Elusive Beings--A Shade of Mind--Book 3

by D. N. Leo

  A tear trickled down Ciaran's face.

  Madeline wiped away the tear. She had never seen him cry. He never revealed his tears or his pain to anyone when he was in control of his body. She ached for him. In his subconsciousness, he cried for a woman and a baby who were already dead.

  The screen went blank. Then it came back up.

  "Where's that?" Tadgh asked.

  In front of them was an endless snowfield. Nothing but white snow. In the distance, a woman stood in a white coat. She turned around.

  "Mother!" Tadgh gasped. "That is total fucking bullshit. That’s a trap. Ciaran will be able to tell."

  "No, I don't think so." Madeline shook her head. This test was designed to target his weakness. He wasn’t prepared. He didn’t know. He didn’t even know it was a test. Otherwise, he would treat it like a game, and he would win. This was hopeless, Madeline thought.

  Ciaran approached Jennifer.

  "No, no, no!" In the room, Tadgh yelled and kicked at furniture.

  On the screen, Jennifer turned around and smiled. It was the gentlest, most gracious, motherly smile Madeline had ever seen from Jennifer.

  Ciaran approached her.

  "Jesus Christ, you're an idiot, Ciaran," Tadgh said.

  Then Ciaran stopped. He looked at her from a distance.

  Jennifer started to approach Ciaran. A bullet came out of nowhere and hit her. She fell to the snow. Red blood pooled, melting the snow around her.

  Ciaran charged toward his mother.

  Tadgh slumped to the floor. "Oh, no, no. He's done. It's a trap."

  But Ciaran stopped a short distance from Jennifer. She lay in a pool of blood. She looked at him. She tried to say something to him.

  The snow under his feet cracked. He looked down. It wasn’t just snow. It was the ice.

  A crack ran from his feet toward his mother.

  She was still alive. She was looking at him. She reached her hand out to him. His mother. She would slide down into the icy water when the crack reached her.

  Ciaran ran.

  "No, no! Don’t go near her!” Tadgh screamed at the monitor.

  Madeline felt numb. She didn’t know what to do.

  The crack reached Jennifer.

  The ice opened up, and her body slowly slid down into the dark water.

  Ciaran dove, sliding on the ice toward his mother, grabbing her hand.

  Jennifer and Ciaran both dropped into the dark water beneath the ice.

  Jennifer's body sank to the bottom like a stone. Ciaran followed. He tried to lift her up. It was hopeless. Her eyes were glassed over. She was dead. Ciaran tried to lift the body again, but it wasn’t possible to move her.

  Ciaran looked up. A white light shone from the crack in the ice above through the darkness of the water.

  "Go back up, go back up!" Tadgh talked to the monitor again.

  In the room, Madeline gathered blankets, sheets, whatever she had on hand to cover Ciaran. His body temperature was dropping so rapidly. It was as if he would turn to ice at any moment. He'd fail this test. She knew he would. Madeline just wanted him to stay alive. She could only hope that failing the test would not cost him his life.

  She could only hope.

  Ciaran was coming back up to the surface. He headed toward the light.

  But the ice had closed over.

  "What the fuck!" Tadgh yelled as if it would help.

  Ciaran punched the ice from underneath, but it did not give an inch.

  Madeline heard herself praying. No, there was no time for that. Think. She had to think.

  Ciaran punched the ice again. His breath was very short now. He punched again.

  On the bed, Ciaran's lips turned purple. His pulse slowed considerably.

  "He's drowning," Doctor Thomas said.

  Madeline thought she heard the doctor say something about drowning. Maybe not. She held Ciaran. He was as cold as ice now. He did not seem to be breathing. Tadgh was saying something, and it seemed as if there was a lot of commotion in the room. Madeline blocked all of it out.

  She needed to think. She was his only connection.

  What could she do? Punch through the ice block. Should she use that trick again?

  Madeline kissed Ciaran's cold lips. He wasn’t responding this time. She used her thoughts again.

  Use my strength, Ciaran. Come back to me. Punch through the ice. You can do it.

  Madeline grabbed his hands.

  She squeezed them.

  Nothing worked. He didn’t respond.

  "Come on, Ciaran," she said aloud.

  On the screen, a dim shard of light drifted into the distance in space and time.

  The image flickered. Flickered. Flickered. Then it went blank.

  Ciaran let go. And he sank.

  In the darkness, an image of Madeline appeared. She was on top of Ciaran. She was pulling him back up. He could see her face. He could see her pulling him up toward the light.

  She looked at him. She smiled. She was as beautiful as an angel, coming out from the darkness. She gave him air. She kissed him. She held his body and pushed him upward.

  Use my strength, Ciaran. Use my body. Come up with me.

  They both moved up through the dark water toward the light. Together, their bodies punched through the ice.

  It broke away like thin crystal.

  In the room, Ciaran gasped and opened his eyes.

  He saw Madeline's face. Still the same as it had been in the dark water. She looked like an angel. She was giving him air. She was kissing him. Her eyes were closed. She didn’t need to look at him. They were connected. They had come from the darkness into the light, using their unified energy.

  At this moment, they were one.

  "You're very photogenic, especially when there is lust in your face, Madeline," Jo said while gawking at the monitor.

  Madeline didn’t register the information about the world around her. She was straddling Ciaran—the same way she had pulled him up from the dark water. She kissed him, and Ciaran held on to her.

  "Hey, hey, hold on! You guys have a live audience here," Tadgh protested as Madeline and Ciaran kissed even more intensely.

  Everyone hurried out of the room. They closed the door behind them.

  Chapter 20

  Everyone else left, but Jo stood outside the door of Ciaran’s room for a little longer. She had to digest all of the information. Her head was still ringing.

  The last seventy-two hours had been such a journey. War, sacrifice, death, life, love, and lust. It was truly surreal. The most bizarre thing is that the entire experience hadn’t been a game. She didn’t even design such weird settings for her games.

  In only a few short weeks, her life and Madeline’s had changed forever.

  Although she’d go back to New York with Madeline soon, nothing would ever be the same. She knew Madeline would drag this out until right before Ciaran had to leave for Eudaiz. Then she’d tell him she couldn’t go with him. Jo had promised not to tell.

  It was awful, but she would do the same if she were in Madeline’s place.

  Then an image of Tadgh crossed her mind. She smiled to herself. There was something about him that made her smile whenever she thought of him. Something sweet and gentle.

  Jo turned to go back to her room. While she was walking down the hallway, a door opened, and someone dragged her inside.

  She was grabbed so fast that she didn’t recognize who was pulling her—or to where. She fell into someone’s arms.

  There, she recognized Tadgh’s masculine scent and his strong grip around her waist. "What in the world are you doing, Tadgh?"

  “I owe you a slap in the face.”

  She smiled and swung her arm. She stopped her hand an inch from his face. “You really aren’t going to duck?”

  He grinned. “I promised you.”

  Madeline was right. The LeBlanc brothers should trademark their signature grins.

  “All right. I forfeit my rights to claim that slap
. Consider it a truce. I’m tired, Tadgh. I just want to go back to my room.”

  Tadgh nodded. He turned and picked up the game console she had designed for him from a side table. “I completed all the levels of the game.”

  She took it from him. “Impressive. Do you want the next level?”

  “As long as you design the games, I’ll play all of them.”

  “Why? You said you hated gadgets.”

  “But I love trying to understand how your mind works.”

  Shit! She stared at him. He’d hit it—her weak spot. Damn it. Jo turned away. “I’ll design another level for you. It’s going to be more difficult . . .” she said as she walked out of his room.

  Tadgh grabbed her from behind. He spun her around and pressed her against the wall so fast that it knocked the breath out of her. He gazed into her eyes and sealed her lips with his kiss.

  All she wanted at that moment was to surrender.

  He carried her, and in a second, she was on her back in his bed. Passion pulsed out of every pore of his body. He was irresistible.

  Regardless of how many men she’d been with, she’d never experienced this strong of a pull. She had always been the one in control. She would normally flip the man over and pin him down. But she lay there and took him as he came.

  She tugged at his shirt and dug her hands into his taut muscles. His body was erupting with pleasure. So was hers. She could normally luxuriate in the pleasure and then walk away.

  But not with Tadgh.

  She stopped their kiss.

  Tadgh opened his eyes and looked down at her.

  She touched his cheek and tucked his hair back. “I don’t do long term, Tadgh. If we do this, it’s only going to hurt down the road.”

  Tadgh eased off her, then off the bed.

  He held a hand out to help her stand up. Then he led her to the door.

  “You’re not going to say anything?” she asked.

  He lifted her chin up and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I don’t do long term, either. And you’re right. This will only hurt us.”

  Chapter 21

  The next morning, after a meeting with Lindsay to arrange a series of executive duties for LeBlanc Pharmaceuticals, Ciaran drove Madeline, Tadgh, and Jo to the villa outside London. They went to the villa to retrieve the disk as she had promised her grandfather.

  Madeline glanced at the sky—it was as overcast as her mood. The closer it was to the time that Ciaran had to take up his duty with Eudaiz, the shorter the time she had with him. She didn’t want to resent fate, but there wasn’t much else she could do.

  "Madeline!" Ciaran called out.

  "Huh?"

  "Is that the villa?"

  Madeline looked to where Ciaran was pointing. The villa looked the same, surrounded by a fence of trees. "Yes," she said.

  Ciaran parked at a distance from the front gate.

  "It looks deserted," he said.

  "Don't tell me they all died at Fountains Abbey. We didn't kill that many of them," Tadgh said from the back seat.

  "The police said there were more than forty bodies in Mrs. Hanson's house. Someone must have killed all the soldiers and stashed their bodies there," Jo added.

  "What was Richard like when you last talked to him?" Ciaran asked.

  "As if we'd been friends forever!" Tadgh sneered.

  "He said Eudaiz is a universe, not just a country or a planet. He must be looking after a lot of people . . .” Madeline’s voice trailed off when a blast of metallic stench engulfed her. She glanced around. She didn’t see her ghost or any blue dots.

  But she had the sickening feeling that someone or something was watching her.

  “Are you okay?” Ciaran tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. Whenever he did that, she tended to give in and spill whatever she was withholding from him. She shook her head.

  “I . . . just have a severe headache.”

  “I’ll take you home as soon as we finish this.” He glanced toward the house.

  "How many were in the house when you were here?" Ciaran asked.

  "About twenty. I think the villa looks fine . . . "

  The entrance door slid open, and a man walked out.

  Ciaran pushed Madeline behind him. Tadgh did the same with Jo.

  The man walking toward them looked to be in his forties. He wore a dark suit that could comfortably conceal a gun. Ciaran shifted slightly. Tadgh made exactly the same move. Madeline knew they were both making sure their weapons were readied.

  The man approached. "Madeline, Ciaran, Tadgh, and Jo."

  "Yes . . .” Madeline said.

  "I’m Lucien Hine. I replaced Douglas."

  Madeline remembered vividly how Douglas, the head of the fighters, had died at Fountains Abbey. Douglas had been kind enough to her and was a good subordinate to her grandfather.

  "Mr. Hine, we're here to collect the disk as instructed," Ciaran stated.

  "Yes. I've been waiting for you. Please come with me." Lucien turned and made a beeline for the house.

  Inside, he strode toward a wing leading to a side door. He turned into a larger room, spacious and empty. Ciaran glanced at the setting—or lack thereof. He saw nothing suspicious.

  "I’m clearing out this place," Lucien said.

  "And going where?" Madeline asked.

  "That's to be announced." He pointed to the cabinet. "There. I could have brought the disk to you, but Richard insisted you all come here and see the gateway. I think he meant this machine."

  Lucien pressed a series of buttons on a wall panel. At the far end of the room, a wall-sized door slid open, revealing a mainframe computer unit that took up the entire width of the wall.

  Rows and columns of electronic signals flashed and flowed across the screens. A control panel was located in the lower right corner. Its black glass shone, and its silver buttons were decorated with unrecognizable symbols. Madeline speculated that they were ancient symbols or some kind of language from Eudaiz.

  Ciaran stood in front of the machine wall, shoving his hands into his pockets, looking at the machine as if it was a classical painting in an art gallery.

  Jo gaped at the machine. "It's still operating. What will happen if we eject the disk?" Jo whispered.

  Ciaran shook his head. His eyes were cool and flat. "I wouldn't take the disk now. Not until I am sure what’s on it."

  “How will you know what’s on the disk without taking it home?” Lucien asked.

  “I’ll operate this machine,” Ciaran said.

  "It won’t trigger anything, will it, Ciaran?" Madeline asked with concern.

  "We're not yet ready for you to head into another dimension for another bloody training session,” Tadgh said.

  Ciaran contemplated. Then he turned toward Lucien.

  "Who operated this computer before?"

  "Juliette. At least that's what I've been told. I never met her," Lucien responded.

  Tadgh rolled his eyes. Madeline asked, "Do you know what happened to Douglas? What exactly is your task here?"

  "I've never met anyone in this house. It's a bit strange. I spoke to Richard via holocast . . .”

  “Holocaust? What kind of communication is that?” Tadgh winced.

  “No. Holo cast. It’s an advanced communication channel that projects holographic images in augmented reality environments,” Lucien spoke with authority in his voice.

  “That’s the funky beam of light where holographic images can walk around inside it—or jump out if they choose to. The same way Juliette kicked your ass before, Tadgh.” Jo grinned.

  “Nothing’s funky about that beam,” Tadgh grumbled.

  “That’s the way space stations communicate these days. I don’t want to make things complicated. The technology is very advanced. My task is to give you as much assistance as I can so that you can reunite with your grandfather,” Lucien said.

  “Please make it simple. We’re rookies when it comes to computers.” Madeline smiled.

  Ciar
an chuckled. “We need to talk to Richard now. Would you mind giving him a call via holocast?"

  Lucien shook his head. "He left this morning and won't be available for three days."

  "Well, we don’t want to try to operate this machine until we have more information from Richard. So we'll come back later when he’s available to talk to us. Madeline can speak to him from anywhere," Ciaran said and turned to leave.

  "But I have to demolish this place tomorrow. That's my job. Come on!” Lucien said.

  “It will have to wait," Ciaran said dryly and walked away.

  "Come on. You've seen the gateway machine. Why don't you take the disk with you? I'll turn this machine into scrap metal tomorrow anyway. Here." Lucien slammed his palm onto a gray eject button.

  "Holy crap!" Tadgh said.

  Ciaran and Tadgh pushed Madeline and Jo behind them. They all stared at the machine, unsure whether moving was a good idea.

  The disk was ejected from the machine. The screen of the control panel flashed one line of green text: Task completed.

  "Which task?" Madeline asked.

  A number appeared on the screen, counting down by one unit per second: six zero four seven nine nine, six zero four seven nine eight, six zero four seven nine seven . . .

  "Is that a time bomb?" Tadgh gasped.

  "We’re getting out of here," Ciaran said. They hurried toward the door while Lucien stood still, puzzling at the machine.

  When they were at the door, the control panel flashed a red line of text: Six zero four eight hundred.

  Lucien eventually turned and darted for the door.

  They stormed outside the villa.

  From a relatively safe distance, Ciaran asked Lucien, "What exactly did Richard tell you to do?"

  "He said you would come and collect the disk. I had to make sure you saw the gateway before you left."

  "My grandfather didn't ask you to eject the disk, did he? He wanted us to see the computer so we knew what to do and to take the disk without triggering some sort of countdown," Madeline said.

  "Why didn't you say so before? Why didn't Richard make that clear?" Lucien protested.

  "I don't think Richard knows about the countdown," Ciaran said. “Juliette must have coded it in.”