Queen's Journey (Lilith's Shadow Book 5)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Your mind. Each time I think that we’re reaching the end of things, I find a new layer of changes that I didn’t expect,” Madison replied, but there was an odd note to her voice, one which Rachel fastened onto.

  “I heard a but there. Not one you said aloud, but I heard it loud and clear,” Rachel said, wondering what could be making Madison concerned.

  Madison sniffed, then surprised Rachel by retracting her magic. That was a shock, and Rachel paused, wondering if she should ask why she was stopping early.

  “If I’m going to explain this, you’re just going to have to wait until Gina’s here,” Madison informed Rachel, just as she was opening her mouth. “I’ll be right back.”

  Rachel’s mouth shut, and she frowned, pulling the lever to raise the back of the chair and lower the footrest as she squirmed, turning just in time to see Madison leaving the room, and Rachel pondered for a couple of seconds, then murmured. “What is that all about?”

  No one answered, so Rachel hesitated, then decided to stand up and get her blood moving a little.

  The room she was in was small, but cozy enough, and Rachel hoped to have a room like it for herself at some point. Bookshelves along the walls held a wide variety of magical texts that Rachel had referenced more than a few times in her quest to unravel Ebon Dragon’s curse, some of them rare enough that she wondered how Madison had managed to get her hands on them at all. The Atlanteans were not prone to letting their knowledge out of their country. There was also a broad workbench for enchanting work or for inking out spells on the paper in a broad roll hanging from the wall, readily at hand, and the sheer variety of inks Madison had was enough to make Rachel almost salivate at the possibilities. She couldn’t imagine how much work had gone into setting the room up.

  Before Rachel could more than look speculatively at a couple of the books she’d like to go through in more detail, footsteps sounded outside, and Madison opened the door, holding it for Gina before entering herself.

  Looking at Gina, Rachel couldn’t help a certain sense of satisfaction. Aside from her lips, Gina’s skin once again had a healthy pink hue, rather than having the blue undertone that had plagued her before. Her body was essentially unchanged aside from that, as Rachel hadn’t managed to decipher the rest of the curse just yet, but Gina seemed pleased at her ability to wear the colors she’d been used to beforehand, so Rachel wasn’t stressed by her lack of progress. Mostly, she was annoyed that Ebon Dragon was so good at what he did. It was aggravating.

  “So what’s this about?” Gina asked, wiping her hands off, and Rachel was reminded that Gina had been working on a pie for dinner, since Madison was somewhat skeptical of pumpkin pie, but had agreed to give it a try if Gina made one.

  “You have about as good of an idea as I do,” Rachel replied, shrugging helplessly. “I was talking to Maddy, and she said that every time she thinks she’s found all the changes, another layer unfolds. I asked what it was she wasn’t saying, and at that point she decided to go find you, so she only had to say it once.”

  “Ah,” Gina said, turning to Madison curiously. “In that case, I’m here now, so you can explain.”

  “Yes, you are,” Madison agreed, crossing her arms as she looked between them. She paused for a few more moments, then continued. “I’ve been refraining from comment, but since Rachel asked it may be time to address this. If you hadn’t noticed, you haven’t been prone to such extreme moods lately.”

  “I… had noticed that, but I wondered if it was just that we got used to the swings,” Rachel said slowly, growing more curious, while Gina just nodded.

  “It’s been nearly a month since I found any alterations to your emotions,” Madison said bluntly, her eyes narrowing as they inhaled, and raised a finger. “I’m not finished!”

  She waited until they’d settled down before lowering her finger and speaking more calmly. “As I was saying, I haven’t found any alterations in a month. That doesn’t mean that they don’t exist, mind you. It’s possible that the meddling was in an even earlier layer that I’ll uncover as I make my way through the changes, but I believe it’s also possible that there won’t be any further changes to repair. That’s a possibility which you should start coming to terms with.”

  “But…” Rachel began, almost physically reeling backward in anguish, only to let her voice trail off, grappling with the thought of no further changes being made.

  “I’m in love with Lilith again, though,” Gina protested softly, her eyes widening, and as Rachel watched, she leaned on the nearby desk.

  “I’m quite aware of that,” Madison replied, not a hint of mercy in her voice. “The two of you moan about it often enough I’d have to be deaf to have missed it.”

  Rachel winced, closing her eyes as she grappled with what had been said. The changes to their emotions had been rocky for the better part of a month, as they swung to extremes far too often, but then they’d settled down… and it had been very difficult to keep from contacting Lilith again during those weeks. Not that Lilith probably would have minded, but they’d agreed not to, and they were determined to stick with it. Rachel had mostly managed to keep from doing so at first by reminding herself that her feelings toward Lilith would change soon enough… but now there was the possibility they wouldn’t, and that caused her stomach to tie itself in knots.

  “Shadowmind said that she caused it, though,” Rachel said at last, breathing slowly.

  “Yes, which is why I didn’t say anything until now. As I said, there’s always the possibility that the change is in another layer I haven’t found yet,” Madison replied, inclining her head. “However, there’s another possibility. Are you truly so delusional that you don’t think she is above lying to get what she wants?”

  It felt like she’d been slugged in the stomach, and Rachel flinched, dazed.

  “Right, villains. They do lie. I… well, I didn’t think she’d lie to Lilith about this,” Rachel said, moving over to the chair, then flopping into it.

  “I… what do we do?” Gina asked, her voice trembling. “After what we’ve done to her, I don’t—”

  “What you do is to hold your damned horses,” Madison snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously. “I don’t have proof one way or another, and it could be that tomorrow I dig into Gina’s head and find a whole mess of changes hidden beneath the current cesspit. What you need to do is think about the possibility and decide how to deal with it if that’s what happens. Is that clear to both of you? No going off half-cocked.”

  Both of them fell silent, and after a few seconds Rachel nodded slowly as she spoke. “You’re right. If that’s what happened… well, there’s nothing that we can do, one way or another. What’s done is done, and if we don’t know the truth, there’s no point to telling her something that may turn out completely wrong.”

  Gina nodded, the motion jerky as she inhaled and visibly steadied herself. “Right. It’s already done, and if this whole thing was a lie, it’s yet another thing that Shadowmind has to answer for. I want to strangle her.”

  “You’d be far from the first in that line,” Madison replied dryly. “I believe that Arthur would rather like to put his sword through her skull, just for a start.”

  Rachel couldn’t help a bit of a smile at that, nodding as she murmured. “There is a lot of that going around. I think that there are only a few individuals who’d be higher on the list for being put out of the world’s misery.”

  “You have that right,” Gina agreed, inhaling and exhaling slowly, and as she did so, Rachel almost felt like she was relaxing as well.

  What Madison had told them was an enormous shock, but that didn’t mean that it changed anything yet. It wouldn’t change anything until they were sure that all of Shadowmind’s influence had been excised.

  “Either way, it’s time to get back to work. You have a pie to make, and I need to make certain that I get everything out of Rachel’s head that I can today. There’s no point in thinking about it if it never gets fixed,” Ma
dison said, chivvying Gina toward the door.

  “Alright, I’ll go! There’s no need to push!” Gina replied, and Rachel couldn’t help a soft laugh as she was almost pushed through the door. Once the door shut behind her, though, Madison turned to face Rachel, and her amusement faded slightly.

  “What are the odds?” Rachel asked softly.

  “One in ten,” Madison said, moving to her chair as she let out a sigh. “One in ten that there are changes I haven’t managed to spot, hidden beneath the other layers. High enough to make it an honest question, low enough to make it exceedingly unlikely.”

  “Shit,” Rachel muttered, closing her eyes as grief and anger rushed through her.

  The idea that she’d thrown away something wonderful because of someone else was terrible, and her anger at Shadowmind grew even more intense. Worse was the worry. If it turned out that this was how she truly felt, would Lilith forgive them? Almost certainly, Rachel decided an instant later, but that didn’t matter as much as what else might have happened over the time they’d been gone. Even with having cut off contact with Lilith, Gina and Rachel had caught some news. While it might only be speculation in the news, the two of them had gotten the impression that Lilith and Spark were dating, which gave Rachel even more of mixed feelings. Aside from the jealousy, of course.

  “Alright, that’s enough moping,” Madison interjected, jarring Rachel out of her thoughts. “Back in position, Rachel, I want to get this done.”

  Rachel opened her eyes and gave the older woman an annoyed look, which Madison ignored, pointing at the headrest in a distinctly commanding way. Rachel sighed and shifted the chair back into position.

  “You’re right, of course. I just don’t necessarily like it,” Rachel told her helplessly.

  “Of course you don’t. Deal with it,” Madison said, waiting until Rachel had reclined again, then leaned forward, murmuring the words of her spell.

  Just like always, it was difficult to keep herself from resisting as the tendrils of magic slipped into her thoughts, but Rachel did so anyway. The sooner this was done, the better.

  She just wished she could keep herself from fretting about what they’d learned.

  Chapter 37

  Friday, October 31st, 2031

  Guardian Compound, Paragon City

  Lilith stepped through the door and stopped abruptly, blinking several times as she opened her mouth, then shut it. Emily just grinned.

  Emily’s arms and legs were covered in black fabric, while she had a black cap that was topped by a strange pole that looked almost like a miniature tesla coil to Lilith, even if it was also black. More startling was the box which encased her torso, into which was set three discs, the top one red, the middle yellow, and the bottom green. The red light was blinking, and Lilith looked at Emily in confusion.

  “You’re a stoplight?” Lilith asked in bemusement.

  “Yep!” Emily replied cheerfully, backing up slowly, and as she did so, the light changed to blinking yellow. “I thought it was appropriate!”

  “I… don’t even know how to react to that,” Lilith said, a laugh escaping as she shook her head. “I was expecting… I don’t know, you to dress up like Nicolai Tesla, or something?”

  “Too many inventors do that,” Emily explained, stopping again, which caused the light to change to red. “Come in! I think Archon’s almost ready since the swearing has pretty much stopped.”

  “Why is she swearing?” Lilith asked, watching in more amusement as Emily turned away, revealing another set of lights on her back. As she began moving, the light turned yellow, then green, which made Lilith think that it must have a sensor of some kind in it. Probably a gyroscope.

  “Oh, she decided to go for a different costume than normal, and now she’s regretting it. Dying her feathers isn’t usually that bad, but this time she wanted to do them in multiple colors, so she’s been at it for the last… four hours?” Emily explained, grinning broadly as she looked over her shoulder. “Phillida doesn’t seem terribly happy either, with how complex it’s proving.”

  Lilith’s eyebrows rose, but she let the comment pass this time. If Emily didn’t want to spoil things, Lilith wasn’t going to push.

  She did find the holiday amusing, though. When she was in San Francisco, Lilith really hadn’t seen much of it, as she spent a lot of her time in her apartment, but this year had been different. She’d seen signs for haunted houses, the advertisements for the spooky theme to one of the local amusement parks, and even the various game adjustments which added a much more… she’d say sinister theme to them, but really, it was more lighthearted in nature than anything else. The gigantic pumpkin boss that had killed Ra eleven times had amused her to no end.

  That didn’t go over what she’d seen during the day, either. Just on her drive over, which had been much easier now that her car was back from the shop, Lilith had seen dozens of adults and teens in costume, though her personal favorites had to be the pack of eight wolf-boys and -girls who’d been breakdancing in front of their school. In all, the holiday was turning out to be far more enjoyable than Lilith had dared to hope, which she was thankful for. Now she just had to change into her own costume.

  “So… since I need to change into my costume, is there somewhere I can do that?” Lilith asked, raising an eyebrow at Emily. “For that matter, you haven’t said what Decarin’s dressing up as.”

  “Nope, I haven’t!” Emily said, grinning again. “You’ll have to wait and see! Shade’s boring, which is why I told you about him at all.”

  “I am not boring. I just have a theme, and I stick to it,” Shade retorted, his voice modulator giving his words a deeper, raspier edge this time.

  They’d come around the corner just in time to see him, and Lilith’s eyebrows rose again. Somehow he’d shrouded his hood completely in darkness, there was a faint black mist wafting off of him, and he was wearing gloves that, unless you looked a bit more closely, made his hands look like they were skeletal. He also had a long wooden staff, and a glowing green spectral scythe blade extended from the top of it. It was a rather imposing sight, she had to admit.

  “That’s impressive,” Lilith said, looking up at the scythe as she asked. “Is that magic, a hologram, or something else?”

  “Magic,” Shade said, reaching up to wave a hand through the blade, which passed through it effortlessly. “It’s just an illusion, but enchanting the staff took so long that I hate to just abandon it, especially combined with the cloak. I’m not spending two weeks every year making a brand-new costume.”

  “Sensible. That would add up,” Lilith admitted, though she thought guiltily about how she’d spent the better part of two months trying to get one put together herself. Two costumes, actually, as she’d been forced to fall back on her backup. At least the lessons she’d learned weren’t wasted.

  “Anyway, we’re leaving in about twenty minutes, so hopefully Archon’s ready by that point,” Shade rasped, then floated down the hallway, adding a more sinister air to his outfit.

  Shade disappeared around the corner only moments before Emily snickered.

  “He’s such a show-off. I think that’s why he uses the same costume,” Emily said, grinning broadly. “Anyway, we have a couple of guest rooms, so if you want, you can use one of those to change.”

  Lilith nodded and gestured for Emily to lead the way, since she didn’t know where the rooms were. She’d visited the compound quite a bit over the last couple of months, but she hadn’t gotten a full tour yet. She knew where the rooms of the team were, and a good part of the lab space, but not much beyond that. She’d even made dinner once, which had gone well, as had the bowling, despite Emily being resigned to coming in last. Lilith had proved reasonably competent at it and had just been getting the hang of things when they’d ended for the evening. She was looking forward to the next time, since she thought she’d actually be able to do well.

  They made their way upstairs, then took a right after the elevator, rather than continuin
g down the hall toward the rooms where Archon, Decarin, and Emily lived. It wasn’t far before they came to the first door, and Emily nodded to it.

  “Here we are! Take the time you need. Sure, Shade wants to leave soon, but if Archon isn’t ready, there’s no way we’re leaving early,” she said brightly, and Lilith nodded, smiling in return.

  “Don’t worry about that. My costume is pretty simple,” Lilith assured her, and opened the door to step inside. As she did so, Emily darted down the hallway, likely to let the others know Lilith was here.

  The guest room wasn’t as bare as Lilith had expected, with a couple of pictures hanging on the walls, one of the Grand Canyon, and the other of the mountains during winter. Beyond that it had a television, small sofa, and a miniature fridge that was unplugged, and doors that led to what she had to assume were the bathroom and bedroom. In all, it reminded her of a hotel room.

  Turning on all of the lights, rather than just the one nearest the door, Lilith set her purse and the bag she’d been carrying on the small table and glanced around again before beginning to disrobe. It didn’t take long, and Lilith folded her clothing, pulling off her shoes as well. Lilith almost grimaced, as she wasn’t entirely thrilled with one aspect of her costume, but she’d get over it.

  Pulling out her costume, Lilith smiled as she looked at the white fabric. Despite the two attempts it’d taken, it had turned out well, and Lilith adjusted it, then slipped on the white skirt, which reached from her waist down to just below her knees, then put on the top, which had a deep neckline. Lilith had no idea why the nurse outfit was the one that Archon had suggested, especially since it wasn’t realistic, but she’d decided to give it a try, since the design wasn’t that difficult. She pulled out the cap, but didn’t put it on, since she had something else to do first.

  Tying her hair up in a bun was a bit more difficult, but Lilith had practiced enough that she could do it quickly. She pinned it in place with a clip, then examined herself in the bathroom mirror critically, trying to figure out what, other than the heels and cap, was missing.