Dark Solar Complete Trilogy: Oleander - Wolfsbane - Maikoa

by D. N. Leo

  He let out a hearty laugh. “Sciphil Three is the king Sciphil. In that regard, I believe I have some protection. Rules are created by the council, and I am the head of the council. I’ll find a way out for you.”

  “What’s a sciphil?”

  “It is an abbreviated form of Scientist Philosopher. I lean toward the first word. But I’ll need to use the second to understand where you come from. Time is running out. I should go. Please stay inside the chamber. Don’t let anyone in, don’t follow anyone out, and don’t follow anyone’s instructions.”

  She smiled. “I’ll try not to die on you. I don’t know anything about kingship, but I’m sure this will put you in more danger than you think. Please be careful.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be careful.” He paused and looked into her eyes. “I didn’t know being cared for could feel so pleasant.” He nodded a goodbye and turned around.

  “Does the king have a name?”

  “Malachi LeBlanc.” He smiled and exited the door.

  Charmine stared at the closed steel door for a long time. Her smile had faded. She hated herself right now.

  She hadn’t learned much from her gypsy tribe before she left them. But there was one set of skills she took with her—she could see dark energy from a demon before it took possession of a soul near death.

  And she had seen it all over Malachi just before he left the chamber.

  15

  In a small alley leading toward the back of the theater, Madeline glanced back to ensure that Arik and Dinah still trailed behind her. The year 1864 hadn’t been kind to any of them. Arik and Dinah had no tech and nobody to support them. So Madeline had to rely solely on her mind tracking ability, which had decided to work on a patchy basis, turning itself on and off whenever it pleased.

  The street was crowded with flocks of merchants, carriages, and people rushing around resuming their usual daily activities after a heavy thunderstorm. As soon as the storm concluded, people began to move around, trying to catch up on what they had lost during the poor weather.

  “It’s a very busy theater, Madeline. I wouldn’t plan to kill anyone here,” Arik said.

  “I saw the address in Sam’s mind when he gave me the primer potion. My mind tracking is very consistent when it comes to him. I can’t see Ciaran’s at all, but the tracking signal for Sam is crystal clear.”

  “I wonder why. He’s a total stranger,” Dinah asked.

  Madeline shook her head. She didn’t want to be distracted from the trail as she might lose it at any point. They needed to get to the theater and stop Robert from killing John.

  She had no idea how things would turn out, nor did she have any plan of how to stop the killing. Some sparks of precognition would help! she thought, but knowing her mind, she stopped wasting her energy hoping.

  “As soon as you see Ciaran, try to grab him and get him close to us. I’ll see if we can transport back to our time,” Arik said.

  “But I thought you couldn’t control either coming here or leaving . . .” Madeline trailed off. “Or can you now?”

  Arik glanced back quickly at Dinah, who stood behind Madeline and said nothing. “Dinah tested a drug on me. It’s supposed to help me control the entry and exit points of time traveling. I don’t know if it’ll work now, but it worked before. It stopped me from involuntarily going back to 2017. I think if I could resist that travel, I should be able to initiate it now. I’m working on it. So try to stay close in case I need to grab you all.”

  “Understood,” Madeline said as she found an entrance to the backstage of the theater and entered it. It was a narrow pathway flanked by black fabric that covered large boxes, tools, and stage equipment. Unlike the streets, which were buzzing with activity, the backstage was quiet.

  The air was so still Madeline heard herself breathing. Then it dawned on her that her mind had gone quiet. She had lost track of Sam’s mind. She had no clue where he and Robert were. Arik and Dinah still trailed behind her.

  Then she heard the faint sounds of a conversation. She recognized Robert and Sam’s voices, and she heard another male voice.

  “Okay, we can hear them. When we get to them, I’ll talk Ciaran out of this killing and off the stage, and then you give me a signal to let me know if you can initiate travel. How does that sound, Arik?”

  “My suggestion is for me to shoot sedative needles in both Ciaran and John. Then we can grab Ciaran,” Dinah said.

  “That’s a very good suggestion, Dinah. I had totally forgotten about your sneaky weapon,” Madeline said.

  They heard the loud report of a gunshot.

  “This is not good. Change of plans. You needle all of them when we get there, Dinah,” Madeline said. “Please see if you can initiate travel now, Arik.”

  “I’m on it.”

  They charged in the direction of the gunshot.

  Approaching from the side of the stage, Madeline could see Ciaran and a man pointing guns at each other. The other man had his back to Madeline. Next to Ciaran, Sam’s body lay on the stage floor, blood pooling around him. Ciaran’s eyes were bloodshot, and she knew that no matter what form he was in, Robert or Ciaran, he was in a rage, and he would kill.

  She didn’t want to call out to distract Ciaran, so she kept hurrying toward the stage. When the other man heard footsteps behind him, he turned and copped Dinah’s needle to the chest.

  Madeline charged past the man as he fell down to the stage floor into a coma induced by Dinah’s needle. She ran toward Ciaran.

  “Don’t come near me, Lucy,” Robert yelled and waved the gun.

  From behind her, she heard Arik yell, “This isn’t John.”

  She turned around, immediately registering the situation. Robert and Sam had been facing two gunmen from the side of the stage. The one who’d gunned down Sam and copped Dinah’s needle wasn’t Booth. However, the man she could now see standing on the other side of a stage curtain, pointing a gun at Robert, was none other than the sinfully handsome stage performer, John Wilkes Booth. He looked at her with eyes determined to kill.

  To wave Lucy out of the way, Robert had moved his gun away from the aim he had held on John. The position in which John was standing made it impossible for Dinah to shoot a needle. Robert was worried that Lucy was in the crossfire, and John didn’t look hesitant to shoot.

  The precognition Madeline had had before this trip that Ciaran would be killed with a knife wound to the chest made perfect sense now, except it wasn’t a combat knife but a gun—a more efficient and lethal weapon.

  Dinah was in a position to shoot a needle at Ciaran, which would take him down and thus out of the line of the coming bullet should John fire. All Madeline needed to do was to signal Dinah. But the whole thing was speculation on her part. If her plan didn’t work, and it didn’t remove Ciaran from the line of fire, that would mean Dinah’s needle would incapacitate Ciaran and possibly get him killed.

  She decided not to signal Dinah. She looked at John and could see in his eyes that he was going to pull the trigger. His gun was pointed toward Ciaran and her. If Lucy had rejected Robert because of John Wilkes Booth, what was happening now suggested that she had never meant anything to John.

  “Get out of the way, Lucy.” Robert waved his gun frantically, disregarding the danger coming his way.

  John Wilkes Booth pulled the trigger.

  Madeline switched on her supernatural power and could see the bullet moving through the air as if in slow motion.

  She stepped into the path of the flying bullet.

  In the back of her mind, she heard Arik and Dinah talking, or maybe shouting. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to think of anything else or summon her unstable precognitive vision.

  Then everything went black.

  16

  Jael cringed at the impact of the explosion and hoped the giant silver egg that had just exploded in the air didn’t carry the person who had sent him the message asking to meet at the multiversal transitional zone. After the dust of the ex
plosion settled, a tall and formidable man emerged from behind a large shard of stone and walked toward him.

  Jael straightened his posture in anticipation of a possible attack. He shouldn’t be in the transitional zone of the multiverse where magical creatures like him were most vulnerable. In other worlds, there were advanced civilizations with knowledge and technology he would never be able to access as a magical creature. His God and fellow angels were in worse situations because they couldn’t even grasp the concept of technology.

  But the message was about his wife, and for that, he was willing to take any risks.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Jael.” The man pointed at the dust remnants from the explosion hovering in the air. “That’s just a setup.”

  “How do I address you?”

  “Who I am is not important. But it is critical that I can verify you are who you say you are. This is the transitional zone, and Xiilok creatures are notorious for their ability to disguise.”

  “Then how do I know you’re not a Xiilok creature in disguise?”

  The man chuckled. “Well said. All right. I sent Jael a message about a lady who travels a lot. If you are he, you will know what I'm talking about.”

  Jael shrugged. “I know what you’re talking about. But how do I prove I know without exposing an important piece of information to the wrong person?”

  The man nodded. “Prove to me you are an angel. That's not a secret and certainly not sensitive information.”

  Jael stepped back, spread his wings, and shot up into the air. He flew around, came back, and landed. No creature could fake his angel wings and the light emanating from the tip of every feather.

  He wasn't sure who Charmine’s savior was. But for that man to take her out of Xiilok safely and track him down, Jael knew he wasn't an ordinary citizen of the multiverse. He needed to impress this man to get his wife back. If he was a Xiilok creature, then seeing Jael in full angel form would intimidate him and stop him from doing whatever he had intended to do.

  “I believe Xiilok creatures can fly like that, and they can glow like candles, too. They're not difficult tricks,” the man deadpanned.

  “I don't do tricks!” Jael shouted. He was so angry that he was sure his wings would spontaneously spread again.

  Then the man smiled. “You're really Jael, Charmine’s husband. Based on the information she gave me, I figured there was a big chance you’d react the way you just did.”

  “So you're what, a wizard?”

  “No, in my world, what I just did is called psychological profiling. I'm quite good at it.”

  “Are you two finished grilling each other?”

  It was Charmine’s voice. Jael’s senses perked up. He literally sniffed the air for a trace of her scent and darted toward the rocks.

  There she was, his wife, as beautiful as ever, sitting on the grass and leaning against a rock. He rushed over and pulled her into his arms. He craved the feel of her body, the scent of her skin, the gleam of joy in her eyes whenever she looked at him.

  His wife was alive.

  She traced her hand along his shoulders where the old wings would have been before Luna, her evil sister, and her people savaged his angel wings and his power.

  “It didn’t hurt. And it’s healed,” he said. “I have new wings now.”

  Then his eyes landed on her injured leg.

  “It didn’t hurt, either. And it’s healed,” she said. Then she kissed him.

  “Are you two finished grilling each other?” said Malachi LeBlanc, sitting on top of the rock, looking down at them. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we are in the transitional zone of the multiverse, and anything can happen here. Also, I’ve just faked her death in the explosion. I need to go back to Eudaiz to receive the report about the incident and pretend to be surprised by the news.”

  Charmine smiled. “This is Sciphil Three of Eudaiz. He saved our child and me,” she said.

  Jael turned around. He could hear the rumbling of gossip among creatures across the multiverse. But now, seeing for himself, the multiverse had it all wrong.

  Sciphil Three of Eudaiz didn't have a dragon’s head, wasn't ten feet tall, didn't look as if he could spread a twenty-foot wingspan and spit out toxic fireballs.

  This was no more than a powerful and formidable man in his late thirties, or early forties. Most importantly, he used to be human.

  “You're the king Sciphil of Eudaiz,” Jael said.

  “You're quite knowledgeable, Jael. Yes, I am king. But it doesn’t mean I’m invincible. And if you expected me to have two dragon heads, I’m sorry to disappoint. I have one head, and it could be quite vulnerable in this transitional zone.”

  “Understood. We should get going. Thank you for taking care of Charmine.”

  Sciphil Three nodded and descended from the rock. “Charmine will fill you in later on the information about her pregnancy and the implications of entering Eudaiz. The short version of the solution I can give you now is this.” Sciphil Three pulled out two bracelets from his pocket and gave them to Jael and Charmine.

  “Jael, I know you travel a lot, and you take Charmine with you wherever you go. It might have been fine before because you have been traveling within the magical world. But now that she has entered Eudaiz, her profile is in the multiversal databank. She has been materialized and can be tracked.”

  Jael raked his hands through his hair. “I should have anticipated that if I kept taking her with me, she would cross worlds one day.”

  “I think a quick 101 lesson about different worlds might be helpful!” Charmine arched an eyebrow.

  Malachi smiled patiently. “In principle, there are three worlds—the magical world, the material world, and Amalgam, the ever-changing world in between.”

  Jael said, “Angels and magical creatures live in the magical world. A large part of the multiverse, including Earth, your favorite holiday destination, belongs to the material world. Generally, ordinary creatures cannot cross worlds.”

  “But we’ve been to Earth!” Charmine said.

  “We never participated in that world as living entities. We just visited. I used to be human. But once I crossed to the magical world a long time ago, I became a magical creature forever,” Jael said.

  “How did you cross, may I ask?” Malachi said.

  “Twelve of us were playing a stupid zodiac game in the middle of a stormy night. We saw a light in the sky like a rainbow, and we jumped through it. How about you? I’m guessing you used to be human.”

  Malachi shrugged, “Inheritance of a troubled bloodline.”

  “The LeBlancs?” Charmine asked.

  Malachi chuckled. “Very few creatures in the multiverse know my name. Let’s keep it that way. Anyway, the bracelets you have now are Iilos technology. If you wear the bracelets, you will be able to lock in your profile, regardless of which worlds you travel to. And you will be like that forever. That’s the simplest way I can put it.”

  “Immortality?” Charmine asked.

  Malachi winced. “That’s highly debatable. Let’s leave it for another time. But for now, the practical issue is that once you lock in or trigger it, you have to wear it forever. If you take it off, you will be reversed to the original form exponentially, accumulating the time and space effect. In a word, it’s ugly.”

  “We’ll think carefully before using it,” Jael said.

  “The other issue is about her pregnancy. If she weren’t a traveler, she would have been dead when I took her into Eudaiz. But still, the system in Eudaiz has registered her, so sooner or later—”

  “It might not be an issue anymore,” Jael said.

  “How so?”

  “My friend is a shaman, and he gave me a potion that will help Charmine transform properly into a magical creature. Then I will take her back to the house of Gods for protection.”

  “May I see the potion?” Malachi asked and reached his hand out.

  “Why?”

  “I just want to see what�
��s in it.”

  Jael frowned but then obeyed.

  Malachi looked at the jar carefully then said, “I’m going to scan it. I won’t need to take a sample. I just want to make sure the ingredients inside have no conflicting properties with the pain relief patch I have given Charmine.”

  Jael nodded.

  “No,” Charmine said.

  “Why not?” Malachi asked.

  “I see dark energy from the demon all over you. That energy always covers a near dead soul. I know you don’t believe in this. But I’m a traveler, and that’s one of my talents.”

  Malachi smiled. “Thank you for your concern. But I’m not going to take this potion. I won’t even touch it. I just need to scan for its properties.” He flicked the lid open and hovered his wrist unit quickly over the top.

  The unit flashed a green light and let out a happy ping.

  Malachi smiled. “You see. It’s harmless.”

  Suddenly, a colorful snake shot up in the air from the grass and bit Malachi’s hand. He dropped the potion to the ground, and the liquid spilled and steamed up. He grabbed his wrist with the other hand. “It’s not poisonous,” he said, but his words trailed off quickly, and he slumped to the ground.

  The snake dropped back to the ground and slithered away.

  Jael darted over, picked the jar of potion up, and threw it away. But Malachi had inhaled the steam. “Goddamn you, Asana!” Jael roared in anger.

  Charmine tore off the hem of her dress and tied it around Malachi’s upper arm. Her voice was shaky. “Jael, he’s leaving us . . . Jael, please do something . . .”

  Jael darted over and held Malachi’s hands. “The steam of the potion combined with the snake venom makes the most toxic compound in the magical world. It can kill angels. Tell me Sciphil Three of Eudaiz, if I take you back to your universe, can your technology save you?”

  There was no response from Malachi. Jael streamed light into Malachi via their connected hands. Malachi stirred. Jael knew his energy wouldn’t last long. As soon as Malachi opened his eyes, he repeated the question.