Dark Solar Complete Trilogy: Oleander - Wolfsbane - Maikoa

by D. N. Leo

  “What can I do for you?” Xecheron said in a trying-to-be-royal tone. “We just spoke.”

  “Using your magical talisman? Yes, we did talk. But I have something to show you now. It’s called technology, and I don’t think your talisman can handle it.”

  “All right, but be quick. I’m busy.”

  Arete nearly rolled his eyes, but he stopped himself. He switched on an electronic pad and played a record of the dialogue between Jael and Charmine.

  Xecheron’s jaw dropped. “Did you lock them inside that thing?”

  “No, my dear god Xecheron. This is called a recording. In lay terms, I’d say we captured their voice. That’s what this technology can give us. They didn’t know my technology could hack into the device they were wearing. That technology is fifty years old—in Earth time, that is. So, although it does help them travel cross dimensions and worlds, it’s vulnerable to hacking.” Arete looked at Xecheron’s face and sighed. “Xecheron, all I’m saying is that Jael and Charmine—the angel couple you’re supposed to kill, remember?—they—”

  “Yes, yes, I remember.” Xecheron waved his hand in frustration. “The technology says that the angel couple has a daughter in the material world. And you think I can use the daughter as leverage to kill the parents, right?”

  Although Arete didn’t like the way Xecheron dragged out and put a sarcastic emphasis on the word technology, he had to admit that the god’s mind wasn’t as rotten as his looks.

  “I would hope so. I just want to collaborate and make your job as easy as possible.”

  “Well, you know her name is Dinah, right? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill her than to make a trip down here?”

  “Oh no, it’s not about me. It’s about you, Xecheron. I have no use for Dinah’s death. But you could use the daughter’s death to make to the parents vulnerable. I know you’re not scared of them, but they are angels. I know nothing about the angel business, but as far as I’m concerned, we want to gain as much advantage as possible.”

  Xecheron nodded.

  Arete almost giggled from delight. Dinah had killed the giant, Roallix. There was no way in hell he would pick a direct fight with her. Not in a million years. He cleared his throat. “I know you are powerful, and your resources are unlimited. But you shouldn’t have to spend much if you don’t have to, right? Dinah is just an ordinary Iilos citizen. Her life isn’t worth much to us. But it would cost the parents a great deal to know their daughter died in the hands of the mighty underworld god, wouldn’t it? They’re angels. They have their pride.”

  “Yes, yes, I hear you. There’s no need for a long speech. I don’t need an education from you about what I can and can’t do.”

  “So what are you saying, Xecheron?”

  “I’ll consider this.”

  “There is no time to plan, Xecheron. You heard the recording. Please consider taking this opportunity. To get back to the house of Gods from the traveler’s land, Jael and Charmine have to cross the transitional zone of the multiverse. You know that area. It belongs to no one. And thus, no one claims authority there, and no one will be responsible for any death or crime committed in that area.”

  “When will they be there?”

  “Soon.”

  “All right. I’ll get my fighters. I have to kill Dinah first and bring the news to her parents. Do you know where she is at the moment?”

  “She’s in Xiilok, and I know precisely where she’ll be. But I have to warn you in advance—she’s with Arik. The guy is supposed to handle the Amalgam world, so he is powerful.”

  “What’s his talent?”

  “I don’t know. But I can help lure Dinah away from him. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

  “All right, let’s hear them.”

  Xecheron gestured toward a stone table. Arete delightedly pulled out some equipment and approached the table for a serious discussion.

  10

  As they walked into the lavish entrance of the LeBlanc New York headquarters, Madeline shuffled through her memories to find an occasion when Ciaran had mentioned Arik’s family and found none. She had never heard of Arik before this trip, and every day that went by, she uncovered new things. She just wished she didn't have to learn new information via tragic events.

  Ciaran had left an anonymous tip with the police about Diana. When he watched the news on his private screen as the police entered the house and discovered the body, she saw what she had never seen in him before—regret. He had lost so many people he cared about in several battles—some for good causes, and some just to defend himself and his people. But those he had lost had been prepared to fight with him and make sacrifices.

  Diana was a trained fighter, yet she fought for peace and was an innocent bystander in the multiversal war.

  Normally Madeline just used her psychic ability to poke around, but it dawned on her now that she might lose her talent. She wasn't sure what was happening, but after a few of the buzzing noise episodes, her mind seemed empty. There was no need, however, to alarm Ciaran now. Her psychic ability was the only reason he had brought her on this mission, so it would be best she kept quiet.

  Adam Gardner, the current acting CEO, rushed in as soon as the steel door of the meeting room slid open. Ciaran sat at the end of the long meeting table. Madeline sat next to him. She knew Ciaran had arranged their seating positions for a reason. By the time Adam had walked from the door and around the long table to reach Ciaran for a handshake, Ciaran had already made a full evaluation of him—his ability, capability, and most importantly, whether he was trustworthy.

  That was why Ciaran was lethal in his business—he was actively involved. When he let go, he missed things, and one of those things was Lindsay’s betrayal. Ciaran could tolerate almost anything, but he had a very poor tolerance for betrayal.

  “Mr. LeBlanc.” Adam reached his hand out for a handshake.

  “Ciaran.”

  “Yes, Ciaran. I am so sorry about Lindsay. I’ll make all the necessary arrangements for his family…”

  “So you haven’t yet made the arrangements? When did they hear about his passing?”

  “Two days ago. Look, I’m so sorry…but Lindsay didn’t have plans for a successor, so there were a lot of details to handle when the accident happened.”

  “Indeed. I wouldn’t think he planned for his death.” Ciaran’s eyes were as cold as steel, and he was wearing his signature unfathomable look. Adam had no way to tell what Ciaran was thinking, but Madeline knew her husband too well. She didn’t need her psychic ability to help her. She knew Ciaran was trying to evaluate whether Lindsay had betrayed him or had been blackmailed by a force in the multiverse.

  “When did you start, Adam?”

  “Three days ago. And I’m qualified. I can show you—”

  “No need to prove yourself to me. What have you done regarding Lindsay’s family, apart from offering condolences and money?”

  “That’s all so far. But if you want us to do something more…”

  “I’ll need to use Lindsay’s security team.”

  “We recruited a new team yesterday.”

  “Under whose order?”

  “No one’s, Ciaran. Lindsay’s team dismissed themselves after hearing the news about his death. There was nothing we could do. We had to get a new team assembled yesterday.”

  “All right. Do you understand that Lindsay’s team used to run several special ops for my family?”

  “Of course. That’s why they were a designated team. Because I didn’t have exact information about what they did, I recruited them based on standard procedure.”

  Ciaran nodded. “I’ll need their files and credentials in my computer system right away. And I’ll need to see the team leader.”

  “Yes, Ciaran.” Adam pulled out his electronic pad and typed in his commands. “The files are in your system now, and we got lucky—the team leader is on his way in right now.” Adam looked toward the door as it slid open.

  There, Madeline ob
served her crisis walk in as if in slow motion.

  She hadn’t foreseen this at all. Not only that, she was very sure that right now her psychic ability was dead. She couldn’t even concentrate enough to consider whether it was a temporary loss or permanent.

  “This is Jett,” Adam said.

  As Jett approached and shook Ciaran’s hand, his eyes zeroed in on her.

  “Jett who?” the words came out of her mouth before she could edit them.

  He turned and looked at her. He still looked the same after all this time—exceptionally tall, masculine face, striking blue eyes, and a quirky smile. “Just Jett.”

  She looked at Ciaran and saw he had caught the connection. She wouldn’t have expected less of him. “Ciaran, may I have a word with you?” she said and strode toward the door.

  Outside the room, she turned and looked at him. “I dated him briefly in college. My first year. Just so you know.” She cleared her throat and looked down.

  Ciaran tilted her chin up and rubbed his thumb over the dimple on her left cheek. “You were young, and you dated a guy in college. That’s hardly breaking news, Madeline. Why are you so worried?”

  “Because I didn’t tell you before.”

  “Everyone is entitled to their privacy.”

  “We agreed there would be no secrets between us, Ciaran. But we were young, and we committed a crime. He took the hit and went down for it. That was why I didn’t tell you. It looks as if he has a new life now. So I’d appreciate you not looking into his past.”

  Ciaran’s eyes grew intense for a brief second then returned to their normal unfathomable look. “Now that’s something more than just an ordinary college date. And yes, I’ll take your word that he is a new person now and we can trust he’ll do the job he signed up for.”

  “Thank you.” Now that was stupid, she thought. She had just thanked Ciaran for leaving her ex-boyfriend alone! But as much as she felt like an idiot right now, there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

  The fundamental rule of their marriage was that there would be no secrets between them. It wasn’t that she hadn’t honored their promise to each other for the most part, but she knew there was something she had not ironed out, even though she didn’t really know what it was that she was withholding. She could see disaster coming her way like a train at full speed. She didn’t know how to stop it or even jump out of the way.

  11

  Madeline was totally uncomfortable about Jett escorting them to the site of Arik’s father’s house, but she guessed their time was limited, and Ciaran didn’t have many options. Ciaran was meeting with Adam regarding some of the critical aspects of the LeBlanc business, which according to Ciaran had nothing to do with Eudaiz. She took the opportunity to take a walk down the street. She wanted to buy him a pair of beautiful leather gloves.

  If dawned on her that they had never had a chance to be a normal couple. They had met due to unfortunate circumstances and hadn’t even dated before they got married. And then there was this—there were always important calls they had to respond to, things that were a matter of life and death to humankind and all that.

  Before she knew it, they’d had children and had ended up in space.

  Well, it wasn’t exactly that cut and dried. She shuddered thinking about how many times Ciaran had almost died in front of her—and vice versa. Their lives were stuffed with one mission after another. While Ciaran had always managed to sneak in a few little surprises here and there, she had actually never done anything for him as a girlfriend.

  What could she possibly buy for a man who already had everything?

  So she was pleased she had come up with the idea of gloves to cover his beautiful long-fingered hands that were always freezing because he never remembered gloves. He loved to handle computers and any technology and was quite hands on. He thought gloves on and gloves off would slow him down too much and would never buy them for himself.

  “There you are!” she said and smiled at the boutique on the corner. She had frequently visited there when she worked as a journalist. Handmade clothing from a tailor was a concept she assumed had become extinct a long time ago. She didn’t know how the tailor sustained his business, let alone—

  “Oh Madeline!” the tailor exclaimed, interrupting her thoughts. “Long time no see! Look at you! You look like a princess.”

  She smiled at Bob, his hair now almost completely gray and his voice dripping with a heavy Italian accent. She hugged him. He had always treated her like a daughter. She was his princess.

  “Don’t tell me something happened to your red leather jacket!”

  She had lost it in the fight through the Daimon Gate. It had been a life and death battle for her, and she was lucky to be alive. But all that didn’t matter to Bob. All he knew was that the jacket he made for her hadn’t survived.

  Seeing the look on her face, he nodded. “All right, all right, my little princess. That is okay. I will make you another one.”

  “How are you, Bob?”

  “Good. I am very good.” He turned her around. “You’ve lost some weight.”

  She rolled her eyes inwardly. That just wasn’t possible. She’d had two kids. And her home robot in Eudaiz followed her every morning, threatening to scan her body and report her body mass index. She had never read the report, but she was quite sure weight loss wasn’t a part of it.

  “Let’s make it black leather this time. I’ve just had one of the most beautiful leathers just imported from my homeland—”

  “Bob?”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “I’m here not for me. I’d like to use that beautiful leather of yours to make a pair of gloves for my husband.”

  “Not a problem at all. He will be so pleased with the quality of the leather. Now, I might need some measurements… Wait, did you say husband?”

  She grinned. “Yes, I did.”

  “Oh, my darling, congratulations! I am so happy for you!”

  The doorbell sang lightly, and a customer pushed in. Bob paused and looked. Then a smile brightened his face. “Oh dear, I should have guessed. You were both so close. You’re a perfect couple.”

  She turned around and saw Jett standing at the door.

  “Excuse me,” she said to Bob and rushed toward the door, pushing Jett outside.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “You’re LeBlanc’s lady now, but I didn’t think you owned this shop.”

  “What we had was the past—”

  “And a beautiful one it was.”

  She stared at him. “You don’t blame me for what happened, do you?”

  “No.”

  He held her shoulders. “I’ve never thought twice about that decision, but what I didn’t expect was how much it pained me when I figured out I could never see you again. It was worse than death.”

  “You’re a bigger man than that, Jett. You’ve rebuilt your life. You’re now working for one of the largest conglomerates in the world.”

  He smiled. “Thank you for the reminder, Lady LeBlanc.”

  “I know the reality of it hurts you, but you’ll have to deal with it, Jett. Not only am I married to Ciaran, I have a family and important matters to tend to.”

  “Understood. I’m not saying anything to try to intrude on your life. In fact, I didn’t plan to see you again.”

  She nodded. “I told Ciaran about us.”

  “I was sure you would.”

  “You understand, right?”

  “Sure.”

  She nodded. “So how are you? What’s your new life like?”

  “Well, since we haven’t talked for such a long time, it’s really not that new. I spent most of my time in Asia and have just recently moved back to the States.”

  “Where in Asia?”

  “Not China, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He grinned. “I operated my business mostly in Vietnam and Cambodia. And no, you can’t ask me what kind of business. I’m finished with it, though, so I was on a bre
ak in New York. It’s such a trick of fate. I heard the LeBlancs were looking for special security ops. I’d always wanted to work for them, so I jumped at the chance.”

  “You always wanted to work for the LeBlancs? But you were so laid-back back in the day.”

  He put on his brilliant smile again. “People change.”

  “Sure.”

  “How’s Jo?”

  She couldn’t possibly tell him that Jo, their mutual best friend, was now Sciphil Four and managing a Eudaizian district of a multimillion citizens. She cleared her throat. “She’s fine. Just got married and lives in another country. She works for the LeBlancs, too. You know…special ops. She wouldn’t be able to reveal her location or contact you.”

  “I understand. She’s married, huh?”

  “Not only do people change, Jett, they move on!”

  He nodded. “Understood.” He gazed into her eyes and held the eye contact for so long it made her uncomfortable. “You haven’t changed much.”

  “I have.”

  He reached his hand up and rubbed his thumb over the dimple on her left cheek. “That hasn’t changed.”

  “Hey!” She pushed his hand away.

  “Madeline!”

  She turned around and saw Ciaran approaching. Her psychic ability wasn’t working right now, and she really didn’t think his unfathomable look would help at all, but it was all she had to go on at the moment.

  She turned toward Jett and saw him smiling warmheartedly at her.

  12

  Madeline walked by Ciaran’s side, but it seemed like there were oceans between them. She couldn’t read his mind, and he didn’t give her anything to go on. They were entering a small but exclusive apartment where Lindsay’s family lived. Jett and his security team had gone ahead to clear the area before they arrived.

  Jett came back to the living area where Ciaran stood waiting. Ciaran had still not said anything. He would normally ask her if she could sense anything with her psychic ability. But it was off now, so she stood there feeling useless.