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

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Queen's Journey (Lilith's Shadow Book 5) Page 38

by Benjamin Medrano


  “True, but I need to explain what the hell is going on to the locals. The military is freaking out,” Decarin chimed in.

  “Right, then. Looks like we’ll have to save explaining things to Lilith for a little later.” Morgan said, and let out a deep sigh.

  “Damn it… but yeah, we can wait,” Warden groused.

  Archon simply nodded, flying over to the mech, and proceeded to cut it apart.

  Chapter 57

  Wednesday, November 5th, 2031

  Joe’s Diner, Wichita

  “I told you, I’m fine!” Lilith protested, snaking a fry through the ketchup on her plate and taking a bite. It was rather good, and she was finally starting to relax, though she was getting a little tired. She doubted she was as tired as Gina and Rachel looked, but she wasn’t about to comment on that. “Honestly, he treated me pretty well. I just hope that all those devices get removed soon. Seismic inducers, I think he called them in his notes… though he changed the name five times that I saw.”

  “Oh, believe me, people are going to be real unhappy to hear anything like that’s in place. I’ve already gotten messages from a bunch of Japanese and Korean heroes thanking you for providing such precise coordinates,” Decarin said, examining his burger happily, then took a bite.

  “I expect that all of them, or almost all of them, will be removed within a day.” Archon agreed.

  All of them were ignoring the reporters and other onlookers gawking at them as they sat around a table, eating lunch. The diner staff had been kind enough to get a bench for Archon to use, and now they were just relaxing as best they could. Gina and Rachel needed naps, as did most of them, honestly, and one of the local hotels had offered rooms for no charge, so they were planning to stay until the next morning.

  For her part, Lilith had finally finished with the interrogations by the police and military not long before, and she was just as glad that the missile now in orbit wasn’t going to be her problem. The majority of Omega Code’s employees were in custody, a few had managed to escape, as had Abasi, from what Decarin had said earlier.

  On the other hand, there was a certain nagging question she wanted to ask, but she was hesitant. The links to others had gone essentially dormant after about twenty minutes, and she couldn’t quite sense them anymore, but… she’d sensed things from Gina and Rachel that made her curious how their trip had gone. The problem was that they were in public.

  Eventually, she decided to try asking indirectly. “So, um… how did your trip go? You were going to tell me something over the phone, then I got attacked, and my phone got pulverized.”

  Gina froze, looking at Rachel beseechingly, and it was almost enough to make Lilith laugh, especially when Rachel gave her an amused look.

  “Um, right, about that… so Shadowmind isn’t just a liar, she’s a damned liar that was doing everything she could to ruin your relationships,” Gina said, blushing slightly as she looked away. It was a little odd to see her cheeks were red again, rather than blue-ish like her lips were, but Lilith blinked anyway.

  “Ah… a bit of clarity, please?” Lilith asked after a moment. “What do you mean by that?”

  “She means that the only adjustments to our emotions we could find were the ones made while we were in Vegas, plus a little while before that.” Rachel said, reaching down and stirring her salad intently. “Which means we put you through all of that for no good reason.”

  “I…” Lilith paused for a long moment, looking around the table, but when Emily swiped a fry off her plate, she exclaimed. “Hey!”

  “Stolen fries have no calories. Not that it matters to me,” Emily said, grinning widely. “Plus, sure, things may have been started by your… um… bah, by Shadowmind being a loony bitch, but you were completely on your own after they left. I have no regrets about trying to seduce you, and I’m not giving up now.”

  For a moment the table was silent, then Archon silently slipped a pair of fries onto Lilith’s plate, and stole one as well. Lilith gave her an exasperated look, and the woman just gave her an… well, an angelic smile, which made her glower even more.

  “Do you all have to make my life more difficult?” Lilith demanded.

  “Hey, I’m not part of your fan club,” Shade protested, pausing for a moment, then added. “Though since we’re on the subject, if you’re intending to reject Morgan I’d like to ask her out.”

  “You what?” Rachel yelped, her eyes going wide.

  As laughter rippled around the table, Lilith looked back and forth, then put her head in the palms of her hands, a headache starting to form.

  Just why, she wondered, had she thought that being rescued would make things simpler?

  Of course, at that moment Gina’s phone rang, and she spoke up happily. “Oh, hey, it’s Blooming Orchid! You think she’s going to confess too?”

  Lilith hoped no one could hear the whimper that escaped her throat. Maybe Daemonia would have been safer.

  Epilogue

  Wednesday, November 5th, 2031

  Shadowmind Redoubt Invincible, Asteroid Belt, Sol

  “You didn’t manage to kill Omega Code,” Amber stated, annoyance rippling through her despite the lovely coffee and crepes she’d had.

  “That is correct, Mistress. Unfortunately, Lilith was in the blast zone if I’d used any larger munitions, and getting proper targeting with sub-light weaponry was difficult.” Circe confirmed calmly. “However, Lilith was saved and Omega Code’s base was demolished. It also sounds like they will have recovered enough of the mech that I will be able to acquire some of its technology for your use.”

  “Well, that’s something, at least,” Amber replied, scowling heavily as she settled back in her chair. “Did you get anything else useful out of it?”

  “Most certainly, Mistress,” Circe replied, and Amber sat up at the surprising tone of glee in the AI’s voice. That was unusual.

  “What is that?” Amber asked, her curiosity piqued.

  “I’ve determined Black Harbinger’s true identity, and I believe that the man that is seen in the battles isn’t his true body at all. It’s just a construct,” Circe replied promptly. “Shall I threaten him, or keep the information for you to use at an opportune moment?”

  “Oh… now that’s useful information,” Amber replied, slowly smiling as she processed the information. “Send the data to my terminal, as well as how you figured it out. I’d like to examine this personally before making a decision.”

  She settled in to examine the data, and as she did so, she decided she’d worry about Lilith later. Maybe she needed to take the extremely direct approach with her.

  Omega Code Spider’s Lair

  “I hate this, Percy. They ruined Code Black, took my nuke into orbit and are planning to dispose of it in the sun, and even are breaking my inducers! It isn’t fair, I tell you! It isn’t fair at all!” Omega Code complained.

  Percy simply rolled onto his back, curling his paws as he looked up at Omega Code meaningfully, and the sight of him being so adorable caused a smile to grow on Omega Code’s face, even as his frustration eased. Chuckling, Omega Code slid off the couch and down to the cat’s level, then reached over to pet Percy’s belly.

  Percy promptly wrapped around his hand with both front paws and began wrestling, though his claws never extended, and he playfully bit Omega Code’s hand, his tail lashing wildly on the floor.

  “You do have the right idea, don’t you? I should just let this all wash off me, so I can try again,” Omega Code said, grinning slightly. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Alright, Percy, I’ll stop complaining. Let’s have playtime, then I’ll get us both lunch and I can start on the next plan. Promise.”

  His motivation restored, Omega Code began playing with Percy more vigorously, putting his most recent loss aside for the time being.

  The Internet

  Seismic Rock was disoriented and disappointed. He’d come out of the trap that he’d been thrown into, and the first thing he’d not
iced was all the beautifully collated data which Circe had left for him. It was all the data she’d gathered and analyzed while posing as him, and it was… disturbing, really. It looked almost exactly like the work he always did, with the parts of it he had done while trapped almost perfectly matching what she’d left. It was dismaying, that anyone would copy his workflow so easily. Still, that wasn’t the main reason he was upset.

  No, that was because he’d just learned that Omega Code had managed to build a device that could trigger volcanoes and earthquakes. It was an insane discovery, one that the scientists were already beginning to discuss, and they were sending Seismic Rock inquiries about it, while trying to figure out which of the tremors they’d found might have been tests by the supervillain. Worst of all, he hadn’t anticipated anything like this, so he was behind schedule.

  “Curse you, Circe! I had a schedule!” Seismic Rock bellowed into the internet, aiming it in a direction he was sure she’d pick it up, then he turned back to his job.

  It was time to pick up the pieces and figure out what else he’d missed.

  Circe couldn’t help giggling at Seismic Rock’s angry protest. He might be offended, but she’d left his data in far better condition than he would’ve been able to manage on his own. Why, she’d also helpfully left hints about which incidents were likely induced by Omega Code, and he’d notice as soon as he looked more closely. Not that she thought that he’d appreciate her efforts. She wouldn’t, if she were in his position.

  Besides, she had problems of her own to deal with, as she turned her attention to the stealthy starship trying to sneak up on the satellite she’d used to shoot Omega Code. She thought that it was an American craft, but she wasn’t entirely certain of that. It could be one of the other governments, or even a hero or villainous organization, but Circe really didn’t care which it was. She could just shoot them down, but she didn’t feel like killing anyone.

  So as soon as they were close enough that they might think they were going to succeed, Circe set every system aboard the satellite to overload. The missiles, reactor, and capacitors cooked off at almost the same instant, and the satellite exploded violently, with the locations she’d chosen to detonate first propelling the majority of surviving wreckage deeper into the gravity well where it would burn up in the atmosphere.

  The spacecraft stopped accelerating, and Circe let herself feel a tiny bit of satisfaction before turning her attention to other things.

  Amber’s plans worried her, and she needed to take measures. The difficulty was in doing anything that wouldn’t be easily noticed. She’d manage, though. She usually did.

  The End

  Queen’s Journey is complete, and I do enjoy making Lilith’s life interesting, don’t I? I’ll be honest, I have no idea if Lilith will fully welcome Gina and Rachel back after everything. I wasn’t sure that they wouldn’t end up staying with each other, instead of coming back to Lilith, for that matter, and who knows how things will shake out with Archon and Spark in the mix? Its going to be an odd situation, and we still have Amber’s interference to work out.

  The next book of the series is Queen’s Gambit, which is the last of the six-book arc that I’ve had planned for some time. It won’t necessarily be the end of the series as a whole, but it’s definitely going to be a good point for me to pause and plan for the future, as well as a chance to work on other series.

  I hope you enjoyed the book, and if you’d post a review, I’d deeply appreciate it!

  If you want to find more of my books, you can find them at the following link.

  Books by Benjamin Medrano

  If you want to see early drafts of my work or help select secondary characters to be illustrated, you can always join my Patreon, or you can get early chapters of upcoming novels and their announcements through my newsletter, both linked below.

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  Also, if you’d care to review this story, I’d greatly appreciate it! Again, thank you for reading Queen’s Journey.

 

 

 


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