The Dark of Other Skies (The Others Book 2)

by V. E. Lemp

  Karen took hold of Ariel’s hand and followed his retreating form, Isabelle’s footsteps audible behind them. “You must contact Alex,” Karen whispered into Ariel’s ear as she pretended to brush dust from the girl’s shoulder.

  Ariel gazed up into Karen’s face, her gray eyes veiled under her pale lashes. “I already have,” she whispered back.

  “Of course you have.” Karen spoke at full voice, not caring if Isabelle heard her this time. She turned her head and smiled at the avatar.

  “Move along.” Isabelle waved her flashlight to hurry them down the path. “Unless you want me to control you.”

  “No.” Karen shared a glance with Ariel. “We will follow your orders. For now.”

  Dream Journal, October 4th:

  The white walls shimmered, as if images lay just below the surface, struggling to emerge. I walked to the center of the room and stretched out my arms.

  “I am here,” I called. “Please come to me.”

  There was no answer. “I need help. If you can hear me, don’t abandon me.”

  A flash split one of the walls of the room. A figure stepped through the portal, bathed in light so bright I couldn’t discern who was walking toward me.

  “Karen,” said a familiar voice. He stood before me, shedding light like a swimmer shaking off water.

  “Alex, what are you doing here?” I stepped forward, until we were toe to toe.

  “I heard your call for help.” His brilliant aquamarine eyes surveyed my face.

  “I thought Alice would come, or Douglas. I didn’t expect you.”

  “I can enter your dreams as well as they can,” Alex said. “And while they care for you, there is no one more dedicated to your welfare than me. You should know that by now, my sweet.”

  “There is one other, but he hasn’t learned to speak in dreams.”

  Alex’s smile tightened. “Yes, but I don’t think he can assist you at this moment. You’re stuck with me.”

  “I’m glad you’ve come,” I said, reaching out my hand. Though we stood so close I couldn’t touch him. It was odd. I could make contact with the Oneiroi when they appeared in my dreams, but never Alex. “I’m in danger. Ariel and I have been kidnapped.” I dropped my hand to my side.

  “Yes, we know that much. Claire contacted Mark as soon as you disappeared. And Ariel has already spoken with me. Not in a dream, you understand, but through thoughts.”

  “Did she tell you what’s going on, where we are?”

  “We already knew what happened, since Ian sent Amy and his mother to deliver his list of demands. This information was not met, as you can imagine, with any joy, although everyone was glad to see Amy safe.”

  “So she’s okay?” I took a deep breath. “At least that’s good news.”

  “She’s fine.” Alex looked me up and down. “I didn’t realize how dangerous your husband is when he’s truly angry. I suppose I should make note of that.”

  “Yes, it’s probably best if you never push him to that extreme,” I replied with a slight smile.

  “He’s furiously planning your rescue as we speak. Ariel told me she suspects you’re near one of Ian’s installations. Mark’s using that information to track you down. There are only so many places, apparently, that Ian can stash you safely.”

  “Mark already has a plan?” I gripped my hands together.

  “Your husband is quite adept at this sort of operation. I’d have thought you’d know that.”

  “You’re right, I should’ve known. And trusted both of you.”

  A smile illuminated Alex’s face. “We will find you, my sweet, whatever it takes.”

  “I do believe you,” I said. “But you must understand—I’ll still do whatever I can to escape. If I can get away safely, with Ariel, I must try. I don’t want Myron to be forced to destroy his work.”

  “Wait for us.” Alex’s form shimmered and faded. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

  “I’ll do whatever I must,” I replied as he disappeared. “Foolish or otherwise.”

  I woke then, in a darkened van, being driven to an unknown destination.

  NINETEEN

  For the first two days Karen and Ariel were kept in a small room in an abandoned motel. They were guarded by an older man whose scarred face looked familiar.

  “I’ve met you before,” Karen said, as he placed a tray of food on the battered dresser. “You came to my house—well, it was my husband’s house at the time. You warned us off our investigations, right at the beginning.”

  “For all the good it did.” The man stared at Karen for a moment. “Ya don’t listen well, do ya? Look where you ended up.”

  “Seems you didn’t end up in a much better place.” Karen moved to stand in front of him as he paused in the doorway. “Guarding a woman and a girl? Hardly a promotion.”

  “Just you never mind ’bout me,” the man snarled. “Been promised a good ’nough deal.”

  “Oh, and you believe Ian Vance’s promises?” Karen stepped back quickly as the man slammed the door in her face. She stared at her wristwatch, thinking about its secret compartment that held lock-picking tools. Mark had given her the watch as a precaution. She could try to unlock the door, but it would a foolish effort if the guard remained outside. She pressed her ear against it for a moment to catch the sound of his boots slapping against the gravel as he paced.

  A guard was always on duty outside, so Karen resigned herself to captivity. Then, on the third day of their confinement, two other men stormed into the motel room and blindfolded Karen and Ariel before marching them out to a waiting vehicle. They were driven along for some time, over a series of gravel roads that finally gave way to smooth pavement. As they were pulled from the vehicle, Karen sniffed a heavy odor of boxwoods and evergreens. Fingers of sunlight warmed the back of her neck. So it was still day. Karen scrunched her face in an attempt to shift the blindfold, but the cloth was tied too closely about her head. She finally gave in to the inevitable and walked along quietly, catching her elbow on a door that led onto a hard, cold surface. A hallway, in some office or industrial building.

  The blindfold was removed just before Karen was thrust into another room. She turned to Ariel as the door slammed behind them. “You all right?” she asked, rubbing her temples.

  “Yeah. Why’d they move us? Any idea?”

  “I don’t know.” Karen glanced about the barren room. It was a simple box, with white-painted walls and an acoustic-tile ceiling. Speckled gray linoleum covered the floor. “But somehow we’re going to get out of here.”

  Sitting in the small, windowless room with Ariel, Karen decided not to allow either Ian Vance or her illness to control her. As she devised an escape plan, her exhaustion faded, replaced with a sense of manic energy. It was enough to keep her on her feet, at least for the time being.

  “You’d know, wouldn’t you?” she asked Ariel. “If there were people nearby? In the corridor, I mean.”

  “Yes, I think so. But depending on that for our safety makes me nervous.”

  “Don’t worry. If you’re wrong, we’ll just be back in the same place we are now. I don’t think they’ll actually harm us. They want to make use of us, and their greed will overcome their desire for punishment. Or at least,” Karen added, with a rueful smile, “I hope so.”

  Ariel stared at Karen, her gray eyes wide. “I wish my dad were here.”

  “So do I. And Mark. But I think we need to help ourselves. I don’t want your father to be forced to abandon his plans just to save us.”

  “I’d hate that.” Ariel’s voice had regained some of its strength. “Dad’s worked so hard on his program. It means so much to him.”

  “It means a lot to many people. More than we probably know. Look, if you can sense the presence or absence of people—or anything else, for that matter—we might be able to slip from this room and make our way out of the building. I don’t know if that’s possible, but we have to try. At the very least it’ll prove to Vance we’re not goin
g to sit here and allow him to use us like pawns.”

  “Would they ever leave us unguarded, though?” Ariel toyed with a strand of her hair. “Wouldn’t that be dumb? They kept a guard outside that motel.”

  “Yeah, but now we’re in one of their buildings, and maybe they’ll assume that’s more secure. I mean, you never know. Ian Vance often underestimates people, especially if he thinks he has the upper hand. He can be stupid that way.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know if I sense the hall’s empty.”

  Karen flashed Ariel an encouraging smile. “Good girl. Stay on your feet. We must make a run for it at our first opportunity.”

  “Isn’t the door locked?”

  “Well, there are advantages to being married to someone who knows a thing or two about breaking and entering.”

  It was a simple lock, one that the small pick tucked inside the back of her watchcase would easily release. Karen smiled as she noted the surprise on Ariel’s face. “Gift from Mark. He worries about me, you know.” She fiddled with the lock until she heard the tumbler spring free, unlocking the door.

  Ariel laid her hand on Karen’s arm. “Are you feeling strong enough to run?”

  “I can manage. But listen, Ariel, if we do escape and I fall behind…”

  Ariel shook her head. “I won’t leave you. Don’t make me do that.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I think the hall’s empty.”

  Karen nodded. “Let’s try to get out of here, then.”

  Ariel’s forehead was wrinkled with worry. “Might be wrong.”

  “I trust you.” Karen slowly turned the doorknob and peered around the door. There was no movement in the immediate vicinity. “Come on, we can at least get out of this room.”

  They moved cautiously into the corridor, creeping along one of the walls. As they rounded a corner, the metal-clad finishes gave way to an interior mimicking the design of a fine hotel. Pale wood paneled the bottom half of the walls while the upper portion was painted a soft forest green. Paintings hung at regular intervals above the chair rail. Karen recognized one of her own works and shook her head.

  “Must be the public part of the building,” she whispered to Ariel. “Anyone close by?”

  Ariel’s eyes were half-closed in concentration. “In the offices. Not in the hall.”

  Karen held her finger to her lips as they passed a row of closed office doors before spying an open one. “No one in that room, but someone’s close,” Ariel whispered.

  Karen cautiously approached the door and glanced inside. It was an empty anteroom. Footsteps rang out from around the corner ahead of them. Karen grabbed Ariel’s hand and pulled her into the small room, closing the door behind them.

  They stood silently in the dark for a moment. As her eyes adjusted, Karen saw light bleeding around the edges of another door. She crept over and laid her hand on the knob. As she slowly twisted it, she heard voices and paused. Two voices, both familiar. One she might have expected, but the other a shock.

  She gripped the knob so hard her knuckles ached. So they’d found them, as promised.

  Karen motioned for Ariel to stay behind her. Keeping one hand on the doorknob, she pushed the door ajar, just enough to peer into the other room without being seen.

  Alex was in a chair facing Ian Vance, who was seated behind a large metal desk. Alex looked perfectly relaxed, but Karen noted the unnatural brilliance of his eyes.

  “So, Ian, why did you agree to see me, again?”

  “To ask for your help, of course.” Vance smiled, his lips sliding back from his teeth, reminding Karen of a cornered dog.

  “My help? What makes you think I would assist you in any way? We cut ties some time ago, when I continued to work for the Oneiroi but not for your interests. A decision you hated, as I recall.”

  Vance’s smile didn’t fade, but there was no amusement visible on his face. “Because you owe me, for your introduction to the Oneiroi and all the knowledge you’ve gained from them. You owe me for the power you’ve obtained through their patronage. And, more importantly, because I can give you something you want.”

  Alex raised his eyebrows. “Really? And what would that be?”

  “Why, Karen, of course.” Vance’s words were devoid of emotion.

  Ariel’s fingers landed on her arm as Karen clenched her teeth to keep from swearing.

  “What makes you think I want that?”

  “Don’t treat me like a fool. You’ve always loved her, haven’t you? I knew it as soon as she joined the Morpheus Project. It was perfectly obvious to anyone who had eyes. Although”—there was a touch of acid in Vance’s voice—“I never did understand the attraction. Despite her ability to connect with the Oneiroi, Karen never struck me as anything special, or all that fascinating. She’s not precisely what I’d call a beauty, either. I’d never have expected you to form such a strong attachment to that type of girl. You, who could have had any woman you desired. And now, well, she’s just older, isn’t she? Scarcely a femme fatale, our special dreamer.”

  Alex’s face was an unreadable mask. “Which just goes to show how incredibly shallow you are. No wonder Dora left you.”

  In that second, a spasm of pain crumpled Ian Vance’s carefully composed face. So there was someone he actually cared about. Karen filed the information away for future reference.

  “Regardless of your opinion of me,” Vance said, “I do have the power to fulfill your greatest desire. Which, if I’m not mistaken, would be for Karen to return to you.”

  “How do you propose to accomplish that?”

  “Remove the impediment. Eliminate Mark Hallam.”

  Karen would’ve flown into the room had Ariel not grabbed her hand and held her back.

  “How very unpleasant.” Alex’s voice was devoid of all emotion. “I don’t think that’s your best strategy, when all’s said and done. You know how loyal Karen is. Kill Mark and she’d go into hibernation and devote the rest of her life to his memory. I don’t think I’d advise that particular tactic, not if you’re hoping to reward me with her favor.”

  Vance eyed Alex speculatively. “Perhaps you’re right. I know she clung to your memory after your supposed death. Well, there is one other option.”

  “For me to return to the Oneiroi still loyal to Exocorp and take Karen with me?” Alex shook his head. “I thought that’s where we were headed.”

  Vance stood and walked around the desk. “You wouldn’t have to go back to a ship. We’ve facilities here on Earth that would suffice. I’m afraid you would have to disappear again, though.”

  “I haven’t actually reappeared, for all intents and purposes. But you’d have to make Karen vanish.”

  “Not too difficult.” Vance leaned back against the desk. “She’s missing right now. A little traffic accident could be arranged. A burnt-out vehicle with a body, enough DNA to convince the authorities…” He shrugged. “Quite simple, actually.”

  “But would it convince Mark Hallam? I doubt it. He’s already searching for her.”

  “Of course he is. I’d expect nothing less. But if she were to be pronounced dead I think our Mr. Hallam is pragmatic enough to move on, eventually.”

  “Do you?” Alex stood and faced Vance. “I’m not so sure about that. He didn’t abandon his investigation of my death, and I can guarantee you he felt nothing for me. Compare that to what he feels for Karen, and I’m not certain he’d ever move on, as you so delicately put it.”

  “We can deal with Mark Hallam,” Ian Vance said.

  “You haven’t yet done so. Successfully, I mean,” Alex replied, with what Karen was surprised to recognize as a smile.

  “He does have his friends and protectors. But no one’s invulnerable.”

  “Indeed they aren’t. You should bear that in mind.”

  “Including you.” Vance straightened and stepped away from the desk.

  “Including me,” Alex agreed. “Though I’d advise you not to do anything foolish if you don’t want the Oneiroi diverte
d from lining your pockets by a civil war.”

  Ian Vance walked to the other side of the room, keeping his back to Alex and the door. “Be that as it may, what do you think? About my little proposal, I mean. You, of course, have your own friends and protectors, but I believe we could work together again if we had what we wanted.”

  “So I’d agree to be Exocorp’s prisoner for what? Karen’s unwilling company? I’m not sure that’s enough of an inducement, to be honest.”

  “Oh, I doubt she’d remain unwilling forever,” Vance said, without turning around. “I think I can count on you to change her mind. And as for being a prisoner, you’d be free to come and go, as long as we had your full loyalty, of course.”

  “But Karen would be imprisoned, wouldn’t she? Not the most romantic of situations, but maybe you have a different way of looking at things. Perhaps I should ask Leena what she thinks of your plan.”

  “Leena knows all my plans.”

  “Does she? How unfortunate for Leena. So you had no compunction in dragging her down into whatever circle of hell you inhabit? Well, you must forgive me if I have no desire to do the same to Karen, who, you understand, I actually love.”

  Ariel tugged Karen’s sleeve. “He just realized we’re here.”

  Karen shrank back from the door. “Who? Vance?”

  “No. Alex.”

  Through the crack in the door, Karen’s eyes met Alex’s clear gaze. Vance still had his back to the door. Alex lifted a finger to his lips and gave Karen a look that made her heart contract.

  Ian Vance turned around. “How charming. You’ve discovered your inner knight errant? You’re willing to give up Karen and allow her to enjoy a safe but rather pedestrian life with Mark Hallam? While you live out your days alone?”

  “I told you I love her. Since you don’t quite understand that concept, allow me to explain—it sometimes involves a sacrifice of one’s own interests for the sake of someone else. It’s taken me some time to understand this, I confess, but I think I grasp the full implications of it now.” Alex turned his head and looked into Karen’s eyes.