“My sister? You’ve met my sister! How is she! How did you meet her!” Please come in, come in!”
The woman didn’t give Kimi much choice, pulling her into the house while she spoke. She ushered Kimi into a living room area with furniture that was oval and circular in nature. It seemed corners were a foreign concept in this room, even the walls were rounded. Kelly offered Kimberly a seat in a chair which molded itself to her form as she sat. The woman called out for refreshments as she settled on the couch. Soon enough, a robot trundled into the room laden down with tea and sandwiches. These items were set down on a table that emerged from the floor between them. The platter split, moving on its own to sit in front of Kimberly. The woman ignored her food leaning forward with an expression of joy written in her features.
“Please tell me everything!”
“First, can you tell me why you look so much younger than I imagined?”
“You aren’t from Atlantis if you don’t know. Atlantians enjoy extended life spans. The Great Sages won’t allow us to go past a hundred and thirty-five years though. I’m not really sure why, but they are the Sages, their wisdom guides us all. While all Atlantians enjoy this longevity for free, we can get youth enhancements for a price if we so wish. I-- I got the enhancements when I was young and very foolish to make myself more desirable to my husband. It retards my aging only, it does not halt it. That is why I still look so young. Now, please tell me about my sister.”
Kimi recounted how she first met Grell, and her impressions of her. The woman chuckled as she spoke of her relationship with Joel, and nodded knowingly when Kimi spoke of the compassionate side she tried to hide with a gruff attitude. Kelly hung onto every word Kimberly spoke, sometimes tears falling down her cheeks, but always with a look of joy. When she was finished, the woman sat back with a sigh.
“I’m glad. It sounds like she hasn’t changed much in all these years. I loved my sister, I still do. After mother died and she took up the burden of raising me, I didn’t realize just how much she had sacrificed. Grell was always one of the guys, never very good at the womanly stuff. Ask her to sew and she would poke her finger more than the fabric. Didn’t really communicate well either. I remember wanting this really expensive dress for a dance, and she chewed me out for it. Saying we didn’t have that kind of money. Then, a few days later the dress was laid out on my bed for me. I only found out later she had taken extra hours and sold some of the jewelry mom had left her to buy me that dress.
“I adored her. I wanted to be just like her. And then-- then we had that fight. I thought she would be happy for me. I wanted her to be happy. By that time I knew I was a burden on the finances. I thought if I married Nick, I could give my sister a better life. But-- I was young and foolish. Grell had been right to try and beat some sense into me. I was angry with her, so angry I even wanted to kill her.
“Then, the Association came to hand me the gratitude check, saying Grell had been called as a mediator. For the first time I realized I was alone. Really alone. Mom was dead, and Grell had gone far beyond my reach. All I had left was Nick. But he couldn’t fill the void Grell had left inside. I think that’s why we decided to incubate a child, I wanted something to fill that void. Something that was blood related to me. It wasn’t until Nick continued to spend the money Grell had left me with her departure that I saw him for what he really was. Grell had been right, he had grand dreams of being someone great, but he lacked the resolve to see it through. Project after project he sunk money into and quit halfway. Offering it to business and people that never showed any returns or went under.
“I annulled the marriage and broke all ties with him before he could destitute me once more. Grell had given me a new life with what she left me. Allowed me to live how I had wanted her to live. I felt so alone once more. The prospect of raising my son without help was daunting. But I did it. I thought of my sister and how she had taken care of me, and our mom who had raised the both of us. Raising my son Ryan, I came to appreciate what my sister had done for me, and how stupid I had been. Not a day has gone by that I wish I could take back the words I had said. Or tell any of a thousand others, not the least of which is thank you.
“Though I don’t think I could have done it if I hadn’t met Brian. Time wore me down little by little. And-- I was never as strong as my sister, still, Brian became a rock I could rely on. I think Grell would like him. I’d let you meet him, but he is working at the capitol building right now. He works directly under one of the Great Sages you know. His computer abilities are the best anywhere.
“I’m glad Grell found someone and she’s happy. If you ever see her again, would you tell her about me? Tell her about my life? Tell her I’m content and that I miss her. That I still love her after all these years? That I’m sorry, and I’m not angry?”
“Of course I can tell her.”
Kimberly reached into her pocket, taking out the bronze flower Grell had gifted her with before she left. She held it out to the woman who took it hesitantly. Kimberly was about to tell her where she had got it when the woman spoke first.
“This is from Grell. I can-- I can feel her inside of it.”
“That’s right, she said she wanted to give it to you as an apology, but she was summoned before she had the chance.”
“I always loved flowers. That’s what I do you know, I’m a gardener. This is a white tulip.”
Kimi smiled as the woman ran a finger along the etched metal. “In my time, that means apology and forgiveness. Also hope and renewal.”
“It means the same here.”
When the woman held it out for Kimi to take back, she shook her head. “It was never mine to begin with. As a mediator, my job is to close rifts while on quest. The way I see it, time tears are not the only kind of rifts there are, and I am still on quest.”
The woman didn’t answer with words, instead she pulled Kimi into a tight embrace, her tears soaking into Kimberly’s shirt. When she let Kimi go, she pinned the flower to her own chest.
“Attention residents of the Zendro houshold. Come out peacefully and submit to incarceration. We know one Kimberly Changa is within! She has been charged and found guilty of multiple counts against Atlantis. Kelly Zendro and all those within, you have also been found guilty of harboring a criminal. I repeat, come out peacefully and submit to incarceration.”
Quis let out a tsk of displeasure as she glanced out the window from behind the drape. The two children came running into the room and attached themselves to Grell’s sister.
“Grandma, you’re not a criminal are you! Don’t let them take you away!”
“Hush, I won’t let them harm a hair on your heads. Don’t you worry children.”
“What do they mean I’m a criminal?”
Quis answered Kimi’s question without looking. “You came from Aerth, or at least from a time rift. Travel from the magical realms to Atlantis is against the law. It upsets the balance and the veil. You have also just divulged what could be considered top secret and confidential information to a civilian. Once a mediator leaves, there is to be no contact of any sort whatsoever with their friends and family.”
“Is this what Jared meant by trouble?”
“Yes. I was hoping it would be overlooked, but it seems someone was able to get a transmission out of the capitol building before the soldiers locked it down. I bet when the Watchers saw us leaving in the car, they put a tracer on us, looking for anything they could use to arrest us.”
“Watchers?”
“Specialized mental police officers who monitor the city for crime and discontent that would threaten our city with violence. You have heard the term, the walls have eyes? Well they take that a step further. The very air has eyes and ears when they are projecting their ability outwards. There aren’t enough to cover the entire city all the time, so I had hoped they would not be looking in this section of the city if they were searching at all.”
Vines covered in blood red thorns erupted from Kelly Zendro’s ba
ck, curling around her arms as whips. Flower petals sprouted around the children to encase them inside as her body turned a light green color. “No one threatens my family. I’ll show them this granny still has a few thorns.”
Quis touched the woman’s shoulder with a shake of the head. “There is no need. We will handle it. That is our job, after all. Jared, you’re up.”
Jared, who had been silently standing against the wall with folded arms headed for the door without hesitation. He slid a gun from a holster at his back, pulling back on the slide mechanism. While Kimi knew it was a gun, she had never seen a weapon like it before. Quis stopped the man before he got out of sight.
“Jared. No killing.”
He put his weapon away without question. “Affirmative.”
Curious, Kimberly stood at the window across from Quis, peeking outside from behind the safety of the drapes. Ten futuristic looking cop cars surrounded the front of the house. Each one was pure white with a single blue flasher on top. About three times as many officers wearing green uniforms with red badges were out there as well. Many had riot shields made of glowing green energy, and all had thin sticks that reminded her of magic wands with clear orbs at the ends.
Jared opened the door and all the sticks were leveled on him. He raised his hands pointing a finger at two officers in the back. A red dot appeared on their foreheads. When he took a step forward one of the officers told him to halt. He blinked at the man as if he were a bug.
“Bang.”
With that one word from Jared’s lips, he disappeared. The next second he was in front of one of the marked officers. His arm came around in a karate chop, catching him solidly in the side of the neck. The man fell unconscious but already Jared was gone once more, showing up next to the second marked man. Another blow to the neck put him out of commission before the first body hit the ground. By the time the rest of the officers started turning around, Jared had taken out three more from behind with a single strike each. The remaining officers opened fire, but Jared dodged between the bolts of green light as if he knew their trajectory ahead of time. As Kimberly continued to watch him take down the officers one by one she found her lips asking a question.
“What was that?”
“His ability. It is in a unique class of its own. Just like Rift Generation and Paradoxial. And as I assume your Power of Imagination is. He calls it Bulls eye, or Sniper. He marks a person with a red dot, then, like a bullet, he moves between the folds of reality to his mark. No matter how far someone runs, he will always find them. They can hide in the darkest hole, soar as high as they want into the sky, hide the mark with clothes or paint, but it doesn’t matter. That’s the bloodhound for you, if you get marked, you’re already dead.”
With a roundhouse, Jared dispatched the last officer, he stood amidst the chaos with a dispassionate gaze surveying his handiwork. The moment one of the officers moved their hand to reach for his gun-wand, Jared had his own weapon out. A single bullet hit the wand, causing it to burst into a small ball of flame. The officer got only a brief moment to cry out in pain before Jared’s foot came up into his face, putting him to sleep like the others. Quis let out a sigh, allowing the drape to fall back into place.
“We should go. Sage J should have the capitol building secured by now. I think you will be safer there until we get the city back under control. I apologize if you wished to continue your exploration, but your safety is our top priority.”
“It’s fine, there isn’t anyplace else I would really like to see. Except maybe the library if you have one.”
“Aye, we have a few libraries scattered around the city, but none of them compare to the grand library inside the capitol building. I will show you when we get back.”
“I’d like that. I haven’t read a good book in what feels like forever.”
As the three of them filled back into the flying car, Kelly and her grandchildren waved farewell from the porch. Once the vehicle was off and flying, Quis touched the air with a finger. A screen appeared in front of her face, showing a man garbed in black wearing a black rabbit mask.
“Yes ma’am.”
“Get a team of cleaners together and go to 919 Venus Avenue block B, home of Kelly Zendro. Bleach it all.”
Quis looked up at Kimberly for a moment before focusing on the guy once more. “Cancel that. Do a partial bleach. Leave Kelly Zendro the flower pin she wears. But erase all traces of our visit otherwise.”
“Ma’am.”
As the screen disappeared, Quis smiled sadly at Kimi. “I’m sorry, but she has to forget. Rules are still rules. At least our cleaners will do a gentler job of it than the police’s would. You really aren’t supposed to exist here as a traveler through the veil from Aerth. If people found out, it would create panic among other things. Take comfort in the fact that we at least will not execute you, nor do we consider you a criminal. Once you learn our rules and understand our ways, you will see this is for the best.”
Kimberly felt like someone had clutched her insides and twisted, leaving a sour taste in her mouth. It made her feel like everything she had just done had been for nothing. She wanted to hate Quis for the underhanded way she had handled it all. The woman could have at least warned her ahead of time. But looking into the compassionate eyes that said Quis knew what she was thinking, Kimberly just couldn’t harbor a grudge.
That left an even worse taste in her mouth.
Chapter 34: Ice Prince
Jeremy waited only long enough to make sure subject 294 had left and not decided to double back. Once the car had risen into the air he turned his attention to the matters at hand. “Lieutenant Goza, Did you make sure to let Vulana get a transmission out to her people?”
“Yes sir. We allowed them to keep a single frequency from us long enough for her to put out a call to arms. I do not believe she realizes she was played.”
“Good. That should flush out many of the rodents eating away at the justice system. And hopefully make subject 294 angry enough at this broken world to act along with me. Once they try to apprehend her for some stupid reason, she just won’t be able to resist. It isn’t in her programming. Now that the directives of the machines inside have activated by crossing through the barrier, she can’t help but want to fight injustice and protect people. Nor act on those directives even against her fears.”
“Forgive me saying sir, but what if that backfires? What if she see us doing something underhanded as well? We cannot fight the corruption without corruption of our own. We cannot use a Cleaner on her, now that she has been injected with the complimentary bio-machines, a mind wipe would make her powers go out of control.”
“That is one of the reasons I have Quis with her. She could make a saint believe they were a sinner with a few well placed words and smiles. And what she cannot accomplish, I will. I am not called the Sage of Manipulation for nothing. Now, what is the situation with the other Sages?”
“As expected, they fortified their position. While we have secured the rest of the building as ordered, we are unable to get within a hundred yard radius.”
“Vulana no doubt. Once I enter, set up the electromagnetic barricade. In the off chance that I lose, they will still be so drained, concentrated fire should kill them. Marrion is watching as well, so if anyone but me leaves that area, she will send reinforcements immediately.”
“Understood, sir. May your wisdom guide you to victory.”
As Jeremy passed through the three deep line of soldiers, he took three rifle wands and two shock sticks from the grips of random soldiers. Placing them in his belt and boots, he snagged two force shield generators as well, fitting them snuggly around his wrists. Any energy he didn’t have to use on his abilities was another potential attack. He just had to remember the recharge time of five seconds between each shot.
He stood just outside the hundred yard range like a statue, taking in deep breaths and letting it out slowly. Who would have thought he would be back here? Not here in the capitol building, but he
re on the battlefield. He had thought this place was a haven, a true utopia. A place where fighting didn’t exist. Where he no longer had to kill for a scrap of food, or be someone’s boy toy for protection. No longer had to lie and manipulate others because he was not strong enough. A world where he did not have to cannibalize another human because he was so hungry. Where he had not locked his emotions away inside and become a demon in human skin.
A world where he was not called the Ice Prince.
He let that persona slip back into place once more. Like an old lover returning from a long journey. You need me it whispered. You want me it said. You desire the power I give you. I can keep you from getting hurt. I can make you strong. I can help you survive.
And it was right. He needed that power. He was strong as he was before. But that demon of the battlefield was stronger. All it asked was he give up his body. All it asked was he give up his soul.
Jeremy turned his head to the left, watching the hustle and bustle of the people outside going about their lives. Ignorant of the battle raging on so close to them. Happy in their normal lives. Lives the three Sages a hundred feet away would be more than willing to destroy.
Turning his eyes to face the blockade in front of him once more, Jeremy gave the demon what he wanted. Sliding a finger through the air, he stepped into the rift firing a rifle.
He caught D by surprise, blowing his right arm clean off. He dropped the wand as a green bolt came in his direction, as the wand fell he rolled to the left, firing another shot from his hip. The wand he had dropped fell through his rift and out the ceiling above. He caught it as he completed his roll on his feet, letting off another round that Bris dodged away from.
As Bris leapt forward, altering his form into an armored bear, Jeremy pirouetted on his left foot, sliding into a rift and appearing behind Vulana before Bris had even landed. She was the weakest and the strongest link among the three. Take her out and they could not communicate and coordinate mind to mind. He fired. The shot bounced along a green shield barrier, giving Vulana time to knock him back with a mind blast. D thrust forward with an energy dagger with his reconstructed arm, slicing shallowly into his side before he put distance between them.
Out of Time the Grand Quest Page 39
