Totem of Aries
Page 22
She looked at the time stamp in the corner of the picture. It was the same day but much earlier in the day. She flicked to the next picture and saw another person with the mark, but it had been taken the day before. There were more and more pictures with marks on other individuals, and she wasn’t sure now if they were natives to Iilos, space creatures, or outlanders like herself.
She kicked her chair back and rested her face in the palms of her hands. Someone or something was going on a killing spree, exploding jumpers. Why?
Chapter 5
Madeline nuzzled into the neck of her husband and breathed in the scent of him. She was lying on top of him, so she let her long brunette curls drape over his chest and half of his face. She knew he liked that. But he didn’t just lie there and take her commands. He was so incredibly inventive in lovemaking that she would never be able to keep up with his moves. Just like now. He went straight to a point she didn’t expect. She yelped then bit lightly at his neck, behind his ear.
“First councillor, we have a meeting and a live broadcast shortly. Can you spare me the embarrassment of appearing in front of six hundred billion citizens with a hickey on my neck?” Ciaran said.
“Keep calling me first councillor and you’ll definitely have a hickey.”
“First councillor… Ouch!”
Madeline chuckled as her husband began to moan with pleasure. The deep sound coming from his throat always turned her on even more. Out there, he was king of a universe—a warrior and a man who knew it all. But in this room, in this bed, he was her man—the center of her universe. And she knew she was his. With their children, they were at the pinnacle of this family universe. It was something that a year ago, as a journalist in New York, she wouldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams.
The door slid open, and Robert, their home robot, rolled in. Robert had human shape and size and had been designed by Ciaran’s father several years ago. He was a learning robot, and his sense of sarcasm had improved greatly by being around Ciaran and herself.
“Obviously, you wheeled in instead of sing the intercom because there’s something of urgency on a galactic level that you need to call to our attention to,” Madeline said.
“Nothing can justify your intrusion, Robert,” Ciaran scolded.
“You have given me permission to intrude if there is a code red message, master!”
Ciaran sat up. “Did you hear that? I bet you learned that from my little brother.”
Madeline laughed. Robert had never before called Ciaran “master.” But as a learning machine, he learned new vocabulary every day, and he adopted human behavior and rationalization rapidly.
“I learned it from you, unfortunately,” Robert said.
“All right, so unlearn it, and I’ll install a program that allows you to roll your eyes.”
“Thank you. That would be very helpful.”
Ciaran threw a robe over his shoulders. “What’s the code red message?”
Robert popped open a compartment in the middle section of his body to reveal a folded note.
Ciaran picked up the piece of paper and frowned. “Real paper?”
“Perhaps you can install a program that will allow me to grin. I’m glad you’re pleased, Ciaran. Using real paper instead of an electronic notepad has a high probability of creating a sense of nostalgia, which is a positive feeling in humans.”
Ciaran smiled. “Nostalgia is only good if your memories are positive. But yes, I’m pleased. Thank you. Is that all?”
“Yes, Ciaran. The message is urgent. I’ll leave you to it now.” Robert backed out on his little wheels, and the door of the room slid closed.
Madeline sat on the bed with the blanket wrapped around her body and watched Ciaran as he read the message. When it came to work, he was always focused and intense. She liked watching him work. But taking on the responsibility of king of Eudaiz, a universe far away from Earth, wasn’t the task she had wished for him.
The last few months had been very difficult with the pass through the Daimon Gate and his coronation in this strange universe. She would never get used to the number of scars now he bore on that long, lean, muscular body of his. Being king of Eudaiz gave him a special kind of energy—the eudqi. But he hadn’t had a chance to adapt to the new energy and utilize it properly.
He wasn’t immortal. The eudqi healed almost all injuries, except those where he was hit at the fatal eudqi point on his left shoulder. Madeline frowned at a red scar a few inches away from that point and shuddered.
At that moment, something whizzed past her from behind. Ciaran was looking at her and was about to say something when the object struck him right on his eudqi point.
It was a combat knife.
He hadn’t reacted quickly enough. There wasn’t time for him to say anything. He looked at her as blood streamed from his wound. The hilt of the knife still vibrated from the impact.
She screamed.
“Madeline!”
She heard Ciaran’s voice, calling her name.
“Madeline!”
She felt his arms wrapping around her. She felt every muscle in him quivering.
She opened her eyes groggily. He put her down on the bed and wiped a tear that had fallen onto on her cheek. “You had a psychic episode. You passed out. It must have been bad. I’ll get you some water.”
She grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving. “No, don’t leave.”
He sat back down at the bedside. She played with his elegant hands, weaving her fingers in and out of his long ones.
“It was a precognition,” she said.
“Anything I should know about?”
“You were stabbed at your eudqi point.”
He nodded. “I promise to be careful.”
“That’s not enough.”
“I’ll avoid engaging in any situations requiring combat until you feel better.”
She nodded. “That’s better. Who was the message from?”
“It’s from Dex.”
She sat up. “Dex?”
“The marshal from the underworld. We were acquainted during my last trip to Earth.”
“Oh, that Dex. The shapeshifter. What did he want?”
Ciaran sighed. “A package was delivered to one of the underworld jails, and it killed fifty criminals. Dex was called in for an investigation. He found a common and disturbing theme. Twenty out of the fifty deaths were aperture jumpers.”
“That’s impossible. Didn’t we discuss at the council meeting just last week that these apertures have to be identified and closed ASAP? Was it a coincidence that those apertures were on our meeting’s agenda?”
Ciaran shook his head. “It wasn’t a coincidence. I suggested it. Apertures of the multiverse are loops of light and energy. When people jump through, they absorb that light and energy, and it changes them. Mostly, it enhances their current qualities or talents. But that means that evil creatures, those with dark powers, could become invincible if they jump.”
“But you said no person or creature and no system can identify the pattern of their occurrence.”
He looked at her, and she could see a deep concern in his striking gray eyes. “One person did.”
“Person? You mean a human?”
He nodded and sighed and then waved the piece of paper in his hand. “An old friend of mine identified the aperture pattern once, and he left traces of the results of his work in the system. Now, with this killing frenzy, the multiverse is going to go after him. I have to make a trip to Earth to let him know.”
“Why can’t you just call him?”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Someone has triggered a hunt for jumpers. I don’t know the reasons for the killing. But it’s not going to stop until whoever triggered it finds what they want. Telling my friend to go into hiding isn’t going to solve this problem.”
“It doesn’t look like I can talk you out of this. So in that case, I’m going with you.”
“What? No! You—”
“Stay home with the children?”
“No, I mean—”
“Last time we talked about this and had an argument, you went straight to Babylon and had a fight.” She jabbed her finger into his chest. “That scar is a reminder of how close you were to death. And all because of what, Ciaran?”
“Yes, I get the point. I don’t have the psychic ability that you have. But that time, there was magic involved. And I don’t do magic. This one is pure science. All I need is a computer and some bits and pieces of equipment.”
“Are you sure there’s no spooky stuff involved this time?”
“Regarding the apertures, yes.”
“Regarding things other than the apertures, Ciaran. Things your science can’t explain. You said so yourself. You’ve added so many variables to your scientific equations these days. So much that you are unsure even you can comprehend them. So when your comprehension stops working, you’ll need an irrational psychic like me!”
He grabbed her finger that was still jabbing at his chest. “It could be dangerous.”
“Aha! You just told me it’s only a trip to visit a friend. And now all of a sudden it’s dangerous? You’re contradicting yourself. And you can’t know if there’s anything else involved. In short, you’ll need me!”
He sighed. “Since when did I start losing ground when we argue?”
She grinned and kissed him.
Also by D.N. Leo
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TOTEM OF ARIES
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