Lost Energy (10 page)

TRAITOR

A
very breathed in slowly, trying to
calm her rapid heart while the security scanner read her pupil. The screens
being on… The coincidence did not sit well.

Once the doors breezed open, she
and Nicolette stepped through the threshold for another security check, a body
scanner buzzing around them. The floating balls beeped, their access lights
flipping to green. With a waving hand and a bored look that defied the storm
within, she sent the annoying apparatuses away.

The Creation Lab hadn't changed in
her two-day absence–hadn't really changed in centuries. Of course, the typical
rows of computers filled the room, some displaying holograms that Guides
scrutinized. Others that computed formulas in bright red numbers above hunched
bodies of more Guides trying to crack the few secrets left in the universe.
This lab was ever efficient, ready to destroy the potential lives of energies
new and old.

She passed the busybodies, who
innocently believed they were making the universe better. Some pulled
themselves away from their work long enough to acknowledge her. Another eye scan
later, with a hand up to stay Nicolette, Avery stood in a second clear-screened
room facing humanity's worst mistake.

Numbness–the feeling as familiar as
her own skin–settled on her shoulders and worked its way to her toes. Opening
emotions would put her back in that dark place, the place she'd lived in before
Lena came to her with a way out–an end.

Mechanical arms stripped her
clothes and replaced them with the sterile, skin-tight suit and mask. She kept
her attention on the bodies. Some without faces or definite shape lay like
dolls in huge compression chambers. Piled in haphazard order by shape and
gender, the infant chamber gave her numb shield the biggest challenge. This was
where new energy ended up when deemed privileged enough, strong enough, to be
an Exemplian. No parents, no real childhood. The general population didn't know
that. Implanted memories took over as soon as an energy entered a corporeal
form.

Then the magic happened.

Artificial DNA thrown into the
energy mix, giving these pseudo-humans abilities no one should have. Abilities
like her own.

Exemplian life was not completely
bleak. They'd give some bodies the ability to procreate, have life made the
natural way, the right way. It all sounded beautiful, miraculous, but really it
was to keep the population under control, give no one a chance to be
suspicious.

Until Lena.

A sigh pushed the guilt away. She
stepped from the sterile chamber. Deception never took a holiday.

Reports finalized. Check. Pairing
requests authorized. Done. Older energy requesting retirement–not many. Odd. Protector
to Guide ratio–completely unbalanced.

Avery leaned back, studying her
screen. The new energy influx drove her bloody nuts. Too many were being sent
here and all being docked as Protector. As if they were preparing for another
war… "Oh, no."

She jumped when the warning
emergency light blinked and dinged politely. Before she could gauge the
problem, bright, multicolored lights, hundreds of them, rushed into the energy
containment tubes. The wall screens came to life with all the recycled lights'
MOS codes. All were Protectors, dumping into the chamber faster than the
screens could keep up with the tally.

"Oh…
no
," she
repeated, as if the loud command could stop the screaming flow of Protectors,
squeezed in tubes so tight the energy looked like one large, bulging light, an
ancient fluorescent bulb.

She didn't take the time to strip
from her sterile gear as she tore from the room, on her way to the one office
where she'd find answers.

"Cassondra!" Avery
ignored the two admins trying to stop her.

Nicolette made sure the two men
didn't follow Avery inside the new authority commander's office.

Cassondra stood in front of her
screens, all tuned to Empyrean. The colorless woman, with pale hair and
alabaster skin, didn't bother to turn around. "I'm surprised. I would've
thought you'd be here sooner, but…" she turned those watery blue eyes to Avery,
"you've been unreachable for two days."

Avery stayed silent, though rage
made her lips tingle with everything that needed said.

"I was concerned, our Creation
Lab overseer not here? Not where she is supposed to be? The Synod elders
agreed." Cassondra turned back to the screens. "We concluded now was
the perfect time to re-activate the satellites. And guess what we found in our
desperate search for one of our most valued members?"

Avery watched the screens, flinching
at the carnage. Protectors and Empyreans lay slaughtered as the blue lights of
Guides absorbed the flailing globes of Protector energy. Authority Guides also
collected green orbs–the dead Empyreans. "What have you done?"

"We have traitors, Guide.
Those who wish to destroy the very foundations on which this universe thrives.
Months of inquisition, weeks of information processing, and we finally have
answers." The calm in the commander's voice made Avery's skin prickle. "But…you
can imagine my surprise when I found our little wayward Guide at the center of
the rebellion."

Fear licked stinging paths through
her limbs. Avery didn't have to ask; she knew whom Cassondra meant. "Are
you certain?" The composed façade had taken centuries of practice. The
placid facial expressions consisted of years staring into a mirror, making sure
no tells showed. But all that practice, all that time, couldn't hide her thin,
reedy voice, which sounded like a hovercraft's vapor engine.

When Cassondra turned to face her
this time, those dull eyes were alive–terrifying. "I have never been more
certain."

What have I done…?

"Perhaps we could talk to her Protector.
Maybe someone has led her astray."

"Enough, Guide. The girl is
not stupid, and she has been warned. She refused to stay in her dimension, as
ordered. If some…other traitor has given her false information, well I'm sure
we will find out whom." Cassondra tucked her hands inside the sleeves of
her robe. "We have found this rebellion to run deeper than her present
cycle. It seems she has co-conspirators who have not given up their treacherous
ways." Those dead eyes chained Avery to the floor. "And we
will
find all who are responsible, Avery. Every. Single. Traitor."

The threat, as subtle as a thin
breeze, ricocheted off the walls. Avery swallowed. "That is…troublesome,
indeed."

A mirthless smile tugged at
Cassondra's thin lips. "I am pleased you agree."

Avery glanced at the screens,
trying to grab hold of the calm slipping away at a much faster rate. "What
shall we do with the Protector energy? Their documents… Many of those soldiers
have chosen retirement after this cycle. We should make sure they are sent
somewhere safe, away from the battle."

"Recycle them back to Exemplar–all
of them. If they refuse once their bodies go live, terminate their energy, file
it as a Tainted."

"But–"

"We are at war. No one gets a
choice. Synod elders are in agreement with me that Empyrean and its Warden will
be the first to suffer for their treason. They do not wish for our sister
dimension to threaten the Exemplian population. Teenesee has harbored this
traitor, and now she will pay with her world. Everyone who helps Lena will face
retribution. I will take everything from her, as she…" Cassondra cleared
her throat, rare emotion flitting over her face. "I will take from her
before I kill her."

Fear slithered through her blood.
I
did this!

Lena would pay with more than her
life. So much more.

"You may leave now,"
Cassondra said.

Avery backed toward the door, a
plan already forming in her head. She had to get to Lena. "Very well."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot."
Cassondra kept her attention on the screens as more Protectors shot to
Empyrean, carrying newer weapons used for one thing: complete annihilation. "The
Synod elders have given permission to scan all private documents of Synod
members. I trust you will comply?"

Avery's lips grew numb and she had
to hide her trembling fingers behind her back. "I–yes, of course."

Cassondra turned to her, excitement
shading her face. "Excellent."

She knows…

Avery pushed the door open. "Good
afternoon, Commander."

At Cassondra's nod, Avery left,
hooking Nicolette's elbow, more to keep from falling, as she rushed from the
building.

Nicolette stopped her before
leaving the front doors. "What's wrong?"

"Please..." Tears
threatened but Avery held them in check until they were as far away from the
building as her legs could take her before they gave out. Nicolette held her
up, concern in her eyes.

"She…she knows, Nicolette. We
must leave. Now."

SQUID
WHISPERER

A
s soon as the door shut, my face
heated and a tidal wave of shyness washed over me. The small cabin I had
romanticized turned into a claustrophobic sauna. I had dreamed of this moment
for five months. Granted the circumstances were different. There wasn't some
big dimensional war brewing. But we were finally alone, with no threat of
company, and I couldn't stop shaking.

"What's wrong?" Tarek
moved behind me, massaging my shoulders.

"I…well…" My eyes stayed
glued to the narrow bed. "This is gonna sound crazy."

"You're scared? Nervous?"

"Bingo."

"Me too."

I turned. His eyes clouded and his
mouth parted enough to notice his breath coming out in quick gasps. I raised a
brow, covering his heart with a sweaty palm. The rapid pounding had my own
anxieties bottoming out. If this man, Arcus's Warden and certified badass, was
feeling nervous about spending the night with me, maybe I was a bit of a
badass, too.

I stood on my toes and touched my
lips to his, smiling. "So…um..."

He grinned, trailing a finger down
my cheek. "Kissing? Kissing is good."

Relief filled my legs. I thought I
was ready. Guess not. Not yet. "Kissing sounds better than good."

He scooped me up. When he set me
down on the bed, Tarek covered my body with his, all his weight supported by
his elbows. He kissed me light, and then deeper, not even trying to touch me,
no matter how hard I tugged. I groaned and punched him in the shoulder.

A laugh vibrated off his lips and
hit mine. "Problem?"

"Kissing requires a little
more touching." I bit his bottom lip.

"Ouch! Be nice." His
tongue skated across my teeth marks. He then brushed a hand through my hair,
his eyes softening and voice no longer playful. "I don't want you to
leave."

"We can't ignore it, Tarek. We
can't." I pulled his head down until our foreheads touched. "But we
can put it on hold."

"That's not good enough."

I wouldn't convince him; he'd never
agree to anything. So I kissed him.

He went to break free, and I
touched his cheek. We had hours. Hours I refused to spend in reality. "Stay."

He cupped my face, his gray eyes
belonging to me. "Always."

∞
∞ ∞

Hours later, we lay there, the bed
too small to be comfortable for two people, but we managed. Well, I was fine on
top of Tarek, using his wide chest for a cushion. He'd cramp up after more time
like this.

When I pushed on his chest to get
up, his arms tightened around me. "No."

I smiled, tracing the muscles
etching his stomach. There might've been only kissing, but I insisted we do it
without his shirt on. "Hey, if you like me using you as a cushion…"

"I love it."

"Me too."

We had talked about nothing
important, mostly me rehashing the last five months.

I missed his smile.

I missed his patience.

I missed everything about him.

But as much as I enjoyed the
reprieve, time ran short. To take more would cross the line from selfish to
cruel. "We can't let them keep attacking Empyrean."

The finger skimming over my
shoulder stilled. "There's nothing we can do to help."

"We need to talk to the other
Wardens, cause a stir, pick a fight. Get their focus off Teenesee's world."

"We'd need an army. Otherwise
it'd be suicide."

"It's my fault. If I hadn't–"

"No, stop. Stop, okay?"

Silence followed. Guilt wanted to
keep arguing the point, but that wouldn't solve any problems

He was right about the army, though.
Not a thing I could do to keep an entire dimension from massacring innocent
people. Farren and Jake? That's all I had, really, besides Wilma. And she was
pretty busy at the moment. Shit. Maybe– "I got it!" I jumped up.

Tarek sat, giving me that wary look
a jogger gives a growling dog. "What, exactly, do you got?"

I straightened my wrinkled T-shirt.
"The list! The list, the list. That's what we'll do."

"You're going to have to dial
down the crazy and explain yourself better."

Dial down the crazy?
Not nice.

"Wilma gave me the list. You
know. The list with all the names?"

He stared, his whole body tensing
as he white-knuckled the edge of the bedframe.

"The list I wrote." I
shook my head and paced the tight space. "I mean, the past me…the old me…whatever.
The one with the symbol? It has a ton of names on it. All people who obviously
had some issues. We find the people on that list, we have an army."

The wooden frame creaked before
Tarek let go to fold his arms across his chest. "A couple problems with
that plan, love."

Again, silence.
Ugh!
The
pauses were not as endearing as I remembered.

I waited thirty seconds more. "Well?"

"First, someone needs to get
the thing. Protectors are more than likely waiting at your place for you to
show up." He raked a hand through his tangled hair. "And let's say by
some miracle you get the list. How are we going to find people who have spent
almost twenty years hiding from the Synod? If they can't find them, we don't
have a shot."

"We have to try. That list is
our one fighting chance."

He stood completely still, pursing
his lips. No argument would work. I was right, and we both knew it. "Why
do you have to go? We'll send Farren and Jake; tell them where to look."

Tarek putting my safety above
everything…made me realize exactly what I had been doing. I put him above
everyone, too, even getting excited when the notion of danger popped up, just
so I could be with him. Danger, I might add, that landed on Teenesee's
doorstep. This would be a perfect opportunity to prove to both Wilma and myself
that I wasn't some selfish kid. I wanted to show her how much I did care about
what others have done for me by returning the favor. "This isn't Jake's
problem, and Farren…yeah, he'll want to come, anyway. Has to so we can cross
the lines. But I'm not a fragile doll, Tarek. I'm going."

His head dropped and his feet received
all his attention. "I hate that I can't go with you."

I went to him, lifting his chin. "I
love you. More than my own life, I love you. But don't make me resent how much
you want me safe."

That did it. His cheeks sagged as
he nodded. "Okay…I… Okay."

∞
∞ ∞

Morning light hit us, and I awoke cramped
and sweaty, Tarek's chest was definitely not as comfortable as my bed when
shoving in a few hours of sleep. I pushed off his stomach and flopped to the
floor like a fish on a boat to the background music of his laughter.

"Not funny." With a
stretch, loud joint cracks followed. "Arrangements are gonna have to
change if you want me to sleep over."

He adjusted to his side, smiling. "I
do enjoy our sleepovers. Perhaps a bigger bed?"

I waved my hand around the room. "Ah,
perhaps a bigger place so we can fit a bigger bed? Why build so small, ace?"

"Awful demanding, aren't you?"
He threw a pillow, thwacking me on the side of my head. "And had I known
I'd be with you again, I'd have built you an entire city."

"I don't need a city.
Honestly, I don't need a bigger place. I need you." Smiling, I tucked the
pillow under my head, enjoying the extra space on the hard, splintered floor. "But
I'm surprised Wilma didn't kick your ass, sleeping in here."

He chuckled. "Surprising, yes.
She wasn't so upset after I let her have the bed."

"Well, you're a regular
gentleman." I closed my eyes, drumming fingers on my stomach.

Talking about Wilma had my mind wandering
to Zander and shame washed over me. Last time I saw him he was unconscious with
a nasty gash marring his temple. "Has Wilma talked to you at all? Let you
know what's going on over there? Any news on Zander?"

Tarek stood, stretching as he
cracked his neck. "Zander will live. And it seems things were quiet as of last
night. I haven't heard from her since. I tried a couple times with no answer,
typical when she's in a temper. But…the Protectors' energies weren't left,
which means the attack was calculated." He paused, looking out the small
window. "There had to be a nest of Guides somewhere, ready to take them
back to Exemplar. In the past, whenever Exemplar had gone to war with another
dimension, they made sure there were Guides, lots of them…"

"A nest?" I stayed on the
floor, too comfortable to get up. But a thought niggled at my brain. "You
think Exemplar is actually starting a war with Empyrean? Like an
all-out…war?"

"Highly unlikely. It'd be a
ballsy move. They probably brought a few Guides to make sure Empyrean didn't become
any stronger than what it alrea–Oh, right. That's it!"

I pulled myself to my feet, his
excitement making me nervous. "What?"

"Like you said, we pick a
fight. If we can get those list people to fight with us, we'll use bait in
other worlds to get the Synod to notice. They'll send an army if we cause a
huge stir. We find the nest and kill the Guides. And then with the Warden's
help, any Protectors we kill, their energy will stay in that dimension, make it
stronger."
His smile brightened. "
This
could be our
way to close the lines. For good."

"You think that will work?"

He tugged at his hair, his eyes
wild and shining. "If we make other dimensions stronger than Exemplar,
they won't be able to do anything but leave everyone alone, starting with
Empyrean."

Crazy plan–reaching, really–but it
sounded better than the nothing we had at the moment. "Well, let's get the
list."

He folded me into his arms, his
face bright. "There might be an end to this."

"Tarek…when it's all over, I'm
staying here."

His arms tightened. "You can't.
Arcus is too–"

"If we can make other
dimensions stronger, we can do the same to Arcus."

He kissed the top of my head. "I
like the way you think."

The squid disagreed. Their
squealing symphony so high it made my eardrums sting.

Tarek shoved past me on his way to
the door. "Stay here."

Nope!
I ran up right behind him.

"Damn it, Lena." But
obviously, whatever riled up the squid was more important than me listening
because he kept moving.

The screeching pierced my ears as
we raced for the castle, following the squid as they swung with speed I had
never witnessed from tree to tree. But when the forest's edge came into view, I
ignored the ear pain and moved faster.

"Belva!"

Where the blue ice met the rich
soil, my best friend stood, reaching out to one of those gigantic pink
abominations. A thick trunk slithered from a tree, meeting her hand with a
gentle stroke while squid perched in the closest trees looked as though they
bowed their heads–the queen and her court. Tarek and I stopped, with me
slamming into his back, when the animal touching Belva's hand let another
tentacle escape the tree to nuzzle her cheek.

"What the hell?" I had a
hard time closing my gaping jaw. The scene looked innocent, sweet. I almost
forgot how deadly the things were.

"I have no idea." Tarek
groped for my hand, holding so tight my knuckles clenched together, and moved
forward, slow and cautious.

The squid didn't acknowledge us,
their focus solely on Belva petting their pink, squishy friend. When we got
close enough, I let go of Tarek, ducking underneath the amorous squid's limb,
and touched Belva's shoulder. "Hey, pal. Ah, what're you doing?"

Her smile had the animal audience
making purring noises as her admirer's tentacle played with her lips. "Making
new friends, apparently."