by Meg Xuemei X
Combustion. As the word came, her mind and body could register nothing but excruciating pain. Lucienne couldn’t help but scream inhumanly.
The next second she was in both Ashburn and Vladimir’s arms. They were calling her name in panic. Their voices sounded thousands of miles away, and three of them were falling through the edge of the world with her in the middle as a reluctant human torch. But at least she stopped them from killing each other.
Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Why was she crying? Vladimir’s hand wiped the liquid off her face and stared at it. Lucienne’s eyes caught the red wetness on his fingers.
Blood tears. The same tear that appeared in her prophetic dream.
“She’s crying blood.” Vladimir snapped out of his stupor and shouted in fear. “We must get her to Dr. Wren now!”
“I’ll take her,” Ashburn said.
“Don’t move me,” she screamed again. Too much pain. She couldn’t bear to move an inch. When she was implanted with Forbidden Glory at the age of eight, it was like walking through a sea of fire, but that burning paled in comparison to this.
They stopped.
“What happened to her?” Vladimir yelled at Ashburn. “You have all that data in your head. Help her.”
Ashburn pressed his hand on Lucienne’s chest, like when he had healed her inside the Rabbit Hole.
She felt the soothing current reach her blistering heart, preventing it from being incinerated. But the cool stream was far from enough.
In her hazy consciousness, she felt Ashburn’s suffering as he absorbed her burning pain. Beads of blood seeped from his silvery hairline.
They were both trembling. Stop, she cried silently. It’ll destroy you. Her bluish lips quivered; her teeth clattered. Ashburn swayed like a drunkard, his shaking hand lifting from her chest as he collapsed beside her.
“I’m sorry.” His voice choked. His head dropped in defeat. “I can’t purge the poison. I’m sorry.”
Lucienne wanted to smooth his blood-matted silver hair to comfort him and thank him, but she was unable to move.
The fire in her had dwindled by his healing, but then smoke seeped into her lungs like a thief coming to steal her breath.
She gasped, her fingernails scratching across her flesh as she struggled to surface above the dark, thick fumes.
“Breathe,” Ashburn coaxed as he held her again. His hand stroked her back. His energy was weak and meager, but even a drop of water was an ocean to her.
She clung to him.
“Breathe, slowly.” He guided her. “Now you get it.”
Lucienne’s lungs connected to the air.
Vladimir held her other hand. “Breathe,” he repeated after Ashburn. “Slowly. I’m here. We’re here. I’ll never leave you.”
“Get away from her,” Ashburn snarled. “Haven’t you done enough damage?”
“What did I do?” Vladimir asked, as if waiting for his judgment day.
A suspicion crossed Lucienne’s mind. Was something wrong with Nexus Tear? She remembered the primal fear she felt before she took it.
“I told you not to trust Blazek. Why didn’t you listen?” Ashburn said, brushing a lock of blood-tainted hair from her face.
Vladimir looked venomous at that small gesture of Ashburn’s, but he didn’t attack his rival.
“Nexus Tear was infected,” Ashburn said, as if it weren’t her but him who was poisoned.
Blood drained from Vladimir’s face. His hand that held Lucienne’s went icily cold. “How did you know?” he demanded. “Your data could be wrong.”
“Look at her and tell me I’m wrong,” Ashburn snarled again.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Vladimir shouted. “Take her to Dr. Wren. He has blood supplies for her. He’ll cleanse her blood.” His hands went under Lucienne, about to lift her—her head lay on Ashburn’s lap.
“Stop,” she said weakly.
“Dr. Wren can’t help her,” Ashburn said, his voice weary and broken. “No one can. The poison is even beyond my healing capacity.”
“There must be something we can do!” Vladimir said. “We can’t just sit here. Lucia, love, can you move? We need to get you out here.”
“No, it hurts too much… to move,” she said in a whisper. “Let me rest here a little… longer. Taking me anywhere… won’t help.”
She was stalling for Vladimir’s sake.
Once she left with Ashburn, the news of her being poisoned would come out. Kian and the others would strike down Vladimir in their rage.
From now on, she needed to keep him close to protect him until she couldn’t do anything for him anymore—until her body failed completely.
Vladimir looked desperately wanting to shift Lucienne from Ashburn’s lap to his, but he held himself back.
“The Sealers’ final… revenge,” Lucienne whispered and shut her eyes.
“The Sealers’ bloodline and yours are related,” Ashburn said. “I traced them back to the ancient time, but those memories were distorted by every host’s perspective.”
“The Sealers are also the Lams?” Vladimir asked.
Ashburn gave him a glare before answering. “From the beginning, there were twin brothers fighting to be the heir to the first Siren. The younger one tricked his older brother, who was born one minute earlier, into giving up his birthright.”
“Lucia came from the line of the younger brother,” Vladimir stated the obvious.
“The truth was even bitterer for the older brother,” Ashburn said. “Although his twin cheated, the younger one was the chosen. The Siren’s mark, which was called Forbidden Glory then, is sentient. If the selected Siren isn’t what it wants, it burns him or her alive in the ritual. The older brother then stole one of the elements of Forbidden Glory to sabotage his younger twin’s inheritance. His line faded into the shadows, but he swore eternal revenge. That was the beginning of the Sealers.”
“And I became a pawn in their scheme,” Vladimir said. Pain filled his stark-white face. “When I left Lucia, the Sealers saw a perfect chance to exact their revenge. They even sent the elder’s daughter to settle the score.” His eyes turned murderous. “They used me to tell Lucia the existence of Nexus Tear. Then they waited for us to figure out it wasn’t a weapon but a missing link to the Siren’s insignia. They led us to think we’d sorted through their elaborated lies, expecting a fool like me to stop at nothing until I got the Tear for her.”
“They had to lure Lucia to it,” Ashburn said. “They don’t have the means to remove aether. The fifth element became volatile after being separated from the other four.”
“I led her right to the booby trap.” Vladimir looked like he wanted to rip his own heart out. “But if they don’t have the technology to transport Nexus Tear, how could they tamper with it?” he asked. “Maybe Lucia is still processing aether?” He stared hard at Ashburn, full of suspicion, as if this whole thing was a vicious lie concocted by his rival to steal Lucienne.
“The poison is called Blood Tear,” Ashburn said in grief. “Its color is red as blood. Aether’s color is clear. Blood Tear was a gift from Seraphen to the first Sealer.”
Seraphen had the last laugh, Lucienne thought in bitterness. With his help, the Sealers had put the last brushstroke of their masterpiece of revenge on the canvas. And she was the sole recipient of an ancient grudge. She, Lucienne Lam, dust on this planet and nothing more in the universe, was pierced by an arrow shot an eon ago.
“We killed Seraphen.” Vladimir pounded his fist against the ground, drawing blood. “There must be a cure! Check your data and tell me where it is.”
“There is none,” Ashburn said.
Vladimir grabbed the collar of Ashburn’s jacket. “You’re lying.”
“Vlad,” Lucienne warned. Her Czech boyfriend was being pushed to the brink of insanity.
“Then you find it for me, for her,” Ashburn shouted. “You hellhound! You condemned her to the point of no return because you had to have her, even though she was
never meant for you. Now you took her from me forever.”
Vladimir looked worse than he did in the Nirvana valley when he saw her and Ashburn kissing. He looked worse than death. “Why didn’t you stop it?” he said with all the hatred in his soul. “Where were you when all this happened? You have everybody’s memories. Once the plan to poison her formed, you should have known. Where the hell were you?”
Lucienne knew Ashburn was inside the Rabbit Hole, hiding from her and his misery.
“She didn’t want me around,” Ashburn said wretchedly. “She can’t be with anyone else except me, and yet she chose you.”
That isn’t true, Lucienne protested silently, not completely. But he would never know how much she was drawn to him, even without the Lure. She had to choose Vladimir so all three of them wouldn’t end up in a wrecked ship.
“So where else could I stay?” Ashburn’s voice remained sour. “I had to go some place where I wouldn’t have memories of her in my head. But I missed her. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I came out. I had to see her, even from a distance. Without the shield from the Rabbit Hole, memories hit me like hail from hell. But Lucia had already taken the poison, urged on by you.” He pulled Lucienne closer to him, as if having an urgent need to protect her from Vladimir.
The sky brightened as daylight filled the earth, yet there were no lights in both men’s eyes.
“Your father put the Blood Tear inside the aether before your arrival,” Ashburn said darkly. “Only the Siren’s scion could touch the crystal pillar, for aether was meant for the Siren. I came too late.” He turned to Vladimir with a renewed hatred. “If Lucia dies, I’ll tear you to pieces.” He picked up a rock and threw it at Vladimir.
The Czech prince didn’t duck. The rock hit his forehead, right above the scars he got from kissing her. Blood gushed out and he wasn’t even aware of it.
Lucienne reached to grab Ashburn’s arm to stop him, but her hand went limp and dropped back to her side.
“Easy, Lucia,” Ashburn said. “It’s also my fault. I should never have left, no matter how much you don’t want me.”
“That’s not… true,” Lucienne whispered.
Vladimir closed his eyes. Agony was all over his face. He was still jealous.
“I’ll find a cure for you,” Ashburn said. “I’ll search heaven and hell for it.”
“I’ll go with him,” Vladimir said. “We’ll find it.”
There is none, Lucienne thought as she sensed the remorse of Forbidden Glory. It wanted aether so much that it chose not to warn her. It overestimated its aptitude at flushing out the ancient poison. And now there was no second chance for her or the Glory.
“Ash,” she called.
“Yes, Lucia?” Ashburn answered. His knuckles gently brushed across her cheek.
Vladimir clenched his fists, then unclenched them, his chest heaving up and down.
“Vlad,” she called him.
“Láska,” Vladimir answered.
Ashburn gave him a death glare.
“I need the two of you… to promise me one thing,” she said.
“Anything,” they said almost in sync.
“You will not hurt… each other again,” she said. “That’s all I’m … asking.”
Under the weight of Lucienne’s gaze, Vladimir said, “I’ll leave him alone.”
“Ash?”
“As long as he doesn’t hurt you again,” Ashburn said. “I’ll ignore his existence. He doesn’t exist.”
Words of the I-Ching master at the night of her coronation came back once again to haunt her. “—two boys tied to you irrevocably. One will offer life disguised as death; the other will lead to death with great love. What you choose will decide the courses of many and how the world turns.”
A light of hope swam back into her eyes. If the prophecy said what she chose would decide the future, then she still had a future with them.
Vladimir started to weep. It was the first time Lucienne had ever seen him wailing like this. “I curse the day I was born,” he sobbed, “for bringing you harm.”
Ashburn threw Vladimir a look of abhorrence while Lucienne inserted her fingers into Vladimir’s hair to comfort him, but her hand slipped again, her fingers snagging his braids.
“I’m not… dead yet,” she said. “I won’t go down without… a fight… neither should you.”
Vladimir couldn’t bear to look at her. Rising to his feet, he staggered toward the cliff.
“Where do you think… you’re going?” she asked.
“Nowhere,” Vladimir said, turning to her. “I stay where you stay. You live, I live. You go somewhere else, I follow. No,” his voice emitted self-loathing, “that’s too good for me. I deserve to burn and rot in hell with the lowest scumbags.”
Ashburn nodded grimly in agreement—obviously with the hell part.
A flash. A deep genetic memory broke the murky water and formed a pool of light. Ashburn’s power had weakened Blood Tear’s grip, and Forbidden Glory, benefitting from his power, purged part of the venom from her system. She could feel her heartbeat grow stronger. She would survive. Forbidden Glory guaranteed it. But there was a catch—
“I won’t die,” Lucienne said, feeling a thread of strength returning. “I’ll go mad first.” She licked her bluish lip. “I’ll wander between sane and insanity.”
Vladimir stumbled back and fell to his knees beside her. A small hope arose in his eyes. “All we need is a little more time to find an antidote for you,” he said.
“You’re dismissed,” Ashburn said. “You’ll do more harm than good. Now get out of our sight. She’s my responsibility now.”
“You’ll have to kill me to make me leave her,” Vladimir said.
“That can be arranged easily,” said Ashburn.
“It’ll cost you yours, too,” said Vladimir.
“Didn’t you two promise to be friendly?” Lucienne asked.
“Let him go, Lucia,” Ashburn said. “We don’t need him.”
“I can’t do that, Ash,” Lucienne said. “My pain will become his. That’s my punishment for him.”
In reality, seeing her suffering from the poison every day would be Vladimir’s worst sentence; while in truth, she needed to keep him close to protect him from Kian’s fury, which would come soon. Even though this wasn’t exactly Vladimir’s fault, her protector would refuse to be reasonable when he saw the damage he had done to her.
“Let your hell be mine,” Vladimir said in agony and gratitude.
Before he could bury his face in Lucienne’s hair, Ashburn blocked him. Vladimir balled his hands into fists again, yet refrained from assaulting Ashburn.
“I’ll not let madness take you, Lucia,” Ashburn said.
There’s hope for all of us. Lucienne nodded as she held Ashburn’s gaze. Then she heard a faint droning in the sky. She looked up.
Black Lightning Seven led Valkyrie and Razer in a triangle formation—a Sphinxes’ signal of victory—flying toward them amid crimson clouds and fire. Her warriors survived. Tears trickled behind her heavy eyelashes.
For a fleeting second, she wondered how Kian and the men would take the news—they’d won the war at the cost of their Siren. If they were ever going to be a nation, they would have to deal with a mad Siren queen.
Lucienne shoved her despair to the edge of her mind. Forbidden Glory had done the impossible—it brought her back from death’s door so she would live another day, then another, to defeat the dementia that would soon claim her.
And she wasn’t alone. She would just fight another war with her warriors by her side. “Ash, Vlad, help me up,” she said with a valiant smile. “We’re going home.”
A blood tear rolled from her eye.
THE STORY CONTINUES IN...
THE RED QUEEN
LAMENTS OF ANGELS & DARK CHEMISTRY
BOOK 3
A Message from the Author
Dear Readers,
Nothing is what it appears to be.
Though p
acked with adventure, explosions, and romance, this series isn't about action or entangled love interests. At the heart of The Laments of Angels & Dark Chemistry series is the very survival of humankind.
I left clues on the mysteries of human origin, evolution, and ancient civilizations and wars throughout the first four books, but you'll only get the answers in the fifth installment.
Long ago, Earth was filled with wars between more advanced species and wars we fought among ourselves and against them. Our ancestors called the superior race "the fallen angels," who insisted they were the first Earth natives.
As humankind increased in numbers and became a new kind of predator, our conflict with the angels could no longer be settled. Human spirits could not accept the role of "inferior race." Our ancestors chose to die free than live on their knees, and so they devised a weapon and drove the angels into the space. The cost was deadly--numerous brave men and women perished, and by turning back time, destroyed all technology and every advanced civilization.
Now millions of years have passed.
Humans stand hesitantly at the threshold of a quantum evolution, but the race we exiled has found a way to wage a new war against us. They've upgraded their magical powers and technology beyond our perception. They're coming to take back Earth.
Unfortunately, the weapon our ancestors deployed has been lost to us. We don't know anything about ancient warfare or our secret history. We don't have the slightest idea that we're facing extinction.
Our only hope rests with Lucienne Lam, the last and most powerful of the Sirens, who leads her Sphinxes nation in the fight against the returning angels. She will stand with the last of us to save our planet.
In the end, only one race can have Earth. Will it be us or them?
