Liquid Death (The Edinön Trilogy Book 1) (23 page)

              “Traffic cams.”

              “Has he been detained?”

              “No. They have found it difficult to approach him due to the man he is with. They have yet to capture his face on camera.”

              Leyla nods as she skims through the report. She then closes the file and returns it to Ashley’s slender hands. “Tell them to continue their pursuit. They may lead us to Kandi.”

***

             
July 19, 2017
(KANDI)

              “Intimate relations between Immortals are forbidden. I have told you this before. I was a strict conformer to the rules until I met Hope.”

              “Let me guess,” I say, clenching my jaw.
I already know all of this
. I can pick and choose which of my thoughts Dad can hear, so for now I’ll play along. “You were caught. The Edinön threatened to remove your powers and banish you.”

              Dad grins. “Correct. Of course, if I lost my powers, my younger brother would inherit them. Hope and I agreed it would be in everyone’s best interests if we prevented him from becoming Death, so we fled.”

              “You fled into outer space.” I curl my fingers over the arms of the chair. “You were caught in a wormhole, you came out the other side and floated in space for several decades before you found Earth.”

              “Yes, at which point, Hope...
my
Hope... died.” Death hunches over and faces the wall. “All I had was you to remind me of her.”

              I am the spawn of Death and Hope. What does that make me?

              “There is a reason immortal Edinön are not allowed to procreate,” he says. “Their offspring are unpredictable and capable of destroying the Bloodlines. I knew the Edinön would do all in their power to find and eliminate Hope and me before we inflicted more damage upon our people. I had to be prepared.” Dad straightens. “Fortunately, I have the perfect weapon.” A serrated knife materializes in his hand, and he slices me across the cheek. My head remains completely still. I barely blink. He switches to Gídnei, his tone dropping an octave, “
With your blood, I can transform an entire planet into an army, which I can use to battle against the Edinön seeking my life. The perfect plan
.”

              “
Would Hope have approved of this plan
?”

              “
Hope would have done anything to protect her only child
.” He slices my other cheek. “
You see, I am not their only target. They will combine their most powerful forces to fight you, sweetheart, because you are the only being in the universe besides our Fathers who can kill them
.”

              “
And you think an army of human mutants can stop them
?” I’m growing dizzy with power.

              “
An army of human mutants armed with your powers is invincible to all but me, Kandi
.”

              I believe that is all the stalling I need. “And me.” I offer a side grin before releasing a psychic pulse so powerful it knocks Death into the opposite wall, down which he slides and sags, unconscious. I incinerate my metal restraints and the weapon rack to my right with a single sweep of my eyes.

             
My sole dying wish is that you will awaken your full potential to stop your father’s plan from succeeding.

              I step outside the bunker and crawl across wet sand before planting myself under the shade of a palm tree and sobbing in a fetal position. My emotions are so out-of-whack that I can’t pinpoint the cause of these tears.

             
Finish him off. Death will awaken any moment. Kill him before he kills Juan.

              I sense Juan nearing.
This is your last chance. Finish him off.
I glance at the open bunker as a wave crashes over the shoreline. I swipe tears from my face. I am done with crying. I am done with feeling.

              I summon black flame to my right hand and shape it into a blade the moment Death’s head emerges from the hole in the sand. Once he has stood and brushed sand from his suit, I face him head-on, ignoring the erratic behavior of my heart and the fire in my neck and ears.

              Dad eyes the fiery blade in my hand and resigns himself to his fate. “You are smarter than I considered.” He opens his arms and ignites in malachite flame. “Proceed.”

***

             
July 19, 2017
(JUAN)

              Time zaps me to Brazil in the middle of a busy marketplace next to a fruit stand. The air smells citrusy and smoky with a hint of exotic spices and manure. It is stiflingly hot, humid, and sticky. I look down at my feet, then at a man peddling his bicycle in my direction. All seems fine and dandy until my ears detect a scream across the road next to an open bar. A woman collapsed off her stool, and her friends/family frantically call for help as they perform CPR. Others around the bar begin to sway and grapple for something to hold onto before they follow the woman to the ground, seemingly dead.

              “Zidivin has struck this city,” Time says.

              I nod guiltily. Why do I feel like this is my fault? Anyway, without further ado, I reach out with my Kandi-detecting senses until a location pops in my head.

              My “connection” with Kandi has led me all over the planet, from Wisconsin to Romania to Sri Lanka to Brazil, and finally to a deserted island in the South Pacific.

              Time transports me to this location. Upon arrival, I expect to receive another vision which will clue me in to our next destination.

              When does what I expect ever happen, anyway?

              “Kandi!” I gasp quite unintentionally the moment she raises a stunning blade composed of onyx fire. Her father stands calmly in the path of the unearthly sword, surrounded in green flame, his eyes brilliant as lightning.

              My idiotic vocalization distracts her from completing the fateful swing. Her head swings my direction, and her mouth opens in shock. Her eyes are unrecognizable orbs of white electricity.

              I blink, and suddenly Death has me by the throat. Kandi’s face contorts in rage. I have never seen her display an expression more extreme than mild amusement. Her appearance both frightens and excites me in more ways than one.

              Time looms behind her, his soulless eyes sparkling with the same electrical charge as Kandi’s. “Release the Half-breed, Death.” His booming voice has lost all semblance of subtlety. I feel goosebumps in my bones.

              I focus on every drop of strength I possess and attempt to throw Death over my shoulder. My attempt succeeds.

              Death flies into the palm tree in Kandi’s peripheral. The tree cracks and tumbles while Death regains his footing. He looks at me, surprised and livid. That’s when his fire envelops me, and my brain registers the pain.

***

             
July 19, 2017
(KANDI)

              I am consumed by fire and hysterics beyond my capacity to control. I watch Juan collapse and burn, and my mind replays 100’s death, Alice’s death, Mom’s death, Traci’s death...

              I disappear in black flame and reappear before Death, raise my sword and bring it down upon his head, slicing him cleanly in two. An immense explosion of lime-hued light follows, the sound nearly deafening. I don’t wait to watch both halves flop their separate ways on the sand.

              Juan’s screams compel me to his side. I wave my hand, and the green fire dissipates, leaving little skin and sizzling clothing in its wake.

              My vision clouds. I can’t lose anyone else. I can’t!

“Reverse time!” I command the Edinön behind me, feeling as though my chest has been pulverized in a meat grinder. “Bring him back!”

              “Doing so would revive Death. This matters not, as you have the power to restore him.”

              “I.... can’t!” I cry, despising myself for even thinking it. I touch Juan’s burnt face, and he moans softly.

             
I hesitated and listened to the pounding rhythm of my heart in my ears. Alice only had a few more seconds. I could do this.

              But the longer I stared at the sharp edge of the glass, the more I began to realize how pathetically weak I was. Flashes of similar memories with my father resurfaced, and following another piercing scream, I relinquished the glass and watched it clatter to the floor beside Alice's body.

              I wanted to kill him. The girl never should have died. I should have been able to protect her. I could have saved her had I been strong enough. I could have saved Alice, too. I could have saved Juan. I could have saved Mom... and Traci.

              I could have saved myself from the torture I have endured my entire life. From the nightly experiments in the underground shed, to the frequent defilements in Jim’s home.

             
Why have I failed everyone I had ever loved?

              I begin shivering violently, my only rational thought being
Juan must be saved
. “Burn me.” I stand and face Time

              Time bows his head and obeys. I suppress my supernatural defenses and embrace Time’s unholy energy. As my skin bubbles and peels, Juan’s flesh gradually becomes whole.

***

             
July 19, 2017
(JUAN)

              One moment I am experiencing the worst pain imaginable, and the next moment, my eyes fly open to look upon Kandi as her body breaks down amidst a black inferno.

              “No!” I sit up and look at Time. “What did you do?”

              “What she asked,” Time replies calmly.

              I notice Death’s cloven remains a few feet away. Then, sensing a strange tingling in my extremities, I glance down at my fingers to behold my skin piecing itself back together. Wetness pervades my eyes. She isn’t screaming or burning beyond recognition. She stares at me while her skin drips from her bones.

              The throbbing ache in my throat obstructs swallowing and breathing. I feel helpless and ashamed that Kandi is doing this for me.

              Eventually, the fire dies, and she collapses, her charred fingers digging into the sand.

              “Kandi, why?” I ask brokenly. “Please don’t die because of me. Please.”

              Her body shakes as blood leaks from her eyes, nose, mouth, and what is left of her ears. Very soon her entire form is soaked in bright red. She coughs, spits, and cries tears of scarlet. “Juan,” she murmurs, a long string of fluid hanging from her lips.

              Her eyes return to their usual unnatural green. “Take me to the water.”

              I immediately scoop her into my arms. Her head droops against my shoulder, and her sticky arms wrap around my neck. I enter the water, balancing against the tides lashing at my shins. I press forward until Kandi is completely submerged. When I pull her out, she is squeaky clean and shivering. It dawns on me that her outer clothes were consumed in the fire, and I nearly drop her.

              I bring her back to shore, where Time is still standing motionless, long robe billowing in the wind. “It is here I shall leave you,” he says.

              “Where are you going?” I inquire, breaths heaving with exertion.

              “To the ship. I shall return with my compeers to take you home.”

              “So you can’t... never mind.” I can’t focus because my hands are in contact with Kandi’s skin, and her heady fragrance is invading my nostrils.

              “Farewell, Half-breed.” And with that, Time disappears.

              I exhale. “Kandi, are you...?”

              “Yes.” She nuzzles into my neck.
My. Heart.
“I’m all right.”

              “Can you stand?” I need to let her go before I lose my head. I feel her nod, so I set her gently on her feet. I begin to hear her thoughts, loud and clear again, and I laugh/cry. “What happens now?”

             
I retrieve some clothes
, she thinks. “Now we deliver the cure to Leyla.”

              “Are you sure?”

              “Better to save as many as we can than none at all. Maybe it won’t be as bad as we think.”

A ruby dye blankets the blue planet, and I hear screaming. Fire inherits the place of clouds, swirling ominously in the atmosphere. A woman in rags drags a bloodied male corpse in the dark recesses of an alleyway before lowering her lips to his wounds and sucking violently.

“So sweet,” she mutters, cackling maniacally.

                           
So sweet.

***

The Cure

              Dec. 14, 2017

                            Eliza visits her father’s bedroom at the
end of the day to check on him. Since her mother administered the cure, he has improved immensely. He even woke up briefly the other day to apologize to her for sending her to Blue Skys three years ago. Her mother, who is a registered nurse, assured her he would be walking in two weeks. So far, studies have shown that the cure is 100 percent “risk-free and effective” all thanks to Blue Skys and their invaluable contribution to the world.

              Her family moved back to Mexico after Eliza escaped. They were lucky to acquire the cure when they did. It has to be administered within twenty-four hours after the coma sets in, or the patient will die.

              Eliza clasps her father’s hand and squeezes. “
Hola Papá
,” she says, lips curling into a tentative smile.

              Her father’s eyelids flutter apart, and he mirrors her expression. “
Hola
Eliza
. Cómo está tu madre
?”

              “
Ella está bien. ¿Cómo estás?
”

              His breaths decelerate, then stop as his eyes roll back into his head.

              “
Papá
?” She exclaims, standing to shake him. “
Mamá
!” she cries, pounding her father’s chest to restart his heart. “
Él no está respirando
!” She continues to perform CPR until he abruptly lunges and bites her shoulder, drawing blood. She screams and backs up against the door, twisting the knob.

              Her father’s eyes gleam with hunger. “
Hueles tan dulce
, Eliza.” He licks her blood from his lips.

              She screams again. “
Mamá
!
Apúrate
!”

              Eliza’s mother crosses the sitting area with her son against her hip. She happens by the television when an emergency broadcast flashes over the screen. “
AVISO – DESPUÉS DE INYECTAR EL ANTÍDOTO, MANTENER A LOS PACIENTES EN CUARENTENA DURANTE CUARENTA Y OCHO HORAS, O
...”

              “
Mamá
!
Apúrate
!”

              Fear shoots down her spine like a lightning bolt. Eliza’s mother relinquishes her second child to attend to her first, racing to her bedroom in time to catch her husband in the act of biting her daughter’s throat.

              “Carlos!” She shoves him away and crouches on the ground to inspect Eliza. “What have you done?”

              “So sweet...” he chortles gleefully. “So sweet.”

***

...To Be Continued in
Dawning Life
(Spring 2016)