60. Sloan
SIXTY
SLOAN
“Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Sloan’s eyebrow arched.
It was almost midnight. After her check-in with the bodyguards watching the Queen and a walk-through of the palace grounds, Sloan was exhausted.
She was making her way to her quarters when she found Aareth headed for the armory.
“You should be resting that arm of yours.”
“Arm’s fine.” Aareth glared at her through bloodshot eyes. A look of borderline panic had replaced his usual easygoing demeanor. “Can’t sleep.”
“Is there something I should be made aware of?” Sloan caught her rough tone and decided to ease off a bit. “Are you okay, Aareth?”
“It’s nothing.” Aareth swallowed hard, averting his gaze. “An impossible coincidence, that’s all.”
“Well, where are you going?” Sloan decided not to push the subject. “The palace armory is the only thing down this hall.”
“I have a meeting with Edison.” Aareth coughed so hard, it almost sounded like a bark. He massaged his miraculously healed arm. “He said he can do some tests to explain this.”
“How is it?” Sloan felt pity for the man, and just as soon, hid the emotion.
Aareth didn’t need, neither would he want, someone feeling sorry for him.
“The pain’s gone. Physically, I feel stronger than I ever have.
It’s just that—” Aareth shifted his gaze from Sloan to the vaulted ceiling of the palace.
It wasn’t that he was trying to break eye contact with her; he was just searching for the words.
“Something’s going on that I can’t explain.
I’m having dreams that I’ve had a hundred times before, but they’re ending different.
I feel like something inside of me has woken and it’s pissed off. ”
“I’m not going to pretend that I know what you’re going through.
” Sloan looked down at her own mending leg that still caused her to limp.
Memories of the knife wound from Elijah Ahab were fresh in her mind.
“My injuries are a bit more normal. If anyone has an answer as to what’s happened to you, Edison will. ”
“Why don’t you come with?” Aareth motioned with his head for her to follow as he continued his journey down the hall. “We can both see what madness Edison has been up to since our last visit.”
Sloan fell in step with Aareth. She was far from considering him a friend, but after their experience in Burrow Den, she knew she could trust him. He had his demons like everyone else, but deep down, he was loyal.
“Where’re the gloves Edison made for you?” Sloan remembered the mage-powered gauntlets with a smile. “Decided to take a break from electrocuting yourself?”
“Left them on the locomotive. Didn’t think I would need them in New Hope.
” Aareth gave Sloan a sideways grin. It was good to see him smile again.
“I know, couldn’t have been more wrong. I spoke with Edison at the funeral.
He said he would collect them, design some tests to run on my arm.
I was to meet him in the armory at midnight. ”
The two slowed their strides as they came to the end of the hall where a set of looming double doors stood guarding the armory. Carved on each door was an intricate design of magical symbols and runes. Each line etched into the door shone with a dull, red light.
Aareth reached up with a tentative fist. He knocked on the door so gently, Sloan wasn’t sure his knuckles made contact with the door at all. Despite this fact, the doors glowed even brighter, then swung open.
The smell of grease and smoke was thick in the air as the captain and the former city inspector entered the workshop.
Minus the bustling activity of a hundred gnomes hard at work, the room was just like Sloan remembered on her last visit. The chamber was massive with an army of machines she recognized, and even more she didn’t. Bright mage lamps were strung up overhead.
“Are you sure he told you to visit him at midnight?” Sloan’s eyes searched the area for any threat. A feeling like they were being watched crawled across her skin.
“That’s what he said,” Aareth answered.
Then a noise came from somewhere close—a deep hacking, like someone was either choking or had been caught in the middle of diabolical laughter. On instinct, Sloan went for her blade. The pommel in her grip felt familiar, comforting.
She felt, more than saw, Aareth tense beside her. The lights blinked, suddenly plunging them into inky blackness. Still, the noise came. It was more distinct now. Was someone vomiting? In the pitch-black, what would have been a curious sound now seemed laced with danger.
With her inability to see anything, Sloan’s remaining senses were on overdrive.
Fear sought to rattle her, but courage made her stand.
In one smooth motion, she pulled her mage sword free of its sheath.
She switched the small button by her thumb, activating the sword’s ability.
With a hiss, her blade began to warm, until it glowed a faint red.
“Whatever this is, you stay behind me.” Sloan could barely make out Aareth’s face by the dull crimson light wafting from her saber.
Before he could utter a response, she anticipated his return.
“There’s clearly something out of the ordinary going on with you.
It makes more sense for me to make the first attempt while you circle behind. ”
“Right,” Aareth growled. “You’re the captain.”
As the noise grew louder, heavy stomps were added. It sounded like someone or something was dragging a dead leg in its wake. Whatever the monster was, it was something out of a child’s nightmare; a specter of a memory nervously ignored as adults.
All at once, the lights to the workshop shone bright.
Sloan winced under the pain of the illumination.
She ignored anything else and gaped at the impossible man standing in front of her.
There was no denying it was Edison Reeves, but a man only half his age.
He held an empty vial in one hand, a shoe in the other.
He let out another horrific cough before leaning down and placing his shoe on his foot.
“Right, so there are the lights. You’d think the gnomes would make sure they’re always working, but hey, you get what you pay for.
Am I right, or am I right?” Edison looked at his guests for the first time.
A smile, then realization of the horror they must have felt at his approach in the dark crossed his face.
“Oh, I must have made you wet your shorts.”
Edison grimaced, taking in Sloan’s drawn sword with a single glance.
“That must have been horrifying in the dark and all. I overloaded the circuit working on a project, but who hasn’t?
” Edison put down the beaker, taking in their stares.
“Okay, I know why you’re staring at me, and the answer is yes.
I have, in fact, lost weight. I tell you, cut out those carbs and, wow, what a difference. ”
“Edison—” Aareth leaned in closer to take a look at his friend’s face. “It’s you, but you’re younger and … and energetically annoying.”
“Oh, right, yes, thanks for the compliment.” Edison ignored the slight with a grand gesture of his hand.
“This is the culmination of many years of work between Advanced Machine Making and Observation, and Livingston Industries. The Phoenix Serum that allows me to regain the days of my youth was actually discovered by accident. We were hard at work on the Vampire Project when I discovered this little baby.”
“Back up.” Sloan switched off her mage sword, still in shock.
Edison Reeves had been a grey-haired, soft-spoken man in his fifties.
The version of him now with thick, black hair and a mustache was near impossible for her to comprehend.
What was even more shocking was the term he had just used. “Did you say Vampire Project?”
“Yes, yes, it’s all going to be unveiled at the celebration ball, but you two are trustworthy, so I thought I’d let it slip.” Edison began looking around his massive workspace as if he had misplaced something important. “Now where did I put that…”
“First, I need to know about this Phoenix Serum and then the celebration ball.” Aareth looked over to Sloan and mouthed the words, Vampire Project?
Sloan shook her head. As much as she wanted to believe Edison was innocent, they just couldn’t take any chances.
She needed to find out as much as she could about this Vampire Project and gather hard evidence before any other moves could be made.
If Edison was in fact a part of this, then the less he knew of her investigation the better.
“Ahhh … here you are.” Edison reached into a steel container no larger than a shoebox. He pulled out a chubby gnome who rubbed tiny fists at tired eyes. “No sleeping on the job, Elwood. There is work to be done, iced lattes to be drunk, and progress to be made.”
Edison set the gnome down. The tiny worker only reached his knee. It yawned again before saying something unintelligible. The gnome’s native language sounded like high-pitched gibberish.
“No, it’s fine to swim after you eat. That whole waiting an hour thing is just a lie.” Edison arched an eyebrow at his tiny helper. “Why are you asking me about this right now? Are you planning another vacation?”
“Edison.” Aareth took a step forward in a very unlike-Aareth way and violently grabbed the inventor. “Focus. What about the serum?”
Elwood ran forward to help his employer. A stern look came over his eyes, and his tiny lungs already shouting high-pitched orders to Aareth.
Edison waved his helper away.
“It only has temporary effect. Discovered by accident. I’m working on another batch now to try to keep the result permanent.” Edison leaned in so close to Aareth, the two were almost touching foreheads. “Are you okay? Your eyes look crazy.”