog between the hills.

  From her side of the valley, Dinah could see the couple were as beautiful as angels. A halo surrounded the male. He looked magnificent, Dinah thought. The woman seemed injured, and she leaned on the man to stand upright. The other man didn’t look like an angel, but he had a formidable presence. He looked injured as well and could barely stand by himself.

  The light covering the three shimmered and then vanished.

  “How did we get here, Arik?” Ciaran’s question pulled Dinah’s thoughts back to their current situation.

  Arik said, “From the creek down the hill outside Mon Ciel, we time traveled to the US in 1864. You seem to have lost track of that period of time, Ciaran. You played a part—”

  “What part?”

  Madeline cut in. “That’s not important now.”

  “She’s right,” Arik agreed. “To answer your question, whatever we did back then gave me the ability to trigger my time traveling. I intended to take us back to 2017, at Henley-on-Thames. Because it was the first time I’d done it, I expected it to be bumpy. It was like driving a spaceship of light. It went well until their ball of light appeared out of nowhere and knocked us down here. I don’t know where—or when—we are.”

  “They should get a multiversal driver’s license,” Dinah said.

  “That is, if they were driving,” Ciaran said and turned to look again at the trio on the other hill.

  The people across the valley looked back, observing.

  “Maybe they think we need a driver’s license, too. I can’t read their minds yet, but I can tell they’re not Xiilok creatures. And they’re not human, either,” Madeline said.

  “I think they’re friendly,” Ciaran said.

  “I agree,” Dinah said.

  “I’m not sure,” Arik muttered.

  A foggy valley rested between the two hills. The fog was so thick it was impossible to judge how deep the valley was.

  Ciaran inched toward the edge of the cliff and peered down. He shook his head, seeing nothing, then turned around. “You can’t tell where we are or in what time period, Arik?”

  Arik shook his head.

  Dinah pointed to her wrist unit. “I can search.”

  Ciaran said, “Don’t, Dinah. My unit works, too. But technology is traceable. Until we know exactly where we are, I don’t like the possibility of us being tracked. When Arik time-travels smoothly, it’s only the time dimension we have to deal with. But this time, we were in a collision during travel, and I don’t know how far we were pushed out of our original path—or how many dimensions we’ve crossed.”

  “No, no, don’t use that unit!” Dinah shouted as she saw the formidable man on the other hill about to adjust his wrist unit. Her cries stopped him from proceeding, but he didn’t seem to hear what she was saying.

  “It’s too far away for them to hear us,” Arik said.

  “That wrist unit is Eudaizian technology. I’m sure of it,” Ciaran said.

  “The woman over there is thinking ‘The dark energy of the demon is coming back, and Sciphil Three won’t last long,’” Madeline said after she peeked randomly into the trio’s minds.

  “Sciphil Three? Isn’t that you?” Dinah asked Ciaran.

  “Yes, I am the current king Sciphil. That means the man over there is either Sciphil Three in the past or the future,” Ciaran said.

  “I can only travel to the past, so he has to be one your ancestors,” Arik said.

  “Yes, but with the collision on the way here, we have no idea where we are now,” Ciaran said. “Whoever he is, he looks injured. Can you channel to him, Madeline?”

  “I’ve tried. If he’s a Sciphil, it should work, but it didn’t.”

  “If you think they’re friendly, I can fly over there to have a conversation with them,” Dinah said.

>   “No!” everyone objected at the same time.

  Dinah shrugged.

  Then they saw a flash in the sky, and another ball of light exploded in mid-air, its remnants tumbling down into the valley. From the wreckage on the fog-covered ground, an old man with long gray hair stepped out. His body expanded, and he grew into a giant humanlike creature nearly fifty feet tall. He turned to look at the trio.

  “It looks like he’s going to eat those three for brunch!” Arik said.

  “Any new information, Madeline?” Ciaran asked.

  “The angelic man calls this creature Roallix. He thinks he’s not going to be able to protect his wife and Sciphil Three. He’s going to make a sacrifice,” Madeline said.

  “How?” Dinah asked. “Can we help them?”

  “All seven of us wouldn’t even make a good snack for this hulk. And we don’t have a gun. Do you have a strategy, Dinah?” Arik asked.

  “Not yet.” For the first time, Dinah missed her business partner, Cooper. He would be perfect in this situation. For now, though, Ciaran was their best bet.

  Roallix turned toward the trio. He stood as tall as the hill now. For some strange reason, Dinah could sense the action the angelic man from the other hill was going to take. And he did just as she predicted.

  He spread his magnificent wings and flew straight at Roallix. Dinah followed suit, spreading her artificial wings and flying at the giant from behind. She pumped her most lethal needles into the back of his head. The behemoth turned around to look at Dinah, simultaneously taking a lightning strike to the head from the angelic man.

  Dinah and the man retreated to their respective hillsides.

  Roallix looked back and forth between the two hills. He roared but didn’t look injured. He certainly wasn’t dying from Dinah’s needles.

  “I think you’ve merely tickled him with your needles!” Arik said.

  Roallix roared again and hunched down, preparing himself to attack.

  Ciaran punched a button on his wrist unit, and a dome of translucent white light covered them just before Roallix slammed his shoulder into the hill.

  “This is a taste of Eudaizian technology,” Ciaran said.

  There was a clanking sound, and then Roallix bounced back to the middle of the valley. Not being able to attack this hillside, he turned toward the other.

  From that side, Sciphil Three punched a similar button on his wrist unit. A white dome of light covered the trio.

  Angry, Roallix slammed a fist onto the white dome. It caved in a bit.

  “He’s definitely from the past,” Ciaran said. “Their protective shield isn’t as strong as what we have now.”

  Seeing the effect he had on the dome, Roallix hit it again and again, the din increasing with every punch. In no time, he would tear a hole right through it.

  18

  Arik squinted at the three on the other hill. It was quite a distance, but he could feel the energy coming out of their light dome. Roallix continued to strike the dome, and sooner or later, it would cave in. It would be the end of the trio. He didn’t know them, and it was really none of his business if they were killed. Ciaran was protecting the four of them on this hill with his shield. All Arik had to do was to initiate time travel again to bring his group back to Henley-on-Thames, 2017.

  Ciaran looked up from his wrist unit. He hadn’t previously wanted to use technology, but they had already been exposed, and sooner or later, their adversaries would come regardless.

  “Our current setting is 1864, Scotland,” Ciaran said.

  “Well, this is closer to Henley-on-Thames than the US,” Arik muttered.

  “I can’t yet connect with the unit of the Sciphil Three over there.” Ciaran shook his head as he tried to adjust the command on his wrist unit.

  “I’ve got a signal, Ciaran,” Madeline said after a long time attempting to psychically connect. “The man over there is Sciphil Three—Malachi LeBlanc.”

  The hulk Roallix continued his attack on the other dome.

  They saw Malachi LeBlanc pull out a Eudaizian gun.

  “He can’t shoot from inside the dome, so he’s going to come out. That’s suicidal,” Ciaran said and approached the wall of their own dome.

  “You can’t go out there without a plan, Ciaran,” Arik said.

  “Well, do you have one, Arik?”

  “No, but I’m working on it.” Arik paced back and forth. He stared at the angelic man on the other side. What a magnificent creature, he thought.

  Then he felt a prick on the back of his neck, and a voice said, “My name is Jael. I am the angel of light. What’s your name?”

  In his mind, Arik replied, “Arik.”

  “I can tell you’re not an angel, so why do you have the light?”

  “I don’t know. But can I use it to help?”

  “Try it. Will the light in your mind to hit Roallix.”

  “I don’t know how to do that.”

  “Concentrate. I can see the light in you. Follow my guidance, and you can use it as a weapon.”

  Arik followed the instructions Jael channeled into his mind. He gathered the energy of the light Jael said he had inside him, shaped it, and fired.

  It didn’t move a hair on Roallix’s head. Instead, Roallix punched the light dome even harder. It couldn’t withstand many more strikes.

  “The woman is Charmine,” Madeline said after she finished another round of mind spying. “She thinks Roallix wants her, and she wants to come out.”

  “Surely Malachi and her man won’t let her go outside the dome,” Dinah said.

  They heard a loud bang, and a crack appeared in the dome.

  Malachi pulled his king Sciphil sword out.

  “I’ll need that sword,” Ciaran said.

  “What are you saying, Ciaran?” Madeline asked.

  “That’s the king Sciphil sword. It will belong to me in the future. That means I can control it. If I have my sword, I can kill that hulk. My mind blades would kill him, but they’ll be too large. I might hit the other dome. But if I get the sword, I can focus my energy into it.”

  Madeline closed her eyes.

  Arik knew she was channeling to Sciphil Three. He took the opportunity to re-connect with Jael. Jael looked over and nodded.

  “Ciaran, if I get you to the middle of the valley, and you can get the sword, are you sure you can kill the hulk, or will you just become its next meal?” Arik asked.

  “If you can get me the sword, I’ll take care of the rest,” Ciaran said.

  Arik nodded at Jael. The angel turned to say something to Malachi. Jael nodded to Arik and channeled a plan into his mind.

  The large crack made its way from the top of the dome downward. One more strike, and it would all be over.

  “Are you ready, Ciaran?” Arik asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Open our dome,” Arik said.

  Ciaran opened the dome immediately. From the other hillside, Sciphil Three from the past opened theirs.

  Roallix stopped in confusion. Before he could react, Jael opened his palms. His eyes went blank, and from his palms, a light bridge appeared, arching over the valley.

  Arik opened his palms exactly the same way Jael did. He had received Jael’s instructions to summon the light force, but now he could feel Jael holding his hands, guiding him to draw and control the energy. He did exactly as Jael did.

  The two light beams from Jael connected immediately to Arik’s hands, drawing the light out from Arik. Together, they formed a bridge of sparkling light from one hilltop to the other.

  Asking no questions, Ciaran charged to the bridge. “Give me the sword!” he shouted as he ran over it.

  From the other side, Sciphil Three darted toward the bridge and jumped onto it.

  The light bridge was incredible, but Arik could not be sure it was solid or strong enough for the two kings of Eudaiz, one from the past and one from the future, to run on. Did they trust him and the angel on the other hillside, or was it just an innate abi
lity leaders had to know when they must rely on the resources of others to accomplish a mission?

  Madeline channeled to Charmine, “The hulk is going to break the light bridge.”

  Charmine turned her head in Madeline’s direction and nodded to acknowledge she had received the signal. She sat down on the grass and closed her eyes. She began to chant.

  Roallix had turned toward the bridge and was about to hurl his body at it.

  Ciaran and Sciphil Three still ran toward the middle of the bridge.

  Then the giant just stopped, frozen as if it couldn’t move. It roared in anger.

  Jael glanced quickly at Charmine and then returned to holding the light bridge still.

  From her side, Madeline could see Charmine’s eyes go blank. She said to Dinah, “She’s chanting some sort of song from the traveler’s spirit. It’s holding the hulk immobile. It’s not a curse. She seems to be using her old energy. I don’t think she’s going to last long. Could you fly out there just in case the two men on the bridge fall?”

  “Sure.” Dinah spread her wings and flew into the air.

  Ciaran and Malachi met at the halfway point on the light bridge. Malachi thrust his sword to Ciaran.

  Unable to move, Roallix roared in anger, exhaling a stream of fire toward the bridge. Malachi fell over the edge. Dinah swooped under the bridge to catch him.

  Ciaran grabbed the sword. He concentrated and gathered his mind blade energy. By itself, his mind blade could dig up the entire hill. But that wasn’t what he wanted. He needed to focus and send all his power into the sword.

  He glanced quickly toward the other hill. He didn’t know what Charmine was doing, but he understood she was somehow holding the hulk still for him.

  He knew he had only one shot.

  In a single swift move, he swung the sword, injected with his energy. The force coming off the sword was a mighty blade glowing with energy and fire.

  Roallix’s head was chopped off. His body crumbled and disintegrated, exploding into nothingness.

  The force of the strike threw Ciaran backward. He fell off the bridge. Dinah was waiting beneath it, and she grabbed him with her free hand. Then she flapped her wings and flew toward the far hill.