by D. N. Leo
“Jenny and Cooper are definitely not in New York with Mother.”
“But my signals locate them there,” Ciaran said.
“You tagged my sister?”
“No, I tagged Cooper. That’s how I find out where my people are and keep them safe.” He turned toward Madeline. “Have you sensed anything, Madeline?”
She shook her head.
“Oh, hey you, what are you doing out here?” Arik asked as Dinah walked into the living room. The shiny surface of the marble floor reflected the light onto her porcelain skin, making her look even more frail.
“I’m not an invalid.”
“No, Dinah Greenwoods is not. But a person with severe head injury, a broken shoulder, a broken arm, a broken leg, and three cracked ribs would be!”
“I heal quicker than humans.”
“Oh, I forgot, you’re not human. But I have more important things to worry about now. Like my human sister, my human mother, and my human father.” Arik gestured in frustration.
Ciaran stepped quickly toward Dinah and took her to the sofa. He took her vitals at her wrist on the way. “You’re recovering much faster than I expected,” Ciaran said and smiled.
“He always thinks Eudaizians with Silver Blood are the best,” Madeline said and grinned. “Welcome back, Dinah.”
“I don’t die that easily.” She jiggled the button on the shoulder of her jacket. “I’m glad the fall didn’t break my wings.”
“If the weapon is broken, I can always make you another. But I can’t fix you if you are broken. It was blind luck this time. Have you been able to figure out why you flew backward into the rock?” Ciaran asked.
“Not yet. And it’s not a priority right now. Have you found Cooper and Jenny?”
Ciaran shook his head and turned toward Arik. “You’ve never mentioned your father before. Why now?”
Arik shrugged. “I don’t know. Mother asked me three times what’s up with Jenny. I had to lie to her to stop her from worrying. Then she asked what’s up with my dad and me.” He started to pace the floor. “I haven’t spoken to him for more than a year. She said he called asking to meet with her and asked her not to tell me. He’s never done that before.”
“Never done what? Call your mother, or ask her not to tell you about the meeting?” Dinah asked.
“He doesn’t use a telephone.”
“He’s anti-technology?” Madeline asked.
Ciaran shook his head. “I don’t think so. Diana told me he managed the electrical production department at a theater before they moved to New York. His job was high-tech. He can’t have been anti-technology and specialize in communication devices in that industry.”
Arik nodded. “Yes, Mother said he used to be technologically savvy. Then something happened, and he freaked out even with low-tech equipment like radios…” Arik trailed off, turned around, and looked at everyone.
“Do you think he had anything to do with this?” Dinah asked.
Ciaran, booting up a small computer, said nothing. Dinah opened her mouth to speak, but Ciaran raised a finger to stop her. “I’ve isolated the network,” he said. “There’s no signal coming out from this one.”
“Dinah, knowing Cooper, do you think he would have given Diana something to bring back to New York, something Ciaran might have a tracking device embedded in? A gift of some sort?” Madeline asked.
Dinah shook her head. “I’m not sure. He’s a very good guy. But he’s not the sentimental type. At least, until Jenny—”
“Excuse me!” Arik exclaimed.
“Hello, I have eyes,” Dinah said. “Native Iilos don’t show much sentiment. But when they meet the right mate, it shows. He was drooling when he met Jenny. I think he’s falling for her.”
“That’s sexual attraction, not sentiment, Dinah,” Arik said.
“Okay, let’s just focus. I just want to know why Ciaran’s tracking devices on Cooper ended up in New York when he and Jenny clearly aren’t there,” Madeline said.
“Oh, I think I know,” Dinah said. “My jacket was torn off when Arik and I got stuck in the tree, and Cooper showed up with Diana’s jacket. He said they heard the sound of fabric being torn via the speaker phone, and Diana thought I might need some cover.”
“That’s right,” Arik said. “Then you didn’t need Mother’s jacket because you were wearing mine. I think Cooper held on to that jacket. He might have left something in it before giving it back to Mother.”
“A pen,” Ciaran said while still working on his computer.
“You tracked his pen?” Arik asked.
“Yes, and that’s what is giving me the signal now.”
“Why don’t you give your mother a call and ask her if she can find Cooper’s pen in her jacket?” Madeline asked.
“If I call her one more time about Cooper and Jenny, she will definitely freak out.” He dialed the phone.
Ciaran looked up from his computer. “I found something on your father. Before moving to New York, he was in an explosion in the Tri-Sun Group headquarters. Tri-Sun is, or was, one of the most notorious high-tech groups. They dissolved after that incident.”
“What do you know about them?” Dinah asked. “Do you want me to run a search, Ciaran?”
“They’re into solar energy, and they might have nothing at all to do with our current situation…” Ciaran said. “I’ve got a signal. It’s from Cooper’s cell.”
Ciaran’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he analyzed the data.
Then he looked up. “The cell I gave him was activated in Xiilok, not by him, but by Jenny. And that’s an alarm signal.” He slammed the computer shut and stood up.
On the phone Arik was using to call his mother, there was a sound of someone answering, and his father’s voice said,
“Arik?”
Then the sound of an explosion echoed out of the speaker, and the line went dead.
22
Malachi stopped the teleport at the transitional zone of the multiverse. It was close to Eudaiz, and it was much safer for him to take Charmine and Jael there. But it would mean crossing the dead zone for Charmine. He had taken her there once without knowing her condition. He would never do that again.
He was king of Eudaiz, and with his power, he could do a lot. But there was nothing he could do about the natural conditions of his universe, like the way Eudaizians gave birth.
He was really weak at the moment because of Asana’s poison. Jael’s light could hold him now, but not for much longer. He could only hope they didn’t have to engage in another fight.
“You could go closer to Eudaiz,” Jael said.
Malachi shook his head. “Charmine couldn’t handle another pass.”
“But you said we could bring you back to Eudaiz if we wore the bracelets.”
“I wasn’t all together when I said that. I meant you could bring me to the border. The bracelets secure your and Charmine’s profiles. You can pass to any dimension whenever you want without your profiles changing. But the bracelets can’t secure your child.”
Charmine stirred in Jael’s arms and opened her eyes. She smiled at him. “Put me down, will you?”
Jael put her down and leaned her gently against a large rock.
“Do you remember what just happened? What you did to the giant hulk and how you shot that girl to the rock?” Malachi asked her.
Jael’s eyes darkened. He said nothing and turned away.
Charmine smiled at him, but Malachi could see the sadness in her eyes. What she did must have been a major decision.
“I didn’t hurt the girl. I don’t know why that happened. To immobilize the giant creature, I summoned the spirit of the traveler’s God—the God of free spirit. And in doing so, I owe him a favor that he might be calling for in the future.”
Malachi shook his head. “So the God immobilized the creature for you because you prayed to him. If you are his subject, then he should do what you pray for without holding you to a debt.”
She smiled. “Y
ou accept the fact that I am a gypsy of the multiverse. You also must accept the idea of a free spirit. We are free to travel, free to stay. We do everything according to our own will, until we go against nature. The giant creature was free to move according to its will until I forced it to stop. As a result, it was killed. I went against nature and the free spirit of my tribe.”
“You did that in defense, to protect us,” Malachi said.
“Yes, but the creature had nothing to do with the God I prayed to. The God didn’t have to immobilize it and get it killed. He acted against the creature’s free will because of me. So the fault was on me. That’s our tribe’s religion.”
“But you left that tribe a long time ago. You don’t belong with them,” Jael growled.
“Jael, don’t be angry. Once a gypsy, always a gypsy. I am proud of my origins.”
“I don’t condemn you for it. But it put you in danger.”
“I’m not worried. I have your protection. I am your subject, and you are a good angel.”
“My protection? See what it got you?” Jael whirled back and forth in frustration.
Malachi looked into Charmine’s deep hazel eyes and could see she was fading quickly. “Jael,” he called out.
“What?” Jael turned around and saw what Malachi was seeing. He rushed over. “Charmine, please don’t go. Please tell me what to do.”
She gripped the grass, and sweat streamed down her forehead. In front of them, her tummy swelled. “I think our child is coming.” Her stomach grew from nothingness to a size that looked as if she would give birth any second.
“Tell me what to do, Charmine,” Jael cried out.
“I’ll go get the medical doctor in Eudaiz,” Malachi said, but he knew it was too late. The travel, the collision, the magic fight, and too many crossings had taken a toll on her. But he couldn’t explain why the baby was coming now.
Charmine dug her fingers into the grass and soil and said nothing. She breathed heavily, looking as if she would fade away shortly.
“Malachi, do something,” Jael said.
“I can’t scientifically explain this. You’re an angel, and you don’t know what to do. How do you expect me to fix this? We’d better hope for a miracle!”
From behind them, they heard footsteps and chanting, the clattering and clanking of metal and bells in the wind.
From the fog emerged spears, horned heads, hooded heads, and then groups of humanlike creatures in long cloaks. Malachi drew his sword. Jael glowed and tightened his fists, a sign that he was ready to strike with his light.
“No, that’s my tribe,” Charmine said weakly, her eyes closed.
She knew they would come for her, Malachi thought. As far as he was concerned, this was the miracle they were looking for, their only way out of this situation.
An old man with long white hair, wearing a brown and gold cloak, approached. “I am the shaman. I delivered Charmine into our world. Now I can help her child.”
“Our child has been cursed,” Charmine said.
The shaman inched forward. Jael stopped him. “Don’t you dare touch her!”
“She’s in pain, and they can help,” Malachi said.
“How do you know?”
“I don’t know for sure. But we have no other options. If she doesn’t get help, she’ll die.”
“Let him help me, please, Jael. I don’t care if I die. But I want our child to be born before I do,” Charmine cried out.
Jael whirled around. “You’re not going to die!”
“Then let her get help. There’s nothing you can do now.” Malachi pulled Jael aside. He knew Jael could toss him like a rag doll with his power, and in his deteriorating condition, he would likely crack his skull and die. But he could see that Jael wasn’t thinking straight at the moment, so he continued to move him away from the shaman.
Jael calmed down quickly. He turned and spoke to the shaman. “I apologize. Please help my wife.”
The shaman nodded and approached Charmine.
Jael followed.
The shaman stopped. “This is a sacred ritual. You cannot watch.”
“But I am the father of the child.”
The shaman stood still and wouldn’t move.
Malachi pulled at Jael’s elbow. “Come on, let’s just go around to the other side of the rock.”
Jael reluctantly followed Malachi. It was only a short while they waited, but it seemed like centuries. Eventually, a child’s cry brightened Jael’s face. He rushed around the rock, over to where Charmine had been.
But there was no sign of his wife or the tribe, only the emptiness of the air.
The child’s cry still echoed in the air, hovering, and then it faded out.
Jael whirled around. Malachi was speechless.
“Charmine!” Jael roared. But all he heard now was the echo of his own voice.
23
Jenny tiptoed over to a tiny window and peeked outside, but she couldn’t see much. She wasn’t short, but the window was tailored for a ten-foot-tall man—if you could call someone that size that a man. She didn’t understand the language the old man had used to talk with Cooper, but she was sure Cooper was trying to make a deal for her safety before he passed out.
The creature in the shape of an old man had left the room. He hadn’t bothered tying them up. He hadn’t even secured the door, confident that an unconscious Cooper would be a living shackle.
He might be right.
She looked at Cooper closely. He was beautiful. Striking blue eyes, a masculine face, and a killer smile. She didn’t know his hometown or his life in a universe she had never visited. But judging by the way he maintained his friendship with Dinah, he was a trustworthy person—or creature.
She smiled to herself and wondered if Iilos citizens referred to themselves as people or entities. They certainly wouldn’t call themselves alien in their own universe.
Cooper stirred and groggily opened his eyes.
“Hey!” She brushed the stray hair from his forehead. “You’re alive!”
He smiled, too tired to say anything. She didn’t know what kind of powder the old man had used on Cooper, but it had had no effect on her at all, except for the lingering bad odor.
“Before you dump tons of your theory on me about what happened, just know that whatever deal you made with that old man—and I’m not sure if he’s really a man—he left us alone, literally.”
Cooper glanced around. She helped him sit up. She twisted her arm around, trying to find a comfortable position. Cooper jiggled the restraint band that tied their hands together and flipped out a small tag. He was about to enter a code.
“Wait, the man left us without securing us. He’s obviously relying on the fact that you can’t free yourself. Maybe he didn’t expect you’d wake. Or maybe he put something in this band so that it’ll explode if you open it.”
Cooper laughed, but it turned into a fit of wheezing and coughing due to his weakness. She patted his back gently. “Take it easy. Do you know what he did to you?”
He shook his head. She looked into his eyes, and she knew he was lying.
“We need to get out of here. He probably thinks I won’t wake soon, and that’s why he didn’t lock the place up.”
“All right.” She helped him up. He entered the code and yanked the band open to free their hands.
“When I say run, you have to run really fast, all right?” he said.
“Okay.”
“I’m serious.”
“Yes, Cooper. Let’s get out of here.”
Before they left the house, Cooper slid a small device under the seat of a stone bench.
“I switched your cell on and sent distress signals already,” said Jenny.
“You did what?”
“I sent Ciaran an alarm signal from your cell. I saw him give you that phone. I figured the signal would go to him.”
Seeing an expression of awe on his face, Jenny explained, “I have an IT degree from MIT, a university where I got
quite a sophisticated education. I’m not sure if there’s a network here, but I think their technology most likely has some kind of internal mechanism that doesn’t rely on a network.”
Cooper nodded. “All right, so we’ve established that technology isn’t a problem for you. But one thing you have to remember—in Xiilok, you don’t shoot a gun.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated. Just know that you won’t ever hit the target. But this will.” He pulled out a folded knife from a small pocket in his pants.
“A bottle opener?”
“No, it’s a knife, soaked in Dinah’s special treatment. She made this for me in case of emergency. She said it’s lethal. I’m quite sure it destroys more than bottles.” He gave the knife to Jenny.
“I don’t need a weapon.”
He nodded and slid the knife back into his pocket. “Let’s go then.”
The world outside the house was unnerving. Jenny had seen many horror movies, including many her college boyfriends couldn’t handle, but in front of her now was reality. It was a scene that made those horror movies seem no more than children’s cartoons.
Black soil covered the rolling hills. Its uneven surface was covered in shards of strange rocks, craters in the ground, and bare trees that appeared out of nowhere and shifted position as they pleased.
Cooper said, “This is Xiilok. This place is full of dimensional traps. The most important thing to remember is that you’ll see what your mind wants to see. What you see doesn’t reflect reality. There is no reality in Xiilok. You have to be really careful where you step. We don’t want to drop into an oblivion trap.”
He turned on his cell phone, and a glowing blue screen appeared.
“There’s a cell phone network here?” Jenny asked in astonishment.
“No, this is Eudaizian technology, not just a cell phone. Without this navigator, we have no chance of getting out of here alive. That’s why I didn’t want you to go when I was out.” He showed her the screen. “This is the true map of the landscape. It scans the surface we’re walking on and gives possible directions to where we want to go. Remember, we can’t rely on our visual sense here because everything is illusional.” He thrust the phone into Jenny’s hand.