The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series

by Leisa Wallace

  Nath eyed the box. “Excuse me for not understanding,” he said.

  “Control,” Ras replied vaguely. “A way to control anyone who opposes her.”

  “And you have a way in that tiny box?” Nath asked.

  “Control can come in many different forms. This one happens to fit in a box until it can be used on the intended target.”

  “You did it to him,” Gideon yelled. He pounded his fists against the glass. “You’re the one who changed my father.”

  Ras wasn’t phased by Gideon’s outburst. “And now I’m here to do it to you,” Ras said. He opened the box, a small cylinder attached to some type of gun lay inside. Ras took it out and laid the box aside. “Open the cell,” Ras demanded.

  Chaos erupted behind him. The buyers screamed at Ras to leave the product undamaged. They started to call out their bids from behind Ras. Nath didn’t stop them. He smiled and spurred them against each other as he stood within the safety the barrier provided.

  Nath laughed even louder as one bidder threw the other into the electric barrier. The man convulsed until gravity pulled his body to the ground. He lay unconscious, blood leaking from his eyes. No one moved his body, choosing to step over and around him instead. Violence erupted. It was if the bidders were waiting for permission to be cruel, and that permission had just been granted. Nath must have made them leave their weapons outside the square because everything being done was by brute force. Lena wished she could take back what she was seeing.

  “Eves!” Gideon screamed.

  Lena could barely hear him. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from the brutality as the bidders tried to render their opponents unconscious.

  “Evangeline,” Gideon yelled again. “You look at me, don’t look at them. Look at me.”

  Lena turned towards Gideon. She shook. She was scared.

  “Evangeline,” Gideon said again. “Don’t look at what’s happening with them. It’s you and me.”

  Lena nodded. It took effort, but she kept her eyes on Gideon.

  A ear-piercing sound of a siren filled the air. Lena covered her ears as the sound changed pitches and grew even louder. Her prison started to shake.

  “Open the cell,” Ras screamed as he held his hands to his ears to block out the screeching.

  “Cover your head,” Gideon yelled. Lena quickly removed her hands from her ears and covered her head. The glass around her shattered. Cimmerian troops burst from alleyways into the city square, surrounded by Zoons flying on their gliders. Lena didn’t have time to comprehend what was happening when she heard Suki scream from her glider.

  “Run!”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  “Get her,” Nath yelled. The crowd surged towards her, forcing those closest into the electric barrier. Their screams as they were electrocuted heightened the chaos. Ras ignored Nath’s cries and rushed at Gideon. With one arm he grabbed him around the shoulders. With his free hand he pressed the syringe into the back of Gideon’s neck. Lena heard a small but loud pop. Gideon screamed and jabbed his elbow into Ras’s side. Ras’s arms tensed around Gideon. Not relaxing his grip, Ras started laughing. The thick rough sound of his voice sent chills up Lena’s arms. Gideon twisted in the unrelenting hold. Ras scanned the sky. Zoons flew towards them with Bates in their lead. He held a glider in his hands.

  “Your friends will take you away from here, but you’ll never be safe from yourself,” Ras said. Releasing Gideon, Ras took two steps backward and relaxed his stance.

  As soon as Ras stepped away from Gideon, Nath rushed towards Lena. She kicked him in the chest. She felt the glass under her bare feet but the pain didn’t register. She kicked Nath again, this time on the side of his face. The impact left a cut by his eye.

  “Glider,” Bates yelled, as he threw the machine towards Gideon. Gideon jumped, landing on it mid-air. The glider automatically strapped to his feet. Rushing the few feet to Lena, he skidded into the side of Nath, knocking him to the ground. Grabbing Lena he rose above the crowd and into the center of Bate’s v-shaped formation. Lena wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling herself as close to him as possible. He gripped her tighter.

  The Cimmerians had corralled the people in the square. “The Cimmerians will keep us from being chased,” Suki yelled as she sped towards them on her flashing purple glider.

  At Suki’s signal, the Cimmerians fired into the crowd. Smoke streaked above the crowd then landed in the square. The people’s screams calmed, and the fighting stopped. Lena looked below until the smoke was so thick all she could see were the Cimmerians on the perimeter of the square. Suki rose above Bates then lowered herself at his side. The V adjusted so that Suki now led the pack. They flew straight towards the Everleighan mountains. Periodically a Zoon fell off the end of the V and went to scout the area until only Bates, Suki and Gideon flew. Suki led them to the base of the mountains, then turned so that they flew parallel to it. Flying low, Suki kept them hidden as much as she could behind boulders until they reached a wide canyon. Suki followed the mountain into the canyon. Hills surrounded them on both sides now. The further in they got, the thicker the vegetation got. Thick fur trees and dead maples filled both sides of the canyon. Suki jumped off the glider and whistled. Bates signaled to Suki that he’d scout the area and took off into the trees. Gideon stopped next to Suki. Lena stepped off the glider and winced. Lifting her foot, she pulled out several shards of glass, then did the same to her other foot. They left stinging cuts, some deeper than others, but Lena ignored them. She turned to face Suki.

  “You made a deal with the Cimmerians?” Lena said.

  “Nope, Lucius did,” Suki replied.

  “Lucius!” Lena said.

  “I know, it surprised me too,” Suki said. “But what he said made sense. It was in both our interests to keep you alive. The Cimmerians were following us and were already close. He arranged for their help.”

  “What kind of deal did you make with him?” Lena asked.

  “None. Lucius said he wouldn’t get what he wanted with you captured and neither would the Cimmerians. He helped on his own,” Suki said.

  There was no way Lucius was helping to just be helpful. Lena wanted to argue but Tarek stepped out of the tree cover.

  “You got them,” Tarek said.

  “Did you doubt me?” Suki bantered.

  “Not in the least,” Tarek responded. “I’m just glad to see you.”

  Myri and Druinn stepped from the trees as well. “Where’s Lucius?” Myri asked.

  Suki smirked. “I forgot to save him.” Suki said it like it was a question.

  Lena turned towards Suki, her eyes wide in disbelief.

  Suki shrugged. “Oops,” she said.

  Lena’s jaw dropped open, then she started to chuckle. Lena couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t know if she was from relief that Lucius had been left behind or if her mind just needed to release all the pressure that had been building. She laughed and hard. The group watched her in awe before Suki started laughing too, then Tarek and finally Gideon.

  They stopped laughing and spun when they heard a man clear his voice in the trees. Tarek pointed a gun at the sound. “Evangeline Adhara?” A man said, stepping from the trees. Lena readied herself for a fight. Druinn and Myri pointed their guns at the man too. The man raised his hands and stepped forward. “You are Evangeline Adhara?” he asked. He raised his hands in the air and took another step towards Lena. He didn’t wear the uniform of a Defense solder or Cimmerian. But didn’t look like the bandits from Monmark either. He wore clean clothes, his teeth shone white, his hair looked cut and kept up. He looked only a little older than the rest of them.

  “Who are you?” Gideon said as Druinn pointed his gun at the man.

  The man took a step back, not frightened but unsure what to do. “You are Evangeline Adhara?” he asked again. “And Gideon Merak,” he said a little louder as he looked to Gideon. “Tern sent me this way to find you.”

  “How do you know Tern,” Gideon said, still on g
uard.

  “I don’t,” the man said. “Only just met him. He tracked us and told us about your capture. Not sure how he knew it all, but he seemed confident that you’d escape and sent us this way to find you. We work with Thora.”

  “Thora,” Lena gasped. “Can you take us to her?”

  “That’s what I’ve come to do. Your friends Tern and Birdee are already there.”

  Lena stood straighter. She leaned forward as she studied the man. She knew his face. Memories surfaced from her time at the Defense Facility. He was a soldier in the video she and Birdee watched in the explosion of the Priestess’s outpost. He had stolen something from the Priestess, then gave it to Thora. Excitement flooded her. “I know you,” she said recalling the memory. “Your name is Remiah.”

  The man nodded. He whistled and Lena heard footsteps before a girl she recognized as Dessa stepped out from the trees. “This is Evangeline Adhara and Gideon Merak,” Remiah said. Dessa’s arms dropped as fast as her jaw. Then her face broke into a grin.

  “We’ve been looking for you,” Dessa said.

  Gideon stumbled forward. Lena turned to him. Gideon grabbed the back of his neck. Her excitement vanished. “Eves, help me,” he gasped. Lena grabbed at his arm as he fell to his knee’.

  “Gideon,” Lena said. Gideon fell to the ground and rolled onto his side. Tarek stepped forward. Kneeling down next to Gideon he started checking his pulse and touching his skin. Even in his calmness, Tarek looked worried.

  “Ras inserted something into his neck,” Lena rattled.

  Gideon’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Tarek’s eyes opened wide and he started slapping the side of Gideon’s face.

  “Gideon, my friend. Stay conscious,” Tarek said.

  Lena didn’t know what to do. She felt as if time had frozen. “What do we do?” Lena asked. Tarek looked to the left then the right. His eyes locking onto the glider. Picking Gideon up, he flung him over his shoulder.

  “Take us to Thora,” Tarek command unable to hide the anxiety in his voice.

  Remiah nodded briskly. “Follow me,” said before turning and running straight up the mountainside.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  They ran straight up the mountainside. Tarek carried Gideon on the glider. Myri and Druinn were out of breath by the time Lena saw a boulder sliding open on the side of the mountain. Remiah led them inside a cave. The ground sloped and turned.

  Lena kept pace with Tarek’s glider. Her heart pounded against her chest. Her anxiety over Gideon pulsed in her chest. She looked back at him, she couldn’t see his breath.

  Remiah didn’t stop running. Dessa fell behind with Myri and Druinn. “Dad, we need you,” Remiah yelled. He turned a sharp corner and a room lit up. It was an infirmary. A table sat in the center. Tarek lay Gideon’s body down. As he straightened him out, Gideon’s body started convulsing. His arms flopping and his head and chest pulsed violently against the table. Tarek recklessly began opening and closing medicine cabinets. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled a vial from one of the cupboards.

  “Get me a needle,” Tarek yelled. It was the first time Lena ever heard Tarek sound panicked. Remiah flung drawers open looking for a needle as Tarek grabbed Gideon’s body to keep him from falling off the table.

  A man ran to the edge of the room. Lena assumed it was the dad Remiah had called to. Seeing Gideon convulsing on the table he jumped into action next to Tarek. Taking the vial from Tarek, he grabbed a needle out of a drawer Remiah hadn’t looked it. He jabbed the needle into Gideon’s side. Lena felt tense everywhere. Suki put an arm around her as they stood watching the two men work on Gideon. Gideon’s body began to relax as soon as the man pulled the needle from his side. They watched as Gideon’s breathing evened out and Lena saw his lips turn pink again. Tarek touched Gideon’s forehead and muttered something quiet yet peaceful under his breath. The man stepped away with a huge sigh. Placing his hands on his hips, he turned towards Lena. Lena’s eyes lingered on the scars covering the right side of his face and running down his neck.

  “I’ve seen you before,” Lena said. “When I was trying to find Thora after she left the training facility, Dorry helped me pull up her insignia footage. I saw you pulling out Thora’s tracking device. Who are you?” she asked.

  “My name is Aaron. You’ve met my children Dessa and Remiah,” Aaron said. “I’m a friend of Thora’s.”

  “Where is she,” Lena asked.

  The man didn’t need to answer. From the other side of the infirmary cavern, Thora burst into the room. Taking one look at Lena the two bolted towards each other. Lena wrapped her arms around her friend, the woman who had risked everything to save her life. Lena didn’t stop the sobs that came from her soul as Thora pulled her close. Pulling away Thora grabbed Lena’s hand and moved to the end of Gideon’s table.

  “What has happened?” Thora asked.

  Lena didn’t know where to start. She blurted out something about her being a prisoner and what she knew about Zeke, and what she knew about him being controlled and Ras Taban and how Ras inserted something into Gideon’s neck. It spilled from her like a dam breaking. Lena knew her stories were jumbled together and nothing she said made sense, but Thora just nodded as if she understood.

  When she finished, Thora rested her hand on top of Lena’s. They watched as Aaron hooked monitors to Gideon’s chest and fingers. Lena’s gaze kept going between the beeping lights and his shallow breathing. She was afraid any minute one of them would stop moving. Everything felt distant. After what seemed like an eternity, Aaron said that Gideon was stable and instructed Remiah to get Lena and Thora chairs so they could sit with Gideon. The rest of their group was lead out of the infirmary. Dessa brought her a blanket and wrapped it tightly around Lena’s shoulders. Lena let her hand slip out the side and held tightly to Gideon’s hand.

  “Thora, I’m afraid,” Lena finally said.

  Thora rested her hand on Lena’s leg. “He’ll be okay. His eyes are already starting to flutter. He’ll be awake soon.”

  “If it’s him at all,” Lena said.

  “We’ll figure it out,” was all Thora would say.

  Lena stared motionlessly at the monitors. She didn’t know how long they’d been watching when Gideon’s eyes peeled open. Lena let go of his hand and jumped to her feet, her hands landing on his chest.

  “Miss me?” Gideon said. His throat was dry, and his words came out sounding like a croak.

  “Gideon, you’re alive. You’re okay.” Lena started crying all over again. Gideon slowly brought his hand towards her face and wiped away her tears. Cupping her face, he brought her towards him brushing his lips against hers.

  Thora cleared her throat from where she stood next to them. “Aunt Thora,” Gideon whispered. Gideon pushed himself up, his arms shaking with the exertion. Lena pushed pillows behind him until he looked comfortable.

  Thora smiled. “My dear boy,” she said. Walking around his bed to the other side, she wrapped him in a hug. “I was so worried. How are you feeling?” Thora asked.

  “Stiff. Sore. My whole body is weak.” He rubbed the back of his neck. It was swollen with a large red bump. He hissed as he touched it.

  “Something was inserted in your neck,” Lena said.

  “The insertion caused swelling into your head. Which gave you a seizure. What do you remember? Thora asked.

  Gideon looked into the distance as if trying to remember everything that brought him here. Gideon sat taller now. “Ras Taban,” Gideon said. “I remember he’s the man I saw with my father, days before the Everleighan attack.”

  Thora opened the x-rays Aaron had taken while Gideon slept. They hovered over the bed. Lena stepped in closer to Gideon’s side. The x-ray showed a small oblong device wrapped around the top of his spinal cord just below his skull. Thin metal threads reached from the device and into his brain.

  “What did he do to me?” Gideon asked.

  Lena studied the x-ray. “It seems like whatever was inser
ted into your neck has attached to your nerves,” Lena answered. “And these threads, what do you think they do?”

  “Those threads are reaching into the part of his brain that controls motor function,” Thora said

  Gideon rubbed his neck as Thora zoomed in on the device. She swatted his hand away from his neck. “Gideon, keep your hands down.” Gideon rubbed it one more time before moving his hand to wipe his eyes.

  “Those threads in my brain can only be meant for one thing. Control,” Gideon said. “I wonder if this is what my mother did to my father.”

  Thora studied the image of Gideon’s neck neither confirming or denying Gideon’s suspicions. “It’s time we find out everything this device can do. Lena, you and your insignia are needed in the main hall.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  “I’m going with you,” Gideon said lowering his legs to the side of the bed.

  Thora looked like she wanted to argue but instead helped him stand. Lena came to stand on the other side of him. As he steadied himself, Lena let him grab her arm. His grip was weak and tired. Lena moved his arm to her shoulder then wrapped her own around his waist. She felt his back muscles tense as they stepped forward. Thora led them through the door she’d come in. As they walked, the cave floor inclined and descended. Lena saw several offshoots from the main hallway, their concourse too dark to see past the light that filtered from the main hall. As they descended Gideon’s strength increased as if the movement helped his stiffness. Still, she gripped his waist, feeling like if she let go she might loose him again. As if feeling her anxiety, Gideon turned his face and kissed the side of her head. The gesture made her relax her grip around him. Thora raised her eyebrows but didn’t look shocked.

  Lena started wondering how far inside the mountain they’d actually come when they entered a large crystalline cavern. Both Lena and Gideon stopped and gawked. Gigantic crystals jutted across several parts of the cavern and hung from the ceiling high above them. Light shone through the stone illuminating the room. Lena didn’t know where the light came from; she didn’t think it could be natural but didn’t dwell on the thought.