Chapter 71 #2
“Thank you for everything, Ambrose,” Zion said, stepping back. “I'll be forever grateful for everything you've done.”
“Just take care of her,” the doctor whispered through his tears.
Before he finished the sentence, Zion was gone. Two seconds later, the doctor felt the blocking wave hit him. The healing vanished from his chest.
Δ
Zion realized he'd escaped by a hair—as soon as he left, he felt the barrier rising at his back.
While traveling through the shadows, he recovered enough from the conversation with Kaori to focus on the situation at hand.
His eyes radiated fury, along with an overwhelming urge to retaliate.
Elitium had declared war by ordering Kyller's execution, and for that, there would be no going back.
No excuse or forgiveness could remedy the conflict between them.
He could forgive acts committed against himself, but against Kyller?
Zion wasn't capable of forgiving something like that.
Apparently, the wheels of fate were turning—and not for the better.
He transported them to a temporarily safe location—a place he'd prepared for their honeymoon after the test. The idea had been to be alone with her, far from civilization, since he had no idea what would happen when they sealed the partnership bond.
He materialized in front of the wooden chalet in the Dornéu region—a safe place, known only to him and Serguei.
He climbed the varnished wooden stairs and kicked the front door open with his partner still in his arms. He wanted to laugh from sheer desperation, thinking he'd imagined this scene before, but from a very different perspective.
He kicked the door shut behind him, ran through the living room, climbed the stairs, and opened the door to the upper suite.
He did so only to find himself face to face with an intruder.
The shadows lashed against the walls, sensing the sonar’s presence.
He sat casually, legs crossed, admiring the view through the glass wall.
He wore a wine-colored tunic and was wrapped in a worn green cloak—dirt-stained, torn, with an ancient look, like something from the era when the Great War broke out.
He was tall and thin, his curly red hair hanging dirty and loose around his face. In his hands, he held a teacup.
“I was waiting for you, son of the night,” the sonar said.
The shadows clustered around Zion, and he growled at the man, who didn’t even bother to look at him.
“If you value your life, I advise you to leave immediately.”
Zion pressed Kyller against his body, ready to flee if necessary.
The sonar finally turned his eyes toward him—they were blood red, and pink tears streamed down his bronzed face.
“If you value your partner’s life, I advise you to place her on the bed and listen to what I have to say.
” His voice was calm yet authoritative. He wasn’t the sonar Zion remembered.
“I know you don’t trust me—my eyes have shown me that too.
But if you don’t listen and do as I ask, her mind will be shattered, and we don’t have much time. ”
Zion assessed the man, who smelled of something earthy, like moss and dry leaves. He gave off a strange feeling.
“Why are you here?”
“Should I be somewhere else? The future of the world will be decided in this room. I saw it with my own eyes.”
He pointed to the horrifying globes.
Zion didn’t know what to do with the girl in his arms or with the strange man before him.
He sighed and ordered the shadows to surround the intruder; some tendrils bound him to the armchair.
The sonar didn’t bother to move, just patiently observed the black serpents encircling him.
When he saw he wouldn’t be attacked, Zion placed Kyller on the bed, brushing aside the rose petals.
He threw everything aside, and a bottle of champagne along with two crystal glasses crashed against the wall and shattered.
“She would have liked it,” he murmured, watching the clear liquid drip down the wall. “It’s a shame it ends badly, but given whose son you are, I’d advise you to get used to tragic endings.”
“What do you want?” Zion growled, losing his composure. He stood and faced the blood-red eyes.
“I want to help.”
“Help? Do you even know what’s happening?” At that moment, a light went on in his mind as he realized the power the sonar had. “Wait, can you sense what’s inside her?”
“I can. As can all the special beings on the continent.”
The man gestured around the room, indicating the energy surrounding them. He looked tired, with large dark circles under his eyes.
“Can you save her?”
“No. Only you can save her. I came to teach you how.”
“How?” Zion asked, looking at Kyller, who lay in a deep sleep. Beneath her gown, a golden light spread.
The sonar observed him, drumming his long, dirt-caked nails on the arm of the chair.
“First, you’ll need to bring Serguei here—he’s the main key. Then you must bring the black book as well,” he said, delicately raising the teacup to his large lips.
“Serguei is in a cell, and if the king discovers I freed him, he’ll be killed by the blood pact.”
“That’s why the king won’t discover it. He didn’t give a direct order for Serguei to stay there—he just locked him up. You and I both know it’s not hard to break into that place…”
Zion stared at him suspiciously, wondering if this was some kind of trap. He feared this idea might be a well-crafted plan to kill Serguei. The psychic was powerful, almost untouchable, but the blood pact hung over his head like a guillotine blade.
“Why should I trust you?” the general asked, narrowing his eyes at the sonar.
The other shrugged.
“Because my eyes show me fragments of the future, and you know things didn’t end well when Serguei didn’t listen to me.
I need to warn you that it won’t be any different this time if you don’t do what I advise.
” Zion straightened and opened his mouth to say something.
“Now you’ll say that’s also a reason not to trust me, and I’ll tell you the consequences aren’t mine.
They’re yours alone. I can assure you this world isn’t prepared for the destruction you’ll cause if you lose your girl. ”
Zion controlled the rage within him. He wanted to shake the sonar just for mentioning the possibility of losing his partner. He opened his mouth to make a threat but was interrupted by the man.
“Now you’re going to say that if I do anything against the girl, you’ll kill me, and then I’ll promise not to do anything.
Because I understand. I saw with my own eyes that you would kill me in a very ugly way.
And since I have no desire to experience pain, I’ll stay seated right here while you free Serguei and get the book. ”
Zion looked at him incredulously—that was exactly what he would have done. He assessed the sonar, then looked at Kyller lying unconscious. He was afraid to leave her, because he didn’t understand what was happening and knew it was nothing good.
“Tick-tock, tick-tock…” the sonar mimicked the sound, pointing to his wristwatch. “While you think, time slips away, boy. Our lives are just time. If you listen carefully, you’ll realize the sound of the heart is like the ticking of a clock. It can stop at any moment. If I were you, I’d hurry.”
Zion made up his mind and left half the shadows restraining the Sonar—it would slow him down, but if anything happened, they'd alert him.
Before leaving, he covered Kyller with a white blanket since the room was cold and night was approaching.
Outside, a light rain had begun to fall and lightning flashed across the sky. The aurora borealis was ending.
Zion nodded, still wary of the man, and left to find the psychic.
Δ
Sitting on the bed in his cell, Serguei drummed his fingers on the mattress.
The iron lining the walls nullified his gift, and after centuries of having his mind invaded by the thoughts of all Interion, the silence had become oppressive.
Because he was cut off from the rest of the world, when the door opened and Zion appeared to free him, the psychic drew a deep breath and stared at him, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Stupid boy!” His eyes swept over his son, taking in the bloodied hands and the wild look in his eyes. “I can't believe you were foolish enough to come here! I told you to stay away…”
The general cut him off. All he had to say was that Kyller was in bad shape and the Sonar was waiting for them to try to fix the problem—Serguei stood up and followed his son out of the room without hesitation.
The consequences could wait their turn, because all the man could think about was that the girl needed him.
As soon as they left, his gift returned, so he entered the minds of the guards Zion had fought through to get there and wiped any information that could incriminate him.
Finally, he programmed the minds of the cell monitors watching through the cameras to see the recording and believe Serguei was still there.
Zion transported them through the shadows, stopping at home along the way to grab the Book of the Gods, then headed to the chalet in Dornéu.
They emerged at the bedroom entrance, and while the general disappeared into the bathroom to wash the blood from his hands, Serguei and the Sonar locked eyes in a silent standoff.
The psychic, despite the dark circles under his eyes, was meticulously put together.
The Sonar… well, he looked like someone who slept in a chicken coop.
“Hello, old friend,” he greeted, still facing the window.
“Friend?” Serguei frowned as he sat on the edge of the bed to get a better look at Kyller. He noticed with concern that beads of sweat were forming on her temples. “Friends don't run away from each other.”
“Don't be a hypocrite, Serguei.” The seer laughed and turned to face him, his back now to the window. “You only came looking for me because you wanted information, and I couldn't speak before the time was right.”