Queen's Journey (Lilith's Shadow Book 5)
Page 30
“Girls, I’ve just finished putting your minds back together, so I’ll thank you not to turn them into a hash again this quickly,” Madison interjected, stepping into sight as she gave each of them a suspicious look. She was holding a pair of vials in one hand, each of them dark-colored plastic, and Gina’s eyebrows rose, even as she blushed.
“I’m sorry, Maddy. I’ll try not to, but this is… unpleasant.” Gina admitted, looking at her suitcase sourly. “I hate to leave so suddenly and without properly thanking you, but I don’t see many other options.”
“You’ve been a lovely host, considering our issues,” Rachel agreed.
“You’re heroes. Of course you’re having to leave suddenly,” Madison said, a dark smile on her face. “What have we all learned about supers and coincidences?”
Gina groaned at the reminder. She hadn’t even thought about that part, but the moment that Madison brought it up… of course this was when everything would go wrong. They’d gotten on the phone to finally clear the air with Lilith and let her know what they’d learned, but the second they had, it was perfect timing for something to interfere. She sat on the bed suddenly, rubbing her temples.
“That… makes an unfortunate amount of sense,” Rachel said, her voice turning grim. “Why does the universe hate us so much?”
“With great power comes great difficulties. It reminds me of the perils of a large bust leading to back pain,” Madison said, eying Gina’s chest skeptically, which caused Gina to blush. Without continuing on the same tack, she raised the hand with the vials and continued. “In any case, I brought something to help you.”
“Oh, thank you! What are these?” Rachel asked, looking at the vials curiously.
“I call it Lag Slayer,” Madison explained, grinning slightly. “When you drink it, it knocks you out for eight hours, and when you wake up, your internal clock is pretty much reset to suit where you are. Don’t drink it unless you want a full night of rest, as you’ll be difficult to wake, but at least you won’t be operating eight hours ahead.”
Gina’s mood brightened a little, and she smiled at Madison as she replied. “Thank you! I didn’t realize there were potions that could do something like that.”
“It’s something I came up with after my last trip to Australia,” Madison said, grinning as she offered one to Rachel, who took it, then the other to Gina. “I hated the effect that the time change had on me. I’d rather be unconscious for eight hours than to deal with that again.”
Gina took the vial and was a bit surprised at how light it was. There couldn’t be much liquid inside it, and she hesitated, debating for a moment, then decided to put it in her purse.
“Thank you again. That’ll make the trip a lot easier, I suspect,” Gina said, but her smile faded after a moment. “Assuming we can find Lilith. I hate to think about what she might be going through.”
“Pfft. Of course you can find her!” Madison retorted, looking at Gina like she’d said something particularly stupid for a moment, then looked at Rachel. “What is Omega Code known for?”
“Trying to end the world,” Rachel said, but as Madison scowled at her, she continued. “Also, he’s known for his grandstanding. He can’t abide not having an enormous audience.”
“Which gives you time,” Madison said firmly, looking between them. “Now, get some rest. If you have an early flight, you’ll need it.”
“We’ll do that. Thank you for everything,” Rachel told her, smiling warmly, and Madison rolled her eyes, then gave Rachel a hug.
“Just wreck his life for me, would you?” Madison said, then slipped out of the room, calling over her shoulder. “Shadowmind’s, too!”
“We’ll try!” Gina replied, then her smile faded as the door closed, and she looked at Rachel. “So… what do you think?”
“I think she has the right idea. Sleep if you can, Gina.” Rachel said, stepping closer, then leaned down to give her a kiss. Gina returned it, lingering for several seconds before breaking off.
“Right. We’ll get this done,” Gina said, with a confidence she didn’t feel. She wished the butterflies in her stomach would calm down too, but they were more resilient than she’d like.
“We will. Good night,” Rachel said, then slipped out of the room.
Gina waited for a minute before finally getting ready for bed. She suspected that sleep wouldn’t come easily.
Poenari Castle, Wallachia
Vlad entered his parlor, then stopped, staring at the man who was standing next to his chessboard. The chessboard which had been covered for the last several months, was now uncovered. That would have raised his hackles all on its own, as the man was intruding into Vlad’s home without permission, but touching his things made it even worse… as did the power the man exuded.
The man wasn’t that tall, with darker skin that had a hint of gold to it, and with black hair that reached the base of his skull. The linen toga, jewelry, and the circlet which had a stylized cobra at the front added a few clues, and Vlad snorted a puff of smoke, then glanced at the chess board. Or what was supposed to be a chess board, though it may as well have been an entirely different game, with how large the board was, with a dozen sides and colors. At the center of the board was a single, lonely red queen gilded in a sheen of gold, surrounded by black pieces, while a red rook was some distance away, resting next to a purple queen.
“You’ve intruded into my home.” Vlad said flatly.
“You are an intruder on this very world. You have no room to protest,” Ra replied, examining the board closely, then looked up to meet Vlad’s gaze calmly, his own eyes like blazing suns. “If you wish to battle me, you are welcome to do so. It will, however, lead to a great deal of destruction, which I doubt you desire.”
Vlad inhaled slowly, resisting the urge to blast the deity with fire. It was a difficult impulse to resist, but he managed, mostly because he knew it wouldn’t do the slightest bit of good. Perhaps it would if Ra were a deity of winter, but not for a sun god, and certainly not against the head of a pantheon.
“I do not desire my home to be damaged,” Vlad agreed at last, his voice tight. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to speak with you. Is it not obvious?” Ra replied, a smile flitting across his lips, then it faded. “Your device makes interesting predictions. Things are coming to a head, are they not?”
“How am I to know what you want? Your kind avoid me, much of the time,” Vlad retorted, slowly making his way into the room, and he glanced at the board irritably again. “As for the board, I can no longer fully interpret it. It is obvious that in this instance, black is Omega Code, and red is Lilith Carpenter, but beyond that, I can only make guesses. It has grown too complex.”
“Perhaps for you. However, I can see some of the common threads,” Ra replied, turning his attention back to the board for several moments. He considered it briefly, then turned his attention back to Vlad. “We could have stopped it, you know. Everything that your masters did.”
“My former masters,” Vlad replied irritably, suddenly reminded of why he didn’t like divinities. They always, always, knew too much for his taste. “They’re long-dead, and my allegiance turned to ashes with them. And if you could have stopped it, why didn’t you?”
“It isn’t our place,” Ra said, meandering over and sitting down in a nearby chair with a casual familiarity that irritated Vlad still more. “When deities intervene directly without being requested to by their followers, it tends to end poorly. Even more poorly when deities battle at their follower’s requests, which is why we tend to ignore them when they ask. However, in this case I’m intervening due to those very requests. You are not allowed to interfere.”
“What?” Vlad demanded, his anger spiking suddenly. “Who do you think you are, to try to stop me? Your kind abandoned humanity for centuries, and—”
“You claim you are better?” Ra asked, looking at Vlad calmly, and his impassive expression brought Vlad up short, along with the hint of dange
r that prickled at the back of his mind. He needed to step carefully, he realized.
Vlad scowled, his breathing heavy, and he had to force himself not to snort smoke again. The last thing he needed was the smoke alarm going off again.
“Why are you preventing me from intervening?” Vlad asked at last.
“One of my worshippers has been praying for deliverance, and Lilith’s presence is necessary for it,” Ra replied immediately, tapping the arm of the chair idly. “I don’t know if she’ll succeed, but it is necessary. Some of my followers have… strayed from the reasonable paths, and perhaps this will set her feet on the right path again.”
Vlad stared at Ra for several seconds, considering whether it was worth insulting the deity. He had no illusions about what would happen if they fought, as even if he managed to defeat the god, which was not guaranteed, he couldn’t kill him. It made any direct conflict pointless.
“Fine. But what of Lilith? She’s important,” Vlad said, circling the board.
“Yes, she is, and Osiris has taken note of her, as have I,” Ra said, smiling widely in satisfaction, but he pointed at the piece in the middle of the board as he stood. “However, she is who she is. Her path is her own. She will find her path and have her influence on future events regardless of her fate, for good or ill. You should learn to accept that, dragon.”
With that said, Ra simply vanished in a flash of gold light. Vlad stared at the spot, glowering, then grumbled under his breath as he moved forward, looking for the board’s cover.
It seemed that he wasn’t going to be sending a few agents to retrieve Lilith, and that irritated him even more. But better that than provoking a war with at least one pantheon.
Chapter 45
Monday, November 3rd, 2031
Final Countdown Redoubt, Kansas
“MWAHAHAHAHA! Another success! Soon, soon all shall rue the day they ignored me!”
The man’s maniacal laughter was cringe-worthy, and Lilith winced as she looked around the room she’d arrived in, thankful that at least it was warm. The speaker was obvious, and his laughter combined with a lanky body, rumpled black hair which could use a trim, and piercing brown eyes allowed her to easily identify him as Omega Code. He’d been in the wanted ads along with Lilith before her pardon, and she’d glanced at his picture, though he didn’t look quite as insane in person. On the other hand, the black outfit, complete with a turtleneck and black jacket, struck her as a trifle overdone.
The room they’d appeared in was… odd, if you asked Lilith. It had a catwalk that Omega Code was standing on, but otherwise it appeared almost entirely empty, save for a hatch in the wall that made her think that they might be in a ship of some kind, especially with the metal walls, though the concrete floor might indicate something else. The portal winked out behind them, and Lilith opened her mouth to speak, only for him to speak first.
“Now, welcome, Lilith Carpenter, to the place where the future of the world will be—” Omega Code began loudly, only to be interrupted by a plaintive meow. He stopped talking, and Lilith noticed a black cushion resting beside him. A black and white cat emerged from the cushion, stretching and yawning. Omega Code immediately crouched down, his voice quieter now as he gave the cat a few strokes. “Oh, I’m sorry, Percy, was I talking too loudly? I knew I should’ve taken you to your playroom, you know I always talk loudly when making my proclamations.”
Of all the things Lilith had expected, that was not it, and she glanced to her right, asking the nearest of the villain’s employees, as she’d decided to view them. “Is this normal?”
“Pretty much,” the man said, just as quietly. “I daresay that cat is the most valued creature on the planet, and certainly the most important one in the base.”
Lilith nodded, turning back to the supervillain, studying him for a moment. He certainly didn’t look like one of the most dangerous men on the planet but given that he’d survived at least three years on Amber’s list of people to kill on sight, there was more than just appearances to him. He was dangerously brilliant, and she needed to keep that in mind.
“Now, then, where was I?” Omega Code said after a couple of seconds, looking up from the cat. Percy, Lilith reminded herself. If the cat was that important, it would be a good idea to remember their name.
“I think that ya were going to congratulate us on getting the job done and pay us,” Silent Lightning suggested, a hint of impatience in his voice.
“Ah, of course, of course! Excellent work to both of you. Black Harbinger certainly chose well, considering it doesn’t look like Lilith has a scratch on her. I’m very pleased!” Omega Code assured them, though Lilith caught a brief glint of something hard in his gaze. Somehow she doubted that he was quite as forgetful as he was making out. But he looked at the leader of his employees and continued. “Craig, it’s good to see that you’re back! Would you take the mercenaries to get paid, then teleport them to whatever destination they desire? No need to keep them waiting, and there are plenty of small, unmarked bills waiting for them!”
“I’d prefer a bank transfer, but whatever,” Silent Lightning muttered under his breath.
“Alright, boss.” Craig replied, and turned to the two villains, gesturing at them. “Hey, if you want to get paid, come on, let’s get you out of here.”
“Finally,” Heavy Metal grunted, giving Lilith a look that betrayed a bit of confusion, but then he headed for the hatch with the other two.
None of the other employees moved, and neither did the two Atlanteans. Omega Code reached down to pick up the cushion, then meandered over to the stairs leading down from the catwalk. After a few seconds of looking around, Percy trotted after him, which bemused Lilith.
“Why did you have me kidnapped?” Lilith asked after a moment, letting out a sigh. “It isn’t like I’m anyone important.”
“Ah, but you are! You were created by Shadowmind herself as a replacement body, you’re associated with three class S heroes, however loosely, and have gained the attention of Dracula himself!” Omega Code replied, grinning broadly as he did so, but Lilith took note of the derision he injected into the term ‘heroes.’ He continued, raising his arms on either side of him grandiosely. “All of that means that you’re quite important, and I decided that I needed to talk to you about the truths of the world before you were indoctrinated by society. You’re one of the few beings who doesn’t have the biases of the world as a whole!”
He paused, then admitted, “Well, aside from children, but we won’t discuss them. I kidnapped an orphanage once, intending to teach them properly, but that went poorly. The less said about it, the better.”
Lilith opened her mouth to reply, then shut it, regarding him carefully for a few moments. She didn’t know what to make of Omega Code, and… well, he had one point, that she didn’t have a lot of biases. Though she thought trying to destroy the world was going slightly far.
“You could have sent me an email,” Lilith said mildly, suspecting that he would have an answer for that. She wasn’t disappointed, either.
“Oh, of course not! Emails can be traced, as can phone calls. I only use those when I have no other choice, since it seems like every time I do, someone drops bombs on my bases.” Omega Code said, leaning down to scratch behind Percy’s ears again. “Besides, you wouldn’t have agreed to come here.”
“True.” Lilith said, and let out a sigh. “So… what’s all of this about? Just teaching me what you believe?”
“Just? You wound me, Lilith! I can call you Lilith, can’t I? You can call me Code. Or Omega. Or just Meg if you’d like,” Omega Code replied quickly, and gestured at the people around her. “Go on, everyone, shoo! I have a lady to escort, and don’t need an audience. Give yourselves some time off, you deserve it!”
The others started moving, and Lilith blinked, watching as Abasi and Sabra left, the latter glancing over her shoulder at Lilith, then at Omega Code. Before the employees were more than halfway out of the room, Omega Code spoke further.
Lilith blinked, taken aback by how serious he seemed to be, then glanced down at Percy in surprise. The cat looked up at her innocently, then meandered forward to rub against her leg.
“I can honestly say that the idea of hurting Percy never crossed my mind,” Lilith replied, watching the cat and wondering why he was so friendly.
“Good.” Omega Code said, the smile appearing on his face again. “I’m happy to hear that, since he’s usually more skeptical of new people, but he likes you. That’s a good sign, and I trust his judgement.”
“Maybe it’s that I met Bastet? She is a goddess of cats, from what I heard,” Lilith ventured, unsure about what she should do at this point. The obvious option of beating the villain into a pulp and taking him hostage was out, assuming he was telling the truth about the shield generator. He probably was since he’d escaped attacks by both heroes and villains on numerous occasions.
“That’s possible! What was she like?” Omega Code said and gestured for the hatch. “Come with me, I’ll take you to your room. I made sure to make it comfortable.”
Lilith winced internally, already dreading being locked up again, but she didn’t see any other choice. So she nodded and started for the hatch beside him, while Percy trotted just behind them. Or beside them, or in front of them, depending on the cat’s mood.