Blade Phenomenon

by Josh Anderson

  “How are you ever going to get him married?” she asked. “He’s a psychopath. A cold-blooded killer. And now he’s decided to just surround himself with other killers,” she said. “Not a recipe for a successful relationship.”

  “Before they died, Rickard and Demetrius set up the Silo building in 2060. From there, they were able to confirm that creating an heir had been successful,” he answered.

  “Well, then why do anything?” she asked. “If you know your bloodline turns out okay, why am I out there risking my life to bring Ayers home?”

  Yalé smiled at her. “One of the reasons it’s always so hard to give you answers is that I’m still figuring this all out too. There are no hard and fast rules. You asked why we’re doing all of this. Well, perhaps the reason the bloodline persists is because of our efforts. We know that the universe doesn’t like when we go back and try to change things, but there’s no way of knowing whether the future they saw is set in stone, or whether our actions can change it. But seeing the tunnel shrink as it has makes me concerned that nothing is settled.”

  “What if Ayers is right?” she asked. “What if there’s another?”

  “I was the ‘other,’ Allaire,” he said, with more anger than she was used to from him. “Even if there were a second son, our tradition dictates that the first is the heir.”

  “So, if Demetrius had a brother or sister, he might’ve been sent away?” Allaire asked.

  Yalé smiled at her. “My dear . . . I delivered Demetrius with my own hands. Cared for his mother after she gave birth. There was no moment I wasn’t present for. There was no other baby. There’s simply no way around the fact that we must continue to face the difficulties we’re having with Ayers right now,” Yalé continued. “We must keep a handle on him, but no matter what, his life, and ability to father a child, are of supreme importance.”

  Yalé had earned her loyalty years ago by bringing her into his confidence after Rickard and Demetrius died. Since that time, Allaire and Yalé had operated more or less like equal partners as they strategized toward the same goal: the continuance of the Seres’ bloodline. Tonight was a harsh reminder for her, though. Yalé would always be more concerned with tradition than practicality, even if it put her at risk.

  “I’m sure it was a shock to hear Ayers say that,” Yalé said. “Sadly, it’s just another tactic of his. Another thing to keep us on our heels.”

  She left the room nodding her head, as if they were still in lockstep with each other. But she was not completely convinced.

  CHAPTER 22

  April 12, 2005

  * * *

  Six years earlier

  The first thing she saw was Ayers’s face and Allaire let out a scream. As she came back to consciousness beneath the rubble of the Chinese restaurant, she’d woken with a revelation—a very important question had been suddenly answered for her.

  “Hey, Mister Kyle,” young Ayers yelled, looking off to the side of the huge heap. “I found your friend.”

  It took her a second to realize that she was looking at the younger version of him. She immediately wondered how long the older Ayers had kept his younger self hidden away in the apartment. Allaire was already chasing Ayers from era to era by the time he was this age, which looked to be about twelve. He hadn’t yet developed his most violent impulses by twelve, but he was well on his way. This kid, kept prisoner in a different timestream, seemed different, though. There was a warmth in his eyes Allaire had never seen in Ayers. She told herself not to be fooled.

  Seconds later, Kyle was kneeling next to her. “Are you all right?”

  She winced as she tried to pick her head up. They were on a mountain of building remnants.

  “You scared me,” Kyle said, as Allaire tried to move her body and push herself out from under several items.

  “Let me do that,” Kyle said, and he began lifting the heavy dining table off of her. Young Ayers hustled around to the other end and lifted with Kyle. “Thanks, kid.”

  A few moments later, they completely uncovered Allaire and she lay for a moment, looking up at the sun. She sat up slowly, and Kyle knelt next to her again. They watched Ayers jump from a dislodged window shutter to a mangled piece of plywood, treating the fallen building like he was on a playground.

  “You said we can’t kill Ayers,” Kyle said. “But if we could somehow make sure this kid was raised right, wouldn’t that solve the Ayers problem?”

  Allaire sighed. It hurt her ribs to breathe in. “It wouldn’t help.”

  “But then the horrible, violent Ayers wouldn’t exist anymore,” Kyle said. “Right? Just this one.”

  “The two versions of him are from different timestreams,” Allaire said. “The older Ayers is from a timestream where, even by this age, I had to trail him like a hawk because he was starting to figure out that he enjoyed killing people. But, this Ayers has been locked up here instead. For now, they both exist in this timestream.”

  Kyle shook his head. “This shit is confusing.”

  “You’re not alone,” she said. “The earthquakes? They’re because the universe is confused too.”

  “So what do we do now?” Kyle asked.

  “We leave the kid here,” Allaire answered. “See if we can’t track Ayers down again. Kill him if we can’t get him to agree to come back with us.”

  “But you said we can’t—,” Kyle started.

  Allaire looked at Kyle. “I know what I said. But, I’m starting to see this all differently now.”

  “And what if this kid grows up and becomes like the other Ayers?” Kyle asked.

  Allaire looked at the boy playing in the rubble. It was like watching a different kid than the one she helped to raise. “He may not even know about the factory. About silk blots. Any of it. Who knows what the older Ayers shared? Even if he has some of those violent tendencies, he can’t do the damage he would if he had access to the tunnel.”

  “So, worst case, he’s just a regular old criminal?” Kyle said.

  Allaire shrugged. “I guess. Like you said, it’s confusing shit.”

  “So, all of a sudden, now we can go find Ayers and kill him?” Kyle asked. “And that solves everything? What the hell changed?”

  “I just can’t believe it took me all these years to figure it out,” she said as a tiny smile creased the corners of her mouth.

  “Figure what out?” Kyle asked.

  “You’re one of them,” she said.

  “Huh?” he asked.

  She shook her head, speaking half to herself and half to Kyle. “I was so dumb not to see it. The mutation. The fact that you’re here, and wrapped up in all of this. It’s all so obvious now.”

  “What is?” Kyle asked.

  “You’re a Sere,” she said.

  “How’s that even possible?” he asked. “I’m not adopted. And my parents aren’t time weavers.”

  “To explain it,” Allaire said. “I need to start from the beginning. I need to tell you everything.”

  TO BE CONTINUED . . .