The Red Queen

by Meg Xuemei X

  He couldn’t, so he’d left.

  “Oh, no, no, no,” Ziyi cried. “Don’t do that to me. Don’t look like that! You must not turn.” She then cursed herself before instructing, “Deep breaths, Lucia, deep breaths!”

  Lucienne breathed in and out. The redness receded, but coldness swept over her. “I’m fine.” She squeezed her friend’s shoulder and forced a smile. “Let’s have dinner another day.”

  Lucienne left the lab.

  ~

  In the first few days, Lucienne’s heart stumbled every time she rounded the corner, expecting Ash to show up. He never did. She couldn’t go after him in her volatile mental condition. She could no longer afford to act like when she was fifteen and had run off to Tibet with Vladimir. She now had a burgeoning nation on her shoulders and a people she must put before her.

  She also had Vladimir to consider.

  At seventeen, she felt old.

  In the morning, she awoke to find her pillow wet. Had she cried herself to sleep? She didn’t recall. She never expected her bond with Ash to go so deep that his absence made it difficult to draw a breath.

  She jolted up in bed. For a second, she sensed him through their bond, but then the connection stretched thin. He was gone again.

  At nights, she often wandered alone in the red forest. The guards gave her a wide berth. Vladimir watched her silently. He gave her space, but he’d become as somber as her. She knew how unfair she was to him.

  That day she went for a walk in the afternoon. Her white gown flitted across the leaves on the ground, making fluttering sound. As sunlight sifted through the leaves, she saw red. It was all red—the sky, the forest, the light, and the distant blur. She started hyperventilating, seeing that a slice of her insanity would hit in the next second. She wheeled around, stretching her hand to grab something solid, anything. But she was in a clearing.

  Then Vladimir was at her side, holding her, anchoring her, letting her head rest on his solid shoulder. “I’m here, miláček,” he whispered.

  And she calmed.

  “It’s okay you miss him,” he said. “Your feelings for him are part of you now. You don’t need to hide any part of you from me.”

  Her breath caught in her throat, she turned to cautiously peek into his eyes. The forest’s redness didn’t get into his eyes, which were a well of clear understanding.

  “I can’t deny I’m jealous,” he said, “but I’m not crushed by it. Not anymore. Even if you don’t need me, I’ll still hang round. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I’m afraid one day I’ll finally drive you insane, like me,” she whispered.

  “You already drive me crazy.” He gave her a lazy, warm grin. “I’m crazy for you. But my love, for you, I’ll hold on to my sanity.”

  She rested her face against his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist. His solid frame enveloped her. He was no longer that hotshot she’d fallen for two years ago. He became a man for her.

  CHAPTER 6

  MAD DANCE

  Ziyi took a big bite of sausage before she could swallow a portion of bacon she half chewed, and inserted a spoonful of baked beans into her mouth.

  “When was the last time you had a good meal?” Lucienne asked her friend in the sun room.

  “Before you went to Polynesia.” Ziyi returned to her food.

  Sphinxes had won the war, but no one had felt like winners. Lucienne had come back poisoned.

  “Swallow your food before you speak,” Lucienne said.

  Ziyi grabbed a buttery rowie from a plate and pasted more butter on it with a knife. “But you asked me a question.” The sunshine painted her purple-streaked bangs a lighter hue. “I haven’t felt good for so long.”

  “Should I know the reason of your fabulous mood?” asked Lucienne. “Has it to do with men?”

  “I’m a postmodern girl. I don’t need a man to feel great,” she said, raising a finger. “First, you haven’t had a breakdown in ten days. I think the poison has expired. Even Dr. Wren is positive.”

  “Thanks.” Lucienne felt good too. “And Vlad hasn’t come back with black eyes and a split lip. The men have behaved. Vlad hasn’t picked a fight, either. Things are good between us.”

  Ziyi put down the bread and sighed. “Would you rather know the truth?”

  “I’m not blind. The men still hate him, but they won’t touch him, and that’s good enough, for now.”

  “They stopped fighting Blazek because Ash told them that the Czech enjoyed being beaten. The more he hurts, the better he feels. So the men won’t give him that. They won’t beat the misery out of him. They want his own conscience to torment him. He’s already in hell, and they want to keep him there. They take another path to avoid him and treat him like the plague.”

  Lucienne pressed her lips into a line, her fine mood gone. She could stop the men from hitting him, but she couldn’t stop them from making him an outcast. Her dark gaze fell on Ziyi’s face. “What about you?”

  “I’ve had a change of heart. I can be nicer, for your sake.”

  “Then we try it now,” Lucienne said. “Aida told Vlad that we need girl time this morning. He’s been giving me space. I’d like to have him join us, if you don’t mind. You and I will do a morning run together and then go shopping. We’ll have a lot of girl time.”

  Ziyi put down her black tea and coughed into her hand.

  “You all right, Ziyi?” Lucienne asked with concern. “Take it easy, will you? I won’t take your food.”

  Ziyi kept coughing and her face reddened. Lucienne went around the table to pat her friend’s back. When Ziyi calmed, she stared at Lucienne, wide eyed. “You—you don’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Blazek left Sphinxes last night.”

  Lucienne’s heart stopped for a beat. “Did he say when he’d be back?”

  “No one knew. I—I don’t think it’s a short-term thing,” Ziyi said, watching Lucienne anxiously.

  Vladimir had abandoned her too. Just when she’d believed he would have always stood by her no matter what, he’d deserted her. When she drifted closer to Vladimir, she drove away Ash. And when she couldn’t help but miss Ash a little, Vladimir couldn’t stand it.

  She was now all alone. A rush of blood pumped in her eardrums, then the redness came. Lucienne didn’t try to fend it off. “Are you truly my friend, Ziyi?” she asked.

  “Of course I am! You know I’d die for you.”

  “Is that so?” Lucienne drawled. “Isn’t this the second time you failed to inform me of his leaving? The first time he joined up with my enemies, and they used him to get to me. And now when I need him more than ever, you didn’t bother to tell me of his parting again. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I might never see him again.”

  Ziyi’s face paled. “It won’t come to that.”

  The red wave surrounded Lucienne.

  “No, no, no,” she heard Ziyi cry. “Please, Lucia, please—”

  Lucienne regarded the girl, whose dove-like eyes were pleading, her small hand tight on Lucienne’s arm. This girl was her subject. “What do you want?” she asked. “To become a duchess when I become queen?”

  “No, no,” the girl said, tears in her eyes. “Please come back, Lucia. They didn’t leave you. They all went to find a cure for you.”

  “A cure? Why do I need a cure?”

  “Please don’t do this,” Ziyi begged, tears dropping from her eyes. “Please. I don’t know how to deal with this you—and Ash isn’t here right now.”

  Ash. Ashburn Fury. He’d also left her, and with that memory, an empty ache crashed her, followed by the remnant of the Lure. Ash wasn’t around to fuel it, but he’d left part of it behind. The incomplete Lure was like a restless, half-awake, yet hungry beast. It had no one to prey on but her. It stirred heat in her, yet left her unsatisfied.

  She couldn’t find a release.

  The cure.

  Could it help her put out the heat?

  “Ziyi Wen?” she asked.
>
  “Ye—yes?” Ziyi answered timidly.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be my best friend?” she asked in a measured tone.

  “I am your best friend,” the girl said.

  “Then why aren’t you out there finding the cure for me?”

  “I’ve been searching for it every waking moment.” Ziyi wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. “I’m not good at guns or exploring the outdoors. My expertise is in the cyberworld. I—”

  “Excuses!” Lucienne hissed.

  The guards and Aida rushed into the sun room. One look at her, and they instantly tensed, as if facing the most hazardous species on earth.

  Lucienne wasn’t pleased.

  “I—we were having a nice breakfast.” Ziyi looked to the new group apologetically. “I upset her by telling her about Prince Vladimir.”

  “Vladimir Blazek, the traitor,” Lucienne said, scanning the guards’ faces. “Do you all know about his treason?” She narrowed her eyes on them. “No?” She shoved Ziyi aside and strode toward one of the guards. “We have an enemy among us,” she regarded the guard sternly, then pinched his cheek hard with her thumb and forefinger, “and you look so robust and keep feeding yourself well. Have you forgotten your duty, soldier?”

  “No,” the guard said, standing very still, “not for a second.”

  “Then what’s your duty?”

  “To protect you, Siren!” the guard said.

  “Well said, but empty words.” Lucienne released the guard. “You let Blazek escape. He’ll come back and drive the blade into my heart.”

  “He won’t,” someone said.

  “Then why do I feel pain in my heart already?”

  “Love hurts,” Ziyi whimpered.

  “Nonsense! No more love talk.” Lucienne looked around the room. “Where is Kian McQuillen? I need him to capture Blazek and bring me the traitor.”

  Thaddeus sauntered in. “Chief McQuillen went to the Continent.”

  “What for?” Lucienne demanded.

  “To ensure the stability of all ops,” Thaddeus answered.

  “Why should he worry about the ops?” asked Lucienne.

  “There are rumors,” Thaddeus said.

  “I know the rumors,” Lucienne snorted. “They say that I’m insane. Even some of my high-ranking officers doubt my leadership. Do you doubt me like the others, cousin?”

  “No, cousin, never,” Thaddeus said. “You’re my Siren, forever.”

  “What about the rest of the family?” Lucienne asked.

  “We who swore a blood oath to you will stand by you till the end.”

  “But one among you is Judas,” Lucienne said.

  “Who?” Thaddeus asked, immediately tensed, a murderous look in his eyes.

  Lucienne smiled coldly. “You’ll know soon. I have a pretty plan for him.” Then she let out a sigh. “I also trusted Kian, Ash, and Vlad, but look how they all left me.”

  “They’ll come back, Lucia,” Ziyi said.

  Lucienne eyed her. “I know you mean well, but we’re girls of independence. We don’t need boys or men to feel better. Think of the Amazon warriors. Who needs men anyway?” With a swift, fluid movement, she leapt onto the dinette table. She twirled while singing a battle song of blades and ashes and bones.

  “Come, Ziyi,” she called in an interval, “sing and dance with me.” Already bored before she finished the song, she jumped off the table and landed beside Ziyi like a powerful feline. She wiped her friend’s tears. “Don’t cry, silly girl. I was teasing you. I know you’re loyal to me. I can read your mind. Now let me take you to my castle. We’ll party all night.”

  She dragged her friend out of the sun room and into the hallway, still dancing. Then remembering something, she turned to the guards. “And you, yes, all of you, need to have a good time. You’ve been working too hard, good men. I’ll make sure there are no enemies tonight to spoil our fun.”

  Ziyi, in a mist of tears, stumbled along in her stilettos and tight qipao, as Lucienne made her spin and spin.

  PART II

  CHAPTER 7

  CAPTURE

  For the first time in his life, Kian McQuillen had no idea where exactly he was.

  His enemies had intended that with hard kicks on his head, feeling that the terrible pain from his broken ribs wouldn’t be enough to dull his sense and judgment. Even tied, blindfolded, and drugged, Kian was aware that his tormentors had moved him across a few countries. He also knew they’d made a detour three times.

  When agonizing pain woke him, Kian instinctively groped for a gun, but found himself chained to the damp ground in a cell of windowless walls and a steel door. His captors had plucked the knives from his boots, as well as anything that could be turned into a weapon. He knocked on the wall behind him. It had to be several feet thick, constructed of poured concrete. The light in the room was sparse, but Kian knew well that night-vision cameras were fixed on him.

  He must be in Abaddon 5. They put only the most high-profile prisoners—people like him and Jekaterina—in the Sealers’ most fortified prison.

  He was where he needed to be.

  It had broken his heart to see Lucienne battling herself.

  They’d escaped many death traps. They’d beat the impossibilities. She became the first female Siren in an eon and achieved more than any of her predecessors. She’d obtained the Eye of Time, an ancient sentient being he was wary of but she was obsessed with. Together, they were about to form an elite nation.

  Then she’d been poisoned.

  How could he find the antidote to an ancient poison that was beyond human knowledge? Even the Fury kid said there was no cure. But as long as there was the slimmest hope, he would go through heaven and hell to find one. He wouldn’t accept that there was no cure. He wouldn’t accept this fate for Lucienne.

  The answer lay on the last scroll—Lucienne’s and his only hope.

  When Kian had agreed to send Ashburn to find the scroll, Lucienne had exploded. That kid meant a great deal to her, and he was good for her. “Spare him,” she had said. “You and Pyon can send your best man to track Jekaterina.”

  And who was a better man than himself?

  So he’d done what he must do to find a cure for Lucienne.

  ~

  Kian had left Sphinxes over a week ago to hunt down Jekaterina. Jed Lam, the former Siren, and his agents had failed to catch a glimpse of the woman for a decade. She’d remained off the grid. No one could pick up her trail, at least not until she had “accidentally” popped up in Ashburn’s memory bank. The woman had flashed the last scroll as bait in Ashburn’s face, then had vanished again.

  Kian returned to use old school methods to find Jekaterina.

  All the lookouts from Sphinxes’ continental operations focused on any possible footprints she’d left, but there was no trace. No one even knew what Jekaterina looked like. The agents searched for any middle-aged Russian woman who looked remotely similar to Lucienne Lam.

  Then Sphinxes Division of Intelligence obtained intel on a Sealers elder, Nickolas M. Poles. The twenty-five-year old, Ivy-League graduate had just risen to power. He had a square jaw and green eyes, with privilege written all over his boyish face.

  The Sealers still maintained their traditional hierarchy structure. Twelve elders held the highest rank inside the brotherhood, except for the founder, a descendant of the first Sealer. Sphinxes’ forces had destroyed half of the elders in the Polynesian war, but the founder had survived.

  Kian’s men hijacked Nickolas’ private jet when he brought two blondes with him, heading for Hvar to enjoy lush vineyards and secluded coves and lots of sex. The men took him to the Berlin operation, where Kian impatiently waited.

  Berlin op had two locations: one inside an upscale commercial building, running business as usual, the other disguised as an old warehouse away from the center of the capital city.

  “Is he really an elder?” Hanz, the head of the Berlin op, asked in a slight German accent, eying
the young captive sitting on a hard chair in the center of the warehouse.

  “If I am not, why don’t you just let me go?” said Nickolas.

  “If you are not, we’ll just have to kill you,” said one of Kian’s aides.

  “In that case, I admit I’ve ascended to the elder position after you killed my father in the war. The eldership is inherited in the Brotherhood. You kill one elder, one of his sons or daughters warms the seat. If the elder’s line has no direct heirs, then the bench goes to the nearest relative. So, am I betrayed by someone in my family? Who benefits the most if I am out of the way?” He pondered for a moment. “Two of my cousins.” He looked up at Kian. “Who sold me out?”

  “Let’s pump him with truth serum and get some answers,” Hanz said with annoyance.

  “You don’t need to do that,” said Nickolas. “I have conditions to medication. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. They’ve already tossed me to the wolves—no offense—when I was in power for only a month. I want revenge. I have no personal grudge against the Siren, even after my dad was killed. I understand how war goes.”

  Kian gave his aide a nod, and the man plunged the syringe into the side of Nickolas’ neck.

  Nickolas yelped.

  The injection was water, but the young elder didn’t know.

  The aide waited for a minute before asking, “What’s your position and territory, Nickolas M. Poles?”

  “I’m one of the Sealers elders. My territory is South Asia, but I prefer Africa.”

  “Did the founder sink with the fleet?” Kian asked.

  “He doesn’t sink. He never sinks. The legend says he has supernatural powers and can’t be killed. Even if he is killed, we wouldn’t know. And it doesn’t matter much. His son or daughter would take his crown. You only blew up his messenger, Elder Emmanuel Thorn. He was the most powerful man next to the founder. I’ve never liked that pompous snake.”