The Red Queen (11 page)

Then Vladimir was at her side, holding her, anchoring her, letting her head rest on his solid shoulder. “I’m here,
miláček,” he whispered.

And she calmed.

“It’s okay you miss him,” he said. “Your feelings for him are part of you now. You don’t need to hide any part of you from me.”

Her breath caught in her throat, she turned to cautiously peek into his eyes. The forest’s redness didn’t get into his eyes, which were a well of clear understanding.

“I can’t deny I’m jealous,” he said, “but I’m not crushed by it. Not anymore. Even if you don’t need me, I’ll still hang round. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m afraid one day I’ll finally drive you insane, like me,” she whispered.

“You already drive me crazy.” He gave her a lazy, warm grin. “I’m crazy for you. But my love, for you, I’ll hold on to my sanity.”

She rested her face against his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist. His solid frame enveloped her. He was no longer that hotshot she’d fallen for two years ago. He became a man for her.

CHAPTER 6

MAD DANCE

Ziyi took a big bite of sausage before she could swallow a portion of bacon she half chewed, and inserted a spoonful of baked beans into her mouth.

“When was the last time you had a good meal?” Lucienne asked her friend in the sun room.

“Before you went to
Polynesia
.” Ziyi returned to her food.

Sphinxes had won the war, but no one had felt like winners. Lucienne had come back poisoned.

“Swallow your food before you speak,” Lucienne said.

Ziyi grabbed a buttery rowie from a plate and pasted more butter on it with a knife. “But you asked me a question.” The sunshine painted her purple-streaked bangs a lighter hue. “I haven’t felt good for so long.”

“Should I know the reason of your fabulous mood?” asked Lucienne. “Has it to do with men?”

“I’m a postmodern girl. I don’t need a man to feel great,” she said, raising a finger. “First, you haven’t had a breakdown in ten days. I think the poison has expired. Even Dr. Wren is positive.”

“Thanks.” Lucienne felt good too. “And Vlad hasn’t come back with
black eyes and a split lip. The men have behaved. Vlad hasn’t picked a fight, either. Things are good between us.”

Ziyi put down the bread and sighed. “Would you rather know the truth?”

“I’m not blind. The men still hate him, but they won’t touch him, and that’s good enough, for now.”

“They stopped fighting Blazek because Ash told them that the Czech enjoyed being beaten. The more he hurts, the better he feels. So the men won’t give him that. They won’t beat the misery out of him. They want his own conscience to torment him. He’s already in hell, and they want to keep him there. They take another path to avoid him and treat him like the plague.”

Lucienne pressed her lips into a line, her fine mood gone. She could stop the men from hitting him, but she couldn’t stop them from making him an outcast. Her dark gaze fell on Ziyi’s face. “What about you?”

“I’ve had a change of heart. I can be nicer, for your sake.”

“Then we try it now,” Lucienne said. “Aida told Vlad that we need girl time this morning. He’s been giving me space. I’d like to have him join us, if you don’t mind. You and I will do a morning run together and then go shopping. We’ll have a lot of girl time.”

Ziyi put down her black tea and coughed into her hand.

“You all right, Ziyi?” Lucienne asked with concern. “Take it easy, will you? I won’t take your food.”

Ziyi kept coughing and her face reddened. Lucienne went around the table to pat her friend’s back. When Ziyi calmed, she stared at Lucienne, wide eyed.
“You—you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Blazek left Sphinxes last night.”

Lucienne’s heart stopped for a beat. “Did he say when he’d be back?”

“No one knew. I
—I don’t think it’s a short-term thing,” Ziyi said, watching Lucienne anxiously.

Vladimir had abandoned her too. Just when she’d believed he would have always stood by her no matter what, he’d deserted her. When she drifted closer to Vladimir, she drove away Ash. And when she couldn’t help but miss Ash a little, Vladimir couldn’t stand it.

She was now all alone. A rush of blood pumped in her eardrums, then the redness came. Lucienne didn’t try to fend it off. “Are you truly my friend, Ziyi?” she asked.

“Of course I am! You know I’d die for you.”

“Is that so?” Lucienne drawled. “Isn’t this the second time you failed to inform me of his leaving? The first time he joined up with my enemies, and they used him to get to me. And now when I need him more than ever, you didn’t bother to tell me of his parting again. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I might never see him again.”

Ziyi’s face paled. “It won’t come to that.”

The red wave surrounded Lucienne.

“No, no, no,” she heard Ziyi cry. “Please, Lucia, please—”

Lucienne regarded the girl, whose dove-like eyes were pleading, her small hand tight on Lucienne’s arm. This girl was her subject. “What do you want?” she asked. “To become a duchess when I become queen?”

“No, no,” the girl said, tears in her eyes. “Please come back, Lucia. They didn’t leave you. They all went to find a cure for you.”

“A cure? Why do I need a cure?”

“Please don’t do this,” Ziyi begged, tears dropping from her eyes. “Please. I don’t know how to deal with this you—and Ash isn’t here right now.”

Ash. Ashburn Fury
. He’d also left her, and with that memory, an empty ache crashed her, followed by the remnant of the Lure. Ash wasn’t around to fuel it, but he’d left part of it behind. The incomplete Lure was like a restless, half-awake, yet hungry beast. It had no one to prey on but her. It stirred heat in her, yet left her unsatisfied.

She couldn’t find a release.

The cure.

Could it help her put out the heat?

“Ziyi Wen?” she asked.

“Ye—yes?” Ziyi answered timidly.

“Aren’t you supposed to be my best friend?” she asked in a measured tone.

“I
am
your best friend,” the girl said.

“Then why aren’t you out there finding the cure for me?”

“I’ve been searching for it every waking moment.” Ziyi wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand. “I’m not good at guns or exploring the outdoors. My expertise is in the cyberworld. I—”

“Excuses!” Lucienne hissed.

The guards and Aida rushed into the sun room. One look at her, and they instantly tensed, as if facing the most hazardous species on earth.

Lucienne wasn’t pleased.

“I—we were having a nice breakfast.” Ziyi looked to the new group apologetically. “I upset her by telling her about Prince Vladimir.”

“Vladimir Blazek, the traitor,” Lucienne said, scanning the guards’ faces. “Do you all know about his treason?” She narrowed her eyes on them. “No?” She shoved Ziyi aside and strode toward one of the guards. “We have an enemy among us,” she regarded the guard sternly, then pinched his cheek hard with her thumb and forefinger, “and you look so robust and keep feeding yourself well. Have you forgotten your duty, soldier?”

“No,” the guard said, standing very still, “not for a second.”

“Then what’s your duty?”

“To protect you, Siren!” the guard said.

“Well said, but empty words.” Lucienne released the guard. “You let Blazek escape. He’ll come back and drive the blade into my heart.”

“He won’t,” someone said.

“Then why do I feel pain in my heart already?”

“Love hurts,” Ziyi whimpered.

“Nonsense! No more love talk.” Lucienne looked around the room. “Where is Kian McQuillen? I need him to capture Blazek and bring me the traitor.”

Thaddeus sauntered in. “Chief McQuillen went to the Continent.”

“What for?” Lucienne demanded.

“To ensure the stability of all ops,” Thaddeus answered.

“Why should he worry about the ops?” asked Lucienne.

“There are rumors,” Thaddeus said.

“I know the rumors,” Lucienne snorted. “They say that I’m insane. Even some of my high-ranking officers doubt my leadership. Do you doubt me like the others, cousin?”

“No, cousin, never,” Thaddeus said. “You’re my Siren, forever.”

“What about the rest of the family?” Lucienne asked.

“We who swore a blood oath to you will stand by you till the end.”

“But one among you
is Judas,” Lucienne said.

“Who?” Thaddeus asked, immediately tensed, a murderous look in his eyes.

Lucienne smiled coldly. “You’ll know soon. I have a pretty plan for him.” Then she let out a sigh.
“I also trusted Kian, Ash, and Vlad, but look how they all left me.”

“They’ll come back, Lucia,” Ziyi said.

Lucienne eyed her. “I know you mean well, but we’re girls of independence. We don’t need boys or men to feel better. Think of the Amazon warriors. Who needs men anyway?” With a swift, fluid movement, she leapt onto the dinette table. She twirled while singing a battle song of blades and ashes and bones. 

“Come, Ziyi,” she called in an interval, “sing and dance with me.” Already bored before she finished the song, she jumped off
the table and landed beside Ziyi like a powerful feline. She wiped her friend’s tears. “Don’t cry, silly girl. I was teasing you. I know you’re loyal to me. I can read your mind. Now let me take you to my castle. We’ll party all night.”

She dragged her friend out of the sun room and into the hallway, still dancing. Then remembering something, she turned to the guards. “And you, yes, all of you, need to have a good time. You’ve been working too hard, good men. I’ll make sure there are no enemies tonight to spoil our fun.”

Ziyi, in a mist of tears, stumbled along in her stilettos and tight qipao, as Lucienne made her spin and spin.

PART II

CHAPTER 7

CAPTURE

For the first time in his life, Kian McQuillen had no idea where exactly he was.

His enemies had intended that with hard kicks on his head, feeling that the terrible pain from his broken ribs wouldn’t be enough to dull his sense and judgment. Even tied, blindfolded, and drugged, Kian was aware that his tormentors had moved him across a few countries. He also knew they’d made a detour three times.

When agonizing pain woke him, Kian instinctively groped for a gun, but found himself chained to the damp ground in a cell of windowless walls and a steel door. His captors had plucked the knives from his boots, as well as anything that could be turned into a weapon. He knocked on the wall behind him. It had to be several feet thick, constructed of poured concrete. The light in the room was sparse, but Kian knew well that night-vision cameras were fixed on him.

He must be in Abaddon 5. They put only the most high-profile prisoners—people like him and Jekaterina—in the Sealers’ most fortified prison.

He was where he needed to be.

It had broken his heart to see Lucienne battling herself.

They’d escaped many death traps. They’d beat the impossibilities. She became the first female Siren in an eon and achieved more than any of her predecessors. She’d obtained the Eye of Time, an ancient sentient being he was wary of but she was obsessed with. Together, they were about to form an elite nation.

Then she’d been poisoned.

How could he find the antidote to an ancient poison that was beyond human knowledge? Even the Fury kid said there was no cure. But as long as there was the slimmest hope, he would go through heaven and hell to find one. He wouldn’t accept that there was no cure. He wouldn’t accept this fate for Lucienne.

The answer lay on the last scroll—Lucienne’s and his only hope.

When Kian had agreed to send Ashburn to find the scroll, Lucienne had exploded. That kid meant a great deal to her, and he was good for her. “Spare him,” she had said. “You and Pyon can send your best man to track Jekaterina.”

And who was a better man than himself?

So he’d done what he must do to find a cure for Lucienne.

~

Kian had left Sphinxes over a week ago to hunt down Jekaterina. Jed Lam, the former Siren, and his agents had failed to catch a glimpse of the woman for a decade. She’d remained off the grid. No one could pick up her trail, at least not until she had “accidentally” popped up in Ashburn’s memory bank. The woman had flashed the last scroll as bait in Ashburn’s face, then had vanished again.

Kian returned to use old school methods to find Jekaterina.

All the lookouts from Sphinxes’ continental operations focused on any possible footprints she’d left, but there was no trace. No one even knew what Jekaterina looked like. The agents searched for any middle-aged Russian woman who looked remotely similar to Lucienne Lam.

Then Sphinxes Division of Intelligence obtained intel on a Sealers elder, Nickolas M. Poles. The twenty-five-year old, Ivy-League graduate had just risen to power. He had a square jaw and green eyes, with privilege written all over his boyish face.

The Sealers still maintained their traditional hierarchy structure. Twelve elders held the highest rank inside the brotherhood, except for the founder, a descendant of the first Sealer. Sphinxes’ forces had destroyed half of the elders in the Polynesian war, but the founder had survived.

Kian’s men hijacked Nickolas’ private jet when he brought two blondes with him, heading for Hvar to
enjoy lush vineyards and secluded coves and lots of sex. The men took him to the Berlin operation, where Kian impatiently waited.

Berlin op had two locations: one inside an upscale commercial building, running business as usual, the other disguised as an old warehouse away from the center of the capital city.

“Is he really an elder?”
Hanz,
the head of the Berlin op, asked in a slight German accent, eying the young captive sitting on a hard chair in the center of the warehouse.

“If I am not, why don’t you just let me go?” said Nickolas.

“If you are not, we’ll just have to kill you,” said one of Kian’s aides.

“In that case, I admit I’ve ascended to the elder position after you killed my father in the war. The eldership is inherited in the Brotherhood. You kill one elder, one of his sons or daughters warms the seat. If the elder’s line has no direct heirs, then the bench goes to the nearest relative. So, am I betrayed by someone in my family? Who benefits the most if I am out of the way?” He pondered for a moment. “Two of my cousins.” He looked up at Kian. “Who sold me out?”

“Let’s pump him with truth serum and get some answers,”
Hanz said with annoyance.

“You don’t need to do that,” said Nickolas. “I have conditions to medication. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. They’ve already tossed me to the wolves—no offense—when I was in power for only a month. I want revenge. I have no personal grudge against the Siren, even after my dad was killed. I understand how war goes.”

Kian gave his aide a nod, and the man plunged the syringe into the side of Nickolas’ neck.

Nickolas
yelped.

The injection was water, but the young elder didn’t know.

The aide waited for a minute before asking, “What’s your position and territory,
Nickolas M. Poles
?”

“I’m one of the Sealers elders. My territory is South Asia, but I prefer Africa.”

“Did the founder sink with the fleet?” Kian asked.

“He doesn’t sink. He never sinks. The legend says he has supernatural powers and can’t be killed. Even if he is killed, we wouldn’t know. And it doesn’t matter much. His son or daughter would take his crown. You only blew up his messenger, Elder Emmanuel Thorn. He was the most powerful man next to the founder. I’ve never liked that pompous snake.”

“Who replaced Emmanuel Thorn?” Kian asked, knowing the answer already.

“Thorn’s only daughter, Bayrose. Rose, the submarine you airborned, was named after her. She’s become the new speaker for the founder.”

Kian’s eyes hardened. The elder’s daughter tricked Blazek into leading Lucienne to the poisoned Nexus Tear. He’d spill the girl’s guts when he caught her next. “Where is Bayrose Thorn hiding?”

“No one knows. She’s well protected,” Nickolas said bitterly. “Perhaps she’s the one who stabbed me in the back. She isn’t a fan of mine, and the speaker has eyes and ears everywhere. This trip of mine was supposed to be highly classified.”

“You can brood on your misfortune on your own time,” said Kian. “Tell me about the cure.”

“There is no cure,” Nickolas said, “at least not from the reports I read. The ingredients of the poison don’t even exist in this world. You need to find the founder. Maybe you can force the cure out of him, but he’s a ghost in the machine.”

“Then you’re no use to us,” Hanz said.

“I’m not useless,” Nickolas said. “I can offer you my insights, profound, useful ones.”

Hanz and an aide narrowed their eyes on the elder, not appreciating his stalling.

“You can’t exchange me for the cure,” Nickolas said in a calculating voice. “I’m an elder, but I’m still disposable. Even if there’s cure, you probably won’t get it. The Brotherhood didn’t go through these elaborate schemes to destroy the Siren, just to hand her the antidote. Bringing down the Siren race has been the main goal since the Sealers was founded. Incapacitating the current Siren is our biggest achievement in millennia—”

The image of Lucienne stretching her hand toward him in blood tears, pleading, “Help me,” flashed before Kian.

Hanz raised his hand to strike the elder, but Kian had beaten him to it. In a fit of rage and grief, he punched the elder’s face.

Blood streamed from Nickolas’ nose. “That’s not cool, Kian McQuillen,” the elder said. “I thought you’d appreciate my candor. Isn’t that what your truth serum is for? I understand your rage, but I wasn’t the one who poisoned your Siren. I should not inherit my father’s sins.”

“Is there a cure?” Kian demanded again.

“There’s no evident cure for the Siren,” the elder said, “but there is intelligence that will lead to an antidote.”

“Say it now,” Hanz said, “and you’ll probably save yourself.”

“I’ll tell you about it in exchange for my freedom,” Nickolas said.

“You’re in no position to bargain,” Hanz said.

“I’ll release the liquid bomb in me,” said Nickolas, “and you’ll get nothing.”

Before one of Kian’s aides could reach him, the elder raised two fingers to stop his advance. “You can’t get it out,” he said. “The bomb is connected to the mind. Only the elders are granted this luxury to protect us from our enemies’ torture.”

Kian waved his aide to step back.

“Deal or no deal?” Nickolas asked. “I’m not afraid of death. I volunteered this information because I want vengeance. I won’t be the sitting duck they made me.”

Kian regarded him. “If your information is useful, your safety will be guaranteed.”

“And you must free me,” Nickolas said.

“I’ll consider it,” Kian said. “But what
you say next will decide if you get to live or die.”

“The ancient scroll foretold the poison and the Siren’s fall,” Nickolas said. “I paid tons of money to have that piece of intel. I was curious to know what the founder and Thorns were fussing about.”

“Tell me the prophecy,” Kian ordered.

“Samantha deciphered part of the last scroll,” Nickolas said. “Without the other two ancient ones, she couldn’t go further.”

Kian’s eyes flashed. Lucienne had the other two scrolls. With the third one, they would crack the full prophecy and find the cure for her.

“Who is this Samantha?” asked Kian.

“An enigma,” Nickolas said. “Her territory is Russia and North America. She turned on the Brotherhood after the Polynesian war.”

“Why?” Kian asked.

“Power struggle,” Nickolas said. “And she took the ancient scroll.”

Lucienne had mentioned that her mother Jekaterina took the scroll from the Sealers and then disappeared. “What’s Samantha’s last name?” Kian asked.

“She doesn’t have one,” said Nickolas. “At least not that anyone knew about.”

“You ever meet her in person?” Kian asked.

“Once,” Nickolas said. “She’s the most striking woman I’ve ever seen. She looks to be in her early thirties, but I believe she’s older.”

“Find a sketch artist,” Kian ordered Hanz, who raced to the other side of the warehouse and dialed his encrypted phone. Kian turned back to Nickolas. “You’ll be digging a hole for yourself if you lead us on a grand hunt. We know Samantha disappeared with the scroll.”

“I’m one step ahead of you, Chief McQuillen.” Nickolas smirked. “No matter how good your spies are, they’re not granted access to the most classified, immediate information. I’m one of the elders after all. Samantha tried to flee, but was caught. The founder put her in Abaddon 5—the most secure, undisclosed prison on earth.”

The word was that Abaddon 5 was located in a North Korean military center. When the Sealers had first built it, they’d equipped it with a remote-controlled steel door armed with laser beams. A sixteen-foot razor-wire fence was its first line of defense. Over the years, the Sealers kept upgrading Abaddon 5 with all sorts of new technology.

As a sketch artist came in, escorted by one of the Berlin agents, Kian ordered the elder, “Describe Samantha.”

“Six feet two-inches tall,” Nickolas started.

Kian felt his heart skip a beat. The woman stood the same height as Lucienne.

“Almond-shaped eyes, whiskey-brown color.” Nickolas said. “They say the color of her eyes shifts depending on her mood.”

Like Ashburn Fury’s.

“High cheek bones and full lips,” Nickolas continued. “Her eyebrows have a striking arch—”

As soon as the artist finished the drawing, an aide brought it to Kian. He stared at the image. The woman bore an uncanny remembrance to Lucienne. Then truth struck home. Samantha was Jekaterina! After seventeen years, Kian was going to find Lucienne’s biological mother, a woman who had evaded the world.

Then a change of plans formed in Kian’s head.

What was the best way to get to Jekaterina? He was the most wanted, next to the Siren, on the Sealers’ list. Once the Sealers had Sphinxes’ number one commander, they would lock him up in Abaddon 5, where they kept Jekaterina/Samantha.

“Nickolas Poles, you’ll arrange to have me captured,” Kian said.

The room went dead silent.

Nickolas blinked a few times. “You want to get into Abaddon 5?”

“And you’ll follow my instructions step by step,” Kian said.

“Once you’re in,” Nickolas said, “you’re as good as dead, Chief McQuillen.”

The air was thick and gloomy in the warehouse.

“Send me, Chief,” Hanz offered.

All the men in the room volunteered themselves without hesitation.