Quanta Rewind

by Lola Dodge

  We couldn’t risk that.

  “Absolutely,” Eva said. “Hence, my conditions.”

  “Which are?” Tair asked.

  “First, I won’t transmit it digitally.” Eva pulled a slip of paper and a pen out from her desk and started writing something longhand. It looked like a lot of numbers and symbols. “You’ll have to memorize it, Altair.”

  “Not a problem,” Tair said, totally unfazed by all the gibberish. “What else?”

  “You can reveal part of the formula to prove that you know it, but you’re not to give the full instructions to any Seligo. Insist that you personally oversee the new serum distribution system.” Now I knew where that gem had come from in Tair’s speech.

  Tair just nodded. “I wouldn’t want that information in the wrong hands, and it will be our only leverage. We stop being useful the moment we share it.”

  Tair wears a white coat and a breathing mask, his hands in blue gloves as he pipes drops of clear serum into vials— I shivered so hard Tair felt the motion.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Just…” I swallowed. I couldn’t agree to a future that left us stuck inside the Citadel, actually governing. I wouldn’t last a day. “Let’s not go in thinking we’re really taking anything over. We lie through our teeth, grab Cass and the others, and make enough chaos to sneak back out. Staying in the Citadel isn’t an option.”

  “Agreed.” Tair squeezed my hand.

  “That, I can get behind,” Knight said. “And I have some ideas about adding to the chaos. You in, Emma?”

  Cipher chewed on her lip ring for a long few seconds. “Maybe? But it feels like we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’re assuming Tair’s parents will help. I don’t see that that as a given.”

  “They’ll agree.” Especially now that we had the actual formula. They were too greedy to pass up the chance we were about to hand them.

  But I still wondered if this was right. Were we just opening a huge can of worms? The future didn’t have any answers for me—just choices.

  As long as I saw the option where Tair and Cass hugged, and Mona jumped into Cipher’s arms crying happy tears…

  I’d do almost anything to bring that path to life.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  ALTAIR

  It didn’t take long to memorize the formula and procedures. I already knew the theory behind Eva’s research. Now that I was finally learning the specifics, I wouldn’t be able to forget them.

  When I was sure I could recite the information, Eva started tearing her notepaper into shreds. “How will you approach the Citadel this time?” she asked.

  “If my parents agree to the plan, they can pass us through security.” It would be nothing for them to use their authority on us. They were already that powerful.

  “I don’t like that if,” Cipher said.

  “Neither do I.” Between calling Eva and all the planning we still needed to do, I was tapping my feet against the floor with impatience. I wanted everything confirmed so we could head into the Citadel again. “I’ll make the call.”

  “I’ll keep a line open,” Eva said. “Message me with updates. And promise me one more thing?”

  “What else?” Quanta peered over my shoulder at the screen.

  “Stay alive. All of you.” With that, Eva ended the call.

  Quanta slumped against me. “She always makes everything sound so easy.”

  “Is staying alive impossible?” I couldn’t… wouldn’t go ahead with this plan if it meant sacrificing Quanta.

  “We can do it.” Her gaze lost its focus. “But not if we don’t move faster.”

  Cipher pushed back from the comp and offered Tair the station. “It’s all yours. Do you want us to leave, or…?”

  “No. You can all stay.” It would save time if they heard my father. “But you might want to move off the camera.” If our plan succeeded, both my parents would be out for revenge, and I’d rather keep their hate focused on me.

  Knight and Cipher moved around a server tower to the edge of the room where they were off the cam, but still had a view of the compscreen. Quanta touched my arm. “I’ll be right here.” She slid Teddy’s chair over and pushed it against the wall. She couldn’t see the screen, but she could see me, and having her in front of me calmed some of my nerves. If she saw a way to help, she’d step in.

  “Thanks.” Taking a deep breath, I punched in the numbers for my father’s encrypted line. My strategy wasn’t complicated.

  I knew exactly what motivated my parents. Status and power. Now, I had the perfect bait. I just had to communicate the offer without showing my disgust for everything they stood for.

  It might be close.

  After a few seconds, my father’s face appeared on-screen. His sleeves were rolled up to flash the shimmering Helix on his forearm, and his office lighting included just enough UV light to make the tattoo’s ink glow.

  “You.”

  At least I didn’t have to pretend we got along anymore. “I have a proposition.”

  “Here’s a proposition. Turn yourself in. Or should I pay for your crimes again?”

  The narcissism was incredible. “I assume you blocked the bugs in your office before you took an unknown video call.” I took his lack of response as an agreement. “Now. Do you want to overthrow Doctor Nagi or not?”

  After a long silence, my father shook his head. “Don’t call me again.” He reached for the screen.

  “I have the immortality formula.” My pulse hammered.

  He froze. His dark eyes narrowed. “What game are you playing?”

  This once, I’d put my cards on the table. He needed to understand my motivations or he’d never cooperate. “You know that Doctor Nagi has Cass?”

  “Foolish girl.” He waved a dismissive hand. “And after you betrayed us… Is it any wonder she’d be taken?”

  Trembling, I gripped the edge of the desk. Punching through the screen wouldn’t hurt him or help my cause. But if I saw my father in person… Calm. I forced out a breath. “I want her back along with a few other prisoners. I’m willing to give you the formula if you’ll lead a revolt against Doctor Nagi.”

  His voice was flat. “You can’t expect me to believe this.”

  The fact that he hadn’t disconnected the call said he was considering the idea. “I can prove that I have the formula, and if you give me…” I checked my watch. “Another half an hour, I’ll have more allies and resources prepared. I need you ready to act this afternoon.”

  “Short notice for a rebellion.” He rubbed his chin. “I’m still not clear why you think I’d take on such a risk.”

  “What’s the alternative? You’ll stay under Doctor Nagi’s thumb forever?” I hoped he heard the truth in my voice instead of the anger. “You’ll never be able to challenge him without the formula. And you won’t stumble onto a chance like this again.”

  My father’s emotion didn’t show—it rarely did—but as he leaned closer into the cam, I could sense the scheme boiling behind his eyes. “You can’t possibly think you could take power with this move.”

  I almost laughed. “Power?” It might be the only motive he understood, but if my father thought I wanted authority, he’d been paying even less attention to me than I remembered. “Why would I involve you if that was my goal? I don’t give a damn who runs the Citadel as long as Cass and the others walk free.”

  “I’m tempted to call Doctor Nagi and warn him of this scheme of yours.”

  I’d known that was a risk, but I didn’t believe he’d follow through. Quanta waved a hand and shook her head. I managed not to smirk. Who was bluffing now? “Doctor Nagi will give you a pat on the back. I’m offering you the keys to the Citadel.”

  “What do you imagine starting a revolt involves, Altair? It’s messy business.”

  “All you’ll have to do is call an emergency senate meeting. Doctor Nagi’s tied up this morning, waiting for my friends and I. You’ll be able to vote him out of power before he
hears that you’ve gathered.” I was guessing on the timing—I’d have to check with Quanta—but it should work. We didn’t even need the vote to succeed as long as it caused the confusion we needed. And if we actually ousted him? Even better.

  “Dangerous games.” He had his hands folded under his chin, leaning forward toward the cam. But hope sprang. He was actually considering this.

  We could make it work. “Talk it through with Mother. I’ll contact you again in a few minutes.”

  When I ended the call my hands were shaking. I always thought I was free of my parents until I had to speak with one of them.

  But for once, I was glad for their twisted motivations. Knowing what they wanted made it that much easier to manipulate them. And since they hadn’t lifted a finger to save Cass, Doctor Nagi had no reason to suspect they’d act against him.

  For once, he wouldn’t see us coming.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  QUANTA

  A certain timeghost gave me a wicked good idea of the conversation Tair’s mom and dad were about to have.

  Rashad Orpheus sits frowning at his desk, his fingers steepled. Mei Lin Orpheus flows into the room to stand across from him. Her features are tight with anger. “You’d trust Altair now?”

  He shakes his head. “We can use him.”

  Mei Lin rests her weight against the desk, calculating. “It’s suicide if we fail.”

  “We won’t fail. We’ve been preparing for too long.”

  Finally, Mei Lin smiles a cold smile. “We’ll need fighters.”

  I let out a huge breath. “They’re going to agree. Now we just have to figure out the rest.” A pretty big just, but I was still feeling good about our chances.

  “Is now a good time?” Layla peered around the doorframe. “I heard you talking to Senator Orpheus…”

  Teddy pushed past her and moved straight to his desk. He cracked open a fresh energy bev and chugged a few sips before collapsing in his rolling chair. “What the hell are you planning now?”

  Tair turned to Layla. “How power hungry is your mother?”

  “Are you kidding?” Layla’s eyebrows lifted. “The mother who wanted to marry me off to you so we could help her take over the Citadel?”

  Cipher snorted. “Looks like she’s getting what she wanted.”

  “What do you mean? Tair?” Layla smoothed her pajama bottoms as she shifted her feet.

  “We’re going to dangle the recipe for immortality in front of my parents. In exchange for the formula, they’ll call for the senate to overthrow Doctor Nagi. Do you think your mother would join them?”

  “I…” Layla stood blinking for a few seconds. It was a lot to process.

  “Why don’t you call and ask?” I rolled out a chair from the workstation across from Teddy and gestured for Layla to sit. “I’m positive she’ll say yes.”

  “How would you know?” She sounded more confused than accusing as she dropped into the seat.

  “I just do.” I scooted her chair closer to the comp. “And tell her to contact one of the Orpheuses. We’re going to need them to pool resources.”

  “If you say so.” Layla jammed on a headset. “Do you mind lending me the room? I don’t think you want her overhearing anything else you’re planning.”

  “Yup. Definitely not.” I snagged Tair’s hand and pulled him toward the door, weaving around the workstations and cable snakes on the floor. Cipher and Knight followed us out into the tunnel, leaving Layla and Teddy alone. We walked far enough that we could vaguely hear Layla, but our voices wouldn’t carry back.

  The image of Senator Astor grinning at the senate podium solidified by the second, so I was pretty sure we could count on her help. “She’s agreeing.”

  “That’s a start.” Knight leaned against the tunnel wall and folded his arms. “Now we need to figure out who goes in and how we get out. Should we follow the original plan with Devan disguising us?”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” Tair tapped his glasses as he thought. “I’ll have to enter the Citadel to take point with my parents, but after that…” His gaze shifted to me. “What are you seeing?”

  What was I seeing? I checked back in with the future to make sure I knew what I was talking about.

  Tair stands on the senate floor under its starry-sky ceiling; Black Helixes loaded with weapons crash through one of the doors, and gunshots explode as the fighters stand their ground; Cipher crackles with blue light before a bullet catches her in the chest, snuffing out her light; Knight falls as four other fighters close in on him; Tair and I sprint down a long hallway, running with a pack of the mercenary-types, and when a Helix guard pops out of a doorway, the guy next to me takes him down in one clean shot; Dex pilots a massive ship that shimmers into view as it lands on the senate roof; Devan lies crumpled and lifeless, bleeding out into the senate’s carpet—

  I shuddered. “I think we need to split up.” More of the futures showed more of the same. Lots of dying when all of us hit the senate together. Less when it was just Tair and me. And one of the timeghosts sparked a great idea. “Could you guys steal a ship to fly us out?”

  “That’s a possibility,” Knight said. “Although Lady Eva might have a chopper stashed near here. I’d have to check with her.”

  “What about fighters?” Going in totally alone seemed dangerous, and I’d seen us running along with a group—I doubted we’d picked them up at random.

  “I know some guys who do merc work around the Citadel,” Knight said. “Let me make a few quick calls.” He slipped farther down the tunnel, taking out his com, and Cipher drifted after him.

  “We’re getting closer.” I rubbed my hands together. This was all getting really real. We weren’t in the clear, but the future where Cass crushed Tair in a big hug shined from the army of timeghosts.

  “Okay!” Layla’s voice echoed from Ai’s cavern-room. “My mom’s in!”

  A few butterflies pranced in my stomach. “You ready?”

  “Yes. The sooner we get going, the better. Are you ready?” Tair stroked my forearm, and the brush of his fingers calmed me down.

  “Yup.” The image of Nagi crawling on his hands and knees and bleeding was another super motivator. If there was a way to make that future come true?

  I was so in.

  We hustled through planning the rest of the details. Layla’s mom was already contacting the Orpheuses to plot, and Knight managed to reach one of his old fighting buddies. He sent Tair the guy’s contact info. “Have your parents clear Benj Wallace and his crew for access to the Citadel. I used to run ops with them and they’re good guys. Now I just have to talk to Lady Eva about finding us a ship.”

  While he and Cipher went off to deal with that, Teddy and Layla slipped out to give us privacy for the final call to the Orpheus fam. Even Ai winked out, although I guessed her sensors were still listening.

  Tair tilted the cam away from me, but I stepped up behind him. “I want them to see me.” They needed to know I had Tair’s back, and I wanted to be able to glare at them.

  “Okay.” He pushed out a breath.

  I squeezed his shoulder. “They’re going to cooperate.” Kind of. I didn’t see them changing their minds at this point, but they’d still try to give us attitude.

  His parents’ faces blinked onto our screen. Rashad Orpheus sat at his desk, while Mei Lin stood at his side. An oil portrait of them—no kids included—hung on the wall behind them. Classy.

  “What did you decide?” Tair asked.

  “We’ll cooperate.” Mei Lin answered for both of them. “This is how it’s going—”

  “I’ll tell you how.” Tair laid out the plan step-by-step in the suppressed-fury voice he saved just for his parents. “You’ll call the senate meeting for this afternoon, keeping it as under wraps as possible. I’ll send you coordinates where your people can pick us up and we’ll meet you before you take the floor. We need to contact as many mercenaries as possible on short notice. I have at least one crew lined
up already.”

  “Fine.” Tair’s mother gave a curt nod. “If you’ll simply transmit the formula, we can proceed.”

  She couldn’t think we were that stupid.

  “The formula is in my head and that’s where it’s staying.” Tair matched Mei Lin glare for glare. “Instruct your guards to escort us to the senate. I’ll be speaking on the floor.”

  “Absolutely not.” His father slapped his desk. We were leagues away, but I still jumped a little.

  “That’s my condition. Take it or leave it.” Tair folded his arms.

  No matter how hard they glared, the future didn’t budge. I couldn’t tell exactly how the next few hours would end, but all the options showed us barreling into Alpha Citadel at full speed.

  Mei Lin finally nodded. “We’ll be in touch.” The screen clicked off before either of us could reply.

  I slumped against Tair, wrapping myself tight around him. “This has been a day.” Or a few days, counting all the rewinds. And I could only ignore the built-up exhaustion so much.

  The second we tuned out of go-mode, my headache roared to full volume and I remembered how achy and nauseated I still felt after so much messing with space-time. “If we survive, let’s sleep for a few weeks.”

  “A few months.” Tair rested his chin on top of my head.

  I’d freeze time here forever if I could, but the clock kept ticking no matter what I wanted. We’d already burned too much time with the planning.

  After a few calming, Tair-centric breaths, I finally pulled away. “Let’s get this over with.”

  He pulled me in to press a gentle kiss against my forehead. “Let’s save Cass.”

  “That too.” And if we took Nagi down?

  We’d hit the trifecta.

  We said our—hopefully temporary—goodbyes in the cliffside tunnel. I considered setting a new reset point, but the one from the morning seemed better. If the new plan flew totally off the rails, then we wouldn’t be stuck with it. I didn’t think that would happen, but I’d rather play it safe.